...Something Secret Steers Us…
Aurdel was still riding upon Everest's back. Hours had passed and they'd rode some distance across the countryside, the early morning sun shining down on them. It was a little chilly though, so he made sure to cover the others with blankets since they were still fast asleep in the carriage. He wouldn't wake them since there was no real reason to, they'd need to be well rested anyways if they came across some monster or enemies. Preparing was always something important to do no matter the situation. One couldn't prepare for everything however. "Aurdel, I need to talk to you." He turned his head, it was Megumin who'd woken up and said it.
"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" He focused back on the road ahead of them
"Well I wanted to ask, what exactly is going on between you and Yunyun?"
"What's going on?" He thought about it. Then he shrugged, "I don't know, she just wanted to be closer. Personally I don't mind as long as-"
"I don't want you getting any closer to her," he turned his head.
With an eyebrow raised, "Where exactly is this coming from and what is it about?"
"It's because… I want to get closer with you." He wasn't sure what to say, so he'd let her keep speaking. "At first I wasn't so sure of it, but then when I saw Yunyun trying I knew that I had to do something." He saw someone move behind her, "I couldn't let her take you-"
"Why do you hate me so much…?" Yunyun's said voice said, "What did I ever do to you that you don't want me to be happy? Anything I have you try to take from me… Why…?" There were tears in her eyes, "I didn't have any friends… I didn't have anyone… So why?!"
"Because I didn't have anyone either!" Megumin shouted, an uneasy silence followed. "I didn't have anyone.." She lowered her head, "Dad always spent all our money on his stupid magic items, Mom wasn't there enough, I had to take care of Komekko and I didn't have any friends either!"
That was when he realized something, something he'd never really given too much thought to. Maybe it was because of everything that had happened to him that he'd never considered it too pressing, but he saw it now. He stepped off of Everest and walked onto the wagon via the hitch. These two were hurt, emotionally and mentally, by things in the past. But if he really thought about it, most of them here were that way. He'd been kidnapped and lost multiple families, Megumin was neglected, Yunyun was ostracized and Anatalia lost almost everything. He couldn't speak for Darkness or Aqua, but he could at least see what had happened to them. That was when he felt a pain in his chest. It'd been something he'd been suppressing for a long time just because of his training, but he just couldn't anymore.
Aurdel was, for better or for worse, an HSP. As a kid he was always able to feel others pain and as a result he never made many friends, he didn't want to deal with the emotional overload. But when he'd been kidnapped for the Spartan II program it was unavoidable and he almost completely stopped functioning in those early days. He felt the pain that all the other kids did, them wanting to go back to their homes and families and for the nightmare to be over. It never truly stopped. Because of it he was, for lack of a better way of saying it, forcibly 'broken in.' In the time he'd spent after that he never really realized how much it actually hurt him until now. "You two need to stop fighting, please," the two of them looked at him. "It hurts me to watch you two fight, you're doing nothing but hurting each other. So please, stop. If you can't do it for each other then do it for me."
There was a moment of silence, the two of them looked at each other. Then they walked towards each other. Under a mutterance of pained sorries and expressions, the two hugged each other. They made up, they could be happy. And that was enough for him. He walked over and enveloped both of them in a big, tight hug. "We're all in this together, until the end. So we need to support each other whenever and however, no matter the situation. Okay?" And the two of them nodded their heads "Thank you." He squeezed them tight, then let them go. "We still have a ways away to go from here to the North and we're only about half way through the South. Besides that I'm not entirely sure what to expect as we keep going."
"Should we help keep watch?" The two of them asked.
"No, I can keep watch as we ride. You two should get some more sleep like the others. It's always good to stay well rested." They were a little hesitant to do so, but eventually he got them to lay down and he tucked them in. They fell asleep once again. He walked back over the hitch and sat down on Everest's back, watching the rolling countryside around them. He'd much rather be asleep since he'd been awake all night, after all a soldier's best weapon was healthy sleep habits, but he wasn't entirely sure that he could just leave Everest to lead them onwards. It was that moment of occupied thought that led him to be off his guard. That was when it happened. An arrow struck and landed in his left shoulder, his head quickly shot to the side to see where it'd come from. The forest. "Wind Breath!" He used his spell to stop the rain of arrows coming down from tearing through the cloth covered sides of the carriage. A few more struck him as he made sure Everest wasn't hit. By the time the first wave of arrows had finished the others were awake.
