Chapter 43: Onetime

'You need to hurry...I can only hold on for a short time.' she mumbled.

"Ha? did you say something?" Liz asked.

Freya shook her head.

She felt the cold air wrap around them, sending trembles down her skin.

They moved, without planning, all six of them, towards one main enemy standing in the middle.

Hak and Zeno appeared first near Lyndel who stood at her spot and grinned maniacally.

"Well, Let's play. Shall we?" she scoffed.

She dodged the wind arrow and water spikes calmly without breaking out a sweat. It was like that speed wasn't enough to do anything to her.

Lyndel laughed as she casually commented on their attacks, "Weak ...Too weak."

After dodging a few of their attacks, she made her move. Within a second she moved right next to Zeno and slapped him without a change in her expression.

Zeno was alarmed when the demon appeared right next to him.

'Damn it. I couldn't even sense her.'

He didn't have time to protect himself when he felt a hard slap on his cheek.

The force of it made him fly and crash against some rocks in a distance.

"ZENOO!!!" Hak shouted.

He couldn't follow him as he felt the demon appear behind him. He willed his serpent to move forth on his body. The water serpent roared towards Lyndel, letting out a burst of water from its mouth, propelling her to step back a little.

'Woah! that was close!'

Hak patted his chest slightly before he turned to look at her. He saw her dishevelled state before he darted back to regroup.

As Hak stepped back, it made others halt on their tracks. Zeno joined them as he wiped his forehead which was oozing out blood.

"Damn..she's strong."

Freya frowned when she noticed Hak panting. He didn't exert extensive strength in order for him to be exhausted.

Her eyes shifted towards Lyndel, who stood there in the middle of the field, looking rejuvenated.

She scanned her surroundings and frowned more. She felt like she was missing something important.

'Why is it that she got tired right after using the power once?'

'Why is everyone slightly tired even with them having a rest before?'

Zelal asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Something's different. Why are we panting when we didn't use much strength?"

That's when everyone noticed the sweat on their bodies. Freya knitted her brows when she felt her body weaken more. She could barely use the lightning again.

'This is not because of the summoning. So, just what is the cause?!'

'What's this feeling? Why do I feel suppressed?'

She pondered on that while Usui related to the exact question. He had noticed the difference right when Hak and Zeno started attacking Lyndel.

'They appeared to move slower compared to when they had fought against the reapers.'

He rubbed his chin in thought. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he thought of something.

"No way..." he murmured.

It was like their minds moved in sync.

Freya whipped her head towards Lyndel in shock. She couldn't believe it.

'Did they fall on her trap all along?'

"Dream.." Usui and Freya said in unison.

"Dream? What?" Jinha asked her puzzled.

"Shit...That's her power... Dream.. we need to break out from it. She has been suppressing us from the moment I joined the battle that's why my power weakened so much."

"I was wondering why I could barely manage after using that power once. It's because of her!"

"Damn it!" Jinha cursed.

At that moment, he could feel the imaginary weight on his shoulders making him unable to use his full power.

It was the same when he had to fight against the royals but this time, it was against his will as well as his powers were decreased tenfolds.

"It looks like he is fighting against us confidently because he can suppress us more," Zelal commented.

"Not really.. I bet he can fight all too well even without this cheat. I think he wants to finish this quick."

"So, what is our next step?"

"We should break this dream for us to actually kill her, obviously." Liz shrugged.

Freya looked at Lyndel who was smirking as she flipped her wet hair backwards, and snorted at them.

Freya said as she narrowed her eyes, " Well... I do have a plan but it will only work onetime. So, we need to implement it carefully."