Jack Einsworth’s POV

Suspicious. That could be the only way he could describe Kris. From Robert, Jack knew that Kris was a bright young man who had the potential, not just as a merchant but as a mage. But he couldn’t help but think back on earlier.

He tried to investigate the young man’s mana. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but Jack found that instead, he was blocked before he could gain any substantial information. He couldn’t even grasp how much mana the young man had before Jack's mana was expelled.

That could have been a given if Kris was an experienced mage, but that he was not. At least, that’s what Jack thought until Kris mentioned that he’d been able to use mana from long ago.

It wasn’t a malicious suspicion, no. It was more of a curious itch for Jack. Why was this kid trying to hide whatever ability he could do? For the young man especially, it’d be a far better idea for him to just outright say that he’s suddenly the most powerful man in Ensfell. That would at least put him up for consideration of a recommendation.

Though, the clunky way Kris tried to mitigate his mistake when he obviously realized it made Jack ease up to him somewhat. Still, Jack wanted to find out more about the kid. Something about him… just felt off.

“Dad, what the hell!? I’m talking to you!” Jack was pushed out of his introspection by the urging of his daughter’s voice.

Jack looked towards her daughter. She, like him, had brown hair, it’s medium length seemed to sway gracefully even as she moved slightly. Her pointed nose, inverted triangular face and her slender figure were some things she got from her mother.

She had a pinkish complexion that glistened with the chandelier’s light. What Jack was most fond of was her height, something that he assumed she got from him.

She fixed her white, casual dress as she snorted.

“I thought you said that you were going to prepare for the recommendation? Where is it? I need it later,” Jack felt that she was being a bit impatient, but it couldn’t be helped. He promised her that he’d prepare the recommendations from two of his colleagues and it’d be ready by today.

It’s not that he forgot, he just thought that he’d finish up his business with the Ravens before coming with her to school.

“It’s already fixed, don’t worry about it. I’ll come find you later and go with you to the academy. I’ll just finish up my discussion,” Jack said.

His daughter sighed, before turning around. Just before she could walk away, Jack stood up.

“Wait, Sophie. How about you introduce yourself to our guests?” Jack said as his daughter turned. He then gestured over to Marian and her son.

Marian stood up and bowed elegantly, before speaking.

“Hi, I’m Marian Raven, a businesswoman of the Raven House,” she said, before turning over to look at Kris. Jack shifted his gaze towards Kris but found that he was unresponsive.

His eyes were darting around and he had a frown on his face. Is the kid shy? Jack thought that his daughter is indeed pretty, and with a few more years she’d grow up to be quite the looker. He dreaded that day, although, Jack was pleased that the kid seemingly found his daughter to be someone to be shy around.

“Oww, again!?” Kris shouted as he bolted up. His eyes then widened in realization. He then looked towards her daughter, who now had an awkward look on her face. Kris just stared at her and then squinted his eyes before looking towards his mother.

“Who is she?” the young man asked, confused.

Marian frowned and coughed, probably embarrassed by the way his son was acting.

Before Marian could introduce her, Jack’s daughter bowed, aiming to introduce herself.

“I am Sophie Einsworth, daughter of Major General Jack Einsworth. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” she greeted.

Jack was again pleased by his daughter’s manners, although when he remembered how abruptly she entered and demanded the recommendations, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Oh,” Kris then fixed his posture, before bowing slightly.

“I am Kris Raven, the adopted son of Marian and Robert Raven. The pleasure is mine,” Now, Jack was surprised. He thought that the young man was acting a bit flustered because of his daughter, now he wasn’t so sure. So then, why was the young man spaced out earlier?

Kris then perked up, before looking at the General.

“I’m sorry sir, but can I excuse myself for a bit? I don’t want to bother you both any more than this,” Kris said.

Jack nodded. “Alright then,” He then gestured to Sophie. “Sophie, please accompany him and give him a tour of the mansion.”

He could faintly see a vein pop in Sophie’s forehead, but she didn’t reply and her face remained stoic.

“Ah no, I think I’m fine by myself, sir,” Kris explained. “I’ll just return to our carriage and wait there.”

“Nonsense,” Jack waved his hand. “I insist. It’s also a good thing that my daughter and the heir of the Raven house get to know each other as soon as now,” Jack beamed.

