Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

60. The Confrontation

"Now, now. Why are kids always in a hurry? What's the rush, hmm?" Eagle asked when he saw us standing back with a smile on his face as he approached us. "Do you not want to have a little...hmm, idle chatter with your dear father?"

"Go die in some ditch."

"Ah, how cold..."

After a while, Yuki began to take on a shape that I was familiar with. Steam began to rise from the spot where she had shifted, exposing a stunning white tigress. She looked just like the Shirayuki I had seen before in the mountain, except she was much larger and more powerful. Who was that, anyway...? Could it be the actual Shirayuki within Yuki? My brows furrowed in confusion as I tried to figure out why there was a white tigress in that particular location...

Enkai grew bigger, although he did not totally turn into a puma throughout this transformation. His appearance seemed to be some kind of hybrid form or something along those lines, but this is the first time I've seen someone make such an appearance. Yuki stomped her feet on the ground, creating a thick layer of ice between Eagle and us, and I couldn't admire his visuals as much as I would have liked.

As if on cue, they took off at maximum speed in the direction of the path we had previously discussed. I was aware that Eagle was following us at the same pace we were running, but he couldn't keep up at all! With each step Yuki takes, a wall of ice rises from the ground under her. I could hear Eagle's frustrated groans from behind as he tried to avoid them but kept running into them. Even though we were in a difficult situation, I found it amusing.

With just a couple more turns, we were already on the field! I didn't have much time to think about what had just happened since we were already face-to-face with the kings in a split second. Leon was standing with a golden spear in his hand, while Orca stood next to him, spinning a trident as if he were bored. f*****g assholes...

Oh, they've got something up their sleeves, don't they?

I carefully got off Kasai's back as I stood far away from them, scared for my safety now that I had neither a physical body nor a means of defending myself in the face of an enemy. Although things can go through me again after Yuki lowered the amount of life force that she was sharing with me, it is not impossible for me to be injured again in this situation. The four of them have said they want to go all out, which implies that things will turn bloody around here very soon.

My mouth went agape out of amazement when Yuki's sapphire eyes began to glow, and her hair began to float freely in the air. The katanas she was wielding on each of her hands were emitting steam. Right now, she seemed to be a goddess. It was as if I were seeing the main character of a fantasy film that had been filmed on Earth. At first, I thought I'd cringe if I saw anything like this in person, but I take it back. It was an enthralling spectacle to see...

Eagle, who had just landed on the ground, confronted the twins. As they drew their swords, the three of them displayed a mocking smirk. I'm not sure why the twins despise Eagle, but I'm not going to question it since Eagle conspired with Leon to get rid of Yuki. That alone is sufficient enough for me to loathe his whole existence. But if I found out that he had done anything horrific to the twins, I would be even more enraged with him, much as I was with Orca when he insulted Fuyumi.

Oh, right. Speaking of Fuyumi! She was smiling at Orca, who was staring at her with a horrified expression on his face. I think this is the first time they've seen one other in a long time since their separation. Oh, wait a minute. Don't tell me the last time they saw each other was when Orca disappeared...? If that's the case, that explains the look Orca had on his face as he looked at Fuyumi.

"You..." he trailed off, his hands gripping his trident tighter. "I was told that you died alongside Hinami, you demon child!"

"As you can see, I'm still alive and well."

"You are not, though..." I whispered, hoping that Fuyumi wouldn't hear what I was saying.

Then I saw their ears twitching after I uttered those words. Maybe it was because they were listening to what I said! I can totally see the twins pursing their lips together in a futile attempt to prevent a burst of laughter from escaping. Fuyumi was also trying to keep a snicker under control by masking it behind a smirk. On the other hand, Yuki was briefly disturbed, but she immediately recovered her composure and continued. Perhaps I should avoid speaking since whenever I do, I end up bothering them...

Fuyumi cleared her throat before snapping her fingers to summon all kinds of elements to conform to her will. "I see you are baffled to find that I am still alive despite the widespread claims that my mother and I were dead."

"How on earth did you manage to stay alive for all these years...?" Orca asked, his jaws clenched together.

"To put it another way, I lived like a parasite, drawing energy from other people's lives in order to sustain my own. Fortunately, I had Yuki with me."

Just as Orca was going to say anything, Leon and Yuki jumped and attacked each other simultaneously. Because of the shock, I had to hold onto my chest. Those two simply charged at each other without saying anything, and it terrified the very daylights out of me! Even the step they took sounded like thunder, further exacerbating the situation.

But it is not where the surprise stops! My breathing hitched when I saw that Yuki and Leon were neck and neck in their battle! Yuki was shaking in dread the last time I saw her like this. But the only thing I can see on her face at the moment is arrogance. It seemed as if she didn't care about anything and was just enjoying herself while battling the strongest of the three kings. Even though I am fully aware that this is not her utmost strength at this time, I was hella amazed!

Fuyumi let out a sigh. "Ah, what a letdown. Yuki just beat me to it! Hey, you old man!"

"How dare you?!" Orca asked, enraged by the way Fuyumi addressed him. He spun his trident in preparation for an assault on Fuyumi.

Fuyumi laughed, but it was a hollow chuckle. "So, do you want to go at it?"

