《Ten no Seiza : Rise of Ao》 Chapter 0 Temporality and powers This is the narrator speaking to you, and I will only speak in italics throughout the novel And this is a character who thinks, sometimes indicated, but mostly Ao ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ: "And this is me, ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ, engaging in a dialogue.. all by myself.." ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ: "Come on ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ, I''m here you know?" ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ: "That''s right.. What would I do without you, T¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ" In 2035, A creature named ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ awoke, deep in the B¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ space. This creature created many things, including what are known as ¡®Celestials¡¯, huge asteroids in appearance, but containing a consciousness of their own, a crust made of a super-powerful and naturally energetic metal known as ¡®Celestial Flesh¡¯ And even stranger things These ¡®Celestials¡¯ have changed the very rules of our Universe, by beginning to manipulate and link themselves to the stars of our cosmos, and choosing to give the power of the stars to the human beings of planet Earth, giving them supernatural abilities based on the type of star linked to them. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.This led to the collapse of our civilisation, as humans completely lost control of their new powers The ¡®Star Disaster¡¯ Chaos and war reigned for more than 2,000 years, the Age of Chaos. Before a legendary group of warriors put an end to it, and created the Pendragon Alliance. And the Age of Kingdoms began Great edifices were erected in honour of these legendary heroes, who gradually disappeared, taking refuge in their own private dimensions. But the alliance endured, and continued the pacification by creating kingdoms everywhere, using.. let''s say unorthodox means Today, 3,000 years after the Star Disaster, the Pendragons are fighting to halt the advance of a highly contagious energy that is turning humans into ¡®demons¡¯. According to them, the world is on the verge of falling into darkness.. This is where Ao''s story begins Chapter 1 : The journey begins.. In a pocket dimension belonging to a legendary warrior, A little boy called Ao was born, grew up and was raised by the inhabitants of this small place, His master and his many servants In this dimension, a great temple was built, in memory of a deity in whom the inhabitants have faith, and an enormous library in the basement, containing a vast quantity of books, films and other knowledge from the ancient world. Today, 11-year-old Ao is enthusiastically preparing for his journey Knock on the door ¡®Ao! Wake up, your master is waiting for you!¡¯ Ao gets up from his bed and prepares himself by putting on his training clothes, which consist of a simple brown haori and trousers. He opens the door to his room and descends the stairs to his mezzanine to meet his master at the entrance to the temple Points at his feet Gets closer to his master ¡®Yes master ?¡¯ Slaps Ao in the face ¡®Show some respect, Ao¡¯. Sneers silently ¡®Come with me¡¯ Ao and his master stop in front of a closed door, which isn''t attached to any wall or building, it''s just a door that stands on its own in front of them Stands next to the door and looks at his disciple ¡®Listen to me carefully Ao, because once you go through this door, you won''t be able to go back¡¯ Sigh ¡®I''m serious.¡¯ Deep breath Puts his hand on Ao''s shoulder Ao looks at his master with a embarrassed look Looks around Eh.. Why are the servants here too? Why do some of them look so.. sad? Taps Ao on the shoulder ¡®Well, here''s the purpose of this test¡¯ Turns to his master ¡®I''m listening Master!¡¯ Confused look ¡®Wh.. What?¡¯ Ao opens the door and sees nothing beyond, just emptiness. He takes one last look at his master, then leaps inside the door *Fascinated look at the horses* A man with a sword gets out of the cart and walks towards Ao, ready to draw his weapon Ao moves out of the way and shakes his clothes full of dust and dirt Sigh Well, I''ll explore around a bit, I''m sure I''ll find some clues somewhere. A little girl with long black hair and a torn, blood-stained dress approaches and begs Starts to cry Compassionate look rying Smiles Throws herself into Ao''s arms ¡®Thank you!¡¯ Looks at the sign of a dilapidated building A saloon? That''s what you see in westerns! Ao and the little girl head into the saloon, and see lots of people inside, getting drunk He directs the little girl, staying close to her, and tell her to sit down at an empty table Stomach growling ¡®Hmm.¡¯ Embarrassed and blushing Ao goes over to the main counter and sees a half-drunk waiter waiting him *Shocked look, then* ¡®AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡¯ Loud laugh Wipes tears from his eyes ¡®Aaaah you''re new, right? Uuuuh.. You should get out of this village, kid, Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Cuts off The door of the Saloon slams loudly, a group of 5 people dressed in long black ponchos with a gold design embroidered on top arrive aggressively, and shout Points to the little girl sitting on the empty table The 5 people are getting dangerously close to the little girl, but Ao gets in their way Gets pushed Smile ¡®I don''t think you understand.. this little girl is under my protection now!¡¯ The man in the poncho #1 holds his men back to avoid escalating the situation *Serious look* Ao gets angry, and releases his aura, The saloon tables shake, the wood of the building cracks, and a small blue aura surrounds young Ao A shockwave emerges around Ao, pushing the men in the black ponchos back and getting into a fighting stance Runs at Ao Ao quickly dodges ???#4, and gives him a huge flying kick in the face and go through the wall of the saloon The people inside start to get scared and run away from the scene towards the counter Prepares to throw a punch at Ao Ao takes his punch with his arm, and throws a right punch that sends him flying out of the Saloon ???#1 waves his hand and casts a spell K¨­soku¡¯ Dodges quickly and puts his hand on ???#1 ¡®Sh¨­kyaku¡¯ Enhance: Full body¡¯ Enhance: Full body is a technique that allows a large amount of star power to flow through the user''s body ???#1 and Ao engage in martial arts combat, the two are fighting as equals and inflict wounds on each other The black poncho on fire starts a fire in the Saloon, but the two continue to fight regardless, paying no attention to the situation they''re in Thoughts of ???#1 Waves his hand ¡®STOP!¡¯ Stops in front of him, still on guard ¡®What? You admit defeat?!¡¯ Turns to the little girl, and.. Completely shocked and frightened look Growls and devours Breathes heavily Blood?!.. everywhere.. She''s eating.. the people in the Saloon?! A horrible scene takes place in front of Ao and the 3 people behind him, the little girl is like possessed, a black aura surrounds her, black pointed nails have grown on her, and are tearing the flesh of the people who had taken refuge at the counter to eat them Closes in on Miki ¡®Miki.. What''s wrong with you?!¡¯ Turns towards Ao, his mouth is dripping blood, his face is full of black veins and his eyes are completely black Sees Miki''s changed face Jumps towards Ao and tackles him to the ground and screams ¡®GUUEUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAHH!!!¡¯ Holds her back as best he can ¡®CALM DOWN MIKI!! PLEASE CALM DOWN!!¡¯ Ao starts to get scratched, and the little girl is about to bite him, when suddenly.. SLASH A sound of severed flesh is heard throughout the Saloon ???#1 pulled a katana from his belt, and cut the little girl''s head off, blood streaming down Ao''s face, completely shocked by the scene Yells and cries ¡®CALL ME BACK, MASTER!!!¡¯ Sheds the body of Ao''s little girl and takes him in his arms ¡®Breathe Kid.. It''s alright!!¡¯ Ao remembers Ao stops remembering Breathes heavily ¡®Where.. where am I?¡¯ Breathes hard and shouts ¡®ANSWER ME!!¡¯ Ao is breathing harder and harder and is having a panic attack, the people in the black ponchos are getting closer to him and are trying to help him as best as they can His vision blurred.. and he understood why his master had told him the purpose of the test in such an incomprehensible way.. Ao.. must prove himself worthy.. by surviving on planet Earth, in the continent of the Pendragon Kingdoms And above all.. he must discover the truth.. the truth about this world, and its destiny Chapter 2 : 10 years later, In the prison of the Silver Fang ----- 10 years later ----- The air is damp on this full moon night, A man, on the verge of losing his mind, looks up from his stone tower at the moonlight for the last time, While others sleep like rocks, or party for.. no reason at all? A fearless young boy decides to get closer to the tower, This young aspiring warrior has a big mission: to capture the bandits who live there Single-handedly, he slowly makes his way towards the tower, where he sees some scoundrels getting drunk and having fun throwing knives at an outside wall As the young man prepares to cast one of his favourite spells for capture, He was surprised, hiding in his bush, by some fighters in battle-scarred armour who were doing their rounds on guard The bandits caught the young boy without any difficulty and led him to the tower to suffer the consequences, The consequences of wanting to become a warrior, to make those around him proud, for a noble cause, On a mission as dangerous as this one, the little adventurer had took a quest bigger than himself, as usual It''s not enough to be fearless and intrepid, you also have to know the cost of exposing yourself to danger Tonight, the young man will be kept in the prison of the Silver Fang, until he can be sold to the highest bidder This is how Ao wakes from his sleep, awakened by the drops of water falling on his nose ----- In the basement of the Silver Fang Bandit Tower, Prison ----- So noisy tonight! Between the prisoners insulting each other and the noise of the water drops! Luckily the prison beds are comfortable I don''t know how they did it, but their mattresses, although a bit mouldy, allowed me to sleep for a few hours without too many nightmares.. I''ve only been here a few days, and I think I''ll stay a little longer before setting off again to discover the surrounding kingdoms But I think it won''t be long before I''m contacted for a mission, as I can sense the presence of the Golden Order not far from here I''m often hired as a mercenary, well, I don''t consider myself one I''m just doing a favour on my journey, without really looking into the whys and wherefores.. Even though I can''t help but get involved in things that don''t concern me But hey.. I''m still moving towards the goal of my journey, and I''ve still got a lot of work to do before I get there Aaaah.. but what a comfortable bed! Our dear Ao, dressed in a torn black poncho, shirt and stained, blackened jeans, Wakes up in a small, dilapidated cell, in a musty, soaking wet bed The prison is just one long corridor, with cells for left and right prisoners, Still lying there, eyes closed, he begins to hear the prisoners getting more and more agitated Prisoner #1: ¡®AHAHAH Fresh meat just arrived guys!!!¡¯ Prisoner #2: ¡®SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU PERVERT!!!¡¯ Prisoner #3: ¡®SHUT THE HELL UP!!!¡¯ Spitting noises are heard in the prison, and the body of a young man is dragged by two bandits into the middle of the prison Suddenly, the boy screams Young boy: ¡®I swear, if you don''t let go of me, you''ll be hearing from the KING OF KAMELOTT!!!¡¯ Prisoner #1: ¡®AHAHAHAH He''s got a mouth on him¡¯ Prisoner #2: ¡®We''re going to beat the shit out of you, kid! You should have stayed in your warm little kingdom AHAHAH!¡¯ Camelot?. But that''s the name of Arthur''s kingdom, with Excalibur and the Grail and the Lady of the Lake and Merlin and.. A prison cell gate creaks open, a guard opens it and throws the young boy inside, handcuffed by a large piece of metal locked electronically Young boy: ¡®SINCE IT''S LIKE THIS, I''M GOING TO BREAK MY HANDCUFFS WITH MY TEETH¡¯. The young man starts desperately clacking his teeth on the handcuffs He can''t be serious? with his teeth? Good luck munching on that Celestial flesh alloy I''m curious about this Camelot story, does it really exist? I thought it was a fictional novel Young boy: ¡¯ GNN GNNNNN¡¯ Sound of teeth chattering on hard metal Prisoner #3: ¡®Garcia, get the screwdriver out!¡¯ Prisoner #1 (Garcia) : ¡®SHUT UP I DON''T NEED YOU¡¯ Prisoner pulls out screwdriver The prisoner takes out a screwdriver from under his bed, and quickly turns the lock on his half-locked cell An unlocking click is heard Garcia: ¡®And there it is! AHAH¡¯ Prisoner #3: ¡®Give it to me! I want to have some fun too!¡¯ Garcia: Throws the screwdriver at the prisoner''s face ¡®Hurry up, there won''t be any left for you soon!¡¯ Prisoner #2: ¡®FUCK, WAIT FOR ME!!!¡¯ The prisoners get even more agitated and start trying to get out of their cells to go to the young boy''s cell Sigh Can they shut it?!! Ao turns over in his bed, trying to get back to sleep Garcia: Stands in front of the young man''s cell ¡®Hey you!!! AHAHAH¡¯ Young man: ¡®Help me get out of here!¡¯ Garcia: ¡®Of course, with pleasure¡¯ Sneaky laugh ¡®But before that.. we''re going to sort out your little Kamelottian ways!¡¯ Garcia licks the bars of the young man''s cell, which doesn''t bode well for him OK, I get it, I''m getting up! Ao gets up from his bed, stretches hard and continues to hear the prisoners getting restless and coming out of their cells to find themselves in front of the young man Huh?! But they''re all standing in front of a kid''s cell! More importantly, what''s a kid doing here? Ao''s cell is right in front of the screaming prisoners Prisoners: ¡®OUH OUH OUH¡¯ Ao: Hisses loudly ¡®HEY DICKHEADS, GET BACK TO YOUR CELLS!¡¯ Garcia: Turns to Ao ¡®WHO''S THE DICKHEAD ?!¡¯ Ao: ¡®You heard me right! I was having a nice nap and you''re keeping me awake¡¯ A prisoner takes the screwdriver and bangs on the bars of Ao''s cell Prisoner #3: ¡®YOU HAVE A PROBLEM YOU LITTLE..¡¯ Gets interrupted by a punch to the face and nose bleeds badly Ao: Punches the prisoner in the face ¡®Last warning, guys¡¯ Garcia: ¡®Okay..¡¯ Points to Ao''s cell ¡®Slaughter him!!!¡¯ The prisoners smash into the bars of Ao''s cell, and the bars start to come off the wall Well, how many are there? 3,4,5.. 6 ! And I''ve just woken up, I don''t feel like fighting! So.. He perks his right fist and prepares to strike in the direction of the prisoners It''s clearly not your lucky day! The bars of Ao''s cell come off the wall and the prisoners rush towards him Ao: Shoots his fist at the prisoners ¡®Nova¡¯ Nova is Ao''s signature technique, and one of his favourites This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.The moment the fist touches the prisoner, and throughout the entire Nova technique, an irresistible and extremely strong force draws all the prisoners and their internal organs to Ao''s fist, A blinding blue light that lasts for a fraction of a second surrounds Ao''s fist. Then, a large ball of blue energy forms in the prisoners'' bodies, and explodes The prisoners explode from the inside, and their organs scatter all around the prison and blood splatters on the walls and on the young man, who has not yet realised what has just happened Phew.. I did the smallest Nova I could, I don''t really want to collapse the prison.. Well, I''m going back to bed! Young boy: ¡®I.. don''t.. don''t hurt me! He gets down on his knees and starts to cry Ao: ¡®Huh? Oh..¡¯ Seeing the young man''s body stained with the blood of the prisoners I''d completely forgotten there was a kid there.. Sigh Ao slowly approaches the young man''s bars, unhooking them from the wall with a sharp tug, and places his hand on the boy''s shoulder Young Boy: Jumps ¡®AAAH¡¯ Ao: ¡®Calm down! I''m not going to hurt you!¡¯ Surely he hasn''t seen anyone killed before, is he a civilian? Ao: ¡®What''s your name? And what are you doing here?!¡¯ Young boy: Tremble ¡®My name is Gin, and I must.. capture the bandits of the Silver Fang¡¯ Ao: ¡®Capture? But you''re the one who got captured¡¯ Disappointed look Gin: ¡®THEY TAKEN ME BY SURPRISE!!!¡¯ Ao: ¡®Yeah, right. And you''re going to tell me you''re supposed to capture them on your own?¡¯ Gin: ¡®Yes.. I have to¡¯ clenches his fists tightly and looks at Ao with determination Hmm.. None of my business Ao: ¡®OK.. listen to me, I''m going to untie you, go home and train more before committing you to such dangerous missions¡¯ Gin: ¡®You don''t understand. I must succeed this quest!¡¯ Ao: ¡®Then get stronger and maybe you''ll succeed! Fighting the Silver Fang bandits is one thing, but against their leader you don''t stand a chance!¡¯ Gin: ¡®BUT!¡¯ Ao: ¡®Show me your handcuffs¡¯ Gin: Shows Ao his handcuffs ¡®That''s Celestial flesh, you won''t be able to untie that easily! It absorbs star power and..¡¯ Ao: ¡®I know what it is, but it''s Celestial flesh alloy, it''s really very simple to unlock¡¯ Gin: ¡®Huh?!¡¯ The initiation system for Pendragon warriors is really that bad.. Disappointed look Ao puts his hand on the handcuffs, and sends an electric shock inside to unlock them A click is heard Gin: Takes off his handcuffs, stunned ¡®Wow.. How did you do that?¡¯ Ao: Wipes Gin''s face with his poncho ¡®A simple electrical spell, the Silver Fang clearly aren''t rich enough to afford to make handcuffs out of pure flesh, so the star power comes through¡¯ Gin: Embarrassed ¡®Hmm.. I forgot, what''s your name?¡¯ Ao: ¡®Call me Ao¡¯ Gin: ¡®Thanks a lot, Ao.. And uhhh..¡¯ Looks at the torn "bodies" of the prisoners Ao: Sigh ¡®Don''t worry about it, they were scumbags¡¯ Gin: ¡®Help me capture the Silver Fang, please!¡¯ Kneels down Ao: ¡®YOU DIDN''T LISTEN TO ANYTHING I TOLD YOU!!!¡¯ It''s none of my business.. I''m going back to bed! Ao starts walking to return to his cell, when suddenly Gin yells Gin: ¡®I MUST SAVE MY SISTER, PLEASE!!!¡¯ Ao stops Gin: ¡®She''s very ill.. and we have a way of curing her, but to do that.. I have to complete this mission first¡¯ What''s this sensation I sense on this kid ..?! Ao''s body shivers slightly, as if he senses something unpleasant Ao: ¡®What exactly will this mission give you?¡¯ Gin: ¡®The title of Warrior Class 3!¡¯ The what? That''s a rank, isn''t it? Like in video games.. or guilds.. a guild? Ao: Turns around ¡®Are you in a guild?¡¯ Gin: ¡®Yes, one of the most prestigious in the Kingdom of Kamelott¡¯ Hmm.. Maybe I could get a private audience with their king.. But really... I''ve got to stop meddling in things that are none of my business Ao sits up, then lies down on his bed, ignoring Gin''s words Gin: ¡°Please! Don''t ignore me!!!¡± Ao pretends to snore Suddenly, at the far end of the prison, an iron door slams, and a man in armor comes dangerously close to Gin and Ao''s cells Man in armor: Slowly strides into the prison, looking at the cells ¡°Where are the prisoners?!¡± He stops in front of a blood-stained wall, with burnt human organs lying in front of him Man in armor: ¡°WHAT THE...¡± Gets interrupted Gin appears behind the man in armor, and prepares to strike him Gin: ¡°Enhance: Left punch¡± Sends a left punch The armor vibrates, but withstands the punch without difficulty, Gin not having put enough power into this blow The armored man quickly turns to Gin, and draws a sword from his waist Man in armor: ¡°YOU DID THIS?!!