Chapter 2: Is it planned?
Situated near a river that separate two grassland in Hoshido group of Nohrian forces marches upon the bridge between them. They are a group of Knight and Mage, with the knights acting as the defender of the mages who tails them behind. In front of the mages, but behind the knights, in the center of the formation, a man with a yellow robe and exposed chest shout dramatically and extensively throw about his hands.
"And so this marks the beginning of the Pitch-Black Hyperion force! Terror raise as their feet stepped on to the ground! Raise your bell! Hide your family and friends for they bring certain demise! Their knights protect the dark mage with their unholy dark aura of doom! And their mages ready to bring death to anybody that cross their paths! And then amidst their scream of terror the arrow of demi-"
"Urgh, shut up…"
In the midst of his speech, a voice belonging to a hulking knight disrupt him. The knight, unlike the others, wore a special pink-colored armor, covered heavily from heads to boots. The man in yellow robe halt his speech to look at her and beside him, a white-haired man with an eye patch covering his left eye, chuckles.
"Careful, you might catch his dramatization disease if you start a conversation with the man."
The white-haired man said in between his soft laugh. The armored woman scoffs while the yellow-robed man yells at him.
"Hey, Niles! This is no "Dramatization disease"! This is an excerpt from my Epic Tale!"
The woman sigh. "Look, unlike you two, I actually put efforts and take my job seriously. So please do not hinder me nor the rest of the team with both of your unpleasant quirks. Thank you." She said with a tone that accepts no dispute, without so much as giving them a glance.
"My, someone's cranky. Your words cut so deep, it enlightens a passionate pain within my heart." Said Niles.
"…"
"Stop it, Odin, Niles. I'd rather you two did not creep out my sister's retainer."
The man in the yellow dress, Odin and the white-haired Cyclops, Niles look behind them to see the voice's owner. A blond young man covered by a thick dark armor riding an equally dark horse shaking his head. He wears a thin bandana and holds a rather thick magic tome on his side, as dark as his armor and horse.
"…Besides, it seems that we got company…"
Arriving on the bridge, they look upon the other side of the land. A group of samurai points their weapons at them, a young woman particularly stands out in front of them. She tightens the white silk bandana on her head and sends a deathly glare to the arriving force of Nohr. The glare is so intense that it could kill any man, her imposing figure does well to strengthen it. The Nohrian force stop in their track, preparing themselves to answer the stalwart woman, both physically and mentally.
"Just like Prince Takumi predicted, all of you will strike here. His paranoia pays off it seems." So the woman said.
The plan Leo created supposed to be simple. Xander and Camilla will lead the main units to fight the Hoshidan head-on while he will lead a private unit to attack one of the Hoshidan camp farthest from the main war. The reason he insists on beating the farthest camp is that, he wishes to create an illusion that there is an ambush unit preparing to strike the Hoshidan unprepared. By attacking the farthest camp from where the main war is fought, he predicts the Hoshidan would be wary of a pincer attack from two sides. That would be a good start for creating distress. He does not intend for this to be an all-out attack from him, he intends to keep this as fast and short as possible and retreat when it's done. He also doesn't intend to dwell too deeply and long around the camp as they are near the Hoshidan's territory and possibly facing off a large army.
For this reason, he chooses a company consists of mostly range attackers like Mage and Archers that poses huge attack prowess and range advantages. He also brought some knights just in case his force met a rather persistent resistance from the Hoshidan. He was hoping if he ventures through the small forest beyond the bridge he could cover his force's existence from the Hoshidan. Whether this be successful or not, Leo could easily run with a relatively small force, and his force can burn the bridge to make sure the Hoshidan can't chase them or at least slow them down. The river below the bridge flows ferociously, promising danger to any poor souls that carelessly falls to them.
He, however, didn't expect to meet a resistance right across the bridge itself.
While he was wondering if he should keep up with the plan the mages have already begun bombarding them with spells. Unlike the Nohrian, Hoshido didn't shield themselves against magic, they cut the magic. Their long and light Katana combined with their swift and precise swing easily overmatch the speed of the spell and cut them to nothing. The one they can't cut, they dodged. The girl in front, noted by Leo as fast enough to cut all the incoming spells at her without dodging, all the while still keeping her deathly glare towards his force.
She wipes the blood from her Katana and flourishes it to the Nohrian army. The message is clear.
"Effie, I trust you can handle this?"
"Yes, sir!" Answered the pink armored woman.
The knights and Archers soon join in the fight and they are starting to push towards the Hoshidan. Now, the force he brings is not a lot as mentioned, only enough to destroy the camp and win against possible resistance which is about 100 people. He deems it enough to destroy an entire camp as long as they are careful enough, though mostly because any more than that create suspicion in the Hoshidan's side. He is played by fate though, as the Hoshidan is still suspicious of them anyway with their equally 100 Samurai in ready. Odds are, the Hoshidan will ask for reinforcement and he will be forced to retreat.
Instead of retreating later it's better to retreat now.
But there is also a chance for them to finish the plan if they manage to clear the Samurai force fast enough. They have range advantage anyway, and the knights should be able to hold their ground against the Samurai.
"Fight until the reinforcements arrive! Let's show these dogs how fierce we can be! Alright guys?!"
The girl in the front screams cheerfully. A large roar of agreement explodes between the Hoshidan samurai. The girl seems to be the leader, and she is unfortunately good enough to bolster her force's morale.
'Matters not'
Leo raises up his hand swiftly, roots start to grows beneath the girl's feet and the soldiers around her. They threaten to bind the Hoshidan with their ever-growing branches. The thorns send tickling pains along their skins. The Nohrian mages took this opportunity to cast a fire spell to the distraught Hoshidan as they try to overpower the unrelenting floral chains.
The free Hoshidan starts to aid their comrades, most of them are fortunate enough to escape Leo's roots, few however, are too slow to escape and got burned alongside the plants. The leader girl in particular, escape the bind and resume her charge amidst the scream of her fallen comrades.
Nohrian knights get into their position. They are heavily armored knights not mean for an offense. Due to their rather heavy equipment, mobility is their greatest weakness. As such, what they are doing right now is simply to crouch alongside each other and brings up their shield and spears to create a wall. This way, their enemies need to remove them to pass. Should their enemies try to jump over them, they could use their spear to stabs. This is a formation dedicated entirely to become an unmovable obstacle towards melee infantries.
Or what it was supposed to be…
No matter what, perfection is not something one can easily achieve, and possibly not something a group of people can achieve. It can be hard for untrained eyes to find it but for the leader girl, it was not hard for her to find a gap within the formation. Faster than their brain could proceed, faster than their eyes can follow, faster than their bodies can react, she has breached the formation without even removing a single knight.
Right at this moment however, she shockingly finds herself caught by another one of Leo's roots. Forced to stop, she saw a lance threatening to pierce through her body coming at her. She duck to avoid the attack, cuts the roots and perform a somersault, back to where she came from.
She may breach the formation, but she failed to reach the mages.
