In a rather demanding tone, she ties her back hair up before slotting a rather thin rod through it.
"Orc... Hero?"
What's that?
"Get up, even if there are no tracks to follow, that thing relies on pure instincts."
Attempting to move my body, it all feels rather numb as I realise my HP's returned to max, as well as having my right arm bandaged with a sling.
"Who are you?"
"Who I am is of no concern."
Right...
Gazing at the surrounding area, a short memory resurfaces; the moment a knife sunk into the ground before me... It strongly resembled the one Beatrice wielded, not only that but the rather intricate design doesn't seem to make it a commonly seen weapon.
A coincidence, perhaps?
Beatrice never spoke in the small exchange we had as she merely gestured and smiled. So the person before me, doesn't resemble her at all.
"Hmph," Folding her arms, she turns her body towards the side as she looks outwards, "It should be coming soon."
Taking a rather short katana from behind, she also pulls out a small rectangular sheet of paper resembling a talisman.
"Come, Agito!"
Slicing the talisman in half, a dark, shadowy figure wraps itself around her arm like a snake as it bears no other physical appearance.
"Search!"
As though to command it, the shadow propels itself outwards as it vanishes against the forest floor. Soon, almost instantaneously, she looks up before an eruption occurs from where she once stood as the earth shatters like a high magnitude earthquake.
Unable to see a single thing, nor react in time, Beatrice had me in her arms as she leaped into the sky before the collision as a loud war cry emits from our previous location.
"Agito!!"
Slicing through yet another talisman, the shadowy figure appears once more as it morphs and covers us as we land back against the ground with ease as she drops me.
"I'm not saving you again, if you want to live, then fight! If you don't want to fight then I'll kill you until you wish you were dead!"
"R-Right! ...Wait, huh?"
As the Orc Hero tramples the forest floor; clearing way of any fallen rubble in its wake, it swings its heavy iron at Beatrice. Predicting the attack, she dodges the strike by a thread through bending her back before performing a flip which propels her body upwards. Landing against the Orc Hero's shoulder, she impales the neck with her longer katana. Such a hit would surely kill any man, however, not in the likes of such a monster as it doesn't seem to be phased by her attack. With great balance rivaling that of a trained gymnast, she slips away from the Orc Hero's attempts to grab her as her whilst she stood against its large body. Leaping away from it, she pulls a thin wire which seemed attached to her katana as she retrieves it from ten feet away.
Not so sure if she needs my support, even if I did, my help would be minuscule; to the point she may regret even asking for me to join the fray. She should know that I'm at best a novice fighter, who'd struggle slaying poras and normal goblins alike. Compared to the Beatrice who fought against the smaller goblins with a different outfit, she was armed with only a dagger; not to mention her movements weren't this sharp. If they were, then she would've easily taken care of the goblin mob with the help of Walter.
Though even then, I'm merely gauging and have no concrete information regarding her true capabilities. She appears confident, but... No, that's not it, she's merely staying calm and analysing the Orc Hero's movements; anticipating where he'd strike and relying on her finesse and quick thinking to avoid damage.
With the Orc Hero being the first to move again, it charges to her as it swings its mighty iron downwards like thunder during its lunge. Beatrice once again anticipated the strike and leaps away, however, the Orc Hero changes its pattern as it lets go of its sunken iron and delivers a whirling kick which sends Beatrice flying into a tree with an earth shattering thud.
"...What?"
Merely assuming that it was nothing more than a monster relying on simple brute force, that kick reminds me of a martial artist. Just... what is this thing anyway?
"Beatrice!"
"Tsk... Who the hell, is Beatrice..?"
Picking herself up with relative ease, she takes a deep breath and grasp against her right arm which appears to be dislocated and sets it straight as she then chugs a potion. Though the Orc Hero doesn't allow her to recuperate as it charges forth unarmed; with a strike from its fist, it only collides against the tree as it topples before continuing its assault.
As one hit connects, she braces for it but uses the upper strike as momentum to be flung skywards. Following her into the air with a mighty leap, even for an acrobatic, it's almost impossible to dodge in mid air; especially to evade such a large foe.
"Agito; Dimensional Jaws!"
Holding a talisman outward, the Orc Hero strikes against her palm as the shadowy figure reappears and opens like the jaws of a shark. Devouring the Orc Hero whole, it drops effortlessly against the earth resembling a huge, black sphere.
"Collapsed Space!"
The sphere begins to slowly shrink as numerous locations begin protruding outwards, as though the Orc Hero's shifting around as it tries to contain it within. However, after a short moment, the sphere simply erupts, followed by an intense uproar from the Orc Hero.
"Tsk, Agito!"
Following through as Agito shifts her trajectory, she lands a few feet away from the Orc Hero as it returns to grab its weapon sunken into the ground.
"Running out of time..." Drawing both katanas, she pulls her mask down and bites against a talisman as she braces herself for another clash.
The Goblin Hero slowly draws closer to her it stares at her ferociously, with one twitch of its legs, it leaps forward and swings its sword directly downwards. However, in an instant the talisman in Beatrice's mouth divides into two before she somehow teleports behind the Orc Hero.
No, it's not that...
"What the hell?"
"Ghost Walker!"
Staring awestrucked, it's not as if she teleported, but rather, she moved through it. Delivering another swing behind to catch Beatrice, however, in an instant she disappears as if she wasn't there as well.
"Agito; Thousand Mirrors!"
