In panic, Itoshi clutched the side of his hair.
"A HUNDRED AND FIFTY?!"
"Good luck."
As the man and Ryujin watched the colorful lights scattered across the dark field, Ryujin drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"Ayro... Itoshi... I know you guys are there."
The grass behind them rustled near the hill. The man stiffened, turning sharply, but Ryujin didn't flinch.
A pause — then Itoshi's head popped up from the grass. He grinned slyly, hands raised in mock surrender.
Ryujin turned calmly to the stranger.
"They're my men."
The stranger glanced at him, then shift"ed his focus back to the beast.
"...Can he actually do it?
Itoshi cracked his knuckles and took a deep breath.
"Guess it's time I learn what this power can really do."
He stepped down the hill—only to slip and fall flat on his back.
Ayro, Ryujin, and the man all averted their eyes.
"Ryujin... are you sure this is the right guy?"
"No regrets."
Itoshi pushed himself up and inhaled sharply. Flames suddenly burst from his hands—vivid blue—incinerating the nearest seeles on impact.
The man's expression shifted; his eyes widened slightly. Flame users were rare... but flames that big, that bright? Even rarer.
Without hesitation, Itoshi charged into the swarm, his fire cutting a blazing path through the horde.
"Like a white blood cell tearing through an infection..."
The man muttered as he flicked a glob of Seele essence off his katana, his eyes darting toward the thinning swarm.
"Weird analogy. But not wrong."
Itoshi had already wiped out about a third of them.
"Ayro, how many left?"
Ryujin called out, standing with his hands in his pockets as if he were watching a casual sports match.
Ayro squinted, his eyes pulsing with a faint dark hue.
"A hundred and twelve... and dropping."
Ryujin smirked, leaning his shoulder against a tree.
"He's lasting longer than I expected."
"Maybe you did choose the right guy,"
Ayro noted, his gaze shifting from the stranger to Itoshi.
Itoshi paused for a second, hunched over and catching his breath as the Seele began to circle him again. He wiped a streak of soot from his forehead and looked up at the hilltop.
"Are you guys seriously just gonna stand there?!"
From the hilltop, the man called back, his tone teasing as he cupped his hands around his mouth to shout.
"We can't do anything right now!"
"You're doing great, Itoshi!"
Ryujin followed up, waving a dismissive hand.
"Just a few more to go,"
Ayro added, giving a lazy thumbs-up.
Itoshi clicked his tongue and muttered to himself, spinning his fist to face the Seele once more.
"These guys..."
The stranger shouted once more, his voice breaking through the whistling wind.
"What do you expect us to do?"
"Whatever! I'll handle it!"
Itoshi roared, lunging forward into a group of three.
"Heads up,"
Ayro called out, his voice sharpening.
"More Seele incoming."
Itoshi turned his head mid-swing, nearly tripping over a rock.
"More?!"
"Coming from the same direction. Can you see their color?"
Ayro asked, leaning forward with sudden interest.
Itoshi ducked under a clawed swipe, his blue flames flickering as he struggled to keep his output steady.
"Hang on—I'm kinda busy!"
He kicked a Seele back, creating a brief gap to squint his eyes toward the forest.
"...Brown!"
The man on the hill smirked at the word, his grip tightening on his hilt.
"Ciao, ciao, kids."
"Tsk,"
Ryujin reacted, his eyes narrowing.
The man rushed down the slope like a falling star, heading straight toward the incoming brown-colored Seele—earth types.
"How's recruitment going?"
Ayro asked, not moving from his spot.
"He'll join,"
Ryujin stated firmly.
"You sure?"
"Just a hunch.."
Ryujin replied, his gaze fixed on the hooded figure.
"He mentioned your dream?"
Ayro asked, his voice dropping to a more serious note.
"I told him."
"You? A dreamer? Didn't expect that,"
Ayro remarked with a dry chuckle.
