Okay, before I actually start off with the next chapter that had been over-due for…okay, I seriously don't know how long it had been since I wrote ANYTHING for the story, I just wanted to apologize to everyone that expected me to get off my ***. If you're wondering what happened, well…multiple things happened at once.
First off, school began when I was 'supposed' to work on Chapter 6, so my time was mostly occupied by learning and fixing my grades, cause truth be told, they are horrendous. I'll not explain them individually to safe that tiny bit of information security for myself (Unless the NSA or anyone else shows up and tries to dig up dirt about us :-/), but I can tell you that I was close to repeating the year.
So over the next months I tried to use my account for small things such as finding interesting stories and writing VERY short reviews to other well-made stories (mostly in the realm of OCs). But between those times I learned and the times I actually went online, I just couldn't bring myself to write another Chapter. You can call it as you will, Writers-Blockage, Laziness or lost Interest in writing.
I can guarantee you that I haven't forgotten about 'Daylight's End' over those months, but writing down personal thoughts became quite…difficult for me. So I decided to get into the office chair I usually sit in, crack my knuckles and start typing not only for the sake of my story, but also for the writers that had actually enjoyed this short fanfiction, that was supposed to go for far, FAR longer than that.
To keep things short in the sake of TL:DR…
I'm sorry for leaving, I am back, and I'll write the story from now on again as much as I can manage. Promise. I hope you can forgive me…
…Well, but now that we're back, how about resuming where we left off? After all, if I keep glooming around we won't entertain anyone!
Jessica: "I guess it's good that you're here. I mean, I didn't even get to help those villagers before you disappeared on us! *sigh* Just warn us and the audience first before you pull off such a stunt, alright?"
Don't worry, duty noted. Also, since I don't want to steal much of the screen time that is left for the intro, we two will just skip instantly to the responses from our readers! We received 2 over the course of time, so we'll answer them regardless of their date, alright?
Jessica: "Sure thing, 1 reads an envelope each?"
Fine by me.
Jessica: "Alright, let's see…" *Grabs dusty envelope* "Wow…they've been here for a LONG time. Alright, I got one from… 'ThePinkJirachi'." *Opens up envelope* "Are you planning on updating? I'm definitely interested in what happens next!" "Well, thank you that you showed interest in our story, and if you're still alive, then you can read our updates from today onwards! They will be irregular though, so please don't expect us to publish them at a steady rate, for that it's still too early."
Alright, now it's my turn. *Grabs second envelope* Here we got one…from 'AutistSheep'! An unusual name, but if you like it, I won't judge! *Opens envelope* "Dissapointed…" Well, sorry to hear that man. You know, I try to write the chapters by correcting them multiple times, most of these times AFTER I published them, to keep them clean from writing errors and/or bad written parts.
If you don't enjoy the story up to the point you've read them, then go ahead, you can either skip it entirely, not read it at all or just wait until the next Chapters are rolling around. But for my works usually go the common rules: If you don't like the fanfiction, nobody forces you to read it. So yeah, sorry to hear it man, but you're not bound here!
Jessica: "Okay, so now that we've gotten the reviews out of the way, we can move on to the disclaimer and then finally move on." *Cough* "MrFiretank does not own 'Fairy Tail' or its characters. However, he does own 'Daylight's End' and the entire OC-Cast that goes along with it."
Thank you very much Jessica. Now, without much further ado, after over half a year of unofficial hiatus, I can finally say these words with fair use…ROLL THE NEXT CHAPTER!
…
CHAPTER 6 – A WATCHER'S CHALLENGE
After yesterday's events I was drained, both mentally and physically. The new task put onto my shoulders didn't help out with that. So here I was waking up in the bed of my own rented room, with the sunlight shining through the two windows that existed, smelling the aroma of scrambled eggs and bacon beside me and trying to wake up my stiff mu- wait! Why do I smell breakfast!?
As unsurprising as it should have been, I looked groggily to my left and lo-and behold…on the small side table of my room laid a plate of cooked bacon with scrambled eggs, toast and strawberry jam on it. There even was a glass of fresh orange juice laying besides it. For what felt like an eternity I felt my jaw opening and closing like a fish on land. 'Who decides to walk unannounced into my room just to make me breakfast!?' Since I just woke up, my brain had been partially off, so I never considered who actually could have done this. But I knew one thing…
*Grumble* When my stomach cried out, I felt a small blush rising on my face and decided to think about it later. For now, I'd enjoy this wonderful breakfast and then walk to the town-hall until further notice.
