When Kairos heard her pleas, he felt himself being shredded from within.

Run?

All 18 of them stopped the moment the assassin seized the princess. There is a distance between them that no matter what movement techniques they use, it wouldn’t be fast enough to stop the assassin from crushing her throat.

Even her spirit contract - the Greater Water Elemental, Triteia, was helpless here. It is only an S rank nature spirit. Despite its ability to loan its strength to its contract master, it wouldn’t make a difference while Relestia in the hands of a Triple S ranker.

The assassin was feeling delighted at successfully nullifying the situation, “Looks like this girl is still useful. I don’t mind killing her last… hahaha. Seeing everyone die for her would be her reward! Oh oh oh, just thinking of their expression set my blood churning.”

He shot those that wanted to save her with a gleeful look, but the moment he set eyes upon Kairos his smile disappeared and found himself petrified with fear.

There was an unnatural force of rage in the boy’s eyes. Even without words, he could tell what was left unsaid.

I will crush the hand that dares touch her!

A 13 years old’s anger should’ve been powerless and laughable, but in that pair of sparkling black eyes, the assassin saw three dragons that stared right back at him with terrifying pressure.

Engulfed by draconic aura, he shivered uncontrollably.

The wrath of divine creatures- even in the form of Ki - is not something that a mere Triple S ranker could withstand.

Dragons had always been the ruler of beasts, but that is only saying True Dragons, the ones with purer bloodlines and royalty amongst the wyrms, wyverns, serpents, wurms, and drakes.

The images that the assassin saw belongs to a species far more mythical. The progenitor of the great draconic race, Ancestor Dragons.

These are beings that are nature’s most primaeval elements that gained self-awareness and taken physical form.

Amongst all the Ancestor Dragons, of course, there are different ranks, from dragonlings to adults, to elders, to lords, to monarchs, and topping off with the Primordial ones: Sacred Dragons that each held absolute control over one of the elements.

Although what he saw was just dragonlings, he already couldn’t believe his own eyes. How could a mere mortal realm boy create the Ki of Ancestor Dragons?

Fear gripped onto him like never before.

It was an unreasonable dread formed from the instincts of meeting a superior predator. At this moment he really wanted to flee.

However, this same pair of eyes that struck crippling fear into the assassin was indescribably lovely for another person.

It was filled with the pride of a man who would grind his heel to dust and stand his ground for her, no matter the kind of enemy he was facing.

It was like a legendary hero had come to life and stood before her, guarding her. Not many can stand unflinchingly before death, and still aim his blades at a superior foe.

Which princess had not imagined themselves being held prisoner and their knight in shining robes coming to their rescue?

Relestia was not devoid of such fantasies either.

Granted, she is already half frightened to death even before the assassin killed her, but at this moment… she can’t deny she’s feeling blissful.

Although the assassin was frightened, the fact remains that a mere twitch of his fingers will be enough to end the princess’ life.

Even the boy that stands before him would be unable to change that.

And although he was certain of his situation, he couldn’t help but look at his hand.

He took a sharp breath when he lowered his eyes.

“My… MY HAND!”

The limb that touched Relestia had disappeared. What’s left was a red stump.

There wasn’t blood or any mess, but a simple, clean wound.

Despite it happening to him, there was no pain. Even the cause of the wound, he couldn’t tell.

“When…? How?”

The assassin stepped backwards, away from the princess like she was a frightening monster.

Nay, he fears the one who protects her, even if it was a boy younger than himself and weaker than himself.

That’s because, he knew with full certainty that if even a hair drops from her head, this boy… no… this abnormality… will split apart the heavens and the earth for her.

Kairos did not have to say anything. His wishes were strongly conveyed through every fibre in his being, and it was enough to paralyse the assassin with such fear that even after his arm was chewed away, he didn’t realise.

At that moment when Relestia was held hostage, there was no one here quick enough to rescue her. But, there is one exception.

Ancestor Dragons.

No matter how young the dragonlings are, they are celestial beasts true and through. Kairos immediately summoned the fire and ice dragons that he had given to the 15 disciples with Aisa conveying to them his thoughts, and faster than anyone could follow with their eyes, they chewed off the assassin’s limb.

The little ones didn’t even waste any blood and bones.

The only slight remorse Kairos had was their speed was so fast that they didn’t inflict much pain. And, unfortunately, he couldn’t use this move a second time. With the assassin now wary of the dragonlings, he could easily protect himself. The

The bite of these celestial creatures may be strong, but as infants, they only had a chance when their target was distracted.

The princess didn’t even realise that she had been freed, and she instantly collapsed onto the floor and cried, “Why, why did you still come?”

In her eyes, she only saw Kairos running towards his death.

