Chapter 382: Guilt and Regret (1/2)

”What?!” Both Argentum and Felix were left aghast after seeing the counterattack Aurus had done to combat against Felix's [Tsunami Piercer]. The two of them knew that Aurus had only been attacking them with blades so far. And from how he had made the first move against Argentum, they had a feeling that Aurus had the greatest experience with blades or skills that had something to do with blades. Though, even if that was the case…

Why did Aurus decide to retaliate an attack from a spear…with a spear of his own?

Unfortunately for the two of them, Aurus would not give them the answer, nor the chance to obtain the answer as Aurus went ahead and thrust the spear he had conjured in retaliation towards Felix, who had become off guard from the shock he felt.

Bang!

Without even being able to retaliate, Felix was sent flying, only for him to come to an abrupt stop as he forced himself to hover in the skies, accruing slight injuries from the skirmish. For the most part, the injuries Felix had received from the attack were mostly superficial, only skin-deep at most. Though, after Aurus attacked him, he could not help but send another strand of energy to him and ask, ”Argentum, did you ever teach him [Tsunami Piercer]?”

”Huh? No? Why do you ask?” Hearing the question, Argentum naturally denied all notions of him teaching Aurus one of the strongest attacks Felix could unleash, knowing very well that the two of them had been separated from each other for quite some time due to him focusing on the town's development. Sensing that Argentum was not lying to him, Felix scratched his head as he said soon after, ”Well, that's weird. I don't know how he learned of it, but he has definitely grasped the essence of [Tsunami Piercer] from what I felt through the attack.”

”If it's that…then there's a possibility,” Argentum could not help but mutter as Felix swung his spear at Aurus from time to time, waiting to find an opening where he could unleash a strong attack once more. Sadly, Aurus did not give Felix that chance, instead using it to gradually become more proficient with the spear, which Felix could not help but notice as time passed.

Looking at Argentum once more to ask him why Aurus was gradually becoming more proficient with the spear, Argentum went ahead and took the initiative, sending out a strand of energy towards Felix as he said with slight uncertainty, ”I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but if I remember correctly, Aurus has absorbed an All-seeing Comprehension Leaf in the past.”

”An All-seeing Comprehension Leaf?!” Felix could not help but exclaim, only for him to show an opening that Aurus instantly used, utilizing a Wind-based version of [Tsunami Piercer] to attack.

Bang!

Just like before, Felix was sent flying, which he forcibly stopped through the usage of his energy. Nevertheless, even though he was more injured from this attack compared to the first retaliation Aurus did, the expression of shock was still prevalent on his face, making Argentum realize that what he said must have struck a chord somewhere in Felix.

”Er…is there anything wrong with what I said?” Argentum could not help but ask just in case. But instead of responding to his question, Felix simply told him, ”Tell Eleanor to come here.”

”A-alright then.” Hearing Felix's stern tone, Argentum went ahead and utilized the connection he had with Eleanor to ask her to come where the two of them were, making sure to fill her in on what was going on before she arrived. Well, unlike Felix, she did not have any spell or skill that allowed her to create rifts to teleport. Nevertheless, with her being an incredibly strong Pseudo-Animate, it only took a couple of minutes for her to arrive at her fastest speed.

”So, why did you ask me to come here, Felix?” At the very instant she arrived where the two of them were, Eleanor went ahead and asked Felix, who was clashing against Aurus with his spear, making sure to only thrust his spear at Aurus.

In response to her question, Felix looked at Aurus before looking back at her, saying in response, ”This guy absorbed an All-seeing Comprehension Leaf.”

”Seriously? An All-seeing Comprehension Leaf?” Surprisingly, even Eleanor was shocked that the being fighting against Felix at this moment had absorbed something as rare as the All-seeing Comprehension Leaf. Nevertheless, rather than look at Aurus with an expression of greed or envy, instead, only a dark expression could be seen on her face as she took on a human form, asking Felix soon after. ”So, what's the plan?”

”According to Argentum, we can't kill the guy, only defeat him,” Felix hastily said in response as he increased the tempo of his attacks, gradually making Aurus more and more susceptible to attacks from external influences. ”Argentum, we'll need your help here.”

”Got it,” Argentum nodded as he replied, hastily casting all of the buffs he had in his arsenal to both Felix and Eleanor, increasing the pressure their auras emanated in the surroundings. Unsurprisingly, some of the townspeople near them could not help but look at the current situation in awe and fear. Though, for the most part, the townspeople had moved away from the area after looking for a bit, being told by Delmann and Valstra that their leader was currently apprehending a criminal.

Seeing that the area was now more or less devoid of innocent people that might get caught up in the battle, Argentum stopped covering the area in a barrier of Lesser Origin, deciding to use his mastery over the element of Lesser Origin on another thing instead.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Within seconds, a small orb made out of Lesser Origin started to manifest in front of Argentum as Eleanor backed Felix up, attacking at the very instant an opening was made on Aurus. While doing so, the two of them communicated with each other through strands of energy, with Felix telling Eleanor, ”If only there was a way for us to extract the All-seeing Comprehension Leaf from this guy, then it would be easier for us to defeat him.”

”Yeah. If he didn't have the ability to comprehend everything at greater speeds, then it would definitely be easy to defeat him. Then again, from what I'm sensing, it seems he's only an X-grade Inanimate?” Eleanor said in response, prompting Felix to briefly envelop Aurus in his energy before exclaiming in surprise, ”You're right. He's only an X-grade Inanimate. And here I thought he was a high-leveled Pseudo-Animate like us for him to move like that and have that much power.”

”For him to be an X-grade Inanimate and have that much power, then there's only one explanation for that other than his high-leveled skills,” Eleanor could not help but say in response, making the two look at Aurus a bit more seriously as they increased the strength behind their attacks. This time around, they definitely weren't holding back.

As for Argentum, the orb of Lesser Origin hovering in front of him had seemingly reached the limit of how big it could be, prompting him to inwardly nod in satisfaction as he poked on the orb, popping it as he, Eleanor, and Felix were soon covered in a shroud of gray light that seemed to protect against any attack aimed at them.

”[Lesser Origin Magic: Erudite]!”