Crowding Burst

The next morning, Roko went down from the inn's rooms to the lobby. There the knights were seated around a table, breakfasts prepared but with their princesses nowhere to be seen.

"What happened to the ladies?" Roko asked as he walked up to them.

"They all stayed up late it seems." Mikado reported, "Not unusual for Kaguya."

"Doesn't Kaguya get up at like 6?"

Mikado looked away, choosing not to answer.

"Well, I know Helena's like that." Roland shrugged, "Tried to get her to go to sleep but she said she wanted to stay up a bit longer and look how that turned out."

"So Momo was staying up too then?" Roko sighed, "Maybe we should keep a closer watch on these girls."

"That won't be necessary."

Roko turned around as the three princesses arrived in the lobby each of them doing their best to look awake and alert.

"Look who finally woke up." Roland smirked, "Sure you don't want to sleep a bit more, sleeping beauty?"

"Shut up Roland." Helena grumbled, "Gimmie your fries."

"Apologies, Roko." Kaguya sighed as she sat down and Mikado placed a plate of hash browns in front of her, "We should still be able to leave on time. Just give us a bit to get everything packed up and-"

"It's fine." Roko replied, "We can stay here and wait for Corissa if you'd like."

The princesses all jolted at Roko's words, their faces betraying an innocent guilt that they shared.

"You all stayed up because you were worried Corissa would show up in the middle of the night didn't you?" Roko continued, "That she'd show up and have no idea where to go? Hoping that she would call you instead of finding lodging on her own?"

"Well, you have to have thought of it as well right?" Momo gulped, "Weren't you worried?"

"As clueless and innocent as Corissa may be, I don't believe she would be the type to wander around at night with no idea what to do when the shops are all closed down." Roko said, "Corissa isn't so far gone that she needs to be coddled. She has...enough common sense to survive."

"Wow, you two really trust each other." Helena smiled slyly.

"And whatever Corissa can't handle, Varis can set it on fire." Roko rolled his eyes, "The bigger question is: why?"

"What do you mean?" Momo asked as a waitress placed down a plate of scrambled eggs and french toast in front of her.

"Why did you go so far for someone who more than likely would not show up?" Roko asked, "Why do this for Corissa?"

"Well...you know..." Helena shrugged as she nibbled on a french fry, "She's squishy."

"In more ways tha-"

"Than one, thank you Roland." Roko sighed, "She has Varis, they can take care of each other."

"Still, I'd feel bad if Corissa arrived at this town in the middle of the night and didn't know where to go." Kaguya said nervously, "A little bit of caution is fine isn't it?"

"Then why didn't you just call her and tell her where we were?"

"..." Kaguya began eating a hash brown as she tried to think of a response.

"I'm not here to attack you for what you did, I just want to understand why you did so."

"What do you mean? Isn't it natural to care about your friends?"

"Like I said, if you were really concerned about her, you had better ways of getting your concern addressed. The fact that you relied on her to make the move to reach out to you means you didn't want to call her only to find out she was still at the school. You didn't want to force the idea of Corissa joining us to Corissa but you really hoped she would. Why do you want Corissa to join us so much?"

The princesses just stared at Roko, no longer nervous or anxious but with a blank befuddlement.

"I mean..." Helena answered first, "Don't you just naturally want to be with your friends?"

"Yes but Corissa has already expressed that she doesn't want to come."

"Yeah but you never know." Momo shrugged, "Besides, the four of us have been hanging out with each other for so long. It's just feels natural to have her with us."

"You still have two other girls to talk to. Do you really need a third one? Or is Corissa special?"

"Well..." Kaguya chuckled as Mikado arrived with a cup of tea for her, "She is the most honest and emotional out of all of us."

"...Well that's not wrong..." Roko frowned.

"Yeah!" Momo laughed, "Having Corissa around kind of keeps us in check. She's the most normal out of all of us and she's the most sociable too."

"Mmhm."

