I went blur for a moment at the scene I'm looking at. "Tom! Look out!" I shouted as loud as my lungs permitted.

I knew Tom was having a hard time coping with the residue memories of the Red Ogre. He has been showing obvious symptoms of it. I didn't want to turn a blind eye to this problem but I have to. I can't let Tom keep relying on me forever. I can't let him live in fear. No. I can't let myself live in fear. If I kept holding his hand, he will never be independent.

Now, the results of my decision led to a devastating event.

The huge tendril slams down at where Tom stands.

"TOM!!!"

"Oi, wait!" Angie called out but I wasn't in any state to listen.

As I was about to unleash hell upon the tendril, black flames erupted, leveling the vicinity and disintegrating the gigantic tendril.

Kai, analyze. Filter out the unnecessary information.

[On it.]

Name: Thomas Atlas

Race: Oni

Status: Enraged/Famished

He's famished and enraged. No doubt it's the Red Ogre's influence.

Damn it but.... at least he's alive. Thank the gods. Thank god....

[Hyx.]

I know. I know.

Deep breaths.

No one's at fault here. We all have seen this coming.

[We did. What's more, we have conveniently acquired the way to solve this problem now.]

We did, didn't we? How convenient.

Okay now. Deep breaths.

Tom will be alright. I have [Sealing Magic] now, after all.

My wrist is caught as I begin to head towards Tom who is engulfed in a massive black fire. I look back and saw a dubious Angie.

"Where are you going?" Angie asked.

I shot her a glare. "I am going to help my friend, as you can see."

"You don't expect me to take on that thing alone now, do you?"

"Why can't you? I sensed great power in you. I don't think it would be a problem even if you're up against the main body, alone."

"I can't."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can't?"

"My Mana flow is still rusty from my long slumber. I still can't use my Arcane Arts well."

"How long will you need until you are able to draw your full potential?"

"Days at most."

Kai, is this Nephilim telling the truth?

[Yes, she is. I have been meaning to tell you this. It is as she said, her Mana flow is rough. Being dormant for a long period of time can do that to Mana flows.]

Can you fix it?

[Actually, you can do it too. You did do it on Tom, didn't you?]

That was a fluke actually.

[Don't tell him that, then. Point is, you don't need me for that.]

I see. There are somethings not only Kai can do.

With only a second passed while I deep in thought, my eyes turn serene towards Angie.

"What?" Angie asked when she noticed the change in my demeanor.

I flick her hand away from my wrist and place my hand on her shoulder.

She jumped a little.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Trust me." I told her as I invoke [Dimension Fort]. Five tendrils crashed into the barrier I created. Read the mood, would you?

I close my eyes and begin adjusting her Mana flow.

It's just like the time with Tom. Refining? No. Not refining. Tempering? Or would calibrating be a better term? Hmm.... If I have to relate to a modernized term, I think "optimization" would be the best term for what I'm doing.

[Mana Overseer: Mana Optimization - Acquired]

Oh. Packaged. Neat.

While I'm optimizing her Mana flow, I "accidentally" stumbled into a place I'm not suppose to. An unethical move, I can say. I'm not talking about my hand of course. I'm not that low.

Now.... where is it? Should be here.

[A little bit more to the left.]

Yada yada yada yada..... and... found!

A wall of texts is displayed before me.

Name: Senna Tenrun

Gender: Female

Age: 217

Race: Nephilim

Status: Deficient

Standing: None

Job: None

Class: Ascended Magus

Titles:

-The Impure

-Lady of Light

-Taboo Princess

-Unparalleled Evolver

-Saintess

-Relentless Reaper

-Black Archmage

-White Archmage

-Twilight Spell Lord

-Champion of Lumine

Arcane Arts

Light Magic - Lv. 10

Shadow Magic - Lv. 10

Abyss Magic - Lv. 8

Space Magic - Lv. 5

Time Magic - Lv. 2

Body Strengthening - Lv. 3

Twilight Providence (Unique) - Lv. 8

HP : 1800/2200

MP: 7550/8000

Overall Power Ranking : S

Effective Combat Power: 6000

- Attack: 350

- Defense: 50

- Magic: 3000

- Resistance: 2000

- Speed: 600

Two crossed out titles? Huh....? But --

-- Holy motherfucker and Holy Sweet Buttery Jesus! What is with her stats? And to think she doesn't need to chant either. Fuck me.

