The four members of the hero party shed a light sweat, as the armoured man stood tall before them once more - his armour and sword shining lightly in the now present light.
After a bit, he laughed lightly.
However before he could say anything, Tadamu dashed in towards the man, attempting to slice off the armoured mans arm or head - however, he was intercepted in the middle of his dash by the man, who pummeled him into the stomach before kicking the boy away into a tree nearby.
[Ikoma] "Tadamu..!"
Ikoma called out to the Swordsman, before looking at the Armoured man with a furious stare.
[Kio] 'He managed to outspeed Tadamus [Fast Tracks] skill... He is no joke..'
Kio thought, before quickly casting a defense buff on Fusaji before rushing over to the lightly injured Tadamu. Fusaji shed a sweat, before activating his skill [Divine Spear] and dashing in towards the armoured man, who simply sharpened his gaze upon the Spearsman.
Right before Fusaji reached the Armoured mans range, Ikoma aimed her staff towards him before casting a 'Quick Spell' which surrounded him an a thick, black smoke - obstructing his vision completely.
[Olhade] "Interesting strategy.. Unfortunately you underestimate me."
He stated, before with one swing of his his arm, dissipating the thick smoke and grabbing a hold of the incoming spear strike from Fusaji.
The two struggled, as Fusaji attempted to push his spear into the armoured man, while Olhade simply kept a tight grip on the spear.
Then, he unsheathed his sword, before beginning to exchange blows with Fusaji - striking with heavy force, which forced Fusaji completely on the defensive. Fusaji shed a sweat, as he began to struggle more and more - just barely managing to keep up and dodge or block the incoming attacks.
Ikoma noticing this, immediately began to cast a spell, closing her eyes before extending her staff infront of her.
[Ikoma] "Ice spirits dance and wave, come down and engulf my enemy in a cage of frost - Icicle Fortei!"
She shouted, casting the spell. In the same moment, a massive magic circle appeared above Olhade, before raining down multiple icicles onto him, before creating large ice spikes, which seemingly locked him in place.
She exhaled heavily, before smiling.
[Ikoma] "Now! Fusaji, go!"
Fusaji nodded, before charging at Olhade, activating his 'Divine Spear' skill once more, before leaping up into the air, activating another skill to boost his damage even further - 'Divine Flame', which unleashed a pure white flame to engulf his entire spear.
Afterwards, he launched the spear at the stuck in place Olhade, who simply gazed up at the incoming 'projectile' as it collided with him.
The collision caused a large explosion of white flames, which lit up the surrounding area on a massive range. Kio and Tadamu watched from the side, a little bit frightened by the teamwork that Fusaji and Ikoma could push out.
Afterwards, Fusaji landed onto the ground, as his spear returned to him. The smoke of the explosion covered the place where Olhade had been stuck in, which made the Heroes watch in anticipation and slightly nervousness.
[Kio] "...Did it work..?"
Kio asked quietly.
For a couple of moments it was silent - which let Fusaji into a full sense of security as well as to drop his guard for a split second.
And the moment he did, Olhade appeared behind him with a dark aura.
[Olhade] "Impressive teamwork - unfortunately you lack strength."
He stated.
The others immediately gasped, trying to warn Fusaji to dodge or block.
[Kio, Ikoma & Tadamu] "BEHIND YOU-"
Fusaji immediately attempted to turn around and strike the armoured man, whoever before he could do anything, Olhade easily dispatched him - knocking him away, before catching up and pummeling him into the air.
Once he caught up again, Olhade finished off the Spearsman with a swift downward slash of his sword, sending Fusaji flying down into the ground, while also slicing off his left arm.
Kios eyes widened upon seeing this, as Fusaji crashed into the ground - his severed arm falling down beside him.
Inside the small crater that his fall had formed, Fusaji laid there - seemingly lifeless.
The others watched in terror as Olhade also landed back down onto the ground - not a single scratch on him before he faced the remaining heroes.
[Olhade] "Now then... Who is next?"
He asked, swinging his sword down into the ground beside him. The heroes didn't answer - they stood there in disbelief and fear after having seen how easily the armoured man had not only dispatched one of them, but tanked a devastating strike.
After a bit of hesitation, Ikoma gritted her teeth, before creating a small orb of flames above her, following it up by causing the sky above to turn into a stormy one.
A moment later, her eyes glowed crimson red.
[Ikoma] "Crimson Meoteor."
She stated coldly, as meoteors began to rain down from the storm clouds towards Olhade. The Cursed Paladin remained in place for a second, before scuffing and dashing up into the air, easily slicing and destroying a couple of meoteors before beginning to dash through the air towards Ikoma.
The Sorcerer started to cast spell after spell, attempting to knock Olhade out of the air before he reached her, however everytime her spells would either miss or if they hit, do absolutely nothing to the armoured man.
