Wielding Zartha and Trina, I furiously lunged at the three enemies, utilizing everything in my arsenal, [Heroes Gaze], [Lightning Cloak], [Strength Augment], [Speed Augment], and further reinforcing my body with mana.
The trio, given by their status with three V's, weren't some rookies; one of them leaped back, controlling several blood tendrils, while the other two met my charge, one wielding a sword and the other holding dual daggers.
"Initial ambush was a failure. Quickly subdue him." As the furthest enemy commanded, I clashed with the two, using Trina to block the enemy using a sword and Zartha to stop the other enemy. As I pushed an enemy back, I raised my sword, blocking one of the daggers while the enemy leaped over me, stabbing its second dagger into my shoulder blade.
However, despite the pain, I hardly registered it and counter-attacked as if I hadn't been stabbed in the first place, forcing him to retract his dagger as he backed away, putting distance between us. Though just as I was about to lunge at him, several tendrils emerged, blocking my path while smaller tendrils branched off from the bigger ones, swiping at me, creating several gashes on my body.
Grunting, I swung my blade, launching a [Wind Blade], cutting right through the larger tendrils, only for the sword wielder to slash at my back, leaving behind a bone-deep gash. Quickly, I used [Blink], appearing just behind the attacker as I swung my greatsword, only for his figure to fade as he slipped into a nearby shadow.
"Gah!" Receiving a cut on my Achilles from a stealthy tendril, I briefly dropped to a knee before pointing Trina at the supporter in the distance, firing a [Lightning Bolt], only for it to uselessly slam against a shield of tendrils.
Inwardly cursing, I blinked away, evading two daggers, yet the second enemy had been waiting for me, stabbing my thigh with his sword as he emerged from a shadow as an inky black figure. Gritting my teeth, I used [Spatial Lock], not him, but on the enemy in the distance, briefly preventing him from attacking while I coated my blade in flames, dispersing all nearby shadows as I attacked the second enemy.
Yet, a water-dragon suddenly enveloped me, and the inside of the water was filled with razor-sharp water blades, slicing me and snuffing out my flames; once I finally emerged from the attack, the supporting enemy was freed, and the second enemy had distanced himself.
'Tch, fucking bastards!' Each one of them was probably just as strong as me, and yet, here I was facing three of them; the only reason I was still alive was because of [Rebirth].
While I was trying to come up with a plan to combat them, they lunged at me, causing me to grit my teeth, only to suddenly grin. Dashing at them, I used [Expand] on Trina, throwing her at the supporting enemy before following up with Zartha, whom I'd used [Shrink].
With no weapon in hand, I opened my arms towards the approaching enemies, and just as their weapons reached me, I used [Spatial Phase], their weapons phasing right through me as I briefly existed on a different plane of space.
Returning to physical reality just as their weapons exited my body, I threw a large [Fire Blast] at the ground, fast enough to not be snuffed out while also dispersing all nearby shadow. I then combined my heroes gaze with blink, swapping places with the second enemy as I lashed my arm out, grabbing the other enemy's shoulder.
As I yanked him close, I froze the supporting enemy with another spatial lock as they'd just finished stopping my two swords, only for the second enemy to stab me in the chest from behind.
Grabbing the enemy from behind, I pulled him close, causing the sword to dig deeper, though now we stood like a train, one enemy behind me and one in front of me.
Instantly, Vanye, whom I had seen dashing here, burst through the wall, her sword in hand, without another word. I used spatial lock on all three of us; using it on such a large scale, it barely even registered for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for Vanye to stab her sword through us three.
Without any shadows to hide in, the enemy behind me wasn't able to dodge the attack; however, the enemy I was holding in front of me faded into bits of light, which surprised me as I wasn't expecting him to have two elements, and with my fire still raging, there was plenty of light to merge with. However…
"Die!" Colder than ice, Vanye's voice resounded through the destroyed room as the blade was enveloped with reddish-black aura, her destruction mana on full display, attacking us indiscriminately.
