The wave of sky-blue fire covered the area, immediately destroying everything around the gathering. All the nearby trees were completely vaporized. The dirt and stone deposit area cracked before also vanishing in the blue blaze. If it wasn't for the now deadly temperatures, the energetic blue of the flames would be a beautiful sight.

Batain turned to look at Lucas before turning back forward to examine his handiwork. Batain throwing Lucas had been a protective measure. He noticed that while using this spell, the raging mana increased his body temperature to unfathomable levels. While this temperature was nothing to him, Lucas would burn to death if he was near him, especially if he was unconscious and incapable of protecting himself.

Behind him was safer especially with a mana bubble that reflected the chaotic mana of Blueburn away from it. The same bubble would be impossible for Batain if Lucas was only a foot away from the blast itself.

Using mana sense was largely useless when the mana from his spell had yet to settle down, and dust covered the area. From what he could tell, though, most of the gathering had died. There was a pit of charred dirt and rock about a dozen meters wide, stretching even outside of the deposition area where the peasants had met.

Once the mana seemed to calm down, he walked back to Lucas, putting him back on his left shoulder, before pulling out his sword. He turned back to the massive pit he created. Ignoring the terrified looks of a few people outside, he spread his mana sense into it, looking for any signs of life.

'Looks like I won't have to use Fear', he thought before putting the sword back in its scabbard. Just after, he lunged into the enormous depression and plunged his good hand into the ground, coating it with mana. Suddenly the ground erupted and rocks flew into Batain's face. They weren't powerful enough to hurt him though and all he had to do was angle Lucas away from the explosion.

Marie shot up from the ground in even worse state than Batain had been in. Her long rich brown hair had been reduced to mere burnt strands. There were a myriad of burns covering her body, some of them exposing the dull white of bone. As she landed, her legs buckled before she collapsed, almost kneeling.

Batain walked towards her, his eyes locked on her pathetic frame. Marie could barely muster the strength to look up but her gaze was filled with hatred and unwillingness. He didn't waste any words, flashing behind her and knocking her out. He put her on his right shoulder before walking back towards the main village area.

Walking along the path, it was clear that everyone had known not only what Batain had done but what had been done to him. Eyes stared at him with fear of what he could do and resentment at what he had already done.

The man in question, though, couldn't care less about what they all thought. Even those who stared in resentment turned away their heads when he looked their way. He didn't blame them for being angry though. In a community of only a few hundred, it was likely that he'd killed quite a few brothers, sisters, fathers, husbands, wives and mothers.

There were some oddities though. He turned to the side of the path he walked along, seeing a boy a couple years older than Lucas. He had relatively long reddish hair that met his chin. Unlike the looks of dread that people, even kids his age, gave Batain, this kid's eyes shone like diamonds.

Batain walked over to the kid, staring down at him. "Do you know where I could find a doctor?"

The kid's eyes grew in shock that he was being spoken to, before he grinned and nodded. "Sure, I can take you." He, then, waved a small bye to what seemed to be his sister who peered out from the slightly open door of their house, as he walked to the doctor's house.

Batain silently followed him. It was unlikely that this was another plot. Not only were all the people confident enough to have him killed, dead, but if there was someone in this little village with enough foresight and intelligence to have another plan ready for him at this point, he doubted he'd be still alive. In addition, he couldn't detect any foreign mana inside his body.

"You're Batain Cazenarch, right? The son of Regis Cazenarch, the count?" The boy constantly turned around to look at Batain.

"Yeah, that's me. What's your name, kid?" Batain looked down at the kid.

"It's Revy!"

People gazed at the sight from within their houses in shock. While none of them truly cared about the boy, they still didn't want to see anything happen to him just because he'd said the count's full name. Surprisingly, though, Batain had either glossed over that part or simply didn't care.

"So since you're a noble, d'you get to eat anything you want?"

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"Yeah."

"D'you get to buy anything you want too?"

"Yeah kinda, that's how I got this sword, at least."

"D'you get to learn any magic you want?"

"Well, duh. What do you think? You saw that fire spell I used. No one here can do anything close to that."

"Oh yeah, that was so cool! How'd you do that?"

Revy pestered Batain with questions while they walked, talking so fast and energetically he slurred his words. Batain kinda liked the kid. He could tell he was genuinely excited. It annoyed him since that meant he sometimes mixed up the directions but they got to the doctor's house in only a few minutes.

It was similar to all the other medieval styled houses that they'd passed but there was a special mark, an upside down tree, on the door signifying a doctor's residence.

