Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Emory lay in a puddle of blood. His blood. He had been stabbed through the heart— defeated, just like that.

He was the Frenzied Barbarian. The leader of the Frenzied Five. He was second-in-command in the Miststorm Riders, and he was confident he was a better fighter than his so-called boss. It was the reason why Emory was left to rein freely despite his ostensible allegiance to the bandit group. And that was because there was no true singular person in charge of them. After all, the Miststorm Riders were supposed to gather west of the Astrad Kingdom, but it was not a directive given by their boss.

Instead, they had been given explicit orders from above— from the Sect of Abyssal Thorns.

Very few members of the Miststorm Riders were aware of this fact. Only half a dozen of their members were even aware of their true allegiance. They had no idea they were supposed to aid the Kingdom of Kal’s offensive against the Astrad Kingdom by raiding and pillaging the cities and towns to the west. Westwend, Lullin, Skystead, Whiteridge... a plethora of targets, some they had even previously struck before in the past.

Most of the bandits just followed these orders, thinking it was their boss who was capitalizing on this war for profit, even if in reality that was not the case. So there was no true leader of the Miststorm Riders. Emory was free to do as he liked as long as his actions were in line with the Sect of the Abyssal Thorns. That was why he was out here, burning some random village in the middle of the Astrad Kingdom.

At least, until that brown-haired woman showed up.

He didn’t understand it. She had killed Adrian, the newest member of the Frenzied Five, with a single swing of her sword. She had moved so fast, Emory couldn’t even process what happened until moments after it happened. She stabbed him through the chest, destroying his heart.

Now Emory just lay there. He couldn’t feel his hands. His body grew cold. The world around him slowly faded away, like flakes of snow melting by a fire. He tried to gasp, but no words came out.

His vision grew dark. His Skills refused to respond. Even [An Unbridled Rage] failed to take over and push his body beyond its limits. After all, no one could survive without a heart.

But as the Frenzied Barbarian felt his grip over his life slipping— as he heard the echoing sounds of battle in the distance— he heard a voice calling for him.

He heard the Void’s call.

And he seized it in that instant.

—--

I stepped back from Emory, lowering my blade. I flicked the blood from the rusty metal and faced the remaining three figures standing before me. Jalynn, Gerard, and Lizeth. Bandits, or whatever. I didn’t know or care about their motivations. I just waited expectantly as they gaped at me for a moment.

“So... are we done here?” I asked with a raised brow.

And they broke out of their stupor. All at once, they cried out in outrage.

“How dare you mess with us!” Jalynn the Savage Swordsmaiden yelled as she charged me with her broadsword. The weapon shimmered, growing in size as she swung down at me. “We are the Frenzied Five—”

“More like the Frenzied Three,” I said, raising a hand and catching the giant blade. She blinked as she tried to pull the weapon back, and I slashed up with my own sword. I sliced her in half as I spoke simply, watching her fall. “Or... the Frenzied Two now, I guess.”

“Gerard! Distract her!” Lizeth called out, taking a step back. She began waving a crooked staff in the air as the mist coalesced around me.

She vanished within the white blanket as Gerard sprinted around me. He circled faster and faster, splitting into multiple different figures. He became nothing but shadows as the mist grew thicker until it was practically solid.

“[Shadow After Images],” Gerard the Darkmaster whispered. His voice echoed all around me as I saw shadows darting all around me. “You may be strong. But you cannot kill what you cannot see—”

I just turned around and reached out, grabbing him out of the mist. He yelped as the shadows vanished. I held Gerard by the neck as he choked, struggling in my grasps.

“W-what? How did you see me...?”

“I can see that you’re an idiot,” I said flatly, before tightening my grip.

There was a snap. His body dropped limply on the ground as I turned around. My eyes narrowed as I raised a hand, pointing into the mist.

“I can see you too, you know?” I called out at Lizeth.

But she continued chanting quietly to herself, weaving a spell circle out of the air. Symbols floated and glowed as they shifted. The last of the Frenzied One pointed my way, yelling out.

With that, the Frenzied Barbarian leapt forward. The ground exploded at his feet. A massive crater was left behind just from his sudden movement. He cackled madly as he raised a glowing fist and struck out at the brown-haired woman.

He had moved so fast, she couldn’t see it. She couldn’t even react. Amelia just stood there as he punched her across the face. The ground shattered open. A crevice opened up behind the girl. The nearby houses were blown apart from the impact alone.

Emory grinned as he stared down at the brown-haired woman.

“How’s that? Do you feel the full might of the Void?” he asked triumphantly.

And Amelia just stared back up at him, having not budged an inch. “Not bad, honestly. I wasn’t expecting that.”

The Frenzied Barbarian paused. “What?”

“But if you think that’s the full might of the Void—” she continued, and Emory gritted his teeth.

“Die!” he screamed as he threw a flurry of punches at her.

He assailed her from all directions. Rapid strikes that aimed for her abdomen. Kicks to the head. Powerful blows that should have been able to wipe out an entire city. The ground shook, and the landscape shifted. But his attacks just bounced off her like they were nothing.

And she continued speaking nonchalantly. “...you’re sorely mistaken. You’re hardly as strong as the weakest voidbeast I’ve fought as you are right now.”

Emory clicked his tongue and leapt back. He stared at the brown-haired woman as she looked back at him with a bored look on her face.

“This... is impossible.” He clenched a fist, eyeing her angrily. “You are impossible!”

For a moment, he almost let his rage overtake him. But he caught himself. He was a [Barbarian], but he wasn’t going to let himself lose his cool. After all, a [Barbarian] beholden to his rage is nothing but a foolish brute with no real strength. It was by mastering his anger, Emory managed to reach his level of strength.

The Frenzied Barbarian’s anger dissipated. The veins on his face vanished as he steeled himself. He faced Amelia with an amused look on his face. “Ah, I understand now. This is some kind of Skill, isn’t it?”

She didn’t reply. He must’ve been right on the mark.

“I am sure you are quite proud of yourself. But you know just as well as I do that your Skills cannot last forever. Meanwhile...”

Emory thumped a fist on his chest, a crazed look on his face. He had struck himself so hard he had drawn blood. But the wound vanished, being healed in mere moments.

“I cannot be killed! Not as I am right now! If you strike me down, I will keep coming back until your Skill ends and you are dead!” He laughed wildly as he took a step forward. His purple aura grew in intensity as the world vibrated once more. “I am invinci—” he started.

And Amelia slashed down with a glowing blade. There was a flash. In an instant, his vision vanished. Emory vanished. A blast of white light engulfed him. It blew apart the earth, cutting across the sky as the clouds above parted. The purple aura was no more, and the world returned to normal.

It happened so fast, Emory didn’t even realize he was already dead. He had no last thoughts. No moment of realization. He was completely gone from Vacuos in a fraction of a second.

The glimmer of light dimmed as Amelia sheathed her sword. Taking a step back, she sighed as the white aura briefly covering her quickly vanished.

“Annoying asshole,” she said, shaking her head. “Making me use magic to kill him even though he’s so weak. I probably should’ve just cut him into pieces like that minotaur, but...”

She swept her gaze around the destroyed village. Bodies lay scattered across the gravel roads. Some were corpses, while others were still alive and breathing, although bleeding and dying.

“That would’ve taken too long, and I probably need to get them some healing potions.” Amelia glanced into a bag she had at her side. She saw the vials she had inside, remembering their price. “This... is going to be expensive.”

MelasD

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