"That weapons surely looked familiar, isn't it Lucy?"
Tesa finally uttered those words after witnessing the masked hunter revealed the seraphic-looking sword and shield on his hands. She can't believe on her eyes that these weapons which almost killed them just days ago would unleash its wrath upon them once more.
"Does these guys looked familiar to you?," Mike directed his question to the Saintess.
Tesa frowned at the masked hunter's deep but recognizable voice.
"Honestly, I'm surprised that I would see those weapons again. I wonder where did you get them!"
The Saintess hurled a powerful lightning spell towards the hunter who immediately dodged it before speaking again.
"Tell me, did you hastily entered the Hex so that you could snatched the kill?"
She grinned at her words.
"You cannot even leave a slight scratch to the God and you still believed that I stole the final blow? You're really funny!"
Mike could not help to laugh at the Saintess' confident words despite cowering behind her teammates.
"If there is a fact that I would not deny is that you only cower behind these wilted lettuces while you casted your mediocre divine spells! It's hilarious that you call yourself a Saintess yet possessing past criminal records of Drugs and Human Trafficking, saved only by your equally coward Guildmaster who doesn't value his Guild members..."
Mike smirked at the templars before insulting them again.
"You guys are just pathetic and self-titled idiots who cannot even defeat single hunter!"
That was the last straw for the Saintess and the Templars, who have been taking pride on their abilities for a very long time. In their perspective, being called pathetic and idiots is the worst violation in their dignity.
"What the fuck did you just said?"
Andros became infuriated to the point that many of his veins are starting to bulge out of his skin.
The same goes for Nicholas and Lucy who were silently calming themselves from the affront spurted by the mysterious hunter while bowing their heads down to hide their annoyed expressions.
"What exactly do you... want?," the Saintess was strucked by his words.
She looked at Mike with a disgusted look to conceal her shattered pride.
"Revenge...," Mike only laughed while the heat produced by his body is starting to accumulate in his skin, "I wanted to pay you guys back with the same amount of cruelty that you gave to me!"
Faces plastered by confusion and wonder met Mike's outrageous laugh. Just what did they do for such a hunter to hold a deep grudge to them?
"I know exactly what's going inside your heads right now, do you all want me to guess it?"
Mike sarcastically spoke amid the silence ensuing between them.
"For sure you're asking in your heads, 'Who is this guy?' 'What have we done for him?'"
He made sure to copy their voices while scoffing at their unbelievable pride, whom he believed he already shattered.
"We don't have to..."
Mike glanced back at the Saintess whose voice is trembling due to an insurmountable amount of rage.
"Just seeing you massacre our men and mindlessly hurting our friends tells a lot about your personality..."
She started crying profusely which made the masked hunter be taken aback for a second.
"You're a murdered who took pleasure in killing our comrades!"
She shouted but was only met by Mike's behavior of scratching his ears as if he's telling them to just 'Shut up!'
"If that's what you think to me, I no longer have to explain myself to you!"
After uttering those words, Mike began receiving a ton of damage from the combined attack of his enemies.
Andros' exceptional swordsmanship alongside Nicholas' spear mastery combined with Tesa's magical power and Lucy's incredible tanking took a toll on his physical and mana energy.
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have recovered!*
*You have suffered a damage!*
*You have recovered!*
However, with his powerful 'Recuperate' skill, he could infinitely heal his wounds without needing any mana.
"Godly swordsmanship-- Gut!"
Moreover, the system recognized that his swordsmanship could easily decimate any close-range fighter opponents with minimal difficulty. If they would compare him from the best swordsmen in the Philippines, he would be contending with the best one.
"Moon magic, Epsilon!"
Coalesced by his incredible magical skills, he could easily outmatched any B or even A-rank hunter in a one-on-one battle. Unfortunately, he is on a precarious situation of a 1v4 clash.
"You guys are not fair!"
He told them while still smiling.
"You should have thought of that before fighting us!"
Andros, who led the close-range attacks, smirked in a scary manner.
"Fiery Swordsmanship-- Sodom!"
The Archangel then leaped into the air and striked Mike right into the chest fifty times. His sword's aura turned into a fiery one, causing his swordsmanship to exude a visual effect as if it raining fire.
The damage was no joke either as each of the strike created by the sword is scorching enough to melt everything it comes into contact with, including human skin.
Mike tried to counter it but Andros' speed combined with his mastery of the sword had made him into a literal comet that gives Mike no chance to recover
"Damn it!"
