Seeing Tris and his puppet charging forward, Kane shouted:
"Don't underestimate us, brat!"
Right after speaking, he summoned multiple pillars of water erupting from the ground, twisting like giant serpents as they lashed toward Tris.
Tris used Space magic to levitate slightly and grabbed onto his puppet's shoulder. He poured spiritual energy into the puppet's legs.
In an instant, the puppet surged forward, carrying him at high speed while skillfully evading the incoming water pillars.
Since one hand was already controlling the distant puppet in battle and the other was gripping the puppet beside him, Tris was now using a remote-control method, the same as how he handled his "Feathers".
Thanks to that, he didn't need to move his hands, yet he could still make the puppet beside him move as flexibly as he wished.
Moreover, because he maintained direct contact, the transfer of spiritual energy was far more efficient than using magical threads.
What seemed like a simple movement concealed highly complex techniques beneath it.
While the water pillars relentlessly pursued from behind, Tris and his puppet continued accelerating straight toward Silas.
The puppet raised its shield forward, while its other hand gripped a sword, preparing for a powerful thrust.
Seeing himself targeted as an easy opponent, Silas smirked disdainfully and braced himself.
Wearing metal gauntlets, he timed the approach perfectly and threw a powerful punch, accompanied by a shockwave.
It was not an attack one would expect from a Mage.
The strike, enhanced by both combat techniques and magic, shot forward like a steel pillar, ready to crush both the puppet's blade and the puppet itself.
But at the moment of impact, Tris released his grip on the puppet's shoulder.
Instead of attacking with the sword, the puppet raised its shield and unleashed a powerful "Shield Bash", infused with Space magic.
The fist and shield collided.
The result sent both Tris's puppet and Silas flying backwards in opposite directions.
As Tris's puppet was knocked back toward the pursuing water pillars, he shifted it into a defensive stance.
At the same time, Tris himself drew his dagger and lunged directly at Silas.
Blown backwards, Silas was momentarily confused as to why the boy had used an attack that caused no damage.
But when he saw Tris rushing toward him with a weapon, he realised the previous "Shield Bash" had only been meant to break his guard.
'Still underestimating me, brat.'
Despite being in a disadvantageous position, Silas swiftly flipped backwards and kicked away the incoming dagger.
His reflexes and physical control were astonishing—hardly what one would expect from a Mage.
Having successfully defended, he expected to see disappointment on the boy's face.
Instead, Tris was smiling—a mocking, teasing grin.
Seeing that expression, a sudden sense of danger flooded Silas's mind.
But before he could react—
He lost all sensation in his body.
And then, he sank into darkness forever.
* * * * * * * * *
'What… just happened?'
Kane stared in horror at Silas's headless corpse.
Silas's puppet, now without its master, collapsed alongside him.
His head lay rolling on the ground.
Tris, still smiling, stepped on it and casually nudged it back and forth like a toy.
The scene, under the night sky, was utterly chilling.
Even with enhanced vision through spiritual energy, the darkness of the forest severely limited Kane's sight.
He had only caught a glimpse of something dark passing behind Silas—then this result.
'A magical beast from the forest?'
Kane considered the possibility, but immediately rejected it.
The boy showed no surprise at all.
Which meant—it was a trap.
Everything had been planned. Even the earlier confrontation had been part of it.
Kane quickly analysed the situation.
He had lost his ally and his numerical advantage. Meanwhile, he was facing a powerful enemy with unknown methods.
In a single moment, his position had reversed—from hunter to prey.
A cunning and intelligent man, Kane immediately understood this. Sweat soaked his back.
The night wind blew across him, cold—but what came next was even colder.
Having grown bored of the head, Tris kicked it aside and turned his gaze toward Kane.
The moment their eyes met, Kane didn't hesitate—he ran.
Every cell in his body screamed danger.
The puppet clinging to him immediately crawled down.
As Kane stepped onto it, it was enveloped in a strange flow of water and began to glide rapidly forward.
At that moment, it looked as if Kane was running atop a flowing stream.
The water surged through the forest without obstruction at incredible speed.
'What a strange magic.' - Tris assessed.
After taking the spatial ring from Silas and retrieving his puppet.
Tris grabbed onto one of his puppets' shoulders like he did before and gave chase.
While fleeing desperately, Kane glanced back—and what he saw only deepened his fear.
Tris and his two puppets were pursuing him at terrifying speed, rapidly closing the distance.
Their movement was unnatural—not simply enhanced by spiritual energy.
Each step they took covered the distance of five or six strides.
He had heard Silas mention a technique like this before.
A high-level combat technique called "Flash Steps."
Warriors typically used it to dodge large-scale attacks or close distances instantly.
Silas himself could use it.
But the problem was—it wasn't something that could be used continuously like this.
"Flash Steps" was extremely difficult, requiring precise calculation and careful preparation.
A single mistake could injure—or even cripple—the user.
In real combat, where one mistake could cost your life, no Warrior would risk using it over long-distance running.
Don't even speak of risk—it's sheer difficulty alone would make countless warriors rejoice if they could merely use it, let alone possess the ability to deploy it continuously.
He could move this fast—yet only used it now.
Clearly, he could have escaped from the beginning, but chose not to.
From the very start, Tris had planned to lure them… and kill them both.
"You damned monster!" Kane cursed.
At that moment, he hated his own intelligence.
Because the more he understood, the more terrifying the "monster" behind him became.
'So when the village elder said those two were connected to an evil god… it might not have been just an excuse.' - He thought.
What he once believed was merely a convenient justification… now seemed far more real.