And we're back again. Let's jump straight into it.

Chapter 41

The Flaming Fist

A howl came from the other side of the wall and suddenly, the sky turned dark with a hail of arrows. I grabbed a broken piece of armour and used it to shield my head, several crossbow bolts burying into my arm and leg. Several people around me fell, bolts going straight through their helmets. I pulled the bolts out as the war cry of the Pugilists rang out through the air. They clambered over the wall of bark and ran towards us. They were obviously trying to take advantage of the disarray caused by the Death Worm Curse.

I gripped my blade and got into a stance. The survivors of the arrow storm got ready too, a shield wall forming in front ready to defend against any more arrow storms. The first Pugilists clashed against the shield wall. As soon as their fist touched the metal, the entire shield exploded. The soldiers behind it were thrown back, creating a gap that the Pugilists took advantage of, spilling into the front lines and beginning to battle the soldiers.

I clashed with one of them, a young woman by the looks of it. I felt the heat of the fist smash against my crystal blade, trying to overpower me, but my guard held strong. I pushed back, then crouched low, sweeping my leg under hers and sending her crashing to the ground.

I saw Kirito and Eugeo both being overwhelmed and darted over to them, slamming into the back of the Pugilist clashing with Kirito and through pure instinct, slashed at the other fighting Eugeo. My blade didn't even cut his skin, even though there was no armour or even clothing to get in the way. He laughed at me before going to punch me, which I quickly dodged. "No blade can beat me boy!"

"I don't need a sword to beat you…" Before I could fight back however, a howl rang out and another arrow storm blocked out the moon. I darted over to a large shield, lifting it up and shielding myself with it. The arrows thudded against the metal, before I was thrown back by the punch of another Pugilist shattering the shield and making me roll backwards into the crowd.

Blood dripped from my side as I pulled a shard of the shield out of my side. It hadn't gone deep thanks to my chestplate, but even that was broken. I barely got chance to recover before someone was on me again. Their fist was aimed was aimed for my head. I rolled back, their fingers barely scraping my forehead. I put my hands on the ground behind me, lifting my foot to be in the centre of the Pugilist's chest, and used his momentum to lift him above me. I dug my fingers into the ground and pushed hard, sending him flying into the air. I completed the roll and landed on my feet, taking a moment to breathe.

Unfortunately, his comrades didn't give me that moment. A flurry of fists came flying my way, and I dodged them by ducking down and slamming my fist into the stomach of my attacker. Spit flew from his mouth as he let out a strained groan. He bent over, and I took the opportunity to grab his back pull him down into my knee. He fell to the ground, coughing and spluttering.

I smiled a little. If blades couldn't touch them, it seemed my fists could. I got into a more conventional fighting stance for fist fighting as the next two Pugilists approached. The first fist came for my left shoulder which I leaned away from, letting him fall past me. The second jumped into the air and aimed a kick to my head. I ducked down and rolled towards her, getting under her and on the other side of them.

"Damn, I thought all the Iums only knew how to swing pointy things." The male Pugilist smiled, flexing his muscles. "Shame you won't take a punch."

"He doesn't need to." A soft voice came from behind the Pugilist. Three flashes of a blade came from behind him and he froze before his body fell apart. Behind him was Sheyta, her blade drawn.

I looked at her for a moment, stunned. "I thought you were Sheyta the Silent?"

"I can be again…if you wish." She tilted her head slightly.

"No…it's okay. It's nice to hear your voice."

She nodded, her stoic expression remaining. Suddenly there were several hundred more Human Empire soldiers joining the conflict. The back line had pushed up.

A howl came from the bark barrier, signalling another arrow storm. I grabbed Sheyta and pulled her over to a shield, putting it up to protect us. But a flaming fist hit the shield before the storm hit, and we ended up on the ground. There was no shield in sight. I just moved myself over Sheyta, ready to take all the arrows to the back…

Instead…nothing hit.

I looked up in confusion, but there was nothing there. No other soldier who could've blocked the crossbow bolts, or, heaven forbid, taken them in my place. The only thing that remained was a soft glow…almost like a spectre had been there…

"Move." Sheyta commanded simply. I moved just in time for her to jab her sword forwards, straight through the heart of an incoming Pugilist.

It was only now I noticed how thin her blade was. Not even paper was as thin as it. It looked like it could snap from a passing breeze, but it held strong. As she pulled it from the body of the now deceased Pugilist, it bent and flicked back into its original shape, almost like a fencing rapier. Maybe Luna could learn more from her…

I got to my feet and offered her a hand which she took, and I pulled her up. She charged forwards into the fight, cutting down Pugilists left and right. I put my hand out to the side and felt my sword come back to me from within the crowd. I sheathed it on my side, knowing it would be useless and instead raised my fists as yet another foe approached.

"Whoa, you look ready for a fight!" He grinned cockily. "Tell ya what. Beat me and all the other will stop."

"I'm guessing you're the chief then?" I smiled a little, glad at the opportunity to end this.

