*WHOOSH!*
*SMACK!*
It was a constant game between Haishi and Kou against Kono, their battle quickly turning out to be a fruitless stalemate. The Chief of Buraun, with his sword in hand, swung once again, only for his blade to narrowly miss the fox-like rogue for the millionth time.
Kono was too agile, his reflexes almost outmatched Haishi and Kou's. His four purple tails were swift; merely touching them would scorch flesh, along with the razor-sharp tips that had no difficulty slicing anything in Kono's path.
"I'm not here for you! Scram! I'm meeting with an old buddy, and you're not invited!" The rogue hollered, dodging the next swing from Kou.
"We won't let you harm any more of our troops, cat!" Kou declared, clenching her teeth.
The fox-like rogue felt a vein burst in his head, anger swelling up within him. "I'm a fox, dumbass!"
*SWING!*
A few strands of Kono's hair were severed as the rogue was forced to duck under Haishi's impending sword, making him feel the wind of the blade sweeping inches above his head at an astounding speed.
"You'll soon be dead, too." The Chief asserted, retracting his arm after missing his swing.
Kono analyzed both of his opponents, his chest tightening from the prolonged use of his magic, accompanied by the pressuring weight of how much of his Aura Sense he harnessed. The blonde rogue realized that only four tails would not be sufficient to subdue the two warriors from Buraun.
'...If I am to use more of my reserves, I need to make this quick—I'll fall flat if I keep squandering time with these two…' The rogue thought to himself, his eyes flitting between Haishi and Kou.
Six more purple tails suddenly emerged from Kono's body, flailing around dangerously. The rogue now had a total of ten purple tails after the addition of aura-printed tails.
Haishi's shoulders sagged. "Great, he still had an ace up his sleeve."
Kou huffed, holding onto the hilt of her sword with a vice-like grip. "A rogue with a purple Aura Sense… along with a copious amount of sporadic attachments that could kill us in one swoop. I'm thinking about retiring after this, Haishi!"
"I can grant you that now if you'd like!" Kono yelled, his tails pointing at the two warriors from Buraun.
*FWISH!*
With minimal warning, Kono leaped forward, his ten purple tails piercing through the air and impaling Haishi's torso.
"Grngh!" The Chief huffed in pain, clenching his eyes shut in agony.
"Haishi!" Kou cried, throwing herself toward the rogue with surging malice, skillfully whirling her sword at Kono.
At speeds far greater than what Kono was capable of earlier, the rogue wrapped multiple of his tails around Kou's arms, burning her skin upon contact and restraining her. Immediately after, Kono thrust his fists forward and hammered his knuckles into the woman's body, his last punch launching Kou into the dirt.
"Ragh!" Kou howled, clenching the earth below her.
Haishi was attempting to cover the holes in his upper body, focusing his Aura Sense on his wounds with the hope of recovering at an expedited rate. "Kou! You need to keep your feet moving…! He's faster than before, and he's exerting more magic, too!"
Kono slowly ambled toward Kou, who barely managed to lift herself from the ground.
"I already told you that I didn't plan on fighting either of you. If I wanted, that 'Haishi' fellow would've been dead the moment I was in reach of him. However, I only have so much juice left in the tank—continue fighting me, and I will put you two down." The rogue spoke seriously, his tone contradicting the frivolous and energetic voice he previously used.
Kou inhaled deeply and said, "Those… are my troops! I can't let you hurt any more of them!"
Kono stared at Kou silently, a bleak countenance etched onto his face. "I gave you the choice to live. I want you to remember that wherever you end up."
*SWOOSH!*
*SWOOSH!*
*SWOOSH!*
The blonde rogue's eyes darted to the side, where he instantly saw three incoming shurikens made of blue magic. Effortlessly, Kono stepped out of their way, sighing in response.
"Great—!"
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Unexpectedly, the shurikens that flew past the rogue exploded mid-air, catching the rogue by surprise. A cloud of smoke and debris concealed Kono from where he stood, with the ground rupturing as collateral.
