Looking at the three people in front of me, I began wondering if the world just wants me to get rid of the idiots it has by sending them to me, because the idiots are discussing how to kill me right in front of me.
"Guys, I think you should let me test my new spell on him first; then you two can do whatever you want to him later," said the guy in a blue magician's outfit.
"He'd be dead by then, and we won't be able to have fun with him," the one in armor argued.
Do they actually believe they can kill me? With how weak they are, I'd be surprised if their hits actually hurt…
I am finding this situation too funny and too bothersome at the same time. I was thinking of trying to extract information from them using torture at first, but I changed my mind… I should just kill them after ripping everything they know out of their heads… Yeah, let's go with that…
"Hmm." As soon as I made my decision, the armored guy looked at me vigilantly and began to retreat slowly.
'Good instincts,' I praised inside my head.
'Unfortunately, it's already too late.'
The golden bow suddenly appeared in his hands, which caught my attention—Let me guess, this is the so-called Sacred Gear… They look interesting.
The other two guys stopped arguing when they noticed their companion's movement and quickly sprang into action too.
Ah, so they have a semblance of experience in team battles, at least…
I still hadn't said anything—for a different reason altogether—I was merely standing by the door of the shack, quietly observing them.
The two magicians in the front started pointing their hands at me, causing magical circles to appear—hmm, the speed of the circle's materialization was slow, and the circles themselves were subpar at best. That means they're no one important, I concluded.
It was clear they had been handed these circles and were only taught the bare minimum needed to cast spells instead of the proper way, which means these guys are just cannon fodder.
The one wearing blue cast a fireball spell, with his friend following up with what looked like some kind of wind blade spell.
Their spells had some great synergy—the way the heat of the fireball and sharpness of the wind blade created the feeling of being against a fiery blade of death. It was a good tactic; I guess it was either rehearsed or used often, judging by the way they behaved when casting their spells—with no need for signals or anything. This would have worked if it was anyone that wasn't me, or if I was much, much weaker.
I, on the other hand, didn't even move; I just stood there and watched how their expressions changed when they saw their spells slowly fizzle out of existence by the second.
Meanwhile, the child part of me was screaming how cool my new ability was.
*Heheh, even I think it's cool. I can't believe I didn't know about this before, though—to be honest, I haven't been a sage for long in my previous world, while here I have been one for fifteen years…
Still, I only just discovered this new ability while meditating. What it does is make a radius of about fifty meters into a domain of sorts; inside this radius, I command nature. Still, when I first discovered this, I felt like it was Gaia's doing—you know, like how a mother gives a child something to play with while they are busy… I don't know; that's just how I felt.
Anyway, returning back to the present, what I did to their spell was rather simple: I just temporarily denied the existence of fire and wind inside my domain, making their spell fizzle out because it consumed all the mana it had trying to cross my domain.
I did this purely for fun, just to mess with their heads a little and see some funny reactions—and let me tell you, it was funny—the way their eyes and mouths shot wide open, their posture went stiff, and the way they stopped breathing for a few seconds.
It's fun to see how humans suddenly stop functioning for a few seconds when they see or hear something they're not prepared for.
The archer, who was aiming his bow at me from the back, was the first to break out of his shocked state, firing four consecutive shots of pure light energy at me.
His light shots—which, in my opinion, should have been arrows—gave off more heat than the fire-blades spell.
Ooh, what interesting artifacts these Sacred Gears are—I'll make sure to research them later; perhaps I'll find some that are useful to me…
I slowly raised my hand and made the light shots stop right in front of me—or that's what it looked like from an outside perspective, at least. What I did, though, was use my domain to make the air act like an elastic barrier that bleeds and absorbs the momentum of these shots so that by the time they reach me, they look like they stopped—and so, with a dismissive gesture of my hand, I sent his shots back to him with slightly more speed.
I must have looked so cool just now.
The archer, to his credit, was quick to react and dodged one of the shots by a hair's width, but the other three still hit him square in the chest, abdomen, and face, killing him instantly.
Oh, I might have overestimated him—not really—he died too quickly.
Looking at the other two guys, who were now slowly retreating back, I leaped down just so that my domain would still include them and snapped my fingers, causing the teleportation circles that had begun appearing beneath their feet to fizzle out.
