Solitude Of A King
Chapter 7: Calm Before The Storm
For Cao Cao, his vision of the Hero Faction greatly collided with the image of his dear friends. It had been a small difference at first, but, through the years it had grown to the point where thoughts of mutiny had been a common occurrence. Throughout his years leading alongside the blond, the subtle changes in his personality had been obvious for quite some time. For the longest time, he had been alone, the only things accompanying the blond was his own thoughts. But, in the coming weeks, Can Can noticed the change in his long-time friends behavior. His stern and demanding personality had been, lax, a great deal more subdued than previously. The change was out of nowhere, until, he had caught sight of the young girl walking the halls of the castle.
Asia Argento or Asia Uzumaki had been a resident of the castle for less than a month and her effects on the battle hardened warriors were noticeable. The women that supported Naruto were quite found of the girl, while other male supporters such as Avicebron regarded the girl without much emotion, the more devoted ones such as Diarmuid had seemingly devoted his very being to the girl. It was expected, after all, Naruto's faction was built upon loyalty. It was not a surprise after all.
"Leonardo, go and help Siegfried. While he does not wish to be bothered, I wish for extra insurance we will capture the girl." Cao Cao said as he turned his attention toward the small child seated in the corner of the room. Under the shadows, the second leader of the Hero Faction easily made out the nod of the child. "Make sure she comes back alive, dealing with an enraged Naruto is not apart of my plans."
His only response was a second nod.
"Good, now Heracles I need you and Georg to slow down Naruto and his party." Cao Cao called out to the remaining members of the room. "I need you two to capture Semiramis if you can, if not, kill her. The castle will float without her."
The shuffling of footsteps were heard after his words had echoed throughout the room. A gruff grunt had been his only response as his eyes caught sight of his friend and most trusted companion, Georg prepare a magic circle for transportation. Sending the two of them had been a smart move, in his opinion. While Georg would be extremely useful in buying time for his plans, Heracles would be capable of potentially taking blows from the Gate of Babylon, if not, the blood thirsty descendant of the original Greek hero would be a fine distraction. As the flash of a magic circle enveloped the room, Cao Cao released a humorless chuckle.
"Here's to us, Naruto."
"Come on you witch, hurry up with that spell of yours." The annoyed voice of Mordred snapped aloud. "I want to be out of this bug infested forest."
"Hmm, I have half a mind to leave you in this place." Semiramis responded with a sly smile stretching across her visage. "After all, I don't believe our dear Naruto would miss a brute such as yourself."
"You little-"
Before their current spat could even escalate, Naruto raised his hand and uttered, "Stop!"
Heeding his words, the two girls turned from each other and focused on their respective tasks. Semiramis was preparing a magic circle for transportation back to the castle while Mordred was tasked with keeping watch. They had not been in the small clearing for long, but, it had been enough time to peeve the hot headed knight. Yet, as the two traded silent glares, Naruto could not shake the dread in his body. His senses had never been truly wrong, he had always followed his gut and it had payed off. As he pondered on the feeling, a tense feeling overcame him as a glowing circle of magic appeared before them. The magic circle was easily identifiable, it belonged to Georg, Cao Cao's right hand.
"Hmm, it seems our friends decided to pay us a visit." Mordred muttered.
Just as her words were said, two figures appeared from the transportation circle, Georg himself in the magician robes he commonly donned and a brute of man garbed in armor paying homage to the Greeks. The two were easily enough to be identified by Naruto. While he personally knew Georg, the second man, Heracles was only a mentioned member of Cao Cao's supporters during their meetings.
"Georg, why are you here?" Naruto asked his voice tense and eyes narrowed. "Has Cao Cao finally decided to put his plans in motion?"
His questions were not answered however, the only response he received was silence as the two regarded them with little emotion playing on their faces. But, for Naruto, the silence had been enough. The two were here under the orders of Cao Cao, and knowing his long time friend, they were not here for support. Snapping his fingers and forcing a number of portals to open, Naruto readied the weaponry as the two figures remained still.
"Heh heh, a wonder what blonde can do!" Heracles cackled as he cracked his knuckles and a violent gleam entered his eyes. "Don't disappoint me now, blonde!"
Charging forward in speeds that people in his body type found impossible, the brute brought a fist forward and punched the air. The glowing aura surrounding him seemingly grew and the area surrounding his fist exploded in a flash of magical energy. The explosion could have been a potential kill for Heracles, if he were fighting some low leveled threats, but, Naruto took note of the aura and opted for shield to be summoned before him, shrouding his companions and himself from the explosion. His actions did little to weaken Heracles' determination. Following the first punch, a barrage of explosive punches followed, crashing against the golden shield.
"Morded, go for Georg." Naruto ordered. He then turned his attention toward Semiramis. "You, finish the portal and keep the girl safe. We will handle these two."
