(—ነነነነ(—(—[][][][]—)—)ነነነነ—)
Author Notes (TEMP)
Short story short, there were reviews that commented how Zellus' strength was out of nowhere, so one of the solutions I applied was to make more context around the high knight. The following is basically a TL;DR version of the edits I made to previous chapters, because I don't want to force old readers to backtrack.
Chapter 1-08 : Tribulations
In the last stretch of the chapter, as the trial ends and we switch back to Ren and Itsuki, the fight between the masked man and Zellus is extended slightly for them to have a proper conversation. It is revealed that Zellus is hiding his true identity away and the masked man knows about it, calling him a "soul of chaos".
As an extra context for another character, it is revealed that the masked figure had originally fallen from the sky during the first wave of destruction and somehow found work alongside the Church.
Chapter 1-12 : Enemies
After Zellus leaves Ren at the bar, Ren turns to the bartender for further information on Zellus himself. He reveals public information—that Zellus had originally appeared in the capital all of a sudden one day and stirred up mayhem until he was taken down by Lothringen. Oddly enough, he was later turned into a new recruit and the people, though originally scared, were able to eventually warm up to him.
Chapter 1-14 : Fall Down
Within the break-in of the spymaster's chamber, when the masked man is attempting to choke out Ren and he guesses that that man had been working with Zellus, the man instead scoffs and gives Ren a reality check of the situation out of pity. He tells him that Zellus is not who he says he is and he's an entity that the masked man must eliminate, but mentions that his personal cheat makes it difficult to do so.
As extra context for another character, Ren namedrops Momiji. (Where else has that name been dropped, I wonder?)
Chapter 1-16 : Break Through
Nothing about Zellus specifically, but the Omega Elixir was altered to be similar to a painkiller. It no longer recovers any meters and will not fully regenerate the consumer's wounds and fatigue, but will allow the user to ignore any pain and fatigue for a limited amount of time.
Chapter 1-17 : Resolute Chaos
More context will be revealed in this chapter.
I'm revealing my hand a bit earlier than I intended, but I think this result is pretty good nevertheless. Thank you to those who reviewed about Zellus; I hope this update was satisfactory.
This author's notes will be deleted in the future.
(—ነነነነ(—(—[][][][]—)—)ነነነነ—)
"... Hopefully, that will be enough to get them out. Getting that skill yesterday really did help out."
[Galed Arrows] had been a skill that Itsuki had learnt through one of the weapons that he had copied in one of the weapon shops. There was a level requirement, but he managed to reach it yesterday as well. He was able to fire a sphere into the air from a distance and detonate it to fire off a storm of air arrows. The damage on it hadn't been too much, but it had the ability to stagger enemies if they were caught within the midst of its strikes. However, Itsuki's SP meter had been completely drained from merely using the skill three times. He'll have to be more mindful about his resources in the future instead of spamming them whenever he saw a chance, but he was lucky enough to have the right amount of maximum SP.
Though, he did wonder why on earth Naofumi and Raphtalia had been thrown in the mix. He knew that Ren probably had the idea of escaping the capital if he wasn't planning on getting caught by the knights, but if Itsuki had to make guesses, Naofumi probably offered his aide despite the obviously terrible situation Ren had been placed in.
Itsuki leapt back into a nearby alleyway from the rooftops. He was far enough from where Ren and Naofumi were that he wouldn't have been able to be seen by the knights, by close enough to be able to survey their onwards assault on the gate. His plan was to run into the gate, given a few more minutes and tell the knights that he came as soon as he heard about the commotion there. By that time, Naofumi, Ren and Raphtalia should already be gone from the perimeters and within reason, he wouldn't be forced to fight them.
Knowing how Ren and Naofumi operated, this was probably what they would have wanted from him. There was no real need to deeply involve himself other than helping from the shadows. If he had fought alongside them directly, there was no telling what would have happened. If they were criminals and Motoyasu had been missing like Metatron stated, it meant that he would be the only active hero left in the eyes of the public.
There had to be at least a single active hero. Itsuki told himself that, convincing himself that if there wasn't an active hero, there was no way that they could ever dream about bringing back Ren and Naofumi from their status. He needed to keep his name to be able to have weight in their fates.
Itsuki endlessly wandered the alleyways, trying to keep himself a secret to any possible passerby. His agility was at a relativity high point, so he could have easily made a few jumps to get out of the alleyway and run along the rooftops to make it back to the main streets. However, he wasn't thinking that he would need to do that until he heard the sound of thunder.
He instinctively whelped and crouched down, covering his ears in a shiver.
Ever since he was a child, Itsuki never liked the sound of thunder, but when his mind settled back from his reactionary response, he realized that the sky had still been blue above his head.
'H-Huh? What could that mean?'
Itsuki leapt up, bouncing from the two parallel walls until he caught himself on top of the roof. He had to quickly remind himself that they were in a world of magic spells and it was entirely possible that such a loud thunderstrike came from that ability. However, he fathom why that would be happening—Naofumi and Ren should be away from the capital by now.
'N-No… D-Don't tell me…!'
As Itsuki pulled himself onto his feet, he glanced over to where the gate should have been and noticed a swirling formation of dark clouds nearby, spiraling over somewhere past the gate. In the next instance, a pillar of lightning rose from a considerable distance away as Itsuki stared with a sudden urgency of panic.
"W-What's going on!? Why are magic spells being blown out like that!? Did Ren and Naofumi not make it out!?"
His legs started to move, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, over the various alleyways and tried his best to make it to the gate as quickly as possible. He did it without a second thought, but once he saw the exit in the scenery, his body slowed down.
'If Ren and Naofumi are truly in a skirmish right now and I just waltz right in… Wouldn't I be called in to fight against them? What am I doing here!? I'm not thinking at all!'
Itsuki tried to escape from the scene of the crime, but his name—rather, his title—had been called from the gate. Itsuki froze as he slowly turned his head around to notice that there were a relative amount of knights re-entering the capital with Lothringen being in the center of them.
"Sir Bow Hero! I wish to speak with you about the current dilemma!"
A sweat dropped from Itsuki's head. He remembered that Lothringen's magic included electricity from the throne room, so that spell must have belonged to the captain of the knights. For him to be walking back into the capital, it must have meant that his friends were defeated. The air around him felt tight the moment he came to that conclusion, but it wasn't as if he could do anything about it now.
He acted out a stretch before glancing back to Lothringen. He took a deep breath and leapt from the rooftops, landing nearby Lothringen's place.
"S-So… uh, I've heard about what's going on here," Itsuki said, almost tripping over his words as he walked up. He was mindful to put some distance between them though. "It must be some… real crazy stuff."
"Ah, so you've been updated on the situation. Excellent." Lothringen crossed his arms as the knights dispatched themselves to their jobs. There had been a few of them that went out to check on the damages to the streets with as some others had been checking if everyone had been alright from the break out. Itsuki's eyes had wandered around until Lothringen's voice dragged his attention back. "Then I may be able to skip over the bare minimum explanation."
"... Are you sure it was the Sword Hero that you're looking for?" Itsuki cut through the fodder and tried to hang onto that little hope. "I don't think it was made clear that it was the Sword Hero specifically that did whatever that criminal did."
"I hoped it hadn't been as well, Sir Bow Hero. The same goes for the Shield Hero beforehand. It's not a very good feeling to be arresting the Cardinal Heroes." Lothringen's expression had a disappointment, but there was some mixture of sadness within it. It was as if he didn't want to believe that both the Shield Hero and Sword Hero were criminals. "Unfortunately, the Sword Hero is the only person we've encountered to have matched up with the eye-witness accounts of the knights on duty. Therefore, I must serve to protect this country's peace and uphold their laws. I do not deal out exceptions; that role is for the king to decide."
Itsuki began to grimace. "So since you're walking back into the capital, I'm guessing you're going to file a report now. The entire thing is over and you've caught both the Sword Hero and Shield Hero?" Itsuki glanced around in his attempt to find them, but was surprised that the last knights to walk in came empty-handed.
"Wait, where are they?"
"They haven't been captured yet, but they might as well be." Lothringen let out a deep sigh. "Due to his request, Zellus is now dealing with the situation."
Itsuki gulped nervously, but at the same time, he was confused.
"... They might as well be?" Itsuki reiterated, trying to act curious. "What do you mean by that? Is Zellus at such a high level that he'll completely wipe the floor with them?"
"All I can say is that Zellus is skilled in his swordplay. In mere combat, without the use of skills or magic, he was able to even best me a few times. Among the knights' ranks, he is both a figure that is amicable and feared."
However, Lothringen stopped himself before he said anything else. He covered his mouth slowly to take a quick breather before returning to Itsuki.
