God’s Guide for Teasing Heroes

Narrator POV 

  

  

    

  

  

2 weeks ago, the assassins of the “Assassin Order” failed to eliminate the saint. 

They are the original masterminds who requested the rebelling nobles to kill the saint of Riles. 

Ecclesia planned to invade Riles while it mourned the saint's death. 

That was supposed to be the plan, but it failed. 

It was because they failed to assassinate Calm 2 weeks ago. 

Thus, Ecclesia is now helping the “Assassin Order” complete the job of killing the saint. 

  

  

To the people who are from the Holy Empire of Ecclesia, the existence of the "Saint of Riles" is unforgivable. 

To them, Calm Eastertale is a blasphemous individual who claims to be "chosen" by a fake goddess who calls herself "Gaiah". 

Edmon, a member of the Ecclesia Inquisitors is tasked to join the mission to eliminate the infamous "Saint of Riles". 

To someone like Edmon who is from the Ecclesia Empire, Calm Eastertale's existence is mocking the god they worship. 

The one true god, "Luminos". 

  

  

Edmon possesses the unique skill (Bloodseeker) 

With this skill, Edmon can locate anyone by simply ingesting their blood. 

By using this skill, Edmon will locate and guide the assassins and Inquisitors to the saint. 

By consuming their blood, the skill will activate. 

A curse will be applied to whom that blood belonged. 

From there on, Edmon will instinctively know where that person is. 

This way, no matter where they hide, he will be able to know where they are. 

They will become his "Prey". 

They can never escape from him. 

  

  

Edmon is from Ecclesia and he also believed in Luminos. 

But, unlike them, he was not as devoted as most people from Ecclesia are. 

As a member of the Ecclesia Inquisitor, he accepted the job of locating the saint. 

His skill was perfect for the job. 

He also developed an obsession with ingesting the blood from his "prey".

It arouses him and gives him joy.

After all this is done, he plans to go hunt for innocent people's blood. 

That is what he planned at first. 

But... 

  

  

After ingesting the blood that they believed to be from Calm Eastertale, Edmon became distracted. 

Once he injected that blood, he was struck by an addicting taste that made him thirst for more. 

The blood tasted unique, it was nothing like the blood he had tasted ever before. 

He has tasted all kinds of blood from all kinds of things before. 

They all tasted mostly the same. 

Having a taste of a unique tasting blood. 

It reminded Edmon of the elation he felt when he first consumed blood. 

Edmon is tempted to taste the blood again. 

He was too tempted that it rendered his thoughts dull preventing him from thinking straight. 

It was like he was under the influence of an addictive drug. 

  

  

He could not help himself from imagining tasting the blood again. 

He wanted more, he wanted to have a taste of that addictive and unique taste once again. 

[As expected of the saint's blood.] 

He longed and waited for the time he could taste that blood again. 

  

  

The moment to capture and eliminate the saint came. 

That night, he led the assassins toward the location of the owner of that blood. 

Then they encountered the saint. 

To his surprise, the blood did not belong to the saint. 

Rather, it was from a person protecting the saint. 

It was from a girl with black hair wearing foreign-looking clothes. 

As soon as he saw the girl, her scent almost made him lose his mind. 

He tried to resist the urge to just pounce at the girl as they still had things to do. 

He resisted with all his might. 

The chase started. 

He stalked after the girl ignoring and forgetting the situation. 

His mind was full of the thoughts of ingesting the blood of that girl once again. 

He chased after the girl. 

He was in a trance that he ignored everything, even the objective of killing the saint. 

When he managed to regain a bit of his reasoning Edmon found himself fighting with the owner of the addictive blood. 

The saint is nowhere to be seen. 

  

  

They ended up engaged in battle. 

Much to his surprise, he enjoyed the struggle of the girl resisting him. 

He enjoyed the moment as he hunts his prey. 

That "prey" struggled and resisted. 

She fought him well despite being a lot weaker than himself. 

If not for the other girl supporting her, this girl who calls herself Kazue would be lying on the ground. 