This is the first time that Mike became particularly worried on his wounds as it is not healing properly. In fact, Andros' strike melted a part of his skin that it pains him so much, he couldn't hide it in his face.
"What's the problem? Wounds are not healing properly? Too bad that my sword's ability is negating any healing spells randomly. Seems like fortune struck me twice this time!"
Andros is overflowing with confidence. For him, Mike's great affinity with magic had left him vulnerable from close-range attacks.
"T-that actually tickles! Haha!"
As soon as Mike recovered from the severe injuries, he pointed K'lung towards Andros and swiftly went for the kill using Hood of Loki's passive, 'Leap of the Jotunns'.
*K'lung's passive Six Moons activated!*
The sword which exuded an unbelievable amount of aura, had penetrated Andros' palm in matter of seconds.
"Andros!"
Lucy casted a barrier spell around Andros while the Saintess casted a recovery spell. Meanwhile, Nicholas threatened Mike's face using his sharp spear, which he immediately used to attack the masked hunter.
"Gift of Odin-- Gungnir!"
He tried to pierce the enemy's throat by his fast attacks but this time, Mike now used his shield K'filan.
"Ack!"
Suddenly, poisonous sharp teeth-like swords came out when the Shield wielded by the mysterious hunter, slammed into his body.
*K'filan's skill, Poison Fang is activated!*
"I'm afraid, slamming your body against an enemy's shield is not a wise choice, am I right, spear fucker?!"
Before Mike, could laugh, however, Spearhead followed up with his signature attack.
"Gae Bulg!"
Nicholas uttered the enchantment on his spear, causing it grow bigger and faster.
"Slash!"
"Pierce!"
Mike skillfully dodged most of the attack but there are some who managed to bypass his defenses and pierce his skin.
"Gae Bulg is my signature move, don't ever think of dodging it!"
Nicholas boasted his powerful skill which involves elongating and expanding the powerful spear that he acquired.
"This spear that you're seeing right now is an artifact that I got after killing a powerful boss in a Hex!"
The spear is undeniably powerful even without seeing its power. It is made out of pure gold, captivating the eye of whoever saw it. The blade imbued with white energy deeply matched with Nicholas' aura, which takes on a form of divine power.
An ultimate weapon that pierced everyone who dares to defy the gods.
"This is a gift from the gods themselves!"
Mike, on the other hand, seems unimpressed. As expected from the Spearhead, his personality greatly diminishes the essence of being a divine follower of the Gods.
"Just shut up!"
The masked hunter then drew his sword and swiftly went for Nicholas' neck.
"Not so fast!"
When he thought he reached Spearhead's neck however, he was blocked by a powerful barrier or shield. As expected, Lucy's amazing defense proved to be too problematic for his offensive strategy.
"Look on your side!"
He suddenly sensed Andros' aura from his right side and immediately raised K'filan, which blocked the powerful hunter's impending attack and also produced Poison Fangs which were quickly evaded by the Archangel.
"That shield is quite strong!"
Andros smirked, a sign that he is confident with the ongoing actions, which seemed to be highly favorable towards their group.
"You sure looks to be so confident...," Mike whispered coldly.
"Why, are you surrendering now? I'm afraid doing that it out of the options!," The Saintess butted-in.
"Not quite, actually...," Mike snapped his fingers in a soft yet echoing manner.
"What do you mean?"
A sense of unease began to occupy their heart. Just what this bastard is planning again?
Mike smiled uncannily which exuded a great confusion and wariness on his enemies.
"Ungodly Incantation..."
He started chanting with his deep voice.
"Everyone, he is casting another spell!"
The Saintess warned the templars but she is too late to even make a difference! Red smokes began to be summoned on their position.
"What's happening to you Templars?!"
When she saw the templars, she found them paralyzed on their standings, not uttering any single word. Their eyes became cloudy while their noses began bleeding.
She glanced at the masked hunter, whose figure is slowly vanishing from her sight due to the smoke which became foggy. After that, she also began... Hallucinating...
"Paramnesia...," Mike smiled wildly seeing them fall for his trap while suffering from a nose-bleed.
After ensuring that everything is going in favor of his plan, he summoned the arch nemesis again and ordered him to stay on guard.
***
"The silhouettes seem to be surrendering to that hunter, sir!"
One subordinate shouted at the head of North Luzon's division, causing the latter to divert his attention to the one speaking.
"You don't have to tell me about that, I can clearly see it with my own eyes..."
He smiled blissfully while wiping off the dust on his sleeve.