"... I apologize, Sir Bow Hero. I was about to speak about things that are unrelated to what I originally intended to speak with you about." He regained his posture and immediately switched topics. "In any case, you do not need to involve yourself in this matter anymore and I appreciate your support. At least, there is one hero that was doing their best to become what they should be. That's what I wanted to tell you."
Itsuki felt a flutter in his stomach, but it had a sour feeling to it.
"Anyways, Zellus is keen on dealing with the problem himself, so I highly advise you to be on your way again from this little diversion of your schedule. Hopefully, I will not see you or the Spear Hero in the same position as the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero the next time we meet."
Itsuki was left not knowing what to say as Lothringen walked past him. Itsuki's worries had all rushed back into his body, trembling for the sake of his friends. It wasn't as if he had the might in him to immediately move out, he simply stayed there, watching as Lothringen marched away.
However, a stray knight walked up to his side and chuckled at his captain's back.
"Huh?" Itsuki glanced at him. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing much, just being amused at the captain," the knight smiled, as if they hadn't just finished chasing a criminal. "He's always so serious and stern, but despite how he acts to Zellus, everyone knows he got a soft spot for that crazy guy. I think Zellus is the closest thing Lothringen would consider as a friend. Really, he's the only person he can get talkative about, whether it's praising or berating."
"Is that so…?"
"Yeah, it's hard to believe that their first meeting had Zellus sieging the capital in his attempt to kill Lothringen and steal his weapon."
Itsuki widened his eyes and slowly turned his head towards the knight. "... He what? He tried to kill the captain of Melromarc's knights…!? Wouldn't that make him out as a criminal!?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong," the knight casually responded. "Zellus was considered a criminal and he was hellbent on showing that when he first stepped into the capital about ten years ago. From what I heard from some of the senior high knights, Zellus was actually really close to killing Lothringen, but Lothringen had a lucky hit with his hammer that knocked the man out. He was arrested in heavy cuffs and Zellus would have been executed if it weren't for Aldrecht."
"Why did Aldrecht step in?" Itsuki frowned. "He tried to kill the captain of your forces out of cold blood! Why would Aldrecht stop the execution from occurring!?"
"No one actually knows, but all that the general knights knew was that Aldrecht had a private discussion with Zellus and somehow turned him around, incredibly. Aldrecht's request had the King overturn the execution. Ever since then, he was enlisted as a knight and quickly rose towards the rank of high knight in the matter of a year. His personality changed a whole lot too. He was a brutal and insane man coming into the capital, but he quickly grew into someone that was whimsical and flamboyant—the type you would like to have at a party."
Itsuki didn't understand what exactly happened with Zellus. He knew that they shouldn't be trusting him and to some degree, perhaps they saw that former self in the alleyways. It was simply odd that the citizens and rest of the knights seemed so accepting of a man that came in guns ablazing.
"Lothringen even reconciled with Zellus since he was placed under direct observation by him. Technically, Zellus is still on probation under the captain, but it really doesn't feel like that anymore. If the captain had retainers like the royal family, then you would be certain that Zellus would be selected as Lothringen's right hand; it should be better to say he's Lothringen's weapon of destruction though. Rough start, but they've definitely become good friends."
'… Friends, huh?' Itsuki glanced back at the outside of the gates as the knights started to get everything all sorted out. The knight then tapped him on the shoulder and quickly saluted the Cardinal Hero.
"Well, I should get going now before my superior gets angry for yapping away. Good luck out there, Sir Bow Hero!"
As the knight walked away to do his work, Itsuki's hands clenched together. It was almost spiteful what he was doing, but he kept reassuring himself that this was what his friends would have wanted. It was the reason why Naofumi rejected their help in the first place; he shouldn't dirty his hands if it cost them their heroism.
'I have to be the hero here.'
With a shivering breath, Itsuki began to walk away from the gate's entrance, turning his back from their fight.
'How am I supposed to follow justice if I can't even be seen as a hero in the first place?'
(—ነነነነ(—[[][ Chapter 1-17 ][]]—)ነነነነ—)
(—ነነነነ(—[][][ Sharpened Resolute Chaos ][]—)ነነነነ—)
[Attention]
[Optional Music Track Unlocked]
(—[][]oOOOo[][]—)
(The Legends of Heroes, Trails of Cold Steel OST : "Tie a Link of ARCUS")
Note : This OST is meant
to be used as Zellus' personal theme.
(—ነነነነ(—(—[][][][]—)—)ነነነነ—)
Seeing Naofumi hadn't reacted yet, Ren couldn't tell him to defend against Zellus' frontal approach. By the time he shouted to the stunned Naofumi and by the time he was able to listen to the command properly, Zellus would already be slashing down along his chest. Ren bent his legs and picked up his own momentum, crashing his sword into Zellus' first attack.
The instantaneous stop Zellus made to collide with Ren picked up a gust, blowing away Naofumi and causing him to jump back out of instinct. The weight of Zellus' giant sword had been steered towards the end of Ren's sword, forcing him to push on that part of his blade with his free hand to have even the slightest chance of holding his ground.
"As I thought! Your reactions and instincts are amazing, Ren!" Ren struggled as Zellus pressured on more weight. It felt like the sword could have snapped in half, but instead, it was his feet that had been faltering. His heels were making trenches through the dirt. "However, your experience is a bit lacking!"
"Hold on, Ren! I'm coming!"
Naofumi pulled himself together and ran towards the knight with his shield by his side. Zellus' eyes leered over to the approaching Shield Hero, but Ren used the split second where he wasn't paying attention to him, disengaging by backing off. The small trench caused him to trip over, but he managed to bounce off his hand and roll over onto his feet.
Zellus' sword crashed down into the ground, causing dust to obscure Ren's perspective as Naofumi threw out his shield. It looked as if the blade was lodged, but Zellus went to catch Naofumi's bash with open palms, surprising him.
"You know, weaker opponents shouldn't be shouting out their plans aloud." Zellus pushed against Naofumi's shield to give a small space between them before Zellus reached out for the edge of his shield, locking it in his grip and making Naofumi lose his footing in the whiplash. "You'll need to stay silent if you want to have any hopes of catching me off guard!"
Zellus unsheathed one of his daggers as Naofumi struggled to escape. He was starting to really curse the fact that he couldn't remove the holy weapon from his body, as it was starting to be clear what Zellus had been intending to do.
Naofumi winced, thinking the dagger would sink into his shoulder or arm, but he felt a tug instead. Changing his mind, Zellus pulled him into the dust cloud, kicking against Naofumi's shield right into it.
"Grah!" "Fuck!"
Ren had been planning to rush through, but Zellus noticed.
Naofumi's body pushed Ren down and they both were airborne in the air for a short duration, landing roughly with Naofumi right on top of his friend. He knew he had to get off quickly, but Zellus had equipped his long sword and closed the distance, slashing an overhanging attack onto the pile of two bodies. Naofumi acted by nature; he raised up his arms to take the attack head-on. It didn't like much for now, but Ren's voice had been rasping underneath him.
"N-Naofumi! Y-You're on me, you know! I-I can't breathe!"
"I c-can't do anything here!" Naofumi didn't have the luxury to avoid Zellus' attack. Pushing against the slash meant he would need to flatten Ren even further, but it seemed like Ren already realized that as he felt two hands against his shoulders.
"T-Then stay put! Let me deal with this!"
Ren was starting to push Naofumi upwards against Zellus' strength. Now, it felt like Naofumi was squished between them, but Ren's arms had been faltering.
The Omega Elixir may have been able to let Ren ignore his pain, but it surely didn't give him more power. Naofumi felt like his back was about to crush his friend's hands. Realizing this, Ren tightened his grip on Naofumi and yanked him to the left. He held onto the man and they both rolled out of the way, cycling over each other in a frenzy.
Zellus converted his attack to follow the two heroes, but Ren stopped their evasion to slide off Naofumi, pulling up his sword to strike at the same time. With the height advantage, Ren started to have trouble fending off Zellus' linear attacks, but he still had another body to work with.
"Naofumi, sweep him!"
The swords came closer to Ren, as Naofumi flinched.
"H-Huh!?"
"Your legs! Use them!"
Realizing what Ren meant, Naofumi rolled towards Zellus and quickly swept his legs at the knight's feet.
"Damn it, you were too slow!"
Zellus backed off before the feet could reach, but Ren didn't let him. Ren ran, jumping over Naofumi's body and pulled his sword over his head, letting it crash down on whatever it could hit. Zellus shifted his retreating momentum back towards Ren, catching the strike before Ren sent out four rapid attacks; all of them were blocked with ease.
The fifth attack was held down in a cross by both sword fighters, screeching in a loud grinding noise.
