The Pressure of Will

As the battle rages on, both teams becomes tired and exhausted. Red and Muller were covered in wounds, but haven't gotten any fatal ones to get them decommissioned.

Rhie on the other hand, was on a better state. Though her skin was spotless and free of wounds thanks to her healing magic, her armour and clothes are in the same state as Red and Muller's.

It was also the same with their enemies.

Two of the shield users had their armour and shield chipped and dented and the one spear user had his weapon shortened after the weapon broke.

The situation now has fallen into three versus three. But with their current state, the enemy team was in a better shape thanks to their number advantage earlier.

"Can you still keep up, fat guy?"

"I should be asking that, demon. Haven't you run out of magic already?"

"I nicked some potions from fallen so I'm alright. I'm pretty sure I tossed you a few ones."

"They're not strong enough for a dwarf like me. I'll need a litre of your weak human-made potion to satisfy me."

"Hey, at least it's not dung."

"You say it like it was a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing!"

"It's an acquired taste you uncultured swine!"

Though casually bickering, Red and Muller were barely hanging on. As Muller had run out of magic after using his magic so much, he could barely keep his own Force Arte activated from exhaustion.

On the other hand, Red still has plenty of magic left, but both shielders on the other side was a bad match against him because they use Earth Magic. Both his fire and ice aren't powerful enough to break through their defences.

Red then looks at Rhie. Although she was clearly exhausted, her gallant figure holding up her sword impressed Red.

He wanted to call out to her, but his throat was basically dried up and parched. Even though he was chewing on ice he made, they couldn't quench his thirst because it's made of his own magic.

"Can you still run a lap?"

"Why do you ask?"

Muller walks in front of Red to cover him with his shield.

"Earth magic is strong, but there's a delay in casting another one. I want you to take them out the moment they attack."

"What about you? Can you tank it?"

"Who the hell are you talking to?"

Using his hammer, he hits his shield to make noise. Though it was a simple act, his smug and confidence taunted the shield users.

The moment they stomped the ground, the ground lifts like a mountain under their feet and continued to grow towards them.

And when it reached Muller, two giant slabs of stone came out from his sides to try and attempt to sandwich him.

However, he expected that.

"Go!"

Upon his signal, Red dashes fast towards the enemies with his swords of steel and ice.

Before the slabs of stones could sandwich Muller, he hits his hammer on the ground and immediately, he gets lifted up to the sky.

But unfortunately, his timing was off and his right leg got caught and broke before it could get pulled out.

As Muller had said, it took a while before the two earth users could use their magic again. So using that chance, he tosses the ice sword in the air and hits it with the steel sword launching it at breakneck speed.

Because it was too fast to follow, one of the shield users was a bit too slow to react and the ice sword slipped through his defence and got the sword punctured into the right side of his chest and missing his heart. However, that was enough to activate the pendant to decommission him.

The other shield user got distracted from the unexpected attack, and that left him a wide opening.

Before he could turn around, Red already landed behind him. As he was about to turn, Red's sword already stabbed him in the opening of the side of his armour. When Red pulled out the sword, the pendant activates and protects the defeated fighter.

Red looked around and saw that there's still explosions happening in a different area.

Though barely, he saw a glimpse of Delcie, Vivian, and Ace fighting someone who is using a bow. He guessed it was the Harvey Ace and Charles told before.

He wanted to walk, but found himself dropping on one knee and almost dropped flat on the ground but prevented by his sword used as cane.

"Fatigue..."

Fatigue had caught up.

Despite the number of stamina and magic potions he drank, it was still impossible to remove the piled exhaustion of hours of fighting.

He looked at his body.

It was full of wounds. Nothing fatal, but the amount of blood he loss had weakened him. Any more would make him pass out.

He looked behind him.

There was Muller, limping while approaching him. Although covered in wounds with a broken leg, he merely grit his teeth to power through the pain.

"What's that? Are you giving up already, Demon?"

"You know, that taunt of yours is really effective. Makes me want to spite you."

