Greg's face strained with all his emotions, his drive to live. His hand began to glow red as tiny flakes of fire collected into a ball. The spell was 'Combust'; the spell Preceptor Frank showed in his demonstration.
Due to its rocky formation, the caverns were not the optimal place to use his spell. Chances were high that his spell could collapse the caverns if he used it wildly. But he no longer felt any restraint. He would kill this Grade Four who insulted him.
'Stone Gaze'
Oscar froze Greg, interrupting his 'Combust'. He refused to use his spell due to its dangerous backlash. If Greg broke it completely, he would be affected by the rebound.
He sought to use it only when his opponent was in the middle of using his spell. Various tests on Frederick showed that it interrupted the formation of their spell if timed correctly. Before Greg could break free, Oscar released him from the 'Stone Gaze'. There was no purpose in holding it longer.
Like the wind, Oscar sped up and elbowed the staggered Greg. The true power of 'Stone Gaze' was to disrupt the enemy's timing. Oscar could gain the initiative if it's used at the right time.
The elbow dug into Greg's face, but instead of falling back, Greg stayed firm. He lashed out a kick to Oscar's side. Feeling the blood back up in his throat, Oscar stomped his feet to withstand the blow.
Greg knocked the elbow aside and charged up another 'Combust'. The unnatural heat, so close to Oscar, singed his eyebrows and hair.
'Stone Gaze'
But the spell did not work. Shock and disbelief flashed on Oscar's face. In front of him, Greg's eyes were closed. His spell failed to form a link and rebounded.
Greg's adaptability was outside of Oscar's expectations. He did not think Greg would figure out how his 'Stone Gaze' worked and figure out a counter in these mere split seconds.
"GAH," Oscar screamed. The pain of the 'Stone Gaze' failure seared his eyes. In horror, he saw the ball of fire fully formed in Greg's palm.
"Now you die!" Greg shouted. His hand extended out, aiming the ball of fire close to Oscar's face.
Having no choice, Oscar ducked and body-slammed Greg. The ball of fire whizzed by his ear, burning a few hairs.
The 'Combust' flared up and exploded on the cavern walls. The caverns shook as debris fell from the ceiling. The large explosion had caved in a portion of the tunnels.
"Are you mad?!" Oscar kneed Greg in the stomach as they were practically hugging each other. But Greg blocked his efforts and countered with attacks straight to Oscar's chest.
Vomiting some blood, Oscar headbutted Greg, causing them to stumble apart. The deer and dog were still fighting as the fangs locked onto the antlers.
Greg charged another 'Combust', while closing his eyes. He had a general idea of where Oscar was and threw it. Oscar dodged as the explosion blew off some rocks that punctured Oscar's leg.
He ignored the crisis in his leg and marched to Greg, landing another punch. Greg's reactions were slower due to closing his eyes. Oscar was sure to make him pay for such a decision.
With their Eins draining fast, so did their defenses. Each attack that landed hurt more than usual. Greg heaved as he gasped for air; the attack on his chest was too much.
The finishing blow was here. Oscar lifted his fist at the currently incapacitated Greg, but a shadow appeared in his peripheral vision. It was Greg's dog anima.
Greg sent an order to it. It avoided the conflict with the deer and pounced on Oscar. Oscar could not protect his sides in time as the dog's sharp teeth sank its teeth into his gut.
"HAHAHA" Greg laughed in ecstasy. "ENJOY BEING DOG FOOD."
Oscar could not remove the dog as it clung firmly to his side; the teeth dug deeper as Oscar felt them puncture some organs. However, Oscar did not scream in pain, contrary to Greg's expectations. The strange calmness on his face bothered Greg as Oscar sighed, coughing out a mouthful of blood. "It's over."
"Wh—" Before he could finish his sentence, blood splurted from his throat. Glancing down, Greg saw something stabbing into his throat and chest; it looked like thick blue tree branches.
It was Oscar's deer anima. Despite being a Grade Four, it still could severely hurt others if they were defenseless.
From the start of this final clash, Oscar planned to weaken Greg so he could no longer properly defend his body with Ein. A tiny sliver of Ein would not help against an Anima attack.
Of course, that would mean luring the dog in to allow his deer to have the chance. All Oscar needed to do was ensure the dog's attack didn't immediately kill him.
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In every action he took, he made sure to protect his head. That was why the rocks were able to puncture him. Normally he could have blocked those.
When the deer was ready to attack, he focused all the Ein onto its antlers.
"As I said, it's over." The dog anima evaporated out of existence. Greg was still struck by shock and regret. Blood gushed from his throat and chest as the deer anima also disappeared. There was no escaping the inevitable.
Greg limped to the floor as his face fell onto the mud. He tried to crawl away, but his arms and legs were no longer responding to his control—the mud mixed with his blood creating a dirty red mess everywhere and sticking to his body like the hands of the underworld.
'What went wrong?' Greg was unwilling.
'I can't die like this!'
'I was supposed to climb on higher.'
'I should be the winner, not this trash!'
'Why me? Why me?'
'What did I do wrong?' 'Help me.'
All kinds of thoughts wrestled in his mind. They say a million thoughts would pass at death's door before the inevitable.
"Help me…." Greg's last words were a cry for help. But he would find none in these caverns. Austin and Samuel had run away; the only person nearby was Oscar. His eyes dimmed as the light of life faded, and his entire body was pale white, like a ghost from the severe blood loss.
