A few minutes before
Helial had called his teammates back in a circle and had started explaining how they would act: "We will do this: I have no intention of directly confronting Medusa, therefore each of you will face one of her warriors individually."
"Each of them is similar to us in terms of skills and capabilities," Frankenstein commented briefly, looking forward to getting his hands on Margherita.
"Exact. By facing them directly one by one, luck will not necessarily assist us. Their level is higher than yours. Facing them head-on could help you gain some extra Experience. But you cannot surely use it dead. We will have opportunities to fight on the edge between life and death, but not today and not on purpose. Surviving is more important. After all, it's impossible to gain more knowledge of your Mana Road after death. "
Everyone exchanged glances. Only two weeks had passed, but Helial seemed a completely different person. Not only had he returned with just a few more few levels, but he also wore strange and worn clothes, as if they belonged to another era.
They didn't know it, but in those two weeks Helial had gained much more than a few paltry levels; in fact, since the young man had returned, the memories of his life on the run from his brother no longer resided in his body. Now the boy also had the memories of another life, the one he had lived alongside Alessandro, with another personality and another attitude.
Now that he was back among his friends, they couldn't help but wonder at the huge change Helial had experienced. His tactics were distinctly different. Before, in such a situation, Helial would have decided to throw himself against Medusa without even waiting for a nod from the Colosseum.
Still, he now seemed much more cautious.
What had happened to him in those two weeks?
"Snowflake will distract Medusa. I will take care of Aiako immediately. Lulu will provide support for Snowflake, healing him and casting a consecutive series of Support Skills. I already told her which order is best."
Helial had already had his friends' progress and tricks explained one by one and had a rough idea of how to act.
"Vlad, you're going to block Margherita and Lumia will stop Atlanta. Frankenstein, you will have to try to get rid of Ceni as quickly as possible. Without a Healer, it will only be a matter of time before they fall one by one. "
"Why, instead of Aiako, don't you deal with Ceni first?" asked Snowflake.
"Because Aiako is the only hand-to-hand fighter besides Medusa. Margherita and Atlanta will not be able to defend Ceni with their bodies. They are both used to attack from afar. So taking out Aiako and keeping Medusa busy with your speed, we will have no problem facing them one by one. Once we have removed everybody else, we will deal with Medusa. Are you able to stop her for at least five minutes?" said Helial to the cat.
"Mph, this Supreme Cat can stop her even for an hour. If she would turn her back on me to go and help the others, I'll show you what I'm capable of now, eheheh," laughed the huge ball of white fur.
…
Distraught, Crispio observed the succession of events inside the arena.
Snowflake had just insulted Medusa in the worst way possible and the descendant of the Sect of the Worthy had started in pursuit of the Heavenly Star Tiger like an arrow that had just left the bow. Committed to chasing the cat, Medusa had not realized that Helial had disappeared from his position.
Cesar recovered from shock and anger and finally realized what Helial's plan was.
Damn it!
The boy had become an even more terrible monster than before. He had just used a diversion!
Even Cesar, Orma's strongest fighter, had fallen into that trap and had been distracted by Snowflake.
Crispio realized that the King had struggled to understand which strategy had been used by Helial and smiled slyly. "Since you have been staying at the palace, your highness, your senses seem to be aligned with the arrogance of the Sect of the Worthy. I advise you to go back to the slums a little, to regain mental clarity," laughed Crispio, openly criticizing the King and Aure together.
The two Immortals exchanged glances and remained silent.
Although he could not defeat either of them, Crispio was not afraid to turn with the utmost sincerity to such important personalities in the political contest of Orma and, moreover, both Cesar and Aure harboured so much respect for him that they would not dare contradict him. And even if they did, they would regret their action.
In any case, the Dean of the Royal Academy was more than right.
In the arena, the fight went on.
Aiako suddenly noticed that something was wrong. He felt a shiver down his spine and an imminent feeling of death.
