At this moment, all the villagers of Carne Village had gathered inside a simple, large building, taking refuge.
Gazef stood at the entrance, surrounded by his warrior subordinates, who positioned themselves defensively around the building—their silent stance made it clear to any would-be intruders that this was protected ground, and they wouldn't let anyone take a step closer.
Clutching his sword, Gazef gazed out at the plains, where a great battle was about to begin.
"Warrior Captain..."
One of his subordinates murmured, breaking the tense silence as the battle loomed.
"Is this plan really okay?"
Gazef knew exactly why his subordinate was inquiring.
"Letting him take on the Sunlight Scripture of the Slane Theocracy all by himself... It doesn't sit right, does it?"
Gazef's subordinate continued, his voice expressing his unease.
"Yeah, I get what you're saying, Warrior Captain, but... can he really defeat the entire Sunlight Scripture on his own?"
It was only natural for his subordinate to worry.
As one of the six elite units of the Slane Theocracy, the Sunlight Scripture was typically tasked with wiping out the dwellings of demi-humans and was known to have already eliminated countless powerful non-human creatures, surviving numerous life-and-death struggles.
Moreover, the number of demi-humans they had wiped out was staggering—from small goblins to towering lizardmen, minotaurs, centaurs, and even giants—all had fallen to their might, slaughtered without mercy.
Against such a formidable group, even he, with all his warrior troops, didn't believe they had a chance of winning. Yet, Riezel instructed them to stay in Carne Village and protect the villagers while he went alone to face that formidable group.
It seemed reckless, no matter how he looked at it.
Regardless, he trusted that Riezel could definitely handle them.
"A powerful magic caster who could easily beat me without even using magic—if anyone has a shot, even against the strongest dragon race, it'd be him." Gazef said in a low, steady tone. "All we need to do now is to protect the villagers and wait here for Sir Brynhart to return victorious."
Upon hearing this, all his subordinates nodded in unison, tightened their grips on their weapons, and heightened their guard.
Seeing his subordinates finally calm down, Gazef looked out at the plains once more.
"It's all in your hands, Sir Brynhart..."
Gazef's quiet murmur drifted on the wind, carried toward the other side of the plains.
===
"On guard!"
As soon as a stranger's voice echoed from midair, Nigun reacted instantly, shouting a warning to all of his subordinates.
"?!"
All the members of the Sunlight Scripture raised their hands, ready to cast magic at a moment's notice, entering a defensive stance and looking up in the direction of the voice in unison.
A second later, each of them saw the owner of the voice.
A figure slowly descended from midair, bathed in the light of the sunset and the gentle evening breeze.
"Who are you, boy?" Nigun asked coldly.
Unfortunately for him, the figure, who was none other than Riezel, ignored his question.
"We have no grudges between us, so I'm giving all of you a chance."
Hovering in the air, Riezel looked down at all the members of the Sunlight Scripture from above, speaking in a calm, straightforward tone.
"Leave now, and I'll let all of you live."
As soon as these words were spoken, a chill swept through every member of the Sunlight Scripture, and their expressions instantly turned cold.
"Hah!" Nigun scoffed and sneered. "What a big talk for a kid! Guess you haven't seen much of the world, have you?"
Although Nigun didn't know who Riezel was, he immediately formed an impression based on Riezel's appearance and the way he hovered in the air.
In Nigun's eyes, Riezel was merely a rookie, a cocky young prodigy unaware of his own limits.
Although the fact that Riezel could fly suggested he was capable of using 3rd-Tier Magic, Fly, which was a considerable feat, he still looked young, barely even twenty, where, in the Slane Theocracy, he wouldn't even be considered an adult yet.
In the Slane Theocracy, a human wasn't considered an adult until twenty, so if their opponent wasn't even twenty, no one from the theocracy would take them seriously.
A youngster who hadn't even come of age but could already use 3rd-Tier Magic—if that wasn't a prodigy, then what was?
Unfortunately, this prodigy clearly hadn't seen much of the world. He had probably been focused on his magic education all his life and had just recently qualified to go out on his own.
Many prodigies were like this—thinking that just because they could wield high-tier magic at a young age, they were superior and didn't need to respect anyone.
It was arrogance.
It was a sin.
It was a character flaw that humans, as humans, should seek to avoid.
With this belief, Nigun decided to teach this so-called prodigy a lesson.
"Force him down!"
Nigun ordered his subordinates, making every member of the Sunlight Scripture, already in position, begin casting their magic together.
"Confusion."
"Bind."
"Poison."
"Fear."
"Curse."
"Blindness."
