Chapter 173 [Event] [Enigma Red Dungeon] [33] Bother

Chapter 173  [Event] [Enigma Red Dungeon] [33] Bother

"You can leave him to me," Eric said and glanced at Loid and I followed his gaze. "We should better finish this battle quickly, Edward. We are wasting time. I have a bad feeling. Elona, Miranda and Milleia are still up there."

"Sure thing," I replied with a confident nod, activating my Second Wing and swiftly advancing towards Loid and Alfred.

However, as I charged forward, the students from both groups started to converge on me, one after another. Undeterred, I spun my staff skillfully, parrying their attacks and creating enough space to continue my assault.

Under my breath, I muttered, "Anathemas Fire," channeling my energy through the staff. With a powerful twirl, I forcefully plunged it into the ground, causing a mighty quake to ripple through the earth.

The ground cracked and split open, unleashing fiery purple flames from the fissures, sending waves of heat and force that knocked back everyone in its path. The once lush grasses around us were reduced to ashes in an instant. With a quick recovery, I gripped my staff tightly, fixing my gaze on Loid.

"Now it's time for payback, you bastard," I sneered, pointing my staff directly at him. "Septem Treina!" With a sharp pull back, my staff elongated, propelling me forward with incredible speed.

Alfred, sensing the imminent danger, reacted swiftly, evading my attack with a flash of light.

Loid's eyes widened in surprise as he swiftly raised his long sword to defend himself.

The collision reverberated through the air as our weapons clashed, the sheer force sending Loid flying back, sliding through the ground for dozens of meters before crashing into a sturdy tree with a pained grunt, "Kah!"

Retracting my staff, I turned my attention to Alfred, a smirk curling on my lips. "You take far too long dealing with a weakling like him, Alfred."

Alfred's expression wavered for a moment, but determination quickly replaced it as he focused on the task at hand. Meanwhile, Loid rose to his feet, his eyes burning with fury as the wind swirled ferociously around his entire body.

"Edward…" Loid's tangerine eyes were now locked to me.

Ignoring Loid's enraged shout, I locked eyes with Alfred. "Hey, we don't have time to fight against each other. Something happened. Let's end this quickly." We didn't have time to waste fighting amongst ourselves. Alfred, although perplexed, nodded in agreement.

"Edward!" But before we could proceed, Loid lunged at me with a gust of wind, his sword aimed at me. Swiftly, I deflected his attack with my staff, causing a powerful shockwave that pushed both of us back.

Alfred swiftly disengaged from our clash and turned his attention to the remaining adversaries, determined to handle them. Meanwhile, I focused on Loid, ready to end this swiftly.

Channeling my energy, I invoked "Anathemas Fire," causing my staff to ignite with flames. The intense heat and force of the wind repelled those in the vicinity, eliciting startled yelps from the onlookers.

I smirked at Loid and skillfully maneuvered my staff, continuously pushing him back. With twirls and strikes, I targeted his sides and used my staff as leverage to deliver a roundhouse kick. However, Loid managed to block my kick with his arm, resulting in a resounding impact.

The force of the collision sent Loid hurtling through the air, but he quickly regained his footing upon landing. Without hesitation, I stomped the ground and propelled myself toward him at high speed, invoking "Septem Treina, Thrust." My staff extended rapidly, aiming for Loid's stomach. Yet, at the last moment, he raised his long sword as a shield.

Another powerful impact reverberated as my thrust collided with his defense, but it was clear that Loid had reached his limit. Frustration seeped into his voice as he shouted, "Enough!" A tremendous surge of mana burst forth from him, accompanied by the declaration, "Awakening."

Damn it. I should have ended him before he reached this state.

My realization came too late as a golden flash streaked past me, heading directly for Loid, who was shrouded in a green aura. Alfred, quicker to react, had seen the opening.

But just as Alfred was about to reach Loid, a massive shadow loomed above him, catching both our attention.

What now?

I looked up and witnessed a colossal red fireball hurtling towards Alfred.

