[Leonidas' point of view]

 Alexandre Damascus looked at me as though he saw a ghost. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand why or how I was still alive, after all, we all knew that he plucked my still beating heart right out of my body. A normal human being would have been dead with no chance of salvation even with this world's magic.

Answering a villain's questions was not part of my routine, so I kept quiet. This wasn't a comic book in which I had to reply in order for the reader to understand my intentions and abilities, this was real life. Such information could potentially land me in a very serious predicament or even allow my foe to devise a countermeasure, so I considered this man's question to be mere background noise. On the other hand, I would have some explaining to do to my little sister after this was over.

“Brother... I'm glad...” she said in a weak tone of voice.

The fiery aura around her was still there, which told me that her Blessing from the God of War was still active, but she was heavily weakened from all the blood she had lost and the energy she had spent fighting with this man. I wasn't doing too peachy either, but I had to fight, we both did.

Still, I was happy to see that the regenerative properties of our bodies were the same and Cassandra wouldn't have to worry about a scar left on her body from that bastard's attacks.

For what he did to the both of us, I wasn't going to let him go.

He hurt my precious little sister.

He killed me.

He was a Blessing thief.

For the first offense alone, he deserved nothing less than the capital punishment through torture!

Even Sapherya wants me to put an end to this bastard... I thought as I looked at the dark-red light emitting form Alexandre's body, which turned him into a living beacon for all those with [Oracle Eyes].

In other words... I had the divine right to kill this man. He was a non-essential piece of trash who through his existence brought no benefit to this world.

I could only wonder if maybe he appeared in our lives as that one tutorial boss all games had. The one who basically taught you what a boss character was and had only one role, that to be killed by the hero and become experience points. He always dropped junk items if any at all.

If this was an actual game, I would have had a lot of things to complain about to the developers. This ridiculous Overpowered setting was set on IMPOSSIBRU Difficulty!

I literally had to die in order to gain a chance at defeating this boss!

Clenching my fists, I took a deep breath and attacked him.

He dodged my first fist, but he couldn't dodge my second one, which pushed him back a few meters. I saw him grinning at that moment. His sword had fresh blood on it, and when I looked down, I saw a slit opening in my chest.

That quarter of a second attack was played back again in my mind. The attack to my heart was done when I pulled back my fist and went for a second one. Using a quick jab, he stabbed me, but this wasn't a precise attack which skewered my heart right in the middle. This felt like a near-miss one because my ribs hit the blade and the cut to my insides was done at an angle.

A normal human being would have fallen prey to Death's grasp as a result, but I just ignored it. [Blessing of Endless Life] kept me from kicking the bucket, and my high-speed regeneration repaired the injury in a snap of the fingers. When I thought about it, if not for this combo, I would have been in serious need of some healing magic. On Ezimuth's world I would have probably gathered a party of healers to keep me up and running all the time. With his ridiculous Blessing, I would have been the perfect meat shield.

Now, if Alexandre Damascus had plucked out my heart again, I may have ended up staggered or stunned for a while just like I was the first time around.

Thinking about it, decapitation could also put an end to my struggles and if by chance those separated pieces were burnt to the last cell, death would become a certain thing. Thus, I kept a mental note so as to avoid such dangerous scenarios or attacks in the future.

“Fireball!” I said and launched a water sphere from my left hand while I prepared a wind one with my right.

Yeah, I lied about the spell I was going to cast, but this was a battle and chantless magic was a go. Unfortunately, I was far too unskilled for the water-lightning combo. Basic spells with insane amount of Magic Energy were the best option for me in this situation.

Alexandre Damascus jumped to the left and avoided the water sphere, which splashed on the ground with enough force to turn it over. The air sphere was then cut in half by his sword, and the two pieces flew towards the trees behind him. The result: two large trees had their barks burst into a thousand pieces.

“Oi! Oi! That's some power you have there!” the man remarked with surprise.

I clicked my tongue.

Both of those attacks were each worth 1000 Magic Energy points. They didn't come cheap, but for a pair of Basic spells, I thought they did pretty well.

