First of all, I hope you all had an awesome New Year however you chose to spend it!
Secondly, my apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Like I have explained before, I have moments where I'm feeling good and motivated to write, and others where I'm tired, in a bad mood or completely unmotivated, and when those days happen they're a complete write-off. Thankfully the past day or two hasn't been so bad which allowed me to finish this chapter and get it out today.
We are now also officially in the Winter 2023 season, and with a whole new load of anime to watch. As well as the continuation of The Eminence in Shadow, I am also watching Vinland Saga Season 2, The Misfit of Demon King Academy II, NieR:Automata Ver1.1a, Farming Life in Another World and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire which are all proving to be fun watches so far.
Enough of my waffling, let's get back to what you are here for. The gang's all back together but Kazuki's here too! Let's find out how this confrontation goes down! As always, I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero or any of its characters, locations, events or anything else related to the anime/manga/Light Novels. The only thing I own is my OC, Fergus Ward.
For Billy.
Chapter 15 – The Vassal Katana's Choice
Standing opposite us at the far end of the lot was none other than Kazuki, and he wasn't alone. Several women wielding spears were standing behind him, and most worryingly of all two large, white tiger-like creatures were currently crouched on either side of him, teeth bared and with ropes of drool dangling from their gaping mouths. "Did you all really think you could possibly escape from me? It's time I personally brought you to justice for your crimes."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"
~AoaTSH~
Once more, zero to fully pissed in a split second. I'd just had a touching reunion with the love of my life and my other friends, and then this jackhole comes in to ruin it? Fuck playing nice, this guy didn't deserve it.
"Hang on…it's you! The one-eyed Shield user from before!" His tone had lost its condescension and been replaced by quiet fury. "It must be destiny that we meet here! I'm going to make you pay for the way you humiliated me last time!"
"You humiliated yourself, asswipe!" I shot back. "You talked up such a big game only to get humiliated by a guy using a Shield, a small girl armed with a fishing rod and a magic caster who only had access to their most basic spells…" I quickly side-glanced both Kizuna and Rishia. "No offence by the way, you two."
"None taken…if anything, it makes this guy look even more worthless. Some genius he's turning out to be…" Kizuna snarked causing the 'genius' to snarl once more.
"Shut up! All of you just be quiet!" He snapped, fully losing his cool at Kizuna's words. "Your clever words aren't going to save you from getting brought to justice!"
"That's right! Our lord will get you back for what you did to him!" One of the girls behind him yelled.
"You are all criminals! Surrender now and you won't be harmed!" Another of them cried.
"Yeah! Don't think you can embarrass us again! If you give up now, I may just be inclined to show mercy…" No doubt the simping of the ladies around him was enough to regain some of his mojo. And honestly? This whole exchange was pissing me off even further.
"You've run into this guy too, kiddo?" L'Arc whispered.
"Yup, ran into him at the Dragon Hourglass as we were getting out of his country…" I explained quickly. "As you've no doubt just heard, he and his girls tried to stop us from leaving but failed, and from the sound of it he doesn't seem to be taking it very well…" My words trailed off as what L'Arc had told me fully hit. "Wait…you've run into this guy as well?"
"Unfortunately…he was full of the same, self-important drivel you're seeing right now…" The Scythe-Hero muttered as Kazuki's glare turned proper baleful.
"You're in my country yet you have the gall to not use my name?! How dare you show such disrespect! Do you not know who I am?!"
Holy crap…and here I thought Itsuki was bad? This guy took being ignored and disrespected way worse than he ever could, and that was saying something given how much of a pretentious little shit the Bow-Hero was.
"You dare disrespect our master in such a way?! Ungrateful beasts!"
"We'll make you pay for causing such offence!" And his harem of girls wasn't helping. If anything, it reminded me too much of Motoyasu's party members constantly fawning and simping over him. But the difference between this guy and the Spear-Hero was that Motoyasu was actually handsome and charming. This bastard didn't even come close to that level.
"Listen up!" It looked like the so-called 'genius' had finally lost his rag. "I'll tell you exactly whom you stand before. I am the hope of the people, the greatest alchemist in all the land…"
"Anyone got any good ideas on how we get out of this mess?" I muttered quietly to everyone around me as I tuned him out.
"Whatever's blocking our outbound communication and teleportation is centred around this guy somehow…" Kizuna replied. "We need to get out of his range and out of this place and then contact Ethnobalt to come pick us up…"
"I don't think he's going to let us walk out of here on our own steam though," Keel pointed out. "However we choose to get out of here, it's going to be a fight to do so."
"And judging by the beasts he commands, his level is most likely comparable to ours...if not higher..." Glass considered with a frown. "And the squad of girls he's got around him will probably also be at a similar level. If we have to fight, it's not going to be easy."
"And we can't make it a drawn-out battle either…the guards will come running at the first sign of trouble. Whatever we do, we're gonna have to do it fast kiddo." L'Arc concluded.
"Good points all around…but what we seem to be forgetting is ourselves," I spoke up, pointing first at L'Arc, Glass and Raphtalia. "Between us, we've got three of this world's Vassal Heroes. And it looks like this guy doesn't have a Vassal or Holy Weapon of his own so we should be able to outclass him in that regard." I then pointed at myself and Kizuna. "We also have two holy heroes, one with an almost-unbreakable defence and the other who can cut any non-human enemy to ribbons with a single blow." Kizuna took a stage bow at my praise, causing everyone to giggle as I then indicated everyone else. "In addition, we have three skilled magic users and an archer who can take down enemies before they get close, so between the nine of us I think we should have things covered…"
My words caused the others to think for a moment as the enraged 'genius' continued his long-winded introduction which I continued to keep tuning out, and after a second or two I got several matching grins in response. Raphtalia even kissed my cheek and cuddled into me by way of response.
"Fergus is right…we should have enough power between the nine of us to deal with whatever that fool throws at us quite comfortably," Glass concluded.
"Agreed…although we should try our best to avoid killing any of them. They haven't done us any major harm so far," Therese entreated, causing a slight scoff from Keel.
