No More Pain For This Villain.

344  Scarred by a human

I let go of the hand that pressed Stormborne's throat.

"Hope...this will hurt at least."

In front of Stormborne was a swirling ball that was moving very slowly. It was pitch black and moved slowly.

It was a partial self-destruction spell. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

I stepped back and turned. It's like I can go about forty more minutes with my current mana reserves and this Amulet.

The reason I wanted to come in the void was to actually see what's the actual difference between spatial arts that one can use after seven stars and void. Umbra Mana is dark mana that is used by mana beasts. The dark element is different from it, and void is a skill that Blaze had in his current form that he shared with me through the Convergence bond.

It's a lot more complicated, like how many realms are there?

Spatial, void, and then the mortal realm. I now know that all Gods reside in the spatial rift while mythical creatures like dragons have their worlds floating around in the spatial rifts. Then there's that weird realm where I could see Jasmine, but I think it was my inner self, my mind in short?

I thought of the system and the panel materialized in front of me.

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{SYTMWDO}

[Ply: Ren CrHs Hlt] Ag: 1.65

[Lv3: Srchmasr] [7 Str Mge In Hmn Trms.]

Cur Progrss: Itllgnce: 7/10 Strth: 100/1 Mn: 1/1

[Nx Lv: Pyrocsm Elr] [Ttl Exprnce Pnts: 25000/22079] (Lvl up unavaiable!)

Elmntl Attrbts: Fir Unlck Nw Advncemnt: (Opn)

Cntrctd Bet: On Spt: Non(!)

Slls: [50 skls.] Ln Nw Skls: [Opn]

Sre: [Opn] -------------------------------------------------------------------

It's distorted, and that makes it clear that here—I am out of everyone's eyes, owner of the system, elements, and my own physical body. Well, I'm sure that if I get more powerful, there's a way to get my whole body here.

It's just a theory since currently only my mind is here and my body is in the mortal world, on my bed. If I can get my whole body here, then it'll be like I can do what Blaze can—step through realms differently than the normal way.

But how? If I think of using spatial arts here—first, I have never tried it in practicality, and second, mana moves differently here and is weaker to hold in one place.

It's there but almost as if nonexistent, and what if what I do here—like I make a rift here but it appears in other realms?

Walking mindlessly through the dark world, I had come out of the academy building and was now in the distorted version of the Solstice.

I could imagine the floating land of Eshmera being damaged and looking like this—everything, houses and land floated and crashed into each other occasionally.

I passed a lot of silhouettes; some moved and some didn't. I deduced that those with mana can be seen moving, while those who cannot are still.

It's been a few more minutes, and I felt the draining sensation, but without waiting for the exhaustion to take me out of the void, I did it voluntarily.

I felt the sucking feeling, and with a gasp of air, I shot my eyes open.

'It was longer this time—' Blaze was saying something, but I ignored him and jumped out of the window.

Spreading my wings to their farthest, I had a feeling of anxiousness.

With a single flap, I was a few feet away, and with a few more, I was up in the sky. Both the moons in the sky shone brightly over me, and I could feel the calm breeze brush past my face.

I was high enough, and then all my senses went numb and I lost consciousness.

BLAZE, take me back to the room when this is over immediately!

I could only convey a single message.

***

In front of the academy gate, Stormborne sat. He sighed, contemplating how far his job had fallen—from headmaster of an imperial academy to a guard of an academy gate.

His dragon lineage made him feel embarrassed about his job, but he couldn't defy the order from the clan chief, also known as the Dragon God.

He had just chased away Ren Hilton, the boy that Falco asked him to keep an eye on. He couldn't deny seeing why anyone would be interested in this human child, but for the son of a god to be interested, it was something else.

He was sure that Ren had a reason for wanting to go out in the middle of the night, but he couldn't take any risks. The next attack from demons could be anywhere, even in his treasured academy.

"I just hope that it doesn't go above the mortal realm." Stormborne kept his eyes on the academy grounds, able to sense even small mana fluctuations around him.

And he did. His ear twitched when he heard a flapping sound from somewhere, but before he could react, he felt heat near his forehead.

*THUT* Ssss*

What followed was an immediate explosion of a fireball and a lightning bolt, which surprised Stormborne so much that his hat fell off, but it didn't move him from his seat even a bit.

"What the—" his voice was cut short when extreme pressure was applied around his throat. His eyes saw something like a spear form just an inch from his throat.

*THAD*

He couldn't even grunt as he was thrown off his chair, and an explosion occurred. The place where he had been sitting formed a several-feet-deep hole, and the gate of the academy was blown off.

Stormborne gasped for air as he got up immediately, assuming a fighting stance. His robe was disheveled. It didn't hurt him much but left a small scar that healed almost immediately.

His eyes changed a bit dragonically; it was the first time in a few centuries that he was... scarred.

"What is happening?" He questioned himself as the silence took over the scene and he could see the teachers coming towards him, some students peeking out of their window.