Lord Calian—Adept-Tier Magician and a noble—had naturally noticed the massive upsurge of mana in Cliffstone. A gripping fear clutched his lungs, making it harder to breathe, to rationalize such overwhelming power. His instincts told him not to approach the source of those pillars of mana. That if he did, he'd not be coming back to his mansion, to his lovely maids, to his lavish lifestyle, "S-Sir?" he heard the young, terrified whimper of his apprentice, Neti.

"..."

Neti was 14, on the threshold to become a Neophyte Magician—he was quite the talent. And because of that, his attunement to mana was higher than the average folk, hence he could feel more of that unstoppable pressure. Calian wished he could live up to the hero, the invincible image the boy had of him. Unfortunately, there was very little he could do when he was outclassed by such a margin.

"Stay here. Don't go out... just let them go away..."

Neti barely moved. Not because he didn't want to, but because his body refused to.

A hurried set of footsteps rang out.

The doors swung open as a brown-haired guard waltzed in with concern written all over his face. A crew of maids hastily followed behind the man, but their pace couldn't keep up with his trained one. Calian could hear their shouts at stopping the guard. All of it failed. The guard breached his personal space with his reeking body and dropped to his knees, gasping for breath, "M-My Lord, it's urgent! We... we..."

"Zip it."

"..."

"I know what's going on."

The guard swallowed, hoping that there was a solution, a miracle, because the little devil on his shoulder was whispering that Calian, the man everyone looked up to, was weaker than the intruders. And if that was the case, there was no escape for any of them. So he groveled, "P-Please... help us..."

Neti stared at his teacher, reading the words off his lips before they were uttered-

"I can't help you."

The world crumbled down for the guard. He had made a vow that he'd put his life over the others, so he didn't care if he died fighting a monster or a fellow human. However, he had family too. He had friends that could barely contain their stomachs at the sight of a butchered cow. How were they supposed to survive? How was he supposed to protect them?

"Now get out of here."

"B-But..."

"I said get out!"

The maids grabbed him by one arm each and dragged him out.

Neti was silent, his pale blue hair shading his eyes.

"Use that anger as motivation, Neti. There's no place for weaklings in this world. In this village, I might be a God, but outside... is where the true monsters lay. And I'm not talking about Goblins and Cockatrices. If this mysterious group's intentions are less than kind... we might die today."

---

Rainey, Jerry, and Jered were in front of a modest house. They were keeping their leaking mana in check, since killing Klava's parents would have defeated their purpose in being there. It was a hard thing to do, Jered noticed. The amount of mana he was unconsciously leaking was enough to suffocate people in his immediate vicinity, while making those further away totally unable to move. When he was an Elder-Tier, something like that would have never happened unless he actively asserted his presence with his deep mana pool.

Now that his magic density had gone up, his presence alone could very well crush those way weaker than him. And due to that, he was thankful that Evelyn was a quite powerful Adept Magician. She would not be harmed by engaging in certain activities with him. As for Jasmine? She had a Shadow inside her. What he was surprised about, though, was Jane. She seemed to tank his repressed magic pressure with relative ease. At least, he didn't descry any outward discomfort on her.

Was it because she was his mother? Or was there something else at play that he had yet to unravel?

Only time would tell.

"We're here," Rainey announced, "Remember. Don't hurt them. We'll need them alive to bait that bitch out."

She received a round of nods in response.

Jerry walked up to the door and sang, "Knock knock!"

"..."

"I said... Knock Knock!"

"W-Who's... t-there?"

Came the whiny, quivering voice of a woman.

With a wave of his hand, the door burst into a volley of fragments. Screams went off as a bunch of silhouettes scurried away. Unfortunately, it was a pointless struggle. Jered's 'Telekinesis' locked them in place before they could get too far—not that it would have made a difference. Rainey stalked up to them, the wood chips around them cracking underneath her heels. Her presence was like the sun; they couldn't look up at her without hurting themselves.

"W-W-Who a-are you?"

The man, Klava's father, asked with a fading surge of bravery.

"I'm here to collect your daughter's debt," Rainey continued as she crouched down, her tone lowering considerably, "Fear not. No harm will come unto you... not that much, at least."

His wife struggled to hide behind him, her hands clutching his shoulders, both of them trembling under the onset of mana that knocked them out.

They tumbled down on the dirty floor like ragdolls.

The stomping of hooves on cobblestone sounded out. Jered briefly turned around, watching as an army of guards encroached from the distance. He took a page from Jerry's book, and with a dismissive wave of his hand, his 'Kinetic Blast' uprooted the ground in front of them. Chunks of earth and rock sailed up into a tsunami that devoured the incoming cavalry. A few managed to rein their horses back in time and avoid a most unfortunate fate.

