The dark rose's cry [Act 1 finale]

The Joker charged at Teras with the speed of sound and tried to slash him with his blade but Teras was able to block the attack and also counter-attacked with his sword, but the Joker managed to dodge the attack by kicking Teras's hand, the Joker then tried to stab Teras with his dagger but Teras was able to catch Joker's hand before attacking

'This boy is.... sucking my mana out of my body! Don't tell me this guy is an angel'

The Joker thought, only angels had this kind of abilities but most angels were dead, well to make it easier to understand only one angel was still alive

The Joker tried to free himself with a headbutt but even after hitting Teras, the Joker was still unable to free himself

Teras then with a powerful attack of his sword, he launched the Joker in the air, and then followed with an air slash with the mana-enhanced dagger, this attack made Joker fly above all of the trees

The Joker could see everything from up there, after some while the Joker started falling but before he could enter the forest Teras used his mana overload to send out a powerful explosion at Joker

After this big explosion, many trees started catching on fire, while burning pieces of their branches fell on the ground starting a fire there too

"Look at this mess you made! Even I couldn't make this place look like this, but I was very close to that to the village, only if I had time to start a fire, then it would have been a masterpiece"

The Joker said as he laughed, Teras immediately thought of Yuta village when Joker said that, so he responded with violence

Teras sent out an air slash towards the Joker but Joker easily dodged it by leaning behind, the attack, Teras then jumped on top of Joker and tried to punch him in his face but Joker dodged that too, he then stuck Teras on his chin with a precise punch launching him away from him, but before Teras was launched away he created an explosion that damaged Joker

The two men then charged at each other and exchanged multiple swings from their weapons, each swing created a powerful enough wave of air to make the fires wilder and bigger, after the mindless blows Teras tried to kick the Joker but failed because the Joker was starting to out-sped him, Teras then tried something different, with a powerful step he destroyed the land bellow them and then used mana overload with his feet, making the ground even more unstable than before, the Joker lost his balance and then was where Tears stuck

He used his dagger to create multiple air slashes that all dealt damage to the Joker and also drove him back, Teras then jumped towards the Joker like a wild beast and punched him once again, sending him deep into the flames

But it was futile, the Joker harmlessly emerged through the flames like nothing

The Joker then created another air bullet and launched it at Teras, this time Teras didn't slash it or dodge it, he used his hand to repel it to a tree destroying it and also stopping it from burning, the Joker also charged at Teras, unarmed now

He punched him swiftly on his head and kicked him in both his legs and ribs, and to end his combo the Joker leaned towards Teras and punched him from a low point, throwing him in the air, while Teras was in the air the Joker's dagger stabbed him on the chest. The Joker had thrown the dagger beforehand and calculated his attack with precision, a precision this good that Teras didn't have time to react

"What about that kid? Are you able to recover from that?"

The Joker asked him as he saw Teras landing on both of his feet

Teras simply pulled the dagger out of his chest looked at it and threw it back to Joker at a reasonable speed, it was not an attack, it was an act of kindness, Teras simply returned the weapon to his pray so the fight would be fun

"Are you this confident kid?"

The Joker asked as he charged at Teras, he tried stabbing Teras but Teras used a mana shield to block his attack, he then readied up a punch

'Is he going to break his own shield in order to attack?'

The Joke thought but before he could see the answer for himself the mana shield suddenly opened up a hole, Teras's hands went through this hole and right into Joker's face launching him back

'This mana control is immaculate! Is this boy really a low-ranked adventurer?'

The Joker thought as he compared Teras to his allies

As soon as the Joker landed on the ground Teras tried to punch him once again but Joker managed to move Teras's hand out of his way and counter-attacked with an enhanced air power attack, the attack made Teras fly away from the Joker, but it didn't end there, Joker also prepared an attack for Teras

As soon as Teras landed on the ground a strong air bullet struck him and launched him into multiple trees, he pierced many and finally stopped when he found himself on another big open field surrounded by trees, the fire hadn't reached this spot yet so the air was cleaner and more visible

'What have I become?'

Teras wondered as he looked at his covered-with-black aura hands, his hands were bloody and messed up from the attacks, and his body was no different either but he couldn't see that yet

In this moment of realization, his power decreased and his senses slowly came back

'Why am I fighting him? There is no way I can win against the Joker! He is a global threat that even Tokkou can't fight head-on, so who am I to do it?'

