home

search

Determination

  Rin scrambled to heal Kyuuto's wound with all their might. Seeing the horror around them, the warriors dying left and right trying to protect... themselves from the possessed. Some of them seemed like they recognized some of the possessed as people they knew, which makes the fight heavier.

  "We have to get you to safety," Rin said to Kyuuto, her hands are focusing on his wounded shoulder, trying to heal him, her Aurics glowing pale blue. "Aosuke!" she called out to him, while having a minor headache from her previous injury.

  Aosuke and Hikiri meanwhile were also fighting with all they have, unable to respond immediately as the possessed flocked around them. "You have to carry him! Come on!" Aosuke replied, as he stabbed one of the possessed, as the number of Ouras are small, the possessed are prone to be re-possessed and attack again. Getting attacked by one of the hunters, Aosuke held his side but keeping his stance.

  Hikiri fought while also keeping his eyes to Yusuke who just waited on the roof he was on, holding his jaw. He wondered what his next move is going to be, as he looked oddly calm. He also looked at where Ishigaki and Yamato is still fighting Karito. "They are working together with Anrui.. we have to be careful... I'm afraid this is just.. a distraction!" he remarked, before moving around, slashing multiple possessed at once.

  ----

  Ishigaki tried to land his slashes on Karito, while his mech was rusting in the background because of Yusuke's splash of acid earlier. Karito jumped around while retaliating by shooting daggers that he could pull back easily with his magnetism. Yamato came to the side, with his wood element sword, forming tree trunks from the ground to trap him, but he was just too quick. Even using his dark arm, Yamato could not match Karito's cunning.

  "What is it? After getting a boost from Kurouzu's greatest enemy you seemingly became weaker, Yamato..." Karito rambled as he kept on dodging the two's attacks, "Look at you, a traitor. Both to yourself and the Ookami. If Kurouzu still considers you as friend, I'd be surprised!!" he then launched six daggers at once towards Yamato.

  Yamato defended himself quickly by conjuring a thick wooden shield from the ground. Making the daggers stuck and unable to be pulled by Karito's power. "No. People change, Karito. You did too. I believed that killing Kyuuto was the answer to all of this. I used Yamisuke's gift to just do that. But you were in the way. Seeing Kyuuto fight with his teammates, reminded me of us.. how we used to fight! We are the original Aotori, remember?!" Yamato replied with a certain tone, he then gripped his chest with his darkened arm, "... and I will not give up on that... if I can't be free from fate and this curse... I want the world to be!!" Yamato slowly imbued his wood element sword with darkness from his other arm.

  Listening to Yamato's words, Ishigaki paused and thought about where he is right now. He looked down on his palms, and Aosuke's sword, before he held it again firmer than before. "You're right... we can't stop now... we have to finish this..." he readied himself and enhanced the sword with flames again, brighter than before.

  Karito meanwhile just grinned viciously, "Oh, you.. and your honor, Yamato... did you really hear yourself saying that? You were nothing! The Ookami clan is what, your masters, right? Kurouzu is not your friend, you were just his people! You were nobody!! The reason he ran with you is not because he cared, it's because you were just a tool! A shield and a sword, a sacrifice!!" he then stomped the ground, making it quake, his mech twitched behind him.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  "... and to think... you want to help him all this years... is pathetic, Yamato. You should be angry, you should join us instead. Volkus is the answer to all of this, Kurouzu was the perfect vessel, as with Kyuuto! The Raisuka will rise as well as the new Ookami kingdom! With you on our side... we can make the best kingdom on the Mainland... a paradise..." he raised his arms as if he was preaching. Before focusing again on the two.

  Ishigaki and Yamato were standing side by side. Ishigaki with his flame getting brighter and turning white in color, while Yamato with his darkened arm pulsing with purple aura from it. The two are determined beyond imagining. Then after a slight pause, the two leapt towards Karito.

  ----

  On the artificial island, Yuukai and Raizen stood tall on a stage facing the main yard, accompanied by Kentarou and Hoshikawa on either side. The warriors' grim expression were on display as the four looked down from the stage. Many murmured about what was to come, as they looked at both Kentarou, previously known as the vessel of Akazaru and the killings, and Hoshikawa, the one who rebelled and wanting to kill Kyuuto. They felt great unease and sense of unity seeing them both beside the grandmasters.

  "We have trained you for exactly this moment to strike," Yuukai started his speech, "Our mission was to take back the Mainland from the Darkness, and this is the pinacle of it. We struggled for a long time, slowly recruiting those possessed and trying to remember what they were. Our friends; our family; our loved ones. Some are still there, struggling with the curse,.. in this moment, we want all of you to stood for them. For some of us who are there, fighting until the end..." he paused, looking closely to the warriors as their expression changed, "Don't be afraid, as we will fight side by side. Take back what's ours in the first place!! Are you with me?!" he raised his fist, followed by all warriors raising theirs in sync just like the first mission all those times ago.

  Hoshikawa and Kentarou prepared themselves nearby, tension was still high between them. "I can't believe I'm ended up trying to save Kyuuto again, that bastard, ruining people's lives," Hoshikawa commented as he tightened the straps of his armor to his thigh.

  Kentarou looked at him, then at his blade, "We were all broken, even before the curse. I've heard about your story, and I'm sorry, Hoshikawa. I know pep talk wouldn't work on you, and you want absolute certainty of what's to come. But sadly I can't give that to you either..." he then stood up, finishing his preparation, "But this is the least that we can do, by fighting the darkness, and we need all the luck we got," he offer his hand.

  After hesitating, and looking at the Mainland, Hoshikawa shook his hand with Kentarou, "You've heard about that too, huh? That's just a stupid superstition," he finalized his preparation, and looked at the warriors.

  "We are now brothers in arms, and by extension Kyuuto's team too. Aotori. We have to set aside our wrongdoings for now. Focus on what's ahead. We have plenty of time to argue after we win," Kentarou then smiled, making Hoshikawa even more uneasy.

  As they gathered with the others, Yuukai and Raizen were already in the middle of the main yard. Raizen then lowered one knee to the ground, as with one palm, seemingly focusing on his powers. "I will send us some distance away from the battlefield. Then we charge," he explained briefly.

  "We? You are going too?" Hoshikawa asked, as he adjusted his sword on its scabbard.

  Yuukai replied with determination, "Yes, we are going too," he then held on to Raizen's shoulder, "Be ready, everyone,"

  Soon, the ground was shaking, as Raizen commanded the warriors to also kneel like him and hold the ground. He focused on his power so intensely that he screamed, "AAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!" the ground shook even harder, and a few seconds later, hundreds of the warriors including Hoshikawa, Kentarou, Yuukai and Raizen vanished from the yard.

Recommended Popular Novels