Like any other day, Ikazuchi woke up before dawn in order to train before his day truly began. He never failed to train himself completely, but he always changed the routine and location in order to ensure his body couldn’t adjust. The only consistent training that he included was the image training that he relied on to preserve and improve his skills. As for today, he decided to train on the outskirts of Orchidia. Recently, he had been training at the guild and sparring with the guild members. This was initially great for him, but it was gradually becoming tedious and repetitive. He wanted a change of pace, so the secluded outskirts seemed perfect.

Ikazuchi’s training wasn’t one that relied on weights, instead he focused on refining his movements and controlling his body to naturally improve his physique and coordination. His parents may not have given him an aptitude for magic, but they did give him a blessed body that more than made up for that. That combined with the early age that he started training at allowed him to possess the strength that he currently did. Rather than strength, he hoped to see greater improvements to his agility and speed with his training recently.

The sun had risen more than halfway over the horizon when his training came to an end and he found himself ready to return to the guild in order to search for a request to earn some jewels. This lifestyle was consistent, peaceful, taken for granted…

It was at this moment that a large rift in space appeared in the distance. It was like a gaping maw opening intent on devouring the world around it. Discomfort immediately hit him as he noticed mages and adventurers exiting the mysterious opening. He felt an inexplicable urging from some unknown source to step forward and intervene. The information that he obtained from his blessing only confused him as it all seemed foreign, laced with subtle hostility.

In some ways, he felt as though he was being manipulated to challenge them. Part of himself considered ignoring the sudden invasion due to this fact. Still, he knew that he couldn’t do that. Based on their formation that was being organized, he knew that their target was Orchidia. Even if there wasn’t the urging, he would have stepped up for the battle. This town was the home of his guild, and he wasn’t one to back down from a fight. He moved directly between the gathering battalion and the town and prepared himself for the battle that would soon follow. He had drawn his swords as he experienced what could only be the calm before the storm. There wasn’t an ounce of fear as he faced the growing numbers, but a small part of him did wish for the arrival of a reliable guild member before he engaged.

Word Count: 470

The loud piercing sound rings in Xerxes’ ear, stirring him from the little sleep he was able to obtain. He glances to his left and sees the alarm clock rested beside his table flash the time. It was four in the morning. A quick slam of his hand quelled the blaring sound as he returned his gaze towards the ceiling. He felt a coolness towards the left side of his face, noting that the metallic eye now affixed in his eye socket must have gotten cold throughout the night. He groans before he gets up to stretch, feeling bones shift and pop. Sighing, he moves towards the bathroom to start the prep for his day.

Training in the morning was something that he did every day, something that he had to do every day. He had to be the best, or at least better than everyone around him, if he was ever going to achieve his goal. As tedious as it was, it was necessary. He ended up forgoing his trip to the West for a little bit as he had come to enjoy his time in the North and come to enjoy the company of the guild. He had spent the last few weeks training with the various guild members who roamed the area, a stark contrast to how barren it was when he first joined. A frequent partner was Ikazuchi who had become almost like Xerxes’ partner in crime. He learned from other members that there were two others before him, Jin Takayama and Akira Kisaragi. Both men, however, had met their untimely ends. ‘You are bad luck to be around.’ Xerxes would frequently tease him by saying. He knew that Ikazuchi was likely not at fault for it but wondered if he carried that burden on his shoulders. He never really spoke about them and was usually very terse when doing so. Finishing up his daily routine while his mind wandered, Xerxes grabbed his spear and headed towards the door. As he moves, he passes Ikazuchi’s room and notices that the door is slightly cracked. “He must be out as well.” He muses, wondering if he’d wind up seeing him at some point during the day.

“Pushed myself…” Xerxes says as his body is drenched in sweat. His muscles ached in delight as his training came to an end. Today’s training focused primarily on his weapon as he continued to hone his craft with it. He wanted to push himself to such an extent that the weapon could be considered an extension of himself. He still had a long way to go but his training was coming along nicely. As he prepped his things and began to head back towards the guild, he saw it. A massive black rift appeared, piercing across the blue sky. Surges of electrical energy surround the rift as figures slowly begin the emerge. “Shit…they are coming near the town.” Xerxes says as his jaunt walk turns into a full-blown sprint. He knew that whatever was happening could not be good and he needed to protect the place that he now called home.

As he draws closer towards the guild house, he spots a lone figure standing in front of the emerging horde with two swords drawn. Knowing full well who it was, Xerxes moves to greet him. “Why is it that every time I’m around you, bad shit happens? We get attacked by mutant rats, giants, I lose my eye, and now this. You are bad luck.” The Desiertian says in jest as he draws Jotunn’s Fang. He quickly scans the horde in front of him with his Millennium eye, sighing at the numbers he saw. ‘251 in intelligence? That one will be tricky.’ Xerxes thinks as he grips his weapon tightly. “Seems to be about a thousand of them. There’s one in the back that’s going to be a problem. I’ll take the five hundred on the right. You take the five hundred on the left for obvious reasons. We’ll tackle the big one together.”

WC: 674

Ikazuchi was pleasantly surprised to have Xerxes appear when he did. He knew that this guildmate of his also trained early in the morning, but Ikazuchi couldn’t guess whether he was near town as the rift opened and a battalion marched out. He also considered that there was also the chance that these rifts weren’t isolated incidents and could be appearing all around the city at this moment. For that reason, he was thankful that the person he would be fighting alongside in this battle was someone he could trust like Xerxes. Had it been a stranger, he wasn’t sure he would be able to count on them in the same way.

