"Fu-ha-ha-ha! Do it! Sink the city into chaos!"
Even in broad daylight, the sounds of explosions and wails of grief joined one man's raucous laughter.
Standing on the roof of a half-destroyed building, a human man looked down at the struggle unfolding before his eyes. Known as Vendetta, one of the leaders of the Evils with a bounty on his head, Olivas Act howled with delight. "Tch, Olivas, you bastard. You sure started it off with a bang…Oi! We aren't gonna lose to those shitheads! Don't let them get ahead of us!"
Seeing smoke rising in the distance, another leader of the Evils, known to some as Arachnia and to others as Valletta Grede, scoffed in annoyance as a lurid grin appeared on her face. She had been entrusted with leading an attack on the home of a familia supporting the Guild as well as aiming to steal supplies from the corporation, and she laughed in ecstasy as smoke and flames rose in the skies while the screams of fleeing residents and blades clashing to create sprays of blood and sparks wove together into a music to accompany the sight. "All right! Bring it, you Guild dogs! Get out here, Fiiinnnnn! We're gonna have a fun party today, too!"
Genesha Familia's police force was currently being called into action and getting ready for battle against the Evils
"Everyone gather up at the front gate! Split into three groups around Adree,Clover, and me!"
Shakti's orders flew as the manor filled with the sound of footsteps. As everyone started rushing around, Craiku ran to Shakti.
He was in his full suit of light armor with his spear in his hands. "I'm going…too!"
"Absolutely not. You stay here. It's too soon for you to come."
He scrunches his nose as his eyes sharpened as he looked at her intensely. "Shakti I can help, I've been fighting Evilus since before I even met you. And I'm much stronger now,"
Shakti firmly rejected Craiku's request.
The familia was headed into a fight against people. There was a chance they would have to kill someone. The boy didn't need to experience this sort of responsibility.
"I'll keep a close eye on him, and I have made sure he knows how to use his magic without having to kill anyone." She explained.
"I can't just sit here while you're all out there risking your lives, please" he said pleadingly.
"Ok Craiku you win, let's go then"
They gave each other an intense stare until she just sighed, "You retreat if it gets too dangerous or I'll knock you out and have Clover drag you home" he nodded.
"Yes captain, I won't let you down, now let's go knock some Evilus heads in" she groans, I think I'm going to regret this.
"Which group will I be going with captain" he asked,
"Hmph I think it's best for you to stay with me, I'm the only one who can stop you if you end up running off again,"
The throat-tearing scream of an innocent townswoman. As she and others tried to flee, they were shot with poison-tipped arrows, or burned to ash by fireballs so that not even their tears remained.
The perpetrators of these vile acts were the minions of evil in their uniform robes. They were like cultists enacting a dark ritual. A ritual to call to earth their
forbidden god and revel in the destruction it wrought.
"I-it's the Evils!!" Screams rang out. Explosions thundered. Lifeless bodies fell to the ground, to
be trampled by the blood-soaked boots of their killers. Sparks flew, and dark shadows danced. Evil approached its zenith. An animal man begged for his life. His attacker, another man of the same race,
had lost his entire clan and grown resentful and wicked. "Die, you ignorant sinner! Die, Orario!"
His victim's screams couldn't convince him to stay his arm. The knife in his hand kept stabbing until the cries stopped. Meanwhile, an innocent prum girl was about to discover just where fate could lead.
"Help meee!" His eyes crazed, the elf's hand didn't waver for an instant as it reached for her arm and pinned her against the wall. The knife was inches away from her face…no I don't want to die! "THAT'S ENOUGH" the edge of a spear intercepts it's and several silver flashes sparked as Shakti stopped him dead in his tracks.
Three fireballs hits him directly in the face before she leaves a large cut across his chest with her spear and kicked him across the street.
"I don't remember telling you to blast him with fireballs" she told him.
"Sorry, I was trying to blind him to give you an opening, I know my magic isn't all that powerful but it at least makes for a good distraction" he explained.
"Fair enough, just try to stick with the plan, and remember these Evils soldiers aren't like monsters in the dungeon. So I recommend you keep your distance from most of them and not try to look cool"
He nods and gets into a karate stance, "The rest of you protect the civilians and give those who are still alive some medical attention and save the anti-curse for those with the most life threatening injuries."
"Yes ma'am"! They all said in sync with each other.
"Elephant belt buckles, masks, you must be the Genesha Familia-, I was expecting you to get in our way.