"We need to assemble a team that would infiltrate that barrier or whatever it is!"
The powerful division leader told all hunters present outside of the mysterious dome, interested about the things going on inside the dome.
"How are we supposed to get inside, Mister? I'm sure you already knew about the fact that it's made out of thick layer of Mana, or maybe I expected a little bit too high from the 'powerful' leader of North Luzon?!"
The voice came from Trace Antonio, who dislike the presence of the association on his territory. For him, their forceful takeover is an insult to his reputation. A sign of distrust and hostility.
"I think you forgot that I can nullify mana, regardless of any size and forms, haha! You seem to have lost your mind by the fact that I negated your mana-infused fist earlier!"
The voice of the powerful hunter of the association had agitated the pride of Trace, who regarded his abilities as the best among the fighter-class hunters in the country.
Even so, he knew that the division leaders of the association present an overwhelming power that made them equal to the Guildmasters. He even suspected that they might even overpower him in a one on one combat because compare to their experience as high-ranking hunters, he could be easily dwarfed.
This is the reason why he, who is highly respected and feared by other hunters, cannot intervene with the association's decision even with his utmost opposition.
'I'm not yet powerful enough to resist the association!'
That's what he always inculcated on his mind. He is powerful but not powerful enough to stand toe to toe with a high-ranking association official.
On the other hand, the Division Leader, who became the de facto leader of the raiding party, presented his plans to everyone.
"First, I'll nullify the outer layer down to the inner barrier, which I believed to be the hardest level within this black dome. When I successfully destroyed it, we can now go inside the property and go see ourselves about what's happening. Only then can we determine what we're gonna do about the parties involved! Does any one have a problem with these plan?"
His voice is calm yet authoritative enough to scare the shit out of the soldiers. All except for one hunter, Trace Antonio.
"How about you attack with your men and I assemble my own? I'm sure I still have the right to deny any request coming from the association especially if it's about my hunters who will risk their lives in behalf of you!"
'This bastard!'
The Division leader became somewhat infuriated that a hunter, whom he deemed weak compared to him, opposed his idea.
Nevertheless, he concluded that Trace is better to be left alone with his men rather than having them join his team. They are not his responsibility in the first place!
"Alright, let's do it your way!"
He made a forceful smile in front of him and then ordered his men to ready themselves as he touched the first layer of the barrier.
"It's time to unwrap!"
The division leader then unleashed a powerful surge of mana in the barrier aiming to destroy it in seconds.
"Pang!"
To his surprise, the barrier proved to be sturdy enough to absorb his mana energy. This humiliate him in front of his men and Trace.
"I'll try again!"
He forcefully smirked before unleashing a powerful wave of mana on the barrier again, this time, he is fully concentrated.
"Pang!"
Full of wonder and surprise, the Division leader made an annoyed face. This is the first time that he failed to nullify a mana in a single blow.
"Pahahahaha! What happened to your plan, Bastard?"
Despite Trace's insult, the division leader continues to make attempts to destroy the barrier containing a huge amount of mana.
Using his hand, he touched a part of the barrier and inserted all his mana into it.
"Found it!"
Trace and his members were unable to comprehend what just happened on the barrier. Just a while ago, the leader is having a hard time destroying the barrier but now he is laughing because of his carelessness and foolishness.
"Incredible power!"
Those were the only words Trace was able to utter in his astonishment.
"2 to go!"
***
Memories are the products of human mind. Ironically, it is the mind which humanity deemed to be its greatest enemy. A foe, so great, its existence were unable to be grasped by whoever seeks it.
This is an indispensable fact for many centuries. Memories were known to be our treasure that could either be a curse or a gift, depending on the way it's presented. One might say that memories are where we stay in solitude yet for the others, it is a place where the most gruesome and darkest secrets are being stored, safe from anyone, guarded by our innate conscience.
Nonetheless, its security proved to be futile when the Hexes presented a game-changing element-- Magic.
Some hunters who were awakened as mages, could be so powerful, they could distort one's mind unconditionally except by mana. These hunters are called Mentalists, people that possesses a magic, so potent, it transcends the understanding of Science.
The number of Mentalists in the Philippines is approximately zero. If one such individual was awakened, a catastrophic event could unfold.
This is nothing but a fact. A person who can read minds without any restriction is a walking disaster.
This is however not the limit of an individual. He could even attain a level in which he could forcefully alter memories, driving his enemy into madness endlessly.
Fortunately, this is only a theory, not until at this moment...
"Where am I?"
