Chapter 10 - Defending Peach Valley

LEO AND ABBY at the main entrance of the valley.

"A head attack. This should be fun. You ready Leo?"

"Let's have some fun Abby."

"I count three walking towards us, Alice."

"Are we ready for this Luna?"

"You are, don't worry Alice." Kiyo proclaims walking up to them.

"So that's what earth bears look like. They remind me of a brown bear from my world."

The three earth bears are slowly walking towards the town. They look like moving boulders. All three stand at one hundred and eighty two centimeters tall while on all fours. Their bodies are composed of a variety of rocks and minerals depending on the location they are in. Then without warning they start to charge.

"Luna, you're up." Kiyo informs her.

"Then I'll start with Water Magic: Surging Waves." Luna's water attack is an area-of-effect spell she learned from Kiyo allowing her a greater advantage in battle. Because this type of spell wasn't taught to her yet Luna didn't know it was possible. Kiyo also taught her about storing up her mana in the orb on her staff so she can then tap into it anytime she wishes to.

"Nicely done Luna. What's next?" Kiyo asks her.

"That's easy. Ice Magic: Ice Projectiles." Multiple ice crystals form in front of Luna's raised left hand. She then launches them towards the charging earth bears. This attack doesn't even slow them down.

"Huh…Why didn't that work?" Luna asked, looking at Kiyo.

"Besides being too far away, their bodies are made from rocks after all." Kiyo reminds her.

"Look who's an expert on earth bears all of a sudden." Alice comments.

"Dale gave me a book on them." Kiyo replies.

"All right then how about this. Poison Magic: Poison Mist. Since they're living creatures, poison should work nicely on them."

"Good work Luna, keep going." Cheers Alice.

"Thanks Alice."

"Don't lose focus Luna. They're still coming this way." Kiyo points out.

"Ok how about…"

"𝐿𝑈𝑁𝐴!" Alice shouts. Surprised by the sudden appearance of an unknown assailant.

"Who the hell are you?!" Kiyo demands, barely keeping his rage in check.

"Where is Kino?"

"How about I take your head instead!"

"You're not fast enough." Scoffed the hooded assailant.

Kiyo with a hand on Onyx is weighing his options carefully. With Alice standing in the middle of them and Luna lying unconscious he knows he can't make a careless move. This assailant after all had managed to get this close undetected by all three of them. 𝑆ℎ𝑖𝑡. Kiyo thinks to himself. 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑎 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. Kiyo's feeling of helplessness disappears when a new figure appears.

"He's not, but I am!" Kino appears right next to the assailant. "Close Combat: Dragon Strikes!" and attacks with a flurry of punches.

"It's about time you got here Kino. You sure know how to keep a girl waiting." The hooded girl remarks having blocked some of Kino's punches.

"Drop the hood Lilly, I know it's you."

"Good." Lilly lowers her hood. "Then let's you and me go somewhere else and talk."

"Kiyo, leave her to me."

"Where's Corym at?" Inquires Kiyo.

"I sent him to help Abby and Leo. What about Luna, will she be alright?"

"I only knocked her out. She'll have a headache when she wakes up, but she'll live." Lilly answers.

"Why didn't you kill her, you are an assassin aren't you? Kiyo asked.

"I don't kill unless I have to. Now let's go, Kino." Demands Lilly

"Let's go back by the river then no one is over there."

"Lead the way Kino." Kino and Lilly take off.

"Alice, stay with Luna. I'll be right back."

"Ok Kiyo."

Kiyo turns toward the earth bears that for some unknown reason stop charging and are now approaching more cautiously. He starts walking towards them drawing Onyx from its sheath. Onyx then begins glowing a reddish-orange like it had just been pulled from the forge. There's a sudden increase in air temperature. Next the air becomes extremely dry. "Iaijutsu: Heat Burst!"

*

"What was that?" asks Leo.

"Hey Corym, what do you see from up there?" Abby shouts up to him.

Corym is on the roof of a barn near the entrance.

