Chapter 154 : The Intertwined Fate (Part 2)

The fight wasn't over yet.

"HAAAAA!!!"

While the fight in the sky was about to end, The Northerners were still struggling against the [Puppet Warrior] which Muramasa created with his power.

Using Muramasa's katana, they're equally shared among them and they're stronger than regular soldiers.

If you ranked them in guild rank…

They are equal to [S-class Adventurers].

*TING*

Many soldiers and other low-class adventurers had fallen due to the strength of these puppets.

Meanwhile, The S-class Adventurer, Ashley, was currently struggling against the puppet soldiers, exchanging blows after blows with all her might.

*TING*

*BZZZZTT*

"[Red Flash]!!"

Using her aura element, she created a red lightning and swung her sword.

*SWOOSH*

Which cut through the puppet's body.

But despite that,

Their numbers didn't seem to go down after that.

To top it off she was alone, and it was enough to exhaust her stamina.

"Dammit..." Ashley panted heavily, with Gilbert and Sharon on her side.

The three of them were tired and surrounded by the enemies.

Even for Vincent and his army, they couldn't do anything against these monsters that were equal to their highest class of adventurers.

"Is this it...?" Vincent murmured looking at the sight before him helplessly.

When all hope was lost, something unexpected happened.

"Seriously, can't you do better than this?"

Someone's voice was heard, and then...

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Explosions appeared out of nowhere around them.

The puppets were hit by the explosion which forced them to disperse before they could surround Vincent and his army completely.

Ashley and the other Adventurers were having the same situation.

"What is happening?!" Ashley shouted as their direction shifted towards the source of the explosion.

That was when they regained their hope.

Vincent found a familiar figure at the source of the explosion which came from several cannons lined at the hills above them.

That is [Dwarf].

The dwarves had come to the rescue, with their cannons and their army wearing heavy armor and axes.

And the one who led them…

Was none other than the champion and the strongest of their race.

[The King of Dwarf, Doldain].

"Heh! My stubborn disciple asked me to help you all! So be grateful!" Doldain said with a wide grin, wearing the same heavy armor but with his giant golden double-edges axe in his arm.

"Well he is our champion after all!"

"We cannot fall behind if he is this hell bent to solve our problem!" The dwarves spoke.

"Then, let's fuck them up boys! Let's show them the strength of [War Dwarf]!" Doldain shouted while wearing his helmet.

"That's our boss!" They did the same and jumped towards the army of puppets.

The puppets responded to the higher and stronger presence that appeared in front of them and shifted their focus to them.

The dwarves began to swing their axes and struck the puppets down one by one.

But the one who contributed the most and caused a scene was Doldain.

*BOOM*

Doldain swung his axe. With his golden-brown [Haki], he created a large explosion which caused a huge fissure on the ground.

The puppets were sent to fly upwards, as they couldn't withstand the overpowering strength of this single dwarf.

And in the process, Doldain was now standing in front of Vincent.

His army were confused by the sudden appearance of the dwarves but they were more focused on Doldain who was able to perform such strong technique.

"Who is it?"

"Dwarf?"

"Why are they here?"

They wondered aloud to themselves. That was, until Vincent bowed towards him.

"I am thankful for your help, Doldain-sama." Vincent spoke, and they immediately recognized that name.

"Doldain-sama?!"

"That [King of Dwarf]?!"

"How is he here?!"

"Do not thank me, I am just helping my stubborn disciple who made a stupid bet with our king." Doldain spoke dismissively, unbothered by the attention he received from the confused Northerners army.

"A bet?" Vincent asked.

"Father!" Gilbert ran towards him together with Alicia, Hiba and Raven.

"Gilbert! You are safe!" Vincent immediately changed the topic and went to his son who came back safely.

"Yeah! We managed to push through thanks to the dwarf, but...what is happening here?" Gilbert asked.

"I was about to ask the same question..." Vincent shifted his eyes back to Doldain again.

Then Alicia approached them, "Where is Crimson-san?..."

Doldain snickered and looked up, "I guess the party had started there."

"What party?—" Before Raven could ask anything…

*SWOOSH*

A large pressure immediately fell down towards them after they felt a strong presence above the dark clouds above.

"W-what is happening?!—"

Doldain then lifted his axe, "It is our king...and the boss of this castle."

"This guy...really managed to push him into his true form? He certainly has guts." Doldain praised.

'Even I don't know if I could have injured him...but with that flame of his, I think he is more than capable.' Doldain thought.

"Take care of her for me!! You stubborn disciple!! While I handle these brats for you!"

'Brats?' Vincent thought since he looked like the oldest among them, including Raven and Heisman who looked away in embarrassment.

At the same time...