The moment she stands straight again, another root has start to grow below her and they grow much faster than before. Not just her however, roots start to grow below the Hoshidan's force, their branches bind them as they grow. Soon enough, leaves began to grow as well and more and more branches to bind them. They sap the strength of the bounded, and there is nobody free than can help them now. None of the Hoshidan present manage to escape the demonic plant, not even the energetic girl. It's as if the roots try to make a tree out of the Hoshidans.
The Nohrian mages began their chant, strengthening the output of their spells. Leo assumes this would alert the nearby Hoshidan camps too due to the possible smoke coming from the burnt trees. But he considers it irrelevant as he believes this would be more than enough to create chaos within the Hoshidan force.
The outcome is not what he expected but taking a moderate portion of Hoshidan's Samurai is not a bad thing either. Leo thought as he grins triumphantly, watching his mages finish chanting and numerous fireballs are shot.
Still, it is said that rain extinguishes flame. And at this moment rain does fall down on them. No, it is not the rain of waters that fall on them, nature sees that it doesn't need to torture the Nohrian itself by getting rid of their efforts.
No, what befalls them are the raining arrows made of light.
Leo watches in horror as his plan ruined. The arrows pierce through the fireballs, dispersing them. They rip through Leo's roots, allowing the Hoshidan samurai to break free. The arrows move as fast as the light itself and wound many of his archers and mages, some even receive fatal blows. The knights bring up their shield to protect from the arrow, but when the arrow meet their shield an explosion happens that blast away everyone in the vicinity. It's not too threatening but the explosion creates disarray in the formation. And within a few seconds, a group of Hoshidan unit larger than Leo's appears from the forest.
"Heh, idiots. They took the bait."
"Prince Takumi!"
Standing in front of the army, a man with a spiky long ponytail styled hair grins confidently. On his hand, he grips a bow made of light. The woman with the bandana cheer on his name upon his appearance.
'Impossible how could…'
It was not possible Leo thought. It's not possible for him to not notice the coming of a force this large. The fight hasn't even been going on for long, for reinforcement to reaches so fast is impossible unless they were already nearby.
For example, hiding inside the forest all this time.
'It was not paranoia then? Did he genuinely predict my plan and turns it into a bait?'
Leo refuses to believe he had been played, yet the mocking smirk from Takumi did not appease his pride. He grit his teeth irritated, and raise his hand to create a wall made of woods. Takumi's reply to the wall is to shot numerous light arrows that explode upon contact with the wood, effectively bringing it down. The moment the wall falls, the Hoshidan force began their advance.
All the knights brace themselves to halt the incoming attack, Effie in particular exhibit a fitting performance as the ward of the force. The swing of her shield blast away all Samurai and Spearfighter around her. Her thrust pierces through every stomachs and neck it touches. For every Hoshidan who falls for their knees, the other knights will finish their jobs and end the Hoshidans. They are pushed back, after all the arrows kill some of the mage and few of the knights. Furthermore, the surrounding Hoshidan force is larger than them, but even so Effie and her knights were able to keep their enemies from wiping them all out.
Their will and endurance, their skill and bravery, they will not be easily toppled.
"NOHRIAN SCUM!"
A terrorizing scream of a woman can be heard coming from the Hoshidan's side. A woman, with a face full of scowl that portrays the image of a demon come out to rush towards the force of Nohrian. Her blue hair whip around the air as she swiftly charges towards the knights. The Naginata she holds is unique as the shaft is also covered with a shield. She uses her shield to bash into the knights, momentarily staggering them.
The knights may look like they are dressed in full armor, but that is not the case. It would be too heavy for them to move in full heavy armor, there is always a gap, a break between the armor that would render their skins defenseless without a mail, and this woman make sure to "abuse" this fact. One, two, three, in only a matter of seconds she has managed to fell down the knights that were previously unbeatable by the other Hoshidan. Every time she bashes her shield, she wastes no time to thrust her spear to her opponent, every time they tried to attack her, she will bring up her shield to block their attacks, staggering the knights and thrust her spear again.
Block, Thrust, Swing, repeat. It was almost like a slaughter.
Effie can't tolerate the situation anymore as she personally went for the woman. She thrust her lance towards the woman, which is expectedly blocked too. The woman however, didn't expect the force behind the thrust to be so humongous, it sends her flying backward.
"Garrgh!"
She winced as she fell on her back violently, the other knights went for her attempting to pin her body to the ground with their lance but her naginata's shield blocks their thrust. She rolls out of the way to escape them and immediately rush towards Effie, ignoring the other knights as they were intercepted by the other Samurais and Spearfighters.
The girl bashes her shield against Effie's as strong as she can, and she was shocked when Effie didn't so much as budge. Effie pulls her lance, then thrust it as fast as she can, using the speed to add power into her thrust. And just like before, the girl is sent flying backward and dropped on her back again.
"Gah! What the fuck is that woman? That strength is bullshit!"
The spearfighter woman gathers her focus and tries to stand up again…Only to be interrupted by a hand halting her from the side. She looks towards the owner of the hand and meets a certain Samurai woman with a white headband, glaring intensely at Effie.
"Oboro-san, can you leave her to me?"
"Hana wha…"
The finally named Oboro look at her comrade, Hana never leave her sight of Effie. At that moment, she saw the feelings that reflected from those pupils. She saw resolve, determination, confidence, and finally the bloodlust. She sighs, and smile towards her comrade
"Fine. Go wild, She-Demon!"
Their conversation is heard by Effie and she mentally raises an eyebrow. From her perspective, the Oboro woman is more akin to a demon. Yet the Samurai squad's leader girl…Hana was it? Was the one called a She-demon instead.
Why?
She is not going to ask obviously, she doesn't want to waste time on the battlefield with an unnecessary question. She slams the tip of her shield to the ground, creating an explosive sound and daringly lock eyes with Hana, indicating her acceptance towards the indirect challenge.
"You shall not pass."
Hana didn't answer, she replies by walking slowly towards Effie. The slow movement eventually rise up in speed, the walk becomes skip the skip become run and the run becomes dash. When she was closing on Effie she raises her katana and Effie answer in return. Effie raises her shield to defend against Hana's attack.
She widens her eyes in surprise when Hana's figure suddenly blurs.
What she feels next is a hot numbing pain on her tendon. She found Hana below her has managed to cut her. She winced but stand her ground, delivering her spear's tip onto the samurai's head in retaliation proven to be unsuccessful however as Hana immediately blurs once more and suddenly a familiar sensation can be felt on her right armpits.
Effie is stronger than other knights, she is more durable too. She can lift weights far heavier than the majority of the knights. The armor she wore is still armor made for the military for mass usage, hence there are few gaps in between them that allow for breathing such as the armpits. Furthermore the thickness of the armor is not to her liking, she deems it necessary for it to be even thicker. She may be a fool but she is no complete idiot however, she realizes that the other knights won't be able to hold the same level as her and as long she didn't have enough merit to ask for her own armor, she needs to keep her mouth shut.
