It hurt.
Javier inadvertently chuckled at the phrase that praised selfless behaviors.
What an outrageous bullcrap.
He could only laugh bitterly, after actually having moved his body to protect someone else and shed blood in his place.
It just hurts. A lot.
The grandmaster felt excruciating pain on his left shoulder as if it was being burned and pounded by a hammer at the same time. Lloyd was staring at his knight in surprise. The estate developer was clearly trying to say something, but couldn't. His mouth remained open for a while.
"I am so sorry, Master Lloyd."
Pierce! The tip of the sickle that had protruded forward from behind was pulled back, filling the hole in Javier's body with blood. The grandmaster bled profusely from the wound, and his left side was covered in blood. However, he couldn't go down here. He refused to kneel.
"...Why?"
The fake Lloyd barely managed to ask this question, causing Javier to chuckle yet again.
"I tried to parry it off with my blade attack but failed. I was only able to slightly mitigate the force. Otherwise, you would have sustained the injury."
Blood gushed forth, but he couldn't stop.
"This works for me. Master Lloyd, please get yourself to safety."
"Hold on--"
Javier tightened his grip on the sword and turned around, swinging the blade empowered by the remainder of his aura and his weight. It was significantly weaker than usual, but that did not matter.
Just once.
As long as he could deliver some kind of damage to the king of hell, there was hope for Javier; Lloyd could perhaps survive.
Clink!
But the attack was stopped. Javier felt the shock from the impact on his left shoulder, gushing forth blood once again. But the grip on his sword tightened.
"Hmph!"
Krakakakaka!
Javier put his everything in his attacks as he thrust, slashed, slammed, and struck. He sliced, parried, and whacked.
Krakakakaka!
Flares sparked and flew everywhere as Javier felt the pain in his left shoulder with each attack. He nearly fainted and was overwhelmed with fear. It was as if he was sustaining grave damage both physically and mentally.
But the grip on his sword tightened. Javier swung his weapon again with the determination to die if he had to here. He wasn't going to back away, as long as that could keep that fraudster safe. That was enough for Javier. The grandmaster attacked even more fiercely and ferociously, with the intent to continue until he would breathe his last. He didn't care if his body was going to break down to dust from all this. He continued to attack, strike, and defend.
Krakakaka! Clink! Clank!
His body was rattled. Agonizing pain shook him. He experienced near-fainting moments more often, as his vision blurred and returned several times. The world disappeared and came back. These went on for a while until Javier felt light on his feet all of a sudden.
Zing!
Even without realization, Javier had opened a new, fourth circle surrounding his heart through the series of moments that required extreme focus and reaching his limit.
Kwoosh!
The flow of aura was like that of a fierce current now, as it shrouded Javier's body. He was able to push off the sickle attack by the adversary for the first time.
Clink!
"Huh?"
The king of hell's eyes subtly shook. But it wasn't over. The change that began in Javier's heart spread out to his entire body.
He was breaking through every barrier that stood, from physicality, mentality, and to willpower. He broke through internally and externally.
Zing!
The fifth circle let out a peculiar noise as it was formed. All of Javier's 60 trillion mana hearts resonated with the cry by the pentacircle, shrouding even the ground on which the grandmaster was standing.
Ha. That won't make a difference, the king of hell chuckled.
But the sixth circle was born with a flash as if Javier's body was responding to the sneer.
Zing!
All of his bodily cells were now active, as the sixty trillion mana hearts embedded within the cells cried out. Mana was amplified as it passed through the hexacircle. Aura traveled through a total of 2,799,360,000,000,000,000-billion millions of passageways-and all met in the heart, shaking all cells, nerves, and arteries in the process. Javier then rushed forth, sprinted, broke through, and charged.
Bam!
The king of hell was shaken from the attack despite having parried off the slash. The evil ruler's face turned red from bellicose excitement.
"Astounding... Urgh!"
Slash!
King of hell's leg was gone with a single attack, but he wasn't a fan of being on the receiving end of effective strikes.
Whoosh!
He extended his sickle and swung it against Javier's throat again, while simultaneously waving his wand in the air. But Javier was not there. With a single step, the grandmaster had caught the king of hell from behind; he was faster than the wind and stealthier than a ghost.
"What?"
The king of hell felt terrorizing animosity and responded immediately.
