Gallant Magus of the Wizarding World

The Grand Magus' resolve was steeled.

…Unwavering and solid.

He had only one goal in mind, and that was to save his newly born son.

Nothing else mattered.

Sir Jekyll Flamine went ahead to unlock the Second Seal to the cube that sat in front of him.

Manipulating the magical energy that networked through his forearms, following the path and pattern of the bloody rune markings on his forearms, he was able to unlock the shining cube.

The process might have seemed easy and quick to an onlooker but only Grand Magus felt the true impact of the magic he manipulated.

By the end of the process, Sir Jekyll's heart pounded strongly against the wall of his chest as his heart raced to meet up with the demand and strain on his body.

He could feel the rapid throbbing of his heart against his ribcage, but that did not matter.

The Grand Magus was not concerned for himself at this moment.

Right now, he was simply a father who wants to save his dying baby.

Jekyll clenched his fists, hiding his stress away from the sight of his wife, so he wouldn't worry her.

With the Second Seal now undone, Jekyll stared at the item that had been so preciously guarded for years, before even he became the Grand Magus, by the several Emberfort Grand Magi before him.

It was a small, glimmering black cube that seemed to be made from obsidian glass.

It was as beautiful as it was enchanting, perhaps the most beautiful thing that he had ever set his eyes on.

'This is it! The Obsidian Fragment!' Jekyll's heart was swole with cheer as he gazed at the item concealed inside the black box.

He felt deeply relieved, thanks to his success in unsealing this item.

But this respite was for a near-negligible moment.

Before the Grand Magus was done relishing the relic that was held in his hand, a strange voice permeated his ears, causing his eyes to widen with shock.

"Well, well… if it isn't the Grand Magus, Jekyll Flamine, himself."

Jekyll turned around immediately to check who it was that had dared to intrude into the room.

The Grand Magus' guard went up and his senses heightened to their peak in an instant.

He gnashed his teeth for his short failure of letting an intruder past his senses.

However, he couldn't be blamed since he poured everything he had into undoing the seals of the black box.

Even his barrier came to be undone as soon as he took out the Obsidian Fragment.

The presence of the intruder had not been a problem for the Grand Magus.

Had it been only that, he was confident that it would have been resolved within the next few seconds.

The real issue he had was that this person held his wife and baby at ransom, with a dagger to Lady Anastasia's neck.

"Who are you?" the Grand Magus questioned. "...And what do you want?"

The intruder smiled and then chuckled underneath his white mask as he pulled down the hood of his reddish-orange cloak.

His mask was porcelain white and had a red draconic pattern, like a curled dragon, carved on the right side of it, signifying what this stranger represented.

"I am nobody," he answered.

"Nobody but the servant of the Great Dragon God. A vessel for the Great Ouroboros."

Hearing that word 'Ouroboros', the Grand Magus shuddered slightly but regained his composure almost immediately after.

'…Ouroboros?'

In this world, that name was synonymous with illfare.

A symbol of bad fate.

…An ominous sign.

The truest representation of vile evil in all of the world of Fantasia.

Even in his brief moment of shock, Jekyll still had his doubts about what this Masked Man had said.

'The Dragon God, Ouroboros, was taken care of ages ago and its worshippers were eventually hunted and captured down to the last one… allegedly.'

Jekyll's eyes twitched a few times since it wasn't making sense in his head.

'Could it be that a new head has risen to serve the Fallen Dragon? But to dare take up the name of Ouroboros just to cause disarray in the world… he sure has guts.'

Sir Jekyll sized his opponent up from head to toe, searching for openings that he could exploit but he found none.

In fact, it was during this keen assessment of the intruder that it dawned on the Grand Magus that he couldn't make any careless or wasted moves. Otherwise, he would risk losing his wife or child and in the worst case scenario, both.

"I believe that is the Obsidian Fragment of the Brightest Star in your hands…

"...The Tenth Fragment."

"And what if it is?" Jekyll sneered, briefly shifting his gaze to the relic as he tightened his grip around it.

He shot the intruder a dreadfully, sharp stare afterwards, anticipating what response he would give.

The Masked Man giggled devilishly underneath his mask as he held Anastasia and her baby hostage in the presence of the Grand Magus.

"Makes my job easier," he fearlessly continued to make demands.

"Give me the Fragment and I will let both of them live. I will disappear like nothing happened. Do otherwise, then you get to see one of them die on this very spot."

Sir Jekyll gritted his teeth in anger as he glared at the masked intruder, his mind speedily analysing the situation and seeking out the best response patterns that would lead to the least damage rate in outcome.

If the Masked Man was not bluffing and was indeed the real deal like he claimed, then Jekyll would have his hands full.

'How did he get in here?'

Naturally, Jekyll contemplated how easy it was for him to invade and at the same time, he considered the possibility of a traitor or more in his ranks.

Regardless it could also be that this man was just that strong to force his way in or evade any of the detective measures that had been put in place.

He recalled that he had stationed at least 10 mages to stand guard around the vicinity and none of the Mages were below the Expert Rank.

"Tch!"

Jekyll sighed in his heart as he finally drew up two most possible conclusions.

The first impression he drew was that the Masked Man was not working alone and properly had allies waiting outside, ready to jump in when needed or when a certain cue was afforded them.

The other option being that this person was just so strong that he mindlessly waltzed in alone to kidnap his family as leverage and bargaining chip for the Obsidian Fragment.

Rage pulsed through the Grand Magus' veins as he narrowed his eyes into slits.

The calm, coordinated aura that oozed from Jekyll's body underwent a sudden, drastic switch, morphing into something with more murderous intent.

"Unfortunately for you, you are facing me today," the Grand Magus stated clearly.

The intruder laughed and pressed against the handle of his blade, evoking a jolt of fear within Lady Anastasia as she tried to hold her baby closer to her chest.

"Be careful what you—"

Before the intruder could finish his warning, the Grand Magus had taken a step forward.

His step seemed slow and measured when he moved at first but how fast he had been at closing the gap between him and the Masked Man was enough to place his speed right now at the upper limit of the speed of sound.

He was that fast and quite casually with it too.

Shockingly enough, the Masked Man seemed to react at what appeared to be an unnatural level speed as well to match that of his adversary.

However, it was not that the Masked Man was equally fast.

No, that was not it.

It was simply that he had information on the Grand Magus and had prepared countermeasures that would help him go against the strongest mage in Emberfort.

Certainly, no Mage who has reached the position of a Grand Magus would easily give in to the demand of an invader, much less a demand for the Fragment of the Brightest Star in their custody.

It was a pitiful joke to anyone who heard it.

Had the Masked Man not been careful enough to prepare for the possibility of battling the Grand Magus, his head would have properly been separated from his shoulders and rolled on the floor like a ball.

The powerful fist of the Grand Magus had burst through the face of the man and coupled with how fast he moved, the seemingly ordinary fist packed more punch than it should.

Sir Jekyll, who had moved a bit forward after striking his target, looked at his palm and the grey, gaseous content that dispersed from it.

'Mist?'

Jekyll's guess was apt.

It was indeed mist that he had struck in place of the man.

Disappointed, he clenched his fist tightly and gave the Masked Man a sidelong glance.

"Oh? There it is," the Masked Man taunted him, having changed his position.

The intruder had used the time created from his escape of Jekyll's fist to move Anastasia from the bed, abandoning the child, as they stepped closer to the wall.

"...what beautiful eyes you have, my dear Grand Magus."

Sir Jekyll's face tensed with rage as he strongly affirmed a promise to the invader.

"I will kill you."