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*****
Without any further words, Alex kicked the ground as strong as he could and dashed. He heard a gasp from Ken and the others but their voices were quickly drowned out by the wind rushing by his ears.
In a heartbeat, he covered ten meters, the distance vanishing beneath his feet in under three seconds. His outstretched hand summoned Excalibur Morgan, the sword materializing with a dark, ominous hum. The moment his fingers closed around its hilt, he felt the pulsating shadow that clung to the blade like a living entity.
"Morgan, let's show them what true darkness really means," he murmured, his voice a low promise of devastation.
With a surge of raw power, he burst through the underbrush, the foliage snapping away as he entered the clearing. His sharp, emerald-green eyes swept across the scene in an instant. There they were—the missing children, unconscious and vulnerable, encircled by snarling demon beasts.
'Yeah, they really look like Doberman, save for the size. Gods, they look even bigger than in the anime!'
Some of the Wolgarm were practically the size of adult men, bigger than even him by about a foot. While most of them were the size of regular Doberman, there were some truly huge specimens in the mix. Their eyes were a solid black, no pupil to be seen. Bonelike ridges grew along their back, and their snout was adorned with a single sharp looking horn. Drool practically dripped from their open maws, revealing sharp fangs.
Alex grabbed Morgan with two hands, releasing the energy inside him in a burst, propelling him forward with tremendous speed. He became a flash, striking through the beasts in a straight line, piercing many of them with Excalibur Morgan.
He pushed the bodies off his sword, spinning on his feet, he immediately took a stance and glared at the dogs surrounding him. Twenty?! Like hell twenty! Their numbers were over fifty! More than what was shown in anime, something he was sure of due to his presence. Everywhere he looked he only saw the eerie red colored orbs glaring back at him.
'This might not be as easy as I thought.' He thought while gulping inwardly as he gripped Morgan tighter "You all want some grub?" He asked with sneer "Then come get some!"
Magical energy burst from his whole body, turquoise electricity sparking around him, blaring a roar of challenge to the beasts in front of him.
The demon beasts growled and barked in response. They could smell this man, smell what he was. How he reeked of Power and Witches. They needed to avoid him at any cost, facing him meant facing Death. They remembered the power of the Witches. They would never forget their creators might.
However, he stood alone. Might and strong, big and gigantic, but he was alone. Their numbers would overwhelm him.
Not to mention the mana radiating from him. So potent. So strong. So dense. …So delicious.
They will bring him down. They will bury their fangs in his neck. They will feast on his body. They will drain all of his magical energy until nothing is left.
They charged forward, all of them. The children are forgotten, cast aside for the bigger feast. They came from all directions, like ants swarming over a single sugar cube.
Alex brought Excalibur Morgan down upon the first dog to reach him, cleaving the creature in twain without any resistance. He quickly brought the Dark sword up and spun 180° to cut apart another one lunging at his back. His instincts screamed at him, allowing for no hesitation.
Ducking down, he avoided a dog trying to bite his head off. He spun in his place and used Mana Burst, the boost from his magical energy creating a propelling force, strengthening his spin and creating a burst of wind strong enough to repel the dogs surrounding him for nary a moment, saving him from getting swarmed.
Knowing this bought him precious little time, Alex did not waste a second. The moment the dogs flinched he ran forward, once again utilizing Mana Burst to enhance his charge. He swung the dark sword with all his might, cleaving through two nearby beasts with a single swing.
The moment he did that, six dogs instantly lunged at him from behind, left and right. Alex felt them draw close, instinct driving him to spin his body, striking out at the attackers. His previous attack left him too unbalanced for his strike to be accurate.
Instead of cleaving them all, he missed three of them. The wolgarm buried their fangs in his thighs and stomach with enough force to snap trees like twigs.
It was very fortunate the knight was not without his armor. Servant endurance or not, he would have felt that.
