"I forgot to ask this before, Katsuta, but are you an open or closet pervert?" Naotsugu asked Katsuta.
"Eh?"
"To be honest, I'm surprised he went this long without asking." said Shiroe, exasperated at his friend's behavior.
Katsuta thought a bit about his answer before replying.
"Everyone's a pervert in some intensity. Some people are just better at controlling it than others."
"That was surprisingly deep. I'm touched." said Naotsugu, tears rolling down his face.
It had been a few days since the event now known as the Apocalypse.
During those few days, a player died and was resurrected within the Cathedral. The players learned that death wasn't the end.
Katsuta and Akatsuki also met Marielle and the members of the Crescent Moon Alliance which generally went along the lines of this:
"Hi, my name is [insert name here]. Nice to me-"
At this point, Marielle would interrupt the sentence with a flying tackle hug.
"I can't breathe!" said Katsuta after this same flying tackle hug.
Henrietta reacted to Akatsuki's appearance with the enthusiasm of a kitten presented with a bag of catnip.
"My ninja!" said Katsuta, finding Henrietta's behavior disturbing yet amusing.
During this meeting, they discussed the emergence of PKs and player killers along with the widening gap between large and small guilds.
Currently, the group of 4 were finishing up combat practice.
Akatsuki went on ahead, citing that she wanted to practice her Tracker skills.
Katsuta thought about the recent events.
Is player killing really that bad? Death doesn't really have any consequences in this world other than the normal exp loss. I can understand players turning to that to keep busy, but can't they be satisfied with fighting monsters normally?
Katsuta was brought by Shiroe and Naotsugu jumping into formation.
"What the?"
"I sense something… Is it human? That means…"
A light glowed in the distance and Naotsugu was trapped in a bind spell.
However, Shiroe is quick to react and breaks the bind.
"Thanks! You're always so quick with the support?"
"What do we do, Shiroe-sama?"
"Get into formation. Our enemies are PKs. I have visual contact on five- no six. I'll determine their location."
Shiroe then fires a Mind Bolt and illuminates six people: 1 fighter, 2 theives, 3 mages.
"Leave everything you're carrying and we won't kill you." said the person who seemed to be in charge
"That's cute, they think they can beat us." said Katsuta.
"If they're talking like that, they've read too much manga. What should we do about them?"
"Crush them! They attack people for fun, so they can't complain if they die while doing it."
"I'm willing to give them the money."
Eh?
"That is, if they can beat us."
Whew.
"Well said, Shiroe-sama."
With that the battle began.
"Lightning Storm!" said Katsuta, a cloud appearing over and bolts of lightning began their descent onto the enemy party.
"Servant Summon: Golem!" said the Summoner of their group.
A Golem appeared and took most of the bolts instead of their intended targets.
Damn, a Golem. Lightning isn't that effective on them
Naotsugu charged in and attacked the fighter.
"We'll take the Guardian, you and the sorcerer take care of the mages." said their leader.
However, as the enemy player moved in, Shiroe stopped her.
"Astral Bind!"
"Chain Lightning!" said the Sorcerer, his staff shooting out a bolt of lightning which bounced from Naotsugu to Shiroe to Katsuta. They winced in pain
The leader clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Alright, let's switch. You take the Guardian!"
"Anchor Howl!" said Naotsugu, stopping the leader in his tracks.
The leader clicked his tongue in annoyance once more.
"Fine, we'll take him first!"
"You won't get past my armor!" said Naotsugu, challenging them.
"Electrical Fuzz!" said Shiroe, hitting the fighter.
He then continued firing it, hitting the rest of the party members.
"What was that spell? It didn't hurt at all." said their fighter.
"Flare Arrow!" said the Sorcerer, directly hitting Naotsugu.
The Golem also swung his fist into Naotsugu's shield.
We need to take down those mages.
Just as Katsuta thought that, a blade went through the enemy Sorcerer.
"Assassinate!"
After a few more swipes, the Sorcerer fell to Akatsuki's blade.
Yikes. I'm glad I made her an ally when I did.
"Why you! Golem, attack the Assassin!"
"No, wait!" the leader tried to warn the Summoner, but it was too late.
"Anchor Howl hasn't worn off yet." said Naotsugu as he sliced the Golem, cutting its current HP down by half.
"Frost Spear!" said Katsuta, finishing off the Golem.
The Summoner tried to run away, but Katsuta was quick to react.
"Paralyzing Lightning Bolt!" said Katsuta, stopping the Summoner from moving.
With the mage unable to move, Akatsuki made quick work of the Summoner.
"Thorn Bind Hostage!" said Shiroe, binding the fighter in glowing thorns.
"Fireball Barrage!" said Katsuta.
Normally, the Fireball Barrage move is intended to target multiple enemies with a ball of fire. However, the spell can be focused onto one enemy, making it a popular combo with Thorn Bind Hostage.
The fireballs slammed into the fighter. The thorns exploded in a flash of light one by one, dealing massive damage.
"Calm down, we need to heal. Healer!"
Their leader laughed.
"Haha! We'll win because we have a healer and you don't!"
Right after he said that, Naotsugu slashed their fighter, breaking the last thorn and putting his HP to 0.
"Dammit, what are you doing, Healer?!"
The healer in question was in a fetal position, sucking his thumb, asleep.
"What the?"
"I've put your healer to sleep. Of course, they've been asleep this whole time." said Shiroe, explaining the leader's confusion.
"Looks like we've won this battle. Why don't you give up now?" said Katsuta.
The female in the group was quick to run away.
"Hmph! Defeating us won't do any good! We'll just revive in the Cathedral-"
"Want to try it?" said Akatsuki, reaching for her blade.
The leader then knelled on the floor and started to apologize.
Pathetic.
"You'd actually thought I'd say that, you-"
The leader suddenly rose with a dagger in hand and leaped toward Katsuta, one final desperate act before defeat.
Defeat came first, as Akatsuki sliced through his back and finished him off.
Damn, that was surprising. I should be more on my guard.
"Whew. That was close. Good job, Akatsuki."
Katsuta then patted Akatsuki's head.
Did I really just do that?
Katsuta couldn't help himself
Her head is at the perfect height to be patted.
Though slightly startled, Akatsuki didn't back away as Katsuta was expecting.
...Adorable. I'll have to do this more often.
AN: As of this being written, chapter 4 is done. I'll probably keep a similar pattern of posting the chapters until I run out of inspiration. Every fanfic I've written with the exception of one-shots are incomplete. I do hope to complete them eventually, but that depends on my inspiration. Also, instead of a regular review, I want constructive criticism instead. It helps improve my writing skills which is my main reason for writing fanfics. You can still post what you liked about the chapter as well. That helps provide inspiration. See you in the next chapter.