In a blink of an eye, it was all over. The light was gone, along with the flames of mana of the adversaries. My first thought was that they just vanished, but that was just my wishful thinking - one look from my hiding and it was clear.
Right where I trapped the guy there was just a black, burned spot in the grass. Still smoking. From it, the burn marks were snaking towards every single direction, reaching both me, the mound where I trapped Kon and even the mansion.
The building itself was not unscathed either. The door along with a large part of the wall was black and even in some places had a ember of two smoking.
About others though, well…
I knew that most of them were wearing some kind of metal armor, so I did not like their chances. Trapping them and the overall wet area from my attack earlier definitely did not assist them either.
Or maybe it did, because it looked like they really did have a death wish. Every single one of them was lying on the ground, the cloak charred and smoking, and as the smoke reached me, the very unpleasant smell of burned flesh hit my nostrils.
-What in the everloving hell is going on?
The voice startled me. After the explosion I stopped paying attention, so I forgot that I was not alone.
But it was not Kon, nor Vendi, yet the voice was familiar. Very familiar, in fact, it was hard to forget it.
From the top floor, there was a man peeking out. A man that the suicidal elf thought he killed, and who I felt teleport to the island not that long ago.
-Jack?
It was him in the flesh. I thought he was unconscious upstairs, but apparently our scuffle down here woke him up. No wonder, between screaming, spells and this thunderclap, we were not exactly quiet.
-And who in the hell are you? Obviously not a friend of theirs, but…
-Even you don’t recognize me?
-And I should?
-I guess not… get down here, I had enough yelling for today.
He did not reply, just turned his head in distrustt and disappeared inside the mansion.
I sat back down, leaning on the wall I created, looking at the aftermath of this encounter and silently observing his flame, traveling through the mansion. He didn’t waste time. Unlike the others, he was just walking straight towards me, not looking for the kids or anything. I guess I can respect that.
As he came out of the mansion he looked tense. Especially after he smelled the smoke.
-So, who are you?
-No thanks or anything? I did deal with all those people… or rather elves that were assaulting this place.
At the word “elves” he squinted and looked almost disgusted. Or maybe it was just the smell that the wind blew towards him.
-From what I could tell you did not do anything. The maniac committed suicide. Fucking scourge of the earth that’s what they are… But who cares. Who are you?
-Let me see if you can guess, my partner in crime.
-Partner? What the fuck does that mean? Stop those stupid games and spit it out.
I sighed.
-You’re no fun. I’m Mor.
He looked at me like I was insane and then instantly tensed up.
-Mor. Out of all the people, you took HIS form?
-Ah so you remember me? Wait, his form?
-I know of your kind, remnant! - he was now fully on guard, ready to blast me with magic.
-Ah right, soul remnants, all that mess. No no, I’m not like that. I mean I probably look like one, but no. I am the original and only Mor.
-And I am just going to believe that? That Mor, who was killed so long ago, had just appeared in front of me and wanted to have, what, some kind of reunion? I am not your friend.
-Oh. So I supposedly died?
-Pfeh. If you take someone else’s place you should at least know some things about them.
-And you do? Enlighten me then.
-And why should I do that instead of blasting you to smithereens?
-Because you can’t - I exclaimed calmly. - First of all, I can tell that you were weakened by this guy - I pointed to the black spot in the grass. - Second, even if you weren’t, I doubt you’d have enough power.
-Was that a threat?
-Come on, if I was to attack you I would’ve done so already, instead what I did I saved your skin and on top of that your son’s and that stupid merchant to boot.
-Who?
I rolled my eyes and pointed towards the dome nearby.
-Visu, fotoho.
The earth moved, revealing both of them, unharmed but definitely shaken.
-Kon! Vendi!
Without a delay he ran towards them with a new vigor.
-You are alive!
-Jack! - Vendi shouted in surprise, opening his eyes wide. - What’s going on?
-You tell me! What happened?!
His eyes bolted from Kon to the pile of bodies and then stopped at me.
-Come on, tell him. We’re listening.
I feel like my encouragement might have worked the opposite way than I intended to, but he started talking nonetheless.
-We were attacked: first by him then by those people.
-And like a real merchant, the first sentence you speak and you are already lying.
-I feel like I’d rather believe him, not some monster that just appeared out of nowhere.
-Right - I nodded. - Well then, how exactly did I attack you then, you smartass? Come on, spit it out.
-I… you…
He started stumbling over his own words.
-”Yhhh… ehhh…” - I started mocking him. - Yeah, so let me explain. I was casually walking through the woods, looking for owners of this fine establishment to talk to, when suddenly some random spell hit me right in the dome.
-What?!
-Yeah, right? I was surprised too, especially when I noticed that it was just some kids playing pretend-battle or something.
-Okay, but then you attacked me! Don’t blame me for defending children!
-Oh, I am not. And still, I did not attack you. You just passed out from mana depletion you idiot.
He looked at Vendi with surprise.
-How much did you toss at him? - he asked, half worried, half amazed.
