Red stood in the open field in front of the enemy camp.
Though under the pressure of unknown origin, he stood his ground and remained undaunted.
"Quite commendable that you can still remain standing even after all the hours of endless fight."
"I'm quite flattered from your praises. Is it wrong to assume you're the Brandor everyone has been talking about?"
"I'm quite flattered as well that a fine warrior such as yourself acknowledges me as a fellow fighter."
Red could feel his body aching to fight the person in front of him. His legs, his arms, his heart, all were raging from the adrenaline rush.
However, he knows.
He knows that this is what the strong enemy in front of him wants.
The feeling he has is not something he's supposed to have.
Like a mist, his ice sword dissolves into thin air while he sheathes his sword on the sheath on his waist.
Though his guard was down, the Angel and Brandor did not attack. Rather, it sent Brandor into a burst of laughter.
"Amazing! I did not expect a commoner like you would resist my
Seeing a favorable expression from Brandor, Red couldn't helo but draw a smile on his face.
"Well, I'm quite familiar with angels you see. Though I wasn't quite sure what angel you're with earlier, I now know she's from the War Trumpets fold."
Just when Brandor was about to step forward, the Angel blocks his path with her sword.
"Sir Brandor, be careful. This man is of Demon Kind. They are not to be taken lightly."
"Ehh... wouldn't that make it more interesting?"
Despite his eagerness to fight, the angel didn't let him take another step.
"It doesn't make sense."
The angel was confused. Rather, she couldn't comprehend what entity she was facing.
"Is there a problem, Felledwynn?"
"This Demon... he has a blessing as well."
"Is that weird?"
"Yes, rather. Demons receiving blessings from angels are unheard of."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Red got intrigued by what he just heard. Rather, it was the first time he learned about having a blessing.
"Are you not aware of what you wield?"
"What does that even mean?"
Felledwynn and Red were both confused. Both of them were not in the same page.
"As an angel, I can tell whether someone received another angel's blessing or not. Were you not aware of it?"
"I've never even heard of getting one! In the first place, I don't even know how to get it!"
Because of what he said, Felledwynn's eyes grew in surprise while her cheeks became red. She was so suprised that she inadvertently covered her own mouth.
On the other hand, Brandor was sent into another burst of laughter.
This sent Red into further confusion.
"What? What's so funny?"
"Unbelievable! You, a commoner, of all people!"
Brandor was wheezing from so much laughter as if he heard the funniest thing in his life. Meanwhile, Felledwynn's face became redder and redder as she became so restless her wings started flapping.
"Seriously, what's so funny?"
Because Brandor was laughing so hard he started coughing, it was up to Felledwynn to explain the context. Though she stepped up, she looked very embarrassed and hesitant about it.
"Before anything, may I ask, do you perhaps have an angel for a betrothed?"
"No? Well, I dated one once. But we broke up. But why ask that?"
"Y-you don't seem to be lying. And it seems she never told you about it."
"Seriously, just tell me how. This is getting really annoying."
Felledwynn wanted to say it, but she was too embarrassed. So embarrassed that she couldn't help but cover her face with both hands and crouched with her wings flapping violently.
Brandor just managed to recover as well. Though still slightly giggling, he is able to talk.
"The only way to receive an angel's blessing is to perform a sacred ritual. And to perform this ritual, both parties must fully consent to it."
"Uhuh.... and this ritual is?"
"Sex."
The air suddenly dies as the moon finally peeks out from the horizon. The sound of crickets reverberated all around as the night was finally peaceful after the endless fighting came to a full halt. It was a silence that could even lull a child to sleep.
But such peace was immediately disturbed as one man's heart was shaken to the point where he couldn't help but scream in utter shock and disbelief.
While Red continued to scream, Brandor was sent into a fit of laughter for the third time as the angel beside him had started to roll on the ground feeling the secondhand embarrassment.
"ELENA YOU MORON, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT!?"
"You are quite the amazing, honestly!"
