Lanevus's Scheme

The lingering fragrance had barely been scattered by the Gale when a broad swath of shadow beside Abner suddenly came alive. It condensed into black chains that wound toward him, loop after loop.

Seven black flames suddenly appeared above Abner's head.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

The Black Flames shot out like bullets, striking the shadow chains with precision. The chains burned soundlessly, then dissolved in an instant, returning to ordinary shadows.

At the same time, Abner thrust his right hand forward and swiftly conjured scarlet Fire Ravens around himself.

The half-illusory ravens beat their wings and swooped at the handsome Viscount Karen from different directions.

Karen stood with one hand in his pocket. Far from looking nervous, he smiled faintly and snapped his fingers.

A full moon appeared out of thin air. Beneath its light, he vanished in an instant, leaving no trace of where he had gone.

With no target to pursue, the Fire Ravens exploded where they were, scattering into sparks.

"That's it?"

Abner was rather speechless at how cleanly Karen had left. He could roughly guess why the man had come, but that baffling little clash still annoyed him.

The few moves they had exchanged hardly counted as a fight. It had been no more than a mutual test, with both sides holding back.

Still, it was all rather strange... Abner shook his head. After smoothing away the marks left by the exploding Fire Ravens, he watched the "passersby" who had gathered at the noise gradually disperse. No official team or police came to investigate, either.

After all, he had not "hurt" any innocent bystanders, so he had not triggered the "scene's" "alert" level.

*In a scene this jarring, it's strange that there's a "real person" like Roselle, someone who can think for himself and even send people