When magic is released in the form of a formation, the mana it consumes doesn’t come from the caster themselves. Instead, it draws from the ambient mana floating in the air, as well as the reserves stored in advance at the formation’s core.
That was precisely why Renith—even with her mana nearly depleted—could still cast this spell with ease.
Once the formation was activated, green winds swirled through it in chaotic patterns. Kelke’s body floated silently at the center, like a lone boat in the eye of the storm, at any moment liable to be swallowed by the raging waves.
With a faint stir of Renith’s mind, several streams of green wind drifted toward Kelke’s body. The moment they touched his arm, they easily corroded it away.
Though, to call it “corrosion” wouldn’t be entirely accurate.
More precisely, the green wind seemed imbued with a “Wind Slash” property—light and airy, utterly weightless. Yet when it swept across Kelke’s arm, it could sever it as easily as a blade.
The instant his body suffered this fatal blow, Kelke—who had been deep within a dream—suddenly snapped his eyes open.
A flicker of confusion passed through his gaze, and his body’s defensive instincts kicked in against his will.
The “Qi” within him erupted like kindled flame, instinctively surging outward. In a single breath, it formed an invisible barrier that blocked the encroaching green winds.
His released Qi crashed against the winds like waves, trying to force them back.
Kelke jolted from the cradle of his dream onto the void-like ground. As his feet landed, they stirred invisible ripples.
He began pacing back and forth, brow furrowed, eyes filled with bewilderment.
“I feel like I’ve forgotten something… I think I should be able to remember.”
As the words left his mouth, his realm began to slip—and within the dream, Kelke gradually recalled everything that had happened.
A gleam of dawning realization crossed his eyes. He suddenly remembered that he’d been pulled into this dream by Renith’s magic.
“Absolute humiliation!”
He let out a roar that echoed through the dreamscape, as though trying to shatter this illusory world.
Yet, even though he now knew he was trapped inside a dream, Kelke still showed no sign of waking up.
Instead, drowsiness kept washing over him, wave after wave, coaxing him back onto that deceptively comfortable hammock.
His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. His body weakened, sliding toward the abyss of surrender.
Meanwhile, outside the dream, Renith finally broke through Kelke’s Qi barrier.
The green winds, like beasts breaking free of their cage, surged with ever-greater ferocity, pressing inward and lunging straight for Kelke’s body.
An overwhelming sense of crisis closed in on Kelke in an instant.
He could feel his life hanging by a thread—as if the very next moment, these green winds would tear him to shreds.
Kelke knew, deep down, that if he didn’t wake now, he never would.
“I will wake!”
With his roar, his realm dropped again and again.
Finally, held together by the last shred of consciousness, Kelke awoke.
The searing pain in his wrist hit him instantly, banishing all drowsiness.
“My hand…”
He stared in horror at his mangled arm, fury and fear gripping his mind. But before he could even react, countless streams of green wind surged toward him once more.
Kelke bellowed, and his Qi burst outward like a dam breaking—spilling without restraint.
That Qi formed layer upon layer of solid barriers, holding the winds at bay. But the green winds refused to retreat, slamming against the barriers again and again with shrill, piercing howls.
The next second, Kelke charged at Renith. His steps were heavy and forceful, his eyes blazing with murderous intent, as if he wanted to devour her alive.
Renith, however, merely took two steps back—and a rare smile curled at the corner of her lips.
That gave Kelke pause. His steps slowed unconsciously.
He had stepped out of the formation, yet he dared not advance any further. He couldn’t tell whether there was another killing formation lying ahead—or if Renith was simply bluffing.
“Kelke of ‘Blind Faith’… Why not keep believing? Why the hesitation here? Weren’t you the one who claimed to be the strongest?”
Renith’s voice rang out crisp as a silver bell, echoing through the air in layered ripples.
At the sound of her voice, Kelke’s body trembled slightly.
The Qi inside him deflated like a punctured balloon, and his once-overwhelming momentum ebbed sharply.
He seemed to have returned to the way he was before coming to this world. The voices of others echoed in his ears once more.
“That guy is so cringey—looks like that and still dares to chase after anyone… Let’s stay far away from him.”
A sharp, disgusted female voice rang beside him.
“You can’t accomplish a single thing, so why do you keep showing your face?”
A male voice came next. Kelke turned to look and met a pair of mocking eyes that made no effort to hide their contempt.
“Just stay home. Stop embarrassing me!”
The reproach of family struck his heart like a sledgehammer, wounding his pride.
Kelke shook his head, trying to purge those grating voices from his mind.
The one who once believed he could do anything now found himself capable of nothing.
But soon, he thought of who he was now.
