Shogunate Pride Chapter 12: The Two Sides of a Flash
By Bluestar076
Hello everyone! Bluestar here with a new chapter, maybe even earlier than expected! It could be that the charge for reaching the end of this arc is felt! Considering that most of my stories are still at their first arc, it's a new thing for me to have reached this point while still making chapters with an average length of mine, which makes me hope to reach out the same thing with the other stories (The closest one is Adventure 04, which I hope, at this point to reach it out next year. I'll post another chapter of it before the end of 2023. As for the others, it will be a long road but I'll do my best!). As for today's chapter, we get two more fights once again, as we're getting near the main forces of Chimera Tribe, and if some of you may have guessed who's turn is this time, we'll get two intense fights this round! It's a funny thing I've noticed as I kept on going on with this arc that the enemies became more ferocious, while still maintaining their violent and dangerous side. But I guess it's only natural for a guild such as this Chimera Tribe. So, without further ado, let's get right into today's episode! As always, I hope you'll enjoy it!
Note: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights and characters belong to Hiro Mashima, A-1 Pictures, and CloverWorks.
Chapter 12: The Two Sides of a Flash
Caelum – Great Akihabara Market – Main Plaza
Even if most enemy forces were removed, the battle was still erupting in a few parts of the market, which was mostly devastated by the result. Someone would have said that it was absurd how just a few hours earlier, that was the peaceful and populated market that everyone used to know.
But even with that state, thanks to the effort of Shogunate Pride, hope wasn't lost between the authorities of the place. And now that most of the enemies were out of games, they could finally answer.
"What the!?" One of the last bandits of Chimera Tribe was astonished as soon as he saw a huge tank approaching them and starting to attack them with heavy blasts. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
As the tanker kept on moving, the mayor of the market came out from the cabin and looked at the situation. "Yes! We're finally pushing them back!" He exclaimed. "Those of Shogunate Pride are keeping the effort high, let's show them that we can do the same and support them! They must not destroy this market!"
"Well, sir. These missiles we're shooting are doing some damage as well…" One of the imperial soldiers commented.
"OUR MISSILES HAVE A BETTER CAUSE!" The mayor promptly answered with a drop of sweat near his head as he kept on giving orders.
Soon, the surrounding bandits all fell, still alive somehow and the remaining civilians could escape. Still…the mayor couldn't help but feel agitated. "They keep on coming, but we cannot fall back right now! I can sense that we're so close! I hope Merida has already reached the tower…UH!?" He couldn't focus enough on his thoughts that the tank he was using was suddenly attacked by magical blows that came up from above. "W-What the heck is going on!?"
"Mayor, the shell of the tank is utterly damaged!" One of the soldiers shouted. Alarmed once again, the mayor looked up and saw the cause of those attacks.
Some bandits were flying around the tank with artificial wings, moving at high speed. "AHA! You thought we were about to go down, eh!? Well, think again! These wings were provided to us by Ray-Machina, just what we need to deal with guys like you!" One of them exclaimed as they kept on attacking and moving around.
The imperial soldiers kept on moving the tank's cannon in the hope of getting the right aim, but as they continued to move, the bandits were impossible to catch, and they could keep up their assault.
"Dammit! At this point, we'll never get them, and we'll slow down!" The mayor thought. But just as his optimism was starting to fade away…
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
A nitrite could be heard from afar, making the bandits stop, and everyone look confused.
"What was that?" One of them asked.
"Did we check a barn?"
"Not that I remember?"
But the answer was not long in coming as they turned around and saw it with their own eyes. And the sight surely wasn't pleasing. "WHAT THE-!?"
Henry and Cal (and the medic that treated the latter), were sitting on a Pegasus which was dashing at high speed against them.
And as soon as they were closer, the samurai who was ahead pulled out the Jabberwock and sliced down some of the bandits with one swipe. "HA!"
"GAAAAH!" As a result, their wings were cut down and their body showed one large cut as they fell.
"Good thing I always bring my horse call with me! A thing I'm certain is that Icarus is always ready to fly to help! Right buddy?" Henry asked his Pegasus, who snorted as an answer.
"Gotta say…fighting while standing on a flying animal is a completely different thing…" Cal commented.
"I know. Ok, it's your turn now! Smoke'em!" Henry replied. Cal already knew what to do and got to the position.
"Just make sure to not strain your ankle!" The doctor said from behind.
"Got it!" With that, Cal jumped up and aimed at the other mage. "Applied Magic: Wind!" As soon as he jumped, his blade released a small whirlwind that shattered the bandits' wings and made them fall to the ground with several cuts on their bodies.
"All right! Now it's my turn!" Henry exclaimed, willing to follow him with a smirk on his mouth. As soon as he was in mid-air, his blade was already aimed at the next bandits. "Jabberwock – Second Style – Makashi!" He released several movements with his blade, making him look like he was making some sort of choreographed dance to go through their bodies and make them fall.
"WHYYYYY!? WE WERE HAVING OUR MOMENT OF GLORY!" One of them shouted out as they fell.
"YES! Shogunate Pride has come! And…Doctor Kawasaki?" The mayor was a bit confused at the medic who was still standing on Icarus.
In the meantime, Henry noticed that there was one last bandit standing. He didn't lose time and dashed against him while trying to stay in mid-air. "I'VE GOT- WAIT AH!" He wanted to throw himself against him to strike him down, but he ended up falling on him.
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING- WAAAAAAAAAH!" The two of them ended up crashing against several buildings and breaking merch several times before rolling down to the ground.
"Agh…" While the bandit fainted out after hitting his head hard, Henry was still conscious and noticed the awkward position he was standing with him. "AH!" He quickly stood up.
Cal, the medic, the mayor from the tank, and even Icarus were looking at him, all of them with a drop of sweat near their heads.
"Is it normal?" The medic asked.
"Yeah. It's just him being "Lucky". Cal replied.
"I didn't know he had such tastes," Mayor added, referring to the position with the bandit.
"HEY! THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!" The other samurai complained before reaching them. Icarus was even able to facepalm with his hoof somehow.
"It's good to see you back, mages! I suppose that everything has been settled in your sections if you're here." The mayor then asked.
"Y-Yeah, even if it wasn't that easy. They are tough as well!" Henry replied.
"I had to stay still for a while after what one of them had done to me. And what's worse is that their mages aren't the only problem to deal with," Cal added.
"What do you mean?" The mayor asked. And right at that moment…they could see them again. The petals fly around in the sky.
"Dammit, they've reached this part as well!" Cal exclaimed.
And soon enough, the roses started to bloom and appear everywhere.
"What are these-?" The mayor was confused, but he soon found out as soon as one of the imperial soldiers started to cough and faint. "No! Don't tell me!"
"Everyone! Cover your nose! You cannot let their aroma inside you!" Henry warned everyone, who did the same thing. Icarus was somehow able to do so by using his wings.
"We now need to find a way to " Cal was about to suggest a move to take the roses down, but before he could finish his quote, a sudden burst of flames appeared, reducing the plants to ashes. "…Eh?"
"Aaaaah! Sorry, y'all! I didn't mean to use that! But I guess I've accumulated enough gas in my throat." A familiar voice suddenly said. When everyone turned around, they were surprised to see Iku coming closer.
"Iku! You're ok!" Henry exclaimed.
"Were you able to stop that digging thing?" Cal asked.
"Oh, you mean that fish? Yes! Ahah, it was fun playing with that big boy!" She said with a carefree laugh.
Cal looked at her and stumbled a bit. "I-It's incredible how she talks about it like it was nothing- I don't know if it's for the alcohol or not…" He thought.
"Anyways…It seems that we've come to the last push, eh? And to think that I still have plenty of energy to use!" Iku then commented.
The others turned around to see that the areas were starting to get empty. "Yeah, the place is starting to get silent," Henry said.
"But how far is it before we can say that it's over? The noises from the central tower continue, just like these roses. And I haven't received any news from Tsukuyomi or Rere, yet…" Cal then asked.
