"One... two.... Three!"
The battle began, Kazuya quickly ran towards the nearest pen, and hid in it. At the same time, Mono and Came charged towards each guard. Came's thin sharp sword clashed with the oversized sword of the guard, and a series of slashes ensued. Despite Came's experience as a swordsman for hundreds of years, there was an ability given to the guards that simple swordsman ship could not overcome: Light. Horizon Guards are able to manipulate light, and can hence fire beams of light that burn through their targets, or change the perception of what one seen by bending the light around them momentarily.
Despite the fast and calculated strikes of Came's sword, he gets cut in multiple areas due to the guard's abilities. Furthermore, the guard's speed is enhanced by the same light manipulation ability.
"This is bad. I'm able to hold him off, but at this rate, I'll be the one to lose..." Came thought to himself.
Whilst Came was fighting a battle of attrition, Mono was persevering in his own fight. His body and eyes glowed a bright green, and he moved at unparallel speeds. Despite the guard's ability of light manipulation, he was unable to catch up to the speed that Mono possessed. Mono jumped onto and off of the walls, attacking the guard using condensed energy within his hands, which he shaped into claws. No matter how many times the guard swung his sword, it couldn't reach Mono's bizarre movements.
"What's the matter with ya? Can't even hit me once, eh?!" Shouted Mono, as he continued his barrage of attacks.
Witnessing this, Kazuya couldn't help but be in awe. He knew Mono was capable, but this completely blew any expectations he had. However, he was concerned with Came, as his struggle continued.
"Is there no way for me to help?" He thought to himself.
As he looked around, all that he could find was dirt, grass, and a few stones. He then started to devise up a plan, but could only think of one thing.
"This is a terrible idea..." He thought to himself.
During the barrage of their attacks, Came let out an "ugh!" after being slashes once again. At this point, he was covered in wounds, although they weren't life threatening, they would hinder his movement and speed. He thought it would be the end.
"Came!" Kazuya shouted.
Came glanced over to see Kazuya's head poking over the pen, and him throwing a stone in the direction of the guard. Swiftly, Came backed away from guard, and the stone hit the guard's head. In that one moment, that fraction of a second, the guard had let all his guard down. For a split moment, Came saw victory.
Came went into a bent down position, with his left arm pointing downwards, and his right arm, holding the sword, pointing diagonally upwards.
"Dancing volts: form one!" He said quietly. His body began to glow a bright purple, and he moved at speeds nearing that of light. In that split moment the guard let his guard down, Came slices through him, ending him instantly.
Came gets on his knees, and drops to the ground after having exerted so much energy.
"Came!" Kazuya cried.
"I'm... alright... just catching... my breath...." Came said while huffing.
"Holy shit, that actually worked!" Kazuya thought to himself joyfully.
Relieved Kazuya refocuses his attention onto Mono's battle. However, when he does, the battle was already over. The constant barrage of attacks had left the guard wounded, and on the ground, with Mono leaving unscathed.
"Hmph, that'll teach ya." Said Mono condescendingly.
"It's...over?" Asked Kazuya.
"Well, for now at least. More importantly, can you get Came back up? We need to get moving ASAP." Said Mono.
"Just... give me a few more minutes..." Said Came in an exhausted tone.
"Well, I could always just drag you around of cours-" Mono said, as Came and Kazuya both stood next to each other swiftly in front of Mono.
"Mono, with all due respect, we have a better chance of survival facing another 10 guards than being dragged by you." Said Came.
"Oi." Said Mono annoyingly.
The three of them ventured out of the building to try and find the Level Gate. However, the thick field was making things difficult for them.
"All this walking and that fight has made me HUNGRYYY!" Mono cried.
"Hmm, I suppose it would be nice for us to relax for a bit, but we need to first find someone." Said Came.
As they continued to walk, they heard a faint rustling behind them. Eventually, they stopped in their tracks, and the rustling behind them shortly did too.
"Mono" Said Came.
"Yeah, I know." Said Mono.
Kazuya held his breath, and all three of them turned around, as prepared to fight, only to see a familiar face.
"Terra?!" Exclaimed Kazuya.
"Terra? Wait, you're that lady that gave us the water at that shitty café, aren't you?" Asked Mono.
"Oi, Mono, shut the hell up. Anyway, what are you doing here?" Asked Kazuya.
"Well... I came down to get some raw foods for the shopping district since they ran out, but ended up noticing you guys walking around here after I followed a bunch of loud noises coming from one of the barns." She said.
"Ah... so that's how she found us." Kazuya thought to himself.
"Ah, I'm sorry if I interrupted you with whatever you were doing! I just couldn't help but notice the cuts on Mr. Came..." Terra said concerningly.
"Ah, please don't worry about me. I may be feeling pain, but I assure you I'm fine." Came said in a blunt tone.
"Does he know how to show emotion...?" Terra thought to herself.
"Hey demi, d'yknow any place where we can get some food around here?" asked Mono.
"Demi?" Asked Kazuya.
"Demis are creatures that resemble humans, but start to diverge away from a lot of their features. The less human a creature is, the further down the sky they'll appear." Explained Came.
"Ah, that explains the goat-like appearance..." Kazuya thought to himself.
"Hm? Well, you can come by my place, If you'd like."
"Wait, you live here?" Asked Kazuya.
"Yes. Most Demis actually live here, while the rest live on the level below." Terra explained. "If you'd like, I can take you there now."
"Well, we do need to rest a little after that whole clash, so that'd be great. Thank you." Said Came.
"A clash?!" Exclaimed Terra.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll explain things on the way." Said Kazuya.
As they walked towards Terra's house, Kazuya explained everything, from their goals, to how he's a human, and the clash they just had with the Horizon Guards. For some reason, he felt a connection to Terra, one that he couldn't explain, but knew was important; he felt that he could trust Terra, and decided that telling her the truth would be the best option.