[Asano Ichiko]
"Was I more helpful than Diana?" I asked. I knew that it wasn't the right place and ti to be asking such a question, but my mouth moved before my mind could react.
Realising my mistake, I didn't wait for him to answer.
I wanted him to look at . Only .
Even though I agreed on the compromise of taking both and that "other woman" out for Valentine's Day, I wanted it all to myself. I didn't want to share.
He was mine, and I was his.
The day before this, I couldn't sleep.
I had pressed my body against the cold sheets and was unable to suppress the trembling of my body; half of the trembling was excitent, while the other half was anger.
Surprisingly, despite the third wheel, the day had gone quite well. It would've been better if it were just us two, but that'll have to wait til next year.
However, just because I had a good day didn't an that my anger from the previous night had vanished. I just hid it because I didn't want to embarrass my fiancé with it.
But now, there was an outlet for to release that anger.
The monsters who decided today was the right day to interrupt my date with Bell.
With a feeling of anger mixed with relief that I could let off steam, I attacked again. Another wave of demonic monsters had already popped out of the portal.
Irritation was burning hot in my chest.
The audacity and nerve of these monsters!
They had no right to exist in the sa space as him.
Inhaling a deep breath, sothing warm ford in my throat, and when I spat it out, a ball of lava shot out in a wide arc, splashing across the ground and cutting off a part of their advance.
A few of the more nimble monsters tried to leap over it, but they didn't make it, as they were shot down in the air by Bell and others nearby.
With the back of my hand, I wiped my mouth and glanced at my fiancé's side profile. He was already moving again, lightning shooting out from the head of his spear.
After watching him for a few monts, I noticed sothing. Wherever he stepped, the flow that the monsters would charge at us subtly adjusted to be where he went.
…Are they here for him? Is this revenge for what he did to that demon at the academy?
That thought crept into my mind and even though I tried not to dwell on it, the eerie nervous feeling remained in my mind uninvited.
How dare they! He's not a prey!
I sent a condensed bullet of lava at the skull of a monster that had been less than a ter away from Bell. It left a hole in their head and they collapsed, dead on the spot.
Too close. If even a single one of them so much as grazes him…
"No," I uttered.
I'm not going to let that happen.
❖ ❖ ❖
[Bell]
Authorities had managed to form barriers around the area after the last remaining civilian was evacuated.
It would've been a much more difficult task if it weren't for the fact that the monsters weren't really worried about wreaking havoc, but were more so trying to corner .
Ichiko was staying very close to .
I wouldn't be surprised if she had already deciphered why we were being attacked. Spoiler alerts — it was .
"Young Master," I heard a voice behind .
My eyes glanced at the mana signature that I had recognised a few seconds before he arrived at where I was.
"Jerman. When did you finish your training?" I asked.
"We're not done yet. But I was given a day off."
A day off? Why would he receive a day off on this day specifically? Wait! Does he also have a date?
My eyes widened and I looked at him, but he clearly didn't want to answer the question that was visibly raised in my expression.
"I have sothing for you. I brought it on my way here," he said as he handed over Gon.
With a smile, I unwrapped the bandages and tossed my spear into my weak hand. I appreciated Quentin's gift and his analysis that I was ant to wield a spear, but until I found a spear that was better than Gon, the sword would always have a place in my right hand.
If this were Earth and I were a regular human, dual-wielding a spear and a sword would be a foolish decision due to the point of balance being wrong, but I was a superhuman. The weight ant nothing to .
'It's ti to spill blood!' Gon scread.
Indeed it is.
As I dashed forward with more recklessness than before, I noticed that it wasn't only my bodyguard who had arrived.
Ichiko's maids and her personal bodyguard Renzo had also joined the fray, which made wonder if they had been contacted by Ichiko.
There was also this blue-colored bird flying above .
Is that Ichiko's battle pet? What was its na again?
I thought about it for a second while my sword blocked an attack and my spear followed up by stabbing into the monster's body.
Ah! That's right. Aoi.
Allies were arriving, but none of them was exactly what I was waiting for.
Gaps in the battlefield had been filled by the reinforcents that continued to arrive, but none of them was enough to push the balance in our favor.
If anything, it felt like the intensity had risen.
As I dealt with what was in front of , I was actively trying to understand just how this was possible.
Yes, it could be that one of the dark magic users was responsible for the portal, but that didn't explain how they were able to keep it open for this long.
Sothing must've been different between the original novel and the current tiline. But no matter how much I racked my brain, I was unable to put a finger on what it could be.
That was the dangerous thing about the butterfly effect.
Just the slightest change could result in sothing drastically different.
