Light Blitz.
Before the Reaper's sword could go deeper and cut any of his vital organs, Donovan had used Light Blitz to escape. Thankfully, he had used Lightning Bursts earlier, making him react faster.
His back was bleeding.
He used Holy Light once again.
The Reaper fell to the ground.
This is bad… It easily broke through my barrier…! Did it get some kind of power-up or something when its head turned dark red?
Donovan hissed, trying to distract himself from the pain. Holy Light didn't heal the wound all the way.
It can move so fast now… It definitely had some kind of power-up…
***
Ava slowly woke up, groaning as she sat up.
"Ava! Don't move, damn it!" Nico tried to get her to lie back down.
"Mr. Donovan…? Where is he?" she asked.
"Don't worry, he'll deal with the Reaper… For now, just rest…"
"No… I can still fight…"
"Ava!"
She tried to stand up, but Nico prevented her. At that moment, Arden also woke up, slowly sitting up.
"Oh, come on! Can't you guys just stay still?!"
Arden put a hand on his head. "What happened…?"
"Mr. Donovan's fighting the Reaper-type…"
Then, the three of them heard the distant sounds of explosion and lightning.
***
Donovan constantly flew around, shooting out strikes of lightning towards the Reaper that was constantly lunging at him. His Umbrella Fuel was… starting to run out. And the fight was being dragged on for too long.
Miss Sylvia, how in the world did you do it?! Is the Mage Class truly this weak against Reaper-types?!
Back in the planet Qerth, inside that cave, Donovan had easily finished the Reaper-type that he and Sylvia hunted with a Light Beam and a Lightning Strike.
But this Reaper… had survived a few strikes of lightning, and one beam of light. It was tougher than the one he and Sylvia fought!
Or… is it because Miss Sylvia had drastically weakened the Reaper, which is why I was able to finish it so easily…?
Miss Sylvia…
A large cloud blocked the moon, making the forest even darker.
With a tsk, Donovan used Eyes of the Sun, and his eyes glowed bright, giving him night vision.
Then, he once again dodged one of the Annihilith's lunges.
Eyes of the Sun doesn't just give the caster night vision…
Donovan took a deep breath, and pointed his eyes at the falling Annihilith.
It also makes lasers shoot out of their eyes, similar to Light Beam.
The Reaper was met with scorching pain as it was sent rolling on the ground by Donovan's laser eyes.
Donovan closed his eyes.
F*ck! This is the first time I'm using it, and it burns!
The Reaper slowly sat up, and saw that its right arm was missing, dripping with yellow blood.
It dropped the small scythe, and walked towards its sword, picking it up with its left hand.
Donovan shook his head, and opened his eyes, steam emanating from it. Then, he immediately used Light Beam once again.
Because of the laser attack from earlier, the Reaper was in a daze. It couldn't dodge Donovan's Light Beam, and it was once again sent rolling all over the ground. But the Reaper made sure to keep a tight grip on its sword.
Some of its pitch-black armor had melted.
Donovan charged up a Lightning Strike.
For the Reaper-type, it was as though time had slowed down. It looked at the flying human from above.
More than anything, it wanted to defeat that human. For killing its comrades, its fellow Annihiliths that it considered as friends…
Frustration and wrath struck its pitch-black heart.
As the strike of lightning shot out from the human's umbrella, the Reaper's vision turned dark red.
Its flaming head had turned dark red in color.
Tightening its grip on its sword, the Reaper charged at the strike of lightning with immense strength!
It pushed back against the lightning strike, and slashed at the human.
…Donovan's life flashed before his eyes. Blood filled his vision, followed with a searing pain in his right arm and on his neck.
The Reaper-type Annihilith had sliced off his right arm, and slashed the side of his neck!
He grit his teeth, and stopped using his Flight spell. He slowly fell from the sky. He felt his strength dissipating.
But suddenly, he felt arms wrap around him. Before he lost consciousness, he heard Ava's voice, and saw Nico and Arden running towards him.
"Mr. Donovan…!"
***
The Annihilith fell to the ground, rolling a few times before hitting a tree.
The Reaper watched silently as the three humans from earlier surrounded the human it had slashed with its sword.
Darkness slowly filled its vision.
