As everyone was engrossed in their battle, an hour passed in the blink of an eye. The battle hadn't ended yet; however, the development baffled the side that had the number advantage.
Out of the one-hundred men that Jane brought with her, eighty-nine of them had been eliminated. It hadn't been a walk in the park for the girls but they did it.
Clank!
Winerva was sent skidding to the back after blocking Sziera's lance. Ignoring the blood dripping down from her forehead to her cheeks and her chin, she focused her gaze on the green-haired Warlord.
The armour that Layland gave her a few days ago as a congratulation for her major advancement--a top-tiered Yellow Grade Relic--was already dented in various places. She had coughed out blood multiple times but the dents bothered her more.
Her gloves squelched as she gripped the shaft of her glaive tighter. She was maddened by the fact that the man before her had ruined her present and the fact that she wasn't strong enough to defend it.
"You are dying, lady. It is better to surrender and let the Kingdom decide what your fate will be."
"Are you joking? If you are not, that is funny."
"He who uses his head knows when to back down."
"I am sorry, but you don't seem to use yours."
Sziera looked at the bloodied Winerva and smiled bitterly. Her spirit was truly admirable; he didn't find himself able to look down on her. He was ashamed to admit it, however, he was reluctant to kill her. It was hard to find someone with her spirit; he would like to take her under his wings if it was possible.
"Say, pink-haired lady, who trained you?"
"Battles."
"Let me rephrase my question; who guides you?"
"Someone who can kill you in the blink of an eye."
"I see..." Sziera nodded his head and then put his right hand on his chest. "My name is Sziera Aftlachtine. Since both of us have an equal chance of dying, why don't you tell me yours?"
"Carve the name of your killer in your mind: Winerva Kleinhaus."
Sziera noticed a light blush on Winerva's cheeks but didn't think anything of it. She was bleeding and irate after all, so it was not uncommon for a blush to appear on her cheeks--he thought.
Both of them kicked the ground at the same time and charged at each other. Winerva channelled her Mana into her glaive, gathered it at the tip of her glaive and then thrust it forward. Sziera also did the same with a larger amount of Mana. When their weapons clashed, they were both sent flying as the impact destroyed the ground.
Bam!
At the same time, Millonia was having a fistfight with Neroel. She had been multitasking for the past hour--fighting Neroel and distracting Jane--so she was extremely exhausted.
Her mask had been broken and she didn't even realize it. All she had in mind was the thought of killing Neroel, who had punched her countless times in the face. Only one person had ever punched her in the face and that was Layland. She wouldn't forgive anyone other than him who punched her face.
"Ptooi!" Neroel spat out the blood in his mouth. "You punch hard, don't you?"
"How does it feel being a meat sandbag?" Millonia taunted.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you. I mean, look at yourself." Neroel smirked as he pointed his finger at his temple.
Millonia clicked her tongue in irritation because her temple swelled like a balloon. She created a tiny blade with Mana, put it at the tip of her finger and then cut open her swollen temple to let the blood out.
Neroel watched in amusement as blood spurted out of her temple, dripping down to the ground and colouring half of her face red. He smiled wryly as he kicked the ground, charging at her to engage in a fistfight again.
Boom!
The air exploded as their fists clashed.
None of them registered clearly when it was started; they didn't know when they lost their swords. They had fought with Mana Swords but they still found their fists more reliable. They had been fighting like this for a long time and they couldn't tell who would win by the end of it.
Burst!
On the other side of the battlefield, Lunea was bombarding Jane and her remaining protectors with her Spells on top of Genelos. She had taken most of the Mana-replenishing Potions with her and she almost ran out of them.
Her clothes stuck to her skin because of her sweat. Spellcasting burdened her mentally and physically, so even without a single scratch on her, she still looked worse for wear.
"Oi, little girl, you should stop. Your presence is thinning!" Genelos warned urgently. "You may replenish your Mana and blood but nothing can replenish your stamina!"
"I...can't. Millonia...and Winerva...they haven't finished their fight."
"Scratch that, little girl! You will die before any of them wins."
Ignoring Genelos entirely, Lunea kept casting Spells. She had mastered every one of the Middle-Grade Spells and learned three High-Grade Spells but she had been casting the latter for the last twenty minutes or so.
