Earth (Buryoku Book 6)

by Aaron Oster

  “Much better,” Roy answered honestly. “Though I think I’m going to need another Pill to heal the rest of the way.”

  The look on Aika’s face told him everything he needed to know.

  “I’m sorry, Roy…” Aika began, but he waved her off.

  “It’s fine. I’ve recovered from worse on my own. I just need help setting my shoulder.”

  Aika nodded, getting a good grip on his upper arm and placing the other on his back.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  Roy had barely nodded when she pushed, quick and hard. With a grinding pop, the shoulder slid back into place, Roy letting out a grunt of pain as his shoulder was set. It still hurt a lot, but as he moved his arm, he was glad to see that there were no telltale signs of permanent damage.

  “Thanks,” he said as Aika sat down next to him. “How are you feeling, by the way?” he asked.

  “Better,” she replied, letting out a long sigh. “That fight took a lot out of me, and not only in blood. All of that effort, and I didn’t even lay a scratch on him, let alone deal a crippling injury.”

  “Hey, I didn’t exactly do too well either,” Roy said, gesturing down at himself.

  “You at least managed to hurt him a bit,” Aika said, pulling her knees up to her chin, then winced, lowering them.

  “Barely,” Roy replied, looking back to the smoking body. “It was only thanks to you that we managed to get that stone into him.”

  They both spent a few silent moments staring at the body. It was definitely shrinking, that much was obvious, but at this rate, Roy figured it would be at least a few more hours before it was human-sized.

  “I wanted to kill him,” Aika said after a few more silent moments.

  “I know,” Roy said.

  “I wanted to kill him even if it cost me my own life,” Aika said, her voice tight with pain and loss. “I didn’t care how much he hurt me, didn’t care what he did to my body. As long as I could have killed him, I would have been happy.”

  “What changed your mind?” Roy asked, still watching the smoking Beast.

  “He was killing you,” Aika said.

  She didn’t need to say anything else. Roy understood. Although it pained him, he reached over with one of his arms, draping it over her shoulder and pulling her close. He could feel the wetness of the blood clinging to her robes. He ignored that as well. Aika leaned into him, seeming happy with the contact.

  She didn’t cry though. She simply sat there in silence. Hours passed as the two of them remained where they were. At some point, Aika must have dozed off, because the pattern of her breathing changed. Roy himself began to feel quite sluggish. He was basically sitting in a ditch, surrounded by destroyed trees, with dirt walls rising to either side.

  It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but he did have a wall at his back. The fading light told him that night was approaching, and his exhausted mind finally gave up. It wasn’t exactly warm outside, and there was always the risk of rain, but right now, he was too tired to care…

  Roy’s eyes snapped open. He could feel a chill that had settled over his body, his breath misting in the half-light as his mind tried to catch up with what he was seeing. It took nearly a minute for him to remember where he was, and it was only when he felt someone moving against his side that he did.

  Looking over, he found Aika snuggled into his side, her eyes closed and her chest rising and falling evenly. His arm still draped over her, and at some point, she’d taken hold of his hand, her fingers intertwined with his own.

  He felt a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched her sleep. Despite the blood that still caked her robes — which had long since dried — she looked so peaceful. It was only when he realized that they’d slept so close to one another that his cheeks began to flush. Sure, they’d shared camps before, but this was entirely new and probably not very appropriate.

  “Good, you’re awake.”

  Roy started as a raspy, tired voice sounded from off to his right. He whirled, inadvertently jostling Aika in the process. He barely noticed her waking up as his eyes alighted on the form of a man, sitting with his legs crossed and shoulders hunched where the dragon had been before he’d gone to sleep.

  He looked exactly as Roy remembered, though oddly enough, he seemed leaner somehow, as though he’d lost a good deal of the fat that had clung to his body. His eyes were still the same crimson red, but instead of the burning fury, they just looked tired. In fact, Roy noticed that his entire body seemed to speak of a great weariness, as though this man had lived for thousands of years and wanted nothing more than to rest.

