Inside, I could still feel both Kon and Vendi. Vendi in the same place as I left him, probably still tied. Kon was no longer with him, instead there were three other people in the room. A bit further away, not that far from where the kids were hiding, there was Kon. Also not moving, and flanked by four other people.

Through the whole mansion, there were about eight more people running in pairs. At first it seemed that they were just randomly moving around, but no. One pair was definitely patrolling the lower floor, along the long corridor, one was circling the building, while others were searching through the whole building.

That was… unexpected. He was actually telling the truth? There was no sign of that “one person” though.

Now the question: the fuck should I do in this situation? Running away was the easiest one, but I really felt like I should not.

First of all, I was sort of worried. While I did not really care about Vendi, leaving Kon was not something I should do if I ever wanted to be on good terms with Jack. There was an issue of the kids I saw too. And all that looked like it was my fault.

Whoever that was, definitely used the opening I created to invade this place. How did they find out though? And who were “they”?

To at least satiate my curiosity, I decided that I should turn back. I don’t know if that was a good idea or not, because who I saw right next to the mansion gave me even more questions than it provided answers.

The pair I felt scouting next to the building had pointy ears.

Elves. There was no doubt about it. Even never seeing one, nor even being sure about their existence, I could tell at the first glance. Tall, pale skin, long, pointy ears, somewhat similar to my own. They were wearing green cloaks, hiding their whole body from head to toe. They both had taken off their hoods, so I could clearly see their faces, so I was sure that I had never seen either of them.

Seeing them I froze in my spot, not sure what the hell I should do.

I couldn’t get any closer, as I was still glowing. The trees and bushes managed to mask most of it though.

Just a second later, a loud crash broke the silence of the forest, and from the window upstairs a chair flew out. Then a table. Then a whole bed.

Whatever was going on, that was not a peaceful discussion.

The pair on the ground got startled just as much as me, but after shouting something, they clearly relaxed and went back to their patrol and whoever was making that mess continued tossing random pieces of furniture out.

The tossing stopped after a while, just to continue from another window, further down the corridor. Whoever was that, they were definitely not a friend here and were looking for something… or more likely for someone. Kids were still hiding, as I could clearly feel, in the same spot as before. Even considering that they were clearly inept in detecting presences, they still were going to find them soon, it was just a matter of time. Especially if they were so thorough as to toss out all the furniture.

All that was putting me in a peculiar spot. Just minutes before, I thought that I was being ambushed by those in the mansion, just for it to be the exact opposite.

I also very clearly was aware that it most likely was my fault. Those people, or rather elves, came from the hole in the barrier that I made, just to satisfy my curiosity. I already was cursing myself for that. I mean, how the hell could I know that that thing was protecting some kind of orphanage in the middle of the forest on a lawless island. What gives?

But despite all my complaining, I already made up my mind. I couldn’t just leave them to fend for themselves, right? After all, from what I’ve heard about the elves, I realized that they were not exactly good guys, being the creators of that weird enslaving, blood-pact magic. Hell, if I was to judge them from that, they probably came to get themselves some new “servants” or some crap.

That aside, I realized that if I was to do something, I probably go and get to it soon. Ones searching upstairs already went through most of the floor and were about to go to the lower level - slowly getting closer to the kids.

Which brought a question - how exactly should I approach this?

I mean, the obvious one should be the best, right? Seeing as they were not even as strong as either Kon or Vendi, I was pretty sure that whatever magic that they were able to toss at me would just be rendered ineffective.

But that also was suspicious. After all, they were attacking enemies stronger than them. Would they be that dumb to attack, knowing that they were severely outmatched? I mean, sure, they had strength in numbers. And a surprise factor too boot, but still. If I was not here before and did not tire Vendi out, he himself would take out at least some of them. Kon was strange, since his magic was… subpar to say the least, but whatever. Between two of them they would surely be able to at least play for time and evacuate the kids, maybe call for some reinforcements.

Wait. Reinforcements. Would that mean Jack?

Hah. I had a feeling that at that moment I accidentally figured out their plan of escape and defense. In case of attack, Vendi was most likely to do exactly what he did with me - slow the enemy down as much as possible, while Kon was to summon “that person”, a.k.a. Jack.

But then, why wasn’t he here already? Was Jack somehow preoccupied?

My questions were answered right as I was stating them.

