His voice echoed, and the reaction came in physical form.
The shape of a black flame that absorbed all light emerged directly on Basara's chest.
"Hm…" However, the older man did nothing but let out a thoughtful hum. "Interesting." He didn't seem worried in the slightest about the flame consuming his chest.
And it wasn't without reason.
For the flame known to voraciously consume everything until nothing remained did not move a single centimeter, all because now, covering Basara's chest, there was a small milky white glow surrounding the fire.
It was Touki, and it was preventing the fire from spreading.
"Truly interesting, this power of yours is truly unique, creating such a type of flame." Basara commented calmly, his hand hovering gently above the fire, feeling no heat. He could more or less tell what that flame did, but then, as if it were simple, the white aura surrounding the fire covered it, extinguishing it in an instant, showing that even his clothes were unscathed.
Blinking calmly at his own feat, Basara continued, "Although, your desperate attack didn't work, since I imagine you can't see the result." Lifting his eyes, he looked toward Micael.
And what he saw were eyes bleeding even more, bulging and pulsing veins around them in a purplish tone.
And irises and pupils completely gray, staring into the nothing before him.
Micael was blind, he couldn't see a blur, he couldn't see anything, only darkness covered his eyes.
That had been the price for using Amaterasu.
"Micael…" Rias let out a whisper full of pain, the sight agonizing as if someone were stabbing her heart with a knife.
She wanted to do something, she wanted to be able to help, but she knew it was useless, and that if she ended up getting hurt it would only bring more pain to Micael.
'I feel useless…' Biting her lips until they bled, she could do nothing but watch amid pain, anger, and despair.
And she wasn't the only one. Everyone who saw Micael's injured figure felt a tightness in their chest, whether sadness, pain, or the despair of facing an enemy far too strong.
"Damn…" Clenching his fists until they bled, Issei murmured softly, his heart beating fast and thunderous at that sight. Seeing someone he considered an insurmountable wall in that state was indescribable.
He didn't know exactly what he felt, but what was clear was that Micael never had a chance, and that their situation was truly bad and that possibly all of them would die.
'Damn! What do I do!?' He asked himself internally, trying to find some solution, failing to think of anything.
As for Kiba, he furrowed his brow while clenching his fist just like Issei, the sight painfully familiar to him. Being in a situation where you find yourself completely incapable of doing anything was something he knew all too well.
Koneko also shared the same feeling, her brows furrowed at that sight, feeling completely useless and incapable.
Akeno was no different, the tightness in her heart as if someone were twisting it was painful, but more painful was knowing she could literally do nothing. If she tried to help and got hurt it would not only be useless but would also bring more pain to the others.
And like the rest, she could only stand still while frustration and despair gnawed at her from within.
With Asia, she cried, cried at that sight and also with guilt, because if she had listened to Micael, if she hadn't tried to help that woman, none of this would have happened.
And now, the person who helped her, the person who took her in and made her experience what it was like to have a family and a normal life was going through such suffering.
All of this because of her.
'Why, my Lord, why…' Amid the tears, she could only question God internally as to why it's always good people who suffer the most.
But the source of their lament, the one they worried about, lay unbroken.
Moments before going blind, he had glimpsed the effect of his attack, so he already knew it had been useless.
"Sigh…" Sighing, his broken body remained where it was, he simply ignored all the pain he felt, including the sharp pain coming from his eyes, and took a step forward.
Then, he ran.
Straight toward Basara.
Raising an eyebrow silently, Basara watched as the broken boy still dared to continue fighting.
"Micael!"
Micael heard Rias's cry, he could feel the pain and despair in her voice, but he didn't stop running.
Stepping over the rubble, he felt himself reaching where Basara was, the memory of the clean ground below serving as a guide.
Then, sensing he was before the man, he punched.
Basara calmly watched as the now blind boy tried to hit his face.
He took a simple step to the side, letting the fist pass harmlessly.
Then he saw how the boy simply adjusted and tried to hit him again, this time with a kick.
Dodging the same way, he merely observed with the same calm as the boy continued to struggle.
"I have to admit, this apparently unbreakable spirit of yours… is admirable." He commented to himself as he continued to evade the boy's useless attacks.
"Someone like you would be greatly appreciated in our cult, unfortunately, that won't happen." Finishing his words, he then abruptly threw a punch.
Thud
With a dull impact, his fist sank into Micael's stomach, the attack making him bend over his arm.
But as if anesthetized, with an unchanged expression, Micael simply grabbed his arm and, trembling, raised the other.
And threw a punch.
Catching his fist easily, Basara then increased the strength of his grip, his hand crushing the boy's forearm.
Crack
The snap came and Micael's arm bent in the wrong direction, but aside from a slight furrowing of his brow, Micael showed nothing else as he continued his attack, this time with a kick.
Letting go of his arm, Basara simply punched his shin, his fist breaking the bone and making the leg bend at the wrong angle.
Crack
And this time, giving Micael no time to try again, he continued punching his ribs, followed by striking his face.
Crack
Only a snap was heard when Micael's rib was struck, before a blur hit his face and sent him flying backward.
His body traveled weightlessly through the air for a moment before hitting the ground and skidding until it stopped.
