Within the realm of the shadow, Attila could tell that the battle had begun. While she did not feel any of the pain or the rumbling, she still felt the visible stress in the contracting ceiling. Attila wandered to find the prisoner, but they were nowhere to be found. Perhaps they wished to spend the last of their moment reminiscing about their past.
‘I’m going to die here, aren’t I?’ thought Attila.
She believed that perhaps by rebelling against fate and taking initiative in such a grim situation, she would be spared by the Goddess. However, it seemed that her luck was running out.
It was lucky to come to Avangarden, she supposed.
It was lucky to not die instantly, she supposed.
It was lucky to find those artifacts, she supposed.
Was she lying to herself? To face the truth: she was unlucky, perhaps the unluckiest.
…
Attila wanted to at least see her father again one last time, though she would probably see her mother again soon.
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The crowd was confused. Why were the Endlegion Silverguards battling their new-old hero? Why were they protecting the serial killer? Conspiracies and worries began to travel through the waves, and many began to leave understanding the dangers of the current situation. However, many stayed to witness a moment of a lifetime.
Reason, the head guard stood up but was quickly stopped by the King.
“Let them be,” he said, “Let us let fate choose the victor.”
Within the arena stood the Endlegion Silverguards along with Sir Calendar. On the other side, stationed the lone hero Reginn.
“...Make sure to stick to the script, no matter the cost,” reminded Siege to the others.
The rest began to position themselves around the arena. Last time, Siege had only minutes to come up with a plan, but now he must’ve had a day or two. Reginn wondered how this would affect the master strategist, especially now that Ayn was on their side.
“I suppose it is natural. The weak follow the strong after all,” said Reginn.
“...”
“When together, strength multiplies, weaknesses divide.” rebutted Siege, “Though I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about that.”
“Hmph. Show me the strength of humanity, hero!”
Taking the initiative, Reginn was once again the first to strike. He specifically targeted Ayn first as he was a fairly unknown variable — the wild card of this match. However, Gallatin was just fast enough to bring him to safety before Reginn could land the hit.
“⌈The Apostles’ Blessing⌋!”
Ayn quickly cast the spell right after the match began as this talent spell had a limited duration. However, despite this downside, this talent would be key to this plan.
Instantaneously, the allies of the field began to glow in a golden aura. The sight reminded Reginn of how a hero would be blessed, with a pillar of light reaching the heavens. However, no matter what, it would be of no use. Even if he had become ten times stronger, he would just need to try a bit more.
After grasping the true extent of her new power, Mal threw her hammer at blistering speed, such that even Reginn had dodged at only a hair’s width. Yuta was already stationed behind him without the hero’s knowledge, and returned the hammer directly toward the back of Reginn’s skull, landing a brutal hit.
While Reginn regained his composure after the attack, Gallatin kicked up a storm around the arena to cloud Reginn’s visibility. The hero quickly activated his mana vision to scan the area, but the single millisecond to consciously activate his skill was enough to allow Gallatin to land a clean hit on his face. However, it seemed that the punch hurt him more than it did Reginn.
Reginn stared back at the hero with visible anger. It seemed that he would need to unleash all of his power.
Against Zealot, this was not possible, however, against creatures with weaker control over their mana — basically, all those who were not higher-tier magical creatures — he could simply stop their mana, similar to stopping their blood.
“Fall!”
Simultaneously, the three Endlegion Silverguard members fell to the ground, unable to control the chaos within their frail bodies. Before Reginn could execute his teammates, Siege jumped in to distract him. That is all they needed to do — distract him. With his impenetrable armour, Siege was able to return surprisingly similar blows against Reginn’s physical attacks.
“I see that the first king of magic is a bit frustrated, is this a first?” asked Siege.
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“...Heh, you wouldn’t want to see me truly mad.”
Reginn mind raced with adrenaline in order to find the optimal solution. It seemed that these warriors were greatly empowered by Ayn — much greater than he ever could’ve anticipated. They were no longer like children with sticks and stones, but true warriors on the level of the children of the Goddess. Reginn would need to eliminate the source of this power — Ayn.
He turned to look for Ayn, but he was nowhere to be found. Camouflaged. This must’ve been the act of a powerful magical artifact. However, he had a solution for this exact situation.
Reginn quickly kicked Siege toward the opposing wall of the arena, decommissioning him for only two seconds. Within these seconds, Reginn raised his hand high into the sky, his palm outstretched. He commanded all mana particles of the surrounding area to cause a storm of magic, revealing all areas where mana was purposefully obscured, as Ayn’s mana signature was hidden under a veil, replaced by an automatically generated one.
