Although his mustache gave him the appearance of a gentleman, David was many things, but not a gentleman. He would not let this mysterious figure continue its attack without doing anything.
Grabbing a coin from his pocket that he always kept ready for situations like this, David threw it at the figure while using Disorder on it.
Instead of continuing his attack, the dark figure lowered his right hand and raised his left, throwing it at them with power. The wind broke due to the power behind it.
Pum! Crack!
The object he threw penetrated entirely the center of a tree next to the group, easily splitting it in half and causing it to fall to the side with a loud thud. He had missed by several meters, but even though it was weakened, it would have been deadly if it had hit.
Following that, the attacker regained control of his actions and hurriedly disappeared back into the darkness. He barely managed to dodge a lightning bolt thrown by a dark David.
Faced with the sudden attack, Laufu abandoned his contemplation, quickly grabbed Loft, and backed away. While he could fight, the same could not be said for Loft, who was in bad shape. He couldn't risk leaving him alone.
'Not everyone is attacking Mr. Cristhian?' Noticing the problem they were facing, Laufu could only grunt in pain and, bringing a hand to his head, gritted his teeth.
His eyes turned bloodshot again, and tears began to fall from them. He hadn't managed to recover as he should have, his condition still in a delicate balance.
At his side, Loft tried to get up with difficulty, his bloody gaze fixed ahead. Agitated breaths escaped from him. Huff! Huff! Huff!
"Focus on stabilizing yourself, I'll cover you in the meantime," Laufu ordered, placing a hand on his shoulder and sitting him down.
He watched alertly for another enemy while keeping an eye on his companion, who, using the hat's abilities, began to float in the air and search for the enemy.
The feather on his hat released small sparks and turned a darker blue, like the depths of the sea.
Not wanting to give the enemy the chance to attack them by surprise again, Laufu raised his hand and pushed it out with purpose, his voice echoing like hammers in the forest.
"Exile!" The voice of law echoed with Hermes, and the leaves of the trees trembled for a moment.
Not even a second later, from among the shadows of trees and dense undergrowth just 12 meters away, a figure flew out, expelled from its hiding place by his authority.
His flight was short, his back hitting a tree with such force that it shook it, but no groan or sign of pain left him; it was as if he were not even alive.
From his appearance and body, he was a man. The shadows seemed to embrace and hide him. Despite seeing him, separating his body from them was difficult, as if they were part of him.
Before it could disappear back into the darkness, Laufu gave another command, "Imprison!"
The figure stopped completely, making no attempt to escape. It was as if it had suddenly turned into a statue. A transparent wall surrounded it, preventing it from escaping.
'More of Dabrio's allies...' Laufu noticed, narrowing his eyes.
If the enemy had tried to escape imprisonment, he could have used that to punish him further. Taking away some of his abilities and powers. But in this short exchange, he had gained valuable information.
As a Disciplinary Paladin, he would gain an understanding of his opponent if they impeded his procedure or broke one of his verdicts.
'He doesn't have any artifacts on him... His appearance isn't a power, but rather the result of some ritual. The effects of that ritual are unknown, but how he moves in the shadows makes it seem like he can move through them. How far he can manipulate them is unknown, as the effects of the ritual he performed hide that information and the depth of his abilities... He has abilities related to ice, decay, and undead...
'Without Mr Cristhian here, the movement of shadows is the greatest danger. There is hardly any light here, and we are surrounded by them. I won't be able to react in time if he decides to disappear into one and reappear behind me... Because of his undead abilities, the probability that he controls spirits or related entities is high. In addition, there are surely more hidden enemies. If that is the case, we would be at a numerical disadvantage...'
Considering the information he had obtained through observation and revealed by being a Disciplinary Paladin, Laufu quickly shouted two commands:
"Shadow movement is prohibited!"
"Groups larger than three are prohibited!"
Feeling that his laws were not being broken and were being upheld, the man sighed inwardly with relief.
Even if they were hidden, the maximum number of enemies was three, and the reason they did not appear with his Exile was most likely because they were beyond its maximum range of 20 meters.
With just two commands, he had confirmed the number of enemies while dealing with one of their most dangerous moves. He would save and use his remaining commands according to the cards his enemy played.
While there was the possibility of using Death to attack, Laufu couldn't risk leaving Loft alone, who couldn't defend himself. So, between restricting his enemy's power or restricting the enemy, he chose the latter.
