Kuroshi and Toruri, now awake and alert, stood beside Ryoshi as they prepared to venture into the snowy biome ahead.
"Dammit, I lost my sword!" Ryoshi's frustration reverberated through the chilly air, his voice tinged with annoyance.
"Yeah, and we're about to enter a cold desert," Kuroshi remarked, her tone echoing Ryoshi's concern.
"Toruri, are you going to be okay? You're shirtless and about to enter a literal snow desert," Ryoshi voiced his worry, his concern evident in his tone.
"I'm fine, guys, don't worry about me! Fuyu put me in an ice chamber for our training," Toruri reassured them, his voice carrying a hint of confidence. "Ryoshi, you should be the one worrying here; you have no weapon."
Ryoshi's response was curt. "...Shut up."
"Aw, watcha gonna do about it?" Toruri teased, a playful smirk dancing across his lips.
Ryoshi remained silent, his expression unreadable.
"I'm joking! Let's go," Toruri declared, his tone shifting to one of determination.
And so, they entered the snow desert, the biting cold enveloping them in its icy embrace.
"I expected at least one of you to be cold," Ryoshi remarked, his breath forming frosty clouds in the frigid air.
"Let's be real, do you know how cold Fuyu's mountain is?" Toruri countered, his voice laced with a hint of amusement.
"I never cared enough to know, but how cold is it?" Ryoshi inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"It's 20.2 Fahrenheit! Kuroshi and I dipped ourselves in ice-cold water just to prepare ourselves for the place. But being me, I had to do twice the training that Kuroshi did, and of course, the first time I entered Fuyu's area, I wasn't even cooled down!" Toruri recounted, his words flowing with the ease of someone intimately familiar with hardship.
"The reason you had to do more training is probably that it's much harder for someone who is shirtless most of the time to withstand that much at once," Ryoshi speculated, his observation punctuated by a hint of amusement.
"That's where you're wrong, Ryoshi!" Toruri retorted, his voice filled with conviction. "My people have a thing for living in cold temperatures-"
Before Toruri could finish his sentence, he paused abruptly, his focus shifting.
"Huh, why did you pause?" Ryoshi questioned, his curiosity piqued.
"Ice magic: Ice wall!" Toruri exclaimed, his voice filled with determination.
In an instant, a wall of ice materialized before them, blocking five incoming snowballs with ease.
"Those sounded like snowballs," Toruri observed, his senses sharp as he pieced together the situation.
"So, we're being ambushed," Kuroshi concluded, her voice firm with readiness for battle.
"Ugh, whatever, let's just get this over with," Ryoshi grumbled, his impatience palpable.
"I like the sound of that!" Toruri chimed in, his tone brimming with determination.
With a swift punch, Toruri shattered the ice wall, its fragments swirling around him before coalescing into a massive spikey gauntlet around his arm. As he hovered in mid-air, the gauntlet transformed into pure magic, gathering at his palm as he charged a potent beam of energy.
"Show yourself!" Toruri demanded, his voice echoing through the snowy landscape.
The response came swiftly, as a man clad in a ski mask and with glowing white eyes emerged from behind Toruri, tapping his on the shoulder.
"AAAHHH!" Toruri yelped in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden appearance.
"Where the hell did you come from!?" Ryoshi demanded, his voice laced with disbelief.
"Sorry that I startled you," the masked man apologized, his tone calm and collected. "I am blind, as you can see. I have to put some of my mana directly into my eyes for me to even sense you guys, that's why my eyes are glowing. My destiny magic is snow magic, so I can sense people through the snow."
"Oooooh, so you're not bad?" Ryoshi questioned, his suspicion giving way to curiosity.
"Hahaha, no," the man chuckled darkly. "I'm a part of an organization of bandits that steal from people globally. I am currently at the third seat of the organization. My name is Yumoi Kozato."
"Ah, so we are being mugged," Toruri concluded, his tone shifting to one of readiness for battle. "Kuroshi, Ryoshi, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"
Ryoshi and Kuroshi swiftly complied, stepping aside as Toruri unleashed the beam of magic towards Yumoi. But in a surprising turn of events, as the beam made contact with Yumoi, it transformed into snow, dissipating harmlessly into the air.
