"Hey, Alpha," I whispered to her. "Don't we need a plan?"

"A plan?" She queried, shifting her attention to me.

"I mean, at this rate we'll lose. We need a plan. If he's relying on his skills, then that makes it easier to create a counter, right?"

"That's true, but how are you going to create a counter to one hundred skills? To begin with, can we survive long enough to figure out all of his skills? I've known him for years but even I don't know all of it," she debunked.

"But..."

She sighed. Unlike her, I wasn't aware of how fearsome Kai was. Sure, he was strong and all, but that wasn't enough to consider him unbeatable. However, for Alpha who knew more about his strength, she didn't want to bother coming up with any strategies.

"Listen carefully, brat. Even if we hypothetically counter his one hundred skills, he still has two other forms in his first phase. I only know about his first phase, not the rest, so I don't know how many other phases he has, but I'm sure it'll be more troublesome. I understand your reason for wanting to resort to strategizing to gain an upper hand, but there's a limit to what it can do," she said through gritted teeth.

I could tell that she wasn't just saying that because she was too stupid or lazy to come up with a plan. Not when she was this frustrated.

But, I won't give up.

"Well, none of us are giving it our all yet." I clenched the hilt of my sword.

Alpha is only using the faith and powers of the people from this faction, and not the entire nation. As for Maria and I, we still haven't used the King's Eye. Dr. Stein gained a new form—Malevolent State—so he might still have some secret abilities. What's important right now isn't to match his tempo, but to learn more about his fighting style and skills.

"I believe I gave you enough time. Can we start round two now?" Kai asked, walking to us.

While we do have an advantage in numbers, we don't have any experience working together, so we can't make use of it. We will have to slowly adapt to one another as the fight goes on. With that and our concealed powers, hopefully, that will be enough to push him back.

"Then, here I come~" He grinned. "[The Zone Stance: Heavenly Domain]; [Infiltrate]"

This skill again? He'll appear in our blind spot. While it is an annoying skill, it isn't complicated. We just need to create a blind spot to lead him where we want.

"Hm?" I looked around.

Where is he?

"Shit!" I cursed upon realization.

"[Sheathed Stance: Thunder Skies]; [Dimensional Slash]"

We aren't the only people whose blind spot he can exploit! This entire Faction is swarming with them!

By the time we could identify his appearance, a vertical swordwave came at us from the front. Normally, it wouldn't have been so hard to counter, but we were too focused on expecting and preparing for him to attack us from behind or our sides due to the previous skill he used.

Unlike the swordwaves we encountered during his [Gaze of the Abyss] skill, this skill only contained one. However! It was engulfed in red flames. It eradicated everything in its path and left the remnants ablaze. Including its devastating speed, this skill was nothing but unfair.

I could only perceive everything about it clearly because of [The Zone], but having the physical ability to dodge or block was out of the option.

Will we be able to do something about it if we work together? No, it's too risky. I can't tell how hot it is. Even if we somehow block the attack, we might burn to crisps. Also, considering the burning houses, it doesn't care about the type of material, it'll continue to burn nevertheless.

While I was trying to use my brain to get us out of this bind, Alpha dashed in front.

"Maria!" She called out.

"On it!" Maria commanded her protective petals to wrap around Alpha's katana.

"Omen, become one with my blade." Alpha did the same with her [Omen] ability, increasing her katana's offensive and defensive properties.

With the swordwave near her, she got in a defensive position, ready to block the attack. Considering her speed, she could've pulled us out of the way, but she still strongly believed that the citizens could be saved. Even in this daunting situation, she chose to protect everyone.

As expected of the strongest knight. But...

How would her unwavering spirit fare with such a destructive and gigantic attack? Well, while you guys might or might not want to find out, there was no way to. The moment before her blade clashed with the swordwave, it disappeared.

"Tch! I expected you to do that," she muttered. She then turned around and smiled at me—which gave me the creeps in this situation. "It seems he really likes you, Cain."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

What is this bitch on about? No, more importantly, what happened to the swordwave?

I looked around, only to be assisted by a scorching radiation from above. I nearly mistook it for the sun.

What...

I looked up. It was that fucking ominous swordwave coming at me from above. It looked more fearsome close-up. Was Alpha seriously going to defend against something that big and hot?

...the fuck are you doing up there?!

"You need to learn how to divert your attention," Kai suddenly whispered behind me, resting his back against mine with folded arms as he continued: "Your enemy's every muscle dictates their course of action. Their weapon tells you the trajectory of the incoming attack. And the battlefield determines what strategies will be implemented. So..." He shifted his head back, resting it on my shoulder to close the distance between his mouth and my ear. "Stop focusing on one thing."

He then repositioned himself away from me as I took in his informative words.

No! It's not time for this! Now is my chance to contribute to the fight!

I ignored the swordwave landing and quickly threw a heavy slash at Kai.

"[Sheathed Stance: Thunder Skies]; [Swift Touch]" He instantly unsheathed his katana and parried my heavy attack, making me completely vulnerable to any incoming attack. "Amateur."

"Wha-" His blade felt light and yet it was capable of parrying my attack with ease.

