A little earlier. . .
Akiol strolled leisurely down the streets. Mira and Givale trailed behind him. In their hands was various types of food, which they stuffed their faces with.
Yielya had gone through the process of moving their home to the Kingdom. Now that Akiol's errands had been completed he decided to spend the day exploring the vast Kingdom.
Currently he was waiting for a message from Torch to begin Givale and Mira's training. Since that required time Akiol thought a break would be a healthy option.
A player ran past, Akiol watched him run by with a puzzled expression. That was no simple 'in-a-rush' jog. That was a fearful escape from something. Yet the NPCs remained calm? They only threw confused glances as the fearful player, but continued with their day.
Just as Akiol was about to take it as a random encounter, another player ran past in a similar fashion. Then a third, however this one stopped and looked at Akiol, "What are you doing man? Dot is here!"
Akiol raised his eyebrows, "Oh! Well thank you for telling me."
"We're rabbits running from a lion out here, so book it!"
They ran off, leaving Akiol with a bemused expression.
Mira polished off his snacks, "Who is Dot?"
"A terrifying figure among the semi-immortals."
"Are you going to fight him?"
"Nah, I owe that guy a favor. As long as he leaves the mortal ones alone. Let's head back home."
Doing a 180 degree turn Akiol headed in the opposite direction. He wasn't intentionally avoiding combat because he was afraid. It was as he said: he owed Dot.
Imagine saving a person's life just for them to turn around and backstab you? Although Dot's actions irked Akiol, he didn't stop him. After all Dot was only targeting Players.
He made it around halfway to the house before he received a notification from a chat group. Opening it he nearly audibly sighed.
Kan'na: This guy is attacking my favorite store!
Wrock: Haha! Who and what store?
Kan'na: That Dot Guy, there's a store I frequently visit for materials for my scrolls. They grew massively while we were at the East Continent. I have a VIP membership with these guys!
Wrock: Dot's attacking a store? Won't the the guards do something?
Kan'na: No! Since the event is of a strange nature, the Guards are turning a blind eye to Dot's movements. However if he attacks an NPC, or NPC owned building, they will act.
Wrock: Let's hope they don't have too big of a loss!
Kan'na: If we didn't owe him I would be giving him a peace of my mind!
Akiol: I'm nearby, I can go ask him for his reason if you want.
Kan'na: Please! He seems reasonable!
Akiol: Alright alright I'm on it.
-End-
Closing out the group chat Akiol stopped in his tracks, "Change of plans, I'm going to go talk to him. You two stay with Stars for a moment."
"Yes Akiol Sensei!"
"Okay!"
The two popped out of existence and Akiol rolled his shoulders, "Gosh, I sure hope he doesn't go attacking everything."
'He was really strong last time.' -Stars
"I wouldn't doubt he got stronger, I've heard word of his strength."
Akiol had watched the battle Dot had accomplished against the Guilds. Dot had clearly managed to become Second Stage before Akiol did. Even more time passed since then, so Dot would undoubtedly be even stronger.
Akiol dashed across the streets, covering the distance, that he spent several minutes walking for, in mere seconds.
'That's odd. . .' -Stars
"Speak to me."
'I sense both Harbinger of the Abyss and Lucidus Lumen.'
"Someone else is fighting Dot with one of the Twelve?"
'No, they're both being held by one person.'
"Oh? Is it similar to how I used you before become your proper wielder?"
'That is the odd thing. I can swear they both chose their user, but it can't be the same person. You can't wield two of the Twelve, it's a law the World created.'
"Perhaps he's just holding the weapon."
'I can see that, maybe he took them from their wielder.'
Akiol slid to a stop in front of a store, the door was caved in and the insides had a few dead players. Walking in the building Akiol frowned, "There's no sign of combat? They just dropped dead."
He crouched down and inspected a few bodies, "No wounds either."
Akiol opened the group chat again.
Akiol: Did Dot fight using some strange ability?
Kan'na: Dunno, reports are that people are just dying by getting near him.
Akiol: I can see that, I could have sworn he's the kind to fight things with his own hands.
-End-
Examine the store further he found a doorway leading down. Following the path a frightening pressure descended onto Akiol. He then came to a realization, "That's a War Sight. How domineering."
'This is bad Akiol! Now that we're closer I can tell for sure that this guy is wielding both of the swords!'
"Is he their wielder?"
'Yes! That's why this is bad!'
A War Sight, wielding two of the Twelve Swords, the ridiculously high stats from the beginning of the game. This level of power wasn't simple. It had to be from something greater. Rather, it might be something else entirely.
Akiol sped up his movement and maneuvered through the underground passage. As he walked he caught a glimpse of Dot hovering over a little girl, weapon raised.
The ground cracked underneath Akiol's feet. He wasn't completely confident in blocking the attack, but seeing the helplessness of the girl he acted instinctively.
Clang~!
It was heavy, but not impossible to deal with. Akiol stood firm, his sword clashing against Dot's.
He then asked the question surfacing on his mind, "It's interesting. Your strength still remains among the top! What kind of price did you pay for that power?"
"Slime."
Travis narrowed his eyes, he hadn't seen this individual in a long time. To think they would be here now, capable of stopping his sword no less.
The slime replied, "The name's Akiol."
"The Sword Saint, I'm familiar."
"You never answered my question."
"This power is something I obtained through my own efforts, I have no doubt you understand this?"
"Then it's a price you aren't aware that you paid. Why are you attacking these people?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Then I'll remain the blissful ignorant guy, but I can't let you go killing innocents."
Akiol tilted his head slightly, "Candy, take your bodyguard and get out of here."
Corolla flinched, "Can you-"
"Now."