The Saintess found herself drifting across a vacuum. She could feel her body and access her senses yet her emotions are only directed at one emotion-- That is, destruction.
The memories of her coming here is really vague, almost as if she grew up in this place. It's as if she knew but at the same time unfamiliar here.
"What happened to me? Why am I here?"
She could sense an incredible amount of destructive mana in the endless dark space that she is afloat. For her, it seems like she is in...
"Hell?! But I'm not dead yet!"
It is clear though. She is not a spirit and has a physical body but why the hell would she be on that place.
She scanned the surroundings only to realize that it is totally silent and dark.
"No, if this is hell, demons might be lurking here!"
That's the logical explanation of the place she is currently situated.
"If not, then where am I?"
She floated through the gravity of the space, seeking an answer to the mystery of her surroundings.
"Fascinating..."
Before long, magical orbs began encircling her. They were bright and fresh-looking to the eye, causing the Saintess to be amazed and mesmerized by their unique beauty. She popped one of them and a memory showed itself in front of her eye.
"Happy Birthday, Tesa!"
For Tesa, this is one of the best time of her life. Just celebrating her birthday with her family while enjoying the simple potluck dishes on the table. She could almost taste the same Lumpia that she ate during that time.
"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday...Happy Birthday to you~!"
Their voices, her family's, were off-key but sounded like a tune of lullaby that warmed her heart.
"These times!"
Tears are streaming down her face as she popped another orb that contains a happy memory.
"Ate, I want to go to the mall! Let's buy some toys! I'll treat you Ice cream! Please!"
The little kid was undoubtedly her brother, Andros. She vaguely remembered that she said no on his request which made him annoyed.
"Mama, will be angry if she knew about this!"
"But, Ate?!"
"Shh, just be quiet! I'm studying here!"
She saw herself holding her Ipad and Pentab that she used at that time to review for their test in Calculus...
"Oh yes! I remembered this moment!"
She then saw herself wearing her graduation gown while holding her cap. She is smiling while taking pictures with her family.
"Congratulations, Tesa! You really did it! You graduated as Magna Cum Laude!"
"As I told you, my goals are meant to happen!"
They then laugh, not worrying about the people staring to them.
"I could be working as an Engineer right now if none of those things happened!"
A face of disappointment painted her face. Truly, the revelation of the Hexes is something that she would never consider as a fortune.
"I wonder what would happen if I popped this!"
She diverted her attention towards a magical orb that seems to be different that what she saw to the others. First of all, the color is different. It is crimson mixed with vermillion, causing it to look like a star that one would saw on some sci-fi movies. It is also unusually big, dwarfing the other orbs who can be held within the palm compare to this one which is almost a size of a basketball.
"I would like to see what this contains!"
She gladly popped the ominous orb which suddenly burst into a mini-supernova explosion.
"What the hell is tha-"
She no longer have the ability to finish her words when she abruptly found herself tied to a chair by chains while her mouth is gagged by a bloody cloth.
'Wait a minute, I know this place!'
She recognized the room where she is in. It is painted with red color while the lights are almost now working since they were broken. The walls were also vandalized by skulls. While bloody butcher's knives were hanging on the ceiling.
After that, he glanced back at the space in front of her only to see a middle-age man smiling at her with a creepy smile.
'I knew this man! He is the kidnapper who exploited us, my brother! What's he doing here?'
"I know what you're thinking! You may be wondering why you're in this place?! Well, let's just say you have failed to meet your quota!"
She remembered the day before she was about to go to her oath-taking ceremony for her passing of Civil Engineering Licensure examination. At that same day, the Hexes came out. One of them was created near their neighborhood.
Her parents tried to check on what's happening but they never came back as they were dead because the monsters from that Hex suddenly burst out and killed most of the people in the subdivision. That includes her mother and father.
If they didn't hide beneath their basement, She and Andros might become the monsters' next meal.
It is also on that basement where the man who introduced himself as a pastor, seeking to accommodate parentless children, rescued them.
If they only knew the horrors that they experienced on that Pastor's house, they definitely would've run away but since they were desperate to live, they accepted it.
On that orphanage home, they experienced the gruesome reality of society. They became workers. In other words, they became child-laborers who needed to work in order to live.
It was too late when they found out that the Pastor is a head of a kidnapping syndicate that exploited children for drugs, human trafficking, and organ-donation.
Tesa, in particular, was assigned to be the one to find new children to be exploited. She did well actually! To the point that she began enjoying the job, even if it cost a tremendous amount of human lives.
