It was checkmate.
Lux' Magic was potent and versatile, but for her to match the kind of power that Sebas was unleashing, she had to pour all of her Mana to restrain him—albeit barely.
As a result of that, she had no proper defense in place around her.
With Britta's swift motion, and the deadly power she wielded with the blade, Lux's survival without a defensive barrier was zero.
Britta was an Elite Swordsman, which made her practically invincible to most when it came to the blade. Her Skills her buffed her physical state and attacks to an absurd degree. Plus, since she was a Heroic Rank Adventurer, her Stat were not to be discounted.
If anyone could kill Lux as she was now, it would be her.
However, this wasn't the only reason why the current situation was a deadlock.
Even if Lux was fast enough to focus on her own defenses to stop Britta's attack, she would have to ignore the constraints that currently stopped Sebas from landing a fatal hit on her partner—who was just initiating a process of counterattacking.
If she stopped the Constraint now, Sebas—the much faster and stronger one—was bound to deal the first strike and probably finish Jet off.
Everyone knew what kind of state Jet was in, so it was very possible for a point-blank explosive assault from Sebas to end his life.
Hence, a difficult situation.
No matter what choice Lux made—if she could even make any, given the suddenness of the whole thing—one of the two would have to die.
The only question was who?
*********
"Rahhhhh!"
Britta's voice pierced the air as her blade she made a powerful horizontal slash. Her target was Lux's head, and based on the trajectory of her swing, she wasn't going to miss.
All her Skills were active, with the exception of [Night Vision].
[Greater Full Sense], [Greater Full Slash], and [Mortal Enlightenment]; all working in sync to connect this one, vital attack.
'I… I still don't want to believe it.' As Britta's blade neared Lux's neck, and she saw her surprised expression, her thoughts trailed.
When Sebas first told her about all of it, she found it ridiculous to believe. It took a lot of convincing to bring everyone to his side, but she was the last to come around.
How could she have accepted that Jet and Lux—the two Adventurers who saved her life and inspired her to be better—were Dragon Spies?!
'No… that can't be!' She had thought to herself back then. 'There has to be another explanation!'
That was what Britta kept telling herself.
Even when Sebas admitted to being an expert who had been tracking the two of them for a long period of time, and connected so many dots that it made sense…
She still wanted to believe them.
Even when she agreed to help bring them in, at least to find out the truth, she still believed that Sebas was mistaken, and that those two weren't… that Jet wasn't … a Dragon.
But, after seeing the Guildmaster's corpse and the culprit casually handling the situation, all her hopes were dashed.
"Richard…" She had whispered to herself the moment she witnessed all of it.
Guildmaster Richard was like a father to her. Back when her weak father died, he became the pillar she could lean on.
Of course, she eventually outgrew him and became rebellious, but still… Britta loved and respected him dearly.
Seeing his corpse being desecrated like that took her over the edge.
All the excuses she had in her mind—concerning Jet, and his partner Lux—were slowly abandoned.
Much to her shame, it still took her time to pull together enough resolve to do what she was about to do. It was disgusting how she couldn't even find the strength in her to avenge the death of her father figure.
… At least not immediately.
While she was struggling to make the choice, Sebas held the fort.
It made her even more angry at herself.
Why? Why couldn't she just abandon these feelings and march forward?
Why… even now, after witnessing all of it, was she yet to completely drop all hope for the man clad in black?
Why was she remembering the time she spent in his embrace, and the warmth of his touch?
Britta… was mad at herself.
Even though Jet was a monster underneath, she could not let go of her feelings for him.
Perhaps that was why she went for Lux.
After seeing the current state of things, her instinct took over, and the resolve she couldn't find before suddenly took control of her body.
She activated all her Skills and relied heavily on her Class Privileges.
Everything… just so she could succeed.
That was how she was able to close the distance between her and Lux, and that was why—as the blade was about to slice off Lux's neck—she felt a sting in her heart.
'This… is the end…'
~CLANG!~
The sudden impact that stopped Britta's blade caused her body to tremble in recoil.
Her eyes bulged wide open as she looked at the weapon that stopped her attack, and the man who wielded it.
He had brown hair, a portion of it tied behind him with a band. His eyes were crackling with dark green energy, and his katana was brimming with incredible energy.
"S-Sherlock!" Britta gritted her teeth as she saw her colleague defend the enemy of humanity.
"Sorry, Britta… I can't let you do that."
Noah's smile was sad, but his eyes burned bright with resolve. Despite the fact that she had used all her strength in that attack, he was able to stop it in a split-second.
The surprise that came with his interference caused Britta's racing heart to nearly explode.
"… Move." She whispered, her glare deepening.
Britta had always wanted to fight with Sherlock to see who was stronger at full power. However, she never expected such a clash to come in this form.
It seemed Sherlock sensed her thought, since he smiled in a half playful and half serious fashion.
"Make me!"
*
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Thanks for reading!
The plot thickens. Who do you think is stronger between Noah and Britta?
