Kalda looked up at the hundreds of light swords.
Sceptim used that opportunity to pierce her shoulder in that moment before kicking her to the ground.
'Good, she dropped her guard.'
If Sceptim could land a hit on her that easily that it means that Arnold's plan will work.
Kalda quickly got back on her feet. As expected, the wound began healing just like all the others.
'As I thought, normal attacks won't defeat her. She can heal herself in seconds.'
It must be that faint glow surrounding her body, thought Arnold.
He had no way of knowing how to get rid of that faint energy surrounding her and healing her so he had to resort to something else.
As such, skills are essential.
"You look like you could use a hug," Arnold said with a smirk which made Kalda frown, "Now, Tanaera!"
The great hall was engulfed in darkness after Arnold's shout.
Something hugged Kalda's body from behind.
The darkness was sucked into the shadow that was holding onto Kalda.
Kalda's body glowed with a blinding light. She was probably trying to disintegrate the summon with her soul power. However, all she did was burn away a portion of the shadow with each passing second.
Black chains connected her legs to the ground. Several magic circles appeared behind the shadowy figure's back.
Arnold recognized the formulae imbedded within the magic circles.
'Gravity magic. So this monster has not only the ability to defend against all sorts of magic but it can also cast magic to this degree? Space magic isn't something just any mage can master.'
Even the weakest spatial magic spells require years of training. This is why mastering teleportation is so difficult.
The entity holding Kalda captive appeared completely. It was a giant with a skeleton's face and two reindeer horns on its head. Its body was covered in all sorts of magic crystals with two large crystals protruding out of its back.
Arnold looked at his aura sword that had turned into a sword of light. He didn't think the forbidden art would work with his demon sword so he put it away.
'To think something like this is considered a forbidden art…'
Anyone would think that the light swords are beautiful and majestic. However, one should remember that this technique can cause mass killings. Armies of soldiers and giants aren't the only targets.
If Arnold wanted to then he could massacre an entire city's worth of people alone.
'Sebas is one crazy old man…'
Arnold held the light sword with two hands. Despite calling it a sword, it resembles a greatsword more than anything.
"I wonder what skills I'll unlock by completing this quest," Arnold murmured to himself before charging at Kalda.
A powerful gust of wind suddenly pushed him and the other knights back.
"!!!" a loud screech came out of Kalda as her mouth and eyes glowed in a purple light.
The greater demon was still going on despite being burned by her energy. Its skin burned just like steel wool when exposed to fire.
Arnold forced more of his remaining aura out. The light swords got bigger and bigger and the knights glowed with a yellow aura.
It seems like the skill was buffing everyone holding a light sword.
"Sceptim!"
"I'm here!" Sceptim shouted from the other side of the hall.
"Use your strongest attack if this fails to kill her!"
"Understood!"
Sceptim gripped his longsword with both hands, its tip pointing towards the ceiling.
His body was then surrounded in even more Ki. He moved his sword in an arc. A white afterimage was left in its path. He then sheathed the sword while holding onto the sheath.
'What kind of stance is that?'
It must be related to his martial art I guess, thought Arnold.
There were no flashy lights or effects. All that changed was the amount of Ki that surrounded his body.
Certain martial arts require warriors to channel their energy using different poses. This can be done by flexing muscles while gathering energy at your finger tips. The constriction in the muscles trap the energy in that specific area and sends it where it's needed.
Take Sebas for example, he's a hybrid between a monk and a warrior class. His entire body is his weapon. If he needs to punch something then he'll tighten his fists, or if he needs to defend his stomach against his opponent's attack then he'll flex his ab muscles, thereby gathering his Ki in that specific region.
Arnold wanted to learn how to fight like that as well but Sebastian firmly refused to train him. He's apparently not suitable for hand-to-hand combat arts.
"Insects!" Kalda's power intensified.
Arnold's thoughts were interrupted by her sudden exclaim. He could feel his body being crushed under Kalda's power. Nevertheless, he continued charging forward with the knights.
Purple tentacles suddenly erected from the greater demon's body. The tentacles wrapped around the demon's body and tried loosening the demon's grip.
Arnold burst forward.
'Lancelot might have nothing on this bitch but I'm going to win no matter what! I won't lose like last time!'
"!!!!"
He didn't know if it was a dragon or a human's war cry that came out of him. His aura was further sucked into the skill.
The knights could finally move freely.
They followed Arnold with their swords exuding a brilliant yellow light. The light pierced through the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, casting an ethereal shine around the great hall.
The tentacles tried chasing the knights but none of them connected. It was obvious what the tentacles will do once it touches them. Luckily, the tentacles weren't that fast so they could be dodged easily.
Arnold came to a stop a few meters away from Kalda.
He held the greatsword in the air. Its light was slowly dwindling, signs that it was weakening.
He has to hurry before he runs out of juice.
One knight was the first to reach Kalda.
The knight pierced the light sword right through the back of the demon, which pierced through Kalda.
Blood spurted out of Kalda's mouth. The light sword then quickly turned into particles.
