[Volume 2 - Chapter 1]
[Ambassador Of Flames]
Tonight was the last day Subaru could stand on this planet.
The last time he might see his family.
He was standing in the same place where he had stood when he got taken to that world.
"4 minutes left..." Subaru looked at his clock.
"Son... I know that you are not lying but... will it really happen?" Kenichi asked with doubt.
"It will. Just don't let go of my hands." Subaru replied as he gripped both Kenichi and Naoko's hands.
"Don't worry about your father I believe you. He is just a little concerned about you that is a all." Naoko tried to comfort her son.
"I don't mind. Afterall no one would blame him if he rejected the claim of going to another world." Subaru gave a chuckle.
[Yin Magic Detected]
[Intercepting... Failed]
[Intercepting... Failed]
[Intercepting... Failed]
[Intercepting... Successful]
"Whaaaaat?" Shouted Subaru as he felt the world around him and his parents dissolve.
"My head feels like it's gonna explode." Subaru tried to hold himself up as he felt multiple sirens going off in his head.
Slowly his vision cleared up and he realized that the thunderous and deafening sounds were not coming from inside his head but from the outside.
He looked to his right and left but found that no one was around him.
"Was i hoping too much from you Satella?" He threw out some bitter words which he knew would hurt his beloved. "You can't even let me have my parents."
"And did you have to put me in the middle of a battlefield."
Before he could complain more he heard the sound of steps coming towards him.
"Even if i am level 15, avoiding fights will be better for me. And besides, I have only a limited amount of bullets in my inventory."
Saying this, Subaru ran into a burnt house. He pointed his hand towards the ground.
"Mine!" With a few casts, a sizeable hole appeared in the ground for him to fit in. He jumped in the hole and covered it with up by placing the removed block back.
Rough and bloodthirsty voices could be heard outside.
"Sounds like beastmen." He stayed there quietly.
"Hey system! What did you do when you intercepted the yin magic?" He asked mentally
[I Tried To Reject The Yin Magic Which Seemed To Move You Through Space And Time.
I Tried To Change The Coordinates Of Both Space And Time But For Some Reason I Was Only Able To Change Them A Little.]
"Does it mean that i am in an unknown place and time..." Inquired Subaru.
"Indeed."
Subaru heard someone punching the already burnt door and rushing inside.
"Hmm... I thought I smelled a human here." He heard a gruff voice.
"We told already you that nobody was here. We have already burnt this part of the city to the ground. Even if somebody survived, they would have already run off to southern gates. We have to reach the western gate by nightfall. Come! We have wasted much time already." This time a more dignified voice could be heard.
"Guess they are leaving. Judging by what they said, this must be the Demi-Human war Wilhelm fought in. Great! Now I got a country to save."
After hearing no more voices, Subaru came out of the hole by removing the block above his head with a single [Mine] spell.
He dusted his clothes as he walked out of the charred house.
As he strolled in a random direction, a certain smell hit his nose.
"Is it..." He instantly had recognised the smell. "It's just like Arlam village in in that failed loop." He dashed towards the source of the smell.
"Ah! There it is!" Subaru slowed down as he saw a familiar yet horrid sight.
Corpses!
All kinds of corpses. Some were children, some looked old. Their insides were anywhere but inside their bodies. If it was anyone else, their body would have rejected this visceral sight.
But not Subaru.
"At least they burnt them all. It's much better than leaving their corpses to rot and spread diseases." He said as he looked in the distance with empty eyes.
"Old and young alike. War never changes." He sat, his legs crossed as he lifted his hands to the skies.
After saying his prayers, he sat there for a while.
Scratch! Scratch! Scratch!
Blood dripped from his hands as he plunged his nails deep into his flesh.
"This searing pain never gets old. At least it helps clear the mind."
He looked at the corpses. Their lifeless eyes looking into the innermost parts of his soul as he looked back.
"I should give them a proper burial. The sun will peak in 3 hours so i have plenty of time.
He started using the [Mine] spell to dig a deep hole.
In an instant, a deep hole appeared infront of him.He started to throw corpses from him inventory into the grave. After all corpses were inside the grave, he placed a block back to shut the grave.
"May Their Souls Find Rest." He turned around, his mood shifting back to normal.
"Now where's the closest human settlement. If what those beastmen said is true, then the southern gates would be my only chance. Judging by the position of sun, south seems to be that way." He said as he ran in a certain direction.
As he walked, he could make out the shape of walls and a portcullis in distance.
He reduced his speed to a walking pace as to not show himself as a hostile entity.
"That was easy. I guess those demihumans had no reason to stay after what they did. Now how do i open it?" He said, as he touched the damaged parts of the gate.