"Where's it coming from?!"
"The forest!"
"Explosion!" Megumin shot off her spell towards the forest, completely obliterating a portion of it. She collapsed onto the floor of the carriage.
"Who would be ambushing us in a place like this?" Darkness asked, "These are the tactics of bandits."
"You're at least partially right." Anatalia, "Elves, they're Elves."
"Elves? Are they really on this continent too?"
"They are, but for they're savages," she seemed to look down on them, "They're isolated in the western portion of the country where they're kept at bay, the Kingdom needing to deploy extra guards with any travellers passing through."
"We aren't that far west though. If anything, we're still in the eastern half," he pointed out.
"I know, I noticed that too," she scratched her chin and her tail wagged. "Something must be driving them out of the west if they're going this far east."
"Any idea what it might be?"
"No idea, I haven't heard of any threats serious enough to justify them leaving."
"Well hopefully whatever it is," he grunted as he pulled the arrows out of his side, "we won't have to encounter it." Everest turned his head to lick Aurdel's now open wounds.
"That I think I can agree on, I'd rather find my sister as quickly as possible."
"But that being said, I feel like we should stop at the next town for breakfast."
"At the next town? Are you really sure that's a good idea with the bounty Anatalia has on her head?" Darkness questioned. It was a valid point to bring up.
"That may be so, but if she was praised enough by the people around here to start various partisan movements in favor of her then I doubt we'll find any trouble with the locals. As long as we all behave ourselves."
"Why are you looking at me when you say that?!"
"You know exactly why I do that Aqua, you should be able to pick up on hints by now." She folded her arms and pouted in the carriage, "So, any other objections?" He looked around, "Alright then, let's go."
About another half hour of travelling passed by before they were able to arrive at the next town. He stopped the carriage next to a building, looking around. "Well then, welcome to Arnestuck I suppose," Anatalia threw up her hands in a general presentation of the town in front of them.
"It looks like someone dropped an American old western into the middle of a bunch of green grass covered rolling plains."
"A what in to a what now?" Aqua attempted to parrot, but missed practically half of what he'd said due to her not paying attention.
"Ah forget it, I doubt any of you would even recognize what I'm referring to. Let's get something to eat," He looked at Everest and patted him on the head, "Stay here boy, I'll bring you something to eat soon enough." The Griffin cooed in response.
Now with that settled, they just had to find somewhere to eat. Anatalia has previously mentioned that there were no adventurers guilds here, so by no means would they be able to go to one to get breakfast. There probably were diners or restaurants, but those were bound to be crowded at this time of day. So in an old western town, where would you go to get something to drink and eat? The saloon. He led the six of them towards the doors of the building, waiting out front for a moment. "Remember, behave." Aqua began to throw a tantrum after hearing that again, but he quickly got her to settle down. After that he pushed open the doors and the six of them walked inside.
The whole place was bustling about with activity, more than he'd expected really. Even this early in the morning people were already drinking and having a good ol' time. It shocked him really, most people waited until at least the afternoon before they started drinking. But because they were all so enthralled and occupied with their own businesses they paid neither him nor his party any mind, not even a glance really. They just went on with their business. It didn't really bother him too much. It was better for them to be ignored than gather too much attention with the people around here. So they walked through and over to the counter. "Well now, don't we have a lucky fella right here? What'll it be?" the saloon keeper asked.
"Do you have any kind of breakfast specials?"
"Sure do, six of them?"
He nodded, "And a bucket of fish if you can spare it."
"As long as you're paying for it, I don't mind." The keeper walked away off to the back, presumably into the kitchen.
"Aurdel, are we going to have to pay for our meals on our own?" Aqua asked.
"No I'll pay for them," but before she could get another word in, he clarified. "Now that doesn't mean I'm going to go broke paying for your drinking habits. If you want to get drunk, do it with your own money."
"Bug I don't have any money!"
"That should tell you enough right there." He sat down on a chair, the others crowding around him. "So what exactly is the food like here?"
