Author's note: Hey everyone, updates will be going at a much slower pace due to uni work and all. Thanks for reading as always!
- - - - - -
When M, the big man who wielded the battle axe, showed up after charging through the hole, Kaze and the others immediately jumped to attention.
"Get back!" Luniel shouted, activating her magic at the burly person in front of her.
With ice magic crystallizing around his large build, M shrugged it off with ease and broke out of the binding. Luniel clicked her tongue when this happened, for she already expected that a simple ice enchant wouldn't be able to hold him back.
M's body was surging with magic power, unlike the other crooks who were stomped out along with some of the soldiers. He had obviously received a body enhancement, but it radiated its effect at a different level than the rest. His muscles, which were already at an abnormal level, was now strengthened by the magic such that it looked more like steel. The invisible aura that came from him only further amplified the menace displayed, battle axes in both hands already covered with blood and bits of torn fabric from his previous underground rampage.
Lunaea intervened to help her twin sister with stopping M from moving. Both of them focused a lot more than the initial display of power that was only there to flaunt to the soldiers of Czech. Now that there was someone who was capable of being unaffected by their magic, it was natural to assume the worst.
"Tch, everyone please-"
Before Luniel could speak, M suddenly bellowed. His loud roar, something that felt like it came from an animal rather than a man, sent shockwaves that shattered the ice around him from its frequency causing the ice to vibrate. Everyone nearby also ran off immediately or covered their ears from the painful shriek.
For people like Sera and Lunaea, who were beings with sensitive hearing, they widened the distance with M at once. The other simply moved back cautiously to a safe distance, whereas they took even more distance than necessary.
"Kaze! Watch out!"
Still a little stunned from the sudden cry, Kaze was unable to defend when M charged right at him. With a powerful leap forward, M locked Kaze's body with both arms and jumped into the air. The force that M used to propel both of them away from the graveyard was by no means ordinary, for they soared through the air so fast that Kaze was unable to process what happened beforehand.
It wasn't until they came crashing into one of the buildings that Kaze tried to respond. Since the force of his body being wrapped took over his thoughts temporarily, Kaze was knocked awake when M threw his body into one of the buildings. Like a ragdoll, Kaze couldn't respond when faced against such force until he came into contact with the wall.
"What the-?!"
"Hey!!"
Kaze could faintly hear the gasps of surprises and cries of the people residing in the building that he came crashing through. Along with that was the loud crunch of the wood and bricks that made up the house collapsing, especially when someone like M followed a few seconds after Kaze hit first. Needless to say, they had already caused quite the havoc.
If it wasn't for the protective barrier that Lunaea had managed to cast just before Kaze was brought away forcefully, his body would have already been crippled from how he crashed through the house. No normal person would be able to survive something like that, so it was only a miracle the barrier broke right after the building collapsed on the duo.
"Guha…!" Kaze gasped for air, struggling to escape from under the debris that had gathered all around him.
Forcing his way through the broken furniture and wood that had piled all over him, Kaze wasn't able to catch his breath as he spotted M already chasing after him. The residence of the house didn't come off scot-free either, but they were lucky enough to evade the giant man from trampling on them.
More cries followed down the street, with each building suffering a wreckage of sort when encountered with M. It was insanely terrifying to watch a huge person chasing after a teenager boy while tearing down walls with his body like they were paper.
Stumbling with each step he took, Kaze felt the imbalance in weight distributed to his legs. His body was unable to support itself well due to being clunked by M earlier, the aftereffects of being thrown into a building definitely rattled up his system. It was to be expected, of course, since no one person would be able to survive that normally. If not for Lunaea's barrier, Kaze would have already died.
It was unfortunate that Kaze lost his weapon in the process of escaping from being squashed by M. Chances were that it was shattered the moment he got tossed, for it was impossible to think that a sword could possibly survive something like that when Kaze was already half-crippled. In the first place, how was Kaze going to fight a monster like that?
"Hmph!"
"Aaahhh!!!"
M pounded the floor once with his fists and sent a shockwave at Kaze's direction. Unable to fully dodge it in time, Kaze got sent in the air and collapsed onto the street. Pathetic was the right way to describe his current state, complemented by his tattered shirt and injured self.
