Chapter 39: The Rylent: Part 2 of 2: To Protect Those Dear to You: Defending the Ryulent
After eating the delicious onigiri, Ladius decided to start up another conversation with his friends and father's friends and allies. Namely, Lili.
Ladius decided to head to a clearing to start up a conversation with Lili. When he got to the clearing, he sees Lili punching the air and doing thust kicks before landing a kick on a boulder, it crack in half.
Lili sighed as she wiped some sweat from her forehead. She heard clapping, she turned around to see Ladius applauding her skills. "You are a strong fighter. I can see why my father was wise in befriending you."
Lili smirked and folded her arms. "Thanks. I owe a debt to your father for saving me from Summerill's monster army and zombie minions, so I'm repaying it by helping Ellis-chan and Renee-chan raising you."
"Say, Lili, I was curious… When did you learn martial arts? Were you self-taught by your family or an instructor?" Ladius said down on a tree trunk and asked Lili that question.
Lili looked away, rather a bit shamefully. "My papa wouldn't allow fighting not after what happened four years ago…"
"Hmm?" Ladius arched an eyebrow.
"Yes… four years ago, I was almost kidnapped and held for ransom due to my father being a wealthy oil magnate. They demanded if he doesn't give them the oil fields owned by Rochefort Enterprises, I will never be seen again. But then, just when I was kidnapped and tied up…" Lili blushed as she placed her hand on her cheek. That made Ladius a bit worried.
"I managed to break free and knocked out one of my captors and took out the second and final captor. That triggered something within me… I love to fight, I loved fighting so much that I get into fist fights and street fights. I did it in secret and entered a tournament called the King of Iron Fist, whoever wins it will be crowned the King of Iron Fist, or in that case of females, the Queen of Iron Fists."
"Oh, so you entered the tournament without your father knowing?" Ladius raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms and titled his head a bit.
"Yes… I was about to become the Queen of Iron Fists until that skank appeared…" Lili tighten her fist as feelings of spite swelled up within Lili.
"Skank?" Ladius has a feeling this conversation is about to turn ugly.
"Her name is Asuka Kazama and her fighting skills rivaled mine. We were evenly matched until I let my guard down and she defeated me and won the King of Iron Fists. Oooh, how I loathed her from that day. Worse yet, she attends the school I am enrolling at and she is the niece of that monster, Jin Kazama. A street bumpkin like her has no right to be Queen of Iron Fists." She slams her fist down on a nearby stump, obliterating it in the process. Ladius sweat dropped at Lili's determination to beat her rival back in her world.
"Well, since time in this universe moves slowly while yours and our friends' universes' time stand still while you're in here according to Dyshana, why don't you… um, try training hard to beat this Asuka Kazama person after we saved the omniverse from Summerill?" Ladius suggested with a meek smile.
Lili claps her hands in excitement. "Good idea! And I want you to be my sparring partner or at least one of your children to help me. Thank you so much, Ladius." She bowed politely.
"N-No problem." Ladius sighed in exhaustion.
And so, after resting a bit, our heroes continued on their way to the ryulent meeting place.
"Are we there yet?" Neptune moaned for perhaps like the seventh time, much to the dismay of her companions.
"Neptune… remind me why I shouldn't bitch slap you…" Noire said with eyes closed and teeth gritted as a dark aura appeared around her, indicating she is pissed.
"Now, now. We don't want any more casualties…" Duelo intervened, being the peacekeeper he is.
"Not much longer, my friends." Arbol announced as he lead the way.
Eventually, they got to the ryulent meeting place where our heroes began asking the wisest of the ryulent some questions.
"In Yamato, we were told the ryulent had disappeared." Vira-Lorr pointed out as she crossed her arms.
The elder ryulent named Misselkanui who looks like a tree nodded and stated "None have visited this forest, save us, for many years. How could anyone know we yet survive if they had come to our forest? However, it is true that this forest has become lonely. We are the last of our kind."
Tachibana looked down despondently. "How sad… I know that feeling when my race is being hunted down and killed by the Noise." She muttered in depression.