"Judging from what we did, I'm sure we're at the last ones standing. We just need to hang on until Rokumon and Iori will finish the job probably." Henry replied.
"Is that true? Oh, thank God. After seeing all this damage, I was starting to get terrified! This is getting damaged enough, please make sure this market won't crumble completely! But I'm sure your Master has already coordinated you to do that!" The mayor said.
…
An awkward silence followed.
"...What?" The mayor asked.
"Are you ok?" Doctor Kawasaki added.
"Now that I think of it…did anyone see the Master while coming here?" Henry asked to the other two mages.
"Uh, no?" Cal replied.
"Don't look at me!" Iku added.
That made them wonder the obvious question. In fact…he hasn't been seen for a while.
"…Where the heck is the Master?" The three of them asked in unison.
The mayor was left confused by that. "Judging by how they greeted me, I thought they were more organized…" He thought.
"Let's just hope he's not lost. I already have troubles with that…" Cal commented.
"Right, we have to clean up what's left!" Henry replied before turning to the mayor. "I suppose you won't mind if we give a hand!" He added with a smirk.
"Oh, please do! You're doing this much for us, this is the minimum I can do!" The mayor replied before grabbing the fainted soldier and returning to the tank. "Please lead the way!"
"Guess we're going to settle the score," Cal commented.
"AH AH AH AH! Don't worry guys! I'm ready to turn them into bowling pins with The Requip! That would be hilarious, actually!" Iku added. The other two mages didn't agree.
"I think we'll have to make sure she doesn't break anything else with those drinks…"
"Poor unfortunate souls. I'll pray for them…"
And while even the mayor started to answer with a bit of support…the battle was continuing elsewhere, with few mages left.
Great Akihabara Market – Northern Section
The sun was starting to go down both on the great market and the conflict as a whole. One thing that Revany knows for sure. After seeing the results of her comrades' actions, she knew that she could start to move faster. The market was almost free, but there were still some dangerous elements present that could have compromised the entire situation. Therefore, she knew she needed to act.
"The end of the operation. I've got this…" She spoke.
As she proceeded further into the northern section of the market, she could see something particular and…strange.
The place was starting to get emptier and emptier. She thought, normally, that it was because they took down almost every soldier of the enemy faction. But at the same time…that emptiness and silence were starting to make her feel…uncomfortable.
"Hmmm…"
She kept on moving like she would normally do. And for a while, nothing happened yet. The only noise that she could hear was the echo of her iron heels.
Yet…there was something around her. A presence. A thing that she was unaware of.
Below her…something started to grow bigger, remaining on the ground.
"If nobody shows up, I suppose that I could either find the others and join them or try to head to the central tower and help Rokumon and Iori. Maybe…this zone is completely free now." She thought.
But then…right at that moment…she looked down for a pure coincidence. And she could see it.
A huge and menacing shadow was standing right below her, eyes wide open.
"AH!" Revany widened her eyes as soon as she saw it and promptly jumped backward before assuming a battle position. She didn't need anything else. Another battle was about to start for her, and as such…she started to gather the clouds and make it rain.
The shadow, on the other hand, started to rise, revealing her true physical form: A woman with long white hair, wearing some sort of purple armor, different from that of Revany, a more exposed one, almost as if it was built for physical combat. The figure seemed to stay still, not bothered by the falling rain.
The mage of Shogunate Pride promptly activated her lightsaber and glared at her. "Are you a mage of Chimera Tribe?" She coldly asked.
The woman didn't answer immediately. She stood silent and turned around for a few seconds. And then…she released her first word.
"…Sad." She said it with a low voice as if she was whispering.
"Hm?" Revany wasn't convinced at all and didn't move from her stance.
"This battle…the condition on this market…the fact that so many people need to get mortally wounded…it's all so sad, isn't it?" The woman asked, finally turning around and revealing her face. Her eyes were yellow…and seemed teary. But the strange thing was that even her tears seemed black.
Revany didn't move or talk, but she knew that something was wrong.
"This place is currently overflowing with sadness…" The woman continued before fully turning around and looking at the girl in her face. She then pointed her index finger at her. "And right now…you are one of them."
Revany promptly equipped her iron mask as soon as she said it.
"It's a shame that I've ended up taking care of one of you personally. But I guess that the only thing I can do now is to share the same sorrow me and my comrades are feeling right now with you…by putting it directly in your skin."
Revany's legs started to bend in motion. She was ready to assault her. "Keep calm. She's the next target…take her down."
The other woman's hair started to rise as she spread her arm. "I am Conaire. Wielder of the Banshee magic."
Conaire – Member of Chimera Tribe
"Be prepared…because you'll now feel what is like to have sadness in full control of your emotions…" She warned. Right before she could even move a muscle, Revany was right in front of her with the lightsaber just a few millimeters from her.
"Nice show, but I don't like to spend time speaking." With those simple words, Revany swung her blade to strike her down, but as soon as the weapon touched the enemy's body, this one faded away like smoke. "What!?"
Conaire appeared right behind Revany. "You thought this was going to be easy, didn't you?"
The Sith mage promptly turned around to throw a second attack, but before she could do that…
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Conaire released a loud and frightening wail that made the earth crumble and paralyzed the other mage's senses.
"GHHH!" Revany could feel her ears suffer and whistle and her senses getting paralyzed for a moment, letting herself exposed to the enemy, who immediately threw her away with a violent heel kick. "GAH!" Revany fell with a heavy thud but quickly stood up again, holding the lightsaber tightly.
Her ears were still whistling and her vision was slightly blurry while she could see that the opponent was approaching her by simply walking. "Dammit, she caught me off guard. Was she aiming at numbing up my brain with that scream? No matter…Even if she's strong, I'll observe her movements and study a way to get through her." She thought.
"That shriek was only the beginning, my new friend. You'll soon witness the rest of the sorrow in just a few moments." Conaire gently spoke with a smile while she kept on moving and tears kept on falling.
"We'll see about that, freak." With those words, Revany generated a magic circle above herself that summoned a large crystal that shattered into thousands of pieces. The shards all flew around Conaire. "Crystal Explosion." Revany snapped her fingers and made the crystal explode.
The blow made the girl recoil. But even if she seemed damaged, she didn't seem to bother, as she looked up with an apathetic stare. As soon as the smoke faded out, she noticed that Revany was already gone. A few seconds later, she could spot a red light moving around her, hidden in the fog of the rain. Suddenly, several lasers started to get shot from unknown directions, forcing the mage of Chimera Tribe to move around to dodge them.
Revany kept on doing so, attempting to overwhelm the enemy with the Laser Barrage so that she could deliver a finishing blow. After seeing a few minutes of what she could do, she could already acknowledge that she was a dangerous one to be dealt with immediately.
"I see now. We're playing Hide and Seek. How fun…I remember that it was one of my favorite games when I was little. A bit sad that I cannot play it anymore, don't you think?" As Conaire said this, the black tears from her eyes started to crawl down in her arms and started to be converted into some sort of engulfing black flames. "How about I share some of that sadness with you? In sign of our new friendship…" Right at that moment, a roaring thunder made her see Revany's silhouette running through the fog. "Found you…" With a delighted yet melancholic smile, she aimed her arm with the black flames at the silhouette. "Midst of Lamentation." The black flames threw themselves like giant snakes at Revany, converging in a large black explosion. But they ended up hitting an empty spot.
Right after the attack was finished, Revany appeared from behind Conaire and dived against her, aiming to strike her down with the lightsaber. But to her shock, Conaire promptly moved her head to the right, dodging her. "Ah!?" The blade ended up only touching her neck, and Conaire made an acrobatic jump away and got ready.
"She was able to foresee my trap?" Revany thought.
In the meantime, the black flames engulfed Conaire's arms. "Hug of a Vain Comfort. You seem distressed, girl. How about I hug you to calm down? It's all right…there's nothing to be afraid of…"
Revany started to sweat as she changed her battle stance, splitting her lightsaber into two before throwing herself to attack. Conaire did the same with the usual smile, and the two girls clashed against each other. The raindrops could reflect their movements as they tried to prevail over the other. In that darkness and rain, it was almost like seeing two errant ghosts fighting.
