The forests of Adonai were eerily quiet, especially with the absence of nearly every animal. Buraun's warriors had successfully departed from their home village and set out to join in on the Detrimental War—including the teenagers.
"Why aren't we going any faster than this?" Ninki Meisei whispered to one of his classmates.
Sprinting beside the white-haired student, Senko Sukudo briefly glanced toward Meisei. "I assume that we're wishing to remain together and undetected simultaneously. It's unclear how far Shanti has advanced into our nation's soil, and we would only slow the professionals down if we engaged in serious combat."
Shizen Utsukushi, Class 1AB's cat-like student, stared at the brown-haired Sukudo dumbly. "So why did we come if we're a liability!?"
"Eyes forward and Aura Senses flared, students!" Haishi hollered sternly, keeping his attention on his surroundings as the militia rushed through the woodlands.
With Utsukushi, Sukudo, and Meisei recoiling in fear of the Chief's tone, Apiru Naderamu of Class 1AB remained focused, her expression bleak and her eyes darting in every direction. Despite maintaining a solid and stoic visage, the blonde girl's mind was overwhelmed with emotion and thoughts. She, along with her classmates, was coerced into joining a war—a massive war. Naderamu knew that nobody in her life, nor in any part of the world, would be the same once the bloodshed had passed.
Families were worried sick, the chance of mere high school students being murdered in cold blood skyrocketed, and a great deal of change was to come from the resolution of the Detrimental War, not mattering who won.
The image of a clumsy, rowdy, intelligent boy crossed her mind.
Tanjo.
Where was he? Oshieru had explained that Tanjo had left the academy completely, and his absence in the village was more than discernible. The jet-black-haired boy was a mystery to Naderamu. He was one of the most dysfunctional students in Class 1AB, but in precarious situations, the boy would somehow, in some way, pull through.
And it mostly had to do with his oddity of an Aura Sense.
'I have an Aura Amalgamation,' was what Tanjo had told her during the competition between Class 1AB and Class 1AR.
The blonde struggled to put the pieces together until the invasion of Buraun—until the public's awareness of Tanjo's rare abilities. Villagers called the boy "Lucifer's Successor," shaming and disowning the boy who could wield the Aura Amalgamation.
Then, it became obvious: Tanjo could utilize four different Aura Senses, and he had no clue how to use them properly. Who would the jet-black-haired teenager turn to for help? Nobody in history, other than the infamous Reiwa Takuetsu, could use such power. Tanjo barely knew how to use one Aura Sense, much less four.
Naderamu started to believe that Tanjo felt isolated and afraid. After all, he did kill an enemy warrior for the first time using his rare magic, and he was projected as a monster.
'But… then we had to fight him when he came back. He had to feel abandoned at that point…' Naderamu thought to herself silently, temporarily falling into a pensive stupor.
"Naderamu," Oshieru called out to the blonde, sprinting a few inches beside her. "You're zoning out."
The girl shook her head. "Sorry. Won't happen again."
The blue-haired male narrowed his gray eyes at the student. "Maybe it won't now, but it certainly will during an important moment. Whatever it is, you need to realize that practically everything in the nation is put on hold until this war is over. Stay focused and trust your comrades."
Naderamu was quiet, slightly increasing her running speed.
All she wished was that they could run a little faster instead of the slow pace they traversed with.
'Stay safe, Tanjo.'
XXX
Tanjo was relieved. It may not have taken a painstaking amount of time, but after finally subduing the past rulers of Furusato and partnering up with his biological father, the boy could certainly admit that the rulers were incredibly powerful compared to the normal warrior, despite being decades older.
The last ruler he and Oritsu had taken down was Tsubasa, the first ruler and Queen of Furusato. Fortunately, the Five Great Kyuujo seemed to back off from the fight during Tanjo's swift elimination process of the rulers.
"Tanjo, you're sure you didn't cause any permanent damage, right? Your little power looks super painful." Oritsu commented with concern, helping the Furusato ruler Shigeko Yuha stand on his feet.
The boy sighed, his arms feeling quite numb from the constant usage of his Disruption of Reality. "They should be fine. My power isn't all too lethal yet, whether that's good or not."
Oritsu nodded softly. "I'll take it as a good thing for now."
A groan could be heard a few feet away.
