Ivan was beyond stunned. He had been standing quietly by the side so far mostly because he didn't want to be involved and just wanted to watch the fun.
He wanted to see his teammates make a fool out of Axel and maybe even deal him a serious blow.
He wanted to see him suffer but he had no intention of doing anything by himself just so he would be able to plead innocent if word ever got to Vesper.
What he experienced that night was something he never wanted to experience ever again.
Who would have thought that his teammates would end up being the ones to receive the short end of the stick? They were both knocked down so effortlessly that calling it embarrassing would be an understatement.
With two teammates down now, the two flags in their possession were lying on the ground. With a bright smile on her face, Cassie quickly picked both of them up.
"Well, that was easier than I expected." She remarked.
Ivan felt his heart sink deeper and deeper as he watched the two.
There was no way he could go up against the two given the surprise Axel just pulled out from nowhere.
Heck, he wasn't even confident he would be able to defeat just Cassie.
She wasn't considered top three in B class for no reason.
"So, do you want to have a test of what they just had?" Cassie raised her eyebrow as she asked. Her tone was quite condescending.
How was he supposed to answer that?
Of course, he didn't.
Nobody would willingly fight a losing battle.
He wouldn't at least.
Digging his fingers into his palm, he swallowed his pride and slowly began to make his way toward them.
There was nothing he could do but just walk past them with his head down.
He had taken just three steps when he suddenly came to a halt.
This question was just something he had to ask.
"You're seriously going to let me go?" He asked as he turned to Axel.
Although still not able to see clearly, Axel was aware of his exact position but he couldn't be bothered to spare him a glance.
"Why? Do you think we shouldn't let you go?" Axel retorted.
"I just thought that given what happened the other you would want revenge? You couldn't have gotten a better chance."
Axel's lips suddenly curled into a smile as he said, "Bold of you to assume everyone thinks like you. I'm not as narrow-minded as you; you're not worth it."
Ivan's face suddenly darkened as he stared at Axel. His feelings were complicated and he just wanted to get out of there quickly.
Without saying anything else, he quickened his pace, disappearing into the distance a few minutes later.
With that foul sight gone, Cassie turned to Axel with an inquisitive expression.
Noticing his gaze, Axel asked, "What?"
"How did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"I heard you couldn't use the light element, but I can see that's bullshit; you even know how to combine your core ability with the light element; I haven't seen anyone do that before."
She seemed to have forgotten the fact that Axel was supposed to be blind at the moment.
"Is it that impressive?"
"Of course." She nodded profusely.
In the past, she used to think that the only thing special about Axel was that Vesper was always around him, but now she could see that she might have been a bit narrow-minded.
"Well, I just released both attacks at the same time and it happened." Axel shrugged.
That was exactly what happened but whether others would be able to pull it off had nothing to do with him.
Cassie raised her eyebrow as she stared at him in suspicion.
"It can't be that simple. I've tried that several times, and it didn't work."
'Makes sense.' Axel thought.
"Well…."
He wasn't able to put his excuse into words as he suddenly sensed something in the dark parts of the forest.
He quickly turned his gaze to the area to see a red arrow suddenly flying toward them.
Cassie was standing in front of him which meant that the arrow was most likely to hit her.
Reacting quickly, he quickly pushed Cassie off to the side, and by the time he was done, the arrow was already in close proximity.
He braced himself for impact.
However, what happened next was completely out of his expectations.
Right before his eyes, the arrow slowly disintegrated as his body suddenly got covered with a circular field of glowing red energy.
Soon afterwards, the energy field exploded. The smoke cleared soon afterwards, and Axel was no longer standing there; nothing was left behind; it was like he suddenly vanished.
Cassie's eyes sank in terror at what she believed to be a gruesome sight.
"No."
Her eyes were just about to tear up when she suddenly felt something heavy hit her head; she collapsed on the ground, now unconscious.
_______ _______
Vesper was still locked in battle with Marlin when she suddenly felt something that made her heart sink.
She reached to her side and pulled out a tiny blue orb.
Marlin thrust his lance at her at that moment but she was able to effortlessly avoid it before forcing him back with a barrage of blood slashes.
"Woah, woah, woah. What is going on?" Marlin asked as he knocked away one of the blood slashes.
Vesper had all her attention fixated on the blue orb which was slowly growing dim until the light was completely gone.
Her eyes suddenly sank as the orb slowly dropped off her hand hitting the ground with a tiny thud.
Noticing the sudden change of atmosphere, Marlin put away his lance before slowly walking to her.
He stopped in front of her and picked up the now lifeless orb.
Vesper was staring at the floor trying to make sense of what just happened.
"Isn't this a locating and vitality orb?" Marlin asked as he carefully observed the orb.
There was no response from Vesper.
"But if this one is dead doesn't that mean the person with the connecting orb is also dead?"
Vesper shot him a sharp glare and although he wasn't usually afraid of her, he felt a chill run down his spine.