As a skilled warrior and assassin, Revany was able to stay on the same level as Conaire, as she kept on attacking with the two lightsabers. But Conarie as well, was revealed to be fast and strong enough to keep up on her. Conaire's pitch-black flames almost swallowed Revany's blades, and in return, these extinguished the shadows around the enemy's arms.
Then, after the two were forced to jump back, Revany tried to surprise Conaire with an X attack with the two lightsabers, but Conaire released another shriek before she could get closer. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"GHHHH!" Once again, Revany could feel her senses abandon her once again, but she wasn't going to fall for the same trick again. And as such, she longed for her weapons, but not for trying to use a melee attack. "Laser Hound!" The lightsabers glowed up brighter and shot several laser bullets.
"What!? NGH!" Not expecting that move, Conaire ended up getting hit several times by the laser bullets, leaving her exposed for the next move.
Revany didn't lose any time and immediately ran against her. Even if her ears were still whistling, she knew she had to deliver as many attacks as possible, and with that in mind, she could cut her in the belly with the lightsaber, throwing her to the ground while she could land on her feet.
Even if those were heavy attacks, they weren't enough to put the mage of Chimera Tribe down, as she stood up while Revany was holding the two lightsabers, ready for even the minimum movement.
Conaire looked down at her belly and grabbed a bit of the blood in her belly. Somehow, she made a smile as she licked the blood. Revany finds it a bit disgusting. "That hurt, you know? But…aaaah…it felt so nice. It has been a very long time ever since someone was able to make me feel this…sad over a wound." She then hunched over. "You are a special playmate, mage. It would be a shame if things ended up so quickly." She spoke, as her body started to get surrounded by the pitch-black flames.
As an answer, Revany swung the two lightsabers. "Unfortunately for you, I do not like to spend much time. Especially if it has to be with someone as repulsive as you." She commented.
"Repulsive…it has been a while since someone used that word against me…though I can't help but feel used to it." Conaire answered.
"Uh?" Revany was confused, but she couldn't think about it, as Conaire was already in front of her, aiming to attack her. "AH!" The mage of Shogunate Pride widened her eyes as she used the lightsaber to defend herself. She had to put up some strength, but she was ultimately able to push her back.
However, Conaire wasn't done there and already charged the flames on her arms through her tears and released the burst of flames. "Midst of Lamentation."
"Crystal Aegis!" To answer that, Revany stomped her foot to create a crystal barrier in front of her that contrasted the flames. "Ghhhh…" It was a risky move, considering that the shield couldn't resist that long against heat-based attack, but she couldn't let herself be exposed any further to an enemy like her. Therefore, she made sure that the barrier would have done its work by supporting it with her magical energy. "Nghhh!"
In the end, the barrier was able to make the flames cease and once it faded out as well, Revany could see that Conaire was already running against her, aiming to attack her once again with the Hug of a Vain Comfort. Revany didn't lose any time and reunited the two sabers into one to generate a long curved version and use it to overwhelm the enemy on the spot. "Laser Cleaver." Revany started to swing the large blade, forcing the mage of Chimera Tribe to move and jump around to dodge them.
"Judging by how she moves, it's almost like she has faced similar opponents to me, so she must know how to act in such cases. If that's how it is…I need to overwhelm her in a way that even she couldn't know." Revany thought before putting in act her next thought. She closed her eyes for a moment to remove her mind of any type of thought…until Conaire was the only thing that remained. After that…both her mind and body seemed lighter, which made her movements with the blade swifter and more effective.
"Now!" In an instant, she started to swing the long lightsaber in a large sequence of attacks, as if she were dancing with the lightsaber.
Conaire widened her eyes at the sword's sudden speed. She tried to keep up with it, and while she was initially successful, she could see the blade stabbing her in the spleen and wiping her away. "Agh!" When she stood up, she could see that Revany lifted it only to make it fall directly on her.
The mage of Chimera Tribe looked at the long weapon with both fear and excitement. "Aaaah…this must be the peak of sadness…" She then did something her opponent wouldn't have never imagined.
As soon as the lightsaber was right above her, Conaire tried to grab it with her hands. Even if she was clad in purple armor, her hands were clearly burning since she was holding a laser. But she didn't care, and instead, put more strength thanks to the pitch-black flames with a smile on her face, even if she was still tearing up.
"What the!?" Revany exclaimed. She couldn't tell if she was either insane or willing to take her down. Maybe it was both.
"Eh eh eh eh…I've spent most of my life contemplating sadness and bringing it to the highest level. Holding a burning thing like this can only bring pleasure to my heart. And as I said before, it is time you know what it means." Conaire answered. And with that, helped by the flames caused by the tears, she started to slowly lift the laser, and consequently, Revany.
The Sith mage tried her best to hold on, but she got inevitably lifted and thrown up. "AH!" As a consequence, the Laser cleaver was nullified, with the lightsaber turning to its normal form. This gave Conaire a window to attack, and she knew exactly the proper attack to use.
She started to gather some of the tears in one of her hands. Seconds later, the tears formed a black and orange sphere that started to float up and slowly grow up, until it reached the size of a ball. "Guinevere's Wail." As soon as she pronounced the spell's name, the ball started releasing a vortex of pitch-black flames surrounding everything.
Once she touched the ground, Revany could see with horror the attack that her enemy was using and tried to move around as fast as she could to dodge all the flames, but she got inevitably hit, getting burns and wounds on the hips, her arms, and her legs. "GH!" She soon realized that it was futile to try and move around in the hope of reaching her one way or another. The only thing she could have done was to answer in the same way. And she knew exactly how to do it.
"Deadly Dance!" Revany generated a crystal construct she threw up before shooting a laser into it, making it shoot a rain of lasers everywhere. Soon enough, the lasers and the black flames started to clash against the others, with Conaire who seemed pleased by that answer.
"I see. You have an area-on-effect attack as well. This sight is quite sad, yet beautiful don't you think?" The mage of Chimera Tribe asked.
Revany didn't answer and simply glared at her while standing at the ready. Conaire could understand her mood and already prepared the flame in her arms. Both of them didn't care if two large attacks of theirs kept on going. Both of them had a reason to throw themselves against each other. Without hesitation, Revany and Conaire started to run amid blackness and lasers and started to attack with several melee and sword attacks like before.
Both of them attacked relentlessly, managing to reach out their bodies a few times, while the two area-on-effect attacks kept on raining down. Lasers and flames started to fall directly on their bodies, wounding them. But they didn't care. Revany kept on using her grown instinct as a cold assassin to try and strike her down, while Conaire focused on making sure she could feel the same sorrow as her.
And then, during the struggle, both ended up stabbing each other near the throat, forcing them to jump back. The two area-on-effect attacks faded away, and the two warrior women looked at each other, breathing heavily with their bodies full of wounds.
"I was able to attack her a few times, but I can see that she still has plenty of energy to use…It's almost like she's not even human at all.." Revany thought.
Conaire in the meantime, touched the wound near her neck. "Crimson blood…it has been a while ever since someone pushed me this far. But, after reading you better, it doesn't surprise me that much…" She commented with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Revany coldly asked.
"Through battle and interaction, I can read the minds and hearts of my enemies. They used to call me a psychic because of this. And I could see that your heart is just as saddened as mine." Conaire explained before pointing at her. "You show off this cold and threatening figure, but in reality, it is clear that you are immersed in a sea of sadness. Whether it is for something from your past or anything else, you can't deny that this sadness is the thing that makes you act like this. It's almost like…we were the same person. Maybe it's this that makes things easier for this fight."
SPLAT!
Right at that moment, Conaire could notice her left spleen getting sliced in less than a second. When she turned around, she could see Revany with the lightsaber activated that was already behind her. In less than a second, she was able to attack her at an outstanding speed.