[Oh damn. I think we took a wrong turn.]

You think?

Before I can peek further, I feel an overwhelming wave of force swept me away like a tide. In reality, my body is flung a few feet away from Senna Tenrun. A defense mechanism?

Now with her Mana flow optimized, she has a completely different demeanor. Analysis is still impossible but I remembered what I saw. "What.... What did you just do?" She asked, looking flustered.

I can't move. She's not using any spells. I am simply paralyzed by her aura.

"What did you see?" She asked again, emitting a freezing aura when I'm already paralyzed by her "normal" aura.

"Um..... Everything?" I told her the truth.

Her eyebrows twitched.

The KY overgrown monster roared and intruded upon the confrontation.

As cool as a cucumber, she raises her left arm, her hand spreads open. I see light energy begins converging at her palm.

[White Light]. This text appeared beside the converging energy.

A straight and wide beam of white light shoots out at the approaching grotesque monster, annihilating the upper half of its body. The beam continues straight on after destroying the monster and hit the walls entrapping this ruin. To my surprise, the walls took the beam without any cracks whatsoever.

Azunmite. What the hell is with that strength?

[Blink].

After I saw that word, she appears beside me.

[Gambateh~]

Wait. Where do you think you're going? Come back! If I die, you die. Did you forgot?

[If we die, we die.]

What? Oi! Don't fuck with me! Help a brudah out, wud ya?

"Hyx Atlas."

"Hai~!?" I faced her as I straightened myself. I uttered something very otaku-like.

She lightly bows her head. "Thank you."

Eh? Thank you? Why?

"HArBinGEr!!!" The monster screamed. It's not dead yet. Figures.

"Go."

"Huh?"

"Go save your friend. I will fight this abomination. No. I will end this abomination."

"You sure?"

"Whatever you did, it worked. Thank you. I'm aware I have been quite rude. That was.... unbecoming of me. I have misjudged you."

While we are talking, a ball of black flames headed towards our way.

With a flick of her wings, the ball of black flames disappears.

Oh damn. What was that just now?

"When you were tempering my Mana flow, I caught a glimpse of your suffering. Just a small glimpse but it told me enough. You saved me because you understand what I have gone through. Therefore, I'm sorry for my skepticism and once again, thank you."

I see. I wasn't the only one who "stumbled" into a place that I shouldn't be in. "We're in the same bind. It was an obligation. Think nothing of it."

"I understand. Now go, save your friend."

I said no more and cast [Spatial Leap] in succession until I reached Tom.

We are facing off on top of a large and grand building which seems to be a palace once. Now it's just a decrepit building like any other.

Oh?

Until now, I never realized Tom has two horns on her forehead due to his bangs. In his enraged and famine state, his horns has grew through his unkempt bangs that covers his forehead. The black tattoos that cover his whole body are now pulsing violent red. His aura is a massive black fire that engulf not just him but his vicinity. I'm surprised that his aura is not burning where he stood. How does that work?

His eyes are staring at me but it doesn't feel that way. He looks like he's just staring but not at anything.

"I'm sorry. I knew this would happen but I risked it. I couldn't let you die. I can't save Alabaster and Daedrich. I can't save Muo Li and Clammis. But I did save you. And I regret nothing. You're a friend. My first friend in this world."

He growled.

"But.... if you are truly at the point of no return, I will not and I must not hesitate. Do you understand?" I don't know if my words got through but I'm not intending to go full Naruto on him.

Let's not waste any more time. I bind him with my new [Sealing Magic], [Warden's Chain] and incapacitate him with [Imprison Rod].

That was easy.... is what I want to say. [Warden's Chain] and [Imprison Rod] turned into ashes from his aura.

[We have to get rid of his aura first.]

Obviously.