With that, its dark red flame that acted as its head slowly disappeared.
***
"Mr. Donovan!"
Screams of Donovan's name came out of the three Visitor's mouths.
"Mr. Donovan!"
Nico was already using his healing spell, but Donovan's injuries were too severe… And with that, he ran out of Umbrella Fuel.
"Goddamn it!"
"I'll share my fuel with you, just heal him!" shouted Ava.
Arden grit his teeth.
As Ava shared her fuel with Nico, they suddenly heard a footstep from behind them.
Turning around, they saw that it was the same deer that attacked Arden from earlier.
"Damn it!"
"Wait, Arden, no!" Ava grabbed Arden's arm.
Nico and the others watched as the deer slowly approached. They slowly backed away as the deer stood in front of Donovan's body that was lying on the ground.
Suddenly, it licked Donovan's cheek, and blue flowers that lived only on this planet sprouted from the ground, surrounding his unmoving body.
"Hey! What are you—" Ava pulled Arden away. "Just stay still, you idiot!"
Nico's eyes slowly widened. "Guys! The deer…"
Donovan's neck had been fully healed, as well as his right arm.
***
Donovan found himself in a wide expanse of wheat fields with the sun's golden rays shining down on the land. There was a cypress tree in the far distance.
Where am I…? Wait, did I die…?
No, that can't be…
Suddenly, a ball of light appeared in front of him.
What is this…?
He reached a hand out.
But just as he was about to touch the ball of light, a distant yet gentle voice echoed throughout the space he found himself in.
"…Not yet…"
Right after that, Donovan was pulled away from the ball of light!
…Donovan woke up.
"Mr. Donovan!"
Ava and the others were kneeling by his side.
He slowly sat up.
What happened…? I remember… being slashed by the Reaper…
The Reaper!
Donovan looked around, and saw the Annihilith's corpse in the distance.
Phew…
"Mr. Donovan… We're glad you're alright…" Ava refused to let her tears fall, and the same could be said for Nico and Arden.
Donovan smiled, and saw the same deer from earlier standing on top of a rock. The next second, it ran away.
"That deer healed you back to full health, Mr. Donovan," said Nico. He was angry at himself for running out of Umbrella Fuel at the worst time.
"I see…"
Donovan slowly stood up. Damn… I feel kinda dizzy… I lost a lot of blood…
"The mission's a success…" said Arden.
What was that I saw earlier…? I was in a wheat field… and there was this ball of light… There was also a voice, but I can't remember what it said…
Was that… the afterlife…? I almost died on this mission…
Donovan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Ava handed his umbrella to him. With a smile, Donovan grabbed it.
"Mr. Donovan…"
"Hm?"
"We're sorry that we weren't of any use… We were just weighing you down…" Ava said. Nico and Arden felt the same.
Donovan chuckled. "It's alright. I'm not angry at all. Besides, I'm alive and well, aren't I?"
That didn't cheer up the three at all. It was because of them, for asking Tiero for a difficult mission, that this man in front of them had almost died.
"But…"
"Hey, hey, that's enough. Don't worry about it too much. This mission is guaranteed to give us a lot of Canopy. So cheer up, you three."
"Also… don't tell Tiero that I almost died, alright?"
Ava and the others nodded. "Alright…"
The three of them were well aware that they contributed nothing to the mission.
Sigh, you three are lucky I'm a kind person at heart… If it were Dean, or maybe Sylvia, they'd be very angry at you… Actually, no, scratch that, the two of them wouldn't be struggling with a Reaper-type…
Donovan looked at the direction where the deer ran off to.
Inwardly, he gave his utmost gratitude towards it.
Arnica… That's the name of this planet… I'll make sure to revisit this planet in the future and maybe feed that deer a fruit or two…
"Well, we should get going now," said Donovan.
"Okay."
With that, they activated the teleportation sequence and disappeared with a bright flash of light.
Umbrellas, Portal Chamber.
Tiero approached Donovan and the trio.
"Woah. What happened, Donovan?" asked Tiero.
Donovan's right sleeve was gone.
"Uh… It's nothing serious…"
"Uh huh… From the looks of it, your right arm was either burned or sliced right off…"
Donovan felt that he shouldn't hide anything from his handler. Except the part where he almost died.
