040 | Black Iron

My fists, coated with Raw Energy, plunged and shattered the skulls of countless skeletons. We've been fighting for so long I lost track of time.

Haydon and his royal guards got pretty far. I never expected Yanalia's cavalry to have such power. Though, fewer and fewer royal guards were on horseback as time went on.

"Watch out!"

One of my knights, who was a newbie with only about a few months of experience, almost got a rusty sword stabbed straight through his abdomen.

The skeleton was wearing rusty armor along with his equally rusty sword.

At that moment, I grabbed a skull off the ground and threw it with all my might. It decimated the skeleton's ribs and he fell over. The rookie was unharmed.

"T-thank you, Captain!"

"Don't thank me yet! Come back to me alive!"

He nodded and went straight back into fighting. I sure hope he lives.

I felt a tap on my back, I turned my head slightly and glanced behind me. It was Bridgette. She had her face covered up with a black bandana but it was so obvious that it was her.

Although, when she spoke, she had a different voice. Was she impersonating another woman? What for?

"Captain Waryun, our Captain has a message for you."

...

Never mind, I guess I was wrong about her being Bridgette. Now that I look at her, she has brown hair and green eyes.

"Captain? What are you staring at-"

"-get down!"

The Scout quickly lowered herself and I did a spin kick over her head, knocking off the skull of a skeleton who wielded a rusty mace.

"-Thank you, Captain!"

"Hurry, get to the point!"

She nodded and explained, "Her message is to meet her and the Captain of the Royal Guard. She found an opening with the Grim Reaper."

I grinned. Bridgette works fast.

"Understood. Don't die, scout."

The scout nodded and disappeared. Bridgette is teaching them quite the nimble techniques.

From what I deduced while fighting with everyone, there were many ways in which people handled their enemy.

I taught my Knights sword techniques that focus more on defense and counterattacks. The reason I did this was that Yanalia simply lacks offensive potential. It's rare for someone to be found with the ability to use Raw Energy after all.

Haydon taught his Royal Guards many different styles that revolve around protection and rendering opponents unable to retaliate. As expected, if one is a Royal Guard, they should be able to properly guard the ones they have to keep alive.

I see the Scouts every now and then, quickly killing and lopping the heads off of skeletons. Just like Bridgette, they were as slippery as water. All of them were quick and capable of evading attacks. Though, none of them wore any heavy armor so despite being faster, they are more susceptive to injuries. They didn't really wield any weapon that was too heavy, so often times they are found assisting those who need help.

Pen and his mercenaries covered our sides, they reinforced our power with their unique styles of fighting. Kind of barbaric.

Though, Pen was an absolute monster, decimating dozens of skeletons at a time with his combination of Sand Magic and his two large sabers.

I saw Haydon somewhere and ran in his direction whilst punching and kicking through the piles of bones that got in my way.

"Hey, you're still alive?"

Haydon covered his sword in Holy Magic and sent out a blade of mana that instantly vaporized any skeletons in front of him.

"Of course, Haha! My magic is extremely effective against the unholy!"

"I know, you ARE a former priest."

"Haha! You have received Bridgette's message as well?"

Haydon quickly turned around and cleanly sliced a skeleton symmetrically with a vertical slash. On the other hand, I simply elbowed the skeleton sneaking up behind me with Raw Energy and shattered his entire body.

"Where is he?"

I heard drops of water and saw several pillars of water that were around two meters tall burst quickly towards us. Nearby skeletons had their body dismembered and when the pillar of water came to us, it was the silhouette of Bridgette.

This time, I got it right. There's no one else who uses Water Magic like her in Yanalia. I bet not even Felix can do that.

"Looks like you guys didn't die."

"Oh my, is that a cut on your cheek?"

"Where?!"

Bridgette unsheathed one of her daggers and washed it with a water spell. She turned the blade up and used it as a mirror.

"Liar."

"Haha! What opening did you discover, my lady?"

"My scouts found the Grim Reaper. He's slowly moving forwards and killing anyone that comes in his way. We already have 13 casualties and dozens of severely injured people."

"Felix is treating them right?"

"He is, haha! I feel his magic energy in the back."

Bridgette waved her left arm and pillars of water erupted in different locations. Looks like she was still helping those who were in trouble.

"We don't have time before our morale falls and our troops get tired. We're already exhausted and on the brink of breaking. We need to kill the Grim Reaper. Right now."

She's not wrong. I've been wandering around the battlefield breaking skulls and helping everyone else while trying to find the Grim Reaper. Oddly enough, I just couldn't see him no matter what. Despite him being a pitch-black skeleton with clothing and a weapon that stands out.