Anatalia shrugged, "Food is food wherever you go, it's good. So don't worry too much, I'm sure you'll enjoy it." About fifteen minutes passed and after some light drinking and chatting breakfast came out.
"This is breakfast? It looks like it's either all three meals or going to kill you just by eating it." The thing Aurdel was referring to was the dish that was served to them. It looked like a larger burger, filled with cheese, bacon, other types of meat and at least three eggs.
"Is something wrong?" Anatalia took a large bite out of hers, the others eating their own as well.
"No, it's nothing."
...Who Can It Be Now?...
"See? It wasn't so bad, right?" Anatalia said, giving him a bump on the shoulder. He had eaten the burger thing put in front of him, he'd also brought the fish he'd purchased to Everest to eat.
"I suppose it wasn't. But still, I don't understand how-" He stopped. "Anatalia, what's wrong?" Her tail had gone completely stiff, her ears were twitching sporadically. It looked like she was frozen in place… No, frozen with fear.
"Someone is here… Someone… strong," she whispered, her voice uneasy. She was visibly trembling now too. Loud cracks of explosions and other noises could be heard coming from outside of the saloon. All of the patrons stared at each other with worry, pulling out weapons they'd somehow been hiding on their persons. The saloon keeper retreated into the back.
That was when he heard it. The entire backroom of the saloon was splintered to pieces with the saloon keeper inside it. While he hadn't seen exactly what had happened, he was shredded to pieces for sure. One of the waitresses ran over to the door he'd entered, still barely hanging on by its hinges, and slammed it shut, locking it for all of the good that it would do them. "I have a really bad feeling about this…" Then he was able to tell something was about to happen. "Get down!" He kicked over the table and dragged all five members of his party behind it, tossing a cloak he had with them over him. He was still standing when it happened. The entire front of the saloon was obliterated now, shards of sharp glass and pointed wooden pieces flew all over. There were pained screams and shouts as the other patrons were torn to bits. He himself was seriously injured with cuts all over his body and tears in his clothes, only barely managing to avoid losing his eyes to the blast by having his head turned.
"Aurdel!" Yunyun shouted, she reached out from under the cloak to look at him.
"I'm fine. Megumin, get over here. I need you to have an Explosion ready once whatever it is out there decides to come out." He reached out his hand and began transferring mana to her, smoke, dust and dirt filled the air around them. It was practically impossible to see.
"I've found you," a deep voice said. The smoke began to clear and Aurdel was able to make out the figure of a large man, extremely large. He looked to be taller than even him and wider too. He stood in the opening he'd made, "I've been looking for you, Hero." The smoke and debris cleared, he was able to more clearly see the figure now. A large helmet combined with a mask covered the man's face, though he wore what seemed to be a suit that had armor plates sewn into it. Even with how absurd it was it was still an intimidating figure.
"What the hell do you want from me?" He brushed off the splinters he could with his free arm, allowing him to finish transferring mana to Megumin. "And why the hell did you have to destroy this building? And kill these people?"
"Because I want you to prove that you can be the hero capable of defeating the Demon King. And to do that, you will fight me." The gear the man wore on his head made it hard to tell, but Aurdel could see it now. There were no eyes or even a nose on this man's face, he seemed to have none. It was very well likely the same could be true of his ears but he had no way of telling as of now.
"And who the hell exactly are you to do that?"
"I'm the ultimate test, I am one the hero who picked the strongest of the cheat abilities from that fool of a Goddess sitting near you under that cloak."
He… he could see Aqua and the others under the cloak and behind the table?! "I was sent here to defeat the Demon King but I knew that I would not be capable of doing it, so I decided to find someone that could on my own. I've killed many supposed heroes to find one that was truly worthy, but you're different." What… What was this feeling? For the first time in a very long time, he was feeling fear. "You see, I've made sure to follow everything you've done. Everything that you will do. I know it all. That's why it will be you." The man picked up the body of one of the patrons, his large fist clamping around their head. The person he was gripping was obviously still alive, one of the few that had managed to cling to life with everything that happened. He clamped his fist down around the man's head, blood and brain matter spat out from the cracks in his hand. The patron went limp. "And I can tell you what you're thinking right now, you don't want to fight me. You don't plan to. Your only idea to get you and your party as far away as possible from here," he dropped the corpse.