"Should i just mine it... no that will be too suspicious. I can't let my abilities be seen in such a state." As Subaru was thinking what to do, he heard a shout.
"Hey You there! What are you doing down there?" He heard a voice which barely had any composure.
Subaru moved away from the gate as he turned his head to the top of the walls surrounding the gate.
"Open the gate, everyone on the other side has been slaughtered by those filthy demihumans and i am not in the condition to convince you. Just open the gate. I... am... tired." He said in a tired voice.
"Wait here while I go ask for permission." The guard ran to the other side of the wall.
"SIR! Someone is on the other side of the gate." The guard shouted.
"Is it one of those animals?" Asked a middle aged man whom Subaru judged to be a guard captain.
"No sir. He is a boy."
"...Check for any sign of demihumans nearby. Tell the archers to aim at where the boy is standing and tell him to come close to the gate." The captain gave orders as he gestured the guardsman to follow him.
As they looked down the walls, they saw Subaru sitting cross-legged.
"He doesn't look like someone who has lost his family recently." The captain commented as he looked for anyone near Subaru.
"It's all clear. Open the gates!" He shouted.
One of the men standing near the gates pulled a lever. The gears made a grinding noise as the door was lifted a little.
Seeing a small opening under the gate, Subaru crawled his way across the iron gate.
THUD!!!
The fangs of the portcullis dug into the ground with a loud sound as the gate closed.
"Young man! Are you alright?" Asked the captain.
"Yes." He nodded.
"Were there any beastmen?"
"There were two. I heard them talking. Something about reaching the western gates by night."
"NO!" The captain lost all composure. "Get me Dobbin right now."
The guardsman ran away and returned with a emaciated man.
"Dobbin! The beastmen are making a run for the western gates. You will rush to the capital right this instant. Take my ground dragon. Tell the king that we will be taking a shortcut through the forest around the city"
"And you will leave these gates without any protection?" Subaru asked mockingly.
"What else can we do? You are just a kid. Let us handle this situation." The man's face was red with anger.
"You are right. So am I free to go." Afterall, it was not his headache. He will save others after saving his family.
He dusted his clothes as he stood up. "Ah! I almost forgot."
Subaru's attitude changed from casual to serious. "On the authority of Vollachian Royalty, I have been sent as an Ambassador."
In other words, he lied.
Hearing this, every soldier got tense all of a sudden.
"And what is your proof?" The captain asked hoping that the boy was simply lying.
"Hmm... The letter got burnt. The house I was living in was one of the first to be attacked. Thankfully, i was able to make it out in one piece."
"In that case, we can't help you. We are already tight on our resources." The captain did not want to help this supposed Vollachian ambassador. "But if he really is sent by them... No don't think of it. He is just lying to get something from us."
Much to his delight, Subaru became silent.
Subaru scratched his head as he thought of something else. "...Do you guys have fire? A large one at that."
"We do have one. But why?" The captain asked curiously.
"I will try to call forth the Yang sword. Would that be enough of a sign. Only Vollachian royalty can summon it."
"Will a campfire be okay?" The man said as he gestured Subaru to follow.
"I think so." He said as he started walking behind the captain.
As they arrived infront of the small campfire, the captain stopped at a distance.
Subaru stood near the campfire. His hands moved gently as he caressed the fire.
The captain and his guards were shocked. "Why isn't he in pain?"
Subaru on the other hand could barely feel his hands burning. What he was doing was something he had learned from Vincent in his past life.
To conjure the Yang sword, two things were required. A link and most importantly, a huge amount of mental strength.
The link is used to connect with the will of sword and its users. The mental strength is used to subdue the both of them.
Meaning the one who had the most strong mind could summon it.
"The drawback is going to kill me." He said as he gritted his teeth.
He closed his eyes as he tried to establish a contact with the Yang sword. He could feel all users of the sword which were currently alive getting informed of what he was trying to do.
"What a pity... I will have to forcefully summon it."
He could feel all of the Vollachian royalty trying to stop the sword from going to him.
"Silent!" He released this message in the link he had established with the sword, as he pulled the sword towards himself.
He could feel the fear from the sword as well as other users who had their connection forcefully broken.
Suddenly the flames became even more erratic as the fire grew to a mini tornado.
Everyone had already increased their distance from Subaru out of caution.
"Gotcha!" Subaru grew a devious smile as he put his arm inside the column of fire.
[Yang Sword Obtained]
There were 3 more notifications but Subaru could care less about them. Subaru mentally pushed these notification away as they were distracting him.
The sizzling sound and smell of burning flesh made everyone nearby feel repulsed.
A little while later, he brought out a burning sword from the fire.
"Is this enough?" He asked sarcastically.
"It's great that the fire did not burn me. I wonder what kind of face Vincent of this world would make if he saw me holding the Yang sword."
