Lyon didn't say a word.
His expression remained cold and unreadable as he slowly raised his right arm and pointed it straight at the man.
That was all the command his magic needed.
The two Ice Dragons roared as they lunged forward in unison, massive jaws snapping as they tore through the frozen air toward their target.
"Tch—!"
The man leapt backward, twisting midair as he narrowly avoided one dragon's bite, then kicked off a tree to dodge the second as its icy fangs slammed shut where his head had been.
"Hah!" he laughed while flipping away. "Is that all you got, kid?"
His mocking tone echoed through the forest.
Lyon's eyes sharpened.
In the next instant, mana surged through his body.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as Lyon vanished, reappearing in front of the man with explosive speed. His fist shot forward, followed by a knee, then a sharp elbow—each strike precise, controlled, and brutally fast.
"—The hell?!" the man cursed aloud, barely managing to block.
Each clash sent shockwaves through the air. The sheer strength behind Lyon's blows forced him back step by step.
Why is this brat so strong?! the man thought, teeth grinding as his arms numbed from the impact.
Lyon twisted his hips and swung his leg upward—
A full-powered kick aimed straight at the man's face, mana compressed and focused entirely into the strike.
The man's eyes widened.
A mirror snapped into existence in front of Lyon's kick.
CRACK—!
The moment Lyon made contact, force rebounded violently.
"—?!"
His body was launched backward like a cannonball.
Pain exploded up his leg as he was sent flying through the air. Lyon forced his body to respond, twisting mid-flight before flipping and landing hard, boots digging into the frozen ground.
He slid several meters before stopping.
"…Tch." He gritted his teeth, briefly shifting his weight off his injured leg.
The man straightened, smirking.
"…I figured you must be wondering by this point ," he said casually, beginning to walk forward. "You see kid, I use Mirror Magic."
Lyon's gaze never left him.
The man continued, clearly enjoying himself. "I can create and control mirrors. Using them I can reflect attacks, copy them, redirect them, and do a whole lot more."
Without even glancing behind him, he flicked his hand.
A mirror formed—and shattered.
Behind him, the two Ice Dragons were cleaved apart instantly, their bodies breaking into countless shards of ice before collapsing into mist.
"Your flashy tricks won't work," the man said confidently. "You can't beat someone who can reflect everything you throw at him."
Lyon scoffed.
"We'll see about that."
He slammed both hands onto the ground.
A massive magic circle spread beneath him, glowing an intense icy blue.
Ice-Make: Ice Geyser!!
The earth beneath the man exploded upward.
Jagged ice spikes erupted from below, impaling the space he stood in and rapidly encasing the area in a towering pillar of ice.
The forest shook from the impact.
Lyon straightened, a faint smirk touching his lips.
Then—
SHRK—!
Pain tore through his left side.
Ice spikes burst toward him from behind, slamming into his body. Lyon barely twisted in time, avoiding the worst of it, but sharp pain still flared as blood stained the frost beneath his feet.
"—Ghh."
He staggered, gritting his teeth as he turned toward the voice he heard.
"Didn't I already tell you?" the man said, calmly approaching from the direction of the attack. "You can't beat someone who can reflect everything you throw at him."
Lyon glared at him, fighting through the pain.
He was inside the geyser. I saw it hit—
His eyes flicked toward the massive tower of ice.
A mirror was embedded within it.
Replacing where the man had been.
The man chuckled at Lyon's realization. "Like I said earlier, there's a whole lot more I can do with my magic. And here's one of them…you see as long as even one of my mirrors exists, I can swap places with it.
He shrugged. "Sure, it costs me a lot of magic—but it's worth it, especially when it lets me get a free hit in on my opponent, even allowing me to finish the fight without them noticing."
He stopped a few steps away.
"You should be proud, kid. You lasted longer than most."
Lyon's glare hardened.
Without warning, he slammed his hand into the ground again.
Ice spikes erupted outward in every direction around Lyon, forcing the man to leap back.
"It's pointless," the man said, landing lightly. "I'll just redirect it and—"
CLAP.
Lyon brought his hands together sharply.
His expression focused.
Shatter
The ice obeyed.
Every spike, every structure Lyon had created exploded apart at once, breaking into countless fragments and instantly vaporizing into a dense, freezing mist.
The forest vanished into white.
The man landed within it, clicking his tongue.
"…Using your own ice to generate a cover," he muttered, impressed despite himself. "Not bad."