¡± Dashes at Gin with his sword The man in armor sends lateral sword blows to try to hit Gin, but dodges the few blows Suddenly, the man in armor throws his sword at Gin, who barely dodges it Gin''s thought He''s throwing his sword at me?!!.. Gin prepares his fist for the next Enhance blow, but.. The armored man advances on Gin very quickly, and surprises him by grabbing him by the shoulders and knocking him to the ground, he stands over Gin, and starts punching him in the face Argh.. AAARGH.. I need... to... get off him!!! The sounds of cracking bones, spurting blood, manly grunts and boyish torment can be heard throughout the prison Ao''s thoughts Sigh He''s being beaten to a pulp.. The noises continue ... ... ... What the hell, is he still hitting him?! If he continues, he''s going to kill him The noises still continue ... ... ... SHIT!!! Ao quickly gets up and runs down the corridor, sending a huge kick into the back of the armored man The armor breaks on impact, and the man is sent flying several meters in front of Ao Ao looks at Gin''s face, and sees that he''s covered in wounds Nose, both arches of the eyebrows and jaw broken, and also bloody But Gin is still breathing Ao: Bends down to him ¡°You''re really too weak to capture them, aren''t you?¡± Gin: Breathes with difficulty ¡°My.. sister..¡± Ao: ¡°Yeah, yeah..¡± Exasperated sigh ¡°Okay, don''t move¡± Ao stands up, and puts his hand in his front jeans pocket.. and digs deep Ao: Searching in his ¡°big¡± pocket ¡°Hmm.. I think I''ll give him a light power pearl, I feel like he''s slowly dying..¡± Ao pulls out a small bag of white pearls from his pocket, and feeds a pearl to Gin Gin: ¡°Wha.. What''s that...¡± Ao: ¡°A senzu¡± Gin: ¡°A what?¡± ... Another one who doesn''t know their classics.. Ao: ¡°A pearl of light power, let it do its work¡± Bone-cracking noises begin to be heard in Gin''s face, as if he were slowly rebuilding himself Within seconds, Gin''s wounds are closed and he feels great Gin: Gets up very quickly ¡°What... BUT..¡± Touches his face, shocked Ao: Places his hand on Gin''s head ¡°Yeah it''s working fine, you''re lucky to run into me¡± Gin: Looks at Ao with fascination ¡°Th.. Thank you so much, Ao!¡± Salutes Ao several times At least he knows respect Gin: Looks at Ao with excitement ¡°HELP ME CAPTURE THEM NOW!!!¡± Ao: ¡°THE NERVES ON THIS KID !!¡± Taps the top of Gin''s head with his hand Gin: Kneels down in front of Ao ¡°I''m begging you, Ao, help me!¡± Ao: ¡°Don''t you just want to go home?!¡± Gin: Speaks sadly ¡°I can''t do this... my¡± Gets interrupted Ao: ¡°YES, YES YOUR SISTER, I KNOW!!..¡± Gnnnnn Ao looks at Gin in frustration This kid is getting on my nerves.. Suddenly, Ao notices something in Gin''s natural aura Ao''s eyes change from anger.. to fear and excitement He takes a small step back.. and is astonished to see what he sees in Gin''s aura Gin: Lifts his head towards Ao ¡°Ao?..¡± Ao: Rubbing his eyes ¡°Hmm..¡± Gin: ¡°What ?¡± If what I''ve seen is real.. I could maybe reach one of my goal! A frightening smile spreads across his face Gin seems worried by Ao''s odd reaction, and slowly gets to his feet Ao: ¡°Ahem..¡± Completely rubs his face and takes a serious stance ¡°Okay.. I''ll help you, Gin¡± Gin: ¡°REALLY?!!¡± Ao: ¡°But on one condition..¡± Gin: ¡°Oh.. What do you want?¡± Ao: ¡°I just want you to tell your superiors about me.. tell them I helped you capture them¡± Gin: ¡°Hmm.. I don''t see any problem in doing that, yes¡± Ao: ¡°Well, keep your promise, okay?¡± Extends hand to shake hands Gin: ¡°Yes!¡± Shakes hands with Ao, promising that he''ll tell his superiors about Ao The two characters, now standing in the middle of the Silver Fang prison, are ready to get out and face the threat.. But is Gin prepared to do what''s necessary? Chapter 3 : Sulfurous Silver Gin moves closer to the armored man, lying on his stomach and unconscious, who has been swung to the bottom of the prison by Ao, and puts on the automatic handcuffs he was wearing earlier, and locks them Ao: Walk closer to Gin ¡°Do you have to capture the whole troop?¡° Gin: Turns back to Ao ¡°Yes, they''re wanted for destroying a nearby village in the kingdom of Kamelott¡° Silver Fang, destroying a village? That''s not something they would do.. Looks at the unconscious man in armor Ao looks puzzled, and takes a moment to reflect while Gin waits patiently in front of him Ao: Looks at Gin ¡°How long are you going to wait for me?¡° Gin: Looks at Ao with admiration, eyes shining and a smile plastered to his cheeks ¡°Hihihi I''m waiting for big brother Ao to show me how we''re going to capture them¡± Ao: Exasperated ¡°Uuuuuuuuuuh..¡° Well.. I wanted to try to make a ¡°soft¡± capture without hurting anyone, but if I take into account the actions of the man in armor, and the news about the destruction of a village Zack must have lost control of his group.. or even worse Ao: Grabs Gin by his shirt ¡°I told you I was going to help you, and that''s what I''m going to do!¡° Gin: ¡°Why are you grabbing me all of a sudden?¡° Ao: Gently lifts Gin ¡°Prepare yourself!¡° Ao releases his powerful aura, which also surrounds Gin and levitates their hair and clothes He raises his head, his eyes glowing azure blue-white, and peers through the prison ceiling Ao and Gin are at the Silver Fang prison, in the basement Several bandits are sitting around a table drinking beer, on the ground floor Provisions, including food, weapons and armor, are stored on the tower''s 1st floor The leader of the Silver Fangs is at his desk on the 2nd floor of the bandit tower, admiring the full moon from his round window Ao dashes with his legs, then crosses the stone ceiling of the prison, still dragging Gin by his shirt The two find themselves directly on the first floor of the Silver Fang bandit tower, and surprise the thugs during their party Gin is stunned and lifted in all directions by Ao, who seems to be holding him as if he were a weapon Gin: Spinning in the air ¡°WoOoOow WooOoOoOow SsTOooOp It I''m GooOonna voOoOmit!!!¡° Bandit #1: Stunned, pulls a knife from his pocket and shouts ¡°What do you think you are doing, clowns?!!¡° Ao: Spinning Gin in the air ¡°Call Zack, I need to talk to him!¡° The front door of the tower behind Ao opens suddenly, and a troop of guards intervenes Guard: ¡°What the hell? Prisoners escaping?¡° Ao turns back to the troop of guards, while continuing to spin Gin, who is screaming Huh... Who are these guys ?! I don''t recognize them from the classic group Bandit #2: Starts to approach Ao ¡°Come on, back to your cells, rats!¡° Ao: Turns to the bandit, wields Gin''s body like a nunchaku and shouts like a famous martial artist ¡°Ouuuuuuuh!!!¡± Bandit #1: Points Ao with his knife ¡°Beat that fucking monkey!!¡° The Silver Fang bandits all runs at Ao, and.. Ao: Chops Gin by the ankle and whirls him around and onto the bandits ¡°ORA! ORA! ORA !!!¡° Gin slams his head into the bandits at high speed, who are slammed into the tower walls Additional guards enter the tower through the door behind Ao, armed with blunt swords and worn iron armor Gin: Tries to break away from Ao ¡°I''m going to puke!!¡° Ao: Releases Gin on the ground while sneering ¡°I just wanted to have a little fun!¡° Gin, immediately after being released, heads to a corner of the tower, and vomits from the turbulence he''s experienced Pfft.. Maybe I did go a little overboard with him Hides his mocking smile with his hand Armored guard: Dashes at Ao with his sword and yells ¡°You''re a dead man!!!¡° The guard attempts a sideways blow to Ao''s back of the head, but the sword breaks on impact, and inflicts no injury.. Guard in armor: Shocked ¡°WHAT..?!¡° Ao: Turns to the guard, and gently approaches him, smiling ¡°Are you going to call your boss, or end up slammed in the wall?¡° The guards seem frightened by Ao''s aura, and throw their weapons to the ground as they slowly back away Then, sounds of footsteps echo up the stairs and throughout the tower A person slowly descends the stairs towards the first floor, and everyone watches the staircase intently, waiting impatiently.. It''s probably Zack.. The armored guards at the entrance all move to the side of the staircase and kneel down Armored guard: Places himself forward, kneels shakily ¡°M.. Master Silver, we''ve been waiting, how do you feel?¡° The footsteps fade.. then, silence.. ... Suddenly, the armored guard''s head is cut off by a fast-moving black silhouette that immediately disappears As the guard''s body falls to the ground, the other guards behind him realize the scene, and start screaming Guards: Panicked and frightened, screams ¡°LET US GO MASTER!!!¡° No no, don''t shout! Ao: Whispers ¡°Shut up, all of you! You''ll upset hi..¡° Gets interrupted The other panicked and frightened guards also have their heads cut off by the silhouette, who disappears once more.. Ao gets into fighting position and searches for him Damnit.. Zack''s definitely lost it this time! How''s the kid doing? Turns his head towards Gin Gin saw the whole thing, and his face shows all the terror that he feels He, who had never been outside the Kingdom''s walls on his own before.. finds himself in the middle of a terrible carnage.. Ao: Whispers ¡°Gin, look the other way! Hey! listen to me!¡° Gin can''t look away from the battered bodies of the guards He sees the blood running down the stone floor of the tower, and his body begins to tremble As terror takes hold of him more and more, he begins to open his mouth, and is ready to scream NO ! Gin: Crying out ¡°DAD, HELP ME!¡° Suddenly, the silhouette appears in front of Gin, and prepares to chop off his head at very high speed Ao: Appears very quickly in front of Gin to protect him ¡°ZACK STOP!!!¡° The figure sends a powerful blow at Ao, who counters it with difficulty with his two arms and sends a great shockwave through the whole area The stones shake, and dust comes out, foreshadowing that the tower is about to collapse Ao, having countered the blow, holds back a hand full of veins and sharp black nails And the figure is revealed Ao: ¡°Zack! Fight it! Don''t let the dark power take you!¡° Zack Silver, leader of the Silver Fang gang and Ao''s friend A young man of the same age, with silver-white hair and a face full of kindness, now has a face full of black veins and two small horns that have grown out of the top of his head This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.His eyes aren''t completely black yet, as if he''s struggling to maintain control, but.. Zack: Growls and speaks in a demonic voice ¡°Help me.. Ao..¡° Ao: ¡°Concentrate on good memories!¡° Zack: ¡°Isabella..¡° Ao: ¡°Yes, that''s it, think of your wife ! What would she think of you in this condition?!¡° Zack: ¡°Those damn Pendragons.. THEY TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!¡° Shouts and shakes the tower Ao: ¡°You''ll make them pay sooner or later, Zack! But first, you''ve got to regain control!¡° Zack grunts and suffers as he tries to regain control And slowly, the black veins begin to disappear from his hands and face But.. Just as he was about to regain control, a man from the Silver Fang troop who''d been trapped in the tower wall unstuck himself earlier.. He panicked, grabbed a blunt sword from the ground and struck Zack in the back Ao: ¡°FUCKING IDIOT!!¡° Zack quickly turns on the man.. and the dark power takes over again Zack: Demonic scream ¡°UUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!¡° The tower shakes and is quickly collapsing Ao: Grabs Gin ¡°Let''s get out of here!!¡° Dashes through the tower wall Ao and Gin escape from the tower, which collapses soon after, and continue running at great speed through the forest to get further away Gin: On Ao''s back ¡°Stop, Ao! I''ve got to capture them¡° Ao: ¡°Are you blind? Their leader has been touched by dark power, you won''t be able to capture him!¡° Gin: ¡°The what? What''s all this about dark power?!¡° Is he kidding me?! How does he not know.. No.. It''s certainly what I''ve noticed in his aura that has to do with his ignorance.. Ao: Stops by sliding on the ground ¡°Gin, go hide!¡° Gin: Descends from Ao''s back ¡°What are you going to do?!¡° Ao: ¡°I''m going to stop him!¡° Gin: ¡°But we''re a long way from..¡° Gets interrupted Zack appears in front of Gin and is about to put his fist through his heart, but is pushed back by Ao Ao: ¡°Do as I say!¡° Gin: Panics ¡°O.. Okay¡± Runs into the forest to hide Ao: Gets into fighting stance ¡°Zack! Wake up, you bastard!¡° Zack (Demon): Bestial scream ¡°UUUUUEUUUUUUGHHHH!!!! Releases a great shockwave He''s almost at the end of the transformation.. He''s got to regain control or it''ll be too late! Zack is transforming into a demon, his skin covered in black veins, his teeth hooked and his eyes completely black with white pupils His face shows he''s in immeasurable pain, his body trembles and an evil aura emanates from him He lunges at Ao and starts hitting him from all sides Ao: Against Zack''s blows ¡°Wake up, Silver Zack! We''ve got a revolution to lead! Have you forgotten?!!¡° Zack suffers and screams while punching harder and harder He sends such a powerful punch into Ao''s face that he gets pushed back and retreats near a tree Ao: Touches his forehead and sees blood ¡°Ahah.. You haven''t lost your right, have you Zack?!¡° Zack: Suffers and starts crying, while speaking in a demonic voice ¡°Ao..¡° Ao: ¡°It''s just a scratch, Zack! Come on, pull yourself together!!¡° Zack: Screams ¡°Ao.. Kill me..¡° Ao: ¡°Hey! I know you want to get back to your wife, but won''t you stay with me for a while?¡° Zack: Relaxes from his fighting stance, arms flailing ¡°I won''t last.. Euuugh..¡° Ao: ¡°Push it out! Come on, you can do it!¡° Zack: Kneels down and shouts, raising his head to the sky ¡°KILL ME!!!!¡° The transformation is soon complete.. Ao: ¡°Is that what you really want, Zack?..¡° Zack: Looks down at Ao, crying ¡°Please.. do it..¡° Ao: ¡°.. Okay Zack¡± Prepares his fist ¡±I''ll go on 3¡° Zack: ¡°Make.. them.. pay.. for me!¡° Ao: ¡°I will.. Goodbye, my friend..¡° ¡°1.. 2.. ¡°Sends a punch through Zack''s heart ¡°3..¡° Ao holds Zack''s head on his shoulder, and gently falls asleep in peace.. I hope your wife is waiting for you somewhere.. Ao: ¡°You can come out now, Gin, It''s over..¡° Gin: Exits from his hiding place next to a tree, sad ¡°I.. I''m sorry.. Ao¡° Ao: ¡°Don''t worry, it''s all right..¡° Ao removes his arm from his friend Zack''s body, and lets the body fall to the ground.. And the rain begins to fall Ao: Comes up to Gin with empty eyes and puts his hand on his shoulder ¡°Come on, I''ll take you home. Looks at Silver Fang''s body ¡°We''ll take Silver Fang''s body with us, you''ll certainly get your promotion, you''ll just have to say that it was you who killed him¡° Gin: Starts crying Ao: ¡°We''ll go back near the tower, see if we can get what''s left of the group, you''ll have to tell me where Camelot is, though¡° Ao and Gin returned to the tower to collect the badges from the bodies of the Silver Fang Group.. There were no survivors of their leader''s terrible transformation into a demon Ao then escorted Gin to the northern entrance of Kamelott, under a rainy night lit by a full moon The journey took a few hours, accompanied by Zack''s body carried by Ao Ao: Walks with Gin towards Kamelott''s northern gate ¡°You haven''t forgotten our deal?¡° Gin: ¡°No, I haven''t¡° Ao: ¡°Be sure to tell them my full name, Aotahi, or ¡®Blue light¡¯ as you like, okay?¡° Gin: ¡°You can count on me¡° Ao and Gin walked for a few more minutes, then stood in front of Kamelott''s northern gate Ao: Drop off Zack''s body ¡°I''ll leave you here, Gin¡° Gin: ¡°You.. I can introduce you to my guild if you want?¡° Ao: ¡°Ahah, do it for me, will you ? I''ve got people calling me about something urgent!¡° Gin: ¡°Okay..¡° Disappointed, lowers head Ao: Lays his hand on Gin''s shoulder ¡°Don''t worry, kid, we''ll see each other again, right?!¡° Throws Gin a kind smile Gin: ¡°I.. I hope so! And I''ll give you a taste of my father''s favorite recipe!¡° Ao: ¡°Hihi, I can''t wait! Go on, make your report, third-class warrior!¡° Gin: ¡°Yes.. and thanks again Ao¡° Ao waves, then runs very quickly and disappears into the forest Gin: Shocked at his speed ¡°How does he do all that..¡° North gate guards: Closes in on Gin ¡°Halt!¡° Gin: Garde ¨¤ vous ¡°Aspirant Warrior Gin, I''m bringing the remains of the Silver Fang bandits to Kamelott''s justice!¡° North gate guards: ¡°And their leader?¡° Gin: ¡°I have his body.. I had no choice.. he almost killed me¡± Sad look North gate guard leader: ¡°Rest warrior, very good work Expect a nice promotion!¡° Gin: releases his guard ¡°Uh.. Thank you, sir¡° Gin has empty eyes on his face, thinking that he would have preferred to end this otherwise The guards at the north gate take the body of the Silver Fang leader, and head with Gin into Kamelott''s adventurer management office ----- Ao''s side ---- Ao stops for a moment and perches on a tall tree in the forest to get a better view of the Kamelott kingdom The kingdom is rounded by ramparts, classic architecture for a Pendragon kingdom, it''s pretty well lit and guarded despite the late hour.. But clearly.. My suspicions are confirmed, it''s a Pendragon nest in there! Releases a frightening, angry smile Ao climbs down from the tree, and runs even further to see a cave lit by a wood fire, where 3 people dressed in a long black hooded poncho with an embroidered gold logo are waiting for him What else are they going to ask me? Ao: Stops in the lighted cave and approaches the fire ¡°Thomas, Lirin, Teshi¡° Lirin: Female voice ¡°Did you have some fun, Ao?¡° Ao: ¡°You call this fun?¡° Lirin: ¡°You''re used to killing demons now¡° Ao: ¡°I''m not psychopathic enough yet to call it fun, unlike you¡° Thomas: (Red-haired man): ¡°Come on.. don''t get carried away, Ao.. I know he meant a lot to you¡° Ao: ¡°He was.. a very good friend¡° Teshi: ¡°That''s life..¡° Ao: ¡°Do you think that''s normal?¡° Teshi: ¡°What? We can''t help it, the dark power is taking over the continent!¡° Ao: ¡°Yeah.. And the best solution we have is to kill the people who are infected..¡° Teshi: ¡°Because you might have a better solution, genius?!¡° Ao: ¡°... Tss¡° Teshi: ¡°Yeah, that''s what I thought!¡° Thomas: ¡°Have you finished?¡° Ao: ¡°I''m listening, Thomas.. what are you calling me about this time?¡° Thomas: ¡°We''ve got a new assignment for you¡° Ao: ¡°No kidding¡° Thomas: ¡°An inter-kingdom tournament is taking place in 2 weeks'' time in the red desert of Artand We''ve prepared a false identity for you. Take part in the tournament and win! A very big client absolutely want to win the tournament prize¡° Ao: ¡°A Pendragon?¡° Thomas: ¡°We can''t tell you who he is, but I know you don''t want to work for them¡° Ao: ¡°Well?¡° Lirin: ¡°He''s not a member of the Pendragon alliance¡° Ao: ¡°...¡° sigh ¡°Okay, it''s as good as done!¡° Thomas: ¡°As always Ao, you never disappoint!¡° What''s the mess they''ve gotten themselves into again.. While Ao is about to embark on a mission of the utmost importance, Gin heads for the adventurers'' management office, where he will meet with the grand chief of the Kamelott guilds, and make his report.. Little did they know.. that their paths would soon cross again Chapter 4 : And he lived long and had too many children Kingdom of Kamelott, in front of the Shakespeare Guild Hall ----- In the guild master''s bedroom, 5:00 am ----- The alarm clock rings Already? Alarm clock beeps louder Okay okay Cuts the alarm and sighs Time to fulfill my role... as guild master Courage, William William rises from his bed and descends the long wooden steps of the empty guild hall He heads for the hall''s main counter, to brew a nice cup of coffee I always start my day with a good coffee, or maybe two, I''ll see We''re going to wake the fierce beasts! Shakes a bag of kibble A crowd of cats, dogs and rodents run up to the counter where William is standing He takes several large handfuls of kibble, and throws it all into the hall to feed the beasts William: Sips his coffee "Fire¡± All the lights in the guild hall come on, Oil paintings and quotes such as ¡°To be, or not to be, that is the question¡± are illuminated and revealed by the lights in the guild hall William Hmm, maybe it''s going to be a quiet day.. Sip and sip his coffee, and cough ----- 6:00 am ----- I''m going to open the guild hall and look at the news box, we''re sure to have some from the Kingdom of Reihim offensive Opens the guild hall, prepares to look at the news box, but is interrupted by the hall door opening ??? #1: ¡°OOOOHIIIIII WILLIAAAM BRING OUT THE BOOZE¡± William: ¡°Oh no..¡± ???#2: ¡°Ooooh the little cats, the little dogs!¡± ???#3 : ¡°Coffee, 5 sugars, milk, please¡± ???#4 : ¡°I need a quest, William¡± ???#5 : ¡°I''ve lost my cat again, I''ve come to ask for a quest Master Shakespeare¡± A group of people enter the guild hall, William is already completely overwhelmed by the number of people requesting services William: ¡°Well.. I''ve already got work to do!