"Milleia! Hey!" Eric shook Milleia to wake her up but she seemed unconscious.
"I-Is she alive?" I asked while wiping the blood on my lips.
Eric nodded at me. "Yeah…she protected us and you protected her. You did it purposefully…right?"
"Yeah."
Obviously, Milleia's safety was the priority for me so I protected with even more mirrors. I looked at Milleia's face. Blood was bleeding from her forehead and nose. I gritted my teeth, seeing that. This whole world was against us. I felt like it was even more dangerous than in the Game.
"Interesting." Suddenly clapping sounds echoed.
"I'm honestly surprised that you survived this attack," A man in dark blue armor said. He had black hair and deep green eyes. He seems to be in his early twenties, a few years older than me but he was extremely strong. I could feel it.
Anyway, he and his mates were also in that dark blue armor which had a dark blue wings engraving in the chest part, showing and confirming that they were from the Arvatra Empire.
"Oh, isn't that the escaped rat? He joined with other rats, I see." The man smiled seeing Eric glaring at him while clenching his injured arm from before.
"Who are you?" I asked though his face seemed familiar to me…
The man shifted his gaze toward me and smiled. "It will be Lord Melvin for you. Melvin Troyen, a Commander of the Arvatra Imperial Army."
"Melvin…?" Now, I was sure. I definitely heard about him.
"Yeah…" Eric nodded at me. "You remember that Prince of Arvatra? He is his bodyguard and advisor."
Now that Eric said, I could remember a little about him. He was that annoying guy always with that arrogant Prince of Arvatra. Was that bastard who sent him here?
"Why did you attack us?" I asked with a threatening tone.
"Why?" Melvin sighed and drew his sword from his waist. "I am here for that." He pointed at the Golden Grasses which were scattered on the ground after Milleia lost grip on them.
That B*tch-!
Before I could turn back my eyes on him, Melvin's figure blurred and he appeared next to Eric who was kneeling besides Milleia. Eric immediately protected his face when Melvin's leg reached him at a sonic speed.
-BOOOM!
With a loud boom, Eric was flung away and crashed on a tree. "AGH!"
"What a beautiful girl…" Melvin muttered seeing Milleia's unconscious face. "But…she is no match in front of our Princess." He added and picked up all the Golden Grasses.
-BAM!
I swung my white staff and despite Melvin's attempt to block it only with his hand, he slid back several meters away. "Give them back."
"That weapon…" Melvin's eyes scanned my staff. He tried to grab it but-
"Anathemas Fire," It wasn't time to hold back. Those guys were really trying to kill us.
"!" When a purple fire started enveloping the staff, Melvin swung his sword at my neck, clearly to kill me.
"Reflect." I summoned a mirror next to me and the mirror reflected Melvin's attack. The sound of a sword slicing skin rang.
Silence befall right after that and only the rustling of the forest's trees' leaves disturbed that silence.
"W-What happened?"
"Commander Melvin…is injured?"
"I-Impossible…"
His knights couldn't believe what they were seeing. They seemed to hold their Commander to high respect.
"You have two Legacies…" Melvin stepped back and wiped the blood on his cheeks, revealing the fresh scar. "I can't believe someone like you is roaming around in a lost forest like that."
"Eric, you slept enough." I ignored Melvin and called out to Eric.
"I know…fuck it…" Eric stood up and spat blood. "I understand who you are now."
Well, the moment I revealed the Anathemas Fire, it was easy for him to guess who I was.
"We don't have time for that. Can you bring Milleia out of here? I will buy some time." I asked him in a serious tone.
I knew I couldn't beat that guy who was at least 2 Ascensions higher than me but I had to guarantee Milleia's safety first. As for how I'm going to escape, I still had the LifeStone for one attempt.
"Are you serious? You can't beat them alone." Eric said.
"I know but I have a way to escape. Just take her away-"
"No." But Eric cut me off. "I have a way to bring all of us out of here but I need time. Just two minutes."