She became submissive, ensuring that the Pastor's orders will be fulfilled without any failure except for one time when Andros, still at his teenage year, was almost killed by a group of men that tried to make him ingest some drugs.
That event became the root-cause of her being tied up to a chair, which is in fact, full of thorns and pieces of broken glass.
She tried explaining the situation, but she was only slapped multiple times. It is obvious that the Pastor is not having any of her words. For him business is business. If you couldn't do a single job, you might as well be killed.
"He's just 15 years old, Pastor! Leave him alone, please"
She was able to finally let out those words from her bleeding mouth.
"I'm sorry dear that you have to suffer like this because of your brother..."
The Pastor caressed her silky hair. At first, he held it gently but he abruptly pulled it too hard. Tesa screamed for help as it feels like her hair is being forcefully rip from her scalp.
"Do you think I'll just let this slide?"
The Pastor's eyes can easily kill Tesa if they were guns, loaded by bullets. There is nothing more hellish that this man's face, she though.
"P-please l-let go of my hair!"
She begged him, swearing that she'd do anything just for him to stop.
"And if I don't?," he threatened.
"Fuck you!"
Andros suddenly attacked him in the back, successfully stabbing him straight at the heart, causing the Pastor to bleed on his mouth and therefore, giving them a chance to escape from this hell.
"What the hell are you two doing?"
The wife of the Pastor saw them running away, she went to the room that they came from only to find her husband, lying in the flooring, blood staining his clothes, and still warm.
"You monsters!"
She held a gun in her hand and chased after the siblings who are yet to reach the gate of the orphanage. When she found them, attempting to climb it. She didn't hesitate to shot a bullet to Andros' legs, causing him to fall down and cry in pain.
"Andros! No!"
"Sister, run!"
"No, I won't leave you!"
But as soon as she reached her brother, she heard a click just on the side of his head.
"Shh, be quiet and don't move!"
The pastor's wife put her index finger infront of her mouth while calling someone on the phone.
"Hello, this is 911! What's your emergency!"
"Please, sir! Hurry up! There are two kids who killed my husband!"
"Where's your location, Ma'am!"
"Just please, hurry up! They are right in front of me!"
The wife handed Tesa the gun while still holding it, pointing it's mouth to her head. She then controlled Tesa's hand on the trigger.
"Sir, please hurr- Boom!"
Tesa who is fully paralyzed by the sudden turn of events cannot move out of her place.
"Sister, you have not done anything? Let's get out here!"
"I-I just killed somebody!"
She is too stunned that she doesn't know what her saying is.
"No, you didn't kill them!"
Andros has let out finally his cry.
"Get out here as fast as you can, okay?"
"No!"
It was too late to run away from the authority. As her Sister, Tesa swear that she would never let anyone to know the truth about her brother's killing. Because of this, she admitted that she is responsible for killing the Pastor and his wife as well as for Kidnapping and Trafficking children.
"I guess this is my life now!"
She looked herself in the memory and saw that she is wearing the orange uniform of a prisoner.
It was only months after imprisonment that she found that she has awakened as a hunter when she got on a fight and accidentally killed a fellow prisoner.
At that time, she didn't know the destruction, her power can do.
When the police found this, they tried to subject her on a life in imprisonment but that is when the Guildmaster of the Sarimbal Guild intervened and used his influence to clear her on all charges.
In exchange, Trace made her, alongside her Brother, Andros who also awakened, a member of his newly-formed Guild and serve him for a lifetime.
They thought that is the beginning of their life in peace but then again, she is a fool for not knowing that the Guildmaster is a sadistic individual who would do anything just to get his hands on something he wants.
When the memory faded, she was on her knees, crying profusely as if the past traumas that she buried, suddenly rose up again and haunt her mind.
"I remember, it was you Masked bastard who did this! Let me go out here!"
She shouted at the nothingness, hopelessly wishing that she would be heard enough by the hunter who imprisoned her.
"Please, I'll do anything for you, just let me go!"
She begged endlessly, desperate to escape from this depressive void.
However, no one heard her, making her conscious enough to know that she is currently trapped on her mind.
"He trapped us on our minds! That evil bastard!"
She uttered those words and drew her staff. She then casted a spell.
"Heavenly Casting, 1st Circle-- Seraphim!"
A bright luminosity revealed the holes in her surroundings. Using her power, she tried to reach them but she failed as they seemed to be getting away from her.
"Bastard! Don't go away from me!"