Nodding her head, Semiramis continued her work on the portal. While normally, portals were easily enough to finish, the young woman had finally noticed the surroundings. Gone were the blue sky, replaced with a kaleidoscope of colors. Frowning, Semiramis had finally figured out as to why her normal spells had failed. Georg, had transported the forest they occupied to the Dimension Gap.
"Ya' bastard! Quit hiding behind that damn shield!" Heracles growled in a fit of annoyed rage.
Acknowledging the words with a snap of his fingers, Naruto returned the shield to the treasury as he prepared to take on the enraged brute with his other weapons. Playing defensively was a smart move, but, time was not in his favor. Cao Cao had made that clear when he had sent two of his goons to face him, both of them skilled in tactics meant to slow down their opponents. While Georg personified that, Heracles was a mere distraction to keep himself and his companions away from the Dimension Lost wielder. Jumping back and dodging a explosive punch, Naruto eyed the muscular man shrouded in the explosive aura and considered his options.
"Quit dodging you coward!"
The enraged growl which escaped the lips of Heracles were responded in kind with a barrage of golden weaponry. The numerous objects ranging from blades to halberds demolished the ground where Heracles stood upon, sending a flurry of finely pounded dust and rubble into the air. Eyeing the destruction in wake of his weapons, Naruto's eyes caught the figure of his opponent on the ground, held still by a number of his blades. Walking forward, Naruto called upon a blade as he brushed off the dust still lingering in the air. The end results had been expected, a Sacred Gear which exploded with physical motion was a seemingly ideal match against his Gate of Babylon, but, the Sacred Gear was nowhere near as powerful as the multiplicity of weaponry resting in the treasury.
"I expected more." Naruto said aloud. "All that talk, and no actions to back it up."
"Y-you bastard!" Heracles howled once again, his eyes filled with murderous rage. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you, ya' here!"
Ignoring his words, Naruto's attention was entrapped by the raging battle a small distance away. There, Mordred was being kept at a distance by Georg and his wide range of magic, pushing for a ranged fight rather than close quoters where his weakness lied. The rage in Mordred's eyes were obvious as she continued to growl in hatred when her attempts to close in on the magician was stopped by either a spell or the annoying Sacred Gear of his. Raising the blade, Naruto easily took off the head of the growling brute in a swift flick of his wrist.
"Semiramis, how goes the spell?"
"It's done." The young woman responded. "It should take us to the castle, sending us into the Dimension Gap had been quite a plan, but, we survived, somehow. Then again, Georg wouldn't be able to survive if he left us unsheltered from it."
"Good, we are leaving. Mordred!"
Growling, the blond swordsman slowly backed away as she held her sword up. Ignoring the words of the other blond, the enraged woman charged forward and sliced through the bolt of magic which was shot in retaliation. And once again, before her blade was embedded into the flesh of his opponent, Georg quickly vanished from the spot with assistance from his Longinus.
"Give up, you three will never escape. My abilities are made for such situations. No matter how powerful you three may be, it is no match for my Dimension Lost!" Georg chuckled with a wide smirk stretched across his visage. "That sword of yours won't do anything against me if it can't hit me now!"
"Mordred, we are leaving!" Naruto called out. "Now!"
Backing away reluctantly, Mordred gave the man a death glare as she quickly sprinted back toward her companions. Her retreat was covered by Naruto as a gleaming blade flew overhead and pelted the magician before he could retaliate. Finally, reaching the four, Mordred gave the other blond a glare of annoyance as she waited on Semiramis' transportation spell.
"This isn't over you bastard!" Mordred growled. "I'll have your head next time!"
Leonardo had found himself standing beside Siegfried as the two of them had a stare off with Diarmuid in the halls. The shadows at his feet were moving slowly, awaiting his commands to form into the monsters of his desire. The two weapon users were glaring at one another as the emotionless child wandered off toward the target. His silent steps were noticed by Diarmuid as he rushed to stop him, only to meet the resistance of Siegfried. As their weapons clashed, Leonardo silently opened the door leading to the target and found himself facing the innocent smile of the girl Cao Cao had wanted.
"Oh, are you here to play with me?" The sweet voice of Asia wondered aloud as her face lit up in a bright smile. "Oh, I'm so excited! After big brother left for his little trip, I could only play with Mr. Diarmuid!"
Rushing forward, Leonardo immediately prepared his Longinus to create a monster to aid him, only to find himself being dragged forward by the little girl. The shadow vanishing from his feet, Leonardo's silent recoil of the gentle touch was easily noticed by Asia. Raising his eyes to meet the ones of his supposed target, Leonardo found himself nervous. The feeling had been foreign to him, its had never been an emotion he had experienced before, all he felt was the isolation he had experienced for the longest time. An experience that led to his current, emotionless self. No emotions had been experienced for the longest time under Cao Cao, but, here he was, standing before the girl he was supposed to capture too nervous to make a move. As the emotions buried deep in his body played out, he found himself asking a simple question, why?
