Shogunate Pride Chapter 10: One-Woman Army
By Bluestar076
Hello everyone, Bluestar here with a new chapter, and HOT DANG WE'RE ALREADY AT CHAPTER 10, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Considering how I usually work with my stories, this is something incredible for me! I have never seen such productivity from me since 2019 with the first chapters of Digimon Adventure 04! It also helped me stabilize my stories, working on this one and then on a chapter of one of my others, so I feel glad! I hope I can maintain this order as we keep moving with life in general! As of today's chapter, we continue forward with the Chimera Tribe Arc as we reach halfway through the enemies and see two more of the main characters' magics! We're starting to clean things up, so as always, I hope you enjoy it!
Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights and characters belong to Hiro Mashima, A-1 Pictures, and CloverWorks.
Chapter 10: One-Woman Army
Caelum – Great Akihabara Market – Central Tower
"GRAAAH!"
Apostatìs was continuing his rampage on the tower at the Great Market for a while as the struggle continued. Even though the brutal hunter's fists, the tall structure was able to resist longer than expected, but not for long. The cracks in that spot of the tower started to get bigger and on the verge of fracture, something that the mage could see. He made a large grin. "This one is taking you down! HEAAAAAAAAAAH!" He threw one last punch and in the end…
CRACK!
The wall crumbled to pieces, generating a large hole that led to the inside of the tower. The pieces of debris and the pile of dust that rose were enough to make the Master of Chimera Tribe tremble with pleasure. "Yes! It's finally down!" He exclaimed before spreading his arm. "Now, all I have to do is find the globe, and another hunt will be done! I can already imagine the profit we could get from that!" He then took a small receiver from his pocket and contacted one of his men. "Ray-Machina! I've made an opening for the tower! How's the plundering going?" He asked. He expected to get an answerback but…
No voice was heard from the other side.
Apostatìs started to get confused, so he spoke to the receiver again. "Ray-Machina! This is Apostatìs, do you copy?" Once again, complete silence. "What the…? Ohi, Ray-Machina! Answer now! If this is a prank, it's not funny!" He started to get annoyed, but then he noticed something, after hearing carefully the codec.
From the other side, there was a static sound.
"What!? Why is it sounding like this!? Of all people, Ray-Machina isn't one to damage his receiver!" He exclaimed. Then…a thought passed by in his mind. Something that made him widen his eyes and get flustered. "No, it can't be!" That thought made him turn around to see the situation in the overall place.
There were still damages and explosions rising, but they were a lot less than when they started. This could have meant one thing. He thought back to the several mages that he saw scattered throughout the market earlier.
"Those legal bastards!" He exclaimed before getting back to the receiver, this time to make a different contact. "Ecclesias, do you copy!?"
The Vice Master, from another part of the market, could hear the codec and as such, she answered. "Yes, crystal clear! What is it?"
"Listen, Ray-Machina isn't responding to the codec and I've heard a malfunctioning static noise from the other side! What's happening over there?" The leader asked.
Ecclesias looked around. "Everything is stable here at the moment. I've placed my roses throughout the market to weaken those mages who started to interfere with us. But…if what's your saying is true then…" As soon as she realized it, her expression changed to a more agitated and frustrated one. "Are they able to fight back!? If that's so…"
"Don't say another word!" Apostatìs interrupted her. "I've promised you and the others that no one would have dared to stop us, and I intend to keep that promise! No legal guild can tamper with us, remember? You can count on me…"
Ecclesias made him talk. She then took a deep breath and found herself to calm down. "Yes, I know that, Apostatìs. Tell me what to do about it." She then asked.
"I was able to open a hole inside the central tower. In a few moments, I should be able to get my hands on the globe! In the meantime, make sure that our men increase their powers! If they're fighting back and they were able to take down someone like Ray-Machina, we need to make sure that they won't be able to stand up ever again!" Apostatìs explained.
"Leave it to me. You know how I can change when someone pisses me off." Ecclesias assured him with a cold tone.
That tone made Apostatìs smirk. "That's more like it. I'm counting on you." With that, he closed the call and focused back on the entrance he created. His fists tightened. "So, you want to mess up with me and my men? We'll see who's going to laugh and fight in just a few moments! Once I take the globe, I'll make sure to pulverize every single one of you legal mages! We've worked hard to reach our level, we won't make you ruin everything! JUST SO YOU WAIT!" He proclaimed. He then pulled up two wings from his back and headed forward flying toward the inside of the tower, unaware of the fact that someone was on his steps.
"Anf…anf…anf…" After a few moments of running, Rokumon was able to reach the central tower and could see with concern the large hole that was made in it. "Dammit, I've arrived too late. They're surely already inside of it. I can only hope that I can reach them in time." With those words, he pulled up his long odachi sword and assumed a more serious expression. "Very well. It's time to get to work." With one step, he was already running fast and got inside the tower as well.
At this point, it was a matter of who got faster.
In the meantime, Ecclesias assumed the same expression as his superior and pulled out a pointed sword. "It seems that you didn't want to accept a painless death with my roses nor through the power of our men. It seems that I need to take care of it…personally." She spoke. And with those words, she started to move around as well… and more petals rose in the sky.
Great Akihabara Market – Upper Areas
Even if scared a bit by his threat, Tammy kept on pointing her bow against Nixel, who was still floating with several objects around him, including boulders and debris. She was sweating from the pressure, but her eyes never got away from their target.
"Even with that warning, you still intend to face me?" Nixel asked with a very calm voice.
"Hmph! What did you expect? You're the one who's making all that mess down there! And as a mage of Shogunate Pride, it's only natural I take my eyes on a creepy dude such as you!" Tammy retorted.
"You have character. I'll give you that. You're starting to make me curious." The mage of Chimera Tribe said before raising his arms. "I wonder…how far will you be able to resist?" As soon as he said it, he pointed an arm towards her and the several boulders started to get thrown violently at her.
But this didn't seem to bother the girl, as she already knew what to do. "Oh, the answer might surprise you! Eye Magic Tracker!" Her eyes started to shine and the sight started to darken a bit to put Nixel as the sole thing to look at from her point of view. Then, as soon as the boulders started to get close to her, she immediately started to move and jump to an unexpected speed, making some acrobatic jumps from spot to spot to dodge the objects aimed at her.
"She's fast!" Nixel thought before throwing a larger boulder at her.
To his surprise, Tammy made a tall jump and went straight on the rock's stop, starting to run towards the enemy through it. "He seems to have a lot of open spots! I need to take advantage of it!" She thought right before aiming with the bow. "The Sniper!" In less than a second, a straight-up arrow surrounded by aquamarine energy was shot against the enemy.
Nixel widened his eyes as soon as he saw the arrow coming right for him, managing to dodge it at the last second, but even with that, the arrow was able to hit him in the spleen. "NGH!" He could see more arrows coming right after him, so he put some floating objects in front of him to block them. The arrows ended up destroying the objects and dodging the enemy.
Tammy didn't hesitate and kept on moving, attempting to reach him out. "Just as expected, he can manipulate those objects as he pleases! But how? Is he using psychokinesis or something?" She thought before making a confirmed grin. "Oh well! Not that it matters! Because he's going down right now!" She then jumped up to take better aim at the enemy, shooting more arrows at a time.
Nixel saw it coming and put more objects in his defense, not knowing that Tammy also saw it coming in turn, and used a different way of shooting arrows. "Target Hunt!" By using the spell, the arrows that started to head toward Nixel suddenly started to change direction, leaving a trail of energy behind them.
"What? Where are they going?" Nixel wondered, looking at the arrows that kept on moving around. He made sure to spread the floating objects around to defend himself properly, but he didn't know that Tammy knew how to make herself a space.
"Eh eh, too late for that buddy! I already have my lock on you!" The girl exclaimed. At that moment, the arrows stopped behind Nixel and moved towards him, making their road through the object and finally, hitting him on the back.
"GH!" Nixel could feel three arrows stabbing him from behind. His stare started to get more serious, but his temper remained the same, while Tammy was getting more confident.
The girl jumped from one of the boulders and threw herself towards the enemy, aiming with a charged arrow at a close distance. "As long as you're in my aim, you won't be able to get rid of me! You're already going down!" She exclaimed, feeling secure.
