Hello everyone! Welcome back to the latest update of 'The Outcast and the Sword of Determination' and as I have promised, unless you have already seen it, I have also updated 'Stand Up, the LRIG', finally bringing it out of hiatus. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
As they walked through the corridor, Tartu, Charon and Iona were all engrossed in their own thoughts as each of them were pondering over the day's events and how it had gone from their own perspectives. The LRIG could see that the Black Sage was still feeling somewhat uneasy around her and from the reactions she saw when Blaster Dark had concluded that she had stumbled across the Star-vaders within Mayu's domain along with his brief but somewhat informative summary of the Invasion War, she couldn't exactly blame any of the Shadow Paladins for feeling this way. At the same time though, this had also greatly concerned her about what they were planning to do next at this very moment.
They can't think I'm with these Star-vaders as they called them she thought to herself But with the way things have been, including my own involvement with the Selector Battles, I suppose I can see why they're so suspicious about me.
"Hey, Iona."
Iona looked to her right to see that Tartu had spoken out to her. The Dark Cloak Revenger's expression seemed somewhat intrigued, but also riddled with a hint of suspicion much like Charon's for the moment.
"When you mentioned that you were battling as an LRIG," she said "You never exactly mentioned how you were able to fight an opponent."
"Well... I only fought when I was given a command to attack," Iona replied "I had several forms, each one stronger than the last as a battle would progress. Whilst not battling and at the very start, this the way I look right now."
"Is there any chance you could somehow call upon those 'forms'?" asked Charon.
"To tell you the truth Charon, I've never been able to call upon my higher Level forms outside of battle," she answered "I might have mentally attempted to do so whilst in that lab of this Photon, but it has been to no avail of my own will."
"So... you've never been able to fight on your own volition?" murmured Tartu.
Iona shook her head in response to the Dark Cloak Revenger's question as the three of them continued through the hallway of the fortress that they were currently in. Eventually after walking for a little while longer, they came up to an open doorway that led to an area outside, the bright daylight sun shining through the archway. They emerged into an open area where they could see several other Shadow Paladins, all wearing cloaks to indicate they were also part of the Revengers that Blaster Dark had founded. Some of them stopped their current conversations to see Iona for the first time, all sharing looks of confusion upon seeing the LRIG with the exception of the troops that Tartu had taken with her outside the fortress to intercept Gust Blaster Dragon.
She didn't know how exactly to react to the situation that was now before her, having not been used to seeing people that hadn't already known her name from an outsource means on a regular basis, given how her life played out until she had entered the Selector Battles with 'LRIG'. She nervously waved back to some of the groups, hoping to at least get a friendly response from some of the other Revengers that were present. Some of them waved back in response whilst the others resumed whatever activities or conversations that they were in the middle of before her appearance in the open courtyard. From the group of Abyss Dragons that were present, only Raging Form briefly looked over Iona, assuming that was the person that Blaster Dark had told him about earlier.
Meanwhile from atop the fortress walls and out of sight, the dragon that had been observing Iona's entry into the fortress from seeing Charon pass her unconscious body over to Mordred and their healer, kept his gaze trailed upon the LRIG and her current accomplices as he watched them walk through the courtyard. A low "Hmm..." which sounded almost like a very low growl sounded out of his mouth as he moved carefully across the fortress walls, trying not to attract any unwanted attention towards himself. He had been following her for a reason, much like Gust Blaster Dragon unbeknowst to himself and was determined to find the source of this 'dark' power that it could sense. What intention that this dragon had for Iona or this power it was after, remained to be seen.
Back on the ground of the courtyard, Charon, Tartu and Iona had eventually managed to catch up with Blaster Dark and Mordred as they saw them beside two warriors. Both had pale dark pinkish hair and wore similar armour with notable differences to distinguish themselves from each other to an extent. One was taller than the other with the smaller of the two wearing glasses and wielding a shield in addition to the sword that he carried.
