THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

Basil, Iliana, Whitney, and Cray had been traveling for an hour already. While Iliana could keep up with Basil, it wasn't the case with the other two students. Although they could actually catch up to Basil, they would be using too much Mana; they didn't want it.

Therefore, they were 20 meters away from the two people. It didn't take a genius to conclude that Basil had advanced either his Magic or Body Forging mastery. That was the only explanation how he could keep his pace that long.

Whitney and Cray couldn't deduce yet which Principle Basil had advanced in; Basil was utilizing both Principles, thus perfectly covered how much advancement he had undergone.

Still, they didn't need to think of that much. They had a more important thing to mind: they were tired!

"Excuse us, can we take a break for a moment, please?!" Cray shouted. "You guys run so fast, my Magic Circles are overworked!" Whitney, who was beside Cray, opted to stay silent. He didn't feel the need to shout his suffering out, as Cray had represented him too.

Although they didn't travel as fast as Basil and Iliana, they didn't travel slowly either. They were still traveling in a high speed; the only reason why they looked so slow was because they were running behind the two monstrous people leading ahead.

That means, the act consumed a quite enormous amount of Mana. They could still keep moving, but they would just unnecessarily exhaust their Magic Circles that way. They couldn't do that as they needed to anticipate for an unexpected ambush.

Therefore, it was better to rest their Magic Circles for awhile to prevent them from being overworked.

Iliana turned to Basil. "I think we should rest for a while. Those two are exhausted." She, too, was running like Basil; different than Basil however, she utilized only Mana to achieve the feat. "There is no need to rush, isn't it?"

"They can stop, if they want to; I will not stop." Basil glanced briefly at the two people in the back. "I am not rushing; there is no point in that. However, it won't take that long until we are stopped."

At the rather ambiguous answer, Iliana frowned lightly. Basil had just basically said something was going to stop them sooner or later. As for what was that "something," Iliana couldn't tell.

Although they could still see the horde of Demons on their side, they were 200 meters apart. Furthermore, they were traveling parallelly; there was no way they would meet each other, unless the horde chose to change their course out of sudden.

Beside, Basil had that "deal" with the Demons; they wouldn't attack them. She knew to never trust what she didn't understand, but Basil seemed to understand the Demons. Therefore, she believed his "deal" with the Demons would be fulfilled just fine.

Upon reaching to that conclusion, Iliana shrugged lightly; she could mind who or what that "something" was later.

Turning her head slightly to the back, she shouted, "We will rest in ten minutes!" Although Basil didn't say when they would stop, Iliana needed to give the two people hope.

And true to her prediction, "Yes, Sire! We will run for another ten minutes!" They were excited about that.

People are funny; when they know they are presented with a clear goal in front of their eyes, they will try everything they can to realize it. In turn, they will ignore the hardships they are undergoing, thinking it as a necessary "sacrifice."

Iliana smirked at the simplicity of the two, then turned her gaze to Basil beside her. He was different; he was a lot quieter than before. Aside from his minor change in appearance—he had gotten slightly manlier—his aura was really different.

His aura was something that one could never find in every existing young Mage; she was sure of it. Moreover, his bearing had also changed. Before, he had acted like a typical arrogant genius who had the skills to back it up; it had looked slightly childish.

Now however, Basil resembled those "untouchable" people; he was cold and detach. His action was unpredictable, and she couldn't read him at all—unlike the time when she had met him for the first time. Even his gaze ... She couldn't tell what he was seeing.

"Don't you think you will overwork your Magic Circles, if you keep that pace?" She asked offhandedly; she wanted to hear his answer. Basil didn't even turn to her as he answered, "I won't. Mine work differently than yours."

"Differently...? What does that mean?" Iliana was genuinely puzzled. She didn't know Magic Circles could work differently.

Speaking about the mechanism between Basil's Magic Circles and the others', they were fundamentally different. Basil's Magic Circles acted as a stabilizer; they were used to control the Mana his Heart produced better.

While in the others' case, their Magic Circles' role wasn't as simple as Basil's. Their Magic Circles had to work as a Mana storage, an Array to gather Mana, and a Mana stabilizer. Their Magic Circles had too many roles; they tend to get overworked.

It was the reason a knowledgeable Mage would never say they had exhausted their Mana when they were spent, but said they had overworked their Magic Circles instead. Because, the only aspect they could exhaust was their Magic Circles.

Furthermore unlike Basil, they didn't have a Mana Heart and Ultimate Circles.

"It means as what it is; just know that mine work differently." Of course, Basil didn't have any intention to explain that.

