[Valentino PoV]
We began to move, closing in to attack the black-haired man. However, he started to retreat, leading us away.
"Chase him!" I ordered everyone.
The man headed toward a mountainous area filled with high rocks and narrow crevices between the boulders.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know! He suddenly vanished! Search every gap in these rocks!"
We began to split up to find him in the crevices of this area. The sound of the rain interfered with our hearing, making it difficult to detect his movements. I searched behind every rock, but the man was nowhere to be found.
— Arrrghhh!
Suddenly, I heard a scream from one of the members.
I rushed toward the source of the sound. I found the corpse of my comrade lying next to a rocky crevice. His body was covered in blood, with a sword gash across his neck.
"Damn it! Come out right now, you coward!" I screamed as loud as I could out of frustration. "Fight us! Where are you!"
Looking around, all I saw was a desolate place and cold stone.
"..."
Suddenly, I felt a killing intent from behind. I reflexively spun my body and performed a Spinning Slash.
— Tang!
Our blades clashed. The man then launched a very powerful kick to my heel, tripping me. But his attack didn't stop there. He spun his body following the kick and delivered a second strike toward my face. I raised both arms to protect my head.
— BAMM!!
My body was sent flying, rolling across the ground. When my vision focused back to the front, the figure of the black-haired man had already disappeared.
"Damn it, where did he go?" I cursed. "Don't tell me he's targeting the others too?"
I scrambled to my feet and began searching for him again.
Before long, more screams from my comrades echoed through the area. Again, I rushed toward the source, but all I found were their corpses. Everything was falling apart; instead of us hunting him, we were being hunted. I needed to find the other members and search together.
After searching the area for a while, I saw one of my female comrades fighting the man. I ran as fast as I could to reach them.
— Tang! Tang! Tang!
They traded blows, but it was clear my comrade was being pressured. Soon, the man managed to disarm her. He swung his sword toward her neck while she was completely defenseless.
"No, no, no! Cindy, run!"
— Slash!
It was too late. The head of the woman I had known for a long time rolled across the ground and hit my foot.
Earlier, I had told Ezio not to be reckless and controlled by emotion. But when the people closest to you are slaughtered one by one, I don't think any human can think clearly or stay calm.
After killing Cindy, the black-haired man prepared to flee again.
"I won't let you disappear again!" I rushed after him and lunged with a thrust toward his back.
He shifted to the left while spinning his body; my thrust hit nothing but air. The man performed a vertical slash, aiming to sever my extended right arm. However, I swiftly caught his wrist with my left hand, stopping his blade before it could cut me.
I tried to counter by thrusting toward his stomach. However, the man spun his body again, dodging the strike.
— Bam!
He kicked my heel hard again, just like before, causing me to tumble to the ground and release his wrist.
Damn it, I fell for the same trick.
However, this time he didn't kick my face; instead, he prepared to impale me with his sword from above. In this position, I couldn't dodge at all. I grabbed the revolver at my waist with my left hand and aimed it straight at his face.
— Bang!
My shot missed. He quickly aborted his attack and jumped backward.
— Bang! Bang! Bang!
I kept firing until the weapon was empty, but not a single shot hit him. His movements were as fast as Captain Siena's. This is the advantage of having magic.
"Valen! Are you okay?" I saw Aldo and six of my comrades arriving.
"I'm fine! Attack that bastard!" I ordered them as I stood up.
Aldo and the others surrounded the man from all sides. But I knew that even though we had the numbers, defeating him wouldn't be easy given his agility in combining swordsmanship and martial arts. We had to make sacrifices to limit his magic-enhanced movements.
Aldo and the others began to attack the man simultaneously. On the other hand, I circled them, waiting for the right moment to strike his blind spot. The man was incredibly calm despite the disadvantage. He easily parried and dodged my comrades' attacks with effective, waste-free movements.
— Bam!
He kicked one of my comrades so hard they were sent flying quite a distance. His legs emitted light particles—a sign that his attacks were reinforced by magic.
I immediately lunged at him and launched a thrust from behind. But to my surprise, he suddenly grabbed Aldo's arm in front of him, spun, and threw Aldo's body toward me.
"..."
I automatically braked and canceled my attack.
— Brak!
The two of us collided.
"Ouchhh! Valen, are you okay?" Aldo asked as he stood up.
"I'm fine," I replied. "But if this continues, we'll lose."
"Valen, I'm going to use it and take that bastard to hell with me," Aldo said, looking like he had made up his mind.
Aldo's words shocked me. What he planned to do was activate a series of dynamites strapped to his body and detonate them along with the man.
"No, Aldo, we can still—"
"Valen, if this keeps up, many more of our comrades will die before we win!"
Aldo cut me off; the look in his eyes told me he wasn't joking.
"I understand. I'll create an opening for you to get close, Aldo."
On the other side, the black-haired man had already taken down two more of our comrades. Only four people were left fighting him. I hoped the others would arrive soon to help.
I lunged at the man again to give Aldo his chance. The man shifted his focus to me. Good, keep your eyes on me, you bastard. Your life is about to end.
— Slash!
I launched a diagonal slash at his neck, but he dodged by stepping back. He then countered with a thrust to my chest, but I managed to parry it. My gaze focused on his feet; he would surely try to kick my heel again. However, what I saw this time was a left-hand uppercut.
— Bam!