"So what did you call us here for?" asked the Black Sage.
"You will find out very soon," Blaster Dark replied before he turned his attention over to the LRIG. "Iona, meet Rukea and Rakia. I have assigned them for the test that I am about to conduct in a few moments."
"Test?" Tartu murmured.
"Dark has informed us about Iona and everything she has informed him about," Rukea spoke "So he has decided to conduct a test to determine whether what she speaks of is the absolute truth."
"And what would this test be?" asked Iona.
"I suppose we'll find out in a couple of moments," muttered Rakia as everyone could suddenly hear a noise coming towards them.
Then from nearby, they turned to the side and could see what appeared to be a rack with various types of weapons stashed on it being wheeled over towards them by two other knight like figures. They left the weapons rack beside the small group before immediately leaving to resume their previous duties prior to Blaster Dark and Mordred's arrival in the courtyard. The black swordsman then glanced back at Iona, as if he was ready to explain what was about to happen in this 'test' that he had drawn up at this very moment.
"In order to determine if I'm certain that we can trust you," he spoke "I've devised a test for that purpose. Your opponent will be either Rukea or Rakia depending on your choice and you may choose one weapon from this rack to aid you in this duel."
"I see..." Iona murmured as she looked over towards the two Revengers who simply looked back at her. "And... I need to beat my chosen opponent to pass?"
"For the majority, that would be correct," Mordred replied "But we may be willing to consider a stalemate, if your performance is satisfactory enough."
The LRIG remained silent for a few moments, her earlier assumptions of why the Shadow Paladins seemed suspicious of her seemingly coming to pass at this very moment. She then took her time to briefly obeserve the seperate appearance of Rukea and Rakia, taking note of both their armaments and their size before turning her attention to the weapons rack. Part of her felt uncomfortable in picking up a weapon of choice from her own volition to an extent, given that the only times that she would ever wield one would be in one of her higher level forms whilst she was participating in a Selector Battle. Thinking back to that and looking over the choice she had, she noticed a long spear with a sharp tip at the front and a stylized pattern adorned on it.
Iona had vaguely remembered being mostly acqainted with this kind of weapon back in her world when she was battling with the two Selectors that Mayu had sent her to. She recalled feeling somewhat more graceful with this kind of weapon than her bare fists to an extent, despite the losses that she had suffered whilst spending her time with said two Selectors. Making a decision, she took it from the rack and held it vertically with her right hand before looking back to the two Revengers that were assigned for this test and by then, she had an idea of who she wanted to face.
"I'll choose to face Rukea," she spoke.
"Very well then," the Overcoming Revenger replied as he turned to Blaster Dark who nodded in approval of the decisions made.
"Take up your positions on the empty patch beside us," said Mordred.
Both Iona and Rukea nodded in compliance and walked to their right onto an empty patch where their spectators would hopefully be right out of range for their 'test', in order to avoid any unfortunate or nasty 'accidents' in the midst of their duel. Blaster Dark then turned to Charon who nodded in reply and brought out a book before opening it up to a certain page. From there, the Black Sage started chanting in what appeared to be an incomphrensible language as a circle like formation suddenly appeared around the two combatants, much to the surprise of Iona as she watched the glow encircle both her and Rukea as the Overcoming Revenger simply took up a stance, seemingly somewhat unfazed by this.
"If any of you step outside of Charon's boundary," Mordred spoke "You will be disqualified."
"Understood," replied Rukea as he briefly brandished his sword, prompting Iona to hold up her spear in preparation for the signal to begin the duel. Part of her was feeling very nervous, given that this would be the first time that she would have to think on her own feet whilst fighting off the Oncoming Revenger and control her own actions to an extent. But she knew that unless she could put up a good fight, there was little chance of the Shadow Paladins dropping their drawn up suspicions from her earlier story.
"Then... begin!" called Blaster Dark.
