Whoosh.
Ray's body collapsed to the ground as the second arrow pierced straight through his skull.
The forest fell silent.
After several breaths—and no movement from the corpse—five figures appeared almost simultaneously around it.
"See? I told you it wouldn't be hard to kill a kid with no combat experience."
The man holding the bow chuckled, turning his head toward the person beside him.
"Seems like after the last failed assassination, our boss was worrying too much."
"Yeah. There was no need to be this cautious."
Both spoke casually, their gazes shifting toward their leader.
He stood there silently.
Tall.
Broad shoulders stretched the fabric of his clothes, his body built not for display but for survival. Muscle packed onto his frame naturally—solid, heavy, real.
His figure seemed slightly out of focus, not unnaturally, but as if the eye itself refused to settle on him.
And then there was his face.
Mature. Weathered. Calm.
Lines etched into his skin—not merely from age, but from experience. From seeing death too closely. From surviving murder, betrayal, and brutality long enough for them to leave permanent marks.
"Hmm… maybe I really was thinking too much about this."
Fffssshhh—
BOOM!
In less than a millisecond, the corpse on the ground swelled grotesquely—
and exploded.
A violent eruption of flames tore outward, heat so intense it felt like the forest itself screamed. Trees were incinerated. The ground melted. The air warped violently.
Everything happened too fast.
One of the assassins was swallowed instantly by the blast.
The boss reacted on instinct.
Snap.
A talisman appeared in his hand, activating the moment it touched his mana.
A translucent barrier flared to life around him.
The inferno raged for a full minute.
When it finally died down—nothing remained.
Charred earth.
Ash.
Melted ground.
"So… you're the only one who survived."
The voice came from behind him.
Cold.
Calm.
Filled with murderous intent.
The boss felt a jolt shoot down his spine.
He turned.
Ray stood there.
Completely unharmed.
Not a single scratch on him.
His eyes burned with killing intent.
"Y–You bastard… you tricked us!"
Rage exploded across the boss's face.
"How dare you!"
He roared and lunged forward, axe raised high.
"Flaming Serpent King."
Ray extended his hand.
Fwoooosh—
A massive serpent of blazing fire burst forth, its body coiling through the air as it hissed violently.
HISSSSS!
The flaming serpent charged.
The boss snarled and swung his axe with all his strength.
BOOM!
The serpent shattered, exploding into dozens of smaller flames that scattered across the battlefield.
"You're dead, you bastard!"
The boss shouted—then froze.
Ray was smiling.
Not good.
Instinct screamed danger.
The scattered flames around him suddenly flared brighter, burning violently as they began absorbing the surrounding mana.
Ray's voice reached him, calm and amused.
"The most important part of the Flaming Serpent King spell isn't its power."
The flames twisted—burning more vigorously.
They began to take shape.
"It's what happens when you destroy it."
The boss's eyes widened in horror.
"Each fragment becomes a new Flaming Serpent King…"
Ray's smile widened—devilish.
"…by consuming the surrounding mana."
The flames finished forming.
One.
Two.
Three—
No.
Dozens of Flaming Serpent Kings rose from the scattered fire, each one coiling through the air as if alive, their bodies burning brighter as they devoured the surrounding mana.
HISSSSS—HISSS—HISSSS!
The forest screamed.
The boss staggered back, eyes bloodshot, veins bulging across his neck.
"Impossible…! This isn't a 2nd Rank spell!"
"Y–You're not a 2nd Rank Mage!"
He slammed his axe into the ground and roared.
"Burning Blood Sacrifice!"
BOOM!
His aura exploded outward. Blood evaporated from his skin, turning into crimson steam as his cultivation surged violently. The ground beneath him cracked as his strength forcibly climbed beyond its limit.
His body screamed in agony.
But he smiled.
"I don't care who you are or what rank you are," he snarled, lifting his axe.
"I'll drag you down with me!"
He charged.
Ray didn't move.
Didn't retreat.
Didn't even raise his voice.
He simply looked at the boss—
not with anger,
not with hatred,
but with calm certainty.
"Too late."
Ray closed his fist.
FWOOOM—
All the flaming serpents lunged at once.
They didn't strike his body.
They wrapped around him.
Coiling around his arms.
His legs.
His chest.
His neck.
The boss screamed.
"AAAAAA—!"
The flames didn't burn immediately.
They burned him slowly—layer by layer.
Skin.
Bones.
Organs.
His Burning Blood Sacrifice collapsed instantly, devoured by the serpents.
His skin turned to ash.
His bones crumbled.
The pain did not stop.
"P–Please…!"
"Wait—!"
He begged.
Ray walked forward slowly, the flames illuminating his cold expression.
"You shouldn't have chosen the job," Ray said calmly.
"You shouldn't have attacked me."
The boss was already half-dead, his body barely holding together as he begged for mercy.
"I—I was only following orders—!"
Ray stopped a few steps away.
"I know."
He raised his hand slightly.
The serpents tightened their coils.
CRRRACK—
The boss's body folded inward as his bones snapped. His scream was cut short as flames surged through his mouth and eyes.
In the next instant—
BOOOOM.
His body collapsed into a pillar of fire, then dispersed into nothing but drifting embers.
Silence returned to the forest.
Ash fell gently to the ground.
Ray stood alone.
He exhaled slowly.
The flames faded, leaving behind scorched earth—and not even a corpse to bury.
Ray turned his gaze toward the deeper part of the forest.
"This fight has definitely been sensed by demons."
He frowned slightly.
"I can't stay here anymore… and using a 4th Rank spell consumed nearly ninety percent of my mana."
"I need to rest—at least for a few minutes."
Ray turned and vanished into the forest at high speed.
Two or three minutes later—
A figure appeared at the battlefield.
Sniff… sniff…
"Hm. Humans were killed here… no—burned."
Sniff…
"T–This mana…"
The figure's pupils shrank.
"A 4th Rank spell."
Fear surged through him.
"Need to run."
The figure immediately fled at full speed, disappearing into the forest.