“Dang, nice try, Ron!” Anumbrius remarks.
“Oh, you have some skill for a human! Very well, I will give this fight my all,” Famud states, before taking a stance. Famud’s hair starts to stand up, a powerful aura emitting from his body. Upon impact, I feel as though a lion’s head is right above me, roaring down at me with all its might.
“Looks like he’s taking us seriously now, Ron! We shall also use our technique!” Anumbrius says with a voice of excitement.
“All right, here it goes,” I mumble as I also take a stance. I begin to cover myself and Anumbrius in shadow nature. I then proceed to switch my sword form, holding Anumbrius behind my back.
“You’re leaving yourself wide open!” Famud shouts as he charges toward me, even faster than before.
“Take this!” I yell, swinging my sword with even more strength than before toward Famud as I dodge his charge.
“Ha! To slow!” Famud says as he avoids my blade. However, Famud is suddenly wounded. He jumps back, holding his slightly cut chest.
“Nice shadow manipulation, Ron! He didn’t even notice the shadows come off that attack!” Anumbrius states.
“I see, so you also use shadow nature. Humans like you are rare these days,” Famud states. We charge toward each other, both swinging our swords with all our force. As soon as the blades connect, waves of force suddenly rush through the two of us. Both my shadow nature and Famud’s inner beast spirit push against each other’s force. However, Famud suddenly gains the upper hand, pushing against Anumbrius’ force. My grip slips, and Famud’s swords are suddenly right in front of me.
“Ron!” Rose and Joshua both yell. Tink, however, says nothing. Instead he just smiles. I suddenly jump towards Famud with my shadow imbued feet, instead of away. I charge right into his chest with my shoulder, forcing him to drop his swords. Before he can react I headbutt him right between the eyes, forcing him to the ground.
“What in Acarus-” Famud shouts as I pin him down. I hold my fist to Famud’s face, my shadow nature inches from impact.
“I think this is the part where you give up,” I state.
“Ooo! I gotta write that one liner down,” Tink whispers with glee.
“Y-You’re crazy! I haven’t lost yet!” Famud yells, struggling in vain to free himself of my grip.
“Enough, Famud! Don’t embarrass yourself further!” the chief orders.
“Young prince...” Nasur mumbles as she rushes to support the defeated prince.
“I-I want a rematch!” Famud protests as Nasur holds him back.
“Look, kid, don’t take fights personally. Trust me, it doesn’t do anyone any good,” I calmly reply, holding out my hand.
“Eh--whatever, I still want a rematch!” Famud declares, though with a less ferocious tone as he slaps my hand away.
“Teenagers--am I right, Ron?” Anumbrius jokes.
“It’s understandable. I’d get furious when my pride was hurt as a teen too,” I reply.
“Very well, I acknowledge your strength. Tell me, what is the full name of the man I am about to fight?” the chief asks as he grabs his great-axe, before jumping down from his chair to face me.
“Ron, Ron Amar. And do I have the honor of learning my opponent’s name?” I ask.
“Mmm... perhaps, if you manage to defeat me I shall give you my name,” the chief promises as he grips his axe.
“Look, Ron, this guys in a whole new league! Be careful!” Anumbrius warns.
The chief wastes no time, sending his axe down toward me. I leap out of the way, avoiding any damage. The ground, however, isn’t so lucky.
“Oh, you think? I wouldn’t have known,” I jokingly think to Anumbrius.
“Wow, Ron, didn’t expect you to be sarcastic...I like it,” Anumbrius declares as I use him to block the Chief’s second attack.
“Damn, the force behind it is almost as strong as Famud’s when he was using that power. He cracked the ground with a damn axe, after all.” I think to myself as I manage to return a blow, which the chief easily blocks. The chief offers me no time to recover, again throwing blow after blow at me. I manage to dodge most of them, though I am forced to take a few small cuts. Seeing that I can’t get anywhere in my current state I again use my new technique, covering Anumbrius and myself with shadow nature. As I do this the chief goes for another attack. But this time I dodge it and manage to cut him with Anumbrius, though the wound doesn’t faze him in the slightest.
