Chapter 1349 - City of the Decisive Battle (6) (1/2)

“M-Mr. Rhode…”

Looking at the blade pointed at her, Catherine was clearly at a loss for words. With a terrified expression, she looked to Rhode at the side, expecting him to give her an idea. But now, Rhode, who had already noticed the secret behind the 12 mental crystals, apparently knew what he should do. Thus, facing Catherine’s gaze that was begging for help, he, however, shook his head slowly.

“I’ll leave it to you to decide, Catherine.”

He looked at Catherine and said.

“As she said, since you two are the only ones who can move, it means that this crystal has chosen either one of you. As for who gets to keep it, it is up to you to decide. Whether you plan to throw it away, give it to someone else, or keep it for yourself, it’s all up to you. And no matter your decision, we’ll support you unconditionally. So you don’t have to worry, just go ahead and do it with confidence.”

“Huh? But… How can I… I-I can’t…”

After hearing his words, Catherine’s face turned pale. She hadn’t expected Rhode to throw this problem back at her directly, which gave her quite a headache. It was as if one who was against war seeking to use war to solve an immediate life and death situation. But looking at Catherine’s expression, Rhode and Little Five Lori put up expressions as if they were watching a good show instead. After all, even Little Five had also figured out that it looked like the mental crystal had nothing to do with them in the slightest and it would be quite an interesting show to see what kind of choice Catherine would make in front of them.

After all, Catherine didn’t attack once and was basically useless other than serving as a mobile snack shopping basket for Little Five. On the other hand, the Angel of Light was apparently a belligerent personality. A battle between an extremely non-belligerent personality and an extremely belligerent personality… Oh my, it wasn’t that Rhode felt like this battle wasn’t a big deal. But if one were to look at things from his standpoint, how was it possible for one to not enjoy a good show!

“I… I…”

Upon seeing that Rhode clearly had no intention of making a decision for her, Catherine hesitated and was left speechless. She looked at Little Five for help but this time, Little Five was apparently on the same side as Rhode. Or perhaps, Little Five was using this opportunity as a form of revenge for Catherine standing leisurely and doing nothing at the back, while both of them took on the shadowy monsters tirelessly. After all, one wouldn’t feel great when one was as tired as a dog and there was another person standing idly by in the back, wasn’t it?

“Argh…”

The lonely Catherine finally realized her situation. She let out a soft grunt like an abandoned puppy, turned in fear, and swallowed her saliva as if she had made up her mind. The moment she was about to speak to her other self, she curled up her body again with a groan after noticing the latter’s razor-sharp gaze.

Looking at this scene, Rhode and Little Five sighed in unison and the same thought flashed through their minds.

What a good-for-nothing…

“Erm… Fighting isn’t right…”

As Rhode expected better from Catherine, she finally spoke up with lingering fear. But at that moment, perhaps making up her mind, she straightened her curled up body. Although her expression still looked weak, it carried a bit more determination now. And just like that, the timid young lady became courageous enough to raise her head and gaze at her other self, stating her opinion.

“I, for one, think we shouldn’t be fighting it out in this way. Because it’s just too sad; fighting means that one side must lose. Wouldn’t that be too disrespectful to the other party? Obviously, we have all put in the same amount of effort to reach here, but having to give up just because one isn’t strong enough… That is too cruel for me… E-Even a weak person who is completely powerless to fight back has the power to choose!”

“Tsk…!”

In response to Catherine’s words, the Angel of Light didn’t say a word, but on the other hand, Little Five gnashed her teeth in displeasure and lowered her head to let out a grunt. And upon noticing Little Five’s reaction, Rhode swept a glance at her, before withdrawing his gaze quickly and recalling the moment they first met each other… Yes… Right now, Catherine was attacking Little Five indirectly with her words!

Come to think of it, aren’t you a pacifist, Catherine? Can’t you see that Little Five’s heart was just pierced by a million swords from you?

“So you’re not going to get out of the way, then?”

Faced with Catherine’s speech, the Angel of Light didn’t react much. It was only natural since manifested personalities were extreme existences. It would be the wildest thing to imagine if one were to expect the manifested personalities to be easily persuaded. In order for words to work, one had to get a hold of the weaknesses and deal a critical blow to them in order to maximize the power of words. Just like earlier, if Catherine’s words weren’t targeted at her other self but Little Five instead, perhaps Little Five would have sprung up like a cat whose tail was stepped on.

Wait… Something doesn’t sound right here.

“… Yes.”

In the face of the sword that was raised before her face again, Catherine shrunk a bit, but nodded firmly. In terms of stubbornness, this pacifist wasn’t any worse than the battle fanatic. Rhode suddenly felt like the Catherine on his team wasn’t entirely useless. He imagined himself being angered to death if he were to face a stubborn foe who only fought using words and refused to give up. Fortunately, this Catherine was on his side and he didn’t need to have a headache about it. On the other hand, he got to see how others dealt with this bothersome young lady. Judging from this point, this Catherine really wasn’t entirely worthless, it seemed?

Or that no matter how harsh the environment was, one had to find the good and the fun in life, wasn’t it…?

“In that case, let’s fight!”

Compared to Catherine, the Angel of Light was clearly bad with words; or rather, she trusted the sword in her hand more than words. Thus, after making sure that Catherine wouldn’t get out of her way, she swung her sword right away and brandished it at the young lady in front of her. Along with a shimmering blade ray, Catherine was entirely shrouded by bright lights. Facing this ambush, Catherine didn’t react in the slightest. Even though the Angel of Light had clearly declared war, Catherine would be considered quick if she could return to her senses after three minutes based on her slow reaction.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In just an instant, Catherine was completely enveloped by the assault. The whizzing and roaring explosion of sword lights scattered before everyone’s eyes. And looking at this scene, Rhode and Little Five puckered their brows. Based on the attack they witnessed, they could tell that the Angel of Light was definitely much stronger than Little Five in combat and even just slightly weaker than Rhode himself. In all fairness, if it were Rhode standing before her, he would need to put in quite a lot of effort to defeat her. But now, could that Catherine, who barely had any sense of retaliation, be able to resist such an intense and deadly attack?

Soon, the smoke cleared.

“Huh?”

After gazing at Catherine, not only did Little Five shriek in surprise, but Rhode also stared in amazement. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Catherine remained on the same spot unscathed, though her expression was still full of terror. The Angel of Light didn’t knock Catherine down with her sword like both of them had expected. On the contrary, that seemingly full of momentum and indestructible sword was now a distance away from Catherine’s chest, blocked by a layer of faint golden radiance. And although the Angel of Light looked like she had gnashed her teeth and used all her strength, she still wasn’t able to penetrate it an inch.