52 Execution

"If you want to live, I'll advise you to walk away now" Lauria, the apostle said, referring to the three knights who had already taken their stance to fight.

Upon hearing her voice, the imperial knights obeyed and retreated, though Pheobe did this reluctantly.

"Tch, I wanted to fight him" She muttered.

They went to stay behind the apostle, who was already seething with anger.

Zad was so preoccupied with his thoughts on Laura, that he didn't notice in time the retreat of the knights.

"Where do you think you're going? You think just because you're hiding behind that bitch I can't get you?" He said.

Vanishing once again, he made for the fleeing knights.

"You're mine!" He grinned widely.

As soon as he appeared to land a strike, two blades appeared right in front of him and nearly pierced him. Instinctively he twisted, dodging them as fast as he could. He leaped away from the knights who managed to escape from his grasp.

"Tch, what was that just now?" He asked himself.

Lauria glared at the Zad and continued moving forward. She finally stood before him.

"You, what kind of art are you using? Or is it a relic?!" He asked her with a commanding tone.

"How impudent" She muttered.

Five blades appeared above him and descended with great force on him.

"Tch" He said, quickly backflipping and turning his body to avoid their strikes.

"How is she doing that?" He asked himself.

"It seems you move faster than the blades," she said to him.

Zad smirked. She merely surprised him is all, in overall power and speed he had the advantage.

"My relic, the Ten Rings is a set item that activates when all rings are synchronized. It took me a great deal of pain and time to obtain the set, but it was well worth it." He said to the apostle.

"This is a grade two relic that boosts my ability beyond the bounds of any human and raises all my capabilities beyond the maximum. I can move faster than the eye can process and a single hit from me can kill any person." He smiled at her.

"Do you understand now, little bitch? You're no match for me. Those swords will never reach me. You're completely out of your league here. Surrender and maybe I'll make you one of my secretaries. Heh, though Karla might not take that so well. After all, she'd be having competition." He grinned.

Laura, who was initially glaring at him, suddenly bursted into laughter.

"Wha-?!" Zad said, taken aback by her reaction.

"So that's all it is. How disappointing." She said to him.

"What did you just say you little bitch?" He asked her in anger.

"Hey, I think I've been lenient with you enough. Call me that one more time and you'll suffer for it" She said, suddenly glaring at him.

"W-What does this bitch thi-" Zad stuttered, he was flustered by her gaze.

Before he could complete his words, a sword suddenly appeared by his legs and pierced his knee.

"Guahhh" He let out in pain.

He staggered on his feet and quickly removed the blade from his body. He groaned as he took in the pain.

"I couldn't react in time?!" He asked himself.

"I thought I told you not to utter such drivel" She said to him.

"Gahhh, You little- This is nothing. I'll heal in no time" He groaned.

"Oh? You're quite confident in those toys aren't you?" She said to him.

"I wonder what happens when they're gone" She muttered.

"What are you talking about, you..."

As he was talking, he suddenly felt his power diminish and the energy which flowed through him left him instantly.

"W-Wha-?!" He muttered.

What just happened?

His eyes widened as he looked at his fingers. The rings weren't there anymore.

"Where are they? My rings, where are they?!" He asked crazily.

With bulging eyes and gritted teeth he looked at Lauria, who merely sighed and said.

"Looking for these?"

Suddenly, the ten rings fell one after the other to the ground, appearing out of thin air.

"How did you-? Who are you?!" He asked her, as his body trembled.

"Shit, the aftereffects!" He thought.

As a backlash from unleashing so much power and straining his body, he experienced temporarily restriction in mobility. However, Zad knew that the trembling experienced by his body was not only due to the effects of the ten rings' power leaving him.

It was also fear!

"You called me a bitch severally. However, that is not the reason I am going to execute you today. For you blasphemed and ridiculed the title of apostle granted to us by the gods. As such, you have not only insulted me as well as my comrades, but the gods themselves." She said.

A blade immediately appeared on her hand as she called grabbed it, moving slowly to Zad.

"N-No, stay away from me." He said, attempting to escape from her.

Three swords appeared and pierced his second, uninjured legs and hands.

"Guarghhh" He screamed.

He fell to his knees and was still struggling to get up.

"What an eyesore. Stop squirming." Lauria said.

Five swords appeared and stabbed bis back all at once.

"Puarckkk" He spat out blood from his mouth as he stopped struggling and was rendered completely immobilized.

"Much better. Now then..." She said, raising her sword.

"M-Mercy..." He begged in a ragged voice.

"I... Was... Wrong..." He croaked.

But it was too late.

"Receive your judgement, filthy heathen!" She said, bringing the sword down in one decisive swing.