"I know that feeling as well. A long time ago in our world before ISes were invented, there's this evil man named Adolf Hitler who wanted to rule the world and formed the Nazis to hunt down Jews and kill them because he feels they are ruining his homeland of Germany." Charlotte sniffled as she looked away, feeling a bit depressed as well.
Misselkanui however smiled softly and reassured the two otherworldly girls with "We will never die as long as green plants continue to grow into this earth. The plants on this earth were born from us, and we are born from those plants." Then his expression turn grave and added "But if you talk of having form, speaking words, and communing with each other, then yes, you might say we are dying." Then his eyes adverted to Arbol and finished with "The only ryulent to be born in the past few centuries is Arbol. However, we are not the only ones facing extinction. The orerthes, syrium, and high elves are all at risk of disappearing." Ellis looked away despondently upon hearing this.
Arbol then tensed and alerted. "The forest is astir. I wonder what it could be. Never have I felt it so restless."
"What do you mean, restless? I hear nothing." Winfield muttered as he looked at Arbol oddly.
"A group of humans approaches the forest." Said Misseklanui .
Ellis's eyes widen. "A group of humans? No… It cannot be…"
"Grugund's army!" Ladius tighten his fist in fury.
"How the hell did they know we were here?! Unleass someone snitch on us!" Chris pounded her fists together in frustration.
"There are more of us than the usual numbers of travelers, so we may have left footprints for them to follow…" Vashtor frowned.
"If they knew we were in this forest, why did they follow us recklessly?" Laura gritted her teeth as she got her sword ready.
"We left the main body of our force behind… With these numbers, we hardly stood a chance." Winfield muttered in disbelief.
Vashtor closed his eyes and said "Armies fear for their honor, and those who command armies fear the disfavor of those who command them."
"Great… It seems all soldiers care about today is integrating themselves with those in power…" Ceclia rubbed her temples in annoyance.
Ladius turned to Arbol and asked him "Arbol, can you take us to Grugund's army?"
Arbol nodded and replied with "Yes, yes, of course."
Misselkanui questioned Ladius with "What do you mean to do?"
Ladius looked serious for a moment and told the tree elder "We cannot allow them to harry the people of Yamato. I will speak with them, and convince Grugund to leave Yamato be."
Misselkanui nodded in understanding and said "Very well. Arbol, show them the way." He issued.
"This way, then. Follow me." Arbol gestured them to follow him.
"I fear this will not prove so simple." Vira-Lorr sighed.
Sooner or later, they arrived at the Dinan Plains where a battle will take place.
A Grugund General turned to his soldier and asked "You are quite sure they went into this forest?"
The Grugund soldier nodded and responded with "We have a witness who saw a large band of warriors from Alzai Fen make their way into the forest. However, they do not call it the Lost Forest for nothing—finding them will be difficult."
"Then we'll burn it down." The Grugund General suggested.
That surprised the Grugund Soldier. "B-But they say that the ryulent lived in this forest, and if we were to anger them…" He stammered.
The Grugund General scoffed and retorted with "You don't believe a child's fairy tale, do you? Cease your foolishness at once! Burn them out. I don't care if they stay in there. Burn the entire forest down!" He ordered sharply.
Just as the soldiers were about to throw torches into the grund to burn the forest, Ladius and the gang managed to arrive just in time. "What are you doing?!" Ladius growled.
"What kind of idiotic question is that? We are burning this forest to the ground." The Grugund General scoffed again.
"You bastards! The ryulent are still in there!" Lloyd gritted his teeth as he got his twin swords ready.
"Ryulent? What does that matter? This is Grugund territory. What need have we for some strange forest? This land will be more useful once it has been cleared." The Grugund General pointed out darkly.
Ladius unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the Grugund General. "You fiend! Have you truly fallen this far?!"
Winfield closed his eyes and smiled nervously with a sweat bead. "Reckless in anger, just like your father and mother…. I suppose there's no stopping him now. Shall we?" He got out his gun and readies himself.
"We shall help as well." Arbol offered as he got into a battle stance. One of the soldiers gawked in shock at Arbol's size.
