Both of Gabriel's eyes shone with a violet glow, and symbols constantly spun across his pupils, accompanied by clockwork gears drawn within his eyes.
To the right, left, four spear strikes on the right, six from the front, eight from behind.
Gabriel dodged the attacks with disconcerting ease, as if he could see them before they were even launched. He retaliated more violently, tearing his opponents apart without giving them time to understand what was happening.
- I see! So it's the ability to see a few seconds into the future. I'd say no more than five to ten seconds. But that makes all the difference. Careful, this is going to be fast. Sword of the Sky, first form: Eternal Separation!
A massacre! That is the only word that could define the spectacle that followed. The entire horde charged at him while Gabriel tore them apart one after another, without a single one of them managing to touch him even once. He launched himself into a macabre dance where the music was the desperate screams of his victims, following the bloody waltz to which he made them dance.
The corpses of hobbs piled up beneath his feet, their blood flowing freely, and what remained of their bodies were nothing but dismembered pieces stacked on top of one another, which they themselves trampled in order to reach their enemy standing atop the mountain of corpses.
From her elevated position, having climbed as high as possible, the mage watched, completely stunned, this one-sided bloodbath. She found it terrifying, to the point that she was trembling. Yet at the same time, she was fascinated and dazzled by the imposing silhouette of Gabriel, illuminated by the light of the setting sun, slaughtering his enemies one by one.
- She bit her lips.
Seeing torsos flying through the air, heads rolling across the ground, legs frozen in place, arms suspended in midair, cerebellums splattered across the earth, and eyeballs fleeing the battlefield, she had to exert a superhuman effort not to vomit her meal. Never had her weakness disgusted her so much.
Meanwhile, the color of the sun's rays had turned a dark orange, and Gabriel had almost annihilated the horde.
Only four survivors remained, along with the super hobb, all still standing. Gabriel stood atop the mountain of hobb corpses. He sat down on the piled bodies of the monsters to rest and taunt the super hobb, who still showed no reaction.
- Haaa, that was more exhausting than I thought. Combining this eye and my Sword of the Sky skill at the same time… I'm exhausted. But now I know that the ten-second prediction time of this vision skill varies depending on my condition. The more exhausted I am, the shorter the time becomes.
He thought this just before noticing an enormous pillar hurtling toward him.
He managed to dodge by leaping high into the sky as the pillar smashed into the top of the mountain of hobb corpses. He then descended again, landing just a few meters in front of the super hobb.
At last, the two stood face to face. Stretching both hands toward his opponent, the super hobb began chanting a magical incantation. Several chunks of rock pillars burst from the ground, their tips sharp like spears. There were five in total, and all at once they shot toward Gabriel, who took a deep breath before running straight ahead, toward the pillars.
He narrowly dodged the first by sliding across the ground. Guided by the super hobb, one of the pillars changed course and tried to crush him, but he dodged by pushing off the ground with his left hand to leap aside as the pillar smashed violently into the earth. In midair, he became the target of the three remaining pillars.
- Sword of the Sky, second form: Eternal Separation, Extension! He shouted as he swung his sword nine times through the air.
The three pillars charging at him split into three each before crashing one by one behind Gabriel, who landed back on his feet. With astonishing speed, he charged at the super hobb, which began to howl again upon seeing him.
Its roar caused a torrent of mana to erupt from its body, which it gathered between its hands. It then crouched and slammed both hands into the ground. Immediately, the earth began to tremble.
Gabriel came to an abrupt halt and took a jumping stance. All at once, dozens—if not even more—stone pillars burst from the ground, ripping it apart with incredible violence and deafening noise.
The attack was fast, powerful, and extremely numerous, filling the entire distance between Gabriel and the super hobb while continuing to expand beyond it.
Seeing this natural disaster rushing toward him, Gabriel had no choice but to leap extremely high into the sky to land even farther back. The attack continued tearing up the ground as it surged toward him, so he assumed a combat stance.
- So it's a geomancer, he thought, and a high-level one at that. Good thing I have this eye. Thanks, old cutie.
