As he looked towards the edge of the town, his servants returned to his side as if having warped beside him.
"Are you alright, Master?" Salvatore asked calmly.
Ignoring the odd looks of the confused townspeople, he nodded his head, "Just got caught off-guard."
Ruby excitedly twirled her axe, "I'll chop that ugly guy's foot off for that!"
"Actually, can the both of you stay here and make sure the people are kept out of the way?" Leon requested, glancing at his servants. "This might get a bit hectic, so I can't worry about collateral."
"Wha—?! But—" Ruby protested, stomping her foot as the ground rumbled.
For the concerned townsfolk, the maid's temper was mistaken as an attack by the ogre as they ran.
"One-Eye is here!"
"Run!"
Salvatore reprimanded the maid, calmly bowing his head, "Settle down, Ruby. Your job is not to have fun in battle. What is it?"
"Grrrr…I suppose I can stay here and protect the town," Ruby accepted, gritting her teeth.
"Thanks, Ruby, Salvatore," Leon said, leaving his servants to it as he sprinted down the cobblestone path.
With the idea of intercepting the ogre before it could trample into the town, he packed a swarm of mana through his legs. He imagined his calves as springs, bending his knees before—
"Hyper Leap!"
Shattering the stone he used as a foothold, he launched himself like a bullet forth. He scaled the height of the city walls, covering hundreds of meters within seconds—
'There,' he found,
Looking down at the grasslands outside of Newfard, he found the four-armed menace. On the ground, a plump, mustached man crawled helplessly, begging for his life.
"Gaaah…! Help!"
While the merchant screamed, the ogre flipped over the carriage, picking it up with one sword as though it were a kebab.
'Damn, there's somebody there—?' He thought.
The savage lifted one sword casually, preparing to bring it down to stifle the life of the unfortunate merchant. With little time to act, Leon produced wind behind his boots, kicking himself down with haste.
—As he rapidly descended right for the ogre, he pointed his finger at the obsidian warrior.
"Bolt!"
He landed just as the massive sword was swung, intercepting with a strike of lightning to its abdomen. A roar left the ogre's mouth as it was flung back, crashing through a cluster of trees.
"Payback," Leon mumbled.
He glanced back at the merchant, who was practically groveling at his feet with sobbing cheers.
"Thank you! Thank you! I owe you my life!" The plump man shouted.
"Yeah, well, just get back into town—it's dangerous out here," Leon said before sprinting forward.
For the crumbled trees, he aimed his vision, readying mana at his fingertips. There were plenty of options in his mind—a wave of fire? A spear of lightning? Perhaps a cloud of poison.
None of it seemed effective, though he had to choose quickly—
"Ruuuauaaagh!"
The four-armed warrior erupted from the fallen chunk of forest ahead, unleashing a warcry that trembled the wind. All the critters inhabiting the woodlands scattered, with colorful squirrels running down trees, birds flapping their wings desperately.
Each of the ogre's weapons became clad in nefarious elements; black flames and crimson lightning, encompassing the heartless steel edges.
'Looks like this guy is getting ready to kill me. Well, I feel the same way, big guy,' Leon thought.
—A thousand fireflies; that was the concept he centered his mind around as he concentrated his mana. As the ground rumbled and the air howled, he kept his eyes closed, weaving the magecraft with utter concentration.
It was a harder task than initially thought; understanding the scope of a "thousand"—each individual. There was no cutting corners in his mind, simply imagining a "thousand" as a vague mass did not work.
He needed to have a complete, clear image, down to the first firefly to the thousandth—
As he moved his hands, molding the bright-orange flames as though it were dough, he felt the roars of the ogre point his way. He couldn't pay them any mind, entirely focusing on the one thousand, clasping his hands just as the giant stomped his way—
"Miraculous Army of The Red Emperor."
Parting his hands, the tangible fire spread out, expanding like a ring before breaking a part into an equal thousand pieces.
—
[Two Days Prior]
In the lecture room, he sat with an enchanted gaze, watching the youthful witch. In the woman's hand, an elemental creature resembling a butterfly hovered.
"This is just a small portion of what the true form of this spell is capable of. In truth, it's one that doesn't require refined mana, but only a heaping ton of it," Beatrice explained, holding her hand out.
In the air, the flaming creature flew around the student's desk as Leon watched it flutter. Embers scattered from its wings before it suddenly glowed brightly, expelling a small, but fearsome beam of heat from its tiny form.
"Woah—" Leon slid back from the desk.
The minuscule amount of fire was enough to reduce the table into nothing more than ash.
Beatrice smirked, letting the elemental return to her hand, "See the power one has? Now, imagine a hundred, or even a thousand. Well, a thousand may be too much even for you."
"You think so?" Leon asked, waving his hand to brush away the smoke.
"I will admit you have an extraordinary reservoir of mana for your age, but—even you might be incapable currently of drawing out the necessary quantity," Beatrice said. "Even still, a hundred will grant you the strength of a small army."
—
With one gesture, he pointed towards the ogre while hovering backwards with wind at his feet. At his command, the thousandfold army of fireflies moved in unison, filling the nightfallen fields with their bright light.
"Fire!" He shouted.
All at once, the plentiful array of fireflies unleashed their potent beams of heat. They completely surrounded the enraged ogre, bombarding it with blasts of fire.
The field was lit up like fireworks, casting light into the valley as if the sun had risen a second time.
"Ruuuuah—!" One-Eye roared, flailing his blades helplessly towards the elusive fireflies.
Somehow, the rampaging savage managed to blindly sprint towards him even while being bombarded. Beneath his feet, he skated on the wind as the smoking ogre unleashed slashes his way.
"Haste!"
Amidst his swift movements, the army of fireflies unleashed bullets of fire rapidly in response. One-Eye grunted as a shot struck him directly in the eye, faltering as its massive blades completely missed their mark.
"Woah there—" Leon reacted, looking back.
The swords instead bisected a set of old, giant hills, casting a wind through the fields. Every time he witnessed one of those tree-sized cleavers pass, the noise that passed his ears was like the air being cut by a buzz saw.
As he slipped beneath a sweeping slash, he guided the thousandfold elementals to continue their assault.
'It's hurting—I'm starting to break through. Still, this bastard is pushing forward. I have to end this before I get caught,' he planned.
While the savage swings increased in ferocity, he dashed between the ogre's legs. He raised his arm, calling the thousandfold fireflies to gather into a perfect formation of ten rings.
Each of the elementals coalesced into a multi-segmented barrel, focusing their heat as he pointed it towards the monster's back—
"Fire."
—All at once, the energy gathered from the thousand fireflies was released into flash. A condensed beam of sublime heat launched, shooting straight through the ogre's tough body.
Throughout the valley, the glow replicated the sunlight for a brief moment. As it faded, returning the calm of nightfall, the once energetic monster was left as a shell, collapsing onto the grass.
["One-Eye" defeated.] [EXP: +40,000]
[Level Up!] [16 —> 20] [2000/20000]
[Physical Attributes: +25 | Rank (B) Knight]
[Magical Attributes: +30 | Rank (B+) Senior Mage]
[New Skill(s) Obtained: Servant Recall | Lord's Aura | Subjugation]
"Phew," Leon huffed, finally relaxing as the fiery mana dispersed into embers.