*CRACK*
There goes the sound of a small twig getting snapped into halves by a man's foot, walking through a forest, traversing throughout the lands of Adonai.
"Alright, men! Keep your eyes peeled. We're currently in a hazardous area!" A deep and rough voice spoke out loud.
The owner of the voice was a rotund man garbed in a woolen blue tunic, brown ankle banded pants, a sword sheathed on his waist, and black leathery gloves that covered both of the man's hands.
Numerous footsteps could be heard following the heavy man. Looking behind him, eight people could be seen halting their movements at the man in the blue tunic's words.
"Our home village is still a ways away from here. Sadly, our mission was unsuccessful in finding the people responsible for the terroristic attacks that have been taking place recently, but do not fret! We will find them eventually, and when we do, we'll put a stop to their evil deeds for good!" The rotund man declared, pointing a gloved finger to the sky and folding his other arm behind his back.
All eight of the men who were dressed in the same clothing as the heavyset man saluted, straightening their crooked postures. "Yes, Sir!"
The rotund man smiled mirthfully at his troops, lowering his raised hand and turning around. "Great, men! We shall continue our travels back to our village immediately!"
However, before any of the men could take a single step forward, ruffling from the bushes beside them could be heard, alerting every single man present. Each of the men unsheathed their swords, a glow of colors varying from red, blue, yellow, and purple radiating off of the blades.
A stern and monotone voice suddenly spoke out from the leaves of the forest. "I suggest you submit before I end each of your lives."
Footsteps could then be heard, the sound of grass's crunches from the heavy feet getting closer and closer, as well as the rustling of the bushes getting louder by the second.
The rotund man stepped towards the noise, pointing the tip of his blade that illuminated a bright red towards the bushes. "Show yourself!"
The incoming figure seemingly halted its movement. No noises were elicited or movements were coming from within the forest anymore. The rotund man's left eyebrow was furrowed in anger. "I said, Show yourse-!"
Before the man could finish his demand, a crimson red shine illuminated from the bushes before something at high speed appeared and sliced one of the eight sword-wielding men's waist, his upper body sliding off of his legs. "GARGH"
The rotund man's, with the rest of the now seven men's, eyes widened tremendously. One of the men looked towards the heavy-set man. "General, what do we do!?"
The rotund man who's now known as their general gritted his teeth and said, "Form your barriers, men! Whoever this is, they have long-ranged weapons!" He ordered his troops, raising his empty left hand, a small red barrier forming a few inches away from his body.
Shortly after all of the men, including the general, put up their magic-filled barriers, multiple red glows surrounded most of the troops. With the red illumination dimming, pentagrams could then be seen.
The pentagrams proceeded to shoot out stone spikes, impaling three unfortunate troops. The other troops were able to dodge the impending spikes by hopping to the side and avoiding getting impaled.
A foot wearing open-toed boots then emerged from the bushes. The rest of the leg that the foot belonged to soon followed, presenting the body of a man with short crimson-red hair, a black kimono covering his torso, and red pentagrams on his palms. Or Yuso, as he is more commonly known.
The general looked at Yuso, noticing the crimson-haired man's illuminating palms. Yuso's eyes then started to spin clockwise, prompting the stone spikes that protruded out of the pentagrams to get sucked back into the giant red circles. Once the stone spikes were gone, the pentagram soon dissipated.
"Wh-who are you!?" The general yelled out in a demanding tone, refocusing on the situation at hand.
Yuso only gave the man an empty gaze. "I am not obligated to identify myself." The crimson-haired man stated monotonously.
Rapid-paced footsteps could then be heard as one of the troops charged towards Yuso, reeling their yellow glowing sword back, ready to slice.
Once the troop got close enough, he went for a jab with his yellow glowing blade, attempting to stab the crimson-haired man in the chest. But, one thing prevented him from doing so. "Argh!"
When the man went for the jab, a pentagram appeared in front of the swords directory, making the sword-wielder accidentally push his sword into the red circle. Another pentagram then formed behind the troop. The troop's yellow magic-filled sword then protruded out of the second pentagram, making the troop impale himself from the back.