"Corissa has a talent of forming genuine connections with people in a snap." Helena nodded, "She can gain people's trust really quickly without ever feeling or coming across as lying to them."

"Uh huh."

"And she's got those curves." Roland added.

"Okay Roland, you ruined it." Helena sighed.

"Yeah, breakfast has gone on for too long already." Momo said as she munched on the last of her french toast, "Let's just get going before Roko asks us why we like him as well."

"Why would I ask that?!"

It was around eleven when Roko's group gathered at the gate out of the town. They made one last quick check and began to leave the village. They traveled for a few minutes along the road until they could no longer see the town anymore. Then they stopped.

"So about here?" Helena said.

"Yeah, this should be safe." Roko replied.

"So do we get the jump on them or..." Momo asked.

"Nah, let them show themselves." Roko scoffed, "I'm sure they have some things they want to say."

And right on time, from the trees came the Badguy Bandits. A veritable army of them being lead by Seoul, Uther, Anoter and Eiam.

"No new family members today?" Helena called, "Sure you don't want to bring out Luka Badguy?"

"You leave my sister out of this!" Uther snapped but Eiam held up his hand to stop him.

"So we meet again...Roko."

"Oh good, they know my name." Roko rolled his eyes, "Maybe they found out you guys are princesses too?"

"And your companions."

"Apparently not." Roko sighed.

"You all certainly have proven to be quite the capable bunch. It's almost a shame that I have to kill you all. Do you know why?"

"Because you can't let anyone know the secret to your business?" Roko replied monotonously.

"Smart. As I would expect from the rival to the Badguy Bandits."

"When did we become rivals? I didn't agree to this. Why would I want to be rivals to your stupidly named bandits and your stupidly named family?"

"I've gathered the strongest mercenaries I have under my employ. There's no getting out of this. You will die here and we will continue to rule the roads until we're the biggest business in the world!"

Eiam began laughing loudly. His brothers all sneered in full confidence as the rest of the bandits all tried to look menacing.

"Well, at least you're not trying to recruit me to keep me quiet." Roko sighed.

Eiam's laughing stopped as he began to stare outwards blankly.

"It never occurred to you did it?"

"Well, I mean, now that you mention it-"

"No."

"Well then fine, I guess we'll just have to kill you."

"Well hurry it up, today's another day that ends in y so I don't have time for this."

In the next moment, the road was filled with absolute chaos. Mercenaries were swarming around Roko's group in all directions but Momo's reinforcement spells were pivotal in evening the odds. And from what Roko could scan, even the most talented of the Badguy's mercenaries were less powerful or at most on par with Roland so the bandit's only advantage was their numbers. And it seems like these people were coordinated to some extent. They were moving in specific ways to try and surround each person but it proved difficult to remove Roland and Mikado from their princesses. Momo was strong enough to probably handle half of their entire army and was fighting a good number of enemies but her opponents seemed to be well equipped to deal with her lightning attacks. Roko almost considered attempting a switch up on enemies so Momo could tear through the mercenaries unequipped to deal with her but what her lightning couldn't electrocute, her sword cut through with ease so there wasn't much of a point. Roko on the other hand…

"Eat this!"

Roko stumbled back as Anoter slammed a giant fist into the ground in front of him.

"Gotcha!"

Roko ducked as Seoul tried to punch him in the head from behind.

"Haha! Now you're trapped!"

Roko kicked his leg out to the side and knocked Uther back.

"Dammit! He's stronger than we thought!" The three brothers retreated for a bit as Roko stood back up.

"Well maybe you guys can try attacking without yelling and giving our your position." Roko muttered, not quite willing to help out his opponents that much in a three vs one. And it was only a three vs one because Eiam was standing there, watching with a smug smile on his face. Occasionally he would bark out orders but Roko could hear those too. If this family were any more competent, Roko would probably be dead already. The thought did not give Roko any sense of relief or satisfaction. He'd sooner die from a stronger enemy than win a fight against a family of incompetent bandits with stupid names. That's not to say that he would allow himself to die under these circumstances.

