Kris mana flared as he felt quite a number of spells nearing the last phase of their invocations. He stood straight up as he darted his eyes around for a quick moment.

“Back off,” Kris wrapped his mana around his voice as he spoke softly, his face contorted in impatience. Yet even through the low volume of his voice, the wind carried his words and warped it into a disembodied tone.

As his voice reached the ears of those who were currently casting their spells, the mana that enchanted Kris’ voice exploded then disrupted the spells of the hidden men. Kris could hear faint grunts and gasp, while Kane’s face turned like thunder.

Still, Kane didn’t move.

It was easier to disrupt spells using influence if casters are cluttered together, since there’s bound to be interaction with mana adjacent to each other. Well, even if it was easier, it still required an ample amount of mana and damn good control to pull it off because using medium such as the voice was the most effective way. Being a vocalist made it easier.

Even f it was useful, Kris’ right now couldn’t afford to disrupt every spell. His mana capacity still hasn’t reached that point yet.

Immediately, Kris heard the ruffling of leaves as a few men inadvertently revealed themselves. Three behind him, and three towards each of his sides.

They all had their longswords unsheathed and cocked for a swing. They closed the distance while imbued with wind magic noticeable through the silver streaks of mana they left in their tracks.

They were also presumably protected with earth magic, evident with the green aura from their bodies.

“Back off,” Kris said as he forced a powerful gale of wind outwards from his body with a wave of his hand. The wind pushed and all approaching men backwards, while the three others tried messily to stay on their feet.

Kris then willed the earth to entangle the feet of those who were left standing. It should take a while before they could escape.

Those who were thrown landed just a few paces away and most were in a daze.

Meanwhile, a combination attack from the hidden spellcasters was successfully cast.

A large bolt of lightning flashed from Kris’ left. He sidestepped and felt a streak of heat as the wide bolt went past his shoulders just an inch away, while its loud accompanying thunder screeched his ears.

More spells of the lightning variety were being cast by the hidden men. They were quick to cast and powerful, though they cost a lot of mana. Still it was an obvious choice.

Kris ran towards one of the downed men before he could get up and punched him in the chest, fists landing hard with earth magic. The ground sunk as the man bounced from the sheer force.

He quickly snatched away the sword from the man’s hand and stabbed it onto the ground and remained gripped on its hilt.

“Rod,” he chanted as he recalled the concept of lightning rods from his past life. He hasn’t exactly used it, but by channeling his mana with the help of words he could feel a subtle change in the sword’s composition through void magic. This was another form of void magic, something that only Kirke has mastered.

Chaos magic. The ability to cause disorder.

Two lightning bolts and balls around his perimeter flashed with a loud high-pitched bang. They promptly made his way towards him. Kris stood still as he studied the direction of the attacks.

The rod successfully did its purpose as it channeled the lightnings towards the blade, completely missing Kris and losing their explosive potential.

Kris then hopped to prop himself for a run while imbuing wind magic to his legs. Kris darted towards a man in front of him who was now back on his feet from Kris’ previous attack. The man noticed his approach and imbued his blade with wind magic. Swirls of silver mana danced around the man’s blade.

As Kris closed in, the man swung his sword diagonally downwards with sound-breaking speeds, cracking the air. Kris channeled his wind magic up towards his torso and bent as he dodged by a hair’s breadth. He then kicked towards the man’s torso.

“Endure!” Kris could hear a chant finish a few meters away as a green-light emanated from the edge’s of the man’s skin. His kick hit the man’s torso spot on, but the man didn’t budge. Kris clicked his tongue.

Earth magic, Endure, allowed those who were buffed to ignore the force of attacks. Though the damage still remains, it allowed them to plant their feet regardless of the power of the attacks they received for a set time.

The man grunted as he threw away his sword then quickly chanted.

“Encumber!” the man then clutched onto Kris’ leg before he could pull back. Kris could feel the weight of his body double. Behind him, he could hear two sets of footsteps quickly approaching.

Kris promptly expelled the influence of the man inside his body. As Kris felt his weight return to normal, the man widened his eyes. Kris propelled himself upwards using the man’s grip as a leverage and kicked the man’s head.

Kris heard the distinct cracking of bones as his legs met the man’s cheek. The man released his grip on Kris, though the man still didn’t budge. Kris instincts reminded him of the two presences behind him just a few steps away. Kris wrapped himself in a water enchantment as a blue aura seeped from his body.

Fluid.

Kris then gracefully grabbed the man who was in front of him by the neck, and smashed him to the ground. As soon as he did so, he straightened his body and craned his neck upwards as a short swing came from his left.

He pivoted his backfoot and turned to face the two men. The man to Kris’ right swung horizontally, aiming at Kris’ torso. Kris stepped forward and ruined the man’s swing by placing himself too close to the man’s reach.

“Endure!” Kris almost chuckled as another endure spell was cast on the two men.

