Had Yuder been as Yuder once was, Yuder would have refuted that statement. There were countless things that could have been said here.

Most important priorities.

Things that needed to be done.

And even the condition of Kishiar's body.

But Yuder, in the end, couldn't say a word. The powerful force, more potent than ever, that was felt from the hand embracing Yuder's back, and the emotion that emanated from it, blocked Yuder's mouth.

It was the same level of desperation as when Yuder had been wandering in the darkness, looking for Kishiar...

“...”

For a moment, forgetting even the pain, Yuder's fiercely pounding heart shivered with an intense agony as if being slashed by a knife once more. Yuder bit his lips hard enough to draw blood, suppressing the involuntary nausea that surged with the heat and pain that crawled up the skin. Cold sweat dripped down Yuder's back, but it snapped him back to awareness.

‘This is not the time to lose consciousness.’

Trying to convince Kishiar would be useless; Yuder wouldn't change his mind. Therefore, Yuder had to prioritize sending Nathan Zuckerman first, then plan to escape together later.

“I understand. Then I'll send Zuckerman first, so please let go for now.”

“The one who needs to go first is you. How can you be fine after using so much strength?”

“I took a medicine from Enon to prepare for this situation, so don't worry.”

“Medicine?”

“I'll report that part to you later.”

Yuder did not explain further and stepped back.

“The enemy is very capable of sensing our presence, and can even create concentrated energy and send it flying without weapons. It seems that he thinks of us as the Star of Nagran, so I'll move without conflicting with him. Therefore, Commander, you should also...”

“Deal with it with only the power of the Awakener.”

A man who had quickly interpreted what Yuder was trying to say gave the desired response.

“Can you lure the enemy to the right end of the shelf where there are many stone statues as soon as Zuckerman gets out of the way?”

“Planning to knock it down?”

“Yes.”

Kishiar tightly closed his lips, his face lost in thought for a brief moment.

“That's not a bad idea... but I'll push them towards the place where the Callanesa powder is instead, and when the enemy gets close, pour the water as soon as I signal. Then head for the exit together, knocking down the shelves to block the way.”

Would a charging enemy even care about Callanesa powder?

But something in Kishiar's expression conveyed certainty, and Yuder unknowingly nodded.

“Understood.”

“Then stop using the wind for now.”

Yuder obeyed his command and calmed the wind.

Even after stopping the use of power, the inner corner of Yuder's left eye grew hotter as time passed. It felt like it would burst at any moment. The energy swirling inside Yuder's body was painful enough just standing still, but the more strength Yuder exerted, the more the inner heat rose, feeling like burning alive.

It was a pain both similar and different from when manifesting the second gender.

‘Still... thanks to that, my senses seem even sharper.’

As the chilling pain surged, Yuder's senses sharpened proportionally. The strange thread-like energy that Yuder had seen after finding Kishiar had disappeared, but the senses, honed to the limit like a knife freshly sharpened, had not dulled at all.

Yuder could accurately perceive the diminishing wind in the darkness and the direction of the collapsing shelf due to its aftermath. The shapes and numbers of the objects tumbling on the floor, the places where the enemy and ally stood, and even the path that needed to be cleared to reach the exit – all were felt with astonishing clarity.

A disturbance was felt from the upper floor. Perhaps it was just thinking that the commotion coming from the lower floor was taking too long for a comrade's act.

"I will go ahead. Watch your step and follow me."

Yuder quickly made his way through the disordered storeroom towards where Nathan Zuckerman and the southern merchant were engaged in battle. Amidst the collapsed shelves, where various objects rolled about like trash, the two men constantly clashed swords and force, repeating the sequence of meeting and parting. Each time their invisible, condensed power collided above the flashing, glowing swords, an immense recoil occurred, causing the sound of air bursting to resonate repeatedly. Their movements were so swift that they were difficult to grasp even with the eye.

Nathan Zuckerman wasn't using his sword's energy, perhaps to keep his identity hidden, but even so, Yuder was considerably surprised that he could handle the situation to that extent just with the condensed force of his sword.

'Is that person... truly a merchant?'

