======================

Chapter 26: In Cold Blood

======================

Each team had taken their position.

Krone’s team stood near a red flag, the flag they needed to protect. Natalia stood beside them.

The flag was flapping, courtesy of the buoyant wind.

To the front was the dark forest, while to the back was the sandy beach, graced by sunlight and crystal clear water. Sound of waves greeted them kindly, giving them proper welcome.

The ground was enclosed by two small hills, curved.

Seagulls and other seabirds camped on the much higher cliff nearby, making a lively audience for their match.

Krone turned to Doran.

“Doran, the gloves, please.”

“Ah, yes.”

From the back of his large shield, he took them out.

He handed the pair of Limit Gloves to him, he wore it right then.

Seeing this, Natalia frowned.

“Candidate Krone, why’re you wearing that?”

“As per rules?”

“You’re going to use magic, really?”

“Lady Natalia, you shouldn’t be so surprised,”

“N-not at all. What magic do you know?”

“Some ice and fire.”

“S-seriously?”

Just as she said that, a sharp whistling sound resounded.

It was a sign.

“Argh, we’ll talk later, but beware using fire in the forest.”

“I’m just going to use ice, no worry.”

“That’s fine then. It’ll begin soon, get ready.”

After checking his gloves, she nodded.

She stepped up to the side, sliding onto a hill beside them, ten-metre high.

Yellow trail followed suit.

“There,”

Soon, a green flare rose up into the sky.

The match had begun.

“Alright. Doran, Athea, Thiana, Liliana, I’m leaving the flag to you.”

“Careful Krone.”

The twins said it at the same time. Doran and Athea nodded.

He turned towards the forest, rushing in. He did not use Air Sliding, to preserve what little mana he had.

“Attacker, only Krone huh.”

Natalia was intrigued. She wanted to follow him, but Kent’s remark crossed her mind.

“Aii, whatever. I’ll just wait here. Must be professional, professional.”

As she said so, Doran went to the flag.

He plugged it out of the place. Athea took its pedestal with her, both heading below the cliff Natalia stood. There, they planted the flag by the cliff’s side, limiting view and way of approach.

The twins slid onto the hill, stepping once before reaching the top. Their gaze covered the whole field up until the forest.

Both sighed.

“Boys, really,”

“We’ll just do our best, Sis.”

“Yea,”

…

To the other side of the small peninsula, Julia’s team stood beside a blue flag by the coast. The coast had two curved hills as well, the starting locations were chosen for their similarity.

As they saw the green flare, all of them moved to the front.

Except for Kyril.

“Aii, I had to do this myself?”

He moved the flag and the pedestal into the walls of a hill, out of plain sight.

Julia and the rest entered the forest.

Within it, they were aiming for the location of a bottleneck, formed from two rocky hills. The time and location constraint prevented them from going around the hills, thus the location for their confrontation could either be the forest or near their flags.

Confronting Krone near their flag would be a folly. Should he take their flag, holding it for one minute would be easy enough for him.

Thus they chose the bottleneck, an area ideal for ambush. Also, it would be easy enough to detect his intrusion.

Arriving at the location, Ryan instructed;

“Shana, Ron, keep a lookout. Julia, focus on setting them. I’ll cover you.”

Shana and Ron slid the air.

After several steps, they landed on tree tops, hiding behind the thick leaves. They knew their Life Armor did not help in blending in, but they shrugged it off.

On the ground, Julia formed a violet ball, then placed it carefully on a tree trunk. In seconds, it buried itself into it. She repeated the process around thirty times, planting it on different trees.

Ryan was beside her, amazed.

“Alright, that’s it. My mana’s halved. That ought to be enough?”

“Halved? Only half? That’s quite a lot of mana you got.”

“Yes, is it enough?”

“Enough. Unless emergency, do not shout, signal us.”

“Alright, I need to focus. Let’s,”

“Yeah,”

With that, Ryan gestured Ron and Shana. They retreated for some distance.