Xerxes’ greeting brought a smile to his face. It was something that was hard to deny, but they both gave each other a hard time about this. Even now, he couldn’t forget their recent ruin exploration that had literally everything go wrong that could. “What do you mean? We’re so lucky! We have this whole battlefield to ourselves.” His tone was a mix of excitement and sarcasm as he scanned over the battalion and received an overwhelming amount of information. Ikazuchi had his competitive spirit ignited as his guild mate suggested they split the enemies evenly and end the battle. “That works, as long as you can keep up!”

He didn’t say another word as he dashed into the enemies that were still in the process of organizing their ranks. Ikazuchi felt a rush of adrenaline as he saw several magic circles decorate the sky as they noticed his approach. ‘That won’t slow me down.’ He knew he had to enter the formation in order to avoid a magical bombardment, so he didn’t hesitate to use his mana early on to cut through and block the spells he couldn’t dodge with Spellcutter and Breaker.

It easily burnt through half of his mana reaching the battalion, but that was an investment that he was willing to make. He could freely rampage throughout the battlefield as long as he breached their formation. The risk of friendly fire would restrict the mages, so he would be able to leverage his swordsmanship more easily from that location.

The frontline of the enemy formation consisted of adventurer’s like himself mostly, but there weren’t many able to compare to him or Xerxes. Relying on his relic, Ikazuchi was easily able to force his way in and disrupt the formation as bodies flew in all directions. He cut down anyone he could, and knocked back anyone that he couldn’t. It was in this manner that he entered into battle, unable to spare any concern for Xerxes. He trusted his companion, so he wouldn’t waste his time when up against hundreds of enemies on unnecessary thoughts.

Word Count: 460
Total Word Count: 930

“Lucky? You call one thousand people coming out of a rift looking like they are going to destroy the town, lucky? God, I hate you.” The Desiertian sneered in feigned irritation at his comrade’s words, seeing that the two of them being as overwhelmed as they were as a game. It was always a competition of sorts between them. There was no monetary value on the line, no valuable items up for grabs. Just pure bragging rights until the next competition whenever that may be. It strongly reminded Xerxes of the competitions he would have with Darius and his other brothers, a familiar experience he was more than happy to share during his time away from them. He watches as his guild mate charges headfirst into battle, likely with a smile on his face, Xerxes charges ahead as well with Jotunn’s Fang at the ready. The two non-mages charged ahead with the Desiertian letting his comrade take the lead in the charge. As they moved, Xerxes saw the sky light up with a variety of colored magical circles. From his initial scan with the Millennium eye, he knew that there were only a few mages in the oncoming battalion that would be cause for concern. As he feared, he saw those very mages, minus the main cause for concern fire their spells towards the two. Cursing his luck, he quickly dodges the barrage of spells and glances over to see his comrade nullify them with his swords.

“Show off!” he yells, knowing that Ikazuchi would hear it. Xerxes dives deep into the formation of his side of the group, effortlessly sending those that foolishly neared his range flying backwards. He charges one of the approaching non-mages in the group and impales him on the tip of his spear before using his body as a battering ram to cut through the masses. After knocking several down, the Desiertian flings the now deceased body over towards Ikazuchi with a shout. “That’s fifty down for me.” He says gleefully as he dodges a blue streak of lightning aimed at his head. Turning around, he sees a mage with long white hair approach him. A quick scan with his Millennium eye showed that this particular individual had higher than normal stats in both intelligence and strength. “Oh, one of the big ones. Let’s see what you can do.”

WC: 394
TWC: 1,068

Ikazuchi was in a good mood as he wielded his swords against one enemy after another. The bit of frustration in Xerxes’ shout had registered after he fully entered into the battalion of enemies. ‘It’s not my fault that I’m better suited for this…’ As a skilled swordsman, Ikazuchi’s dynamic vision and field of view were also maximized. The eyes were the foundation of any martial artist, and his eyes happened to be better than most. In some ways, he felt as though his field of view widened every time he made significant progress with his swordsmanship. He could only imagine how dominant he would be in battle once this ability reached the peak.

Most of the enemies were extremely weak and fell to one strike of his sword. Those that didn’t were forced back into their nearby allies in order to disrupt the formation. In particular, he made sure to force away the corpses by utilizing his relic to its fullest. This kept the ground near him clear and allowed him to more easily move into the crowd. ‘Twenty-three…’ He was already covered in blood just from these few, but it didn’t hinder him in the slightest.

He was like a natural disaster moving among the army, but his movements still contained a certain amount of stability and elegance befitting a Master Swordsman. In particular, his coordination and ability to use his left and right hands independently shone during this battle as more bodies quickly fell under Spellcutter and Breaker.

‘Oh?’ It was at that moment that he noticed the army had retreated away from him. This left the corpses of nearly sixty members of the army visible. Pools of blood were already forming on the ground due to the slaughter that had occurred in such a short time, very little of the blood having the opportunity to soak into the ground. At this point, a large red magic circle appeared in the empty space encompassing Ikazuchi.

His attention quickly shifted to a particular mage that was in the process of casting from a distance away. It immediately registered the only spell the mage could use at this scale, causing Ikazuchi to leap two meters into the air towards the man’s direction as extremely hot flames burst from the red magic circle. Spellcutter cut a neat arc downward through the space where the rising flames quickly rose, causing the spell to immediately disintegrate as it was cut. The only traces of it being the burnt corpses and disgusting scent of burning flesh spreading throughout the area. Xerxes had shouted something at him at this point, but he missed it due to the hectic battlefield. Instead, he simply looked directly at the mage who was stunned by his actions. “You didn’t think that would work, did you?!” His foot touched the ground at that moment as he dashed towards the mage and the enemies that were still shocked by his overwhelming display. Ikazuchi wasn’t someone who wouldn’t capitalize on such an opening, especially after he nearly experienced a baptism of fire.