A flash of Tanaka's long sword swiftly eliminated one of the frontline enemies.
Don't let a single one escape!" said Shakti, separately giving orders to her squadron.
Before she was swiftly kicked in the solar plexus and sent rolling across the street.
"Shakti no I'm coming"! A blade came out from behind him and he spun around deflecting his strikes and he sidekicks him with full force knocking him out.
"Craiku don't worry about me, I'll be okay just keep your guard up and worry about yourself, I won't go down that easily"! She pulled out a short sword and he immediately recoiled.
The buildings of the streets had been torn up, and the buildings crumbling with material within was blackened with soot. It looked less like a trading house and more like an old, abandoned factory. Certainly a locale worthy of housing the city's undesirables.
"Oh dear child, I am so happy that I have a chance to take your life" said a dwarven soldier that raised his hammer over his head.
"Not a chance, I'm taking you down" he said as the dwarf tried to hit him with his hammer over and over again but he kept paring and dodging his hammer strikes creating huge cracks in the streets.
"Why won't you just stand still and let me offer you to our Lord"! He struck him again but he raised his fist and prepared to punch him at the same time. Oh shoot, I hope I can block!
He raised his arm into a inside block and he blocked the dwarf's fist much to his shock and disbelief, I did it, ok remember, don't celebrate too early.
He raised his hand and blasted him in the face with a fireball while he prepared and hit him with the back of his head with a tornado kick and he knocked out the dwarf.
"Wow, that's not too bad, kid, but that's just one of many," Tanaka said as he was fencing two soldiers as he cut them down.
Craiku looked ahead and more and more soldiers were running at him, but he was ready for them. "You enjoy picking on the weak and powerless, well perhaps we should show you how it feels to be powerless"!
Craiku was in his element and he was taking every opportunity to show what he was capable of. Everyone was making some kind of progress against the Evils except for Shakti. Her opponent wasn't exactly the standard grunt.
"You little maggot, what's wrong, I thought you were gonna put me in my place."
She clicked her tongue, forced to adopt a more defensive posture.
Clover
It all began with a scream more ghastly than any that came before."Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!!"The throat-tearing scream of an innocent townswoman. As she and others tried to flee, they were shot with poison-tipped arrows, or burned to ash by fireballs so that not even their tears remained.The perpetrators of these vile acts were the minions of evil in their uniform robes. They were like cultists enacting a dark ritual. A ritual to call to earth their forbidden god and revel in the destruction it wrought.
"N-no, stop! Please!!" An animal man begged for his life. His attacker, another man of the same race,had lost his entire clan and grown resentful and wicked. "Die, you ignorant sinner! Die, Orario!" His victim's screams couldn't convince him to stay his arms.
"Back off"!!
His hand was struck and he dropped his knife and he was kicked out of the way before he was cut down by a masked boy.
He pulled out a short sword and slashed him down aiming for his legs and knees to paralyze him momentarily.
He pulled his cap down, "You guys sure picked the wrong guy to piss off" he said staring down the many soldiers looking at him with killing intent.
"No, I'm pretty sure we are pissing off the right guys, our leader told us to watch out for the ones with the ridiculous looking masks"
Said the archer who had shot the poisonous arrows,
"Remember what the captain said, protect the civilians and watch your backs, and no showboating" he yelled.
"You're one to talk Clover, you're the king of showboating," said Korin.
"Criticism later fight now" he said as he flung his throwing knives at two dwarf men running towards him before he hit the first one with a tornado kick and the other one with a rope with two metal balls at the tip ends of each side it tied his legs tightly together as he fell on his face and Clover raised right leg and brought it down on the top of his head knocking him out.
"I don't tolerate bullies, and I despise evil"! He said with a stern look.
"Help me" said a small boy who had wolf ears and a tail.
"Don't worry I'm coming"
The archer aimed at the boy only for a knife to be strangled by one of Genesha Familia's men from behind. But another threw a fireball at him and Clover took out a rope with a hook and threw it across the street after he climbed up another building and swung down and grabbed the boy and landed on top of another rooftop.
He rested him on the ground, "Don't worry, your safe now," he said, trying to comfort him.
"My mom and dad, I was walking around with them…and they were…." He broke down crying and he did his best to comfort him.
"I'm sorry, I wish I had gotten here sooner"
Adree
The screams didn't stop and neither did the explosions. The townsfolk were too
consumed by sheer terror to even grieve as one fell after the other.
