Chapter 31 - Guardians

“Han Byul! Stay behind me!”

As Han Byul was about to rush forward, Azrael yelled back at her to stay back. Shocked, she stopped and took a closer look at his face. Azrael’s expression was fierce and almost animalistic.

Azrael’s instincts from his previous life training in the Forest of Despair began to surface. Just like then, he had to remain focused at all times, as danger could appear at any moment. Reflecting on those moments, a devious smirk appeared on his face.

Knowing that the fire wall wouldn’t last much longer, Azrael formed a spear with ice magic. Despite being at a disadvantage in a life-or-death battle, adrenaline surged through his veins, and anticipation for the fight made him shiver with excitement.

As the wall lowered, multiple ice spears and rock bullets rushed toward him. Anticipating a long-range magical attack, Azrael summoned a fireball to counter the ice spears. With no time to cast another spell, he prepared to deflect the bullets, but before they reached him, a tempest appeared and deflected the rock bullets off course.

As he was about to thank Han Byul, four shadows rushed forward through the fog created by the water spears and fireball collision. Fearing that she might get entangled if they fought in his position, Azrael rushed forward to confront them. As he ran, Azrael cast a new spell he had recently developed.

A dome of water appeared around the head of one of the attackers. Surprised, the man stopped and tried to claw at the dome, gasping for air. Although Azrael knew it wouldn’t be enough to kill the assassin, the spell was effective in incapacitating him.

Aquatic Lock, an original water spell created by Azrael, condensed water molecules into a dome shape around an enemy’s head to block their oxygen supply. It was a highly effective spell that didn’t require much mana but could only be used on one person at a time due to its recent development.

“Watch out! The boy is a dual elementalist!”

One of the assassins shouted, breaking off and rushing toward Han Byul. Azrael tried to rush to her aid but was blocked by the other two assassins. Seeing the assassin approaching Han Byul, she prepared a spell and released a flurry of wind blades.

“Hmph, as if such weak wind blades could stop me.”

Wind blades from the assassin intercepted Han Byul’s attack, dissipating the wind blades and narrowly missing her. When the assassin was only ten feet away, he drew a dagger and leaped toward her.

Han Byul attempted to cast her strongest spell, Wind Scythe, but as she saw the leaping figure, she realized it was too late. In a last-ditch effort, she jumped to her left, but the assassin was already within striking range.

Resigned to her fate, Han Byul braced for impact when a familiar figure jumped in front of her and deflected the fatal strike. Surprised by the sudden addition of another opponent, the assassin leapt back to increase the distance.

“I wasn’t too late, was I?”

“Zer!”

Han Byul shouted in surprise at the sight of her childhood friend, who had appeared out of nowhere to save her. At that moment, Azrael also retreated toward them. His shirt was tattered, filled with slash marks, and blood trickled down his right arm from a wound.

“Az! Are you okay?!”

Han Byul’s panic was evident. Hearing her concern, Azrael reassured her.

“I’m fine, Byul. The cuts are only flesh wounds. Anyway, perfect timing, Zer. We would have been in real trouble if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Well, the hero always comes last, after all. Joking aside, we need to figure out a way to get out of here. We’re outnumbered and outgunned. Got any plans, Az?”

“It’s going to be tough. They’re faster than us, so unless we find a way to slow them down, we have no chance. I do have a plan. When I say go, the two of you run back toward the main streets.”

“What about you, Az?”

“Don’t worry, Byul. I’ll be right behind you. Well then, are you three ready? Ready... GO!”

At Azrael’s command, Han Byul and Zer immediately turned and ran to their left. The six assassins, who had been waiting for their move, rushed after them. As they began their pursuit, their surroundings were shrouded in darkness. This, coupled with an increase in gravity, slowed their advance.

“Shit, that kid can use gravity magic already?! Who the hell is he?!”

The leader of the assassins felt helpless. Since the ambush began, things had gone awry one after another.

“Shade one and two—use the left wall and approach them. Shade three and five—take the right wall. The rest of you, follow me. We’re going after them! Don’t let Princess Han Byul escape; we must kill her!”

“””””Roger, sir!”””””

The subordinates replied and continued their pursuit. Even with a ten-second head start, the assassins, specialized in speed, were confident in catching up.

The three fugitives ran desperately. Despite gaining a head start, Azrael wasn’t confident they would escape and kept looking back to monitor the enemies. To his dismay, the assassins were already closing in.

“Shit, Han Byul! Zer! You two keep going. I’ll hold them off as long as I can!”

“No! We’d be leaving you for dead, Az!”

“If we don’t act, we’ll all die! Zer, protect Byul!”

“Bu..”

“Not you too, Zer! We don’t have time for this! GO!”

Reluctantly, Zer nodded. He grabbed Han Byul’s hand and pulled her forward as she tried to stay behind. Despite knowing he might die, Azrael had a large smile on his face, knowing Han Byul and Zer might survive.

The assassin leader, observing Azrael’s sacrifice, inwardly praised him. Although noble, such self-sacrifice was rare, especially for someone so young. In another setting, he might have recruited Azrael as a direct disciple. Unfortunately, he had to kill such a brave and talented child.

When the assassins were only twenty feet away, Azrael launched his magic. From the shadows created by the tall buildings, dozens of black spikes rushed at the six enemies. Following that, he cast another gravity spell to further impede their reactions. The assassins, however, were prepared and one used a light spell to dispel the shadows.