Word Count: 510
Total Word Count: 1,440

Both sword and polearm clashed together as both the invader and Xerxes stood their ground. The looks on both of their faces had said it all; the entirety of this was beginning to annoy them. The two separated, standing opposite of each other in the midst of the incursion. All of the other invaders on the Desiertian’s side have stopped their attacks for the moment, only serving as watchful eyes to keep Xerxes in and everyone else out. The man sighed deeply as his magical power took a dramatic increase. “He can freely manipulate his stats?” Xerxes says incredulously. In a split second, the man was gone. He moves quickly, performing flashy footwork in order to confuse the Desiertian who saw every move he made. The mage appears directly behind him, whispering as he raises his sword. “You’re too slow.” He says as he prepares to strike. “Am I?” Xerxes says in a surprisingly calm and collected tone. The mage attempts to deliver a powerful downward slash towards Xerxes but is surprised to see no one there. A sharp pain shoots throughout the mage’s body stemming from his back as he propelled forward. He manages to gather his footing and slides back, glancing at the Desiertian now standing behind him with blood dripping freely from the bladed end of Jotunn’s Fang. He wipes the blood from the blade and smears it across his chest as a smile slowly appears across his face. “That blow killed many of your friends but you were able to endure it. Looks like I was right. You’ll give me the challenge I’ve been looking for.” “Piss off…” the mage says as the battle resumes once more.

The two charged towards each other once more, the white-haired mage deciding to switch up his tactics. As the Desiertian came within a centimeter of striking the mage, the mage counters with a blast of black magic. The magic connects solidly against Xerxes’ chest and sends his body flying upward. The mage attempts to follow up with another arcing sling in an effort to cleave Xerxes in two. The Desiertian twirled his body around and brought up the back of his right leg to literally sweep away the force of the mage’s attack, knocking the sword away. Attempting to follow up, Xerxes directed all his weight into his left leg in order to slam it down. The mage, however, expected this and caught the leg before delivering an open palmed strike to Xerxes’ ribcage, the sound of bones breaking could be heard. The two hopped back from one another, creating a sizeable distance between them. Their eyes locked for a moment before the mage slowly opened up his right hand. The mage’s hand ebbed with a fiendish flow; a white ball of pure magical energy formed in his hand. The power around his hand began to crackle even louder than before. Black streaks of magic intermingled with the white orb of energy in his hand. “Oscuras!” The mage yells as he releases the spell towards Xerxes. The magical beam of energy rockets forward, engulfing everything in its path. “Shit…” Xerxes muttered as he is overtaken by the blast as it fully engulfs him.

The detonation blast shakes the area as many of the invaders were also caught in the blast, none of them surviving the onslaught. Uproarious laughter could be heard radiating throughout the area, the source being none other than the white-haired mage. “The citizens of this dimension are truly weak. I almost expected better. Time to kill the other and wipe out this pathetic town.” As the man turns around and begins to head towards Ikazuchi’s location, a voice stops him. “That’s your big move? That’s disappointing. I expected a lot better from all the bravado you had.” Xerxes says. His shirt was completed destroyed and his chest severely burned. The mouths of the those who did not bare the brunt of the blast were completely agape at the fact that Xerxes was still on his feet, let alone able to continue fighting. Cracking his neck and with Jotunn’s Fang slung over his shoulder, he calmly walks towards the mage. “Thanks for that blast though. You got rid of a good portion of the group. That asshole will likely consider this him winning but that’s fine. You’ve given me something better than that. An actual fight. Let’s go big man. Round 2.”

WC: 735
TWC: 1,803

Ikazuchi reached a greater level of focus as he closed the gap. Stray thoughts faded from his mind as he felt a new level of clarity. The mage retreated behind the nearby adventurers in response to his approach. The focus and clarity that he experienced allowed him to maneuver more fluidly than before as he, seemingly effortlessly, made his way past the defense line. Blood spurt out of the wounds on the vital points of those that he passed, clearly showing that he had dealt fatal blows while passing them. He had a major advantage during a battle like this as he could make informed decisions based on the weapons and magic of his opponent. It had almost become second nature for him to analyze the combat style of his enemies and act on it, and this was only more significant versus weaker opponents.

Ikazuchi wasn’t able to proceed untouched, but his placement had minimized the damage. His armor was covered in varying degrees of damage, but he had yet to encounter any significant damage allowing it to fully protect him. Covered in blood, he instilled fear in his enemies as he rapidly approached the mage. A large red magic circle formed between him and the mage at that moment. From his perspective, the mage had made a mistake. Assuming the attack succeeded, it would sweep away several of his allies and only injure Ikazuchi at most.

Naturally, Ikazuchi wasn’t willing to take damage like that for no reason. There were still many enemies left, and an injury wasn’t a disadvantage that he wanted to have for the rest of the fight. He pushed off the ground more forcefully as he cut through the spell with Spellcutter, his swing tracing a beautiful arc that met his enemy’s neck due to his rapid approach. Ikazuchi’s steps didn’t stop as the mage’s head seemed to fly away with a massive spray of blood.