"I'm still human, Ayro. I've got my own selfish reasons too,"
Ryujin said, his expression softening for a split second before hardening again.
A loud crash rang out from the bottom of the hill, followed by the sound of boots scraping against gravel.
"Hey! You're in my way! Go fight your own Seele!"
Itoshi yelled, shoving the stranger aside.
"Shut up! You're in my way!"
tThe man barked back, pushing him right back.
Smack. Itoshi reached out and hit him on the back of the head.
"You son of a—!"
The man growled, turning his blade toward Itoshi for a split second.
"Your hunch is failing you.."
Ayro muttered dryly from above. Ryujin sighed and facepalmed, the sound of his hand hitting his forehead echoing in the quiet.
They grappled right in the middle of the swarm, Seele snapping at their heels while they fought over space. The man got Itoshi into a headlock—grinning—until Itoshi leaned in and bit his hand with everything he had.
"AHHH!"
The stranger screamed, recoiling.
Itoshi grinned back, blood and Seele grime on his teeth, then unleashed a focused burst of flame at the man's torso—not enough to burn, but enough to push him back. Both staggered, gasping for air as they stood back-to-back.
"Why the hell are you out here all by yourself?!"
The man stumbled as he was pushed back, looking over his shoulder.
"What?!"
Itoshi regained his balance and incinerated a nearby Seele.
"This isn't a place for someone like you!"
"I do what I want! Why do you even care?!"
The man yelled, parrying a rocky strike.
"Because you're strong!"
"I know! Now shut up and fight!"
The man bellowed, swinging his katana in a wide, wind-boosted arc.
They jumped back into the fray together, their movements starting to sync up despite the constant bickering.
"You've been out here for nine years, right? Alone?"
Itoshi asked, dodging a lunge.
"Yeah. That was my choice,"
The man replied, his voice strained.
"But is it really what you want?"
Itoshi pressed, his blue eyes searching.
"Ryujin, more coming. They can't keep this up much longer,"
Ayro warned, his shadow beginning to creep outward from his boots.
Ryujin chuckled, mesmerized by the strange chemistry of the two fighters below.
"Look at them. You don't see it?"
"What? Now's not the time for this,"
Ayro urged, his foot tapping impatiently.
"Just let their effort mean something."
"Fine. What's the signal?"
Ayro sighed, relenting.
"When I raise my right hand—pull them with your shadows,"
Ryujin commanded.
"Got it."
Itoshi suddenly noticed a fresh wave of movement in the brush.
"Ayro! A little heads-up would've been nice!"
"Oops. Forgot,"
Ayro replied with zero sincerity.
"I didn't need a warning!"
The stranger shouted, though he looked visibly winded.
"You so do!"
Itoshi barked.
"I don't!"
"Do too!"
"Ugh, can you leave me alone?!"
The stranger groaned.
"Nope. Being alone sucks!"
Itoshi yelled, his flames flaring up in a defiant burst.
"I like it that way!"
"Lame!"
Suddenly, a massive Seele lunged at the man from a blind spot.
"Look out!"
Itoshi screamed.
"Damn it!"
The man threw up an air barrier just in time, the impact vibrating through his entire body. But Itoshi rushed in anyway—his bare hands glowing with heat.
"Wait, you idiot—!!"
Itoshi punched the Seele square in the head—but his hand got stuck in its thick, hardening hide. The Seele began to pull him into its mass.
"Are you serious?!" the man yelled, his eyes widening.
Itoshi grunted, his feet sliding across the dirt as he struggled to pull his arm free.
"I am!"
"That's a flame-type Seele! You should be dead!"
The man shouted, frozen for a moment.
"I've got someone I can lean on!"
Itoshi roared.
The man froze, his head hanging low as memories flickered like static behind his eyes. He gritted his teeth, the sound audible over the wind.
"...You're not the only one."
"Huh?!"
The hooded man raised his head, his emerald eyes locking onto Itoshi with a newfound intensity.
