"Did you really believe me? Haw! Our Lilly is now acting so innocent. B*tch."Luke's hand, which had been softly stroking Lilly's cheek, abruptly became rough, and viciousness flashed before Luke's eyes.He held Lilly down on the ground by grabbing her by the neck and then using his ability, "Poisonous Mist," to render her body helpless.A faint green mist surrounded Lilly's body.She was using her healing ability to try to keep herself alive, but she knew she wouldn't have long to live if she continued like this.It was then that, looking at her struggle, Luke spoke in a mocking tone."Oh! Well, you might have already figured it out by now, but yes, I am not the first hero. Hehe,"A look of despair crossed Lilly's face after she heard Luke's words and felt her paralyzed body, unable to even lift a finger, but it was mostly anger at having been tricked."What? Don't look at me like that, my little Lilly. Do you think that after trying to kill me and making me suffer and lose so much,
Chirp! Chirp! Birds chirped outside, and the first few rays of morning sun came into the room. In the middle of the room, a young, handsome man was sleeping soundly on a bed covered with bandages. However, his sleep couldn't continue for long as he slowly opened his eyes. ... As soon as I opened my eyes slowly, I was greeted with a flurry of system notifications and a familiar ceiling, but I immediately pushed aside the notifications and got up with my body aching all over. I was sitting on the bed, my body wrapped in bandages, when I realized that the room I was in was strange yet somehow familiar. "Ugh!" And at that moment, a severe headache caused me to groan in discomfort. Memories of what happened came to me, and I finally understood the ins and outs of the situation I was in. "Ah, so I am in the Cathedral of the Southern Territory, where Archbishop Lady Sylvia resides. But how long was I out?" Looking at the time and date in the system window, I determined that I had b
The scorching sun beat down mercilessly upon the desolate desert landscape, casting an oppressive heat over the small village that lay on the outskirts of the Red Storm Duchy, near the border of the Holy Kingdom and the kingdom of Netopia. The wind whispered through the barren dunes, carrying with it a gritty haze that swirled around Luke, who stood atop a sand-swept hill, overlooking the humble dwellings below. A cunning glimmer flickered in his eyes as he surveyed the surroundings. This village was called Emberbrook, and it was the hideout for the nefarious organization known as Dawn. Although Luke had already prepared a plan of attack with the church yesterday, he couldn't shake off the sense of foreboding that had settled within him. He suspected that the information was purposefully leaked by Dawn and that this setup was merely a trap, a ploy by the cunning members of Dawn to ensnare him. That was why, driven by his intuition, Luke decided to deviate from the original plan.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the village of Emberbrook, Luke's plan was set into motion.Outraged by Luke's account and his assumptions about the fate of the families in the village, Archbishop Sylvia gave the order for her forces to make a rapid approach from the desert landscape outside the village."Everyone, attack with full force and fulfill the tasks assigned to you. Don't let even a single one of these heinous demons leave alive today.""Yes!!"...Inside the village, Luke came out of concealment, no longer hiding behind his peddler's guise. His eyes narrowed in calculation as he took note of the situation.The time for subtlety and deception had come to an end. It was time to unleash the full force of his meticulously planned assault.With a flick of his wrist, Luke activated the red beads he had carefully planted throughout the village.As if responding to his command, a translucent veil descended upon Emberbrook, shrouding it in a mysterio
With all his strength, Aric charged forward and swung a powerful overhead blow at Luke's head.Swoosh!Luke swiftly ducked, evading the attack and retaliating with a lightning-fast thrust towards Aric's chest, who deflected the blow with a skillful parry, but the force of the impact pushed him back.Immediately, he jumped back a few steps and created some distance.Both Aric and Luke stood facing each other, their swords poised for battle.The tension between them was palpable as they locked eyes, finding a gap in each other's defenses to push through.With this small confrontation, Aric understood that Luke was more powerful than he had imagined, but he wasn't the least bit worried because this was all within his margin of error."I wouldn't have thought you would come to fight me alone; should I say you're brave or foolish?""...""It's commendable that even while being a Sword Master you're able to exert power compared to a Sword Grandmaster. However, if you think that it would be
As soon as we heard the click that indicated the connection had been severed, an awkward silence descended upon all of us."Ahem!"Faber's fake cough broke the awkward silence, and he couldn't help but look ashamed.It was understandable, though, because based on the tone of voice and the manner in which the speaker communicated, even I was able to identify who was speaking.Even for the people of Dawn, it was an embarrassing situation. They never thought that someone from our side would be capable of speaking so vulgarly.Anyway, they quickly regained their composure and rushed towards us without any prior warning.Victor towards Faber, and Aric towards me.It was an obvious ploy to keep us from cooperating.But do they think we would stand still and let them do what they want?Without waiting for me to say anything, Faber fired off a few [Destructive Fireballs], and I followed suit with some long, needle-like slashes of aura from my balde.We both stepped back in a V shape, Faber mo
For the first time, an absurd expression appeared on my face as I swore aloud."Shit!"Victor's and Aric's bodies were already looking like overinflated balloons.Faber and I were exhausted.The situation was serious.Suddenly, my mind started to think in an overclocked state, and a variety of ways came and went through my mind that could help me in the situation.At last, I found myself stuck between two choices: one was a 100% accurate solution but carried a great cost, while the other had almost no cost, but was something I had never tried.My brain said to choose the first option since this wasn't a situation to take a risk with my life, but my heart wanted to see and feel the thrill of the second choice.Nonetheless, I didn't waste time contemplating and hesitating because the moment these two options settled in my mind and heart, I decided to be open to both.'First, I will try the second, and if it doesn't work, I will activate the first option without hesitation,' which was to
The sudden shout and hug startled me, but since I knew who it was from, I didn't push away and let the person do it.Even so, aware of the eyes on me, I couldn't help but pretend to cough.Then, I secretly whispered in the red-haired girl's ears, who had a plain white mask over her face."Rihanna, we're in front of everyone; do you want our identity to be exposed?""Uh?...Oh No!" She stuttered, realizing her mistake."Then, act naturally."'It looks like she even forgot about the surroundings when she saw me. Sigh! This girl.'Immediately, I broke the hug; Rihanna also backed away."Sorry, I was just happy after seeing my benefactor for a long time.""No problem; I can understand, and yes, it's good to see you're doing well." We both acted like we only knew each other for certain reasons."It is all thanks to you. I have to go see my team members, then I will be off for now.""Alright."Then Rihanna bolted away at twice her original speed, and with a sigh, Faber, who had been standin