For a mage to cast his magic, he must first satisfy three core requirements. Namely, Mana which fuels the magic, Commands which guide the Mana, and Control to execute the command. From where Isei learned his magic from, however, the three core requirements are slightly different and much broader.
The first core is called the Vessel. This pertains to the Soul the holds the mana, the body that traps the soul, and the Mana itself. Increase the Mana you have beyond the capabilities of your soul, and it will expand, forcing the body to either adapt or implode on itself. The latter is more commonly known as Mana Surge on Earth.
The second is called the Anchor. This is where the symbiotes that let Earthlings generate and channel mana even with Earth's almost non-existent Mana in the atmosphere. The Commands also fall into this category. Commands are like rails to which Mana freely run on. Without these pathways established, Mana would just leak out ceaselessly. Mana Control is what pushes the Mana along the rails established by Commands. Generally, more experienced mages can bypass commands by directly controlling the Mana. This, however, is very dangerous as a single failed casting of a simple fireball, could blow the caster up.
The last core would be the Pledge. While not really needed to cast spells. It is very much essential in pushing magic beyond its limits. Some Earthling may not even realize that they use the so-called Pledge, and even those that do, do not understand how it helps them. They would most likely think of it as a part of strengthening their Command.
A Pledge allows a mage to give himself a restriction in exchange for empowering their magic. This is what led to Isei creating his specialized magic.
The Law Magic that Isei developed was made in order to challenge those much stronger than him. His lacking Vessel led him unable to learn any hard-hitting spells. But his Law Magic allows Isei to set rules that must be obeyed. A prime example was the Blade of Envy.
A blade made from his thoughts that can cut virtually anything except for the opponent's designated weapon. It is extremely handy against armored opponents or large monsters with thick scales or hides.
Isei's Laws come in 3 categories, namely the Basic Law, Supreme Law, and the Absolute Law. Laws which must be explained, the Seven Laws which do not need to be explained, and the Law placed upon Isei that must always be obeyed even outside of battle.
The Law Magic may be and can be strong, it requires Isei to outwit his opponents from beginning to end. He must also select which laws to create and maintain during battle, which is even harder considering he cannot make a single mistake because of his lacking Vessel.
***
Ren's magic is that of a typical enhancer. He casts his so-called 'spells' that strengthens his physical abilities by performing moves he has practiced. This may make it seem like they are predictable, but an excellent enhancer can create faints and slight variations to their moves and trick their opponent.
That is just what Ren did.
He waited for Isei to get near his range before making his own move and closing the gap. Ren thrust his sword, and it looked like it caught Isei off-guard. Still, Isei still had a small space to dodge to, and so he did.
As if waiting for that opening, Ren changed his thrust and raised his sword up high. He took one more step and struck down directly towards Isei. Struggling to regain his balance, Isei was forced to defend.
Ren's blade came down, his body and his sword both enhanced by mana. He was confident of breaking down Isei's defences from this position. All he needed was a slight wound, and he would win. What he saw shocked him.
Isei activated his magic at this moment.
'1st Supreme Law, First Strike Indiscriminate Parry.'
His attack was blocked, and the feeling he got when his blade hit Isei's was like hitting a wall. No, even a wall would have broken down from his swing.
Ren jumped back to reassess the situation. If Isei could easily block an attack like that even in such an unfavorable situation, Ren would have to wait for the moment when Isei is unable to block at all. He was baffled at the strength that Isei's body displayed despite looking like an average young man.
Little did Ren know that Isei's 1st Supreme Law can only block the first attack and has no offensive capabilities, and if he tried again, he might have succeeded. He couldn't be blamed, though. The Indiscriminate Parry even dumbfounded a giant dragon before which scared it off.
When Isei saw Ren take a defensive stance, he knew his bluff had worked. He rushed towards Ren once more. This time, he was noticeably faster.
It was because he activated the 3rd Supreme Law, One Man Siege, which doubles Isei's movement speed when attacking an enemy who is in a defensive stance.
Ren was shocked once more. He took a few steps back, trying to control the spacing. Isei's attacks came, and he did his best to defend.
Isei left no room for Ren to counter-attack. The attacks kept on coming and showed no signs of stopping. Ren grew worried that he might be the first one to lose stamina even if he was confident that none of the attacks would slip through.
He doubted whether he should risk an attack or not. Just as Ren almost gave up defending to attack, an opening came, and it was a big one. Ren's fighting spirit rose up when Isei faltered and missed a beat.
He knew the next attack would be slow enough to counter-attack. He himself and waited for the exact moment, and then he seized it.
At the exact moment that Ren made his move, he could hear Isei chanting something.
"...Life Magic, Blood Edge!"
Ren's blade pierced through Isei's shoulder. He could see the Blade of Envy fade out, and he thought he won.
He thought...
Suddenly, Ren felt a sharp pain on his left side. He looked towards his arm and found it gone. He could not understand what happened at all and just stood there silently while blood kept of flowing down from him.
Isei sat on the ground with Ren's blade still stuck on his shoulder. The lack of preparation before the battle forced him to take a hit as a sacrifice. Even so, every single moment of that fight was within his expectation. The enemy was far too predictable.
From beginning to end, Ren was led by the nose. First was when he got deceived into thinking that Isei had very abnormal strength. From that moment on, he kept doing what Isei thought he would without any deviation. It may have been because of his chaotic emotion, but failing to understand what was really happening would have already led to his death on the battlefield.
"Ahh... This is why I prefer fighting casters rather than enhancers. Haahh. Too troublesome." Isei complained as he slowly pulled the blade out.
"You still got healers here right? Yo! Ah... damn, I'm spent." Isei laid on his back and closed his eyes.
He could hear the doors opening as he gradually fell asleep.
***
"He probably did this, right?" Makise spoke in an irritated tone.
People from the clan has been coming nonstop lately, trying to persuade them to go the clan.
"Thet said 'he came back' so it is more than likely to be the case" Mizuki said calmly.
"Did he think that we'll forgive him just because of this?" Makise stared at Mizuki and asked, "Don't tell me you actually will!?"
"I've was never angry for what he tried to do to me. I was angry that despite promising to protect you with his life, he was the one ti hurt you instead. " Mizuki shook her head as she explained.
"But your tears then were real! How can you tell me you didn't hate hin for trying to do that!"
"Look, I was already prepared to give my everything to him... No, he WAS my everything. It just scared me when I saw his eyes back then, how could he have changed instantly, and now he's back like it never happened in the beginning." Mizuki's face looked pained as she tried to recall pass events.
How could someone who acted as their guiding light, change in a matter of seconds to become their nightmare instead.
And what connections does it have to Isei entering a whole another world...