Parallel Memory

"What consequences? You'll probably not be alive to report me, anyway!"

They might have been thinking that I was just taking my revenge against Grizz for bullying me. However, after this word, I am sure that they knew that I was planning to kill them.

"This guy! You two go and handle him before he makes things more complicated."

The Sub-leader commanded one of the Grizz's gang members and one Rank-B. Sub-leader didn't seem to take me seriously and wanted to buy time, maybe even thinking that they could win against me.

Anyway, he made a bad decision. He should have gathered all the Rank-A members and taken care of me first, however, then also I wouldn't lose.

Anyway, it was easier for me that way. I could take care of them one by one without much effort.

"I thought you were clever, but I was wrong!"

One of the Grizz gang members said. He seemed pretty confident hiding behind a Rank-B. He must think that he could comfortably fight me by staying in that position.

-WHOOSH!

-SLASH!

I quickly took care of the Rank-B protecting him and headed towards him. Only did he realize that he was in serious danger. Did he think that Rank-B would be able to protect him from me?

( Did he still think that I was the same as Jester who he used to bully? Did he just forget that I killed Grizz just now? What an idiot! )

[ "Explosive Arrow Barrage " ]

-SWISH!

His attacks were nothing difficult to dodge at my current speed. Even though it was pretty destructive, it was far from being able to hit me. Even if he hit me though, there was no way that his attack could break past my mana barrier.

"W-We are f-friends, right? Please spare me!"

He said as I stood before him. He was trembling in fear.

( ??? Friends? Did he get hit in his head? He used to enjoy ordering and hitting me when he was with Grizz. It seems that he is suffering from Alzheimer's. What a poor guy! I hope that next time you will at least remember your sins. )

-SLASH!

I hold no mercy on these guys. They are nothing but greedy bastards who would do anything to just be in power.

They had committed an atrocious crime. Killing and destroying others' things are their norms.

Not only that, but they also wanted to take advantage of the war to instill even more destruction and even dared to capture and kill kids for their ambition. They were sick bastards who needed no pity.

I knew what they had done and what they would do. There was nothing that would make me spare them.

Having taken care of them, I looked at the fight that was going on. Because of the loss of their comrades, it seems that the Dark Guild side was suffering.

It was truly impressive that a bunch of Rank-B was able to hold down so many Rank-A and they were even winning with a little assistance from me. If the number of fighters on the Dark Guild side was equal to Hiro and his group, I think that they would have won by themselves.

"Ray, support me! We will take care of this betrayer first."

The Sub-leader said. It seemed that he was finally going to take the action himself. However, I would say that it was too late and he was still lacking the power to defeat me.

Not only that but he and Ray had come to fight me. The number that was already low on their side would decrease even more which would lead to Hiro and the others winning.

Anyway, the sub-leader must be thinking that as long as he takes care of me, he will win. He must still be thinking that he could take care of me quickly with the help of Ray.

-CLANK! -CLANK! -SLASH!

They indeed posed some problems for me, at least more than the other three who died without being able to do anything. However, if I wanted to kill them, they would already be dead.

The only thing keeping them alive is that I don't want to use my Art and expose my identity to my former classmates. That's why I was using just a sword to defeat them, even though it took time to take care of two Rank-As.

"Y-YOU! You were hiding your strength all this time?"

Ray asked. It seemed that he was shocked to find out Jester was this strong. Even now, they still think that I am Jester. What a pity! They would be cursing Jester when it was me who killed them.

Sorry, Jester! Maybe he would be pleased to know that his bully was killed using his identity. Well, I could never know as he is already dead.

However, I didn't have any reason to answer his question. He could ask me anything that he likes but there was no way that I would answer that.

-CLANK! -CLANK! -CLANG!

"I am not going to hold back anymore! Ray, buy me some time."

The Sub-leader ordered Ray to retreat. It looks like he wants to use his strongest attack. I wanted to go interrupt him, however, Ray had blocked my path.

Since he was not going to let me go, I thought that I should take care of Ray first and then go and defeat the Sub-leader.

[ "Chaos Blast Wave" ]

However, it seems that I don't need to take care of Ray. Sub-leader fired off his ultimate attack without giving Ray enough time to dodge. He wants to make sure that I get hit by his attack by having Ray fight me.

Ray had already lost his hope and knew that he would die. Well, I was not going to save him.

[ "Shadow Dance" ]

I immediately used my technique and quickly dodged the attack. Additionally, I sneaked behind the sub-leader quickly and sneakily.

"Yes!"

The sub-leader seemed to think that I had gotten hit by his technique. Too bad that the only person that would die would be Ray.

"Sorry!"

I said as I thrust my sword through his heart. There was no way that I would keep the subleader alive. I stared at the man who was glaring at me in his last moment. I didn't feel guilty knowing that the blood on my enemy's hand was much thicker than mine.

There was hardly any Dark Guild after I had killed Ray and the Sub-leader. I checked whether they were in need of help, however, they were already on the verge of winning.

"Looks like they don't need my help anymore. I expected them to be much weaker. Guess they had also grown in the time I was away."

I left the place knowing that they were safe. I had already checked for any possible enemies but sensed no one ahead.

******

"Hah... Finally!"

Sylvia said as she sat down. It was a very tiring fight and her stamina and mana are already drained. She felt like sleeping in a nice bed for the rest of her life at the moment. However, she didn't have that luxury as enemies could be near.

-GULP!

They quickly took mana and a health potion. They wanted to rest a bit before they left the area. Right now, they were finding it difficult even to stand.

"Phew! We had really escaped death. I saw my death too many times today."

Lisanna said. She was already ready to die when she knew that she was fighting with a group of Rank-As Dark Guild team. Against all odds, they were the final victor and no one from their team died.

"It was really close! If that mysterious guy had not killed those enemies, we would be in deep trouble."

Hiro said. Even for him, who had gone through many life-and-death situations, the situation was extremely dangerous. He also knew why they were safe. If the guy called Jester had not helped them in time, they could have been killed.

Not only that, he was already gone without doing anything to them. It was a big relief for them when they didn't see him after they had finished their battle. Although it did increase their curiosity more.

"Yes! Who was he anyway?"

Lisa asked. She felt some familiar kind of aura from the person who just saved them. However, she was sure that she had never seen the person called Jester. She did feel that she had known that person for quite a long time.

-SHAKE!

Everybody shook their heads. There was no way that anyone could know a person from Dark Guild. Lisa thought that maybe he knew someone from their group which led to him changing sides. However, that was the wrong reason.

"Anyway, we should be grateful that he was not after us. If not, I don't think we could have won against him."

Hiro replied.

He had sensed an overwhelming power coming from Jester. He knew that the probability of winning against him was lower than the one with the other Dark Guild members.

They were all talking about Jester except for one person. That person was Misha. She was lost in her own thoughts

( It can't be! Was he Zero? )

Among the people there, only Misha was the person who thought the person who helped them was Zero. The reason?

She had seen Shadow Dance performed by Zero's dad. When Zero used that technique to dodge the Sub-leader's ultimate attack, Misha felt that it was quite similar to the Shadow Style technique that Zero's dad used.

However, that was only speculation and she could not be certain. She refrained from saying it to others as it was only an assumption. However, she also was not about to completely forget about that either.

She was thinking about the thing that she needs to do after this situation is over.