by Andrew Rowe
Reika cracked her neck and let the pack slip off her back. The weight would only slow her down. Her features shifted as white scales spread across her skin and her hands shifted into claws.
I looked at the arrayed combatants ahead, set my hand on Dawnbringer’s hilt, preparing to draw.
We were at an awful disadvantage in terms of numbers, strength, and position.
These opponents weren’t the tricks, traps, or illusions that I was getting tired of. They were real, and if I made a critical mistake, I knew it could cost my life.
A smirk slid across my face.
Moments like that were when I felt truly alive.
“Kill them,” Zenkichi ordered.
And then it began.
Reika shot forward before any of the rest of us had a chance to move. She threw a punch at Miyuri, but the latter side-stepped and avoided the attack easily, as if she’d seen it coming.
While the Tails were distracted by Reika, I pulled Dawnbringer out of her scabbard. The situation was bad enough that it might have warranted using the Sae’kes, but I wasn’t confident I had enough strength to control the aura and avoid hitting my partner.
Kaito was already turning to flank Reika, while Zenkichi was taking a few steps back.
I rushed forward, swinging a horizontal cut at Kaito as I moved. As I expected, he stopped his approach on Reika’s side to lower his weapon and block.
Body of Stone.
Stone mana flooded through me before my swing connected with his weapon, adding force to the impact. Body of Iron wasn’t an option. I didn’t think I could maintain it for more than a few seconds in my current condition, and if I used it, the strain would take me out of the fight.
The force of the impact pushed Kaito back just a step, but that was enough. I’d knocked his swing out of position.
On impact, I couldn’t sense the metal of his sword’s blade properly. It was metal, but the shadowy coils around the blade were still blocking my perception of it. That meant I wouldn’t be able to rely on my metal sense to avoid his sword, nor could I command it to simply break apart on impact.
To my right side, I heard a loud crack as Miyuri discharged her weapon into Reika’s chest. Reika grunted at the impact, but I didn’t stop to check if she was hurt.
I didn’t stop running. I moved right past Kaito, toward Zenkichi, who was still unarmed.
Ordinarily, exposing your back to an opponent is a terrible move. But when I see someone that I know is supposed to be absurdly powerful stepping away from a fight, I know something is amiss. If he was a ranged magic user, I didn’t want to let him get the space he needed to be effective.
Kaito reacted faster to my movements than I hoped, but not quickly enough to stop me from swinging Dawnbringer at Zenkichi’s right arm. I was aiming for a disabling strike, rather than an outright lethal one.
Zenkichi simply moved his hand and caught the blade of my sword. It wasn’t a perfect maneuver; the blade cut deeply into his hand. But he’d defended himself expertly, moving faster than I’d expected.
Then he raised his other hand, conjuring a swirling globe of green fluid.
I didn’t like the look of that. I tried to pull backward, but even with Body of Stone active, Zenkichi’s grip was too strong.
I’d been right with my assumption that Zenkichi was backing off to use ranged attack magic. I had, however, underestimated the strength and speed of a hundred plus year old hydra.
I was forced to dodge to the side to avoid a swing from Kaito, then put both hands on Dawnbringer’s grip and pulled harder.
The blade slipped free, but Zenkichi had finished his spell. He hurled the globe at me, and I was too slow to get out of the way.
“Look out!”
Reika slammed into me and knocked me out of the projectile’s path. It hit her instead, exploding on impact.
I felt a few droplets of liquid from the explosion hit me, and they burned on impact with my skin.
Acid, I realized, right around the time when Reika screamed.
Her whole right side had been bathed in that green fluid. Fortunately, her scales seemed to offer her more protection than mere skin, but not enough to stop the damage entirely.
A moment later, before I could recover enough to help her, Kaito hit her in the back. His sword didn’t cut very deep — as with the acid, the scales limited the damage — but he still left a bloody trail in the wake of his swing.
Reika fell to a knee, shuddering.