“Amazing, I haven’t been injured in battle for years! You are truly something, human,” the chief admits, “However, you aren’t strong enough to beat me!” the chief yells before his great-axe suddenly begins to glow. The aura radiating from it feels similar to Famud’s aura, though even more intense.
“Looks like he’s putting all of his strength in his next attack. You should do the same, Ron,” Anumbrius suggests.
“I guess it’s time to use my best technique, though I wish I could have practiced it more.”
“Oh, I hope Ron can control it,” Rose mumbles to herself.
I begin the chant, a chant Tink mentioned to me while in our training. Tink had told me that a Homathreas has the potential to use techniques even he himself would never be able to learn. Anumbrius suddenly becomes covered in shadows. The shadows envelope him, making it seem as though Anumbrius is longer and bigger. However, doing this takes a toll on my shadow nature state. My left eye becomes unstable. Blood seems to come from my eight year old scars, though they don’t reopen.
“Oh boy! Ron’s gonna use it, huh?” Tink mumbles to himself as he sits up with a curious look in his eyes.
“I don’t know why, but I feel as though it’s impossible for both of us to survive this next exchange,” I think to myself as the chief readies himself to charge. The chief suddenly charges, as do I, both of our weapons imbued with our might, about to connect.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A Strange Turn of Events
“Stop!” a voice suddenly shouts. We both manage to stop our charges just moments before our blows connect. Everyone looks to the figure who shouted. The entire area goes silent, everyone’s eyes locked on this mysterious figure. The chief has kept a serious look on his face the entire time I’ve seen him, but now it’s suddenly calm. The chief suddenly bursts into tears, as does Famud.
“M-My daughter! I never thought I’d see you again!” the chief suddenly shouts as he runs toward the figure, embracing her.
“I’ve missed you too, father, though I must tell you to stop your fight at once,” the felion states.
“But why? I trust you still know the laws our ancestors forged eras ago? Any duel fought under both fighters’ agreement will be finished no matter the reason,” the chief argues.
“Trust me, Father--I just want to talk to him for a moment,” the figure explains, suddenly turning toward me.
“Ok, what the hell’s going on here?” I think to myself. A confused look forms on my face. My eye is still slightly covered in blood from using the chant. Rose also has an interesting look on her face, though it’s more of a pout.
“Mmm, this is getting interesting,” Tink declares with a laugh to himself. The chief’s daughter walks right up to me, staring me right in the eye.
“Um, can I help you with something?” I ask.
“What’s up with this girl?” Anumbrius echoes my thoughts.
“You think I would know? I’m as confused as you are right now,” I think to Anumbrius. The girl keeps staring at me, then suddenly focuses on my left eye.
“Are you Ron Amar?” the girl suddenly demands.
“W-Who are you? How do know my name?” I’m becoming more and more confused.
“Well, my name’s Nikud. And as for the second question, David told me,” Nikud answers.
“Y-You know David?!” I yell, unable to hold back my excitement.
“Yes, he was taken to the same prison I was kept in by a demon stalker,” Nikud explains.
“What did you say?” the chief suddenly interrupts. “You were taken by the demon empire? I thought you fell to those cadons all those years ago,” the chief mutters, tearing up again.
“Nice to see that this guy has a soft side,” Anumbrius jokes.
“Way to ruin the moment,” I think to Anumbrius.
“What? It’s not like they can hear me anyways,” Anumbrius remarks with an annoyed voice.
“W-Well how did you escape?” I wonder aloud.
“David... he sacrificed his freedom to save us. I’m sorry, Ron,” Nikud mumbles.
“Well, I wouldn’t expect anything else from David,” I state, trying to manage a smile. “But what do you mean by us?”
Nikud has a puzzled look on her face, before turning around. “Oh, come on, Hamon, you’re fine! Don’t be scared,” she calls out.
Hamon peeks his head from behind a tree. “You sure?” he calls back.
“Yes, Hamon, I’m sure,” Nikud assures him with a laugh as he makes his way to us.
