Seraline and Magnus talked a bit longer, even after he'd wrapped up his main business. They mostly caught up on what had been happening: him filling in on what he'd missed in Arlcliff City since she had returned before him, and her updating him on the changes at Takerth Academy.
"The twins are close to Adept-level? That's good news. Though I'm more surprised you managed to beat them both with just magic," Seraline said, still trying to wrap her head around the idea. It was hard to believe Magnus's magic had jumped yet another level in such a short time. Still, there was no reason for him to lie, and no reason for her to doubt him. At least now she would be able to understand why the twins wouldn't be challenging him anytime soon.
Magnus nodded as he stood up, stretching a little.
"It let me test my limits. I'm still getting used to magic at this level. But, anyway, I should probably get going. I don't want to overstay my welcome, and besides the credits, I just wanted to check on you."
Seraline gave him a nod but raised a question.
"Before you go, want me to take you to see Halen? He's probably still asleep, but I'm sure he's missed you and would like to see you."
Her expression softened as she continued, "Not to mention, since I haven't been able to leave the grounds and he doesn't trust anyone else, he's been stuck inside too. But I'm sure he'd be fine with you."
Magnus paused at her words, thinking for a moment, before shaking his head.
"No… let him sleep. I've got people waiting for me outside, so it wouldn't be the right time. But you can tell him I'll try to visit more often. If that's alright with you." He knew showing up here too often might cause problems. But Seraline didn't seem worried. She just nodded, not giving the idea much thought.
"I'll let the guards know you're allowed on Sostenza Family grounds as a guest from now on."
"Great. I'll see you around then," Magnus replied, giving a brief wave as he turned and headed for the door. The door to Seraline's room clicked behind him as he retraced the same path Mulvin had taken to get them here. He'd already put his mask back on, but now, without Mulvin to guide him, more people gave him curious looks, wondering who he was and what he was doing. Still, he made it outside without trouble, passing through the double doors of the mansion.
As he started down the stairs, he spotted Mulvin leaning against a stone railing, clearly waiting for him, and almost the moment he stepped outside, Mulvin turned to look at him.
"You're leaving?" Mulvin asked, and Magnus nodded in response. He didn't stop, and Mulvin fell into step beside him. The two made their way down the second set of stairs and onto the path that led across the grounds toward the gated entrance.
"Did Seraline's mother ask you to see me out?" Magnus asked as they passed the training fields, where drills were still being carried out.
Mulvin shook his head.
"No. She still doesn't know what to make of you. A lot of people don't. But, technically, I'm one of your professors, so I didn't feel right not offering my help." He made the offer just as they crossed the threshold of the open gate. The two guards stationed there still focused on their duties, only giving respectful nods towards the two.
"Help?" Magnus echoed, unsure of what Mulvin meant.
Mulvin's gaze shifted toward the nearby buildings, his voice lowering.
"Whoever's been watching you hasn't taken their eyes off the mansion. And there are more of them now. I can't tell exactly how many, which is strange, but their intentions are clear enough."
"Is that right?" Magnus muttered. He still couldn't spot anyone, and there was no sound of music, so it didn't seem like they were planning to move just yet.
"So, do you want help dealing with them?" Mulvin asked. The academy, along with its staff and professors, had no obligation to get involved with student matters beyond the grounds.
They were free to act as they wished, of course, but that also kept Takerth Academy neutral, avoiding any political entanglements. In other words, Mulvin's offer was a gesture of goodwill—something he didn't have to extend. Even if part of his reason was Magnus's potential as a future Master-level mage, it was rare for a professor to offer assistance to a student. That privilege usually fell to their disciples.
"I appreciate the offer," Magnus said with a nod, then shook his head.
"But I'll be fine. In fact, it's better that there are more of them." A flash of confusion crossed Mulvin's face upon hearing that, followed by curiosity flickering for a moment, though it didn't last long.
Mulvin didn't push the matter. Instead, he just shrugged.
"Hmm, alright, if you say so. Just try not to cause too much trouble, or the city might get the academy involved."