As Kaito raised his sword for another strike, I stomped the ground.
Up!
Spikes jutted up from the ground. Kaito was too focused on Reika to avoid them, but Miyuri was suddenly next to him, shoving him out of the way.
Velas had dodged that same attack through prodigious speed, but Miyuri had done something different. From the way she’d moved to shove him, she had to have anticipated the attack before it even began.
I realized what I was dealing with a moment later, but Miyuri was already turning to raise her firearm in my direction.
Miyuri didn’t have a chance to fire. Instead, she was forced to jump as Reika’s newly-formed tail swept across the ground where she’d been standing a moment before.
Reika was back on her feet, swinging her tail at Miyuri again and then jumping forward. Miyuri dodged each attack, as I’d expected, but Reika bought me a moment of time.
Kaito had turned toward me, but Zenkichi was facing Reika now, conjuring another one of those globes of acid. The first one had caused her tremendous damage, and I didn’t know if she could handle another hit.
I took a step back to avoid Kaito’s next swing, then pointed my sword straight at Zenkichi. “Luminous Arc!”
For an instant, Dawnbringer’s blade shined brighter than the sun.
Then a colossal blast of white light erupted from the tip of the blade, flashing out and burning a hole through Zenkichi’s chest. He stumbled backward, losing his focus on the spell. The acid globe dropped and splashed on the ground, burning a hole in the stone.
Kaito’s eyes widened in horror, then he swung at me again, his sword still surrounded by a swirling coil of shadow. The shadows seemed to be thinner than I’d seen before, though, and that reminded me of something Dawn had told me.
“At its full strength, my light can shine bright enough to banish the powers of dark magic!”
I parried with Dawnbringer, pushing my sword against his.
Brace yourself, Dawnbringer.
“Golden Dawn!”
Dawnbringer flared with light again, but this time, the brilliance remained rather than firing forward. Kaito and I both had to look away from the blinding light, but I maintained the press against his sword. As the light shined, the coils of shadow around Kaito’s sword burned away to nothing.
And with the shadows clear, the spell that had been blocking my sense of the metal was gone.
Break.
I commanded the metal of his sword, and it shattered to pieces.
Dawnbringer didn’t scream as the weapon broke this time. Instead, she cheered.
I never doubted you for a moment.
To his credit, Kaito withdrew with quick, well-practiced steps.
I spared a glance at the others. Reika was still pursuing Miyuri without success, and Miyuri seemed to be focusing exclusively on defense. She lifted her arm to fire a shot a few times, but Reika always slipped out of the way too quickly for Miyuri to get a clean shot.
Eventually, I knew Miyuri was likely to find the perfect circumstances to land a shot. I still didn’t know the full details of her power, but I’d fought someone who behaved enough like her to understand what was happening.
Future sight, or something similar to it. An advanced application of what we would call destiny sorcery, or what you’d probably consider a form of divination. Miyuri was glanc
ing far enough in the future to predict our actions ahead of time, and with that, she was able to prevent us from causing any serious damage to herself or her allies.
...Except I’d hit Zenkichi pretty hard, hadn’t I?
I turned to Zenkichi to see him conjuring another two globes of acid. The injuries I’d inflicted — both the cut on his hand and the hole that Dawnbringer had blown through his chest — were gone.
The legends of hydras often spoke of growing two heads when one was severed. I’d remembered that part. Sadly, I’d underestimated their ability to regenerate from virtually any other form of damage.
I did, however, recall that the legends spoke of weaknesses to acid and fire.
While Kaito was on the retreat, I rushed toward Zenkichi again. He hurled another sphere of acid at me as I approached, but I jumped out of the way. The explosion when it burst apart managed to splash me with a bit of liquid, but I ignored it and swung at him.
Zenkichi raised his hand to block again, just as I’d expected. When he caught my swing, I balled my other hand into a fist.
Burn.
