Azul’s copies appeared beside Bob. Each of them was already in motion and ready to strike.
Bob did not flinch. With my gunblade in his hand, he rapidly shot each of the copies in quick succession. The attacks landed almost at the sa ti, only milliseconds apart.
"Tch!"
Azul clicked his tongue. He was in a pinch. He never expected Bob to counter his trickery as easy as that.
The bullets passed straight through two of the copies, while the real Azul bent his body and barely evaded the shot. However, in that very instant, Bob was already on the move. He appeared right in front of Azul and slashed him across the face.
THUMP!
Azul was sent flying toward the wall, for the umpteenth ti already today.
"Darn it! He still managed to evade at the last mont, even when I’m in this form!"
The red aura surrounding Bob began to disperse. He jumped down beside and Linus. His breathing rapid and heavy, exactly as expected from the recoil.
"Sorry, guys. I couldn’t finish him in five minutes. He’s sothing else."
"It’s okay. You did a great job," I said. Although I said that, deep in my heart, I still hoped Bob could defeat him so there would be no need for to join the fight.
But dreams were just dreams.
Looks like I had no choice.
"Princess Reika, just stay inside for a while. At least you’re safe in there. We’ll save you once we defeat Azul," Linus said to Reika.
Reika nodded. Right now, her life was in our hands.
Azul stood up and cracked his neck. The mask on his face cracked as well, revealing his left eye. It was sharp and nacing.
"I really underestimated all of you. First the prince, then you, fat guy. It seems Rose Town really has many talents nowadays." He walked closer to us. The three of us took alert stances. Indra already back in my hand.
"That is why... I need to cut the bud before it blooms!"
Suddenly, two Azuls appeared beside and Linus. And in a second,before I could even react-
THUD!!
A dull pain exploded in my abdon. My body bent forward, and I was thrown backward far from where I was standing.
Linus fared better than . He managed to react and raised his hand, but he couldn’t absorb all the damage. He jumped back and landed on his feet on the other side.
"What is this? I thought only one of the copies could attack?" I said.
"Do you think that’s my only limit? That prince must’ve told you everything. Well, sorry to disappoint you. The Ring of Trickery has another secret." Azul said. "I can make each of my copies a real form, just like my original."
Crap.
This was bad news. That ant we were now fighting three Azuls at the sa ti.
Even one was troubleso enough.
"Now, your na is Bob, if I’m correct? Where’s the flashy skill you used just now? Where did your confidence go? Or... is that skill already in cooldown?" Azul said playfully as he walked closer to Bob.
Bob was sweating profusely. His glasses were fogged with mist from his heavy breathing. While his shoulders moving up and down rapidly.
He was not in good shape.
"Heh! I don’t need that skill to beat you, evil guy! You’re just lucky I didn’t go all out yet," Bob said, trying to sound tough.
"Is that so?" Azul tilted his head. "Hmm, then that’s dangerous... I suppose I should kill you first before you do."
Suddenly, three Azuls appeared, surrounding Bob. One of them kicked him, but Bob managed to block with his sword. Another Azul struck from behind, and once again Bob blocked with his other sword.
However, the last Azul delivered a kick straight to Bob’s face.
Bob’s vision blurred. Dizziness washed over him and his stance shattered.
But Azul didn’t stop. The three of them attacked Bob relentlessly.
Face. Abdon. Legs.
Every part of his body was struck.
"Bob!" Linus and I shouted at the sa ti.
Bob was completely defenseless now. Just one more solid blow to his head would be enough to finish him.
"Stop it, you bastard!" I shouted as I equipped Shardstorm Mage, my hair, eyes, and attire turning ice blue. Ten ice shards instantly ford beside .
"GO!!"
I released the ice shards toward Azul.
Unfortunately, all of them missed.
The three Azuls stopped attacking Bob and turned their attention toward . All three charged at once.
I cast another round of Shardstorm.
"You also need to be gone!" Azul said.
One of them kicked an ice shard back toward . I countered by shooting another shard, neutralizing it. I activated Shardstep, dashing away from my position and leaving a trail of ice behind.
All three Azuls followed . After Shardstep ended, one of them appeared right in front of my face, completely ignoring the freezing effect of my skill. I raised my gunblade and blocked the attack. As expected, the other two struck from behind.
PANG!
Linus intervened just in ti. He blocked their attacks with his staff and imdiately countered, forcing the two Azuls back. He then dragged the fight to the other side of the hall.
A fierce battle erupted in the grand hall. Ice ford across the ceiling, walls, and floor, causing the temperature to drop rapidly. I kept my distance using Shardstorm, while Linus engaged in close combat against the Azuls.
Bob, who was lying on the ground, slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Mina, hovering above him with a worried expression. She was healing him, but from the look of it, she was already exhausted after constantly healing Reymond.
"Good job, Mina. You can rest now," Bob said while patting her head. Mina smiled before she dispersed into particles of light.
"Sir Bob, are you okay?" Reika asked anxiously.
"I think so. I need to help those two right now," Bob said, trying to stand up, when Reika suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Bob... can you help ?"
"Huh?"
"Can you help distract Azul from noticing what I’m about to do?"
"What are you planning?"
"I’ll tell you later. Can you do it?"
Bob thought for a mont, then nodded.
"I’ll try. Go for it."
Bob changed his class to Redwing Disciple.
Reika took a deep breath and focused. She brought both hands close to her chest and closed her eyes.
"Sorry, Father... Mother... Brother Reid... Brother Reymond... and Githa. You all told to hide this skill from others. But if I don’t use it now, I’m afraid we won’t co out safe from here."
She opened her eyes and began chanting.
She was about to cast the skill that would change the outco of the battle.
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