  “Who…Who are you?” Roy finally asked, meeting the man’s eyes.

  He thought he already knew, but he had to make sure.

  “Doragon,” the man replied, shifting slightly and showing a massive scar across his chest, one that had previously been absent.

  “And you would be Herald Leroy,” he continued. “My little sister’s monster, all grown up.”

  25

  Hermit and Duncan stood together, watching the attack commence on the distant village near the center of the Windblight. It was quite remote as far as villages went. Still, they were careful to keep their distance, as maintaining this space was crucial to their overall plan. If any of the enemy Scions got so much as a whiff of interference, they might join in, bringing a very swift end to their war and all of Duncan’s hopes and dreams for his clan.

  The fight wouldn’t be a quick one by any means, and they could very well take out a couple of the enemy Scions. However, it wouldn’t matter in the long run, as the Ancient Beast would still be free to continue his conquest of the continent and possibly even the planet.

  “Do you think this will work?” Duncan asked as a host of Green and Blue-Belts moved in from the sides to try piercing the enemy forces.

  “I can’t see the future,” Hermit said with a shrug. “But I think we planned carefully enough that our chances of success are high.”

  They then watched as the enemy reacted predictably. The bulk of Furea’s forces weren’t the constructs that roamed the Burning Hills. For the most part, they were Beasts with Fire Paths. Most were unchanged from their bestial forms, taking the shape of Gleam Badgers, six-foot monsters with jeweled eyes and claws the size of some people, as well as Milling Stoats, long carnivorous creatures with teeth that spun at terrifying speeds.

  There were other types mixed in as well, all ranging from Base Green to the mid-Blues.

  There were some humanoid Beasts, those who’d chosen a different path when they’d reached the point all Beasts did. These were the commanders, the ones in charge of the attacks and movements of the others. They were typically more powerful, ranging from the high-Blues to low Purples.

  It was only due to this that they’d felt comfortable sending a few stronger Artists down as well, but they were careful to never outmatch the enemy commanders in terms of power. This put them at a disadvantage, as Beasts were naturally more powerful than humans of the same rank, not in actual cultivation, but in sheer brute strength. Seeing as the battles typically devolved into close-quarters fighting, the humans were quickly being driven back.

  This time was going to be different; they wouldn’t allow the pattern to repeat itself.

  Hermit watched the massive badgers begin pushing against their attacking fighters, their gleaming claws flashing out and ripping through Armorer techniques as though they weren’t even there. He hid a wince as a Blue-Belt was ripped into four separate pieces, his body falling to the ground, still twitching.

  Next to him, a woman tried to spear the badger with an earthen spike, only for a humanoid rat to dart in, its claws slashing across her throat. The spray of blood didn’t even touch the rat as it darted off, making for another section of the line.

  “He’s going to be a problem,” Duncan said, keeping an eye on the rat.

  Hermit agreed. A 5th Dan Blue-Belt sat tied around his waist. He was small for a Beast, n
o more than three-and-a-half feet, which made him hard to hit. The creature seemed adept at jumping as well, easily ripping through throats and faces as he slid through the lines, trying to make an opening in their lines to allow its friends through.

  “Someone should really get on that,” Duncan growled as the rat ripped through his twentieth victim.

  Hermit could sense his aggravation. This had been one of the major flaws in their battle strategy so far. Their commanders were simply terrible. Additionally, those of different clans tended to clump together, often ignoring commands when they came from those of other clans.

  One of their Purple-Belts — a man from the Mizumi clan — finally realized what was going on and moved away from his line, calling for his men to keep fighting. He took off in a blur of blue, flowing easily through the enemy forces on an intercepting course with the rat.

  “Damn. This isn’t going to end well,” Duncan muttered as one of the enemy commanders moved to intercept him. “Why can’t our forces work as seamlessly as they do?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “Because they are one whole, and we are seven separate clans,” Hermit replied. “Brute force can only make the leaders comply. It can’t force them to work together.”