But at that moment, Nixel looked up at her with a cold and apathetic stare. "Foolish kid. Without knowing it, you fell right in my hand." He spoke.
"What!?" Tammy exclaimed.
The mage from Chimera Tribe raised his palm at her and released a magic. "Attraction." A white and black ring of energy was released from his hands and violently pushed Tammy away, making her crash against a mountain.
"AGH!" After the impact, she fell on a lower mountain. Even if the clash was violent, she was able to stand up, although she could feel some pain in her limbs. "Dammit…that hit truly got me…and to think that I almost got him…" She then looked up at Nixel, who seemed to have a neutral stare. "Ok, you got me! But don't think it'll end up here! I can still fight!" She exclaimed before sticking her tongue out.
"I'm afraid that you are wrong about it. The end will come to you shorter than you expect. Or…to be more correct…it will be you who shall come to the end." Nixel commented.
The girl was left confused by those words for a moment, but she quickly shook her head. "Ah, screw it! I don't have time for these philosophies!" She exclaimed before pulling out her bow again. "I could see some openings before and I was able to get him! I just have to do it again, even if he gets to attack me! Although that ring didn't seem to have done much…" She thought.
"Persist as you want. You'll soon understand." Nixel simply spoke, preparing the floating objects around him.
"Oh, that's for sure! I'll keep persisting!" Tammy retorted, starting to get more annoyed. Without hesitating, the girl resumed her run against the enemy. Throughout all this time, her eyes never looked elsewhere from the target, except when she got hit by the enigmatic energy ring. The spell made her sure that whatever happened, she could have kept an eye on him to find a way to hit him. The girl quickly raised her bow and charged more arrows to throw at the same time. "Target Hunt!" In less than a second, the mage of Shogunate Pride shot several bullets from the bow, which started to move around to attack Nixel from several directions and avoid every possible obstacle.
"It's clear that long-range attacks and targeting are her specialties. Now that my magic is active on her, I just have to make sure that those arrows won't reach me. The objects will do the rest." Nixel thought, focusing on what to do next. He then started to move his hands strangely, almost like a dance, before forming a triangle with them and raising his arms. "Scattered Approach!" The spell made the objects around him fly around in a more fast and random yet specific manner, making them look like electrons that floated around the proton, which was Nixel in this case. The coordination of the floating objects made them get in the way of the arrows, blocking them from attacking Nixel directly, something that Tammy wasn't pleased with at all.
"Ah, come on!" After seeing how things were evolving, the girl tried a different approach by climbing up a taller mountain to have a better aim at his enemy.
"There's nowhere to run," Nixel said before closing his hand to a grasp, making the piece of a building crash into thousands of pieces that were thrown at high speed against the girl.
Luckily for her, one of the traits that Tammy had was her speed, so she kept on climbing while managing to move at the right time and avoid the approaching debris. Nixel, though didn't seem to be bothered by this. Once she was able to get to the top, she instantly aimed and charged another arrow. "I did it! This blow will surely get you!" She exclaimed, but right before she could strike…
"GAH!" Suddenly, she got stabbed in four different parts, near the left shoulder, slightly above the chest, on the right leg, and on her belly. This sudden attack made her fall. "GH! W-What happened!?" She shouted.
Nixel looked at her, slightly satisfied with what just happened.
Tammy stood up, even if a bit trembling for the pain. "I didn't take my eyes off him! When I was about to shoot, he didn't prepare another attack so what- Eh!?" She then looked down to see with shock what hit her.
Several metal penknives were stuck in her body, making it bleed. "Knives!? Where do they come from!?" She looked up at the floating objects and she got more confused when she didn't see any knife. "What the hell is he planning!? Is he some kind of magician? Come on, aren't those floating objects enough!? Or maybe…" She thought. She then remembered that energy ring. Maybe she understood something.
"Are you surprised? Those are only the beginning." Nixel told him.
Tammy shook her head again. "No! I can't get distracted, or he'll get the upper hand!" She took more arrows. "We'll see about that, dark boy!" She exclaimed. "Phoebus Barrage!" She started to throw several arrows one after another by taking them in a very fast sequence, almost as if she was using a machine gun instead of a bow. The arrows went straight and charged with magic, but even through that, Nixel was able to defend himself.
Even if the attacks seemed powerful, the mage of Chimera Tribe had to use the Scattered Approach to make the floating objects move around and take the blows for him.
Tammy didn't want to quit and kept on using the arrows to attack him relentlessly, releasing several strong impacts. "How do you like this!? I'll be able to get you sooner or later!"
"Is that so? Because I think you should be more careful right now." Nixel told her.
"What do you mean?" Tammy asked. Nixel didn't have to answer about it. Shortly after that, the girl could hear a cracking noise nearby. "Hey, what's that?" When she raised her head, she was shocked to see several penknives coming straight forward them. But not just the knives, even more strange objects like forks, coins, shards, and more.
"AAAAAAAH! WHAT ARE THOSE!?" She shouted. To get safe, she disabled her Eye Magic Tracker and started to run away to dodge them. But to her horror, the objects started to chase her down. "AH! PLEASE STOP! THIS IS FREAKING ABSURD!" She tried to jump away, but the objects were faster and reached her, filling her with several injuries, some of which made her bleed. "GAH! AGH! DAAH!"
Nixel took the chance of the attack to fly directly towards her and throw her down with a heavy kick. "HMM!"
"GH!" Unable to defend herself, Tammy got fully hit by the kick, which threw her away to the ground with a violent impact that released a large pile of dust.
Once she was down, Nixel spread his arms again. "Approach: Off." With that, the several floating objects were scattered away, attacking several parts of the market as they did before until there were none of them left around him. He then looked down. "Before resuming, I think it's better to get rid of her. If she was able to resist for that long, I'm sure she wouldn't have died from that attack. She might become a nuisance. Maybe I'll get the merit for taking one of these mages' heads." With those words, he started to land down.
Tammy, in the meantime, stood down on the ground with a small crater around her for a few moments, before slightly standing up. "G-Gh…" She was able to stand up and lean her back on a stall. "Goddammit…how did this all happen?" She wondered, thinking back on what she had just witnessed. "At first it seemed that I was perfectly able to find a way to get him as always thanks to my aim…but then, as soon as he used that ring on me, everything started to go down…how? Where did all those objects come from!? In just an instant, he was able to throw me here like nothing…" She commented. She then remembered how everything started.
"I'll take care of it! I know how to deal with high enemies! / Eh eh, no problem! You'll soon rely on a senpai like me!"
She was the one who proposed herself to go in there. She expected to find some trouble, but she was confident to go through it and get rid of the problem. But now, looking at her injured body, she had to think twice about it. Did she… make up the wrong choice?
She then tightened her fist and gave a few light slaps on her face. "No! What are you thinking? You can't act like this! You're Tammy Oaks of Shogunate Pride! Everyone else is relying on you and working hard! I'll do my duty as well and do my best to keep the market safe!" With a newfound resolution, she was able to stand up and put more energy into her body. "Right! I'll get back there and find a way to take him down!" She exclaimed.
Right at that moment, a heavy impact landed near her, making her turn around with widened eyes.
Once the pile of dust faded away, she could see that Nixel was already staring at her. "Impressive indeed. For a young girl, being able to stand up after all of that is surely a notable feat." He commented.
Tammy got scared for a moment, but she soon composed herself and jumped back before aiming at the enemy with her bow. "Did you have any doubts about that!?" She asked.
"Not really. I could see it in the way you fought and how you were able to deliver a little damage to my body. You surely are something more than the average mages we of Chimera Tribe have fought. Still, you need to be in a preferred situation when you use your magic and your confidence tends to make you forget to think on a more rational level. Therefore…I'm sure that the tremble will soon get you." Nixel replied.
"Do you perhaps see me tremble? Do you think I'm scared of you? Cut the crap off!" Tammy retorted.
But Nixel made a small grin. "Who said I was referring to your body?"
"What?" As soon as she said it, she could hear it again, all around her. That cracking noise. By looking around, she could see that most of the abandoned stalls were exposing metal objects. It was them that were trembling. "Don't tell me…they came from here!?"
"Now you'll see why everyone used to call me a monster in the past…and how I earned my place in Chimera Tribe," Nixel announced. He then raised his hand and kept on glaring at the girl with a cold stare. "Approach: On." With those words, the cracking noise became more intense, and all the metal objects started to float, heading directly against Tammy.
