It was not because she was afraid of dying or was afraid of fighting it out but because she believed in necessary sacrifices and not in illogical and impractical ones.
But just as she was about to move back, Alissa, who had been standing mum beside her the whole time, opened her mouth and uttered some unbelievable words.
"I don't want to go. I will stay with Zavier. I won't leave him alone and escape on my own. You can go if you want."
Valerie took another look at Alissa who was refusing to budge and found that there were no signs of trauma or false bravado in her appearance but only a fierce determination that was evident from her eyes. She hadn't seen Alissa this assertive ever since she had come to know her.
Valerie was moved to see how much Alissa cared about Zavier. She could tell by the fact that Alissa had opted to compromise her own safety just to stay by Zavier's side. She had practically decided to live and die with him. Such a decision needed courage and a strong heart full of love and devotion and was worth admiring. But the more she delayed their retreat, the more would be the danger for herself and for Dahila.
Therefore, Valerie was very reasonably incensed at the reckless behavior that Alissa had shown that had put Dahila's as well as her own life in danger. Valerie admired her sentiments but she was angry about Alissa not looking at the bigger picture.
Valerie herself was quite a practical woman who made all her decisions after thorough calculations and logical reasoning. She didn't want any more sacrifices than were necessary and the order that she had given out was based on that very ideal. So, when Alissa refused to obey her, she was very reasonably incensed.
Valerie let out a sigh and decided to leave her alone for the time being. She thought that if a situation where they had to make a run for it arose, she would forcibly carry Alissa away herself if possible even if she tried to resist.
Zavier on the other hand was totally unaware of what was happening around the periphery of his battlefield. He was too busy trying to get in some hits at Kyouko before he ran out of juice. His three minutes were almost up and Zavier had already started to feel that he was living on borrowed oxygen.
He wanted to weaken Kyouko as much as possible so that the others could at least make a run for it.
He had no other method in mind that could alleviate his problems.
Just when he was about to collapse from exhaustion that followed his three minute time limit, a system notification rang out and a message was displayed on the screen in front of him.
[User can choose to use 'Fusion mode' under the current circumstances.]
[Fusion mode: Provides a forcible extension of the duration of the Insane status by fusing the blood and the body of one or more casters into the body of the user to elevate the temporary magic rank. It provides an immense power boost and stamina boost to the user at a huge cost.]
[Duration: There is a limit of one minute and the countdown begins once the user has absorbed another caster through fusion.]
[Conditions of use: User needs another caster who has learnt Blood Blade and is willing to sacrifice himself for the fusion mode to take effect. The skill can not be used if the target of the skill is not willing or is being forced.]
[Limitations: The strength boost provided by the skill comes at a price for the user as well. The user will succumb to death as soon as the one minute duration is over.]
Zavier was starting to see why Kyouko had acted so shocked after seeing that he had learnt Blood Blade. It really was a terrifying skill but not just because of the strength that it gave to its user but because of how heavy the consequences for its usage were.
Before this he had only been bumbling about the periphery. He had only just witnessed the basics of what the skill was capable of turning him into. But now, he knew better than to think that he could handle this skill easily.
Anyone who was the least bit talented would never learn it and those who could learn it would never dare to do so out of fear of death. It in reality was the skill for the desperate and at the moment there wasn't anyone who was more desperate than himself.
"System, if I use this 'Fusion' skill what mage rank would I be equivalent to?"
[Taking into account the current condition of the clone and the amount of blood his body can provide, the user can hope to reach the strength of an S-rank mage according to the standards of this world for one minute.]
If he had a real person instead of his clone with him fighting the battle, it would have been impossible for him to activate the Fusion. After all, the other person would have had to sacrifice himself. Nobody would have been willing to do that even if they were going to die soon. The fact is that everybody kept that hope of survival in their hearts. They wouldn't knowingly give their own life away to save others. Blood Blade really had some of the harshest conditions.
His time had run out so he had no other option but to do what the system had suggested. All the routes that led to their survival were being closed one after the other except this one.
While Zavier was still busy contemplating and conversing with the system, the clone with the Magus system had already initiated the process to self destruct. His body started to disintegrate into tiny cells that appeared reddish in hue and his red blood cells flew and twisted around his body as if unwilling to part.
Zavier's body emitted a force like the gravitational pull that forcibly pulled the disintegrated body towards himself and started to absorb the condensed blood into his body through the pores on his skin.
