"Eh...?"
A dull sound spilled out of Raphael's mouth. It wasn't intentional. He was startled.
What's happening to my body?
All of a sudden, out of the blue, a mysterious force drained Raphael's strength. His arms drooped on their own, and his neck craned forward while his back curled into a ball. His knees gave way and buckled.
What on earth is this?
Raphael's heart raced in sheer panic. This was bad. This couldn't be happening. He was in the middle of his important task from heaven to punish those obstructing justice.
Why did I let go of my mace? Argh! Ugh!
Raphael tried to bend lower to pick up his mace and subdue the two humans in front of him, Lloyd and Javier. But his body froze and refused to obey his brain.
What is happening?
The moment he tried to overcome his dismay and confusion, Raphael heard Lloyd Frontera speak.
"Hey! Step on him!"
Thwack!
A shot of pain rushed up his ankle. Just then, everything around him shook. His body collapsed.
Hmm?
Suddenly, the world turned upside down, and Raphael noticed his own two feet up in the air. It was followed by a pang of pain at the back of his head
A shovel? Did he hit my ankle with that?
Right before he fell flat on the ground, Raphael saw a glimpse of the shovel in Lloyd's hand. That was when he was able to make out what had happened. It looked like Lloyd indeed hit his ankle with a shovel.
Unbelievable. That's how I lost balance? What's going on?
Thud! It didn't hurt much when the back of his head hit the ground from his fall. He accidentally bit his tongue, but it hardly left any real damage to his sturdy physique.
Like this can hurt me!
Provoked and ashamed that he collapsed from being attacked by a human's shovel, Raphael tried to get back to his feet. But he found the task impossible to achieve.
Hmm?
For a split second, Raphael's brain froze. He knew what he had to do. Get back to his feet. Punish these despicable humans. But his body refused to budge.
Why?!
Raphael screamed inwardly, but it was useless. His desperate mind was betrayed by his oblivious body slumping down in a lifeless state.
Why? Why is this happening? Arggh! Come on!
Thwack! Thwack! Clang! Then, there came several blows towards Raphael.
Ack! Argh!
Raphael's frantic effort eventually allowed his eyes to roll sideways.
There was Lloyd, beaming as he swung his shovel by its side without stopping in a rhythmic motion, as though he was playing a game of Catch a Mole.
"Hey! What are you doing? I said, trample him!"
A new look came over Javier's eyes at Lloyd's shout. That was when Raphael's heart finally started to sink.
Lloyd's shovel strikes didn't do much damage. But a grandmaster's attacks? That would be a completely different story.
I can't let him hit me!
Feeling another rush of frantic urge to move, Raphael used all his focus to squeeze out every bit of his strength from his body, which finally freed him from a limp state.
"Argh!"
A gigantic sword immediately came down on the very spot where Raphael lay down a second ago.
CLANG!
Thousands of aura strands rummaged through and tore apart the area. If Raphael was even a tenth of a second late, his upper torso would have been engulfed by the aura storm. The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Auras are dangerous.
There was only one form of attack in this realm that could damage his angelic body. An aura.
Since auras are crystallized forms of pure mana, they can leave direct damage on my body which is made of spiritual powers. Moreover, this grandmaster's aura is... particularly more dangerous.
He was overpowered earlier with another attack, but this was much more dangerous. If he was hit now, he'd be neutralized for good. Which meant...
I'd fail my duty. I can't let that happen.
The accomplishments he had achieved to this day and his future of serving the heavenly realm and the world. Everything would go down the drain. Raphael wasn't going to let that happen.
Ackkk!
Resolved, Raphael immediately turned and rolled over, picking up his iron mace as he did before springing back up and raising his weapon to defend himself against Javier's attack. Their collision produced raging shock waves all around them. Breaking the shock waves, Raphael hurtled toward Javier.
Thud! Twang! Twang! Thud! Raphael swung, stabbed, slashed, struck, and slammed down his mace. But Javier brilliantly parried and received every attack he received, replicating the same scene that everyone had seen countless times until now.
Lloyd, who was also watching the scene, smiled, the corners of his mouth going up to his ears.
Great. Just perfect. The Attack Design is much more useful than I expected.
Lloyd recalled what happened a few seconds ago. He wasn't completely confident beforehand, but the attack design skill was perfectly able to apply itself in a real fight.
The design I saved in slot 1 forced its subject to stand still in a dazed state.
Since it was his first attempt, Lloyd figured he should first start with a simple move. He aimed to create the simplest and most effective design possible. That ended up being to make Raphael take on a dazed posture.
The movement design was accurately carried out. Just like my design, Raphael dropped the mace and became defenseless.
There was more. The offensive attacks he included were just as accurately executed.
The part where Raphael was to fall down after I struck his ankle with a shovel and then receive a blow from the ground by me again went exactly as envisioned. But one disappointing thing was that Javier reacted slightly late.
Lloyd had hoped that Javier would immediately join in and trample Raphael. But that didn't happen as Javier raised his sword right when the five-second time limit passed. This, however, wasn't a problem for Lloyd
I've got two more data slots!
Lloyd then sneakily moved behind Javier, taking advantage of Raphael's tendency to ignore him and focus only on the latter. It was also the safest spot from the angel's attacks and their resulting shock waves.
"Hey, Javier," said Lloyd after settling down at the safe spot, "Why didn't you listen to me back there?"
"Master Lloyd? What do you mean?"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Twang! Thud! Amid the countless exchange of attacks, Javier quickly cast a glance toward Lloyd and asked, "I have a question for you, Young Master. What on earth did you do back there?"
