Infinite Mage

Chapter 157: The Second Encounter (5)

WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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INFINITE MAGE

"Freeman, thank you."

"Hehe, it's nothing. Let's get out of this dreadful place quickly. I can take care of you anywhere."

Caught off guard by his words, Marsha was flustered. Then, realizing the time had come, she spoke in a sad voice.

"Freeman, I'm sorry. I'm leaving alone. I won't take you with me."

"What? Why? How can a woman alone do anything? The outside world is dangerous."

"It's okay. I think I can handle whatever comes now."

"No! I don't like it! I'm coming too! I won't let you go alone."

Marsha thought it over one last time, but no matter how much she pondered, she couldn't bring herself to take him with her.

Freeman had a family.

Although he was practically no different from her own adoptive father, he was still her true father by blood.

"Freeman, I don't love you."

Freeman's face flushed with Marsha's blunt words.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"You are a really good friend. But I will never accept you as a man. It would be unhappy for you to follow me. I might marry another man."

Freeman felt as if his heart was being torn apart. It was cruel. So cruel, Marsha.

How could she say such a thing in this situation? Maybe this was their last moment together.

Freeman clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

If that's how Marsha feels, then so be it. Hanging around her would only end up hurting him.

"I don't care. I'm still going with you. I hate living with a drunken father who calls me an idiot. It's my choice."

Marsha was furious. Freeman's suffocating personality was driving her insane.

"You idiot! Why can't you understand? I don't like you!"

"So what? If you don't want to like me, then don't! I'll just keep liking you! You have no right to say anything about that!"

Marsha yelled back, her anger spilling over.

"Ah, is that so? Good for you. Just keep looking at me until you die old and alone. Shall I tell you the truth? Having you with me is a burden. How long should I take care of a coward who can't even kill a single ant? It only makes things harder for me!"

"I'm not a coward! I will protect you!"

"And how exactly are you going to protect me? What can you even do?"

"Arrrrgh!"

Freeman screamed towards the ground. He then picked up a sharp stone and began scraping off his eyebrows.

Marsha was startled and tried to stop Freeman.

"What are you doing, you fool!"

"Let go! Just let me be!"

Freeman was relentless.

The sound of his skin tearing made Marsha's skin crawl. She watched in disbelief as he continued to rub the stone against his eyebrows until they were completely gone. Throwing the stone to the ground, his face, now covered in blood, looked demonic.

"How about that? Now I look scary, don't I? Being a coward was all because of my eyebrows. Now no one can mess with me. So, I won't be a burden to you."

"You... are you insane?"

Marsha was speechless, but Freeman was serious.

His eyebrow-less face indeed looked frightening, but in reality, it bore the saddest expression.

"I will become stronger. I will do whatever it takes. Just let me stay by your side, please? I promise I won't ask you to like me if you just let me come with you."

"You... oh, you fool."

Marsha sighed deeply. She felt it was wrong, but even that thought seemed to be drowned out by her sigh.

***

"Marsha."

Freeman's eyes sparkled. His face, which had been distorted by burns, was now perfectly regenerated.

How much time had passed? It might already be too late. But he had to go. He had promised. Until Marsha was dead, his life wasn't his own.

"I'm going now. Wait for me."

The energy he poured into choosing life over death at the brink was tremendous. His body was heavy, and his legs barely carried him.

But Freeman walked without rest.

To where Marsha was.

***

Amy gritted her teeth as she raced up the mountain trail. Her mental strength had recovered enough to think clearly, but casting magic was still too much to handle.

She couldn't afford to slow down. The battle was not yet over. Freeman had been dealt with, but another formidable enemy, Falcoa, still remained.

"Just a little more!"

As the destination came into view, Amy increased her speed. And just as she crested the hill, she was met with an unexpected sight.

Rian, battered and bruised, was holding Falcoa from behind.

But what shocked Amy was something else.

Tess, running at full speed, was stabbing Falcoa with her sabre.

Tess's eyes were wilder than ever. If things continued this way, even Rian could be impaled by her sword. However, the two seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement, as they hesitated not at all.

Finally, Tess's sabre pierced through Falcoa. Rian's pupils dilated, and his shoulders convulsed.

Moments later, blood spurted from Rian's mouth.

***

20 minutes before Amy's arrival.

Falcoa's attack was the epitome of flashy brutality. But it was not finesse that shone through, but a beast-like savagery.

Rian couldn't afford to think about techniques. Just enduring the shock had already drained him to his limits.

Falcoa found an opening and sliced through Rian's thigh.

"Rian!" Tess's voice echoed. 

Although Rian had held up better than expected, having his lower body injured meant he had lost half his strength.

Angered by her friend's injury, Tess launched an attack, but Falcoa was worthy of being called a demon of the battlefield.

As long as he didn't die, it seemed he didn't care how injured he got, focusing most of his movements on attack.

