Rise of Legends - DISCONTINUED

Hope

Alistair POV: 

The crimson barrier in front of me was intricate to see the least. It was enough to keep anybody below silver stage out of the Academy, which they likely thought was enough for the adventurers in the city.

Sadly, they didn't take Arthur and I into account. 

My palm touched the red glass like dome. I grasped into that feeling that I had done unconsciously before, that feeling of getting free and destroying everything.

Sweat trickled down my neck but Arthur didn't stop me. My mind struggled to grasp that feeling, that feeling I had when I unleashed the black flames. 

Blue flames sprouted from my palm. They hit the barrier, causing damage to it and could break through if I put more power.

'But I want more,' I thought while desperately calling out to that power from within me.

For a brief moment, it was like I had entered a trance and I heard my mother's sweet voice calling out to me, "Alistair."

My eyes opened in shock as I woke myself from the trance. I looked to see the red barrier completely eaten away from the black flames I released.

"That was a bit overkill, Alistair," Arthur said to me as he also looked dumbfounded.

I stiffly nodded before the two of us entered the desolate Academy, not realising that today was going to be a day that scars us forever.

Lancelot POV:

The students and professors worked together to create a barrier that absorbed the enemies spell while the main attackers — namely the DC and the SC — focused on counter attacking.

Of course, this strategy wasn't perfect as we needed to use our own defensive spells but this did help us conserve our mana reserves quite a bit.

'It is working quite well if I had to be honest,' I thought as I looked at the ground we managed to cover. We had taken over half of the Academy back from the invaders, and it felt like we were on the right path to liberate it.

'But I am getting a weird feeling,' I rubbed my back, 'This feels too easy.'

'How could the invaders not have foreseen this and planned ahead? Are there more powerful enemies that we will meet?'

I sighed, trying to calm myself down when I sensed a powerful presence. I immediately activated Spirit Dive.

Rachel did the same as she seemed to have been alerted as well. A man wearing a creepy mask came out of the darkness. Following him were 4 SS-class beasts and more powerful ex-professors.

'So this was the feeling I was getting,' I thought as I gritted my teeth. 

The DC and the SC all got into battle position while the professors also got ready to fight them.

'What should we do now? 4 SS-class beasts and that creepy mask guy are definitely going to be annoying.'

"Lancelot, you should take that creepy guy while Tess, Kathyln, Elijah and I take care of the beasts."

"Are you sure you guys can hold your ground?" I asked with worry evident in my voice.

She was about to nod her head but stopped herself and shook it helplessly, "We can't. So finish that guy quickly and came to our aid, genius."

I let out a light laugh before turning towards the mask guy. He seemed to have realised our plan as his eyes scrutinised me and he released his mana.

"My name is Draneeve. I am the main instigator of this incident, and also the one who will kill you."

"I am Lancelot Orbel. I will be the one who liberates Dicathen's greatest Academy and kills the mastermind of this incursion."

'He's powerful. Not someone I need to worry about though,' I accurately estimated his strength just as he launched himself towards me with blue flames.

(A/N: I am keeping Draneeve as being weaker than Director Cynthia as he didn't attack while she was still in the Academy.)

I simply sent a powerful gust of wind towards him, expecting him to be blown away but he surprised me meeting my attack perfectly.

'His mobility is surprisingly good,' I thought before countering him by using wind magic to also fly.

[Spirit of Zephyr]

A shiny green double-edged sword appeared in my hands. The man seemed shocked by the mana density of my blade as I slashed towards him. 

He summoned his own red blade wrapped in blue flames to counter my attack. The attack released blue flames and green wind everywhere but I overpowered him and sent him flying. 

He tried to attack me by summoning blue fire from my surrounding but I cancelled them with mana zone.

Even with the mask still covering his facial expression, I could fear inside of him as my mana zone compressed towards him.

[Downforce]

His body that he was desperately trying to get to move was smashed to the ground by my gravity magic.

The pressure of the incoming wind mana zone and the power of my gravity magic continued to crush him.

Suddenly, it seemed like the battlefield had turned very quiet. 

'Shit, I forgot about the SS-class beasts!' I turned around to find all the four beasts dead. A wave of relief washed over me as I recognised that Arthur and Alistair had joined us.

Rachel POV:

"You two came just on time," I said before releasing Spirit Dive and coming closer to the two of them.

"No, if anything we came late," Alistair said as he wore a sad expression on his face.

"Ah, it's all fine now~" I calmed him down by patting his shoulder in a friendly manner. I let out a breath of relief as I thought it was finally over.

Tessia came towards Alistair and took him into a big hug. I gave a short smile before turning away from him.

I looked over to Arthur who was talking to Claire, with his cheeks tinged red.

'How much of the plot changed,' I wondered internally before a blissful smile appeared on my face again.

'Looks like its finally over,' I thought as I closed my eyes, hoping to enjoy the moment.

Thump, thump!

Huge pressure was instantly released upon everyone. Everyone, regardless of their strength or their core level, dropped to their knees in front of this absolute power.

"S-sir R-retainer, you are finally h-here!" Draneeve exclaimed joyfully as Lancelot's magic was cancelled by the Vritra's mere presence.

I slowly tilted my head, curiosity winning over my instincts as I peered into the face of the Retainer who came to Dicathen.

'If it's a weak retainer, then we can still win,' I thought naively, believing that hope still existed.

That was crushed when I saw who the retainer was.

True fear gripped my lungs and my breath turned cold.

My heart slowly increased and I could feel the pressure emanating from him increasing still.

Uto.