Chapter 13 - Double Rematch

(1st Saga - Greater Magius, The Balance | Synoria Outlook Defense Arc)

The beasts would reach our location within a minute at most.

“Everybody, listen up!”

The ability to rally everyone in the vicinity to fight as one– that was the trademark skill of a successful leader that both my father and Setsuya could demonstrate.

Right now, I needed to be able to do the same. And after all, Setsuya himself did leave me ‘in charge’.

“Pff, who does that kid think he is?”

“He’s just a volunteer worker, isn’t he? A young and unarmed one at that.”

“Ignore him. We already know the defense protocol.”

The only problem now was that none of the guards respected me enough to listen to me. My lacking imitation of authority couldn’t hold a candle to the real thing.

In fact, many of the guards that now held their positions were unfamiliar to me.

To not know the faces of Synoria Outlook was to be expected, but these guards were ones I hadn’t even seen in action during the previous attack. Either they had truly been stationed at places completely out of my view before, or they more likely had been shirking their duties.

Meanwhile, the volunteer workers willing to take their place in the upcoming fight seemed more uncertain, constantly looking back and forth between the guards and myself.

Clank. Clank. The sound of heavy metal hitting the ground approached from behind.

“Guards! You know the drill. The Guildmaster’s given us orders to ‘help’ defend this side of town. Take your usual positions and stand your ground.”

I assumed this heavily armored man to be the guards’ leader. His polished gear shone with bright silver, off which the sun’s rays bounced up into the air. In his hands was a massive, two-handed axe that seemed capable of easily cleaving through even forged steel.

Yet, despite his majestic-seeming gear, something about his person seemed off… To put it more kindly, he was quite– pudgy, for a captain of the guards.

Immediately after giving his short rallying speech, he dropped his axe to the ground with an exhausted grunt, wiping a line of sweat from his brows with one hand. Without even mentioning duties, it was clear he had also been neglecting to train his physical condition. 

“Hey, you said your name was Kaito, right?”

This time, it was one of the workers who spoke up. The man addressing me now was the same one that had previously urged me to go on my lunch break before I heaved the bundle of uncut logs.

“You honestly seem like you know more than them about fighting, so… I’m not gonna lie, we’d feel a lot more comfortable following your orders.”

He gestured towards the remaining seven workers who all nodded their heads in unison. The majority of them were ones I had previously talked to, including the man who initially gave me my assignment in the transportation squad. 

“The captain over there– he was once respected in the time of the Third Calamity Event. He called himself ‘The Iron General’ back then. Now, he’s sorta fallen off– both in terms of combat and respectability. All of them in the guard troop, actually, are nothing more than sad shells parading in the light of their former glory.”

“I see. So that’s what’s going on.”

“Yeah… So, do you have a plan?”

I glanced back to check on the distance of the beasts.

“They’ll take no more than 30 seconds to get here now. You’re aware that those types of beasts are titan-types, right?”

The men nodded, holding steady eye contact. This was the sort of mutual respect and understanding we’d need to emerge victorious without a casualty.

“Other than their general form, those beasts are nothing like the titans you may or may not have encountered before. Like the ones from yesterday, these beasts are mutated, ‘tainted’, if you will. Their movements are far more erratic, pouncing like savage wolves on their prey. Yet, their strength and durability remains about the same.”

“So basically, they’re more dangerous in almost every way. How do we defeat them?”

“They’re still corrupted beasts, meaning their core is still their ultimate weakness. Unlike regular beasts, however, their cores will quickly heal if not completely destroyed, meaning we can’t try to chip away at their durability over time.”

“But who can–”

“Leave that up to me. One last thing. Their bodies can also produce tentacle-like tendrils with similar toughness to their actual skin. If those puncture your skin, they may begin transferring corrupted energy directly into your body, and if that happens, it’s over for you.”

A few of the men gulped nervously.

Just a few more seconds now. I turned around, now completely facing the direction of the beasts.

“I want the strongest of you to fight with me at the front, but only if you’re confident that you can distract and damage the exterior of those titans without getting injured. The rest of you, take your positions further back. I want those in the back to arm themselves with whatever tools or items you can and prevent stray debris or attacks from hitting anything in town”

“Yes, sir!”

Ack– too much respect–

I now felt somewhat awkward being addressed as such by fully grown adults.

Of the eight total workers, three took their positions beside me while the remaining five drew back.

This whole time, I had been forcing myself to grow used to running a continuous undercurrent of aether throughout my body.

What’s more, the previous 2 hours had made me realize that although my right arm couldn’t handle sustaining an aura anymore, it could still bear the flow of aether. In fact, the use of aether in my right arm generated more of a soothing feeling than anything else.

The front and center beast charged straight for myself and the volunteers while the other two diverted their paths to target the guards along the sides. 

I channeled an explosive burst of aether from my legs, launching forwards directly into the titan’s range of attack.

As I expected, it immediately began swinging one arm to try and attack me.

I had already grown used to these sorts of patterns.

Ducking to the side, I quickly redirected the aether out of my right arm, instead replacing it with a basic aura that forced an explosive burst of energy from my right hand.

I angled my hand towards the ground, propelling the entirety of my body into the air.

The switch between my aether and aura still wasn’t fast enough.

Noticing my intent to strike from above, the titan ejected dozens of tendrils from its back, attempting to skewer me from below. 

Insufficient speed was to be expected. We’d now switch to plan B. When these sorts of tainted beasts used their tendrils, it was almost as if they had to relocate their brainpower to commanding those instead of their main body, leaving them strictly motionless, and hence, their cores defenseless. 

“Now!”

The three men who had been scurrying about the titan’s legs, striking at its joints to try to bring it down, understood the next course of action.

Unlike biological beings and beasts, corrupted beasts had no tendons or muscles that could be easily cut. Strictly speaking, their weaknesses were either having their core damaged or their limbs destroyed.

Three axe blades swung from behind one of the titan’s knees in rapid succession.

These men couldn’t– or rather, chose not to amplify their strength using mana. To them, experts in their craft, such augments were trivial matters of choice. 

Their footwork and dodging was sloppy, yet their swings each exuded an almost awe-inducing level of expertise.

Right now, in their eyes, this beast was nothing more than another tree to be felled. 

The first strike could barely create an indent. The second landed directly over where the first had, driving a deeper crevice into that small wedge. The third drew even deeper, nearly cutting through the entire limb.

It still wasn’t enough.

The titan’s tendrils froze as I regained my balance midair, landing a few feet away from its body. 

It wobbled slightly as it shifted its weight. The crack was gradually closing up– It had already begun healing its main body.

“Fall back! We’ll get another opening soon–”

“Hah! I’m not the leader of the lumber team for nothing! Regardless of beast or tree, I’m not stopping ‘til my axe breaks through!”

He held his axe high over his head, ready to deal the decisive blow.

Even if he could sever the beast’s limb, it’d be a momentary victory at best, for the beast was already swinging back its arm to completely crush his body before it. Destroying a single leg would never be enough to ensure his survival.

The other two had already begun to retreat.

Damn it!

“Agh–! You two, keep going back and join the rear! I’ll–”

That was when I sensed it. An unwavering determination that writhed within him. 

It wasn’t the faint trace of a person’s emotions I could normally sense through their aura. It couldn’t have been– he wasn’t even at stage 0 for me to pick up on such mana traces.

So, just what was that fiery concentration of resolution I could almost see at the center of his being?

I consciously asked myself this, yet deep down, a voice that was yet wasn’t quite me could already tell me the answer.

“That spark before my eyes… is none other than the will of his aether.”