"SHIT!" Tammy could already see some of the objects, including knives, caps, keys, and more, cut through her body. Standing there could have been fatal for her, and as such, she started to run as far as possible from the enemy. "I don't get it! What's the problem with these objects!? I need to attack him while standing in a safer position!" She exclaimed while running and preparing some of the arrows. But with horror, she could see that all the metal objects of the stalls that she crossed started to be lifted and headed towards her. "OH NO!" She started to make several precise movements here and there to get safer and try to not get crushed by them. The more she was running, the more objects were chasing her, and the cracking noise became louder.
"Right now, you can run but you can't hide. Ever since I've attacked you before, you've already entered my domain." Nixel said while grabbing an aluminum can and breaking it into pieces, which soon started to rise and surround him. "I'm glad that we chose this market as our next hunt. With all these objects, I'll know how to have fun with dogs like you. Now fall." He then stretched his hand forward and several pieces of the can started to rain down against Tammy.
The girl widened her eyes as soon as she saw those shards fall like they were some sort of constructed spider web, and she jumped as high as possible to avoid them. But one of them was able to get her in the right arm, right in the vein, making her lose a bit of blood. "GH!" While still in mid-air, she could see that the metal objects were still chasing her, but right from that position, she noticed that Nixel seemed open at that moment. She gulped, fearing for what could have happened, but she took all the courage she had and aimed at the enemy with the bow. "Now or never! The Sniper!" Thanks to her magic, she could have a better sight of the enemy, and her blow ended up being infallible.
The arrow went up straight, and Nixel widened his eyes in shock, not expecting it. In less than a second, the arrow was able to get him near the chest and push him several meters away. "GHHH!" He fell to the ground but quickly stood up, astonished at the sight of the wound in his body. "She was able to spot the perfect moment to strike!?"
Luckily for the girl, as soon as she hit him, the metal objects started to fall on the ground, giving her the chance to land on her feet and take a few breaths. "They stopped chasing me! Right…he's the one who's making this mess, so when he cannot act or fight, the effect fades away!" She realized the truth, but in doing so, she started to sweat. "Though...this means that I need to face him and keep on attacking him. But…will I be able to do it while he keeps on using whatever magic he's using?" She doubted for a moment, but then she quickly shook her head. "Of course! What kind of questions am I making!?" She quickly pulled out her bow. "I have to do it! It's my duty! Or I won't be able to live enough to see what life has to offer! Plus this guy is pissing me off!"
Nixel stood up staggering a bit, and then looked up at the girl with a sinister grin. "Right. As someone who relies on targeting and long-range attacks, I can't let you down for a second. Your blows can be lethal, but I'll just have to get rid of you before they can reach me. No one will stop Apostatìs's road!" He spoke.
"You seem attached to your Master, too bad that he's a jerk causing all this havoc around here! So we'll see about that!" Tammy retorted. She instantly used her Eye Magic Tracker to get the aim of the enemy and then started to shoot more arrows at a time.
"Scattered Approach!" As an answer, Nixel activated his magic, and all the objects that were around him, even whole stalls started to get lifted and floated around him, defending him from the upcoming attacks.
"Barnacles!" Tammy exclaimed. Her instinct then made her start to move away, as she understood that the metal objects would have started to chase her down again. And her thought was right. The scattered metal items rose again and went after her.
"I need to find the right balance between avoiding getting stabbed by these things and trying to attack him!" She said while moving around. She made a small jump and shot with three different arrows with the Target Hunt. The arrows went up like flying snakes, aiming at Nixel, who maneuvered the floating objects around him to make them get the arrows for him.
"The procedure is the same: make sure that those arrows don't attack me and don't let her breathe even for a single moment. I only need to keep on going for a few more minutes." Nixel thought. He then used his magic to gather four wooden poles that were holding a large tent and threw them against Tammy.
"AH!" The girl could see it and moved carefully to not get impaled by them. She then jumped to the other side of a stall and lowered herself to hide from the metallic objects, which got stabbed in the wood.
"You're trying to get repaired like you are in a trench?" Nixel sarcastically asked.
Tammy gritted her teeth from the other side, but she knew what to do. "Well, yes! And you know what this means!" She exclaimed. She then quickly stood up and, through the use of the Eye Magic Tracker she shot a direct blow with The Sniper when the enemy could less expect it.
"HM!" Nixel saw the arrow at the last moment and put a shelf in front of him to defend himself, but the arrow was strong enough to pierce through the object and reach him directly. He put a hand in front of himself, and this got stabbed right up, causing a bleeding hole. "GH!" Nixel got flustered for a moment, as soon as he saw the wound. She was starting to get the hang of it, and that was the second blow that she was able to successfully make. But even if his head started to sweat, he tried his best to not lose his composure. "Do not get cocky!" He exclaimed as he raised two fingers.
By doing so, the metal objects that ended up stuck in the stall rose and aimed directly at Tammy. "DAMMIT!"
SPLAT!
"AGH!" Some of the knives stabbed her in the throat (not at a dangerous depth) while the rest of them pushed her away and made her fall. Before they could continue, Tammy quickly stood up and started to run away as fast as possible, starting another chase.
As she moved around, trying to occasionally hide in several places to not get stabbed or crushed down, Tammy kept on shooting several arrows, in an attempt to attack Nixel, who controlled the floating objects around him to defend himself. Both of them could feel their pressure getting bigger and more oppressive, as they could see the potentialities of each other's magic. One fatal error and everything was done. Therefore, they needed to make sure how to get the right spots.
"Phoebus Barrage!" While standing on the top of a stall, Tammy started to shoot a myriad of arrows at Nixel, who spread his arms to make a few glass bottles crack up and use their shards thrown with violence to contrast the arrows. A clash of bullets followed, and while an arrow grazed Nixel, making his chin bleed again, some of the glass shards stabbed Tammy's body. "GH!"
"I see that you are starting to get wounded often. With your thin body, you won't be able to resist for that long." Nixel observed. He raised two fingers and several javelins rose and started to chase Tammy down.
"GH!" One of them cut her in the shoulder, but she found the strength to jump down and move to avoid the rest of them. "I get to attack him a few times, but among the two of us, it's me who's getting reduced to a sieve! This place is truly the worst one where we could have fought! Just why all these objects are chasing me!?" She exclaimed. She then looked carefully at the ones that were chasing her down and realized something. "Ah! Wait…all of these are made of Iron or a similar material…could it be…" By making some calculations, she remembered the moment when Nixel attacked her with that energy ring, keeping in mind the name he used for the move.
"Attraction."
"AH! N-Now I get it!" Tammy exclaimed, looking at the objects that were chasing her. "It's not them that are chasing me! It is I who attracts them! Except for the ones that he throws and gathers around him!" Once she realized it. Everything was clearer. The true nature of that magic.
"HE TURNED ME INTO A MAGNET! HE GATHERS ALL THOSE THINGS BY USING MAGNETISM!" The realization made her get more flustered and pressured. Because she could understand that the place they were currently standing was the ideal one for him. She gritted her teeth and shot four arrows at the enemy with the Target Hunt.
Nixel saw it coming and used three of the floating objects to block them and personally avoid the last one, avoiding the risk of getting attacked at the spleen.
"You sneaky bastard! You're trying to make me attract all the things that could kill me through magnetism! You truly are the worst!" Tammy exclaimed.
"So you've realized it. Congratulations on staying alive enough to comprehend it." Nixel replied, making the girl sweat. "Yes, that's right. I'm a wielder of the magnetism magic, which allows me to increase the magnetism of everything that surrounds me, making me able to maneuver it as I please or turn the others into a living magnet, making them gather enough things to crush them down. Through this magic, I make sure that the organism I aim for has the same type of pole energy as the objects they pass through to trigger the attraction. An unusual magic, right? And yet…just because of this, people kept on seeing me as a monster."
"What?" Tammy asked.
"Ever since I was a kid, I used this magic in every way possible…but this scared everyone else, telling me to not play with it. I simply tried to do what everyone wanted: find new ways to improve myself! And yet they all thought I could have used an object to harm them…can you imagine how I felt!?" Nixel continued, remembering the past.