Flash!
Another meteorite fell from the sky amidst the flash.
But Javier's sword had viciously scraped off the entire space. His blade clashed with the meteorite that was traveling at the speed of Mach 25 and released hundreds of thousands of aura strands explosively.
Kwoooooosh!
The physical impact from the clash, the massive shockwave that was about to be unleashed, and the overwhelming radiant heat that was ready to engulf the entire vicinity were all swept away by the aura strands without affecting the ground and the surroundings at all. Javier did not sustain any damage either; instead, he used the force to empower his own attack.
Ping.
There was no outrageous noise. The grandmaster smoothly maneuvered and slid between spaces like a skilled predator. He swung his sword between the air molecules.
"Oh?"
It took a moment of flinching by the king of hell.
Krakakaka!
The fiendish ruler's left body was shredded apart into pieces, not to mention the wand. King of hell barely managed to counterattack with his sickle.
Whoosh! Swoosh!
The ten-foot-long sickle spun around gloriously, sweeping through everything in the vicinity from all directions.
Krakakakakaka!
Javier's ruthless slashes clashed against the nefarious sickle hundreds of times in the air. The king of hell regenerated his left side in the meantime and attempted another attack.
Sping!
The mana in the area became distorted and turned into hell's fire. The heat nearly rivaling the surface temperature of the sun engulfed Javier, but he did not panic; instead, he retracted his sword momentarily and mustered up the energy before unleashing it horizontally.
Slice!
Air and space had been cut through. The flare was trapped in the absolute void that was created in the blink of an eye. This blatant defiance of physics appalled the king of hell.
"What...?"
But he did not have a chance to sate his curiosity. Javier did not give him time.
Krakaka!
Javier's longsword stopped immediately in front of the king of hell. He had barely stopped it. But the evil ruler of the underworld was flabbergasted nonetheless.
How can a human be this powerful?!
The king of hell knew how skilled Javier was as a swordsman, but that was as far as he had given the grandmaster credit for. He was still human and he could never overcome the physical limitations imposed on the inferior creature. This was verified time and again. Or so he thought.
He's on a whole new level now.
It sent chills down the king of hell's spine. The freakish ruler would have avoided facing this man in battle in his own body because he would be governed by the law of death.
I would have been in danger.
Even the dictator of the treacherous underworld had to risk his own life to engage Javier in this state in battle. However, the king of hell was in a different body at the moment.
Thank goodness I incarnated myself in the lich's body.
The king of hell chuckled in relief, for the lich's body was immortal. He was invincible. He was invulnerable.
Javier Asrahan. It doesn't matter what you do now. You may be able to cut me down, shred me apart, or even crush me to pieces. But nothing you do will kill me. This is a battle you cannot possibly win.
Even if he was to break apart, be crushed, and slashed over and over again, he was immortal. He could regenerate any damage effortlessly in an instant. On the other hand, Javier Asrahan was still human. Despite the fierceness of his attacks, he was still going to come short. That made the king of hell genuinely relieved.
The evil dictator did not panic one bit despite being slashed, shredded, and pierced by Javier's ferocious attacks. Instead, he enjoyed the sight of his adversary's endeavor. The grandmaster's tremendous effort to come up victorious was rather fun. He watched as a spectator. He was the more skilled and taller basketball player against a shorter novice on the court. It was a form of mockery. The king of hell regenerated each time he took damage, and sustained hits all over again. He would cast powerful offensive spells here and there to make the process more interesting for his foe, encouraging him to try harder. The king of hell was virtually staring down at his opponent like he was an ant trying to overcome a human all by itself. The demonic tyrant summoned meteorites, created flares, blasted out gravitational spheres, and cast curse spells.
But Javier persevered through all the hardships and fought even more valiantly. He was a sturdy toy and was never going to break despite the adversities. He showed immense willpower and put a smile on the king of hell's face.
Except it couldn't last forever.
I... shed too much blood.
Javier's breath became visibly rough as he continued to engage the enemy in an epic, transcendent battle. His stamina was being depleted slowly but surely. Even if he was a grandmaster with six circles, the grave injury on his shoulder and a tremendous amount of blood loss weren't easy to overcome. In fact, it was a miracle he had put up this much of a fight thus far.
Gush!
