In the next moment, the stillness shattered.
A sudden blast of wind howled through the air, stirring leaves, dust, and debris in a violent spiral. A whirlwind, tight and compact but furious in nature, erupted from the center of the clearing where Robert stood. Its rotating winds created a wall of pressure that dragged everything nearby from its eye— but the calm center where Robert stood remains untouched but tense.
The knights around him were caught off guard, their heavy armor clanking uselessly against the roaring force that tossed them like dry leaves, waving them around like a child's toy.
"AAAAAAGH!"
"NOOO—AAGH!"
"WH-WHA-WAIT! HELP!"
They screamed as they were yanked off the ground and flung into the air, their enchanted swords spinning out of their grips, crashing into trees, and embedding themselves into walls.
Their bodies thudded into trunks, bounced across the dirt, or landed with metallic crashes in the nearby fields. Despite their strength and weight, they were helpless against the the powerful gale spell.
At the center, Robert stood unmoving, shielded by the calm eye of the storm. His coat flapped against his frame, and his long herbalist's scarf trailed behind him like a war banner. His hair danced wildly as he looked around with a mix of disbelief and calculated observation.
"What the hell…" Vandolph muttered, his confidence cracking as the unnatural storm broke their formation.
He turned toward the source of the magical surge. Standing in the shattered doorway of the hut was Marissa, her dark green cloak flowing as if possessed, a baby cradled securely in one arm while the other held a silverwood wand still glowing faintly from the casting. Her expression was calm, her eyes unwavering. Obviously, casting such powerful area spell consumes a lot of mana but seeing her serious expression, it seems that Marissa is prepared to fight to the end.
Seeing the damage it has done to the knights, Robert could not help but feel conflicted. He was happy that he was safe, but at the same time he is sad that even Marissa has been dragged into this conflict. Now that she has laid her 'wand' against the kingdom knights, that means she had just become an enemy as well.
"You!!" Vandolph shouted, his face contorting with rage. "A spellcaster? You've had a damn sorceress hidden this whole time?!"
It hadn't even occurred to him—Robert, the herbalist, was accompanied by a high-level mage that was extremely rare in the kingdom. He had underestimated them. He thought this remote village was nothing but mud huts and cow dung. Instead, he'd just stepped into a spell circle wrapped in mystery and hidden power. A mistake on his side and its a costly one.
He glared at Marissa, then the baby on her hands who turns out to have no flying frame on its head. In an instant, Vandolph managed to connect the dot. He heard rumors that the king's third son was a freak with no Divine Frame visible above its head and after seeing the child himself, only then did realized it was true.
Not to mention, since the baby was teleported by Jorthon himself, then seeing it in a place of his closest friend which happens to be Robert just make sense.
"So this is what you're protecting all this time…" Vandolph murmured, voice laced with cruel realization. "A rouge magician, a freak baby of the king, and a turncoat herbalist. My future is just getting better and better the moment I bring your heads to the king!"
In the next moment, Vandolph's body released another blast of his aura. This time he is going to fight seriously and without holding back.
Rin blinked at the chaos from the safety of Marissa's arms. His baby eyes widened in fear.
"Uwooooh~" he babbled loudly, staring at the charging commander from the distance. His little hands clapped tightly on the woman's arm.
It meant, in his mind: RUN Mommy Windy!
"I'll kill you both and take the freak child's head too," Vandolph growled, covering his sword with renewed bloodlust and aura while his footsteps became extremely heavy. "Let's see if your pretty winds can stop my brute strength!"
He lunged forward with overwhelming power making sure to avoid any potential spell targeted on him.
"Marissa!" Robert shouted from the eye of the storm. "Release the spell now! He's coming for you!"
"I'm not afraid of that thick-headed troll," she replied confidently. "The whirlwind spell stays for ten seconds. Just get ready to move when it has calmed." she said as she dissapeared from her spot. Turns out, she made a short distance teleportation that cover about ten meters behind her.
[BLINK]
"Stay here for now, baby." she hurriedly placed Rin into a cushioned cradle beside the hearth and waved her wand again.
"Stop running you bitch!" Vandolph missed his charging attack and continued to chase.
[BLINK]
Marissa then lured the charging knight using another short distance teleport away from the child knowing that the fight is going to be intense. She took a deep breath while pointing her wand forward. Her eyes glinted with a dangerous calm.
Vandolph surged faster as he get closer toward her, his boots cracking the earth underfoot. He is ignoring the baby for now.
[VANGUARD FLASH]
A flash of speed burst beneath him—his body blurred, a red streak moving with unnatural velocity. Marissa's eyes widened, but her response was instant. She thought she still has about a second and a half to cast an offensive spell but since Vandolph has another movement spell on his arsenal she had no choice but to switch on a defensive spell.
[TERRA WARD]
With a commanding flick of her wand, the ground roared to life. A wall of earthen stone shot up between them, ten meters wide and five thick, a barrier grown from raw nature.
CLANG!
Vandolph rammed through it not minding its thickness.