-A bit…
-A bit? Yeah you can say that. In any case, I restrained him after he passed out so I wouldn’t get hit any more, and then those showed up - I gestured to elves. - The rest I think you saw.
For the first time, Kon looked towards the house and the burned grass. Let’s say his reaction was less than positive.
To be blunt, he started puking, almost hitting Vendi who rolled away at the last moment. I can’t blame him.
-We probably should get him away from here… - he muttered.
-Would be for the best - I said looking at the poor kid. - It's not my work and even then I feel bad for him.
He looked me over from head to toe.
-Okay… you.
-Told you you know who I am.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
-And I still don’t believe you. But I don’t care at the moment. I can see that you’re not here to kill any of us, you had plenty of opportunities to do so.
-I am glad that someone finally noticed that.
-So I am willing to have a talk with you. But I first need to do something…
-Yeah, clearing up this… aftermath is kind of a must right now.
-Ah, right, and that too - he nodded. - So would you mind waiting for me here, I still need to free Vendi and…
-Yeah sure.
Despite what he said he ignored Vendi at first and instead led Kon inside the mansion.
-You’re leaving me with him? - he instantly was protesting but that fell on deaf ears.
-Come on, I don’t bite.
The smell was definitely not pleasant and I really, really wanted to get rid of this mess as soon as it was possible but I did not want to use magic on a whim. While, after seeing multiple people using more than one element, I already decided that I’m going to stop with that stupid fire-only act, everyone else was still on edge. Who knows how they would react after I was to start casting.
Instead I decided to inspect the corpses.
That was pointless. I was hoping to maybe see a face, an emblem or something, but the lightning of that much power straight up fried bodies to the point that it was hard to even distinguish the gender of those lying on the ground.
Turning my face in disgust I went back towards Vendi, just as Jack came back.
One quick gaze towards the mansion and I noticed that Kon was just sitting in one of the rooms nearby and either waiting for something, or more likely, just recovering from a very unpleasant sight.
-Okay, let’s get to it - said Jack. - I am going to need Vendi for this, I hope you are fine with that?
I shrugged.
-As long as he won’t start tossing spells at me I don’t care.
He nodded and procured a knife from somewhere, and started to cut his binds.
Or at least attempted to.
After a good minute I noticed that he still had not made any progress and was slowly getting annoyed more and more. The cursing being the obvious indicator of the last one.
Amused, I approached, checking what the hell he had difficulty with.
-What, the knife’s too dull? - I asked, still a good step away, just to be polite.
-I don’t know what the fuck that binds are, but they are as hard as metal. What kind of magic is that?
I smiled, happy that for once the excess mana went towards something that was useful, I pointed towards the vines.
-May I try?
He glanced over me once more and hesitated.
-Come on…
He sighed and gave me his knife, but I just ignored his extended hand, unwrapping one of my fingers.
-No need.
One touch was enough. As I grabbed the binds and pulled at them gently, they disintegrated into ash, releasing Vendi and changing the color of my finger a little bit.
-Done.
Both looked at me with amazement.
Ignoring the looks I stepped away and wrapped myself tightly again, before sitting on the ground and gazed at them both expectantly.
-Come on, go get to it. You’re gonna bury them or what?
-Ah, right - Jack snapped out of the initial surprise. - But no, we are not burying them. Not yet.
-What, you wanna search them? Feel like that’s pointless, they are too crispy for that.
-Wha..? Hell no! I am not a savage like them!
-So what?
-So what? I don’t know how it works with you, creatures, but humans tend to not defy corpses.
-Well, they were your enemies. And they were not people.
-Still!
-Yeah, whatever. Go and start digging graves or something. Or do you want to burn them? That would definitely be faster…
He scratched his head.
-Hm… that’s actually not a bad idea… they do worship pure elements after all, so fire…
-No!
All three of us looked towards the source of the voice. It was Kon.
-You were supposed to rest! That’s not something that you can handle!
-I am fine!
Despite that, he definitely did not look fine. Pale and obviously avoiding looking at the corpses.
-And what do you want to do anyway? - asked Vendi, still rubbing his wrists, I guess sore from being tied. - I agree, burning them would be the fastest way.
-As you said, we are not barbarians. Whoever they were, friend or foe, we are giving them a proper burial.
-I mean, burning is a proper burial too… - I muttered. - So is a group grave. It’s not like we knew them…
The trio looked at me with mixed feelings. Kon looked disgusted. Vendi was surprised. Only Jack was not shaken, but that was just a mask and he was at least as annoyed as Kon. I could tell, because his flame was flickering angrily at me.
By the way, what was up with that? I mean, sure, I knew I could see the mana capacity of other people with my new sight, but only just now I finally realized that I was also involuntarily reading the state of mind of whoever I was looking at. I did that couple of times already but never actually realized it. Kind of a useful skill, not gonna lie.
-Okay, just asking. What, you want to do that tree thing? That’s how you bury the dead, right?
-Tree thing? - Kon looked visibly angry now. - It’s called “Ritual of Life from Death”.
