With a furious flash of purple and black sparks, an elegant black chain with an occasional deep royal purple chain link rushed out from the first patted rock snake before moving onto the next. Although they were thick, heavily dense in weight and massive in comparison to the small kid, they weren’t merely capable of rushing in. Noel remained stationary, yet his chain flickered with eerie delight at the prospect of locating brand new prey. In retaliation, the heartless, soulless snake being targeted lashed its boulder of a tail against the ground before taking off for the skies. The chain soon followed closely. It was slowly gaining ground, before the snake made an abnormal turn in the sky! With its heavy body, one just would not expect it to be capable of such sharp and uniquely angular re-directions. Yet, here it was, in front of Noel, moving from 90 degree angular turns to 45 degree ones and even taking an occasional 15 degree turn.

Noel watched almost possessively at the spectacle. It reminded the engrossed youth about a simple ‘game’ he watched Seiran play on the same ‘box’ device Oliviera introduced to him – a cellphone, after a overseeing Noel perfectly finish a mission… though he wasn’t allowed to touch it.

That game was called ‘two playered snake’ and there would be two modes on it – a training mode that is single player, and then ‘Battle mode’ which allows people to compete against one another online under different rules. There was word between the ‘Sei’s’ that a battle royal for multi - players up towards 3 – 8 players was planning to be implemented, and following that, a ‘tournament mode’ with prizes was coming to the game.

His conscious attention shifted away from his thoughts, and back to what lay ahead of his view.

That sight – of his single, black and purple chain charging at the massive snake puppet with greater speed and sharper turning power, reminded Noel of the ‘battle mode’ he once saw from the game.

for a moment it almost made him too happy to concentrate.

Yes. For a moment.

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

Noel vanished completely in a dust cloud of scattered dirt and debris, as one other snake crushed through the ground with its jaws open wide, sprouting like a solid, pillar being ejected from the earth below Noel’s original position.

Following that, the snakes, seemingly capable of tracking his movements, sprouted from positions around the scarce – yet – gigantic trees decorating these vast plains or burrows that have been meticulously connected to a hole they each used to enter through the floor, and akin to a mine being stepped on, became an extremely deadly trap for passersby to come across. This ambush paired especially well with their massive bulk that spanned 10 meters, since they could just use the wide range each of them covered to easily ‘swallow’ the kid hole before grinding him against the rock – made inner flesh of any puppet he was unfortunate enough to enter.

Naturally however, they would need to actually ‘catch’ him before imposing such a gruesome death. As he flitted across the battlefield below, his chain of destruction finally reached out at grasped the tail of its target. The puppet snake high in the air began to dissolve.

Following this however, the chain didn’t actually dissapear along with it. Instead, it turned and shot forth like a descending arrow – immediately tracking its next target!

This energy technique targeted any and all that matched the first target Noel ‘destroyed’ by using it. So long as his destruction energy came in contact with it in the short term, he could destroy anything similar or related to it through systematic and automatic fashion. Thus, his ‘destruction chain’ extended itself immediately to target the other remaining snakes busying themselves with trying to swallow their ant-like target.

Two actions changed the course of battle in an instant.

1 of them was a brilliant white light which encapsulated the snake next to be targeted.

And the other action was the fragment being stirred awake.

Mysterious Fragment: “...(This person… a proper immortal … no, an obviously superior mortal, or can they even be called as such anymore? Regardless, this ‘individual’ in front of us, he can actually utilize greater than 7% even with the mortal restriction placed on his being. Interesting… should I lift the kid’s limitations of ‘5%’ too?

...No - no. In the end, this chump is only a small fry. I can’t raise my participant wrongly. It’s pointless to focus on such a short-sighted victory. Instead, I will just stop suppressing his destructive prowess – I should have done so after the teacher came by and scared off the mercenary, it seems I had a momentary lapse...an ‘error’ in judgment.

I definitely wasn’t sleeping. Hmph. I just assumed he wouldn’t need anything greater in this sort of place.

… … Besides – heheh, even if this altered Aelf has strength a few tires higher and the quality of his energy is greater than the boy’s own, his ‘destruction’ won’t be beaten so easily. Especially when the kid pulls his directly from the ‘essence’ of all chaos and destruction itself, while this guy merely attains a sub - variant of chaos from the lower realms. Our energy quality may be weaker, but in terms of our ability to destroy…

Noel, you’re unrivaled in this place.

