Jin skillfully maneuvered around the guardian's blows, drawing closer and closer to the white hair puppet, but it came at the cost of some mental strikes.
The guardian's strikes had a peculiar effect; their impact on the body was weak, but each hit nearly shattered Jin's mind. If not for their comparable levels now and the extraordinary resilience of Jin's mind, the battle would have ended long ago.
"Die!" Jin shouted as his blade nearly touched the guardian's forehead, but his body suddenly acted strange.
The blade retracted, and Jin knelt on one knee, all aggressive thoughts vanishing from his mind for a second.
A strong kick hit his jaw. immediately, sending him crashing into the ceiling.
"Too weak," the guardian mocked him, pulling out a handkerchief to clean his hand. His appearance was as exceptional as Sebastian's, with black hair that reflected the light and a black suit. He looked younger but bore a strong resemblance to Sebastian.
It was as if they were brothers. This person's name was Aron Vantos, the ruler of Vantos family on the upper island.
Vantos tossed the white handkerchief away when he finished cleaning himself and decided to go support Sebastian. A strange blade suddenly collided with his fist, forcing him to use some of his energy to protect himself.
"Strange effect…" Vantos muttered, looking into Cassian's eyes and then at the seal on his forehead. His expression suddenly changed.
'How did that damned Sebastian not notice this seal before?! He should have killed him when he had the chance!' Vantos complained while pushing Cassian's sword away from him.
"I am under the protection of the father; you cannot affect me. I advise you to surrender now."
Vantos drew a blade from nowhere and pointed it at Cassian.
Cold sweat dripped down Cassian's forehead as he faced Vantos. He began to regret intervening directly.
The difference between the two was too great; he couldn't compete with rank A individuals as he could with rank B.
One direct hit would be his end, and his martial art wasn't much of a factor right now.
Vantos immediately lunged to kill Cassian, but a short blade pierced the middle of his chest, then came out and stabbed him again.
Blood flowed from Vantos's mouth, and his facial expression turned ugly for a second.
"It seems you're back!" he said with a nasty smile.
"Yes," Jin replied before rushing towards the white-haired doll without wasting any time.
Vantos put his hand on his chest and screamed with an ugly face.
"Don't do it!"
He wanted to rush to stop Jin, but Cassian used his body to block him.
Cassian didn't know the goal of these three people, but he would help them as long as they were against Sebastian and Vantos. His fate was death anyway; he would cause as many problems as possible if he continued on that path.
Vantos punched Cassian, knocking him to the ground, then immediately ran towards Jin.
"You!" Vantos growled angrily when he noticed Cassian grabbing his legs while lying on the ground.
"You won't!" Vantos screamed one last time, and strange blue energy emanated from his hand.
A bizarre silhouette appeared over Jin, looking like a transparent palm tinged with a bit of white. The mana that came from it made even Sebastian look towards them in astonishment.
Jin was crushed oddly into the stairs, merging into them like some kind of bloody paste.
For a single second, that hand unleashed the latent power of someone at rank SS-, and Vantos's hand turned to ash as a result. His power also fell to rank B+.
He became extremely pale, falling to his knees and trembling.
Just like that… Jin's body was completely destroyed.
***
Sebastian's claws were about to pierce Gilbert's head, but Gilbert used his hand as a flesh shield and unleashed all his power in a single strike. He wasn't called the Morning Star just for his skills and talent but also for the martial art he used.
'19..20..' he counted slowly in his mind.
A bright yellow light shone from his eyes, enveloping the entire area, and his blade had pierced Sebastian's shoulder before anyone could react.
Sebastian was surprised by the sudden change in the pace of the battle. Gilbert just did a bad move for the first time.
'What happened?'
When he looked back, he noticed that Vantos had used latent mana to kill one of the Resistance members.
"Is he important to you?" Sebastian mocked as he launched a quick counterattack.
He had noticed for a while that Killian was becoming slower and slower in giving instructions. It seemed he couldn't use that skill for long.
"Your persistence against me for all this time is truly remarkable, but unfortunately, you will die in the end!" Sebastian shouted at Gilbert, then swiftly leaped back.
"It was fun, but my younger brother has been seriously injured. You've caused too many problems that we simply cannot afford..."
Sebastian grabbed one of his right fingers and pulled with all his might to tear it off. Gilbert immediately rushed towards him, but he was too slow.
"Retreat!" Killian shouted at the top of his lungs, and Gilbert did so without hesitation. His trust in Killian's words grew with every second of this ongoing battle; he would have died long ago if not for his presence.
It was unfortunate that Jin had died, but that meant he needed to exert even more effort. To make up for the lives of Lyra and Jin, he had to get out of here!
Sebastian threw his severed finger into the air, and it instantly turned to ash.
His form, which had appeared human moments ago, became more demonic. His height shrank to 160 centimeters, and his hair turned even more silver.
The energy around him increased from rank S- to S, tripling his speed and strength.
{Kill yourself!}
Gilbert's body suddenly became erratic, feeling like a complete puppet. The blade in his hand moved towards his neck with clear killing intent but stopped just a hair's breadth away.
His eyes glowed with a strange yellow light, barely resisting the mental command.
"Legendary martial art? That's extremely rare!" Even Sebastian's mood shifted to become more playful, and he began circling Gilbert oddly.
Killian looked at him, trying to read his movements, only to end up on the ground, spitting blood.
"He's incredibly strong!" he muttered in a low voice, clutching his chest while greedily gasping for air.
His doubts began to increase. Would they really win?
Gilbert exchanged three blows with Sebastian before becoming completely helpless, falling to his knees as his white shirt turned red with blood.
A strange hole opened below his chest, revealing his internal organs.
The yellow light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Gilbert gritted his teeth and screamed loudly.
At that moment, he decided to use his Legacy skill, one he had never used before.
The limbs of his body began to burn at a rapid rate, and even Killian, far away, had to protect himself with all the mana he had.
Strange circles appeared around Gilbert's yellow eyes, and he grabbed Sebastian in a "familiar" embrace. He looked heavenly in this moment.
There was a reason he had never used this skill before—it came with an exorbitant price.
Gilbert's body began to merge into a strange circular shape of a star, and with the last drop of his consciousness, he threw a strange scroll towards Killian.
"Give it to the strongest person left standing."
Those were the last words of the Morning Star. His transformation into a complete star was complete.
The star shot high into the sky, taking Sebastian with it, creating a hole in the hall's ceiling, and exploded in the sky.
For the first time since the growth of this tree, light shone fully on this hell. All the puppets and warriors outside noticed it, and some recognized its meaning.
"No!" Asher, covered in blood, shouted as he fended off waves of puppets. He had been stabbed thirty times, and his left hand had already been severed, yet he continued to fight.
Behind him was Elara, his neck almost crushed from overuse. He had already lost some fingers in the battle and was on the verge of fainting from blood loss.
Both shouted at the same time, barely holding back their tears.
They knew what that star meant... Gilbert himself had told them about it.
That was the Morning Star!