Ben was attacked by Mage number 1's werewolf howl. The howl was really strong and hit him at close range. The sound attack hit the mud and cracked the ground around the young boy.
"GUAHK!" Ben spit out some blood.
The sound wave hit his body from the inside out, and it also hurt. Even the tough skin and bones he receives from being a Dragon Slayer aren't able to protect his internal organs. The sound attack broke the mud covering Ben and also his internal organ.
He took the brunt of the attack without any defense. Blood poured out of his ears because the loud sound damaged them. Ben took a lot of damage from just one attack. With the mud destroyed, he fell to the ground and coughed up some more blood.
"Damn, that hurt." Ben groaned.
"You're still conscious? Impressive. No one managed to stay conscious after being subject to my strongest attack." Mage number 1 told him.
Ben tried to get up, but felt a lot of pain after attempting to move.
"Damn, that attack damaged some of my muscles and veins." He gritted his teeth.
"What a futile struggle." Mage number 1 said mockingly.
Mage number 1 changed his werewolf hand into a spear. His sharp claws were strong enough to pierce even rock and steel. Then he thrust the spear at Ben's back, intending to stab him. Ben had seen this coming, so he forms a small magic circle on his right palm. The magic circle created an explosion and flung him away, right on time to avoid being stabbed in the back.
"Oh? That's some smart magic use, but that's it." Mage number 1 complimented.
He leaped at Ben in his werewolf form and extended his claws. The claws were glowing white because they had been coated by wind magic. Ben remained still, waiting for the attack to come while taking a deep breath.
"DIE, BRAT!" Mage number 1 yelled.
"SUN DRAGON LIGHT ROAR!" Ben hollered.
"WHAT?!" Mage number 1 exclaimed in shock.
A beam of yellow light struck the werewolf. As a Sun Dragon Slayer, Ben could combine fire, light and plasma from the sun. The sun didn't just have that power, but Ben was only able to access those 3 at the moment.
Most of his spells have 3 variations of fire, light and plasma. The light beam wasn't as powerful as the sun plasma roar. But it was very fast and difficult to dodge. The beam hit the mage and exploded upon contact.
"GUAAAHH!" Mage number 1 cried out.
The mage was flung into the sky because of the explosion. He took the beam at close range and was knocked out. The 2 mages standing behind him were surprised by this turn of events. They didn't know what to do.
While they were confused, a magic circle formed on Ben's right hand. He was still lying down. He wasn't able to move his body that well, but he could move his hand. A tiny sun surfaced on the magic circle and he threw it at the 2 unsuspecting mages.
"Sun Dragon Bomb!" He yelled.
"SHIT!" Mage number 5 noticed the incoming attack a little too late.
BOOM*
The bomb fell in between the 2 mages and exploded. The explosion was massive and they didn't prepare a defense, so they took the full brunt of it. The 2 mages were engulfed in the explosion and knocked out.
Ben didn't drop his guard and scanned the surroundings. Roubaul taught him that sensory magic can help him sense anything in the surrounding area with magic power. He still tried to combine it with A.I Chip's scanning ability to make it active every time.
After confirming there weren't any remaining enemies, Ben pulled out the car key. He infused the key with his magic to activate a spell that connects it with the car. The spell acted like a remote controlled key that can be used some distance away. Of course, Ben's the one who came up with the idea, but Roubaul put the spell on the car key.
The car's defense system deactivated and the locks opened. Wendy, Bella and Carla immediately rushed out of the car and ran over to Ben. They all had tears in their eyes seeing him get injured. Wendy cast a healing spell on him. Bella cried seeing him getting hurt and Carla reprimanded him.
He just sighed and didn't say anything until they calmed down. They had never seen him get hurt after all, and he seemed to be really strong in front of them. This pain isn't a problem for Ben. He was used to it as a ex-soldier, but it might be too much for these kids.
"Alright, that's enough. I won't die, so just calm down, alright? We need to leave because this guy might have friends." Ben ordered.
