AUTHOR'S NOTE: RAPHAELO/RAFFAELLO ARE BOTH WRONG. HIS ACTUAL NAME FROM HENCEFORTH IS RAFFAELO.
PLEASE NOTE THE SPELLING AND SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.
Jerome cast a few glances at the children behind him and then his gaze jumped to the unconscious body of Gloria.
".....you guys…..lasted quite long". He exuded a gentle demeanor from his words, which went well with his gentle face. His green eyes felt like they could see through their pain, giving them a sense of reassurance.
Fiona stared at him with a stupefied expression on her face as the color of her cheeks turned bright pink. She looked down, flustered at her weird reaction, trying to avoid his gaze, when Raffaelo quickly stepped up.
"My dad sent you ?"
"Yes, he did ! He's such a great guy, isn't he". He smiled revealing his spotless set of canine sharp teeth. "I'm from the north you see…."
"We'll talk about details later" Morganna pinched into their conversation. "You're here to protect us right?" She asked with a fierce expression on her face.
Jerome felt a bit relieved at their reactions as a small chuckle exuded his lips.
Morganna got annoyed at his remark as her expression grew darker.
"Yes…I'm here to protect you…" he looked away from them and settled all his focus on Phillip now. "Go check up on your sister quickly. She's not dead…but if you keep standing there, she might lose her life".
It felt like it was necessary to say that even though he was aware that Gloria was reaching her limits soon.
He wanted her to at least die in the embrace of her siblings.
"ALRIGHT THEN !" He screamed out, gaining Phillip' appalling attention. "You're still not able to get any bitches huh ! You single M*therf*cker !". He clanged his swords together as he suddenly charged at Phillip causing a draft of wind to swell up in the sky.
Raffaelo and his sisters instinctively protect their faces from the force of the wind caused by him.
It was followed by a series of loud explosions and clanging of metal against metal. It felt like a drawn-out battle, but one was injury-free, while the other was a bloody mess.
Raffaelo and his sisters hurriedly walked up to Gloria while Fiona hesitated as she watched the fight unfold. She felt an unknown emotion swell up in her chest as she focused her gaze on Jerome.
"....is something wrong with Fiona ?" Thalia asked, casting a glance at her.
"....it couldn't be that right ?" Morganna said with an amused tone in her voice.
Raffaelo ignored as he checked the state of Gloria.
'This is bad….the wound is too…'
He bit down on his lip and closed his eyes as he ripped her dress to uncover the nasty cut on her abdomen.
"She's still bleeding". He muttered as he turned towards Fiona.
"Fiona ! Get back here !".
His sisters nodded their heads in unison with a disapproved expression, and she quickly rushed towards them, feeling a bit tizzy.
"I'm…I'm sorry for that". She muttered as she lowered down to inspect her body. "She's still losing blood….at this rate before I'm done with my healing spell…"
"Not to worry." Raffaelo shook his head as he placed his hands on her wound and exhaled deeply, causing cold air to form around him. Her wounds began to freeze up from the inside out and sealed her wound close.
"I froze all her ruptured organs….but if we don't hurry up and heal her…I won't be able to remove the ice".
"Alright". Fiona muttered as she held her hands together, placing them on Gloria's frozen wound.
His sisters felt surprised at the extent of his abilities as they stared at him. "...can ice do that ? Won't her organ break or melt if we do something wrong?" Thalia asked, staring intently at her brother's expression.
He shook his head.
".....no….I am…in total control of ice now". He slowly raised his right arm and stared blankly at the palm of his hand as the words of the male predecessor flowed through his mind. A sigh escaped his lips as a green light began to glow on Gloria's body.
Gloria's expression strained as she groaned lightly to the pain.
"What I did…was apply ice on the surface of her organs, reducing the amount of blood she would lose….it won't affect her in any way even if it melts…and it won't break either". He explained to them as they watched their sister, Fiona skilfully heal Gloria.
Her mana was spread evenly on her hands as the glow grew stronger with each passing time.
A minute later, her wound slowly began to close up and Raffaelo quickly placed his hand over her body at the location of the wound. The ice slowly melted into water and floated to the palm of his hand.
His sisters watched in amazement as Gloria's wound completely closed up when a last bit of water droplet floated to the already-formed ball of water on his palm.
Fiona breathed heavily, falling flat on the ground exhausted from expending so much mana.
"She'll survive this…" she said in between deep breaths.
"I'm sure she will". Rebecca nodded her head when the sound of clanging metals grew louder. Their attention was now at the last event of the day.
"Do you think he'll win ?" Morganna asked with a doubtful tone in her voice.
"We can't ignore the fact that he was able to do that…." Thalia said, reminding them of when the large cloud hand was split in two.
"True…"
"....he's….kinda cool….".
Her siblings had a knowing look on their faces as they stared at Fiona, who was still lying on the floor.
"..sh…should we leave here…..I wonder if we're in his way…." Raffaelo said as he stood back up.
His sisters followed after him, Fiona being the last. She sighed. "I guess it can't be helped". And together with Rebecca, picked up their unconscious sister heading towards the mansion.
