39. Kill That Man! – 2
Meanwhile, Nova didn't show any change in expression when he was glared at by Captain Vaan. His mind was currently filled with different thoughts as he tried to think of the best way to deal with the situation.
As for being scared by Captain Vaan, Nova didn't have time to show that kind of emotion; all he felt at that moment was anger towards himself for letting it happen again.
He cursed inwardly, frustrated that he was not strong enough to prevent another threat to their lives. If he were stronger, he wouldn't feel helpless like this.
And all of it made him look like he was fearless. Which actually didn't seem to be the case, since he didn't have any idea how to face the situation right now.
"Are you still not handing the spatial pouch over, even now?" Captain Vaan asked with a cold and terrifying voice.
However, when he saw Nova continue to remain quiet while looking back at him without any intention to hand it over, he sneered and added in an angry tone, "Do you have a death wish, huh?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Captain Vaan moved quickly and struck towards Nova with his sword in one swift movement, intending to slice him in half with one powerful slash.
Alicia and Hilda screamed as they watched Captain Vaan swinging his sword towards Nova from his side, not knowing what to do.
This was too fast and sudden. How could they possibly stop that attack? They were already cornered against the wall of rocks behind them and could only cower in fear, staring in horror.
Nova stared at Captain Vaan's sword coming toward him with wide eyes. He didn't realize the sudden change in Captain Vaan, who was speaking earlier.
Therefore, as the sword blade came rushing in his direction, Nova felt like time was slowing down in front of him as his vision was narrowed towards the sword. It seemed like every second had slowed down, so every single detail was highlighted vividly in Nova's mind.
While staring at the sword blade approaching him, Nova felt a strong instinctive urge to stop it somehow. At that moment, Nova did something on reflex and threw out his arm forward.
It seemed like Nova's body acted on its own, instinctively trying to prevent him from being attacked, and this caused Nova to put all of his strength into stopping the blade from coming at him.
Nova felt an explosion of intense pain erupt inside his body. Blood flowed out like a river, his nerves screamed with agony, and his heart raced with dread.
As his mind struggled to process what was happening, Nova saw that his hand was raised to defend against the attack, and he also saw that Captain Vaan was stunned as he stared at him with widened eyes in disbelief.
There stood Nova with his right arm raised to block the blow of Captain Vaan's sword, and yet, somehow it looked like he had stopped the attack and didn't get cut by the sword.
No. The truth was he didn't just block it; he had stopped Captain Vaan from moving entirely!
It was as if the world had suddenly come to a complete standstill with everything around them frozen in time. There was only silence and tranquility; all of Nova's senses were concentrated solely on protecting his life.
"Wh-What?!" Captain Vaan's mouth moved after struggling to speak due to the immense power of Nova's strength.
Nova also heard his voice along with Alicia and Hilda's screams. They were loud enough to break through the sound barrier and drown out Nova's racing heartbeat in his ears.
But Nova didn't have time to feel relieved since the intense pain from his body was making it difficult for him to even think.
He could sense the intense agony emanating throughout his entire being with every drop of blood being pumped from his rapidly beating heart, flooding into his bloodstream with every single heartbeat.
With his entire being overwhelmed by pain, Nova had only one thought on his mind.
'Kill that man!'
The moment this thought flashed through Nova's mind, every muscle fiber in his body began to contract uncontrollably, causing a huge amount of energy to be released within him at once, resulting in an intense outpouring of explosive power that was beyond his control and unleashed a terrifying pressure on his target.
As a result, Captain Vaan screamed as he felt all of his bones crack, and even though he was trying to fight it with all his strength, there was nothing he could do about it.
All of a sudden, Captain Vaan exploded into a bloody mist from the incredible force of Nova's attack. The crimson mist sprayed violently as if it were liquid fire, filling the air with thick mist.
As soon as Captain Vaan vanished into tiny bits, time returned to normal, and Nova collapsed backward to the ground without moving any further after that.
"NO!" Alicia screamed while staring at Nova. Tears fell down her face as she hurriedly rushed over to Nova, kneeling beside him, trying to help Nova with everything she could.
Hilda was still shocked, unable to understand what had just happened. One moment Captain Vaan came out of nowhere with the severed head of the village chief in his hand and tried to kill Nova. But the next, he exploded into bloody mist!
It was something she couldn't comprehend, and even if she was told that Nova somehow did it, she still struggled to comprehend what she just saw.
After getting over her initial shock, Hilda, too, rushed over to check up on Nova along with Alicia, worried and terrified for his condition.
"Oh my god! My sweet boy, please wake up!" Alicia cried out as she cradled Nova's unconscious body while trying to help him with what she could.
"He's... still breathing." Hilda said in a soft voice full of relief. "But we should hurry and leave this place immediately; more attackers may show up anytime soon. And with the blood smell in the air, there's no guarantee that some wild beasts won't be drawn to us in this situation."
Alicia nodded, and with the help of Hilda, lifted Nova up from the ground and began running away with him.