Chapter 315: Die!

The rusted sword in Ben’s hand ignited with a bright red light, burning so brightly that it painted the walls of the basement in shades of crimson. The air itself roiled under the pressure of his mana.

With a twisted grin on his face, he lunged.

Noah met him head-on. Their swords clashed, the force of impact sending shockwaves through the room.

Arlo slid to the side, freezing the ground under the encroaching corpses before summoning shards of jagged ice to impale them.

But even after being impaled, they simply kept coming.

Ben’s laughter rang above the groans of the undead. “You’re both so predictable!” he shouted, swinging his sword again.

The blade screamed through the air, cutting through one of his own puppets in his frenzy. “You think teamwork will save you? You’re still weak!”

Noah ducked under the swing, shadow pooling around his feet like smoke. He countered with a slash of his dark sword, sparks flying as their weapons met.

The flames from Ben’s blade roared upwards, throwing streaks of orange across the blackened room.

Noah leaned backwards, dodging the fire and retaliating with a fireball of his own.

Ben slashed the fireball into two, grinning as he kept walking.

Around them, the corpses swarmed again, heedless of their own destruction. They came from every direction, crawling across the walls and dragging broken limbs behind them.

Arlo spun, his ice-blue mana flaring bright as he released a storm of frost. Ice crystals shot outwards, shredding through the advancing undead and freezing the ground in a wide circle around him.

Ben snarled and swung his sword through the mist, the energy from his attack cleaving through the ice like paper. The air cracked and hissed where his blade passed.

“Do you see this, Noah?” Ben yelled. “This is power! This is what it means to be chosen!”

Noah didn’t answer. His focus narrowed. He leapt back, then forward again, shadows bursting from beneath him like wings.

Their blades met once more, sparks hissing as darkness and flame collided.

Ben’s face twisted with fury. “You’re not even trying!”

“I don’t need to,” Noah said coolly, parrying another blow.

Ben screamed, channeling more mana into his sword. The crimson aura thickened, veins of darkness crawling up his arm. His body shook under the strain, but his grin only widened. “Then DIE TRYING!”

He unleashed a downward strike that split the stone floor.

Noah vanished.

Ben blinked, and then pain flared in his side as Noah appeared behind him, driving a kick into his ribs. The impact sent him crashing into the wall.

“Still slow,” Noah muttered.

Ben roared, his eyes glowing. “You think you can mock me?! You—”

An explosion of ice cut him off as Arlo’s spell detonated beside him, hurling chunks of frozen corpses across the room.

Ben’s protective barrier flickered but held, though cracks of light spread through it.

“Keep him pinned!” Arlo shouted.

Noah nodded, rushing forward again. He sent a flurry of slashes which Ben blocked, but his movements were beginning to grow slower.

The corpses kept attacking in a frenzy, climbing over each other, snarling wordlessly as they reached for the living.

Arlo moved between them, swords of ice forming in his hands. Each step left a trail of frost that sealed the wounds on the ground. He fought like a dancer, spinning through the horde.

Through the chaos, Ben’s laughter persisted.

“More! More!” he shouted, his voice raw with mania. “You can’t kill me! She made me perfect!”

Noah grimaced. “Lady in Dark…”

“She gave me everything!” Ben roared, slamming his sword into the ground.

A surge of power burst outwards, shattering the remaining chains. The corpses screamed, and then began to convulse. Their bodies warped, limbs twisting, veins bulging as black light poured from their mouths and eyes.

“No!” Arlo’s voice broke. “He’s feeding on them!”

Noah’s eyes widened as the mana in the air thickened to the point of suffocation.

Ben lifted his head, his skin pale as bone, veins glowing faintly beneath the surface. “You wanted a show?” he whispered. “Then let me show you what a monster really looks like!”

The undead collapsed into dust, their essence flowing into Ben’s body. His aura swelled, becoming unstable and volatile. The ground beneath him cracked, and the runes of the ritual circles reignited in black flame.

Noah’s instincts screamed danger.

“Arlo, fall back!” he shouted.

But Ben was already moving.

He lunged forward, his sword leaving a trail of red light. Noah blocked, but the force of the strike drove him back several steps.

Arlo sent a wall of ice between them, but Ben’s next swing shattered it instantly.