But of course, those were just distractions.

My little sister jumped at him from the left and attacked him before he had the chance to retreat. The punch missed its target, but the following kick struck him in the chest. My enhanced hearing picked up the sound of cracking ribs.

Nice job, little sister! I praised her in my mind.

Even if our speeds weren't as great as they would have been if we came into this battle all healed and well rested, this so-called Royal Knight wasn't doing any better either.

Unlike us, his injuries weren't healing at the same speed as ours, but we couldn't let our guards down. I had seen plenty of game bosses who after chipping down their health, they would enter Rage Mode and have it back up at 75% or even 100% depending on the case.

Cassandra didn't take her chances with him either and pulled back as soon as she landed that kick.

“Damn kids...” he grumbled and then coughed and spat blood.

Lung puncture! Lucky! I thought as I recognized the critical strike's effect.

With two versus one, this was going to be easy... well, easier. We still had no idea if so far he used up the aces in his sleeves or not.

Just as I was thinking about that, his aura turned from red to white and aimed at Cassandra.

“Watch out!” I warned her.

Feeling the incoming attack, she dodged out of the way. From Damascus' hand, a fierce lightning bolt came out and cleared the spot where she was sitting on.

 Remembering the laws of physics, I knew this attack would have been impossible if attempted with an actual electric device. Electricity simply didn't work that way, therefore, he was most likely using magic between himself and the target to cause an electric discharge or was controlling the path of the electrons directly. Whatever the case, this was basically a lightning gun.

I felt the subtle scent of ozone coming from behind me, but his hand was aimed at Cassandra. That was a distraction. Electric current didn't follow the direction the rod was aimed at only the shortest path between two points of opposite charges, which wasn't always in a straight line. In other words, unlike a bullet, lightning could take turns.

I'm the target now... I thought and quickly stabbed my hand into the ground at my feet.

The lightning struck, but it flowed through me straight into the ground. It hurt like hell, but it was better than ending up charred on the inside because it had nowhere to go.

“How?” Damascus asked surprised.

Science... I thought and showed him a smirk.

I knew I was going to get hit by it. Considering my lack of rubber shoes and a coat to protect myself, I found it best to just let the lightning pass quickly rather than let it loiter around in my body.

After I pulled my hand out of the ground, I staggered a bit on my feet, but while he was focused on me, Cassandra attacked him... with a rock. Using her ridiculous aim and strength, she turned it into a devastating projectile.

“ARGH!” Alexandre Damascus shouted in pain as he was forced to block with his already injured arm.

The rock shattered his bones and shredded his skin, breaking his arm and turning it into dead weight for the time being.

I was already aware that we were grasping at straws with these attacks. My biggest disadvantage was my lack of control and knowledge about Magic. Elemental spheres were the best I could do, while the more difficult and dangerous ones were still in the learning process. To be more specific, I wasn't confident enough to even attempt to cast them. Cassandra only knew [Fire Wall] and if she was lucky, she could cast three out of five [Tornado] spells, but against an adult who could toss out lightning like it was nothing, what we could do was ridiculously little.

Brother! He's thinking of running away with a Blessing from the God of Shadows! Cassandra warned me through telepathy.

She rushed to attack, but he jumped back.

“Blasted be! I can't believe I am forced to run away from kids!” he cursed and started running the other way while his aura was changing from white to black.

No! No! No! We can't let him run away! I thought.

If he escaped now, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that he would come back to take his revenge sooner or later. I was almost 100% sure that he was definitely going to kill other people in order to steal their Blessings, then once he became powerful enough, he would come after us. The havoc and damage this maniac who hunts children could cause if left to flee was unspeakable. The only ones who could defeat him right now, or at the very least had a chance to, considering his injured state, were me and Cassandra. If we let him go, next time, the tables could easily turn in his favor.

I couldn't let him have the upper hand. I couldn't allow this maniac to flee or allow myself to feel relieved that he fled.

But what could I do?

