Chapter 380: Survival

Luckily for the pair, they were constantly being observed by the abyssal guards. While there had been some lap in Eldrian's protection during the fight, that was long ago and the dwarves were mostly back to peak condition. 

Unfortunately, the dwarves needed a few seconds to react. Enough to stop the surprise attack should Eldrian and Vivian survive long enough. But not should they fail to react.

After the first dagger came a second and third. Luckily they were aimed where the two had been, a spot that was now vacant. Eldrian had grabbed Vivian and booked it after blocking the one dagger.

The shock from the first had sent chills through his body and caused his heart to feel like it was in a vice. Eldrian realized immediately that whoever was aiming for them was far stronger than them.

His fear for both his own life and Vivian's sent his adrenaline rushing and his mind racing. The world slowing down as Eldrian pulled Vivian forward, causing the two following daggers to miss her, just barely. Too close for comfort, far too close. 

The air currents caused by the dagger's flight cut through Vivian's skin. Not a serious injury, yet the daggers not needing contact to cut sent shivers through her. The sudden pain as Eldrian pulled her forward made her realize the danger but not yet grasp what was going on.

"What the-" She couldn't finish her question as Eldrian shoved her to the side and a blade appeared between the two. It was so fast both could hardly even see the blur, leaving Vivian stunned at both the cutting wind suddenly to her side and Eldrian's reaction speed.

Naturally, the only reason Eldrian was able to sense the danger was because his mind had gone into overdrive. His mind was racing trying to survive, as well as to save Vivian. He knew they were aiming for his life, whoever this was. However, he was certain they would not mind killing Vivian in the process. 

It had been some time since Eldrian had entered this state, and it felt slightly familiar to what had recently happened. Luckily he was also aware of what was happening, having come to learn a bit about this special ability of his when he tried to use the immersion chair. 

After pushing Vivian to the side Eldrian had hoped the blade would come for him, and it did. Even with the world around him being slow, the blade still moved in a blur. 

Yet it coming for him did not cause Eldrian to despair, instead, he smiled as relief flooded him. He had no idea that there were a bunch of dwarves rushing to save them. He thought it was all or nothing, and he was determined to not go down without a fight. 

'Calm down and think,' Eldrian told himself as he fell and bounced on the ground to avoid the blade, yet every second it drew closer.

'Aoidos will be no use, I am far too slow and the person is already too close.' Eldrian thought as he also started using mana sense subconsciously to try and enhance his chances at survival. His eyes lighting up as he took in everything the ability could offer him.

He did not even think of limiting it. Letting all the information flood his mind, somehow he was able to even sort through it all and make sense of things as the blade neared him again. 

Amos flew in between the two, Eldrain realizing that while he could think far faster, he couldn't move to keep up with his thoughts. However, all that he needed to control the pauldron's ability was his thoughts. 

As such the shield moved faster than his arms by a mile. The dented shield took a massive hit and was sent flying through a few trees, Eldrian's connection with the pauldron lost as it reverted back to its normal state and fell apart. 

Yet, it had done its job. The split second it had given Eldrian was enough for him to pull out the shortsword he had gotten as a reward. 'Spells will likely not go through that fabric,' Eldrian thought, his assailant covered in some type of black cloak that hid features. 

'However, this devil shouldn't expect this.' Eldrian thought as he gripped the sword and pushed all his will into overloading the crystal inside of it. To make the biggest explosion he possibly could.

A curse of frustration came from the assailant as he realized he had yet to kill his target. 

'Eat this!' Eldrian shouted in his mind, knowing that he would not be able to get the words out. He also did not wish to alert the assassin of his counterattack. With all his strength he threw the blade while augmenting his arm to boost his speed. Activating Kyma's shockwave ability to increase the sword's speed even more. 

"Ha! What do-" The assassin suddenly stopped speaking as he felt the massive amount of mana in the blade. Far more than Eldrian even had in him, as that would just have been a trivial amount to the devil. 