Ron and Shana each stayed on a tree as observers, alert. Krone would likely approach them without using mana, thus his approach should not be all too sudden. Had he used mana, they would sense it a fair distance away.

This place had no people, so any mana being activated nearby could easily alert them.

Behind a tree, Julia sat kneeling.

Closing her eyes, Ryan stood beside her, as guard.

Her mana balls from before were part of her magic ability, linked to her through her consciousness. Moreover, she arranged them similar to a net, in three layers complementing each other. Anything passing by, would be akin to passing by her.

She could not keep them up for more than an hour or so, but the current condition was ideal. For the time being, she acted as sensor.

Passive sensor, awaiting the target.

…

Unfortunately, the target kept his distance quite far.

Using only minimal mana, he kept his eyes on the group. Through his eyes, the location for each of Julia’s mana balls was in plain view.

“She didn’t leave much opening, eh, good.”

He praised her mana net.

It was a type of sensor magic based on movement, not mana. It was hard to detect, unless you released your mana to your surroundings. Doing so would scream to everyone of your presence, thus this mana net was really ideal in enclosed space, and in this situation.

“Plus, the openings seemed to be guarded, hm.”

She noted the presence of Ron and Shana on the treetops, seemingly alert of the locations where the openings were. These youngsters were truly admirable, having calculated things well.

They kept themselves around twenty metres away from Julia’s net. It was the right range for them to move in and attack him, all at once.

‘Too bad for them, they didn’t know my Air Sliding range.’

It was like a cheat.

No, it was really cheating. This was akin to a grown-up fighting war against children, truly disgraceful. Krone however, couldn't care less.

It was not a match to him, it was more than that.

He needed to accomplish this mission he assigned himself, a mission that could very well be valuable in the future.

This was because they were indeed a threat.

They were not many, yet they destroyed the Northern Command. This resulted in a serious ruin in the chain of command back then.

‘Their first appearance marked the end of Kharlussia’s supremacy in the Northern Sea. Not just devastating the Narland Campaign, they destroyed three naval cities in a mere month.’

He remembered the devastating news.

That time, he was on a frontline, in a fierce fight against the Union’s forces. While they were all bloodied, all determined to prevent the Union’s advance, another front opened on their back.

The Union made a beachhead, later successfully landing several divisions.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

‘I truly hope I was wrong, but,’

Already memorized the openings, he retracted his vision. Eyes sharp, he grabbed his spear.

‘I’ll have to see this, to the end.'

“So children, how about a lesson of war?”

He stepped up, disappearing into the darkness.

===

“He’s taking his sweet time,”

Shana kept her eyes aware, all the time. Eyes on her front and her sides, yet nothing.

Ron had the same concern. However, Krone could not possibly go through other routes.

‘He intends to wear us out?’

While Ron had the thought, Ryan signaled him from below, prompting him to whisper.

“What?”

“He’s wearing us down like this.”

“Nothing we can do. If we rush, he’ll just pick us up, one by one.”

Even when talking, Ron kept his eyes on the lookout.

“Surely we have time?”

“No, I’m confident he can defeat each of us before we manage to regroup.”

“That skilled?”

“Yeah. You saw him during sparring. Kyril’s account,”

“Guys!”

Julia alerted them, she just sensed something.

More than that, she sensed it so close. Ryan and Ron alert, turned to a tree.

“Shana!”

“Huh?”

Pak!

A shard of ice landed on the branch she was on, embedding itself deep.

Cold, white mist spread out.

“Crap!”

Feeling a sense of dread, she slid down.

She made an orange trail, yet it stopped halfway. The white mist turned ice solid, freezing the branch and her feet. Within second, orange mana covered her.

Her Mana Coating.

“Go!”

Ryan gave the command, Ron already slid towards her.

Yet before he reached her, a silhouette grabbed her in the air.