Every step I took forward, skeletons would abandon the humans they were attacking just so they could intercept .
Demonic monsters that had been leaping at a police officer would redirect their path just so they could clash with my path.
Because of the sheer number, it was subtle enough that most wouldn't notice, but if anyone had been closely watching , it would've been unmistakable to them that sothing was off.
Cutting through another pair of skeletons, Gon scread, 'Master! I'm glad you're using to kill these evil monsters! It reminds of how my first master would wield into battle.'
Bones shattered with every swing and stab of my two blades.
Lightning would follow the flow of my weapons and would explode through clusters of monsters before they could surround .
.
.
.
Every second felt like an hour.
It wasn't just the monsters who were dying. None of the humans were immortals, so it was obvious that they would start to drop as well.
Whether it was intentional or not, for so reason, I was isolated from the rest of my allies.
I was in the middle, surrounded by a bunch of monsters.
"Bell!" Ichiko called out from behind.
"I'm coming!" Diana scread.
"No!" I responded to the two of them. Without turning to face either of them, I told them to stay back. I still had Liona's ability at my disposal. If I needed to dash out of danger, I could do so easily.
Ignoring their voices that were filled with concern, I surged forward instead.
This was perfect. Although danger was pressing in from every direction, making feel like I was the bullseye on a dart board, I didn't panic.
As claws scraped past my ribs, blades of bones whistling inches away from my throat, and blades threatening to split my head open, I was taking this as an opportunity to grow.
Lightning spells were spewed out from my while simultaneously driving my spear forward, skewering a demonic monster clean through the chest. I twisted, ripping it free as Gon ca around in a tight arc and cleaved through another monster that had tried to take advantage of the opening.
"You're too slow to be doing that," I said as I twisted my body and kicked the dead monster away.
Sharp claws coated with poison aid at my side and I shifted at the very last second and t it with the side of my sword, deflecting it away from my vitals.
Another attack ca from behind and I ducked, feeling the gust of wind that rushed over my head as the attack struck the monster that was in front of instead.
"Friendly fire? That's not very nice."
I could feel myself getting stronger. Every near-miss from my nesis was sharpening the instincts that were trying their best to keep alive.
Every mistake I made corrected itself faster than the last.
"Co," I muttered under my breath. "Don't stop now. I'm not at my limits yet."
The monsters obliged, which would've happened regardless of what I said.
I was clipped once during a mont where the attack had truly caught offguard. The attack was hard enough to send skidding backward.
As the pain stung, I didn't let it affect as I rolled, sprang up, and was able to parry the two strikes that ca from the monsters that had been behind when I began skidding.
I impaled a third attacker through the jaw.
After that, there were several more tis when I had co dangerously close to being overwheld.
A misstep here.
A reaction that was a fraction of a second too slow.
Each ti, at the very last mont, I either twisted away, raised my blade to et the attack, or redirected the force just enough to not only survive but to counter.
My breathing was starting to grow heavier as my limbs were burning from being pushed to their limits.
Yet, I was smiling.
I'm reaching my limits. I should probably get out and…
My thought ca to an abrupt stop as the monsters stopped. Rather than pressing forward like they had been doing this entire ti, instead, they took several steps back in unison, creating this unnatural pocket of empty space around where I stood alone.
"…What?" I uttered in absolute confusion.
Before I could move or react, a cube snapped into existence directly in front of . I was inside the cube as it was a barrier.
My eyes widened and I activated Liona, skipping forward through space only to find myself slamming into the half-invisible wall.
The cube wasn't letting leave.
"What the—!"
I tried again and the space around warped, but again, nothing.
Then I watched as the cube began to shrink and compress until it wrapped itself entirely around my body. My movent was restricted and although the pressure wasn't crushing as if it was trying to make my body pop, it was strong enough that I could barely move.
Then the barrier collapsed and suddenly, cold tal snapped around my wrists.
"Shackles?"
My arms were yanked violently behind my back before I could react and I grunted as the restraints locked in place.
A chain manifested from the shackles and the next mont, I was airborne.
""BELL!!!"" Diana and Ichiko scread.
The chain reeled upward, my feet leaving the ground as the battlefield began to shrink underneath .
Shouts echoed from below, but they were distant. Allies tried to intercept, but the monsters had focused all of their attention on preventing them from reaching .
Above , I noticed that space was opened up and a second portal blood into existence.
As I was dragged toward it, what ran through my mind was:
No! I made all those oaths! I need to fulfill them in ti, or else I'll be punished!
I began to think about Grace's competition, my deal with Herol, and my agreent to work with Maya to handle Aldo.
My oathsssss!
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