The Martial Unity

343 Profound

He couldn't defeat her, not by himself, at the very least.

But he didn't need to.

He wasn't fighting alone.

BOOM!

A powerful invisible collision crashed into her head, rocking her body. It threw her attack off-course, missing Rui by just a few millimeters.

Fae and Nel appeared out of nowhere, latching onto her arms in arm-bars with their whole bodies, doing their best to restrain her movements.

Her reactions were heavily delayed due to her surprise and confusion.

She felt an invisible force grabbing her shoulder and chest; Hever.

Rui grinned at the sight. ('Kane, you mad lad, you actually succeeded.')

Kane had healed all of them with the healing potions that they each carried while Rui kept the Squire busy. He then carried them over while using the Void Step technique. Theoretically, Void Step wasn't limited hard to a single person. However, in practice, it was extremely difficult to expand it beyond one's self.

Yet, Kane's mastery and fortitude allowed him to succeed in doing just that for three people. He appeared out of thin air a few moments later, collapsing to the ground, exhausted. He would not be able to fight anymore for the time being.

Yet he had already done more than enough. He had dispelled defeat and given them another chance, it was more than Rui could expect from him.

Not even a moment had passed since they appeared. Hever's extreme muscle memory flashed as it activated the improved Meteor Swing technique in the briefest of moments. He elevated her over his head before plummeting her down headfirst at incredible speeds. Fae and Nel coiled on her as though their lives depended on it. In a way, it did depend on it. Their legs coiled around her neck and head, holding both in place.

Yet, even as she plummeted headfirst, she wasn't afraid. She had already withstood this attack unharmed earlier. The other two Martial Apprentices were not hurting her, just momentarily restraining her.

She was vulnerable momentarily, yes. But she did not think it could be exploited, Hever's motions were too fast for any kind of coordinated attack. She had already decided to kill them all the second she landed.

That was when she heard it.

PEW!

A whistling sound, as if something sharp were cutting through the air at high speeds.

It was only after that she realized what it was.

Her eyes widened as the world turned in her vision and she saw a foot flying straight toward her head, its thumb-toe aiming straight up at her eye as she plummeted toward it.

Neither the chaos, his tumultuous emotions, nor his physical condition.

None of it.

None of it had been able to prevent Rui Quarrier from ceasing the dimmest light of hope that had appeared in front of him.

The Squire wouldn't have believed Rui had he told her that none of this was coordinated beforehand.

Fae and Nel simply used their power to hinder her. They were too weak to fight her head-on, as much as Nel hated to admit that.

As for Hever?

He didn't even need to think.

He literally had only one technique in his arsenal. In all that time, he hadn't mastered a single other technique.

At the very moment they'd appeared, there was chaos in Rui's mind. He did not know what he ought to have done.

If he did nothing, they would all die.

If he did what he had already done, they would all die.

What should he do?

If only there was a way to figure out the best decisio-

"...!"

A thundering realization flashed in his mind.

Rui's dark pupils dilated.

Time itself slowed down to a drawl.

His eyes widened.

The best part about the Mind Palace technique was that it never forgot.

No matter what he put in it, no matter how long ago.

('I have a predictive model for all of them in Mind Palace at this very moment.') He had realized, looking at the four Martial Artists before him.

What if he used four predictive models instead of one? What if accurately used all four models to peer into the future?

To gaze deeper and sharper into the future than he ever had?

And input that into the adaptive model to figure out the best move for that particular moment?

Predicting all of their movements would be no different from seeing the very future itself!

At that moment, his mind had violently rampaged into a frenzy through his Mind Palace. The Mind Palace shook as he had extracted the predictive model, inputting the parameters like a madman as he had watched Fae and Nel latch onto the Squire's arms, as he had watched Hever grab her shoulder and chest.

His eyes narrowed as he predicted the future with the power of four predictive models. The adaptive model of the VOID algorithm hastily swallowed the data up and instantly, the result was out.

It was objectively the best move possible in that scenario. Nothing else could give Rui a higher likelihood of victory.

Yet the likelihood of victory was still small.

It was up to him.

Their fate, their future, their lives. He bore the burden.

It was heavy.

It was painful.

It was fearful

Yet, he strived forward.

Eyes closed.

The mildest of smiles cracked on his face.

Despite the pressure.

Despite the fear.