Chapter 44: Dangerous II
The Specter Knight swung its massive sword downward.
Ryder immediately answered with his own attack.
"Spectral Slash."
A silver blade of energy shot forward.
Boom!
The two attacks collided.
The explosion shook the forest.
The Specter Knight took a single step back.
Ryder slid several meters across the ground.
Before he could steady himself, Kaiser pointed forward.
The Specter Knight charged.
Its enormous sword descended again.
Ryder raised his own sword and blocked it.
Clang!
A deafening metallic sound echoed across the battlefield.
The force pushed Ryder’s feet deep into the ground.
He gritted his teeth as he held the massive blade back.
"So much strength..."
He immediately twisted his body and slipped to the side.
The greatsword crashed into the ground.
Boom!
The earth split apart, leaving behind a deep crater.
Ryder leaped backward to create some distance.
Kaiser quietly looked at the Specter Knight.
Its body had already become slightly transparent.
"It’s becoming unstable."
"I don’t have much time."
He took a deep breath.
"One last attack."
The Specter Knight slowly lifted its greatsword above its head.
An enormous amount of Soul Mana gathered around the blade.
The surrounding air trembled.
Even the trees shook under the pressure.
Ryder’s expression became serious.
He could feel just how powerful the next attack would be.
The Specter Knight swung its sword down.
A massive vertical blade of ghostly energy tore through the battlefield.
The ground split apart as it rushed toward Ryder.
Ryder didn’t hesitate.
He poured every remaining bit of Soul Mana into his silver sword.
"Spectral Slash!"
A giant silver slash shot forward.
Boom!
The two attacks collided.
A blinding explosion erupted between them.
The shockwave flattened the surrounding trees.
Both attacks shattered at the same time.
Ryder was breathing heavily.
His Mana was almost completely exhausted.
His arms trembled from the impact.
Kaiser smiled faintly.
"You’ve got nothing left."
At that exact moment, he gave a silent command through his spiritual connection.
"Rite."
High above the battlefield, the Deathstorm Hawk folded its wings and dived silently.
Ryder had focused everything on Kaiser’s final attack.
He never noticed the hawk.
Only when Rite was directly above him did it attack.
Hundreds of Spectral Feathers rained down like sharp blades.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
The feathers tore through Ryder’s clothes and cut countless shallow wounds across his body.
He tried to raise his sword.
But his exhausted body could no longer respond in time.
A second wave of feathers struck him.
His body began glowing.
Ryder looked at Kaiser and gave a faint smile.
"...Good fight."
The next second, his body dissolved into countless particles of light.
Silence returned to the battlefield.
At almost the same moment, Kaiser’s Specter Knight completely collapsed into Soul Mana and disappeared.
Kaiser himself dropped to one knee.
His breathing had become heavy.
His Mana was nearly empty.
"That was dangerous."
"I almost lost."
He slowly sat down beneath a nearby tree.
Through his connection, he gave Rite another order.
"Keep watch."
"If anyone comes close, delay them."
Rite let out a quiet cry before flying back into the sky.
Kaiser closed his eyes and began recovering his Mana.
His Spiritual Concealment continuously hid his presence.
As long as no one came too close, even skilled students would have difficulty finding him.
For now, recovering his strength was the most important thing.
Several minutes passed in silence.
Kaiser remained seated beneath the tree.
Soul Mana slowly flowed back into his body.
Although the recovery wasn’t fast, it was enough to let him move again if necessary.
High above the battlefield, Rite continued circling through the clouds.
Its sharp eyes carefully observed everything within a one-mile radius.
Suddenly, a message came through their spiritual connection.
Kaiser slowly opened his eyes.
"Someone’s coming?"
Rite let out a soft cry in response.
Only one Mana signature.
But it was just as strong as Ryder’s.
"...Damn."
Kaiser frowned as he slowly stood up.
"I’ve only recovered about twenty percent of my Mana."
He immediately stepped away from the tree.
His Spiritual Concealment was still active.
Just as he moved a few meters away—
Boom!
The ground where he had been sitting exploded.
Kaiser quickly turned toward the source of the attack.
A young woman slowly walked out from between the trees.
She had long crimson hair and calm red eyes.
Several ghostly spirits floated silently around her.
Two of them stood out the most.
One resembled a graceful mage dressed in spectral robes.
The other was a heavily armored ghost knight carrying a massive shield and sword.
Kaiser narrowed his eyes.
"Cherry Heimball..."
One of the academy’s greatest prodigies.
The bearer of the Ghost Knight Path.
Unlike ordinary Spirit Priests, her path granted her both powerful combat abilities and complete command over high-ranking Wraiths.
She quietly looked around the destroyed battlefield.
Then her gaze stopped on Kaiser.
A cute smile appeared on her face.
"Hmm..."
"I can still sense Ryder’s Mana."
She tilted her head slightly.
"And yours as well."
"It looks like the two of you had quite a fight."
Kaiser’s expression remained calm.
Inside, however, his heart sank.
She’s even stronger than Ryder.
And unlike him... she still has those two powerful Wraiths.
Fighting her now is almost impossible.
Even at my peak, I wouldn’t be confident of winning.
He quietly tightened his grip on his Spectral Blade.
Bad timing.
Cherry blinked curiously.
"Um..."
"Have we met before?"
"Why are you looking at me with such hostile eyes?"
Kaiser paused.
Her words made him realize something.
She’s right.
She’s not the reason I’m irritated.
I’m only frustrated because she appeared at the worst possible moment.
He let out a slow breath and cleared his thoughts.
"It’s nothing personal."
He calmly looked at Cherry.
"It’s just a pity."
"I won’t be able to fight you at my best."
Cherry smiled.
"That’s unfortunate."
Kaiser nodded.
"But..."
"A fight is still a fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, more than twenty Spectral Blades materialized around him.
At the same time, Rite descended from the sky and landed silently beside him.
Now, instead of fighting alone, Kaiser stood together with his familiar.