After dealing with Doron Stormwatch, Samael transmuted a kite shield from the concrete, held it firmly in his left hand, and summoned a Card — «Flash Step».
He looked up to see two figures standing at the far edge of the battlefield.
One of them was a tall, dark-haired man with a sniper rifle in hand.
The other was a short girl with pink hair.
Erwin and Sylen — one a deadly sharpshooter, the other a strategist capable of linking her allies’ minds telepathically.
And right now, taking out Sylen was his priority.
That girl had not contributed much by fighting directly, yet because of her, the enemy’s coordination was seamless.
Every attack they threw at him flowed smoothly into the next, every plan they had was executed with near-perfect synergy.
If he wanted to disrupt their rhythm, she had to go.
He should’ve taken her out first. But there had been too many distractions before. Too many moving pieces.
Not anymore.
Samael jumped on top of a stone spike nearby, then took a single step forward.
—Fwoooh!
And as soon as he did that, he vanished.
An instant later, he reappeared atop another spike, only to take a step forward and vanish again.
…No, he wasn’t vanishing!
He was moving at such great speed due to «Flash Step» that his figure blinked and blurred out of view as he dashed across the battlefield by jumping from one stone protrusion to the next.
His movements were absurdly fast and erratic, making it nearly impossible for Erwin to track.
The sharpshooter fired several shots, but none of the bullets found their mark.
Every time Samael’s feet touched the surface, he vanished into thin air, only to reappear elsewhere before the bullets could even graze him.
He was closing in fast, and Erwin was starting to panic — until a flailing tentacle lurched toward him from the side.
It snapped through the air with terrifying speed, giving Samael not even a full second to raise his kite shield in an attempt to block the blow.
—CRACK!
The impact obliterated half the shield and sent him flying.
He plummeted like a meteor and hit the ground hard.
The impact sent a jolt of pain tearing through his body as he tumbled across the rough terrain before colliding into an erupted stone obelisk and coming to a halt.
The shield had blocked the blow before breaking, but it hadn’t done much to cushion the impact.
Coughing, he pushed himself to his feet—
And felt someone coming in from behind him.
He turned just in time to see a sword being thrust toward his chest.
His muscles tensed. There was no time to dodge completely.
So instead, he bent his knees slightly and tilted back at an awkward angle, raising his right arm to protect his face.
—Schlk!
The blade sank deep into his forearm, cutting through flesh as blood spilled onto the ground.
Calem Ardent grinned, savoring the moment.
Finally, he had driven his sword into his most hated enemy.
Then, he activated his Origin Card.
A burning sensation instantly ignited in Samael’s wound where Calem’s sword was still lodged.
It was as if molten rock had been pressed against his forearm, searing through flesh and bone.
The pain was instant and excruciating, spreading through his veins like wildfire.
“Arghh!” A pained grunt escaped Samael’s lips as he tried to counterattack—
Only to sense another threat.
To his left, he saw Veyna Rosen closing in on him.
The girl who could turn invisible in the shadows.
Now that the battlefield transformed into a concrete jungle — full of towering stone pillars and jagged spikes — and the sun had almost dipped below the horizon, long stretches of darkness were strewn across the arena’s ground, giving her an endless number of places to hide.
From one of those shadows, she lunged forth.
Her eyes, as dark as her hair, locked onto him and her dagger zoomed toward his face.
Samael reacted fast by whipping his broken kite shield up to cover his face and neck—
But Veyna was faster.
At the last second, she dropped low and slid beneath him in one fluid motion.
—Schlk!
Her sharp blade flashed and carved a deep crimson line across his left calf.
She had aimed to sever the tendons behind his knee, but Samael somehow twisted his leg at the very last second to take the cut on his upper calf instead.
Still, the pain was enough to make his leg buckle.
He collapsed onto one knee, breathing raggedly, as Calem yanked his sword free from Samael’s arm, driving him further to the ground.
Then, while Samael was on all fours on the ground, Calem raised his sword high overhead and swung.
It was a merciless downward slash akin to a guillotine strike aimed straight for the golden boy’s neck.
—THAAM!
But just as Calem’s blade was about to make contact, a concrete log burst out from the ground to shield Samael’s neck and intercepted the blade.
The Ace rolled away before Calem could recover, already scrambling to his feet—
—Fwoosh!
And that was when he saw a dark-haired girl lashing at him again.
They really were not giving him a chance to breathe.
Veyna shot out from the shadows once more, dagger gleaming under the dying light as she slashed across his back.
