What strange ability you have... both of you.”
Izaak said aloud, his voice carrying across the expanse as he hovered nine hundred meters above the sea.
[IT SEEMS HE HAS FINALLY NOTICED MY PRESENCE.]
A voice said to Jakal through telepathy.
"One enemy possesses absurd regenerative abilities, almost seeming immortal, while also wielding the ability to manipulate blood at will. The other appears to be a mage of some sort, capable of casting high-level invisibility spells strong enough to avert my detection, while also possessing the ability to tamper with minds. Facing such formidable opponents at once would surely spell the end for any Grandmaster. But to me, they are a stroke of fortune, sent by destiny... The perfect whetstone."
Izaak thought as he raised his sword with both hands, its tip pointing skyward. The air crackled around him, pressured by the sheer force of the amount of mana being channeled into his sword.
*WHOOSH*
*CRAKLE*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BELOW, ON THE THORKA EMPIRE FLAG SHIP(GRINSEEKER)
[Jakal! Get up here if you are done playing around.]
A voice commanded Jakal as a figure gradually materialized beside the gaping hole in the ship caused by Jakal's impact—a striking woman. She wore an elegant dark blue dress with white bandages concealing her mouth and neck. Her flowing azure hair framed sharp, piercing blue eyes marked by elongated dark pupils against a backdrop of dark sclera.
*VROOM*
*WHOOSH*
“...”
Abet's words barely had time to echo before Jakal materialized behind her in a blur.
*WHOOSH*
*THUD*
[Sniff...Sniff, ugh! you smell awful.]
Abet grimaced, recoiling from the odor emanating from Jakal. Hastily, she retrieved a cloth and covered her nose to shield herself from the unpleasant scent.
“Ha-hahaha, do I smell that bad?... the human’s kick was harder than I thought.”
Jakal said in a joking tone, despite his dripping state, before walking up beside Abet and looking up into the sky.
"Kekekeke!!!... What a terrifying human! To be able to exude such an amount of mana, he must be one of the strongest humans!"
Jakal remarked, his smirk growing as he gazed at Izaak.
[You are wrong....]
Abet said, replying to Jakal’s words.
“...”
Jakal reacted to Abet's words, turning his gaze to her with a curious expression, asking what she meant.
[There are only ten humans that are truly strong; the rest are nothing but pests to be stomped on.]
Abet said with a serious expression.
“Then, this must be one troublesome pest. His speed is much better than mine, as is his strength. In terms of a head-on fight, it's impossible for me to defeat him, even with your assistance, Lord Abet.”
[You are right. Though we could launch a continuous attack until he's exhausted, that would take a lot of time we cannot spare. So, I am going to use my 'BLOOD ART’]
Lady Abet said, turning her gaze to Jakal.
“...Are you sure?”
Jakal asked with a serious tone and expression.
[Yes, I am sure. We can’t afford to delay [MOTHER’S] plans. And what is there to fear? from a lower life form.]
Abet said with a determined expression.
“...”
Hearing her reply, Jakal stared silently, with an expressionless face as he took a few steps forward, and stopped.
“Then I will take half of the red cloaks with me. And the other half will stay behind to protect you.”
Jakal said to Abet, as he floated off the ground and flew into the sky with incredible speed, with a hundred red cloaks appearing, following behind him as they headed towards Izaak.
*WHOOSH*
After Jakal and the hundred legion of red cloaks left. Abet turned around as she takes three steps forward, before falling to her knees.
*SWOOSH*
*THUD*
“...”
In silence, she lowered her head until her forehead gently met the ground, remaining in that position.
[You all... will no longer be needing to hear or see.]
Abet ordered the red cloaks protecting her in the shadows.
And immediately, they all burst their eardrums and gouged out their eyes, without a scream or a grunt, displaying unwavering obedience to Lord Abet's command.
[Now then, bring me all the live humans on the remaining ships.]
She ordered.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
MEANWHILE - IN THE SKY ABOVE THE BATTLEFIELD.
"Keuk! How much longer will this take?!"
