Chapter 68: Sidestory: A Battle Without the Hero
As Saiba lays unconscious, we move to a completely different scenery, far from our Hero.
In a location near to the AA Academy, two figures lie in the shade. One pants heavily while mumbling,
"No... More... Please..."
The other says,
"I... Can't... Take... Much... More..."
Shining in the sunlight, a third person stands with one hand grasping on a spear and the other at their side. She shouts,
"Is that all ya got!?"
The woman has skin, tanned like honey and muscles, built like a warrior. She wears a wide grin and her ragged maroon hair flows in the breeze. The woman looks similar to an amazonian.
She twirls her spear in the air and catches it with one hand while bending her legs. Launching out, she speeds towards the two shaded figures.
Before the pair can react, they are simultaneously flung away in either direction. They go a long distance away and slowly pick themselves back up.
On one side, Lily stands, her rapier in hand, white clothing a little dirtied, and breathing heavily. On the other, Lazaro stands, his hood of his head, bow hanging in his arm, and looking like he's about to collapse.
The woman in the middle looks at either side then announces,
"I'm getting hungry! Let's finish this quickly!"
Pointing at Lazaro, she shouts,
"You first!"
Lazaro freaks out and begins running into a nearby forest. He hides within the bushes, trying to control his movement. The woman slowly stomps over and calls out,
"Playing hide-and-seek, are we? There's no time for playing games!"
She grasps her spear with one hand and slashes it across. All at once, a large amount of trees in the forest get cut and fall to the ground, creating a clearing.
Lazaro gasps, but quickly covers his mouth so as to not reveal his location. He thinks,
"What do I do! One hit and I'm done for! I can't run away 'cause she'll see me!"
He comes up with an idea and thinks,
"Wait a second!"
Closing his eyes, he begins focusing on the bracelet he was given. It glows for a bit, before turning transparent. Starting from there, the rest of his body becomes transparent as well.
Additionally, he gets a pop up that reads,
[Item Activated: Armlet of Temporary Stealth. User gains Transparency for next minute. (Further use will require additional activation)]
Slowly getting up, he begins tiptoeing away. While walking, he accidentally steps on a twig that makes a loud cracking noise. The woman notices as a pair of animals ears, atop her head, perk up.
She closes her eyes and wiggles her ears while listening for the smallest sign of movement. Lazaro continues walking, completely terrified, as he occasionally checks on the woman.
This time, when he looks, she looks back. He freezes in fear as her primal stare sends chills up his spine.
She pounces like a cat as Lazaro leaps back. She shouts,
"Found ya!"
As she tries to pounce again, something stops her. At her feet, a mound of ice has appeared, trapping her legs. She says,
"A skill that makes you disappear AND Ice Magic? Not bad, kiddo..."
She kicks her legs forward as the ice shatters while shouting,
"But not good enough!"
At this point, the bracelet's effect has worn off as Lazaro becomes visible again. The woman leaps toward him and thrust the blunt end of her spear into his stomach. He gets winded and falls to the ground, knocked out.
She cracks her neck and mumbles,
"He wasn't that bad... Now for Round 2..."
She averts her gaze to Lily who was watching the whole battle. She calls out,
"I won't take it easy on you just because you're a girl!"
Lily shouts back,
"I wasn't not expecting you to!"
She bares her fangs and charges at Lily with her spear. With little time to react, Lily holds her hand out as a yellow barrier appears and blocks the attack.
She gets a pop-up that reads,
[Item Activated: Rune of Protection. User gains Magic Barrier. (Barrier Strength is equal to double user's DEF)]
The woman's attack managed to shatter the barrier as the residual pressure pushes Lily back. Lily stops herself and thinks,
"I guess this thing did come in handy... That would've knocked me out right away..."
Now attempting a counterattack, she thrusts her weapon out and shouts,
"Blinding Ray!"
A beam of white light shoots out, zooming towards the woman. With ease, the woman slashes her spear down and splits the [Skill] around her. She taunts,
"Is that all you've got?"
Right after, Lily follows it up with more [Skills]. She shouts,
"Parallel Flash! Glistening Array! Reflector! Heavenly Choir!"
All at once, a barrage of [Skills] comes flying at the woman. She stands confidently while mumbling,
"That many [Skills] at once? Someone of your Level shouldn't be able to do that."
The [Skills] envelop her in a curtain of white light and explode out in a big flash. Lily takes a deep breath and thinks,
"That should hold her off for a little bit, but I can't let my guard down..."
The light clears as her jaw drops. Beneath the light, the woman stands. Unharmed, spotless, and practically shining.
Lily mumbles,
"Th-That's impossible... She looks untouched after taking that many of my [Skills]..."
The woman cracks her neck and says,
"Thanks for the massage! I'll give you one back as thanks! Just try not to get knocked out in the process!"
The woman does her signature pounce as Lily chants,
"Lightspeed!"
She gets shrouded in a coating of white as her movements become much sharper and quicker. Lily leaps back to cover with her increased speed.
This takes the woman by surprise as she says,
"You're a quick one!"
However, she follows Lily with an even faster speed. The woman catches up to Lily and thrusts her spear out. With a split-second reaction, she brings her rapier up and deflects the attack.
Confidently, the woman taunts,
"Too slow!"
She retracts her spear and sends out another strike that goes even faster. Lily is hit as she falls unconscious and lies on the ground. The woman stretches her arms out and yawns.
She quickly picks Lily and Lazaro up, carrying them on her shoulders, as she walks away from the battlefield while saying,
"I should get some lunch now..."