Throwing his battle axe, M aimed right at Kaze's body. By luck, Kaze managed to narrowly avoid it by rolling aside. To this, M could only grit his teeth as he approached Kaze once again. When he got close enough, Kaze suddenly jumped up and threw a leg upwards. His foot directly slammed right into M's chin, causing the big man to stumble backwards.
Kaze took this chance to grab the battle axe embedded in the ground next to him. His arms shuddered from the weight alone when he tried to lift it, but it was better than being empty-handed. It was hard enough to find an opening that gave Kaze an opportunity, yet all it did was cause M to move back a little.
'At least I have a weapon,' Kaze gulped. 'It's better than nothing.'
With his second battle axe in hand, M took a glance at the first axe now with Kaze before charging right at him. Kaze swung the axe to receive the blow in response, treating it like a broadsword since he was unable to handle the weight properly. It barely worked, though the momentum upon impact exploded back at Kaze. Clenching onto the handle for dear life, Kaze's body flew backwards yet again.
"Amateur," M commented heartlessly as he walked towards Kaze. "Just give up. I have orders to eliminate you, so don't make this seem harder than it already is."
Before he could do anything, M twisted his body and jumped away from Kaze. With a wide horizontal swing of his arm, M deflected whatever it was that had been aimed at him. A metallic sound came right after contact, the weapon that looked to be a blur curving back to its owner. Kaze widened his eyes when he saw the purple trails that followed, noting that he had only seen this once before.
"Yo~ you look to be in quite the mess!"
"F-Frey…"
Stepping out in the open, Frey emerged from behind a huge broken wall. The scythe she tossed at M swung in the air with a high-pitch whistle before twirling back to her, Frey swiftly catching it with one hand.
M narrowed his eyes at the approaching new opponent, his entire body tensing up. The strength exerted by the scythe toss was no simple manoeuvre. Even when looking at Frey alone, he was able to tell that she was someone he had to be careful with. Just like Lunaria and the other dragonkin girls he came across earlier, even with his heightened strength it would still result in his loss without taking them on seriously.
"Are you alright? I was helping some of the guards nearby when I heard the crashing sound," Frey casually ignored M and walked over to Kaze's side. "I'm glad I chose to come before you got turned into mincemeat."
"I don't think.. this is really the time to joke around…" Kaze mumbled, accepting her help with a light grunt when she pulled him up from the floor. "Ouch…"
"Heh~ What's with the axe?" Frey looked back and forth between Kaze and the axe next to him. "Isn't that the same weapon as this dude is using-"
Frey pushed Kaze back gently and leaned herself backwards, a cleave coming right between them. M had thrown his other axe at the two, hoping to crush them since Frey looked to be taking it a little too easy. It was almost like she was undermining him or being ignorant.
"Hey, its very rude to interrupt when two people are talking," Frey pouted at M. "What business do you have with Kaze?"
"To kill him, that's what," M stated, taking a deep breath and bulging his muscles. "If you are here to help, I suggest you leave."
"I see. If that is the case, I can't do that," Frey sighed. "I was hoping that both of you gentlemen were simply involved in an accident, but I don't think I can ignore your words~"
"Frey… are you able to take him on?" Kaze asked softly, knowing full well that M was still able to hear them. "I can't help; my weapon is lost…"
"Ah~ that makes sense," Frey nodded with a gleeful smile. "I don't mind taking him on while providing you 3 minutes to escape, but this would mean you owe me one now. What about it?"
"I don't think this is the right place to joke though?!"
Their somewhat humorous exchange was broken with a blast of pure energy from M. He had managed to gather enough mana around his arms to act as gauntlets for the time being, sending the blast right at them as soon as he was ready. Really, it wasn't an attack meant to kill, but rather a distraction for his next move.
"Che," Frey clicked her tongue and brought her scythe forward.
In an instant, M closed the distance between them and pushed Frey back with a barrage of punches. While his goal was still Kaze, he had decided that it would be better to deal with Kaze first for the time being. If Frey was only going to get in the way, then there was no point continuing without pushing through first.
Frey wasn't going to let up either. With a somewhat troubled look on her face, she continued to parry his blows with her scythe. Her attention was already on M, yet her expression suggested otherwise. It was rather tempting for M to get pissed off, but he soothed himself by stating the obvious: whoever was first to lose their cool was going to be their end.
"… You, why aren't you attacking?" M asked halfway through their fight, the glass of the building on both sides and the road below them suffering damage from the force exerted by him. "All you're doing is simply blocking."
