The blunt side of his sword was forced to contend with what looked like a primitive club, swung with such force his knees buckled in their attempt to absorb the impact of the clash.

'Calm down! It's not the same as that time!' Brain's mind shouted at him as he scrambled to get his bearings. Indeed, after getting over the initial shock, he could tell that his opponent was not an otherworldly calamity like that monster. The attack just now had packed a serious punch, but it was strength firmly rooted within the confines of the mortal world. He could deal with that.

From the long and jagged teethed mouth, the brown-greenish scales adorning their bodies and other such reptilian features combined with their humanoid-like shape, there was no doubt that the ones in front of them were lizardmen. Yet it was those bloodshot eyes of theirs, so reminiscent of the creature that had so thoughtlessly toyed with his life, that gave him pause. There was no life in them, only a continuous and rage-filled madness, not the kind that sucked you in and never let go, but rather the kind that spread like wildfire, devouring everything in this part. From what he had heard, lizardmen were supposed to be a rather intelligent species, on the same level as humans, but Brian found that standing in front of him were but mindless and bloodthirsty animals.

The one that had initially attacked him let out a bloodcurdling scream as it raised the club once more, looking to pummel him into the ground. Pushing off the slightly creaking wood, he jumped back, trying to put some distance between his attackers. There seemed to be a lot of them, but between the tight door of the backdoor entrance and their own bulky statures, only three or four had managed to squeeze inside the building. The rest were squirming at the doorstep in an amalgamation of clawed hands and tails, desperate to join their brethren in the upcoming slaughter.

Without a thought, Brain brought his weapon above his head, ready to deliver a vertical slash, but was forced to a sudden halt as two of the other lizardmen rushed in from behind the club-wielding one in an attempt to encircle him, striking forward with their spears from both of his sides at once. Even though their movements were rough and over-telegraphed and their weapons looked like someone had found some sticks on the ground and haphazardly added a pointed tip, they made up for all of that with sheer overwhelming speed. Brain was forced to parry one of the lunges and duck his head to avoid the other, his feet shuffling on the wooden floor to regain their standing. He had less than a second to pull back as all three of his opponents unleashed a flurry of attacks at the same time. Had their lack of coordination not hindered them almost as much as they threatened him, they would have probably shredded him apart. As it was, the only blood that they managed to draw was a slight cut along his forearm where his body danced along the length of one of the spears. For his trouble, he was rewarded with a satisfying crunch as the butt of his sword struck the chest of one of the lizardmen, allowing him to transfer the already generated momentum into a twist, the head of another's getting cut off in the same motion.

The last of the trio had forsaken his weapon altogether, jumping straight at him, maw large open as it sought to rip and sever flesh and bone alike with a biting strength that could go through stone-like butter. Brain jumped to the side, only for the mad beast's tail to suddenly tense up and strike at him like a viper encroaching on his prey. Still, in midair, it was like he had taken the full brunt of a giant sledgehammer to the chest. Pain flourished along his whole body as he was hurled into a nearby wall with a deafening thud, squeezing every single breath of air out of him. His head spun, the world tilting violently in all directions, the incoming swamp-brown juggernaut rushing his way with a roar barely registering in his mind. His fingers sought the familiar comfort of cold steel, just as they had a thousand times over, yet this time the sword's handle was nowhere to be grasped.

Jolting his head back up, his eyes narrowed towards the glinting steel at the edge of his vision. Though every step quickly approaching him was like a small tremor shaking the whole tavern, Brain paid it no heed. Instead, he dived towards his weapon, rolling into a nearby chair to instantly stop his momentum. He did not need to look up to see as the touring figure pounced on him, ready to tear him to pieces, the sudden rush of air was clue enough. His hands greedily encroached on the sword's handle and, guided by instinct alone, he instantly brought the edge of the blade directly above him. Not a moment later, an enormous weight slammed into it, pinning him to the ground. A splurt of cold, sickly green blood splashed into his face, followed by a deep gargling noise. For a second Brain was face to face with those nightmarish red orbs, as they stared back at him, refusing to see him as anything but a sack of meat to be consumed. Yet from them, a small, shying tear still managed to peek his way out from that twisted inferno, gently dripping down the dry scaley soles. Then the body collapsed on top of him.

'Dammit! When did I get so much slower?!' He bitterly thought as he struggled to push the colossal weight off of him. The whole fight, his own body had felt sluggish, unresponsive. He could see the necessary movement in the back of his mind, yet his reflexes simply hadn't been able to keep up. A sudden flare of pain spiked in his body as he abruptly turned to get up, a mocking reminder of his current incompetence. A couple of months back, those guys wouldn't have been able to land a finger on him. If there had been more of them at once, he might have been in serious trouble...

