Volhcard immediately created a barrier as Erick rushed towards Theo, and to further block him, Aralia rushed in clashing with his halberd and greatsword with her two waraxes.
"I won't let you hurt my friend!" Aralia gritted her teeth while clashing with Erick.
The sounds of their weapons echoed throughout the carnival a cacophony of metal against metal while both of them roared at each other like predators meeting in the wild.
Visions of a cloaked man appeared behind Aralia as time passed, and these visions made Erick more tense causing him to be more aggressive in his attacks.
"Move!" he said.
He shoved Aralia away before swinging both his weapons down at her before it could strike her an arrow struck his the right side of his neck. He turned his head to see Yuni getting another arrow from her quiver, and immediately rushed towards her.
Idol from behind grabbed him with both his destroyed but still working hands. With this chance in place both Yumi and Aralia rushed at Erick.
"Wait don't!" Theo warned, but before they could hear him. Erick stabbed Idol with his greatsword through his chin causing Idol to let go for a brief moment.
Erick then tossed Idol away and struck the halberd towards Aralia's chest. Volhcard rushed towards Aralia to heal her in which Erick used this chance to rush towards Theo.
Only for Jae to stop him, her hands into the form of a wyvern's. She pushed him away as Erick took out the arrow in his neck.
"You're all a bunch of annoying children!" he swung the halberd down towards Jae as Sticky pulled him back with his tentacles.
Yuni took this chance to shoot at Erick only for him to catch the arrow with his mouth, and pulled his arms away from Stick while head butting Jae. Out of nowhere, smoke appeared beneath his feet before realizing Theo threw a smoke grenade at him.
Everyone used this chance to leave the carnival only for him to immediately appear in front of them.
"I'm not letting you leave not unless you give me the Starborn." Erick stared at the group with a cold eyes of fury.
They were not fighting a human but a machine of pure determination and obedience to his master.
He spun the halberd into the air before kicking it and when it collided with his foot it crashed into the ground in front of them creating a massive shockwave knocking them back.
"I'm the Red Caps Commander, Erick Glascow and I am the Sword of Lord Aldir!" he proclaimed while removing the paddings on his shoulders.
He took a deep breath before dashing towards the halberd on his way he took the halberd and tossed it towards Volhcard. Only for the halberd to be blocked by Idol with his left arm which was half destroyed.
The circuits revealing itself with some being cut and the mana fluid in the wires dripped down to the ground.
"You're one durable scrap of metal." mocked Erick when he grabbed the greatsword nearby on the ground.
He looked back at the Volhcard then at Aralia and Yumi then his eyes latched on to Jae who was next to Sticky.
"Better to handle the most problematic." he muttered underneath his breath.
He immediately dashed towards her and before she could transform into a flame wyvern the halberd struck her in the stomach and Erick raised her up.
"You would've been a great addition to Lord Aldir's army." he wiped the blood off her lips before throwing her aside.
Theo ran towards Jae only for Erick to appear in front of him. Erick saw him try to take out his blunderbuss and slashed it apart before slicing his throat.
"I'll see you in hell." Erick waved at Theo as he slowly passed out.
Out of nowhere five arrows struck him in the back and before he could speak he felt a paralyzing pain in his body. He couldn't move his limbs which allowed Aralia to slash his chest with her two war axes.
"Toxic dog venom? Impressive." he complimented as he spat out blood.
Volhcard started to heal Jae and Theo while Idol stood behind him just in case if anyone wants to attack him. Yuni and Aralia walked over to Erick who had a blissful grin on his face.
"You're too late my lord is here." and right after he said those words a rift in space appeared as a tall man that stood at 6'4 with a cloak over his body and hood covering his face.
On his shoulder was the lizard that hissed at the sight of Theo, Jae, and especially at Sticky.
"I finally found you, Starborn Leandros." the man chucked as he walked towards Sticky.
Yumi got in front of him with her daggers both raised to his throat as the lizard hissed. As Aralia combined her two war axes into one before walking behind Yuni.
"How I have waited for the moment we would meet old friend." the man laughed before wiping a single tear on his face.
Then a familiar voice called out to the man as he coughed, "Aldir!"
Roared out Theo as he pulled the trigger on his blunderbuss but the bullet only stopped midway as if something was holding it back.
"Oh, Theo my poor boy you know that these surprises never work." he chuckled before swiping the bullet away.
Soon the atmosphere grew dark as a purple smoke filled the tent and from that smoke came out Phillip.
But his skin looked like as if it had been torn apart and had been slowly melting while two horns were protruding from his forehead.
"Loord Aaaldir!" he called out in a guttural shrieking voice.
He ripped his tuxedo revealing hundreds of worms eating his chest ripping it apart slowly while blood dripped slowly.
"You'll be handling him while I take my friend back." said Aldir who teleported behind Sticky and took him into his arms while Erick stood from his weakened state and strapped the greatsword to his back.
He walked past the terrified Volhcard and Idol who tried calming him down. He took his halberd and walked back to Aldir as the disfigured form of Phillip slowly walked towards the group.
"You son of a bitch!"shouted Yuni as she tried to stab Aldir only for him to smirk and reply coldly, "Soon this world shall be mine and the Starborn's."
Aldir including Erick and Sticky teleported out of the carnival tent as Phillip roared out in pain while his ribcage and lungs were revealed.
Yumi dropped to her knees as she started panicking after losing her best friend. Aralia rushed towards her trying to make her get up.
Theo slowly got up and slapped the back of Volhcard to get the man out of his panic, "We need to deal with that bastard first!"
Jae was still unconscious and seeing this Volhcard took her in his arms and created a small barrier around them. Aralia kept working to make Yumi snap out of her panic all while Idol and Theo prepare for the battle.
Red! Red! Everywhere its red! I only see red!
Phillip ripped his skin off as he let out a guttural scream which echoed throughout the carnival all while from afar Aldir watched with a cold calm smile on his face and Sticky trapped in a cage with mana surrounding it.
"Let the final hour of this carnival begin!" Aldir raised his arms out before laughing like a mad man.