Return of the Runebound Professor Chapter 932: The Charm

“Spider?” Kali asked. Her crimson eyes narrowed as she let out a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “And you had the nerve to say that I was edgy?”

Kali felt the magic within her hungry to consume its prey. The man before her was nothing more a bug, just like his name suggested. Killing him should have been easy. Her first attack had nearly ended the fight. Even whatever skill he’d used to somehow destroy her power had faltered under the constant assault she’d sent his way.

He was weaker than her. She had no doubt about that. Perhaps he was at the earliest stages of Rank 6 with a relatively poorly combined Rune. He might have even been an insanely talented Rank 5. It didn’t matter. Either way, she was weaker.

But the way he’d dealt with her second attack…

Something had changed.

Her instincts were screaming bloody murder. It wasn’t even the magic that Spider had used. It was his demeanor. His stance.

His presence.

They’d shifted.

There was a coldness to it that hadn’t been there before. An emptiness like a devouring void that seemed to pull all the light around him in, swallowing it and leaving behind nothing but an empty nothingness. He seemed… hollow.

And Kali had not gotten this far by being a complete fool. A mage’s instincts were one of their most powerful weapons. When her instincts told her that something was wrong, she listened.

So instead of bringing the full might of her power crashing down on Spider’s head once more, she hesitated.

“Two things can simultaneously be true,” Spider replied.

Kali’s eyes narrowed even further. Even his voice had changed. It hadn’t just been her imagination. There was something adjacent to malice and akin to what could only be a god complex within his tone. Spider sounded like he was speaking to a being so far beneath him that it caused him physical pain to acknowledge its existence.

It wasn’t the kind of haughtiness that came from a rich family or a privileged life. It wasn’t the pride of a man who had never struggled a day in his life or who had been born talented. This was the flat, lifeless ego of a warrior who had slaved away every day to claw each scrap of power. A warrior who had earned their magic one determined step at a time. Who had each mistake carved into their skin in a painful reminder to never make again.

It was the ego of a warrior who already knew that he had won.

Kali knew it well, because it was the very same ego that burned within her own heart. But that wasn’t something you can just switch on and off. Either you had it or you didn’t.

Her lips thinned behind her mask. Split personality or not, he was still weaker than her. It didn’t matter if her opponent was worthier than she’d expected. She would burn him, just like she’d burned everyone else who had dared stand in her path.

Kali raised her hands, drinking deeper on her power. Then she clapped her hands together.

A hungry roar filled the air as it ignited. Five streamers of molten black flame exploded out before her, winding together in a braid as they rose up into the sky. A wave of magical pressure exploded out from Kali with enough force to send Spider skidding a foot back.

The flames she’d summoned tore apart, splitting into individual pillars of hungry death that streaked down toward Spider in rapid succession.

Spider vanished.

He reappeared on the far side of the arena — but the flames didn’t falter. They adjusted their course instantly to re-direct right toward him. They accelerated, transforming into little more than needles slicing through the air in a blur as they sought out their target.

Spider raised his hands. He blinked once again, this time reappearing where he’d originally been standing. The flames adjusted their course instantly. They were already nearly upon him by the time that he’d reappeared. But, before they could connect, a web of white cracks raced out all around Spider.

Kali felt her magic disappear. It had been straight up erased from existence.

Kali’s lips curled in amusement.

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“You’re tricky,” she said. “That’s an annoying combination of abilities. But it isn’t nearly enough to stop me.”

Then she drew on her magic once again. Spider’s weakness was, unfortunately, quite apparent. Unless there was more to his power than he’d let on, she already had him dead to rights.

Her wings of shadowflame snapped down, launching her into the air. Wind rushed past her as she left Spider far on the ground beneath her. She pointed her hands down toward him, the smile on her lips curling even wider.

She released the magic.

A shrill scream filled the air as bolts of hungry black shadowflame rained down in a furious hail. Dozens of streaks crashed down toward Spider, clustered so together that it almost seemed like a solid wall. But she didn’t relent. Instead of just sending a single wave of the attack, she sent multiple. Each one spaced apart, all composed of entirely different micro-spells that she’d cast in rapid succession.

Spider clapped his hands together. Red magic exploded around him to form into a hissing, electric barrier. Kali’s magic slammed into it with a roar, each blow sending small cracks ripping through his defenses. Tongues of angry red power reached out in attempt to corrupt her spells — but none of them lasted long enough to take. And even if he did manage to steal a few, there were hundreds more.

