It feels like time has stopped.
"Help me…" her words echoed as Doth stood right in front of her, his mighty great sword—two feet wide, six feet long—dropping toward her.
Emilia closed her eyes as she jumped backward, knowing there was no escape. It felt like she was floating in water, as if every split second stretched into a full minute.
Doth looked at her with pure lust in his face, tongue out, eyes widened with bliss. He was ready to see this innocent girl split in half.
Narbo was on one knee, gasping for breath, still trying to recover from his previous ultimate attack. He looked at Doth and Emilia with pure fear.
She remembered how they had saved her, how they had taken care of her in the week Yaku was absent. How she had changed the way they viewed the people of the outer layer—with kindness. Within a single week, she changed Geo and Narbo, telling them stories, smiling for them, showing them that the people of the outer layer were humans just like them.
Geo immediately changed his direction toward Doth. Yaku gritted his teeth, activating his acceleration spell in overdrive.
All of that happened in less than one second.
The three heroes bolted into action with everything they had. Yaku and Geo ran as fast as they could, trying to defy destiny itself. And when the second was over, time began flowing normally again.
Blood splattered onto the ground, fire reflecting in it. There they stood—Geo and Yaku blocking the great sword. Yaku's sword was broken, the massive blade digging into his forearm. Geo pushed against the great sword, trying to save Yaku from losing his arm.
Sweat dripped from their foreheads. Yaku's eyes were bloodshot. He had been the first to arrive, his acceleration spell pushing his speed beyond its limits. His sword broke when he blocked the strike, and the great sword cut into his arm, nearly taking it clean off. But Geo arrived in time, pushing the weapon away, adding his strength to the struggle against Doth.
At the same time, Narbo tried casting the last of his mana to burn Doth's feet, but only a few weak flames came out—his mana completely drained.
"You… what you've shown me today is nothing short of remarkable. You had the potential to grow into an outstanding mage. But alas, you die here."
Doth spoke to Yaku—and out of nowhere, he summoned a second great sword.
Yaku and Geo knew it was over. Narbo punched the ground in frustration, tears rolling down his face.
The second sword came down fast. Geo and Yaku were surely about to die.
A blue light shined from behind them. Blue mana vines wrapped around their bodies. Yaku's brown hair spiked up as if struck by lightning, and so did Geo's.
"Help the knights of justice bring an end to my enemies. May their swords not falter. May their spirits burn with fire!" Emilia shouted as she cast her most powerful enhancement magic—mixed with healing.
Doth's swords were deflected instantly. Their wounds closed with burning smoke. Yaku and Geo looked back at him with electrified eyes.
"It looks like the one who will die today… is you, tyrant," Geo said with a wide grin.
"Please go! I can only keep the vines attached for two minutes—this is only the second time I've used this spell!" Emilia screamed.
Doth immediately went on the defensive as slashes from Geo and kicks and punches from Yaku came at him in rapid succession. Emilia's enhancement magic, combined with Yaku's acceleration magic, made him incredibly fast. Doth could barely keep up with his strikes—until Yaku connected, slamming a liver shot that forced Doth to his knees.
Geo seized the chance, raising his sword for a killing strike.
"ENOUGH!" Doth's roar shook the air itself.
Suddenly, cuts appeared across Yaku's cheeks and shoulders. Geo was also sliced from every direction. Both were thrown back immediately—saved only by Emilia's continuous healing magic. Without it, they would have been dead instantly.
"What the hell just happened? I can't see his swords anymore!" Yaku panted, his mana draining.
"It was like we were being cut by razors so thin we couldn't even perceive them," Geo muttered.
"Careful!" Narbo cried weakly from the ground, completely drained. "He's conjuring air-thin swords. They last only a second, but he makes hundreds every second in a three-meter radius. I can see them flickering in and out."
"This is bad… that basically makes it impossible to get near him. And we're both close-combat fighters…" Yaku grit his teeth in anger.
"I'm sorry… I can't keep this up…" Emilia collapsed to her knees. The vines around them vanished.
Night had fully set in. The moon illuminated the roof as rain began to fall. Droplets pattered against Yaku's skin as he stared forward at Doth.
"It is useless! I haven't even used a quarter of my mana! It is statistically impossible for an intermediate-level mage to defeat me. Just die already!" Doth roared, rain droplets slicing apart as they touched the shield around him.
Yaku noticed Doth clutching the side where he had struck him earlier.
"We don't need a stamina battle—we'll lose. But look. He's holding his side. We just need to keep damaging his body until he breaks," Yaku whispered to Geo.
The battle under the moonlight, with the sound of rain falling all around them, was reaching its final conclusion.