This didn't bother him at all as he saw lightning begin to shoot out of David's hands.
The figure watched the attack coming. Due to the darkness of his tunic, his face could not be seen, but his body was relaxed, showing no signs of fear or nervousness.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity to deal with one of Dabrio's allies, David launched a wave of lightning bolts at the motionless enemy, followed by wind blades and gales that cut everything in their path.
When they were launched, a large ice wall formed a few meters before the figure. Using the rainwater and high humidity, the large wall of ice became a protective shield.
Boom!
The combined attack of lightning and violent winds exploded on contact with the white ice. Frozen dust was scattered around, lasting less than two seconds before another wave of wind cleared it away completely.
Where the figure had been imprisoned, there was no one left. He had disappeared.
"Disorder..." David mumbled.
This was something he had seen before and had even done himself. By altering the order of a Disciplinary Paladin's Imprison, a door could be created to escape. He was sure that had been the case, as he could still feel the remnants of the effect in the air.
As Mentor of Disorder, detecting disorder was second nature to him.
The wind around him intensified, and the trees began to shake violently, as if a tornado were passing through. Small flashes of electricity shot out from his hands, promising destruction.
David gave no signal, but repeated the same action as before and cast another Exile, forcing whoever was in the shadows to come out into the open.
As if he were fishing and pulling the same fish out over and over again, the figure that had attacked them before was expelled from its hiding place. Once again, he was alone.
With its reappearance, the gale David had been preparing was unleashed.
The concentrated wind cut through the tree trunks, leaving deep marks on them, while the lightning bolts burned and exploded.
Kraboom! Kraboom!
Followed by several bolts of lightning and gusts of wind, the figure slipped away. Hastily dodging the storm that fell upon him.
Watching as his companion launched several bolts of lightning and gusts of wind at the enemy, who was hiding among the trees, dodging or avoiding the attacks, Laufu noticed a change in the forest.
Where the enemy had disappeared, the grass, some tree bark, and the undergrowth showed visible signs of withering, falling into white dust, the process easily visible to the naked eye.
Laufu noticed that his body felt somewhat weak, his disheveled hair showed signs of wear and tear with gray hairs, adding to the information he had obtained from the Imprison as well as the feats and strength he had seen, a conclusion struck his mind.
Zombie!
'Could Dabrio have received help from the Rose School of Thought?' That organization had an iron grip on that pathway, so he sincerely doubted it was them.
But knowing the man's character, Laufu didn't believe that was the case.
However, he also knew that even the most upright people end up bending in extreme situations and events.
This detail made him look down at where the zombie had first attacked, where a thin layer of ice made it difficult to move around.
Between the layer of ice and some tall grass, he noticed some glass fragments. In the light from the lightning and David's attacks, he could see that it was reflective.
The presence of that reflective material brought a memory to his mind.
A horrible chill ran up his spine, rising up his neck until it settled in his mind and gnawed at his brain.
Although he had never faced this organization directly, there was something that every experienced Beyonder knew all too well.
Where there's a zombie, a Wraith lurks nearby!
With alarm bells ringing in his head, Laufu opened his mouth, ready to give another command.
Loft, who had been having trouble moving, suddenly looked up with great casualness, his recent mobility issues seemingly forgotten.
In his bloody eyes, which were crying rivers of crimson, the figure of a woman with blonde hair and dark robes was reflected.
Pum! Thug! Pam!
Loft lunged at him, his left hand quickly finding his neck and squeezing tightly while his right hand covered his mouth. Nails tore into his flesh and cut off his breath.
Laufu could only curse his carelessness as he held his companion's arm tightly while trying to free his mouth.
He wanted to use an Exile to free Loft from possession without using Psychic Piercing.
Being possessed, Loft had become both a hostage and a shield. If he used psychic piercing, it would affect not only the Wraith but also Loft himself!
Even if he controlled the power, he doubted the man could withstand it.
A layer of frost began to cover his body. Thanks to the heavy rain and his wetness, this layer was quickly turning into solid ice, making it increasingly difficult for him to move.
With its excessive humidity and constant rain falling, this forest was the perfect environment for ice to form!
Laufu knew he only had seconds to decide before he was immobilized and at the mercy of the Wraith.
The possessed Loft knew it too, desperation sinking into the bloody eyes of the man whose skin quickly began to turn bronze and cover with bloody cracks.
