The instant the glow of the Light spell illuminated the cave, Leon saw several clumps of dirt tumble down from the stone wall behind him...
Then, Leon suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet shudder violently.
"No way..." Leon's eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell was going on? Who broke the cave for no reason—how did an earthquake get started here?
But a moment later, Leon figured it out.
Damn, the Bone Demon!
It had to be the Bone Demon waking up—no one else on this black wasteland could cause such a commotion. Talk about joy turning to disaster. He’d just scored a Soulbound Staff for free, was humming a tune and flipping through corpses, and now the damn Bone Demon shows up. Did things really have to get this exciting?
Leon almost bolted on the spot. Was this a joke? A single Grand Mage with a Mana Array suit was nothing but a snack for the Bone Demon. If he ran even a second too slow, he might lose a few parts. If he didn’t get out now, before the Bone Demon fully woke up, what was he supposed to do—wait for it to finish waking up, brush its teeth, and serve it a loving breakfast?
"Wait!" But just as Leon moved his feet, he realized he’d made a mistake. Panic really did kill your brain cells—if the Bone Demon was waking up outside, running out like an idiot would be walking straight into its arms. The Bone Demon wouldn’t even need to do much; just wrapping him up would be enough.
This was nothing like last time...
Last time, he’d managed to escape the Bone Demon’s grasp with an elemental avatar and a sea of fire. This time, he wasn’t nearly as prepared. If the Bone Demon tangled him up for even an hour, he’d be done for.
No, running outside was out of the question.
Controlling the Light spell, Leon quickly searched the cave. Soon enough, he spotted a narrow side passage on the other end.
Without a second thought, Leon darted into the side passage.
But Leon wasn’t trying to escape through the passage—there was almost no chance of that. In caves like these, the side passages branched in every direction. Some led straight to the surface, while others were dead ends. If Leon thought he could just pick a random tunnel and walk out, his odds were pretty much nonexistent...
He just wanted to hide in the passage for a while, wait for the Bone Demon to settle down, and then figure out a way back to Northend. Where the passage actually led didn’t matter much to Leon.
Once inside, Leon released his control on the Light spell, letting it float two meters ahead of him. His now-free right hand gripped the freshly acquired Soulbound Staff.
Aside from the Sage’s Chapter, the Soulbound Staff was now Leon’s strongest weapon—even if the staff’s spirit was still dormant...
With the Soulbound Staff in hand, Leon could clearly feel the mana from the Igniswood flowing steadily into the Elemental Amber. To a mage, that sensation was pure bliss—like the most beautiful melody. But now wasn’t the time to enjoy it. As soon as he entered the passage, Leon quickly took out the Sage’s Chapter and stored two Rocket Spells inside.
Seeing both Meteor Volley sigils light up, Leon finally breathed a sigh of relief. All those skeleton warriors he’d harvested outside hadn’t gone to waste—the soul fire absorbed by the Sage’s Chapter was enough to elevate both Meteor Volleys to Limit Spells.
Those two Limit Spells were Leon’s final trump card. If the Bone Demon tracked his aura into the cave, he’d have no choice but to fight for his life. Normally, with just a Mana Array suit, Leon was nothing compared to the Bone Demon, whose strength rivaled an Archmage. All he could rely on were the cave’s narrow passages—and the two Limit Spells stored in the Sage’s Chapter.
After finishing everything, Leon stopped to catch his breath, quietly waiting for the final outcome.
Now, only two possibilities awaited Leon...
One possibility was that the Bone Demon would go crazy for a bit and then go back to sleep. The other was that it would sense the presence of a living being and follow Leon into the cave...
For Leon, the first possibility would be ideal. The second would mean he’d have to fight for his life.
Time ticked by, and the cave continued to tremble.
But Leon’s expression gradually darkened, because he could now hear the Bone Demon’s footsteps drawing closer to the cave. Each heavy step echoed in Leon’s mind, tightening his nerves with every sound...
Then came a thunderous roar, shaking the entire cave to its core.
"Damn it..." Leon cursed.
Leon knew the Bone Demon had found him. That roar wasn’t just anger at an intruder—it was the excitement of finding prey. He’d heard that same roar the last time he visited the Bone Plane.
Leon glanced at the passage ahead, then at the empty cave. After considering his options, he decided to go a little further in—hoping that more distance would help him escape the Bone Demon’s pursuit. If he was discovered, he’d just have to rely on the narrow passage to fight back.
After all, with two Limit Spells at his disposal, Leon wasn’t entirely powerless against the Bone Demon.
Strange...' After walking another dozen meters into the passage, Leon’s face showed doubt. Compared to the outside, this tunnel was oddly smooth—not naturally formed, but seemingly carved by human hands. Sure enough, the stone walls bore marks left by iron tools.
Could it have been dug out by that Magus from the Black Tower?
No, a Magus wouldn’t have that kind of stamina.
It looked more like it was carved out by an alchemical golem.
But if it was an alchemical golem, why hadn’t he found any remains outside? Even here in the Bone Plane, where death magic permeates everything, an alchemical golem couldn’t have decayed completely in just a few centuries, right?
Could it be deeper inside?
Leon considered his options. Since he was already trying to evade the Bone Demon, he might as well go deeper. If he managed to find the golem and get it working again, maybe he could use it to dig a passage to the surface...
With that thought, Leon ventured another thirty meters deeper. By now, the Bone Demon seemed to have pinpointed the source of the living aura, and was steadily descending the steep slope into the cave.
Heavy footsteps. Low, guttural roars...
Each roar stretched Leon’s nerves tighter and tighter, but he forced himself not to look back. Undead like the Bone Demon were extremely sensitive to anything living—just a glance might give away his location completely...
Leon had walked over a hundred meters along the narrow passage. Just as he thought he’d have to go several hundred more, the tunnel suddenly opened up ahead.
Then, Leon saw a figure clad in plate armor, holding a long spear!