But at this moment she wishes she had her own private armor that protects every single part of her body with no exception, which should also be far thicker to better defend against any attacks. Nohrian armory may pride themselves over their experience in any war, but the sharpness of Katana that Hoshidan owns seems to pose a challenge for the protection of their armor. And it does not favor Effie in any way.
'How does something that looks so light can be so destructive?'
The battle has just begun but it was clear how one-sided it is, Hana will deliver infinite and unstoppable onslaughts and Effie will be forced to mitigate the damage as much as she can. Effie has given up counter-attacking. Every single time she tried to perform a counter attack, Hana always seemingly blurs and reappear against somewhere else, damaging yet another part of her body.
It was no magic that makes this possible however, Effie knows that. Hana's far superior agility alone is enough for Effie to know the reason. On the split second before or possibly during Hana blurs and reappear, a subtle gust of wind always blows around her. As if helped by the wind itself, Hana simply moves too fast for Effie's eyes to and follow and by the time she can see Hana, she no longer has time to reacts. The gust of wind that signifies the coming of her pain, she endures it all.
'As long as she is focused on me it's fine.'
Effie is not a strategical fighter, she can't think during pressure, she reacts. She is not the fastest among her peers, in fact she might as well be the slowest, she simply took pride in being the strongest. But no matter how strong an attack is, if it doesn't hit, it doesn't matter. And now that her counterattack, purely delivered by her reaction just won't hit, she considers herself helpless. Even so, if Hana kept her focus on her, that means the rest of her comrades would be free of her attacks, and that is enough for her.
The rest of the fight is about prince Leo creating woods, not to bind the Hoshidan anymore but rather to slow them down. He gave up trying to trap them and let the mages to burn them alongside the woods as they easily destroy it, and with their advantage in numbers, binding them with his magic would prove to be too much tedious for the prince. Prince Takumi meanwhile, would snipe the mages and the knights will protect them while the other samurais and spearfighter will keep on charging against the force. They are not exactly in favorable standing, and Effie admits Hana is skillful enough to pose a threat for her comrades. So whatever happens, she is going to hold Hana here.
A cut on left tendon, a cut on the right shoulder, a cut on the left waist, a cut on the right arm, a kick to the face, a cut on the right tendon, etc. Effie endures it all, she grimaces from time to time but otherwise, shows no reaction. She is not sure when is this going to end but this is nothing for her, pain is nothing if that means she wins in the end, no matter how long.
Hana falls back, if she is feeling fatigued then she did a really good job at hiding it. Effie considers this action and wonders the reason. Her curiosity is unneeded however, as Hana immediately bolts towards her once more.
Judging this to be the final desperation attack from Hana, Effie put up her guards even higher, her instinct sharpened, her muscles tighten, and her resolve strengthen. Another subtle gust of wind can be felt and Hana blurs. Effie knows this is it.
"Fearsome Blow."
"GrAAaaRGh!"
Yet the scream does not come from her, she doesn't even feel anything. No, it instead comes from behind her. Reflexively, she turns her head at her back, and she can't help but drop her jaw at what she saw next.
What she saw next is Hana, manage to cleaves a mage behind her into two. Cutting him from the right shoulder down to his left waist as his blood squirt happily from his inside.
Effie is not a strategical fighter, she can't think during pressure, she reacts. That is why, it was foolish of her to think her opponent will stay fighting with her all the while until the end. Different from a formal duel, different from a spar, this is a war. She wasn't the only enemy Hana can and need to fight.
Hana falling back is not without a reason, it is in fact for two reasons. The first is to make Effie rise up her guard to protect herself, effectively making her less likely to react in time to protect the others. And to propel her speed so she could reach Effie faster. Right in front of Effie, Hana propels herself once more to move past her. If Effie is too slow to follow Hana's movement, there is no way she would realize Hana has already passed through her until it was too late. And pass through her she did.
Effie was not the only one who didn't notice, the poor dark mage didn't either, until Hana was already too close to him for him to be able to do anything. His scream of horrors is the only thing that left of him after Hana sliced him into two. True to the technique's name, the result is fearsome indeed. His organs sprung free, red blood burst out of his body like water burst out of a balloon, his face still decorated from the shock of seeing a demon. The left part of his body, falls to the side while the right part of his body, still 'supported' by his feet slowly falls to the back. Cut into two, his bodies falls to different directions. Spilling menacing red paints around them.
The Nohrian soldiers are no stranger to fight and war, they experience them daily. Yet seeing their own comrade being butchered into two still instill fear inside them. Besides, how common is it to witness your comrades being cleaved alive, as if an ingredient that's just being sliced by a kitchen knife?
Panic starts to build up irresistibly, they start to blindly shoot magic at Hana. They don't even just shot fire anymore, Ice and Thunder magic is cast too. With a predatory grin Hana charges towards the other mages, avoiding and cutting through all magic that comes at her. Soon enough, two other unfortunate souls suffer the same fate as their previous comrade.
Hana's demonic onslaught bolster the Hoshidan's morale, suddenly it becomes clear to Effie why is she being called 'She-Demon'. Oboro chooses this moment to order her allies to charge now. Effie didn't stop them, she didn't even move. No, she cannot stop them because she is petrified. It is fear that petrifies her, but while the others are afraid of Hana, she isn't.
'I…I failed? He was… behind me… What if the one behind me is…'
An image…Not hazy. An image so vivid to Effie that it feels like reality is created in her mind. An image about a princess, with her twin rolled blonde hair dressed in black and pink fluffy gown dress being cleaved into two. Her smile never faded as her bodies fall lifelessly on the ground, beneath a figure that looks a lot like Hana. It was not Hana that she fears, it was the prospect of failure to protect a certain someone.
Meanwhile, Hana violently stomps on the head of one the mages' corpse beneath her. Her feet creates a loud thumping sound that wakes Effie from her daydream. Staring directly at Effie's eyes, Hana tilts her head and with a face full of confusion and eyes full of innocence, she asks.
"Didn't you said that I shall not pass?"
The battle has really turned to the worst case possible as far as Leo is concerned. He suspects Hana has been ordered to hold back her strength to fool them before, she didn't show that she is capable of such feat for example. He is so tempted to order an immediate retreat but, during the current situation it will only serve as a way to give the Hoshidan free targets while the Nohrian is showing their backs.
The Hoshidan use their number to their advantage and began to overwhelm the Nohrian. Takumi notice Leo has been getting desperate to escape this situation, though he admits he is impressed by Leo's calm demeanor. He shot another arrow of light to Leo's tree and it explodes. The tree, made of magic, dissolve into dark mist after it explodes. He didn't like it, he is forced to counter whatever Leo is doing and unable to do an action of his own, lest Leo will take away the advantage they currently hold. It's still better than actually losing anyway.
