Black Star

Page 74: Mole

Mars' POV

I might have messed up my plan. I got resurrected even before Jupiter was and I saw behind the scenes how crazy up is that human. I watched a coworker being annihilated by my best friend and his daughter, and it moved something in me. I don't know what was wrong with me back then, I just thought to wait to be free again or get killed in the meanwhile. Anything to go against that disgusting and greedy creature I'm forced to serve now. While I was watching that fight, I saw a sparkle of hope. A young child is the key of my freedom.

Since then, I did more to slow down Araceli's plan. I killed some of his soldiers and monsters and got rid of the corpses so he won't find out; I freed the necromancer and helped him to find shelter. He got badly hurt along the way, but I had to keep a low profile or that little rat would have reported my actions and that wouldn't have been good for me, for the necromancer either. When I saw a chance, I misled the pursuers and escorted the responsible of the resurrection spells here.
I am back to check on him, those injuries are severe and if he dies on me, my efforts would be thrown out of the window.

When I was cursing with myself because my presence made all of the monsters flee elsewhere, destiny blessed me. Not only I can justify the withdraw of the monsters with that huge rotten dragon, but my key is here. I currently am free from Araceli's control, so I could approach the kid and explain my wish. The kid is not bearer of judgmental eyes, as long as I show myself peaceful, he'd listen without issues. My plan is to use this life to destroy that foolish being, and this time I will fight by my best friend's side.

I am no expert in magic due to my manaless trait, I just find learning that knowledge useless if I can't use it once. I don't know if these people's spells are insane or average, but for the knowledge I have, I can tell they fight marvelously.

With a clean cut of his katana, the man cuts the dragon's front legs and at the same time, Astra's daughter and the fiery woman punch the beast in its chin. I whistle at such power display; those two pushed a being as big as a dragon all the way back and fully exposing its chest. The monster won't regain balance anytime soon, and that's a free deathblow, which seems to be the young kid's task. With impressive speed, the young one holds his swords straight ahead, and just like an angry bull, he charges.

"Bull Thrust!" so ever easily, the kid goes through the beast's body and he watches it falling into the ground and breaking in ash flakes.

My, this team is excellent. Astra's daughter has admirable leadership skills, my most sincere praises also to her combat knowledge. Guiding the team through clear and direct instructions while adapting herself to the enemy and studying it in a bunch of seconds. Wonderful specimen, indeed. The katana man is praises worthy too, he didn't receive much instructions, but he adapted himself to the flow of the fight and found his place right away. The fiery woman is visibly experienced, she follows orders like a soldier but I saw in her eyes a glimpse of craziness. The good kind though, the kind of craziness that makes you break your limits and you go beyond your past self. 
And lastly but surely not least, my freedom. He is the most inexperienced among the others, but he fits right in whatever task is given to him. He was a decoy first, then kept his nerve steady and patiently waited for his moment to strike. And what power he has, I, the Lord of Duels, am impressed by it. From what I saw, his book doesn't give him anything special; those rotten pages provides only flight and swords. Every attack that blew away an enemy or a building, on in this case opened a hole into a dragon, is a fruit of his physical strength only. He must have trained like an insane person to reach this point of strength at his age. I'd like to recruit him under my wing, but first I have to break free from the contract.

"Well done, guys." Astra's daughter high fives her mates and signs them to move elsewhere.

I will do as well. I want to see if there's a place where I can pull the young kid in and have a chat without engaging fights. I know that as soon as that happens, Araceli will activate the contract and I won't be able to talk, nor disobey. Not until I break free by my own. Each time I grow used to it, so I know what to do more or less, but still... For someone like me, is too much time; I erased a nation in 3 minutes.