“If you promise to let us go, I’ll give you the Arcana!” Ciara declared in desperation.

So far, she had sensed the difference between her strength and that of the man before her.

They were akin to night and day.

“A wise choice indee—”

“NO WAY!” A loud voice interrupted the deal between the two.

It came from Jerry.

“No way! I’ll never agree to this!” Jerry yelled, grabbing Ciara by her shoulders.

“We’re never giving you the Arcana.” His firm declaration shook the entire area.

Conviction was cemented on his face, and the boy’s fiercely ignited passion shone from his eyes.

“Ciara… you don’t really plan on agreeing with him, right? RIGHT?!”

The girl whose shoulder was being held felt a mix of emotions.

First, she felt her love for Jerry increase. His declaration and naïve confidence added a lot to his charm.

Second, she felt her heart race insanely. The way he gripped her shoulder, and the aggressive tone he was using… it made Ciara very excited.

Thirdly, she felt guilty. Guilty that she had indeed wanted to give in to the enemy due to the sheer difference in their abilities.

‘But… what’s to say Legris Damien won’t kill us after he gets what he wants?” Her thoughts echoed.

In the end, wouldn’t it be foolish to hand over what they had worked so hard for when there wasn’t a guarantee of survival.

“O-of course, I didn’t plan on giving him. Don’t you trust me, Jerry? Haha…”

“I knew it! Haha!”

Both teenagers laughed, much to the villain’s chagrin. He looked at the two and sighed while shaking his head.

“You guys, really… oh well, I have been nice enough.”

Dark energy began rising from Legris as his body became shrouded in subtle darkness.

‘Ah, this is bad. I should have just taken the deal…’ She gulped slightly.

The usual Ciara Epilson was very confident. Since she was extremely powerful, almost anyone she fought was fodder.

Even against stronger enemies like Gawain, during training, it hadn’t been as though there was anything at stake.

But now… being confronted with an actual evil, she felt exposed to new emotions that made her feel dazed.

“Don’t worry, Ciara. I’ll protect you!” Jerry stood in front of the girl as the darkness around Legris swelled.

“W-what—?!”

The boy turned back and smiled at her, giving her a thumbs up. He flashed a lovely smile that rendered the poor girl instantly smitten.

“Lancelot gave me a little something… and I’ll use that power to protect you, Ciara.” He smiled.

Power suddenly began emerging from Jerry, causing Ciara’s eyes to widen in surprise. She had never sensed this type of energy before—especially from someone like Jerry.

It felt so similar… to the power that had been around Lancelot and the area that surrounded her back when they’d met the Apostle of Aether. This power was….

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM<

In a burst of bright light, Jerry became doused with pure white flames. He combined his usual ability with the newfound one he’d gained, creating a new one.

“Elemental Chamber: White Armament!”

Instantly, the flames around him converged and formed a shell that encased his body. Like a light, compressed armor of fire, the white fire brimmed with even greater intensity than ever before.

The entire area quaked in response to Jerry’s sudden transformation. It seemingly burned though even space, as everything around Jerry warped like an unstable incineration.

“Interesting. I didn’t think you guys would be able to use Aether already. So that’s the Aether I sensed within you too…” Legris Damien smiled, narrowing his eyes to observe the boy who wanted to fight him.

“J-Jerry…” Ciara muttered hesitantly.

Her heart was racing so incredibly that it was difficult to form words. She hadn’t seen Jerry look so cool before. In his current state, even she wasn’t certain she could handle him.

This new power that Legris dubbed as Aether… it was simply beyond her capabilities.

“Ciara…” The boy’s flaming body shifted a little, and his smile was once again flashed In her direction.

“… Allow me to protect you this time.”

“A-ah…” Her heart raced even faster—if that was even possible.

Flickering, fluttering flames lit up the darkness, in the form of a man. And Ciara thought she was gazing at an angel.

Her guardian angel.

Being the weaker one for the first time didn’t feel surprisingly bad. Her heart was sent out to Jerry and she wished with all her heart… that he would be her knight.

‘Jerry… I’m counting on you.’

“Hahaha. Isn’t this cute? Both of you really—”

>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<

Leaving a trail of heat and distorted space behind him, Jerry sharply lunged at Legris. His speed was beyond what a normal person would consider perceivable, and his charge was akin to a comet.

The flaming boy prepared the strongest punch he had ever thrown in his life, hoping to get one in as soon as possible.

>FWOOOOOSSSHHHH<

He launched the strike, sending shockwaves permeating through the area, and it closed in on the target.

However—

“What are you doing?”

Legris Damien suddenly appeared behind Jerry. He whispered in the boy’s ears with an amused smile on his face.

‘E-eh…?!’ Confused and frightened, Jerry felt all the hair on his skin stand.

How could a target that was right in front of him suddenly vanish behind him? Was he just so fast? Was it teleportation? Jerry swiftly moved his body to react to his opponent, but suddenly found Legris right in front of him again.

‘W-what?! I don’t understa—’

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM<

The one who threw the first successful punch was Legris, and it connected perfectly with his target.

Jerry, on the other hand, felt his brain tremble as the blow landed on his cheek.

Unable to breathe or react, he could only feel himself being helplessly thrust in the direction he came from.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!<

His crash generated a massive crater, and for a few seconds, Jerry was too dazed to even move.

His flickering white flames had protected him from a great deal of the injury, but Jerry was still recoiling from the shock.

“You both have things very backwards here. If you think you can beat me, you’re sorely mistaken.” Legris smiled.

He began advancing towards the two, his aura of malevolence growing thicker.

“I’ll be killing you now.”𝑜𝓋𝑙xt.𝒞𝓞𝔪