Chapter 61:

Bladeless’s attack had indeed hit as evidenced by the massive tremor that shook its listeners’ hearts. Had she done it? Had she finally put an end to the menace that had been constantly terrorizing the battlefield mere moments ago?

Unfortunately, they were bound to be disappointed as instead of the gory scene they wished to see, what was instead visible as the dust settled was a masked man standing tall before Rine and his group with his sword held up defensively. All along the blade, a dark and hazy Aura shimmered eerily under the sunlight. This Aura spoke volumes of the man’s strength and splatterings of his personality.

‘Unique sword Aura!’ Cale thought in shock at the sight of this. Another monster had appeared.

In contrast to everyone’s shocked expressions, the masked man’s cold eyes were calmly surveying the battlefield as if deciding on who to attack first. The subtle animosity in his gaze caused many to turn away, yet most still met his gaze head-on as they sensed an oddity within it.

Was it pity? Indeed, melded into his ferocious gaze was a modicum of incongruous pity?

Finally, his eyes stopped on one particular individual.

Bladeless gnashed as she felt the slight increase of pity in the man’s eyes, but she had no time to do anything about it as her surroundings wouldn’t allow her the luxury to do so. Above her materialized a large clump of liquid rock covered in scalding flames followed by the rough voice of Borris “{Magma Burst!}”

Bladeless calmed her breathing and held her sword hilt forward as if to strike. The flames coming out of her weapon began to burn even brighter before condensing down into a fine, white-hot line. Just as the attack was upon her, a red shield suddenly appeared before her but she was unfazed and merely sent a thankful nod toward Cale.

Boom!

A wet thump several times more severe than the blast caused by Bladeless’s attack shook the battlefield and a sea of magma suddenly spilled everywhere, setting the closest fools, be they friend or foe, ablaze. The horrid screams of pain coupled with the rancid stench of burning flesh was enough to scare the rest.

Miraculously, the target of the attack was not completely dead; her charred body still showed signs of life as it stood in the middle of a perfectly cut-out clearing. Evidently, her attack was successful in preventing her death, but did that truly matter? Slowly, yet surely the encircling magma was approaching her, intending to get the job done.

Before anyone could say anything, Cale appeared above her and, after casting Flame Fangs, he scooped her away from the disaster site.

“Good! Very good!” Borris’s booming voice stopped Cale in his tracks and though his words were that of praise, Cale knew all too well the anger bubbling within them.

Borris raised his hand as if to attack once more, but Cale spoke desperately before he could.

“Quell your anger high-commander, we adventurers are too lowly a rank for you to judge personally! My comrade was at fault for disobeying you, right; but she had truthfully done so out of loyalty and love for the Fire palace,” Cale's obvious words of flattery were enough to momentarily stop Boriss’ hand.

Striking while the iron was hot, the young man continued. “You see, it was in a fit of passion that she deemed Rine a foe far too fearsome to live! One look upon the dreadful effects of his spell is enough to see why she would think that way,” He said as he pointed toward the many injured by Rine’s attack while skilfully ignoring those who died by the High-commander’s hand.

His next words brought frowns on the faces of many adventurers on the battlefield.

“Forgive her naivety Commander as she merely wished to copy the fearsome fervor and loyalty continuously displayed by the people under the fire palace’s command. We adventurers could never hope to match you, yes. But we nonetheless would like to try!” His voice had reached a fever pitch by the end of his speech and the passion emanating from his words was enough to dissuade Borris from performing any further actions.

With an exasperated sigh, he spoke, though with a clearly friendlier tone. “I see your point, kid but your partner and you have both broken the agreement signed between your guild and the fire palace by directly disobeying my command, thus your punishments shall not be light. I will discuss the matter with your guild.”

As the incident was coming to a close, the surrounding adventurer’s expressions continued to sour. On the other hand, the two palaces’ warriors and magicians had bright expressions on, especially those of the Fire Palace.

…………………………………………

Cort closely monitored the helpless looks on the adventurers’ faces as he secretly stuffed several herbs into his mouth. He was still in extremely bad shape, so much so that he had to use every advantage he had in order to remain standing. Merely maintaining the Aura that coated his sword was enough to rapidly drain what remained of his stamina, but he knew that keeping up appearances was paramount to surviving this ordeal.

Amid his thoughts as he watched Borris attack Bladeless, Cort caught the barest hints of movement in his peripheral vision. Upon turning his gaze, he could see the confused look on Amelia’s face as she closely studied him while protectively covering Rine’s head.

‘Good, she doesn’t know it’s me,’ Cort thought, sighing in relief.

Taking advantage of the raucous noise caused by Borris’s attack, Cort swiftly crouched to knock both Amelia and Calvin out with a single strike before shoving the rest of his herbs down Rine’s throat all while he lathered some of the latter’s more egregious injuries with Carson’s lotion.

Checking that everyone was alive one last time, Cort then returned to his previous stance just in time to face the high-commander who had turned toward him.

‘I only have one chance at this,’ He thought grimly.

…………………………………………

Borris’s mood was joyful as he turned to regard the masked man who had shielded Rine. In his eyes, the man had just done him a great favor, and he was just about to reward him when his face stiffened in shock.