His eyes darted from one side to the other as he plunged deeper into the army, his swords never stopping. In order to manage his stamina, he varied his speed and relied on placement to protect himself as much as possible. His ability to coordinate and multi-task was on full display as he steadily cut down one enemy after another. He was fully immersed in the battle at this point, almost in a trance as he displayed the skills befitting a Master Swordsman. The bodies that continued to fall were a testament to his lethality, and a source of fear for the army.

Word Count: 420
Total Word Count: 1,860

Annoyed, Xerxes takes off using the complete peaks of his speed. A reverberating clap could be heard as he closes the distance between himself and the white haired invader. The man stands at the ready, awaiting to see what his foe does next. As soon as the Desiertian comes within ten feet of the man, he disappears without a trace. The invader wonders where his aggressor went, letting his guard down for a brief moment. At the exact moment, he begins to feel himself slowly being pushed towards the right. Gradually at first but soon he is sent tumbling towards the ground, blood dripping freely from his face. Xerxes continues his relentless assault, charging directly towards his opponent and delivers a swift kick from the side. The sheer force behind the kick is so great that it slightly lifts the body up and cracks a few of his ribs, narrowly avoiding piercing his lungs.

The man coughs up blood as his body crashes against the ground, a sickening thud echoing. The Desiertian stands a good distance away, nimbly hopping from foot to foot. He was in a state he had not been in quite some time. A focused, driven state that would only end with the death of either himself or his opponent. The man’s vision was blurry and a loud piercing ringing echoed in his head. He wanted to defend himself but his body was beginning to fail him. Outside of the ringing, all he could hear was the soft sounds of approaching footsteps in the grass. “It’s him…” he thought. The man attempts to yell to the men around him to help but only mumbles escape his mouth. Even if they heard the true meaning behind his mumbles, he doubted if they would actually react to that. Such a display was as fearful as it was awe-inspiring. He futilely raises a hand up in an attempt to block whatever was coming towards him but Xerxes knocks his hand away and delivers a sickening kick to the jaw; the force of which sends him careening into a small shack, burying him within a pile of rubble. Xerxes moves towards the rubble and pulls his opponent’s limp body up from the ground. The man’s vision was now completely blurred; he could only faintly see the silhouette of his opponent. The Desiertian gazed at the man with his Millennium eye, seeing his stats beginning to drop drastically.

A frown appeared across his face as he lets the man go and clutches onto Jotunn’s Fang tightly. “Disappointing…” he says as with one quick swipe, he beheads the man. His headless body falls to the ground as Xerxes shoots a look of disdain towards the surrounding men. The look of sheer terror was plastered on their faces. They knew that there was no place to turn and run. No place to hide. They would either have to kill the man or get killed themselves. Most of them steeled themselves and readied to fight, others moved to the back and attempted to flee anyway. Xerxes noted that the number of individuals continued to dwindle, assuming that Ikazuchi was still hacking away at his half. “Ikazuchi…” Xerxes says with a disturbing level of calmness to his voice. “Let’s end this.”

WC: 545
TWC: 2,348

Ikazuchi’s decision making improved by the second as he was forced to instantly evaluate his opponents and act accordingly. Instead of exhausting himself to avoid spells, he gradually started intentionally allowing weaker spells to land in order to deal fatal blows. His steps across the battlefield became more illusive as he slowed down among groups and skillfully placed himself back to back with enemies. This unpredictable movement led to more and more enemies dying, many due to friendly fire.

Between Ikazuchi and Xerxes, fear was spreading throughout the battalion like a plague as blood pooled at their feet. Time and time again, they saw their allies fall without dealing any meaningful damage to the pair. Neither showing any indication of backing down. It was only due to the urging of the stronger individuals present that the weaker individuals kept marching to their death. That also meant that the death of these officers caused greater disturbances as time went by.

In particular, the fire mage had been someone in a high position. The surrounding enemies were demoralized by his death, some succumbing to the fear and attempting to flee. Ikazuchi caught sight of other officers executing the traitors, but he wasn’t concerned about that. He had noticed early on that despite their best attempts, the enemies he faced didn’t have the cohesion of a well-trained military. He had been actively exploiting this fact as he bounced around the battlefield, causing countless bodies to fly and fall in his wake.

He was gradually freeing himself from his trance-like state, but his efficiency only increased as he consciously applied and improved his strategies. In a way, he was reminded of the distinct illusion that he had experienced long ago during his trials to obtain the World’s Blessing. He was showing a display countless times better than back then, but the battle was reminiscent of that trial. The main difference was the fact that he had a reliable ally crushing the enemies alongside him. Ikazuchi was comfortable and confident due to Xerxes being present, but still determined to kill more opponents than him.

“Useless bastards… Kill them!!” Ikazuchi’s body shook slightly as he was forced to pause. That mysterious voice covered the battlefield like thunder, but seemed to only affect him and likely Xerxes. The various enemies around him calmed down in response to the command while he seemed to feel his eardrums burst. Blood trickled out of his ears as he was suddenly deafened. ‘What the fuck was that?!’ There hadn’t been any chance to respond or any sign as he felt a dull ache from his body and lost the ability to hear for the time being. It was uncomfortable to be deaf, especially in a battle like this, but Ikazuchi was someone capable of adapting quickly. Even in silence, he would continue to cut down more and more foes. From the bottom of his heart, he was thankful for the helmet he possessed and the fact that it reduced the damage of attacks that bypassed it now that he experienced such a dangerous attack. He could only imagine how much Xerxes suffered due to the thunderous attack.