Clicking his tongue, Alex swings Morgan down, swiftly decapitating the dogs knowing on his body. As he was about to move another beast tackled him from behind, almost forcing him to one knee.
He quickly reached for the dog, grabbing the paw latched to his upper arm, swiftly yanking the demon beast off his back, throwing it to the ground. He didn't get a chance to do anything further, forced to swing Morgan up with one hand, giving uppercut slash to another dog charging him head on.
This was as far as he could go as another group of mabeasts tackled him from his right side, sending him to the ground. He grunted, trying to quickly get to his feet, but more were already there, crashing into him with their bodies.
Seeing their chance having finally downed the knight, the dogs would not let this opportunity go. They all rushed at him, burying their prey under their mass, swarming all over him. Claws and fangs extended, they aimed to rip their buried victim apart.
Alex bit his lips to keep from screaming out. While his armor protected his body, the same could not be said for his face. He grit his teeth as he felt their claws gouge into his cheeks.
He hurriedly called forth the mana inside him, forcing as much as he could from his whole body at once.
BANG!
It answered his frantic calls, an explosion of arcane energy bursting from his buried form, blasting the swarming wolgarm of him. The pseudo Saber stabbed Excalibur Morgan into the ground, hoisting himself onto his feet. He was breathing heavily, blood coating his face but little was his remaining was from beasts. His emerald orbs warily observed his surroundings as he once again slowly strengthened his stance.
That was close. Way to close. If Alex hadn't done that, he is sure the dogs would have attacked his neck.
He shuddered at the mental image of his torn throat, as even though he was sure that Avalon would have healed that, he still didn't want to feel something like that. He felt his heart beating faster and fear creeping up his spine. But he forced himself to calm, being afraid in this situation won't do anything except bring more problems.
'The children!'
He immediately looked over to where the children were before, and to his relief they were already gone. Ram and the villagers must have already saved them and were now on their way back to the village. Good, that means he had nothing to worry about.
'Wait, where's that little mutt?' Alex thought, blinking.
For the first time since the start of the battle, he finally noticed that the puppy who was supposed to be commanding all these beasts was not on field. He was confused, no matter where his eyes traveled, he could not find the thing.
'If it is not here then... where is...' His eyes widened, realization dawning to him "Oh fuck." He whispered in horror.
This is only a distraction... The abomination knew it would be in danger facing him directly and the controller, Meili, knew her mission was not to bring him down but to kill the children and maybe one of Roswaal's employees, which meant...
"Ram!" He found himself shouting the maids name despite her being nowhere close to him. He was about to charge after them but the snapping jaws and threatening growls of the Wolgarm made him pause. Gritting his teeth in anger, Alex's green eyes seemed to glow with "I don't have time for this!" He roared at the demon beasts that surrounded him.
The response he got was another roar from the beasts as they charged him.
As the glow on the sword promised victory, Excalibur Morgan got intense.
***
Earlier with Ram
The operation was a success, just like Alex planned. The dogs did not pay them any attention and they managed to retrieve the children without even drawing a glance.
Right now she and the villager were carrying the children, intending to return to the village and after that hurry back to help Alex.
'The number of the demon beasts... it was far more than the first time I saw them.' Ram thought with slight concern.
She and the others did not waste any time to look at Alex's battle. More like they could not. The beasts swarming him were too many, blocking their view. Seeing their numbers, it would have been suicide trying to help him. They would not have been able to defend themselves if the demon beasts turned on them since they had children to protect.
Bringing the children to safety first, that was the main priority.
Still... even knowing that Alex is someone that's supposed to be fine by himself Ram can't help but worry about him. The number of beasts was by any means far larger than expected. How is that possible? She was sure it was only about twenty to thirty, but after seeing them swarming over Alex, it's safe to say that it was above fifty.
'Could it be... they knew we would come?'
