Chapter 43: Carnage

I was in my bed having my peaceful beauty sleep, when a dark figure suddenly broke into the room. The figure was as silent as a spectre. They slowly crept up to my sleeping form, then raised the dagger in their hand, and struck, aiming for a clean precise strike.

Clang!!!

But instead of the sound of flesh being pierced, it was the sound of metals clashing that was heard. That was because, a sword had blocked the figure’s dagger.

Seeing their attack fail, a black smokey aura exploded from the dark figure’s body. They withdrew their dagger and instantly tried to escape through the window, but a firm hand suddenly grasped onto the figures arm, rendering them incapable of breaking free.

Then the sword that blocked the figure’s dagger turned sharply, and impaled the figure cleanly through the heart, and out the back.

Splrk!

The figure bent forward as a burst of blood escaped their lips, before the dark smokey aura around their body ceased, and so did the light in their eyes.

I stirred from my sleep, and stared at my reflection, who was still holding the corpse of the heretic.

“So those bastards really sent someone to kill me huh?”

Unfortunately for the assailant, ever since I got my ability, the only place I had slept without a reflection on guard, was the institute.

Not to talk of this reflection that was created with 90 percent of my aether, making the reflection 80 percent stronger than even my main body.

A Kappa+ ranked aetherial, heretic or not, simply didn’t stand a chance. Heretics had insane regeneration, they could heal grievous wounds, in the span of seconds. A heretic doesn’t die, unless their hearts were pierced through, or their head was cut off.

“So I should have killed that blond man after all.” I sighed. I hated when things or matters I’d ignored came back to bite me.

’But wait….’ a chilling realization soon hit me. ’If they sent an assassin after me, then what about the others? Did they send assassins after them too?

I left my main body, and instantly blasted through the door to my room, and then through the one opposite to my room.

What I saw wasn’t what I expected though? Instead of what I dreaded, what I saw was a heretic completely tangled up in near invisible strings, with some even cutting across his skin, causing blood to drip down the floor.

“Oh, you’re okay.” I heaved a sigh of relief.

“I am. I caught this little bastard trying to stab me, hehe.” Dion giggled. “Thankfully I have a habit of booby trapping a room with my threads before I sleep.” he said with proud smile.

But just at that moment,

BOOOOM!

A huge pillar of golden flames exploded in the distance, sending a mild heatwave that brushed past us.

“Shit!” I grimaced. That was Rose wasn’t it?

Which proved one thing, Dion and I weren’t the only targets, instead it was all of us who had arrived in the city yesterday.

“Fuck, why didn’t I think of this before?” I cursed. I had clearly seen the city lord speaking with the blond man, which meant I now knew he worked with them. And since Dion and I met with those guys at the cafe, the heretics had definitely flagged us all.

But, really? a Kappa+ ranked heretic to take care of me? Do they really think that low of me? For some reason, it kinda stung.

My main body had already made way towards the direction of the explosion. When I created this reflection, I had just retired to my room. So after about four hours of channeling, and then about three hours of rest, my main body had completely regained it’s aether.

———–

With my main body, I rushed towards the explosion site. It was about three hundred meters from the inn we were lodged in.

It didn’t take me long to reach what could be called carnage. The air was thick with dust, smoke, and a sharp burnt smell. The ground was scorched, with debris scattered everywhere, and bodies laid strewn on the floor like flies, some burnt, and some pierced through. I even noticed a familiar face among the corpses.

Still, a battle was raging on, several heretics against the youths.

Some distance away, Rose was battling a buff looking man, who was teleporting around the battlefield. No one dared to get close to them due to Rose’s flames. In the main casts, rose could be said to have the most destructive abilities.

From a high point was Delilah, who was raining arrows down on the heretics, some of the arrows were constructs made of aether, while some were wooden arrows that looked sharper than even steel.

Delilah’s ability was tied to nature. Her ability allowed her to make wooden constructs. Though, the way she chose to utilize it in battle was through bow and arrows.

Then there was Fabian, his halberd moved like a snake amongst the five heretics that tried to swarm him.

At another side was the bitch, seeming to trick two heretics into stabbing each other with her illusion. Her physique granted her the ability to make illusions, and mirages that fool the sight and hearing of her targets. Though it wouldn’t work nearly as easily for normal aetherials as it did for the heretics. Heretics we’re quite known for their weak mental resilience after all.

And then there was the golden boy himself. He was going against a turquoise haired girl that had the same dark smokey aura the heretics had. Even from this distance, I could see him trying to talk to her mid battle.

There was one I didn’t see though, “Where is she?” I muttered. Notwithstanding, I didn’t see Anastasia. “No way…” my eyes widened. “Could it be that she’s dead?” I really did hope so.

The familiar face I had seen amongst the corpses, was one of the extras, and since I didn’t see any one of them, the rest were probably also lost somewhere between corpses.

If Anastasia really was dead, then the only extras that didn’t die, or rather hadn’t died yet, were Dion and me.

“Time to let loose.” I cracked my neck. These past week I’d only been training by myself. Except for the times I got paired during combat class. But what I really wanted now, was to see fresh blood spill.

’Now whose pressure should I alleviate?’ I thought glancing at the battlefield.

But then, “Die!” A voice roared from my side, then I saw a black clawed carapace skinned arm aiming to tear me. Now would you look at that, this bastard personally delivered himself to me. It was none other than the blond man from yesterday.

Clang!!!

My sword met his claws in a defeating clang, but I got pushed back a few steps, the difference in strength showing.

The dark smokey aura the heretics had wasn’t just for show. It boosts their overall stats, granting them strength a bit higher than others of the same rank.

The heretic didn’t waste time, and neither did I. A reflection broke free from my body just before the man reached me.

His claws slashed for my throat, but I pivoted, flashing my sword up just in time.

Clang!

Sparks flew as his claws met my sword. The force of his strike though, jolted my arms. It was heavier than I’d expected.

The blond man grinned.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

I retreated step by step, minimizing my footsteps and sword movements into efficient parries and deflections.

I seized a chance and struck my heel into his guts, sending him flying. He might have had higher strength, but I had much better skills.

I disappeared in a series of afterimages after his flying figure.

“Second art: Summer blaze.” My sword glowed crimson as a visual representation of a sun appeared behind me. I sent a crimson slash aimed for him. But he twisted his body mid air in an impossible arc, and dodged the slash.

Unfortunately for him, I wasn’t done yet. I sent another slash, and another, and another. Even if he was as slippery as an eel, there was no way he was dodging all three.

True to my expectations, he dodged the first, but the second went through his left arm severing it completely, while the third met with his clawed arm.

“Aaaargh!” he screamed clutching his now absent forearm.

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!” He bellowed as the flesh around where the forearm was severed started wriggling and writhing, trying to regenerate.

Like hell I’d allow that.

“Second art: summer blaze.” I Poured more aether than I had ever poured in a technique.

A massive crimson slash escaped my sword and arrived before the heretic almost instantly.

Then… it engulfed him completely. For a moment there was a blindingly bright light that almost made me squint my eyes in reflex.

When the light vanished, a long sizzling sword cut had appeared on the ground at least quarter of a meter deep into the ground.

But to my surprise, the bastard was still alive, albeit in a very bad shape. Only his toasted upper body remained, that too, without arms.

“Let’s put you out of your misery shall we.” I calmly walked towards him. Even though he was already down to that state, I didn’t dare lower my guard.

Shiiing!

It wasn’t until my sword severed his head, that I felt relieved.

*******

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND DONT FORGET MY POWER STONES.

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