The mage stepped forward, while the rest circled behind him, holding their swords, knives, and even a bow with an arrow lodged into it. Each one of them was pointed at him, and they looked immensely angry. One of them had gone to look at the dead bodies.

"Boss... They... They died by fire," the man who was checking the bodies gulped. The others glanced at the corpses from the corners of their eyes, and the mage even turned his head to look at them. His eyebrows furrowed, and he entered into contemplation.

He then looked at the young man in the strange full black attire and said, "Sire, I would like to know why a high mage like you attacked us. We have done nothing to warrant such behavior. My name is Charles, and I am a mere mage who hasn't even reached the Acolyte level."

Aric was surprised by the fire mage's behavior. He had expected rage about the deaths, but here the mage was trying to negotiate, and from the tone of it, he seemed to be begging a bit. Aric was taken aback by this, but then he realized that he was being feared because he had killed six men and even three with fire itself.

The fire had even blasted holes in their bodies, something even the fire mage couldn't do, which invoked this kind of reaction.

Aric wanted to speak boldly, but he feared being recognized by his voice, so he remained silent. He glanced at the men for a second and then vanished on the spot. This made the men, and even the kidnapped people who had been regarding him as some kind of messiah, look as if they had seen a ghost.

"He is a high-level dual mage. RUN!" the fire mage shouted, but before anyone could run, the archer who had the arrow and the bow ready felt a light sensation on his chest followed by intense pain from heat.

He felt his body falling and was dead before he could register the last sensation. The bandits went into a frenzy, including the fire mage himself. Each of them ran in different directions while Aric emerged from the other side with a pistol in his hand.

"C'mon, guys. I thought you were powerful," Aric said, imitating an American accent, which came out very poorly. He had to do this to ensure nobody recognized him, and the mask would muffle his voice considerably. Actually, even if he had spoken in his own accent, there would have been nobody to hear him because they were frightened beyond belief.

Aric wasn't done with them, though. He had vengeance in mind and vanished again. He used the lens and the drones to locate each and every one of them and appeared near where one had run. It became a game of cat and mouse.

The men ran around like headless flies, choosing random directions while Aric appeared and killed them with a shot. Of course, not all of his shots were accurate, and he needed to shoot twice or even thrice at one point to kill one swordsman who tried to maneuver as he realized that this man's aim was off by quite a bit.

If he were an educated man, he would know that a high mage would never miss a shot, as their offensive magic acted like homing missiles and did not travel in straight lines. Sadly, he didn't possess that knowledge. Education is key, my friends.

Aric plucked them off one by one until only the fire mage remained. He saved the main course for last. After dispatching another man, he vanished, pinpointing the fire mage's position and reappeared right beside where Charles was fleeing. The area was surrounded by forest, so none of the fools were able to go far.

If any of them had taken the road, they might have escaped, as he hadn't scouted the entire area for long distances, making it nearly impossible. However, they chose the forest route, which slowed them down.

As soon as Aric appeared near Charles, he wasn't met with pleas for mercy, but rather a small ball of fire hurtling towards him at high speed. Aric only saw a flash of light, which was enough to make him teleport back to his room.

"That bitch!" Aric cursed under his breath on his bed and then vanished again, reappearing on the other side. He promptly aimed a shot at Charles's legs, causing him to cry out in agony as he felt them vanish the next moment.

His cries echoed through the forest, casting a sense of doom and silence into the distance. Aric was sure that his cries and all the commotion before would attract danger in the forest, but it was already too late.

"Why? We don't have any hatred, and we've never met before," Charles cried out, questioning.

"You sent me to the jaws of death with your brother. You don't think I'll be like a helpless Magikarp, right?" Aric retorted.

"Brother? Magikarp?" Charles didn't understand what the man was saying, but then it hit him. His brother Eric had gone with the boy they had encountered in the previous raid. They were supposed to meet later after Eric returned with more information.

"No, that's impossible. Someone who is below maturity age can't ever learn magic," Charles said, his voice trembling, the pain too much for him to handle.

*Pop*

"It's magic bitch." Aric replied and shot at the head of the Charles blowing his head off with non-negotiable sound of the pistol. After he killed, Aric immediately started to frisk the body of this man and found a pouch hanging by his waist. He wasn't done yet. He appeared near the dead bodies of each one his murders and started to frisk them and take their coins away. 

The mage's pouch looked more durable so he put all the coins he had gathered and put it there and teleported away to Earth.