Though he knew he had moves in his arsenal capable of much higher firepower, considering he was in a narrow corridor and a populated town at that, it wasn't as though he felt comfortable unleashing such power.
'Both his offense and defense are extreme. His speed and power are just as insane–what's his weakness? His lack of brains? Maybe,' he questioned.
As the giant that lived for battle continued his ceaseless, multi-armed attacks, a counter was thought of by Emilio, who pushed his hand forward in the direction of his enemy:
"Absolute Air Lock."
The anti-oxygen spell manifested its zone around the attacking giant, creating a space deprived of oxygen entirely.
"Hyuu–" Higan gasped as all of the air left his lungs, stolen away in an instant.
Using that brief opening for the few moments that the spell was active, Emilio dashed in before engulfing his sword in azure flames, stomping down with tile-shattering force. The Mountain God Style was once more invoked, almost as a test of pride in the teachings passed down from his own father.
"Mountain Carver!"
This time, the flame-bathed steel sunk past the giant's skin, carving across his chest with a blazing glory that extended its heat throughout the battle-torn corridor. The combination of magic used to deprive his enemy of oxygen and his own physical abilities resulted in finally surmounting the "Unbreakable" flesh of the Four-Armed Clan's greatest warrior.
"Nnngh…"
Higan stood there, standing tall as ever, with a large gash across his torso, stretching from his right shoulder down across to his left hip; blood seeped from the wound, pouring down onto the giant's skin.
Though the wound looked dire, lethal for any normal being, the giant couldn't help but smile ear-to-ear like a child that had just received the grandest toy.
"...Finally, I have lost that accursed name. I am "Unbreakable" no longer–now I will be Higan "The Scarred"--that is the legacy your blade has etched into my flesh, human–no, Emilio," Higan spoke.
'I was aiming to cut him in half. This guy is something else,' Emilio thought.
Though it was somewhat perplexing to him, seeing as though the red-skinned giant seemed extremely prideful as a warrior and driven by that pride as the sole motivator to his life.
"You don't seem upset. That title was special, wasn't it?" Emilio asked.
Higan chuckled, "You misunderstand, great warrior. 'Unbreakable' is an accursed title for us of the Four-Armed Clan. What we seek is death through glorious battle. We seek the ultimate challenge of might. To wield a wound as deep and beautiful as this one…I will return to my clan as a champion–one that has reached the apex of our clan's beliefs."
It was a bit of an odd creed to him, though it wasn't his place to question the way the foreign clan lived their lives.
"You got what you want, right?" Emilio asked, lowering his sword.
Higan nodded, "I no longer need to follow Maximus. I only became his bodyguard to seek a warrior worthy of erasing my title. I have now found that–go on, Emilio."
Even though the four-armed giant had a massive gash on his chest, he seemed perfectly fine and calm, moving aside as he let the Dragonheart pass by him. Not wanting to continue the fight against the monstrous warrior, he nodded before running by, seeking to catch up with his companion.
'I hope Sirius isn't doing anything stupid–though it's a safe bet to believe he has,' Emilio thought.
Relinquishing the draconic helm around his face, he maintained the scaled armor as he rushed through the halls.
"—"
To both his surprise and not, he found unconscious guards around the halls, slumped against walls and foaming from their mouths. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the work of his companion.
'He doesn't hold back, does he? Can't really talk though—I'm not any better myself,' he thought.
"Oohhh…"
"Ghhh…"
Passing by some of the unconscious mercenaries, who were clearly in pain after their encounter with the lightning-wielding reincarnators, he found a kicked-open set of doors.
"—" Emilio walked in, finding a lavish room with velvet carpet flooring and illustrious paintings on the walls.
There were dual stairways leading to the same floor that could be seen from a gold-decorate balcony.
Surprisingly, there weren't any mercenaries waiting in the room—however, he found something else.
As he looked around, he recoiled briefly at the sight of a figure that had their entire head simply gone from their shoulders as if it had exploded. There was another person, most likely a hired mercenary, who was burnt to a crisp.
"Sirius," Emilio muttered with a sigh leaving his lips.
