Agent of Seraphim-Chapter 67: Cultist Skeleton

In front of Brand, a skeleton gripping a staff swept an arc in the air—a blue flame was glowing faintly in its empty eye sockets.

The air trembled, raging violently, as mana filled the air with each wave the skeleton made. Each ripple of mana seemed to sap away a bit of the chamber’s warmth, indicating the cost of each magical surge.

"It’s casting a spell..." Ruby breathed into his ear, her hands already weaving mana, preparing to counter the skeleton’s spell.

"Look closely, the duel between spell users," Seraphine whispered in his ears.

The ground trembled. Without warning, jagged spikes erupted beneath Ruby and him, attempting to impale both of them. It was an Earth elemental spell.

Brand, with his enhanced reflexes, lifted Ruby and leapt to safety. The spikes scraped the soles of Brand’s boots as he lunged forward. If he were just a tad bit slower, he would get pierced!

While still in Brand’s embrace, Ruby shot her spell onto the skeleton creature. A fireball blazed past his shoulder, slamming into the skeleton’s skull and sending smoke curling from its jaw.

Ruby whispered, "That fireball should stagger it. Ready for the next move?"

Brand nodded slightly, "Let’s finish this quickly."

Brand unleashed Scarab Shell in his foot, increasing the strength in his leg as he landed with Ruby in his arms.

"Your heartbeat is loud..." Ruby’s soft voice beside his ear.

"I’m nervous..." He tried to calm his mind, which was difficult to do. He was not bothered by the skeleton at all, but...

"Well, talking about heart..." The new spells he had earned flicked in his mind, as if begging to be released.

"Dark Flame."

A flame without light. That was Brand’s first impression of the flame in his palm. He let it consolidate in his palm before hurling it at the skeleton.

In response to his spell, the skeleton struck the ground with its staff. A wall of light sprang up before it, wedging in between his spell and the skeleton.

The light wall swallowed the dark fire, blocking his flame to having a direct landing on it.

"That’s a basic defensive spell," Ruby murmured, with her eyes narrowed, as if studying the spell.

Brand glanced at her. "I’ve never seen you use any deefensive spell..."

She shrugged with a sly smile. "I prefer offense. But we might need to adapt now."

They both looked away, focusing on the battle ahead, with smiles on their faces.

’Level 20... 4 levels below Raml-d’ah.’

Brand assessed the current situation in his mind. The cultist skeleton was obviously weaker than the mutated worm he faced, but this didn’t make it any less menacing.

The cultist skeleton could strategise and respond to Ruby and his attacks.

He steadied his breathing to stay calm.

’Let’s push this further.’

He allocated five stat points into INT.

Right after, his mind felt refreshed, as if a chunk of heaviness had been relieved from his head.

"Clear Mind." He whispered to boost his magic attributes further.

Next, the channelled energy and mana into the Dragon Heart.

Seraphine had told him earlier that the Dragon Heart was unique to Wyona, the ancient dragon. While others’ mana core could only cast spells using their mana reserve, the Dragon Heart could utilise both hit energy and mana together.

Power surged through him as he cast both Dark Flame and Dark Pulse, one in each hand, and twisted the two spells together into the skeleton’s magic shield.

The Dark Flame was intense and fierce, exuding a crackling hiss as it roared to life. In contrast,

Dark Pulse emitted a deep, silent void-hum, its presence felt more than heard, as if it absorbed surrounding noise.

Together, they moved like a shadowy whirlwind towards their target.

The two spells fused in midair, creating an image of a black dragon flying through the air.

The spell blasted in the magician’s defensive spell. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

—BOOM!!!

Shards of bone scattered as the skeleton tumbled. Its staff rolled across the stone floor, with its left thigh shattered.

Brand darted forward, taking the advantage of the skeleton’s loss of balance to launch close combat attacks on it. Even if the spells were effective, they were not strong enough to serve as a finishing blow.

His hand twisted and morphed into a gleaming blade. He slashed at the skeleton’s joints.

—CLANG!

Once again, a glowing shield appeared between them, blocking his attack. The skeleton leered, jaw creaking open, letting out a crackling sound of laughter.

A sudden chill stabbed through Brand’s gut. He gasped involuntarily as the blade pierced his abdomen, blood flooding his mouth.

Ruby rushed to his side. "Brand! You’re bleeding—can you hold on?"