*SWOOSH*

Above the dark clouds, where the two ancient dragons were having a face off.

*"Ignia..."*

[The Ancient Evil Dragon, Fafnir] with his other name, Muramasa, spoke.

*"It's been a long time, Muramasa."*

*"Or should I call you the new Fafnir?"* Ignia addressed him.

*"As expected...it is you...Ignia."*

*"I was wondering why your smell is on that young man...so, he is your new disciple?"* Muramasa replied

*"Yeah, it was a hassle, since he's not that talented."* Ignia replied jokingly.

Rei, who heard it, felt hurt by her words, 'That kinda stung...' Is what he wanted to say, but he kept it to himself.

*"But his guts and will covered all his weaknesses, and it was the least all talented people should have, am I wrong?"* Ignia spoke, indirectly aiming it towards him.

Muramasa smiled and showed his sharp teeth, *"Aren't you quite harsh towards your former great disciple?"*

Ignia laughed, *"Hah! Since when did I have a foolish disciple such as you? MY disciple was diligent and the most sensitive and kindest human I ever met."*

But Muramasa's expression changed into something more serious, *"That human you spoke of had long gone the moment they took her away from him..."*

*"Kindness would only kill others, so I have given up all of that."* Muramasa slowly revealed one of his emotions.

Which was anger.

*"But that kindness could also save people, you knew that in your heart that what you have been doing for centuries..."*

*"...Had killed thousands—no, millions of people every year in this cold cursed land."*

Ignia spoke.

*"So what? This is my own choice...I chose this path that had been paved by this world."*

*"Ever since those pesky gods sent me here to entertain their boredom..."* Muramasa spoke as he looked up towards the sky above them.

Within these high-clouds which were hundreds of kilometers away from the ground.

*"That is why, I cursed this land...this land that reeks of those who condemned me and my comrade."*

*"When I'm done...I will curse the other land…and I will continue to curse this world to the end!!"* Muramasa shouted out his anger.

*"Your hatred has gone too far...Muramasa, she....no, Aria would think the same if she was here to see you like this."* Ignia replied to his statement.

'Aria?' Rei repeated that name when he heard it.

That was when Muramasa released his [Haki] that surrounded his entire body.

*"Do not utter that name!! Traitor!!"*

*"She sacrificed herself for me!!"*

*"Why does she have to die in such a miserable way!!"*

*"I cannot stand this world that took her away!!"*

*"I cannot stand this world that took my comrades' freedom!!"*

*"Those humans...those greedy humans...!!!"*

With each word he spoke, a pressure was created around him.

"Ughh...."

Rei could feel that it was much stronger than before, it made him hard to breathe.

Then Ignia used her aura to create a barrier around Rei which allowed him to take a deep breath and breathe normally again after the pressure was gone.

*"My disciple, I know this was your trial to defeat him...but your trial was over when you fought his human side."* Ignia spoke to Rei.

"Master..."

*"This time...it will be my fight, and you must get away from here."*

"But!"

*"The fight between two ancient dragons could create a catastrophe, if you joined the fight...it could lead to your own death."* Ignia warned him.

But Rei felt weak and helpless after knowing that he couldn't do anything again.

Ignia smiled, *"Do not worry, your power can shine later on, so come down there and help your friends."*

With her big hand, she reached towards him and stroked his small head.

Rei felt like a kid at this point, but he didn't want to be a burden so...

"I will heed your words...master." Rei spoke and turned his back to her, "But make sure you stay safe, master."

*"Heh, worrying about your teacher? Do not worry...because your teacher..."*

Ignia opened her mouth, and flames came out from it at the same time as Muramasa

*"is the strongest dragon in this world!!"*

*ROARRRRRR*

The two of them released their breath towards each other. Ignia with her fire breath and Muramasa with his darkness breath.

*BOOM*

Their clash created a large magical wave which caused strong currents of wind.

Rei who was about to go down got caught by it, 'What a tremendous power...is this how a fight between two Ancient dragons looked like?'

Rei thought while he looked back towards them.

'Master...I will be back.' Rei said and started this descent down from the sky

*******

At the same time, war still raged on the ground…

But the moment The Dwarf armies joined the fight, the casualties were reduced.

*BOOM*

Doldain was currently surrounded with puppets in every direction.

"Heh, as expected, puppets have bland techniques!!" Doldain spoke and swung his axe horizontally which cut through multiple puppets into half at once.

Meanwhile, the others still struggled to fight them and despite the Dwarves' help, it's still hard to turn things around because these puppets' strength was equal to S-class adventurers.

"Do not be afraid! Victory is in front of our eyes!" Vincent shouted as he clashed his sword with one of the puppets.

*TING*

"Haaaa!!!"

*SWOOSH*

Gilbert joined him and swung his sword to cut the puppet down which Vincent held on.

