Dec 23, year 230
Run... Run!
His instinct took over every single vein of his body. All that was on his mind, was getting away from this place. Fighting back was no option. No matter what he tried, there was no way he would beat that monster...
"Hey, brat. Don't you dare to disrespect me by running away. Show me what that sword of yours can do, or I'll burn you until you do."
In his right hand, Taro held the sword he had finally been reunited with. However, he hadn't enjoyed a single moment since their reunion. As soon as he had received it, this crazy woman had initiated some kind of explosion show. And she had made him the main character for her spectacle.
"Oi, oi. Don't tell me it's a fake after all? Don't make me regret my choice to get you out of there..."
Even though Taro was lenient and fast, he only barely managed to dodge the explosions. The whip in the woman's hand lashed down next to his feet. The explosion that followed blew him a few meters away.
"Ouch..."
Taro had scraped several places on his body due to the impact. Tiny slivers of blood streamed down onto the cold ground. He barely felt the leg that had been closest to the explosion, severely limiting his movability. There was no time to think. With all his energy, he pulled himself up by crawling onto a nearby pole, readying himself for another escape attempt. The woman was slowly treading in his direction, like a grim reaper patiently closing in on his soul.
Taro scouted his surroundings. Several people were watching the scenario, yet nobody was acting scared or surprised. No, on the contrary, it was as if they were enjoying it. Some seemed to be discussing all the possible ends he could meet, others were simply taking pleasure in silently watching. None of them had a single intention of coming to his help.
Apart from the people, there was nothing that could help him. No tactical places or useful items he could use. The only thing he could do was run, or fight. Since the latter was nearly impossible and he failed in the former, he was completely at the mercy of that woman.
"Do you want to die or what? You better use that sword you're holding if you value your life." The red-haired assailant stated with a serious look, as if she didn't have the option to stop attacking him. She was serious about killing him if he didn't give her what she wanted. But what exactly did she want?
Normally, it would've been easy for Taro to use his sword's power. However, this lady unconsciously worked against her own intents, if she wanted to make him use his sword. Her whip, the weapon which she had been slinging at him ever since they had met, was enchanted with powerful fire prana. Even a well trained soldier would break out in tears if it lashed him once. Moreover, whenever the end of the whip touched the ground, it ignited the space around it, transforming it into a cocktail of explosions. He could easily deal with a singular attack, but area-based ones were his biggest enemy.
There was not much time to think, before another lash came down. This time it was near his right side. Taro tried to block the explosion with his sword, but the result was exactly as he had expected: only a small portion of the attack got absorbed. The rest of it went straight past his sword and blew him away from his hold. This hit had been much closer than any before, resulting in some serious burn marks on his right side. His body screamed to stop moving, but he did not have the leisure to listen.
"..."
Taro was a realist. He knew better than anyone that he had no chance winning this, or maybe even coming out of this alive. Yet, he had a mission. To save the ones whose life had been destroyed by injustice, and to punish the ones that had enacted those vicious deeds. The first step in the path to retribution, would be to save Liss and everyone else from that carriage who was still alive. Moreover, he needed to get back to that crazy 'princess', before they had completely crushed her innocence...
For that purpose, he could not fall here.
With the last energy, Taro dashed forward. There was only a minuscule chance the plan he had just thought up, would work. It was definitely a last resort. However, it was better than dying without any resistance, in a place like this. As long as he was alive, he would grab any chances to live, no matter how extreme or how small they were.
"I see. So that's your decision. Foolish."
The red-haired woman readied her whip. It looked like a snake, squirming in the space around her. After a few more twists, it shot forward, head-first towards him. There was no time to dodge. It was a one-way road, and he had lost the ticket to go back seconds ago.
His sword and the whip impacted. Taro could sense the heat emanating from the black leather. A burned smell filled his nose, reminding him of something out of his past. He had smelled this before, but much, much stronger...
...
The area around him had been transformed into one big smoke curtain, from which screams were emerging and drilling through his closed-off ears. Everything was burning: the houses, the roads, the people... And in midst of it, there was one small creature. It was almost resembling a human, if not for the two dark horns on the top of her head.
A demon.
It was just standing there, watching as the city fell. In one hand, she held a small burnt doll. In the other, she held the lifeless body of its owner.
