Chapter 3563: Tezka’s Promise (Part 2)

Published Apr 10, 2026, 04:11 AM

*** "Someone had to end up fifth." The earth tail said. "After all, I’m one of the two suckers with no equipment." Zimer Gernoff had masterfully exploited the enemy’s lack of Spirit Magic to conjure air- and darkness-sealing arrays at the right moment to escape from the jaws of death. Whenever the earth tail came too close, an air-sealing array would negate his flying spell and send him diving down. Whenever Tezka tried to corner Zimer with his Chaos spells, a darkness sealing array intercepted them, wasting the Suneater’s efforts and mana. "Yeah, and there’s not much we can do against someone with Spirit Magic who focuses on running away." A second one-tailed Tezka appeared in front of Zimer, forcing him to a halt. "Sorry for the wait." "Don’t mention it." The Awakened racked his brain for a solution but found none before the barrage of spells coming at him from every direction turned him into dust. "Time to end this." *** Bashel Gernoff tried every trick he had been taught and that he could come up with during a high-speed chase, but nothing worked. The gravity tail’s flight speed was faster than anything Bashel could conjure and Spirit Warping solved nothing. Somehow, Tezka kept the passage open until he passed through, so the distance between them only got shorter. ’The only silver lining is that to power his gravity magic and keep up with my Spirit Flight Spell, he can’t focus on anything else.’ Bashel thought. ’That tail has yet to cast a single spell, probably to save mana. ’Unlike me, he can’t use a breathing technique and has just a fraction of the strength of the full Tezka. I only have to last until he runs out of mana and-’ Bashel slammed against an invisible wall as hard as Adamant with such violence that he almost lost consciousness. The shock and a serious concussion disrupted his flight spell, making him plunge toward the ground with watery eyes from his bloody nose. "Today is your lucky day, boy." Something slowed down the fall and brought the young man up in the air again. "You can relax. I’m not going to kill you anymore." A quick breath of Invigoration cleared the concussion and Bashel’s vision. The Fylgja floating in front of him had six tails and, to make matters worse, Life Vision confirmed Bashel he was trapped inside Tezka’s Chaos Dimension. The Awakened tried all his powers and the enchantments of his equipment, but the world energy rejected his touch. Bashel then tried to Spirit Blink but only an emerald fissure the size of a nut appeared. "I can’t suppress Spirit Magic, boy, but I can compress space." Tezka squeezed his fist, crushing the Blink like a fly. "Now stop squirming or I’ll make you. Are we clear?" It was no question or request. It was a promise. Bashel swallowed hard and nodded for the Fylgja to continue. "Good. You see, if I kill all of you, the Gernoff will only know that your assault failed and might try again in the future. Since you are the last one standing, I need you alive to deliver a message to your elders for me." Tezka said. "You’re lying." Bashel said as Tezka’s words gave him the final pieces of the puzzle. "About you being alive or the message?" The Fylgja said with a savage grin. "This is no coincidence." Bashel replied. "I’m not the last one standing because of my efforts. You kept me alive on purpose. That’s why you sent the gravity tail after me without equipment and cast no spells. You planned to capture me alive before the chase even started." "And why would I do that?" Tezka was pleasantly surprised by his prey’s wits. "To hide what your equipment can do and showcase only your most famous spells that the Gernoff already know." Bashel said. "The Suneater spell and Chaos Dimension are old news. It’s the same reason you wear your cloaking device. "To keep me from taking a look at your equipment’s enchantments." "You’re smart, boy. I have to concede that to you." Tezka nodded. "Now shut up and listen. You and your six dead companions have already wasted too much of my time. Tell your elders that as I said earlier, I don’t care about the Ernas. Explore hidden tales at freewebnovel "You can do anything you want with them. Yet if I see or even smell one of you Gernoff around my children again, I will make sure it’s also the last." Tezka grabbed Bashel by the armor, bringing his eyes millimeters away from the human’s. "Your children?" The Awakened echoed, his voice reduced to a high-pitched squeal due to the overwhelming bloodlust drowning him. "Did I stutter?" Tezka snarled, his amiable facade melting like snow under the sun. "Don’t make me repeat myself, boy. Because if I do, I will be standing on the burning ruins of your household. Did you get the message or do I have to repeat myself?" Bashel nodded like a frenzied parrot and the Fylgja let him go. "Good." Tezka’s lips curled up in a smile. "Go and pray we never meet again." A flick of his finger pierced the space in a Chaos Steps that sent Bashel Gernoff in the middle of the Blood Desert. The Gernoffs were trained to control and suppress fear. Since the day they grew into young men and women and completed the basic training, they didn’t hesitate to throw away their lives if it meant furthering the plans of their elders by just one move. Yet despite decades of psychological conditioning and the scorching heat of the Desert’s sun, Bashel found himself covered in a cold sweat. "What kind of power can cross such a distance in a moment?" He had appeared high in the sky and could see there was nothing around him for kilometers. "What kind of confidence does he have in his abilities not to need to follow me?" *** Ernas Mansion, at the same time. "I’m sorry for being so late." Vastor dabbed his sweat with a handkerchief. "A student failed a vitality-sharing spell spectacularly and almost killed herself and the patient. I had to stay until I was certain they were both out of danger. "I wasn’t worried about you because I knew you were in good hands." He nodded at Quylla who flushed a little with pride. "Do you mind if I give you and the baby a check-up? Just to be safe." "Of course." Jirni nodded, establishing a mind link the moment they touched. ’Did you send Zinya here to protect me?’ Jirni was both impressed and worried by Vastor’s move. Impressed because she didn’t think him cold-hearted enough to involve his wife in his schemes and worried because if he was capable of doing that to Zinya, he would do much worse to Jirni. ’Of course not!’ Vastor replied with a snort, making her inwardly sigh in relief. ’You know how much Zin loves children. When she learned I was stuck at the academy and you were giving birth, she told me she was coming to visit you. ’At that point, I knew you would be safe even without me and took my time. I would never put Zin and the kids in danger.’

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