No, as the blade flew through the air and Eldrian lost consciousness due to the sudden lack of energy, it started to glow. The glow growing as it traveled, becoming a blinding light that seemed to have a targeting system of its own. 

"Shit!" The assassin cursed as he suddenly tried to teleport away, only to find that all the shadows near him had disappeared thanks to the glowing blade. He also did not have near enough time to summon his flames, gritting his teeth he turned to the blade and crossed his arms to have the cloak cover as much of his as he could. 

The blast that followed was not massive, however, that did not mean it was not strong. The blade exploded just as it was about to make contact with the devil, just as the devil thought of dodging to the side.

Bursting into flames his favorite cloak was immediately burned to ash, only for the explosion to suddenly implode and pull him back in. The searing heat ravaging his body, but not enough to end a Devil Prince's life, even if he was one of the weakest of the litter. 

It was at this time that Bringïrr made it to the fight, however, it was also at this time that Milgoroth knew his chance had disappeared. Summing his demonic flames, he disappeared from sight in a burst of black and red. Appearing a few kilometers away, falling to the ground as he cried out in pain. 

Only to be forced to teleport again when a lich became interested in the sudden appearance of a wounded devil. An evil curse following the disappearing flames as a prized experimental subject managed to escape a lich's grasp. 

Bringïrr stood stunned, unable to come to grasps with what had just transpired. He knew he would only be able to stand his ground against the devil prince, getting him to flee would be beyond him. Even with his amazing armor and weapons. 

Somehow, Eldrian had managed that with but a Tier 2 blade. His method made no sense, but Bringïrr would not have that distract him. The noise was certain to have caught the attention of people at the camp and all the abyssal guards were forbidden from being discovered by them.

'Forgive me Hrothgar.' Bringïrr mumbled as he walked to Eldrian and thew him over his shoulder. 

"What do you think you're doing!" Vivian shouted, having finally managed to recover from the shock and assuming that the dwarf was their assailant. She cursed herself for her stupidity in not having Nelida's flame with her, yet she stood her ground. Fists at the ready. Unlike Eldrian, she did not have a dimensional storage. 

"I was not the one who attacked you," The dwarf replied and prepared to walk away, only to find that Vivian charged at him. Her courage impressed him however she was far too slow. 

Simply stepping to the side Bringïrr dodged her strike with ease. Vivian however would not give up after that, trying her best she kept trying to attack the dwarf, until another of the abyssal guards arrived a few seconds later. 

"Bringïrr, what are you doing?" The new arrival asked, Vivian stopping in her tracks as she felt the energy drain from her. Realizing that if she could not even land one hit on one dwarf, then she stood no chance against two. The only thing that made no sense to her was why dwarves would target Eldrian. 

"You felt the fight too, didn't you Girlan?"

"I felt the malicious intent and the collection of mana, yet that does not explain you defying orders."

Turning to face his companion in arms, Bringïrr sighed yet refused to put Eldrian down. "Do you not understand what just happened?" 

"He survived an ambush," Girlan replied without much concern. 

"Yes, against a Devil Prince far above his rank. One with a stealth ability and a teleportation ability."

"Then he should be dead, not even we can survive against such a combination. At least not without our armor."

"Yet he is not dead. He managed to react to the attacks from this assassin. Why must we only protect him from the shadows like assassins?" 

"Because those are our orders." A new arrival said, turning to Bringïrr with a scowl. 

"Hrothgar..." Bringïrr paused as he felt his determination slip. Just as he was about to put Eldrian down a hand clasped his shoulder. 

"While we have promised to serve, sometimes we can only do so by doing what we believe is right."

The other dwarves immediately bowed down in greeting to the new arrival, leaving poor Vivian even more confused as she looked at the dwarf in rags with an old dirty cloth around his head. Acting as a blindfold, covering the hideous scar where his eyes used to be.