Eternal Elysium

"He stopped me, when?" Sina asked.

'This voice… Someone was hiding after all.' I thought and tried to look around for any presence— Any clue that could pinpoint this new enemy location. But sadly found none.

"When you were talking, he stopped you from moving briefly. If you don't know that, it means he can also stop you from thinking."

'This guy is sharp…'

I gritted my teeth, suppressing the pain, and tore my robe apart, wrapping it on my right arm tightly.

"Ains, can you move?"

"Y-es." Ains, still shaken from the blast, barely managed to stand up.

"We might need to run, so be ready if I give the signal." I whispered and raised my sword, pointing it directly at Sina.

Ains moved his gaze through the broken and deteriorated room. His breathing quickened as his vision went hazy; taking a deep breath to calm himself, he muttered back.

"H-How long… How long can you fight, Mr. Reaper?"

Taking a deep breath to also get ready for another fight, my voice answered louder than before. "Long enough to not die."

"Wh—"

Not letting Ains finish his word, I dashed forward, albeit a bit slower than before. Sina's figure suddenly changed in between; the short man was nowhere to be seen as a woman with long black hair and sharp eyes appeared. Her limbs stretched forward as the dagger in her hand came toward me.

The sharp dagger sliced through the smoke. The new form Sina had taken was swift, her movements even more agile and coordinated than before; raising our sword, we again clashed.

"So, your name is Sina, huh?" I muttered, making the woman frown.

"Yeah, so what?"

Ting!

Looking for an opportunity I tried to create an opening by stalling for time, but from the looks of it, provoking her would be hard.

We continued to clash our blades and evade strikes. Even though I was faster, fighting in such a close space made it more disadvantageous for me. My movements were thoroughly restricted, and protecting Ains behind also put me in a precarious situation.

Lucky or unlucky enough, both of us didn't have much difference in physical strength; even then, with her flexibility, she had managed to keep up with my speed at an incredible pace.

But—

"Look down!!" Ains shouted, taking me by surprise; he raised his gun and fired at my foot.

Bang! Bang!

Two pitch-black hands emerged from the shadows, reaching for my legs—but a volley of bullets tore through them with clean precision.

Just as I prepared to step back, Sina lunged forward, driving her knee straight toward my solar plexus.

Pa!

"Tch!"

Clicking her tongue loud enough for us to hear, Sina moved back as my left palm blocked her at the last moment.

"Thanks!" I said reflexively, breaking out of character.

But that didn't last long, as the room suddenly went dark—from the ground, several arms came out. All pitch black like onyx.

"Will you die now?" Sina said, her breathing heavy.

She was tired, but so was I…

However, this new predicament has made our situation worse. The onyx arms glided across the floor, worsening my footing. Like a garden full of thorny flowers, they had filled the space in seconds.

Ains, not missing a single beat, fired as a barrage of bullets came raining down on those hands.

My breathing was jagged as fatigue finally started to catch up.

And then my face started to burn—pain… an incredible amount of it hit me.

Startled, I gasped. My attention wavered for split seconds.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

'Shit! ... This mask...'

Sina and the onyx hands, noticing this sudden opening, moved forward, ignoring Ains, who could only grip the revolver tightly and fire his gun, pointing at them.

The duel dagger came right at my neck, while the pitch-black arms targeted my body as a whole.

The world already slowed in my eyes and felt even slower than before. My eyes shifted to see them one by one, my mind racing to find a way out.

Even though I could see them, stopping them was a different thing altogether.

Gritting my teeth to suppress the pain, I took a series of actions one by one.

First I stopped Sina—freezing her time!

Following that, I jumped back, the onyx arms grazing my ribs and almost tearing them apart, making me cry out in pain.

"Argh!"

My vision turned blurry, but I didn't let the [Static] effect turn off.

Staggering back, I pushed Ains, making us fall off from the broken wall.

I could see Ains's eyes widen in surprise at my sudden action, but he didn't cry like I imagined him to. Once again I realized how weird this kid truly was.

As my head started to pound in pain, I let go of Sina and caught Ains in my arms, making us float in the air.

"Wh— Huff!"

Ains's words caught in his tongue stopped, and he looked up, taking a deep breath.

"Let's hurry down." I whispered.

Using the air step, I hastily descended towards the land, grabbing Ains by the shoulder. He in return gripped my neck tightly, his face hot and fatigue finally visible in his eyes.

"Sir Reaper… What is your next course of action? My gun doesn't have many bullets left. Huff—supporting you would be hard."

"Maybe run away… but if those two—no, maybe even more will come following our trail." I said calmly and assessed the surroundings.