"Yep, I'm Ishkan of the Pugilists." He began hopping around on his feet. "But, in exchange for our retreat should you manage to win, I require something of equal value when I defeat you."

I couldn't help but smile at his confidence. "And what would that be?"

"The Priestess of Light."

I looked at him, confused. "Who is this Priestess of Light?"

"I don't know. Some girl with golden hair and blue eyes I think."

I paused for a moment. Alice? "Why would you want her?"

"Oho! So you know who I'm talking about." Ishkan grinned. "I don't want her, but Emperor Vecta does. And he's our commander."

I paused. I had no idea who this Emperor Vecta was. The change I would be giving Alice to him was worrying… He was fighting this brutal and bloody war all for her it seemed. And that meant she was more special than I ever realised.

But looking around…all these soldiers… If I didn't fight, then the Pugilists would just beat their way through to Alice anyway. And if I won, then they'd all be safe.

I knew at that moment what I had to do.

I took off my sheath and nodded. "Let's do it then Ishkan."

"And what is the name of my challenger?"

"Light…Light Synthesis Thirty-Two."

Ishkan punched his fists together. "An Integrity Knight? A worthy challenge!" His muscles flexed as he began to hype himself up. He began dancing and darting around in front of me, like a kid on a sugar high. I would've been awestruck if I wasn't worried about the fire that engulfed his fists. I began to wonder if I had signed up for a one-way ticket to my death.

I took a deep breath before taking a defensive stance. While Ishkan was hyping himself up, I took a calmer approach, analysing his moves. He was quick. But there was very little chance he could keep that speed up if there was going to be power behind his strikes. My best approach would be to not let him land a single hit and let his power dwindle before striking back. A battle of attrition.

I focused my gaze on him, giving him a long, hard stare. He seemed pleased rather than shaken, like he was glad I wasn't backing down. "Here I come then Light!" His toes dug into the ground before he leaped at me.

Within a second he had closed the distance between us. His first strike was aimed at centre mass, but his body was off the ground, unable to change direction or dodge anything. So I raised my foot and aimed it straight at his face. His cheek collided with my heel, stopping his head but the rest of his body carried his momentum, sending him flipping behind me and landing in the dust. He led there, stunned for a moment, before getting up and smiling, readying another strike. This time, he didn't propel himself forward, keeping to a run. He came in for a right hook. I ducked down, dodging the blow but finding myself in the path of an incoming uppercut. I threw myself backwards, my heel barely missing his chin which would've been a perfect opportunity to stun him. Instead, he leaped into the air and aimed a kick at my head. Due to my previous dodge, I had no time to dodge out of the way and raised my arms to block it…which was pointless as I found myself eating the dirt.

His kick was insanely powerful. More like a sack of bricks had hit me than just his foot. If my arms hadn't taken most of the force, I'd likely been knocked out with just that one hit. And even with that block, my head was ringing like crazy.

Unfortunately he didn't give me the option of shaking off the blow, aiming a punch for my head. I quickly rolled out of the way, his fist connecting with the ground and cracking the rock where my skull had been moments before. I got to my knees before a second strike came for my face. My reflexes got the better of me, thinking I was fighting a normal man instead of one with the strength of a thousand. I raised my hand to block the strike, and managed to hold it back…at the cost of all the bones in my right arm.

My skull felt like it was on fire as the cracking of my bones echoed throughout my entire nervous system. My muscles took over and managed to keep his strike at bay, by this agony…I'd take Nightmare impaling me in the stomach a thousand times over this. What made it worse was the flames were beginning to engulf my arm, burning away the sleeve of my jacket and turning the skin black. White spots began to dance before my eyes. I was barely managing to hold on to consciousness.

"Do you surrender?" Ishkan just had the same cocky smile on his face.

I can't…I can't go on…

I prepared to nod, the last remnants of my strength leaving me.

Don't break…

It was his voice…the other Light who had died when I got my memories back…

You kept me going when I thought I couldn't no longer. So now, I'm doing the same for you. After all, you're not doing this just to win. You're doing this to protect Alice. To protect everyone still fighting right. So whatever you do…

Our voices merged into one as I felt a sudden burst of energy. "Don't break!" I used that energy to break through the veil of unconsciousness that was threatening to overtake me. I pulled back my fist and slammed it into Ishkan's face. He went flying back into the crowd, crashing into his comrades.

I looked up, panting heavily. I looked at my arm, which felt perfectly fine, almost like a moment ago the bones weren't splinters. The burnt flesh still stung however, my hand completely blackened and unable to be moved no matter how much I tried to will it to. But with a few Sacred Arts, it could probably be healed.

Ishkan looked up from his spot on the floor and smirked. "Now that's what I call a punch." He got up, stretching his back a little. "How about round two?"

I looked at him, dumbstruck. He just took a punch that sent him flying and he's up within seconds and wanting another? It was at this point I genuinely believed I had signed up for an unwinnable duel.

Then I was saved…by the most unlikely of people.

Creaking of tree bark came from the barrier Kirito had made. A barge was crashing through it from the Dark Territory. The battle stopped instantly, everyone turning to witness it. At the front was a group of Dark Mages, readying some sort of Sacred Art. However, a few seconds passed and nothing was cast upon us, almost like it was meant as a threat.

