[give me power stones!!]
The smoke from the explosions scattered, my ears were ringing and my heart was beating rapidly.
What happened? That's the first thing that came to my mind.
Just ten seconds ago I was checking that wolf's intestines and then everyone exploded...
And worst of all, I won't be able to collect my reward...
Because it was just fire, there were no intestines, blood, bones or anything like that, the wolves explored completely and if it hadn't been for my barrier aura I would have been hurt.
But the explosions were so violent that they momentarily disoriented me.
Smoke billowed as I struggled to stand, but the next moment I felt a cold, super-thin metal on my neck.
I knew what it was...a sword.
"Haaa...really?" Was all I could mutter as I sat on the ground, I still had my barrier aura on but this sword had completely nullified it, Whoever my attacker was must have been extremely powerful...
"Really?! That's all you're going to say after we set up that perfectly planned ambush?!" A boy's voice reached my ears and the sword began to slide down my neck.
The sword spun around my neck, It was a golden double-edged sword with a red crystal embedded near the handle, but what caught my attention the most was that it was almost two meters long and in front of me appeared a boy with black hair and red eyes with an irritated expression
He didn't look older than 16, but he still exuded an aura of power similar to Reída's.
"What do you want me to say? You should be ashamed, young man! Look at you attacking people from behind!" I grumbled and I could see a vein pop on the boy's forehead.
"Hmm! You have no right to complain! Villains like you must be eliminated!" He screamed and I began to conjure mana in my hands.
"Okay, okay, but first tell me, who sent you? Was it Darius, perhaps? Or was it Millis?" I asked him while looking into his eyes.
The boy's expression turned into one of disdain and then he smirked and his sword pressed even closer to my neck to the point of pain.
"None of them? And what are you talking about, Darius, the Minister of Ars? You were planning to go there and kill him, weren't you?!" The boy said with obvious irritation and I just smiled mockingly.
"No, in fact I already killed him, why? Were you one of his subordinates or something?" I replied.
"Nnngh! Of course not! I am a hero! I am an avenger! I will defeat you and avenge all those poor people you killed in Millis and Ars!!" The boy said as he got into a fighting stance.
I just smiled, this kid seemed to get upset easily so I decided to keep playing with him.
"Oh? So a hero? Then tell me your name? Because honestly...I've never heard of you!" I said with a toothy grin and the boy clenched his fists in anger and surprisingly He lowered his sword and beat his chest with one hand.
"That remains to be seen! My name is!-
"Ahem! Mr. Hero! We're getting off topic!" A familiar voice sounded behind me and my breath hitched.
I didn't even have to turn to look at him and my anger started to rise again.
"Gesee...you have a lot of balls to stand near me again!" I shouted, abandoning the games.
"Hah! Nice to see you too Boss! I guess you already know my new adventure partner huh?!" Gesee muttered until he walked behind the black-haired boy
The monkey-faced son of a bitch was wearing a silver tunic that covered his face, leaving only space for his eyes and nose and what appeared to be a breastplate and several rings on his hands and green boots.
It was clear he was armed with magical items, and judging by this bastard, all of this was to counter my magic...
"Stop playing games, damn it! I'm still angry by your betrayal in Shirone! You're a damn coward!" I shouted angrily.
"betrayal? What does this child mean?" The black-haired boy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing that matters to you! Concentrate on him! Don't you want to be a hero!?" Gesse shouted angrily and the black-haired boy's attention quickly returned to me.
"...I see, you convinced this kid with delusions of grandeur to try to kill me because you know you're a fucking good-for-nothing coward, huh?!" I yelled as I stared at Gesse and the boy's sword quickly returned to my neck.
Gesee's smile faltered and he clenched his fists but quickly recovered.
"No, it's nothing like that, I just want you to have a slow and painful death while I watch! I want you to suffer like all those innocent people you killed in Millis!!" Gesse shouted and I could see that he was looking sideways at the black-haired boy.
He is convincing him...
"That's right! And when everyone hears that I'm done with you, I'll be hailed as a hero!" The boy screamed, and his sword dug deeper into my neck. I could feel it starting to cut me...
"...you know what Gesee? I thank you for this" I murmured softly as a smile formed on my face.
"Hmm!? Thank me for what? You know I'm here to kill you, right?!" He shouted in confusion.
"Yes! Thank you for this, because you don't know the hell I've been going through these past few days...So now all I want now...is to beat someone to death without any restrictions!!" I said with my voice full of hate and both of them trembled, one more than the other of course.
"Hah! Don't make me laugh! What chance do you have against-agh!"
Without letting him finish speaking, I used a Sonic boom and sent them both flying until they crashed into the trees.
Without wasting a second I got up from the ground, unsheathed my sword and using gravity magic I jumped away from them.
"tch! Damn brat!" The black-haired boy screamed and lunged at me at a terrifying speed.
"!!!"
Shit...I've never seen anyone move that fast...not even Randolf.
The world around me seemed to slow down, I didn't know where the attack would come from and I knew that no matter what I did I couldn't stop it...
"nngh!" Without thinking I rose into the air with a Sonic boom and I could feel how right at my feet the sword grazed me, a sensation that gave me chills.
