"Sh*t!"

Ra finally realized their plan. He thought he was their target by acting like they wanted to kill Eric. Ria and Kai even wound him twice to prove that. If he was fighting after these two wounds, they might be able to heavily injure him before killing Eric, who was still on the ground. Yet, their true target was Eric all along.

These two wounds on his body were just baits for him to focus on defending himself. Yet, Ria actually sent a delayed attack that went through the wall, going to his blind spot before slicing Eric into two.

Despite having these many disadvantages, Ra still managed to react. He might be away from Eric, but he could destroy the shock wave before it cut Eric into two… Or so this was what he thought when he turned around and spurted out high-pressure water toward the shock wave, planning to blast it away.

Unfortunately, Kai leaped and positioned himself between Eric and Ra with his Oscillation Shield.

The water jet hit Kai's Oscillation Shield as he stabbed the ground with his sword and deactivated his Vibration Sword as to prevent him from cutting the ground.

Like the previous time, Kai would always be pushed back by this water jet. However, he quickly tightened his clutch on his sword, using it to hang on until Ria's strike killed Eric.

"No, you won't!" Ra poured more power inside this water.

Unfortunately for him, Kai suddenly shifted his shield a little bit, pointing it a little bit upward. He redirected a portion of the water to the ceiling to lessen his burden just for a few seconds.

*Slash!*

A few seconds later, Ria's attack finally cut Eric's head, killing him on the spot. There was no scream or whatsoever, but Kai, whose back was facing him, could hear that Eric had died.

Without wasting any energy, he quickly jumped and used the force from the water to retreat.

At this time, Ria appeared behind Ra, slashing both of her swords on his neck.

"Tch!" Ra could only click his tongue when Eric died. The only possible option for him was to escape from him, albeit Ria and Kai each guarded the tunnels' entrances.

At first, he believed that he and Eric could do the same thing when Kai arrived to make sure they could kill him. Yet, their strategy became useless with Ria's appearance.

Ra grabbed Ria's swords easily. Her strength was nothing compared to Kai, and there was no trick, such as Vibration Sword. He was ready to launch Ria with another burst of water from his mouth but noticed Kai's movement.

Behind him, Kai was moving, according to Ria's movement. It was possible with his ears as he was already a few meters away from Ra with his Vibration Sword.

"!!!" Kai and Ria suddenly felt danger coming from Ra as they saw water bubbles appear around him. They first thought it was another water wall, but something was different, especially when Kai shouted. "Retreat!"

Kai quickly used his Oscillation Shield, knowing he couldn't stop his momentum while Ria jumped back as a few giant swords came out of the ground.

Suddenly, the same water wall actually appeared from Ra's feet, but it wasn't going upward. Instead, it shot at them. Kai was blown away once more while Ria had an easier time since the swords could block it.

"Kai… Change of strategy. Follow my lead completely!" Ria suddenly instructed out loud. They didn't have too much time for this; he still needed to solve this Protector before rescuing the other teams. The only way to do it as quickly as possible was to let her be in charge.

Kai had no objection to this plan since he knew how dangerous Ria's attack was.

The white lines were altered once again. Kai didn't know what she was thinking, but the position of the white lines was so perfect as if it was targeting Ra.

Suddenly, many magic circles appeared on the white lines, numbering thirty magic circles.

"I see." Kai took a deep breath as he felt the similarity of this magic and the one that she used in their fight. The answer came when he saw three magic circles summoned a sword each. The sword was slightly larger than the one she used in their match, but it suited the size of the magic circle well.

"Luckily, we are underground." Ria smiled and raised her sword before waving it downward. The magic circles shot those three swords as if they were bullets and struck at Ra.

"Do you think this can stop me?" Ra snorted, slightly adjusted his position and dodged the two while blowing the last one with his fist. Albeit, he suddenly noticed a translucent barrier appeared in his surroundings. It was at this moment he realized he was baited by Ria. The real sword of this magic was her own student, Kai Carter.

The moment he turned around, Kai almost reached him and had slashed his sword toward him.

