I stood there and watch while I feel a mana rich wind envelops the light saber wielding bastard. I can only gaze with trepidation as all the damage we were able to inflict the man vanished totally after only a few heartbeat.

I was about to interrupt the healing process when I felt Kurt's Aura wash over me. I look at him and saw him signal me to not interrupt, which caused him to be hit in the face by one of the Twin Tigers of Kupesh while the other already took advantage and pounced at the monk. I was about to rush to help him but he was able to recover quickly and with blood flowing from a cut on his cheeks, he kicked his attacker which send his opponent flying about 5 meters even though his attack was blocked. Then he turned around, blocked his opponent's staff with his arm, and with the other he performed a palm thrust to his opponent's chest and he was sent skidding backwards. His opponent looks like he was not damaged but after a few seconds, he fell to his knees, coughing out blood.

"Heal those fools then go back to whatever you were doing. I alone will be enough to take care of these trash." The leader ordered Rebeccah, who complied.

Without uttering a word, she flew quickly and in an instant she came between Kurt who was about to finish his fallen opponent. With an almost instant casting of magic, she blew Kurt away with a blast of wind from her right hand, and with her left she cast a healing wind. She didn't seem to care that Kurt has already recovered from her attack and proceeded to float in the middle of the camp once more.

I knew it! That woman is dangerous! Not only can I feel that she is not yet showing even a fraction of her offensive prowess, she even have support skills? How unfair! I can already see it. If ever she decides to proactively join the battle, we are fucked hard, right in the ass with no lube.

"Don't mind Rebeccah. You have an even more dangerous opponent before you." The leader exclaimed while giving his sword a flourish. I noticed that the glow of the gems in both his sword and gauntlet-shield are already dim, but the energy flowing inside his equipment are still as strong as before, if not stronger.

He must be using his own mana to fuel his equipment. I thought. Before taking a stance. I glanced at Ortho who is standing beside me, who is applying another pad on his injury and readied his pistols. "I guess the plan is off the table now eh?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I apologize lad. My anger got the better of me." He apologized. His face is not calm but full of resolve.

"No worried man. Everyone makes mistakes." I told him. I am kind of ashamed that I didn't took part in the fight sooner. Then maybe Philip wouldn't have to use our trump card prematurely.

"You ladies finished saying your farewell?" The man stated. He slowly walks towards us like we were of no danger to him.

"Yeah. We were just talking about how I cracked your nuts earlier. I would like to apologize to your lady love, she won't likely have a child with you." I try to get in his head. He looks like he is a prideful man. There is nothing in this world that a prideful man would hate more than to receive help while getting his ass handed to him with an opponent he deems lower than him. If I want to make sure he wouldn't seek help from that wind mage, I need to push him more. "Are you sure you don't want the lady to support you? You might need healing soon. Another hit like that, you might become an Eunuch." I jeered.

Ortho elbowed me to get my attention. "What are ye doing lad? Ye are just makin the bastard angrier towards us.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." I whispered back at him.

"Hope so. I barely survived fighting against his half-assed effort earlier. I don't think we will stand a chance against him if he gets serious even with the both of us and the others also have their hands full." He answered.

Even before I can answer, I heard the sword guy roar in anger. "Bastard! I gave you a chance to run away from this and yet you mock me? If only the Organization doesn't require you to be brought alive I would have already killed you where you stand, you trash!" I can feel the anger in his gaze as his hand is turning while from how tight he grips his sword. "Like I said, I don't need no help! I will make you regret even opening your mouth you cretin. You will rue this day you dare insult me, Christopher Esclaire, as I beat this lesson upon your broken body." He then pointed his sword towards us like a cliché anime villain.

"Oh. You actually have a name? I was about to call you asshole sword-guy. Come asshole Chritopher. Show us what you got!" I mocked him one more time.

He roared in wordless rage and reinforced his body with a great amount of mana. He then charged towards us in a speed almost equal or even greater than Philip's speed when he used his full power reinforcement when we sparred. Although he was fast, his anger made him quite predictable as he run towards me, intent on cutting my feet from under me. I pushed Ortho away and jumped just in time for to dodge the hot blade just beneath my feet and I proceeded to deliver a spin kick to his face. The force of his forward charge only made my counter much stronger as I feel the recoil of my kick. The bastard was forced to take a single step back, but not before he hit me with his shield with such force that I was sent flying a few meters in the air. I twisted my body mid-air and landed on my feet. I feel the arm I used to block his shield going numb from receiving such a blow even though I was supposed to be protected by my Aura from damage.

It only shows the difference between the strength of our Auras. I got so much more to learn.