Then I remembered that right before I returned from the dead, Ezimuth showed me the temporary gift I received from Sapherya. There was one spell neither I or this maniac had seen before, and it was given to me specifically to defeat him.

I felt a bit foolish that I had forgotten about this, but in the heat of the battle, such things could easily happen.

Before Alexandre Damascus got too far, I shouted at him “I won't let you!” and then extended my Telekinetic grasp towards him.

“Huh?”

He showed a surprised expression on his face when felt that invisible force coiling around him. Cassandra stopped in her tracks and watched with big eyes what I was about to do.

“L-Let me go!” he struggled, but it was too late to escape now.

I grabbed hold of him and then tossed him up in the air all the way to the tips of the trees. At first, I thought about slamming him into the ground or even crushing him with this power of mine, but I would probably end up fainting before I could do it. I was already feeling the strain on my body from merely keeping him up there.

In the end, I was still a ten-years-old kid, I didn't have an endless supply of stamina.

“What sorcery is this?! You monster! How are you doing this?! Let me go this instance! Let me go!” he shouted and threatened in vein.

Fear was released in the air. It wasn't my fear or Cassandra's, it belonged to this monster who dared to hunt down and kill innocent frail children like us. Yes, this fear was HIS of US!

Prey had finally turned into predator.

“Let me go!” he screamed.

A useless struggle... I thought.

I lifted my left hand up and pointed my right palm at this struggling insect, but I feared comparing him with the bugs around us that had a place in this big vast beautiful world was nothing but pure insult to them.

In my mind, I apologized to all the insects around the world.

The piece of trash shaped like a human was going to meet its end soon.

But just to be sure I wasn't going to leave anything to chance, I focused within my right palm more Magic Energy than it should have been possible. 1000 points, 2000 points, 3000 points, and it was still going up.

But why? Where was all this energy coming from?

It was simple... I cheated.

Aunty Eliza once told us that if we ever ended up using all of our Magic Energy, our spell wouldn't just cut itself off. No, it would begin to consume our very life force until the spell was either cast or it killed us. Our hearts would stop, but before that happened, our bodies would weaken little by little and even change their physical aspect.

That was why anyone who used Magic Energy to fuel either a spell or physical skill had to be wary of their limitations and not reach the point where something like this would happen to them. Within dungeons, this was akin to a suicide, but it wasn't that uncommon during life and death duels between mages.

As for why this was possible, it appeared as though the gods who governed this world wanted something in exchange from those who wished to push themselves over their limits. If one desired more power, they had to be willing to risk their very lives in order to obtain it.

Even in Cassandra's stories there were heroes and villains alike who when faced with an unprecedented challenge, they would put their all into their attacks. They would push their lives to the brink of death and pour every last drop of it into the chalice of fate which would determine the outcome of that one single chance at coming out victorious.

What I did was no different. I offered my very life in exchange for Magic Energy. it consumed my essence, but... I had a cheat.

[Blessing of Endless Life] resurrected me whenever I died, giving me a boost of Magic Energy, and my own hyper regeneration mutation made it possible for me to recover whatever tissue was lost in the process. In other words, my very flesh was being turned into Magic Energy, and this process was so dangerous that it temporarily stopped the beating of my heart.

Because of this, I started to feel like I was in a trance... I died, resurrected, then died again... Time and time again until I knew I had enough Magic Energy to fire that ridiculous temporary spell.

It was a one chance shot. If I failed... I could only hope for some miracle to save us because I wouldn't be able to do anything anymore.

“[Light Beam]” I muttered.

The spell clicked and it was cast.

In that moment, so much Magic Energy was pulled out of my body, I felt like my very own soul was being used as fuel for it. As for where all of it went, it gathered in the center of my right palm which was aimed at Damascus.

“W-What are you doing, kid? Hey! Answer me! That's such an insane amount of magic it's not even funny... “ he said, but who cared to listen to a dying man's words?

With one hand, I held him up in the air with my Telekinetic ability, and with the other, I released a never-before seen devastating attack.

