Aizel scanned his surroundings and heightened his senses, detecting a group of people fleeing into the nearby forest.

He thought no further and charged straight at them with his lightning magic at full speed.

In mere minutes, he had caught up to the group.

As Aizel approached the group, they immediately noticed him and prepared themselves for any danger, drawing their weapons.

He focused his attention on the center of the group and noticed a person who was limping, missing a hand, and receiving support from a group of female archers.

"So, you really didn't die, David?" Aizel spoke.

"We meet again, Aizel. It seems fate always brings us back," David replied.

Aizel surveyed the group, taking note of their numbers and weapons. There were around 30 to 40 of them, a mix of hunters and mages, all poised to attack him at the slightest provocation.

Despite this, his attention was drawn to the staff and the crystal in David's hands.

eαglesn?νel "Well, honestly, I don't care about your family feud. Even I am a little relieved you got rid of them before I would have.

"But why did you involve innocents? I assume you are the one behind this whole chaos that is spreading?"

"Many people will die, Aizel; more innocents will die. I don't care for them, and neither should you.

"You once saved me from institute mages and helped me escape. I will do the same, Aizel.

"Go on and run, this isn't your fight."

The words 'run' and 'escape' caused a change in Aizel's demeanor, and a wave of disdain and rage swept through him.historical

The group noticed the change in his demeanor and quickly tightened their grips on their weapons, wary of what he might do.

"Damn it," Aizel thought. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

"I know what happened with you is wrong. It is not my place to instruct you in taking revenge.

"But what do you think Katherine would be feeling right now? Do you think if she were here, she would want to see you like this? Going on a rampage, killing innocent people?"

"That's the point, Aizel. SHE ISN'T HERE,"

"They took her and my baby away from me. They took everything. I will do the same.

"You don't understand anything because you don't know how it feels. I am sure you would have done even worse than what I am doing right now."

"I.. I would never do that," Aizel rebuked.

David's lips curled into a twisted smile, "Do you think I don't know what you did to the Paul family?"

"It doesn't matter what is right or wrong, Aizel. I will keep doing what I am doing until I burn everything."

It seems I have to beat the shit out of him," Aizle thought.

"Then, I will do what I feel like doing now, David.,"

"Oh, you won't." David's smile widened as he raised his staff and slammed it onto the ground, causing the crystal to glow and emit shockwaves that enveloped the area.

A puzzled look crossed Aizel's face as the mana vanished into thin air.

"The mana?" Aizel's mind raced as he desperately tried to summon his mana, but it was as if it had vanished into thin air.

Even Sekki, his trusted weapon, was dormant and unresponsive inside his storage ring.

His armor, without mana, was no longer responsive to him. Aizel was completely defenseless.

"Go on and run, Aizel. There won't be any more chances."

Aizel felt a surge of frustration and anger as the word 'run' echoed in his mind once again. His current and past personalities began to intertwine, causing a sense of unease to stir within him.

"Don't get cocky, you pest."

Aizel's body moved forward, his bare fists clenching tightly as he strode towards David with a death stare.

His strides were long and powerful as he closed in on David. Aziel's bare-handed strike quickly knocked the hunters out despite their hasty attempts to stop him.

"Let's escape; this guy is just like Soren," David said.

As David limped away with the aid of the archers, his body wracked with pain, the remaining hunters surged forward, determined to stop Aizel at any cost.

But Aizel's rage-fueled strength was too much for them. With each blow, he sent them flying back, unable to withstand his power.

Aizel's body was riddled with wounds as the hunters attacked him with swords and daggers, but he skillfully avoided fatal blows and knocked them down one by one.

In the midst of the chaos, he noticed a magic circle glowing in the distance, signaling that David and the archers were about to escape. They quickly grabbed the crystal and vanished into thin air, leaving Aizel alone in the middle of the battlefield.

The mana was restored after David and the archers escaped.

Aizel felt a surge of mana return to him, and he wasted no time in taking action. In a swift motion, he flicked his hands, and metal spikes emerged from the ground, impaling every single hunter in a matter of seconds and killing them all.

"Where the hell did this circle come from? Did they prepare it in advance?"

Aizel took a moment to look at his battered body, filled with numerous wounds and scars. He then summoned his healing potions, ready to tend to his injuries.

"I should head back and inform the institute of this. It's their fucking problem to deal with him now,"

Aizel left the scene and returned to Felgura City. After he arrived, he wasted no time in heading straight for the potion shop to inquire about the mind potion.

It's fine to postpone David-related details until tomorrow.

*Knock*

"Hag, it's me,"

*Creak*

"Oh, you've arrived, come inside."

Aizel followed Vespara into her potion shop and into her potion-making chamber.

As he walked in, he noticed the many ingredients lying around and the large cauldron that was bubbling away with a milky white liquid.

"So that mountain white substance? Do you guys always need to kill that serpent to acquire it?"

"No, we can use an alternate ingredient, but the blood of the Colossal Serpent is special and thick. It will make your mind potion more effective; that's why I included it."

"So indirectly, you wanted me to take care of that big ass serpent."

"Consider this as your training too," Vespara winked.