That demon... It was the final destination of his journey to retribution.
...
His sword and the whip impacted. He could feel that enough prana had accumulated to blast the skin off his bones at this range. If his intuition was wrong, he was a dead man. Everything was up to chance now...
...
No blast occurred. The whip bounced off his sword like a wet noodle. He could clearly see the surprise in the woman's eyes. That was it! His gamble had managed to create the opening he needed. He continued his dash, straight forward in the direction of the red-haired woman. If he could reach her and knock her out, he would be finally free...!
*WHOOSH*
Not even a second later, the woman had turned the tides around again, completely crushing Taro's only initiative. The whip lashed out at his feet, causing him to lose balance. Taro tumbled on the ground, barely managing to break his fall, and landed right before the feet of the woman. His sword flew out of his hands, but the woman plucked it out of the air with her whip. Her precision was astounding. Not only that, but he had also completely underestimated her reaction speed. Her earlier attacks had been much slower and completely off-target, and he had been counting on the fact that it was her real strength. But in the end, she had just been toying with Taro. He never stood a chance to begin with...
"So you're not just a simple weakling after all. And that power of your sword... Interesting." She turned around without heeding him further attention. Taro wanted to take advantage of her carelessness, but his body didn't listen anymore. The damage from the explosions had finally set in. With his sword gone, he no longer had a chance of escaping.
Why was everything he wanted, even the simple things like freedom and happiness, always slipping right through his fingers...?
Guards approached him, helped him up and carried him away. The pain in his body was excruciating, causing his mind to slowly slip away. Not before long, it sank into a deep pool of darkness, completely eradicating the agony of his reality...
...
...
"I..."
A voice. It was hers.
"I'm..."
He did not want to hear it. It was poison. Every single word that came out of that mouth, was like a curse to him. It jumbled his feelings all around, until he no longer knew what was good and what was bad.
"I'm so..."
Stop it. I know what you want to say, but don't. You have no right to say that. You're just a filthy demon. Look at what you have done to my town, my family, my friends. Please, I beg you, don't say any more...
"I'm sorry..."
That's when he saw the one thing he didn't want to see.
A tear.
A single tear had turned his righteousness into a wrathful revenge. Because after that single tear, he could no longer see her as just a demon. That form, those emotions and that expression. If she didn't have those horns, she would've been a normal human being, just like him. And he was going to kill her...
...Wouldn't that make him the same as her?
...
...
Something wet pulled him out of his short-lived nightmare. Water was dripping down from his face. He opened his eyes, and got greeted by the fiery red he had tried to escape from. His instincts made him want to jump straight up, but halfway through the sudden pain in his body overwhelmed him. His body returned to its initial state, resting on the softness of a bed.
"You shouldn't move, it's still healing."
The woman's voice was as firm as before, but somehow he sensed a slight hint of compassion. Maybe it was his imagination. After all, she had been the cause of it... Taro wanted to speak, but she interrupted him immediately.
"I will ask the questions. Don't talk unless you're answering me. " She commanded him. There was no room for choice. However, Taro didn't feel like doing what she told him to.
"If your explanations satisfy me, I will answer some of your questions. For example, what happened with that girl that was sitting next to you..." She added. The woman was clearly talking about Yukina. Even though he still did not like the situation he was in, he didn't have any alternatives. He was back at the start, but this time he needed to save two girls instead of one. And for that, again, he needed information.
Taro nodded.
"Alright. First, your name."
"Taro."
"Second, your birth place."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Whatever, it does not matter. Third, your prana element."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'll repeat myself once. Your prana element. If you can't answer that, I'll whip you until you spit it up."
"Okay, okay. I... I have none."
"..."
"..."
When the woman realized Taro wasn't going to change his answer, she readied her whip. She did not believe him, and Taro could not blame her. Pranaless people hadn't been born for ages. At this point, they might be even a myth of the past for many.
"I'm serious! I have no prana element: I cannot cast a single spell even if I wanted to!"
"So why were you able to use that sword? I am sure of what I saw in that battle, and that was not a feat that you could pull of without prana. So how do you explain that? Depending on the answer, I might whip some sense back into your head. I bought you after all, so you better make it worth my time and money."