A powerful burst of light came out of my palm and engulfed my right arm all the way to the elbow. It burned and hurt, but it didn't stop there. The attack kept pulling out more and more Magic Energy out of me. Like a hungry beast, it slurped out every single drop out of me, but it didn't end there...

Just like before, when I was charging up this stupid spell, I kept dying and reviving like the character of a gag manga. It was a seemingly endless cycle in which my ten-years-old body was sucked dry of life force and Magic Energy, then restored, then sucked dry again, and it hurt each and every time. I was kept in a half-dead state in which my heart wasn't beating and my lungs weren't pulling in the fresh air around me.

At the very least, despite the pain and torture for dying and reviving all over again, I could feel it... this cycle wasn't endless.

True, I had a hyper regeneration and the [Blessing of Endless Life], but my body was breaking up and getting restored over and over again, each time getting weaker and weaker, more broken than before. It was a very dangerous cycle that could end up with my REAL death. Even these Blessings weren't almighty, they all needed something to trigger them and stressed our bodies to their limits in every possible way.

Aunty Eliza told us, or rather warned us, that even the best users and the most renowned heroes couldn't keep their Blessings activated without end. Sapherya made this world in such a way that even the most powerful couldn't be unbeatable, and I was no exception to this rule.

As such, my seemingly endless cycle also had its end, and it was getting near.

Meanwhile, this [Light Beam] attack was beyond ridiculous.

Without a way to escape, Alexandre Damascus took the full brunt of the attack. The beam covered his body completely and even expanded outwards. If I were to describe this place, I would say it was identical with a white spectrum LASER beam with a diameter of six meters, and Damascus was right at its center. Furthermore, it continued to expand in diameter as it went on, while around my hand, it was of only 40 centimeters or so.

That man's last words, I wasn't able to hear them, but I didn't care about them anyway. I was certain this attack had killed him. Actually, I wondered what manner of a creature could be strong enough to survive it. I died over 100 times as I kept feeding this behemoth of a spell with my Magic Energy and life force.

So, when it was over, Damascus was gone. Nothing remained of him, not his armor or his bones, not even a single strand of hair. As for me, I felt so weak I couldn't even stand anymore. My knees gave in, and I fell down on my back, but my heart started to beat again, and I could finally take in a breath of fresh air.

“Brother!” Cassandra shouted.

I groaned in pain, but I couldn't move even a finger. As for my right hand, I couldn't feel it at all. My vision was blurry as if I was wearing a pair of glasses with ridiculous lens prescriptions.

“D-Did... Did we win?” I managed to ask, but my throat felt so dry, like I had swallowed sand.

Cassandra pulled me up in her lap and gently stroked my head. I think she was crying, or it was raining, I couldn't tell.

“Yes...” she replied with a whimper.

“Good...” I said and closed my eyes.

I was too tired... so tired... I didn't want to do anything else but sleep...

Today marked the end of my first 'life and death battle'. I gave it my all and pushed my body way past its limits, but I realized the truth of this world.

Here, Blessings ruled the battlefield and Magic came second, while Martial Arts third. No wonder the people saw those who had three Blessings like my sister as a National Treasure. I just sincerely hoped I was never going to see another monster like Damascus any time too soon. [Blessing of the Thief] could spell out some serious trouble for this world if used like that.

Before I went to sleep, I received a sudden message.

 

-Temporary spell [Light Beam] has been removed-

-Thank you for using the service of The Almighty and Stunningly Beautiful Goddess whom you LOVE very very very much, Sapherya!-

 

To this, there was only one complaint I wished to submit.

This spell was a bit of an overkill, Goddess S.A.R.G.E!

Aaand... I was out!

 

Somewhere up in the sky, a certain goddess with tears in her eyes was being restrained with great difficulty by several other gods.

“THAT ungrateful little brat! That's no way to thank someone who saved your life!” Sapherya shouted in a demonic voice.

“QUICK! Someone bring the leviathan tranquilizer! I can't hold her for much longer!” shouted in desperation the one called Kreatull the God of War.