At the same moment the thought passed his mind, and his eyes darted in panic towards the entrance. What greeted him however were not more those bloodthirsty madmen. Instead, pieces and innards of said bloodthirsty madmen stood scattered across the room, staining the wooden tiles and the walls alike in various shades of greenish liquid, the vile, putrid smell rising from them having already overpowered the pleasantly warm fragrance seeping out from their dining table. And in the middle of that carnage, Kojirou stood, his unblemished visage at odds with the piles of slaughtered lizardmen surrounding him. Had it not been for the traces of blood smeared along that overly sized sword of his, he would have not thought him the one responsible for those deaths.

Brain blinked. He hadn't even seen the man move. Just when had he...?

"A-Amazing!" said Climb, mouth hanging open in disbelief. From the looks of it, the boy had intended to participate in the fight as well but didn't have the opportunity to. By the time he had stood up and unsheathed his weapon, it was already over.

"These enemies were...most peculiar" Kojirou mused, lightly poking one of the disembodied heads with his sword. "The feeling they gave out, I would have thought of them closer to dragonkind than anything else. Yet in terms of strength, they can't compare even to a small wyvern?"

"Just because they're both types of lizards that doesn't mean there has to be a connection between them, you know," Hans said from his spot at the table. He was the only one still seated and the only unarmed person in the room, the rest of the staff having bolted into the basement as quickly as they could. From the way, his feet were dangling aimlessly over the chair and the still half-full glass swirled in his hand, Brain got the impression the midget seemed more annoyed than anything else at the current turn of events. "And just how would you know what a dragon is supposed to be like, anyway? I thought from our lineup, only that tsundere witch should have any knowledge on the subject."

"I am not too sure myself" Kojiro hummed. He was gently stroking his cleanly shaved chin as if trying to remember a long-forgotten memory. "I seem to recall a certain incident in France, though I'm not very clear on the details."

"The poor fool who thought it was a good idea to have you fight a dragon, I pity him."

"I believe I performed quite admirably."

"Stop talking like you remember any of it, I can tell you don't." Seeing as their bickering wasn't reaching a conclusion any time soon, Brain's patience quickly drained up.

"Can you two stop talking nonsense already? We're in the middle of a goddamn crisis!" he shouted. "Lizardmen are known to hunt in groups. If they planned to attack such a large human settlement, I doubt those are the only ones who've shown up. The whole town could be under attack as we speak!"

"Princess Reinner might be in danger! I need to go back to her side." Climb exclaimed. His eyes turned pleadingly as they took in everybody present. His head bowed before them. "Please! I know you have no reason to assist, but many innocent lives could be in danger! We need all the help we can get."

"I suppose we wouldn't mind lending a hand or two," Kojirou responded with a small grin.

"Yes, we would." Hans immediately perked up.

"Ignore him. Despite how he usually seems and acts, he's quite a 'tsundere' himself." the swordsman quipped back. The icy-haired brat affixed him a death glare, but his partner was already moving towards the door.

Begrudgingly as it was, Brain found himself agreeing with Andersen on this point. Those lizardmen were no joke; there was no reason for him to stick out his neck against a horde of them. At most, he could shill out a good payday from all of this, especially if he helped protect the princess, but still, the risk-to-reward ratio simply wasn't worth it. Yet as he took in the sight of the foreign swordsman as he stepped out into the night, something pulled at him. Their stature, their mannerisms, the way they talked, they couldn't be any more different, yet for a split second, he found himself staring at the broad back of his old rival.

'When up against an unknown enemy, it's better to stick together with the toughest guys around anyway. There's no way to know I won't find myself surrounded if I try to get away on my own. Yeah, this is probably the safest move for me right now.' His mind set, Brain hurried to get in step with Climb's overeager stride and Andersen's exasperated trudge.


The rest of the town was in complete disarray. There was no trace left of the outgoing and crowded streets, full of overstocked carts and energized bustling of people going about their day with a pep in their step. What awaited them was but a deformed parody of its memory, a destroyed vestige that put the most decrepit of bandit camps to shame. Dozens of lizardmen prowled around like harbingers of destruction, rushing around aimlessly at everything around them. Shops, houses, animal stables, nothing was spared by their insane onslaught, for everything they managed to get their hands on got reduced to rubble. The remaining townsfolk, those who had not managed to lock themselves in the false safety of their homes, ran around in every direction they could muster, the demon called fear possessing them robbing their ability to protect themselves. Brain would not call himself a man with a weak stomach, not for alcohol and neither for atrocities. But seeing those elongated maws joyfully eating on the remains of people on the sidewalk was more than enough to make him want to look another way. Unfortunately for him, there weren't many directions left where he could look and not feel the contents of his recent dinner squirm around in his stomach.

