With the situation seeming important, Bode and I leave the table to meet the person running to the guardhouse.
"Bode and I will go to see what the person wants. Laura and Kati, stay here and guard over the guardhouse. I have a feeling something bad is happening and I want to make sure that the gate stays closed, no matter what." [Shin]
"Okay, be careful." [Laura]
"Yeah, we'll make sure nothing happens, sir." [Kati]
I leave my backpack in the room and pick up the war scythe before heading out. Opening the steel door and entering the hallway, we are met the faint sounding of someone pounding on the outer door. Making sure the inner door is closed firmly, we run across the hallway and open the outer door. There panting on the doorsteps is Alex. Realizing that the door is open, He yellows out,
"Open the Gate. You need to open the gate." [Alex]
"Slow down and breath. Now tell me why I need to do that?" [Shin]
"The group of Teachers who left have returned. 2 are wounded severely and 1 is slightly wounded. We need to open up the gate to heal them quickly." [Alex]
{There are only 3 of them? I thought there were 5 that left…}
"Take me to them quickly. I need to see them for myself." [Shin]
"They're HURT! Open th..." [Alex]
I run past him, heading towards the gate. I hear angry shouts ringing out behind me but Bode and I ignore them as we rush to the gate.
As we turn the corner, we can make out a group of 4 people near the gate. Their voices, which should have been quiet, were bellowing loudly and there were several torches lit illuminating the entrance way of the gate.
{Those idiots…}
I call out as we reach the gate,
"What's going on here? What happened?" [Shin]
Although I ask the question, the light provided by the torches illuminates the cause of the commotion. On the other side of the gate, 3 wounded people are visible in the feeble light the torches provide. From the acrid smell of blood which permeates the area, I can tell that someone, if not all of them, got hurt quite badly. While I assess the situation, one of the patrol members wielding an axe yells at me.
"We need to get them inside now! The noises in the forest have gotten louder and louder. They themselves have said that they're being chased by a monster." [Vilmos]
Proving his point, several pairs of eyes can be seen reflecting the feeble light around 100 meters (~109 yards) away. As people notice the eyes in the distance, some people begin to shout.
"Open the gate" [Patrol Member #1]
"Hurry" [Gabby]
Although people are shouting and are terrified, I try to calmly assess the situation. Seeing how there were 5 people originally, I will assume that the missing two are dead. Seeing the three remaining teacher's movements which seem dull, I conclude that they could not outrun anything in their current condition.
{I guess they were allowed to escape to guide those monsters to more food.}
Acknowledging this, two things are prevalent, the monsters are intelligent, quite so in fact. They allow some to escape to return to their camp, guiding the monsters to more food. Seeing how they aren't approaching or attacking, I'm sure that they can't get past these walls. Therefore, in order to access this all, you can eat buffet, they hide in the distance, allowing people to think the coast is clear or that they have enough time to rescue the wounded. This level of planning and foresight brings up the second most prevalent thing, their understanding of behaviour (human-like behaviour). Unfortunately for the wounded teachers, I decide to enforce the solution that will keep the most people alive.
{There's no way I'm opening that gate. I'm sorry about what you went through, but you should have never gone out there.}
"ENOUGH!" [Shin]
"The monsters are out there right now, you can see them in the distance, that means that they are waiting for us to open the gates. They are using these people as bait. I will not open the gates to save them if that means allowing monsters inside or inviting more casualties." [Shin]
Turing towards Bode, I whisper into his ear.
"Bode, you might not agree with me, but I can't allow those people to open the gates. Run back and make sure that no one gets near the opening mechanism. Even if you have to fight people or hurt them badly, I have a way for you to not get into trouble. Please go." [Shin]
"Yes sir. I want those monsters outside the walls as much as you do. I'll make sure that no one gets near it. I'll have Kati and Laura help." [Bode]
With this being said, Bode takes off running back to the guardhouse. Thinking that he is going to open the gate, they eventually calm down and start ordering people to go get a healer. Debating whether to interrupt them or not, I finally lean towards the former before they attract too much attention.
"Hey! No one is opening the doors. There are monsters 100m (~109 yards) away from the gate and they seem to be waiting for us to open the gate. There's no way I'm going to allow the rescue of these people if it places all of our lives in jeopardy." [Shin]
"HUH!?" [Everyone]
"Wait so you're going to let them die? What the hell is wrong with you?" [Vilmos]
"If you want to rescue them, you're more than welcome to. However, I'm not allowing this door to open so I would recommend another method of rescue." [Shin]
Vilmos and the group seem to be appalled that I would let the teacher's die.
