"Come out, Guardian! Hey (Oi), is the Magic Swordmaster here?" The familiar voice shouted as he shook one of the guards.
"Onii-chan, what should we do?" Iris asked me with a touch of nervousness in her voice as we hid behind a wall.
"Be quiet for a moment, I am currently planning tactics here. Give me a moment and I will get everything figured out." I replied with a slightly reassuring tone as I put a finger on her lips.
'Alright, let's do this.' I reckoned as I turned off the Core System.
"Lightning." I chanted as a bolt of lightning flew out from my hand.
Again, that guy somehow managed to sense the incoming magic attack and dodged the spell.
However, I chanted Lurk before he knew what happened.
"Who's there!?" Karu said in alarm as he drew his swords. "Come out and fight me! Or are you too scared to fight me alone?" He taunted.
That might have worked on my fellow adventurers (I wasn't referring to my party members of course), but not for me, who has a high emotional quotient.
I wouldn't fell to his provocations, not this kind of low-quality provocations, to say the least. It would take something more than that to lure me out.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are~" Karu said with an obsessive tone, making he sound like a yandere.
Did he want to beat me that badly? I mean, why? Weren't there a lot of people holding cheat items running around? Why fight me when he could even fight against stronger opponents? Probably because I relatively weaker than an average cheat item holder and try to get some self-esteem, not that I care anyway. But the thing is, can he at least go fixing his Stormtrooper Aim before challenging me? This made him look like a joke instead of a formidable opponent.
Also, could he please stop doing that? We aren't playing hide and seek at this moment!
I sneaked onto the watchtower, somewhere above the main gate of the castle.
"Core change, Wind Aquila." I muttered as my Core Outfit started to appear.
I knelt with one knee, readied my magic rifle and took aim at him, like a professional sniper would do.
On the other hand, I created a Shadow Clone to hide Iris from Karu's sight.
"Alright, are you ready?" I whispered to Iris.
"Anytime you are, Onii-chan." Iris whispered back as she nodded.
"OK, here we go...!" I said as deactivated Lurk and left the scene.
Lucky for me, Karu spotted Iris instantly and didn't look around, since he was focused on Iris.
Also, come think of it, I am really grateful to Iris for her unwavering trust in me, to the point she would entrust her life to me without hesitation.
Thank you very much (Arigatogozaimasu), Iris-sama!
"You (omae)... I remember you were with the Magic Swordmaster back then... If you are here, this means... he must be nearby." Karu muttered as he pointed at Iris. "After all... You two are inseparable!" He lunged at Iris.
'Oh no you don't! Lock on, fire!' I thought as I pulled the trigger and sniped Karu on the right shoulder.
Wait a sec... He got hit this time. So it is possible to hit him!
"Who is-" Before Karu could finish his line, he looked at me with disbelief and excitement.
"Yes, it's me (Hai, ore desu)." I interjected with a blank expression as I looked back and waved at him.
"Finally, there you are! I have been looking around for you!" Karu yelled with a yandere expression.
"What are you, a yandere?"
"Shut up! Get down there and fight me!" He nocked an arrow and fired.
"You can't force me to do that just because you have Stormtrooper Aim!" I mocked him as I dodged his arrow.
"If you wouldn't come down here... Then I will take that girl's life!" Karu drew his swords as he lunged at Iris.
"Shit! Stop right there, you sly bastard!" I shouted as I tried making my way towards Iris before Karu.
Clang!
Someone managed to block the slash from Karu. She wore a white suit and held a rapier. That's right, the one who blocked the hit for Iris is Claire.
"I won't let you lay a finger on Iris-sama. En garde!"Claire said as she readied her rapier.
"We'll see." Karu sneered. "Flash Slash!" Karu swung his swords in quick succession, then gave her a roundhouse kick and sent Claire flying, who leaned against the wall after taking twenty hits and that roundhouse kick from Karu.
Meanwhile, Rain was a few meters behind Karu and raised her staff to hit him preemptively.
"Light-" Before Rain could finish chanting, Karu threw one of his swords at Rain's staff and broke it.
"Ah!" Rain yelped as Karu took his sword back like a boomerang.
"Hippity hoppity, your life's my property!" Karu raised his sword as he said that.
"Core change, Aquila to Pegasus!" I commanded as I changed my Core Outfit.
"Light Absorb Shield!" I summoned the milky shield as I blocked the hit on time.
"At last, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!" Karu said with a menacing smile.
"Don't you think you can get away with this...!" I warned with a slightly solemn expression as I shot him a glare.
"Big talk! Would you mind back that up, a guy who failed to protect an innocent girl?" Karu goaded with a cocky expression.
"I can and I will protect Iris. I have pledged to protect her with my life since the moment I realized her cuteness." I kicked Karu in the shin as I replied calmly.
"Ow! That ain't fair!" Karu said in pain as I drew my sword.
"It is true that you have become smarter, but not enough."
"You (kisama)...! Flash Slash!" Karu unleashed a flurry of slashes at me.
I channeled my mana into the sword and used Whirlwind Flash Sword to block all the slashes.
"Iris, take this!" I told Iris as I tossed her the Shadow Core.
"The same gimmick, you got me?" I released my aura as I looked back. Iris nodded as she understood what I meant.
Iris put on the Shadow Core and channeled her mana into the Core Outfit.
We ran in opposite directions, whereas Iris ran into the castle and I ran towards the gate.