"Get away from him! Don't you know he attracts objects?"
"STAY AWAY! I know what you can do, and I don't intend to get an inch closer to you!"
"It kept on being so…until eventually I grew up tired of that situation. Did they want to see me as a monster? So be it. I've started to use the magic to defend myself and make sure that all those who insulted me could never stand up again! The only one who could acknowledge what I could have done was Apostatìs, who greeted me in Chimera Tribe. That's why I'm here. By doing all of this, I can finally feel myself, free from every shackle! Free to expand my magic as I please to, even if it means taking down this whole place and-" Nixel kept on going but right at that moment…
"DEAR LORD! YOU REALLY ARE MESSED UP!" Tammy shouted.
"What?" Nixel asked, annoyed.
"I could understand how you have felt getting rejected by everyone because of your magic, but instead of getting help from someone or going to a therapist, you decided to get revenge and assault everyone else!? YOU CAN'T SAY YOU'RE A COMPLETE VICTIM! If anything, it's almost like you find pleasure in getting seen and treated like a monster, just like you are doing now!" Tammy exclaimed. She then raised her bow against him. "Without knowing it, you gave me another reason to take you down, even if you slice me up several times!"
"What can you possibly understand!? You have a comforting legal guild to rely on, you don't know how it feels to be abandoned!" Nixel protested.
"I DO KNOW, AND IT'S NOT WHAT YOU HAVE EXPLAINED!" Tammy retorted, getting more annoyed.
"Talk as you want, you will never be able to understand it truly. What matters is that I get to make you feel the same despair as everyone else made me go in and that Apostatìs manages to take the orb from that tower!" Nixel continued, gathering more objects around him. "And judging by your conditions, It won't take long before the first one happens."
"Are you sure about that?" Tammy asked with a more confident grin.
"What?" Nixel asked.
"True, you reduced me to this, and I hate you for this! But now that I understand what your magic can do, things can get easier once I do THIS!" Tammy answered, raising her bow high. She then pulled out ten arrows to shoot at the same time, even if it would have been too heavy for her.
Nixel was confused at first, but he then slightly widened his eyes as soon as he realized what she was trying to do. "No, don't tell me!"
"Target Hunt!" With one movement, she shot all arrows that at first went up to the sky and then scattered and moved around as shooting started.
Nixel tried to defend himself, but just as he feared, he could see that the arrows weren't aimed at him this time…rather at the stalls that surrounded the two of them, starting to destroy them and the exposed items. "Crap!" He used his magnetism to gather as much as items as possible before they could get destroyed, but most of them were already reduced to pieces, not even worthy ones to be used against her.
"Considering that your magic relies mostly on every object that surrounds you, it's natural that a proper way to counter it is to make you out of ammo!" Tammy exclaimed.
Nixel started to get more annoyed. "Don't think you have won yet! Keep in mind that the Attraction is still active!" He exclaimed before starting to throw more objects at her. But to his horror, much like he did most of the time, the arrows she used before with the Target Hunt came back and attacked every object coming for her. "What!?"
"Did you really think you were the only one who could have controlled his bullets? The Target Hunt can make the arrows move as long as they can still move! Now that I've understood the trick, I've put more magic into them to make them resist longer!" Tammy explained before reloading her bow. "AND GET READY FOR MORE!" She used the same move, this time to attack the floating objects around Nixel.
"Damm you!" Nixel could see that his attacks were getting destroyed, so he did his best to throw them while he still could, but shortly after, he was left without anything to throw. "Shit!"
"Oh, don't think I'm done with you! The Sniper!" Once Nixel was left without things to use his magnetism with, Tammy took the chance to take another arrow and use a charged attack to directly strike him.
Since he was left with not many options and due to the arrow's inhuman speed, he got hit with a serious wound near the chest. "GAAAAAAH!" He fell to the ground with a violent impact, and Tammy could finally take a breath.
"Anf…anf…anf…I was finally able to make a serious damage at him…" She commented. She could then see that Nixel was struggling a bit and found the strength to get up.
"Gh…eh eh eh eh eh…" Even despite everything, Nixel could make a sinister laugh.
"What's so funny? Even if you stand up, there isn't much you can do about it! Look around! Tammy said, referring to the destroyed battlefield. That sight made her look a bit perplexed and worried. "Dammit, I've made a mess out here…And I'm probably going to pay for all that merch…"
"Right…you make a valuable point there, girl. Without many objects around, there isn't much I can do with my magic, which usually works with the objects that are in my range. But…as a mage of Chimera Tribe, I need to stick with our way of thinking and survive. Destroy everything that crosses your path."
That sentence made Tammy worried, even If she still didn't know why.
"We never missed or failed one hunt ever since our guild had been found. And I, Nixel, will make sure to maintain this achievement. True, there aren't many objects left I can use to take you down. But this doesn't mean I can get more of them even without moving away." The hunter continued.
"What do you mean?" Tammy asked. She gritted her teeth and used another one of her magic. "Bird's Eye View!" Through this magic, she was able to have a complete view of the Great Market as a whole. "Even if it's damaged, there are a lot of stalls still standing, but he shouldn't be able to get them right now, right?" She then noticed him doing something.
Nixel clapped his hand, making a loud noise. "HMMMMM!" Suddenly, a bubble of energy started to surround him and the environment. Shortly after Tammy could raise her head and could see with horror that a lot of objects, especially metallic ones, were reaching them and soon started to surround Nixel.
"WHAAAAAAAAT!?"
"Gathered Attraction! My last resort whenever I end up in these situations! By concentrating my magic to its fullest, I manage to expand the magnetism throughout a larger area to use its effect, henceforth granting me more objects to use!" Nixel explained. "And not only that."
Tammy was getting more confused but suddenly, she could feel herself getting closer even without moving. "Uh? EH!?" She soon realized that she was getting dragged. "OH NO NO NO NO NO NO!" She tried her best to stay attached to something while still getting dragged. She could see that what was left of the stalls was getting sucked out as well.
"You're still under the effect of the normal Attraction spell, which means that your atom poles are of the same energy as the rest, which means that the magnetism is triggered!" Nixel explained. "You can imagine what would happen to your body if you get stuck inside all of these objects, especially the sharp ones."
"NGHHHH!" Tammy tried her best to stick up to a rock, and she could see the effect herself as she saw that both her shoes and her socks got sucked up as well, leaving her barefoot. "HEY MY SHOES AND SOCKS! GRRRRRRR!" The magnetism kept on increasing, and Tammy's fingers were about to slip away from the rock she was hanging on. It was almost like she was getting sucked up by a black hole.
"You had a lot of guts for being able to survive for that long and managing to get a few hits on me, I can give you that. But your fate had been written ever since you decided to climb up that mountain and try to stop me! Even mages have their limit, and it's time you learn yours! Abandon yourself to the attraction and free yourself from every type of pain! In short, DIE!" Nixel said as he kept on gathering magnetism.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Tammy was a few moments for getting dragged away. She looked up at him. "I-I Can't die yet! There are still a lot of things I want to do! And I can't let the others fight for their own! I'm a mage of Shogunate Pride as well!" She exclaimed, getting more frustrated and frightened. "Dammit! It doesn't matter what I try to do! I'll get sucked up in that tornado of objects either way! But my arrows were able to attack him before! How am I supposed to " As she thought of the worst outcome, she suddenly realized something.
Throughout all this time, her arrows were able to attack him and Nixel did his best to dodge them, which was something bizarre at first, since as objects, he would have been able to get them without problems, but this never happened. And all of it because of a reason…
It was then that she looked carefully at the amalgamation of objects that were gathered around Nixel, and there, thanks to her Eye Magic…she could see it: every set of seconds, there were a few open spots that, if used properly, could have helped her.
The girl soon found a way to counter this tremendous spell, but she thought carefully whether to do it or not. Because in either way, she had to get out from that rock and inevitably get sucked inside the objects. One false step and she was dead. Still…she needed to do it.
"I'm…I'm Tammy Oaks from Shogunate Pride! I, like the others, need to show off the greatness of the road of samurai by erasing evil! There's no way I'll let myself get crushed by you! And you'll soon see why!" She exclaimed.
"Keep blabbering while you can. It's just a matter of seconds before it's all over." Nixel retorted.