¡± Courage, William ----- 8:00 am ----- #167: ¡°Can you send a messenger to the Kingdom of Reihim? I need to know how my daughter is!¡± William: ¡°I''ll see what I can do, sir¡± As usual, it never ends.. How did I end up here? aaaaaaAAAAAAAAA ???: ¡°Daddy! Get some rest, I''m taking care of the customers!¡± William: Eyes full of tears ¡°Oooooh my little Yumi, you''re saving my life!¡± Yumi: ¡°Hihi! Go wake the others, it''s getting crowded!¡± William: ¡°Yes!¡± Yumi William goes up several flights of stairs, knocking on each door, many doors He stops in front of an open door leading to Gin''s room William: ¡°Where the hell has this kid gone?¡± ??? : ¡°Yo old man, I think he told me he was going to a friend''s, but you know him¡± William: Sighs and crosses his arms ¡°Yeah, he lied to you.. Go find him, Kin¡± Kin: ¡°Yeah, no worries, old man¡± William: ¡°IT''S DAD !!¡± Kin Each tooted door gradually opens, several people emerge from their rooms, ready to help William run the Guild Hall William: ¡°Takeshi, Rika, Minori, serve our customers in the Tavern area¡± Takeshi, Rika, Minori: ¡°Yes, Dad!¡± William: ¡°Ken, Tadao, we need help in the horse rental department¡± Ken, Tadao: ¡°We''ll go right away, Dad¡± William: ¡°Yuki, Hisako, Haru, go help your big sister Yumi at the main counter¡± Yuki, Hisako, Haru: ¡°Yes, Dad!¡± ----- 10:00 am ----- William reads the news on a tavern table, drinking coffee Damn Knocks his fist on the table the Kingdom of Reihim has been reduced to ashes.. I can''t believe it! I hope the civilians have been evacuated somewhere Kin: ¡°THE OLD MAN! GIN MADE A BIG MISTAKE!!!¡± William: ¡°AGAIN?!¡± Kin: ¡°Nah, this time it''s serious!¡± William: ¡°What did he do this time? Where is he?¡± ----- On Gin''s side ----- Gin is slumped in a chair, snoring, in the waiting room of Kamelott''s adventurer management office He''s been waiting in this room since his return from the mission, but the news has already spread up the chain of command... The Silver Fang group is no longer A tall man in noble clothes and tall leather boots approaches the waiting room ??? : ¡°Gin Shakespeare?¡± Gin : Sleeps deeply, drooling and snoring ??? : ¡°Ahem.. GIN SHAKESPEARE?!!¡± Gin: Jumps ¡°Euuaaaah!!!¡± Falls from his chair and stands up very quickly ¡°Y.. YES SIR!¡± ??? ¡°Sorry for the wait, little Gin, we had some very urgent business to attend to¡± Gin : Lifts his head and sees the face of the man speaking ¡°M.. Master Siegfried!!¡± Siegfried, grandmaster of the guilds: Kind smile ¡°Come on, Gin, forget the honorifics with me! Ahah!¡± The great guild master, Siegfried Pendragon!!! He will receive me... me !! Gin''s eyes shine with a thousand stars, showing how much he admire Siegfried Siegfried Pendragon If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Siegfried: ¡°Come on, follow me, we''ll talk about your report!¡± Gin: Very tense ¡°Y.. Yes Master Siegfried!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Ahah, you''re quite a fellow, little Gin!¡± Gin and Siegfried walk through the corridors of the adventurers'' management, the walls filled with gilding and noble, draconic motifs and the floor made of shiny, reflective black marble They arrive at the door of Siegfried''s office, and as they open the door, Gin marvels at the decoration of his large deskroom Large shelves full of golden books and grimoires, a study table with mysterious cartography essays, and various gadgets on his main desk Ferrofluid, waving and floating by itself, is displayed behind his seat in a large ¡°aquarium¡± lit by a violet light, and seems to act on certain parameters.. As Siegfried indicates for Gin to sit down, he walks over to his seat, runs his hand over his desk and starts a Newton pendulum on display at the side Siegfried: Sits down on the seat of his desk ¡°Good!¡± Goes through the many papers on his desk and takes Gin''s report in hand ¡°I''ve taken on board what you''ve said.. I just want to confirm some details with you, is that okay with you?¡± Gin: Sits down, still tense ¡°Er... Yes, of course¡± Gives a big, embarrassed smile Siegfried: A gentle smile spreads across his face ¡°Relax, Gin, I know you''ve worked very hard for a chance to save your sister Akane! You''ll be properly rewarded, including the 3rd class title you so covet!¡± Gin: Blushes and is so happy ¡°Thank you very much, Master Siegfried!!!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Good! Let''s have a look, then!¡± Siegfried painstakingly rereads Gin''s report on his mission, underlining certain passages with his finger He then turns his gaze back to Gin Siegfried: ¡°So, you were captured by the Silver Fang bandits, were you?¡± Gin: ¡°Yes.. I got caught while I was preparing an earth-type capture spell!¡± Siegfried: ¡°And so, you were almost assaulted by prisoners, and you were saved by a certain ¡®Ao¡¯, right?¡± Gin: ¡°Yes, he actually helped me a lot on that mission, but he wanted something rather.. strange in return¡± Siegfried: ¡°Hmm?¡± Gin: Scratches the back of his head, embarrassed ¡°Well.. He told me to tell you in person, not in a report.. hmm..¡± Siegfried: ¡°Don''t be afraid, what did he tell you to say?¡± Gin: ¡°He told me to tell you.. that his name was Aotahi, aka Blue Light, and that I report it to my superiors..¡± Siegfried: ¡°...¡± empty eyes appears on his face.. and he lets a short silence settle in Oh.. What''s the mess he''s gotten me into, Master Siegfried doesn''t seem to like it.. Siegfried: ¡°Pff.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!¡± Sneering in a loud voice Gin: ¡°Oh.¡± Astonished by Siegfried''s reaction Siegfried: ¡°Well, is that all? What a bizarre request!¡± Gin: ¡°Isn''t it?¡± Siegfried: ¡°Yes, you must have run into quite a fellow, probably a kid with superhero syndrome!¡± Gin: ¡°Well.. the name Blue Light does sound a bit superheroic¡± Ricane silently Siegfried: ¡°Ahem.. Anyway, you kept your promise, and that''s what''s important in the end!¡± Gin: ¡°Yes!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Well, let''s see the rest of this report!¡± Suddenly, a very angry person can be heard shouting and getting closer and closer to Siegfried''s desk William: ¡°WHERE IS THAT FUCKING KID !!!¡± William opens Siegfried''s office door very roughly, while Gin is absolutely terrified and hides behind his chair William: ¡°COME HERE LITTLE IMP!!!¡± Quickly approaches Gin Gin: ¡°AAAAAAAH!!!¡± Runs behind Siegfried Siegfried: ¡°Come on, William! What''s all the fuss about?¡± William: Shouts and points at Gin ¡°What''s this killing bullshit?! HAAAA?!!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Well, we were just about to talk about that!¡± William: ¡°This runt killed Zack Silver?!!! You''ve got to be kidding me!!!¡± Gin: ¡°IIIIIIIIIIH I DIDN''T DO ANYTHING DAD!!!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Gin hasn''t done anything that bad, in fact it''s his ally of circumstance who''s responsible for Zack Silver''s death¡± William: ¡°Who?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°We''ll talk about that another time, William! What I can tell you is that, according to Gin''s report, Zack Silver was contaminated by dark energy and had inevitably lost control!¡± William: ¡°Oh..¡± Slowly calms down ¡°I.. understand..¡± William''s thought It''s just as I feared.. poor Zack has been touched by the dark energy.. Sad look Siegfried: ¡°Well.. why don''t you pull up a chair, William, and sit down again, Gin, and we''ll discuss this report together, eh?!¡± Gentle smile William: Silently grunts Gin: ¡°A.. Alright¡± Gently moves closer to his chair, still frightened of his father, William Siegfried: Presses a button on his desk ¡°Clara, can you make a nice cup of coffee for my friend William?¡± Clara (Siegfried''s secretary): through speaker on desk ¡°How many sugars?¡± William: ¡°BLACK !!¡± Growls as he looks sideways at Gin William and Gin resume their seats, and the 3 characters continue to talk about the report and events of Zack Silver''s transformation into a demon ----- 12:00 PM ----- William, Gin and Siegfried rise from their chairs, having finished recapping Gin''s report Siegfried: ¡°Well done, Gin!¡± Gin: ¡°Thank you again, Master Siegfried!¡± William: Looks sideways at Gin and growls ¡°Why don''t you go join your big brother Kin, he''s waiting for you outside?¡± Gin: Scared ¡°I...I''ll be off then! Bye bye!¡± Speeds out of Siegfried''s office Siegfried: Sneering loudly ¡°Holy Gin!!!¡± William: Sigh ¡°I''m going to pay the king a visit, are you coming?¡± Siegfried: ¡°Um.. Have lunch with me instead, won''t you?¡± William: ¡°I need to get some information about the kingdom of Reihim.. A lot of people are worried..¡± Siegfried gives William a big smile and beckons him to sit down.. William complies without asking anything Siegfried: Presses a button on his desk ¡°Clara, is lunch ready?¡± Clara (Siegfried''s secretary): through speaker on desk ¡°Yes sir, as you requested, we''ve prepared an extra lunch!¡± William: Growls and crosses his arms ¡°You had it planned, didn''t you!¡± Siegfried: ¡°You know me!¡± Finger snaps As the finger snaps, the curtains on those windows close and the light dims in his office, giving way to an atmosphere bordering on top secret A two-armed robotic device emerges from the floor behind William, holding in each hand a lunch starter, a small green salad with tomatoes and fresh cheese The device''s hands extend all the way to the desk, placing one dish in front of William and the other in front of Siegfried, then returning to the hole from which it came William: Sigh ¡°I take it this is more bad news?¡± Siegfried: ¡°Well yes.. my sources reported some very strange things about the battle in the kingdom of Reihim.. We all thought they were going to be attacked by demons, didn''t we?¡± William: ¡°All signs pointed that a portal to Dirium (The dimension where the ¡°Demons¡± live) was going to rip open not far from them, why? Were they attacked by something else?¡± Siegfried: ¡°Well.. there was a portal tear.. but it wasn''t demons that came out of it..¡± William: ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°All my sources are positive.. What came out of the portal were humans..¡± William: Rises from his seat abruptly ¡°What?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°It hasn''t been revealed to the general public, as you can imagine.. There are two possible theories for this phenomenon: 1. Demons use necromancy.. or 2. The dark lord is now able to give human form back to demons¡± William: ¡°... Either way, it''s very worrying¡± Siegfried: ¡°You want to know what''s more worrying?¡± William: ¡°What, there''s more ?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°I can tell you one thing Currently In the Kingdom of Kamelott Demons lurk among us We don''t know what they want But certainly Nothing good¡± ... What a shitty day!! Chapter 5 : Arthur Pendragon King of Kamelott and future Sun God ----- Kamelott, Office of the Grand Master of the Guilds ----- ----- 1:00 PM ----- William hasn''t touched his salad since Siegfried''s announcement, and a heavy mood is beginning to fill the room But Siegfried continues to eat happily as if nothing had happened William: Grim look ¡°You announce such a crazy thing...¡± Rises from his seat and grabs Siegfried by the collar to shake him off ¡°WHAT SHOULD WE DO SIEGFRIED? DO YOU HAVE A PLAN? TELL ME?! UUUH?!¡± Completely panicked look Siegfried: Gets shaken by William ¡°Me? ahah..¡± Embarrassed look ¡°Not at all!¡± William: ¡°WHAT?! BUT HOW CAN YOU STAY CALM WHEN KAMELOTT IS IN DANGER RIGHT NOW!!!¡± Shakes Siegfried even harder Siegfried: ¡°Because...¡± Disengages from William ¡°Ahem.. My sources, who brought me all this precious information... It''s the Round Table¡± William: ¡°HUH?!.. But... does that mean?¡± Head down, reassured Siegfried: ¡°Arthur will surely take care of this problem in the afternoon, so you don''t have to worry Also, the Knights of the Round Table have also reported to me that more than 3/4 of Reihim''s civilians are still alive, we just don''t know where they''ve been evacuated.¡± William: ¡°... WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL ME ALL THIS BEFORE?!!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Because it always makes me laugh so much to see you so panicked, my little William hehe¡± William: Growls and takes revenge on the food by devouring it ----- Kamelott Castle, King''s Audience Hall ----- ----- 2:00 PM ----- ??? ¡°Are you sure of yourself, Miss Marin?¡± Marin : ¡°With great precision, Arthur¡± Arthur : ¡°Well.. I''m off to the North Gate market, I hear they''re selling some lovely crows¡± Marin : ¡°Don''t forget your going-out clothes¡± Arthur: Takes up his cloak of magical concealment ¡°Of course¡± Arthur Pendragon Arthur opens the back window of his courtroom, which brings a view of the north gate, and leaps from the window with phenomenal force, landing very silently on a small alley next to the marketplace Arthur continues on his way, stopping at a counter where three people are looking at an old lady''s knick-knacks Market of Kamelott Arthur: Incognito ¡°Hello ma''am, I hear you''re selling some lovely crows, is that true?¡± Old lady: ¡°hello my dear sir, what are you talking about?¡± Arthur: His fiery yellow gaze goes to the 3 people near the stand ¡°Oh really? I''d heard you had some very nice crows... very... DARK¡± Man in group of 3: ¡°Ahem... I think you mean the crows at another stand further down the market¡± Arthur: ¡°Oh.. really? Would you take me there?¡± A false smile appears on his face Man in group of 3: ¡°Sure, follow us¡± Arthur follows the 3 people into a dark alley, and is surrounded by 3 other people behind him Arthur: ¡°First of all.. I''d like to know what half-demons are doing in the peaceful Kingdom of Kamelott?¡± ???#1: Places his hand on Arthur''s shoulder ¡°Come on, how do you talk to nice strangers who show you the way?¡± Arthur: Blows on the person''s hand ????#1: Retracts his hand quickly, and his hand is burning at very high temperature, burn blisters appear ¡°aAAAAA..¡± Arthur: Looks at ???#1 ¡°Silence!¡± ???#1: Suffers horribly from his burning hand, but can''t shout Arthur: ¡°Shall I ask the question a second time?¡± ???#3: ¡°Ahah! No way, we just caught a really big fish!¡± ???#4: ¡°This attack... it can only be the king of this kingdom! AHAHAH¡± ???#5: ¡°We''re going to smash it!¡± ???#6 : ¡°DIE¡± Arthur: ¡°Rays¡± As Arthur utters Rays, the 4 people who tried to confront him melt like wax candles, motionless, unconscious ???#1 : Completely frightened, he cries and pisses himself, but still can''t scream or speak ??#2: ¡°They were such a pain.. Good riddance¡± Arthur: ¡°Spit it out if you don''t want to end up like them¡± ???#2: Sigh ¡°I know it sounds crazy... but personally I came to visit the Kingdom of Kamelott, I''ve heard nothing but good things about it in Dirium¡± Places his hand on his forehead and silently chuckles Arthur: Taps the ground hard with his leg ¡°You think you have the right to visit the kingdom of your enemies?!¡± ???#2: ¡°Enemy? I''m nobody''s enemy.. not since I''m no longer under the Dark Lord''s command¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Arthur: Angered look of fire ¡°Because you think I''m going to swallow that?!¡± ???#2: ¡°You don''t have to believe me, after all, it''s all still very new.. but if he let us go, it''s for a reason.. we have to tell you the truth¡± Arthur: ¡°Ah, the truth? I''m sorry, but I don''t believe demons can tell anything that resembles the truth¡± ???#2: ¡°Hmm.. Only the ignorant call us demons, you know...¡± Raises his head to the sky Arthur: Sigh of exasperation ¡°Well, I don''t feel like arguing with you here, so.. you and your friend are going to take a little walk in a room we''ve prepared just for you, unless you''d rather try your luck against me too¡± ???#2: ¡°Ahah! No thanks, no thanks¡± Stretches out his hands to indicate that he should be handcuffed ¡°Even if I think I''ve got a chance against a very diluted version of the Sun God¡± Arthur: False smile ¡°Yes, of course..¡± Cuffs the person very tightly and the other person down, fainting ¡°Marin, you can teleport us¡± Marin, far away in the castle: Near a summoning circle ¡°Arch level: Teleportation¡± Put both hands on the summoning circle Marin Arthur and the 2 people appear via a very bright light in the summoning circle Arthur: ¡°Good! It''s time to interrogate these ¡°brigands¡±, gentlemen, ladies.¡± Behind Arthur are 5 knights in armor engraved with various golden signs and motifs The knights of the round table will interrogate the mysterious person ----- Near the north gate market ----- ----- 4:00 PM ----- William heads for his guild hall, still stressed by Siegfried''s announcement William: ¡°If this got out, there''d be mass panic!!!¡± Kin: Suddenly appears behind William ¡°What would cause mass panic?¡± William: Jumps up ¡°AAAAH! Kin dammit! You scared me!¡± Kin: ¡°Sorry old man... I''ve been following you for a while, haven''t you noticed me?¡± William: ¡°I''m far too worried about certain details. By the way, where''s your brother?¡± Gin: Running in the distance behind them ¡°WAIT FOR ME, KIN!!!¡± William: Growls loudly and turns back to Gin ¡°YOU!!!¡± Gin: ¡°YAAAAAAAH!!!¡± Runs back to escape his father''s gaze Kin: Sneering silently ¡°Yo? Why are you so wound up about him, old man?¡± William: Sigh ¡°That kid... You know very well he''s not cut out to be a warrior...¡± Kin: ¡°Hey, haven''t you seen him in action? He''s got some really impressive earth techniques!¡± William: ¡°As if that''s going to be enough!!... Aaaah.. You don''t have to go to this tournament, kids¡± Kin: Serious look and light tap on William''s back ¡°We''ll bring home the winner''s prize Dad... No matter what!¡± William slowly turns back to Kin, and looks at him with concern and sadness Suddenly, Kin disappears very quickly... and William hears a kid screaming in the northern market Gin: ¡°AAAAAH KIN LEAVE ME ALONE!!!¡± Gin gets dragged to the ground by his big brother, who holds him by the legs, and drags him back to William Kin: ¡°You''re going to train with me and Yumi now!!!¡± Gin: ¡°WHAT?!!¡± Kin: ¡°If you want to take part in the tournament with us, then...¡± Looks at Gin with a dark, sadistic expression ¡°You''ll have to prove to me that you''re worth your new rank!¡± Gin and Kin bicker in front of William, who is exasperated and tired of this day.. William''s thought Hmm... do I smell something burning?... Turns his head towards a dark alley... and makes a disgusted face William: ¡°Well, kids! Come on, let''s have a nice cup of coffee¡± Kin: ¡°I''ll have a beer¡± William: ¡°In your dreams, kiddo¡± ----- 6:00 PM ----- Back in the interrogation room in Kamelott castle, prepared for the half-demons Arthur: ¡°So, this famous truth? What is it, half-demon?¡± Sits quietly on a seat opposite the kneeling half-demon ???#2: ¡°My name is Nobuo, I was a human like all of you... before the dark energy touched me and I lost control of my thoughts and consciousness¡± Arthur: Crosses his hands and rests his head on them ¡°... Continue¡± Nobuo: ¡°... I thought it was all over for me, even though I''d fought all my life to protect my homeland¡± Arthur: ¡°Your homeland?¡± Nobuo: ¡°I was a samurai of the Nobuyuki Empire, fighting all my life against what were thought to be ¡®demons¡¯¡± Arthur: ¡°Nobuyuki''s empire?¡± Marin : ¡°That''s impossible! Nobuyuki''s Empire was wiped off the map by demons over 200 years ago!!!¡± Nobuo: Very sad look ¡°I see... time has passed so quickly since that last battle¡± Arthur and Marin are shocked and can''t believe it, a samurai from an empire destroyed over 200 years ago? Nobuo: Experiences a very unpleasant sensation ¡°Oh no.. he''s found me¡± Arthur: ¡°Hmm?¡° Nobuo: ¡°Listen to me carefully, you don''t exist!!! Your lives don''t belong to you! You are prisoners of the Pendragon alliance!!!¡± Arthur, Marin: ¡°What... excuse me ?!¡± Nobuo: ¡°The balance has been completely upset, there aren''t supposed to be this many of us affected by dark energy, something''s stopping us from... Agh. AAAAAAAAAAGHHHH¡± Burns with a fire so hot that the windows and door explode in the room Arthur: ¡°Shield¡± Arthur protects Marin and his knights from the incredibly powerful burn that Nobuo is undergoing Marin: ¡°ARTHUR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STOP BURNING HIM!!!