What pissed him is that he could not even catch that annoying girl as she was as nimble and fast as an annoying fly. 

  

  

Not wanting his prey to escape, he revealed one of his abilities. 

He revealed the effect of his skill (Bloodseeker's Pressure). 

A skill that drains the stamina of the person under the curse of his skill (Bloodseeker). 

He declared the effect of his skill. 

It was to declare to his prey that "running away" was futile. 

Thus, like a desperate rabbit pinned into the corner, the prey decided to fight for its life. 

The prey decided to go after the predator instead. 

With a clear intent to kill, the prey pounced toward her hunter. 

  

  

Mizusawa Kazue aimed her blade at the Edmon's neck. 

(Decapitation Slash) 

A quick swing aimed at the man's neck. 

  

  

Edmon was surprised at how fast the slash was. 

He could barely react to the attack. 

Thankfully he blocked the blade with his own. 

Immediately, his expression of confidence disappeared once again. 

The power behind the attack that he blocked was no joke. 

Although this attack from Kazue was a lot weaker than the one he received from the other girl earlier.  

This slash from Kazue was nothing to be scoffed off. 

He thought... 

[If I had not blocked that one, it would have left a serious wound on my neck.] 

  

  

Pissed, he retaliated to Kazue's attack by pushing off her sword. 

Edmon swung back with a skill-clad blade 

(Power Slash) 

  

  

Kazue dodged the attack with a skill, (Dodge). 

A skill that allows the user to move their body automatically to dodge an attack. 

"Tsk."  

Edmon clicked his tongue finding his attack missing its target. 

He planned to attack once more but Kazue was about to do so too. 

  

  

Kazue retaliated after dodging the attack with the same skill back at Edmon. 

(Power Slash) 

A skill that boosts the power of an attack and makes the damage cause blunt damage with a "Knockback" effect to whatever it hits. 

 

 

Edmon blocked the attack with his sword. 

Kazue's attacks were a lot weaker than Edmon's, but it was also true that Kazue's attacks were a lot more precise and timely than his own. 

Kazue's techniques in swordplay were a lot better compared to that of Edmon's.

  

 

Edmon was able to block Kazue's skillful sword swings.

He was knocked back due to the effect of (Power Slash).

He almost lost his balance. 

A (Swordwave) soon followed as he was still being pushed by the effect of the skill. 

He was unable to dodge and just tanked the attack. 

He crossed his arm and awaited the (Swordwave) to strike his body. 

It exploded as it clashed with his sword. 

"Gah!!!"  

  

  

Kazue continued her assault. 

Rio who was waiting for the right time to attack, reads Kazue's mind. 

[If my stamina depletes faster, I might as well go all out, right? Now... the question is if I exhaust all of my energy first or will you die from all of my attacks first?] 

That is the thought in Kazue's mind 

Rio realized that Kazue had misunderstood Edmon's skill's effect. 

The skill (Bloodseeker Pressure) only affects Kazue if she is in a state of "Fleeing". 

If she is not "fleeing", her stamina will not be drained. 

  

  

(Swordwave) is a strong skill, but it uses a lot of Mana to be used. 

Kazue should have limits on how many times she could use the skill. 

She can't continuously bombard Edmon with the same skill. 

Sure, the skill is strong but not strong enough to defeat Edmon. 

That is why she needed to add more damage of her own. 

  

  

Rio's STR status is a lot lower than both Kazue and Edmon. 

Her attacks would not deal much damage to Edmon, with the skill (Mana Shroud) protecting his body from all kinds of attacks. 

. 

. 

. 

Normally, that is. 

  

  

  

Rio used the moment while Edmon was stunned by the two successive attacks from Kazue. 

Seeing that Edmon was hurt by Kazue's (Swordwave) 

[Now is my chance.]  

  

  

Rio kept her presence low so that Edmon would not be able to notice her attack. 

(Stealth) 

Her body seemed to have faded into the shadows of the night. 

