A Waste of Time

Chapter 105: Tarnished Mirage

The beauty in black fanned herself with her Fan one final time before closing it shut. That sharp snap echoed through the circle like a blade drawn. Yet, without pause, she opened it again.

The serene painting of mountains basking beneath sunlight was gone. In its place rose a bleak night. A pale moon loomed above, shining on a scene of carnage. Blood painted the ground, corpses sprawled amidst broken forests and rivers turned to crimson. From the painted heavens poured an endless swarm of Dark Bats, their screeches clawing through the stillness, their fangs buried into man and beast alike. They feasted until not even bones remained.

Daemon’s stance shifted instantly. His colossal frame tensed, eyes narrowing. Elder Ping spread her arms, her sleeves swelling like stormclouds. From them erupted a living tide of blackness — a storm of wings. Countless Bats spilled forth, blotting the sky, their leather wings beating like the crack of whips. The sound was suffocating, a deafening roar of knives slicing air.

“Humph. He’s in trouble now.” Zhao Wei spat, his bitterness sharp as poison. The memory of humiliation — being struck down by this same youth — still burned, fueling his glee at the boy’s peril. “He should’ve taken his two servants and fled on his mount while he had the chance.”

“Your words are reckless,” Yue Lan cut back swiftly, her eyes flashing. “Elder Ping also has a flying mount. Her Song may not excel in speed or brute force, but Elder Ping’s Foundation-Establishment Base covers that shortcoming easily. And with her Beast-Companion’s support, any pursuit would end in capture regardless.”

The other disciples stirred at once, whispering like gamblers circling a pit fight. Every possibility, every advantage and disadvantage, they weighed with fervor. Around them, mortals lingered at the fringes of the silver Lightning barrier, craning their necks to glimpse. Their faces betrayed unease, awe, even fear. Yet none dared step closer, bowing instinctively as though proximity alone was sacrilege.

Inside the circle of roots, the giant stood amidst the storm.

“Are you sure this approach is going to work against me?” Daemon’s voice rumbled steady, though his heads tilted slightly, as if questioning. The wings roared so loudly it was like standing at the heart of a hurricane. He doubted she even heard his words. Each wingbeat was a blade tearing apart the silence, shredding the air until it was heavy and sharp.

Ping Xueling smiled. This time, her expression carried no restraint. Now that the domain of her bats cloaked everything, no eyes could see within. Even the light outside was cut off. Shadows swallowed them both. And in that hidden darkness, her confidence bared itself like fangs.

“Be my guest,” she said, gesturing languidly with her Fan. Her voice carried the ease of someone already savoring victory, her tone amused, almost indulgent. “Go ahead and try to teleport.”

Daemon studied her, the storm tightening around him. He felt no danger from the bats themselves — their fangs had not pierced him. But their numbers… their numbers were so absurd it bordered on mockery. His eyes flickered over her curvy figure, searching for a pouch, a ring, some sign of a Space Treasure that could contain such a swarm.

They feel alive. All of them.

From Yan Jia, he had learned of rare Storage Spiritual Treasures designed to hold living things — Beasts, Insects, entire colonies — though such items were as rare as phoenix feathers compared to orthodox Storage Rings. Could she…?

Still, curiosity gnawed stronger than doubt.

Daemon tested it.

He activated the Skill, the one born from the Dice Roll — a roll that had burned itself into memory.

Memories surged like lightning. He saw again the green tile, saw the dice tumble, its glow shifting as odd-numbered blue tiles turned green. Five-Green. The highest possible. His heart had thundered then, blood rushing in his ears.

The Circle had appeared, blooming with lines of light until it expanded to a perfect Summoning Circle — the same as the one carved behind his Heroes Altar, the Iron Throne he suddenly missed with a pang of strange nostalgia. Perhaps it was habit, that throne looming in his thoughts after days spent shuttling between reality and Asura’s world, woven into the strange fabric of the System.

Clop. Clop.

The sound of hooves struck first, hollow and heavy, echoing in the air long before the rider broke through the swirling veil.

And then he came.

An old man on horseback, a staff in his hand.

Daemon’s eyes widened, blinking in quick succession. His mind instantly leapt to fiction: Gandalf? Dumbledore? He almost laughed aloud before shaking his head. No — not them. But a Wizard, certainly.

The staff was plain wood, but the jewel crowning it was magnificent — blue as a calm sky, glowing with a warmth that eased the heart instead of burning the eyes.

The old man’s gaze swept the world, narrowed as it landed on Daemon. More specifically, on the abyss yawning open behind him.

“Wizard?” His voice cracked like thunder. His eyes glared sharp as knives. “Who are you calling a Wizard? I am an Archmage! Call me that again and see what happens! I dare you, boy!”

