Chương 164: Chapter 153-Chosen Bakery Brawl

Battle. Excitement. The feeling of triumph. Fuck all that. I'd rather never have been in a fight. If it was up to me, I'd have others fight for me while I sip on a hard rum. Maybe some sand between my toes and the beautiful sun above me. Gods, I need a vacation. Do I have to do the Summer quarter, or is that a mandatory thing? Anyway, I really don't want to fight, but I'm certainly not going to let myself get killed. Before the dust can settle, three cloaked individuals rush out to attack us.

Stabby in hand, I manage to do a simple parry as the skinny one stabs at me. With my other hand, I [Throw] a rock straight at his head. The loud thunk produces an audible groan from him. Disoriented, he takes a step back and slips on a piece of bread. Without hesitation, I grab the hem of his cloak and [Throw] him straight at Hopper. Hopper, who just finished firing an arrow into the shoulder of his attacker, ducks down.

As the skinny one flies over him, he kicks him straight into the roof, which splinters on impact. As he falls back down, Penelope catches him by his hair and slams him into her opponent with a sickly snap. Not letting up, I rush- My body suddenly stops. I can't move! It's like I've frozen in place. At the edge of my vision, I watch as a woman whose eyes are bleeding enters the broken shop.

"Try not to move," she says as a man with a crossbow fires at me. Fuck! Move body, move! Penelope crashes into me right as the bolt sinks into her shoulder.

"What are you doing just standing there?" she asks as she tears the bolt out of her shoulder.

"I don't know. It was like I was frozen. I think they have a [Skill] that can-" I suddenly freeze again, and based on the look Penelope's giving me, so did she.

"I told you to hold still. What don't you understand about that?" the crying woman says as an arrow sinks into the back of her knee. The grip on my body suddenly releases as she groans in pain.

"What in the fuck?!" I ask.

"She has eye magic. Don't get caught in her line of sight!" Hopper yells from somewhere that I can't see. Penelope groans as she takes her greatsword and disappears from view. Before she can reappear, the crying woman's eyes flash with a reddish-black energy. Penelope crashes into the wall as she suddenly stops in her tracks. Ducking behind a wall, I yell, "You good?"

"Couldn't be better." Eye magic. I remember a Second Year having something like that. Fiona, I think. There was a reason I exposed her affair instead of trying to beat her. Eye magic will always hit as long as you're within sight. It's a crazy powerful ability that only has one drawback. It's mana-intensive. Which means she can't be using it all willy-nilly. We need to split her focus.

"Penelope! Get the stragglers. She's the only real threat!" I yell out for everyone to hear.

"Do you really think I'm the only one?" the crying woman asks as an explosion blasts through the rubble of the bakery.

"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" a man with a deep voice asks. Damn it. The one who created the explosion. Penelope was right. It was a [Skill]. Eye magic and some sort of explosion magic. If I'm lucky, that's the last surprise, but for some reason I don't think life is that kind. Okay, Hopper and Froppy should be around somewhere covering us and waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. Penelope, hopefully, listened to me and is dealing with the other grunts and possibly going for a flank attack.

Which leaves me with the Dynamic Duo over here. I've had worse days. I step out from behind the wall and [Throw] a handful of rocks at the crying woman. The more things she has to stop, the more intensive the mana cost. The explosion man steps out of his cover as I start to run at them. With a flick of his wrist, a wall of flames erupts, cutting my path off.

"Why'd you do that, Edward? I had him," the crying woman says with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh please, Erica. Had him? He was about to have you," the explosion man says. As the flames flicker, I give a devilish smile. Forget my rocks. This fire might as well be hundreds of them. She can't freeze me without freezing the flame, and I doubt she has the mana for that. Not to mention… They're filled with pride.

"Yeah, Edward. What are you doing? Can't you see that she was about to freeze me the moment the rocks stopped moving?" I ask as I carefully grab some flour off a nearby counter.

"Do you think us to be that daft, Devil? We've fought your kind before. We know the dangers of your silver tongue. Kill him, Edward!" she yells.

"Hmm. Ordering me around? Remember you're not in charge here," Edward says as he raises his hand towards. Before he can attack, I [Throw] Stabby right at him. The edge of my blade cuts straight into his hand and doesn't stop until it reaches halfway up his arm.

"AAAHHH! You fucking, Devil!" he yells as the flames in front of me disappear. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Now's my chance. Erica turns her gaze to me right as I [Throw] flour at her eyes. My body freezes along with the flour. Blood pours down her eyes as they shimmer with a reddish-black energy. Fuck!

"Get yourself together, Edward. We can get you healed up later. Kill the witness," she says as she stares me down. Edward walks past me as he tears Stabby out of his arm. I was wrong, but she shouldn't have had enough mana to stop both me and the flour. Move! I need to move! My finger twitches as she steps around the flour. The moment it's out of sight, it goes flying behind her.

