"Touya, look at this." = Normal speech.
'Touya, look at this.' = Thoughts/Telepathy.
(One hour later.) = Time skip.
~Yo, it's God.~ = Phone call.
"Come forth, fire!" = Chanting.
[Kingdom of Belfast] = Title/Place/Rank/Weapon Name.
{Gate} = Spell name.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(Within the Royal Capital of [Belfast], [Alephis].)
Suffice to say, today has been full of close calls for Tristwin.
News of the survival of his daughter as well as her would-be kidnapper's demise and Touya's hand in defeating a dragon, Tristwin let out a sigh of relief when he heard it straight from his daughter's mouth as well as multiple eyewitnesses.
He was surprised to say the least when Yumina appeared out of nowhere, but then he remembered the mirror that was enchanted with {Gate} in one of the many rooms of the Royal Castle, and his daughter told him the reason for her sudden appearance.
Apparently, the village they chose to stop by for the night to rest, they were attacked by a black dragon during the small festival the villagers prepared in advance, thankfully, Kohaku was able to repel most of the attack away from the people and forced the dragon to back away.
After that, Yumina, along with Olga and Arma, were escorted to their carriage and were urged by Kohaku to go through the mirror and stay at the Royal Castle for the time being.
He slumped back into his chair, he was glad beyond belief that his daughter came back safely. Though his mood slightly damped when he heard that in order to save Yumina's life, Touya had to take Benson's in return.
Tristwin could not say he wasn't glad for Touya choosing to protect his daughter, but he felt pity for the young man, he just had his first kill and while Tristwin had not done so personally, he still knew how it felt to kill a person even if they deserved it.
While Tristwin knew that one way or another, Touya would be forced to make this decision, he did not think it would be this earlier and the King felt as if he was responsible for this to even happen. When he heard from General Lyon of Benson's escape, he was furious but even more so afraid when he realized the reason for the man's will to live.
He had imprisoned the guards who let the convict escape through bribery on the account of treason, as that was exactly what Benson and Balsa tried to do when they poisoned him and planned to take Yumina's hand in marriage through his assassination.
Tristwin rubbed his temple, trying to ease the growing headache from his thoughts of the noble and his son's schemes, as well as the fact that even Balsa was not stupid enough to try and do this alone without support from the other nobles who shared his ideals. Tristwin has approved several secret investigations of suspected nobles who had a history of prejudice against beastkins.
He sighed, there was nothing else he can do other than wait for the results, he sat up straight in his chair and and rested his elbows on the table, he thought back to the months prior of meeting Touya and becoming his father-in-law, when the adventurer saved his life with [Recovery], he thought of him as a remarkable person only to then shatter that expectation and show no interest for saving him.
Then, he thought of Touya to be a one of a kind person, but then his daughter asked to marry such a man that he could not refuse, after all, with Touya as her husband, there was little Tristwin would worry about.
And then he defeated a Laughing Coffin ambush.
And then he killed Benson.
And went on to kill a dragon with just his party alone.
It was then and there that Tristwin knew that Touya Mochizuki is destined for greatness, this was only the beginning of his endless glory and the man could not be anymore proud to know that he would be the husband of his daughter.
And if all goes well, maybe the next in line to be the King of [Belfast] if he plans to retire.
"Yumina." Tristwin whispered, "Touya is a good man, I trust that he'll treat you well."
The King smiled, he can rest easy knowing that his daughter was in good hands.
"Oh well, the work of a King is never done, back to work."
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(Early in the morning, at the [Eld Village], the aftermath of the dragon attack.)
"Over here!" The sounds of shouting echoed to the once untouched village, Linze and Touya ran up to a Belfastian Knight and used their water magic to put out a burning house.
As the water magic was able to douse the flames with no problem at all, it let the remaining Knights that were standing by run into the building and search for any villagers trapped within its walls. And this was what has been happening for the past few hours after the dragon's attack on the [Eld Village].
Touya and Linze, and to an extent Yumina with her wind magic. Were busy going around the village putting out the flames that continued to ravage the houses and threatened to burn the whole village down to its last building. Thankfully, without the continued fire breath of the dragon, it was easily contained by the three mages of the party.
