Chapter 188: The Fierce Battle at Dusk
The cold edge of the bde came sshing down.
Fariagni stared bnkly at the incoming sword, unable to react in time. He had never imagined that a human could sever space itself, preventing his escape. And because of that realization, by the time he fully grasped the situation, it was already too te.
Was this how he was going to die? Die at the hands of a mere human? Was this really his fate?
"Master!!"
Just as Alex's sword was about to cleave into Fariagni, the tattered doll he was holding let out a sudden shriek. In the next instant, it leaped from his arms, throwing itself in front of the bde to shield its master.
"No—Marianne!!"
Fariagni screamed in despair as he reached out, trying to stop the doll's self-sacrifice. But it was too te.
The Severing Void Sword gleamed silver as it struck, slicing the ragged doll cleanly in half.
Master… I hope you’ll be safe…
Boom!
The moment the doll was split apart, an explosion of blue-white fmes erupted, surging wildly in all directions. Caught off guard by the sudden burst of energy, Alex quickly withdrew his sword and leaped back.
The bzing wave expanded outward, swirling into the sky before fading into nothingness. When the explosion settled, Fariagni stood frozen in pce, staring bnkly into the empty air, his face devoid of life.
"Marianne…"
He muttered numbly, then clenched his fists.
"Marianne!!"
His eyes burned red with fury, his face twisted in rage as he turned to gre at Alex and Shana with a murderous intensity.
"You… You actually killed my beloved Marianne…"
"Yeah, she’s dead. And? You don’t like it? Then do something about it."
Watching Fariagni spiral into madness, Alex merely scoffed, gripping his Severing Void Sword once more.
"Marianne… My precious Marianne… You bastard… How dare you kill her… my most cherished love…"
"And so what?"
Even as Fariagni's voice took on an eerie, vengeful tone, sending chills down Shana’s spine, Alex remained unfazed. Instead, he raised his chin slightly, casting a disdainful gnce at his enemy.
"A tattered old doll? So what if it’s dead? You’ve killed plenty of humans yourself—did you ever stop to consider how they felt? No, you didn’t. And now, I’ve merely sin a torch-bearer. Call it payback."
His expression darkened as he continued.
He couldn't help but think of Yukari Hirai and Yuji Sakai.
Truth be told, his connection with them had sted barely a week. Their bond wasn’t deep enough that he would mourn them in agony. But death was death.
This wasn’t some war-torn battlefield in his homeworld. This wasn’t a fantasy realm where warriors cshed endlessly with iron and fire.
Yukari and Yuji were just ordinary people—just like the ones from his world.
And they had been senselessly erased.
No, if they had simply died, at least their families could grieve and remember them. But their very existence had been erased from reality. No one, except Alex, even remembered that they had once lived.
And that was what enraged him the most.
I was minding my own business, just working and drinking my damn tea, and then you barge in like you own the pce, picking fights whenever you please…
Did you ever bother to ask me first?
In this world, power makes the rules. Let’s see if you can survive a fight where fists the size of cauldrons come swinging your way.
If you’re not afraid to die, then bring it on!
"I’m going to kill you!!"
"As if I'd ever let you!"
As the deranged Fariagni lunged, Alex pointed a finger at him. In an instant, a barrage of magic missiles exploded forward. His figure blurred as he vanished from sight, reappearing beside Fariagni in the blink of an eye.
With his bde aimed straight at his enemy’s heart, Alex struck without hesitation.
"Hmph!"
The sharp, golden chains rang as they shed through the air.
Fariagni roared in fury, hurling his deck of cards into Alex’s incoming magic missiles. The moment they collided, his right hand flicked forward, unching a spinning gold coin from his fingertips.
In an instant, the coin elongated, twisting into a shimmering golden chain that shot toward Alex.
"Jingle—!"
With the crisp chime of the chain, the surrounding mannequin puppets suddenly sprang to life, wielding gleaming bdes as they closed in on Alex from all sides.
"Haah!"
But Alex wasn’t alone.
A burst of crimson fmes erupted as a petite figure leaped into the fray. Shana, wielding her bzing greatsword, coordinated with Alex to unch a pincer attack against Fariagni.
"Damn it! You… you won’t stop me!"
With his escape route sealed by the dimensional anchor, Fariagni could no longer run. He swung his enchanted bell furiously, commanding his remaining torches to attack Alex and Shana in a desperate bid for survival.
But to them, this level of resistance was meaningless.
Even as the torches resorted to self-destruction in an attempt to slow them down, Alex’s elemental immunity shield rendered their explosions ineffective. And as a Fme Haze who controlled fire itself, Shana was naturally unscathed.
"Curse you! Curse you all! Die, all of you!!"
Fariagni was growing desperate. He wildly shook his bell, but his minions were already nearly wiped out.
Now!
Shana’s eyes lit up as she saw Fariagni frantically raising his left hand, still clutching the bell.
With a sharp cry, she sliced through the st puppet in her path, dodging the explosion before unching herself high into the air.
Boom!
The force of the bst propelled her petite frame forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, accelerating her toward Fariagni at breakneck speed.
"What!?"
Fariagni’s face twisted in shock. He instinctively raised his left hand in defense, as if to shield himself from the descending bde.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, Shana’s fming sword severed Fariagni’s left hand before cutting deep into his torso.
Got him!
Shana’s heart pounded with exhiration. If this had been an ordinary battle, she wouldn’t have been this excited.
But this was different.
She was fighting a Crimson Lord.
And more importantly, this was the first time she had fought in front of Alex!
She couldn’t afford to lose! She had to prove her strength as a Fme Haze!
But at that moment, Alex’s voice rang in her ears.
"Get back, idiot!"
"Huh?"
Shana froze for a split second—just enough time to notice something was off.
Fariagni wasn’t writhing in agony like the other Crimson Denizens she had sin.
Instead, he was smiling.
A cold, calcuting smirk, completely at odds with the frantic, crazed demeanor he had shown earlier.
As if the desperate madman from before had never existed at all.
And then, she saw it.
His right hand.
Gripping a revolver.
Pointed directly at her.
What is that!?
Shana’s instincts screamed at her.
A normal weapon wouldn’t be a threat to her.
But this one…
This one gave off an unmistakable sense of danger.
A treasure tool!
No—this was a trap!
Realizing her mistake, Shana tried to pull back immediately.
But she was too slow.
Fariagni had already pulled the trigger.
Bang!
(End of Chapter)
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