Chapter 160: Distracted

Kyrie weighs his eyes on Lin, and his entire being boils with rage. Lin should have been that important person that Kyrie wanted to remain in the past, cut off cleanly after that tragic chapter. Now, this very person stands in front of him as if all that pain and agony is just his own made belief. Even though this small voice or alarm continues to remind him that he is still in a crisis, the events of that chapter consume his mind. 

The images of his mother mercilessly flash in his mind's eye. Kyrie tears up while remembering that pitiful wilting figure, and his heart continues to sink. Kyrie couldn't bring forth joy finding out that his father is alive. This person has so heartlessly left him and his mother to face so much harassment because this man tried to play the hero.

Lin's eyes harden at his son's pale face. He quickly stares at the pile of debris where the witch is under, and he steps closer to Kyrie.

"We will talk later about what you are curious about."

Kyrie lets out a scuff, "Curious? Why do you think I want to know?"

Watching Kyrie starting to be consumed by his feelings, Lin tightens his jaw. 

"Let's concentrate on defeating that witch first."

Multiple bombings lift the winds upward. Lin's clothes and hair ruffles upwards as he looks towards the platform of the arena. Kyrie follows his line of sight and sees an army of elves striking down the demon puppets who were overwhelming Laurel.

Kyrie finds Nate among those elves subjugating the puppets.

[Ah… So he knew what I was doing all along…]

-Slap-

Lin's hand harshly strikes across his face, and his mind has cleared up those racing thoughts from shock.

[It's not the right time. I know.]

Lin has tried to prepare to meet with Kyrie later on, but this unforeseen event requires his intervention. He couldn't let his son die like this. 

The pile of debris explodes, making some pieces fly in all directions like bullets. A deep navy bruise spreads on the witch's skin. She tilts her head and stops once her neck cracks. Another ax forms in her hand. She whips the weapon, and the debris surrounding her turns to dust, crumbling away so that she can take her legs out of the rubble. 

The image of her figure glitches, and soon, she reappears in front of them, swinging the ax horizontally in the attempts to cut them half. They quickly backstep to get away from the range where the ax could reach them, but without missing a single beat, orbs of chaos energy chase them. Soon, they find themselves only being able to dodge the upcoming vicious attacks by the hair. The witch is not backing down anymore, even when the usage of chaos energy has long started to break down her body.

Kyrie couldn't focus. His thoughts are filled with stories of the past. The intense feeling of loneliness is griping in his heart like weights. His stomach feels sick remembering the details. He is sinking into darkness.

"Kyrie!" Lin yells, taking Kyrie off his thoughts again.

[An opening!]

Kyrie thrusts the sword towards the witch, but his eyes start to water, blurring his vision.

He misses! 

The sword cuts close to the witch's neck again, but the hit is not fatal enough. Kyrie widens his eyes from his loss of opportunity. His blunder could mean thousands of lives and maybe his life. He stares at the orb that is closing into his abdomen. 

The world goes silent in Kyrie's mind. As if everything is going into slow motion, he could see the little details of the orb about to hit his body - the swirling black mist into the condensed black orb and the tiny particles excitingly shooting inside the orb. Just when he's forced to accept his fate, his death, he feels a strong push on his ribs, changing the projectile of where his body is falling. Kyrie watches his father take the hit. Lin gets thrown in the air like a rag doll and lands while digging into the floor.

[Dad?]

The image of his mother flashes in Kyrie's mind again - the loss of where he used to call home. That haunting dark room never seems to be able to get off his mind despite so many years have passed. Each day, his image of that dark room seems to become crisper and clearer. 

"Old man…" Kyrie picks his body up from the ground and runs towards where Lin landed.

The witch hugs her body, diving her own fingernails into her flesh. Her eyes lose their ardor, and her lips tremble. She bitterly bites into her lip until it starts to redden and bruise. 

Suddenly, the demon puppets freeze simultaneously, and from whoever they were combating, they turn away and gather below the witch. Although the elves block their advances, the puppets would make any kind of sacrifice to get to her. Each arrives at a specific spot. They stand as if the only reason to stay upright is their spine, like trunks of giant unmoveable pine trees where the branches hang limp, dangling on the curves due to the weight.

They stand motionless, forming a giant magic circle inscription, and activate the spell with broken voices that come deep in their throats from those sewn lips. Purple glow blares up from the ground like spikes, and those standing underneath the spell shiver. Their grumbles turn to screams, breaking their lips from the bondage of those sewn strings. Their bodies turn to fluid and join together into a floating formless liquid that soon shoots up in front of the witch. The witch reaches towards it, and the fluid forms thin animated tentacles, letting itself absorb from her fingertips.

"E-everyone should die… E-everyone should just disappear…"

The witch continues to murmur underneath her breath, but her voice somehow can travel to everyone's ears as if she is whispering close. 

Kyrie helps Lin up after assisting his dad's injuries. It takes Lin out of surprise as he senses the light magic enter his body. Although Lin never likes anyone using light magic on him, he quietly accepts his son's help while pressing his lips together, frowning, and regretting. He quickly suppresses his emotions as he looks up at the witch. From her body, frightening amounts of orbs suspend in the air, filling the entire sky caged by the stadium's opening.

Nate and Laurel run towards Kyrie and Lin. Kyrie pops more mana stones into his mouth which made Lin frown at the amount he has already taken. He enables a complicated chain of magic inscriptions in the air, channeling the mana from his palms. 

"Master, what are we going to do?" Nate looks at Lin after taking a glance at Kyrie.

Lin looks at the elves that also turn their head, waiting for the command. His heart shakes for the first time in years. One orb has taken him several layers of shields that have zapped his mana reserves dry, and even after using all his mana, the orb almost drilled a hole through his body. 

The magic inscriptions start to invoke overlapping magic circles, covering the entire arena. Fatigue starts to appear on Kyrie's face. He feels his insides scramble, and his body turns cold as if he drains his body dry off his blood. 

"We all attack once the orbs clash onto the shield," Lin reveals the plan that Kyrie has also thought of.

However, the blood from Nate's face drains. It would be a good idea if the shields can hold up to the impact, but from what Nate has observed, they are not enough to hold against the energy that fallen gods use for destruction even if that power is in the hands of an amateur mortal. 

Then, a sudden thought enters Nate's mind, "Are you probably thinking of those couple of seconds between the collision and destruction of the shield?"

Lin nods. That moment is when the witch is the weakest since she has used all her powers. Even with any kind of regeneration, it requires time. Kyrie would also use that amount of time to run.

"T-t-that… That is utter nonsense, Master! He will die! He is going to die!"

"Nate…" The collector shivers when his real name is getting called.

Nate turns around to face Kyrie, and his chest tightens. He finally has a brother, even if he has self-proclaimed their relationship. Is Master Lin going to let Kyrie face that all on his own?

"Could you give me a healing potion?" 

Nate takes out ten potions and hands them to Kyrie. 

Kyrie smiles, "I just need two."

Nate still hands all of them to Kyrie. His face drapes in dark veils, spelling everything that he is thinking. Kyrie looks around, seeing everyone's gloomy face. Laurel, in particular, does not wish to follow the plan. 

"I will leave it in your hands, Laurel," Kyrie gives her a firm smile.

Laurel squeezes her fists, digging her nails into her palms.