'Did he say he defeated a Demon Lord? Ridiculous. No one has ever accomplished such a feat. However…' Cevic's eyes narrowed as he analysed Maxwell. 'He turned a spatial warp— a spell meant for transportation— into an attack. I can't underestimate him.'
Determined to overwhelm his opponent, Cevic barked an order. "Attack him all at once! He can't cancel every spell!"
The Elementals unleashed their fury. Earth, air, water, and fire converged in a cataclysmic assault, the sheer force of their magic ripping through the battlefield. The ground shattered, flames roared, and the sky crackled with energy as destruction rained upon Maxwell's position.
Cevic sneered. "How do you hope to defend yourself with just one hand? You expect me to believe a weakling Level 1 mage like you defeated a Demon Lord? Don't make me laugh!" He launched another barrage of fireballs, but in the blink of an eye—
Maxwell was gone.
No, not gone. Right in the middle of them.
Cevic's breath hitched. Impossible!
"You know," Maxwell said, his glasses catching the moonlight, his voice eerily calm, "you never really asked how I got back to Heaven's Peak and rescued Top so fast."
A chill ran down Cevic's spine. His instincts screamed at him.
"Scatter!" he commanded.
The four mages broke formation, retreating as far from Maxwell as possible.
'Teleportation? No, that's not possible! Just how many skills does this mage have?'
Maxwell turned his gaze to Cevic, his expression unreadable.
"You asked how I could defend myself with one hand?" He lifted his left hand, revealing his fingers— twisted and broken. A moment later, they radiated with energy, the bones snapping back into place. "Self-healing," he stated simply.
Cevic clenched his fists. 'Does he plan to use another spatial warp? No… he doesn't have the mana for that. He's just showing off.'
Maxwell's attention shifted. His eyes locked onto the water mage.
Without warning, he sprinted toward him.
The water mage reacted instantly, summoning a swirling sphere of liquid around himself, believing it to be an impenetrable shield. But Maxwell only grinned.
"Fool," he said, raising a single finger toward him. "You've just created your own tomb."
Electricity sparked at Maxwell's fingertip.
"Lightning Strike."
The bolt shot forward, colliding with the water mage. The moment it touched the surrounding water, the attack amplified tenfold. The mage's body convulsed, his screams of agony piercing the night as the electric current coursed through him.
Then, silence.
The lifeless body of the water mage collapsed. The only sound remaining was the crackling of fading electricity.
A heavy silence hung over the battlefield. Then, in an instant, pure rage consumed what remained of the Elementals. Fuelled by fury and grief, they launched a relentless assault on Maxwell, attacking without restraint.
But Maxwell was untouchable.
He teleported effortlessly, evading their spells with calculated precision. Each time they thought they had him cornered, he vanished—only to reappear elsewhere, his movements unpredictable, his presence taunting.
Cevic clenched his fists. "Stop running and fight, damn you!"
Maxwell's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. "What's wrong, Cevic? Did I do something to fill you with rage?" His tone was frightening calm, his eyes cold as ice. "That's how Top felt when the bandits took his family from him. That's how he felt again when you took his grandfather away."
Cevic grit his teeth, fury clouding his judgment.
Then, Maxwell stopped moving.
A reckless grin spread across Cevic's face. This is my chance. Without hesitation, he fired a massive fireball directly at Maxwell.
But in a blink—
Maxwell was gone.
The fireball shot past its intended target, and before Cevic could react—
A scream.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw the air mage—his own comrade—standing right behind where Maxwell had been. The fireball struck him dead-on, sending him crashing to the ground, engulfed in flames.
The air mage thrashed wildly, surrounded by fire, his agonized screams filling the battlefield.
Cevic's heart pounded. 'No! I can still save him!' He sprinted toward his fallen ally. "Don't panic! I'll put it out!" He reached out, ready to summon his magic—
But Maxwell appeared behind him in a flash.
Before Cevic could react, Maxwell seized him by the collar—then, in the next heartbeat, they were gone.
Reappearing a distance away, Cevic stumbled as Maxwell released him. Confused and disoriented, he whipped around—only to see his burning comrade, still writhing, still suffering.
The air mage, in his panic, instinctively released a burst of wind magic—hoping, praying, it would smother the flames.
It had the opposite effect.
The fire roared to life, growing into a raging inferno. The flames consumed him in seconds. His final screams echoed through the battlefield before fading into nothingness.
Cevic dropped to his knees, his hands trembling. His breath came in short gasps, disbelief and horror washing over him. "No... I was going to save him..."
Maxwell stood over him, his voice laced with simmering rage.
"Just like you could have saved Heaven's Peak and its people."
The earth mage charged at Maxwell, his face twisted with fury. "Murderer!" he roared, raising his hands as the ground trembled beneath him. Massive boulders tore free, hurtling toward Maxwell with deadly force.
But Maxwell remained still.
With a casual flick of his wrist, jagged Fort Crystals erupted from the ground, forming an impenetrable barrier. The boulders crashed against them, shattering into dust.
