Rescue

Axel rubbed the windblown sand from his eyes and looked over. Two Ninjas had Yui's arms pinned behind her back and were stomping her hard into the ground, while another grabbed her hair and held a kunai across her throat!

"Despicable!" Axel spat through gritted teeth.

"Cough, cough." Rasa covered his mouth, coughing up blood. He had been careless! But seeing the furious Axel in the distance filled him with delight. "Hahaha! Despicable? Don't you know Ninjas will do whatever it takes to complete their missions?"

"You fiends who deserve nothing but the darkest corners will one day have nowhere to hide from the Holy Light!"

"Hahaha! What is this Holy Light? As if it could leave mighty Ninjas with nowhere to hide! Just because you worship an evil god doesn't mean it's omnipotent! I hate ignorant trash like you most of all, boasting endlessly just because you have a little power. This is still a world of Ninjas!" Rasa sneered at Axel and the others.

"Heh. Mighty Ninjas? More than twenty of you surrounded us, and you still needed a hostage to defeat a few children! That's what you call mighty?" Axel mocked him with equal contempt.

"Shut up!" Rasa snapped in irritation. Then he cast a sinister glance at the still-struggling Yui. "Now, let's make a choice, shall we, you sharp-tongued brat?"

Axel's expression hardened. "What do you want?"

"Simple. Choose between yourself and her! Either kill yourself, or we..." As he spoke, Rasa drew a finger across his throat.

"Axel, don't listen to them! Don't worry about me!" Yui shouted from the ground. She struggled so hard that the Sand shinobi's kunai drew a line of blood across her pale neck!

Watching his little sister struggle on the ground, Axel was wracked with guilt. He had promised to protect his younger siblings, yet his own carelessness had put his sister's life in danger!

Axel silently closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them. "Then I'll do what you ask. As long as you let Yui go, I'll kill myself!"

"Hahaha! Are you joking? I only said you could kill yourself, or I'll kill her right now. Choose, brat!" Rasa declared arrogantly in his hoarse voice.

Axel tightened his grip on his weapon, then looked at Yui with tenderness in his eyes!

Yui looked anxiously at her big brother. Their eyes met, and the gentleness in his gaze sent tears streaming down her face. "No, big brother! Please, no!" She thrust her neck toward the Sand shinobi's kunai, hoping her death could save her brother's life! But the Sand shinobi reacted quickly, feeling the force of her movement and immediately pulling the kunai away.

Clap, clap!

"What touching sibling love!" Rasa said gleefully. This brat had killed so many of his comrades, and now he would finally pay!

Ignoring Rasa's taunts, Axel gently removed his battered helmet. "Yui, don't cry. Live a good life. I'm only returning to the embrace of the Holy Light!"

"Captain!" the two Holy Knights behind him hurriedly called out.

"Xishi, Tai'a! I'm leaving the villagers' protection to you!"

Both wanted to persuade their captain not to do it, but neither knew what to say. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and declare, "Captain, we'll defend the glory of the Holy Light with our lives!"

"It's my own failure that I couldn't fulfill my duties. I'm sorry, everyone! Long live the Holy Light!" With that, Axel drew his blade across his throat without hesitation!

"No! Big brother! Axel!"

"Captain..."

"Axel!"

The villagers in the church tried to rush out in fury, but several newly inducted Holy Light Clerics forcibly held them back!

"Everyone, don't be rash!" one of the Holy Light Clerics shouted, tears streaming down his face.

"If anyone goes, it should be us! Captain Axel always said that if anyone had to die, the Holy Light Clerics should die before everyone else!" With that, he stepped out of the barrier without hesitation, and the other Holy Light Clerics followed!

Rasa watched as more people emerged from the strange building!

"Hahaha!" Rasa laughed heartily. "Another bunch of vermin have crawled out! Still, I have to admit that brat had some spirit. He was a brave man!"

"Hmph! Our captain doesn't need recognition from a despicable bastard like you!" Tai'a said furiously.

"Hahaha! Now there are only two of you left. Tell me, are you going to save this little girl or not?"

Xishi glanced at the newcomers who had followed them out, then looked at Tai'a beside him. The two exchanged a look and nodded.

"There's nothing more to say, Ninja. We Holy Light Clerics will fight to the death!" Xishi declared firmly. "Death isn't frightening. Living without conviction is! All Holy Light Clerics, prepare for battle! Fight for the Holy Light! Fight for the families behind us!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Feeling that fierce fighting spirit, the surviving Sand shinobi wiped the frivolous smiles from their faces and prepared to attack! "You worthless insects, don't underestimate Ninjas!"

Just as the two sides stood poised to strike, a streak of light flashed across the sky! The two Sand shinobi holding Yui hostage suddenly screamed.

Rasa quickly turned to look. Both Ninjas had been beheaded in an instant, their blood splashing across the ground. Yui lay wrapped in a halo of light, then vanished from his sight in a flash!