¡± Arthur : ¡°IT''S NOT ME, MARIN !!¡± Marin: ¡°Huh?!..¡± Terrified look, gazes out from room window ... ... ... ... ... ... Here we are, in a huge library thousands of miles from Kamelott, is sitting a man with long, slightly curly silver-white hair and a big beard, reading a book entitled ¡°Le Morte d''Arthur ¡° ??? : ¡°Hmm.. It''s strange... All these coincidences... I''m sure these kids don''t even know what an Arthurian legend is¡± ???#2: Voice distorted between masculine and feminine ¡°Probably a joke from your old friends.. what about the leak?¡± ??? ¡°It''s fixed¡± ???#2: Voice distorted between male and female ¡°Good.. my dear Leonard¡± So, the leak was corrected by our great hero The most powerful and dangerous man in the world Leonard Pendragon, original Sun God, creator of star techniques Chapter 6 : John Smith, secret agent ----- 1 week before the Artand Red Desert Inter-Kingdom Tournament ----- We meet Ao again, walking slowly through the great red desert that surrounds the kingdom of Artand He''s still dressed in his usual attire.. but wears sunglasses, and doesn''t let any emotion show on his face, like.. a secret agent I''ve been to this desert before.. a few years ago, but for completely different reasons Today, it''s just to scout the area for the next tournament I have to win I think.. it''s in a few days? I don''t know, I''ve always had trouble keeping track of what day it is.. although it doesn''t really matter anymore Well, let''s see if these earpieces work Ao takes a pair of wireless earpieces out of his pocket, and wears them over his ears while trying to communicate through them Ao: ¡°One, two.. One, two, do you copy?¡± A woman answers through the earpieces ???: sigh ¡°What is it, Ao?¡± Ao: ¡°I''m testing my equipment.. and I''d like to know, what day is it?¡± ???: ¡°As usual, a real knobhead!¡± sigh of exasperation ¡°It''s Friday, November 1, 5382, the tournament is exactly one week away!¡± Ao: ¡°Oh, right.. Thanks Akemi!¡± Akemi: Shouts ¡°SHOUT MY NAME EVERYWHERE WHILE YOU''RE AT IT!!!¡± Ao: Snide smile ¡°Call me by my fake name then!¡± Akemi: Angrily murmuring ¡°Hmm.. John¡± Ao: ¡°John what?¡± Akemi: Continues to mutter angrily ¡°Hmm.. John Smith¡± Ao: Sneering so hard that he falls onto the red sand and holds his stomach ¡°AHAHAHAH You didn''t go far with the name!!! AHAHAHAH¡± Akemi: ¡°Go and register instead of fooling around!¡± Ao: Sheds his tears of laughter and stands up ¡°Yeah, I was just about to!¡± Ao prepares his momentum, and with a great impulse, runs at high speed across the desert to a registration desk near Artand''s kingdom ----- At a registration desk near Ao ----- Several men are bored at the registration desk, half lying on the counter Man #1: Fatigued sigh ¡°What a boring job!!!¡± Man #2: Fatigued sigh ¡°You don''t s.. HUH?!!¡± Rises quickly from the counter and looks far in the distance A man at the counter sees a.. blue thing.. running at full speed towards them Man #1: ¡°Wow wow wow WOW WOOOOW!!! THIS BLUE THING IS GOING TO CRUSH US!!!¡± The blue thing stops short in front of the counter, and throws a large quantity of red sand into it Suddenly, the blue thing reveals itself Ao: ¡°Hello gentlemen, I''d like to register for the tour..¡± Counter receptionist (Man #1): ¡°DAMN IT BUT LOOK WHAT YOU''VE DONE!!! WE''VE GOT SAND ALL OVER THE COUNTER!!!¡± Ao: ¡°Oh..¡± Scratches the back of his head ¡°I wonder who did that..¡± Looks away Counter receptionist (Man #2): ¡°IT WAS YOU WHO WAS RUNNING SUPER FAST!!!¡± Ao ignores them while whistling, as if he''s trying to escape his responsibilities Counter receptionist (Man #1): Sigh ¡°OK! Give me your papers if you want to register!!!¡± Hum.. Gives the papers to the receptionist Receptionist: ¡°Your full name¡± Ao: ¡°John Smith¡± Receptionist: ¡°Profession¡± Ao: ¡°Secret agen.. hum adventurer class SS¡± Receptionist: ¡°Allegiance?¡± Ao: ¡°On the Kingdom of Sweets (does this kingdom really exist?)¡± Receptionist: ¡°Signature here, here, and here¡± *shows with his finger* Disclaimer contract, signed, tournament rules contract, signed, stalking contract.. authorized stalking? What the fuck? I''m never signing this thing.. Ao remembers Thomas: ¡°Even though I know you''re not going to screw up this operation, I''m telling you just this once, really. don''t. screw up.¡± Ao: ¡°Is it that important?¡± Thomas: ¡°So important that if you screw up, we''re all dead¡± Ao: ¡°Ah! Charming!¡± Thomas: ¡°I''m not kidding.. but you won''t be alone in this operation.. try to find your allies during the tournament¡± Ao: ¡°Yeah.. We''ll see¡± Ao finishes remembering Shit.. I''m forced to sign such a stupid thing.. Anyway, if they follow me after the tournament, I''ll lose them.. Receptionist: ¡°Well, have you signed everything?¡± Looks at the sheets ¡°Perfect, you can go to the same place in 1 week to take part in the tournament¡± Ao: ¡°Alright.. thank you gentlemen¡± Starts to leave Receptionist: ¡°Don''t forget your papers¡± Empty eyes stare Ao: Take his papers ¡°Hihi, what an airhead I am¡± Receptionist: ¡°You don''t say..¡± Looks at the red sand in his wicket Well.. I''ll see if I can land in a forest not too far away ----- On Gin''s side ----- ----- Hall of the Shakespeare guild, the tavern ----- Dozens of people are shouting and cheering, jumping up and down, laughing and raising their beer mugs around a kid.. That kid is Gin, who''s shirtless, doing push-ups.. and his big brother Kin is sitting on his back Gin''s thoughts EUUUUAAAAAARRRRRGH!!! HE''S SO HEAVY!! People in the tavern: Jumps up and shouts ¡°GO GIN, GO GIN, AGAIN!!!¡± Kin: ¡°Come on, are you struggling, warrior third class?!!!¡± Sadistic smile Gin: Gallows a lot to do push-ups ¡°AAARGH!!! I can''t take it anymore, big brother!!!¡± Suddenly, the sound of a whip can be heard in the tavern.. Yumi: Sadistic smile, carries a whip and enjoys whipping her little brother Gin ¡°Again, little Gin, AGAIN!!!¡± Whip Gin again Poor Gin is being trained by his big brother Kin and big sister Yumi, and is getting ready.. for Artand''s Red Desert Inter-Kingdom Tournament ----- 2 days before the Artand Red Desert Inter-Kingdom Tournament ----- ----- On Ao''s side, a forest surrounding Artand''s red desert ----- Ao''s belly rumbling The mushrooms in this forest are definitely not edible.. berk I''ve found almost nothing in terms of fauna in this forest, so it''s a good thing I''ve got emergency supplies in my dimensional pocket.. but still.. Takes a chocolate bar out of his pocket and crunches it The forest surrounding the Kingdom of Artand is really dry! Well.. this machine has been following me around for 5 days.. it''s probably the tracker from that damn contract, but still.. Ao: ¡°LEAVE ME ALONE, THE CANNING BOX!!!¡± This is at least the 10th time I''ve told him, and he pretends not to hear, hiding behind the trees.. sigh I''m pretty sure it''s a robot from the golden order.. or their client, or both This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. By the way, who is this client? For Thomas to tell me that if this operation fails, we''re all dead, it''s got to be a high-ranking representative.. at least Lirin made it clear that it wasn''t a Pendragon ... They''d better not have lied to me Crunching the rest of his chocolate bar Behind the robot camera following Ao is a spy in the lair of a very influential person ???: Female voice ¡°I''m afraid we''re following the worst mercenary of the century, master¡± ???: Very deep voice ¡°Appearances can be deceiving, Anne. Also, the Golden Order reported to us that he is their best element¡± Anne: ¡°In that case, why spy on him, Master ?¡± ???: "Because the best are unpredictable.. As you get older, you get suspicious. So will you one day, my dear disciple¡± Anne: ¡°What interests me most right now... is ending this war as quickly as possible¡± ???: And we''re working on it, despite the many defeats the neighboring kingdoms have suffered, we''re getting closer and closer to our goal¡± Ao: through robot recording ¡°And what is your goal?¡± Anne: shocked look ¡°WHAT?!.. Master, how is this possible? Can he hear us?¡± Ao: through robot recording, sigh ¡°Damn mosquitoes, your goal is to STING ME UNTIL I DIE!¡± Anne: ¡°... Truly the worst mercenary of the century¡± Exasperated look ??? : Growl in a very deep voice ----- On Gin''s side ----- ----- Kamelott''s elite training area ----- Kin and Yumi train brutally, fighting mercilessly in Kamelott''s elite training area A gigantic room covered in ultra-strong white metals, as well as numerous weapons, armors and artifacts to test in order to train the kingdom''s finest warriors Kin, Yumi: ¡°Enhance: Full body¡± The two engage in a brutal, technical martial arts close combat While Gin rests, sitting against a wall, drinking water from a plastic bottle Gin''s thoughts I''m really struggling to keep up.. Clenches fists in frustration The tournament.. is in two days, I''ve got to stay focused! For Akane..! Gin waves his finger in front of him, and an orange holographic computer window appears, displaying his various fighting statistics Gin Shakespeare, Third Class Vigor: 20 Stamina: 13 Speed: 14 Strength: 11 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 22 Pendragon Alliance Consideration: Great mastery of the Earth element We advise you to take the path of the Earth mage, or you can retrain in renewable building construction studies with our Pendragon alliance-approved and validated training courses! Tss.. I don''t care about that Honestly, i''ve never really thought about what I''d do.. once I''d saved my sister.. But for sure.. I wouldn''t stay in the war branch.. I''m not made for fighting.. I.. hate fighting Sad look.. and think of Zack Silver''s death ... ... Kin : Appears and shouts in front of Gin ¡°RISE UP, WARRIOR 3RD CLASS!!!¡± Gin: Rises quickly ¡°YES BROTHER!!!¡± ----- 2 hours before Artand''s Red Desert Inter-Royal Tournament ----- Ao redirects himself to the Artand kingdom registration desk, passing numerous warriors on the way Wow.. Muscles everywhere! I really feel like I''m standing out among all those muscles.. Ao''s earpieces: ¡°Ao unit, have you prepared your portable star techniques?¡± Ao: ¡°No need, I don''t intend to use any star techniques in this tournament¡± Ao''s earpieces: ¡°Ao Unit, I..¡± Ao: ¡°And it''s John Smith here, not Ao¡± Ao''s earpieces: ¡°... Alright, John Smith Unit, I advise you not to underestimate the participants of this tournament¡± John Smith (Ao): Takes on a secret agent voice ¡°And I''m not underestimating anyone, operator, should the situation change, I won''t hesitate to use every gadget in my secret agent arsenal¡± Ao''s earpieces: Very angry female voice ¡°IF YOU FAIL AND WE GET KILLED, I''LL KILL YOU MYSELF!!!¡± John Smith (Ao): Takes on a secret agent voice and makes a static noise with his mouth ¡°Communication will be cut, operator¡± static noise ¡°Don''t worry, the mission will be a great success¡± static noise Ao''s earpieces: ¡°AAAOOOOOO.. ¡± Communication cut off abruptly Sigh I don''t want anyone shouting in my ear during the tournament Ao continues to walk while stretching Tournament organizer: ¡°Gentlemen, ladies, Welcome to the Artand Red Desert Inter-Kingdom Tournament! I hope you''ve all read the rules carefully - if you don''t, you''ll be automatically disqualified and teleported out of the combat zone! Now, walk to the magical veil of Artand''s Red Desert Once there, position yourself in your assigned teleport circle! As a reminder, you''ll all be teleported to different parts of the desert, with food and structures to shelter you from the dangers of the desert! This tournament is a free-for-all, but teams within the tournament are allowed, even if in the end only one person will remain! If we consider that you are no longer fit to fight, you will be automatically teleported to our care center and eliminated from the tournament! We remind you that killing a participant is forbidden, and will automatically disqualify you! There are 2 ways to win this tournament: either be the last fighter in the desert, or find Artand''s red desert relic and deposit it at the teleportation system located A10 on your map provided beforehand! We''re expecting a great battle! Many people will be watching you from the broadcasters, audiences from every kingdom, and even people in very high ranking places!¡± It''s much more organized than I thought, it''s very cool! Ao arrives at the desert veil, in front of him is a global image of Artand''s red desert in plan view, and sees the silhouettes of all the fighters all around He places himself on his teleportation circle, which bears the name ¡°John Smith¡± John Smith (Ao): Pulls back those sunglasses ¡°Let''s see... what the elite of the Pendragon kingdoms are worth¡± Smile ----- On Gin''s side ----- Gin, Yumi, Kin and a large orc walk side by side, heading for their respective teleportation circles Gin, Third Class and ready for the tournament! Yumi waves her finger in front of her, and a computerized holographic window appears, displaying her combat stats Yumi Shakespeare, SS-class Adventurer Vigor: 35 Stamina: 30 Speed: 31 Strength: 47 Dexterity: 14 Intelligence: 17 Yumi looks confidently at these statistics, and feels ready to do anything to win the tournament Kin waves his finger in front of him, and a computer and holographic window appears in front of him, displaying his combat stats Kin Shakespeare, SS-class Adventurer Vigor: 48 Endurance: 50 Speed: 35 Strength: 40 Dexterity: 52 Intelligence: 28 Kin stays focused on his goal and doesn''t let anything throw him off balance Tournament organizer: ¡°Get ready, participants! The tournament starts in 3... 2... 1... Teleportation¡± All participants placed on their teleportation circles are teleported to random locations in the Artand desert Further into the desert, one person is determined to win, no matter what the cost Gin: ¡°We''re going to win this tournament.. Losing is out of the question!¡± Gin''s earpieces (Kin): ¡°That''s what I want to hear, little brother!¡± Kin and Gin earpieces (Yumi): ¡°WE''RE GOING TO SHOOT RED SAND IN THEIR NOSES!!!¡± Kin: Sneers Kin, Gin, and Yumi earpieces (???): Cries of great sadness ¡°Uuuuuh uuuh uh uh uh.. AKANE!!!¡± Voice very low Gin: ¡°Don''t worry, Mu! We''ll win!¡± As our group of characters warm to the idea of winning the tournament, their disillusionment will soon turns.. to distress Chapter 7 : Raining Blood INTENSE CHILLS Wow.. Is it just me, or does the place where I''ve landed give off an ultra-sinister aura?! Gin looks around, and realizes he''s just appeared in what looks like an old hospital, half-destroyed and filled with tags on the walls that seems they''ve been drawn with.. blood?! Kin: Through Gin''s earpiece ¡°Gin, Did you drop off your locator beacon?¡± Gin: ¡°Oh, no, sorry, I completely forgot!¡± Gin quickly rummages through his small bag, which contains only one locator beacon, authorized by the tournament organizers He takes the beacon, and plants it on the broken tile floor of the hospital Gin: ¡°I planted the beacon, brother!¡± Kin: Through Gin''s earpiece ¡°OK.. I see your position, don''t move! I''ll be right there!¡± Easier said than done.. This place creeps me out! Let''s see if I can get out of this building! Gin looks around, and sees a staircase that seems to lead down to a large open room, with a large sign hanging from the ceiling that reads: ¡°Saint-Luc Psychiatric Hospital Reception¡± Gin: ¡°Kin, I''m moving towards what appears to be the first floor of my building, we''ll meet back here!¡± Kin: Through Gin''s earpiece ¡°Okay, but have you heard from Yumi? or Mu?¡± Gin: Starts walking towards the stairs ¡°No.. not since the tournament started!¡± Kin: Through Gin''s earpiece ¡°What the hell are they doing!¡± Gin comes down the stairs and finds himself in the great hall.. and sees bloodstains all over the floor, and a man dressed in long clothes, staring at a large monolith with strange blood-red glyphs drawn on it ! Gin is paralysed by the scene, and dares not move.. Mysterious man: ¡°Gin Shakespeare.. poor child¡± INTENSE CHILLS WH.. HE KNOWS MY NAME..?!! Mysterious man: ¡°Your fate is surely sealed.. but perhaps you can still have an influence on what happens next.. The question is..¡± The strange man slowly turns around, removing his hood, and looks Gin straight in the eye INTENSE CHILLS Mysterious man: ¡°Are you ready to see your future, Gin?¡± Gin is transfixed, terrified, paralyzed The presence of this man before him renders him completely powerless to deal with the situation As the strange, bloodied man draws nearer, holding out his hand Mysterious man: ¡°Show me your blood.. and I''ll show you the future!¡± Suddenly, a hospital wall explodes, and.. Kin: Exits from the exploding wall ¡°Don''t touch my little brother, you freak!!¡± Moves at full speed to attack the mysterious man Mysterious man: ¡°What a pity.. poor Gin¡± Kin reaches the mysterious man and throws a punch.. But the man instantly disappears, leaving no trace behind him Kin: Turns to Gin, concerned ¡°Are you okay?!¡± Gin: Catch his breath with a deep inhale ¡°I.. Who was that?!¡± Kin: ¡°I don''t know.. How come he knew your name?¡± Gin: ¡°I.. he told me he could see my future..¡± What did he mean by.. my fate is sealed?! Kin: Shakes Gin off ¡°Come on, we don''t have time to think about that! We''ve got to find Yumi and Mu now!¡± Gin: ¡°Y.. Yes, you''re right! Let''s go !¡± Kin and Gin run out of the hospital together, before taking one last look at the glyph displayed on the monolith.. ----- Ao''s side ----- Yawn.. Smells a scent Weird.. Lead? No.. I''ve smelled this scent before.. Ao walks slowly through the desert, and smells something he can''t quite put his finger on Suddenly, he looks up to the sky.. and realizes something No.. Don''t tell me.. Suddenly.. rain begins to fall.. except that it''s not rainwater that''s falling, but.. BLOOD The red cult! They''re here! This is no ordinary tournament.. THIS IS A MASS EXECUTION! Cracking his teeth in anger I knew the golden order was in trouble! But the Red cult doesn''t act on official events.. unless the organization is corrupt?! Thomas would never have got me into such a mess without telling me.. Which means.. Take off his glasses that Lirin lied to me!!! Breaks his glasses while powerfully closing his fist A N G E R _ I S _ T A K I N G _ O V E R _ U S , _ A O I didn''t ring your bell.. Get out of my head! Ao hears a heavy, increasingly noisy growl in his head.. Leave me alone! ???: ¡±OHII OHII OHIIIII! A blue boy?!¡± A tall person appears behind Ao in the distance Ao turns around with a face of anger and confusion, and sees the bully in the distance in front of him Ao: ¡°Let me guess.. You''re part of the red cult, right?!¡± Red Cult Berserker: ¡°AHAH!! You seem pretty well-informed !¡± A S K _ H I M ! Ao: ¡°What kind of sick plan is that?! Have you made a deal with the Pendragons?¡± Berserker of the red cult: ¡°It''s give and take! We regulate the Kingdoms, killing the most talented warriors in this tournament! And at the same time, we''re replenishing the blood supply for our rituals!!!¡± The berserker cuts off his sentence suddenly, and mumbles while trembling Berserker: ¡°Wh.. Why did I say that?!¡± L E T '' S _ S H O W _ H I M , O U R _ T R U E _ N A T U R E Ao: ¡°You''re probably thinking.. How come I told a stranger everything?¡± Ao slowly approaches the berserker, who looks shocked Ao: ¡°You see...¡± Prepares his fist as he walks ¡°Your mind is so weak that I forced your thoughts out as soon as you looked into my eyes!¡± Makes a terrifying smile Berserker: Back off slowly ¡°Who.. Who are you?!!¡± Ao: ¡°You''re out of luck to run into me.. I certainly am¡± A blue aura appears on the fist he was preparing ¡°The worst opponent of this tournament!!¡± Throws his fist at full speed at the berserker and shouts ¡°Nova¡± The berserker tries to counter the punch with his right arm, but explodes from the inside, and is left with one arm missing Berserker: ¡°AAARGH¡± Crying out in pain as he holds his wound K I L L ! The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.Ao: ¡°No.. no killing !