Chapter 43 - Unholy War - Part 8 - King Dead...

The three moons glowed enchantingly in the night sky. However, this light did not reach where Athena was.

In addition to she being in a dark alley, the place was now under a cloud of dense dust caused by the fall of a star summoned by Athena.

Amidst all this dust, Athena faced the leader of the Vultures, a tall, young man with long straight white hair, slightly red eyes, and an irritatingly cynical smile.

Athena didn't like him for not being able to cut him, but now she hated him for not being able to kill him.

"I must admit. A shooting star? I didn't expect this." Said the man covered by dust. "But you didn't think it would kill me, right?"

"Being frank? I thought so." Athena said with a crooked smile.

"Then let's put an end to this." The man said an air blast happened, sweeping all the dust away.

When Athena entered a defensive stance, she was already being hurled across a wide avenue and her armor streaked across her chest.

"Hoh... Your armor is very good." The man said.

Athena looked down, saw the diagonal streak on her breastplate, and for the first time thanked Death for the [Death Aura].

Athena realized that if not for the skill, her armor would have snapped and she died in that blow.

But that was the least of it at the moment, Athena had again been overwhelmed and still didn't understand how her opponent was so strong without using any mana.

Athena rose and looked for the unseen man on the ground, then she heard a flutter of wings and looked up at the sky.

"Serious?" Aten asked with a dry smile.

"What? Everyone has their perks." The man mocked.

"So that was it. Haha... How did I not notice this before?" Athena slapped her palm to her forehead. "White hair, red eyes, strong without using any skills or spells. It was so obvious!"

The man looked at Athena with a pitying look.

"Does it matter that you know my race?"

"Do, now I don't need to worry anymore about why you are strong without any skills or spells." Athena looked at the man with a refreshing smile. "Tell me one thing?"

"??"

"That girl in there. Did you her a servant?"

"You mean Vitia? No... She accepted my blood, but she's not a vampire."

"Then?" Athena asked with a confused expression.

"Who knows... I've never seen anything like her." The man shrugged nonchalantly.

Athena was more excited to know the source of her opponent's strength, but she was still tense.

The man she refused to know the name of, was a vampire and he hadn't even started using his skills.

Athena regretted not having bought skill learning scrolls in Tarna and began to feel the pressure of that man's presence when she remembered something.

In Reiden, when she was fighting with the men who kidnapped Fotiá, she used [Hew] just because she remembered the skill that was a torment for her in the game.

(What if...) Athena smiled and her heart pounded with anticipation. (A skill that helps me against this guy...)

Athena started rummaging through her memories, but it wasn't like the fight was going to stop as she thought and she dodged and reflected as many attacks as possible.

"I don't know why you're smiling, but I feel like you're up to something." The man said and swing his sword horizontally.

If his sword were an ordinary sword, it would have already splintered from the times it had hit Athena covered by [Death Aura], but the crimson-bladed sword seemed to regenerate every time a crack appeared in it.

"What is this energy around you?"

"There's someone who likes me and gave it to me." Athena said and this time, was she who advanced on the man. "[Fortification]"

Athena's muscles expanded and hardened, making her attacks heavier, however she slowed down and the man defended the attack with a confused smile.

Athena had just used warrior skill and it should be something that would consume martial energy, but it was Athena's total mana that decreased.

The Vulture leader was about to ask again what she was when Athena used another skill.

"[Acceleration]"

Now with her speed increased twice, Athena advanced with more determination in her attacks that matched her opponent's in speed and strength, but Athena didn't just stop with that.

"Now assassin's skill?" The man asked with wide eyes in surprise. "What are you anyway?"

"I am your executioner!" Athena said as she cut the man's neck, which made him flinch.

"I think now I can take this fight more seriously."

After saying this, the man cut his wrist with his sword and bathed it in his blood.

Blood ran down the blade but it didn't drip onto the ground, it was as if the sword were drinking the man's blood.

After a few seconds, the wound on the man's arm closed and the sword grew twice its size, becoming a big, heavy red sword.

"Get ready." The man warned and attacked.

In a matter of milliseconds, Athena and the man exchanged twenty blows that were either reflected or deflected or redirected.

The man's attacks had grown heavier and Athena's hands were beginning to ache, but she didn't flinch.

The two were the only ones who continued to fight.

In the tavern, Lobana and Sahari had already defeated all the Vultures and now they and the others who were in the place were watching the fight while placing bets.

They no longer had any use for words, all they wanted was to kill each other and they continued to attack each other.

They didn't even remember how it all started, but they wanted each other's heads separated from their bodies.

The man swung his sword diagonally in an attack on Athena.

The sword covered in a dark red aura with the use of an ability had a sinister and menacing color.

Seeing it made Athena shiver slightly.

(If this hits me, I will die for sure.)

Athena felt she shouldn't defend that and with no room for evasion, she arched her back backward, seeing the sinister blade pass before her eyes.

When the sword hit the ground beside Athena, the ground shook, cracks spreading through the place as a wave of earth and rocks flowed to the other side.

This caused the man to take too long to regain his posture and Athena did not waste the opportunity to try to kill him.

Taking advantage of that millisecond, Athena brandished her sword using the skill [Moon Slash] of the 'Samurai' class.

Her sword glowed radiantly in an intense and menacing black light, a shrill sound was heard coming from the sword and Athena thrust the blade toward the man with a victorious smile on her face, but...

When Athena had just released that massive amount of energy, three men in dark blue armor appeared.

One of them changed the trajectory of Athena's sword to the sky and the others restricted the leader of the Vultures.

"Aaah...!" Athena cried out her complaint as she saw all that massive energy fly into the sky and disappear into the vastness of the night.

***

"What were you guys thinking?" Screamed a man with nearly gray black hair and a huge scar across half of his bearded face. "Do you have any idea of ​​the damage in the capital?"

Athena and the leader of the Vultures, who Athena now knew the name, Trigan, were standing in front of the king in the throne room.

"Not counting the main avenue and the ten craters in the city, you caused the death of more than ninety people in a tavern brawl!"

"No, no. She was the one who cast that spell, not me!" Trigan said.

Athena looked at him with a disapproving expression. "Whistleblower."

"I'm just telling the truth here. It all started with this crazy woman."

"Silence!" The king shouted before Athena could say anything else. "Both are guilty. You have two choices, imprisonment or giving up the reward and fighting the war."

Athena and Trigan looked at the king with a cold gaze and the king stared back at them without a shred of fear.

"King of Basilica, I will not be imprisoned and you will pay the Valkyries. I may be tired, but I have enough strength to kill you all here." Athena said in a steady, calm voice.

The king looked down at Athena and laughed. "Try." The king mocked. "You could not resist my knights." The king looked at the man with a scar on his face.

In dark blue armor and a white cloak embroidered with two griffins and a halberd on his shoulder, the deformed man drew his sword at the king's signal.

Athena looked at Trigan, who had a murderous look on his face, and gave him a gentle smile.

That kind of smile you would normally give when you say goodbye to someone you like.

"Looks like in the end, I'm really going to kill you." Athena said without moving a feet as the knight came towards her with a menacing expression.

Trigan looked at Athena with a puzzled look and then he felt like an instinct, the air quiver and without a second thought, fled as fast as he could.

"[Eradication]"