Power

Arias sat panting in the middle of the woods, his body covered in sweat and blood. His still-bloodied back leaned against a huge rock, leaving red stains on it. There was dried blood all over his body, covering both his clothes and his skin, but most of his injuries had healed. Except for the large cut on his back, which was still bleeding slightly.

“Looks like I’ve made it.”

Arias cautiously scanned the area and paid attention to the sound around him before letting out a sigh of relief. He had been running around inside the woods for more than an hour trying to get away from Kyon all the while trying to steer clear of beasts to avoid getting into unnecessary fights.

Arias cast a healing spell to heal the wound on his back. A warm blue light glowed from the magic circle on his palm before it began to spread over his whole body. Then, Arias' wounds slowly started to heal.

Healing magic was one of the basic skills learned by all mages. No mages focused their study solely on combat skills without paying attention to any other aspects of magecraft. Healing magic was a very crucial skill in combat, especially during wartime when every troop would have healing specialists with them. If a troop had an expert healer, it was almost like all its soldiers had an extra life to spare.

At the moment, Arias only had two choices: he could hide in the woods full of beasts, or he could leave and find a way back to the manor or into the city. Both choices had their own risks. If he kept hiding in the forest, there were chances that he would run into some beasts. It would be alright if they were normal beasts, but the high-level ones and above would be difficult to deal with. However, if he went back to the manor or headed to the city, there was a chance he might run into Kyon again.

His current situation was pretty bad. He gritted his teeth in anger as images of Kyon and someone he was fairly sure was behind all this flashed through his mind. Though Farhan had the highest authority within the clan, Arias did not think that his grandfather was the one who had sent Kyon to eliminate him. It could not be people from outside the clan either, since Arias did not have any other enemies. That only left one person who could do something so wicked.

“Merson! Once I get back to the manor, I’ll make sure you pay for this.”

Arias said with rage and resentment, his fists clenched in anger. Back when he was a grandmaster mage, someone like Merson would be nothing but an insignificant presence. All he would need to do was flick his wrist and that man would be eliminated without a single trace of him left.

It seemed like the law of the jungle still held true no matter how many millennia had passed. In this world of magic, the strong had the fate of the weak in their grasp. Though there were laws written in this era to create peace and order within the society of mages, these laws were useless. Most of them were just laws that the aristocrats had written to create division between classes. If something did not affect them, then none of these people cared. Just like this time, when Arias was being hunted down, what laws in Bernier could protect him? Arias himself never believed in relying on someone else’s power. He only found the so-called justice of the aristocrats to be pathetic.

“I just need power!”

Arias said to himself. His eyes were determined and dauntless. Since power controlled everything, he would be the one to have it in his grasp once more. One day, he would be back at the top where he once was, and he would become even stronger than his past self. He would give everyone who had ever turned against him a lesson, and no matter who they were, he was going to make them pay the price.

Arias got up and his body started to glide through the path of the woods once again.

.

.

There was a place at the back of the Scarcia Manor that was engulfed in a depressing atmosphere. It was a medium-sized building with bright green vines growing all over it, giving it a distinct aura from other places within the manor. A huge tree that stood by the side of the building spread its branches over the whole area, making the building look somewhat gloomy. The atmosphere was quiet and it gave people an eerie feeling when they walked nearby. The only thing keeping this place from falling into silence was the sound of two guards chatting with each other by the gate. Once in a while, the shout of two young men, both sad and angry, could be heard from inside the building.

“I can’t believe Master Farhan really punished his grandsons.”

A stout male guard said amidst the quiet atmosphere.

“Believe it or not, it’s happening. Normally, the only people sent here are servants. I never thought there would be a day when the young masters are punished too.”

A middle-aged guard said with a blank expression.

“Come to think of it, this is a good thing. Those kids needed to be taught some lessons. They always treat the servants poorly, as if they aren’t humans. One time, I even saw the older one, Mashelle, beating a servant to a pulp just because his pet squirrel went missing from its cage. Perhaps Master Farhan is punishing them for having such aggressive behavior.”

There was a hint of delight in the soft whisper of the younger guard as he spoke about what Mashelle did in the past. He, too, had been the object of Mashelle’s cruel words and actions. He did not want to imagine what it would be like for the servants of the clan like him if Mashelle became the clan leader in the future.

“Watch your mouth, Medus! We’ll be in big trouble if someone overhears that.”

The other guard threw him a disapproving glare. Medus’ words could get them both into trouble. Although he had to agree with some of the things Medus said. Young men tended to be reckless, and that was what killed them before old age did. But he had been working at this manor for a long time and had learned what he should and should not do.

Being the less senior one, the younger guard had to keep his mouth shut and refrain from saying anything else.

“But why isn’t Master Merson here to take care of his sons? Every day, I only see the same servants coming with the young masters’ meals.”

Another question popped up in his mind again, and Medus turned to ask the older guard with curiosity.

“Some things are better left unknown, lad. That is if you still want to keep working at this manor.”

The middle-aged guard turned to answer the other, irritated by the younger man’s never-ending curiosity. But as he turned his gaze back, his eyes suddenly went wide with shock. What he saw was a person whom Medus had just badmouthed, and that person was walking over their way. Cold sweat started to form on his back as he feared he would be punished if the man heard all those bad remarks about him.

“Was someone mentioning my name just now?”

It appeared that the guard’s fear had become a reality. A voice as cold as the god of death's whisper came from in front of Medus. It made the young guard’s whole body damp with cold sweat and his legs trembled in fear. Merson, who was supposed to be more than ten meters away, had moved to a spot in front of him in a split second. Though he had been working for the Scarcia for only a year, he had heard of Merson’s cruelty before, whether it was the story about Merson violently beating and punishing the clan’s servants or even killing some of them, simply because they did something that slightly displeased him.

“U – uh…I – I was just…”

The man’s voice was trembling as fear settled deep in his heart. With Merson’s higher power and status, the man had all the rights to punish him and he would not even have a chance to retaliate.

“What’s wrong? Or perhaps you don’t want to talk ever again?”

Merson traced his hand on the young man’s neck before squeezing it with a vice-like grip. The young man’s face went white with fear. At some point, Merson’s fingers had started to dig into his neck and left wounds on it. Blood was trickling down before the young man was even aware. He was lucky that the wounds were only superficial and not fatal. But all they did was multiply the fear in his heart.

“Master Merson, I apologize for his behavior. Please, forgive him this one time.”

The older guard quickly bowed his head, pleading for mercy from the man in place of the young guard who had been terrified to the point of being unable to speak.

“Since I’m in a good mood today, I’m going to let you go this one time. But next time…! You know what’s going to happen.”

Merson threatened before relaxing his grip on the young man’s neck. Then, he threw the young man's body against the wall of the building behind, sending dust flying all over the place. There was a small cut and a red handprint left on Medus’ neck. The young guard could only lower his head to apologize, not daring to talk back.

“Hand me the key! I’m visiting my sons.”

“Yes, Master Mason.”

The older guard quickly handed the key to Merson without wasting a moment. He already learned the lesson from the young man who was now lying on the floor and he did not wish to end up the same way. After receiving the key, Merson walked past them into the building without sparing a glance at the young guard who kept his head lowered with fear.

The inside of the building looked like any other, except it was gloomy like the sun was about to set. The only source of light in this building was from the lamps hanging along the sides. Merson walked until he reached one of the rooms before using the key in his hand to unlock the door.

“Father!”