That was a possibility; they were not facing simple mabeasts, but a tamer. He must be hiding and watching the fight between Alex and those beasts. But then, why? Why would they let them go so easily? Was Alex their target? Alex himself did admit to being an escapee, though he was sure that he was dead to the World and...
'Or... it could be a-'
!?
Her thoughts were cut short as she felt a shift of mana in the air. The wind was stirring, she could even feel a small tremor from the ground.
'A distraction!' She finished her thought as she spun around, magic gathering around her palm "El Fura!"
An extreme blast of magical wind shot out from her palm, launching behind her, just in time to catch a wave of mud surging toward them like a tidal wave. Wind and earth clashed, the gale splitting the mud into two, failing to engulf Ram and the villagers trailing behind her.
"What was that?!" Ken gasped as he saw what was just about to hit them.
"Go!" Ram barked to the young man "Go! Ram will handle this! Get the children out of here!"
"B-But-"
"Ken!" The oldest looking barked "Remember what Alex-sama said, the children are the main priority!" He then turned to Ram still struggling to block the mud that threatened to swallow them "We will return soon Ram-sama don't go too far away!"
Ram did not respond to his words, she kept focusing on blocking the mud wave surging at her. Focusing her spell once again, Ram manipulated the wind, compressing it into an arc "Fura!"
The arc shaped air wave struck, slicing the mud into two, cutting it apart and ending it. The pink haired oni took a few deep breaths after that, the spell was more taxing than she thought. To think just using two spells was enough to put her in this state...
"Hm? So you came." Ram commented with sharp eyes as she noticed a silhouette step out from the darkness.
It was a small dog, barely even reaching her knee. It looked pretty harmless actually, one could even call it cute. The strange bald spot on top of its head only made it more adorable.
The red glowing eyes and eerie crimson aura surrounding it though... was neither cute nor adorable...
"Puppy with a bald head." Ram noted the small dog's appearance in an instant "You're the one who cursed my Rem..." She stated, eyes becoming cold as she stared at the creature that attempted to kill her sister "Hiding under that guise, don't you know how disgusting you smell? That appearance is unsuited for the likes of you."
As if responding to her words, the thing gave an expression similar to a mocking grin, then slowly its body began to twitch. The soft fur coating it crumbled, its limbs gave off snapping sounds, its back bending in a sickening manner. Its short tail began to extend, even the shape of its face was changing.
The sound of muscles, bones and joints being snapped, broken and rearranged accompanied the things' transformation. In front of Ram was no longer the tiny one foot tall pup, but a humongous wolf-like creature, towering over her, over nine feet tall.
"GRRRAAARRRHHH!"
Its roar alone was enough to create a shockwave that was strong enough to shake the surrounding trees. Its crimson eyes peered down onto Ram's petite figure, saliva and drool dripping from its massive maw.
"Fura!"
Ram wasted no time and shot a sharp arc of wind at the creature. The Wolgarm let out a growl of pain as it sliced into its front limb, splattering blood on the ground. It lunged at Ram in response, extending its maw, biting at the oni who managed to only just dodge.
Rolling on the ground, Ram quickly tried to regain her balance. As she did, she quickly prepared another spell, however the Wolgarm was faster. Before she could do anything a paw slammed into her, sending her crashing into the dirt.
Ram let out a groan of pain, blood dripping from her forehead. To get caught by such a simple attack, she really has lost her touch hasn't she?
She was not given any reprieve. She was forced to dodge as the abominations maw snapped down where laid only a moment ago. Ram let her magic flow into her hands, swinging them down one by one as she stood up, once again sending slicing winds at the beast.
The Wolgarm was too agile. Despite its size it managed to dodge one spell completely, while the second one barely grazed it. The wolf-like beast roared and charged at Ram, forcing her to flee.
Facing this thing directly was suicide. If only she was as strong as Rem, she would have perhaps stood a fighting chance. As she was, she barely had enough mana to cast a dozen spells. Even now she can already feel her body starting to ache from the lack of mana.
