Chapter 618: To Die Trying
Arthur felt his heart thud against his chest as he looked at the terrified expressions of the civilians before him, looking at him with desperation and hope of getting saved by him.
And yet he couldn't find himself the confidence to give them reassuring looks since he didn't know if he could save them all.
"Arthur, first boost your sensory abilities with your enhancement spells. You need to see not just with your eyes but feel the energies that bind this construct together," Asher instructed, his voice firm yet surprisingly patient.
Arthur nodded, his entire body glowing faintly as he focused, "Enhancing now," he murmured, his eyes closing briefly as he attuned himself to the barrier before him. The demonic barrier, with its sinister glow, slowly began to reveal its secrets to him, "I can see the connections... there are weak points," Arthur reported, a slight tremble in his voice betraying his inner turmoil.
"Good. Now, use the power of your light. Target the connections you just spotted. Remember, light magic disrupts dark magic. Weaken it at the structural points," Asher continued, his tone steady, guiding Arthur like a beacon in the stormy night.
Arthur extended his elegant white staff forward, the crystal glowing with a radiant white towards the barrier. Wisps of pure, radiant white light spiraled from the tip of the staff, seeking out the dark connections. As the light touched the barrier, it flickered, reacting as if in pain, "It's working, but the barrier is resisting," Arthur said, gritting his teeth as he pushed more energy into his spell.
"Haha! Is this the new Hunter we are supposed to be terrified about? This dog is playing with the barrier with his little staff, hahaha," Rhygar couldn't stop himself from letting out roars of laughter upon seeing this fool's radiant mana tickling his sturdy barrier.
"Don't relent. Now, while it's unstable, use your frost fire. Focus on the thermal shock—it won't harm the hostages if you control the output precisely at those weak points," Asher kept directing, his voice both a command and a reassurance.
Sweat beaded on Arthur's forehead as he summoned his frost fire ability. A chilling mist accompanied by a searing heat emanated from his staff, targeting the points Asher had helped him identify. *Crack!*
The barrier began to crack, the sound sharp in the silent tension of the standoff, making the previously smug draconians, especially Rhygar, have their smiles fade.
"I... I think it's starting to break," Arthur gasped, the effort draining his strength but his determination unwavering.
Amelia, Emiko, and Yui had their expressions brightened upon seeing the barrier crack while Rebecca squinted, unable to believe this bastard was actually making that inexperienced idiot make it work through just words.
Just how talented and knowledgeable was this brat despite being so young? Was his bloodline that powerful to instill him with such knowledge?
"Keep at it, Arthur. You're doing exactly what's needed. Remember, the lives of those hostages depend on your control and precision," Asher reminded him, his voice now carrying an undertone of encouragement that Amelia felt was rare coming from him.
Rhygar's face contorted into a scowl of frustration and fury. Sensing the impending failure of their defenses, turned sharply to his minions, "Reinforce the barrier! Pour all your mana into the arrays, now!" he barked, his voice a venomous hiss that cut through the clamor of the chaotic scene.
The draconian underlings, spurred by their prince's command, rallied with a renewed fervor. Dark, fiery red energy surged as they channeled their mana into the arrays, their bodies visibly straining under the effort.
The barrier, which had begun to fragment and dissolve, started to knit itself back together, its glow intensifying to a deeper, more ominous shade of red, making the civilians have their eyes brim with even more despair to see their hopes crushed.
Back outside the barrier, Arthur's resolve faltered for a moment as he witnessed the draconians fortifying their magical defenses.
His hands trembled slightly, the weight of the moment pressing down upon him.
Rebecca grunted in frustration. Her arms were crossed, her posture one of reluctant observation, "This is futile. These humans and their last-minute heroics," she scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain as he glared at Asher's back, "He is going to fail. Are you seriously going to waste our precious avatars like this?? There's barely 2 minutes left!"
Asher, observing the developments through the live feed, recognized the critical nature of the situation, "Arthur, listen to me! You need to disrupt their efforts. Use a burst of light magic, directly at the sources of their power, while casting a wide-area restoration spell to safeguard the hostages. Overwhelm them now, or we lose this!" His voice crackled through the earpiece, urgency sharpening his every word.