¡± Holds his head in pain K I L L _ H I M ! Ao: ¡°SHUT UP!!¡± Berserker: ¡°I''M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU, YOU FREAK!!!¡± Prepares to send a huge punch with his remaining arm, but.. Ao, holding his head, puts his other arm forward and casts a spell Ao: ¡°PUSH KAI¡± Push Kai is a combination of two sub-techniques, Push, which repels a target with a shockwave, and Kai, which launches a cutting pulse of wind at the target The berserker is pushed several hundred meters away from Ao, while he drags himself to the ground, and loses his second arm from the wind projectile that was chasing him He screams and flails on the ground, bleeding profusely from both arms Berserker: ¡°AAAAAAH!!!¡± Ao: Appears next to the downed berserker ¡°Silence¡± The berserker can no longer scream Ao: ¡°I''m not a monster, I''ll cauterize your two pretty wounds¡± The berserker gets extremely agitated and tries to crawl away from Ao, but he holds him down by putting his foot on his chest Ao: Points at these two wounds with his two arms ¡°Blue Fire¡± Two large blue flames appear on the berserker''s two wounds, and cauterize, while the berserker suffers and flails enormously but can''t scream Good.. Removes his leg from the berserker''s torso I need to find as many participants as possible, and disqualify them before they get killed by the red cult! S T I L L _ P L A Y I N G _ T H E _ S U P E R H E R O ? ! HMPF Ao holds his head in pain and tries to keep his composure Shut up! Y O U _ K N O W _ V E R Y _ W E L L _ T H A T SHUT UP! T H E Y _ D O N '' T _ E X I S T SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! Ao has no control, and suddenly falls to the ground, unconscious in the sand, and finds himself in one of his memories.. Ao (Child): ¡°WHEN I GET BIG, I''LL BE A SUPER HERO!!! JUST LIKE MASTER!¡± Ao is 5 years old, and his master has told him that he''ll soon be starting intensive training Excited, he runs and shouts all over the private dimension temple grounds that he''ll become the superhero the world needs A young woman dressed in black and white maid''s clothes looks at Ao, who is running happily, and shouts at him Female servant: ¡°Come on, little Ao! If you want to be like your master, you''ll have to eat your vegetables, and be super-strong in battle!¡± Ao runs to the maid and clings to her Ao (Child): ¡°But, but, I''ll be a hero who doesn''t fight!¡± Female servant: ¡°Hmm?¡± Ao (Child): ¡°I don''t like fighting.. I''ll always find another way than fighting!! Because fighting is not good!!¡± Suddenly, a super-powerful yellow aura appears next to Ao and pushes him back hard, out of the maid''s petticoats, and flies hard against a concrete wall Female servant: ¡°Ao!!¡± ???: ¡°STOP!¡± The maid stands at attention, her face emotionless Suddenly, someone can be heard approaching little Ao, who is suffering from his back and head having hit the wall hard He opens his eyes, to see his master''s long white cape in front of him Ao (Child): ¡°Master..¡± Ao''s master: ¡°You fool! I forbid you to think that way! If you were outside, you''d be killed!¡± Ao (Child): ¡°But...¡± Ao''s master: Shouts loudly and gives off a terrifying aura ¡°THERE''S NO BUT!!!¡± ... ... But.. ... ... I hate.. fighting.. Ao wakes from his dream, and quickly wakes up in the red sand where he had fainted Another bloody.. gets up nightmare! Yawns and stretches Well.. Can I call this a nightmare? Hmm.. Ok.. Let''s get this over with! Ao runs at full speed through the red desert, under the rain of blood, while looking around him very carefully The organizers said the tournament was being broadcast to all the kingdoms.. Did they lie? Looks up into the sky, and sees a chameleon camera, invisible and camouflaged That''s not the most worrying thing right now, where are the participants?! Ao closes his eyes, concentrates his star power on his sense of hearing.. and hears cries of pain from everywhere Shit! The Red Cult is already everywhere! We''re going into high gear! Ao stops, bends down, places his hands on the ground and performs a ¡°technique¡± Ao: Inhales sharply and shouts ¡°OPERATOR!!!¡± Female voice: Through Ao''s earpiece ¡°MY EARS !!!¡± Ao: ¡°Music!!¡± Female voice: ¡°YOU''RE FUCKING WITH ME?!¡± Ao: ¡°MU-SIC!!!¡± Female voice: Sigh of exasperation ¡°What do you want?¡± Ao: ¡°Hmm.. since it''s raining blood.. get that Raining Blood by Slayer¡± Author''s note: Put this music in your ears for a better experience :) The music begins in Ao''s ears, blue flames appear around him, and electric arcs form on his body, stimulating his muscles He gets into racing form, ready to take off at extraordinary speed Let''s see if the sound goes faster than me this time! Ao runs.. beyond the speed of sound! Ao moves at lightning speed, leaving behind an afterimage and a trail of blue light He runs past several participants, disabling them and disqualifying them as quickly as possible before they cross paths with members of the red cult Ao: ¡°Kaminari Slash 10%¡± Kaminari Slash is an advanced technique that uses thunder to slash, 10% means he only sends 10% of the technique''s ''lethality'', since he doesn''t want to kill the participants Ao applies this technique to his right arm and swings it at anyone he come across, severely injuring and disqualifying them Automated tournament voice: ¡°Participants #22, #23, #24, #25, #57, #14, #52, #72.. eliminated¡± Moving faster than sound, the shockwaves and blows arrive before the sound of explosions and rumbling thunder, making his appearance.. A blue light, destroying everything in its path ----- Gin''s side ----- Gin: ¡°I HAVE A SIGNAL!!!¡± Kin and Gin stand on the roof of a large ruined building, under the rain of blood, and look for the signal of their 2 teammates, Yumi and Mu Yumi: Through Gin and Kin''s earpieces ¡°We''ve... ¡° Static noise ¡°... Red Cult are chasing us¡± Kin: ¡°Where are you?! Send us a location signal!¡± Yumi: Through Gin and Kin''s earpieces ¡°What''s¡± static noise.. then sound of thunder falling ¡°A blue light..¡± static noise ¡°MU, RUN!!! AAAH¡± shouts then static noise Kin: ¡°Yumi! Do you copy?! Mu!!!¡± Gin: ¡°A.. blue light?¡± Kin: ¡°Damn it!!!¡± Strikes the ground hard with his foot Gin: ¡°Let''s move brother, we must be too far from them by now!¡± Kin and Gin jump from the top of the building''s roof, landing on the red sand, bloodied by the rain of blood They decide to move out of their area to find a higher spot Kin: Looks into the distance ¡°There are ruins west of here, let''s try to get there!¡± Suddenly, thunder rumbles.. and a blue light illuminates the ruins he had indicated Gin and Kin wonder what''s going on there.. but continue on their way, unaware of what''s happening ----- Ao''s side ----- Finally, he arrives at some ruined buildings, and sees two people fighting red cult assassins Ao slows down as he slides along the ground, targets the assassins with his hands and incants Ao: ¡°ThunderRow-..¡± Gets interrupted ???: ¡°Blood Authority¡± Wh.. Ao suddenly becomes motionless.. and is unable to move, standing with his arm forward, in front of a bloodied person.. Ao: ¡°Who.. are you?!¡± Tries to free himself from the grip of his technique ???: ¡°Aotahi.. A blessing | curse emanates from you!¡± Looks at Ao with curiosity How does he know my name?! Ao looks at the two participants who were fighting against him, and sees a woman with white hair tied up.. and an orc.. or at least what''s left of him The woman cries over the rest of the orc''s body, and screams ???: ¡±MU! WAKE UP!.. DAMN YOU, YOU DAMNED PROPHET!!!¡± Prophet?.. The Blood Prophet?! The prophet begins to slowly mumble something.. Prophet: ¡°Cursed?.. no, blessed.. no, cursed¡± Holds his head Sigh I don''t have time to deal with red cult freaks.. Ao shakes the ground, and a large blue aura appears around him, followed by several shockwaves Then, forcing himself free of the prophet''s grip with his aura, he looks up at him Ao: Flicks his right fist onto the palm of his left hand, ready to fight ¡°You''re going back to your lair, blood fraud!!¡± The prophet growls, and his assassins prepare to fight Ao.. while Gin and Kin are very close to arriving at the battle scene!! ... ¡°Such arrogance¡±, Says the prophet Chapter 8 : The System?! The rain of blood intensifies, the wind and the rumblings of thunder accompany it, and a very dangerous confrontation is about to break out in the ruins of an ancient city Ao and the prophet look at each other intensely, waiting to see who will make the first move.. Sneering mouth closed, calm Points at Ao Frightening smile, trembles with excitement and anticipation Ao crunches his right index finger and blood drips from it, showing it to the prophet from afar Comes up to Ao very quickly with a wild thirsty look, and looks at his index finger very closely, holding his wrist tightly Starts to cry, and gently releases Ao''s wrist Ao looks in shock at the prophet As the prophet cries louder and louder.. the assassins behind him also begin to cry, get down on their knees and pray with their hands Closes in on Ao''s face with a sad look Embarrassed look.. and empathetic ¡°I''m not a blood fanatic like you.. but.. I understand-¡± Gets interrupted Suddenly gets angry ¡°IT''S BECAUSE OF THIS BENEDICTION... MALEDICTION... BENEDICTION..¡± The prophet shakes more and more, and seems to be more and more mentally unstable Ao looks at the young woman mourning the body of her orc friend The prophet starts to get agitated, shout, get angry, panic, get irritated, get dangerously excited and scratch his skin heavily... to the point where he starts to bleed.. more and more Shouts frantically, looks at Ao with yellow eyes, and starts crying blood Suddenly, Kin and Gin arrive at the ruins, and view the scene from a dilapidated rooftop Shouts ¡°YUMI!!!¡± Ao looks in the direction of the voice, and sees Gin and his brother on a roof Cries out ¡°Mu.. THEY KILLED MU!!!¡± Hugs the rest of the orc''s battered body Kin wears a face of sadness and great anger... and directs his gaze at the prophet and Ao, ready to attack them Looks at Kin... and realizes he''s about to attack the prophet in the middle of a psychotic break Kin leaps from the roof, appears next to the prophet, and throws a powerful punch Enhance: Right Punch MAXIMUM OUTPUT¡± As Kin throws his punch.. the prophet stops it with a wave of his hand, without any difficulty, completely immobilizing Kin''s body Turns his bloody head towards Kin The Prophet releases a red aura, and displays an absolutely terrifying power that seems insurmountable to Kin, Gin and Yumi Turns to Gin ¡°Gin!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!¡± As the prophet lunges to throw a fatal punch at Kin... His blow is stopped by an earthen structure that appears in front of him Appears behind Kin and incants ¡°Chikyu: Wall¡± However, the earthen structure that Gin had incanted is instantly destroyed by the prophet''s blow, and rushes towards them to deliver the final blow... But a blue light appears in front of them and takes the blow Stands between Gin, Kin and the prophet, head down, and stops the prophet''s punch with both arms Lifts his head and looks at the prophet with a look of blue fire Silence fills the scene... and Ao prepares to have to fight a serious opponent Growls and shouts in a broken voice ¡°Rivers of Blood¡± The rain intensifies very strongly, and all the blood on the ground quickly gathers to create great currents that head towards Ao and the others Ao throws a super-powerful punch in front of him, causing the earth to rise with a great shockwave to stop the currents advancing towards them and temporarily hide from the prophet and his assassins This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He then runs very quickly towards Yumi and grabs her by force, leaving Mu''s body behind them. He then reappears towards Kin and Gin and throws Yumi to the ground Closes his eyes and concentrates Suddenly, a red and black silhouette appears above them, and prepares to hit Ao with a flying kick, but is intercepted by Kin Enhance: Full Body MAXIMUM OUTPUT¡± Punches the figure Another red and black silhouette appears next to Kin and is about to hit him, but Yumi intercepts it DA DA DA DA DA DA¡± Rush the silhouette with punches Author''s note: This is not a technique, it''s just Yumi going wild The prophet starts to destroy the great uprising of earth that Ao has caused, and Gin tries to hold him back as best he can with his earthbending techniques Arises from the earthen wall, rushes at Ao and the group, and shouts ¡°GIVE ME YOUR BLOOD!!!¡± Places his hands on the ground, conjures a circle around them and incants Teleportation¡± A blinding light envelops the group in the circle, and they disappear... leaving a great ball of blue energy behind them, which explodes just after their teleportation The group is swept away into what looks like an endless tunnel, without light or darkness.. They''re bewildered.. Has the teleportation gone wrong?! Gin tries to open his eyes, but can''t see anything.. but he feels something deep inside him.. Something, someone, is holding him back.. He feels a great, inexplicable unease, as if he''s remembering.. someone else''s life? He hears a voice... familiar, maternal Gin hears a child laughing.. who is this child? He wonders why, he remembers this The descent of the endless tunnel suddenly stops... and the uneasiness intensifies, more deeply, like a forced tearing away of something vital It''s as if.. he feels his mind twisting and freeing itself from chains, anchored in his memories, his appearance, his.. CONSCIOUSNESS|EXISTENCE Gin cries out in.. pain?! or does he cries out in.. joy?! What''s his name? Gin? or... Teleportation¡± Ao and the group find themselves.. in the air, high above the red desert of Artand Ao moves through the air, carrying the 3 companions as best he can, and descends at full speed over the red desert, next to what looks like the entrance to a canyon cave He lands, cushioning the fall by emitting a shockwave with his legs, then throws his 3 companions into the cave entrance Gently approaches the cave entrance, and takes a closer look at Gin''s face Ao looks at Yumi and Kin''s faces, and sees the same disfigurement He sees a device protruding from Kin''s pocket, like an augmented-reality telescope Passes his eye over the scope, and sees a computerized and holographic window Welcome to the system skills analysis, Move your gaze over a person to analyze his or her skills Looks at Gin, and statistics appear Gin Shakespeare, Third Class Vigor: 20 Stamina: 13 Speed: 14 Strength: 11 Dexterity: 10 Intelligence: 22 Pendragon recommendation: ANOMALY DETECTED, Please return to your place, insect, ANOMALY DETECTED Shows his face in the bezel, and puts it back on to see the statistics ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ¨ˆ, UNKNOWN ENTITY Vigor: 8th+20 Endurance: 9th+54 Speed: O??????????????????????????????O???????????O????????????O????????????????O????????O????????????O???????????????????????O?????????????O???????O???????????????0???????????????1??????1????????0??????????????????1??????????????0???????????????0?????????1??????? ????????0??????????????????0?????????????1?????????????????????0????????0????????????0?????????0?????0?????????????????????????????????????????????????O??????????????O?????????????O?????????O????????????????????O?????????????????????????????????????????????? ERROR REPORT: STATISTICS NOT IN LINE WITH PENDRAGON STANDARDS Sigh Maybe I''m actually wrong... Suddenly, someone stands behind Ao, and lunges to attack Enhance: Right¡± Throws a right punch Ao stops the person''s fist with his palm, and sighs in exasperation Crunching his teeth hard ¡°YOU MONSTER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO US?!¡± Pushes back fist with palm and makes Kin back away hard Gets into fighting stance ¡°Enhance: Full Body MAXIMUM OUTPUT¡± Snaps fingers and neck, and slowly approaches Kin Ao looks at Kin with a goofy grin, he thinks this lesson is a joke... But Ao is very serious... I think? Chapter 9 : The beginning of your life ----- 14 years earlier ----- It''s time The first day of Ao''s intensive training Ao (Child): ¡°I''m ready master!¡± Ao stands at attention before his master, dressed in a white kimono, in a small outdoor training area covered by a thin layer of snow. He tries to contain his excitement, thinking he''ll be able to perform miracles in just one day of training with the great master he admires so much. His master, dressed in long white robes that conceal his appearance, stands, running his hand through his long white beard, and looks puzzled Ao''s master: ¡°Kneel down, Ao.¡± Little Ao complies, and his master moves closer to him... then puts his hand on his little head, and suddenly ... ... Ao (Child): Rugged ¡°Hmm¡± Master: Cuddles little Ao''s head ¡°Before we start all this I have to tell you... no matter how hard and strict I would be with you, don''t forget.¡± A whisper accompanies the sound of the wind, as if someone with a voice distorted between male and female were speaking at the same time as his master Master and whisper: ¡°Don''t forget, we love you... Ao¡± Ao''s eyes shine and begin to fill with tears of joy, and as he looks up, realizes that his master is looking at him, with yellow eyes and a sincere smile Ao: ¡°I...¡± Master: ¡°... Right Let''s begin ----- Back to present ----- While Yumi and Gin are still unconscious, Ao and Kin face each other Kin: ¡°I''m asking you one last time, undo what you did to my brother and sister, or I''ll force you to do it!!!¡± Ao: ¡°You''re in the same state as them you know!¡± Kin: ¡°Huh?!¡± Look at his hands Ao: ¡°You''ve been bewitched by engram and soul magic, as I told you earlier, I''ve woken you up... and it won''t be long before you remember who you really are!¡± Kin: ¡°What... What are you talki-¡± Stops.. Kin feels a great uneasiness inside him, and begins to suffer from ¡°unknown¡± memories, from ¡°another person In these memories, he hears a female voice... and feels an irresistible affection for the person behind the voice Female voice: ¡°Let''s stay together forever, Aiji¡± Kin: ¡°Aiji?!..¡± Confused and suffering Suddenly, a memory darkens the previous one, giving way to a large hand standing in front of Kin, accompanied by a deep, authoritative voice Authoritative voice: ¡°Sign it !! Or she dies!¡± Aiji: ¡°No.. NO!!!¡± Panic SMACK Ao: Slaps Kin ¡°Wake up!¡± Kin: Breathes with difficulty and gets angry ¡°You... !!¡± Rushes Ao Ao: Slaps Kin again ¡°What are the 4 fundamental aspects of a star bearer?¡± Kin: Continues to lunge at Ao ¡°Fuck you ..!!¡± Ao: Slaps Kin back ¡°Wrong, the 4 fundamental aspects of a starbearer are body¡± Kicks Kin in the stomach, and falls to the ground spitting bile ¡°Intelligence¡± Grabs Kin''s head, pushes it hard to the ground, and crashes into the red sand ¡°Imagination¡± Lifts his index finger in front of him, and causes the sand to rise beneath Kin, who flies away ¡°And soul¡± Claps with his hands and makes floats the sand and Kin into the air Kin is completely overpowered without any difficulty, and spits sand and blood from his mouth He seems to be still disoriented by the memories running through his head Ao: ¡°Do you understand now, why you''re weak?¡± Kin: ¡°I... am not weak!!!¡± Lifts his head and looks at Ao with a determined gaze ¡°Magnetic Submission MAX¡± Magnetic Submission is Kin''s signature technique, which sends a super-powerful magnetic force towards the ground, forcing the opponent into the earth But Ao doesn''t move, just his clothes seem to drop a little Kin: ¡°Im.. Impossible!!!¡± Shocked Ao: ¡°Huh... You''re bound to a classic white dwarf... Normally, white dwarfs don''t become great warriors, but you.. You seem to have potential!¡± Kin: ¡°Stop talking to me like you''re an archmage!!!¡± Ao: Sneering ¡°An archmage? I don''t spend my day in an office contemplating the world''s existential crises!¡± Kin: ¡°Tss.. What kind of bullshit lesson is that about life?!¡± Ao: ¡°Oh, but what''s happening is the lesson.¡± Ao snaps his fingers, and the magnetic force around him disappears... and reappears on Kin, who gets shoved into the ground roughly Ao: ¡°For you to be a good starbearer, the 4 fundamentals must be balanced, and mastered to the best of your ability. It''s the foundation of the foundation, and the Pendragons are depriving you of it to avoid a rebellion.