Point of view of Charles:
“Shit, shit, shit.” I curse in my head countless times as I’m repelled again and again.
At least we’ve managed to find a decent balance so we don’t die too quickly. Many factors have come together to give us a tiny chance of staying on our feet. I’m serving as the main tank due to my healing ability, Areci with her great offensive power constantly going on the attack, and Salvaj in the middle because of his offensive and defensive strength.
It’s difficult to coordinate perfectly the way we would like. We’re making many mistakes all the time. We can’t avoid it—we’ve never practiced fighting together as a group of three, and we’re only letting ourselves be guided by the moment.
I try to reach Salvaj to protect him from the strike, but I don’t make it in time, and the boy is sent flying dozens of meters backward. At least he managed to build several layers of crystal to cushion the blow enough so it wouldn’t pierce through him.
I feel Areci’s movements through my ability to sense people’s blood. I duck, and her sword passes just a few centimeters above my head, aiming to split Aaron in half.
The heat is almost unbearable. I have to move to the side quickly and heal my burns. The strike forces the Diamond rank to defend himself, and I see that look of surprise appear on his face again.
I’m sure of it—he never expected to find himself in a situation like this. I never thought three Sapphire ranks could face a Diamond rank with his Jurisdiction either. The only bad part of this… only two minutes have passed since we started.
In just two minutes we’ve burned through a large part of our mana. Areci and Salvaj are injured, and the mental exhaustion is already beginning to show. That bastard, on the other hand, is doing quite well. He’s only been hit a couple of times by some of Areci’s cuts, and they’ve been slowly closing.
The recovery of a Diamond rank is incredibly powerful, especially when they’re only attacked by people from a lower rank. Jurisdiction works wonders when it comes to counteracting any kind of lingering effect inside the body.
Salvaj gets back up and sends out crystal spikes while charging toward Aaron with all his strength. Areci doesn’t stay behind, creating several magma constructs to attack him from every direction. I don’t fall behind either, sending several blood constructs.
The first pure mana shields break under the pressure of our attacks. The next ones appear, and then more after that. A clash of wills forms, and in the end the three of us lose. Our constructs never reach him—we only manage to break countless walls of pure mana.
Our mana pools might be comparable to Ruby rank—we all have enormous amounts of mana—but compared to that bastard, we’re nothing more than children facing an adult.
We don’t give up. If mid-range attacks don’t work, we have to keep attacking at close range. Only with short-distance attacks have we been able to cause any real damage—minimal, but still damage.
My twin axes, Areci’s sword, and Salvaj’s fists don’t stop. Pure mana is the easiest thing to learn to shape, and this bastard is terrifyingly good at it. Small shields appear and disappear around his body all the time, blocking every attempt we make to strike him.
We, on the other hand, have to be careful with his constructs. Being this close means they don’t have time to build up speed to become lethal—or at least that’s what we believed. Every construct from this Diamond rank is dangerous. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t travel far; it can still pierce through our bodies with relative ease.
Areci and Salvaj have a great ability to sense danger. Their agile and swift movements help them dodge most of the constructs. For my part, things are a little more complicated. I have ways to detect enemy mana, but the reaction time of my ability is slower. My healing ability compensates for it.
Aaron doesn’t have it easy either. He has to defend himself constantly against three people as strong as Ruby rank fighters—even stronger than most people in the Ruby rank.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
We keep attacking. We don’t stop. We can’t give him time to breathe. We already did that once by mistake—we couldn’t coordinate properly, and it was a catastrophe. We spent the whole time jumping and moving like monkeys, dodging pure mana constructs everywhere.
We had no way to approach him, and Areci had to burn an enormous amount of mana to increase her power. She opened a gap, and through it we managed to get close enough to keep him occupied all the time.
I push my body further. I feel my veins widening as I increase blood production. My body turns reddish as it pumps blood faster and faster. My body feels lighter and stronger.
