Chapter 52: Downfall
It wasn\'t easy to become a knight and receive the power of Aura. One needed to devote themselves to their training and understand their weapons more than any normal sword wielder.
The one who could not obtain the Aura even with a lot of training were many not just in the cities of the kingdoms but even in the greater empires. That was also the reason that just like the archers that were with the guard captain, many who trained with weapons also opted for Mana.
Mana was a kind of resource that generally anyone qualified enough can get access to. But, at the same time, even training in Mana was a difficult thing.
However, the knights that accompanied the guard captain were all Aura users, powers that were so rare that even a large town like this one only had a handful of them.
And yet, all those who had accompanied them had become one with nature…
[ "I knew someone messed with the magic circle. That dumb mage bastard was never the right choice." ]
The ground covered in blood, rubbles was still flying all around.
Bodies either crushed mercilessly or obliterated from inside out lay on the ground. The insides of the body were filling the ground…
The gruesome scene that they were seeing right now almost made Elio noxious, but he handled himself as he glared back at the black eyes looking at both of them.
[ "Well, I don\'t know how you two did it, but your efforts don\'t mean anything." ]
The knights were dead, the mages\' body had become a messy pool of organs, the archers were dead as well… the only one alive before them was the guard captain, who also hung on the last thread of his life.
[{ "I told you all to wait, didn\'t I?" }]
Alex could not help but curse at the guard captain as she saw the miserable state that he was in.
[{ "We… should have done… that." }]
He was covered in scars and deep wounds from head to toe. His body was covered in a unique green light that was so distinct that Alex recognised it at a glance, but that did not concern her at the moment.
[ "Well, well. You two seem intriguing. Unfortunately, our time for idle chatter has run out." ]
Glancing at the white sword around her waist and the creatures that Elio was trying to hide under his shirt– something very ineffective, the dark mage with ashen pale skin and dark eyes resembling the abyssal pits, smirked.
"Get away, dumbass!"
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
The very next moment, dark spikes rose from the ground where they had been standing, however thankfully, with her quick reaction, Alex was able to avoid the attack while pushing Elio away.
He was lost for the scene before him for a second. He had known these people- people who were not in this world anymore- and he knew they were pretty good people.
But they were dead now as well, and there was nothing that could be done.
[{ "Do we fight him?!" }]
He was thankful for her help once again, but he did not use any unnecessary words at the moment.
He knew the severity of the situation and just asked her what they had to do.
[{ "Do you see any other option?! Of course we have to fight!" }]
The opponent was still a (Level-99) dark mage. Thankfully, all the killing he had done until now did not push his level any higher or else it would really be impossible to defeat him in the short time they had left.
[{ "Help me!" }]
-Bling!
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
She used {Blink} and while avoiding the spikes that were springout out of the ground all around them, she grabbed Elio along with Az and Miu and got some distance away from the mage.
The fight was inevitable, so she first told him what she wanted him to do and, without waiting any further, she reappeared before the area where the dark mage had been.
[{ "Sir Mayor! Please tell us what is going on!" }]
She reached the messy area and the first thing she did was to use a powerful (tier-4) offensive magic scroll that even the dark mage could not avoid.
[{ "Not good. It seems like some of the minions have managed to infiltrate the town anyway." }]
The Mayor recognised her voice on this private channel so he did not dwell deeper and just answered her question.
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
At the same time, she used enchanted throwing knives that contained strong spells that the dark mage\'s magic barrier could not stop.
He thought his defenses were absolute. Even the knights and the guard captain had barely managed to shatter it a few times until now.
Even after using his hidden power, the guard captain had only managed to deal a little damage to him.
There were some scratches that did not mean much. They would heal with his enhanced regeneration powers so the mage did not pay any mind to them… however, the attacks from her mere daggers was a different story altogether.
[ "You…! Why do you have these…?!" ]
Enchantment was not a commonly practiced art. In the current age, one could not find an enchanter easily. Moreover, the kind of enchantment that was required to bypass the barriers made of the dark energy was not something even the experienced enchanters could apply on simple weapons like these knives.
-Swish! Swish! Swish!
The level difference between them was not small. It was more than severity levels, which was a lot even from her standards.
But, it was still not impossible.
She had gone against beings over a hundred levels above herself.
She had not come out victorious in all of such fights, but she was confident this time.
The opponent was a single dark magician so, even with the many problems, even though the dark minions had managed to infiltrate the town, even though a lot of players and natives had died protecting the town, even though the conditions were still not in their favor… it was still possible.
[{ "Get ready, El." }]
There was one key element to this quest that none of them knew about until just now.
[{ "You might only get one minutes at max." }]
But after seeing the green light around the guard captain, she was able to recognize it instantly.
There was no way she would not recognize the distinct light of the special skill that birthed the current No.9 of the unified rankings– one of the strongest exorcists of this world.
As well as someone she had fought alongside many times in the past main scenarios…