Azrael gritted his teeth at the sight. He cast a spell to create dozens of ice spears and launched them, followed by a wave of fireballs.

“Just who the hell is this child?! How does he have so much mana?!”

The assassins were astonished by the incoming projectiles. They couldn’t ignore the spells and slowed down to evade and counter them.

Though Azrael didn’t manage to kill any assassins, his spells impeded their progress and forced them into evasive maneuvers. Unfortunately, these spells depleted his mana.

The leader was furious. Although the spells hadn’t harmed him, they had stalled him and his unit, giving the targets more time to escape. Reluctantly, he summoned his wind elemental.

A silver eagle sped forward from the group of assassins. Azrael recognized it as one of their elementals. With no mana left, he could only resign himself to fate and impending death.

’Well, it looks like this is as far as I go. Samjoko, Chunyong, Bonghwa, I regret not becoming a stronger master for you. I’m grateful for the amazing elementals you were.’

Unbeknownst to him, Samjoko was preparing to materialize himself. Though it would disadvantage his master in the upcoming tournament, he prioritized his master’s well-being above all else.

Before Samjoko could materialize, a red blur jumped down and intercepted the eagle. Azrael watched in shock as a red tiger appeared and pinned the eagle to the ground.

Beyond the two elementals, numerous other shadows jumped from the buildings and engaged the assassins. Screams echoed through the alley as the assassins fell one by one.

“Az!”

A familiar voice rang out. Turning around, Azrael saw Han Byul and Zer rushing toward him, surrounded by others in a protective formation. The sight of the two faces he thought he’d never see again filled him with relief.

“Byul! Zer!”

As Han Byul reached him, she threw herself into Azrael’s embrace. He caught her and hugged her tightly, momentarily ignoring the ongoing fight.

“*cough* I’m sorry to interrupt such a lovely scene, but Princess, it’s unbecoming to show such affection in public.”

The unknown female voice made Azrael finally release Han Byul. He turned to see a tall female knight in a grey cloak over silver armor, with short green hair and sharp hazel eyes, reminiscent of a hawk.

“Aunt Estrana! Don’t tell Dad about this, okay?”

Han Byul’s face turned red with embarrassment. Estrana chuckled and patted her head.

“Haha, don’t worry; I won’t mention it to your dad. Anyway, you’re Azrael, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. My name is Azrael. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Not only once but twice you saved my niece. I’d really like to

thank you.”

“It’s nothing, ma’am. Even if it happened a hundred more times, I would stake my life for her.”

“Ho… you’re quite brave, aren’t you? Well, I can’t deny that after seeing what you did. Anyway, you three should head back to your hotel. The tournament is starting tomorrow, right? Go rest. My subordinates will escort you and guard the hotel so nothing like this happens again.”

“Are you sure, Aunt?”

“Of course. Also, Azrael, I’d like to speak with you sometime during your stay. Would that be okay?”

“Of course, ma’am. Just let me know when.”

“Excellent. Lieutenant Maiser!”

At Estrana’s call, a young man with brown hair parted in the middle rushed over.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Take four men with you and escort the Princess and her friends back to the hotel. Once they’re inside, set up a guard watch to ensure nothing happens.”

“Understood, ma’am!”

After Han Byul gave one last hug to her aunt and exchanged a few words, they headed back to the hotel with their escorts. Azrael had a complex expression throughout the journey. Han Byul noticed and squeezed his hand to get his attention.

“Hey Az, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, just thinking about some things. Anyway, how did you run into your aunt?”

“Aunt Estrana? While we were fleeing, she appeared with her contingent of soldiers. She said one of her men had met Winston and been informed of everything.”

“Is that so? What does she do?”

“She’s one of the commanders of the Guardians.”

“You mean the elite royal guards for your country? What are they doing here?”

“She’s here as a representative for the Rhostaz Kingdom. Each royal family sends a representative to observe the Rising Star Tournament and recruit students.”

“I see.”

During the rest of the walk back, Azrael’s face remained troubled. Han Byul and Zer wanted to comfort him but couldn’t find the right words. Once they reached the hotel, they wished each other goodnight and went to bed early in preparation for the tournament the next day.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Back at the scene where Estrana and her men had saved Azrael, Estrana was deep in thought as her men cleaned up the area and dealt with the assassins’ bodies. Her most trusted officers approached her.

“Ma’am, permission to speak?”

“Lind, huh? Permission granted.”

“Ma’am, what should we do with the student’s body? Also, why did we wait so long to intervene? The Princess could have been killed.”

“Dispose of it with the others. Lind, do you really think I would let my precious niece be hurt in front of me?”

Lind panicked at the threatening tone.

“No ma’am, that wasn’t what I meant! I just don’t understand why we waited.”

“I needed to assess that child Azrael’s skills.”

“You mean the tri-elementalist? I was amazed he could use three elements. I thought tales of tri-elementalists were myths until today…”

“Yes, him. Lind, what did you think of his fighting?”

“He seemed like a veteran. He was always aware of his surroundings, using minimal movement and magic. He remained calm and calculating, as if used to battles and life-or-death situations…”

“Good observation, Lind. You saw what I did. Anyway, handle the rest here. I need to inform my brother that his daughter is safe. Also, we must recruit that kid into our Guardians. His talent is extraordinary. Imagine how strong he’ll be as an adult.”

With those words, Estrana departed. As Lind watched her leave, he envisioned Azrael as an adult. The thought of facing such a formidable opponent made him shiver. He agreed that they must recruit someone with such potential rather than oppose them.