C24. Glitching Swordsman

Erin could feel the pain in her heart growing by the seconds, this situation had left her with little options. Albert's aura was faint but at the very least, he was still alive.

With about 40 fighters left on the battlefield she knew that taking down the three Magic beasts would guarantee their victory, but, how?

Though she had made up her mind to go the extra mile as it no longer mattered if she lived or died, as long as she was able to save everyone precious to him.

She only had a few offensive spells and only the Water Dragon would be strong enough to kill the Tier 6 lesser Basilisks in one hit. The only drawback was that each attack drains part of her life force.

She had already used it twice before so she knew she could only use it one more time so, she needed to figure out a way to kill all three of them with one attack.

First she had to find a way to get all three Tier 6 lesser Basilisks to gather in one spot. She moved the water dragon towards the lesser Basilisk that was toying with Jarret and the others.

The water dragon slammed the lesser Basilisk to the ground but the damage was minimal. The Basilisk easily shook the basic attack off and opened it's mouth, a massive beam of dark green flames shot out at the dragon, the dragon did the same and a massive beam of water shot out of it's mouth and clashed with the flames.

BOOM!

The area was covered in steam after what seemed like an explosion, the Tier 6 monster was sent flying back and slammed into another Tier 6 magic beast. The third magic beast was close to them making this the perfect opportunity to eliminate them all in a single shot, not missing this golden opportunity Erin adjusted the position of the water dragon taking aim in other to get a clean shot.

"Water Canno..." Cough. Cough. Cough...

She broke into a Coughing fit and even spat out blood, the Tier 6 magic beast still standing knew this was an opportunity to get rid of their strongest opponent. It opened it's mouth wide, dark green energy gathered in it and rapidly expanded, it shot out with great speed as it aimed at Erin undefended body.

°Poisonous fireball°

"Erin!!!"

Jarret and the others yelled as the flames consumed her melting even the ground she stood on, in seconds a larger crater of molten magma formed and there was no sign of even her bones.

The air shuddered with a collective gasp, as everyone stared at the crater in disbelief, even though she was a bit anti-social, Erin would always help out when someone was hurt, healing their wounds without a second thought.

They wouldn't even want to bother her unless it was serious, it was no exaggeration to say that every one in the town loved her, not to mention, she was the strongest person in the entire settlement. She was someone akin to a goddess to every one of them.

Without the chief, the captain of the guard, and now Erin, what were they supposed to do agaist three magic beasts. It seems, they had just lost their last hope.

"Phew... looks like I made in time."

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn towards the calm voice that had just entered their ears. As the voice hadn't been particularly loud, the reason behind their curiosity was because, the strange voice sounded positive, and did not match the current situation.

They looked around and soon spotted a strange man standing to the side of the sea of magma, holding a lady on his arms. She had long blue hair and wore a dark purple hooded robe, this was non other than Erin, still alive.

"What just happened?"

Jarret was in complete disbelief. Just how was this possible, they had all seen the green flames consume her. So how did she find herself in the hands of a strange guy in painfully plain clothing.

Erin herself was stunned. She hadn't even felt the man pick her up, she had felt only the intense heat of the flames and before she knew it, a strange man was holding her like a princess.

Her cheeks immediately flushed red as this was the first time she had ever been held so close by a male, giving her unique situation.

As Erin's mind became clouded, the man looked at her and smiled, then asked in a low and gentle voice.

"Are you alright?"

She felt a weird feeling bubbling inside her but she quickly snapped out of her daze.

"Huh... y-yes I'm... I am fine." She didn't know why she was like this perhaps it was the fact that she came so close to death, or perhaps it was the fact that this man saved her life or maybe it was something else.

"I see... that's good. After all, i promised your driend we'd save you."

"We?"

Erin was visibly puzzed as she turned her head and saw a very beautiful demoness standing by the side of the young man, she must have arrived there at some point in time but she had been so distracted, she had actually failed to sense her approach.

'A second one.' This was the second person that had actually managed to escape her monstrous precognition and perceptions.

Having confirmed the lady was safe, Tyler put her down and took a look at the current situation, he noticed that everyone was staring at him for some reason but choose to ignore them for now.

Looking at Liz who had just arrived, he could tell she was a bit surprised by what had happened.

••••••

After picking up the sword from the ground and feeling how easy it was to use, he was feeling more confident by the minute, not only did he still have the dagger but he now had another high leveled weapon. Although he didn't know if they had any special effects or how to use them. He still felt like, with both weapons he would be able to go toe to toe with a relatively strong monster.

Perhaps even a Tier 3 Beast. 'Ahh... Who am I kidding.' Tyler sighed inwardly.

Boom!

They heard the sound of an explosion. (or what sounded like it) without a second's thought Liz dashed in the direction, Tyler had no choice but to follow, he kept up with her a lot more easily than before, it seemed the sword had a passive skill to improve the wielder's agility, a smile appeared in his face, if only he could keep the weapon, perhaps if the old guy dies, shaking his head he expelled the thought.

The town wasn't that large so they made it to the front gate relatively quickly, before they had gotten any closer though, they saw a giant dark green fireball about to consume a lady in dark purple robes. Liz raised her hand in an attempt to cast a defensive spell to save her, but she could tell she wouldn't make it in time, that's when she noticed a shadow blew passed her like lightning, she could barely even make out what had happened.

