"It is a trap." The soldiers couldn't believe his eyes. The enemies were appearing out of thin air and there was nothing they could do about it. Akai, from his famed mare, was overlooking the scene in front of him. 

 

‘Kinoya was right.’ Even if he had wanted to help Kinoya, the matter regarding imperial edict made him helpless. 

 

He couldn't do anything about it, but Chanakya's arrival relieved him. Akai was relieved that the empire didn't lose such a good seed. He assembled the force and was prepared to take care of any of the attacks. 

 

But the situation looked grim. The number of the enemy wasn't something to worry about, but the fragmented empire's army would have a hard time facing this well-organized force. On top of that, it was hard to show their numerical superiority in these narrow alleyways.

 

"General there is a message." The shout broke the train of thought.

"From whom?" Akai frowned.

"We don't know. An arrow shot down an enemy, there was a cloth attached to it."

 

Akai took the cloth piece. It was written in blood. With each word, his face was losing its colour.

 

"Go to Vaicus, tell him to clear the city as soon as possible. Break the 

gate, and evacuate the city, kill anybody who dares to bar the path." Under the order, the soldiers left with a nod.

 

"Tell Korai to meet the commander-in-chief and… just give him the cloth, and if he doesn't believe it, leave the city as soon as possible." Akai handed him the cloth. "Tell others to clear the enemy around the city centre and evacuate the city as soon as possible. Remind everyone there shouldn't be a single soldier of Red Crops left in the city after half an hour. That's an order."

 

Akai took out his long sabre and moved to the vanguard. "Ahhh…" with one vicious roar, he charged into the enemy.  With just one swing he had cut down 13 enemies. 

 

All those who had heard the roar felt the heart inside their bodies just became faster. The blood circulation increased, all their stats went up considerably. They were under the skill of Akai, [Raging Blood]. They didn't know that, but all they heard was, "Kill whoever dares to stop you. Let the blood of our enemy make us red again."

 

Akai led the charge. Defending wasn't the speciality of the Red Corps, they showcased their effectiveness when it comes to offence. It was like a human train. Whatever came in front of it was blown away. With General Akai leading, it didn't even take much time to reach the city centre.

 

********

 

"So, that White freak was talking about you, right?" The voice was young but there was a lot of weight in it, "You are a child and have a talwar at the back, but he said you are blind by your left!" 

 

"White freak? What is a White freak?" But Kinoya was surprised for a different reason. The man was oozing a huge amount of magical energy, something he had never felt before. 

 

"It's official Nus I am talking about." 

"Is he the one who planned the whole thing?"

"Yes, and he had sent me to kill the little devil." 

 

'So he had come to kill me. Have I already been marked? That White freak is better than I thought.' But he was more curious about the person who was standing in front of him.

 

'By the amount of magic this guy is leaking, this guy must be something like a Magic knight.' 

 

He activated the [Extrasensory Vision], "If that guy meant this as blind by left then I am the one you are looking for." His right eyes lit up with a blue but nothing was on his left, "Who are you?" 

 

"You are going to die. So you don't need to know. Formation." His last word was very loud. Within a moment the soldiers around them created a circular formation. Each of them was armed with spears and shields. The archers created another circle behind them. 

 

"How nostalgic!" At the centre of it was Kinoya, facing an unknown magic knight.

 

The black smoke encapsulated him, and only blue flame flicked inside the smoke. In a blink, the smoke dissipated in the thin air.

 

The man took out the claymore with a swift motion but it was already too late. He jumped back, but it was in vain; a cut appeared in his cheek. The pain created a smile on his face, "I am Fret Mervic, the one who will kill you today."

 

The acknowledgement put a smile on his face too, "Do you think you can do that?" Even before he had finished his words he had vanished again.

 

Speed was his biggest weapon, and he knew he had to utilize it, but before his claw could touch Fret, it was deflected by the claymore. He snooped down to escape the second swing of the claymore and attacked from behind.

 

Yet, his claw stopped before reaching Fret, again. Kinoya was shocked; Fret didn't miss the opportunity. A single punch was enough to send Kinoya flying.

 

"A magic shield!" Kinoya had the basic idea about the magic knight, but having the idea and utilizing it was two different things. 

 

"You are fast, and there is no doubt about it. But, is your strength enough to break the mana shield?" Fret took an offensive stance, "The fight is as good as over. Come, admit your defeat and I will give you an honourable death."