The others weren't idle either, Elze and Yae did their best assisting the Knights with rescue operations, meanwhile Kohaku and Sally played relay and told the three mages which buildings had people in them. All in all, the prevention of the flames spreading went without any complications.
And as the last burning building was put out, the sun had already risen. Hours were spent healing, evacuating and dousing flames, the aftermath of the Dragon attack saw many houses destroyed and many buildings ruined, but thanks to the quick thinking of Touya and his party, most of the village stood. Along with the combined efforts of the convoy guards, the villagers were safely evacuated before anyone could be seriously injured.
When he went around healing the injured, he heard stories of the deeds Lyon and Garn did, after Kohaku was able to repel the initial attack, the two commanders took charge and evacuated to villagers in order to minimize the casualties, they did exceptionally well and many were saved, the only ones who didn't were the ones stuck in the burning buildings but they were thankfully saved by Touya and his party.
The villager he healed thanked him, Touya gave a smile and nodded before moving onto the next person who needed healing. He was busy healing one villager when he felt a tug on his coat, he turned around and saw one of the kids he saved, the young man smiled.
"Hey there, what do you need?" Touya asked.
"Mister… Thank you for saving me." The kid sniffed, "I- I was so scared-"
The little beastkin suddenly jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Touya. He was taken by surprise but he quickly returned the hug, comforting the child in his arms while the child cried for several seconds before letting go, sniffing.
The little beastkin thanked the young man who saved him, bowing in respect and appreciation, saying that one day he'll grow up to be just like him and even repay him for all his hero has done. Touya smiled and ruffled the child's head, patting him, he said that it wasn't any trouble at all and that he was just glad he could save someone when he did, he was an adventurer after all.
"Being an adventurer isn't all easy, are you sure you wanna be like me?" Touya asked. While he was never one for crushing a child's dreams, he still wanted to see whether the kid in front of him really wanted to be just like him.
"I do! I wanna grow up big and strong like you one day!" The child nodded, a fire in his eyes, one that told Touya of his determination to see his dream through, "I'll be so strong that I can even beat a dragon just like you!"
"Haha, what a big dream you got there, you sure you're prepared for it?" Touya inquired and the child nodded rapidly, "Tell you what, maybe in five years, I'll take you under my wing, how's that sound?"
"Yeah!" The child smiled cheerfully.
"What's your name by the way?" Touya asked.
"Oh, it's… it's Jaeger, mister." Jaeger answered.
"Jaeger? What a cool name, and how old are you?"
"I'm nine years old right now!" Jaeger explained.
"Heh, if you wanna be an adventurer, you gotta train hard and be kind to others, Jaeger, and when you're ready, come find me and I'll train you myself." Touya smiled, Jaeger nodded and waved goodbye, knowing that he took too much of his time away from healing people.
He watched as the child retreated and ran towards his friends, Touya let out a sigh as he went back to healing the many injured people during the evacuation, he was praised and thanked by the villagers and when all was said and done, Touya went underneath a tree and sat under its shade, exhausted from the fighting and helping.
He recalled that he has been fighting three days straight now, and yet he felt more mentally tired than he is physically, he didn't know whether or not it was thanks to the blessing God gave him or the training that he had while sparring with Sally and Yae it all ended with the same result of his stamina being exponentially higher.
There was also the question of his mana reserves, which he was gonna need to ask the big G about somewhere down the line, but for now, Touya was content with knowing he doesn't have to worry about his mana being low, he saw what mana exhaustion looks like and it ain't pretty. Before he could further dive into his thoughts the voice of a certain Knight accompanying his party spoke.
"So this is where you were, Sir Touya." Lyon stood next to the sitting teenager in question, "I was looking for you everywhere."
"Ah, Lyon, great work today." Touya gave a thumbs up to the Knight, he sighed and shook his head.
"No, I should be the one to say that to you, Sir Touya." Lyon praised, shaking his head as he didn't want to take all of the credit from the one who solved most of the problems without any complaints, "Not only did you fight a dragon and kill it, you also helped heal the injured and saved the lives of those children, if anything, you're the one worthy of much praise."