“Grhhh!” Samael gritted his teeth, turning around to grab the shadow assassin—
But she was already gone, her figure swallowed whole by the shadows.
Calem took the opening without hesitation by rushing in and swinging his sword in a wide arc.
Samael cursed under his breath and threw up his shield hand to catch the blade against the reinforced surface.
Before Calem could pull back, Samael took a half step forward and gripped the blade with his free hand.
Calem’s eyes widened. He tried to free his sword, but Samael’s grip was ironclad.
Even as the sword’s edge dug into his palm and drew blood, even as the wound inflicted by Calem’s blade burned so much, Samael did not let go.
And in under a second—
—Tham!!
The sword shattered into countless metallic shards, slowly dissolving into shimmering particles of light.
Calem didn’t have much time to process his loss before rage overtook him. He threw the disintegrating hilt aside and launched himself at Samael with his fists.
A sharp hook smashed into Samael’s jaw, snapping his head back. Before the youngest Theosbane could regain his footing, an uppercut crashed into his chin, rattling his skull.
Stumbling back, Samael barely managed to keep his balance when—
—Kaach
Veyna struck from the shadows one more time and backstabbed him, plunging her vicious dagger deep into his flesh.
“Tsk.” She clicked her tongue as her blade bit into his shoulder blade.
She had aimed for his spine — his kidney at the very least — but Samael had shifted just enough to take the hit somewhere less vital.
This was getting frustrating now.
Why?! Why couldn’t they catch him off guard?!
Throughout the entire fight, he hadn’t made a single mistake.
Every attack he could avoid, he dodged. What he couldn’t, he tanked. And if he had no other choice, he took the hit where it hurt least.
They knew he was battle-hardened, but this much?
And the worst part?
The worst part was that despite the blood, despite the pain and the relentless assault they were putting him through…
Samael Kaizer Theosbane—
That guy still had that damn smirk plastered on his face.
Veyna gnashed her teeth. She had fought many people since her Awakening and had seen mad people who barely flinched at pain.
But this was different.
It was as if this guy was… enjoying it.
He was enjoying the thrill of the battle!
A cold chill crawled up her spine as Veyna twisted the blade deeper into his shoulder and hissed in his ear, “Just stay down, you fucking monster!”
For a brief moment, Samael remained still, giving Calem just enough time to connect a devastating roundhouse kick with his temple.
His head snapped to the side again, but when Calem tried to follow up with a straight punch aimed at his face—
Samael moved his head away and seized Calem’s arm with both his hands.
Without a second’s delay, the Ace yanked the vindictive swordsman in and slammed his forehead into Calem’s nose with a skull-caving headbutt.
Calem staggered, concussed, swaying on unsteady feet.
That gave Samael just enough time to spin toward Veyna.
But she had already jumped out of his reach, leaving her dagger still embedded in his back.
All Samael saw was her stepping into the shadows again.
“Not this time, you bitch!” Samael growled, raising a bloodied palm as «Vortex Pull» activated.
Veyna’s figure had almost faded into the darkness when suddenly—
Everything within five meters of Samael was tugged toward him like he was the center of a violent gravitational pull.
“Huh—?!” Veyna yelped as her body was yanked forward against her will.
Since her dagger was still plunged into Samael’s back, she was bare-handed. She tried to summon another weapon, but it was too late.
The moment she was within range, Samael’s hand shot out and closed around her throat.
Using her momentum, he whirled and chokeslammed her into the concrete terrain below with a force that sent a net of cracks across the ground.
“Khuaaa!” Veyna’s vision turned black for a heartbeat. The breath in her lungs was forcefully knocked out.
But Samael wasn’t done.
Hauling her up like a broken ragdoll, he twisted and slammed her straight into one of the nearby spikes. The impact left deep fissures in the stony surface.
With that, she was down.
And when Calem, after shaking off the dizziness, rushed forward once more—
Samael unceremoniously threw Veyna’s limp body at him.
Wide-eyed and startled, Calem instinctively tried to catch her, but the force knocked him back when she hit him, sending them both tumbling into a heap.
He groaned and shoved her body aside, trying to push himself up—
Only to look up and see a flaming arrow streaking toward him.
Still on his knees, the poor boy could only cross his arms over his chest before the fiery projectile struck him like a missile.
—BOOM!
A bright explosion tore through the battlefield, sending flames licking across the stone.
The shockwave that followed outward kicked up dust and debris.
When the smoke cleared, Calem was on his back, his combat vest charred and steam rising from his body.
There were countless second-degree burn marks across his arms and torso, and with that, he was also down.