Chapter 104: Brokethrough
— A Few Minutes Ago —
Sam was crawling back through the rubble toward Adam and Isaac, right up until he heard Vincent’s terrifying roar.
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!!!"
"What... what’s going on over there?" Sam muttered, stopping dead in his tracks. Suddenly, he heard a booming explosion high up in the sky, followed by the terrifying sound of something crashing into the ground.
’Shit... shit... shit!! I knew it! Hanging out with these crazy nobles was a terrible mistake!’ Sam panicked, quickly turning around and scrambling in the complete opposite direction of the explosions. ’They are fighting again! Is this just a normal everyday thing for them?!’
"Hey, where are you going?" Tracy called out weakly from the shadows as she saw Sam frantically crawling past her hiding spot.
’Shit... she saw me! And she doesn’t seem to be hallucinating anymore!’ Sam thought, freezing with a worried look. ’If I ditch them now to save myself, I’m sure she will tell them about it if they survive!’
"Hey, don’t just ignore me when I’m talking to you," Tracy groaned, her voice strained with pain.
’Should I just kill her? She is practically gonna die anyway anytime soon...’ Sam thought, a dark, serious look briefly crossing his dusty face.
"Why the hell are you looking at me like that?" Tracy asked, noticing his expression.
Sam suddenly shook his head, slapping his own cheeks. ’Sigh... I’m starting to turn into those crazy nobles, who see killing as the only way to solve a problem,’ he thought, looking away in shame.
"Ohhh, right... you did mention earlier that you tend to overthink things a lot," Tracy chuckled weakly.
"You were actually listening to me?" Sam asked, stunned.
"Of course I was. It’s not like I have anything else to do down here while being crushed. And for the record, you were the one not listening to me when I talked," she sighed. "So now, could you kindly tell me what the hell is happening out there?"
"It’s just... I heard that guy Vincent yell warning everyone, and a explosion happened right after that in the sky. I think it’s another attack," Sam said, his voice starting to shake with fear again.
"Hey... I need you to listen to me very closely," Tracy suddenly demanded, a dead-serious look returning to her pale face.
"What is it?"
"There is a heavy blue crystal hidden deep in my pocket. I need you to help me take it out," she said rapidly.
"Your pocket? But isn’t the entire lower half of your body crushed under that giant pillar?" Sam asked nervously.
"Just grab the damn edge of the pillar and try to lift it enough so I can squeeze my hand in!" she snapped.
"Why are you being so anxious right now?" Sam complained, grabbing the jagged edge of the stone.
"You literally just said you heard Vincent scream in terror, right?! That man is not the type to give false warnings or panic easily! If he is terrified, there must be something strong out ther— AAAAH!" she shrieked as Sam shifted the pillar.
"Haaa... be quick about it! This thing is incredibly heavy, I don’t think I can hold it up for that long!" Sam grunted, managing to lift the stone just enough to create a tiny gap.
Gritting her teeth, Tracy desperately slid her bleeding hand into her crushed pocket. She pulled out a small, heavy object wrapped tightly in white cloth.
"Okay, put it down gently! Ooow..." she hissed as the heavy weight settled back onto her shattered legs. "I said gently!!"
" I lifted it... huff... why didn’t you just try to pull yourself out?" Sam asked, panting heavily as he collapsed against the rubble.
"We don’t have the time for that!" she snapped, quickly unwrapping the cloth to reveal a pristine, glowing light-blue crystal.
"AAAAAAAH!!!!" A blood-curdling, piercing scream suddenly echoed through the ruins.
"What the hell is happening over there?!" Sam gasped, looking back toward the crater where the screaming was coming from.
Without hesitating, Tracy bit down on her own lip. As warm blood pooled in her mouth, she spat some drops of blood directly onto the freezing blue crystal.
’I wanted to use this to save myself from the initial explosion... but the process for this crystal is so damn annoying!’ she thought as the blood began to seamlessly absorb into the glowing gem.
...
"AAAAAAH!!!" Isaac was shrieking in pure agony as the flames engulfed him.
’Wait... something is wrong,’ 17 frowned from his position floating in the sky, staring down at the screaming boy. ’He should have been completely incinerated by now... how come he is still standing? And I don’t even see a single sign of any injury on his skin! Only his clothes are burning!’
"YOU BASTARD!! I WILL KILL YOU!!"
Vincent roared in fury. Concentrating all of his dense crimson Aura directly into his legs, Vincent leaped off the ground like a bullet.
"Blood Lotus Twin Blade — First Stage: Crimson Edge!"
The moment he chanted, the edges of his twin blades began to shine with a blinding red light, vibrating non-stop in his hands. He dashed high into the air, instantly appearing directly next to 17!
"Concentrating all your Aura into your legs to match my altitude, huh? That’s really thoughtful, but it is all completely meaningless," 17 sneered. He casually raised his hand, and a thick blue mana shield instantly materialized between them.
But to 17’s shock, Vincent’s vibrating red blade sliced through the eshield like it was warm butter, instantly shattering the magical barrier into glass!
"What?!" 17 gasped.
Vincent didn’t lose a single ounce of momentum. As the first blade shattered the shield, his second blade followed through seamlessly, cleanly decapitating the Mage’s head from his shoulders!
’That didn’t feel right...’ Vincent frowned deeply as gravity began pulling him back down to the earth. ’It felt like I just cut through empty air. And there isn’t a single drop of blood on my blade.’
Suddenly, the headless body of 17 burst entirely into flames! The body instantly evaporated into ash, causing the magical flames that were currently burning Isaac on the ground to vanish entirely.
"Isaac!!" Adam and Zena frantically ran over to him. Isaac had collapsed into the dirt, completely unconscious from the sheer pain.
"How is he," Vincent asked.
"He is just unconscious and with no injuries at all. But his body is do hot it’s practically turning red" Zena said
’No this redness... Did this bastard just breakthrough.’ Adam thought looking at Isaac with an amused look. "Talk about not missing a chance, at all."
"Mmm... what is it..." Zena asked
"It’s nothing.." Adam said. ’Now I kinda want to be put in flames to.’
"Hahahaha... I never thought a mere Aura user would actually manage to defeat one of my clones. I am genuinely impressed, actually," 17’s voice echoed. He suddenly reappeared in the night sky, floating much higher than before.
"A clone?!" Vincent gritted his teeth, landing heavily in the dirt.
"Yeah... you were putting all that desperate effort into attacking my clone," 17 smiled.
"But what truly caught my eye is the boy over there..." 17 narrowed his eyes, staring down at Isaac. "To think he is undamaged by my flames. Even if they are just from a clone, they are still my flames. That is some real, terrifying talent he possesses to be completely unaffected by fire, I kinda want to know more."
"If you want to know. You can test it on me too." Adam suddenly said
"What!!" Zena, Vincent and 17 where shocked.