The ones that weren't so fortunate were torn apart and shredded by the twisting earth.

Jered followed with a second flick of his wrist. And, all of a sudden, the sky was brighter than usual—hotter too. A hundred 'Fireball's spawned mid-air, hovering with the promise of burning everything to ash. He stared at them challengingly, daring them to move forward. Their horses went on a frenzy as the sweltering air prickled their skin, making them restless, frightened. They neighed and careened back, prompting their riders to fall down.

Their faces were stretched in pure fear and despair. Death had never been so close to them before, or so bright. They were pressed under the power of what they thought of as a 'Fire God'. It was as if the sun had descended from the sky, burning oxygen and glaring powerlessness into them. However, there was one particular guard—one that was braver than the others. His horse lay down on the ground, panting with its tongue out.

But that didn't stop him from foolishly rushing at them, sword hanging overhead for a rage-filled swing.

"I won't let you kill us!"

Jered was mildly confused, but he wasn't there to amuse the guard. His 'Telekinesis' came crashing down at him.

Blood spilled out from every joint of the guard. Then, slowly—like sliced ham—his limbs fell off, one after the other. Until an armless and legless stump rolled on the ground, his sword clanking next to him.

"..."

Surprisingly, he was still alive, but the light was fading.

"I won't... let... you... kill us..."

That guard's sudden act of heroism woke up his fellow guards. Not only. The Magicians, who were content hiding until they went away, showed up. There were a few dozen Neophyte-Tier Magicians, and a handful of Adept-Tier. They were donned in capes, hoods, and silky clothing that denoted how influential they were in that village. And now, all of that they held dear, was being threatened. Jered, naturally, couldn't give a fuck about them. However, he didn't know if killing them would prove to be detrimental to their plans.

Lord Calian was among them. He didn't want to come—and for good reason. The problem was... he couldn't afford to wait. The mana swirling around the village had made a vertiginous spike, and everything around him was brighter, sweltering, smelling of death and ashes. It was either a do-or-die situation, and both options led to the same, inevitable fate. If there was even a slim chance that he could use a bit of his eloquence to convince those monsters to go away, then he'd talk for the whole day.

Unfortunately, things were already past the point of no return. And when his eyes fell on the unconscious forms of Klava's parents, he trembled, face pale and sweaty.

"P-Please... not them..."

Rainey had a thoughtful smile on her face, "So you know who they are. Did Klava task you into protecting them? I wonder if she expected me to make a comeback..."

Lord Calian bit his lip as he barked, "What do you want? We'll give it to you!" he continued through gritted teeth, "Everything but them... I beseech you," and to emphasize his heartfelt sincerity, he knelt down, head dipped low.

The rest of the Magicians and guards followed his example, even though their hearts were burning with hatred and helplessness. A concession had to be made, be it for the sake of their survival or that of Klava's parents. Rainey laughed, loud and hard. The mocking sound of her amusement rang out, making the guards clench their fists. Lord Calian closed his eyes and endured. Resistance was futile. That was the harsh, cold reality of their situation.

If only he had more power...

"No, no, no... you can't be serious..." she shook her head, a sparkle of power and madness going off in her eyes, "You're trying to negotiate... with me? Get the fuck out of here, you motherfuckers. I have no time to entertain children."

Jerry cast 'Telekinesis' on Klava's parents, levitating them off the ground.

"..."

Lord Calian knew he couldn't stop them, so he didn't try. Though he did kinda regret showing up; now they had seen his face, and given them more of a reason to kill him should they ever need one. His only saving grace was that powerful beings were incomparably arrogant, and didn't see much of a need to kill lower beings. He secretly heaved a sigh of relief when Rainey flew up in the air, followed by Jered and Jerry. Their cloaks flapped in the wind.

Klava's parents were with them.

That was not good. But there was nothing he could do. It was either them or, god forbid, the village. And as much as he was grateful for what Klava did for them, he wasn't loyal enough that he'd foolishly sacrifice himself or his people for her. That was a bottom-line he would never cross.

However...

"A message is better delivered when each word is painted with blood and death. So, here is my message for Klava..."

Jered snapped his fingers, and the 'Fireball's dropped down.

Lord Calian's eyes reflected off the billowing storm of heat and fire making a beeline for them.

A huge explosion tore the buildings asunder and rent the earth.

Jered contained the spell's power, so that the village wasn't entirely scrubbed off the geography map.

When the smoke settled down, a huge crater was where Lord Calian and the cavalry were at. Fire licked the remnants of broken buildings, along with chunks of flesh and charred corpses.

"Let's go."

And with that, Rainey, Jerry, and Jered disappeared into the sky.

She couldn't help but anticipate the moment Klava found out about it. She would surely seek her out, and fall straight into her hands.