The man with black hair went by the name Moriarty Sepak.
He was a gentleman of slender build, with eyes that were slightly slanted. His physique was quite lean, as evidenced by the tone of his face, and he possessed a prominent chin.
Furthermore, he had short ebony hair that was combed backwards. A very notable facial characteristic was the black tattoo marking on his face similar to a sigil.
"Who are you..?" asked one of the two farmers diligently tending to their land. While they typically welcome visitors, the frigid air and his somewhat foreboding aura had left them feeling unsettled.
The three individuals accompanying Moriarty had only added to their unease.
"Carry that mystery to the afterlife.."
After Moriarty said this, he unveiled his "Archive." It was a book of light blue colour with a floral design of a similar shade. At the center of the cover was a crystal of snow, which had approximate hexagonal symmetry.
[Archive] :: It is a textbook of magic that typically includes instructions on how to create magical objects such as talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms, and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities.
Some Archives specialized in elemental magic, like the one this Magus used.
"Necare Leucojum.." cold air escaped his breath.
Moriarty raised his hand and white spheres appeared around him. The spheres were scattered and fell like snow, enveloping the farmers in explosive clusters of ice shards that spontaneously emerged.
The farmers were killed instantly.
The ice shards that had caused harm to the farmers were stained with blood, and some of the deceased farmers' body parts were still visible.
Moriarty, after surveying the village, instructed his three subordinates to enter it. They departed by transforming into gusts of wind.
Moriarty then snapped his fingers, causing the ice clusters to disintegrate into fine particles, leaving no trace of flesh behind.
With his emotionless voice, he uttered, "In my cold justice... Be lost to solitude." It was evident that Moriarty was no lowly Magus. In fact, he was an Advanced Magus (4th rank).
...
"Michael! Michael!"
One of the villagers rushed to the Pendragon resident. He was the only one they were sure had any combat ability in their community. So it was best to report to him first before doing any other thing.
He stepped out of his home, "What's all the fuss about?" he inquired. Anyone would be displeased if they were disturbed to the point they had their names shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I'm sorry! There's trouble!" the individual said.
This news also caught the ear of Gadi who had finishing taking his bath at the back. He wore a towel on his waist and hung another on his neck.
"What's going on?" he asked the exact same question Michael was about to.
The villager informed us about the presence of a Magus in the area who possessed the ability to cast powerful ice spells. However, this was not a cause for celebration as the Magus was using his powers to harm people.
The villager provided a detailed description of the Magus and even demonstrated his actions using an Archive.
"Oh no!" Michael exclaimed, but not for the reason one would think.
"Michael what's going on!" Amara uttered as she rushed out of the garden, there was panic everywhere. Anyone close enough to the more populated part of their community would be able to hear the people's screams.
He was silent.
"Michael?" she called to him again. During this same time, Gadi whistled a calm tune as he walked back into the house. He didn't seem to shoe much mental exhaustion from the news. You could say he was unfazed.
"Archibald... He went out this morning.." his fingers vibrated, the thought that his son would be in a dire situation bothered him. He knew what he had to do, desperate times required the most desperate measures.
Amara gasped. She was gripped by fear, the fear of what may happen to their son.
"Look... I don't want to be pessimistic, but your son may have already been ki-"
Michael didn't let the villager complete his words, "Shut up! Nothing's gonna happen to my boy... Not on my watch!" equally being a swordsman, Michael was almost always with his sword.
After all, he was in charge of protecting the sticks of the outer region.
It was always prey to members of the Imperial Council. Surely, influenced by the Ixtal Kingdom. They always wanted to expand their territory beyond the Azapita Mountains and their only obstacle were the pests that lived in the Berkyl Region.
It was the biggest kingdom in the Zenoa Empire, and yet the rulers didn't seem so content with their current geographical dominance.
"Please honey, be careful!" Amara mentioned just before Michael was about to take his leave. He pulled his loving wife in close proximity to him, where he pecked her forehead. His own way of assuring her that everything was going to be fine.
"Now, can you take me there?" he was ready for departure, tightly holding the hilt of his weapon.
"S-Sure! Follow me.." said the villager.
Before Michael could depart, he was detained by Gadi, who placed his hand on Michael's right shoulder as a way to signal him to wait.
"Excuse me, my son is in danger, and the people are in peril," Michael said, feeling the urgency to leave immediately to save them. "Listen to me," Gadi spoke with a calm and confident voice, he could be very serious in the most unexpected situations. "If these Magi were sent by the Ixtal Kingdom, which I'm sure they were, then it's best you leave this to me."
Gadi seemed so serious about what he said that even Michael didn't know how to tell him to stand down.
Prior, Michael hadn't noticed the sheathed sword Gadi held in his hand. This was the first time he'd actually witnessed him with an actual sword, before now he wasn't even sure if he had one. But this cleared his doubts.
"There is only one Ice Magus I know of from Ixtal, that can wreak such havoc... And that's Moriarty Sepak." Gadi's eyes narrowed which attributed him with a more serious aura, "No offense, but you don't stand a chance against him... He's an Advanced Magus just short of becoming a Senior Magus.."
His own way of telling them let him handle it.
Michael was surprised, "But there's about four Magi, can you handle them all?" he was worried.
As Michael spoke, Gadi strode forward with his hand firmly grasping the midsection of his sword, which was securely sheathed for protection.
He waved with the back of his palm, not looking at the others, and assured them, "It's fine... You've hired a strong teacher after all, I will show my gratitude by ensuring the safety of your family. Leave the rest to me." His tone was confident, completely lacking humility.
"Uh... Sir? Don't you need me to show you the place?" the villager asked.
"That won't be necessary, I already know where they are.." this sentence alone showed the level of experience Gadi had. And for some reason, it gave Archibald's parent complete confidence in the safety of their son.
...
Moriarty and his subordinates had unfortunately caused fatal injuries to most of the individuals they'd encountered.
The intention was not to eliminate all of them, but rather to create a sense of fear among the populace by slaughtering a significant number. This fear would then compel them to evacuate the current geographic zone.
Moriarty was confident that this strategy had been effective thus far. He didn't have any reservations about having blood on his hands, as he was simply a tool of the Ixtal Kingdom.
"What next, Sir Moriarty.." one of his subordinates asked.
Before he could respond, he heard a rustle of the trees.
"Silence.." he ordered.
Coincidentally, it was the same tree Archibald and Velrossa spent their time under and as of the time the two were hiding above the group of nefarious Magi.
("Crap we're gonna die..")
Archibald panicked in his mind while he restricted the fearful whimpering of Velrossa by blocking his mouth. If he kept panicking this would surely thwart their goal of staying concealed.
Would this escalate to an unfortunate turn of events?