Tammy took a deep breath. This was surely a no-return way. Either she succeeded or her enemy would have won. She usually ended up in hazardous situations without knowing it, but for once…she wanted to get the hazard so that she could help her guild win. After a few last seconds…she opened her eyes.
"Now or never!" She exclaimed.
She then released the grasp from the rock and started to get dragged by the magnetism.
"You threw yourself to me? Are you really that desperate?" Nixel asked.
But Tammy knew what to do. She took back her bow and aimed. She started to get closer and closer. In a few instances, her body would have probably gotten crushed or stabbed by the tempest of the objects that were caused by Nixel's magic.
Yet…she knew she could count on one thing.
Her spell, Eye Magic Tracker, would have allowed her to have her lock on the enemy all the time and assure her a full hit. Added to one of her strongest spells…this would have been a perfect blow.
She looked at the open spots left by the tempest and quickly drew an arrow. That was it.
"THINK AGAIN! THE SNIPER!"
The arrow went straight as a comet and passed through the tempest thanks to a hole…stabbing Nixel right in the belly.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nixel could feel tremendous pain as he started to startle and recoil while the amalgamate of metal objects started to stop and fall. "AGH! H-HOW!? HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO HIT ME!?"
"ANF…ANF…ANF…" Tammy could move freely again. She raised her head and glared at the enemy. "It's simpler than you think. I just used your greatness weakness."
"What!?" Nixel exclaimed, realizing it as well.
"Even if they're not metallic objects, your magic allows you to gather every type of possible object through magnetism, except for one thing! You can't control magic! That was the reason why you didn't try to take control of my arrows or my bow! Ethernano doesn't have the same type of structure as anything material, therefore you can't modify the pole energy to control it! Once I realized it, all I had to do was to help me with my Eye Magic and make a hole right into your attack! And it worked!" Tammy explained.
Nixel's pupils started to tremble from frustration and bewilderment. He couldn't believe that there could have been something that conventional for her. "This is absurd…only a few people were able to fully understand it!"
"Honored to be one of them! And now all I have to do is finish this! I can't stand someone who tortures others through magnetism only for some grudge of the past when there could have been plenty of ways to solve the problem! I HOPE YOU'RE READY!"
"QUIET! Even if you stopped me for a moment, this doesn't mean I can't use the magic again and kill you for good! THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!" Not wanting to accept defeat, Nixel clapped his hands and started to gather the magnetism around him, attempting to throw all the objects as one. "TAKE THIS! GATHERED ATTRACTION!" Altogether, the objects would have been powerful and brutal, but they lacked one thing that Tammy's next blow had.
Speed.
"PHOEBUS MYRIAD!" Without hesitating, Tammy charged more arrows and shot them repeatedly, managing to fully hit the enemy before he could throw his attack.
"AAAAAGH!" Nixel got each one of those arrows, and with horror, he could see all the arrows that were impaled on his body. He then raised his stare and looked at the girl, who still had a fierce expression on her face. "Even after everything I threw at her…she kept on attacking and finding new ways to surpass me. H-How? Did she go through the same things as I did? Just…what the hell is Shogunate Pride...for having mages such as this?" This was his last thought. "G-GAH…" He then collapsed to the ground and fainted. It was almost a miracle that he wasn't dead yet. But Tammy didn't matter.
All that mattered…was that she carried out what she had promised: Stopping the one who was throwing down all those objects from above.
"I…I won! Did I do it once again?" A feeling of relief and excitement started to fill her heart. Then…with shiny eyes, she made a jump to celebrate. "YEEES! I DID IT!" She exclaimed. "So I can still do something even with my limits! Well, not that I had any doubts, naturally!" She said, all happy.
She then looked around, noticing all the mess that was caused by the battle while taking a few breaths. "D-Damm…to think that all of this was caused by a single one of them…" She commented. She then used her Bird's Eye View to have a vision of the battlefield. She could see that the others were still fighting and that there was still havoc throughout the great market. But she could see that they were pushing back. "Eheh…our efforts are starting to take effect. Glad that I could have helped in one way or another…I wish I could help more…but for now…"
She then collapsed to the ground due to the tiredness and her wounds.
"I need a bit of rest…" She ended. She was exhausted…but overall happy…except for one thing. She looked at her feet. "Hmmm…those were the best shoes I had. That guy was terrible!"
Great Akihabara Market – Eastern Section
Elsewhere in the market, the battle continued, even among the imperial soldiers who were put on guard for the market and the lesser mages of Chimera Tribe. Thanks to the continuous efforts of Shogunate Pride in taking down both lesser mages and their strongest members, the overall bandits were starting to get pushed away.
"RUUUN!" Some of the bandits started to abandon the battlefield as soon as the imperial soldiers started to answer back, even chasing them down.
"Get back here!" The militaries started to throw their lances at the fugitives in an attempt to knock them out, eager to finish the job as soon as they had the upper hand. But right at that moment, someone giant that was digging underground made their road and headed against the soldiers. "W-What is that!? GAAAAH!" The soldiers were unable to do much, as they got run over by that giant mass of earth.
"AHAH! It's him! The reinforcements are coming!" The bandits rejoiced as soon as they saw that thing, but they soon found out that something was wrong. Instead of coming out and helping them, the groundmass went for them and ran over them as well. "AAAAAAAGH!"
The being that was underground kept going on their road, destroying everything that crossed their path, between stalls and buildings. Their goal was simple: make the market defenseless against the strength of his guild. But little did they know…that someone was after them.
"Anf anf anf anf anf anf!" Ever since they split up, Iku kept on chasing down the groundmass, attempting to stop it. She got tired a few times, but she always knew how to gain all her energy back. "We've been running for a while by now, you surely love to be active! Oh, well not that it matters…" She took a sip of alcohol from her bottle and soon felt full again. "Aaaah…delicious. Now…" She then jumped and dived against the mass. "HOW ABOUT YOU COME OUT?" With one impact kick, she was able to stun the groundmass and make it come out, revealing its true appearance.
"GAAAAH!" A giant man came out from the ground. He was around 191 cm tall and had a large muscular body with several stripes all over his arms and on the sides of his neck. His eyes were covered by his bushy dark brown hair and his molar teeth were all exposed. He was wearing a long red leather jacket over an exposed chest, two large yellow pants, a pair of black gloves, and two sandals with tabi socks. As soon as he was out, the tall figure held his head for the pain. "Dammit! That really hurt! Who dared to do this to me!?" He exclaimed.
"Right heeeere!" Iku answered, wanting to be seen.
As soon as he heard her, the figure turned around and saw her. "A woman? I don't have any idea who the hell are you supposed to be, but if you dared to disturb Gyaryu, the flail of Chimera Tribe during a job, then it must mean that you REALLY wish to end up inside my jaws!" He exclaimed, presenting himself.
Gyaryu – Member of Chimera Tribe
"Oooooooh! Is that so? I never thought I would have ended up such a big fish!" Iku said, all happy. "Eh Eh…it's almost like I'm fishing in the lake at the top of a mountain, but with my clothes! Today is my lucky day!"
Gyaryu was confused. "What? What are you saying?" He asked. But then he realized it once he saw that Iku's skin was slightly red. "Wait a second, are you drunk!?"
"What? Nooooooo! I just happened to drink a little bit more than usual! I just couldn't resist…the drinks that they serve here at the Akihabara Market are simply excellent…" Iku answered. She then charged up her bottle through the use of her magic and sipped it. "Aaaaah…you should try it…"
Gyaryu was simply left oblivious with a drop of sweat near his head. But he then shook off his head. "Listen, woman, I don't have any idea if you are serious right now or you are trying to prank me, whatever the case, I'll tell you right away that you're getting on my nerves. And since you've dared to attack me earlier…" After saying that, he released an ominous aura from his body, with his teeth getting sharper. "I think you'll regret having decided to dare with me."
"Oooooh? Is that what you're after? Forgive me if I made myself not clear from the start." Iku said before taking another sip. Suddenly, her stare became cold with a grin on her mouth. "I'm dead serious right now."
"AH!" Gyaryu could feel it. A presence just as ominous as his. "T-This aura! It has been a while since I've felt something from an opponent! She's almost like an Oni demon!" He observed.
