The Hero Faction (III)

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Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x

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Georg could feel a cold sweat start to run down his back, the sound of Cao Cao being completely overpowered alongside Takauji's nonchalant monologuing making it clear who was dominating the battle. 

"You shouldn't let yourself get too distracted, not to sound arrogant but I'm also pretty strong myself." Masashige chuckled, pointing his finger upwards causing Georg to feel a cautioning chill hit his body. "Do what you can to block this." 

An orb of bright-yellow lightning started to gather above his hand, [Light Magic] gathering around it at an alarming rate, alongside another form of energy Georg didn't recognise, that being Masashige's [Spiritual Energy]. Even though he didn't have his Sacred Gear with him at the moment, he could still use it in its raw form. 

Georg didn't hesitate to conjure a large array of Defensive Circles in front of him, combining the defensive properties of [Dimension Lost] with his Mana to create the strongest barrier he could to protect himself. 

"[Raikōhō]." Masashige muttered, a stream of built-up lightning shooting out of the tip of his finger, reaching Georg before he could even finish casting his defenses. 

Drip, Drip, Drip. 

"Oh? You actually survived. Nicely done." 

Georg clutched the side of his face, horrified to be met with the sensation of charred skin, blood, and fragments of glass that had been embedded from his now broken glasses stuck in his flesh. 

"What–" 

"What did I just do? Is that what you were about to ask?" Masashige smiled. "I used a simple lightning spell, that's all. Unfortunately I wasn't born with [Holy Lightning], but as you can see I still pack quite the punch." 

Even though Masashige didn't inherit the Holy element since he wasn't Baraqiel's kin, his [Light Magic], like Georg's Mana, contained the property of every single element. 

"Simple?" Georg breathed in a hoarse, aching voice. "You call that simple?" Being hit by a full-speed bullet train would've been less destructive than that. 

"Not satisfied?" Masashige scratched his temple. "Such a demanding opponent I've been given, alright, I'll show you something better if that isn't enough for you." He straightened his fingers, clasping them together and fully extending his arm towards Georg. 

This time the energy gathering around him was pink in color, and contained significantly more [Spiritual Energy] than his last attack did. 

"Shit," Georg murmured under his breath, aware that he didn't have the ability to block the next attack, and even if he somehow managed to, he would be left completely crippeled. 

Phoenix Tear's weren't exactly something terrorists could get their hands on, especially not in abundance. 

"[Senju Kōten Taihō]."

Ten pink points of energy appeared around Masashige, each of them primed in Georg's direction like a loaded gun. 

"Don't look at me like that, you're the one who wanted more." The beams all shot out in unison, hitting Georg's position in an instant as the Magician appeared to make no effort to protect himself. "I see, that's also one way to deal with it." A grim laughter escaped Masashige's lips. 

The attack had indeed landed where Georg had stood, but the Magician hadn't been on the receiving end. 

With his body torn to pieces in a crater in the ground, laid the soon-to-be corpse of a young man with silver hair and fading vermillion eyes, wearing a now torn up priest's outfit. 

"G-Georg! You bastard!" He spat in a hardly-audible voice, his throat having been blown to bits alongside the rest of his mangled body.

"Sorry Sieg, it wasn't personal." By using [Dimension Lost's] ability to transport his allies, Georg had switched places with Siegfried, another Hero Descendant, to make him eat Masashige's attack for him. 

Normally Georg couldn't imagine himself doing such a thing, especially with his deep-rooted loyalty to Cao Cao and the Hero Faction. However, that loyalty had been surpassed by his will to live. 

Sacrificing his friends for his own gain was a terrifying thought, but dying was even scarier. 

Siegfried still had an onslaught of curses he wanted to hurl at his Vice-Leader, but being on the receiving end of Masashige's attack had left him with only a few seconds of remaining life, putting an end to his story on the spot. 

"Using your allies as meat shields, aren't you a little monster?" Of course, in Masashige's eyes Georg's actions were only that of a desperate child, nothing more. 

"That word doesn't mean much coming from you," Georg somehow found the energy to retort. Sealing the wounds on his face with his Magic to prevent further blood loss. "Masashige Kusunoki, was it? I'm shocked that I've never heard of a Mage of your caliber before." Even though he was no longer a part of the Magician association following his defection to Khaos Brigade, Georg was still incredibly well connected in the world of Mage's. 

"That's because I'm not a Magician, I'm a swordsman, actually Pandora is as well." 

Georg's brows knitted together. 

"The two of you are awfully empty handed for swordsmen." 

"Well, as you can see you guys aren't exactly strong enough to warrant us bringing our blades out of their sheathes, but since I'm such a kind person I'll make a compromise." Like Kokabiel, he formed a sword composed entirely of [Light Magic], assuming pretty much the same shape as his actual blade. "I won't use any spells from now on, so please try to make this at least a little enjoyable." He stretched his neck from side to side, his bones crunching from the lack of action he had experienced as of late. 

"You're despicable, Georg." A feminine voice spoke, belonging to a beautiful young foreign woman with blonde hair, and light-blue eyes. "But that's not necessarily a bad quality." She was clad in armor with a gold and orange color scheme, walking past Georg until she was in front of him. 

"Jeanne? What are you doing?" The Magician asked in confusion. 

"What a silly question that is, you're just going to swap me out like you did Sieg if the battle goes on like this, so I might as well fight that monster of a Fallen Angel instead of dying as a mere tool." Though her words were firm, her knees buckled with each step she took towards Masashige. Every fiber of her being telling her that battling him would lead to nothing but death, and funnily enough, so would not fighting him. "What I want to know is, will you help me during the fight? Or will you sit back and watch until you're inevitably picked off as well?"