"Don't worry. Once he's done with her, I'll deal with you. I can't wait to have those pretty little eyes of yours, Devil," she gloats as my finger begins to move. The footfalls of Edward grow distant. My heart hammers away at my chest. My finger just barely budges as she gets within range of my [Clean]. The blood around her eyes suddenly burns away, causing her to blink in pain. In that split second of freedom, I grab her by her hair and slam her face first into the ground.

"I'll deal with you once I'm done with him," I [Taunt] as I take The Chosen Blade and [Throw] it into the back of Edward. The Chosen Blade sinks into his back and out of his chest. With little fanfare, he falls forward dead. My hands shake as the realization that I killed him sinks in. I can't think about that right now. Focus, I need to focus.

"Unhand me, you Devil! Let me go!" Erica yells as I keep her face and, subsequently, her gaze pointed down at the ground.

"Where in the hells are Penelope and Hopper?" I ask as I look around.

"Worried about your friends? How sweet," she says as blood pools on the ground.

"Shut up!"

"Maybe you should be worried. Like I said. Do you really think I'm the only one?" she taunts.

"You're getting on my nerves, and my hand is getting tired. So, let's find a more permanent solution," I say as I place my hand over her eyes.

"What are you doing!? Stop! Don't you dare touch my eyes! I said unhand me!" she yells as the mana builds in my hand.

"A normal [Clean] may not be enough to do any lasting damage, but I would [Gamble] that if I put more mana into it, it would have devastating effects. Let's find out. [Clean]." The supercharged [Clean] burns away at her eyes as she struggles to get up. As a rush of mana flows through me, I let her go. She writhes on the ground, but she pushes through the pain and shoots a glare at me, but it does nothing. Her now cloudy white eyes are useless.

"What have you done?!" she yells as she scratches at her eyes.

"It's only fair. You wanted to take my eyes. So, I took yours," I [Taunt] as I pick up Stabby. As Erica sobs, I walk over to Edward and go to pull The Chosen Blade out of him. Reaching for the hilt, I notice the tremble in my hand. Damn it! They're monsters, not people. I don't need to feel bad about this. They wanted to kill me. They've probably killed more than I ever will and would've killed Carina. With a shaky breath, I tighten my grip on the hilt. You don't pick up a blade if you don't expect to kill.

"CJ, you're not alone," Blue warns me as an overwhelming feeling of danger radiates from behind me. Turning, I find a woman with stark grey hair and a staff in her hand.

"I see. He was right to send me. I'll be honest, I don't think I could fight all three of you at the same time. So, I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of dealing with the others myself."

"Mita, he took my eyes. My glorious eyes," Erica says as she crawls towards the woman's voice.

"I can see that. The damage is extensive. Do you think you can use your [Skill] like that?" Mita asks as she takes the staff and lifts Erica's chin.

"No… No, please don't. I… can still be of use. Our healer can fix me. Please, Mita, don't," she pleads.

"Relax. I wouldn't hurt you. Your magic is special. It's valuable," she says as she taps her staff on the ground, releasing a wave of white energy. The energy grows around Erica. Then she disappears. What did she mean by having taken care of the others? Are Hopper and Penelope okay? Who is this woman? A Purist, obviously, but there's something off about her.

"Who are you?" I ask as I hold Stabby and The Chosen Blade in each hand.

"My apologies. Mita Erzmagier. It is a pleasure to meet you, Chosen One," she says with a sinister smile.

"What did you do to Penelope and Hopper?" I ask as I see Carina huddled in the corner.

"They're alive, if that's what you're worried about. My orders were to take the witness. Nothing more. Nothing less," she says as her staff glows white.

"Take? Not kill? Alexander would never-""Who said I was following his orders?" she says, cutting me off.

"Prideborn, what does she want with Carina?" I ask in anger.

"She wanted me to give you a message. If you want her back, you'll have to make a decision at the Festival," Meti says as Carina is enveloped in a white light.

"Carlos!" she yells before disappearing.

"Bring her back," I say as I take a step forward, only to find myself pressed into the ground by an invisible force.

"Careful now. That's 10 times the normal gravity. Try to move in that, and you might just break something. Your friends are in the alleyway. I'll see you at the Festival," she says as a white light envelops her. The moment she disappears, the invisible force on my body also disappears. Standing up, I kick a nearby box. Gods fucking damn it! Prideborn! Catching my breath, I walk out of the ruined bakery to find the bodies of a couple of guards. Guess they tried to help. The alleyway.

Turning the corner, I find Hopper and Penelope unconscious. Human LvL. 21 has been Defeated. Collapsing next to them, I let out a sigh. What have I gotten myself into?