The feather blades collapsed upon Augustus, and he waved his sword violently to swat them away, his gaze locked on the woman above, swallowing a lump in his throat.
His heart beating to remind him that he was alive, his aura blasting away the cold. He fell terribly anxious. That was because the person he provoked, this woman, wasn't Esmeralda.
"Hahaha!" She laughed, floating down from the skies while Augustus waved his sword like crazy to wave her continuously surging attack, "I can't allow you grow, now can I?"
"Course you can, beautiful." Augustus replied, stepping back as she halted her attack to rest. He heaved, his heart beating hard in his chest as he watched the lady before him.
Her name was Delusion, the creator of these silver owls. From the moment he saw all those silver owls — a sight no sane man would ever pray to see in their lives — it was bad.
Delusion held her chin, floating across the ground around Augustus. She scoffed, then transformed into a bright silver feathers, spreading out then converging upon him wildly.
He dashed back, dodging the attack and watching the attack crash into the ground. An intense gleam shone in his eyes as she twirls, transforming into a spinning feathery blade.
He raised his sword to block, sending sparks flying as he got knocked back. Digging his legs into the ground as he skid back, his eyes narrowed to needlepoint, "Please hold back."
"Are you holding back?" She reverted to her human form, the blades dispersing in the air as she floated around Augustus while he chased, swinging his sword to in vicious arcs.
"I am! Trust me!" Augustus spun around, swinging his blade with all his might as the woman transformed into a surge of feather blades again. As the duo collided, sparks flew.
His sword was knocked back while the feathers gathered far off in the air, forming an annoyed Delusion. She frowned, stretching a hand, and swinging it in an arc at Augustus.
Red eyed silver owls formed out of thin air by her side, and each dived in to attack the frowning Augustus. He raised his sword, swinging around to block, but they slipped past.
In an instant, his blood splattered across the deserted stalls, leaving the bloodied owls to circle him for a few moments before diving in again. He swung his blade, killing them.
As the feathers fell, and the owls' blood dripped from his blade, Augustus turned back to see Delusion charging at him with her palm raised, and his heart skipped beats. Quick!
She was too fast, and before he could react, her palm had already slammed in his open chest, sending Augustus flying back, his feet blown out of the earth, "How dare you kill—"
"Oh quiet! They would have killed me." Augustus cut her off, gaining control before he crashed into the wall him, sliding across the ground instead, 'This has gotten dangerous…'
"I see." Delusion levitated, glaring down upon Augustus as her eyes attained a soft red glow, and bursts of golden currents flashed around her as she uttered, "«Vain Execution»."
Augustus's brows furrowed as his pupils contracted further, and his heart beat rose to unprecedented heights, wanting to escape from his body. He prepared himself and dashed!
Lightning, without any specific pattern or warning, chased him down from heaven. As one bolt caught him lacking, Augustus was thrown into the air like a ragged doll, stunned.
His muscles tightened up, and his guts burned. She stared as he wheezed, floating with her hair in the clouds, her gaze demeaning, like that of noble to a rugrat, "Are you done?"
Augustus coughed, struggling to sit up then stand on his feet, his hand wrapped tight around his blade as he glared at the woman in the skies, "I'm not done. What about you?"
"So, you have chosen death?" Delusion spoke, her voice transforming into something otherworldly, the gaze in her eyes turning condescending, "You have a penchant for this."
"Attracting beautiful woman? Of cour—" Augustus dealt the final blow, and a bolt of lightning came flying his way, forcing him to dash back and retreat. This gave her space.
Seeing what he'd been forced to do, Augustus frowned. Delusion took the chance and transformed, turning into a red-eyed flock of owls, and rushing Augustus's stunned arse.
"Shit." He cursed, watching lightning collapse from every area around him while the owls approached with bloodthirsty eyes, 'I can't beat her. Not at this point. I need a plan.'
Delusion was A-Ranked, tiers above the C-Ranked Augustus. She had numerous skills at her disposal unlike a certain someone if you hadn't noticed, and strength to back it up.
He could not face her head-on, even if he wanted to. He'd tried weakening her resolve with soft words, but Augustus wasn't the best with women. Even lady luck hated his guts.
He needed to hold out long enough for everyone in the vicinity to leave so he could use his surprise burst attack, 'At this rate, I'd probably die before that time. I have no choice.'
'The only way I can win this is by using my secret technique.' Augustus sighed, a cold gleam in his eyes, 'Using «My Secret Technique», I have a chance to summon a void baby.'
A "Void Spawn" was the child of the "Void" that could be summoned to protect him at the point of death, but with with a 0.01% chance of success. The 99.98%? His obituary.
"There is another way…" Augustus straightened his spine, watching the owls circling him with bloody eyes, "I just have to trust that they would have someone to handle that."
Delusion may be strong as fuck, but she like many living creatures had a weakness. If she was hit with a powerful attack while in her material form, she'd be forced to retreat.
She only revealed that form when in the sky where he couldn't reach her. Someone in the village needed enough strength and speed to beat her before she turned back spiritual.
"You are not going to attack? Have you given up?" Delusion's cold voice sounded in an annoyed Augustus's head, leaving him to glance around coldly, "Please, fight a bit harder."