"Shit! I didn't expect you to be here, Yui Noshido!" "Long time, no see, Kizue." Diana and Kyra readied their weapons, when I raised a hand to stop them. Yui landed gracefully on the ground, and after a small poof, transformed into a humanoid girl with black scales, and two small horns. Her eyes locked onto me, and I started sweating. Before I could react, she was hugging my arm, glaring at the other two women. "What are these people doing here?" My back was soaked with sweat, and under her intense gaze, I shuddered. "U-um…" "Hmph." She dug her nails into my arm, and I whimpered. Her gaze was almost predatory, and any thoughts about resistance I would've tried to put up faltered. "Fine. Since it's been so long, I'll let you off with a kiss." "U-uhhh… I don't think that's a good idea…" The piercing glares from the girls behind me told me that if I bent the knee, they would punish me. "Why not?" She tilted her head innocently, her scales absorbing sunlight. "B-because I might get hurt…" "By what?" I pointed a finger behind me, towards Kyra and Diana. "Oh… well you shouldn't care about those bitches…" she leaned in and kissed me before I could react. As soon as she did this, a golden blur slammed into her side, and a hail of black thorns slammed into her body. She embraced me, and kissed me harder. "Mmph!" The attacks intensified until she had to pull back and dodge, and I sat up. "Suddenly, several large icicles whistled past my head, followed by several pitch black lightning bolts. Kyra and Diana looked at me murderously, and I shuddered. Neroki and Niraka appeared, and I turned around, only to see Kyle arrive.
Kyle POV
I reached the area where Kizue was, to see him dodging attacks from a succubus and dogkin. "Long time, no see, brother." The attacks stopped briefly, and the four looked at me. Kizue was the first to speak, breaking the delicate silence. "Kyle?! What are you doing here?" At this point, Elena, Liliana, Natasha, and the Pirate had arrived behind me. "Looking for our mother."
Kizue POV
"Oh…" I replied. He started laughing, all the tension erased by him. "Long time, no see, Kizue." We hugged each other, while the girls looked at us in confusion. "Kyle?! I-is that really you?" A feminine voice resounded behind me as we let each other go, and I turned to see Niraka. "You know him?" "Y-yeah… I was part of an organization of orphans he and Neroki founded…" "What!?" "Yeah…" "Wait! You were in that organization!?" Neroki exclaimed. "Yep." "Wait! Whaaat!?!" Niraka giggled at Neroki's stunned expression. "Anyway, that's when I fell in love with you." She blushed as she said this, and watched as Neroki's face turned red. "W-What!?! Niraka giggled as Neroki tried to digest what he had just heard. "Y-you liked me back then?!?" "Of course!" She smiled at him, before embracing him and kissing him.
Kyle POV
I walked up to Kizue and tapped him on the shoulder. "W-wuaaagh!" He spun around, and saw me doubling over, laughing. "Y-your reaction was priceless!" He glared at me and asked "What do you want?" "To make a proposal. How about we combine our party and help each other?" He brightened up immediately, and accepted. "Sure. What's your goal?" My face darkened, as I looked down and replied, "To find mom." Huh?!? B-but what about the order father gave us, to become stronger?" "Who gives a shit about his order? If we want to find her and save her, we have to do it as quickly as possible!" "B-but… fine…" "Wait… where's Yia? "She… It was Kizue's turn to look down. "She was injured, and is in a coma…" "W-WHAT!?!" "Yeah… Koturi returned from his journey, but he was heavily wounded…" "Oh… how is he? Koturi, I mean." "He suffered superficial wounds according to him, but I think it's more than that."
Koturi POV
I sliced off part of my arm, the sickly green flesh falling to the ground with a "squelch". Yia was still in a coma, and Kizue was probably looking for his grandfather. I warned him about Yui Noshido, but for an entirely different reason. It was because she was part of a certain assassin organization, titled simply as the "Assassin's Guild." their economic and military power rivaling that of a kingdom, and they had a large network of spies.
