POV: Rai Shinsei
A chilling breeze of wind brushed throughout the forest as everyone remained silent, unable to conjure a thought or muster any words as the scene before us left everyone petrified.
I glanced at Arthur, who was able to maintain his composure, despite the horrifying scene before us, but as for the other three behind me, they were terrified and sickened with their mouths agape as I noticed panic brewing within Sarah while Everett vomited on the ground shortly afterwards.
You have to get it together, Rai.
How could this have happened?!
Rylie stated that there were supposed to be heroes waiting for our arrival and yet, everyone is already dead?!
How can several A-Class heroes be utterly defeated like this?
Is it possible that the leaders are already here?!
"Everyone, we're leaving now-"
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A deep, scratchy voice of a man asked as Arthur and I immediately looked above us.
The man who called out to us was quite large with a pale ivory complexion, black hair that was styled as a wolf cut with sharp orange eyes that brimmed with malicious intentions as his outfit consisted of an unzipped, ragged black trench coat, a white tank top wrapped with blood-rusted steel chains and black cargo pants that was paired with beige military boots.
Is that…
Greed?!
As everyone raised their guards, Greed jumped down from the tree above with chains wrapped around his forearms as a perturbing smile crept onto his face amidst landing before us.
This isn't good.
If Greed is roaming around freely, that means the other members of the Cardinal Sins are already aware of our existence!
We have to defeat him and escape before the other members arrive!
"Do not let him near you at any cost!" I warned everyone as Greed eyed me curiously.
"You seem to already know what my Aspect is, which means that you all must be on a mission." Greed deduced with a chuckle as he activated his Aspect and released his Aspectual Force, which affected everyone with the exception of Arthur and myself as the pressure he exuded left me startled.
Rylie was wrong.
Greed's Aspectual Force is too strong for someone who is supposed to be a Level Three Threat!
He's several inches taller than me, but even then, fighting him would be pointless as not only can he siphon my energy, but he can also use his chains as a weapon to capture me.
Everett and I don't stand a chance against him because our Aspects rely solely on close-combat and although Sarah and Aria can use ranged attacks, one of them has to stay back as the support and focus on healing everyone.
As for Arthur, I don't know how strong he truly is, but assuming that he's on par with an A-Class hero, then he should be able to defeat Greed with relative ease, despite the false information we received about him as Greed is without a doubt at least a Level Two Threat.
I glanced at Aria, who activated her Aspect and released her Aspectual Force, which seemed to be slightly stronger than Greed's as she glared at him nervously.
Aria's Aspect is Light Manipulation, but despite her being blessed with unparalleled potential, I don't know how strong she is in combat nor do I know how much insight she has into her own Aspect.
Although her Aspect has a healing factor, I'm more comfortable with having Sarah as our support since her Aspect is more versatile in healing compared to Aria's as of now.
With Everett and I protecting Sarah, Aria can focus attacking from afar-
Amidst my calculations, Arthur suddenly activated his Aspect and released his Aspectual Force, which overwhelmed everyone within the area as Greed's malevolent grin was replaced with a frown, prompting him to watch Arthur with extreme caution as a droplet of cold sweat trickled down his face.
What an intense Aspectual Force.
"You're just a boy and yet, you possess an Aspectual Force that rivals our very own leader?" Greed questioned rhetorically as he dashed towards Arthur with the intention of grasping his neck, however, Arthur dodged his grasp with fleet footwork as amidst Greed's lunge, he tried to decapitate him with a single swing, but despite Arthur's quick-witted counter-attack, Greed parried Arthur's blade away with his chains as he spaced himself away.
"You're too dangerous to be left alive." Greed remarked as he dashed towards Arthur once more with the intention of grabbing him, however, Arthur held his position with precise slashes towards Greed's vital points, preventing Greed from gaining any distance towards him as well as using his footwork to dodge and parry away Greed's violent chains.
"You're not bad, but flinging your sword around won't be enough to stop me!" Greed shouted with a large grin as he swiftly closed the distance between them, weaving through Arthur's attacks as he restricted Arthur's torso with his chains before grasping Arthur's neck, but upon grasping it, he suddenly lost his strength as he began staggering backwards with his jaw clenched in exasperation.
"How-"
Abrupting Greed's speech was several deep slashes, which appeared across his torso as he clenched his chest tightly with an alarmed expression before dropping onto a knee.
