Harem Sync: Divine Edition-Chapter 23: "The Price of Protection"

"Ooo, she has claws," said Vandris, waving disdainfully.

He gestured to the guards.

"Kill her." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The guards present, all except the one holding Haru, turned around. They ran towards Kira.

Haru took advantage of that brief moment of distraction. The guard who had placed the sword against Isabela’s throat had also gone against Kira.

Haru elbowed the guard holding him, the guard let go, staggering backward.

Haru jumped onto the table, ran across it, going straight for Isabela. Isabela (still gagged) widened her eyes.

"Hmhmhmhm!" she tried to scream.

She desperately waved to the sides. Get down! GET DOWN!

Haru threw himself to the side.

An explosion of energy passed exactly where he was, it wasn’t big, but it was fast. It was deflected towards the ceiling.

Pieces of wood They fell.

Vandris, who was standing next to the guard, was the one who dodged.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled at the guard who had cast the spell. "Reduce the firepower! It’s not meant to kill!" "I need it to work well!"

Haru had already grabbed a knife from the table, went behind Isabela’s chair, and began cutting the ropes quickly, serratedly.

Meanwhile, a guard ran towards him, sword raised.

On the other side of the room, Kira’s fight against the five guards was balanced... For now.

Kira fought with pure brute force, without mana, only claws, speed, and instinct.

The guards used mana reinforcement, faster movements, stronger blows, but Kira compensated with brutality. He ripped out one’s throat, kicked another against the wall, blocked a blow with his forearm, ignoring the cut, and pierced the guard’s chest with his claws.

The guard who was running towards Haru jumped with his sword descending in an arc straight towards Isabela, who was still being untied, sitting in the chair, defenseless.

Haru, who was behind her cutting the ropes, pulled the chair back. The guard’s sword pierced through. on the wooden floor.

The guard pulled, but it wouldn’t budge.

Haru finished cutting the ropes from Isabela’s hands, and handed her the small knife.

"Untie your feet!"

She stood up and went towards the guard who was trying to pull the sword from the floor.

The guard succeeded, immediately turning to Haru, smiling.

"Don’t resist. Hehehe." "You have no chance of winning..."

Isabela cut the ropes from her feet, ripped the gag from her mouth.

"Finally!" she said, taking a deep breath.

Haru threw a direct punch at the guard’s face. The guard caught Haru’s fist in mid-air, pulled it forward, and headbutted him.

Haru’s nose snapped and blood trickled down.

Haru... smiled. "Ahahaha..."

He headbutted the guard again, this time stronger. The guard staggered. Haru delivered another blow and then punched the guard in the face with his free hand. One. Two. Three times.

The guard fell unconscious.

Vandris watched, impressed.

"That kid... moves at Master 3 mana speed. Like the beastkin... Normally, even trained people can’t keep up with someone using mana reinforcement; the speed difference is absurd, but those two moved at Master 3 level. As fast as the mana-reinforced guards."

Vandris didn’t know that that boy had died many times and his body had learned to adapt to avoid the pain of death...

Meanwhile, Isabela was trying to get dressed.

Their clothes were on a table in the corner, along with the weapons. She picked up her pants. She started to get dressed.

A guard saw her and attacked her from behind.

Haru appeared, blocking with the sword of the knocked-out guard.

"Give me a second!" Isabela said, getting dressed.

Haru pushed the guard back with great effort.

"Get dressed quickly!"

Haru kicked the guard in the stomach, the guard staggered back, raising his hand. Mana accumulated in his palm. A fireball formed and launched itself, directly at Isabela who was facing away, putting on her pants.

Haru reacted immediately. "ISABELA!"

He stepped back, extended his hand and pulled her to him, hugging her.

The fireball exploded on the table of clothes. Haru’s clothes, shirt, jacket, boots, They burned. They turned to ashes.

Haru held Isabela against his chest; chest to chest.

She had only put on her pants, she was still shirtless. Only in her underwear on top.

Haru was completely half-naked, only in his briefs, slightly out of breath.

Isabela looked up, at his face. He looked down at her eyes.

Haru was about to say something...

Another ball, the guard had already thrown. Haru saw it in a flash, coming straight at him. He didn’t have time, so in a quick movement, he turned his back. Still hugging Isabela, letting himself be hit.

The fire hit his back squarely. Haru groaned from the sharp pain burning his skin, but he didn’t let go of Isabela.

Kira attacked the guard who had thrown the fire, claws pierced his neck. Blood gushed out.

Kira screamed, furious:

"I’M THE ONE WHO WILL KILL HIM!"

The guard fell and Kira began to walk towards Haru, panting with hatred in her eyes.

Haru was still hugging Isabela, his back steaming, his skin red and burned. He smelled of charred flesh, trembling in pain, but still holding her.

And then... he felt something come loose, his underwear. The fabric had burned, disintegrated, and fallen to the floor.

Isabela felt something between her legs, something warm, pressing against her. Her eyes widened, she looked down and immediately let go of Haru, pushing him back.

Haru staggered, confused. He was completely naked and half-hard.

Kira paused for a moment, "Huh!?"

Isabela blushed, turned her face away.

"C-COVER THAT!"

Vandris clapped his hands.

"ENOUGH!"

He raised his hands, his fingers moving in complex patterns, mana accumulating around him. Runes began to glow on the floor.

