NABC Chapter 280: S Rank Adventurers Party vs. Chimera Mother: Round 2!? — Part 2.
Chapter 280: S Rank Adventurers Party vs. Chimera Mother: Round 2!? — Part 2.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Lita shouted, her hand instantly dropping to her weapon.
"Why are you raising your blade at us?!"
Gela stepped forward, a mocking sneer on her face.
"You must be completely out of your mind to pull a weapon on an S rank party. Do you have any idea who we are?"
Ed rubbed his eyes, letting out a tense laugh.
"Relax, maybe she’s just completely drunk from the festival. Hey, lady! Go sleep it off somewhere else before you get yourself hurt."
Unlike the others, Zaun didn’t speak. His eyes narrowed to slits as he slowly slipped his hand into his cloak, his fingers gripping the hilt of his dagger as he prepared to spring forward.
"Wait. Stand down,"
Erwin commanded suddenly, stepping in front of his team. His gaze was locked entirely on the hooded figure. The arrogant smirk he usually wore completely vanished, replaced by a cold, sharp dread.
"Calm down, all of you. I can sense something... something incredibly—"
Erwin froze. The words died in his throat as the air in the alleyway grew violently cold.
"Is that—?!"
Before he could finish his sentence, the space where the figure stood warped for a fraction of a second. In the blink of an eye, the massive sword, the shield, and the violet eyes simply evaporated into the darkness.
Erwin’s eyes went wide. His instincts shouted at him to look behind, but his body could not move fast enough.
"Where did she—" Lita started, but her voice was cut short.
Maddy used Predatory Stealth and Thermal Camouflage to erase her presence completely. She reappeared directly in the center of their formation, right behind Ed and Gela. Thanks to her Compound Vision, she already mapped out the entire group’s layout in a 360 degree view without needing to turn her head.
Her Apex Predator Instinct guided her hands. She did not want to talk; she wanted to see what an S-rank party could do when they were about to die.
"Let’s see if you are ready to die... again."
Analyzing the group’s composition instantly, her sharp mind targeted the absolute core of any high level party: the Healer. If the healer died first, any damage she inflicted afterward would be permanent.
Using Reflexive Body Control to eliminate any reaction delay, Maddy executed a Thin Cut.
"THIN CUT!"
She lined up a long reaching, blindingly fast horizontal slash designed to pierce through their formation and sever the healer’s throat in a single movement.
But just as the cold steel of her greatsword was about to claim its prize, a sudden, blinding flash of golden energy illuminated the dim alleyway.
"ADVANCE LIGHT ELEMENT: AEGIS SWORD!" Erwin bellowed.
With a surge of newfound speed, Erwin pivoted. He swung his heavy claymore forward, but instead of a standard strike, the blade channeled a massive, solid barrier of hard light. The translucent golden wall erupted from the edge of his weapon, forming a giant, glowing shield just in time to intercept Maddy’s blade.
CLANG!
The impact rang out like a church bell, sending sparks flying into the night. Because of Maddy’s Divine Body trait, the light magic did absolutely no damage to her, but the sheer physical force of Erwin’s defensive skill successfully halted her lethal trajectory.
Erwin stood his ground. The golden light from his shield cracked under Maddy’s strength, but he didn’t move an inch. He didn’t yell. He just took a deep breath and absorbed the shock through his footing. The cocky attitude he usually had was completely gone. Now, he was just a captain doing his job.
He kept his claymore locked against her heavy blade, holding the line by sheer force of will. He looked straight into the darkness of Maddy’s hood.
"Fast," Erwin said. His voice was calm and steady. "Good stealth, perfect angle, and you went straight for our healer. You’re no drunk. You came here to kill."
Without looking back, he gave a quick, sharp order to his team.
"Back line, move. Lita, protect Ed. Gela, get a spell ready to slow her down. Zaun, stay back—she knows exactly where you are."
He pushed more light magic into his sword to keep Maddy’s insane strength from crushing him. A drop of sweat ran down his face, but his eyes stayed sharp. He could tell his magic wasn’t hurting her at all, but he didn’t let it show.
"An attack like this means someone wants us dead, or we saw something we shouldn’t have," Erwin said, staring her down. "But if you think an S rank team falls apart from one surprise hit, you’re wrong. Stay focused, team. She’s strong, but we control this fight."
Maddy didn’t try to force the blade through his shield. Instead, she let out a short, amused hum from beneath her hood. She was actually a bit impressed. Most high level adventurers she’d met were all talk, but Erwin possessed the real instincts of a leader. He had saved his healer, reorganized his team, and hidden his fear all in the span of a single heartbeat. Unlike... before.
He was good. But she was just getting started.
Rather than locking strength with him any longer, Maddy suddenly released the pressure.
Maddy bounded backward using Thumping Locomotion, landing gracefully on her feet with her Agile Spine and Flexible Joints absorbing the momentum perfectly. She glided across the broken stone of the alleyway, creating ten meters of distance between them in a flash.
She rested her massive greatsword casually over her shoulder, her violet eyes gleaming in the dark.
"Not bad, Captain. You actually have a brain. This time. Your team would be dead by now if you didn’t."
Behind Erwin, the rest of the S rank party was finally scrambling into their positions, their faces pale as they realized just how close they had come to losing Gela.
Maddy tilted her head, her gaze shifting slightly from Erwin to the rest of the group.
"But controlling a fight means you have to know what your opponent is going to do next. Do you really think a light shield is going to save you from what’s coming?"