Suddenly I could feel a large surge of mana somewhere in the basement of the mansion, close to the room I was talking with Kon through the wall. Closing my eyes and focusing on the flow of the mana, I could see a large pool of mana gather under the room I was in not so long ago, changing its shape to a familiar oval - a portal. Stepping through was one singular person, whose power was on a level similar to the two I found here, maybe a bit stronger. They closed the portal behind and stopped, casting some kind of spell - I could tell by the sudden change of the mana flow. I was pretty sure that the magic they were using was green, and not that strong, yet I was still surprised that no one had noticed yet. Even if the spot they ported to was well hidden, the amounts of mana teleporting needed was easily noticeable. Sure, I was a crystal abomination sensitive to mana, but I was not one assaulting the place - you’d expect that they’d left at least one person keeping an eye on the area and the mana flow nearby. Even if they were weak, noticing that was not something even remotely hard.

But, on the other hand, they did not find the kids yet either, so I guess maybe they just couldn’t do it for some reason…

Nevertheless, that raised my spirits a little bit. If they are so uncoordinated, the person that appeared - hopefully that was Jack - would be able to wipe the floor with them without breaking a sweat and all would be fine.

It seemed like that indeed was the case. The new presence started moving out from the room and stumbled upon one pair wandering the halls. The pair was apparently also using green magic, which meant that the new guy had the advantage - he had a lot more mana to spare, and looked like he was more proficient with it to boot. He barely used any energy, yet both of the adversaries got knocked out almost instantly.

But “almost instantly” was not fast enough. He got noticed. Every single presence in the mansion converged upon him and started their assault.

For a while, it looked like he still had this in the bag. He knocked out a couple of people, started escaping a bit, being chased by the rest, just to bump into another pair that was coming from upstairs, probably including the one that was tossing the furniture out of the windows.

Noticing them, he instantly stopped. I half expected that they would fall along with their comrades, but nope. Not even trying to use magic, he started backing up towards where he came from, but soon got pincered by the rest of the people coming to get him.

At first I was confused, why didn’t he even try to strike at them, after all he easily dispatched the earlier enemies, just to realize what kind of magic the pair that ambushed him was using.

Fire and lightning.

Assuming that he was only able to use green, nature magic, it was no wonder that he didn’t bother attacking. Even the weakest fire would absolutely destroy any attempt of retaliation, and most likely set the whole building on fire.

Lightning magic would probably be able to do the exact same thing and then paralyze him to boot. Wood not being conductive would not help much. Tasers are effective, you know. Especially magical ones.

Confirming my worries, I noticed the guy used some lightning magic and the “reinforcements” magical signature suddenly died down - he was knocked unconscious.

-For fuck’s sake… - I muttered, irritated and annoyed at myself. - Why did I have to break this stupid spell?

I was not going to leave this place until I finally got some answers. From who though, that did not matter. Although I had a very good guess how the talking with elves was going to go…

Obviously, the sudden appearance of someone looking like me startled the patrolling pair. It didn’t even take a second for me to again get assaulted by some wooden projectiles and plants trying to bind me. I also don’t need to add that it was absolutely useless.

This time though I didn’t bother with waiting out my opponent. I was already overcharged with mana and did not want to limit-test my mana capacity. As soon as they flung their first spells I raised my hand.

-Wipvu tehu.

Knowing that any and all spells will be especially destructive, I went with wind, hoping to not destroy anything in the process. Though I did create a stream of wind that would easily be on par with a jet blast, flinging them both right towards the wall of the mansion, crashing loudly into it.

The amount of the noise they made made me realize that they were heavily armored, meaning that my spell was strong enough to not only send a human flying, or rather an elf, but to do that to someone wearing plate armor was enough for me to be happy that I decided on using wind.

The crashing sound alerted everyone in the building about my presence. Not even trying to focus I could see all the flames in the building converge on the stairs and start rushing towards me. The only ones that did not move were children, the hostages and the one guy who I saw used lightning magic before.

I did not bother even moving a step, just waited for the adversaries to run out from the mansion, looking for the source of noise. I was not glowing anymore, so they did not spot me immediately, but soon they noticed me standing nearby.

I sort of wanted to talk to them, maybe try and figure out the situation, but I already knew that it was not going to happen.

The green magic was first. I again let them hit me a few times, to build up my mana a little bit, just to blast them all away with wind.

