The Laughing Swordsman

A few fire spells formed inside of Maya's body.

Normally when mages casted spells, they needed to gather mana. However, Maya was using the mana from the gemstone.

As such, Kye did not realize that Maya was preparing a spell.

Maya had a deadpan expression. She gradually connected three fire spells by their cores.

Then casted it.

Kye had no time to react.

By the time he realized a fireball was in front of him, it exploded.

Kye died immediately. His body was charred black.

Although Kye was a mage, his body was weak. Different from constitution mages, he was the more mainstream version.

A collector mage.

These mages gathered mana from outside their bodies, only limited by the power of their mind.

While they could cast powerful spells, their bodies were no different from the average person. As such, Kye died without being able to resist.

The guards panicked.

"What is this?"

"The chief is dead!"

"Avenge the chief!"

The guards burst into the room.

Originally, they had pitied Maya for what she had been through. However, it seems like their pity was misplaced.

Maya's expression was an uncanny dull.

She violently pulled at her hands.

Her left hand slipped out of the cuff, albeit with some cracking sounds. However, the right hand was still holding onto the gemstone, making it harder to slide past.

She could've let it go and picked it up after. But she refused.

But that didn't mean she gave up on pulling her right hand out.

Skin and flesh on her right hand were peeled off. With a pop, she removed it from the cuff.

All that was left was a skinless hand, proudly displaying its red flesh.

Maya's mouth was ever so slightly agape.

The guards charged at her. They were angry over her heartless killing.

They had to put an end to it.

In Maya's half dead state, she was enlightened.

The vortex in the gemstone span madly, sending torrents of mana into Maya's arm.

Like rain, firebolts appeared one after another, slamming into the bodies of the guards.

Their armor did not protect them. With a bang, their armor caved in and their bodies were charred.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.

Once ten or so guards died, the others quickly realized they were in a losing battle.

They had to run away.

The might from this little girl was too much for them to handle.

As they ran, firebolts continued descending on them.

The entire time, Maya had a listless expression on her face.

As the guards fled, she leisurely walked forward. It was almost like she was an old man going out for a walk by the park.

The guards ran down the hallways, trying to exit the building as soon as possible.

Maya walked after them, all the while launching balls of fire towards them.

Screams rang out as the guards died one after the other.

The scent of charred flesh filled the air while despair hung above the survivors.

Soon, there was only one guard left.

While all of his companions had died, he made it to the door.

Filled with hope, he pushed against it.

But it was a pull door.

He stood there awkwardly.

The guard's heart clenched as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Uh oh..."

A firebolt exploded at his legs, blowing both of them off.

He was still alive. He wasn't bleeding because his legs had been burned to ashes.

The guard grimaced in pain and stared at Maya's lifeless look.

"Why..."

He closed his eyes.

"How can you be so cruel?"

Maya lethargically replied.

"...I am not the one you should be asking."

She languidly raised her hand and pointed her finger.

A ball of fire formed.

"Instead, you should ask the world that question."

The guard gave up, staring at the ceiling with a blank look.

Then, he was blown to pieces.

...

Maya's condition was bad, to say the least.

Although she was not once struck by others, casting those spells took a toll on her body.

Her body was wrapped in bandages, but they were countless holes torn on it.

Her skin had burst open, soaking the bandages with her blood.

Maya shook.

She coughed out blood.

Her vision was blurry and her body was shivering

Yet, she didn't seem to notice.

Her entire body ached with pain, but her dull expression remained. It was as though she could no longer feel anything.

Like a zombie, she continued moving.

She stepped over the dead bodies and pulled open the door.

Maya's skinless red hand clutched the gemstone tightly.

It was time to act upon her initial intentions.

To massacre this village.

The consequences did not matter to her anymore.

...

Maya sat in the corner of an alleyway with her eyes closed.

However, her mind was somewhere else.

Maya looked closely at the rotating diagram in front of her.

Her mind was working overtime, trying to absorb as many concepts and principles as she could.

The pain slowly grew in intensity, but that didn't affect Maya.

As time passed, a force tried to pull her out.

She resisted the pulling force. The force trying to save her from herself.

Maya's body was composed of white mist and could hardly keep itself together.

Her mind ached. It was as though countless needles had pierced her head and mixed it like a whisk in scrambled eggs.

Still, Maya stubbornly remained.

Like a corpse, she stared at the diagram.

Then... she memorized a new concept.

She no longer resisted. Her white mist body was pulled out.

Maya's eyes fluttered open.

Her head released strong waves of heat. She was sick.

However, that wouldn't stop her.

Maya slowly formed three fire spells inside her body.

This time, she connected them by both their cores and surfaces.

She stumbled out of the alleyway like she was drunk. Her free hand pressed against the side of the wall to give her support.

Maya made her way to the town square.

There were many people casually walking around, minding their own business.

Maya slowly made her way to the center.

Although most didn't bother, an old man walked over to Maya.

He looked worried.

"Are you ok child?"

Maya looked up to the sky with a deadpan expression.

"No."

Then let the spell loose.