A pile of rubble could be seen, created from the destruction of the village's old structures. For several moments, not a sound could be heard; no movement in sight.
Without warning, a hand shot out from the fallen rubble, slamming back down. Instantly after, Tanjo emerged from below, hoisting himself upward.
"Damn… he kicks hard…" Tanjo murmured, balancing himself on his feet.
Dusting himself off, Tanjo angled his gaze forward, in the direction he was knocked through. It seemed like the swordsman, or the other rogues, had not come after him yet.
Coming to that realization, the masked teenager fixed his gaze on something else—the castle, where Mizuki may currently reside.
'I can't fight my way through entirely, so I need to get as far as I can without any impediments.' Tanjo thought, taking his first step.
For a brief second, Tanjo thought back to the night he left Buraun, how he had snuck past every warrior's senses. As of right now, the rogues could appear anywhere at any time, but—maybe—he could, too.
"I can't guarantee that I'll remain undetected, but I need to get inside the castle as soon as possible!" Tanjo affirmed his idea, rushing toward the center of Furusato.
His past instructor, Mr. Oshieru, never properly shown them how to mask their Aura Sense, preventing them from being detected, but the concept was trivial to the jet-black-haired boy—if one could exert their Aura Sense, which leaks more magic than usual, all Tanjo would have to do was 'suck in' his Aura Sense—seems easy enough, and it worked.
"If I'm lucky, there'll be a way in from the damages sustained to this village. After that, finding Mizuki is the objective!"
XXX
"I'm here for the wielder of the green ring."
Yuso stared down Doryoku with his demonic Shirugeto eyes, his crimson-red hair swaying—it was as if seeing his hair was a signal of death, his eyes merely facilitating the concept.
As the redhead silently gazed at his new target, a voice yelled out:
"Hey! You can't just interrupt us like that! If you want to die this badly, then wait till we kill the—!"
*WOOSH!*
Before Itami could finish speaking, a small pentagram was sent flying toward him, prompting the green-haired rogue to encase his arm with wood and swat it away with no difficulty.
The redheaded male narrowed his eyes at the relative ease Itami had shown when negating his pentagram.
"I'm already fed up with one stray, so I'm already on edge!" Itami shouted viciously, glowering at the redhead.
Yuso hummed ominously. "Then hand over the ring if you're so petulant about dying."
Itami became irked, his teeth grinding together angrily. "Gimu,"
The swordsman looked over to his colleague, perplexed. Gimu wasn't given the opportunity to respond as Itami proceeded to give out an order for him.
"Go find that other rogue; this redheaded freak insulted me, so I'm redirecting my anger for the time being." Itami demanded, his voice stern.
The bandaged swordsman stood silently, staring at Itami for a few moments before turning around. "Your fault if you die."
In a split second, Gimu vanished like the wind, off to fetch the masked rogue he had previously kicked into the razed village of Furusato.
Returning to Itami, the staff-wielding maniac scowled in the presence of Yuso. Raising his newly formed hand made of wood, the rogue said, "At least I actually get to test out my new hand!"
Flipping the palm of his hand upward, his arm outstretched, Itami clenched his wooden hand tightly—*KRRRSH!*—and forced numerous roots through the ground.
Yuso immediately noticed the roots, responding by storing magic in his legs and lunging up to the skies. Just beneath him, the wooden roots continued to rise, Itami following shortly after.
"I'm not here for you," Yuso claimed, his Shirugeto flashing dangerously.
Just like the first time Yuso and Itami clashed, pentagrams began consuming the roots, changing their course instantly. Some of the roots protruded out of conjured pentagrams, aimed at Itami.
Itami grinned wickedly, his eyes glinting. "Not this time!"
Using his wooden hand, Itami miraculously formed a purple Genso-Kyu and used it to destroy all of the incoming roots and boost himself toward Yuso.
The redhead was startled by the abrupt use of magic and quickly created three layers of pentagrams to block Itami's attack, only for a root to round his right leg and drag him obliquely out from under cover.
"Die!" Itami's wooden hand then shifted into a sharp spike, directed at Yuso's gut.
However, before Itami could shove his spike into the redhead's gut, Yuso's body glowed a vibrant red, teleporting instantly.
"DAMNIT!"