I was surprised at his words.
He seemed confident and his solution seemed better than mine.
"Alright," I nodded and swirled my staff before pointing at Melvin. "You attacked Eric while knowing well, he is the son of the Duke Scarlett? You sure have guts." I scoffed at them.
Melvin burst out laughing at my words. "Do you think I will believe that? Two commoners are insulting and fighting High Nobles of the Arvatra Empire. You are the ones in danger. You should better die peacefully right now to avoid any repercussions."
I can't believe it.
He does not believe Eric is the son of Duke Scarlett?
"Hey, Eric. You don't have the badge of your House?" I asked Eric. He should have it.
But Eric averted his gaze. "I didn't bring it with me."
Are you serious?
How the hell is that guy supposed to believe someone who forgot something so important is a noble?!
The Badge of the House is given to all the children of nobility and they have to keep it with them always when they go out. I also had that before but I left it in the Falkrona Mansion when I abandoned my status as Heir.
"And you attacked him for that? If he ends up to be really Eric Scarlett, you will get the Celesta Kingdom as an enemy, I can swear to you that." I said to Melvin.
"In that case…we will not have any problem since you will disappear without any traces remaining," Melvin said, clearly not even uneasy about my words.
"A Commander of Arvatra who doesn't recognize the face of a powerful heir of the Celesta Kingdom is pathetic." I spat contemptuously at Melvin.
As I spoke to him, I glanced at Melvin.
He was holding a stone in his hand and reciting something.
He still needs more time?!
As I thought that, a tremendous pressure leaked out from Melvin's body. His smile was no longer there and his sword was pointed at me. "Your Fire is really dangerous kid…I will have to kill you."
"Septem Treina, Thrust!" I swung my staff in a piercing motion and it elongated at a shocking speed.
Melvin barely reacted to the speed and raised his sword, deflecting slightly the direction of the staff. "The problem with such a long weapon is that…" Melvin smirked and rushed at me. "You are defenseless, once it parried!"
"First Wing!" I tilted my head and Melvin's sword cut some of my black hair which turned back to their original grey color once cut.
"Hm?" Melvin frowned seeing that. "Something is strange about you." Then he turned toward his men behind him. "Kill the other guy and the girl."
"""Yes!""""
As if I would let that happen.
I stomped the ground and jumped toward Melvin. The latter smiled and raised his sword to swing it but just when I approached him- "Second Wing." I vanished from his vision and appeared in front of his surprised knights. Then I swept my staff in a circular motion and knocked away three of them. Their armor broke and their eyes turned white in an instant.
"B-Bastard!" The other two swung their swords angrily at me.
"What's happening here?" A voice resounded out of nowhere and stopped all our movements.
Who again?!
I turned around and s saw a beautiful woman in also a blue armor floating above the ground. To be more precise, wind was swirling around her legs, keeping her mid-air.
This one, I didn't know who she was but she was also extremely strong.
Not good.
I summoned a mirror and entered it to get out next to Eric via another mirror.
"You are a sure resourceful kid," Melvin said, impressed.
"You are only a few years older than me, don't act like someone you are not," I sneered at him.
Eric?!
I glared at Eric who was still playing with that damn stone!
Two minutes had already gone long ago!
Eric let out a tired breath and nodded at him. He grasped Milleia's hand and waited for me.
It was finally ready.
"I will get an amazing pleasure to kill you, kid." Melvin said with a crooked smile.
"Enough Melvin." The woman landed next to Melvin.
"Stay out of this, Karen."
"No. You already have the Golden Grasses. We don't need to waste time here anymore. I have to join the Princess." The girl named Karen shook her head.
"You don't understand! This guy is dangerous. We should get rid of him now." Melvin pointed at me.
Karen glanced at him and raised her hand. "Then do it." A tremendous amount of mana started to gather around her hand, giving me goosebumps.
"Not today, morons." I snorted and put my hand on Eric's shoulders.
We both vanished in a reddish light.