"Kh!" Ra still managed to react and dodged this attack, albeit barely as the sword grazed his cheek and hand.

"Welcome to my execution ground!" Ria smiled as she released another wave of swords. This time, she even participated in attacking Ra while Kai kept regenerating the Sound Insulation magic around Ra to blind his hearing for a little time.

They sealed his movement completely. Ra had used his water or whatever, but the combinations of the three swords that came out of nowhere, Ria's normal attacks and shock waves, and Kai's Vibration Sword were insane.

Little by little, Kai and Ria wounded Ra even further until one time, Kai slashed one of Ra's hands.

"You bastards! Since I can't survive here, then I will bring you along with me!" Ra roared as he was already insane because of this bullying. His resistance was futile without any help here, and Ria and Kai had done a great job in creating this kind of situation. In other words, his chance of survival was zero.

A flash of glowing blue light began to appear inside Ra's stomach, running through his feet, hands, and head, forcing Kai and Ria to create a distance.

"Suicide Water Jet!"

Kai and Ria felt the danger coming from this technique. Kai might be able to slash Ra into two before whatever this is exploded. However, this magic might not be stopped even after killing Ra. By that time, Kai would be in the epicenter of this attack, and even Ria might not be able to save him.

In the end, she shouted, "Come to my position as we retreat to the tunnel behind us."

Kai heard the order and quickly leaped toward her place, arriving in front of him. Ria wanted to turn around, so they could escape, but Ra didn't let them as he began to talk after Ria's shout.

"Do you think I want to do this? But I still have my job. O' Truth Seeker. You have the potential to know the truth, yet your existence is also heresy to us, the Protectors. Delve into and overcome strife and carnage that will come into your way. By the time you reach the end, you will understand what it means by hearing the scream of our planet."

"I don't want the truth; I only want a peaceful life!" Kai couldn't help but comment after seeing how ridiculous his words were. He then nodded to Ria, who was ready to leap out of the room.

"Unfortunately, you have no choice." Ra activated the magic inside his body before Kai and Ria could escape. Knowing his end was only two seconds away, he uttered his last word. "Long Live Protectors."

*Boom!*

Ria and Kai instinctively turned around, feeling the danger on their back.

"Sword Shield!" Ria used the same magic where a giant sword came out of the ground and acted like a shield. However, she used a few of them at the same time, creating a few layered shields.

Kai also stopped in front of Ria and created a magic circle. It was slightly bigger than his usual one as it could cover his body.

After using everything they could, they finally had the time to see what kind of attack they were dealing with right now. The explosion occurred inside Ra's body and shot out a water attack in every single direction. It looked like a sea urchin from afar, but it spread across the room.

Nothing in this room would be able to escape those pointed sharp water, including Ria and Kai. There were a few coming into their way, destroying every single shield that Ria summoned. It only stopped for a second when it reached Kai's Oscillation Shield, albeit the conclusion came in an instant.

*Bah!*

Kai spat out blood, smearing his hand with some of it.

"!!!" Ria shuddered when she saw three needles pierced through his body. One was in his right thigh, one was slight to the left of his stomach, while the last one was in his left arm. The blood started to bleed, dyeing the uniform and the water red.

His magic circle had so many cracks caused by countless needles as if it would break at any moment with three holes that the needles caused. After such an injury, Kai didn't utter a single groan because of Ria's training. He had gotten used to pain like this.

Kai was panting and checked his body. The holes weren't that big, only around a normal bullet. 'I had gotten many wounds like this in the past, so I should be okay. The stomach one was also around the edge, and by the look of it, it missed the vital area.'

"Kai!" Ria shouted as he saw Kai almost fell on his knees and caught him.

"I am fine, Teacher. The wound you gave me was far more deadly than this, so I should be able to continue." Kai said while panting. "Besides, I still need to finish this mission. Don't worry."

Ria was shaken by his words. She quickly checked the wounds.

"Still, I wish I had more magic power in me…" Kai sighed with a little smile.