"They threw a hissy fit when they didn't get their way, called us thieves and criminals for no good reason and then chased us halfway through the town to the point of collapse," the demi-human hunter pointed out, slightly miffed. "And from the sounds of it, I doubt they're going to give us a choice in the matter."
"Therese is right I'm afraid, kiddo," L'Arc said, defending his companion. "No matter how much of an annoyance this guy is being right now, he's respected and famous in these parts. If we kill him or any of his companions, it could cause severe political ramifications. We should avoid that as much as we can."
Keel huffed unhappily but conceded L'Arc's point, but her reaction caused me to frown a little. Keel wasn't normally this hellbent on hurting people…just what had happened whilst we'd been separated?
"Okay then…we settle for defeating them quickly without injuring or killing them," I concluded before casting an aside glance at the tigers he'd summoned."Those beasts though may be another matter entirely…any volunteers to deal with them?"
"Leave them to me! As the Hunting Hero, dealing with beasts is my speciality!" Kizuna volunteered.
"It's settled then. Kizuna will deal with the tigers, and everyone else will handle the asshat and his harem…" speaking of which, I spared him an aside glance. Annoyingly, he was still talking. "Man, does this guy ever shut up?" I muttered as we returned our attention to him and his group. At the same time, I stopped tuning out his voice, and as it came back into focus it sounded like he was winding down whatever he was saying. "Thank fucking god for that…"
"-THAT'S who I am! Now you will know true fear! There's no reasoning with the likes of you anyway!"
"Sure, sure…whatever," I muttered as I pretended to stifle a yawn. "Man…you must really love the sound of your own voice, Mr…oh I'm sorry, what was your name again? I didn't quite catch it."
"YOU INSOLENT FOOL! HOW DARE YOU!" He roared, spittle flying out of his mouth. What I said must really have gotten to him. "I'll carve my name onto your chest after I kill you! That way you won't ever forget me!" One of the tigers who was currently prowling behind him let out a bellowing roar at his words
"Hang on…what good would that do? I'd be dead anyway so it wouldn't even matter…" I started to point out before sighing. "Never mind…it's pointless explaining it to someone as stupid as you."
"Tch…" He snarled before taking a deep breath to calm himself down as his usual cocky grin returned. "Even if I do find you utterly repulsive, I must thank you. By showing yourselves to be in cahoots with that thief and her accomplices, I have multiple reasons now to bring you to justice…"
"Thief? And just who are you accusing of being a thief? Far as I can see, no one here's stolen anything. Hang on…if you mean rescuing Filo from those twats who enslaved her, then that wasn't stealing. Filo was my property to begin with anyway…"
"That bitch who stole what was rightfully mine!" He interrupted, pointing an accusing finger at Raphtalia. "I was meant to be the wielder of the Vassal Katana, not that demi-human piece of trash!"
"Bitch…piece of trash…that mother-fucker!" Even if I no longer had access to the Shield of Wrath, it didn't mean the anger inside me couldn't rise to the surface…and this bastard had just gone pressed that button by insulting my girlfriend. "You just signed your death warrant, you piece of shit!" I snarled, and I wasn't alone. Keel's dagger was out and pointing at Kazuki, her eyes ablaze with rage. Even the normally unflappable L'Arc looked pissed.
"Fergus, stop!" I suddenly felt Raphtalia's hand clamp on the arm where my Shield was, and as I turned my gaze to her, I saw her looking back at me determinedly. "He's just trying to get a rise out of you, don't fall for it."
Taking a deep breath, I nodded and willed myself to calm down, causing her to smile as she noticed my anger cooling off before turning back to Kazuki, her smile now more serene. "And I'm so sorry you feel that way, but at the end of the day, the Katana chose me, not you. If it was rightfully yours, it would've ended up in your hands, not mine."
"Raphtalia is correct," Glass stated calmly. "The Vassal Weapon chooses the wielder, not the other way around. And just like I was selected to wield my Vassal Fan, despite the protests of those who deemed themselves more worthy of its power, the Vassal Katana chose Raphtalia because it saw her as more worthy of its power than you."
"You lie!" Kazuki snarled. "None are more worthy of its power than me. I am the-!"
"Yeah, yeah, we've all heard how brilliant you are and all that other blah blah that comes out of your mouth...just shut up already would ya?" L'Arc interrupted before looking at Raphtalia. "You wanna tell the story, or shall I?"
"I actually do want to hear about this myself," I spoke up as I considered what I knew about this whole situation: The Vassal Katana wielder had been on the run from the authorities, and whoever had reported it had claimed her to be a thief. It wasn't much of a stretch to figure out that Kazuki had probably been the one to do that. But why would the general populace buy that? If someone had been chosen to wield the Vassal Katana, they should have been greeted and welcomed as the new Vassal Hero with open arms.
Even though she was amongst other Vassal Heroes such as L'Arc and Glass, why was Raphtalia being treated like a thief for merely being chosen by the weapon itself?
"Thank you, L'Arc, but I can tell him," Raphtalia answered before looking back at me. "I'll give you more details later but…"
"By all means try and dig yourself out of this one, thief! Your crime is clear for all to see!" Kazuki snarked once again, causing everyone around me, even the normally calm and placid individuals such as Rishia and Therese, to shoot him their nastiest death glares.
"Just I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted, it all started when…"
~AoaTSH~
I'll try to sum up the tale Raphtalia told me in as few words as possible.
After arriving in the other world, both Raphtalia and Keel had found themselves not only back at level 1, but also deep in enemy lands alongside L'Arc, Glass and Therese. As a result, they were all captured and thrown into a prison that prevented them from utilising the power of their levels which would explain why it had taken a while for them to get out.
And I thought Kizuna, Rishia and I had had it rough in the Infinite Labyrinth, but at least we'd been free to move about instead of caged up like the others were.
