"Why is the Goliath getting involved?" The lieutenant asks while struggling to stand straight, Mr. Red giant fish was practically printed on his chest piece.
Mr. Red glanced at Alexia then at me."Family matters."
The lieutenant cracks a painful snicker and unsheathes his sword. "Son, report this to the guild. The goliath has gone rogue." He patted his junior's shoulder before standing up and roaring.
As the lieutenant ran at full speed to cut down the goliath, few remaining knights also followed their superior knowing well the result. Together, they all slashed their weapons at Mr. Red, only for him to literally scoop everyone except the lieutenant in one swing of his great sword.
BAM!
Lieutenant's body flew through a solid wall and landed on the other side, his lungs breathing, barely.
Alexia just sat there, covered in blood and guts of several knights. Her scream left a sting in my ear.
The remaining knight who was called son by the lieutenant was looking at Mr. Red with absolute horror, his body shaking in fear.
"Run! Now!" The lieutenant gave his last order and the knight obeyed.
His shining armour was now tainted in blood of fallen comrades, yet the lieutenant had no tint of fear on his face. But there was no satisfaction either, all there was an anxious expression born from mountain load of questions.
Reading the situation, Mr. Red decided to give bit respect to his old acquaintance. He walked up to the lieutenant and smashed his great sword right next to him.
The lieutenant didn't flinch, instead he looked up at his hero, his eyes filled with delusion or hope. For me it was hope but for Mr. Red it was different. "W-Why did you decide to come back?"
Mr. Red's expression was as dread as it could get.
"Are you against the g-guild now?"
"No." Mr. Red spoke in quiet yet chilling tone.
A sense of relief washed over lieutenant's face. "T-Then are you back? Is goliath b-back to defend the city and it's people?"
"No."
Lieutenant's first emotion was anger, then grief and lastly acceptance. "I see. You should about worry about Karlson, he was one of the fastest rookie I have ever trained, I doubt your old legs could keep up." There was a sense of humour in the lieutenant's words but it wasn't mutual.
"I have someone to take care of that." Mr. Red lifts his great sword and looks in the eye of the lieutenant. "Remember, In face of death."
The lieutenant looks down and inhales loudly. "Do not breath."
Mr. Red swung his sword and severed lieutenant's skull down to his chest, killing him instantly.
Alexia jumps at the loud sound created by Mr. Red's great sword. Her chest thumping non stop, her throat dry and sore. She crawls away from Mr. Red towards where I was, hoping to bump into me, instead her back hits the wall.
Mr. Red puts his sword back and turns to her which ends up further scaring her.
"Al-Altaris?" In a desperate attempt, she tries to reach out to me but I was not there.
I stood in front of the last remaining knight, blocking his way to the gateway. He points his blade at me. "Step aside, child. I do not want to harm you."
I inserted two fingers in my bleeding wound and sacrificed a bit of blood in exchange of tiny bit of mana. 'A dangerous practice.' I remined myself and began casting a magic circle.
The knight was desperate, his death was just behind and he was not going to entertain a child blocking his escape. Even though his first duty was to protect the city and it's citizens, dying still scared him, like most people. He roared and charged at me with full strength.
I twisted my hand and pulled it out, causing immense pain. But it was worth as the blood on my hand slowly turned black and evaporated, my body gained a minute amount of raw mana. It was tiny but enough.
As the knight was about to run over me, the black magic circle changed it's colour to purple and the knight was stopped. "Huh? Put me down!"
The now floating knight glances at my wounds and my blackened hands. "You! You are the blood mage! B-But you are a child!"
I was already struggling to lift this knight's entire body with so little mana, I could not spare a second to speak.
"You vile scum! I demand that you put me down this instant!"
Ignoring the knight, I grit my teeth and yank the spear from the knight's grip. But it was too heavy for me to lift simultaneously, then it fell straight into the ground with the tip exposed.
'Just as I wanted.' I crack a smile and grit my teeth as I point the knight's head right above the spear.
The knight gasped in fear as he guessed what I was going to do. "Wait! Don't do this! Please! I-I am still young, I can give you m-money. Please, anything! Take anything and spare my lif-"
I slammed my hand on ground and the knight was impaled by his own spear, it entered his throat and exited from it's rear, his intensities gouged out on top.
I fell to my knees, my hand throbbing like crazy and my chest burning as if I ran a marathon.
"Are you alright?" Mr. Red asked me, he stood behind me quietly witnessing what I was doing.
I cough up blackened thick blood, I cleverly hid my hand from him and turned away from him. "I-I could have helped."
Mr. Red was silent, I peeked at him to notice he is expressionless as always, this gave birth to suspicion in my mind. 'Did he saw my hands? Does he know about sacrifices? If yes… He has to go.'
Suddenly Mr. Red opened his mouth. "I. I thought you were stronger."
"Huh?" I stare dumbfounded at the colossal of a man who could literally handle multiple of those knights yet he decided not to intervene because he deemed me strong enough. This made me genuinely laugh.
"Hahaha. Haah. I am."
With those words, I blacked out as mana fatigue kicked in.