Chapter 364

When the Stars Alight the Sky (II)

They, once again, stood up--after the 8th time they were beaten without even being given a chance to fight, the fiery spirit was gone. Egos were being bruised and beaten, prides were being catapulted into the oblivion; no matter how much they struggled, that single attack was enough to obliterate them all.

Looking up, a flux of strange emotions surged within many of the members of the group when faced with the aloof figure. Every time they stood up, he beat them down so quickly and so badly they felt like crying.

Every time one of the Mages wanted to cast a spell, their Mana literally refused them, submitting, instead, to the floating figure well above them.

The healers felt their connection with the wisps and spirits completely disappear, as though they were banned from ever casting a healing spell.

The archers had their arrows melt before reaching even halfway toward the figure.

The tankers could just blandly stare at the sky and wonder whether they’d survive being hit by half the meteors falling from the above.

Even those who knew Cain and knew he’d be destroying them felt a twine of despair.

Jamal gnashed his teeth, his fingers coiling around the handle of the sword tightly. He knew that they stood no chance, but facing the reality that was even worse than his expectations... wasn’t easy.

Ethan and Daniel wondered whether they could even approach the man--even if they were given all the time in the world.

Of everyone, only Emma and Senna remained calm. The former was mostly curious as to just how he obtained such explosive growth, while the latter beamed with pride each time she’d look around and saw everyone sprawled on the ground.

Her expression, though, spoke another story entirely--in fact, she looked more grieved than everyone else on the battlefield, as though she was ready to lose her mind any second now.

“That should be enough of the ego-checking,” the man suddenly spoke in a distorted tone, causing everyone to shudder. “As you can see, you are all weak. Chicks flapping their tiny wings about like mindless children playing.”

“...”

“Like monkeys, if you beat at the wall that is U’nul long enough, you’ll kill her. Of course you will. She’s just a boss, an amalgamation of moves that play out in predictable patterns. In a few years, you’ll be able to farm her for items, I imagine. But, what of it? You’ll still be weak. I don’t behave like a boss. I don’t carefully increase the potency of my spells to match the intensity of the battle. I don’t just fire at the tanks, conveniently ignoring everyone else. I don’t behave like a predictable set of patterns that you can skim around.

“And I won’t be alone in this. You are too dependent on the tanks soaking hits. You are too dependent on memorizing timings of the attacks rather than just learning to react to the unexpected. You fight as though the holy trinity will persist into infinity. It won’t. So,” the figure suddenly descended onto the ground and drew out a sword--it was an ordinary, iron sword, the kind that people no longer used even on the first floor. “Ten rounds--one on one. You can use whatever the fuck you want--spells, items, potions, your own shit. I’ll just use this sword and movement skills. Your goal? Hit me once. No, just scrape me. If you can do that, I dunno, Emma will give you whatever item you want.”

“...” everyone stared at him, dumbfounded. It was clear that the man was a Mage... yet, for some reason, he drew out a sword and told everyone to duel him.

“Senna, come out,” the man suddenly called out, causing the raid to shudder. Senna was, by most, seen as the strongest and most skilled Conqueror in the whole world.

The young woman stepped out from the crowd and faced the man--though her expression was hardened, her eyes sparkled with pride and awe and expectations.

“What?” she asked curtly.

“... is spanking outlawed yet? You sound like you need it.”

“Pff--” a few stifled bouts of laughter quickly died out as everyone forced their lips shut. Senna gnashed her teeth, her expression darkening.

“Come,” the man said, grinning under the mask. “Show me how much you’ve grown.”

A surge of Mana blurred from within her stalwart figure--thousands upon thousands of weapons suddenly assembled above her, covering the skyline, darkening the world. The gold glimmers of the tears in space shuddered as the weapons cried out in a choir.

Cain looked up, smiling faintly. Seeing her grow... was beautiful. His only regret was not having been here to witness it. She was no longer that suspicious, distrusting girl he’d met way back when the Towers first fell. She was a woman who carried herself with grace and countenance of strength and pride. And, most of all... she was strong. Strong enough to stand tall even among the giants.

“Here I come,” she said. “Don’t be shocked!”

“... I’d never be,” he mumbled as the shower of weapons began to fall toward him--some came from the front, some from the flanks, some even sneaked their way to his rear, waiting. And he’d even noticed that she stealthily buried the few weapons underground while everyone’s attention was to the ones in the sky.

A sense of pride swelled within him--she understood the meaning of fighting. It wasn’t a show for entertainment, but the matter of living or dying. Hiding tools, potential trump cards, and any and all means of survival was the greatest form of enlightenment anyone can achieve this early on. But... it wasn’t enough.