Tom sneers at me.

Huh? Is he aware?

[Unlikely. Must be a persona created of the Red Ogre residue memories.]

He instantly conjures up two black flame blades in his hands. Appraisal told me they are called [Rageblade]. It uses my [Abyssal Edge] as the basis.

Before his blades and aura could reach, I [Force Push] him a good few feet away from me. He is quick to recover. Not even five seconds passed, he is already rushing at me again.

I throw the blue flames in my hand that I have cultivated enough. The fireball explodes and the blue flames swallow Tom's aura.

His black flaming aura is extinguished with [Mana Burn] but he didn't even slow down. Relentless.

I evaded a thrust and dodged a swing. He attempted a cross-cut but I put up [Plane Displacement] as guard. His blades bounced off when they hit the space barrier. Looks like I can rely on [Plane Displacement] in this fight.

He cancels [Rageblade] and goes hand-to-hand with me. With the help of [Clarity Field] and my heightened sense as a Magic Beast, I barely dodged his fists. While he's not faster but his ferocity more than makes up for his speed. Not to mention his attacks' range are very deceiving. I got hit once on my cheek when he clearly missed a hook.

He thrusts out his palm, the space rippled around his palm and it shoots his aura like a canon. Combining [Overload] with [Plane Displacement], I blocked his [Aura Strike].

Before Tom could recover from the stance of his last attack, I move above him with [Storm Rush]. I cast [Imprison Rod] in conjecture with [Overload]. The force from the Rods impaled him and held him on the ground but due to the excessive force from [Overload], the whole rooftop gave out and he went crashing through floors. Maybe I shouldn't have overcharged it but my intent was to raise the effectiveness. I failed, it seems.

Of course, I have created footholds for me to stand before the entire rooftop disappears.

While the sounds of buildings crumbling down and explosions and rings out in the background, I devoted my focus and the newly created cavity on top of the building.

[I don't think he's subdued yet.]

I can tell that much from his HP bar. There's still more than eighty percent. Just like using my [Soul Harvest] to consume souls, I would need to weaken my prey first.

Prey? Woah there, that's a grim word to use.

Anyways, as a testimony to my assumptions, black flames erupted from below, creating a black flaming pillar. It hit the ceiling on this large cavern but not a crack was made.

[That aura of his is truly a hindrance. We can't get seal his memories without getting rid of the aura first.]

I know.

Tom clad in his aura, he slowly rises to my eye level from the pit he fell into. His aura can even make him float. I was planning to put him at a disadvantage by using aerial combat but that advantage is taken away from me.

While looking at me with a twisted expression, he bares his right hand, flexing his fingers. Black flames gathered and slowly forms into a long object.

[Havoc Wreakor], a serrated whip of black flames longer than twenty feet. The end bores a fang-like tip. The way the whip undulate gives off the feeling that it might be alive.

[This ain't going to be easy.]

No shit.

I have no problem closing in but his aura would most likely burn me alive. Even if I coated myself with some defensive magic, I can't seal his power if the aura persist. Either way, I have to nullify the aura first, subdue him with [Sealing Magic], and then I sealed the residue memories.

How do I do that though?

[I can synthesize an original memory-sealing spell since we have acquired the base spell]

Can't you make a memory erasing spell instead?

[If we have mind magic, sure. What we have is Sealing Magic instead.]

Ah. Touche. That was a stupid question.

[Synthesizing the spell now.]

Got it. In the meantime, I will incapacitate him.

As I prepared [Mana Burn] in my palm, the whip darted for me. Huh? I didn't see Tom swinging. I safely evaded the strike from the whip.

What....? Tom did not swing the whip. It actually moved on its own.

Great. The difficulty level is raised.

The whip which missed me immediately took a u-turn back at me. I decide to throw the blue flames in my palm at the incoming whip.

The moment it caught the blue fire, it detached the part it was burned. The missing part then immediately regrew.

Oh, come on!

While I'm in awe with the ability of [Havoc Wreakor], a ball of black flames flew towards me.

