"Ventus Potentia."

The green energy that wrapped around Ark was the thickest it had ever got. It was so much, the energy manifested a swirling wild pattern.

Usually, if he had that much mana on his hands, it was necessary to go all out with the four elemental strengthening magic. That would leave him incapacitated yet again.

Now there was no need. All Ark needed to focus on was keeping the enemy preoccupied.

For the first time in a while, Ark could enjoy the battle without any unnecessary worry.

He easily evaded every blow. His body felt so light he drifted in the air, almost flying.

"Is that all you got?"

Ark couldn't do much damage despite striking many times, but taunted the enemy regardless. It was to exhaust the monstrous stamina of a Calamity as much as possible.

Roaring, the Calamity sends waves pf destructive darkness in rapid succession, covering any gap.

Without being able to avoid, Ark holds his breath. The flow of green energy staggers, and with the released breath, the energy transforms in color into a brown energy with defining outlines resembling an armor.

It was Terra Potentia; the power of earth.

This magic's greatest strength is its defense speciality that was enough that even with little mana the energy clad functions as a protecting veil.

Now with a vast mana capacity, the veil had evolved into an armor. The skin and bones were hardened to the level of tempered steel.

Oppostie to the wind variant, this magic made the user heavier, more grounded. It was perfect for warding off powerful attacks and maintain posture.

"Got anything else?"

An enormous mana capacity was consumed to protect Ark, but he still found leeway to taunt and anger his opponent.

The extended Phantom dominated the ambient magic power and forcibly pushed it inside.

The Calamity, angered and frustrated, completely ignored the dangerous pressure Ark is emitting and blindly assaults him.

"Ignis Potentia!"

(I will pay you for the humiliation tenfold!)

With the power of fire, Ark's strength surpasses the Calamity's. Stopping its momentum with one arm, he switched to the offensive.

Ark unleash a series of deadly blows targeting the head, neck and torso. Every strike was meant to disorient and imbalance.

Red mana flickered and danced around Ark as if he was set aflame. The power that gushed through his veins pushed him to punch harder, intoxicating him as the walking disaster crumbled at his hands.

(Kuku... kukuku... this is it! So fun!)

Pummeling an enemy to the ground. Beating them senseless as they grow weaker and powerless. Ark had thoroughly enjoyed the sensation that is brought from destroying the weak.

He soon forgot about his plan, the elves and Liliana, and devoted himself to beating the shit out of the monster that punched him bloody in the face.

It was probably karma.

(Pfft, pathetic loser. Die by the hands of this golrious me!)

So absorbed in his intoxication of power, Ark started to make bolder moves.

That was very stupid.

Here's the thing about Ignis Potentia: it's consuming mana like fire consuming oil. But like flames, the proximity to death only caused the energy to shine even brighter.

"Oh shit."

Ark soon found himself running on an empty tank. The flow of energy halted completely and the power behind his blows plummeted.

"Yo, don't take me so seriously... I was just kidding... No!"

The Calamity soon recovered its senses. It was furious and ready to take revenge. Paying no heed to Ark's nonsense, it strongly punched him straight in the face yet again.

That one was definitely karma.

Falling on his butt, Ark stretched his Phantom and drained the world of magic power yet again.

(You are dead.)

Due to the pain, Ark could easily explode in anger and lose his wits. But he was a scum worse than demons and he knew how to keep his anger focus.

The killing intent he emitted at the Calamity was no longer hot but chillingly cold.

A shame, but the Calamity had brought this on its own. It gave Ark the time to recover and helped him cool his head.

Of course, it was because the Calamity stood on its own, while Ark was assisted by others. Kenrik might have stepped down when Ark managed the situation, but moments after Ark was struck the Calamity was hit by a wave of magic and couldn't pursue fast enough.

Even if it did no damage, the seconds it bought were enough to make the Calamity cry and swear as Ark made a full recovery.

That was the price to pay as a Calamity, a virus-like being antagonized by the world.

"Aqua Potentia."

In the end, the balanced magic was the best for maintaining a good offense for long periods of time. The blue energy rippled, swaying back and forth. Wave-like currents of energy flowed around Ark as if he was the Earth housing the sea.

(The bleeding stopped. As expected, this is the best form for natural recovery.)

Without a distinct power boost, Ark could only equal the Calamity at best. But time was on his side, and it will all be over soon.

He continuesly switched from one element to the other. Defending with Terra, evading with Ventus and attacking with Ignis. Whenever he felt overheated or mentally tired, he would use Aqua to recover.

It was a refreshing kind of battle style, but it was also distraughting as it also made him confront his limitations.

After spending four years trying to master, learning his proficiency is even lower than he thought made Ark exhausted. He had gone through an arduous training, and the thought of even more training wearied him.