"It doesn't seem like you're using your aspects of being a Cardinal Hero all that well," Zellus spoke up close. Ren could smell the alcohol he drank before the fight. "You're only using that [Mythril Sword]. A good Cardinal Hero learns how to weave between their weapons during a fight, adapting to what they need in the current situation! Or for a simpler reason, mixing up their attacks! You've got more skills attached to other weapons, don't you?!"
He absolutely hated how condescending Zellus' tone was, and not only that, the knight had the gall to teach him during a serious fight. With a loud voice too. Something about that grinded against Ren's gears, as he grunted in retaliation.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Ren pushed out and followed up with a few more slashes, mixing in some kicks in his furious stance. They were all evaded or blocked, but Ren's attacks didn't seem to slow down, sparking a light along his sword. He allowed the skill to overtake his body again, lunging repeatedly with inhuman speeds. "[Rapid Storm]!"
The blades collided with the flat end of Zellus' weapon, but even though it didn't look as if it did much, the impact was able to push him back, dragging his feet to a halt a few meters away. Behind his sword, Zellus gazed at Ren with a smirk to his face.
"I almost felt that. The only problem was that you didn't put your body into motion." Zellus twirled his sword to take up another battle posture. It was like he just switched battle styles. "Frankly, you'll find it much more effective if you don't just let the skill do all the talking. Attack like you mean it!"
His blade began to ignite in a similar light, but unlike Ren's skills that looked as if the sword was sheathed, Zellus' sword looked as if the light had been flames, consuming the metal whole in a rampant energy.
"For example!" Zellus had dashed forwards and pulled his sword to a hard left, forcing Ren to react in defense. The intensity seemed to be far greater than what Ren's skills could ever achieve, as if a raging demon had been closing in to his destruction.
"[Shinsengumi Arte, Hell Ripper]!"
However, Naofumi leapt in between them and planted his feet in the ground, surprising Ren. "Don't worry, Ren! I got this!" He held no fear in his eyes, but if there was, it was wholly consumed by his determination.
However, it was much more than what Naofumi was expecting. The skill erupted against the shield and felt like Naofumi's arms were about to shatter from the sheer impact of the strike, but he threw his back into the defense and pushed against the knight's advance.
It was no good though.
"[Arte Restoration, Hell Ripper Boost]!"
The skill, as it was about to fade away, reignited itself and had more power than what Naofumi felt before. His bones would have been entirely broken if he had enough tenacity to stand his ground, but the strength was too great for him; it sent Naofumi flying backwards into Ren, causing them to bounce over each other before rolling into their separate ways.
"Master Naofumi! Mister Ren!" Naofumi heard Raphtalia cries from the sidelines, but he glanced over to the girl, struggling to stand back up. It looked as if she had wanted to come help her master out, but she was too frightened to do so, but a flash of terror struck across her expression as she saw Naofumi's face.
There was something dripping out from his forehead and as the first drop fell, just like sweat would, he widened his eyes. Warm blood had been sliding down his face, falling from his cheek. He instinctively checked his health bar, only to remember that the status magic hadn't been working, but didn't need that magic to know that he suffered a heavy attack.
"Your trust with Ren is quite the sight to behold, Naofumi."
Zellus recovered from his skill, looking as if there had been some cooldown on his movement once he used something strong like that. However, it was short, and Zellus walked casually to his giant sword to pick it out from the ground.
"Jumping in to protect your friends from a life-threatening attack is fine and all, but you can't just consider the option of taking the attack head-on. As the Shield Hero, you may have high defenses, but that doesn't mean you can't die."
Ren stood up from the attack, brushing it off only thanks to the painkilling nature of the elixir, but Naofumi could see the fatigue and pain building up in Ren's eyes. It was true that the moment that Ren's timer ran out, he was crashing right into the ground.
Naofumi shivered in his despair.
If he couldn't take on Zellus' skills, then he was useless to serve as Ren's shield.
Zellus tugged the giant sword out while sheathing his long sword, planning to use the large weapon as he made a few swings at the air before he rested it on his shoulder, gazing over to the strained heroes.
"It's especially true when you're fighting me. I'll give the two of you a hint here about my personal cheat I mentioned." Zellus rolled his neck, making a cracking sound, as he spoke. "When I told you to not worry about level differences, it doesn't mean that I'm a high-enough level to make your defenses meaningless. Your mindset for this world has already sunk in during your first day, hasn't it?"
"What do you mean? Mindset?" Naofumi repeated.
"Your weapons are only as strong as their wielder's strength, skills, and experience. The people of this world are too used to depending on numbers. From where you two must have come from, there probably aren't any levels in place. One good sword strike against you means death. Regardless of who was the one attacking and who was the one receiving."
"Then that little notification that we received…" Ren began to openly deduce. "And the reasons why we can't see our levels or health bar…!"
'That masked man back in the spymaster's chamber… He mentioned that Zellus had a cheat and he himself said something about a cheat before we began fighting… Is it an ability to act as if this was in our normal logic?'
Naofumi figured out what Ren was trailing to, as he quickly opened up his menus to see his profile. The moment his eyes gazed upon the status screen, he realized what was going on.
The numbers had all been glitched out or non-existent. He didn't have an attack stat. He didn't even have a defense stat.
There was nothing that indicated any of Naofumi's current state of this world, but it started to click. If Zellus had truly been at a high ranking, his level would allow him to tear through Naofumi, but Naofumi's shielding was able to fend off some of the power. 'Is this what he meant before?'
"When I fight, I look to see their skill and experience, not the superficial numbers behind their attacks." Zellus brought his sword down and readied for another strike. "There's nothing more boring than knowing that the one with the higher numbers will win. This is how battles are supposed to play out—the notion that any mistake can be your last! Now, I've talked more than long enough. Your timer is still ticking, Ren. I wouldn't want to time you out by talking!"
Glancing over, there was only three and a half minutes left on the timer, but if he managed to drink up the other one, he would have about nine minutes. It sounded like a long time, but he didn't think Naofumi could last for that long.
Ren prepared his sword, leering towards Naofumi out of the corner of his eyes. "Naofumi, follow my lead! Cover me when I'm attacking!"
"O-Okay!"
The two heroes ran towards Zellus, opening up with Ren's rapid thrust. Zellus stepped around the attack; Ren swept his blade towards him. Zellus blocked and knocked him away, causing Naofumi to rush in in an attempt to buy time for Ren to recover. He bashed his shield against Zellus' large blade as the difference in size of their armaments had been like night and day.
Ren rebounded and raised his blade to strike the backside, but Zellus muscled through with a burst of power and swept first Naofumi then connected with Ren in a spinning attack, knocking the both of them away.
Naofumi fell on his back while Ren landed onto his feet, pushing without a moment of rest to regain the distance. Ren slashed forwards in a consecutive combo—three slashes, all varying in different directions, but all blocked by the knight. His fourth strike was flicked; he parried and forced Ren to stagger as he went for a follow-up counter.
He raised the giant sword over his shoulder and threw it forwards, narrowly slicing Ren in half if he hadn't rolled to the left. The sword was struck into the ground once again, giving Ren his window. Naofumi had gotten back up by now, as Ren shouted to him.
"Zellus is open, Naofumi! Strike now!"
Ren rushed towards Zellus, whose hands had still been on his sword's handle. Naofumi shook himself up and began his delayed engagement. Ren swung at Zellus, but he spun around his planted sword, pulling it back like a lever. Naofumi approached behind, planning to pin the knight against his weapon, but he dodged out of the way, letting Naofumi's shield smack into the metal.
Ren brought his sword counter-clockwise to catch out Zellus, but he grabbed Naofumi's shoulder and spun the Shield Hero around like a puppet, causing Ren to hit his friend instead.
Naofumi had to admit; Ren's power was strong as well, but he was just wishing that he hadn't been the one on the other side of it. Ren grunted in the error, as Zellus kicked Naofumi's back and let the two bodies collide into each other once again.
It was starting to feel like a sick joke, taking Naofumi and constantly using him to push Ren down.
"Your coordination is terrible! Your spirits aren't on the same wavelength!" Zellus shouted as he stomped his foot back on the ground. "How are you supposed to beat me with such lackluster teamwork!?"
Naofumi groaned as he parted from Ren, rolling his shoulder. It felt like it was dislocated, but Naofumi still kept his head high.
However, Ren's fire was still going. The grit that he saw in his friend was amazing.
"I can't think of a way to break through. Wait." Ren glanced over at his friend as he stood back up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "Naofumi, you haven't been using any skills yet. Have you gotten anything that sounds remotely useful?"
"Skills? The… The things you've been using?"
"Yeah? What else would they be?"
However, he could feel his own soul wavering.
It was not because he didn't want to fight by his side, but it was more so that he felt like he shouldn't be fighting by Ren's side. Unlike the gate sieging, Naofumi had to fight on Ren's level to make this a successful fight, but he couldn't find the ability within himself to keep up.
