"How do you want to do this?" I asked Isabella.
"Stay behind me. I'll take their attacks and-"
"You think we're stupid enough to just hit that shield of yours while your boyfriend kills us?" Gavin said, interrupting Isabella.
"Indeed. After the display you showed, we have determined that attacking you is pointless. We will be aiming for that boy instead. Once he is dealt with, your resolve will be shattered. You will die here together," Leiso said coldly.
She adopted a fighting stance and several iron spikes rose from the ground around her and Gavin.
They were soon covered in water and then levitated while being pointed at us.
I could feel a breeze blowing and several sparks erupted around Gavin.
Why can't we just talk things out?
"Are you two really so against us?" I asked.
"I may have gone easy on you because you are children, but you're still otherworlders. You don't belong here," Leiso said.
"I'm gonna enjoy blowing you two to bits!" Gavin growled angrily.
Isabella raised her shield and suddenly, we started hearing people screaming.
"Wait, what the hell is going on?" Gavin said as he looked towards the noise.
Isabella stepped towards it and raised her shield in front of me. I could see the other Enforcers stand up as well.
With a loud crash, the side of the arena violently exploded. People were either blown apart or sent flying away. Immediately, the survivors got up and started running away screaming.
"ENFORCERS! TO THE FIELD, NOW! MICHAEL! EVACUATIONS!" Dante shouted.
At once, Carlos and Dante jumped down to the field and charged straight towards the source of the explosion. Leiso and Gavin turned away from us and joined them. At the same time, Michael began working on getting everyone out of the way.
As the dust cleared, a group of approximately thirteen people slowly walked into the arena.
"This is the current location of the mysterious power, sir," a man said.
Twelve of the people standing there wore a special type of combat armor that I had never seen before on Avernia. Additionally, all of them had hair as white as the purest snow. All except one.
The last one was a tall man with blonde hair and dark green eyes. He wore a more intricate black body armor with a long gray coat.
He looked around and stopped his eyes on the Enforcers.
"Oh hell... All five of them are here? That might complicate things," The blonde man said.
Dante slammed his foot on the ground and the air suddenly got colder.
Ice began to form all over his body until he was cloaked in a heavy armor. After that, a pole shot out of the ground next to him and he pulled it out.
The ice formed into a massive scythe in his hand.
As soon as he did that, all twelve of the soldiers with white hair trembled in fear.
"Is that you, Yakon?" Dante said angrily.
"Who else?" Yakon said.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU BASTARD!?!?" Gavin yelled.
"Ugh, calm down you exploding monkey. I'm not here for you. I'm here for them," Yakon said as he pointed to us.
"This day just keeps getting better and better..." I said quietly to Isabella.
"Hey Mizik, if they're distracted... Want to try and ditch this place?" She said.
I knew she was probably being affected by Bravery, but it didn't sound like a bad idea. I didn't know if Bravery would consider it cowardice or a tactical retreat, but I didn't really care. Surely that stupid sword knew the difference...
Unfortunately...
"They'll probably just find us again. Let's see which ones we can trust first," I said.
She frowned and nodded. Likely knowing full well that I was right.
Sorry... I'll make sure we get out of this, somehow.
"What do you want with them!? And why did you kill those people!?" Dante said angrily.
"Two months ago, we detected a strange energy signature in the jungle region near lake Alta here in Arcadia. We waited for a while and the anomaly didn't go away. So we checked it out two days ago," Yakon said.
"And?" Leiso said as she readied several rather large iron thorns to attack.
"We found a rather well-crafted tree house and a very tidy living space on the coast of the lake. We followed the energy signature to this place and here we are. Those two are otherworlders, yes? We want them."
"Like hell. We're not giving them to you bastard Overlords. You just want to experiment on them!" Dante said.
"What else? Otherworlders are much more interesting than regular people. They possess powers that we are very curious about. And those two in particular seem especially strong. Besides, you were holding a public execution for them here, yes? It's not like you'll miss them. Hand them over and we'll leave. Simple as that."