One by one, negative-status magic spells were cast by the members of the Sunlight Scripture, with waves of magical light landing on Riezel's body.
However—
"I see... so you've chosen a dead-end path, then?"
Riezel looked down at the Sunlight Scripture below, as if unaffected by anything at all.
"In that case, don't blame me."
Such calm, slightly cold words made the members of the Sunlight Scripture freeze for a moment.
'Doesn't work...?'
Seeing Riezel fine and unaffected by his subordinate's magic, Nigun frowned but then suddenly noticed the green-jeweled pendant hanging from Riezel's neck and the dragon-claw-shaped ring on his finger.
Nigun narrowed his eyes, realizing those two were clearly high-class magic items—definitely valuable.
'Do those two magic items have effects that resist magic?'
Nigun thought he had figured out the reason.
It seemed that this unknown prodigy wasn't just talented but also had a significant background and wealth, enough to outfit himself with such powerful magic items.
'In that case, let the angels attack him.'
Nigun decided and ordered his subordinates in a cold tone.
"All units! Let the angels attack!"
At his command, every member of the Sunlight Scripture immediately sent their Archangel Flame to attack Riezel.
*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*
In an instant, a large number of angels, each wielding a sword of flame and shining wings, launched themselves at Riezel, who hovered in the air.
As the angels flew toward him from all directions, the scene took on an indescribable sense of holiness, while Riezel looked almost like a martyr, facing the oncoming fiery swords of dozens of angels with no way to evade them.
In this situation, Riezel calmly lifted his head and cast magic.
"Shockwave."
In the next second, an invisible shockwave exploded outward from Riezel's body.
*WHOOSH—!*
With a thunderous sound, the distorted, invisible shockwave crashed into the group of Archangel Flame, sending them flying in all directions.
""What?!""
Nigun and the others gasped in shock.
Riezel, without even glancing at the blasted-away angels, kept his eyes on the Sunlight Scripture.
"Let's not waste time and finish this all in one go."
*Clap!*
Following these words, Riezel clapped his hands together, creating an ethereal sound that echoed across the plains.
Soon, a sight that no member of the Sunlight Scripture would ever forget unfolded.
*Crackle—!*
Countless blinding bluish-white lightning bolts burst from between Riezel's clasped hands, illuminating the sky as it gradually became shrouded in night.
Riezel, bathed entirely in crackling lightning, slowly parted his hands, revealing a dragon-shaped lightning between his palms that roared and surged, its fierce thunder echoing through the air.
"..."
Nigun stood frozen, and the other members of the Sunlight Scripture were equally frozen.
They watched in disbelief as the terrifying, violent lightning formed between Riezel's hands, causing their hearts to scream in alarm.
'Wh-What is that?'
'Oh... God...'
'How is… How is that even possible?!'
All of these words stayed trapped in their minds, their voices unable to break free.
Since joining the Sunlight Scripture required one to be able to use 3rd-Tier Magic, anyone accepted into it was essentially a high-tier magic caster. It was precisely because they were high-tier magic casters that they could grasp just how outrageous and impossible the scene before them was.
What the youngster did at that moment was a miracle, something that shouldn't exist in this world!
"7th-Tier Magic…"
Riezel's voice spread slowly, like an echo.
"Chain Dragon Lightning."
*Bzzzzz—!!!*
A lightning attribute magic, even higher than 5th-Tier Magic, Dragon Lightning, was released directly from Riezel's hands.
In the next moment, like a great dragon roaring, the bluish-white lightning streaked swiftly toward the ground where the members of the Sunlight Scripture stood.
*BOOOM!*
Amidst the deafening roar of thunder, the massive dragon-shaped lightning slashed across the ground as if it were alive.
It scorched the earth and slithered along, a thunderous dragon that danced and coiled, engulfing each and every member of the Sunlight Scripture without mercy.
""AAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!""
Several piercing screams quickly filled the air simultaneously.
Anyone struck by Chain Dragon Lightning was ensnared as if by a living, blazing dragon of lightning, scorched, and completely incinerated.
At this moment, the terrifying lightning lit up the approaching moonlit night, while the sound of thunder reverberated far and wide, lasting for a long time.
===
"Hmm?"
Gazef, who had stayed in Carne Village, heard a super-loud clap of thunder and instinctively looked up.
Soon, he noticed a series of lightning bolts flashing continuously at the far end of the plains, as if a god of thunder had descended, shining brightly.
Gazef stared intently in that direction, soon realizing that an unsettling sense of dread was rising within him.
"Is that... magic...?"
Pressing his hand to his chest, Gazef steadied himself against the unease, staring silently at the spot where the lightning had flashed, lost in thought.