"Thank you son!" Vincent spoke.

Gilbert panted heavily, "Father...their numbers don't seem to decrease, no matter how many we cut them down."

Vincent noticed as well, "I know."

And just like he said, the puppets that had been cut down, disappeared.

But another one emerged to grab the katana that had fallen down before.

"The source of these puppets…could it be these swords? If so...it will be difficult to destroy them since these thin swords are surprisingly sturdy." Vincent observed.

Ashley backed away to their side, with Hilbert and Sharon on her side.

"Tsk....how the hell are we supposed to defeat them!" Ashley shouted in anger.

Then Alicia joined in with Raven beside her.

"Does anyone get hurt?!" Alicia who's the healer and the youngest in the group had done her best to fight and help those who needed healing.

"We're fine...Alicia…but I'm afraid we can't hold on much longer if it goes on like this." Ashley spoke

"Though that dwarf looked like he's having so much fun fighting them." Ashley spoke while pointing her thumb towards Doldain who was still fighting with a grin on his face.

"...looks like a fighter his caliber couldn't destroy their swords as well." Vincent observed.

"I don't know how long we can last..." Vincent shifted his eyes towards the state of his army, many were injured and tired.

"If there's someone who could destroy these swords, then we'll have a chance to fight back." Vincent muttered.

"Then, I shall help you all."

They all looked around to search for the source of that voice, and when they looked to the sky…

They found a young man flying in mid-air, holding a bow and a black fiery arrow in his hand.

*SWOOSH* *SWOOSH* *SWOOSH*

Multiple black fiery lances appeared around him as well, the numbers increased overtime as his body was clad in his red aura.

"Haaa...." Rei took a deep breath and pulled the string as the flame suddenly increased its heat.

He clad his flaming arrow with his aura and his aura crystallizing into the tip of the arrows.

'The numbers are roughly 300....I don't have much mana to increase the numbers of the arrows and my magic.'

'That's why...I shall improvise.' Then finally, he released his arrow and his fiery lances down towards the battle below.

'[Archer Artillery Arts: Cracker].'

*BOOM*

The flaming arrows suddenly scattered down into tiny black flame pieces.

'Added with...[Archer Artillery Arts: Homing Missile]!'

Then the pieces of the black flame along with the flaming lances, curved and rained down towards all the puppets.

*BOOM*

Creating a large explosion.

*SWOOSH*

At the same time, the pieces of his flaming crystalized arrow, curved and moved towards the remaining enemies, and slipped through between his allies.

*SHATTERS*

Which also targeted all of the katanas that those puppets held, shattering their blades into pieces.

The puppets began to decrease in numbers as their bodies vanished the moment those katanas were broken apart by this young man's arrow.

Everyone was shocked to see it, they almost couldn't believe their eyes.

Such tiny pieces of those black flames were enough to crush down those sturdy katanas which they had a hard time destroying.

'To think he could break all those katanas down with just one arrow....Crimson, what the hell are you?' Vincent wondered when Rei landed in front of them.

"...?!"

They were surprised to see his state right now.

His ominous black armor he took pride in and the vibes he usually emit which caused people to shut their mouth.

Now had been reduced to nothing, his body was covered in cuts and burn injuries, the wound had been forcefully closed as if he did it by burning his own flesh.

His breathing was rough, and they could tell that if they were in that state, they would pass out immediately.

"Crimson-san! Let me heal you!" Alicia panicked and ran towards him, she was more surprised and worried about him.

"[Heal]!" She casted her magic on him, and his body was surrounded with green light.

Rei could feel his strength recovered a bit, and Alicia narrowed her brows in frustration.

'Why can't my heal work against him...' Alicia looked like she was on the verge of crying but tried her best not to show it.

"I'm fine...Alicia." Rei spoke to her while giving her a reassuring smile, the same one he used to make.

But it made her heart sank, the others also felt the same.

A young man who's the same age as the Duke's son and this young woman…

Fought against that monster by himself, and came out of it alive which could be considered a miracle in itself.

"Crimson...I.." Vincent was about to speak but Doldain approached them with his axe on his shoulder

"Have you healed up, boy?" He spoke towards Rei.

"...?!" Then when his eyes looked at his state, his eyes narrowed. "You...you used that power didn't you?"

Rei shifted his eyes away when he said that, it confused the others about what he meant but Rei stayed quiet.

'That power?...' Alicia wondered, looking at them back and forth.

Doldain sighed and chose to praise him instead "I won't talk your ears off because you managed to cornered him using that power."

"So be proud, my disciple, when this is over...let's have a drink" Doldain grinned and patted his back.

Rei smiled and muttered "Yeah....thank you, Doldain."