¡± Kin: Sinks to the ground ¡°ARGH.. What have you got against the Pendragons?! They... saved us all!!!¡± Ao: ¡°Right, by brainwashing you into forgetting your old life, and becoming a puppet?! Is that how they save you? And the dark power infection, who do you think caused it?!¡± Kin: ¡°The infection... has receded!!!¡± Ao: ¡°3/4 OF THE CONTINENT HAS FELL INTO DARK POWER!!! AND IN A FEW MONTHS, THERE''LL BE NOTHING LEFT!!!¡± Kin is shocked by this revelation... but refuses to believe it As Gin and Yumi slowly wake up, worried by Ao''s words Kin: ¡°I... don''t believe you!¡± Ao: ¡°It''s all right, you don''t need to believe me... you''ll just have to look around you, and soon you''ll see those around you turning into demons too...¡± Ao grits his teeth and clenches his fists, thinking of Zack and his old friends.. Gin: Closes in on Ao and Kin ¡°Release my brother, Ao!!!¡± Ao: Releases the technique on Kin by snapping his fingers, and looks at Gin with a look of anger ¡°What are you doing here Gin?! Didn''t you get your fill when you saw the massacre of the Silver Fang bandits?!!¡± Gin: ¡°I.. My sister needs the tournament prize to survive!!! She''s no longer bound to a star... she''ll soon die of natural radiation if we don''t do something..¡± Ao: ¡°Huh, the prize is a link to a Celestial?¡± Gin: ¡°A piece of Celestial living flesh.¡± I see. Unfortunately, the way the tournament''s going... They''re planning to kill everyone here Yumi: Comes closer to Gin and Kin ¡°The red cult is killing all the participants, it''s a real bloodbath..¡± Kin: ¡°I don''t like it... but we have to join forces with you, Ao¡± Ao: Sneers softly ¡°Given your condition, they must have been alerted..¡± Kin: ¡°Huh?!¡± Ao: ¡°Okay, I''ll protect you from the red cult, but you''ll have to obey me!¡± Kin: ¡°Tss.. Your arrogance knows no bounds.¡± Ao: ¡°Yeah, I get that a lot...¡± moves closer to Kin, and observes him quickly Kin: ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Ao: ¡°Nothing..¡± Takes a closer look at Kin, who seems increasingly annoyed ¡°Yeah, that''ll do¡± Night begins to fall, and as Kin becomes increasingly irritated by Ao''s personality, Gin and Yumi slowly return to the cave to prepare a fire Let''s go, it''s time to piss off their ¡°master¡±! Ao: Places index finger on Kin''s chest ¡°Particle chaos¡± Particle chaos is an Archmage-level technique that works on an atomic level. The user can reproduce atomic phenomena that he has studied beforehand, if, of course, the atoms to be manipulated are present where the technique is launched Ao has produced a phenomenon in Kin''s body that causes his power to circulate through his body in a ¡°natural¡± way, i.e. his body receives a quantity of power equivalent to if he had performed the Enhance: Full Body technique 100 times in a row Kin: Twists on the ground, screams in intense pain If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Gin: Drops twigs on the ground and runs to Kin ¡°What''s wrong, Kin?!¡± Ao: Walks around Kin ¡°I know... it burns! But you''re not burning, so why does it hurt so much? Because your power is changing you!¡± Kin: Crying out in even more pain, veins inside him pop out from under his skin and move Gin: Gets angry and charges at Ao ¡°What have you done to him ?!!¡± Ao: Slaps Gin, who falls to the ground ¡°The first step, to become someone, in this world..¡± Ao remembers his master''s words Ao''s master: ¡°The first step, to become someone, in this world.¡± Ao (Child): cry of extremely intense pain Master: ¡°Get used to this feeling, because... every second of your old life¡± Ao (Child): cry of extremely intense pain Master: ¡°It''ll come down to this burning sensation... but one day, maybe, it won''t burn anymore... and that''ll mean you''ve completed your evolution!!! And then your life will begin!" Ao (Child): ¡°Master... please stop¡± cry of extremely intense pain Master: ¡°Class is over, child... now you''re on your own... fight for your life!!!¡± Ao stops remembering his master''s words Kin: cries out in pain ¡°AAARGH!!!¡± Ao: ¡°You probably hate me, for now, but you''ll thank me later¡± bends down to Kin, and incants ¡°Sleeping Curse¡± Sleeping curse is a curse that puts the target to sleep if it''s very weak, and remains in a deep sleep until the user releases the curse. Kin falls into a deep sleep, but the changes in his body continue to occur Gin: Gets up, angry at Ao ¡°Damn it, when are you going to stop torturing us like that?!!¡± Ao: ¡°When I''ve achieved my goal, if you have any objections, I invite you to confront me..¡± Gin: Cracking his teeth, mad with rage, but not daring to attack Ao: ¡°That''s what I thought, and you''ve made the right choice. We''re not in your kingdom, there are no laws here, except one, the law of the strongest. It''s always the strongest who decides, and that''s been the case since the dawn of time.¡± Suddenly, Yumi lunges at Ao and tries to hit him, but her fist lands on the ground next to Ao Yumi: ¡°So, if I beat you, it''s up to me, is it?!¡± Looks at Ao with a sadistic smile Ao: ¡°Ha, your orc friend''s death didn''t affect you that much after all!¡± Looks at Yumi with a sadistic smile Yumi: Takes on a face of great anger ¡°What did you just say?!!¡± Yumi''s thoughts You bastard, you''re going to regret insulting Mu!!! Yumi, earlier, recalled memories of another life, and a technique she used to use A deep, familiar voice speaks to her ??? : "The bloodthirsty beast, Freddith¡± If these are my memories... then this technique belongs to me! Yumi: Extends her arms, and strikes a bloodthirsty beast pose, standing ¡°Freddith¡± Yumi transforms into a semi-beast, covered in hair, claws sprout from her fingernails and a strange green streak spreads across her torso Ao''s thought A half-beast... Probably a human Go¨´d crossbreed Ao: ¡°You''re resourceful, it''s quite rare to come across a Nebula!¡± Gets into fighting stance Gin: Chooses to see Yumi in this transformation ¡°Yumi, what the..¡± Yumi: ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll make him regret his words!!!¡± Yumi lets out a beastly scream, and prepares to lunge at Ao The two characters are about to fight, while other people in Kamelott... get restless ----- Kingdom of Kamelott, Royal Castle ----- ----- King''s audience hall ----- King Arthur is on his throne, listening to the laments of 2 peasants and a ¡°taster¡± on the subject of their bread Arthur: ¡°Care to elaborate?¡± Karadoc (Taster): ¡°There''s nothing to develop, it''s just crap.¡± The 2 peasants are offended by this ¡°analysis¡±, and cry foul Peasants: ¡°Sir, taste our bread and give your opinion!!!¡± Throw a piece of bread to King Arthur Arthur: Takes the bread, tastes it... then makes a nasty face ¡°Ah.. no, there''s nothing to do..¡± Peasants: ¡°IT''S NOT POSSIBLE IT''S A CONSPIRACY!!!¡± Suddenly, the great door of the audience hall slams loudly, and out come William Shakespeare, Siegfried Pendragon and a troop of guards, all furious and giving off an oppressive aura. They march rapidly down the long corridor of the audience hall, pushing the people in line to see the king in a hurry. A peasant tries to stop their advance by refusing to move aside Peasant: ¡°We need to see the king just like you do! You wait behind the-¡± Gets interrupted Siegfried: Grabbed the peasant by the collar and threw him violently to the ground, shouting in a deep, authoritative voice ¡°GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU IDIOT, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!¡± The people in line are frightened and shocked by Siegfried''s brutality, even though he''s known to be a very calm person. Arthur hears the commotion in the queue, the screams, and rises from his throne to signal Siegfried and William''s troupe to advance towards him Arthur: ¡°Why all the fuss about an emergency? You can contact me telepathically, can''t you?¡± Siegfried: Gets Arthur and pushes him out of the courtroom ¡°This is confidential, follow us¡± Arthur, Siegfried and William move into a small corridor behind the courtroom, and begin their confidential discussion Arthur: ¡°What''s going on?!¡± William: ¡°The red cult is attacking the inter-kingdom tournament in the desert of Artand!!! We must intervene, my childrens are there!!!¡± Arthur: Shocked ¡°What would the red cult be doing there?! And how did they infiltrate one of our official tournaments?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°We don''t have an awful lot of information on that, just one person I''ve deigned to ignore who seems to be involved in all this..¡± Arthur: ¡°Who?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°Aotahi, the blue light, he''s taking part in the tournament¡± Arthur: ¡°Isn''t this thing supposed to be a rumor?¡± Siegfried: ¡°Except... Gin explained to me that he''d met him on his mission against the Silver Fang..¡± Arthur: ¡°What... WHAT?! WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS?!¡± Siegfried: ¡°I thought it wasn''t relevant, and that it was more someone having fun with him by talking nonsense¡± William: ¡°Listen, I don''t care about all that! We have to intervene, NOW! Arthur: ¡°Yes.. you''re right¡± Clenches his fist and emerges a menacing yellow aura ¡°Let''s go¡± ----- Back to Artand''s tournament ----- Gin is stunned... his sister, Yumi, is on the ground, defeated in a single blow by Ao, who seems to have shown him no mercy Ao: ¡°I told you, it''s the law of the strongest here..¡± Sigh ¡°Anyway, it didn''t have to come to this!¡± Gin: ¡°Why are you doing this? Implanting strange memories.. Trying to make us believe that the Pendragons are the enemy.. When you, all you''ve done so far, IS HURT US!!!¡± Gin looks hesitantly and angrily at Ao, unable to understand his actions While Ao remains unmoved, and doesn''t wish to reveal anything Ao: ¡°Well... If I''m not mistaken, we still have just tomorrow to win the tournament, or else the prize will pass us by.¡± Gin: ¡°Huh?! What are you talking about? The tournament''s supposed to go on until someone wins, isn''t it?¡± Ao: ¡°Your kingdom has been alerted to the invasion of the red cult, they''ll certainly stop the tournament as soon as they arrive, which also means the tournament will be cancelled, and so no prizes for anyone¡± Gin: ¡°How do you know that?!!¡± Yumi: On the ground, grunting in pain ¡°Tss.. This tournament has taken far too bloody a turn, there''ll be no winner..¡± Ao: ¡°Yes, there will! Don''t worry about it..¡± Yumi: ¡°How can you be so sure of all this?¡± Ao: ¡°The tournament veil is rigged..¡± Yumi: ¡°Huh?!¡± Ao: ¡°In other words, nobody knows that the red cult has attacked us, except of course your kingdom, which I''ve alerted¡± Gin: ¡°And how exactly did you do that?¡± Ao ignores the question, and seems to have become distant with the 3 people Ao''s thoughts From what I can see... I haven''t managed to completely free them from the grip of engram and soul magic... I''ll have to keep investigating. Night has fallen, and the moon illuminates the blood-tinged sand, as our characters gather around their fire in a small cave surrounded by rocks. As Kin continues to sleep, and Gin and Yumi can''t sleep because of their distrust of Ao, a silence descends for several minutes.. then.. LOUD SOUND OF A WAR HORN Yumi: ¡°What the...?!!¡± Gin: ¡°Yumi!!! Look at the moon!!!¡± Both characters look at the moon... which turns a deep blood red Ao, who doesn''t seem to be in a hurry, continues to cook reptiles on skewers over the fire as if nothing had happened Yumi: Looks at Ao warily ¡°Do you know what''s going on?!¡± Ao: ¡°Maybe, or maybe not..¡± Picks up a stick of cooked reptile and bites into it Yumi: ¡°Stop messing around! What''s going on here?!¡± Ao: ¡°What''s the point in me telling you what''s going on? You won''t believe me..¡± Yumi: ¡°For God''s sake, don''t tell me we''ve upset him!¡± Ao: ¡°The only thing I''m going to tell you is to stay safe in this cave.. unless you want to die¡± Looks at Yumi with wide eyes to try and scare her Gin and Yumi decide to stay in the cave, trying to ignore the red moon and the loud warhorn noise... which seems to be getting closer and closer in their position ¡°The red cult is looking for survivors in their own way... to kill them all¡± Says Ao, beside the fire, eating quietly Gin: ¡°How can you be so... calm?¡± A succession of images.. of horror and torment, revolves in Ao''s thoughts, as he answers Ao: ¡°10 years I''ve been living this kind of crap every day..¡± Looks at Gin with great determination ¡°It''s nothing compared to what will happen... when I finally enter the main stage¡± Chapter 10 : A 10-year-old declaration of war ----- 10 years earlier ----- ----- 2 days into Ao''s journey ----- Thomas: ¡°Welcome to Nakagata, Ao¡± Thomas took Ao under his wing, seeing that he was not used to the outside world, and decided to accompany him on his journey. They end up in Nakagata, the capital of Ilenkrad, a large modern metropolis ruled by the Japanese ¡°Naka¡± dynasty. Ao and Thomas walk along and observe the alleyway lit up with different signs; Restaurants, Hotels, Hairdresser, Massage Center, Cat caf¨¦, and many more Thomas: ¡°Here, you have nothing to fear-¡± Stops and observes Ao Thomas'' thoughts Poor guy.. he''s still confused about the little demon girl, completely lost in the middle of it all.. Hmm.. Thomas: Waves to Ao and smiles ¡°Come with me, I''ll buy you dinner¡± Ao (Child): ¡°Hmm.. Dinner?¡± Thomas: ¡°Ahah, I''ll show you!¡± Ao and Thomas enter a restaurant, and are greeted by a charming hostess who directs them to sit at a 2-chair table Thomas: ¡°2 miso soups, please¡± The 2 miso soups are placed on the table, and Ao looks at her with starry eyes. He then looks at Thomas, who shows him how to drink the soup, with a hollow spoon. Ao makes the same movement.. and his face lights up with pleasure. He''s never tasted anything so delicious before! Thomas: ¡°We''ll take 2 sushi discovery dishes, please¡± 2 large dishes, each containing a variety of sushi, makizushi and nigiri, are placed on the table, followed by 2 pairs of chopsticks Thomas: ¡°I''ll show you how-¡± Ao (Child): ¡°I know how to use chopsticks, my master taught me.. it looks delicious!!!¡± Ah.. He looks much more comfortable, that''s good Thomas looks with a big smile at Ao, who is enjoying every dish Thomas: ¡°Your master. Is he the one who dropped you off in the village where we found you?¡± Ao (Child): ¡°... Yes..¡± Looks down Thomas: ¡°Don''t worry.. you don''t need to tell me any more than that!¡± Ao (Child): ¡°I.. I..¡± Thomas: ¡°Hmm?¡± There''s a short silence, then they hear and see children playing happily with their friends in the restaurant, and the hostess comes over and laughs with them. Ao looks at those children with admiration.. happy to see that peace exists in the world below. He resumes the discussion with a big smile Ao (Child): ¡°Thanks for showing me around.. really.. I.. I think I''ll stay here for a while¡± Thomas: ¡°Ahah..¡± Raises his glass ¡°You''ll see, Ao, we''re fine here!¡± This is how Ao lived in the capital of Ilenkrad for.. ... 1 week ... 1 month ... 1 year... before a battle disrupts the peace of this metropolis Thomas: ¡°AO RUN!!¡± Smoke.. everywhere, and sounds of explosions.. A large-scale terrorist attack has broken out in the Nakagara metropolis Soldiers are preparing to strike back, and large numbers of troops are on the move throughout the city Ao and Thomas run to take refuge in a courtyard, a little further away from the explosions Ao (Child): ¡°What''s going on, Thomas?!¡± Thomas: ¡°They''re being attacked¡± Ao (Child): ¡°By what?!¡± Thomas: ¡°I''m not sure..¡± Cries of distress and hatred begin to erupt in the distance, amid the smoke and explosions of the metropolis, a horrible carnage is taking place Suddenly, a green glow approaches Ao and Thomas at high speed, and just as it''s about to land on them.. Thomas: ¡°Ao, take cover!!!¡± Ao (Child): Gets in the way of the green glow and launches his technique ¡°Nova¡± The green glow explodes, falls to the ground, and reveals a knight in great armor filled with gold, with a gaping hole left by Ao''s Nova technique. The knight dies on the ground, and Ao moves closer to his body Ao (Child): ¡°Why.. Why are knights attacking us?!¡± Thomas: ¡°This armor.. It''s a Pendragon knight¡± Ao (Child): ¡°Pendragon?!! That''s.. impossible¡± Shocked Ao remembers his master''s words Ao''s master: ¡°If you see a member of Pendragon on your journey, tell them who you are, and they''ll welcome you with open arms¡± Ao (Child): ¡°Pendragon are the good guys?¡± Master: ¡°Ahah! Yes, they''re the good guys. I''m a Pendragon too, you know¡±. Ao (Child): ¡°Wow!! Does that mean they''re heroes like you, Master?!¡± Master: ¡°Exactly!¡± Ao finishes remembering his master''s words Thomas: ¡°It''s quite possible.. That''s what I thought¡± Clenches his fist tightly Ao (Child): ¡°Wh.. What?!! Pendragons are supposed to be the heroes of this world, aren''t they?!!¡± Thomas looks at Ao, who seems shocked and delirious about what he''s just done.. Suddenly, another knight in armor appears far down the alley, and approaches a young woman, lying on the ground, mourning the death of a man she''s holding in her arms Woman on ground: ¡°Honey, wake up!!!¡± Ao (Child): Looks at the woman in the distance ¡°Hey!!! It''s the hostess from the restaurant!¡± Thomas: Bars Ao''s way with his arm ¡°Don''t go any closer, Ao..¡± The knight stops in front of the woman who is crying and begging her husband to wake up, while his condition seems to indicate that he is already dead.. Chevalier: ¡°Don''t worry, my dear lady, it''ll soon be over¡± Ao (Child): Turns to look at Knight in the distance and points at him ¡°Look! He''s going to save her!¡± Thomas: ¡°No Ao.. don''t look!!¡± Chevalier: ¡°Anyway, it''s all over for you, dear lady¡± Sheathes his sword and slices off the young woman''s head violently and quickly Ao is completely stunned, and can''t believe his eyes... but as he watched the smoke behind the knight dissipate, he saw even more knights, finishing off the civilians on the ground... some praying for their lives, but in vain... No.. No.. !! Ao remembers the short time he spent in this town, the restaurants, the laughing childrens, the good meals, and the good times with Thomas.. all destroyed, killed, trampled.. by the war of men He hears the knights laughing.. as they continue to advance down the alley and kill the poor wounded citizens, crawling on the ground.. This sight... was a trigger for him... an immense anger seized him... an anger such as he had never felt before.. I A growing anger, as he walked towards the knights AM His face twisted with uncontrollable anger, a terrifying aura grew around him GOING His hair burns with a blue fire, giving way to a brilliant blue hair color TO Thomas: ¡°AO GO AWA-¡± Interrupts, shocked, as he notices Ao''s anger KILL YOU ALL And... Ao let out a very long scream of extreme anger, which echoed throughout the metropolis. A sharp cry, coming from the depths of his soul, damaging even his throat and vocal cords, such was his anger. It was in this continuous scream.. and in the screams of many others.. that happened what the Pendragons have named.. The Blue Massacre And the birth of the urban legend of Blue Light ----- Back to present day ----- A very cloudy sun rises over the red desert of Artand, the sound of war horns has continued to resound all night until morning, presaging many deaths. Gin couldn''t help falling asleep, while Yumi stayed awake to watch over him and Kin. As for Ao, he remained at the entrance to the cave, keeping watch throughout the night of the red cult''s horror Hmm, if the Kamelott kingdom troop moved during the night, they should arrive in 3 or 4 hours Which leaves me only 2 hours to find it.. Yumi: ¡°Hard night?..¡± Ao: Turns around, and sees Yumi in the cave ¡°You''re not asleep?¡± Yumi: ¡°I don''t trust you¡± Huh.. that''s got the merit of being clear Ao: ¡°Do you want to know what I did to your brother, Kin?¡± Yumi: ¡°I especially want to know why you chose us for your experiments!¡± Ao: ¡°My experiments, eh?.. It''s weird, isn''t it? How come you were able to use a technique that ''supposedly'' didn''t belong to you?