Among all the course of action I can take, I choose [Spatial Leap]. The moment I reappeared at another place, I am met with the whip. I blocked the attack with [Plane Displacement] a crack in the form of a web spreads on it. The whip immediately attacked again and again until it completely shatters the barrier like glass.

I saw Tom flashed a grin.

I returned one at him.

And his grin turned into a frown.

Holding the whip's movement with [Distort], I obliterate the whip into nothing with [Fracture].

I teleport to Tom's back and fires a [Thunder Spear] at him.

Of course he noticed such obvious attack but he didn't realize it was a ruse. The moment he deflected the spear with his bare hand, I have teleported above him. From there, I send another [Thunder Spear].

When he looked up just in time to block the spear, I heaved a sigh of relief. If he failed, it might have killed him.

I see the change in Tom's expression. It was subtle but I saw it or rather Kai did.

[His aura is about to be reignited again. Stop him.]

Got it.

Dashing with [Storm Rush], I move to his back.

Tom casts two [Havoc Wreaker] this time but I immediately destroy them with [Fracture] again. I burned away his reignited aura with [Mana Burn] and launched rocks at him with [Psychokinesis]. Without his aura, he couldn't defend from all the rocks. One slipped past his defense and hit, driving him to the ground of the streets.

[His aura is about coming up again.]

Fast. The interval is getting shorter.

Well then, let me step it up a notch too.

I use [Soul Harvest] to devour his reignited aura but his aura burned away the black tendrils instead.

Ah.... That's unexpected.

I cast [Mana Burn] immediately after [Soul Harvest] failed. So even [Soul Harvest] has its limit.

[Mana Pool at sixty percent capacity. As for Tom....]

Yeah, I noticed.

Unleashing his aura consumed half of his Mana but I am stunned at the speed of his Mana recovery rate. In less than ten seconds, it already recovered fully.

Still, I'm having the upper hand.

The reason for the sudden shift to the tide is thanks to Kai. He has been analyzing our battle and collecting data. When the data is sufficient, he quickly devised a plan, a pattern dedicated to counter Tom's fighting pattern. On the streets of a former glorified city, our stance aligned and gaze met. I closed in on him with [Storm Rush] and get physical with him.

[Phrasing.]

Shut up.

I blocked a jab and countered with a jab of my own. When he launched a hook, I deflected it and countered with an uppercut to his chin. Breaking his balance, I thrust out my palm which hit him square on the chest. I feel the air in him is pumped out from my attack. Discombobulating him, I aimed for his ribs per the instructions of Kai. He attempted a feral hook but I blocked it and quickly return a jab at between his shoulder and elbow.

When I see the sparks flew, I quickly cast [Mana Burn] to dispel his aura which haven't even taken form.

I caught his thrust out palm which I wager to be an [Aura Strike] and initiated [Mana Transmission], draining him of his Mana.

But of course, things didn't go that smoothly.

I have only worsened his enraged status.

Status: Enraged (Extreme) / Famished

Before I could even use [Mana Burn], he had already reignited his aura.

Shit. He's too fast now.

"Tommy?"

"What' wrong with him?"

These two voice came from Bartholomew and Cormac.

Oh my god. What are you two doing here?

Are you two an idiot?

Tom slowly twists his head to the two goblins. [Kill. Feed.] Tom's inner voice leaked into my mind.

"Eeek~!"

"Friends! Friends!"

The goblins shrieked.

Without a shred of hesitation, Tom seems to be agitated by their cries and launched an [Aura Strike] at them.

I was about to take action to save them but what I saw made me hesitated. The strike missed the two. The projectile launched by Tom is fast, without a doubt but Cormac reacted faster. He was able to pull Bartholomew aside when he saw the aura coming.

[Remarkable. Cormac has potential. He's fast.]

Indeed. After this is over, maybe we could help him awaken his potential.

[Agree. For now, Tom first, the monster second.]

Alright. We'll do that.

[Tom.] I called out. [They are your friends. Do you not remember?]

[Friends....?] He glanced back at me as he asked.