'Shit, shit, shit! This wasn't supposed to happen!' Similar thoughts raced through the mind of his possessed assailant, who could only watch as his own body no longer obeyed him.
In normal situations, Loft would be able to resist possession. Not only that, but he could even free himself with an exile command as a Judge. This would not only expel the Wraith from his body but also reveal any other hidden forces.
But this was not a normal situation!
Not only was Loft in bad shape after Dabrio's attack, but Laufu was also.
He hadn't had enough time to recover, so he was still somewhat weak and was struggling to fight against the strength of the possessed Loft.
In the midst of this, Laufu's eyes darted around in alarm. He didn't understand why David hadn't come to help.
Couldn't he see this?!
Even in such a tense situation, feeling hopelessness suffocating him, Laufu did not lose himself. Keeping a cool head, he fought back by moving his head slightly.
His acid honey-colored eyes focused on the figure of the Mentor of Disorder at the distance, flashes of electricity shooting out of them.
Psychic Piercing!
The flying David trembled in place, a grimace of pain on his face as he felt as if a whip had struck his brain.
'Another enemy?!' Following his intuition and looking where the attack came from, he finally noticed the situation of his companions.
Laufu was looking at him with a red face as he tried to pull Loft off him.
'Possession! Wraith!'
Immediately realizing what was happening, David didn't hesitate. After pushing his opponent away to cover up from another shower of lightning bolts, he turned toward his companions and thrust his hand forward with power.
The wind followed his will and swept away everything in its path.
Laufu looked on in disbelief at his teammate's senseless move. He thought he had put too much force into his attack and caused a temporary delay in the man's thinking, but he quickly realized why David had done that.
The negative effect of the artifact!
'That's why we never let him use it!' Cursing internally, Laufu could only brace himself for the imminent impact.
FUUU!
The gust hit them hard, sending them flying violently in a whirlwind.
Realizing what he had done, David could only curse his carelessness. But now he had no time to worry about where he had sent his companions, as he had to deflect a spear to avoid being impaled...
Amidst the whirlwind, the Disciplinary Paladin saw a large number of reflective fragments flying with them among the grass, branches, and dirt that had been swept up.
In the light of David's lightning bolts and the sky, they sparkled like precious stones, their quantity leaving him slightly dazed.
The Zombie couldn't have thrown everything while moving, meaning they had always been there!
Realizing they had fallen into a trap did not affect Laufu's actions much. This sudden whirlwind, although not what he had expected, served the same purpose.
The force of the wind had weakened the possessed Loft's grip and freed his frozen legs. Placing one foot on his companion's stomach, he pushed hard.
The man's nails tore his face but failed to maintain their grip on his mouth or neck. Both fell to opposite sides, the whirlwind disappearing.
As soon as his mouth was free, Laufu shouted as he thrust his hand forward, "Exile!"
The blonde-haired woman in dark robes reflected in Loft's eyes trembled for a moment before disappearing. The next moment, she reappeared a few meters away from them, floating with a calm look in her eyes.
The next second, she was gone, her whereabouts unknown.
Quickly, Laufu issued another command:
"Possession is prohibited!
With the greatest danger dealt with, he allowed himself a second to look at Loft.
The man was leaning against the tree he had crashed into, a look of great pain on his face as he covered his mouth with his right hand. A large amount of blood was dripping from between his bronze-colored fingers.
"Glurck... Blarg..." He tried to say something, but only unintelligible gurgles came out. Each one accompanied by more of his life fluid.
Laufu immediately realized what had happened, his face filled with disgust and horror.
During the possession, the Wraith had made the Judge eat his own tongue!
The Paladin had to restrain himself from going to help. No matter how much he wanted to, Loft had become a burden he could no longer carry.
Not only was there a Wraith in the vicinity, lurking for an opportunity, and most likely using the man as bait.
Exile was useless now. With the Wraith's mirror movement, he could never force her to appear, as she would always be out of range. The same went for commands. Even if he forbade mirror movement or managed to 'punish' her and make the ability resist, the woman could resist or force it. With the number of mirror fragments that seemed to cover the entire forest, that would be extremely easy, making punishing her even more difficult.
And that was just with the Wraith; another member was still somewhere in the forest. Who said it wasn't another Wraith?
With the possibility at stake, Laufu knew there was nothing he could do.
It seemed as if his thoughts had been read, as Loft looked at him in horror and, raising a hand weakly, tried to move forward, but fell to the ground after a few steps.
