The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar cared not for who these vile bastards were or why they were so insistent. His only concern was currently suffering in the dead-end of the alleyway; her cries had died down, but her eye had lost all glimmer of life. She appeared more as a lifeless doll rather than a person.

The people in front weren't the only ones to anger him. He fumed in volcanic rage at himself, his helplessness to help Avril, his inaction as he could only watch. What better way to vent his frustration than to fight and kill these marauders who were smiling maliciously? His Ein spread all over in a blue blaze.

Some of the marauders flinched and cowered, retreating by a single foot. Their eyes, however, kept to their captain, who stood firm and smiled. "A Middle Knight Exalt. Though, you just recently advanced, according to what I sense. Do you think that matters to me?"

The leader unveiled his true power, the might of a peak Middle Knight Exalt. Three others by his side also let loose their Ein, not as powerful as their leader's but stronger than Oscars. By their sides, their animas manifested. They had a salamander, a turtle, a scimitar, and a crossbow. The leader manifested a sword. The lesser members all cheered for their squad, already seeing the outcome within their minds.

The crossbowman fired a single shot. Earth gathered around its tip and formed into a large earthen spike. Oscar used the lesser mantle form and grabbed the earthen spike, his hands clutching the heavy, hardened earth. He clenched hard and crushed the rock between his palms.

From the clutter of rubble, the turtle user rode his turtle, which spun around in the air on a direct course toward Oscar, his entire body covered in gold spikes and wrapped in a strange armament made of knives and chains. The man became a human weapon of deathly spinning spikes, a mix of glee and bloodthirst gleaming from his eyes.

The salamander user started to bombard Oscar. The salamander breathed out hot flames, mixing into its master's spells. The flames formed the heads of lizards with razor-sharp teeth, a sharp blazing spear similar to Taren's sticking out like tongues. The burning of their fires resembled the roaring of monsters.

The leader took out his sword armament and followed up from behind.

Beset on all fronts by all manners of attacks and spells, Oscar only thought of how to help Avril, even as the heat of the flames scorched the alley, the knives and spikes nearly touching his skin, the crumbling of earthen arrows echoing across, and the cruel smile of the leader came close.

Stacks upon stacks of Silver Cage manifested and blocked their way. A grade two spell still had its use in sheer numbers to deter the enemies. In his Meld form, Erden transformed his sapphire blue antlers into a widespread web of antlers, filling the width of the alleyway, all coated in Eirin, halting and forcing the others back.

"An 'A' can be written in uppercase and lowercase. The lowercase is a circle with a downward stroke to its right. The uppercase is a triangle with its lower corners extending out." Oscar said to Avril behind him. Her favorite activities included gardening, brushing Erden's fur, reading, and writing. He didn't know any other way to rouse than to remind her of some of the good memories she had so far.

Oscar stomped and rushed in, increasing his speed with Silver Burst. He locked onto his first target, the spinning man. Not an ounce of fear beat in his heart, and not an iota of hesitation crept into his mind as his glowing fist drove into the turtle man. The spikes and knives were well made, stabbing into his fist. Oscar didn't use Edureisclad to avoid a standstill when hitting a weapon because he wanted to do more damage and finish them.

His knuckles sank into the man's skin—a silvery armor formed to block him. Oscar's fist broke through metal and flesh alike and exploded with the power of Eirin Shattering Wave. Bones broke, flesh mangled, and blood burst. The man couldn't scream as his turtle crumbled apart and his body squashed flat against the wall.

Erden dove in and stampeded around, blocking the attacks from the others. Oscar's fist was bloody and ruined, and Erden's sapphire armor had burns, cuts, and dents. Oscar turned to the remaining three and said, "B is different. The lowercase is a straight line with a small circle attached at the bottom to its right side. The uppercase is a straight line with two arches from top to bottom."

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He never stopped talking to Avril, going through more of the alphabet. Even as more and more attacks hammered onto him. Oscar thanked Elder Saul for training him in Prinstyct and Robert for initiating him early. He avoided many worst-case scenarios and countered at the right moments. His Reis and Eirin, thanks to his master, stumped many of their Prinstycts, which could not see Reis.

