Ben gets attacked directly by Mage 1's Werewolf howl. The howl is so strong, hitting Ben at close range. The sound attack breaks the mud and cracks the ground around Ben.
"GUAHK!" Ben spits some blood.
The sound wave hits his body from the inside out, causing intense pain. Even the tough skin and bones he gains as a Dragon Slayer can't protect his internal organs. The sound attack breaks the mud covering Ben and also damages his internal organs.
Ben takes the full brunt without any defense. Blood comes out from his ears due to the loud sound damaging them. Ben sustains a lot of damage from that one powerful attack. With the mud destroyed, Ben falls to the ground and coughs up more blood.
"Damn, that hurts." Ben groans.
"You're still conscious? That's impressive. No one could stay awake after receiving my ultimate attack before." Mage 1 taunts.
Ben tries to get up, but he feels his body hurting so much when he tries to move.
'Damn, that attack damaged some of my muscles and veins.' Ben realizes.
"What a futile struggle." Mage 1 mocks.
Mage 1 shapes his Werewolf hand like a spear, sharp claws seemingly able to pierce rock and steel. He sends the spear towards Ben's back, intending to stab him. Ben anticipates this and quickly makes a small magic circle on his right palm. The magic circle creates an explosion, flinging him away just in time to avoid the stab.
"Oh? That is a smart usage of magic, but that's it." Mage 1 comments.
Mage 1 jumps towards Ben in his Werewolf form and opens his claws. The claws glow white as the mage covers them with wind magic. Ben doesn't move and waits for the attack while taking a deep breath.
"DIE, BRAT!" Mage 1 declares.
"SUN DRAGON'S LIGHT ROAR!" Ben counters.
"WHAT?!" Mage 1 exclaims.
Ben releases a yellow light beam roar to attack the Werewolf. As a Sun Dragon Slayer, Ben can use fire, light, and sun plasma as their combination. Although the sun has more power, Ben can only access these three for now.
Most of Ben's spells have three versions: fire, light, and sun plasma. The light beam isn't as powerful as the sun plasma's roar, but it has very high speed and is hard to dodge. The light beam hits the mage and explodes upon contact.
"GUAAAHH!" Mage 1 cries out.
The mage is flung into the sky by the beam and explosion, taking the attack at close range and getting knocked out. The other two mages who stand behind are surprised by the turn of events and don't know what to do.
While they are confused, Ben makes a magic circle with his right hand, still lying on the ground. Although he can't move his body well, he can move his hand. Ben creates a tiny sun on his magic circle and shoots it at the two unsuspecting mages.
"Sun Dragon's Bomb!" Ben declares.
"SHIT!" Mage 5 realizes the incoming attack, but it's too late.
*BOOM*
The bomb falls right between the two mages and explodes. The explosion is massive, and having not prepared any defense, they take the full brunt. The two mages are engulfed by the explosion and get knocked out.
Ben doesn't let his guard down and scans the surroundings first. Roubaul has taught him sensory magic that helps him sense anything in his surroundings that has magic power. He still tries to combine it with A.I Chip scanning ability to make it active every time.
After confirming that there are no enemies left, Ben takes out the car key. He infuses his magic into the key to activate a spell that connects it with the car. The spell acts like a remote control key that can be used from some distance. Of course, it's Ben who has the idea, but it's Roubaul who made the spell on the key and car.
The car defense system deactivates, and the locks open. Wendy, Bella, and Carla immediately rush out of the car and go to Ben, all of them with teary eyes seeing Ben hurt. Wendy casts a healing spell on Ben. Bella cries seeing Ben get hurt, while Carla reprimands him.
Ben just sighs and doesn't say anything until they calm down. They've never seen him get hurt like this, and he always appears strong in front of them. Such pain isn't a problem for Ben; he was used to it as an ex-soldier, but it might be too much for these kids.
"Alright, that's enough. I won't die, so calm down, alright? We need to leave now because these guys might have friends." Ben reassures.
The girls realize it and agree with Ben. After Wendy heals him, Ben feels a lot better, so he can move again. They tie the enemies with rope and place them in the car. Then, they set off to Shirotsume, and Ben drives as fast as he can. Arthur also doesn't protest anymore by the speed now, knowing there might be more enemies coming.
"Arthur, call your dad to check on their group." Ben instructs.
"Alright." Arthur acknowledges.
Arthur takes out a communication lacrima and calls his dad. The communication lacrima works like a phone, using the video call feature. It can be used by non-mages as long as the lacrima has been charged with magic power before.
(a.n: <...> is used for a phone call, speaker, broadcast, or indirect sound.)
"Dad, we got attacked just now, but we can handle it. How about your group?" Arthur updates.
"Yeah, we're fine. We're moving to Shirotsume very fast now. We've covered 3/4 of the distance. What about you?" Ben adds.
"Alright, then we will take care of these mages by ourselves. Just stay vigilant and immediately call us if something happens! The enemies are rather strong, and they might have more members. Avoid passing through an alley or any place that makes your escape harder!" Ben advises.
They close the call and continue their way to Shirotsume. They keep their vigilance and don't get attacked again until they reach the town. They immediately go to the mayor's house. With Arthur there, they can enter it easily.
Ben parks the car in the front yard, and they all get down from the car. They walk to the front door and see some people get out from there. There's a middle-aged man, a middle-aged woman, a girl, a butler, and some guards. The middle-aged man must be the mayor, the woman is his wife, and the girl must be Arthur's fiancée because she runs to Arthur when she sees him.
"ARCHI!" The girl hugs Arthur.
"M-Maya, please don't call me like that
." Arthur gets embarrassed.
"Pfft, Archi." Ben giggles, and his team also giggles.
"Ooh, Arthur, you've finally arrived. It seems the plan has worked well." The mayor observes.
"Yes, Uncle Ray, the plan worked well. Although there is some disturbance on the way, we can handle it. Now we just need to wait for Father's group." Arthur explains.
"Disturbance? Is it those people that got tied up on that magic car?" Mayor Ray inquires.
"Yes, they're dark mages, but Ben has defeated them." Arthur replies.
"Ben? Who is that?" Ray asks.
"Me." Ben answers.
"Huh? You're the one who defeated them? Really?" Ray seems skeptical.
"I don't care if you want to believe it or not, but you need to call the magic council now to capture these guys before they wake up and create more trouble." Ben insists.
"R-right. Theo, call the magic council!" Ray commands.
"Understood." Theo (Butler) responds.
The butler goes inside the house to call the magic council. Ray invites them to get inside, and his men will take care of the dark mages. They agree and want to get inside when suddenly Ben senses something.
Someone in black ninja attire suddenly jumps down from the mansion's roof at fast speed. The ninja mage swings his sword, covered in black-colored magic, toward Arthur. Ben covers his leg with light magic. He flashes to grab Arthur and Maya and pushes them right on time to avoid the sword that almost slashes Arthur.
Ben doesn't waste time and immediately flashes toward the ninja mage. The ninja mage, who misses his target, lands on the ground and is about to attack again. But when the ninja mage is about to move, Ben appears right in front of him. Ben sends a light-covered knee attack at the ninja mage's face and flings him toward the wall at high speed.
*BAMM*
The ninja mage hits the wall and breaks it. The ninja mage is still conscious and gets up again, but Ben flashes in front of him again.
"Sun Dragon's Fire Fist!" Ben declares.
Ben covers his right hand with fire and punches the ninja mage from above right on the head. The ninja mage crashes to the ground hard because of the punch and spits some blood. He gets knocked out.
"Damn, that's a close call." Ben sighs.