The Black Necromancer

Whoosh!

Several figures tore through the sky at a brisk pace, eating up an incredible distance with each passing moment.

"Whoever took him knows we are on their tail." Dorian told the others as they traveled. They picked up the pace, and before they knew it, they had spent a half a day flying over the sea.

"I see land!" Richard called out and everyone's faces tightened up. They had kept note of where they were going, and they noted that the path of their flight conveniently avoided the island where Ashtar had set up his base. They had come straight to the Demon Continent!

"At this rate, we might only find Leon when it is already too late." Jet clenched his fist.

"Not necessarily so. We are already close to the attacker. They are just using a cloaking spell or treasure to hide from our senses." Dorian shook his head. All he could do right now was to vaguely tell the direction Leon was in. He was unable to give a precise location unless he stopped to carry out a much more complex ritual, which was something that would take time.

"I can buy us some time." Leonidas suddenly said.

"What? How?" Even Richard was surprised.

"...It is not something I use often, but I can seal up this place for a temporary amount of time. If we can catch the culprit here, then perhaps we can rescue Leon and return before it is too late." Leonidas said with a firm tone. He was exposing one of his trump cards for the sake of Leon, and he would make sure Leon knew just how much Leonidas had bet on his safety.

"Great! If we can stop the culprit for even ten seconds, then I should be able to narrow down their location!" Dorian's eyes sparkled and he immediately prepared to get to work. A small, pink crystal that had streaks of gray energy within it appeared in his grasp and he looked to Leonidas, ready to act.

"Now!" Leonidas grunted and a wave of grayish-blue energy erupted from him. A complex magical array, that had been inscribed onto Leonidas' back by the Chief Priest of Dardan's Temple in Gublin, glowed brightly as it was activated. This advanced sealing spell was not one of Leonidas' personal moves, but had been given to him for protection a long time ago, when he became the Emperor.

The shadow of a gray clock appeared behind Leonidas, and the world around him for the next few miles seemed to be frozen in time. A stream of blood leaked out from Leonidas' nose as he pumped his mana into the magical array, keeping it operating at its maximum range and maximum power.

Dorian immediately got to work, his eyes glowed as the pink crystal in his hand shattered into tiny bits. A surge of blinding mana forced everyone to shield their eyes, but it was almost as if Dorian's soul had left his body. He did not even flinch.

The blinding light only lasted for ten seconds before vanishing, together with the pink crystal.

"Found them!" Dorian exclaimed and Leonidas turned to look at him without withdrawing the strange time stopping barrier. Luckily, his allies were not affected by the time stop.

Dorian pointed in a direction and they immediately sped in that direction. Before long, they saw the person they were seeking. An Undead shrouded in black armor was currently slowed to a crawl by Leonidas' time stopping barrier, which was a shocker in itself. No one except for those he chose were supposed to be able to move under the effects of the barrier!

Leonidas' eyes narrowed down to slits and he cocked back his fist, a black wave of energy dancing across his knuckles.

'Ender's Fist!' Leonidas roared in his heart as his fist struck downward and slammed into the Undead being that was suspected of abducting Leon.

Bang!

The figure of the Undead was sent flying away and down into the sea, but before it could go down deep, the space around it flickered and it appeared in the sky again. Jet's fist was clenched as he manipulated the space around them to bring back the Undead.

However, the sight they were met with was not what they had expected.

"Ha! You caught me off guard, and it took a while for me to work off the effects of this time spell. But unfortunately for you, it is not that easy to stop me." Garrix chuckled deeply. He was wrapped up tightly in a bubble of dark red mana, a defensive treasure which fought off the effects of Leonidas' time zone. It was not perfect, which was why he had been caught at first, moving slowly, but it was enough for him to slowly shake off the effects of the time zone which slowed him down.

"Foul creature, return to us the one you have taken." Dorian's eyes blazed with righteous fury as he felt the waves of vile energy swirl around Garrix.

"Make me." Garrix laughed manically as he opened his arms widely. A sudden surge of mana alarmed everyone present as they realized that they had fallen for a trap.

HUMMM!

The air around them buzzed with a sudden surge of mana, and in the next moment, they were all transported to an unfamiliar location.

"HAHAHAHAH! YOU FOOL!" Garrix suddenly exploded into a fit of manic laughter as they arrived in the middle of a wide open plain that was surrounded by a large army. Many powerful auras flared as soon as they appeared, causing the faces of the allied defenders to pale.

"We were set up!" Richard swore.

"Imbeciles. Did you think I would not plan to take down anyone who followed me? Now, pay for your foolishness!" Garrix bellowed as a wave of powerful attacks rained down on the cornered defenders.

Everyone prepared to cast their most powerful defensive spells and fight for their lives, but before they could retaliate, a crisp, cracking sound rang out clearly through the plain.

Crack!