Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 572: Fill in

Isabel was baffled, but she didn’t have time to wonder why Yulin, one of Jakob’s own students, had shown up to stop his attack together with Alexandra. She gritted her teeth as she tried to draw more power from her drained Rune. There was practically nothing left to take after her Master Rune had ground her energy down, but she managed a flicker of power.

Fortunately for her, Jakob seemed to be just as confused as she was. The roots rising up from the ground around him twitched as he stared at the newcomers. Anger creased his features and his jaw clenched.

“Yulin. What do you think you’re doing?” Jakob ground out. More roots pushed free of the ground and rose around him like a swaying sea of grass in the wind.

“You’re on the wrong side, idiot,” Marley said. “Did you forget that you were supposed to deal with Alexandra, not bring her here?”

“Have I ever forgotten anything?” Yulin asked quietly, raising her sword before her and shifting her stance.

“You’ve been a decent aid, Yulin,” Jakob said, his tone dripping with anger. “But I believe you may have gotten misguided. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough with my instructions. Deal with the students behind you.”

Yulin’s hands clenched. She didn’t move.

Isabel would have burst into laughter if she wasn’t so stressed. It looked like Alexandra had somehow gotten Yulin to swap teams. She didn’ t know how, but she wasn’t about to complain. They needed all the help they could get, and Marley was such a raging asshole that it really wasn’t all that big of a surprise that someone that had to deal with him on a daily basis would turn against him. Her only regret was that Yulin didn’t have the same armor that Marley did.

“Stupid woman,” Jakob growled, shaking his head. “What a waste of Torrin resources. You serve us. That is your duty. That is your purpose. You are dead, Yulin. You realize this, yes? You are choosing to betray the Torrin family. There are no more warnings after this. I will kill you along with the thief. We do not harbor traitors.”

Anger pulsed in Isabel’s heart and pushed back the numbing pain in her arm. The absolute gall of Jakob to call her a thief when he was trying to steal her rune. When the noble families had conspired to kill her father and had taken everything from her and Todd. Her stomach twisted in fury and her hands clenched at her sides.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Todd’s face creased with concentration. He was trying to do something during the momentary distraction that Alexandra and Yulin had bought them, but she couldn’t tell what.

“I am not a traitor,” Yulin said.

“Get over here,” Marley growled. “Now, Yulin. This is an order. Professor Jakob isn’t playing around. This isn’t the time to decide to be annoying.”

Yulin’s expression didn’t so much as twitch. “Your order is invalid. I obey the Torrin family — but you and Jakob are unworthy of our name. I have chosen to support a different branch of the family.”

“Oh, ouch,” Emily said, drawing an ice arrow back and taking aim at him. “I’m practically homeless, and I’m still a preferrable choice to you, Marley. I think I’d be finding something pretty strong to drink after this. Maybe you can ask Jakob to drink with you, since I doubt anybody else can stomach your presence.”

Marley’s mouth dropped open as his eyes shot to Emily. “Are you kidding me? Her? What claim does she have to the throne? Evergreen is dead! Exal commands the Torrins now. Turning against him is like signing your own death warrant. Even if we don’t kill you here, there won’t be any future left for you.”

“You’re talking very bold for someone who hasn’t managed to win a single match against me,” Alexandra said. “And we outnumber you.”

“Numbers mean nothing in the face of strength,” Jakob replied. “I am at the peak of Rank 4. What do you think a few middling children are capable of against me? I have wasted enough time here. Marley, enough playing around. Deal with the worthless ones while I get the Master Rune.”

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Marley brought his palms together. Power flared up from his damaged armor as Imbuements hummed to life along it. Magic leaked off the metal and rose into the air in a thick gray haze.

He lifted his swords and they both ignited with a loud hum, burning with even more energy than they had before. Whoever was supporting Jakob was pumping magic into Marley’s armor and practically throwing huge swathes of it away.

The amount of power Marley was leaking was painful. He was basically burning magic just to keep his equipment active — but it didn’t seem like either he or Jakob were particularly concerned with that.