Kizue POV
While we were chatting, I turned around. The desert was unusually quiet, and the girls were nowhere to be seen. Kyle's eyes turned cold, and he moved towards a bush, slowly. The murderous aura emitting from him, to my shock, was stronger than a dragon's. His movements quickened, to the point where it looked like he teleported, as his fist slammed into something inside of the bush. Yui Noshido rolled out, her familiar wide toothed grin plastered on her face, until she saw me. "... sorry, Kizue." her solemn tone told me something was wrong, and my eyes burned with rage. "What did you do?!?" "..." a flash of something… was it sadness? appeared on her face, before disappearing as fast as it had come, replaced by the happy go lucky face I knew. "Sorry, can't tell you!" she disappeared as fast as she had come. "Goddammit!" Kyle shouted. He slammed his fist into the ground, causing a shockwave that set me off balance. "Let's follow her. She should have left some tracks behind." I sniffed the air, searching for her scent and following her trail. We followed the path to where the scent ended. It led into an abandoned village, with purple veins spreading on the walls. "It's been corrupted. But what's Yui doing here?" "Who knows? We'll just have to rescue the girls. If it comes to fighting, I'll take her down." "Can you do me a favor and leave her unharmed?" "Sure." As we entered the village, a human leaped out at me. "RAHR!"I quickly drew my sword and sliced it in half, and I watched as blood sprayed on my pants. "Aww! now it looks like I wet myself." I could hear Kyle snickering behind me as I dried my pants with magic. "It was a joke, Kyle." "Suuuurrrreee…" as we neared the center of the town, chills ran down my spine. Yui was talking with a man dressed in black robes, wielding a purple staff with a silver skull on the top. They were standing near a magic circle that glowed red. "He's one of the servants of the generals of the corruption. And he's a necromancer." Kyle whispered. "Yeah." Tied up in the middle of the magic circle, the girls were tied up. Kyle grabbed my arm before I was able to charge at the necromancer. "Calm down." Kyle's eyes were the same cold ones as before, when he had attacked Yui.
Necromancer POV
I licked my lips as I stared at the girls tied up in the middle of the circle. "You'll make perfect mindless slaves! Kekekeke!" They glared at me, and the girl in the middle flipped me off. I laughed again, before walking over to Yui. "You have completed your side of the bargain. Now I'll give you what I promised. I chanted a spell, and a purple cage appeared. Inside it was Yui's mother. The pathetic dragon I had kept there looked up at her daughter feeble. I cackled as I watched her lie on the ground pathetically. All the years she had been locked away in my dimensional cage weakened her.
Kyle POV
Now I understood. Yui betrayed Kizue to save her mother. Not exactly forgivable, but understandable. I sensed that the necromancer's attention had lapsed, and I threw a hellfire spear. It penetrated his leg, and he screamed in agony, before firing a dark lightning bolt at me. Purple electricity ran across my body as I braced myself for the pain. It didn't come as I expected, and I deduced that my reforged body had caused it. I teleported behind him, and slammed my fist into the ground. Kizue screamed "Watch out! You missed!" The necromancer's eyes widened as I pulled out a purple, beating heart encased in a purple vial. I crushed it and watched as the necromancer collapsed. I appeared behind Yui, and she turned around, only to see my fist planted firmly in her chest. "Ack!' she coughed, before collapsing, unconscious. Kizue walked up to her and sighed before kneeling down, and picking her up in a princess carry.
Yui POV
I woke up in bed. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, only to find Kizue sitting next to me, on a chair, sleeping.
"H-Huh?!?" My surprises cry caused Kizue to wake up. His face turned red as well, before he looked away. I smirked, before latching onto his arm. "Come on, Kizue. Let's go!" I dragged him outside, only to find Kyra and Diana glaring at me. "Get away from him." "Why should I? Shouldn't you be getting away from him?" "I'm his girlfriend. You're not." "W-What?!?" "Hmph." Kyra latched onto his other arm and looked up at him. "Kizue?" "Y-Yeah?" "I am your girlfriend, right?" She tilted her head innocently as she said this, her tone laced with sweetness. "Y-Yeah…" "Then Why is she so close to you?" Chills ran down my spine as Kyra dug her nails my arm. "I-I uh…" someone's laughter interrupted us, and the three of us turned to see a masked figure. She snickered a bit, before taking off the mask. "Boo." "Niraka!?" I saw the rest of Kyle's group standing there. Kyle was dragging the corpse of the necromancer we had crushed earlier. "I found this on his corpse." He flipped me a coin. It was black and green, with a skull on both sides. "Huh? What's this supposed to do?" "I dunno. Maybe it's a key or something." "..." "Anyway, I found a cave over there. Let's go." The girls tried to follow us, but Kyle stopped them. "I need you guys to burn the corpses. I have a feeling that there are more than just that necromancer around here." "Hmph. You're just trying to leave us behind. Think we can't handle the danger?" Elena piped up. "I want you guys to be safe." "Yeah… but I still want to go with you." Kyle sighed. "Fine… but you have to stay behind me and Kizue at all times." "Hmph." She turned her head away, and Kyle sighed again. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around. "Maybe you should let them fight. They probably feel useless after being ambushed and captured. They also probably feel guilty for putting you in danger." "I know, but…" "Just think about it." I walked past him, and tapped Elena on the shoulder. "Huh? Oh. Hi Kizue." "You feeling down?" "Yeah… it's my fault that Kyle was put in danger. And I feel so useless! I can't even fight off a normal necromancer!" She punched a tree, causing it to disintegrate. "Well… isn't your power proof of your strength?" "Yeah but…" "Just go talk to him about your feelings! I'm sure he'll understand…" "O-ok!" She ran back to Kyle, and I muttered to myself "Now it's all up to you."