She craned her head, facing him with one eye as she stared him down. 

Georg couldn't help but swallow a nervous gulp in response, unsure where Jeanne was finding the bravery to march forward in the wake of such an overwhelming creature. 

"Masashige," George spoke, looking at the Fallen Angel. "Were you being serious when you said you wouldn't use any spells?" 

"Mhm," he affirmed. Waving the Light-Sword around playfully as he awaited their move. "As serious as can be." 

"I see," he inhaled sharply and looked at Jeanne. "Alright, I'll be your support. Just focus on exchanging blows with him, I'll handle everything else." 

The corner of her lip curled upwards, followed by an affirmative nod. 

"That's what I like to hear," a rapier appeared in her hand out of thin-air, radiating a presence which Masashige recognised all too well. 

"A Holy-Sword? Ah, I see. You must be [Blade Blacksmith's] possessor." 

[Blade Blacksmith] was essentially the counter to [Sword Birth] producing Holy-Swords instead of Demonic-Swords. 

"That I am, Fallen Angel." Jeanne called on every last drop of willpower she had, forcing herself to give life to the courage she needed to face the opponent in front of her. "I hope you don't have any complaints about a 2-on-1?" 

"Of course not, you're both equally weak to me anyways." He shrugged, thinking nothing of the main members of the Hero Faction before him. 

Georg held out his hands, enveloping Jeanne in different colored lights as the woman's aura started to flare to life. 

"I believe in you, Jeanne." Strength, speed, defense, regeneration, and awareness. He had increased all of her attributes to their absolute maximum with this Magic, even using [Dimension Lost] to heighten her perception of her surroundings. 

"Such sweet words from such a bitter man," she laughed dryly. "But thanks, make sure you have my back." 

She sprinted towards Masashige, full of vigor, courage, and the desire to cut him down. This was what the Hero Faction stood for, to defeat supernatural creatures with nothing more than their human strength. 

"What?" But something was wrong. 

Her look may have been filled with battle intent, but her opponent's wasn't. 

No, there was something else in his expression, something far more tame. 

"What's with that look?" It took her a while, but eventually she figured it out. 

It was pity. 

"You should've used [Balance Breaker] from the start, but to be honest, I don't think that would've changed much either." Masashige's actions were all done in quick succession. 

He grabbed her wrist. 

Then he tripped her over with his foot. 

He raised his Light-Sword. 

And then he swung. 

"Pandora tried to warn you, it's your fault for not listening." 

In a matter of seconds, Jeanne's body had been cleaved in half. All that preparation, all that willpower, trampled over in a few moments. 

Georg couldn't believe it, all his buffs had been for naught. He thought he understood the difference in strength between him and Masashige, but he had been wrong. 

Wrong beyond belief, both Masashige and Takauji's confidence was not the result of arrogance, not in the slightest. It was completely and utterly grounded in reality, to a painful extent. 

The Magician stood there with a blank expression, part of him hoping this was all part of a bad dream, but the pain he felt on the side of his face hit him with a cold splash of reality. 

Masashige made no effort to attack, walking over Jeanne's severed body as if it was a wet puddle and resting his Light-Sword on his shoulder. 

"Pretty anticlimactic if you ask me." He looked to the side, observing the river over the bridge as if he were on an evening stroll. "Sorry, was she your girlfriend or something? You two seemed to be having quite the moment over there." 

Georg continued to blank for almost a minute straight, Masashige still making no attempt to attack him. 

"I see," and then he started to laugh. "I see, I see, hahaha, I get it now." He continued to do so, causing Masashige to tilt his head. "It was hopeless from the beginning, wasn't it? Masashige Kusunoki." 

"Yeah, it was. Like I said, that was what Pandora was trying to tell you the whole time. You're the ones who chose not to listen." 

"Indeed, we are at fault for not taking the opportunity to flee." His laughter grew louder, and louder, tears rolling from his eyes as he audibly mocked himself and Cao Cao. "One Dragon, and one Fallen Angel, so that's how the Hero Faction ends. Haha, it's so laughable I almost want to vomit." 

Like Masashige, Georg decided it was a good time to look at the river beside him. 

"Hey, Masashige, shall I tell you why we were trying to capture Yasaka?" 

"Sure, if that's what you want to do." 

"We were going to use her power to fulfill our benefactor's wish." 

"You mean Ophis?" 

"Yes, with Yasaka's power to control [Leylines], we planned to brainwash her into using that power to summon a Dragon Gate, to forcefully bring out Great Red." 

"That's–" 

"You don't need to tell me, I understand now that we're incapable of doing anything to the Dragon of Dragons." He sighed, looking up at the sky he had created with [Dimension Lost]. "It's just that, I would've liked to have seen Great Red in person before I died." 

"I mean, you did see Great Red, in a way." 

Georg raised his brow. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Since you're going to die anyways, I suppose it's fine if I tell you." Masashige inhaled. "Pandora is Great Red." 

That revelation shocked him even more than seeing Jeanne killed so effortlessly. 

"I don't understand." 

"Pandora is the other half of Great Red, both Dragons are two sides of the same coin. So technically, you did see Great Red. You feel better now don't you?" 

Masashige didn't give the Magician any time to process, speeding forwards and decapitating him in one swift motion.

"Welp, I've done my job." He clutched his stomach, feeling a tremor run through his torso. "Ah, I should probably get something to eat." With [Dimension Lost] now deactivated, Masashige simply walked away from the battlefield as he hummed a tune to himself, wondering which restaurant to go to. 

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This is why we make sure to grind levels before fighting bosses, take notes people. 

10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14

Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x

Word Count: 2178