"He touched my will?"
Dominance Magic a rare and unique racial magic limited only to dragons, who are considered higher-level lifeforms. Also called Command Magic, though Dominance is the more fitting term. It's said that dragons can dominate the wills of those weaker than them using nothing more than their voice their command is law.
Is he a dragon? No, that thought came and left her mind just as quickly. Dragons were rare so rare, thanks to their painfully low fertility rate. Not to mention, you'd know if you were in the presence of a dragon. They didn't need horns, wings, or scales to be recognized. Your very instincts would scream it at you. That's what a higher-level lifeform does it makes your soul shiver.
And yet
She narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the silver haired boy.
If he isn't a dragon then what is he?
A human wielding Dominance Magic? That in itself would be absurd. Unless… unless this was something else.
A unique magic.. perhaps?
Some rare, awakened ability born purely within him. If so, it was magnificent. A human with Dominance as their unique magic… it would defy every magical theory known.
This boy... he's dangerous. Gifted, perhaps absurdly so.
But before she could ponder more, a sudden crunch echoed behind her. A harsh, jarring sound snapping her from her thoughts.
She turned just in time to see the mustached man hit the ground, knees crashing against the floor. He didn't even scream. His expression twisted in pain, lips parted, breath stolen.
She frowned at the sight.
Let's assume the silver-haired boy's strange magic actually did work on this man a Three-Star Mage. That alone was unbelievable. The boy was young, barely sixteen or seventeen, not even considered an adult yet.
But that wasn't what bothered her the most.
This man was already restrained bound by her magic. Even if it was just a fragment of her full strength, it should've held firm. There's no way a boy, no matter how gifted, should have been able to interfere.
Unless
Did his command magic just cancel mine outright? She narrowed her eyes. Is that how the man was able to bow down?
That… that was a terrifying thought.
She turned her gaze back to the boy, ignoring the mustached man's trembling figure. He knelt there, face twisted with rage and pain yet his eyes, locked on the silver-haired youth, now shimmered with something else:
Fear.
Uncertainty.
She studied the boy's face, her own eyes narrowing. And then, as if something clicked, her brows rose in quiet astonishment.
"He… he isn't even conscious," she whispered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "More like… this is his unconscious self at work."
All of this happened in mere seconds.
Even the black-haired boy lying on the floor remained oddly expressionless, his gaze quietly fixed on the silver-haired one. No emotions Just... watching.
Then, Max raised a single finger limply, slowly pointing toward the mustached man. His left eye, blood-red, flickered faintly.
"Oh…" Evelyne's lips parted as she noticed the movement. The killing intent pouring from the boy's eyes was unmistakable, raw and unrestrained. She looked down at the black-haired boy, crumbled and motionless, then back at Max.
She understood everything in an instant.
"Apologies, young wizard, but you can't kill this man. Even if your friend was harmed by him, the laws stand. The Central Arcane Court will—" She was mid-sentence, trying to reason gently, but Max didn't even glance at her.
"Perish."
The word was soft.
And then
PLUCKKKkk!!
Not a boom. Not an explosion.
A grotesque, fleshy sound, like something ripping apart from the inside.
Then drip… drip…
Blood. Drops of it, beginning to pool on the floor.
Evelyne's voice froze in her throat. Her head snapped around toward the sound, a rare mixture of dread, confusion, and disbelief etched across her face.
What she saw silenced her completely.
A grotesque scene.
The mustached man was covered in blood, his body pierced by jagged red spikes some large, others thin as needles all tearing out from within him. It wasn't a spell cast on his body… it was as if his own blood had frozen and turned into crimson blades, shredding him from the inside out.
His body was torn to pieces, riddled with holes. She'd never seen anything like it not in all her years, not even as a Six-Star Mage.
It looked as if someone had cast an ice spell inside his body, with blood itself turned into the weapon.
She instinctively tried to appraise the spell, trying to make sense of it, feeling a strange unease in her chest.
But she got nothing.
No familiar signature. No known school of magic. No elemental affinity.
Not lightning, not fire, not wind. Not ice or earth. Not even rare types like nature, light, or dark.
What is this? Her brows furrowed deeper. Is my magic failing?
The confusion gnawed at her. It felt unbearable not knowing. Like her mind was trying to claw its way to an answer that didn't exist.
Because every mage knows: curiosity is everything. Even when facing death, a mage must know the "how."
But no matter how hard she tried, there was no head or tail to this spell.
She turned her head toward the silver-haired boy. His face just moments ago cold and emotionless had changed. A wide grin now stretched across it, unnaturally large, almost deformed. It was charming and terrifying at the same time. A smile of satisfaction.
Her breath caught. Not because of any beauty but because of the eerie feeling he gave off. That unnatural chill in the air. She shook her head, snapping herself out of it. When she looked again, the silver-haired boy was staring down at the black-haired boy lying at his feet blood pooling around him.
The boy on the ground looked back, pale and weak. Too much blood had been lost. His limbs were torn, his body broken.
Evelyne sighed. "You, boy… you've committed a heinous crime. I don't know how you did it, but murder is murder. You'll have a hearing in the Arcane Court." Her voice was stern but not cruel. "So Step down and Accept it."
She was confused. Intrigued. But she hadn't forgotten what was right and wrong.
The magic she'd felt from him unlike anything she'd ever known it was special. It made her sad, knowing this boy's life might be changed forever because of one moment. Still… she'd make sure to speak on his behalf. The boy had potential. If the court showed mercy, maybe they'd take him in, train him. He could become something great perhaps even a future Warlord.
After all, what he'd done, though terrible, wasn't without reason. The man he killed was a criminal. And the boy's friend had clearly been tortured. It was almost justifiable.
She'd calculated all of this in a second.
And the black-haired boy? The one who was dying?
There was nothing to be done for him.
Even if she wanted to save him she couldn't. The damage was too severe. He'd lost nearly 90% of his life force. Even if they brought him back, what kind of life would that be? No limbs. No hope. Worse yet he had used Dark Magic.
That alone was enough to damn him. Even if used in desperation, even for protection Dark Magic was unforgivable. He'd be sent to the Netherland, the worst punishment in existence. A fate worse than death.
So in a way, it was better that he was dying now.
Still, Max ignored her. Not even a glance. He kept his eyes on the boy lying before him, as if he were weighing something.
Evelyne's frown deepened. A flicker of frustration sparked in her chest. He was overstepping. First, he used his magic on her. Then, he disobeyed her direct command and killed a man under her custody. And now he was ignoring her entirely.
She was a Six-Star Mage.
She may have been calm and composed, but even she had limits.
Disrespect her rank? No. She wouldn't tolerate that.
Slowly, she raised her staff, preparing to cast a spell to stop him.
Then
"Stop it, Evelyne."
---