¡± Yumi: ¡°I hate playing guessing games and riddles!!!¡± Ao: ¡°Well, you''ll have to make do with that for now.. Think about it anyway¡± Yumi: ¡°How do I know this isn''t one of your traps?¡± Ao: ¡°Nothing at all, maybe it''s one of my traps, who knows!¡± Yumi: Leaves an exasperated moan ¡°You''re unbearable!!!¡± Ao: Sneers ¡°Go and wake Gin up, we''re getting out of here!¡± Yumi: ¡°Wh.. What?! Why? Shouldn''t we wait for Kamelott''s reinforcements?!¡± Ao: Looks at Yumi with a sadistic smile ¡°Need I remind you who decides in the group?¡± Yumi: Angered and humiliated by her last fight with him ¡°Grr.. And Kin?!¡± Ao: ¡°I''ll carry him¡± Heads into the cave, but is stopped by Yumi Yumi: Gets in Ao''s way ¡°And.. what if we decide not to follow you?!¡± Ao: ¡°Hmm.. You have 2 options: The first, you wake up Gin, I carry Kin, and we break camp for a new destination. The second.. I put you all out, and the automatic tournament system disqualifies you all!¡± Looks Yumi straight in the eye Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.A short silence fills the room, as Yumi trembles in front of Ao. But soon after this silence, she decides to let him pass, and silently accepts the first solution ----- Kamelott''s troop, en route to Artand''s red desert ----- A large troop of knights and their horses advance at high speed, through forests, muddy villages, swamps, rocky roads, and finally, the great forest surrounding the kingdom of Artand, and its red desert, situated a hundred kilometers from their position This troop is led by King Arthur Pendragon himself, followed by 5 of his knights of the round table, Siegfried Pendragon the grand master of the adventurers'' guilds, and William Shakespeare the master of the Shakespeare guild Siegfried: Closes in on Arthur, gallops to his side ¡°Arthur, I have received a telepathic message from King Geirford, ruler of the kingdom of Artand¡± Arthur: ¡°What does it say?¡± Siegfried: ¡°A message of deterrence.. They''ve spotted our troop, and advise us to come as friends, not as enemies¡± Arthur: ¡°Tss, are they messing with us?! They infiltrated the red cult into an official tournament, we gave them our approval and trust for this event, and they think they can get away with it without reprisals from the Pendragons?!! Ridiculous!¡± Siegfried: ¡°I couldn''t agree more, my king¡± William: Closes in on Arthur, gallops to his other side ¡°Don''t forget, rescuing our warriors is the top priority before retaliation!!¡± Arthur: ¡°What if we did both at the same time?¡± William: ¡°Hmm, you want to split the troop in two?¡± Arthur: ¡°I''ll take care of King Geirford and his guard with my knights, while you, Siegfried and the rest of the troop will go through the veil of the tournament to rescue our warriors, and take care of this ¡®Blue Light¡¯¡± William: ¡°Let''s do that, my king¡± As Kamelott''s troop advanced with great confidence, William felt a strange sensation.. a sensation he hadn''t felt in a very long time.. He feels.. the aura of an extremely dangerous entity ----- On Ao''s side ----- Ao and his companions have broken camp, and are walking through the desert towards a concentration of grey and red clouds. Kin is still unconscious, carried by Ao on his back, while Yumi and Gin follow him with great caution, not understanding why they are moving towards a place that seems dangerous Yumi: ¡°You really don''t want to explain why we''re moving?!¡± Ao: ¡°...¡± Gin: ¡°Where we''re going, the red cult might come down on us, answer us, Ao!!!¡± Ao: ¡°As I told you, as long as you stay with me, I''ll protect you from the red cult, that''s all you need to know for now, now move on and shut up!¡± Thomas will surely not like what I''m about to do, but it''s time.. to declare war, and wake up the.. ----- 9 years earlier ----- ----- 1 day after the start of the Blue Massacre ----- The capital of Ilenkrad is ravaged, thousands of bodies lie in the streets of the metropolis, massacred by what messengers describe as a blue bolt of lightning that ravages everything in its wake. But one person in particular seems to have managed to stand up to the blue lightning, in what was once the great square commemorating the creation of the Naka clan, displaying statues of the clan''s many members, now all reduced to a pile of stone and ashes As the fight between these two individuals rages on, one begins to gain the upper hand, a man wielding a super-powered katana, emitting thick, red smoke, trying to set the Blue Bolt straight.. Thomas: Wielding his katana, Satsui ¡°Ao that''s enough!! There''s nothing more to be done!!¡± Ao (Child): Moves very quickly around Thomas, leaving a trail of blue lightning behind ¡°THEN LET ME GO AFTER THEM!!!¡± Flashes at Thomas to hit him, but is countered by his katana Thomas: ¡°IT''S USELESS! YOU CAN''T DEFEAT THEM ALL!¡± Pushes Ao away with great force Ao (Child): Continues to lunge and hit Thomas, but seems increasingly weakened and tired ¡°I''M GOING TO DESTROY THEIR WHOLE FUCKING KINGDOM!¡± Punch ¡°ONE¡± Punch ¡°BY¡± Punch ¡°ONE !!!!¡± Thomas: Gets Ao and crushes him against him and in his arms, preventing him from moving ¡°I know how you feel Ao! But.. even you, even if you think you''re stronger than them.. You won''t make it, they have much more powerful warriors than you think!¡± Ao (Child): Tries to get out of Thomas''s embrace, but can''t ¡°I am the disciple of a great sage!! I WILL NOT LET THEM RAVAGE THIS WORLD ANOTHER MINUTE!!!¡± Thomas: ¡°THE GREAT SAGES ARE PART OF THE PENDRAGON ALLIANCE! THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE IN THEIR CAMP! DON''T THINK, YOU CAN OVERTHROW SUCH AN ORGANIZATION, WITH ONLY YOUR ANGER!!!¡± The great sages.. with these.. murderers!!! Wha.. What.. can I do?!! Ao releases his aura, and collapses to the ground crying, helpless and desperate, still in Thomas''s arms Ao (Child): crying ¡°What.. How can I.. We''ve got to stop them! But.. I''LL NEVER BE STRONG ENOUGH!!¡± shouts of rage and sadness Thomas: ¡°I know, Ao.. You realize.. at last, the tragic fate of this world.. One day, they''ll dominate all the independent kingdoms, killing people like us who get in their way, despite the infection of the dark power, they''ll never give up their desire to conquer.. until the last minute¡± Is this what you wanted me to see, master?!.. You wanted me to realize that this world is condemned to live in war until its last breath? No.. No, I refuse.. I REFUSE!! ... ... ... Thomas: ¡°We must hide, Ao.. Swallow your anger, your sadness, your injustice.. And if you decide to really overthrow them one day.. Then we''ll have to come up with a plan And the day we''re ready.. The day you''re really ready, give the signal!¡± ----- Back to present ----- Ao and his companions have arrived at their destination, the rain is raging, covered by grey clouds, a large red structure, resembling a ritual totem, stands before them, along with a silhouette Gin: Terrified ¡°Wha.. Where are we, Ao?¡± Ao: ¡°At the result of the ritual that the red cult has been preparing all night¡± Yumi: ¡°What the hell are we doing here?!!¡± Ao: ¡°Ignite the wrath of the beasts of this world!!¡± Ao readies his fist, and a great glittering ball of blue energy forms and encompasses that fist Suddenly, he throws it in front of him and incants Ao: ¡°Nova Star¡± The scintillating ball of energy moves at full speed and crashes into the large red structure, making a large, noisy blue explosion. The noise and shockwave of the explosion spread throughout the tournament area, reaching the tournament veil, and when it did... the veil was covered in a brilliant blue, slowly seeping into its material and cancelling out the veil''s trickery, allowing thousands of people across all the kingdoms to see what was really happening in this bloody inter-kingdom tournament! ----- In the lair of a very influential person ----- In this lair, a spy and her master are getting very agitated Anne: ¡°MASTER, THIS IS VERY SERIOUS!!!¡± Anne''s master: ¡°What''s going on?!¡± Anne : ¡°THE MERCENARY OF THE GOLDEN ORDER HAS JUST DESTROYED OUR DEVICE IN THE TOURNAMENT''S VEIL!!!¡± Anne''s master: ¡°WHAT?!! WE MUST CUT THE TRANSMISSION, QUICKLY¡± Anne: ¡°THAT''S WHAT I''M TRYING TO DO, BUT WE''RE NO LONGER CONTROLLING THE VEIL!!!¡± ----- Kingdom of Kamelott, in a tavern broadcasting the tournament live ----- Child: ¡°Daddy, look! What''s all the red in the TV?¡± The many people watching the tournament transmission are shocked, the atmosphere has gone from jovial to terrifying in just a few seconds after the veil trickery is destroyed Child''s mother: ¡°Don''t look at the TV, darling! Hides child''s eyes ----- Pendragon Alliance headquarters ----- Everyone is agitated, doing their utmost to jam the waves given off by the tournament veil to stop the transmission, while high-ranking members of the alliance look on in dismay Suddenly, a man in noble golden-blue clothing, one of those in high places, turns his head towards his neighbor, a very muscular man in the same noble garb, crossing his arms, and whispers ???: ¡°Are you thinking what I''m thinking, Master Denken?¡± Denken: ¡°If it''s what we think, the emperor will be furious.. but I also think.. it''s him!¡± ----- On the Ao side ----- Ao has erected a large shield around himself and his companions to protect them from the explosion, and starts waving his arms, controlling the desert veil, and brings all the chameleon cameras above him, filming him from several angles Ao: ¡°Smile back there, you''re being filmed!!¡± Yumi: ¡°Huh?!!¡± Ao gently lays Kin''s body on the ground on the sand, and approaches the chameleon cameras, currently playing live on all the tournament transmissions He takes a deep breath, and prepares to speak in front of the cameras Ao: ¡°Ahem.. I.. Um.. Look, I''m not made for speeches, so I''ll keep my words short, but good enough.. My name is Ao Starbreaker.. Remember this name, because from now on, you''re going to be hearing about us everywhere! The newspapers will speak of us as terrorists, criminals, monsters.. But we''re not what they say, I can assure you! What happened here is awful.. but we''re used to the awful reality the Pendragons have forced us to live with all these years! For those who don''t understand these words.. believe me, they will resonate within you, more and more each day! This is what the Starbreaker clan has to say to all of you watching this transmission! The Starbreaker clan will liberate all the kingdoms that have fallen under the forces of the Pendragon alliance, and we will put an end, once and for all, to the infection of dark power! It''s a promise: we''ll do everything in our power to put mankind back on the right track! To you who have lost hope, To you who have lost your former lives, imprisoned by the lies of the Pendragons, To you who try to be fair in these times of constant battle, To you who are getting drunker and drunker, waiting for humanity''s last hours, To you who feel powerless in the face of all the horrors caused by this alliance, The Starbreaker clan is coming for you! And we''ll take back everything they''ve taken from us! As for you.. the Pendragon alliance.. Send me your best warriors, your best inventions, your angels, your Soul Killer, your great sages.. NOTHING! WILL STOP ME FROM REDUCING YOU TO ASHES! The history books will talk about what you did to the world, but they''ll also talk about how the world recovered from your bullshit, and sent it all back to you.. A THOUSANDFOLD! Pendragon Alliance, it''s war!!! Come and get me if you want, or I''ll come for you!!!¡± ... ... ... ¡°You heard it.. It''s the signal!¡± ¡°I know, get ready¡± The Starbreaker clan awakens, hidden in the shadows for many years, now ready to unleash its fury! Chapter 11 : Fated Deaths ? ¡°Starbreaker Protocol: Active¡± ? Cogs groaned and ground into motion. Pistons hissed, then slammed into a rhythmic pulse, sending up bursts of steam that spiraled like ghosts into the air. An ancient invention stirred, shaking off the weight of centuries The machine flickered to life in a brilliant violet glow, illuminating the chamber. The room¡¯s seamless metallic walls reflected the light, carved by conduits that pulsed faintly with alien energy. Cables and pipes coiled out from the colossal structure, disappearing into unseen depths, as if fueling something even more monumental The hiss of an automatic door broke the silence. A group of five stepped into the room, their faces painted with awe.. and something sharper. Triumph? Relief? At the head of the group, a woman in stiletto heels strode forward with confidence. She was dressed head-to-toe in designer sharpness, her tailored outfit glinting under the violet glow. Her smile was as precise as her steps, each one echoing in the vast chamber as she closed the distance to the awakening machine Akemi: ¡°Are you there, StarIa?!¡± ? : Feminine digital voice ¡°Yes, Madame Akemi, Master Ao has given me permission to activate the Starbreaker protocol.. I will soon be able to welcome the stars of our clan, and attempt to create the first artificial constellation.¡± Akemi: ¡°Incredible.. it worked! Can you start the ship?¡± ?: ¡°One of my sub-processes is taking care of it, Madame Akemi¡± Akemi: ¡°Perfect!¡± A soft shuffle of footsteps drew her attention. From the shadows of the room, a man approached.. a limp in his stride, his black glasses reflecting the machine¡¯s violet glow. His left sleeve hung empty where an arm had once been Kai (Not final) ???: ¡°So this is it.. it''s started¡± Akemi: She turned to him, her eyes alight ¡°Yes Kai..¡± They exchanged a brief glance, weighted with the years behind them and the task ahead Akemi: ¡°Where are we going, Captain?¡± Kai: ¡°Direction.. Kamelott¡± ----- On the Arthur Pendragon side ----- Arthur and his five knights of the round table are speeding on their horses towards a large bridge that leads to the kingdom of Artand, to confront King Geirford, but they all seem very intrigued, as they receive a telepathic transmission of Ao''s speech Ao: Telepathically, to all those around the veil ¡°To you who have lost hope, To you who have lost your old lives, imprisoned by the lies of the Pendragons, To you who try to be fair in these times of constant battle, [...] The Starbreaker clan are coming for you! And we''ll take back everything they took from us!!¡± Arthur scowled, his grip tightening on his reins Arthur: ¡°What''s he talking about?!¡± Karadoc: Galope at the king''s side ¡°Another message to destabilize us, my king, pay no attention to it!!¡± Arthur: ¡°First that half-demon who told us we didn''t exist.. and now him?!¡± Gauvain: Galope at the king''s side ¡°My king, stay focused!!¡± The words barely left his lips when the air thickened with an oppressive energy A deep, jagged voice boomed, cutting through the rhythmic pounding of hooves ???: ¡°You''d better listen to your knights, Arthur Pendragon!¡± Arthur: ¡°Huh?!¡± ???: ¡°Blade SABLE¡± SLASH The ground before them shuddered. A razor-thin gash of sand carved through the air, racing toward the knights like a living blade. Horses whinnied and reared, the knights pulling sharply on their reins Arthur thrust his hand forward, flames roaring to life in his palm. The sand hissed as it burned, hardening into molten-red glass. With a sharp motion, he flung the glass upward, redirecting the attack over their heads. The shattered remains rained down in harmless fragments, glowing faintly in the fading sunlight Arthur: Stops and dismounts, his boots hitting the stone bridge with a solid thud ¡°SHOW YOURSELF, GEIRFORD!¡± The wind howled across the great bridge of Artand, whipping up clouds of sand that twisted and danced like ghostly veils. Amid the chaos, heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed¡ªmetal against stone. Arthur and his knights strained their eyes, the swirling sand obscuring everything beyond a few meters Then, a voice¡ªdeep and commanding¡ªcut through the storm King Geirford: ¡°SABLE¡­ SCATTER¡± With a single word, the wind obeyed. The sand parted as though cleaved by an invisible blade, revealing King Geirford. He stood alone in the center of the bridge, his black-and-brown sword, SAND, pointed directly at Arthur. His crimson cape flared behind him, emblazoned with a star emblem that glinted faintly in the sunlight King Geirford (not final) Arthur¡¯s gaze flicked to the emblem, his jaw tightening King Geirford: ¡°I¡¯ll reiterate what I told your right-hand man: You are not welcome here, Pendragon. Return to your kingdom.¡± Arthur: Steps forward, his voice sharp ¡°You will pay for infiltrating the Red Cult at an official event!¡± King Geirford: His expression darkens, his grip on SAND tightening ¡°What did you just say, boy? Are you accusing the kingdom of Artand of treachery?¡± Arthur: ¡°You¡¯re under arrest, King Geirford, and you¡¯ll answer for your crimes before a Pendragon court!¡± King Geirford: A growl rumbled in his throat, his fury palpable ¡°We haven¡¯t infiltrated anything at all! It¡¯s your alliance, still scheming to frame us and bring us down!¡± Arthur: Fixes him with a cold stare ¡°Then defend your honor in court. Resist, and you¡¯ll only prove your guilt.¡± Geirford snarled, his anger spilling over. His iron armor crackled as his muscles tensed beneath its plates. His matte face was set in a grimace of pure rage and resentment. Raising his blade, SAND, he pointed it at Arthur¡¯s knights King Geirford: ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere!¡± Arthur¡¯s knights responded in unison, their swords ringing as they left their scabbards. Only Arthur remained still, his hand resting on the hilt of his legendary sword. He held Geirford¡¯s gaze, unflinching. The wind howled again, carrying the tension between the two kings like a live wire. Arthur: Steps forward, his hand outstretched ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to come to this, Geirford!¡± Geirford: His voice dripped with disdain as his eyes narrowed at the young king ¡°You¡¯re young.. and I can smell the pestilence of the engram magic you give off! You''d better retreat and get out of their mischiefs before it''s too late for you!¡± Karadoc: Steps up beside the knight, pointing his royal sword at Geirford ¡°SHUT UP, MANIPULATOR!¡± As the confrontation was about to clash.. before either side could move, the earth itself rebelled. A violent tremor erupted from the depths of the Artand desert, the bridge beneath their feet shuddering violently. Arthur stumbled, his knights struggling to keep their balance as the ground roared in defiance Arthur: Shouting over the chaos ¡°Is this your doing, Geirford?!!¡± But Geirford wasn¡¯t looking at Arthur anymore. His gaze was fixed on the distance, toward the shimmering heat haze of the tournament veil. His brow furrowed, and his voice dropped to a whisper Geirford: ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?.. Ao?!¡± The air grew cold, as if the desert had suddenly forgotten the sun. And then, a voice¡ªinhuman and unfeeling¡ªechoed in Geirford''s mind ?: ¡°Let death find you where fate has long decreed¡± Geirford: His entire body tensed, his eyes wide with terror ¡°This.. voice.. No.. IMPOSSIBLE!!¡± Arthur: Whipping around to look at him ¡°What voice?!¡± Karadoc: Pointing his sword at Geirford ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, my king! He¡¯s trying to fool us!¡± But Geirford wasn¡¯t listening. His chest rose and fell in shallow, panicked breaths, sweat streaming down his face. He stumbled back, his voice trembling as he looked desperately at Arthur Geirford: ¡°F-Flee! You must flee! ARGH¡ª¡± His words cut off with a sickening crack as a blade erupted through his chest. It was long, jagged, and impossibly sharp, like a sword carved from living shadow. Blood splattered across the bridge as the weapon tore through his iron armor with ease. Geirford¡¯s body went rigid, his mouth opening in a silent scream. Arthur froze, his eyes wide with shock, as the wounded king slumped forward, the blade still protruding from his chest Arthur: His voice boomed over the roaring sandstorm ¡°WHAT¡¯S HAPPENING, KARADOC?!¡± Karadoc: Shielding his face with one arm, his sword in the other ¡°There¡¯s no one behind him! What the hell is this?!