Though Albatos was the right hand man to one of the most elite fighting groups in the region, it would be a mistake to assume he himself was a good fighter. He was a tactician, strategist, and logistics manager at heart. He was the most proficient mage in the group, but that didn't count for much in a field of open combat due to the prevalence of Anti-magic Area. His weapon of choice was a musket because of its range and ease of use, but the reload time made it something of a clunky weapon for prolonged engagements.

To say he struggled to even keep his feet in a battle that had completely lost its reason and meaning wouldn't be an understatement.

Once he had finished assigning orders he realized Zeph had already taken off without him. His plan had been to keep up with his old friend, but understood that even a moment's hesitation could mean a disastrous situation. With no further orders to send out, he turned northeast, planning to try and head in the direction Stein and Zeph should be going to rendezvous.

The field was nothing short of chaos. Here and there soldiers still fought each other in clusters, more concerned about defending their country's dignity than claiming a blessing. Many of the sellswords he saw made their way north, same as he did.

Several from Gen's force recognized him as being from One Eye's group and tried to attack him to squeeze info about the blessed's whereabouts, but Albatos was able to either kill them fast enough with magic before an Area got deployed or lure them into groups of fighting as they chased him.

As he was trying to lose one such individual he heard the scream of a horse and the crunch of flesh under hooves. Turning, he saw Gen atop his mount, panting. His once regal outfit had been splattered with blood and grime, and his decorative axe was much the same.

Albatos didn't see any of his guards with him. It was possible they had turned on him, as it seemed half his army had already done.

"You… elf. Where is he, the white haired one?"

Figures.

"Is it really such a good idea for a member of nobility to make an enemy of the church?"

"Hah… It won't matter so long as I have a blessing of my own. I will become a paragon of strength such that my country wouldn't dare turn on me. Heh, political immunity will be my shield."

"Hm." Albatos couldn't dispute his claim and didn't honestly care one way or another.

"Where is the woman? I think I should need to deal with her as well after I take the boy's head."

"The woman?" Albatos was genuinely confused. He didn't think Gen would still care so much about Holeria after these two weeks.

"Yes. I hadn't realized who she was at first. If I can bury her here before any realize, make her disappear, I'll be able to remove quite the strong political opponent."

Albatos got the feeling he wasn't talking about Holeria after all. Still, it didn't matter. He didn't care about protecting his own so much as Zeph did, but he certainly wasn't about to let their assets be taken without a fight.

Without even bothering to respond he kneeled down and put a hand to the ground. However, he isn't able to cast his spell before he sensed something flying at him from the side. Ducking to the ground he felt the air whoosh over his head.

Looking up he saw a man draped in dark clothing to the side, a dagger in one hand. He presumed there was a dagger in the other hand as well before it was thrown at him. Casting his gaze around, he saw two more step out from behind the trees in a pair.

So that's where his guards went.

"I should have known rabble like yourself would be too dumb to do the smart thing. Fine, I'll just have to ask again as I'm breaking your bones."

The three men rushed him. Albatos quickly made a handsign and intoned, "Ashen smokescreen!" A cloud of white burst out from his body, spreading out around him. In a much lower voice, he whispered, "Gust." An impossible breeze blew from his body, pushing the cloud away from him in all directions, granting him a small area of clean air.

"Anti-magi-" The voice was cut off by a hacking cough as the man casting the Area breathed in fine ash particles. From the direction of his voice, Albatos knew it was the solo guard who had thrown a dagger at him.

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"Push," The gentle breeze transformed into a single blast of wind in all directions, scattering his smokescreen and stunning the unprepared guards. Looking to the one who had tried to cast the Area, he leveled his musket and took a shot. With a tremendous bang, the musket ball bore a hole straight through the man's chest.

Turning his attention, he saw the other two were still staggered by his Push. With a wave of his hand, he intoned, "Domain expansion, Amp. Silence." As his domain encompassed both the remaining guards and Gen, his spell took effect within the domain.

Silence was simply a spell that blocked all perception of sound, not sound itself. Amp, his domain projection, was even simpler. Any magical effect within his domain was tripled.