"Cough! Cough! Blurgh..." The man regurgitated meaninglessly, but Laufu felt he was trying to say his name.
Clenching his fists until they turned white and his teeth until they were on the verge of exploding, Laufu turned his back to the judge.
At that action, Loft's bloody eyes opened wide. With great effort, he tried to get up again, managing to raise his torso but failing to go any further.
"Blurgh! Cough! Cough!" He tried to say his companion's name, but only managed to cough up more blood.
"I'm sorry..." That was all Laufu could say before rushing towards where David was, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness and undergrowth.
Loft watched this helplessly, his attempts to resist losing control diminishing significantly, but he still fought not to fall into the abyss.
Crii...
The sound of something being thrown reached his ears, and he turned his head so quickly that the sound of a whip followed. Although he could have sworn he heard something, he saw nothing.
His intuition kicked in at the same time he felt something moving beneath him.
Before he could move, black tentacles as dark as the deepest caves wrapped around his neck, legs, arms, and torso, followed by him being slammed to the ground and held there.
Alarmed, Loft tried to fight against these restraints, but they were highly resistant. He barely lifted his arms a few inches before they were pinned back to the ground.
This attempt to escape greatly angered the tentacles, which quickly climbed up his arms until they reached his ears and wrapped around them.
Horrible ravings began to echo in his ears, lashing his mind and spirit.
Loft writhed and kicked, soundless screams leaving his tongueless mouth. His weak mind finally shattered, the skin on his body breaking and spurting large jets of blood. His eyes continuously cried crimson.
In the few moments of sanity he had left, he wished that there was someone who would end his life. At least he wanted to die as himself, not as a mindless monster...
A short figure emerged from the shadows. Standing beside him, she looked at him with a hint of pity. Silently, she raised her arm.
Loft did not see this, his eyes filled with blood, having been blinded a moment ago.
Trush! Thud!
The pain in his face was dulled when a triangular sword pierced his skull. After a few short spasms, his movements finally stopped.
Pulling her sword out of the man's skull and making sure he was dead, she ran towards where the other man had gone.
However, Loft Tamara was not alone. The Wraith had appeared at some point beside him.
She leaned slightly and calmly grabbed the corpse's hands and opened them. Her nails extended into claws, and with speed, she pulled out the blood and flesh that was between the dead Loft's fingernails.
The blood and flesh of Laufu Tamara.
Having done that, and with thunder painting the forest white, she disappeared from the spot once again.
...
The whirlwind had carried him farther than he had imagined. Even moving at top speed, he had barely covered half the distance.
Returning to Cristhian was their only chance of survival now.
His heavy heart beat so hard in his chest that he could hear it echoing in his ears like an annoying drum.
"Huff... Huff..." Swallowing a little saliva, Laufu tried to run faster but found forcing his legs to move harder than usual.
This abnormality alerted him; something was wrong with him!
Between gasps for breath, Laufu stopped running. He was confused and alarmed.
'Why am I so tired?'
Although he had carried out several commands and verdicts that consumed a lot of spirituality, it wasn't to the point where he should be gasping for air!
Contrary to logic, now that he had stopped, he should have been recovering, but to his horror, he found that he was increasingly short of breath. Despite the depth of his inhalations, nothing seemed to reach his lungs.
"Huff Huff Huff"
The speed of his breaths increased, and even the strong body of a Disciplinary Paladin, capable of competing against a Dawn Paladin, could not fight against this sudden illness.
He gritted his teeth and tried to fight his fatigue, but his attempts only worsened it. It got to the point where he had to lean against a tree to stay upright.
Huff! Huff! Huff!
His vision had become blurry, and he brought a hand to his eyes to wipe them, but when he saw his hand, he froze.
Black spots covered his skin, growing larger and larger. A light layer of frost covered them.
A hex!
Finding the cause of his sudden illness, Laufu suddenly remembered the wounds on his mouth and neck, where Loft had grabbed and scratched him.
'Shit...' Laufu could only curse in his mind, without air to give voice to his thoughts.
The next moment, his eyes turned white.
Thud!
Looking down at the unconscious man on the ground, the darkly clad Wraith showed no change in expression as her nails turned back into long claws.
...
Using Bribe-Weaken, David Tamara successfully distorted the figure's attack while weakening it. Then, he raised his hand to the stormy sky.
