Extra Pages: The Author's Odyssey
Chapter 204: Kill [1]

With Lily safely waiting outside the abandoned factory, Lucas reentered the dimly lit chamber where Caster, Alex, and Jenna stood. The air crackled with an unspoken tension as the trio faced the angered brother, determined to protect his sister.

"Let's settle this, Lucas," Caster sneered and took out a sabre from his dimensional storage ring.

Following that, Alex took out his short dagger and Jeena settled himself in a martial art stance.

"You will be sorry for what you have done to Lily," Lucas said and also took out his sword from the smart bracelet.

Gazing at Caster and the two people behind him, neither one of us moved.

'I need to finish this quick.'

I thought to myself, as my eyes peered through the gap in their battle formation.

'Judging from the mana revolving around them, all of them are [E-], with Caster being slightly stronger at rank [E].'

Currently, standing opposite to me in a triangular formation with Caster at the back, they were glaring at me with unprecedented calmness.

From where I was standing, I could see no gap in their formation.

'I need to take the initiative.'

After all, I couldn't let Liky wait any longer after what she went through today.

'Movement art [Stellar Stride:- Astral Dash]

'Sword art [ Celestial Perry:- Second movement, Luminous Riposte].

Quickly activating my movement art and my sword art, I disappeared in front of them and I appeared in front of the male individual standing in front of Caster. With my sword unsheathed, I stabbed my sword in the direction of his heart.

—Spurt!

My appearance was so unexpected that he had no time to react before the sword quickly penetrated his heart.

"Huek!"

Blood spilt on the floor, and a body fell to the ground.

"Jeena!" Alex shouted in anger.

Raising his weapon, he quickly dashed in my direction.

"Alex no! What are you doing!?" Caster shouted as he watched Alex dash in my direction. His face was incomparably white. Almost as though he had seen a ghost. Apathetically glancing at Caster, I muttered.

"It's too late."

"[Shadow Control:- Shadow Binding]". I activated my shadow control skills.

A shadow rises from within my shadow and quickly

engulfs Alex, immobilizing him in a tight grip.

"Wha—What's happening?" Alex struggled against the ethereal force, his movements restricted by the shadows that held him captive.

Alex turned toward Caster to shout for help, however before the words could leave his mouth, Blood leaves.

-Spurt!

"Huek!"

-Thud!

Alex also was dead! Now only Caster is alive.

Caster, witnessing the swift turn of events, tightened his grip on his sabre. His eyes narrowed with a mix of anger and frustration.

"You won't get away with this, Lucas!" Caster lunged forward, aiming to strike me with his sabre.

Anticipating his move, I evaded the attack with a swift sidestep, my sword poised for a counterattack.

I executed a dazzling slash, the blade leaving a trail of radiant energy as it sliced through the air.

Caster, caught off guard by the speed and precision of the attack, barely managed to deflect it with his sabre. The force of the clash sent him staggering backwards.

"Do you think you would get away with this? When the families of these two replace out what happened to them you will be dead!"

I looked at Caster with old looks in my eyes and said

"You have to be alive to tell them."

***

"You have to be alive to tell them." A cold shiver ran down his back, Caster was scared for a moment but he didn't let this show it on his face.

"Lucas, you may become stronger than before, but that doesn't mean I'm weak either. Last I was caught off guard but this time it will be different."

"That doesn't matter at the end of the day, you will die too," Lucas said with a nonchalant expression on his face.

A smirk appears on Caster's face. "Don't look down on me you bastard." A yellow hue that was mixed with black threads expanded from his body. A green hue similarly expanded from Ren's body.

As the mana on both of them soared, the atmosphere inside of the room became tense. Intense bloodlust enveloped the room as the two glared at each other.

"Should we finish what we've started?"

"Yeah."

Saying that Lucas disappeared from Caster's field vision as he again used his movement art and appeared before Caster in an instant.

Lucas's sword aims at Caster's heart.

—Clank!

However, unlike the previous times, the sound of metal clashing rang out. Separating from each other, Lucas frowned whilst Caster smiled.

"Huuuup!"

With a wave of his hand, the sabre in Caster's hand carried a ferocious force as it slashed vertically towards Lucas's front. The pressure coming from the attack caused Lucas's clothes to flutter slightly.

Sensing the incoming attack, Lucas's brows twitched slightly. His indifferent eyes gazed at the incoming attack with unprecedented calmness.

The clash between the two intensified, each movement calculated and swift. Caster, fueled by determination, unleashed a barrage of strikes, aiming to break through Lucas's defenses.

"Your sister is safe, but you won't be able to say the same for yourself," Caster taunted, his sabre dancing through the air with precision.

Lucas, however, remained focused, his sword meeting each strike with unwavering resolve. Their blades collided, creating sparks that illuminated the dimly lit chamber.

'Sword art [Celestial Parry:Starry Deflection] ,' Lucas thought, countering Caster's assault with a swift and calculated maneuver. The momentum shifted, and Lucas seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack.

—Swoosh!

His sword sliced through the air, aiming for Caster's side. Yet, Caster, displaying remarkable agility, managed to evade the strike, narrowly avoiding the blade.

"You're not bad, Lucas. But it's not enough!" Caster exclaimed, a smirk playing on his lips.

The battle between the two continued, the ebb and flow of their movements creating a dance of steel and mana. The air resonated with the clash of blades and the intensity of their conflicting energies.