However, even Oscar could not face all of them without being unharmed. Erden swung his enlarged antlers, pointing straight, and leveled the floor. Oscar bounced between walls and used a gigantic Eirin Omnireus to crush the crossbowman and salamander user. Their broken bodies were blasted back to Erden's antlers, impaled by many spikes.

Oscar drew in a deep breath. His body, covered in blood from head to toe, suffered many injuries and was beginning to give in. Not yet. Oscar forced himself up and faced down the shaken leader. Glancing at his arm, where the white of the bone could be seen, Oscar glared coldly at the leader.

"T is made of two straight lines, horizontal and vertical. The uppercase keeps the flat line on the tip of the other while the lowercase lowers it so the tip protrudes out." Oscar said.

"All of you! Get him!" The leader called to his men, who staggered back from fear. A frustrated shout spurred them on. "If you don't, I'll kill you myself!"

The gang was quite sizable. All of them rushed toward Oscar and Erden. Letting out a roar, Oscar killed a path toward the leader, who used darkness, shifting from shadow to shadow. Parts of his swords entered a strange void, a dark swirl, and appeared out of thin air anywhere else as if the darkness acted as a portal.

Oscar and Erden were constantly impaled and stabbed by swords, only barely moving to avoid dying. Each time the swords stabbed into him, Oscar felt cold, and his organs would squeeze. In a daring move, Oscar allowed the blades to stab into him, narrowly avoiding his vital organs. Clenching his muscles, Oscar pulled on the swords, pulling the leader along with them.

The leader's hands started to pop out of thin air as they passed through the void. They looked detached, and Oscar would make it a reality. Oscar caught the wrists and clenched, using Shattering Wave from his fingertips. He crushed through the skin, flesh, veins, and bones until he touched the palm of his own hands. With a plop, the leader's hands fell to the floor.

Before the leader could shout, Oscar threw the sword armament through the eye, bringing the man down. Oscar and Erden stood, covered in wounds. Many earthen spikes stuck into his back, slashes imprinted on his chest, and burns covered his limbs.

"Z is the same for both upper and lowercase. Two straight horizontal lines with a diagonal connecting them." Oscar scoffed at himself. He was in the worst condition.

How many had he killed? Oscar lost count a long while ago. The number of bodies and rivers of blood in the alleyway mattered little to him. The severed limbs and crushed bones splattered on the walls didn't stir anything in him. Oscar gazed back to Avril, still suffering, crying in the corner. None of the blood spilled or flowed past him to him.

He should leave now and hide before anyone else could find him.

"Not bad."

The sharp voice carried a dangerous presence. Oscar and Erden reacted quickly and prepared for the worst. A man appeared at the entrance to the alley, crushing the corpses and limbs beneath his heels and stepping nonchalantly on the pools of blood. The man wore clean clothes: black pants with suspenders stretching over his shoulders and together down his back, a white linen shirt, and a black bowtie.

Everything about him screamed out sharpness. His gray eyes were narrow, his chin was sharp, and his ash white hair was prickly, lifted with oil. Rather than a person, Oscar thought the man was a sharp blade; not even the clothes could hide the well-toned muscles under them.

"I came here after hearing someone was imitating me. I wondered who else would be mad enough to take on a whole town." The man chuckled. "Now I see. How interesting."

"Back off," Oscar's voice dropped to a frightening chill. He felt the power of the stranger who held nothing back, the power of a Greater Knight Exalt. He glanced at Avril for a moment when suddenly, the winds rushed in front of him.

Without warning, sound, or hint, the man appeared before Oscar, a mere foot away. Resisting the chill running down his spine, Oscar punched with all his might, using a Ripple Shroud. However, the man punched back at the same time, and Oscar was shaken. His Ripple Shroud met another shockwave, colliding in the air, not letting their fists touch, and he was forced back, his body aching from the encompassing blow.

"Ripple Shroud?" Oscar coughed out blood. Everywhere hurt. His fist was torn apart. His Ripple Shroud was nothing compared to this man's power.

"So you do know Reis. Now tell me, did that bastard send you?" The ground broke under the man's feet. His body appeared stronger than before, not in size, but a feeling, a familiar feeling. "Adamasreis. You should know it too. Answer my question. Did that bastard send you?"

Bastard? Oscar couldn't understand the man's question. The only thing he knew for sure was the difference in strength between him and the man. For the first time, he met a Reis user other than his master.

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