"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to play."
Feeling the edges of his mouth twitch into a barely unnoticeable frown, Leonardo almost snorted at her words. The little girl truly did not know about him. Unlike the other kids in his orphanage, the girl did not fear him for his Annihilation Maker. If the words were ever true, he would be very surprised. After all, he had always been the one to hurt others, not the other way around. His monsters and the emotions which controlled him had caused a great deal of grief in his life, it always had made sure he was alone. Yet, the innocent gaze of the young child and her pleading visage had struck a cord in him.
"O... Okay..." Leonardo made out in a silent voice. "L-Lets play..."
Beaming with unconfined joy and excitement, Asia gave a little cheer as she dragged the silent Longinus wielder toward her chest of toys Naruto had been kind enough to supply her with. Pulling out a number of toys of various sizes and themes, the young Uzumaki sat on the soft carpet decorating her small play area and turn her attention toward Leonardo.
"I'm Asia! Nice to meet you!" Asia said with a cheery smile decorating her visage. "What's your name?"
"L-Leonardo." The young child managed to mutter. "M-my name's L-Leonardo."
"Nice to meet you, Leonardo. D-Do you want to be my friend?"
Mouth scrunched in anticipation, Asia turned her hopeful eyes toward the young lad. The question had been sudden, but fit for their age. Though it was common to make friends with only an introduction, Asia had always been a victim to her Sacred Gear. The small, yet surprisingly useful abilities of it had kept her at a distance from the other children. They had either seen her as a freak or unapproachable. Though it was considered a gift before her explosion from the ranks of the Church, it served as a unthinkable curse.
"Friends?"
For the second time, Leonardo was surprised by the girl. He had never expected to be asked the question, hell, he never even planned on joining the girl in her festivities. His thoughts of the mission were simple, get in get out. But, here he was, sitting on a carpet with the girl surrounded by various toys. His mind had been stuck on the idea of having a friend, he was always lonely. Cao Cao had recruited him roughly a year ago and he had been with the group ever since. None of the members were around his age and among them, none of them had truly connected with the child. They had held some form of respect for him, but, never tried to befriend him. So, when he had accepted the offer, he had escaped a life of total isolation for a life of loneliness.
"Y-You want to be my friend?" Leonardo asked, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Y-Yeah!" Asia replied hesitantly.
"D-Don't you thin I'm a m-monster?"
"What! No!"
Blinking at the girl, Leonardo decided to show the girl the reasoning behind his question. If she feared it and him which he thought highly probable, he would continue on with the mission. Closing his eyes in concentration, Leonardo felt the familiar flow of magic from his Sacred Gear as his mind wondered toward an image of a monster. Shadows twisted around his form as they took on the form of a man. Standing taller than both of the children combined, the shadows shrouding the man vanished, the newly formed man held the appearance of a knight. The armor garbed around its body alongside the helmet easily allowed Asia to identify the all to familiar man, or in this case, toy. In her hands, was a toy of the same man standing before them.
"That's so cool!" Asia said with a wave of excitement pouring onto her visage. "Leo, that's so cool!"
Eyes widening at the words, Leonardo took note of the nickname she had graced him with and he could not held himself as a small wave of happiness and excitement took hold of his heart. Though it was simple and seemed like an offhanded name, the nickname meant a great deal to the boy. It had been the first time someone had been kind enough to call him that or even his name in such an friendly tone, rather than the hesitant or fearful voices the children of his past had graced him with.
"You have to show me more!" Asia said.
"O-Okay... Asia..."
The clashing of steel rang in the hall leading to Naruto's bedroom. Synchronizing with the ringing of metal were the grunts of the fighters, their attempts to overpower one another had left a greta deal of damage to the wide halls. A number of slashes and piercings in the walls had easily showcased the power the two had been fighting with, in addition to the damaged walls and floors, rubble which accumulated in masses spoke volumes of the destruction to come. Though the fight had been quite short thus far, neither party could truly say they were not feeling the effects of their physical confrontation.
"Give up Siegfried. I will not allow you to lay a hand on Lady Asia!" Diarmuid declared as he readied his spear once again. "Once I am finished with you, I shall defeat Leonardo. The Lady shall be safe under my watch."
"Hmph, I don't think so, Diarmuid." Siegfried grunted as the thought of Leonardo brought a smile to his face. "That little brat already captured the girl, its only a matter of time before he takes her to Cao Cao. I don't think you'll be able to do anything about it."
