The Traveling Wizard of Worlds

"Did I arrive too late?" Mardo smelled the faint scent of blood in the courtyard, quickly discerning that it wasn't human.

He breathed a sigh of relief; August hadn't been harmed so quickly.

He then swiftly moved toward August's bedroom door. The front door automatically opened, welcoming him, before gently closing, making barely a sound, not disturbing the silent night at all.

Mardo knew August's house very well. He glided through the living room like a phantom and ascended the stairs in a breath.

The bedroom door also opened automatically, and Mardo entered the place where August was sleeping soundly.

"I'm too late!" He immediately saw the dark figure slumped by the bed. Flipping the body over, he saw the distorted face, and Mardo frowned.

He didn't recognize this person. He knew all the Formal Mages who had emerged from The Umbral Cabal*, but this person had never appeared before; he might be one of those who had been hidden.

Mardo looked at August, who was deeply asleep on the bed, his body occasionally twitching, and his concern grew even deeper.

"A miscalculation!" He felt a tinge of regret; he should have thought of it sooner.

Mardo believed that the people from The Umbral Cabal hadn't noticed August's existence, so he let him return peacefully. However, on his way home, he suddenly remembered that there seemed to be an infiltrator within the organization, and August's information might have been leaked.

The Umbral Cabal's Formal Mages had always been unscrupulous; attacks by Formal Mages on apprentices had occurred more than once.

Looking at the body on the floor and August, who seemed to be having a nightmare and sleeping restlessly, he easily determined what August was experiencing.

"[Soul-Stealing Secret Spell]!" Mardo's tone held a hint of coldness. As a Formal Mage with leanings toward good, he had always detested such evil secret arts.

However, he had no way to help August and wasn't optimistic that August could win this soul struggle against the opponent.

"I will kill him." Mardo decided to eliminate the Formal Mage who had taken over August's body the moment August woke up.

The [Soul-Stealing Secret Spell] was a Formal Mage's spell. Mardo didn't think much, instinctively assuming the dark figure was a Formal Mage, so he believed August's fate was sealed.

After all, though August was exceptionally talented, he was still too weak and no match for a cruel Formal Mage.

He sighed. He had originally planned to make August his apprentice after some time, but it seemed he had to personally end this young man he cherished.

When he was August's age, he was almost identical to him, full of desire for Formal Mage knowledge and longing for Magical Runes.

Even more coincidentally, the job he used to earn money back then was serializing novels in newspapers. It had to be fate, so he believed August was simply his destined successor.

The dark figure seemed a bit impatient, no longer mocking August with words, but accelerating, its body even transforming into a blade, continuously slashing at August.

He was almost hit many times, but fortunately, he was alert enough to prevent the dark figure from succeeding.

"We're here!"

August suddenly stopped and turned to face the dark figure.

"What's wrong? Giving up at last?" The dark figure didn't attack directly but stopped and regained its human form.

"Why don't you come?" August spread his arms as if welcoming, but his expression was utterly mocking.

Finally, he raised his middle finger and beckoned to the dark figure.

"If you want to die quickly, then I'll grant your wish!"

The dark figure also feared changes, but it had no escape. Formal Mages could retreat to their bodies if they failed to devour, but inexperienced ones like him only had one chance: succeed or die, no other options.

The dark figure suddenly lunged at August, unleashing the greatest possible speed in the spiritual world. At the same time, its arm dematerialized and transformed into a broad scimitar.

"Whether it's a bluff or some trick, your outcome today is only one..." It pounced with a sinister grin. "Death!"

"No, you're the one who's going to die!" August suddenly curled his lips, seemingly confident of victory, not taking the dark figure's attack seriously at all.

*Boom!*

The dark figure's vision blurred, and it felt itself violently collide with something, being flung backward with force.

Upon closer inspection, it realized that a primitive-looking stone gate had appeared between him and August at some unknown point.

The grayish-white gate stood tall in the spiritual world, and silently, a pressure fell upon the dark figure.

"What is this?" A sense of fear surged within it; it felt it was better to stay as far away from that gate as possible.

"Are you trying to hide from my pursuit with this?" It thought August was delusional. Although the gate's power was terrifying, it only needed to avoid it. Could August truly use door panels to crush people?

At the same time, it was somewhat excited. This gate seemed anything but simple; perhaps that's why August was different from common Formal Mages. As long as it devoured August's soul, such a wonderful existence would be its own.

But just then, it heard a creak.

The gate burst open, revealing its true form.

A powerful suction emanated from the gate, and the dark figure instantly lost control of its body: "What?!"

In an emergency, it transformed its right hand into a hook and plunged it into the gate panel, narrowly escaping being swallowed by this strange gate.

Miró dentro de la puerta, pero no había nada. Era un espacio vacío; solo podía ver la mirada ligeramente siniestra de August a través de la puerta que había detrás.

"Tú-!"

Entonces vio que August lo saludaba con la mano, en un gesto de despedida.

La succión dentro de la puerta se intensificó de repente, y la garra de la figura oscura se desprendió instantáneamente del panel de la puerta, girando mientras volaba hacia la puerta.

Aunque no había nada, instintivamente presentía que algo andaba mal. Quería escapar, pero no podía hacer nada.

*¡Grieta!*

La figura oscura de repente pareció chocar con algo, detenida por una membrana invisible dentro de la puerta.

Al instante, un relámpago brilló y un trueno rugió. Innumerables rayos rojos descendieron del cielo, impactando la figura oscura. Este inesperado invitado, que se había entrometido en el mundo espiritual de August, no pronunció una última palabra antes de que su figura se hiciera añicos.

Grandes cantidades de energía de nubes se dispersaron desde allí, y el mundo espiritual de August de repente se llenó de numerosas nubes, aparentemente a punto de llenarse por completo.

Inesperadamente, toda la energía mental que la figura oscura había acumulado a lo largo de su vida terminó beneficiando a August, empujándolo un gran paso más cerca del cuello de botella del avance.

August finalmente respiró aliviado. El repentino enemigo lo había pillado un poco desprevenido, pero por suerte, aún contaba con su misteriosa arma definitiva.

Originalmente, su intención era desterrar la figura oscura a otro mundo, ya que no tenía puerta y no necesitaba preocuparse por su regreso para vengarse. ¿Quién habría imaginado que esta puerta aparentemente no permitía la entrada a forasteros, destrozando su alma con un rayo?

La energía mental de la figura oscura se dispersó en este espacio, reponiendo el consumo mental de August, lo que lo emocionó un poco. A juzgar por su magnitud, ¡probablemente podría avanzar con solo dos años más de trabajo duro!

Pero debería despertar primero. Ese tipo probablemente dejó muchos rastros en la casa, y necesitaba limpiar.

August se despertó lentamente, sintiéndose renovado. Bostezó y estaba a punto de levantarse, pero en su aturdimiento, vio a alguien sentado en la silla frente a él.

August se sobresaltó de inmediato: ¡no esperaba que el hombre que invadió su mundo espiritual tuviera un cómplice!

Inmediatamente decidió hacerse pasar por su compañero, intentando engañarlo para que no lo viera.

Entonces oyó una voz familiar: "¡No te muevas!"

Un anillo de energía dorado apareció alrededor de su cuello, y varias cadenas doradas surgieron alrededor de su cuerpo, bloqueando sus manos y pies.

"Dime ¿quién eres?"