The Nightmare Wizard
Chapter 77: Clash

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Clash

William headed toward the infirmary, and with every step, he felt the new gazes upon him: a palpable mix of respect and envy. The rumor of his recent advancement had spread like wildfire throughout the ship. For a novice to reach Apprentice Level 2 during the journey was unheard of; normally, such a feat would require an additional year of training, not counting the voyage itself, due to the low mana concentration in the ocean. The mere fact that William had achieved it was an extraordinary feat in itself.

Upon arriving at the infirmary, William saw Lía standing at the door. She was biting her lips and looked visibly nervous, pacing back and forth. So absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t notice William’s arrival. Seeing her like this, William felt a mischievous urge. He crept up behind her and lifted her by surprise, making Lía scream and flail, waving her arms and crying for help.

William let out a shrill laugh as he lowered Lía, releasing her from his waist. He brought his face close to hers before sealing her in a long, deep kiss. Lía, surprised and a little embarrassed by the others watching, tried to pull away, but William held her tighter, preventing her from moving even an inch.

Feeling William slightly loosen his grip, Lía whispered, embarrassed, "They’re watching us." With a mischievous smile, William retorted, "To hell with all of them," before taking her lips again, invading her mouth with his playful and teasing tongue that explored every corner.

After toying with her mouth for a while, William released her and embraced her, resting his head between her breasts as he sighed, "Let me just stay like this for a moment." Surprised by William’s childish behavior, Lía let him cuddle, tenderly stroking his head as she whispered, "What’s wrong? It’s unlike you to act this way." Without moving, William replied, "I feel happy. I managed to ascend a Level and met Master Aurus’s expectations, but I feel a little empty and lonely, so I just wanted to feel you for a moment."

Learning that Aurus would be leaving, William felt, for the first time, fragile. He hadn’t realized how much he depended on him. Even when the Kraken attacked him, he hadn’t been afraid, thinking Aurus would save him. Despite surviving purely by luck, he had believed Aurus would rescue him at the critical moment.

Lía didn’t know what was going through his mind, so she remained silent, just stroking his head for a few minutes. Finally, William got up and resumed his intrepid, fearless demeanor. However, Lía could now see that beneath that facade was a normal person, and the fact that William only showed this side to her gave her a sense of accomplishment.

Now composed, William asked her why she had looked so nervous when he arrived. She replied that she had spoken with Kaela, but didn’t know what to do. "I was waiting for you to come with me; I was just afraid of how long you’d take or if other people might come first."

The way Lía expressed herself showed that something wasn’t right, so William responded, "Let’s go to Kaela. Despite everything, Dixon and I grew fond of her, and even though she turned her back on me, I can’t allow anyone to humiliate her."

Lía knew well what William meant by "grew fond," as Dixon and William had "fucked" her in front of everyone, making her reach ecstasy and come more than three times before passing out with a distorted smile on her face. Remembering this, Lía pouted for a moment before letting it go, knowing she couldn’t monopolize someone as impressive as William.

Lía entered the infirmary with William walking behind her. Inside, numerous beds were occupied by seriously injured patients. Most had missing limbs, while the less severe cases presented fractures. William had grown accustomed to receiving healing potions, but now he realized that the only reason he had access to them was because of his professor Aurus and, on this occasion, his necklace, which had saved the captain’s life, making him value those potions even more.

Upon reaching one of the final rooms, they saw a young, dark-haired woman with green eyes who seemed to have a lifeless gaze. The girl appeared lost in thought, as if she were somewhere else.

Seeing Kaela in that state, William seemed to understand something. She showed clear symptoms of post-traumatic stress, which could indicate abuse by her assailant. In his mind, he spoke to Angel: "Angel, analyze Kaela and look for any trace that identifies that bastard." In William’s mind, that familiar voice sounded once more: "Understood, William. Searching..."

Approaching her, William extended his hand, touching some superficial cuts on her arms and legs. "What happened to you, Kaela? You know you can count on me..." Kaela’s gaze seemed to focus for a moment before tears streamed from her eyes like a river. But no matter how they called her, she wouldn’t utter a single word. William turned to Lía and asked, "What did she tell you? What happened?" Hearing these words, Kaela spoke for the first time: "Don’t involve William in this, this is my punishment for being so stupid." Kaela’s words ignited William’s fury. He could almost intuit what had happened, but before he could say a word, the curtain opened, and Eldrin and Roderick entered, walking nonchalantly.

Seeing William in the room, both their faces darkened, and they cautiously took a step back. The three stared at each other intently as William reached for the sword at his back. As he gripped it, the air in the room dropped several degrees from the glares they exchanged.

"What are you trying, you damned commoner? Do you know who we are?" Their words caused William’s rage to overflow. Without hesitation, William unsheathed his sword with a vertical cut against Roderick, who instantly activated his mana shield, only for it to be destroyed in a second by William’s brutal attack. "Damn you, die...!" With a scream that tore from his soul, William attacked with all his might again, activating the Plum Blossom Steps. The sword took on a reddish hue once more, as if understanding its master’s desires. Pity was not an option, and the thirst for blood was so dense it could almost be felt.

Roderick and Eldrin felt the claws of death looming over them, so they ran outside while counterattacking William with fireballs. But William easily cut through them with his sword. In his mind, a conversation between his uncle and one of his ancestors echoed as he handed him the sword: "When this sword drinks blood and Mana, you will feel true power. It’s a pity I won’t be alive to see it. Always advance with courage and never retreat; nothing will stop you then." Those were his last words before exhaling his final breath.

William understood what he meant. The sword vibrated as if begging for more sustenance; the attacks were directly absorbed, making its glow even more intense. Seeing this sight, Eldrin and Roderick felt even more fear as they ran out of the tent, screaming for their lives.

Like a Soul Reaper, William emerged onto the deck, wielding a gleaming sword. Eldrin’s pleading voice begged for mercy, while Roderick threatened his family’s vengeance, only to receive a glacial response from William: "Yesterday, you both tried to kill me and meddled with what belongs to me. Nothing can stop me."

With a devastating impulse, William attacked both, switching targets with each cut to avoid their counter-spells. Seeing William fighting in such a manner, Renno ran off to find the captain, as things had completely spiraled out of control.

Despite his efforts, William couldn’t deliver a devastating blow. Although their mana shields were useless, Eldrin and Roderick were quite skilled in a fight. Fortunately for William, they couldn’t use Void Walk, or he would be completely lost.

Throughout all these attacks, William had only managed to execute the seventh strike of his technique. He knew he was too weak to launch the eighth, which caused him incredible frustration. Furthermore, using spells would be useless, as his opponents were better mages than him. If he wanted a chance, he had to use his advantage as a knight. With a deep breath, William told Angel in his mind: "Angel, remove the human limiters." To which Angel replied: "Understood, activating Protocol Omega."

Although Angel could no longer interfere with his body as before in Eternal mode, Protocol Omega was a temporary hypnosis that inhibited the human body’s instinct for self-preservation, replacing it with the instinct for survival. This fully unleashed the human body’s latent power, without restrictions.

The fury had completely blinded him so he no longer thought at all, this ability was just a concept he had used in his past life as an experiment, he wanted to test why parents can lift cars when their children are in danger or move many times faster than they normally could when their bodies are activated with pure adrenaline, but apart from controlled experiments he had never used it, but now the only thing that mattered was killing them all.

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