"Chief! Focus on healing!" A young, feminine voice shouted, shocking both Haishi and Kou.
Kou's eyes landed on a blonde girl dressed in Buraun's armor, her blue headband indicating her previous presence at the village's Buraunmajikku Academy.
It was Apiru Naderamu.
"What are you doing here!? You need to stick with the formation!" Kou screamed, her eyes almost bulging out of her head.
Naderamu shook her head, refusing to yield to the woman's orders. "There is no formation! Sitting out there puts me at as much of a risk as me standing here with you!"
"Those are inaccurate statistics, little lady."
The debris that swallowed the rogue earlier eventually cleared up, revealing Kono standing tall, his ten purple tails swaying behind him menacingly.
"My presence alone makes your chance of survival zero percent if you try to fight me." The rogue claimed, clenching his fists.
Kou and Naderamu assumed varying fighting stances, their eyes locked onto Kono.
"I can help! Even if it's just to serve as a distraction, your chances of leaving alive increase if I'm here!" The blonde student stated, her voice laced with resounding determination.
Kou exhaled painfully, conceding. "You better not die! I can't live or die knowing a teenager lost her life because of me! Once the Chief is back up, you will depart immediately!"
"You might want to make that two teenagers' lives!" Naderamu replied, confusing Kou.
"Hyah!"
Kono was, once again, caught off-guard as he sensed an incoming warrior drop from above him. The rogue hurriedly dashed to the side, avoiding the incoming attack.
"Utsukushi! You were supposed to wait!" Naderamu called out to her pink-haired classmate with wide eyes.
The cat-like student winced, waving at Naderamu. "Sorry!"
Off to the side, Kono surveyed Shizen Utsukushi intently. She had two blue tails sprouting from her body, her hands encompassed by sharp blue claws, and a pair of cat-like ears sitting atop her head.
'...The full set, huh?' Kono noted, his eyes narrowing.
"Hey! You're stealing my thunder! What's with the tails!?" Utsukushi roared at the blonde rogue, taking notice of his ten purple tails.
Kono hummed, taking a small step toward the pink-haired student. "Get your friends to back off and I'll gladly explain. You're just who I'm looking for."
The area went quiet as everybody remained still, not lowering their guard for even a second. Kou knew that it would only take less than a second for the rogue to do anything lethal—Haishi's current state was a prime example of that.
"Don't listen to him! He'll kill you before you get a single word in!" Kou stretched her hand toward Utsukushi. "Get behind me!"
Utsukushi's Aura Sense flared as she slid her foot in Kou's direction, her claws poised to pierce flesh. The pink-haired student was hesitant, unsure of how the rogue would react to her advancement toward Naderamu and Kou, praying to whatever deities were in the sky that nothing violent would occur.
"Don't make this difficult," Kono spoke sternly, his eyes trailing the cat-like student.
Kou could no longer bear witness to the scene before her, lunging at Kono with intent to kill. With a valiant swing of her sword, the woman forced the rogue to back away momentarily.
"Go! Get with your classmate!" Kou demanded, holding Kono back.
Unwilling to listen, Utsukushi jumped toward Kono as well. "No! I can help! It's what I was trained for!"
Standing defensively, Kono grinned faintly. "I'm not sure whether I should be proud or disappointed."
"What you feel doesn't matter!" Naderamu chimed in, securing a spot beside Kou.
It was now three against one: Kou, Naderamu, and Utsukushi against Kono.
The blonde rogue cracked his knuckles. "Don't blame me for what happens next!"
XXX
There are a few segments in this part of the novel that I need to wheel by, and these select few fight scenes are some of them. Now, don't misunderstand—I thoroughly believe that every scene has a purpose and helps elevate the plot to levels that I desire, but some parts dramatically dwarf others, and I'm sure that you understand what I'm talking about. It's in any form of media: movies, shows, books, etc. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_