"It's clear now." Kayal combed his messy hair and tied it behind his head: "This organization must not exist... Damn it, if King Uther weren't so old, I would definitely use King Uther's power to destroy this thing... Damn it."
"It's useless." Irene's lips curved into a bitter smile: "Do you think an organization that has existed for hundreds of years wouldn't have some trump cards hidden away?"
"Moreover, the awakened No. 1s of successive generations have also produced three monsters known as the Abyssal Ones: Luciela of the South, Riful of the West, and Isli of the North, with Isli being the strongest. Even the Organization has no way to control or eliminate these monsters. And the three of them, due to their mutual fear, couldn't deliver a fatal blow to the Organization—how ridiculous. Two Abyssal Ones could destroy the Organization if they teamed up, but they're afraid that the weakness after an attack would give the last one an opportunity to kill them..." Irene said coldly with a mocking smile on her face and a calm tone.
"Wait, I've heard of this Isli you're talking about." Gawain suddenly interjected from the side.
"According to the Bard's songs, he is a great benevolent king in the bitter cold lands of the North, leading his people to struggle among the monsters. I never thought he would be such a monster." Gawain couldn't help but glance at Priscilla.
"So, what about Priscilla's strength?" Kayal mused for a moment, then asked.
"Stronger than an Abyssal One." Irene affirmed, "I once escaped from the Abyssal One, Riful of the West. She felt even stronger than Riful of the West."
"Then, let me ask from a different angle." Kayal looked at Teresa, who had been silent since the beginning: "Teresa, with your strength, how much of your full power would it take to slay an ultra-Abyssal One like Priscilla?"
"About sixty-five to seventy percent." Teresa said with a charming smile: "But without even being able to lift a sword, no matter how strong my Yoki is, it's useless, isn't it?"
"Yoki?" Kayal keenly grasped the keyword.
"What is Yoki?"
"Yoki is, well... the power produced by Yoma. We, who are mixed with Yoma flesh and blood, also possess this power. We rely on Yoki for offense, defense, to increase strength, speed, reaction capabilities, everything... But excessive use of Yoki can also lead to a rampage, which is awakening. Generally speaking, releasing about 80% of Yoki will lead to awakening. At 10%, the eyes turn golden. At 30%, the face deforms. At 50%, the whole body changes..."
"In other words, Teresa just used 10% of her combat power to completely suppress Priscilla at 80%..." Kayal looked at Teresa with a strange expression in his eyes.
"Although I'd really like to see the Yoma flesh and blood implanted in you, but..." Kayal shook his head: "There's another big show waiting for us tomorrow, so we'll talk about it then."
"A big show?" Teresa tilted her head and asked.
"Yes, the Gauls against the Celts, a great war between invaders and knights." Kayal walked towards Teresa: "Come, stretch out your hand."
"Hmm?" Everyone's eyes curiously looked over. Teresa doubtfully extended her severed arm, which, under Kayal's Healing Spell, had completely become a stump-like circle. It looked quite conspicuous on her pure white and smooth wrist, making one sigh with regret.
Kayal didn't even blink, cutting off the fleshy circle at Teresa's wrist with one swift motion.
Then, with a sudden grunt, Kayal's hands glowed with a white light, like sunlight.
The bleeding at the severed wrist stopped, and the bone slowly grew: section by section, bone fragments, like the hands of a skeleton soldier, slowly grew out from the severed place, then branched like trees, until they were covered with a layer of pink, tender new skin, like a newborn's, so delicate that a slight touch could break it.
Only then did Kayal, sweating profusely and pale-faced, assist: "I didn't expect this magic to require so much magic power... I can only do this much. Don't touch this hand at all. We'll talk about it when I wake up tomorrow."
After speaking, Kayal rolled himself in a sheepskin felt and fell into a deep sleep. Although being covered in sweat wasn't very comfortable, he no longer had the energy to change clothes or bathe.
Looking at the deeply sleeping Kayal, Teresa's eyes showed a look of pity: "What a strong child, just like Clare. He must have suffered a lot to become so strong."
"Of course." Gawain came to Kayal's side, picked him up, and placed him in a comfortable spot leaning against a tree root: "Children of us nobles, even those whose goal is to muddle through life, must learn noble etiquette, shameless fake smiles, boring flattery, and the schemes to avoid being swallowed. Not to mention us two. As a Knight, I'm fine; I just need to remain strong, victorious, and honorable like his father, Grand Duke Andrei, and I can protect or even create a greater legacy. But for someone like him, a fool who wants all the people in the world to be happy... what he has given up is several, even dozens of times more than my hard training."
"A very formidable fellow." Atoris's words hit the mark: "It is my honor to have such a lord."
"Therefore..." Atoris's gaze sharply bore down on the four Claymores: "Even if you want to harm him, even if I can't beat you, you'll still have to step over my body first!"
"Hmph, how boring." Sophia plunged her Claymore into the mud: "Although I haven't seen anything good about this kid yet, his performance is enough. I'm not the type of person who likes to betray... If it weren't for the Organization, our parents..." She didn't continue, but it made Rolulia's nose sting. She had thought the Organization was their second home, but she never expected the Organization to be the culprit behind the whole affair.
"Teresa, can you release Yoki to restore your hand?" Irene was mentally prepared for all this and only asked Teresa.
"Although I'm an offensive type, this kind of injury is no problem," Teresa smiled: "He has already healed most of it for me, how can I still cause him trouble?"
Teresa's eyes suddenly turned golden, and then her hands, covered in pink skin, slowly filled out from a skeletal frame, finally becoming a pair of jade-like hands.
"It's already healed with just ten percent of your Yoki! As expected of No. 1 Teresa." Irene praised.
And just as everyone was immersed in Teresa's "magic," no one saw Priscilla transform into a black shadow and dart into Kayal's wool felt...