She knew that the girl must have had a lot of troubles sleeping properly. After all, who just decides to save an entire Village from a Dark Guild capable of ripping them all apart? So when she woke up earlier that morning, she wanted to let the girl feel herself at home. With a plan in hand, she went to the local market and bought the ingredients for a special breakfast, went with those in hand to the inn's kitchen (that had been currently not used, due to the town's situation limiting her funds for an actual cook) and made them into a plate of carefully made food with the orange juice as a bonus.
'Well, with my age it becomes more and more difficult to move for me…even such simple things as cooking have become quite a strain for myself.' That was mostly true, due to the pain of regular tasks, she wasn't able to naturally do any manual labor, and even regular tasks took its toll for her.
When she heard the sound of cutlery being picked up, she showed a small smile on her face while walking back down the stairs. 'Oh, the young generation these days…they are so full of surprises, but even I can assist their goals as long as I can move these old bones…'
With a small chuckle she planned the day ahead and spoke in a small voice before returning to her desk. "Loeyur may have had its worst 2 months behind it. But we believe in you, so may those who have fallen for this village protect you on your merry way, my child."
"Alright, so what is the plan for today?"
After my morning was spent well by waking up and getting dressed for today, I decided to not dawdle and walked directly to the mayor's office. When I arrived, however, there were probably 20 people standing in front of Lindheim's door.
"Uhm…can I help you…l-ladies a-and gentleman?" Don't misunderstand me, I was kinda intimidated at the sight of buffed men and women with sharp, pointy weapons standing like the Great Wall of China in front of me! My callout worked, however, as the two closest people (a man with short brown hair, wearing a maroon tank top with a sword in its sheath on his back a woman with red hair tied into two ponytails, wearing some kind of self-made leather armor and holds a trident in her hand) looked to me…or rather looked down on me.
'Now I know why some anime characters get mad when they're made fun of about their size…'
The red-haired woman stared at me a little, closed her eyes before those shot open in realization. "Oh! You're the mage that appeared yesterday and scared off those pansies at the bar, am I right?" I gave a mere nod while trying not to shake at the sight of 20 pairs of eyes staring down at you. 'Oh man, it's my friend's 12th birthday all over again!'
The woman didn't miss the nervousness that I was radiating, so she went full commando for a short moment, because instantly she turned around and spoke in the most threatening voice I've heard from anybody so far. "Men. Why are you all staring down at our guest of honor? Can't you see that you're making her nervous…?" But what made her voice so impressive was the amount of authority it held, similar to 'G's…yet…more girlish.
It seemed to hit its mark, however, as almost all man in front of me paled and quickly tried to distract themselves. I even saw two of them watching their shoes with so much focus that I expected their footwear to fly off any second.
Instantly I relaxed and gave released a breath I hadn't even realized I held in. The woman chucked before reaching out a hand towards me. "The name's Sietta! I am responsible for the town-…or rather its village-watch around here with the men assigned to me."
She then gestured to her right as the continued. "The silent guy besides me is Yorc! He rarely ever speaks, but don't worry, he's a kind man and good protector. That's also why he is my 2nd-in-command!"
He greeted me with a small grunt, but said nothing else. 'Yep…defiantly the non-talkative type.' Okay, that's that, but why are they here exactly? "Uhm, if I may ask miss Sietta, b-"
"Okay, zip the whole 'Miss'-thing. I feel like an old granny if you call me like that. Just call me Sietta and we'll be A-O-K!" I don't know why but even when she was grinning towards me she made it sound like a threat towards me that said: 'Screw up one more time and see what the consequences will be…'
Okay, don't freak out before the scary lady who can call out death-wishes while smiling like a fox! 'SCARY LADY!' "U-UHM!? O-Ok S-Sietta! I-I wanted t-to ask you a-as to why y-you're here!?"
She looked confused before stating: "Well, you plan to charge into the hideout of 'Full Blood', isn't that right?" Yorc, who was still standing beside her gave a small grunt as a confirmation
"Hm." Sietta nodded to him with a sideways glance before she looked me dead in the eye. "You are quite brave to risk going there. So we from Loeyur's best want to make sure that you arrive there in a single piece!"
"Hold on." Now we all turned to look towards Yorc, who didn't say anything until now, but holy…his voice was as deep as a baritone. Even the other men from the village-watch looked at him like he grew a second head. "Before we go…" He slowly raised his right hand towards the sheathed sword on his…oh no…
And as soon he drew it, I paled when he swung the blade right in front of my face exactly between my eyes. And the most terrifying part…
*SHING* …He was so fast, that I didn't even see him swing the sword regularly. "…Fight me."