Revany stood up as her body was getting surrounded by small red electric shockwaves. She turned around, and Conaire noticed a deadly stare with red glowing eyes. "I won't let you talk any further. What can you possibly know about me? You're just another enemy." Right after saying those words, Revany proceeded to attack her again with the same speed by using the lightsaber. But Conaire smiled and was able to jump back in time, moving away a few meters from her.
"One cannot fully try to hide away their true feelings. That mask you're wearing won't be able to cover the pit of sorrow that you are standing in right now. It's not that bad once you get used to it." She spoke before making a deep sigh. "But I guess that you don't want to feel that way. Therefore…the only way I can make you do it…"
Revany could notice with shock two trails of tall black flames standing beside her.
"It's through death. Pathway of Tears." Conaire didn't waste time and dashed against Revany to run over her while being surrounded by an arrow of flames.
Revany could see that her ways of escape were limited by the two walls of fire. That attack was intended to make sure that the blow was a success. Therefore, the only thing that the girl from Shogunate Pride could do was defend herself. "Crystal Piercer!" Through the use of a magical circle, she generated a large spiral spear, whose axis started to rotate at high speed, and threw it against Conaire.
The spear ended up crashing against the arrow of fire, generating an impact that made the earth crumble and crack up. Conaire was surely blocked by the spear, but she wasn't recoiling at all. Therefore, Revany needed to put up as much strength as possible. "GRRRRRRR!" Through the magic circle, she was able to infuse more energy in the spear, despite it being a risky move. "I have to be careful…I may end up with no energy left to take her down! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
As she kept using energy, the impact between the two became more intense…until…
CRACK!
Conaire was able to get through the spear, piercing it into pieces. But she was surprised to see that Revany thought ahead and was ready to attack with the lightsaber. Somehow, even if she ended up taking the bigger damage, Revany was able to pass through Conaire and slice her body with the weapon.
The two ended up one a few meters away from the other, with them still in the position of their attacks. But it was Revany who fell on her knees. "Gh…"
Conaire stood up and turned around. "You can't deny the sadness you hold inside your heart. Therefore, I can know how this makes you behave in battle and as such…you can't defeat me…"
Revany breathed heavily and removed the mask to spit up a bit of blood that had accumulated inside her mouth. "Don't make me laugh, psychopath…"
"Still trying to hide the truth?" Conaire asked.
"It's not the truth…but a mere fact." The other mage promptly replied as she stood up and turned around. "Everyone gets to know sadness in one way or another…but unlike you…I've decided to put it aside. I simply don't need it anymore…"
Conaire was confused by that. "What…what do you mean?"
"Simple…the words you used to describe me are what defined you as a person. It's almost like you need the confirm that there are other people like you." Revany explained.
To that, she could see that Conaire's eye twitched.
"Anf…true…there are people who can't forget things such as sorrow or sadness…but what you seem to not understand is that there are people who can find the strength, both physical and mental to get through them. A thing you clearly weren't able to do like the banshee of your magic." With those words, Revany reactivated the lightsaber and put it near her face, which was illuminated by the crimson light of the weapon. "We samurai value a clean mind among the most important things in battle and life. I'll admit it…at first, I was caught off guard by your skills. But then I realized how I could take you down. By doing the complete opposite as you do…I can spot several windows to overwhelm you and finally make you silent."
Conaire looked at her with a more distressed and slightly annoyed face. "Is that so? You think that I'm the real prey of the emotions?" She asked. She then looked up and let the rain wet her face. "True…it may be like this. So what? I can't help but make this emotion have control. After all…I'm a banshee, and I've accepted myself for what I am after so long. Do you know who you truly are? Or is this attitude you're showing just a mask?"
"I know myself better than anyone else," Revany answered as she stood ready. "And I certainly don't intend to let my head get filled with meaningless thoughts because of a stranger."
Conaire made a small and distorted smile to that. "I liked that answer…just as I like you. If so…" She stood ready as well. "How about we get right into the final phase of this battle? With this, we may know who's truly right in the end."
"I don't care who thinks I'm right…what matters to me is that you and your guild go down. But I still can do it with pleasure. In fact…I was just waiting for this moment." Revany replied as she put the fingers as if she was ready to snap them.
Conaire recognized that position and looked around, confirming the worst for her. Several crystal shards were still standing in mid-air around her. "The pieces from the Crystal Pierce!"
Revany didn't want to give her the time to move away and quickly snapped her fingers. "Crystal Explosion."
Several explosions erupted around Conaire, blowing her away. "GAAAH!" She was able to regain balance and land on her feet, even if her body was smoking. As she raised her head, she could see that Revany was already running towards her. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She released a loud shriek to paralyze her on the spot.
Revany could feel the paralysis in her body, but as she thought of something like that, she jumped up and longed for her hand to shoot a rain of lasers against the enemy with the Laser Hound.
Not expecting this, Conaire was forced to move forward with extreme speed to dodge the lasers and reach her down with the Hug of a Vain Comfort.
As soon as she was closer, Revany grabbed and held the lightsaber with both hands and started to counter all the physical attacks her enemy was throwing with violence. She then held the sword tightly to answer a heavy attack from Conaire to block it and push her back with a parry attack.
"AGH!" Conaire recoiled. She intended to answer again, but she noticed that the surrounding area was now surrounded by a laser prison, putting her and Revany in some sort of arena.
"With this, I'll make sure that you won't jump around like a rabbit," Revany spoke. "As long as I keep the Laser Barrier active, I'll be sure to limit her movements. I just need to take her down before I finish my energy."
Conaire wiped her mouth and smiled. "It seems you want to make things extreme. I like it." With that comment, she generated a small sphere that flew up and recreated the vortex of flames as before. "Guinevere's Wail." With that, the arena ended up becoming more extreme. It seemed like Conaire wanted to make sure that not even Revany could move freely inside her cage. "There's no escape now. Only the pursuit of the truth." As she said it, she could see that Revany was already in front of her.
"I think I've already told you. But I don't like to spend time talking." With those words, Revany attacked with the lightsaber, forcing the enemy to block it with her legs and get pushed back. The Sith mage wasn't there, as she generated a magic circle right above her. "Crystal Barrage."
A rain of crystal bolts fell to Conaire, making the girl use a barrage of melee attacks infused with pitch-black flames to defend herself. As soon as the crystals were gone, she aimed at the mage of Shogunate Pride and promptly shot a burst of flames from it. "Midst Of Lamentaion!"
Revany widened her eyes as she didn't expect it and got attacked by it. "GH!" When she stood up, she could see that Conaire went down and assaulted her with a firing kick. "Crystal Aegis!" As an answer, Revany quickly generated the shield to defend herself from the barrier. Once the attack was done, she quickly made her lightsaber fall directly on Conaire, who contrasted it with an arm infused with pitch-black flames.
"Hug of a Vain Comfort!" Conaire didn't lose any further time and started to overwhelm the other girl with her attacks.
Revany did her best to defend herself, but the pieces of her armor were already starting to crack.
"As you can see, you have limits as well. It's time you submit to your own emotions. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" To leave her completely exposed, Conaire released another shriek that made Revany abandon the defensive grip, giving the mage of Chimera Tribe the chance to stab her with her bare hand.
"BLARGH!" Revany felt an unexpectedly horrendous pain as she spit blood from her mouth. But she could already see it. In doing this attack, Conaire left herself exposed as well. And so, Revany quickly raised her lightsaber to make it fall on Conaire, slicing her right in the face and her body.
"GHHH!" Both girls felt tremendous pain as they jumped away from each other. But Conaire knew what to do next. She raised two trails of fire that surrounded Revany from both sides as she surrounded herself in flames.
"If what you say is true…prove it. Prove to me that this clean mind exists! Pathway of Tears!" She dashed forward like a gigantic arrow of fire.
Revany accepted the challenge, as her body was filled with red electric shockwaves. "I'm not proving a vision of mine, but a mere fact." With that, her whole body was surrounded by laser energy, and she dashed as well. "Revanchist Flash!"
The two arrows ran against each other and in an instant…they clashed, releasing a loud impact and a bright light that surrounded everything and destroyed the cage. And then…silence.
