'How is Izumi doing?' Erik wondered, seeking cover to shoot at the Orcs. 'It's just Erika and I who can't handle this shaman…'
Coming out from behind a tree, Erik fired at the shaman, but his shot was muffled by a mana shield.
Quickly, he somersaulted to hide behind another tree. Investing his mana into his pistol to create more ammunition, he searched the forest for his sister.
Erika was hiding beneath a rock, while the screens emerging from the system sought to break up the Orcs.
Without taking his eyes off his sister, Erik twisted his arm under his shoulder and fired backwards. The shot hit the mage directly.
'I've already defeated two archers, while Erika defeated a mage…' he pondered. 'Izumi took three with him… So, there are still seven Orcs, one of them being the shaman…'
Sighing heavily, he swallowed his cowardice dry.
"Erika! Change the targets of the chains, I'll need cover!"
The girl frowned.
"What?"
Without hesitating, because if he thought about it he would give up, Erik stood up and walked out of the cover. Quickly a flash of mana was thrown at him, but he dodged it with agility and aimed his weapon.
"Idiot!" Erika screamed, as if her throat was tearing.
Quickly, she turned her chains on the mages who sought to execute her brother. The chains crawled along the ground, bypassing any obstacles, and appeared just a few meters in front of the Orcs.
Quickly, the Grey Orcs tried to attack Erika's chains, but the girl was able to retreat easily.
Far away, at the end of the Orcs' field of vision, the barrel of Erik's pistol emitted a small burst of light. A projectile broke through the magical barriers, shattering them like glass.
The shot went through the Orc's throat.
[You leveled up!]
'Enchanting mana with one's own mana and creating a counter energy reduces the effects of spells… But nullifying defensive spells?' The feat Erik had accomplished surprised even him.
Loading the gun again, Erick prepared to fire.
But, emerging into his blind spot…
In the shadows created by the environment…
Erika moved her chains again. Looking proudly at her brother, the glow in her eyes was quickly absorbed.
"Erick!" he exclaimed, letting his body slip out of the protection.
A dark mist consumed the girl's field of vision.
Erika coughed dryly, her throat tearing as blood spewed from her mouth. Her eyes darkened and veins of blood bulged out.
She fell to the ground, writhing in her stomach as the sensation of being stabbed countless times set in.
"Erika!" he shouted in despair upon seeing his sister's condition.
Still, he continued shooting at the Orcs: with the shaman as the main target. The shaman's influence on Erika's state was obvious.
Erick's desperate and angry eyes widened in extreme tension.
He was determined to sacrifice his mana to protect his sister. And so he did.
Gradually, his mana bar was draining away…
[Mana: Normal state]
[40 | 120]
The mana fluctuated between increasing and decreasing as it was eventually regenerating. But it wasn't enough…
Erick was cornered…
His mana would soon run out. Without mana, he wouldn't be able to win and save his sister.
The shots were affecting the defensive spells in an extreme way, forcing the Orcs to retreat little by little. As he fired, Erick retreated little by little trying to get closer to Erika. However, the fog was hindering the approach.
He was afraid to get close.
"Don't come any closer!" An outside voice exclaimed to Erick.
The son of the Berta house hesitated for a moment, opening the way for the wizards to attack.
'Drug!'
Suddenly, the rectangular glasses were filled with an intense flash.
The forest was suddenly consumed by an absolute fire.
[Kojin's Avatar]
Erick covered his face with his hand to escape the light.
[Arcanum of Salvation]
[Curse detected… Processing started.]
Azbell launched himself at Erika's side and began to analyze the girl.
'Phew… I got there in time to get this…'
From the corpse of an Orc, incinerated and sliced on the ground, Takashi rose, wielding his sword. Flames covered the trees and swayed in the wind, turning the other daemons into mere shadows.
"Hey, ranger. Where's Izumi?" Takashi asked, turning around.
"Izumi… He's…"
Suddenly, the Orc shaman's grip swayed with the wind as if the weather was under his control. Even Takashi, who had kept the environment under his control just from the moment he arrived, felt the change the Blue Orc was able to make.
"He followed Izumi!" Azbell exclaimed.
"Damn it…!" Takashi looked towards where the shaman had run, but was stopped by a spell from another Orc.
Jumping over the branches, Takashi landed next to Erick.
"Leave it to me! Take care of the wizards!" Eder ordered, arriving at the battle at that exact moment.
By increasing the evolution of his muscles so much, his speed left something to be desired…
"If Izumi-san dies, I'll marry you in the afterlife!" Takashi said, standing guard to attack the mages. "You can cover my back, right?"
