Sora’s mouth was wide open like the smiely :O.

He had no idea Ramona was that strong.

He thought at most they would need to beat up one or two soldiers and then slip by.

This was beyond his imagination.

Could this be the real reason why the soldiers weren’t attacking him? Did he accidently gain a strong ally?

Sora didn’t care about those details; freedom was right around the corner.

Sora reworked his survival chances; 50%. That was a healthy number considering just moments back it stood at zero.

Making use of the chaos surrounding and the confusion of the soldiers, Sora and Ramona made a dash towards the collapsed perimeter.

Vanessa could only look on with a ghastly expression. She was the youngest and brightest….yet she made such a careless mistake….

Had she been outwitted? No, she had been outclassed. In her point of view, Sora was somebody with far more combat experience. He knew how to provoke, how to get people to lower their guard and how to take advantage of one’s weakness.

Vanessa felt helpless and weak. She didn’t think she could do anything to save her friend or stop the adventurer.

Vanessa admitted defeat.

Sora raced past the soldiers. He didn’t even bother consider fighting them in their weakened state.

Two reasons; firstly he might upset his powerful ally if he fought her friends. Secondly, he knew he was weaker than them. Sora also wanted to get away before the arrival of this person called the Cardinal.

Just when Sora was about to get away he stopped in his tracks.

[Running away?]

Sora froze in his place whilst holding Ramona’s hand.

Sora quickly shielded his mind.

He could feel the intense blood thirst. It was right ahead of him and directed only at him.

Sora’s POV

[Are you the adventurer?]

Hell…how many monsters are there in this world?

Sora was sweating....it wasn't hot....just scared.

[I am interested in knowing many details….how did you wipe out more than half of my elite trained soldiers…]

[Are you the Cardinal?]

[Hou….who gave me away?]

I could feel my stomach churning.

This felt a lot like fighting the Devil. They gave of a similar vibe. Maybe a fellow demon or something?

Just when I was about to my next step and run away, my luck gives away.

[I am really interested in knowing many details about you….]

Damn him. Is he or is he not going to interfere. Honestly, if he does interfere my chances of surviving are zero. If he is anything like the bulter….then this damned monster too can cover a distance of ten miles in the blink of an eye…I hate drunk bast*rds…

[Hou…are you directing your blood lust at me, monster-san?] The Cardinal asked as he stepped out of the shadows.

He unleashed the full extent of his blood lust at me.

I can only say this much, I collapsed and was kneeling on the ground.

This man is bad news…

Vanessa’s POV

I should just resign. I have failed miserably. I should have called the Cardinal right away rather than taking things into my own hands…

[Get up.] It was a cold and cruel voice. It was a familiar voice echoing in her mind.

***

Vanessa stopped pitying herself immediately when she realized her mental defenses had been breached.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

[Chancellor?] Vanessa asked timidly.

She knew this voice well. This deep, rough and malice ridden voice.

Memories came flooding back to her….the coldhearted teacher of hers ….Chancellor of the Academy…. Also simply known as the Cardinal of Feladonia.

Vanessa’s suspicions were confirmed when she saw Sora and Ramona collapse to the ground.

There were only a handful of people in the entire Empire, who could make people kneel with just their blood thirst.

Even the soldiers collapsed to the ground as they recounted this terribly familiar blood thirsty aura.

Their blood thirst paled in comparison.

The soldiers completely forgot about Sora and their thoughts were focused on their headmaster.

They all knew he would be in town….but to be over seeing their mission personally?

Had they failed that badly that he needed to make an appearance?

[Get up!] The voice echoed through every soldiers’ mind.

It was a strict tone.

The soldiers were familiar with it. No matter how much time had passed, it was the same.

From the shadows, stepped out a man.

Sora’s heart sank.

The Cardinal revealed himself.

His presence was cold and dark, very similar to the Butler’s.

He wore a red tailcoat and white trousers. His collar was open and shirt was ruffled. He was far from the perfect and meticulous Sebastian devil. His long silver wavy hair hung loosely. He didn't tie them...and looked more like a man who had been ravaged than a killer aura he imposed. He looked young just like Sebastian...no more than twenty five? But his voice was heavily laid with blood lust and his foresight was rich with experience.

If one went by looks alone, then the man in front imposed no threat. He appeared no more than a drunk who had accidentally wandered in to the battle front. However, if appearances are anything to go by, Sora was the benchmark of how deceiving they can really be.

Sora appeared like a weakling who should have taken no more than a second to kill.

The Cardinal appears like a drunk idiot who would not last a single blow.

Sora wiped out half the Erito forces.

What was the Cardinal capable of?

Sora could feel his heart sinking with every step the Cardinal took closer to him.

Ramona was brought back to her senses as the killer aura engulfed her.

It would be shocking if she was not brought back to her senses.

The Cardinal was like a tiger and Ramona was a fool intoxicated in love. Not true love, just a fling.

Between her life and her fling, Ramona's brains knew which was the obvious choice; her life.

She was indeed wondering why had she been infatuated with the enemy….but those thoughts were for another time. Right now, her terrifying teacher stood in front of her.

His killer gaze lay on something between Sora and Ramona.

Ramona turned her sight towards what her teacher was looking at….she and Sora were still holding hands.

Ramona hastily let go of the adventurer’s hand.

Sora paid no heed to Ramona’s action. The man in front of him was bad news….very bad news.

The Cardinal turned his attention back to Sora...the adventurer who wiped out half the Erito forces.

Sora's POV

My chances of survival have tumbled back down to nil.

[th_015_orz-v2.gif]