"I'm sorry, Ren," Naofumi responded, not even answering the question. A brief silence rested as Ren took in what Naofumi was going on about. "I'm… I'm not pulling up my own weight here…"
"Naofumi, stop it."
Ren growled at Naofumi as he walked forwards. He didn't want Naofumi to see his expression soften up as he spoke, letting Naofumi to believe for himself as to what face Ren had been making.
"Stop doubting yourself! You've been all wishy-washy the moment we've gotten here!" Ren shouted. "You've been letting all of these events run you over because you feel like you can't do shit against it! You doubt that you can change anything! And maybe you're right! Maybe you can't do anything! Maybe there's things I myself can't change, but sure as hell, I'm not going down on anyone else's terms! And neither should you!"
Ren tightened his grip on his sword.
"Now that I think about, you probably didn't want to go against the trial, not because they had solid evidence—it was because you felt like you couldn't do anything. You didn't fight back with teeth and nails, reaching your voice out. From how you recited the trial to us, it sounded like you got pushed over! No wonder Motoyasu didn't believe in you!"
"I don't have your strength, Ren," Naofumi mulled. In some perspective, this hurt more than Zellus' swords. "I don't even have a mindset like Itsuki's or the confidence that Motoyasu has. I don't know how to fight effectively here—I'm just the normal person that got thrusted into this situation. I don't have anything heroic about me. I still don't know how to even fight properly yet, Ren! All I'm doing is running up and hoping my shield hits him or that I'm able to defend against the attack!"
Ren glared backwards with his other hand clenched.
"I'm not even used to fighting in general. It was a miracle that I was able to help you out at the gate, if I even did anything! Let it run through one more time, and I promise you that I'll—!"
A loud smack.
With a single step, Ren punched Naofumi across his face.
It didn't exactly hurt, but Naofumi was dazed by his action.
"Shut up right now, Naofumi," Ren said, staring right into Naofumi's emerald eyes. "It's honestly incredible how quickly you've managed to piss me off here. I despise people like you."
"R-Ren…?"
"And here I thought you were getting better, but you've just devolved back to your normal attitude, forgetting what you said you were going to do! Why did you even buy a slave if all you're going to do is doubt yourself!?" His fist started to shake as Naofumi noticed Ren's emotions flare up again. "You doubt yourself because you want to take it easy, right? You don't want to work to see how far your own two hands can take you because you've never worked ever in your life!"
Naofumi softly shook his head. "N-No, I… I never…"
Ren grunted, turning back around. He didn't even want to speak anymore about this, walking towards Zellus with his sword in hand. He whispered under his breath, just loud enough for Naofumi to hear.
"Leave."
"H-Huh?" Naofumi straightened himself up. "What do you mean, 'leave'?"
"Take Raphtalia and get out of here. I told my party members that if they couldn't keep up, I would leave them in the dust. The same notion applies to you, and considering how much you believe that you can't fight on the same field," Ren sighed with an antagonistic snarl, "it only means that you're useless to me."
Naofumi looked at his shield bleakly.
Ren clicked his tongue. Naofumi wasn't even trying to argue back.
"If you're going to keep standing around, you can fuck off. I'm intending to win this fight, but I can't do it if there's someone dragging me down with their conscious disbelief." Ren held his blade in preparation. "I'll give you an opportunity for you to run and grab Raphtalia, but after that, you'll be on your own."
Naofumi gritted his teeth, holding onto his shield, but then realized the implications. "What about you!? How are you getting out of this!?"
"Stop worrying about me! It's annoying!" Ren felt his frustrations crawling out from his throat. "How about you shut up and think about yourself for a change? I'm not telling you to be selfish, but you could bother to be self-aware, at the very least!"
Naofumi was feeling frustrated at himself. He wasn't only letting his friend down, but he was letting himself down in the process. He probably was being in Ren's way before, but he'd tried to be considerate of Naofumi's feelings. Now, the truth had come out and it hurt like hell, despite its validity.
"I'm… really sorry, Ren."
"And stop apologizing. Apologies are empty words anyways," Ren said, with resentment in his throat. "Rather, be more attentive for opportunities to get out of here. Still, there's some knights watching the fight that might catch on, so I'll see what I can do about them."
Ren glanced at his timer.
'A minute and a half. Damn it, we've talked for too long.' Ren thought popping the Omega Elixir now, but decided to hold off. If he was giving Naofumi the chance to run off, it meant he was going to fight by himself. He needed all the time he could get and pushed the potion consumption down to the last twenty seconds.
However, Zellus had been waiting in the distance, tapping impatiently on his giant sword. Zellus was performing the textbook cliche of a villain just waiting on the heroes to finish their conversation, but it looked as if Zellus was waiting intentionally.
"... So uh, are we fighting? I'm trying to be considerate here, but this is really ridicu—"
Ren immediately kicked off and rushed towards Zellus, who staggered backwards in the suddenness.
"Whoa there!" Zellus swung down; Ren matched for a collision. He clicked his tongue, thinking that he was able to throw him off caught, but it wasn't enough. "That's a bit cheap, but I can't say it didn't make me laugh!"
Ren started hacking away at Zellus' defense, throwing slashes from the sides and over his shoulder, but he couldn't strike past Zellus' sword. He bounced back and forth, trying to attack from different angles, almost as if he had been dancing around the knight; Zellus defended successfully regardless.
Zellus brought up his sword and spun around, smashing Ren's side if only he didn't quickly block the strike. It pushed Ren away from the knight, but he quickly fired back.
'No openings at all! All my attacks are rendered useless!' Ren sliced in front of him, but Zellus stepped back, barely out of the range. Ren stepped forwards and sliced again, only being met with the same response. Over and over, Ren tried to land his horizontal onslaught, but they were all met with air.
In between an attack, Zellus held his sword up like a riot shield, bashing the flat side directly into Ren. It pushed him away. He however heard Zellus approaching quickly, as he turned his head upwards from his daze.
"[Shinsengumi Arte, Earth Cracker]!"
Ren sidestepped out of the way, but as the skill buried Zellus' blade in the ground, cracking as if a small earthquake occurred, Ren immediately took his window. "[Slanted Arc]!"
Releasing the grip of the sword, the knight unsheathed his two daggers, pinching the blade between the two weapons. The light disengaged as if it hit.
He used the daggers to toss the direction of the attack aside, before kicking Ren a distance away. The knight dashed to follow as Ren refreshed himself. The two daggers pushed heavily against the defending blade, bumping it away, and forcing Ren to step back.
Zellus kept up his rapid assault as Ren carefully paid attention to dealing the two daggers. The way that he approached was too aggressive, slamming against Ren's defense with the weight of a truck behind all of them. If this kept up, Zellus will eventually break thr—
'Crap!' Zellus thrusted forwards at Ren's head, narrowly dodging it, but Ren felt its edge against his cheek. A few drops of blood escaped into the air, as Ren jumped away.
The pressure hadn't been done yet; Zellus took his other dagger and threw it towards Ren. He stopped and knocked it away, but it gave enough time to let Zellus close the gap once again, charging forwards with his long sword now.
"What's wrong, Ren!? Running away!?"
"Grhh…!"
Ren stepped around the attack, letting Zellus fly right past him. There was an opportunity to get a slash on his back, but the wind-up would have taken up too long and he would have been able to block it. Ren decided to extend his hand and grabbed Zellus by his collar as the knight was getting ready to turn around.
"You're getting really annoying to deal with, Zellus!" Ren shouted. "Why the hell do you use so many weapons anyways!?"
"I wouldn't be named the Sword Master otherwise. I wield all types of swords, Ren," Zellus responded, smirking. "Maybe you should try it sometimes!"
"Are you trying to mock me?!"
"Far from it."
Zellus started to wiggle around, to shake off Ren, but he kept his hand tight against the outfit, hanging back behind the whiplashing knight. There wasn't enough stability for him to get anything clean, but Ren tried anyways for a thrust. The attack slipped underneath Zellus' armpits and as the blade went through, Zellus stepped backwards into Ren and closed his arm on his wrist.
In the other hand, Zellus' long sword was still in play as he twirled it end to point to Ren, stuck behind him. Ren acted quickly, and moved his hand from the collar to Zellus' wrist before the sword to cut into his body.
They were currently deadlocked, but Ren knew that Zellus could muscle through the contrasts eventually. That only meant one thing.
"Naofumi, now!"
With a stricken grief layered on his friend's expression, he held his ground for a brief second. Conflicted, he really didn't want to abandon his friend, but it wasn't as if he was contributing anything. It was entirely possible that Ren realized and wanted to give one of them at least the chance to escape, so he bit down on his teeth and ran towards Raphtalia.
There was a feeling that gnawed at his heart.
He hated it.