Kira felt something.

"What..."

The runes rose from the floor, wrapping around her legs like snakes. Magical paralysis. Kira tried to move, but couldn’t, and fell to her knees, already exhausted.

The surviving guards, three of them, approached and surrounded Kira. Swords pointed at her.

Vandris looked at her with contempt. "Kill the beast."

The guards raised their swords, ready to execute.

Kira looked up, unable to move, only to stare.

"...Sorry, Yuki. I failed."

"NO!" Haru ran, naked, wounded, but running towards Kira.

Isabela shouted: "HARU, WAIT!"

Vandris turned his head. "Stop the boy!"

Two guards blocked Haru’s path. Haru stopped, panting, looking at Kira.

Haru took a deep breath, then said:

"Stop, I’ll go with you, without any resistance... and if you spare them, I, I’ll give you the Gamer eyes."

Vandris stopped. "Gamer Eyes"

He turned completely, looked at Haru. "...What?"

"You want a Mana Core, right? Better than just a mana core, it’s a Gamer mana core... and if I give you the gamer eyes, you’ll see the world like one of us."

He pointed to himself.

"Take me and I’ll tell you everything along the way."

He looked at Kira, then at Isabela.

"But leave them alive."

Isabela’s eyes widened. "HARU, NO!"

She started running towards him, but a guard stood in front of her...

"DON’T RESIST ISABELA!" Haru shouted.

"HARU! DON’T DO THIS! I—"

Vandris smiled slowly. Satisfied. "Clever."

He snapped his fingers, the swords on Kira lowered, the guards retreated.

"I accept."

Haru breathed a sigh of relief for a second. "But I just want you to guarantee me... that they live here."

Vandris tilted his head. "I guarantee... that they live here, in this room, as for the rest of the mansion, I don’t know."

He nodded to the guards. "We’re leaving. All of us. With the boy."

He turned to Isabela and Kira.

"I left you alive, now... try to get out of the mansion."

He laughed loudly. "Hahahaha!"

The guards grabbed Haru, tied his hands behind his back (he groaned, his back burned). Vanris left, followed by the guards and Haru. The door to the room closed, locked from the other side.

The runes released Kira, and Isabela felt her mana return as the footsteps of Vanris and his men carrying Haru grew further away...

...Sound in the sky of the steam engine... Everyone looked up. A dirigible was descending, enormous, black, an envelope of fabric reinforced with metal plates. And painted on the side... A symbol of a split moon, shining against the black.

The dirigible landed, a metal ladder extended to the ground and then... A man in a cloak began to descend.

Hood covering his face, black cloak billowing in the wind.

Vandris smiled.

"Ah, you’ve arrived."

The man stepped onto the ground, turned to Vandris.

"Where is the Core?" His voice was deep and cold.

Vandris pointed to Haru, naked, tied up, being held by two guards.

"Here. I guess it doesn’t matter that it’s the girl... this one works the same... And he’s kind of like you, hehehe."

The man approached slowly, heavy boots hitting the stone floor, stopped in front of Haru. He stood there, silent, observing, then... He took off his hood.

Short black hair, gray eyes like Haru’s, a scar crossing his face, a cold expression.

Kaelthar.

The system blinked in front of Haru.

[WARNING: Player Detected]

[Name: Kaelthar, Level 15]

[STATUS: BLOCKED QUEST ACTIVE]

[Objective: Eliminate Kaelthar]

[Reward: ???]

[Note: Cannot decline.] [System-enforced elimination.]

"That means..."

Kaelthar grabbed Haru’s chin, forcing him to look up.

He smiled slightly. "Gamer, huh?"

He tilted his head.

"My system is notifying me nonstop now, so I have to kill you."

He smiled wider. "But not yet."

He released Haru’s chin, taking a step back. "So you’re the player who killed Arwin Corvus."

"...Who are you?" Haru asked tensely, looking at him.

Kaelthar turned, pointing to the airship.

"Someone who wants the same thing as you... to platinum the game in the best way possible, and it seems I’ve started well!"

Haru looked out the windows of the airship... A small silhouette.

Small ears, white hair shining under the moonlight...

Haru’s eyes widened. "Yukihime."

Kaelthar turned back, looked at Haru. "She’s waiting for me."

He smiled. "And now... you’re coming too."

He gestured to the guards. "Take him away."

Vandris stepped forward. "Wait."

Kaelthar stopped, turned his head.

Vandris pointed at the airship. "You took my girl."

Vandris’s guards drew their swords. Blades reflecting the moonlight.

They surrounded Kaelthar. Blocking his path to the rope ladder.

One of them pointed his sword at Kaelthar. "Don’t move."

Kaelthar looked around, calm, unhurried, then looked back at Vandris.

"Would I pay you for her?" he said, his voice cold. "Finders keepers, right?"

Vandris took a step closer. "My men found her. They captured her. They brought her here, to these lands."

He pointed to himself. "I was the one who BROUGHT her here. Just like I was the one who FOUND her."

He looked directly into Kaelthar’s eyes.

"Careful, Kaelthar, I’m not afraid of gamers."

Silence.

The guards tensed, swords raised.

Haru (still tied up, being held by two guards) watched.

"That idiot... is provoking a level 15 player..."

Kaelthar... smiled. "But you should."