Oscar watched on as Greg passed away. His hands shook uncontrollably. He never wanted to kill anyone. But the world of Exalts was endlessly cruel and dreadful.
Oscar was conflicted. Greg deserved to die; however, it still affected Oscar as he had never taken a life.
Oscar resolved never to kill unless necessary and stood up. However, he fell to the ground. Oscar was unable to move or make a sound.
'Huh?' He was confused. Why had he fallen? What was this pain?
Then he remembered the dog had munched on his side. Gazing at his stomach, Oscar saw a mess of blood and flesh.
Tears flowed down as he realized he was the next to die. He thought of his parents, who were worried for him.
'Dad, Mom. I'm sorry.'
He thought of his friend Frederick.
'Fred….Thank you for everything. I am glad to have met you.'
Then Emily.
'It was short, but it was fun.'
Finally, on Isabella.
'Take care of yourself. Don't make your family sad like me.'
His death was imminent. His heart broke at the thought of his parents learning of his death. He imagined his mother crying helplessly on his grave and his father trying to console her while failing to hold back his tears.
'I hope they got my reply.'
Darkness slowly covered his vision as the emptiness of death overwhelmed his body and numbed the pain. He could not help but think death was relaxing. It was as if he was floating in a lazy river while waiting for his time.
But for a moment, he saw two shadows in the distance. He could barely make them out until they finally came into his hazy view.
'Fred? Emily?' He could not believe they had come. That means they won their battles. His tears of sadness turned to tears of joy at the revelation.
'Thank goodness.'
'They were safe.'
A small smile crept on his face. In the end, his actions here helped them live, and his eyes slowly closed as if he were falling asleep. He was thankful to have the chance to enter the Blue Ocean Pavilion.
"Os!" Frederick rushed to his friend's side.
"He's cold. Very cold." Emily knelt beside him and felt Oscar's arm. She was familiar with this sensation from the beasts she hunted with her father. The most horrendous sight was the torn side, like a beast mangled on it.
"Os…." Frederick tried his best to push on it to stop the blood from leaking, but it was useless. He was in disbelief.
"Let's at least return his body to the Blue Ocean Pavilion." Emily wanted to take Oscar back for a proper burial, slightly tearing up at the sight of Oscar's cold body.
"SHUT UP!" Frederick's cry was full of emotion and anger, making Emily afraid. "He's not going to die."
Frederick put his ears to Oscar's chest.
…thump…
"His heartbeat is very faint. But we still have a chance!"
"To do what?" Emily retorted back emotionally. Some of her tears leaked down her cheeks. She had only known the two for a few days, but she didn't want anyone to die, but the reality was cruel. "Where can we find help here."
"I'll carry him back to the Pavilion," Frederick shouted at her.
"That's a day journey. He's not going to last that long." Emily knew how Frederick felt, but they could do nothing to help. At the very least, she planned to settle this with Samuel and Austin.
"This piece of shit!" Frederick kicked the dead Greg in anger.
"Hitting him won't help. You're just going to make it worse on yourself." Emily held Frederick back. She did not want him to degrade himself by kicking a corpse. "We can only help with Oscar's burial. We still have to report this to the Pavilion and hand in the mission."
Two students dead outside would warrant the Blue Ocean Pavilion to investigate. Their testimonies can help expel Samuel and Austin.
"Mission?" Frederick stopped his outburst with an epiphany. "That's right! The Night Raptor!"
He rummaged through his bag until he found it. In his hand was a bottle of the Night Raptor's blood.
Emily realized Frederick's intentions. "Are you insane? Night Raptor blood is wild and untamed. Indeed, it has healing properties, but it also ravages the body in pain that it's not worth using unless refined."
Night Raptor's blood was a good ingredient for various healing elixirs due to its high potency. Alchemists refined it to calm down its wild nature.
"He's already on the brink of death. It's our only shot. His organs are still intact, but the flesh is torn around them. This is only the blood of an Apprentice Exalt, but it should be enough." Frederick pushed Emily aside. He tried to open the bottle to no avail. His injured hand could not properly grip the bottle or pull the cap off.
Cursing his hand, Frederick was about to smash the bottle when another hand took it. Emily nodded at Frederick and opened the bottle. Frederick was right; it was either this or Oscar's death. She poured the contents onto Oscar's wound.
The Night Raptor's blood fizzed as it began its work. The blood seeped into Oscar's body, to his organs and veins.
'What's happening?'
Oscar was surrounded by comfortable darkness when suddenly, a bright light shined and shattered the darkness. His vision slowly recovered as Oscar felt something stir in his body.
Then it happened. His stomach burned like a thousand suns were in it. Pure agony spread all over his body.
"GRAAAAHHHH." Oscar wailed in agony, shocking both Frederick and Emily.
"Os!" Frederick was happy to see his friend was alive, but Emily was concerned.
"Oscar! If you can hear us. We used the Night Raptor's blood on you. You must endure the pain, or else you might die." Emily warned Oscar.
'Night Raptor's blood? I see.' Oscar thought as screams of pain kept coming out. His tissues were slowly regenerating and patching themselves. But every time they did, pain echoed through his body.
Oscar could not describe this feeling. It felt like dipping in molten lava.
'Bring it on!' Oscar's eyes flared with resolve to survive.