Chapter 96: Invader

When they arrived at the plaza, it seemed they weren’t the only ones with that plan. A few guilds and other stragglers caught up in the fighting had gathered there, all arguing and screaming.

Seeing the somewhat large gathering, Teivel and Zayn decided they would stand off to the opposite side from where they had seen Axel go and react accordingly to whatever happened.

After three minutes or so, Zayn spotted Lucas landing in the center of the plaza, and a few seconds later, everyone scattered except for the members of Camelot. Confused, Teivel and Zayn remained off to the side, too curious to leave as well, though they were prepared to if necessary.

The reason for the group’s flight became apparent when Axel came into view with the lightning man trailing closely behind him.

Each swing of the man’s sword possessed enough power to annihilate a concrete building, while Axel desperately defended.

They jumped from rooftop to rooftop until they came crashing down into the town center, where Axel, instead of taking a passive stance, launched the first attack Zayn had seen him throw.

Axel threw his sword at the man, imbuing it with the power he had obtained from the contract — the power of light. The sword cut through the rain like a shooting star headed straight for the man.

The blade reached the lightning man, but even the power of light wasn’t enough. He effortlessly redirected it straight down, where it found a new sheath in the stone road, buried all the way to the hilt.

Though only for a second, the light from Axel’s attack, combined with the lightning surrounding the man, illuminated the attacker’s face, allowing Zayn to see him. Traditional Japanese garb covered his body, and his facial features appeared Asian.

Aside from that, Zayn could only make out his long black hair, which fell past his shoulders.

The man, whom Zayn assumed was Japanese, began speaking to Axel, but due to the heavy rain and Zayn’s distance, he couldn’t hear what was said. He guessed it had been something about Axel being ignorant, or perhaps the man thought Axel was giving up. Either way, he didn’t seem aware of what awaited behind him.

Members of Camelot and several other guilds had concealed themselves atop the nearby buildings.

Ryon was the first to make himself known. He jumped down from a roof, landing right next to the invader.

Seemingly unperturbed, the man laughed at Ryon as he raised his sword. But instead of attacking, Ryon dashed away and landed beside Axel.

The reason for his retreat was obvious.

Not even half a second later, Ryon revealed a set of candles with all four wicks lit, along with his field of darkness, as he called it, which surrounded the area within thirty meters of himself — his ability from his contract.

The ability was insanely strong, to the point that victory was all but guaranteed once someone entered the field. Within it, Ryon could teleport, strike from anywhere, and control the very ground beneath his opponents. The huge drawback was how much mana it consumed.

Almost instantly, Ryon recalled the field, but his move had already been effective.

The Japanese man, startled by the sudden display, found himself off balance beside Axel.

Axel seized him, enduring the lightning surrounding his body, and twisted his arm until the katana slipped from his grasp.

Lucas swooped in and picked it up. Axel then pummeled the invader relentlessly.

Maybe the man would have been able to fight back if Lucas and several others hadn’t joined in as well.

Still, it was obvious they weren’t trying to kill him. Otherwise, they could have simply used their swords.

‘Do they want information…?’

Like why the guy was there in the first place and where he came from?

“RAAAAGGGGGH!!!”

The Japanese man’s scream cut through the storm as he thrashed violently, throwing every one of his attackers away, including Axel.

Then, the lightning that had been circling around him stopped.

He raised his hand toward the sky and stood still.

The hair on Zayn’s arm rose as his instincts screamed at him to run away and get the hell out.

Well…

That was what Zayn wanted to do, but his legs wouldn’t listen.

He couldn’t even tear his gaze away long enough to look at Teivel. His eyes remained fixed on the man as bolts of lightning poured from the sky and engulfed him.

For three seconds, the man was bathed in a continuous torrent of lightning. When it finally ended, the hand he held toward the sky gripped a massive broadsword.

Axel responded by holding out his hand toward the man and revealing four floating swords that began to swirl around him — the weapon he had gained from his contract.

The man brought the broadsword down and smashed it into the ground. A shockwave tore through the town center, collapsing buildings and knocking everyone present off their feet — everyone except Axel, who barely managed to remain standing.

Zayn heard the buildings next to him begin to fall, but he couldn’t control his shaking legs. Thankfully, a push from Teivel helped him avoid the falling rubble.

As Teivel dove to the side, he screamed:

“We can’t stay here, things are getting out of hand!”

Zayn looked back at Camelot, whose remaining members had gathered tightly around Ryon as he deployed his ability to keep the man away.

Shadows bent around the Japanese man as Ryon blocked his attacks while protecting everyone behind him. Unable to reach them, the man eventually turned away and began destroying more buildings, killing anyone he could find while remaining just outside Ryon’s field.

The ability itself seemed close to ending. Only one wick remained lit, and even its candle had nearly melted away.

‘Does that man’s ability have a time limit…?’

Zayn staggered to his feet, then said:

“Yeah…”

They decided to run to their guild hall, gather everyone, and escape Adsagsona before the man destroyed everything.

Zayn took one more sidelong glance back as they fled, only to see Ryon’s field disappear.

The instant it did, the Japanese man closed the distance.

Almost half of Camelot died before Zayn could fully process what he was seeing.

The last thing he saw before Teivel dragged him around the side of a building was Lucas being decapitated.