"Ah…ahhh…"
Ryuu stood alone, unable to process what was happening. Her sense of righteous anger drew her to this place, but now that she was here, she wasn't
capable of anything more than a weak and broken moan.
"Waaagh!"
"Not that way! Quick, come over—"
To her right, a panicked human man ran, only to find another assassin waiting for him.
"Death is cold, but since I'm in a merciful mood I'm gonna make it quick"!
The assassin held a knife and wore a ninja mask and kimono with a snowflake pattern.
"Not a chance" the assassin was flung across the street by a figure waiting in the alley way.
"Ok what self righteous bitch is responsible for that sneaky attack"
A girl with ashy blue hair holding her sword stood there, at base level she could be considered cute and innocent. But right now she was in battle mode and she was enraged by the cruelty.
Lyu was overcome by despair, and she wailed. It was then that someone
grabbed her by the collar, and an open palm struck her across the cheek.
"Don't just stand there, you incompetent fool!"
"K-Kaguya…?"
The human woman arched her well-trimmed eyebrows and roared in Lyu's
face. "Draw your sword, if you hate this so much then do something about it like we planned to"!
Her grip tightened around her wooden sword, and she flung herself at the attacking Evils.
Both of them fought side by side. Soon they were receiving assistance from Genesha Familia's men.
"Mayruu how are the townsfolk doing, is your healing magic doing any good" Lyra asked in suspense.
"I wish I could say that's the case but most of them were hit by cursed weapons. I'm going to have to patch them up until they get here with the anti curse. I knew we should have gotten more than we had" she said in a panicked voice.
Craiku
"Hiyah"
Craiku's sliced clean through his enemies' armor, and her swift follow-up strikes allowed no foe to even land a hit, no matter how determined. Such was the power of his sharp and frightening techniques.
One by one, enemies fell to his wall of sharpened steel, while the ones at the back saw what awaited them and grew scared. Craiku, despite his gentle nature, showed no mercy, hacking and slashing until even his own allies in Ganesha Familia turned and stared in fear and awe.
There was one enemy left, a swordswoman with fiery hair.
"He took out most of the Evils all by himself, and he barely had to use any magic, remind me not to steal his dessert tonight" said Tanaka.
"Not bad but you forgot about-"
"Icy wind," he said, blasting a small icy wind freezing her up and sidekicked her into a wall that shattered the ice and knocked her out as she fell face first on the ground.
"You can do silent chants with your Kuros Anemos too"!? Tanka yelled in surprise.
"Oh yeah, I've been practicing a lot lately, Adree said 'Tokun I can accept your love for martial arts training but you're also a mage so practice those spells…plus I would be really sad if you didn't use the wand I got you' and she gave me those puppy dog eyes, those are impossible to resist" he said as he did an impression of Adree.
"Wow that was a scary good impression of her, but let's tie them up and take their weapons before we go help the captain against that white devil guy, I wasn't going to tell you this but he's bad bad news. He's even more powerful than the generals we've been tag teaming."
His eyes widened with shock and horror, "And you're telling me that now!! I would have fought faster if I had known that, everyone else hopes that our leader needs our help"!!
He said swiftly taking the weapons from the unconscious soldiers along with the others and they lay them in a huge pile.
"Ok Craiku do your stuff"
"Yes sir, now burn your cursed weapons, return to the molting cursed metal that you came from" he said as he blasted a fire ball and a wind blast continuously until they were a puddle of melted metal.
Craiku pants from exhaustion afterwards, "You okay little tike"
"Don't call me little tike, but I'm fine thanks for asking" he said politely after his declaration.
He pulled out an elixir from his pouch and drank it and regained some stamina. "Ok everyone, we gotta go help Shakti with that white devil guy"
All of them started running in the direction they were fighting but a large fist engraved into Tanaka's chest and he was sent flying into a house.
"Tanaka"! Craiku shouts.
The large armored warrior approached the fallen swordsman.
None could lay a single scratch on its wielder. The first swing tore them to pieces, then the second obliterated what remained. Lifeless corpses and pieces of gore lined the streets, marking the conqueror's triumphant return. The axe was vast, as though carved from the flesh of hell's plumpest demon.
He wore a golden suit of armor and he crushed the heads of people with his bare hands.
"I barely raised my hand to you. Do you really mean to disappoint me this way, you miserable adventurer?"
Nobody answered. Instead, a silver spear shot out of the sky like a lightning bolt ,precisely aimed toward the seam in his armor at the rear of the shoulder.