Disappearing, only white trail filled their view.

She was no more.

Yet Ron did not stop, he slid forward, following the trail. While he did, his blue mana covered his body. Ryan was behind him, covering his back with his spear. Julia stood up. Violet mana covered her hands, she followed suit.

Ambush did cross their mind, but they could not stop.

'We miscalculate. He's faster than we thought,'

After a moment, Ron turned to his left. Swinging his spear to his front, he anticipated an attack.

Yet seeing his front, his eyes widened.

His thought shaken.

Ryan arrived a second later.

Witnessing the same thing, he could not believe what he had seen. He dared not to, yet he was quick.

His mind snapped back to reality.

Soon, Julia arrived, hands filled with violet mana, ready to strike.

“Julia, don’t look!”

“Wha?”

Still, she looked.

Human’s curiosity was just too much to handle. As she did, she trembled. Her mind blanked out. What was it that she saw?

Her mind could not process what it meant.

Actually, she just could not accept it.

In her view, Shana was on a tree trunk.

Her hands raised on top, solid ice surrounded her.

Most importantly, there was something planted right on her chest.

“No…”

A spear.

It was a spear, piercing her chest, smeared with blood. Blood covered her, from her cheek down to her chest. Ryan waved at Julia, yelling something.

Yet she could not hear him, she was shaken.

Shaken, through and through.

…

In the sky, the device with an observation crystal hovered, transmitting the visual to the audience.

In front of the crystal balls, many gasped, their mouth left open. Most parents, quick with their hands, covered their children’s eyes.

The staff members, witnessing this, stood up in shock.

“Hey, hey, that’s?”

“The hell?”

“You’ve got to be kidding,”

“No, no way?”

“Ah…”

Among them, Kristine, with her uncle and aunt, stood up.

She knew it was Krone attacking, thus the view left her mind blanked out.

Her mind was all white, tumbling upside down. It was akin to a small ship going through a storm in the sea.

A vicious storm.

“Uh,”

“Kristine!”

She fainted, prompting her uncle to catch her, again.

…

“Julia!”

Ryan’s call pulled her back from the shock. She saw him, now coated with indigo mana.

“Pull yourself together, it’s just—”

“Oi, Ryan!”

Ron called him, a dark being approached his side.

It was a bunch of leaves, bound together as one. Though it seemed like a monster, they all know who it was.

Krone!

Swinging his spear from below, a spear met it. Ron was pulled forward, while his spear was thrown up.

Up, all the way to the sky.

Ka!

The spear hit the observation crystal up above the trees.

…

“What, what happen?”

“Something hit the crystal!”

The transmission to the crystal balls was broken, leaving the audience back in the base hanging, perplexed.

…

“Damn!”

Ron took out a knife from his back. As he turned, ice shard landed on his feet. White mist spread, solid ice froze his feet.

A brief moment.

It all happened in such a brief moment.

As Krone’s spear swung down on him, Ryan’s spear blocked it.

No nonsense, Krone pulled his spear to the side. Eyes wide, Ryan experienced what he had heard before.

The Flow!

It was as though Krone’s spear latched onto his.

Pa!

“Ugh,”

A punch.

A direct punch on his chest, on his Life Armor.

The punch hurt.

Really hurt, it actually shook his Mana Coating.

So strong, he had trouble breathing, his Life Armor’s crystals dimmed.

Witnessing this, Julia’s mind restarted.

Violet mana on hand, she formed spheres, blasting both forward. Krone simply turned Ryan’s body, shielding himself.

“Ah!”

Her attacks landed on him.

Fortunately, it was the Daria-magic series, just a pat in the back.

Krone’s spear turned, a piercing strike went towards Ron.

Immobile, he was a target practice.

Ka!

Directly, it landed right on his Life Armor.

‘Damnit, it hurts!’

The Life Armor dimmed, losing light completely.