...But if you lose, then I’m gonna take your powers away. Hmph, useless people don’t deserve my help!)”

Hermer: “Ha! Ha – Ha! Barrier magic, Creation of the Maze! This particular spell will siphon your attack magic’s energy and guide it through various turns and twists, while using it as fuel to sustain itself! Now, every time you attack me with that strange energy, just remember that you’re merely adding strength to my puppets’ defenses! Take to the earth once more, while the others surround him!”

*Crash!*

*Boom!*

Noel: “Hahah! You were saying?”

Unfortunately for Hermer Walsh, this attack ‘energy’ was far superior to ordinary levels of magic. due to this miscalculation alone, the dark chain burst through the designed maze-like force - field and directly struck through another 10 meter tall snake!

The chain never stopped its progress and chose another puppet as its newly discovered prey. While it neared, the remaining 11 snakes suddenly trembled, before darkening and spewing a strange pitch – black fog from each of their mouths.

Hermer: “...Hmph! Do I look so weak to you? Your Chaos magic may be fierce, however there is more to winning a battle, than the mere capability to destroy.

Observe!”

{…}

?: “Argh…! Enough! Come back! There’s been a …change in plans. We’re leaving!”

Hermer Walsh: “Yes, sir.

…

Boy. I have to go. But don’t think you’ve won this. We’ll meet again.”

Noel: “*Smug face* What, you’re scared of me now? So suddenly? Hahaha! Too bad, because I’m not letting you leave without finding out why you attacked me so fiercely! Any normal student would probably been killed, you know?”

Hermer Walsh: “...Scared…? Of you?! Pu-Hah...Hahahahaha!!! Kid, as a token of appreciation for making me laugh, I’ll leave behind a ‘playmate’ so that you won’t get bored. *Body fades* farewell, human. Expect many more encounters in the near future!”

*Rumble*

…

*Crack – Cra-Boom!*

Noel tried waving his hand through the smoke with his destruction energy, but it merely phased through as if the gas wasn’t even there to begin with. Soon, ever that disappeared. There was zero resistance, and he didn’t feel different whatsoever. Not tired, or numb or even in pain.

And anyway, Noel didn’t exactly have the time to figure the point of that smoke out. After the talking figure with a blurry face vanished, in his place… now stood a giant stone gargoyle that overshadowed both Noel and the makeshift battlefield!

20 meters! This thing was massive!

But Noel didn’t show even the slightest hint of fear. He instead, was more focused on a separate matter that attracted his youthful curiosity.

{……...Why is everything this guy summons made of stone?}

-

But going back a certain short distance, prior to the two’s abrupt encounter…

A certain hooded man, with equally blurry features… decided to get serious. Knowing that the book was stalling for time, and considering a student already discovered this location, others were bound to follow suit. Even if the boy is killed, should they gather too much attention…

...they both run the risk of having the wrong ‘eyes’ turn its ever casting gaze in their direction. That is NOT what they need right now.

His seemingly malnourished hand revealed a symbol that almost burned the back of his palm with every spell cast. The entire hand glowed with an egg-white energy, tainted sharply by a touch of grey.

And finally, right after that ‘grey’ blotch showed up, the book shivered.

The man’s appendage stretched closer for it, planning to seriously snatch it away by force even if it means damaging the book in the process. Time was incredibly valuable, after all!

...But then, just as the book threatened to release its strongest security measurement thus far in a vain attempt at blocking that greyish-white hand, that criminal’s hand…

A certain smooth set of fingers gripped this mysterious man’s wrist as tight as a vice – and as soon as this action completed, that man’s energy dissipated back to the small void from whence it came.

?: “...And you are…?”

Mor “...You don’t deserve to know. Mar! Did you make a call?”

Mar: “Haaah~ Yes, brother. I already did. There goes our vacation… *grumbles*”

?: “...Haha...hahahaha! So… a couple of fledgling Scribes from THAT damnable and oppressive...haha! You have the gall to interrupt me?

Are you two asking for death?”

---