Izaak grunted, the strain evident as he continued to channel his mana into his sword.
"It seems you are having a bit of trouble. Why don't I help you?!"
Jakal taunted, appearing in a blur in front of Izaak and thrusting the tip of his blood spear at incredible speeds, aiming for Izaak's chest.
*WHOOSH*
*THRUST*
“!!!”
Izaak noticed the attack at the last second. He released his grip from his sword and blocked the attack with both his arms, reinforced by mana, managing to block the blow just in time.
*WHOOSH*
*CLANK*
The force from the clash reverberated with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves rippling across the sky. The impact was so powerful that it launched Izaak nearly eight meters into the air.
*WHOOSH*
“...? HA-HAHAHAHA!”
Jakal's laughter boomed across the sky after seeing how slow Izaak’s reaction was to his attack.
"You've become much weaker, human!"
Jakal's voice rang out with a sinister edge, his grin widening as he tightened his grip on his spear, poised to strike again.
“Damn it, he noticed!... I need to get to my sword.”
Izaak thought urgently, tearing his gaze away from Jakal to his glinting sword hovering below.
"Hmm? What's that?..."
Jakal's eyes narrowed as he followed Izaak's gaze to the floating sword.
"...There's a terrifying amount of mana stored in that sword. I see... so, that's where all your strength went, human!"
Jakal thought to himself, a twisted smile curling his lips. He pulled away from Izaak, spinning the spear as he turned towards the sword.
*SWOOSH*
*SPIN*
"That looks dangerous, I better get rid of it, don't you think?"
Jakal taunted while staring at the sword, his smile mocking as he launched the spear with incredible force and speed at the sword.
*BOOM!*
*WHOOSH*
“NO!”
Izaak reacted immediately, gathering the mana he had left to his feet, propelling himself with incredible force towards his sword, determined to intercept the spear before it reached his sword.
*BAM*
*WHOOSH*
But before he could reach it, the spear clashed with the sword. The collision between the weapons sent shockwaves rippling through the air before they both plummeted down toward the sea with incredible speed.
“!?...”
Izaak propelled himself even faster, pushing his speed to the absolute limit that the remaining amount of mana he had could reach.
[Stop him!]
Jakal commanded, with a grin as he watched from above.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FOUR HUNDRED METERS AWAY FROM JAKAL.
"Damn it! With this speed, I will not reach it before it falls into the sea!"
Izaak thought to himself while hurtling down towards the sea at incredible speed.
*WHOOSH!*
“Where do you think you are going human?”
A voice said from behind Izaak.
“!?”
Startled by the voice, Izaak flinched and turned to look behind him. His expression was one of surprise as he saw a hundred hooded figures chasing him. Yet, his surprise wasn't at their number but at the mana, he sensed emitting from them.
“They all have the same type of mana, as the two before. But they seem to be much weaker.”
Izaak thought in his mind.
“I’ll worry about them later.”
He resolved in his mind, refocusing his attention to his sword. Continuing downward, he narrowed the distance between himself and his weapon, though the sea loomed dangerously closer with each passing moment.
Although a fall from such a height would not cause serious wounds to a ninth-class Grandmaster due to the reinforcement their body has from the vast amount of mana they possess, Izaak now had the majority of his mana stored in his sword. This meant that a fall from such a height would not mean death, but he would shatter every bone in his body.
*TIME UNTIL THE SWORD FALLS INTO THE SEA.(00:00:00:09:01)*
“!!?”
As the probability of him crashing into the sea before getting to his sword increased Izaak's senses became heightened. even without his mana sense, he was able to detect objects hurtling towards him from behind. With swift reflexes, he twisted to evade, narrowly dodging five crimson arrows slicing through the air.
*WHOOSH*
“So, they all have the same blood-manipulating ability.”
Izaak muttered as he looked behind to see multiple arrows hurtling towards him. The hooded figures fired them with the crimson bows they conjured.
*SWOOSH*
“DAMN IT!”
Izaak cursed as a barrage of arrows descended upon him.
