"Die! Die! Die!" Rufus screamed his lungs out as he stabbed the headless wyvern in the heart over and over. "Fucking die already!" Rufus screamed and ruptured the vessel in his vocal cord that made him bleed.
"Rufus! That's enough!" Silas grabbed Rufus from behind and pulled him forcefully then threw him to the ground. "It's already dead! We have another problem we need to take care of! Asmond is in danger!" Silas glared at him as he pointed at Asmond who was heavily injured.
Suddenly a shockwave blew everyone away, and it was because Asmond's giant sword clashed with Vallon's halberds. He got thrown away as well, and his body hit the rubble of the fortress behind him.
Arum and Roxanne could no longer fight because they broke their shoulders and feet. They fought to their limit, but it wasn't enough to defeat Vallon.
Asmond was the only one who could match Vallon's strength, but since he was way smaller than Vallon, he was at a disadvantage. His sword couldn't reach Vallon's body thanks to the big halberds that had been trying to cut Asmond's body in half.
"We gave our all, we did a lot of damage, and a lot of them sacrificed themselves so we could defeat him. But why? Why it feels like we have done nothing to that demon?" Roxanne shed a tear of desperation and anger.
Arum didn't say anything with empty eyes as she stared at Vallon and his unscathed armor. Her pupils started to tremble in fear, and her mouth and chin started to shake when Vallon walked toward them.
"I don't want to die," Arum said quietly as tears fell to her chin.
Nobody was there to save them, and Vallon was slowly getting closer and closer. Miraculously, Vallon stopped walking and looked to his left. He stared at someone for quite a while and suddenly changed his direction. He charged at Mykel who had been watching in the distance.
Vallon jumped as high as he could with the halberds ready to strike him down. He landed right in front of Mykel and swung his halberds down hard. The impact created a shockwave and the cloud of dust blocked their vision and made them unable to see what had happened.
The cloud dust was slowly thinning and they saw the halberds' blades were being held by Mykel with his bare hands. Mykel looked up to look at Vallon's glowing blue eyes, and then suddenly he showed his smug expression while scoffing.
"You chose the wrong opponent," Mykel said and shattered the unbreakable blades with his hands. "Get out of my sight," Mykel front-kicked Vallon and was enough to send him to the other side of the fortress which was two hundred meters away.
Everyone couldn't believe what they had just seen. A demon they couldn't even knock back or staggered was easily sent away with only a single kick.
A crumbling sound could be heard where Asmond got thrown away. A silhouette of a man holding a giant sword could be seen from the cloud of dust. He dashed so fast that a trail of dust followed him. They looked at Asmond, and he was unharmed thanks to his [Void Shelter] skill.
He charged toward Vallon and immediately activated all the skills he had including [Nemesis]. He took the opportunity that Mykel gave him, and when he saw Vallon raised from the ground, he thrust his sword into Vallon's chest.
Asmond didn't say anything and pushed his sword all the way down. He almost cut Vallon's body in half, and then he pulled his sword as he kicked him away. He swung the sword and cut off Vallon's head afterward.
He stabbed his sword at Vallon's head and pierced through the ground. He then fell to the ground because he couldn't move a muscle. Everyone finally could breathe at ease when the notification appeared right in front of them.
"Give me your hand," Mykel offered his hands to Arum and Roxanne.
They both looked at him and down at his hands. They both looked at each other and then gave their hands to him. Mykel healed all their injuries in an instant, and they were shocked at how easy it was for him to heal those heavy injuries.
"Take care of your friends," Mykel said as he lifted them up. "I'll go and check on Asmond's condition," Mykel left and looked at the dead bodies that had been scattered on the ground.
Mykel looked at Asmond trying to move his arms while he grunted and groaned. He then sat down next to Asmond as he lit his cigarette.
"Congrats, on your first clearance," Mykel said as he looked at Asmond with a smile.
Asmond didn't say anything as he stared at the morning sky. He just realized they fought all night and the sun was rising above his head.
"I'm not ready, Mykel," Asmond said as he looked at Mykel.
"If you're not ready, then when are you going to be ready? After you sacrificed hundreds or thousands of innocent lives?" Mykel stared down at Asmond. "It isn't because you're not ready, it's because you don't have a proper team," Mykel continued.
"We don't have a place to raise our levels... The only place to gain level is the first and up to ten floors. It's not enough," Asmond replied as he stared blankly at the sky.
"Go to the Lucifer Tower. Bring them all to Gehenna. You can level up there, and there are thousands of Awakeners from different worlds there. You can learn a lot of skills from them," Mykel said as he puffed the smoke. "I will give you permission to enter the Lucifer Tower,"
Asmond hummed as he nodded his head with understanding.
"You have three months before the next break out happens. Use that opportunity to raise their levels, and yours as well," Mykel sighed as he looked at the cigarette in his hand. "You did good, but it's not good enough," Mykel sounded a bit disappointed.
"Remember my words if you want to survive and create a powerful team. That's all I can give you, Asmond. The rest is in your hand, and don't hesitate to punish them if they did something wrong or didn't follow your order," Mykel said.
Asmond hummed again and kept staring at the sky that was slowly getting brighter and brighter. The cool breeze made him a bit sleepy and started to feel comfortable laying on the ground.
He slightly moved his head toward Mykel. He watched Mykel smoke his cigarette and enjoy the morning breeze as well. No matter how much he wanted to believe in Mara's words, he couldn't see what made Mykel dangerous.
All he saw was a friend who wanted him to be successful and a powerful Awakener. A friend who cared for his growth, and a friend who wanted him to shine under no one's influence.
"I thought you were only going to watch, but why did you join the fight, Mykel?" Asmond asked since he didn't see or know what happened.
"I was until Vallon decided to strike his halberds at me. All I did was break his weapons and make him know his place," Mykel scoffed as he looked at Asmond. "He chose the wrong opponent," Mykel continued and flicked the butt of the cigarette.
Asmond chuckled in disbelief.
"Do you think I would be able to kill him even without your help?" Asmond asked.
"What kind of stupid question is that?" Mykel stood up, and the answer made Asmond furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "Of course, you can. I won't be pressuring you if you can't since I can judge people based on how strong they're," Mykel looked at Asmond. "If Jeanne can be that powerful, that means you can be or even stronger than her. Believe in yourself and keep making yourself stronger," Mykel continued.
Hearing that made Asmond fired up and wanted to meet Mykel's expectations. He jolted and stood up immediately, and it made Mykel look at him weirdly.
"Anyway. My job here is done, I'll take my leave because I don't have to worry about you anymore," Mykel looked at Silas and the others gathered all the dead bodies. "Let's have lunch together again someday. You can come to me if you need my help. My door is always open for you. See you later, Asmond," Mykel said as he walked toward the portal and ignored the reward chest.
"Let's have instant noodles again, Mykel!" Asmond shouted with a smile on his face.
Mykel didn't look back, but he gave Asmond a thumbs up.
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