Ultimate Level 1
Chapter 477: Finding Their Friend

Chapter 477 - Finding Their Friend

Atheila’s swords clanged against each other as she let out a roar, a similar aura coming from her.

“She’s passed the 60th floor!” Fowl exclaimed.

Max wanted to help but had promised he wouldn’t unless there was no other option.

Like Tanila, her older sister’s presence seemed to come from her in waves. Her golden eyes had a red tint around the edges.

Only the trio of elves standing near Cordellia didn’t seem affected by this display of power; the rest of their kind moved away from the area where both princesses were about to battle on.

“Stay back. Be ready to use your abilities,” Max said. “If what I think is about to happen does, the power loosed here will destroy this place.”

Batrire and Fowl both backed up, their warrior holding his shield outward.

He could see the trio who were holding their friend captive. The chain that they had her bound with was attached to a female elf, a thick chain locked to a belt she wore.

His sonar was going crazy, and the earth almost seemed to tremble as both women shifted slightly, each completely focused upon the other.

He had to wait for Atheila to engage. Only then could he risk the plan they had discussed. The slight variation made things harder as he wasn’t sure if the chain would affect anything.

A small horn appeared from the trio in one of the male warriors' hands.

A single note came and as he blew, both princesses engaged.

Magic sprang to life as Tanila cast multiple elemental walls, each destroyed by a single swipe of Atheila’s weapon.

In the blink of an eye, the older one had crossed the field, swords swinging without hesitation, cutting through the air where their mage had been.

Ice spears began to rain down from the sky, none of them large as Tanila didn’t have time to invest much mana. Yet, she created distance between herself and her sister, using her new spell to avoid a quick death.

Max didn’t wait as both women traded sides.

[ Blink ]

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

[ Power Strike ]

He could see the elf trying to react, her eyes unable to track and keep up with his weapon as the blade swung at the one who had bound themselves to his friend.

A clang sounded as a shield appeared before her, blocking his strike and sending the elf flying through the air and into a few buildings to her left.

“You-”

The other warrior's cry was interrupted as he roared. His frustration and the knowledge that one of them had to have used a skill similar to his prevented him from ending the life he had come to claim.

A sword came toward him, and his sword deflected it. He kicked the shield that protected the second warrior, using every ounce of strength he had.

Like the first, he was sent flying, crashing into the building behind him, shattering wood and stone.

His dimensional space appeared where Cordellia was and as he moved to grab her, dragging her inside, she and the elf attached to her suddenly vanished before he could.

Behind him raged a battle, earth being sent flying in all directions as Tanila and Atheila fought.

Max ignored it as best he could, sensing how close her sister came each time to landing a blow, shrugging off the spells that assaulted the older princess.

His sonar told him where the pair had gone, hearing his friend's cry off to the left.

Like a blur, he took off, running in that direction, seeing the woman holding up a staff and flames surrounding it.

She unleashed a spell he didn’t recognize, the tip of the weapon glowing and reminding him of the time he had fought the elf mage Aria in the arena.

He wanted to curse, but there wasn’t enough time. A dragon’s face came at him, flames and fire coiling like a snake.

Taking a chance he let it hit him, plowing through the blistering heat that began to burn his flesh.

[ Regeneration ]

It hurt, burning hotter than he had imagined, but it was only pain. That was something Max had learned to endure. All that time alone had been overwhelming. The fights he had faced on Igarra’s world had burned off the weakness that had once potentially afflicted him.

He smiled, knowing his entire body was covered in flames, potentially looking like the scene from the wurm long ago in the tower.

The expression on his opponent's face changed in a moment. The smirk she had worn at first was gone, her mouth now open, and words were trying to come out.

His weapon extended, transforming into a spear and he thrust his blade at her chest.

She flew backward, tumbling, dragging his friend who yelped in pain as his weapon struck a magical shield of some kind, shattering and piercing the outfit she wore.

Max spun, parrying the first elf's attack. Blue eyes glared at him. Only a single sword strike came, and the arm that had held his shield hung limply by his side.

A simple combo of four attacks sent the weapon flying from the elf, his hand still attached to the hilt.

“I DON’T HAVE TIME!”

[ Spell Burst ]

The ice shard he had summoned flew forward, and stone and dirt rose from the ground, preventing the warrior from escaping.

Max didn’t wait, not needing to watch as the shard of ice pierced the warrior’s chest, knowing that it would continue on the path he had sent it.

The sensation he longed for came, guaranteeing that his opponent wouldn’t rise again.

With that knowledge confirmed by the rush of cold through him, Max dashed toward the woman who dared to chain his friend to her.

Coughs came as the pair were entangled, the chain wrapped around them.

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A wand appeared, and Max watched as the elf pointed it at his friend.

She laughed, unleashing the lightning bolt, just a few small feet separating the pair.

[ Protect Ally ]

His body vibrated, the sensation of electricity tearing through him as the woman channeled the wand. Her eyes widened as the spell meant for Cordellia now struck his shield.

