"After him!"
"This filthy commoner dares play tricks on us? He's begging to die!"
The four mages chased closely behind Yuuki, cruel smirks twisting their faces as they watched the boy stumble forward in apparent panic.
They had roamed the royal capital for years. How could they not know every twist and turn of the streets?
"Don't rush him. Spread out. Push him toward a quieter area."
The eldest of the four snarled the order, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.
As the four split up to block the surrounding paths, Yuuki seemed even more panicked, stumbling left and right as he was gradually funneled toward the outer edges of the town — exactly as they intended.
The surroundings became quieter. Fewer and fewer pedestrians walked the streets.
It didn't take long.
The mages watched Yuuki dart into a narrow alley and, seeing this, identical smiles crept across their faces.
They knew this alley — it was a dead end.
The dim, filthy passage reeked faintly from piles of trash tossed carelessly into corners.
Yuuki finally slowed to a stop at the sealed-off wall at the end of the alley.
"Hah— looks like I'm trapped."
He exhaled heavily. Even with his good stamina, running at full speed for so long left him breathless.
"You… you damn commoner… you can really run, huh!"
"Not running anymore? I want to see how far you think you can go now!"
Their ragged, angry voices echoed behind him.
Yuuki turned around. The four mages had already closed off the entrance, approaching with twisted, feral expressions.
"Don't bother struggling, boy. You offended a noble. No matter where you run, it won't save you."
The leader stepped forward, glaring down with arrogant disdain.
"But—"
"If you kneel for us right now, maybe—just maybe—we might feel generous enough to let your suffering be a little shorter."
Despite the threatening approach, Yuuki showed not a trace of panic.
"True. I really can't run anymore."
"But who said I'm the one who can't escape? Maybe…"
"…it's the four of you who can't."
Yuuki lifted his hand slightly, flicking a sheet of paper between his fingers.
The four mages froze instinctively.
A map.
The leader's expression changed instantly. The realization stabbed through him:
Yuuki hadn't been cornered.
He had led them here on purpose.
He chose this alley.
Whoosh!
The moment they hesitated, Yuuki's eyes flashed sharply. His silver grimoire shot into the air, hovering before him.
"Wind Magic — Tower of Storms!"
A fierce shout.
BOOM!
In the span of a single breath, half his magic was drained. A massive column of spiraling winds erupted into existence, surging upward from the alley like a roaring dragon.
The violent winds sucked in everything — trash, debris, loose stones — all swallowed by the towering cyclone.
Because the alley was a dead end, Yuuki didn't have to worry about attackers behind him. One spell was enough to block their path.
"What… what kind of magic is that?!"
One mage stumbled back in disbelief at the violent tornado cutting off their approach.
"So that's all it is."
The leader sneered.
The map had startled him — he thought Yuuki had some clever backup plan. But this? Just a blast of wind magic?
A commoner was still a commoner.
The tornado was strong, yes — but beating four trained mages with just this was impossible.
"Attack!"
The leader swung his arm.
The other three quickly unleashed their magic. Blasts of elemental force slammed into the tornado, slowing its crawl forward.
Seeing this—
The four mages exhaled in relief, smiles creeping across their faces.
Yuuki noticed this but remained completely calm. He quickly unfastened the bundle slung across his chest and took it down.
These four mages were certainly strong—stronger than the young noble candidates in the entrance test. Just as a comparison: Yuno's noble opponent hadn't even managed to resist and had been swept into the tornado immediately.
To most commoner mages, this level of skill was already impressive.
But even the strongest had limits.
At least, none of these four could break through this spell.
Yuuki admired the strength of the magic for a moment, then swung the bundle with a sudden force, hurling it straight into the tornado.
Instantly, the package ripped apart. Bottled lamp oil spilled into the swirling winds, adding a streak of black to the already violent cyclone.
"This is my real trump card!"
A smirk tugged at Yuuki's lips. From his pocket, he pulled out the firesticks he had bought earlier during the day and casually tossed them into the tornado.
Blocked by the cyclone, the four mages couldn't see what he was doing behind them. All they noticed was a sudden tremor in the winds — and then BOOM.
The tornado transformed into a towering pillar of fire, flames roaring skyward. Heat and firewaves spread rapidly in all directions.
The mages barely had time to react before a massive suction force erupted from the fiery vortex. The power far exceeded the tornado's previous effects.
Terrified screams tore through the air as the four mages were helplessly sucked into the flaming maelstrom.
CRACK!
After a short pause, Yuuki snapped his fingers.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The fire tornado vanished in an instant. Four charred figures plummeted from midair, hitting the alley's cobblestones with brutal force.
One of them — the leader — landed directly in front of Yuuki.
A faint, almost imperceptible smell of cooked flesh lingered in the air.
Yuuki's face paled slightly, but he quickly suppressed the discomfort rising in his chest.
Compassion?
That was for the strong. Weaklings had no right to pity. At least, Yuuki didn't consider himself strong.
"You… you…"
A charred hand trembled as it lifted from the ground, the weak, desperate voice barely audible:
"T-that… th-what… magic…?"
Yuuki watched calmly, eyes fixed on the figure before him.
"Just as water flows downward, heated air changes the flow of surrounding currents. That isn't magic—it's science."
He spoke patiently, then raised his foot and kicked the mage in the neck.
The scorched arm collapsed back to the ground.
A glance at the remaining three showed that their grimoires were still intact. They still had a breath of life left — good.
Magic books willingly handed over? Of course they'd be devoured.
Yuuki had not chosen this dead-end alley at random.
Turning the tornado into a fire column was easy enough, but to achieve the full destructive force, he needed the right terrain.
The alley's narrow space amplified the heat from the fire and the tornado's rotational force, rapidly generating strong air currents. Hot air surged upward, pulling in the cooler air.
Yuuki stood at the dead end. The temperature changes affected nothing critical on his side.
The four mages, trapped at the alley entrance, were hit by the rapid influx of cold air into the narrow passage, creating massive pressure.
That's why they hadn't even had a chance to react before being sucked into the tornado.
Thank you, nine years of compulsory education!
Yuuki chuckled internally, glancing toward the alley's exit. He knew the fight wasn't over yet.
(End of Chapter)
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