"Teacher, leave this to me!"
Artoria gritted her teeth and cried out. She immediately held her breath and focused, calling upon the Aether within her body and raising her magical output another level. The barrier of light expanded, forcibly blasting away the spears, arrows, swords, and axes flying at them from all sides.
"Good!"
Samael nodded without looking back. With no longer having to worry about protecting the hostages, he immediately cut loose and charged toward the knights wreathed in black mist.
His golden-blue sword light was sometimes as swift as a comet streaking through the sky, sometimes as dense and flowing as spilled Mercury. His slashes and sweeps flowed like drifting clouds and running water, clean and decisive; his lifts, deflections, spins, and thrusts were as elusive as an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace to follow.
Wherever the blade passed, the nearby knights fell in rows like wheat cut down by a sickle.
"O King, have mercy upon this place!"
Yet as Samael plunged straight into the enemy formation, his blade cutting through the bodies of dozens of knights, the humanoid black mists encased within armor trembled violently, solemn chants echoing from within.
Buzz...
At once, the shattered armor rapidly healed. The knights who had fallen to the ground rose again like repaired machines, climbing up in stiff, unnatural poses. Scarlet eyes flashed beneath their helmets as they lunged forward once more like madmen.
These things really were troublesome!
Samael's brow furrowed, his face growing colder. He slowly raised the holy sword in his hand, a grim smile spreading across his lips.
Then I'll kill you again!
In an instant, the ancient serpent's vertical pupils opened. Both hands gripped the hilt as golden-red Aether surged wildly from every direction, forming visible spiraling streams of light around him.