She enhanced her blade with (Aura Blade), boosting the damage she could do with her weapon. 

(Armblade Skill: Power Stab), similar to any skill with the name "Power". (Armblade Skill: Power Stab) will cause an attack to be boosted while granting it a blunt force causing knockback effects. 

She then activated multiple skills at once focused on this one attack. 

  

  

(Assassin Skill: Back Stab)  

A skill that boosts the damage of her attack when attacking enemies from behind. 

(Critical), doubles the damage of a single strike. 

(Lethal Strike), doubles the damage caused by an attack aiming at a lethal spot. 

(Assassin Skill: Critical Bonus) increase the effectiveness of the (Critical) Skill 

(Assassin Skill: Stealth Bonus) increases any damage while the "Stealth" skill is active. 

A unique skill, (Weakspot Hunter) increases damage dealt on weak spot. 

The skills boosting Rio's (Armblade Skill: Power Stab) was boosted by all these buff skills. 

She focused everything on one attack. 

This is the same attack that Rio used to seriously hurt Edmon previously. 

  

 

  

Rio unleashed that one blow at Edmon while he was in pain after receiving Kazue's (Swordwave). 

A flash of light. 

Her blow struck Edmon cleanly on his back. 

Just like before, he was blown away sending Edmon flying into the air. 

"Gahhhhhhh!!!!!"  

He screamed as he was thrown away from the two girls. 

He tumbled, rolled, grazed, bounced, and crashed on the ground far away. 

Edmon was thrown away more than 20 meters away from the two girls. 

Thanks to Kazue, she was able to unleash her skill on him. 

She would not be able to do this without Kazue's help. 

  

  

The two girls gazed to where Edmon was blown away. 

To their surprise... 

Edmon slowly stood up. 

  

  

At the last moment, Edmon noticed Rio approach him from behind before he received Rio's powerful attack. 

He was able to do this since he was weary of Rio after experiencing the attack before. 

Because of this, he was keeping an eye on Rio. 

He was prepared for Rio's sneak attack. 

Although this attack was a lot stronger than the one before, Edmon was able to absorb the attack and survive. 

Rather, he was waiting for this moment. 

Edmond used several defensive skills to protect himself from that one attack from Rio. 

Thus he was able to survive that devastating blow from Rio that would have defeated him if not for the defensive skills he used to tank the attack. 

Even if Edmon was confident with his vitality it was stupid of him to think that he could take on Rio's attack without using a skill.

 

 

Despite that, he was not unharmed. 

He coughed blood as he slowly stood on his feet. 

Blood trickled down from his mouth. 

His upper clothing was torn away, and his back was bleeding due to the effect of Rio's skill. 

  

  

"No way... he survived that too... How tanky is this guy?!"  

The two girls saw Edmon stand up from where he landed after cleanly taking on Rio's blow. 

Rio let out a deep breath. 

The two could not believe that he managed to take on such a powerful attack. 

  

  

Rio staggered for a moment. 

"Rio! Are you okay?"  

"I-I- I'm fine, I'm just low on mana."  

"Oh... I see, as expected that attack does use up a lot of mana, it can't be helped..."  

Kazue said to Rio after hearing her words. 

"Sorry, Kazue... I don't think I have enough Mana to do another one of those attacks... but I can still use something after 5 minutes, tho it is a lot weaker."  

"I see... it's okay, you've done enough, I'll be counting on you by then."  

"K-k-Kay, I will support you from behind."  

  

  

"Oh right... Kazue, I think that his skill that drains stamina only works if you are running away. It does not affect you if you are not running away."  

Kazue closed her eyes and properly thought about it. 

She let out a small breath. 

She nods as if confirming something. 

"You're right, I don't feel that my stamina is being drained after we started fighting him head-on."  

"Right?"  

  

  

Rio smiled as she managed to tell Kazue about Edmon's skill. 

"I'm surprised you managed to notice this Rio..."  

Kazue casually said to Rio. 

Rio who was startled had to quickly come up with a lie. 

