'Damn'
His wrist throbbed despite his attempts to dismiss the pain. He had unleashed [Colossal Force], yet still shattered his wrist from punching Rughsbourgh.
"Speaking to you without getting a response is irritating. I'm certain I'm far older than your grandparents."
Northern finally lifted his head.
"I'm not sure why you're interested in talking to me. I'm after your blood. I want to kill you. And I will kill you. But to satisfy and justify my selfish desire to end you, I also want to interested in talking to you. Hey, Rughsbourgh, does the end justify the means?"
Rughsbourgh touched his jaw gently, contemplating.
"Hmm. If you're talking about this, then it does? I mean, don't you think like me? I believe you agree that the end do justify the means. When you look at yourself and some others, it's comforting..."
Northern nodded, his expression blank.
"You're indeed right. Your means justified your end. You know, as much as I want to say you can't sacrifice the lives of a hundred people just so one strong man can exist, or that you can't make the decision for people—all this is nonsense if that one strong person is capable of saving billions, or if they'll never make such a decision for themselves because of complacency and lackadaisical attitudes.
"However, because I exist, or some other strong persons exist, doesn't mean you own us or that you're absolved. It also doesn't mean the price was fair—you should bear the weight of your decision."
Northern stared at him intently as he added with a tone of finality.
"Yes, Rughsbourgh, your end did justify your means, but it can never erase the blood on your hands, and it will never earn you forgiveness. So... I think I have more than enough logical reasoning to kill you."
Northern looked at Rughsbourgh and smiled.
"And it just so happens... that I'm not the only one desperate for your blood."
A subtle frown appeared on Rughsbourgh's face, and at that moment, the entire world darkened, a bit, like storms were gathering in the cloud.
Something from a vast distance away streaked forward with black light and black lightning dancing violently around it. The black streak of light was swift and happened in the blink of an eye.
Rughsbourgh crossed his arms and threw himself backward to evade the brunt of the attack, but even the periphery of the attack was enough to carve a powerful crater into the crater they were already in and cause shockwaves to spiral out upon collision.
Rughsbourgh wasn't sent flying back like Northern's attack had done, but he also wore a stern expression, which meant the attack troubled him.
As the blackness dissolved, someone raised their head from within it, looking at him with a dark grimace and crude black markings running across their face.
"Welcome back, Principal. I spotted you from over a mile away and just knew it was you. Did you miss your favorite student?"
Rughsbourgh's eyes widened slightly as he saw the face of the person who emerged from the blackness. Then he grinned cheerfully.
"You too... I'm not disappointed. What about Afkon?"
Helena exploded with a groan that caused the swirling darkness around her to surge even further, encircling both of them. The darkness condensed into several black rods, forming around her.
The black markings on her face spread, covering her eyes and forehead and creating an intricate pattern that made her carry the air and essence of a savage, moonlight huntress.
Helena broke away from Rughsbourgh, snatched one spear, and clashed with him again, shouting.
"You dare utter his name?! After everything you did to us?!!"
Rughsbourgh watched her calmly, his facial expression hollow while she raged.
He seized her black spear and said with an impassive tone.
"He died, didn't he? That's tragic. He had a very fragile and insecure heart. If only he'd worked on that more."
He casually snapped the spear.
"Who killed him? A monster?"
His gaze shifted to Northern.
"Oh, was it him?"
Helena didn't answer him. Instead, she released a thunderous groan, and the gathered dark clouds responded with a mighty thunderclap.
Northern looked up at the sky and at Helena. He had never truly witnessed the full extent of her abilities. But he knew she must be incredibly strong.
No matter how young Helena appeared to the eye, she was at least ten years older than he was. It was just that she had such a small stature that made this very hard to believe.
She was one of the very few who had been in the Dark Continent for a long time.
And she had been a Sage the longest among them—recently breaking into an Ascendant, no doubt. She was stronger; her presence was more powerful. Even those black rods—Northern had never seen so many at once.
Helena was definitely, by the book and by theory, the strongest person currently on the Island who could take on Rughsbourgh, because she was the only Ascendant currently around on their side.
Of course, that was as far as books went.
The landscape quaked as the clouds responded to Helena's cry, and a thunderstorm crashed to the ground, obliterating the earth and its vicinity. Everything was quickly shrouded in a fierce and impenetrable storm with Helena and Rughsbourgh in the eye of it.
Northern could see through it easily, but he doubted anyone else could. The storm wasn't just any kind of storm. It was thick darkness that was raging with thunderclaps that could tear apart anyone who came close.
The thunderclaps were her weapons in the storm—she wielded them like arrows, hurling them as quickly as she grasped them. Because it was lethal if they lingered longer than her hands could bear. So all she did was guide their path.
That revelation informed Northern of the nature of Helena's attacks. It seemed like she could only summon and control the storm. Maybe some of her talent abilities made her able to survive it in certain ways, but it was just as dangerous to her as it was to her enemy.
She could not create the storm unlike Frostbeart could create ice. Even though they sounded similar, they weren't. Helena's talent [Wildheart] was S-class, and [Frostheart] was SSS-class. Well, EX now.
Northern peered into the storm once again.
"It's astounding to realize she was this powerful all along."