After those words came out from the man's mouth the fire suddenly went out together with the lights and all that was left was the glow from Arcaine's holy sword. Also, the man who was just sitting before them disappeared.
"Come and find me if you have the guts to enter the abyss where I'll plunged this town!" A crisp and maniacal laugh reverberated through the place and it only made Arcaine more annoyed.
The man was obviously challenging his power and authority as a hero and he can't have that. He won't let some insignificant bug tarnish his name and reputation. His grip on the swords tightened as the frown on his face deepened.
"I heard it, you are only a hero because you have that holy power and that pretty face of yours but you don't really have the skills. You didn't even feel that I already started that chaos and was late to come out. How laughable, you are only a joke and not a real hero," the man's voice continued to taunt Arcaine which the man did not accept kindly.
His once handsome and angelic face disappeared as it was replaced by a face contorted with anger. The veins on his head and neck were already bulging and with one more push he would surely lash out and destroy everything in that place.
That was exactly what the enemy wanted. He wanted to see this so-called hero go on a rampage and destroy everything. He wanted to witness what the hero truly looked like. He whispered a few more things and the last sentence he said broke Arcaine's control over himself.
"You're nothing but a useless person if not for that ability you have. You are just like me or those whom you have called useless. You are human," another round of booming laugh filled air.
Arcaine released his power and strong burning white light came out from him and exploded outward as it blew everything into pieces and destruction. The darkness and the dark mana were instantly purified and disappeared. It has returned to its original state.
The subordinate could now clearly see the man that was being slowly burned by the white light. His body was all skinny, it was as if only his bones remained while it was covered with skin. The man looked old and yet the way he looked at them was full of life. He was not laughing but the subordinate could strangely feel that he was mocking them with his eyes.
"Look at what you've become. With all the stunts and threats, you did out there, this is what you got? So, where is the power you were talking about? The payback you were proudly declaring?" Arcaine continued to mock after he also saw the man's visage. His life was already used up when he decided to plunge the whole town into darkness.
"It's already done and you've been a great help oh so mighty hero. With the sacrifice of your holy power, I've managed to complete its awakening and everything will be on you!" The man laughed again as his body slowly decayed because of the white light. "You know, that monster really liked to eat heroes. That's what the book told me and that was confirmed by him."
Arcaine became confused as to what the man was talking about, and what creature he was talking about. Another question was, who was 'him' that the man was talking about? He narrowed his eyes at the disappearing man but the other was only smiling.
"Then you are not the only one behind all of this?" he paused and waited for a reaction but nothing came. "If I ever find who was helping you, I won't let him go and kill him too."
The man still managed to let out another laugh even though his body was slowly dying. "Kill him? No one can kill him, not even you nor any of those in your flock. He is much stronger and dangerous than any of you." He continued to laugh then he suddenly stopped, "You're going to die, Mr. Hero!" And he completely vanished.
As that body vanished so was the white light he released. The dark mana completely disappeared and when he flew up to see the situation at the center, he could tell that the dark fog shrouding the town also disappeared.
The sky has also returned to its usual state and the moon was shining more brightly. It all returned to the calm they hoped for and when this happened most people decided to return to their houses. The survivors were still being treated and the military was busy with assisting them even the mages were there to help.
"Congratulations for another mission success, sire!" His subordinate was glad that Arcaine succeeded once again. This will surely be recorded as one of his greatest achievements.
"I know. Now that we are done, we can go back to the capital with no worries." Arcaine turned back and gave his subordinate a grin but before they could fully celebrate, an earth-shaking growl sounded from a distance.
This sound shattered the hope for a peaceful night that the people were looking forward to. A dragon that covered the moon's light suddenly appeared and roared above them. Its scales were so dark and even its wings were the color of an ink. Its eyes were the color of red just like a ruby.
"That bastard!" Arcaine could not help but curse. He could already recognize what kind of dragon was that. "I couldn't believe that what that bastard was talking about was this, he really went all the way to leave us with this present."
It was one of the few monsters that would actually give a hero a difficult time to defeat it because they were practically absorbing any power that they could and one can say that their favorite was a hero's holy power. Their power was more concentrated and has several benefits once a person will have them.
His subordinate started to shake from where he was standing when they saw that dragon looming above them, "Is that a real dragon?"
"Of course, it is! And that bastard called a dragon that can actually injure or even kill someone like me!" Arcaine shouted as he continued to curse in his mind. He must have used that power as bait for the dragon to come. What a headache but he can't really run away because people were counting on him to defeat the dragon.
The hero summoned a spear coated with a white light and threw it towards the dragon but it only bounced off. They tried several times but nothing can affect the dragon and by this time the dragon's addition was already on them.
"Here it comes!" Arcaine was not sure if he could defeat the dragon but if did not, then his life would be in danger. Instead of running away, he stood in front of the dragon that had its eyes trained on him.
The dragon growled before it closed its mouth and within just the span of a minute, it was already breathing fire towards Arcaine who was not showing any fear even though he was nervous inside because that was the first time that he would be fighting against a dragon.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om