Chapter 52: Fire at the Door (2)
Chapter 52: 52: Fire at the Door (2)
He lifted his hand. Blood gathered from the cut on his palm and formed three thin needles. He threw them toward Dorian, but the fire wheel came too close. Lucard dropped low, placed one hand on the stone, and pulled his body under the arc of flame at the last moment. The burning wheel tore over him and smashed into a water barrel behind him. The barrel burst, and hot steam exploded everywhere.
Jake coughed. "That was our hiding barrel."
Jenny looked at him. "That was not our barrel."
"It could have been."
Peter wanted to tell both of them to focus, but he was too busy watching the guards.
Tina had already moved.
"Kill the girl," she shouted. "Take Jake alive."
The Ravencroft guards rushed forward. Orven and Malik met them immediately. Orven raised his shield and slammed into the first attacker, sending the man staggering backward. Malik’s spear flashed, striking another guard’s wrist and forcing him to drop his sword. Peter tried to move forward, but his wound pulled at him. He cursed under his breath.
"Stay back," Orven ordered. "Our duty is to protect you."
Peter hated hearing that, but he knew the man was right. He took position near Jenny and Jake instead, sword drawn, guarding the opening between them.
Tina came with two guards toward Jenny. Her face was ugly with satisfaction.
"You should have stayed quiet," Tina said. "Now I will make you quiet forever."
Jenny raised her chin. "You talk too much for someone who lost to one slap."
Tina froze.
Jake looked at Jenny with admiration. "Sister."
Jenny did not look away from Tina. "Not now."
One of Tina’s guards lunged. Peter met him with a sharp block. The force almost pushed Peter down because of his injury, but he held. Malik moved behind the guard and struck the man’s knee with the back of his spear. The guard collapsed with a cry.
Tina stepped back quickly. "Protect me, fools."
Adrian’s guards did not rush deeply into the fight. Their main focus remained on their young master. Two of them stayed close to Adrian at all times. The others attacked from the sides, trying to pressure Orven and Malik without leaving Adrian exposed. They knew Lucard had done something to Adrian’s blood. No one wanted to explain to Baron Ravencroft that his son died because they were too busy showing courage.
Meanwhile, Lucard continued fighting Dorian.
Dorian used only Rank Two level spells at first. The power was strong enough to threaten Lucard but not strong enough to destroy the street. That was the first sign.
The second sign was his breathing.
Dorian was not breathing hard.
Lucard dodged another flame strike and sent a blood thread toward Dorian’s ankle. Dorian stepped over it easily.
"Third Spark Rain."
Small fire pellets burst above Lucard and fell like burning hail. Lucard pulled his cloak over one arm and rolled through the edge of the attack. Several sparks struck his shoulder and burned through fabric. Pain bit into his skin, but he ignored it.
Dorian laughed.
"Is that all? I thought you were the terrifying bastard who frightened Ravencroft."
Lucard glanced at him.
Dorian was toying with him. The spells had names, form, and heat, but not true killing pressure. He was showing Rank Two level power. His original level was much higher. Lucard could sense it now. The mana behind Dorian’s control was held back like a sword kept half inside its sheath.
If Lucard fought normally, he would lose when Dorian got bored.
So he changed his rhythm.
He kept dodging. He kept attacking with small blood blades and threads. He let Dorian think he was struggling only to survive. But inside his right palm, he slowly began to build something.
Mana gathered drop by drop.
It was not his old divine power. It was not even proper high rank mana. It was weak, mortal, and crude compared to what he once controlled. But Lucard knew how to condense power. He knew how to compress a small flame until it could pierce armor. He had killed gods with laws. Condensing mortal mana inside his palm was not difficult.
Keeping it hidden while being burned was the hard part.
Dorian sent another attack.
"Fourth Ash Spear."
A spear made of gray fire shot forward. Lucard barely twisted away. The spear grazed his side, burning flesh. Jenny shouted his name, but Lucard did not look back.
His palm continued gathering power.
More.
A little more.
Dorian stepped closer, amused. "You dodge well. I will give you that. For a mudblood, your feet know how to run."
Lucard’s eyes lowered.
Dorian thought it was a weakness.
He came closer.
That was the moment.
Lucard’s left hand threw a blood blade toward Dorian’s face. Dorian raised Cinder Guard lazily. The shield appeared, blocking the obvious attack.
Lucard stepped inside the shield’s edge.
His right palm struck Dorian’s ribs.
The condensed mana exploded.
There was no grand spell name. No bright circle. No noble family style. It was a brutal, focused burst, pressed into the body at close range.
Dorian’s smile vanished.
Bang.
The impact threw him backward. He crashed into the side of a stone pillar near the shop entrance. Cracks spread across it. Blood came from the corner of his mouth. His coat was torn, and the skin over his ribs was burned and split by the force.
For a second, the whole street became silent.
Tina stared.
Adrian stared.
Even the guards slowed down.
Lucard lowered his smoking palm.
Dorian touched his side, looked at the blood on his glove, and his expression changed from amusement to rage.
"You," he said slowly.
The heat around him rose.
Lucard felt the change immediately.
Dorian’s mana was no longer pretending.
A heavy pressure spread through the street. Flames burst from the ground around his boots. His red hair lifted slightly in the heat. The air became hard to breathe. The stone under him began to blacken.
Rank Four mana pressure rolled outward.