Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 197 Clash 7

As the dark cloaked figures launched their surprise attack on Zera and her companions, a golden haired boy with a tinge of red in his irises watched from the side calmly. He considered it for a while, but decided to intervene only if needed.

"It's not my turn to move yet..." He whispered to himself as he sat beside the soldier in the watch tower who was now panicking at the sight of the ambush sprung.

"Oh…? Who is that…?" He noticed someone quickly headed in his direction. From her aura, she was an ally. However, this was his first time seeing her which was odd. Even with his soul-sense, he had never detected this person before.

He raised his eyebrows in curiosity, but was then stunned, frozen in place as the girl appeared in his view.

Beautiful. Bewitchingly beautiful. And her clothes… It was as if though she were just lying in bed naked, wrapped in a thin bed sheet that clung to her slopes and valleys…

Lars watched "calmly" as she approached and ascended the watch tower, startling the soldier beside Lars so badly that he ended up falling off the edge, bruising himself slightly.

Lars too was surprised that she could detect him and head straight for his direction, but even more surprised that he had never noticed such a heart-stopping beauty until this moment!

She stopped once she was in front of him, chest heaving seductively from her brisk run, forcing Lars to use all his will power to keep his eyes on her face instead of letting his gaze wander.

"Lars…?" Luca asked, her eyes flitting about, seeming to study Lars face and body. Lars responded with a nod.

At his response, the stunning blonde girl crossed over to him and reached out a hand to his neck.

Despite his hardened battle senses and combat instincts honed in life and death situations, Lars froze like a rabbit in front of a snake. Before he knew it, her hand had landed on his neck, stroking the necklace he wore and the little cat bell strung on it.

He sighed in both relief and disappointment when he realised what she was doing and he coughed politely to interrupt her.

Hearing his cough, she pulled back, looking startled and… If he were not mistaken, she also had a look of sorrow when she saw the bell…

She gathered herself and bowed deeply, almost causing Lars' soul to ascend to heaven as this opened up the view down the front of her blouse. He blushed furiously and somehow managed to tear his gaze away at the last minute.

When Luca rose from her bow, she had a mischievous smile on her face, one that made her even more entrancing. When she saw him blus.h.i.+ng furiously, she began to giggle, holding up a hand to her mouth daintily as she laughed.

Lars glared at her resentfully – it was obvious that she was fully aware of her effect on him and was just teasing him. However, he found that he couldn't stay angry at her, instead finding himself drawn into her deep, blue eyes. And before he knew it, he was instead staring at her with his mouth open, entranced and in a daze.

"Cute kid…" She smiled fondly at him like a big sister would and reached up to tousle his hair subconsciously. Then, remembering their situation, she grew serious.

"Elder Mash'noth sent me to protect you. She has plans in place to counter the Dark Apostles, but…" Though she spoke calmly, her expression was grim and she subconsciously gripped the edge of her skirt tightly.

"The Elder fears that things may turn out more dangerous than expected…" Her gaze turned towards the scene of the battle, drawing Lars' gaze towards that direction as well.

* * * * *

"You!! Who are you!! Why are you doing this!?!" Zera exclaimed as she struggled against the writhing black tendrils that wrapped around her arms and legs like a coc.o.o.n, leaving only her head uncovered. The dark tendrils originated from where the cloaked figures arms – or where their arms should have been.

Her five companions were lying p.r.o.ne on the ground pincered by two cloaked figures and similarly bound by black tendrils that looked like the deformed roots of a rotting tree. Unlike Zera, they were covered from head to toe, not even leaving a gap for an ant to get through.

Zera tried to break free several times but could only gasp in sharp pain as the tendrils ground against her limp right arm.

 "Zera… You should know what's best for you… Why must you fight that which is inevitable…? Just accept the darkness, the comfortable darkness…" The lead cloaked figure stood before her, sinister words of temptation leaving his mouth. Zera could not make out anything within the cover of the hood over his face – except for his eyes. His terrifying, black pits, swirling vortices of darkness that threatened to swallow up her soul. How was it possible for two spots of darkness to be the only thing visible, darker than the darkness due to the absence of light…? She didn't know how it could be possible, but what she knew was that there was a terrible sense of *wrongness* to it.

The figure emanated a sense of grave danger, different and more deadly than goblin lord Viru before. However, there was also a strange sense of familiarity about the figure, something in the thing's voice that seemed to prompt a sense of…

'Acceptance and trust…? NO!! I refuse to give in!!'

"GRAHHH!!! MONSTERS!!! I'D RATHER DIE THAN SURRENDER!!!" Zera went mad, circulating berserk Earth Pulse into the 10 Life-Foci in an attempt to self-detonate. But to her shock, the tendrils around her pulsed in response to her energies and the flows of Earth Pulse began to dissipate.

Seeing her futile struggles, the lead cloaked figure stood motionless and wordless for a moment, before a tremor ran through his body. Then, the figure's eyes closed, and when they opened again, a pair of eyes that belonged to a human were revealed – eyes that gazed at Zera with love and compa.s.sion.

"Zera… My child… Trust me, the darkness will give you a new life, a new hope. Don't believe the lies of the Eternal Liar Sun Lord… Trust me…" The cloaked figure's hands rose to doff his hood, revealing a face that caused Zera to gape in shock and reluctance.

"No… It can't be… You… No!! My father is dead, MY FATHER IS DEAD! YOU CAN'T BE… No…" Zera's eyes widened, trembling. Her eyebrows furrowed, frowning so deep that the veins in her eyes began to emerge, the whites of her eyes turning bloodshot.

But then, her protests turned to sobs of denial as her head fell and shook side to side, unable to accept the scene that was before her.

Lord Seth moved forward to stand closer to Zera, close enough that she could feel his frigid, decayed breath on her face, making her choke in disgust.

"My child… Zera, it really is me… The darkness saved me, the darkness protected me, and the darkness has promised us all a new hope of glory! Come with me, child! Before it's too late, before the Eternal Liar d.a.m.ns the whole world!" Lord Seth gently but firmly cupped Zera's chin, forcing the girl to look him in the eye.

"No matter how you deny it, the truth is before your eyes. Though I should have died, I am whole and alive! And the cause of the darkness is just and righteous! So join us…" Lord Seth looked fondly at his daughter, stroking her face.

'Join us…'

'Join us…'

'Join us…'

The words kept on echoing in her mind and ears, causing Zera to moan and grit her teeth, thras.h.i.+ng about in mental pain. She fought against the suggestion, refusing to give in, denying even her father that was before her, holding on to the Divine Light and believing that Elder Mash'noth would come through to rescue them.

Seeing her continued resistance, Lord Seth's expression suddenly changed from gentle to cold and deranged.

"…You WILL join us…" Then that expression changed to one of sinister cruelty and his eyes turned murderous, becoming pits of darkness once more.

"Whether you want to or not…"