"That's not true, you saved those people and evacuated them from the village." Touya remarked, "And I didn't fight the dragon alone, I had my party help me out."
Lyon stood there stunned at the young man's humbleness, truely, he is a man worthy to even hold the title of Knight in his eyes, Lyon smiled and shook his head, "As powerful as you are humble, truly I envy you, Sir Touya."
"Oh! Sir Touya, Sir Lyon!" The two turned their heads towards the source of the voice and saw Garn approaching them, "What are you gonna do with the dragon?"
"What do you mean?" Touya asked, confused by what he meant.
"I mean, think of the raw materials! If you sell them you can generate a large sum of money!" Garn explained, as he began to list the parts of the dragon that could sell for a fortune, "Every single bit of a dragon is valuable, from its meat to its thick hide! In short you can sell any part of it for a high price!"
"Really now." Touya hummed as he cupped his chin, he thought about the potential money he could obtain from it but remembered that this journey also counted as a quest and was personally funded by both Alfred and the [Adventurer's Guild]. Plus, the villagers look like they need it more than he does.
"The one who has the right to sell them would be you and your party, but I already asked them and they said that it doesn't matter to them and that you would be the one to decide on what to do with it." Garn said, remembering the words each party member told him when he asked. They all seem to trust Touya enough to the point that they let him decide the fate of their spoils.
"Hmm." He hummed, "Well, I don't need the money right now, let the villagers have it."
"To the villagers!? All of it!?" Garn yelled, catching the attention of everyone within earshot of his voice, "Sir Touya! Do you have any idea what you're saying!?"
"Yes! These are highly sought after materials! All of them wouldn't go for any less than ten royal coins!" Lyon joined in, trying to convince Touya to reconsider. "Do you have any idea how much money you'll just be giving away!?"
Touya layed unfazed by the two men yelling at him and urging him to reconsider his decision, he won't lie, after hearing the amount of money he could get from just the dragon alone and that would make him more well off than ever before, but he thought of the village and that right now he doesn't need the money for anything. So he didn't change his mind.
He turned his head slightly to the direction of the village, the state it was in, while it was far better than before when the fire was spreading, it was still devastated, many buildings were laid in ruin hindering the livelihood of the villagers, even if his party was able to kill the dragon, the damages it left were far more dangerous. Thus Touya didn't care about the money and just handed it to the villagers in need.
"Nah, I'm good." He smirked, closing his eyes while he just relaxed under the shade of the tree, the wind blowing the leaves were music to his ears, "The village needs it more than I do so I have no problem giving all of it to them."
"...I see." Garn coughed into his hand, "Speaking on behalf of [Mismede], thank you Sir Touya."
"Ha… It's just as father said, you truly are a great and honorable man, I can't help but admire you and your kindness, Sir Touya." Lyon commented, feeling a little envious of the young man before him.
Touya just waved it off saying it's nothing special, but that only elevated him in the eyes of Lyon. When he heard of Touya from his father he didn't quite believe that such a selfless man existed but now that he saw the young man with his own eyes and saw just how kind he really was. His father was right. Touya truly is a great and honorable man.
Lyon smiled, he truly did underestimate this young man before him.
When the villagers heard of his generosity, they approached him and thanked him more than they could, saying that they will never forget the kindness they showed him as well as all the work he had done without even thinking of getting anything in return.
Touya shook his head and said he did get something in return, it was seeing the smiles of the people in front of him, just when the villagers of [Eld Village] thought he couldn't be any kinder, he just exceeded their expectations. Once more, the villagers thanked Touya and his party, swearing that they will never forget about their good deeds.
Little did Touya know, the [Eld Village] would be one of the many places to spread about his achievements, but that is a story for another time.
After leaving the thankful villagers, Touya went around and caught up with his party members, they engaged in a conversation with each other until they reached a conclusion that they were pretty much all tired from all the events that happened the past few days. However, just before Touya could enter the carriage, he was suddenly stopped by the Village Chief, Solum.
The old man was accompanied by two men, holding some remains of the dragon Touya and his party had slain, they approached the young man who was waiting in confusion on why the village elder wanted with him.