Laughing at his own words, Siegfried twirled Gram around in his hands as he found humor in the ideas of his self declared rival failing at the one task he had been assigned to. The mere idea of Diarmuid, the all so "Perfect Knight" failing at a mission assigned to him was an opportunity he did not want to miss out on. Watching the all so loyal knight fail would be the highlight of his day,
"I will never fail my lord!" Diarmuid yelled as he charged forward.
Thrusting his spear at the chest of his opponent, the spearman found his swift jab parried by the blade of his opponent. Throwing more force onto his strike, Diarmuid, pulled away and returned for a leg sweep in a single, fluid motion. Backing away, Siegfried spotted his opening and bashed his shoulder against his opponent and sent the spearman tumbling backwards. Taking the opportunity to strike, he raised Gram and readied, but his potentially fatal blow was soon parried. The enraged yell of Diarmuid fueled his shove as he pushed the swordsman back and stabbed Siegfried at his armored shoulder.
"Tch, a lucky strike." Siegfried hissed. "But no matter, this match is over. I bought Leonardo enough time. We shall continue this next time."
Holding Gram up, Siegfried allowed the blade to shimmer in a dull purple light as it changed into another blade, Balmung. The blade glowed as a power gust of wind tore through the halls, covering his retreat. Shielding his eyes from the winds, Diarmuid, growled at the disappearance of his opponent and quickly ran toward the door. Slamming the door opened, Diarmuid prepared for the worst, but his eyes caught a sight he had never expected to see. Seated together with toys laying before them, were Asia and Leonardo.
"Lady Asia, get away from him!" Diarmuid yelled as he ran to the side of the blond girl and readied his spear. "Stay behind me, my Lady. He is dangerous!"
Frowning at the words, Leonardo readied his Longinus as he glared at Diarmuid and prepared for a fight. Diarmuid on the other hand, prepared all of his options. Before the situation could get out of hand, Asia jumped from behind Diarmuid and ran between the two.
"Stop! Mr. Diarmuid, Leo isn't here to hurt me! He's my friend!" Asia proclaimed as she stretched her arms out to prevent the two from fighting. "Leo, don't fight, Mr. Diarmuid is just here to protect me."
The calming words of the girl caught the two by surprise, her bodyguard more so than her new friend. Diarmuid took the news quite well, other than the wide eyes and gaping mouth, that is. Taking a few seconds to process the words, Diarmuid eyed the boy with a calculative gaze as he pondered his options once again. He could not simply disobey the orders of Asia, after all, the orders of Asia were the orders of Naruto. But, having Leonardo, a member of the enemy faction so close to his Lord's sister was simply a terrible idea.
"Lady Asia... Could he be trusted..." Diarmuid finally asked, his tone subdued and his eyes wondering toward the small child who possessed one of the most dangerous Longinus ever.
"Yes, he's my friend!" Asia replied without hesitation. "I trust him, Mr. Diarmuid."
"... Very well my Lady."
Backing off the topic with a nod of his head, Diarmuid took a position near the door and focused on watching his charge. That was all he could do. Currently, he was in a position that left him in need of more assistance, he could not leave Asia alone with a member of Cao Cao's faction. Nor could he fight off Siegfried if he ever came back for Asia once he found out Leonardo was here.
"Split up, Mordred you head to Avicebron's lab and gather him. Semiramis you're with me." Naruto ordered as he swiftly strode down the hall. "Once everything is alright and no more of Cao Cao's faction is near, we will meet in the throne room. Make sure you are not followed."
"Whatever Uzumaki." Mordred huffed out as she stalked off to the lower levels of the castle to locate Avicebron. "Just make sure that witch doesn't do anything stupid."
Ignoring her words, Semiramis focused her attention on the blond she was following. As she strolled beside Naruto, one of her birds flew toward her, she allowed it to land on her shoulder. Taking a single glance at the bird, Semiramis returned her attention to the empty halls.
"They're gathering." Semiramis said as she gave a small rub on the birds belly. "The contingencies are in place, but, there are still some loose ends still. What are your orders?"
"Gather the group and kick them out." Naruto replied without any acknowledgment. "If we somehow lose to Cao Cao's group then we make sure the explosives Avicebron has in stock in the lower levels are put to good use."
"Mmm..."
"I'll have Avicebron use his golems for rebuilding if necessary. There is more than enough supplies in my treasury to successfully construct another castle."
Chapter End
A/N: Thanks for reading guys! I finished this chapter and decided to work on my other stories so expect a new update later on this week. Anyways, I wanted to mention some things on this chapter. First off, the fight or if you even considered it, was short because Naruto is considerably stronger than Heracles. I mean the Gate of Babylon has some of the most powerful weapons in there, a exploding Sacred Gear won't exactly stop it.
Anyways, I am planning on adding the final members of Naruto's Faction. So, I would be very happy if you guys gave me suggestions for the newer members, I will take everything into consideration. So leave me a character and I will see what I can do.