Ugly Bastard

The moment his senses ringed the alarm, he was sure that if he did not dodge he would die. It was not the time to properly think the situation through or try to figure out where the attack was coming from. He had to move. Luckily his flicker move skill was already activated. 

Just a split moment before he disappeared from the spot, his view was filled with black sparks that almost instantly after his disappearance burst into flame. Deep black flame that was as dark as obsidian filled the void space before dropping to the floor.

He reappeared a few meters away but had no time to relax, because the sense of dread followed him persistently. A split moment later, he disappeared from the spot once again, barely dodging another burst of black flame that consumed everything where he stood a moment ago.

As if the whole room was made of highly flammable fuel, everything that the black fire touched was instantly engulfed by darkness, lighting up like a highly concentrated alcohol.

However, it wasn't burning through the things any quicker than a usual flame. It did have incredible intensity of its heat and the way the things disintegrate from the burning of that flame greatly disturbed him. Just being near it felt as if he would be scorched to charcoal if he stayed in one spot a second longer, but the things that were directly alight with it, did not get charred at all. They simply ceased to exist, slowly turning into the finest particles of dust, without producing smoke or even leaving ashes.

Disintegration. That flame was dispersing the matter itself, and he did not wish to see what would happen if it was to touch him.

However, with that relatively slow speed of burning the flame followed after him like a devil keen on swallowing him whole.

From the split moments between dodges from spot to spot in a quick succession of flicker moves, he managed to see that flame did not destroy everything instantly. But followed him almost lightning quickly. Its movement was controlled!

That healer! That incredible sense of dread that filled him a moment before the black flames burst to life, was definitely coming from her gaze.

“Her eyes! She controls it with her eyes!” He quickly understood. 

Wherever she gazed, the flame followed. He had to stay ahead of her gaze to prevent the fire from catching up to him, but this was not a solution. If this continued the fire would either spread in the entire room leaving him no space for escape, or he would over stress his mind with mind quickening technique after long use of flicker movements and make a mistake allowing healer to lock her gaze on him.

In fact, he already felt the pressure in his head as the stress was quickly raining on him, making the veins protrude on his temples.

Trying to attack was not an option either. He needed to cut through barrier and mage first and would catch fire before he reached the healer.

There was no other choice. He had to retreat out of her sight.

For a few seconds, a man's figure flickered throughout the room, appearing for just a split second and disappearing again. And everywhere he stopped the black flames would soon engulf everything. This occurrence surprised everyone into shock, but before they realized what was going on, the man disappeared from the room, flickering through the shattered door back into the hall outside where he came from and finally hiding out of Lily’s sight.

The door, walls, floor and ceiling of that part of the room instantly burst with black flame, creating a wall that filled everyone who gazed at it with pure dread.

A moment later Lily screams from pain falling to her knees.

“Lily! What did you do?” Shouted Samantha hurrying toward her sister.

“Aaaaghhh. No time… Mmmmphff.” Groaned Lily as if even talking hurt her.

“Explain later...huf, huf..." She said breathing heavily. "We have to take this... chance and get away!” Said Lily with her teeth clenched in pain.

“I can sense the feet movement.” Said Aster. “The guards woke up. They will be here soon. Lady Brianna, we have to go.” Said Aster.

“Everyone, get to the basement. The armory door will give us enough time for a sleep spell to take effect and let us escape. Samantha, carry Lily. Let’s go, everyone!” Commanded Brianna before helping Aster, who was sitting on the floor with a painful face, and helped her to her feet, before leading her hurriedly to the stairs.

Samantha gazed at her sister, biting her lips before nodding and picking her up into princess carry before rushing down the stairs after Brianna and Aster.

Following the team from behind, Kate closed very door they passed and stopped for a few moments chanting a spell that infused the door and lock with magic that would need some force to open and buy the team more time before anyone could break into the armory after them. 

A few seconds after they rushed down the stairs the door from the side burst open and guards that Aster kept asleep before, rushed into the burning with pitch black flames room.

“Fuck! What the hell is this?” Shouted one guard.

“Stop! Don’t touch the flames. They seem to be magical. Someone, use a water magic and douse it.” Commanded another guard.

*****

The man stood outside the room breathing heavily as he gazed at the sword in his hand that had a spec of black flame in the middle of the blade.

At one moment the strain on his mind became too much from moving at the lightning quick speed continuously and a sharp as needle pain burst in his brain that made him stall in between flicker moves a second too long. In a split moment decision he decided to protect himself from the woman's direct view with the blade of his sword, sacrificing it to save himself.