However, she also knew that lying to Kazue was not necessary. 

Still, she wanted to hide her abilities to read minds. 

It was like second nature to her to keep it a secret, she could not tell it to others. 

Not even to Kazue. 

  

  

"Well, I've been observing you two closely during the fight after all... he, hehe he."  

She said while explaining this to Kazue.

Meanwhile, inside Rio's mind...

[No... actually I was reading his mind.]  

Rio thought as she blatantly lied. 

  

  

"I see... please tell me more if you notice something else later."  

Kazue, oblivious of Rio's lies complimented Rio.

"Okay... you can count on me"  

"Okay, cover me then! Let's go!"  

Rio nods happily. 

  

  

Kazue ran toward Edmon without waiting for him to recover. 

Her cold expression returned. 

(Decapitation Slash) 

She once again used that skill, aiming at Edmon's neck once again. 

"Grr... F*ck!"  

He angrily swings his word meeting Kazue's attack. 

The sword clashed in mid-air. 

He then kicked Kazue, but Kazue was able to block it with a crossed arm. 

  

  

Edmon unleashed his final trump card. 

(Blood Rage) 

A skill that further boosts his physical status the more blood he loses. 

It is a risky yet powerful double-edged skill. 

Thanks to the wounds he received from Rio's devastating attack earlier. 

He bled, and as he bled he was able to activate this skill. 

At the moment, he still hasn't lost much blood. 

As time passes, the effect of skill will be much more potent as he will lose more blood. 

To make this skill affect his status a lot faster, he wounded his arm with his sword. 

  

  

Surprised, Kazue and Rio watched Edmon who was deliberately wounding himself. 

"What is he doing? he's wounding himself."  

Kazue exclaimed knowing nothing about why would he do that to himself. 

Meanwhile, Rio who managed to read his mind knew the reason behind this action, and she screamed. 

"Kazue! We need to finish him off quickly!"  

"O-okay!"  

  

  

Still confused and not knowing the reason as to why Rio would react this way, Kazue wordlessly followed Rio's commands. 

She followed as Rio rushed toward Edmon to attempt to finish him. 

In Kazue's eyes, all of Rio's judgments thus far had been correct. 

Kazue did not even think of questioning Rio's judgment. 

She followed Rio and did not hesitate to attack Edmon just as Rio instructed her to do. 

There was no reason to think otherwise. 

  

  

The two charged and swung their blades at Edmon. 

"!!!"  

Edmon moved and dodged Rio's attack. 

He moved at an astonishing speed. 

"What the?!"  

They were surprised after seeing this insane increase in speed. 

Edmon tried to swing his sword back at Rio but Rio activated her evasive skill (Assassin Skill: Escaping Maneuver). 

She was able to escape from danger. 

  

  

Noticing the opponent's sudden change in movement, Kazue did not continue her attack and jumped back. 

It seemed that they missed their chance. 

Edmon did not go after Kazue or Rio when they backed up. 

Instead, he wriggled in pain and coughed blood. 

  

  

"What the hell? He should be weakened right? How come he moved so fast just now?"  

Kazue complained. 

"I knew it. He used a skill to boost his overall stats. Be careful Kazue."  

"I see... okay..."  

Rio said warning Kazue. 

  

  

Kazue looked at Rio with an amazed face. 

[Amazing... Rio managed to realize that, that fast?!] 

Kazue thought. 

She was seriously impressed by how good Rio's judgment was. 

The fact Rio can read minds did not even register in her mind. 

She just thought that Rio managed to deduce that all by herself, without any trick. 

Because of that Kazue believed Rio without raising any questions. 

And thanks to that, she can act according to the situation. 

"Got it..."  

  

  

Knowing that Edmon used a kind of buff skill on himself, Kazue did not move carelessly. 

Kazue slowly and carefully backed away from Edmon. 

Not because she was trying to get away but to create some space between herself and Edmon. 

After all, if she does run now, the effect of the skill (Bloodseeker Pressure) would again drain her stamina. 

