Chapter 115: Ch153. Sickness - 8 (Unwavering determination)
Hana at Nagame’s guild master immediately went to the ground towards Daichi, trying to find out if her subordinate was okay, or if he had been seriously injured.
But what could have been so powerful and devastating, to the point of burning a hole in Daichi’s barrier?
Without time to even think about what the answer to that question could be, Toshinori, after discovering that Daichi had just passed out due to the exhaustion of keeping a barrier of that magnitude up for so long, looked in Asahi’s direction, with a single question. shining brightly in his eyes.
Asahi, already hardened by years of working alongside that guild master, already knew exactly what he was thinking, nodded to the leader, and went directly to the captain’s cabin, returning from there with a box of tools.
"Can you do that?" Toshinori asked the genius strategist.
Asahi simply smiled ever so slightly.
"I couldn’t consider myself the guild’s Jack of all trades if I didn’t know a minimum of mechanics, and didn’t have a few tricks up my sleeve, right, Toshinori-sama?"
The corners of the guild master’s lips turned up ever so slightly, and he nodded to Asahi, who turned his back on his master, and headed straight for the door where they had boarded the jet.
And from there, it seemed to free fall, towards the ground.
***
From the ground, Kurt watched, mouth agape, as one of Octavius’ attacks hit one of the turbines of the jet carrying his friends.
Kurt clenched his teeth as he tried to keep his attention on the two decisive focuses of his next decisions.
’If I focus completely on the jet, Octavius will definitely finish me off here.’ Kurt thought, dodging his father’s attacks. ’But if I just focus on Octavius...’
[THIRTY SECONDS TO DEACTIVATE THE ABILITY]
The system seemed like a death sentence for Kurt, who could do nothing but listen to that voice he had become so accustomed to.
But for an infinitesimal moment, Kurt simply couldn’t control the anger that took over his mind.
"SHUT UP!" He shouted, causing even Octavius to hesitate for a moment.
"What the hell..." Octavius stuttered.
It was everything Kurt needed at that moment.
He felt his nose start to bleed, and realized there was no longer any threshold separating him from the system.
Kurt knew that if he survived the use of [SHADOW PUPPET], he would no longer be tied to the system’s bonds.
A grin spread across his lips, as he prepared himself for what should be the last blow of that battle.
Kurt threw both blades of his [MOON SHADOW] at Octavius, who dodged it, ducking quickly.
"Foolish boy! Do you think a trick like that will fool me easily?" Kurt’s father asked, full of confidence.
"No, but this one will!" Kurt said, already in front of Octavius, ready to hit him in the face with his knee.
Octavius, however, quickly got up, blocking the blow with both of his powerful hands.
One of them flew towards Kurt’s throat, and a malevolent smile spread across the paladin’s lips.
"Still think you can escape?"
The smile on Kurt’s lips grew even wider.
"I’d look back if I were you, not just forward..." Kurt said, trying to breathe.
But Octavius was too busy, trying to stop his son from escaping the iron grip of his hands.
The paladin was too busy to notice the blow coming from behind until it was too late.
The [MOON SHADOW] blades buried themselves in Octavius’s back, eliciting a loud growl from his throat, while his hands let go of Kurt, who had finally gotten the chance he had been waiting for.
Kurt jumped away, taking a good distance between him and Octavius, and with the last strength he had left, he raised a huge shadow hand towards the jet, which was still falling.
In a final burst of energy, Kurt commanded the giant hand to hold the jet, and land it safely on the ground.
Moments later, he felt his consciousness begin to fade.
But a feeling of relief washed over Kurt as the sounds of battle faded around him.
And when he noticed, there were several wielders fighting each other, and several others engaging in an impetuous battle against Octavius.
’Right...’ Kurt thought, unable to utter any sound. ’I think... I can... Rest now...’
And Kurt’s consciousness slipped into the void, causing his [SHADOW PUPPET] to disappear, dispersing into darkness.
In the hospital room, Keisuke continued to put every ounce of effort into trying to keep Kurt alive.
But the young man’s condition was critical.
His heartbeat was too fast, irregular, and Kurt’s breathing was uneven.
There was even a moment when the young man began to bleed profusely from his nose.
But, as suddenly as his condition seemed to worsen, the whole picture seemed, in a way, to reverse itself, immediately.
Keisuke let out a relieved sigh, exerting the last of his useful energy into Kurt’s chest.
"I said... That you won’t... Die... As long as I’m here..." Keisuke said, panting.
For an infinitesimal instant, everything seemed fine.
Until the healer realized that Kurt hadn’t retorted his comment.
"Blake-san?" Keisuke called. "Blake-san?"
But there was no response.
He checked Kurt’s pulse, and felt his heartbeat, regular, even strong.
But Kurt seemed completely unresponsive.
"No... No, no, no... What did you do, Blake-san...?"
Just as the battle began, it seemed to end.
Suddenly, leaving only the bodies of the dead wielders around, and a scene of destruction that seemed to fit very well with the atmosphere of the United States at that time.
Octavius looked to where Kurt was, seeing his son fading into shadows, and all interest in that battle seemed to suddenly disappear from the paladin’s mind.
He turned his back on all that, and entered the association building again.
Inside, passing through reception, Octavius was approached by a dismayed Chief Leblanc.
"Sir, why don’t we end this all at once? It’s our golden chance to finish off the insurgents fighting outside!"
Leblanc immediately felt Octavius’s murderous aura, completely directed at him.
"Are you, by any chance, trying to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do?"
Leblanc tried to respond, but the words stuck in his throat, as if all the air in his lungs were fighting him.
"No... No, sir." Leblanc struggled to respond.
Immediately, the tension inside his lungs seemed to melt away, and Leblanc fell to his knees.
"Well... I have no interest in conflicts between wielders..." Octavius said, walking towards the elevator. "All I care about in this world... Is ridding the great Red Flood of Kurt Blake’s existence..."