"I’ll manage," Brand gritted through the pain. "Keep the skeleton busy."

He looked down and saw cold steel protruding from his body, blood dripping down his waist.

He staggered while gritting his teeth. With a snarl, he drove his foot into the skeleton’s ribcage, knocking it back.

His hand pressed against his wound. Hot blood seeping through his fingers. He tried to stop the bleeding.

A red text then flashed before his eyes.

[You have suffered a condition - Bleed.]

He understood the effect, as he had suffered the same while fighting the mutated worm. He had to make a quick decision.

To stay on the sidelines and heal the wound, or to make a quick first aid to continue fighting.

He pressed on.

He jammed a finger into the wound and wedged a scarab shell inside, forcing the bleeding to slow.

Ruby darted to his side.

Flames leaping from her palms. Each spell splashed against the skeleton’s shield, but she was unable to break through.

"Scarab Form."

Ruby’s voice was steady but urgent. "I’ll cover you—watch its joints!"

Armour seamlessly enveloped Brand’s body in sleek, black layers. Four beetles buzzed into position, guarding him like a shield.

He lunged at the skeleton, his arm morphed into a pincer resembling a beetle’s.

The pincer-arm slammed down, aiming at the skeleton’s skull.

’Break the d*mn skeleton’s skull!’

At the same time, the beetle scouts surged forward, grappling the skeleton’s joints with an iron grip.

The skeleton’s joint cracked, but the beetle held tight.

The skeleton struggled, grinding its limbs uselessly against the relentless grip. Brand’s chest heaved beneath the armour as he watched the last flicker of movement fade away.

Stillness fell. The skeleton was trapped, defeated, completely at Brand’s mercy.

No signal passed between them—Ruby’s hands were already moving, her spell primed to strike at the perfect moment.

Flames coiled and sharpened in her palms, forming a fiery nail that shot forward like a blazing arrow, piercing the skeleton’s chest. The flames burned from within.

Cracks spidered across the ivory bone, orange light pulsing through the fractures.

Brand’s gaze locked on the skeleton. Heat pressed in from every side. But a chill slithered down his spine.

The skeleton’s jaw twisted grotesquely, splitting impossibly wide in a grotesque, Glasgow smile.

For the first time, a flicker of life sparked in its hollow eye sockets.

’You got to be kidding...’

It leaned forward, jaw working like a sick mimicry of speech. A whisper slipped out, but it was too soft for Brand to catch.

Beside Ruby, her spirit beast’s hackles rose, its low growl urgent and sharp.

Ruby’s eyes widened in alarm. "Bring out the shield!" She barked, waving frantically, her voice cutting through the crackle of fire.

Brand’s stomach dropped. "Got it. Hold on!"

The skeleton spread its arms wide, bones glowing red-hot as the flames engulfed it. Blinding light swelled from its sockets, surging outward in a searing wave. The chamber was filled with unbearable white heat.

Brand yanked the Vibrant Shield from his pouch and thrust it hard into the ground between Ruby and the skeleton. He curled behind it, bracing for the impact.

—BANG!

A burst of searing light tore across Brand’s vision. The chamber shook with a deafening roar, dust and debris raining from cracked walls and crumbling ceilings.

The cultist skeleton had used its body as the price for its last spell—’Self Destruct.’

Waves of raw mana surged outward like a violent storm, shaking the floor beneath Brand’s feet. Pavement tiles buckled and lifted, shards of stone flying like deadly shrapnel.

Brand’s Scarab Shell absorbed much of the blast, but the impact still rattled his bones. Pain throbbed through his limbs as the armour strained under the force.

Behind the shield Brand had planted, Ruby’s breath hitched, her fingers gripping the edges as she struggled to hold her ground.

Brand’s chest heaved beneath the armour. ’I can’t just take this... I have to fight back.’

Summoning every ounce of strength, he pushed forward through the chaos. His hands flared crimson.

"Reverse Strike!"

The crimson wave surged from him, crashing into the tide of mana like a battering ram. The malicious energy fractured and recoiled.

An idea sparked in his mind. He wove his Chaos attribute into the crimson wave.

The energy vibrated violently, wild and destructive.

The skeleton’s remaining mana shattered under the chaotic blast, sparks fizzing into the charged air.

The chamber lay in ruin. Stone cracked, and dust thickened the air.

Ahead, rubble cleared to reveal the tunnel leading to the second worm statue.