The Author's POV

"Angus!?"

Jomnuk and Waylan cried out in shock, flabbergasted at the scene presented before them. Their disbelieving looks gave out the betrayal they felt. The shock was too great.

"Heh, surprised?"

Smirking, Angus looked at them from a safe distance.

BANG!

Before Waylan could do anything, the door of the hideout shot wide open and several blue-skinned dwarves emerged out of nowhere.

"Angus!"

In a tone full of anger, Waylan waved his hand and formed a small barrier around the few individuals who could not defend themselves. Even though he was alarmed by the sudden turn of events, he managed to keep calm.

"Don't panic. As long as I'm here, you will all be safe. Stay calm. There will be back up," At that point, Waylan was unsure if he was saying it to the rest or himself. His words felt empty to himself. He did not think that his chances of survival were high.

Not only was he surrounded by a hit squad of duergars, but the poison in his body had also begun to act fast. He wasn't sure, but it might have been due to his movements and casting. Although it wasn't anything serious, it rapidly drained his mana.

Being without mana in this situation was tantamount to suicide.

"It's no use. I've sealed all forms of communication. Your backup call will go unanswered."

A triumphant smirk emerged on Angus's face as he moved next to a couple of duergars. They each held large gun-like devices.

"You damn traitor…"

Cursing out loud, Waylan glared at Angus.

"To think that you were a spy. I'll have to be honest, you'd be the last person I'd suspect," Spitting at Angus, Waylan was incensed.

From how uptight and trustworthy he seemed, people wouldn't consider Angus a suspect at first. His cover was both simple and effective. As much as Waylan hated to admit it, Angus's acts as the mother of the group had slightly affected even him. He'd let his guard down.

Lifting his head, Waylan muttered dejectedly, "I see. So the reason why we weren't able to detect the poison in the food was because you had purposely rigged the device."

"That's correct."

Angus looked towards the few duergars that had shown up.

Each and every single one of them was extremely powerful, almost rivaling Waylan in terms of strength when put together.

"We've spent a ton of resources trying to infiltrate this place. Who would've expected that just when we thought that it wasn't possible for us, you would select our group for being a part of the protection mission? You wouldn't understand my happiness even if you tried. Ah, how happy I was…"

"Shut up." Gritting his teeth, Waylan decided to shut Angus's mouth. Permanently.

Since he knew that he was pressed for time, Waylan decided to go all out from the get go. Although he had wasted a little bit of time listening to Angus talk, Waylan had managed to grasp the situation and form a plan of action.

Small-time crooks loved to monologue.

Turning around while looking at the others, Waylan clenched his hand and a small barrier enveloped each of the individuals present behind him.

Ren and Jomnuk also had a small barrier enveloping their body.

"Don't get out of the barrier. It's the safest place you can possibly be at the moment."

He reminded.

Then, turning his attention towards the squad of duergers, Waylan punched out.

Vooom—!

Instantly, a whistling sound arose. Like a thunderclap, Waylan's fist explosively shot forward, forming a pressurized ball of wind that shot towards the duergars direction.

Staring at the incoming attack, Angus remained calm.

With his hand behind his back, he looked towards the duergars next to him and ordered in a serious tone.

"Activate the artifact."

The duergars each simultaneously tapped on their right chest. The moment their hands touched it, a small light shot out, converging in front of them.

In an instant, a thin, translucent, black barrier formed in front of them.

BANG—!

Right as the barrier formed, Waylan's attack connected, and a thunderous sound resounded across the room.

A ferocious wind gale spread out from the point of contact, destroying all of the furniture around the room as dust and debris flew everywhere.

"Damn it," A helpless voice rang out before the dust settled.

Waylan's fear came true. The barrier stood strong, albeit a little bit faint now. Yet, that wasn't much. He didn't have enough time to deal meaningful damage.

"It's no use, Waylan. I've come prepared."

Turning towards one of the duergars on his right, Angus pointed towards Jomnuk who was currently being protected by a thin barrier.

"Go, get him. We'll take care of the others."

"On whose watch?!"

Waylan's voice reverberated across the whole room as he took out his broadsword.

A terrifying glow enveloped the blade as the mana in the air converged towards it.

Staring at Waylan opposite, Angus pointed at Jomnuk, "Capture him."

"Don't you dare!"

Waylan raised his broadsword. But just as he was about to slash down, he stopped.

"What are ye doing, Waylan? Attack that traitorous wretch!"

Jomnuk shouted from behind Waylan.

But it was this voice that reminded Waylan about where he was.

He was currently inside of a mansion built underneath the mountain.

"Fuck…"

Waylan swore out loud.

If he went all out then he would put everyone at risk as the whole place could crumble down.

Staring at Waylan in the distance, Angus's lips twisted upward.

"Focus on Jomnuk, ignore the others."

Pulling a small black box out of thin air, Angus threw it next to him. Then, after waving his hand, the box lit up and the mana in the air started to twirl towards it.

Before long, a black portal started to form.

SHIIIIING—!

The moment Waylan saw the box, he knew just what Angus was planning on doing. As such, he instantly cut down.

Understanding the predicament he was in, he decided to cut down on his power to 40%.

The moment he attacked, the mana in the air condensed onto the top of his sword and a terrifying white slash formed, headed towards the duergars that were trying to get to Jomnuk.

But just like before, the duergars at the back tapped on their chest and formed a barrier.

—BANG!