I waved my left hand, animating their own cloaks to restrain them.
I snapped my fingers one last time, making some leaves levitate from the ground, collide together, and transfigure into ropes that started tying them up together just for good measure.
I didn't want to complicate this more than I needed. They were so outclassed that I wouldn't call this a fight even if I was blind—that's just the simple truth. Had they been at least half as strong as me, this tomfoolery might have been less boring.
Really, it's like a fight between a baby monkey and a silverback gorilla—you can't call it a fight because the monkey just doesn't know how fucked it is until it dies.
I dusted my hands just for the cool effect, and then looked towards the one who had been spying on us since the beginning.
There was a reason I hadn't spoken yet—I didn't want to say anything in case I started bragging about something I didn't want anyone else to hear.
I didn't want to kill someone simply because they overheard something they shouldn't have—I refuse to turn into some kind of trashy anime villain, you know.
"Now then, would you like to come out yourself, or should I help?" I asked, looking toward where our peeping tom was hiding.
There was no answer for a few seconds, but then, with the sound of a few leaves rustling, a girl appeared.
'Oh, she's cute~'
Huh, where did that come from? I shook my head slightly as if to throw away the intrusive thoughts.
"Oh… a devil?" I said out loud, my voice thick with curiosity. I came to this conclusion because, for one, she didn't feel human, and also, I have Mage Sight—enough said after that.
Looking at the girl who had just appeared with my Mage Sight was a great idea because I found out some information I needed without the need to ask questions—like the fact that her magical energy was about two-thirds of mine, and her body is being constantly infused with small amounts of magic, which means she is a lot stronger physically than a normal human, etc.
Even though she didn't give off the unpleasant feeling I had imagined devils would have, she didn't exude a pleasant one either.
To me, it felt like her existence was tolerated by nature but not exactly necessary for the survival of the world—which is weird on its own.
Her magic, on the other hand, consisted of a somewhat impure?—No, not impure, more like tainted—magical energy, which leans heavily on desire and imagination aspects and gave off an allure that I could almost taste.
Said allure gave the impression that as long as you had enough desire, energy, and imagination, you could do whatever you wanted—this was not a good thing—this kind of constant feedback is not good for mental health.
I didn't have time to ponder more on the issue as the girl began speaking as soon as she was a few meters away from me.
"My name is Kuisha Abaddon, a servant devil of the noble clan of Bael, and queen of their heir…" she said with a smooth voice—as if that means anything to me. I don't know anything substantial about devils, but to be fair, it's not like she knows that either.
Still, she was quite pretty—blonde hair in a ponytail and professional attire that highlighted her great figure.
"Good to know. Now, may I know what it is that you want to achieve by sneaking around?" I asked.
I didn't introduce myself because I wanted to see if she would be offended by that—she was.
"It's rude not to introduce yourself, you know," she said, not answering my question.
"It's also rude to spy on people and to refuse to answer questions when asked, but you don't see me complain," I replied with a wry smile on my face.
"I wasn't spying on you! I was just nearby when I sensed mass teleportation being used in our territory and wanted to know who was using it," she retorted, somehow maintaining a professional tone.
"And you decided to linger there since the beginning and watch because it was comfortable?" I scoffed at her attempt to deny what she did.
"You still haven't introduced yourself," she stubbornly stated.
*I won't get along well with this girl, will I?*
"Why would I introduce myself to a stalker? What if you're some kind of a creep? What if you start investigating my background just to stalk me more? I watch TV, you know; I know how this goes?" At this point, I was just messing with her.
"I am not a stalker. You are a magician in a devil territory; you should be the one introducing yourself, and I should be the one asking questions here!" she finally snapped out of her professional façade and said with an angry voice.
I guess I was successful in getting under her skin.
*That's 1-0 in my favor.*
"Devil territory? Are you touched in the head or something? Don't you people have an entire underworld to rule over? Since when did you start lording over Gaia's domain?" I asked seriously, my voice carrying an unmistakable edge that suggested if I didn't like her answer, we would have a problem.
"Gaia's domain? What are you, Gaia's spokesperson?…" She stopped talking when she saw that all her sarcastic comeback earned her was a look that said, *'One more word and I will kill you.'*
'Did I leak killing intent?' I thought when I saw her flinch a little.