Once the light faded away, Revany and Conaire were standing on opposite sides, still in the position of their attacks. They didn't move a muscle and remained motionless for a few moments.
Small flames surrounded Revany's armor, but she didn't seem to care.
Conaire remained the same…until she released a small laugh. "…Eh eh. Guess it was a fact, after all." With those words, red electric shockwaves surrounded her body, converging in a small explosion that destroyed her armor and made her fall to the ground. The battle was over.
Revany turned around and looked at the girl lying on the ground from above.
Somehow…Conaire didn't seem stressed or bewildered at her defeat. Rather…relaxed. "So…for once, I wasn't able to share the sadness with someone else. I…I didn't know it was possible." She commented.
"Why are you so obsessed with sadness?" Revany asked.
"…Because it's the path I've decided to embrace. After all…they used to treat me that way." Conaire answered. "Back when I was a little girl, the fact that I could read people's inner thoughts and hearts was found creepy by other kids. They didn't like my appearance or my tastes and hobbies. And as such…I've ended up getting isolated from others. But I couldn't help…It's just…who I am. I needed a place where I could show my true side…and Apostatìs was the only one who let me do this. I just…needed a place where it was assured that I could be myself."
Revany looked at her in silence for a few seconds before turning around. "…Those people who isolated you from them made a mistake in doing so. But you can't say that you are completely innocent either. You still committed crimes with your guild. Therefore, this was the only outcome that awaited you. Next time…do not be afraid to show your true colors. Maybe for the best use."
Conaire looked at her and then looked at the dark sky with still the same relaxed expression. "I'll…I'll remember that." She spoke. "Still…those things I've said to you before…weren't to manipulate you or make you feel confused. I was…sincere."
"What do you mean?" Revany asked.
"You do have a bit of sadness remaining in your heart…and you're trying to bury it so that you can maintain a clean mind. But…you'll have to face them one day. Open that door you try to keep locked. One…cannot hide their emotions forever." Conaire replied.
This time, Revany didn't try to assault her like she did before. It was still annoying to hear her talk like that but…she could feel like she didn't want to have bad intentions anymore. It wasn't sounding like a threat. More like…a suggestion.
"I'll…remember that."
"Glad to hear that…" Conaire gently spoke. "Come to think of it…I still haven't heard your name."
The other girl remained silent for a few seconds…but she was strangely in the mood to answer. And so she did.
"…Revany. Revany Sith."
"Revany…I like that. Just like the fight we just had." Conaire commented. Her voice was getting quieter. "Well, Revany…If you don't mind…I think I'll take a nap now. I'm getting…tired." With those words, she closed her eyes and fainted with the wounds she had.
Once she had the confirmation that the enemy was defeated, Revany turned off the lightsaber and made the rain fade away. The sun was now shining again in the northern section of the market, and the girl could feel a comforting warmth. She was starting to get cold. Then, without saying anything she started to move away.
After a few meters, she sat down with her back leaned against a rock, putting on a few bandages on her wounds. "Tch…those attacks of her hit hard. She was a tough opponent indeed." She commented before making a sigh. "If I could, I would try to go inside the tower and help the others. But I guess I'll have to stay here for a bit. Maybe I'll get a tiramisu as a consolation later." She then looked up. Thinking about the battle she just had and about Conaire.
"…What was her deal? She was really weird for being a mage of a dark guild. But…" She held her chest. She thought of the possibility that what she said was true. She didn't know what to say…only made a deep sigh. "…If that time comes…I'll make sure to be ready. For now…I just want to keep on living while doing my duty…and stay calm." With that, she remained there, resting from the clash.
Another battle ended, where another was starting, though the tides were getting swapped. But this didn't mean that the troubles were over.
Great Akihabara Market – Above the Central Tower
"HMMM!" Three tall men were glaring menacingly at Ren, who made his road through the northern section of the market and went ever higher. "You have met your fate, samurai mage! Because fate decided to make you stand in the way…OF THE MATUMBA BROTHERS! The scourges of Chimera Tribe!" One of them shouted, with the others making an encouragement shout to support.
Ren was looking at them with a stare between curious and bored. "My, my. This must be my lucky day if I end up taking down three huge people like you. Maybe I should activate a chronometer to see if I can beat my record of taking an enemy down." He commented with a bit of provocation, which worked since the three enemies got annoyed.
"How dare you say something like that!? You won't see any record, because you won't have one! Let's take him! WREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Getting frustrated, the three criminals all jumped on Ren, who had the nichirin sword at the ready.
"Are you sure?" He asked with a carefree smile. Before they could get him, in less than a second, he already disappeared, confusing them.
"Uh!?"
Ren reappeared right behind them, and after making a swing with the katana, thousands of cuts appeared in the three giants, making them bleed out.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" They fell at the same time with a large thud, as Ren looked at them with a satisfied face while drying the sword from the blood with a swift movement.
"Hmmm…If I had to guess, I probably took around four seconds. Glad that I've ended up taking easy enemies." He commented before turning around and resuming his walk.
He ended up on a tall plateau, where he could spot something that surprised him "Ah! The tower!" He could see with his own eyes the damages that Chimera Tribe had infected on the structure, as well as Hoshiko who was guarding the entrance. "Judging by all the noises and the smoke from earlier, they've already reached the tower…but if Hoshiko is there, it may mean that the others have gone inside as well! Hmmm…maybe I could get inside as well. I know Rokumon and Iori are in there already, but help from an adding help is never a bad thing." He commented.
"I'm afraid that won't happen!" A voice suddenly said.
"Hm?"
Right at that moment, two arms with long nails appeared from underground and tried to wrap around Ren, presumably with the intent to stab him in more parts of the body at the same time. But Ren seemed how to answer it as he jumped as soon as he saw those hands. He made a long jump backward and landed on his feet. In the meantime, the presumed enemy came up from underground and revealed his full appearance with a psychotic laugh. "Eh eh eh eh!"
It was a young man around his twenties with upward spiky lilac hair and blue eyes that were slit. Much like Ren could see with his own eyes, he had nails that had a length of around 23 millimeters. He was wearing what seemed to be white armor with shrugs that resembled the heads of two snakes with red eyes. For some reason, he was standing with his back bent.
Mania – Member of Chimera Tribe
"Fascinating! Reaaally fascinating. You were able to escape from my deadly grasp as soon as I got out from the ground. Your speed must be one of another world!" The figure said.
"Thanks, but to be fair, You've talked, so it came naturally for me to know the right moment to jump," Ren answered.
"Ah…" Mania was left a bit speechless after hearing that, but he quickly shook his head. "Never mind that! What matters is that you are a strong mage indeed. Which means…that it will give me more pleasure to take you down! I surely wouldn't want to disappoint Apostatìs when he just reached the tower! Though he's taking a bit longer in taking that globe than we expected…oh, well! Either way, he'll surely be pleased to know that there will be one less nuisance!" He then got on a battle stance, as he opened his mouth to show his tongue, similar to that of a snake.
Ren did the same, by preparing himself with the katana. "You seem to have confused ideas. Are you sure you want to do this? There are other ways we could solve it." He told him. "If we were to play some poker, I would win it easily." He thought with a small smile.
"Aaaaah, you don't have to worry about it…" Mania answered before licking his lips with a wide and contorted smirk. "I'm more than ready. There's nothing that would prevent Mania of Chimera Tribe by doing one good old execution. Especially if I have to take down a skilled mage such as you…" At that moment, his eyes looked like they had flames inside. "I hope you're ready."
Ren looked at the enemy in silence for a few seconds…and then chuckled. Right after that…what seemed like red lightning started to surround him, as he aimed with the katana. "I surely am. After all…they call me The Deadly Flash for a reason." After those words, the lightning became more intense, and right after that, he dashed at an outstanding speed, aiming at Mania. "Lightning Dance."
