Hide stood at the edge of the volcanic clearing, his blue eyes narrowing into sharp slits.
The scorched earth was crackling with violent, untamed energy. Ryan, the scholarly D-Rank Mage who usually looked like he belonged in a library, was entirely unhinged.
His thick spectacles were still in place, and his face was contorted in absolute, murderous rage, and his hands were wrapped in crackling whips of dense, blue lightning.
"Die! You deserve to die!" Ryan shrieked, whipping his arms forward. The blue lightning condensed into jagged, electrified chains that lashed toward James Maddox with the force of a falling guillotine.
Maddox didn't counterattack. The S-Rank Commander simply sidestepped, his movements eerily calm and minimal. The lightning chains shattered the black rock where he had just been standing. He was entirely on the defensive, clearly trying to avoid injuring the frenzied youth.