Without even saying a word, Erick fired at the remaining Grey Orcs.
'Excellent.'
Takashi immediately ran towards the targets.
Within the Michizane clan, there are the Five Families of the Heavenly Court that make up the clan formed by one of the first Sefiras; Satoru no Michizane. Each of the five sons inherited one of Satoru's five divine cards…
The Michizane family, led by the firstborn, inherited the K (King) card "Will of Raijin", which gave him mastery over the lightning element.
The Kairen family, the second lineage, inherited the "Fury of Susano'o" card, where they obtained complete mastery over water and weather.
The Ganfujin and Fuhigan families, inheritances of Satoru's twins, obtained the cards K (King) and J (Jack), respectively, "Ookuninushi's Harvest" and "Fujin's Storm", having mastery over the stone and wind elements.
Finally…
The Katayo family, descendants of the temperamental son who envied the sovereignty of the firstborn... inherited the K (King) letter "Will of Kagutsuchi", which gave them mastery over fire.
However, what unites these five families is the way their descendants used the first letter as soon as they became aspiring Sefiras…
[Enba Style]
The technique of imbuing weapons, or one's own body, with the elemental property of mana and creating a powerful enchantment capable of resisting and attacking with veracity.
Among the Katayo family, the second most prestigious of the clan, Takashi was the so-called genius, the 1 in 1 million chance that was born in each generation, capable of being born with mastery in this art.
In the 12th generation of Sefiras, Takashi Katayo was the absolute dominant of the fire element… The Flame Factor.
Bringing the blade to unnatural temperatures, Takashi ran through the fire he had once caused. Just the contact of his sword with the flames was enough to contradict nature itself.
With a superheated blade enchanted with the flame element, Takashi quickly decapitated an Orc.
Looking up at the sky through the gaps in the leaves, he watched for a moment the darkness of the night dominated by stars. Afterwards, he sighed in discomfort.
'All this power… For a mere aspirant?' Erick thought, before a screen appeared for him.
[Apparently, there is a group of aspirants that matches the absence of members on your team. Do you want to merge the two teams?]
"Yes…" said Erick.
Quickly, he looked up Takashi's Rank and was shocked by the result - both Takashi's and Eder's.
'Rank D, huh… Really, all this strength makes sense now. No wonder they're called Catastrophes…'
***
Izumi gasped in front of the corpse of the Orc Spearman.
During the fight, he looted the Orc Butcher's cleaver and used the weapon in combat; at least, the small part that was left: since the blade was cracked, it did not last many blows before the cleaver was split in half.
Still, he managed to win with effort.
The black vest, responsible for protecting Izumi from countless deadly attacks during the confrontation, was open and stained with the aspirant's blood. His vision became blurred with his labored breathing, as the energy gradually returned.
Stuck to his face with sweat, his black hair covered Izumi's eyes, blowing his strands away. Looking sideways, he stared at the last Orc.
It had been seven minutes since he had distanced himself from the Berta twins. But that last fight could have been far from victory…
Izumi was tired. Fighting three creatures of that size was too much for his level. What's more, he had the responsibility of returning to help his team…
He moved his left arm, which cracked his shoulder with an agonizing sound. Groaning in pain, Izumi crawled towards the last Orc.
'I have to go back…' he pondered with tired eyes.
[Mana: initial state]
[10/60]
Izumi's stamina was almost non-existent, while her mana was unable to recover her body's strength due to the low reserve level.
'If I can exchange some points in the system store…'
It was impossible there. He hadn't seen the system store yet, so he didn't know how it worked. He didn't know exactly what to look for either.
Izumi was already thinking about running away.
However…
A system screen appeared before him, bringing joy to the surface.
[An external team met the requirements to join yours. The two teams were merged. The team now has six members.]
Only one name gave him hope…
[Takashi Katayo]
'Takashi!'
His eyes shone brightly, hiding behind a tired expression.
"Even if I sacrifice all my mana…" Izumi said, adopting an upright posture. "I will return."
Expelling air from her lungs, Izumi enchanted her hands with the water element, creating small waves of blue aura.
While the other four families stuck to a single style like martial arts or fencing, the Kairen family, having the most malleable element among the five, taught two fighting styles to its practitioners…
[Sea Lotus Style]
[First flower]
Trails of energy followed Izumi's hands, creating waves of water in the air as if she were showing off in a parade.
"You use the sword, I use my fists… But you're the one at a disadvantage." Izumi mocked confidently, leaving the Orc extremely distressed.
Driven by rage, the first to attack was the Sword Orc.