Upon realizing that he have been attacked, he once more entered a state of rage and with an even greater speed, he rushed towards me. I am still reeling from the damage I just took and was not in a position to dodge. If a simple attack was able to do this much damage, then how much damage would I take if I was hit by his attack head on?

Thankfully, I wouldn't find that out since he was stopped in his tracks by Ortho who was firing his double pistols at the charging bull of a man. Christopher blocks the elemental shot and was clearly annoyed. I used this momentary distraction to move behind him for a sneak attack. If I could somehow get behind him and able to put him in a Full Nelson head lock, it will leave him defenseless from Ortho's attacks.

Unfortunately when I was only a meter away from him, he noticed me "Sneaking around like a rat? How fitting!" He then slashed his sword towards me as I roll away from his attack range. Before he could follow through, he was once again interrupted by Ortho's attacks. I use this opening to rush towards him once more when he started to chant "Spirits of Fire! I order thee! Bend to my will with your flames burn my enemies!" after his short chant, I felt his Mana surge through his blade as it started to bend and strike at me like a snake instead of a sword.

"Shit! Your sword bends? How cheap. You should get your money back." I told him.

"My sword is not broken! It following my will you imbecile!" He yelled before blocking another attack from Ortho. "You're annoying! Be gone!" He pointed his sword as it started to extend towards Ortho, who was not fast enough to dodge the attack and was forced to block with his shield-bracer. With a loud Clink, the tip of his sword hit and cracked the shield although it didn't pierced through.

"Ooof!" Ortho almost lost his balance from the force of the attack.

"Tsk!" Christopher clicked his tongue before trying to follow through his attack.

Ofcourse I didn't let him as I tackled him down, trying to pin his sword-arm down with my foot and grabbed his shield-arm with my right hand. With my free hand, I started to pummel him. I was only able to land a couple of hits before he used his superior strength to throw me off him and swung his sword blindly in hopes he could hit me.

Shit! He is not even thinking he might kill me accidentally! I quickly jumped away from the man as he quickly chanted something and a block of earth rose from the ground to shield him from Ortho's attack. Although the Earth Wall crumbled from a single attack, it was enough for him to regain his composure and retracted his sword back to normal size before using it to deflect an attack.

Ortho was like a cowboy while raining down attacks upon the jackass swordsman. Although Christopher is no slouch himself, blocking some attacks with his shield and with his sword he deflects some attacks right back at Ortho to stop him from attacking. Once Ortho stopped from firing, he then charged towards him and when there are only a few meters between them, extends his sword in an attempt to skewer the dwarf. Thankfully, the dwarf was ready this time and was able to dodge the attack which pierce through the right side of his shield and a tree that is right behind him.

Earlier his attack was unable to pierce through Ortho's shield, but now not only was it able to pierce the shield he was also able to pierce the tree. I wonder why?

I continued to observe his sword as I ducked under a backhand strike from his shield hand and swept his feet from under him. I tried to take advantage of the situation, but as he fall, his sword flails around to keep me from attacking while deflecting Ortho's shots at the same time.

The dwarf was burning through his supply of Mananite as he pulls out a crystal from his waist bag and replaced the depleted crystal from his pistol. "Lad! Let's mop the floor with this fool!" He shouted.

"Yeah! Lets!" I answered. I know he is saying that to let me know that he is running low on Mananite crystals so we need to finish up soon.

"Oh? You really think you could take me on trash? Know your place!" He roared as he continue to control the sword like it is a part of him as it snakes around trying to catch me. I pushed my concentration to its fullest as I duck under, jumped over, and even roll in the ground in order to dodge his crazy attacks.

As I reached 5 meters away from the bastard, I tripped on a rock after I dodged the sword's tip that is snaking towards me. I thought I was done but suddenly the sword stopped from extending after touching my Aura. At first I thought that he just realized that he must capture me alive, but when I scrambled to my feet and saw what happened, it became clear to me.

There is a limit to how long he could stretch his sword.

Indeed, he could control the sword to extend or retract, but the volume of the flame the sword produce is still the same. The longer it becomes, the thinner and weaker it gets. It is evident to the fact that I can feel its futile effort to pierce through my Aura which should be leagues weaker than his.

"Ha! You've been exposed son! The longer your sword gets the weaker it becomes!" I shouted in delight after discovering his trick.

"That shouldn't have mattered! You have no Mana, you should've been defenseless against my sword!" He exclaimed.

"You must have the attention span of a gold fish. Your lady friend already told you earlier that I can use Ki. Your puny trick won't work against me, loser boy." I try to make him lose his cool once more. He must not regain his calm or else we would surely get our asses kicked here. Ortho is low on Mananite and I am also getting exhausted, and we still have to face that lady floating in the center of our camp sooner or later. Man, our future is bleak.

