Chapter 92

  Richard felt a barely noticeable, he would even say elusive hesitation of space. Having expanded the aura for several kilometers, he looked for where exactly this distortion was, or any other possible cause, but found nothing, which made him even more inclined to think about a possible meeting.

  Smiling sweetly at Mellis, he spoke in as gentle and familiar a voice as possible, using the lion's share of his skill and charisma.

  "Stand still and take your beast away from here, things may become uneasy here, he may die."

  Mellis looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant, much less letting go of the curse. She gripped the rope tighter in her hands and expanded her aura, preparing to use the [Legendary] skill. The wolf also began to prepare for battle, his body began to emit a black aura, causing nearby plants to crumble into dust. The curse growled loudly, waiting for the order to tear the bard apart.

  "Oh, well, so be it, do as you please." Richard said, not paying any attention to this and taking the old flute case off his shoulder.

  The curse growled loudly, but Richard did not even deign to look at it, he opened the case and took an incredibly beautiful blue flute in his hands. It was carved with many beautiful runes and patterns, just looking at it was mesmerizing. Richard threw off his backpack and cloak, completely freeing his hands to play.

  Meanwhile, Mellis slowly walked away from the Bard. She admitted to herself that for some reason she was afraid of him. Although by all indications, he was an ordinary person, but his behavior, or rather excerpt, did not give her peace. In her opinion, every person she met should have run away in despair because of her title, but Richard did not pay attention to her. This only meant that he was able to deceive both her [Cursed Empathy] [Legendary] and [Aura of the Black World] [Epic].

  Richard finally found someone in his aura, a man approaching them 100 meters away, 186 cm tall, medium build, with black-violet hair and eyes. He wore the uniform of a high-ranking military officer of the Holy Kingdom army, led by Commander-in-Chief Russell Kieran. On his belt were two incredible Blades, their energy gave off soul magic, and the man himself emanated arcane affinity space mana.

  Name: Veksian Rice, 245 years old

  Race: Human attuned to arcane affinity of Elusive Space [Special+] [Unique] Lvl 400

  Class: Great Mage Arcane Affinity of the Elusive Space [Epic] [Unique] Lvl 432

  Class: Elite the art continuous attack [Epic] Lvl 401

  Titles: Elusive [Legendary], Holder Arcane Affinity of the Elusive Space [Legendary+], Slayer Higher Demon Shah'ri'sin [Mythic], Mythic Skill Holder [Mythic], Giant Slayer Lvl 1000 [Legendary], Bloodline Progenitor [Legendary], Conqueror of the Dungeon of the Archmage of Space Ittana [Legendary], Great Mage of the Elusive Space [Epic] [Unique], Elite the art of continuous attack [Epic], Holder of the Unique Skill [Unique] [Unknown], Supreme Commander Russell's Loyal Sword [Special], Slayer of the Unholy [Special], Slayer of the Undead 1,000,000 [Rare], Slayer of Demons 10,000 [Common], Human Killer 10,000 [Common], ...

  [Paired Blades of Zagrint] [Legendary+++]

  [Paired Blades of Zagrint were created by the Soul Archmage Cristea, with the goal of leaving his legacy in the world forever, even before the enlightened races conquered the Radiant. The swords have the ability to cut spiritual energy, spells, magical power, and souls. Wounds from the blades of the sword leave a kind of mark that prevents any healing. The second ability amplifies any spiritual abilities affecting the swords, this ability has been strengthened with each owner of the weapon for over 70,000 years. The Twin Cliques of Zagrint have been wielded by the Weapon Masters and Archmages of each era, making them incredibly powerful weapons, deadly to almost any creature.]

  Richard cringed inwardly, Mellis was very unlucky to meet Veskian. The kind smile fell from Richard's face, instead a thin smile appeared, it was not threatening and did not speak of any negative emotions, but it also could not be called happy.

  For a few long seconds, Richard's mind was in a stupor. Going through his options for the future, he wondered what to do. The fate of millions depended on his choice... he certainly could not act differently.

  Richard's smile became calmer, there was even a little intrigue in it. Richard turned his head, looked at Mellis, and stood between her and the approaching Veskian.

  Mellis looked at him with concern, but still did not rush to act. She wondered what could have made Richard so wary. Peeking out from behind him, she saw a man in military uniform who calmly walked out of the bushes.

  She hadn't felt his until that moment, but now she could sense the horror of its existence. Cold sweat immediately broke out through Mellis, her legs buckled with fear, she began to tremble like an aspen leaf in the wind.

