The Runic Alchemist

Damian cursed and was just about to get his sword out when he heard wings flapping and the flying beastman landed near the two guys who were in the dark. Damian focused some more and when finally his eyes got adjusted to the darkness did he recognize the two knights who were part of his 'Infiltration crew'.

The bodies on the ground were of guards. Damian focused and extended his mana sense again but just four mana signature were moving besides him and Anthony who barely had any mana at all. The two belonged to the guards near the cells and other two patrolling guards. However the three people in front of him had no mana signature at all.

"What is going on here..?" Damian mumbled unintentionally.

The three knights walked up to them and just stared at Damian silently.

"Did you kill the patrolling guards..? What if the other guards don't see them and alerts everyone..?" Anthony said looking all nervous and scared.

"How in the hell are you here..?" The swordsman who was knocked down by Damian asked.

"Didn't Captain tell you to wait up..?" The spearman added some too.

"Why are you here, boy?" Beastman asked raising his one hand up to tell the knights to shut up.

"We got lucky. The stairs were nearer to the place we entered from." Damian calmly replied.

The beastman stared down at Damian for a while but at last he turned around and walked away in the one side of the corner, according to Damian's mana sense two more guards were just a little ahead from them. Damian and Anthony also joined the three knights and walked hurriedly behind them.

When just a few hundred meters were remaining between guards and them, the beastman gestured and the two knights got behind him in a triangle position.

Damian just stayed behind with Anthony, as the three knights tightened their grip on their weapons and waited, the moment the guards were in their line of sight the beastman rushed forward with a leap and decapitated one guard who was taken by surprise. The another was run over by the two knights before he could even get a second to think or scream.

'Something is up with these people, it's as if they have some kind of camouflage spell going on. Is it an ability of one of them..?'

However Damian had no time to think as they moved forward again. Not wasting any time, Damian got ahead of everyone and started walking in the direction of the cells. The layout was same as the floor above, big empty rectangle open space in between the connected rooms from all sides and just enough space for a hallway with them.

However unlike the empty land floor above, the hollow space was filled with dirt and stone here, only rooms and the hallway were there with barely any light to see at each few hundred meters. Damian could see why this might be considered an ideal place for prisoners. He himself was getting a little claustrophobic. There was no system for air circulation at all.

The beastman was just a few steps behind him and Damian had noticed the glaring stare that he was receiving from the man but he had no time to explain stuff to them, either they could follow him or go on their own way, he just needed the boy and get him out of here that's all.

Damian reached the corner from where once turned the two cell guard could probably see them if they walked their way, so he stopped and got back to back with wall corner and peeked out a little. He couldn't see clearly since they were pretty far but he did notice two dark figures patrolling near a bunch of iron bar cells while facing in opposite directions.

"What is it..?" The beastman whispered besides him.

"The cells but two guards are there.. Looking at the corners.."

"We need a distraction..."

"I thought that was your job.."

"It is.. Byard, Colvin get in the position. We will call them here and take them by surprise."

Then the beastman took out a small toy like wooden box and walked in a dark side of the wall, hiding in the shadows just like the other two knights.

"Hide, and save him when they turn their backs on you two."

Damian had an inkling as to what the beastman was planning so taking Anthony Damian walked at the dark corner, where the intersection of two hallways was and waited for the thing to begin. Just in another minute or so a strange sound of rocks falling reverberated in the two hallways. And it kept repeated itself every few seconds.

Damian observed how the two guards had noticed the sound and were saying something to each other. Finally one of them shrugged and sighed walking towards the corner slowly. Step by step the guard went past the corner with Damian & Anthony, going closer and closer to the wooden box in beastman's hand.

Damian observed silently as the beastman surprising the guard rushed at him and covered the guard's mouth, interlocking his hands. The two knights silently walked up to the guard and slowly pushed their sword and spear in the guard's vital organs, making not a single extra sound till he dropped dead on the floor.

The other guard at the cell door called his partner but no reply came, just the continued sound of rocks falling. And just like his friend he also slowly walked towards them, this time once the guard was past the dark corner Damian and Anthony sneakily walked behind his back and rushed at the cells.

Damian did not hear the guard being killed but he didn't care, as Damian walked straight towards the mana signature that was very familiar to him. Sam was a first ranker too, just like him, but for some reasons his mana energy was same as the manaless civilians. Barely anything to note, but Damian had once sensed it so he remembered the feeling.

Anthony also rushed behind him with restless hurried steps. Finally Damian stopped at one cell with iron bars which was pitch dark and silent. But Damian knew for certain that he was there.

Anthony also tried to look from beside him but he couldn't see anything, he was getting more and more restless so Damian drew the quickest and easiest runic circle that he knew and instantly a tiny flame burned in his palm, removing the darkness all around them with a vengeance.

And there he was a small boy all tiny and dried up, almost at the edge of death, chained from both his arms and legs just standing or more like hanging from his constraints. Anthony coming out of his shock, grabbed the iron bars and rattled them so hard he himself was thrown few steps back. Damian understood the man's anger and helplessness though.

Summoning his spear which lit up the area even more Damian channeled his mana into it, making it's flames go to the point of extreme hot white. That was one more thing Damian had learned while tinkering with his magical weapon and practicing everyday with it.

There were no runic circles though, Damian wouldn't even have tried reaching deep into his weapon's structure with his mana strings if he didn't have the mana sensing ability. A thin vein of almost nonexistent mana was in it, Damian could feel. So one day he just tried doing it and supplied his own mana to the point of overflowing the weapon and the flames around the tip got hotter and hotter.

The handle and the iron build of his spear was also blazing hot but for some reason it just never affected his skin. He felt neither warm nor cold just plain nothing, just like any other normal sword handle or spear.

With few swift and powerful downwards slashes Damian cut the iron bars in an X and kicked the damned bars making big enough gap to enter. Anthony was the first man in, Damian got behind him as the old man ran and hugged his only nephew in an embrace that was way too heavy with emotions to describe with plain words.

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