"Nah-uh! There is no escape, Magic Swordmaster. Or the girl will die." Karu threatened with a slightly deranged expression as he pointed at Iris' direction.
I ignored him and kept running. After all, Iris used the Shadow Core to conceal her presence. There was literally no way for him to track Iris down.
I hid behind the gate as Karu turned around and checked if Iris was here.
Sure enough, he yelled in anger after he realized Iris had left the scene.
"Argh! Curse you (Onore), Magic Swordmaster! You are going to be so sorry for what you have done!"
'What an idiot.' I thought as I kept on running without looking back. 'Seriously, what is his first impression of me?'
"Guess I will leave here then since the Magic Swordmaster isn't here anymore." Karu muttered as he headed towards the gate. Without a doubt, the guards had Karu surrounded like a cliché scene in anime where a badass character (even though he isn't) got himself surrounded by a bunch of men.
"Illusion Chakram!" Karu threw his chakram and it split into a few copies of itself. The guards were probably killed, but it is kind of hard to tell if they were dead since no traces of blood were found.
He left the castle through the main gate.
The thing is, he left the castle without looking around, by which I couldn't help but wonder what would be the purpose of the Shadow Core if everyone did not look at their surroundings.
Ah never mind, just when I was about to go check on Iris, Karu appeared out of nowhere.
"Surprise madafaka!" Karu 'greeted' with a deranged expression.
"No (iya)!"
Meanwhile, in Iris' bedroom...
"No (Iya)!"
"Onii-chan... I got to save him!" Iris muttered. "What can I do...?"
'Hmm...I got it!' Iris thought as she looked the bracelet.
Back to the fight...
"Dang it, stop running away!" Karu shouted as he chased me down the street like a deranged killer.
"Not until you give up! Give me a break!"
"You little..."
"Fireball!"
A medium sized fireball flew towards Karu, which exploded on impact.
"Who is it again?"
Two silhouettes appeared in front of me. One of them wore a wizard attire I was very familiar with. The other one, judging from its attire, I guess it belonged a thief.
A familiar voice coughed.
"You guys are on time." I said calmly as I regained my composure. "Out of sheer curiosity, how did you guys find me?"
"Well, you got to thank India for that." Chris replied with a grin.
"India to Commander Zulu! India to Commander Zulu! Do you copy me?" Iris' voice came out from the device on my belt.
"India called us for help, you know." Loby explained, and he continued coughing after the explanation.
What?
A few minutes ago, in Iris' bedroom...
"India to Charlie and Lima. Zulu is injured and currently being hunted down by a random adventurer who is obsessed with defeating him. I am here to request your assistance from the both of you, over."
"Charlie, roger."
"Lima, roger, will be there soon."
"Oh right." I held the device. "This is Commander Zulu. I am currently safe and sound. Thanks, India."
I casted Sanctuary on myself and healed my wounds.
'Oh shit, I almost forgot I got to obtain information from the Princess and the Magic Swordmaster.'
"Hey... I am actually interested in joining your party. Can we just forget all this and pretend nothing happened?"
An awkward silence filled the entire street.
"We will tell you our decision later. Meet us at the Adventurers' Guild tomorrow."
"Tsk." Karu sheathed his swords and left.
I then turned my attention on to Chris and Loby as Karu left the scene.
"Thanks. And stay in touch through communication devices tonight." I said with a small smile before I return to the palace.
A few minutes later in the palace...
"Well, time to clean up the mess." I sighed in resignation as I stabbed my sword into the ground and made a badass pose like a knight would do.
I used a few high grade manatites hidden in my belt to increase my mana supply beforehand.
Then, I channeled light magic into the sword.
"Sanctuary!" I released the light magic and a large milky magic circle appeared on the ground.
Claire slightly rose as she barfed some blood out.
Maybe Claire saw an overlapping image of the so-called 'Hero' when she looked at my back, as she said 'Hero (yuusha-sama)' at my direction.
Without looking back, I talked to Claire.
"Please stay down and rest for a bit, Claire-san. It takes some time for Sanctuary to take effect and heal your wounds." I said calmly as I continued channeling my mana into the sword.
"Thank you, hero (yuusha-sama)..." Claire croaked in a hoarse voice as gentle rays of light shone upon her.
Seriously Claire, please stop calling me that. You are currently creeping me out, and I am getting goosebumps thanks to that.
I ignored her and kept healing the injured.
'But seriously, that Karu guy can really pack a punch right there...' I thought as I maintained the skill. 'I should avoid fighting in here or crowded places to avoid people getting injured because of me, if there is a next time that is.'
Three minutes later...
"Looks like I have tended all the injured." I muttered as I deactivated the skill and sheathed my sword.
Claire, Rain and the guards rose a few seconds after I sheathed my sword.
The guards were like, "Thank Eris I am still alive" or "Let's grab a beer after our shift". Rain looked at me with a mix of gratitude and amazement while Claire on the other hand... how should I describe her expression...? She looked away with her arms crossed like a tsundere. Also, her cheeks were red due to the blushing, probably out of the embarrassment of her calling me a hero.
"Hey, if you want to thank me, do it properly." I told Claire with a monotone.
No response could be heard from Claire, so I guess she acts like a tsundere.
"Alright then... I'm off. See you guys around." I said with a nonchalant expression as I headed towards Iris' bedroom to check on her.
"Thank you..." Claire put her hands on her chest and muttered softly as I left the scene.