It was quiet, very quiet. Tanjo and Asami silently walked through the ruined village, their eyes clinging to anything they could visibly see. It was a mess; a tragedy to think about how this was almost considered 'normal.'
Throughout the village, Tanjo had spotted several humanoid tarps, each of them placed in random locations—outside destroyed homes, on the sides of the pathways, and even directly in the middle of the pathways.
"This place smells like shit," Asami muttered, scrunching her nose. "I can barely even imagine this place as a thriving village."
The teenage boy nodded. "Though it looks deserted, there are several signs showing that people have been here. For one, there are several bodies of what I presume to be the villagers of the past scattered everywhere; the tarp used still looks pristine, with no sign of scratches or tears."
Asami had also seen them. They were probably responsible for the terrible odor that permeated the air, so it was difficult to ignore. Tanjo was fortunate in that his mask prevented his nose from being exposed to the corpses' odor.
"So where do you think they are currently?" Asami asked, moving her eyes toward Tanjo.
Tanjo halted momentarily, craning his head upward. "The castle,"
The blue-haired woman glimpsed at the gigantic structure placed in the center of the village. It was the least damaged, but still looked horrible.
"I've heard that this village hailed their first queen, Tsubasa Mibojin, so much that they built a statue in her honor. Wonder what happened to that?" Asami murmured, clearly not garnering Tanjo's attention.
Suddenly, Tanjo turned around to look at Asami. "Hey, can you sense them? Typically we'd be able to feel if anyone was near, and the castle isn't too far away from us."
Asami blinked. "No. I haven't felt a thing since we got here."
That was bad. If they couldn't sense them, that could either mean that they weren't currently in the village…
…or they are able to ambush the two of them at any time.
"Then don't rely on your senses—we don't know how skilled these rogues are." Tanjo said, his eyes drifting elsewhere.
There was a glare, seemingly coming reflecting off of an object—but why didn't he see it seconds before? Tanjo shifted his body slightly, his eyes narrowing on the blinding shine.
An overwhelming feeling of realization struck Tanjo. "Asami, move!"
*SHING!*
Asami didn't try turning around, heeding Tanjo's words and dashing to the side. Flying directly passed her head, a sword with markings embedded on the blade could be seen, landing straight into the ground.
Through his mask, Tanjo glowered at the sword planted in the ground. Then, without warning, a man suddenly appeared behind it, his body flickering into view and wrapping his hand around the hilt of the sword.
'He's fast… no doubt faster than me currently.' Tanjo thought, his attention focused on the man.
After retrieving his blade, the swordsman proceeded to stand tall, revealing his face to both the two, prompting Tanjo's eyes to widen.
"You're the rogue from Ryakudatsu!" Tanjo shouted, assuming a stance.
With bandages covering most of his face, the swordsman twirled his blade. "You were there, huh? Perhaps this time you escape alive."
In an instant, Asami conjured water into both of her palms. "Spare us the dialogue, shithead."
The swordsman chuckled. "My name is Gimu, for your information; and I'm not here to fight you, lady."
Gimu lifted his sword swiftly, pointing the tip of the blade toward Tanjo. The boy clenched his fist, preparing for any sudden movement from the man.
"I'm here to duel with your masked friend." Gimu informed, grinning ominously.
Asami arched her brow. How come Tanjo keeps getting all of the attention? First, the redhead, now this weird swordsman? The blue-haired woman pushed the thought away, reeling herself back into reality—if she were to let Tanjo fight this rogue, then he would most likely die instantly; just from Gimu's little act, Asami could tell that he easily surpassed light speed. The average Middle-Class to High-Class warrior reached such speeds, and this guy appeared to be quite skilled.
"Sorry,'' Asami said sarcastically, "I'm not in the mood to watch, so you're fighting me instead."
*KREEK!*
Reeling an arm back, Asami then threw a wave of ice at Gimu with incredible speed, freezing anything in its path. However, before the ice could reach Gimu, fire spontaneously combusted into the air, forcefully stopping the incoming ice.
It only took a second for all of the ice to explode from, melting away from the intense heat that encompassed it. Eventually, the fire dissipated, revealing a new figure.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that I am the one who should be apologizing, as your fight is with me." With a blank expression, Imawashiki stared down Asami with a
steady gaze.
Asami's breath hitched, her eyes broadening wider than Tanjo had ever seen before. It was completely uncharacteristic; the blue-haired woman was stuck in a shell-shocked stupor, her hands trembling.
"...You can't be serious…" Asami gasped, collecting herself slowly.
