Chapter 102 Unique Challenge: Survive [3] Aurora

Aurora's body shimmered in a radiant golden light, catching Elona, Simon, and the scarred man off guard.

"You..." Elona's eyes widened as she recognized that Avia was, in fact, Aurora in disguise. Simon, on the other hand, was clueless as he had never encountered the Celesta Mana before, though he suspected it was a rare form of mana like the Falkrona Mana.

"We should focus on him, Miss Elona," Aurora said, conveying a sense of urgency. She likely chose not to reveal herself to avoid further complicating the situation. Fortunately, the scarred man did not appear to recognize the Celesta Mana.

Elona nodded in understanding.

"You two know each other?" Simon asked, curious.

"Yes, but I'll explain later," Elona replied, keeping it vague. "Simon, step back. You can't use mana, and Amael--"

"That's my name," I interjected.

"Right. Amael, you should also step back. It's safer," Elona said before leading the way with Aurora. They were the only ones who stood a chance of defeating the monster, despite the odds against them.

"No, Elona, it's too dangerous. He's stronger than all of us," Simon protested.

"We don't have a choice," Elona shook her head. "If we don't do something, we'll all die. And I don't want to lose you, Simon." She gave him a small smile before turning to Aurora. "And I have another reason to fight now."

Without waiting for Simon's response, Elona charged towards the scarred man with Aurora by her side.

"Falkrona Art," Aurora called out, raising her sword high in the air. Grey mana gathered at the tip of her blade.

The scarred man reacted quickly, summoning a clawed hand made of Sunfire that lunged at Elona with deadly intent.

"Ah!" Elona cried out, but Aurora appeared in front of her in a flash of light, creating a shining golden barrier just in time.

The clawed hand collided with the barrier, sending out a powerful shockwave of searing heat. Simon and I hit the ground to avoid it.

I felt pathetic, cowering behind my sister and ex-fiancee like a helpless damsel in distress.

I glanced over at Aurora, who was struggling to repel the clawed hand. She was slowly sliding backward, but she held her sword out in front of her, determined to keep the barrier up.

Aurora's once impenetrable barrier was showing cracks, and the man who broke through it was too strong for even a genius like her.

"It's ready!" Elona's shout snapped Aurora back into action, and she quickly jumped away.

She pointed her sword towards the clawed hand that broke through Aurora's barrier and chanted, "Falcon's breath!" A burst of grey energy shot out with tremendous speed, leaving destruction in its wake as it collided with the clawed hand, obliterating it before continuing on its path of destruction.

"It's useless," the man muttered, pulling back his fist which immediately caught fire. He punched out, creating a deafening explosion as his fiery fist completely shattered Elona's grey mana. The remaining particles were consumed by his flames.

With a flash of light, Aurora appeared next to him and slashed her sword, but the man was ready for her attack. He caught the blade barehanded, much to Aurora's shock. As she watched, her sword melted in his grasp, and she quickly jumped back.

Before she could even recover, the man appeared behind her, saying, "Children shouldn't play with adults." He kicked Aurora's waist, causing her to fly towards the circle of fire surrounding them.

I quickly sprang into action, running at full speed to catch her body just in time. "Are you okay?" I asked, worriedly.

"T-Thanks…cough!" Aurora muttered painfully. I grimaced as I looked at her waist, noticing that she had broken a few bones. Thankfully, her unique mana was slowly aiding in her recovery, but she was clearly out of the fight now.

I couldn't believe it - he had defeated Aurora in just a few seconds. She was the strongest fighter in the First Year promotion, alongside Alfred and John.

Elona's angry yell made me instantly look up. "You!" she spat, her eyes flashing with fury.

I mentally cursed her recklessness as Simon tried to run towards her to prevent her from charging recklessly towards the man, but she was too fast for him.

"Falkrona Bloodline Second Wing, Falkrona Art Double Breath!" Elona's breaths accelerated, causing blood to drip from her mouth. Her more powerful attack reached the man in just a second, but he wasn't bothered by it. He punched out with his fiery fist twice, dispersing Elona's attack.

