Awake, One Hell of a Battle

- AMAGHIEL -

The Captain's fall reverberated through the air for a moment, Sognie smirked feeling satisfied with the hit she had landed.

'Incredible, what strength!' Darrel admired.

A few moments ago when the Captain from the Royal Army had appeared before them and started throwing everyone around, Darrel had started to feel hopeless and had feared that they would be unable to prevail against him.

The Royal Army Captain's earlier show of strength had depleted Darrel of his newfound courage and he had been unable to step to him.

This reminded him of his days at Oris prison and the futility that came with trying to rebel against the forces of Morland. Darrel had seen it all up close, the lack of power and motive to act freely, all he could do at the time was obey.

'I can't be ruled by the past, not anymore.' Darrel slapped his cheeks with his palms and looked toward the Royal Army Captain's crash site.

The Captain had recovered from his fall and casually dusted away the dirt from his silver armor, then he looked up at Sognie.

"He's definitely a Captain." Sognie commended the mortal as she jumped back to the street, then she walked up to Darrel and looked at him straight in his eyes.

"What?" Darrel gazed back at her awkwardly.

"I will let you take over." Sognie said with a straight face.

Mere Prison Guards in Oris had given Darrel a hard time, and even after getting trained drastically by Muriel, Darrel did not believe he would have a chance against such a foe.

"Shouldn't we fight him together? He is a Captain right?" Darrel tried to negotiate with Sognie.

"Yeah, but not for the whole Royal Army." Sognie scoffed. "He commands a small unit around here."

Darrel remained quiet for a moment as pondered on what Sognie had stated, Muriel had already taught him about the ranks in Moriandia's Royal Army and how the surrounding Kingdoms replicated a similar system with a few minor changes.

In Moriandia, the Emperor stood at the pinnacle of the Army with his powerful divine boon and immense fighting ability. Darrel recalled tales of Emperor Gherial leading the charge against the former armies of Morland's previous inhabitants.

'These days the Emperor can't fight anymore since he had an Empire to look after.'

Suddenly, Darrel felt Sognie's burst of aura disperse, the bulky physique she had attained when she flung Emeriel toward the factory also dissipated.

Darrel wondered what was the reason for Sognie powering down during such a confrontation, but decided to reserve his words when he noticed her breathing heavily.

'That ability must have taken a tow on her, but she only used it briefly.' Darrel wondered.

Seeing that she was not a threat anymore, the Captain's focus turned from Sognie to Darrel as he began to approach him.

The mortal coming toward him was a leader of a small unit of soldiers in the Royal Army, and in Moriandia the title Captain was given to mortals who held such temporary positions in order not to confuse them with much more renowned figures.

'Even if he is just a party leader, I wouldn't dare underestimate him.'

Darrel recalled what Muriel had said to him during his training.

'If all it took in Morland was having power for a mortal to excel, training Darrel would have been a waste of her time. It was how well one abused their abilities that made an individual powerful.'

"Alright, rest up!" Darrel stated suddenly then tapped Sognie's bare arm.

A jolt of shock suddenly ran through Darrel's body, he had no idea what had caused it but he felt a brief painless shock zip through his entire body. When Darrel looked at Sognie, she seemed to have felt not felt a thing.

"Five minutes Darrel." Sognie added as Darrel now stood in front of the Captain.

The Captain drew a mace from his side and swung it a few times, Darrel could tell that he would be taking this fight seriously.

"As I was flying here, I felt two decent auras." The Captain spoke melancholily. "However, yours was not one of them."

At the completion of his sentence, the Captain charged Darrel and readied himself for a heavy swing as he ran. Darrel immediately drew his staff and attempted to block the Captain's incoming attack.

[Thwack*]

Darrel felt his arms give snapping sounds before he was sent crashing into the building on the side of the street.

"What the hell-"

Before he could even finish his statement of bewilderment, Darrel coughed up blood and spat it on the ground beside him. He then looked down at his arms and felt relieved when he saw them still attached to his body.

"My staff...?" It was Darrel's staff that had snapped in two when he tried to block the Captain's attack.

"You think you have time for that?"

The Captain stated as rushed toward Darrel once more, Darrel quickly snatched his broken staff from the ground and then scurried to a safe distance as the Captain's mace crashed into the wall of the building.

"Stay still boy!"

The Captain swung his mace at Darrel once more, but Darrel was quick to evade and the mace smashed the cobblestone on the street below them.

'Defense breaking?'

Darrel finally understood what had happened when he tried to block the Captain's attack, the mace had shattered his defenses and Darrel had taken the blunt assault from the swing.

'Then maybe if I counter...'

Darrel stopped a few feet from the Captain and then threw his mace away, when the Captain saw this he stopped his assault.

"You are giving up so soon?" The Captain queried Darrel with a mild chuckle.

"Not at all." Darrel responded, then he drew his blade from its scabbard. "I have a better idea."

"Ha! You were better off hoping around with that staff boy."

Darrel braced himself as the Captain resumed his charge, this time Darrel managed to evade the swing by leaning back, but the Captain planted his foot forward and rammed his armored shoulder into Darrel's chest.

"Heh. You seem slower." Darrel commented.

The Captain cringed at Darrel's comment and decided to strike Darrel once more, but his swing swiped at empty air.

'What happened to all that raw power he had? Was it just a temporary power boost?' Darrel mused in his mind as he ran from the Captain.

Darrel recalled how such power-boosting abilities in his former world were available for characters in games, however, such strength always came at a cost, which could be placed on the user during the buff or after.

Sognie seemed to have suffered the effects of her [Maiden's Might - Matronly Rage] during the time she was using this ability, that's why she could not maintain the ability any longer.

Now for the Captain, he had been coated in a blue glow that allowed him to move at incredible speeds and fling the shield maidens around like rag dolls. However, the moment Sognie had damaged the Captain, he has been unable to take on that form again.

'Maybe his ability has a cooldown between uses.' Darrel pondered.

Darrel evaded the Captain's incoming attack by ducking from the incoming swing, and with a quick swipe of his blade slashed at the Captain's lower leg.

The Captain staggered for a moment, but he refused to fall over, Darrel noted that the Captain's armor had absorbed most of the damage hence the reason he remained unscathed.

"That blade won't do much against his armor, use your magic!" Sognie called out from the sidelines of their tussle.

"Magic? So that's why you held a staff in the beginning." The Captain uttered after realizing this detail. "Well if that's the case..."

The Captain took a stance and then muttered something to himself, suddenly a bright fiery aura enveloped him and knocked Darrel backward.

"This will end it!" The Captain exclaimed. "[Flare - Blazing Strike]

Tongues of flame bounced above the Captain's fiery membrane as Darrel got back to his feet, but without warning the Captain blitzed toward Darrel and landed a thunderous strike with his mace across Darrel's face.