"Try not to die!"

Ferris screamed, making sure Executor could not see anything.

The fire breath was already on its way toward them. Because Artemis had no concern for Executor, she didn't hold back the output of her essence.

Executor struggled to pull Ferris's hand away, despite their massive difference in build.

What mattered was energy—and Ferris clearly had more to give than his body suggested.

This is crazy... Ferris thought wholeheartedly.

Executor silently agreed. "Brother, you're crazy."

"Who are you to call me brother—!

Executor began elbowing him in the stomach, but of course, that didn't amount to any damage.

Ferris didn't plan on turning into a fried human dish, so he covered his entire body with a thin veil of essence. It was similar to using sword essence, but instead of a sword, it was just himself as the medium.

However, it was a different case for the body. There was no second edge of the sword that could be found in the standard sword essence, albeit in its expected form.

Instead, the edge was the entire body, albeit a very dull edge due to the body's physical nature.

This is why sword essence was much easier to make on the forearms, because of its straightforward shape.

But with the body, which could move in all sorts of ways, maintaining a consistent veil of essence was rather difficult and draining for high-layer knights.

This is why channeling the essence inside the body was more efficient and more used—because there were already built-in pathways like muscles or bones for the essence to course through seamlessly.

But the essence underneath a body's skin could only do so much against heat compared to physical trauma.

I just hope Executor gives out first before me.

Here it comes!

Ferris held his breath.

Boom!

The thin beam of fire expanded on contact with Executor's body, engulfing the two in a prison made out of flames that looked like a wine glass in shape.

Because of the direction of the blast, the two actually slowed down in their descent, almost as if they were suspended in the air.

And compared to the violent flames from her many fire breaths, this one in particular had a laminar flow.

Ferris couldn't tell the difference when all he could see was a blurry red river.

Breathing was impossible.

Because of the heat, he loosened his grip on Executor's face, allowing Executor to twist free and land a quick punch to his jaw.

With his vision blurred by the flames, Ferris didn't see it coming.

But neither did Executor see this one.

Stab!

The blood on Ferris's hand instantly disintegrated from the intense heat.

Executor's heart, however, died more slowly, shriveling like a small fruit before finally burning away completely.

Using the man's body as leverage, Ferris pulled his arm back, leaving a small hole in the warrior's chest.

For a moment, he could tell the man was looking right at him, even through their helmet.

With no resistance left despite the fatal wound, it was clear this foreigner had nothing more to show him.

It's done.

Ferris grabbed onto Executor's motionless body, intending to use it as a shield for a bit longer.

But it quickly became pointless when Artemis ceased her fire breath. There was no way she could maintain such a destructive attack for a long period of time, after all.

Falling once again, Ferris took the chance to kick the corpse toward the wyvern's face.

Of course, it was nothing more than a nuisance to Artemis. She swung her claws at Ferris while he was still midair.

Still, the body made her hesitate for a split second—just enough time for Ferris to push off her hand and kick himself away.

Artemis quickly grabbed Executor's body from her face and hurled it aside as if it was some piece of trash.

Only then did she see Ferris, who was standing right before her.

His skin was reddish, but overall he was unscathed by her fire breath, including his clothes. This unnerved Artemis—only slightly.

But that uneasiness wasn't enough to stop her from charging another fire breath.

"You're such a pest—

Paralyzing Essence Gaze.

. . .

"Ouch..." Ferris looked away as he covered his eyes.

Damn, that hurts... It burns way hotter than I expected, he grumbled inwardly.

But refusing to get distracted, he readied himself for battle once more.

Gotta get my head in the game. I just needed this tiny break anyway... Huh?

Ferris paused, staring at Artemis.

She's still frozen. Why?

I could've sworn I didn't put much resonance into that gaze. Could it be...

She's prone to resonating with someone else?

Since resonating with each other's essence was the most important part of that technique, it was also the most important aspect for the target to take note of.

Being able to break away from forceful resonance was a sign of a strong mind and spirit.

So it was a surprise for Ferris to see that Artemis would be so easily frozen stiff like that.

Not that Ferris complained, though.

Using this time, he decided to do something that wasn't befitting of an honorable knight.

A quick rest!

Ferris turned his attention to more pressing matters—his phone.

Is it still working?! he nervously thought.