“I’ll deal with Yulin, Professor,” Marley said with a sneer, stepping forward. “I beat her in matches all the time. You can get the others.”

“I find your presence distasteful, but I do not want to kill you,” Yulin said. “Stand down. I have never lost to you when I did not allow myself to.”

“Is that so?” Marley’s expression darkened in fury. “Then let’s find out which of us is actually stronger.”

That’s hardly a fair challenge. Marley is completely kitted out in fully imbued armor, and Yulin has absolutely nothing but her sword.

Isabel’s muscles tensed as the roots around Jakob rose up to tower over him, casting a shadow over the entire clearing. The taste of blood stung against Isabel’s tongue and her arm throbbed in pain. She barely had anything to work with, but she clung to the one scrap of magic that she’d gathered in wait for an opportunity. Isabel refused to go down without a fight.

“You know what?” Todd asked, his voice cutting through the clearing. “I’m so fucking fed up with this. You all piss me off.”

“Is that so?” Jakob asked, tilting his head to the side. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to complain much longer. You’re just one more loose end that should have been tied off.”

“And there you go again, spouting off bullshit,” Todd said. He cracked his neck, then rubbed at it with one hand, but his eyes never left Jakob. “I used to think every noble was like you and Marley, you know. A bunch of arrogant, self-entitled pricks with massive egos that think the world belongs to them.”

“You are scum,” Jakob ground out. “Every single one of you are scum, and you will die like scum. I can’t be bothered to deal with this one. Marley, handle him first. I will discipline Yulin myself.”

“Sure thing, Professor,” Marley said with a grin. He strode toward Todd, smokey magic curling off his body and into the air like a pyre. “I’ll dig his grave for you.”

“Dig an extra one,” Todd said, lifting his hand toward Marley. Stone raced up his body and encased his arm in an extra layer of protection. It jutted out of the back of his shoulder and dull lines of orange energy lit it from within. “Because I’m done fucking around.”

Several loud explosions went off in rapid succession within Todd’s arm. A deafening crack split the air. Steam exploded out the back of his arm and fire rolled out around his fingers in a roar.

Spurts of fire pushed through cracks in his arm, ripping it apart. He staggered to the side, nearly tripping over his own feet as he fought to keep his balance. The fire only made it about a foot away from him before dissipating into the air.

Jakob let out a snort of amusement. “You are pathetic. Put the yammering fool down already, Marley. What are you waiting on?”

Marley stood stock still, a sneer frozen on his face as if cast in ice. A trickle of blood rolled down his face and dripped from his nose.

At the very center of his forehead was a small hole. A stone was lodged deep within his brain, still smoking from the explosion that had launched it free from Todd’s palm.

The magic pouring from Marley’s armor sputtered and went out. The metal turned dull. Marley pitched back and crashed to the ground like a limp doll with a heavy thud. And there he remained, unmoving.

“You vile scum!” Jakob screamed, thrusting his hands forward. “What have you done?”

Vines exploded forward toward Todd. Alexandra blurred, her figure dancing through the air like the wind itself. She ripped through nearly every vine before it could find its mark, but one slipped past her.

Yulin dove forward. She grabbed Todd and tackled him to the side, bringing him out of the path of the deadly magic. The Torrin girl rolled to the side and back to her feet. For a moment, she stared at the spot where Marley had fallen. Then she lifted her sword again and returned her attention to Jakob.

Todd staggered up beside her, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“On second thought, you might need to dig the extra grave yourself. I don’t think Marley’s going to be doing much of anything,” Todd said. “This one’s on you, dumbass. You turned his pendant off too so he wouldn’t get pulled out of a fight by a small injury since he’s got that bullshit armor to keep him alive. Why should I fight fair when all you ever do is cheat?”

“I am going to kill you. All of you,” Jakob said, flexing his fingers like claws as veins bulged in his neck. Roots burst up from the ground around him to replace the ones that Alexandra had destroyed. “Painfully.”

“That hasn’t been the first time someone’s said that to me,” Alexandra said, pointing her blade at Jakob. “And it isn’t going to be the last. Professor Vermil isn’t here right now, so I’ll have to fill in for him and remove your head.”