As expected, the artifact only created the illusion of the calm mana, not this unusual storm. Within the chaos, a small sea of still waters emerged. This must’ve been the area where Ayn must’ve been hidden. Reginn concentrated his mana onto the singular location, causing immense pressure. The illusion shattered into a million pieces, revealing Ayn under a pre-casted barrier alongside… Alveolo, casting a grand spell. They were atop the wall of the arena, near the seats of the spectators.
By the looks of the Maginn, this must’ve been near the third tier of spells similar to ⌈Primordial Song: Temple Cleansing Ritual⌋ of ⌈Sixth Path Retrieval⌋ — near the echelon of gods. When completed by a non-divine, it held immense risks for its caster, as well as a high chance of malfunction. It seemed that the entire team was betting on this single spell, and by decoding the Maginn, Reginn knew that it was a powerful matter-type spell. A meteor? Fireball? A construct?
No matter, Reginn quickly tried to render the caster useless by wringing her mana, but his efforts were found fruitless. With the combination of being a magical creature, advanced sorcerer and buffed by Ayn, Reginn would need to physically stop her — or cast a powerful spell such as ⌈A Glimpse of the Absolute⌋.
While Reginn pondered the situation, Siege quickly tackled him and held on tight, not letting Reginn move an inch. However, a divine being’s strength is not to be tested, and Siege’s bones began to strain as Reginn slowly broke free as if bending metal.
Seeing that his new teammate was in trouble, Ayn knew that he would need to face the danger if it meant just one more second for Alveolo’s spell. This was something a great hero would do, and Ayn knew that without risk, he would find no reward. Sir Calendar jumped down from the wall and faced Reginn as the mana storm continued.
Reginn was now truly getting frustrated. He began to remove all limiters from his mind and body — like at the first end of the world. This was no longer a matter of a singular execution, but the arrogance of mankind against the divine. To oppose him was to oppose the Goddess, and he would strike down any and all heretics.
The hero quickly snapped away from Siege and faced down against Ayn.
He did not say anything.
Instead, he spoke with his fists, brutally punching down on the poor boy. Thanks to the buff he gave himself, he was able to heal and defend enough to prevent himself from dying, but he knew that eventually he would. As blood and flesh began to leave his face, Ayn realized that this was the first time he had ever been hurt this badly. So this was what being a true hero meant, to face the weather. No matter the punishment, he was ready to become a true hero. Ah, so this was what pain felt like. Soon, he forgot about all of it.
Then suddenly, a lone rapier flew from the noble booth, directly penetrating Reginn’s arm. He left the beaten body of Ayn to face the source and found Gram, triumphantly standing against the sun in the hail storm of mana unfazed.
“So you’re the guy who made my daughter sad, huh?” said Gram, “Well, now I see why.”
“F-father!”
Sivrit quickly stood up to try to pull her father back, but he simply put his hand on her shoulder gently.
“...My daughter… I suppose I could say something grandiose about justice and whatnot, but I suppose you already understand what I’m feeling — you’re my daughter after all, and we’re similar in that aspect. When you see injustice, do you not hear a small spirit whisper into your ear?” said Gram, as he faced Sivrit, “Maybe I’m just a stupid animal, but I was born this way, and I think I’ll probably die this way too.”
“F-father?”
“I love you, Sivrit.”
Gram jumped from the booth and ran into the regular seats before jumping directly into the sand heroically. With the last strain of strength left, Ayn was able to successfully grant him the blessing as well, and now he would need to stay conscious for as long as he could.
“...I’ve always wanted to test my strength against a hero. Let us see who prevails, my indomitable human spirit, or you cold, evil heart!”
“...”
Reginn was dumbfounded by the sudden entrance, but Gram would not be alone.
“...If I can understand what you’re feeling, then you must understand how I must feel too!” shouted Sivrit as she ran to approach her father.
“...Heh, I would be a total hypocrite if I told you to run away — no matter how much I want to do so. Then so be it, perhaps this is the fate of all Caines.”
Soon, another joined. It was Reason Gandersson, though Gram did not know if it was under the King’s orders. He remained silent, but Gram could feel his resolve even without words.
Then another, this time a teacher from the Royal Gladiatorial Academy, Professor Eidgaon.
“How can I not join with a little girl on the front lines?”
Then another, Marginix, the renowned dragon slayer.
Then another, then another.
Then another.
Soon, the arena was filled with every adventurer, gladiator and fighter available. It seemed that Gram had just sparked a kindling on this stormy day.
“Heh, I never thought I would take the final stance today,” said Eidgaon.
“...This will not be the end of the spirit of Avangarden.” reassured Gram, “Then let us fight! For the people of Avangarden!”