!?
The forest grew eerily still for a moment before a deafening howl erupted from deep within. A surge of raw, overwhelming power flooded the area, rippling through the trees and shaking the ground as though the earth itself recoiled in fear. The wind howled, spinning into a violent frenzy, and Ram instinctively turned toward the source of the disturbance.
Her breath hitched as she caught sight of it—a colossal, dark sword, easily towering over anything she'd ever seen, its edge cutting through the very air as it pulsed with concentrated mana. The energy around it was so intense that the atmosphere trembled, distorting her vision of the blade.
"What in Volcanica's name..." she whispered, her voice lost amid the roaring winds. The sheer power emanating from the weapon dwarfed anything she'd encountered before, and her knees nearly buckled under the oppressive weight of its presence.
The massive black blade hung high in the sky, suspended by an invisible force as the storm of magic reached a fever pitch. Then, it descended.
BOOM!
The impact was cataclysmic. The ground heaved like a wounded beast, splitting apart under the force of the sword's strike. Trees splintered and fell, their trunks snapping like brittle twigs, and a wave of energy blasted outward, flattening everything in a 200-meter radius. The air itself seemed to quake with the aftershock.
Ram stumbled, her balance stolen by the earth's violent shuddering. Even the towering beast chasing her was momentarily thrown off its feet, its monstrous bulk crashing to the ground as it roared in confusion and fear.
Her eyes darted to the epicenter of destruction, where the sword's dark energy continued to churn, a vortex of malevolent mana swirling around the blade. And then she saw him.
"Wait... isn't that—?"
From this distance, he was little more than a silhouette against the chaos, but there was no mistaking the figure standing amidst the devastation. The black sword, loomed beside him, its unholy power still radiating in waves.
Compressed inside that titanic blade, she realized, was an inconceivable amount of magic. Enough to obliterate an entire army.
"A sword of this size... it's without a doubt a high-tier spell. No... this is beyond that!" she thought, awe gripping her even as she sprinted forward, the massive nine-meter-tall beast regaining its footing behind her.
A growl from the beast behind her caused her to falter. She was surprised to find the massive Wolgarm also enraptured by the spectacle.
As if sensing her stare, there was a glow in his eyes as if heard something, then Wolgarm turned its attention back to her. With a snarl it began charging her again, this time notably faster.
Ram grit her teeth 'Casting El Fura moment ago took more out of me than I thought.' She could feel herself growing more and more exhausted, and the thing quickly closed the distance "Fura!" She yelled as she cut down the nearest tree, intending to make it fall down on top of the massive beast.
It missed, the tremor of the falling tree only serving to enrage the beast further. Ram barely managed to survive the following chrushing bite by throwing herself to the side.
Letting a groan slip past her lips, Ram once again dragged herself to her feet. She glared defiantly at the massive demon beast leering at her. She swore she could see a hint of smugness in those red orbs and it did nothing but annoy her.
"Worthless animal!" She spat "You're not worthy to look upon me with those eyes!"
The Wolgarm roared in response, running at her, maw opening whide intending to swallow her whole.
Ram once again began channelling power to her hands. She trusted them forward as the beast was about to reach her.
"El Fura!"
BOOM!
The powerful blast hit the beast point blank. The gale was strong enough to rip the beast's head back, throwing it back in a stereotypical arc, like in a movie. For once it was the abominations turn to crash to the ground.
"Huff, huff, huff."
Sweat drenched her body. Wrought with painful spasms, Ram was sure the exertion of that last spell almost made her lose consciousness. The lack of mana inside her was wrecking her body, it felt like she was being burned from the inside. She grit her teeth to hold back the scream, she won't scream, not in front of this wretched creature.
Her vision became hazy and she could feel blood dripping from her nose. She was done for, she had no strength left to run and the next spell she cast would kill her.
