"You should have just gone home when you had the chance…"
Neron was on his knees as he heard the footsteps of the old man draw closer to him.
The eerie silence in the room gave weight to every echo of his words.
Mr. Duffy had just taken the blood-red gem that floated above the inscribed Magic Circle on the ground.
The Circle was no longer glowing, and it seemed the stone was done absorbing all the energy and blood from its victims.
Right in front of his eyes, Neron had to watch his friends become nothing but dried sacs of flesh and bones.
All while kneeling… waiting…
"Do you know how Blood Stones are formed? Every human has a Soul, and the Soul is simply a cluster of Energy that is Mana…" As Mr. Duffy said this, he fixed the gem on the staff he usually used for walking.
"Throughout the course of a person's life, the energy from the Soul leaks to the body and flows through the blood as Mana Fragments or Particles."
As he kept speaking, the light of the so-called Blood Stone's began to flicker.
"By extracting the blood of countless individuals and concentrating it in a single location, condensing it to the utmost limit… a Blood Stone is born."
Mr. Duffy's wide smile showed just how excited he was.
He didn't even mind that he was explaining all of this to a powerless child who would soon meet his end.
"For years now, I have been slowly collecting the Mana from various people… trying my best to charge up the Blood Stone. It was never enough. Not enough to complete it…"
However, based on the maniacal grin that the old man was displaying, it seemed all of that had now changed.
"Finally… it is done! My several decades of dedication to the cause has finally paid off! It's just as Lewis Griffith, The Great Sage, mentioned. Nothing is impossible with Magic!"
Old Man Duffy began to laugh maniacally, greedily licking his lips as he eyed his prized possession.
After so long, he finally had the power he sought!
"I wasn't planning on absorbing your Mana, but it'll be a waste not to do so at this point. It seems you have quite a large pool of it." More cackles of laughter escaped his lips.
"I suppose I'll just consider this a bonus for m—!"
"Is that all…?"
Neron's sudden voice shook Mr. Duffy—enough to cause him to fall silent instantly.
He didn't even complete his statement, and his laughter immediately ceased.
"Just… just because of Magic… you did this…?"
Mr. Duffy was speechless.
"How are you speaking? I definitely used a Magic Item to paralyze you."
There was no way a five-year-old could lift such an overpowering Magic effect.
Even though Neron wasn't moving his whole body, the mere fact that he could speak caused Mr. Duffy's fade to squeeze in discomfort.
"I better start the process. It's risky to leave you be like this…"
Within moments, Mr. Duffy was right in front of Neron.
He held the tip of his staff where the Blood Stone was directly placed, while pointing the other end towards Neron.
"It's nothing personal, little one. It's just that, with this much power, I can finally be able to use as much Magic as I want."
Mr. Duffy's hands trembled as the staff's tip approached Neron.
It wasn't due to fear or guilt, but simply due to the overwhelming excitement that threatened to consume him.
"I just might… surpass the Great Sage himself!"
As the blade's tip touched Neron's head, it began to siphon the young boy's Mana at an astronomical rate.
Within a few seconds, he would collapse, and within a few more, he would be completely drained.
Mr. Duffy had done this countless times, and he had researched so much into the Blood Stone that he knew the precise duration for everything involving it.
A few seconds passed.
"Hmmm?"
A few more seconds elapsed.
"Oho? This is surprising! You have a lot more Mana than I realized.
About a minute progressed.
"T-this is…?! What's going on? How is this even possible?"
At this point, Mr. Duffy was beyond shocked.
Never before had he seen anyone resist the Blood Stone for up to a minute.
Perhaps seasoned Mages could, but definitely not a brat like the one before him.
It didn't matter how talented he was, there was only a limited amount of Mana a five-year-old could amass at such a young age.
What was currently happening defied logic—the very basis of his practice.
"I-impossible!" Mr. Duffy almost screamed, but he controlled himself.
However, just as he struggled to stifle his words, he heard a strange chuckle.
It came from the lips of the kid.
"Impossible? I thought you said nothing was Impossible with Magic."
Mr. Duffy was speechless.
How was this boy still able to chuckle? How could he speak?
Why wasn't he unconscious—no, dead?!
"Haha… you hypocrite…" Neron slowly began to move one of his hands.
Mr. Duffy's shrunken eyes began to widen in disbelief.
"If that's the case, then I suppose it's not impossible… for me to do this…"
Neron's hand touched the tip of the staff. Before long, he tightly held it.
"U-urgh! W-what are you… what are you doing?!"
Neron's grip on the staff was so strong that it began to crack.
Despite how much of his Mana was being absorbed, it didn't seem to make a difference.
Blue sparks of Energy began to glow from Neron, continuously climbing to a higher degree.
~BZZTZZ~
"I won't let it end like this…" Neron huffed as he raised his head. "I won't let you kill me." n))O1n
His trembling legs began to rise, and before long, Neron was right on his feet.
"W-what?! T-this… this can't be!"
Mr. Duffy was too flabbergasted to form more coherent words after that.
Just who was this kid? How was he doing these things?!
"The one who's going to die is you. And I'm going to be the one that kills you!"
~VWUUUUSHHH!~
Power swelled from Neron, causing his entire body to be enveloped in the blue aura.
The floor beneath his feet cracked, and the air around him trembled.
Everything in the room shook, preparing for the glorious eruption that Neron was generating.
"W-what are you doing?! Are you trying to—?!"
Mr. Duffy's words were cut short as he watched Neron give his own wide grin.
The boy's smile was wide and horrific—the definition of someone who could not care less about anything and its consequences.
"Go to hell… you stupid man!"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!~
The entire house exploded into flames, causing debris to fly all around.
The pieces of the house that weren't consumed in the eruption of raw energy were scattered in numerous locations.
Everything belonging to Mr. Duffy was turned into ash and debris.
… All thanks to a single boy's immensely bountiful Mana.
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Thanks for reading, everyone!
I appreciate it.