"I'm usually a happy and carefree person, but if there is one thing I can't stand, also from a personal perspective…is people who take advantage of weaker ones because of their strength, and you are one of them. So…as a caring woman, and as a mage of Shogunate Pride…" Iku raised her bottle which started to shine and change form.
Gyaryu's interest started to grow at such sight.
Once the light faded, the bottle changed into a spikeless kanabo club with an alcoholic liquid on its inside. Iku made it spin several times before pointing it at the enemy. "I think that teaching you a lesson on how to respect those who are weaker than you is obligatory." She concluded the phrase.
Gyaryu started to tremble from the excitement. In an instant, he tightened his fists, and his veins started to get visible. "I see how it is, then…what is your name?" He then asked.
"Iku Yamaguchi, The Drunken Beast and an S-Class Mage of my guild," Iku asked with the same expression.
"A marvelous name. Yamaguchi…after you showed me that fierce aura, I want to know…" Gyaryu's arms started to get coated with what seemed to be scales. "If you are worthy enough…TO BE REMEMBERED AFTER I DEVOURED YOUR FLESH!" He shouted. He didn't need more seconds and he charged against the enemy, aiming to crush her down with his two fists.
Iku accepted gladly and answered by using her Sheng Sheng, which violently clashed against the limbs of the enemy, releasing a powerful impact that cracked down the whole surrounding ground and forced the two mages to jump away.
"A tremendous power even if you didn't use your magic. You seem to respect your premises. But let's see if you keep on doing so once I've shown you the ferocity of the abyss! Fish Dominion – Hammerhead Shark!" Gyaryu decided to use his magic to turn his two fists into two long and wide hammers that he made crash against Iku's kanabo, which was able to resist overall.
The mage of Shogunate Pride saw the two weapons coming straight up to her and used her club to answer with excitement and violence until she blocked the two fists and started to struggle to prevail. "My, My! When I said I got a big fish, I said it funnily, but I didn't expect to face one! Though I should have seen it coming from those gills you have on the neck." She commented.
"We of Chimera Tribe represent the brutal violence and the sheer strength that the beasts can show. Just like the earth and the sky, even the ocean has tons of fang to show. LET ME SHOW YOU THE TERROR OF THE ABYSS!" Gyaryu answered as he pushed forward, managing to push away the club and hit Iku right in the face with one of the fists, wiping her away.
"GH!" Iku could feel a terrible pain on her face as she flew backward, but she still had a lot of energy that made her land on her feet. "Eh Eh! That's more like it!" She commented. She could then see Gyaryu appear right in front of her, ready to make her sink to the ground, but the girl promptly jumped backward, thus starting a chase between the two, with Gyaryu repeatedly trying to punch her down and form large craters on the ground. "ORYAAAH!" The mage of Chimera Tribe tried to use one last punch, but Iku jumped in time and answered by attacking with the kanabo club on his face, sending him away by a few meters. "GH!"
Iku then landed on the top of a destroyed house. "I can see what deal you are. How about I take my turn to show you something cool?" She said before raising her club. "Requip – The Drinker – Winter Mint!" The liquid inside the club started to change into a mint-flavored one. She then drank the beverage from the tip of the weapon's grip. "Aaaah, delicious and refreshing…"
"Requip? I see a mage who holds her weapon in a special dimension. Therefore I JUST NEED TO TAKE YOU DOWN BEFORE YOU CAN USE THEM!" Gyaryu exclaimed before making a tall jump in an attempt to reach her.
"Are you sure about that, pal? Winter Mint – Frost Breath!" As soon as she saw the enemy getting closer Iku started to gather air from her lips and then released it into a large cone of frosts that started to drag Gyaryu away.
The man-beast could feel a terrible blizzard pushing him away and lowering the temperature of his body. "AGH! W-What is this!? It's like I'm in the middle of a snowy mountain! WOAAAAAH!" Even with his large body, the blizzard was strong enough to push him away, forcing him to land on both his hand and his feet while recoiling.
As soon as she saw a favorable situation Iku jumped down and smashed the ground with the kanabo club. "Winter Mint – Icicle Spike!" In less than five seconds, the ground started to freeze out and get covered with ice. From there, several spikes of ice started to rise and surround everything, reaching out for Gyaryu.
The hunter was surprised by this but certainly didn't scare him. "Her times of reaction are advanced, but don't pretend like I couldn't answer it. Fishes know how to resist low temperatures!" By using his magic, his body suddenly became thinner and from his arms, two sharp-skinned blades started to come out. "Fish Dominion – Barracuda!" Once he was ready, he started to rush forward with the ice spikes, getting to cut them with his blades. Due to their sudden appearances, Gyaryu ended up getting stabbed in some parts of the body (Mostly his spleens), but he didn't care. His eyes remained locked on Iku and he kept on cutting through the ice while reaching her.
"Hey, are you serious?! He's ignoring the damages to reach me!" Iku commented. "Impressive…" She then looked up and saw Gyaryu dive against her. "Uh Oh…"
"HEAAAAH!" The tall mage dived down and attacked with one of his arm-blades, clashing with Iku's kanabo, which, like before, proved to be resistant enough to make his stall. But Gyaryu saw it coming and immediately attacked with the free arm, managing to cut her horizontally and open up between her chest and her belly.
"GH!" Iku was startled at the sight of her body getting cut and starting to bleed out, but she did her best to keep her composure (if we would like to call it since she was drunk) and kept on clashing the weapon against Gyaryu's repetitive attacks. However, she could see that there was a problem with that. "Maan, those blades are sharp! If I don't do something my club could get shattered! Luckily for me, I know the perfect way." Like nothing was happening, she used the Requip magic to change the drink into a peach-flavored one. "Bubbly Bounce!" She quickly drank it while she continued the clash. "Hmmm! So sweet! Ok, then! Bubbly Bounce – Sonic Slam!" As soon as she used the spell, Iku started to swing her club at an inhuman speed, starting to get on Gyaryu's blades' level, astonishing the other mage.
"What's with this speed!?" He exclaimed. He gritted his teeth. "NOT YET!" Willing to not lose, He kept on attacking, while Iku started to surpass his speed.
"How do you like it? The reason why I like all these drinks is not only because I like their flavor, but because they can give me the right strength to kick all of your faces! They make me feel alive in short! NOW GET READY!" Iku exclaimed before pushing up the skinned blades of the enemy and making a vertical smack with the weapon, sending him down.
"NGH!" Not expecting that, Gyaryu got fully hit and sunk to the ground.
Iku took advantage of it and used a horizontal slash, as if the kanabo was a katana, to attack the enemy and him several meters away.
The attack succeeded, but while in mid-air after the throw, Gyaryu regained consciousness and used his magic again. "Fish Dominion – Moray Eel!" His body became longer and he started to grow up a tail that he used to attach himself to a building before he crashed somewhere else. He then pushed forward to regain balance and land on his feet.
"Hey, are we serious right now?"
"And you still didn't see anything! TAKE THIS!" Gyaryu answered by extending his tail to an unexpected length reaching out for Iku.
"AH, CRAP!" Not expecting it, Iku couldn't defend herself from that and the tail wrapped it up in a tight grasp. Gyaryu then used the tail to make her hit the ground several times.
Even if she was resistant, Iku could start to feel a terrible pain in her body, as her front started to bleed. "NGH! THIS TAIL IS ANNOYING!" She exclaimed. "With the strength he's using, he might be able to crack my head up! I need to invent something that will set me free! Wait a minute…" She then thought. A small smirk formed on her face as soon as she realized that she could do something. While she was held by Gyaryu's tail at that moment, she still had the club in her hands, so with all the strength she had, she managed to pull out the arm that was holding the weapon and use the Requip to change the drink. "Static Strom!" She quickly drank it. "Woo! A bit bitter if you don't put a bit of sugar first! But the important is this!" She then attacked the tail that was holding her with the club, generating an electric shockwave that went through the tail and electrified Gyaryu's whole body.
"GAAAAAAAAH!" Due to the sudden pain, Gyaryu had to pull back the tail, freeing Iku, who was satisfied.
"Very good! Now he seems available for something extra!" She commented as she raised the club. "Static Strom – Thunderball!" She generated several thunder balls that all aimed at the enemy.
Even if still electrified, Gyaryu could open his eyes (?) and see the electric balls getting thrown at him. Keeping the Moray Eel active, he regained consciousness and used his long body to move around and dodge the balls of electricity before they could reach them.