She jumped high in the air and successfully reached one of those halls. When she glanced its inside, she found the familiar battlefield, brimming with smokes, which she knew was the cause of the mysterious hunter's spell.
"I'll get back to you, bastard!"
When she found that the hole is impenetrable, she held it using her hand and injected it with her own mana.
"I'll kill you!"
She screamed wildly that her power is starting to get the better of her. She could feel that her body is reacting negatively with the sudden use of tremendous mana. Nevertheless, she persists.
"I won't let you get away with this!"
"Boom!"
She caused a large explosion that shattered the invisible barrier of the hole, which she immediately crawled into.
"I finally escaped!"
When she became conscious, however, she found that the Templars have not yet escaped from their minds.
"What have you done, bastard!"
She saw the masked hunter and shouted at him.
"Do you think you'll get away with this?"
Unlike her emotion, Mike was just standing there, unable to move due to the damage caused by the spell, Paramnesia. He wanted to say sorry on the Saintess about what he did but is unable to do so since his a large part of his throat is raptured.
"I should have not casted that spell! My wounds are not recovering properly!"
He held his throat and felt a sharp-stinging pain there.
''Cough!"
He lost a lot of blood that it made him dizzy and fatigued. Because of this, he is unable to move his head and just bowed it down while standing.
On the meantime, the Saintess took the chance to free the other templars from the mind spell.
"Apotheosis!"
It is a spell that frees a target from the effects of any dark magic. The skill, Ungodly Incantation, used by Mike is made out of magic which does not came from the gods, turning it into a powerful opposition but at the same time, could be countered by an equally-powerful spell of divine magic.
"W-what h-happened?"
The Templars are gasping for air as soon as they were freed from their disrupted minds.
"That guy casted a mind-control spell!"
The Saintess explained to Lucy about what that guy have just done.
"Unbelievable!"
Nephtys answered with an emphasis.
The Saintess didn't wait for time to pass any longer and ensured that they will end the life of Mike.
"Heavenly Casting, 1st Plague-- Blood Sea!"
Thousands of chained blades made out blood struck Mike's body. This is considered to be another variant of the Saintess' skill Heavenly Casting.
Mike, already lost a lot of blood and is unable to move due to his slow recovery, found himself being drowned in his own blood. It was a gruesome sight for the Saintess and the Templars who are waiting for his death.
"Fiery Swordsmanship-- Leviathan!"
Without a second though, Andros launched an attack towards the incapacitated Mike, with his powerful sword. This form of his swordsmanship relies on heavy blow like how a giant serpent overpower its prey.
In order for its attack to be completed, Andros must inflict 10 hits. Alongside him, Spearhead also pierced Mike's abdomen with his skill, Gift of Odin-- Gungnir.
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, their attacks are halted by another enemy who they didn't saw coming because the surroundings are still foggy with almost no visibility.
"Tiger fist-- Maul..."
The creature blocked their attacks with just its fist and took the opportunity to thwart the two powerful hunters back into their original position.
"Bastard, I didn't think that our Guild Master is still here!"
They wiped out the blood off their faces and attacked again. They will ensure that this time, they would not give Mike any fighting chance to counter-attack.
"Fiery Swordsmanship-- Leviathan!"
"Gae Bulg!"
The arch nemesis, created from Merlin's nightmare, was extremely powerful. It retained most of the skills used by the actual Trace!
"Tiger fist-- Maul!"
The two opposing forces clashed together, their attacks are relentless without faltering.
"Let's join the fight!"
The Saintess, scared to prolong the fight, urged Lucy to join the battle with her.
"Heavenly Casting, 6th Circle-- Authority!"
The Saintess' staff turned into a golden halberd which emanates a powerful white aura. From the looks of it, it is very sharp and can cut anything that dares to cross its path.
"Die!"
She raised the halberd and proceeded to engage the monster in close-combat fight. The Saintess, known for her ability in magic is also surprisingly excellent in such type of combat.
Out of all the spells in her arsenal, the 6th down to the 9th circle are known to be used for close-range combat. Although, she rarely used these what she called "circles" for fighting since she hated seeing a monster being brutalized by weapons as this promptly reminds of her past experience.
"Praise yourself, Masked bastard, for pushing me this far!"
The Saintess couldn't help but feel in awe at the mysterious hunter's power and abilities. For her, such individual is too precious to be left dead.
"If you'll survive this battle, I'll introduce you to the Guildmaster!"
As soon as the staff-turned-halberd collided with the monster's skin, it failed to penetrate the arch-nemesis' thick-steel skin. However, it left a shallow but wide slice across the chess causing the monster to go berserk.
