SFDI: Chapter 78

"Drake's Power"

Besides Drake, the others quickly assessed the perilous situation in the plaza.

Honestly, even having gained entry to the plaza didn't significantly improve their predicament.

Twenty ordinary individuals, even armed with assault rifles, weren't particularly difficult to handle. Stella alone could easily dispatch them.

The difficulty lay in the presence of numerous hostages; using high-powered techniques risked collateral damage.

Furthermore, the Apostle's abilities remained unknown, a crucial factor to consider.

The most pressing issue was that the believers had the hostages completely surrounded, and their guns were all cocked and ready.

It was no longer a matter of if there would be accidental injuries, but rather the very real possibility of Rebellion actively harming the hostages.

Ikki Kurogane said, troubled, "This truly is the worst-case scenario."

Kurogane Shizuku declared, "Brother, don't worry, leave it to me!"

Drake's gaze turned to her. He knew the best solution was to unveil his hidden abilities to neutralize everyone immediately; there was no other way. Therefore, he was very interested in Kurogane Shizuku's proposed plan.

Kurogane Shizuku said confidently, "I'm quite confident in my magic control; I can discreetly deploy a protective barrier around the hostages.

Without the hostages hindering us, those guys definitely won't stand a chance against brother!"

Drake nodded; compared to his own approach, Kurogane Shizuku's plan was indeed more suitable.

Ikki Kurogane exclaimed in surprise, "Shizuku can even do something like that?!"

Drake stated, "I've told you before that magic control is incredibly important; now you know!

Let's proceed as Shizuku suggested. Once the barrier is deployed, Ikki, Stella, and I will charge in. I'll take on the Apostle; the rest are yours.

Alice, you'll provide rear support; handle any unexpected situations."

Everyone nodded in unison, then prepared themselves for action.

Kurogane Shizuku crouched down, her hands pressed against the ground. Drake only felt a faint ripple of energy, but upon closer inspection, he detected nothing.

It seemed that Kurogane Shizuku's A-rank magic control was well-earned; she was able to activate her ultimate technique so silently.

While waiting for Kurogane Shizuku's barrier to be completed, everyone kept a close watch on the situation in the plaza.

However, as expected, the unexpected occurred!

"Don't bully Mommy?"

A small boy threw his ice cream at the pants of one of the Rebellion believers.

It was certainly not an attack, but it was enough to enrage a terrorist.

The believer, seeing the creamy stain on his trousers, revealed a ferocious expression.

"You insignificant inferior beings, you dare to provoke me, a proud citizen of the new world!"

With that, he raised his gun and pointed it directly at the little boy.

A slender woman with a prominent baby bump desperately rushed to the boy's side, shielding him in her embrace. It seemed that the pregnant woman was the boy's mother, and she was carrying his younger sibling in her womb.

"I am so sorry! I am so very sorry! He's just a child, please forgive him!"

"Hey! what are you doing?! I explicitly stated that no hostages were to be killed; are you defying my orders?!" the Apostle, clad in his ceremonial robe, shouted.

Sweat beaded on the believer's forehead as he hastily replied, "Bishou-sama, it was this brat… he dared to throw ice cream at me."

Drake had heard of Bishou before; while not one of the Twelve Apostles of Rebellion, he had been responsible for numerous large-scale massacres and was a highly dangerous criminal with a substantial bounty on his head from the Alliance.

Bishou quickly demonstrated the extent of his cruelty to Drake.

"Well, that's quite unfortunate! Indeed, people must be held accountable for their actions; guilt demands punishment, and punishment is absolution—that's my motto.

Since he has committed a crime, then paying for it with his life shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

The Apostle also knew how capricious and volatile Bishou was; upon hearing his words, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that he wouldn't be eliminated by his superior.

However, his previous fear needed an outlet, so following Bishou's order, he turned the gun towards the little boy and his mother, and with a cruel smile, pulled the trigger.

The lead bullets shot from the barrel, but before they could reach their target, they were completely dissolved by a burst of flames.

Stella stood in front of the believer, her voice cold, "You imbeciles, you actually dare to do such a thing to a pregnant woman and a child; do you have no shame whatsoever?"

