"Gghh!"
I pull myself up from the soil, each muscle in my body taut as my left arm dangles lifelessly beside me. My right rapidly formed rings of sparks that buzzed intensely.
"So, that's your charm, is it?"
My left arm was still useless, and I'm still wounded from back then.
"Any reason you didn't use it already?"
"Nothing too important."
I need to think about this rationally. If the pain I deliver is proportionate to what I receive when I deactivate the charm, then I'm in an even worse position than I thought.
"Haha! It seems like this is just gonna get more troublesome."
My wounds would likely amplify the pain from deactivation further, I may even be bedridden for weeks purely from psychological damage.
Think.
"If you're not gonna say anything. Then I'm gonna keep swinging at ya!"
THINK.
FWOO.
Lain lunged at me, bat held between his palms as he raised for a swing.
SMASH.
I shifted to the right as the steel collided with the dirt.
If I can't take the risk of complete attacks, then.
I raised my fingers in one fluid motion.
His eyes redirected themselves toward my hands.
"Nice gun ya got there."
I'll just have to break him piece by piece.
ZAP!
"Grghhhh!"
His grip loosened as he stumbled backwards.
"What the hell! That stings bad!"
Regardless of how my energy is used, pain packer will take effect.
So to minimize my own damage and maximize it on him, this is my best bet.
ZAP!
"Argh! Stop!"
He slid on the dust, pivoting around me at lightning speed. I barely managed to grab a clear vision of him as his bat swung right for my jaw.
I ducked in an instant, finger-gun raised for another shot.
ZAP!
"Rgh! You-!"
SWING.
Damn!
With a snap, my right arm went up, and the bat smashed against my gloved hand with an earsplitting sound. With an explosive force, my body propelled across the dirt.
I glanced up to see his silhouette already looming over me, blue sparks crackling around him.
With a fist, my right arm collided with the bat, a clash of crimson and aqua sparks.
"So, Lain, believe I took down Ruhen now?"
"You're a pesky little nuisance! What the hell are those attacks!"
"Just a little something to help myself."
I bounced back as his bat swayed through the air, body losing balance.
Now.
ZAP!
STTRK.
The crimson thread scraped against his bat as he shot forward.
"Wha-"
SLAM.
"ARGHHH!"
The steel crushed my spine, driven by the weight of his blue sparks. I hit the forest floor hard, the taste of blood filling my mouth as dirt clings to my skin.
Lain's chest sunk, breath getting heavier. "That little game of tag is over... now..."
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!
"Kai-!"
I stood at the cavern's center, the cultists closing in. Maroon seeped from my split lips and torn knuckles, dripping onto the cold stone.
There's... too many.
"Rghh!"
[Dragon Rush]
My blade releases a dragon of fire, charging through the cave, as they burn through the approaching figures. The heat from the fire turns the moist cave air into a scorching blast.
"Hey, princess."
She huddles in the corner, her frame trembling. Tears pool in her ocean-blue eyes, catching the flickering orange light.
"You want... to fight?"
"I...I can't.." Her eyes curve a sorry arc.
"...I see."
Longer. I need to hold on longer.
I pivot, my sword swinging around me as a fiery ring slices through the air. With each movement, pieces of flaming disks soar into the crowd, creating a fiery tornado.
My knees slammed to the stone. I heaved, coughing as my breath comes in ragged, frantic gasps.
"Kai! Just stop! Y-you can try to escape-"
"I won't run."
I can't run anymore.
"You have a charm. You became a cadet. So why don't you fight, Diana?"
"Because.. I'm just scared. I told you! I'm scared!"
"Of what?"
I regained my balance, feet forcing themselves up off the ground.
"I'm scared of... doing nothing."
A sharp sting hit my chest.
"I'm scared that no matter what I do. I'm just going to end up being a stupid key for a demon seal."
...
"All I am is the last piece to the world's destruction! Even if I can fight! There's no point! I'll be the reason everything will end anyway-!"
"No."
The cultists continue advancing, their silhouettes reaching out over the rock face. I formed a barrier with the eruption of my sword's flames, cutting through air.
"You're not afraid of fighting."
Her head raised slightly.
"You're afraid of yourself."
"My...self?"
"You're afraid that you'll destroy everything. The fact that even if you fight, the secret within you is far more dangerous."
But that's wrong.
That's completely wrong!
"I can't save you, Diana."
The truth is, I've never saved anybody at all.
"Wha-"
"I will die here. These cultists will just keep coming, I'll grow tired. And I'll die with you watching."
"Then-!"
"So I can't. No matter what I try to do. I can't save you."