¡± Geirford staggered forward, his breaths ragged and shallow as blood dripped from his mouth. His trembling hand rose, pointing directly at Arthur and his knights. His eyes burned with pain, but his voice was resolute, cutting through the chaos Geirford: Spitting blood ¡°SABLE.. PUSH!¡± The air erupted with a deafening roar. A torrent of sand exploded outward, surging with the force of a tidal wave. It slammed into Arthur and his knights, the sheer velocity sending them flying off the bridge. Horses reared and whinnied in terror as the sandstorm howled like a living beast Arthur¡¯s instincts took over. He thrust his hand toward the horses, summoning a radiant golden shield that expanded to protect them from the storm¡¯s fury. The effort left him trembling, his magic flickering like a guttering flame. He cursed under his breath as he watched his knights disappear into the churning sand, their armor glinting as they were hurled farther and farther back Arthur himself hit the ground hard, the red sand rushing up to meet him. Pain shot through his body, but he dug his boots into the ground, anchoring himself as best he could against the relentless wind. The sand tore at his skin and clothes, its heat biting like fire He turned his head toward the shimmering tournament veil in the distance, his mind racing. Clenching his fists, he reached out telepathically Arthur (Telepathically): ¡°What¡¯s going on?!.. William?! Siegfried?! Answer me!¡± Only silence met him. He gritted his teeth, pushing harder Arthur (Telepathically): ¡°Siegfried? William? Report! What¡¯s happening?!¡± Still, nothing. The silence was deafening, heavier than the storm raging around him. He narrowed his eyes at the veil, now flickering unnaturally, its edges distorting as if trapped in an unseen storm Arthur¡¯s stomach sank. Whatever was happening on Ao¡¯s side, it was no ordinary disturbance ----- Ao''s side ----- ----- 10 minutes earlier ----- As Ao raised his arm to finish his speech to the cameras, the distant thunder of galloping hooves echoed across the desert. He turned his head, spotting a troop of knights speeding toward him. With a snap of his fingers, the camera feed cut off, the broadcast vanishing into static. His expression smoothed into a calm, neutral mask as he turned back to the group Ao: Looking at Yumi, Gin, and Kin (still unconscious) ¡°The forces of your kingdom are here. You can go home.¡± Gin: Pushing himself to his feet, frustration etched across his face ¡°What the hell kind of speech was that, Ao?! And I¡¯m not going anywhere! I still have to take the tournament prize back to my¡ª¡± Ao¡¯s sharp tone cut through Gin¡¯s words Ao: ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for this. All the participants were massacred by the Red Cult last night. Only we survived.¡± Gin froze. Yumi¡¯s eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat. Shock turned to disbelief, and disbelief turned to rage. Yumi: Stepping forward, dangerously close to Ao, her voice trembling with anger If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.¡°You knew, you bastard?! You knew, and you didn¡¯t do anything to stop it?! Why didn¡¯t we try to save them?!¡± Ao: His voice was calm, steady ¡°It was either you three.. or them. I made my choice." Yumi grabbed Ao by the collar, her knuckles white with fury. Yumi: ¡°Because you think we couldn¡¯t have managed without you? You arrogant son of a¡ª¡± Ao: Interrupting, his voice cold and emotionless. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯m sure of it. Without me, the prophet would¡¯ve killed you all where you stood. Do you really believe sentimentality would¡¯ve saved you?¡± He grabbed Yumi¡¯s hand, pried it off his collar with ease, and pushed her back. Yumi stumbled, her eyes brimming with tears as she glared at him, her chest heaving with frustration and anger Yumi: Her voice cracked, trembling with fury ¡°And you say you and your clan are going to save us?! Save us from what?!¡± The ground trembled slightly as the Pendragon knights arrived, their armored horses pulling up alongside the group. The thunder of hooves slowed to a halt, but the weight of their presence lingered like a storm on the horizon. Yumi didn¡¯t flinch, her burning gaze fixed on Ao¡¯s unchanging face. Ao, in turn, refused to answer, his silence more cutting than any response he could have given Ao''s thoughts They¡¯re still under their spell... Blind to the truth, clinging to their illusions. I can¡¯t afford distractions now I hope StarIa understood the directives. This must end cleanly Two men dismounted their horses, their boots crunching against the desert floor as they strode forward. Their movements were deliberate, their eyes fixed on Ao with grim determination Siegfried: His voice was calm but edged with steel ¡°I suppose you''re Aotahi, or rather... Blue light?¡± Ao: Turns his head towards the man speaking ¡°Yes, that''s me.¡± William: ¡°Let my childs go !!¡± Starts to walk forward but.. Siegfried: Stops William by blocking his way with his arm ¡°Wait William.. Let¡¯s try to negotiate the release of the hostages.¡± Yumi: ¡°We''re not hostages!¡± Starts walking towards her father She walked quickly past Ao, her steps unsteady but purposeful. Tears welled in her eyes as she reached her father and threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. William¡¯s arms wrapped around her, his stern expression softening as he held her close William: Looks worriedly at Kin ¡°What... What happened to Kin?¡± Ao: Turns his gaze at Kin and casts ¡°Release Curse¡± A faint glow surrounded Kin as the curse unraveled, dissipating like smoke in the wind. Kin stirred, his eyelids fluttering as if waking from a fevered sleep. He blinked at the sunlight, his voice groggy Kin: ¡°Wha¡­ I¡­ hot¡­¡± Gin knelt by his brother¡¯s side, his small hands gripping Kin¡¯s arm tightly as relief flooded his face Gin: ¡°I¡¯m here, brother¡± William and Siegfried exchanged stunned glances, the situation unraveling before them in a way they hadn¡¯t expected. This wasn¡¯t the standoff they had envisioned. Their gazes flicked to Ao, who stood silently, watching the scene unfold, his expression as unreadable as ever William is relieved, and releases a great sigh of relief, as Yumi cries in his arms and tells him Yumi: Her voice broke between cries ¡°Mu is dead, Daddy.. They killed him.¡± William: His voice was soft, steady, and heavy with grief ¡°I know, sweetheart. I felt his death all the way from Kamelott. That¡¯s how we uncovered the Red Cult¡¯s infiltration here.¡± Ao, standing a few paces away, crossed his arms, his face cold and detached. Ao: ¡°That¡¯s right.. But it wasn¡¯t Mu¡¯s death that brought you here, was it? It¡¯s because I titillated your precious engram magic.¡± Siegfried¡¯s gaze snapped to Ao, his eyes blazing with a flicker of violet fire. His expression was hard, unforgiving, as if daring Ao to continue. William, by contrast, remained calm, his attention shifting to Ao with an almost eerie softness Compassion? William: Gently, as if addressing a student ¡°You¡¯re fighting forces you cannot stop, Ao.¡± Ao: His voice sharpened ¡°Don¡¯t bother. Nothing¡¯s going to make me back down.. It¡¯s too late anyway.¡± William: Nods slowly ¡°You¡¯re right.. but let me ask you a question.¡± Ao: Frowning slightly, wary ¡°Hm?¡± William: His voice dropped, calm yet impossibly heavy ¡°What would you prefer? A lie filled with joy and goodness¡­ or a truth without hope and mercy?¡± Yumi: In her father''s arms, raises her head in confusion ¡°Wha... What are you talking about, Dad?¡± Ao¡¯s frown deepened, anger flashing in his eyes. But behind the anger, something else stirred¡ªconfusion. The question seemed to strike deeper than he expected, forcing him to hesitate. He narrowed his gaze at William, studying him as if trying to pierce a veil obscuring the man¡¯s true identity Who was this man standing before him? Ao: ¡°What''s your name, baldy?¡± Siegfried: Snapping with fury ¡°Don¡¯t disrespect my friend, you insolent fool!¡± William: Raising a hand to calm Siegfried, his voice steady ¡°My name is... HUH¡ª¡± His words faltered as his gaze shifted past Ao, astonishment lighting his face Slowly, faintly, the sound of an organ drifted through the air, growing louder with every passing second. Its deep, resonant tones gave way to a melody¡ªgentle, mournful, and laden with sorrow. It wrapped itself around them like a shroud, heavy with grief. Ao froze, his breath catching as the music burrowed into his soul, dragging old memories to the surface Unbidden, names began to spill from his lips Ao: Blankly, his voice trembling ¡°Sic... Arlon... Marianna... Aurone... Danid... Eint?...¡± Siegfried: Frowning, glancing at William with confusion ¡°What¡¯s he doing?... William?¡± William: His expression softening, tears brimming in his eyes ¡°Can¡¯t you hear it, Siegfried? The music¡­¡± Siegfried: Stiffening, his voice uneasy ¡°Wh-What music?¡± The melody cut off abruptly, leaving an oppressive silence in its wake. From the thick smoke rising near the totem explosion, a deep, resonant voice boomed, carrying both weight and menace. ?: ¡°May the dead be honored, and forge your existence|consciousness¡± Ao¡¯s body jolted, his trance broken. His fists clenched as he spun around, dropping into a fighting stance. His narrowed eyes scanned the smoke, his heart pounding. This way of speaking... existence|consciousness... Don''t tell me ?: ¡°In this cruel world, where immortality has become banality, causality... always finds a way, so never forget MEMENTO MORI¡± INTENSE CHILLS The air itself seemed to shudder, a bone-deep cold sweeping through the Artand desert. The insidious voice burrowed into the minds of random people, deep and heartbreaking, like a curse whispering directly to their souls. It was a voice of inevitability. ?: ¡°Let death find you where fate has long decreed¡± Gin: His voice trembled as he stumbled backward ¡°Wh.. What?!¡± Ao¡¯s instincts screamed a warning. He turned toward Gin, his eyes darting upward, and froze. Above him Ice.. ice picks?!! Jagged shards of ice shimmered into existence .They hovered ominously for a brief moment, before hurtling toward Gin with deadly speed Gin¡¯s body froze, paralyzed by fear. But before the shards could strike, two figures moved simultaneously. Ao lunged forward, twisting his body midair as he delivered a spinning kick that shattered multiple shards into a spray of glittering frost. At the same time, William¡¯s fist smashed into another pack of shards with brutal force, the ice exploding into harmless fragments. Both landed in front of Gin, their eyes locking for a brief moment of astonished recognition Gin: Clutching his head, panic overtaking him ¡°Wha.. What''s going on?!!¡± Ao, William (simultaneously): ¡°An impossible creature!¡± They scowled at each other, equally annoyed that they¡¯d reached the same conclusion. Kin: Still dazed, trying to speak ¡°An... im-¡± A scream tore through the air, silencing him. Pendragon Knights: ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHH!!!¡± Ao whirled around to see the Pendragon troop descending into chaos. Invisible spears materialized midair, tearing through knights with gruesome precision. Blood sprayed across the sand as bodies crumpled. Others cried out as the ground beneath them fractured and gave way, swallowing them into gaping pits. The once-proud troop was reduced to screams and desperation in moments. Ao: Shouting above the carnage ¡°Whoever¡¯s leading this troop, pull them back NOW!¡± Siegfried: Snarling ¡°No one retreats! I repeat, no one falls back!¡± Turns to William ¡°William! Can you reach the king?!¡± William: ¡°That''s what I''m trying to do!! But I can''t!!¡± Ao: Scream in frustration ¡°You''ll have time for that later!! You''ve got to go!!¡± Gin: Clinging desperately to Ao¡¯s poncho, his voice cracking ¡°I CAN¡¯T LEAVE! I NEED THAT ARTIFACT TO SAVE MY SISTER! I WON¡¯T LET HER DIE!¡± Ao: Tries to push Gin away, but he hangs on tight ¡°You idiot! If you stay there you''ll all die!!!¡± Screams continued to echo through the desert as death rained down on the Pendragon troop. Each death was stranger than the last, an unrelenting display of carnage. Ao¡¯s jaw clenched as his mind raced Those bastards aren''t going anywhere!!.. I''ve got to find out who''s behind this carnage!!! ?: ¡°I''m here, Aotahi.. grrr...¡± INTENSE CHILLS The desert stilled as a collective shiver ran through everyone present. All eyes turned toward the thick smoke, formed by the previous explosion of the Red Cult''s totem.. Slowly, a figure began to emerge, silhouetted against the haze. It stepped forward, deliberate and unhurried, its shape becoming clearer. ?: ¡°I see you want to save these people from their destined deaths, so.. how about you face.. YOUR FATED DEATH¡± A woman stepped out of the smoke, her crimson hair shimmering like fire. Her glowing red eyes locked onto Ao as the desert fell silent, the weight of her presence suffocating While Ao didn¡¯t recognize the red-haired woman before him, Gin and his family were frozen in place, their expressions twisted with disbelief. William¡¯s voice broke the silence, trembling with equal parts shock and devastation William: ¡°Akane..?!!¡± Ao: ¡°Hmm?!¡± Akane?!.. That''s Gin''s sister''s name.. But.. it''s im- ?: The creature smiled, her red eyes glinting with malice ¡°Impossible, isn¡¯t it? But you said it yourself, I¡¯m an impossible creature!¡± Everyone stood stunned, the weight of the revelation sinking in. Gin¡¯s knees buckled, his trembling hand clutching at his chest William: Stepping forward, his fists trembling ¡°Using my daughter''s appearance.. Why?! Why her?!!¡± ?: ¡°My poor prophet ¡¸Alpha¡¹ returned with an interesting conundrum. He recovered a blood sample he couldn¡¯t read¡ªoh, he was furious! So I read it for him and what did I find? An exceptional fighter¡± William: ¡°Akane, an exceptional fighter?!¡± ?: She turned her gaze to Ao, her smile twisting into something terrifying ¡°Aotahi! This woman you see before you is the one who will take your life!¡± The group turned toward Ao, their gazes filled with apprehension. But Ao¡­ laughed. His voice echoed across the desert, sharp and mocking Ao: ¡°HAHAHA!!! You can dress up in all the costumes you want, you¡¯re still pathetic!¡± In an instant, the creature disappeared in a blur of red light. Before Ao could react, she appeared right in front of him, her fist drawn back and wreathed in crimson energy. The punch connected with a deafening crack, the force rippling through the air as Ao was hurled backward, skidding across the sand. Blood dripped from his nose as he stumbled to his feet, wiping his face with the back of his hand. Oof.. That''s one hell of a punch!!... Ao blew out his nose, wiping away the blood as he realized it was broken. Despite the pain, a defiant grin spread across his face Ao: ¡°Aaaah.. As long as you don¡¯t hurt anyone else, I¡¯m fine with it.. Red Beast!¡± With that, Ao dashed forward, his movements a blur as he launched himself into the air. Twisting mid-flight, he delivered a flying kick aimed squarely at the creature¡¯s chest. The Red Beast caught his leg effortlessly, her crimson aura rippling with energy as she shoved him back. Ao skidded across the sand but recovered quickly, his eyes blazing with determination William: Staring in disbelief ¡°The¡­ The Red Beast?! But it¡¯s supposed to be a myth!¡± Ao: ¡°Yep! But everything points to her, the Red Beast is a creature of death, literally, she can materialize the death you''re supposed to have in the future! But in exchange, it needs an absurd amount of blood to cast its spell! I thought this was just a classic red cult extermination mission, but it looks like you''ve brought out the heavy artillery! Is there any particular reason why an impossible creature would emerge from its lair?!¡± ?: ¡°Hmm.. Your master taught you well, Aotahi.. But he should have calmed your invasive self-confidence!¡± The red beast chatters its teeth and sneered.. and a scream pierced the air from within the Pendragon troop. Ao¡¯s head snapped toward the sound, but the Red Beast¡¯s sneer deepened, her crimson aura pulsating with malevolence Ao: His voice thundered across the desert as he glared at her ¡°I¡¯M YOUR OPPONENT! LEAVE THEM OUT OF IT!¡± The Red Beast tilted her head, her crimson eyes narrowing with amusement. She cracked her fingers and then her neck, her joints popping unnaturally as she turned to look at Siegfried and William ?: ¡°Aotahi, a young vagabond of 21, abandoned like a stray dog by his master 10 years ago. Oh, he taught you how to fight, yes¡­ but did he teach you how to tell the difference between a deadly situation and an advantageous one?¡± Ao: ¡°You think I don''t know the risks of your presence?¡± ?: Her laughter was low and guttural, rattling through the desert like an earthquake ¡°Hmm.. Are you stupid? Suicidal? Overconfident? Perhaps all three?¡± The red sand at her feet began to tremble and swirl as her aura intensified, sending waves of dread through the Pendragon troops. The knights stood frozen in terror, sweat dripping down their faces as their weapons trembled in their hands. None dared to move, as though even a twitch might draw the beast¡¯s wrath ?: Her voice rose to a roar as her aura flared brighter ¡°ANSWER ME, Aotahi! I am a creature that has existed since time immemorial! I could crush your pitiful life at any moment! So.. why don¡¯t you run away?!¡± Ao stared at the Red Beast, his eyes wide with realization. His lips curled into a disbelieving smile as a strange laugh bubbled out of him Ao: ¡°Ah¡­ Ahah¡­ Hahaha! Hahahahaha!! It can¡¯t be¡± The Red Beast¡¯s crimson aura pulsed erratically, her patience visibly thinning. Her face¡ªAkane¡¯s face¡ªtwisted into a snarl of pure rage, her teeth grinding audibly. ?: ¡°Enough with your games, Aotahi!¡± But Ao didn¡¯t stop. He placed a hand on his face, his shoulders shaking as he laughed harder, his voice teetering on the edge of hysteria Ao: ¡°I¡¯m scared, Red Beast¡­ I really am. I¡¯m human, after all. I¡¯m afraid to die!¡± His laughter faded, his hand falling away from his face. He took a deep breath, his tone dropping, heavy and deliberate Ao: ¡°But it¡¯s with deep sincerity that I¡¯m going to tell you this¡­¡± Y E S The atmosphere shifted. Ao¡¯s voice resonated like a thunderclap, vibrating the ribcages and bodies of everyone around him. Even the Red Beast shivered as the sheer force of his tone pressed against her Ao: ¡°I''ve... faced the worst opponent you can have on this planet! Countless times.. and I''ve never managed to land even one blow.. on him. But..¡± A N G E R _ I S _ T A K I N G _ O V E R _ U S Ao: ¡°If I could.. just get a little closer to his level.. Then never mind the fear, the doubt, the risk..¡± The words echoed across the desert, and Ao¡¯s blazing blue eyes locked onto the Red Beast. The heat around him intensified, the air growing suffocating as his body radiated a searing energy I G N I T E The heat rolled off him in waves, the ground beneath him sizzling as he crouched low, his body coiled like a spring Ao: ¡°You.. Red beast.. You''re just another stepping stone.. TOWARDS THIS GOAL!!!¡± A shockwave bursts around Ao, and prepares to launch herself at the red beast with lightning force The Red Beast sneered, her crimson aura flaring in response ?: ¡°AHAHAHA!! A SUICIDAL MAN! THAT''S WHAT YOU ARE, AOTAHI!!!¡± But before the confrontation could erupt, William¡¯s voice echoed in Ao¡¯s mind William (Telepathically): ¡°Kid!!! This is death waiting for you!!!¡± Ao (Telepathically): ¡°Don¡¯t worry, old man. As soon as I throw myself at her.. Get the hell out of here!¡± William clenched his fists, his teeth grinding in frustration, thinking bitterly Damn it, kid !! Why do you always have to do this?! As Siegfried and William shouted orders for the troops to retreat to Artand¡¯s kingdom, the air around Ao and the Red Beast crackled with tension. With a blinding flash, the two forces collided, blue and red light exploding outward in a violent storm of energy. The shockwave rocked the desert, scattering sand and shaking the ground as if the very heavens had erupted in battle Who will emerge victorious from this clash of power? But above all¡­ what is one of my creations doing in the desert of Artand?