Kairo's eyes shifted to the woman and then back to Corry.
"She has freed him," he said in a low voice.
Up until now, the possibility of facing the prisoners had always been there, but right now it wasn't just a possibility — it had become tangible and real.
Corry smiled, lifting his head upward to sniff out vulgarly, basking in the delicious taste that freedom had
Having been locked for more than five years behind those cells, the feeling he felt at the moment was indescribable. So much that he had a silly smile looking at Kairo and the girl.
"Thank you... thank you... I can't believe I am free. Damn it, I'm so hungry," Corry's eyes flickered, drawing dark patterns in them like his eyes were the circuitry of the void.
They really ate cards, Kairo thought.
Given how dangerous they were, Kairo was well aware he couldn't let Corry roam free on the submarine. If the other prisoners were freed, this would be catastrophic for them. In terms of numbers, the prisoners were by far superior.
"There is no way for you to escape this place. We are underwater, Corry. There is no freedom for you in here. You will be caught right here and then."
"Don't listen to him. A solution is on its way. If you can free the other prisoners, this submarine will be the last four walls you ever see in your life. I have freed you — you can trust me," seeing a faint light of hope in her situation, the girl said.
"Stop spouting nonsense, you fool," Kairo was starting to regret not hitting this foul mouth even harder. But it was a tad too late.
Before he could add anything, Corry's body lit up like a bulb, his eyes mimicking the patterns of the circuitry of the void as if they were one and the same person. Corry's hands grasped into the void with an ecstatic smile.
"Told you my arms could break everything, Kairo… feel the power of the Diamond Glory."
Crack... crack...
One after another, his body was being encased into a heavy armor of shimmering diamond. His abyss-like eyes turned deeper and darker. A wave of diamond swept through the corridors like a frozen storm, encasing everything it found in its way to daemon.
It acts like ice. We shouldn't get ourselves touched by that, Kairo reacted swiftly. Picking up his captive, he jumped back, followed by the Sand Paladin. He still needed the girl to answer his questions, and until then, he could only protect her from this madman.
The corridor was pretty small. The diamond was like a hurricane, sweeping through the area with terrifying strength, turning the walls into paintings of diamond shards — each one sharper than daggers.
"It's way too fast. Sand Paladin, clear the path for us!" Kairo ordered, stepping behind his summon.
Kairo didn't expect Corry to be able to release this much devastation with a single gesture. Fortunately, the Sand Paladin had been active all along. The Sand Paladin was as stoic as ever, his figure pretty miniature faced with the storm of diamond rushing towards them.
"Wow, so lucky I fell on an old folk from Limit Breaker. You're doomed this time, Kairo," the girl said, not missing the opportunity to laugh at them.
Still, the Sand Paladin stood without any ounce of fear. Spinning his lance with masterful precision, he snapped the diamond shards one after the other, each impact causing them to shatter into miniature sparkles of light that floated in the space.
"I have torn so many people with this attack I can't even count them, Kairo. Yet you're still standing after this. After getting you in my stomach, I will certainly get even stronger, haha!" Corry said, lunging forward like an agile cheetah.
The Sand Paladin waved its lance and flew towards his opponent. His speed no less than the moving diamond. With a swing in an arc wide enough to close the gap in the corridors, the move caused the wind to screech loudly, and the shards of ice to split one after another, torn by the powerful winds created by the lance.
Corry was way more agile than Kairo had anticipated. He waved his palms, the diamond shards shot out from the sides of the corridors, forming a perfect staircase for him to evade the Sand Paladin.
In a matter of seconds, his imposing frame was shot down towards Kairo. ''Didn't you learn at the academy not to judge your opponent based on their appearance but based on their cards? Such a shame, Kairo.''
'He did the one-year training? Was he a Card Mage officer in the past?' This thought almost left him wounded.
Kairo expression shifted an instant, tilting his face to the side; the hands full of broken shards missed his jaw.
Kairo could almost feel the cold wind of death sweeping past his body.Stepping to the side, he carefully evaded the massive palm.
All this while he had done nothing but evade, looking for the perfect opportunity to strike, and Corry had presented him with it. Just as he was landing, Kairo smirked and pushed forward.
Channeling all his strength in his feet, he cannon-balled out, skidding through the area at incredible speed, before his fist landed squarely into the bulging stomach of his opponent.
Corry's face twitched slightly upon impact, his jaws growing wide as if he was going to spit something but just saw his body sent flapping backward, skidding like a rag several meters away.
''Aie, this was hard, Kairo…'' Corry said, rising back to his feet like nothing had happened. ''Do you love your new tattoos, Kairo? The death mark looks perfect on you,'' he said, his tone as sarcastic as ever, as if getting hit had always been part of his plan.
Kairo felt his head begin spinning and he stumbled forward, fighting with himself to stay standing. Kairo felt his head turn heavy as if he had spent the entire night drinking.
'What is going on?' His eyes then moved down to the fist with which he had struck, and there it was. The shards had dug deep into his skin, leaving numerous deep cuts into them.
Kairo's heart wavered an instant, not from the wound on his palm but from the growing mark that was all way too familiar.
Not only did he now have the death mark on him, he was also wounded, meaning Kairo was going to bleed to death with no way out.
'At the last moment, he pierced his own body with the shards to ensure I wouldn't see the trick before I hit. This guy is a real madman,' Kairo thought.
He had been extremely vigilant while planning his counter; if Corry had hidden something at that spot he would have noticed it. Still, he didn't expect his opponent to be a real madman. What Kairo felt disturbing was Corry had absolutely no regret nor visible pain.
Instead, his smile was growing deeper, like that of a devil that had locked into his prey, ready to toy with it till it died.
''How do you feel now that you know you will bleed to death, Kairo? The death mark has no cure. The targets die in order of marking. The first person to be marked will bleed faster than the second, and so on…'' the girl said, enjoying the show.
Unable to flee from either Corry or Kairo, she could only observe and continuously jab him with her words.
''The victims all have the exact same face, Kairo. You should look at you right now. It's hilarious. Don't bother, I'm generous and will devour you before we get to that point,'' Corry said, moving dangerously towards the shocked Kairo.
Kairo took a deep breath, rallying back his thoughts to serenity. Then lifted his head towards his opponent. Far from the despair that Corry expected to see, there was a fire burning more than anything they had ever seen.
''If you think I am going to let death stop me, then you have no idea of who you're facing, Corry,'' Kairo said.
It was like his huge frame could skid on the diamond, sliding on the walls to the side as he moved, using his gigantic arms to clasp towards Kairo's head.
"You can still dream of us," Kairo spat out.
According to his understanding of the death mark, Nyx was first to be marked, meaning if she got wounded she would bleed faster than Kairo and get to the grave first.
This thought terrified him but also energized him. Kairo didn't know how nor why, but he was certain card magic was related to its owner's life.
If Corry 'disappeared' then everything would be okay. This was the very first time the thought of murder sneaked into Kairo's thoughts, and this time not wearing the 'unacceptable' label. This time, however, it didn't seem that bad.