"I'm a tank, I strive to be the best at it. What about you?"

Red spits out some of the dirt in his mouth that carried blood. After that, he lets out a laugh and forces himself to stand on two feet.

"I'm not yet out."

Opening his palm, he creates a fire and then turns it into an ice. With one swing, he slices it in half.

He heads to Muller who sat on a rock and gives the ice to him.

"My Ice isn't as cold as water magic Ice, but it should at least numb the pain after a while."

"Thanks."

"I still need Rose to take your magic and essence so don't get decommissioned now."

Red then shifts his attention to the sound behind him.

It was Rhie who was wounded on her shoulder and is also limping.

Looking behind her, there was a guy covered who was covered in the pendant's light. Rhie won the one on one, but she didn't get to leave unscathed.

Red rushed to her as she was about to fall. When he catches her, he then gathers most of his strength to lift her with both arms giving her a princess carry.

"You still have magic, why don't you heal yourself?"

"No..."

She was weakened, but not out of commission just yet. Rather, it seems that she's forcing herself to stay away with all her strength.

"I don't think I can fight anymore even if I healed myself."

"Decommission yourself then."

"...no, not yet."

Before continuing her words, she puts her palms on his cheeks and closes her eyes.

"By the decree of the water spirit, I bless thee with their caress. <Undine's Embrace>"

From the ground, water gently gushes out and coats Red's whole body removing dirt and wounds. Not only that, it also entered his mouth and forced him to drink it. Although he thought he'd drown, for some reason, it instead restored some of his strength. It was a much more powerful healing spell than before.

And the most surprising part is that it removed the nasty taste of Muller's potion.

After getting healed, Rhie draws a smile on her face. She found his surprise a bit cute.

"What do you think?"

"You could've used this spell on yourself to fight on..."

She shakes her head to deny the suggestion.

"That's not a nice thing to say to a lady you know. Besides, aren't you happy that you managed to charm a noble lady like me? It's the first time I've seen someone shine so bright in the battlefield."

"I'm not using my Charm on you though."

"I know."

Without saying anything further, she puts her arms around his neck and pushes her lips unto his.

This surprised Red as he didn't expect her to be so bold.

"You may just be a commoner, but I'm rooting for you."

"A kiss on the lips doesn't give me power just so you know."

"I know, so give me your tongue."

"Wha-!"

Because of her boldness, it left Red baffled and made him lower his guard from shock. Rhie easily pulls down his chin and opens his mouth.

Red himself didn't expect that a woman with a prideful face would make such sensual expression.

Tongue in first, Red tastes her tongue with his own. Though it was unclear what flavour it was because of the different potions they have ingested, in Red's mind, it didn't matter anymore.

His instinct as Incubus has taken over and made him absorb the essence offered to him.

"Damn, they forgot I'm still here."

Since he had no strength to turn away, Muller just lets out a dry laugh as he watches the two get over each other while feeling somewhat defeated.

With each second they kiss, Red gains more essence and magic power. Though not so much from a weakened Rhie, it was still enough to make him feel much better than before.

After parting their lips, a silvery line was drawn between them. Noticing that, Rhie lets out a slight giggle while wiping it off from Red's lips and licks it with her finger.

"Don't lose, alright. I gave you what's left of my strength after all."

Red was at a loss of words. But after hearing words of encouragement, he shakes his head and lets out a laugh.

"I'm really weak against women."

When he said so,

He then puts her next to Muller who was still quite taken aback by Rhie's actions.

"Do you still have some magic to heal me?"

"I can only heal the scratches."

"Can I protest against the difference in treatment!?"

Ignoring Muller fuming, Rhie points her finger at him and a ball of water splashes on his face. And as Rhie said, it did remove his scratches and most of the bleeding cuts.

After that, Rhie whispers the words "I yield" to the pendant and it immediately coats her with protection magic. And as if something came to her, she passes out and falls on her back.

"Damn, she must've really pushed herself a lot."

"You think?"

"Class C chicks are something..."

