Chapter 188 - Why?

BANNGG

A fireball hit The First's shield and exploded. Flames burst out and engulfed the area. Still, the flames couldn't burn The First's shield.

'I don't know what is going on between these people but I should fight...'

Wondering about the man's identity wouldn't help at all at the moment. Kairen could ask Kain or Reyan or even Glenn later. 

Kairen cast multiple spells at the same time. Now that he had learned how to remove the extra and unwanted parts of a spell, he had more than enough mana to do that.

The First, dodging the attacks one by one and counterattacking at the same time, looked at Kairen before raising his empty hand that was not holding his sword to the air.

ZAAAAP

Something flickered on his palm before a shiny transparent blade pupped up out of nowhere. 

No, it wasn't actually a blade, but a condensed form of aura that only swordmasters were capable of controlling.

The First moved his hand and let go of the blade. The aura blade left his palm, moving towards Kairen at a fast speed.

But the blade never reached Kairen. 

It stopped midway through in the air, then started to move back towards The First again.

The First that was about to launch an attack towards Carlson also froze in his spot. He frowned and glared at the one responsible for it.

Kairen didn't need to wonder what was going on. He was more than sure that it was the doing of Alan gramps- Ahem... the doing of Alan. 

Using that opportunity, Carlson moved his sword. Unable to move, The First was naturally unable to defend himself. The blade of the sword dug into the man's side and slashed the man's flesh. 

"Gah!"

The First gritted his teeth as he watched his flesh getting torn. The others were also rushing at him now that he was not able to move. 

He looked up. He looked at the aura blade that was still floating in the air. As soon as he did so, the aura blade shook.

"Fall back!"

With team leader Dain's shout, everyone instantly stepped back. But there was not much time for them to run.

B-BAAANGG

The aura blade exploded. 

As the blade burst open, countless smaller aura fragments spurt everywhere. 

"Ouch!"

"Argh!"

The aura fragments mercilessly cut the flesh of anyone who stood in their way. Some managed to defend themselves and some didn't.

Asa hid behind the deputy team leader's back while Rai created an air barrier around him. Carlson and team leader Dains on the other hand were dripping blood as they were hit with the fragments directly but the wounds didn't seem that severe.

A soil barrier collapsed and revealed the unscathed Mr. Hey and Reyan behind it. Kain created a water barrier for himself and Elsie simply hid behind a pillar.

Kairen on the other hand... was sprawled on the ground.

He slipped and fell down the same way that Reyan slipped and avoided The First's blade.

He glanced at the soil dude, who was also looking back at him. 

'Thank you, bro!'

He didn't know why this man was saving him but he had to thank him, at least only in his mind.

'Anyway, why didn't Alan stop it?'

Kairen turned to where Alan was while thinking that it was strange for him not to stop the aura fragments. 

If this was Alan, he could single-handedly take care of this man just as he had done to the other swordmaster they had faced before.

Alan had also done nothing since earlier and he had just stopped the man for a small moment. Now it even seemed that his power was running off as The First was slowly moving his body.

Once Kairen turned towards Alan, he saw him standing in one place and staring at something in a daze. 

He was staring at the bracelet around Kain's wrist that was getting brighter and brighter the more time passed. 

His lips were parted and his eyes were opened wide and his pupils were shaking as he was staring at the bracelet. 

It was an expression Kairen had never seen nor expected to see on Alan's face.

Today was really a wonderous day.

BANGG

While Alan was still staring at the bracelet in a daze, The First managed to fight against his 'stopped time' more and more until eventually, he managed to move his body and jump back. 

As soon as he moved a little bit away from the others, he started to extract his aura again.

A second later, a huge amount of aura was being condensed in one place.

"That's dangerous!"

"Sheilds! Barriers!"

Apparently knowing what was going to happen, the unit members hurried to get away from the man while creating shields for themselves. They reacted to the attack so fast that one wouldn't doubt that they had seen this attack before.

Still, Alan didn't seem to care about what was happening around him.

"This..."

Alan stumbled towards Kain.

"Where did you get this?"

He grabbed Kain's arm and looked down at the bracelet. 

Kain was also hurriedly moving back and creating barriers, but seeing the serious face on Alan's face, he couldn't ignore him.

"I don't know..."

Kain looked between Alan and The First while creating a water barrier once again.

"It just appeared out of nowhere after the red light blast..."

He peeked at Kairen while saying that. With him, Alan also looked at Kairen.

Kairen didn't look back at them. 

He was only focused on creating defensive barriers. He created countless defensive barriers although he knew that they would most probably not be effective.

'That is dangerous...'

He looked at The First.

'His attack is dangerous.'

The man had not even been using half of his power until now. But now, he was grabbing his wounded side while glaring at the agents with bloodshot eyes.

"These scumbags..."

He mumbled under his lips. He looked really pissed.

"You just don't understand!"

The orb above his head shone as bright as the sun.

BAAAAAANGGGGG

Then, the huge amount of condensed aura exploded.

"Ah!"

"Gasp!"

The shields broke one by one and the agents were all flung back. Sharp fragments of aura were shot everywhere and cut anything in their paths into pieces.

