System vs Rebirth

*Clink!*

*Clink!*

*Clink!*

A series of clicking sounds kept echoing on the battlefield. Noel was trying to block all Hailfa's attacks, but she gradually overwhelmed him in speed once she got used to his attacks.

At the same time, she kept releasing the poison to stop the others from coming. This way, Noel had to continuously use his fire to burn the poison, weakening him even further.

That was why even though the battle had begun for only ten minutes, Noel was already tired. This was the first time he had to constantly maintain his element while fighting the enemy.

It was true that his Spiritual Energy could last far longer than this. But this fight took a toll on his mind, especially since he was trying to come up with a plan to turn the situation around.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do other than get suppressed by Hailfa.

"Ha… Ha…" Noel panted while blocking a few strikes that aimed for his thigh. Hailfa didn't allow him to get some distance since she didn't want him to rest even for a few seconds.

This might be the first time he realized his weakness. What Damian said to him previously was correct.

He never had the time to master his abilities and made them even stronger. Instead, he just found another more powerful technique that could last for a while before changing it again.

Because of this rapid improvement, there was a hole in his solid foundation. And this hole was the one that caused all this mess.

If only he trained his Undying Fire and even controlled it. He might be able to create something that could extinguish the poison around her, allowing his teammates to help him.

But he could do nothing but regret. No, he didn't even have time for regret since Hailfa kept attacking him.

'What should I do now?' Noel clicked his tongue while looking around. Suddenly, Stella shouted in frustration.

"I can't allow this anymore. There's no way I'll allow him to fight against a Devil Bishop by himself. I'm going!" Stella was frustrated because she had allowed the newbie in the group to fight Hailfa alone. So, she came forth while covering her body with the wind. It seemed that she was planning to blow all the poison smoke that Hailfa emitted before it entered her.

She waved her sword, striking her from the side.

Even Hailfa had to stop for a second to block the attack. The wind indeed pushed her poison smoke away, but the poison didn't only exist in the form of gas. She had excreted some liquid poison on her dagger before blocking her attack. So, when the two blades clashed, the poison would flow to her sword.

Seeing the incoming poison, Stella actually didn't do anything as though she was not scared of poison. It was true that her ability was useful to blow the poison away, but she underestimated Hailfa far too much.

The poison was strong enough to melt her blade and stayed there until it created a hole. If this continued, her blades would be destroyed before she knew it.

But surprisingly, Stella wasn't panicking when she saw a hole in her blade. Instead, her entire body disappeared as though she moved at a speed not visible to the naked eye.

"Huh?" Hailfa tried to find Stella, but she found out that Stella hadn't taken a single step from her previous position.

In other words, the Stella from earlier was nothing but an illusion. And that illusion came from Rose, giving some time for Noel to catch his breath.

"!!!" Hailfa gritted her teeth. She was truly being played by this group, even though they were weaker than her.

"As expected, I should get rid of you first!" Hailfa turned to the side and leaped toward Rose.

Due to the time Rose brought, Noel could clear up his mind a bit. He hurriedly stood in her way while swinging his sword.

Circular Sword Strike.

Noel spun his body, creating a circle of sharp blades that gradually expanded.

"…" Hailfa stopped this blade from expanding in her direction, causing the expansion to lean toward Rose, who was behind him.

The Telekinesis appeared on top of her and pushed her to the ground, slowing her speed. At the same time, Stella brandished her swords at each other, creating a wind from both sides that tried to crush her.

Hailfa gritted her teeth as she destroyed the wind by making a sharp movement to the sides.

Ben waved his sword, sending forth a crescent-shaped sword strike and somehow stopping her track. Then, Zion stomped the ground and kicked a rock in her direction.

She used soft strength to deflect the rock, but because of the distance, everyone could easily avoid the rock.

They all were desperate to stop her. Even though they couldn't join the battle directly, they still tried their best to help Noel.

Noel took advantage of this opportunity to rest his mind.

As expected, Hailfa hurriedly chased after him again, stopping him from catching his breath.

Noel's face became paler as time passed. Even with their help, Noel would lose sooner or later.

Seeing such a situation, Stella approached Rose and whispered something to her.

Meanwhile, Noel swung his sword upward as the flame that covered his sword flared up, extending its reach for a few meters.

Hailfa effortlessly avoided it and took that chance to kick Noel in the stomach.

"Gah." Noel coughed up some acid from his stomach, but he hurriedly stood back up.

'Ah… I really want to practice.' Noel muttered in his mind. All he could think about was how he could become stronger after surviving this fight. He never felt any more useless in a fight than this.

"Iadre. I am going to help you. I will stop her for a few minutes, so you can catch some breaths." Stella shouted in frustration before leaping forth.

'Hmm? Another illusion?' Hailfa turned to Stella. She wanted to ignore Stella since she thought she was an illusion, but when she used her Spiritual Energy to sense Stella's location, she found nothing. In other words, the one in front of her was the real Stella.

*Clink!*

The wind that covered her blade burst, knocking her back.

But Hailfa was still fast enough to send her poison and create a hole in her blade.

The battle had just begun.