He stepped forward, a mirror floating besides him as his eyes scanned the fog.
"Now then," he said quietly, moving through the mist. "Where did you run off to, kid…?"
——
A few moments later…
The man moved through the mist with slow, deliberate steps.
"…Tch." He clicked his tongue in irritation.
The kid's magic is everywhere, he thought. It's spread so heavily throughout the mist itself.
It was like trying to track a drop of water in the ocean. The cold saturated the air, clinging to his skin, his senses constantly misfiring as Lyon's presence bled through the mist.
"Annoying little brat," he muttered.
Without warning, a swarm of Ice Eagles burst toward him from his right.
He casually sidestepped, letting the frozen talons pass inches from his face.
"That's what you're going to do now" he called out lazily. "Hide like a coward?"
No response came.
Instead as he continued walking, attacks kept coming—ice spears from behind, shards from above, blades skimming past his sides. Each one was precise, well-timed… and utterly ineffective.
He dodged them all.
"This is getting boring," he said, yawning slightly as he ducked another strike. "You're just delaying the inevitable."
He continued. "Let me tell you something, kid. I wasn't always some wandering bounty hunter."
His steps slowed, confidence bleeding into his voice.
"I used to be a top-tier wizard. Part of a guild called Iron Fang."
The mist swirled.
"A brat like you?" he continued. "You never stood a chance."
Then—
He saw it.
A shadowy figure stood in the distance, barely visible through the thinning fog.
Lyon.
The man's lips curled into a cruel smirk.
"Well," he said, summoning a mirror beside him. "Looks like the fun's over."
A beam of light fired instantly.
It pierced straight through the figure's head.
The body collapsed limply to the ground.
Silence followed.
Then…the mist began to dissipate.
The man exhaled, shoulders relaxing as a victorious grin spread across his face.
"Doesn't matter how many tricks you had," he said as he approached. "In the end, I always get my target."
He stepped closer to the fallen body, now barely covered by the last wisps of fog.
"Eighty thousand jewels…" he muttered, reaching down. "Talk about worth the hassle."
The moment his hand made contact—
BOOM—!
The body exploded.
Ice shards detonated outward in all directions, slamming into him with brutal force. Shards stabbed into his arms, legs, torso—each one freezing solid the instant it struck.
"—GAAH!" he roared.
His body locked up as frost rapidly spread, joints stiffening, muscles refusing to move. He dropped to one knee, panting heavily, teeth grinding against the pain.
Behind him—
Footsteps.
Crunching softly against frost-covered ground.
He shakily turned his head, glaring over his shoulder.
"…How?" he demanded through labored breaths.
Lyon stepped out of the fading mist.
His expression was calm. Cold.
"Ice clones," Lyon said casually. "Ice magic is more versatile than people give it credit for."
He approached slowly.
The man tried to move. His body refused.
Lyon formed an ice blade in his hand and pressed it lightly against the man's neck.
"You're going to tell me everything you know," Lyon said coldly. "About who put that bounty on me."
The man stayed silent.
Then—
He started laughing.
A wide, unhinged grin stretched across his face.
"…Go to hell."
Lyon's instincts screamed.
A massive magic signature erupted above them.
Lyon's eyes widened as a gigantic mirror manifested overhead, covering the battlefield like a looming sky.
"REFRACTION CANNON—!" the man screamed, laughing like a lunatic.
The mirror fired.
A colossal beam of light engulfed the entire area.
The battlefield was annihilated.
Trees were erased. Earth was torn apart. A shockwave blasted outward, rattling everything for miles.
—-
Elsewhere — Yukino's POV
Yukino sat on the ground, hugging her knees, staring anxiously in the direction Lyon had gone.
"…Big brother…" she whispered.
Then—
The ground shook.
A violent shockwave tore through the forest, sending trees swaying and wind howling.
"—?!" Yukino gasped.
The Ice Tigers instantly moved, surrounding her protectively as the wind slammed into them.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again—
Three of the five tigers began to melt.
Their bodies lost form, collapsing into puddles of ice and water.
"T-they're—" her voice trembled.
The remaining two struggled, their forms flickering as they fought to stay intact.
Yukino's chest tightened.
"…Lyon…" she thought worriedly.
The forest trembled.
—-
Lyon's POV
The world was white.
No—brighter than that.
The beam slammed into my barrier like a tidal wave, and I threw everything I had into holding it back. One layer. Two. Three. Ice upon ice upon ice, compressed and reinforced until my arms trembled from the strain.