"GH!" In less than a second, Mania could see his shoulder getting sliced by the blade of his enemy. But this didn't seem to be bothered by it. Instead, he seemed delighted. "AH AH AH! YES! BRILLIANT!" He then tried to stab Ren right in the throat with his nails, but the samurai already left an afterimage to dodge the attack and run again against her. But even with this speed, Mania seemed to stay on his level, as he was able to block the attacks and answer as well.
The Lightning Dance allowed Ren to increase his reflexes, and as such, he was able to defend himself by blocking and dodging all the claw attacks. But he couldn't say that he wasn't surprised. "He can reach my same speed? I see…this might be a bigger challenge than the usual…"
"How is it? Much like you samurais, even snakes always have their reflexes at the ready…especially when they are part of something big." Mania said before jumping away. At that moment, his arms were surrounded by a white light and assumed the look of two snake heads. "WHITE COBRA FANG!" He then threw himself with full violence, aiming to stab him with his nails.
Ren widened his eyes at the sight of this. He didn't do anything yet, but he could tell that a single touch by that attack would have been fatal for him. "Lightning Dance!" As soon as Mania got closer, he used the same technique as before to increase his reflexes and block or dodge most of the attacks. At first, this worked out, but he could soon see that Mania was starting to adapt himself to his movements. "Dammit!"
"You didn't think I was stupid enough to fall for the same technique, DID YOU!?" Mania answered with pleasure as he continued.
"Ngh!" Wanting to take him out of his grasp, Ren tried to wipe him away with a strike of the sword infused with lightning energy, but Mania moved the head down right in time.
"AH AH AH AH!" Once he spotted the perfect moment, the mage of Chimera Tribe was able to stab him right near the chest.
"BLARGH!" Ren couldn't expect it, as he spit blood from his mouth.
"Perfect. With this, we can say that this battle is o- GAH!" Mania thought that he was about to take down Ren, but he had to change his mind as soon as he got attacked by a violent punch coming from the enemy.
Ren surely wasn't expecting a move like that, but that didn't mean that he couldn't answer. "Electric Surge Punch!" He then put more strength into his punch to do what he planned to do: wipe the enemy away.
As he flew a few meters away from the enemy, Mania was surrounded by a large surge of electricity that blasted him to the ground. "GAAAAAAH!"
Ren could take a few breaths once free. "That was close…" He commented before looking at the pile of smoke. "What is his real deal?" He thought.
When the pile of smoke faded away, he could see that Mania was already standing up, with still a bit of electric shockwaves around his body. But even with that, he seemed satisfied as he smiled. "That really hurt, you know? But I'll admit that I may have started too fast with you, even if things are still manageable."
"Is that so? I am of the same idea. You surely surprised me with your movements out there, Mania. Which means I have to make sure to always keep an eye on you." With those words and a smile on his face to help himself maintain composure, he jumped high and channeled his magical energy to release a myriad of lightning bolts. "Thunderbolt Barrage!"
Mania smirked at the sight of the attack and channeled his magical energy as well to create several snakes with red eyes that threw themselves against the thunders and Ren. "Orochi no Shison!" After he threw the snakes at the attack, he started to run with them as well, aiming at Ren, in particular, at his heart.
If someone had seen that plateau from a distance, they would have said that it looked like an apocalyptic scenario. Snakes were running forward, clashing up with explosive thunderbolts, with two major forces controlling them.
As Ren landed on his feet while the attack kept on going, he started to head forward toward the enemy. As soon as they saw him, the snakes crawled with violence at him, trying to overwhelm him with their numeric superiority. But apart from the Thunderbolt Barrage, Ren knew how to act with more than one enemy. It surely wasn't the first time.
While remaining faithful to his title, the young mage kept on running in that army of reptiles, slicing down their bodies as they faded away with the blade which released several red lightning bolts that fulminated the snakes. One of them tried to swallow him up by jumping directly on him, but Ren was able to grab him in time and make his head implode with red flashes of lightning. A small group of them assaulted him and apparently were able to put him down. But a small explosion of electricity wiped them away, freeing the samurai. "Out of the way!" Ren exclaimed. When he turned around, he could see that Mania was already running towards him with his nails which this time took the form of two long horns.
"VIPER'S BEHEADING!"
Ren widened his eyes and promptly blocked the attack with the katana, releasing a large impact. He found himself forced to put some extra strength to defend himself from that. "Ngh…"
"Did I surprise you yet!? We're just getting started!" Mania exclaimed, as he started to attack repeatedly with his nails turned into horns, not willing to show off any mercy.
Ren stood still and absorbed most of the blows with the sword for a few moments until he answered with a violent counterattack followed by a concussive blast. "Thunderclap Parry!"
"AGH!" Mania could feel his attack getting nullified and his body getting smitten by an outstanding oppressive force that left him stunned and exposed. "W-WHAT!?"
"Now!" Ren saw the perfect chance to deliver a potential finishing blow. He quickly infused his katana with red electricity and went for the blow. "Thunderstrike Clash!" He attacked with one swift and precise slash and then…
SWING!
Mania's body was cut into three parts and fell. As a result, all of the snakes faded away.
Even if the enemy was down, Ren looked up with a bewildered face. "W-What!? He's…he's dead!?" He exclaimed. "N-No, this makes no sense! I didn't aim to kill him!" For a moment, he doubted about his powers. "D-Dammit…did I…did I really break my vow? But…this is all too strange…"
And just as he thought this…he could notice something. "Uh?"
The meat on the cut parts started to boil and move…until something almost grotesque happened. The meat started to recompose itself. But not to get attached …rather…like it was forming a remade body.
The upper part of the body got a new pair of legs. The lower part is reconstructed from the belly to the head and the middle part simply remade a new body until…
There were now three Mania glaring and laughing at Ren. "AH AH AH AH AH AH!" It was both creepy and a bit annoying to hear the same voice at times three.
Ren looked at them as a drop of sweat slowly descended from his head. "W-What?!"
"Aaaaaw, it was charming to hear you getting worried for my health. But don't worry! It's not the first time I get cut in pieces!" The mage of Chimera Tribe said.
Ren's pressure started to rise as he raised the katana. "What is the meaning of this? Why there's three of you?"
"It's simply the effect of my magic. Using attacked based on snakes is but a mere part of it." Mania said before spreading his arms and pointing at the other two Mania. "This is where I show off my true effect, the Hydra Magic!"
"Hydra!?" Ren exclaimed.
"That's right! Whenever my body gets cut into pieces, I'm able to reconstruct my body into multiple ones through the use of this magic by using the body pieces that had been severed. This makes me able to multiply my body countless times!" Mania explained.
"Y-You're saying that you let yourself be cut by the Thunderstrike Flash on purpose!?" Ren asked.
"PRECISELEY!" Mania promptly replied.
"This…is absurd…" Ren commented.
"I wouldn't really say that. It makes sense if you think about it. Hydras can be considered chimeras, only made by a common species. And unlike others, they can find multiple ways of getting you!" Mania answered. Then, his voice could be heard from all of those bodies. "No matter how many times you cut me down with that katana of yours, YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM ME!" And with those words, the three bodies started to run towards him, with the intent of tearing him up to shreds.
Ren gritted his teeth and prepared himself. "Lightning Dance!" As soon as the three bodies surrounded him, he used his spell to increase his reflexes and defend himself with all the energy he could use. True, he was used to facing more enemies at the same time, but the story was different if it was about a stronger mage.
"WHITE COBRA FANG!" Mania started to run around him in an attempt to overwhelm him with his nails turned into cobra heads.
Thanks to his skills and the spell, Ren was able to defend himself properly and waited for the perfect chance to answer back. "Thunderstrike Slash!" He made a circular slash that cut down all three Mania in half but in doing so, things got worse, as three more of them were generated.
"Your moves are starting to get moved by fear, it's so delighting! I can't wait to picture the moment when you'll crumble down to pure MADNESS!" All the Mania said in unison before throwing themselves against him.
This time, Ren jumped back and prepared for his next attack, though his thoughts were starting to get worried. "Dammit! At this point, I'll run into an endless limbo! Focus, Ren! There must be a way to take him down without making things worse!" As he thought this, he could see that his enemies were already approaching him, therefore, he started to spin around, creating a vortex that released several thunderbolts that attacked everybody. "Lightning Whirlwind!"
