'I won't die without trying my best.'
Raze focused, his aura, his mana and something deeper… something the people of this world called innate mana. He poured everything he had into his sword, not caring if this was his final moment.
He was ready to die as long as he did his best to survive.
The mage watched him with amusement.
"That's a good start." He muttered. "It's only fun when you struggle."
Even though it wasn't necessary, the mage began preparing his strongest spell. This wasn't out of mercy, it was out of respect for a boy who refused to collapse quietly.
Raze didn't notice and he didn't care.
As the three energies within him collided and intertwined, something new began to form. A dark wisp emerged from his mana core, faint at first and then it stopped the flow of innate mana and took its place.
A malicious presence erupted from his body.
Within a small distance around him, countless beasts felt it as animals fled in blind panic, abandoning nests and territory alike as if an apex calamity had just awakened.
Raze himself didn't understand what it was but the mage felt something was wrong. His expression finally changed as he released his spell.
"Inferno."
A massive sun, formed purely of condensed mana, tore through the air toward Raze.
Raze's blue eyes ignited, glowing like raw plasma as he swung his sword forward and a colossal wave of sword energy burst forth, fused with mana, aura and something that had been with him suppressed since birth… something that had only just awakened releasing all the accumulated resentment at once making the output of attack far beyond what his body could endure.
The recoil hit instantly as bones in his arms shattered, organs ruptured under the strain and blood sprayed from his mouth as his body collapsed, already breaking apart.
But the attack didn't stop.
The wave tore through the air, screaming as it collided with the blazing sun and for a split second, the two forces resisted—
Then the sun was split in half.
The mage barely reacted in time, twisting his body away but it wasn't enough as one of his arms was severed cleanly, blood erupting as it fell uselessly to the ground, pouring out without end.
The strike continued past the mage and slammed into the ground behind him, carving out a massive crater.
[TITLE: THE THIRTEENTH PATHHOLDER IS CREATED]
[...]
[...]
Raze's vision blurred, blood streaming from his eyes as countless translucent status windows from the world's will itself appeared in front him but he didn't even spare them a glance as the mage was still alive and more furious than before.
"You bastard… How dare you?" The mage snapped, staggering forward as he clutched the stump of his severed arm, forcing mana into the wound to stop the bleeding. "I'll kill you."
His other arm had been blown away by that woman earlier but somehow he had managed to heal it using the Elixir he had acquired from an ancient ruin… but now… even his other arm was gone and this time, there was no elixir to heal such injury.
Raze couldn't move as his body refused to obey, all he could muster was a faint smile.
'At least… I tried my best.'
The mage formed another fireball as the spell ignited in his palm before he threw it towards Raze but before it could reach him, a blur cut through the space between them as a man appeared.
He stood casually, a long black jacket draped over one shoulder, unable to hide the dense muscle beneath. His black hair streaked with gray framed a sharp face as he calmly took a drag from a cigar.
With a single casual downward motion of his hand, a shockwave exploded outward and the fireball vanished instantly and even the ground split apart under the sheer force.
"Are you okay, kiddo?" The man asked, his gaze briefly flicking toward Ellara as he exhaled smoke slowly. "Good thing I made it in time after getting the news from your father."
Ellara froze and then her eyes widened as she finally snapped out of her despair.
"P–Principal Ragnar?!"
The man didn't answer her right away. Instead, his eyes shifted to Raze.
"You did well, kid." He said calmly. "You can rest now and let the adults handle the rest."
The mage went completely still, his face paled as he recognised the man.
Ragnar Dawnbringer, an Ascendent Demi-God rank martial artist.
—
Ragnar prepared to end the battle and take the children to a healer, especially the blonde boy, whose body was clearly breaking apart from the inside even as he remained standing.
He couldn't comprehend how the boy was still conscious as the pain alone should have been enough to make even the toughest warriors pass out cold and yet… the boy was conscious.
More than that, Ragnar was curious about the energy the boy had emitted, even if only for a few seconds, that surge was what had allowed Ragnar to pinpoint their location so precisely in the first place but that could wait as he needed to eliminate the pest first.
Ragnar shifted his stance and the air itself stopped but just then something tugged lightly at his trousers.
He paused, his gaze dropping toward the blonde boy who was lying on the ground bloodied and yet his blue eyes burned with unwavering determination as he looked at him.
"Please… leave him alive." The boy muttered, his voice weak but resolute. "He is not yours to kill."
With those words, the boy finally lost consciousness.
Ragnar paused for a brief moment then a wild grin slowly spread across his face. "So… he wants to kill his enemy himself, huh?"
'How interesting.'
He straightened and turned his gaze toward the mage, his expression turning cold. "Leave."
The single word carried overwhelming pressure as Ragnar suppressed his presence just enough so the mage could move again.
The mage shot one last venomous glare toward Raze before bowing stiffly to Ragnar and fleeing as fast as he could with one arm missing.
Once the pest was gone, Ragnar looked back at the unconscious boy and lifted him effortlessly onto his shoulder. He then picked up Lyla, who had already passed out from pain long ago and turned toward Ellara.
With a casual swipe of his hand, space itself tore open as a rift formed in the air.
"Let's go." Ragnar said calmly. "We will get your friends healed up."
He stepped into the rift and Ellara followed without hesitation, leaving behind the ravaged battlefield and the trace of a fight that should never have been survived.