Chapter 7 - Chapter 7-A Dance

" FWIP!!"

" BANG BANG!!"

Tsucko was dashing around the town avoiding the unresting attacks of the Aces Guards. He was dashing from roof to roof jumping through burning buildings as they pursued him from above using flight magic.

[" Dam! These guys are quick!"]

" SHING!!"

' Uh!"

Hearing the sound of a sword being summoned he turned to find the leader of this particular group right on his tale.

" CLASHHH!"

Tsucko had already summoned his dagger and blocked the attack though the force from the man pushed him through a weakened wall back outside into the open. The man's sword was much larger than his dagger resembling a Claymore Sword from meadevil times.

Tsucko slid to a stop surrounded by a burning building that the fire had recently spread to. He looked up and saw the four true mages who then began to unleash once more.

" BANG BANG BANG!!"

Tsucko jumped back avoiding three shots of basic attack magic that landed right in front of him kicking up dirt along with a thin layer of ash that had begun to build up. Then the burly man emerged from the dust sword at his side and engaged Tsucko in close combat.

" CLANG CLING SWISH!!"

The man swung his sword with impressive speed but Tsucko reacted jumping over a attack at his waist.

" WHWUMP!!"

Tsucko countered with a kick to his gut but the man didn't react and simply picked his sword back up and continued swinging.

Tsucko's blade couldn't match the strength of the man's sword so he had to make sure he parried each attack and kept close to his opponent.

" CRASH!!"

The man picked his sword up above his head and swung it down at Tsucko who jumped back causing the blade to slice the ash and dirt. Tsucko looked up to the sky where the true mages remained watching their battle.

[" I know they have more advanced magic. That is why I'm sticking close to their comrade since I doubt they want to cause friendly fire...Luckily this man's ego seems catered toward killing me on his own."]

Tsucko dashed back in and their close combat continued. They each switched from offense to defense multiple times and Tsucko used a more flashy combat style consistent with kicks and hit-and-run attacks while the the other used heavy attacks and depended on his strength to tank any kicks or punches.

Tsucka dashed in for a strike with his dagger but the man sidestepped it and lifted his blade. Swinging from left to right in a downward stroke at Tsuckos exposed back.

" Swish!"

Tsucko jumped back as the man's sword missed its mark striking the ash again. Quickly Tsucko dashed back in as the man raised his sword to block. Tsucko though had no intention of striking with his blade.

" CLANG!"

Instead, he used his dagger as leverage and lifted himself up and over into mid-air. The man's eyes widened as Tsucko did a quick spin generating force for a powerful kick.

" THWAMB"

" Gah!"

Tsuckos kick landed and knocked the man off balance. He stumbled backward as the weight of the sword made it impossible to regather his footing in time.

["Let's put some more mana behind this one!"]

" BANG!!"

A punch that sounded like a gunshot echoed through the street as the true mages from above watched their commander get sent flying down the street and into a burning building.

" Captain!" A younger red-haired boy shouted

" Don't worry about him! We have an opening now so let's take it!!" A blond-haired girl reassured the boy and took command, pointing her staff down at Tsucko, who had not yet moved from where his punch landed.

" SHWIM!""

A red glow filled the ashen sky as sparks were being generated around the girl's staff. Then the sparks began to grow and took the shape of 8 metal spikes around her staff.

[" Mana manipulation! She's skilled."]

The 8 spikes were shot like bullets at Tsucko who flipped backward avoiding them all, but suddenly 8 more landed behind him stopping him in his tracks for a moment.

Tsucko looked up and saw a blue-haired boy had taken the lead spot with his staff pointed at Tsucko. A blue bubble began to grow at its tip but Tsucko knew it was no basic attack magic as it rippled like water.

" FWISH!!"

Fiercely water shot from the end of his staff like from a geyser at Tsucko who was caught off guard by its speed forcing him to quickly deploy defensive magic in front of him blocking the attack last second.

The rush of water didn't seem to end as it continued to press against Tsuckos defensive magic. The surrounding area began to billow white smoke as surrounding fires were being put out from the attack making it even harder for Tsucko to see.

