217 Chapter 217: Traitor (1/2)

Summoner Sovereign Tomoyuki 71860K 2022-07-21

”…the traitor is Angelica Porter?”

Shun Yin glared at Ying Bu Si as he asked coldly. Even though his eyes had been fried, the Umbra Assassin smiled as he glanced up with an eyeless expression in the high school student's direction.

”What's this? You don't sound surprised at all. And for you to figure it out…you must know Miss Angelica very well. You must be very close to her…is Angelica perhaps your lover?”

”Don't even joke like that.” Shun Yin tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. ”I haven't seen her in almost ten years. How is it possible for her to be my lover?”

”Really? But I can still feel some lingering desire in you.” Ying Bu Si's grin grew wider. ”Hmm, so you wish to take Miss Angelica back from the Porter clan using magic that you weren't capable of casting when you were a child.”

”Wrong.”

”Gah!”

Ying Bu Si cried out in pain as Shun Yin stabbed him deeper, twisting his sword maliciously as if he had forgotten his heroic values. Despite the agony and a bead of perspiration running down his cheek, Ying Bu Si maintained his smile.

”Really? Miss Angelica says that she still loves you, you know.” He chuckled ominously. ”Deep within herself, she continues to wholeheartedly harbor a desire to see you. That's the only reason why she sold out her own family just so she could obtain more power.”

”Isn't it because she hates her own family?” Shun Yin responded dispassionately as he glared at Ying Bu Si. ”And because we need to have this obligatory cliché twist of main heroine being the villain?”

”Now, now. Don't be dense. Even now, Angelica is eager to embrace you, you know?” Ying Bu Si reached out with a hand. ”Sir Shun Yin…please follow me to where Miss Angelica is.”

An explosion resounded some distance away from the two of them, clearing some segments of the fog. Mages in uniform were dashing through the fog, their weapons drawn and spells cast, and attacking the Assassins aggressively.

”The Federation military is here!” one of the surviving students yelled in relief and delight.

”They'll save us!” another student agreed as he clutched his arm, still standing with his sword drawn as he fought off a black-robed Assassin. ”We just need to hold out for a few more seconds!”

”Oh dear.” Despite the desperate situation, Ying Bu Si didn't look too dismayed. ”It appears that we've run out of time.”

Shun Yin merely regarded him callously, his sword still stabbing into the Umbra Assassin's shoulder. Ying Bu Si smiled in a friendly manner as he tried to look up at him, even without his eyes. Shun Yin noticed the dark shadows creeping out of the man's ruined sockets and trying to restore his sight and eyeballs.

”If you could please withdraw your sword, then we can begin to bring you for a reunion with Miss Angelica.”

Shun Yin slowly pulled his sword out inch by inch before suddenly stabbing the flinching Ying Bu Si furiously, causing him to grunt in pain.

”Ugh!”

”I refuse.” He glared at Ying Bu Si. ”Instead, I want you to spill everything you know regarding your client and their plans. What is Angelica intending to do, joining up with them? What are they researching on?”

”Sorry to disappoint you.” Ying Bu Si was breathing heavily. ”But no matter how much you torture me, I won't tell you anything.”

”Then die,” Shun Yin replied callously as he cast his spell.

”Wait!” Ying Bu Si called out. He wasn't exactly panicking, but he did realize how close he was to death. ”If you kill me, then you and Miss Angelica will never…”

”Who cares?” Shun Yin responded nonchalantly. ”It's fine if we don't see each other again. It's not as if I grew stronger just to meet her…”

”That's such a cold thing to say.”

Shun Yin shivered when he heard a feminine voice in his ear. He yanked his sword out of Ying Bu Si and jumped as far back as he could on reflex, raising his sword defensively.

And not a moment too soon.

A girl descended upon him, swinging her sword and forcing him to parry her blade. There was a thunderous clang as metal ground against metal. Gritting his teeth, Shun Yin raised his head to glare at his opponent.

”Angelica.”

”Oh?” Angelica looked a little taken aback for a moment, but she then smiled. ”No longer using any honorifics, are you?”

”There's no point pretending to be respectful and polite to someone who betrayed the Porter clan, is there?” Shun Yin responded dryly.