She had a big enough Mana Pool and a lot of Mana supply but her body wasn't ready for such a burden. Life force was an abstract concept; however, it was certain that she was burning her life force.
Boom!
After her umpteenth time of bombardment, five of Jane's protectors finally keeled over, disrupting the formation. Lunea rejoiced dearly at the fact but she couldn't hold her consciousness long enough to enjoy the look of bafflement on Jane's face.
Jane quickly recovered from her shock and made use of the development. With nothing obstructing her, she was ready to bombard the girls with her Spells--the moment she had been waiting for.
Burst!
"Hah!"
A Barrier was erected before Jane, protecting her from Genelos' fire.
"Everyone, don't mind me! I can take this fake Dragon by myself. Without that maniac Mage's help, it can never hurt me."
"Understood!"
Coming out of Jane's Barrier, the remaining Knights and Paladins charged at Winerva, who was already struggling to keep herself conscious. Genelos noticed that and immediately stopped shooting his fire at Jane.
He was about to immediately fly in Winerva's direction; however, Jane's Spell successfully stopped him from going anywhere. She had a thousand gigantic arrows made out of Mana and they were targeting him--she made sure he would die the moment he turned around.
Roar!
Since he couldn't do anything, he decided to ask for Millonia's help. She heard his call but she also couldn't do anything. Neroel's punch was submerged in her stomach and she could see nothing but black. Her viscera were ruptured, so blood was pouring out of her mouth.
'No...I can't die here.... I can't disappoint Layland. I can't let the girls die. I have...to...keep fighting...for the girls...for him.... I want to see his face--I want to hog him all for myself!'
The more she recalled how badly she was beaten, the more enraged she became. She used to be someone whose mere presence made the Demon King's Generals tremble but she had been reduced to someone who couldn't even defeat a young Warlord.
All of it was because of the Seal put on her. 'If only...if only I could use my true power!' she screamed in her mind. 'No...if only I could loosen this accursed Seal!'
Looking at that Millonia, Neroel quirked an eyebrow. "What is she mumbling...what is this presence!?"
He was wondering what Millonia was doing until he widened his eyes the moment Millonia exuded an ominous presence. He hastily retracted his fist and then retreated to take Jane away with him. His instinct was screaming at him. Should he stay, he would die.
Whoosh!
A 20 feet tall shadow suddenly appeared behind Millonia. It was Teanosvera, who wanted to stop Millonia from being possessed by the Dark Seed inside her.
"I...got...this!" Even before he did anything, however, Millonia stopped him. "I knew he would do something like this. Don't...do anything. I will...do it...myself!"
Millonia's blue hair turned red--as red as her eyes. Her injuries disappeared in the blink of an eye. Her hair floated in the air as two black lines ran down her cheeks, starting from right below her eyes. Her nails lengthened and she also grew a pair of fangs. She looked like what people described as Demon.
At this point, everyone was looking at her in anticipation. The presence she was exuding no longer belonged to a human, so they were contemplating what they should do. The humans considered running away. Teanosvera and Genelos considered taking her down.
Only one side was allowed to do what they were considering.
"Run!"
...and it was the human.
Boom!
Kicking the ground, cratering it in the process, Millonia, who had full control over her power, dashed at the people surrounding Winerva. They immediately ran away in horror but none of them was fast enough to outrun her.
"Kuhak!"
"Ack!"
"You, Demon, may God condemn your--Ack!"
Her hands were all she needed to rip the people apart. Her entire being was covered in blood; her manic grin made her look more demonic. When no one could bother Winerva anymore, she ran toward Neroel who was running away frantically with Jane in his arms.
Millonia cackled madly and caught up to them in a matter of seconds. She stomped the ground, causing it to rise, thus making Neroel and Jane fall. She immediately snatched Jane as soon as Neroel let go of Jane. Under Neroel's horrified look, she ripped Jane apart.
Spurt!
"No!!!"
"It is your turn, little boy!"
She charged at Neroel, wanting to kill him, but Teanosvera didn't agree with her.
"Millonia, get back!"
At this moment, she felt someone's presence behind her. She was, however, knocked out cold before she could turn around.
Teanosvera appeared behind the said person as her body fell into the person's hand. Unfortunately, the said person beat him; even before he could snatch Millonia back, the said person teleported along with Neroel and Millonia.
Teanosvera was stunned. Never in his wildest dream had he ever dreamed of losing to a human.
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