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Yeah, they knew it was futile.
They knew it was pointless.
Death was the only thing waiting for them.
Medea alone was already immensely powerful.
Only a power born from the sacrifice of one's soul could ever go against her.
And now dozens of her?
It was… simply pointless, utterly ridiculous!
But then…
What else?
What else could even do right now but to fight pointlessly?!
Should they simply let her get to Frank without a fight?
Should they prostrate before her and ask for forgiveness or something, fully knowing she would kill them either way?
Of course not…
He only thing someone should do when they face certain death is… to do it with dignity.
To die with your convictions and belief, and even as weak as you are…
To leave a long-standing impression on your foe, no matter what.
His friends, despite all the odds, stood in front of Frank, releasing whatever Aura they had left within them.
Erika's Aura resembled a small golden flame around her werewolf body, she was covered in bruises and blood, barely standing.
Harumi's Aura of blood leaked out of her wounds, her own blood serving as a sacrifice to give her more power.
Matsuo channeled his last talismans and the last bits of Heavenly Ki within his body, his connection to Amaterasu was too weak now, without a lot of Mana to maintain it.
Their faces, they weren't the faces of people that was thinking about dying, however.
No.
They kept glaring at the dozens of shadows with furious eyes, holding back their tears.
Crying? Acting pathetically?
Of course that wasn't something they would ever do.
After what Frank did for them… Could they even dare?
Yeah, they knew it was futile; they knew it was pointless.
They were sure to die here but…
But at the very least, they would die protecting their friend, someone that went even further than them, and sacrificed everything to save them.
"I won't let you lay a finger on him; you bitch!" Erika roared. "Once my dad finds out you killed me, hahah! Don't think you'll ever have a day you'll live in peace! He'll find you and kill you no matter what!"
"Over my dead body!" Harumi said. "And once that happens, mother and the vampire family will never stop until they find you and who sent you here! You will know what true despair is! Vampires never forget!"
"We'll fight… Until the bitter end!" Matsuo screamed. "And even once it's over… the clan shall continue living, and the great ancestor, my father… my mother and my sisters, I know for sure, that they will pave a brighter future with my sacrifice."
"Raaarrr!" Ruby roared fiercely, her aura growing larger, as she became a giant wyvern, with her last bits of mana left.
They all made their own minds, they were all ready to die right here, right now…
They were so young as well; their futures were big.
And yet…
In this very moment, their hearts blazed and shone their brightest.
"Hahah… How adorable! Well, if you want to die while fighting, I'll humor you!"
All of her clones laughed in unison, charging powerful shadow and abyssal magical energies, and firing dozens of destructive beams towards them.
"HAAAAHHH!"
As they roared in unison, their hearts and souls were united, as the beams reached them, they swung their claws, weapons, and conjured their magic.
BOOOMMM!!!
Darkness engulfed them all, as expected, their attacks were futile too, the almighty magic of this old witch was all-powerful.
An explosion devoured them, Medea smiled through her many faces, looking down at the pathetic children that dared to stand in her way.
"I had my fun~ It has been many years since I killed such brave people, it almost made me remember the old times, when Heroes roamed the world."
As she recalled those old times, she laughed.
"Oh well, now, where should Frank remain be? As long as his crystalized soul remains with the spell I imbued into the beams, it should be a feast for master."
She waved her hands, letting the black smoke dissipate, as she nodded and saw the charred corpses of Frank's friends on the floor, torn to shreds.
All dead.
"Hahaha! I'm shocked even some of their flesh remained, they're sure resilient~!"
As she went towards Frank, suddenly…
BAAAM!
"Ugh?!"
She ended hitting an invisible thing, a wall of sorts, glass-like in shape, which was…
"What…?!"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"What is… the meaning of this?!"
Without realizing, there was several glass-like barriers everywhere!
In fact, they spread through most of her surroundings.
The glass-like barriers possessed illusory magic within them too.
"An illusion!"
She had lowered her guard, unable to realize her magic eyes weren't active.
She was unable to detect such a powerful spell, right below her nose!
"Who…?! What is this?!"
She swung her hands, shattering the barrier in front of her.
CRASH!
And as the barrier shattered into dozens of glass-like pieces that dissipated into particles of light…
"HAH?!"
She was left even more speechless, there were no remains there at all!
In fact, Frank and his friends weren't there.
"Where…?! What is the meaning of this?!"
As she roared, a magic shockwave was released from her body.
TRUUUM!
Countless of these barriers shattered into pieces one after another.
Medea then realized there were several paper talismans on the floor, burning out as the barriers shattered.
And as they heard her screaming, Matsuo looked into the distance, still dizzy and confused.
He could swear he had died!
He realized he and his friends were being carried away by large, muscular men, monks.
"W-What's…?! Going on? Eh?"
"Matsuo! You're awake! Can you run?"
The man carrying him quickly let him stand up, as Matsuo instantly recognized him.
"F-FATHER?!"
It was nobody else than his father!
"How did you…?!"
He quickly realized that in the distance, there was a large hole through the domain.
"Long story short, we left detection talismans everywhere in the damn neighborhood, son. We came here as quickly as we could! It seems that witch was using time dilation too, so even if we came running, it took a while for you…!"
"R-Really?! T-This is not a dream?"
"It's not, Matsuo. The Great Ancestor herself is here too."
"Eh?!"
RUMBLE!
And in that moment, Matsuo felt an immense divinity descending from the skies.
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