"Sir Touya Mochizuki, correct?" Solum asked, Touya nodded, the older man smiled before continuing, "I can not thank you enough for everything you and your party has done for our humble town, not only did you slain the dragon, but you also helped with clearing, healing, and donating the dragon's body to us. On behalf of [Eld Village], I give you my sincere gratitude."
"Which is why I've decided to leave these parts to you." On que, the two men accompanying Solum stepped fourth, "This is one of the dragon's horns, while this one is one of the nails of its claws."
"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not the only one who fought the dragon…" Touya thanked him, but before he could reject the offer, Solum raised his hand.
"Yes, but you were still the one to kill it, not only that, but we've heard your weapons were destroyed during the fight, you can use these parts to craft a new weapon or you can sell them and buy a new one." Solum explained, "But please, accept these, it's the least we can do for everything you have done for us."
"In that case, I humbly accept, thank you." Touya reluctantly agreed after hearing the old man's plea, not wanting to disappoint and to further stop any future rewards.
As the two men left, only one remained, Touya stared in confusion as he watched the man sigh and walk close to him before bowing, the sudden action surprised the young man as he told the older man bowing to raise his head.
"Thank you, with all my heart, thank you for saving my son!" The man announced.
"Son? You mean Jaeger?" Touya recalled. The older man stood up once more and nodded.
"Yes, Jaeger, I am his father, Yegor." Yegor explained, taking Touya's hand and shaking it, "Again, I cannot thank you enough for saving my son's life."
"It was no problem really, I did what I had to do." Touya smiled, happy to know he was able to save a man's son from harm.
"Even so, I still owe you my gratitude, especially when you defeated the dragon and donated its body to us. You have no idea how thankful we all are for it." Yegor said. Once again, Touya said it was nothing, after a few more words were exchanged, Yegor knew he was taking up Touya's time and so left him to his own devices.
Touya bid the man farewell as he left him alone, sighing, Touya inspected the dragon parts he was given and was impressed to find out that they weigh lighter than they look.
"Huh, so that's why these things are sought after…" Touya commented, a slight smile on his face as he turned and opened the door to the carriage, "Welp, that's for later use, I need to sleep."
He opened the doors to the carriage and just as he was about to enter, he was greeted with the sight of the sleeping faces of his party members, Yae, Elze and Linze shared the same blanket and slept peacefully, Touya smiled, he carefully stashed the dragon parts inside of the carriage while trying not to disturb the sleeping forms of his friends and left.
'No way I'd sleep there, better find another spot to sleep.' A smile on his face as he went back to the tree he previously laid next to.
He then realized that Yumina was nowhere to be found, but just before he could go and look for her, she seemingly appeared out of nowhere and handed him a blanket, "Touya, here, have a blanket."
She smiled as he accepted the blanket she gave him and returned the smile with one of his own.
"Thanks, Yumina." He nodded and wrapped the blanket around him, he let out a satisfied hum, the blanket enveloping him in a warm and snug feeling, he suddenly felt his eyelids get heavier.
With one last blink, he let himself be taken over by his slumber and slept.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the [Eld Village], afternoon.)
Touya stirred awake, his eyes opening but he had trouble adjusting to the sun's light after having his eyes shut for so long. When he was able to finally adjust to the light - he was greeted with the smiling face of Yumina. It had been a few hours since then, while Touya slept, Yumina was able to shift his position and have his head laying on top of her lap.
The way the sunlight highlighted Yumina's form along with the shadow of the tree brought out the glow of her dual colored eyes, Touya never really put much attention to them usually but at this moment, Yumina's eyes was the most eye-catching thing to wake up to, her bright smile filled with warm appreciation for him. Her slight blush on her face made her all the more cuter yet at the same time, beautiful.
"Have you slept great?" She asked.
"Yeah, I did." Touya smiled, taking a deep breath as he took in the sight of his fiancee, "How long was I out?"
"Only for a few hours, I'd say you need some more sleep." Yumina giggled.
"Oh look, he's awake." Turning to the source of the annoyed tone, Touya saw the rest of his party standing near him and Yumina. Sally was off to the side with Kohaku next to her and yawning. The raven-haired female had a smirk on her face which told all what Touya needed to know.