Bought? Ah, so that's why he had been removed from the rest of the carriage before they had reached their destination. This woman had probably paid a huge price for him and probably hadn't had the patience to wait for the end of the auction. Even so, she clearly didn't know who he was, and he hadn't been locked up for long. So how had she been able to find him...?
A lash came down and hit him right on the chest, ripping open some wounds that had been closed before. Taro screamed out of pain. However, the woman paid no heed to his cries and continued to interrogate him.
"Your answer."
He had no choice. The truth was something that he wanted to keep hidden for as long as he could, but he had no choice but to spoil the beans.
"My sword... It's an arcadium blade..."
Her eyes widened. She clearly knew what he was talking about. Her iron facade got broken for a moment by an expression of disbelief.
"An arcadium blade?"
She subconsciously repeated the same exact words, as if she wanted to confirm whether she had misheard or not. Taro nodded.
"Don't fool me! What would an arcadium wearer be doing in a place like this? Moreover, those weapons are extremely strong, way beyond human capabilities! How were you not even able to defend yourself if you were carrying one?"
Her eyes spit fire. If he got her a bit more upset, he was sure flames would shoot straight out of them. Taro had no choice but to show her.
"You can test it."
"Test it...?"
"Yes, you can test the truth of my words. Give me my weapon, and I'll show you..."
"..."
"I won't do funny things, I promise. And if I will, I'm sure you will whip it straight out of my hands, right?" Taro somehow already felt the pain in his hands that would inevitable come if he didn't manage to convince her.
"Alright." The woman walked to the other side of the room, and placed the sword next to him. Taro took the grip and pointed Clash into the air.
"Hit it with any kind of single target prana. Something like a small beam would work the best. It does not matter how strong it is."
"..." She spread her hands and shot a fire beam towards the sword. Even without equipping a weapon, her power and control were amazing. But facing his sword, none of those mattered. As soon as the beam touched the blade, it vaporized like water.
"Now, try that again, but with another element." She called for a guard, which in turn followed her instructions and shot a beam of earth towards the sword. The result was the same. After the guard had left the room, she turned towards Taro.
"How does that work?"
"The sword is like a black hole. All the prana it touches, gets immediately nullified. That's why your last attack did not work, I absorbed all the prana as soon as our weapons clashed." Taro left out a lot of important details, but his explanation was enough to reach his goal.
"...Alright. I'll believe you for now, but I want to see it once more in action. As soon as you can stand, come to the training area. Oh, and don't even think about escaping."
She stood up and departed for the exit.
"H-hey, what about my questions?" He had fulfilled his part of the promise, so now it was her turn...
"...Who told you my interrogation is over? I will answer your questions, but not before you answer all of mine. Now, rest. You will need it." She slammed the door shut behind her, before Taro even had the chance to protest.
Not much later, a few medics came in and continued treating his wounds -including the ones that had reopened- with careful precision. It did not feel like he was here as a slave. Apart from the fact that the injuries were caused by that woman herself, it felt more like he was staying as an unexpected guest in this place.
When walked down the halls a few hours later, that feeling got reinforced. Despite being unfamiliar and carrying a blade, everyone handled him with great respect. Even the guards greeted him sympathetically, as if he had been part of this forever. But despite the affability, he could sense the intent behind it. They were not friendly towards him because they wanted to. They were because they were told to. It was a camouflage to make himself feel at ease, but he was not going to fall for this trap. If they wanted him to let down his guard, they would have to try a lot harder than this.
Finally, he entered a giant hall. There were different sets of gear hanging on the walls, each complimented with one or multiple weapons. The floor was like a giant child's drawing: dots, circles, lines and other shapes were drawn all over the ground. Taro was sure of it. This was definitely the training hall the woman had been talking about. As if to confirm his thoughts, the doors behind him closed.
"Now, where is she..."
...
That's when he saw her. The woman he had been looking for, stood at the other side of the hall. Her red hair was as flamboyant as ever. Next to her stood a bald, muscular man, wearing a set of boxer gloves. He had positioned himself in an offensive stance. That could only mean one thing...
"Welcome, Taro. This is the training room, where only the best of the best are allowed to spar. And today, that honor is all yours! Show me the weight your words carry, in combat! Let the battle begin!"