"Ehh~ it is going to be too much work if I have to attack," Frey tilted her head, avoiding a deadly four-finger jab from stabbing her left eye. "The same applies for you. Why do I have to treat you seriously if you aren't going to be serious?"
With a small smirk on his face, M felt amused by Frey's words. Whoever she was, she had the guts to demand the best out of him if he wanted her to be at her best too. That was not what one would say to their opponent, who was obviously a threat. It was like Frey treated their fight as a game, a meeting of sort.
M stopped his punches and stepped back. Grabbing both axes in hand from the floor, his gaze shifted from Kaze moving away from their fight to Frey, who stood in front of him calmly. It didn't look like he had a choice in letting Kaze run away for now, since he had a new temporary target.
Gripping the axes that he was all too familiar with properly, M focused entirely on Frey without bothering about the surroundings. Even when there were soldiers approaching from afar, he didn't run away. He was sure of it, that Frey wouldn't mind the disruptions, since she was the one who challenged him first. That would mean making a mess out of the surrounding was a small price to pay for a duel with him.
"So? Are we going to do this or what?" Frey asked, taking her scythe in one hand. "You're going to make me look like the bad guy if we wait any longer."
With a flash, Frey's body was covered in dark magic to form the dark suit of armour she had on when fighting with Kaze. Respecting M's wishes, she was going to face him seriously. Although this would indeed mean that they were going to tear up the surroundings, Frey knew that her obligation was going to be defeating the enemy in front of her.
M further enhanced his body now that Frey was prepared. He knew it was not going to be an easy fight the moment she started using dark magic, since dark magic users were known to be a pain to deal with due to how versatile their magic could get. As someone who received a physical buff from a rather skilled dark magic user himself, M was clear that he could not look down on a student like Frey, especially not when she was confident enough to stand up to him alone.
"You! Stop!!"
The soldiers arrived at the scene of the fight, only to become stumped by the magic force radiating from both people. While they weren't sure which one was the enemy, they knew instinctively that stepping foot into the battle zone would automatically mean death. Some of the soldiers even felt fear and wanted to retreat if it wasn't for them being under orders.
With a fierce bright red aura radiating from M and calm yet menacing dark purple from Frey, their fight began at once.
M dropped his axe as soon as Frey appeared in front of him. Her armour constructed from dark magic aided her movement, allowing her to zoom from where she was to his front in an instant, such that he nearly didn't have enough time to react if he wasn't concentrating.
Just as she was able to move around quickly, her armour also boosted her defensive stats. The strength of the axe was not something Frey could ignore, not when that single exchange was enough to force her to actually try and block it.
The ground trembled from their exchange. With Frey using her scythe to catch the axe, the impact transmitted to the ground caused the soldiers to back off even more. Her armour helped absorbed the force of it, allowing her to quickly counterattack with a twist of her arm. The scythe that had been used to block the axe now curved around, turning to an offensive stance.
With the scythe now swinging upwards as a result, M had to back off to avoid being pierced. Frey quickly repositioned herself and used the scythe to spin her body around while standing still, helping her to gain momentum for her next few attacks. Using a scythe meant that chain attacks were most impactful, since it was a rather big weapon that required special skills to wield. As such, the method of attacking was unorthodox as well.
Frey rushed forward once she built up enough speed for herself. From the soldiers' perspective, all they could see were fragments of her armour made from dark magic trailing behind once she appeared in front of M. As she began swinging her scythe, the familiar purple trails began scattering all over the place. Each attack had enough force that it could rival those that M had shown earlier.
Unlike Frey, M dual-wielded his axes. It was a way of telling others that he preferred a rather brutal method of attacking, since he could go crazy with two weapons at the same time. They were originally made for someone like him, who was once an ex-adventurer with quite the past since he was now the leader of a large bandit group. Receiving the boost from his employers definitely increased his body stats, especially now that he could test it out when up against Frey.
While the intense fight between the two began, Kaze was found by Lunaea and Luniel seconds after he left the area. The twins responded immediately when he got brought away, both equally shocked at the strength that M had shown.
"Kaze, are you alright?" Luniel started casting healing magic on him as soon as she landed in front of him.
"What happened to you?" Lunaea asked softly. "How were you able to get away?"
