Å̸̟̪̻͙̟̅̋ ̴̭̝́͌m̴̖̫̥̲͈̑̀̈̉͝ō̶̠̠̭̬̘̈́͂̓͆n̵̦̗͎̒͊s̷̨͙͕̩̩̆ţ̷̩̂ȇ̶͔̭r̶̼̝̲̈͗̾̄...(3)

There was another reason Dusk went to check up on Dawn before engaging Ralph in battle. Though he did need to calm down Dawn to ensure she doesn't do anything stupid while Dusk was trying to fend off his foes, the real reason for his actions lay in the fruit that was being grasped tightly between the girl's hands.

The Nixantus fruit. It was the final ingredient needed to complete Dusk's venom. While Dusk was faking an act of kindness and care towards Dawn his focus was on the fruit. Conveniently, Dawn had gripped the fruit so tightly that the liquids started spilling out so he didn't have to do much. He was able to focus on using his [In-depth inspection] skill to inspect the juices dripping out of the fruit.

Usually, it would take some time to completely examine the fruit but it seemed like after using this skill many times his expertise in it improved. In the end, the minute he was given by Ralph was enough.

Later on, he coated the throwing knives he aimed at Sally with this very venom to test how well it works. Her anger as well as her attempt at fighting Dusk caused her blood flow to increase. Which was likely the reason the venom started working even faster than Dusk originally thought.

At the moment Sally was barely standing because of the venom. She could see multiple figures of a boy with white hair. Her legs felt weak as she took shaky steps toward her opponent.

"So you can still move? I guess I should have made the paralyzing effect stronger." Dusk stroked his chin as he started thinking of making adjustments to the venom next time.

"Screw you!!!!!" The woman suddenly screamed and let out her mana. The air suddenly got heavy causing Brad who was watching from afar, to stagger from the pressure. Even Ralph felt a bit pressured although not to the point where it would hinder his movements.

Dusk, on the other hand, merely let out his own mana with a jolt. Erasing the opposing pressure with ease.

Sally wasn't disheartened by this. The mana that flowed through her body made her feel somewhat better than before. She decided to seize this opportunity to rush towards the boy and attack him in a last-ditch effort.

"TAKE THIS!" she charged, her spear infused with mana. It seemed like she was going for another attack on the front.

Dusk prepared to dodge or parry the attack depending on its power.

However, contrary to what he expected the woman in front of him vanished. But Dusk could sense where she had disappeared to. He quickly turned his back.

And then he saw it, the woman had appeared about 5 meters behind him with outstanding agility. The spear she was holding in her hand was encased in ice. Not only that, 4 glaciers were floating around her.

"Freeze lancer..." The woman muttered to herself. It wasn't meant for anyone to hear but Dusk could hear it due to having all of his senses enhanced by mana at that moment.

"DIE!" Sally threw her spear with all her strength. The glaciers followed after.

Dusk didn't have enough time to cast magic. The distance between the attack and him was too short. So he only had one option. He infused his knife with a great deal of mana. Causing it to extend the blade and form something similar to a lightsaber. It had turned long enough to be called a sword.

"Photon sword: Pentagon slash..."

As the spear and glacier approached Dusk, he slashed in five different directions with such speed that amateurs would think those slashes were done without any interval between them.

The power of the attack was nothing to scoff at either as he not only sliced the glaciers but also the well-crafted spear in half.

'Hmm...I only spoke out what I thought to be a cool name for the modified version of an attack I learned back in my world. But now I might practice and hone it further since it sounds and looks badass...' Dusk fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, Sally and Ralph were starting to get tired of being shocked.

Sally knew she couldn't win anymore. Her strength was starting to leave her as her mana reserves had dried up. Due to this, the venom's effects started to kick in again.

"If only there was some way I could get back at him! Wait....." She looked behind her and spotted a little girl. The blond-haired child was unconscious with her back against a tree. This child was the one her enemy was protecting.

A malicious grin formed on her face as she rushed towards Dawn. Her mind was filled with ecstasy and joy now that she found a way to get back at the boy. She licked her lips and took out a knife that she kept to skin animals and such while hunting. It wasn't meant to use for killing humans but for the little girl, it would do.