One of the magicians who had been tied up since the beginning took advantage of the moment of silence and began speaking.
"You don't like it, do you? Having a filthy devil on our land, controlling territory and lording over humans. Untie us, and let's kill the devil bitch. Then you can come and join us in the Hero Faction. We will soon be ready to purge our beautiful world from them and their filthy clutches." His voice was filled with so much conviction that I actually looked back.
Ok, I didn't expect the speech or the invitation, but damn if he wasn't one passionate and crazy motherf*cker…
"Yeah, yeah. You should join us. You're strong; I'm sure with your abilities, the leaders will allow you to have one of the top positions," the other one chimed in, enthusiastically supporting his friend, eyes full of hope that I couldn't help but squash.
I stared at them for a second longer before sending two very fast stunning spells their way, knocking them out—still, they look like they had some useful information.
——————
Looking at the girl in front of me with a frown, I didn't say anything but simply gave her a look of silent judgment.
Even though I consider myself someone who doesn't judge people based on appearance, race, color, or habits—I am also smart enough to know that there's no smoke without fire.
If there's a whole faction dedicated to eradicating devils, then there must be a reason—no matter how fanatical, stupid, or downright ignorant its members might be.
I mean, if there are none of those traits in any faction, how do they function? There must be some people to do the grunt work, make sacrifices, and essentially be disposable—if everyone in a faction is smart, that faction will either be the most dominant or the quickest to collapse—no third option.
"Well, looks like I have things to do and information to gather, so I won't be able to continue our entertaining conversation," I said with a straight face before turning around and starting to drag the two unconscious magicians with me.
"Hey, you can't take them! I have to deliver them to my king for interrogation," Kuisha said, her voice adamant, and I was starting to get annoyed by her.
"I'm starting to lose my patience here, girl, so let me put this in the nicest way possible: leave now before I finally lose my temper and kill you where you stand." I said, releasing my magic—mixing it with my natural energy and killing intent—making the atmosphere inside my domain turn gloomy and dark. The trees began to shake, the grass grew rapidly, the earth trembled, and cracks started to form.
I had to stop quickly, though, as my shack too began to crumble under the pressure.
I waved my hand—again just for the cool effects—and let my domain restore the surroundings before heading back to the shack with the two unconscious men in tow.
I didn't pay any more attention to the devil because I already noticed a teleportation circle forming underneath her—she was leaving.
Now, if anyone was wondering why I reacted that way, it was simply because I was annoyed with her.
Something I quickly discovered during our conversation was that, no matter how irritated she became, she still projected a sense of superiority that rubbed me the wrong way.
I don't know if it was a trait all devils possessed, but if I had to guess, I would say yes. It wasn't really their fault either; their magic seemed to be engineered this way—still, I didn't like that—because this means working with them became much harder.
Sure, I found the situation amusing at first, but that amusement quickly faded.
We were not going to find common ground in that setting, and I wanted to learn more about the societal structure of the supernatural world before having to talk with her or her 'king.' And who better to extract information from than the two delusional magicians? The best part about these kinds of people is that they often know much more than they realize or comprehend.
So, I began my work and, with a quick *Legilimency* spell, used my Grimoire to filter out but still save all unnecessary information, leaving only the important details.
Well, as it turned out, the Hero Faction was just a group of fanatics led by other fanatics wielding powerful Sacred Gears.
Still, this faction operated within the chaotic, ragtag organization known as the Khaos Brigade—yeah, the same organization our dear Lucas mentioned earlier—which these guys believe shares almost the same motives and goals with them—aside from helping their boss fight her enemy.
Hehehe, the part about sharing the same motive made me laugh. I have no doubt that the higher-ups of this organization know they're working for self and mutual benefit, but these cannon fodders don't need to know that, I guess.
I also suspect they were all being manipulated by a big bad boss behind the scenes because that's usually how this kind of thing goes—even the Dragon God, who they believed to be the leader of this organization.
What led me to this speculation was what they knew about her: aloof, uninterested, naive, yet stupidly powerful. This was a classic anime plot, which makes me think there's a high chance of a boss preparing something big—either to kill her or usurp her power—because that's usually how stories featuring behind-the-scenes villains unfold.