It was fortunate that Nohrian force wasn't aware of the look-out post around the forest. They have noticed the Nohrian's ambush plan and prepared for it. Unlike Nohr, which country is rich in metals and steels, Hoshidan is rich in woods and irons. As such, unlike Nohrian who create a strong bulky tower outpost made of steel, Hoshidan perfected the art of woodcraft. They had managed to create buildings made of wood that could blend with the surrounding of the forest, they have managed to find a way of using an iron to dim the light that would've given their position, usually used by ninjas. Obviously this is simply a matter of stealth, should the Nohrian enter the forest, they might know the existence of it. The element of surprise is essential here, hence why Takumi asks Hana to guard in front of the forest. As much as she hates to rely on her… "Partner" to guard her best friend, princess Sakura, she decides to take this moment to make Sakura proud.
It was truly fortunate that the Nohrian force didn't expect the Hoshidan to have forces and building hidden in the forest.
The battle took casualty from both sides. It was, fortunately, more from the Nohrian's side. One of Takumi's retainer, a swordsman named Hinata kick about, left and right and slashes his surrounding with great violence, taking many victims joyfully.
"Alright! Keep 'em coming! I ain't gonna be satisfied with just this much."
Some knights went to subdue him but he skillfully went around them and hit them senseless. Fireballs soon rain on him and he skilfully cut them up one by one.
"This ain't enough hey! If you guys ain't comin' I wi—OW OW OW! HOT!"
Feeling on cloud nine, Hinata maniacally cut the fireball one by one and was about to create even worse havoc when one of the fireballs explodes on his butt. Looking around for the perpetrator, he finds Odin, who is making a pose. He is now crouching to the left, his right-hand lifts up his magic book and his face turns to his left as he covers with his left hand.
"The chaos calls me, the screams of the long-gone invite me, and the heat of suffering summons me! Within this verse, I! Odin Dark should stop your rampageous deeds, villain! Take the Black Flame of purgatory and repent your sin!"
"Woah!"
Hinata didn't know why, but he feels compelled to clap, so he did. Which is weird because he actually found it rather cringe. As for Odin, despite his overactive actions, he never actually want his pose to be taken seriously. It was supposed to be a joke act, where he will keep it even when everyone asks him not to. Because if one act foolish, another will laugh even if it was directed at the actor instead of the joke. If everyone keeps shooting down his antics, that's the best. That way, everyone can at least laugh, even at the bleakest moments.
So when Hinata actually got impressed by his stupidly embarrassing line in the middle of a battle, Odin froze.
That seconds of him freezing is enough for a Samurai under Hinata's command to strike at Odin.
"Wow Watch it!"
Odin jumps back at the last second to avoid the fatal blow. The samurai was about to make a follow-up when suddenly coldness speedily covers him in the form of ice, leaving just his head untouched. Nearby mages aid Odin and froze her, consecutively sending fireballs to her. The samurai was about to get her head cooked alive if not because Hinata cut the fireballs and immediately smash the ice to pieces.
"*Whistle* Trying to act cool huh? Got anything to back it up?"
"You dare question the one who stood atop the chain of dark justice? I, Odin Dark should take it upon myself to teach you what the meaning of fear is!"
"Sure…"
A grin, not so different with Hana's decorates Hinata's face. Odin is awfully familiar with the expression, after all he too once…
Hinata sprint forward to Odin while pointing his blade behind, other mages aids Odin and shots spells after spells which Hinata effortlessly dodge. Odin sends a line of flame on the ground to Hinata. Hinata is forced to stop his dash and dodge to the right. Odin sends another line of flame on the ground to Hinata's right which forces him to dodge to the left. Seeing that Hinata is on the center of both fire line, Odin smashes the ground and at that moment, a dark flame emerges between the scorching fire lines.
"What the heck?"
Hinata tries to send the flame away by swiftly swinging his swords desperately, his attempts proven to be futile as the large flame refuses to die down. Hinata saw Odin laugh while crossing both of his arms. Behind him, his subordinates are uncertain of what to do. Seeing no other option, Hinata braces himself and continue his advance despite the flame.
But then.
"What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?"
It didn't take long for Oboro and her fellow spearfighters rush to his aid with their guard naginata. After ordering her other subordinates and Hana's subordinates to rush past Effie, she saw Hinata struggling with flames and waste no time to supports him. The spearfighter's use their guard naginata to push off the flame, covering Hinata. The dark flame…is actually just a black colored flame that Odin create for theatrical purpose… It doesn't actually have any special attribute, with the efforts of the spearfighters, it was extinguished rather easily.
Odin stopped laughing, his mouth slightly widen to smile wryly as he looks at Oboro's face, frowns into that of pure disgust and hatred. He notices that Nohr isn't exactly Hoshido's favorite neighbor but, this girl seems to take the bitterness to a whole new level.
He is awfully familiar with that expression. For he has seen it countless times, decorating his friens' faces whenever a certain dragon appears.
"Thanks Oboro, you saved my ass there"
Hinata laughs heartily, so free as if he didn't just found himself surrounded by hostiles flames.
"'Thanks Oboro you saved my ass there tee-hee' MY ASS! Fight seriously!"
Oboro jumps back no sooner after she finished yelling, at the figure of sheepishly grinning Hinata. A single arrow notched at the ground she was previously standing at.
"Well, Well. Now that's certainly one feisty prey"
"…Prey?"
A white-haired man, covered with an eye-patch sneer gleefully at Oboro with his bows tightly gripped in his arms. The tone that comes out from Oboro's mouth in response speaks far more than her word. Odin mentally sigh deeply, he realizes Niles 'quirks' or rather 'talent' to piss people off just by talking 'harmlessly', and this one may actually etched in history as the reason for one of the royal prince's retainer's death.
"I dare you to call me that again bastard!"
"My lady, we are in a war and we are enemies. You are our prey and that's it."
"You asked for it! I'll fucking hunt you down, you albino Cyclops"
"Case by case, I've been hunted down for a long time, even by girls in need like you"
Odin is not amused by Niles' attitude, the girl surely will kill him at this rate. He wonders if Niles is doing this on purpose to rile the girl up, or he simply does it because he is too stupid to realize what comes out from his mouth. And if his feeling is to be trusted, then Odin believe it was the latter.
'At any rate, I guess I just need to protect him…'
Odin adopts a stance, ready to intercept Oboro with his magic the moment she bolted to Niles. And bolted she did. Right. Straight. To. Him.
"Wait, what?"
Odin hastily creates a defensive spell that get easily broken through by Oboro's spear. Hinata also joins by performing a leaping strike. Odin is however not just an ordinary fighter, despite his 'perks' he is an experienced and talented fighter, it didn't take him much effort to dodge both of their attacks…Yes totally, the fact that if he is too late to dodge even just one second they might kill him is beside the point.
"WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME? HE IS THE ONE INCITING YOU!"
"You are in the way, shitface!"
Odin screams as loud as he can as he pointed an accusing finger at Oboro, who replied in an almost equally loud voice. Odin swore he could hear Niles snickering behind him, and he can see Hinata watching them as if they are comedy theatre. After a few more lines of bickering between each other, Hinata finally ends their revile contest.
