[Layland Kleinhaus' POV]
"Let us make a trade, shall we?"
As I look at the old man holding Millonia by her nape like a dead kitten, my mouth can't help but twitch. My hold on Mark's neck got tighter, causing him to cough since he can't draw air into his lungs.
I exhale lightly to calm myself and loosen the hold on his neck. The old man, Alivert Storm--Mark's ntor--has Millonia in his hands. Whatever I do to Mark, he will do it to Millonia. I am certain about it because I would do that if I were him.
"It depends on what kind of trade you want to offer," I reply calmly.
"That boy for this girl--that's all," Alivert responds.
He is lying--I can see it plainly in his eyes. He is planning to do sothing else during the trade, which is what I am also going to do. This is my first ti eting soone who thinks the sa way as I do. I am rather conflicted about how to feel about it since I am as excited as I am irked by it.
We are playing the sa ga, so the one who wins will be the swiftest. No amount of strategy and deceit will help --the success of this "trade" solely depends on my speed and reflex.
"What are you going to do with him anyway, old man? You know he doesn't stand a chance against ."
"Not yet. He soon will, after the Holy Maiden sacrifices her heart."
"Hoh? You are also planning to take this woman's heart after taking this bastard back?" I hum as I glance at the said Holy Maiden, Celia, from the corner of my eyes. She has a small bitterly helpless smile on her face. "What about that harlot? She is a Holy Maiden too, no?"
"The King has agreed to sacrifice his daughter's heart for the greater good. Lady Brianna may sacrifice hers to save the Princess; however, between a person of this world and a Hero summoned from the other world, it is not hard to tell who will do her job better as a Holy Maiden."
I chuckle throatily at the response, letting everyone know how amused I am. "Oi, Celia, isn't it? What do you think about it? Your father, your family, and your God have abandoned you. Don't you find your fate ironic? They discarded your years of struggle and suffering that easily!"
"That is..." Celia squeaks out. "I can't do anything about it.... It's all God's will."
"Pathetic," I remark disdainfully. "To live life the way soone dictates you--calling it living is insulting. Ku-Ku-Ku. None of you will understand, I know. You have minds yet all of you act as if you don't know how to use them. Pathetic."
Hum!
Alivert puts his sword before Millonia's neck and shouts, "Stop wasting ti, Demon! Give my disciple!"
My vision briefly darkens and it causes my Mana to explode. My blood rises to my head. I can't help it. Millonia is my friend; seeing her being treated as a bargaining chip extrely infuriates . The mont the bastard Alivert put his sword before her neck, I wanted to imdiately rip him apart.
Fortunately, I can regain control over my emotion quickly. I exhale softly, lift Mark higher, and tighten my hold on his neck.
"Put the sword away from her neck. I am a decisive person, you know? The mont I know I will lose her either way, I will kill her and all of you at once. If you don't want that to happen, I suggest you not try anything stupid."
I am being serious. I have suffered enough loss. When I am put in a situation where I can't win, I will make sure to make my opponent end up losing more. If the odds tell that Millonia is not salvageable, I will kill her, Mark, and Celia, so none of us can win.
Will I regret it later? No, but I will undoubtedly mourn over Millonia later. I will be filled with more hatred and anger than before and I will keep killing until my newly resurrected heart is satisfied. Will it make happy? No--which is why I am trying my best to avoid that outco.
"Here I am thinking that Demons also have compassion. You are no different from those I have slain--cold and detached," Alivert remarked. "Well, that doesn't matter, does it? Let us conduct the trade."
Alivert walks toward slowly; his sword is no longer before Millonia's neck but right before her abdon. I extend my left hand to the side to let him know that it is empty and walk toward him while dragging Mark by his neck. The bastard only groans and doesn't do anything, scared of what I might do to him.
I can easily tell that both sides are nervous about how the trade will go. They seem to already know that sothing is going to happen and they are waiting for it in anticipation.
When we are only 10 feet apart, we both stop in our tracks and look at each other. The people behind Alivert gulp nervously as they stare at his back and I am sure the girls also do the sa.
"Hand him over, Demon."
"Let's make it quick by doing it together. Then, we can proceed with the fight."
"You are not going to give OUR Princess' heart without a fight, huh?"
"Wow. You are treating her like an object, you know? If that is the case, he who has his hands on her has the right to decide what will happen to her, no?"
Alivert says nothing and takes his sword away from Millonia's stomach. I push Mark forward to let him know that I am also intending to give Mark to him. We nod at each other and then throw the person in our hands at each other. As the people fly, we retreat and extend our hands forward.
"Coil!"
"[Hunter Claw]!"
Alivert casts his self-made Spell, anwhile, I take out my Lasso of Judgent and wrap the rope around Neroel's neck, Alivert's son. As I pull Neroel, I can tell this is not a winning situation for ; Alivert wins this round and this is no more than my way to cope with it.
Why Alivert is winning? You may ask. As I return to the girls' side, Celia keels over. Blood is pouring out of her chest, pooling on the ground. I am there clutching Neroel's head tightly while looking at Alivert who is holding a beating heart in his hand.
"Bring this back!" he shouts before throwing the heart to Brianna.
Mark frantically runs at her. I am expecting him to look back at mockingly but he doesn't do that. He seems to feel guilty that his master has to sacrifice his son to save his ass. Considering what kind of a scum he is, I am rightfully baffled.
Flash!
As soon as Mark reaches Brianna--right after Brianna encapsulated the heart with Mana and stored it in her Spatial Storage--the two are enveloped in white light. It disappears in the blink of an eye and they are nowhere to be found.
"Now, why don't we proceed with the fight?" Alivert says neutrally, trying his best to sound unfazed.
"Gah!"
I tighten my clutch on Neroel's head; my fingers have dug into the skin that covers his cranium, allowing blood to trickle out of it. Alivert's muscles faintly tensed, indicating that he is bothered by it, which causes to smirk.
Since I have lost, I need to vent my frustration. Alivert and the soldiers that the accursed couple left behind are the perfect toys to vent my frustration on--I will savor each second I spend playing with them.
Bam!
I slam Neroel's head into the ground and then use Earth Magic to trap it inside. "Abby, Gabby, I will leave Millonia to your care. You don't have to do anything to this bastard--he won't be able to do anything."
"What about--"
I cut Abigail mid-sentence by saying, "Lunea will take care of the Princess."
Whoosh!
As Abigail looks at in bemusent, a strong current of wind pushes down on us. A 20 feet tall hawk lands on the ground not long after, followed by a black, majestic Wyvern.
Teanosvera and Genelos have arrived with the exhausted Winerva and Lunea on their backs. They are looking at in panic but imdiately sigh in relief when they spot Millonia in my embrace.
"Master, I have--"
I put my hand up. "Let's not talk about it. I can't hear well when I am irked." I point to Alivert and the two centuries of Knights behind him. "I am going to blow so steam off. Don't interfere--just watch."
Right after I said my piece, I take Rexorem out and dash at Alivert. The old man also charges at , holding his sword sideways as he glares at nacingly. The Knights also follow suit; so of them use the Magic Cannons they brought with them to hinder . They don't work, of course.
Gigantic tal balls fill my vision but a swing of Rexorem is enough to get rid of them. The explosion colors my vision red but it doesn't obstruct from moving forward, nor does it hide Alivert's visage from .
I can see him clearly--the face of the person who snatched my flawless triumph. As I am 6 feet away from him, for the first ti in this world, I swing my sword in anger.
BOOM!
The impact of our clash shatters the mountain, obliterating a century of Knights.
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