Word Count: 520
Total Word Count: 2,380

Despite Xerxes’ shocking display of brutality and power, those that still remained steadfast in their crusade of conquest attempted to challenge him. Three such individuals, all of them armed with pure black swords, stepped forward to confront him. “Only three? That’s all?” The Desiertian says with a slight hint of overconfidence. The three swordsmen encircle the man, their swords gripped tightly in their hands and at the ready. Xerxes could only smile as he spreads his arms wide open, daring any of them to approach. The one to the left takes the first opportunity, charging towards the man with rage in his eyes. His blade drawn and his aim true as he moves towards the man’s jugular. Effortlessly, Xerxes evades the initial attack and jabs Jotunn’s Fang deep within the man’s abdomen. Blood drips from his mouth as his eyes begin to roll in the back of his head, slowly trying to etch of his last words. With an expression of pure disappointment, Xerxes removes the weapon from the now deceased man’s body and returns his gaze towards the other two. The body slumps down towards the ground after which Xerxes places his foot on this back. Blood lightly trickles down the bladed end of Jotunn’s Fang. “One down. Which of you would like to be next? I’d like to wrap this up soon and go to bed.”

The Desiertian could see the rage boiling within them but was pleasantly surprised when they did not give into their anger. In unison, they charged towards Xerxes in an attempt to overwhelm him. Their speed was impressive, even slightly catching the man off guard. Their swords clash with Jotunn’s Fang, their combined might slowly pushing Xerxes backwards. Their quiet rage at their comrade’s death fueled their power, their hatred slowly beginning to overcome their reasoning. The stalemate only lasted for a brief moment before they all took a short hop backwards. As they landed, the two men held their hands out as red and yellow magical energy respectively crackled around their hands. Yellow and red beams of magical energy rocket from their hands, thundering through the early morning sky. As the beams near its intended target, they merge into an orange beam which threatened to overtake the Desiertian. “Oh…shit.” Xerxes says as the blast engulfs him, creating a torrent of energy around him. The two men drop to their knees, both of them out of breath and nearly depleted of energy from the combined assault. “You know…that one actually hurt. If that dick with the white hair had the same level of power you guys do, I might have been in trouble.” Xerxes says as he walks towards them. His shirt had been evaporated by the blast and his upper body was covered in burns and cuts. Every bit of his body hurt but he continued to move towards the men, dragging the bladed edge of Jotunn’s Fang in the ground in an effort to piss off Ikazuchi later on when he inevitably have to perform maintenance on their items.

He takes off once more, using the peaks of his speed to close the gap on the men before they could react. Taking advantage of their fatigued state, Xerxes quickly two arching swipes with his weapon, inflicting deep cuts on their chests. The two men crumple towards the ground as Xerxes moves forward, deciding to hurry things up and end it. He scans around with his Millennium Eye and spots the one that he saw at the beginning, the one with the highest stats. “Take out the leader and the rest will fall.” He mutters as he begins to head towards it. Suddenly, a booming voice rings throughout the battlefield. The sheer force behind the voice brings the Desiertian down to the ground in pain as blood begins to trickle out of his ears. A debilitating pain shoots across the left side of his body, an unfortunate side effect of having the metallic eye implanted in his eye socket. Xerxes could not hear and could not move, finding himself on the ground convulsing. Like vultures, the remaining invaders swarm his body, kicking and striking him repeatedly. Xerxes struggled to get his barring, reacclimate himself so he could get back up and finish this. Only one thing ran in his mind; this was all Ikazuchi’s fault. “I hate him…”  

WC: 726
TWC: 3,074

During his battle, Ikazuchi happened to witness his companion collapsing roughly twenty meters away. Ikazuchi was surprised, but it soon registered that the sound attack had affected his eye. ‘Motherfucker…’ Ikazuchi lunged a few meters to the side where a man wielding a spear stood. Breaker was plunged directly into the man’s chest as he arrived, stunning the man who had received the fatal wound. There wasn’t any hesitation as he released his grip on his sword and grasped the two meter long spear while the fresh corpse with Breaker in it fell to its back.

As soon as he held it, Ikazuchi spun counterclockwise and used the momentum to extend the spear out as far as possible. The combination of his relic and its length allowed him to sweep away a wide area intentionally. This allowed him to observe his companion once more as he had room to breathe. ‘Oh, he isn’t going to live that down…’ Ikazuchi couldn’t help but chuckle as he witnessed the group kicking him while he was down.

Ikazuchi wasn’t especially skilled with a spear, but he was decently proficient as his hand slid up to the midway point of it and rotated. He naturally took up a proper stance to throw the heavy, two meter long, spear at those attacking his companion. ‘Sorry if I miss, you know I’m left handed…’ After that thought, he threw the spear like a bolt of lightning across the battlefield. It was empowered by his relic and carried the force of his strength as it directly pierced several enemies and sent them flying in various directions. He couldn’t wait and see the exact results, but it was clearly shooting towards the group attacking his companion so he didn’t overthink things.

After that, he grabbed Breaker once more to see several spell circles of varying colors light up around him. “That unlucky bastard…” After saying that, he shot to one side and slashed at the stronger looking spells while taking a few to his armor. Ikazuchi was naturally frustrated to take that damage, but he didn’t regret it. Instead, he vented those frustrations even more on the surrounding enemies. It didn’t matter whether the enemies were strong or weak as he slashed away. The spells that didn’t connect with him collided in the place where he had been creating an explosion. Once more, the scent of charred flesh was renewed in the area as his battle continued.

