Chapter 122: The Tales of Cinder [16]
A surge of power coursed through every atom of his body like a painful electrical current of golden colors. It was as if thousands of incandescent needles pierced his flesh at once, running through his nerves with unbearable intensity. His shattered muscles swelled, tightening to the limit, as if they were about to tear apart again. His black eyes turned gold and...
[ The skill "Limit Break" has been activated. ]
Mitsuki clenched his teeth and his shotgun to endure the pain. His jaw creaked under the pressure, and his breathing became heavy, uneven. The ash covering him seemed to tremble in response to that pain, breathing on its own as if it were some kind of living symbiote, reacting to every beat of his heart.
The air around him vibrated faintly.
Marco positioned himself at his side and raised his sword with one hand. His stance was unstable, but his gaze remained firm.
"Both of us at once," said the blond, with a tense smile.
"To the death," Mitsuki replied, his voice low but resolute.
The princess adopted an extremely defensive stance. She crossed two swords in front of her face, forming a perfect barrier, and crossed the other two behind her back, ready to react from any angle. Her figure seemed unbreakable, like a fortress of glass.
Azel fired an arrow to test the difficulty of that specter’s defense. The arrow whistled through the air, but it disintegrated when the crystal sword split it in two with an almost imperceptible movement.
Still, he didn’t give up and nocked another arrow, his fingers barely trembling.
"A skill that belongs to heroes," the princess whispered loudly enough for the others to hear.
Her voice echoed strangely.
She sounded disappointed.
"What a tragedy..."
Mitsuki exhaled and took a step toward her. The ground cracked beneath his foot. The sword Viktor appeared in his right hand with a faint flash, and his shotgun roared with scorching flames loaded in both barrels, emitting a suffocating heat.
’I know. This skill belonged to him... to Arthur. Now I understand that the stronger I become, the more of his abilities I obtain.’
How powerful was Arthur?
What abilities did he possess?
Why were they sealed?
This body—at least its essence—belonged to the Prince of Misfortune.
The mysteries piled up, growing in his mind like a storm.
But this was no time to reflect.
Mitsuki took another step and raised his shotgun.
In a fraction of a second, he vanished, wrapped in ash particles. They scattered near the ground, forming a low cloud that slid like a living shadow.
And when that fraction of a second ended...
Mitsuki was already in front of the princess, aiming his shotgun at her head.
The trigger clicked, followed by a powerful detonation.
A massive flame—like a damn, immense bluish laser beam—erupted from the barrel. The heat was so intense that it distorted the air, engulfing the entire upper half of the princess’s torso.
Then Mitsuki leapt to the right.
From the cloud of smoke formed after the blast, two swords shot out with the intent to kill him instantly. Crimson light sliced through the air.
Once again, his body turned into ash.
Marco was next.
The swords fell, brushing through the ash that was Mitsuki’s body, and in that brief opening, the knight raised his sword in a downward slash, managing to carve a deep cut that released an explosion of ash.
Unfortunately, he had to retreat.
The other two swords emerged from the middle of the princess’s torso, nearly slicing Marco’s abdomen open. The air vibrated with the speed of the attack.
Eight arrows appeared, piercing through the cloud of dust and striking the princess, embedding themselves into her body with a dull sound.
But she raised her hand.
The ash cloud scattered in every direction. Her body was in perfect condition. However, cracks remained—small, but visible—caused by the previous attacks.
She tried to absorb the ash from the surroundings to regenerate, but the ash stopped.
[ The skill "Ash Manipulation Lv. 1" has been activated. ]
Mitsuki had his hand extended toward her. His fingers trembled slightly, but the ash obeyed.
His golden eyes locked onto those of the spectral woman.
"You won’t regenerate again."
His voice was firm.
Cold.
He propelled himself toward her and fired, but the princess shielded herself with her swords. The impact resounded like a contained thunderclap.
Marco appeared through the parted smoke between Mitsuki and the princess, maneuvering his own blade. His movements were faster now, more aggressive.
Mitsuki, for his part, attempted to replicate the knight’s movements.
Both struck.
But the princess blocked them with her four swords at an overwhelming speed. The blades clashed again and again, creating sparks and shockwaves.
This time, she advanced.
Her arms moved at extreme speeds, leaving crimson trails in the air as her swords cut through everything in their path, even tearing through the suspended ash.
Marco did everything he could to block the two swords.
But his body could barely endure it.
The silver blade of his sword clashed and rebounded multiple times against hers. Each impact ran through his arms like an electric shock.
The outcome seemed obvious.
At the same time, Mitsuki tried to replicate Marco’s technique, but lacking any real experience with a sword beyond delivering a full-force downward strike, the blades reached him and severed his ash arm.
The arm dissolved into dark particles.
Then the princess kicked him away to focus on killing Marco.
Azel fired to help them—he needed to distract Cinderella.
The arrows flew, whistling and tearing through the air at supersonic speeds. The wind split in their wake.
Knowing his friend, Marco crouched and rolled across the ground. Dust rose around him.
The arrows struck like tank shells, but she reformed immediately after the impact and locked eyes with him.
Azel already knew what was coming.
He got up and ran for his life. His footsteps echoed against the broken ground.
That spectral woman was about to hurl another sword at him.
Marco stood and leapt to attack from behind, but Cinderella crossed her lower two swords behind her back and blocked him, pushing Marco away with the clash of crystal and metal. The impact sent a vibration across the entire arena.
Suddenly, a small cloud of ash dust swept across the arena.
Mitsuki materialized in front of the princess, his ash arm slowly regenerating, and fired at her face.
Unable to defend in time, she felt her entire head disintegrate under the blue blaze. The impact illuminated the entire field for an instant.
But even that was not enough to stop her.
Even without her head, she swung her swords in wide arcs, guided by pure instinct.
From the same smoke that had formed, she pulled ash and regenerated her head, reconstructing herself with unnatural speed.
Mitsuki extended his hand and tried to control the remaining ash, pulling it away from her—but it was too late.
The princess’s wounds had healed.
"It’s still not enough!" he shouted to his companions, his voice laced with frustration.
[ The skill "Charisma Lv. 1" resonates within your allies’ souls. ]
[ They have begun to feel inspired. ]
Both Marco and Mitsuki let out a savage battle cry. The sound was raw, visceral.
They charged at the princess without knowing whether it was a good or bad idea, leaving small craters in the ground from the force of their legs.
Marco spun like a tornado, his sword tracing violent arcs.
Mitsuki loaded his shotgun, gathering energy in both barrels.
Suddenly, the three of them vanished into the air.
In the next instant, a massive shockwave echoed throughout the entire realm. The ground trembled, the ruins vibrated.
In that same place, Marco and Mitsuki struggled against Cinderella’s crystal swords.
She...
For the first time since the battle began, showed an expression of effort.
Her brows furrowed slightly. Another crack appeared in her defense.
Once again, the three disappeared and reappeared after another shockwave elsewhere in the arena, kicking up dust and debris around them.
In that brief instant, Azel fired his arrows.
They struck the princess directly in the head, tearing a large hole from the side of her ear. Fragments of ash scattered like smoke.
’It’s still not enough...’
A battle that made the entire realm tremble...
A battle of the highest order.