But before she could get too close Dusk appeared before her. She couldn't even react as he placed his fingers on her stomach before closing it into a fist. Then suddenly she was blown away by a strong impact.

'THWACK-!!'

The sound of the impact could be heard even from Ralph's position.

"GRAAGH!" Sally was sent flying, she crashed into the ground with great force. She gripped her stomach tightly and coughed up blood continuously after landing.

"W-What was that?" Ralph didn't know what the attack was but he knew it was extremely strong.

"It seems I was going soft on you. You really went ahead and tried killing the girl." Dusk's tone became cold. One would expect his eyes to burn with seething rage but instead, his eyes lost trace of all emotions.

Seeing this, Ralph knew Sally was about to be killed. He wanted to just knock the boy unconscious but now he had no choice. He would have to land an attack meant to kill.

Dusk walked toward Sally with no hurry as the grip on his knife tightened to prepare to attack.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!-" Ralph rushed in and swung his sword to stop Dusk. It was a vertical slash infused with fire magic. Dusk could feel the killing intent of the attack.

"You should have just waited your turn..." Dusk sidestepped and dodged the slash effortlessly. Then he appeared behind Ralph and started following the same steps he did when he landed that last attack on Sally.

He placed his fingers on Ralph's back and channeled mana into every part of his body before directing it all into his hand and closing his fist.

THWACK-!!

Ultimately dealing another one-inch punch. Unlike last time, the attack was properly infused with mana. Causing it to be much more powerful.

"AGGHRR!!" Ralph shrieked with pain before crashing against the ground in a similar fashion to Sally. However, there was something different about it. Ralph's body was no longer moving as blood gushed out of his mouth. His eyes lost color quickly.

Dusk had expected this. After all, he had completely crushed Ralph's spine with his attack.

"...Ralph?" Sally looked at her companion with shock. She could tell....he was dead.

"What did you do to him?!" She asked Dusk as her voice trembled. She didn't feel grief at losing her companion. What she felt was...fear.

"Killed him. He attempted to kill me so I think it's only fair I did the same."

Dusk resumed walking towards Sally. It only took him a few seconds at best to kill Ralph. Their previous exchanges in battle suddenly seemed fake to Sally after seeing him kill Ralph like that. It was as if he was never an obstacle, to begin with. It seemed like the boy toyed with Ralph until he was satisfied and then the moment the man was considered a nuisance he was taken out.

"You're trembling quite a bit. Are you afraid of me?" Dusk asked Sally as if he was curious.

"S-Stay away from me!" Sally tried to get up so she could run but she fell on the ground, unable to move. The venom had already taken full effect by now.

"You know, I never did understand the fear of death. I've been in numerous near-death situations before. Yet my mind never got clouded by fear. I would think up all the possible ways to prevent my death and take action accordingly. Something like fear...I just never understood it." Dusk started speaking to Sally. But it seemed like he was talking more to himself than her.

"One day, I thought about why people fear death. I came up with many different reasons after observing people and studying them. I came up with the theory that....people who value something are the ones who fear death. Whether it be the promises of the past, the attachment to the present, or the hopes for the future. Sometimes people fear for their own lives. Sometimes they're afraid to leave behind others. And more often than not, it's just instinctual anxiety that comes with being close to death's door..." Dusk continued speaking. Sally had no choice but to listen as she couldn't move her body.

"I wonder...which one is the reason for your fear? Is it a combination of two or more of the things I mentioned? Or something else?" Dusk asked Sally as he couldn't hold back his curiosity.

Sally just stared at the boy, unable to speak, as despair filled her mind. The venom not only paralyzed her but it was causing hallucinations. She could've sworn the boy's figure flickered into that of a young man with black hair and red eyes for a split second. But the next moment she could see a silver-haired boy with blue eyes again.

When staring into those deep blue eyes devoid of human emotion she could only think one thing about him.

"Å̸̟̪̻͙̟̅̋ ̴̭̝́͌m̴̖̫̥̲͈̑̀̈̉͝ō̶̠̠̭̬̘̈́͂̓͆n̵̦̗͎̒͊s̷̨͙͕̩̩̆ţ̷̩̂ȇ̶͔̭r̶̼̝̲̈͗̾̄..."