"But the fight isn't over yet! My lord is up there, fighting that bastard alone." Doldain spoke.

"I know..." Rei looked up towards the sky as the fight between ancient beings had begun above the sky with no one to witness it.

******

Above the high-clouds.

*"You….BITCH!!"*

Muramasa spread his wings, creating multiple magic circles around them.

Then katanas began to emerge through those circles.

*"Go down!!"*

*SWOOSH*

Muramasa flapped his wings, throwing those katanas down towards Ignia who flew across the sky.

Ignia approached him by flying straight towards him.

*"That's more like it!! Muramasa!!"*

She shouted in excitement, as those katanas approached her giant body.

*SWOOSH*

Her body shrunk the moment it was about to hit her, his katanas missed their target and something's still approaching him at high speed.

*"What?!—"*

*BAM*

Muramasa felt a hit to his abdomen.

*"AGH—!!"*

That was where Ignia in her half dragon human form with wings on her back, showed up and swung her fist towards Muramasa's abdomen.

"Heh, we dragons strangely have weak stomach huh!"

Her body shone as she returned to her dragon form.

*"But don't think you can underestimate me!!"*

Then she threw another punch.

*BAM*

Hitting Muramasa's face which caused him to fly back.

*"UGH!—DAMN YOU!!"*

Muramasa opened his mouth.

*"GRAAAAA!!!"*

*ZWONG*

And breathe out a laser of darkness towards Ignia.

But then, her body shrunk down again and avoided his breath by flying to the side.

Then Ignia gathered fire in her own mouth.

"Heh! RAAAAAAAAA!!!"

*SWOOSH*

She released her fiery fire breath towards him, with the same amount of power as Muramasa's darkness breath.

*"Wha—"*

*BOOM*

It was a direct hit.

But...

*"DAMN YOU, IGNIA!!!"*

But Muramasa remained unhurt, with his body covered in flame, he managed to defend against the mighty breath of the King of Dragon herself.

"You truly are stubborn, Muramasa~" Ignia spoke in her human form, her wings flapping behind her back.

Muramasa then took this time to observe her, *'What was that damage....it hurts even though she's in her human form.'*

*"I see...you have learned a few tricks for these past millennia, Ignia."* Muramasa spoke.

"Yeah~ thanks to you, I secluded myself to train and to know how to use this human form of mine~" Ignia replied with a smile.

*"Heh, as expected, you are indeed strong...Ignia."* Muramasa spoke.

Ignia's lips curved flat, "Muramasa...how did you end up like this?"

*"You know the answer to that, yet you still question me?"*

"I know your pain fully well as I had lived for more than a thousand years…and I saw many lives lost over that course of time." Ignia spoke.

*"Then...why didn't you help me?! If you were there that day...if you were able to help us that day?! You could have saved her!!"* Muramasa roared.

Ignia bit her lips, "You know I cannot do that, if I were to do so, my heart will succumb into hatred, and I will become the same as your ancestor."

"The Dragon's Heart that you possess, [The Ancient Evil Dragon, Fafnir]." Ignia spoke.

"Humans need to settle their problems by themselves...I cannot help you for your own personal revenge."

*"Then...what am I supposed to do...the world had cornered us, they took her life, they took his freedom and belief, they took his sanity."*

*"What more do they want to take from us!!"* Muramasa shouted in anger, the feeling that he had been holding up for many...many years.

"It's not too late...you can stop what you're doing, and we can rebuild the trust that you have lost."

"We can help you...Muramasa." Ignia spoke while offering her hand.

*"It's...it's too late..."* Muramasa spoke as he suddenly released his aura.

"Muramasa..."

*"This world has been unfair to us...yet you want to use me for the world who betrayed us?"*

*SWOOSH*

His aura gathered in one place and suddenly a single katana was forged with his own aura

And then a man wearing full plate dark armor made from his aura was born.

*"I am sorry, but...I had enough of this world."*

Muramasa's pupils on his dragon body disappeared.

"I shall destroy this world, I shall let them know...the pain that I have been through." His voice suddenly came out from this single living armor in front of Ignia.

His mind was transferred into a single blade.

But at the same time.

His dragon's body moved and prepared its claw.

While this living armor lifted the katana.

"Even if that means I have to kill you....my old friend." Muramasa spoke in finality.

"Muramasa....you fool." Ignia clicked her tongue and her body was clad in fire, changing back into her dragon form.

*"Looks like i have to beat the sense out of you..."*

As she gathered her fire in both of her claws, Ignia was prepared to fight head on once again.

Meanwhile, Muramasa, in this puppet's body, prepared a stance in mid-air while his dragon form moved and prepared its claw.

After that...

*SWOOSH*

The two lunged at each other.

To be continued...