"Hawk Eye… That was Kiyo, looks like he took down three earth bears, and something happened to Luna. Alice is with her now."

"Where's Kino?"

"Hang on Abby… She's by the river fighting a cheetah demi human."

"That's fine and all, but we have our own problem."

"Would it be that only one earth bear is charging us Leo?"

"You got it Abby."

"Corym, do you see the other two earth bears?" Abby again shouts up to him.

"Yup, heading towards Kino, and that demi human she's fighting."

"Ok she'll be fine. Right now we need to focus on the one coming at us. Corym, Leo lets go!" Abby yells.

"Piercing Shot." Corym releases his arrow.

"Heed my call and come forth my stone golem: Roxy."

"Abby, did you really name your stone golem Roxy?"

"Do you have a problem with that Corym?"

"Not at all. But your ability pick names is…"

"If you finish that sentence Corym, I'm going to your kickass!" Abby shouts at him.

"Can you two stop flirting and focus on the task at hand." Demands Leo. A bit annoyed with the pair.

Fine they both answer in unison.

"Corym, place your shots in the joints of the front legs and Abby, you have Roxy hold it down once it falls." Leo orders the two.

"Piercing Shot Rapid Fire! Abby you're up!"

"Go Roxy! Hold it down. Leo go!"

"All right my turn Obliteration!" With a running start Leo swings his bronze mace with all his might smashing the earth bears head in.

"Nice work Leo."

"Corym, any luck spotting the Summoners?"

"Hang on Abby,...No nothing."

"Then use World Sight"

"I can't Leo."

"Why not?"

"It takes a toll on my eye every time I use it."

"Let's regroup with the others." Abby suggests.

*

"Stop holding back, and fight me for real!" Lilly screams as she lashes out with one of her chain whips.

"Start putting up a better fight Lilly." Kino counters. Easily dodging the attacks.

"I hate you!"

"Why?"

"You know why!" Lilly yells back

"Are you talking about the race we had?" Kino asks her.

"I'm talking about you turning my friends against me!"

"What? I didn't turn them against you."

"You lying fucking cunt!" Bellows Lilly. "Dawn even told me herself that everyone is tired of how I am. And they would rather be with someone like you."

At this point the two have stopped fighting and Kino is trying to follow Lilly's explanation of things. " Lilly, listen…" As Kino makes an attempt to figure this out she's interrupted.

"Rowrrr—!!"

"What more earth bears? Kino, what's going on here?"

"You're not working with the ones who have been attacking this place?"

"No, I tracked you down on my own."

"We can settle things later. Right now I have a job to finish. Close Combat: Meteor Strike. That's one down, hey Lilly need a…Lilly? Well shit she ran off. Guess I'll take the last one as well. Close Combat: Dragon Strikes."

"Everyone alright?" Kiyo asks.

"My head hurts a bit but otherwise I'm fine." Respons's Luna.

"My mace needs to be repaired, but otherwise I'm good."

"You should get a better weapon Leo."

"I would Alice, but this weapon was handed down to me from my late father."

"Maybe we should look into getting you guys a secondary weapon."

"I agree with Kino." Says Corym. "Lets look into it when we get back."

"What happened with Lilly?"

"That's a good question Abby, we went from fighting to talking, then the earth bears showed up. She disappeared while I was fighting one of them, and then I took out the other one."

"Why didn't you take her out?"

"I was trying to figure out why she came after me in the first place."

"Did you learn anything?"

"She thinks I turned her friends against her. That's all I was able to learn."

"So she's not with the summoners?" Asks Kiyo.

"Nope. When those two earth bears attacked she was just as surprised."

"I tried looking for the summoners earlier on top of that barn, but found nothing."

"Corym, can you try again? Only this time climb to the top of the church belfry, and do another sweep."

"You got it Kiyo."

"Kino, if he spots them, go and bring them back."

"I hope they put up a fight." Says Kino cracking her knuckles.

"Against you they don't stand a chance." Quips Alice

"The rest of you go get something to eat, and we'll join you later." Kiyo informs them.