Rasa hurriedly scanned his surroundings, searching for Yui. Two figures had appeared beside the body of the boy who had just killed himself in the middle of the battlefield. A girl with a blond ponytail, a little older than the other children, was holding the girl they had taken hostage!

Yui froze for a moment as she looked at Ria, who had suddenly appeared. Then she threw her arms around her. "Waaah... Ria! I got Axel killed! It's all because I'm useless! I'm useless! Why wasn't I the one who died?"

As her little sister sobbed in her arms, endless fury ignited in Ria's heart. Looking at Axel lying lifeless on the ground, she felt such anguish that she could barely breathe!

Ria gently set down Yui, who had cried herself unconscious, and straightened Axel's disheveled clothes as he lay on the ground. Then she called to Xishi and Tai'a, who were still standing stunned in the distance!

"Guard the two of them!"

"Yes, Archbishop Ria!"

Then Ria's black eyes gradually turned gold! She spun around to face the Sand shinobi.

"You truly, truly deserve to die!"

As Ria's murderous words fell, Rasa and the Sand shinobi nearby felt their hearts sink. The oppressive presence of a higher form of life cast a shadow of terror over them!

Rasa's earlier arrogance was gone. Barely able to breathe under Ria's pressure, he broke into a cold sweat and panted, "Who are you? Could there be some misunderstanding?"

"A misunderstanding? The misunderstanding is why any of you are still alive!" Ria beckoned lightly, and countless golden points of light appeared in the sky!

"Quick! Fire a signal flare! Notify Lady Chiyo! The enemy is too strong!" Despair filled Rasa as he stared at the dense lights overhead, and he shouted!

"Y-yes, Captain Rasa!" A panicking Sand shinobi pulled out a flare gun and fired it into the sky!

Ria did not stop him. Instead, she held back her attack. These few enemies were not enough for her to vent her fury. If they wanted to summon more, she did not mind giving them a little time!

Looking up at the colored flare in the sky, Ria lowered her gaze and said flatly, "Finished? Isn't it time you trash received your punishment? Take your time savoring the searing heat of the Holy Light!" She lightly waved her hand, and the points of light overhead immediately transformed into arrows that shot toward the men beside Rasa!

"Earth Release: Earth-Style: Earth Wall!" Ria watched disdainfully as the Sand shinobi used their Earth Release defensive ninjutsu. "No matter how thick a wall is, it can't withstand light piercing through it!"

"Ah... ah... ah!" The arrows of light pierced through the Earth-Style: Earth Wall and shot the Ninjas sheltering behind it into bloody pulp!

The stench of blood filled the air. Seeing his comrades' gruesome fate, Rasa trembled, every hair on his body standing on end. Run! He fled into the distance without another thought!

"Can you escape?" Ria said coldly. "Holy Light: Binding Circle!" A ring of light suddenly appeared around Rasa and the others, enclosing an area fifty meters across! They raced to its edge, only to slam into an invisible wall at full speed, splitting their heads open!

"Damn it! Where did this monster come from?" Watching the circle shrink, Rasa shouted furiously, "Sand Shield! Iron Sand Golden Spear!" A mass of flowing sand suddenly formed a drill and shot toward the edge of the circle.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

The sand drill seemed to grind against an invisible force. First its tip, then its body, and finally its tail dissolved into countless sparks, vanishing completely!

Seeing that even his strongest ninjutsu had produced nothing but sparks, Rasa spun toward Ria. "Worshipper of an evil god! Our main force will be here soon! You won't get away with this!"

"The barking of the powerless!"

Ria watched the Sand shinobi still struggling inside the circle with cold indifference, then slowly curled her fingers inward!

The circle of light on the ground rapidly contracted!

Rasa and the others were pressed tightly together, as though something had bound them! No matter how hard they struggled, they could not move an inch!

Ria abruptly clenched her fist.

"Ah! Urgh!"

As his body was crushed, Rasa felt boundless agony flood his mind!

Blood poured from his mouth in great gushes, his eyes widening and bulging! In the end, they were crushed into a pillar of blood less than half a meter wide!

"Evil must ultimately be punished with pain! And the Holy Light has no shortage of ways to punish evil!" With that, Ria slowly walked toward the church!

The surrounding villagers fearfully cleared a path!

Xishi and Tai'a hurried over. "Archbishop! We've let you down!"

Ria glanced at them. "Work hard to grow stronger! Otherwise, today's regrets may become tomorrow's as well!"

"Yes, Archbishop!" Both shed tears of anguish!

"Don't worry! Your captain will be all right! As his big sister, I won't let my most capable, considerate little brother slack off like this!"

At Ria's calm words, both abruptly raised their heads, their eyes shining with hope and apprehension!

Looking at the still-unconscious Yui, Ria's gaze finally lost its chill. She stroked Yui's head, then turned and walked over to Axel. "Thank you for all you've done... Axel! Your big sister is proud of you!"

"Holy Light: Greater Resurrection!"