Black String of Fate

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[A/N: 100 chapters milestone, lessgooo!]

"You think that's enough to kill me?"

Xavier, who was slashing down with his sword towards Ryan's neck, was suddenly blocked by a Morningstar. He was caught off guard, because he was sure that the weapon was in his other hand, but he soon realized what it really was.

'Tsk, a dual-wielder. I should've expected this when he held the Morningstar with one hand throughout our exchange.'

With a little bit of more force from Ryan's side, Xavier was easily pushed away. In this battle, he now realized he was outclassed completely in terms of physical strength, and the opponent had techniques esoteric enough that he couldn't fully counter him with his weak body.

It wasn't every day when someone faced a half-step Expert who dual-wielded Morningstars.

When Lafia saw Xavier get overpowered by another weapon that appeared out of nowhere, she abandoned the magic support and rushed in herself. Allowing the opponent breathing room would be one of the worst mistakes they, the weaker party trying to outnumber him, can make.

With the other hand that was free, Ryan blocked the saber strike and tried to strike her back with his other hand, Xavier did not let that happen as he immediately got back on the scene and engaged with the other hand.

It was a comical pose where Ryan was pushed in the opposite directions from both sides, his hands spread out and blocking the attacks with his Morningstar. But for him, it was not funny at all, since he could tell from whom the next move was going to be, and he couldn't avoid it at all.

He looked at Alina dreadingly, but it was too late, since she had already finished casting the third circle fire spell.

"Fire Pillar."

A pillar of flames erupted from beneath Ryan, and he was directly hit. Lafia saw this opportunity and backed away, preparing to give it her all for real.

She had deceived Ryan with earth magic and simple saber arts, so this would be a hit he'd never see coming. After all, he did not know she was a Pure Nature Spirit whose strongest magic was one without elements.

'Mana Bullet, Overcharged.'

A huge bullet condensed of pure mana appeared behind Lafia and immediately launched towards Ryan. Along with the bullet, she used her Karak Saber Arts and fiercely charged towards him too.

She did not need to fear her own mana damaging herself, it was one of the perks of her race.

Ryan, despite the pain he was still feeling from the fire pillar, tried to dodge the attack. But, as soon as he tried, he found out that he couldn't move. When he looked behind, he found Xavier grabbing his waist as tight as he could and his feet planted on the ground.

'What the fuck?! Why is this kid so damn strong?'

Ryan tried to break free, but it was proving impossible for him to do so. Xavier was strong, immensely so. When contested in a matter of pure physical strength, none could match him below the expert level.

Ryan was a half-step expert, but he was still below that absolute standard Xavier had concluded about himself.

Ryan was hit square in the chest with the humongous mana bullet, leaving a gaping wound on his chest. He screamed, but he knew this was not the end of it.

Lafia appeared with her Saber held high, striking down with a well-known move of the Karak Saber Arts. He could tell that she had put her whole power behind her, and if it connected on that gaping wound, he would surely die.

Under this life-or-death situation, Ryan panicked and began awakening his Aura completely, growing stronger by the millisecond. Xavier held on as tight as he could, but his grip was slowly slipping.

'Just… a bit… MORE!'

Xavier screamed at the top of his lungs as he gave it his all in trying to hold down Ryan, the two were in a deadlock with Ryan slowly winning, but Xavier was satisfied with this result since slowing him down was enough.

Lafia had reached him.

*Slash*

Through the open wound that Lafia's Mana Bullet had made, her sword ran through his body and bisected it in half. Xavier lost his balance and fell on his back due to the sudden lack of resistance, and at that moment, he could see the torso and the horrified face of Ryan floating above him like an airplane.

He devilishly smiled and muttered the words,

"Fake god cultist bastard, may you rot in the trash of hell, if it exists."

Ryan's face twisted with anger, but he could not say any words as his eyes faded out. He spent his last moments in agony, but according to Xavier and the rest of the party, it was a well-deserved end.

Xavier got up from his fall and first went to Lafia, who had kneeled down from exhaustion. He could see that she was breathing hard, and her body was almost devoid of mana. He could tell that it was a dangerous state since mana was like blood for spirits. Losing too much could have serious consequences.

He brought out a mana potion and slowly fed it to her. Alina came over by this time, drinking her own mana potion taking over from Xavier, and continued feeding Lafia.

He got up and started looking around. The whole room was trashed and burning, but looking around, Xavier could tell that the fire wouldn't spread throughout the orphanage, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he was relaxed, a boy appeared from the place where the door was earlier attached. He had a worried look on his face, but Xavier simply smiled and reassured him.

"Lilly, it's fine. Come in."

Lilly hesitantly walked inside the room and went to Lafia. He sat down near both Lafia and Alina and asked the two of them,

"Why did you guys survive?"