At that signal, Rukea immediatly charged right towards a somewhat startled Iona as she quickly leapt to the side in response to the headforth attack, barely missing a swing of the Revenger's blade. Noticing that her feet were edging closer to the boundary that Charon had drawn up earlier, she could only sweat for a moment before looking forward to see Rukea come up right in front of her. She held out the pole of her spear in front in an attempt to block the strike and succeeded to an extent, only to find herself being knocked backwards even further towards the edge of the boundary. Leaping to the side to dodge another swipe of Rukea's blade, Iona decided that staying on the defensive any long wasn't going to her any good and held out the point of her spear towards him the moment her feet touched the ground again.
The two then ran towards each other before they began swinging their weapons at one another, with the tip of Iona's spear and the blade of Rukea repeatedly coming into contact with one another as each combatant tried to outmanuever the other with each of their clashes coming out as nothing more than stalemates every time. When they broke off for a brief moment, Rukea could see that Iona was panting for a brief moment as she struggled to keep her otherwise calm composure together after everything that had just gone on.
"So you chose to face me knowing I would not wield a shield unlike Rakia," he spoke "An interesting tactic coming from your perspective."
"I guess I could take that as a compliment," Iona muttered, trying to muster up some form of confidence in the face of her opponent.
"But the error you have made is misjudging the skill I make the use of with this single blade," the Revenger replied "Let us see if that will not be your own downfall today."
The two combatants then charged at one another once again, with their blade and spear point hitting one another with almost flawless timing. Over on the sidelines, even Tartu was somewhat impressed that Iona could keep up with Rukea's attacks for the moment, though part of her still had some doubts considering the answers she had gotten in response to the LRIG's proper combat experience. The Dark Cloak Revenger simply chose to say nothing and keep an eye over her, wondering in curiosity as to what could happen next. Blaster Dark simply kept his gaze upon Iona, seemingly expecting something to occur at any given moment, if the right opportunity were to show itself amidst this duel.
"You still have your suspicions, Junos?"
The black swordsman then turned his attention to Mordred who had asked him the question at this very moment. Part of him still sighed inwardly for being addressed by that name.
"Right now, we know that a remainder of Cray's common foe still lies out there," he spoke "The fact that Iona was amongst them does trouble me in the slightest. If she was affected by their power or worse sent by them... then that truth will reveal itself in this test."
Charon and Rakia said nothing in response to what Blaster Dark had to say, but their thoughts had trailed back once more to the Invasion War for a brief moment as they then turned their attention back to the duel in front of them. Back inside the boundary, Rukea and Iona at first remained on even footing throughout the duration of the fight, but the LRIG's lack of long time experience in combat was beginning to get the better of her, meaning that the Overcoming Revenger was successful in landing some direct hits after she was beginning to tire herself out from the prolonged exposure. She panted as she leaped back to dodge one strike from Rukea and held out the long pole of her spear to block another as she was knocked back even closer towards the boundary.
Rukea who had shown practically no signs of slowing down or even tiring out himself throughout the whole duel had simply remained at a small distance away from the LRIG as he looked down upon her. He held out his blade as Iona finally stood back up onto her feet and charged back towards the Overcoming Revenger, holding out the tip of her spear in front. In response, Rukea swung his blade the hardest he could into her weapon, the impact knocking her backwards towards the edge of the boundary and her right hand, barely clutching onto her spear as she panted even harder.
"It seems that this is the limit of your ability," the Revenger spoke as he brandished his blade once again. "Perhaps Blaster Dark has somewhat misjudged you, Urazoe Iona."
"I... won't give up," panted Iona as she went deep into her thoughts. But... Rukea's greater experience has barely worn him down, even after this long and I've barely made a dent in his armour. If only I had my powers from the Selector Battles, I...