"You're calling me a murderer?" Maxwell's voice was laced with amusement. A smirk played on his lips. "How ironic… You stood idly by while your leader slaughtered the people of Heaven's Peak."
The earth mage's hands clenched into fists. Then, his eyes flickered with realization as he took a closer look at Maxwell's defences. A slow smile spread across his face.
"You fool," he sneered. "Crystals are composed of the same minerals as rock—I can bend them just as easily."
Raising his hand, he commanded the crystalline structures to turn against their conjurer. The sharp spires twisted, reshaping themselves into deadly spears and shooting toward Maxwell—
Only to stop an inch from his face.
A bead of sweat rolled down the earth mage's temple. "W-What…?"
Maxwell let out a small chuckle, adjusting his glasses. "Oh, did I forget to mention?" His voice was almost playful. "I can use earth magic too. Along with fire, water, and air. I just… chose not to."
The earth mage's expression darkened. "Impossible."
"Last I checked," he snapped, regaining his confidence, "if two mages of the same skill clash, it becomes a battle of mana. And you, my friend, still have the mana pool of a Level 1 mage!"
Summoning all his strength, he thrust both hands forward, pouring his remaining energy into his spell. The ground beneath Maxwell cracked and splintered, sending a powerful shockwave through the battlefield.
But the crystals remained motionless.
No matter how hard he strained, how much mana he expended, they wouldn't budge.
The earth mage's body trembled, sweat dripping from his brow. His breath came in ragged gasps. "No… this… this can't be…!"
Maxwell sighed, raising a single finger.
"Looks like I win."
With a mere flick, the suspended crystals shot forward, impaling the earth mage in an instant. His body jerked as the sharp spikes pierced through him, his final gasp lost in the night air.
As his lifeless form crumpled to the ground, Maxwell dusted off his coat.
"Guess my plot armour doesn't care about my personal mana pool," he mused.
Then, his eyes shifted toward Cevic, who remained kneeling in the dirt, his expression one of pure disbelief.
Maxwell walked toward Cevic, his steps slow and deliberate. His eyes were cold, devoid of hesitation.
"You know," he mused, "I could have ended this in an instant with a single spell… but none of you deserve a quick death." He tilted his head slightly, as if savouring the moment. "You're worse than the bandits."
His voice was frightening calm. Detached.
"Now…" He raised a hand. "What spell should I use to end your life?"
Cevic's body refused to move, but his mind raced. 'Think. Think. Think!'
'None of this made sense.'
'Teleportation magic. Cancel magic. Forbidden magic. Healing magic. Lightning. Earth…'
'Adventurers weren't supposed to wield this many abilities. A mage could only master the magic most compatible with them, and at best, learn two or three additional types. But this guy—this thing—changed magic as easily as a chameleon changed its colour.'
'And then there was that phrase.'
Plot armour.
'What the fuck is a plot armour? Was that some kind of ability? Some unknown magic?'
Then it hit him.
A possibility. A chance.
Maxwell stepped closer. The distance between them shrank.
Cevic's breath came in short, ragged bursts. His hands trembled. But not from fear. From intent.
"Please…" he croaked.
Maxwell paused, watching him.
"That's enough," Cevic pleaded, his voice cracking. "You win. Please, as the hero you are… spare my life." He lowered his head in mock submission. "You don't understand what it's like to have a party made up of mages. It was only a matter of time before we got wiped out on a real quest. We were rash. We only wanted to survive."
Silence.
Then—
SHHFFFFT!
Maxwell vanished.
A breath later, he was behind Cevic.
"Shut the fuck up."
The words dripped with venom, his voice thick with rage.
"You think that's an excuse?" Maxwell's hand clenched into a fist. "For five years, I was stuck at Level 1. I read every grimoire. I studied every forbidden magic. Every school of magic—fire, water, air, earth, light, shadow—trying to find what I was most compatible with. Trying to create one spell of my own."
His breathing was ragged now, anger spilling over.
"And after all that?" Maxwell let out a bitter laugh. "Nothing. I couldn't do anything. The only spell I could conjure was a pathetic little fireball—and even that required a staff." His fingers twitched as if remembering the failure.
"Until I received plot armour."
His glasses caught the moonlight.
"Now, I can put all my limitless knowledge and skills into good use."
Cevic's heart pounded. He was sure now.
This thing in front of him wasn't a mage. Wasn't human.
But that didn't mean he was invincible.
A slow, wicked grin spread across Cevic's lips.
"That's a sad story," he said, his voice almost pitying. "But tell me…" His fingers twitched.
"Did you remember to place Cancel Magic on yourself?"
Snap.
The sound echoed like a gunshot.
Maxwell's eyes widened.
A glowing magical sigil appeared on his shoulder—then ignited.
Flames erupted, engulfing his entire body in an instant.
His screams tore through the night, reverberating through the forest.
And Cevic just watched.