"Do what?" innocently asked Lloyd.
"The angel stopped attacking the moment you laid your eyes on him."
"Oh, and?"
"You attacked him right afterward as if you had been waiting for that to happen."
"Did that look strange to you?"
"Yes." Javier briefly nodded. "I cannot erase the feeling that you were waiting for something specific to happen."
"Feeling, my foot." Lloyd chuckled off. "I'm not some sort of divine entity that can predict an angel's moves. Does that make any sense to you?"
“...”
"The bastard just got distracted in the middle of the fight," Lloyd insisted.
"Are you sure?"
"Obviously," huffed Lloyd. "Look at him even now. He's busy rushing forward to attack you no matter how much I stare at him."
Booom! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Lloyd was right. Even during their current conversation, Javier had to concentrate all of his focus on fighting Raphael. That was how fierce and ferocious the angel's attacks were.
But something was strange before.
Javier soon concluded that there was no way to prove Lloyd wrong. After all, it wasn't like Lloyd possessed any sort of extraordinary power that would let him subdue a high-ranking angel with just his gaze. Raphael, who was listening to their conversation, had the same thought.
Argh... I knew that was the case.
Raphael frowned as he wielded his iron mace to neutralize Javier's defense, emitting rays of light with his wings and scolding himself at the same time.
Yes. That human, Lloyd Frontera, was right. There is no way I fell for a trap from a lowly mortal and ended up in such a pathetic state.
Come to think of it, that really was the case. Be toyed by that human? Ridiculous and impossible. So, there was only one conclusion he could draw.
I lowered my guard.
Raphael concluded that he had unconsciously lowered his guard because he was up against a few lowly humans and got distracted in the middle of their fight.
Tsk! I was too relaxed. I became unconscionably arrogant because of my continued success thus far. This won't do. I'll take this as a painful lesson for myself and reflect on my mistakes. I can't behave so stupidly again.
Clench! Raphael gritted his teeth with a penitent heart and gripped the iron mace, feeling a sudden rush of adamant resolution. But it didn't last long. Just a second later, when he locked eyes with Lloyd, it happened again.
Bent Leg Twist!
Ding Dong!
[Manaheart Skill Option 6: Activating Attack Design.]
[Uploading the data for "Bent Leg Twist".]
[You have used 250 RP to activate the skill.]
[Current RP: 321]
Eh...?
The moment Raphael sensed that something was off and a chill ran down his spine, a new message appeared in front of Lloyd.
[The data for "Bent Leg Twist" has been applied to real life.]
Just then.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Leap! Propelled by a mysterious force, his body was thrown to the ground, and his arms spread apart while his legs rose to a 45-degree angle. This naturally caused his abs to tense. Eventually, Raphael suddenly found himself in a posture utterly unsuitable for combat.
Hahaha! How do you like that? One of the physical training postures! Bent Leg Twist!
Lloyd's lips curved into a villainous smile. This time, as well, his attack design was effective.
"Hey!" bellowed Lloyd. "Trample on him properly this time!"
Lloyd pointed at Raphael with his shovel. This time, Javier didn't disappoint him. As soon as Raphael lay on the ground, Javier immediately held up his sword.
I knew it. This was his doing.
Javier was certain about it despite Lloyd's denial. There was no other way to explain Raphael's eccentric behavior. It couldn't have been that the angel had lowered his guard. He had undoubtedly fallen into a trap set by Lloyd. But it didn't matter to Javier.
I can't miss this opportunity!
Fwoosh! Javier brandished his sword, slashing down the air and ravaging Raphael who was lying down in a strange posture.
Slaaash!
"Gargh!" Raphael screamed aloud, totally exposed to the blow. Unable to put up any defense, he could only accept Javier's attack while positioned flat on the ground.
Gargh...! На...
He was in despair. It felt like his whole body was being ripped into atomic particles.
I cannot... lose like this!
Raphael clenched his teeth, extracting all of the divine spirit inside his body and amplifying the holy power he attained by absorbing the angelic ring to its maximum capacity. He invested every bit of his strength to defend the aura storm attacking him. Then he prayed for greater strength, the will to endure this hardship, and for the support of the great heavens. At last, his body returned to normal after five seconds.
Cough! Cough! "Argh!"
Am I alive? Raphael wondered as he struggled to sit up, propping his hands against the ground while his legs were glued to the ground. He repeated in his head that he had to wake up, and guided by a will that he couldn't make out to be his own or the heavens, Raphael crawled forward. His eyes burned with passion.
I refuse to collapse. I refuse to be overpowered by a mortal human. I refuse to face defeat just like this!
But when he lifted his head, he noticed the shovel coming for his forehead.
How dare he! With a shovel!
Raphael tensed his forehead, thinking how absurd the human was for trying to injure him with a mere, auraless piece of metal. He would easily be able to hold out against it. After enduring its attack, he just needed to raise his body, stall for time, and recover from the damage he had received.
This is doable. I can quickly recover and fight again. Even if that knight is a grandmaster, he'll get tired soon. Victory will be mine in the end. I will complete my mission!
Raphael yelled inwardly. He had come to a decision. But there was something Raphael was ignorant of. It was that this whole scenario where he was positioned to defend himself against Lloyd's shovel attack was based on the human's attack design.
A brilliant aura suddenly appeared around the shovel as it flew forward for the final blow, a blow that'd spark passionate conflict between Lloyd's fiefdom and heaven. Thwack!