None could reply out of fear.
"I apologize your Highness..." The captain said as he gave a small bow.
"No need to bow. And call me ambassador. I am not in this country as a royalty afterall." He said as he let the sword float at a distance from his back
"And what do you require of us, Sir Ambassador?" The man relaxed as Subaru acted casual with him.
"At first i wanted to go to the royal court quickly and request an audience with the king. But seeing that you guys need help, I will be glad to help."
"We couldn't possibly burden you with such a task." The man said as he thought of the consequences of an ambassador's death in a foreign country.
"Don't sweat it. Just take me to where those demihumans are hiding and I will handle the rest." Subaru alleviated the captain's concern.
The captain fell into a thoughtful pose as he pondered the pros and the cons. "...In that case, I ask it of you to help us in this endeavour."
"It will be my pleasure." Subaru said with mirth clear in his voice.
"At first, I wanted to just avoid this whole scenario, but now that I think about it, I should have some leverage for future interactions with the royal family. Besides, who would say no to an ambassador who just saved one of their citties during a civil war."
"We should be going then." The captain asked Subaru to standby as he called for his men to prepare.
"Do you require anything?" The captain asked as he donned his armor.
"This sword will suffice." Subaru pointed to the Yang sword.
The man replied with a nod.
A while later, everyone was prepared.
"Leave a quarter of your men here." Subaru suggested.
"I can't. On the other end of the sewers, there is an entire army of about a 1000 demihumans. Each demihuman can fight two to three of our men to a standstill. Our army is only about 50 men more."
"Leave 250 here. 200 around the wall. And 25 each on both entrance and exit."
"What about those we are going to fight?" The captain was impressed yet a little annoyed by his suggestion.
"There are 15 manholes in that part of the city according to your map. The remaining 800 will be divided into 16 platoons. Each platoon of 50 men will go to its assigned manhole and wait for the signal before coming out. The 16th platoon will act as backup. Also each platoon will have a chain of command. In case a leader dies, another will take his place. Anything else?"
One of the guards raised their hands. "And what would be the signal?"
"It will not be something you will miss."
It had been only half an hour since they had been walking through the sewers.
"The path is short as it connects the entire city. The only thing bad about it is the smell." The captain sighed, tightening the handkerchief over his nose and mouth.
"We have reached the destination." One of the guards told the captain.
"Everyone! Split to the positions we have told you about. Be very silent. The beastmen have good ears." The captain ordered.
Both of them waited as the guards took their positions.
"Sir Subaru, everyone has reached their respective manholes. They are awaiting the signal."
"Sure." Subaru removed the gutter cover, climbing out of the hole as he looked around.
"Looks like no one is here." Subaru mumbled to the captain.
The captain nodded in agreement. "Seems like they haven't spotted us yet. Let's move quickly and quietly."
Subaru followed the captain closely as they navigated through the dark and deserted streets. The city was in ruins, with buildings partially destroyed and the remnants of a one sided battle scattered everywhere.
"I know that this is a war but how could anyone be so heartless to kill civilians!" The captain turned his head away from one of the small corpses.
"Well you better get used to it. This war is probably gonna last a decade."
The captain remained silent because he did not like what Subaru said.
As they approached the middle of the demihuman encampment, they could hear faint sounds of movement and murmurs coming from a nearby building.
"Looks like we found them," Subaru whispered to the captain. "Be cautious."
They entered the building stealthily, carefully making their way through the debris. The sounds grew louder as they moved deeper into the structure.
Peeking through a cracked wall, Subaru and the captain witnessed a group of demihumans gathered in a large hall. They were celebrating their recent victory, unaware of the impending danger.
"I'll take care of the surprise attack." Subaru whispered to the captain. "Once chaos ensues, your men can move in."
The captain nodded, his eyes filled with determination and trust in Subaru's abilities. "Be careful. We're counting on you."
Subaru took a deep breath, focusing his thoughts. He knew he had to act swiftly and decisively. With the Yang sword at his side, he felt a surge of confidence coursing through his veins.
"Vincent, If this doesn't work like before, I am going to kill you." He stepped out from his hiding spot and made his presence known. "You filthy demihumans! The party's over!"
With a deafening roar, a pillar of fire descended on the building. The sky suddenly lit up as a towering flame burst forth, casting a brilliant glow. It was the signal they all had been waiting for.
Most demihumans died on impact. The few which did take cover in time were heavily injured.
They turned to face Subaru, their expressions shifting from surprise to anger. They charged at him, ready to attack.
Instead of fighting like an honourable man, Subaru ran outside where the fight was taking place.
He lifted the sword and threw it into the air with all his might. Seizing the moment, the Yang sword, began to soar through the air. As the demihumans momentarily paused to gaze at the awe-inspiring spectacle, Subaru channeled his mana and focused his thoughts.
