Chapter 48: Red Eyes Behind Him

The ball of energy shot straight toward Vladir. Unlike Elysia’s earlier attack, Evelyn’s ball of energy held far more mana. The white energy wrapped around it kept overflowing as it flew through the air.

Vladir still didn’t have time to dodge. But this time, he was ready, channeling even more mana into his sword.

When the ball of energy slammed into the blade, a violent impact shook Vladir’s entire body. He realized right away that simply coating his sword with mana wouldn’t be enough to hold off an attack this heavy. His feet began to slide backward, and the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure that kept pounding down on it.

"Hmph!"

Red energy suddenly burst out of Vladir’s body, wrapping around him and strengthening his physique. He bent his knees to brace against the push of the energy ball, then put everything he had into swinging his sword to the side.

With great effort, he finally managed to deflect the ball of energy.

*Boom!

The ball of energy flew off in another direction and punched straight through a huge tree blocking its path. A moment later, the energy inside it finally exploded.

The explosion was far bigger than Elysia’s earlier attack. The trees around the one that got hit shook along with it, while the ground beneath them was blown apart by the blast. The shockwave spread in every direction, sending leaves flying and snapping several smaller tree trunks. The blast even left a huge crater in the ground.

But Vladir didn’t even have time to check the result.

Elysia was already right behind him.

"What?!"

Vladir had barely turned his head when Elysia’s foot, coated in mana, slammed hard into his back.

*Duagh!

Vladir’s body was thrown forward right away. The blow was so strong that the ground beneath his feet cracked and shattered. Before he could regain his balance, Elysia lashed out with another kick that sent him flying toward Evelyn.

"Ugh!"

Seeing Vladir fly toward her, Evelyn immediately lunged and threw a punch right into his stomach.

Vladir’s eyes went wide. The punch was so hard that his body lifted off the ground and was sent flying upward. The air was forced out of his lungs while pain spread out from his gut.

Evelyn quickly pulled back her fist and took a step back.

Vladir’s body kept soaring through the air, higher and higher above the trees of Blackwood Forest.

"Fufu~"

Evelyn smiled as she shook out her hand.

"Oh my! Wasn’t your big sis just super cool right there?"

Elysia only snorted softly while flipping her hair.

"You couldn’t have done that without me."

While the two girls were still busy chatting, Vladir began twisting his body in midair. He quickly gathered mana around himself, trying to stop the momentum that kept launching him upward.

But before he could fully regain control of his body, he looked down at the two girls, now far below, with glowing red eyes.

"...You two are seriously pissing me off."

"Who’s making you angry, mister?"

Suddenly, a shadow shot up from below at high speed.

When the figure was right in front of him, her long white hair shimmered in the moonlight.

Evelyn grinned wide before swinging her sword at Vladir’s chest.

*Clank!

Sparks of white mana scattered from the point of impact. Even though her sword couldn’t pierce the armor, the force of the slash was enough to throw Vladir off balance again and make him fall faster.

At least, that should have been how it went...

Before Vladir could get away, a tree root suddenly burst up from below and slammed into his back.

*Thwack!

Vladir was sent flying upward again. The impact was so hard that the pain shot all the way down to his spine.

*Khuk!

He spat blood from his mouth.

Elysia pulled back her Earth Arcana, then channeled mana into both legs before leaping upward.

"Big Sis."

"Okay~"

Evelyn held out her hand as Elysia passed by. Using Evelyn’s hand as a foothold, Elysia shot even higher, while Evelyn lost height and started to fall.

With that boost, Elysia managed to catch up to Vladir, who was still in the air. She raised her leg, then drove her heel into the chest of Vladir’s armor, right where Evelyn had slashed earlier.

*Buagh!

Vladir’s body was smashed downward.

*Cough!

He coughed up blood again. A few of his ribs were probably broken, and the pain even spread all the way to his back.

"Do you two just love attacking spots that are already hurt?"

Elysia only stared at Vladir, who was plunging down, with a blank face. She then pulled out her sword and placed it under her feet to use as a foothold.

"Dunno. Why don’t you ask my big sis down there?"

Elysia stomped on her sword and shot toward Vladir. The mana thread tied to the sword’s hilt pulled taut, letting her draw the sword back after using it as a foothold.

Seeing what Elysia did, Vladir was stunned. This was the first time he’d ever seen someone use a sword as a foothold in midair.

’W-what? You can actually do something like that?!’

Elysia could tell what Vladir was thinking. A long time ago, she’d been shocked to see someone do the same thing.

"Well... I’m just copying someone’s style. This isn’t my own fighting style."

"What the hell...?"

"I told you, just ask my big sis down there!"

Elysia swung her sword at Vladir’s chest again. The slash hit the same part of the armor and left black flames burning on its surface.

*Clank!

Elysia pushed her sword in harder before finally pulling it back. She then looked at Vladir, who kept falling.

"But you probably won’t get an answer."

Pain spread through Vladir’s entire body. Even though the armor he wore was strong enough to protect him from bladed weapons, that protection didn’t help much when his body kept getting slammed by hard objects with this much force.

The girls’ punches, kicks, and sword slashes had all been strengthened with mana. Their attacks weren’t just sharp, they also carried incredible impact. Even if his armor could hold against every slash, the body underneath still had to take the shock of each blow.

Vladir quickly twisted his body around and realized he was about to hit the ground. He started pouring red energy out of his body, wrapping it around himself to soften the impact of the landing.

Well, the plan might’ve worked, if only...

"We meet again, mister~"

Evelyn suddenly appeared right above him.

Without giving him a chance to react, Evelyn raised her elbow and drove it into Vladir’s back.

*DUAGH!

Vladir’s body shot downward even faster. He could even feel the armor he wore slamming into his own body from the impact.

’Damn it! With the weight of my armor and that last hit, even if I use all my energy to coat my body, the impact is still gonna be huge!’

"You damn bitch!"

*BOOOOM!

Vladir’s body hit the ground with incredible force.

The ground beneath him caved in right away, forming a crater that kept widening from the impact. Cracks spread in every direction while dust and shards of rock sprayed into the air. The trees around the point of impact shook violently, and some of them even snapped from the shockwave that swept through the area.

The sound of the impact echoed throughout Blackwood Forest.

For a while, thick dust covered the spot where Vladir had fallen. No one could see clearly what was happening inside the crater.

But amid the sound of the swaying trees, a stifled cough could be heard.

*Cough!

Blood ran from Vladir’s mouth. The red energy surrounding his body began to surge erratically, and the armor that had still been intact before now looked dented in several places.

He tried to move his body, but the pain running from his back to his chest made him stop.

"Bastards..."

He was still alive, but now he was starting to realize that his armor wouldn’t be able to protect him forever if the two girls kept attacking him like this.

Vladir slowly lifted his head and looked at Evelyn and Elysia, who were standing not far from the crater.

His face was still full of rage. He clenched his jaw, then forced himself to get up even though the pain still ran through his entire body.

"Honestly, it’s a shame I have to use this, but I can’t fight you two at the same time. So..."

He raised his right hand until it was level with his face. Sparks of red energy began to gather in his palm, slowly growing until the air around it started to vibrate.

"Oh well, can’t be helped."

The two girls suddenly froze, staring at Vladir with wide eyes. Sweat began to wet their faces as a pair of glowing red eyes appeared right behind the man.

* * *