Reluctantly, Touya removed himself off of Yumina's soft thighs and stood up, she did the same.
"It was a good sleep, I bet." Linze remarked, her tone is a little different from it usually is.
"He seemed to enjoy it…" Yae commented.
"Lighten up, you'll get your chance." Sally quipped, her smirk getting a little wider, "Maybe."
Touya wisely shut his mouth, whatever it was that was causing the other girls, sans Yumina and Sally, to be annoyed at something, he chose to quietly let them resolve the issue. Thankfully Yumina saw the atmosphere and ran up to the girls.
"Now, now, settle down." Yumina hummed, her joyful mood striking down the downcast atmosphere, she clapped her hands together to get their full attention, "Rock paper scissors is a sacred game, so let's not hold any grudges shall we?"
"I know… But…" Elze groaned, trying to find a way to argue but came up short in the face of Yumina's reasoning.
"...Yeah…" Linze solemnly nodded.
"I am terribly sorry." Yae apologized and bowed.
Touya raised an eyebrow in confusion but was glad that the issue was resolved without any conflict occurring, he turned to Sally and approached her, the raven-haired female saw him and flashed her signature grin.
"What do you need, Master?" Sally tilted her head.
"Do you happen to know why the girls were acting a little tense?" Touya asked.
"Well, it's a girl thing, you don't have to worry about it." She waved her hand dismissively, Touya stared blankly at her response but shook his head and sighed.
"Oh, by the way, Master." Sally started, catching his attention, "I don't think you noticed, which is understandable, you really went ham on that dragon, but there were at least two people watching us fight."
"Huh?" Touya mouthed.
"It's true Master, I can confirm, there were at least two people watching us that night, they were likely on the top of the trees overwatching the field we fought in." Kohaku added as she walked near Touya, "I assumed they were villagers at first since they didn't show any killing intent towards us."
At her statement, Touya hummed, "Is that so…"
"Touya! Please get ready, we'll depart soon!"
Though, before he could think deeper about the news, Olga's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, the beastkin approached the young man and informed him that they were getting ready to depart. Nodding, he called for the rest of the party and retold them what Olga said. They all nodded and one by one they started walking towards the carriages.
Still, despite the walk there, Touya felt like a pair of eyes was watching not just him, but also Yumina, he remained on guard but not enough to give away that he knew someone was watching him. After these past events, he couldn't afford to be too careless. Nevertheless, he entered the carriage but not before giving one last glance at his surroundings.
He narrowed his eyes until he sighed and shook his head. He entered the carriage and went to take a seat, this time, since there weren't many Knights and carriages, Elze and Linze were now seated inside of the transport instead of handling the reins and controlling the horses. He sighed as he realized how cramped the place almost was but he found his seat relatively easy.
Making himself comfortable, Touya yawned, today was the day their journey through [Mismede] would come to an end, a few hours from now they should arrive at the Capital and finally meet the Beastking. Touya smiled as he rested his chin on his hand, soon he'll be able to complete this quest and go home.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the capital of [Mismede], [Berge].)
The capital city of [Mismede], [Berge, Capital of Beasts], was currently the most populous and largest city within the Kingdom, here many beastkin arrive to find a new livelihood as more and more merchants and jobs opened up, and while the capital wasn't as grand nor as big as [Alephis], it was still a sight to behold.
Touya noticed that compared to the European medieval style of buildings in [Belfast], [Mismede] took a more Indian approach when it came to the style of its buildings which Touya was all for he was excited to see the new sights. He watched through the window of the carriage with awe and he wasn't the only one, he could see the rest of his party, sans Sally, watching in amazement as well.
The convoy strode through the main streets of the capital, passing various shops, places and people. The lively atmosphere was different than in [Alephis] but it had the same welcoming feeling. Many beastkin walked the capital and some of them were smiling and even waving as the convoy passed them. Which caused everyone in the convoy to smile and wave back.
As the trip began to come to a close, the coachman of the party's carriage pulled on the reins, stopping the horses just shy of the Royal Palace's gates. The coachman announced their arrival and urged everyone to disembark from the carriage, everyone obliged and one by one left the carriage. Once they were all outside, they were suddenly approached by the [Mismedian Royal Guards].
