The salt sword surged forward at incredible speed, heading straight for Celestine's neck.
But in the very last second, it stopped beside her neck, so close she could feel the heat of the metal seeping through the air.
Number Two stared at her, his ash-gray eyes watching every heartbeat, every tiny movement.
Celestine was ready, every muscle tensed, fully aware that her fate was sealed.
"Why did you stop?" she whispered, sweat dripping from her brow, yet determined not to show any weakness.
Number Two slowly moved his sword away from her neck, the metal whining faintly through the air.
"Just wanted to make sure of something…" he said calmly, though his tone carried a deadly threat. "This time… I will truly cut your neck."
Celestine lifted her head steadily, silently challenging her fate, whispering to herself:
"Do it..."
Number Two raises his sword, aiming directly at Celestine's neck, this time with the intent to kill.
Celestine closes her eyes, bracing for her fate, but at the last moment, the sword suddenly stops.
She opens her eyes and looks toward the sword, only to see a hand gripping the sharp edge, holding it firmly in place.
Celestine lifts her eyes to see who held the sword, and she is shocked
"ka... Kazuhaya!"
Kazuhaya, the leader of the Eighth Guild, stood there with unshakable confidence. His long blonde hair was split into two sections, falling neatly over his shoulders, catching the light of the room. A pendant ring hung around his neck, and a small earring gleamed in his right ear. His blue eyes were sharp and focused, but a playful smile tugged at his lips, hiding just a hint of the danger he carried.
Celestine's eyes focused on his appearance.
"Kazuhaya… what are you doing here?" she asked, a mixture of surprise and relief in her voice.
Number Two's gaze locked on Kazuhaya, shocked by this unexpected intervention.
"Who… who are you?" he demanded, his grip tightening on the hilt of the Salt Sword.
Kazuhaya held the sharp edge of the sword firmly, while Number Two clutched the hilt, refusing to let go.
"who I'm I?… let's just say, a handsome blond trying to help his friend…" Kazuhaya replied casually, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.
Celestine warned him sharply,
"Kazuhaya, take your hand off that sword! It's made of salt, and it's extremely dangerous!"
Kazuhaya glanced at the sword, lifting it slightly while still holding the sharp edge.
"This?" he asked.
Pressing his hand firmly against it, the sword shattered.
Number Two's eyes widened in shock.
Kazuhaya swiftly lifted his foot, aiming it at Number Two's forehead.
Number Two jumped back, and the sword slipped from his grasp.
Kazuhaya looked at his hand, feeling the burning sting of the salt, but he didn't care his skin remained unbroken.
Kazuhaya looked at Number Two,
"I hope you don't mind what I did. I just wanted a bit of privacy."
He crouched down next to Celestine,
holding her gently and helping her to stand, placing his left hand on her left side.
Celestine closed her eyes as she tried to rise, pushing through the pain.
Both of her shoulders were bleeding, and her body ached all over.
Celestine looked at him.
"What are you doing here? I'm certain the Church didn't send any orders to the guild leaders to intervene in this mission."
Kazuhaya scratched his head.
"Ah, well… I just happened to pass by. I was walking through the middle-class district to buy some food for my guild members, but all the shops were closed because of what's happening today.
So I thought, why not check out the poor district and see what's going on?
And then I found you… fighting this person."
Celestine laughed.
"Damn, man… I survived death purely by chance…"
Kazuhaya placed his right hand over her head.
"Do you really think you could die that easily?"
Celestine frowned slightly at his hand over her head.
"Move your hand… this is not Logically, I'm older than you.!"
Kazuhaya pulled his hand back.
"Okay, okay! Fine but… you know I didn't come here alone…"
Celestine looked at his face.
"What do you mean?"
Kazuhaya held her firmly and spun them around.
Celestine's eyes widened as she was confronted by the appearance of the other person who had arrived.
Celestine felt a strange sense of reassurance from the energy emanating from him, despite the tension of the situation.
The other person slowly raised their hand, surrounded by a faint aura of power, showing that they were no ordinary individual, but the leader of the Sixth Guild… Seren.
Seren stood confidently, her black eyes observing everything around her with calm intelligence. Her long, straight black hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, a rare blue flower adorning her hair, while her qipao-style outfit radiated both elegance and strength.
Celestine spoke in a calm and reassuring voice, a mix of relief and astonishment:
"Seren!"
Seren was sitting quietly beside the unconscious Selvara, attentively observing her condition. Her black eyes followed every subtle movement of Selvara's body
Seren calmly looked at Selvara's wounds, then gestured toward Celestine:
"Bring her too."
At that moment, Kazuhaya stepped forward, gently holding Celestine, helping her walk steadily toward Seren. He ensured her balance and comfort as she moved forward with slow, careful steps.
Number Two glanced at them, but he also seemed occupied, speaking quietly into a small device in his ear. His words drifted softly as he observed the scene with sharp eyes, balancing his attention between the others and his communication with the person on the other end.
Seren placed her hand on Selvara's head, activating Tier 5 technique: Heal. The wounds on Selvara's hand began to close, then spread over her entire body, though they didn't fully heal.
Seren breathed calmly, reassuringly:
"Alright, this is enough to stop the bleeding."