“Is that all?” Ben snarled. “All that training, all that power, and you’re still beneath me!”

Noah’s shadow sword trembled in his grip. For a moment, he considered it.

He considered calling on the full depth of his strength, letting the hunger within him loose, and Feasting on Ben’s mana until nothing remained.

The temptation burned in his chest. One word, one thought, and he could end it.

But Arlo was here.

He couldn’t let Arlo see. Not when his eyes would unravel the truth.

He gritted his teeth. “You talk too much, Ben.”

With a burst of speed, Noah closed the distance. Their swords clashed again and again, steel ringing against steel, until sparks filled the air.

Arlo appeared behind Ben, his hand raised, and cast a spell.

A blast of blue energy struck Ben square in the back, freezing his spine for an instant. Noah took the chance. His sword flared with fire as he swung.

The blade sliced across Ben’s chest, cutting deep through the dark aura that shielded him.

Ben staggered, screaming. “NO! This isn’t— I can’t—”

“Finish him!” Arlo shouted.

Noah didn’t hesitate. He stepped forward and drove his sword through Ben’s chest.

For a heartbeat, everything went still.

Ben’s expression froze in disbelief. “She… she promised me…”

Then the light in his eyes flickered. His sword fell from his grasp, clattering against the stone.

But before Noah could pull back, something inside Ben began to pulse.

His chest glowed, faintly at first, then violently. The black veins on his skin flared with red light as his body convulsed.

Arlo’s head snapped towards him. “Noah! Move!”

Noah leapt back just as Ben arched backward, screaming.

From his chest erupted a beam of dark light. The sound was deafening, like a shriek of tearing magic, of something breaking beyond repair.

Ben’s scream turned into a gurgle. His body began to disintegrate from the inside out, flakes of ash drifting into the air.

His last words were a whisper drowned by the crackling of power. “I… was supposed… to win…”

Then his body collapsed into dust.

The explosion of light slowly faded away, and then with a deafening crack, the barrier around the basement shattered.

Almost immediately, heavy footsteps thundered down the corridor above.

The doors burst open, and black-uniformed figures poured in. The agents of the Investigation Authority.

“Step away from the circles!” one barked. “Hands where we can see them!”

Noah raised his hands, knowing not to try arguing. Arlo followed suit, blood still staining his shirt. The agents moved swiftly, surrounding them. Within moments, cold shackles of suppression metal snapped around their wrists.

“You’re both under arrest,” the lead agent announced. “By order of the Crown and the Authority, you are to be detained for questioning regarding the explosion and multiple deaths tied to this site.”

Before Noah could respond, more figures appeared at the door, two professors forcing their way past the agents.

“Enough!” Cecilia’s voice filled the air. Her mana flared briefly, freezing several agents in their tracks. “These are my students. You will not treat them like criminals.”

Beside her, Professor Faye’s expression was grim. “We’re staying,” she said firmly. “You can conduct your investigation, but not without us here to ensure they’re protected.”

After a tense moment, the lead agent relented with a curt nod. “Fine. But the basement is to be sealed. No one leaves until it’s secured.”

As they began to put up barriers across the room’s walls, the agents divided their focus. Two of them took Noah, while two others escorted Arlo away through another passage.

Cecilia followed close behind Noah, her gaze flicking briefly to the remains of the battle, taking in the blackened floor, the ash, and of course, the blood. Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing.

They were led into a narrow room deeper in the building. Noah sat at the small table in the center, and across from him sat two agents.

“State your names for the record,” one said.

“Noah Webb,” he replied.

“Tell us everything. From the beginning.”

Noah did, or at least, the truth as far as it mattered. He explained how he and Arlo had gone to see Professor Cecilia, found her missing, then detected a new mana signature that led them here.

He told them about the Puppeteer, about the undead, about the fight.

When he finished, silence stretched between them.

Then one of the agents leaned forward, voice low and skeptical. “And you expect us to believe this entire ordeal, the explosions, the corpses, the destruction, was all caused by a single student?”

Noah met his gaze, unflinching. “You saw what’s left. You can decide for yourselves.”

The agent tapped his pen once against the table. “For now, both you and Arlo Kael will remain in custody while we verify your claims. Until then, you are not to leave academy grounds.”

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