Reincarnated in the Astral World

"Dammit!" Arthur curses as his body slams into a large tree after crashing through several others, finally hitting the ground in pain.

'Arthur?? Are you okay??' Nyx's voice echoes in his mind as his vision blurs.

'I think so… that explosion wasn't that strong,' he responds, though the pain wracking his body suggests several of his bones might be broken.

'Not that strong??' Nyx replies sarcastically. 'I saw several high-level Elite Warriors die instantly, and you're still just a Mystic Warrior—you almost died!'

Arthur senses the worry in Nyx's tone, feeling regret for attempting such a reckless attack. 'Shit! Does everyone have protective treasures??'

'Young Masters from powerful families certainly do. You need to learn to handle that,' Nyx advises while trying to materialize her body in front of Arthur.

"Let me take care of this," she says, grabbing the last healing potion from his belt. She pours some into his mouth and carefully applies drops to the deeper cuts on his arms and chest.

Arthur can't help but smile, seeing Nyx's concerned and loving expression as she tends to his wounds. He gently strokes her face. "It's okay. Mom wouldn't have let me take that hit if she didn't know I could survive."

"If she's testing you, it's to teach you not to rely on her protection all the time," Nyx warns, her tone soft. "But it was also my fault. I should've warned you he'd have a protective item like that."

"Don't worry, dear. We'll win this—together!" Arthur rises, feeling the potion work quickly through his body, healing him, especially thanks to his unique physique.

As he turns his gaze back toward where Marcus was, Arthur frowns. "What about Eliza? Was she caught in the explosion?"

"She's fine. I can feel her energy," Nyx reassures him quickly. "But did you hear Marcus's scream? He's going to fight seriously now…"

A dark gleam flashes in Arthur's eyes as he raises his right hand. "My sword," he commands, and Nyx flies over to retrieve his sword from where it was lodged in a tree, bringing it back to him swiftly.

As Arthur walks back toward the battlefield, he stretches his muscles to loosen up. "That explosion was from his protective treasure breaking, right? So now, I can go all out…"

"Yes," Nyx nods. "Most of his men are either dead or gravely injured. Only the lizard remains as a threat."

"Can you handle it?" Arthur asks.

"Of course!" Nyx smiles brightly. "But with my focus on the creature, I won't be able to assist you in the battle…"

"We'll be fine, trust your man," Arthur says confidently, holding her chin and kissing her lips again.

"Arthur?!?" The romantic moment is interrupted by Eliza's frantic voice. Arthur turns to see her running toward him, relief and tears streaming down her face.

"Eliz—" Arthur starts to speak, but she throws herself into his arms, sobbing. He instinctively catches her, holding her close.

"Hey, you…" Arthur glances over Eliza's shoulder to see Nyx's jealous face, but the succubus gives him a nod and steps back.

"I… I thought you… I didn't want… but how…" Eliza stammers between sobs, her entire body trembling in his embrace.

Arthur doesn't fully understand how he feels about Eliza, but he wants to comfort her and make her feel safe in his arms, so he hugs her tightly.

"I'm fine, Eliza. Don't worry," he reassures her, gently stroking her hair as she cries into his chest. "We're fine, right?"

"This is all my fault!!!" she exclaims, her voice filled with pain and regret. "I was arrogant to think—"

"It's okay," Arthur cuts her off, holding her face and making her look into his eyes. "I'll take care of you. Just trust me."

Eliza's sobs begin to subside, and her expression becomes more confident, though her eyes are still wet with tears, and her lips tremble slightly. She moves her face closer to his, a clear sign of what she wants—a kiss, bold and determined yet vulnerable and sensitive.

Arthur can see the mix of strength and softness in her, and part of him is tempted to meet her lips. However, he's uncertain how Nyx and Margaret would feel about it, and this is certainly not the time or place.

But before he can decline her kiss, Arthur hears something slicing through the air at high speed, and his instincts kick in immediately.

*Shoosh-crrrap*

Arthur pulls Eliza to the side just in time, but it costs him his own mobility, and a black dart grazes his left arm, leaving a shallow wound.

"ARTHUR!!!" Marcus's furious voice booms through the trees.

"No!!" Eliza cries out, turning to chant an ice spell for protection.

But then she feels Arthur's hand on her shoulder, followed by his calm voice, "Leave him to me."

She turns and sees his confident expression, despite the blood trickling down his arm with a faint green glow from the poisoned wound. "We need to get the poison out!" she exclaims, worried.

"It's fine, Aria's potion is still in his system, neutralizing the poison," Nyx quickly explains.

Arthur gives Nyx a loving look before he starts walking toward the battlefield, sword in hand. "Stay behind me," he orders in a firm tone, and both girls exchange quick glances before following him.

"I'm here," Arthur says as he steps through the broken trees and into the clearing created by the earlier energy explosion—a natural arena in the middle of the forest.

Marcus stands with his back to Arthur, pulling something from a silver-ornamented cloth bag. Arthur notices some chains with pointed tips resembling crossbow darts and a mesh of metal.

Whatever Marcus is pulling out is much larger than the bag itself, making it clear that this is a storage treasure. Marcus moves quickly, and as he finishes pulling out the mysterious object, he wraps it around his bare chest. The mesh tightens around his body as if it were a living creature.

"It's a rare artifact!" Eliza exclaims beside Arthur, causing a brief flicker of jealousy in Nyx's eyes.

Arthur glances at Eliza, and she quickly explains, "It's a magical mesh with enchanted chains. Lethal to anyone below Champion rank, and even dangerous to those at that level, so please be careful."

A rare artifact shouldn't pose a major threat to Arthur, given that his sword is two ranks higher, at Unique level. But this is just another of Marcus's many advantages, so Arthur knows the battle won't be easy.

"Let's do this," Arthur spins his sword, advancing toward Marcus with resolve.

"I tried to be a good friend, but you're not leaving me any choice…" Marcus grits through clenched teeth, his frustration evident. "I'll have to do this the hard way."

As Arthur locks eyes with Marcus, the green lizard starts flanking him. However, Nyx makes her move as well, positioning herself in front of the creature. Her yellow eyes glow intensely as she focuses her energy, attempting to hypnotize the beast.

Marcus had expected this, but he can't help casting a greedy look toward Nyx, which only darkens Arthur's expression.

The four chains of Marcus's magical mesh sway around him like living tentacles as he loads a black dart into his crossbow, aiming it at Arthur.

Arthur prepares to dodge the dart, but to his surprise, Marcus's chains lash out toward him first. *Shoosh!* Arthur swings his sword to block them, but Marcus's dart reaches him faster, forcing him to evade.

*BAM-SSLASH*

One of Marcus's chains strikes Arthur while he's mid-air, dodging the dart, slashing across his stomach.

"DAMN!!" Arthur hits the ground hard, rolling before quickly getting back on his feet to face Marcus, who stands tall, surrounded by the darts he planted in the center of the arena.

"You're out of your depth, boy," Marcus taunts, his voice full of confidence.

Arthur has never fought someone with this kind of style, but he quickly formulates a plan. Taking advantage of Marcus's moment of arrogance, he pulls two bottles from his belt—one filled with blue liquid and the other with green.

He swiftly drinks the contents of the blue bottle, licking his lips as he glares coldly at Marcus. "Healing potions won't save you," The mercenary comments casually.

Arthur ignores the remark and uncorks the bottle of green liquid, causing Marcus to frown in confusion. Especially when Arthur gulps the entire thing down in one go.

"What the fuck?" Eliza is equally shocked.

"Let's go!" But Arthur seems to know what he's doing and charges at Marcus.