The Fifth Node (1)

With the fourth node destroyed, only the fifth node and the still undiscovered sixth node remained. Once they were destroyed, the magic circle would be destroyed.

"Should we go to the fifth node?" Regina asked Bloed.

Bloed did not reply and instead fell silent.

The fifth node was where Headmistress Wave and Eve were fighting. And they were two of the strongest people Bloed knew.

He was not sure if Regina could defeat any of them.

The fact that the fifth node had not been destroyed even with the two of them joining hands showed how dangerous the situation there was.

Bloed was pretty sure that going there was going to be dangerous. But if he didn't go, and Headmistress Wave and Eve needed his help, then the situation could become even worse.

While Bloed was hesitating about if to go or not to go, Gina's voice sounded in his mind.

[My hero, you should go.] She said as though she knew what Bloed was thinking.

Bloed was startled, but he immediately realized something.

"Did you see anything?" He asked.

[Mm.] Gina replied. [I could not see much, though. Only that the location of the sixth node is related to the fifth node. Also, Liu Ying, Miss Eres, Saintess Charise, and the others are going towards the fifth as well. But… My abilities are not enough to see through the enemy there, but I feel that he is very, very powerful.]

"I see. Then I guess I must go, huh." Bloed smiled wryly. There was no way he could stay behind when he knew that his girlfriend, his little sister, and his friends were going to such a dangerous place.

"Did you learn anything else about the sixth node?" he asked Gina.

To Bloed's surprise, Gina did not reply immediately. She fell silent for several seconds before speaking out.

[… I saw a nightmare. Something huge and evil, then darkness and screams, and then, nothing.]

Bloed was startled. What in the hell does that mean?

He was about to ask Gina, but just then, Sara's voice also sounded in his mind.

[… My lord, Gina almost fainted after that vision. She vomited blood and became very pale… She needs to rest.]

[Sister, I'm alright! I-]

[No, you are not. My lord, please ask her to rest.]

A stunned expression appeared on Bloed's face. Only then he realized that Gina's voice had sounded a bit tired.

He had not noticed it before because he was worried about the situation with the fifth and sixth node, but now that Sara mentioned it, he realized that Gina's voice sounded strangely weak, without her usual liveliness.

Most likely, she forced herself to see that nightmare even though she knew that it was beyond her abilities only to be of help to him.

Realizing that, Bloed's expression turned complicated.

"… Sorry, and thank you, Gina. Sara, please make sure that she rests. I will check on her as soon as I can."

[Thank you, my lord. Please, be careful.]

[… Be careful, my hero. I wish you luck.]

Sara's worried voice and Gina's weak voice replied in his mind and the communication was cut off.

Bloed then looked at Regina.

"Let's go to the fifth node."

"Understood, master."

Just then, Nathan, Dino, and the other students approached them.

"Bloed… and Mrs. Regina, do you know anything about the situation? And what was that thing?" Dino asked while looking at the destroyed node.

Strangely, he seemed a bit respectful and afraid of Regina. Bloed was not sure if it was due to witnessing Regina's strength or because Regina did not hesitate to use her blade on them when they were controlled by the Dollmaker.

Bloed hesitated briefly before explaining the situation to them.

"… We will go to destroy the next node," Bloed said after he finished explaining. "You should stay here and kill the monsters nearby before they kill more students."

Nathan and Dino nodded. Bloed then turned Leto into flight mode and jumped on it together with Regina, departing towards the fifth node.

…

The battle in the fifth node was very fierce, causing the destruction of several buildings nearby. And if Wave and Eve would have not been careful so their attacks did not damage the city more than necessary, then the destruction would have been much worse.

But despite the huge destruction this battle had caused, it was still at a stalemate.

Wave and Eve released spell after spell, moving around the fifth node and unleashing attacks to destroy it or kill the demigods protecting it, but the demigods' defense was flawless. Furthermore, every time it seemed like Wave and Eve were about to deal them a huge blow, the hooded man with the number eight tattoed on his hand acted, frustrating their attempts.

"How troublesome…" Wave flew away after a failed attack and stared at the hooded man with a solemn expression.

"He is stalling for time." Eve expressionlessly said.

Wave nodded. "I know. But we can do nothing about it. That man is not weaker than any of us, and he has six demigods helping him. If he wants to defend this place, the two of us alone will find it hard to destroy the node. Besides–" Wave's lips curled up in a smile at that moment. "He is not the only one stalling for time."

As soon as her words finished, the magic array around the city shook violently once more.

Wave chuckled and stared at the hooded man with a provocative expression.

"The fourth node has been destroyed, and our reinforcements are in their way here. I hope you have a plan to deal with them, Mr. Eight."

The hooded man clicked his tongue.

"How unexpected. They were destroyed much sooner than I thought. I should not have trusted the Church of Slaughter and the idiots of the Kingdom of Alterna."

Wave narrowed her eyes.

"So they also participated in the attack on my city, huh."

The hooded man chuckled.

"They are really useless, though. Well, I was not expecting the interference of the crazy ones that follow Axalia, and the Princess of Skysword was stronger than I expected as well. Even Dollmaker failed to defend her node… It looks like I can only trust myself to get this work done."

"It looks like you are very confident in yourself."

"Of course." The hooded man smiled slightly. "After all, I'm pretty strong."

The next second, a powerful aura spread through the entire city.

The ground shook, and the wind became still. Mana so powerful that anyone below demigod felt oppressed by it filled Academy City.

Then, a giant magic circle appeared below the hooded man's feet, spreading to several kilometers around him.

He, Returning Dusk's number eight, was ready to show the world his power.