Plate armor, a long spear...
"Caucasus Battlemage!" Leon was startled, instinctively raising the Soulbound Staff as the firelight of a Fireball flickered to life.
But then, Leon immediately sensed something was off...
Because Leon noticed that the figure clad in plate armor and wielding a long spear wasn't moving at all. Yes, the legendary Caucasus Battlemage—facing Leon's Fireball—didn't even flinch. What was going on?
Could it be... another skeleton?
Leon, still puzzled, interrupted his Fireball casting, but he didn't dare let his guard down. He gripped the Sage's Chapter tightly in his hand—if anything seemed wrong, the Meteor Volley sealed within would be unleashed. That was a true Limit Spell, far more powerful than a mere Fireball.
You really couldn't blame Leon for being so cautious...
These Caucasus Battlemages were considered anomalies in magical civilization. They never studied magic, never conducted magical research, and didn't even have their own written language. They were true barbarians, still living in tribal societies.
Yet, this very tribe of barbarians possessed an innate magical talent. Nearly every Caucasus Battlemage was born with mage-level mana reserves, and as adults, they could reach the level of archmages—all without meditation or training. Their magic was entirely innate. Just that alone would drive any ordinary mage mad with envy...
Worse still, Caucasus Battlemages were born with bodies of formidable strength. They excelled at wielding all manner of heavy weapons and armor. When they appeared on the battlefield, it was like seeing an armored magical beast—and that beast could cast spells!
When it came to dealing with a freak like the Caucasus Battlemage, Leon figured you could never be too careful...
Leon stayed on high alert, casting various detection spells as he watched.
No magical fluctuations, no signs of life...
"Whew..." Only then did Leon finally exhale in relief. Whatever was standing there—Caucasus Battlemage or not—it wasn't a threat.
It was only at this point that Leon loosened his grip on the Sage's Chapter, then sidestepped and slipped past...
By now, the footsteps of the Bone Demon were getting closer.
Those low, guttural roars sounded as if they were right next to Leon's ear. Worse, standing in the open at the fork, Leon realized there was no path forward...
Yes, the fork had reached a dead end.
Now, all Leon could do was wait.
Either wait for the Bone Demon to give up the chase... or wait for it to find him.
Time ticked by, and the tremors in the cave grew more violent. Clumps of dirt rained down from above, leaving Leon looking battered and dusty—but he couldn't afford to care. With no way forward, Leon released a Wizard's Eye. Without interference from the Soulbound Staff, the Wizard's Eye crawled smoothly up the slope...
The Wizard's Eye had barely reached the middle of the slope when Leon spotted the Bone Demon. Compared to his last visit to the Bone Plane—when he'd only gotten a hurried glimpse—this time, Leon saw everything clearly.
Its massive body towered several meters high, built entirely from gleaming white bones. Jagged bone spikes glimmered in the darkness, while dozens of Soul Fires orbited its body, each radiating wild magical energy. The soul fire in its skull was the size of a fist, and the overwhelming aura of death was so intense that Leon felt suffocated even from the other end of the tunnel.
In its hollow eye sockets, two flickering Soul Fires darted about, searching the gloom for any sign of living breath...
"Persistent as a nightmare..." Leon knew he probably wouldn't escape this time. The Bone Demon wasn't going to stop until it found him.
After giving up his last hope for a lucky break, Leon found himself eerily calm.
Peering down the long tunnel, his mind raced—just how much of a chance did he have if he fought the Bone Demon here?
Honestly? Not much...
The tunnel's layout was helpful for an ambush, but that was about it.
Two Meteor Volleys, both elevated to Limit Spell status, plus a Flame Barrier for sustained damage—those were the only advantages he could seize. After that, he'd be completely exposed to the Bone Demon's attacks: a barrage of Netherfire Bombs, each one making it nearly impossible to chant even a single spell. At that point, he'd probably be stuck in the Bone Plane forever.
If only the Caucasus Battlemage beside him were still alive—with that monstrous strength, holding off the Bone Demon would be child's play. Leon could focus on spellcasting, and together, maybe they'd even have a shot at taking down the Bone Demon.
With that thought, Leon sniffed the air, surprise flickering across his face.
Strange. Why wasn't there any stench of decay coming from the Caucasus Battlemage?
Could it be that these children of the wasteland are built differently from ordinary humans? How could a body stay intact for so many years without rotting? That doesn't make sense, especially in the Bone Plane, where death magic accelerates decay tenfold. Even a dragon left here for centuries would be reduced to bones—a second bone dragon for the Bone Plane.
As Leon pondered, his eyes suddenly lit up.
At last, Leon understood: why the Soulbound Staff amplified mana so stubbornly, why the tunnel looked nothing like human work, and why the Caucasus Battlemage hadn't decayed after all these years...
One question after another—all at once, Leon had his answer.
It was all because the Caucasus Battlemage beside him wasn't even alive!
With that realization, Leon abruptly lifted the plate armor off the Caucasus Battlemage...
"Just as I thought..." Leon instinctively stepped back. What he saw was an Adamantine Skeleton, its surface densely inscribed with Alchemical Arrays—every one at least grandmaster-level. Such an Adamantine Skeleton, if it appeared outside, would cause a sensation; it was a treasure any Alchemist Guild would kill for...
But right now, Leon had no time to care about that. His gaze swept quickly over the Arrays and soon found the source of the golem's magical power.
Just as Leon expected, the power source was empty...