“Don’t mess with me, don’t you dare, you brat!”
Lucas, his face crimson and spitting, trembled with rage. It was understandable. His goals, his reasons for acting, had all been dismissed as trivial without even being heard. He had been judged as worthless without anyone knowing how much Lucas had devoted himself to this ambition, how many sacrifices he had made.
“Don’t mess with me, Jared Murphy!”
In sync with the old man’s rage, magic surged, and flames erupted. Like a wild dragon, a pillar of fire soaring towards the heavens shot straight down from the sky towards Jared.
Dodging it would be easy. He just had to not get hit by an attack fueled by pure anger. But Olivier and the others were behind him. No matter how far away they were, the rampaging dragon of flames would surely reach them.
Fortunately, Jared had Luzer and Laurentz by Olivier’s side. They would protect her, he thought. However, he didn’t want to entrust the protection of his precious fiancé to anyone else.
“This way, Lucas!”
Transforming his magic into physical prowess, he kicked off the ground. In an instant, the pillar of fire changed its trajectory.
“Damn you, you detestable fiend!”
It was as he expected. The flames that had attacked in a straight line began to track him as soon as Jared called out to Lucas himself. For Lucas, consumed by his rage, there was no one else he wanted to unleash his magic on but Jared. It was fortunate that he couldn’t see Olivier and the others at the moment.
Jared ran. He shattered the ground, moving faster, ever faster. The flames pursued him, lashing out. But he managed to dodge them with a great leap. The fire dragon, having lost its target, trampled and melted the ground.
“Not yet! Not yet, Jared Murphy!”
As the headless dragon raised its head once more, it attacked Jared again. He deployed multiple layers of barriers to block it, but the sheer destructive power was immense, and he was blown away by a direct blast of flame, sent tumbling through the air.
Regaining his composure in mid-air, he shifted from using magic to attacking with raw magic power. Magic now became a force, shattering the dragon’s head and raining down fire.
Jared judged that no matter how many barriers he erected, they wouldn’t hold. He continued to unleash his magic. Jared felt no fear of depleting his magic power. While his magic might eventually stabilize, the seal had been broken, and it now erupted from the depths of his being like a geyser.
After successfully blowing away eighty percent of the fire dragon with his magic, he turned the remaining flames to stone with Petrify Magic, shattering them. It was a bit of a struggle, but he wouldn’t be outdone by magic wielded in blind fury.
“…I see. So, you have an infinite supply of magic power now.”
“It’s not infinite. Thanks to your son, I can use my natural magic. Magic that would be poison if unused now doesn’t burden me in battle. I’m grateful to Leonard.”
“My foolish son… meddling in things he shouldn’t have… but, fine.”
Jared was inwardly surprised. Despite his intense outburst, Lucas had regained his composure. Whether it was due to experience or age, Jared felt a touch of disappointment. It would have been more convenient if Lucas had remained unbalanced.
“Even if it was fueled by anger, I’m still impressed that you could deal with the full-force flames I unleashed. I understand why my foolish son couldn’t match you. That makes it all the more regrettable. I can’t help but wish you hadn’t become so engrossed in that trivial Non-magician, Olivier Alway.”
“Mind your own business. And don’t call Olivier trivial.”
He unleashed a stone arrowhead, but it was easily deflected. Jared kicked off the ground again. He had no intention of engaging in further banter with Lucas. As he slipped into the old man’s guard, he unleashed a full-power attack amplified by his physical enhancements.
“…You’re kidding me?”
“No, it’s the truth.”
But Jared’s fist was easily caught by the old man’s withered, twig-like hand. He tried to pull his fist back, but it wouldn’t budge, no matter how much he tried, the old man’s strength was unfathomable.
“Your combat sense is undoubtedly superior. I am, after all, a scholar, not a fighter. Nevertheless, the passage of time has honed me into a formidable power.”
“Cough…”
“Learn, Jared. You are mistaken.”
“Who says so?!”
“Perhaps if you killed Olivier Alway, you would realize your mistake?”
“You bastard—”
He unleashed his other fist, the one not caught, but it too was seized. Despite enhancing his physical prowess, despite pouring magic into his attacks, he couldn’t even touch Lucas.
“Child’s play. You are strong, but immature. Do you understand? Because of your immaturity, you are about to lose the person you love.”
“Shut up, Lucas Gallagher. If you dare lay a single finger on my woman, I’ll kill you.”
“Hahahaha! Then try it. We’re close enough to hear each other’s breath. Go on, try to resist. If you don’t, I’ll brutally murder your precious fiancé!”
Lucas’s words, spoken with a sadistic smile like a cat toying with a mouse, struck a nerve with Jared.
*Thump.*
In an instant, Lucas’s body was sent flying by something invisible. The old man, tumbling across the ground from the impact that shook his entire body, couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
“What happened! What did you do to me!”
He immediately stood up and roared at Jared, but received no reply.
“Answer me, Jared Murphy! What did you do to me!”
Still, no answer came. The young Court Mage stood with his head bowed, unmoving. An indescribable emotion began to grip Lucas.
“My body is shaking? What is this?”
He vaguely realized his body was trembling, confusion turning to dread. The trembling wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t understand why he was shaking so much, nor why the boy before him remained motionless. The boy, who moments ago had been consumed by rage, wasn’t showing hostility, nor was he attacking. Despite being insulted and provoked, just as Lucas had done, the boy wouldn’t move.
“Impossible… impossible… I, to be afraid of a child, this boy…”
In a corner of his thoughts and feelings, Lucas finally recognized the name of what he unconsciously felt towards the boy before him.
It was fear.
He couldn’t understand why he, an adult, should fear a boy who hadn’t even reached adulthood, but an even greater fear consumed him. Once the seed of fear was sown, not just his arms, but his entire body began to tremble violently.
“I’m afraid… impossible! I should be stronger than you. In fact, you couldn’t even lay a hand on me! And yet, I’m the one afraid… I can’t comprehend—”
His words were cut short as his vision went dark. A shock ran through his back, followed by excruciating pain. Oxygen left his lungs, and his breathing stopped.
“Wh… hah…”
Unable to comprehend what had happened, he couldn’t move. Struggling to breathe, he desperately opened his eyes and regained his vision, only to find Jared’s expressionless face before him.