"Also-" Bridgette says as Haydon slashed skeletons that approached us.

"One of my scouts informed me of crucial information."

"Do tell us, haha!"

"The Grim Reaper is able to nullify magic. It seems his scythe is made of a special material that allows him to do so. I heard it was black iron?"

Haydon held his chin. Does he recall something?

I embed my fist with Raw Energy and punched through a rusty shield and grabbed the skeleton's skull and crushed it with my hand. I pulled my hand out and took off the shield that was stuck onto my forearm.

"Haha, quite a predicament!"

"What is it?", Bridgette asks.

Two skeletons came at her. One stabbed with a spear and the other slashed with a sword. Her body turned into a puddle of water which zigzagged around the ground until Bridgette jumped from the puddle and spun with her daggers.

When she landed on the ground, the two skeletons were chopped up as if she just finished grating cheese. Odd analogy, I know.

"Haha, Black Iron is a common material for weapons. It has the ability to use the trait of one of the user's magic. If the Grim Reaper imbued his Black Iron scythe with Death Magic, it would mean that his scythe has the trait of such."

I returned from body-slamming a few skeletons. I accidentally put one in a chokehold and it took a brief moment before I realized that doesn't work.

"Well, what does that mean?"

I asked as I smashed the skeleton's skull by putting my hands together.

"Haha, Death Magic is extremely dangerous and potent. If his Black Iron scythe has such properties, it can no doubt overpower other magic spells and erase them."

I pointed at Haydon's sword.

"What about your Holy Magic?"

Haydon gripped his sword up and embued it. He stared at it with a rather serious expression.

"I guess, there's only one way to find out, haha!"

"Good to know. I'll deliver this message through my scouts to everyone. Hurry and follow me!"

Haydon and I chased a surprisingly fast puddle of water, despite how fast I tried running, I could never gain on Bridgette.

She led us through a complex path, we passed many enemies and allies alike. Though, we had no time to stop and help. We weren't simply "following" Bridgette.

All three of us were sprinting at high speeds. Normal people would not have even noticed that we passed by them. Haydon and I both used Raw Energy to keep up the pace.

We were led to the entrance of the forest. Even I sensed danger. The tall trees that looked so innocent were now disturbing. Despite the wind that I felt on the battlefield, not a single breath of it passed by. The leaves were disturbingly frozen on the trees.

"The Grim Reaper...went through here?"

Bridgette nodded, "Think about it. Why would the Grim Reaper attack Yanalia? We have no special treasure or material that we keep hidden in secret. What could the Grim Reaper want from a nation such as ours?"

Haydon unsheathed his sword, "Haha, it seems like the Grim Reaper desires the death of Yanalia's citizens. Why else would he take precaution and try to silently escape the battlefield?"

"Tch, this bastard," I said as I gritted my teeth, "What does he even want from us? Does killing more people satisfy this piece of crap?"

Haydon was quiet but he spoke after a brief moment, "Sacrifices. It seems that he is aiming to offer sacrifices. Haha, we must put a stop to his actions!"

He imbued his Holy Magic into his sword and covered himself in Raw Energy then charged into the forest.

Bridgette unsheathed her daggers and also rushed in.

"Even someone as incompetent as you in magic should be able to sense this dangerous presence. Don't die."

And just like that, Bridgette faded away into the darkness of the forest. I covered myself in Raw Energy and followed the two's lead.

Haydon was the farthest one. He easily slipped past the trees with his flexible and smaller frame. I had a bit of trouble keeping up.

Bridgette was probably splashing around as water through the branches.

The three of us were surprised when we reached a circular open field of grass. The Grim Reaper and another individual were already engaging in combat.

All three of us paused and stared in silence. It was...surprising to say the least.

The Grim Reaper and a young golden-haired boy, probably not even in his teenage years, were showing us an incredible exchange.

"Haha...to think such profound swordsmanship exists! Is this the mercenary that Pen hired?"

I nodded but didn't respond. I recognize this boy from somewhere. I think he was involved in the capture of the slave traders.

Bridgette on the other hand told Haydon what I would've said, "Simply from observing his clothing, you can tell it was manufactured by the AU."

The boy and the Grim Reaper moved around in sync.

I once watched a fight between a bird and a snake. The bird was able to evade the snake's attacks by flapping its wings. The snake was able to twist and twirl its body to dodge the bird's beak.

I watched the two creatures fight against each other and it was a shocking tie in the end. The snake died from being too injured while the bird succumbed to a single poisonous bite from the snake.

Watching this boy and the Grim Reaper fight allowed me to recall such an incident.