While they were having a good mood. Out of nowhere, the air suddenly became heavy. Pressure fell onto Red and Muller's shoulders as if gravity itself was pulling them down hard.

"W-what the hell!?"

Red got surprised. Even though he could move fine, he feels like something is holding him down mentally.

When he turned his gaze at the enemy's camp, he saw two people standing there.

One was a knight in silvery armour with a shield that had a round base, square top, and nicked ears. But not only that, the shield itself was adorned with gold and silvery ornaments reminiscing a Griffon's figure breathing fire while flying.

The other was much more easy to identify. It was a woman with halo and wings, an Angel. Since she was holding a rapier on a hand, it was obvious that she was prepared for combat.

"Is this pressure coming from the angel?"

Muller asked while trying not to cave in to the weight of their presence.

"No, I've met an angel before. This pressure is not something a simple angel would possess. If I were to guess, it's likely from that guy. It doesn't take a second guess to know he's Class A's Leader."

Red takes steps towards to them by himself.

Seeing that, Muller got surprised and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"What the hell are you doing you dumb demon!?"

"The plan. I'm about to execute it."

"By yourself?"

"Not like you're any help right now."

After shaking him off, Red starts taking steps to approach the open field just outside Class A's camp.

Though there was the enemy leader in front of him, he knows that he won't attack him. So he looks at his side where the other battle is happening.

***

Despite the number advantage, Vivian, Delcie, and Ace couldn't defeat Harvey who was good at keeping his distance. Not only that, Harvey had a tank to block some of them off.

"Irene, you can decommission yourself now. You're pushing yourself way too hard."

"No sir! I will do my duty as knight and fight to the end."

"Are you two really gonna casually chat in front of us!?"

Since Harvey and the shield wielding girl named Irene were having a casual conversation while being barraged with attacks behind a shield, it annoyed Delcie a bit.

Despite being in an disadvantageous position, Harvey remained calm.

This bothered Ace who has been spending most of his arrow shots at him and were also parried by shots from Harvey.

While Ace still continues to shoot, Harvey still keeps shooting down those same arrows. This annoys Ace a lot and both Delcie and Vivian could notice it.

"You'll run out of magic before any of your magic arrows could touch that guy."

"Don't look away!"

As if it was just a blink, a magic arrow forms just on Ace's shoulder and flies towards Delcie. And as she thought she was about to get shot from behind, the arrow hits another arrow mid-air.

Immediately, Delcie realizes he was also protecting them from stray arrows.

"Wrath of the Celestials! <Fire Rain>"

"Nature's Grace. <Gaia's Hand>"

Just when Vivian launched several balls of fire at Harvey and Irene, Harvey counters it with his own magic that creates wood from the ground that forms into a hand and catches the flames. Because the wood is close to a living one, it didn't burn.

"He's hard to beat when it comes to range attacks. We need to take out the Shield first."

"Hmm, is that you Ace?"

While Ace was assisting Vivian and Delcie, Harvey calls out to him by shooting an arrow without any intent to hit.

Realizing Harvey acknowledged his existence, Ace gets a bit shaken but still doesn't fail to shoot down stray arrows.

"Yeah, it's me. Took you a while to notice."

While Delcie continues to deflect arrows with her sword, she noticed the two archers' exchange.

"You know him?"

"Somewhat. He's the reason why I decided to participate in the battle royal."

"I'm talking to him. <Quick Mud>"

Out of nowhere, the earth beneath Delcie suddenly softens and becomes mud. And because she was suddenly barraged with more arrows, she couldn't leave the spot because she had to deflect all of them. It continued until it most of her legs had sunk.

Vivian tried to help, but she was blocked by Irene who pushed her away from the other two.

"You're annoying!"

"Your sword is more annoying!"

Using her flight magic, Vivian controls her magic sword and attacks from the distance. Though she could do various attacks from a safe range, she couldn't afford looking away as she couldn't control it if she couldn't see it.

"To think a simple flight magic could be used in such barbaric way..."

"How rude!"