The prison itself ran off of magic power that limited the abilities of its prisoners and instead fed their powers to the prison guards, allowing them to be just that little bit stronger than their prisoners so as to keep them from escaping. But thankfully, unlike the Infinite Labyrinth, their prison had been theoretically escapable which Raphtalia was able to exploit. Working in conjunction with Glass and L'Arc, she'd been able to use her illusion magic to escape, steal a key from the guards and then break the others out. Once they were all free, they'd then quickly decided to get out of that particular country due to it being hostile towards them before concealing their identities and travelling to the capital as quick as they could. As they travelled, the two Vassal Heroes and Therese helped the pair of demi-humans level up via monster extermination.
"They were really small, you know? Both of them looked like they were ten years old," L'Arc had added.
"Makes sense…no doubt their maturation would've reset along with their level…" I mused as L'Arc proceeded to playfully nudge my shoulder.
"Too bad they both grew up so fast, eh, kiddo? You'd have probably wanted to see them both as children again!"
"Hmm…maybe…" I grinned in response, causing both Raphtalia and Keel to pout which in turn caused everyone else to giggle at the expressions they were pulling. "But only for a short time, just for teasing material and a bit of reminiscing. I actually prefer them both at this stage of maturity." "It would have been even funnier and cuter if Raphtalia had been wearing the dress she is currently wearing... "
"Sir Fergus!" They both hissed loudly, their faces both bright red from embarrassment (Keel) and blushing (Raphtalia) which caused the rest of us to once again burst into laughter.
"It wasn't easy, you know. Growing up all over again," Keel muttered after we'd stopped giggling. "We had to go through all the growing pains all over again."
"Unfortunately for some of us who had to bear witness to the whole thing…" L'Arc muttered quietly, only to be pierced by death glares from not only the two demi-humans but Glass as well. As for Therese's reaction…
"I'm sorry L'Arc, would you care to repeat that?" She smiled sweetly as she pulled hard on L'Arc's ear, giving him a glare that signified he'd be in for a world of hurt unless he gave her the answer she wanted.
"I-I only meant…" L'Arc stammered, wilting slightly under the magic caster's glare as she continued yanking on his ear. "Never mind…"
"Good boy," Therese replied as she patted his head as Kizuna and I simultaneously made whipping noises, prompting a sullen glare our way from the cowed Scythe-wielder and more giggles from everyone else.
"It wasn't just the growing pains though…we had to eat a whole lot in order to keep up with our growth," Raphtalia continued, giving the other three an apologetic look. "Poor L'Arc and Therese had to keep paying extra because we were eating so much…"
"…which was no problem at all. It was something we anticipated after seeing that were both small again," Therese reassured her. Hardly surprising given how quickly demi-humans matured. I made a mental note to repay them both one day for the expenses.
"Think we're getting off track a little here…how did the Katana end up choosing you?" I asked Raphtalia.
"When we arrived in the capital, they were in the middle of displaying the Katana in the town square. Lots of people had gathered to compete for the nomination."
"Even if we were currently in the middle of enemy territory, we realised how important it was for other Vassal Heroes to be around to witness the appearance of a new Vassal Weapon Wielder," Glass murmured, her expression somewhat sullen. If I had to guess by her tone, this was where things had started to unravel "So we split up and mixed in with the crowd to observe."
"After everyone had assembled, this jackass appeared with a bunch of important-looking people and stood in front of the gathering," Keel said, jerking her thumb at Kazuki. "With everyone looking, he then stepped forward to take the Katana from its sheath. But before he could draw it, the Katana flashed green and shot towards us like one of my arrows, only to land in Raphtalia's arms."
"No doubt it detected your power and good soul, as well as your natural affinity with a sword, and was drawn to you," I reasoned as I ruffled her hair again, causing her to blush furiously.
"I-I'm not that special…" she tried to protest weakly. "And right then I wanted the others to tell the Katana it had made a mistake, that it had chosen incorrectly. But it wouldn't leave me."
"It didn't make a mistake, it chose you because it deemed you worthy," Glass told her sternly. "And during our escape, I realised why it had chosen you. As Fergus said, you are uniquely skilled with a blade and you possess a kind and emphatic heart that very few beings have. Moreso, you were able to cross between worlds with myself, L'Arc and Therese which we only were able to do so because we possess our own Vassal weapons."
"…a-and since you did that without a Vassal Weapon at the time, the Katana must've believed you were very powerful and as such were the best choice to wield it," Rishia concluded with a smile.
"Not you too Rishia…" Raphtalia moaned, her face turning even redder.
"What happened after the Katana chose you?" I asked to save her from any more embarrassment. Raphtalia's blush instantly morphed into anger as she pointed at Kazuki.
"He didn't like the fact that I was chosen instead of him, so he had me declared as a thief and the others as accomplices! He then brought out those beasts you see behind him and ordered them to chase us down! We've been running ever since until you found us!"
"That katana was supposed to be mine! I demand that you return it!" He practically screamed in response.
"Not happening," L'Arc interrupted sharply. "The Vassal Katana has chosen its wielder, so you aren't getting your hands on it no matter how entitled you think you are."
"Damn you! Damn you all to hell!" Whatever poise, swagger and confidence he'd been projecting before had vanished in a whirlwind of manic desperation, his eyes and mind transfixed on one thing: The Vassal Katana. "If you won't give me what is mine by right, then I must kill the thief and reclaim my place as its true owner!" His harem squad all shouted in agreement as the two tigers behind him roared.
"You aren't going to lay a finger on Raphtalia as long as I'm around," I swore as I raised my Shield and changed it into its Nue Shield form. "If you want to get to her, you're going to have to get through me."
"Me too! I won't let you anywhere near my best friend!" Keel declared with a deadly gleam in her eye.
"I-I won't let you hurt Lady Raphtalia either!" Rishia spoke up, her hands swirling with magic.
"You meanies had better stay away from my big sister or I'll kick your butts!" Filo added as she burst forth from her hiding spot to land on my shoulder, her sharp eyes staring holes through our opponents.