"The blast took most of my mana. I can only fly the sword for now."
With a swift motion of his hand, Subaru commanded the flying ability of the sword, guiding it through the air with precision. The sword became a blur as it darted toward the demihumans, leaving a trail of glowing energy in its wake.
As the fight grew long, both parties started to tire.
Seeing a gap in the army's formation, a wolf demihuman lunged at Subaru.
"RETURN!" Subaru called out to his sword.
"Grrr!" He grinded his teeth as the he barely parried the claws of his opponent's with his sword.
"Gah!" The beastman lost his balance, he had put more force in his claw.
Subaru backed away from the beastmen who was currently falling to the ground.
He lifted the blade, slicing through the air with incredible speed, cutting through the demihuman's defenses and severing their arm in one swift motion.
"I would have been heavily injured if his claws had connected with my body instead of the blade. I should sit at some safe place. They have won the battle anyway."
Subaru climbed at the top of a house as he used the Yang sword to cut down any demihuman which did not surrender.
"That hit should have sent me flying even if i had blocked it. Looks like the defense stat helped me bear the momentum of that hit." Subaru watched the massacre taking place without any emotions in his eyes
After what seemed like an eternity, the last demihuman fell. Silence enveloped the battlefield, broken only by the heavy breaths of the survivors.
Subaru stood amidst the fallen demihumans, his body covered in sweat and blood. He surveyed the scene, a mix of relief and sorrow washing over him.
"We did it." The captain who was covered with blood shouted his heart out. "We saved the city."
The captain approached Subaru, his expression filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Ambassador. We couldn't have done it without you."
Subaru nodded, his gaze focused on the aftermath of the battle. "We should take care of the wounded and secure the area. Send the scouts to check the city. There might be more demihumans hiding."
The captain gave the necessary orders to his men, and they set to work tending to the injured.
As Subaru walked through the battlefield, his eyes fell upon the lifeless bodies of the fallen humans and demihumans alike. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for the lives lost in this war, on both sides.
"How long has it been since I last felt these emotions? This sense of loss..." Subaru asked none but himself.
[The User Is Unable To Feel Anything. The System Is Just Emulating The Emotions Necessary For Keeping The User Sane.]
"Forget what i said. Can't even have real emotions." Subau said with bitterness. "No... I should be glad. Afterall it's nice to feel emotions after a long time."
"Men! We are going back. The royal army will be arriving here in an hour. I REPEAT! We are going back." The captain gathered his men commencing their walk back.
Everyone except Subaru descended into the sewers.
Subaru looked around the burnt battlefield for one last time before he himself joined the captain and the guardsmen.
"Ah! I almost forgot. System! Show me notifications." Hearing Subaru's mental command, the system obliged.
[Your Od Has Been Partially Burnt.
For Now There Is No Way To Cure The Burnt Parts.
This Has Caused Mana To Stop Regenerating.]
"Just when things were getting better. But I can still use the sword right?"
[...As Far As I am Aware, There Are No Other Side Affects To The Burning Of Your Od.
Still, You Will Require A Great Source Of Magic If You Don't Want To Consume Your Od.]
"And what are those sources?"
[Anything Which Has Any Type Of Energy.
Put The Source Inside Your Inventory.
The Rest Will Be Handled By Me.]
"I should have put those corpses inside my inventory. Still, the royal army will be sending troops so maybe I could join them when I return here."
Meanwhile In The Crystal Palace:
"FATHER! Why did you took away the sword from us?" One of the children of the old emperor shouted.
"What are you even crying about? You almost got burnt the last time you tried to wield the sword. And besides it was not me who summoned the sword." The emperor said with a hint shame in his voice.
"Then who was it? Who..." This time he could not even finish the sentence out of fear.
"You all felt that... didn't you?" The emperor's bulged out of fear. "Whomever- Whatever that thing was, it took our nation's symbol from us. Moreover, both Kurgan is nowhere to be seen. I shouldn't have trusted that pink haired elf. The only good thing is that our neighbour is at the brink of civil war."
"My children! Prepare yourself." The emperor said, his finger pointing towards the borders of lugnica. "Something terrible lurks that way. And my time with you is short. Prepare for that thing."
AUTHOR'S Notes:
I am back after a long and unnecessary break.
Nothing new.
Leave comments if you want.
Come and join my discord. Help me on this fic. Goodbye.
https/discord. gg/g84y9fwZtA
Also I will be uploading a few chapters on the first volume. Depends on how farfetched concepts I am introducing. Also the the main storyline is stil faraway. I will finish up on the demihuma war arc, then go to the development arc. Possible kill a few archbishops or mabeasts then go to the main story.