…Eep.
Right now sitting alone at an office desk in an ocean of white was the chairman of heaven himself. He was currently filling out the documents for a new recruit under his department, when he suddenly stopped writing. His eyes closed from both frustration and awareness of the situation, so he stood up and set his own pen down.
"I knew you'd come to see me again…but so soon…Lucifer." He turned around to see his long-term nemesis standing a few feet away from him in a shroud of black mist that slowly grew by the minute. His black / dark-grey hair and garment created a perfect contrast for 'G's look, which was the same as to when he sent you towards your journey. 'I just hope that he didn't catch too much wind on Jessica…'
His counterpart gave a small chuckle that could have sent shivers down everybody's spine…except his rival who was the only entity that opposed the ruler of hell without fear in his mind. "My, you've certainly been busy 'G'…or would you allow an old friend of yours to call you Garrison for now?"
'G' didn't like the situation one bit. Why? Because that was the nickname for him that was given from the recently kidnapped friend of his. "So you actually searched her mind for Intel…first this and now you play mind-games with me?" It wasn't helping either that nobody was aware of the presence of Lucifer yet. He knew that he could 'appear' out of nowhere, but if he could conceal such a dark and murderous presence, then he was a force to be reckoned with.
"Oh, how you flatter me, Garrison. Perhaps you need a reminder to the rules of war for that simple mindset of yours, no?" His smirk grew ever so slightly, and 'G' knew that he was enjoying every second of this stare-down between himself and his archrival.
The caretaker of heaven tried to suppress his anger and succeeded, although it took him a few solid seconds to calm down entirely. He stared (or rather glared) at his 'friend' before asking him. "Okay…why are you really here, Lucifer? We both know that you never make a move unless it benefits you."
The ruler of hell silently laughed behind his hand as he spoke in an amused tone. "My, my, still perceptive as always, aren't we? Well, I just wanted to have a bit of small talk with you, given the new circumstances that have been active until now."
'G' thought about this for a moment and then proceeded to create 2 armchairs out of thin air while 'filling' the space in between those with a small coffee table and an already prepared chess-board laying on its surface. Lucifer silently chuckled as he and heaven's chairman both walked to their respective sides. "So, I guess we will use our regular wager for this game, right?" 'G' couldn't 'battle' him up here in heaven, since the ruckus would cause everybody to stop their current activity and possibly cause many, MANY incidents to happen at once. This was the only way to get to a peaceful reasoning with no violence what-so-ever, or otherwise, no distractions.
His rival smirked with a sadistic undertone to it while taking his place on the armchair. The moment his hand touched the flashy piece of furniture, it turned into a really strong black. The same happened with half of the table as well as the patterned half of the chess-board facing him. "Ah, yes~. The sole victor of this game may ask the loser one question of his choosing."
'G' knew what risk he would take. He knew that if he'd lose, then your identity, your life and possibly your own freedom would be at stake. But besides that small twinge of doubt, he also felt calmness and concentration take its place. 'I can't panic right now or show ANY signs of fear to that trickster.' He threw Lucifer a dirty glare inside of his mind while keeping a stoic impression on his face. 'If I slip up even once…then…no, stop these thoughts!'
His nemesis Meanwhile just silently stared at him while calling him out. "Well then, Garrison…you have the first move. If you may keep me entertained~."
We're currently standing inside a bigger conference hall that was a few doors away from Lindheim's office. I was standing a few feet away for Yorc, who now had a wooden stick in his hand instead of his sword. And no, it wasn't a way of describing a Bokutō, it was literally just a wooden stick! I, on the other hand had my god-gifted sword and my special boots ready on me. I wasn't sure if I should feel nervous or insulted about this match-up. But, probably knowing my luck I'll eat my words the moment this begins.
Both the rest of village-watchers and the other people involved (those being Trecht and Lindheim) were present as well, watching from the sidelines and cheering on both of us as Sietta was playing the self-chosen referee.
"Okay, here are the rules for everybody, for the last time! Both Jessica and Yorc will fight for 15 minutes with their respective weaponry against each other. In addition, Jessica may use her own magical abilities while Yorc may only fight serious when deeming the situation necessary." 'Seems reasonable so far.'
"The conditions for winning are the following: When Jessica manages to knock down Yorc within the given time-frame or can damage him with a median wound at minimum, the win goes to her. If, otherwise, Yorc can withstand all attacks that will be soon thrown at him, he gets the win. The outcome of this duel will determine our further plans."