Word Count: 400
Total Word Count: 2,780

Blows continued to rain down on Xerxes who is still reeling from the force of the voice that knocked him on the ground just a few minutes prior. Blood still trickled down freely from his ears and his body still trembled. The ringing slowly began to fade and was replaced with a dull silence. As he continues to get his bearings, he sees a small shower of blood drip down in front of him before a spear lodge itself near inches away from his right eye. A body crumples down on the ground and the blows stop. Xerxes uses that moment to pick himself up, knocking the few that surrounded him on the ground before picking up Jotunn’s Fang once more. He observes the scene, a few of the invaders impaled cleanly by the spear. “Fucking Ikazuchi…” the Desiertian thinks, noting to himself that he was going to give his comrade a piece of his mind for nearly removing his other eye. “So, I can’t hear and I’ve taken way more damage than I would have liked. Great. All I wanted to do today was train.” The man thinks as he takes a swipe at the nearest invader and continues his attacks once more. As he strikes, he remembers that before his eardrums burst, the booming voice came from his right. To the right was the last time he saw the huge mana signature from before. Still following his plan to take out the leader, Xerxes continues to move, creating a swath of destruction as he does so.

WC: 258
TWC: 3,332

Ikazuchi wasn’t excessively reliant on his hearing in combat, but there had still been a drop in efficiency as he moved. The condition of his armor continued to deteriorate due to the slight difference in performance that came with his deafened state. He couldn’t do anything about the melee attacks that seemed endless, but he was somewhat thankful that the various spells aimed to bypass his armor. It was frustrating to take damage, but also extremely convenient as it immediately reduced the damage of the spells to a large degree.

Still, Ikazuchi wasn’t someone who would accept being put in a disadvantageous situation. His retaliation grew more brutal and aggressive by the second as bodies continued to fall. He had long since lost count of the enemies he defeated, but he could feel how the numbers had lessened. They could only be called an army of two due to their feats displayed throughout the battle. Ikazuchi didn’t consider this fact, but their actions today would likely be mentioned whenever they were discussed. While they may not be the only ones capable of such a feat, it would be awe inspiring among the general populace.

His attention had shifted from slaughter after the deafening attack earlier and he moved with purpose towards the direction of the leader, continuing to kill every step of the way. Like Xerxes, he felt the desire to crush the bastard that had targeted them. It would also allow them to more easily dispose of those who remained if they lost their leadership. It wouldn’t be long before the two guildmates were able to work together to finish the battle.

‘I’ve killed more than him, right?’ Ikazuchi couldn’t help but wonder this as he pushed through their enemies parallel to Xerxes. He hadn’t forgotten the competition between the two, even after being deafened. That attack had affected him less than Xerxes, but he had lost count of the enemies at that moment. ‘...even if I haven’t, I won’t admit it….’ It was a thought that would frustrate his companion to know, but it was one of the few thoughts he had while focusing on their battle.

Word Count: 350
Total Word Count: 3,130

There was still a dulled silence as Xerxes cut through the remaining horde of men. His hearing had not shown even the slightest glimmer of returning which did not concern the Desiertian at the moment. He was so focused on ending this and being done with it all that the sound did not bother him. At least this way, he would not have to listen to Ikazuchi likely brag about whatever achievements he performed on his side. With a grunt that was still not audible to him, Xerxes rammed his polearm into the abdomen of the last man in front of him. The man furiously attempted to paw towards Xerxes but his strength failed him. His mouth moved, likely to spew a last hit of vitriol, but seeing as Xerxes could not hear him, he hastily removed the polearm from the body and watched it fall to the ground. “Finally…” he thought to himself as he glanced around and saw the field of bodies around him. Seeing that there were still a small number of invaders on Ikazuchi’s side, the Desiertian could only chuckle. “Ha! Finished just ahead of that shitty bastard. At least one good thing has happened today.” He thinks as he spots a lone standing figure off in the distance. The man stood with long blond hair that was braided down on the ends. Dark blue war paint covered the upper part of his face. He wore medium armor that the Desiertian surmised was likely Icebergian based on its appearance. Sheathed at his sides were twin axes with golden trim. His arms were crossed as he glared a hole straight through Xerxes.

“So, you’re the fucker who shattered my ear drums?” Xerxes yells angrily. The man nods but does nothing further, only furthering the Desiertian’s irritation. Deciding to not wait on Ikazuchi, Xerxes charges ahead with the blades of Jotunn’s Fang pointed directly at the man’s abdomen. He wanted to end it in one go and be finished with this entire ordeal. The man only stares at the approaching Xerxes, his demeanor and stance remained unchanged. As soon as Xerxes comes within range, the man opens his mouth as the ground around him crumbles. Xerxes could only make out the tail end of his words before his body is flung back by the force. The force of his words sends the Desiertian back about twenty feet who lands on his feet. “Dah?” Xerxes thinks as he attempts to regain his bearing. Knowing that this was going to be a difficult fight, he cracks his knuckles and readies himself for the next strike.

WC: 435
TWC: 3,767

As he killed one enemy after another, Ikazuchi instilled the fear of death into his opponents. His blood drenched figure was reminiscent of a Grim Reaper as it never stopped. Death followed him with every step, the dizzying paths of his swords freely reaped lives. It was like a curse that haunted those who remained, even the strong willed members were unable to have hope in his presence. His tattered armor and various wounds weren’t a factor for the enemies that witnessed his actions during this battle.