And visibly, his body, which until then still seemed to have some energy, finally seemed to be exhausted as his skin returned to its normal tone along with the disappearance of the bulging veins. The Advance he had learned at last was no longer able to be maintained, as his body was failing.
And on the ground, Micael felt many things, whether pain, fatigue, disorientation, his mind wanting to shut down from all the stress, or his body slowly losing strength.
But none of that mattered to him, because he wasn't dead yet.
Seeing the boy remain completely motionless for a moment, only the rise and fall of his chest serving as an indicator of life, beginning to tremble in an attempt to stand again drew a new reaction from Basara.
He sighed. "You are truly persistent, what else do I have to do for you to understand?" That stubbornness was something he admired, but now it was simply tiring him.
There was no longer any point in prolonging this, he finally accepted that he would be incapable of breaking Micael.
Well, at least directly.
Turning slightly, Basara looked over his shoulder toward the others. "Perhaps I should kill the others?" His words had an immediate reaction.
Turning back, he looked at Micael who was shakily standing up, killing intent exuding from the boy's body like waves toward him.
However, this didn't affect Basara. "Or perhaps… the Gremory girl, you seem to be quite close, should I kill her?"
And the killing intent became more intense, almost to the point of taking physical form.
Still indifferent, Basara tilted his head slightly. "Or perhaps… should I kill your family?"
Ominous, cutting, and cold was how the others would describe the sensation they felt.
Like a viscous, sticky mud that stubbornly clung to the skin and refused to come off no matter what you did, that was the sensation they would give to the killing intent that surrounded the entire place.
It wasn't directed at them, but it was so intense they still felt it.
"Hm…" Humming thoughtfully, Basara watched as the boy finally stood up, his opaque eyes somehow finding his as veins bulged in his neck along with a clenched jaw.
Not from effort, but from pure rage that mixed with the killing intent directed at him.
With blood flowing from his wounds, Micael's skin took on a reddish tone as veins bulged while he seemed to reactivate the Advance out of pure spite.
Then, with a single leg, he pushed himself forward with a jump that sent him straight at Basara.
Snorting softly, the man simply let him approach before quickly striking him.
And not stopping, he followed with a few more rapid blows that broke more of his bones, finishing by holding him in the air by the neck.
"I've wasted enough time." Basara said with his hand resting in a tight grip around Micael's neck.
"No!" Letting out a cry of rage and despair, Rias finally couldn't take it anymore and attacked, dark red energy pouring from her hands rapidly toward the man.
And she wasn't the only one, all the others attacked in one way or another.
But it was all useless.
With his arm being covered by Touki, Basara simply swung it behind him, the result being an immense wave of white energy.
Rias and the others had no way to defend themselves as their bodies were forcefully pressed against the barrier, that simple wave of energy hurting them as if gravity itself were crushing them.
Falling to the ground while spitting blood, a disoriented Rias could only lift her head and see him firmly holding Micael by the neck.
With her chest tightening from growing despair, she extended her hand toward him. "Micael!"
"Micael!!!"
"Any last words?" Amid Rias's desperate scream, Basara asked him calmly.
With his eyes completely gray, his opaque gaze somehow still managed to find Basara's eyes and stare calmly at him as he spat.
Without reacting, Basara remained silent as the saliva mixed with blood painted his face and the boy shakily raised his hand.
"Fuck… you." Micael said with effort as he flipped him off.
"Mm, petulant to the end." With that comment, Basara tightened his hand around Micael's neck.
Or at least he tried to.
Craaaaaaack!
With a sound reminiscent of glass shattering, the barrier that prevented anyone from entering or leaving shattered in an instant.
The star-filled night sky above appeared for a brief moment before suddenly turning red.
But none of that mattered to Basara because the cause of it was coming straight at him.
For the second time showing a more emotional reaction, the man who until then seemed invincible quickly turned, releasing Micael and raising a hurried block with his arms, his brow furrowed in seriousness.
And it wasn't without reason, because crashing against his forearms, a pale fist struck him with overwhelming force.
There was a brief silent pause before the air erupted in a deafening explosion as the ground instantly expanded into a crater.
Boooooooom!!!
From the outside, only the blurred figure of Basara being hurled away was visible.
But following him swiftly, Grayfia, her face calm, proceeded, disappearing from her position.
Blinking silently, completely lost at the abrupt change of events, Rias took a moment to readjust as she realized Grayfia had appeared at the last moment.
And with that, she immediately remembered Micael, only to find him right in front of her.
"Micael!"
It seemed that Grayfia, besides protecting them from the shockwave caused by her attack, had also brought him there.
Reaching him quickly, her hands moved to hold him, but she stopped upon noticing the severity of his injuries.
He was bleeding profusely all over his body, bruises covered him like paint while depressions surrounded his torso along with the broken bones of his limbs.
And most horrifying to her, his completely gray and opaque eyes from which blood still flowed like incessant tears.
As if the injury were far more serious than simply forcing his eyes beyond their limit.
"Micael…" In a soft whisper, she gently touched his cheek as tears welled up in her eyes.
At that moment, the others finally reached them, coming face to face with the sight of his miserable state.
Boooooom!
And in the background, the sounds of explosions echoed as Grayfia and Basara fought.