Point of view of Charles:
Blood pours from Areci’s neck. It surprises me how steady her gaze still is. She hasn’t lowered her eyes for even a second. She doesn’t care that her life depends entirely on the bastard standing in front of her.
Aaron swings his halberd toward Areci’s neck. I half close my eyes out of fear and panic. It hurts just to think that Areci will die. The halberd changes direction at the last moment, cutting off one of Areci’s arms.
I breathe in relief inside. For the first time Areci’s eyes waver slightly. She must have felt death so close. I see her biting her lip so she won’t scream while staring at the empty space where her left arm should be.
Aaron begins laughing like a madman. He looks again at his victim’s arm lying on the ground and his laughter grows even more intense. “Susan has raised a good daughter.” Those words were a dagger for her. Her serious gaze changes—now she’s clearly doubting.
Are we really all going to die here? None of the three of us have mana right now, and our bodies are completely exhausted. For what? Just to leave a huge slash across his stomach, land a couple of good hits that weren’t lethal, and cut off one of his hands.
Looking at it from another point of view, it’s actually quite a lot. We’re only three Sapphire ranks against a Diamond rank. The damage we’ve caused him isn’t insignificant. I focus more on Aaron’s small gestures while he laughs. He’s sweating heavily, and whenever he makes strong movements I can see a pained expression on his face. He keeps touching his stomach and his hand.
Shit! We really did injure him, but this is probably all we can do. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do anything more.
Aaron raises his good arm toward the sky. His smile becomes even more terrifying. With a quick motion his halberd moves toward Areci’s neck again. This time there will be no change of direction.
I see Areci close her eyes, accepting her fate. I’ve also closed one eye and the other is half open. I want to scream, but the words won’t leave my mouth. My body won’t react. I simply close my eyes waiting to be next. The helplessness of not being able to do anything, of not being able to help the person you’ve liked the most… it hurts.
A metallic sound I didn’t expect echoes in front of me. I slowly open my eyes and see someone standing in the path of the halberd aimed at Areci’s neck. A sword has stopped the swing of the halberd. Someone has come to help.
He teleported. I felt his presence just half a second before thanks to my ability. There was nothing, and a moment later he appeared to stop Areci’s decapitation.
What an overwhelming killing intent! My body trembled unconsciously when his desire to kill touched me. How has someone younger than me managed to obtain this level of killing intent? It feels tangible, flooding the air around us. His Imra makes it even heavier.
“Maki?” Areci pronounces those words. The savior is her friend, Maki Vichag. He arrived at the perfect moment.
“Sorry for being late, I appeared several kilometers away.” The boy turns toward his friend and gives her a big smile. His face is the complete opposite of those murderous intentions and that desire to annihilate.
Even Aaron looks a little confused. He hasn’t said anything in these few seconds, he’s just staring at the boy in front of him. He’s taking him seriously. He doesn’t seem to be playing around right now.
Point of view of Maki:
I arrived just in time to stop Areci’s death. That strike was only half a second away from decapitating her. I forced a good amount of mana to teleport beside her. With just my normal speed I wouldn’t have managed to save her.
My body is emanating an incredible killing intent. All I want is to grab him by the face and tear him apart. This bastard must be responsible for everything that happened. Seeing Areci in that state makes my blood boil. Even Salvaj and the prince are in terrible condition.
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The three of them have done an incredible job. That huge slash across his stomach, the visible blow on his face, and they even managed to cut off a Diamond rank’s hand. The three of them have paved the road for me. I can’t disappoint them.
I’m sure the emperor along with Susan and many important people are on their way here. They shouldn’t take long. I just have to hold on until then.
The bastard’s Jurisdiction tries to trap me. I’ve practiced a lot with Ruddo and Lucio. I can protect myself decently if necessary. I use my Imra as a base to create a sphere around me, along with my mana and all my Laws to make it harder to break through and give it the necessary consistency.
I feel slightly confused when I sense his Jurisdiction trying to capture me. It feels much weaker and clumsier. It’s nothing compared to those two. The difference is enormous, like the knowledge of a freshman in university compared to people in their final semester at the top of their class.
The lack of consistency and skill in the way he uses his Jurisdiction plays in my favor. I manage to hold my ground without too much trouble. My Imra is also far more developed than that of any other Sapphire rank. Somehow, thanks to small bursts of Imra, I can keep standing without feeling too much pressure.
Before giving him time to react I attack. He also looks a little surprised by how well I tolerate his Jurisdiction.
I appear in front of him, my swords already in motion, always aiming for vital points to try to kill him if possible. Several mana constructs appear in front of me. Pure mana? That’s strange. Doesn’t he have any affinity?
My body and mind are completely focused on the person in front of me. A small mistake could mean my death. I’m playing with fire by facing a Diamond rank alone. I’m afraid the three of them might get hurt, so I construct small spheres of ice around him.
I push my body to the limit. I don’t care if I tear it apart as long as I can keep this man occupied. I must not give him space to attack the three of them. A single strike could kill them.
Those three are quite clever as well. I can already see them breaking the Diamond rank’s constructs to free themselves. I focus entirely on the man in front of me, sensing in the air how he’s trying to create constructs to attack the three of them and finish them off.
I won’t allow it. My brain is pushed to the limit as I construct two dozen Joyeuse in an instant. I even close in at full speed with quick movements, trying to force him to worry about my Thundersnow Fangs.
During the first exchanges of my sword strikes he doesn’t pay me full attention. He was more focused on destroying my constructs with his own so he could finish the job from before. He’s more focused on killing them quickly because the three of them are already close to breaking all his restraints.
Bad decision on his part not to pay attention to me. I use my teleportation ability to appear behind him. Shit! Because of his Jurisdiction the consumption of spatial mana is more expensive. It cost me almost twice what I normally spend.
His eyebrows furrow when he sees me. Several layers of pure mana appear between him and my swords, but a little too late. I don’t give him time to construct all the ones he needs to stop my strikes. I can see the surprise on his face when I destroy most of his plates in an instant.
He has to focus on me so he won’t fall behind. His constructs lag for a moment as he puts all his attention on me. That’s enough for Areci and the other two. I can feel them inside my Personal World as they free themselves from all the restraints.
“Get out of here, you’ll get in my way more than you’ll help.” I shout at them. I don’t have time for pretty words. It’s better to tell them the truth. I don’t have time to worry about them right now. I already have enough to deal with just staying alive in front of this Diamond rank.
Areci stares at me for a second. I can feel her trying to say something. The prince must have called her attention somehow because she turns to look at him. Charles shakes his head from side to side in refusal, and Areci finally bites her lip and accepts it.
The three of them quickly leave the area. The farther away they go, the more freely I can fight. I need as much space as possible to move. In a closed place I would die much faster.
I see them disappear between the trees. Most likely they won’t go much farther and will stay around that area. Once they finally leave, I can move more freely between attacking and dodging.
His constructs are terrifyingly fast. Sometimes they catch me so off guard that I have to sacrifice parts of my body or use an enormous amount of gravity mana to move my body at extreme speed.
He doesn’t have it easy either. My constructs are not something easy to ignore. They’re loaded with mana, Imra, and multiple Laws. My swords are just as dangerous. If I get the chance to close the distance, he’ll pay dearly for it.
I feel like a bird dancing in front of a hawk. I have to keep moving from side to side to avoid as much damage as possible while attacking from a distance or closing in whenever I see an opening in his defenses.
I increase the intensity a little. If I want even the smallest chance, I’ll have to risk my body even more.