The Warmage

During the "Second Great War," the Empire selects and enlists gifted Mages from all around the nation to establish a Mage Corps capable of front-line combat. The Empire upskilled these mages to fight in close quarters; they were known as Warmages, and this Mage Corps was one of the Empire's main advantages during the conflict, turning the tide of battle.

After years of struggle, peace was restored shortly. However, one of the core forces of the Empire, the Warmages, was nowhere to be found until weeks had passed, and the nation was stunned by the breaking news. The Mage Corps was found completely annihilated not far from the battleground where the war took place.

The Empire held an investigation for the annihilated Mage Corps; days passed, turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, but the investigation found nothing until it was shut down. Subsequently, the Mage Corpse was forgotten and turned into history.

***

Five hundred soldiers, ten Mages, two Escort Knights, the Knight Captain, and the Prince of the Empire greeted them with an overwhelming number of the Empire's forces as the two of them walked out from TARTARUS.

The man in the mask is standing steadily between the Empire's forces in front of him and the underground prison on his back; Einar and he are now trapped with no means of escaping.

The plan was simple: infiltrate TARTARUS, set up a barrier, locate Einar, then use teleportation magic to escape. While the barrier holds the Empire's forces and serves as a safe zone for him to use his teleportation magic, however, things have gone awry for him; the plan of escaping TARTARUS becomes a tough task now that his barrier is no longer available.

'They really did manage to break the barrier and cast a disturbed magic to cancel any kind of teleportation magic in the area. But I don't see a mage that is capable of destroying my barrier among them.' Having his thoughts as he looks at the group of Mages, who were casting a disturbed magic.

His eyes slowly scanned the area looking for a possible way for them to escape, but he stopped at the Escort Knight in black armor; his eyes grew wide beneath his mask.

'…?! That sword is Excalibur, the sacred sword. That sword is incredibly powerful and has the ability to greatly increase the wielder's strength. With that sword, destroying the barrier is possible. How did they manage to get that? Only Anna can wield that, and after her death, that sword should return to emptiness.'

"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue.

'So that's how they managed to break the barrier.' His eyes were frowning behind the mask.

Then he gazed back at the group of Mages who were continuously casting the disturbed magic and took a quick analysis of the current situation.

'Just knocking one of those Mages will disrupt the flow of mana needed to sustain that disrupted spell; thus, I need to get them. However, I doubt that the Prince's Escort Knights would permit me to do so; they will most likely keep me at bay.'

Prince Corbin advances. "I commend your act of boldness, but there's no way for the two of you to escape this place. I have this place swarming with soldiers, but just me and my Escort Knights are enough to take you down. Just give up, and I will give you both a painless death," he conveyed with a menacing smile after.

"Is that what you also said when you ordered genocide to my village?" The man in the mask spoke in a sharp tone.

Prince Corbin snickered, "Anyone who is against the will of the Empire shall face death." He replied with his eyes full of malice.

Captain Edward frowned hearing their conversation, and he was puzzled by the intruder's identity. Einar, who was out of earshot, was also intrigued with his identity. Both of them had the same question in mind.

Hearing these words, the intruder can no longer suppress his rage towards the Prince.

A raging, invincible force storms the place as the man in the mask emanates an overwhelming magic energy. Soldiers recoiled at the intruder's display of magic energy; those who had low magical energy gradually knelt down, having difficulty breathing due to the heavy atmosphere.

"I guess it's a no then." The moment Prince Corbin finishes his words the two Escort Knights rush from his back towards the masked man.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The masked man extends his hands in an instant; a giant ball of fire emerges from his palm and shoots towards the two rushing escort knights.

Shing!

By swinging his sword downward, the red-armored Escort Knight breaks up the rushing giant fireball in their direction, making room for the black-armored Escort Knight to pass through.

In a split second, the black-armored Escort Knight closed the distance between him and the man in the mask. In a sudden burst of speed, he swung the blade upward from below, making a wheel slash before continuing into a spinning horizontal slash.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

However, the strike barely makes it through; the man in the mask twists his body to the side to avoid the wheel slash and ducks down to avoid the upcoming horizontal slash. He used augmentation magic the moment he shot the ball of fire to enhance his body and match the escort knight's superhuman speed. But after dodging the black-armored Escort Knight's blade, he feels death approaching from above. He turned up his gaze. The Escort Knight in red armor was airborne and rushing down like a meteor, holding his sword above his head. A downward strike of his sword would mean death, splitting his body through his head.

A sharp blade was hurtling toward his skull like a beam of light; there was no way he could avoid the fatal blow, but then!

Clang!

The rushing blade is stopped hardly in time by a bright golden ball that is floating in midair. It was the 'AEGIS,' an artifact with defensive attributes that could stop both magical and physical attacks against the user.

The Escort Knights were taken by surprise by what just happened; it was supposed to be a sure hit; however, the blade had stopped an inch from his target's face. The man in the mask smirked; he was waiting for this moment. It's time for a counterattack. Out of nowhere, chains start to appear swiftly from the ground, restraining the two escort knights. The man in the mask casts a spell to summon lightning with chain effects.

Captain Edward sensed the danger coming; the magic attack that man in the mask was using was just no ordinary high-tier magic; with all his might, he cried out loud. "Run and get away from here!" But it was already late, and then suddenly several brilliant blue lights, jagged from the sky, struck down the place, like it was raining, but instead of raindrops, it was lightning.