The 'dimensional' slash that cut through space; the teleporting that ignored the means for transport; the eternal-burning effects; and now, a parry that shouldn't have been possible with such little force. Does all of his skills ignore the law of physics and the universe?

"[Derivative Stance: Everlasting Rain]; [Counterattack]" He positioned himself in his [Sheathed Stance] and looked up at the swordwave that was coming at us. "[Dimensional Slash]" He created another one but threw it at the one above.

Considering the speed and momentum the first one gained over the several seconds it was thrown, it should've come out as the winner. However, the second one he threw was accurately equal in every aspect to the first.

Then, was he holding back on the first?

Dr. Stein used this opportunity to touch Kai from behind who dropped his guard, but...

"For some reason, my instincts are telling me to not let you touch me. So, bye-bye~ [Infiltrate]"

He vanished again before Dr. Stein could even grasp his blowing cloak. As for the two swordwaves, they collided chaotically. The swordwaves themselves were destroyed, but ever-burning flames were spread across the sky and fell, raining down at us.

Alpha and Maria, the only two with defensive abilities used their petals and Omen to block the sky from scorching the land we stood on.

"And now your defense is occupied. What will you ever do, damsels in distress?" Kai commented, standing a safe distance away from us with his irritating grin. "Let's see how well you can protect them now, Alpha kitty." He extended his hand to us, pressing his thumb and middle finger together.

"Fuck..." Alpha cursed. "Are you trying to kill us all?"

"Of course not. I'll tone the attack down enough not to penetrate their skin. But, it seems that just hacking and slashing isn't instilling enough fear in them, so... [Derivative Stance: Everlasting Rain]; [Mark of the Abyss]" He snapped his fingers and—same as when he sheathed his katana during his [Gaze of the Abyss] skill—the very same several swordwaves repeated instantaneously.

We, who were in range and didn't expect that attack to occur out of that skill, had no choice but to suffer from the attack. True to his words, he weakened the attack enough for it to not cause internal wounds, but I still mentally felt my body being sliced into a million pieces.

"Arghhh... FUCK!" I cursed, but Dr. Stein and Maria didn't have the spirit to do so. Their mouth was too occupied coughing out blood.

I can't just sit here helplessly narrating his attack! Haven't I gotten stronger?!

I ignored the mental pain and threw a swordwave of my own at him.

"Oh? We still have a lively one. [Unsheathed Stance: Dragon Spiral]; [Futile Range]" But he deflected it with ease as he did with my direct attack.

"Like the skill states, all ranged attacks are pointless. He can deflect them all." Alpha explained, unharmed by the [Mark of the Abyss]. She then began approaching Kai. "Enough of this."

"Enough? But we're just getting started." Kai cocked his head to the side and feigned ignorance.

"I know. I'm talking about this shitty teamwork. It's obvious that you're trying to humiliate us."

"That's a very cold way to put it. I'm simply exposing the flaws in your so-called 'teamwork'. You never fought with anyone by your side before, Alpha kitty, so I was interested in seeing how this would turn out. Honestly, I'm disappointed, but it's expected from someone who can't match someone else's pace."

"That's right," she admitted begrudgingly, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. "That's why..." She raised her hand. Her Omen—which was still defending the ongoing attacks from above—suddenly grew larger. It then enveloped the attack and shrank into a small ball. "I'm going to fight you, one on one, with all I got."

"Puh-hahahaha!" He laughed derisively. "I see. So, this is the answer you've reached after trying to match your teammates' tempo. Well, fine by me. I too want to fight you at your strongest."

"I don't see why I need to degrade myself to fight with them. Besides, I have a different goal."

"A different goal? Interesting. Tell me." Kai opened his arms, welcoming any reason, selfish or not. Why? Because he was confident in his strength and victory.

Her Omen surrounded her after putting out the fire. The moment her Omen passed on its power to Alpha, another pressure entered the atmosphere. Her bloodlust and rage were clashing with Kai's power and authority. On the other hand, we were the ones suffering from this suffocating pressure.

"What... is this?" I asked, dropping to my knees. Unlike the other two, I strained myself instead of trying to recover, so I was more vulnerable to the sudden new pressure.

"Alpha is borrowing strength from the nation. She's giving it her all," Maria answered, helping me up.

It is so much different from when she was only borrowing from this Faction. Well, compared to support characters and doctors, knights and strong figures from the Royal and Assault Faction were now included in her equation.

"If I win..." She pointed at him. "I want you to return to the Iode family, Kai!"

"Still on about that, huh? Well, that's what makes you entertaining." He chuckled. "But, if you're that desperate to win, shouldn't you use 'that'?"

"No. Not against you. Never. That'd be too unfair. It's enough that I'm including your faith in my Omen."

"How arrogant. To think you'd restrain your one and only chance just because of some conviction." After walking for a while, Alpha finally stood before him. He looked down at her and returned her passionate glare with a taunting grin. "In return, I will only use my Blade Form—not my other two forms, nor my other phases."

"Then it is decided." She stretched her hand to the side, breaking a piece from her Omen to surround us. "This way they won't get caught in our attacks. So, go all out, Kai!"

And so, the three of us were trapped—or protected—in Alpha's Omen. All we could see was darkness, but we heard everything.

"I'll gladly take you up on that offer, kitty~"