Javier bled from his left shoulder once again, as he readied himself to launch another strike. He turned pale and his movement slowed down. But the grandmaster did not stop.
Not yet.
It wasn't over. Lloyd was still unconscious. He had to buy him more time so his unruly master could get up and run away. That was his duty as the knight.
Please.
Javier desperately wished for extra strength so he could continue standing his ground. He strengthened his resolve once again, but to no avail; the physical limits imposed on his body were merciless. The more he ran and amplified mana through the mana heart and the more he hustled with his body, his heart pounded faster, discharging more blood out from the wound.
Javier's face became extremely pale. Even his lips were white. But the grandmaster did not stop.
Please.
He took a step forward and lifted his sword. He approached the king of hell. He drew the line in the air and swung his sword. But his movement was unfortunately way too slow and fragile.
Tap.
There was no aura on the blade. The feeble swing of the sword tapped against the king of hell's shoulder.
"Is this all you got?"
It was the smile of blatant mockery. Javier did not verbally reply. Instead, he lifted his sword up again instinctively like when he was first learning how to fight with a sword, as he treaded between the conscious and the unconscious realm. He slowly moved his sword, but the swing could not be completed.
Bam!
The king of hell had kicked Javier in the stomach.
The grandmaster couldn't even scream in pain. He flew back and rolled on the ground covered in blood. "...Ugh. Huff, huff."
He had to get up, but his body wasn't listening to him. He crawled on the ground and placed his sword on the floor. He exerted whatever strength he could muster into his legs, but the ominous shadow was cast over him before he could. Javier lifted his chin and stared at his adversary.
"You've fought valiantly. I will let you serve me as the commander of hell's knights in your death."
The king of hell was holding the sickle in his hand. It fell on Javier's neck diagonally. It was an attack he could neither avoid nor block. It was over. He had failed. His endeavor despite the adversity was going to end here.
As soon as Javier realized this, he internally reiterated this phrase as if these were his last words.
Master Lloyd. Please be safe.
He was truly sorry he couldn't protect his master until the end. The cold steel fell on his neck, slicing through the air mercilessly. But a dark silhouette stood before him and obstructed his view.
Pierce!
“...!!”
Javier did not have a chance to stop this. Warm liquid was spattered on his face. This sound hadn't come from the grandmaster, nor did the blood.
"...Master Lloyd?" He instinctively murmured.
Lloyd was standing in front of him with his chest pierced, yet with a nonchalant smile on his face.
"Stop crying, you crybaby."
"What kind of..."
"This is all part of the plant. So stop crying."
"But..."
"This can actually work thanks to you now."
"Master Lloyd?"
Javier was confused. He couldn't comprehend why Lloyd was smiling and babbling on about success when things were obviously terrible. But he did not get a chance, as Lloyd lost light in his eyes rapidly. There was no more sign of life from the mischievous smile on the face of his lord. The young master he had sworn to serve breathed his last as his head dropped. He had died.
"...No way."
This wasn't supposed to happen. Javier was in disbelief. He refused to believe what he saw. This was not the ending he had desired. He desperately cried out.
"Master Lloyd!"
He wished to get up on his feet so he could stretch out his hands to the deceased. He wanted to shake his body to wake him up from the slumber if possible. But it wasn't. He couldn't get up. He couldn't stretch out his hands. He couldn't hold him and wake him up. There was nothing he could do.
Clink!
The king of hell let go of his sickle, which fell on the ground with Lloyd's corpse on it like a skewer. The demonic ruler then stood up with a satisfactory smile on his face from the accomplishment of his ultimate goal. The grim shadow still stood as he looked down on Javier like a condescending tyrant, suggesting it was his turn next.
"I'll skewer you with this," said the king of hell, lifting his wand again. He grinned sinisterly as he pulled the weapon and pointed it at Javier.
But another surprise awaited them.
"I think I've made a discovery. Let me guess, you can't recover from the damage inflicted by your own weapon, right?"
The sudden question from behind the king of hell grabbed their attention. Before the king of hell could respond, hands stretched from the rear and grappled on the neck and body of the king of hell. He then pulled and clasped onto him.
Pierce!
And the blade of the sickle pierced the king of hell in the chest. Lloyd showed his version of the grim smile from the evil ruler's back.
"Finally. I was waiting for this moment."
