"Hohoho, are you finally afraid?"
"But—it's too late!"
Vade snapped his eyes open!
"There's only an instant left. Cherish the moment you're still alive!"
"Magnetic field—"
"Observation!"
He turned his head and saw it!
The trickster mage!
And behind him...
A faint outline...
Half a body.
Beyond that half-body, trees, grass, the barrier, even the mountain—
Gone.
In their place was a massive fan-shaped crater, one kilometer in radius and three meters deep.
From extreme motion to absolute stillness, from existence to nonexistence.
The transformation happened in an instant.
It was jarring.
As if someone had abruptly sliced away most of a nearly finished landscape painting.
"White..." That was Vade's final sound.
'BOOM' The sound of everything being obliterated followed.
Both sounds reached Jehfrit's ears only now.
Then came the hurricane-force winds whipping back.
The red threads immediately wove into a tight ball, anchoring deeply into the ground to safeguard Jehfrit's safety.
Ten seconds passed.
The chaos outside subsided.
The red thread ball unraveled, slowly dissipating into ambient magical energy.
Jehfrit leaned on his cane, watching the upper half of Vade's body collapse backward, his expression resigned.
"See? I warned you, and now look what happened."
He stood there for a moment, then turned to the empty air beside him, speaking softly as though to himself. "There, there, stop crying. The one who saw you is already dead."
It was almost as if someone were conversing with him.
"Yes, yes, it's my fault. I couldn't protect you."
"..."
"When we get back, I'll treat you a the royal-grade rice."
"..."
"Okay, Okay, I'll instead treat you a the dragon-grade rice. Happy now ?"
"Hehehe." Jehfrit chuckled. "You perk up at the mention of food. That's right, your smile is adorable. Don't let such trivial matters weigh on your heart."
"..."
It seemed he'd been questioned further. Jehfrit's tone grew serious, as though reaffirming a vow he'd once made to his wife.
"Don't worry. How could I ever despise you?"
"I still remember what I said back then—"
"You won't be forced into anything you dislike. You don't have to fight battles you don't want to."
"Today was just an accident. That fool insisted on seeing through my deep-realm magic state."
"In the future, you can continue doing whatever you wish—"
"Housework, cooking, gardening, sunbathing, eating rice."
"You and I—we don't need to change."
"..."
Was this considered a heartfelt confession?
Regardless, it worked. The matter was settled.
"..."
Jehfrit quickly resumed his usual light-hearted demeanor.
"Haha, girlfriends? That's far off. Besides, she wouldn't agree to washing dishes and cooking every day. You're not losing your job over this."
"..."
Suddenly, his expression darkened. "Shut up! That violent, onion-headed gorilla could never be the one!"
"..."
"Pretty?"
"..."
"So what if she's pretty?!"
"..."
"Violent, foolish, and utterly inelegant! I'm a viscount of the kingdom! A woman like that—never!"
"..."
"Huh? No one else would accept my terrible personality? What kind of joke is that?!"
"You know my personality! Isn't it excellent?!"
"And I'm incredibly popular!"
"If I wanted a woman, I could have one anytime..."
"..."
"I'm not afraid of her!"
"And this has nothing to do with her!"
Jehfrit, usually calm and composed, was growing increasingly agitated.
Just then—
'SMACK'
Something pink landed on Jehfrit's face, warm and faintly scented.
"What is this?"
Jehfrit grabbed whatever had fallen onto his face.
A...
Pink...
Recently worn...
Women's sock.
"Look how disgusting she is, throwing her socks at my face!"
Jehfrit grimaced in disgust, intending to toss it aside when he noticed writing on it.
Using his index fingers and thumbs to pinch the sock at both ends, he reluctantly examined the words.
[How badly did the crispy goose get beaten up? Hahaha, serves him right! Send me a picture so I can laugh!]
"I wasn't beaten up!"
Furious, Jehfrit hurled the sock far away.
"..."
"She wasn't concerned; she was mocking me! You should be on my side!" Jehfrit snapped at the empty space to his left.
"..."
"I'm not angry! Why would I be angry over someone like her?!"
"..."
Jehfrit suddenly forced a smile, stiff but attempting to appear normal. "Ah? Am I angry? Nope, not at all."
It seemed the other party had stopped responding.
"Chitter-chatter"
A large gray rat crawled out of a hole, scurrying over to sniff at the discarded sock.
Jehfrit reacted instantly, raising his gun and firing!
'BOOM'
The ground exploded into a massive crater, everything annihilated by the unleashed fury of magic.
"Of all things to sniff, why hers?! Such poor taste—he deserved to die!"
Jehfrit holstered his gun.
"Suck—Exhale—"
He took several deep breaths to compose himself, then adjusted his attire and demeanor.
Forget the unpleasantness.
Be yourself again!
Regaining his usual composure, just in time—
"Jehfrit!" a voice called out.
Erza, Lucy, Happy, and Gray had arrived.
"Erza, what are you all doing here?" Jehfrit asked, puzzled.
"!!!!"
His companions didn't respond. Their eyes were fixed on the massive fan-shaped area where everything had been erased.
Erza was speechless, utterly stunned.
"Wh-what the hell is this?!" Gray's voice trembled.
"W-what even happened here...?" Lucy felt her legs go weak, nearly collapsing onto the ground.
Happy plummeted from the air but managed to grab onto Erza's armor, narrowly avoiding a fall.
After a long pause, the trio and the cat finally regained some semblance of composure.
Erza swallowed hard before asking, "We felt you unleash your full magical power and rushed over because of the commotion. Who were you fighting? How could it be so... extreme?"
"That crater—was that you?" Gray gulped nervously.
"Hahaha, impossible, right? Something like this—only a god could pull it off," Lucy forced a laugh.
"A god?!" Happy exclaimed. "Is Jehfrit actually a god?!"