"We also stand with our fellow Vassal Hero, so back off if you don't wanna get hurt," L'Arc added, whirling his Scythe around and pointing it at the enemy. Glass didn't say anything as she too stepped forward, brandishing her Vassal Fan.
"Please don't do this. We don't want to hurt you, but we will if you try to harm our friend," Therese spoke up, her jewels shining bright.
"You guys really are in for it now," Kizuna quipped as she stood alongside the rest of us, the seven of us (with Filo perched on my shoulder) forming a protective wall in front of Raphtalia whose eyes were shining with tears of joy. "You really think you got what it takes to take down two Holy Heroes, three Vassal Heroes and the rest of us?"
"Hah! You think that just because you possess Vassal and Holy weapons you stand a chance against us?" Kazuki chuckled darkly, the manic glint from before still in his eyes as his hand reached for his sword at his hip. "No one from your country has ever been able to best us in battle before. You must be incredibly foolish to believe that will change."
"We're defending our friend from the injustices you seek to inflict on her just because you're throwing a hissy fit over not getting selected," I pointed out. "And since our cause is nobler, there's no way you could ever hope to beat us in battle.
"Oh for fuck's sake…don't make me sick with all your 'justice' and 'noble cause' bullshit!" Kazuki snarled. "Too easy to annoy…just like Kyo in that regard…" "All that matters is that you lot are unworthy thieves that have stolen what is rightfully mine, and I refuse to stand by and listen to you pieces of trash any longer!"
"You're the one still running their mouth. Are you gonna keep yapping on and on forever or are you actually going to shut up and fight? We've all got better things to do today so the sooner we get on with this the better."
"The only thing you and your friends are going to do is die once we're through with you!" Kazuki pointed his blade directly at my face. "The one with the Shield is mine! Kill the rest, and bring me the Vassal Katana!"
"Yes sir!" As one, the seven girls surrounding him brandished their spears and charged alongside him. The two large tigers joined their attack a split second later.
"Okay everyone, we've got a plan…now let's stick to it!" I reminded them as our opponents drew closer. "Let's wrap this up as quick as we can and get out of here. Kizuna and I have got a promise to keep and we won't let this lot stand in the way of it. You all ready?"
"Damn right we do! Let's do this!" "You got it, kiddo!" "Understood." "I'm ready." "Let's kick their butts!" "I'm with you, Sir Fergus!" "O-okay!" Came the determined responses from my friends.
"I will fight at your side as well," Raphtalia declared as she came up next to me and drew her katana. As much as I wanted to keep her out of the way and safe from any underhanded tactics Kazuki might employ, we stood a much better chance of winning this fight if she joined in as well.
"Okay everyone, this is it!" I shouted once more as our opponents drew ever closer to striking range. "Like I always say: Pick your targets, stay safe and watch each other's backs, and we'll all come out of this alive!"
~AoaTSH~
As expected (and pretty much given away beforehand), Kazuki was charging right at me with a furious glare in his eyes. The rest of his squad wasn't too far behind, and the large white tigers were picking up speed as they charged alongside.
"Steady…" I murmured as we held our line in the face of their charge. By now Filo had switched out of her humming falcon form and had joined the rest of us in our line.
"Almost there…." They were virtually in range of our spell-casters if I fancied taking the advantage, but I wanted us to conserve our energy and magic as much as possible. We wanted this done quick, fast and efficiently and that meant no risky or sudden movements. Everything had to be swift, calculated and precise.
Time almost seemed to slow as they were almost upon us. Fifteen paces. Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven…
Ten.
"NOW!" I roared.
"Come on kitties, let's play!" Kizuna whipped her fishing rod around her head, the line smacking both of the tigers' flanks as it went. Both of the beasts roared in annoyance as they sought out the one who had struck them.
"Over here! Come play some more!" Kizuna taunted as she hooked the side of one of the nearby buildings and flew over their heads. Whatever skill or tactic she was using worked as the tigers immediately turned and bounded after her. Now we just had to make the next few minutes count so that she didn't get overwhelmed.
Our opponents weren't discouraged in the least as they closed in, which is just what we were going for. "Okay everyone, choose your target and break! Leave Sir Twat to me!"
"Gladly!" Keel needed no urging as she swept forward, dagger raised. The girl she targeted managed to get her spear up but was forced to peddle backwards in the face of Keel's onslaught as the normally calm demi-human swiped relentlessly at her.
"Play time!" Filo chirped as she threw a small gust of wind at one of the others.
"Ugh! How dare you? I'll get you for that!" Her target snapped as she jabbed her spear at her, causing Filo to switch into her humming falcon form as she soared over the wild attack. "Get back here!" She yelled as she gave chase whilst Filo mocked her with more childish taunts.
Both Rishia and Raphtalia didn't say anything as they prepared to engage their targets. Rishia's face morphed into the same cool and calm expression she'd been wearing against Kyo as she drew her rapier before sweeping forward and engaging her target. Raphtalia waited until the last possible moment before bringing forth her katana and, with a move that one would surely have missed if they'd blinked, blocked the wild attack of the girl who'd come for her. The two of them then started swapping blows with their chosen opponents as their duels took them away from us.
"Come and get me!" L'Arc whooped as he leapt forward, engaging two of the remaining girls with his scythe. This was a smart move on his part as this would keep them from engaging Therese in melee which was her main weakness. Though he was outnumbered, L'Arc had a wicked grin on his face as he pressed his two opponents back. Therese followed on behind, keeping an eye to make sure she wasn't ambushed whilst preparing to use her magic given the right opportunity.
Glass wasted no words as she swept her fans forward towards the one remaining member of the girl squad. Undoubtedly caught off guard by the swiftness and ferociousness of her attack, she backed away from the Vassal Fan Wielder who set off in pursuit, her expression set in grim determination.
As this was all happening, I held forth my Nue Shield in the face of Kazuki's oncoming onslaught. And just as I'd hoped he would, he forewent any attempt at a magical or enhanced spell and instead decided to slash at me wildly with his sword. Sighing in disappointment, I moved my Shield up and easily blocked the attack.