It wasn’t just him as everyone else also exclaimed in shock.

Even Cale was left with his mouth agape as he tended to Bladeles’ wounds.

Standing boldly before the confused mass of people, Cort inched his sword closer to Rine’s throat; the endlessly swirling mass of Aura nicked the young boy’s neck causing blood to drip from yet another wound.

“What are you doing!!?” Borris screamed as he gathered Origin from his surroundings. His momentum rapidly built itself up and soon he was a hair’s trigger away from dropping yet another spell solely on Cort.

Alas, the latter stood unfazed, seemingly disinterested.

Finally, just as Borris was about to call his spell’s name, Cort viciously chopped toward Rine’s head without hesitation.

“Wait!” A desperate voice with power rivaling that of Borris called out. The voice was followed with the descent of formless pressure from above. Clint had joined the fray.

Ever uncaring of the ensuing chaos, Cort's sword finally broke into the unconscious youth's skin and blood began to flow freely from the new wound. Even then, the masked Cort did not stop his hand.

Seeing this, and after exchanging quick glances with Clint, Borris finally relented. “Ok, enough!” He said before dispelling the Origin that had gathered around him. It was only then that Cort’s sword stopped.

There the three stood, Cort on the ground facing Borris, and Clint above the both of them with a crease in his brow.

The three-way stand-off was intense enough to make the other soldiers, palace warriors, and adventurers sweat.

No one dared to breathe under the tense atmosphere and mixed emotions could be seen in the adventurers' eyes.

Borris clucked his tongue before spitting on the ground angrily. “Name your price, brat.” He said before glaring daggers into the masked man’s eyes.

The hollow darkness behind the mask looked toward him for the briefest of moments before continuing to scan the nearby soldiers.

Growing annoyed, Borris was just about to speak again before he was interrupted by a chillingly calm voice.

Whether it was thanks to magic or to the strikingly silent battlefield, the calm voice traveled far despite being low in volume.

“You poor fools,” The voice said as it drilled into the adventurers’ souls; though they weren’t addressed directly, they still felt like the sentence was directed toward them.

“How pitifully you squirm amidst the trash that surrounds you. Discarded by both your family and your guild, you try and try and try to make something of yourself. Something more. Do you know, I wonder… Do you realize how pointless a struggle yours is? What, did you think you’d be one of them if you killed enough of your kind? Did you think that if you amassed enough brownie points that they’d pin a little badge on you and call you brother?”

Emotions stirred within all those who were called out. Shame, anger, self-reflection; the sound of clenching fists reverberated throughout the field.

“Whether by unfortunate circumstance or by, god forbid, choice you were all thrown into this war because you are, and say it with me now, disposable. Look around you, look at the cuts on your bodies, look at the shit on your clothes. Now look toward those who own you,”

All the adventurers’ gazes collected solely toward a single part of their army. Though small in number, they were clearly the elite of the elite, as made clear by their pristine appearances. They were the palaces’ army. Both fire and wind standing together.

Somehow, throughout the course of the war, two groups had formed. No longer was this a war between wind and fire, but something else entirely.

Sensing the shift, Clint directed an urgent look toward Borris and though the latter was brutish in nature, he understood.

“Enough bullshit! Hand over the kid,” He waved his hand and every single palace member readied themselves for battle.

The move served two functions, the first being to intimidate the masked figure while the latter… Borris refused to admit it. Though he did make sure to keep an uneasy eye on the adventurers.

Clint’s brows furrowed harder.

Cale, however, had a pondering look on his face.

“But rejoice maggots, for I have brought salvation!” Cort’s voice took on a sudden strength, enrapturing his audience. “We are worms, yes, but so fucking what! Even worms have their strengths! Die not attempting to seek their acceptance, die spitting into their fucking faces!!”

The short speech was brought to a blazing halt as Cort stabbed his sword into Rine’s torso. Blood splattered out in vast amounts.

“No!!” Borris screamed before ordering his men to charge.

“Attack!”

“Kill them!”

“Fuck it, spit into their throats and bleed them dry!”

“For John!”

In retaliation, every adventurer, despite being individually outmatched, charged toward the palace’s army in hopes of impeding their movements.

“Shit!” Rhodes cursed before ordering half of his men to retreat toward him, forming a protective formation.

“Rhodes, you coward!” Borris scowled as the Origin surrounding him reached a new high.

“Blot Out the Skies and Melt the Earth {Volcanic Terraformation}!” He chanted before slamming his hand into the ground.

The effect was immediate as soon after doing so, the earth began to tremble and shift.

The charging adventurers lost their footing and fell to their deaths at the hands of the fire palace soldiers' well-placed attacks; clearly, the latter were unencumbered to some extent from their commander’s spell.

This wasn't the end of it however as soon the skies began growing dark despite it being noon, and the ground began to split open.

…………………………………………

In a hidden corner of the battlefield, away from all the noise, a young woman wearing a fox mask held up her binoculars as she watched Cort closely.

“Is he the one?” She asked the girl standing next to her.

“He is,”