The blow hit my chin perfectly, sending me staggering backward, nearly losing consciousness. When I opened my eyes, the man was about to attack again with a thrust to my neck. I jerked my head to the right, but the man suddenly canceled his thrust and instead delivered a left kick to my head.
— BAMM!!
My body was sent flying by the kick, but it didn't matter. I was just a distraction.
"Now, Aldo!"
Without needing my command, Aldo had already lunged at the man. His body was covered in dynamites, their fuses already burning. At this distance, the man wouldn't be able to escape the explosion.
Aldo, your sacrifice won't be in vain. You are the hero of this battle.
"I'm taking you with me, bastard!"
The distance between them was barely two meters, yet the man remained calm. What he did next was unbelievable. He slashed the burning fuses before they could reach the dynamite on Aldo's body. The explosion failed, and now Aldo stood before the man completely defenseless.
"No! No! No!"
— Slash!
Once again, the head of one of my best friends rolled onto the ground. His open eyes showed he was just as shocked that our plan had failed.
Damn it! Damn it!
I scrambled to my feet and charged at the man, attacking blindly.
"I will never forgive you, you piece of sh*t!"
***
[Marcela PoV]
We hurried toward the sound of the ongoing battle. Unlike the Seniors, I would watch from a distance before taking a shot at the target. The rest of the Seniors began to arrive, finding five corpses scattered around the area.
"Aren't those the heads of Senior Cindy and Senior Aldo?"
They were Seniors who were very well-liked by the Juniors in the squad. On the other side, I saw Vice-Captain Valen with a look of pure rage, fighting a black-haired man. He looked overwhelmed. However, the seven Seniors who had just arrived immediately assisted the Vice-Captain, putting pressure on the enemy.
Currently, it was ten against one. Everyone surrounded him so he couldn't escape and hide again. I was positioned on a cliff 500 meters from the location. Setting up my tripod, I lay prone and began to aim at the black-haired man.
They were all fighting; it was very difficult for me to hit a moving target. Furthermore, the Seniors were in close combat, creating a high risk of Friendly Fire if I didn't calculate everything perfectly.
"Don't give him room to move!"
"Keep cornering the bastard!"
Despite being outnumbered, the man could still hold his own against the Seniors. Looking at him, his age seemed to be around the same as mine and Ezio's. However, his experience and combat demeanor were like that of a war veteran.
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly and locked onto my target. I had to wait for the moment he committed to an attack before pulling the trigger. Soon, the opportunity arose. The man drove his sword into the neck of one of the Seniors, halting his movement for a split second.
I pulled the trigger.
— Bang!
However, my shot only grazed his cheek.
Tsk, did the bullet path drift because of the strong mountain wind and the rain?
The man then turned toward my position. But the Seniors wouldn't let him leave, immediately attacking him again in unison. I stood up to relocate; if I stayed in the same spot, his chance of dodging would only increase.
After finding a suitable spot, I lay prone again and aimed at the man, who had just sent a Senior flying with a kick. This time I had to succeed. I had to hit him, or more Seniors would die.
I saw Vice-Captain Valen facing him. Unlike the others, the Vice-Captain was the strongest after Captain Siena. He seemed to last much longer against the man. The man thrust his sword into Valen's left shoulder, but the Vice-Captain immediately grabbed the man's arm, trapping him.
Vice-Captain Valen knew I needed this chance. Without hesitation, I fired my weapon.
— Bang!
The black-haired man's left hand suddenly grabbed the revolver at Valen's waist, turned toward me, and began to aim.
— Bang!
He fired the revolver. My shot hit his left shoulder first, but the bullet he fired struck the scope of my sniper rifle, shattering it instantly.
"How could he do that with just a revolver!?" I complained, frustrated.
I had heard of magic that increases the accuracy and power of an arrow, but I didn't know it could be applied to firearms too! Now, because my rifle was damaged, I could no longer use it effectively.
***
[Raul PoV]
After kicking the man who grabbed my arm away, I held my left shoulder, which was bleeding from the sniper shot. Using Eagle Eye and Stabilize magic, I had enhanced my shot earlier, hoping for the luck to hit that sniper. It seemed she was fine, and my shot had only slightly damaged her weapon.
There were still three people left moving. I had to finish this quickly before the rest of the enemies arrived. Activating Accel magic, I lunged toward one of the remaining foes. He tried to thrust at me, but I dodged and slashed his throat in an instant.
"Damn you!"
Turning back, the man I had stabbed earlier was running at me again. Among all the soldiers I've fought here, he was the most persistent and troublesome.
— Slash! Slash! Slash!
He attacked blindly. However, his slashes were slower now because his other arm hung limp from my previous strike. I parried his blow with such force that it spun him around, exposing his back.
Just as I was about to kill him, I realized one more person was trying to attack me from behind silently. I spun around to see a man jumping toward me, aiming to plunge his sword. I shifted slightly to the side, avoiding the strike, and slit his throat.
Without stopping, I immediately thrust my sword into the back of the persistent man, piercing his heart. His body shuddered violently and went limp.
"Forgive me, Captain Siena..."
Huh, Captain Siena?
I pulled my sword out of his body. The man collapsed, and this time, looking forward, I saw a black-haired woman walking toward me, passing the corpses of her comrades I had slain. Her face showed no expression, but her eyes...
I could feel a deep hatred and a powerful killing intent radiating from her gaze.
The Final Boss... has finally arrived.