[Rel''s POV]


    [Pinnacle Academy, Dystopic Simtion - Apartment Complex: 2nd Floor]


    The second floor was a chaotic mess, the lobby around us engulfed in mes.


    Sweat dripped down my face and the heat from Louise''s aura was suffocating.


    It was clear he was no longer holding back.


    His eyes zed with an unhinged fury, and I couldn''t help but feel a chill crawl down my spine.


    Is this guy crazy? I thought.


    Sure, his character was supposed to be intense, but this level of rage over Valencia?


    It was beyond anything I had written into the original story.


    This wasn''t how I intended things to go.


    Pushing Louise this far wasn''t part of my n.


    Someone else was supposed to take the brunt of his anger.


    But defending Alice hadn''t been part of the n either.


    She just was in the wrong ce at the wrong time.


    I don''t know how long I can hold him off, I thought grimly.


    But it''s all a matter of time until Jan shows up.


    FWANG!


    [Mana Reserves: 58%]


    I still had a decent amount of mana left, but against Louise, I was burning through it at an rming rate.


    He could break through my defences without much trouble, and his current strength was a testament to Jan''s power on the upper floors.


    He must be an absolute monster up there.


    I really hate this job of stalling for the main character.


    All I could do was react, attack when I could, block when I had to.


    It was exhausting trying to keep up with someone like Louise.


    Jan, please hurry up.


    DASH!


    Louise charged without a single thought, his speed was rming as he closed the distance between us.


    SHUUUU!


    I saw the transformation of his polearm – the pure me was gone, reced by a crimson aura that pulsed ominously around the de.


    I knew then that Anti-Magic wouldn''t be enough.


    [Special Passive: Sixth Sense [Grade 6] Has Been Activated!]


    As Louise lunged, my body reacted instinctively.


    He feinted a downward thrust, but my Sixth Sense predicted his move, and I sidestepped, drawing my bow in the same fluid motion.


    Three attribute-less arrows flew from the string, their speed leaving no room for reaction.


    TAK, TAK, TAK


    The first arrow whizzed past Louise''s ear, but the second and third found their mark, piercing his chest.


    "Damn rat..." He growled in anger despite the wounds.


    "Let''s see what you have to say to this!"


    Then suddenly time seemed to freeze.


    I watched in horror as Louise began to channel a technique I knew no ordinary hero could pull off: the fusion of his elemental attribute and aura into a single, devastating strike.


    The crimson aura of his polearm pulsed, enveloped by a swirling inferno of mes.


    [The Following Skill Has Been Activated: Sensory Aura]


    [Special Ability: Clockwork Of Time [Grade 3] Has Been Activated!]


    My mind began to panic and I activated both Sensory Aura and Clockwork of Time, desperately searching for an opening to counter his attack.


    One second passed...


    I was still unscathed, but Louise''s form remained unreadable.


    Three seconds...


    Sweat began to run down on my forehead.


    I considered activating Mitgiation''s Phenomena but knew there wasn''t enough time to pull it off fully.


    Six seconds...


    I coughed and a trickle of blood stained my lips.


    Maintaining Clockwork of Time for this long was draining my mana reserves rapidly.


    [Mana Reserves: 19%]


    haah...


    There was no escape this time.


    At this distance, Louise''s attack was unavoidable.


    "Damn it... this is gonna hurt."


    **


    "DIE!" Louise roared, thrusting his polearm forward with blinding speed.


    Rel watched the fiery de descend.


    There was no time to block, no way to dodge.


    He braced himself for the impact, closing his eyes in resignation.


    As Louise unleashed his attack, thebined force of aura and elemental attribute exploded in a blinding sh.


    The air crackled with power as the heat and pressure were nearly unbearable.


    BAM!


    The explosion that followed shook the entire building.


    Rel was flung backwards, crashing through the floor and tumbling down to the first level.


    He mmed against a wall, creating a new hole right next to a stunned Alice.


    Cough... cough... cough...


    "Ah... it hurts,"


    Rel groaned, clenching his teeth against the pain.


    Blood dripped down his forehead, his vision blurred, and his ears rang with the deafening st.


    "Rel! Are... are you okay?!"


    Alice, who had witnessed the entire scene through her Sensory Aura, rushed to his side with a panicked look on her face.