With a snap of her fingers, the sword pulls back and then starts rotating violently like a sawblade. And with a swing of her hand, the spinning sword throws itself to Irene.

During that time, Delcie was able to get out of the Quick Mud. And since she was just behind Irene, she threw a wind blade slash at her.

However, that attack was rained on with arrows until it disappeared by Harvey.

"Too slow!"

"Am I?"

Irene managed to bash away the flying sword. But since Vivian has always kept her distance, there was no way for her to counter attack.

She knew she could counter with magic, but she'll be risking a shot that might miss. And considering that she's running out of magic, any misses will hurt situation.

She was unable to move. She could only move her sword and shield to deflect the magic sword away.

"You've done enough, Irene. He's decided to come out."

"Let me help!"

"If you continue this insubordination, I will shoot you down myself."

After being threatened, Irene felt chill run up her spine and froze where she stood.

Seeing such cold treatment towards his own teammate, Vivian was taken aback and stopped her attacks.

Though bitter, Irene clenches her pendant and whispered "I yield". Immediately, the protection coats her body and she then falls unconscious on the ground.

"You sure are confident that you can take us three alone."

"I can, and she was in my way."

Just when Delcie was going to say something, one of the arrows Harvey shot she tried to deflect felt very heavy. It surprised her so much it stunned her for a while.

"Do you understand now?"

Taunted, Delcie gets annoyed and does a quick draw slash. And as always, Harvey can easily dodge it.

This frustrates Delcie.

Not only that none of her attacks had landed on him, Harvey could casually counter with heavy shots that push her back.

The gap of skill and power could be seen and Delcie could only bitterly look at that fact.

Out of nowhere, the air becomes heavy and all attacks came to a halt. Though Harvey stopped on his own, the rest of the group was forcibly stopped by this immense pressure that they couldn't understand.

"W-what the hell is this?"

"My body feels heavy!"

Delcie tried to pull out her sword from her sheath, but because of the pressure, just attempting to nudge the handle was already difficult.

Despite the magic sword still flying, Vivian find it difficult to control her magic and dropped on one knee.

Ace on the other hand seemed unaffected. He simply puts his bow on his back and sat on the ground.

"It seems you are aware of what's happening Ace."

"It's the same thing that wiped Class D. I saw it with my own two eyes."

Ace glared at Harvey, but Harvey simple ignores his animosity and proceeds to put his bow on his back as well.

Hearing that, Delcie turns his attention to Ace.

She did not hear anything of the sort beforehand. All she knew that the leader wiped out a team by himself, not how he did it.

"You never said anything about this!"

"Even if I did, I don't know how to explain it. I was hoping we could beat them without this guy coming out."

"Still, any information would do!"

Ace gives Delcie a look of defeat. Although he had something more to say, he decided to not say anything and lets out a sigh.

Realizing what this meant, Delcie falls into despair and grips her sword's handle tightly in frustration.

Harvey looks at Ace. After that, he lets out a sigh that sounded like he was disappointed at something.

"I know father didn't want you to fight against me. Why did you even try?"

Ace drops on the ground and crossed his arms. With one eye close, he looks back at Harvey who still looks at him indifferently.

"I just want you to reconsider becoming the next heir."

"That again..."

"Father refuses to admit it, but he wants you back. Moreover, I'm not fit to become your replacement. You're the better and stronger."

"Isn't that a terrible thing to say as the older brother?"

While they had a little family chat, out of nowhere, they heard a loud gasp from Vivian.

"Hey, is that Red!?"

When Vivian pointed it out, all of them looks at the direction of the enemy camp's entrance.

It was Red, standing by himself to face two enemies in which one is an angel, and the other is an Armoured knight.

Harvey saw this and became intrigued by this individual.

"I can't tell if that Red guy is brave or a fool."

"How is he able to walk under this pressure?"

Though Ace was pitying Red, Harvey was rather surprised.

"You do you look like someone poured cold water on you?"

"The pressure should be stronger the closer one gets to Brandor. How is he able to walk casually?"

-End of Chapter-