[Yes, friends. So am I. Do we mean nothing to you anymore.] Now with collateral, I can't afford to be hasty with my approach.

[Nothing...? No.... Nothing.... Need to kill.... Need to feed.]

No good, huh. Talk no Jutsu didn't do jack shit.

Still, hearing his words makes me think it would be more fitting to call the residues a personality or character rather than a memory.

"What do you think you're doing, you stupid Oni?"

Behind the two, Nilin shouted. Where the heck did she appeared from? And shouting from way behind the two discredit your words, you dunce.

Hmm.... Citra is coiling around Nilin's right arm. What's with the sudden shift of favorite?

"Who...?" Tom asked with a stare and tone that spell sinister.

"W...who? Gunununu~!" She clenched her teeth. "Mou~! After everything you did to me, you dare you act like you don't know me?" She said with a finger pointing at Tom.

What did Tom ever did to you anyway? As far as I know, he was the only one that was willing to listen to your cries when no one else would. Such an easy capture target, you are. Shame, Tom might be Ichika the black hole reincarnated.

"Wisp, I recommend you to back off." I warned.

Just when I said that, Tom threw a black fireball at Nilin.

Nilin shrieked but she was too surprised to move. But I didn't need to help her. Citra leaped in front of Nilin, invoking a magic circle that blocked the fireball. Even before Citra invoke that barrier magic, I saw the text [Foresight] appeared beside Citra, which was I took a wait and see approach.

[Maven's Shield] seems to be the barrier spell's name.

When I appraised her, I was surprised but wasn't at the same time.

Name: Citra

Race: Wyrm (Infant)

Status: None (Alive)

Arcane Arts

Arcane Serpent (Legacy) - Lv. 1

Foresight - Lv. 1

Overall Power Ranking: E

Citra has awakened her potential.

Hmm.... The other goblins gained intelligence. Some even evolved.

Cormac's potential is surfacing. He's gotten quite fast.

An obvious pattern could be noticed here. They all discovered their hidden potential when they entered this place.

The culprit is obvious.

Senna Tenrun. It's her. She incited these changes. Which further explains why the long-dead fuckers used her as a core to fuel the city. She brings change. Shouldn't she be the Harbinger instead of me?

Perhaps I did made the right choice after all.

Still, "Wisp." I called out.

"Yes?" She was still shocked from the attack that could have hit her.

"Back off. You wouldn't be this lucky twice."

"No way. I'm not going to let this idiot run amok mindlessly."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

"Eh~? Um.... eto...."

Really? Did you seriously just brazenly called out to Tom without any actual plan?

"Kill!" Tom screamed as he lunged himself at Nilin.

[You're planning to let the comic relief be off with it?]

No. Well at least not in a way that will struck my good conscience.

Citra doesn't seem to be doing anything. Why?

HP: 300/300

MP: 10/150

Ah... That's why.... [Foresight] must have high Mana consumption.

I sighed.

I moved between them with [Spatial Leap]. Instead of [Mana Burn], I unleashed [Daunt], extinguishing Tom's flaming aura. Tom even falter a bit from [Daunt].

Knowing that he wouldn't give up just like that, I grabbed onto his hand which have already conjured up a [Rageblade]. I can move stuffs with me with [Spatial Leap] but it won't be easy if the object resist. So it took a lot out of me, both mentally and spiritually to teleport the two of us away from Nilin. When we teleported, I further created more distance between us with [Force Push].

[Come to think of it, since Spirits are something of a Symbol of tranquility, won't Nilin have any magic that could calm Tom's mind?]

You think Nilin would know something like that?

[She may be a dunce but she has lived a long life.]

Point taken.

Name: Nilin

Status: Frightened

Class: Spirit Magus

Tittle:

-Eternal

-Wisp of Guidance

Arcane Arts

Spirit Magic - Lv. 8

HP : 900/900

MP: 3000/3000

Overall Power Ranking : A

Hmm? Her stats are quite barren considering her age. And her ranking is A but she doesn't have an ECP.

[Make sense. She's not a combatant. Still, rank A. That's impressive.]

Alright then, she might be our only hope now.

