"You dare ignore ? Kill him! Kill him now!"
"Exploding Fist!"
At Orvain's shout, one of the Redflas lunged forward and hurled a fla engulfed punch toward Zair. He twisted aside at the last mont, only to shift again as a second attack ca in from another Redfla. Regaining his footing, he countered with a sharp thrust that pierced clean through the man's arm.
"Arrgh!!"
Zair pulled his blade back, preparing to finish it, when a surge of danger hit him.
He threw himself aside instinctively, evading a cleaving strike that sliced past him by the narrowest margin.
"Fighting is futile."
Zair rolled to his feet, and turned his grim eyes to one of the bald twins standing calmly before him, blade resting in his grip.
"You'll lose."
Zair tightened his hold on his blade as he straightened. He had barely avoided that attack.
'The other one…'
He turned toward Orvain, and his eyes widened.
The second twin was gone.
'Wher—'
A surge of pain tore through him, followed by two heavy thuds hitting the ground.
Zair looked down, trembling, and saw both of his arms lying at his feet.
"H-how…?"
"You're simply weak." The second twin stood beside him, calmly sheathing his katana. A faint wisp of smoke curled from the blade. "That's all."
How he had moved from Orvain's side to here without being noticed was sothing Zair couldn't even begin to comprehend.
Another disconnect followed and his legs were severed. His body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"L-Lyra…"
Silver blood pooled beneath him as his gaze shook its way back to his sister. Orvain stepped into view a mont later, grinning widely.
"Stupid fool."
He spat down at Zair, eyes filled with contempt.
"That's what happens when you don't know your place. I want you to die knowing I'm going to enjoy her."
He licked his lips and laughed loudly. Any trace of his earlier fear had vanished now that the trash had been dealt with.
"N-no…"
Zair clenched his teeth until blood filled his mouth, but Orvain only laughed harder, eventually turned to one of the Redflas Zair had wounded earlier.
"Stay here until he's dead. Make it slow. That's his punishnt for standing against a Redfla."
"Yes, young master."
Even after they left, Zair's desperate eyes remained fixed on his sister. 'I-I failed.'
As their figures disappeared into the forest, Zair slowly lifted his gaze to the sky.
'I deserve to die…'
This ti, horror replaced his anger. He was ant to protect his sister, protect their world, yet he'd been overwheld in a single exchange.
And he had dared to compare himself to that man.
The one who had faced the entire Verge and erged victorious.
Zair closed his eyes and released a long, broken breath.
It was over.
…
'Finally…'
Atticus fixed his gaze on the forest looming in the distance as he crossed the last stretch of the wasteland. The unchanging gloom had begun to irritate him. 'That's a terrible way of thinking.'
The Arbiter's reprimand followed almost imdiately.
'The wasteland is open. The forest offers cover, plenty of chances for others to ambush you.'
'Or just as many chances to ambush them.'
'…'
The Arbiter fell silent, seemingly caught off guard by the response. Atticus welcod the quiet and increased his speed. Just before entering the forest, he glanced back at the outline of the massive do now looming noticeably closer than before.
'It's begun shrinking.'
Even from this distance, it was clear that the wasteland would not last much longer.
'I need to acquire more resources. Quickly.'
He had secured two additional resources after his first, but both had turned out to be Life Stones. But it wasn't a loss. Life Stones were the primary currency of the Span, and having more was never a disadvantage.
'What is that?'
Atticus ca to a sudden stop, fixing his eyes on the thin column of dark smoke curling into the sky far ahead.
'Fire?'
The next resource was close, but he couldn't take his eyes off the smoke.
'It could be Redfla.'
The probability was low as he hadn't encountered many competitors wielding fla type Will before the competition began. Still, even a slim chance was enough for him. He hadn't forgotten his declaration of war.
And if he was going to announce it to the world, there was no better way than doing so openly.
Atticus manipulated the molecules around him and vanished, reappearing high above the clearing in an instant. Below, the earth was scorched black, the trees burnt and smoking. At the center of it lay a silver haired man in a pool of blood. 'Isn't he…'
It was the brother of the girl who had been obsessed with him. The sa man one who had warned him of an attack the day before.
Atticus' gaze shifted as he scanned the rest of the area. Not far away, a Redfla rested against a tree, glaring at the mutilated man with hatred.
Atticus drew his katana and vanished.
A mont later, the man's severed head struck the ground, followed instantly by the tree he had been leaning on.
Sheathing his blade, Atticus slowly approached the silver haired man.
"I-it's you…"
As though pulled back from the edge of consciousness, the man stared up at him in disbelief.
"Hm."
Atticus lifted an arm, and the severed limbs of the man snapped back into place.
"Heal him."
Responding to his order, the molecules healed the severed limbs in a flash of light. A mont later, the silver haired man gradually staggered to his feet, staring at Atticus in confusion. "Y-you… you helped ?"
"Consider it repaynt for your warning."
With that, Atticus turned to leave.
"W-wait!"
"Hm?"
Atticus glanced back as the man dropped to his knees and bowed deeply. "P-please… please help . My sister… she was taken by the other Redflas. Please…"
His fists were clenched as he desperately pleaded. "No."
"Hah…"
The brother's expression turned horrified, but Atticus' own remained unmoved. He didn't need an explanation to understand what had happened. A Redfla assault. The sister taken away.
It was tragic… but it was also none of his concern.
"I've repaid you. Save her yourself."
Bam!
Atticus had already turned away when the man suddenly drove his forehead into the ground.
"Please… I'll do anything."
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