The bullets flew out of his gun and hit a good number of the mages. Because they weren't prepared at all, (not that anyone could do anything to stop a bullet at close range, whether it was rubber or the real thing), the bullets caught them head on and rammed into their bodies. For fellows who hadn't even thought or heard of the concept of bullets and guns, it felt like they had been slammed in the chest with sledge hammers. It was strange. They wondered how a one centimeter long dart could pack such power.

One by one, they all dropped. By the time Xzavier had emptied his clip, only one man was left standing in the whole group.

Xzavier paused to take a look at this mysterious mage. While he had been shooting, with the help of his infra-red imager, Xzavier had noticed something weird about this mage in particular. It was as if his bullets were being deflected by an invisible force field around this enemy. And because of that, much to Xzavier's surprise, he discovered that he had been unable to deal any real damage to him.

Like a soldier in an invisible armor truck, the mage had remained unaffected by the stream of rubber bullets that had made several of his colleagues fall like sitting ducks. This person was clearly on a whole other level.

Xzavier was right on that count. This strange mysterious mage wasn't the regular, everyday mage that one would usually encounter. This was the new leader of the upgraded hatchet team. Eadweard hadn't spared any expense in recruiting this particular mage. Much like the dynamic of the previous team, as expected, this new leader of the new team was way above the level of his subordinates. He was a level five mage and apparently, he had a significant amount of skills that dwarfed the others.

With his face a mask of coolness, and his composure totally in check, the new leader stayed rooted in the foundation of his own confidence. He remained aloof, and yet observant of his enemy. And it turned out that his suave nature saved him. While Xzavier gunned down the others, he aptly set up his barrier right on time. Even as all the others dropped down (presumably to their deaths), the leader maintained an impressive degree of focus despite the fact he didn't know what exactly was dropping his subordinates.

But this mage didn't relax. Even though he was very comfortable behind his barrier, he refused to play defense. The invisible force field which he had erected beautifully was more than just a defensive perimeter. It doubled as a kind of sensory/counter attack shield. The outermost part of the barrier was lined up with an invisible membrane that conveyed everything it felt, along with the details of every force that it came in contact with, back to the mage himself.So, using his invisible barrier as a kind of radar, he was able hone in on the direction from which Xzavier's attack was coming from. He concentrated on the varying degrees of fluctuation coming from his shield and knew that though Xzavier had chosen to remain static, his arm was moving back and forth as he shot out his magical arrows. The mage had not only been able to discern Xzavier's exact location, but he was able to figure out the movements of his hand as it moved in a pendulum like movement.

Armed with this knowledge, the mage was able to get in line for a counter attack. He knew that it wasn't exactly the smartest move to remain on the defensive side. He had to take Xzavier head on as soon as he found an opening. With such objective thinking that was birthed from years and years of combat experience, he was able to ride the wave of opportunity when it came. Finally, after about thirty seconds of Xzavier's reign of terror, his clip emptied and the sounds of the dropping bodies ceased.

That was when the leader began his own counter. Sensing that Xzavier had ran out of whatever it was he had been shooting all this time, the mage quickly began working on the second phase of his own counter attack. With his feet planted on the ground in a solid stance, he began to harness as much energy as he could muster, and then, he unleashed a wave of destruction in Xzavier's direction. Because the smoke was very much still in play, he couldn't see a thing. So, all he had to do was wait for the sound of Xzavier cry.

It never came.

Unknown to Xzavier, his location had already been compromised. He was aware of the fact that the mysterious mage was not of the ordinary stock. So, when his infra-red imager detected a fresh surge of energy heading in his direction from the leader's location, he wasn't in the least surprised. But that didn't necessarily mean he could do anything about it. Slow enough for him to detect it coming, and yet too quick for him to react, the enemy's blast came right at Xzavier and struck him squarely in the chest.

In that very brief moment between the moment he saw the attack coming and the moment it made contact with him, Xzavier's mind was filled with so many questions, chief among them being;

"How did he find me?!"

Though the smoke bombs were starting to clear up, the smoke was very much still in play. Visibility was still a problem. But for Xzavier, in that very moment, his biggest problem was figuring out how his enemy had located him despite the thick cloud of smoke all around them.The blast caught him in the chest with the ferocity of a close range punch. Xzavier barely had enough time to brace himself for the impact, and that had barely been enough to cushion the impact of the blow. As Xzavier sustained the effect of the attack, he noticed something strange.

It was weird. He felt the full force of blast, and yet, somehow he did not feel any atom of pain whatsoever. This was by far the weirdest blow back he had ever gotten. There was no pain, and yet, he had felt the full force of the attack. In the midst of his wondering, the Military System clarified his doubts and set the facts straight for him;

"Major Xzavier, please be advised; the custom black fitting suit has taken ten points of damage. You currently have a balance of nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety points left."

As always, the Military System dropped in whenever it liked and left like it hadn't been there in the first place. And like always, it left Xzavier more shocked than informed.

Xzavier was a gear head, no doubt. But ever since the system had introduced him to some fresh new tech, he went from gear head to gear freak! He was absolutely captivated by the effectiveness and durability of this 'custom fitting black suit.'

After putting himself in the position of a human Guinea pig (or a willing test subject), Xzavier could tell firsthand that it acted like a shock absorber. It was incredible. From the point system, to the intricate design, to the quality and durability of the tech itself, Xzavier was captivated. The point system was brilliant. It acted and operated on the same principle of the defensive shields of some of those Sci-fi space vehicles he had watched and read about.

Even after taking on the attack of a mage of this caliber, only about 0.1% of its overall strength had been done in. So far, Xzavier was still very impressed.

As Xzavier basked in the wonder of his latest piece of tech, he forgot for an instant that his enemy was definitely not the giving up kind of person. The enemy had waited for any sign whatsoever that hinted at the fact that Xzavier had been hit. But none came. Instead of waiting for a miracle or for Xzavier to make his next move, the new leader decided to be more proactive.

Twitching his fingers and palms in mage-like motions, the leader began to use his affinity for magic to summon the wind. The environment soon began to respond to his command. With the steady buildup of a conductor directing an orchestra, his hands bobbed up and down like in a silent dance with nature, and a few seconds later, the winds began to change.

Before now, it had been a relatively still night. There was no wind. There hadn't even been the slightest breeze, and yet, the entire climate began to change at the behest of the mage. It started with a sudden drop in the temperature. A sudden chill hung in the air, as a slight breeze came from nowhere.

At the command of the level five mage, a huge gust of wind appeared from nowhere with the aggressiveness of a gale, and began to sweep away the smoke. The smoke stood no chance against such an aggressive force of nature. The fierce gusts of wind cleared up the space and didn't stop until there was not a single wisp of smoke left.

Xzavier was well aware of the fact that it would be foolish to dismiss any anomalies as mere coincidence. As someone whose mind never skipped a detail, Xzavier had factored in the stillness of the night when he decided to make use of the smoke bombs. The cloudless sky above him, along with the static air around him, told him that there wasn't going to be any kind of wind anytime soon.