The remaining members knew they were fated to die. Despite their injuries and deafened state, Ikazuchi and Xerxes displayed a level of force that only their leader may have a chance to survive in battle. As the first gave into their impulse, turning to flee in fear, the rest also found themselves fleeing in terror. Ikazuchi noticed Xerxes had defeated the enemies on his side at that moment. Instant irritation overcame him as he imagined Xerxes’ smug expression after the battle. ‘Still helped you earlier…’

“Why are you running?” Ikazuchi sprinted towards the nearest one, using the momentum that he had continued to maintain throughout the battle. Without the need to accelerate in the same way as his prey, he had a distinct advantage for the next several seconds. “Why are you running?!” He couldn’t help but repeat himself as he caught up and cleanly finished off another enemy mid-stride. He didn’t pause as he continued from one to another, targeting those who would escape if they reached their top speed first. “Trash. Worthless! Cowards!” He may be deaf, but he wouldn’t forget to vocalize his frustrations as he hunted his enemies down.

It didn’t take long for him to finish off the few remaining enemies that had fled, so he was able to turn and witness the sight of Xerxes being forced several feet back. ‘Oh?’ Ikazuchi and Xerxes were similar fighters at their core, so he knew that his guildmate was similar to himself and wouldn’t easily falter. His gaze shifted to the final enemy granting him a variety of information. He couldn’t help but smile as he finally slowed his steps and looked at his companion. ‘You finished first, so you can have the first go at him.’ Ikazuchi was looking forward to the sight of his companion experiencing the magic of their enemy as he approached the battle carefully at a steady pace.

Word Count: 400
Total Word Count: 3,430

As the Desiertian starts to move forward, he sees his Sleeping Calamity comrade approaching. He, much like Xerxes himself, was covered head to toe in blood. It was hard to tell how much of the blood was actually theirs. “About time.” Xerxes says in his direction, knowing full well that while Ikazuchi likely could not hear his words, he could still read his lips. He felt a sense of renewed vigor, knowing that very few individuals could take the two of them on together. The man’s magic and stature had caught the Desiertian off guard but now, he knew what to watch out for. Xerxes moves towards the still stoic standing mage but notices that Ikazuchi was not following. As Xerxes turned around to see what the issue was, he was greeted with a smile. That smile said everything that Xerxes needed to know, Ikazuchi was once again being petty. “You petty fuck!” Xerxes yells as flips off his comrade.

Suddenly, he felt a sensation he had not felt before. The air seemed to have shifted. It was not the same as when the mage used his magic previously; this one felt…different. “He’s coming.” Xerxes thinks as he instinctively turns around and raises Jotunn’s Fang upward to block the double downward strikes of the mage’s axes. The ground cracks on impact from the sheer force of the blow as the two find themselves at a stalemate. “I hope yelling or whatever the hell you do isn’t the best you got.” Xerxes says louder than what he should have as he tosses the man towards Ikazuchi’s direction. It was done to serve two points. The first was that there was no way Xerxes was letting him just sit and watch this. The second was a reminder that he knew that Ikazuchi would pick up on; Xerxes still blamed him for everything.

WC: 310
TWC: 4,077

Ikazuchi vaguely made out what Xerxes said by reading his lips, and that only further reinforced his desire to simply observe the battle. ‘About time, my ass. You know damn well that you wouldn’t have won if those cowardly bastards didn’t run…’ He simply shook his head and he checked the state of his weapons briefly. Cutting through so many people had worsened their condition. In particular, Spellcutter was particularly bad as it didn’t have a way to bolster its durability like Breaker. He didn’t hesitate to exchange it for his reserve weapon as he didn’t have enough mana to nullify anymore spells anyways.

The swap happened just as the leader of the battalion slammed his axes down on Xerxes’ spear, so Ikazuchi was more than prepared for what followed. “You motherfucker…” He clearly witnessed how his guildmate intentionally parried the attacks into a connected toss that quickly delivered the enemy to him. ‘If you’re going to go first, you should at least hit the bastard…’ He expressed his dissatisfaction as internally as he lightly sidestepped and swung Breaker vertically towards the sky in order to receive the man before he landed.

Ikazuchi’s strength allowed him to both halt and raise the man into the air, damaging the weapon used to parry his strike in the process. While he was slightly impressed by the man’s ability to block the attack, he didn’t hesitate to connect more attacks at that moment. His White Walker’s Sword firmly connected on the same weapon causing the various cracks to expand as the axehead shattered. Immediately after, Breaker found its way to his body and connected as the man attempted to unleash a new spell. ‘I don’t think so, save that shit for that fucker over there.’ His strength surged as he empowered his strike causing the enemy to shoot back to Xerxes at a speed even greater than before. He couldn’t help but expectantly try and look beyond the flying enemy in an attempt to see a smug look wiped off of Xerxes’ face.

Word Count: 340
Total Word Count: 3,770

To the surprise of no one, Ikazuchi saw Xerxes’ ploy; using both his superior strength and speed to halt the mage’s forward movement. The sheer speed and power used was enough to damage one of the mage’s axes. As the man began to open his mouth, likely to perform yet another spell, Ikazuchi uses his Breaker sword and stopped the attempt. The empowered strike sends the mage flying back towards Xerxes’ location who only sighs in irritation. “I’m not playing this pinball game with you.” Xerxes yells as he swings the bladed end of Jotunn’s Fang. The force of the swing sends the mage crashing to the ground below. The mage does not move, the Desiertian lightly poking him to see if he was still alive.

After a few seconds of no movement, Xerxes decided to make sure that the mage was dead. He turns the bladed end of his weapon towards the mage and moves to stab him in the back of the neck. As he goes to bring the weapon down, the mage begins to stir as a reddish aura envelopes him. Suddenly, the mage appears behind Xerxes, grabbing the back of his neck with a vice-like grip. His body felt numb and unresponsive as the man begins to speak, saying words Xerxes is still unable to hear. “You busted my eardrums you dumb fuck. I can’t hear a word you are saying. You’ve likely said something along the lines of ‘I got you now! I’ll kill you in front of your friend!’ or something equally stupid. You know what? Go ahead. Try to do it. Either you’ll succeed and prove me right that that asshole over there is bad luck or he'll likely stop you and my polearm will be embedded in your abdomen. Either way, it’s a shitty time for you.”

