Messing Up

'Hmm... A bow, a spear, and a hammer user, huh?' Lancell analysed in his mind.

He held Arkenvalle in his hands, and pointed it to the Heroes. "So? Anything I can help you with?"

"We know you're a heretic. Surrender." One of them spoke.

Lancell smiled as dark purple winds converged around his body, as said. "Actually, no. I've got no time for your games."

Lancell launched a pre-emptive strike as he dashed to the bow user at a speed they couldn't react. He then punched him in the gut as Lancell avoided an incoming thrust from the spear user.

Lancell then swung Arkenvalle, blocking a swing of an axe that came from behind, and spun his body for a roundhouse kick, landing a blow to the bow user again.

The bow flinched as he took a few steps back, and managed to rebalance himself.

'Tch. They're tough. And they're all in the Second Step. If this was a fight, this wouldn't be easy.'

However, Lancell's goal was to stall for time. And so, deciding that he had bought enough, he moved at top speed and began to flee.

And so, a wild chase began.

◇◇◇

Lancell ran.

He moved his feet at pace impossible for a normal human, as he avoided the masses down the road. Occasionally side-stepping, making sudden dashes, and making skilful manoeuvres, he moved in a way that made the people as good cover.

However...

'Tch. They're persistent. Looks like I'm up against elites now, huh?'

Lancell made a sudden twist in his posture as he heard a whistling sound, evading an incoming arrow. The arrow barely missed despite having obvious homing capability, and lodged itself into a wall, soon vanishing into white light.

He picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it to the direction the arrow came from, as he continued on the unpaved road of the Slum District.

'Hm? Now this could be a chance.'

Lancell took a sudden turn right as his pursuers, saw that and followed suit.

"Over there! I saw him turn right!" one of the pursuers informed his comrades.

And the moment they took the turn, they only saw a dead end.

"Damn! We've lost him!" The spear user cursed.

However, as experienced they were, their gut feeling told them that their target were near, so they checked the corner closely, much to Lancell's chagrin.

"Hm? A crevice?" the bow user muttered loudly, letting the others hear.

He approached the suspicious gap with caution, however, he was not as cautious as he thought he was.

A hand suddenly reached out with two fingers outstretched penetrating directly into his eyeballs a person emerged from within.

And Lancell, who had been exposed, now donned an expression of absolute zero. "I've been trying to hold back but..." he spoke, then added.

"...to hell with this. I'm killing you right here." Lancell declared.

And so, he materialized Arkenvalle as thick bloodlust erupted from his being. The three heroes flinched, but managed to raised their weapons. However...

"Slow."

...Lancell had vanished.

And the next instant...

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!" A scream from one of the three heroes resounded as he cried out. The other two looked at their friend who wielded the bow, and saw that his arm had been severed.

"Next." A voice coldly.

Lancell then reappeared behind the spear user as who had suddenly kneeled down, only to find that the tendons in his legs were severed.

"Wha— Huh?! aaAaaAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Another scream, but it wasn't over yet.

"And you." A voice of absolute zero spoke to the axe user.

His entire body tensed, as his pupils shrank as it trembled. He held on to his Divine Weapon tightly, as if asking it for courage. "Who are you?! Why is a heretic like you so strong?!" he yelled.

And a voice came from behind. "Strong? Compared to the absolute power I've seen, this much is far, far from enough."

The axe user turned his head, and before he could see his target, a sword had penetrated his skin, as it went inside his upper abdomen.

Three more stabs then penetrated him. Two in the back, and one on the lower abdomen. It was all where the core parts of his muscles lay, and now, they were damaged. He even if he recovered, his strength would be far inferior from what he could exhibit from before.

Lancell had spoken true. He killed them. Not them right now, but they were doomed to die in the future. He had cut off their futures.

And he made them painfully aware of living with a time limit above their heads.

◇◇◇

"Tch." Lancell subconsciously clicked his tongue, as he walked back into the inn they had lodged earlier. His steps somehow felt heavy, but he didn't care. He knew it a mental kind of thing, so what meaning did it mean to rest when the body isn't tired? At the very least, his mind was tougher than your average veteran.

He arrived at the inn before long, and found Arthur and Carlos eating lunch that they seemed to have ordered, and were eating with relish.

Seeing their carefree attitude, Lancell couldn't help but curl his lips into a faint smile.

He approached the two, and it was Arthur who noticed him first. "Oh? That look on your face...did they piss you of?" Arthur asked. A grin plastered on her face, showing her canines.

"Yeah. I cut them." Lancell said as he shifted his eyes away. Seeing his reaction, Arthur laughed.

"Ahahahaha! Now that's a nostalgic look on your face. It's been years since I last saw you look guilty!" She pointed out.

Lancell grit his teeth as his pride suffered a blow from her words. He hated losing, he loathed failure, and he absolutely didn't like messing up.

But he had let his emotions get the better of him today.

And Arthur, after a hearty laugh, handed over a plate. "Here, your portion."

Lancell raised a brow. "Just this?" he asked, but Arthur rubbed more salt into the wound.

"Yeah. Knowing you, I expected you'd screw up. Hence the punishment." She elaborated.

"You meant to give him that, either way." Carlos muttered. He was tired from all the weirdness of today, and he didn't have energy for argument.

But without any more complains, Lancell ate his food with relish as he finished quickly. And after a while, he stood. "Well, let's go now."

And so, they continued on.