"Hahahaha!"

>VWUUUUUUSSSSHHHH!!!<

We flowed with the destruction, wreaking even more havoc as we relentlessly fought our opponent.

Karlia died two more times, but we also managed to land a decent hit on him before he healed up again. This was the biggest stalemate I had ever seen.

Well, almost.

'It feels like he's not giving it his all yet.' I thought to myself as I stared at the beast of an enemy.

Despite all the precautions I tookall the buffs and debuffs, as well as strategywe were only able to land a few hits while protecting our lives.

'Damn. If only someone like Neron was here to tilt the scales a little'

Unfortunately, he was still nowhere to be found.

Karlia did tell me that he was with Legris Damien, so at least that gave me an idea of where he was. The problem, however, was that I was even more surprised.

'Legris has the power to hold Neron for this long? Where could he have taken him?' It seemed that for every plan I initiated, Legris was always going to interfere.

And this time, it was by taking one of our most pivotal pieces.

'So he was that strong, huh? I still can't wholly comprehend that guy' I decided to leave my thoughts of Neron and instead focus on what concerned me at present.

How to deal with the Martial Blade God.

~The plan is almost complete. One more round should do it~ Karlia's thoughts assured me, causing me to break into a huge grin.

Relief washed all over me, considering how tired I was. My body ached too. As much as the fight was thrilling, it also drained too much strength from my body.

'Constantly speeding up my time at such a rate is bound to negatively impact my body.' Besides, all the accompanying stress also had to be taken into account.

Thankfully, the fight was almost over.

"Alright! Let's uh?!" My senses instantly told me that something was approaching.

I wasn't the only one who sensed this, though. It seemed Karlia and the Martial Blade God felt it as well. The approaching 'thing' was a person, though

And I recognized the presence.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!<

Crashing into the ground, a good distance from our fight, was a woman who was covered in several wounds. Smoke rose from the crater she

formed, and the destruction her landing caused was by no means little.

The issue was I recognized the fallen one.

"A-Aloe!" My eyes widened, and I swiftly abandoned the fight to run in her direction.

~Lewis, what are you doing?!~ Karlia's voice echoed in my head, but I was in too much of a panic to respond.

From what I just saw and sensed, Aloe had landed after being thrown here from a very far distance. The huge crater, coupled with her tattered outfit, dirty blond hair, and scathed body showed just how much she had suffered.

"Aloe! Are you okay?"

Rushing towards her, I met her at the base of the cater. Instantly using Magic, I cleared away the dust that pervaded the area.

"What in the?!" Upon closer inspection, I realized just how bad her wounds were.

Her body seemed like it was completely battered without mercy. Cuts and bruises that were even more deadly than mere flesh woundsI saw them all and wondered just how Aloe had gotten them as well as who she was fighting.

I had made contact with the first and current second seatKarlia. According to what the latter told me, Legris was busy with Neron, and Stefan was the one leading the invasion. There was no other Cult Member on the island.

UNLESS!!!

My eyes widened and I didn't want to begin imagining such a possibility. Looking at how she was badly wounded and corrupted with Nether, I could only assume that the opponent was extremely powerful.

But, wouldn't it be too extreme to say that she fought the Cult Leader? However, that seemed like the only plausible explanation.

"Aloe! Aloe! Aloe! Can you hear me?!" I began healing her with my Magicusing [Strength] to grant her more Aether as resistance.

Healing Magic wasn't my Forte. Fortunately, I had a few Familiars who could help me out with that.

Once I enveloped her with energy, I saw her stir a little. At least, she wasn't deadthough that in itself was a miracle, considering the amount of Nether that currently infected her. Still, since her condition would stabilize soon, I could finally

~Are you crazy, Lewis? How could you leave in the middle of a fight?~ Karlia's voice emerged loudly within me, and she swiftly came to me in the crater.

It didn't take a few seconds before she noticed Aloe, and then gave me a somewhat dangerous look.

"Oh? You abandoned me on the battlefield for her, didn't you? Who is she?" Even though Karlia was now smiling, my senses were tingling that all was not as it seemed.

"She's one of my teammates, and she's badly injured." I responded honestly, though, from her narrowed gaze, it didn't seem like she completely believed me.

"Cheat" I heard her mutter, drawing closer to Aloe's badly battered form. "Allow me."

Karlia stretched forth her hand, and in an instant, the Nether was out of Aloe's system, and her body healed so rapidly that my eyes couldn't believe it.

In a flash, she began to recover.

'Amazing!' I thought as I looked at Karlia. Not only was she an expert in offence and defence, but also in healing.

She was the perfect all-rounder!

'I would have used my pills on Aloe, but I haven't created one that actively dealt with Nether-based wounds. I had been too busy.' Thankfully, Karlia was here to save the day.

"What about the Martial Blade God?" I asked, now realizing the kind of situation we were in.

"I am right here." I heard a voice emerge from above me. It belonged to the enemy, and he currently stood above the crater, staring up into the sky.

"Do not worry. I will not harm you. There is no longer any need anyway." His voice was composed, but his eyes were distracted.

I wondered what he meant, but I could see that his blade was already sheathed, and his gaze no longer contained any lingering attachments to our battle. I didn't know if I should have felt relieved or insulted.

Most likely the former.

"Do not celebrate, young boy." The Martial Blade spoke the moment I heaved a sigh, causing me to freeze in place.

"Your struggles are just beginning."

*

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[A/N]

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