  The man in front of her, despite average spiritual power and aura, was the strongest. She simply could not comprehend the full extent of his magical power. What she felt from him plunged her into a real nightmare. This was a man who did not experience defeat, his spirit told of thousands of difficult battles that he completed with dignity. Not a single enemy escaped from him unharmed, and every order of his master was carried out no matter what.

  On his belt hung blades, with the same sense of hopelessness. The level of power of these weapons was far beyond her understanding, as did each of the former owners. [Twin Blades of Zagrint] promised that a wound from them would be fatal, proving this with many thousands of years of history.

  Veksian's gaze turned to her, without any mercy. Even though she couldn't read his thoughts, Mellis knew that he was coming for her and she didn't stand a chance.

  Having approached a convenient distance, Veksian stopped and spoke while stroking the [Zagrint Twin Blades].

  "Richard Darrell is the owner of the [Epic] class of Bard, who does not rely on the legacy of the Warrior or Mage class line. People who have achieved the [Epic] class on their own are very few, so you certainly deserve my respect..." Veksian continued, looking at the growling wolf and the frightened Mellis. "What are you doing standing next to the damned? Why are they still alive?"

  In response to his words, the Wolf growled loudly, revealed its aura, opened its mouth and showed a dark purple charge of erosion. The curse was in its strongest form and almost rushed to attack. But Veksian's instant movement cut it in half. The curse's body fell apart into two parts, on both sides. Black smoke began to ooze from its flesh, dissipating in the surroundings. But unlike all the previous times, the curse did not recover. Mellis was terrified, but she could not do anything to save him. She felt that she would die at the first move, she could only hope for the bard.

  Richard captured all of Veksian's movements and turned his gaze to the wolf. A portal opened near his hand, and he took out a small dark blue box covered in runes. Opening it, the cursed energy that oozed from the wolf's dead body immediately flew into the artifact, sealing his broken spirit and soul in a few seconds. Behind him, Mellis sighed with relief, feeling that his soul was no longer disintegrating into dust.

  Without paying any attention to his actions, Richard calmly responded to Veksian, who was perfectly aware of all his actions.

  "I studied their abilities, identifying their weaknesses. One [Epic] class underestimated the owner of a [Legendary] skill and paid for it." Richard answered easily, hiding the box back into the portal. To which Veksian nodded lightly.

  "I understand, your aura and spiritual ability charisma are great. If you hadn't left your real name, I would have never known that you were the owner of the [Epic] class." After a moment of silence, Veksian continued. "But why do you need the remnants of the curse, what do you want to do with it?"

  "His composite soul interested me, I am not an apostate and not a master of curses, after all, I also came here to destroy them."

  "Very well." Veksiane said with a sympathetic smile, his gaze falling on Mellis and he continued speaking. "Then let's not delay."

  Veksian gripped the [Zagrynt Blade] with his right hand and swung it with incredible speed and force. As soon as he started swinging, the blade gradually disappeared into thin air, while appearing a few centimeters away from Mellis' head.

  The bard also acted, instantly an orange spirit clone emerged from his body, holding the same blue flute. Before the blade touched, the spirit's appeared in its path. Zagrint's blade strike crashed into the flute, spreading a shockwave, but did not affect the spirit in any way. The shockwave bent trees and blew away nearby objects, but had no effect on Richard and Mellis due to his aura.

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  Mellis froze from the wild warning of the [Sharp Instinct] skill. The loud sound deafened her, the shock wave spread in all directions and bent trees, but did not affect her in any way. Swallowing, she turned her gaze to Richard, who was standing in front of Vexione with the same slight smile.

  Her aura expanded, bringing with it new knowledge. A moment ago, she was protected by the spirit of the bard, from a deadly attack, so she moved closer to him and hid behind him.

  After the blow, the right blade of Zagrint was completely intact in Veksian's hand. His gaze was full of disappointment as he looked at Richard, pulling the second blade from its sheath.

  "You blocked my strike. If you hadn't protected the damned one, it could have been an interesting fight. As a sign of my respect, you can explain why you did that." After a pause, Veksian raised both blades and continued. "And how did you get an artifact of [Legendary] level or higher?"

  Richard began to play his flute with his fingers as his spirit counterpart stood behind Mellis. After a few long seconds, he spoke.

  "It's simple, she's a Reincarnator. It took me a while to figure that out."