"You don't need to be a telepath to tell that much," Aurdel grit his teeth.
"No, you don't. But I can also tell you that you're afraid of me, this is the first time you've been really afraid in years. Isn't it? You've fought armies, you've fought large beasts, you've fought Generals of the Demon King. But you're afraid of me. Good, that means you recognize real power. None of the other heroes feared me, they only blindly charged in."
"You… I don't have any reason to fight you, and you don't have any reason to fight me."
"We don't? Very well, I can see why that would be an issue for the both of us. Allow me to rectify that then," he waved his hand."
"W-what's going on?!" Aqua stammered, he turned his head and saw all five of them float in the air as the man gave a wave of his hand.
"Giving him his reason," the man said. Their bodies began to twist in painful ways.
"No!" He shouted, pulling out his sword and sword, "Let them go!"
"Very well, just know that their fate lies with your efforts. If you fail, they will die," with another wave of the hand they were sent flying away.
"You bastard… You'll pay for that."
"Only if you make me, hero. Now, come. Show me your strength." Aurdel charged straight at the man. He raised his other hand and pointed it at Aurdel, fire began to blast out. He moved his shield to block it. But he was only able to block it for a moment. Using the same hand as before he waved and Aurdel felt the shield begin to move upward from his hand. Rather than allow his shoulder to be dislocated he let go of the shield, it shooting up just after. For a moment the fire struck him but he was able to roll off to the side, attempting to move into the cover. He was trying to move behind another overturned table when it exploded before his very eyes, the man pointing a single finger at the table.
"I can see the moves you'll make before they happen, it is solely up to you to defeat me." He could see the moves he would make? What the hell… Just what ability had Aqua given him when he was sent to this world? "One far beyond your own reckoning, allowing its user to take all for one," he said, responding to his thoughts. With another finger pointed towards him, bubble-like projectiles began to shoot out towards him. Aurdel kicked chairs into their path quickly, the chairs exploding into pieces upon impact. Pressurized air… The ground began to shake, pillars of stone rose from beneath the floorboards and began to lash out towards him. With his sword he was able to cut them apart with very little issue, but they kept coming. Not to mention, they were all forcing him directly into the immediate line of sight of the man he was fighting.
The man pointed a finger and purple energy crackled around it, then a bolt of lightning shot out. In a panicked move he swung out with his sword, catching the bolt on the tip of his sword and travelling through. Luckily, since he'd covered the hilt of his sword with enough material to be insulated, it didn't shock him. Instead, it arc'd back out and towards the man that fired it. Another stone pillar rose from the ground to block the bolt, exploding upon impact. Quickly a wall was set up in front of him and blasted outwards, being thrown at him. Aurdel was unable to dodge, as well as unable to cut through the stone walls due to their thickness, and as a result was hit by the barrier. He was thrown back and threw a wall of the saloon, causing part of it to collapse due to all the damage that'd been done. More of those pressurized air projectiles shot out from the hole he'd been blown through and slammed all around him, blasting through the building.
He leapt up, if he kept staying at a distance from this guy then he wouldn't be able to get a scratch on him. He was going to have to get in close. "You cannot run, you must fight." The man said, floating in the air. "If you can beat me, you can beat the Demon King," he stepped out onto the building where Aurdel stood.
"How does that make sense if you said yourself that you knew you couldn't beat him?!" Aurdel drove forward with his sword, slashing at the man.
"Maybe it doesn't make sense to you now, it will once you face him," moving at insane speeds he managed to dodge and parry every single one of Aurdel's blows. With a punch he struck Aurdel's sword and sent him partially reeling backwards. Such strength…"He is strong, stronger than I am. You would take care to learn from this."
The man's right arm suddenly swelled up in size, bursting through the jacket and exposing it. Blood was pumping through the visible veins, the muscles on it were massive and what looked like spikes jutted out of it. Then he came about to swing, Aurdel leapt out of the way. When his arm struck it ended up hitting the roof of the building they stood on and completely obliterated it, the whole building collapsing beneath them. The other man stood firm in the air, but Aurdel fell in. Projectiles rained down towards him and destroyed his surroundings. Close range didn't work and staying at a distance didn't really work. That meant he really only had one last option to put into practice. "Hiding is not a valid tactic to fight the Demon King with. You must act, inaction is death.'