Kazuhaya positioned Celestine next to Seren, and Seren placed her hand on Celestine's forehead. The wounds on Celestine's shoulders closed, but they did not fully mend either. Seren looked at Celestine and said:
"I've stopped the bleeding, but you need to go to the emergency room immediately for proper treatment."
Celestine understood, leaning slightly on Kazuhaya, ready to move forward.
Celestine looked at Kazuhaya, then at Seren, and spoke softly:
"Thank you both."
Celestine ran her hand through her hair slightly, feeling more freedom in her movements.
She looked at Seren and asked softly,
"Seren, why did you come here too? And how did you know all this was happening?"
Seren answered calmly:
"Well, at the beginning of your mission, I happened to pass by one of Novara's officers in the middle-class district.
I asked them what was happening, and they told me.
Some people were panicked and scared, hiding in their homes, so I played a few melodies to calm them down."
She looked at Kazuhaya and continued,
"I happened to run into Kazuhaya while he was walking around, and he asked me to come along to check on you."
Seren spoke with a tone of concern and disbelief:
"I don't understand why the Church assigned this mission to you alone, when we were available to handle it instead."
Kazuhaya replied confidently and pragmatically:
"That's obvious. The Church doesn't care about the poor district."
Celestine replied to them calmly:
"This is the harsh truth… the Church has always favored the wealthy and upper class, but this attack also started by the youths living in the poor district."
Kazuhaya responded, occasionally glancing at Number Two to make sure he wasn't moving toward them:
"That gang called the Troublemakers, huh… and what's this person's connection to them?"
Celestine answered his question quietly:
"You could say he is one of their leaders."
Kazuhaya turned toward Number Two and placed his hands in his pockets:
"One of their leaders… then you must be strong."
Number Two looked at him calmly, not answering directly, but responded with a question:
"You… are you a guild leader?"
Kazuhaya smiled confidently, raising his hand from his pocket and pointing to himself:
"I'm the handsome Kazuhaya, leader of the Eighth Guild."
Number Two stared at him for a moment, then introduced himself as well:
"Number Two of the Numbers… Crystel."
Kazuhaya looked at Number Two's slightly slender frame.
"Your appearance doesn't suggest much strength, but I can feel your energy… you're very strong."
Number Two didn't react to the compliment and instead changed the subject:
"May I ask… why are you here?"
Number Two thought to himself:
He's probably going to say I'm here to protect Novara from you or something like that…
Kazuhaya stood directly in front of him, their eye contact intense and terrifying:
"I'm here to protect that girl you defeated."
Number Two was slightly surprised by her reply:
"Oh… you've broken my expectations…"
Celestine heard him and shouted out:
"I didn't lose! I'm just tired!"
Kazuhaya looked at her:
"Clear, clear!"
Number Two turned and left them behind:
"Anyway, my mission here is over… I'll go my own way."
Kazuhaya called out loudly:
"Wait!"
Number Two stopped, glancing at him with a half-eye.
Kazuhaya places his hand on Number Two's shoulder.
"You can't just hurt my friend and walk away like that."
Number Two pushes Kazuhaya's hand away.
"I'm giving you a chance to survive."
Kazuhaya responds sarcastically, a confident and cheerful laugh escaping his lips:
"A chance to survive? Listen here, white-haired man."
He raises his hand, pointing to Celestine behind him.
"I'm stronger than her!"
Number Two looks at Kazuhaya with cold indifference.
"Fine… stop me from leaving if you're that strong."
Seren intervenes in the situation.
Her energy spreads calmly, glowing softly, and a violin materializes on her hands, formed from her energy. She begins to play.
"Calm!"
The melody of her energy flows outward, spreading tranquility and reassurance to everyone who hears it, soothing the tension between all present.
Number Two focused on her weapon.
"A legendary weapon, then…"
He felt calmness settling into his heart as he listened to her melody, yet his resolve remained firm.
The same went for Kazuhaya he was still determined to defeat Number Two.
Number Two grew more serious, his tone shifting:
"Then I have no choice but to kill both of you."
Kazuhaya slightly lifted his foot, his body leaning forward, ready to strike.
"Oh? I'd like to see you try."
Meanwhile, Seren continued holding her violin, her melody flowing softly as she tried to calm the storm before it erupted.
Celestine sat beside Selvara, who was still unconscious, the mark of the blow visible on her jaw.
She rested her hand near her not out of dramatic emotion, but out of quiet responsibility.
She lifted her gaze toward the sky.
Her smile wasn't wide just faint, subtle… the kind of smile that appears when someone is reorganizing their thoughts internally.
Her expression carried a blend of relief and calmness not because everything ended peacefully, but because she had already analyzed everything that happened.
Her mind worked as it always did reviewing details, comparing differences, measuring the gap between her strength and Kazuhaya's, analyzing Number Two's energy, constructing future scenarios.
Well…" she thought quietly, as if writing a note inside an invisible mental notebook,
"I can't deny it either… Kazuhaya really is stronger than me."
To her, strength was not pride.
It was an equation.
And equations could be improved.
She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the light breeze brush against her face
not surrender…
but a brief pause before calculating her next move.
End of Chapter.