Clad in the best armor and armed with the finest weapons [Mismede] can offer, the guards offered to escort the group to the Beastking. The party had no objections and gladly accepted the offer.
The Royal Guards escorted them to the Beastking, the trip was a short one, as while the Royal Palace was big, it was significantly smaller than the Royal Castle the group was familiar with, though that meant the trip didn't take long and once they reached the room where he was at the group all collectively bowed to the Beastking.
Seated on the throne was the Beastking himself, along with a row of Royal Advisors near him, all of them were various beastkins and they watched the group with watchful eyes.
"My lord." Olga greeted before the ruler of [Mismede], "I, Olga Strand, have returned from my trip to the [Kingdom of Belfast]."
"Hmm, well done." The Beastking nodded, he was a big and muscular beastkin with snow white colored hair and a large beard covering most of his face, he dressed in his royal attire and the crown on his head adorned with a bright red jewel, this is current ruler of [Mismede], Jamukha Blau Mismede.
"Garn, and also the [Knights Of Belfast], I'm glad that you were able to make it here." The Beastking solemnly commented, "However, let me share my grievances for those who have fallen in the line of duty to bring you all here."
When the letter from Olga arrived, written in it were the events that had transpired as well as the obstacles that the convoy needed to overcome in order to complete their journey to the Royal Palace, he was sad when he first heard of the news but he held his head high and thanked them for their service.
Jamukha bowed his head in honor of those that gave their lives to protect the convoy and to insure its safe passage to [Mismede]. His advisors did the same, a comforting silence taking over the room before it was broken by the two Knights Jamukha addressed.
"It is in honor, my lord." Garn and Lyon nodded, sharing the Beastking's sentiments.
"The honor is all mine." Jamukha nodded and turned his attention to the adventurer's party, "And as for you…"
"All of you are the people the King of [Belfast] sent?" He asked, scanning the group with keen curiosity, he then recalled what he read before their arrival to the Royal Capital, "I heard your group was able to repel a Laughing Coffin attack, a pirate ambush and was able to slain the black dragon that attacked the [Eld Village] during your journey here, is that true?"
Kneeling in respect was the entire party, even Sally who usually stayed within Touya's shadow was there physically and knelt in respect to the Beastking. Yumina took this as her que and stood up, intent on introducing herself and the rest of them to the Beastking.
"Yes, you have heard correctly." Yumina nodded, gesturing to the party, "These adventurers before you besides me had killed the black dragon that attacked the village."
"And who might you be?" Jamukha asked curiously.
"Pardon my late introduction." Yumina apologized and curtsied, "I'm the daughter of Tristwin Ernea Belfast, the King of the Kingdom of [Belfast], I'm the first daughter, Yumina Ernea Belfast."
A series of gasps filled the room, from the Royal Advisors of the Beastking as well as the Beastking himself, his eyes slightly widened in surprise, he didn't think the King would send his only daughter as the representative of his Kingdom.
"My… What is the Princess of [Belfast] here in my kingdom?" He inquired.
"To show you just how important this matter is and how genuine we are of this alliance." Yumina explained, reaching into her back and pulling out an envelope, she presented it to the Beastking who accepted it, "Here is a letter from my father, I humbly ask you to read what is written on it at your leisure."
"I see…" The Beastking hummed, skimming through the letter fast before he nodded and smiled, "So that's how it is. Give me time to consider what is written here and I'll give my response soon enough. Until then, feel free to make yourselves at home in my palace."
"Now then!" He exclaimed, his overall tone less formal and more casual, "We can stop the formalities right here."
"There's something that I've been meaning to ask, is that white tiger yours?" Jamukha asked, eyeing Kohaku with amazement in his eyes.
"Yes, it's Sir Touya's… It's sort of his servant." Yumina told the man as she gestured to her beloved while trying to mask the true relationship and who Kohaku really is, the small divine beast let out a cute rawr in response.
"...I see, a white-tiger-taming-hero that defeated a dragon…" Jamukha mumbled, he slowly chuckled to himself before he exploded into a full jovial laughter, "Hahaha! It's been a while since I last felt my blood boil like this!"