  The two of them couldn’t interfere and were instead forced to watch the gruesome scene unfold. The Mizumi man flowed between the enemy forces using his Movement technique, coming up right at the rat-Beast’s flank as it jumped to tear into another of their fighters. His hand flashed out, aimed for the rat’s torso, blades of water extending from his clenched fist when the towering form of the armadillo intercepted.

  The creature towered over the Mizumi man, and with his eight-foot height, the Mizumi fighter should have seen him coming from a mile away. Focused as he’d been on the rat, he’d neglected to watch his surroundings.

  Hermit winced as the armadillo caught the man’s hand, a technique of burning red evaporating his own. The Mizumi man screamed as the oversized and armored fist clamped over his own, squeezing down so hard that it shattered, sending blood spraying between the armadillo’s tan fingers.

  The Mizumi man was driven to his knees, and as he raised his other hand to try and attack, the rat came darting in, his claws slashing and slicing at the exposed skin. It didn’t do nearly as much damage as it had to the others — the Mizumi man was a Purple-Belt after all — but it did enough to prevent an attack.

  “He’s done for,” Duncan said with a sigh as the armadillo’s other hand wrapped around the Mizumi’s head.

  Hermit imagined he could hear the crunching sound from where he stood as the armadillo flexed his fingers. More blood and viscera leaked out from between them, the Mizumi man’s body twitching in a nervous reaction even after his skull had been shattered. The armadillo released him, leaving the man’s body to fall to the ground.

  “And here come even more walking corpses,” Duncan sighed as Mizumi clan members came charging in, hoping to avenge the death of their commander.

  It was hardly any trouble at all for the armadillo and rat to rip them all to shreds, one moving too fast to hit and the other far too well-protected to damage.

  “How do you think the Mizumi could have won that fight?” Duncan asked, likely in an attempt to distract himself.

  “He could have used his Armorer technique, for a start,” Hermit replied. “They were evenly matched as far as power was concerned, so it shouldn’t have been such a one-sided fight. Had he had an extra layer of protection, he could have escaped the armadillo, even if he’d remained as careless as he did.

  “After that, he could have kept his distance from the Beast and used Projected and Terrain techniques. His Containment technique could easily have held the rat in place while he battled the armadillo. Given enough time, he could have worn him down and eventually claimed victory.

  “The armadillo has power but not the speed to keep up with him. If anything, this should have been a one-sided fight in favor of the Mizumi man, especially with his Path of Water. He should have been able to slip and dodge through anything the armadillo threw. But instead, he was careless and overconfident, and that cost both his life and the lives of all those in his clan who were there with him.”

  “I can see why you’re so valued as a teacher,” Duncan said, nodding in approval. “I very much doubt my own ability to pick a fight apart so thoroughly.”

  “If only I could have given that man lessons before he had his head ripped off,” Hermit replied, watching as the armadillo and rat proceeded to tear through another group of fighters, none of whom stood even the remotest chance against them.

  Both Hermit and Duncan felt it when the Sovereigns arrived. A streak of black and brown both winked into existence as Ikari and Pelata appeared above the battle.

  “Well, at least we’ll get back at them,” Duncan muttered as he watched Ikari raise her hand, unleashing a blast of Darkness Essence.

  Their troops, who’d been mostly careful to remain on the fringes, retreated in a mad scramble, all trying to get away in time as the two Sovereigns prepared to attack.

  Darkness gathered around Ikari in a cloak, while Pelata’s form glowed with brown Chakra.

  Hermit watched with no small amount of pleasure as all of the strongest fighters below — including the rat and armadillo — tried attacking the pair of Sovereigns. Their deaths were as swift as they were brutal. Pillars of diamond rose from the ground in a wave, cutting and slicing through all in their path.