"Ark!"

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Liliana's voice pulled him back from his mind.

"I'm ready!"

Finally, the preparations were all complete. Now ot was time for the last act in this show.

"Took you long enough!"

Since Liliana, who was the key to permanently kill the Calamity, was ready, Ark claded himself in green energy and zeroed the distance from the enemy.

Before it could react, Ark grasps the Calamity at its arm.

Igniting the energy red, a burst of power course through his body. He puts all his back and throw the Calamity high up the sky.

With no time to waste, he kicks the ground and rush back to Liliana, bringing her closer with a full speed dash.

The anatomy of a Calamity was vastly different even compared to the animals they based their form around. They didn't have any organs except a heart. Even then, the eyes were easily regenerated or even produced, and the heart wasn't a vital organ but a tool to empower the body.

Basically, unless you aim at the spirit with a special attack, Calamities were needed to be utterly disintegrated in order to truly die.

Ark used the first kind of attack and managed to destroy the living weapon, but with his weapon currently missing it cannot be done again.

Thus, he decided to use Liliana. Her power is immense, and if she could unleash it without restraint, it would be enough to annihilate every particle of darkness the Calamity was composed of.

"You just got the perfect punching bag." Ark spoke at Liliana's ear as he lifted them up. "Focus everything you have ever felt from being in this place, and throw it at that. Let the storm within you rage. One last cry of the feelings you bottled for years."

They were right above the trees. No one could hear them, and Liliana looked down at the village she suffered at for many years.

Ark had ordered Liliana to calm beforehand. To make sure her anger is controlled and not the other way around.

The storm of fire within her always raged uncontrollably and chaotically, but now it was powerful and focused. She looked at Ark, who she knew isn't judging her, and turned to the Calamity.

Gritting her teeth, Liliama did not yell. She loaded her feelings onto the next words and extended her arm at the enemy.

"Firestorm."

The storm Ark had witnessed at the mental landscape is now fully manifested at its entire glory. But now it was focused. Controlled. Powerful.

It was fierce and hot, like Liliana's spirit. It was wide, like Liliana's heat. The Firestrom encompassed her essence. It was her inborn power, her Skill.

A tornado of orange flames completely engulfed the Calamity. It screamed like a flock of thousand birds. More and more of the fire reached and burned it. As it became hotter, the fire became blue.

The endless stream of swirling flames devoured the bringer of the end its own demise. Exploding, blue and orange flames fluttered in the air like firework, illumination the wreacked forest.

It was a beautiful sight that felt divine. Everyone looked at the sky, mesmerized.

"This is the last time. I won't cry for them any longer. A family... I already have one."

"Everyone deserve a family to love them. If they don't love you... they were never your family. They never will." Ark was geniunely upset for Liliana's sake.

(I already have my family as well, and they love me. I know it.)

He didn't see Liliana as a family, but only as a colleague from work. But he who is self-centered, even he cared for his family.

By his own beliefs, he would never accept those who treat their kin poorly. That's why he held no strong feelings for the elves and sided with Liliana.

(We might not be family, but I feel assured when a strong teammate is on my side.)

It was the closest he could get to a compliment.

"Thank you everything. I'm sorry that this happened just when you were in the middle of healing."

Ark had finally landed them as he let go of Liliana. Unlike his usual behavior, he didn't feel annoyed inside while answering. He felt hyped.

"Are you kidding? I got such a power boost just now. Forget charging for hours, I could take on powerful opponents right off the bat at full power. Even if I can't use Mana Steal, I can use that technique!"

It was as if he had entered a new realm. The power up was so great it was equal to the acquision of the Void Spirit. It was a power with infinite potential.

"Does that technique have a name?"

"Well, I was thinking of naming it Mana Drain."

"It's a good name."

Smirking, Ark puffed his chest. "Obviously, I don't have a crappy naming sense that comes up with either stupid or cringy names."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Ark's sudden speech that he randomly spewed confused Liliana, and he realized he had spoken too much.

"Nevermind."

Overcoming the rush of excitement, Ark lie down on the ground and closes his eyes. The long battle tired him, and it only now caught up to him.

When he closes his eyes, for the first time in a while, it wasn't because darkness engulfed the world.

It was to let a sweet dream come in.

◇◇◇

"So much for a sweet dream."

Ark even prefered the useless Demon Slayer Dream to the scene currently taking place, but he had no control at what happens as he watched from afar.

The Divine Tree towered from the edge of his eye, standing tall and piercing the heavens. Beneath is the crater magically created; from a violet storm of magics sweeping the trees and ground. Not an appealing sight.