Kairos, on the other hand, smiled. It was a radiant look like the sun had risen.

At the same time, the assassin reacted.

When people are in abysmal fear, there are all kinds of responses. There will be those that flee, those that scream loudly, and those that fall to the ground paralysed.

And there’s one last possible reaction to fear: to lash out and destroy the things that frightened you.

This kind of people are a little rarer, but he was one of them.

Hysterical of whatever took his arm, the assassin overloaded his power in an instant and madly charged towards Kairos.

Everyone, including the disabled guards, and of course Relestia who is directly in front of him, was in his way.

A sickly murderous sword Ki that surrounded the assassin. He merely unleashed his power, and it was already enough to decimate everyone that comes close.

Bloodlust rolled towards them, along with a wave of pure energy filled with his fears and mixed with a disgusting wish to destroy anything that might threaten him even the slightest.

However, compared to before, this attack was much weaker. Created without using any technique and born from his cowardice, it was lacking despite taking up copious amounts of his strength.

Regardless, a beast driven to the corner is dangerous.

Kairos rushed forward, grabbing Relestia into his arms, then spun and hid her behind his back.

“Acha…! Now you’ve done it, to think you’d want to match your sword against mine,” Jones exclaimed with a fearsome aura immediately exuding from the boy. It was as though the Sword Sovereign himself had descended.

Then, with quick steps, he flickered and appeared right in front of everyone and stood alone against it.

“TRY MY SWORD AURA!”

*ping ping ping *

Accompanied by the sound of blades, there was a clash between sword intents. In a moment their differences immediately showed. One was like a blade that severs everything, while the other is a mere killing tool.

Just standing at the front, the Ki that met him was sliced apart like water touching the sharp point of a sword. At the same time, the 15 disciples formed hand seals to disperse up the excessive energy of the assassin’s sword aura.

However, although Jones was stronger, he started trembling with effort after a few seconds, and this was with everyone’s Ki backing him.

Kairos does not know how Jones had been suppressing the poison in his body, but it’s obvious that he cannot last much longer. The swordsman’s condition is worsening by the minute.

Kairos left Relestia’s side and rushed forward like a bolt released from a bow. The concentrated power of the entire group had shifted to him, and he thrust his Swallow at the assassin with a frightful force.

More flustered than he should, the assassin desperately fumbled to fend off the strike. The attack strength that was many levels beneath his own caused him to panic, but he managed to redirect it.

He re-composed himself and counterattacked like a viper.

But at this moment, a small flash of light disrupted his Ki.

Absolute Void Talisman.

The charm that Kairos drew that despite using the same materials as his brothers it only resulted in a single-use-consumable. It wasn’t because of his techniques or understanding of runes were lacking, but the effect of the talisman was too powerful for the materials to last more than one activation.

Of the five talismans that he and his friends created for the Snowdrifts, the Absolute Void was the least popular because there were too few of those talismans that were made and its effect lasts only for a moment.

But, during that moment, the tides of battle can change.

The assassin that was in the midst of powering his counterattack felt his Ki severely disrupted.

His strength abated unnaturally and a dark red mouthful of blood spurt out from his lips.

Then, at the next moment, a pocket of Ki flew out from Kairos’ fingers and disappeared into his left thigh. His eyes dilated with horror, and without hesitation, he sliced his leg off with his sword.

His instincts were uncanny because the next second he saw the fallen limb contract into a fist-sized ball imploded into a red cloud.

Standing on one leg and left with only a hand, he stood there covered in his own blood. If he had his Ki Barrier, such an attack would not have done anything except sap a little of his energies, but because of the Absolute Void Talisman, he couldn’t even feel his Ki.

He recovered swiftly enough, as much as someone in his situation could, but the next moment, he despaired.

Kairos attacked relentlessly, and another pocket of Ki had accurately struck him on his right thigh.

The assassin couldn’t believe that such a fearsome technique could be used repeatedly, and just like before, he immediately sliced off the affected limb, and he fell to the ground.

Again, an implosion sucked in his leg and blasted the area in another torrent of blood, flesh and ash.

He roared in anguish and fear… largely fear.

But, he knew that Kairos wanted to crush him utterly, and just as he expected, the third attack came.

In the span of a single second, the three Immolation Fingers struck him, and this time it was aimed at his only intact limb – his sword arm.

The assassin decisively reversed the sword with his right hand, and through a swift spin he sliced it off.

Now, the entire place he was at was filled with bloody gore, as he laid on the ground like a human block.

“You monster! You...!”

The assassin did not beg for his life but shouted incoherently. Unfortunately, Kairos was not in the mood to listen.

This sequence of attacks was vicious but with extreme efficiency.