The man didn't even go for his sword. He turned and raised his gauntlet, brushing the spear aside with a mere flick of his wrist.
Craiku had decided to attack while his attention was on Tanaka in an attempt to save him, but it was no use.
"Hmph you're quite fast, like a bolt of lightning"
Craiku caught a glimpse of the warrior's eyes and a terror caused him to tremble for a moment.
"But here's the thing about lightning, while fast, it only lasts for a moment"
Oh no.
His instincts screamed at him to put his spear up to protect himself and he obeyed, mere instants before an unimaginable force launched him back.The sheer impact of blocking the blow nearly broke his arm. He slid across the stone, plunging his spear into the ground in order to come to a halt, but only after traveling more than ten whole meders.
My arm, if I had blocked a moment too late I definitely would have broken it. This guy is pretty tough, I gotta stall for time until backup arrives.
Craiku pulled himself off the ground with blood running down his forehead, "Craiku are you okay" said the other members of Ganesha Familia-,
"I'm fine guys, just go help Shakti, I'll be okay, if the captain dies we'll be without a leader"
"No, we're not leaving you"
The warrior raised his axe, "It doesn't matter what you choose, no one is leaving this place, not alive anyway"
The other men felt their blood race as they were cut down one by one. The warrior's mercilessfist had attempted to crush another member's skull like a ripe berry. His comrades-in-arms froze, their courage drained, as the golden-armored.
"What did you just do"!? Craiku yelled as he approached them,
"He wasn't prepared for battle, if you are going to be on the battlefield, you should know your opponent. But do not be saddened young spearman"
He lifts his axe and licked it then smiled greedily,
"You'll be joining them soon enough,"
One minute the man had been standing there, stock-still like a cardboard cutout, and the next, his weapon was swinging his axe up with tremendous strength and he knocked the spear out of his hands and then his face went pale as he tried to back away nervously.
"So quick to tremble under the pressure the moment you lose your weapon, I can't understand why they would allow a feeble child to fight along with them"
I can't back down, if I act afraid then they'll win, my entire adventure will be a waste!
He gathered drew his wand and created a fire and water ball in his free hand and clapped both of them together while moving back he ended up creating a steam cloud as he did it repeatedly.
I gotta get my spear back,
The drawf searches for him and he spotted his shadow through the steam.
"Nice trick but you have only delayed the inevitable" he said rushing over him at a tremendous speed with his axe heading towards him.
"Oh no-" he suddenly got a flashback to his training with Kaguya and he had an idea that just might work.
Please work, please work.
As the axe is swung, Craiku begins the punch with the palm of her hand of the clenched fist facing upwards. Before her fist hits the weapon, he turns it counter-clockwise (when using his right hand), which allows her thumb to face up and the weapon to pass along the back of his hand without touching him, thus effectively dodging the attack. He then completes the rotation while using his shoulder to extend his reach and punches him in the face with full force.
He passed me!?
He followed up with two roundhouse kicks to the side of his head and pressed his hands against his chest.
"Double blast" he shouts as he pushes him away with a tremendous amount of force caused by his wind.
I gotta end this fast while I have the chance!
He raised his wand as the golden armored warrior was recovering from the shock.
"Plus others Respond to the contract, wind of the forest. Follow my order and cut down my enemies–Gale Blast"
A powerful blast of wind raced towards the Dwarf and his eyes widened with shock as he was blasted across the street and sent over 20 feet into the air as he was blasted.
His eyes glow momentarily before he lowered his wand, "I'm sorry, but I had no choice, but no one is ever gonna take anything from me ever again."
He said, he never enjoyed using his full magical power on other people but he was at his wits end.
"Is everyone ok, still alive"!? He asked in a panic,
"Still alive? Barely, okay, eh not so much" said a fallen soldier.
"That guy was pretty tough, I can't believe I was able to find a way to get rid of him to begin with.
A short distance away, the dwarf had grounded to a halt by driving his axe into the earth.
"Ouch, that little guy actually managed to hurt me, I think I might have underestimated our enemies, it's a shame that I have to eliminate the only potentially formidable opponent that could give me a good fight, oh well, their will be others" he didn't immediately retaliate because soon a messenger ran up to her.
"General Xiao!" he cried. "There's smoke rising in the distance, where our allies are hiding! It looks like they've been defeated before they could carry out the plan!"
He clenches his fists, "I guess back up already arrived for them, but I will still claim that one" he said as he rushed towards Craiku who tried blasting him with fireballs only to be blocked by his axe much to his shock and horror.
