"I can't allow you to do that," Amarok's cracked voice echoed as he forced himself up. His veins were popping, his eyes burning with despair. Master Neo had sacrificed so many things for him.

Why was he so weak? Why couldn't he repay him? Why was this happening to him? Amarok's heart was aching; he felt like chains were tied to his heart, knelling him to the ground. His tears rolled endlessly as he cried.

"Why?? Why??" he kept shouting loudly, his voice ringing in their ears. His words were like needles plunging into their hearts. He was pulling his hair in hatred—hatred against the City Lord, hatred against Kleid, hatred against the world. More importantly, he had hatred against himself.

His reaction attracted pity from the onlookers. Even Agris was shaken. Neo was trembling as he tried to move, but his body refused to obey himself. He bit the man's hands in desperation, but the guard was unmoved, unaffected. His eyes were devoid of any pity.

"Amarok, don't let it take over you," Neo shouted. Amarok's eyes had turned dark red, his disheveled hairs floating in the air like strands of wire. His trembling legs moved as he stepped forward, his grip tightening on the broken sword in hand.

"Do it. With my power, no one will be able to stop you. Just do it, kill him," a dark red fog was speaking to his eyes with its hands on Amarok's shoulder. It looked like it had appeared from within Amarok, but no one could see or hear it, only him. The void had distorted, and his senses stimulated to the maximum.

He could hear everything, from the smallest breath to everyone's heartbeat. "Do it," the shadow kept repeating. It had a huge grin; few more seconds and it would be free to unleash its wrath on this world once more, and this time no one would be able to stop him.

"Amarok, listen to me. It's tricking you. Do not fall into its trap," Neo cried out. The guard was startled to see Amarok suddenly rushing towards him. He threw Neo to the side, charging forward, his eyes full of arrogance. The crowd was clueless about what was happening, but no one could lift their eyes from the two figures. Wind whistled as they charged towards each other, their steps heavy, the ground cracking, leaving foot imprints after every step from Amarok. His shoes turned into particles

The two finally met. Lyra stood, "Snowflake!!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. The air whistled at the approaching lance; the Rune Mountain Rock was fully unleashed. Amarok's body trembled as he bent.

The lance sliced above him, a dazzling brown arc followed, cutting part of his hairs. Then Amarok bent even more, propelling himself back to perform a backflip.

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The ground shattered once more, deep footprints echoed into the ground; the guard was stupid, to say the least; that was his strongest strike, the full power of the Mountain Rock Rune. Amarok sliced in mid-air, a moon arc was drawn.

He landed; the hall trembled, causing the cups full of drinks to topple and spill their contents. He thrust forward; the air whistled, powerful gusts of winds exploded, slicing everything in its way. The onlookers were forced to retreat once more.

"The man was cornered and about to die in the middle of his eternal flowers," Neo started speaking, catching everyone's attention. Kinty stepped forward, two swords in hand; he clashed with the frightening winds. His short hairs flapped, his dress flew. The ground around him disintegrated.

"He was given a choice. His daughter against the technique to cultivate the eternal flowers," Neo continued. Then Amarok spun, creating an even more powerful wind with his broken sword.

By that time, everyone understood what he was doing. He was performing the sword dance. It was the most common and most basic sword skill that existed, but the power in everyone right now was frightening.

That was the third move; some gasped; many had learned this, but very few were able to learn the third move. Its difficulty was so high that many would prefer to switch directly to Rune weapons instead of wasting time.

Amarok seemed to be preparing for something. Could he perform the last movement of the sword dance? Their hearts were beating wildly. At the same time, they were curious about the end of Neo's story. Amarok looked mighty at the moment. Kleid gulped down, holding his trembling hands. Then he stepped back.

"No, stop it. Kill him. It's all his fault, kill him," the voice in Amarok's head kept repeating. Amarok brought his broken sword near his chest, holding it straight, pointing to the sky. He exhaled; a dark red fog escaped his mouth. Using both hands, the sword swept in a clockwise direction.

Afterimages of the broken sword hung in the air. By the time he finished forming the circle, "Go," his voice echoed.

The City Lord's eyes widened; his hands shot forward. He began drawing in the air at lightning speed.

"He decided against letting another bloodbath occur. In his last moment, his tears touched the eternal flowers," Neo kept speaking despite spitting blood. The City Lord looked like a painter, painting colors into the void.

Soon, a circle with several inner circles appeared; the Rune Cascade of Protection was activated. It shone brightly suddenly. A few meters away from him, a blinding ray of light bloomed.

Everyone closed their eyes, using their will and all the energy they had to stand their ground. The table of the City Lord was shattered to pieces.

The weaker people were caught in the storm, sent flying. Even the senior from the Alden Academy was forced to draw the Rune Moon Shield before a mere gust of winds. A huge blue shield-like circle protected him and his fellow, but strangely the storm avoided Neo, circling around him like a protective shield.

"Turning them into golden flowers," Neo completed his story as the winds receded. Amarok fell to the ground, his eyes returning to normal. The hall was dead silent for a moment. No one spoke; even the City Lord was baffled.