In my embrace, Aegis rustled in protest, unconscious from the severity of her wounds. The luster in her eyes fading with time.
A feeling of frustration boiled inside me as my gaze slowly drifted from the girl to the Thieves Troupe.
But that feeling was quickly quelled, for that feeling would bring me to my demise if I leaned on it.
'If I fight I'm dead, running away is also pretty hard.'
However, it wasn't impossible, if I bait them, escaping becomes more than just possible.
Thud!
My foot slams onto the concrete, its sharp sound travelling, on my face sat a blank stare devoid of any emotion. One full of tricks.
'I bet you don't know about this tech Clair.'
Slinging Aegis on my shoulder, the stale air from the garbage strewn all over hit all of us, tension rose and it didn't stop rising higher as I begin to bring my right foot behind my left foot.
A small, insignificant pool of water traced my movements with waves, drips of water slowly crashed violently and sharply onto the concrete.
Mana from the three of us seared with intense heat, leaking into the air as if there were a gas leak somewhere unbeknownst to us.
Clair, the batshit crazy interrogator of the Troupe whispered softly to Skullface.
"I'll support you."
Nod.
Skullface only nodded to her words, seemingly uninterested.
Clair, no matter what occurred would always back off from the front, she never fought directly, always sticking to a support role even way back when I was actively trying to save the world.
'I need to take her out.'
It was easy to do in my current level, Clair was never a fighter to begin with. The problem laid with Skullface.
He's a problem no matter which way I try to cut him off.
Not only is he physically enhanced, he's also mentally enhanced too.
'That part's too ambiguous. Making it more ominous to deal with.'
Skullface was someone I never fought, running into him early on killed me almost every single time.
Within my memories, information about him was especially lacking.
He's like a Pandora's box that was never attempted to open up.
'At best, I can only last 15 seconds at my current power.'
Anymore than that would be impossible. No amount of strategy or willpower could allow me to brute force my way through him.
15 seconds, take it or leave it.
And I took it.
As if I were spring, my body hurled towards Skullface.
Swoosh!
His fist expanded like a rubber balloon. Descending like a guillotine on squelching flesh.
Boom!
The sound of cracking soil and cobble reached my ears as I swerved behind Skullface, my speed astonished Clair, quickly fumbling a few paces back.
Skullface, adjusted to my speed swung his large arm at me.
I duck, awaiting for the weight of his hand to carry him away, but instead of that happening.
Thwack!
"Kugh!"
His enormous leg crushed my ribs, his stomp powerful enough to shatter the ground itself, the consequences webbed themselves in all direction. Cracks, both in my body and ground.
Before Skullface could stomp on me again, my feet pressed on his planted leg, with a sharp inhale, I launch myself through the ground, skiing on the cracks.
Thud!
His foot met the ground, mashing a print unique to him.
Through the mask, curdling red eyes met mine.
The air shifted, a spell casted, Clair at the back spoke her incantation, saliva trickling down to her chin as her mumbles reached me.
"Oh dwarven fairy, melt your metal through song, shape it in whichever way you seem fit and grant me a fraction of the song you sing to melt the same metal you shift."
With her eyes closed, she reached the peak of incantation, the sentence that would guarantee my death.
Without any hesitation for the side effects, I pour out all of my remaining mana, the holy blessing of intimidation leaked in the air.
"....!"
"...?!"
Normally, when someone is exposed to something for the first time, they flinch, the reason being the brain never anticipating anything like it.
There is nothing in this world the brain hates more than being wrong.
If you knew beforehand someone would slap you, you'd expect it, and even if you didn't stop the slap itself from defiling your dignity, you wouldn't be frightened by it as much as getting slapped without expecting it.
The unknown frightens all, but only for a mere moment does it frighten someone.
But that moment is what matters precisely, if this moment were to have never been born. I would die 10 out of 10 times.
The flow of mana had shifted towards my favor. Before Clair could recover again. I close in on her, my fist meeting her square on the jaw.
Thud!
It wouldn't be enough to knock her out, but if it made her lose even the slightest bit of concentration...That was more than enough for what I was about to do next.
"Cough..!"
A packet of blood smashed against my lips, adrenaline shot sky-high as my mana burned further.
Skullface was already closing in. Fist already about to hammer me like I were a nail lined perfectly.
With the rest of my remaining mana. I activate stealth, a reinforced one, not because I believed it'd hide me perfectly. But because I was betting my entire singular life that it would fail to activate.
That the system would chime in and say the nostalgic words of [Not Enough Mana!] and give me the penalty that I would make use of in this situation.
Mana is a peculiar thing, when used, it has to go somewhere, if you use a skill and you didn't have enough mana for something.
The mana wouldn't seep back inside you, it'd be expelled out of you, punishing you for your lack of awareness. Releasing all of your mana regardless of how much it is into the atmosphere.
That is called mana discharge, when you don't have enough mana to activate a skill or spell, all of your mana gets effectively bottomed out, forcing you into a state of mana exhaustion.
Mana exhaustion was a state that for 30 minutes wouldn't allow the action of mana regeneration no matter what.
To an awakener, that was a death sentence in the heat of battle, however, to me and many higher ranked awakeners. It was also a way to escape at least one time guaranteed.
"This trick only works once, the next time, someone like you will probably just brute force his way through it."
In mana exhaustion, something along with mana is erased from your bodily characteristics.
Your presence.
Mana is life, it's like a heart that keeps on beating spiritually alongside your own heart.
When it stops beating, the sound of your presence beating dissipates. Awakeners rely heavily on this sound to detect someone.
In other words, for the next 30 minutes, to all detection. I'm as invisible to the naked eye as the air.
BOOOM!
Steam bellowed, slow at first, but as if something pressed it from behind, it ushered forward, coating the entire area in a deep, low mist.