"I said—you're not the only one!"
He delivered a powerful kick supported by a burst of wind, launching both Itoshi and the Seele into the air to clear them from the ground-based swarm.
Itoshi flailed mid-air, clutching the monster.
"WHOA WHOA WHOA! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"Ryujin... that's a flame type,"
Ayro noted, his hand twitching toward his hilt.
"I know. They haven't asked for help, though,"
Ryujin said, his face a mask of calm. Ayro frowned at his leader in clear disapproval.
"Kidding," Ryujin added, a small grin breaking through.
With perfect aim, Ryujin snapped his fingers, firing a thin jet of high-pressure water from his fingertip. It pierced the exact spot where Itoshi's hand was wedged. The Seele exploded into a cloud of vapor, and Itoshi tumbled toward the ground.
"Thanks, Ryujin!"
He yelled as he landed in a crouch.
"Don't mention it,"
Ryujin smirked.
Itoshi stood up and shook the numbness from his hand.
"Alright... back to work!"
He let loose a sweeping arc of flame, torching the nearby wind-types. The stranger got caught in the edge of the heat.
"Tsk. I'm still here, you know!"
"Sorry!!"
Itoshi called out sheepishly.
From the deep shadows of the forest, something massive stirred. The ground began to vibrate, and a colossal silhouette emerged under the silver moonlight.
"Uh-oh. We've got a big one,"
Ayro said, his posture straightening instantly.
"Oh?"
"Water type."
"Perfect... Itoshi! Time to start hauling sand!"
Ryujin called out, his voice booming.
"What?!"
"Big water-type Seele. We're out of options,"
Ryujin stated, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Great," the man and Itoshi said in a defeated unison.
"What do we do? We're not just letting it roam free, right?"
Itoshi asked, looking at the approaching behemoth.
"Nope. Ayro, pull them out."
Ayro's shadow tendrils lashed out from the hill, yanking both men backward by their waists and dragging them up the slope.
"Who told you to pull me out?!"
The stranger yelled as he was dragged through the dirt.
"What were you planning to do with the hand thing?"
Ayro asked Ryujin, ignoring the stranger's complaints.
"I was gonna flush the Seeles out. They were my distraction,"
Ryujin explained.
"So I pull them before the flood hits,"
Ayro concluded.
"That's insane,"
The man muttered, finally getting to his feet.
"We don't have any better ideas. Fighting these things alone is suicide,"
Itoshi added, staring at the forest.
Ryujin raised his hand, and from beneath the battlefield, a massive wave of seawater surged upward through the earth.
He'd been guiding it through underground veins the entire time. The salty tide swept the remaining horde all the way back to the forest's edge—four hundred meters in a single roar.
"That should buy us some time. Let's regroup,"
Ryujin said, lowering his hand.
"Just so we're clear... I'm not joining you,"
the man grumbled, crossing his arms.
"Then why are you still here?"
Itoshi asked with a smirk.
"Right?"
Ayro added.
"Tsk... Fine," the man finally muttered.
"Alright. Here's the plan—"
Ryujin began, pulling them into a circle as he began to explain the strategy for the Größer als Männer-class monster looming in the distance.
[4:40am]
"Got it?"
"Got it,"
Everyone else replied in a sharp, synchronized chorus.
"This should be easy,"
Itoshi said, stretching his arms over his head with a confident grin.
The stranger adjusted his grip on his katana, his emerald eyes tracking the massive silhouette in the distance.
"Anyone could've thought of that plan."
"Then why didn't you?"
Ayro asked, not even bothering to look at him.
"Shut up."
The four—Ryujin, Ayro, Itoshi, and the man—marched forward in a steady line, side by side. Their boots crunched against the salt-crusted earth as they closed the distance toward the swarming horde and the towering monster waiting ahead.
"That's just lazy writing,"
A girls voice muttered.
Non-Related Voice: The author probably just wanted to play MiSide.
~~~To be Continued~~~