Michael’s breath was rough and uneven. His chest burned in agony, and his hands trembled from all the weaving. The last spell had pushed him too far, and the backlash had begun to show itself.

His mana veins were ready to snap.

’My armor... isn’t he a mage...’

Michael wasn’t the only one in this state, though. He was grateful to the Light that the demon was in the same state.

But the demon was more prepared for the situation.

Instead of a staff, a sword lay in his hand. And from their previous encounter, he knew that the demon was adept at using them as well.

’We can’t lose here..’ Ignoring the agony and his instincts, he tried weaving mana.

Arghhh!

Michael cried in pain as he felt someone pounding his head with a hammer. Along with the headache, blood was coming out of his nose.

’Did I push pass too much...’ Understanding the magic is out of the way, he ran toward Misha. He wasn’t the only one to do that.

The demon had reached them and was running toward the healer of the group as well.

’No...not her..’

"MISHA," Shouting, Michael warned, but she seemed out of her mind.

Her hands were trembling, and a stream of tears was flowing out of her eyes. Her eyes lost their usual shine seeing the horror conspired like this.

’Fuck... the others are out as well...’ Cursing, Michael knew it was futile to wake her up.

Pounding his feet on the ground, he sprinted toward her.

Matching his speed, the demon charged straight at her, raising his blade high above his head.

A tension rose within Michael’s heart as he felt everything slow down for a moment.

Reaching her a moment earlier, the demon swung its sword toward her head, aiming to claim her in a single strike.

Fortunately, Michael reached just in time as well. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her aside with force

Slash!

The blade cut through the space where she had stood a second ago as Misha stumbled on the ground behind him.

"....."

Looking at the man with annoyance, the demon didn’t stop and turned quickly. Charging toward her, he slashed his sword in a crescent arc.

But once again, Michael stepped in front of her. Blocking the sword with his staff, he locked his eyes with the demon.

Shaking his head, he stood between the two like an impenetrable wall, conveying his ever-blazing desire to protect her.

’You have to kill me if you want to reach her...’

Without any words spoken between the two, the demon understood what was about to happen.

"Fineee.." Clicking his tongue, the demon pointed his sword toward the man.

If it was his wish to die before the maiden, who was he to deny that longing of his?

The monster rushed forward with a sudden burst, its sword cutting through the air in a fast, low arc aimed at Michael’s leg. The speed was astonishing, far faster than someone so little could move.

Despite a two-tier gap between the two, Michael barely reacted in time. Grabbing the artifact from his waist, he flipped it open. A faint glow spread across its pages as his body jerked sideways.

The sword missed him by inches, slicing through the air where he had just been.

Michael had dodged, but not by his own strength.

One of the pages crumbled into dust as he learned of a temporary skill.

The demon didn’t pause. It turned and attacked again, this time with a heavy overhead strike meant to split him in two.

Michael raised the artifact, and another page turned to dust.

His body twisted sharply, faster than his tired muscles could manage alone. The blade slammed into the ground with a loud crack, sending dirt and broken grass flying.

The artifact was helping, but it was not free in the world. Mana was the cost, and the more he used it, the longer it would take for the veins to heal.

Tsk!!

He could hear the demon frustrated as it pulled the sword and rushed again. This time with a series of fast, wild strikes. A combination of left, right, and trust.

Michael couldn’t dodge it, and so he didn’t even try.

Another page turned to dust as a large transparent shield formed between the two.

Slash after slash, the shield began to disappear, and Michael was forced to move into a corner.

’This can’t go on for long... the demon will regain his mana first at this rate...’ Thinking Michael turned around trying to find a way out of this skirmish.

For all he looked, there wasn’t any way out of this.

Although the monsters were dead. So were most of his teammates, and those who had been alive had lost their consciousness from the impact of his spell.

A tier Ⅲ spell was too much for them, even more when they had sacrificed the armor to the dungeon.

While the shield around him was crumbling, Michael was busy turning the pages of the artifact. He was looking for a particular skill to cast upon himself.

Burst!!

The shield got blown away as he found the right skill. Channeling some mana into it, he called upon the soul.

[Temporally Skill Cognitive haste Lv. 5 has been applied to you.]

A slight sliver of light flashed before his eyes as the neurons in his brain began to dance, giving Michael a perception of time higher than the others.

Michael began dodging the swing, barely that is.

Following the path of the blade, his body bent, twisted, stepped back in sharp, bizarre motions. It felt wrong fighting like this; his joints screamed in pain for all the unnatural turns he was taking.

Still, the pain kept him alive, so he endured.

’Just a few more seconds...’ Michael felt the mana coming to him as a slash grazed his arm.

Snatching a health potion from his belt, he clenched his teeth in pain.

Sensing weakness forming, the demon pressed harder. Its attacks grew more aggressive, less controlled, but heavier. Each strike carried enough force to break a bone if it landed clean.

Michael knew he couldn’t keep this up. If this continue few more minutes, he will die. All of them die in vain,

Gritting his teeth, he glanced behind slightly. There he saw Misha, who was still drowned in her sorrow.

"Misha... Wake Up... THIS ISN’T THE TIME TO FEEL GUILTY. THIS IS THE TIME TO FIGHT. DID YOU FORGET YOUR MOTHER? DON’T YOU WANT TO MEET THEM? WHAT ABOUT YOUR BROTHER, WHAT SORT OF FACE HE WILL MAKE SEEING YOU LIKE THIS?"

Hearing these words, something flashed in front of her eyes. She could feel her brother holding her hand, asking her to accompany him to the market.

Her parents looked at her with eyes full of expectation as they left her at the gate of the academy.

"MISHA... WAKE UP.. I NEED YOU... I THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR QUESTION MUCH... AND I WANT TO TELL YOU..."

Pausing, he looked behind her and shouted with all his might...

"I LOVE YOU, MISHA. I DO... SOOO, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ME LIKE THIS."

Hearing these words, something broke inside of her. She turned to look at him with pleading eyes. Forcing a smile, she stood up on her feet and lifted her staff.

"YES... YOU CAN DO IT. WAKE THEM UP... WE CAN WIN THIS.."

Michael shouted as he felt his mana returning to him. This was the time to turn the tide in their favour and win it all.

Jumping, he moved away from the demon and turned to look at Misha. Light had begun to gather at the tip of her staff as she began weaving mana into the spell.

"Divine bless-"

Woosshh!!

A sharp whistle cut through, and before she could finish her words, an arrow struck her throat.

Her voice died instantly as the spell shattered. Her hands lost their strength, and the staff slipped past her grip.

Swishh!!

Another arrow came, this time hitting her in the eyes.

Misha stumbled on the ground, eyes wide in shock. She tried to breathe, but choked on her own blood. She tried casting a spell, but the mana didn’t listen to her command.

Michael froze for a second, his brain refusing to accept the scenario in front of him.

Roooarrrr!!

Suddenly, the sound of a war cry reverberated as Lucian turned to look in that direction.

"Master?"