"R-Ryulent?! By the gods, they are tremendous!" He panicked. The Grugund General however, has other ideas.
"A monster?! Fear not, we shall overwhelm them with numbers!" The Grugund General ordered.
"Here they come." Vashtor tensed as he unsheathed his sword. "Spread out and do not let them surround you! We will draw them into the forest!"
Ladius got into a battle stance. "We have the strategic advangtage! As long as they cannot use their numbers, this battle is as good as won! Follow me!" Ladius issued.
And suddenly, a man about 18 years old, has brown hair, wore a white and blue medieval like uniform with gold buttons and black shoes jumped out of the blue. He gripped a katana of some sort. He also has a white amulet with a blue diamond embed on it. He glared at the Grugund soldiers. "Are you willing to burn down this forest filled with innocent creatures just to arrest some people?! I won't allow it! By the code of the knight, I will stop you!" He turned to Ladius and shouted "Let me aid you in defeating these villains!"
Ladius nodded with a smile and responded with "Much obliges! My name is Ladius von Busser Ragian. And you are?"
"Asbal Lhant, the pleasure's all mine!" Asbel unsheathed his sword and got into a battle stance.
"Get them!" The Grugund Genral ordered as the troops of Grugund and Ragian's Army charged at each other and clashed.
Meu unsheathed her Tenma Sword and charged at two Grugund soldiers, one of them slashed her from behind, but she recovered thanks to her trinket's power and did a upper slash that killed the first one.
Etna was cornered by five Grugund soldiers, she smirked as she spins her spear around and jabbed five times to kill them. Etna was then slashed in the back by a Grugund soldier, she growled and impaled the soldier with her spear.
Asbel locked swords with another Grugund soldier and after 30 seconds of struggling, he shouted "Nimble Fang!" Asbel got his sword out of the lock and slashed the Grugund Soldier three times before punching him in the stomach.
Luke was hesitant on killing a Grugund soldier who was approaching him, but Lloyd got in the way and shouted "Tiger Blade!" He slashed the Grugund soldier upwards and slams his swords down on the soldier, killing him. Lloyd turned to Luke and asked in concern "Luke? Is there something wrong? Why haven't you attack that soldier?"
"I….I…" Luke looked away, scared out of his mind. Lloyd looked at the selfish arrogant noble in confusion before he got back into the battle.
Colette threw her chakrams at three more Grugund soldiers, knocking them. Then she made purple energy like wings appear on her back and she started praying, in about 10 seconds, she opened her eyes and shouted "Holy Song!" A soothing light appeared in the sky and Ragian's Army felt their strength has increased.
"Colette, I didn't know you can do that!" Ellis gasped in amazement as she casted a fire spell on a Grugund Soldier, killing him.
"I… I think I have bits of my memories coming back to me! But let's talk about that later! We need to save the ryulent!" Colette told her as she sees Winfield, Takashi, Kohta, Jak, Rei, Saya, Ratchet, Aria and Alice D. fired their firearms at the Grugund soldiers, injuring their foes in the process.
Arbol slams his hands down as four more Grugund soldiers tried to cut him down, but roots burst out of the ground, knocking them to the ground and forcing them to flee for their lives.
Saekoi and Houki were back to back as five Grugund soldiers surrounded them. They unsheathed their katanas and in a quick flash, the Grugund soldiers' heads were decapitated, gushes of blood soaked into the ground.
Dizzy was cornered by a Grugund soldier, she is still reluctant of fighting, but luckily Junko appeared and impaled the Grugund soldier in the chest with her trusty katana. She looked at Dizzy and asked in concern "You okay, Dizzy?"
"Y-Yes… I still hate fighting, but it's what we must do…" Dizzy dusted herself and sighed in relief.
"Yeah, it's the only way to preserve peace." Junko nodded as she helped Dizzy up.
Lili jumped up and slams her foot down on a Grugund soldier's head, the impact knocked the soldier out.
Meia loaded her Dread Gun and fired a shot straight into a Grugund soldier's head, killing him. She blows the cinder as way cowgirls do in movies and sometimes anime.
