1 hour before… 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Bob, I've been thinking about something for a while," I said as we walked toward the mansion alongside the army and adventurers.

"What is it, dude? Just say it."

"About Hero Grace. We've used it so many times already, right? But did you notice something?"

"We always used it when we didn't have any class equipped. And we only used the skills and spells from the default skill set, before it updated into Super Novice."

"Hmmm…" Bob frowned. "Now that you mention it… yeah. We never tried using it with an actual class."

"Right? So I'm wondering, if we use Hero Grace together with a class, will it transform the class too? I can't wait to find out."

"Bro… I just got goosebumps."

"Me too!"

---

Blood splashed onto the ground.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for sharp pain.

But… nothing came.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw a silhouette standing above me.

"I told you… dude. That ring… it brings bad luck…"

The silhouette was Bob. He was covering me.

A blade was protruding from his left shoulder.

"Bob…" I whispered.

"Wow, wow. What a touching camaraderie," Darkness Azul mocked. "I'm almost in tears."

He twisted the blade deeper into Bob's shoulder.

"Ughh!" Bob groaned in pain. Blood flowed through his shirt and soaked his red cape.

PSSUUSH!

Darkness Azul pulled the blade out abruptly. Bob's body jerked before he collapsed beside me, his face hitting the ground.

"Bob…" I crawled toward him. He was still breathing.

Azul glanced at the blade in his hand. Its glow was fading.

'It seems this blade is only usable twice, I'll need more resources to make it last longer.' He thought.

TING!

He tossed the now-useless blade aside.

He transformed his right hand, darkness protruding outward and forming an elongated, sharp blade.

"Bob… Bob… please hold on," I said, my voice shaking. Blood continued to flow from his left shoulder.

Darkness Azul raised his hand.

"I've wasted too much time. I will finish you two and then bring the Princess out from here."

He swung his hand down.

"Yaargh!"

Linus appeared at the last moment and blocked the strike with his staff. He followed it up with a flurry of combos, swinging his staff and forcing Darkness Azul back. Linus's face was filled with fury. A purple aura began leaking from his body.

"Tchh! What a nuisance," Darkness Azul cursed.

"O weary flesh, hear my gentle decree…

Let pain loosen its hold and life return free…"

I heard a soft voice and turned my head. Reika was chanting.

"Princess… go…" I shouted, but my voice barely came out.

Reika ignored me. Reymond was standing in front of her with his spear, but his stance was far from battle-ready.

Darkness Azul's face twisted in anger.

"All of you have defied me too much! I will just kill all of YOU!"

Suddenly, his speed increased, and Linus was overwhelmed almost instantly.

"What is this movement?!" Linus's eyes widened. He somehow managed to block most of the strikes, but Darkness Azul ignored him and slipped past.

His target was clear.

"The two of you! Run!" Linus shouted as he saw Darkness Azul's shadow move in a split second, vanishing and reappearing multiple times before arriving right in front of Reymond.

"By word and will, your wounds shall mend…"

Reika continued chanting.

THUMP!

Reymond raised his spear, using his last remaining strength. But it wasn't enough. He was pushed aside.

"Rise anew, for my voice commands the end."

Darkness Azul raised his hand and struck toward Reika.

But it was too late.

"VOICE OF NEW HOPE!"

Reika completed her chant. At the same time, Darkness Azul's attack landed, and blood splashed from her abdomen.

"Reika!"

"Princess!"

Voices echoed throughout the hall.

My eyes widened as I saw Reika fall slowly to the ground. But I saw it clearly.

She was smiling at me.

"Beat him, Alan…" I saw her lips move.

THUDD!

She hit the ground.

Suddenly, I felt a surge of power and energy erupt inside me. A yellow aura enveloped my body, renewing my mana and stamina. But I had no time to appreciate it.

Inside my heart, something boiled violently, the anger and rage intertwining. I slowly stood up.

I looked at Darkness Azul, my eyes glowing in anger. I could feel my body moving with ease, as if I had never been injured or fought at all, as if every single cell in my body had been renewed.

Darkness Azul noticed me standing again and turned toward me.

My gaze shifted to Reika, Reymond, and Bob, each of them injured because they protected me.

Now… it was my turn!

[Equipped Shardstorm Mage class!]

My attire changed to blue. My hair turned ice-blue, as did my eyes.

But I wasn't done yet.

"HERO GRACE!"

BOOOOMMMM!

A surge of freezing air exploded in all directions, shaking the pillars of the hall. The cold swept across the floor, instantly freezing everything within one meter of me.

[Shardstorm Mage (Hero Grace Form) activated!]

The cold brushed against Bob's face, and his eyes slowly opened. What he saw shocked him. The entire hall was being swallowed by an icestorm, and he could feel the freezing chill pierce straight through his bones and teeth.

"What… what is this?"

He then saw me.

"A-alan?"

My form was completely different from before. My attire had changed into a thick ice-blue robe, with a large fur collar wrapped around my neck. My hair had turned deep ice blue, slightly longer than before, and my eyes shone with blue and white light, like jewels embedded within them.

Behind me, a massive ice shard floated above my head, silently waiting for my command.

[Image]

A bead of sweat slid down Darkness Azul's temple, even though the air around us was freezing cold. For the first time in his life, he felt something he had never experienced before.

Fear!

A feeling where he didn't know if he could escape this place alive.

'Am I… scared right now?' he thought. The phenomenon before him was far beyond what he had expected.

A massive amount of mana continuously leaked into the surroundings.

"Azul!" I shouted.

"I will make you pay for everything!"

I glided through the air toward Azul.

The fate of this long and brutal battle was nearing its inevitable conclusion!