The others stared at each other, totally ignoring the sound of clashes coming from behind them.
Eric stepped forward with his sword. "Well, now that strong one is gone, let the weaker one step forward."
Severin twitched when he saw Eric. Right now, the guy might be a lanky dude, but later he became a terrifying figure in the book. He was one of the five sword Saints, a strong pillar of the Scar and of Siri.
He was also a very lucky guy because he got an artifact that day in the facility—an artifact that aided his growth.
Severin wanted those two artifacts.
Unlike most others in the Scar, Siri and Eric are Etherion users, spies planted in key positions to be used at any time. Their ideology and mentality have been twisted—not that they needed that much persuasion, since Etherion users were responsible for the deaths of their ordinary human parents.
Severin rested his hand on Derrick's shoulder and activated his Talent Ability. The halo on Derrick's head flickered to life, but for an instant, it was dull and slow to react.
Severin frowned. "...this bastard..."
But he didn't have that much time to spend thinking, as Eric had already lurched forward, his sword swinging downward with such boldness, the air hummed.
Derrick grunted and met him head-on, twisting at the last second to dodge to the side and then jump him, but Eric wasn't that much of a novice and knew he didn't want to get physical with the hunk of a guy, so he began to slide backward with his sword cutting the air in front of him to keep him back.
"So it left just us, Severin Reignhart. We are the weakest ones left behind while the strong fight," Siri smiled. "Why don't you just forget about all of this, pretend you don't see anything, and leave?"
"And your Scar organization will leave me be?" Severin asked, even though he knew the answer.
"Well... yes. Because you knew to be here and even know us. I'm sure the higher-ups will be interested in you." She smiled faintly.
"You know this is not going to work, right?" Severin raised a brow. "I'm not stupid enough to join you bastards when all you're going to do is torture me for information. And sadly, I can't leave here. You guys are my way of earning credit.
"Besides, there aren't that many lucky events in the Legacy of Heroes. No way I'm letting you guys go." His blue eyes shone faintly as he stared at them.
Siri shuddered. Right then, she felt as if she was some kind of gold coin that had fallen on the ground with Severin drooling above. She hissed. "Then you will die."
Just then, another explosion happened above them that made the building shake and metal rattle.
The researcher stepped forward. "We don't have too much time left. If anything else, I must leave this place!"
Immediately after he finished speaking, a power akin to Etherion but far different finished him, and his eyes turned darkened purple. All the veins in his body lit up the same color, as if his blood had been replaced by purple blood.
He grinned, and his eyes seemed to be crowded with insanity. "Ah! Wonderful! This is the first time I'm using this, and already I can't get enough of it...!"
Severin didn't let him finish speaking. He knew his own weaknesses and had no illusions that he might awaken some grand powers like a webnovel protagonist if he should fight in a situation that's not advantageous to him.
He would simply die. And his shields—Derrick and Ethan—are unavailable, meaning he had to put everything he'd been training for to the test.
He used his right hand to remove the glove on his left hand, and then the right one whipped up—a blur that was faster than a normal human could catch up with, but pathetically slow for an Etherion user. The black dagger shot forward, and the researcher dodged it with ease.
"Was that supposed to be an attack? You weakling, I shall have your blood!"
An insane amount of bloodlust burst forth from the researcher. Even his ally flinched away from him as he lurched forward, crossing the distance in an instant. His hand went up, and the fingers lengthened unnaturally, like sharp claws.
The speed was too fast—something that Severin couldn't dodge—and so he didn't. Instead, he crouched and raised his left fist above his head. "Exploding poison!"
The poison that he had been storing in his hand and sealing with healing potions—each poison carefully layered with the tiny Etherion that he had, all explosive types that had been compressed for a month—was triggered.
The hallway lit up with weird lights.
Woosh! Bam!
The space above his hand exploded. Multicolored flame licked the air with horrid sound and smell. The shockwave of the blast, together with the poison, slammed into the researcher mid-air and sent him hurling back.
Even Siri was thrown to the ground.
Severin gritted his teeth, and his eyes watered as he climbed to his feet a little shakily. His left hand was swollen purple, some of the fingers bent at the wrong angles, and it was numb. "A shame, one month's worth of preparation gone like that. But then again, it should be worth it. Better be."
The fire had long since disappeared, but there was still multicolored smoke in the air. Severin breathed it in as he walked forward. He'd taken the antidote before the operation that night.
He saw the box on the ground but didn't pick it up, his eyes on the remaining enemy in front of him. "He's dead."
He told her as she continued to nudge the fallen researcher with her foot.
The researcher died a very horrible but swift death. His face and the rest of his frontal frame were completely melted through, as if he'd been half-dunked into acid.
"You... but you are weak!" Siri shouted.
Severin nodded in agreement. "I am. But I've been preparing for this for a month. I don't only rely on my meat shield because, ultimately, my survival lies in my hand."
"Now then, be ready to die."