"F-Frey happened," Kaze gasped, feeling the icy sensation coursing through his body when the healing magic was applied. "She stopped that guy for a fight."
"Oh no, we will need to help her," Luniel gritted her teeth. "But… we can't leave your friends by themselves either…"
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Kaze looked at Lunaea. "Check on Frey for me please… I don't have a weapon anymore."
"Ehh, don't tell me it shattered when you were thrown off," Luniel widened her eyes at this, her twin sister flying off at Kaze's words. "Sheesh, aren't you glad I had a barrier around you."
Another loud explosion could be heard as soon as Luniel said so, this time coming from the graveyard direction instead. This made Kaze tensed up even more than he did before, especially when he was now deemed useless without a weapon to fight.
"Luniel, please… do you have a sword I could use?" Kaze pleaded Luniel as she lifted him off the ground and flew him away. "I need to go back."
"No can do," Luniel firmly said so, bringing him away. "I'm going to have to drop you off and return to the fight. We can risk getting you hurt even more."
"What about the others?! Just help them now!"
"H-Hey! That's dangerous you know?!"
"Let's go to their side!"
"Are you crazy?! You don't even have a weapon! Just hold still- ah! I nearly dropped you!"
Kaze and Luniel's argument took place above the housing area, with Luniel trying her best to pull a very stubborn Kaze away from the fights happening all around. It was only a matter of time before the devils they suspected would appear, so they really shouldn't be fighting right now.
"Ugh! Don't force me to use magic to drag you away," Luniel pouted, giving Kaze a zap with lightning magic scaled down drastically to not injure him. "What is the point of you going there anyway? I don't think you can do anything even if you were present. Don't you understand? The way you are right now, you are a burden!"
Luniel's words hit Kaze right where it hurt most. Without a sword or any weapon to back him up, Kaze was essentially useless. Still, that would not deter Kaze from backing away, especially after witnessing the atrocity of the attack.
"I'm going to help!... somehow… I will try to find Lunatea and Lucentia in order to rescue Lunaria!" Kaze shouted, desperate for them to return. "Please… Luniel…"
"… Mou! Don't blame me if you die for real!" Luniel shouted at him and zapped him twice, changing course towards the graveyard.
"Hey! That hurts!"
"Of course it did! Do you think you will get off so easily for making such a demanding request?!"
Even as they argued their way to the graveyard, Kaze was already preparing himself for the worst. He was actually glad that Luniel thought of his safety first and decided to bring him someplace safe, but at the same time it was not in Kaze's true self to run away from a situation, no matter how helpless he was. Lunaria was his top priority.
"… If it's a sword you need, then Lucentia might be able to help," Luniel mumbled, zooming through the sky at top speed. "If you can find her, and if she is willing to help, and if you are not dead then, and if-"
"Why does it feel like you are making the situation even more impossible than it already sound?" Kaze sighed. "I thought we are supposed to have a positive outlook the more desperate it is."
"How naïve…"
- - - - - -
A few minutes before the entire fiasco, Lunatea and Lucentia were leading the soldiers underground when they came across M.
"Everyone, get back!" Lunatea shouted, using magic to blast a path through the group of bandits that kept showing up from where they were trying to break through.
Lucentia led the way right next to her sister. As the person using the sword, she imbued one of her sword skills with a mixture of magic to amplify its effects. Since they were underground now, they had to be more careful with casting magic and how much damage they were causing to their surroundings. If they had mages who specialized in earth magic, then they wouldn't have to worry about the ceiling collapsing on them if they used destructive magic.
"Tch, I'm starting to regret fighting underground," Lucentia grunted, slicing an enemy in half. "It's so uncomfortable."
"We can't allow the soldiers to charge in either," Lunatea stated. "If they rigged the place and everything collapse, the damage is massive. At least with us here, we can help prevent something like that from happening."
Knowing the devils, it was likely that something dirty was going to be used against them. If it truly happened to be a forced collapse of the underground space, then that would be equivalent with sacrificing all the bandits as well. For the devils who were only making use of them, the bandits were nothing more than expandable. Their true goal would be Lunaria, someone who was kept locked up inside of the sewer behind barriers.
The group were making great progress as they descended further down into the earth. Rushing past the tunnels and appearing at the sewer system, the soldiers quickly split off to try and cover all parts of the huge underground structure where bandits could possibly be. From here on out, it was up to the soldiers themselves to keep each other from dying. Lunatea and Lucentia wouldn't be able to cover for all of them, not when they had another mission in mind: rescuing Lunaria.