“But…”

“Kris,” Marian said, her voice firm.

Kris sighed.

“Alright. Then,” Kris turned his body towards Sophie. “I’ll be troubling you for a bit,” Kris smiled gently as if he regretted that he’d have to be a bother.

Jack could faintly make out his daughter’s rather pinkish face turn red, but he shoved it at the back of his head.

It should be fine.

Oddly, Jack thought that he felt Sophie would be safe around Kris. Rather, he himself felt safer around the young man.

Kris’ POV

Kris was frowning as he walked. He wanted to dart outside and just find out what the hell is happening, but he knew that it would inconvenience Sophie, and he wasn’t entirely sure it was something to be fussed about.

He felt a convergence of the void, or rather, when two spaces are interconnected to create a passage, anyone who has the skills of the void would be able to feel it. He wasn’t sure if it was because his void powers are coming back, but his instincts told him to be aware of danger.

Judging from the way society has developed, it seemed that knowledge of void magic was expunged. He could understand. It was a dangerous type of magic that only a few people from his era knew. That and both Kris, as Rizale, and Dragnir were both masters of the art.

It might be because of its potential dangers, something that Dragnir thought should be buried as forbidden knowledge, but he was certain that it isn’t something that just anyone could learn today.

No, this should really be something out of the norm. I need to investigate.

He knew he’d be putting Sophie in danger, but, if what’s happening is actually what Kris surmised, then it would be safer for her to be around him at all times.

“Sophie…” Kris said as he stopped and turned to look at Sophie.

Sophie also stopped and raised a brow in askance.

“What?” In annoyed askance.

“Well… I might’ve forgotten something at the carriage. Do you mind accompanying me outside?” Kris asked.

Sophie sighed and shrugged.

“Whatever.”

Why the hell is she acting so annoyed?

Kris thought that maybe it was because her father promised recommendations, but she still hasn’t had it. For any noble, it was paramount that they were enrolled at the academy as soon as possible. Though you could learn magic with the convenience of tutors, the type of knowledge and the prestige that such an academy could offer could be found nowhere else.

She must be feeling impatient about it.

“Thank you,” Kris said.

As they arrived outside and walked to the carriage, Kris felt the convergence close up. It's one thing to feel a shear in space, but it's another for you to perceive it mending purposefully. Someone's behind this.

This is bad.

Now he was sure. There’s someone out there who just used void magic. From the size of it, it was probably a summoning.

That wasn’t the worst of it.

The thing about the void is, even if the actual rift in space was formed above the caster, you could just about direct the actual summon at any space within your line of sight.

As if raining on Kris’ parade, a menacing growl pierced his ears, making him flinch and look towards the source.

Behind the manor, he could make out a gigantic three-headed dog raise its charcoal-colored paws. It swiped at the manor, throwing a large chunk of the roof a few meters away towards the forests, balding the trees. Rubble and dust tailed the paw as the Cerberii readied for another attack.

Mother!

Thankfully, the room they were at was on the lower floors, and in the middle of the mansion. They should at least be relatively safe. Cerberii weren’t the smartest of beasts, but for its lack of intelligence, it exchanged for in power, size, and its natural resistance to magical damage and control.

The Cerberii wasn’t all though. The rift in space he felt was larger to just accommodate a Cerberii. He didn’t want it to be, but he judged that there were more monsters that came with the Cerberii, and those easier to control. Controlling beasts weren’t a thing for void magic, but it wasn’t impossible even without contracts.

If someone wielded void magic and had the capability to control a number of beasts, needless to say, he would always have the advantage in numbers. The beasts, probably the smaller Cerberites that surely accompanied the Cerberii should now be inside by going through the back entrance.

In hindsight, the Cerberus monster race was the quintessential anti-mage beast. Its defenses were superb and they grew up to be humongous with age. It could pose a problem to the General and his mom, combined. Well, if the Cerberii was put into the equation. Kirke wanted to make sure that didn't happen.

“Sophie, I’m going,” Kris said but before he could run towards the mansion, Sophie grabbed his hand.

“Where are you going?!” She shouted, her once stoic expression now filled with horror, but behind that was a calculating gaze. “You’re not planning to go back there are you? What the hell do you expect to do against that?”

“The General and mom are still there!” Kris said, wanting to shove Sophie out of the way.