"Who the hell do you think you are, you can't just let people die when you can save them. Why are we even listening to you in the first place? We are the same age as you." [Vilmos]
"Yeah, he's right." [Patrol member #2]
"Let's just go open the gate ourselves." [Gabby]
Seeing that they're going to try to open the gates. I walk in front of the group and place myself between them and the guardhouse.
"I'm not letting you do that. You opening those gates will allow those monsters in, which will result in more death. They have already killed two teachers." [Shin]
"So? We can hold them off until the gates close at least." [Vilmos]
"Yeah, maybe. But those teachers numbered five, and the end result of their fight was three were wounded and two are missing or dead. We also number five so are two of you prepared to die?" [Shin]
"Forget it, there's no use trying to convince him. You three go to the guardhouse and try to open it. I'll make sure he doesn't get in the way." [Vilmos]
The other 3 take off in the direction of the guardhouse leaving behind just the both of us.
"I'll let you know that they are not opening that gate. I have people in there to defend it." [Shin]
"Maybe once they hear the reason, they'll open it themselves." [Shin]
{That might happen, but I doubt it. I need to plan ahead here though. I don't really want to injure Vilmos, just disarm him. If it comes down to a fight, I should be able to win with my reach if he doesn't have any weird Skills.}
I quickly glance up at the wall, towards a certain battlement above the gate.
{I would be having a much better time if those two up would piss off. Then at least I could use some of my real Skills, but there's no way I'm using those with them here. They're still watching me even with those teachers suffering as well. I guess they really don't care about their suffering either.}
Sensing a change in the air, I quickly take a step back, making the axe pass mere millimeters away from my face. Vilmos, surprised that his attack didn't work quickly steps back creating distance between us.
"I didn't know that we were fighting. You should have said something otherwise I might have been hurt." [Shin]
"My bad, I just decided to take advantage of your spacing out. Don't worry the next one won't miss." [Vilmos]
"So, in order to save people who are dying, you're going to kill me? If I didn't step back, I would have had my head cleaved in two." [Shin]
"What do you mean? It would be considered self-defense. You attacked me in order to run to the guardhouse. I've never liked the fact that you were in charge of the patrol and being order around by you is degrading. That's why I thought I would take the opportunity and take you out of the picture. That way, I would be considered a hero who saved the teachers and thus get control of the night watch which would then…" [Vilmos]
{Why are people so prone to violence now that they have some small form of power? Was that school for crazy people or did that thing Emmaline was supposed to do to me the cause?}
"Let me stop you right there. I don't care about your "ingenious" plan. You should probably give up because you've lost as soon as you backed away and gave me the upper edge." [Shin]
"What are you talking about? You revealed your Title to me. There is no way I would lose to a simple hunter. I have the Title "Relentless" which grants me large boosts to fighting strength when using an axe. You and your little toothpick will get cleaved in two." [Vilmos]
{Thanks for the elaborate explanation you idiot. However, that could indeed troublesome, but that's only if he can hit me. If I use my Reflex, Guarded and CQB Skills to their utmost, I should be able to evade and eventually win.}
"If you say so. Let's get this over with." [Shin]
Not being entirely familiar with my War Scythe, a weapon I chose more out of curiosity than practicality, I decide to treat it like a naginata of which I am more familiar with. Taking the chudan-no-kamae position (middle level position), I move slowly while using the Iumi ashi, (walking step) ready to move either backwards or forwards. With the blade pointed towards his chest I decide to be the nice guy and offer him a final warning.
"This is my final warning, back off and you'll be..." [Shin]
Nice as I tried to be, Vilmos answers my offer by rushing forward and slashing his axe diagonally. Luckily, I expected him to close the distance, so as soon as I saw his muscles tense, I backed up, making his strike fall short. Because he put most of his weight in the rushing attack, his balance was completely destroyed which caused him to trip over his own feet and fall, landing flat on his stomach.
{Even though you have a weapon and all those Skills, it doesn't mean that you'll immediately be powerful or know how to use them.}
I feel quite disappointed to not have a real fight.
{Hmm…he talked all that smack but he's just swinging around his axe like a child. This'll be easier than I thought. I guess I might as well tease him a bit.}
"I don't know what you are doing there on the ground, but if you were trying yoga, I would recommend the "downward dog." It's good for stretching arms and legs so its perfect for a quick warmup. It's also not to different from your current position." [Shin]
An angrily embarrassed expression is visible on Vilmos's face as he picks himself up off the ground. Fumbling around with his axe, he shouts out typical reply.
"That was just me warming up. I haven't used any skills yet so that was a warning strike. The next one will finish you." [Vilmos]
In order to confirm if that is indeed true, I go to use my delusion skill but as soon as I activate it, I'm met with a familiar voice echoing in my mind.
