The Golem Mage Chapter 1088: Gun ------- 2.

A few moments prior, as Lucas and Brandon fell back to the eastern rune, Brandon proposed laying down a trap.

Lucas wasn't well-versed in trap mechanics, yet he deemed it worthwhile to attempt, since success would tilt things in their favor and failure might still buy time by distracting enemies for a crucial opening.

Following the idea, Brandon executed a sequence of hand seals, then shoved his palms forward across various spots near the rune.

Faintly brown semi-transparent earth hands erupted toward his chosen locations, burrowing into the soil without a trace, marked only by a fleeting glow that disappeared in a flash.

_ _

Returning to the present moment.

Brandon had been maneuvering slyly all along to draw them into the trap's zone, but they stayed just out of reach, and Damien's mastery of ranged combat made it far tougher, as he only needed to hold back and bombard them from distance.

That shifted instantly when Alec dropped in from overhead; his superior earth manipulation let him detect the trap immediately, prompting his curt order—'Move.'

He anticipated the Bloodline Academy mages tumbling into it, or barring that, securing an unobstructed shot free of distractions, yet the instant Damien pressed ahead—

—he sensed something amiss.

'Got you!'

Brandon's voice boomed.

[ Mid-Tier Spell – Quicksand Trap ]

Brandon shot his right hand ahead, fingers clenching like seizing an invisible prize, then wrenched his wrist as if cranking a hidden lever.

In a heartbeat, the terrain under Damien turned soft and gave way, morphing into a churning vortex of quicksand.

Damien lunged to break free, but sank even swifter instead; grasping that raw power failed, he swiftly pivoted to another approach.

He hastily amassed the lingering blood energy around him, molding it rapidly—a lengthy blood rope soon coiled in his hand, which he lashed toward a close stone pillar.

But prior to full extension, Brandon jabbed his left hand out, and the pillar disintegrated on the spot, breaking down into scattered sand.

Lacking any firm hold, Damien's escape vanished as quicksand yanked him under; simultaneously, Alec hit the ground in a graceful roll.

He wasted no time, hoisting his rifle to target Kira.

With Brandon and Lucas locked on finishing Damien, Kira faced a hasty rethink of her plan, precisely as she geared to charge in aid—

Bang! Bang!

Two shots cracked, slamming into her kneecaps.

'Shit!' she spat, legs going limp at once as she slammed face-down.

Alec felt a touch of surprise himself.

As he channeled mana into the rifle for gravity-infused rounds, his power surged through the barrel, sparking a subtle purple gleam in its shadowy frame.

The instant he pulled the trigger, the outcome shone clear: bullets embedding in Kira's legs unleashed crushing gravity, pinning her flat and barring any quick rise.

Awaking too late, she whipped her head to Alec, recalling he was the battlefield's real menace she dared not ignore; her concern for Damien exacted a heavy toll.

But glancing up revealed just his rifle barrel staring her down.

Bang!

Puchi!

Two sharp noises blended nearly as one, Alec's bullet first tearing through Kira's skull.

The follow-up marked Damien's chest skewered by a Qi spear; ever since the quicksand snared him, Lucas had hurled Qi spears without cease, and one at last landed true, punching through.

Typically, such strikes posed no issue for Damien to parry, yet he'd drained vast bloodline energy merely staving off deeper submersion.

A chilling hunch gripped him that total engulfment spelled graver peril.

His survival senses shrieked wildly, crippling proper shields while he battled to surface.

And then—after relentless volleys, a Qi spear from Lucas stabbed clean through his chest.

Damien's form dissolved into drifting motes, whisked off by winds, muttering oaths even in fading, braced for battlefield respawn.

Deep down, resolve hardened: Brandon must fall, now viewed as a dire foe.

_ _

Right then, two figures rematerialized at a nearby rune, Pale and Endrick emerging, clearly rattled.

'No one warned me that dying isn’t fun... I can still feel this lingering cold around my neck,' Pale remarked, exiting the rune circle with his right hand rubbing his throat.

'So, what’s our next move?' Brandon queried, glancing Alec's last spot, discovering it empty.

'Oh... I think he’s heading for the central region. He’s trying to reclaim the point,' Endrick replied, having caught sight pre-respawn; that likely drew their team here with allies close.

'That means we should regroup with him.' No dissent arose this round, given his earlier self-sacrifice for the center.

With the squad reassembled, everyone grasped the need to back Alec.

They launched skyward, speeding to the central rune, though others stirred too—far off, Carmilla and Connor ascended.

Still, they hung back, seemingly poised for Kira and Damien's revival prior to advancing.

After all, solo against the War God Mage Team seemed improbable, particularly with Dragov tied up reclaiming the west.

Suddenly, from distance, the central rune's hue wavered, slowly reverting to white.

Spotting it, clarity struck them all—the Domination Match's climax barreled in quicker than foreseen, all owing to Alec keeping his crew dominant.