The hand of the ghoul shot out towards Zephyr like an unstoppable arrow.
Zephyr knew this would happen and was prepared. He lifted his left hand to block the ghoul.
With a high-pitched sound, similar to a slap, the wet hand of the ghoul collided with Zephyr's. The force behind it almost snapped his arm in two. A sharp bout of pain traveled through his body before shock numbed him.
Meanwhile, Zephyr's move to block the ghoul created a window of opportunity, allowing Jack to appear near them.
His smile deepened watching it. Then, it twisted into the same mocking smile the ghoul displayed. Everything about the pain and injury was momentarily forgotten.
The ghoul was exasperated as it watched him.
But before it could think of anything else, before it could clamp down on the arm and pull Zephyr closer for one last hug, before it could send him off to the underworld for good, lightning lit up the sky.
The fierce lightning was mirrored by the light of the rune glowing over Zephyr's left arm.
Instantly, the runic glow turned into a tiny arc of slithering electricity.
*Buzz*
It created a buzzing noise before leaping onto both Zephyr and the ghoul's body.
*Zap*
Instantly, it stunned both of them.
The electric arc was not strong enough to be considered a lethal attack. It was small and insignificant. But that was enough to freeze their nerves for a moment.
Though it failed to injure the ghoul, it was able to travel through Zephyr's body and leap into its body, stunning them both in the process.
It was enough to buy some time.
That was the last thought Zephyr had before he saw a head flying over him.
At some point, while he was dazed, Jack had swung the axe forward, decapitating the ghoul.
When Zephyr recovered from his stunned state, the first thing he saw was the head of the ghoul flying over him. Then he noticed the cold, dark blood spraying onto his body.
At the same time, the headless body fell to the ground, limp.
"Ah…"
Zephyr groaned as the pain returned. Still, he was relieved to know the ghoul wouldn't be a danger anymore.
"Jack, good job." He muttered, gazing at the huge man standing nearby.
The dual-handed axe of his was now pointing at the ground, held weakly. After decapitating the ghoul, his attention seems to have moved to the body of the ghoul.
The body was still that of his friend. Zephyr could see the complex emotions flickering through his eyes.
Shaking his head slightly, Zephyr distracted himself from the pain before turning to look at the head of the ghoul.
Even though they had decapitated it, the ghoul was still alive. Zephyr knew that a higher-ranked undead, like a ghoul, was extremely difficult to kill.
As he expected, the decapitated head was sitting sideways on the ground, looking at Zephyr. The eyes on the pale white face were still open, observing what he was doing.
Zephyr could sense the rage in its eyes.
Without wasting a single second, Zephyr picked up the machete he had dropped and walked to the ghoul's head.
Although his left hand ached, he ignored the pain and walked faster.
Once he reached within arm's length of the head, he lifted the machete with his right hand and spoke.
"May you never find peace, bish."
Releasing his pent-up anger through words, Zephyr brought down the machete onto the ghoul's head.
"Thud, crack."
The skull cracked instantly, but a second slash was required to destroy the entire brain. Zephyr obliged by lifting the machete again.
Finally, the ghoul was truly dead.
Relieved, Zephyr succumbed to the exhaustion and sat on the ground.
—
Meanwhile, far away on the other side of the mangroves, on the island chain next to the mainland, a mage wearing dark robes opened his eyes.
*Cough*
'What is a bish?'
He coughed and sat up, fury burning in his eyes. In response to his rage, the fog around him twisted and turned.
"What happened?" Another man standing next to the mage asked.
The dark-robed mage scowled before replying, "The ghoul is dead."
"It died?" The other man asked.
He was wearing a similar robe, but underneath it, he was hiding a sword. His arm was caressing the sword as he spoke.
"The mage in the village turned out to be a tricky foe."
"The weakling from the storm tower. I heard his core was defective. How could he possibly stop you?"
"He used a blood charm to cast a lightning spell. That stunned me."
The dark mage was controlling the ghoul remotely through his magic. He was using the ghoul like a puppet as he fought Zephyr and his team.
"Ha ha ha…" the sword-wielding man laughed. "An intermediate mage, a necromancer, being outsmarted by the weakest mage to have ever existed. You are a joke." The man mocked.
"..."
The mage had no excuse. It was indeed humiliating.
"Anyways, when are you going to activate the second phase of the fog formation?" The sword wielder asked.
"Soon…" The mage replied.
"Would the villagers try to escape before that? After all, you failed to block them. Now the little mage knows a necromancer is here. He might evacuate the entire village."
"It doesn't matter."
"Why?"
"The fog had already reached a density in which I could cast the hallucination spell. They won't be able to leave even if they want to."
"Great. I hope your little stunt won't screw up our mission."
The sword-wielding man said, looking at the body of water between the islands.
From its depth, a torrent of fog was being expelled out like a mini cyclone. The fog was quickly rising before spreading over the surroundings.
It was the fog formation and source of illusion they were talking about.
Below it, in the water, an ominous whirlpool was forming, signaling the beginning of something horrifying.
"Don't worry, I can awaken a god and sacrifice a village in my sleep." The mage was unbothered.
He dusted off his robes and walked out of the shelter they were in. He gazed at the thunder clouds spewing water and lightning before slowly moving closer to the beach.
As he moved, the black staff in his hand began to turn darker. From it, a thread of mana flew to the formation. It was a signal that activated other fictionalities of the fog formation.
'Young man, you have yet to see what true horrors are.' The mage said in his mind.
While doing so, he was thinking about the mocking smile Zephyr wore. It was similar to the smile he had shown. But when he was on the receiving end, it wounded his ego.
The dark mage wanted to rush out and crush Zephyr like a bug because of that. But, unfortunately for him, his hands were tied up by important matters.
Leaving the island would not be possible for now. Still, he fantasized about meeting Zephyr again to show him hell.