“This is Hamon,” Nikud exclaims.
“Wow, so you’re David’s leader!?” Hamon suddenly asks, shaking my hand. “You must be very powerful!”
“David, you set their expectations of me way too high, didn’t you?” I think to myself.
“Yes, he is indeed very powerful,” Famud admits, before embracing his sister Nikud.
“Famud! What happened to you?!” Nikud asks.
“Oh, nothing to worry about. I just *ahem* lost to Ron here,” Famud groans. He still has a faint look of his inner beast in his eyes as he glares at me.
“Wow, Ron, you have great strength then, since you were able to beat my younger brother here. But I don’t know... David seems more powerful than you?” Nikud claims, looking me up and down again.
“Oh, I bet Ron’s ten times more powerful than David,” Rose mumbles to herself, again revealing a jealous pouting face.
Joshua just laughs. “Wow, Rose, I didn’t take you for the jealous type at all!”
“W-Wait a minute! Y-You heard that, Joshua?” Rose stutters as the flowers in her hair turn a shade of red even brighter than Joshua himself.
“Enough!” the chief suddenly yells, returning to his normal seriousness after wiping tears from his eyes. “Though it seems that Ron is now among friends, I still have my duty as chief to keep our sacred laws and continue this fight!”
“Mmm, I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon,” Tink whispers to himself as he fidgets with his lighter.
“We are under attack!” a felion guard shouts just moments before a spear runs straight through his head.
“Cadons!” another guard shouts.
“What?!” the chief yells as more spears, darts, and arrows fly at our location. Felions drop like flies left and right. “All warriors, charge!” the chief commands as he catches a spear flying right towards him. The chief’s inner beast flows through him as he crushes the spear in his hands, as if it was a toothpick. At this all the felions give out a loud war cry before charging right into the hail of death.
“Get behind me, elf!” a felion orders as she stands in front of Hamon. Instead, Hamon grabs the knives in her belt. Before she can react, Hamon throws one of the knives, which pierces directly into the face of a cadon about to kill her. “Or help me fight,” the felion mumbles with a look of surprise.
“That’s my son for you!” Nikud declares with pride.
“S-stop that... it’s embarrassing,” Hamon mumbles.
“Aw, already embarrassed by me. I could get used to teasing you,” Nikud jokes.
Hamon just lets out a groan as he throws another knife.
“I guess it’s time to see how strong you really are,” Nikud calls out to me with excitement before charging in herself. Joshua and Rose immediately rush to my side. Joshua blocks a volley of arrows and spears flying right at us with his shield, while Rose readies her vines to attack.
“Oh boy! When was the last time I’ve been in a full-scale battle?” Anumbrius asks himself.
“Too long, too long,” I whisper as I chuckle to myself. Anumbrius’ statement echoes in my head, reminding me of when I would ask myself that in the past.
“Ron?” Anumbrius asks.
“You guys ready?” I call to Rose and Joshua.
“Of course, si- I mean Ron,” Joshua declares as he charges up his fire nature.
“Always, Ron,” Rose assures me with a smile.
The fighting is brutal, both felions and cadons falling in the heat of battle. Even with Rose’s healing abilities, the casualties only increase.
“Nasur, help me defend the children!” Famud yells as he cuts down multiple cadons with his twin swords. Famud grips his forehead. “Damn that Ron. I’d go all out if I wasn’t injured,” Famud declares with a grimace.
“I’m here to help, my lord!” Nasur exclaims as she runs her spear through an attacker. “Let me protect you, my lord. You are still injured!” Nasur suggests.
“And let Ron get all the glory? By my spot in Acarus I will!” Famud yells as he cuts down another cadon.
“To fight alongside my daughter again--I never thought I would again,” the chief remarks as he and Nikud charge for the front line.
“Likewise, father! I hope you can still keep up,” Nikud jokes.
“Haha, we’ll see who can’t keep up!” the chief jokes back. Both charge the enemy, Nikud shredding them with her claws and the chief cutting them down with his great-axe.
