An SS class mage against two injured B-class mages. Anyone who heard this would assume it would be an extremely easy battle… A grown man fighting toddlers… but this wasn't the case.
"Boss!" The knights shout out once they see the bleeding wound on Xavier's chest.
Xavier raises his hand, his wide eyes fixed on the warm blood sticking to his fingers. "Seriously?" He mumbled, his mind completely dumbfounded.
Seeing his chance, Dom pulls the spear out of Xavier's grasp and aims a kick at Xavier's side… but with a surge of mana, a powerful whirlwind explodes out of Xavier's body, sending Dom and Dae spiraling.
Dae grits his teeth as he rolls across the ground before anchoring himself down with his white sword. "Shallow." He grumbled in frustration before flinching as Xavier suddenly appeared beside him.
Dae instinctively draws his sword to attack, but Xavier delivers a mind-rattling uppercut into Dae's chin. Dae groans as the impact sends him into the air, just as Xavier grabs him by his vest and slams him down to the ground, which crumbles under the weight of the attack.
Dae's eyes roll back into his head, his sense of perception distorted by the sheer pain now crippling his body.
As his discarded sword falls to the side, a vein visibly bulges on Xavier's now enraged face as he tightly grips Dae's shirt. "Don't get cocky, brats," Xavier grumbled with bright, glowing red eyes.
Xavier then disperses a pressured wind attack and vanishes.
Before Dom could react, Xavier dug a foot into his gut. Some blood escapes his opened mouth… which suddenly closes as he grabs Xavier's leg with one hand and raises his other fist just as another wind blast sends Dom flying again.
Xavier blitzes after Dom, grabbing his discarded spear and firing a couple of bullets.
Mid-air, Dom guards, the bullets barely tearing through his skin.
This gives Xavier the distraction he needs to get behind Dom, his eyes now aimed to kill the young man as his spell's momentum sends Dom flying straight towards him.
But once Dom gets close enough, a grin forms on his face. "Gale kick!" He shouted as he suddenly threw his right foot down, creating a similar wind pressure attack that once again slammed into the unsuspecting Xavier while thrusting Dom into the air.
Xavier grits his teeth as he skids to a stop and glares at Dom, whose body spirals uncontrollably into the air, sending some of the blood spilling out like a sprinkler before forcibly stopping mid-air. He looks down at Xavier, his proud grin evident in his currently inverted state.
Dom then kicks the air upwards, creating another shockwave that generates another blast of wind. But this time, he uses the recoil to propel him towards Xavier on the ground.
"You think this is some game?!" Xavier shouted angrily as he stabbed his spear into the ground and drew his fist back with a rapid wind current spiraling around it.
Dom sees this and draws his own fist back as he rapidly approaches, while Xavier's aura surges as his muscles visibly bulge.
"This is a real gale punch," Xavier said as he threw his fist upwards with the force of the punch plus his wind magic, creating a massive, almost cylindrical whirlwind that howls loudly as it barrels towards Dom.
But Dom suddenly turns and kicks the air again, using the recoil this time to push himself towards the side, narrowly escaping the destructive path of Xavier's spell.
"You little shit," Xavier said as his eyes followed Dom, who quickly kicked again, propelling himself back into Xavier's path. Xavier grits his teeth as he raises both hands with an even bigger air current swirling around his body. "I'll get you this t-"
Because his frustrated attention was so fixed on Dom, he completely failed to notice a rapidly approaching spell.
Instantly, Xavier groans as the serpent-shaped lightning bolt suddenly rips through his back and sends a powerful electrical surge through his body. With a sudden surge of red mana, Xavier quickly overpowers the spell, revealing his slightly charred appearance, and turns to Dae, smirking at him from a distance with his steaming hand held up.
Multiple veins protrude on Xavier's head, a clear sign of his anger and frustration… which quickly switches to a look of shock once he realizes that Dae had just successfully distracted him for a split second. He only manages to turn his head just as Dom's right fist collides with his cheek.
"Gale punch!" Dom shouted as he focused all his mana into his attacking arm, ripping his shirt sleeve into shreds with his raw, unhindered mana output.
Unlike with the Reflezard, Dom poured every fiber of his being into this attack, so much so that his vision even goes momentarily white… with a veiny, distorted blue pattern suddenly spreading through this blank space.
But Dom's vision quickly returns as his punch manages to push the flustered Xavier head-first into the ground with a resulting shock-wave and explosion of dust and debris that rattles the entire forest itself.