What a dangerous Aspect.
"I-I don't understand. When did you-"
"Did you really believe that a swordsman would just fling their sword around for the mere sake of it? How stupid can you be?" Arthur asked mockingly with a contemptuous grin as he spun his katana around his fingers before piercing through the back of Greed's torso, causing him to cough up blood as Arthur stared him down with a cold gaze until Greed collapsed forward onto the ground, losing consciousness in the midst.
So this is the strength of Arthur Kojiro.
After witnessing his power, I can say this for certain…
He's the strongest student that I've met out of all my years of attending school.
"I-Is he dead?" Everett asked nervously as Arthur flung off Greed's excess blood from the blade of his sword before sheathing it.
"I hope so." Arthur replied casually while picking out earwax from his ear as he deactivated his Aspect and approached us, but despite Arthur's fatal blow, Greed's Aspectual Force didn't vanish as I noticed him struggling to pick himself up from the ground.
"Arthur, he's not dead!" I shouted as Arthur activated his Aspect once more and faced Greed, who forced himself to stand, enduring his fatal wound as he glared at Arthur with hatred seeping through his eyes.
"That's a great look you have there." Arthur remarked sarcastically with a grin as Greed began to seethe with rage in silence before planting his feet into the ground.
Springing towards Arthur, Greed tried to grasp Arthur once more, but Arthur's agility was far superior than Greed's as he tried to take advantage of Greed's recklessness with a slash through Greed's torso, but surprisingly, Arthur missed as Greed tried to capitalize on Arthur's mistake by attempting to capture him with his chains, however, Arthur parried away his chains and spaced himself away as Greed's condition only worsened.
What is this sense of uneasiness?
"You're quite greedy, aren't you?" Greed asked rhetorically as he dashed towards Arthur, who began taking the fight more seriously as he unsheathed his second sword and with a swift step forward, he tried to slash through Greed's torso, forcing Greed to evade death with a nimble spin move as one of Arthur's blades nicked his neck, but his gamble for his life paid off as Greed finally gained the chance to grasp Arthur, whose eyes sharpened out of annoyance.
Intending to restrict Arthur from all options, Greed tried to use his chains to capture Arthur amidst aiming for his neck, but Greed failed to realize the level of his opponent as Arthur smashed his elbow into the side of Greed's mouth before kicking him away, sending Greed sliding backwards across the ground as he wiped the blood trickling from his mouth.
Greed should be aware that he doesn't stand a chance against Arthur.
Not only is he severely wounded, but his movements are far more reckless than they were before.
I can understand if he's trying to kill Arthur before he loses consciousness from loss of blood, but he should already know that Arthur is too strong for him.
His only option should be to escape, so why…
"I'll admit that you're much stronger than me, but what about him?" Greed asked with a malicious grin as he pointed towards Everett, whose face turned pale as I became aware of what Greed's true motive was.
No!
That's why Greed was recklessly throwing himself at Arthur!
He wanted to separate Arthur away from us so that he can use Everett to heal himself!
"Aria, Sarah! Don't let him near Everett!" I shouted anxiously as I unsheathed my sword and tried to intercept Greed within his path towards Everett, but I was too late as Greed reached him first, grasping his neck tightly as he began draining Everett's energy with a hysterical laugh.
I was too late!
Everett's face turned pale by the second as he desperately tried to free himself from Greed's grasp, but despite his persistence, his actions were futile as every ounce of his energy was being siphoned from his body, allowing Greed to practically heal every wound he received from Arthur.
"Everett!" Aria screamed as she rushed towards Greed with her hand sparkling with light while I leapt towards Greed with the sole intention of decapitating him, but to our surprise, blood began gushing from Greed's chest as a large, fatal slash suddenly appeared, leaving him flabbergasted as he gargled on his own blood amidst releasing Everett from his grasp.
Landing onto the ground, I watched Greed stagger backwards as I noticed Arthur sheathing his black sword.
You've got to be kidding me.
"O-Once again, I can't seem to understand… WHO ATTACKED ME?!" Greed bellowed hoarsely in agony as he choked on his own blood while Aria rushed towards Everett and immediately began healing him, enveloping his body with her golden aura as the color of his complexion slowly began to darken.
The attack that I assumed he missed had actually landed.
Arthur…
Just how strong are you?