Wait, what plans? "Excuse me m- uh, Sietta?" She looked at me while gesturing to me to continue. "What do you mean with 'this duel will determine our further plans'? Also, WHY do I have to duel Yorc, you didn't even explain me why!"
Before I could let my anger out I felt the unholy glare of Sietta pointed towards me. But it softened completely as she spoke to you again. "Before you arrived, we had to make sure of a few things. The biggest one was if we could rely on yourself in the heat of battle. Judging from you current…outfit- 'Hey!'-you do not seem to have a lot of real fighting experience. I mean…how old are you anyway, thirteen?"
This time I verbally argued. "Hey!"
...
…Well…and I came up with no retort…hooray…
"Let me guess, I'm right, aren't I?"
I only gave a small nod as she explained further reasons. "Then see this as your trial set by us. Trecht explained me that you're quite adaptable while fighting your opponents. However, you have not much real skill with a sword and guessing from that magic as well?" To say I was surprised was a huge understatement. She caught me off-guard so badly with her observation skills that my gaping mouth was confirmation enough.
"Additionally, you are without a doubt the only person in Loeyur right now that can actively use his magic for combat. Not even WE can really do and that is where the bigger problem arrives." Trecht was right, I really was the only mage in their lines right and that basically means-
"In short…" Yorc placed the wooden stick into his right hand while taking a balanced stance. "If you can't beat me…" He then drew his gaze onto mine, and his seriousness was written all over his face. This…this will not be a regular spar… "…then you'll never win against any enemy mages." …this will be a fight against a real veteran!
"Alright, since all questions have been cleared, the fight between Jessica and Yorc will commence now!" She took a few steps away as she spoke one more time. "Are both of the combatants ready!?"
"Y-Yes. / "Hm."
"Alright, then the fight will begin in five!"
Okay, this is it, my actual first challenge in this world, and it'll be a tough one…
"Four!"
I never fought against a master of the sword before, and judging by his stance and focus…
"Three!"
…He is a real pro. I won't have many opportunities if I don't find something fast to counter-act!
"Two!"
I'll try out a few tactics, maybe I can throw him off like that…but if bad goes to worse…
"One!"
…then I'll have to charge at him with not only the will for battle but rather with the intent to kill.
"GO!"
I immediately used the magic ability of my left magic boot and tried to speed up the process this time by somehow forcing my own magic to flow at a faster rate, which I practiced shortly yesterday night. While I was trying to sleep yesterday, I felt the same energy in my stomach from the moment I used it within the tavern. I didn't feel like it was solid, but it rather felt like there was a flow in my magic, like a river. So during the last hours I tried to move the flow…faster…slower…up or down…left or right…
And it seems like my midnight-meditation paid off, because within the same moment of the cast, I could feel the channeling of the ability go down way faster than yesterday, now to aim for h-
"Too slow." Before I could even comprehend what just happened, he already went for an overhead-swing that could damage my shoulder if I let myself get hit by that! He moved so fast!
'W-WHAT!? H-how did he!? Dodge, dodge, DODGE!'
Instead of swinging with my right hand out of a 'Blink', I just managed to dodge his swing in the nick of time and get a bit of safety-distance in. I almost got hit by…such a powerful swing. Sure, I managed to block of 'Scarface's attempts of similar attacks, but I dropped to one knee during that. And I'm absolutely that if I get hit by ANY of his attacks, then I'd pay dearly for letting my guard drop…
I tried to shift into his defensive blind-spot, which the side of his body, that didn't held the stick was. But within each attempt he would run at me while I was channeling. My nerves grew slowly frustrated at the situation. 'Crap, the timer's going to run down if I don't hurry!' I was starting to sway a bit after getting hit by his weapon square on the forehead. And DAMN did that hurt. 'He defiantly isn't joking around…' I needed a way to bypass his speed defense, but…!?
Yorc watches the girl from the distance as got into a more aggressive stance. He managed to surprise her by rushing at her while she was focused on using her magic for multiple times already. 'She seems to really…teleport instantly with the use of her magic.' She seemed to have recovered from the shock, as she stood way back, sword readied at that 40 Angle and perfectly kept horizontal in the middle of her body. 'The sword's position is not bad …but her footing is…way off.'
He seemed to observe her concentrating on her left foot, which was (as he noticed before) the indicator for the 'teleport'-spell. 'Going for the same approach again…?' He dashed to her front again, but this time going for a vertical swing that she couldn't dodge due to its striking speed. 'Foolish…' He was almost within his reach, just a bi-!