This confused, but more importantly, angered her greatly as she continued attempting to knock him out of the air.
Eventually however, he landed right infront of Ikoma, as her eyes widened.
[Tadamu] "IKOMA-!"
Tadamu called out to her, however before anything else could happen, Olhade slashed across Ikomas chest, before slashing at her legs - slicing one of them off in the process.
As Ikoma fell to the ground, tears in her eyes she caught a few glimpses of a distressed and frightened Kio and Tadamu that watched from a far.
She tried to mutter out something to them, however couldn't get even a single word out as she passed out - falling to the ground.
Olhade rose to a straight back, before looking at the remaining two heroes.
[Olhade] "Next one please."
He stated coldly.
Kio fell to her knees, shaking and trembling as tears ran down her cheeks. She was beyond terrified at this point, however Tadamu on the other hand, seemed to grow more furious, as he shouted in anger, a great amount of power coming from him.
His Epic Skill [Furious].
After that, he glared at Olhade with a rageful expression before using his skill 'Fast Tracks' to instantly close the distance between them, attempting to strike down Olhade with a heavy and powerful downward strike.
Unlucky for him however, Olhade blocked it with ease using his free arm before sighing.
[Olhade] "Letting your emotions take control is a big mistake."
He stated.
Tadamu growled at him, his eyes turning completely red and his voice sounding distorted.
[Tadamu] "SHUT UP! YOU'LL DIE FOR WHAT YOU-"
Before he could finish his rage filled comment, Olhade stabbed his sword straight through his chest, causing the skill to immediately ware off. Tadamu coughed up blood, before Olhade grabbed him by his head and threw off against a tree.
Kio was practically crying now - her eyes continuously and uncontrollably tearing up before the tears trickled down her cheeks.
Olhade simply scuffed before exhaling.
[Olhade] "Honestly... Such unprofessional way of fighting.... I mean, seriously - what serious Swordsman or Spearsman would make so many mistakes when fighting?"
He stated, before spinning his blade and looking at the crying Kio. He then began to approach her, while the little girl cried and trembled. She was beyond terrified - her fear was so grand that it made her my muffle out all sounds around her, as well as caused her head to lightly spin.
It felt like she was going to pass out from shock any minute now.
As Olhade approached, he laughed lightly seeing the girls miserable state.
[Olhade] "My, you look absolutely pathetic right now. Seriously - look at you."
He then scuffed, placing his sword onto his shoulder.
[Olhade] "But then again, I suppose that is only natural, when you come face to face with an unbeatable opponent such as me.."
He continued, looking at Kio with a rather maniacal stare.
[Olhade] "Watching your friends get murdered wasn't fun.... Was it?"
He stated quietly, before kneeling down infront of the little girl, smirking under his helmet. Kio couldn't muster out a single word towards the armoured man, as her whole body was frozen from fear. The tears didn't stop coming from her eyes - they just kept on flowing and flowing.
Olhade then exhaled in disappointment once more, before getting up and lifting up his sword above the little girls head, preparing to split her in half with his blade.
He sharpened his gaze down onto her.
[Olhade] "Good riddance, Little 'Hero'."
He stated, swinging the sword up before sending it flying down towards her.
However...
The blade was suddenly stopped in its tracks by a white barrier that blocked him from dealing the one shot blow. Olhade scuffed out before applying more pressure to his attack - but to no avail.
The barrier then reflected his strike, sending him flying back a bit.
Stopping his 'flight', he looked at the girl to see what the culprit was behind the barrier that had protected the girl, only to see a giant eye with wings surrounding it manifest behind Kio.
This was...
Her Arc Skill- [Seraph {Guardian of Life}].
Olhade scuffed again, before tightening the grip on his swords handle before pointing it towards the giant angelic creature.
[Olhade] "A Guardian Angel... Should have expected from the Heroes that have received the blessings from The Deities.."
He stated, before taking a fighting stance.
The Seraph meanwhile, flew infront of Kio, casting a small dome barrier around her before summoning multiple 'shields' around it.
As the Guardian of Life, the Seraph was actually unable to do any damage or kill anything - he could only cast one of the highest grade of protective magic.
What was that grade? - Angelic Grade (VII).
Olhade sharpened his glare onto the angelic creature, before tensing up his body. Kio, still crying, managed to catch a breath, before feeling something warm inside her pocket.
Reaching inside it, she pulled out the amulet that Faofa had given her, which now emitted a strange glow. Confused, but desperate, she decided to try and use it as a 'offer' in a pray.
As she began to pray, Olhade dashed towards the Seraph, ready to smash through it.
[Olhade] "Get out of my way!"
He shouted, as his blade collided with the angelic beings, pure white shields.
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Next Chapter:
107. -
"Karma."