Szzzzhhh!
The next moment the left arm, which previously looked like the one of a 80+ years old man, suddenly dissolved in red energy emanating a tyrannical power, Mikael having his left arm cut off understood that it would be 'useless' for the rest of the battle and consequently…
Consequently he decisively decided to burn it, using it as a 'sacrifice' to the Ferocity Art Mark III to burst with power far beyond his limits, burning his own body to achieve unimaginable power!
"Annihilate!"
The word resounded with unnatural force through the unstable space as the red energy—the last remnants of his left arm—erupted with unimaginable strength and wrapped itself around the tattered hand.
Struggle.
The tattered hand began to 'struggle' and writhe as the red energy, acting like potent acid, rapidly dissolved it upon contact, pushing it to 'fight' and 'struggle' for its life, almost like a cornered beast, almost… almost as if the hand was sentient and aware of what awaited it…
No matter its struggle it was ultimately like a mortal trying to stop a berserk demonic beast—ultimately meaningless and after a couple of seconds the hand ultimately dissolved into nothing!
Smirk.
A predatory smile made its way on Mikael visage as he felt a kind of 'link' between the hand, the burning vitality under his control dissolved and something into the blast zone—blast zone whose content was still unknown to him thanks to the fact that space was unstable, impairing his vision and senses.
Wave.
Mikael waved his hand and two things happened, the first was that the sword which had remained surprisingly intact from the red energy's dissolution flew into his remaining hand before he exerted strength and launched it hundreds of kilometers away.
Because of Tharvonis's 'mark' on it he couldn't just take it into his storage ring so he did the next best thing, throwing it far away, making sure that Tharvonis wouldn't be able to use it in the following fight.
And the second… the second thing was that the remnant red energy—approximately 70%, with 30% having been 'burnt' to dissolve the tattered hand—under Mikael's control followed this 'link' and flew into the blast zone right at that something, and then—
"Aaaagh!"
Moments after the red energy disappeared into the blast zone, Mikael felt it reach the end of the 'link' and connect with that 'something'. Immediately, he commanded his burning vitality to corrode and dissolve it, and at that exact instant, a cry of pain echoed through the unstable air—a voice he instantly recognized as belonging to a certain Varnari...
'As expected he is still alive and the one the hand belonged to…' With this confirmation, Mikael didn't hesitate and continued to use his burning vitality to dissolve the Varnari, causing him to continuously let out cries of pain, but—
'For the first time: I can say only well done, but for the second time… for the second time if I get outsmarted by the same trick, I can only say: natural selection!' This thought passed through Mikael's mind as, even while Tharvonis's cries of pain continued to resound, he didn't let down his guard for even an instant, remaining extremely vigilant and wary of any further attacks.
In this fashion, a 'tug of war' unfolded between his burning vitality that was trying to dissolve and damage Tharvonis and the latter's body that was struggling to defend and regenerate, and if the latter's cries of pain and the damage Mikael could feel himself inflicting were to be believed, it was clear that Tharvonis was losing—but whether it was worth Mikael losing an arm for it was yet to be seen…
More than 10 seconds passed without Mikael being attacked before he felt the last remnants of his burning vitality dissolve, and with it his 'link' to Tharvonis vanished, leaving him 'blind' to the Varnari's situation and condition.
Hummmm.
Because of the uncertainty of the situation, Mikael didn't dare barge into the blast zone and preferred to remain floating in the sky as he waited for the unstable space to stabilize, allowing him to once more see and sense what was happening within the 'blast zone'.
In it he could see faint cracks of distorted light and fractured space weaving through the distance, looking like fragile glass that had been broken but fortunately it was mending—gradually restoring his 'sight' of the 'blast zone', sight that had been impaired by the torn reality, making sensing Tharvonis impossible without special means.
Fortunately, judging by the current speed at which space was stabilizing and mending, he estimated that he would only need to wait a 'short' 30 seconds before once more knowing what was happening inside of it…
…
"MIKAEL!!!"
Surprisingly, just seconds later—while space was still healing and the interior of the blast zone remained invisible, escaping even his senses—he was startled by a loud cry that shattered the silence, carrying with it a mix of fear, anguish, and… hatred!?
'Lian'er!' Instantly he recognized the voice and turned toward the source of the sound, and the moment his gaze found her, his heart clenched painfully.
Lian'er was flying toward him at breakneck speed, her usually mischievous and lively expression having been replaced by a dark one which was a worrying mix of fear, worry, anger… obsession and love?
In her hand there was a beautiful sword gleaming with the beauty of potent Sword Intent, while a fierce glint was in her eyes, making it clear that Lian'er was battle-ready!
Swish.
In a second the beauty crossed the space separating her from her beloved; instinctively she wanted to take him into her arms, but seeing his dreadful condition, with his missing left arm and a spear in his chest, she didn't dare—terrified at the idea of worsening his already serious wounds.
She could only stay there with an expression of anguish as tears formed in her eyes before streaming down her fair cheeks, imagining the pain he was suffering.
Her heart and entire existence ached with unimaginable torment, the pain she felt at having failed to help him, failed to reach him in 'time', being infinitely more unbearable than any physical pain!
'Useless, I'm so useless! I should have arrived sooner! I could have saved him from this… I could and should have helped him!'
Tears streamed down her visage as she blamed herself for her love's suffering, but even that was nothing compared to the sheer hatred she felt toward the Varnari who had done this to Mikael!
'...'