Revy ran up to the door and knocked on it repeatedly for a few seconds. When the door didn't open, he kept rapping his knuckles against the door. "Lisa, Batain wants to talk to you. It's Batain Cazenarch, you know. The guy-"

Immediately, the door opened and a woman, maybe in her late teens, opened the door. Her eyes, partly obscured by thick glasses, were a surprisingly vibrant shade of blue that nearly appeared to be purple. Those same eyes locked on Batain's figure, noting the blonde hair and two bodies over his shoulders, before looking down at Revy's bright smile.

Lisa glared at Revy for a second before looking back towards Batain and bowing. "Welcome, my lord. How may I assist you?" Her voice was light, almost whispery with how illusive to the ears it sounded.

Batain snorted before walking up to the woman. "How do you think?"

Lisa bowed once more before inviting him in.

Batain followed her inside after using his mana sense to look around. He didn't recognize her. In fact, walking down the paths the village had, he realized that he didn't recognize much of anything from his previous visits. Sure, the architecture and infrastructure were largely the same but now that he wasn't under the influence of Marie's magic, he registered that the vibe, the people, they were all foreign to him. He hadn't even recognized the guy that had greeted him and Marie while they walked to the mine.

Maybe this entire town was under Filou's influence. Batain wasn't the type of person to ruminate on such things though, so he just checked on Marie's state which was clearly deteriorating.

Lisa led him into a wide area that seemed to be an operating room of sorts. It was plain but equipped with a table, some chairs and some tools on a nearby dresser. Lisa bowed to him once more before gesturing to the table. Batain noticed a strange glint in her eyes when she laid eyes on Marie from up close.

"My lord, could you-" Batain understood what she wanted and dropped Marie off his shoulder, some of the fabric of his clothes sticking to her burnt skin.

Lisa immediately began examining Marie's condition, her expression transitioning from a placid seriousness to real solemnity.

"1,500 bazal." Batain said before seating Lucas down and sitting next to him to watch the operation. Revy was there as well but he seemed to have calmed down upon recognizing the importance of Batain's visit.

Lisa hesitated before raising her head and opening her mouth to speak.

"8,000 bazal." Batain, once again, cut her off. She could only nod before gathering everything she needed to start to perform the operation.

A massive field of mana emerged from her hands covering Marie. Once it settled, it was obvious that this was mana sense or at least some variation of it. Mana sense worked by spreading and maintaining a thin coat of your mana to relay information about the environment. Of course, the more mana you used, the more accurate the information would be. However, not only would using more mana ruin any purpose in using mana sense for stealth but it would also be incredibly difficult to control and prevent from dissipating.

Revy stared in amazement at the sight of the translucent bluish substance. He'd gone to Lisa's to get treatment a few times but she'd never done anything like this.

Batain, however, widened his eyes in brief surprise before returning to his neutral, slightly frowning, expression.

Lisa noted Batain's minuscule reaction before focusing on her work. The field of mana dissipated as she began writing down everything she'd observed.

Then she raised her hands once more. This time, water covered Marie's body. They could all see blood and dirt pollute the large bubble of water that covered her limbs and torso. The unclean water transferred into an empty bucket Lisa had left on the side though water seemed to flow out of Lisa's hands like a faucet.

Once the bucket filled, though, the water switched into a second bucket she'd set up. Though it would still be some time until both of them were full, she looked up at Batain, opening her mouth to speak but, once again, she was cut off.

"I got it!" Revy picked up one of the buckets before taking it to a nearby sink and pouring its contents of grimy water out into the sink. He'd seen her clean his sister before so he picked up immediately on what she wanted.

Lisa's eyes had an odd glint but it didn't take long before she finished cleaning Marie's body. She looked up at Batain, seemingly about to speak, before she turned and grabbed some knives.

The next hour or so was uneventful as Lisa kept cutting into Marie and removing the fabrics that had fused with her skin. She steadily kept Marie supplied with mana throughout the procedure, making sure she didn't die before they had even started.

By now, Batain's arm had become inflamed, turning a violent shade of magenta. Still, he engaged with Revy, though it was clear from the occasional twitches he was feeling the pain now that his adrenaline had worn off.

"You could take me with you, though, right?"

"Why would I?"

"But you could, though, right? Couldn't you?"

"Yeah but why would I?"

"I could be like your personal guard when you get old and can't fight anymore or-"

Batain guffawed, the depth of his laughter shocking Revy silent. After half a minute of laughter that faded into quiet chuckles, Revy decided to try his luck and he opened his mouth to speak. He was immediately cut off by another peal of laughter that lasted even longer.

"Ahhhhh, that'll never happen, kid."

Revy was about to retort when Lisa spoke up. "I've done the best I could, my lord. She's all wrapped up. You should-"

"I get it already." Batain scowled, getting up. "What the fuck is your problem?"