'So her soul power can't keep up, huh.'
Another pierced her left shoulder. More blood spurted out of her.
Kalda gritted her teeth. In the next moment she pointed her palm towards Arnold for some reason.
Hundreds of thin, blacks threads shot towards Arnold with incredible speed. It was so fast that Arnold couldn't dodge it. His aura pool was almost empty so it was impossible to move as swiftly and quickly as he did before while wearing the armor.
Darkness clouded his vision.
He could feels the strands piercing through his skull. No, more like the threads forced their way into his head through his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. It felt like worms were moving inside his head.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Searing pain assaulted his temple, causing him to shift between consciousness and unconsciousness.
He point of view suddenly became tunnel vision-like with a dark gradient as he felt that he lost control of his body. He suddenly walked over to the greater demon.
The demon looked down at him and then at Tanaera in confusion.
Its head was suddenly sent flying. The knights came to a stop witnessing that.
'Why did I…. just do that?'
All of them looked at Arnold who was suddenly helping Kalda!
"Lord Arnold!"
'Sceptim?' Arnold wanted to turn his head to look at Sceptim but his body didn't listen to him.
'Not this again…' this felt very similar to when he was in the tunnel of the dead.
Kalda crushed demon's head. It turned into dust.
She walked over to Arnold, leaned on his chest and issued an order:
"I've changed my mind," she pointed at Tanaera, who was standing at the far end of the hall, and continued, "Kill her."
"Understood."
'What the… I can't even control my own voice….?'
It was definitely his voice that gave the affirmative.
It was obvious what was going on.
Arnold gripped the greatsword and burst towards Tanaera with speed he didn't even know he was capable of in this state.
Maybe Kalda was supplying him with power?
He could see Tanaera's terrified expression before a gigantic wall of sludge was summoned in front of her. The slime demon spat a sizzling liquid at Arnold which he swiftly dodged.
He also nimbly avoided its strike and cut off the slime's arms that tried to grab him.
He jumped until he was right in front of its large head. He swung the greatsword with incredible force. The slime's head exploded into pieces. Its body also disappeared.
Four suicide demons appeared as if they had been waiting for Arnold to get distracted.
Time slowed down just before the demons could reach Arnold.
Arnold dropped the light sword. It stayed right where he let go of it.
He took out the [Chaos Blades]. He couldn't fight with his left arm yet so he wrapped the chains around his right arm. The blades on the end of the chains were surrounded in a purple energy.
'That's not my aura. It must be Kalda's energy that she's sharing through our link.'
There was no way Tanaera was going to survive this. Not even if she placed a resurrection spell on herself. There would be nothing left to reanimate, anyway.
Arnold quickly swung the chains before he span 360, completely obliterating the suicide bombers.
Time flowed normally again. The demons didn't even explode. They just vanished.
Arnold landed on the ground with the chains wrapped around his shoulders. He slowly walked towards Tanaera with the greatsword in hand.
'If I don't break free now then I'll seriously end up killing her.'
If Tanaera wasn't a summoner then she could've easily escaped using her shadow magic spells.
One might wonder: Why doesn't she just switch back to her magician class? Well the answer to that is: There's a cool down period when changing your class back so she's basically a sitting duck.
Everything in Star Fantasy has some kind of consequence or drawback. It would be too easy to win every fight if that were not the case.
Arnold suddenly swung the greatsword in a random direction. A screech resounded. The thing he seemingly just killed appeared moments before its body was surrounded in light. It vanished into nothingness.
"OOOUUUHHHH!" Arnold jumped up with a ferocious warcry and then slammed the greatsword with all his might.
Golden thunder slammed down on the ground, burning anything it touched, including the things he had been aiming for. The ground beneath his feet crumbled under the strength he didn't know he had.
Every single invisible demon that Tanaera secretly summoned was killed in an instant.
Arnold could feel the XP coming inside of him.
Tanaera backed away with an expression of disbelief. A shadow appeared on her face when she realized that she was now in a corner.
Arnold walked towards her while dragging the greatsword. The blade emitted sparks as it was being dragged on the ground.
"This can't be the same man who was going to save Her Majesty's life…" one knight remarked in utter shock.
"He fell into Lady Kalda's grasp so it's not like he's acting on his own…. Still, we're all doomed…"
"To think I thought he looked weak when he walked through those doors…"
Arnold could hear several other conversations between the knights as he kept walking to Tanaera.
Tanaera shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away from Arnold when he stood right in front of her.
She collapsed on the ground with trembling knees.
"P…Please… d… don't…"
Arnold was just about to swing the greatsword to put an end to Tanaera's life as ordered by his Master.
"Lord Arnold." Someone suddenly walked in front of Tanaera and faced Arnold.
It was the female knight who he had spoken to earlier.
Several other knights surrounded her.
"Please run, Miss." said Caerwyn, then she unsheathed her rapier, "Kalda's mind-controlled puppets won't stop coming for their intended targets unless they're killed. It's best to escape now while you can."