Before the men could re-position themselves for an attack, Kris disabled his water magic. Kris pulled the man to his left closer. He then raised his hand between the ears of the men and snapped his finger.

A boom echoed as the volume of the snap grew exponentially. Kris blocked off the sound using wind magic to not allow the vibration anywhere near his ear, but the men weren’t so farsighted.

The men’s eardrums were rattled as their bodies trembled and their eyes rolled upwards. Soon, they plopped to the ground, unconscious and with blood seeping through their ears.

Kris, having allowed a breather, looked around him. The remaining men who chose to approach him previously were now cautiously circling around him. The spellcasting has stopped and all of the previously hidden men, all eleven of them, watched Kris carefully.

Still, though there were no spells being cast anymore, the men still flared their mana cores and painted the surroundings in different hues.

Kris then turned his attention towards a suspiciously smiling Kane.

“Kane, stop this. Even your Hell’s Gate is sealed. There’s no point to this,” Kris said firmly.

It wasn’t sealed because Kris’ did anything, well at least not as of the moment. Kris knew that Kane was avoiding using it simply because of their previous encounter. Kris could turn the spell around with greater ease this time.

“No point, you say?” Kane then chuckled softly. His chuckle turned into a laugh. His laughter warped into a maniacal fit.

“Say…” Kane then raised his chin as he tried to reel in his laugh.

“Did you know that this particular forest isn’t usually this humid?” Kane said.

Kris squinted his eyes and felt for the air touching his skin. He then scrunched his brows. This isn’t normal humidity. There’s mana in the air.

Kane grinned.

“Actually, even I understand the extent of your power,” Kane said as he shook his head. Kris could feel the air snake towards his lungs. He pressed onto his chest and tried to force the air out, but the humid air still made its way to his nose.

Kris mana core flared in self-defense, but the influence of the mana inside his lungs seemed unbelievably strong.

He could’ve easily shrugged this off before it took place, but he was caught unaware and the surrounding air had all been imbued with mana.

Three types of influences to be exact. One was an active wind-type magic that was shoving air inside of him. Another was a passive mana influence fueled by water that humidified the air. The passive water-elemental mana had a stronger influence, but it consciously allowed the air it imbued to be controlled by an external force.

The last type of mana was distinctly from Kane. This mana was being guided by the active wind and heating up the air that entered Kris’ body.

Kris looked around to find the water-based mage that humidified the air and controlled it towards him, while also checking for signs for the wind-mage. It was a combination magic, in a sense.

By allowing the water-elemental mana to seep into the air and settling in as a passive but strong influence, another user could control the water-laden air while not destructively interacting with each other.

This required excellent control, but most importantly, preparation. It was impossible to combine these two efforts into a single defined spell, but given enough time and ample space, it was possible to use two spells in succession to achieve the effect.

Kris could feel his lungs getting ruptured and heated from the inside and he reeled in shock as a piercing pain traveled through his veins along with his blood. He wanted to expel the influences, but he lost control of his thoughts and mana through the sheer volume of pain, and he needed the mana so his body won’t immediately give in and die.

Granted, there were times that the sheer number of mana-users could topple a fight to their favor even when the quality of the mana should have been an insurmountable gap.

The defining factors here are teamwork and coordination.

Kris was vaguely proud of this development. During his time as Rizale, the mages he fought with and against didn’t have time to explore such sophisticated combination attacks. Though Kris was used to fighting hundreds of opponents, the way they fought back then was usually disjointed and separate, instead of integrated such as this attack. It was carefully thought out, most likely banking on Kris' inexperience, which was in fact true in a sense.

The edges of Kris’ eyes darkened as blood seeped from the balls of his eyes, as well as his nose. He stumbled and fell to his knees. He glared at Kane.

“That’s why, with Reina’s powerful water magic, and with the help of our most trusted wind-mage, we thought that it’d be best for this country to end you here,” Kane said.

A woman appeared from thin-air behind Kane. It was Reina. Her face was scrunched in hesitation as she turned to look at Kris.

“I apologize, Kris Raven. I was originally against this…” Before Reina could finish, another person appeared beside Kane. He was a green-haired young man. A familiar young man.

“Diethart..?” Kris’ voice trembled. Kris widened his eyes as he clutched on to his chest.

“Kris,” Diethart smiled wryly as he tightened his fist. “I didn’t think I’d meet you in a situation like this. That the country thought of you as a threat. I had no choice. This is the order of the King,” Kris felt as if his heart was burning and was getting seized. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

He didn’t understand why the King viewed him as a threat. He also didn’t understand why Diethart suddenly appeared.

Diethart was covered in a white, hazy aura. The sign of a wind mage actively using his skill.

“It seems that Jack reported about your abilities to the King, and His Majesty defined you as a target. I was tasked to support this expedition and deliver the news to its commanding officer,” Diethart turned to look at Reina. She scoffed at Diethart. They seem to not like each other.