"..."
"So, why don't you try?"
"Try..?"
"I want you to save me, Diana."
Save yourself.
"I just said I can't-!"
"I don't care if you can't. I'm going to die."
"You-, You're not making any sense!"
"I couldn't care less about you being able to cause a global war."
The thump in my heart raced.
"I couldn't care less about you being afraid."
She dug into her pink laced lips.
"Right now. I need you, Diana."
Shock froze her features, her ocean-blue eyes wide and brimming as she fights back a sob.
"So please. Save me."
"Kai..."
The darkness closed its net tighter around me, the air hummed with the sound of their rumbling sparks as waves of energy fly towards my chest.
I snuck a shot at her face, my mouth shooting open.
Tears carve tracks through the soot on her flushed cheeks. Even as they fell, her lips pulled into a soft, trembling smile that cut through the cave's gloom.
"Thanks."
Chilly mists enveloped her as a thin wand formed in her hands. With a small raise, an enormous jagged icicle shot out of the stone, intercepting me as they shattered the cultists assault.
"I'm going to save you now, Kai. So you just sit there."
A wide grin formed on my face as I stumble back over the stone to rest.
No. Just now, you didn't save Kai.
You saved the princess of Aurelia, Diana Roy.
You saved yourself.
I observed quietly as she carved her way through the crowd of cultists. The atmosphere grew chilly as jagged icicles emerged from the ground on her command. Her face lit up with a certain satisfaction.
It made me feel relieved.
Like I was able to do something.
Soon, a chill emanated from my sword too, the blade buzzing with an iced coating. I pull myself up, fighting off the exhaustion as I plunge into battle, my blade similar to hers.
"H-hey! Are you mocking me! What's with that!?"
I snickered at her remarks. "Sorry, I guess I got a bit inspired."
SCHWOOO.
We fend off the remaining cultists in coordination. She sent shards of ice from the darkness above as I plunged deep into the fray with my own icy blade in clouds of white vapor.
Finally.
I've finally made progress, I've gotten closer.
So what about you?
I want you to feel the same as I did just then.
So I hope you can change something too.
Akio.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"GARGHHHH!"
His bat dug into my left elbow, my fractured bones colliding with each other amidst the pain.
"Those little flickers of yours were darn annoying, you know?"
Get.. up!
I released an outburst of crimson sparks, the shockwave slamming into Lain as he hurled backwards.
My fingers struggled to raise, but I forced them up.
ZAP!
"Grh! Are you seriously just gonna keep doing that! It bloody hurts!"
I pull myself upright, spine cracking as I manage to keep my balance steady.
ZAP!
The spark flickered against Lain's steel as he dashed forward, bat straight for my temple.
The world rolled into a spin, my head ringing from the impact. The huge oaks and thick pines blurred in an ever-spinning green whirl, as his image twisted and doubled in front of me, mirroring in the ripples of water. My legs went limp beneath me, the wet earth rising up to claim me as I lost my balance.
"It's over. Just stay down this time."
He was right. It's over.
I can barely even see right anymore. One of my legs and arms are limp, and I'm dying.
He's going to kill me. I'm going to die, just like that.
I'm going to die?
I've finally escaped. I've finally let go. I caught up with Kai and the rest.
I got a charm.
I've left the past behind.
And I'm going to get my skull bashed in by some captain of a stupid cultist group??
My fingers whitened, my boots sank deep into the moss-covered soil with a hard bang. A growl rumbled out from between my clenched teeth as crimson sparks danced around my right arm.
Screw my body.
Screw the pain.
Screw promises.
And,
"SCREW YOU!!"
I kicked off the ground with explosive force, driving my fist into Lain's face as I dragged him beyond the forest into the villa district. I could feel the bandages unwrap themselves as we surged beyond.
With a final, heavy slam, I crushed him into the pavement. My breath hitched heavily as I pulled my hand back, watching his eyes roll into his head and froth gather at his mouth, his veins bulging with the final strain of agony.
A crowd quickly gathered, the townspeople staring in silence as I stood over his lifeless body.
I stared.
With a broken arm.
A broken leg.
Wounded, worn down.
And one punch.
I won.
The crowd burst into a cheer as they screamed out.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME, KID!?"
"A..kio...Seki..shiro.."
"AKIO SEKISHIRO!"
A collective cry echoed my name as if I was their savior. Applause rang through the air as the hands came together to celebrate.
A sensation I'd previously been unfamiliar with began to creep through me; my heart raced, my entire body flushed with heat, and a twisted sense of accomplishment took hold.
I'm...
"RAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
I'm god damn strong.