Kyle POV
Elena ran up to me as I was readying my gear. "Kyle! I need to talk to you." "What is it?" I turned towards her. "The truth is…" she looked down, before looking back up. "The truth is that I feel guilty and useless for putting you and Kizue in danger… and I really want to make it up to you guys… please let me fight alongside your party!" She bowed after she said this. "W-Wait! Hold on a second. Is that why you wanted to fight?" "Y-Yeah?" "Ugh. You should've just explained that to me the first time!" I smiled at her, before continuing "Don't worry about it! It's not your fault that you guys got ambushed. We were caught off guard. The most important thing is to learn from it. After all, it's not like I was put in any real danger." "B-but what about that necromancer?" "Oh, him? I calculated why he was so confident to face us. Plus, I sensed a mana signature and-" "so you had the whole battle calculated from the very beginning. How typical..." "Not quite… I didn't expect him to be so accurate with that lightning bolt, but my stronger body managed to resist it." suddenly, she punched me in the shoulder. "W-what was that?" "Y-you stupid idiot! I worry about you too, y'know? Don't do that ever again, got it?!?" "Yeah, yeah… I get it." I hugged her, and she blushed, before leaning into my hug. "K-Kyle...I-I love you…" she whispered. I whispered in her ear "I know." Elena punched me in the chest, and glared at me. "That was a serious confe-" "Ahem." A cough interrupted us, and I turned around to see Liliana glaring at me, and Natasha sighing. "Honestly, Kyle. Did you really think we were just gonna leave you two interrupted? Especially since we both like you." "Can't even get some alone time with Elena…" I whispered to myself. Elena's ears perked up, before she started laughing. The other girls joined in, while I stood there. "...What? What did I say?" "N-nothing." We readied our weapons, before Elena led us into the cave. Three tunnels appeared in front of us. Kizue was the first to speak. "I sense death mana emanating from the left and right. The middle has several wards, but my sense can't go beyond that." I spoke. "So two have possible death creatures and zombies. The middle seems to be the most dangerous." Elena nodded. "Yeah. But, the middle one most likely has a direct route to whatever's causing the corruption in the village." "We need all the power we have in our arsenal to fight the boss, so the middle would be the most optimum, but most dangerous." We turned to see the Pirate captain standing behind us. "What do you want with us?" "To join your party, of course." "UUUGH! Fine!" Elena groaned. "Elena?!?" "What's wrong with letting her join? We could use the power. The only problem is that she'll get too close to you." She put an emphasis on "too close" and I shrugged. "Not really my fault…" "My, my, Kyle, you've grown up, haven't you? Not the shy little boy you were before, eh?" Without warning, she appeared in front of me, and grabbed my chin, pulling my face close to her lips. "Stop that!" Elena, Natasha, and Liliana glared at her as they yelled. "Sorry, sorry." She let go of me, and Kizue spoke up. "By the way Kyle, remember Taki?" "Yeah? He left a couple years back… wonder how he's doing." "We were great friends… until we explored a dungeon and he fell through that portal." "Yeah. We gotta find him no matter what." "Alright. Niraka, Neroki, go scout please." The two nodded, and turned invisible, and dashed off.
Meanwhile…