"For such a vaunted genius, you never learn from your mistakes, do you?" I mocked him as he pressed his blade against my Shield with all his might. "Did you really think pulling the same move as last time would go any other way?"
"Nnnggh…shut up!" He snapped. "All I have to do is keep you busy whilst my allies take care of your companions, and then we'll see who's laughing!"
"We will indeed, although spoiler warning…it will be me. At least try to keep me entertained in the meantime!"
"Grrr!" Kazuki backed off before lashing out again, this time switching up his attacks to come in from different angles. However, despite the variation of his attack speed and directions, his anger from my early taunts were making his moves sloppy and easy to predict and so I was easily able to either dodge or block his attacks.
"Is that all you've got? And here I thought you'd be a challenge, being one of the so-called Holy Heroes after all!" He had the audacity to taunt as I continued to block his attacks. "If this is all that can be expected of them, the rest of the Heroes must be a joke!"
"All I've got? What planet is he living on?" "Congratulations, you've managed to make a correct statement for once!" I joked as I turned aside another of his blows. "Two of them are at least, but that won't always be the case. As for the other one? He'd wipe the floor with you in seconds!" No hint of exaggeration needed there since Ren would make mincemeat of this twat should they ever meet. "Also, you have the gall to ask if that's all I've got? I should be asking you that since you're struggling against someone who can't even fight back!"
"Shut up! I'll make you regret mocking me!" He leapt back and opened his free hand, thrusting his palm forward. In response, several balls of flame appeared and shot directly at me.
"Hmm, not bad…" I murmured, genuinely impressed. He hadn't used an incantation or chant or anything like you'd normally have to do when casting a spell. "Must've been what Rishia referred to that one time when she told me about those who could manipulate their magic power without having to say anything…" I thought to myself as I blocked them with my Shield. Despite the ease of my movement, the number and pressure brought by each fireball as it hit was still enough to force me back a few paces. "Not bad, but sadly not good enough. Is that all you've got?" I asked again, only to see him charging at me whilst I was lowering my Shield to get a look.
"Impressive…the fireballs were a diversion to get my Shield up and block my vision. Seems he does have some brains after all…" I mused, bringing up my Shield hastily and meeting his attack, only to find myself having to struggle slightly to hold his sword back. "Must've been holding back slightly to lure me into a false sense of security…not a half bad tactic…"
"Hah! Are you beginning to understand how outclassed you are yet?" Kazuki spoke up, a cocky grin marring his face as he continued to press down on my Shield.
"One lucky shot and he thinks he's going to win? Overinflated ego much…" "Better, but nowhere near good enough to get the jump on me," I answered as I began to push back. "By the way…just because I told you I can't fight back doesn't mean I'm completely lacking in means to hurt you. Maybe I should show you some of the tricks I have up my sleeve…"
"You're bluffing! I've got you on the ropes and right where I want you!" Kazuki snarled as he pressed back with all his strength. "Criminals and thieves like you will lie and say anything to try and fool me, but I'm too smart to fall for that!"
"No cure for stupidity I guess…" I reflected with a sigh. "Okay then, don't say I didn't warn you…Lightning Shield!" As I spoke, an arc of lightning shot forth from my Shield, hitting both Kazuki and his sword causing multiple jolts of electricity to strike his body. With a yelp of pain, he stumbled backwards wringing his hands slightly. "Eesh…looks like that hurt a lot. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine! Barely hurt at all!" He scoffed.
"Good to know! Lightning Shield!" Once more, my Shield shot out multiple bolts of electricity that proceeded to wrap around his body, causing him to yell in pain once more. "Ready to admit defeat yet or do you want me to do that again?"
"Shut up! I'm not finished with you yet!" He shouted, his free hand glowing as he proceeded to shoot a number of magic spells at me in rapid succession. The first was fire, followed by water, then wind, then light, followed by several more.
I was able to block each and every one that came at me with almost little effort. But he was relentless, throwing spell after spell at me continually whilst switching up the element each time.
"Wow, he's just like Rishia…able to use multiple different elements of magic of once…" I couldn't help but marvel as I continued to get my Shield up to deflect and counter each one. However, even if his repertoire seemed impressive, the power behind each attack was disappointingly lacking. If he was trying to throw me off balance by switching up his spells, it wasn't working.
I remember Rishia telling me once that words were an essential part of giving shape to a spell. Though it may only be one or two words depending on the spell you were casting, it allowed you to pour more of your power and focus into it to make it more effective. True, it may be due to his experience that he could command magic without using words or chants, but skipping using any spoken word does limit the level of magic he could pour into each spell. It meant he was taking the easy way out at the cost of his spells doing less damage.
It was what I'd noticed Therese doing the whole time during this skirmish. By having L'Arc take on two opponents at once, it freed up Therese to use spoken phrases, chants and incantations to make any spells she used more effective. All she'd had to do was wait for the right opening to do so.
"HAH! Take that! And that! And that!" Kazuki yelled. The balls of magic were coming at me at such a fast pace that the air around me became full of dust. Within seconds I'd lost sight of my companions completely, and as the dust thickened around me it became almost impossible to see more than a few feet in front of me.
"Sneaky move, taking away my line of sight…best get ready for the next blow wherever it comes from…" "Zweite Aura!" I shouted, taking the momentary lapse in his attacks to buff up not only my stats but also those of the rest bar L'Arc, Therese and Glass. With our stats now boosted, not only would I be able to ward away the effects of his next attacks but my companions would now have a much easier time dealing with their opponents.
"Can you lot hurry up already?! I can't keep this up forever!" I heard Kizuna call out from what sounded like a bit of a distance away. Sounded like she was running out of tricks to keep the tigers occupied. However, before I could call out a response, I suddenly heard the sound of running footsteps from nearby. Instead of panicking, however, I kept as calm as possible and focused on my breathing, keeping it calm and quiet in order to better listen in to where Kazuki might be coming from.