"Watch out!" I shouted urgently, my warning lost amidst the chaos.

Reacting swiftly, Alfred halted his advance and invoked "Michael's Celestial Sword," gathering an immense amount of mana into his golden sword. With a powerful swing, he clashed with the incoming fireball.

The collision resulted in a thunderous explosion that shook the surrounding trees. Blinded by the radiant mixture of red and gold, I shielded my eyes, struggling to regain my vision.

As the dust settled, I noticed John diving towards Alfred, his sword poised for an attack. Alfred deftly parried the strike, creating a sizable crater in the ground beneath them.

"J-John?! What are you doing here?!" Layla's surprised voice rang out as she observed her brother's sudden appearance.

Well, isn't it obvious, Layla?

As a devoted brother, John couldn't bear to be separated from his sister for three consecutive days.

Sensing imminent danger, I leaped away, but a sudden impact struck my stomach, causing me to cough up blood and crash through a nearby tree.

-BOOOM!

Before I could even recover, another gust of wind assailed me, battering my face relentlessly.

-BAM!

"Aahaha! You're weak Edward! No wonder my sister left-"

-BAM!

I channeled my power into my fist, infusing it with Ruah, and delivered a powerful blow to Loid's cheek, sending him soaring through the air. However, thanks to the protective barrier of swirling wind surrounding him, he quickly regained his composure.

"This b*tch," I muttered through gritted teeth. Activating my Second Wing, I materialized in front of the astonished Loid and swung my staff downward.

-Bam!

Initially, the gusts of wind shielded him from the full force of my staff, but soon enough, my staff overwhelmed his defenses.

"Ruah, Release," I murmured, amplifying the impact of my strike. The staff crashed into Loid with even greater force.

"COUGH!" Loid coughed up blood as his body slammed forcefully onto the ground.

Releasing my grip on the staff, I leaped high into the air, diving down towards Loid.

-Bam!

My knee collided with his stomach, causing him to spew more blood.

"Anathemas Fire," I uttered, palm open, and swung down, the flames licking at his tracksuit. "You were never my equal, Loid," I declared, delivering another punch to his stomach. "A few years of absence, and you deluded yourself into thinking you could defeat me?"

"Y-You bastard!"

Grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, I tossed him aside and delivered a swift kick with my leg imbued with Ruah to his stomach.

-Bam!

He went hurtling through the air, crashing into another student. His eyes rolled back, and he fell into unconsciousness.

"Hiii!" The student who had unwittingly become Loid's landing spot let out a yelp of fear, promptly fleeing from the scene.

Am I truly that intimidating?

[No.]

"Leave him alone, John!"

"Hm?"

I turned to my left and witnessed Layla engaged in a heated argument with John, who was locked in combat with Alfred as if he were his sworn enemy. It was evident that John had an obsession with two people—Layla and Alfred. This wasn't new; even in the game, he exhibited this strange fixation. However, it was starting to become genuinely unsettling.

If I were in Alfred's shoes, I would have reached my breaking point long ago. But I guess being a prince had taught him patience, which clearly wasn't my strongest suit.

"Fireball," I raised my hand, conjuring a burning purple fireball that shot towards John.

"?" John furrowed his brow, taken aback by my sudden attack. He leaped away from Alfred, bewildered. "What are you doing?" he asked me.

"I don't know," I scoffed, a tinge of sarcasm lacing my words. "Maybe I'm trying to beat you up and ruin your exam."

"I don't care about the exam," John replied, redirecting his attention back to Alfred. "Burning Waves!" He swung his sword relentlessly, launching a barrage of attacks at Alfred.

"Stop it, brother!" Layla interjected, shielding Alfred with a wall of fire.

"Move, Layla," John demanded, advancing with his sword.

"No—"

Before Layla could finish her sentence, Carla intervened, forcefully pushing Layla aside with her sword.

The conflicts just never seemed to end.