The shockwave of his collision sent gravel and dirt flying, but he pushed through the wall like a battering ram, fueled by fury and skill. He emerged on the other side, sword swinging in a lethal arc that was originally aimed at the neck of Marissa —only to find nothing.
His blade sliced air.
"Tsk."
Above him, Marissa now stood atop the other side of the very wall he shattered, wand glowing.
[CINDERBOLT]
A barrage of glowing embers rained down in rapid fire, hundreds of flame-tipped bolts striking the knight in a relentless salvo. Each spark detonated on contact, chipping away at his armor, scorching his arms and legs.
"ARGH—YOU—!"
He stumbled, flaming smoke trailing off his shoulders.
[KNIGHTVEIL]
A shimmering dome of golden energy shimmered to life, wrapping around him like a shell. The bolts deflected off the magical barrier, fizzling on impact.
"You bitch," he hissed through gritted teeth. "You'll regret that."
He saw Robert running toward them, the whirlwind now fading.
Vandolph frowned and raised a hand to his lips—
FWHIIIIIIT!
A high-pitched whistle. A signal.
Robert's eyes widened.
"No…" he muttered. "A scout unit."
A split second later, a whistling sound cut the air.
[CRIMSON COMET]
BOOOOM!!~
A searing explosion detonated just ahead of Robert, knocking him backward.
'a hidden archer' Robert realized, hitting the dirt hard. His instincts kicked in, honed from years of field combat. He rolled to the side just as a second arrow thundered down beside him.
BOOOM!~
[FALCON FOCUS]
A faint shimmer flickered across his pupils.
With the buff from his Falcon Focus, everything slowed down while his vision sharpened. He could now see through layers of wind and movement, detecting heat, angles, trajectories and even the hidden figures of the archer from two hundred meters away.
Four more enchanted arrows streaked toward him in a deadly arc. Robert's sword whirled—clash, spark, clang!—each arrow expertly deflected, spinning harmlessly off into the trees… or into the knights who had just started recovering.
"OH SHI—"
BOOOM!!
"MY LEG—!"
BOOOM!!
One knight was sent flying into a trough. Another was smacked across the head with the shaft and crumpled into a heap.
Robert landed in a low crouch, exhaling. But it was not over.
Another arrow came from his blind spot. This one silent and fast. It was positioned in an angle that if he managed to dodge it, it would hit Marissa instead.
[CRIMSON COMET] – Stealth Variant.
"Marissa—!"
BOOOOM!!
It hit Robert in the shoulder before he could finish the warning. The blast sent him flipping, crashing to the ground in a spray of blood and dirt. His sword clattered from his hand while his consciousness faded away.
"ROBERT!!" Marissa cried out, eyes trembling.
The pain and the distraction would cost her dearly.
[EARTH KING STOMP]
Vandolph's boot hit the ground with magical force.
The resulting shockwave surged outward in all directions. The stone wall shattered. The earth split. Marissa cried out as the tremor hit her directly, rattling her mind and disrupting her spellcasting and mana flow inside. Debris flew—and a chunk of stone smacked her in the back, knocking her from her perch.
She crashed to the ground with a gasp and fell unconscious as well.
The dust settled and there was silence for a while.
Only the crackle of residual magic and the groans of injured knights remained.
Then—laughter.
"HA! HAHAHAHAHA!!" Vandolph roared, throwing his head back in triumph.
His men, bruised and battered, limped toward him with grins and chuckles of their own. Even the hidden archer gave a celebratory whistle from the treetops.
They'd done it.
"Dumb bitch thought she could fly. That's what you get when you mess with Commander Vandolph," he bragged.
"Sir," one knight said, limping forward with a cracked helmet, "Shall we… uh… check the target?"
"Yes… yes." Vandolph brushed the ash from his armor and turned toward the ruined house. "The brat."
The hut was a wreck. Crumbled beams, cracked walls, scorched furniture—it had suffered the brunt of the Earth King Stomp. But nestled in the only intact corner of the room was a small cradle. Dust-covered. Shaky. But intact.
Rin lay there.
Eyes wide while he peed from fear. Cheeks puffed. He looked at the soot-covered, manure-splattered face of Commander Vandolph and babbled:
"Eeeeeh ooooh…"
It meant, in the baby's world:
I'm dead.
Vandolph stepped forward, smirking with menace, sword raised to poke the child's heart.
"And here you are… the most troublesome little shit of the day. Let's get this over with—"
But the moment his blade reached toward the cradle—
The air shimmered.
A sigil lit beneath Rin, glowing faintly in a radiant golden hue.
Vandolph paused.
"What the—?"
The glow intensified.
From within the child's cradle, an ancient symbol burned its mark into the floorboards—circular, divine, pulsating with energy.
"Sir!" a knight called out, terrified. "That's a—"
Before he could finish, a pulse of light shot outward.
KRAKOOOOOOM!
A wave of golden force blasted through the room, knocking Vandolph off his feet and hurling the nearby knights to the ground once more.
From the light, an ethereal bird—glorious and gold, with flaming wings—emerged, crying out with a roar that sounded like the voice of judgment itself.
It was—
The Mark of the Golden Phoenix.
The baby had awakened something ancient.
Something divine.