"Right," Magnus replied, watching as Mulvin turned and walked back toward the Sostenza Family mansion, offering a small wave as he went.
After the long day and everything Magnus had been through, evening was finally settling in. The sun had dipped low, turning the sky from a bright blue to its familiar deep orange, fading darker with every minute. Magnus walked alone down the street, his stride casual, his gaze sweeping around behind his mask with ease.
Hmm, Mulvin did make a good point, though. Where should we handle this? Got any ideas, Basker?
The hound took a moment before answering.
[While you were flying, I spotted a few places. The best one seemed to be a park you flew over—it was quiet, no activity around it. It's part of the Upper City, mostly set up for recreation, and doesn't seem to get many visitors.]
Oh, that sounds perfect.
In seconds, Basker had the park marked on Magnus's mental map, and within the next hour of walking, it was in view.
By then, the sun had fully set, and night had blanketed the world below. Stars lit up the sky, and as Magnus walked down a street lined with shorter buildings, the crescent moon and its two smaller companions were clearly visible, slowly making their way around the larger moon that was beginning to hang overhead.
Under the moon's watchful gaze, Magnus stepped into the park, following the stone path deeper into it. Each step echoed, fading wordlessly into the cool night air, leaving only silence in its wake. The lamps along the path had flickered to life as soon as night fell, casting a soft glow every few steps. The park was large, so much so that the other side was obscured by clusters of trees and flower bushes, all of special species, of course—carefully maintained for aesthetics, even with so few visitors.
It felt as though he was completely alone.
But around him, everything suggested otherwise. There were no people, but there were movements—shadows, strange and unnatural ones. Shadows that didn't follow the expected angles of the light. These shadows slithered through the grass, weaving behind trees, slipping under bushes, all circling Magnus's position, closing in like sharks.
One of those shadows was moving directly on the path Magnus was walking. Its movements were slow, yet smooth—like a snake cloaked in darkness. It crept up behind him, getting closer with each step he took, its thoughts as alive as any creature's.
One strike. I'll aim for his heart and kill him before he can retaliate.
The shadow shifted silently, its form changing from two-dimensional to three-dimensional. The latter half of it began to rise from the ground, twisting like a thick, squirming fog. Slowly, it compressed into the shape of a man's upper body. Everything below his waist remained part of the long shadow, and as he raised one of his arms, his fingers pressed together, his palms flat, his nails elongated into sharp, dagger-like tips. His black eyes and orange eyes narrowed on Magnus's heart.
With a brief pause, he thrust forward, the intent to kill unveiled in that instant.
But before the attack could even extend more than a few centimeters, Magnus's figure seemed to vanish.
What?
The shadowed man froze, confused. His eyes darted around, realizing what had just happened. Magnus hadn't disappeared. He had sidestepped the attack so quickly, it seemed as though he had vanished—an instant, no sound, no sign that he had even detected the strike.
How-
The question never finished. The man suddenly saw the world from an upside-down angle, staring at his own body, yet his head was gone. The decapitated body dropped limply as the lower body of his form tumbled out from the shadows, his arm still outstretched from the failed attack. It had all happened in an instant—before he could even process it, Magnus had pulled off his head with a single, swift motion.
As for Magnus himself, he now stood to the right of where he had been just moments ago. He glanced down at the severed head in his hands, then casually tossed it toward the body.
In the next instant, mana condensed and formed into a long, oval-shaped construct that surrounded the fallen body and the head that had rolled onto it. With a flick of his finger, the construct began to rise, lifting the body into the air until it hovered a meter or two off the ground.
Through his mask, Magnus tilted his head, glancing up at the floating construct and the body inside it.
"Hmm, is your Lady Austra getting lazy? She sent two of you after me already. I thought the next ones would be stronger." The headless body in the construct twitched, then began to move. Thick black fog poured from where his head had been, swirling and shifting until it broke down the body's former head into the same darkness. The fog extended outward, taking shape, and slowly reconstructed his head before it returned into the body, out of sight.