The knights, Dae and Lucy, all guard against the surging dust cloud, which quickly covers most of the clearing.
A couple of seconds later, the wind settles, and the spectators lower their guards, still unable to see anything through the thick dust cloud around them.
"Who the hell is this guy?" A knight grumbled as he wiped the dust and sand from his face while his comrades looked around in confusion.
Dae remains silent, his eyes also unable to see through the dust. He simply watches for any shift in the dust… only for the entire cloud to suddenly disperse from a sudden massive whirlwind.
Dae guards against the harsh wind before sensing something rapidly approaching. He quickly turns, his eyes widening as it briefly tracks Dom's body zip past him and promptly smashes back-first into a large boulder on the other end of the clearing.
Several cracks radiate across the rock from the point of contact where Dom's body remains briefly lodged before suddenly crumpling face down while the rock crumbles behind him.
Dom groans, his body visibly trembling as he tries to push himself off the ground.
Dae turns to help, only to stop a cold shiver running up his spine. He follows the sound of footsteps and finds a furious-looking man walking towards him.
Xavier's hair tie had been ripped off, freeing his long and now disheveled hair. His damaged clothes are stained with blood and dirt. And as he gets closer, Dae could see the bruise in his left cheek where Dom punched him.
"You fucking little shits," Xavier grumbled as he wiped the blood from his lips.
Dae flinches, his entire senses noticing the dark, murderous tone in Xavier's expression, voice, and aura. He glances at his sword on the floor just outside his reach when Xavier suddenly stops, the pulsing veins on his forehead emphasizing his rage.
"You're dead."
Driven by fear, Dae leaps for his weapon, but as he grabs the handle, Xavier releases a massive wave of mana from his body. The wind howls around him, the trees shiver, and the ground trembles as Xavier's aura creates a slight reddish haze in the air around them.
Immediately, Dae's eyes widen as he feels the overwhelming pressure from Xavier's aura suddenly push down on his body, forcing him to his knees. He grips his vest tightly and desperately gasps for air.
"What…is… this?" Dae grumbled before hearing the sound of bodies falling. He looks up and sees Xavier's men suddenly collapse one after the other.
Meanwhile, Dom groans as he himself finds it difficult to get up. It wasn't just his injuries or exhaustion; it was as if a massive weight had been placed on his body, holding him in place.
"Dominance," Xavier said, getting their attention. "By outputting a massive amount of mana at once, we can create a presence powerful enough to force weaker beings to submit. It's a spell that takes a lot of control and mana reserve to both output and maintain without burning yourself out. Only a couple of high-ranking mages can pull it off. "
He looks at Dae, still struggling to remain on his knees.
"You're still conscious because you're both high-ranking mages already. But the difference in our classes is still enough to keep you from moving…."
Dae clicks his tongue while Dom grits his teeth at Xavier, who looks between them.
"The Capital sent me to capture you two…" He looks down at his bleeding wound. "... but after this humiliation, I can't just let you live."
Dom flinches as Xavier turns his malicious gaze to him. "Starting with you."
As Xavier begins to walk towards him, Dom groans as he desperately tries to get up.
His mind screams at his body to move, to get away from this overwhelming danger, but he only manages to lift himself a little before dropping back down. Once he looks up again, he notices how blurry his vision becomes.
With his numerous bleeding wounds and reckless movements, he has already lost a considerable amount of blood. With how pale he is already looking, along with Xavier's spell, it's impressive that he's even still conscious.
Xavier holds out an arm, sending a wind current to his side, which promptly flings his spear back into his open hand.
"I'm applying just enough mana to keep you pinned down. Any more and I'll kill you along with everything around me, including my men. Even my control is not perfect."
"He's still… holding back?" Dae grumbled as he remained pinned in place, unable to even lift a finger.
"Besides, I'll prefer to kill you up close and personal," Xavier said, his voice even more menacing.
"Damn… it," Dom grumbled as he remained helpless, his progressively weakening body now barely struggling against Xavier's spell.
Xavier continues to approach… before stopping once he sees someone moving besides Dom.
Dom turns his eyes to the sound of heavy footsteps. His eyes widen at the sight of Lucy dragging herself across the crumbled boulder towards him with visible effort on her pale face.
"Lu…cy," Dom grumbled weakly as she got closer to him.
Xavier narrows his eyes. "For you to even move that much, you have a really strong willpower, bitch."