Still, this is all speculation, and I don't have enough information yet.
I'm glad my younger self was a geek; the stories he read provided me some insights. Ahh, who am I kidding? They didn't really give me insights; they only instilled in me a sense of urgency to become strong enough that whatever this organization is planning wouldn't affect me—and I'm quite sure it will.
Oh, I almost forgot about this enemy of their boss, the other Dragon God that lives in what they called the Dimensional Gap—the strongest being in the world—they call him the "Great Red," the Dragon God of Dreams.
I haven't met him, but I'm sure it's going to be enlightening when I do.
After I finished extracting the information I believed would be helpful from them, I tossed them aside. At first, I was going to kill them, but then I thought they could be useful for the deal I was planning with the devils—I was certain they would arrive shortly, allowing me to get what I needed for the next step.
This gives me time to go through the rest of the information I got from these idiots.
Would you look at that, I was right, I thought as I sensed two people approaching the wards' boundary—I imagined there would be more people.
One was the girl devil, Kuisha, so not important… It was the other one who instantly grabbed my attention.
I could tell he was a devil, yet his magical capacity was so low that it seemed only sufficient for sustaining his nature.
That wasn't what intrigued me about him, though; it was his life energy, or more correctly, his ability to manipulate his life energy—I didn't know that was possible for anyone who isn't a sage—this goes to show just how little I know about this world.
I don't know if this is a common, rare, or unique thing in this world yet, but it's definitely new to me, and that interests me.
So, I quickly stood up and went towards the door. I opened it quickly—I wanted to see who this devil was.
What came into view was a tall young man with dark hair and violet-colored eyes and a very muscular body, evident from his tight sports/training outfit.
Do they not have baggy outfits here?
As I examined him, he too was examining me. I noticed a look of recognition in his eyes, as if he had just discovered something that clarified his doubts.
"Hello there, young sage. I am Sairaorg Bael, the heir of the noble clan of Bael. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said somewhat loudly in a spirited voice, extending his hand for a handshake.
I wasn't surprised that he figured it out, though—it was one of the advantages of using life-energy sensing.
"Harry Potter, nice to meet you," I replied in a bored tone, without extending my hand, wanting to see if that would elicit a reaction from him—it didn't—he just kept his hand extended until I shook it.
Although it did seem to bother Kuisha quite a lot.
"Heh, I think we're going to get along just fine," I finally said, giving him a firm handshake, my voice tinged with genuine amusement.
"I think so too. I didn't know that the sage everyone in the supernatural world has been looking for—for years now—was a kid living here in my territory," he replied, slipping in new information that shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did.
I knew Gaia had hidden my location and veiled my existence from prying eyes; I just somehow didn't think it was important enough, which should tell you just how foolish I'd been.
Still, the sudden information didn't make me appreciate him calling me a kid while not looking that much older. Sure, he was taller, but he didn't look older than me by much.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, everything touched by nature and natural energy is Gaia's domain. I care not for the nonsense of territory you all seem to love talking about because, frankly, if we are being technical, Earth belongs to me now…" I told him with a straight face. I continued, "But let's not talk about this. I'm more surprised there's a devil like you than you are about my existence at the moment—and believe me, I mean this in the nicest way possible: there's something seriously wrong with you."
My words made Kuisha's frown deepen and her irritation reach a new level, while it made Sairaorg laugh hard—I don't know what he found funny about this situation.
"I don't know what you find amusing about your predicament, but now that I've observed you more closely, I can say with almost 100% certainty that your birth was not meant to be.
Your lack of magical capacity as a magical creature should have been your first clue.
But I can also see why you wouldn't care about that now—you've found a new path to power for yourself—your body is freakishly strong, after all." My serious tone was all he needed. Even though this was only the second time I'd met a devil, I could still tell they were magical in nature.
Oh, don't get me wrong; I don't have a clue about how they came to be or how they were created—but judging by the way nature views their existence, I can simply deduce that they were created in a way that heavily involved magic, thus making their very existence that of a new kind of magical creature confirmed in my eyes—this also pretty much explains to me why nature labeled them unnecessary.
————-
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