As Yakon spoke, the Enforcers readied themselves further for battle. Right when they did so, the white-haired people stepped back in fear.
"Useless attendants. You know we prepared for this, right? Ready the Abyss Engine. NOW!" Yakon said angrily.
"Abyss...Engine?" Dante said.
"I think you'll love it. We used a prototype of it to deal with Jallah when he stuck his nose into our business. It should make things run smoothly. While we're at it, we might as well execute the lot of you. I believe Kazuma and Lord Novak will be very pleased with me for taking the initiative on our mission,"
Right after he spoke, one of the white-haired people at the rear carrying a strange machine on his back pressed a button on his wrist.
The machine roared to life and a pulse of energy shot outwards.
As soon as it hit the Enforcers, they were blown back and unable to stand.
"What...kind of cursed...machine..." Dante managed.
Yakon roared with laughter as the Enforcers lay helpless on the ground.
"The mighty Frost Reaper laid so low by a simple machine! How hilarious!" Yakon said with a sadistic smile.
I quickly looked around and saw Iris had also been brought down to one knee. She was breathing heavily. I didn't see Michael anywhere.
Isabella and I, however, were completely fine. Whatever that machine was, it only affected Enforcers and Iris.
"Well now, since that's done with. You two, come with us. Don't try to resist or you'll regret it. Or...go ahead and try. It'll be interesting to see how well you fight when backed into a corner. I would love some early combat data!" Yakon said.
"Mizik, what should we do? I'll leave the decision to you."
We had an escape option right here. We wouldn't have to fight Leiso and Gavin, and it might have even been possible that these people could help us out...
However...
They mentioned experimenting on us.
At the very least, they might do horrible things to us until they decide to use us...
On the other hand, the Enforcers seemed to be testing us. It was possible that they may have planned on executing us today, but Dante mentioned requesting our help.
We were caught between two evils.
Truthfully, it wouldn't be so bad to help the Enforcers. If they owed us a favor, even better. They could be useful.
And it went without saying, that Isabella and I were still searching for a way to return to Avernia and slay the Source of the Black Ooze at some point.
We didn't want to be forced to go back, but if we could bring allies...
We might stand a chance.
Even if we may have been caught in a power struggle in another world, we still wanted to save Avernia.
Or avenge it.
Even so...it was unlikely that anyone had survived the Black Ooze's invasion...
These Enforcers might be able to help us slay the Source some day. I planned to use them somehow.
"Isabella, should we give them a hand? They'll probably owe us big for it, right?" I said.
"Why yes, of course. I could definitely use that as a negotiation piece. Trade their lives for ours. It sounds like a great idea."
"Fantastic. Let's kill these assholes. Go all out. Hold nothing back!" I said.
I saw a genuine smile creep onto Isabella's face.
"For you, my love, I'll do it!" She said.
"So you'll be resisting then? Very well. Attendants, subdue these idiots!" Yakon said.
Several attendants stepped forward with either their hands raised or heavier rifles than the ones the dwarves had.
"Extreme Rage of Iratus. Wrath possession!"
"Attack support! Defense support!"
I felt myself cloaked in her power and a magical field radiated around Isabella. She stepped forward and raised her shield.
"Go get them, Mizik!"
["Assassinate."]
I teleported behind the nearest attendant and decapitated them before the others could even react.
I saw Yakon's eyes go wide and I threw my swords spinning outward.
Then, Vengeance did something that impressed me.
He manipulated the trajectory of the blades so that they flew in a circle around me. Slicing and shredding everyone directly around me.
"AHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL!?!?" One of the surviving attendants shrieked.
["FLAMES OF RAGE!"]
My swords burst into flames and I incinerated two more attendants before they could compose themselves.
"Aegis barrier!"
A wall of magic appeared around me and several bullets bounced off of it. I caught my swords and changed one of them into a gun.
A single shot to the forehead killed the man who a fired at me.
["Arcane ballista!"]
I fired a magic bolt out of the pistol and hit another attendant in the throat. His head was blown clean off as his neck exploded.