Exhausted, I let out a weary sigh and charged towards John. "For f*ck's sake, leave him alone! We don't have time for this!" This senseless fighting needed to cease. People might be losing their lives on other floors while we are engaged in pointless brawls.

John's red eyes bore into mine. "I don't care."

A vein throbbed on my forehead at his response.

Ignoring my seething anger, John clenched his free hand, summoning a dark red mana circle in front of me.

Shit!

From the circle, pillars of flames rained down upon me, striking my body relentlessly. Though I was sent flying, I managed to shield myself with the Anathemas Fire.

This bastard even learned how to use mana circles.

"You should have fallen into a coma instead of Lucius, Alfred," John muttered, raising both his hands. A colossal mana circle materialized before him, siphoning an immense amount of mana from its surroundings.

What the hell is he doing?!

Was he aiming to kill us?

"Awakening!" Alfred hastily activated his awakened form, but he was a moment too late. John had already prepared his mana circle.

-BOOM!

The ground shook violently as a torrent of red fire erupted from the circle, surging towards Alfred.

Alfred swiftly canceled his awakening and raised his sword.

Then—

Suddenly, a figure jumped in front of Alfred.

It was Layla.

She spread her arms wide, wearing a sick smile on her face, without any means of protection.

Is she stupid?!

Activating the AP conversion, I coated my staff with the Anathemas Fire and Ruah. I leaped towards the incoming fireball and swung my staff down.

-BOOM!

Splitting the fireball in half, I landed on the ground and turned to face Layla, who was staring back at me. "Are you stupid—"

-Slap!

Before I could finish my sentence, a sharp pain shot through my right cheek.

"......."

All battles came to a halt as every eye fixated on us.

With my head turned to the side from the force of the slap, my mind struggled to process what had just happened.

"W-Why?!" Layla shouted, glaring at me with anger in her tear-filled red eyes. "Wh-Why did you intervene?! I could have saved His Highness! And he would have—"

-Slap!

Ignoring her annoying rant, I retaliated with a slap of my own.

Why had she slapped me?

That question reverberated in my mind again and again.

"W-Why do you always bother me?!" Layla screamed, her left cheek now red and tears of anger welling up in her eyes.

…what?

Anger surged through me, and I raised my hand again, ready to slap her once more, but—

"Enough," John intercepted my hand before it could reach Layla's cheek.

"Let go of my hand," I said, my voice brimming with danger.

I had never experienced such humiliation before.

I detested this feeling.

I loathed it.

"Layla, step back," John ordered, sensing my unstable mana.

I couldn't help but release a snarky laugh when I saw John suddenly become serious. "Don't you have any 'pride,' John? Playing your sister's lapdog seemed to bring you great pleasure, but from an outsider's perspective, it's utterly despicable."

John smiled back at me when I insulted him. "What about you, Edward?" he whispered. "You're desperately trying to save your life by following the game's script."

"What...?"

"In the end, your life is in Jayden's and Milleia's hands. You're worse than me, Edward. You should be the one feeling ashamed."

I widened my eyes slightly at John's sudden revelation but eventually burst into laughter. Perhaps I had already lost it. "I see... Yeah, now I understand why you're clinging to your sister like a dog. You're afraid, aren't you?"

John's expression twitched when I said that.

Of course, he was scared.

Layla was the villainess, and all her endings led to misery, except for the Villainess' route.

"And what about your obsession with Alfred?"

"Alfred is the reason why Layla is like that," John replied coldly.

"I see." I sneered at his words. "Your twisted sister is destined for a miserable end anyway, I assure you," I said loudly, throwing a mocking glance at Layla.

I'm tired of all this.

I shook off John's hand and looked at Layla. "You've had your fun all this time, Layla. I feel even more pathetic for having helped you with Alfred until now." I turned around and waved my hand dismissively. "I wish you nothing."

Then, as a thought struck me, I halted my steps. "Oh, yeah. Louisa is dead, but sure, keep fighting amongst yourselves." With that, I departed, leaving the chaos behind me.