Distractions. They were always despised by Imawashiki. Especially when you're in the middle of something vital that your Lord has expressly ordered. These were the thoughts and emotions that our fiery butler, Imawashiki, was experiencing at the time.
Returning to where we left off, we can see how each member of the Furusato Unit stood upright, casting puzzled glances at a particular redhead who currently resided on the roof of a nearby building, his palms flashing a vivid crimson red, conically matching his crimson red hair that swayed in the wind. Imawashiki was taken aback by this redhead's audacity, claiming that their intended victim was actually his own.
"Oh? I guess it was to be expected that other people would be tenaciously hunting this boy, but I honestly didn't expect you to be!" Regashi exclaimed, nearly laughing at the undetected irony that only Regashi could apparently see. Imawashiki knew exactly what Regashi was talking about.
Yuso, who was still assuming a proper fighting stance, looked over to the brown-haired king, his mind drawing blanks as to who he could be. "Do I know you?" Yuso eventually questioned Regashi, narrowing his demonic-looking eyes at the nearly snickering king.
Regashi's sense of humor has ceased, and he has adopted a more mature expression as he returns his gaze to Yuso. However, no traces of fear or animosity could be seen in his expression. "No. You don't. Not me, at least. But, maybe you remember my friends over there? " Regashi replied, gesturing a hand over to Gimu and Shototsu.
Yuso followed Regashi's gesturing hands, looking over and immediately spotting the two warriors Regashi spoke of. Instantly, Yuso recalled their last encounter.
—FLASHBACK—
This encounter dates back all the way to Yuso's minuscule brawl against Gimu and Shototsu, bringing us back to the old building of stone, which held copious amounts of blood and dead warriors from a foreign village.
Yuso formed the first attack. He created the small pentagrams in each of his hands and launched them at Gimu as if they were shurikens (ninja stars). Before they could reach Gimu, he suddenly disappeared, leaving a faint afterimage in his place for a mere moment.
Yuso looked around and spotted the branches and leaves on the trees around him were swaying violently, up until.
"Surprise!" Gimu appeared in a flash in front of Yuso, somehow getting into the air--up to where Yuso was hovering on his pentagram. Yuso then created a giant pentagram in front of him to block Gimu's incoming sword, but surprisingly, the pentagram broke into tiny fragments as Gimu's sword kept on reigning in.
Yuso barely managed to dodge Gimu's attack. Gimu's foot slightly touched the pentagram beneath them, allowing him to disappear again and reappear instantly behind Yuso.
Yuso quickly turned around and pushed his palm towards Gimu. The pentagram in his hand shone, and a bigger pentagram formed and pushed outwards, blocking another one of Gimu's attacks.
Gimu backed off and got an idea. After dashing away, Yuso saw the chains tying Shototsu down, break in a flash. Yuso growled in annoyance as he watched his prisoner escape and safely land on the ground by cushioning himself with the wind he was currently using.
"Submit, I've won already." Yuso declared as he extended his hand towards the sky like a giant pentagram formed. Escaping the giant, red pentagram was a huge stone pillar. The duo then noticed a mountain in the distance had lost a chunk of its side by getting sucked into a distant pentagram.
—FLASHBACK BREAK—
At this point in their fight, Yuso was able to acknowledge Gimu's swordsmanship, as well as his speed. However, the redhead has yet to have observed the power of the swordsman's partner. What had happened next caught Yuso off guard instantly.
—FLASHBACK RESUME—
"I've stationed pentagrams in various locations to aid me in battle, this is just a glimpse of what my Shirugeto can accomplish," Yuso informed as his eyes then bulged open once again, still attaining the dark-red shine within his ink-black eyes.
As the giant stone pillar was falling, Shototsu raised both of his hands at the falling structure.
*WHOOSH*
A sudden and newly acquired wind then started to flow upwards and make contact with the falling stone. The wind eventually started to decrease the momentum of the falling stone structure. Due to the pressure of the wind, the stone started to crack and break apart, sending more stone pieces down.
Shototsu then redirected all of the falling debris toward Yuso. When the incoming debris collided with Yuso, a cloud of dirt and broken ground ruptured all around where the stone landed. Only a crater that was filled with stones was left.
—FLASHBACK END—
'And that was when I had to retreat.' Yuso recollected grimly.
Yuso's eyes widened slightly due to a small realization. The redhead steered his eyes back over to Regashi, giving the brown-haired king a steady gaze and saying, "Were those two sent to kill me?"
Regashi's smile resembled one of a mischievous child's. "And if they were?" Regashi knew exactly what he was doing.
