Bermuda

"Found you, Leonardo."

At Hugo’s low voice, Tergio’s pupils dilated. In the same instant—before the bystanders could even process what had happened—Tergio vanished from the center of the square. Right after that, Commander Hugo Agrizendro’s figure also disappeared from sight.

Those who had been watching the two vanish began to stir. The only way someone could disappear like that was by using teleportation or passing through a portal.

In other words, it meant Commander Agrizendro and the low-ranking merchant group member, Tergio, had both teleported from the square.

Flynn stood frozen, paralyzed in place. He stared blankly at the empty spot, eyes wide and mouth ajar.

“Adjutant Levernil, what’s going on?”

One of the Council members hurried over and demanded an explanation. Flynn barely snapped out of his daze and barked,

“Seal all exits immediately! No exceptions—even with travel permits! Lock everything down!”

Kwaaang—!

Right as Flynn shouted, a deafening explosion echoed from far off, like entire buildings had been shattered.

The violent mana shockwaves that erupted from that direction were powerful enough that even non-mana users could sense them—and for the Council members, who had experienced all kinds of mana, the intensity was like nothing they’d felt before.

When the Council member beside him froze in place, Flynn grabbed his arm and snapped,

“Go—now!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

At Flynn’s order, the Northern Branch members raced toward the gate to deliver the news. Before long, another thunderous boom erupted near the gate.

As soon as Leonardo came into view of Hugo, he immediately teleported to the most convoluted, abandoned village within Frost territory.

He darted through tangled alleyways and ducked into a crumbling house long left vacant. As panic set in, the illusion he'd maintained with mana—the form of Tergio—began to slip, revealing his true appearance.

Sunlight filtered through the shattered window, falling in broken fragments across his brilliant golden hair as he leaned against the wall, gasping.

His luminous golden eyes flickered with brown before clearing entirely. The freckles vanished, and his pale, jade-like skin gleamed.

Though his expression was twisted in panic, the long lashes framing his golden gaze, the elegant slope of his nose, and the sharp jawline made him striking against the drab background.

In that colorless ruin, he alone burned with golden light.

Disguising one's appearance with mana was difficult. The illusion would distort with even a moment of lost focus—it demanded total concentration.

But now, he had no composure left. A lingering cold was still clinging to his fingertips, chasing him like a predator.

Leonardo leaned his head back against the wall, breathing heavily. If he couldn’t suppress his mana now, he’d be caught. Forget just hiding his face—he had to conceal his energy before that terrifying man could trace him again.

Silence hung in the air, broken only by the wind. Leonardo focused all his senses to detect Agrizendro’s presence. The man was just as skilled at hiding his own energy.

If that idiot impersonating him hadn’t set that fire near the residential area... if Agrizendro hadn’t released his mana to extinguish it that day... if he hadn’t drawn attention—Leonardo might have fooled them all into thinking he was just another powerless man.

As that bitter thought crossed his mind, a sudden wave of piercing cold pressed down on him. He leapt away instinctively.

Kwaaang—!

A colossal spear of ice impaled the spot he had just vacated, demolishing the house in an instant.

From a safe distance, Leonardo watched smoke rise from the half-destroyed ruin. Seeing the scattered shards of ice, he shivered at the thought of them skewering his head.

He looked up—and there, high above, stood the source of that power. Their eyes met. The piercing, predatory gaze froze Leonardo in place.

“Fucking bastard...”

He muttered, brow furrowed, the words genuine. Without delay, he teleported again and vanished.

His destination was the front of the gate. He knew the exits were sealed, but he had no choice.

He briefly considered heading toward the coast—but with Hugo Agrizendro chasing him at full throttle, fleeing toward water was suicide.

Appearing in the border airspace, Leonardo flew toward the gate. Just as expected, the Council forces were already deployed.

But he didn’t hesitate. Mana surged to his hand, forming a swirling black-and-red flame. He aimed to obliterate the gate with one blow and escape.

Just then, Agrizendro appeared right in front of him. Hugo had tracked him instantly and caught up without warning. Gritting his teeth, Leonardo quickly teleported high into the air again.

From a safe distance, he hurled the volatile, massive flame in his hand with all his strength.

The flame, roiling dark red like molten sunfire, barreled toward the gate. The guards instinctively flinched at the mana’s sheer pressure. In disarray, they scrambled to activate the barrier—but Hugo stood firm, unmoving.

“Commander, the barrier—!”

“It’s not needed. Step back.”

Hugo stepped beyond the defensive shield and infused the ice spear in his hand with mana. He raised it, then cleaved through the sky to meet the oncoming inferno.

Kwaaaaaang—!

The blazing mass dissipated with a deafening screech, crashing against the aerial barrier above the gate. The impact and wind blast forced everyone to cover their ears and crouch.