"Soldiers of the Human Empire, I address you." A voice came from the helm of the barge, amplified and echoing throughout the ravine. It was deep and soothing, almost hypnotising, which sent a deep chill down my spine unlike anything I had ever felt before. "You are hopelessly outmatched by my own forces. However, I can see your own strength…your own power. If you did not possess it, you would've been wiped out by the Death Worm Curse, or even by the first wave of my attack. So I offer you a choice. Surrender and die a quick death at my hand…or burn."

A wall of flames erupted in front of the barge. It wasn't obvious at first because of the speed, but it was slowly creeping towards us. Behind us, another wall of flames stood, preventing any kind of retreat or support from the supply unit.

Ishkan got up, screaming at the barge. "Whoa! We're here too! Is this how you reward us!?"

I was right… This Emperor Vecta…he didn't care about the lives of the people under him. He was focused on his goal and only his goal, to get Alice.

It clicked. I went over to Ishkan and grabbed his shoulders. "You've got some way to talk to him right? Please tell me you do!"

He looked confused for a moment, but nodded. "Yeah, this." He took a skull that was hanging onto his belt.

I snatched it away from him and stared into its eyes. "You're okay with killing the Priestess of Light?"

Almost immediately, the flame wall halted. "I assume you're telling me this as a form of negotiation?" The Emperor's voice came from within the skull, talking only to me now.

"I just thought you'd like to know she's here, with us, and by killing us, you'd be killing her."

Silence followed for a few moments. "Blackmail, is it?"

I smiled, glad to confirm that we had this one piece of leverage. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"So desperate to protect the lives of so many…" The Emperor sounded bored. "Deliver her to me. Clock's ticking." The wall of flame began to enclose on us, faster than before.

"No! Don't you understand!? You'll be killing her!" I yelled at the skull.

"Then deliver her to me and save all your lives." The skull crumbled to dust in my hands, leaving only a blood-red jewel in my palm.

I fell to my knees, my fingers encircling the jewel. The one attempt I had to protect everyone, and I failed… I closed my eyes and waited…the screams of several people, both from the Human Empire and Dark Territory, began to fill the air. The smell of fire getting closer and closer, almost overwhelming the smell of flowers…

Wait…flowers…?

I looked around to see the once barren rock becoming a garden. The flames were stopped at the border of the grass. No…not stopped. They were shrinking, almost in fear. But then as they shrunk, the garden grew. Soon vines began to creep up the side of the ravine, completely transforming the flames that would be our doom into a garden of life.

I looked up at the sky, a beautiful pitch black, and looked in awe as the moon was right above us. Almost as if they had come from the white light, two figures descended upon the garden, one holding a spear and the other a sword.

The one holding a spear aimed it for the barge, and the moon shone brightly. Pure white light fell from the sky and ripped the barge in half. A barrier was formed between the human and Pugilists, and the Emperor and his forces, made from pure white light.

The first of the two figures landed in the centre of the garden, taking a deep breath, relieved. "I'm so glad we managed to get here in time. That looked bad." She had blonde hair that was tied back in a long ponytail, and bright green eyes. Her dress was a light shade of green and white, with lilac armour. It didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before, in Underworld or the other…two world I'd been too. Almost like it was from another realm entirely.

I started to approach her but then Kirito walked out of the crowd, and I could see from his face that he knew this girl. "Leafa?"

"Big brother?" She immediately teared up and dived into his arms. I couldn't help but smile at them, even though I had no idea what was going on. The girl, Leafa, was just crying in his arms.

But then…my attention was taken by the other figure.

Her armoured boots touched the ground. She started to dust off her dress. It was a deep blue, like the night sky just before dawn. In fact, it was almost like the dress was the night sky, as it sparkled with a thousand stars. In her hands was a spark with a crescent moon cradling a shard of moonrock inside its curve. All of that was beautiful…but it was her face…that wonderful face…that was what caught my eye.

I locked eyes with Holly, and she smiled. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Not going to lie, when I first planned this story, I was going to have Lunaria appear much later. In fact, I wasn't planning on having any other goddess. But then when I got to thinking about it, with how Asuna appears pretty soon (relatively speaking) after saying she'll go to Underworld, this felt like the right moment. Plus...I wanted to write with Leafa more because of what's going to happen in the Epilogue.

I loved writing Light's fist fights. It's why this chapter came so quickly. His more athletic and physical fighting style was perfect to take on the Pugilists, who can only be hurt by a fist. And thanks to the lack of Alice's light beam, having the Ogres actually having an impact on the battle was a nice change to write about. And having Terraria turn the bloody battlefield and the wall of flames into a garden...I just loved imagining that visual.

Reviews:

blackbutterfly1313: It's okay sweetheart. I'm glad you survived that death. Don't worry, Bercouli will be okay...maybe...

Time to write about Holly and Suguha's introduction to each other next chapter, and then we'll be taking a break from the battle. So until then, Stay Cool.