He stopped his breathing, trying to take in air bit by bit. His legs gave in, he kneeled halfway, feet still locked in ice.

Meanwhile, Krone put his hand on the back of Ryan’s neck.

He trembled.

“Ugh,”

Ice covered his neck, taking his consciousness away.

Slowly, he dropped down. Krone turned to Ron, hand on his neck’s back.

Ice filled it, he too lost consciousness.

“Ah,”

Julia had prepared another round of attack.

Yet as she did, the two who was supposed to engage him, had fallen.

‘So fast?’

Krone placed his fingers on each of their neck, nodded.

‘They’ll live,’

He turned to the girl, violet spheres on her hands.

‘But you,’

His eyes locked on her.

Witnessing those eyes, she trembled.

Different.

So much different to the eyes she used to see.

‘No, this… This is not, him.’

“Daria-Lu!”

She placed her hands together, releasing her mana in the nearby trees out.

Pak, pak, pa!

Shattering bits of mana spread all throughout the area.

Krone did not bother avoiding, for a reason.

“Daria-Gus!”

Eyes on Krone, her palm towards him.

Violet mana came out from her, homing right into him.

‘Heh,’

Pain.

Massive pain, as if needles kept going in and out.

For a normal boy, he would be crying out on ground, in pain.

Yet this one, kept on walking, as if it was nothing.

“K-krone? A-aren’t you, in pain?”

“Pain?”

His voice cold, he stared her.

She shook.

Cold.

Cold, dark eyes.

Dread filled her being.

As if the boy in front her, was someone else.

No, as though he was something else.

Human? No, no way.

Instead, he was the reincarnation of a demon, cold-blooded.

His eyes valued none, not even her.

As if she was nothing, but a bug to be squashed.

No mercy.

“K-krone?”

Tears filled her eyes.

As she forced the word out of her mouth, warmth flowed below.

Flowing spring, she could not control, no more.

Krone waved his hand.

Pa!

A shard of ice landed below her.

She did not avoid, she could not avoid.

Her mind was paralyzed, completely.

Half-frozen right where she stood, she could not think clearly.

Yet no one should say she was weak-willed, others would faint already.

She was not weak.

Instead, it was his fault.

Slowly, he walked passed her.

From her back, he placed his hand on her neck. Ice covered her, he then took her away.

Away, from her comrades.

He slid through the forest, with her on his hands.

While she still could see, her mind was broken. Nothing much could be processed, not right now.

After several slides, he stopped near a rocky hill.

Hands on her back, the solid ice retracted from her into his hand.

She was still unable to move, yet he threw her right onto the ground, one filled with dead leaves.

“Ah! Ugh,”

She coughed, and kept coughing out.

Her chest in pain.

Drool was on her mouth, tears in her eyes. Dead leaves on her face and body.

Exhausted, she slowly turned to him.

To him, someone she thought, was kind.

Not just kind-hearted, but capable.

Someone who she thought, able to understand her.

Again, she trembled.

His eyes, shattered what sweet dreams she had.

Those innocent, naïve dreams.

“K-krone, you, you’re scaring me,”

She felt her legs, yet they refused her command.

Still facing him, she dragged her body away with her hands.

“Krone, p-please.”

“Sorry,”

While his mouth did say so, his intent flared out.

In full force, the intent was so dense, so fierce.

Those who were used to life and death battle, would know what it really was.

“Julia S. Garde, I’ll have to get rid of you.”

“Krone?”

He gripped his spear.

Mana flowed out from him, right into his spear. The mana intensified, he was serious.

Her heart was pounding, hard.

Even in her paralyzed state, she knew. Something was wrong, really wrong.

This, was not supposed to happen.

“K-krone, why?”

He turned silent. His eyes, cold eyes, did the talking.

No more nonsense.

DIE.

“Arte Instana,”

SHIII—

His hand moved.

A swirling wind pierced the air.

…

==== Chapter 26 End ====