"He's fast as well!" Iku exclaimed.
Once the danger was out for Gyaryu, he quickly rushed forward to Iku and jumped to reach her and bite her with his long fangs.
"GH!" Iku could feel her arms getting stabbed by the teeth and starting to bleed, but she didn't care at all. "Eheh…did you think you have surprised me?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Gyaryu asked.
"Throughout my life, I've felt worse pain than THIS!" The woman exclaimed before managing to push Gyaryu away with a heavy kick.
"GAAH!" Not expecting it, the mage of Chimera Tribe ended up crashing against a building.
Even if she held on, Iku could still feel that the bite was bad and held her arm for the pain. "Tch…Though I must say…that thing is strong. Maybe I need to make some extra efforts in the end." She commented.
In the meantime, Gyaryu stood up with still some energy to use. He glared at Iku, feeling both impressed by her strength and annoyed by her persistence. "You're breaking every expectation I could have, Yamaguchi, so I need to give you some credit for that. But as the true beast of Chimera Tribe, I can't let a plunder become a failure!" He exclaimed, He then spread his arms. "As much as I hate to take down someone strong as you, YOU NEED TO BECOME BONES! Fish Dominion – Piranha!" He then summoned a myriad of piranhas from both his hands, all floating towards Iku, who widened her eyes.
Not expecting this, Iku started to use her club, swinging it fast to take down as many piranhas as possible. "Shoot! If I'm not careful, I could become bones in less than five seconds! These things could devour an entire cow in the blink of an eye!" She commented. Thinking of a way to get out of it, Iku used her Requip magic to change drink yet again. Somehow, she was able to drink the beverage while continuing to use the club. "Cinnamon Spice! Eck! Tastes a bit strong! It's cinnamon after all…" Once she finished, she started to gather air and then released it in a large torrent of fire that consumed all the piranhas, which turned out to be dust. Little did she know, that Gyaryu saw something like this coming and was already above her to crush her down. "Clever boy…" She commented.
"Fish Dominion – Hammerhead Shark!" His two fists became longer and he tried to smash the girl with both of them.
"HM!" Iku got ready and counterattacked with her club, generating a large shockwave due to the impact that made both of them recoil. The two warriors glared at each other and then made one step forward before starting a barrage of physical attacks that made the earth tremble. Even if Gyaryu was bigger than her, Iku didn't falter and kept on attacking, hoping to surpass him. "You're pretty good! It's a shame that someone like you works in a criminal guild! Your strength could help a lot of people!" She commented while she kept on attacking.
"Spare me your attempts to convert me, I've already tried to be a good guy in the past and it made me feel worse!" Gyaryu countered.
"What do you mean?" Iku asked.
"I used to work in a circus as an acrobat, but even if I tried my best to come up with new shows through my magic, people could only laugh at me because of how goofy I looked! I couldn't stand it! I was tired of getting humiliated every day due to my job! I've made each of them pay by destroying the circus and its spectators. Then, I met Apostatìs, who made me join his guild. There, I got the chance to prove what I could do! No one would have laughed at me anymore! I COULD FINALLY GET THE RESPECT I WANTED!" Gyaryu explained his reasons, and by doing this, his fists became stronger and faster due to the frustration he started to feel.
"Ngh!" Iku could feel it as well since more punches started to get her and she slowly started to sink into the ground. Even so, she did her best to stand up and answer. "Is that so? In that case, I'm sorry to hear that you had such an unpleasant past, but you acted the wrong way!" She spoke.
"How so?" Gyaryu asked, more annoyed.
"True, getting insulted for your goofiness isn't something that makes you feel good. But you know what you should have done? You should have laughed at them back! Either way, it was you who put up the show and took the money! What mattered was that you did your job! And sometimes, you need to have a good laugh to feel better! I know- ICK- something!" Iku replied with a hiccup in the middle.
"GRRR! SHUT UP! I couldn't accept such a thing like it was nothing! I was more than this, AND I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON FOR IT!" Gyaryu shouted before forming a tail again and stabbing her in the spleen.
"GH!"
"Fish Dominion – Electric Eel!" By using the spell, Gyaryu's body became thinner again, and he started to release an electric shockwave which he used directly on Iku's body.
"GHHHH! Eheheh…I admire your desire to improve yourself! BUT I NEED TO DO THE SAME!" She then gathered air again, but this time, she released several fireballs that exploded as soon as they reached Gyaryu. "Cinnamon Spice – Pepper Shot!" The electric shockwave was still flowing on her body, but she would have made it stop.
"GHHH!" Due to the shortened distance and the fact that he was holding her with the tail, Gyaryu couldn't do much and felt every blow, getting forced to let her go. The two of them then made a few steps backward for the damage and took some breaths. The mage of Chimera Tribe raised his head and glared at her. For a moment, the girl could see his eyes, large and pupilless. "I can't afford to make unscrupulous people make fun of me. I'm the predator, I'm the stronger one, they all have to fall under my maw!"
"Then I don't have any choice but to convince you with the hard way…" Iku retorted with a glare.
"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Gyaryu exclaimed. He dashed forward, but before he could do anything, he could already see Iku below her, hitting him with a straight kick in the belly and pushing him away. "GH!" The woman was ready to continue but the other mage used his next attack to prevent it. His body became bigger and his gills started to swell. His eyes also became pitch black as he looked at Iku and started to smell the scent of blood. "Fish Dominion – Tiger Shark!" He then charged at Iku with an outstanding peed, managing to give her a heavy punch in the face which made her bleed and recoil.
"AGH! What the-!?" Iku didn't have the time to elaborate on what just happened she could see that Gyaryy was already charging at her with an unnatural ferocity.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Without any mercy, the large hunter started to attack the woman with large claws, aiming to pierce her body with several scars.
Iku tried her best to dodge and defend herself, but she could see that his attacks were starting to overwhelm her in both speed and strength, and in less than a few minutes, her body was full of claw signs and scars, bleeding. "GHHHH!"
"HAAA!" Gyaryu gave another punch that made her crash against a pile of rocks.
"GH!" Iku inexorably fell before trying to stand up, while Gyaryu was slowly starting to approach her. "G-Gh…you're getting tough…"
"My magic, the Fish Dominion, grants me the power to assimilate all the characteristics of every living fish in the world, and the sharks are the deadliest ones. As soon as they smell the scent of blood…they're ready to do whatever madness to eat." Gyaryu explained. "You are strong, Yamaguchi. But I cannot let you nor your comrades interfere with me, my guild, and our style of life. We're simply following the ways of a Chimera. We're following the circle of life. It's up to the strongest to survive…and to keep on fighting." He then exposed his claws. "Now, you die…and your friends will be next."
But even in that situation…Iku started to laugh, even If it was feeble laughter due to her condition.
"What's so funny?" Gyaryu asked.
"Nothing. J-Just hearing you speak makes me laugh…because now you have given me one more reason to wreck your face." Iku replied before fully standing up. "What kind of S-Class mage would I be if I couldn't be able to look over the other mages of my guild?" She spoke. "Circle of life? The strongest survives? That's a surpassed way of thinking, and honestly…the dumbest one. I've met people like you who only thought about themselves, getting stronger and maintaining a certain reputation, and by doing so, they didn't have any problems with stomping on other people. I couldn't stand it…even to this day, I can't stand it…" She added. Her eyes then became colder and a delighted grin appeared on her face. "I intend to keep on living to finally set a good example for others…which means taking out trash like you."
"How do you intend to keep on fighting with those conditions?" Gyaryu asked.
"Eh eh eh…I just need to use your same strategy…letting go of myself." Iku replied before using her Requip magic to change the drink once again. This time, a red and fancy liquid appeared on the club. "A single drop will be ok." She said before drinking it the least possible.
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Sensing the danger, Gyaryu was ready to stop her and possibly finish her, but in less than a second, he got thrown away by a powerful punch. "GAH! W-What was that!?"
Iku raised her stare with a smirk and a red glowing aura surrounding her. "Devil's Delight: Magnum Bash. How about we get through it?" She asked.
Gyaryu started to get even more annoyed. Not only the enemy that was mocking him was still standing, but she was getting stronger. He couldn't stand it. He had to finish it. "FALL, YAMAGUCHI!" He threw himself with all the rage possible and started to cut down with his claws.
