From Master Assassin to a Random Extra: OP in a Dating Sim
Chapter 71: Marcus and Cynthia (5)

Chapter 71: Marcus and Cynthia (5)

Marcus ignited the space beneath his feet with a sharp pulse of flame, the flame runes erupting into focused jets of fire. The roar of heat echoed through the cavern like a volcanic engine, the sudden burst of propulsion sending him rocketing into the air—narrowly avoiding a full-body crash into the subterranean lake below.

"Let’s get things started," he muttered, a confident smirk cutting across his face.

No need to shout runes anymore.

Guess I’m finally getting the hang of this...

He hovered mid-air, surveying the enormous cavern. The subterranean lake stretched endlessly, dark and rippling under the faint glow of the crystals that lined the walls. But the wyrm... it was nowhere in sight. Not even a ripple. It was like the beast had simply vanished into thin air.

"Can you see it?" Marcus shouted, eyes darting across the cavernous expanse.

Cynthia floated nearby, her form held aloft by spinning rings of air magic beneath her feet. Her control wasn’t perfect—her position wobbled with every subtle gust—but it was enough. Efficiency didn’t matter. Right now, they needed to make noise. Big noise. Enough mana output to catch a lazy professor’s attention.

"It’s got to be hiding somewhere!" she called back. With a deft flick of her wrist, a jagged bolt of lightning surged from her wand, tearing across the cavern and striking a crystalline wall with a violent crack.

The moment it hit, a low, guttural growl echoed through the cavern.

"Found it..." she said coldly, narrowing her eyes as her hand danced through the air, preparing more runes in rapid succession.

The crystalline wall began to shift—like scales rippling under murky water. The stone wasn’t stone at all. The wyrm’s enormous body shimmered into visibility, its surface refracting light like polished crystal. It had been camouflaged the entire time, hidden in plain sight.

"Nice eye!" Marcus laughed, summoning twin pistols into his hands in a blaze of fiery light. The combustion runes he’d prepared earlier coiled down their barrels, layered deep into the frame like veins of volatile magic.

"Time to make some noise!" he cackled.

He opened fire without hesitation, the chambered runes igniting with each pull of the trigger. Bullets infused with both necrotic decay and explosive fire launched at high velocity, leaving crimson trails in the air.

Each round struck the wyrm’s head and detonated—bone-rattling blasts. Smoke erupted from its face, staggering it blind.

"I got your back!" Cynthia shouted, her wand arcing forward.

"Pressure Spike!" she incanted, her voice cutting through the smoke like a blade.

Instantly, the swirling haze from Marcus’s blasts halted mid-air—then compressed, compacting into a dense sphere around the wyrm’s skull. The air around it thickened unnaturally, the pressure slamming into its cranium like an invisible vice.

The wyrm let out a thunderous roar of agony, slamming its massive head into the surrounding walls in a blind frenzy. Shards of crystal and rock exploded outward as it writhed in a mixture of rage and pain.

"Woah... remind me not to piss you off," Marcus laughed, eyes wide as he watched the effect of her spell.

Cynthia winked, brushing a soaked lock of hair from her cheek before focusing forward again.

"It’s a pretty high-tier spell. Drains a ton of mana, but since burning mana like crazy is the goal..." she smirked, "Might as well show off a little."

"Can’t argue with that," Marcus muttered, lifting his pistols again. He fired off another barrage, each rune-lit bullet eating through his mana like wildfire through dry grass.

"Let me help with that..." Cynthia drifted beside him, movements uneven from her shaky wind control. She reached out and grasped Marcus’s shoulders, steadying herself.

"Ignition!" she chanted.

Runes bloomed at the tips of Marcus’s pistols—glowing red-hot. A fresh enchantment surged into every bullet. When he fired again, the shots left streaks of flame, searing through the air like miniature comets.

The wyrm thrashed violently, howling as the flaming projectiles and the relentless pressure of condensed smoke tore at its vision and skull. Its form spasmed in pain, creating massive shockwaves across the lake’s surface.

"We could probably take it out without the pro—"

Marcus’s words were cut off by a piercing blast.

SHHHRACK—!!

A high-pressure jet of water slammed into the side of his head, striking his right ear like a knife made of liquid steel.

Blood burst forth immediately.

"AGHHH!" Marcus cried, his entire body jerking as a jolt of unimaginable pain raced through his nerves. The flames beneath his feet flickered violently, nearly snuffing out as his balance faltered.

"Marcus!" Cynthia shouted in panic, flying to his side and placing a glowing hand against his bleeding temple.

"Heal!" she cast, golden light wrapping around the wound as she clutched him to keep him from spiraling downward.

Marcus clenched his jaw, the world tilting around him. "It’s just an ear... why does it hurt this much!?"

He gasped, trembling as another wave of agonizing pain crashed through him. His vision blurred at the edges.

In front of them, the smoke cleared. The wyrm had broken free.

It coiled its enormous body, head lowered like a battering ram. Dark pulses flickered in its gemstone eyes—each rhythmic beat sent another spike of pain shooting through Marcus’s skull like a hammer to glass.

"AGHHHH!" Marcus screamed, clutching his head. "CYNTHIA! Get us out of here!"

"That... thing!" he growled through clenched teeth. "It’s using magic to amplify pain—tenfold!"

Cynthia didn’t hesitate. She gripped Marcus tight, wrapping one arm around his chest as she aimed her wand backward.

"Favourable Wind!" she roared, and a sudden gale erupted beneath them, propelling both of them away in a spiraling retreat.

But they weren’t safe yet.

The wyrm gave chase, slicing through the water like a torpedo, its massive form creating massive waves behind it. Jets of water blasted from its mouth, each shot narrowly missing as Cynthia zigzagged through the air, her amateur flight control barely keeping them ahead.

"Shit!" Marcus shouted, trying to lift his pistols with trembling hands.

Another chase.

Another fight.

But screw this one up—and it’s their last.