"...Why am I on such ruptured land?" The third ruler in Furusato's history, Yuuta Yuha, murmured with a bewildered tone, flexing his limbs experimentally.
Tanjo analyzed the rulers intently. "You guys must've been under the curse pretty deeply if you don't even remember your orders for coming out here. At least most of the common undead warriors knew their purpose under the Kekkan no Sosei."
"What curse?" Tsubasa Mibojin questioned with a disturbed voice.
The jet-black-haired teenager bit the inside of his cheek, weirded out by the fact that he was speaking to the original rulers and not their zombified corpses.
"Look around you: you're all rulers from many years ago… some of you even know each other. You all also know that you've experienced death many years ago." Tanjo began speaking slowly as the rulers stared at him inquisitively.
Shigeko hummed deeply. "...So, we were reanimated somehow?"
"If that's the word you want to use, then sure." Oritsu chuckled awkwardly, scratching his cheek. "I was the same way. I died almost twenty years ago and I was brought back by—"
Kokoro interrupted the fifth ruler. "You were killed!? What happened!? What of Furusato!?"
"Destroyed; corrupted," Tanjo answered shortly, exhaling. "And it will remain gone until we win this war. With you guys revived, I'm not sure what will happen now."
Tsubasa squinted her eyes, tilting her head to the side. "How old are you, Tanjo? We were kings, and... well, I was the only queen, apparently, and you seem to be just a young boy. What brings you to such a disastrous area?"
Tanjo blinked repeatedly, taking a few moments to ponder the question. "I'm still trying to figure out my reason for being here—but, for right now, I'm doing everything I can to help end this war."
Due to the Detrimental War refusing to cease, the repetitive sound of explosions and horrific wails were still heard in the distance. The rulers used all of their mental power to reign in their shock and to understand what was currently happening, but it all still felt too surreal.
Oritsu shifted his gaze to Tanjo subtly, a smile stretching his lips. "Your mother would be proud of you, Tanjo—!"
*SWOOSH!*
Just as Oritsu finished speaking, Tanjo was tackled through the air at an immense speed, the boy completely disappearing from the rulers' view.
"Tanjo!" Oritsu called out to his son, preparing to lunge after the boy.
*BOOM!*
Before the fifth ruler of Furusato could chase after his biological son, a beam of light collided with the earth a few feet before him.
"We're not done yet, you filthy Adonai warriors!" Chikao, the elderly Kyuujo, yelled out with an enraged countenance, landing in front of the Furusato rulers.
Behind Chikao, the rest of the Kyuujo convened once more, glowering at their Adonai opponents fiercely.
"You're dead!" Chinatsu, the female Kyuujo, bellowed determinedly.
The rulers of Furusato assumed fighting stances, fueling themselves with their Aura Senses.
Kokoro's eyes widened. "We're at war with Shanti!?"
XXX
*CRASH!*
After being tackled through the air, Tanjo was eventually released by the individual who launched the attack, causing his body to plummet downward and into a ravaged mountain range.
The boy, after collecting himself, stumbled as he looked around, recognizing the area he currently stood in.
"This is the mountain range I fought that redhead in… which is far away from the battlefield… miles away," Tanjo muttered with a perplexed tone, clenching his fists cautiously.
In less than ten seconds, Tanjo was tackled to practically the opposite side of Adonai. Why would any warrior of Shanti or Adonai want to leap so far away from the battlefield, all to simply land one more kill?
However, if the person who tackled Tanjo was a simple warrior of any class, why could none of the Furusato rulers sense the incoming attack before it happened?
Tanjo started to connect the dots: the stray assailant was faster than the rulers' senses, which brought him to the mountain range that he had previously fought in a while ago.
"...Oh…"
The exact second Tanjo's mind seemingly formulated an answer—*FLAP!*—a deep sound echoed through the boy's ears, reminding him of the wings of a bird.
"I hope you're ready, boy," A familiar voice followed the sound of flapping wings, garnering Tanjo's attention. "For these are your last moments alive."
It was Yuso, the red-headed rogue that had assaulted both Tanjo and Asami some time ago, with their fight ending on the mountain range they both currently resided at. This time, the crimson-haired male had grown two feathery appendages, enabling constant flight.
'...This is going to suck.' Tanjo thought briefly.
XXX
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Had to cut it short due to my fingers starting to lock up uncomfortably! However, I do hope that you sincerely enjoyed this chapter, and stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_