40 Fall from grace
The tiny blood blades flew at Ginevra like a cloud of deadly, flesh-tearing fog. Her incantation halted with a grunt of pain when the first blades tore through the gaps in her armor, bit into her skin.
Ginevra rose her arms to her face in a reflexive gesture of protection, one that saved her eyes. But the assault wasn't over yet. There was still mana in Cael's spell, and the blades kept whirling around Ginevra.
But to Cael's shock—and admiration—even that didn't stop Ginevra from finishing her spell.
"<…your power be my chilling shield and my indomitable fortress!>" she shouted and slammed her leg in Cael's direction.
A wall of jagged, pinkish from blood, icicles grew out of the ground right before his feet, threatening to pierce him with its edges. A defense and protection at once.
Cael dashed back, feeling the reins he had on his spell slipping. In the end, even if he learned the Hundred Cuts with System's help, and if his mana control had drastically improved in the last few hours, it was still imperfect.
And this was a hard spell to control. It sucked way more mana out of Cael than it should have. Good thing Cael had so much of it lying around.
He glanced at his father. Gianni still sat in the dirt, watching Cael with wide eyes. Cael stretched his lips into a tense, awkward smile.
What would he think of him after all this? Blood magic… It must've looked like one of the forbidden arts to him, even if Cael couldn't recall it being officially forbidden.
It was possible that no one did that only because there was no precedent yet.
Cael shook himself. This was no time to entertain those thoughts. He dashed around the wall, chanting the Greater Exsanguination spell as he went.
As soon as he turned the corner, Ginevra met him with a Frost Arrow in his face. It was an almost point-blank shot—Ginevra stood only a couple of meters away.
The time seemed to slow. The icicle-shaped Frost Arrow moved through the air like it was thick resin.
'Life doesn't teach me anything,' Cael thought ruefully.
But now his reaction was better than the last time he caught projectiles with his body. His muscles were stronger. The spell that enhanced his movements was more powerful. And this Frost Arrow wasn't faster than the dagger.
Cael bent his knees and lowered his head, letting the gravity, ever so slowly, pull him to the ground.
The time returned to its previous pace. The Frost Arrow whizzed over Cael's head, and he jumped back up.
Ginevra's eyes widened. In that split of a second, Cael found his breath taken away at the sight of her. She was a vision straight from Hell.
Dozens of bleeding gashes covered every centimeter of her skin. There was so much blood on her, both hers and that of others, that it was impossible to tell just how many wounds she had. Her clothing must've been red to the bone.
She was like a demoness, a fierce, indomitable creature of bloodshed. And just like Cael found himself reveling in bloodshed, he found himself reveling in her.
And then, in an action that brought him intense, visceral pleasure, he brought her to her knees with the finishing words of his spell.
"<…give up their life!>"
She screamed as the blood left her veins. Even now she tried to resist, but she stood no chance with how many wounds she had. Blood flew freely, gathering into a thick, pressurized globe in Cael's palm. Precious blood of a third rank mage.
Ginevra fell down, her breathing weak and her heartbeat faint. Cael closed her eyes.
This was HER precious blood. Her life. And…
Cael cut the spell off before it would kill her.
'Cael, you have gained 295 BP. A new upgrade is available for purchase.'
Around, the flow of battle shifted. Nuvoloso soldiers, seeing the fall of their leader, began to flee. Their ranks, still numerous, didn't matter. No one expected Ginevra to fall, but there was no better boost for the morale of Oliveira's soldiers.
Cael paid them as much attention as his System.
'Ginevra would be more useful to me and Father alive,' Cael told himself. 'She would know everything about Enzo's plans and resources… And worth mountains of gold as a hostage.'
He sighed.
Bullshit. It was all true, but the actual reason for this decision was as simple as that—Cael didn't want to kill her.
He thought he wanted to. Both of them didn't hesitate to kill each other's comrades. And she was about to kill his father!
The approach of the man in question interrupted Cael's introspection. Gianni used someone's fallen spear as a walking cane to stand up next to Cael. "You have defeated her, son."
Cael nodded. "Yes. We should take her prisoner… Mend her wounds before she bleeds out completely. She's valuable."
Gianni grunted in agreement. "That would be wise. Now, I should finish this fight. Then, we will talk." His lip twitched. "You didn't do as I asked, again."
Cael had an overwhelming urge to hit something. "I saved your life! Our army! And you tell me I'm at fault for not staying away from the battle?"
"Yes."
"Oh, come on! I knew, just knew I will be late for everything," a loud, cheerful voice interrupted the tense conversation.
Cael swiveled on his heels to see Ignazio, followed by a group of Oliveira soldiers, jogging up to them. The archer beamed at Gianni.
"You should've talked more about your eldest, Captain! I never thought he was such a monster in battle." Ignazio gave Cael's shoulder a friendly pat. "The only right man to defeat the She-Devil, right? You must be proud as heck!"
Cael felt his cheeks warming under Ignazio's praise and the surrounding soldiers' scrutiny. Some gazes were awe-struck. Others were frightened.
They saw his spells. They saw that this was not a common human magic.
Gianni's expression turned painful. Cael threw him a look of alarm, wondering if he was more
wounded than it seemed. When their eyes met, Father's expression softened a little.
"Enough," he said. "My soldiers! Let's deal the final blow to all who treacherously try to invade our lands!"
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m