Facing the blood-red skull's frenzied assault, Frieren's defensive magic held firm with effortless ease.
For a moment, the battlefield fell into a stalemate.
Shane gripped his sword and stayed off to the side, safely watching the fight unfold.
Against the legendary mage who had once slain the Demon King, he truly couldn't imagine how a mere skull could possibly win.
Just as he was leisurely evaluating the situation, the skull—unable to break through for so long—suddenly changed tactics and charged straight at him.
What the hell?!
No sense of fairness at all!
Startled, Shane instinctively drew his sword and slashed.
Crackle.
The blade roared down wrapped in lightning, instantly shattering the skull into a cloud of black mist. Silver-white lightning surged wildly through the churning haze, releasing sharp, agonized screams.
Shane sucked in a breath. Why did that sound… kind of painful?
Before he could think further, the black mist gathered again, reforming into the skull and rushing back to engage Frieren.
Frieren continued to intercept the black mist's attacks with her defensive shields while raining down a massive volume of magical beams during the gaps in its assault. For a time, the sky was a chaotic exchange of black and white, back and forth, quite a spectacle.
Shane continued watching calmly.
But the longer he watched, the more something felt off.
Compared to how he could disperse the black mist with a single strike, Frieren—who was countless times stronger than him—was somehow fighting it to a standstill!
The mist couldn't harm Frieren, not even breaking her defensive shield.
But Frieren couldn't deal meaningful damage either. Her precise magic strikes vanished into the mist like stones sinking into the sea—without a trace.
"This isn't right."
Shane's mind raced, and he quickly grasped the key point.
Attack cancellation.
The black mist the skull could release and retract at will acted as its own magic shield. Both sides were masters of magic, and their attacks were simply landing on each other's magical barriers. In the end, the attacks canceled each other out, rendering them useless.
"Frieren, use binding magic! I'll cut it down!"
Hearing Shane's shout, Frieren didn't hesitate. She instantly altered her spell structure, and a pale yellow chain shot forward, wrapping tightly around the skull.
[Binding Magic]
This spell restricts the target's movement.
Once restrained, the skull lost its ability to attack. Seizing the moment, Shane swung his lightning-wreathed blade down.
Perfect force.
Just like before, the strike shattered the skull into black mist. Silver lightning crackled through it, drawing out another wave of piercing screams.
It worked!
"Magic can't hurt it—lightning can!"
Frieren understood immediately. The moment the mist reformed, she wasted no time—[Binding Magic] struck again.
Shane's lightning blade followed right after.
The two coordinated seamlessly, beating the mist-skull into a chorus of agonized shrieks.
After several rounds, the once-massive skull shrank with each strike, until it was no larger than a human head.
"Final blow!"
Filled with fighting spirit, Shane swung his lightning blade repeatedly, even throwing in a flourish.
Just as he thought the battle was about to end, something unexpected happened.
Another attribute on his sword was accidentally triggered:
[Flashbang (Blue/Rare)]: Swing the blade to unleash a powerful burst of white light, blinding all targets within range for 3 seconds.
"Ah! My eyes!"
With Shane's scream, both he and the skull were blinded at the same time.
The moment he lost his vision, Shane realized his mistake.
'Why did I put [Flashbang] on a melee weapon?! This should've gone on throwing knives or a bow!'
Now he was done for.
Whether the skull even had eyes—or could be blinded—he didn't know. But he knew he was in serious trouble.
Frieren reacted as quickly as ever. The instant Shane was blinded, her defensive magic activated.
But to her surprise, the skull neither attacked nor showed any sign of being blinded. Instead, after the flash, the black mist was completely dispersed.
The skull transformed into a gentle white mist, which slowly enveloped Shane.
"It hurts so much! Help me…"
"Mom, save me… Mom…"
"My leg—my leg! Ah, help…!"
"Please save me… someone, please…"
Shane couldn't see, but he could hear countless voices around him—men, women, elders, children.
They were crying, pleading for help, filled with unbearable pain.
And among them, he heard that terrifying, manic voice:
"Hahaha! It's all for humanity's final victory! Teacher, we're almost there! Almost there!"
In an instant, he understood who those voices belonged to.
They were the victims of that hooded figure—the ones reduced to blood and shattered limbs in failed experiments.
Shane's heart felt like it had been struck by a hammer.
If he hadn't been lucky enough, he might have been one of those voices.
He quietly listened to their fragmented words.
They didn't even know what had happened. Their bodies had been torn apart by magic, their souls dragged into darkness. They didn't belong to this world. They wanted to leave, to return home—but it was impossible.
They were trapped in a lightless magical prison, reduced to ghosts wandering the mines.
Day after day, their souls were eroded by darkness, consumed by hatred, until they lost their memories and forgot who they once were.
All that remained was obedience—to guard the secret deep underground.
A few days ago, the dungeon had collapsed and been destroyed. They lost their shelter, left with nowhere to go.
The resentment accumulated over a thousand years finally erupted. They possessed the townspeople, trying to use human hands to rebuild the dungeon.
Now, that resentment controlling them had been shattered. Their memories returned.
They no longer wanted to return to that magical prison.
They wanted to go home.
But rootless souls could not reach the "heaven" of eternal rest.
And they could never return to their distant homeland.
"Please help us."
"Please… help us."
Endless pleas echoed in his ears.
Shane slowly opened his eyes—his vision had returned.
The black mist and skull were gone.
In their place stood a small girl, tears streaming down her face.
Her body, formed of white mist, looked thin and fragile, while the surrounding darkness eagerly tried to gather around her again.
She stared at Shane, then gently smiled and tilted her head upward.
Shane looked at her in silence for a moment, then spoke softly:
"Extract."
In an instant, a faint blue light was pulled out and hovered before him.
The girl's form shattered into particles of magic and completely dissipated.
Obtained attribute: [Rootless Soul]