"Gotcha!" I thought triumphantly as I picked up the sound of his feet planting themselves into the ground off to my right, as one would do before they took a leap. Without hesitating, I pivoted my body so that my Shield was facing in that direction and found myself nearly whooping with delight as I felt the familiar ringing clash of his sword locking against my Shield. "Is that all you've got?" I asked mockingly.
"Damn you…There's no way you should've been able to detect where I was striking from! You only have one eye, and I kicked up enough dust to blind you!"
"The funny thing about losing half of your sight is that it forces you to pay attention more to your other senses," I commented casually as though I were discussing the weather. "My hearing's always been one of my stronger senses, and nowadays I'm having to rely more on them to compensate for my lack of vision. All I did was stay calm and focused, and allowed my ears to pick up any move you made."
"Liar! No one's hearing is that good!" Kazuki snarled as he kept trying to push my Shield back to no avail. "I bet it's that freaky Shield you've got, it's allowing you to cheat somehow, isn't it? It's all making sense now…thieves shaking up with criminals and cheaters, you're all rotten to the core!"
"It's the other Heroes all over again…refusing to believe that I could be stronger than them and accusing me of cheating." "Not my fault that you're too weak to do a lick of damage against me…" I sighed. "And honestly? I couldn't care less if you believe me or not because it doesn't change the fact that you've already lost. You're just too much of a stubborn asshat to realise it yet."
"Don't count me out just yet! I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve!" He replied with a smirk as he pulled out an ofuda.
"Really? That's the best you've got?" My words were laced with disappointment. This guy had been hyping himself up so much as an apparent genius, so much so that I'd almost believed he could be on the same power level as Kyo when in reality he was much, much weaker. Heck, I reckon some of the lower-levelled allies I'd bought along to fight the Spirit Tortoise would've been able to deal with him with no problems whatsoever.
That's why what he did next was not only surprising but, upon later reflection, quite ingenious. "Let's see you block this!" He yelled as he thrust the ofuda out in front of him, the end of it pointing directly between my eyes as he began to channel his magic power into it.
"At this range?! Is he trying to get himself killed too?" "Air Strike Shield!" I roared, throwing up the Ethereal Shield directly in front of him just in the nick of time. A split second later, the spell fired off from the ofuda only to smack directly into my Shield where it proceeded to explode directly in his face.
"Ahhhhh!" He screamed as the flames licked around him, causing him to jump away and create some distance between us.
"Looks like your last big trick blew up in your face…literally!" I joked as I watched him douse out the flames with a hurried water spell. I was honestly so done with whatever he tried to pull out of his arsenal since whatever it could be would no doubt end up being a massive disappointment. "You ready to admit defeat and surrender now?"
"Never! I will not lose to the likes of you!" He screamed as he charged in wildly again, his sword tip aimed straight at me. I let out a sigh as I got my Shield up once again to block his attack, but before our weapons clashed…
*CLANG* My eye widened in surprise as Raphtalia's katana intercepted his wild strike and held it back.
"Fergus!" She called out as she got in between myself and Kazuki. "We've all defeated our opponents, but we need your help to tie them up! I'll keep him busy!"
"That was quicker than even I expected…" "Will do!" I replied affirmatively as I made my way past the battling pair towards where the others had been battling Kazuki's harem squad. And as I approached, I saw what Raphtalia had been talking about: All of the girls were on the ground, either unconscious or unable to rise to their feet with the rest of my companions and friends standing over them…all except Kizuna who was still leading the tigers on a merry chase around the lot.
"Hi there, Master!" Filo waved, getting my attention. "These ladies were a pushover! We all took them out real quick!"
"I see…well done Filo," I smiled as I ruffled her hair before turning to the rest of them. "Now then, before they can recover…Keel, Filo, you're with me. The rest of you…get them all sitting back-to-back in a circle."
Rishia, L'Arc, Glass and Therese wasted no time in doing what I asked, using magical and physical means to hold all of the girls in an upright, sitting position. At the same time, I activated my Rope Shield, causing an endless line of rope to start spawning from it. Changing into her humming falcon form, Filo took the end of the line in her beak and started wrapping it around the girls at a rapid pace. Once they were all tied up securely, I managed to stop the supply of rope coming out, and Keel used her knife to cut off any excess length that was spare.
"That's them taken care of…now we need to deal with the tigers," I commented once we were done.
"We'll handle them…you two ready?" L'Arc asked the pair of ladies standing next to him.
"I'm all set," Therese replied confidently, the jewels on her face and wrists glowing in response.
"I'm ready." Glass then called out to the Hunting Hero. "Kizuna! It's all in your hands now. Lead them this way!"
"Got it! Come here, kitties! Some of my friends want to play with you!" As she spoke, Kizuna swung herself off the nearby roof where she'd been taunting the tigers from and made a break to where we were all standing, the pair of tigers sprinting after her.
"Time for you to see what these two can really do, kiddoes," L'Arc commented with a smirk as we all watched Kizuna sprint our way.
"I'm looking forward to it," I replied since I was pretty curious what the four of them had in mind to deal with the beasts.
"Now, Kizuna! Phantasm!" Glass shouted, slapping open her fans and using a skill that rapidly filled the air around us with dancing flower petals. Delicate cherry blossoms floated past us on the wind, filling the whole scene around us with an explosion of pink.
"So pretty!" Filo and Rishia both gasped as the petals leisurely floated towards the two pursuing tigers. Kizuna, no doubt knowing what was coming, nimbly leapt aside as the two large beasts suddenly started slowing down and swaying unsteadily on their paws, their eyes rolling around in their heads. Whatever skill Glass had used, it was making them very dizzy.
"That's a good start, but what's their goal here? Are they trying to kill them or merely slow them down?" My thoughts were interrupted as L'Arc strode forward.
"My turn! Here I go!" He shouted, throwing his scythe forward at the tigers' feet. A tornado erupted from where it had landed with the howling winds appearing to speed up Glass' attack and make it more effective.