"Dying to your own blade. How pathetic," Yuso spoke mockingly, looking at the wide-eyed, bloodied-mouthed troop before him.
Yuso then looked back at the remaining men. Only five were left.
The four troops walked over to their general, attempting to recuperate. "What do we do now, General?" A troop with a purple magic-filled blade queried to the rotund leader.
The general only gave a resolute stare. "We fight."
The four remaining troops looked back at the crimson-haired enemy in thought. "Alright." A blue magic-filled troop concurred, assuming his own fighting stance.
Without a word, the rest of the troops nodded, preparing for a fight as well. "We'll be right beside you, General!"
The general glanced at his men briefly. "I'm proud to have been given the chance to fight alongside you men." He announced gratifyingly, turning back to glare at the demon-eyed enemy.
Yuso remained unmoved, a simple and empty gaze that still instilled fear in the warriors was all the crimson-haired male offered.
"On my call, men!" The general declared loudly, raising the tip of his blade to neck level.
Yuso took one small step forward, making the remaining men grip the handle of their swords tighter.
The general's eyes formed into a squint, gritting his teeth in immense anticipation. "..NOW!"
All of the five remaining men charged at the crimson-haired opponent, reeling their swords back in preparation to attack. The general was able to swing first once he was in close enough proximity, only landing a hit on a newly formed pentagram.
One of the four troops attempted to flank Yuso from the side. Instead of using his purple glowing sword, he stuck his palm outward, sending a small purple beam towards the crimson-haired enemy.
Yuso deflected the approaching beam by making three miniature pentagrams in his palms and firing them at the purple sword wielder. All three pentagrams collided with the soldiers, slicing off various limbs and instantaneously killing them.
A man with a yellow glowing sword slashed at Yuso with his blade, but Yuso snatched his forearm with his left hand, halting his attack. Yuso's right hand, which had a pentagram embedded in it, began to light up. His palm ejected a familiar-looking stone spike. Yuso then slammed his right palm into the sword wielder's chest, striking him square in the solar plexus.
"Too slow." Yuso mocked once again, yanking his right palm from the troop's chest and sucking the spike back into his palm with the rotation of his eyes.
The final two remaining troops charged at Yuso. When the two troops sliced at the crimson-haired male, a pentagram abruptly identically stopped their attack to the general's attack. But this time, red chains shot out of the pentagrams instead of spikes, wrapping around the blades of the troops' swords.
With the two troops having their swords stuck, it gave Yuso the ability to place pentagrams behind the two, impaling them in the back with stone spikes.
Yuso then turned to the general who was still alive. "Are you going to charge at me as well?" Yuso asked in a seemingly bored tone.
"RAHH!" The general cried out, running at Yuso filled with malicious intent.
The general swung at Yuso, his sword being stopped by Yuso blocking the attack with the back of his arm. Yuso then swiped at the general's legs, knocking him off balance.
Yuso then clenched his right hand into a fist, a pentagram forming right above his knuckles. Yuso then launched a punch towards the general's abdomen, the pentagram above his knuckles having more of an effect.
The general was knocked back a few feet, landing on the grassy ground below him.
As the general made an attempt to stand, he parted his lips, gasping for breath as he spoke. "W-what kind o-of monster are you?" The general managed to wheeze out.
Yuso walked up to the wheezing general, pointing the surface of his palm to prepare an attack. Yuso gave the general a desolate stare, no answer coming from the crimson-haired male's mouth. Or, at the very least, there wasn't one until--
"I am no monster. I am just a being beyond your comprehension with motives that you couldn't understand."
*SHUNK*
A sharp spike pierced the general's flesh and stabbed him in the heart. His blue tunic began to leak blood. As he drifted away into death's broad arms, the general could only gurgle blood.
With the general dead, Yuso's eyes whirled clockwise once more, causing all of the remaining pentagrams to vanish into oblivion. Any projecting chains or spikes should be sucked back into the floating red circles.
"This is but a small detour from my venture." Yuso declared quietly, turning his body to begin walking away from the bloody scene he caused.
"My arrival in Ryakudatsu is inevitable."
XXX
Hey! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This chapter both shows a small number of Yuso's abilities, as well as where the story is potentially heading in the future. Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_