With a flick of his hand flames began to slowly manifest behind him, forming into multiple shapes
Blazing spheres and arrows covering the sky
'This is problematic. I don't havd enough mana to keep this bluff up.. I'll just have to kill them before my mana exhausts itself'
With a scoff he pointed his finger at the horde of bandits immeadietly sending the barrage of flames hurling at them
'It's only 2nd circle magic but the sheer volume is taxing to my reserves.. Not to mention keeping my mask on..'
With a soft "Tch" Sound Nathaniel prepared to enter close quarter combat with his sword in hand, looking at the convoy behind him and the few B-ranks ahead of him
'Even if were exhausted this is more than enough'
He steeled himself as he jumped into the fray, swinging is blade with all his might,
Slashing, piercing, slicing his foes at once no bandit could challenge the Demon known as "Sol"
It was an unbelievable feet to think a C-rank adventurer could pull off
Swoosh!
Nathaniel stepped to the left barely dodging a war axe a massive goliath of a man threw at him
A grizzly man who was about 7 foot tall, his presence and pure strength diminishing the morale of the convoy
Their momentum put to a screeching halt as the fall man stood at the center of the battle holding two war axes
' ' Are you the one they call Sol? ' '
He asked, fury barely contained in his tone as he pointed an axe at Nathaniel who was like a mere ant compared to him
' ' If I were? ' '
' ' Then I'll claim the demon's head today. ' '
The goliath said arrogantly as he roaree shaking the ground
' ' Kael Ballad, remember that name. ' '
He shouted as he swung his giant war axe downwards to Nathaniel
With 2 steps to the left he managed to dodge though his footwork would be disrupted as the ground shook and cracked
Taking advantage of his smaller body, Nathaniel would choose to slowly tire Kael by wounding him
Hyup!
He'd slash toward the Goliath's ankle yet the wound would be too shalow and the damage was minimal serving only to enrage Kael
With a swing of his left axe downward Kael would force Nathaniel to retreat whilst his right Axe continued pushing pressure with another swing downward
'I'll deflect it.'
Casting his magic, Nathaniel would summon a decently large sphere of flames shooting it towards the Goliath's axe to create an openning
...
Unfortunately it was for nought, the Axe continued it's trajectory catching the adventurer off guard
Splat
Blood dripped from his shoulder from the axe's slash
'I manage to side step it but I still got caught.. He managed to slice through my magic meaning..'
' ' You.. You're able to use Aura. ' '
Nathaniel declared as he pointed his sword at Kael, enduring the pain from his wound
With a hearty laugh Kael nodded confirming his suspicions
'It's premature, he hasn't learnee how to use Aura properly.. If he had decent mastery my arm would be gone by now..'
Steeling himself Nathaniel managed to summon another fireball this time using it to cauterize his wound
The pain was nwaely unbearable causing him to grit his teeth beneath the mask yet if he wanted to stop the bleeding it was necesarry
'If I want to survive I need to utilize my aura as well no matter how under developed it is.. Even if I'm a mere 6th grade knight this won't matter. Something peculiar abour Mana and Aura is that they come from similar places, the heart. Magic which creates things outside the body and Aura that strengthens the body..'
Using his remaining strength Nathaniel would coat his body with his mana forming his very own aura
However weak it was it still would allow him to fight equally with Kael as long as he utilized his mana efficiently
Hyup!
Nathaniel lunged at Kael, thanks to the aura coating his body he was faster than before yet it also took a tol on his body as bis muscles practically screamed for him to stop
' ' Hahaha! Come on don't tell me you're about to collapse already! ' '
Kael shouted as he swung one of his axe's to the right
With a jump Nathaniel hopped over his swing as he threw a slash at the Goliath's chest
' ' Agh! Bastard! ' '
As blood poured down Kael's chest he covered the wound with his left arm causing the axe it once wielded to drop to the floor
'He's weakened!'
Nathaniel taking the opportunity lunged once again stabbing Kael's right hand causing it to become out of comission
'I have chance.'
With new found determination Nathaniel prepared himself to strike again yet..
Blegh!
He coughed up blood, the blood burning through the flaming mask as he fell to his knees, Exhaustion from using both magic and aura caused his mana to run out..
' ' Dammit.. ' '
He muttered to himself as he stares at Kael who was preparing his axe with a look that could only be described as pure anger
To be continued