He became a shadow gleaming past the sea that upended the valley--the weapons dug craters and cleaved gashes of hurt in the dirt, but all missed him. He danced freely among them, his figure an ethereal cascade of shapes that bled through all danger fearlessly.

Senna continued to navigate her attack as she took flight by standing upon the blade. But no matter how many she sent, he dodged them all. He weaved in-between the tiny spaces that didn’t exist in her eyes, freely moving as though it was an open field.

Suddenly, she could no longer see him--by the time she realized where he was, she saw her health drop to 10% in a single strike. When she turned, she saw his smiling face a few inches away from her, his figure floating freely in the sky.

“Haaah,” she sighed helplessly. “Aren’t you supposed to be a fucking Mage? Why does your normal attack hurt so much, goddammit?!”

“Ah, and here I thought you’d be all ‘damn dad, you’re so cool!’ and ‘daddy, teach me, please!’. You’re no fun.”

“Everyone already knows you’re cool,” she said, smiling lightly. “And you’re already teaching us.”

“Alright, kiddo,” Cain chuckled. “Back to the rear. Wait your turn. And while waiting, think on why your ass got beat so hard.”

Cain descended back to the spot while asking a few Mages they had on the retainer to fix the terrain. Chugging a few mouthfuls of beer in the meantime, he missed the fact that everyone buried their heads even deeper down. It was one thing to be beaten down in unison next to everyone else... but they realized they’ll also get absolutely shamed in isolation, for everyone else to see.

“Jamal,” Cain called out suddenly. “You there? Or did you go into hiding?”

“Fuck, fuck! You’re underestimating me!” Jamal cursed, mostly to motivate himself. “So what if you’re strong? Shit, arrogant prick! I’ll definitely manage to at least touch you!”

“Wow~~setting expectations low,” Cain said. “Did you learn that from the bedroom experiences?”

“Pff--”

“--oh, suck my balls,” Jamal rolled his eyes and drew out his sword in a singular motion, shooting a horrid blast of Starlight forward. It was an attack that would have easily killed everyone else--or at least harmed them terribly. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel his jaw unhinge when he saw Cain gently bend eight inches to the side... dodging it. “Tsk.”

“Here I come~~”

The figure dashed forward, and Jamal swiftly swung the blade; the two collided, though not in a manner of direct combat--Jamal felt his grip weaken as the sword slid downward. Cain, on the other hand, used the momentum of the collision to slither into Jamal’s blind spot, vanishing from his sight. A moment later, Jamal felt the wind scrape toward his back, causing him to bend his body unnaturally and flick his arms in a wide motion, tearing through the spacetime continuum.

Cain ducked and dodged while Jamal leapt backward; the former, however, bolted forth from the crouching position, slashing the iron sword horizontally. Jamal deflected the strike, but felt himself being pushed back slightly--just as he was about to re-stabilize, he saw Cain use the momentum of the collision again, using it to spin in place and immediately follow-up with another attack from the other side. The 100% health bar swiftly dropped to 13%, causing Jamal to almost shriek in horror.

“Not bad,” Cain said, grasping Jamal’s shoulder. “I hate to say this, but you actually have better moment-to-moment reactions than Senna. You haven’t been fuckin’ around all these years.”

“Of course I haven’t,” Jamal sighed. “Shit. Aren’t you a Mage, man? Why... why are you so skilled with a sword? I feel like shit.”

“It’s not that I’m skilled,” Cain shrugged. “It’s just that you guys suck major ass. You’ll see,” Cain grinned. “What true melee skill is a bit later. I’m just a trifling cunt showing off in front of a bunch of kids.”

“Wow. Thanks. Fuckin’-A levels of inspiring.”

“That is my strength.”

“Just fuck off back to Narnia,” Jamal grumbled, shaking Cain’s hand off and walking back toward the raid group. “Next time, I’mma touch you.”

“What if the therapist man asks me where the bad man touched me?”

“I knew it. The moment I said, I fuckin’ knew it. I knew this prick would never let it slide... fuckin’ hell...”

“Emma,” Cain called out. “You’re exempt. Go over there.”

“Go over to your mom!!” Emma exploded and ran to the front. “Spank my ass too!”

“...”

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Cain asked.

“A bit,” Emma grinned, heaving the warhammer over her shoulders. “Here I come.”

“You usually don’t announce it, though?”

“... shit, that was good,” Emma paused for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Aside from the main party, most of the raid remained confused over their interaction.

“Don’t report me for domestic violence~~”

“Just shut your trap and fight me, bitch.”