"Oboro, it's fine to leave him to me. Go to that guy if you want to"
"Really? Okay then, I owe you one Hinata!"
Odin didn't even try to stop Oboro as she abruptly passes by him, who didn't forget to send him a nasty look, full of disgusts. He considers helping Niles before, but because the Cyclops laughed at him just now, he considers to just let them have their couple fight.
Hana strikes Effie with a diving slash, which she is fortunate enough to block the attack in hesitation. Hana continues her assault, ignoring Effie's defense as she force her to be in defensive. It doesn't matter where, Hana covers all direction without letting Effie a chance to counter attack. Challenged by seemingly unending amount of attacks, Effie begrudgingly starts to flinch every time Hana's katana collides with her shield or any part of her armor and body, indicating her weariness.
'Urgh!'
Effie, now frustrated, forcefully retaliate in responds. She swings her shield, aimed at Hana's head. Hana crouches to dodge the attack and Effie thrust her spear to her crouching figure. Ignoring the coming attack, Hana charges towards Effie, intend to cut the less protected part around her body, the armpit.
'Now' Effie thought.
She reverses her hold on her spear and pulls it, intend to stab Hana from behind while the woman charges at her. This was all planned, she baited Hana to get near her, close enough for her to have a hard time escaping Effie's attack. The thrust, full of opening did its job to tempt Hana to attack, and Effie feels her chest filled with hope.
Hana was no greenhorn however, she notices the bait immediately. She whirled to dodge the attack and backflipped away from Effie to create a distance. Despite her plan working, Effie can feel that Hana still manage to cut her, though not so deep.
Hana took a stance, she bends her right knee to the side and extends her left leg, she points both of her left middles and points fingers at Effie while pointing her Katana with her right hand. Effie ready her guards as steadfast as she can, watching the unfamiliar stance. Without another word, once again disappear from her view, she knows Hana has made her advance.
The samurai girl rushes, straight to her opponent, intend to cut her dominant hand once and for all. Her figure is blurry but undeniably overwhelming for Effie.
Effie thrust her spear, hoping Hana would just crash and stab herself with the speed to the lance. This is, of course, seemed happens too slowly for Hana. Hana bends herself backward, letting her body to slightly fall while sliding towards Effie. Her hair flutters wildly from the air pressure caused by Effie's thrust, the spear just parallel to her face. Soon enough she passes the spear, and she swings her Katana.
"Guh!"
Hana flew sideways, face falls first to the ground. It wasn't anything serious, yet the shock of something actually hits her stops her for a while. She raises herself up and watches Effie, equally confused, curiously stares at her shield. As if it is a strange artifact from another world.
An ill silence reigns over their surroundings. Their comrades and subordinates have long left them to their own selves. Even amidst this battlefield, the only sound they can hear is their own voices. As such, there is nobody else that is joining the battle. This is something Effie has been wishing to happen before, although the result is not to her liking. Hana has finally focused her attention to Effie only, yet this brings no happiness to Effie. The other Hoshidan has went passed her, she has failed, and she saw no chance of winning against Hana.
But the previous exchange between them has light a small glimpse of hope in her heart. It was hard to believe for the both of them, but it's true. For the first time in their roughly 10 minutes fight, Effie has finally managed to land a clean hit at Hana using her shield.
'I attacked her… didn't I?' Effie thought silently
'Was she being lucky? Or has she gotten familiar with my movement?' Hana thought silently.
Hana spits the dirt that found its way into her mouth, and wipe her mouth as she raises to her feet. Effie shifts her stance into a more steady posture, preparing herself for another onslaught from Hana. Hana adopts the same stance as she did previously, but remain where she is…For now.
As if time got rewinded, Hana charges the same way she did as well. Effie thrust her spear the same way too, expecting Hana to dodge similarly. Hana instead, steps to the side and delivers a crushing swing onto her left shoulder. Effie fortunately is fast enough to block the attack with her shield before it reaches her. Hana continue to blitz towards Effie, not letting her any chance to let her guard down, Effie is once again forced to rely on blocking.
While blocking, Effie unconsciously stiffens herself. While the left part of her body is heavily guarded, the right part of her body is left open for Hana's attack. After diverting her attention to her left enough, Hana quickly changes her position and slice Effie's right feet. The chainmail that covers her whole body can no longer protect her and she can feel her feet starts to bleed ferociously. Contrary to her pride, she slumped down on one knee.
"Urgh!"
Effie tries her best to hold back her voice, but a short yelp still manages to find its way outside of her mouth. She didn't have time to mourn over her wounds however, as Hana is already on her. Hana takes hold on her shield and roughly plant the tip on the ground, she forcefully delivers a kick full of pure strength onto Effie's jaw. To further strengthen the kick, she jumps as she kicks, using the momentum to her advantage and gripping on the top of the shield to stabilize herself.
Effie gasp in horror as she saw the kick coming, yet unable to prevent nor stop it. The force of said kick is so strong that Effie's helmet flew away from her head, the strap that holds it was torn by Hana's kick. Concussion starts to overtake her mind, her head is now slowly filled with blank emptiness. Effie slowly falls on her back, she lets go of her shield to use her left hand as a support. Nevertheless, she still falls on her butt and now Hana stood overbearingly atop of her.
"Hah! In the end, you were just lucky with that attack."
Grinning confidently, Hana sneers at Effie as she rises up her Katana. Effie didn't pay attention to the mockery delivered to her, she instead watches in slow motion the figure of Hana bringing down her Katana.
'I am going to die'
Her heart throbs furiously as she watches the Katana that slowly, but surely descend onto her.
'She is going to cut me'
What was so fast that she can't see nor comprehend before, now looks so slow.
'She will decapitate my head'
Unfortunately for Effie, her body refuses to move. The concussion she felt from the kick, still holding her mind back. Even if she wants to, she can't react in time.
'I DON'T WANT TO DIE! NOT YET!'
"Puissance!"
Effie's sudden scream startled Hana and she stops her attack for just 1 millisecond. That one millisecond proves to be fatal as it gives Effie time to raise up her lance. Fear, desperation, panic, will to live…Hope. Myriad emotions complexly mixed together with all weight and strength she can muster, creating a harmoniously destructive force inside of her.
The tip of Effie's lance threatening to pierce through Hana, Hana sensed the attack and instinctivel change the direction of her Katana to stop Effie's attack. It was a very wise decision, even after she blocks the attack, the force is still strong enough to throw her off her feet. Her Katana broken by the impact, her armor pierced through, her body tossed away. Even though Nohrian create better armor than Hoshidan, armor is still an armor, it's not easy to pierce an armor with a Steel weapon. And yet it did happens here. Even if the attack didn't pierce though Hana, the impact can still be felt by her body. If she didn't protect herself, she surely would've died.
"GRAARGH!"
Such is the strength of one known as Effie.
