With Jasmine having significantly enhanced my stats, I walked away from the Crestfallen Kingdom, creating the illusion that I'd already gotten her to safety, though I doubted it worked, but since I knew I wouldn't be able to defeat whatever or whoever was approaching, I had to use every little thing I could use to increase my chances.
Keeping my head low, I walked nonchalantly, oblivious to the danger I was in, though with [Heroes Gaze] giving me an omnidirectional view, it didn't matter where I was facing; I would still see everything.
Minutes passed with nothing happening, though after some time, I began to see those homunculi assassins from before surrounding me while remaining hidden within the forest. They watched me for a few minutes while several others continued to arrive, a sight that caused me to internally wince as I wasn't facing just a few; no, the number had surpassed twenty and was now reaching thirty. However, what made things worse was that these homunculi assassins weren't what my heart warned me of; they were merely the appetizer for what was to come.
'Fuck me! 35 of them!? Whoever is behind them REALLY wants Jasmine dead.' Thought Alexander with an ugly expression, which was quickly concealed with a yawn, while facing the sky.
While I wouldn't say I was confident, I could see myself surviving this; I had two lives at my disposal, and although I hated the thought of using [Rebirth], there were just too many enemies; I will die unless I flee, which I will attempt, but I'll stop if they ever switch their focus to Jasmine.
I'd already formulated a rough plan to get out of here, so now, all I was waiting for was the right moment to enact it, and after a few minutes, it came, as the thirty-five assassins suddenly launched themselves out of the forest and onto the dirt trail, prompting me to instantly dash forwards as I used [Strength Augument] and [Speed Augument] alongside infusing my body with mana.
Although I reacted quickly, a few of the assassins had leaped in front of me, blocking any path of escape, so I had to charge right through two of them while they latched themselves onto my body. Before they could attack me, though, I grabbed their necks and created two [Fire Ball]'s as I slowly burned through their necks, decapitating them with fire.
Watching their bodies drop to the ground, I tossed their heads behind me and continued running, though I couldn't help but shake this weird feeling.
'Why didn't they attack me?' Thought Alexander in confusion as he looked behind him, narrowing his eyes at the thirty-three assassins chasing him.
As I looked behind me, I furrowed my brows, noticing not a single one of the assassins was wielding any weapons, which confused me, yet since I didn't want to get too far away from Jasmine, I came to a sudden stop, prompting the remaining thirty-three assassins to surround me.
Unholstering my swords, I turned and pointed them in opposite directions as I watched a few of the assassins grab a vial before tossing it at my feet, causing the pinkish liquid inside to turn into a gas as it enveloped me. After a few moments, the gas dissipated, and I was left standing, confused yet smirking as I eyed the assassins.
I had no idea what that gas was meant to do, but it didn't matter since I was immune to it; smiling victoriously, I wasted no time and lunged toward the left, swinging my swords at the assassins, killing two of them with one attack.
"My turn." Muttered Alexander with a faint smirk as he killed another assassin with the swing of his other sword.
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As I gazed at the bodies surrounding me, I sported a satisfied smile, though I remained just as confused when the battle started. These homunculi didn't try to attack me, nor did they attempt to flee; no, all they did was toss these vials with pinkish liquid inside of them; it was confusing as hell.
"However, I'm thankful. I would've had a significantly harder time." Muttered Alexander with a faint smile as he holstered his swords on his back while dusting his hands off.
However, just as I was about to make my way back to Jasmine, a small group of people began to approach me, yet unlike normal, they were doing so under the cover of darkness, and I meant so literally. They were using darkness mana to conceal themselves within the darkness, making them invisible to the naked eye; if it weren't for me using [Heroes Gaze], I, too, wouldn't have been able to see them.
There were only five of them, but they were much stronger than the Homunculi assassins, which made me slightly nervous as I pretended they didn't exist, hoping they would get close enough to attack distance; however, they never did, they stayed out of range, which irritated me as I debated whether to attack anyways.
'If I use [Expand], I may be able to kill one. No, probably only injury; they're not weak.' Thought Alexander lightly while tapping his chin as he casually walked, pretending they didn't exist.
Just before I could make a move, a woman suddenly appeared before me, and although she hadn't concealed herself within the darkness like the five others, a ring of light enveloped her, making her features stand out.
"I will handle him. Kill the Saintess." Ordered Sash sternly as she eyed the five, prompting them to nod within the shadows before swiftly dashing across the dirt trail.
The instant the woman shifted her gaze to me, my heart, which had been beating erratically, suddenly stopped before returning to its normal heart rate, causing me to narrow my eyes as I cautiously stared at the woman.
'So she's the danger my heart's been sensing?' Thought Alexander with an ugly expression as he observed the woman.
Despite standing in a ring of light, she didn't use light mana, no, quite the opposite; she had forcefully pushed the darkness mana away from her, leaving only light mana to fill in the spot, creating a ring of light.
Since we were clearly enemies, I took the liberty of analyzing her status, causing her to frown slightly, though what I saw caused me to faintly smile, and it wasn't because I was happy; I simply accepted my inevitable defeat. I could see most of her Status; the only thing hidden from view was her class and subclasses, yet none of those mattered as just her intelligence stat alone was more than double all of my stats combined.
I didn't even have a sliver of a chance against this woman before me; it was a laughable match-up.
'Oh, use [Divine Wrath], Master!' Said Trina happily as she wiggled her body in excitement.
'Pointless… It'll never hit her.' Thought Alexander with a wry expression as he fearlessly stared at the woman, who stepped forward.
"That is quite rude… Alexander Vestalis." Said Sash as lightly as she looked at Alexander with a faint glint, causing him to frown.
Sensing that uncomfortable feeling, I inwardly clicked my tongue, but I could do nothing about her viewing my status.
"Before you fight me, I'd like to clarify things… I'm not your enemy. I'm from the Great Church of Goddess Junsuina; I've come here under the orders of the Pope so that you may return to your rightful place, given your status as a High Human." Declared Sash softly as she glanced at Alexnder, slightly bowing, causing him to frown before scoffing.
"And what status is that?" Asked Alexander with a frown as he eyed Sash while tightly clenching his swords, causing her to raise an eyebrow before nodding.
"As a High-Human, you're the first species created by Goddess Junsuina, and in turn, you're the closest one to her to Divine status, and as such, you'll unite the continent and rule over everyone, removing impurity along the way." Stated Sash lightly as she looked at Alexander, who narrowed his eyes.
"Impurity? Do you mean anyone who isn't a human?" "Yes, if you see it like such. But anyone who isn't a human is impure, and all impurities must be permanently cleansed in the name of Goddess Junsuina." Remarked Alexander and Sash, respectively, as the former scoffed while the latter calmly nodded, angering him.
"So killing? You want me to lead a demented church that slaughters hundreds of thousands of innocent people, simply because they're not human? It doesn't matter which world you reincarnate in, they're all somewhat similar, huh." Asked Alexander as he angrily stared at Sash, who frowned before nodding.
"You can stop with the stalling. My men will be more than enough to deal with the Saitness; I'll have no need to make a move myself." Said Sash blandly as she looked at Alexander, who, clicked his tongue with a nod.
"True… But I was never stalling for her." Replied Alexander lightly as he looked at Sash, who suddenly lunged at him, yet she was too slow as his figure suddenly vanished.
Using [Teleport], I appeared in the same spot where Jasmine and I had separated as I quickly eyed the five men that were dashing through the darkness; with them still alive, it would be impossible for Jasmine to flee to Crestfallen.