We had fallen from the top floor; the mansion was exceedingly big and tall. Even those two would hesitate from jumping—or so I thought.

In the night sky I could see a silhouette descending, the figure frail, with bat-like wings sprouting from below its elbows and connecting directly with its ribs.

"I—I already think this is the second—or fifth—worst day of my life."

Ains gave me a long gaze but didn't comment. He silently felt the same inside but didn't have the strength to talk it out like how I do, presumably.

Thud!

Just as Sina landed on the muddy ground once again, those onyx arms spread through the area surrounding us.

"They won't let us go…" Ains muttered.

'Where are the mansion guards?!' I swept my gaze around the mansion's open field. We were behind the mansion; the main gate was far and filled with more than enough troubles.

"Hey, do you not have staff in this place?" I asked and raised my sword.

My hands filled with bruises and calluses were strained enough that each swing now started to feel heavier than before.

"I do. But God knows where they are dying right now?!" The calmness in Ains voice vanished, his irritation and fear palpable in his eyes.

Bang!

"Don't fire anymore! Try to use each bullet wisely; I will make the way!!"

Following that, I again moved. This time not touching the ground and walking through the sky.

Air steps carried me as I jumped from one place to another, avoiding the onyx arms sprouting from shadows.

Now that we were in the open, I could at least move more freely than before.

And I still have those mysterious potions to either heal me or recover my origin in case of emergency.

"You sure are not talking anymore." I muttered in Sina's direction, trying to see her reaction.

"Shut up!!"

She moved her daggers in my direction, slicing through the air.

Cling!

Parrying it with a swift strike, my sword whip crackled as it finally landed a strike on her shoulder, cutting through her flesh and bones. Sina's knees buckled down as she fell to the ground, her eyes wide open and a painful cry leaving her lips.

I stayed up in the sky, several meters above them, to be out of those onyx hands's reach but close enough to react to any danger. The air was thick with the scent of blood and rubble from the broken wall.

Everyone seemed to have held their breath tightly, as no one moved.

On Sina's shoulder blood started to ooze out rapidly as she gasped in pain, but this wasn't going to end with just that. The Sword of Repose was an artifact filled with deadly poison. Previously I had thought of it to only paralyze the opponents, but by now I was sure its potency depends on luck.

And that's what happened. The blood leaking out started to freeze and turn purple.

To my utter surprise Sina didn't scream; biting her lips tightly, she let out muffled sounds and glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

"Huff—you..."

"Sina, we have completed our mission; let's retreat." A hoarse voice resounded down below.

"No, we can still kill him... That guy is also injured; we have the upper hand!" Sina replied.

"We don't; that's just your wishful thinking. Even now he has not attacked us simply because to him it's a better opportunity. Maybe to make us fight or to simply prolong the fight."

Following that, the onyx arms started to come toward Sina and grabbed her.

"Wait! Let me—"

"Be silent."

The arms wrapped around her slender contour and started to pull her down in the shadows; slowly she drowned down below…

And I watched it in silence.

A sudden warmth bloomed along my ribs—most likely broken.

I closed my eyes as a wave of pain swept through me, and my body slowly collapsed to the ground.

Not falling so soon, I reached the ground on my foot and didn't faint on the spot.

'They left, right? Their goal is complete. Does that mean Ains's life was not their priority?'

Looking around cautiously, at the end of my sight I saw Ains slowly walk towards me.

His eyes looked around in disdain and gave me a subtle nod.

"Thank you… Sir. I am grateful, really."

Shaking my head, I stepped forward and answered back in a calm tone.

"I was just following orders."

Ains's lips twitched slightly as he gave me a weird look.

'What's wrong now?' I frowned, feeling something bad from his gaze alone. This creepy but smart kid wouldn't miss any opportunity or marks.

Feeling troubled, I gently asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, no, actually, I was just contemplating if I should say it here or inside." Ains said and pointed towards the mansion.

I tilted my head and followed his gaze.

"Let's first check what's wrong inside." I said and took out the healing potion and drank half of it, turning around under Aine's watchful gaze.

I had not used it before to fool them into thinking I was as powerless as them, but now that they had left, it was better to be

prepared for any new trouble.

Feeling my body rejuvenate, the trembling in my heart finally stopped.

"Are you not going to ask why I let them go?" I asked, curious at Ains silence.

"I am but… I know that you are more experienced in such matters than me, Sir Asher." Ains said and simply walked away.

"....."

My heart skipped a beat as Ains's words pierced through my ears. Closing my eyes, I sighed.

'He knows…'