Kali’s reserves weren’t even close to drained. She could stay here for as long as she wanted. And, judging by the growing cracks in Spider’s defenses, he did not, in fact, have a counter to this. Kali poured even more magic into the deluge, sending wave after wave of deadly power hammering down on Spider in a relentless torrent.

It wasn’t the most honorable way to win. But Kali didn’t care. All that mattered was victory.

And now, it was just a matter of time.

***

Noah stood in his soul, staring at his seven Rank 5 Runes. He could feel power ebbing and flowing all around him as Spider fought. The amount of magic draining out of him made it very clear that he was running out of time. There was only so much time Spider could buy.

And Noah knew Spider’s thoughts. They were, after all, the same being.

Spider wasn’t trying to win the fight. It was impossible. At least, it was impossible to win without revealing their ability to come back to life. And Noah had no interest of playing that card yet.

That was fine. Spider didn’t need to win. He wasn’t even trying to fight at all.

All he was doing was stalling.

Noah gritted his teeth. He’d already started the combination several times, but he’d canceled it before the runes had even merged. His intent had been wrong, and he’d felt it each time. He could feel the time ticking away at the back of his head. His magic was running out.

He couldn’t afford to make a mistake. There was no room for—

Noah gritted his teeth. He forced the panic away from the front of his mind. It had no place here.

Noah blew out a slow breath and closed his eyes. His shoulders relaxed. His thoughts stilled.

He let himself revel in that second. The outside world didn’t matter. Spider would withstand. Even if he didn’t have a scrap of magic left, he would persevere. Because that was who Spider was.

That was who Noah was.

Then his eyes snapped back open.

Noah drew on the power within his soul. He focused his intent. Visualized the rune that he needed. And, with a clap and a brilliant flash of light, he brought his runes slamming together.

***

Spider’s barrier had almost shattered. The cracks riddling it were so extensive that it was a miracle that it hadn’t yet crumbled. But Kali had enough magic to keep this up for another few minutes, and Spider couldn’t draw on his other magic without losing his defense and getting fried into cinders in an instant.

She’d won. The end just hadn’t happened yet. At this point, all that remained was to see if he surrendered or died first.

Kali’s torrent of flame rippled. She only had an instant to notice it, an instant for a flicker of confusion to dance through her thoughts.

Then her power was torn apart, her flames snuffed like candles, as a wave of pressure slammed into her with enough force to break her nose on the spot. It tore her wings away from her, sending her tumbling back through the air.

Kali plummeted to the ground, landing on the edge of the arena. She hit the ground in a roll, ignoring the pain that shot through her shoulder as she staggered back to her feet.

Spider stood before her, his clothes whipping in an invisible wind as power lingered in the air all around him. It bore down on her shoulders like the foot of a great monster, trying to drive her down into the ground.

Not even Aqua Terra’s miasmic interference was enough to suppress his magic. Disbelief pounded in Kali’s aching skull. A moment of stillness hung over the arena.

Even as the air was crushed from her lungs, Kali could do nothing but stare in awe.

This feeling… shimmers of runic force dancing around Spider…

It almost seemed as if he’d ranked up.

Mid-fight.

“What?” Kali wheezed. “How? Is that even possible?”

But the force grinding onto her shoulders didn’t feel like anything close to what an early Rank 6 should have been capable of. Even if he had excess power from the combination… this should have been impossible.

Kali gritted her teeth. She dragged power in, rising back to her feet. Her teeth gritted as she shoved her surprise away. It didn’t matter. No matter how badly Spider had managed to take her off guard, it seemed he was a fool after all.

He was still weaker than her, and he hadn’t taken advantage of her momentary surprise.

Now he wouldn’t get another chance.

Even if he’d advanced to Rank 6 by some astronomical impossibility, it wouldn’t be enough. She was a half-step away from Rank 7. There was nothing a fledgling Rank 6 could do now that she was paying attention again.

“You should have struck when you had the chance,” Kali said. She raised her hands.

Spider’s empty gaze seemed bore into her skull, even from behind his skin-tight mask.

Then his head tilted to the side.

“No,” Spider said. “That isn’t good enough. Not even close.”

And, with a crack that echoed through the arena, the pressure that had been bearing into Kali evaporated as if it had never been there.

Disbelief exploded through her thoughts for the second time.

Behind his mask, Spider’s lips pulled up in a clear, cold smile.

A hungry one.

“Okay,” Spider said. “Let’s try that again.”