-Hah. Who came up with that name? - I stifled a laugh.
-You want to do the ritual for every single one of them? - Vendi groaned, - It’s going to take forever…
-He’s right - nodded Jack. - But most importantly, are you sure you can handle it? Besides the… - he gestured towards the corpses - looks, both of us are a bit weakened, so you’d have to do it mostly alone. Are you sure you have mana for the whole thing?
-I am sure.
-Can’t you just grow one big tree instead of the whole bunch of smaller ones at least - Vendi asked. - That would at least limit your mana usage.
-But that’s a mass grave!
-As much as I don’t like the idea of mass graves, they still were our enemies. We are already doing them a favor by burying them properly. What?
The three of them argued for a good couple of minutes, forgetting about me. Truth is, I just wanted to get this over with and finally have a good long chat with Jack about everything that happened, but I guess I had to wait.
Besides, if I was to butt in again, it would only antagonize them more towards me and I feel like I had enough ill feelings targeting me already. Sadly, it was not the end of them, as I was painfully certain.
In the end, they did finally agree on one big ritual, to Kon’s annoyance.
As they were preparing to move the bodies and Vendi left towards somewhere deeper in the forest with the first one in his arms, scrunching his face from both the smell and the sight, I noticed that Jack and Kon were whispering about something.
I, of course, instantly started eavesdropping. I was hoping that I would learn something interesting, instead I just got reminded of my mistakes.
They were talking about how the barrier had failed.
-I am sure it was supposed to last at least until next week…
-Did I make some kind of mistake? - Kon sounded worried.
-I don’t think so, you always are doing the same thing and we even have the formula written…
-Does that mean that the leyline is failing? Or is it the spell that is getting worse the more we use it?
-I probably just misspoke somewhere…
-Not possible. Wouldn’t then the spell fizzle completely? Nah. Maybe they just had some new mage that was able to break through it… No, what am I saying, it’s not possible to dispel this thing without knowing it’s full incantation, and the only ones knowing it are you and me.
-Hrm…
-Ah… well I might have a word or two to say about this particular thing… - I said aloud, startling them both.
-You! What are you… - Kon turned towards me, scared. - You work for them then?!
-Now, now, calm down. I am my own person. But I might have ACCIDENTALLY have… eh… made a small mistake…
-What the hell does that mean?! - Jack also looked a bit scared, but was more angry than anything.
-So… first of all, I am going to repeat. I am not with any elves, nor anyone else in this particular instance. I am my own person and do not care what happens here. ALTHOUGH…
-Oh, here it comes…
-Although I was the one that destroyed that barrier of yours. Well, part of it.
-Destroyed?!
Both looked absolutely horrified.
-Now, now, I already said I didn’t mean it. And it was just one part, I believe.
-How is that even possible?! That barrier is…
He was about to say something but bit his tongue, apparently realizing that whatever he was to say, would probably give out too much info. No wonder. The magic that they had guarding this place was something very interesting indeed.
-Well, I just dispelled it, that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
-I am not buying that. You can’t just dispel that thing on a whim!
-I mean… I did…
-This spell is ancient. It’s not something that… - started Kon but got immediately silenced by Jack who was definitely angry.
-Shut up!
He then turned to me.
-Let’s say that’s true. How did you do that then?
-I mean that’s not really a secret at this point… You saw it already…
Seeing as they did not get it still I sighed.
-Okay, look. From what I know, that thing had its formula written in certain locations. Stones, scattered all around, right?
He hesitated for a second but nodded.
-Right. What makes you think that breaking one of those things would not stop the spell?
-Because you can’t break them. They are…
Again, Kon started talking too much and got silenced by Jack.
-Yes, they are fueled by some kind of mana source that's here. If I was to guess, a leyline or something along those lines. That gives them an immense resistance to any physical or magical damage.
Seeing as I know this, Jack agreed.
-Right, and to break one of those one would need at least as much mana as the source is providing. And while I feel like you have a very strong presence, I doubt that you have so much…
-Ah, so you noticed - I said surprised. Up till now I honestly was thinking that he was not able to tell. - While sure, that’s true, what if I tell you that there is another way of destroying that spell without all that mess?
-And what the hell would that be?
-Why should I tell you? - I smiled at him. - Nah, I’m just kidding. You probably know anyway, you’re just playing with me.
To be honest, I was not sure about that. His presence was not wavering, so I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.
-So, if someone would go and absorb the mana from the formula itself, not just the source, what exactly do you think would happen?
He looked both slightly annoyed and scared.
-Well of course the spell would be gone, but that’s not something a human can do!
-First of all, the ones attacking you were not humans - I smiled - but I know you did not mean it like that. Second, while I really am a human, my body is not exactly… eh, normal. As you well noticed.
-Obviously. What does that have to do with anything though?
Seeing that he was still going to play dumb, I unwrapped my hand and pressed it to the ground without a word.
The grass got drained in an instant, leaving a gray patch on the ground.
-That.