I rose three meters into the air and stayed there using gravity magic while I tried to find the black-haired boy but...
A force pulled me to the ground at a terrifying speed.
"aaagh!!" It was a hard blow, meant to hurt, my ribs and nose were broken by the impact but I jumped up and when I looked to my right there was the boy with black hair
"Those tricks don't work on me! Your control of the world's power is nothing compared to mine!!" The boy shouted, raised his sword in an arc and a force pushed me until I crashed into the trees.
My already broken ribs broke further followed by other bones and I fell to the ground.
I put my right hand on my chest and a yellow light came out of it and healed me instantly.
"Fascinating...what my friend Gesse said is no joke...magic without enchantments, huh? I've never seen anyone to perform a feat of that magnitude," the boy said with a mocking smile.
"That's not my only damn trick!! " I screamed and raised my hand to catch it in gravity.
"Oh no! You won't!" The kid screamed and started running in circles around me, so I went for the the simple way.
"Haaa!!" With a shout I increased the radius which my gravity magic affects.
"Ah?!, what?!!, aaagh!, damn liar!!!" The child screamed while it remained suspended in the air.
But before I could turn him in human mush...he smiled.
"I tricked you!!" He screamed and his image disappeared from my sight in less than a millisecond.
I had fought enough to know what this meant.
So without hesitation I created a now more increased gravity field and rose through the air until I flew over the treetops.
"Damn coward!! Fight like a man!! " I could hear the kid screaming as I tried to gather my thoughts.
The kid can also use gravity magic and it seems to be superior to mine...I'll have to be careful...
"Huumm!" In less than a second I conjured a hollow stone bullet 30 centimeters long and immediately felt as if something pulled me to the ground again.
"nnhhn!!" The force of this impact was greater but I could see that the boy was pointing his sword at me so I threw the stone bullet without hesitation.
I fell to the ground with a thud, barely able to stop myself, the stone bullet broke the sound barrier and closed the distance between me and the boy in less than a second.
"Hmm! Child's play!! " Ironically the boy said and broke the stone bullet in half but... he ducked before the shrapnel reached him.
"Haa-ah!" He shouted with a mocking smile and started running towards me, noticing my confusion.
He closed the distance between us in a millisecond and I could barely stop his blow.
(kroom!!)
Both swords collided and the force of the impact was as if a sledgehammer had hit me in the chest while I was on the ground...
It was so strong that even my feet hit the ground and my arms went numb instantly.
Which only made the boy's smile grow even bigger.
"Surprised?!" He yelled with a smirk and I used a Sonic boom to get away from him but... I didn't even know how, but he cut my spell in half and lunged at me again.
"nnngh!!" Seeing that none of my spells had any effect, I created two stone pillars, one in front of me that protected me from the boy's attack although he split it like butter.
And another which I threw into the sky.
A kinetic attack...if all else fails...
The pillar of earth broke everything in its path until rising into the heavens, the Child watched as it rose and then looked at me with a disdainful smile
"Heh! I admit it! You're full of tricks, kid! But none of them will be effective against me thanks to your friend Gesee!" The boy declared as he got back into a fighting stance and I tensed up.
Of course, it would be strange if he didn't do it...after all, they want to kill me.
"And from what I see, your sword skills are barely Saint rank!! Impressive for your age, but against me, that's useless!!" He declared and raised the sword to the height of his head.
"If I had faced you at certain times I would have been a formidable opponent, that's for sure!!" he screamed and the ground around me began to shake and when I realized I was floating without control.
"But it's time to end this..." He continued talking.
I tried to cast spells at them but they remained floating in the air and rose in the same way, my gravity magic was also useless no matter how much I tried to move using it.
It was clear that the child had much more control than I did in that area...or not?...
His sword...the red crystal in it, every time he uses a magic attack that red stone lights up, but it's not like a simple magic object...
It's as if the sword generates its own gravity, like a planet...
"In my right hand a sword...in my left hand a sword, with this sword I will claim countless lives, my name is Alek Kallman III and today is your end!! It was the last thing I heard and immediately I was thrown to the ground with tremendous force and became unconscious.
...
[third-person point of view]
Smoke and debris rose up everywhere, the range of the attack was more than a hundred meters around and everything around was completely crushed.
"Hey! Is he dead?!" Gesse shouted as he crawled through the rubble, his silver tunic was covered in dust and he coughed repeatedly.
Right in the middle of all that mess stood Alek Kallman III with a relaxed smile and just looked sideways at Gesse.
"No, look, he's here, he's unconscious," Alek replied as he pointed the tip of his sword at an unconscious Paul.
"tch...this bastard looks like a spoon!" Gesee muttered as he pulled a dagger from his robes and quickly approached Paul.
"Wow!?, what are you doing!?" Alek asked alarmed as he blocked Gesse's path to Paul.
"What am I doing? Have you lost your fucking mind? We have to kill him now before he wakes up!" Gesee shouted angrily.
"No, killing him now would be dishonorable, let's wait for him to wake up," Alek declared, crossing his arms.
Gesse blinked a couple of times in confusion and when he realized it he gritted his teeth in anger.
