[ "System Double Power Activate!" ]
Hiro's vein and muscle were freed from any restrain allowing his mana to flow through more freely and allowing him to exert more power. Hiro felt like he could kill 10 Rank-E Devil Contractors in one move. Though the one he was about to face was not so weak that he could kill him instantly however he was confident about defeating him.
[ "Hoho. What a strong aura. You are definitely a talented person. Your mana aura could rival that of a new Rank D - person. But even if so what can you do to me, a person at peak of Rank D -." ]
-SHUA!
Hiro didn't waste his time talking with the Leader. This state will only last for about 10 minutes and every second wasted is every second he is near to his death. He quickly dashes towards the Leader and strikes at him. But the Leader had already seen through his attack and blocked his attack with the ax.
Even so, the Leader had underestimated Hiro's strength, Hiro after striking the Leader changed his direction midway and redirected his attack to the Leader towards his side.
The Leader quickly reacted to his attack and manages to barely block the attack from stabbing his heart. Though he suffered a deep cut on the side of his stomach.
[ "Grrrr… You will pay for this." ]
The Leader began swinging his ax rapidly at Hiro which Hiro dodged. Hiro continued to dodge and block his attack but the attack kept on becoming more and more fierce.
-CLANK!
Hiro took the chance to counterattack when the Leader began to show signs of exhaustion. Hiro parried the attack with his sword and then attacked Leader's left leg which was defenseless.
-SHAK!
Hiro Successfully landed the attack on the Leader's leg making the Leader kneel on his right leg. Hiro didn't let this chance slip, he used his strongest attack on the Leader.
[ "StarShatterer Style: Star Annihilation" ]
A huge amount of mana envelops Hiro's sword making the sword seem larger than before. He raised his sword and slash it towards the Leader. The Leader used his ax to block the attack.
-SHUA!
The Leader survived Hiro's attack but his right hand was severed from his body and blood was surging out.
[ "AAAAHHHHHHH... I will kill you." ]
The leader was angry after having his arm cut off by a Rank E + student. He released his dark mana. Dark mana was the reason why Devil Contractors was more powerful than an average human of the same Rank.
When Devil Contractors complete their mission, they are rewarded with Dark Ore. Dark Ore contains dark mana which is absorbed by Devil Contractors to increase the Dark mana in their blood. Higher ranked Dark Ore contains higher quality of Dark mana.
The blood that was flowing out from his severed arm stopped and all other wounds started to heal. The Leader began swinging his left punch rapidly at Hiro which Hiro dodged.
Hiro continued to dodge and block his attack but the attacks kept on becoming stronger and stronger.
Since the Leader's leg was injured, the speed of the Leader was decreased considerably which allowed Hiro to easily dodge the Leader's attack. Still, the attack which contained Dark mana was very destructive.
-BOOOOM!
The Leader's attack was slow but destructive while Hiro's attack was swift. They fought with each other, neither getting an upper hand to end others' life. Cuts and bruises appeared on both their body.
They both were slowly showing the sign of exhaustion. They had fought continuously for 7 minutes and Hiro couldn't stay in that state for long. After his Skill deactivates, he will not be able to fight with the Leader.
The Leader seem to notice that Hiro's state will not last forever, so he bid his time and continued to attack Hiro.
Every powerful Skill had either a strong side effect or a time limit. It would be unreasonable to have a skill that can increase Hiro power drastically while not having a time limit.
As 10 minutes passed, Hiro's Skill was deactivated and his strength was no longer able to match that of the Leader. The Leader noticed the decrease in Hiro's strength to which he swing his arm at full power towards Hiro. Hiro was helplessly flung all the way back.
-BAAAAM!
Crashing against the ground, Hiro was unable to get up and collapsed on the ground.
[ "Hah…Hah…." ]
Laying on the ground, Hiro look towards the Leader who was slowly approaching him. The Leader wore a big smile.
[ "Hahahaha… Hiro, you have entertained me well but this is the end." ]
Arriving before Hiro, the Leader raised his leg to stomp on Hiro's head. Staring at the feet above him, Hiro thought this was the end for him and closed his eyes.
( Mom, Dad I couldn't find the cure for you. Sister, I would not be able to take care of you anymore. )
However, just as the Leader was about to end his life, a shield appeared above his body blocking the Leader's attack. Then an attack hit the Leader in his chest pushing him back.
[ "Hiro!" ]
Hiro opened his eye to see Lisa Kyelpas and Zion Maxwell in front of him. Hiro's reinforcement has arrived.
*****
Zion Maxwell's team met Lisa's team while they were returning from their respective hunt. Since Zion met Lisa he order his team to follow them. Though Lisa was about to reject it, they were ambushed by three Devil Contractors.
Luckily, Lisa reacted fast enough to shield them from their attack.
[ "WHO? How dare you attack us? You don't know who you have attacked." ]
Zion was angry and frustrated because he couldn't see through their ambush. Normally, it will not make him so angry but since Lisa was there, he couldn't show his cool and reliable side to her by noticing their ambush.