Sparing no moment to stop, he quickly made his way towards the first group of beasts, Kojirou by his side. At the corner of his eyes, he could see the greyish silver of Climb's armour as he struggled to keep up with the two of them. Their first prey of the night had been almost laughingly easy, the lizards all too lost in their maddened feast to notice their approach until the sharp steel of their swords found their throats. It was only after their corpses dropped dead on the ground that the rest of their kind noticed the three of them and the struggle began in earnest.

Brain had to admit, Kojirou was certainly impressive. Whereas Climb was the embodiment of the cookie-cutter style all fresh knights got hammered in their bones during training, albeit with some brief flashes of brilliance buried underneath, the strangely dressed man was another beast entirely. His style of swordsmanship was unlike anything he had seen before. Sure there were a couple of obscure schools that employed some similar techniques, yet none with the same skill and deadliness as the living whirlwind of steel next to him. The weapon seemed to come alive in his hands, that oversized pole of his flowing like a torrent of water as its owner all but danced around his opponents. There was no posturing, no unnecessary flourish, yet there was undeniably a sense of beauty in his strikes. It made the man feel untouchable like none of the crude weapons of their opponents seemed to be able to harm him, the sharpness of their claws and fangs posing as much danger as a wooden stick stuck in the mud.

Against his will, Brain found his own movement speeding up, abruptly lashing out and blocking the next strike just as quickly, his feet carrying him in circles in a way that they'd never done before. His sword felt lighter, sharper than usual. The hazy sluggishness in his hands that had plagued him for so long was nowhere to be seen. Each move felt instinctual, flowing logically into the next step, like a well-rehearsed stage actor that had subtly been whispered his next line. A part of him couldn't believe it, just trying to match the swordsman next to him had been enough for him to regain his long-lost prime, even if for but a fleeting moment.

Before they knew it, the street was empty, safe for a pair of whimpering children hidden underneath an overturned carriage. Brain looked back towards their unofficial leader, who was doing his best to not appear winded, even as he used his blade as a crutch to support his weight.

"We need to make our way towards the central plaza. The standard protocol for a sudden raid is to have all knights available gather towards the most easily defendable location in the area in order to assure the safety of any high-ranking noble or official present. There's no doubt that in this case, it's the Gathering Hall. I don't know how much longer the troops stationed here will be able to hold on, we need to hurry!"

"Then let's get a move on already," Hans complained, sounding awfully full of himself for someone who hadn't as much as lifted a finger on his part.

Climb's eyes darted between their party and the spot where the pair of kids were hiding, clear conflict on his face. Brain was sure that at this moment the younglings wanted nothing more than to be by her Lady's side, but...

"You and Kojirou go on ahead. We'll help any survivors and make sure you don't get ambushed from behind." he sighed. Babysitting brats was definitely not his strong suit.

"And what about me?" The other brat he was going to have to be responsible for asked.

"You'll just slow them down." He said, feeling a pang of satisfaction as Andersen's mouth opened and closed without any rebuttal.

"He's in your care then," Kojirou told him, before turning towards Climb. "I think we have wasted enough time here, haven't we?"

"Yes, you're right!" he nodded as they started making their way towards the heart of town. "Thank you, Mr. Hans, Mr. Unglaus, I'm beyond grateful for your assistance!"

"Just so you know, you might actually be the worst bodyguard who has ever lived. And that's saying something!" Hans shouted at the two of them just before they vanished from view around a corner. "This day is just getting worse and worse. I bet that tramp must be laughing her ass off right now," he ruefully mumbled. Brain took note he tended to do that a lot.

"Oy, you two alright there?" he called out to the two kids while they made their way towards them. "You can get out of there now, all the lizards are gone."

The only answer he received was a stream of muttered cries and trembling voices. In other words, not ideal. He wondered if it'd be easier to search for their parents so they could just dump the brats in their lap, but quickly realized that there was a good chance they hadn't survived the initial attack. Breaching the subject if it might end up with the children bawling their eyes out because of him wasn't something he was not in the least qualified for dealing with. So he did the best next thing. He gave up.

"Your turn now," he said as he gestured towards the cart. The midget gave him the latest look he could muster, the effect falling short on the account of...being a midget. Anyways, Hans must have seen something on his face, as he resolved to step forward, just not before letting out an earth-trembling sigh.

