Ikazuchi had actively participated in the defense and rescue efforts of the guild throughout the evening while occasionally resting in the Guild Hall. As more and more civilians gathered in the area, more of the towering creatures gathered in response. It was a vicious cycle that demanded the guild continue to put forth maximum effort in order to prevent a mass slaughter among the citizens of Orchidia. The strength of a select few greatly aided the battlelines in their times of need. Ikazuchi found himself constantly moving to the areas that required reinforcement in order to disrupt the enemies and allow his allies to strengthen the line. If nothing else, just the chance for the mages to rest and recover enough to cast their spells normally was a great aid.

Ikazuchi was among the strongest guild members in a direct duel, but that didn’t mean that he could protect a large area as well as a mage. He could dispatch the creatures in a matter of seconds, but a strong mage could take out several in the same timeframe. It was something that he simply couldn’t compete with, so he didn’t intend to waste his effort doing so. His advantage over the mages in this battle was the fact that he could sustain his full battle power for a longer period of time. The endurance of his body generally exceeded the average mage, so he was most active during the times they recovered.

Night eventually came while the guild maintained a stalemate due to their manpower being spread out over the city in order to protect more of the citizens. It was a war of attrition between the two sides that only seemed to favor one side after most of the creatures seemed to become more lethargic under the night sky. Other than a select few abnormal ones, it seemed the creatures generally became slower and less active allowing the guild to sweep through the hordes.

Jikan was quick to recognize this fact as orders arrived shortly after that it was time for the guild to go on the offensive. It seemed that there were plans being formulated to lead the creatures to the outskirts while forming a solid defense perimeter around Orchidia as a whole. It was a reasonable plan, but Ikazuchi wouldn’t have much of a role to play in it based on what he heard. ‘In that case, I will hunt down any stragglers or irregulars.’ He simply left as the guild prepared for the operation due to choosing a different role for himself. He would be able to move unhindered through the darkness, so he believed that he made the perfect hunter for those unsuspecting creatures.

Word Count: 450

After separating from the guild members, Ikazuchi intentionally roamed into the deserted areas that others weren’t likely to be. Based on the behavior displayed by the creatures, if they didn’t have a human to target it seemed they would generally roam in the surroundings in an aimless manner. He didn’t know where these creatures came from or why they seemed to have evolved specifically to target humans, but he believed they shouldn’t exist. His parents had left him years ago, but they came to mind as he dealt with these creatures. The devastation to the families in Orchidia alone was hard to imagine, and he couldn’t be sure how far these creatures had spread outside of this town.

It may have been largely due to the love and affection he felt towards his family, but he felt a growing hatred and fury towards the creatures that were indiscriminately slaughtering due to their nature. Those feelings only further fueled his actions as he patrolled the various areas around Orchidia. Each kill he made was executed with cruel and merciless efficiency ensuring that he rarely stopped moving. In the areas between the guild’s groups attempting to corral the creatures out of the town, Ikazuchi left many billowing towers of steam in his wake which indirectly lessened the burden on the other guild members.

As the guild’s efforts continued to push the remaining creatures towards the outskirts, Ikazuchi combed back over the areas that they left in order to ensure none of the creatures slipped through the gaps. While he wasn’t dealing with the bulk of the creatures, his efforts ensured that the rest of the operation went smoothly as it was less likely that any were missed or able to assault unsuspecting guild members from behind. He was also pleasantly surprised on multiple occasions to find citizens hidden safely in various buildings.

Word Count: 310
Total Word Count: 760

Ikazuchi briefly explained the situation to those he found before advising that they continue to remain hidden until the guild announced their success. He intentionally made noticeable sword marks on the ground before the building that he would later inform the guild about so that those people could be easily located. Ikazuchi was able to see billowing steam between the buildings of Orchidia in areas he had yet to move through when he returned to the search. He knew that this meant there were others from the guild joining him in his efforts to remove the creatures entirely from the town.

He accepted this as a sign that the efforts to lead the bulk of the out of Orchidia and into the outskirts were mostly successful by now, and knew that his role should move from inside the city towards the outskirts where the final battles would be occurring. The town that he had experienced during the short time since he left seclusion had essentially been abandoned during this time. The blood and destruction decorating the streets were a testament to the tragedy that took place during the assault that had lasted less than a day.

Ikazuchi didn’t believe himself to be the kind or heroic type, but he also wasn’t cruel enough to be uncaring and ignore it. He was capable of fighting freely against the creatures, and it was unlikely that he would ever be at risk during the battle if he didn’t wish to be. WIth his safety essentially guaranteed, he wouldn’t avoid the responsibility of driving out and slaughtering the creatures. It was for that reason that he continued to give his full effort and attention to taking out any of the towering creatures he met as he rushed to the front lines.