Yakon gritted his teeth in anger as he stepped in front of the last attendant. The one wearing the 'Abyss Engine'.
"I knew you would be strong, but I didn't expect-"
["Silence, fool. Bow before your new god. I AM THE OVERSEER! I AM VENGEANCE!"]
"What!?" Yakon said suddenly.
["EXTERMINATUS!"]
I changed my pistol back to a sword and unleashed the lethal combo of the most destructive attack I knew at Yakon.
Once it finished, Yakon was standing there relatively unharmed and the remaining attendant had been completely eviscerated. Along with the 'Abyss Engine'.
Yakon had deployed some sort of force field around himself and smiled at me.
"HA! YOUR PATHETIC ATTACKS ARE NO MATCH FOR MY ADVANCED ASPECT OF PLASMA!" He shouted gleefully.
Plasma? What's that?
["IRRELEVANT. YOU WILL PERISH AS ALL OTHERS HAVE BEFORE YOU!"]
Yakon leaped towards me and his hand impacted Isabella's shield as she came to my defense.
As soon as it did, I made my move.
["ASSASSINATE!"]
I teleported behind Yakon and he barely managed to move his neck out of the way of my swords.
Thankfully, however....
I severed one of his arms clean off.
Yakon jumped away and held his shoulder.
"ARGH! DAMN YOU! YOU'LL MAKE A FINE SPECIMEN!"
"SUNLIGHT BLADE!" Isabella charged forward and slammed her sword into Yakon's newly deployed shield.
As she struck him, I charged around Isabella and attacked from the side he was missing an arm.
Then Yakon turned and held out his hand with a smile.
Something told me that continuing would mean death.
I immediately ran behind Isabella as a burst of invisible energy erupted from his hand. The wall of the arena violently exploded not even a moment later.
"DON'T RUN, LITTLE LAB RAT! I'LL PLAY NICE!" Yakon screamed with joy.
"BLAST NOVA!"
Isabella's shield exploded outward and Yakon's barrier shattered. I jumped over Isabella and threw my swords straight down at him.
He barely managed to dodge one, but the other caught part of his hand and removed half of it.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH DAMMIT!!! YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!"
["SUFFER!!! ASSASSINATE!!!"]
I teleported behind Yakon again and my swords returned to my hand, I slashed at Yakon, but once again, he barely evaded getting his head chopped off. I slashed his spine in two separate places instead.
He fell straight to the ground as his legs gave out.
As soon as he did, I threw my sword and removed his other arm. Then I jumped behind Isabella in case he planned to attack me again somehow.
Wrath possession and Extreme Rage of Iratus wore off a moment later. Isabella and I backed away from Yakon.
"Agh...why... How did I lose to simple otherworlders!? You shouldn't be capable...of hurting me..."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Enforcers stand up and stare at us in utter disbelief.
"You two...defeated Yakon? The Plasma Accelerator?" Dante said.
"We did. It looks like we saved you bastard Enforcers. You owe us a favor!" Isabella hissed.
Dante bowed his head.
"Sorry...I deserved that. And yes, we owe you a favor."
Leiso rushed forward and several iron thorns rose from the ground around Yakon.
Then Iris placed an energy field over him.
"We'll take it from here. I'll say that you two have more than proven yourselves," Iris said.
"That guy said something about a public execution? What the hell was that supposed to mean!?" I said angrily.
"Uh...yes... Well, you see..." Iris averted her eyes as she tried to come up with an answer.
"Were you seriously going to execute us? Even after we offered to help you!? What the hell is wrong with you, you vile woman!" Isabella said angrily.
"H-hold on a moment! Umm...I wanted to see you fight seriously, is all! It's not often you get to witness something that spectacular. I wasn't going to let them kill you! I just wanted to know how much you could take! Most otherworlders aren't all helpful. Or powerful...so-"
"You put us in this arena simply to watch us fight and risk our lives?" I said.
Iris looked me dead in the eye and then covered her face.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD!?!?