Back on the ground, Doryoku could only look up as his brother erected more roots into the sky, chasing after Yuso. The wielder of the ring felt almost obsolete, only to then feel something behind him.
*WOOSH!*
"Woah!" Doryoku yelped, dodging an incoming pentagram
In an instant, Doryoku looked back toward Yuso, who had appeared out of thin air. To guard himself, Doryoku shot multiple green tendrils of magic at the redhead, who easily dashed around them faster than his eye could perceive.
Yuso thrusted his open palm toward Doryoku. With haste, the ring-wielding rogue conjured a shield, the redhead's palm cracking it upon impact.
"Submit, or I'll kill you and your friend." Yuso threatened, his eyes glued to Doryoku
An angry expression was etched on Doryoku's countenance. "That's my brother, asshat!"
With utmost force, Doryoku formed more tendrils, fastening them around Yuso's outstretched arm and throwing the redhead into the air.
To stabilize himself, Yuso stretched his limbs, his long hair falling down. As Yuso attempted to focus on Doryoku, who he assumed was still on the ground, the redhead quickly sensed something else.
"All you do is run!"
Swiftly spinning around, Yuso discharged a red beam to disintegrate a wooden root shot in his way. Itami had returned, brimming with ire. The green-haired rogue screamed as he covered the entire sky with his roots, resembling an entire forest that resided in the air.
"So stop and submit yourself!"
Every root erected proceeded to zip toward Yuso with incredible speed; it could be compared to every tree in the nation being thrown at him with immense strength.
Yuso's eyes narrowed. 'It's just wood… wood to be incinerated.'
With one palm, Yuso began conjuring a pentagram in the shape of a Genso-Kyu—an amped version of his magic. He then aimed the pentagram-covered Genso-Kyu at the thousands of roots above him, but things didn't go as planned.
Just as Yuso prepared to release a beam into the sky, a massive green hand reached out and grabbed the redhead, restraining him entirely. When Yuso's Genso-Kyu vanished, he planned to teleport away, but that idea was purged the moment green spikes shot out of the giant green hand holding him, piercing Yuso all over.
With a brief grunt in pain, Yuso looked up as he saw the thousands of roots strike him all at once.
'I can't move!'
*KWOOOOOSH!*
All hope of Yuso breaking free and escaping was gone the moment Itami's wave of roots collided with the redhead, creating a loud boom over the village of Furusato.
Up in the sky, Itami grinned. "I finally got you! Now you won't interrupt any of us in the future—!"
*KABOOOOM!*
"Huh?"
Every root in the area had been instantly destroyed by an explosion, which had also formed a massive red ball from the immense power being expelled with every passing second.
The debris and light appeared to be drawn inward as the explosion abruptly began to reverse. Everything was consumed in a matter of seconds, making it clear what caused the explosion.
With one hand outstretched, Yuso absorbed the entire explosion into the pentagram he had embedded into his palm.
'I'm saddened that I have to be pushed so closely to my limit already, but these two are relentless with their curses, like me.'
Both of the rogue brothers, in the air and on the ground, stood and stared at Yuso silently, shocked by the burst of power the redhead had previously demonstrated.
Itami, stuck in a shock-induced stupor, uttered one word:
"Shit."
XXX
Tanjo crept around the castle's walls, looking for a way in. Fortunately, he hadn't been discovered yet, or at least intercepted. The masked teenager continued to search for an opening, finally stumbling across a giant hole on one of the floors in the center of the castle.
"What the…?"
It was a medical room—or what was left of one. Tanjo took one step into it, entering through the hole in the wall. The medical bed was destroyed, the sheets ripped; a curtain in the corner was also in bad condition, loosely torn from its hook. What's more, blood could be seen splattered on the floor next to the medical bed.
"Poor villagers…" Tanjo murmured through his mask, his eyes softening in sorrow.
A thought then intruded Tanjo's mind, prompting him to focus on the mission at hand.
"I mustn't let Mizuki experience the same fate as the villagers of the past, I've come too far to let that happen."
With haste, Tanjo rushed through the medical room, venturing further into the castle.
XXX
I wonder if you guys can figure out the importance behind the room Tanjo just stood in? Anyways, Yuso is already on the brink of his limits! Will he win against the rogue brothers, or will he fail in death or cowardice? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_