He recognized the scene, of course. Just as he recognized himself as the younger version of him weeped over a still-warm corpse.

It wasn't the body of the necromancer, of course. That wouldn't have been enough to make his face twitch. No, it was someone else, someone who had accompanied Ark at that time.

Descending to the ground, Ark quietly made his way through the rubble. He didn't mind it when he kicked the nercomancer's head to remove it from the path. It was a gruesome sight, but it didn't catch his attention in particular.

"Hey, young me."

Instead, Ark focus his attention on his younger self. The young him had swollen red eyes as tears ran down his cheeks. His hands trembled and his eyes bloodshot with anger and sadness.

As soon as the young Ark turns around, he receives a kick to the gut and a punch to the face. His young version falls pathetically on the ground.

"I don't know what's that supposed to mean, nor do I care, just disappear already." He placed his foot above Young Ark's head and press down. Hard.

"It's my fault," He whimpered. "I failed her. I promised to protect her and I couldn't. I was—am—too weak."

The young version showed care for the parter he had. It was heartbreaking to watch, but Ark's expression remained cold. Ruthless.

Ark raised his foot. "I told you to disappear, no?"

Slamming his foot with all his might, Ark hears the cracking sound as he breaks the skull of his young self.

But physical laws don't apply in a dream. Even with a broken skull, the mouth was disturbingly unaffected.

"She died! She died! She DIED! Why won't you care?"

"Because only an idiot would care." Bluntly saying so, he climbs out of the carter. "I don't care now, and sure as hell didn't care then. As if I would ever cry like this."

It was a dream, not a memory. In reality, Ark was certainly angry but he didn't cry, not even once.

Ark knew it was natural to care, but he didn't. Unfortunatelt, this dream didn't represent his dormant conscience. No. It only tried to fuel his hunger for power. A reminder.

Not that Ark needed a reminder.

"I will become strong enough to destroy everything that stands in my path." He vowed to himself. Again.

But for now, a flood of memories washed him away.

Into the next memory...

By the time Ark had woken up, Elizabeth was already on the scene. She held a conversation with Kenrik, but cut it short as soon as she noticed Ark was awake.

She gracefully glided towards him.

"I'm glad to see you safe, Ark. And to think you are perfectly fine..." She shool her head in an exaggerated disbelief. "First time for everything, am I right?"

Ark rolled his eyes. The Sage was very affectionate of making fun of him, so it seems.

"On a more serious, I want to say thank you."

"For what?"

"For Liliana. That child, I have never seen her so calm. She still can't control it, but the storm of magic power inside her had subsided significantly." Elizabeth bowed her head.

She knew too well how the mental state of a person affects the magic power within. The storm inside the girl was amplified from inner turmoil, and now that turmoil is gone. One didn't need to be a Sage to know it was Ark's doing.

He helped her where Elizabeth couldn't. She was grateful.

"It wasn't just for her. Also, I think she did most of the hard work on her own."

"Even so, none of this would've happened if not for you."

There was nothing else to say, so Ark quietly accepted her words.

Soon, Liliana joined them. She brought a large package in addition to their original one, so Ark wondered where she got it.

"It's stuff I had that was left here. I won't ever live here so I transfer it to my home, naturally." She gleamed at Ark, who was taken aback.

"Let's just get back. Now that I'm healthy I have a dungeon exploration to plan."

He had almost missed it, but his commander definitely muttered something like 'battle maniac' before teleporting them away.

After Liliana left, they discussed his plan for the dungeon exploration.

"What are the members you decided to take?"

"Me, Kristan, Scarlet from our order and as for the other orders I'll take Barkus and Silvia."

The idea was to create a powerful strike team to maximize results. Too large of a group would only be a hassle, so he focused on quality.

"Hmm, I think the girl is still at the First Order's grounds training. You should go now."

In a rather forceful manner, Ark is pushed to the last he wanted to invite.

(That damned Sage... I'm tired.)

He didn't dwadle. Searching her mana, he soon finds Silvia talking to an unfamiliar man and smiling.

But... it was a rather tense smile. Her intent was also messy and abnormally frantic, as if Silvia was walking on eggshells.

Noticed by the man with a noble visage, he was unexpectedly approached.

"Ar...k, what are you doing here?" Silvia was clearly tense.

"Oh!" The noble showed fake enthusiam. "Is he the Ark? Arcadia's greatest rising star? It's such an honor. I'm Gideon Alba from the Empire."

"Hi?"

Ark instantly raised his guard. He plastered a fake smile and read the nobleman's intent.

Gideon's intent revealed he was a typical power-intoxicated noble scum.

"I'm also Lady Clarent's fiance."

And he was speaking only truth.

The fake smile quickly crumbled.