Chapter 23: Anti-magic

The lead mage stared at the boy groveling before him; he didn't care for his threats; after all, why would a journeyman mage care for the threats of a mortal? But he couldn't kill the boy; a null body would prove useful in his dark research, but he could punish him. With a smile, he increased the pressure on the boy. Liam's body began convulsing as his bones cracked and broke.

The lead mage stopped the pressure after seeing Liam's body go limp. Seems i overdid it, he thought to himself. He knelt down clutching a fistful of Liam's hair with a yank he lifted his head, but Liam's eyes were closed, black marks spreading from his eyes into the rest of his face. 

"It's a shame you died, experiments are best with live subjects, but it shall not matter." He uttered

And with that, he let go of his head, letting it fall down and smash into the ground below. But as he turned and walked away, a sound was heard. He turned, seeing Liam's body twitching. The boy lifted himself up, standing upright, blood leaking from his forehead from the impact with the floor.

The mages observed in curiosity, logically, that boy should've been dead after all no non-awakened should be able to resist that level of pressure but there he stood, Liam.

Something's wrong the lead mage thought, his instincts screamed danger but he couldn't find where the danger was coming from; it couldn't be the magic less boy. Suddenly, Liam's eyes opened, and there was a deafening silence. 

His eyes had been replaced with two white orbs, a white mist slowly rising from them, disappearing in the atmosphere, his face was placid no trace of emotion visible.. The lead mage took a step back. This was unnatural. Liam had a null-body, so using magic, it should have been impossible for him to pull of, but the danger wafting from him couldn't be faked

A nearby mage couldn't stand it anymore. 

"Dark bolt!" He said raising his staff, as a bolt of darkness was launched towards Liam

Liam's head lazily turned to meet the oncoming attack, but it never landed; it froze right before his face, as it began dissolving rapidly. The mage's eyes widened at this. But Liam didn't give them the space to continue. He raised his foot, taking a step forward. Instantly vanishing, appearing right before the mage who had casted that spell. His hand already impaled through his chest clutching his still beating heart.

He yanked it out, and the mage fell down instantly dead. With a squeeze, Liam crushed the heart, splattering it to peices, some splattering onto his face. The mages shrieked in horror as they hurriedly teleported away. Launching a barrage of offensive spells at Liam.

Liam stood still amid all the attacks. He felt no sense of danger in fact, he didn't sense anything at all, it was as if all his emotions had been removed, frozen in an abyss. All the anger from earlier is gone. He could see everything, from the small embers from approaching fireballs to the sweat on one of the mages' brows. Everything felt so clear, that's when he saw it.

Inside the bodies of the mages, a small bundle of blue light rested in their chest, slowly flowing through their bodies. The more he looked around, the more he realized this blue light was everywhere, everywhere but within himself. Mana he thought. He could never see it, but now it was so clear, he tried touching one but it pushed back. Null-body he thought again.

The spells were now upon him, he wanted to dodge but something inside him told him otherwise, he raised his hand wiping the air, all the spells faded out of existense.

The lead mage's eyes widened he had never seen magic like this, one that could erase one's spell, but something told him it wasn't magic. After all Liam still wasn't using mana.

Liam took another step, appearing in front of another mage. He slapped him, his head instanlty turning into a puddle of gore, blood splashing onto his clothes, yet he felt nothing, only the warm feeling of blood on his hands.

He looked around, seeing one mage conjuring a magic circle, he stretched out his hands reaching, but not with his hands something deeper, something other... The mana concentrating on the circle spread unravelling. The mage gasped as his spell work collapsed mid cast, the mana in his body writhing violently before being ripped from his veins. his body crumbled, turned into a husk in an instant.

Ethan took another step, the ground below him shattering not from force but the sheer absence of it. Wherever he went death followed. Mages tried teleporting only finding their spells disrupted teleporting parts of them somewhere else, instantly dying. Those who tried running away found Liam in front of them, he slapped them, their bodies turning to mush instantly.

It didn't matter bandit or mage, everyone died the same. The bandit leader screamed as he rushed towards Liam mana surging from his body, his hair grew thicker, his teeth and nails longer and sharper. He was transforming. Liam observed him, a large amount of mana was being drawn from his chest shifting his body so he wondered what if he just...stopped it.

The mana inside the bandit leader slowed to a halt, as if frozen in time. His veins bulged, his skin stretched unnaturally, his half formed claws trembling mid-shift. His scream turned into a wet, choking gasp as his own power turned against him.

Liam tilted his head, watching.

The bandit leader's body convulsed violently as the mana inside him collapsed, imploding inward. His flesh rippled, his bones snapped backward, his half transformed jaw unhinged in a silent scream. For a single, horrifying moment, he was nothing but a writhing mass of mangled flesh.

Liam stood in the middle of the carnage, blood dripping from his body, blood that wasn't his. He stared at the only remaining survivor. The lead mage knelt on the ground, terrified, praying to his god that he would survive. Liam stepped forward, appearing in front of him, his white eyes turned towards him.

Even now, seeing the man, who had ruined his life, he felt nothing. He put his hand on the head the lead mage, and with a squeeze, shattered his skull. The body fell to the ground, blood spraying everywhere.

And with that, Liam collapsed to the ground his regular eyes returning.

Then darkness.