Daemon’s jaw dropped. His expression said it all: What’s wrong with this geezer?

But beneath the anger, he sensed no hostility. If anything, the old man radiated the cranky warmth of a grandfather in the middle of a tantrum. And strangely, Daemon liked it.

“Apologies, esteemed Archmage,” Daemon said quickly, his words smooth and sincere. “I, Daemon, am but an ignorant child unworthy of evoking your wrath. Please forgive a junior’s slip of tongue.”

The Archmage’s scowl softened at once, his chest puffing with satisfaction. He approached slowly, his horse steady, the tome in his other hand thick and worn.

Daemon’s attention drifted. The horse itself was a fine beast, brown of hide, no reins in sight. Instead of a normal saddle, a cloth rested on its back, etched with glyphs and formations. His eyes widened. These arrays were leagues beyond anything he’d seen before — infinitely more complex than even the lines Han Ruyue had woven into his cage.

“How long have you been inside this Leviathan-Maw Trial?” The Archmage asked, still watching the abyss beyond.

Daemon blinked, then answered honestly. “According to the time in my world, four hours.”

The Archmage’s head whipped around. “Four—?!” His eyes bulged. He studied Daemon again like he’d grown a second head. “And you managed to summon me after only four Hourly-Rolls! It took me 78 t-”

Realizing he’d said too much, the old man coughed into his fist, then changed the subject with shameless ease. “Anyway. I am here to grant you this.”

He flicked his hand. A small Gem, glowing deep Rhodolite red, spun through the air.

Daemon caught it on instinct.

The moment his fingers closed around it, his Soul shuddered. A chain he hadn’t known bound him shattered. For the first time in what felt like forever, he could breathe freely.

But when he looked down, the Gem had vanished.

The Archmage smiled knowingly. “Feels good, doesn’t it? Like you’d give anything to keep that sensation forever.”

The Summoning Circle was shrinking fast. The horse shifted, already turning toward the exit.

“Oh, by the way—” The Archmage looked back as his mount stepped into the light. “Which faction do you belong to?”

“The Horde,” Daemon answered without hesitation.

The old man froze.

His face twisted into sheer agony, like a man fighting the worst constipation in his life. Then he roared.

“Fuck! You brat! How dare you? A filthy member of the Horde dares summon me?! I’ll raze your headquarters to the ground! If I ever catch you in my territory, I’ll parade your frozen butt naked before my kingdom!”

Daemon stood stunned as the curses rained, echoing long after the Circle closed.

“…Well. That escalated quickly.” He muttered to himself, baffled. He wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve even one of those insults.

But when the Circle vanished, three cards floated in the air.

[Choose one.]

He did. And that choice gave him the Skill he had used to counter Han Ruyue’s Void Seal.

Now, once again, he was using it — testing if Ping Xueling’s bats could truly stop him from teleporting.

It didn’t work.

Surprise lined his three faces for an instant, then drew tight into focus. The Skill hadn’t failed against Han Ruyue’s Void Seal, so why now? The question slid sideways, to the image still fresh in his mind: Ru and Jia before this storm — Dark Bats burying into their skin until the instant Ping called them back, drinking without restraint. The metallic tang of their blood had been thick in the air, thanks to Asura's sharpened senses. Yet through all of it, not a single fang had touched him. Not once. The swarm had whirled around him like priests circling an altar, careful not to break the ritual.

So the lock wasn’t in the bite. It was in the space.

His gaze lowered. A cold tickle rode the edges at his feet. His shadow lay too long for the smothered light in this shroud, its borders flickering in time with the tide of wings above. Threads of black — no thicker than strands of ink — tugged where his silhouette met the ground, tightening whenever the swarm condensed.

Understanding clicked. The bats were the canvas; the shadow was the nail. Ping Xueling had pinned him to his own outline.

A slow grin curved his lips. “I see. I really shouldn’t have missed this trick,” he said. “Shikamaru is one of my favorites after all.”

Ping Xueling tilted her head, confusion flashing across her eyes. “Who?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Daemon replied, his voice deep, his aura sparking with the silver arcs of his Lightning-Cocoon. “What matters is that it’s time to decide the winner.”

Lightning surged. His body blurred.

Ping fanned herself, cloaking her form in black smoke.

But Daemon was already there, bursting through the veil, five Weapons swinging — Sword, Blade, Spear, Great Axe, and Hammer — each carving from a different angle, while his Tower-Shield braced to crush any counter.

The bats shrieked, the storm howled, and silver Lightning tore through the darkness as the true clash began.

Here's a link to my discord server if you want to talk - .gg/HwHHR6Hds