Hana feels pain swarms throughout her whole body as she roughly drops to the ground on her back. Blood involuntarily coughed out of her body. Hana tries to raise up back to her feet, she tries using her arm to support her as she rose. Unfortunately, the pain shocks her entire body midway and soon enough, she falls back. A curse is muttered from her mouth, and from her unfavorable position, she glares at Effie.
Effie who was still dizzy from the concussion took several moments to understand what has happened. She was sure she is going to die but a miracle has happened twice in her favor, and she survived because of them. She stays sitting on her butt as she ponders if this is the reality. The glare Hana that bore onto her answer her thought.
Wobbly, she grips her lance and uses it as a support to rise up. Hana watches in slight relief to see Effie having a hard time rising up just like her. Not wanting to give up nor show weakness, she once again tries to rise up as well. Pain once again shocks her entire body and she feels her body urging her to rest. Trying to ignore the plea seems to be useless as she finds herself once again lying on the floor.
In just one single attack, the uncontested advantage Hana had against Effie has been reversed. Right now it's Hana who is lying on the ground while Effie is standing. Hana bit her lips in frustration for the unexpected turns of events. She hopes that her body can roll over when Effie decides to attack her, as with her current position it will be a certain kill unless she can dodge it.
After all, right now she is without a weapon.
Of course she still didn't want to give up, she grovels on the ground, crawling, slithering and even wiggling. Anything that can save her from this predicament. She saw Effie groggily approaches her, her body swaying left and right indicates her instability. Eventually however Effie manages to reach Hana before she can escape… Yet no attacks came.
Effie takes a moment to gather her thought. Her head still feels light, though recovering. Despite turning the situation in her favor, she isn't sure if she has enough energy to even move at this point. The last attack took every ounce of stamina and power in her. She even has a hard time standing still. Can she even make a proper attack now?
She hesitates to deal the finishing blow.
While she is contemplating whether to finish Hana off, the ground shook and Effie tripped to her side. A voice alerts the whole battlefield, a voice belongs to the tactician prince who governs over plants.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Out of my way you shit heads!"
Oboro forces her way through the Nohrian army that protects the archery force. She dove her naginata deep inside the knights' heads and pierce through numerous sorceress and dark knights' stomachs. Many runs away from her, few foolish enough to contest her and even fewer survive the ordeal.
"The thrill of being chased by the personification of the end itself, such sweet feeling truly makes one feels alive"
Niles proclaims happily as he shoots at the woman who is currently lusting for his life. Said woman protects herself with the shield on her naginata. Another knight tries to feel her down, but his strikes meet the shield of her naginata, like the others. The recoil makes him slightly took a step back, and in the single second he did, Oboro has deprived him of his life.
Niles whistle at the spectacle.
"Stop running fatherfucker! I want to bash your face in!"
"I'd like to play hard to get, lady"
Niles blows a wink at Oboro while running. At this point all the adventurers from Nohr have begun to run away from Oboro, Niles is not an exception. His smirks contrast with Oboro's frown. Their distance slowly grows longer as more Nohrian tries to stop Oboro.
'Damn! At this rate, he will get away!'
Oboro growls in frustration as another Nohrian knight appears to stop her, her scowl ever growin.
"I said, out of my w…Actually never mind! Thanks for coming"
Oboro's sour mood quickly turns jovial upon seeing her latest obstacle, or more accurately, the weapon he? She? Holds. Who cares about the dead knight's gender, Oboro killed the knight immediately anyway.
Niles looks back right on time as Oboro throws the javelin she picked from the dead knight straight at him. Taking a powerful step in front, she leans forward to synch all the weight in her body with her throw. The moment the lance left her hand, the grass on the plains trembles. It breaks through the wind as they are forced to twist around it, submissively dancing around it as it travels. If the air itself can speak, if one can understand the language of airs, then the air will warn them the danger this javelin currently possess.
Niles can't understand the language of air, nor know if air can speak. But it isn't hard for him to sense the danger it brings. His sole eye expands as the javelin coming at him at a breathtaking velocity. Niles instinctively crouches and cover his head with both of his hands, letting the lance travels over his head.
"Damn, that almost go…" Niles' comment at the flying javelin is cut short as once again his sole eye widen…At the approaching guard naginata.
When Oboro notice that Niles will avoid the javelin in time, she wastes no single second to throw her guard naginata at him. It was an act of desperation, but it does its job. Niles failed to avoid the unexpected second throw and the weight of the naginata easily slump him on his back.
This allows Oboro to finally reach him and she delivers a tremendous punch straight to his face. Niles who was trying to raise his body up, falls back again after taking the punch head-on. As he falls flat to the ground, Oboro straddles him. Niles looks up at Oboro rising both of her hands, ready to send another punch.
"Shitface!"
Niles shields his face with his arms from the incoming punches. Oboro starts to punch his sides, his arms, his necks and grab a hold of Niles' hair and roughly ripped them from his head. Niles tries to endure the one-sided beat down even though groans of pain can clearly be heard from him. Oboro eventually grows tired and forcefully tries to separate Niles' arms from his face. Men are naturally born with more muscle than women. Niles is no exception. But while Niles is an archer that survives by trickery and avoiding a direct fight, Oboro is a woman who did physical training daily and is one of the frontline fighters who believe in her durability.
As such, it's no wonder that Oboro develops more muscle and is stronger than Niles.
Niles tries to resist Oboro's hand pulling his arms, but Oboro's superior strength proves it to be a futile act. Eventually his face is free from the guard and Oboro quickly send him a 'Hot' punch to his face. One punch, two punches, three punches. More and more punches incoming and yet Oboro didn't show any sign of stopping. Niles tried to protect his face again but…
Even after Niles abandon resistance.
Even after throwing more than dozen of punches at him.
Even after his nose and mouth spurt out blood.
Even after his nose broken from taking a square, full blown punch.
Even after dislocating his jaw from knocking it with her knuckle.
Even after his cheek and eye starts to swell.
Even after Niles stop making any noises.
Even when both of her hands had been covered by his blood.
And even after his eye patch falls and shows his empty eye's socket… Oboro didn't stop punching him.
Nobody tried to stop her, most are too frighten by her and few that dares are stopped by her subordinates. Even her own comrades avert their eyes from the sight. Oboro ignores her surrounding and giving no sign of ending her punch anytime soon. She didn't smiles, she keep the same demonic face throughout the 'show'.
'It hurts…'
"What's wrong? Are you not gonna talk shit to me again?"
'Ah right, she is hitting me…'
Niles take pleasure in the sweet numbness his body provide him to avoid the pain as he succumb to the beating he is subject to currently. His lone eyes sorely take a view of Oboro's face. A face that is full of anger, hatred, rage, and disgust. A face that tells the sorrow that grows and buried inside so long, a face that tells more stories than a voice could.
'Such familiar face…When did I saw it before?'
"Cmon! Talk now, retard!"
Vague memories come to his mind. Memories of so distant past, kept at bay to protect his own mind. A memory of adults kicking and throwing trash at a child. A memory of a man throwing his barely finished food to the ground, and the child who ate it ferociously. Memories of children with soft and defined clothes laughing at barely clothed children.