The white light that glowed from inside the blade of his sword, like a thin bubble, did not let the flame come into contact with the metal. However, even without touching the sword, the black flame seemed to be stuck to it, slowly burning on the surface of the protective layer made out of Divine energy. 

Consuming the Divine energy itself as its fuel!

“What kind of abomination is this?” He muttered aloud looking as the glow inside the blade started to slowly dim. 

The black light was becoming a lot paler and seemed to weaken as well. At first, he thought that Divine energy and Black flame annulled each other, but when he gazed at the wall of flame that engulfed the broken door, he noticed that it also became paler after just a few seconds.

Most likely the flame became weaker the more it consumed and in the end would turn back to just normal flame.

However, judging by the speed of Divine energy consumption, he was sure that he could not save the sword without adding even more of Divine energy and doing that for this sword was just a waste. Without waiting for the black flame to consume the sword, he threw it into the wall of flame to not make it spread from blade anywhere else.

As the sword was consumed by the fire, he looked at his own hands and saw them trembling. At first, he found it peculiar, making him raise his eyebrow questioningly, but then he noticed the state he was in.

On top of a slight tremble in hands he was still breathing in quick short breaths. His clothes were drenched in sweat, with small rivulets of it still streamed down his neck and back. 

What the hell? Did he have a Goddamn panic attack?

The man closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. This was a strange phenomenon that he didn’t understand well. 

He wasn’t a coward. Neither was he afraid to die protecting his lord and his household. He brushed with death quite a few times in his earlier days too. Being on the brink was not novel to him. So why the hell was he so terrified now? Was it the effect of that spell?

He looked at the flames that looked quite a lot paler but still only lighter shade of black compared to the deep trench-like darkest black it was earlier.

When he gazed at it, he could feel his senses going crazy once again. Something about those flames terrified him when he gazed into them. An unconscious reaction that he could not suppress even with his well-trained mind.

Divine energy burning. Disintegrating everything… Could this attack have been not just magical but also spiritual? If so…What would happen to his soul if he were to be touched by those flames. Could it be that fear he felt came directly from his soul? Did his soul that was said to be immortal sensed that even it would disintegrate and turn into nothing? Never reaching neither heavens nor hell. Never reincarnating. Just cease to exist once and for all.

Shudder went down his body spreading goosebumps in his neck and hands as he realized that he didn’t just have a brush with death this time. It was far beyond that. This was total annihilation. 

Angry shouts came from the direction of the room, waking him up from his contemplation. Someone in the room threw water at the flames, but it too simply burst into flames actually spreading flames even further as bur

“Stop! Don’t add anything to the flames! It will only strengthen them!”

“Who’s there?!” Shouted a male voice from beyond the flame wall.

“Wait! That voice…Is that you, Sir Donavan?” Asked another voice.

“Yes. What about the women? Did you suppress them?” Asked Sir Donavan.

“What women, Sir?”

“There were intruders in that room! A group of women. They were the ones to put you all to sleep with a spell. The black flame is also their doing. I almost had them, but had to retreat back to not get burned by the flame. They were there, in the room, just a moment ago.” 

“No one here, Sir.” Answered the guard.

“Gather the team and go down to the armory. I think the armory was their target. They must have retreated down there when they heard you all coming.” Said Sir Donavan.

“What about the flames, sir?” Asked the guard.

“They seem to be feeding on anything, but they were a lot darker at the beginning. It could be that without the caster feeding them magic energy they lose their strength when burning. In that case, they can be suppressed just as any spell by overpowering it with suppression. Gather a group of mages and try to suppress it, otherwise we would have to let it burn until it weakens. That might ruin half a mansion.” Said Sir Donavan.

“Alright! You heard Lord Donavan! Gather up, people! You four, suppress the flame, the rest of us will go downstairs and get those bastards.” He heard the voice commanding guards on the other side of the flame wall.

At that moment a loud screeching scream shook the whole mansion, making walls and floor tremble, and startling everyone.

“Wraith screech?” He said, turning around toward the party hall. “What the…?” He disappeared from the place without finishing the sentence, rushing toward the party venue.

Loud screams of panic, sound of shattered glass and breaking things became louder as he rushed through the hall.

“Enemy attack!” Someone screamed.

“Monsters! It’s monsters!” Someone else screamed in terror. “Monsters inside the mansion!”

“The hell is happening over there? How could monsters get through the barrier without anyone noticing?” Muttered Sir Donavan, clenching his teeth. “Was it these women doing as well?”