"But how!"
'Isn't he supposed to be at his weakest right now?!'
The boss stared at the powerful spell Gaia brought to life.
"You said....something about weakest?"
'Bullshit'
A bead of sweat trickled down his nape.
"It is by technicality true"
Speaking in a shaky voice, the long wand held dearly into his brace trembled.
"Mind elaborating?"
"No"
Step
Gaia stepped once towards the boss.
"You wouldn't dare cast such a dangerous spell in such a populated place"
Taking a step back, the thumping of his heart drowned his voice.
'He must be bluffing. No! He has to be!'
I mean. What kind of maniac would cast a 9-star spell the moment they fight?
"You underestimate how lazy an Archmage can truly get"
Naphel stepped an inch closer, The boss's face faltered when faced with a sudden one shot spell.
"Am I? Won't you also get affected by the spell as well? What is the point of making pointless sacrifices just to skip a fight Gaia?"
Gaia snickered at what the boss said to him.
"Kuk....Do you truly believe I, an Archmage would be affected by my own spell?"
'Won't he just shut up and shrink back?'
It was getting frustrating for Naphel to keep the spell lit.
"You're bluffing..."
"Do you. An illusionary mage think I am?"
'From the outside, the spell may be real, but the inside...'
Was also as real as it can be.
There was no illusion artifact that could fake a 9-star spell on the scale of this.
And if there was, Naphel would not be able to use it to its maximum potential.
The spells used by the Archmage 'Gaia The Cold Metal' were in truth shamanic spells that dealt with unorthodox faith.
This was one of the many inscribed miracles he had casted through his 'faith' and it took many days to infuse it with a medium.
Shamanic spells and Blessings from the church did not use mana, and no one really knew what exactly powered them. They just dubbed and coined it as 'Divine Power' which was reaaaaalllll creative.
'Shit, he really is not bluffing'
To the boss, the spell was legitimately forged through normal means, he could not find anything wrong with it. It was like an AI detector saying that this particular novel was not AI generated even though it was clear as day that it was.
"What will you do?"
The boss clicked his tongue once before the circuits in his body fired to forge a spell.
"I can't let you go with the 'product'"
The eyes of the Archmage standing before him narrowed.
"Is she truly that important?"
To the extent they would potentially throw away hundreds, if not thousands of innocent civilians just for the sake of not losing one girl?
"Do you even understand the profits she could make us dance in?"
"No"
Gaia told plainly.
"Then stop dragging it and blow us all up"
Gaia smirked once, still clutching at his bloodied eye.
"Really?"
The smirk made the boss frown, Gaia ignored his confusion and continued.
"Did you know? That throwing your life away for something you could just get from the market at a low price is dumb and stupid?"
Circuits inside him calmed at the words, completely oblivious to what he was trying to tell.
"The only reason I am here is because of a desperate plea of help a fallen noble cried out to me on the road?"
His confusion grew deeper and deeper.
"I didn't come here because this woman on my back was a one of lifetime special and exotic human"
"Where are you getting at?"
The boss urged and Gaia followed suit.
"This girl isn't special, if I wanted to, I could find her in an auction in the underworld"
"Auction?"
'What auction is he talking about?'
The topic intrigued him, so he pried his ears open.
"Close to the borders of Roksu, The 'Stitch' will open"
"!!!!"
Stitch, the famous auction known for its valuable and forbidden items. They had built a reputation for giving what anyone would salivate for, no one in the underworld has heard a word for the next time it will be hosted or where it will be hosted again.
"In it, a man way more stable than the girl here could ever be is the supposed product of interest. Some said that due to your shady practices, the 'Stitch' was delayed till they could give a 'product' with as much value as the one here"
The boss gaped at the words, he had completely forgotten that the man before him was a dangerous enemy that could blast him to smithereens.
'He's showing mercy!'
It was obvious that even an Archmage would not kill with no sufficient reason to back them.
So he was giving better alternatives. Which.... was not really the case.
'A stable product and all I need is the money to get him'
It was a fantastic deal, for an earthshattering profit, even giving up a treasury worth a small kingdom seemed the minimum here.
"If you let me go with no fight, I will tell you where the exact location of the 'Stitch' is"
The wand flickered once and disappeared from his grasp.
Bringing his hands together and touching the fingertips, all of sudden acting in a cutesy attitude toward Gaia, the boss smiled flowery.
"Of course~ Of course~ Who would commit such stupidity anyway~ Haha~"
He immediately folded.
With a snap of his fingers.
Drrrrrrrrrr
A stone wall opened side ways, revealing a secret passageway.
"Just go through here, I will guide you through the whooooole process"
"Thank you"
Softly smiling, Gaia walked forward arrogantly.
The lanterns inside lit brightly up.
Sliding back into place, the stone wall became a dead end.
Naphel kept a hand over his right eye as they walked.
The boss kept making small talk on the way.
Being in a narrow stretching tunnel, the voice kept echoing further the more he talked.
"What is your name?"
Naphel asked to pass the time.
"Ahaha, it is Tiro Urn sire"
'Sire?'
Scoffing at the lever Tiro the boss had flipped to accommodate the Archmage in respect, a faint tremor stretched through the narrow passageway.
Step!
Step!
Naphel's step quickened, making Tiro eat his dust completely.
"A-Ah, is there perhaps a reason you hurry, like one of my words harmed your pride in some sort of way?"
'If someone told me he got hit in the head and lost his memories, I would believe their words'
Naphel, already being almost 40 yards away, peeked back.
"I think you should hurry"
"....?"
Tiro, stopping, pondered what those words could mean.
"Well, staying still like a statue is also an option if an X sign is drawn on your back"
"Huh"
C-R-A-C-K
The ceiling above cracked, darkness seeped in and a figure began forming. Dangling from the ceiling like a droplet of water desperately clinging to the edges of the roof.
Amethyst eyes glowed within the dark mass.
But they quickly turned to a Hazel when the body solidified.
And when the body solidified.
Thud!
The ceiling began falling apart.
On a closer look, the darkness had pressed and stretched itself onto the stone so hard that it breaking apart couldn't be anything but intentional.
"Gaia!"
Yujin screamed at the top of his lungs, his face twisting in pure malice.
However, due to the ceiling breaking apart.
The rocks had slammed the ground and dust kept blinding them, all except for Naphel who had ran away the moment a giant boulder had cut him from Tiro.
'Ah....'
Tiro looked above, and the bloodlust wafting off of Yujin, held him into a choke.
'I've been set up'
He didn't know if everything had been a lie to seduce him into letting him go into the secret passageway, but....
He wouldn't be alive nor free if he was right now caught by the wrathful desire swirling intently in Yujin's eyes.
"Shit"
He wanted to go back and order a woman to feed him a grape one last time, but this time he drew his staff out and scrambled out a spell to chase away the disdainful darkness.