Hold it together… hold it together…
The layers began to crack. Steadily.
The attack only lasted a few seconds.
To me, it felt like hours.
Each time a layer shattered, I rebuilt it instantly, forcing more mana through my arms, through my core, ignoring the way my muscles screamed in protest. Heat bled through the barrier, biting into my skin. I could smell it—burning fabric, scorched flesh.
I'm almost out of mana…
My mana reserves were plummeting.
…That bastard really went this far just for a win…
The thought barely finished forming when—
The pressure vanished.
The beam died out.
The massive mirror overhead flickered… then faded from existence.
For a heartbeat, I just stood there.
Then my legs gave out.
I dropped to my knees as the barrier collapsed, the pain crashing into me all at once. My arms shook violently, muscles spasming as burns throbbed across my skin.
"…gh…"
I sucked in a sharp breath, fighting not to scream.
After a few moments—long, shaky moments—I forced myself to look up.
The battlefield was gone.
The forest had been reduced to a scorched crater, the ground blackened and cracked. At the center of it all lay the man.
…at least that's what was supposed to be there.
Instead of finding the man's lifeless body, I would see the shattered and burned remains of a mirror, replacing where the man had once been.
SHIT!!!
I immediately began looking around the area, trying and failing to sense where the man was located, and to make it worse, I had to do this with my already low magic reserves, meaning I couldn't use En.
"Damn it," I muttered.
I pushed myself to my feet, wincing as pain flared through my side, and began walking away.
Making sure to cautiously look everywhere, as I moved deeper into the forest.
—-
A short while later
Each step felt heavier than the last, but I kept moving. I had to.
When I finally broke through the trees into the hidden clearing—
"Lyon!"
Yukino's face snapped toward me.
For half a second, relief flooded her expression.
Then she really saw me.
Her eyes widened. Panic overtook her.
She ran to me, stopping just short, hands trembling as she reached out. She hesitated before gently touching my arm, like she was afraid I might break.
"W-what happened…?" she asked shakily. "A-are you okay…?"
Despite everything screaming inside me, I forced myself to relax my expression.
"I'm fine," I said gently, giving her a small, warm smile. "It's over. He won't be coming after us anymore."
I had thought about the situation a little bit more while I was returning, even if the man was still around I doubt he be willing to continue the fight, especially in the condition I left him in, for now all I could do is hope he doesn't do anything drastic, and get Yukino out of here.
Speaking of Yukino, she didn't look convinced.
Her eyes traced the burns, the torn clothes, the way I was clearly favoring one side. Then, carefully—so carefully—she wrapped her arms around me.
I hugged her back.
It hurt.
But I didn't care.
We stayed like that for a moment, the world quiet again.
When we pulled apart, I straightened as best I could and turned to the remaining Ice Tigers. With a thought, I cut off the mana sustaining them.
I looked back at Yukino and gave her a lighter smile.
"Well," I said, trying to shift the mood, "I think we've been in this forest for long enough. Don't you think it's time we left?"
She nodded quickly, still shaken.
Her hand slipped into mine.
I gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze.
She looked up at me, wiped her tears away, and put on a brave expression.
As long as I was here… she believed everything would be okay.
And I intended to keep it that way.
—-
Not long after, we were walking through the forest.
Then—
I suddenly stopped.
Every instinct I had screamed at once.
I stepped in front of Yukino without thinking, one arm moving protectively behind me as a presence washed over the forest.
My breath caught.
This magic…
It was overwhelming. Vast. Heavy in a way that made my own power feel insignificant—even at full capacity.
There's no way… I can't beat this
"…Lyon?" Yukino asked nervously. "What's wrong?"
"Yukino," I said firmly, not taking my eyes off the direction the magic was coming from. "If I tell you to run… you run. No matter what."
Her grip tightened instantly.
"No," she pleaded, voice breaking. "Come with me. Please…I don't wanna lose you…"
My chest tightened painfully.
Before I could reassure her—
Footsteps.
A man emerged from the trees.
Not the same one from before.
Yet this one was familiar.
Someone I recognized.
My eyes widened.
Wait a minute…I know this guy.
The man looked at us calmly and raised a hand slightly, his voice gentle and reassuring.
"Don't be alarmed children," he said. "I'm not here to harm either of you."
Yukino peeked out from behind me, nervous and confused—
—and, with completely honest curiosity, thought to herself:
"…He's bald."