Shun POV:
“He has made his decision.”
A slender hand broke through my peripheral vision. It took away the pressure and gave me the support that I knew could only come from one person: Katherine Brightfield.
‘!’
The flick of her finger snapped Portia’s head back with such force the ground cracked apart. It made the sky tremble, and the air shake.
‘...Enryo.’
Portia rolled with the strike, flipping several times through the air till her heels struck the earth. Beads of sweat trickled down my neck once she moved her hand away from her forehead.
The only damage left behind was a faint red mark.
I knew Portia wasn’t as strong as Juri due to the mission difficulty and rewards. It also confirmed my current line of thinking that her assets were in a different field besides combat capability.
Portia’s subordinates flickered into view with their hoods off, and Katherine stepped forward in order to shield me from them. The tension between both sides grew when Portia gripped it by the throat. She let out a deep sigh that squeezed heaviness into the atmosphere.
“Then you’ve officially become an enemy of Chaos, Shun.”
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[The mission ‘Portia’s Goal’ has been terminated.]
‘DAMN IT!’
The one thing I wanted to avoid ended up happening in the end. Portia’s mark of support just became a mark of death. If I didn’t solve this now, then Chaos would interfere with my plans going forward.
“Get out of my way.”
Before I could speak, Portia had already shifted her attention to Katherine. I closed the slight opening of my mouth and decided to let this situation play out. It was likely that Katherine’s own connections could neutralise Portia’s.
“B-Boss, wait! I don’t think you should act carelessly right now...”
Portia’s eyes swivelled toward a young man with brown hair. He moved to her side, sweating enough for it to be visible. His caution spread to the other members of the group, but Portia remained unimpressed.
“She’s only at upper Enryo. What are you all so worried about?!”
Her voice weighed down on them. Her piercing gaze forced everyone to turn their heads apart from the young man.
“Witty, please do not make me hit you again.”
“...”
His facial features fell to a neutral position before pointing his finger toward Katherine.
“Um... That demeanour, that light blonde hair, and those pure blue eyes. Isn’t that Katherine Brightfield?”
Portia’s eyebrows dropped, and a slight stiffness pushed away the control she thought she had over the situation.
It was as I expected. The status of Katherine’s connections meant not even organisations could act carelessly when dealing with her.
In retrospect, if I had failed to recruit Katherine, then forget dungeon runs, I would have had my hands full trying to deal with Portia.
Witty glanced at the other members for support when a mature woman parted her lips.
“I think... that really is the only female outsider to be taught by a Pantheon.”
Portia rested a hand over her face and let out a deep sigh. It removed the attentiveness she had to their claim and restored a layer of arrogance over her confidence.
This would work in my favour.
There was a reason the phrase ‘Silence is golden’ exists.
“Don’t be ridiculous. How can a Pantheon’s disciple be so weak?”
“No... She’s definitely the disciple of the Magi, Zane Pantheon. Boss... I know you want to recruit him, but if he’s with Katherine Brightfield, we should really let this one go...”
A flicker of seriousness passed through his dark brown eyes. Witty’s fingers wrapped around Portia’s arm, pulling her back for her own safety. She yielded to his concern for a few seconds and even rested her hand over his before tapping it away.
“Since when did Chaos get such cold feet? Let me show you fools that she’s nothing great. Without the Mark of a Pantheon, what good is she?”
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Portia cocked her head to the side, smirked, and bolted forward.
“B-BOSS!!!”
She ignored the members screaming for her to stop when Katherine met her in the middle of the pathway. The clash of their arms caused a burst of air to explode outward like a shockwave.
“...Are you implying that my master made an error in his judgement?”
The two seemed to blur in and out of existence. The only evidence left behind was the fragmenting earth that began to crater. Their high-speed combat grew faster and faster, yet no damage reached the paddy fields or the Jiyeok.
“Territory.”
‘Not good!’
I jumped back but was unable to avoid the white light that expanded fast enough to blanket the entire area.
Vibrant grass with equal width and height danced across the plains. They met the banks of a clear stream that shimmered like a crystal, bouncing rays of sunlight toward the swaying trees. Cascading water fell with care, tapping the river below and encouraging several more tributaries to branch out. The blue sky was boundless, allowing the sun to shine without any blockade while the splash of water formed a rainbow through the horizon.
A scenery filled with peace, care and attentiveness. It could only be described as the ideal setting for a utopia.
It was Katherine Brightfield’s Territory.
I wanted to avoid being caught up in it to give her space, but it seemed like she wanted me to see this fight.
“Clearly? You couldn’t even meet your master’s expectations. Who uses a Territory without placing down rules or restrictions? Furthermore, it’s obvious that your ability isn’t suited for Territory use in the first place.”
Portia’s eyes darted around the space before staring at Katherine. The Chaos members stood behind her on the field, completing their own analysis of the Territory.
Portia wasn’t wrong.
