Ambush

The forest beneath the night sky was even gloomier than the camp. Layers of treetops blocked the moonlight, leaving only a few silver beams to slip through the leaves. Anything a little farther away disappeared into the darkness. Aside from the occasional fleeting chirp of an insect in the distance, their footsteps were the only sounds in the silence.

Lahar walked ahead at a brisk pace, his steps betraying a hint of impatience. Blanc followed half a step behind, scanning their surroundings and maintaining a basic level of vigilance.

But while they were still some distance from their intended destination, a figure suddenly stepped out from behind a tree ahead of them, revealing first a boot, then half a face.

A sinister-looking man blocked their path with a vicious grin, wearing the delighted expression of someone whose long wait had finally paid off.

"The Magic Council's hound and a bastard Wizard from the Light Guild. I've been waiting a long time for you."

Before he had finished speaking, more figures in black robes emerged from behind the surrounding trees and bushes, and even among the branches overhead. Their robes stirred without a breeze as they quietly surrounded the two men.

Lahar's expression changed in shock. He stopped in his tracks, his hand already at his waist. "You're! Pandemonium's Guild Master-Marduk!"

"Impossible! How could there be an ambush here? I was watching your every move!"

Panic crept into his voice, and the cold sweat on his forehead briefly gleamed in the moonlight.

Laughter erupted around them, grating against the forest's silence.

"Hahaha! You Council idiot. We spotted you the very first time you sneaked in."

"Every move you made after that was under our surveillance." Their enemy wore a mocking expression as he relentlessly ridiculed Lahar's failure.

"At first, we planned to kill you immediately, abandon our preparations here, and run. But our ritual had reached its critical stage. It was about to succeed."

"That's why we spared your miserable life-to make you lower your guard and buy ourselves some time."

At this point, Marduk could not help congratulating himself on his cleverness. Not only had he achieved his goal, but he had also made fools of the Magic Council, which had been pursuing them all this time.

"And sure enough, since you had no idea what we were doing, all you did after returning was watch our movements. You kept putting off the extermination operation before finally settling on a plan."

By the end, Marduk's face was brimming with uncontrollable smugness and arrogance.

"And now our ritual has succeeded. We possess invincible power, and you no longer pose any threat."

The revelation hit Lahar hard, draining the color from his face. "H-how could this happen?"

Blanc was speechless too. The Magic Council really was unreliable. Failing to notice the major developments behind enemy lines was bad enough, but they had actually let themselves be watched in return. Didn't that mean everything he had done today had been right under the enemy's nose? How was he supposed to work with that?

If some ordinary Wizard had come instead of Blanc, Lahar's blunder would have gotten them killed.

But if Blanc had not come, Jura would have been the one sent instead. In that case, it would have been fine. This probably would not have gotten him killed either.

After briefly sinking into self-reproach, Lahar instinctively tightened his grip on the sword at his waist. Catching sight of Blanc out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly remembered the strength Blanc had shown earlier and rallied again.

He straightened his back and raised his voice.

"This was my failure. But instead of fleeing, you actually came to ambush us. I don't know what gave you such confidence, but now that you've appeared before us again, you have nowhere to run. Surrender!"

"Hahaha!" Another burst of mocking laughter followed. Some of the black-robed figures bent over and slapped their thighs, while others deliberately poked their faces out of their hoods as though enjoying a show.

"You really underestimate us. We were thinking that if your reinforcements turned out to be some famous, powerful Wizard, there'd be no reason to risk fighting you to the death. The ritual was finished anyway. We could pack up and leave immediately."

"But then you brought a brat like this. Honestly, don't look down on us so much!"

As he spoke, the leader's body suddenly shuddered, releasing a surge of black energy. His build and features changed dramatically.

His shoulders and back bulged, his fingers lengthened into claws, crooked bony protrusions burst from his forehead, and his eyes burned into two points of red fire. His hideous demon form emerged, and the black energy stripped flakes of bark from the trees beside him.

"Now I possess invincible power. I'm no longer some small fry you can chase around whenever you please."

As he finished speaking, the others around him swelled as well. Their black robes tore apart as they assumed hideous forms, every last one abandoning their humanity. The scene became a monstrous gathering of demons.

"Do you see our perfect demon forms? Tremble before our power!"

Having watched the show long enough, Blanc decided the moment had come and calmly stepped forward. Scattered moonlight illuminated his slightly youthful face. Against the twisted shadows around him, his figure looked rather slight.

But there was not a trace of surprise or fear on his face. He even picked his ear leisurely, as though the entire exchange had been nothing but the buzzing of flies. Afterward, he blew on his little finger and spoke with a hint of impatience.

"You've been yapping forever. Can we start fighting now?" As he spoke, he prepared to take a stance and use magic to deal with these things that were neither human nor monster.