"How about it, Touya!" He suddenly stood up from his throne and pointed at the young man in question, "Wanna have a spar with me!"
His declaration caused everyone in the room to double take, here was a Royalty, a King no less! Challenging an adventurer! The reactions of the people in the room varied from bewilderment, surprise, shock, groaning and disappointment, mostly from the Beastking's advisors.
"Eh?"
As for Touya, he titled his head, just how many fights was he gonna get himself into!?
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the capital of [Mismede], [Berge], in the coliseum.)
Word of the fight between the Beastking and the adventurer who slain a dragon spread among the royal family of [Mismede] along with their closest confidants, a significant amount of people came to watch the spar unfold. Up at the seats, Yumina and the rest of the girls sat, along with them were the two of the Queens of the Kingdom along with their children.
Yumina quickly glanced at everyone there and her eyes fell on three people who seemed to resemble the Beastking, maybe they were another group of children the Beastking fathered with another woman? Who knows, all she knew was that the male seemed to be the eldest of the three. She took her eyes off of the three and returned it to the two men down at the arena.
"We are terribly sorry, Sir Touya." One of the Advisors of the Beastking apologized, bowing his head in shame, this was Chancellor Glatz, a winged beastking, "It's in the Beastking's nature to fight anyone who he considers strong… We are greatly troubled by his attitude…"
"If I were to request of you, please, we will be eternally grateful if you would kick his ass just this once!" Glatz pleaded, "Please fight with all your might!"
"Wait wait wait." Touya stopped for a moment, flabbergasted at the request, "Isn't he your King? Are you sure you want me to do that?"
Then, once he finished his sentence, every single advisor that was there started ranting their hearts out, yelling and screaming profanities.
"DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! THIS BATTLE JUNKIE ALWAYS UNDERMINES STATE AFFAIRS!" One of the advisors shouted.
"AND REMEMBER WHEN HE GOT AN IDEA FOR A NEW WEAPON!? HE JUST WALKED OUT TO A BLACKSMITH AND TOLD THEM TO MAKE IT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT RUINED THE SCHEDULE!?" Another yelled as he shook his fist in anger.
"YEAH! LIKE THAT TIME WHERE HE DISAPPEARS AND SHOWS UP IN THE SOLDIER'S BARRACKS JUST TO BEAT THEM ALL UP!" One of the advisors yelled, Garn, who was at the coliseum watching, whined as he remembered the time where Jamukha beat him till he was black and blue.
It was not a pretty sight, nor was it a memory Garn wanted to remember.
"DON'T FORGET WHEN HE SAID HE WANTED TO HOST A FIGHTING TOURNAMENT!"
"WHERE ARE WE GONNA FIND THE FUNDING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!? WHERE!?"
Touya sweatdropped as the advisor continued to endlessly rant until they were out of breath, he watched as they haggardly caught their breaths before one of them coughed into his hand and cleared his throat.
"Which is why we ask you to beat the shit out of him so hard that he'll actually start taking his royal duties more seriously." A horned beastkin explained before he raised his hand, "So let's start the match, this will last for as long as it takes until one side receives an otherwise fatal wound or if they choose to surrender."
Touya nodded and spun the spear he was given, it was a simple yet beautiful Mismedian crafted spear, the bladed tip was blunt to make it less deadly, at his hip was a sword of the same origins. Due to his weapons being destroyed thanks to the fight with the black dragon, Jamukha offered to give him some temporary ones for the fight.
Of course, not wanting to be rude, accepted and was now in the process of checking out his weapon, Jamukha on the other hand finished his stretches and picked up his weapons on the ground. They were a simple sword and shield combo. The Beastking cracked his neck, sighing in bliss when he heard his bones pop.
"Magic is allowed, however, offensive magic aimed directly at your opponent is strictly forbidden." The horned beastkin said, "Do both parties agree to these rules?"
Both men nodded, not finding the rules too strict nor too lax, a perfect balance, both sides readied their weapons, Jamukha took a stance, placing his shield in front of him while he kept his sword close by in case he needed to counter attack.