Crack Crack
Small white lightning bolts began to shoot out of the aquamarine feather on his hat, concentrating the storm's power.
Whoever wore the hat could control the wind and water around them, breathe beneath it, and manipulate lightning. This extended to being able to cause lightning bolts to strike a centered area!
For that to be possible, the storm had to be extremely strong. A weak drizzle would not meet the requirements; only a storm like this would do.
He had not used this attack before because of the large area it affected; with his companions so close, there was no way they would not be hit. However, with his lapse in judgment in sending them flying, there was no longer any need to worry about that.
Seeing what he planned to do, it was clear that the zombie would not allow it.
Quickly, he pulled something out from between his robes. It was a thin tablet, dark gold in color with black edges. Various magical symbols and labels covered it, and a scale was engraved in the middle of it.
A charm!
The Zombie said in Hermes, infusing spirituality into this charm, "Law!"
With the activation incantation echoing through the forest, the dark gold charm in the zombie's hand turned into a blur. Although it no longer had a physical form, its presence could still be felt.
The zombie threw the charm into the air, and as it broke down into particles of light that scattered around, he said solemnly in Ancient Hermes.
"The use of artifacts is prohibited here!"
The mysterious language instantly spread with the particles of light, combined with countless magical symbols and labels like laws, and then merged with the void.
Immediately after that, the wind that kept David flying stopped, as did the electric shocks on his hat.
Gravity took back its rightful possession of him for a moment, pulling him down. But this did not stop David. He focused on forcing the artifact to reactivate, encountering decent resistance.
Because the order had been so general, there was a little room to use artifacts, a small loophole in the law!
Something he could take advantage of!
He wasn't even halfway to the ground before winds surrounded him and stopped his fall, and the feather in his hat began to emit faint sparks of electricity again. None of them had the same power as before, half of what they had been, but that was enough for him.
Suddenly, a solemn voice reverberated in the clearing, a heavy and just proclamation descended: "Execution!"
Pam! Pam!
Two hammer blows rang in his ears, and before his eyes, David saw an illusory judge's gavel strike the air, its color a bloody gold, ready to deliver the harshest punishment.
The judge's gavel rose again and descended upon him.
Pam!
The zombie watched silently as his enemy suddenly froze in midair, followed by the voice, his white eyes seeing something invisible that only he could see.
Two seconds later, his enemy's chest sank visibly with the horrible sound of bones breaking.
The man with the crushed chest fell to the ground, hitting it with a wet, thudding sound. His hat fell a few feet away, the feather fading and returning to its soft aquamarine color.
A short figure walked about 10 meters to his side, breathing heavily.
"Huff! Ah... Is he... Is he dead?" Sheriff Xio asked, barely catching her breath. She had run at full speed and had barely made it in time.
He didn't answer right away, but walked silently over to the man and knelt beside him, listening to the painful moans coming from his lips.
"No, but he's close. The artifact must have saved him," Zombie Maric said as he straightened up.
Following that, he looked to the side where a blonde-haired woman had suddenly appeared.
"It's ready," Wraith Sharron said calmly, her voice quiet.
With confirmation that everything had gone well, Xio wasted no time and pulled a trumpet from her robes.
Bringing it to her lips, she blew hard, but no sound came out.
"Go, I'll join you once I'm done here," Sharron said as she approached the dying man, her nails lengthening.
Maric nodded and walked toward Xio, turning around and crouching slightly.
With the corners of her lips trembling slightly, the Sheriff said nothing as she climbed onto the dead man's back.
'If Fors saw me now, she would never let me forget this until the day I die...' Ignoring the blush on her cheeks, Xio looked ahead.
This was something she would take to her grave.
Maric took a moment to make sure she wouldn't fall off. Once he confirmed that, he accelerated to his top speed.
The sudden burst of speed was like a whip to Xio, who almost let go of the man's neck.
"Ah!" She couldn't help but let out a little scream.
Wraith Sharron didn't even turn to look; she just focused on what she had to do. After a few seconds, with her work done, her figure disappeared. Using one of the many glass fragments hidden in the ground, trees, and bushes, she performed a mirror blink.
---
Things happened that made it impossible for me to publish chapters. They've been resolved now, don't worry. They were more annoying than anything else.
Sorry for the delay, here's some nice artwork to make up for it a little.
Check this comment
The artist is @jingbing2025 ! Give them some love~