Tanjo grew immediately wary of the fiery rogue. Asami's expression was filled with fear, surprise, and even a tinge of relief. The boy had no clue as to what happened to Asami, but he didn't have the time to find out.
"Hey! Where's Mizuki, the child you kidnapped from Ryakudatsu!?" Tanjo shouted. He needed to be straight to the point, he had no possible way to sneak around his reason for being here, especially not if he wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Imawashiki's gaze moved toward Tanjo. They were here for the child? "Following us in hopes of finding a lost child? I can see the headband on your head; you left your village, abandoned them, for a child. Not very smart, boy."
Even with the mask, the fiery man could see through Tanjo's disguise and spot how he was originally from a village, aspiring to be a warrior.
"I'm aware of my actions, but are you aware of yours!? You killed so many people, just to abduct a helpless kid! I've been hit with naivety my whole life, but I'd rather act brash and save a life than be ignorant and allow people to die!" Tanjo yelled, his voice piercing the ears of everyone around.
Everyone remained quiet, and Asami still hadn't removed her gaze from Imawashiki. Soon, the fiery abomination sighed. "Fine. Since you're fine with abandoning your village, I'll take your partner while you're left to fend for yourself."
Tanjo's body jolted, his head snapping toward Asami. In moments—*FWOOSH!*—fire swirled around the blue-haired woman, snapping her out of the petrified stupor she previously held, splashing water downward. Unfortunately, it was futile as Asami was consumed by the fire and transported elsewhere.
"Reflect upon your decisions, 'warrior.'" Imawashiki stated, vanishing along with Asami.
A giant shadow then blocked out the sun, warranting Tanjo to instinctually dodge, jumping away.
*CRASH!*
A giant green fist had slammed into the earth, indenting the ground, leaving a massive crater. The structures and body-filled tarps were flung in various directions from the sheer force.
"We have a ballsy invader, do we?" Laughing childishly, a green-haired rogue with a green ring appeared, retracting the giant green fist into the ring.
Then, roots shot from the ground, surrounding multiple buildings. "He looks nervous," another green-haired rogue said.
"Itami, Doryoku—glad you could join me. Though, I could've handled this myself." Gimu grumbled, his only eye glaring at his fellow rogues.
Itami scoffed. "Don't be stupid; the boss gave an order; follow it and we'll be done."
"Where's Shoto, then?" Gimu asked, frowning.
"Elsewhere, obviously." Doryoku answered, indirectly calling Gimu an idiot.
Tanjo, throughout the rogue's conversation, had been thinking critically—there were currently three: the swordsman, a staff-wielding rogue, and a ring-wielding rogue. Supposedly, there was a fourth, other than the fiery rogue, that hadn't appeared. Maybe it was the one that controlled the winds, Tanjo assumed.
'I'm nearly outmatched by all three of them; however, they don't seem too tactful. My only way out of here would be my own ability: intelligence.' Tanjo reflected, his eyes shifting from one rogue to the next.
With two hands, Tanjo conjured Genso-Kyu's into both of his palms; one red, one blue. Then, Tanjo aimed them downward, releasing a blast into the ground. Immediately, debris flew everywhere and the rogues lost sight of him.
"He's on the move," Itami informed, sensing Tanjo through his Aura Sense.
Hastily, Tanjo rushed behind Doryoku, the ring-wielding rogue, with a Genso-Kyu formed in one hand. "I'll go for the brute first!"
Doryoku swiftly spun around, sticking his ring outward—*SHOOM!*—and releasing a flash of light, followed by a massive barrier being formed.
*BRRRRM!*
Tanjo's red Genso-Kyu collided with Doryoku's barrier, quickly becoming a fruitless attack as the green-haired rogue remained still.
"Nice move!" Doryoku congratulated, shoving Tanjo back with his barrier.
*WHOOSH!*
Instantly after, roots shot from the ground, forcing Tanjo to propel himself away from them using newly formed Genso-Kyu's. Once again, the boy was out of sight.
"Damnit," Tanjo swore, gritting his teeth. He now hid behind a ravaged building, crouched low.
Tanjo was faster than the roots, but just barely faster than the manipulator himself, even considering the fact that he was fighting two others. He'll need to be more destructive, overwhelming, just to overcome the rogues' attacks.
"Mizuki is here, I know it…" Tanjo muttered. "And if I have to, I'll kill any rogue in my way."
XXX
Oh boy, another fight? Even though Tanjo had just fought Yuso? Yes! This volume is nearly concluding within the next 20 or so chapters, and this fight won't just be three chapters long, like Yuso Vs. Tanjo. How will Tanjo get out of this situation? Where did Asami go? Stay tuned to find out!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_