Chapter 34：Rage! (1/2)
As the wall fell to bits, Arthur saw a shadow appear in front of him. It was the swordsman that had come to the rescue of the two. With his great sword flying in Arthur's direction, dodged the attack by jumping backward. As the range of the great sword was a lot longer than a normal one, Arthur had to block the tip of the great sword with his own. The protection rune broke down and Arthur felt the residual force travel through his hand. It wasn't something he couldn't handle.
”Who are you?” The swordsman, named Lian, asked with his hood dropped down. It was a young man in his early twenties with a sharp nose and eyes. His black hair was combed backward with a lot of grey hair scattered in between.
Before Arthur could answer, Kira appeared in front of him as it swung its claws at Lian with fire trailing behind them. Lian tried to block the attack but a deep gush appeared on his wrist as he wasn't fast enough to dodge. The strike sent Lian backward toward the two mages.
Now the two sides were opposite of each other, everyone stood in a standstill. Kira glared at the group with unhidden bloodlust because it was attacked so suddenly. Arthur, however, had calmed down by now. He knew fighting these three men was unfavorable. He walked in front of Kira and asked it to stop. Unexpectedly, Kira looked at him with glaring eyes but didn't do anything more. Seeing this, Arthur had a sense of bitterness in his throat for some reason.
”You attacked us first, so let's drop this.” Arthur's mouth tasted even more bitter. However, he continued as he knew this was the right thing to do. ”This is my friend, and we did nothing to harm you.”
”Hah, friend, you say?” Lian who has regained his composure by now stood straight as he laughed with ridicule. ”You're no tamer, I am. Monsters would only be 'friend' after we make them submit.” Lian stressed the world friend with a hint of sarcasm. Arthur felt a lump in his throat, but he didn't want to fight unnecessarily.
”Our relationship isn't any of your business, so just leave.” Arthur clenched his teeth as he spat out each word. He realized why he felt bitter. It was that his rage hasn't subsided by the least. He didn't want to back down, but he didn't want to risk both his life and Kira's if he could prevent the fight.
”I'm not leaving until I make that wolf mine.” Lian pointed his great sword at Kira. Arthur stood there silently and the tension rose between the two sides.
”I'm glad you said that. Now, I can rest assured that I tried to prevent this. It's time for you three to pay for attacking my friend.” Arthur's feelings were far from being scared, all he felt was rage. His expression was ferocious as he clenched his teeth and glared at the lot.
Without saying another word, Arthur used his boots again. At the same time, Kira darted forward with him. The two's speed was momentarily matched and they reached the enemies in an instant.
Like before, Lian slashed with his great sword toward Kira as the two mage's abilities rained on Arthur. This time, the two of them were prepared and Arthur couldn't outrun their aim. If he learned one lesson from his underground failure, it was to never go to battle unprepared. However, his protection rune was useless against magic attacks as they were elemental, not physical. His rune only protected him from physical attacks, and that was the second reason he almost died underground.
It was then that Arthur activated his runes for a second time, jumping high in the air. He then flipped his sword while he was mid-air and activated the force rune on it toward the sky. This led to his unexpected descended toward the two mages and he slashed the ice mage. His jump and air maneuver were so unexpected and unorthodox that the group was caught off guard. The ice mage couldn't do anything and was slashed by Arthur's blade, blood splashing at the latter's face. The wound was so deep that Arthur's sword reached the mage's ribs, slashing through them. Arthur's stomach churned at the thought of killing someone, but the other mage didn't allow him to dwell over his morals.