"You filthy bastard, you dare attack me like this? Do you think I'm not able to beat you in a millisecond?" growled Aiako.
Helial had just appeared in front of him, still leaning forward after his run.
If at that exact moment Aiako had not been so arrogant, probably the outcome of that exchange would have been different. However, the second strongest warrior in Medusa's team had underestimated the King's young disciple too much. He believed that the latter was too full of himself and that he could have easily torn him to pieces.
After all, that brat was still in the Late stage of the First Phase, so how could he hope to compete with him, already in the Initial stage of the Third Phase.
Unfortunately for Aiako, things did not go as he hoped.
Although Helial still was at a very low level, his Skills had completely exceeded what Orma's inhabitants could have ever conceived.
Skill Activated:
Lv: 3
Flame of the Qilin
Grade: Master
Knowledge level: Manifestation of Weapons
Radius: 1500 m
Damage: 9500-14000/sec
Effects:
Flame of Qilin has different damage based on the link between those who use and the Forces of Life. Deals triple damage against Dark creatures.
Inflicts Burning Malus
Cost: 0
Casting time: 0
Efficiency: 100%
It is the Flame of the Qilin, lords of nature and of Life! It is one of the most mysterious abilities in the universe, also capable of suppressing the fire of the Mana lords, the Dragons.
Exp: 68,5
You have consumed 73.333 Mental Energy!
A fiery, flaming spear created thanks to Flame of Qilin appeared in Helial's hands, and consumed one-third of all his Mental Energy.
Aiako incredibly managed to jerk backwards, leaving Helial several tens of meters away. Only then did Medusa's comrade in arms finally feel the pressure on him decrease. However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Helial arch his back and take a strange pose.
Even if Star had now gone away from his position, the spectators were doing the commentary themselves.
"He's about to throw the spear!"
"Hahahah! He will never hit Aiako, he is the fastest in Orma's new generations!"
"What a lunatic, he will surely miss!"
"My bet on the Medusa group won't make me much money, considering the odds, but at least I won't lose anything!"
…
During the Time Block
"Can you throw a spear?" asked a young Alexander, only a couple of years older than Helial.
"No, I've always fought with Curse of the Demon. I can't use any other weapon."
"It is said that one of my ancestors, that Achilles that should be one of my mother's forefathers, was able to throw a javelin from one side of the universe to the other and to hit whoever was his target."
"Well, that seems a bit over the top," laughed Helial.
"Hahahah, sure. However, his Throwing Skill has been passed down to us. Do you want me to teach it to you? "
"Why not? I think that in the future being able to attack from a distance could come in handy. "
...
The flaming spear, similar to a two-pointed javelin, was thrown at a terrifying speed towards Aiako!
Skill Activated:
Achilles's Flaming Throw
Lv: 19
Degree of Knowledge: Distant Memory of the Ancestor
Radius: 3000 meters
Damage: 80.000-150.000
Cost: 90.000 Spiritual Energy
Casting time: 0,2 Sec
Efficiency: 99.9%
Exp: 52%
Under everyone's terrified gaze, the spear flew in a split second in front of Aiako; he was trying in every way to escape, but it seemed that the flaming javelin had sealed all space around him.
Aiako could do nothing but look helplessly as the weapon generated by the most terrifying flames he had ever seen sank into his chest, a few centimetres below the heart.
Aiako had greatly underestimated that harmless-looking boy and was now paying the price. The blow had reached him just below the breastbone, consuming his stomach in a vortex of flames.
Knowing that he was now out of the fight, Aiako spat out a mouthful of blood and said hatefully to Helial: "When I come back to life, the first thing I will do will be-"
FWOOOSH
Aiako's body was immediately reduced to ashes by the terrifying power of Flame of Qilin. Helial had used a third of all his Mental Energy to create a single spear that could instantly burn the warrior's mighty body.
Aiako would never come back to life.