"Hah!" Orca gave a wry grin after hearing Fuyumi's comments, scoffing at her attitude. "I can understand how a devil-like you would act in this manner. But you may rest assured that I will permit you to see your dear mother as soon as possible. But will you please greet her on my behalf?"

"Hell no," Fuyumi answered as she vanished into thin air.

Orca did the same! The two of them were engaged in combat on both land and in the air, but they were moving too quickly for my eyes to keep up with them. I couldn't keep my lips shut as I struggled to keep up with their motions. I had no idea Fuyumi was capable of such feats since I had assumed she was just capable of manipulating water and turning it into ice, but I was wrong. I mean, that's what I was told, so how am I supposed to try those moves out in her body?

While I was looking at the two of them, I overheard Eagle chuckling as he leaned his spear on the Earth, which had become stuck. He seemed to be a drunk old man who was trying to challenge a group of people on the street. To be honest, I did not expect him to behave so casually in front of his children, who were out for vengeance. Enkai and Kasai just had their katanas put on their shoulders with bored expressions on their faces. This seemed to be more like...a street brawl.

"This is unjust from whichever perspective you take a look at it. Why am I the only one engaged in combat with two people?" Eagle asked. He was using a sad tone, but it was evident that he was just trying to be dramatic.

Enkai snorted and shook his head. "What a coward."

"What a shame. Hey, old man, don't tell me you've gotten rusty since the last time we spoke to each other," Kasai asked as he shook his head, acting disappointed with Eagle's response.

Sighing, Eagle raised his brows and shook his head. "I am not in the mood to engage in combat with the two of you. That is the one with whom I intend to fight," he said as he pointed at Yuki, who was really on par with Leon.

"Ah, I see. You want to get yourself killed."

"If I get to fight with Little Yuki right there, whether I survive to see another dawn or not is irrelevant."

"Allow me to pose this question to you once, dumb father......" Enkai trailed off while dragging his katana over the ground and slowly heading towards Eagle. "Why the hell did you decide to join forces with Leon?"

"Oh, such a simple question, given this is where your life ends," Eagle replied, a sarcastic sneer on his lips as he spoke. "I was just interested in seeing how Yuki intends to free herself from Leon's shackles."

"Hah, just as I thought. Of course! An old geezer like you will never do something that isn't amusing to your point of view."

"Bingo!" Eagle responded as if he were singing. "Now, do you want to get into it while we're waiting for them to finally let everything play out? It would be tedious to simply sit and observe."

"Oh? I was under the impression you were terrified."

"Who said such a thing?"

Eagle sprung to his feet as soon as he uttered those words, spinning his spear and charging at the twins. The two of them exchanged a sly grin as they started parrying Eagle's blows. My jaw dropped open because it seemed as though his true power was equal to the combined strength of Enkai and Kasai combined. Even though none of them was going full out at the time, I was well aware that the instant they did, they would end up demolishing the whole platform.

Damn, I can't deny that the kings are very powerful. I couldn't blink because it meant that I would have missed their moves. Even though I am completely numb right now, I have a feeling that I will have a stiff neck the next day since I was gazing all over the place to see what was happening. Yuki and Leon's battle was very intense in particular! The two of them were almost neck-and-neck in terms of performance. I was surprised to see such scenery before me because of the fact that Leon had been pushed back while we were on Fuyu island.

As I looked around, I tried to determine whether someone was trying to get in the way of their battle. Honestly speaking, I fully anticipated them to combat us without regard for fairness. I mean, that was how they have been fighting up until now. On the contrary, I have a strong suspicion that they still have a ruse up their sleeves now that they are up against Yuki. Unless they were trying to take the core within her, I would never think that they would go to such lengths to track her out and capture her.

Yuki seems to be aware of it since she never appears to have lifted her guard. Nonetheless, as their confrontations persisted, the four of them started to gain in strength. Even though I wasn't sure whether they were just getting started, I began to be concerned about what was going to happen. The kings seemed to have been anticipating this moment since we first stepped foot on this field. To be honest, I have no clue what the four of them had planned, so all I can do is sit back and observe.

Yuki seems to have opted to perform one of her most powerful and destructive spells when she noticed Enkai's water splattering all over the place due to the mess. Meanwhile, she was activating it while skillfully evading Leon's strikes and striking whenever the opportunity presented itself. Yuki seems to be a completely different person right now. At least compared to how I saw her before. She had a blank look on her face, yet she continued to do everything simultaneously. In the middle of all of this, I think she was still trying to figure out what the heck Leon was up to.

"Beautiful and elegantly cast, a blade inlaid with an eternal curse, and rendered as a broken statue, Rigid Glaze..."

"Yuki, what in the world are you doing?!" Fuyumi shouted furiously as she started to create a protective barrier around herself.

The twins also leaped away from the place, dragging me along with them in the process in case I got hurt by it. The three kings refused to move because they were certain that Yuki's spell would not be powerful enough to deliver significant harm to them. Except for Eagle, of course. He seemed to be prepared to take on Yuki's assault only to determine if it was strong enough or not.

A snowflake mark appeared on the ground, causing little explosions here and there across the landscape. A few grunts came from the kings' mouths, and Eagle seemed to be pleased with Yuki's performance. And then I saw Leon grinning as if he had won the race. I turned pale when it dawned on me that he was just waiting for Yuki to perform the spell before activating his own...

"Yuki, run!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.