I looked down at Jefrin, who was sprawled on the ground.
With a mischievous grin, I teased,
"Come on, young one. Follow me if you don't want to die."
"Y-young one?"
Jefrin scowled at me, her anger evident.
In our first encounter, she had always referred to us with that belittling term.
It always seemed as though she was flaunting her age, as if it were some kind of trophy.
Despite looking like a young girl, according to Astina, she was an aged wizard.
So, I figured that such provocation would be quite effective.
“You still haven't learned your lesson, young one?”
Just as I had anticipated, Jefrin retorted with a face flushed in fury, trying to lift herself off the ground.
“Finger of the Demon.”
Without missing a beat, I unleashed a spell upon him.
Dark columns erupted from the ground beneath him.
“Ah...”
Jefrin quickly tried to dodge, but due to her vulnerable position, her cheek was grazed by the razor-sharp pillar.
Smiling confidently, I approached the wounded Jefrin,
"Ready for another round?"
By now, I had a fairly clear understanding of her abilities.
She excelled at illusion magic, had a knack for defensive spells, but her offensive capabilities were somewhat lacking.
And those who relied on illusion magic often tried to mislead their adversaries, catching them off-guard.
But the drawback was, once they revealed themselves, they became significantly weaker than other wizards.
Given that I could discern whether her magic was an illusion or not, it made countering her moves relatively simple.
It was clear that taking on Jefrin now would be much easier compared to our previous encounters.
“Ugh... Blind Fog!”
At her command, a black smoke-like mist rapidly spread around us.
It had the semblance of smoke but felt eerily different.
“An illusion?”
Just a visual distraction, a subset of her illusion magic.
“Behemoth.”
With my command, the ground rumbled and split open, revealing the Behemoth, a creature resembling a baby elephant in size.
Jefrin’s scream echoed as the illusionary fog dissipated almost instantly.
I could see him stumbling and falling, probably tripped by the split earth.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The illusion, fragile to even the slightest disruption, must've faded when she tripped.
“Punch of Ruin!”
I slammed my fist into the ground, causing a much more significant quake than when the Behemoth had appeared.
The ground around the spot where I struck shattered, scattering rocks and debris everywhere.
The spot I stood on had sunk, while the surroundings rose in jagged protrusions.
“Agh!!!”
A scream echoed from behind me.
The previously visible figure of Jefrin, who had been lying ahead, started to blur and fade away.
As I looked in the direction of the scream, I saw Jefrin, dagger in hand, stumbling and rolling on the ground.
"It's obvious now."
I had roughly figured out Jefrin's personality by now.
Given my earlier taunt calling him a child, there was no way she'd simply flee.
"Behemoth, bind him."
"Pwoooh!"
Upon my command, the scattered rocks around us moved, converging toward Jefrin.
Jefrin, seemingly unwilling to be captured so easily, furrowed her brows and began channeling her mana.
“Invisible Exit!”
With a sharp 'bang', she invoked her magic, her figure disappearing as if concealed by an unseen force.
The rocks that had been heading for Jefrin collided with each other and fell back to the ground.
“Didn’t I tell you it wouldn’t work?”
I smirked.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a mana stone.
A dark magic spell I had been practicing, using a sacrifice.
My mana began to swirl, enveloping the mana stone.
“Haaa...”
I felt my mana start to absorb the stone, drawing in its energy.
Closing my eyes, I deeply felt the presence of the stone, absorbing all its power.
Mana pulsated within my hand, gathering with intensity.
Channeling it, I mixed it with my inner reserves.
With this combined power, I cast my spell.
Black flames, originating from me, spread outward in all directions.
It resembled a hazy, smoke-like fire.
These black flames advanced, casting a shadowy blaze across the ground.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})“What… is that…?”
Jefrin seemed baffled by the situation.
No matter how skilled a wizard she might be, it appeared she wasn’t well-versed in dark magic.
Panicking, Jefrin tried to escape the encroaching flames, running desperately.
I just stood there, watching him, confident.
She was bound to be ensnared, not by me, but by the flames.
The flames, which had been spreading evenly before, now seemed to chase after Jefrin specifically.
It was as if a shadow was hungrily stalking its prey, stretching across the ground.
The flames sped up, soon outpacing Jefrin's frantic escape.
Realizing the imminent threat, Jefrin stretched out her hand toward the flames and shouted.
“Barrier!”
An attempt at a defensive spell by Jefrin.
It seemed strong.
However, this magic was unstoppable.
Jefrin had already consumed a lot of mana and had been rolling around, sustaining injuries.
And so...
The flames following Jefrin enveloped the barrier in a circular fashion.