"Grrr!"
It suddenly became faster, slicing across the air, and traveling beyond the speed of light, making the Saintess and her Templars, dumbfounded by its movements.
"Slice!"
Then suddenly, they found Lucy to be impaled by its weapon, a dagger, causing her to fall down and shiver due to the pain and bloodlost.
"Lucy!"
"No!"
But before they could even go to her aid, they were intercepted by the monster and successfully amputated their arms and legs.
"It hurts!"
Nicholas saw his whole right arm lying on his feet. At first, he couldn't feel the pain but as soon as he saw it, he had lost his mind.
"Fuck! It hurts!"
As a result, the Archangel also checked his body but wondered when he fell down on the floor and couldn't get up. He looked down, only to find one of his foot being smashed into bits.
"Andros, No!"
The Saintess, not minding the slight pain in her throat is yet to find that the Arch-angel had just made a deep cut on her neck.
"Gushhhh!"
She then vomited a huge amount of blood while her vision turned red.
"Fuck! Heal!"
But no matter how hard she heal herself, the recovery is slow. Fortunately, she remembered that she bought some potions with her, one of them can be used to heal a wound.
"Gulp! Gulp!"
She exhaled deeply and checked if she could move her neck. Fortunately, her wounds are starting to heal on her neck.
"Andros! Lucy! Nicholas!"
She rushed to the location of the injured bodies of her Templars but to her horror, she also found the arch-nemesis, carefully guarding them.
"You son of a bitch!"
She leaped into the air and summoned her staff.
"Heavenly Casting, 5th Circle-- Virtues"
Thousands of energy made out of different elements such as soil, water, wind, and fire, coincided with her advance and attacked the arch-nemesis who swiftly evaded the incoming impact.
"Don't you ever consider running again after hurting my Templars!"
She swiftly ran in the air and advanced to the enemy again, this time ready to engage him to a close combat.
"Heavenly Casting, 7th Circle-- Principality!"
Her staff turned into a lightning lasso which she used to immediately bind the Arch Nemesis towards herself.
"Pang!"
As soon as the arch-nemesis was forcefully brought to her, she collected energy in her palm and blast it towards the creature, causing it to be thrown up in the ceiling.
But that's not the end. She followed the creature all the way to the ceiling and casted a powerful spell.
"Heavenly Casting, 10th Plague-- Angel of Death!"
Swords brimming with a mixture of dark and white energy emanated from her surroundings, they vary in sizes and are rotating in a wild manner, as if they were machines.
"Die, bitch!"
The swords penetrated the arch-nemesis body.
Helpless and unable to swiftly dodged the attack, the monster fell down, most of his body are punctured by giant holes.
It tried to reach for the location of the trapped Mike, but the Saintess, impaled it on the ground using her staff.
"You will not going anywhere!"
"@*@)#*#&#&&###&#&#&"
The creature is having a difficulty speaking as its lower jaw is partially destroyed while its mouth is visibly shattered.
"What are you trying to say?"
"@#$%^*)!&^@$@#!&!**!^"
"Nevermind!"
She removed the staff forcefully on the creature's stomach and turned it again into a halberd.
"Heavenly Casting, 6th Circle-- Authority!"
Using the weapon, she butchered the creatures body. It let out an agonizing shout of pain as the Saintess mercilessly killed it.
As soon as she felt assured that the arch-nemesis is dead, she rushed towards the gravely injured Templars.
"Andros! Wake up!"
She slapped Andros in the face causing him to be awoken. He cried like a crazy person as soon as he did so.
"My l-legs!"
"Shh! Don't look at them, we'll get it right back! We'll find a healer, okay!"
"N-no, t-they are gone now!"
"W-we'll get them h-healed, understood!"
Instead of an answer, Andros cried loudly causing Tesa to hug him tightly.
"I-I'm s-sorry!"
"Don't s-say t-that! You will be okay after this!"
Andros calmed down and nodded aggressively. He doesn't want to make Tesa worry.
"I'll kill that hunter and I'll get us out of here as fast as possible! Wait for me!"
"Don't pl-"
Andros' call for Tesa was of no use as she walked towards the mysterious hunter, who is still trapped in a blood prison.
"I have to kill you, I'm sorry!"
But just as she transformed her halberd and used it to stab Mike. The blood prison suddenly shattered. It was blown to smithereens, producing a slightly destructive impact that made Tesa to move slightly from her position.
"H-how?"