Watching Ren fighting with his life and name on the line, it really made Naofumi realize how much of this feeling was settling in his heart.
The feeling of being useless.
He absolutely hated it.
He hated it, hated it, hated it—so very much.
His mind sunk deeper, as he growled against himself.
'Damn it.'
His foot felt heavy.
'Damn it.'
It pressed itself in the grassy terrain.
'Damn it!'
Zellus frowned as he noticed Naofumi wasn't running towards him, slowing his struggles to escape the two-sided trap.
He looked over to where Naofumi was running to, only to realize what the plan had been. Ren felt the knight's muscles relaxing, thinking that Zellus was planning something of his own, but there was only a breath that managed to escape.
"... That's disappointing, but I wouldn't be lying if I didn't see this as one of the outcomes."
Naofumi caught up to the surprised Raphtalia, unaware of why her master had suddenly approached her. Picking her off her feet and causing her to panic, Naofumi glanced over his shoulder to catch sight of the onlooking knights who had realized what was going on.
"Hey, the Shield Hero is escaping!" "Don't let him run away!"
The group of knights drew their weapons as they began chasing Naofumi, but he eyed a nearby forest and decided to try and lose all of them through there.
"W-What's going on, Master?"
"We're leaving!"
"What about Mister Ren!?"
"He told me to go on ahead." Naofumi winced at his own words. "H-He… He said that he'll catch up with us after he's done."
Ren never told him that and Naofumi knew it, but he wanted to give Raphtalia some reassurement. However, Naofumi could tell that Raphtalia doubted those words, but said nothing else about it.
He didn't know what type of expression he'd been making. Perhaps that was what gave it away.
"O-Okay..."
The knights were drawing closer, so Naofumi made his escape into the forest, running as fast as he could.
His eyes started to blur. He didn't even notice that there was a certain little notification along the side of his interface. As his vision became dark, his feet still ran, but only with a heavy heart. He couldn't hear anything else except for a certain sound.
Thump, thump; he could hear the heavy, yet slow pounding of his heart crying and as if his shield had heard his silent despair, catching the tears that wouldn't fall from his eyes.
[Attention]
[Curse Series Shield : Conditions have been unlocked.]
'Ren's right. How could I even think of helping him if I can't even help myself…?'
'Why did I have to have a shield?'
'Why was I summoned into this world if I can't do a single thing?'
'Why…? Just why?'
Naofumi didn't look back. He was too ashamed to look back towards Ren as he pushed on.
Naofumi stopped thinking and ran.
Meanwhile, Zellus scoffed and returned strength into his legs and pushed himself backwards. Ren widened his eyes, not considering that option as the knight flattened Ren underneath his back. Ren's grip of his wrist had shattered away, letting Zellus jump back up as he was dazed.
With a single blink, Zellus had picked up his speed and ran away from Ren's body.
Ren leered over, cursing himself as Zellus ran after Naofumi—
—but Zellus stopped right in front of the knights, preventing them from going any further.
"Let him go."
The knights were in utter shock with Zellus' orders.
"S-Sir Zellus!? Did you just—?!"
"Yeah." Zellus glared towards the knights like a wolf watching its prey. Ren widened his eyes in confusion. "I'm telling you four to let the Shield Hero go."
"He's a criminal, Sir Zellus! Orders were to capture him!"
"Not what I heard. The main priority is to capture the criminal that broke into the spymaster's chamber. There was only one person and that identity belongs to the Sword Hero, does it not? I see no reason to pursue the Shield Hero." Zellus made a deep sigh in the midst of his serious tone. "I'll speak to Lothringen about this myself and I'll handle the aftermath as per procedure, but for now—those are my instructions. Let the Shield Hero run away."
"A-Are you sure, Sir Zellus?"
"Are you doubting me? I know what I'm trying to do here." As Ren struggled to stand back up in the distance, Zellus walked past the lower-ranked knights. "There'll be another chance to capture the Shield Hero in the future. That is, if he doesn't die off beforehand."
The knights looked at each other in confusion, but considering how the hierarchy of the knighthood's order went, they had little choice in the matter. The blame would be pushed onto Zellus for command though, so it wasn't as if they were in any serious trouble for letting the Shield Hero leave.
"Y-Yes, Sir Zellus. Understood."
As Zellus walked past the knights, Ren glared at both Zellus and his timer.
'One minute.'
He had questions for Zellus, such as why he allowed Naofumi to escape and what his motivations for such an action was, but he clearly didn't have the luxury to do so.
There had been no more words from Zellus as he walked back. The glares between their eyes said everything. Now that Naofumi was out of the picture, Zellus' atmosphere felt slightly different, as if he took off weights off his arms.
"Now that Naofumi is out of the way, I guess I should up the difficulty for you."
"I couldn't care any less."
Without any moment of hesitation, both Ren and Zellus ran at each other.
(—ነነነነ(—(—[][][][]—)—)ነነነነ—)
Motoyasu groaned as his consciousness steadily came back.
'What… What was I doing again?'
His head turned around, discovering that his body had been laying flat against an altar, but there were markings along the ground. He gazed upon his tired and strippened body, left with nothing except his underclothing. There were more markings, patterned yet more faded. It took him a few moments to remember, but he realized that he was back inside of the summoning room.
"How are you feeling, Spear Hero?"
His memories started to return to him as a figure walked up towards him, asking him in a croaked voice. He remembered everything that occurred to him, especially what was just done to him. He rolled his wrist as he swept his legs to hang off the altar. His body felt lighter than ever before.
Motoyasu looked upon his palms.
"How long was I out for, Aldrecht?"
"About a day." Aldrecht, pacing himself with his cane clacking, came to inspect Motoyasu more closely, like a doctor checking up on their patient. "This is the first time an experiment like this was successful, so please tell me how you are feeling. If there's any sense of discomfort, please do not hesitate to tell me."
Motoyasu moved his arms slowly and twisted his torso, feeling all normal. "I feel fine."
Aldretch lifted up Motoyasu's arm, having a clearer sight locked onto the markings. "I do not get many chances to apply my theories and research, so an opportunity like this is extraordinary."
Motoyasu felt a shiver as he looked at the marking once again. They started to disappear upon his skin, but he could still tell that they were there. "So what's the verdict on that theory, Aldrecht? Did this experiment tell you anything for you?"
"I've been taking notes, observing the state of the summoning circle and your body," Aldrecht answered, pulling out his notebook. He flipped to a bookmarked page and started summarizing the pages. "In essence, I believe the hypothesis is true. If the summoning circle responded more strongly to your soul than the original catalyst or any of my magic, then it can only mean that the ritual is taking you as the next catalyst somehow."
Some parts of Motoyasu didn't want that to be true, but Aldrecht was the professional here. As hailed as the Calamity Mage turned into high-valued scholar, the old man didn't have a reason to lie to Motoyasu.
"Then if the ritual is doing that, then the heroes that would have been summoned using my soul—"
"—would have been the souls of those that were taken with you in your housing," Aldrecht answered. "It is as I believed. This analysis would allow the original prophecy to be valid, while answering the solution of your perspective."
The image of his friends flashed in his mind as he looked around at the surrounding light.
"So the Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren that I know of… They're still in the process of summoning?"
Aldrecht nodded.
"And the Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren that are here right now…"
Motoyasu grimaced as the thought rose up within him.
He knew that he might have been slightly naive; he could admit that much if he sat down and really thought about it, but by no means, had he been straight out stupid like how Ren usually berates him for. He even consisted of a higher than average grade point average at his university the majority of the time after all. He just didn't like talking about it, as it felt too much of boasting if anything.
His mind immediately leapt to the possibility of a multiverse.
It was the theory that any choice would split one's universe into two branches, both existing on their own separate plane. The choice doesn't even have to be large scaled; it could be as small as choosing what to eat for breakfast. However, it was through this theory that would explain why Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren felt like they were familiar with him. It didn't mean that they were the same people that he knew.
They were simply from a world where they were in the same circumstances.
"Indeed," Aldrecht nodded once again, knowing where Motoyasu would trail off. "Given this evidence, I have reason to believe that my original proposal is the best solution to everyone's problems. As mentioned, the Holy Weapons cannot be resummoned if their user dies. All four weapons must disappear from the world before they can be brought back by the ritual.
"... But if the ritual is ongoing like you mentioned, it would simply continue once a holy weapon is freed up. It'll take one of the souls still in the ritual and immediately summon them." Aldrecht flipped back into the book. "Being a scholar is no easy feat, but it is frankly difficult being by oneself. The King isn't much of a man of knowledge himself. However, the guildmaster is quite knowledgeable about the prophecies of the Cardinal Heroes, more so than me."
Motoyasu widened his eyes. "So… that's why you came to the guild hall that day?"
"Exactly. To discuss the odd nature of this summoning, for if I couldn't figure out a proposed solution, the guildmaster would have a better chance."