“For the crime of threatening Dragnir, we, the Royal Battle Mages, under the orders of His Majesty King Iame, hereby sentence you to death,” Diethart declared.

The pain consumed Kris thoughts. A familiar pain that reminded him of his battles from his previous life. He lost strength in his grip as he felt the tips of his bones seemingly melt away.

He found it funny that even though he appreciated the progress that society and magic has made in Ensfell, he still didn’t have the foresight to predict such an event. To think of ways to counter an attack like this. He now understood the difference between then and today.

If battles from his time were fought using large outputs of power and influence, battles today exceeded them in technique, control, and the types of phenomenon they could conjure.

Most importantly, their standard understanding of magic has helped the mages of today communicate effective tactics and strategies that synergized their strengths and made up for their weaknesses. Not only that, standard doesn't mean varied. Particular attributes spring into many different ones, and each one may have a school or two behind the system.

It was a world completely run on magic. Staying with the Ravens might not have showed Kris what this world really has to offer.

This city is so plain. Well, as expected of you, Dragnir. I won't stay here, you know? I have to see the world.

Kris tried to ignore the pain by chuckling. Truthfully, he thought that it didn’t matter whether the mages of today had better coordination and diverse spells. He could trump them with sheer force.

But he was different now. It’s been long since he fought as Rizale. It’s been a while since he’s fought multitude of opponents. No matter how impressive the mages of today are, this would’ve been a walk in the park had he remained as Rizale.

His eyes were suddenly painted in a dash of red. His mind flashed back towards his feelings from when he was Rizale. The power that he gained that overpowered all camaraderie. That blood that he collected from thousands of men who were audacious enough to face him even at once.

The calm that followed his victory, and the rage that he carried through his violence.

The desire to overcome all odds.

The fact that he never truly died even at the hands of his best-friend.

The mages today have been too caught up with their progress as people, they have forgotten what it truly means to become a force of nature.

And Kris forgot that though he was different now, he was still in some ways the same man. In his heart, he applauded the enemies in front of him. Though he knew, this wasn’t enough to stop him. It was time to show them what power truly entails.

The ring in Kris’ left hand disappeared. The trees around the proximity shook, as if whispering a foreboding.

Kris stood up, the pain in his body now just a lingering numbness. His heart started to pump more rapidly as the burning sensation disappeared. His bones felt sturdier by the second, and the air that was forcefully invading his body was being expelled steadily as he breathed out.

“Three times,” Kris raised three fingers to mirror his words. “I have told you to stop this mess. However, it seems that this was out of the question,” Kris shook his head. Sparks popped around Kris’ body then an orange flame embraced his body. Kris raised his arms and looked at it. Instead of heat, he felt desire.

The people around him widened the distance as they saw the change in Kris. Kris allowed them the time.

“This will be the last time. We can put all of this behind us, and look at the bigger things happening. You can bring me to your King and allow me to clear up this confusion, and we could all work in harmony,” Kris suggested. His sharp eyes stared daggers towards them.

Diethart stepped forward.

“Impossible. The orders of the King are absolute. Do you think we’d just let you come anywhere near him?” Diethart stated. Reina’s eyes rolled towards Diethart, seemingly trying to figure out his intent. She then looked back at Kris, mumbling faintly... "...what are you?"

“Oh?” Kris raised a brow. These people might have forgotten that his mother was a Royal Battle Mage herself. He put the thought aside.

“Then you leave me no choice. For the sake of this world, I will never die,” Kris then pointed a finger.

“You have made a grave mistake, mages of Dragnir.”

At the distance, Kris saw Kane took a step back as he grimaced. Reina and Diethart looked at each other and readied their stances. Diethart immediately slashed his hand in mid-air as a silver streak of sharp wind conjured from his fingertips.

The wind spun in circles in three different areas before these lumps turned into piercing tornadoes. Diethart then pointed towards Kris. The tornadoes approached steadily, sucking debris, leaves and bark inside its vortex and shredding them to pieces.

“Everyone, step back!” Diethart shouted as all the men around Kris ran towards the opposite direction.

Reina imbued her mana on one tornado on the left. It sucked the moisture on the ground and in the air and slowly turned into a cyclone that crushed anything that entered it.

Kane imbued the tornado on the right. He summoned flames that were sucked in by the wind and engulfed the tornado. The tornado became painted with an orange hue that sizzled with every revolution, incinerating anything in its path.

Kris marveled at the sight. Truly, truly, wonderful skill.

Unfortunately, if they wanted to die so badly, then Rizale’s rage was the perfect choice.

An inferno, hotter than hell's gate, descended upon the forests. It was hot enough to burn the magic... even the flames of Kane, out of existence. In fact, it seemed to only be too hot for the magic, leaving the others caught in its wake at the very least fatigued and drenched.

A firewall, as tall as the skies, shot up from the ground and blocked the escape path of Kane and company. It was wide enough for Kris to include himself in the fray.