Tyler used his full speed, dashing passed Liz and saving the lady, he could sense a faint connection between the old guy and this lady, which was strange, but he didn't have time to think too deeply about it. He had promised him he would try to save her and if he could he would like to keep his promise, the bonus was one more person he could gain information from and probably a favor.

What surprised him was the fact that he was actually able to make it to her in so little time. This was the first time he had ever moved so fast, the feeling was exhilarating, looking at the battlefield he spotted only 6 monsters still standing, there was piles of bodies everywhere, almost none of which was intact, the scene instantly calmed him down as he felt the tension in the air.

He could see signs of fear in the remaining fighters face, judging by the amount of bodies he could see they must have lost over 70% of their comrades, with the size of the town, there wouldn't be anyone they didn't know amongst the dead. He had felt something similar to what they were feeling right now so he knew he had to take this seriously.

The battlefield was eerie silent for an odd amount of time, he was waiting for Liz to begin her attack, but for some reason she hadn't and it was starting to feel weird just standing there.

'Is she waiting for me to start, is this because blew passed her earlier?' He felt everyone's gaze locked on him, waiting for him to make a move, even the magic beasts seem to only care about the two newcomers.

The pressure was just too great, not wanting to look like a pussy, he walked forward slowly.

Immediately, Jarret and the others felt like the gravity in the area had just been multiplied, only a step from the strange man with ordinary clothing made them all take several steps back.

Even though they had seen him rescue Erin, the amount of pressure he exuded made it feel like he was after their lives, what's worst they had zero confidence in stoping him.

Erin tried her best to stay conscious, she had wanted to see what the young man was capable of, she hadn't felt any aura coming off him, yet he was able to save her in time. With such speed he had to be no weaker than a Tier 5 Swordsman, but suddenly, the moment the young man took a step, the atmosphere changed, with her current condition she was unable to withstand it as she lost the little grip on her consciousness.

Liz wasn't that shocked by the sudden change in the air, even though her memory was a bit hazy and she didn't really remember what happened in the forest, she still remembered the feeling she felt before she passed out and the only one present there was him.

Not to mention he was able to freely bypass the seal on that castle without the use of magic, she had briefly regained consciousness back in the forest and had seen him walk through the barrier like it was a bubble, she knew this amount of pressure could not be compare to what she had experienced.

The Tier 6 magic beast felt the same pressure and they roared loudly snapping the other three remaining Tier 5 Lesser Basilisks out of their daze, they charged at the newcomers with renew vigor. Tyler felt annoyed, for some reason everyone was just standing there looking at him, just watching the monsters try to gang up on him, he wanted to snap at them but held back, he had noticed one group of ogres rushing to intercept one of the three beast.

Jarret and the others had rushed in to help, they wanted to be of use to the man who rescued Erin, the others seeing this rushed in to intercept the other two trying their best to thin out the herd. Liz wave an arm and two large ice Lance had killed off one of the monsters leaving the remaining two to the rest.The three Magic beast went into a frenzy, they charged at Tyler as they prepare to shot out another large fireball.

Tyler seeing everyone finally spring to action felt relieved, he held the long thin blade tightly, it had been more than a thousand years since he fought with a sword and for some reason he was starting to get excited.

One of the magic beast was faster than the rest so that was his first target. He didn't know anything about these creatures but ny the damage they've caused, he estimates them to be at least Tier 4 creatures.

While this would be a problem for the old him, he felt he was a lot stronger now and with his new found speed, he should be able to solo one such beast at least. Of course, if the fight got too hard, he planned on a quick retreat.

Planting his foot firmly on the ground, he felt every single muscles on his feet, using his newfound control over his body he sent as much power to his feet as possible,

Boom!

The ground shattered beneath his feet as he exploded forward at a speed faster than light, he appeared next to the first Basilisk spinning his body he swung the blade at the monster in a diagonal slash.

Bang!

The steel like scales of the monster shattered under his blade as the monster shot back like a Cannon, flying over a dozen meters away and slamming into the ground.

Tyler felt like the moon seeing this, he wasn't sure how he got this strong but he loved it, he had always felt like an extra baggage to his friends, but not anymore (not that they were still alive)

Now that he had such control over his body he could tell that his swordsmanship was seriously lacking, even with such strength he had been unable to even cut the monster with such a sharp blade.

'Just how bad was I as a Swordsman. Let's just try again.'

Not wanting to give chase he switched targets and appeared above another magic beast, he held the blade like a spear and thrusted it straight at one of the eyes. The monster groaned in pain and sent a claw strike at him, Tyler jumped off, still in the air the monster stopped mid strike and opened it's mouth wide, spewing out dark green flames at the falling Tyler.

Tyler smiled, using his body control he twisted himself in the air, he used the momentum from the flames and launched forward slicing the monster's top half clean off from it's open mouth.

'That's better.'

Without slowing down he dashed straight at the third magic beast.

The entire battlefield drew a collective breath, after the ground shattered where the strange man stood, he disappeared, appearing only briefly as he sent the Tier 6 lesser Basilisk flying like a Cannon ball.

It was like he was glitching his way through the battlefield, this left everyone in awe, they had never seen a Swordsman move that fast and have that much control, not to disregard his ridiculous strength. Yet, if what they just saw made them gasp, what happened next struck them dumb.