"What!?" Toruri exclaimed, his disbelief evident in his tone.
"He used matter magic!" Kuroshi interjected, her voice cutting through the tension.
"What's that?" Ryoshi inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"Matter magic is a sub-genre of magic that allows people to turn any magic-based attack into a specific element," Kuroshi explained, her words flowing effortlessly as she delved into the intricacies of the arcane arts. "For example, if you knew matter magic, you could transform a ball of dark magic into a ball of ice by just touching it. Matter magic has all but one weakness though, depending on the strength of the user; matter magic only works on magic within their range of power."
"What a smart one you are, but if you would like to avoid any trouble, I would advise you to hand over all of your belongings," Yumoi suggested, his voice laced with a hint of threat.
"Over my dead body!" Toruri retorted defiantly, his resolve unwavering.
"Snow magic: Snow hand," Yumoi declared, conjuring a gigantic hand of snow and aiming to crush the group beneath its icy grip.
But before the hand could descend upon them, Kuroshi sprang into action, summoning her weapon with a swift motion.
"Magical weapon Yume No Ju skill 4: Flame thrower!" Kuroshi exclaimed, unleashing a torrent of flames that engulfed the snow hand, melting it into a puddle of water.
"You have a flame thrower?... No, you have a gun... My snow didn't sense that off of you when I first came across you... Ah, it must be a magical weapon," Yumoi remarked, his tone tinged with realization.
"Are you also deaf? The first two words to come from her mouth were Magical AND weapon," Ryoshi pointed out, his annoyance evident in his voice.
"Ah yes, I apologize for not listening; I only pay attention to things that intrigue me," Yumoi admitted, his tone reflecting a hint of remorse.
"...Why are you apologizing?" Ryoshi questioned, his confusion evident.
"You see, I was a decent man before joining the bandits," Yumoi began, his voice carrying the weight of past regrets. "I worked as a janitor for an academy; everyone loved me because I was different, until one day when I was picking up trash outside left by a few students, I saw the school get dragged down into the underworld. I saw a kid completely out of breath right beside me, as I heard the school go, I heard voices, ones that sounded like my ancestors, and they told me to live the best life that I can because they've sinned in their last days before dying. So, it became a goal of mine to live my life to the fullest, and I decided to become a mage. After several years as a mage, I heard something tragic happen; some kid was being held captive."
"How did you know it was a kid? HOW WERE YOU EVEN WORKING AS A JANITOR!?" Ryoshi interjected, his confusion mounting.
"Wherever I went, the snow followed me; it's as if I had a blessing from the gods! But my blessings weren't enough to save the kid. The leader of the bandit gang was about to kill a student, but luckily I was there and stopped him. But immediately after doing so, I was ambushed by a few other members, and they were ready to end the kid's life until the leader gave me a deal. The deal was if I pushed through the ranks and became the strongest among his men, he would release the child," Yumoi continued, his words heavy with the weight of past choices.
Ignoring everything else he said, Ryoshi's mind raced with a sudden realization. If Yumoi mentioned something about his old job being dragged to hell, does that mean he's related to what Yoshiko did in some way? And if he used to work at Yoshiko's school while Yoshiko was 8, wouldn't that make this guy approximately older than 40? He doesn't seem a day over 30, but still, Ryoshi hadn't gotten to see what was under that stupid ski mask, so he couldn't judge just yet.
"I can't believe that I'm saying this, but Yumoi, you don't have to do this! We could help you save the kid. I have a special one-use item that Fuyu gave me that allows me to use the power of Robin Hood!" Toruri declared, reaching into his pants and pulling out a giant golden arrow.
"What's that?" Kuroshi inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"It's an arrow made by Robin Hood himself," Toruri explained, his voice tinged with reverence. "He made an arrow that creates a sound when you break it."
"What sound?" Kuroshi pressed further, her interest evident.
"A loud sound that only he can hear," Toruri elaborated, his words carrying a sense of awe.
"That's so cool! You got something made by THE Robin Hood!?" Ryoshi exclaimed, his excitement palpable. But then a sudden realization struck him. "Wait, so Robin Hood used to be friends with Fuyu... And they were both at Negative Point at that time... WAIT, SO ROBIN HOOD IS A PART OF THE NEGATIVE POINT???"