It did not work that well this time around, I was not charged as much. I did send them back tumbling on their ass though. Especially the one in the back - that one got pushed the furthest, cursing and making generally a lot of noise - but no metal noise this time.

No wonder - he was the only one not wearing heavy armor. Almost immediately he jumped back up and started chanting.

As on command, every single one of his companions started crawling away as fast as it was possible. Some had a harder time than others.

-Eisu, no usfupet em wo voekp, lumilvo lek wesnoho! Stupid creature, your magic will feed my flames! - he growled at me, raising a large ball of flame above his head, preparing to toss it at me.

Ah. No wonder. It was the one using fire.

-Aha. Just don’t burn down the forest if you could.

My words startled him. He clearly did not expect for me to speak.

-Shut up monster! Burn in hell!

I rolled my eyes. Besides his stupid speech, the spell he was using looked pretty decent, albeit crude and weirdly constructed. He obviously did not have much mana capacity, it was clear from the spell itself.

What he was using was a very, very basic and roundabout version of fireball. Normally, to create something like this you have to gather a certain amount of mana and then turn its nature or “color” to flame, or “red”.

What he was doing instead was not igniting mana as a source of fuel, instead gathering gasses at his fingertips and then igniting them with heat he was producing from the small amounts of mana he had. Meaning, he was not only able to use fire magic, but also wind magic. No wonder he was so sure of himself.

-Nice. I suppose I can’t convince you to put that down?

-Gmyo!

Aaaand he tossed it right at me. Or rather it seemed like it. After all, his spell consisted not of just mana, but mostly of gasses, meaning he couldn’t just control it that well. Instead, he was commanding the wind to move the flammable gas he conjured towards me, creating something similar to a flamethrower.

I probably could’ve tried and taken control of his spell with force, but…

-Hiktisu.

I instead decided to play firefighter.

A massive gush of water started streaming right at him, through his “flamethrower” and hit him right in his face. I didn’t really put out his flames, rather I just knocked him out cold - the sheer force of the stream, like a water cannon, stunned him, breaking concentration on the spell and sending him down on his ass.

-Fotoho.

Immediately after that I split the stream into a few smaller ones to douse the flames that, thanks to him, started eating at the wooden walls of the mansion - I was not going to become an arsonist.

Ending the spell, I approached him on the ground. Meanwhile, his subordinates were already up and kicking, awakened by my water, trying to stop me with even more vines and branches.

Not bothering with them, I reached for the man on the ground to drain him from his mana to stop him from further trying to set everything on fire, but I got stopped by a voice.

-Hold it!

It was another elf. During our scuffle, he came down, dragging with him still tied Vendi and with his other hand grabbing Kon by the neck.

-One spell and they are both dead! Just like the old fucker upstairs!

I gazed towards the upper floor in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? The “old fucker” was definitely still alive and kicking. Maybe not faring too well thanks to his electricity, but still. I could clearly see his flame, dim but stable, in the room where I last saw him.

Pretending to surrender I raised my arms.

-Easy there, man. I am not looking for trouble.

-Then don’t make it difficult. Tie him up.

Last one was directed to one of his people who was gathering himself from the ground.

-I wouldn't if I were you…

Despite my warnings, the guy approached and tried casting a spell on me again, summoning some weak-looking vines. I don’t need to add that that did not work well for him.

-Shit, you are pathetic… - the guy with the hostage muttered, but almost immediately after stepping back, got startled.

No wonder. Thanks to mana I absorbed I was glowing again.

-I told you to not try anything funny! Gymnu, hipiso ip noe nepqmevu! Nus mocisohu!

I was worried for a second there, it was lightning he was attempting to use after all, but for naught. Kon was not done fighting yet.

As soon as I started glowing, he was already wiggling in his grasp, and when he realized that the elf was about to unleash the spell, he managed to cast his.

-Wisfe wowu visinqo nop!

Oh great, more of life magic. Surprisingly, it actually looked like it worked. I honestly did not expect much from him, but seeing as he suddenly started turning green I realized that he was actually not that bad at magic.

What he was attempting to do, or at least what I gathered from listening to what he was casting, was to turn himself into a plant.

I know, sounds absolutely dumb, right? But in the moment, I guess that saved his skin from being zapped by lightning that was gathering itself in the elf's palm.

