The lake looked like a huge mirror placed flat on the ground, and the edge of the mirror frame was right under Julius and Rei's feet.
If this was really a mirror, the two of them would definitely step on it in order to escape.
But this "mirror" was not fixed, and the "mirror" would occasionally fluctuate.
The water rippled, and the ripples spread in all directions.
The ripples were right under their feet, and finally disappeared.
Rei picked up a piece of gravel and threw it into the lake.
The gravel fell into the lake, only stirring up a small wave, and then disappeared.
Except for the ripples spreading in this direction, there was no other movement.
"The water is deep, and it's impossible to run across it."
Rei said, "It's also impossible to swim across. God knows what strange things are in there, and the lower part of our bodies may be eaten up before we even swim for a while."
"And where can we swim to?"
Julius said, "We don't know what's on the other side, and if it's more dangerous over there …"
In front of them was an indiscernible darkness. Since this was a lake, there must be something on the other side of the lake. Moreover, this space was too big. They couldn't even see a ceiling above their heads. Instead, they could vaguely see some light.
Those light spots were like stars in the night sky, decorating the space above, making this place look like the ground where the night was thickened, instead of the underground world — but there was only night here, and the sun would never rise.
This place was so big that it was beyond their imagination, and a huge dark space was easy to get lost in. It was no better than the place behind them that was similar to a maze.
Just like now, they couldn't find the direction to escape in. Everything here was strange, and no matter where they ran, it might be a very dangerous choice.
"It's better than staying here and waiting for death."
Rei said to Julius, "Let's run along the lake, and get rid of the two people behind us first!"
After she finished speaking, she ran along the left side of the lake, and Julius hurriedly followed her. He felt that even if he spoke, he wouldn't be able to stop this panicked little girl.
After a few steps, a familiar voice came from behind them. "Cut!"
The sound of the wind rose again. Julius quickly came back to his senses and blocked the attack with his long sword.
The whistling sound of the wind assaulted him. He felt a strong gust of wind blowing past his cheeks, causing his cheeks to hurt. It was as if a knife was pressing against his face.
This wind was very strong, but Julius felt that the impact of this wind was a bit different from the wind blade at the beginning. This wind was not like a saber, but more like the wind pressure caused by a saber moving in the air …
Julius warned him in his heart. He had never felt so terrible before.
The other party must have used the same spell on him just now. He could tell from the sound.
But this wind blade didn't hit him, so where did it go?
Julius heard Rei's scream, which was a sound he had never heard before.
"Rei!"
He blocked in front of her, and his eyes were almost unable to open because of the wind. He wanted to look back to see how Rei was doing, but the two black robes were not far in front of him. If he turned back, he was afraid that he would be the next one to be killed.
The young black robe was fluttering, and the old black robe was right behind him.
The two of them didn't walk very fast, but they still caught up with Julius and Rei. Seeing the wind blowing their robes, they must have used some kind of spell to catch up with them so quickly.
Moreover, they were familiar with this place, and Julius and Rei were just running around like headless flies. It was not strange that they could catch up with them.
"You run really fast, rats. You made me waste so much magic."
The young black robe had an impatient look on his face. Seeing that Julius finally stopped, he was quite proud. It seemed that it was a good choice to attack the little girl first. If he used a spell on this sword-wielding brat in front of him, at least the little girl would continue to run away.
Although in this place, no matter where they ran, they would only die. And if they jumped into the lake, they would have no chance of survival.
Because of this consideration, the young Black Robe had always been at ease, as if he was just clearing out a few unimportant rats.
Julius was not feeling good now. He couldn't take his eyes off the two black robes in front of him. When they came closer, he could only continue to retreat. But when Rei was right behind him, he couldn't retreat anymore.
The only good news now was that he could still hear Rei's painful moans. She was not dead yet, and she still had the strength to make a sound.
But how badly she was injured, Julius couldn't be sure. At least, he didn't dare to confirm it now.
The two black robes stood not far from them, and didn't come any closer.
Julius didn't think that the two suddenly showed mercy. A mage couldn't get too close to their prey. They weren't warriors, so there was no need for them to do so.
"I'll give you a chance to continue to run away. You can go and see how the child is now." The young black robe laughed, as if he had said some kind words.
"If I distract you for a moment, you'll attack me, right?"
Julius wasn't as naive as before. He had paid a heavy price for his naivety. What made him more painful was that the mistake he made was not borne by himself, but by an old man.
These things had always been the pain in Julius' heart. He wouldn't show it, and he didn't dare to do so.
Julius didn't want to repeat the mistake he made because of his naivety.
"I thought you were just an ignorant teenager."
The young black robe laughed a few times. "It seems that you know quite a lot about us … You know what kind of existence we mages are."
"Someone once said that you're all Arcane Tricksters, liars." Julius repeated what Lulunaka had said to him.
Although it was Pasta and Olga who taught him about fighting, Lulunaka would occasionally say some strange things to him on a whim.
Julius couldn't understand most of the words, such as "the mystery of magic is just a joke" or "how many people still remember the existence of the God of Arcana. After all, there are only three gods left in this era". Julius didn't understand at all.
He only remembered one thing. According to Lulunaka's words, mages weren't "good things." They were all liars — no matter if they were first-rate or third-rate.