"…Are you going to kill him?"
"I have no other means of lifting Kalda's control over him. Besides killing her, of course. Well, I don't think either option is easy. Please go now."
"…." Tanaera looked at Arnold. Their eyes met. She quickly looked away and ran.
Arnold's body moved to try and stop her. His objective was to kill her so his body wouldn't perceive the knights as important.
The blade of Caerwyn's rapier suddenly grew longer as if it were alive. It stopped right in front of Arnold's throat. His killing intent was then directed at them.
Caerwyn flinched for a second but she managed to keep her composure.
"While we may not be able to stop you, the least we can do is give Master Sceptim some time alone with Kalda. He's our only hope now."
A beastly growl came out of Arnold as if he was a rabid dog.
The only thing on his mind right now is to fulfil his order. Anyone else should be killed.
The knights grabbed him by his arms, while trying to hold the sword down. Arnold shook them off by spinning around on the spot. The knights were sent flying.
Clang!
Something suddenly struck his armor. A small ripple was sent through his body, causing him to groan like a wild animal. Before he could react, he was struck yet again.
Given the ferocity and precision of the strikes, the person attacking him was aiming for his armor deliberately. The small pokes sent needle-like shockwaves through the armor into his body which travelled around his body like a voice echoing in a cave.
Arnold roared, letting out more aura, which in turn blew everything away.
He turned to the direction where he was attacked from.
He sensed danger and crossed his arms. Another clang resounded.
'It's Caerwyn…' he could see a pink-haired woman in full armor brandishing her rapier.
How could a blade that thin generate that much power to create shockwaves? Through armor no less.
'As I thought, Sceptim did a fine job training his knights.'
While he commends her strength, she was no match for him in this state. He was three times stronger now that he was under mind control.
Couldn't he defeat Kalda with this much power even if it's her own? The biggest issue is that he has no idea how to break the link of master and slave.
Caerwyn burst toward Arnold. She nimbly dodged his swing and got under his right armpit. She delivered a flurry of strikes into his side.
"Guuh! ROOOOAR!" A beam of energy almost erupted from Arnold's mouth. However, before it could leave his mouth completely he was kicked in the chin. The energy from the beam erupted in his mouth.
Arnold stumbled dizzyingly while Caerwyn jumped back.
'Ugh, she's quick on her feet.'
He had no control of his own body so he couldn't make use of his monstrous agility. Caerwyn wasn't fast by any means. He was just slow.
Before she could land on the ground from her earlier kick to his chin, Arnold grabbed her by the neck. She took out a bag and threw it in his face.
He inhaled poisoned fumes which momentarily stunned him. He coughed and let Caerwyn go.
"[Lunar Dance]!" An afterimage manifested behind Caerwyn. Another manifested. Then another. Soon Arnold was surrounded by Caerwyns from all sides.
Arnold roared again. Before he could make his move, he was stabbed right through his cheek. He choked on his blood but bit down hard on the rapier.
It was too hard to break with just his teeth so he used the rapier to throw the afterimage away.
Steam rose from Arnold's cheek as it was being healed rapidly.
Caerwyn got into a stance. Her rapier was pointed at Arnold, which she slowly moved in a circle. The afterimages mimicked this.
Arnold jumped in the air in an attempt to escape but he was hit from above with a flurry of strikes. He crashed to the ground.
'What is she doing?'
Strange gales surrounded her rapier. Arnold reflectively raised his arms to prepare himself.
'Hmm, why am I not using my martial skill? I could easily blow her away.'
Yet somehow he wasn't doing that. Why?
Of course, Arnold doesn't want to hurt Caerwyn but he was under mind control so his intentions shouldn't…
Wait a second…
"Haaah!" Caerwyn pulled back the rapier and pierced the air in a straight path. Her afterimages did the same.
The gales were sent flying at Arnold. He felt a heavy pressure bring him to his knees.
'If I wasn't wearing this armor then my skin would've been skewered by now.'
Caerwyn suddenly cancelled the skill and gained distance from Arnold. Her afterimages vanished.
Her attack was barely doing any damage.
It seems she realized that.
The other knights were busy recovering from Arnold's previous attack. None of them approached Arnold.
Caerwyn calmly got into a stance, ready to attack again.
Arnold smashed the greatsword into the floor and roared like a wild animal.
"Must. Obey. M-Master! Out. Of. My. Way!"
Arnold's vision suddenly changed.
He was standing right behind Caerwyn!
Caerwyn tried to get away when she realized that but she was punched so hard in the back of the head that her face crashed onto the floor.
'What am I doing?' he straddled Caerwyn and put his hand around her neck.
"!" Caerwyn tried get to get up but Arnold was way too heavy while wearing this armor .
Caerwyn tried to pull his hand away but he just smashed her head against the floor again. She tried again but he continued smashing her face into the floor until she went silent, her eyes blankly turned back in her socket.
"Know. Your. Place." He held the greatsword above her throat.
'Stop…'
And then…