บท 49: Contradictions

Cygnus looked at the kneeling magic users then he looked around and found a flat stone, suitable for sitting. He sat down with his legs crossed while he watched them gasping for air. It took him a while but the other magic user who was using control magic finally noticed something wrong.

He opened his eyes and saw that the others were on the ground. They were already coughing blood and having a nosebleed. He looked around and saw Cygnus who was casually sitting not far away from them.

"What did you do?" He stood up with the full intention of attacking the man. He took a step but was pushed back by an invisible wall. He clenched his fist then punched the wall but it only created a ripple on its surface. It was like he was hitting a jelly.

"It took you so long, I was about to fall asleep while waiting for you." Cygnus stretched out his arms and even yawned after that before he returned to his previous position.

"Who are you?" The man asked once again while he continued to beat the wall that Cygnus created. He even used magic but the wall only absorbed it.

"Who am I? Well, that's surprising, you attacked my group and yet you don't know who I am?" Cygnus touched his chin and paused for a moment before his eyes widened. "Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about it, we were not your original targets. We were going to be just casualties. Your comrades who are kneeling on the ground confirmed it a while ago."

He stomped his feet and the pressure around the other four people disappeared but the invisible wall remained. Another stomp and the pressure that disappeared reappeared inside the wall. This time it was the controller's turn to feel like his body was being torn apart by an invisible force.

Looking at them, Cygnus started to alternate the appearance and disappearance of the pressure he was applying on the enemy. He did this for over a minute before he got bored and released them.

"You in the center, continue with what you were doing a while ago. If not, I'll send you straight to hell, then call you back again." He tilted his head to the side while waiting for the other to do what he had ordered but the man did not move. "Are you ignoring me? Or perhaps you don't believe what I just said?"

The man gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly. He did not want to follow the man's words. His pride could not let him and he'd rather die than to take commands from a person aside from their boss.

The smile on Cygnus's face disappeared, "Alright, if you won't do it, then I'll show you the consequence of not following me." He stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards them. He stopped at a spot that was only a meter away from them.

He pointed his finger at one of them and a drop of something like water appeared then it flew towards his target and entered his body. Cygnus then snapped his fingers and the man suddenly exploded leaving nothing behind. Another snap, and the man returned to where he was kneeling alive and well but with a bewildered expression on his face.

Cygnus repeated this process to the other three and finally to the controller. They stared at him like they had seen the demon, no he was much more than that. They have been hunting for a decade now and had enough experience to declare that they were veterans in their line of work. Yes, they faced dangerous situations and deadly enemies but this was the first time that they were faced with an unusual enemy.

His gait and even the way he spoke to them was nothing like they have ever seen. He was smiling and yet his eyes were looking at them like they were already dead. In that short while, they already saw too many contradictions within him. Their ten years of experience gave them the skill to differentiate their enemies from someone they could take on to someone they should avoid.

The man who was smiling in front of them right now originally belonged to the latter category but when they looked at him closely, he appeared to be someone they could take down. He was indeed a demon in a human's skin.

Cygnus laughed, "Comparing me to a demon now but thinking of it now, I was once called a 'demon king' but do you know, they're much eviler than I am. So you should be thankful that you are facing me right now and not those demons."

The controller trembled as the red glint in Cygnus's eyes became more pronounced. He wanted to back away and so did the others with him but they were unable to move.

"Now are you going to do what I want or you're just going to sit there like a scared child?" Cygnus raised a brow and smiled when he saw the man getting into position. He started to control the ogres once again so Cygnus took a step back and went to sit down again.

Astrophos and Nina were doing their best to defend against the hunters and the ogres that were surrounding them. A minute ago, they thought that the ogres were going to be defeated because they started to falter but suddenly, they were full of energy once again. It confused them but they can't retreat now.

The exchange of blows from both parties continued, flying sharpened rocks and bombs struck the enemies but both sides were good at defending, especially the magic hunters. It only showed how experienced they were when facing mages or other magic users. Ginehart was also holding his own against these magic users.

He was proving his strength and showed that his reputation as one of the strongest knights in the kingdom was not just for show. He was brandishing his anti-magic sword and cutting through the magic attacks smoothly and even inflicting injuries to the enemies. His every step was firm and forceful, even the slashing and slicing movement of his hand were perfectly in sync with how his body was moving.

He stabbed to the right and accurately pierced through the enemy's abdomen and after pulling his sword he took a step back to turn around and slashed the incoming enemy that was about to hack him with an axe. After the slash, he immediately ducked down to avoid a beam of fire that was sent his way, then he easily stood up and kicked the nearest enemy who attempted to stab him.

These series of movements amazed Cygnus as he watched a projection that he created of the fight that was happening on the other side of where he was. He was very impressed that he even had the time to clap his hands and nod whenever the major killed an enemy.

"He is good." He started to mumble again. Thoughts started to form in his mind as another mischievous smile appeared on his handsome face. "This is good."