He placed his thumb on the power button and held his breath.

Press.

. . .

. . .

. . .

F...udge. I don't have the money to buy another one.

Ferris kicked himself in regret. I should've extended my essence shield so the fire wouldn't affect my phone!

No... A knight mustn't be so attached to material things.

With a swift clutch of his hand, his phone shattered to dust under the pressure.

It's almost midnight. I should not waste any more time.

Ferris walked toward Artemis and locked his gaze with her. "Whatever I did to piss you off, I just had to, all right?"

There was no response, but of course there wasn't.

"Since you're not a warrior like your friend, I don't think you want to die right now, so..." Ferris jumped onto her back and proceeded to systematically dismantle her limbs using the sword essence of his arm.

Once the damage was too great, Artemis reverted to her human form.

She didn't look hurt, Ferris observed silently.

He noticed she was utterly exhausted, even hyperventilating to the point of a panic attack.

Ferris covered his mouth and made an unpleasant expression.

Urgh, Sagittarius, she looks like one of those hatchlings... Do you want me to kill a kid?

He thought for a moment before deciding.

She can no longer fight; there's no need to continue fighting.

And I also want to investigate her origins, Ferris thought, more willing to let her live because he had already killed Executor, who was a person he also wanted to look into.

He couldn't remove his last source of potential information.

"Just give it up." Ferris walked toward Artemis, looking down at her kneeling state.

Artemis breathed heavily as she clutched her arms as if she was cold. "...e-eat shit and die," she said under a shaky breath.

Wow. Ferris was at a loss for words.

Kneeling down himself and grabbing her small shoulders, Ferris began to speak in a heavy tone.

"What were you doing to that egg?"

"Why would I tell you?" Artemis answered; this time her voice was more audible but still carried some tiredness.

"You were feeding them, right?" Ferris said.

He waited for her response, but her response was not something he expected.

Her eyes twitched, "I... I just felt like it was the right thing to do."

She doesn't know? "Where did you come from?" Ferris asked for her origin, but he didn't want to directly reference his world.

Artemis trembled as she lifted her hand. "W-what… are these stupid questions…"

She slowly slid her palm against his cheek, but it wasn't an effective attack.

She was either too weak to respond, didn't want to, or simply didn't know how.

Whatever the case, she wasn't in any state to hold a conversation.

"Fine…" Ferris stood and loomed over her. "Thank your ancestor that you get to live another day."

"He was a nice person. I wouldn't want to make him sad."

Artemis, despite her current state, heard all of what Ferris said, though she could only respond with a confused expression before collapsing in the dirty street in defeat.

Well, she practically knocked herself out like that.

Ferris stood still for a few seconds, staring at the unconscious wyvern—or was she human?

He wondered if the dreamer would ever tell him where blessings came from. Or would she refuse?

He was still thinking about the questions he could ask the flaming bush if they ever met again when a sudden earthquake broke his focus.

Then a massive wave of essence surged through him like a shockwave.

It came from the museum, Ferris thought, before looking up to see a pillar of light ascending to the crimson sky.

Wanting to know what happened, Ferris left Artemis in the street as he headed back to the museum.

***

There was nothing else but the symphony of gushing winds through the buildings and the low rumble from far away.

Artemis continued to sleep peacefully under the crimson light, which was a bit brighter than before. She couldn't see that, of course.

She also couldn't hear the howling air.

But there was one noise she heard in the distance, a noise she could tell despite being unconscious.

The pair of wheels silently rolled over the asphalt until they stopped right in front of her.

The old man had a surprised look on his face; his greying hair and dulling red eyes somewhat becoming young again because of the emotions welling up inside him.

He opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and used them to puncture a small wound on his finger, letting a drop of ink-like blood fall.

Bound to a wheelchair, he had to strain to deliver the blood to her mouth.

But when his own child was in danger, such difficulty didn't matter.

The black blood clung to her lips for a moment before sliding down into her mouth.

The effect was immediate, she jolted upright, filled with vigor and a murderous expression. "Where's that bitch!"

"Language, Artemis. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Dad?"

"Actually, just forget about that. Tell me..." The old man deepened his voice enough to shake the space around them. "Whoever did this to you, I would like to tell them something important.

Death wants to court them."

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