The ground around him exploded from projectiles fired at him, clouds of dirt spraying up each time. He ran into an alleyway, the corner of it exploding as soon as he passed. He needed to lose him somehow… He heard the crackling of fire and the woosh of air, fire began to shoot out all over the town. Flames rained down and covered the roads and the buildings, setting everything ablaze. He just hoped his companions were fine, if they were knocked out by whatever he'd done to throw him then they were as good as dead. "Your companions will be safe as long as you are, the Griffin included." The man came punching through a burning building, striking Aurdel with all of his might. He was sent flying back, crashing into a cart and crushing it. "Where is the hero that I watched? The one that surpassed unsurmountable odds? The one that fought things much bigger than himself. Was it perhaps all just a cleverly put together show put on?"
Aurdel rolled out of the way as two more lightning bolts came his way, incinerating the wood. "Perhaps you are not who I think you are, and you do have some secret cheating power. I would be disappointed if that was the case." Hopefully his party members were at a safe distance now, he just needed to get away himself. He tore through a nearby building and ran out into what would be the main road of the town. There was destruction all around him, with burning buildings and people slaughtered all around. He turned around when he heard a massive creaking and breaking sound behind him. The building he'd just been in was lifted into the sky with a large chunk of rock from the ground and hovered there, before being pulled apart into thousands of pieces of debris. It was all then thrown straight at him. He used his sword to block as much of it as he could but he wasn't able to get through all of it.
He was struck over and over by hundreds of little, sharp pieces of debris. His clothes were destroyed, his skin torn open and flesh exposed with blood pouring out. He fell to one knee. Damnit… The man walked through a wall of fire, coming towards him. There wasn't even a scratch on him, he couldn't hit him. "You did last longer than most, but you haven't lasted long enough. I will keep your memory alive for the next hero I find," he kept walking towards Aurdel, growing his arm again.
"Light of Saber!" He party jumped out of nowhere to attack the man.
"Bind!" Ropes wrapped around his body, he stood in place in front of Aurdel.
"I'll end this all at once!" Megumin shouted, thrusting her staff forward, "You'll pay for hurting Aurdel, Explosion!" Nothing happened… How could that be? "Eh?!" She started to tremble.
"I won't forgive you interference in my matters, they are of life and death." He easily broke out of the bind anatalia had put her in, and Yunyun's Light of Saber had barely done anything to him.
"No!" Aurdel stood up and chased after the man as he sprinted towards Megumin, who was frozen in place with fear. Darkness jumped out in front of him in an attempt to defend her companion but was simply slapped aside with unimaginable force. He wasn't able to catch up with him, he was far too injured. He was forced to watch and he grabbed her arm and lifted her into the air, he could hear the sound of bones cracking and her shoulder dislocating even from here.
"Now, I'll use your own power to punish you. By using it to test the man you were trying to save," he left her drop to the ground and turned back towards him. "How poetic, Explosion." The largest blast he'd seen yet came and struck him , he was sent flying. His vision went black and his ear drums burst but he was still managing to cling on to life and consciousness.
"Aurdel," a voice at the back of his mind said, "You must get up." That voice… It was familiar. "You have to get up, or else he will kill them. All of them." It wasn't just familiar, he knew that voice! "I know you can hear me, save them." It was the voice of someone he'd follow to hell and back if that was what it took. Save them. His eyes opened, slowly he was able to see again. He was still laying in the ground where he'd been blown, he got up. Out in front of them he could see the man walking towards him, most likely talking to him. He couldn't hear him though, and that didn't bother him. His legs shook under his own weight, charred flesh covered him and even some bone was exposed. But he stood up.