'You monster, Die! bad luck, Thief'
'Ah…I remember now… Why is that face so familiar'
"Who is the prey now, you shit?!"
'That used to be the face I send towards those nobles after all…'
An image of a child, dressed in ragged clothing, beaten to a bloody pulp, hugging his knees as he tear-eyedly stares at Niles with his lone eye, his other socket devoid of an eyeball leaking blood. Niles begins to tears up too, not because of Oboro's punches but rather because of the child. He holds back his tears to not let Oboro see it, which she didn't notice.
Odin however, notices the brutal spectacle. He leaps back from Hinata and turns his attention to Oboro and Niles. He kicked himself mentally for allowing Oboro to get passed him, creating a deep frown on his face. Seeing Odin distracted, Hinata jumps at him, taking this chance to cut him down.
"Where are you looking?"
Odin didn't pay him any attention and speed up to Niles. Hinata widens his eyes as his sword meets a blank space. Nohrians are not known for their speed, they are known for their sturdiness. It was almost a given for Hinata to be far faster than any Nohrian, yet the dark mage just moves faster than average shinobi Hinata ever seen. Curiously, that footwork he just demonstrates is akin to a footwork of an expert Samurai.
'Come to think of it, he didn't fight nor act like most Nohrians either…'
Oboro who still take her sweet time in beating up Niles into literal pulp, yelps in surprise as she felt a kick that trips her from Niles' body.
"You bastard!"
Odin ignores her and quickly checks Niles' vital and breathing. When he is assured that Niles is alive, he raises the white man over his shoulder. Oboro won't let this go so easily however and grab her naginata, running immediately towards Odin.
Her approach is halted however when Odin creates a blast of fire in front of her, forcing her to stop, it is at this time that Hinata finally catch up.
"Ugh Sorry Oboro, didn't expect him to get away."
"Dammit Hinata, You got one job! But meh, its fine."
Both of them adopt a stance again, pointing towards Odin.
"Let's send them both to the afterlife at the same time"
"Alright!"
The situation is not good, Odin deduced. He wishes he can just abandon the operation and run away with Niles or else the guy is going to die. But he can't just abandon his other comrades can he? Especially since there is no saying he can escape anyway.
Well, not together.
As if gods themselves offer him their aid, it was then that the ground shook and Odin grab his chance to run away. When he did, he heard his prince yelled.
"Retreat! Retreat!
"Wait…Where are you going?"
Effie turns back to stare at the fallen samurai girl who is struggling to get up. Hana cough up even more blood as she forces herself to stand, her eyes never leaving Effie.
"I don't need your pity! Our fight is not over!"
Effie blinks once, twice. Exhaustion now starting to take over her mind, her vision gets blurry and breathing feels heavier. She can feel her consciousness slipping out of her head little by little. Hana and Effie lock gaze with each other, countless emotions and thought mixed in between.
"My name's Effie…Remember that…Hana." Effie said briefly and resume her retreat. Leaving Hana alone, wobbly and sluggishly retreating. Afraid that she will pass out before went back to safety.
"Gurrgh!Arrgh!" Hana punches the ground as she growls towards the retreating figure of Effie. She grinds her teeth against each other and make a frown that almost rival Oboro's as she sends a piercing glare at the retreating pink knight.
"Effie, Effie, Effie!" Hana keeps repeating the name like a mantra, burning it into her mind.
The ground shook and the river splashes. From below the river, a humongous tree erupted, dropping those standing on the bridge to the water below. The tree stood menacingly separating the Hoshidans and Nohrians, acting as a wall that stops and punishes those who dares to cross.
The few Nohrians that stays on the Hoshidan army's side of the bridge like Effie can cross the tree safely, opening up gaps now only for them. Once the few Nohrian has crossed the tree, dark purple miasma falls from the leaves, descending towards the unwary.
The few Hoshidans that stays on the Nohrian army's side of the bridge like Hinata and Oboro meanwhile forced to lost contact with their allies. Furthermore, the poisonous miasma spreads to weaken their constitution, and rough hard coughs begin to come out from their mouth.
"Dammit!" Cursed Oboro on her knees.
"What…is… this?" Mumbled Hinata who is using his Katana as a support to stand.
Fortunately for them, the Nohrian force ignores them in favor of retreating as their prince's order. Unfortunately for them unless they are treated fast the poison from the tree is going to kill them.
In fact, some Hoshidans who are injured and exhausted has passed as soon as the miasma enters their bodies. Many lay unmoving on the ground with white foam spilling out of their mouth and their eyes rolled above. And those who survived but at the wrong side of the tree are just waiting for their turn to pass…
The Hoshidans from the other side are too afraid to get anywhere near the tree, and even then, they are not sure what should they do to pass through.
To say that this turn of event makes Takumi furious is an understatement. He snarls at the tree with utmost rage induced passion. He is still, in the end, a prince. Seeing his people so easily taken down does not amuse him.
And there is no way he will let the Nohrians run away peacefully.
A condensed sphere of light projected in front of his bow. Nocking his bow with trained elegance, he once again points it to the direction of the Nohrian prince. Lights that defines his bow starts to flare ferociously, his eyes start to shine, and wild huge sparks emitted from Takumi's body. He stays like this for a few seconds before roaring and releasing his "arrow".
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN JUST LEAVE HERE!"
Just a moment before Takumi make a gesture of releasing an arrow, Leo sensed a threat is coming to him. The effect is instant, within a second the "arrow" is released, the sphere of light turns into a gigantic katana. The katana shots immediately forwards, towards its target, the Nohrian prince. With a humongous vortex of raging wind follows it. Truly fits its name, Fujin Yumi. (Wind God's Bow)
It doesn't just look like a light but travels at the speed of light too. Even before half a second passed, a huge hole has open on the miasma tree and it explodes a few seconds after. It went through the Hoshidans without taking any victim, yet it destroys the body of all Nohrians it touches. It doesn't matter if they wear armor or not, the moment their body, unfortunately, touches the light, it pulverizes them. The vortex on the other hand, will blast away their corpses afterwards.
Leo who notice it earlier attempted to create a defensive wall of root to protect his force. He, unfortunately, didn't expect the danger to travels so fast and so destructive. There is just no time for him to properly conjure his tree fortress.
Changing his method, he instead channels through his tome, Brynhildr, and attempt to compress the light with it. A dark sphere, accompanied by floating leaves appears and they class with the light immediately, moments before it could pierce through Leo. A clash between a "Light sword" and a "Dark Shield". The vortex soon arrives, disturbing Leo and his force from their standings. With a tact movement, Leo throws away the dark sphere along with the light katana to the side, far from his force when he realizes the vortex is interfering with his concentration too much for his liking.