Contrary to that, he fell victim to their attack. Though it might not do much damage to him since he has Rank-A armor, it certainly has damaged his reputation.
[ "Imperial Spear Style: Obliterate Strike" ]
Zion immediately attacked the Devil Contractors. Following him were his teammates and Lisa's team. Devil Contractors might seem strong for other students but for them who had two Rank E that is Lisa and Zion, they were no big deal.
They immediately eliminated all the Devil Contractors within a minute. They then decided to stick together since there might be more ambush. They quickly moved towards the exit of BloodyWolf Forest.
After traveling for a while, they entered the forest and from there was plain with a road which leads to the exit.
While they were moving, they saw a girl carrying someone and going their opposite way. When they were closer, they noticed and confirmed it was a student.
[ "What happened? Who are you and why are you going the wrong way?" ]
[ "Hah.Hah. My name is Alva. We have encountered a Rank-D - Devil Contractor. Can you please help my teammates? They are fighting him right now. " ]
[ [ [ [ [ "Rank D -" ] ] ] ] ] ]
Both the members of Lisa's and Zion's team were shocked including Lisa and Zion. Rank D - was not something they could defeat even with their number. Only Lisa and Zion could help, others were just burdens when confronting such a strong enemy.
[ "Your teammates are already dead. We need to escape from another path." ]
Zion told Alva in a serious tone. Arrogant as he might be, he knows that he can't defeat a Rank-D - opponent.
Being the young master of the Platinum guild, he could get Rank-D - guild members to spar with him. It was just to compare the strength between them. While he could fight them for 10 minutes or so, he knows that it was because they went easy on him.
If it was a real fight, he know he can't survive even a minute. This was the difference in strength between Rank-E and Rank-D.
While a person may be able to defeat E + while being only Rank E, it doesn't mean that a Rank-E + will be able to defeat Rank-D -. The difference in Rank between a major Rank and a minor Rank was different. Not to mention that Zion was just Rank-E.
The other teammates nodded to Zion except Lisa. Instead, she thought for a while and asked Alva.
[ "Who are your teammates? If you were able to escape then it means your teammates are holding the enemy back. He must be high Rank to be able to hold on for so long." ]
[ "Hiro Ernest and Remus" ]
[ [ [ [ [ "Hiro Ernest!" ] ] ] ] ]
Everybody was aware of Hiro Ernest and his achievement. Being the youngest to reach Rank E + and having the highest score in the entrance exam, he was a star student in Ace Academy.
[ "If it is Hiro then he might be still alive. After all, he is the strongest among us. If I and Zion join hands with Hiro, we might be able to take him down." ]
Lisa concluded. She was sure that if it was Hiro, he would be able to survive. Reason? One was that he was Rank E + and another was if Hiro was killed then Devil Contractor would have pursued Alva to kill her though it might also be that he was not interested in chasing her.
[ "But Hiro might already be dead. It is better to find another way to escape." ]
Zion said. He believed even he would be dead by now if he faced Rank-D - enemy. Though he knows that Hiro was stronger than him, he thinks that the difference in strength is not much between him and Hiro.
[ "Even so we must do it. Hiro might be alive and we don't know whether other routes are safe or not. We have you, me, and Hiro; the 3 strongest students present in this test. If we can't defeat him then I am afraid we are all doomed." ]
Zion thought for a while and nodded. After all, he could not afford to look like a coward in front of the girl he likes. Though not all his brain is filled with Lisa, he knows that with Lisa and Hiro, they might have a shot at defeating the enemy.
[ "Okay then. Zion and I will go help Hiro while you all find another route to call the professors." ]
[ "B-but we could help you. Our chance will increase with the number." ]
A boy from Zion's team spoke. He sounded confident; he had never fought with a Rank-D opponent like Zion but he fought with Rank-E. He could fight with them as equal if he exert himself. He thought Rank-D will be only twice powerful as Rank-E.
Zion shook his head and told.
[ "You don't know the strength of Rank-D -. Even if we have a hundred Rank F + students, they could hardly deal any damage to Rank-D - Devil Contractor. You will only get yourself killed ." ]
He then pointed to Alva.
[ "The reason she escaped is because of this. A Rank-F + could hardly help when facing a Rank-D - opponent. Only I and Lisa can stand up to him. " ]
[ "Oh…" ]
The boy then understood why Alva was running. It was not that she abandoned the team but because she was of no use in the battle. He thought that she must have run away scared of Rank-D - enemy. But turns out Rank F + students were just a burden in this battle.
[ "Okay then, it is decided. I and Lisa will check the situation on Hiro's side. If he is alive, we will help him, if not we will retreat. You all divide into two groups, one will search for another escape path, and another group will stay and alert other students. Tell them to only Rank-E - students are allowed to come." ]
Other students nodded.
-WHOOSH! -WHOOSH!
Lisa and Zion speed up and quickly ran in the direction where Hiro is.