This is just frustrating, I don't even know where my parents are. I hope they are still in the dojo, they will be safe with the other kendoka. But, I still have to get there as soon as possible. Presuming the message from the screen. I think they are called the otherworlders, are they from another world or something?
After witnessing their comrade beheaded in front of them, they are yelling something I can't understand and charging towards me with their swords. The girl slowed her pace and let the man take the lead.
I can't be submissive anymore. I charge at them, the vital target is the girl, she will clearly launch a strike from the side judging by her purposely slowing her pace. I have no doubt she will strike right after my sword clashes with the man.
Entering striking range, I swung my sword horizontally and strode back at the matching time. Our blades didn't clash with each other, then the girl emerged from the right side. As anticipated. I stride back two times and the girl misses her upright hard swing. I instantly make a basic posture and put forward my kodachi just above my head, then leap to the girl's corner of vision.
I swung down the sword, but only injured her left arm. She tosses her sword to her left hand, but before she gets the opportunity. I sliced her left arm with an upside-down cut. Her arm dangles like a chunk of meat at the butcher, only affixed by the bone. The strike wasn't enough to entirely cut apart her arm, but now she is incapable to use it anymore.
I kicked the girl's abdomen, she then collapsed in the man's direction as both of them fell, stacked on the ground. With fear on their face. I seized this advantage, changing the grip of my right hand, and then stabbed them on the neck twice.
I retorted their silence "I still don't know the intention behind your hostility, but may you rest in peace." While striding my hand and kodachi to the side as high as my chest horizontally, then move it again to the front of my face just above the head, and swing it to the side as fast as I could. This is an act to remove the blood on my blade, but we still require to wipe it with a cloth. I left back to take the sheath.
I shortly hurried to the long straight road by running. My mind was in turmoil, I've been stressed about my parent's well-being.
But hope wasn't that bleak after all. I glimpsed a friendly figure who rode a motorcycle, moving towards to my direction.
"Kyuushi!" Shouted a familiar voice from distance.
It's been a while since I heard that voice, Alessio. He's a transfer kendoka from a prestigious thaumaturgist family in Italy. I've been a friend with him for roughly three years and have been training together in the dojo. He returned to his home a year ago and just recently came back here after contacting me through the phone.
"You came at the right moment, Alessio. Quickly take me to the dojo!" I got onto the motorcycle, steadying my position. Alessio takes off with full throttling, with the similar kodachi on his wide belt into the straight long road leaving the three bodies behind.
"What happened to your arms!?" He asked with widened eyes.
"A weird thing or person I met in the hypermarket, it was short but it chopped through my limbs and bones." I replied while glancing at my half arm.
Alessio's expression was grim for a moment, he might have gone through a lot in this fast span of occurrence.
"I was also greeted by three people ambushing me, luckily I can fight back." Grinned, I continued my speech after a brief pause "Where is my father?"
"Master is in the dojo with your mother." He puts on a concerned face and resumes "They come to the dojo first just like you told, but unexpectedly we were assaulted by something."
"Are they fine!?" I shouted while grabbing his shoulder.
"Master said to leave it to them and instructed me to pick you up" He responded and continued to reassure me "Don't worry, they are with another kendoka."
"Well, there are just so many things that happened." I sighed.
"Well it can't be helped, right?" He resolved with a grin and we both laughed. Although we're still uncertain about what happened to us. A melancholy ride to partake.
We then arrived, it barely took us five minutes to get to the dojo. On our trip here, some skyscrapers are destroyed and some are not. Corpses are everywhere, but I feel some have been missing. Because it's usually so packed here.
I get off from the motorcycle and we both pull out our respective kodachi from the sheath.
The outcome of the fight can be noticed from the outside. The destroyed fence and the upper of the dojo looked to have been blown up by a powerful blast.
We quickly smash through the fence gate and dash to the five meters height building. The main door is destroyed.
We halted and scanned the interior from the side of the door. The kendoka are battling against a dozen figures with black bandages all over their body, emitting a black aura, which reminds me of the one in the hypermarket. There are also three kendoka lying in a puddle of their own blood.
"This freak is identical to the one who chops my arm." I mumbled with a clenched jaw and fist, calming my anger. I continued "I'll go help the right side and you go to the left."
"Got it!" he said and hastily dashed to his mark. I saw father fighting against two monsters at once. I rushed to help him, centralizing all of my mana into one point and then steer the flow to my right arm. Letting the mana pour into the kodachi, producing a lucent glow around the blade.
I must finish off this battle as efficiently as possible. I leaped to the monster behind my father, slicing sideways at the monster's nape. The monster perished into the air but another kendoka was just slaughtered at the same time.
Father didn't wish to lose, he rapidly slew one with a thrusting strike. Alessio on the further side killed one after a few exchanges.
Suddenly, a monster ambushes me from behind. I parried the claw but I'm full of openings now. Father then immediately tore down the monster with a heavy vertical cut. Saving my life.
My mother also taking a part in battle with her knowledge in thaumaturgy. She throws out two runes with unique characters under the monster. Heat began emanating from the runes until a pillar of flame was discharged, engulfing the monster thoroughly
A howl from one monster wilder than any of its kind nearly made us deaf. In five seconds, that one particular monster has begun to rampage, slaughtering three people in the process. The monster glanced at me, but suddenly retracted its gaze at my mother.
At this moment, I knew something bad would happen.
The monster then lunged at her like a wild beast. A theatrical vision flew vividly, and slowly. My instinct made the moment of the beast leaping as if it was something surreal would happen, and I'm not going to let this foreshadowing on my mind to be the future reality.
Dashed, in the moment of rage and anxiety. My father and I tried to stop it as we dived into the monster clutching assault. I chopped both of the arms, my father sliced the legs. But it was too late, the monster's claw pierced my mother's chest and abruptly branching out, meandering with high velocity as it was outstretched into numerous small but deadly branches. One of the branches lanced through my left thigh, and my father evaded all of them.
My mother's blood spilled on me, the blood spurting to her whole body.
Shit! Shit! Is this my fault because I can't cut the limbs at the right moment!?
Father barely stood staring at his wife with lifeless gaze, and more monsters coming from behind.
I need to do something.
"Father!!" I shout out in expectation of waking him up. There is no other way. I cut the branches and pushed father out. I stabbed the monster's left hand, the left hand's claw branched into branches again but none of them hit me.
I pulled out the sword from the monster's hand and chopped its left arm. I charged my attack again towards it, the beast launched a thrusting strike while branching out its claw in the process.
I put all my strength into this strike. I'm almost at my limit. I parried all of the branches and cut some of them, and stabbed at the monster's chest.
One down.
The remaining three lunged at me together.
I've said that I'll use my mana as efficiently as possible, but I guess I couldn't fulfill my plan. I focused all of my mana near my abdomen and steered them throughout my whole body—strengthened my strength.
I trample my foot to the earth, it cracks a little and I start dashing. The monster used both of its claws, leaving me no choice but to overpower it by cutting all the branches.
I stabbed its face and continuously sliced it.
Two down.
Both of the monsters barraged jointly and lunged their two pairs of hands. Suddenly, the branches halted and perished in the middle air, turns out father had slain the two monsters.
"Finally." I'm feeling furious, nervous, and frustrated. It can't be helped. I'm very sleepy and decided to take a nap for a day.
I collapsed on the ground.