The shadow temporarily engulfs a transparent body and suddenly it was as though hundreds copies of her reappeared around the Orc Hero. With each and every subtle movements, they all copy; in fact it's rather creepy to see.
And soon, as they all mimic the same movement, I lose sight on the real one almost instantly as she suddenly turned the table in a game of numbers. They each can't move individually, however, their movements always hone in on the target regardless as they mimic the original.
However... Even then, with her speed and accuracy, it didn't seem like it's enough. The more wounds it suffers, the more agitated the Orc Hero became as it went on a rampage. Destroying anything and everything, with its strength, it was able to level the entire area. It didn't need to aim at all with its destructive force. She can easily cover ground in a matter of seconds, however, it didn't matter if one swing of its weapon could effortless destroy just as much.
By the time her images dissipated, she returned to my side breathing rather haphazardly.
"I told you, to fight, fool."
"W-Well you did but..." as we both step slowly away from the Orc Hero, Beatrice stripped it of all its armor, as its weapon itself broke entirely with the amount of punishment it dealt, "Unlike Rosebelle, I can't do a thing against that monster."
For a battle such as this, I'd wager it'd take more members to bring such a beast down for good.
"So, any chance you're hiding something spectacular in your arsenal..?"
Clicking her tongue, she responds back sharply.
"Any chance you're of any use?"
"...You got me there."
...
Caught between a rock and a hard place, we're left at a tussle between retreating and defending against the Orc Hero's attacks. Of course, by we I mean she as the Orc's more terrifying than ever. Even being encased in thin wires which could tear flesh beneath pressure, he still managed to break free through sheer force.
Left bleeding yet growing more ferocious as time passes, the outcome of my life looked grim as there was no reason for her to continue covering for me.
It was only until the Orc Hero changed its pattern, that it managed to slip through and see through the cracks of Beatrice's defenses that another Hero came into the picture. Falling down as though she leapt off a vantage point, her shield clashes in confrontation with the Orc's heavy arm.
"R-Rose? What are you doing here?"
Stopping the sheer weight of the Orc Hero's blow was enough to create a strong force that blew me a few feet away.
Her legs shake as though they're about to buckle beneath the pressure, it appears her shield is absorbing most of the damage. Deflecting the blow momentarily, she swings her sword at an arc directed to its arm as it sinks in. However, her blade merely chips into it as though prevented by thick muscle.
With a cry of anguish which I have not heard from the Orc Hero, Rosebelle's sword begins to shimmer. Though with a swift strike, she's knocked away as a follow up sends her crashing against a tree as it falls. With enough force to fracture anyone's spine, Rosebelle rises almost immediately as she readies her guard. However, something appears off.
"Tsk."
Clicking her tongue, Beatrice disappears for a split second before reappearing with Rosebelle in her arms as she almost slumps against the ground.
"That's the thing about Orc Heroes, take their blow head on; no matter who, it'll cause them to stagger."
Dropping Rosebelle down, she then stands before us as she takes a stance against the Orc Hero as it charges towards us with no delay. Pulling something out of her pouch, she takes a deep breath before staring down at the Orc Hero with strong intent.
"Ghost Walker!"
In an instant, the Orc Hero was held back as a flash of light appears and before I knew it, he disappeared from sight. No, rather, we were distanced from him almost instantaneously as we're in a completely new location.
Gazing at my surroundings, I place my confusion aside as I head to Rosebelle's side.
"Rosebelle? Are you all right? No, should you even be here?"
The bolt's no longer lodged in her, though bandages are wrapped around her waist. Though as a result, her outfit's torn.
"I should be asking you the same thing..."
Tightly grasping my hand, she stares into my eyes.
"You promised you won't do anything reckless, and yet you stormed off as though you were asking for the Orc Hero to chase after you! You're a Candidate so I know that I can't hold you to that promise, but even still-!"
Struggling to hold back her tears in her trembling state, it's the first time I've seen her in such a state; vulnerable as she holds my arm.
"...-think about the people who care about you..."
"...Sorry, I just did what I thought was right. It was foolish, but I don't think it was the worst decision."
"I know, but..."
Beatrice stumbles into view in a weary state; short on breath.
"It's wounded, that's certain, but," sliding down a stump while panting for air, she glances in the direction from which she came, "The killing blow is far from reach."
"Is he coming after us?"
"Without question, it'll chase until its last breath."
"...What are we going to do?"
As I say that, they both look to me in unison as though they shared the same thought.
"There's no point in you being here if you can't contribute, you'll just get in the way."
Beatrice speaks the cold truth, and as much as I wanted to deny it, Rosebelle seems to be thinking the same thing.
"If you head west, Akira, you should be able to spot the river we initially found. Follow that path and the others would be there by the clearing."
"..."
There's no use in me being here, I know that all too well. In fact, it's the most reasonable decision, flee.
"...Just promise me, you'll come back, okay?"
Appearing rather hesitant, she soon casts it aside with a smirk before turning to face the coming danger.
"I won't fall here."
Declaring with strong conviction, she detaches her battered shield and straps it behind her back. With the amount of dents and most of the circumference chipped off, I'd assume it's on the verge of it's life. Swapping her usual stance, she grasps the handle of her sword with both hands and spins it a few times before readjusting her posture.
"I see. You're still raring to go. Heh, you truly are...-"
Dusting herself off as she rises to meet Rosebelle halfway and looks at her, almost like to get a clear reading of her.
"I'm well passed the point of no return, so I'll act as your assist. That fine with you?"
In the distance, a roar shoots out as the earth vibrates with intensity.
"That's fine with me!"
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