  The armadillo tried putting up his defenses, but the diamond spikes tore through both his Armorer technique and armor to tear into his flesh. In less than a second, he’d been pierced through in over two-dozen places. The armadillo twitched a couple of times as blood streamed down the spikes pinning him in place.

  The rat fared only slightly better, his superior speed keeping him alive for about two seconds before he too was run through. His body wasn’t so much run through as it was torn to pieces. The diamond spikes shredded his small body to the point that it was no longer recognizable as having once been a living creature.

  The others, those who hadn’t been hit by the targeted attack, tried to run, but it was far too late for that. Together, Ikari and Pelata dropped like boulders, smashing into the center of the enemy force. The impact was massive, blowing the entire village and all those in it to bloody pieces.

  “That’ll get their attention,” Hermit said as the cloud of dust rose, tinged red with the misty blood of the destroyed enemy forces.

  It was quite a sight to witness an attack of that scale, even from this far out. The two Sovereigns had destroyed a village spanning more than a half square mile, killing all of the Beasts and their commanders in one fell swoop.

  The dead troops were nobodies in the grand scheme of things, but with that single attack, they’d wiped out over five hundred enemy fighters and a couple of their lower commanders. Additionally, it had felt good to see the troublesome rat and armadillo get what was coming to them.

  “Enemy fighters incoming,” Duncan said, his eyes locked on the horizon.

  Sure enough, two enemy Martial Artists, both blazing red, came streaking in over the horizon.

  “Two Sovereigns and a Sage,” Hermit said, his lips turning down. “It seems they want to send a message.”

  “Good thing we’re ready for them then,” Duncan said as they watched the pair of Sovereign rise from the crater where the village had once stood, waiting for the enemy to arrive.

  Now, they just had to wait for the right opportunity. If all went well, then this day would mark their first real victory against the forces of the Ancient Beast.

  26

  Itachi Ikari watched the approaching Sovereigns with a mixture of disgust and agitation written on her face. She crossed her arms, rising to a height one hundred feet above the village she’d just wrecked with Pelata.

  Pelata stood some twenty feet to her left, watching the approaching fighters with the same stoic expression he’d worn since the attack had begun
.

  “I don’t get how you’re so okay with this,” Ikari said, not caring if Hermit or Duncan heard her, which she knew they probably could.

  “We are doing our duty as Sovereigns of our clans,” Pelata said calmly.

  He wore the colors of his clan, the white and tan robes billowing around him as the wind kicked up. His Belt, a dark Gray with six lines of Black on one of the trailing ends, lay absolutely still, unmoving despite the wind.

  Ikari surreptitiously looked down at her own Belt. Though Gray like Pelata’s, hers contained only five Black stripes on one of the ends. Additionally, she willed her Belt to move in the wind, flapping and trailing just as her robes did.

  She’d worn something a little tighter than she normally would, as fighting in billowy robes was impractical and might hinder her movements. Additionally, instead of sporting her clan’s colors, she’d chosen a set of robes that was completely black. It served no practical purpose, but she’d wanted to wear something different than her blasted brother.

  The pair of Sovereigns appeared in a flash, stopping fifty feet away. The Sage who’d been following appeared a few seconds after, clearly winded.

  “You have some nerve showing up to this fight,” Ikari said, ignoring the Sovereigns and directing her words at the Sage.

  “Spoken like a true coward who attacks children without provocation.”

  Ikari scowled at the man who’d spoken. The 7th Dan Gray-Belt, as well as his distinct presence, marked him as a Sovereign. He had skin that was solid white, so white in fact that it hurt her eyes to look at him directly, as the sun was glinting off his skin. He didn’t have a single hair on him, though his eyes, which were distinctly slitted and serpentine, gave a hint as to the type of creature he’d been before choosing this humanoid form.

  “You’re the one who felt the need to bring a mere Brown-Belt to a fight between Sovereigns,” Ikari said. “Don’t you think you can beat us on your own?”

  The serpent man didn’t flinch at her insult, but the Brown-Belt seemed a bit agitated.