Jerome noticed their movement from the corner of his eyes and a smile of glee escaped his lips. 'His kids are just as smart as him huh'
"You have the guts to pay attention to something else when facing me ?!"
Jerome turned his attention back on Phillip who was struggling to push Jerome back with his sword.
"I'm sorry….I didn't realize you were such an attention white," he chuckled, pushing him back.
"...why are you ? Did my brother send you ?"
Phillip asked, swinging his sword in the air.
".....well…You were always a piss of shit….to think you attempted to kill your own brother's children…..are you in cahoots with the Imperial family? Why are you on their side?"
Phillip felt aggravated by his words. His face twisted into a confused and annoyed expression. "With what proof, you idiot ! And why would the northern country willingly help my brother ?!....is…is he planning a revolt on the empire?".
His eyes bulged in excitement at the thought of his brother betraying the empire. "If so…then a reason to execute him…will finally be on his majesty's palms".
Jerome felt an immense emotion of disgust. "You've fallen low, Phillip…I'll be sure to end you here". He charged at him again, and their swords clawed, causing the ground to shake.
The earth parted and they fell deeper into the snowy soil.
"Do you think you stand a chance against me ?! A Jun ?!".
"....well…I'm sure you've heard of it….the gift the goddess of casualties bestowed on humans to make things equal with the powerhouses that governed us". Phillip's expression turned dark. "The system ?".
"...indeed the system. To think she would make humans so strong that she'll have to implant a rule like that".
Jerome pushed him back once again and charged at him.
This time with a stronger force, pushing Phillip's arms in the air and opening up his defenses.
He struck down in an instant, and two slashes formed on Phillip's chest in the shape of an X, spurting out blood.
He screamed out in pain when Jerome grabbed him by his hair. "I'm not done you f*cker".
He pulled his face down and slammed it on his knee.
Phillip felt blood rush to his nose as his disfigured lips quivered in pain.
He pulled him again and slammed it harder and then the last time causing a small gust of wind to strengthen the hit.
Phillip felt blood dribble down his lips as he swayed his sword horizontally in an attempt to get free.
Luckily for him, it worked and Jerome retreated some few meters away from him.
"...so…What about the system…" Phillip muttered, spitting out a broken tooth with pale blood.
"Hmm….well it's nothing much….but you see…I'm a level 95 now…that's equivalent to a 10th star knight and circle mage".
"...meaning….the system is an absurd instrument used to create strong humans through levels ?" He chuckled, "That's absurd".
"It is….with a level cap of 100 as well".
Jerome's smile dropped at the end of his statement. "...so Grandmasters and above are beings we wouldn't be able to face even if we wanted to…."
He adjusted the grip on his sword as his gleeful spark appeared once again in his eyes. "The kids are gone now….you think you can handle the might of my full abilities ?"
"Don't make me jest…" Phillip chuckled. "....I'll kill you and get this over with".
"Do you still think you can win this ?" Jerome asked with a raised brow.
"Of course…..do you think you can win against a Jun".
He raised his sword in the air
"Chapter 10 of the Jun Swordsmanship…"
"Well…I'm f*cked". Jerome muttered with a wry smile.
"Bottomless Surge…"
In response to his will, the ground shook fiercely. A force that would make anything fall to their knees but Jerome stood strong and withstood the force rather shakily though.
Phillip' sword was coated with a black misty aura as it began to roam around his body. Five dragon heads began to form around him as his eyes glowed with a bright spark of evil black.
"Hope you withstand this".
He swung his blade down and the dragon heads maneuvered to the tip of his blade.
It struck the ground with great cause, splitting the earth in two and causing a hole with no end.
The split stopped at Jerome who used an unknown force to block the strike from moving any further.
He could feel his bones snapping to the force as blood fiercely gushed out from his mouth.
'I still remember this technique….it could even split the skies like it were paper,' Jerome thought, but he also remembered a flaw. 'The caster behaves like he's in some kind of transcendent state because of the force and is unable to move '.
He looked up at Phillip, struggling with the force that kept gnawing on him to fall into the pit.
'And luckily…I have a skill for this as well'
"Skill….body shadow". He whispered and his shadow moved at his will. 'Thank goodness it's still night…meaning….the whole shadow caused by the moon…is my weapon'
"11th chapter…!"
'F*ck ! I'll be dead if I let this attack reach me !' Jerome thought as he hastened his control of the shadow.
The shadow spread around the dark-ridden ground to Phillip.
Phillip bit down on his lip as he felt an immense amount of pain. Not from the shadow but from his aura.
'I still couldn't master the 11th technique perfectly….if not' He cried out in his head when he suddenly felt a rhythmic flow of pain. This time, from the shadows.
His focus vanished and the force he caused stopped. He lost his grip on his sword as it fell to the ground.
He couldn't cry out. Each time he did, it felt like something was swallowing it, preventing him from making any more noise.
'Fuck !'. His grasp on reality began to fade as he cried out one more time in a failed attempt to say something.
It wasn't that nothing came out, it was just. He could no longer hear his own voice.
His body jerked and shook to the pain and blood rushing down from the open wounds. He lay limply on the five shadow spikes that stabbed him from different angles, but the one he tried so fleetly to remove was the one in his heart.