Chapter 59 : The Nightmare of Academy V
"Can you still fight, you crazy woman?" Arthur asked with a wide grin.
"Don't underestimate me, you mad dog," Silvie replied with a faint smirk.
They both charged at the swordsman.
Arthur reached him first and slashed with his sword. Each swing carried lethal intent, aiming for the swordsman's vital points.
Silvie, on the other hand, tried to attack from behind, taking advantage of the swordsman's focus on Arthur.
However, the swordsman effortlessly dodged both of their attacks.
*TING
Arthur's sword clashed with the swordsman's, sending sparks flying.
They stared at each other. Arthur saw calm, deep eyes, while the swordsman saw eyes burning with passion and a strong will to kill.
But Arthur's fiery expression quickly faded, replaced by a grim one. He frowned as the swordsman's blade pushed his back.
*WHOOSH
Silvie appeared behind the swordsman, slashing at his back.
Sensing her presence without turning around, the swordsman leaped upward.
"Tch," Arthur and Silvie both clicked their tongues in frustration as their sneak attack failed.
They both swung their swords, releasing white and golden sword energies toward the swordsman in midair.
The swordsman remained calm and emotionless. He swung his sword, releasing a blue energy wave that collided with their attacks.
Their energies were quickly overwhelmed.
The swordsman's blue energy shattered theirs and surged forward like a raging dragon.
Arthur and Silvie leapt aside just in time, watching as the seemingly simple energy slash tore a deep trench dozens of meters into the earth.
Silvie unconsciously swallowed hard in fear and anxiety. Arthur, in contrast, grinned even wider, thrilled.
All three stared at one another, then rushed forward again.
The swordsman swung his blade, but this time Silvie managed to block it.
The ground beneath them cracked and shattered violently.
Even though Silvie stopped the blow, the difference in power was undeniable. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and her legs were slowly pushed back by the overwhelming force.
Arthur came from behind and thrust his sword at the swordsman's chest. But the swordsman casually stepped back, spun, and kicked Arthur's leg.
As the swordsman retreated, Silvie—who was still pushing forward—lost her balance.
They both stumbled forward, and the swordsman slashed vertically at them.
They could only watch as the slash approached their necks like a falling guillotine.
In a split second, Silvie's eyes sharpened with resolve.
She kicked Arthur away. Thanks to the motion, she also moved a few centimeters, causing the slash to only hit her arm—leaving a deep gash.
The swordsman's eyes widened in surprise at Silvie's unexpected reaction speed.
"Not bad," the swordsman said. "But your luck ends here."
He slashed again at Silvie's neck, this time much faster and stronger than before.
*WHOOSH
Arthur appeared between Silvie and the swordsman, lifting his sword to block the strike.
But the difference in power was immense. The swordsman's blade clashed with Arthur's and sparked for a moment—before sending Arthur flying.
Arthur let out a faint grin as he was launched. He collided with the kneeling Silvie, and the two of them tumbled backward.
"You used my impact slash to knock your and her away," the swordsman muttered.
"You're right, but you get no prize for that," Arthur said with a faint grin.
- - - - -
Elsewhere, Van and Nana were also being pushed to the brink by the big muscular figure.
Nana's clones continued attacking from all directions, trying to buy Van time to recover—but no matter how many ants surround an elephant, they're still just ants.
Despite attacking from every angle, the clones were defeated by the big muscular figure's overwhelming might.
*BOOM
One clone clung tightly to his right arm, trying to create an opening for the others.
But it was futile. The big muscular figure simply swung his arm, sending the clone crashing into the crowd, taking out several more.
Amid the chaos, the real Nana watched the battle with labored breath. Her body was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted from endlessly creating clones.
The strain of using [Clone] repeatedly was wearing her down. Thankfully, Van had been helping by summoning [Doppelgangers] identical to her clones.
Though [Doppelgangers] lacked shadows, the flaw was hidden thanks to the sheer number of Nana's real clones attacking all at once.
Gazing at Van recovering in the distance, Nana gritted her teeth and muttered, "That stubborn kid… He better recover fast."
She activated [Clone] again, summoning hundreds more.
'This is my limit. I can't use this skill anymore,' Nana thought as exhaustion gripped her whole body.
The wave of clones surged like a tsunami, throwing themselves at the big muscular figure in desperation.
He continued to crush them with his devastating punches.
Finally, Van stood up and charged toward the big muscular figure. Though his face was hidden behind the [Ares Set] helmet, his eyes were cold and resolute.
The big muscular figure noticed Van coming but still had to deal with the insane swarm of Nana clones attacking him like rabid dogs.
He clenched his fist so tightly that veins bulged as if ready to burst—then punched the air.
As he did, a faint cracking sound echoed—like space itself was shattering.
In an instant, every single one of Nana's clones vanished without a trace. Even the real Nana was sent flying dozens of meters and crashed into the ruins of a building.
After dealing with Nana and her clones, the big muscular figure then turned to face Van, who was charging toward him.
However, his eyes narrowed as he sensed something different about Van's aura—it had grown stronger.
'I didn't want to use [Super Human] because of how much [Mana] it consumes… but I have no other way to stop him,' Van thought as he watched his [Mana] slowly draining away.
[Super Human: Uses mana to double all stats. Mana Consumption: 10 mana/second]
[STRENGTH: 915 (+915)]**
[AGILITY: 915 (+915)]**
[DEFENSE: 750 (+750)]**
[MENTAL: 1,100 (+1,100)]**
[MANA: 50,000 / 150,000]
[MANA: 49,990 / 150,000]
[MANA: 49,980 / 150,000]
Even though Van had a massive [Mana] pool, it still wasn't enough to keep up with the drain caused by simultaneously using [101 Shadows], [Super Human], and the items from [World Treasure].
If he ran out of [Mana] while holding off the big muscular figure, he would be no different than a helpless lamb waiting to be slaughtered.