But in that moment of chaos, Leonardo Blaine—who had been behind the flame—vanished again without a trace. Hugo narrowed his eyes at the cut-off mana trail.

“He sure runs fast.”

As he muttered, Moria Halipe, Commander of the Northern Branch’s 3rd Battalion, appeared via teleportation. Sensing the urgency, she saluted quickly and spoke,

“Council Commander, I’ll support you.”

“No. I’ll handle him myself.”

“What? But—”

“Commander Halipe. Do you have any S-rank mage suppression—no, dragon-class capture rounds?”

“Huh? Ah, yes, I brought them just in case.”

She opened her artifact and handed over a pistol and a loaded capture round. Hugo loaded it calmly, holstered the weapon, and nodded.

“Thanks. I leave defense of the territorial gates to you, Commander.”

“Yes, understood.”

Before she could say another word, Hugo teleported again and vanished.

Moria stood there, frowning. The usually calm and composed Council Commander looked... different today.

“He’s actually enjoying this...”

“Commander! Look over there—what is that?!”

A Council member pointed urgently toward the sky above the gate, where Hugo had deflected the fireball.

A black scar marred the transparent barrier—woven with mana-nullifying stones—and faint smoke still rose from it.

Moria’s eyes widened.

‘That barrier got scratched?’

She had never seen such a thing.

****

On the run, found again, chased and relentlessly hunted by Agrizendro—Leonardo finally reached the airspace of an uninhabited island that didn’t even appear on maps, though technically within Frost territory.

Far across the sky, Hugo Agrizendro stared at him without blinking.

There was nowhere left to escape. No matter how far he fled or how well he concealed himself, Hugo always found him again—as if he would never lose track of his prey.

Leonardo knew he had no choice left but to fight. And that was exactly what Hugo had been waiting for.

A sword of flame flared to life in Leonardo’s grip, flickering red and gold with black sparks crackling at its edges.

The black lightning coursed along the tightly condensed blade. Mana howled around him, forming a violent vortex no one dared approach.

Hugo summoned mana to his hand, forming a colossal greatsword. A biting cold radiated from him, the surrounding air freezing from the sheer chill.

As opposing forces swirled in the sky, the collision of heat and cold bent the atmosphere itself.

Leonardo gripped his mana sword tightly. Hugo mirrored the motion. The moment their eyes met, they launched at each other.

In a flash, their blades clashed—and with a thunderous ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ crack, shockwaves exploded outward, followed by a fierce wind that tore through the air.

Their blades—one searing, one frozen—locked together as they poured strength into the clash, golden and icy blue eyes locked in a deadly stare.

Ice sizzled to steam and froze again. They were hurled apart by the blast, only to close the distance and collide again, and again.

Too fast to follow, they struck, dodged, parried, each trying to overwhelm the other.

Sound lagged behind their movements, echoing in empty space long after they had passed.

The earth scorched and split. The sea froze and cracked. Mountains crumbled. Their mana tore through the world like a storm, as if it would never run dry.

Hugo felt his heart pounding—for the first time in ages.

‘Strong.’

Unlike refined mana, Leonardo’s was alive—wild, sparking with raw force. It screamed to be unleashed, yet it was sharpened, deadly precise.

When Hugo pushed him back, Leonardo teleported mid-recoil, sliding beneath his guard.

He widened the distance using the explosive backlash of their clash, then unleashed a powerful ranged blast without hesitation.

To block the flame streaking toward him at supersonic speed, Hugo summoned a massive, thick ice wall.

Kwaaaaaang—!

But the flame tore through the wall like it was nothing, exploding in midair with stunning brilliance. Both their mana forces shattered together.

From the smoke and flying debris, Leonardo surged forward again. With a single strike, he shattered the remainder of the ice wall.

The boiling golden flames framed him in a way that made Hugo catch his breath. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

‘Was Leonardo always this powerful?’

The sheer force to destroy that towering wall with one blow—it made Hugo’s pulse race. How long had it been since someone stirred this excitement?

‘No, this guy... he’s more than decent.’

Now that he had felt it head-on—Leonardo wasn’t just good.

He was the best.

Even after destroying the wall, Leonardo scowled when he saw Hugo had already evaded. He conjured another wave of mana and muttered,

“Persistent bastard.”

Hugo chuckled, clearly entertained.

“Already tired?”

“Don’t talk crap—”

Even before he finished, a red beam grazed past Hugo’s face. It was no idle reply—the attack had enough force to inflict serious damage even on him.

Leonardo Blaine, early to mid-twenties, stared at him with a sharp, arrogant gaze.

Young as he was, his explosive movement and tactical foresight came from real battle, not theory. It was no wonder he had been praised as the Empire’s war hero and Armsilver’s elite commander.

Hugo savored the moment—the rush that had long been missing.

His frozen heart was beating again.