”That's true.” Angelica nodded as she increased the pressure of her sword. Shun Yin grunted as his knees buckled and the ground shattered beneath his feet from the tremendous impact. Angelica smiled. ”Impressive. There are very few people capable of stopping my sword.”

”Kuh…”

As he dropped to his knees, struggling to withstand Angelica's blade, Shun Yin gasped. Studying his opponent, who was effortlessly pinning him down despite him hurriedly casting several physical reinforcement spells in succession, he wobbled.

Is this strength even human?!

”Don't disappoint me now, Shun Yin.” Angelica was giggling. ”I know your true strength isn't limited to this much.”

Shun Yin narrowed his eyes, and the knocked her back determinedly. He retreated in a single bound, maximizing the distance between them.

However, Angelica effortlessly kicked off the ground and closed in, swinging her sword and bombarding him with a relentless hail of swings that nearly tore his arms off their sockets. His sword vibrating violently, Shun Yin was forced to yield ground and retreat.

He ground his teeth and began casting a fire spell. Flames crackled in his hand as he prepared to launch a fireball at her.

”Heh! A spell, huh?” Angelica continued to giggle joyfully. ”So you're admitting that you won't be able to best me in a sword duel?”

Shun Yin responded by flinging a fireball into her face. Angelica merely cleaved the relatively tiny projectile apart with her sword.

”What did you think you were going to achieve with such a pathetic spell?”

However the moment the fire dissipated, a single blade thrust through the flickering flames and stopped right before her throat.

”Ah…”

Her eyes wide, Angelica froze. She stared at Shun Yin in disbelief, realizing that the fireball had been a feint.

Shun Yin met her gaze evenly, waiting for her move. Angelica smiled as she gazed down at the sword at her throat.

”Amazing. You really have gotten so much stronger...haven't you, Shun Yin?”

She playfully placed a hand on her chest and smiled flirtatiously.

”Perhaps…you grew stronger for my sake?”

”You wish.” Shun Yin lowered his sword when he realized that Angelica no longer had the intention to fight. She knew as well as he did that he could have killed her in that strike, and that she had lost the match.

”I see.” Angelica squeezed her chest somewhat wistfully, but she maintained that coy smile on her beautiful face. The expression, Shun Yin noticed, didn't reach her eyes. ”But I got stronger just to be with you, you know?”

”That's no reason to join up with the Assassins Guild and start slaughtering innocent students in Vermillion High to spark a war.”

”Don't be naïve, Shun Yin. You know as well as I do that these students aren't innocent. Haven't you seen the kind of person Charles is? He's not the only one in this school, you know. The majority of the so-called noble students here are just as rotten to the core and arrogant as he is, thinking they can trample people like you…refusing to recognize your talent. All because you're from a commoner family. Don't you think they deserve death?”

Even as she stood amidst the fog, the two of them could hear screams of death and pain continuing to echo throughout the darkness.

”Argh!”

”NOOO!”

Angelica chuckled ominously and clasped her sword arm with her other hand.

”This power…one can get drunk upon it, you know? Isn't it the same for you, Shun Yin? Don't you enjoy this power coursing through your body?”

”…power? What are you talking about?” Shun Yin stared at her, completely bewildered.

”If I succeed in mastering this power, we can be together forever. Bound together by bonds stronger than that between me and my accursed family.”

”What is this power you're talking about?” Shun Yin demanded, still not comprehending.

”So that's why…I'll surpass all other mages…all other humans!”

Angelica cackled as she raised her sword up high. Then she swung it down, unleashing an enormous inferno in an instant, cremating a good section of the school courtyard. Shun Yin shielded his face and jumped to the side to avoid the spell, but Angelica had never been aiming for him in the first place.

Falling onto his rump, he glanced at the scorched crater and molten earth, dazed from the enormity of the spell.

”That was…?” he murmured to himself, his eyes wide and perspiration pouring down his face. He then glanced at Angelica. She cast such a powerful spell in an instant?! How is that possible?!

”Surprised?” Angelica asked mischievously. She then brought her sword up to admire it. ”This is a spirit weapon.”

”…spirit weapon?” Shun Yin repeated, dumbfounded.