As Aldrecht looked back, Motoyasu had a troubled expression.
"Is there anything wrong, Spear Hero? Are you worried about something?"
Motoyasu thought back to his friends—or rather, the people that looked and felt like his friends. They felt almost like them, but his doubts started to rise when Naofumi was accused of rape. Of course, Aldrecht gave the theory that the Church might have been involved, but that still might have stood true, despite what the current theory stated.
Even across the multiverses, he believed that most of Naofumi's doubles would have been good people. He just couldn't see an evil Naofumi, one that was befitting of the title 'Shield Demon'.
"... I just… don't know if I have the heart to execute the plan."
"... If you are unsure, then allow me to tell you this. The Sword Hero has been found guilty of sieging the archives of the spymaster, a major crime in our city," Aldrecht said as Motoyasu's spine was already stiffening, "which contains information that is not allowed to be seen by the vast majority of people. Not only that, he caused quite the ruckus, destroying valuable paperwork."
"S-Seriously!?" He knew Ren was someone that didn't like playing around, but this was on another level. He respected Ren as a friend, but he didn't believe he would have done something so outlandish. "Why would he do that!?"
"And it doesn't seem like this is something that the Church framed him for. The witnesses are a few of our own knights." Aldrecht returned his gaze, meeting with Motoyasu's surprised eyes. "Now, is this something that the Sword Hero, Ren Amaki that you know of for two years, would do?"
"... I don't think so."
Granted, Motoyasu didn't have the context for why Ren chose to siege the chamber, but at this point—what type of context would any Ren need to justify such an incident? There's no way that Ren could have accidentally committed such a crime.
Perhaps he didn't realize it was a crime?
"I shall leave you with those thoughts, Spear Hero. You'll still have some time before we can act out our plans." Motoyasu nodded with a deep sigh, not even wanting to be alone with them.
"So what? Should I be returning this magic power to you or something?"
The invisible markings hadn't been for show. They were the direct outcome of Aldrecht imbuing his body with catalytic magic gems. Motoyasu didn't understand the logic behind it entirely, but it was a type of experiment that the old mage had been conducting on his own time.
Apparently, they bestowed greater magical strength to the user almost permanently if successful. The limitations were still in beta and unclear, so to speak. It sounded quite powerful, but Aldrecht also mentioned that the natives of the world wouldn't be able to use it properly due to the severe incompatibility. It would end up killing them and Aldrecht would have abandoned the research, but for some reason, Aldrecht did discover that they worked on Zellus and somehow, it was concluded that they would work on Motoyasu as well. He still hadn't wrapped around how that conclusion was reached, but he was certainly still alive. Motoyasu felt the magic flowing strongly in him.
It was important that Motoyasu used the magic gems to help increase the rate of success of the experiment that was being conducted here. Though the power was still surging within him in an infinite cycle, it felt slightly wrong to be given such a grandiose power spike when he was still around level 10. Not that he mind it, but perhaps Aldrecht was letting him borrow the strength of the magic gems in the first place.
However, Aldrecht shook his head.
"It's quite alright. I don't have much use for those gems anymore and frankly, I've been trying to find a way to dispose of them while giving them a good use. The extract is rather painful though, so I'd like to avoid that if needed."
"What's the extraction?"
"Let's not talk about that. It's far too squeamish, even for my liking," Aldrecht laughed, as if it was a joke.
Motoyasu simply blinked in silence.
"However, I'd like to ask for you to stay at the castle for some more time. There are some things that I still haven't confirmed yet and I would appreciate your assistance. Considering how the magic gems were a success, I'd like to observe you for the next few days to perhaps a week. If I could discover how to apply this to our higher ranked knights, then we wouldn't have any problems when the Church strikes. Might as well do something useful as we wait for everything to be aligned, correct?"
"Really?" Motoyasu raised his eyebrows, though it was out of his surprise. Someone of his own age should really have someone helping him out from where Motoyasu was from, especially if he's using a cane to walk everywhere. "I mean, I'm not opposed to it, but…"
"What might be the problem? I always have my ears open for your words."
Motoyasu scratched his head. "I feel like I should at least tell my allies that I'll be out for however many days you need me here for."
"No need to worry," Aldrecht said with his grandpa-like smile. "Just as before, I'll have somebody tell your allies to wait on you. They've been quite patient with you, Spear Hero."
"T-Thanks, Aldrecht."
Motoyasu pushed himself off the altar, but had slightly staggered from standing up too quickly. He managed to catch himself before he turned back to Aldrecht.
"Alright, what's next?"
"Well, you could always wear your clothes and fill up that stomach of yours." Motoyasu's hunger immediately cried out as if it was on a cue, causing Motoyasu to fluster. He had been unconscious for about a day or so. "How about we start with that? Your body seems to agree."
"Y-Yeah…" Motoyasu smiled sheepishly. "And I guess—"
Motoyasu bit his tongue upon suddenly getting a small headache.
"... Spear Hero? Is something… wrong?"
Motoyasu groaned as a sudden message before him was revealed. Though, he couldn't actually read it. It was too glitched out to make any sense of it, but it didn't seem like anything too serious as when his headache cleared up, the message seemingly disappeared.
"... S-Sorry. I… I think hunger is getting to me!"
Motoyasu lied, but he didn't think it was that much of an issue if it suddenly went away.
Something told him that it didn't have to do anything with what Aldrecht's done with him.
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[̷̨̛̝̞̭̱̝̰̝̰͌̈́̅̈́̍̔͌́̽̇͘͜͠͝ͅC̴̢̧͖͉͇̠̗̹͉͆͋͒͜͜ư̴̺̗̬̪̰̤̝̱͖̈̈̔̌̉̿̊̌͋̍̌̈̂ř̵̨͇̭͎͔̼͓̲̤͌s̵̮͆́́̉͜͝e̴̛̙̟͔̭̩͎͚̦͕̍̃̃͑̅̽̃́̉̿͜͝͠ ̶͈̞̜̭̭̗͖̽̄̒͝Ś̸͕͕̙̦̫͔͖̙̫̣̖̋͆̌͌̇̏̉̈́̓́̽͜͝ͅe̶͙͇̲̗͙͔͈̫͉̪͚̥̩̘̬̒̔̄̒͊r̸͍̗͍̭̺̺͖͎͐̅̃̔̍̿͠ĩ̵͚͚̋̍̎̔̉e̷̜̲̬̗͑̈́̍s̴͔̺̱̘̱̻̝͖̼̙̯͓̒͜ ̴̡̡͈͖̤̺̹͍́̍̽̐̈̓͗͐̆̋̏̀̀͝͝ͅͅS̵̲̙̙̗̤̤̖̞̳͉̭̟͙̀̍͐͑̌̐̐͜͠h̵̺͓̤̞̟̦͍̬͙̦͚̰͖͕͚̍͆̋̒̇̌̀͆̊̆̈͂̆͗i̴̥͕̳̝̊̒̎͝e̶̝̫̹̳̙̒͒̓l̸̨̀͆̽̄̈̊̃̉̈̄͂̚͝ḑ̵̪͚͉̼̥̺̆͌͐͒͊͂́͐̍͌̏͝ͅ ̸̨͔̌̆̃̆͆̐̇͊͗͠͝:̷̱̼̮̣̳̥͂̅̀̊̋͗͒̿͜ͅ ̴͕̦̳̞̲͇͕̪͎͙͖͖̥̔̐̿͛̐̃͜͝͝ͅC̵̡̪̻̞̹͖͚̞̦̠̙͉͂͝ͅo̷̭̮̥͚̰̭̐̐́͒̄̌̆̍̍̿̄͋̕͝n̵̛͇̗͕̓͆̄̀̌̐̚͠͠ͅḑ̸̥͌̊̌̽͌̓̆̾͌̇͌͛̈͘ḯ̵̢̨͖͔͎̬̤͓̗̻̯̹̬̃̂t̴̨̝̟̺̪̼͙̗͚̱̼̳̱̃̋̊͐̍͌̀̈̓͆̈́́̕͜į̶̡̞͖͕̘͉͉͉̪͒͂̃͌̏̍̏̉̚͜ͅọ̴̧̨̨̗̭̞̬͖̖̯̫͙̙͔͆̏͗̈͐n̶̞̍̔s̸̢͍̭̮̩̳̱̝̠̝͉̯̉͒̎̇̋̉̍͛̏͛̕͜ ̸̧̨̟̲͕̳͇͙͎̏̏͊̂̈́̀̈͜ḩ̶̧̨̠̘̺̖̹͋̂̿̏̀̃̓͐́̕͝͝a̴̼̍̃̾͛̈́̂̆̑̈́̊͘v̷̧̙̹̙͓͔̤̦̬̤̺̝̗͆̅̂e̵̢̞̬̳̦͚̘͓̲̫͓͖̻̩̰͒̐̒̎͗́̏ ̶̧̧̨̰͉̺͙̝̩̟̝͓͔͔̏͂̇͜b̴̠̤̞̦͈́͊̉̒̓̑̅͆ė̶̡̯̜͈͖̺̦̠͙̻̑̀e̷̢̝̠̫̫͈͇̥͋̀̔́̓̍̑̀̋́̋́͝n̷̟̊ ̸̡̣̠̼̹̮͓͕̮͐̒̾͂̈́̽̇͐͘u̵̻̻͒͑̋͐̾͋͊͋̽̏̚n̶̢͇̻͛͒̃͘l̴̞̮̿̓͌̿̓̇̈̌̉̍̄̉̈̚͝o̵͍̞̪̮̩̞̥̐̔̈́̈́͌͒̈̔̈̚͠c̵̜͈̍͆͆̅͛͑̀̓̈̅͒͘͠͝k̷̛̪̤̣̙̣͚̰͚͚̙͉̲͍͉̐͊̀̂̆͝͝e̸̬̹̫̹̿̌͒̍ḑ̴̢̝̝̤͇̱͉̟̔͜.̵͖͖̲͙̖͎͇͉̻̣̯̙̫͚̈̊̎̾́̀̒́͒̄̆̚̕͘͝]̷̝̼̤͙̯̋̿̃̚͠
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
He just couldn't explain why that feeling crept up on him.