But from above the True mages had a clear line of sight and were preparing to finish the fight. The girl and blue-haired boy had parted leaving a clear line of sight between them that revealed the red-haired boy with lightning building around him.

Tsucko sensed the mana build-up and poured even more mana into his defensive magic though he didn't know how much he would need so it was a slight gamble. He knew he had more mana than any of them and had been holding back for most of the fight, but this required all of his focus or his life could be lost.

[' Hm? Let's experiment!?"]

The lighting around the boy channeled down his staff and was unleashed in a flurry of red dancing light as it struck all around creating even more fires, and as it struck the water a conductive material for lighting it became one hell of a light show.

The lightning cracked and boomed as it struck the surrounding area where Tsucko was. The smoke from the fires blocked the vision of the True mages so they couldn't confirm a hit, and with the current bunch of mana scattered around they couldn't pinpoint which was his.

They watched as the lightning died down and the water stopped flowing from the blue-haired boy's staff and waited for confirmation of a hit.

An eerie silence filled the air as the girl attempted to detect Tsucko's magic. Mana remnants were still scattered in the air making it difficult and with the smoke on the ground they had no visual.

" Uh!!" The girls' eyes widened out of shock and pure disbelief. "He's still down there!!"

They all aimed their staffs down at the smoke prepared to unleash an onslot of basic attack magic, but before they could an orange flicker caught their attention from underneath the smoke.

" FUEE!"

That orange flicker grew violently into a spiral of fire resembling a tornado and shot up at them from the earth stopping just before reaching them. the heat and brightness of the flame made them cover their faces and fly slightly higher into the sky.

" Cough....Cough!" Smoke began to enter her lungs as she tried to escape the flame. [" Did he block all of that...? The amount of mana you would need to do that and still generate a cast like this would rival even the king!"]

[" Another gamble on my part but it paid off!!"] 

With a wide psychotic smile plastered on his face, Tsucko stood in the middle of his rotating vortex of flame as he heard it crackle around him.

[" I know I could have simply blocked it with defense magic as I had plenty of mana to spare but this...This is much more fun and guarantees my victory!!"]

Mana surrounded Tsucko but not like when he would reveal it allowing it to flow around his body freely. It was fastened to his body like a suit of armor.

[" Manipulating my mana to form around me, then using the same cast for defensive magic on it protected me from their little team attack."] Strands of mana wire extended from all ten of his fingers.[" And protects me from the flames now! Giving me a clean opening to kill them!"]

Tsucko bent down like an Olympic high jumper and shot himself up through the flame with tremendous speed.

All three True mage's eyes widened as they saw him rapidly approaching them. They didn't have time to put off defensive magic nor time for any offensive, they were caught completely off guard.

[" You didn't think I could reach you up here, did you! Since I never used flight magic you assumed you were safe up here! Ha Ha Ha!!! I'm No Ordinary Being!"]

The True mages watched helplessly as Tsucko shot past them like a rocket and catapulted the mana wire up behind him cutting through all three of them like they were made of clay.

The flame behind Tsucko then crawled back down to the ground as the True mages followed it. The surrounding area of their battle was left in ruins as not a single building stood.

Tsucko seemed to float for a moment and as he did he looked on to the chaos of the town. the view of burning buildings and ash flying through the air blocking out the moon caused his psychotic smile to turn into one of pleasure, a true happiness he had never felt.

["Their faces when they realize they are defeated, the look of terror when I reveal my true strength. The chaos I bring...It's all so beautiful...Much better than back home."]

The moon broke through the ashen sky and shined down on Tsucko who marveled in his strength! The moon should have been a bright blue but the fire from the earth and the dark ash that filtered into view turned it a dark orange.

[" God sent me here to achieve my dream, to create a truly free world where his creations can pass judgment if they're capable...I was sent here to make that happen...I am God's angel of death."]

Perhaps his vision was impaired or he was simply delusional. But if you were to look on to the same sight he was...You would swear the devil had been to this town himself.