Before the lightning got released, Kon was already half green. He got hit by the zap alright, but thanks to being now, I guess half-plant, he did not get paralyzed and he was able to pull away from his adversary.

Seeing as he momentarily got separated from him, I was not going to let the opportunity slip away.

-Hmedou nysu!

I created an ice wall between the two of them.

Since I was a bit charged, it came out a bit bigger and thicker than expected. Kon managed to evade it in time, but the elf did not - his hand got caught up in the ice, immobilizing him. Lucky me.

Just to be sure though, I slapped another one behind him, cutting him off.

Seeing this turn of events, his men suddenly jumped up trying to free his boss, but I was quicker. Noticing as they were still all wet from my earlier spell, I used that to my advantage.

-Elwu, nemwesnoho!

I froze them all to the ground, so none of them would try anything weird.

Remembering that they also had a fire user on hand, I took a quick gaze towards the place where he fell, but he was still out cold. I guess he hit that wall harder than expected.

-Get away from him before he tries anything weird - I said towards Kon. - And take your friend too.

I did not have to even tell him that, he was already next to Vendi and dragging him away from the people and the ice I made.

-So. Does anyone want to explain what in the fuck is going on? - I asked, not sure to whom I was directing my question.

The one that replied to me was the elf, out of all people.

-You’re making a huge mistake. Not a single one of you will live long enough to even regret this!

-Blah, blah, threats, whatever. You mind telling me at least WHO exactly is going to kill me and all that? - I asked, not being even amused by his outburst.

-Oh, you’ll know soon enough. The wrath of One will get to you soon enough!

I rolled my eyes. That did not explain even a little bit. I wanted to ask some more questions, but he suddenly changed his tone.

-Ju Douquwe Noli, mocisohu nop! Wowu em gymnu, izqmufu!

There was a lot to digest in that spell. First of all, did he just say Noli? This was literally the last place I expected to hear this from and to be essentially a part of a spell? What the hell?

That realization also came with another feeling resonating with me - surprise and confusion.

While I agreed with both, they did not come from me. Or rather not only from me.

Second, more importantly in the current moment, the other part. Elf was using life magic.

I mean sure, it was not a big deal, since I came to this place it was not the first time. But this time the effect was closer to the one I was used to expecting.

His eyes rolled back completely, just to suddenly turn blue and start glowing. The color started spreading through the whole body, even his clothes and he started convulsing.

The strength of his spasms was enough for him to break out from the ice and I realized that the color was not the only thing that was changing in his body.

Starting from the head, as he was struck by lightning, all his veins were popping out and visibly darkening on his now blue skin. We actually could see that because along with the spread of those strange wounds, his clothes were burning themselves away, or maybe rather straight up vaporizing, turning into white smoke. His skin suddenly started sizzling and along the dark veins, small sparks of purple lightning started shooting everywhere.

As I heard what the spell consisted of, I was not going to just watch this and get hit. While I most likely would be fine, I was not going to risk it.

-Visu nysu!

I erected a wall of earth in front of me, hoping to block the incoming lightning, and just to be safe…

-Visu nysu, dosleyy mia dimu!

…I also surrounded Kon along with Vendi with a similar one, although those two I covered completely.

Just on time. I didn’t even have to gaze outside from my hiding spot to see what was happening - the mana he was releasing was pretty immense. I could see his whole being, his whole mana, turn into a pale shade of blue and then in one thunderclap, release as an explosion of lightning.

Strangely, his followers were not running away. Sure, I trapped them with ice, but most of them were already free when he started chanting the spell.

Quite the opposite. Some of them, after seeing what their leader was up to started chanting as well, although it did not seem that they were trying to cast a spell, instead it sort of was sounding like a prayer… Actually, his spell also sounded more like a prayer, to be honest…

-Ju Douquwe Noli, mocisohu nop…

-Ju Douquwe Noli, mocisohu nop…

Yeah, and they were still using his name… what in the hell was that supposed to mean?

But there was no time for thinking or asking. To be honest, I was surprised that they even managed to get out that prayer of theirs before the lighting got to them.

Like one big lightning strike, the mana got released and zapped everything in a large area around him. That included all of his followers, even the one guy at the wall. Lot larger than I was anticipating, and a lot more powerful - in normal circumstances someone with his mana capacity would never be able to create a spell that big.

But he did. And he paid the heaviest price for it.