The man gave the woman a gentle kiss.
After the kiss, the man straightened his body and looked at the woman with an extremely serious gaze. He took a deep breath, then his lips part and he began to recite a complex and obscure Spell.
"Ke...Rite...Rasmus...Dora..."
As the Spell was continuously chanted, the surrounding temperature plummeted, and the air grew thick with an eerie presence. Dark clouds in the sky slowly gathered, and the insects and ants in the grass frantically emerged from their burrows to flee the area.
Visible to the naked eye, a corrosive Energy spread out from the center where the man and the woman’s bodies lay, withering grass and plants wherever it reached.
The man continued chanting the Spell, his voice growing louder and louder. After a while, a gray Energy Ball formed in his hands.
The man, holding the Energy Ball no larger than an apple, trembled under its immense weight, his teeth clenched tightly as he strived to maintain Balance, and he slowly pushed the Energy Ball toward the woman’s body.
The Energy Ball made contact with the woman’s body, then the man pressed it inch by inch into her.
The woman’s body shuddered slightly, revealing significant changes on the outside, her complexion no longer pale but now somewhat flushed with color and her skin regaining some of its elasticity.
Seeing this transformation, the man showed a wild joy, ignoring his own weakness, and prepared to cast another Spell.
The eerie presence around them grew even denser, cold wind howled, the light dimmed, and the night deepened into a thick, sticky darkness.
The man’s voice was high-pitched and sharp as he chanted, and on the final syllable, another Energy Ball emerged in his hands.
Compared to the previous Energy Ball, this one was larger and nearly pure black in color, like a Black Hole that could absorb all light.
With shaking hands from excitement, the man moved the black Energy Ball toward the woman’s body, which now showed signs of response, slowly raising her upper body as if to actively welcome the black Energy Ball.
The man’s body shook with excitement as he hurried the black Energy Ball closer to the woman, ready to forcefully press it into her body.
But just then, a "swoosh" of a noise broke the silence.
A sharp blade easily pierced the fragile flesh; a black dagger went straight through the chest, and a large spurt of dark red blood gushed from the man’s back.
The man first froze, his eyes widening in shock as he looked down at his chest, staring at the bloody hole that had appeared. Then he helplessly watched the Energy Ball, which was about to be infused into the woman, "pop" like a bubble and disperse.
With a dull thud, the woman’s recently raised upper body fell heavily to the ground and lay motionless. The flush of color drained from her face, leaving her paler than before; her skin lost all its elasticity, becoming stiff and cold like a stone.
The man cried out loudly, agony and fury filling his voice like an injured beast roaring in pain.
His eyes turned blood red, and he suddenly stood up, completely ignoring the blood flowing from the wound in his chest, staring viciously towards the direction of the attack, teeth clenched.
The next moment, in the direction the man was looking, a young man with a head full of green hair appeared.
"Who are you?" the man asked the youth, his voice slightly breathless as though he was desperately trying to control his emotions, preventing a rampage.
The green-haired youth looked at the man. His expression was quite calm; he nodded slightly and introduced himself with an icy but polite tone, "My name is Raymond. I’ve come specifically to stop you."
"Raymond? Stop me? Why!" the man demanded, his teeth gritted, eyes nearly spitting fire.
"Why?" Raymond, hearing the man’s question, curled the corners of his mouth proudly and answered, "Simple, because... corpses are not to be desecrated by you. You have committed an unforgivable sin."
"It’s not desecration! She is my love, and I am saving her!" the man shouted.
"Heh!" Raymond chuckled, addressing the man, "Whether it’s desecration or salvation, your words don’t count; ours do! Because you don’t really know what you’re doing, nor do you know the consequences of your actions! Only we know the truth, so we’re the ones to stop you from violating it.
In fact, do you know? Your very existence is a violation of the truth! Whether it’s you as a person or the evil Death Magic you wield, neither should exist in this world. If they do appear, then they must be annihilated."
"Ha, is that so!" the man retorted upon hearing Raymond’s words, the muscles on his face twitching as he painfully glanced at the female corpse, his entire being teetering on the edge of rampage.
"You’re trying to kill me, right? Well then, let’s see if you have the ability! Or perhaps, it’s I who will kill you, taking revenge for Sofia!"
The man bellowed, stomping his foot heavily. His body created afterimages as he rapidly closed in on Raymond. During the approach, a large amount of black mist flowed out of his sleeve, coalescing into a heart-stealing black scythe held tightly in his right hand. He brought it down heavily on Raymond, aiming to cleave Raymond into two halves.
Facing the man’s ferocious attack, Raymond didn’t dare to take it lightly. He quickly cast a spell, conjuring a deep blue Energy Shield in front of him to fend off the man’s attack. He then drew a Short Wand from his sleeve, holding it in hand, ready to prepare his follow-up Attack Magic to give the man a taste of his strength.
However, what surprised Raymond was when the phantom scythe struck his Energy Shield, not a ripple appeared on its surface. Instead, the scythe and the man himself suddenly "poofed" into a large cloud of black mist, slowly dissipating into the air.
Was that... an illusion?
Raymond’s eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly turned his head to scan the surroundings, searching for the man’s real whereabouts. In a moment, he saw the man appear dozens of meters away, the hole in his chest nearly filled with black mist to stop the bleeding, his body fleeing rapidly in the opposite direction.
Damn it, I’ve been tricked!
This thought crossed Raymond’s mind.
At that moment, the man was wrapped in a faint purple energy, speeding up even more, and began to rise off the ground.
The man’s resentful and bitter voice carried over the distance to Raymond, "You damn bastard, don’t think I’m running away because I’m afraid of you. It’s just that the damage your sneak attack caused is really serious, and I cannot afford to die easily. If I die, all hope will be lost.
Bastard, just you wait, once I leave this place, heal my wounds, and increase my strength, I will definitely come back to seek revenge! I swear, for Sofia, I’ll grind you into mincemeat!"
Hearing these words, Raymond’s eyes narrowed into slits as he rapidly calculated the distance between him and the man, judging whether he could catch up if he gave chase with all his might. After reaching a less than ideal answer, he pursed his lips, feeling a bit of anger. Part of it was due to the man’s cunning, and another part due to his own carelessness.