It was undoubtedly a brutal sight, though he could hardly feel much forgiveness when dealing with those serving under a direct associate of the nefarious organization.
'Sense,' he thought.
Invoked through his own concentration, he looked towards the balcony before extending the unique, reconnaissance spell; it spread his mana in a thin layer, moving forward and inspecting the area before him.
When extending his sensory mana up to the balcony and into the next room, he immediately senses a mana signature that was familiar to him: it felt like an electric jolt coursing through his fingertips.
'There you are–Sirius,' he breathed out in relief.
Knowing where his companion was now, he began running up the curving staircase, though caught off-guard as something caused the entire hideout to rumble.
"--!"
The tremors that caused dust to rain down from the ceiling only made him move in faster as he reached the summit of the steps, finding only a singular hallway leading to one room.
As he approached the room, the burgundy doors swung open on either side of the corridor, with weapon-wielding men rushing out.
"Get him!"
"Don't let him near the Boss! 'He' can handle the electric guy!" Another mercenary yelled out.
Utilizing his trained reflexes, Emilio ducked down, avoiding the swing of multiple blades without having to see them.
CLANG.
Sparks flew as the weapons wielded by the mercenaries clashed against one another, getting mixed up as Emilio spun around while low, sweeping the legs of the hired fighters around him. The duck-and-sweep was executed so seamlessly and swiftly that to the men who failed their surprise attack, it felt as though they were transported from their feet onto their posteriors one moment to the next.
"Waaah–!"
"Gah!"
Tripping the mercenaries that attempted to attack him, Emilio jumped back to his feet with a simple exhale, looking down at the hired fighters.
"Stay down, would you? I'm not in the mood to kill anybody today–unless you're really a part of the same organization as your boss," Emilio warned.
The words of the amethyst-eyed man weren't taken lightly by the mercenaries, who could sense the restrained bloodlust from the figure who loathed the Children of Chaos.
A brown-haired mercenary waved his hands, sitting up, "W-we don't know anything about the Boss' affiliations…! He just hired us for security while he was in Desim!"
"Th-that's right! Mr. Maximus didn't tell us nothin'!" Another mercenary added.
Emilio looked at the men for a moment, reading their expressions for any lies before letting out a small sigh, "Alright. Then scram. This place is probably about to get chaotic."
The merciful warning he gave to the mercenaries was heeded as the paid guards nodded and struggled to their feet before running the other way.
With nothing left in his way, he headed into the sole room stationed at the end of the luxurious hall, hearing the sounds of battle taking place; the unmistakable roars of thunder and slams of steel echoed, reaching his ears.
"...Sirius…" Emilio said quietly upon entering the room, finding an odd sight before him.
What was odd was the fact that somebody was managing to fight Sirius; a figure managed to react to his attacks and even counter with his own.
Defending against the magenta strands of lightning with a silver broadsword was a figure dressed in ivory armor, wearing a beige cloak around his shoulders with a hood covering his head.
Sirius struck down beside Emilio, holding a smile across his lips, "Finally caught up, yeah?"
"Who is this guy? If you're still fighting him, he must be strong," Emilio asked.
"Heh, quick to catch on. Yup–this guy is the real deal," Sirius said, "A one-in-a-million warrior. This is the head bodyguard or whatever of our target."
Sirius had already activated his system, as his hair had turned to the glowing, magenta shade and tattoos of electricity were etched onto his skin.
The ivory-armored man across the room held his sword up, wearing a helmet that hid his face, "You will not reach Lord Maximus."
"Is that so?" Sirius asked with a smirk, coiling his body in erratic electricity.
Emilio readied himself to join his companion in the fight, but he was stopped as Sirius raised his arm to block him.
"What?" Emilio glanced over at him.
"This one is mine," Sirius claimed, "I've got this–so just sit back and watch."
A sigh left Emilio's lips as he could see this situation coming from a mile away, though he trusted his companion, tucking his sword into its sheath, "Go ahead."
Without further ado, the Stormheart dashed across the luxurious ballroom, striking as a lightning bolt, but stopped by some strange force wielded by the hooded knight.
'What's that? It's managing to stop Sirius right in his tracks,' Emilio questioned.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