He blankly stared at it before trying to back away. He was too slow and noticed the area before him was covered in red.

“Damnit, I haven't even seen what this is yet!” He shouted before jumping away and landing on his back.

Something burst from the ground and slashed the space he formerly occupied.

It was a sickle attached to a chain. As the chain burst from the ground, so did the man attached to it.

It was a boy, younger looking than Kevin, covered in metal plates and leather armour. He was covered in dirt and wore a fierce glare as he stared down Kevin.

“(White hair… I think I heard that bastard mention him but he didn't say anything useful. Well, he must have been somewhat decent to dodge that attack. I was counting on it to kill one at least, as well. I wonder if I'm getting rusty.)”

The young blonde man backed away while keeping a look at his surroundings.

(“What- what the hell is this guy? Are the cultists training kids!?”) Kevin wondered.

He hesitantly pulled out his knife and the priest pulled back his weapon before dusting himself.

“Come out you bastards, you don't expect me to believe he's the only one here!” he shouted towards the forest.

It was a quick lapse in attention but Kevin knew this was an opponent he couldn't afford to hold back on.

(“I'm not seeing any blue. Ugh, should I just run away?”) He thought but showed no hesitation in throwing his knife.

His eyes had shown him a path to at least minimally benefit him and he banked on it.

The lack of movement in the forest left the priest confused. (“If they've come to kill at least one in their party should react. After all, they wouldn't be stupid to send only their best. By his count, there were only three that could be described as such and that white-haired boy isn't on-”)

He parried the knife thrown at him with the weapon’s handle but the blade caught part of his hand.

(“I guess I shouldn't judge this boy by his appearance. Damn, did he keep quiet about some hidden talent?”)

The white-haired boy showed no hesitation in running at him and preemptively slid when he noticed the area above turn red.

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(“Why did that-”) Within a fraction of a second, the sickle swept through the air.

His teeth began clattering but he continued forward.

(“I suppose he was foolish enough to come here alone. What a brat, the little skill he has made him arrogant enough to think he can take me on.”) The priest thought.

(“Is it too late to run away!?”) Kevin thought as he inched closer.

He soon noticed the area around the priest became red and moved to his side.

(“What the hell? Can I not touch him!?”) He thought as he desperately tried to change course. Other than these eyes, Kevin had no defence against magic and his body, while impressive to the average person, was considerably lacking for an adventurer.

The priest reached out his hand but Kevin did his best to stay out of the red aura he saw cover his hand and ran to his side.

The priest instinctively swung his chain and Kevin saw a chance. He ducked down and brought his hand up.

The chain caught his hand and swung back at the priest. He didn't realise what had happened until the chain was in his vision. He stopped it inches from his face and Kevin noticed this as well.

(“What the hell!?”) He wondered. The chain had gone stiff and the man stopped the sickle with little more than his glance. Thanks to the chain's current stiffness he could remove his hand from it and it remained coiled.

(“What the hell kinda magic is that!?”)

The priest backed away and the chain became limp once more.

(“This boy… I don't know how but he can see the range my magic extends.”) The priest thought as he began swinging his chain again. (“Not only that but he knew the exact length of my chain to interfere with to cause it to swing back at me. Furthermore, if I didn't stop the chain he would have been caught and I could have dragged him towards me, sealing his fate. Hohohoho! The more I think about it, the more this child doesn't make sense. Can he both predict my magic and know the scenario!? How interesting, I might have to keep this one. At least what’s left of him.)

The boy's aura changed in Kevin's eyes. There was no colour on him other than red. For most of the fight, except when he approached, he was covered in grey. This meant one thing for Kevin. He was probably screwed.

(“Come the hell on, even Furor wasn't covered in this much red when we pissed him off.”)

A flat plane on the same level as his head was covered in red and he tripped over himself, trying to back away. Instead of annoyance, the priest's eyes were cold, yet he very clearly wore a smile on his face. He seemed to be focused.

Kevin had to roll away as the blade immediately came down on him.

There was a cut on his nose from the previous sickle attack and he nearly lost the strength in his feet thinking what would happen if he was just a few inches closer. But more importantly…

(“Didn't he swing that sideways? How'd it come down so quickly?”)

He only dodged it because of what he saw with his eyes' warning, so he wasn't sure how the blonde boy managed this.

(“Impressive! He can dodge a move he hasn't seen before. I was sure I'd catch his chest with that.”)

The smile on the face of the priest grew wider. He was going to have fun with this new plaything that entered his abode. And hopefully, no one would intrude on it.