Teras thought as he started running away, but before he could leave this wide-open field Joker found him and hastily dashed at him

"What happened kid? We were having so much fun so why run? Are you out of mana?"

The Joker asked with a diabolic smile, Teras tried to slash him with his sword but the Joker easily grabbed it with his bare hands

"What's up with this weak-ass attack? Are you really done for?"

The Joker asked Teras, he looked confused

Teras took advantage of his frozen-like state to create a huge explosion launching him and Joker in opposite directions

'I have to run, I have to get away, from here....'

Teras thought

"...And leave this bastard that killed your friends go?"

The dark figure asked him, the dark figure was expanding from his back

'It's not like I can do anything, he is too strong!'

Teras thought as he continued to run, this time he even placed his sword and dagger into his armor's belt to run faster, the Joker quickly recovered from the attack, he got up and looked at Teras running and he simply smiled

'He is just like a small ant running away from a predator, how did I let someone like him take my right arm and my rightful weapon?'

The Joker thought as he started chasing Teras at a speed that didn't exceed Teras's, he did it on purpose just so he can make Teras feel threatened, scared, and useless...

"Turn back and fight Teras, you are not going to reach your dream this way"

The dark figure told him

'Turning back is suicide! I won't make it if I don't run, this was our only option from the start'

Teras thought as he constantly looked behind him to see if the Joker was following, suddenly he bumped into something, this something was the Joker

"If you give me back my knife I will let you go, how does that sound?"

The Joker asked Teras with an innocent smile

"Don't! He will kill you right away!"

The dark figure told Teras

Teras was frozen, he couldn't move a muscle or say anything

'Pull yourself together! I have to survive but everything I do seems to lead to a dead end, I can't really trust the shadowy figure and I can't fight this guy but I can't outrun him either so what do I do? Think, think, THINK!!!'

Teras thought as he desperately crawled away from the Joker

"I'm sick of your silence, you shall now tell me your last words, since you entertained me for so much I might as well grant you a wish like this"

The Joker said as he raised his dagger, Teras still couldn't say a word but he knew he had to

"Silence again huh? Then I suppose it's over"

The Joker said as he tried stabbing Teras but something sudden happened, Teras got up in a flash and grabbed the Joker's arms with his one arm and his neck with his other, suffocating him in the process and also doing something mysterious

"I CAN'T DIE HERE!!!"

Teras screamed with all of his force

'He is draining my mana again? I thought angels had to be in an uncontrollable state to do th...'

Before the Joker could complete his thought a sudden attack from an animal launched him away

The one that attack the Joker was a familiar companion of Teras, it was Cromi! But she was much bigger, in fact, she was big enough for Teras to ride her and that's what he did, somehow Teras knew that Cromi wanted the same thing, so he quickly got on top of her and the bunny started running away

"How did you get here Cromi? This place is a mess!"

Teras said with an emotionless smile as he petted Cromi's head

Cromi continued to run but it didn't take long for the Joker to recover and chase after them, he had a hole in his chest that penetrated his spine but for some reason, the Joker could still move freely

"COME BACK YOU COWARDS!!!"

The joker screamed as he launched himself towards them, but thanks to Cromi's speed they managed to avoid the attack Joker directed at them, but he didn't stop chasing them even after failing to kill them the first time

The Joker destroyed multiple trees and rocks while mindlessly chasing them, Cromi on the other hand dodged every obstacle while maintaining her top speed but their luck finally ran out

Not long from where she was running Cromi saw a house that had been built on the top of a hill, the problem with this hill was that it was surrounded by a very big scarp

Cromi then took a risk, well not exactly a risk since she knew what she had to do was suicide but for her savior, she would have done anything

Battle bunnies are loyal and never-forgetting animals which is why Cromi didn't slow down when she neared the scarp, instead, she sped up, faster and faster until she reached the edge, that's when she jumped as high as she could but her jump wasn't enough to reach the other side of the cliff so she bit Teras's clothes and launched him as far away as she could but that still wasn't enough

"Why are you doing this?"