"Wait!" the demon at the head of the group suddenly called out. The vicious grin vanished from his ugly face, replaced by a grave expression.

He practically slammed his claw into his robes, then whipped out a magic item and pressed it with lightning speed.

The magic item lit up with a snap, projecting a screen of light. It was a Communication Device, and its projection showed a somewhat dilapidated village.

At its center were ordinary villagers and children, held captive on the ground, huddling together and comforting one another. Around them stood numerous figures wearing the same black robes as the people before Blanc, weapons in hand as they watched their captives menacingly.

"We've captured all the villagers of Red Apple Village. Are you sure you want to fight us? If you attack, my people will immediately kill a hostage. Their deaths will all be your fault."

Blanc froze, his expression changing drastically. He dared not make another move.

"That's despicable!" Lahar shouted in fury.

"As long as you survive, you can have everything else. What does being despicable matter?" The smug look returned to Marduk's face.

"Before you set out, I had already ordered my people to capture hostages specifically to deal with you."

"Wait, weren't you just looking down on me, acting like you could kill us without any effort? Why did you take hostages in advance to threaten us?"

This sudden dilemma made even Blanc, who had remained completely unruffled from the beginning, struggle to keep his expression composed.

Blanc was floored. These dark guild members acted contemptuous on the surface, yet secretly took hostages to threaten their enemies. What kind of overly cautious villains were they?

Hearing this, the dark guild leader actually looked proud. In an excellent mood, he took the opportunity to explain.

"Hmph. We in Pandemonium are all bottom-rung Wizards. What do you think has allowed us to evade the Magic Council's pursuit time and again? This very caution."

"If a famous Wizard showed up, we'd flee immediately. We wouldn't take the slightest risk."

"But we never expected a Wizard like you, someone who looked so weak. At first, most of us, myself included, really didn't want to run anymore. We swore we'd show you the power we'd gained and make you submit to our might."

"But a small number of our members argued that if the Magic Council dared to send you as reinforcements, you might not be as simple as you appeared. In the end, they convinced us."

At this point, resentment appeared on Marduk's face again.

"But none of us could accept it! Before we had power, we could only run away with our tails between our legs, no matter who we encountered. If we still had to run with our tails between our legs after gaining power, then what was the point?"

"So we prepared for both possibilities. First, we'd ambush you on the road and show you our power. If you looked terrified or fled in fear, we'd crush you with overwhelming strength."

"If you acted indifferent and showed no fear at all, we'd threaten you with hostages. Only then could we be absolutely certain nothing would go wrong."

"Your expression and movements just now told me you weren't afraid of our power. That confirmed our second guess."

"But as members of the Light Guild and the Magic Council, surely you wouldn't leave these hostages to die?"

Looking rather pleased with himself, Marduk produced a pair of handcuffs from somewhere. The metal rings clinked together with a thin, bright sound.

"If you want them unharmed, surrender and put on these Anti-Magic Handcuffs!"

Blanc's scalp prickled. They had him cornered. Lahar had really screwed him over this time. What kind of surveillance was that? They would have been better off not watching at all. It had only let the enemy prepare specifically for them.

Lahar's lips moved, but he said nothing in the end. He looked at Blanc, his eyes filled with guilt.

Unable to think of a good solution, Blanc could only lower his hands. But he could not simply surrender, so he suddenly unleashed his magic power.

The air around them thickened under the eruption of magic. Fallen leaves stopped swirling and sank flat against the ground, while the scant moonlight lingering in the treetops grew dimmer still. Almost tangible killing intent bore down on the members of Pandemonium, crushing them mentally.

The members of Pandemonium were instantly overwhelmed by terror.

Some swallowed but could not make a sound. Others trembled as they retracted the claws they had formed. All of them stared at Blanc in horror, their faces deathly pale.

Those with weaker nerves collapsed to the ground, shaking and muttering, "M-monster!"

Marduk lost his composure too, the red light on his demonic face flickering wildly. He thought in terror, Is this Light Guild mage insane? Does he not care about the hostages?

Fortunately, just as their mental defenses were crumbling, Blanc slowly spoke amid the torrent of power. His voice was quiet, yet it drowned out every breath in the forest.

"Remember what you said. Let the hostages go. Otherwise, no matter where you flee, I will find you and make you wish you were dead."

Then he withdrew his magic power. It was as though someone had abruptly sucked the air away. As the oppressive heaviness vanished, several black-robed figures retched on the spot. The members of Pandemonium felt an immense relief, yet remained terrified. Even though Blanc had made it clear he would not attack and stood motionless, no one dared approach him for a while.

What no one noticed was a shadow slipping past a nearby tree trunk and racing off into the distance.