Kanonno jumped up and shouted "Tempest Strike!" She spins like a pinwheel and her sword connected with two more Grugund soldiers, injuring them as they clutched their wounds.
However, more kept coming. Winfield grimaced with "A skilled warrior I may be, but even I cannot defeat this many men at once!"
Most of our heroes were panting heavily, all that fighting has worn them out.
Ellis glared at Winfield and snapped "That is why we fight as a team, you insufferable windbag! Perhaps if you fought with even half of the passion with which you complain…"
Winfield raised his hands defensibly and nervously said "Why such vitriol, my dear Ellis? You are too cruel…" Then Winfield struck a pose and grinned and shouted "Very well, then! Here I come, villains!" He charged at the soldiers.
Margno turned to Ladius and questioned with "Ladius, what now? Our men and women cannot hold out much longer!"
"Maybe it's time we surrender…" Daxter moaned, seeing the possible hopelessness of the battle.
"No," Ladius shook his head no. "if we surrender now, everything we have done will be for naught. We need to last only a bit longer. They will grow frustrated, and come in after us." Ladius got into a defensive stance.
The Grugund general growled as he sees Ragian's Army still standing. "What madness is this?! How can these worms hold their own against my elite forces?!"
"The men cannot move freely in the forest, my liege. It slows us to a crawl." One of the Grugund General's men reported.
"The time for excuses has passed! If the forest gives them an advantage, we must deal with the forest!" He turned to his men and ordered "Set the forest alight! Burn it to the ground! They will see what it means to defy Grugund!" The Grugund soldiers were lighting the torches.
Ellis's eyes widen in shock as she sees what their enemies are up to. "Ladius, Renee, look!" She pointed at the Grugund soldiers about to throw the torches into the trees.
"Damn it! If they light the forest on fire, not only the ryulent will perish, but we'll be trapped like mice!" Kirito growled as he got into a battle stance.
"Well then… we're screwed…" Jean lowered his head and sighed in defeat.
Suddenly, some ryulent appeared and used their tree powers to grab the soldiers about to throw the torches, the Grugund soldiers screamed in fright as one of the ryulent slams his fist down and made a huge splash, exstirigshing the flames on the torches.
"What is this?!" The Grugund General gawked as he sees his men being slaughtered by the ryulent.
"I-It came out of the forest." The Grugund General's aide stammered.
Arbol turned to Misselkanui with a questionable look and asked "Elder? What is everyone doing?"
Misselkanui smiled and said "We, too, shall lend our help."
Ladius shooked his head no and told the ryulent elder "No, this is between me and Grugund. I cannot allow-"But Ladius was interrupted by Misselkanui.
"This is our home, little human. What creature will allow another creature to destroy their home?" He reassured the Spirit Vessel of Generation 2. "To battle, my family!" The ryulent roared in agreement as they begin attacking the Grugund army.
The Grugund General stammered as he ordered his men with "W-What are you doing?! Start the fire! Quickly!"
Ladius however, in a quick flash appeared in front of the General and shouted in anger "I think not!" He thrusts his sword into the Grugund General's chest, impaling him. The Grugund General coughed up blood even if his mouth is covered with his mask as he fell down, dead.
The General's aide stammered in fear and shouted in fear "O-Our General's life has been taken! Run! Run for your lives!" The Grugund soldiers left the battlefield back to Grugund in fear and with their tails between their legs.
A few minutes later, Ladius turned to Misselkanui with a smile and said in gratitude "The day is ours. You have our thanks." Ladius bowed his head lightly.
Misselkanui smiled gently and told Ladius "There is no need to thank us. This is our forest. We have an obligation to protect our home."
Neptune was concerned however. "Will those meanies be back?" She asked.
"Maybe, but after the beating and frights we have given them, I doubt it will be anytime soon." Noire brushed her hair with a confident smile.
Zerva however has an idea to cheer up his allies and friends and told them "I… let slip… during battle that we intended to make for Fensarill. People avoid that which challenges their perceptions of themselves. I doubt they will return after such a defeat."
"Be as that may, I don't think they'll leave us alone and planning on sending experienced troops after us." Kanonno sighed as she looked down despondently.