One of the guards made the handsign and tried to speak the intonation for Area, but was shocked when it seemed he couldn't speak. Intonations were a foundation of magic. If one was unable to speak, most were unable to cast complex concepts. Silence didn't actually stop a mage from using an intonation, but it was extremely effective at disorienting them long enough for Albatos to finish them.

Though nobody could hear it, Albatos intoned, "Planes of existence I command thee, Reality Shift." Halfway through his spell, the guards seemed to realize what was happening, but it was too late.

Reality Shift was Albatos' most powerful spell. It was the sole reason he was considered a third tier sorcerer. Everything else in his arsenal was second tier at best, from his domain projection to his physical abilities. Reality Shift envisioned the world as an infinite series of layered planes, and shifted them within a small localized zone.

Albatos watched as the area around the two guards split in two and seemed to slide against each other, bisecting both of the helpless guards. The guards looked down at their lower halves in horror as their upper bodies seemed to float away. They felt no pain, and didn't even bleed. According to the laws of the world, they were still whole.

With a sound akin to a million glass bottles being shattered at once reality corrected itself. The two pieces of the world stopped sliding and reconnected, and the two upper bodies of the guards fell to the ground, blood and guts spilling out.

Reality Shift was an almighty spell, capable of piercing past any form of defense. Its usage was extremely limited though, its range and mana consumption were especially bad. Its only practical combat application was within Amp, which tripled both the range at which he could use it and its area of effect.

Still, it ended up using three times the mana as well, which by itself left Albatos running on basically empty. He quickly undid Silence, its gimmick likely now apparent and no longer worth the constant mana drain.

If they hadn't been bundled together this fight would already be over. Thankfully it's just me and the pompous lord left.

A single glance was all Albatos needed to know Gen was panicking. He rapidly threw out a basic fireball spell and was shocked when it was far larger and hotter than he had meant it to be.

That was the downside to Amp, it tripled any magical effect within its area, including that of enemies. Still, Albatos knew he could use that brief moment of confusion to surprise his enemy.

"Push," Albatos wasn't acrobatic enough to evade the triple speed fireball, so he simply flung himself out of the way with magic. As he crashed into the ground several meters away he intoned, "Follow," biting his tongue as he rolled across the ground.

An arrow large enough it would be more fitting to call it a javelin launched itself at Gen, who quickly spurred his horse on to move. He wasn't fast enough, the projectile of ice altered its trajectory slightly as its target moved and impaled itself in the chest of the horse. With one last pained neigh, it fell to the side, taking Gen down with it.

Albatos stood and walked over to the Lord, ready to finish him off. As he approached the downed horse he saw Gen struggling to free himself from its weight. All composure had left the dwarf. He wasn't even thinking to use reinforcement or magic to free himself.

"Wait! I'll give you anything. Money, you want money, right? I'll give you a chest of gold, no two! Just let me go."

Albatos sighed, "More trouble than it's worth. Goodbye, Gen. It was a pain in the ass working for you." He drew his secondary weapon, a small flintlock, and fired. To his surprise, the ball ricocheted off nothing and whizzed off into the woods.

"Wait! Please, I'm begging, don't do this!"

The fool had actually put a barrier up. Albatos smiled wickedly, knowing the perfect way to make sure Gen would truly regret crossing them.

Placing a hand against the barrier, Albatos intoned, "Break."

The barrier shattered as Gen screamed. The scream died down after a moment and turned into a choking whimper as Gen's eyes lost their focus.

"Goodbye, Gen." Albatos left the man with a broken soul. He paid the, "Wait…" in a small voice no mind. Gen's time was numbered, and Albatos knew he would have nothing left to throw at them even if he got off the field alive.

As he walked back to where he had dropped his musket when he Pushed himself, he wondered if he had actually done a good deed. He didn't care one whit about this region or its people, but now that both Lords were dead there was the possibility the endless strife would come to an end and the people would be able to rebuild.

The thought gave him more discomfort than he would have admitted. He didn't like the idea of charity, and the mere thought that he may have done work for free made him unhappy. Still, with Gen out of the way that meant their biggest obstacle for a swift retreat was gone.

Albatos smiled. He didn't like fighting, but he couldn't deny the feeling of pride that his magic and quick thinking were still exceptional.

Even after all these years, he was still a mage through and through.