“—Curse of the Demonic Eyes, defile and violate it with abhorrence.”
A flash of light ravaged the vision of the opposing magicians. In the brief moment their eyes were dazzled, their hands and feet, their ears and noses, were unrelentingly turning to stone with a sickening sound.
It would be pointless to think it was for the best that not everything turned to stone because in this modern age, there was no way to revert a petrified body back to normal.
Screams erupted. Jared mercilessly unleashed a second flash of petrifying light on the magicians who despaired with their attempts at dispelling the magic, realizing it was utterly ineffective.
“Turn to stone.”
Magic, even without incantation, assaulted them. Though the power was less, it certainly turned the clothes of the trembling enemy soldiers before them into stone.
More screams broke out.
“Don’t panic! We just need to prevent them from casting magic! You fire too!”
At Leonard’s angry shout, the eyes of the panicked magicians regained their light. They were not spurred by Leonard’s scolding, but by their desperate will to confront Jared, not wanting to die turned into stone.
But before they could finish their incantations, Jared silenced their magic.
“Become stone, shatter, and die.”
A blinding flash, unlike any before, painted everything white. One of the magicians, about to unleash their magic, became a complete stone statue, and then shattered.
A silence so profound it was painful to the ears descended.
Everyone forgot to breathe, their gazes fixed on their shattered comrades. Then, as their eyes shifted to Jared, they began to shrink back in fear.
“I didn’t hear that, I didn’t hear that! Petrify Magic? Isn’t that an ancient magic lost in modern times! How are we supposed to deal with something like that!”
“Don’t be shaken! I told you to cast magic and stop their movements!”
“You’re not doing anything! How are we supposed to fight that monster!”
For the first time, the magicians who had once admired Leonard were now defiant.
“What? You say I’m doing nothing?”
“Isn’t that the truth! You’re just giving orders. Besides, why is Jared Murphy here! You said you’d use him as a pawn, which means you failed, right? Then take responsibility and kill him!”
“You bastard.”
Betrayed by his subordinate, all of Leonard’s remaining composure vanished.
Being pointed out for his failure and then told to take responsibility. Leonard’s inner feelings, as he was looked at with accusatory eyes by all those who were supposed to be his subordinates, were beyond Jared’s comprehension and desire to comprehend.
However,
—Serves you right.
was all he could think.
He hadn’t expected this outcome, but Jared had deliberately not targeted Leonard. His consciousness soaring, he had decided to kill that man last and continued his assault.
But he couldn’t stop smiling inwardly at the unexpected consequences.
“How pathetic, Leonard Gallagher.”
“… Did you just call me pathetic?”
“I did. You couldn’t use me, whom you intended to exploit, and now you’re being blamed by your own comrades. You might think you’re smart, but you’re really not.”
Jared turned a smile towards Leonard, who had become expressionless like a doll. It was a radiant smile, the best he had ever shown, as if to say he was enjoying himself.
“You lost.”
“I haven’t lost! Do you think you’ve won just by turning a few people to stone? If so, that’s arrogance!”
“Then come at me. And all of you behind Leonard. You rebelled against the country, didn’t you? To create a world for magicians, by magicians? Then defeat a single enemy without question.”
Despite the blatant provocation, the magicians could not move. If they attacked, they had no idea what Jared would do to them, rendering them incapable of even the slightest movement.
Jared scoffed.
“Hah. Honestly, I’m disappointed. After all this, is this where it ends? What were you planning to do with your own country anyway? Who would be king? What about the surrounding countries? What about your allies? Are you going to attack other countries as well, since they also treat magicians the same way?”
There was no reply. The former members of the Royal Mage Corps had simply followed Leonard. While they might have originally advocated for magician supremacy, that was the extent of their convictions.
“Tell me, what were you going to do about people who can’t use magic, who have no magic power? Kill them? Enslave them? Or were you planning to live alongside them peacefully?”
Coexistence would have been impossible. Even if the Royal Family were overthrown and Leonard’s faction took control of the country, the Knights would still exist. If they rose up, civil war would be inevitable.
There were nobles who hadn’t been defeated. Many mercenaries and merchant families were connected to the Royal Family. None of them would follow rebels.
The common people were the same. If the lords rose up, the people would become soldiers. Since the majority of the populace were not magicians, it was obvious they would rise up to protect themselves and their families.
What was their plan to deal with all of this?
If they killed everyone else, perhaps a magician’s nation would be complete, but the number of citizens would be too small to be called a nation. Not all magicians were in league with Leonard.
The numbers would further dwindle when accounting for those from the Mage Association, Court Mages, and members of the Royal Mage Corps who hadn’t joined.
While they had managed to win over the students of the Royal Academy, there were also aspiring magicians in other educational institutions. It was unlikely that all of them would follow suit.
“Answer me, Leonard Gallagher.”
“……..”
The reply was silence.
Jared was disappointed, taking it as his answer. It didn’t matter what it was; a dream, a fantasy, or an unrealistic answer.
He had wanted Leonard Gallagher to confidently state the endpoint he believed in.
“Can’t answer? Or is it something not worth telling me? Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re no longer my enemy.”
“… What did you say?”
“Listen up, this is your last warning. Surrender.”
It was Leonard who panicked at the sudden offer of surrender.
Ignoring his raised voice, Jared continued.
“Any further fighting is pointless. If you swear not to fight anymore and promise to return Olivier, I will not kill you. But if you resist, if you refuse to return Olivier, I will kill you after inflicting suffering so immense that you’ll wish you were dead.”
Infusing as much killing intent as possible, Jared continued, trying to make them give up resisting.
“Your families, your friends, everyone connected to you, I will kill them all. You have no right to complain, you took someone precious from me. You deserve to have something precious taken from you.”
He took a step forward. He no longer needed to deal with Leonard. Even if the Commander of the Royal Mage Corps possessed power comparable to a Court Mage, he couldn’t conquer a nation alone.
“I’ll say it one more time: surrender and be judged by your country. I won’t say it again.”