"Nilin."

"Ha~? Wh.... who gives you the right to call me by m...my n...name....!?"

Ignoring her hypocritical statement, I asked "Do you have any magic that can calms the soul and mind?"

"Eh~? Why are you asking me? Of course I do. I'm a Spirit of Nature after all."

Excellent. "Then on my signal, cast it on Tom."

"Eh~?"

Before I get an answer from her, not that I need to, I engage with Tom again. With [Daunt] activated, I closed in on him, devoid him of any chance to reignite his aura. Since there's a great disparity between our power levels, he couldn't use any of his magic as long as he within my [Daunt].

Why didn't I think of this earlier?

[You want an answer to that?]

No.

"KILL!!!"

"Shut up!" I roared back, sending an uppercut that broke his jaws and broke a few teeth in the process. If [Daunt] wasn't activated, Tom would have blocked it or even dodged it. Oops, I got a bit too fed up with his screams and ended up forgetting to hold back.

Damn, I'm really strong, physically.

[It would be weird if you're not after everything you been through.]

"We", my friend, not "you".

[Is that so?]

Yes.

And Tom! Stop with those incoherent noises.

Tom is still in a daze from my uppercut which makes things easier. I grabbed him, twisted my body, and threw him to the ground.

"Kill!!!"

Hmm. Looks the throw snapped him back but it's too late. And also, I said enough with that!

I plant my feet into his face.

Oops. His HP decreased by a lot.

Before he could retaliate, I sealed his aura and movements with [Sealing Magic]. It won't last long since my [Sealing Magic] level is low and the blood lust within him is too strong but this is where Nilin comes in.

[Mana at thirty percent capacity.]

Yikes! That's a sharp drop. [Daunt] really does consumes a lot of Mana but since it is multipurpose and versatile, I guess it's worth it? Gotta end this quickly.

As I said that within my mind....

"HArBingER!!!!" The cry resounded into my ears. It kept regenerating every time Angie obliterated him. At this point, I don't know who is more frightening. For a while now, the whole place has been experiencing quakes caused by Angie's destructive power.

Not a moment to loose now. "Nilin, now!"

"Huh?" She blurted out.

"Now! Use the calming magics."

"R...right. Alright!" She made a fist pump gesture and begin to chant.

Hmm? I don't recognize the language she is chanting in.

[Must be the Spirits' own language.]

When she finished chanting, hundreds of tiny light drops appeared above us and fell on us like rain.

[Pacify] is the spell's name.

I can feel my soul and mind being soothed. When I look at Tom, he too had also stopped struggling.

Kai, you finished with it yet?

[Right on time.]

Alright, let's do this. Hope it works.

A new compound magic synthesized by Kai, [Sealing Magic: Echo Isolation].

A spell that isolates a selected part of a memory and seals it. Since Kai can't remove the residues, we decided to isolate it. Of course, the residue still resides within but it's confined in a much inner recess.

Status: Relief (Placated)

When I see Tom's status, I finally let out a sigh.

"Thank god, it worked."

Deeming it safe enough, I cancel [Imprison Rod] and [Warden's Chain] on him.

No time to rest yet.

I teleport all of us to a safe place just as a piece of the overgrown monster crash into that precise spot.

We end up at some building that look sturdy enough to support two blows of cannon. Just an assumption though.

"You're leaving us again?" Nilin asked as I am about to leave through the door.

"I'll be quick. And you two, stay."

Cormac and Bartholomew nodded while Nilin is flapping her mouth as usual.

Just as I stepped out of the building I saw thousands shadow-like spikes erupted from the ground and impaled the monster. Of course, it shook the whole place. The spikes' number and size continues to grew until the monster was no more.

[Looks like we are not needed after all.....]

Said Kai. Which I agreed.

Even after shredding the monster into nothing, the shadow spikes persist in its place. From a distance, the shadow spikes looks like a plant with a rampant growth.

And I guess my description suits it well considering the name for the spell is,

[Abyss Magic: Death Garden]

I think we need to reshuffle the hierarchy in our little party.

[You think?]