Suddenly, as if those thoughts suddenly raced around her mind, she could feel something familiar that was racing around the veins of her own body. It felt strange, powerful and... somewhat dark. It was almost like the Spells and the ARTS that her Selectors had cast through her in the midst of their battles back in her home world, but she never experienced this feeling on her own volition, let alone bother to even think about it whilst she was wandering around Mayu's domain, only to stumble across the Star-vaders. Trusting her instincts at this point in time, she began to focus her thoughts onto one place as the tip of her spear suddenly began to crackle with energy, catching Rukea briefly off guard as he looked on.
"Is that...?" murmured Charon.
"Dark-san, you don't think...?" asked Tartu.
"No..." he replied "That's not Reverse. This is... Iona's own power, most likely from her previous battles now that she can control it."
At this point, Rukea decided that he had enough waiting around and let out a mighty battle cry as he ran towards Iona, with his blade held back at the ready. The LRIG decided now was the time to stop thinking and that now was the time to act as she swung the sharp tip of her spear, still crackling with energy right at the Revenger's blade as he brought it forwards towards her. The exact timing was perfect. The moment the sharp point and the long blade collided, the energy that was stored at the tip of the spear erupted, knocking Rukea off balance and forcing him backwards, giving Iona the opportunity to leap forwards and swing her weapon at the Revenger again, this time causing him to jump backwards upon noticing that he was not properly oriented yet.
Although the LRIG appeared to have now gained the upper hand, she was not out of danger just yet. She knew that she was still tired out from enduring the earlier hits and the length of the duel meaning that one fatal mistake could lead to her blowing her chances of victory in this contest. Rukea now having regained his proper balance looked on at Iona and couldn't help but somewhat smile in response to her performance at this very moment.
"It seems you still have some fight left in you," he mused "But from here on in, I will not hesitate to knock you out of that boundary."
"Bring it," the LRIG replied as she clutched ahold of her spear tightly.
When a few moments passed, the two charged towards each other once again, with each of their weapons swinging into each other, each impact proving to be much harder and more effective than the last. Iona's spear once again had the tip crackling with dark energy whilst Rukea was using more aggressive force in each of his swings, compared to earlier where he had kept it to a controlled, but powerful extent. After several clashes, the two found themselves at a stalemate again, waiting for one to make a fatal mistake in these last few moments. When a small breeze whistled by, the two charged at each other once again, with their weapons at the ready. Charon, Rakia and Tartu looked on, expecting another clash to go down between the two, but Blaster Dark and Mordred's expressions allowed anyone else to tell that they thought otherwise.
As Rakia swung his blade right towards Iona, the LRIG, rather than swinging the tip of her spear to meet with the blade or holding the long pole out in front to defend, suddenly stopped in her footsteps and leaned backwards for a brief moment. This was all that she had needed for this opportunity. The swing of the blade went just past the front of her outfit, much to the surprise of Rukea as she then proceded to swing the energized tip of her spear right into the top of the hilt that was connected to the blade. The impact was strong enough to knock the weapon out of the Revenger's hand as it flew across the courtyard and outside of the boundary until it landed tip first into the ground, just a few feet away from Blaster Dark's boots.
Just to be certain that her opponent had no other options left, Iona immediately held the tip of her spear pointed right Rukea, who remained still as the weapon was pointed towards his neck. The Oncoming Revenger, now disarmed could now see that he was without any means of defending himself and that attempting to fight on bare handed was not the wisest of options given his better experience with his blade rather than his own hands. He sighed under his breath as he let out a somewhat reluctant smile to his current scenario.
"Good grief..." he muttered "To lose out on even the basics of disarmament... this is rather embarassing. The victory is yours, Urazoe Iona."
Iona could only sigh in relief as she pulled back her spear, trying to catch her breath from the midst of the long duel whilst Charon eventually caused the boundry he created to disappear. Even Tartu and Rakia were somewhat surprised as to the outcome of the 'test' that Blaster Dark had drawn up, given what the Self-control Revenger knew of Rukea's greater experience in combat whilst the Dark Cloak Revenger was mostly curious to the energy that the LRIG had manifested on the tip of her spear. It didn't feel like the power wielded by the Star-vaders, so she felt that she could drop some of her earlier suspicions then but she remained curious nonetheless.