"Ah..ah…ah," Elona held onto her knees, gasping for breath. She looked up with sharp, grey eyes and raised her sword once more, but I knew that if she continued like that, she would surely die.

Simon intervened and grabbed Elona's arm. "Enough Elona! I will treat you. Stay still," he said firmly.

Elona looked at Aurora, who was fighting alone against the scarred man, with her blurry vision. She was clearly on the defensive compared to before, and Elona could only hope that someone strong would appear soon.

What can I do?

Aurora summoned a shield with a "Barrier of Light," but it was destroyed by the scarred man's bare fists.

The scarred man muttered, "I will not hold back anymore," and a sword of sunfire formed on his right hand.

Elona panicked, "Run!" Simon shouted the same, warning Aurora.

I felt really powerless and weak.

If I was like in the game, I wouldn't have been so powerless.

Why am I so weak?!

if I was like in the game, I wouldn't have been so powerless.

That guy was a psycho but he was confident, strong and smart.

Why can I not be like him?

I am him in the end.

There must be a way-

Suddenly, Aurora raised her sword in front of her face and began to chant. "Lord Michael, lend me your strength," she said. Her sword shone brighter and brighter, nearly blinding everyone around. The golden light formed illusionary wings on Aurora's back.

Amazing… she is getting stronger by the second.

Aurora opened her eyes, let out a quick breath, and rushed toward the scarred man in a golden flash. The scarred man took one step and appeared before Aurora.

Both swung their swords at the same time, and a tremendous shockwave of light and fire rippled around them. Before the shockwave could reach Elona, Simon, and the others, a grey barrier appeared in front of them. Elona saw that it was the remaining unique mana that protected them from the powerful shockwave.

Aurora's sword started to fissure, and from the fissure, particles of fire appeared to melt her new sword. The scarred man was not even breaking a sweat, while Aurora was sweating profusely.

The situation was dire.

I pulled out a smoke bomb from the SHOP and hurled it at them.

"W-What?"

They were all perplexed when smoke suddenly engulfed us. I took advantage of the confusion to sneak inside the smoke curtain. I took a Firebomb and threw it at the scarred man's face. He jumped back in safety, most likely fearful of the Firebomb, which he had never seen before. I smiled and lifted Aurora off the ground before sprinting back to Simon and Elona's side.

"T-Thanks…again…" Aurora smiled as she thanked me, but her tight grip on my shirt revealed how helpless she felt in the current situation. She was the Celesta Kingdom's First Princess and Royal Princess. I knew that despite how much she enjoyed her role, this status was weighing heavily on her.

I didn't answer her and put her down before turning around. The smoke receded revealing again the scarred man, this time staring straight at me. Elona was defeated, Aurora as well, Simon can't do anything and I should have been in the same case—that's what he thought.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Simon called out to me when I walked toward the scarred man.

I didn't answer him and took a deep breath.

Except mana, there were other forms of energy in this world. I didn't need mana to fight. Most of the people could only use one form of energy but luckily I was in the short list of the talented ones in that domain. I saw myself in the game using that easily.

When I went in front of him, I punched with my right fist. The latter caught my fist easily.

Not that.

I raised my leg and tried to kick his forehead but again he caught my leg with his other arm. His red eye looked at me as if I was an ant.

"Ugh." I groaned when his grip on my leg hardened. He was going to break my bones, if I don't do something.

How do I do it?

[<What are you doing Amael? You should just find a way to escape!>]

'Ruah.'

[<What?>]

'I want to use Ruah, Cleenah.'

[<Ruah? You can't use that or learn that in a second, Amael!>]

'I think I found the way…'

[<Wha->]

I pulled back my left fist and punched out toward the scarred man's face. With still his impassive expression he released my leg to catch my fist but-

"!"

My fist collided with his palm and it wasn't stopped like before. A silver energy covered my fist which now made the scarred man slide back several meters behind. I immediately stomped the ground and front-kicked the surprised him.

-Bam!

The scarred man's red bulged out in shock as his stomach caved in and he flew out of the circle of fire.

[<You are really…a monster.>]