Chapter 82: Debt 82 - An S-Rank fight
Although the elven village could now be considered the new home for Ryan and his party.
From one moment to the next, it began to present internal problems, seeing as the relic maintaining the village’s stability now lacked an owner capable of supplying it with the required mana.
Despite that, trouble did not wait long to arrive.
Three holy knights had come to the elven forest, likely to check why their comrades had not returned from their mission.
And now, Ryan and Mirian had gone out to face them.
And based on the expressions each of them wore now, it was more than logical that they never expected to find S-rank warriors guarding the forest.
Cough, cough.
The assassin knight began spitting up blood.
The impact of the blow he received from Ryan had landed squarely.
The knight with the staff, who had rushed toward him, was now healing him.
"Instant Heal"
’Hmm? First time I’ve seen a Healer actually healing.’
"Drill Shot"
The murmur echoed, followed by a high-pitched beep, like the subtle whistle left by a high-velocity projectile.
"What the hell?"
"Billy!!!"
What had been the Healer’s body just moments ago was now standing upright, but without a head and missing part of his chest.
Droplets of blood sprayed everywhere, and then the body collapsed to the ground.
Ryan turned to look at Mirian, slightly surprised.
"I’m sorry, Ryan, but... I’m not like Helen. I hate dragging out fights unnecessarily." She gave Ryan a brief glance and then returned her gaze to the holy knights.
"That Healer... I thought it would be better to take care of him from the start."
"You goddamn bitch!" The assassin knight struggled to his feet; although the healer was dead, his skill had already taken effect.
"The speed of that attack would be impossible for an A-rank to even see. To think she has so much power..."
’Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen Mirian fight seriously.’
"Did I surprise you?"
Ryan did not answer.
The two knights began to conjure their skills.
After a brief evaluation, Ryan walked toward the front.
"Mirian, can you take care of the one with the ogre face? I’ll deal with that assassin."
"Hehe, are you trying to provoke him?"
"Of course not."
"Hey, ogre-face! You’re fighting me!"
"Now you’re the one provoking him."
But both knights were already enraged.
"Physical Enhancement. Almighty."
The aura covered his body for an instant. Then he extended his hand toward Mirian.
The same skills enveloped her.
Mirian felt the effect and flexed her fingers over her bow.
"Thanks."
The two holy knights had already realized how dangerous it would be to face these two.
Ogre-face gripped his axe with both hands, leaning his body forward like someone preparing to charge. The blade of the weapon emitted a golden light that pulsed with every breath.
The assassin didn’t move. He only watched them with fixed eyes, calculating.
Ryan pulled his boomerang from his inventory.
He activated his fire aura.
The two halves burst into flame.
And he ran.
The speed of his acceleration made the ground creak beneath his feet.
When he reached the center of the space between the two knights, he jumped.
In the air, he crossed the two halves of the boomerang downward with all the strength he possessed.
Smash!
The impact split the ground between the two knights, kicking up an explosion of dirt and stone that sent them flying to the sides.
The one with the ogre face jumped to the right.
The assassin threw himself to the left.
And at the exact moment the ogre was in the air.
Whistle.
"Drill Shot."
Mirian’s projectile crossed the distance at a speed that left barely a visible trace and struck the axe-wielding knight’s right shoulder, spinning upon impact, shattering the armor and burying itself in his flesh.
Ogre-face roared.
He fell to the ground, nearly on his knees, but held himself up.
He ripped the arrow out with his free hand and stood up again.
Unlike when she attacked an A-rank, the wound was not as serious this time.
The knight with the axe only grew more infuriated.
"You’ll need a lot more than that to finish me, you bitch!" He swung the axe over his head and charged toward Mirian.
Mirian did not move from her spot.
She just waited.
Ryan did not have time to see anything else.
Something changed in the air to his left.
’Is he still using stealth even though I can see him? Is he an idiot or what?’
Ryan twisted his body to the side.
The short sword grazed his side, failing to even touch the fabric of his trench coat.
The assassin reappeared two meters away, already repositioning for the next attack.
Ryan looked at him.
"Is it not obvious that I can see you?" Ryan asked.
The assassin did not answer.
He vanished again.
Though to Ryan, it was only as if his opacity were lowered.
He joined his boomerang back into its original form and simply threw it to the left.
The weapon spun close to the ground.
The boomerang struck exactly where the assassin was.
And he reappeared, leaping backward to dodge the boomerang, but Ryan caught him by the ankle mid-air while grabbing the boomerang that was now within reach.
Before the assassin knight could do anything else, he took a hit from the boomerang, sending him flying several meters once again.
Behind him, he heard the impact of the ogre-faced knight’s axe against the ground where Mirian had been standing just an instant before.
But Mirian was no longer there.
She was in the air.
"Rain Shot."
Twelve arrows fell in an arc over the axe knight, each aiming at a different point on his body. Three bounced off the armor. Four found the gaps that the Drill Shot had opened earlier.
The ogre absorbed the impact with a grunt.
He stumbled.
But he remained standing.
’He’s tough,’ Ryan thought out of the corner of his eye.
The assassin had already recovered his position and vanished once more.
Ryan activated his fire aura and, using separation, now held the two halves of his boomerang.
"I admit I was overconfident, but now I will fight with everything I have," the assassin declared, his short sword becoming enveloped in a purple aura.
’Poison?’
"That won’t help you. I’m a priest, you know?"
"Don’t talk nonsense," the assassin uttered, rushing toward him.
’He’s faster now.’
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Three quick thrusts were aimed at Ryan and blocked with the boomerang.
The assassin smiled.
"You’re strong... but whatever you are... this is for you."
With one hand he held the short sword, and with the other, he pointed toward Ryan.
"Mana Burn!"
Ryan felt the mana leave his body.
But neither the intensity of his flames nor his energy dropped.
To the assassin’s eyes, everything remained the same.
"You bastard... how can you have so much mana? Who the hell are you really!?"