This actually caused Tess's attack frequency to drop. It was a moment that proved the adage: the best defense is a good offense.

As the battle continued, the scratches on Rian and Tess's bodies multiplied. They avoided fatal wounds, but after ten minuTess, their bodies were nearly ragged like cloth.

"Hahaha! Is this the end? It's been fun."

Ignoring Falcoa's taunts, Tess looked back at Rian, who was gasping for breath.

"Rian, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I can manage. What about you?"

Tears welled up in Tess's eyes, unable to continue her words. What did he mean he could manage? His body was clearly marked by the path of Falcoa's sword.

It was the first time she had felt so heartbroken. What was this trash of a person to hurt Rian like this?

Tess gripped the handle of her sabre tightly. Even if it meant risking her life, she was determined to cut off Falcoa's breath.

"Yaaaaa!"

Tess pulled the sabre towards her body and charged. It was a charge unique to the Elzain family.

However, the gap in their power was too great to bridge with just willpower.

Although Tess's charge was fast, Falcoa retreated even faster.

As he created distance, his intention became clear. With a wicked grin, Falcoa suddenly kicked off the ground and advanced. With a smooth move, he deflected Tess's sabre.

"Huh!"

Falcoa spun around to Tess's side and slammed his knee into her ribs. Her lungs were compressed, cutting off her breath momentarily.

"Kek, not bad, but you still smell green."

Falcoa's long sword descended towards Tess.

To Tess, time seemed to slow. She could clearly see the trajectory of the sword coming down to slice her neck.

But she was paralyzed. As time slowed, so did her body.

'I'm sorry... Rian. I wanted to at least strike back once.'

At that moment, Rian charged like a bull at Falcoa.

"Aaaargh!"

Falcoa's legs were lifted off the ground. But Rian's tackle was unsuccessful. Even in mid-air, Falcoa maintained a terrifying balance, landed smoothly, and pulled Rian's neck forward while raising his knee.

"Kuh!"

The impact seemed to go through the solar plexus, through the stomach, and out the back.

Was this the combat ability of a demon who thrived in war? It seemed impossible to shake Falcoa by any means.

"Don't fret too much. I'll take good care of your woman."

Rian's fading consciousness snapped back. Despite their usual bickering, Tess was a good friend, someone he respected and acknowledged as a fellow swordsman.

"Not to someone like you..."

Gripping Falcoa's collar, Rian summoned all his strength as if burning his whole body.

"I won't hand over my friend, you bastard!"

"Kugh!"

As Rian was dragged along, Falcoa was puzzled. He knew Rian was strong, but this level of power didn't match his previous schema.

Where had such strength suddenly come from?

Rian slipped behind Falcoa and applied a wrestling hold. Once Rian wedged his arm through Falcoa's armpit, raising his arms, Falcoa could no longer swing his sword.

"This bastard!"

Falcoa flexed his trapezius muscles and pushed his arms down. Rian's nose bridge twisted as if ropes were tied around his shoulders and pulled by horses, his body screaming in agony.

"Grrrr!"

But Falcoa couldn't break free.

It was indeed strange. None of the opponents he had faced in combat had shown such strength. How could Rian possibly exhibit such power?

"Damn it! Let go, you bastard!"

"Try and get out. This is what they call an imaginary schema, you brat."

Mages train their minds, swordsmen their bodies. Yet, there is one organ intimately connected to both— the brain.

Perhaps thoughts also affect the body?

Although very few do it, some schema users spend their lives trying to reconstruct the neural schematic.

Unknown to Rian, the term "imaginary schema" was also coined by them.

Does the mere thought of not letting go influence the body? If so, would the intensity of the thought change its effect?

If this was possible, given that thoughts have no limits, how much could the effects amplify if one intensely focused their thoughts?

Rian decided not to move. He had issued a command to his body and locked it in that state.

This kind of mental lock wasn't traditionally considered a schema, but Rian's extraordinary strength could be explained no other way.

"Argh! Let go! Let go, you bastard!"

Falcoa thrashed wildly, but it felt as if he wasn't grappling with a living being. Rian's body was as unyielding as if it had turned to stone.

"Tess! Stab him!"

"But…”

Tess realized what Rian was suggesting. It was a logical decision. If not now, there would never be another chance to defeat Falcoa.

But Tess couldn't bring herself to do it. To kill Rian, even if it meant dying together. She couldn't bear the thought of stabbing him with her own hands.

"Rian..."

"Aaaargh! Quickly! I can't hold on much longer!"

Danger signals were blaring from all over Rian's body. His mind's orders were being executed by his body at 100%, but the limits were clear. If Falcoa broke free, Rian's body would likely be shattered into pieces.

"Tess! Do it now!"

"Yaaaah!"

Tears streaming down her face, Tess charged. Rian was risking his life to fulfill his duty. Letting emotions interfere and missing the timing would make him the world's biggest fool.

That was the moment Amy arrived.

"Tess! No!"

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