Return of the Woodcutter

Orders fused on all sides. So did screams of despair. So did Aito's war cry as he spun to his target.

Swordsmen armed with shields surrounded him on all sides. By fear of hitting their allies, archers positioned behind the lines were on hold, as were the elementalists.

It was time for pure melee. It was time for blood, steel, and physical strength to do the talking.

At some point, Aito's skill Whirlwind started to slow down. Even with his level 2 Durability, his enemies' defenses, now glowing yellow, were a pain in the ass to deal with because of their sheer numbers.

Those cunning bastards had boosted their defenses by standing next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, overlapping their shields to create a double layer of protection.

Aito smirked under his helmet, halting his body rotation. The morpho ax still retained its momentum as he swiftly swapped the blade side for the hammer side that was uncoated with Durability.

With a large powerful swing, Aito's weapon crashed against his opponent's shields like a raging tide, smashing, obliterating the sect members' every defense in its wake like those were fragile glasses. 

BAM!

The ainium hammer did a bloody, gruesome job. Acting on the molecular level, it created a violent reaction under its victims' shocked gazes.

All previously coated with Durability, fragments of wood, iron, and steel were propelled on all sides. Either rebounding on steel armor parts, piercing leather, or outright lodging themselves in human flesh through unprotected gaps.

More than just a simple hammer, Aito's new weapon acted as an explosion trigger, creating mayhem, chaos in his enemy's ranks.

Perfectly protected by his new gears coated in a denser yellow light than the others, Aito remained unaffected by the screams, blood, and fragments of diverse materials in which even broken bones were mixed in.

Like a real artisan of war, he crushed his surrounding opponents. Not one by one, but at least two by two, sometimes more.

Alone, he started to turn the tide of the battle in his favor. Dictating the rhythm. Reigning supreme amongst the challengers. 

Leaving none alive in his wake.

***

On the other side of the battlefield, coming from the red corner, Ogoro's burden was lightened. Dozens of henchmen left their positions to head towards the blue corner, making it easier for him to forge a path to his sister.

Due to the chaos, he couldn't properly see what was happening, but it mattered little. The painful groans were enough of a sign to show that something or someone was letting all hell loose nearby.

From her seat, Sheyla watched both sides with a complicated gaze. She recognized the person heading her way through the red corner as her brother.

But who the heck was the masked madman coming from the blue corner, bashing challengers, sending them flying like mere pigeons?

Taking advantage of the growing chaos caused by the two warriors, she focused on her bindings. Kai's henchmen had attached her arms to the back of the wooden chair.

Her feet were free to move around as she pleased.

A simple amateurish binding that lacked real professionalism. Well, she was surrounded by many enemies, so escaping, in the first place, wouldn't have been possible even with untied hands.

Kai had probably attached her to the chair to prevent Sheyla from taking action against him.

Too bad it wasn't enough.

Having decided on the method to release herself, she relaxed her body by taking a deep breath, then shifted her weight to her legs instead of the chair, used her powerful agile muscles to jump, and back flipped while dislocating her shoulders.

She landed on her feet behind the chair, put her shoulder back into their orbits by pulling on them with no painful groan whatsoever, and then rushed, chair in hands, towards Kai who had been too focused on the potential approaching danger to see her coming.

Sheyla bashed the ex-CEO with the chair, breaking it in the process while freeing her hands. She then used the rope to capture Kai in a strangling hold.

"Wait! Are you sure you want to do this?" Kai asked, while calmly holding the rope tightening against his throat. His chubby figure somehow emanated an unnatural, charismatic aura. "If you kill me now, they will kill your brother. I'd advise you to reconsider."

—Kai's Active Skill: Incitement Lv2—

Weirdly enough, Kai's words resonated with her intents in a strange, emotional, yet logical way. As if a part of her mind allied itself with him, taking his side. Even more, since she actually hasn't been planning on killing him in the first place.

Her hold on him suddenly slightly loosened up.

"If you release me, I will provide your brother a way out of this." He said, his tone hypnotizing. "You have my word."

"Why should I believe a pig like you?"

"Should? No, you shouldn't. You must." Kai said with more poise than before. "Don't you see what's happening around us? Take a good look at the situation. There are only three of you, here. I don't know who that guy is over there, but let me tell you he is bound to reach his limits at some point. Our numbers may dwindle in the process. However, do you think you will outlast us? Be realistic. There is no way out of this but to trust me. To believe in me. What do you say?"

"That…" Sheyla hesitated. She knew Kai was right. At least something inside her told Sheyla he was right. No matter how skilled his brother, the masked man and she were, they were still humans with limited capabilities.

There was no other way out but to negotiate. Which, in a sense, had been her goal from the start. Her interests aligned with Kai's offer.