As for Touya, he brandished the spear in his head before taking up a stance with it, he slightly loosened his grip on it to make room for the sword's handle strapped to his hips, if he needed to quickly switch from sword to spear he would be able to with his position.
"Don't you dare hold back, boy." Jamukha chuckled, narrowing his eyes, "Consider this a real fight, a fight for your life, use everything you have to defeat me!"
Touya nodded slightly, as he narrowed his eyes as well. The horned beastkin that was acting as the referee called out to both parties, catching their attention but not enough to make them take their eyes off of each other.
"Ready!"
Jamukha scanned for every possibility Touya would do, while the younger man let out a deep breath of air.
"Fight!"
'Now, what will you do Touya if I do this-'
"{Slip}" Touya stretched out his hand and chanted, his null spell caused the Beastking to lose his footing and flop to the ground on his back.
"What the-!?"
Before he could try to get back him, Touya was already upon him and aimed his spear's tip near the Beastking's neck, "Alright, that's a wrap."
"What-!? Wait a second!" Jamukha argued, getting back up to his feet and pointed at Touya with his hand, "That's not fair at all! What was that!?"
"Oh, that was my null spell, {Slip}, it's a non-offensive magic spell so it isn't against the rules." Touya smiled, slightly mocking the Beastking as he fumed.
"NO NO NO! That's cheating! You can't win with something like that!?"
Up at the seats, everyone who was watching everything all collectively laughed as they watched big and strong Beastking complain like some child who was denied their candy, Yumina turned her head slightly to the right and saw a beastkin with light bluish wolf ears watching the event unfold with glee.
Back to the arena, Jamukha continued to fume as he tried to get his rematch.
"I want a rematch! But this time you can't use that accursed null spell!" Jamukha demanded, Touya smirked as he turned his head to Chancellor Glatz.
"Oh~ I don't know… What do you think, Chancellor~?" Touya sang.
"Well, we would prefer it if you would refrain from delaying our governmental affairs any longer." Glatz smiled with glee.
"Gl-Glatz!? DOn't say that! Give me some time! I promise after this I will take those seriously from now on!" Jamukha begged, which was a humorous sight for everyone at the coliseum.
"Very well, Sir Touya - if you don't mind, please have another match with his Beastiness." Glatz asked.
"And remember! You can't use that null spell anymore!" Jamukha commanded, still sore about his quick loss thanks to {Slip}.
"Okay okay! I won't use it for this fight." Touya raised his hands in surrender as he calmed the Beastking down.
Thankfully, his words seemed to go through and both men went back to their previous spots and took up stances once more.
They stared each other down, scanning for any sudden moves the other would make and how to properly counteract it. The air around them changed, before them the whole world stopped and only the two men in front of each other focused their attention on the other.
At the seats, everyone watched with anxious feeling as they silence enveloped the entire arena and growing anticipation took over - Both men were experienced in the art of combat and neither budged from their positions content on watching the other for any sudden movements, this caused the rest of the onlookers to hold in their breathes.
The agonizing wait for the fight to commence for what seemed like minutes of waiting made everyone nervous, but to those who learned first hand of combat could only smile as both men were looking for the right moment to strike and take this match with one move.
And it seemed like they didn't have to wait any longer as the distinct sound of a bell rang through the air. Without missing a heartbeat - Both men lunged.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
Whoops, a cliffhanger.
I decided to cut the fight between the Beastking and Touya, because god damn, three chapters full of fight scenes back to back? That'll get boring quick, so I decided to save it for next chapter.
I have nothing much to say other than this chapter and the next one and so are the last chapters of the Mismedian Arc. Also it was a short one right? This chapter currently as of now, is the shortest in terms of words being only 7K+ words. Adding to that this Arc also is the shortest but it has most of the fanfic's fight scenes within it.
Oh and thank you to everyone who reads this fanfic and continues to do so! I never would've imagined that I would get this far into writing it, I honestly thought I'd only leave it at 5 chapters and never touch it again like most of my other fics I wrote, this one is the first to make it past Chapter 10!
So, once again, I thank you for all your support, you have no idea how much it means to me, all your likes, kudos, follows, comments and reviews are what motivates us fanfic writers to do more!
Until next time, this is V_KJ, signing out.