  Veksian allowed himself a small smile. "You are not a Apostate." Nodding to himself, Vexian sheathed one of his blades and pulled out a bond amulet as he continued speaking. "You are right, her being a Reincarnator makes a big difference, but why is she a beastman? The deities could barely fit a suitable soul into a vampire, and she is much younger than that? How did she get cursed?"

  "I don't know everything, but I can guess that the deities made a mistake." Richard said, to which Veksian nodded unconsciously, because he completely agreed with him.

  "Right." Richard said, establishing a connection on the communication amulet. He stared at the artifact for a few seconds, communicating with the other side telepathically. His eyes became slightly sharper and he nodded slightly, hiding the amulet in his cloak.

  "Well, since you already know everything, the girl will come with me."

  Richard shook his head slightly as he spoke. "I can't allow that. If I give her to you, she will fall into the hands of the church. As much as I respect your commander, he won't go against the king's orders now."

  "Are you willing to risk your life to protect the cursed one that destroyed the city of Cartan?" Veksian simply asked.

  "Not only her... The Church and the deities will want to study her abilities and the characteristics of her soul. Because of this, we will lose the trust of the Reincarnators forever and their sympathy. If she is simply killed as a Cursed One, most of the Reincarnators will not forgive us, no matter what."

  "The reincarnators value each other very much and will definitely take revenge. Most of them will easily reach [Special] rank, and the strongest will reach [Legendary]. Their absence alone makes victory over the Archdemon doubtful. If we fight against them, we will definitely lose."

  "It's my choice to not let that happen and keep their trust. Besides, unlike the church and the deities, I see people as they are." Richard said.

  "That's honorable and quite logical. But you should know, I won't go against orders." Veksian nodded several times after listening to Richard. Then he continued. "Let's say, why don't I teleport her straight to the fortress?"

  Veksian asked, his arcane affinity of the elusive space made all his teleportations practically inevitable and Richard knew about it too.

  "Because her soul will remain in my hands."

  Raising an eyebrow, Veksian asked the next question in surprise. "You're ready to kill her after all these words?"

  "No, of course not." Richard shook his head. "I can always resurrect her later."

  "It's cruel, but I can understand. I hope you've thought carefully about your choice. I won't hold back." Meeting Richard's eyes, Veksian smiled. His smile had a spark of madness and pure anticipation of a great fight. "I hope for a good fight!"

  Richard's thin smile remained the same, but in his eyes, a challenge and great interest became visible. Raising the flute to his lips, Richard spoke.

  "Magic World."

  As soon as the words left his lips, Aura covered the area for several kilometers, making the forest extremely mysterious and fantastic.

  Veksian looked around and spoke. "Not bad, it's a 9th level spell. Your power is equal to that of an Archmage, if you continue at this pace you might be able to reach "Domain!"

  Veksian's smile widened and he responded with his own spell.

  "Ha-ha, Master of Space!"

  Waves of blue-violet mana emanated from his body in all directions, and they were absorbed into space itself, making it soft for Veksian and insurmountable for others. Now only he could use space magic.

  Warming up his arms, Veksian began the fight, swinging his blades. Their edges came out from the space around Richard, threatening to cut him in half.

  Several spirit clones emerged from Richard's body, blocking the attacks with flutes. Several shock waves were heard, but the spirits remained motionless. Not a single tree or leaf on the bard's territory moved from the created wind.

  Richard touched his lips to the flute and began to play. The melody was fantastic, the strong mana spread in waves of sound throughout the surroundings, influencing the forest. Thousands of colorful butterflies appeared around Richard, flying in all directions.

  Veksian ignored them and continued to strike with the blades that appeared around Richard. Each subsequent blow of his sword was stronger and faster than the last, but they were all blocked by the appearing copies of the Bard, holding a flute in their hands.

  In less than a second, Veksian had struck 50 times, and not a single one of them had hit the target. The spirits of the bard appeared without stopping, blocking his attacks, waiting and blocking the next ones. Several dozen shock waves were heard at any given moment. They were heard for many kilometers, but still could not affect the surroundings.

  The bard's magical music began to change the trees, leaves, and earth, bringing something magical into them. The forest began to glow with a mystical light, the leaves that fell from the trees floated in the wind, dissolving without a trace. Images of spirits, fairies, and other fairy-tale creatures appeared, indistinguishable from real ones.

  Hundreds of [Zagrint Twin Blades] strikes rained down on Richard. They appeared out of thin air, in the most unexpected places, completely surrounding the bard. But each time they hit the flute in the spirit's hands. The blades struck, sending out waves of force, but it was all useless. The bard had no scratches, the spirits were motionless, and the flutes were invulnerable.