So this guy could read his thoughts? Predict his every attack before he does it? Fine, then he'll just have to do something that he has no way to block. He knew exactly what he had to do. Aurdel charged forward towards the man, ignoring the pain in his legs and everywhere else. Fire and lightning sprayed out from the man's hands, there was no going back now. He turned backwards and faced his back in the direction the destructive spells came from. Both hit him and surged through his back with an unending pain, but he took the hit. Still he ran towards him, unwilling to give up this fight. He was his orders, he would die to see them through. The man stopped shooting the spells and grew his right arm once more, swinging at Aurdel. But Aurdel avoided the blow and managed to close in the distance between him and the man, coming into close towards his upper and lower body.
He threw down one of the potions that he used to shoot out of his hand cannon, throwing it to the ground in front of the both of them to stun him. Spartan time had fully kicked in for him with the adrenaline, he was moving that than this guy was able to react to. Running up he quickly turned around, throwing his back into the man's chest. He only had one desperate gambit to use in an attempt to stop this guy. He grabbed his sword and thrust it through himself, puncturing and cutting through one of his lungs before thrusting outside and into the man he was fighting. He could feel the air leave from both his chest and the other man's, he could do this. With his other hand he grabbed his sidearm from his M6D was a powerful weapon, one easily capable of punching through his own body and hitting the man behind him especially with the rounds he had loaded.
He pushed the the gun against himself and squeezed the trigger eleven times, dumping almost the full mag. Large chunks of his flesh came bursting out but he could tell that the damage was done. He yanked the sword out and fell to the ground, turning and watching the other man shakily stood there. Then he pointed the Magnum at the man's head and fired, the helmet went flying off and he toppled over. Aurdel collapsed onto his back. He turned his head to his right where his party was, Aqua was running towards him. He waved her away, "Go heal Megumin first!" He wasn't able to hear her reply but he saw her run off towards Megumin. He placed his own burned hand on his chest, "Heal!" Using the mana he could he healed himself, undoing some of the damage. Then he put it on his head, "Heal!" His vision was completely better now and he was able to hear again, he stood up. The rest of the healing could wait.
"I was wrong…" the man said, "You are the one…"
Aurdel turned, the man was still alive. "You are the one that will defeat the Demon king, you're the one that will save the world. Come.. come here, I have a gift for you."
"You should understand if I'm a bit hesitant to approach you," he held his other arm with his own.
"Then allow me to bring you to it," he reached out his hand and pulled Aurdel closer. "For your victory I grant you my power, all of it," he put his hand on Aurdel's arm. He felt a rush come through his arm and disperse through his entire body, it felt warm.
"What did you do?"
"I gave you my power, and all the others I stole using it. Including that friend of yours," he nodded his head to where his companions were. "But now my mission is finished, I've done as I should. There is only one thing left to do."
"And why should I? Why shouldn't I leave you here to suffer?"
"Because I've been alive for too long, far longer than I should have been allowed. Besides, it'll give you the experience you need." Aurdel drew his sword, "It's only fitting after all." He took his sword and plunged it through the mask of the man, he felt the body go limp after a moment of contact with his blade. That battle was finished. He sheathed his sword.
"Everyone, are you all right?"
"We're fine, but speak for yourself!" Anatalia said, "Just look at the condition you're in."
"Nothing that can't be fixed."
"Oh, right. Heal!" Aqua fixed up the remainder of his wounds.
He tightened his hands, then released them. Good, all of his senses were fully back to normal now. "I'm not sure if that guy left any survivors around here. Darkness, can you help Aqua look around for anybody still alive? And Aqua, can you revive anyone you find if you're able to?"
"We can do that Aurdel," Darkness said.
"Yeah, just leave it to this Goddess!" The two of the left their group to go search the town, he wasn't exactly sure of what they'd find. Most of the town was in shambles from the attack and the few parts that weren't were still burning down.
"What about us Aurdel, what are we going to do?" Yunyun asked.
"We're going to go find Everest and the carriage. Partly to check and make sure everything is okay, partly because I need a new change of clothes."
"I don't know, I like the rugged look," Anatalia said.
"It isn't exactly practical to say the least," they rounded the corner. Here was where they'd left their carriage and Everest while they went and got something to eat, however… "There's the carriage, but where's Everest?" He looked around.
Megumin tugged on his arm, "Aurdel, why is there a woman with wings trying to put on our clothing in her carriage?" He looked back.
"Ah master, there you are!"
"What."
