554 DLIV. The Pitfall

"What?! It's empty! There's no one in there!" Kranus gasped, who, rubbing his eyes, made an effort to look good at what was behind the door, but saw nothing but a giant empty room.

"Is it possible that you haven't figured it out yet?! The warriors we fought against were just copies! We have been deceived! The energy we spent during the battle will penalize us in the real fight we are about to face now! Wall of shields, quickly!" Dag yelled, who suddenly, without even moving a finger and holding both weapons tight in his hands, activated one of his enhancing skills: Champion's Aura.

Whoever was behind him benefited from the effects of the Hammers Of Thor's ability, which increased their stamina, or the resistance they had lost fighting with all their might.

The allied warriors felt invigorated and just as the first of them screamed and charged his spirit, ready to face the real enemies, those cries turned into screams of pain.

Having not raised their shields as soon as Dag ordered it, dozens and dozens of Allied warriors died instantly and behind them, hundreds of enemy warriors materialized, who had left the door undisturbed and encircled them thanks to their gift of invisibility.

"Fuck! They're here! The Lies Of Loki are in the square!" Bloodfang yelled, who for the first time seemed to have a worried expression and didn't know what to do.

The battle quickly raged and the real enemies proved to be much stronger than the copies previously faced, managing to become invisible both before and after the attacks, crossing paths with each other, and switching their opponents, to put them increasingly in difficulty.

Kranus and his generals, along with Freydis and Reidar, who remained close all the time, began killing anyone who attacked them again, being their level of combat above the average of those men.

Not having enough time to reason about what to do, Dag leaned over his knees and charged a run.

The electrical energy that began to flow into his body and leak out in the form of small sparks from the metal plates on his chest, joined the purple aura of his dark power.

When the charge was complete, Dag stretched his knees and dashed forward like lightning, releasing an electric trail that burned every enemy in his path, killing about 10 soldiers without even using a weapon.

The direction of the run was precisely the one that the young Master was thinking about from the beginning: the entrance door of the castle.

"Daaag!" Freydis yelled after killing yet another warrior with Reidar's collaboration, noting that Dag had entered that palace alone and knowing his plans.

"Where is he?! Where did he go?!" the archer asked, looking around in a hurry.

Bloodfang, as he fought wildly, jumping on his enemies and tearing apart their faces, necks, and limbs with his wolf canines, turned his face completely bloodied towards Freydis, hearing her last words.

Noticing that the young Shieldmaiden and her archer friend could not free themselves from that situation, being busy fighting against multiple enemies at once, he made his way among his allies and snapped in the direction of the door.

Kranus saw the scene and after a few seconds from Bloodfang's run, he followed him.

"Fuck, Thyrius! Are you crazy?! Do you want to follow the boy and leave your men here alone?!" the Giants Of Ymir leader yelled, drawing the attention of the Packmaster, who turned back.

"I'm not alone... you're with them! Watch my back!" Bloodfang replied firmly, turning forward again and entering the palace like a fury, intent on finding Dag and helping him, sensing that the warrior he was about to face had a strength not comparable to theirs.

"Aaargh! But why nobody here respects the plan?!" Kranus screamed, furious, killing a man who was dangerously approaching him from behind with a movement of his arm, freezing him instantly.

The old mage came up to the door and opened both the palms of his hands down.

His hands began to emit intense blue light and within seconds, the earth beneath his feet trembled: after a shock similar to that generated by an earthquake, the ground broke apart and from it sprang a giant slab of ice that rose several meters, until it completely covered the door forming a wall almost a meter thick.

After sealing the entrance with his magic, Kranus lay behind the wall, his face facing the square and his gaze full of anger and determination, ready to defend the entrance and not let anyone pass.

About 10 seconds after his decision, Freydis and Reidar joined him, positioning themselves in front of the wall along with the ice mage and guarding the entrance.

...

"Where are you, son of a bitch?! Where the fuck are you?!" 

In Dag's anger-clouded mind, this phrase continued to echo incessantly, as his feet moved as fast as the wind, climbing the stairways that led from the lower floor to the upper ones and following every corridor, every curve, controlling every little corner of that huge place, as if he was a predator desperately looking for his prey.

The right staircase, the one that Bloodfang remembered led to the bedrooms, was deserted and devoid of sound. 

Imagining the exact spot from which that figure had access to the balcony, Dag knew he had to be in the east wing of the building, but there were so many rooms, that it was like finding a needle in a sandbox.

One by one, he hit the doors of the rooms in the corridors, breaking through them and opening them, verifying that there was no one inside.