"A rookie adventurer with talent is still a rookie adventurer, a shame that you'll never understand what it'll be like to ascend past your current level"!
A large cloaked man strode right up to Xiao and delivered a rock-solid punch while he was busy tormenting the Genesha Familia- and trying to eliminate Craiku.
"Hands off my boy"! Despite his attempts to destroy the mage and enjoy himself by tormenting him further, the evil warrior was knocked clean off his feet and skipped along the cobblestone.
He gasps in agony as he felt his helmet completely shatter into pieces.
"Woah that was so fast I didn't even see what happened, and I know that voice anywhere." a man with a heavy amount of armor with a cloak approached him and kneeled down.
"Papa, it couldn't be, is it really you, as in really really"?
He had brown skin just like a rugged and particularly handsome face which was complemented by his stubble beard.
"Hi son, sorry I was gone for so long, that hospital was the worst, I got nagged daily," he said casually.
"You did good out here, I've been hearing about what's been going on with you, but I'm finishing this, go heal your allies, I'll drive them off and bring them down" he said, cracking his knuckles.
He swiftly ran past the golden dwarf and he viciously slashes the white devils knees getting him off of Shakti and stared him down.
"No, not you again, you're the one who nearly killed our leader"! White Devil screamed in agony,
"That's funny because I remember her attempting to kidnap and kill my son, but it doesn't matter, she gave me the perfect chance to become a top class adventurer, now face justice" he punched him into a pile of existing rubble breaking his arm in the process.
"Now you're gonna be locked up for the rest of your miserable lives"!?
"God of the landscapes, with the might of the dwarfs,"
Ging tried to put a stop to his Incantation but he threw his axe at Craiku while he was using Light Heal on his fallen comrades, which forced him to redirect his attention to protecting him.
"Let the fissure reshape the ground that gives us stability—Fissure"!
The land cracks open and it caused the still unconscious adventurers to fall inside the cracks as they slowly begin to close up.
"It's my arrest or their lives, your choice" he said as he went to retrieve Olivia from the rubble and began to carry him out of the area.
"You monsters, sorry Finn but I have more important things to look after, Tokun follow my lead and grab those adventurers"
"Yes Papa"!
He shouts.
The battle was over and every Evilus soldier was unconscious in a pile of broken ice, "Evilus, it's over now, even if more of your friends show up they'll meet a similar fate," he said as he held his hand on one of their necks. Craiku looked around, "Did I really do all of this" he said staring at his hands,
"You sure did, but now I need you to do something else, those flames will get worse if we don't do something, use your magic to put it out" Craiku solutes and leaped onto his shoulders.
"Just don't overdo it and let me know if you're running out of energy" "Don't worry I have plenty" he said with a blank expression. It took some time before the flames were fully extinguished. He sprayed a concreted stream of water at the last flame and listened to the fire's dying hisss. "Phew that was a little more than I thought,"
"Don't use any more magic then, but good job kid I'm proud of you" he said as he looked down at him. He is a tall, muscular man with shoulder-length brown hair (usually kept slicked back) and a stubbly bear and they exchanged a fist bump.
"I really really missed you Papa, when you were in the hospital, you were so hurt and I thought I'd never ever see you again and-"
He pats him on the head, "Don't worry, your old man is tough, I'm not going anywhere, but we still have a ton of work to do cleaning up this place. Why don't you throw your captain a bone and give her these" he said as he handed him two potions.
"Yup, you got it papa"
He poured a potion all over Shakti who was laying down in pain and agony.
"Captain, are you okay," he asked.
"I'm fine, just a little shaken but not stirred. But I'm not sure I can say that about the soldiers that you were fighting, they never recovered enough to rejoin the battle, you really did a number on them" she commented.
"Cool, it did get scary when that Xiao guy came out and started smacking us around, I thought we had him beaten with strength in numbers but he smacked us around like flies". Craiku comments.
"Frankly I thought you guys would have him, if he was a level 4 or 3 I would understand but a level 2 shouldn't be too much for at least 20 people" Ging points out.
"Papa, that guy was really really strong for a level 2, I faced level 2 generals before but this one is completely different from the others, and he had that magic he used to escape."
"It doesn't matter now, we at least caught a large majority of them and we have reduced the amount of casualties.
She turned and barked some orders to her followers. "Take the unconscious Evils into custody! Hurry! Keep an eye out for any stragglers!" """Yes, ma'am!""" The members of Ganesha Familia moved out with perfect coordination.