I stared intently at the scene and raised my hand.
"Ah."
Suddenly, something occurred to me.
"Thanks for the dream? It was a pleasant one."
Upon hearing this, a fierce anger flashed in Jefrin's eyes.
"You son of—"
Before Jefrin could curse, I clenched my fist.
Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The flames that had surrounded the barrier soared upwards.
Hellfire.
A spell that pursues its designated target and detonates upon impact.
A magic that could be invoked by offering a mana stone as a sacrifice.
Given that this dark magic required the sacrifice of a mana stone, its destructive power was different from ordinary spells.
The black flames rising from Jefrin's direction seemed to touch the sky.
After a while, the flames began to settle.
"Phew......"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Once the flames had vanished, I looked below.
Jefrin was lying there, charred and motionless.
"Is she still breathing?"
Noticing Jefrin's back moving up and down, it seemed like she was alive.
"It's better if she survived."
If she's alive, it means we can extract information about the rebels from him.
I slowly approached Jefrin.
"Roarrrr!!!"
At that moment, Behemoth let out a roar from below.
It's strange to describe it as a roar, but it certainly made a loud sound.
"...What's the matter?"
"Roarrrr!!"
Behemoth stomped its feet, seemingly protesting, and let out a sound.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked at Behemoth,
"What are you trying to say......"
Tilting my head, wondering if it wanted me to listen, I picked up Behemoth into my embrace.
Despite resembling an elephant, its size was like a small dog, fitting snugly in my arms.
"Roar!"
Behemoth then patted my chest with its foot.
"Not this either?"
What does it want...
Then, Behemoth, looking frustrated, pointed its trunk toward a certain direction.
"Over there? Why?"
It pointed to the sky.
"Ah?"
Above the sky.
Something was there.
It was hard to see, but looking at it...
"Bones...?"
Bones of something were descending from the sky.
This felt unusual.
"What's..."
The bones were getting closer.
And they weren't just any ordinary bones.
"Why is it so big..."
I took a step back.
It kept approaching.
As it came closer, I could make out what it was.
"A... dragon?"
A dragon made of bones.
It was a Thunder Dragon.
Riding on its back was a figure.
The Thunder Dragon approached closer and closer to me.
A gust of wind swept forth.
I raised my arm to shield against the gust.
Thud!
The Thunder Dragon landed right before me.
Its immense size felt even more overwhelming up close.
Its body was larger than most houses.
Standing before it, I felt an intense pressure.
This pressure pressed down on me, even though the Thunder Dragon wasn't doing anything in particular.
It was the fear of its mere presence.
With heightened alertness, I glared at the Thunder Dragon.
Then, from atop its back, a man leaped down.
He wore a robe, characterized by dark circles under her eyes and unkempt hair.
Using magic, he landed safely on the ground.
Without even sparing me a glance, he walked toward Jefrin.
I was torn.
Should I stop this man?
But considering this Thunder Dragon...
In the brief moment, I doubted if I could defeat the dragon or its wizard rider.
Would it be wise to just stand still since they're ignoring me?
The man, now picking up Jefrin, began to walk back to the Thunder Dragon.
As he casually proceeded, he suddenly turned her head to look straight at me.
Then he spoke.
"The Leader has taken an interest in you."
"...What?"
My eyes widened in shock.
Suddenly, the Rebel Leader is interested in me?
But wasn't the Leader gravely injured...?
"Now is not the time. Later, I'll come with the Leader to see you."
"What do you mean by that?"
He ignored my questions and began to mount the Thunder Dragon.
I have to stop him and get some answers!
"Finger of the Demon!"
Upon my spell's incantation, black pillars sprouted from the ground, aiming to stop the Thunder Dragon.
The man atop the Thunder Dragon voiced the same spell.
"Finger of the Demon."
Crash!
Identical pillars to mine emerged, colliding with my own.
Dark magic.
I scowled.
"If you cast another spell, I won't stand by idly."
He warned.
Heeding his words, I refrained from making another move.
He was stronger than me.
But not just strong; he wielded the same magic as me.
There was no way for me to gain an upper hand.
No advantages in attribute differences or using lesser-known aspects of dark magic.
"Sigh..."
With a heavy sigh, I continued to watch the Thunder Dragon.
Powerless, all I could do was witness the unfolding scene.
The man, astride the bone dragon, glanced my way before giving the creature's head a gentle tap.
At his gesture, the bone dragon began to flap its wings.
"Ah..."
The forceful gust of wind made me squint.
And then, the bone dragon ascended into the sky, gradually disappearing from sight.
I gazed after it, murmuring to myself,
“Why is the leader interested in me?”
Why indeed?
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