“You… lose…”

His words felt strained, his jaw not moving as he wanted, having to speak through clenched teeth.

Yet as he spoke, stone spikes came up from underneath, his Stone Mastery bringing forth weapons the world was kind enough to provide.

A scream came as his dagger-sized weapons pierced her body in over a dozen places, springing forth from the soil and into her flesh.

With the elf’s concentration broken, the wand stopped what it was doing and his body moved as he needed it to.

Max’s arm moved without delay, spear thrusting forward, catching the woman in her open mouth.

A single twist of his wrist sent a second cold sensation through his body.

Cordellia’s eyes looked at him, tears flowing and he wasn’t sure if it was from pain or happiness.

“You’re safe!”

His words came out, and as they did his sonar told him the truth of that moment.

Well over a hundred arrows rained down upon them.

He didn’t hesitate, eyes locked on his friend, shields forming around her. An earthen and stone dome surrounded their archer.

Countless arrows bounced off him, the occasional one finding a gap in his armor, sticking for a moment before his regeneration skill pushed them from his flesh.

Turning he saw a dozen elven archers about seventy yards away. A few had stopped firing arrows as the others continued to send them.

Some glowed with magical power, and his shield deflected the two he knew were empowered.

Each one did nothing but snap off, his strength allowing him to stride through the barrage of metal tips aimed at him.

A rage like no other came.

They were going to kill her… they were going to even kill their friend if that’s what it took to end Cordellia’s life!

Enduring the arrows, Max summoned his dimensional storage. With a simple use of his magic, he lifted the protective dome he had created and slipped it inside.

Once it passed through, it melted away, and Max grabbed the chain, which was hanging halfway in and out.

With a jerk, he snapped the thick links and tossed the broken end inside.

“There are potions. Rest. I’ll be back.”

“You came…”

Her voice told him that she had not believed they would.

The tears that came were another sign that what she had believed would happen wasn’t this.

“I told you. You’re family, and I’ll never stop protecting you.”

Sobs came and Max felt himself struggling with the need to act and to run in there and hug her.

“I need to end this. You need to rest. Take the potions and heal. Just know we’ll be together soon.”

Cordellia sniffed and nodded, her eyes trembling as the door shut.

Able to focus on the elves who had now realized the folly of their decision, Max laughed.

He could feel the hunger of everything.

Bob was gone, but his skill was still there. A part of his friend was still connected, and he thirsted for vengeance.

Every promise Max had made about protecting his friends and family stood less than seventy yards away.

“Time to die,” he growled.

Before any of them could react, a monster was in their midst.

Screams came as his spells burned them to a crisp, ice shattering their bones and his blade ensured that none would ever take a breath again.

Panting, he gazed around him, a dozen elves in various pieces, scorched and frozen.

A few yards away the last one was on their back, an arm missing, holding the stump with their other hand, eyes darting everywhere, looking it appeared for some way out.

“Mercy, I–”

“Made the wrong choice,” Max said as he stepped forward, his blade taking the elf in the heart.

The cold sensation was barely there, and the list of things that begged his attention was ignored.

Behind him the sounds of a storm and battle far worse than what he had just done rang out.

Without hesitating, he raced to his friends, knowing where they would be, smashing the pieces of buildings that occasionally rained down from above.

Bounding into the air, he looked down. The once-packed dirt now had furrows of freshly plowed soil.

Every building that was within thirty yards of the area was gone.

Way off to the side, he could see Fowl holding his shield, a pair of elves not moving on the ground.

Tanila and Atheila were still fighting, each with blood visible on their clothes and bodies.

Yet neither seemed to be slowing down as the pair knew what this fight meant.

Every ounce of him yearned to land near the older sister and plunge his blade into her.

Yet the promise he had made held him back.

“She’s my problem. You cannot interfere. Promise me.”

Tanila’s voice echoed in his mind as Max remembered her request. Somehow, Fowl and Rakonath had convinced him to agree to it.

Landing near their warrior and healer, Max’s shield came up, blocking a rock that flew in their direction.

“You two okay?”

“Barely… they came out of nowhere.”

“Rogues,” Batrire said as she spat. “It’s a good thing I used that potion.”

Max nodded and opened his dimensional space.

“We’ll talk later. Get inside.”

“You can’t be serious!” Fowl protested. “They’re–”

“We agreed. All of us. Now, go help Cordellia. She needs you.”

Both dwarves turned to see their archer looking at them, covered in dirt and filth, streaks of clean skin where the tears had washed away the mess from her cheeks.

“We’re here, dear. Let me help,” Batrire said as she stepped inside.

“I’ve got this,” Max said, motioning for his friend to follow the others.

“Your promise?”

Sighing, he nodded. “I won’t break it. But Atheila better hope Tanila kills her, or so help me that elf will know pain like no one should ever know.”

A grunt came from Fowl, and he jogged into the space with the other two.

“I’ll be back.”

As the door shut and he turned, Max frowned.

This is harder than she had expected.

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