So, shouldn't she follow it? Why should she resist? Was there a point to it?

No, no, there wasn't.

"Very well," she said, her grip on the rope loosened entirely. Although still wary of him, she attached his chubby hands together to prevent Kai from trying unnecessary things.

However, little did she know that the ex-CEO's most powerful weapon wasn't his fists, but his treacherous voice, which he has used to distract her from seeing the whole picture.

"You've made the right choice," Kai said, trying to reassure her.

At this point, his henchmen had already caught on to his predicament. Taking advantage of Sheyla's attention being solely focused on Kai, mostly because of his hypnotic voice, the sect members surrounded her.

Once he gave them a signal, they rushed to free him.

Sheyla came back to sense soon enough to escape a pommel strike aimed at her head, used two fingers to pierce her assailant's eyes, disarmed him, grabbed the sword, and prepared to kill the treacherous bastard who had betrayed her.

But Kai was already retreating behind his henchmen, out of her reach.

Threatened to be swarmed, she fought bravely, her mind set on taking as many of those bastards as possible with her to walk Hell's road together.

However, approaching cries of pain soon reached her. Bodies flew violently all around, as if unable to resist a raging storm.

"Let's go," the man in his grey armor said, the sound of his voice resonating throughout his helmet, changing its original tone.

Although the voice seemed familiar to Sheyla, she had difficulty putting a face on it.

On one hand, because the idea that a man she called "shameless bastard" would come to her aid was simply the first on her list of impossibilities.

On the other hand, he had weapons Sheyla has never seen before. Something the homeless guy sleeping on grass every night shouldn't be able to afford.

With no actual plan, she followed him as he paved a bloody path towards Ogoro who was heading their way.

Kai tried to talk things out with the man in front of her, but groans, pleadings and screams flooded the area, resulting in Kai's sentences to get lost in them.

From behind, the stranger's back seemed awfully wide, strong, and powerful as he swung his mighty weapon around, crushing sect members like mere flies.

He also looked extremely lonely to Sheyla. The kind of loneliness that accompanied a substantial loss.

These were the thoughts she had in the back of her mind as she hacked away at incoming enemies, picking up after the stranger. She covered his back and he the front. Slowly, but surely, they cut their way to Ogoro while accumulating injuries.

The three met near the black corner, just at the boundary between red and black. Sheyla's worry flared up as she rapidly glanced at Ogoro's wounds before parrying another enemy's blow.

Her brother was in an even worse shape than she had thought. Almost all his leather armor parts were shredded to pieces despite the clear use of Durability. Ogoro still stood tall.

However, she knew it was just a facade. A show of strength only undermined by the blood pouring down his numerous cuts. If this went on, he would fall.

Sooner, rather than later.

In a tacit understanding, both siblings followed the grey armored stranger who was rushing to the nearest exit located next to the huge black flag decorating the black corner.

Speed was the key. If they tarried for too long, they would be swarmed—they already were, but not to the point of being unmanageable.

With the three of them working together, they could cut down enemies quickly enough to avoid being entirely surrounded while moving forward at a reasonable pace.

However, Sheyla noticed an abnormality. The number of enemies was progressively dwindling. Not that they were shorthanded.

'No, there must be something…, what's this?' She thought, eyeing dozens of men and women barring the way to their freedom. All of them were holding both hands in front of them, focusing. The air blurred near their palms. A sign of accumulating intense heat that was increasing by the passing seconds. 'Shit!'

"Fireballs incoming!" Sheyla shouted. 

____

Quick reminder: 

[Ogoro Ryu]

1. Gifts:

- Acute fifth sense (Enhanced touch)

- Body blessed (Boost Body by 1 level)

- Strength blessed (Boost Strength by 1 level)

- Stamina blessed (Boost Stamina by 1 level)

2. Skills:

Active:

- Durability Lv1 (unstable)

[III. Basic stats]

- Strength: Lv2

- Body: Lv2

- Stamina: Lv2

- Agility: Lv1

- Mana: Lv1

- Destiny: Lv2 (cannot level up with Glory Points)

***

[Sheyla Ryu]

[II. Attributes]

1. Gifts:

- Acute first sense (Enhanced sight)

- Agility blessed (Boost agility by 1 level)

- Thrill of the hunt (Slightly increases reaction time and the speed at which the host perceives the surroundings. Boost agility by 1 level. Activates upon extreme concentration)

2. Skills:

- Durability Lv1 (Unstable)

[III. Basic stats]

- Strength: Lv1

- Body: Lv1

- Stamina: Lv1

- Agility: Lv2

- Mana: Lv1

- Destiny: Lv3 (cannot level up with Glory Points)