At this moment, both Blaster Dark and Mordred walked over towards the two combatants, but not before the Illusionary Revenger picked up Rukea's blade from the ground and handed it back to him. The black swordsman then turned his attention over to Iona.
"It seems we have somewhat underestimated your tenacity," he spoke "But regardless of that, you have succeeded in passing the test I have laid out before you."
"T... Thank you," Iona panted, still trying to catch her breath by this point. "So... what happens to me now?"
Before anyone could answer in response to her question, they all felt the ground shake for a brief moment as a large thud was heard not far from where they were standing. Turning their attention towards the direction of where they heard the noise come from, they could see that the dragon that had been watching Iona from afar whilst previously keeping out of sight had finally decided to reveal itself to all. Whilst the LRIG could only look on in confusion at him whilst he took several small strides towards the group, Charon, Tartu, Rakia and Rukea's expressions had gone rather bitter the moment they recognized the new arrival to the courtyard of the fortress. When the dragon stopped, both Blaster Dark and Mordred looked up at its head, their gazes having become rather stern at this moment.
"So... this is the one I have been hearing about," he spoke, his tone being very bold with a hint of partial fierceness to it "Iona was your name if I recalled?"
"Who are you?" asked Iona.
"He calls himself Claret," Charon interrupted, his tone having somewhat a hint of disgust to it "One of the more nastier Abyss Dragons within our clan."
"That guy's way of doing things with his 'troop' sickens me," Tartu responded, her voice alone being enough for anyone to tell that she shared a similar opinion about the dragon that had now appeared before them.
"Claret, what brings you to here at this moment?" Mordred asked sternly.
"You haven't already figured that out?" Claret replied bemusedly as he took the large claret stashed on his back and pointed it towards Iona. "It's because of her and the potential that I have now seen today. I cannot see her reaching the full power she could possess whilst serving under your Revengers and your cowardly excuse for a Grandmaster."
"Why you...!" growled Rakia, struggling to keep his own self-restraint under control from hearing the dragon's words at this very moment.
Rukea who had also been angered kept a hand on the Self-control Revenger to prevent him from doing anything rash in this 'conversation'. From what Iona could see and hear at this very moment, almost everyone around her seemed to share their distaste for Claret, made clear by their disgust in their tones and what Tartu seemed to be getting at 'that guy's way of going things'. In an effort to prevent anything ugly from erupting between both the Revengers and the Abyss Dragon, Blaster Dark stepped forwards with his gaze sternly trailing upon Claret.
"What exactly do you want, Claret?" he asked.
"It is simple," the dragon replied "I simply believe that Iona would be make a fine addition to my 'troop' and given the proper training and ruthlessness, she would make a fine warrior on the front of Shadow Paladin and eventually, the whole of the United Sanctuary."
"United... Sanctuary...?" Iona murmured in confusion, having not been told about the nations and the other clans of Cray beforehand.
"So then," Claret boldy spoke out "What shall it be?"
With the exception of Blaster Dark and Mordred who remained tense at this very moment, Tartu, Charon, Rukea and Rakia could only wonder in worry as to what decision Iona was planning to make at this very moment. A deathly silence fell over the entire courtyard as tension began to rise amongst the Shadow Paladins in the area, each within their own thoughts to the scenario before them and how the LRIG was planning to approach it on her own terms. Iona however was unsure of how to approach this, given that until recently, she never exactly had been able to make her own decisions on how her life was to progress forwards. But now she felt was the time to change all of that and start trusting her own instinct and doing what she believed was right. Eventually, after several long moments had passed by, she had finally made a decision.
"I will decline."
Whilst nearly everyone beside her was somewhat surprised and relieved to hear that wasn't planning to leave the fortress with Claret, the dragon seemed to be somewhat unfazed by this, unbeknowst to them. Blaster Dark simply kept his gaze upon the LRIG, believing that there was more to her rejection to the Abyss Dragon's offer at this very moment.