"What the-!?"
"HOW DID SHE-!?"
"No way!"
Trecht couldn't believe what he saw…neither did Lindheim, Sietta or the rest of the People watching the fight go on. What just happened was a premiere to all of them. You see, if you wanted to join the village-watchers you'd always have to go against Yorc to prove you're strong enough. The conditions we're different however, if you'd last 10 minutes in a battle against him then you'd win automatically. However, the scene before their eyes was something to behold…
(For more Intensity, play from 'Two Steps from Hell – United We Stand Divided We Fall')
Not only did she manage to predict the attack from Yorc, but she actually managed to hurt him! On the field was a surprised Yorc who just received a scratch on the right cheek by Jessica's own attack, which she used to not only interrupt him via. 'Blink' but also get in an attack of her own. She also managed to read the angle of his sword while he charged, which allowed her to aim for the opposite half.
"She…she actually managed to hit him head-on…truly a brave maneuver if I ever saw one." Trecht tried to keep his astonishment inside of him, but failed to do so as his straw-hat actually fell off not too long ago…
'I knew she was determined, but…to show this kind of skill in a first-time situation?' Lindheim knew that this girl was something special, but he still had his doubts, after all…she was going against presumably one of, if not the best sword-skilled fighter of Loeyur. He had planned to forcefully interrupt the match should she get hurt…but now he wasn't sure if he had doubts anymore.
Both Sietta and the village-watchers were left flabbergasted at this hit. The only one who was currently known for ever landing a real hit on Yorc during a close-combat fight was Sietta herself…but now that girl might overcome her…if she keeps going on like this, then she…she could actually beat Yorc!
"Sietta." I allowed yourself a small smirk to show as I was standing in the middle of room, while Yorc decided to return to a defensive position at the end of the room. 'If I actually hadn't figured out that by reducing the 'Blink's distance, I could bypass the magical flow limit at a much faster rate, then this battle would have already been lost…'
'I managed to position the sword perfectly neutral while charging, that threw him off when he saw me charge by 'Blink', in addition, he prepared his own swing at the beginning of his dash, so that allowed me to place my own sword accordingly. This took me much too long to figure out! But…it paid off.'
"Y-yes challenger?" 'Challenger…I kinda like the sound of that!' "How much time do I have left?"
I saw her flinch as she asked for the remaining time from Trecht, who kept a small watch with him. "7 Minutes and 24 Seconds, kid. Half-time!"
You pointed your sword at Yorc in the distance, who had a few but clear emotions on his face. 'Surprise, Worry, and the best of all…a tiny hint of admiration', this battle would exert yourself, but you wouldn't back down…after all…
"For an honorable fight, Yorc!" Your opponent blinked with his eyes for a second, before smirking lightly and regaining his stance, this time of offensive nature. "The same to you as well…Jessica!" He actually looks like he's having fun right now, and you got to admit yourself, that this battle is more exciting than anything to you!
So, for everything I promised…
For Loeyur…
For all those that need MY Help!
"I won't back down! / Give it your best shot!"
We both charged at each other, but this time I felt more focused that ever before. I could hear my sword striking his own weapon, I could see the counter-attacks coming from all sides, I could feel my own magic pulsating through my body, I could hear my own voice as I screamed out on every strong swing I have taken, and I could smell my own hard works' sweat while having a faint hint of copper in the air…
Is that how a real fight actually feels like?
We both clashed at the same time, causing our weapons to lock with one another, although I was using my own body's weight to press against the stick. And in that one lock…
"Ha Ha Ha!"
'Yorc must have been surprised, but I was really enjoying this to the fullest! Because this was happening! This wasn't fiction anymore, this is my reality!
"Say Jessica…why are you laughing?" It took me only four words to explain it. And I will never forget those:
"Because THIS is REAL!"
He instantly grew a smile on his face as he backed down from this exchange and readied himself instantly. "I'm glad…that you enjoy this as much as I do!"
I smiled fondly at him as I got ready again, and this time…
"Prepare yourself, Yorc!"
I'd give it my all.
...
(Stop playing 'Two Steps from Hell – United We Stand Divided We Fall' if you've played it)
(To be continued…)
(Fire Me): And well Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my way to show you that I'm still alive… now that I'm back, I might be more responsive to other comments and etc. but we'll see.
So for tonight, and because I'm tired as hell…
The Sir's out! (I'M BACK BABY!)