"Down there!"
"Magic barriers detected!"
"Defend the area for Lunatea-sama and Lucentia-sama!"
Some of the dragonkin guards who were ordered by Reginsleif quickly arrived at the scene to assist them. Sakuya was among the few dragonkin guards dispatched, her assuming command over them. While they were to not interfere with the human soldiers, it was still their duty to try to lessen the casualty count while assisting their princesses.
"Lunatea-sama. Lucentia-sama," Sakuya greeted them once they had joined the fight. "Reginsleif-sama ordered us to help. Is there anything we could help with?"
"Yes. Split up the men and have them take on perimeters," Lunatea commanded. "We are in a sewage area. With how big this place is, you will decide how to distribute the manpower we have."
"Right away, Hime-sama," Sakuya bowed and quickly began barking orders to her subordinates.
The dragonkin sisters quickly arrived at the area where Lucentia found the anti-magic barrier. Even if they weren't certain on what was inside, they were definitely ready for anything that would happen. This included the worst possible outcomes that could happen, including the sudden ambush of the devils if they were to appear.
Sakuya and another two dragonkins stood guard around Lunatea and Lucentia while the two tried to break through the barriers set in place. When Lucentia explored the area with Kaze earlier on, she already analysed some layers of the barriers. It wasn't hard to crack them from the outside with the right knowledge, but it was definitely troublesome since the barriers in place were high-levelled ones. Whoever it was that constructed the barriers definitely did not go through all the trouble to make them only for it to be a diversion.
After a few minutes, Lunatea and Lucentia managed to undo the barriers while making sure to avoid the traps in place. Sounds of clashing and fights could still be heard echoing throughout the sewers, meaning that the bandits were actually putting up a good fight for the soldiers to still be struggling despite their initial advantage. If it wasn't for the need to render the barriers null at a faster pace, Lucentia would have definitely gone to help.
"Ah, we're through!" Lunatea declared when the last barrier came apart.
Arming themselves, the five approached the door cautiously in the event something happened. Lucentia broke the handle of the door with a kick, the door revealing the insides of the dreadful room. In the middle of it was the source of the ominous glow, an orb on a pedestal, and a very familiar dragonkin hanging from the chains stretching from the ceiling.
""Lunaria-nee!!"
The sisters cried out as soon as they saw Lunaria there. At the same time, a huge burst of energy came from the orb. This was blocked by Lunatea, who responded at once when she sensed the abnormality. As expected, a trap to catch whoever it was off-guard after going through the hassle of disarming the barriers.
Once they confirmed the inside was clear, Sakuya and the other two guards headed in first to ensure the safety of the area before the princesses entered. By the time they arrived, Lunaria was already on the verge of fainting. The orb had already absorbed most of her strength by now, leaving her with nothing to hang on by except her willpower. She had nothing literally, for even her clothes was stripped along with her dignity.
"Lunaria-nee! Lunaria-nee!!" Lunatea wheezed, immediately freeing her from the shackles.
Catching Lunaria before her limp body fell to the ground, Lunatea checked on the condition of her sister. With some fabric wrapped hastily around Lunaria's nude body, they got ready to leave. Before they got ambushed or attacked, they were going to get out of there.
Lucentia's eyes were fixated on the orb before they left. Clenching the sword in her hand tightly, she raised it up and struck the orb firmly in the centre.
"Oho, I can't have you do that."
However, her sword never had the chance to reach the orb. As soon as it got close, the orb disappeared, and a huge gust of wind came from a random corner of the room.
"Kuh!!" Lucentia gritted her teeth, deploying a barrier that was capable of blocking any magic attacks that could appear next.
"Lucentia-sama!" Sakuya turned around and got ready for battle. "Protect Lunaria-sama!!"
From within, Lucentia could see a figure emerging from the darkness and taking the orb away from the pedestal, right where Lucentia's sword nearly struck it. She was so close yet so far at the same time, for it was both a mystery why the enemy showed up this late and a pity because the orb must have meant something for him to suddenly appear.
"Oh, it's you again. You hadn't had enough yet?"
"Y-You!!"
The person who appeared was someone Lucentia was all too familiar with, for she could never forget the same smirk he had on when she lost track of him the night before.