"A sword master?!"

Seeing the flames engulfing Stella, the believer, even without recognizing her identity, knew that she was a being of a completely different order than himself.

"My, my! Isn't this the second princess of the Vermillion Empire! To encounter you in such a place, what incredibly good fortune."

Bishou approached, a sickening smile plastered on his face.

Stella summoned the Lævateinn, pointing its tip at Bishou. "I challenge you on behalf of these hostages; if I win, you will release all the hostages."

Bishou sneered coldly. "Such a knightly attitude! But I am no knight, and therefore, I refuse!"

With that, Bishou raised his hand, and all the other believers immediately raised their guns. The gun barrels weren't pointed at Stella, for they all knew that even if more than twenty assault rifles fired simultaneously, they wouldn't be able to harm Stella in the slightest.

Therefore, their target was the other hostages.

"Despicable!" Stella cried out, her voice filled with both urgency and fury, but that was all she could manage to articulate.

Bishou burst into laughter, saying, "I didn't originally intend to harm the hostages, but who could have known that Her Highness the Princess would so impatiently jump out and cause such a commotion.

Furthermore, several of our less intelligent members have disappeared; it must have been you, wouldn't you agree? Considering how diligently Her Highness the Princess has worked, as long as you agree to my proposal, I can refrain from harming these hostages."

"What proposal?"

Stella wouldn't for a moment believe that the other party would be so kind; as expected, the man's smile became even more nauseating.

"There is a well-known method of atonement; when one commits a transgression, one must apologize! Her Highness the Princess only needs to apologize… but it must be a full, prostrate apology!

Of course, I, a mere Bishou, wouldn't dare to command Her Highness the Princess. You are welcome to refuse, but if you do…"

Bishou knew that Stella wouldn't refuse; he was merely attempting to humiliate her.

Just as he anticipated, Stella would not stand idly by and allow innocent civilians to be harmed before her eyes. Biting her lip, Stella, amidst the jeering laughter of the Rebellion believers, reached for the buttons on her clothing.

"Enough!"

No one noticed how the scarf-wearing youth had appeared, but the Rebellion believers, who had been eagerly anticipating the spectacle, began to grumble their discontent.

Smile retracted the perverse expression from his face; only as a sword master did he sense the dangerous aura emanating from this young man.

However, he wasn't the least bit flustered, because the lives of the hostages were still firmly in his grasp.

Drake's face was grim; cultists were already despicable enough, but a lecherous cultist was even more reprehensible.

And he had even dared to offend his friends; he was utterly deserving of death.

"I've had enough of your disgusting antics, so I've decided to dispense with the gentler methods of eliminating you all!"

Bishou sneered coldly, "Such boastful words! Your atonement won't be as simple as a mere prostration!

Fire! Let him know the consequences of provoking me!"

Drake took a single step onto the ground, his scarf billowing in the air.

Everyone in the open plaza felt a surge of dark crimson before their eyes, and the air grew intensely hot.

The sounds of firearms clattering to the ground and bodies hitting the pavement rang out continuously; all the Rebellion believers collapsed to the ground, unable to even twitch, let alone inflict harm on anyone.

Bishou also slumped to the ground, his voice trembling as he stammered, "You… you! What… what did you do?"

[Mana Zone: Dragon's Nest!]

"You vile beings who only prey on the weak, you truly lack the courage to face the majesty of a dragon!" Drake said coldly.

The unfortunate reality was that the hostages had also collapsed. This was precisely why Drake had considered Shizuku's plan earlier; this technique didn't discriminate between friend and foe; while it didn't cause physical harm, it still posed a degree of danger.

Stella used the Lævateinn to support herself, preventing her from collapsing due to weakness in her legs, but as she looked at Drake's back, amidst her fear, she felt other emotions stirring within her.

"What was that power Drake used? So terrifying!"

"Did Drake get so angry because of me? Could that mean he…"

"So this is what it's like to be protected… it's not so bad."

…

Perhaps her thoughts were straying too far, but Stella gradually began to ignore her fear.

Drake was still unaware that Stella had managed to withstand the effects of his magic domain by focusing on unrelated thoughts; he was currently more concerned with the enemy before him.

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