While the clone was being broken into tiny pieces, it refused to utter a scream despite feeling the worst torture imaginable to humankind.
The same was the case with Zavier. He was still connected to his clone through the shared mode and all their senses were mutually connected. So Zavier was feeling the same despair and same pain as the clone who was committing suicide to help him. Zavier could feel his helplessness and his angst against Kyouko who had forced him until that point.
Zavier couldn't help but curse himself for not shutting down the shared mode before initiating his clone's self destruct.
He was dying once more. He could feel his life slowly flowing out of him but this time the experience was that of a suicide. He was already sick of dying and had been trying to avoid it as much as possible but death still found a way to track him down.
He wondered if this was his curse. He had been made close to an immortal after his death, by the cosmic consciousness which was antagonistic to the principles of death which sought the end of everything at their appointed time.
Maybe it was death trying to take back what it had already claimed. That was why he kept suffering the pain of death time and time again. It was death trying to reclaim him for his time had long since passed.
While he was under immense pain and suffering, his body was gradually gaining strength and improving in rank.
Meanwhile, Kyouko was witnessing the miracle with her own eyes. She had seen how Zavier's companion had sacrificed himself for him without a single word or thought.
She couldn't help but wonder who these people were exactly.
No matter who it was, dying for someone without a word or care was not something humans were capable of. She had seen it first hand but her entire belief was being bulldozed by Zavier and his companion who was nothing but a steady stream of blood by this time.
The clone had completely merged into Zavier by exploding and disintegrating. To Zavier, absorbing him and his blood had been as easy as breathing contrary to what he had thought.
Another advantage that he received from the clone was that his mana was incomparably pure compared to that of his original body. Unlike Zavier, the clone had actually practised each and every skill that Zavier used and that had led to the rotation of mana in and out of his body.
The continuous breathing of mana had made his body more adept at handling and storing mana.
Therefore, when Zavier absorbed his clone, he not only doubled the blood that he had in his body but also didn't have to waste time on gathering mana. He had received a double of that as well.
As soon as the transfusion was complete, Zavier could attack with full force considering that he had only one minute to execute his strategy.
Kyouko had only looked on at first but then the fear induced by Zavier who was getting stronger by the minute took over and she rushed in for an attack.
She wanted to stop the skill mid way so that she wouldn't have to deal with Zavier at his best.
Contrary to what she had thought, the task proved harder than her wildest imaginations.
The cocoon of blood floating around Zavier was like an iron curtain protecting him from all sides. There was no opportunity to exploit there.
Kyouko did her best and continued to attack the cocoon in hopes that she might be able to deplete some of its energy but the only thing she actually managed to do was tire herself.
The transfusion was unstoppable. Of course, something that was only possible through the willing sacrifice of a life wouldn't be stopped by a measly half hearted offensive.
Kyouko was growing nervous and her nerves were getting taut with tension at the fact that Zavier had grown to a level that was at least equal to her if not higher than that. And Zavier had still been growing in strength.
Kyouko was truly afraid for the first time since the fight between the two parties had started. She felt that Zavier as he was now was more than capable of killing her off. She was terrified thinking that she might die in the next bout.
As soon as Zavier was done with the transfusion, he struck the ground with his feet and propelled himself forward like an arrow released from a bow and headed straight for Kyouko who was responsible for the pain that he and his companions had had to go through.
Since he didn't have enough time to take care of her properly, he wanted to end it as swiftly as possible.
While moving, Zavier mobilized his blood to move out and cast a protective layer over his body. He had done it to reduce the time that he took to gather the blood for an attack. This boosted his strength readily as the blood constantly changed shape around him and struck to exploit all the openings that Zavier found.
The blood that was rushing to his brain had been condensed to the extreme and increased Zavier's mental capabilities as well. He felt that his brain had increased in functionality considerably in analytical reasoning and impulse decision making after he had fused with his clone.
As soon as he felt that he had an opportunity to strike at Kyouko, Zavier urged his blood and transformed it into a huge red blood blade that seemed to be symbolizing bloodshed and wrath of the gods.
He kept on striking with the red blade and constantly forced back Kyouko who was unable to hold him off now that he had attained strength that was greater than her. The quality of skills he had were always better than Kyouko but he never had time to grow properly. But the Blood Blade skill had given him a chance to stand at the same height while challenging her.
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