Isabella looked absolutely livid.
"You...YOU BITCH! WE COULD HAVE DIED OUT HERE! YOU NEED TO CONTROL YOUR DAMN ENFORCERS! WHAT IF MIZIK HAD GOTTEN HURT!? HUH!?" Isabella screamed at Iris.
"I'm...so sorry... Please don't yell at me! Dante! Help me!" Iris started crying.
Dante hesitantly walked over and Iris hid behind him.
By the way, this was a fully grown woman now acting like a child who had been caught doing something bad. A goddess, no less.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing here.
A goddess. Acting like this...
"What seems to be the problem...lady Iris...?" Dante said.
"Dante! Darling! Isabella is yelling at me! Tell them I didn't mean any harm!!!" Iris said pleadingly as she clung to his arm.
She purposely pressed her chest on his arm but...
She, unfortunately, had nothing to press against Dante.
Dante looked away uncomfortably and refused to make eye contact with us.
"Umm...she's sorry...for making you fight just to watch. I didn't think she would do that...and it is truly despicable... But...yeah..." Dante said meekly.
"Be more assertive! Please! Show them that sexy manly side of yours!" Iris said as she continued pressing herself on Dante.
Dante sighed.
"I hate to interrupt, but this is probably one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen. Really," I said.
Isabella was still seething with rage, but seeing this side of Iris only made her pity the poor woman...
"Yeah...this is pretty sad..." Isabella managed to say.
"I'm sorry! Your powers are just cool, okay? There, I said it!" Iris said as she hid behind Dante again.
"Cool...?" I asked.
"Yes! Calling out the names of your attacks and the things they do! So cool!" Iris said with a sparkle in her eyes.
I felt a bit bashful upon hearing this.
Leiso had made me somewhat self-conscious about the ordeal. Calling out a skill's name was the way to activate it in Avernia. It was perfectly normal there. Although...it had its flaws...
She mentioned that calling out a skill name alerted the enemy to an attack. Coming from a military general, it made sense. And I realized now how stupid it was that we were forced to fight in such a way.
"I...kind of hate it now, to be honest..." I said.
"What!? Why!? It's so cool!"
"Just like Leiso said, it alerts enemies that we're attacking. Also, it's kind of a pain in the ass to remember the names of each skill. I'm only human, and in the middle of a fight, well...my memory isn't so good..." I said.
That part also meant that I couldn't have too many skills or I would forget about them. Honestly, it was already starting to become a problem right now...
"But...what about that one attack... What was it...Exterminatus? That one is really awesome!" Iris said.
"Yeah, and it's my most powerful attack skill. But if I alert an enemy that I'm using it, they could dodge it. I just got lucky with Leiso and managed to chop her arm off."
"I think we're getting off track here, don't you, Mizik?" Isabella said as she glared at Iris.
"You're right," I said as I narrowed my eyes.
"Ehhh!? I said I was sorry, didn't I!?"
"True. But sorry isn't going to do it for me. You put my beloved Mizik in danger. On top of that, we saved all of you despite everything! You owe us a favor!" Isabella said.
"Of course! Your crimes are completely forgiven! You're allowed to live on Ignitus from now on and-"
"YOU ALREADY FORGAVE US BEFORE THIS ALL STARTED! THAT IS WORTHLESS TO US NOW!" Isabella shouted.
Oh boy...Bravery is definitely making her a lot more bold...
"Ehhhh...h-how about...umm... What if I made you two Enforcers...?" Iris said meekly.
My eyes went wide and so did Dante's
"Lady Iris...you're not seriously considering such a thing, are you!?" He said.
"Hmm...I can at least try, right? I mean... They did save my sweet Dante. And the rest of us too. That's also important..."
"Wait, seriously?" I said.
"Oh yes. During the meeting earlier, I was quiet for a good reason. I was examining you both. And I'm impressed," she said with a smile as she assumed her usual demeanor.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Yes... You two could potentially be the most powerful Enforcers to ever exist on Ignitus."