Though Red's face was red with anger and embarrassment, unbeknownst to him, the person he called out was also quite embarrassed when it was broadcasted for the whole territory to see.
They were lucky that it was evening and most of the viewers were adults.
He hasn't realized it yet, but that knowledge would lead him to more problems later.
It took a while for things to calm down, but despite the damage to his dignity, everything was going according to plan.
"Well, let's end that talk there. The night's already deep and I'm really itching for a good bed now."
"I share the same sentiment. But how will you do that? It's just three against one now."
Our of nowhere, a guy with a bow lands just next to Brandor.
Seeing his appearance, he turns his attention to the other side of the battlefiels and saw his allies.
There, Vivian, Delcie, and Ace were buried and stuck inside a tree and were unconscious. They couldn't match Henry, and that thought alone made Red wonder how powerful does Brandor have to be to have a person as powerful as Henry be a second-in-command if not the actual leader.
"It seems you finally know your place in this battle. Or do you have something in mind?"
Becauss of Brandor's guess, Red couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yes, I do have something in mind, wanting to see you three together. And yes, know my place in this battle. But I sure hope you don't though."
Brandor saw the confidence in his smile. Though one could take it as a feign, for some reason, he felt it rather ominous.
Then out of nowhere, from the forest behind Red, a large blue ball was flying towards them that was accompanied by an explosive roar!
Before everyone could react, the Ball was already close with its breakneck speed. Everyone was stunned by its sudden appearance that they forgot to move.
Everyone but Brandor that is.
"
By smashing the base of his shield on the ground, a pillar of light grows beneath his feet and then creates a wall-like structure with a blinding glow
It is a magic spell that would block any large object no matter its weight. An Anti-Siege magic.
Brandor was sure that this would stop such large object flying at great speed. However, he didn't expect that something else was going to happen.
As the ball was about to hit the wall, it suddenly breaks into smaller bits in a fiery explosion.
Since his magic was only to block large objects, the now shattered chunks was able to pass through it because they were much smaller than before, rendering the magic useless.
Hailed by counless sharp pieces of ice, Fallenwynn and Harvey were blown away.
As he had his shield protecting him, Brandor remained but wasn't left unscathed. He was covered in wounds.
While the dust was settling, from it, was a loud familiar laughter.
This laughter was so loud that it annoyed Brandor who was wiping off the blood that was dripping from the cut in his cheek.
"How does it feel, Brandor? To be made a fool."
"Charles!"
Hearing his roaring anger, Charles came out of the smoke with a huge smile on his face.
"Consider your debt pain in interest. That was for not telling me about the Favours."
"That was your fault for being naïve."
"True, but you didn't have to nearly beat me senseless during that duel. Did you really think I wouldn't hold a grudge over that?"
Brandor picks himself up and brushes off the mud off his shoulders.
"To think you'd employ such strategy... I must admit, you are very creative and quite the cunning strategist."
"Oh, you have no idea how creative I am. Seeing your reaction made the hours of freezing inside that ball of ice worth it."
Out of nowhere, something jumps out of the smoke behind Brandor.
And just when it was about to land on Charles, Red jumps from behind him and blocks it.
Though covered in wounds, the angel Fallenwynn was still able to fight.
Since her attack was deflected, she was forced to fly back to retreat.
However, Red didn't miss the chance to attack and chased after her.
So now, Charles and Brandor was left in a one on one now.
"That magic earlier, that was a Level 6 anti-siege Holy magic. I didn't think you'd learn something as powerful as that at an early age."
"Still studious I see."
"Yes, and if I remember correctly, that magic should have shaved off most of your power. Honestly, I would've preferred to wipe you three out on that attack earlier. But I guess there's also some merit in beating you in front of everyone."
As Charles pulls out his sword from the scabbard on his waist, flames bursts out and envelopes his body forming what seems to be an armour of Fire.
"Flame Guard
Seeing this, Brandor got surprised.