Only three minutes have passed. We have to do something. I hadn’t noticed at first because of the shock, but we’re losing ground. I can see the expressions on their faces—both of them are getting tired faster than expected, while I’m still a little fresher.
I need to balance things and give them some breathing room. If both of them fall, there’s nothing I’ll be able to do alone, and we’ll all end up dying.
I appear in front of Aaron with my axes. Salvaj and Areci quickly notice my intentions and step back a little. It seems they’ll support me. I launch myself forward without thinking much. Years of training in the Royal Family’s combat style burst from my body.
The axes move from side to side. My body pumps more blood to the necessary areas to strike harder and endure more when needed.
Areci doesn’t stop attacking either, and Salvaj is lurking close by all the time. The two of them keep him occupied enough so I won’t be overwhelmed too quickly.
For the first time in the entire encounter, Aaron creates a weapon—something similar to a halberd with a crescent blade facing one direction, a perfect weapon for decapitation. We become locked in a battle of skill, and he seems to be enjoying it the entire time.
I quickly realize he’s not very skilled using it. I’m far better than him. He’s compensating for his lack of weapon talent with his superior speed and quick reactions.
Almost five minutes have passed in total now. The exhaustion is hitting the three of us. Finally, we find an opening to exploit.
Salvaj throws himself forward with everything he has using his gauntlets. He’s not protecting himself at all—he’s only moving forward. He’s trusting me. Aaron realizes something is wrong and tries to strike him with his halberd and some constructs, but I don’t allow it in any way.
Using my axes, my superior weapon mastery, and my body, I manage to block almost every attack aimed at that wild boy. Salvaj receives several wounds, but he doesn’t care. I see him biting his lips until they bleed.
He manages to break through all the defenses and get within only a few centimeters of Aaron. The first strike is aimed at his stomach. It’s blocked by several pure mana constructs, but they’re not enough. I see the Diamond rank grimace in pain from the impact.
That’s not all—it’s a two-stage attack. The second blow hits his face, which he couldn’t protect with enough mana because he was focused on the first strike. I see the bastard’s head snap to the side as blood flies through the air.
Salvaj tries to push forward a little more, and something happens. His badly injured body can’t keep up with the speed, and I can’t reach him in time. The halberd slices through one of his legs. I see Salvaj’s face enduring the pain and trying to keep moving forward, but he has to use everything he has just to defend himself from a pure mana missile, which sends him flying dozens of meters away.
A stupid smile appears on Aaron’s face. Areci has already closed in on him. She’s using almost all the mana and energy she has left in that attack. I can feel the intense heat throughout my body.
I move my body to give Areci as much protection as possible. Without caring about anything else, I lose one arm instantly and half of the other just to buy her enough time. My efforts bear fruit because Areci’s sword swings, carving a deep and massive cut across his stomach.
Using the same momentum, Areci swings with all her strength toward the bastard’s neck. Several layers of pure mana break along the way—she’s cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. Aaron’s eyes show something for the first time beyond surprise. I can see a hint of fear. I fall to my knees, almost out of mana to heal myself.
Aaron raises his arm covered in massive amounts of mana to block the attack. I can see the two of them struggling. It feels like time has frozen for them. Their wills collide. Areci’s momentum and the last of her strength manage to cut off his hand and continue toward his neck.
Unfortunately, in that brief moment Aaron manages to move backward and avoid the strike. Areci’s sword flies from her hands due to the momentum, and she falls to the ground with a dull thud. Aaron takes a few seconds to process what just happened. He touches his neck and begins to smile maliciously.
He grabs Areci by the throat. She looks at him with clear hatred as he forces her onto her knees. Not just her—Salvaj’s body comes flying toward my side and he also lands on his knees. Stakes pierce through our thighs so we can’t move, and bindings around our wrists keep us upright with our heads forced up as we stare at him.
“You will die first.” He points his halberd at Areci and places the blade near her neck. He pulls his arm back to gather momentum, and my heart skips a beat.
Will the person I love die before my eyes?