Chapter 89 – No Escape.

Rusty barely had time to register Alexander’s warning before he heard footsteps echoing in the alleyway. Shadows shifted, and figures emerged at both ends, boxing him in. Rusty tightened his grip on Gleam’s cage, his mind racing. The figure at the far end of the alley stepped forward, his blue cloak flowing behind him. It was the same man who had bid against him in the auction house. Flanked by two towering, heavily armored guards, the man moved his hood out of the way to reveal his face.

“Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be, adventurer. Relinquish the monster to me and you can leave.”

The man’s voice was smooth but laced with a warning. He looked to be a man over sixty, his hair already gray. Rusty adjusted his stance, positioning Gleam’s cage behind him. The man’s eyes gleamed with an unsettling intensity, and he continued speaking, his tone deceptively calm.

“I’ll even be generous,”

He said, producing a small pouch and shaking it so the sound of coins rang through the narrow space.

“Twenty gold coins, right here. Not as much as you’ve paid, but I suppose your life should be worth more than five measly gold coins? It’s a fair price, and I’m not here to spill unnecessary blood. But if you refuse…”

Not only were there two armored men with him, but also an additional two soldiers blocking the side paths of the alleyway behind the auction house. The door leading back inside was thick, and he had heard it shut firmly behind him. Even if he tried to run back, getting through would likely be impossible. The auction house was a tall building, but he wasn’t much of a climber. Rusty needed to decide – to fight or give in to their demands.

“ ˙◠˙ “

“What? You want me to leave you here? I won’t!”

Gleam called out to him from within the cage. She sounded quite distressed, her small, ant chirps quite faint. She seemed to want him to relinquish her to save himself. Rusty glanced down, slightly mad that she would even propose such a solution. There was no way he’d hand her over now, not after everything they’d been through.

The blue-robed man took a step forward, his guards advancing in tandem, closing the space between them. His eyes narrowed as he gestured to the guards, impatience flickering across his face.

“Very well, then. You leave me no choice but to take it from you by force.”

‘Rusty this doesn’t look good, those people mean business! Maybe it would be better to think this through and…’

‘Shut up, I’m not giving Gleam up again!’

Alexander attempted to reason with Rusty, realizing these people weren’t just simple adventurers. Their armor surpassed the E-rank level, and the most troubling figure among them was the one in robes. He carried himself like someone well-versed in battle and could very well be one of the worst opponents Rusty could face. But Alexander’s thoughts and shouts couldn’t reach him, as a burst of darkness erupted in all directions.

“Oh?”

The man in blue raised an eyebrow as Rusty’s shadowy energy surged outward in a strange, mist-like form. Shadows spilled from Rusty’s body like liquid smoke, flowing toward both sides of the alley where the armored men stood. It was a preemptive strike that none of them expected from someone who looked like a frontline fighter. The four guards faltered slightly, but their leader remained steady, raising a strange, crooked staff Rusty had never seen before.

With a quick gesture, the man raised his magic weapon, and the gem atop it glowed, casting a shimmering blue shield – not around himself, but around Rusty. The magical barrier flickered as Rusty’s shadows surged against it, and to his surprise, his previously unstoppable attack was fully contained. The dark mist swirled around in a circular pattern, unable to penetrate the blue wall of energy the man had conjured. Rusty’s attack lacked raw power, functioning more as a debuff meant to weaken enemies upon contact. But unless it touched their bodies, it had no effect – and it seemed the man in the blue robe knew this all too well.

“Interesting skill, but did you really think a little dark mist would make me cower? The darkness element is an interesting choice and I’m not sure how you are fine in there, but sooner or later you’ll run out of mana to sustain it…”

He said mockingly while holding his staff towards Rusty’s location.

“You clearly lack the understanding of magic needed to wield those powers effectively, just give it up, you’ll just damage the young lady’s monster and that will be troublesome.”

Rusty found himself in a serious dilemma. He’d assumed that if he could just surround the area with his black mist, everything would be fine. Once his enemies started weakening, he’d planned to make a break for it. Even though he was cornered, this wasn’t a dungeon; he was in a city teeming with various intelligent races. He had places to escape to, like the thieves’ guild, and he’d even thought of diving into one of the wells or hoping that any late-night city guards might stall his pursuers.

‘What should I do… ‘

Rusty wondered, seeking help from his guides as his initial plan started to crumble. He quickly retrieved some explosive potions from his stash tab and hurled them at the shimmering mana field. Covered by shadows, his attackers couldn’t see him going through his inventory – just the explosions bursting against the shield.

“Hah, what was that? A goblin-fire potion? You must be joking…”

The mage holding the shield laughed, as though the idea of his barrier breaking from such a low-quality potion was absurd.

‘This isn’t looking good. That mage is likely above D-rank; nothing we have in our inventory will work on him, and those soldiers are probably all stronger than you, Rusty…’

Alexander observed grimly. The man in the blue robe seemed to be a powerful mage, at least a rank above Rusty. The only reason they hadn’t been incinerated by magical flames was Gleam as it was clear they wanted to capture her alive. Using powerful offensive spells would likely kill her instantly and Rusty, who was defending her.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

‘Then what am I supposed to do? Just give up and die?’

Rusty snapped, his frustration increasing as he tossed all his remaining potions at the shield. Small explosions burst against the barrier, but none pierced through. Gleam, as a light-aligned creature, was somewhat protected from the dark mist, but the constant barrage of explosions was rattling her cage and causing enough damage that Rusty had to stop.

‘Wait… that might not be a bad idea’

Aburdon suddenly chimed in, surprising both Rusty and Alexander with an unexpected plan.

‘You want me to die?’

Rusty asked, bewildered by the response.

‘Well… in a sense. Don’t you have a corpse inside yourself already?’