Dom fixes a glare at him. "Her… name… is Lu-" Dom cuts himself off as she then puts her body between theirs. "Lu… cy?"
But she doesn't answer him. With her breath shallow, her body trembling both from her injuries and Xavier's spell, she manages to hold a determined fire in her eyes as she spreads her arms out.
Dom's mouth opens, his expression shocked at her display.
Meanwhile, Xavier's brow twitches. Her display was a mirror of how Dom protected her.
"No...Don't… Run…" Dom grumbled.
Lucy ignores him, a low growl escaping her lips as she holds her stance.
"Fine…" Xavier said, his expression even more irritated. "The Capital only wants the Rapore anyway… they won't care about three brats."
Xavier raises his spear while his body outputs even more mana. The air hums as his presence intensifies, finally forcing Dae's whole body to the floor.
Lucy groans as she falls to her knees, her mouth hanging open as the spell literally squeezes the air out of her lungs.
As a powerful wind current spirals around Xavier's spear, Dom groans loudly as he tries to push himself up against the intensified pressure on his body.
Xavier reels his spear back, his glowing eyes fixed on firing a single powerful shot at the defenseless Dom…when a hand grabs his wrist. He turns, and his face quickly pales in recognition of the tall old man holding him.
With a smirk, the old man releases his own red mana, creating an even darker red haze around them that easily overpowers Xavier's presence… but this time, it relieves the pressure on the three young mages.
Immediately, the three gasp and cough. Their bodies were eager to regain the precious air they'd been deprived of.
"What… happened?" Dae said between coughs until he sat up and found the newcomer behind Xavier. Instantly, Dae's entire body stiffens in recognition of this savior.
Xavier clicks his tongue. "If it isn't the old bastard himself." He scoffed.
"And you're still a pain in the ass." The man said with a smirk that quickly turns into a sneer so terrifying that Xavier flinches. "Settle down, boy." The man's voice had a cold, emotionless tone to it.
Dae's eyes widen at Xavier's behavior. This is the same man whose mana alone was enough to keep him from simply moving. And yet, he had the look of a scared little child being reprimanded by his parent.
Xavier suppresses his mana, and the old man smiles as he does the same, removing both of their influence from the area.
As the tense air around them settles, the man lets Xavier go and walks away.
"You know what they did, right?" Xavier said as he watched the man walk towards Dom. "They're already criminals."
"They're my subordinates. My responsibility." The man said before stopping, his long white coat with a certain bold logo on its back flowing in the soft wind around them. He looks over his shoulder, revealing his teasing smirk. "Or… are you just embarrassed that they actually managed to get a good hit on you?"
Xavier grits his teeth in frustration while the man continues walking…
Lucy worriedly rubs Dom's back as he struggles to catch his breath before flinching once she senses an even more dangerous threat approaching them. She quickly shields Dom with her body again and growls at the old man who stops in front of them.
Still struggling to stay conscious, Dom doesn't even notice until the man speaks. "It's been a long time, Dominic."
Dom flinches… his pale, dim eyes immediately widen to their limit. He looks up, and despite his blurry vision, the man's wrinkled face and his now completely gray hair, Dom recognizes the man as clear as day.
"Tony," Dom said weakly.
Anthony's smile widens. "Almost a decade, huh. You've grown since I last saw you. But…" He crouches down to get a closer look. "… you were supposed to get stronger, and yet I had to save you again."
Dom lets out a tired laugh. "Can you blame me? The guy's a fucking SS class."
Anthony chuckles. "Even your voice and the way you talk have changed."
As Lucy helps Dom sit up, Anthony's smile softens at the full sight of his face.
"This brings back some memories, doesn't it?" Anthony asked.
Dom gives a reminiscent smile as he recalls the last time they met… A defenseless kid, inches from death at the hand of a dangerous wind mage.
"Yeah. It does."
Suddenly, Lucy wraps her arms around Dom's head and presses him against her chest while growling at Anthony.
Anthony raises a brow. "Oh. You even have a girlfriend now."
Dom's cheeks redden with embarrassment. "She's not m-"
Lucy presses his face against her boobs and barks at Anthony, who laughs as he backs away with his arms raised in defeat.
"Boss!"
They all turn to find a couple of knights running towards them, this time, bearing the number 3 on their uniforms.
Xavier clicks his tongue in annoyance and walks away, not even concerned for his subordinates still unconscious on the floor…