The Saintess could only be stunned and ask a single word due to the sudden escape of the Masked hunter from her prison.
"So that's what you're trauma is..."
The Saintess, filled with anger, lashed out the halberd towards him, which he successfully evaded.
"I'll make it light for you..."
Mike's voice became sympathetic. This is because he saw the Saintess' memories and felt bad about the fact that he played with her traumas.
'I went overboard!'
He uttered while continuing the evasion.
While this is happening the system has been spamming a new message on his screen.
*You feel sympathetic! You will face consequences!*
*You feel sympathetic! You will face consequences!*
*You feel sympathetic! You will face consequences!*
*You feel sympathetic! You will face consequences!*
"HUH?"
He wondered but was interrupted when the Saintess stabbed him in the chest.
"Ah!"
He kicked the Saintess right in front of the face and casted his poison mist spell.
"Moon Magic-- Lunar Haze!"
"Damn you!"
***
"Great job, everyone! We had destroyed the second layer!"
The division leader became glad as they successfully broke the second layer of the barrier. Although he could feel the fatigue, he is now starting to gain confidence about the success of their operation.
"What's the update?"
He asked one of his subordinate.
"Umm...," The subordinate find the right words to say, "I think based on the silhouette that our radar detected, two of them only remained on the battle!"
The division leader is not too concerned about the newest update. On the other hand, Trace, after hearing the subordinate's report, suddenly grew anxious, causing him to act aggressively.
"Why don't you start breaking this mushroom in order for us to finally break in, huh?"
He raised his voice to the division leader, shrugging off a possible fight that might happen because of his behavior.
"If you're so eager, why don't you do it yourself?"
The division leader also raised voice, clearly agitated about the fact that someone from a guild would disrespect him at this level.
"You know that I can-"
"Then stop pestering me!"
He didn't let Trace finish his words. For him, further argument would only consume more time. After all, the Guilmaster of the Sarimbal Guild haven't done anything relevant ever since they started nullifying the barrier. What he did is to wait and wait!
'Useless!'
When he started walking towards the barrier again to finish his business, everyone looked at him, including Trace, who cannot move on his place.
"Listen...," He stopped walking halfway to say something, "If this incident happened to be one of your pesky plans to overthrow the association, I'll ensure that you would face a punishment worse than death!"
He speaks in a calm manner but full of killing intent. Ever since, he came in the place, he is annoyed at Trace's face.
'Traitor...'
He uttered in his mind before walking again.
"Okay, be ready mages! Grant me your energy!"
When they did so, the Division Leader absorbed all of their energy again before using it against the barrier. His sweats are dripping profusely while his eyes are turning white due to the extreme fatigue that he received while destroying the last layers.
'This is the first time that I used this power on this scale.'
He uttered, remembering the fact that he only used his nullification skill on combat not on destroying defenses.
'This is a good test!'
He really tried to stay positive by smiling but his skin says a different feeling. He feels as if he is burning inside, like he was suffering from a convulsion.
"Inject all your mana into me! We can do this!"
For thirty minutes, they stayed at that position, not willing to surrender their resolve. In their mind, they have now reached this far. Giving up is not out of the question!
"Crack!"
Their efforts were finally paid off when cracks are now starting to form on the barrier.
"Put more power into me!"
***
Mike began seeing that his barrier is forming cracks on its surface. It's not only what he saw! He also felt that it became weaker, as if most of its layers are now destroyed.
"Good thing that I was able to put them asleep!"
He saw the Saintess and the Templars unconscious due to the spell that he casted.
"I must leave this place!"
Just as he is about to leave, he saw another new message by the system.
*Urgent Quest!
Kill the Saintess!
-0/1-
Quest reward- A new skill!
Quest Failure Punishment- ??
Warning! Quest Incompletion will lead to a big consequence!*
"A new skill?"
Mike wondered if he could really kill a person. Even though he is thirsty for revenge, he still believed that death is not the immediate punishment for people who did him bad.
"Reject!"
*Warning! You will face a big consequence!*
He couldn't care less at the system's warning since the barrier is starting to collapse.
"I must escape this place!"
Using the Hood of Loki, he swiftly distanced himself from the place.
*The skill, Leap of the Jotunns, was activated*
On the other hand, the Division Leader and Guild Master Trace had found the place destroyed. They looked everywhere and saw the unconscious Saintess and Templars lying on the ground. Some of their body parts are missing.
The scene can be likened to that of the post-war Manila when it was destroyed during World War II.
"What the fuck just happened here?!"