Rose, Joshua, and I also go to fight in the front--Joshua blocks enemy fire and crushes foes as our Impenetrable Wall of Fire. Rose ensnares enemies with her vines and tends to the wounded as our Maiden of the Trees. I cut down enemies left and right in quick succession as our Sword of Shadows. All of a sudden, my left eye starts to act up, though I have yet to use my new power.
“What’s wrong, Ron?” Rose asks as I hold my eye.
“I don’t know. My eye is suddenly acting up again,” I groan as I look up. I look to a cadon. “Strange, he seems like he has a purple-ish shadow around his entire body. Wait, I know this power! It looks just like a demon stalker’s aura.”
“You feel it too, Ron?” Anumbrius suddenly asks.
“Um yeah--what is it?” I ask.
“I haven’t seen this ancient power in eras! Back when my first master fought in the Old Wars,” Anumbrius declares. “These cadon’s aren’t fighting of their own will! Something is controlling them.”
“What? Is there any way to get them to snap out of it?”
“Yes, there is. I still remember the chant my old master used to dispel this power. Think you can do it?”
Before I can answer, a sensation comes over me. I hear a voice, speaking in some tongue I don’t understand. For some reason I start to chant these words, even though I’ve never heard them before. It’s as if the words are second nature to me.
“Ron?” Rose and Joshua call out as I suddenly become enveloped in shadows.
“Asus Nos Vatrus-Sin,” I chant. Once I shout these words all of the cadons suddenly shut their eyes, falling over. As I come out of my sudden state, I notice that the shadows I previously spotted on the cadons have now vanished.
“You are something else, Ron,” Anumbrius compliments in awe.
“What’s going on!?” the chief yells. A figure suddenly appears from the forest. It charges straight in our direction, before clashing with the chief. Its blow actually manages to push the chief back. “Who are you?” the chief asks.
Now that the figure has stopped moving, I recognize that it is a demon stalker. Unlike others I’ve come across, this one appears to be wearing a mask. The demon stalker stays silent. It just continues to attack the chief. None of the chief’s soldiers can jump into
the fight to help, since they would instantly be killed if they did.
“Whoever you are, you must be pretty confident in your skill to challenge a chief in his own clan!” the chief remarks as he swings his great-axe. However, instead of trying to dodge, the demon stalker simply grabs the chief’s great-axe mid-swing. It then proceeds to easily push him back, forcing the chief to lose his great-axe in the process. The chief looks up, baffled.
“Chief, huh? What a weak one you are,” the demon stalker jeers before charging to deliver the killing blow.
“Father!” Nikud yells, running to block the blow. Her own body the only thing she can use.
“Nikud, no!” the chief shouts as the demon stalker brings his attack down, it’s claws thirsting for blood as it aims for Nikud’s neck. The force of the blow radiates throughout the entire area.
The momentum of the demon’s claw is stopped due to Anumbrius, who takes the blow as I stand before the stalker.
“Ron!” Nikud yells as I force the demon back.
“Oh, there you are,” the demon stalker taunts. A confused look comes over my face.
“What? You guys old friends or something?” Anumbrius asks.
“Aw, come on! You don’t remember me?” the demon stalker taunts with a voice of disbelief.
“Can’t say that I do,” I state as I ready Anumbrius for another attack.
“Well then, maybe this will jog your memory,” the demon stalker declares, lifting up its mask to reveal a giant wound at his jaw.
“You’re the demon I shot in the forest,” I realize.
“And you’re the human bastard that gave me this wound!” the demon stalker yells as it charges toward me. “I won’t be showing you any mercy this time!” the demon declares as it throws a punch with all its might. I block the blow, much to the demon’s surprise.
“Funny, I was going to say the same thing,” I remark.
“Aw, come on! That’s the same line I used when I fought Nasur! Think of your own!” Tink yells, still in the tree.
“That lazy...” I think to myself as I block another blow from the demon stalker. It doesn’t stop there, however. With a bloody scream it attacks with shadows covering its arm. I also attack with my shadow covered arm. The force of impact sends both of us a few feet back. I go for a slash with Anumbrius.
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