It was unbelievable that a mere merchant could have the skill to compete with a swordmaster. Likely, that person was already an outstanding swordsman before becoming an Awakener.

'Who exactly is he?'

Yuder firmly resolved anew to discover the identity of the enemy, organizing the positive information he had gleaned from the two men's battle.

'If he was originally a swordsman and then became an Awakener, dealing with him would be somewhat easier.'

A sword is a tool utilized through a human's body. Too accustomed to it, the southern merchant, even after awakening the power to wield freely without human hands, only used it condensed like a sword or in a way similar to knights sending out aura, and used no other attacks.

That was evidence that he was still deeply ensnared by the original limits of a swordsman.

'He confines the power within the blind spots of his physical body. That's his limit.'

Having comprehended everything, Yuder moved the ground between Nathan Zuckerman and the southern merchant, deftly shaking beneath the enemy's feet. In an instant, due to the ground suddenly rising or shallowly sinking, the enemy lost balance, and the wind lightly conjured again swept up the fallen objects like a whirlwind, blocking the way. It was control only possible because of an extremely keen sense.

A bitter taste was felt in his mouth, as if his guts were shaken, but he restrained it, thinking of Kishiar.

Not missing the opportunity, Kishiar inserted himself in front of Nathan Zuckerman and pushed his shoulder, saying, "Go ahead."

The man carrying a bag with magic tools bound to his back turned his head. In Yuder's unusually bright vision, his face appeared messed up with all kinds of broken fragments and thin scratches from the aftermath of the force. The faithful knight hesitated for a moment but withdrew, taking a deep breath when Yuder lit a small flame in front.

"..."

No words were exchanged, but the brief glance exchanged was filled with concern.

Nathan Zuckerman's back quickly receded with the guidance of the flame.

"Where are you going!"

The southern merchant, noticing Nathan Zuckerman dodging, condensed his energy and launched an attack again, but it was effortlessly deflected by Kishiar's outstretched hand, losing its force and bouncing away.

'Is it a combination of martial arts and repelling force?'

Knowing Kishiar's ability, Yuder was able to understand immediately, but the southern man momentarily faltered, showing surprise. However, he didn't retreat but instead turned more aggressive, charging at Kishiar.

However, unlike Nathan Zuckerman's attacks, which were consistent in direction and force, Kishiar's attacks were not something he could easily handle in the same manner he had been using thus far. Though they appeared to be inconsequential at a glance, the experience of his own projected force being reflected and unpredictably flying back multiple times caused the demeanor of the southern merchant to slowly change.

He began to mutter short words in the southern language and started to use more power than before. But this became his decisive downfall.

Kishiar pulled in the force emitted by his opponent, gathered it, and thrust it into the enemy's chest as if it was his own power.

Swallowing a silent groan, the man's body flew far and slammed into something. Yuder realized that the place was precisely where the stacks of Calanesa fodder were, and turned his head. Just then, Kishiar, who seemed to have been waiting, looked in Yuder's direction and opened his mouth.

“Now!”

Yuder gathered all of his boiling, fiery pain. Even if the blazing agony were to burst his left eye, he was determined to accomplish this task.

As he released the power above his soaring hand, a stream of water created in midair began to grow. The amount was much more than what he usually summoned, and the pain reached its limit. Yuder spat out a clot of blood through his tightly clenched teeth.

“…Ugh.”

His hand trembled, and a sharp ringing sound filled his ears. But the power did not stop.

The swirling force within him finally gathered everything that remained inside Yuder, rising like a flame meeting a massive wind. Simultaneously,

The black stain that had long covered his left eye seemed to melt away, engulfed in a golden light as if burning.

‘Go…!’

Without knowing what had happened to his eye, he sent the stream of water, which spread like a wave in the air, flying towards the enemy like a shot arrow. The southern merchant, staggering to his feet, saw this and desperately moved his hands to exert his power, clearly attempting to block the stream.

And Kishiar, not missing this opportunity, quickly retreated and rushed toward Yuder.

Yuder saw his outstretched hand and reached out as well.

The moment their hands grasped and pulled each other, the sound of shelves collapsing one after the other, pulled down by the last force sent by Kishiar, rang out from behind them.

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