If a Territory is placed without a minimum of 3 rules, then the Ki Cost is doubled, and any damage done to the environment is shifted to the Ki Practitioner. The amount of Ki necessary to create a space this large would dent my Ki Reserves by half, yet Katherine had just spent double that.
If the Chaos members were smart, they’d run away and destroy the environmen—
*Snap*
‘!’
For the first time since I met Katherine, I saw anger consume her face. No, it wasn’t anger. It wasn’t rage or even fury.
It was wrath: an insurmountable fury accumulated over several events that contorted her face with a shadow. It froze the scenery, including everyone else within it.
“Pantheon Style: Dawn.”
Golden blue eyes shone through the darkness. Katherine’s Ki erupted out of her; it overflowed to such an extent I quaked. I fell to my knees despite the pressure not being directed toward me. Her presence silenced the quietness further, imposing a will that couldn’t be questioned.
It was like looking at a bottomless well.
But that was only my reaction.
The Chaos members offset the intensity by releasing what seemed like all of their unsensible Ki. Sweat poured down their faces while Katherine peered down at them.
“Say it again.”
Portia’s eyes curved upward. She wasn’t afraid of the new Katherine standing before her. Her boldness didn’t seem rational until the sky caved in from their blows colliding with one another.
“!”
I fell back, speechless at the two monsters restructuring the landscape in front of me. When I was able to see Katherine, it was her outclassing Portia in hand-to-hand combat. She weaved through her strikes, countering with sharp kicks and punches that burst the surrounding area apart.
Mountains split in half, and thunderous explosions rippled across the area. Not everyone at Enryo could produce these results; I knew that.
Portia was the first to draw blood, coughing up a mouthful that dyed the grass a new colour. Katherine’s fist blurred from above, forming a crater so deep it took up most of the plains.
In its epicentre was Portia; her guard raised, and her lips spread into a smirk.
“Witty, stay back. Only I can hurt you.”
“...”
He was the first to arrive by the edge of the crater. However, the other members had the same blank expression the moment Portia opened her mouth.
Katherine vanished out of view once more with Portia. The veins on the side of my head bulged as the battle raged on.
A battle I couldn’t even grasp.
A battle I couldn’t even see.
My gaze fell to my two hands, gripping the earth in frustration.
“It’s not enough at all.”
“Keuk!”
This self-realisation was cut short by Portia crashing into Witty’s open arms. Her hair hung over her bloodied face, signalling that the end of this confrontation was near. Katherine dropped to the ground with minor wounds, but something else bothered me.
Katherine had fought a physical fight; she disregarded the damage she caused to herself through the destruction of the environment. Aside from that one technique used, there was no water Ki Nature and no strategic planning: two of her best assets.
“Pantheon Style: Ghosting Hearken.”
‘What the...’
Some sort of pressure field surrounded Portia’s group. It boxed them in by utilising bursts of Ki to maintain the force weighing down on them. It was as if gravity itself crushed the Chaos members into the ground.
‘Is she... on his level?’
I calmed down and evaluated the situation again. That mysterious boy didn’t need to use a technique to create a similar effect.
“Say it again. Tell me that my master made a mistake.”
Katherine took another step forward, and the true power of her technique became known. The intensity of the field increased, forcing their limbs to contort at strange angles.
“You—“
Another step resulted in a force bursting Portia’s head into the earth.
“I told you to say it again.”
“Ha... Cocky little tras—“
Her body began to twist due to Katherine’s advancement.
“Apologise.”
An arm imploded off, yet Portia’s mouth remained sealed.
“I said, Apologise.”
Her right arm exploded into tiny pieces of flesh and bone. Portia’s eyes watered, followed by a faint whimper. Blood drenched the area beneath her face, but she looked away.
She looked back at the Chaos members writhing in agony, and her resolve fragmented. Portia bit her lip before pressing her forehead deep into the earth.
“S-sorry... Spare... u-us...”
Katherine broke her.
Even if it was done to protect her subordinates, she had chosen to submit to a higher power in the end.
“I will, but none of you will remember what happened to you today.”
She snapped her fingers, and the Territory broke apart. The scenery returned to normal in an instant. Water rushed over the motionless bodies, healing their wounds till they reached a stable condition.
Katherine’s eyes rolled back, and she fell head first to the ground. I managed to catch her in time, but on the back of her right hand was a black tattoo of a panther roaring. It flashed a few times before fading away.
Long hair draped over my arms. Her features would make any man fall head over heels for her; it wasn’t an exaggeration. The closer you were to Katherine, the more beautiful she became.
I stood up and studied Portia’s armless torso. Witty covered her head with his upper body, proving his loyalty, or perhaps it was another emotion altogether.
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[The mission ‘Portia’s Weakness’ has been terminated.]
“...”
Phoebe’s soft smile beside the waterfall flashed across my mind. It made the corners of my mouth rise as I walked off.