Teras silently asked Cromi, Cromi simply looked at Teras with a happy expression before getting cut into pieces by the Joker

"I WILL KILL YOU EVEN IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO!!!"

The Joker screamed as he launched himself toward Teras, when Teras saw him getting closer he reacted with the same energy

"LIKEWISE BASTARD!!!!"

Teras screamed as he used an explosion to redirect himself at the Joker

The Joker tried stabbing Teras but he dodged the attack by creating a mana shield to redirect his movement, Teras then used his legs to grab into the Joker's head and with a swift maneuver turned him upside-down, Teras then used his hand to create a big explosion that resulted to them spinning on the air, Teras took advantage of this created speed to throw Joker towards the bottom of the cliff with his legs

'This bastard!!!'

The Joker thought but Teras wasn't done yet, while grabbing Joker's head he also managed to steal his last remaining dagger, Teras then threw the dagger with all of his strength to the Joker stabbing him and also making him fall faster

'Now it's over, I did everything I could, so as I fall in my death, I can finally feel the freedom I always wanted to feel, having no thoughts, having no responsibility, that's freedom'

Teras thought as his body was falling but suddenly a woman appeared right in front of his eyes, this woman had grey hair and dark skin, the woman then grabbed one of Teras's legs and suddenly both of them were on the top of the hill that Teras saw before falling down the cliff

"What are you doing here kid?"

The woman asked him confused

"Are you an adventurer? What the hell were you blasting out here? Didn't you see the signs around? Do not approach this house if you are not a capital official"

The woman told him as she started walking away from him

"I won against him..."

Teras mumbled

"Excuse me?"

"I managed to win the Joker, I did it, I won... I'm strong...."

Teras said with an empty smile on his face

"What are you talking abou...."

Before the woman could finish her question Teras let out a scream filled with pain and sadness as he slowly crumbled on the floor, he used the dirt and grass of the hill to release his sadness and anger

"I KILLED THEM, I KILLED THEM ALL!!! LIA, CARA, HAR, EVERYONE IS DEAD BECAUSE OF ME! BECAUSE I WAS SUCH A WEAK LEADER!!! NOTHING HAS CHANGED! I'M STILL THE SAME OLD WEAK BRAT THAT NEEDS HELP AND PROTECTION FROM OTHERS! I SHOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT OUT OF THERE! I SHOULD HAVE DIED TOO!!!"

Teras yelled those words while tears fell down his face, but for some reason he had a big smile on his face, the woman was very confused

"What are you saying, kid? Did you fight the Joker?"

The woman asked him confused as she approached him

"...You know what? Maybe I should die... Yeah that sounds nice"

Teras said as he slowly walked to the edge of the hill but before he could fall the woman suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked him back into the land

"What are you thinking kid? I don't know what happened but suicide is not the answer!"

The woman told him as she hold his shoulder

"B-But I killed them, my choices and my lack of power killed them...."

Teras said, the tears were still running like a river, the woman saw that so she simply hugged Teras and told him

"Just let it all out and cry"

Teras's legs then gave up on him and Teras started breaking down into tears, he cried and cried and cried, until tears couldn't form in his eyes anymore

''Do you cry because you were weak or because you weren't strong enough? Because if you want to know there is a big difference between those two words"

The woman asked as he looked into Teras's eyes, after all this crying Teras had calmed down

"I'm still far too weak..."

Teras said with emotionless eyes

"Then this is your lucky day, I'm willing to teach you some secrets about fighting, are you ready about that kid? I know what it feels like to lose friends but you can't stay weak in this world or things like these will repeat so what do you say? Are you in for a little challenge?"

The woman asked him with a smile, she tried to cheer Teras but it was futile

"Whatever... I don't care, you can train me, assault me, enslave me, kill me, I don't care anymore, do whatever you want with me..."

Teras said with a weak voice, his spirit was broken from what happened, and that's normal, how can someone continue this easily after an incident like this?

"Thank you for trusting me! I swear that I will turn you into a reformed person, so give me your all and I will give you all of me!"

The woman said with a smile, she was able to see the potential of Teras and also trusted her gut feeling, plus she couldn't abandon a person this hurt, not again... Even if things looked like they were over the woman gave Teras the once-in-a-lifetime chance to become stronger and didn't even know it...