He said this before leaping over the super hobb's attack.
Despite its violence and speed, Gabriel managed to use the various pillars erupting from the ground as footholds, moving rapidly by jumping from one pillar to another until he found himself above the super hobb's head.
Seeing this, the super hobb let out a massive roar, but it was not enough to stop Gabriel's blade, which came crashing down from head to toe, splitting its body clean in two.
Gabriel landed, crouched in front of the super hobb, then straightened up and rested his sword on his shoulder while his opponent attempted to grab him with its huge, massive claws.
- Sorry for you, but no matter how tough you are, you simply can't withstand this attack.
The man informed him.
As a result, the super hobb split in two. One half fell to the left, the other to the right, leaving only a pool of blood and spilled intestines at the center.
- My Sword of the Sky doesn't just cut, it separates matter in two. You were just unlucky, that's all.
Gabriel finished, resuming his path.
He swung his sword three times through the air and returned it to its scabbard.
● One hour later!
Night had fallen. Somewhere a little far from the battlefield, Gabriel was bathing in a river.
- I'm completely covered in disgusting blood. I can't stay like this another minute. Ugh, this is really horrible.
While he was bathing, Gabriel heard the sound of footsteps. He turned his head and looked in the direction the noise was coming from.
- It's just me! The girl you saved earlier. She exclaimed.
The young woman had arrived near the river. She laid down the bodies of her teammates, all in terrible condition.
She placed them by the river before stepping closer herself to wash her face, as well as her broken glasses that she had picked up.
- Your friends are in pretty bad shape. Are they okay, at least? Gabriel asked the girl.
- Thanks to the miraculous water we bought at an exorbitant price, they'll pull through. Fortunately, I was the one carrying it. I was able to give it to all of them before… I also bandaged their wounds. The most serious injury is Mourne's hand. I doubt she'll be able to shoot again with a hand in that state. Still, if they receive proper treatment, they'll be fine.
- Alright! Gabriel replied, continuing to wash himself.
The girl finished cleaning her glasses and then put them back on to see better.
- However, I must admit I'm both impressed and a little disgusted. You annihilated that horde led by a super hobb all by yourself and came out unscathed, while we were almost wiped out. And yet, we're the same rank.
She said, lifting her head—only to freeze at the sight before her.
Now that she was wearing her glasses, she could clearly see the man standing before her in his most human form: completely naked. Her gaze landed directly on his groin, and she nearly lost her voice. And if only that were all. The virgin she was was facing, for the first time in her life, the defining feature of a man—and it was far from average...
She couldn't help but devour with desire the man's perfectly sculpted physique, his muscular arms, abs, athletic thighs, and the virile scars across his body, continuing her inspection until reaching that imposing thing that made her blush with shame and… excitement. Then she met Gabriel's gaze. Panicking, she quickly turned around.
- What is it? He asked.
- I… you… you… are you planning to stay like that… for long?
Gabriel looked at her and finally understood her embarrassment. He then smiled broadly.
- Well, my clothes are dirty, so I need to wash and dry them first, right?
● A few moments later
Gabriel was busy washing his clothes. He had his back to the mage, who stared at him while blushing deeply.
- Anyway, you're really strong. The appearance of a super hobb should have raised this mission to two stars, yet not only did you defeat the super hobb easily, you also annihilated the entire horde by yourself… I feel a bit…
- That's normal! The man cut her off.
- What?
- I completely understand how you're feeling right now. I've felt it myself in the past. That unpleasant sensation of having to step aside and let someone else face a monster of overwhelming power. It feels awful, right? But don't feel so frustrated. You know, right now, I could easily handle a three-star mission, or even higher.
Gabriel said while looking at the mage, who, after a minute of silent staring back at him, began to blush once more.
- Are you sure you're okay? A cheek that keeps blushing like that—you'll end up turning into a tomato, hahaha.
- Shut up and get dressed! She yelled.
After that, the two talked for quite a while under a gentle nighttime breeze. Eventually, the girl fell asleep near her companions.