For a moment Mikael was at a loss, the last thing he expected was that, in the vast expanse of the Realm of Broken Skies, Lian'er would suddenly appear before him just as he and Tharvonis were in a brief 'pause' in their battle—and even less so for her to erupt in tears, her face twisted in anguish as her gaze fell upon his condition.
Still, instinctively, seeing her like that, he acted—
Hug.
Letting Sangrelia float in the air, he used his remaining arm to give a side hug to Lian'er, bringing her into his injured embrace. "Hey… don't cry," he murmured in a gentle tone, "I'm gonna be alright, I've had worse, you know me—I'm tough, aren't I?"
For a heartbeat, Lian'er didn't move or react, her shoulders trembling with restrained sobs before they gradually subsided as the beauty let her head rest against Mikael's bloodied side.
'Phew.'
Mikael let out an inward sigh of relief as he saw her beginning to calm down, but unknown to the handsome cultivator—and outside his field of view—Lian'er's expression did not grow calmer as he expected…
No, no, no—in truth, it was the complete opposite!
While the beauty had indeed stopped sobbing, her usually radiant visage grew terrifyingly dark, and within her once-lively hazel eyes a glint of pure, dark hatred materialized—so potent that it almost seemed alive!
"IF the… the—" Lian'er spat the next word with venom, "thing! That did this to you was still alive, I would make him beg for death!" she hissed, her voice dripping with overwhelming hatred and an undertone so dark it sent chills through the air.
"!!!"
Mikael's pupils dilated in shock, hearing Lian'er speak in a tone and with words sooo unlike her that he instinctively and inadvertently voiced his thoughts aloud, "But… he's still alive?"
'Fuck…' Instantly Mikael realized that by saying that, he had messed up—but it was already too late, as Lian'er was reacting.
"Oh…" With a lightning-fast movement her head rose, her hazel eyes meeting Mikael's galaxy-like ones for an instant before she turned her gaze toward the 'hidden' blast zone.
"That's…" For a moment Hua Lianyu didn't know what to say, but then an evil smirk crept across her visage, "Good!" As the word left her lips, her Sword Intent—which had momentarily calmed earlier when she erupted in tears—once more surged in intensity, gathering with incredible potency around her sword as she stepped away from Mikael.
Her gaze stayed locked on Tharvonis's last known location, that same wicked smirk twisting her lips while a powerful aura, and an even more potent killing intent, poured out from her, in that instant she looked mere moments away from plunging into the blast zone to gut the Varnari alive.
Ba-dump…
Mikael's heart skipped a beat as he saw Lian'er who, at this moment, looked like an evil goddess ready to deliver retribution and suffering upon the one who had dared to hurt her beloved, and as he watched this scene, he couldn't help but find it—and more specifically her… hot.
Still—
Grap.
Just before she could rush into the blast zone, he tightly grabbed her arm, shaking his head. "Space is unstable, heading in right now would be too dangerous!"
He spoke with calm seriousness, voicing his genuine thoughts, because no matter how… hot 'Evil Lian'er' looked he wasn't about to let her risk her safety for his sake!
His words provoked an instant reaction in Lian'er who immediately felt a 'large part' of her hatred melt away while butterflies seemed to burst within her stomach as her mood suddenly lifted at hearing and sensing the care he had for her, causing what had been an evil smirk to twist into something that was part evil, part crazed, and part loving…
"Hehehe… Mikael cares about me, he worries about me." This thought looped through her mind again and again, filling her with a wild euphoria as her smile and expression grew wider and more unhinged with every passing second.
After a couple of seconds spent in her dreamland that Mikael wisely didn't comment on when he saw her expression, her train of thoughts continued,
'I changed my mind! This… thing that hurted my Mikael… is also the reason why my Junior Brother is showing concern and worry toward me so I'll be merciful, at the place of torturing him until he beg for death a 1,000 times, I'll be generous and only do it 999 times!'
As Lian'er was lost in her… 'healthy' and 'totally normal' thoughts, Mikael continued on, "And even—" with these words he captured Lian'er attention, pulling her out of her totally not yandere musings, "even if it wasn't dangerous I still wouldn't want for you to interfere in our battle."
"What?" a surprised exclamation escaped Lian'er as a dangerous glint appeared in her eyes while she looked at Mikael as if she was contemplating whether to look him up…
Mikael saw it and instantly recognized it, having seen it a couple of times in Kiara and to a lesser degree in Amelia and Lyra, so he was used to seeing this particular glint, but even then he didn't let himself be 'intimidated' and consequently continued on,
"Tharvonis and I are having a 1vs1 life and death battle, and I don't want you to help me with it. I know that logically it's a stupid choice and that I should accept your help for an 'easy' win, but… I want to temper myself through the fire of this dangerous battle and—"
He turned his head toward the 'blast zone,' where reality was still mending and space was slowly but surely growing stablier with every passing moment, "In the short time I've known Tharvonis I've grown to respect him, and I don't want to do something like the two of us ganging up on him; normally—"
He shook his head with a wry smile, "—normally, I wouldn't care and would use all the advantages at my disposition, but for once, I want to have an 'honorable' 1vs1!"
Author Note:
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———
Alert! ALERT!
Yandere Lian'er is real!
But no problem, Mikael is a 'pro' with dealing with yandere, he knew Kiara since a couple of years and he still alive and not locked up in a basement so… he's gonna be alright, right?
We can only hope but Lian'er can be surprisingly dark for somebody as mischievous and playful as she is usually, isn't she?
———
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— End of Chapter —