    "I-I-I''m okay... Just a little... cough... scratch..."


    Rel struggled to sit up and his body wracked with a pain he had never experienced before.


    "Just say the words!"


    Alice urged, but Rel''s ears were ringing, unable to hear her pleas.


    He tried to read her lips, but his mind was reeling from the impact.


    "That''s what you get for messing with me, you worthless insect!"


    As Alice looked up towards Louise, Rel followed her gaze, watching as the polearm user revelled in his victory.


    Battered and bruised, Rel understood what Louise was saying.


    A wave of frustration washed over him.


    The pride of an author, losing to his own character.


    It was a bitter pill to swallow.


    "I''m gonna crush him..." Rel muttered slowly.


    His decision came at the cost of his ownposure, shattered by Louise''s arrogance.


    Rel knew he couldn''t let Team A win so regardless of whether Jan arrives.


    The plot demanded a different oue.


    "I''ll be borrowing this, Alice," he said, his voice surprisingly steady despite the pain.


    Alice''s eyes widened in surprise. Rel, the archer, wielding a sword?


    "Also... if you can, take that g back to base,"


    Rel instructed pointing towards the g on the ground, his gaze hardening as he looked up at Louise.


    As Rel struggled to his feet, he slowly began to walk towards Louise''s direction leaving Alice alone.


    Then suddenly a shadowy figure emerged from the smoke-filled haze and their form shrouded in darkness as the person tapped Alice on the shoulder.


    "...!"


    "shh..." the person put a finger on his lips, asking Alice to be quiet.


    As she nodded at the person, Alice clutched the g tightly to her chest and watched Rel''s final showdown with Louise happen anxiously.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Rel turned to face Louise.


    The smoke from the fire thickened, obscuring their vision, but Rel''s resolve remained unwavering.


    He gripped Alice''s Rapier its sleek de was different to his usual weapon of choice.


    As he held the de, aura surged through his right arm, infusing the rapier and turning it a deep obsidian ck.


    Louise seeing Rel''s shadow with a rapier in hand, erupted inughter.


    "An archer who uses swords? That''s just... ridiculous!"


    Rel remained unfazed by the taunt, his silence speaking volumes. (he still can''t hear.)


    Louise''sughter died abruptly as he wiped a tear from his cheek.


    "Well, I guess it''s safe to say that it''s over."


    He leapt down from the shattered opening on the first floor,nding with a heavy thud that sent tremors through the building.


    The two stood on opposite ends of the room and the smoke created an imprable fog between them.


    Louise, confident in his superior senses, smirked.


    "If he can''t see, then I can''t either," he thought. "But I have the advantage."


    His emerald eyes glowed as he channelled his aura and his senses heightened to their peak.


    With a burst of speed, he charged into the smoke.


    "Ignited me: Half Step Burst!"


    "Divine Severance"


    Louise''s polearm de was imbued with mes once more, and through the haze, he saw Rel''s silhouette, his de crackling with lightning.


    It troubled Louise for a moment, but he quickly dismissed the thought of Rel being able to wield a sword effectively.


    SHAKKKKK!


    SHING!!!


    A simultaneous sh echoed through the room.


    Louise''s polearm found its mark, striking Rel''s side.


    But at the same time, a dark aura sh ripped through the smoke, slicing across Louise''s chest.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Rel mmed into the wall, the impact jarring his already injured body.


    A hand touched his shoulder, and he heard a familiar voice, low and reassuring.


    "You''ve got it from here, right?"


    Rel managed to rasp out, his vision slowly fading.


    He recognized the silhouette on the floor, the outline of someone he knew well.


    "Yeah! You''ve done well..." The voice was faint, but its warmth was unmistakable.


    "I''ll take it from here now."


    Rel turned his head to see Jan standing over him with a bright smile on his face.


    The picture of a protagonist arriving just in the nick of time.


    haah...


    "Good," Rel muttered, a flicker of relief passing through him.


    "I was tired of waiting... dumbass."


    His body dissolved into a shower of blue pixels, and Jan didn''t even spare him a nce.


    He had already acknowledged the lengths Rel had gone to, leading Louise straight to him.


    "A yer has been eliminated. Respawn timer: 5 minutes,"


    ___________


    No Authors Notes Today...