Word Count: 290
Total Word Count: 1,050

As Ikazuchi reached the nearest location where battle was underway he discovered that the situation wasn’t as positive as he hoped. The shouts of injuries, lack of mana, or even broken equipment could be heard on all sides as the guild members stood their ground. The guild was struggling more than he had expected after arriving. He knew that the guild members weren’t weak, but he noticed that they were extremely dispersed on top of already dividing their forces between pushing the creatures back and protecting the citizens of Orchidia. Ikazuchi couldn’t help but sigh after seeing the state of the guild before moving to action himself.

“I’ll handle it here!” His voice resounded clearly among his allies resulting in a positive reaction from everyone present. “You’re finally here!” “We thought you were going to miss out on all of the fun!” “You’re late!” These were some of the immediate responses he received from the enthusiastic guild members. They were struggling before, but they perfectly displayed what kind of people gathered in the Guild. At their core, the members all enjoyed combat more than anyone else. Ikazuchi felt a growing appreciation and belonging towards the guild in recent days due to the nature of his guildmates. Despite being considered a Dark Guild, he rarely felt that the members were inherently evil. Unfortunately, the ethos of the guild went against those who led the country. Even if only indirectly, no one prioritized the laws of the country so he understood despite disagreeing.

As for the battle, Ikazuchi entered it like a force of nature. He swept through one creature after another as if they were harmless. The airborne bodies were a common sight anywhere he went, making it easy for his guildmates to avoid him with their magical bombardments. His kills were all clean and precise, but his focus was on disabling as many of the creatures as possible as a magic bombardment was more effective when killing large numbers of them. He claimed a large portion of the battlefield as his responsibility like this, hoping the other more powerful members would assist an area similar to himself in order to lessen the pressure on the average guild members.

His entire body and weapons were dyed red with the steaming blood of the creatures. The areas that he cut through were left with trails of evaporating corpses due to the magic support he received. His range of activities was also deeper in the horde of creatures allowing him to provide larger groups with his actions than most of the other warriors. His efforts alone immensely reduced the pressure on the other adventurers nearby who only needed to prevent the few that the bombardment missed from approaching the mages. It wasn’t intentional, but they created an extremely efficient cycle of destruction based around his combat style.

Word Count: 470
Total Word Count: 1,520

Ikazuchi had started moving based mostly on instinct after realizing he was surrounded by enemies, but had ranged support. The mages allowed him to neglect his defense and simply attack freely. He removed limbs, cut tendons, even occasionally dealing the killing blow himself while in constant motion. His focus reached greater heights than ever before as he instinctively found the ideal path to cause the most damage to the enemies. His speed combined with the excessive size of the enemies meant that they would struggle to strike him on a battlefield, this point was only further amplified by their less active state and mindless attempts to capture the nearest human.

The guild members gradually recovered and renewed their attack due to his efforts, so his area of operation was gradually expanding as they required less of his assistance. As for how he continued fighting for so long, his quality swords and his skills as a swordsman ensured that he could fight for longer than others. Still, there was bound to be a limit. Ikazuchi’s blades were gradually becoming dull after the long battle.

‘I gotta go sharpen my swords…’ Ikazuchi had to acknowledge this fact as he felt greater and greater resistance from his cuts. He wanted to keep fighting, but he knew that he would slow down more and more as they became duller. And if he were too slow, he would face a growing amount of pressure. It was even possible for him to be injured if he didn’t take proper care.

Once he started fighting his way back to the defensive lines, he was able to see that a significant amount of the creatures had died due to their efforts. It was satisfying for him, but he also noticed less members of Sleeping Calamity fighting as well. He couldn’t be sure whether it was due to injuries or fatalities, but it was an unfortunate thing to see on the battlefield.

‘It’s a good guild.’ Ikazuchi couldn’t help but think this as he arrived at a position behind the line of mages. “I thought you were going to keep going until the end, what happened?!” Ikazuchi couldn’t help but smile when he heard this from one of the mages nearby. “I can’t kill with a dull sword!” He couldn’t help but smile slightly as he quickly started maintaining his weapons.

Ikazuchi finally had a moment of rest to experience the fatigue that he had accrued throughout the day. He had been fighting since earlier that day, but it seemed that it would be morning of the next before they could finally rest.. Like any other human, Ikazuchi needed to eat and sleep. He may be able to go without due to his discipline, but he couldn’t help but sigh in a somewhat defeated manner after his swords were repaired enough to last for the few remaining hours.

During the following hours Ikazuchi continued to move from one area to the next in order to maximize his usefulness and activity. There wasn’t any doubt that his reputation would increase after a battle like today, witnessed by so many people. It was only shortly before the sun rose that most of the creatures were defeated. The remaining ones were dealt with by the reserves that had been protecting the citizens at the guild hall. As for Ikazuchi, he returned to the guild hall for a meal before heading to sleep after his extremely long day of battle.

Word Count: 570
Total Word Count: 2,090