"You son of a!" He roared once more and renewed his attacks. This time he shortened his sword to just 2 meters. Which is a lot shorter than before and easier to wield. If only he is calm to take proper swing rather than swinging his sword like a simpleton. Scary how pride and anger lowers the I.Q. of a person and makes them do stupid things they wouldn't do if they were normal.

I continued to dodge his attacks and takes some potshots whenever he is interrupted by Ortho's attack. On and on we continued. Duck under his sword swing and deliver a low kick. Once the man is about to retaliate, Ortho will fire a volley of shots, forcing the man to defend. Which I will use to my advantage by kicking him in the ribs. Which is followed by Ortho's attack once more. After that I will jump back a bit when the bastard gets too close to give the dwarf an open shot.

Thus we continued this trend for about a minute before our Opponent yelled in frustration. "Is that all you can do? Run around like a coward? Face me like a man!" He roared after his last attack missed once more.

He is getting too close to me again and I turned around and start to run away.

"Coward! Face m---" His words were cut by my clever trick.

See, I just turned around to pretend to run away, and then when he commits to chasing after me. I then poured more Ki towards my Aura and delivered a strong back kick right at his stomach. I can feel my foot push against his Aura, but since he focus more of his Aura to offense, his Aura defense on his body weakened, in which I took advantage and performed this marvelous feat.

I see the man kneel down as he reel in pain. He coughed out blood once more and the attack would've hit a vital area of the body. The Wind lady floats towards us rather slowly for a girl going on to rescue his superior. She used a wind blade once more to block Ortho's attack. After which she started to gather more mana into her body and the winds began to howl as it gathers more strength.

But before she could start whatever she is planning on doing. The Kneeling man yelled at her. "What did I fucking told you Rebeccah? Did I ask you to help me? No! I ordered you to keep watch of your stupid subordinates. Just sit back and watch as I triumph against these nobodies!" He staggers to get on his feet.

"Well, I guess you have just been bested than nobodies eh Christopher? What does that makes you then?" I goaded him.

To which his response is predictable. More rage!

"Grrrr! I will kill you!" He yelled as he retract his sword to its normal length and chased after me while wildly swinging his sword. His attacks no longer target my limbs, instead he is targeting my head, neck and chest area.

Oh shit he just lost it. He is coming in for the kill!

"Lad!" Ortho shouted as he continued to fire at the mad man.

Ortho's shots lands on Christopher but it seems to be ineffective as he continued his charge like it was nothing. I focused my sense towards the man and understood the reason for his sudden toughness.

I see, he is using sheer Aura strength to block the attacks. I can feel his mana surge at a great amount to cover his body. His Aura was so strong that it was able to reach almost 50 centimeters from his body which is enough to cushion the blasts from Ortho's pistols and stopping it from even touching his skin. Although it is a great way of defense, I can also see him leak a lot of his Mana Aura into the air. It seems he doesn't have that much control of his Aura.

"Hah! Looks like this fight will end sooner than I expected. I give it 2 – 5 minutes tops." I declared. From my experience of energy drain from my Aura leaking, with the amount he is losing by the second, he will soon empty his tanks soon. Which means I only need to dodge his attacks for that duration and we will surely win!

Although it is easier said than done.

His attacks grew wilder as I try not to be too close or to near from the guy. But as I said, life is a bitch. I tripped on another rock and fell on my butt. I tried to scramble back to my feet but it looks like I twisted my ankle.

Just my luck!

"I got you now you sneaky rat! No more escape for you!" He roared before swinging his sword down towards me.

My life flash before my eyes as I see my impending doom. My simple yet happy life back in the village. The friends I have made in elementary school. My horrible life caused by bullies in middle school and high school. How I turned my life around when I met my master before I graduated in high school. All the people I met during my short life. I see them all.

But those who are the most special to me is shown at the end of my memories. The face of my Father who was always strong and dependable. I see my Mother who always fills us with love and care. Lastly my little sister who's innocence and kindness makes me believe that there is good in the world even after all the crap I have been through from getting falsely accused of a crime I did not commit. I breathe in the warm feeling deep within me as I close my eyes to accept my fate.

I feel a strong breeze, followed by a warm feeling. Is this the warm embrace of heaven? Why is it sticky then?

I waited for a few more seconds before I had the courage to open my eyes to see heaven. Only to be greeted by a shocking sight.

I am covered with blood. Not my blood, but the one who is in front of me. Christopher, who is roaring in pain as his arms were cut into multiple pieces.

Who could've done this?

I look around and there she was. A sinister smile on her face as she floats lazily in the wind.

"Rebeccah you traitor!" Christopher roared in the top of his lungs.

What is happening here? Don't misunderstand me, I am grateful that I am still alive.

Still, I am genuinely confused.