(—ነነነነ(—(—[][][][]—)—)ነነነነ—)
"Sir Itsuki, you've returned," Mald announced as Itsuki's party met back up at the inn. "Did you encounter the criminal?"
"I was there for support," Itsuki answered, "but the knights assured me that they are able to handle it. We can leave for our guild request now."
"So that's that. All's well that ends well and we didn't even have to get involved."
"I bet you didn't even try to look for the criminal, Welst."
Welst growled back at Mald. "What do you mean!? I was looking for him, like Sir Itsuki told us to! I didn't see you encountering the criminal either!"
"Calm down," Kojeel sighed, shaking his head as if she was the only thing keeping them from tearing each other apart. "We should focus on completing the job request now.
"Fine, whatever," Welst pouted, crossing his arms. Anyways, are we walking or catching a ride? We're heading a somewhat small town, so there has to be some merchants travelling over there. We can probably hitch a ride if we get lucky enough."
"Considering how the knights have held up the access of the gates," Kojeel responded, "our chances of finding one may be considerable. We should act quickly before all the merchants disappear from the capital."
"Alright, let's head out of here. It was the south gate, right?"
As his party members got together and started to discuss their plans, Itsuki suddenly felt his head swirl. He gritted his teeth and winced as he held his head; a throbbing pain nicked at his brain, but it wasn't big enough to make a large commotion about it.
However, as he tried to play it off—his allies hadn't noticed his discomfort yet—a notification blinked before his eyes, but there was no way he could have read it. He had only enough time to register its glitched text and mumble his confusion.
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[̷̨̛̝̞̭̱̝̰̝̰͌̈́̅̈́̍̔͌́̽̇͘͜͠͝ͅC̴̢̧͖͉͇̠̗̹͉͆͋͒͜͜ư̴̺̗̬̪̰̤̝̱͖̈̈̔̌̉̿̊̌͋̍̌̈̂ř̵̨͇̭͎͔̼͓̲̤͌s̵̮͆́́̉͜͝e̴̛̙̟͔̭̩͎͚̦͕̍̃̃͑̅̽̃́̉̿͜͝͠ ̶͈̞̜̭̭̗͖̽̄̒͝Ś̸͕͕̙̦̫͔͖̙̫̣̖̋͆̌͌̇̏̉̈́̓́̽͜͝ͅe̶͙͇̲̗͙͔͈̫͉̪͚̥̩̘̬̒̔̄̒͊r̸͍̗͍̭̺̺͖͎͐̅̃̔̍̿͠ĩ̵͚͚̋̍̎̔̉e̷̜̲̬̗͑̈́̍s̴͔̺̱̘̱̻̝͖̼̙̯͓̒͜ ̴̡̡͈͖̤̺̹͍́̍̽̐̈̓͗͐̆̋̏̀̀͝͝ͅͅS̵̲̙̙̗̤̤̖̞̳͉̭̟͙̀̍͐͑̌̐̐͜͠h̵̺͓̤̞̟̦͍̬͙̦͚̰͖͕͚̍͆̋̒̇̌̀͆̊̆̈͂̆͗i̴̥͕̳̝̊̒̎͝e̶̝̫̹̳̙̒͒̓l̸̨̀͆̽̄̈̊̃̉̈̄͂̚͝ḑ̵̪͚͉̼̥̺̆͌͐͒͊͂́͐̍͌̏͝ͅ ̸̨͔̌̆̃̆͆̐̇͊͗͠͝:̷̱̼̮̣̳̥͂̅̀̊̋͗͒̿͜ͅ ̴͕̦̳̞̲͇͕̪͎͙͖͖̥̔̐̿͛̐̃͜͝͝ͅC̵̡̪̻̞̹͖͚̞̦̠̙͉͂͝ͅo̷̭̮̥͚̰̭̐̐́͒̄̌̆̍̍̿̄͋̕͝n̵̛͇̗͕̓͆̄̀̌̐̚͠͠ͅḑ̸̥͌̊̌̽͌̓̆̾͌̇͌͛̈͘ḯ̵̢̨͖͔͎̬̤͓̗̻̯̹̬̃̂t̴̨̝̟̺̪̼͙̗͚̱̼̳̱̃̋̊͐̍͌̀̈̓͆̈́́̕͜į̶̡̞͖͕̘͉͉͉̪͒͂̃͌̏̍̏̉̚͜ͅọ̴̧̨̨̗̭̞̬͖̖̯̫͙̙͔͆̏͗̈͐n̶̞̍̔s̸̢͍̭̮̩̳̱̝̠̝͉̯̉͒̎̇̋̉̍͛̏͛̕͜ ̸̧̨̟̲͕̳͇͙͎̏̏͊̂̈́̀̈͜ḩ̶̧̨̠̘̺̖̹͋̂̿̏̀̃̓͐́̕͝͝a̴̼̍̃̾͛̈́̂̆̑̈́̊͘v̷̧̙̹̙͓͔̤̦̬̤̺̝̗͆̅̂e̵̢̞̬̳̦͚̘͓̲̫͓͖̻̩̰͒̐̒̎͗́̏ ̶̧̧̨̰͉̺͙̝̩̟̝͓͔͔̏͂̇͜b̴̠̤̞̦͈́͊̉̒̓̑̅͆ė̶̡̯̜͈͖̺̦̠͙̻̑̀e̷̢̝̠̫̫͈͇̥͋̀̔́̓̍̑̀̋́̋́͝n̷̟̊ ̸̡̣̠̼̹̮͓͕̮͐̒̾͂̈́̽̇͐͘u̵̻̻͒͑̋͐̾͋͊͋̽̏̚n̶̢͇̻͛͒̃͘l̴̞̮̿̓͌̿̓̇̈̌̉̍̄̉̈̚͝o̵͍̞̪̮̩̞̥̐̔̈́̈́͌͒̈̔̈̚͠c̵̜͈̍͆͆̅͛͑̀̓̈̅͒͘͠͝k̷̛̪̤̣̙̣͚̰͚͚̙͉̲͍͉̐͊̀̂̆͝͝e̸̬̹̫̹̿̌͒̍ḑ̴̢̝̝̤͇̱͉̟̔͜.̵͖͖̲͙̖͎͇͉̻̣̯̙̫͚̈̊̎̾́̀̒́͒̄̆̚̕͘͝]̷̝̼̤͙̯̋̿̃̚͠
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
"... What the actual hell?"
(—ነነነነ(—(—[][][][]—)—)ነነነነ—)
His blades moved faster; Ren responded likewise.
They danced around each other with their weapons flying, nearing missing the other. Ren understood what Zellus had meant by turning up the difficulty; Ren didn't even have the chance to breathe throughout their clash, nor the chance to think. He let his body respond how it saw fit, counting on his primal instincts built off Brave Star Online.
The metal rang through the air.
Sparks flew against every intersecting slam.
However, Ren found himself defending and evading more frequently as the skirmish went on for seconds on end. Each second felt like it dragged on as the attacks kept piling on top of him before Zellus snuck in a kick right into Ren's gut, launching him across the field.
He must have flown far because he bounced quite a few times before his body came to a halt. He couldn't land on his feet in time, sliding on his back.