As expected, the vortex follows. The moment both forces touches the ground, an explosion occurred. A gigantic pillar of tempest, lightly covered by countless swirling leaves shots out to the sky. Within the vortex, a force of white light and a force of black darkness can be seen spiraling each other. Both unrelenting in their fight for dominance. The pillar creates a hole through the cloud and the sky turns greyish upon its awakening, as it ascent far higher than the human eyes can see.
It exists no longer than one second, but the memory of those who have seen it will be etched for forever.
Bodies frozen, mouths agape, eyes widen, to say everyone watching it is stricken by awe is truly fitting. Yet Takumi and Leo cannot indulge in the creation of their own making as the boysaaa soon collapse from exhaustion.
"Lord Takumi!"
"Lord Takumi!"
Oboro and Hinata waste no second to move towards Takumi's falling body, despite their own bodies weakening from the poison. Odin catches Leo's body before he falls and balance him to the horse. The rest of Hoshidan units are hesitating to chase after the fleeing Nohrians and stays where they are. The outcome of this battle has killed away the fighting will from both the Hoshidan and Nohrian force.
Eventually, the battle ends with both forces suffer casualties…Mostly Nohrians….
Elsewhere, back to Ryoma and Xander's fight.
Katana and Sword clashes against each other. Sparks of light and darkness flicker disastrously around the dueling princes. Ryoma and Xander push their swords against each other, none giving any intention to relent.
"Do you still intend to keep this up, Crown prince? Most of your attacks can't even hope to reach me. You are fighting a losing battle" Ryoma smirks.
"I know my limit, High prince. Do you though? It is only a matter of time until you are exhausted from all those moving. And I will finish you then." Xander smirks back.
Both princes disengage from each other and create a significant distance between them. Ryoma points his katana at Xander and they engage again in a glaring match, while Xander plants the tip of his sword to the ground. Their subordinates still surround them, most of them simply there to watch the battle between the two princes, but they still prepare themselves in case they need to save their respective princes when the battle ends.
Though for them, the princes look rather like superhumans that don't need help.
The staring contest between the two kingdoms leaders continues on until suddenly a Pegasus comes with a cherry pink haired girl riding yelling from the Hoshidan's side.
"Lord Brother! Lord Brother!"
"Not now Sakura! And don't come here!"
The youngest princess of Hoshido, Sakura.
Ryoma didn't tear his attention away from Xander as he warns his younger sister. Sakura ignores her brother's warning as she elegantly drops to the ground on her feet, and proceed to whisper on her brother's ear.
Whatever he heard from Sakura is surprising enough for him to lower his katana and shift his whole attention from Xander to Sakura, eyes almost gouge out from his sockets.
"Say What? Corrin has defeated my forward commander?"
Ryoma yelled loudly for even the Nohrian army to catch. Now that he takes a good look at his sister he finally notices her current state. Sakura's eye is red, she definitely cries herself out while coming here, her body is trembling, and even now it looks like she is holding back tears.
How did Sakura know this, is simple. She is in charge of the medical unit and as such, the first to know and to take note of everyone who comes for medical attention. When she noticed the wounded commander was sent to the medical tent by his subordinates, she asks what happens.
It didn't take long for her to get up and rush to Ryoma when she heard the answer.
Ryoma absolutely trusts Sakura. Judging from her behavior and body language, she is not lying. Would that mean his forward commander lies then? He dismisses the thought, his men have no reason to lies. But that would mean he needs to accept the harsh truth…
'What is he up to? Does he really intend to fight us?'
"It seems that the side he chooses is clear now."
Ryoma glares back at the owner of the voice, at the smirking Xander.
"...Rggh!"
Before Ryoma could retaliate the implication, another voice interrupted him. A voice of a young girl, accompanied by the sound of a running horse.
"Big Brother! *sob* Big Brother!"
A girl, seemingly no older than Sakura came rushing with her horse…Which is decorated with pink ribbon, its hair dyed pink, and the saddle decorated with flowers and bunnies. Even its tail is decorated with flowers…
"Stop Elise! This place is dangerous. Whatever you are going to say, we will talk later."
Xander quickly dismisses her, thinking whatever his sister is going to say is probably not important. He regrets his action then when he noticed his sister has been crying. In between her cries, she ignores Xander's warning and delivers the news.
"B-But! Thi-This is *sob* impor*sob*tant! Big brother *sob* Corrin attacked our *sob* force *sob* while they *sob* are *sob* fighting wi*sob*th the Hoshidan! *sob*"
"What?!"
Similar to Ryoma, Xander widens his eye and now attention fully directed at his crying sister, whose eye is so red and her face is a mess after crying.
'So Corrin attack both Hoshido and Nohr? What is that boy thinking?'
Xander thought to himself, while also mentally facepalm at Elise for crying the information out loud. It can't be helped though, Xander knows. Elise is quite attached to Corrin, the thought of him betraying her has never crossed her mind. No wonder she cried so hard. Yet if Corrin truly does attack his force like she said, then not just her… Even Xander and his other siblings must face the harsh truth.
"Hnh, the side he chooses is certainly not yours, Crown prince."
Xander snarls at the smirking Ryoma, forced to take the shame of his own words.
Silence returns to fill the atmosphere once more. Both princes return to their staring contest as their youngest sisters both hides behind their respective elder brother. Soldiers of both sides readied their weapons, waiting for their respective leader to give the awaited command.
None were given.
Ryoma eventually lowers down his katana with a sigh. He turns back to address his subjects and yell loudly.
"We can't fight 2 armies at once, everyone retreat!"
The Hoshidan army looks at Ryoma, unsure about the order they were given. They eventually obey the order and starts to run back towards their kingdom. Ryoma himself stays still at this spot, making sure his men retreat safely. As he predicted, the Nohrian army attempts to chase the Hoshidan in pursuit. Ryoma raises his katana to point the sky. In that exact moment a fierce lightning bolt descent onto him. The scene instils fear inside the chasing Nohrian as they hesitate to pursue. They look at Xander, hoping to get an order, hoping to get guidance. And he did.
"All units stop the assault and wait for my command!"
Under his command, all pursuing Nohrian completely stop their pursuit and lowers their weapon. Ryoma waits for a while before finally retreating alongside his soldier, his hand tightly grabbing Sakura's.
Xander let go of the breath he doesn't realize holding. The view of the Hoshidan army is getting smaller and smaller, and moments after, the Nohrian began to retreats too.
The first day of the war ends with both armies retreats roughly at the same time. It was the younger prince who lit the fire of war and it was him too that extinguish it. Both sides suffer casualty but it only just the beginning. The prince doesn't want this, but alas he is without strength to prevent.
And such an ill-fated circumstance will yet to end.
Fire Emblem: IF /(Ill)-Fates
A/N: Write this on my free time and thought why not update this here. The fanfic for Fates aint really lively either so I tried to help with this. Once again, am not experience in writing, so am sorry if this really bad or even cringe. Because sometimes it does give me the feeling... Sigh, I wish I am better at describing things, words just doesn't come out naturally in my head. Well, I'll just hope there are people who'll read this and give some review \/ Also, holy fuck, 12k words ==