Now—endowed with a “Divine Gift”—he could achieve anything. He had the foundation for true “confidence.” He was nothing like before. He had been reborn.
“I will win—and I’ll keep winning!”
In that instant, he thought of the magical tool suspended over his body.
Renith had once torn a scroll to disable the magic tool’s mana flow. So why couldn’t he use a similar method to shut off Renith’s mana and the nearby formation?
His Qi was running low—and so was the power derived from his faith. But that didn’t stop him from using it.
“Heh… You’re strong, sure—but what if…”
Kelke took a deep breath, forcing his voice to stay steady.
“…your mana were sealed, and the formations around you were shut down?”
As he finished speaking, an invisible force of restraint coiled around Renith’s heart like a serpent.
Renith felt as if an unseen shackle had locked her body. Her mana was blocked, unable to flow freely. The formations she’d set nearby also broke their connection with her, slipping beyond her reach.
As for Kelke, his Qi was completely drained—he’d fallen back to the realm of a Baron, and was about to drop even lower.
But right now, he didn’t care about his realm. What mattered was his victory. Even a mage as formidable as the one before him would kneel!
“No one can stop me. No one can criticize me.”
“I can do anything. I can defeat any enemy.”
Renith crouched low, trying to break the invisible shackles within her. But unfortunately, her mana couldn’t recover or be released. She was like a precision machine jammed by a single twig—completely incapacitated.
The mana masking her body slowly faded, and her black horns were about to be exposed.
Renith had no intention of revealing her true nature in front of someone like this. If these “Chosen Ones” spread the word, the entire continent would turn against her. So she quietly tugged at her hood, hiding the almost-exposed horns in the shadows.
Kelke stepped forward steadily—one step, then another…
He was elated. Nothing brought him more joy than victory.
He’d long since lost awareness of his bleeding arm. All that filled his mind now was his victory speech—and how he would torment this defenseless mage before him.
Finally, Kelke stood before Renith. After delivering a long, drawn-out victory speech that Renith found utterly useless, boring, and dull, he raised his fist, intending to subdue her completely.
At that thought, the intangible power within him—on the verge of dying from self-doubt—showed signs of revival.
“Hey… You’re a Baron now, right?”
A trace of violet flickered in Renith’s eyes as she cut off Kelke’s train of thought.
“So what if I am? A mage without mana—in my eyes, you couldn’t even lift a moderately heavy rock.”
Kelke’s expression twisted. He swung his limbs, leaned back slightly, and pointed a finger at Renith’s forehead—as if proclaiming his triumph.
“I could take you out with one hand…”
He said smugly.
“Oh? Is that so? Then by all means, try.”
The corners of Renith’s mouth lifted into a confident smile, her eyes gleaming with open provocation.
Seeing her so self-assured, Kelke hesitated once more.
But a second later, he brushed it off. She was just bluffing—stalling for time to break his “Divine Gift.”
What wishful thinking!
He raised his fist, determined to knock out this sharp-tongued fool who didn’t even realize she was staring death in the face.
But in the blink of an eye, Renith’s fist landed first—square on Kelke’s abdomen with a dull thump.
Winded, Kelke crumpled to the ground, his eyes blazing with disbelief.
“You see, mages can’t learn Qi alongside their magic. But to avoid being easily captured on the battlefield when their mana runs dry, most mages who served in the military back then picked up some hand-to-hand combat techniques for self-preservation.”
Renith said slowly, rubbing her fist as she recalled the days when she’d crossed blades—literally—with demonic mages on the battlefield.
Those demonic beings had monstrous vitality and physiques. Killing them was no easy feat.
But now? Her opponent was just Kelke.
“Besides… I’m a bit of a special case now. I’m confident that a Baron can’t beat me in close combat.”
With that, Renith effortlessly hoisted Kelke up and slammed him headfirst into the ground like an upturned onion.
“Da—mn it…”
Kelke gasped, his breath cut short, and passed out cold.
Renith felt the restraints within her dissolve. She pulled a rope from her grimoire, tied Kelke up, and prepared to haul him to the frontlines.
If it weren’t for the fact that she still wanted to extract some intel from him, she’d have already cut him down and sent him to meet Alegia—let Alegia teach him a proper lesson.
Just before leaving, something occurred to Renith. She dug out two barely-alive Viscounts from the rubble.
“F-Fancy you remembering me…”
One Viscount said weakly, clawing at the stones beside him as he slowly crawled out of the wreckage.
Renith casually disabled the enemy Viscount’s Qi, tossed a rope to the allied one, and told him to tie the prisoner up. Then, the two of them made their way toward the main battlefield together.
