Return Of The Strongest Player

"What do you mean he did something?" Gregorio asked, struggling to parry a destructive spell casted by Karen. The two battles continued, and the crimson-eyed man simply observed, as the time was not ripe.

Mason glanced at Arthur, who didn't show a significant reaction at those words. Instead of responding, the cyan-haired man simply continued exchanging blows with the dark-haired woman.

Their battle was intense, and shook the entire building as it continued. The winds changed direction, and the ground shook as they moved at terrifying speeds across the hall, colliding fists and weapons every second. It was like a whirlwind.

In the meantime, Gregorio battled Karen. Unlike the first time, the latter was heavily on guard. She didn't release any openings and always stayed focused on the battle, refusing to make a single mistake. It was like Gregorio was battling a robot.

Finally, as the battles reached their climax, Gregorio and Mason shifted from their immersion and rushed towards the crimson-eyed man, who nodded in acknowledgement at their wordless intentions.

"Run!" Gregorio shouted, standing in front of Arthur while acting as a shield. 

The time was now ripe.

Arthur infused his legs with an enormous amount of mana before allowing it to detonate. In an instant, he was propelled forward by the charge of the mana. Once that had occurred, he used [Mana Step] to rush forward.

It was strenuous on his legs, as detonating mana caused his calves to suffer damage. However, in such a moment, where a single slip-up could cost one his life, Arthur had no choice but to bury such feelings.

The crimson trail he left behind was dense, indicating the massive amount of mana that had detonated.

While he rushed towards the exit of the banquet hall, Gregorio and Mason prevented Athanasia and Karen from reaching him. The latter two had realized that the former two relied on the crimson-eyed man.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be risking their lives.

In order to crush their hopes, Karen and Athanasia desperately tried to reach Arthur, hurling attacks from left and right, hoping to disrupt the crimson-eyed man who was headed straight towards the exit.

Arthur, noticing the attacks, didn't make a single move.

In a matter of seconds, the attacks disintegrated into nothingness, and Gregorio and Mason fortified their defense.

"Arthur, duck!" Gregorio shouted, hurling a sphere of condensed mana towards the crimson-eyed man's head. Arthur, as instructed, condensed his flow of mana on solely his left foot.

Pushing his body downwards, he detonated the mana on his left foot to slide forward. 

Boom!

The swords of mana headed straight for his head collided with Gregorio's sphere of mana, shattering on impact. It was a deafening noise, but it didn't stray Arthur from his path. He was finally in proximity of the exit.

"Karen, go!" Athanasia instructed, filling the entire hall with blinding light in which only she could navigate. 

Gregorio and Mason gritted their teeth, blinded by Athanasia's light. In that moment, Karen rushed forward, as ordered, rushing in a straight path towards the crimson-eyed man, who seemed so hopeful.

"[Jail]," said Karen, as boulders rose from each side, entrapping the crimson-eyed man in a prison of spikes. Karen clasped her hands, and the boulders began approaching Arthur, who'd halted his footsteps due to the skill's use.

Arthur's eyes widened, and he began racking his brain for options. If the boulders reached his body, he was dead.

'Just this once… just this once…' thought Arthur, contemplating his options. After two seconds of intense thoughts, he let out a sigh, commenting internally about how his mana would be depleted soon.

Amidst an intense battle, Arthur assumed a meditative position.

"What the fuck is he doing?" Gregorio lashed out. The light had faded, but Mason and he still couldn't approach because of Athanasia's rapid barrage of attacks. It was like they were stuck in a cage.

Gregorio considered Arthur mentally insane.

Assuming a meditative position in the middle of a battle–while knowing you would die soon–was not what a sane person would do. Had he accepted his death? No, the crimson-eyed man would never do such a thing.

Mason, on the other hand, formed a thoughtful expression. 'The mana around his body is fluctuating.'

It was true. It was like a storm was brewing within the rapidly closing cage.

"Gregorio, hold Athanasia off for a moment," said Mason, pulling away from the battle. 

"What–" Gregorio tried to protest, but Athanasia's sword approached at terrifying speeds, threatening to slice his body if he didn't parry, block, or evade. Amidst the dire moment, Gregorio rose a spike from the ground.

Klang!

The sword easily tanked the attack before slicing the spike in half. Athanasia's foot landed on Gregorio's face, pushing him back several feet. Gregorio was no match for the principal of Arcadia Academy.

Athanasia, ignoring Gregorio's groans of pain, shot towards Mason.

'Just a few more seconds…' Mason thought, hurling mana towards Arthur. However, he adjusted the density to a certain amount, so that it wouldn't be destructive or disruptive towards Arthur.

It was simply supposed to fuel whatever Arthur was attempting to do amidst his last moments.

Arthur, feeling external mana peacefully merge with his own, smiled. He continued the process, which would hopefully help him escape alive.

At that moment, Athanasia finally caught up to Mason, hurling a kick towards his abdomen. The cyan-haired man extended an arm to block the kick. However, Athanasia withdrew the attack when Mason's hands were a few inches away.

Then, she thrust her blade forward, allowing the infused mana to detonate.

Boom!

Athanasia's destructive mana collided with Mason's body, and a groan escaped the latter's lips. However, he didn't relent. Arthur was a major part of the Ainsworths' survival. Mason couldn't allow him to die.

However, he didn't have the time to destroy Karen's cage due to the continuous barrage of attacks.

Gregorio couldn't handle Athanasia.

At that moment, mana burst from Arthur's body, and his eyes turned a deeper shade of crimson. He arose, power dancing at his fingertips.

He had achieved the skill he had yearned for the entire school year.

[Sin and Virtue Objectification].