Yuso merely squinted his eyes at Regashi, raising one of his hands in preparation to attack. The redhead parted his lips and said, "Then I have more people to add to my list of who to kill."
Regashi glanced at Imawashiki, and the latter man immediately caught it. Imawashiki nodded, seeming as if the two spoke without any need to be verbal. Imawashiki looked back up at the threatening redhead, hiding his right hand behind his cloak.
"Look," Imawashiki suddenly spoke. "You've already shocked all of us with your boldness. However," Imawashiki paused, sending Yuso an ominous sensation. "That'll only get you so far."
With those words, Imawashiki removed his hand from his long, black cloak, thrusting his whole arm at Yuso. Almost as soon as his hand emerged from the cloak, a wall of fire was launched toward Yuso. The attack instantly destroyed not only the building Yuso was standing on, but also several buildings around him. The fire didn't stop once it hit the buildings, however. It was, unfortunately, illuminating the darkening sky above. It was bound to attract local warriors.
Upon the barrage of fire dissipating, the destruction it left behind was all to be seen. Clouds of smoke were rising into the air. Imawashiki glanced back at everyone behind him. Even the cowering kids. "We must get going. Warriors will be swarming the place and I don't think we should waste our energy on a useless battle." Imwashiki suggested.
Suddenly, through the smoke, three objects that shined a vibrant red could be seen. Then, without warning, three mini pentagrams emerged from the smoke. All three of the pentagrams are solely targeted at Regashi.
"Regashi!" Gimu called out, running toward Regashi. The same could be seen about the rest of the Furusato Unit.
However, before anyone could reach their king, the three pentagrams suddenly disappeared just as they were about to strike. Everyone halted. "Well, that was an abrupt attack. I think he was trying to kill me." Regashi calmly stated, continuing to look into the rising smoke.
Apparently, Yuso wasn't done. Pentagrams formed underneath the three kids. Mizuki, Sona, and Toshiro all looked down in fear as they spotted a bright red circle engulfing them in an even brighter light. "AHH!" They all screamed, attempting to run away, but in the end, it proved to be fruitless.
Imawashiki scowled as he watched the kids get inevitably swallowed into the crimson-colored pentagrams. "Damn it."
Regashi looked back to the Furusato Unit. "All of you, go find them! They couldn't have gotten far. Those pentagrams don't seem all that powerful to transport anywhere out of the village." Regashi ordered. 'At least, not yet they don't.' The brown-haired king said quietly. Amusement finding its way back into his body.
"Yes, Lord Regashi!" Each member yelled, all of them running off in different directions of the village. Imawashiki obviously used his fire transportation ability, being the first one to disappear.
XXX
Haishi could be seen standing in the middle of a pathway within Ryakudatsu, looking into the darkening sky, spotting clouds of smoke rise into the air. A few moments ago, the warrior in command heard a ferocious boom, prompting him to run in the direction of the noise.
"What do you think it is, Haishi?"
With his colleagues of course.
Haishi glanced over to the brown-haired female warrior, noticing her expectant gaze, awaiting a response. Haishi breathed in to speak, "Our first priority is to gather the students and make sure Instructor Oshieru and Instructor Akushon are present. They'll take care of the students from there. We'll just support, just as we were tasked."
He could see the look of worry on her and the others' faces. He closed his eyes and steadied his breath. "Kou," Haishi addressed her. "We have to trust the warriors of Ryakudatsu. I promise that everything will be fine. Just go collect the students and I'll meet with you shortly! I have to do my job as commander and check up on the situation. I'll report back as soon as possible."
Kou, the brown-haired warrior, nodded hesitantly. "Alright!" She then turned to her colleagues. "C'mon! We got to get to the students ASAP!" And with that, all of the aiding warriors, with the exception of Haishi, sprinted away, going to the training grounds and looking for the students and instructors.
Haishi turned back to the smoke. His expression hardened as he then ran forward, hoping to find any survivors or nearby warriors at the scene.
XXX
Gabriel could be seen running throughout Ryakudatsu, adorning a frantic expression. 'Where could they possibly be!?'
Gabriel was still searching for Mizuki, Sona, and Toshiro. Of every empty building, dark alleyway, and pathway he has checked so far, he has found none of the three. As he was passing a building, he could see smoke rising into the sky, making his eyes wide as saucers. His blonde hair swayed in front of his eyes as glints of the fire that appeared to be on the ground reflected off of his shiny strands of hair.
'I've got to inform Father about this!'
XXX
Hey, hey, hey! Sorry for all of the delays, but I've had a few hindrances recently. But, however, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! The juicy stuff is finally happening! Will we get to see Yuso fight once more? What is the Furusato Unit going to do? What might Haishi find? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_