"NGHHHHH!" Mania could feel themselves getting smitten by a powerful discharge as they stopped moving for a moment.
"Wait…what?" Ren could spot them…maybe…he discovered something? But right before he could think about it more, one of the many Mania wrapped got inside the vortex from above and wrapped himself around Ren, choking him down. "GAH!" As a result, his vortex stopped working.
"Grasp of the Boa! That attack was very annoying, you know that? So how about you stay still for a while and let us do the work!?" The Mania around him exclaimed. This gave the other Mania a chance to run toward him and attack him altogether.
"GRRR! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Getting more annoyed, Ren moved his sword up and made a fast sequence of blows with the sword to get rid of all of them. "Flash Combo!" He delivered a precise and swift sequence of attacks between lightning, acrobatic moves, and sword attacks that reduced all the bodies to pieces. But in doing so, he made more bodies be generated. Soon enough, he found himself surrounded by a whole army of Mania. And all of them were laughing at him maniacally.
"AH AH AH AH!" His voice echoed throughout the entire plateau. "I think I've already told you the consequences of your attacks! So how about you give up?" He asked as if his voice was reproduced another thousand times.
"Anf…anf…anf…" Ren was starting to get tired, but even so, he didn't want to quit. He surely didn't know how to justify himself with the others if he had let himself get defeated by such a guy. He already had to do it several times whenever the thing regarded money. "Oh, please. Do you think I would let myself get thrown down? Now that things are getting interesting?" He asked, trying to maintain a cool figure.
"So we're still trying to move forward, eh? I don't know if you noticed how surrounded you are at the moment, but if I need to give you an added motivation, then I'll do it with pleasure!" Mania said. At that moment, all bodies moved in the same way, planting their hands on the ground, starting to generate a myriad of snakes all directed at him. "Orochi no Shison!"
As an answer, Ren placed his sword on the ground to generate a massive shockwave that filled most of the ground which destroyed most of the snake. "Thunderbolt Barrage!"
Just as soon as they were around him, the snakes were a few inches away from him, and they turned into ashes. The several bodies of Mania looked at that blow with annoyed eyes and as soon as it was finished, they all threw themselves against the samurai.
Ren looked at them going forward. It was almost madness to try and throw himself against such an army. But he needed to find out his weakness one way or another. He was still an enemy who was threatening the market. And protecting the weaker ones was what he had sworn to do ever since he joined the guild. He had his reasons to do so.
After all…it wasn't the first madness he had ever done. He liked to consider himself a gambler of fate after all. "Anf…anf…here goes nothing. Time to teach this psycho a lesson."
He held his sword tightly. He leaned his leg forward…and after a few moments…he dashed forward.
"HEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Like a hurricane of electricity, he made himself a road among all those replicas of the same person, who threw themselves with violence towards him. They stabbed him several times, ending up tearing apart his jacket, but the samurai didn't care. Keeping faith in the type of warrior he was, he kept on charging, and taking down bodies until he spotted one right in front of him. Could it be the one? Maybe all of them were artificials and there was one body that connected them all?
He didn't know the answer yet to all of that, but the hope that things might have helped him was enough for him to strike him down.
The Mania that was in front of him at that moment was charging what seemed to be a globe of energy in his hands. That was the perfect chance. Whatever he was planning, he could stop it thanks to his shortened distance and his speed. His blade quickly charged the red electricity and went for the blow.
"THUNDERSTRIKE SLASH!" He went with a swift slash, but right at that moment…
Mania got sliced near the chest, but before the sword could go deeper...
"FOOL! DIAVROSI TIS GORGONAS!" By pronouncing the spell's name, he was able to complete it and convert it into a burst of poison and corrosion. Soon enough, the plateau was covered in a green acid and a fog of the same name.
Ren was instantly influenced by that corruption. His eyes became red (outside of the pupils) and he started to spit the foam of the poison. "BLAAAARGH!" He fell on his knees, as Mania looked with satisfaction.
"AH AH AH AH AH AH AAAAAAAAAAH! THERE IT IS! THE EXPRESSION OF DISCOMFORT I WAS LONGING TO SEE COMING UP FROM YOU! You seemed confident in that attack! Too bad I was preparing that attack for quite a while!" He said as he came closer. He then raised Ren's head with two fingers. "The only way to put someone fast like you to a stop is to make sure that you won't be able to move again. This attack makes the area filled with toxic areas that quickly reach out to the lungs of the enemy. It won't take too long before you'll stop breathing and spit more of that foam! It took many years for me to pull up with this technique, you know? I had to become one with snakes before doing this one. The same snakes I've used to train that made people so scared of me! Finally, they'll have a real reason to be afraid of me instead of judging me because of my job! That is the purpose of Chimera Tribe! RANSOM AND PURE REVENGE!" He then let his head go.
"G-Gh…" Ren tried to stand up, but the pressure of the poison was too much for him to handle. At that sight, all of the bodies came closer, closing him in a circle.
"Still trying to answer? People like you, who constantly try to have a positive attitude and think that they can win because they believe to be on the right side are the ones I love the most. Because the reaction to your defeat is what makes me feel alive! I had those same faces when people used to get away from me because of my job as a snake tamer. But now…"
As he kept on talking, some of the other Manias started to wrap him up in the Grasp of the Boa.
"IT WILL BE ME WHO SHALL SEE THAT SAME DESPAIR IN PEOPLE'S EYES! JUST LIKE YOU! WHITE COBRA FANG!" He and the other bodies went to massacre him with their technique…but they didn't notice one thing.
Ren had his head turned down…but he was smiling. True, he couldn't move, and he had a poison inside his body. But now that all those Mania were around him…he had the chance to make the right move.
He understood it now.
He could barely move the sword. But it was enough for him to make the tip touch the ground. Right before they could throw the attack, Mania could notice a familiar red glowing light surrounding everything. "Uh!?"
"Thunderclap…SMITE!" Ren could release a powerful shockwave on the entire area that electrocuted all the Mania and the slime that was covering the ground.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Once again, the mage of Chimera Tribe felt a terrible pain in his body, as he could witness with horror that the other bodies were getting incinerated, without a chance to split up into other ones. He was left alone, like at the beginning of the battle. "GRRRRRRRRR!" His body was smoking and had electrical shockwaves all over as he was forced to recoil and see his enemy standing up. "THIS IS ABSURD…YOU REALIZED IT!?"
Ren couldn't say that he was feeling better, as he was still wounded and could still feel the poison inside his body. But he surely felt less pressure. "Well, if I have to be honest, you did catch me off guard for a moment. But after seeing how you've reacted to my area-on-effect attacks, everything made more sense." He answered before explaining. "When a single body of yours gets slashed, the cut part starts to regenerate itself, forming more body for you. So the only plausible solution…was to take down every single one of you at the same time! Naturally, by making sure that I won't cut down more of you. So, the Thunderclap Smite was just the ideal attack to use. If anything, I need to thank you for coming closer. You surely helped out making the job for me!"
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Mania simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was the first time someone was able to get out of his Hydra magic, and it was simply unacceptable.
Ren, on the other hand, stood ready with the katana. "Now…I may have a poison inside my organism at the moment, but I think I'll make it just in time to take you down and find someone who can take it off for me."
"Take it off for you!? TAKE IT OFF FOR YOU!? GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Not wanting to accept it, Mania decided to use his last resort, as his arms started to take the form of two giant snakes that growled menacingly at Ren. "THE POISON WON'T EVEN BE THE THING THAT WILL KILL YOU, BECAUSE I'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT WITH MY OROCHI NO IKARI! NO ONE DARES TO RUIN MY MOMENT OF DELIGHTMENT! NOW FACE THE CONSEQUENCE FOR THAT!" Full of rage, he aimed the two giant snakes at Ren, who stared at them with a more serene stare as he got ready.