Vashtor turned to Kanonno with cold eyes and told her "We will see if you are correct once we reach Fensarill."
"Um…" Asbel rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Is it alright if I come with you? I lost my memories when I arrived in this strange world. So maybe if I travel with you, they'll come back."
"Sure. We always welcomed another otherworlder in our group." Ellis closed her eyes and smiled.
"Worry not for our forest. If they return, we shall drive them off." Misselkanui reassured them with another of his elderly smiles. "A little exercise from time to time will do my old heart good."
"If this was but exercise to you, I pray we will never meet when you are truly angry." Winfield joked. Misselkanui, however eyed the Bracelet of the Covenant and Summerill's trinkets on Winfield, Renee and the otherwolders.
"If I may ask, how did you and your strangely dressed allies come in possession of that bracelet and other trinkets?"
Winfield was about to make a excuse until Renee placed her hand on his shoulder and told him "No, we need to tell the truth." She turned to the ryulent elder and told him "Winfield… is wearing the Bracelet of the Covenant while the rest of us strangely dressed people are from other worlds and are wearing Summerill's lost trinkets which are confined to our flesh."
"I see… and you cannot take them off no matter how hard you tried?" Misselkanui asked out of pity.
"Y-Yeah… If we don't find a way to remove them soon, we'll become Summerill's slaves forever." Kirito looked down despondently.
"Kirito…." Asuna looked at her husband in worry.
Dyshana remained emotionless as ever and asked "The ryulent are truly a wise race. When did you notice?"
"The moment I saw your friends. I felt the darkness growing stronger inside of them…" Renee, Winfield and the others who are confined to the trinkets looked down, worried that they are doomed to damnation as Summerill's slaves.
"Do you know how to remove the trinkets and the Bracelet?" Ellis asked, hoping to bring hope to her friends.
"I am sorry. I only know that those trinkets belong to the Demon King. We know little of the outside world." Misselkanui shook his head no.
"I see…" Ellis nodded slowly.
"The land is connected, no matter how far apart we may be or what may stand in our way. If you should set foot in the land closed off by ice, you would be wise to see the high elves that lived there. The Bracelet of the Demon King and his trinkets were crafted by high elves. There lives one who holds memories of a forgotten past." The ryulent elder told them.
Ellis was confused by what he meant. "Land closed off by ice…? I have never heard of such a place. Have you, Yayoi?" She turned to Yayoi for answers.
"No…" Yayoi looked away shamefully. "I am ashamed to admit it, but I know little of the world beyond Yamato."
Dyshana turned to Ellis with a reassuring eerie smile and told her "Ellis, you need not to worry. I know of such a place."
"But first, we need to deal with the problems on this continent first before we get there, right Dyshana?" Renee asked with her arms folded. Dyshana nodded in agreement. Ellis nodded as well.
Arbol stepped forward and said "Elder, I would ask your permission to accompany these small creatures on their quest."
Misselkanui nodded and told him "If you ask, it is given. You are the master of your own life."
Arbol smiled and said in gratitude "Many thanks."
"W-What?! That thing is coming with us?! Agh… My life just gotten even worse!" Luke raised his hands up in frustration.
"We are happy to have you in our army, Mister Arbol." Dita closed her eyes and giggled. Tokai rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"When the ryulent grow old, they travel the world, looking for a place to die, after which new life shall spring forth. Most of the forests in our world were born this way. Arbol may be still young and not quite ready to look for his place of rest, but the choice is his. Feel, touch, and see the world with your own eyes. My only hope is that when the time comes, you will find your resting place. After all, our lives are but a drop in the river of time." Missenlkanui smiled gently.
Arbol turned to his new friends and told them "Then I shall show you the way to Fensarill. Come, let us go."
To be continued…
Next chapter: The Boy Who Will Be Hokage and the SOS Brigade: Showdown with the Second of the Dark Generals
A/N: Another long chapter, my peeps! Anyway, Naruto and the gang and the SOS Brigade will appear and the first round with Winddershin, the villain of TOTW:RM will commence. So stay tuned.