n

n

nIn the future, killing the monsters would become one of the cardinal sins against morality.

nDuring the age of the explosive growth of civilisation all over the planet, all the natural habitats of the monsters got destroyed. In the face of the carpet bombing of the high-tier magic from the aerial units, not even a single being that could pose a threat to humans remained.

nBut that was only the official reason behind this genocide. In truth, after the ancient disaster that shattered all the magic stones that were ever excavated, the new civilisation was starving for a cheap way of storing and amassing energy. Outside of the several items created by the quickly dying old civilisations before they were completely gone, every single monster in the world was a source for this highly sought-for item.

nThat was the true nature of this crusade declared by the entire humanity against the monsters. It wasn't aimed at securing the already safe lands of the great cities and nations. It was all about harvesting the energy that those monsters had in abundance.

n'Yet, if my guess is right…' Taking a quick glance behind, Layn noticed the look of extreme shock on the faces of his new acquaintances. Turning his head back towards the fiery beast, the archmage could barely keep his hands from shaking. His eyes, filled with intense greed.

n'As long as I get to absorb it…' What could appear as a dire threat and a danger for those possible ancient guys, Layn could only see as a pile of free energy that he could freely consume. And it was exactly what he needed to not only recover his strength but also fix this flawed body of his.

n'Stop!

"

nA sudden shout from behind did little to slow down Layn's advance. Without a shred of fear or even anxiety, he approached the beast.

nEven though it was clearly not the behaviour that the monster was used to, it quickly took on the offensive. Lowering on its legs, it tensed its muscles only to rapidly jump forward!

n'Right into my arms…' Smiling internally, Layn opened himself for the influx of the direly needed mana. But just as the beast was about to let him consume it, a sudden pull forced the archmage out of his stable position.

n'What?' There was no way for what just did happen, to happen. Those people were completely empty in terms of magic potential. Even with just a tiny fraction of his power and abilities available for Layn to use, he could clearly see that.

nBut the speed at which one of the possible ancient moved was simply inconceivable.

n

"GARE!

" Screaming from the bottom of her lungs, Irea pulled at Layn's arm. From right behind her, the leader of the girl's group lashed with his spear at the firedog.

n

"Excuse me…?

" Uttering those words and raising his eyebrows as far as mother nature allowed, Layn observed the moves of those people. Out of all the things, now he was perfectly certain that they had nothing to do with the civilisation he knew.

nThere was no way for them to be anyone but the ancients.

nMoving in quick strides, the leader of the group closed the distance in just a heartbeat. Sliding on his gently bent legs towards the monster, he stapped upwards. Using the momentum of his sudden approach, the tip of his spear cut through the air with a deadly whistle.

nA slight, sonic boom shredded the air.

nThose people had to be the ancients. Because no one in the modern civilisation would be as reckless and stupid to lash at the magic beast with physical attacks.

nQuickly following their leader, the rest of the group quickly joined the fray, showering the firedog with an impressive avalanche of attacks.

n

"Satte!

" Ordering with a desperate voice, Irea's eyes flashed with the shadows of terror. But before Layn could even react, she followed into the battle. Despite the terrific shaking of her body, her tearing-up eyes, she jumped towards her colleagues.

n

"The hell?!

" Finally managing to shake the shock of what just happened to himself, Layn instantly sprung back towards the battle. In this newly formed body of his, something that would cause him a huge pain in the back was now an easy feat.

nBut without any energy left, he couldn't reach the battlegrounds as quickly as the rest of the group.

nSo he was forced to watch the dramatic hell unfold right in front of his eyes.

nAfter the initial moment of confusion, the firedog finally retaliated. In an instant, a blast wave exploded around him, shaking the nearest opponents out of it. With the flames the following suit, three of the ancients couldn't escape having their limbs scorched.

nAnd that was enough for Layn to feel the familiar rush of adrenaline in his veins. Something that he still had in himself, ever since the days of participating in the legendary quest to take down the demon lord.

nStepping up his speed a bit, Layn finally reached the frontlines. With the wounded already pulled to the back, the group was in a clear retreat. At this point, even when both the leader and the Irea girl noticed Layn's stubborn return, they couldn't do anything about it. They already tried to save him, after he recklessly walked right into the jaws of this beast.

n

"Usa.

" With just a single word on his lips, Layn walked directly into the body of the monster. Going as far as to decompose a small part of his being to get the mana for the quick approach, the archmage raised his head and touched the solid core of the monster.

nAnd then it happened.

nIn an instant, his entire body stood in flames. But those were actually nothing but a visible, physical manifestation of the raging storm of energy coursing around the core stone of the monster. But it was also the moment when Layn realised that something was amiss.

nWhat should be an easy task of swallowing all the rich energy of the monster, wasn't as simple as it should be. Or to be honest, it was actually hellishly hard!

nOverwhelmed by the sudden realisation, Layn's body nearly exploded from the magical corrosion of his body. Even though he was desperately trying to absorb this formless energy into his aura, his means were just too small. The archmage was akin to a person standing in the middle of a raging river, trying to stop its flow by drinking it away.

n

"To think I would meet with such a powerful monster and perish in such a way…

" With Layn's trembling lips sending his words through the air, something changed in the ancients. Even though he couldn't really see it, Layn was certain that some hearts beaten out a bit harder, some breaths turned into gasps.

nEven though the group couldn't understand the words, the tone of his words passed the meaning around.

nLayn's lips formed a gentle curve.

"... Or I think not!

"

nHis eyes suddenly lit in a fit of craziness.

n'Now it all makes sense!' Screaming in his mind, the archmage looked at the situation with his crazed state of mind all over his face. His fresh body was burning away from the powerful magical flames of the firedog. All of his muscles were about to dry and wither away. Not even a single shred of skin remained on his entire body, not even a single strand of hair.

nBut at this moment, it mattered not. The tortuous feeling of being skinned and burned alive, both from the outside and from the inside at the same time should put Layn in an extremely bad mood.. But the reminding part of his lips… kept smiling.

n