?1356 Unavoidable Situation
'Could it be that they're the targets? I see… perhaps a hostage situation?'
If that was the case, then Aldred realized he had to hurry back down and help the kids who were stranded without him.
The only problem was how exactly he was supposed to do that.
'An Undead Dragon is a problem, even for a Seven-Star Adventurer.'
That wasn't even the only issue.
"There's no point in cloaking yourselves. I can clearly sense you." Aldred whispered as he looked around him.
True to his words, and his senses, men began to show themselves, having him clearly surrounded.
They were twenty in number, and their abilities—while vastly inferior to his own—would be very problematic when taking the Undead Dragon and their formation around him into account.
Aldred had to admit it.
'I'm trapped. I can't help Neron and Serah until I'm done here.'
If he tried to divide his attention, he would only endanger his life
—and theirs by extension.
That would only lead to a more despairing situation.
'I can't afford to be distracted right now. I'll have to take it one step at a time.'
Brandishing his blade and taking in a deep breath, Aldred prepared himself for the battle to come.
The Mages all held their Blood Stones and prepared to cast their Spells, and the Undead Dragon looked like it was about to cast a Fiery Breath.
All sides were concentrating their energy on him, and him alone.
Beads of sweat fell from Aldred's aged fade as he swallowed his saliva and held onto his resolve.
"Bring it on!"
********
"Looks like the nuisance is finally occupied."
The black distortion slowly began to manifest into a man once more, and Kissel emerged from its embrace.
What he just utilized was his Original Magic [Dark Ripple].
With it, he could turn intangible and invisible at will, thus protecting himself from any harm or proper detection.
He had used this power to position himself in front of the Sanctuary—where he already knew the group of three would try to run to.
If he hadn't fired his earlier shot, they probably wouldn't have noticed his presence at all.
"The Summoning was a success, just as planned." Kissel whispered, his eyes gazing up as he saw silhouettes in the sky through the holes in the ceiling.
'Half of the Mages with me, and the Undead Dragon, should be more than enough to take him down.'
There was no way Aldred could survive at this point.
"Hehe… I can finally deal with you two." He grinned with satisfaction as his small eyes rested on the two young ones in front of him.
Neron Kaelid and Serah Crimson.
Just by looking at them, he could tell that they were prodigies.
Their Mana was pure, and they also had perfect flows around them.
'Unlike me, who had to claw my way to achieve this power, they were just given so much power at birth.'
It was frustrating for Kissel, but he was old enough to control his emotions, so it hardly showed.
He already knew that life was unfair.
'That's why the Blood Stones are so revolutionary. By using it, even the weakest can end up possessing great power.'
It was Kissel's dream to share this amazing gift to more people, but his goals were being held back by the conservative Mages that made up the bulk of the Magic Community.
They believed that the use of Blood Stones was unethical, and Mages like Mordred even went as far as hunting down practitioners who utilized it.
All of these infuriated Kissel.
'They can't understand because they don't know how it feels…'
The Blood Stone gave hope to a lot of Mages. It helped them reach their full potential.
Yet, it was being demonized.
'If they're so bothered about innocent lives suffering because of it, why can't they just let Criminals be used as materials for its creation? This phenomenon should spread to a global scale!'
But no… the current Mages were too scared.
'They're scared of the power we can possess—we, who they deemed to be inferior.'
The elite didn't want the status quo to change. They wanted their talented and powerful bloodline to keep ruling the Magic world while leaving the dregs behind.
"But now… all of that changes." Kissel leaked out his thoughts as he stepped forward.
"By capturing you two and taking down Mordred Kaelid, we'll show the world that even we can do great things!"
His voice grew louder, more ominous.
"This first strike will shake the current Magic Society to its core and make those bastards tremble from the high place that they sit. Our revolution won't stop. No… this is only the beginning."
Right here and now, they would deal their first big blow.
"And there'll be no stopping u—!"
"Hey…" The voice of a child suddenly echoed in Kissel's ears, causing him to half his advance.
It was too chilling to belong to a mere kid, but the older man looked and saw Neron staring at him.
His gaze was filled with nothing short of malice.
"… Don't you dare take another step."
Kissel was conflicted when he heard that.
It wasn't strange to hear a rich brat telling him that, especially considering how scared the boy would be after everything that had happened.
But Neron's gaze and his tone didn't seem as if he was merely speaking these words out of fear.
No… it seemed like he was making a threat.
"Ohh? Are you talking to me like that?" Kissel's lips curled up to form a twisted grin.
The boy's hubris was both amusing and infuriating.
'The butler was stronger than I expected—especially in his Martial State. I was told he had grown rusty, but just by observing him, I'm not confident I could take him down.'
That was why the Undead Dragon was their Trump Card.
However, compared to Aldred, a mere kid wasn't going to be an issue.
The girl was already shaking, so he knew the boy was probably putting on a false act of bravery.
Nothing but empty bravado.
"How amusing…" Kissel stepped forward.
~WHOOOOSH!~
A sharp blur moved, slicing through the air in an instant.
The old man swiftly tilted his head, barely dodging the invisible slash that managed to imprint a small cut on his cheek.
'H-huh…?'
At this point, Kissel realized that he was mistaken.
He touched his cheek and felt warm blood trickling out of the small tear.
His eyes focused on the boy, whose hand was stretched forward, and winds danced around him as though he was the center of a brewing storm.
His eyes glowed blue, and the Mana around him seemed to multiply astronomically.
'This kid…'
Kissel's late realization had caused him to get a bruise on his cheek—one he easily healed with Magic a second later.
He narrowed his eyes even more and gritted his teeth.
Neron was frowning at him, and his entire being was exuding such intense bloodlust that made even Kissel shake a little.
He could tell that this was no ordinary prodigy.
He had definitely killed before!
And now, his eyes were resting on Kissel like he was a predator and the latter was prey.
In a mix of both frustration and sheer fury, Kissel's thoughts raged.
'… He's serious?!'
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Thanks for reading!
Neron versus Kissel… who do you think will win?
