Another flick of the wand unleashed his tier five spell, Dark Dimension. Vastor's eyes turned black and every speck of light disappeared from the room, making Zinya think that she had gone blind again.
The darkness spread throughout the room and when the undead tried to move forward, they discovered that the energy surrounding them was so thick that it was akin to moving through mud.
A mud that seeped inside all of their orifices, flooding their bodies with darkness magic until nothing was left. To those staring at the scene from the outside, the lights inside the house had just flickered.
Yet five elder undead had disappeared, whereas the humans still stood there as if nothing had happened. Vastor drank the potions he had left on the table while looking in the eyes of the flabbergasted undead who were staring at him from the broken windows.
"Who are-" A beam of golden light cut the female undead short and her head off.
A split second later, all those who had met Vastor's gaze joined her in death, their bodies burning under the effects of the golden wand he wielded. Zogar Vastor was more than a short, overweight mage.
He was a Royal Forgemaster, a Spellbreaker, and after the undead invasion had started, he had even joined the Queen's corps again. The golden wand was the latest weapon developed by the joint efforts of the Balkor department, the Royal Forgemasters, and Manohar.
The enchanted tool was capable of turning tier four and five spells into the next best thing to sunlight. Each beam consumed a lot of mana and lasted for a split-second, but the amount of light it produced could kill any undead if the beam hit a vital spot.
Aside from the Royal Guards who aided Lith at hundreds of kilometers away, only a few selected individuals had one.
The second wave of undead avoided Vastor's line of sight and broke through the walls. Thanks to their enhanced senses, they didn't need to see the human to pinpoint his position and by moving in a straight line they were certain of taking him by surprise.
Vastor didn't even flinch while he activated his tier five spell, Night Parasite. The dust and debris that covered the undead came to life as darkness magic filled them to the brim. Black sand filled their eyes and mouths while the rocks turned into small worms that dug through the flesh of their victim.
The small worms didn't even try to pierce through the heavily enchanted armor the undead wore. The magical constructs simply became thinner until they could slip through the mesh.
Zinya's house rumbled due to the attack damaging some of the bearing-walls, but it held. Ten elder undead had entered and died so the leader sent twenty for the third wave and watched them die the moment they stepped inside the living room.
"Fuck discretion, bring down the house!" He yelled.
Flaming stones the size of a car crashed inside the Yehval household before exploding. Streams of darkness magic made the walls crumble under their own weight while earth magic produced a quake that turned the cozy cottage into a pile of rubble.
"Someone reports Lady Night that we're done with our task." The leader of the third squad said just a moment before his body turned into cinders.
The debris fell to the ground, revealing a silvery sphere underneath. It shapeshifted back into a Professor uniform from the White Griffon academy and Vastor wore it with pride despite the many injuries he had sustained.
Behind him, Zinya, the children, and the beasts were unscathed thanks to Vastor taking the brunt of the damage while focusing his armor to protect them. To keep his focus and endure the pain, he had bitten his lower lip so hard to almost cut it off.
Yet despite the dangling flesh and the cracked bones he made no mistakes while weaving his next series of spells.
"Ignore the old fool and focus on the others! They are his weak point." The second in command said with a smug grin before Vastor blew his head off.
"He's right." Zinya said while comforting her children during what she assumed were her last moments. "I'm dead anyway, Zogar, whereas you are a powerful mage with powerful tools. Please, take my children and run away."
"Shut up! How could I call myself a mage if I can't even protect the happiness of a single person?" Vastor's voice was firm, but his knees buckled up.
At his age, mana abuse would quickly weaken his body.
"I never begged in my life so excuse me if I suck at this." He said while looking the magical beasts in the eyes. "Keep this stupid woman behind me and run away at the first opportunity you get. Are we clear?"
The beasts nodded, looking at him not with suspicion anymore, but with the respect and deference, they would use for their alpha. That sight made Vastor regret to have always considered beasts as his inferiors.
Even though his left eye was burst open, even though his lower lip was hanging by a thread, none of the undead dared to come close or speak.
Vastor took off the cork of another body enhancing tonic and gulped it down, uncaring for the poisoning that stacking the effects of so many potions caused.
He had never been tall nor handsome, but his talent for magic was the real deal and he had worked hard since a tender age while the rest of his peers fooled around. So, when he had become an Archimage at 25 and everyone considered him the greatest healer of his century, it felt natural to him.
It was simply the proper reward for all of his effort. Yet shortly after he had reached the peak, life had thrown him down. Marth first and Manohar later made every one of his achievements look like child's play.
Vastor, who had once been considered a candidate to the title of god of healing had become a joke before he could even notice. The same people who before begged to have just a minute of his time would ignore him in favor of his rivals.
After years and countless failures at regaining his lost status, Vastor had resigned to his destiny as third best healer. To be judged for his physical appearance and to every single one of his feats to be dwarfed by those of his more talented colleagues.
All of that had changed after meeting Zinya.
He was used to people being nice to him until they got what they wanted, yet even after regaining her sight, Zinya would always speak to him with the same kindness she had when she was blind.
Even after meeting Lith, Marth, and several other healers, she still looked at him with the admiration she had when he was still the second-best looking man she had ever seen. When Zinya had asked Vastor to follow her recovery, he had gladly accepted.
From that moment onward, she would often call him. Not to ask for favors or talk about her rehabilitation, but to chat with him and make sure of his well-being.
Helping Zinya to deal with the lawsuit against her in-laws for custody and then to manage her money made him happy like it didn't happen in years.