"Once again…I really would like to have a chronometer right now. I wonder how long it would take…to get rid of two giant snakes like these. Oh well…only one way to find out." He spoke.
As soon as the two snakes were in front of them, he moved faster than a kinetic line and jumped on the body of one of them, starting to slice it down. The snakes turned around and tried to chomp him down several times, but Ren had ready reflexes and movements to dodge the attacks and answer back, making more cuts in their body scales.
"HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" One of them then tried to assault him by spreading its mouth and giving him fewer chances of escape. But Ren prepared his arms and quickly filled the creature's body with several cuts.
"Flash Combo!" Ren moved so fast that it was almost impossible to see with a human eye. "Cyclone Kick!" He then delivered a spinning kick infused with electrical energy that stunned the other snake, leaving Mania exposed. Ren turned around with a small smirk as he started to run at high speed against the enemy.
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Mania already thought ahead and started to charge a poisonous beam from his mouth. But he forgot one important thing.
It was clear who was the faster one between the two. And just like the first blow of the match…
SPLAT!
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Mania had a cut near his shoulder, with Ren already behind him and his katana still infused with red electricity.
Ren turned around and directly stared at his enemy. "Liked this Thunderstrike Slash?" He jokingly asked.
"GHHH!" Mania's frustration soon turned into panic, as he could notice that against him, there weren't many trump cards he could use anymore. "W-WAIT! THERE WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING HERE! APOSTATIS WAS THE ONE WHO STARTED ALL OF THIS! I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO GO HERE! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! BUT PLEASE, SPARE ME!"
"Chill out, man. I have a personal morality and I've promised myself to not kill anyone anymore." Ren told him.
Mania made an exasperated smile. "R-Really!? AHAHAH! OH THANK YOU-"
"Buuuuut!" Ren then said.
"Eh-?" Mania was left stunned.
"That doesn't mean that I can't finish this battle properly. Just like you said before! I need you to pay the consequences of your actions, right?" With those words, Ren started to charge a large amount of electricity until…he released it in the form of a huge cyclone of devastating lightning strikes, all aimed at Mania. "Lightning Tempest!"
Mania looked in silence at that attack aimed at him for a few seconds and then, obviously enough….
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-" He didn't even finish his shout that he was run over by the cyclone and wiped away a few meters.
"Uh!?" Hoshiko could see the huge attack from down below.
After the spell ended, Ren came closer to the end of the now devastated plateau to see if he could check where Mania ended. He could spot him stuck on a mountain with a bewildered stare, with his body still showing some electric shockwave. He was clearly knocked out.
That sight calmed down the boy, who turned around and started to walk back. "He may have been ruthless and an overall psychopath…but he surely was smart…NGH!" He then fell on his knees. He could feel the poison in his body getting stronger. "Eh eh…maybe even too much. Damm…to think that it would have ended like this…" His vision started to get blurry and then…
He collapsed.
Great Akihabara Market – Central Tower Entrance
At first…it was all silent. But then…he could feel them back. His heartbeats started to recover again…he could open his eyes and a voice started to be slowly heard.
"Hey! Hey! Are you alright? Can you hear me, Ren?"
"This voice…Hoshiko?" When he looked up, he realized that he had been saved by the poison and that he was now sitting on Hoshiko's lap.
The ninja mage could take a breath of relief in that. "Thank goodness. You were pretty messed up…how are you feeling, now?" She asked.
"…Honestly?" Ren said before making a goof face. "I feel in utter heaven. I'm sitting on a beautiful girl's lap!"
Naturally, Hoshiko made a skeptical face and moved away.
"Ah dammit. It was nice when it lasted. Still…thanks. How did you remove the poison?" The other samurai then asked.
"Eh eh! Modestly, never underestimate the powers of a ninja like me! I just needed to use an old healing spell of my clan. We used to fight with many snakes in the past." Hoshiko answered with a smug laugh.
"Is that so? You people are neater than I expected…" Ren commented before standing up, surprising the girl.
"Uh? You can still move?"
"Kinda…what is the current situation?" The boy then asked.
"Well…both Rokumon and Iori have reached the tower, but they didn't seem to have reached the enemy yet. Things are getting chill in the market." Hoshiko replied.
"Is that so? Then I guess that what we need is one last push…" Ren commented before looking up at the tower. "If I could, I would go inside as well. But the battle I had up there reduced me badly, surprisingly. Still…that doesn't mean I can do anything." And after those words, he made a large jump, reaching out to the top of the tower.
"Eh!? REN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Hoshiko asked, left stunned by that.
"Anf…anf…anf…" Ren was still tired as he looked down at the tower. He then raised his sword and gently planted it on the top. Later on…several electric shockwaves started to surround the whole structure. "There…"
"He's trying to destroy the tower, is he insane!?" Hoshiko commented at first. But then she realized what he was truly aiming at. "Wait…no, that's not it. The shockwaves are surrounding the tower gently as if they were trying to hold it…ah! Of course! He's trying to empower the defense systems inside the tower! Damm…that was a nice thought, Ren…"
"Anf…anf… eh eh. With this, whatever is happening in there, the globe will have one more protection." Ren commented as he kept on doing so.
In the meantime, Hoshiko could hear some footsteps that made her turn around. And she was surprised to find out who it was. "My, my! It appears that someone else made it!"
Tsukuyomi was able to reach the main entrance of the central tower and could notice the several shockwaves that were surrounding the building. "What is going on?" She asked.
"Ren is giving extra help to protect the globe, now that the others have reached it. This guy keeps surprising me. No wonder he's an S-Class mage." Hoshiko explained. "What about you? Did you do your duty with Rere and Cal?"
"Yes…unfortunately they had to stay behind because of all the battles. I thought I could be of some help in the tower…" Tsukuyomi explained.
Hoshiko didn't need to listen further. She made a few steps and watched forward. "Very well. The road is yours, newbie!"
Tsukuyomi was still a bit confused though. "Don't you…wanna come?"
"I've already warned Iori. Even if we took out some of their strongest mages, who knows how many of them are still left? Someone must make sure that the mission will be cleared, don't you think?" Hoshiko asked.
Tsukuyomi looked down for a few seconds and then nodded. "Got it. Thank you, Hoshiko. I won't disappoint you." And with those words, she left.
"Sure thing!" The other mage replied, In an apparent serious tone. But just as the other girl went away… "AAAAAAAAAAH! She just thanked me! This is the cutest thing ever!"
In the meantime, as Tsukuyomi kept on moving, she could have it now. It had a bit of a creepy look, considering that it was damaged and Ren's electric shockwaves were surrounding it, but that wouldn't have stopped it.
Cal and Rere made sure she could move on to reach that tower, and the others around in the market were still doing their best.
She wasn't going to leave them behind. "Maybe their stronger members will be inside this tower…" She thought. After a few moments of looking at the entrance in silence, she took a deep breath…and finally went inside.
"Let's do it."
And that's it for this time! You can already feel where we are going at this point! I gotta say that I loved how battles turned out, because on one side, the character changed a bit and on the other, the battle was improved. At first, I thought of Conaire as a tragic and whining character, but then I decided to make her more confident and creepier. As for Mania, while I had the general idea for the battle, I had a few hard times knowing how to make it proceed, so I'm even surprised at how I was able to put it into action. I came up with the idea that Ren had always been the one with the upper hand, but Mania was able to close him to a corner through his magic and his sneaky attitude.
But naturally, I leave the last opinion to you! Did you like the chapter? What are your thoughts about these battles and those who have fought them? What do you think will happen in the climax of this arc? As always, let me know with your reviews! Your opinion is important!
And I'm saying climax because I can now say that we have only three chapters left for the end of the Chimera Tribe Arc! I can't believe we are already here for the first serious arc! Even though next time I'll try to work up a bit for Digimon Adventure 04 (I want to at least make another chapter before the end of this year) I'll try to work up to come up with the end of this arc before 2023 comes out!
And as always, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this chapter, it really means a lot for me to have reached this point, and I'll see you either in the next chapter or the next chapter of another story! From Bluestar here, Arrivederci!