The low gasps and pained groans were heard from everywhere as the fragments easily cut their flesh and tore their body.

Seeing the sharp thing heading towards him, Kairen closed his eyes out of reflex. His shields were broken and he was not fast and flexible enough to dodge the fragment. 

SHHH

He heard the sound of soil moving around him. But the soil dude couldn't really protect him this time, could he? He needed all of his power to defend himself.

And even if he could, wouldn't it be bad for himself if he saved an enemy?

Even falling to the ground wouldn't help as the fragments were liberally splashed everywhere.

Pat

Then he sensed something warm and soft hit his body.

'Huh?'

Kairen slowly opened his eyes.

Drip 

Drip

His clothes were wet with blood.

But it wasn't his blood.

"K-Kain?"

"Huff!"

Kairen looked at the man that was leaning against his body with a big wound on his back and shoulder. 

Kairen grabbed Kain, but the man was too heavy for Kairen to hold. Kairen stumbled and fell down alongside him.

"Kain? Kain?"

Kain moved back his body.

"Ah, it's fine. It's nothing!"

'What is fine? Your back is torn!'

Did Kain block the attack coming towards Kairen using his own body? Kairen looked at Kain's bloody back. 

Drip 

Drip

Blood oozed from his wounded shoulder and wet his arm. 

'Asa! I should call Asa...'

Kairen raised his head to look for Asa, but he couldn't help but gasp at the scene before his eyes.

It wasn't only Kain who was wounded. 

Serria was grabbing her wounded arm and team leader Dains was leaning on the platform to stand with his wounded leg. A soil barrier had protected Reyan and that soil dude but both of them were sprawled on the ground. Deputy team leader Bray was also hugging Asa, her own back tattered.

Looking at his teammates one by one, Kairen finally saw Alan. 

He was sitting on the ground. His forehead was cut and his face was wet with blood. However, he was still staring at the bracelet on Kain's wrist with an even more shocked, and maybe devastated face.

Kairen also looked down at the bracelet.

It was shining, but it was different than before.

The color of red was starting to change. It was getting darker and darker as if it was blood.

Blood.

Kairen looked at Kain's blood that was dropping on the bracelet. 

The bracelet's surface started to change where the blood had fallen. It started to change colors and the blood faded as it did.

Kairen's mind was filled with questions.

What was going on?

He couldn't understand anything.

But it was fine.

He was stupid and was used to not understanding things.

Still, there was one thing that he knew too well.

Tap 

Tap 

Tap

He looked at the man who was walking towards him and Kain while another orb of condensed aura was forming above his head.

"I should've done this from the start."

He looked down at Kain as he walked forward.

Shivers ran down on Kairen's back. 

Was this man that strong? 

He was called the previous team leader, so he must be. 

Still, were they so helpless against the simple man?

That couldn't be! 

They had two swordsmen who were about to break through and become swordmasters themselves. They also had a weirdo who could play around with time however he liked.

It was because they couldn't fight.

No one was being serious from the start, and it resulted in this.

"Uncle!"

The First ignored Reyan's shout.

"Stop this!"

Reyan shouted again.

"You shouldn't do this!"

Reyan would've attacked The First instead of shouting if he hadn't exhausted himself while fighting with the soil dude. 

"You are also one of us! What did they do to you?"

The First glanced at Reyan for a brief moment while still walking.

"You talk just like him, boy!"

The look on The First's eyes was cold.

"And it really makes me pissed!"

"..."

Reyan opened and closed his mouth.

"He was killed the same day that you died... That... That..."

"Hah!"

The First chuckled.

"Are you asking if I was the one who killed him? Pfft!"

The First shrugged.

"Isn't your answer obvious?"

"....."

Reyan bit his lip. He clenched his sword as he tried to stand up and attack The First.

"Gah!"

But he was punched in the stomach by the soil dude and had to sit down again. 

Tap 

The First was now right in front of Kain and Kairen, just a few steps away. He was only looking at the bracelet in Kain's hand and nothing else. The First grabbed his sword and leaned a little bit towards Kain.

"Stop!"

Kairen jumped up and pulled Kain into his arms.

"S-stop!"

The First tilted his head with his smirk still on his lips as if he was looking at a cute little kid.

"You know what will happen if you try to stop me again?"

He pointed at the orb above his head.

"This thing will explode."

He looked back at Kairen.

"And what will happen next?"

The answer to his question was clear. Everyone here would either die or be seriously injured.

The First took another step forward.

"I said stop!"

The First ignored him.

Kairen looked up at the orb, then he looked at the man's blade that was moving towards Kain. 

He felt so helpless. 

He felt frustrated. 

Why was he so weak? Why was he not smart enough? Why couldn't he do anything? Why did he have to be swayed around by everything the others did? Why was he surrounded by people who could bully him so easily? Why did he have to face something dangerous every weak in his life?

Why? 

Why was he remembering every single frustrating thing in his life?

He was really frustrated.

"S-"

Kairen closed his eyes and shouted.

"-TOP!"

B-BANNNGGGGGGGG

Then, the whole place exploded.