Sebastian smiles as he approaches Glyn and Mila. His strings spread across the area, making a barrier preventing any escape. The remaining cloaks stand battered and injured as he points his hand forward at Glyn.

“Capture the Lordling. I’ll take the fox!” He orders.

The cloaks charge forward with Mila flicking her wrist to bring out her sword. She slashes through the first few to draw close, only for Sebastian to step in. He catches her sword with his strings as she ignites her tails. She fires off fireballs at him, only for him to effortlessly dodge the attacks. The flames hit the surrounding trees, setting them ablaze as he casually steps ahead.

“Ah, what a wonderful blaze. A wonder haze. A truly wonderful encounter!” He yells as he sends out his threads like a whip.

He strikes Mila as her flames burn brighter and she lunges ahead, swinging her sword at him. Watching the battle, Tisha and Zanrit struggle against their bindings as the surrounding strings grow tighter. The more they struggle, the tighter the strings become as they watch Sebastian dancing around Mila effortlessly.

“No, she’s getting mad. At this rate….” Tisha says.

“Calm down. Don’t panic, that won’t do anyone any good here.”

Pepper flies in, landing on Tisha. “These strings are coated in mana. Give me a moment and I’ll set you free.”

“Please hurry,” Zanrit says, watching Glyn as the cloaks surround him.

Glyn smiles, staring at the cloaked figures around him. He eyes them, hoping to see any difference in the homogonous mass. However, each one blends into the other as he steps forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Mila fighting Sebastian and losing as he strikes her again with his whip.

“Damn it. This is a sticky situation, I’ll say that.” He racks his brain, looking for a solution as he tightens his grip on the book. “Maybe if I tear out a page, the miasma will distract him for a moment? No, that won’t work. He’s too focused on Mila. I need him to look at me to give her an opening to strike him down.”

He reaches for the book and puts his hand over it. “Well, it’s worth a shot!”

He charges up a spell as flames sprout from his fingertips. The book eats the spell as a dark miasma springs from its pages thicker than smoke. The cloaks stand stunned as the smoke envelops them. And as the haze reaches them, Sebastian turns towards Glyn as he senses a thick and dark smell coming from him. He drools, unable to stop himself as Mila rushes in and swings her sword.

Her blade ignites with intense flames as she slashes through Sebastian, cutting him in half. The two halves fall to the forest floor inert as Mila takes in a breath, exhausted.

“Good job. Now hurry here and help me…” Glyn watches as Sebastian rises.

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His upper and lower halves reattach as he raises his hand. He grabs Mila and forces her to the ground, pinning her as he drives her face into the dirt.

“That hurt.” He says calmly.

“How?”

“Oh? That’s a surprise little morsel. Can’t spoil all the fun now, can I?” He laughs.

Zanrit breaks his bonds as Tisha does the same, the pair rushing towards Sebastian. Stings spread from his back, stabbing into the pair as they rush forward. Glyn tries to fire off another spell, only for a wave of exhaustion to hit him. His consciousness fades as he stumbles, barely able to keep himself steady.

“Damn it. I used too much mana too fast.”

“I see. Most wouldn’t be able to cast the simplest of spells in your condition. I applaud you, Lordling. You might even be considered a magic genius if you were born untouched by the Overlord.”

“Thanks, I think.” Glyn forces himself to stand. “But I thank you for not paying attention more.”

“What?”

Zanrit stands over Sebastian, having walked through the strings impaling him as he raises his fist. Using all of his might, he swings a punch at Sebastian, knocking him away. Sebastian goes flying as his body twists in the wind, smashing into the side of a large stone. His limbs fly off as he slumps over.

“That should….” Zanrit collapses as Pepper flies overhead, landing on him to cast a healing spell to close his wounds.

Tisha staggers over to Mila, helping her up as Glyn stares blankly at the cloaks. The figures stand stunned in disbelief as they stare at Sebastian’s body.

“There’s more of that….” Glyn stops as he sees Sebastian’s body twitch.

“Interesting. It’s my fault for letting my guard down. I’ll make sure to not do that again.” Sebastian speaks, but his lips do not move as strings erupt from his body.

The strings attach to his limbs and slowly bring his body back together. His body contorts and snaps at odd angles, but before long he stands adjusting his clothing as he stares down at the group.

“Now let’s pick up where we left off.” He adjusts his cuffs as strings come out of his fingertips. “Capture the Lordling!”

The cloaks turn and approach Glyn as he reaches down for something. “Damn it. Looks like it’s time for a desperate move on my part.”

Mila stares at Sebastian and her eyes go red. More tails emerge from her back and burst into flames as she screams out and charges ahead. Tisha falls, unable to stop Mila and unable to work up the energy to pursue. Sebastian laughs as Mila comes in and the pair trade blows once again.

Mila slashes at Sebastian as he whips her repeatedly. She throws out flames as he dodges her attacks, laughing along the way. After a while, she swings her tails around and hits Sebastian with a large fireball, burning him up. He steps through the flames, barely scratched as he fires off tendrils at her. The tendrils pierce her skin and begin drinking her blood as she screams in pain.

Mila turns to see Zanrit and Tisha injured, Pepper flying towards Glyn, and Glyn surrounded by the cloaks, barely conscious. Before she can do anything, Sebastian kicks her in the head, knocking her back and sending her flying. She crashes into a burning tree as she looks around to see the forest fire engulfing everything. Tears well up as Sebastian walks forward with a smile on his face and she collapses to the ground, barely able to function.

“Fine. I’ll take care of this myself.” A voice screams out in her head.

In an instant, she stops. Her mind goes blank as her hair and fur change from red to white as more tails emerge from her backside. Nine tails stand up with blue flames engulfing the tips of each tail. In a rage, she lets out an unearthly scream as her mana levels rise and she gathers flames into a flaming sphere far above her head.

“Now this is…” Sebastian says

She sets off the fireball, creating an explosion that envelops the entire island and scorches everything around it. At that moment, the unnamed island burned to cinders, leaving not a trace that it ever existed.