11 Warrior (1/2)

To be completely honest, I hoped to have Luca by my side when it came time for the inevitable clash between me and Azuma. It was a forgone conclusion that he and I would have to trade shadowblade blows at least once in this battle, but I didn't think I would challenge him solo. Having Luca around, possibly with Edo in tow, would have certainly increased my chances, not of winning, but of surviving.

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't disregarding Aura or Varda who were both running alongside me. I knew full well what these two badass females could do. In fact, as I caught sight of the two hulking forms jogging along either side of the three of us, I couldn't help but feel impressed with Varda's control over earth magic. Her two stone golems, with their imposing seven-foot bodies formed out of piles of white rocks, deserved praise. Meanwhile, Aura, who was no slouch herself, had rotated her staff to its other end where a shadowblade spear tip lay hidden.

She once told me that she wasn't a warrior, but this was not true at all. As I recall, much of the bruising I earned while training during my first week in the Fayne was because of her and that staff she loved.

However, I still didn't think this was enough. Even with the assistance of Fool's Insight, I didn't believe we could beat Azuma—and before I could condition my brain to think otherwise, we found ourselves within a spear throw's distance of the pixie-human brawl on the eastern hillside.

The soldiers in midnight blue clashed with the soldiers in grey armor between a row of abandoned wooden fences about fifteen yards away from the top of the eastern hillside. In this area, the hill's slope was at a lower angle, making the climb much easier for those coming from the bottom. Inwardly I wondered why Roselle hadn't thought to attack the hill via this route.

It was like a scene in an anime or an eastern movie. For even with the low visibility caused by the fog, I still saw the sparks that came to life as shadowblades clashed. And it was a credit to Qwipps' unit that they were still fighting hard despite the overwhelming number of their opponents. Still, it was clear just from a quick glance which side was winning.

Before I went full throttle on my dash headlong into the fray, I ordered Varda to tell her golems to bulldoze their way into the fight and cause as much chaos as possible.

Her response was, ”They can only follow simple commands,” to which I posed a question, ”That wasn't simple enough for you?” and she responded with a shrug, ”They're more... go left, go right, kill, etc,” and I shook my head before saying, ”Okay... tell them to smash,” after which, she finished with, ”They can do that.”

That entire conversation happened in an instant and was mostly quick banter while we ran. Aura had that same amount of time to say, ”You couldn't think up a better plan than... smash?”

”Worked for the Hulk,” I cried, right before Varda gave her command of, ”smash!” to the two stone golems.

It was a treat to watch two giant chunks of walking stone sculptures barrel into both our soldiers and Azuma's unit with no discrimination. There was major confusion going on as neither side was certain which side summoned these new challengers.

I watched a golem pick up one of the human Magesong clan soldiers with a massive stone fist, and in the next motion, send that same human flying into the air. The other golem copied this action too. Unfortunately, the pixie it tossed into the sky was one of Qwipps' people.

”Muddammit, Varda!” Qwipps screamed. ”Tell your goons we're not the enemy!”

”I can't,” she yelled back, destroying the possibility of a sneak attack. ”Only simple commands... sorry!”

”Mud!” Qwipps yelled back.

A golem had focused its attack on him and he had to fly into the sky to avoid its grasping stone fingers.

”Dean wanted chaos,” Varda grumbled to no one in particular. ”This is chaos!”

She was right. It really had become sufficiently chaotic. And in the middle of that chaos, calmly surveying the battle around him like it was nothing special to be standing still while shadowblades swished by and arrows zoomed past him, was Azuma.

He wore a complete set of black steel plate-mail, and it was really the only physically intimidating thing about him. The rest of him was just so regular you'd be hard pressed to figure out why everyone was so wary of him. Azuma was a tan-skinned middle-aged man with long, curly black hair he didn't bother to comb flowing around his head like a widow's shroud. The slanted, black eyes beneath bushy eyebrows were the sunken look of someone who hadn't slept in days. He had an angular face with high cheekbones. His pale mouth was dry and cracked. The frail body inside the armor was that of an emaciated man starving from hunger, or maybe something else.

My initial impression of Azuma was that of a tired-looking man with no special talents, but despite his weird aura, insight told me to be wary. This guy was dangerous. You could tell that from the sharpness in his gaze, and in the tightness of his grip as he held his black steel spear aloft. Perhaps, that was always how he was, even on that night I'd first heard him scream about fairies wanting to take him.

Yes, this warrior of renown had the same name as the mental patient who was causing trouble in his room that night I went to visit mom and learned the truth of Luca's disappearance. I would later learn, during the time Aura and I were researching possible big-name enemies we could encounter atop this very hill—this gateway to the Magesong Clan's territory—that the Azuma of the Fayne and the Azuma of St. Lucy's was the same person.

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I now understood why he refused the sleep medication. He must not have wanted to come back to the Fayne to fight over and over every night for the rest of his life. It was the trade a visere made for a fairy's favor. And I wondered what it was Azuma wanted so desperately that he was willing to sacrifice himself for his desire in the same way I was willing to sacrifice myself to save Luca.

Sadly, I didn't have more time to think about this—perhaps if I did, he and I wouldn't have to fight—Azuma's steely gaze was looking right at me.

”Aura, Varda, back me up!” I said, and with that, I drew my falchion in one quick motion and charged into the fray.

It wasn't difficult for my shadowblade to reach him because by some lucky coincidence—or more likely, a demand of fate—the path between me and Azuma cleared suddenly. In that instant, we both jumped forward. I with my falchion cleaving through the air and he with his spear piercing through the space between us. I dodged his spear thrust, and he parried my slash. Then he sent the butt of his spear careening into my side but I repelled it by pushing my falchion down at the last second. Immediately after this, I raised my sword in both hands and with my foot stepping forward for support sent my shadowblade down in a vertical slash using all the power I had in my body.

I'd like to think it would have been a killing blow for anyone other than Luca or Edo. Azuma now counted among them. The steel handle of his spear met my slash with an upward rise that knocked my blade back, causing me to lose my footing.

This mistake would have caused me dearly if Aura hadn't sent a streak of orange flames from the tip of her staff's red orb right at Azuma immediately afterward. He easily dodged this counter as a Firebolt took a predictably straight path that would be noticeable to anyone who saw it coming. However, Aura's intention wasn't to hurt Azuma but to keep him from hurting me.

Both Azuma and I stepped back and retook this momentary respite to reform our stances. But when he saw mine, how I held my falchion in both hands and extended the tip of the shadowblade forward as if readying to thrust at him, he finally broke the silence between us.

”You studied kendo?” he asked in a rough voice.