Leo and Cain were still in the middle of their battle when Killian returned, and at that point, they both still appeared to be even, much to Cain’s shock.
It had to be remembered that the ninth rank – whether it was for mages or warriors – was unique in that the difference between each sub-rank was as great as the difference between a whole rank for other ranks.
As hard as it was to believe, Cain thought that even if the rumours were true and the lion-type magical beast was genuinely able to fight warriors of the ninth rank as a sixth-rank beast, that started and stopped with your average early ninth-rank expert. There was no way it would be able to fight on par with him – a mid-stage ninth-rank warrior.
It was only when he saw and felt the strength of the beast’s flames that he understood that it was able to close the gap with its profound comprehension, but that realisation only left him even more dumbfounded.
On a fundamental level, the universe was fair. Magical Beasts were innately more powerful than humans as mortals because of their bloodlines. Still, because of their inferior intelligence, they struggled more when it came to comprehension, and yet, here was a sixth-rank beast who had already begun comprehending the profundities of the laws of fire, whilst he, a warrior of the ninth rank, who’d been alive well over a century already was yet to even comprehend impose.
Leonel had no idea how much of a shock his performance thus far had come, and even if he had known, he wouldn’t care. He was solely focused on killing his opponent as quickly as possible.
It was only when he noticed Killian’s return that he allowed himself to momentarily focus on something but Cain.
“He has the key to the cells,” Killian replied calmly as his cold eyes focused on the assassin, who was frowning slightly at the return of another opponent.
Killian may be just a teen, and yesterday, Cain might’ve allowed himself to underestimate him, but after experiencing Leo’s incredible prowess, he now knew better.
Still, with his wealth of experience, he wouldn’t allow such a thing to cloud his judgement and make him make a mistake unnecessarily.
Before Leo and Killian had finished their exchange, Cain immediately changed targets, believing and hoping that Killian would be weaker than his bestial companion, and right he was!
But despite knowing that he was wholly inferior to even the weakest of experts at the ninth rank, Killian remained completely calm.
Cain moved at a speed that Killian was incapable of following at his current level, but as he knew the man’s target was undoubtedly himself, he didn’t have to be able to see him to be able to react.
“[Supergravity Field], [Earth Guard], [Shield of Earth]…”
‘Where did all of these freaks come from?’ Cain thought to himself as he watched in all new disbelief as his new target insta-cast defensive spell after spell, each of which held the power of a powerful fifth-rank spell.
Even though the spells of someone so much weaker than him would do next to nothing to stop his attack, it didn’t keep him from appreciating the talent needed to achieve such a feat, but if that wasn’t enough, Killian’s last spell almost made his eyes pop out of their socket from shock.
“… [Destructo-Pulse]!” Killian voiced softly as grey spherical energy exploded out of him.
“Edict of Destruction?!” Cain exclaimed as he hurriedly evaded the new spell.
Most ordinairy civilians had never even heard of the four edicts, but for those who had, they understood that each of the four edicts wasn’t just rare but exceedingly mystical.
It wasn’t that the four edicts were any more powerful than the ordinairy laws of the seven elements as such, but they all had a speciality, and when it came to that speciality, they were unmatched.
For example, those who specialised in the edict of life were unmatched when it came to healing. Whether it was themselves or others, they were the very best healers.
It was said that as long as you had even a breath of life left in you, a saint who specialised in the edict of life would be able to completely heal a mortal from even the most deadly and life-threatening injuries and diseases.
As for the edict of destruction, its speciality was in the name – Destruction! When it came to raw destructive power, the edict of destruction was peerless!
For Cain, this was his first-time meeting anyone with an affinity to any of the edicts, but he had read about them. As such, all he knew was that the edict of destruction was unmatched when it came to offensive might. But unfortunately, there was nothing scarier than the unknown.
If he had known better, he would’ve understood that as powerful as the edict of destruction was, it wasn’t so powerful that it’d be able to simply allow the user to jump four whole ranks to defeat someone as strong as him. Unfortunately, just the sight of the grey mageforce put the fear of god in him!
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The moment he saw it, he instinctively jumped backwards to evade the cocoon-shaped spell.
That in and of itself wasn’t a big deal, but the problem was that he was so focused on dodging Killian’s spell that he forgot about his original opponent.
A sigh of relief escaped Cain’s thin lips when the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on edge.
“YAAAAAH!” Cain roared as he summoned all his might to slash at the descending mountain-sized lion’s paw made of pure fire.
As the two attacks met, Leo’s [Divine Descent] paused for all of two seconds before exploding.
The shockwave of the explosion sent Killian flying in the opposite direction, causing his right shoulder to dislocate as he crash-landed on the floor.
Unfortunately, Cain wasn’t so lucky. In the middle of the crater created by the explosion, the middle-aged assassin lay motionless with over half his skin and flesh burnt.
