Chapter 241: Nuclear mana (2/2)

'Cease.' The second word came from the mouth of the man that appeared above everyone's head.

Layn struck a wall. If the previous word was like steel shackles that held every atom of his body in place, then the second word was simply absolute.

”We won't get anywhere if I keep holding you like that,” the man in the sky muttered before waving his hand.

As if it was just an illusion, the absolute restraint disappeared. Once again, Layn was only shackled by the first word. It was a formidable barrier, but he had already learned that he could break free from it.

”The fact that you can break free from the stop word already proves that you are the winner of this battle,” the strange man in the skies announced with a gentle smile.

'Wait, what the fuck?' Layn's mind scrambled to make sense out of this ridiculous situation.

For some reason, there was a man in the skies. That man easily held everyone in place, proving just how insanely powerful he was. And now he got to decide who won and who lost the battle?

Outside of being humbled by the appearance of a being that Layn could never even begin to compare to, he was served a massive portion of confusion directly into his system.

”YOU FUCKER!” Someone screamed out, proving that Layn wasn't the only one who managed to break free from the barrier. Yet, judging from the voice and how much it was filled with hate, it wasn't someone who could be reasoned with.

'The mana in it...' Layn thought as he furrowed his brows. It was only a voice, but he could feel just how excited the mana in it was.

Just like when...

Just like when one of his friends back at the academy went berserk.

”DIE!” the voice appeared once again, this time accompanied by a relatively young man rushing towards Layn.

'He is the one who Markus and Yelna...' the archmage managed to realize before his instincts forced him into action.

Paying no mind to the price that he had to pay again, he forced the shackles of the word out of himself, unleashing the mana to face a threat.

And then, the tolerance to the mana of his body reached his limits.

Unable to control his own power anymore, Layn's nuclear mana burst out. In an instant, the space itself around him was scorched.

But then, the reaction seemingly stopped. All the mana in the world was now stopped, heeding the order of the old man in the sky.

All the mana in the world... outside of the force of the young man who broke free from the restraint of the world.

With no other outlet for its might, Layn's nuclear mana took the one and only path towards stability.

Before Layn or even the man in the skies could react, the star emperor simply vanished from exitance, erased by the raging current of nuclear mana.

”CEASE!” The man in the skies intervened once again. Faced with the absolute authority of the word, even the potency of the nuclear mana proved to be completely futile.

”Everyone, before you go back to killing each other, how about you listen to me for a moment?” the man in the skies proposed, only to release a chuckle a second later. ”Well, it's not like any of you have any choice anyway,” he added a moment later as his body descended down to the ground.

The old man walked towards Layn's powerless body.

”You were the only one who managed to break free from the primary restrains. While you couldn't really control that power, you still did it,” the man praised the archmage.

”To all those in the vincity, if I didn't stop the force this man unleashed, every last one of you would turn into a fleeting memory,” Bart announced, a small smirk growing upon his lips. ”There wouldn't even be any ash or dust left from you,” he added, painting a pretty vivid picture.

”I stopped this man's attack... But I'm not a partial judge. Now that he proved to be capable of killing you all, I will make sure no one will oppose his judgment,” Bart smiled when his smile suddenly mellowed into a kind one.

”But to be honest, instead of killing each other, there is another way to solve your situation. Especially with how the main forces that drove this conflict are now gone,” the old man suggested, his smile turning into a wide grin.

Bart waved his hands, releasing the power of the stronger restraint, leaving everyone under just the 'stop' word's authority.

”What would you say if I...”