WC: 305
TWC: 4,382

Ikazuchi couldn’t help but feel a large amount of satisfaction as he witnessed Xerxes’ irritation. While they had grown closer as guildmates, it was still a relationship where they competed and annoyed each other freely. Most of their actions were harmless, and they typically would only leave the other with a problem that they could handle. The mage they were battling was one such problem. Ikazuchi couldn’t help but chuckle as he observed the forceful smash from a bit less than ten meters away.

He wasn’t concerned in the slightest as he watched the process of Xerxes attempting to finish off the man. If only the mage was willing to accept death so easily. ‘Shit…’ Ikazuchi reacted the moment he saw the red aura surrounding the mage and the magic circle behind Xerxes. He forcefully pushed off of the ground knowing that it was a particular ability that allowed the user to almost instantly appear at the location designated by the magic circle.

There weren’t any surprises as Xerxes was caught off guard and captured. ‘I thought it would be funny if it happened, but how are you going to get caught that easily?!’ Despite expecting something like this after noting the mage’s magic abilities earlier, he found himself extremely concerned seeing his guildmate at risk. That concern approached the level of panic as Xerxes remained idle while the mage chanted, blood red runes manifesting with each syllable of the chant.

Ikazuchi glared at Xerxes as he rapidly approached. ‘You suicidal bastard, why are you just ranting when you’re about to be sacrified?!’ The single spell that he didn’t think would appear in the battle was now steadily progressing as his companion willingly accepted his role in the ritual. After they killed all of the other invaders, Ikazuchi believed that this spell was something that the mage wouldn’t be able to use. He had faith in both Xerxes and himself, but it truly seemed that anything that could go wrong would in fact do so when they were together. ‘If that shit succeeds, there won’t be any stopping that bastard…’

There wasn’t any time for other considerations as the rune formation process was nearly completed. It was even more frustrating for Ikazuchi as he knew that Xerxes couldn’t see the runes behind the mage from his position. If he did, he may have actually fought back and interrupted the ritual himself. That task was unfortunately left to Ikazuchi who was seeing signs of movement for some of the runes, a sign that the spell would soon wrap around Xerxes and reach the point of no return.

Ikazuchi’s singular focus as he came to a stop in front of the man’s free side was the arm connecting the mage and Xerxes. Without concern for his safety, he wielded Breaker in the gap of their bodies to swing upward. This attack succeeded, cleanly cutting the man’s arm off around the elbow. Unfortunately, Ikazuchi received a powerful attack at the same time. Unaware that Ikazuchi knew about his spell, he had believed in the deterrence of the axe strike. The mage’s weapon cleaved down onto Ikazuchi’s shoulder causing what remained of his armor to shatter as the axehead dug into his shoulder.

Ikazuchi and the mage made eye contact as they exchanged strikes. Ikazuchi’s gaze contained extreme malice as he looked at the man who had dealt the most significant injury to him today, and nearly killed his companion. His White Walker’s Sword in his left hand moved after a brief pause due to the injuries, targeting the man’s neck despite the bloody wound that he received on his left shoulder. This was one of the rare occasions when he experienced intense tunnel vision and was unaware of his companion’s actions at this moment.

Word Count: 630
Total Word Count: 4,400

As the Desiertian remains in the clutches of the unnamed invader, Xerxes spots a level of panic on his comrade’s face that he had not seen in quite some time. The look of sheer panic was on the levels of panic he saw in Ikazuchi’s face during their first outing on sea. It was during that very same outing that Xerxes lost his eye. “Good. Let the bastard stress himself out. Get a taste of the shit he puts me through.” Xerxes thinks as he continued to make no movements to escape his captor’s clutches. Suddenly, Ikazuchi launches his attack, moving quickly as he severs the mage’s arm and frees the Desiertian who quickly tightens his grip on Jotunn’s Fang. In response, the mage delivers a powerful blow to Ikazuchi’s shoulder with his remaining arm, causing the armor he wore to splinter. The two lock eyes for a split second before each of them attempt to strike each other once more, their attempts solely on the other. “Am I being ignored?” Xerxes says as he drives Jotunn’s Fang deep into the mage’s abdomen. The mage’s body trembles as he drops his axe, meekly turning towards Xerxes. “Don’t look at me. I warned you that I was going to do this. No one to blame but yourself.” He says before driving the polearm deeper into the body. The mage slowly begins to open his mouth, likely in a final attempt to use his magic, but is cut short by the introduction of Ikazuchi’s White Walker Sword piercing into his neck, killing him instantly.

Both men remove their weapons from the man’s deceased body as it slumps to the ground before taking a sigh of relief, their battle finally over. Xerxes stretches, his body and mental state weary from all of the activity of the day. He aims the point of Jotunn’s Fang mere inches away from Ikazuchi’s face, knowing full well that the man would not take it as a sign of aggression, before violently stabbing into the deceased mage’s back. He stares directly at his comrade before raising his middle finger towards him. “Looks like you’re on repair duty.” Xerxes says aloud before turning to leave, not caring if Ikazuchi could read his lips or if his hearing had begun to return. He was tired, he was sore, and all he wanted to do right now was get some rest.

WC: 400
TWC: 4,782

Quest Completed