"Oh powers in these stones, hear my plea and show yourself!" Therese chanted, her jewels all shining brilliantly as she spoke. "My name is Therese Alexanderite, and I am your friend. Give me the strength to stop these creatures!"
Seemingly in response, the jewels glowed even brighter. "Then let your power shine forth! Shining Stones! Paralysis Wing!" At her command, a swarm of butterflies flapped out from the palms of her hands and joined the howling winds and flower petals produced by L'Arc and Glass that were now buffeting the two beasts mercilessly. In the face of this trifecta onslaught, the tigers lost their momentum rapidly before coming to a complete stop right in front of us.
"Nicely done!" Kizuna congratulated them as she swung her rod in one last, wide arc, smacking both of the tigers as well as landing a glancing smack against Kazuki's back as he battled Raphtalia, which from the looks of things didn't seem to do anything as he continued to attack her unabated. Seemingly undaunted by this turn of events, Kizuna switched her weapon into its tuna knife form. "We were lucky that there weren't many of them, otherwise it'd have been much trickier to hold them all in place. These two should be easily dealt with."
"Now then, Fergus Ward and companions…you shall now witness the true power of the Hunting Hero, and with it our victory in this fight," Glass intoned before flashing her gaze over to where Raphtalia was battling Kazuki. "Now, Raphtalia!"
"Right!" the demi-human yelled, leaping backwards from Kazuki and gripping the hilt of her blade in both hands, a pose Kizuna mimicked with her tuna knife. "I'm ready!"
"Then let's do this! Hunting Skill: Blood Flower Strike!"
"Instant Blade: Mist!" Both girls charged forward at their opponents and, with movements so fast that my eye could barely keep up, struck at their opponents as Kizuna whipped her small blade across both tigers, creating several long cuts over both of their bodies. At the same time, Raphtalia's blade did exactly the same across Kazuki's chest before he had any chance to react.
"Ugh…what the…?" He murmured, shivering slightly as his face went deathly pale. "W-what did you just do to me?"
"I'd advise you not to move a muscle, it'll only hurt worse if you try," Kizuna remarked coldly, tapping one of the frozen tigers with the tip of her tuna knife before returning over to where Glass and the others were standing. At the same time, Raphtalia rejoined me, Filo, Keel and Rishia and I wasted no time in sweeping her back into my arms as I slowly realised what they'd both done.
"It's just like those samurai attacks and skills you see in movies…where they strike the target so fast that the aftermath takes a few seconds to catch up…" And I was proven right when all of a sudden both tigers collapsed into a pile of large, bloody chunks.
~AoaTSH~
"Holy crap…I had no idea Kizuna was capable of such a thing," I thought to myself as we all beheld the bloody mass of limbs that she'd left in her wake. The air around was now thick with the scent of blood, and the sprays of blood that had burst from the tigers' bodies were still hanging in the air like red flower petals to go alongside the pink ones.
"Feeehhhhhhh…" I heard Rishia whimper and noticed her face had turned a hideous shade of green as I turned to look at her. A short while later, she squeaked and dashed over to a corner of the lot where she started to throw up. Keel approached her and gave her a soothing back rub as she began to feel better.
"Poor thing…" My eyes then moved back over Kazuki and his harem squad. He was still stuck in place having not moved a muscle after Raphtalia's attack. As for the girls, they were either slowly coming to or had already recovered and were looking at us and Kazuki with astonished and disbelieving glares. From the looks on one or two of their faces, they must have realised that if their beloved master made any sort of move, he too would fall apart in bloody chunks just like the tigers had.
That didn't prevent them from cursing us out however. "I don't believe this! How could you have defeated us so easily? We should've been more than a match for you! It's impossible!"
"And by the weakest of the heroes, no less!" Another shouted, pointing at Kizuna who rolled her eyes in response. I knew exactly how she probably felt right. Seems like no matter what world you're in, you're only respected if you can fight against other people.
"You lot should be embarrassed then…you just got your butts handed to you by two of the weakest Heroes in their respective worlds!" Keel crowed before shooting myself and Kizuna an apologetic look. "No disrespect intended, Sir Fergus. Nor to you, Lady Kizuna."
"None taken," I replied.
"I may not be able to fight with other people, but that doesn't mean I'm completely useless in a skirmish," Kizuna lectured our defeated opponents. "I hope today's beating helps you learn to separate rumours from fact. If you don't, you may find yourself dead in the future."
"Your new friend really is something, Fergus," Raphtalia spoke up as we watched Kizuna continue to berate the harem squad.
"She really is, and I'm sure you'll discover why after you get to know her," I replied, planting a kiss on the top of her head before cuddling her into me. "Speaking of being something, that attack you pulled off was really impressive. Looks like you've gotten stronger since I saw you last."
"Do you think so? I hadn't really considered it given all our time on the run."
"Not just anyone would've been able to pull off an attack like that with the skill and precision you just demonstrated. I don't normally believe in destiny, as you well know, but I'm starting to think that you were indeed destined to be chosen by the Vassal Katana."
"Fergus…stop embarrassing me…" she moaned, her face blushing an adorable red.
"I'm not. I meant every word of it. And I'll keep telling you that until you believe it yourself." She didn't respond as her she buried her face further into my shoulder, the shade of it reminding me of a red traffic light from my original world.
"Yo, kiddo! You gonna absorb some of those White Tiger parts or what?" L'Arc called out. As I looked over from where he was waving, I saw that Kizuna had already absorbed some of them herself
"I'll be right there…you lot look after our captive for me alright?" After getting four nods of assent, I wandered over to where the remaining White Tiger parts were strewn about in a bloody pile and absorbed some of them into my Shield, and in the process was able to unlock the White Tiger Clone Shield which, as well as giving me bonuses to my agility and defence stats, also came with a skill called 'Chain Shield'. I'd have into what that did exactly at a later time. For now, we had to decide what to do with Kazuki and our captives.