Her pink eyes glanced over to where the beast crashed, and to her horror and frustration it was still moving. Even though it was stumbling to get back on its feet, it was still very far from done. Another hit like that would perhaps finish it, but Ram can't muster the strength to cast anything right now.
She glared up at the Wolgarms towering form. One of its eyes was almost swollen shut, it was missing a few fangs and blood was seeping from its head.
But it was not enough. The thing let out another terrifying roar as it raised a gigantic paw, intending to crush the pink nuisance into dust.
Ram slowly exhaled, closing her eyes and imagining her most precious person.
'I'm sorry Rem...'
The paw came down, like the executioner's axe on the neck of a criminal.
Crimson liquid spurt out to the air
***
Meanwhile in Roswaal's Manor, dinner was about to be served, Emilia and Rem being the only attendance. The dinner itself was late to begin because Emilia was the only one even wishing to eat.
"Rem, where is Alex?" Emilia asked the maid "Is he already done eating?" She wondered where Ram was, usually the twins always accompanied each other when serving dinner.
Rem found herself troubled, not knowing how she should phrase her answer "... Alex-sama is currently not at the manor." She began carefully "Alex-sama and Nee-sama went to the village."
"The village?" Emilia blinked in surprise " This late?"
"... There is a commotion in the village, apparently some mabeasts managed to slip through the barrier. Alex-sama went to exterminate them and Nee-sama is accompanying him."
"What?!" Emilia immediately stood on hearing that "Mabeasts?! And Alex is..."
"Yes."
'I have to help him!' Emilia found herself pausing as she processed that thought. If she wanted to help Alex she would have to go to the village, and given her appearance, she was sure she would only stand out and make things worse. People would assume it was her doing, that she is the one who is responsible for bringing the beasts to their home. Worst scenario Alex will be branded as her supporter and get blamed as well.
"Rem is aware that Emilia-sama wishes to help Alex-sama. However she regrets that it is probably for the best if Emilia-sama stays at the manor." Rem said in a careful tone.
Yes, she was just thinking about that herself. It was the logical decision, she knew Alex was able to handle himself, she had personally witnessed him fight Elsa Granhiert to a standstill after all. She had no reason to be worried, Alex can handle some simple demon beasts.
Still... she can't help but ponder one thing...
'Since when did I start to think so negatively?' Her eyes twitched. She let out a sigh and slumped back into her seat. Great, just what she needed. It seems Alex started to influence her with his distorted view.
Meanwhile despite looking calm and collected, Rem herself can't help but feel worried about both of them. She knew Alex is a person of strength, the reason why she feared him in the first place after all, the power he radiates is simply inhumane, so he will be fine...
But...
'Nee-sama...'
"If you're worried about your sister then it was for nothing, I suppose."
Rem and Emilia practically jumped when a new voice suddenly entered the conversation. Their necks snapped into its direction to find Beatrice sitting opposite of the Royal Candidate.
"Beatrice!" Emilia admonished "Don't sneak up on us like that!"
"Betty has been here since one minute ago." Beatrice replied in a blank voice "It was you two who were not paying attention to Betty's presence, I suppose." She turned to the maid with a scrutinizing look "Your sister is in safe hands, trust me." She stated.
"Rem... Rem sees..." She was still not very certain judging by her voice.
"Beatrice is right, if there is someone who you can trust it is Alex." Emilia agreed with a smile, trying to reassure her "I may have only known him for a short time, but Alex is a very responsible person. He is someone who acts based on logic, he is quick thinking and his heart is in the right place, despite his strange view of the World."
"That shouldn't be a surprise in the first place, I suppose." Beatrice grumbled under her breath "His whole existence itself is strange." Seriously, that boy doesn't know it, but to anyone who is sensitive to mana, he radiates magical energy like sunlight. If that is not abnormal enough, then there is that unknown scent lingering around him. That scent by itself is more than enough to intimidate those who can smell it.
"What did you say Beatrice?"
*****
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