The World's Ego (Book 2)

How Much A Heart Can Take

Third Person POV

Ivarage gazed at his opponents in amusement. Some of them had obviously been through rougher battles while others seemed to still have more than enough power left aside from Hua, who had suddenly keeled over in pain, and was being aided by Su while she tried to take deep breaths to remain calm.

"What's wrong? You seem to be tense." Ivarage mused with a grin, "Are you not going to care for your fallen comrade?"

"Unfortunately, not all of us are the closest comrades." Guy shrugged, his longsword slung on his right shoulder, "Her care can be left to those who can afford to be concerned about her."

Kevin glared at Guy as he said those words but said nothing after seeing MEI shaking her head at him. There was no point starting an argument right now when their foe was standing in front of them.

"Really now?" Ivarage hummed as he tapped his chin slightly, "Even though I might know the cause of her pain?"

This immediately caught Kevin's attention as he snapped at Ivarage, "What did you do?"

Seeing his reaction, Ivarage grinned, "It's not like I've been staying still, you know. While my limbs kept you guys busy, I had to 'pick up' something, you see."

Something about Ivarage's words were unsettling as they braced themselves for whatever he was trying to pull. Suddenly, a portal opened beside him and with a small flourish, Ivarage motioned their attention to it, the grin widening on his face as footsteps echoed out of the portal.

"I'm sure she's a familiar face, no?" Ivarage asked, not needing any answers as his opponents displayed various expressions that ranged from disbelief to shock, "... Come on, is this your way of greeting a friend who worked so hard for you?"

"What kind of sick joke is this?" Luminas questioned in distaste, "This doesn't make any sense."

"You were supposed to have the strongest resistance against mental control..." Leon gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists in anger and confusion, "So why... How did you lose, you stupid infant?!"

The girl in question remained silent as if Leon's shout was irrelevant and Ivarage chuckled with indifference.

"Well, to her credit, I simply took her at her weakest. I still had to make the effort to actually dig into her brain to bring her under my control." Ivarage said as he slammed a hand atop Feiyun's head, "Although toward the end, she seemed to have been protecting someone before giving up."

<It isn't in Feiyun's dictionary to give up. You played foul and took her when the strings of her consciousness were at their weakest, that's all there is.>

"What's foul in war, little girl?" Ivarage questioned as he looked up at the sky, "I am just using everything I know to fulfill my desire for destruction. Don't worry, you'll be next."

"If you took her at her weakest, then she has no value for you either." Guy said and in a blink, he was face-to-face with Ivarage, holding his longsword back for a swing, "Which means you have put yourself at a disadvantage."

As he swung at Ivarage, he noticed that the smirk on the creature's face didn't vanish and only grew wider. Before he knew it, his blade had hit something but it wasn't his target, instead it felt like a hard wall protecting Ivarage.

"<Castle Guard>?!" Michael gasped in shock, "Don't tell me...!"

"Get away from there, Guy!" Feldway shouted

Guy gritted his teeth as a flash of a spear came close to his face but Velzard flew in front of him in a blink and pulled him away.

She took a quick glance over to him, "Are you okay?"