Delusion Skill has levelled up, new active skill available|
Quickly summoning my Spirit Plate internally, I see that I do have a new active skill.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Shin Okamoto
Race: Human
Level: 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Titles:
First Title: Paranoid
Skills:
-> Delusion Lv.2
----<> Betrayer *NEW*
-> Reflex Lv.1
-> Outsider Lv.2
----<> Transgress 0/1
-> Guarded Lv.1
-> Permit Lv. 1
----<> Entitle
Second Title: Maverick
Skills:
-> Misanthrope Lv.1
-> Subjugate Lv.1
-> Lone Wolf Lv.1
-> Domain Lv.1
Third Title: Survivalist
Skills:
-> Unmarred Lv.1
-> Liberated Lv.1
-> Stalk Lv.1
-> CQB Lv.1
-> *Locked*
Divine Protection: N/A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before I even have the opportunity to inspect the skill, my Guarded Skill notifies me of a horizontal sweeping attack aimed at my feet. Although the Vilmos' attacks are indeed quite fast, the forewarning I receive from my Skill is 'almost" cheating. As much as I would like to find out what that skill does, Vilmos and those two stalkers are preventing me from looking at it.
While I am half paying attention to the fighting and simply avoiding his strikes, Vilmos seems to be trying quite hard as his stocky build is coated in a thick layer of sweat. Seeming quite aggravated that he can't put a scratch on me, he tries his hand at taunting me.
"Is dodging the only thing you can do? Or are you not confident in your skills enough to actually fight?" [Vilmos]
"That is some fairly pathetic trash talking you just did. That taunt was as much of a miss as your axe strikes." [Shin]
*BOOM*
An explosion interrupts our banter. The ground quaking from the shockwaves. Momentarily taking my eyes away from Vilmos, I see a torrent of fire rise from the direction of the guardhouse.
{Shit! That's enough playing around. That doesn't look good.}
"Hehehe…looks like the gate will be opened soon. Good thing you dragged your feet here. Looks like it's time to go all out and finish this for real this time." [Vilmos]
"Skill: Warrior's Outrage" [Vilmos]
After shouting out his Skill (like an idiot), I can see a red aura emanating from his chest and spreading rapidly across his body. Once the red aura covers his body completely, the thin red layer becomes visible to the naked eye.
"Although I can only use this once a day at the moment, it doubles my physical capabilities in exchange for indiscriminately killing what I see for its duration." [Vilmos]
{Why does he keep explaining his Skills and Titles? I hope he's at least lying to try to confuse me, otherwise he's just an idiot.}
Another smaller explosion can be heard behind me, reminding me to reorganize my priorities. Looking Vilmos in the eye, I say.
"You're right, it's time to stop playing around." [Shin]
Switching my stance to the gedan-no-kamae, (lower/counter position), I finally decide to go on the offensive.
Vilmos noticing the difference in the atmosphere, shows hesitation between either attack outright or bating a strike. Noticing his hesitation, I close the distance with a sliding step and slash at his chest. Surprised at the agility of the long weapon, Vilmos moves his axe, attempting to block the strike.
{Unfortunately for him, it was a feint.}
Predicting that he would fall for the feint, I use the "Inside Crescent Kick" I learned from my time studying taekwondo, to knock away the axe blocking his chest. With his bare chest exposed, Vilmos tries throwing a haymaker in order to discourage an attack. Unfortunately for him though, I figured this would happen.
{There's feint #2}
Now that I have disarmed him, ruined his balance, and eliminated all possibilities of attack, I pivot my right foot and side-step to the left side of his body.
…
{Although a long weapon, a war scythe is usually at a disadvantage at close range. However, that is only if you plan on using the blade and unfamiliar with staff techniques.}
For the first time since I've been brought here, I see real fear in another person's face. Thinking that the end is near, Vilmos's eyes shake as he waits for the end to come. The war scythe spins behind my back as I flip it around and perform an overhead attack.
*Tonk*
The sound of solid wood hitting a solid, yet hollow, surface echoes through the empty fort grounds. Following the sound, the large axe wielder's body slumps to the ground. A sense of tranquility passes through me as Vilmos falls to the ground. Although I didn't use the blade, but the end of the war scythe, I used enough force to at least give him a hell of a concussion.
"You're lucky I'm a nice guy." [Shin]
Leaving his unconscious body where he fell, I turn towards the pillar of fire in the sky and take off in a sprint.
"I know I gave the order to defend the opening mechanism, but if they were caught in that explosion, I will be using the blade this time." [Shin]