Chapter 26: Ahh...

Enoch was not sure what he was planning but his instincts were telling him something they had never encountered before would happen to them if they didn't act!

"Don't just stand there, attack before he does something else!" Enoch exclaimed and immediately after giving that command, he made his move for the first time. Even after everything he had seen Caleb do, someone else scared him more. He was very much aware that the person who gave him this mission could have forced him into doing it without anything in return. That was how powerful that person was.

Caleb on the other hand displayed abilities and magic that should have been impossible for a combat mage. But the presence he gave wasn't that threatening. Sure he had beaten most of his men into unconsciousness and that was it. He believed with his strength, they sure at least be evenly matched.

~WHOOSH~

In a flash of lightning, Enoch was already before Caleb. In his right hand was a long sword he took out of his storage ring, an enchanted item he had carried with him for a long time. It looked normal at a glance, but within it were small mana channels embedded that allowed the flow of mana. By channelling mana into it, a combat mage's attribute that comes with their signature allows them to display greater power for very little cost. But they were costly.

Enoch's thrust was going for the head. He had all but forgotten the purpose for which they were here. But in his defence, they would be dead if Caleb finished what he was about to do. Even as he approached him, Caleb stood still as if he had nothing planned. But his instincts were telling him otherwise.

Caleb observed the actions of the men as well as keeping a close eye on the move the boss made towards him. The gleaming sword under the emersion of mana made it appear more menacing and sharp. The speed at which he moved was impressive but still not enough to threaten Caleb. However, to finish what he planned, he had to incapacitate his opponents. 

Gravitas Crucio

Caleb chanted silently in his head. Unlike spells chanted by most people, he designed his spells to be cast but with a thought. This made for speed and prevented the enemy from making a counter based on the name of the spell.

He applied the gravity spell on everyone which via his domain. This froze everyone's movement, save for the boss still approaching. The instant pressure drove many of them to take a knee with the weaker and injured ones completely pressed dirt first into the ground.

Enoch was already dangerously close to Caleb when the spell took effect. Looking at the approaching sword covered in lightning arcs, Caleb raised his left hand and slapped the sword aside.

~PANG!~

'E-eh...?'

The move had completely rendered his attack useless and left him exposed to a counter, which Caleb took gladly. With his right hand, he delivered a powerful palm strike to the side of the boss. 

As the palm strike approached his side, Enoch could feel the impact would render him incapacitated. He tried to readjust himself to better defend, but he was not fast enough. With a resounding crunch, the blow hit its mark.

~BAM!~

~WHOOSH!~

Like a cannonball, Enoch shot straight back into the trees in the distance. The momentum of the blow destroyed and uprooted all the plants in his path until he came to a stop over 50m away from Caleb. His subordinates who saw what transpired were bathed in cold sweat. They had hoped that with their boss making a move, they could take him.

Enoch was instantly rendered unconscious in the trench he had carved. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose with bruises all over his body. His eyes were closed and if one looked at the spot he received the attack, a palm print could be seen.

"Now then, where were we? Ah.. I remember." Caleb muttered, still in his rags for clothes. He floated 20 m above and looked down on the still-frozen men. He looked at his system and activated his unique ability. A quick scan by his system read the genome of all the remaining men and highlighted specific regions for Caleb.

[Genome of targets acquired] 

'Initiate permanent gene silencing of all mana-related genes.' Caleb silently commanded his system to silence the genes related to magic. This was one of the things he had devised to defeat his enemies he deemed unnecessary to kill. He had not taken a life yet and he plans on holding back until absolutely necessary.

Immediately after initiating his ability, a bright light was projected from his domain down on everyone tagged. The sudden light scared the men who were covered in it. They closed their eyes slightly due to the brilliance. And at that point, they intuitively knew something bad was going to befall them. They felt the mana flowing within them tremble and this scared them to a fault.

"Wait! Don't kill us! We will do anything!" Those still conscious from the gravity-pressing spell exclaimed to plea for their lives. The brightness of the light reached a crescendo and those within began screaming. After a few seconds of the brightness, the light died down as well as the gravity-pressing spell. 

After seconds of not feeling anything and sensing the light die down, they opened their eyes and looked at each other. They were confused as to what that attack was supposed to do. Seeing the same confusion in the eyes of their comrades, they looked up at Caleb still hovering in the air. However, it looked like he was in new clothes.

During the peak brightness of the light, Caleb quickly equipped a new set of clothes. He wore a black turtleneck with black trousers and new boots. His system came with an equip function that made changing clothes easier and faster, as long as they were stored in his inventory.

He slowly descended to the ground. He looked at his mana levels and noticed not much was consumed in his quick experiment. 'It seems activation and expression consumes the most mana.' The mass silencing of genes he just carried out consumed a little over 100 units of mana.

He looked back at the men still observing him. Caleb could tell they were waiting for answers. He gave them a small smile and muttered a set of words that made their heart sink.

"Oh.. you don't have to worry, I just took away your ability to do magic. That's all." He finished. However, from the perspective of his victims, he might as well be the devil.

Doubt was first what they felt, but the curious ones decided to test just in case. And when they couldn't sense their mana and its flow, terror overwhelmed them. The look on their faces made their comrades' fear intensify.

Slowly, the others realised what Caleb said was no lie. 

"Ahhh...."