Brain had half-expected for Andersen to simply crawl towards the kids and drag them out by force, so when a pair of dancing red shoes suddenly appeared in his hands he was more than a little taken aback.

"You're a Magic Caster?"

Hans ignored him, instructing the shoes to move forward. Resolving himself to stand guard so nothing could get the drop of them, Brain didn't quite catch what was going on back there, safe for a couple of words being exchanged and the eventual about of shy laughter. When he turned around, the two kids- siblings, by the looks of it- had finally come out and were holding on to each of the author's hands, their faces buried in his vest so as to not catch sight of their surroundings.

"We should make the rounds around here, see if there's anybody left, and then head to the Gathering Hall as well. Unless something unexpected showed up, that musclehead should be done with everything by then." Hans said, and though it did feel absurd to pin an entire town's fate on a single person, he felt no need to disagree. But just as he was about to turn back, something glimmering caught his eye at the edge of his vision.

"Look out!" he yelled as he tackled the three shorties to the ground. A sudden blast of cold followed, sending shivers down his spine. When he raised his head to assess the situation. he found himself in a sea of shimmering ice, encircling them like a forest of spikes. In a tentative strike, he brought up his sword to cut through a couple of the spear-shaped chunks, a significant portion of it giving way under his strength. Just not as much as Brain had expected.

"Guess we are the ones who stumbled into something unexpected" Brain dryly said as his eyes met what could only be the one responsible for nearly getting them skewered to pieces. He was a dark charcoal-scaled lizardman, garbed in a simple cloth around his waist and a battered sky hanging loosely around his neck. There were three things about him that immediately made him stand apart from the rest of his brethren, the many who had found their end at his hands tonight. One was the strange symbol branded across his chest. Second, only one of his eyes bore the now signature deep crimson, the other being of a pale green. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, was the thing he was holding in his hand. The best way he could describe it was an oversized claw made entirely out of ice, and that could mean only one thing. A Magic Item.

Brain took a quick peek over his shoulder; if another attack like that came their way, there was no way he could protect them from it. He had to make a move, and he had to do it now.

"Get to cover!" he said, dashing to the side. The all-expected wall of ice came following, but while its destructive power was undeniable, its speed was not quite up to par. He sped up, running around in circles and ducking between buildings as his opponents continued to unleash wave after wave of as a chilling pale mist settled all around him, and his surroundings slowly began to blur.

"Seriously? What kind of Magic Item is that? With such a high output, you'd think he'd have a limit to how many times he can use it, but he keeps battering away at me!" Brain inwardly complained. By now a large portion of the battlefield had been devoured by the glaciers and the remaining space kept shrinking by the second. Still, there was a way to turn his disadvantage into an opportunity.

Brain headed for one of the previously made spikes of ice, the ones so large they easily towered at twice his height. Still, the moment he realised his opponent no longer had him in his line of sight, he abruptly came to a halt, before ducking low under another, smaller pile. Between the mist and the large chunks created by that weapon, it was possible to get within striking distance all the while concealing his position. If nothing else, he was confident he wouldn't lose in a contest of drawing speed. All he had to do was get in range.

There. At the furthest edge of the improvised maze of ice, he could see the distorted reflection of a massive silhouette. Taking a moment to let out a huge breath, he focused as much of his Martial Arts into his feet as he could comfortably manage, before bursting into action. Using the duller of the icicles as foothold, he cleared the huge spiked wall ahead of him, finding himself hovering in midair directly above the still-raging lizardman. Not willing to give it any time to react, his hand twisted behind his torso, ready to dismember his opponent in the same instant he would make contact with the ground.

It all happened in less than a flash. His sword sang through the air, its aim truer than any arrow. It didn't reach in time. The strange weapon, which had been stabbed into the ground for the last burst of cold, got pulled out with a tremor, digging along large chunks of dirt and rock. They slammed into Brian, knocking him off course directly into one of the barriers. His right shoulder met a particularly nasty stake, flesh and muscle giving out as it pierced all the way from back to front, a deep crimson coating slowly dripping from its tip.

Brain stifled a pained cry, moving frantically to cut himself free. The lizardman didn't seem to want to grant him that luxury. It was only then that the swordsman noticed the sense of purpose in the supposed beast's movement, the glimmer of cunningness sparking in his uncorrupted eye. Unlike the others, while certainly having succumbed to the madness, the one in front of him hadn't let himself be devoured by it. And not being able to recognize that had cost him the fight, and was about to cost him his life.