"Feel despair" The man in mask spoke in a chilling tone.

[LIGHTNINGSTORM]

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! 

An explosion reverberated, sending a shockwave through the vicinity. Then the place was filled with thick smoke, burnt debris, and the stench of burning flesh. The aftermath of the last attack was quite devastating; agonizing cries and a smell of death were all over the place. 

Right after that, the man in the mask leapt out from the smoke, unscathed; thanks to his artifact, 'AEGIS,' he was able to unleash the terrifying attack without concerning his safety.

Then he sped towards Einar, knowing that the disturbed magic was no longer active; what he aimed for from the start was already done, knocking those Mages. But without warning, a dark beam struck him and stopped him from reaching Einar's location.

Bzzzt!

The 'AEGIS' deflected the incoming projectile without difficulty, as expected from an Epic Rank Artifact.

He turned and surveyed for the dark beam's source. It was the prince who unleashed that attack just now. Prince Corbin was looking at him bleeding with murderous eyes and standing right beside Captain Edward, who is more heavily injured. Captain Edward had deployed a shield to protect him and the prince from the masked man's attack. Though he expected that they would survive the attack, he never thought they could react swiftly and stop him from escaping with Einar.

"Damn it!" He exclaimed in disappointment while staring sharply at the prince.

"You! I'm going to fucking kill you slowly and painfully. You're going to pay for what you did!" The Prince spoke in a menacing manner. 

"Come forth!" Prince Corbin spoke in a shrieked voice

The two Escort Knights emerge steaming from the thick smoke.

The man in the mask's eyes widened in shock; the two Escort Knights survived the strike, which surely struck them. But he can tell that something is amiss just by the way they look. Even though they appear to be in perfect condition, their broken armor shows burnt body wounds. He's starting to ask questions.

'Impossible! That was a high-tier magic just now; how are they still moving? Something is definitely wrong here.'

The escort knights start to walk at a slow pace. As he watched them move, the man in the mask reached out for something from his back. His hand was holding another ball, but the color now is red. He drew another artifact in his arsenal and activated it, the 'LIGHTNING SPHERE,' an artifact with offensive attributes that passively attacks anyone with lightning who has hostility against the user.

The man in the mask is now surrounded by the two artifacts, providing him with ideal assistance for the second battle round.

Thud! Thud! Thud! 

The Escort Knights come rushing again.

'Here they come.' The masked man clenched his teeth as he waited for the knights to get close, then activated multiple magic traps in their tracks on their way to him.

[INFERNO]

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Numerous exploding fountains of fire appeared suddenly from the ground, but the Escort Knights evaded it swiftly with ease, closing the gap to their target, and then the two Escort Knights thrust their swords with incredible speed towards the masked man's chest and neck.

Clang! Clang! Zaaaap! Zaaaap!

Sparks sent flying as the AEGIS parries the swords, and the LIGHTNING SPHERE shoots lightning at the escort knight simultaneously.

Captain Edward, who was watching the fight at the sideline with Prince Corbin, was stunned at the man in the mask who was engaging the two Escort Knights in close-quarters combat at once but managed to keep up with them.

"That man is a Warmage. I thought all of them were wiped out." Captain Edward spoke, shivering in pain from his injuries.

"..." Prince Corbin frowned at Captain Edward's remarks. He did not expect the outcome would be a one-sided battle. Who would have thought that the forces he gathered would be destroyed easily with just a single attack? Even if he and Captain Edward joined the battle, the chances of winning were still uncertain.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Zaaaap! Zaaaap! Zaaaap! Zaaaap!

The three of them are exchanging fatal attacks that could determine their fate in a single blow.

Then the Escort Knights move away from the man wearing the mask and aim to hit him on both sides, focusing on his legs and torso. However, before they could attack, the man wearing the mask reached out with both hands and used an unseen force to knock the two escort knights back.

Woomp! A howling sound in the air.

When the man with the mask lifted his hand in the air, light began to appear from his palm and eventually grew into a massive black sphere. When Prince Corbin saw this, he hurried the escort knight to join them, considering every option for protecting them from the assault. A giant black sphere blasted on its track to them, devouring everything in its way and eventually hitting its target. The giant black sphere instantly dissolves as the man in the mask closes his fist. Nothing was left except for the crater that was caused by that giant black sphere.

The battle was over, and it was time for him to grant what Einar had wished for him before they got out of prison. To be home resting beside his family. He turned and walked towards Einar.

"Sorry for making you wait, let's go ho..." The man in the mask didn't get to finish to convey his words.

Einar's eye grew wide with splattered blood on his face. A monster-looking forearm penetrated the masked man's chest through his back. The mysterious man toppled down right in front of Einar.

Thud!

Prince Corbin was standing right behind the lifeless body, licking the blood from his hand, which had pierced the masked man's chest. He survived and looks fine, but his right hand was kind of different.

"You fucking bastard, you almost killed me." Prince Corbin spoke in rage while trampling on the lifeless corpse's head, breaking the mask and revealing the face where half of it had burned scars.

"Oh! I remember this motherfucker; I thought I killed this guy ten years ago. I made some scars on his pretty face. Hahaha…"

Einar stared at the man's face with a hard expression; though half of the face had a burned scar, he was still able to recognize it. The lifeless man in front of him was none other than his childhood friend.

"Chris?!" Einar spoke with tears in his eyes.