Kairos had not attacked the head first because a person’s weak-point is always the most guarded. If the assassin tilted his head, his attack would’ve missed, instead, aiming for the arm and legs was far more crippling.

Taking out a leg, he created an interval as the assassin frantically tried to save himself. The pain of slicing off a limb might be crippling to others, but with the sharpness of his blade, the assassin barely felt a thing. Therefore, Kairos only had an incredibly short moment to attack again. He chose to aim at the hand-less arm first, after all, a sword master’s sword arm is the most difficult body part to target after the head.

Because of his second Immolation Finger, the time he gained increased and with it, he managed to strike a third time and destroy the assassin’s sword arm. It was an incredibly high-speed series of deftly executed moves as Kairos had to accomplish all three attacks at the moment that his Absolute Void’s effect lasted and his target couldn’t use Ki.

Now without any hands and feet, even a Triple S ranker could not pose a threat.

“HAHAHAHA!”

It seemed all but defeat was waiting for him, yet the assassin laughed uncontrollably while flat on the ground.

There was no humour in his eyes, and his face was filled with rage.

Despite how perfect his plan had turned out, Kairos frowned. The reaction from his enemy was worrisome, “As I thought, things wouldn’t end so easily.”

His next attack came even faster than the three Immolation Fingers before, and this time he aimed right at the assassin’s brain. He had not been using all his speed before to deceive his opponent and make his final strike unavoidable. As Kairos estimated, the assassin could not get react in time as the deadly pocket of Ki flew towards his forehead. Without an accident, his head will implode like what happened previously.

However.

“HAHAHAHAHA! Heed my words, I will repay you for what you did! I will tear you limb from limb and make you watch. I will shred all your friends to bits before your eyes! Remember. You. Forced. My. Hand!”

A helmet suddenly covered the assassin’s face, and then a muffled blast happened within. The implosion occurred anyway, but a moment of silence later, the visor lifted by itself and it revealed the assassin’s bloodshot eyes and half a face that was without skin.

It was a terrifying visage, made worse with the rage that the assassin felt.

“Paltry tricks! None of you is a match against me. NONE!”

That armour was an extremely high-level protective armour given to him by his sect. It was normally hidden underneath his skin, protecting his skull, but when activated, it will grow to cover his entire body. As a sect-level treasure in the immortal realm, its defences are incomparably more powerful than a Ki barrier and enchanted with elemental resistance.

Since Kairos’ technique could only affect energy and living things, the implosion that occurred remained at the skin level and the assassin’s life was spared.

As a core seed in his sect, the cost of his training is unimaginable. Getting one or two equipment like this was nothing surprising.

An entire body armour appeared quickly, and the assassin roared with gusto, “You’ve not yet seen a fraction of my true power. You think your strange techniques will save you? I spit in your face!”

After saying that, the assassin actually shot a glob of saliva at Kairos which was easily dodged. In return, everyone attacked at this moment, using the strongest skill they could muster in an instant.

Clenching his teeth, the Triple S ranker manipulated his armour and took out a small pill bottle from his fallen Time-Space ring. He crushed it with the gauntlets to retrieve an eerie-looking black pill then immediately popped it into his mouth.

“Because you dared to anger me, be prepared to pay the price.”

In his armoured state, he could disregard the unceasing attacks, but when he ate the pill, Kairos paled.

“The Devil Turning Pill! Everyone, get back!”

A filthy and nauseating presence came from the teen’s body. Everyone’s faces paled, and those who could move helped others to step back.

The assassin’s irises turned into the green flames of Gahanna, and an unnaturally wide smile appeared on his lips.

“That low-class devil seal? No, no, no. What I ate was the True Devil Turning Pill. Hahahaha.

Do you know what that means?

Unlike its incomplete version, I’ve gained control over the devil’s powers but kept my own consciousness. After I’m done with all of you, it will be a simple matter for me to return to normal. At that time, I’ll be flying back to the immortal realm to get my rewards, while you all…

You will be fortunate to find a way to die. You will pray to me every day, every moment, for release. I. Will. Be. Your. God!”

While he spoke, his limbs started regenerating, and even covered by the armour, the rest could tell how revolting his body was, but the power that they sensed was unfathomable.

P.S. according to the power-level, the immortal realm assassin is about twice as powerful and could defeat three to four opponents at Syriong's level at the same time.

Right now Kairos' group (which are in the Northern Swords Array) is slightly stronger than Syriong: Roughly 1.5x of the guardian's strength.

This gap can be breached using different tactics, artefacts, celestial beasts that are a higher-level of existence, or techniques that the assassin had never seen before.

However, while they could beat him up, the fundamental difference in strength is still there.