As all the Heroic Rank Adventurers littered the battlefield, the tension that pervaded the air became so vivid that everyone could feel it.
It was a massive space, but somehow both sides felt as close to the conflict as one could possibly get.
The group within the white dome, ignorant but hopeful, were in full support of Jet and Lux.
Now that Noah had joined the fray, he too had their support.
The other side, shrouded by a golden barrier, already knew who the enemies were—Jet and Lux—and they also knew that they had to die.
With these two sides having their representatives in a three against one deadlock, the battle was about to get even more chaotic.
And everyone waited in anticipation to see who would win, and more importantly…
… Who would lose.
**********
"Stay out of this, Sherlock!" Britta growled as she glared intensely at the young man who stopped her.
He was barely an adult, yet he had enough strength to stop her attack.
'I can't believe it…' Her thoughts nearly trailed off, but she pulled it back to the current conflict.
"I'm sorry, but I can't!"
His smile, despite how tense the battle was, pissed her off. The ignorant lad had no idea about the stakes of the battle, yet he was defending them?
Why?!
"Listen Sherlock, those two are—!"
"Dragons? Yeah… so you people say." He responded casually. "You, Sebas, and everyone on your side seems to believe that they are the enemy."
Britta was so filled with anger that she felt like exploding.
'It's not like I started out believing it, or that I wanted to…!' She just had to look at the evidence and go against her bias.
Only then was the truth revealed to her; the dark, ugly truth.
"Sherlock, you—!"
"I've been with them for only a day or two, and I've seen the kind of people they are, Britta. Those who have been with them for longer were even able to see more." He responded, his eyes burning with determination.
"You say they are Dragons, but surely you must have seen it too—their kindness and warmness."
Britta was once again reminded of the embrace she shared with Jet, how he saved her from the Monsters like she was a damsel, and how he wreaked righteous judgment on the vile creatures that would have killed her.
She owed him her life, and before she knew it… her heart as well.
But…
"N-no. They're just deceiving us… they've deceived you, them… they deceived me." Britta mumbled, her grip on the blade growing weak.
Then, Noah's voice came—soft, but strong.
"Do you really believe that?"
The question caused Britta's resolve to waver. The strength that she had tried so hard to maintain for so long began to crumble.
"I… I…"
Her hands shook even more, and more of her grip loosened.
"I…"
"BRITTA, I NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOW!" The panicked voice from Sebas suddenly woke her from her hesitation, and before she even realized it, her tight grip returned.
"I… believe it!"
She put her weight behind the attack, and Sherlock swiftly twisted his body to remove some of the force.
The result was a repulsion effect that forced both sides to slide a few meters away from each other.
"Is that so? Such a shame…"
"The true shame is you supporting vermin like them over your own race."
"Haha…" Sherlock brandished his katana and took a battle stance.
Black energy began to dance around him, with flashes of lightning crackling all over himself and his blade.
Sherlock didn't bother making his katana invisible since Britta's [Greater Full Sense] would be able to detect it, so he opted for the more direct approach.
As Heroic Rank Adventurers, petty tricks and underhanded moves would hardly make the cut. In this level of combat, both parties simply had to go all-out and use everything in their arsenal.
The one with the greater Skill and Power would be the victor.
~WHOOOSH!~
Britta took the initiative and charged at Sherlock, her blade ready to deal multiple slashes at once.
To her knowledge, Sherlock didn't have a proper defensive Skill that would give him an edge in his fight against her.
Well… she was wrong.
"I believe you've never seen me at full power." Waves of shadows suddenly swept all around Sherlock, instantly wrapping him in a cocoon that protected him from her assault.
"So it makes sense that you don't know what my Skills are."
Sherlock relied mostly on his Items, and while he was known to use Shadow Magic in a lot of proficient ways, he was never really seen utilizing more than that in his battles.
At the very least, that was how it seemed.
"But, maybe I'll show you a glimpse." Sherlock's voice suddenly came from behind Britta, forcing her to turn back in a jiffy.
Yet, she saw nothing.
Then—
~BOOOOOM!~
—A powerful explosion of both darkness and lightning charged forth, slamming against her in her confused state.
"Ack!" Spitting out drool, Britta found herself flying a few meters into the air.
Her mind was beyond boggled.
'W-what just happened…?!' Her [Greater Full Sense] told her that he was indeed behind her, but when she turned, she saw nothing.
Then, while she was trying to reconcile her sight with her senses, she was hit with a powerful barrage.
'D-did he turn his entire body invisible?'
While she was having this thought, she suddenly saw a brilliant flash of explosive power above her.
Turning towards the brilliant display overhead, she saw Sherlock raising his blade to send a powerful attack her way.
'H-he got up there so quickly? How? Teleportation?!'
Once again, Britta's perception was thrown into a state of confusion. While her eyes saw Sherlock and the dangerous power he was about to unleash on her, her [Greater Full Sense] showed her nothing.
In that split-second, she had to decide which one to follow, and before she could even decide, her reflex kicked in, and she instinctively blocked the attack from above.
But… that was the wrong move.
"I've got you… " Sherlock's voice came from beneath her, and so did several shadow tendrils.
"… Britta!"
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Thanks for reading!
I'm sure you all have an idea as to what exactly Noah did in that situation.
Let's hear it!