The jaws of the demihuman's large maw opened as he let out a bellowing roar. The fingers clutching his weapon looked frostbitten, ready to fall off entirely, but it didn't seem to deter him. Bringing his other hand to support the other, he slowly raised the crystalline claw above his hand, in an almost solemn manner. The weapon shines in a deep blueish hue, colder than the harshest of winters. No doubt the next strike was about to be the most powerful one yet. Dodging was out of the question.

"Are you cold, mister?" a voice, barely a soft whisper, suddenly called out from next to it. Brain could feel his eyes reach the top of his forehead as a small girl in a flimsy coat and a battered down was suddenly beside him. She was such a little thing, shrivelling profusely in her three sizes too large boots, in her gloved hands- a few fingers were missing- laid a tiny wooden box. "I am too. I want to light up a match, would you like to share it?"
"What are you talking about?' he panicked. "Get out of here, there's no time!"

The dishevelled girl ignored him, opening her little box and throwing tiny sticks ahead of them. At the same time, the lizardman had finally managed to get a good grip on the Magic Item, bringing it down in a burst of raw fury. Where it touched the ground, a veritable glacier rose, rushing to them, only to be met with a raging inferno. Where the little girl had scattered her splinters, a wall of fire had blossomed. The two opposing forces clashed, and the fire asserted its dominance. The only thing that reached the two of them was a splash of water, drenching the both of them from head to toe.

"Are you done staring or are you going to make yourself useful after all?" Andersen perked up from atop the ivory ice, panting heavily from exhaustion. "I'll give you an opening. Don't hesitate, don't think about striking. Just attack!" he shouted. Next to him, the small girl faded away, replaced by something else. A tall woman dressed in royal blues and white, with glassy eyes and a stony expression that seemed to be cut from marble. On her head stood an intricate crown of pure ice. "GO!"

Brain blinked owlishly, but quickly got his head back in the fight. Questions came and faded in his mind until all that was left was himself, his sword, and his target. He bolted forward. The lizardman jumped to meet him, yet before he could even take a step he found himself encased in the very element he so mightily wielded but a moment ago. Unlike the ice produced by the Magic Item, this one had a different, almost milky aspect to it. It was also more brittle, but it didn't make a difference. For Brain was finally in range now.

"Field!" he called out, a perfect blueprint of the surrounding area formed in his mind. He wouldn't call it information, however, just an awareness. The ability to perceive anything in a three-meter radius. A strong trump card that can turn the tides of most battles. And in combination with his lightning fast attack...

"God Flash!" It became a sure-hit attack that would always strike his opponent. The culmination of his path in swordsmanship, the technique he had developed in order to reach that man-

"WHIRLWIND WIND!"

The next thing he knew, his blade was buried up to the hilt in the lizardman's guts.

"Finally. Guess you're good for more than complaining and eating other's people food after all." Hans said as he made his way back down, with the aid of a giant hand of all things.

"You-huff- really don't ever get tired -huff- of mouthing off?" he managed to get out between stammering breaths.

"Obviously not. That's a sign of a third-rate author. I'm second rate at the very least!"

"Why do you seem so proud if that?"

"Anyway" Hans huffed, "We already lost more than enough time on this nameless background character, let's make our way back already. I sent the kids ahead with the Red Shoes and I just want to leave this cursed town already. Oh, and give me this guy's weapon from over there, would you? I know someone who would love to get a good look at it.

"Since when am I your pack mule?" he mumbled but moved to conform all the same. Sure, the weapon might sell for a pretty penny in the capital if he kept it for himself, but he was way too tired to argue over anything at this point,

Yet when he tried to pull the giant claw along, he found that it didn't budge. On the contrary, instead, it had started glowing again, the intensity surpassing anything he had seen thus far.

"Broken Phantasm?" he heard Andersen call out. "No, that's not important now, get away from it!"

Brain backed away, the supposed corpse moving along with him too. He moved to block the next block, yet it never came. Instead, the weapon got hurled high in other air, soaring through the skies until it reached its apex, where it blew up in a powerful explosion, the shockwave lightly ruffling his hair. The lizardman just stood there, staring at it for a moment, and then the light finally faded out from both his eyes and he fell to the ground, forever more unmoving.

"Are you kidding me? Battle Continuation as well? Just what the hell is wrong in this shitty world!" the small author ranted next to him, his fist curled up and shaking at the sky.

"Guess the demihumans are tougher than I thought. I can't believe he clung to life for this long. Good thing he didn't think clearly, or else we'd have gotten our heads blown off!" he said. Hans pinched his nose.

"No you idiot, he wasn't trying to blow us up in the first place!"

"Then what did he do?" His question was met with a grim stare.

"He called his boss on us."