"Ok lets go, I'm starving." Leo, Alice, Luna, and Abby start heading towards the small restaurant called Peaches. Its owners and a handful of the townspeople have remained. Everyone else has left temporarily.

"Order me lots of meat would you Alice?"

"Sure thing Kino, but I can't promise I won't eat it all first. Ha-ha-ha!"

"Not funny Alice!"

"Then why am I laughing Ha-ha-ha!"

"Hey guys, I see the summoners, but there's a problem!" Corym yells down to them.

"Come down and then tell us about it!" Kiyo shouts back.

"Both of them are just inside the tree line to the right of the road, but someone killed them."

"How?" Kiyo asks with a concerned look on his face.

"They were hanged with chains." Corym tells him.

"I'll be back." Kino takes off towards the woods.

"What else did you see?"

"One of them had what looked like a note attached to their shirt, but the body rotated away before I could read it."

"I'll read it to you then. (I HAVE TO GET FASTER, I HAVE TO BEAT KINO.) It repeats this over and over." Kino hands the note to Corym who then passes it to Kiyo.

"Did Lilly do this?" Kiyo asks his sister.

"Hanging people up is one of her favorite ways to kill. And chain whips are her choice of weapon."

"Was she lying about not killing unless needed?"

"I honestly don't know Kiyo."

"For now let's talk with Dale about the bodies. This seems like a situation in which the leader of this place needs to handle it. Then we'll catch the others up on what we found out, and eat something."

"Kiyo, you and Corym can go on ahead. I need to inform the headmaster about Lilly's actions."

"There's no need, Kino."

"Dawn!? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here on orders from headmaster Nemo. I was told that a couple of bodies had been seen here hanging from chains.

*

"Shin and Finn. Were the ones that had been attacking us. Sadly they're from this village. Dale informs everyone currently gathered in his office. Even with all nine of them in the office its still pretty spacious. Dale is seated behind his desk. Kino and Dawn are standing in front of him. Luna and Alice are seated on the sofa a coffee table in front of them. And on the opposite side of them is Leo, Corym, and Abby seated on the couch. Kiyo is standing next to the door a hand resting on Snow.

"Why would they attack their home?"

"It's hard to say Luna. If I'm remembering correctly they left ten years ago shortly after their parents were killed by True Believers. They would've been six years old when they left to go live with their grandparents."

"That's so sad."

"So Dawn, what's going on with Lilly?" Kino asks.

"Lilly left the school the day after you left. Because that happens all the time no one batted an eye. So when the room she was using was to be cleaned so someone else could use it. They discovered it had been vandalized. Every open space had the same message carved into it: I will get faster, I will beat Kino. A few days later reports started coming in about bodies being found hanging by a chain." Dawn explains to everyone.

"Look, this is going to sound crazy but hear me out." Kino pauses to gather her thoughts before continuing. "I don't think she's behind those killings."

"Why do you think that?" Dawn asks.

"She didn't kill Luna, only knocked her out. Alice was also right near Luna, and yet she didn't attack her. And lastly when we were fighting I didn't sense any intent to kill at all."

"So then who's been killing everyone?" Asked Abby.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Lilly and I have been teammates for two years. So I want to do everything I can to help her." Said Dawn.

"Dawn, Did any of the other victims have a note left with their bodies?" This question comes from Kiyo.

"Three so far that I know about. All said the same thing like the note found tonight."

"So to recap Lillys being framed for all the murders because she's obsessed with beating Kino, and the killer is taking advantage of that. Do I have that right Dawn?" Kiyo asks her.

"Yes."

"Any leads on who is framing Lilly?"

"Not yet."

"I have one last question for you Dawn?"

"Sure Kiyo, ask away."

"How did you know to come here tonight?"

"..." Dawn doesn't answer so Kiyo continues.

"We had only just found the bodies hanging in the woods, and yet you appeared even before Dale knew what was going on. So again I ask, how did you know to show up here tonight in Peach Valley?" Kiyo draws Snow from its sheath. "Who are you really Dawn?"