Just like that, he was 'alive' again. He immediately tried to break free from the construct, but the moment his back hit the top and his hands and knees pressed against the bottom, a strong rejecting force hit him. The parts of the construct his body made contact with shimmered, rippling as the force traveled through them. Where his body had pressed, the skin was indented as though all the bone and muscle beneath had been crushed. The man groaned slightly as he collapsed back onto the floating construct.
Magnus watched him for a moment before speaking, "I wouldn't move too much if I were you. That mana construct has a trigger property that activates when it detects a certain level of opposing force. Generative impacts, you could say."
Magnus's head turned as he surveyed the surroundings, his hands extending out as he spoke.
"Now, how about the rest of you stop hiding? I know your lady sent more than one of you after me, and here I am, alone, just like you've been waiting for. You should realize by now that you won't get the jump on me. Might as well try to overwhelm me." For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, slowly, the shadows that had been lurking out of view began to reveal themselves.
Some emerged from behind trees, their bodies hidden by thick leaves, their piercing eyes the only things visible. Others perched atop lamp posts, balanced inhumanly well, staring down at Magnus.
He watched as one after another, figures appeared, surrounding him from all angles—some in the light, others in the shadows. Without a doubt, they were all vampires.
Twenty-three, twenty-four... hmm, looks like there's about thirty of them. That's more than I expected. From what I can tell, aside from the stronger ones like Lady Austra, most of them are around Adept-level in terms of physical strength, if compared to knights. Their other abilities seem to vary, but they're definitely beyond Apprentice Class Magic.
Being able to mobilize thirty vampires like this was no small feat. With just the ones surrounding him right now, they could probably conquer a small city, no problem—if there were no Master-level mages or knights around to stop them.
Magnus rolled his neck, his posture shifting as he stopped pretending to be Cain, even though his mask remained in place.
"There's a lot more of you than I expected," Magnus said, his tone calm, his gaze sweeping over the gathering vampires.
"I suppose that means your master—or whatever you call her—is worried about me. I'm flattered."
Just then, the voice of the vampire he had trapped in the mana construct echoed out.
"Free me," the vampire growled, speaking to the others. His words caused Magnus to glance back at him, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Oh, right. I nearly forgot about you." Raising his hand, Magnus snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the mana construct surrounding the vampire contracted violently. The first contraction caused it to shrink, nearly regressing to half its size, and the force squeezed the vampiric body within. As it did, the generative impacts of the construct were activated. The mana interpreted the squeeze as an opposing force, and immediately, the vampire's body began to break apart.
Bones cracked, muscles tore, skin gave way. Fog-like black mist erupted from the injuries, swirling out in violent bursts. The man's attempts to scream were drowned out, replaced by gargles as the force crushed him further. The construct kept squeezing, shifting from an oval to a tighter, circular shape. The vampire's regeneration couldn't keep up. His body was crushed more rapidly with each passing second. The mana construct, now a sphere the size of a fist, contained his swirling, fog-like true form, collapsed to the point of suffocation, with hardly any room to move.
With a flick of his finger, Magnus pointed upward. The mana construct shot into the sky, rising nearly eight meters before hanging there, suspended like a star against the dark night.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence.
The vampires who had been casually watching him now stood frozen. Their eyes were wide—wider than before. They were immortal, their bodies designed to withstand immense pain with ease. Yet even they had felt the weight of what happened. They had heard it, felt the crushing force of the sphere as it compacted the vampire's form. His body, obliterated. His screams, swallowed.
And in that moment, one thing became clear to them: this boy—this human—knew exactly how their bodies worked. He understood how to destroy them. And that realization brought hesitation. Several of the vampires glanced at one another, while others shifted their stances, bodies tensing, readying themselves.
Magnus turned his head slowly, locking eyes with each of them.
His voice cut through the silence, "There's no need to feel so nervous. Don't worry."
With a casual wave of his hand, he swept it through the air as if brushing something aside. Behind him, more mana constructs began to form—elongated, oval, and half-open, like traps waiting for their next prisoner.
Thirty. Exactly thirty of them.
Lowering his hand, Magnus's cold gaze shifted back to the vampires.
"See? No need to share. There's one for each of you."