"Honor?! What the hell are you talking about?! Get out of the way or else when this bastard wakes up he'll kill us both!!" Gesse screamed and started struggling with Alek but it was useless.
"I said no!! If we do this we won't be better than him! I'm a hero! And if you get in the way I'll kill you!" Alek declared seriously and raised his sword ready to attack.
Gesse shuddered in fear at this and took several steps back but still had his angry look.
"Fine! But if that bastard manages to escape, it will all be your fault!" Gesee shouted as he sat on the floor.
"Hah! Did you see his wounds? There's no way he'll escape in that state!" Alek said with a confident smile and Gesee just grumbled.
"nnngh..." Paul started to wake up and a smile formed on Alek's face
"Well...time to finish this bastard off properly" he muttered and Gesee nodded.
...
[Paul Pov]
I opened my eyes immediately, I didn't know how much time had passed and how I was still alive but I was...
The smoke and dust around me was so thick I could barely breathe, I could easily feel how I was half buried in the rubble, I was face up but my lower half was covered with a big rock
My legs were probably torn by the force of the fall or something similar since I can't feel them...
In fact, I can't feel any part of my body, I can barely breathe and my vision is blurry.
They almost made it this time..." I muttered to myself.
I had been saved completely by a miracle, I pumped all my strength to be able to counteract the child's gravity magic but I could barely slow down my fall and my barrier aura didn't help much even though I pump it with more mana than normal...
So for the first time in my life since I was training in my early years of life in this world I feel like my mana is running out...
"Oh?! Gosh! Wake up now, you little sleepyhead! You don't want to miss the next part, do you?!" The boy's voice reached my ears and I could only grit my teeth in anger.
And from the last thing I heard this kid is called Alek Kallman III like the North God.
I opened my eyes lazily to find Alek and Gesee in front of me, Alek had the tip of his sword in my windpipe and Gesee had a mocking smile.
I quickly raised my hand and conjured a fireball but Alek split it in half and hit me with a blow to the temple that almost sent me back to sleep.
"Wow! Easy there, buddy! You don't want to run out of mana, right?... Oh well, exhaust your life reserves." Alek said with a sadistic smile while looking at my hair for some reason.
I tried to heal myself but I could only cast beginner level magic, I was terribly sleepy and had a lot of chills, now I had run out of mana completely.
"Looks like they caught me this time, huh?..." I muttered weakly.
"Hah?! Of course! Who the hell do you think I am?!" Gesee said in an arrogant tone while looking at me.
"Hehe... I guess I should have taken your threat more seriously, huh?..." I muttered coldly and Gesee just trembled in mockery.
Prrr!...you were always so scary boss...from the first moment I saw you...now then, do you have any last words?" Gesee asked and as if on command, Alek's sword began to sink slowly into my jugular.
"Yeah...was it worth all this mess just because your master Hitogami told you? You know what he does to his followers, right?" I muttered and Gesee's eyes widened.
"Hitogami?...wait, you know about Hitogami?!" Alek suddenly asked and the pressure of his sword on my neck disappeared.
"Yeah...don't tell me you're also an apostle?" I muttered angrily.
"No...we Kallmans are sworn enemies of the false god!!" He shouted and his gaze fell on Gesee.
If Gesse's face was scared before, now it became one of absolute terror as he looked at us.
"B-both...you two know him too?!" The bastard screamed in terror as he started to walk away from us.
"Yes...because of him my whole family is dead and my friend betrayed me and deceived the North God..." I murmured weakly, Alek opened his eyes wide he looked at me and then looked at Gesse, I stared at him for several seconds and then clenched my fists in anger and gritted my teeth.
"Oh here we go...huh?" As I looked up at the sky I could see a small black dot falling towards us at high speed... right, I had forgotten that.
The stone pillar was falling at a terrifying speed right in front of us but I didn't say anything, this was my chance to finish them both off.
"Gesse..."Do you know what he just did?!" Alek shouted as he got into a fighting stance, I could feel the anger and hear it in his eyes and Gesee just trembled like a scared cat.
"W-what are you talking about?! You're supposed to finish off Paul and become a hero! What do you care if Hitogami appears in my dreams!!" He shouted and Alek frowned even more.
"You have no idea how many sleepless nights I've had, how many wasted dinners I've had, and how many ruined sleepwear I've gotten because of that faceless bastard in my dreams!" Alek began to scream with visible fury as the color drained from Gesse's face.
"And just because I never paid attention to him...just because of that he started threatening to kill me!!Alek continued as Gesse looked at me pleadingly...
I looked up at the sky and the stone pillar was already visible...
"nnnngh!!!" With all my strength I concentrated what little mana I had left and created a barrier aura.
"Surely this was a strategy to kill us both, right? Am I wrong? You don't have any of the qualities of a hero...huh??" As Alek shouted to Gesse the stone pillar closed the distance in less than a second until Alek noticed it.
"damn!!!" He screamed and I closed my eyes preparing for the impact.
(kroom!!!)
Due to its drill-like shape, the stone pillar penetrated the ground until it lost all momentum and then exploded creating an expansive slingshot that made me lose consciousness again.