"Watch and learn," Toruri responded cryptically, his focus shifting as he prepared to demonstrate the arrow's power.
With a swift motion, Toruri crushed the arrow with his hands, unleashing its hidden potential.
Meanwhile, high up in the canopy of a dense forest, Robin Hood perched atop a sturdy branch, his keen ears picking up the sound of his special arrow being broken.
"Sounds like one of my special arrows; who is it now?" Robin Hood mused to himself, his voice soft yet filled with determination.
Summoning a golden bow with silver strings, Robin Hood prepared to unleash his own unique brand of magic.
"Magical weapon Earo No Yumi skill 1: Shin Ryu," Robin Hood intoned, his words resonating with ancient power as he notched an arrow and drew back the bowstring.
With a mighty release, the arrow soared into the sky, leaving behind a trail of shimmering light as it ascended.
Meanwhile, in the snow desert, Ryoshi's eyes widened in disbelief as he beheld the spectacle unfolding in the distance.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!!!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing through the icy landscape.
The dragon, magnificent and otherworldly, was visible even from their vantage point in the snow desert.
"That's Shin Ryu! Something only Robin Hood could summon," Toruri explained calmly, his tone tinged with a hint of pride.
"Cool," Ryoshi breathed, his awe-struck expression a testament to the sheer power and majesty of the summoned creature.
Meanwhile, at Fuyu's mountain, the events unfolding in the distant snow desert remained unknown, as Fuyu continued his solitary vigil atop the snowy peaks, his thoughts consumed by mysteries yet to be unraveled.
Fuyu sat comfortably, sipping tea with a woman adorned in a striking red kimono and adorned with emerald-tinted glasses.
"Ah shoot, Robin Hood is using Shin Ryu again," Fuyu remarked, his tone tinged with mild annoyance.
"Yeah, yeah, let's get back to discussing the vampires," the woman replied dismissively, her attention already shifting back to their previous topic of conversation.
"Right," Fuyu acknowledged, refocusing his thoughts on the matter at hand.
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, Robin Hood stood poised and commanding, issuing orders to his loyal companion.
"You know what to do," Robin Hood declared, his voice firm with determination.
"Yes, I do, sir. My eyes stare into the strings of fate to see who summoned me and what they needed me to do," Shin Ryu responded, his voice resonating with a sense of duty.
In the blink of an eye, Shin Ryu soared across the skies, swiftly navigating towards his designated target: the main base of the bandit leader.
"I must kill the ones who sinned," Shin Ryu declared, his resolve unwavering as he prepared to carry out his mission.
With a thunderous impact, Shin Ryu descended upon the bandit base, unleashing a cataclysmic explosion that tore through the very fabric of the continent. In its wake, a gaping chasm emerged, transforming the once vibrant land into a desolate wasteland.
A new landmark emerged from the destruction: Hell's Pit. A mysterious and foreboding crater that served as a grim reminder of the devastation wrought by Shin Ryu's power. Though the environment suffered irreparable harm, miraculously, no lives were lost in the explosion.
Meanwhile, back with Ryoshi and the others, Toruri couldn't contain his excitement.
"Ha! You see that!?" he exclaimed, his enthusiasm bubbling over.
"What kind of question is that?" Ryoshi retorted, his confusion evident.
"Ooh right... he's blind," Toruri realized, his tone shifting as he remembered Yumoi's condition.
"I couldn't see anything, but I heard enough. But just in case that was a bluff, I'll still fight you guys," Yumoi declared, his determination unwavering.
With a wave of his hand, Yumoi conjured a powerful snowstorm, enveloping the area in a swirling tempest of ice and snow.
"Snow magic: Razor Flakes!" Yumoi commanded, shaping the very essence of the storm into deadly projectiles, which he launched towards the group with deadly precision.
But just as the razor-sharp flakes hurtled towards them, something intercepted them, slicing them cleanly in half.
"Someone's here... and it's shaped like a wolf... but it's different," Yumoi observed, his voice tinged with uncertainty as he caught sight of the mysterious figure amidst the swirling snowstorm, its blue glowing eyes piercing through the icy veil.