Corolla scrambled forward, but was stopped short by Travis' increasing the intensity of his War Sight. Akiol narrowed his eyes, "Do you really not intend to chat?"
"I have business to take care of."
"If you don't say anything I'll have no choice but to stop you."
"That didn't stop you before, it has been many days. Yet you didn't make a move."
"That's because I owed you from the encounter with Rygeth, and that Artifact."
"Hah, I don't care about such things!"
With a forceful push Travis knocked Akiol back. His War Sight erupted at full blast, "You can't stop me!"
Akiol steadied his breathing, "You sure? If you throw away my debts now I won't have anything holding me back."
"Try me."
The air inside the room swirled as Akiol launched forward. Two swords clashed and made a metallic sound.
Akiol shouted, "Move Candy! I'll deal with this guy!"
"Not on my watch!"
Hank stood up, "I can deal with this myself, if you can really hold him off we will be gone in a few seconds!"
Bang-!
The two broke their clash and slid to the opposite ends of the room. Akiol never faltered with his gaze, "Then do so!"
In the next few seconds, a series of events occurred. First, Hank shot forward and grabbed Candy. Dot seemingly teleported next to them and swung his weapon. Finally several afterimages appeared of Akiol, and he swung his sword to intercept Dot.
Clang-BOOM-!
Dot crashed through a wall and slammed into another. Hank dashed out of the building carrying Candy, "You have my thanks!"
Akiol had a faint sense of relief, Dot wasn't invulnerable to his techniques. He had used {Cataclysm Technique: Hurricane} to knock him away. Knowing his techniques were effective, it silently relieved him.
Dot wasn't nearly as invincible as before.
'You're going against an Upper Four! Now isn't the time for games!' -Abe
'Calm yourself, there's two of us. If we cannot compete against an Upper Four, then we can't call ourselves creations of Borus.' -Lumen
"Don't worry too much.", Travis said.
Rrrrrrr~
The ground vibrated as Travis let his strength flow freely. Lumen seemed to glow brighter, Abe seemed to hold a darker luster.
B-DOOM!
Rubble scattered as Travis released a shockwave. Walls shattered from the force, furniture was tossed about and broken. A faint hum of energy leaked from his every pore!
Grinning under his mask Travis challenged, "Slime! Let's see what you can do!"
~ ~ ~
"Bro are you serious? Dot is right there!"
"Listen man, the slaughtering stopped for a moment. What if that store has someone capable of fighting against Dot? We have to record that!"
"Sure! Why don't you go walk into the death zone?!"
"Listen to me man, we do this and we'll be famous! If my hunch is correct then we're going to witness something spectacular!"
". . .Fine! What's a level anyway? I'll grind it back later."
"That's the spirit! Cmon!"
The two dashed around a corner, "He should be in this building-"
A ray of white light shot upwards and made a cross movement.
BOOM-!!
Two figures rose into the air, the building shattered and exploded into rubble.
"T-That's Sword Saint Akiol! He's actually fighting Dot!"
"You were right man! This is huge!"
~ ~ ~
Akiol silently apologized in his mind. The store had been broken anyway. He couldn't quite protect it. . .
Whooom-!
Moving slightly to the side Akiol dodged Dot's attack. Flicking his wrist he swung Stars directly towards Dot's waist-!
Clang~~!
Dot swung horizontally and Akiol ducked. Dot responded by stepping back and swinging. His blade glided across the side of Stars as Akiol parried the blow. Shifting his movement Akiol returned the attack with two swift strikes!
Twang~~
Akiol complimented, "Your sword is far more polished than when we first met. You're no longer brainlessly swinging it around!"
Dot returned the compliment, "Your strength has certainly skyrocketed, to think you can evenly clash with me!"
Akiol suddenly started to swiftly retreat, dancing between the stragglers who had come to investigate the chaos. Dot was momentarily confused, but chased after.
The two dashed across the streets, to many it seemed like a blur had just passed by. Occasionally they crossed swords, sparks appearing and scattering across the Kingdom roads. The guards standing next to the entrance felt a blast of air hit them. Holding up a hand to shield their eyes they frowned. One asked, "What even was that?"
Akiol paused, sliding to a stop. Dot continued with his momentum and swung both swords at once!
Choosing to clash Akiol swung his sword. The three weapons connected and Akiol felt the momentum slam into him. They continued to slide a few feet before coming to a stop.
"Done running?", Dot taunted as he pushed away Akiol's sword.
"Had to get somewhere more spacious."
Crtwang~!
'I cannot believe it, this guy is getting stronger by the moment!' -Akiol
'You can handle it right?' -Givale
'I certainly won't lose out!'
Dot swung downwards with his two swords. Akiol pivoted his body to rotate to the side and swung upwards towards the two weapons.
{Cataclysm Technique: Eruption}!
The force from the technique forced the weapons upwards. Naturally this left Dot's torso open for an attack!
Akiol quickly adjusted his angle and swung towards Dot. By jumping to the side and returning the strike the two exchanged blows. This time, they managed to hit each other!
A shallow wound sprouted on Dot's side, and a thin cut formed on Akiol's cheek. Creating some distance the two paused to assess the situation.
Akiol touched his cheek, unlike all the times before his wound wasn't naturally regenerating! Staring at Dot Akiol asked, "You. . . injured me?"
"Don't act surprised, that body of yours isn't omnipotent when it comes to nullifying damage. I have my own methods."
Akiol wasn't too surprised, the whole reason why he fought like normal despite his slime body was for specifically a reason like this! If he got used to the functions of his slime body, it would prove to be troublesome the moment those benefits disappeared.
Taking a stance Akiol smiled faintly, "Every time I took a hit I usually died. It's refreshing experience to survive one."
"You won't be surviving for long."