"Okay, here's what's going to happen!" Kizuna declared as the nine of us gathered in front of the still-frozen Kazuki, who was still recovering from Raphtalia's attack, and his still-bound harem squad, the majority of whom were awake and trying to break free. "You've seen how easily we defeated your so-called genius and his most powerful weapons, and you now understand the cost of standing in our way. So this is what we're going to do. You lot," and as she spoke, she indicated everyone in front of us, "are going to stay here and think about what you've done until someone comes along and decides to free you. We, for one, are leaving. And I strongly advise you not to come after us again. If you do, we'll be delighted to show you up again." The rest of us nodded in agreement.
"We have the Vassal weapon, it has chosen its wielder and nothing more you do or say will change that," Glass added sternly before pointing at Kazuki. "This whole, foolish mess only started because of his recklessness. I'd strongly urge the rest of you to consider that."
"Well then, now that that's done with, it's about time we left!" Kizuna spoke up once more as we all turned our backs on them and started walking away
"Sounds good to me…can't wait to get back home!" L'Arc agreed.
"It'll be nice to take a break, even just for a day or two," Therese added.
"With lots of food!" Filo chirped.
"And a lot to catch up on," I finished, taking Raphtalia's hand in my own as we took our leave. However, before we could get very far…
"You won't get away with this!" We heard Kazuki yell, and as we turned our heads, we saw him glaring at us with every ounce of hate he could muster. "Mark my words, you will die for what you've done to me! I am the rightful wielder of the Vassal Katana, and I will not allow you to escape with-!"
"Enough!" I was as surprised as everyone else to see that it was Raphtalia who'd shouted to cut off his tirade. She was giving him a look filled with…regret? Pity? Even after everything he'd put them through, the fact that she was able to even look upon him without any hate in her expression…it truly made me marvel at the depths of the kindness within her heart. "It's too soon for you to move. If you try within the next ten seconds, you'll die. You'd better have your friends cast healing magic on you regularly for the next few days until the effects of my skill fully wear off." She then turned around fully and bowed deeply. "We didn't pick this fight with you, and neither I nor my friends and companions wish for any conflict between us. If you can consider this situation dispassionately, you'll realise that an alliance with L'Arc and Glass' countries is in everyone's best interests. And when you do reach that conclusion, please discuss it with your government." As she finished speaking, I gave her hand a warm squeeze along with a look conveying how proud I was of her.
"She's right on that, y'know," L'Arc added sternly. "We'll be prepared to forgive your actions today if you do as she says. But if you continue trying to get in our way, any conflict between our nations will be your fault. Just bear that in mind while you think things through."
"Don't you dare go anywhere!" Kazuki snarled, the muscles in his body tensing as though he were about to move.
"No, don't do it! You mustn't move!" Raphtalia implored once more.
"Don't believe her, Sir Kazuki!" One of the girls yelled. "I've already cast several healing spells on you myself! You'll see!"
"No…" Raphtalia tried to plead one more time, but I grabbed her shoulder and shook my head.
"There's no use, Raphtalia…if he isn't prepared to listen then…whatever comes next is on his head," I told her grimly.
"I-I know…" she sighed, her eyes full of tears as she pressed back into me. "I just wish we could've formed an alliance between their nations to usher in a new era of cooperation for this world…"
"Not everyone is as understanding as those in our village," I said sadly as I pressed her into me before turning to look at the others. I knew what was about to happen so I didn't need to watch, but I was going to anyway. "Rishia, Filo…you might not want to watch what's coming. Keel…"
"No…he put us through enough suffering. It's only fitting I watch him get what he has coming for him," the other demi-human replied stoically. Taking my advice, Rishia covered her eyes and turned away whilst Filo switched back into her bird form and hid back beneath my armour.
"Curse you all! I'll have my-!" He proceeded to take a few steps forward, the final moves he'd ever make as a living being. "What the…what is happening to…ugh…"
It started out as a sickening, crushing sound, followed by a long hiss of blood as his body started rapidly coming apart where Raphtalia had cut him. "Daaaaaammmnnn youuuuuuuuuu-!" His final screams were cut off as his body proceeded to explode in a shower of blood and body chunks.
"Kyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" All of his harem screamed, unable to turn away from the sight of their beloved genius exploding into bits as Kizuna, L'Arc, Therese, Glass, Keel and I all watched on grimly.
As much as Kazuki had been a constant thorn in our side and had done his best to hurt and kill Raphtalia, Keel and the others, an act that definitely warranted his death…there was no joy or amusement to be found in the gruesome manner in which he died.
Wowzers, another chapter squared away! Hope you all enjoyed the read.
Again, I referenced the Light Novel version of events instead of the anime, only this time I cut it down by quite a bit. In my opinion (and it's just that, my opinion…not asking you to agree with me or anything), the battle went on way too long for my liking so I cut things down by quite a bit, including removing any extra reinforcements and any potential trouble our opponents may have given them. In my mind, our gang, experienced as they are, should've had little trouble with this battle and that's exactly what I wanted to convey here. Sorry if that doesn't appeal to everyone but I didn't really want to write a long and drawn-out fight.
Moving on…no promises on when the next chapter will be out. I'll do my best to get it up before the end of January but as I said at the beginning it'll depend on how I'm feeling on a day-to-day basis. In the meantime, thank you once again for reading and showing the story some love, I really do appreciate it. Until then, this is theoneandonlyedster signing out for now, and I will see you next time!
~AoaTSH~
The three of them looked down at the cowed figure who had collapsed in defeat before them. It was hard to tell what sort of expressions their faces were wearing beneath their helms/hoods, but from their poses, it looked as though they were almost pitying the one before them.
" 'Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.'" The tallest figure, the one wearing black armour, spoke first. "When you invited our lord to demonstrate their power that day in order to assess their strengths and weaknesses, you played right into our hands."
The warrior in golden armour nodded in agreement with their compatriot, their shining, golden hair blowing in the slight breeze, before addressing the cowled figure before them "Just so you know… no friend ever served us, and no enemy ever wronged us, whom we have not repaid in full."
The one standing in the centre merely nodded as they all left, leaving their defeated foe to contemplate on their words and deeds.