Valerian, The Legendary

103 Nightmare.

Valerian was quick on his feet, he ran behind the small fox, calming down the chaos and opening a path for him. The distance that had taken him a whole day earlier, was just covered in a few moments. The silver-haired boy said, “After this, you come to find me at the city gate.”

That said, he cast a wind spell as he jumped up high. Valerian could leap for five meters in the void, and with a few wind spells, he reached the top of the wall. He looked at the sentries on the wall and said, “What is the situation?”

The sentry told him everything and Valerian nodded. Then he instructed them to follow the silver fox, and inform the others not to harm it. The sentry did not understand what was going on, but he could tell, that the authority of this child was not shallow. Valerian jumped down from the edge of the city and entered the city.

He was headed in the direction pointed by the sentry at a fast speed, he knew that time was short and on the way, the fox had given him a few hints about the Dream Serpent. If things were not solved by the time the sun rises, it will be even more tricky and difficult for the city to survive. Who knew how many people were entrapped in the dream? Thinking about it, he could not help but move faster.

Magic was a convenient thing, once it was o be used properly, everything became easier. Valerian reached in front of the house and watched Vulcan, who was about to cross the door and enter the building. He said, “Stop!”

His voice was strong enough to be heard by the people, and Vulcan turned to look at him. and asked, “Valerian, what happened outside? Are things okay?”

The boy came to stand in front and replied, “Your grace, things are under control and the beast tide had started to recede. However, we made a mistake. There are not two charming foxes, but one fox and a dream serpent.”

As soon as his words dropped, Vulcan’s pupil constricted. He looked at the eastern horizon and said in a solemn tone, “How could it be this? What do we do now? The second prince is inside with Quies and Snare. We cannot get the enemy till that beast is inside.”

Valerian nodded and said, “I agree, but you cannot stand against a dream serpent without a shadow mage.”

.....

Vulcan thought about it and nodded, “What you stated is correct. The dream serpent needs to be controlled, and only the shadow can do this. But we do not have any shadow mage in the city.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “Even if we do, you will have to deal with two grandmasters and one prince. You must be aware that those three cannot be harmed.”

Vulcan was surprised, he missed out on this detail. Not only did he have to face the enemy inside the building but also his allies that has been put under a spell. This was simply a pit dug by the enemy for them to jump in and die. He could not do this, otherwise, the city will fall, and with it, thousands of lives as well.

Valerian thought for a minute and asked, “The blood guard did not go inside, right?”

Vulcan shook his head, and said, “No they did not”

The child nodded and asked, “Do you have any way to make them heed your command?”

The duke understood what this child wanted and nodded, as he took out a medallion from his waist and channeled his mana inside it. He said, “This is the blood medallion. Any blood guard in the vicinity will get signaled by the resolution, and then come over to answer the call of duty.”

Valerian nodded and they did not have to wait for long before the other blood guards came over to surround the building. Vulcan nodded to them as they all knelt on one knee. He said, “You all are needed here. Valerian will pass on the instructions.”

The blood guard did not reply, but their gazes all shifted to the child in front. They knew his identity and had been told by the Emperor, to look after and help Valerian if needed. Valerian said, “The second prince is inside, he is charmed by a spell from a dream serpent. Along with him, Old man Quies, and Snare are also inflicted. Your task is to get inside and occupy them. However, while doing this, please keep your ears closed, you must not let any sound get through your ears.”

The people nodded and they immediately tore off a small part of their clothes to make a makeshift earplug with it. When they were done. Valerian also did the same, and they moved inside the house. The boy gestured to them with his hands and led the group straight to the staircase. He told them to be careful as they all moved upstairs. The blood guards were elites and they did not make any unnecessary action.

Valerian saw three shadows forming on the wall. Although dull, Valerian was able to make out the positions of the three people guarding this place. Yes, the three of them were standing right above the staircase. The silver-haired child gave them all silent instructions, and without climbing the stairs he cast a spell in low voice, “Terra Liga.”

He cast this spell three times and directly bound the three people. He waved his hand and the blood guard took action. They had a few seconds before at least the two of them break through the binds. In the meantime, Valerian had to get around the chaotic confrontation and deal with the dream serpent.

This magical beast was able to effortlessly control human thoughts and consciousness, because of the rattle of its tale. This rattle emitted a sound that made the people subconsciously calm down, and when they put down their guards and instincts, humans are the best puppets. This magic beast would then cast an illusion spell and take complete control. The best way to take it out of the business was to cast a mind snare spell against it or directly kill it, but the beast was quick and slippery as well.

So, things were definitely not as they seemed to be. The blood guard engaged in battle, and Valerian took advantage of the scene and rushed through the deliberate gap exposed by the nine guards. They were all grade seven warriors, So while two of them held down Vertex, the rest divided their effort to hold the two grandmasters, Even if they were legendary level strong, they could not take action against someone who was in complete control while they were playing puppets.

Valerian moved through the gap and came to the room at the end of the lobby. He did not let the three people take the chance to attack him, because he was tired and aware that he would not be in a good condition to deal with them if this happened. They were stronger than him after all. He was not a fool to just skip realms to fight.

Valerian had just reached the room when he felt slightly lightheaded. He understood that the magical beast inside was strong. Even after the ears were tied, this thing could affect him. He could not enter the room just because he wanted to. If the enemy held any cards in their hands and if they trapped him, things will become a nightmare simply.

He looked at the gap between the door and the floor and said, “Serpens Flammarum.”

A small snake made of fire condensed on the floor and following Valerian’s intentions slithered inside the room. What followed after a few seconds was a chain of screams. Valerian did not know the interior of the room, but he made the small snake move along the wall and set everything.

This move was decisive, he guessed that the people inside would not be mages. This was a gamble. He did not wait, kicked the door open, and found two people shocked by the sudden flames. They looked at him because of the loud noise and Valerian cast the mind snare spell.

The two men were shocked and Valerian rushed in, unsheathed his sword, and flicked it on their necks with no hesitation. The two men lost their lives while stuck in a nightmare.

The child looked around and used snake tongue, ‘Come out and stop using your charm spell. I do not bear you any ill-will. See, I have taken off my earplugs as well.’

He took off the cloth covering his ears, displaying his action of trust, and negated the fire spell. As if intimidated by a stronger presence a snake with a triangular head and shiny scales came out from under the bed. The beast replied timidly, ‘Please do not kill me. I did not have any other way, they were going to kill my mate.’

Valerian raised his eyebrow and asked, ‘Where is your mate now?’

The snake did not waste time and crawled to a locked trunk, Valerian did not approach but simply cast a wind blade. The lock came off and the trunk was pushed open from inside. Another dream serpent came out. Valerian let out a sigh and thought, ‘Nightmare ends now.’