He felt the pain starting to creep up along his spine, but there was since thirty-five seconds left. He could still fight if he managed to ingest the second potion, but as he tried to stand back up, Zellus' foot stomped against his chest, pinning him to the ground. The heel was dug right through, as if it was trying to strike his lungs as a shortness of breath came down on him.
As Ren tried to pull away from Zellus' leg, Ren's head started to pulsate. A headache was forming in the middle of the fight and Ren swore through it, but a message appeared before his eyes, almost blocking his vision if it hadn't been semi-transparent.
However, he couldn't read it. He could make out some words, but not much.
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[̷̨̛̝̞̭̱̝̰̝̰͌̈́̅̈́̍̔͌́̽̇͘͜͠͝ͅC̴̢̧͖͉͇̠̗̹͉͆͋͒͜͜ư̴̺̗̬̪̰̤̝̱͖̈̈̔̌̉̿̊̌͋̍̌̈̂ř̵̨͇̭͎͔̼͓̲̤͌s̵̮͆́́̉͜͝e̴̛̙̟͔̭̩͎͚̦͕̍̃̃͑̅̽̃́̉̿͜͝͠ ̶͈̞̜̭̭̗͖̽̄̒͝Ś̸͕͕̙̦̫͔͖̙̫̣̖̋͆̌͌̇̏̉̈́̓́̽͜͝ͅe̶͙͇̲̗͙͔͈̫͉̪͚̥̩̘̬̒̔̄̒͊r̸͍̗͍̭̺̺͖͎͐̅̃̔̍̿͠ĩ̵͚͚̋̍̎̔̉e̷̜̲̬̗͑̈́̍s̴͔̺̱̘̱̻̝͖̼̙̯͓̒͜ ̴̡̡͈͖̤̺̹͍́̍̽̐̈̓͗͐̆̋̏̀̀͝͝ͅͅS̵̲̙̙̗̤̤̖̞̳͉̭̟͙̀̍͐͑̌̐̐͜͠h̵̺͓̤̞̟̦͍̬͙̦͚̰͖͕͚̍͆̋̒̇̌̀͆̊̆̈͂̆͗i̴̥͕̳̝̊̒̎͝e̶̝̫̹̳̙̒͒̓l̸̨̀͆̽̄̈̊̃̉̈̄͂̚͝ḑ̵̪͚͉̼̥̺̆͌͐͒͊͂́͐̍͌̏͝ͅ ̸̨͔̌̆̃̆͆̐̇͊͗͠͝:̷̱̼̮̣̳̥͂̅̀̊̋͗͒̿͜ͅ ̴͕̦̳̞̲͇͕̪͎͙͖͖̥̔̐̿͛̐̃͜͝͝ͅC̵̡̪̻̞̹͖͚̞̦̠̙͉͂͝ͅo̷̭̮̥͚̰̭̐̐́͒̄̌̆̍̍̿̄͋̕͝n̵̛͇̗͕̓͆̄̀̌̐̚͠͠ͅḑ̸̥͌̊̌̽͌̓̆̾͌̇͌͛̈͘ḯ̵̢̨͖͔͎̬̤͓̗̻̯̹̬̃̂t̴̨̝̟̺̪̼͙̗͚̱̼̳̱̃̋̊͐̍͌̀̈̓͆̈́́̕͜į̶̡̞͖͕̘͉͉͉̪͒͂̃͌̏̍̏̉̚͜ͅọ̴̧̨̨̗̭̞̬͖̖̯̫͙̙͔͆̏͗̈͐n̶̞̍̔s̸̢͍̭̮̩̳̱̝̠̝͉̯̉͒̎̇̋̉̍͛̏͛̕͜ ̸̧̨̟̲͕̳͇͙͎̏̏͊̂̈́̀̈͜ḩ̶̧̨̠̘̺̖̹͋̂̿̏̀̃̓͐́̕͝͝a̴̼̍̃̾͛̈́̂̆̑̈́̊͘v̷̧̙̹̙͓͔̤̦̬̤̺̝̗͆̅̂e̵̢̞̬̳̦͚̘͓̲̫͓͖̻̩̰͒̐̒̎͗́̏ ̶̧̧̨̰͉̺͙̝̩̟̝͓͔͔̏͂̇͜b̴̠̤̞̦͈́͊̉̒̓̑̅͆ė̶̡̯̜͈͖̺̦̠͙̻̑̀e̷̢̝̠̫̫͈͇̥͋̀̔́̓̍̑̀̋́̋́͝n̷̟̊ ̸̡̣̠̼̹̮͓͕̮͐̒̾͂̈́̽̇͐͘u̵̻̻͒͑̋͐̾͋͊͋̽̏̚n̶̢͇̻͛͒̃͘l̴̞̮̿̓͌̿̓̇̈̌̉̍̄̉̈̚͝o̵͍̞̪̮̩̞̥̐̔̈́̈́͌͒̈̔̈̚͠c̵̜͈̍͆͆̅͛͑̀̓̈̅͒͘͠͝k̷̛̪̤̣̙̣͚̰͚͚̙͉̲͍͉̐͊̀̂̆͝͝e̸̬̹̫̹̿̌͒̍ḑ̴̢̝̝̤͇̱͉̟̔͜.̵͖͖̲͙̖͎͇͉̻̣̯̙̫͚̈̊̎̾́̀̒́͒̄̆̚̕͘͝]̷̝̼̤͙̯̋̿̃̚͠
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
[Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention] [Attention]
"H-Huh?" Ren squinted his eyes. "C-Curse... Series?"
In that single moment, Zellus' expression drastically changed.
He dropped his weapons and grabbed Ren by the collar. Without another word, Zellus pulled him over his shoulder and threw him into the ground as hard as he could. The scenery erupted into a dust cloud, and out from it, Zellus ran outwards, dragging Ren's body throughout the dirt. He ran towards the outer wall of the capital and when he came close, Zellus threw him into the wall.
With his head slammed against the stone bricks, he could feel his consciousness wavering back and forth with Zellus standing before him. He was completely disoriented from the sudden shift of strength.
Ren noticed his meters starting to waver back into existence, but he couldn't determine where they were. They all started to blend together and looked the same to him.
He couldn't even speak out. The impact from being slammed down with such a force must have sent his body into a total shock, only being able to make quiet noises underneath his panicked breaths.
He couldn't even think about getting in the second elixir.
His mind abruptly left his head as Ren's body immediately went limp, falling over and leaving a crater where his body had been planted.
"I didn't want to end it like this," Zellus sighed, not knowing if Ren could even hear him anymore, "but I can't let you use your Curse Series yet. Not when you haven't gotten stronger. It'll consume you. Though, how the hell did you get a Curse Series unlocked? You didn't seem to be showing any serious signs..."
"Sir Zellus!" The knight ran up behind the higher ranked member. "Is the fight over yet?"
"Not so fast. I need to check something."
Zellus reached out Ren's blade and made a tug onto it. Before his own eyes, a notification popped up.
[Attention]
[Use [Steal Separation]?]
Normally, a person wouldn't be able to take a Cardinal Hero's holy weapon. Not even the Cardinal Heroes themselves could remove their weapons from their body, but it doesn't seem like that was common knowledge around these parts. That part of the prophecy must have been deemed unimportant to pass down, and why would it? It seemed only to be trivial.
Though, he did meet the other person that had the ability to steal the holy weapons from their wielders, Vassals and Cardinals alike. The only difference between the two types of stealing was that that man could use a fraction of the weapon's power. Zellus couldn't tap into the weapon's potential, but he had it exchanged for the ability to throw it around wherever he wanted.
'I wonder if he's gotten any stronger after claiming the whip…?'
None of the knights had bat an eye when Zellus took the sword out of Ren's hands as he glanced upon the lustrous blue jewel. His eyes scanned against the blade, as if he was checking the condition of the holy sword, but he was actually looking for something else; it was something that couldn't be seen normally.
Zellus had frowned, but not because he was disappointed.
He found what he was trying to look for, but he didn't necessarily understand it.
'... What the hell? Sloth? He unlocked the ability to gain swords from the sloth series? H-How?'
The extravagant knight scratched his head in confusion, sating his curiosity, but creating more in the process. However, it wasn't as if he could do an emotional check on the Sword Hero. He went and finished the fight quickly precisely because he had unlocked access to a Curse Series, so he held himself down and walked away from the Sword Hero's unconscious body with Ren's sword still in his hand.
"I'll be taking the Sword Hero's weapon and leaving it in the armory. You four can take the Sword Hero to his prison cell. He won't be waking up for a while after that attack."
"Y-Yes, Sir Zellus!"
One of the knights pulled out handcuffs and placed them on Ren, which made Zellus chuckle internally. The thought of arresting an unconscious man was very amusing, but Zellus didn't pay anymore attention to that. His mind was already pacing towards the next objective.
'My move's done. Now then, who wants to take the next turn?'