The moment Waylan's attack met with the barrier, the whole room shook.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Large cracks formed on the ceiling of the room, and pieces of rocks fell towards the ground, narrowing Walan's visibility.

—Swoosh!

Emerging from the cloud of debris were two duergars. They directly headed for Jomnuk, who watched on with a frightened look.

"Hup!"

Stomping his foot on the ground, Waylan put his broadsword away and shot towards the nearest duergar.

After thinking things through, he decided to let go of the sword and focus on close combat. The broadsword put him at a disadvantage in this kind of environment. The area was perilous and narrow.

Vooom!

But the moment Waylan shot towards the druegar, as though the latter had been expecting him, the enemy stomped the ground. Thereafter, clenching his hand, black gas filled the area.

"You sneaky bastards!"

Covering his face with his arms, Waylan stopped breathing.

Unfortunately, because it had happened all too abruptly, he was unable to completely stop himself from breathing in the gas.

"Urk!"

Instantly, Waylan's mana reserves took a nosedive and his head started to spin.

—Thud!

With a small thud, the duergar that had released the poison fell onto the ground.

His body had completely dried up. He was dead. It was a suicide attack.

'To think that they're going as far as to kill themselves to make this successful… They are all mad.'

Waylan thought as he had one hand on his nose and the other holding onto the wall.

CLANG—!

The sound of metal striking something hard resounded.

Turning around, Waylan realized that the other duergar was already upon Jomnuk.

The only thing separating the duergar and Jomnuk was the thin barrier Waylan implemented to protect him.

"Oh, no..."

Waylan's mana supply was already extremely low. He wasn't sure for how long he could keep holding the barrier.

"Waylan, I don't have any artifacts! I need help! Help! Waylan!"

Banging onto the thin shield, Jomnuk cried out for help.

His face was white as paper, and his legs were trembling.

"I'm… coming."

Supporting his body, Waylan tried to move towards Jomnuk. However, the enemy chose to give no respite. Before he could take a step, another duergar quickly jumped in his direction.

Crack!

"Argh!"

Before he knew it, the same black fog enveloped him. Fortunately, Waylan was prepared this time. He didn't inhale anything, but the black gas had completely shrouded him.

Pressing his toes on the wooden floor, the flooring beneath him split apart and his body shot towards the duergar trying to attack Jomnuk.

BANG—! BANG—!

But just as he moved, two more duergars appeared before him and tried to stop him.

"Haaa!"

They tried to repeat the same thing as before, but Waylan was prepared to stop it this time. Waving his hand, he pushed them back with a blast of mana and continued to run towards Jomnuk.

But, he was too late.

"NOO!"

Crack— Crash!

By the time he had come close, the barrier broke apart and the duergar threw something in Jomnuk's direction.

Within seconds, a transparent net enveloped Jomnuk and completely captured him.

SHIIIING!

It was do or die. No longer caring about the environment, Waylan once again took out his broadsword and prepared to slash down. But, before he could do that, the duergar held a small dagger by Jomnuk's neck. The blue glow of the net highlighted the duergar's features, making him look sinister.

"Stop or he dies!"

"Fuck!"

Waylan cursed out loud. He hated this. He was so close!

His grip on the broadsword tightened considerably.

Seeing that his threat had worked, the duergar spoke more confidently, "Take one more step and he dies."

Angus looked on from afar. A victorious grin was plastered on his face.

"You bastards!"

Gritting his teeth, Waylan glared at Angus, who chuckled at his misery.

"Hehe, as expected of a dumb human. You were too easy to manipulate."

As Angus spoke, the duergar holding Jomnuk hostage slowly walked in his direction. Jomnuk had long passed out.

As he moved, the duergar continued to hold the dagger on Jomnuk's neck, his eyes never leaving Waylan, who was standing still, staring at him from afar.

Clench!

The sound of Waylan's fists clenching tightly was heard clearly in the quiet room.

He could do nothing at the moment. With Jomnuk's life in their hands, Waylan could do nothing but just watch them take him away.

A truly helpless expression appeared on his face.

"Damn it all…"

Before long, the duergar finally reached Angus. He passed Jomnuk over to him.

"Good work."

Taking Jomnuk's body, Angus didn't waste any time and simply waved his hand towards Waylan.

"Well then, we'll be taking our leave. Goodbye, Waylan."

Giving a final victorious look, Angus stepped towards the portal.

While walking towards the portal, a thought entered Angus's mind. He suddenly halted his steps. The sudden stop seemed hesitant, but he still turned to look at Waylan for a moment.

Taking out a small device, he threw it in the middle of the room.

"Just gotta make sure you don't try anything silly. No hard feelings here."

VOOOM!

Right after he threw the item, Angus threw Jomnuk's body into the portal.

Ding. Ding!

Shortly after, the item that was thrown on the floor started to beep.

It was then that it finally dawned on Waylan's face. The device was an explosive.

"Y-you!"

Cursing out loud, Waylan turned around and moved towards Ren and the others.

Staring at Waylan's desperate figure from where he was, Angus waved goodbye and entered the portal.

"Hehe, I'll see you later… in hell."

Ignoring Angus, using his last bit of mana, Waylan created a massive shield and enveloped everyone that was present in the room.

"You crazy bastard! Mark my words, Angus-"

Glaring at the portal in the distance, Waylan's bloodthirsty scream resounded across the whole room.

"I will kill you!"

—BOOOOOOM!

What followed after was a terrifying explosion.