 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nobody knew better about his limitation, other than himself, "The fight has just started. And in case you didn't notice, I am just the vanguard." 

 

*Boom*  

 

A powerful gust of wind blew a couple of soldiers in the air. Akai had appeared on the east side of the city centre. The charge was strong enough to get the attention of the enemies. And, a moment of carelessness was enough for Kinoya. 

 

He jumped at Fret, pulled out the talwar from his back, and swung it down. With the skill, it was a matter of a second before the mana shield crumbled under the force.

 

[Skill check: Level one skill [Gravity {Varytita}] activated.]

 

It wasn't his skill and he wasn't sure that it would activate. However, he was lucky. [Gravity] was the skill of his talwar, 'Varytita'. It was the only skill he was able to unlock when 'Varytita' accepted him as its master but activating it was a huge challenge.

 

'Could it be his talwar?!' It was little out of his expectation, but Fret wasn't the one without experience. The moment it took to break the shield was enough to counter-attack. With a loud bang, his claymore collided with the talwar.

 

The whole city centre turned silent. With a huge blast, Kinoya was thrown in the air, but his hand wasn't steady anymore. He was bleeding from the space between the thumb and the index.

 

 On the other hand, Fret was pushed back 4-5 meters, leaving behind cracked footprints on the paved floor. Though it was not bleeding, Fret's hand was shaking too.

 

'Even with enhanced mobility and strength, it is hard. No wonder the old man said never to use it, without a proper Magic knight training.' Without hesitation, he put the talwar back.

 

Akai and a few soldiers of the red front were here, but Akai was struggling to enter the city centre against the… Kinoya was not sure whether they were elite soldiers or magic knights...

 

‘But it looks like the help isn’t coming anytime soon.’ The only person Kinoya could rely on was himself.

 

'I can't let him grow.' On the other hand, a moment of confusion faded in rigid determination. Armed or not he attacked Kinoya once more. At first look, it was clear that Fret had the advantage but… Kinoya was too fast for Fret to land a hit on him.

 

Their speed was on par, but the claymore was missing it. With a swift movement, Kinoya escaped the claymore each time, and all Claymore was able to cut was the black smoke.

 

"The white freak was right. Who had thought a child like you will be able to wield a magic sword? But the way your hand is right now, you can't wield it anymore. It's the end…" He couldn't finish his sentence before he coughed out some blood. 

 

A sudden attack by a mana spell of Varytita had injured his internal organs. And all this intensive running was taking the toll on his body.

 

"I am no match for you, that I accept.  But you are no good either. And I have back up too."

 

"But will you survive, till your man comes?" Even before he completed his sentence Fret already vanished from the spot. 

 

The danger sense in his mind was ringing like crazy, but he couldn't find the reason. He was already at his limit but that didn't mean the enemy would go easy on him. 

 

Kinoya jumped back, only to be kicked at the back. Even before he could land the claymore took out a chunk of flesh from his thigh. He put his all; black smoke exploded again, taking him out of Fret's reach. Kinoya looked in confusion as Fret stood there with curved lips.

 

[Status Check: Foreign mana invading host's body]

[Do you want to dispel it?]

'I was too careless.' What surprised him was, the wound wasn't bleeding, nor any black smoke was coming out. 'It must be mana.' With his confirmation, the mechanical resonated again.

 

[Status Check: Unable to dispel invading mana.]

[Do you want to override your consciousness?]

 

'Override my consciousness? Does it mean that guy will wake up again?' Kinoya rejected the thought, 'I don't need his help anymore.' No matter how much he wanted to beat the magic knight, he didn't want to wake up that guy. On top of that, even if he beat the magic knight, he didn't want to start from scratch again.

 

"What happened? Did your fumes run out? Then let's get over with quick" Fret armour was burning blue, a blue flame was oozing off the claymore. His breaths were heavy, but…

 

Kinoya's situation was the worst. Even if he wanted to move, his muscle wasn't reacting. Fret raised the claymore above his head, Kinoya could see life flashing in front of the eye. No matter how much he wanted to say he doesn't fear death it wasn't true. 

 

Fret vanished from his view. His body wasn't listening to him, and he didn't want to wake that guy again. The black smoke had left his body, and he was waiting to greet the intended attack. But…

 

"Boy, don't give up on life so easily." And the intended attack never came.