"Argh!!" "Grahh!" Unfortunately for him, Vanye's destruction mana was merciless; even though he'd merged with the light of the flames, he wasn't safe from her mana. Returning to his humanoid state, he collapsed to the ground, a gaping hole in his chest slowly expanding, as Vanye's mana destroyed his body from the center.
As Vanye removed her sword from our bodies, the person behind me collapsed dead, while I dropped to a knee, clutching my chest, which was in the process of being destroyed and healed. However, I only paused briefly as I grabbed Vanye's ankle before hurling her at the supporting enemy in the distance, trying to flee.
Raising my hand, summoning Zartha, just as I clutched her hilt, I swapped spots with Vanye, clenching with both hands as I swung at the fleeing enemy, launching a devastating [Void Slash] that I'd poured nearly half of my remaining mana into, which was overkill.
He tried to defend himself, layering blood-tendrils atop himself like a cocoon, yet it didn't matter as I cut through each one before emerging from the side, continuing several meters deep into the garden before finally stopping.
Landing on the ground, I dropped to a knee, clutching my chest once more while glaring at the bisected cocoon, which was slowly disintegrating. Yet I wasn't happy, since at the last second that rat somehow managed to flee.
"Dammit!" Gnashing my teeth, I furiously punched the ground, further damaging the garden, though a few seconds later, Vanye, alongside the others, approached.
"Alex, are you okay!?" Running towards me in her night-gown, Jasmine kneeled beside me, healing me. "WHO WAS IT!? WHO ATTACKED OUR HOME!?" Shouting furiously was Yuki, who was wearing nothing but her helmet and wielding her two greatshields as she roared to the sky.
"Three attackers. Two corpses. Space mana fluctuations. The last one escaped via a prepared spell." As Lazuli inspected the mostly-gone cocoon, I grunted, angry that I allowed one to escape. With Vanye's mana gone and my chest healed, I rose to my feet, absorbing while summoning Trina and doing the same.
"How are the others?" While more than eager to chase after wherever that bastard escaped to, I glanced at Yuki. Yuki was the go-to protector; we've already discussed what to do in case we're attacked. Yuki will guarantee the safety of the others, Michelle, Chloe, and Vanimo, before fighting off the attackers.
"Tsk. They're safe. I left them with Talis, and she flew off somewhere." Clicking her tongue, Yuki lowered her shields, causing me to nod as I slicked my hair back. "Good… Talis should return by morning. Jasmine, can you check on the others? The servants and Jackal's family?"
"Yep." Nodding, Jasmine jogged off, returning to the estate, while I glanced at Yuki. "Keep your guard up. I don't think that was the end of it." Although I wasn't sure, my heart rate hadn't slowed down yet, so there was a good chance something else would happen, which seemed to bring joy to Yuki. "Good! I'll crush the bastards who attacked us."
___
___
3rd POV
Sitting in a carriage a short distance outside Cassandra, the Crusher Corps member that fled from the Vestalis Estate was currently hanging lifelessly from a tendril noose.
"Mistress, please, allow me to go in their stead." Kneeling just outside the carriage, Marston spoke respectfully to the one inside the carriage who'd was the cause of the hanging body. "Enough! I've waited long enough! I will take him myself!"
As Mavis's angry, impatient, horse voice echoed from the carriage, the door opened as a slouched, messy figure emerged, a large white hat hiding her face as she glared at Marston.
"M-Mistress, please reconsider, y-you've weakened–Argh!" "So what if I've weakened!? Do you believe I can't possibly capture that pathetic human!?" Grasping Marston by the throat, she dug her nails deep, furiously eyeing him with her blood-red eyes before tossing him at a tree.
"Wait for my return." Without a second glance, blood-wings emerged from Mavis's back as she took to the sky, flying towards Cassandra. Reaching the city, she headed deeper, reaching the Noble district where she spotted the smoking estate, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she inhaled the scent of Alexander's blood, causing her to shiver in sheer delight.
"Finally." Licking her lips, she dive-bombed towards the estate.