Zack had widdled down the number of enemies in his area to only 4. Brandon was around a similar number as he had almost cleared them all out. His gaze shifted to a commotion behind him where he saw Reha land the killing blow on a katana-wielding man.
" Ha. Nice!" His lips curled into a proud smile as he sidestepped an attacker's blade.
" Thwack!"
His mana manipulation made it impossible for anyone to land attacks, and sense mana was very translucent when being manipulated. It was almost like invisible punches were being thrown making them impossible to block.
Straight across from Zack a large amount of mana was being built up. His eyes found that of a young soldier charging up what Zack recognized as a fire cast. The soldier's eyes spelled out fear as he charged up the attack and launched it at Zack whose lips curled into an amused smile.
[" The mana in the attack is wavering. His cast wasn't perfect. . .The mana isn't condensed nearly enough to cause any serious damage even if it hits me head-on."] Zack then held out his left palm. [" I can finally try this!"]
As the ball of fire grew closer. Zack waved his hand around to his back, the fireball then responded to this motion taking a sharp turn following his hand and then stopping a couple of feet in front of his palm. He was controlling the attack.
[" Since his case was imperfect. It caused the mana to waver. . .It practically was the same as the mana that is let off by everyday people or untrained soldiers. Meaning I can manipulate it."] Zack lifted his hand over his head and the fireball responded. [ " I was never able to do this in training because all my sparring partners were too dam good to allow their casts to be imperfect.]. . .Thank you!"
Zack brought his hand down and the fireball fired back at its caste who stood wide-eyed and frozen as it approached. The realization that death was heading his way froze him in place. . .No one his age wants to die.
[" It won't kill him."] The cast is weak. It wouldn't have killed Zack and after manipulating it, it becomes weaker. If anything it will leave him with slight burns and gasping for air after impact. [ " I'll finish him myself."]
" No!"
" Uh!"
Zack's eyes widened as a young girl jumped in front of the attack last second taking the impact. A pointless move. the attack wasn't dangerous enough to harm him critically, but apparently, she cared enough about him to move without thinking.
[" What is she doing. . .Either way, it makes it easier for me."]
" Fwish"
The attack landed and did exactly as Zack thought it would. It was more of a hot gust of wind than a fireball. Still, the girl it hit would surely suffer from burns and the heat will burn the inside of her throat. . .But no critical injuries will be applied.
" Cough Cough Cough!" As the attack dissipated on impact. The girl could be hud coughing. The boy behind her had been blown back due to the force of impact, but somehow the girl was capable of holding her footing. . .Zack guessed it was most likely a cast he hadn't heard of.
" Shoom!" As the girl regained her breath Zack appeared in front of her before she could even grasp her sword. " Boom!" Before she could even realize what was happening, something impacted her gut, though her attacker had not yet thrown a punch.
She was lifted from her feet and sent flying back crashing into the boy who clung to her as he was knocked off his feet and sent rolling. The pain was clearly expressed across his face as the force from the impact was enough to shatter a man's ribs.
" Skrshh!"
They slid to a rough stop sliding against the hard ground a couple more feet before colliding against a small uplift in the terrain. As they stopped the young boy quickly looked at the girl who had a small amount of blood leaking from her mouth.
" Liza-"
" She's not dead." Zack suddenly appeared in front of him reassuring the boy that she wasn't dead. " I didn't hit her hard enough to kill her. . .Although I did go a little overboard with that one."
" Dam you!"
The boy held out his left hand where a flash of silver appeared followed by his summoned sword. A simple straight sword which he swung helplessly at his enemy.
Zack easily dodged it and manipulated mana sending one of his invisible punches at the boy's chin.
" Fwoom." The boy leaned to the side dodging the attack.
" Tch! The hell!"
The boy then through a follow-up strike with his sword at Zack's neck, but Zack had manipulated mana to guard that read so as the blade approached it rapidly lost velocity and almost came to a complete stop allowing Zakc to grab the tip of the blade.
" Thwack!"
Zack tossed the sword to the side and connected a physical punch against the boy's jaw knocking him out completely falling across the already knocked-out girl.
" How in the hell did he. . ." In all his time using this magic. Never has it been dodged. Even against his strongest sparring opponents. Only his brother has ever been able to dodge it since he can also see the attacks. [" Was it luck?. . .No the look in that dude's eyes. . .He could see it, and he reacted to it!"] His gaze shifted back down to the unconscious boy.
[" Who the hell are you?"]
Zack stood in bewilderment for a few moments. He never would have thought the kingdom of Aces would have someone capable of seeing his magical attacks. Or even capable of dodging them.
[" Wait!"] He then snapped back to reality realizing something. [" There hold still be one more."] He then focused his mana detection.
" Klang!"
He whipped around as quickly as he could blocking the surprise strike from the last remains soldier with his own blade he had summoned only seconds before the attack would have landed... He clicked his tongue in frustration as he had lost himself in thought.
[" I dropped my mana-manipulated defense because I was too distracted by that boy. If I was a second later I would off died."]
" Shing" Zack pushed his attacker off and went on the offensive wishing for a quick need to the fight.
The mature male soldier backed off a couple of steps in defiance as he was betting everything on that surprise attack. Zack closed the gap quickly and engaged. His sword was that resembling one used for fencing, only slightly thicker.
The soldier blocked Zack's first attack and went for a lunging piercing strike. Zack's fighting style though also resembled that of a fencer. He took a small step back causing the attacker to overextend. Zack then slid his blade around the enemies and underneath. With one swift upward motion he disarmed the enemy.
Then he followed up with a swift kick knocking him to the ground and pointed the tip of his blade. The mature soldier held up his left hand in defense as Zack was preparing to kill him.
" No pleas!." The man pleaded. " Don't!" Zack brought the sword down, but then he met the pleading gaze of the soldier freezing his killing strike in mid-air.
[" What? Why am I hesitating?"] His eyes met that of a desperate man pleading for survival. . .He probably had a family, someone who cared about him. Like that girl and boy just before. Zack was starting to understand something. What made war so difficult? [" Why can't I...He, He's already lost."]
His gaze shifted to that of his brother who was down to his last two who he would kill with no remorse any second. Zack's eyes shifted to his sword, covered in blood. His brother's hands were stained along with his outfit. The blood of people he killed with zero remorse.
[' His hands are covered in blood."]
" Ha." the pleading man's lips curled into a cruel smile as he reached into his back pocket pulled out a sharp knife and lunged for Zack's neck. Zack's eyes saw the glint as it approached but he had again dropped his guard. . .What makes war so difficult, is when the supposed to be mindless soldiers begin to think.
" Shink!"
Suddenly the soldier's hand was sent into the sky along with the knife. jRed hair brushed against Zack's face as a girl whose hair matched that of blood stepped next to him swinger scyth upward severing the man's hand.
" Ah-"
His screams were heard only for a moment as Reha brought the scythe down on the helpless soldier piercing his chest and silencing the screams.
As the blood was shot into the air staining the writs of Reha. Zack looked around his battlefield, comparing it to others...He had almost zero drops of blood.
[" I didn't kill a single one of them."]
They were supposed to be the enemy. They were invading their home with zero cause or reason. SImply following the orders of their new king blindly killing their friends in the process. . .Why can't he stop them permanently?