Leo turned from the fields and walked back towards the farm, shivering with the cold. He folded his arms across his chest. He wouldn't take the usual route but chose the wooded detour instead.
Talking soldiers in the distance were still audible to him.
Orc Dominion... Why does that sound so familiar?
Before he could process the thought further, someone suddenly shouted.
"Hey!"
The irritable voice pulled him from his musings. He blinked as the man fell back a step, trying to see him clearly.
Leo's eyes widened.
Cris.
Cris hardly recognized him at first. He looked past Leo with only a casual examination before moving on. But then, as if struck by delayed recognition, he came to a halt.
"Leo?" His tone was sharp and disbelieving.
Cris turned with narrowed eyes and stormed toward Leo before he had time to react.
"Leo!" he barked.
"I don't know what the hell happened to you, but no matter how much muscle you grow, I'll never confuse you with someone else."
His gaze cut into Leo like a dagger.
Leo yawned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Cris, I really don't have time for—"
"Shut up!"
Cris advanced a step, fists balled. "You think this makes a difference somehow? You think just because you now look like some pathetic pretend adventurer that means you're not a pathetic, no-skill loser anymore?" He scoffed.
"That's not how the world works, Leo. And you... you don't deserve this."
Leo's brows furrowed. "What is wrong with you? Why are you always this way toward me?" His voice was cool, but it had an edge now. "I'm not doing anything to you, and yet, you always—"
Cris raised his hand, interrupting Leo mid-sentence. A sneer played on his lips.
"This is the perfect opportunity. We're in the middle of nowhere, no one to stop me... Let's see how tough you really are now."
The air stilled around them. Cris extended a hand toward Leo.
And then,
Nothing.
Seconds passed without an explosion of energy or a surge of magic.
Nothing.
Cris blinked. His smirk faltered.
He raised his palm again, angled toward Leo. Every finger twitched as if squeezing something out, but again, nothing happened.
His brow furrowed in confusion.
Leo tilted his head. "Uh... Cris?"
Cris wasn't listening. Disbelief washed over his face as he stared at his own hand. His breath grew shallow.
What's happening?
This is impossible...
Then it hit him.
The same thing happened when he tried his power on Ranna.
His blood ran cold.
No. No, no, no.
His eyes flew to Leo, buzzing with disbelief.
"You—!" His voice broke. His face contorted all over. "I refuse to accept this!"
Leo still looked unfazed. "Accept what? You could not throw a tantrum properly?" He let out a sharp breath, rubbing his temple. "Cris, stop blowing this up beyond what it is."
But Cris's breath rasped, and his body shook, hands vibrating.
He flung both arms out to his sides with a snarl.
The earth groaned under them.
Leo felt the tremor before he saw what was happening. The ground cracked, breaking into jagged seams. Deep tremors rattled through the trees. Then, a resounding crack, and the massive trunks surrounding them swayed.
Leo's breath caught in his throat as the trees ripped themselves from the ground. Their roots curled and snapped like thick ropes.
Cris's eyes were wild with flame as the uprooted trees shifted, arranging themselves in an arc behind him. Tall, old, and ready. All of them aimed straight at Leo.
The first trunk crashed toward him like a battering ram. He didn't even have time to brace himself before it hit.
But then came another.
And another.
An unyielding barrage of wood and devastation. The attack tore at the soil, splitting its surface within the grip of the woods. Dust and bark erupted into the air, forming a thick, choking fog.
The sweet scent of sap mingled with the acrid stink of ruptured earth and ground blossoms.
A heady perfume of devastation.
Amid the chaos, Cris's manic laughter echoed.
"Is this it, Leo?! Is this all you've got?! You are a failure; just stand there and take it!"
Throwing his arms open wide again, he gained more control over the trees. More trunks were torn from the ground and hovered in the air before crashing down in succession. The massive bodies slammed into each other, an avalanche of destruction burying Leo underneath them.
Cris beamed.
Panting.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Every crack of wood on wood was a little shot of thrill.
The tremors, the power. It was intoxicating. He had always been strong, but now, standing over Leo's grave of smashed timber, he felt invincible.
Then,
A voice.
The sound was high but smooth.
A voice that sent chills through his blood.
"What on earth are you doing to the forest like this, child?"
Cris whirled so quickly that his vision blurred.
And there she stood.
A figure shrouded in billowing robes of sapphire, the air around her crackling with unnatural cold. In one hand, she loosely grasped a tall staff, topped with a crystalline core.
The temperature plummeted.
Cris shivered, the chilled air crawling down his spine. His knees buckled before he knew what he was doing.
"L-Lady Kurea," he said, voice wavering.
His peripherals blurred.
This was meant to be a battle fought in silence. Just him, his power, and a fool who deserved to be wiped out.
He had allowed his emotions to get the better of him.
Made a mess.
A mess in her presence.
He swallowed against the lump in his throat and half-turned, gasping, "We—I was just—"
Kurea had already walked past him.
Slow, purposeful steps over splintered roots and torn bark. She halted before the havoc he had caused, surveying it.
Then, she exhaled sharply.
"Troublesome."
Cris flinched.
The chill in the air wasn't due to any spell.
It was her.
She shook her head and looked toward the guards who had been following her, who were only just arriving from the woods.
"Take him away," she said, waving a hand dismissively at him.
The guards hesitated. "Lady Kurea, what about…"
"Deliver him to Ranna. Let her deal with the fool ruining her lands."
Cris' mouth went dry.
Ranna.
He'd gotten lost in his power, and now he was being tossed to her mercy. He still did not have the strength to look back at the devastation he had wrought.
But,
Leo's body should be there.
Instead...
Nothing.
His breath stilled.
Kurea hardly gave him a second glance.
Her focus turned elsewhere, to the silent ruin before her. She breathed out, mist winding from her lips like the breath of winter itself.
"And here I thought I might finally get to meet the system user who struck down the Orc Lord. But it was only a child having a fit."
She pivoted around, her long coat flaring behind her.
She walked away, her voice lowering to a murmur, loud enough for the wind to carry it.
"Amanda will be pleased."
A knowing smile crept across her face.
"Her years of pleading in the capital are finally coming to an end."