Seeing that Basil had no intention to answer her, Iliana simply nodded her head. "Okay." She had momentarily forgotten that they weren't that close yet. She couldn't be too nosy at him; he was a Mage, and Mage didn't like that.

Basil briefly glanced at Iliana from the corner of his eyes. "I will tell you about it in some other time." Iliana slightly widened her eyes in surprise, and replied, "Oh, Y-Yeah. I will wait untill that time comes." She nodded her head slightly glad.

Basil actually didn't feel the need to say that to her, but upon sensing her disappointment, he couldn't help saying that; disappointing her didn't sit quite right with him. After all, they had been a thing in the past; she had been his drive.

Well maybe, he had just gotten soft; he couldn't know.

Ten minutes passed, and the waited time came: they were finally stopped. Nine people with white clothing, and a veil covering their faces blocked their way. While Basil gazed at the people calmly, Iliana was frowning in puzzlement.

When Whitney and Cray had caught up to Iliana and Basil, they, too, quickly developed a frown upon looking at the nine figures. Although different, the attire of the figures was very familiar.

"Do you have any reason to stop us?" Iliana declared; silence was what greeted her. "You are blocking our way in fulfilling our task. It is a crime, and is punishable by the law of Braxtein Kingdom." Still, none of them reacted.

Although they were in an open space, silence managed to descend upon the area. Both sides were silent, until Basil made a move—he casually swung his sword.

Hum.

At that, the figures quickly took out something from their sleeve. It was a golden insignia attached to an ornamental chain that was wrapped around their hand.

The insignia was consisted of a tree framed by a circle of books. If one were to look closely at it, one could see a balanced scale with heart on each of its pans. This insignia belonged to the people of the Church.

"We are here to conduct an execution of a sinner, Basil Pacifer." Right after that, the insignia in their hand glowed.

While Iliana and the others' eyes quickly turned cold, Basil quirked his eyebrow in amusement. "You do know I am not a believer of your stupid gods. You have no jurisdiction over my action."

"You have committed a blasphemy, and thus punishable by the Gods' law." One of the figures stepped forward. "Your life will be forfeited here, Basil Pacifer." He was about to charge at Basil, when Iliana appeared in front of him.

Bam!

He was quickly thrown away as Iliana had just delivered him a kick to his head. Standing straightly on the ground, she glared coldly at the other figures who were ready to charge.

"My name is Iliana, the Vice President of Randalvine Magic Institute's Student Council. You have just committed a one sided punishment without any official decision from the Kingdom."

Her Spatial Bracelet flashed, and a Magic Claymore appeared in her hand. Pointing it at the nine figures, she exclaimed, "I command you to stop, unless you want to taint your religion's name by breaking the Kingdom's law!"

The figures didn't say anything; they didn't even budge a single centimeter. The one Iliana had kicked earlier stood from the ground, then turned his head at Iliana. "You are not in the list ... I suggest you to stop hampering us in accomplishing our task."

Whitney, who couldn't stand the audacity of the speaking figure anymore, was about to explode, when suddenly Basil appeared in front of the very figure.

Boom!

Not only that, Basil had also swung his sword at the figure. Although the figure managed to block it with the Miracle he was controlling, the ground below him cratered due to the power behind Basil's swing; even the hand he used to block Basil's attack was trembling.

"Do you think you can conduct your punishment on me?" Basil faintly sneered. Looking deeply into the eyes of the figure hidden behind the veil, he softly muttered, "Let us see how long the Church will last this time." The figure's entire existence trembled in terror.

Uncaring toward the figure's reaction, Basil glanced at the other figures coming at him. Despite so, he didn't move from his position; he merely increased the power he put on his sword, quickly crumbling the defense of the figure in front of him.

Shatter!

Before long, the figure's defense was broken through, and Basil's sword easily bisected him vertically. When Basil's sword touched the ground, the ground was quickly decorated with a trench.

Boom!

A step; that was how close the distance between him and one of the remaining figures. Although the figure moved agilely, he could see it slowly in his peripheral vision. Despite so, he didn't feel the need to defend himself.

Clank!

Iliana was already there to intercept the figure's attack with her Magic Claymore. Not only her, Whitney and Cray, too, were ready to attack the remaining figures.

Basil absolutely didn't need any aid, but if he were given one, he wouldn't reject it. Therefore, he let them do what they wanted to—aiding him.

Gazing at the eight figures ready to tear his throat, a cold smile adorned his face. 'Eugene, your time will come to an end soon.'

That day, the Church's sneaky aggression toward Basil was officially established.