Chapter 50: The Limits Of A B-Rank
"Mom, I want to continue playing."
"No dear, it’s already too late, you need sleep." A woman said, pulling her daughter from the candle store. The glow of the neon signs painted a picture of absolute, mundane peace.
"Dad!! I want to continue playing." She yelled, pulling back, her tiny shoes scuffing against the paved path.
"Um... Honey..."
He froze as his wife shot him a deadly glare. The father shrank slightly under the weight of his wife’s authority. "Hahaha! Cupcake, I think we should follow your mother." He said, laughing nervously, choosing the path of least resistance.
"Hmph! Dad is so weak."
"Weak, no way, I am the strongest." The man yelled, showing his muscles, as other families moved past them in the cool night air, enjoying the safety of the Silverspire Fair.
Moment next:
BOOOOM!!!
The whole building some distance away instantly exploded, stunning everyone in place. The ground violently quaked beneath their feet, shattering the illusion of safety in a fraction of a second.
"What is happening?!"
BEEPP!!
[Citizens, Please Evacuate the perimeter!!]
[Citizens, Please Evacuate the perimeter!!]
[It has been discovered that Awakened are fighting in the fair!!]
[Citizens, Please Evacuate the perimeter!!]
The automated sirens blared to life, flashing blinding red lights across the park.
"Mom, I am scared." The little girl grabbed her mother, trembling, as chaos instantly spread all over the place. The blissful night turned into a desperate stampede of civilians running for their lives.
_
On the tallest tower of the fair, a guy with short blonde hair, stared at the explosion in the distance, a slight frown appearing on his face. His uniform bore the distinct, feared insignia of the Awakened Association.
"My Goddess, who are those fighting in such a beautiful place? Can’t you at least find another place?" He asked, his voice laced with annoyance rather than fear. To him, this wasn’t a tragedy; it was an headache.
DING!
He brought out his phone, and answered the call: "Yes Boss."
He listened to the other end, and nodded, his eyes locked on the rising plume of dust and energy. "Yes, I am at the scene. Should we follow the rules of Awakened Association?"
He waited, processing the direct orders from high command, and nodded his head: "I understand... I will deal with this."
He said, disconnected the call, and vanished into a light, flying towards the battlefield with the authority to execute anyone who broke the Association’s laws.
__
On the stage, the whole beautiful land was reduced to nothing but craters and burnt earth. The terrifying destructive power of high-tier Awakened was on full display.
’I was right... Soul Defense can’t block against magic attacks, and this bitch has a skill that can break stealth... Just because her rank is higher, my Shadow Merge got broken.’ Asher stared at the lady standing before him, boulders hovering around her like obedient satellites. He was actively analyzing his own weaknesses mid-combat, realizing that while the System gave him God-tier skills, the sheer oppressive difference in raw stats and rank suppression still mattered.
’I also can’t deal a good amount of damage with those rocks... And her reaction speed, and spell casting speed is crazy.’ He clenched his sword, his mind racing through tactical permutations.
’Normally, a B-Rank Awakened won’t even last two rounds under an SSS-RANK Mage, but I am different.’
{Flash Activated.}
He vanished, appearing beside her, and swung his sword, only for it to smash into one of the boulders, which automatically moved to intercept his attack. The physical feedback jarred his arm.
’These boulders, do they have a mind of their own?’ He thought, and leaped backward, landing on his feet with graceful agility.
"You are so arrogant kid!! Today, I will kill you!!" She raised her staff above her head, her face twisted in fury at being challenged by someone she perceived as an insect: "Earth pillars!"
Asher frowned, his guard up.
BOOM!!
He leaped backward, as the ground shattered, a sharp pillar shooting right out into the air where he had just stood. He landed on his feet, only to dodge again, as more spikes burst out from the earth in a deadly, relentless rhythm.
’I can’t keep on fighting, if this continues, Awakened Association will be alerted, with my current strength, this is very bad.’ He thought, landing on his feet, only for two spikes to shoot out from the ground, which he dodged again, with a backflip. His situational awareness was absolute; he wasn’t just fighting her, he was also fighting the clock.
’I can finish her with one strike, but I will have to use my Mythic Tier sword. If I bring that out, the powerhouses in this city will sense its energy; I don’t have a choice. My skills are strong, but if I can’t get close to her, It’s useless.’
"I don’t know why you’re so fast! But you will die today!!"
She stretched her staff towards him, and it glowed brightly, pulsing with suffocating SSS-Rank spirit energy: "I caught you."
BOOOOM!!
Asher moved his gaze around, as the ground ten meters from him rose into the air, sealing him in a massive square structure of unyielding stone.
"...?!"
He looked up, only to see sharp earth spikes descending from the sky, aiming down on him like the teeth of a closing maw.
"Seems I can’t escape this." He muttered under his breath, his voice calm, accepting the necessity of his trump card.
"Die!! Earth coffin!!!"
BOOOOM!!!
The whole earth wall smashed together, the spikes smashing into it with enough force to pulverize steel. Dust plumed into the night sky.
"Fool! Going against an SSS-RANK, this is the only outcome." She sneered, lowering her staff, utterly convinced of her absolute superiority.
"Really?"
".....?!"
BAM!!
A bone sword burst through all the boulder defenses, and struck her straight from the back, bursting out from her abdomen. The pale, terrifying blade radiated an aura that distorted the very air around it.
"PIFF!!"
She vomited a mouthful of blood, looking down at the weapon sticking out from her stomach, her eyes wide with incomprehensible terror.
"M...Mythic Tier? But how? You are a dark swordsman, how did you use an assassin skill?" She gasped out, her worldview shattering along with her life.
"I don’t have time to explain."
Asher twitched the sword while still in her body, his expression completely detached from the act of killing, and swung it to the side, cutting her abdomen into halves.
He watched as her dead body fell on the ground, dead. The SSS-Rank threat was neutralized in an instant, proving that the System’s rewards defied all conventional logic.
’Luckily I have Flash... It helps me escape her Earth coffin, while this sword easily broke through all her defenses. SSS-RANK Awakened are too powerful.’ He turned his head to the distance, seeing a white light moving towards him, he could even sense countless figures moving towards his location.
"Just because of my sword, Humans." He sighed, stowing the sword in the system storage, completely hiding its aura and cutting off the immense energy signature instantly. With one last look around the place, confirming there was no trace left behind, he turned invisible, leaving the place.
’I need to take Kelly out of the fair.’ He thought, his priorities immediately shifting from survival back to his duty as a husband.