"So you abandoned your Holy Element for this? I expected more from you Charles."
In response to Charles exercise of power, Brandor envelopes himself in light and his silvery armor was coated in a film of gold. Not only that, a blade of light glows on his hand and becomes a sword weapon.
"God's Veil
As their power meet, the air and smoke was blasted away from the sheer pressure alone.
Both of them haven't made a move but their magic was already in a clash.
"I'll take what's left of your holy powers and make better use of it."
"Nah, I'll take yours and become stronger."
As both of them charge at each other at the same time, the air explodes like a bomb from the sheer power of their step alone.
And when their swords clash, they created an explosion so loud that it became a literal bomb and left a crater on their wake.
Because they have the same equal power, their attacks became a battle of raw strength.
On another side of the battle, Red was pushing Fallenwynn away from the main fight.
Due to the surprise attack earlier, Fallenwynn's wings were badly damaged and injured. She couldn't fly for too long, but it was a trade-off she did to protect her body.
Unfortunately for her, she had a horrible match with the person who is fighting her.
Since she was not used to fighting on the ground, the quick and nimble fighter like Red was her worst nightmare.
Her only advantage was her raw power that was several times stronger than an average human thanks to being born a War Trumpet.
Red kept running in circles around her.
As his speed kept only increasing each rotation, she could only use her damaged wings as rear protection.
Hearing his shoes squeak from the right, Fallenwynn turns to that direction and parried a sword attack.
When the sound in front of her was heard, she parries that attack barely.
As it continued for a while, Red's speed has increased exponentially that Fallenwynn is having a hard time keeping up.
And then...
"On your left!"
As she heard his voice on the left, she instinctively looked at that direction to find him. But be wasn't there.
Next thing she realized, a foot was already flying towards her face from the opposite direction.
Unable to react on time, her face gets the full brunt of Red's shoe and gets slammed unto the ground like a log.
The kick was so strong that it actually left her face smoking from the kenetic energy it created.
"What the hell..."
However, despite the kick that would kill a normal person, it simply left a little scratch on Fallenwynn's cheek as she stands up again.
But despite such fortified body, it seems her heart was not as solid as her body.
Out of nowhere, Fallenwynn started bawling while holding the part of her cheek that got hit.
Rather than her body, it seems that her heart was damaged by the attack.
"How could you kick a lady to the face!"
Because of the sudden change of character, Red felt a little taken aback. Not because she's appeared cold at the beginning, but because she's a War Trumpet Angel.
"You could have just aimed for my neck and decommissioned me by force! Aiming for my face with your foot, do you not have any sense of being a gentleman?!"
Red didn't know what to feel and ended up scratching the back of his head. And after a while, he lets out a sigh and prepares for another attack.
"I mean, I am a gentleman if the situation calls for it. But right now, we're in a battlefield. I will not hesitate to kick a woman in the face. I was trying to knock you out without scarring your face though."
Upon learning of his resolve, Fallenwynn was taken aback. But then, anger rose inside her as she could feel the other angel's power inside him as if it was mocking her.
"Unbelievable! What kind of angel would even fall for you much more bless you? There has to be some kind of mistake here!"
As Red was about to make another dash, Fallenwynn suddenly slams her foot on the ground and destroys it.
With the ground now uneven, Red found it difficult to get a proper footing to run on.
"This girl's nuts!"
"Speak for yourself!"
Because Red was distracted, he didn't notice that Fallenwynn had kicked the ground and immediately closed the distance between them.
With not much window to counterattack, Red lifts both arms and creates Ice that acts as arm guards.
As if it was out of spite, Fallenwynn attacked with a kick and blew him away.
Though he had protected himself, the arm guards shattered from the sheer strength of her kick. Not only that, it was so powerful that it made Red's arms go numb from the pain.
Late to realize, Red looked at Fallenwynn as if she was a dragon whose tail he stepped on deliberately.
"Fuck."
-End of Chapter-