Rebecca rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration, "Ugh. Whatever. At least I don't have to put myself in this detestable shell again."
He then immediately addressed Amelia with a tone of urgency, "Amelia, get the hell out of here with Emiko and Yui just to be safe."
"No! We aren't abandoning anyone!" Amelia said with a firm shake of her head as Emiko added, "There are no functioning teleportation portals nearby. We can't get out of here in time to escape the blast radius."
"Ha. I warned you fools," Rebecca snorted with a cold smirk and wasn't worried since her life wasn't really in danger.
"Fuck," Asher exhaled in frustration as he realized his biggest mistake was thinking Arthur was experienced enough to handle such quests. But if the worst happens, he will have to use his Hellbringer form to protect these three at the risk of getting exposed.
*CRACK!*
The sound was sudden and definitive—the dark barrier erected by the draconians shattered, sending fragments of dark energy scattering into the air.
The draconians, especially their prince Rhygar, were taken aback, their expressions shifting from confidence to shock in an instant. Arthur's relentless assault had paid off, much to their dismay.
Rhygar was shocked to see that the barrier put up by the combined strength of more than 20 Soul Purgers was destroyed so easily. It wasn't as if these arrays were created by amateurs but experts to ensure not even a peak S Ranker could break through in time.
"Stop him!" Rhygar roared furiously, his command slicing through the confusion as he gestured wildly at his minions to charge at Arthur. Knowing the quest was about to end and desperate to save himself, Rhygar turned and sprinted towards the exit portal, abandoning his post and his followers.
He was confident that he would succeed in the quest without staying a second longer to stop this Star Prince, who he grudgingly had to admit was too strong for him to take on face to face.
Arthur, sensing the urgency of the moment, gritted his teeth and plunged his staff into the ground. *Boom!*
A surge of white radiant mana exploded from the staff, decimating the charging draconians in a blinding flash of light. The air was filled with the sound of hissing steam and the cries of the vanquished.
"Arthur, the bomb is going to go off! Get out of there! You have time to leave!" Asher shouted with a hint of desperation edging into his tone, knowing Arthur was rushing into the hands of death.
The small crowd that had previously gathered had already started running, trying to somehow get out of the city, even if it seemed hopeless.
Arthur's fingers tightened around his staff as his heart thudded against his chest.
But then he heard the children before him crying and the other civilians looking up to him with hope amidst their despair while they huddled together with their loved ones.
"I won't leave without saving them, sir!" Arthur responded, his voice firm, his resolve clear even through the gritted teeth. The bomb before him pulsed ominously, the dark, fiery red light intensifying as the countdown neared zero.
"Don't be stupid! That thing is packed with dark energy powerful enough to kill a peak S Ranker at close range. You will die even if you have a powerful healing factor!" Asher shouted back, finding it frustrating to see him do something so foolish.
Rebecca had a look of disbelief and annoyance upon seeing this traitorous so-called king trying so hard to save a peak S Ranker. He should be doing his best to let that fool die and do their world a favor rather than try this hard.
Just whose side was he really on, and what was he planning to achieve by helping these humans?
Amelia, Emiko, and Yui watched, their faces etched with worry and fear. Each of them silently hoped for a miracle, their hearts pounding in unison with the ticking of the bomb's timer.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the main barrier, a mysterious woman in black pounded frantically against the main barrier, her actions desperate as if she were trying to reach Arthur. Her gaze was intense, focused entirely on the young Hunter as he battled his way toward the bomb, annihilating the draconians in his way.
"Then I will die trying, sir!" Arthur declared, his voice echoing with determination despite how loudly his heart was thudding against his chest.
With a final, desperate effort, he obliterated the last of the draconian defenders and reached the bomb. His last blow, a strike of pure white energy from his staff into the dark core of the demonic bomb as the final second dropped off the timer, unleashing a blinding dark light that enveloped everything within sight.