I slammed a blazing fist into Zenkichi’s chest.
He staggered at the impact, the fire burning through the center of his robes and scorching his chest, and he released the grip on my sword.
Then he punched me back, right in the face.
I fell backward, and he snapped a kick into my chest as I stumbled, carrying me back several feet.
I heard the sound of another gunshot nearby and a body thumping to the ground, but I didn’t have a chance to turn and see what had happened. Zenkichi was above me in an instant, bringing a boot down toward my chest.
I rolled to the side, managing to avoid his stomp, at least in part. His boot landed on Dawnbringer, pinning the sword to the ground.
When I recovered and looked up, he was looming over me and conjuring another orb of acid.
Reika slammed into him a moment later and tackled him to the ground. The sphere of acid burst in mid-air, showering all three of us.
Then Reika was on top of him, and my sword was free. I managed to sit up just in time to see Kaito swinging at me with a hilt that sprouted blue energy rather than a blade.
I barely managed to bring Dawnbringer up in time. The energy of Kaito’s weapon crackled on impact, and he grunted and pulled it back for another swipe.
I slashed his front leg while he recovered, and he stumbled back, trailing blood from the wound.
A moment later, Reika flew past us, hurled by an incredible force. She slammed into a nearby tree and I heard a loud crack on impact.
Zenkichi stood back up, dusting himself off. My flames had ruined his robes, but of the injury I’d caused, there was no sign. He didn’t seem to be hurt by his own acid, either.
So much for legendary weaknesses.
I grunted and pulled myself to my feet.
Near the tree, Reika was doing the same.
I was slowing down. I could maintain Body of Stone for longer than Body of Iron, but it was still taxing me severely, and I’d already been in terrible shape when the fight started. I couldn’t handle much more.
Reika was in better shape than I was, but even she was badly hurt. I didn’t know how much throwing her around had done, and I didn’t know if the bullets had caused her any serious harm, but the acid had certainly done a lot of damage.
Kaito was holding the hilt of his sword with one hand, while kneeling down and clutching his bleeding leg with the other. The blue energy coming from the hilt of his sword was sputtering, most likely because he was creating it with his own mana, and he didn’t have much left.
Miyuri was on the ground, lying face down. I didn’t see any obvious injuries on her. I wasn’t sure how Reika had managed to catch her, but apparently, she’d managed a solid hit somehow.
Zenkichi, on the other hand, looked merely irritated that we’d rustled his clothes.
“Kaito,” Zenkichi turned toward the swordsman, shaking his head. “You may withdraw and deal with your wound.”
“But—”
Zenkichi waved a hand in a harsh gesture to the side. “Do it. I am more than capable of handling these pitiful creatures on my own.”
Kaito stumbled away. Reika glanced at him like she wanted to chase him down, but she restrained herself.
We were both too distracted by Kaito to realize that Miyuri was aiming her weapon from the ground. A shot rang out through the air.
I sensed the metal approaching, but it was too fast for me to react. Then I felt something impact against my ribs.
It hurt a lot.
I’d been shot with arrows and cut with swords plenty of times, but this was a new type of pain. Not worse, necessarily, but something unique that came from crushing force firing a projectile that an arrow or sword couldn’t manage.
I didn’t even have time to determine if it had broken through my skin before Zenkichi took advantage of the opening and closed in to swing at me. The force of his blow carried me off my feet and hurled me to the ground, where I tumbled for a few moments, insensate.
Slowly, I pushed myself up.
Miyuri was back on her feet now, running for her life. Reika was right behind her, claws swinging, but Miyuri continued to evade her attacks.
Zenkichi walked over to me slowly, as if he couldn’t be bothered to run.
I steadied myself as best I could, glancing to the side to make sure Kaito wasn’t coming in to flank us again, and then turned back toward Zenkichi.
I stomped the ground.
Spikes.
Blades of stone burst through the ground, jamming through Zenkichi’s legs.
