The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, its warm rays stretched through the dense canopy of the forest, painting the sky in a shade of orange and red. The leaves of the trees bathed in this light, gently fluttering in the cool breeze.
In the depths of the forest, the eastern camp set up by the Magi of the allied forces had come alive once again. As the sun slowly set, countless lanterns and glowing crystal balls lit up one after the other, lighting up the camp.
Campfires were set up at various places and the Magi, dressed in robes of all colors, sat around the fire, their face illuminated by the light.
Some were in deep conversation, talking about arcane studies, while others spoke about their experiences while going out on missions earlier today. The large camp was slowly beginning to fill up with the gradual inflow of people as the sun finally set.
Apart from the ones that had gone on long-term missions, most Magi would return daily by sunset. After all, it got very dangerous to traverse outside the camp during nighttime.
Inside the camp, the atmosphere was thick with tension, mingling with the scent of firewood and the aroma of herbal potions.
Although the Magi resting in the camp bore expressions of grim determination, there was also a sense of camaraderie to be found. This bond of unity was what helped them get through the vicious cycle of blood and steel.
At a certain part of the camp, a young man, who seemed to be around twenty years old, was anxiously pacing back and forth in front of his tent.
He had long brown hair that hung down to his shoulders and bright blue eyes. Judging from the clothes he was wearing, it was certain that he came from an affluent background.
Over the silk robes with beautiful golden embroidery, the young man wore a cloak that had the insignia of the Gracie Family.
This person was none other than Kevin.
It had been more than two days since Alex and his squad had left with Adam for the mission. But till now there had been no news from him.
As time continued to pass by, Kevin grew more and more anxious. The outcome of Alex's mission meant a great deal to him. If he succeeded in getting rid of Adam, then it would be perfect.
However, if Alex failed, then Kevin didn't know what he would do. He would never get a better opportunity than this war. Even if he did, he was not sure if he would succeed.
And until and unless he had confirmed that Adam was dead, he would never be able to peacefully advance in his path as a Magus.
"Damn it!" Kevin cursed under his breath as he kept walking back and forth in front of his tent's entrance.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Could it be… he failed? This possibility suddenly crossed his mind like it did several times in the past few days. However, he hurriedly shook his head. No, that is very unlikely.
I've already told him everything I know about Adam. All his spells, techniques, skillsets… everything!
Father's also given him the magic scroll containing the Rank 2 Spell: Death Frost.
If that bastard fails despite all this…
No, no, no, think positive!
Just as he was lost in thought, a figure suddenly approached him from behind, looking at him in amusement. Even after standing near him for a couple of minutes already, Kevin didn't sense his presence at all.
It was only when this person lightly coughed that Kevin snapped out of his daze. He hurriedly turned around and glanced at this figure, and when he did, his face instantly darkened.
When Kevin glanced at the black, pointy hat that this person was wearing, his body shuddered and fear flashed in his eyes.
This black pointy hat and the person wearing it had become the source of nightmares for Kevin. It had gotten to such a point that every time he would come across a Magus who was wearing a pointy hat, his heart would skip a beat.
"You look surprised to see me," Adam spoke with a faint smile as he uncorked his wine gourd and took a swig from it.
The strong scent wafting from the gourd assaulted Kevin's nostrils, jolting him out of his shock. He subconsciously took a step back and pointed his trembling finger at the raven-haired youth.
"Y-Y-You! How are you alive?!" He stuttered.
"Oh?" Adam raised his eyebrow and muttered playfully, "You say that as if you were sure that I wouldn't return from my mission this time." He slowly walked toward Kevin, his lips curling up into a mocking smile, "Could it be… that you ordered Alex to kill me?"
Kevin's body froze when he realized the blunder he had just made. He screamed in his heart, What's wrong with me?! How could I slip up so badly? No! I can still... salvage this… I can still…
But when he glanced at Adam's deep, abyss-like pupils that seemed to be swirling with an otherwordly light, his thoughts gradually came to a standstill.
The following moment, Adam's bewitching voice entered his ears.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Poor Kevin, look at how useless you are." Adam slowly walked in circles around the brown-haired youth, leisurely drinking wine from the gourd.
"You hired so many Magi to work for you inside the secret plane. You even had a Fireball scroll with you. But despite all that, you failed to kill me."
Adam's words became entrancing the more he spoke.
"Now, you got Alex and his team to work for you. Not to mention, you gave him a Rank 2 spell scroll this time as well." The youth took a step closer to Kevin and muttered coldly, "Yet, here we are."
All Kevin could do was quietly listen. His thoughts were a mess and so were his emotions. He could feel anger slowly bubbling inside him, but strangely enough, he found himself incapable of acting on it.
It was as if everything around him had disappeared, and all that remained was the spellbinding voice of the person he hated the most.
"You make others do your bidding while you cower inside the walls.
"Despite being showered with resources since birth, you couldn't even catch up to my shadow.
"Your own fiance left you for someone else, and you couldn't even do anything about it.
"Tell me, Kevin, can you still call yourself a man?"
The voice grew deeper and deeper as Kevin found himself floating in black emptiness. He tried to cover his ears, but the voice continued to ring inside his head.
He wanted to call for help, but he was unable to.
He wanted to scream, but he was unable to.
He could only listen as unbridled rage grew inside him with each passing second.
"Perhaps, you're not a man…
"Maybe you're a eunuch?
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"No, even eunuchs have balls.
"But you? You're just spineless trash!"
Kevin's eyes turned bloodshot in fury. He gritted his teeth so hard that his gums started to bleed. He couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't.
Adam's voice entered his ears one last time.
"Come fight me yourself…
"You crippled weakling."
"Gaaahhhhh!!" Kevin roared to the skies and swung his fist. "I'll kill you right now, you bastard!"
But his attack ended up hitting nothing but empty air. He then lost his balance and miserably fell to the ground. "Huh?"
The youth looked around and saw that Adam was nowhere to be seen. The Magi standing nearby were giving him strange looks, wondering if he had gone mad.
"W-What's happening?" Kevin wiped the sweat from his forehead with his trembling hand. "Am I… dreaming?"
But the words that continued to ring inside his head reaffirmed that it was not a dream.
You're not a man.
Spineless trash.
Crippled weakling.
Kevin's eyes gleamed with anger and madness as he spat through gritted teeth,
"Fine, I'll kill you myself!"