Rather than not running, it is more correct to say that Kazue could not run. 

And so the best she can do is to create some distance between herself and Edmon. 

She needed that space as she did not know how fast this man would move after using the skill that improved his physical abilities. 

Rio did the same. 

  

  

Edmon clenched his fist making more blood flow out of his wound. 

He was in great pain from all the wounds in his body. 

He watched his wounds leak out blood. 

He was in pain but he could also feel the surge of power building up within his body. 

He began giggling watching his blood flow out of his body. 

"Kihehehe... now... it's time for the hunt..."  

He looked at the two girls, he was like a beast ready to pounce on his prey. 

  

  

Edmon moved. 

He ran toward the girls with his sword. 

He moved at a speed greater than before. 

With that speed, Rio was unsure if she could outrun him even if she activated all of her speed-boosting skills to escape. 

Kazue who was under the influence of her (Concentration) skill, managed to see the fast moment of Edmon. 

Indeed he was significantly faster now. 

Much faster than herself. 

At this rate, it would be pointless even if she ran. 

She mustered all her courage and faced him head-on. 

Kazue had no choice but to do so. 

  

  

"Haaaaa!!!"  

Edmon swung his sword at Kazue. 

Kazue managed to dodge it comfortably. 

All of the training with a much faster and stronger foe made it easier for her to fight calmly despite being at a disadvantage. 

Kazue even managed to do a counterattack. 

  

  

"What?!"  

To her surprise, Edmon caught her blade in his hands. 

It managed to do damage to the hands that caught the blade. 

It was not a simple wound, it wounded Edmon's palm severely. 

He tried to grab onto Kazue's katana. 

Kazue managed to notice it and pulled her sword forcefully. 

The wound on his palm got even deeper. 

"This dude is crazy!"  

  

  

Rio also tried to sneak in a blow aiming at Edmon's head with her arm blade. 

Edmon noticed Rio and deflected her blade with a strong swing. 

With just the force of the block, Rio uncontrollably stumbled back. 

Rio held onto her arm where the Armblade was attached. 

She felt pain after receiving the swing. 

If Edmon used a skill with that blow, Rio's arm might have been broken. 

Still, because of the pure force from that blow, Rio's arm was numb temporarily. 

Edmon finds Rio's normal blows to be pathetic. 

"Kufufufu... what the hell is that pathetic attack?"  

  

  

"Tsk..."  

Rio clicked her tongue 

It was clear that her normal attack was too weak. 

Without the boost of all the skill she used before, her attack would be rather pointless. 

  

  

Edmon chased after Rio. 

Rio was not fast enough to completely get away. 

Edmon swings his sword at Rio. 

He missed at first. 

Rio could not dodge the second one, so she used a skill to escape (Dodge) 

Still, Edmon moved to attack Rio. 

Unlike Kazue, Rio was not capable enough to continuously dodge attacks from Edmon without using a skill. 

She was not as good as Kazue fighting a heads-on battle. 

With both of her evasive skills in a state of cooldown, Rio will have to rely on pure dodging ability to escape. 

In desperation, she activated all of her speed-boosting skills to move back. 

Edmon swings his weapon once more. 

Rio barely managed to dodge. 

This time the blade managed to wound Rio on the shoulder. 

It was not deep enough to render her arm useless. 

Still, Edmon managed to draw blood from Rio. 

  

  

Kazue moved toward Edmon to support Rio who was having a hard time dodging his assault. 

"Rio!"  

Kazue swings her sword to keep Edmon away from Rio. 

Just as planned, Edmon dodges. 

At the same time, Kazue placed herself in between Rio and Edmon to cover for Rio. 

  

  

"Sorry, I did not expect him to come at me that aggressively..."  

Rio covered the wound on her shoulder. 

"No problem..."  

  

  

Meanwhile, Edmon licked the blade of his sword with Rio's blood on it. 

At its edge was a tiny bit of Rio's blood. 

His eyes went wide. 

"This... This is! It's the same... This taste... Ahhhh~~~