"From what I can gather from my accomplices," she spoke "Their shared opinion of how you run your 'troop' as you have put it seems very negative to a degree and from the way that you mentioned your offer, I believe I can see why."
Tartu and Charon simply smiled in admiration to her response, feeling as if the decision she made now would be the right one to come into the near future. Not showing so much as a hint of frustration, Claret simply pulled back his sword, turned around in response to the LRIG's answer and began to leave the courtyard. But as the Abyss Dragon did so, he turned his head around towards to indicate that he wasn't quite finished with what he had to say to her.
"If that is how you want it, I suggest you think about it," he spoke, his tone now more fiercer than before "Before I leave, I must give you one piece of advice. Weakness is a sin. Remember that well."
And with that, the Abyss Dragon took a mighty leap into the air and up over the top of the fortress walls, disappearing behind them and out of sight. As the courtyard fell silent once more, Iona turned around to Blaster Dark and Mordred, believing that there was still much to be done now that she had passed the black swordsman's earlier 'test' by defeating Rukea.
"So... as I was asking," she said "What happens to me now?"
"Now that we know that you not a threat to us and that we can now see that what you say is indeed true," Blaster Dark replied "We will agree to take you under our wing, until we can find a way for you to return back to your world. Whether you wish to do so as an official Shadow Paladin or not, is entirely up to you."
Whilst Mordred remained motionless in response to this, the other Revengers that were present with them were curious as to how Iona would decide to approach Blaster Dark's ultimatum. While it was indeed true that the LRIG had now demonstrated before them that she could now think and fight independently on her terms now that she was far out of the reach of the Selector Battles, they knew that she still had some inexperience within her own range of combat and that would be a lasting effect on whatever decision she decided to make.
"I understand your concern about my well being in getting back home..." said Iona "But... I feel now that my life there has come to an end... I believe should make a new start on Cray... as a Shadow Paladin."
"Then so be it," replied Mordred as he walked towards the LRIG. "You have already been through much today, so I suggest taking some rest for the moment."
"I'll show you the way to my dorm," Tartu spoke as she came alongside Iona "Dealing with Gust Blaster and going straight into a duel certainly took a lot out of you."
"T... Thank you," said Iona as the two of them left the courtyard together.
When the Dark Cloak Revenger and the LRIG were eventually out of sight from the remaining Shadow Paladins, Charon then turned over to Blaster Dark whose gaze had not left the direction in which Claret had exited the fortress. The appearance of the Abyss Dragon at this point in time along with his earlier offer for Iona to join his 'troop' had certainly proven to feel most troubling to the black swordsman and given the reputation that Claret was known for amongst the Revengers, he couldn't help but share some of his own disdain deep within his thoughts.
"Can't say I can blame you for thinking about him," Charon spoke out.
"Indeed Charon," Blaster Dark replied "But with both him and Gust Blaster after Iona's power on their own terms, I may need to keep a close eye on her and hope that my earlier suspicions do not come to pass."
Mordred simply kept his gaze upon the black swordsman, having also felt some disdain from Claret's appearance on this very day. All that he knew from what was to come and what could happen next was that the true test of leadership, was about to fall upon Shadow Paladin and quite possibly, the whole of the United Sanctuary.
And there we go! In an effort to gain the trust of the Shadow Paladins, Iona agrees to a one on one duel with Rukea. Although she finds herself overwhelemed from her lack of proper combat experience, she eventually manages to tap into a small portion of her power from the Selector Battles and with some clever thinking, manages to turn the tide and claim victory. At that time, Claret Sword Dragon enters the fortress and offers the LRIG an deal to join his troop, but Iona refuse in view of the other Revengers' negative opinion on his own way of how he handles things. What will lie in store for Iona in the future adventures to come on the Planet Cray? Stay tuned next time to find out. Feel free to share your thoughts and I'll see you all next chapter.