But this time, Iku knew how to answer. Instead of using the club, she went straight with her fists and started to contrast the enemy. Every one of her blows released an outstanding impact that made several rocks get destroyed amid the battle.
"GAH!" Gyaryu could feel a terrible impact on his hardened skin each time he got hit. "What is this!? She wasn't showing such strength before!" He exclaimed. "Little bitch…THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL STOP! HUNT OF THE ABYSS!" In the attempt to stop her, he released a myriad of claw attacks infused with energy swipes, as if she was trying to imprison her in a cage of blows.
Iku promptly put her hand in front of herself to defend her body from all those attacks. Even if she got hit, her body seemed resistant. When a few moments earlier, she would have fallen again, this time she was proudly standing up, waiting for the moment to strike.
"How is it possible that she's standing up!?" Gyaryu exclaimed as he desperately tried to take her down.
"Devil's Delight is a forbidden beverage that slowly consumes the body of the user in return for an outstanding strength, that's why I drank a small portion of it…" Iku explained.
"What!? You're willing to push yourself that far!?" Gyaryu asked.
"OF COURSE! Just like you intended to do! As a mage, you should know it better, but unlike you, I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD USE THE STRENGTH FOR!" Iku exclaimed.
"GRRR…DIE-" Gyaryu was tired of everything. He raised his arms and tried to crush Iku in a deadly grasp with his claw, but before he could do so, Iku smashed his face with a heavy punch which made him lose one of his fangs. "GAAAAH!"
But Iku wasn't done there.
"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" Infused with the power of the Devil's Delight, Iku delivered one fist after another, and each fist's impact became stronger to the point of nullifying Gyaryu's magic, sending him to his normal stage. Iku then put his foot steady and prepared one last punch. "You can't talk about getting disrespected if you bring your grudge upon others…do not talk about things you can't understand…IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING! DEVIL'S DELIGHT – MAGNUM BASH!" She threw one last punch and…
KABOOOOOOOM!
Gyaryu could feel the power of a whole explosion in his face as soon as the punch reached his face. The impact was powerful enough to send him meters away and make the surrounding environment crumble down.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I-I've never seen such power! How is it possible!? She's so similar to me yet so different! Is it really because of your reason to fight Yamaguchi!?" This was his last thought before he violently crashed down against a building and passed out.
"Anf…anf…anf…" The battle was over, and Iku could finally take some breaths. She then looked around. "Eh Eh…maybe I've exaggerated a bit again. But…I've kept my word. Now the market will have one less problem to think about." She spoke. She then sat down for a moment to recover.
"Though I'm reaaaaaally tired…I should really need something to drink…" She then looked at her club, which turned back to a bottle. The answer came up pretty soon. She used her magic to generate a beverage that had the taste of plums. "Pleasing Plum, Restorative Care." With one sip, she could stand up properly again and could feel the sweet taste of plums in her mouth. "Aaaaaah…tasty! Ok! Time to go! There's still some work to do! I should get in one of the sectors already…" With those words, she ran back, leaving the defeated enemy alone. He wouldn't have moved for a while after that blow.
Another danger was taken, and the battle slowly started to change tides. Though…there were still some remaining enemies.
Great Akihabara Market – Western Side
Another bandit fell.
"Anf…anf…anf…" Tsukuyomi and Rere were back-to-back holding their weapons. Around them, several fainted bandits were lying on the ground.
"Do you think we took all of them?" Rere asked. To answer, Tsukuyomi looked around.
"After what we had done, I think they'll stay down for a long while…" She replied.
"We've been fighting for a while by now…do you think we're starting to finish them?" Rere then asked.
"I think we're almost there. Even in the other parts of the market, the damages seem to have been reduced. We just need to make a few more pushes!" Tsukuyomi told her. "Do you think you can handle it?"
"Well…normally, I'm not that strong and I would normally take a break after all of this mess! But…it would be bad to let go after sticking for that long, right?" Rere said, surprising Tsukuyomi in positive. "Let's finish this job! Plus, I could see a good reward for doing this! Hoping that some merch remains intact…"
"That's what I wanted to hear! Let's keep going then!" With that said, the two girls kept on moving forward throughout the market, until they could spot something similar getting closer. "Hey…is that…?"
The central tower was just a few meters away. They unintentionally came closer to it.
"S-Seriously!? How many roads have we done!? We started that this thing was just a spot in the distance!" Rere commented. "Well…that's still better. What should we do?" She then asked the girl.
Tsukuyomi spotted the large hole in the tower and started to sweat a little. "I think Rokumon and Iori haven't reached them yet. I know we had been assigned with this sector, but after all those henchmen we've dealt with…how about we do a madness?" She then proposed to the friend.
"You're willing to get in there and stop those guys as well?" Rere asked. "That is madness! You know what? Fuck it! We arrived here so it's worth the try! LET'S DO IT!" She said, accepting.
But right at that moment, something fell right in front of them from above.
"Uh?" The two girls came closer to see, and they were confused to find out what it was.
A book with strange and indecipherable words was wide open.
"W-Where does this come from!?" Tsukuyomi wondered coming closer. At first, it didn't seem like something problematic. But then…
"AH!" Rere could feel it. "TSUKUYOMI! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" She tried to warn her, but it was already too late.
"What!?" Tsukuyomi turned around after the friend warned her, but even so, the book's words started to shine and generate a vortex that started to suck out the girl. "WHA-!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" In a few seconds, Tsukuyomi ended inside the book, which writhed and then disappeared as well.
"TSUKUYOMI!" Rere cried out, trying to reach out to the girl in vain. She then stood still, trembling at the fact that she was alone. "O-Oh God, what the hell is happening!? N-NO! I'm here to fight as well! C-Come on, stand still, Rere! You need to help your friend! Compose yourself!" wanting to gather all her inner strength, she prepared the tanto blades with the wires and started to look around, calling out for the enemy.
"W-Whoever you are, you better let my friend go, or you'll regret it! Even if it doesn't seem like, I can be savage like the others! So it's better if you show yourself!" She exclaimed. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But then…
Rere raised her stare and she could see it. "Uh?" Someone was coming from above with an outstanding speed…and not with the best of intentions. The girl could see it. "WHAT THE-" But she didn't have the time to react.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" In a moment, a mage of Chimera Tribe crashed down directly against Rere with violence, and then…
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A large explosion of fire could be seen in the market.
And that's all for today! As you can see, next time we'll see Tsukuyomi and Rere in action. I know some want to see the rest of the others' powers, but I wanted to make sure that everyone here had a chance to get a serious battle, so hold on until the next chapters, hoping that you will like the next one! And to be honest, I didn't expect both battles to be like this at first, especially the first one! Both Tammy and Nixel had particular magics, so I had to think a bit about the way I was supposed to battle. Then, thinking about the battles I had done so far in this story and my other ones, I tried to adapt them both to my writing style when it comes to fights, and such was the result, which in my opinion, became more intense than expected! As for Iku, I had a really good time writing her battle and her behavior! I wanted to show off how carefree yet dangerous she could be at the same time! I was motivated by the Requip magic as well since it's one of my favorite magic types in Fairy Tail, and I think you could see it in the first chapter with Erza. It took a while to finish this chapter because during these days I wanted to make a special chapter that consisted of reading every story made by H.P Lovecraft since it was Halloween. It was still a miracle how I was able to do it, and naturally, expect something inspired by it!
But of course, as always, I leave the final word to you! Did you like the chapter? What are your opinions on the battle? What do you think of the two mages that fought, Tammy and Iku? What do you think will happen to the other two girls that will fight? As always, let me know in your reviews! Your opinion is important!
Again, it's incredible for me the fact that we were able to reach the tenth chapter of this story already! It has been a while since I focused so much on this story! But seeing how well received this seems, especially in the Discord group, makes me ecstatic, so I'm willing to put this on a regular schedule alongside the other stories! And let's hold on since we're slowly reaching the end of this arc, and see how this story continues! I have a lot of surprises for this one!
As always, I thank you for reading this chapter and I'll see you in the next chapter or the next chapter of another story of mine! From Bluestar here, Arrivederci! And since we're coming closer to it, Happy Halloween!