Leo turned from the fields and walked back towards the farm, shivering with the cold, his arms folded over his chest. He wouldn't make the usual route but take the wooded detour, treading lightly on the earth's path, avoiding detection.
He could still hear the soldiers talking, something about a dominion and an Orc Lord that had been defeated.
Orc Dominion… Why does that sound so familiar?
Before he could process it, someone suddenly shouted.
"Hey!" The irritable voice roused Leo from his musings. He blinked as the man fell back a step, trying to see him.
Leo's eyes widened. Cris.
Cris hardly recognized him at first. He looked past Leo, only a cursory examination before moving on. But then, as if a belated vision had come upon him, he came to a halt.
"Leo?" His tone was sharp, bordering on unbelieving.
Cris turned with narrowed eyes and stormed at Leo before he had time to react.
"Leo!" he barked, his voice now laced with frustration.
"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 wannabe 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 to it 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," he said to no one in particular. "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 extending a hand toward Leo.
And then—
Nothing.
Seconds passed, without an explosion of energy, without a surge of magic. Nothing at all.
Cris blinked. His smirk faltered.
He raised his palm again, angled toward Leo, every finger twitching as if trying to squeeze something out. But again, nothing.
His brow furrowed in confusion.
Leo tilted his head. "Uh… Cris?"
Cris wasn't listening. A look of disbelief washed over his face as he stared at his own hand, then balled it into a fist.
His breath grew shallow.
What's happening?
This is impossible…
Then it hit him.
This is a similar thing that happened when he tried his power over Ranna. His powers had been useless then as well.
His blood ran cold.
No. No, no, no.
His eyes flew to Leo, abuzz with disbelief.
"You—!" His voice broke, unfiltered rage spilling through his features. "I refuse to accept this!"
Leo still looked unfazed. "Accept what? You have been unable to throw a tantrum properly?" He let out a sharp breath, rubbing his temple. "Cris, stop blowing this up beyond what it is."
But Cris' breath rasped, his body shook — not with fear, with broiling rage.
Flinging both arms out to his sides with a snarl.
The earth groaned under them.
He felt the tremor before he saw what was happening. The ground cracked, breaking into jagged seams, and deep tremors rattled through the trees. Then there was a resounding crack, and the massive trunks surrounding them—thicker than houses began to sway violently.
Leo's breath caught in his throat as the trees ripped themselves from the ground, their roots curling and snapping like thick ropes.
Cris' eyes were flame-wild as the uprooted trees shifted, arranging themselves in an arc behind him—tall, old, and ready.
All of them marked 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 him.
But then came another.
And another.
An unyielding barrage of wood and devastation. The terror 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' 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, he gained more control over the trees. More trunks were torn from the earth and hovered in the air before crashing down in succession. The massive bodies slammed one into the other, light ripping into it and tearing it asunder as an avalanche of destruction buried Leo underneath them.
Cris beamed, panting.
He didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.
Every whack of wood on wood was a little shot of thrill.
And, 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.
Their sound was high but smooth, though laced with steel.
A voice that sent chills through his blood.
"What on earth are you doing, child, the forest like this?"
Cris whirled so quickly that his vision blurred.
There she stood.
A figure shrouded in billowing robes of sapphire, the air around her filled with a crackling, unnatural cold. In one hand, she loosely grasped a tall staff, topped with a crystalline core of her own; it glowed faintly with the putrid blue light.
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 life passed before him in a flash.
This was meant to be a battle fought in silence. Just him, his power, and a fool who deserved to be non-existent.
He had allowed his emotions to get the better of him. Made a mess. A mess in her presence.
He swallowed with effort against the lump in his throat and half-turned, gasping, "We—I was just—"
Kurea had already begun to walk past him.
Slow, purposeful steps over splintered roots and torn bark. She halted before the havoc he had caused, surveying it like a teacher who had discovered a child's botched attempt at magic.
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 a little and looked toward the guards who had been following her, but only just arriving from the woods.
"Take him away," she said, waving a hand dismissively at Cris.
The guards hesitated. "Lady Kurea, what about—"
"Deliver him to Ranna," she continued smoothly. "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 even so, 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," she said softly.
"But it was only a spoiled child having a tantrum."
She pivoted around, her long coat flaring behind her.
She walked away, her voice lowering to a murmur, loud enough for the wind to transmit 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."