  A butterfly flew to Veksian, the blade that appeared cut it in two and it fell to the ground, so that magical vines grew out of it and entangled him. Vexian cut them as well, but they continued to grow more and more until there were too many of them. Forcing him to teleport to the nearest tree. Wooden Ent arms appeared from it too, trying to grab him, but they were also destroyed.

  Veskian teleported to another place, but there he was attacked by fairies. At each subsequent place where he appeared, he was attacked by created creatures. Veskian's smile became crazier and he spoke with great joy, continuing to teleport every moment.

  "You haven't disappointed me, let's see what you're really worth!" Veksian's voice was inaudible even to himself, due to his speed and Richard's melody, but the will in his voice was easy to understand. He was going to hit harder.

  Veksian teleported from one place to another, so fast that he wasn't even there. Any created being didn't even have time to realize that he was there a moment ago, when he was already in a third place. His attacks didn't stop the whole time, being blocked by flutes and he decided to change strategy.

  Instead of attacking Richard, he struck at one of the distant spirits. His sword appeared behind him, no matter how fast the spirit was, he did not have time to dodge. Zagrint's blade cut him in two, after which the spirit disintegrated in the air along with an unknown flute in his hands.

  Richard showed no reaction to the spirit's death, which Veksian found odd, but continued to attack. Although most of the attacks were blocked, four more spirits were destroyed in the next second. As the last one died, Veksian noticed a thin scar appear on Richard's arm, exactly where he had struck the spirit. Smiling wider, Veksian redoubled his efforts.

  Richard began to play another melody, it was no longer magical and beautiful, it was quiet and tragic. The first notes of the flute spread out and created a visible distortion of sound that flew to the next place of Veksian's teleportation. He was faster by a split second and barely avoided the blow. The tree was simultaneously blown and erased, the magic of sound was pure destruction.

  Veksian smiled and began using techniques. He became even faster, destroying several more spirits while dodging the sound magic that was destroying everything into dust. He made false teleportation marks, or cast it in dozens of places at once. So even if someone could sense his teleportation spell, he would not know what to attack.

  The spirits died and scattered in the wind, and the bard was increasingly covered with thin white scars. Each of them was supposed to cause damage to his soul. This amazed Veksian, he had never met such a resilient person.

  Continuing his attack, he spoke. "Are you really willing to suffer the death of your soul for the sake of a girl?"

  "They're just scratches." Richard replied, using magic to create his voice.

  A new spirit emerged from Richard's body, but unlike the others, it did not have a flute in its hands. This immediately alerted Veksian, causing his smile to widen.

  The spirit reached out to Richard's body and took up the unremarkable sword on his belt. At the same time, Richard began to play another piece of music. It was so sweet, despite the many defenses of his mind and sou. Melody it made Veksian's thoughts slow down and become distracted by all sorts of nonsense. He teleported and felt that it was much slower than before. It was not just his slowed perception.

  Veksian laughed like crazy and, not believing what was happening, spoke.

  "Ahahahaha! You were able to slightly limit my Space magic! This is incredible! Until now, only the Basilisk and the Higher Demon could do this! I can even feel the limitation on teleportation beyond your territory! Hahaha!"

  Veksian stopped laughing as the strange spirit of the bard swung its sword at him. He didn't see or feel the attack or anything else flying towards him, but he used teleported anyway.

  Once in another place, he saw how the trees, rocks and ground behind him were cut in a straight line. Turning his gaze to this weapon, Veskian assessed it.

  [Perfect Wind] [Legendary++]

  [Tens of thousands of years ago, the High Spirit of Wind, Siren, was mortally wounded in battle while protecting the Sapling of the World Tree, Wicca. Knowing that if he clung to life, he would be unable to protect anyone, he channeled all of his powers into a sword created by the finest elven blacksmith. Over the eons, the sword was improved and enchanted, becoming one of the elves' finest weapons until it was lost.]

  "I know the story! The Elf, Archmage Ieris, he disappeared and the Perfect Wind was lost." Veksian said as he teleported once more, dodging the thin wind.

  Richard continued to play the melody, affecting Veksian more and more, but he finally responded to him. He created his voice with magic and spoke.

  "The name of the sword in our language translates as Perfect Wind ." The spirit holding the sword swung it, sending a wave of blue flames at Veksian. "Although it would be more correct to say Wind Capable of Anything."