“No! You’re not going back. You don’t even have mana yet!” Sophie demanded as Kris frowned.

It’s not that I don’t have mana. You just don’t have the capability to feel mine.

Kris thought. The General and his parents are one thing, but other less experienced mages couldn’t possibly even infiltrate his magical defenses enough to make him be aware of it.

“And what about you? What do you plan to do?” Kris asked, prompting Sophie to shut her eyes in consideration.

“I’ll be the one to go back,” Sophie declared before running towards the mansion.

Kris sighed as he watched her run. He shook his head before following suit. In a few moments, he had caught up, surprising Sophie.

“What…” Sophie yelped.

Kris had indeed prodded Sophie’s mana. It seems that even though she isn’t a student of the academy yet, she should be fairly skilled for her age since she already had a large capacity. A genius maybe. Though there should be a larger number of beasts inside, it should be a nominal advantage when it came to Sophie.

“Let’s go towards our parents,” Kris said, and Sophie nodded with determination. It seemed that she realized judging by the sheer speed Kris caught up to her that he had enough skills to matter in the upcoming battle.

He wasn’t about to stop Sophie, simply because that isn’t what he set out here to do. Kris also knew that to open up the potential of mages, they needed actual battle experience. He just needed to make sure that she didn’t approach the Cerberii.

Kris wasn’t entirely certain that he could control his mana as fluently as he did before, so he needed to get close to the Cerberii. Magic could be likened to a translation - the better you are at it, the more cohesion his spells would have. He wasn’t confident that he’d be able to avoid damaging the manor, and the people inside it with a large area of attack at this stage yet. But he had other magics he could use, and at least for this Cerberii, cutting through its magical defenses will have no problems.

His anticipation was stopped abruptly when a shadow loomed from above them. The Cerberii landed around the direction of the mansion, blocking Kris' and Sophie's path. Debris flew outwards with it at the center as its landing cracked the ground with a loud thud, stopping both Kris and Sophie in their tracks.

It growled, mocking the small figures of Kris and Sophie.

Kris clicked his tongue before an idea sprung to his mind.

The General and mother should be able to handle the small-fry making their way inside.

This was now a chance to investigate why the General and probably the whole of Ensfell were having trouble with these monsters. The Cerberii was a great opportunity to gauge their capabilities.

It’d probably be a crude awakening for the seemingly genius Sophie, but if Kris correctly judged her prodigal prowess, then she was the perfect baseline example.

Marian’s POV

Marian stood up and felt her core. It was a few years since her last real battle, but she felt that now that the opportunity presented itself, she’d welcome it with open arms. Jack also stood up with a slightly excited expression.

“I guess we’re today’s targets?” Jack chuckled.

“A beast that could rock your mansion’s foundations? How fitting. At least they knew who they were up against,” Marian said as she smiled.

The doors barged open as a group of cerberites entered the room. Unflinching, Marian snapped her fingers as she simultaneously chanted.

“Swirl in a pillar of flames. Furnace!” Though Marian knew how to nochant, the power of spells are diminished. For Furnace, Marian's short chant worked best.

The five approaching cerberites were suddenly engulfed in yellow flames, their squirming music to Marian’s ears. The fire that swallowed the leading cerberites blocked the way of those behind them. Moment’s later, not even dust was left behind.

“Come alive. Earth Coffin,” The ground underneath the cerberites behind shook. To that group’s sides, walls of spiked earth were conjured and quickly clasped together with a boom before crumbling, revealing a graveyard of cerberites bathed in blood and torn apart.

Jack was now standing behind Marian.

“It seems that the Mistress of Fire still has the flames of battle burning in her heart.”

“Of course, Lord Earth. It’s just a matter of having none interest me enough. I should say that it seems as if the Earth really bent to your will. As always, I’m impressed,” she complimented as Jack smirked.

Marian’s past as one of the strongest fire mages in the continent helped the Raven trade secure their influence. Her husband wasn’t as strong as a mage, but even with just Marian to consider, a lot of effort and sacrifice was needed to topple the Raven household.

Though that was true, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. Especially since she knew that there was a more sinister foe waiting for them outside.

Kris, I’m coming.

She thought as another, larger wave of cerberites filled the hallways of the Einsworth mansion.