"Uh, Nico healed it."
"Oh?" Tiero turned to look at Nico.
"Huh? Uh… Y-Yeah, I did! His arm… uh, it got sliced right off, and I healed it!" Nico scratched the back of his head.
"Hm." You need to work on your lying skills, lad… Tiero sighed and said, "Good work, you four."
"Donovan, Ava, Nico, and Arden. Check your status."
Confused, the trio did as Tiero said.
They grabbed their metal IDs and pressed their fingers on it.
Visitor.
Ava Villafuerte.
Assassin-type, Shower Rank, Category 3.
Current spells in possession:
Shadowstep, Speed Burst, Veil of the Reaper, Blood Manipulation, Blood Oath, and Sustenance.
Umbrella Fuel: 1,000.
3,979 Canopy needed for next advancement.
Visitor.
Nico Brian.
Healer-type, Shower Rank, Category 3.
Current spells in possession:
Heal, Regeneration, Holy Aura, Divine Smite, "Give Me Strength," God's Embrace, and God's Wrath.
Umbrella Fuel: 240.
3,995 Canopy needed for next advancement.
Visitor.
Arden Darius.
Fighter-type, Shower Rank, Category 3.
Current spells in possession:
Bomebreaker Strike, Call, Titan's Grip, Ironblood, Indomitable Charge, Frenzy, and Flame Burst.
Umbrella Fuel: 300.
3,968 Canopy needed for next advancement.
Surprise and joy were etched into their faces. They were now Category 3 of Shower Rank!
"Woohoo!" Nico rejoiced, and so did the two.
Tiero and Donovan watched the trio fondly.
"Reminds me of you when you first became Shower Rank. I still remember it like it was yesterday," said Tiero.
Donovan looked at Tiero. "Yeah…"
Mr. Tiero… I'm sorry, but the Donovan you're talking to has been replaced by someone else… Someone not from this universe, someone… who just wants to return to his previous home.
A strange and sudden wave of guilt struck Donovan's heart.
"Donovan."
"Hm?"
"I told you to check your status, didn't I? Were you daydreaming again? Honestly…"
Wait, no way…
Donovan grabbed his metal ID that he kept inside his pocket, and pressed his thumb on the fingerprint scanner.
Visitor.
Donovan Volgard.
Mage-type, Storm Rank, Category 2.
Current spells in possession:
Flame Ball, Barrier, Flight, Light Beam, Light Chain, Blinding Light, Light Spear, Light Blitz, Holy Light, Eyes of the Sun, Lightning Strike, and Lightning Bursts.
Current traits:
—Mana detection.
—Using spells that belong in the fuel-heavy category will decrease the amount of Umbrella Fuel consumed.
—Faster spell activation, and Barrier spell can now be used while flying.
Umbrella Fuel: 4,000.
6,931 Canopy needed for next advancement.
His eyes widened.
"Heh. I told you I'll compensate you extra for the trouble, didn't I?" said Tiero with a smile.
B—But… this is too much! You gave me too much!
Donovan was speechless.
"Ah, and I know what you're thinking. I gave you too much. Well, consider it a gift from me, as your handler of a year and a half. Uh, just don't tell anyone about it, deal?"
"…Deal."
Donovan was overjoyed. He shook Tiero's hand.
With that, Ava and the two said their farewell.
"See you next time, Mr. Donovan!" The trio walked away.
Donovan waved his hand at them.
Tiero smiled upon seeing this.
"Well, guess you've made new friends," said Tiero.
Friends…
The brown haired, green eyed man smiled and nodded. He was happy that he had people he could consider "friends," and not acquaintances.
Hm. Come to think of it, are Dean and Miss Sylvia… friends? I guess so…?
Tiero walked away, proceeding to send a cleaner to Arnica. "Go get some rest, you look really pale. Let me know if you want to do another mission," said Tiero as he walked away.
Uh, nope, I think I'll call it a day…
Donovan checked his watch. Thankfully it was my right arm that was cut off, not my left… Wouldn't want to lose any more of my watches.
Sigh, and my suit… This was a good suit…
With a sigh, Donovan activated his Flight spell and flew away.