He glanced downward with a look of disdain, then slowly began to extract himself from them.
Release Body of Stone.
It was a risky move to dismiss my defensive spell, but for the moment, I needed speed more than strength.
I ignored Zenkichi entirely, rushing toward where Reika and Miyuri were still fighting.
And then, after catching up to Reika, I said a single word. “Trade.”
She glanced at me, nodding in immediate understanding, and then turned toward Zenkichi.
I pointed Dawnbringer toward where Miyuri was still running, focused, and estimated how fast she was moving.
She couldn’t dodge something that was too fast for her to see.
“Luminous A—”
She turned and spun toward me, firing her pistol before I could finish the attack.
But this time, I was ready. As I said, I’d fought people like her before. Aside from overwhelming speed, one of the best counters to someone else seeing the future is to plan a couple steps ahead. The goal was to put your opponent at a dead end, where no matter which step they took, you ended up succeeding.
I wasn’t quite fast enough to dodge a bullet in flight back then. Fortunately, I didn’t have to. I’d already mentally activated a spell before she fired.
Magnetic repulse.
I shifted the magnetic polarity of Dawnbringer, and then strengthened it as much as I could.
As the bullet approached, it hit the magnetic field and flew off in another direction.
It wasn’t the kind of use of magnetism I could rely on to deflect blades, since a sword-wielder could just adjust their swing if it went slightly askew. For an arrow or a bullet, it had a good chance of working if I anticipated the shot properly. That time, it worked just as planned.
Then, while Miyuri still stared at me in surprise, I finished, “Arc.”
A blast of light flashed outward from Dawnbringer, smashing into Miyuri. I saw her shroud flash on impact, absorbing a portion of the blast, but it still burned a hole in her right arm.
She dropped her pistol and fell to the ground.
Release magnetism.
I turned around. Reika was on the attack, leaving trails of bleeding claw marks across Zenkichi’s chest and neck for just a moment before the injuries faded to nothing.
He ignored the injuries entirely, turne
d his head to face me, frowned, and then punched Reika square in the chest. She stumbled backward, growled, and then jumped at him again.
Zenkichi stepped forward, both of his hands glowing bright green for a moment, and then grabbed Reika by her shoulders.
Reika let out a scream as the scales on her arms began to burn away, then slammed her tail into his face. One of her tail spikes caught him across the cheek, leaving a wide gouge, but it still closed in a moment.
I rushed forward to help, but I was too far away.
Reika snarled, then vanished in a burst of mist.
Zenkichi straightened his tunic, turning just in time for Reika to reappear right behind him in her dragon form.
She slammed her tail into him. He flew a dozen yards away, hitting the ground, rolling, and then pushing himself to his feet.
One of his shoulders looked to be dislocated by the force of the impact. He raised his other hand, and with a snap, he pushed it back into position. “It’s about time.”
He advanced on Reika slowly, deliberately.
I walked over to stand next to her, raising Dawnbringer.
“Keep your eyes out for the others.” Reika instructed me. I nodded.
Reika’s dragon form wasn’t injured. It was like an entirely separate body, linked by the spirit. I’d only managed to hurt both of her forms simultaneously because my disintegrating aura was capable of harming spirits.
Reika and I advanced. I watched for other attackers, but Miyuri still seemed to be down, and Kaito was a hundred yards away trying to apply pressure to his leg wound.
Zenkichi raised his hands over his head. Another sphere of acid began to form, growing larger and larger with every moment.
I pointed Dawnbringer at it. “Luminous Arc!”
Nothing happened.
<...I am so, so sorry about this, and I probably should have told you earlier, but I’m kind of running a bit low on mana... Just...give me a minute, maybe?>
Zenkichi pointed. The orb flew toward where Reika and I were standing, and I had no way to stop it.
Reika shoved me out of the way again, but this time, she didn’t take the hit.
Instead, she simply vanished into mist again, and the orb passed harmlessly through her.