If not for the sound of his muffled breaths and the rise and lowering of his burnt chest, almost anyone would assume him to be a mere corpse, but the vitality of a warrior at the ninth rank was not to be underestimated.
“WAIT!” Killian shouted to stop Leo, who had already leapt towards the half-dead assassin to finish the job.
Leo’s razor-sharp claws were mere millimetres from Cain’s face when he looked up questioningly towards Killian. After the last year they’d spent together, Leo knew that Killian wasn’t the type to show sympathy to an enemy, so he had no idea why he was stopping him from killing him.
“I think he’s related to Alissa in some way,” Killian said as he remembered the identical style in which both he and Alissa wielded their daggers. “Let her decide how to handle him.”
Even though he had no intention of killing the man, Killian had no qualms about worsening his already severe injuries.
The moment he saw the glint of the keys protruding from the man’s visible innards, he casually pulled it out, ignoring the man’s pained grunt as a relieved smile suffused his lips.
He had initially been worried that the explosion would’ve destroyed, or at least damaged it, but thankfully, Cain’s battle-qi and flesh had been enough to keep it out of harm’s way.
Both Alissa and her fellow prisoner were surprised to see Killian back with the key so soon, and from the looks of things, he didn’t seem to be in too bad a condition – all things considered.
“Looks like I was right to put my trust in you after all,” the armless prisoner voiced, a cautious glint flashing across his eyes as he looked at the giant lion eyeing him back.
Even though he didn’t recognise the lion, what he did know was that the fact that since it could directly go up against a warrior like Cain – who had been the one to defeat and capture him – meant that with his current injuries and lack of weapon, he likely wouldn’t be the beast’s match.
Still, after getting over his initial surprise, he didn’t seem too bothered by the lion’s presence. Instead, he was far more excited about getting out of there.
Unfortunately, he would have to wait as Killian walked straight past his cell, only coming to a stop when he reached Alissa’s.
“You…
You big oaf!” Alissa voiced tearfully as she watched her former classmate and travel companion open the gate to her cell. “Why did you come? Why couldn’t you just let me…
Woah, what are you…”
Alissa couldn’t even get her words out before she was forcefully, yet gently hoisted up into Killian’s arms.
Even though there weren’t many people there to witness Killian carrying her like a princess, Alissa’s pale cheeks still took on a rosy tint as she subconsciously buried her head in his shoulders, unable to take the embarrassment.
“Wait here,” Killian said softly as he put her down to rest against the wall behind Leonel before making his way back to the other locked cell.
Alissa had been so caught up with Killian previously that it was only when she was resting against the walls that she paid attention to his new four-legged companion, and it was as she did that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets in shock.
As an assassin, her senses had always been reliable, but after awakening her ‘Tigerstriped Warrior’ bloodline, they had become several times sharper. So the moment she began to actively pay attention to the lion, only two words came to mind, ‘Divine Beast!’
Unfortunately, now was neither the time nor the place to figure out where they would’ve met such a rare creature or how they managed to tame it.
“I thought you were gonna go back on your word,” the armless man commented as he watched Killian undoing the lock to his cell and the chains tying his feet up.
With Leonel beside him, Killian had nothing to worry about, despite the man he was freeing having the strength to literally kick him to death. Still, even though he wasn’t worried, he didn’t feel like making small talk.
As soon as the chains were undone, the man ignored the threatening looks he was getting from the lion as he watched with an amused smile as Killian picked Alissa back up and made his way towards the exit with Leo in tow.
Upon making it back outside, Alissa noticed the cooked body in the middle of the street.
“We left him alive so you could decide what to do with him,” Killian explained. “He has some sort of relationship with you, doesn’t he?”
“Mmh,” Alissa nodded, a hesitant expression forming on her pale face.
The truth was, she really did feel betrayed. Cain was the closest thing to a father she had ever known. Although she knew, he, like most assassins, was loyal to ‘Saber’ and Cesar, she still hoped that his loyalty to a man he had never even met before would come second to the child he practically raised.
If it were virtually anyone else who betrayed her, she wouldn’t hesitate to plunge her dagger through their heart, but for Cain, she owed him too much.
Still, there was no going back from this.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me in the past,” Alissa voiced sincerely as she climbed out of Killian’s embrace. “But this marks the end of our relationship. No longer are we master and disciple!”
Killian could hear the emotions the fatigued silver-haired teen was trying to suppress, but he didn’t say anything. He knew this was something she had to do on her own.
Cain felt a pang of pain in his heart upon hearing his former disciple’s words, but before he could even attempt to say anything in response, a pained grunt escaped his lips as the ground beneath his back trembled violently.
“ACE!” Killian shouted worriedly.
As much as he wanted to give Alissa a chance to say her goodbyes in peace, Ace’s safety was of far more importance.
Without another word, he lifted Alissa back into his arms and took off toward his brother’s ongoing battle, right behind Leonel, who was the first to move.