The girls realize this was true and agreed with him. Ben felt a lot better, so he could move again. They tied the enemies up with rope and placed them in the car. Then they set off for Shirotsume, and Ben drove as fast as he could. Arthur didn't protest his fast driving, knowing more enemies might be coming.
"Arthur, call your dad to check on their group." He told Arthur.
"Alright." He nodded.
Arthur took out a communication lacrima and contacted his dad. The communication lacrima worked just like a phone, using the video call feature. It can be used by non-mages as long as the lacrima had been charged with magical power beforehand.
"Arthur? Why are you calling me?" Joseph asked his son.
"Dad, we were attacked just now, but we handled it. How about your group?" Arthur questioned his dad.
"You were attacked?! Just as I thought, there's a mole in our group, because we weren't attacked. They must've known you weren't here. Are you guys okay?" Joseph asked, concerned.
"Yeah, we're fine. We're on our way to Shirotsume now. We've covered 3/4 of the distance. What about you?" Ben asked Joseph.
"We've just covered a quarter right now. A carriage is much slower than a car, after all." Joseph answered.
"Alright, then we will take care of these mages by ourselves. Just stay vigilant and immediately call us if something happens. The enemies are rather strong, and they might have more members. Avoid passing through an alley or any place that makes your escape harder." Ben instructed.
"Okay. We'll do that." Joseph responded.
They ended the call and continued heading to Shirotsume. They kept their guard up and weren't attacked until they reached the town. They immediately headed to the mayor's house. With Arthur there, they can enter it easily.
Ben parked the car in the front yard and they all exit the car. They walk up to the front door and see some people exit the house. There's a middle-aged man, a middle-aged woman, a girl, a butler and some guards. The middle-aged man must be the mayor, the woman is his wife and the girl must be Arthur's fiance because she ran up to him when she spotted him.
"ARCHIE!" The girl gave him a hug.
"M-Maya, please don't call me that!" Arthur was embarrassed.
"Pfft. Archie." Ben giggled and so did his teammates.
"Ooh, Arthur, you've finally arrived. It seems the plan worked well." The mayor said.
"Yes, uncle Ray, the plan worked well. Although there was a disturbance along the way, we handled it. Now we just need to wait for father's group." Arthur replied.
"Disturbance? Was is the people tied up inside the magic car?" Ray asked.
"Yes, they're dark mages, but Ben knocked them out." Arthur answered.
"Ben? Who is that?" Ray questioned.
"Me." Ben gestured to himself.
"Huh? You're the one who defeated these dark mages? Really?" Ray wasn't convinced this was the case.
"I don't care if you believe it or not, but you need to call the Magic Council and have them capture these guys before they wake up and cause any more problems." Ben suggested.
"R-right. Theo, call the Magic Council!" Ray ordered.
"Understood." Theo, the butler, nodded.
The butler went back inside to contact the Magic Council. Ray invited them to come inside, while his men took care of the dark mages. They agreed and wanted to go inside when Ben suddenly sensed something.
Someone dressed like a ninja suddenly jumped down from the mansion's roof at high speed. The ninja swung his sword that was coated in black-colored magic towards Arthur. Ben covered his leg in light magic. He sped over to Arthur and Maya and pushed them out of the way just in time to avoid the sword that almost slashed Arthur.
He didn't waste time and immediately ran over to the ninja mage. The ninja mage, who missed his target, landed on the ground and was about to attack again. But before the ninja could move, Ben appeared right in front of him. He extended a light-covered knee and the ninja was flung into the wall at high speed.
BAM*
The ninja mage hit the wall and broke it. The ninja mage was still conscious and got up again, but Ben appeared in front of the ninja again.
"Sun Dragon Fire Fist!" Ben shouted.
He covered his right hand in fire and punched the ninja over the head. The ninja mage was sent crashing to the ground because of the punch and spit out some blood. He was then knocked out.
"Damn, that was a close call." Ben muttered.