Roko drew his sword. They had anticipated the bandits' return so he had equipped his sword from his bag in advance but it didn't seem to deter the Badguy family. Anoter was big enough that he didn't seem like he would be hurt much from his sword, Seoul simply cracked his knuckles with a grin on his face and Uther drew a knife from his belt.

"You're one cool customer ain't cha?" Uther sneered, "But you can't win against all of us!"

"That's right big brother! When the whole family's here, we can't possibly lose!" Seoul cried.

"Nothing stronger than family." Anoter grunted.

"Well, I hate my family so..." Roko muttered again.

"You saying something?!"

"I said your mom's so fat, she got her name legally changed to Biggus Badguy!"

"You leave our mom out of this!" Seoul cried as he charged at Roko.

Roko dodged the bandit's attempt to punch his face and returned a punch of his own into Seoul's stomach, digging deep into his body before throwing him back with all his strength, sending him tumbling across the ground.

"How dare you!" Anoter rumbled as he lifted a giant fist and launched a punch at Roko.

Roko sidestepped the slow attack and closed in under Anoter's body, jumping off his opponent's leg to land a good slash against the giant's chest.

"How could you slash a young 15 year old child?!" Uther yelled as he tried charging at Roko again this time with a knife.

"How about you stop feeding a 15 year old drugs?!" Roko snapped back as he kicked the man in the face, dropping Uther to the ground as he moaned in pain.

"I'll feed you a knuckle sandwich!" Seoul cried as he tried running at Roko with his fists raised.

"How about I feed you better lines?!" Roko replied as he sheathed his sword and turned around. Parrying the attack with his free hand, Roko stabbed his sheathed sword into the man's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him reeling back. As he gasped for air, Roko swung his sword back again and slammed it into Seoul's face, knocking him prone and unconscious.

"Brothers!"

Roko turned to the giant 15 year old Anoter who glared down at him angrily before beginning a barrage of punches, slamming his fists into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. Roko slid under Anoter's legs as he continued his blind assault, jumping onto the 15 year old's back and running up towards his head.

"And you!" Roko scowled, "You need to eat something not laced with drugs."

Roko slammed his foot into the back of Anoter's head, knocking the giant 15 year old forward as gravity took over and Roko's kick carried him into the ground.

"Try eating some dirt." Roko said as he jumped off the oversized teen's head and dusted his hands, "High in humility."

"Well..." Eiam growled as he stepped forward, "I certainly did not think you would best my family members so easily."

"Should have brought more family." Roko smirked, "Maybe your son?"

"I don't have a son." Eiam sneered, "But if I did, I would name him Thee."

"Don't have children."

"Regardless, I suppose I'll have to deal with you myself." Eiam said as he uncrossed his arms.

"So what can you do?"

"Like I'm going to tell you!"

"Okay don't. I'll find out anyway. Scan."

Eiam Badguy

Level: 20

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 10

Constitution: 11

Intelligence: 25

Wisdom: 13

Charisma: 25

Spells: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind

"You're a quadrifarius." Roko noted.

"What?!" Eiam cried, "How'd you know?!"

"I have my ways."

"Heh...well you're wrong about one thing." Eiam grinned, "I'm not just a normal Quadrifarius! I'm a Cornerstone Quadrifarius!"

"A cornerstone?" Roko raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

"It means I've mastered the elemental magics that make up the foundation of our world!" Eiam crowed, "I've obtained magic that can bend nature itself to my whim!"

"...That doesn't mean anything when your intelligence stat is middling."

"I don't know what that means but I know you're insulting me! Fire!"

Roko rolled out of the way of Eiam's fireball, now quite used to having fire thrown at him. Roko still didn't really have a good way of combating magic. Elemental magic was just too flexible for close and long range attacks. Still, Roko's only method of attack is close ranged so his only choice was to get close. He already had the benefits of Momo's reinforcement spells so basic fire spells shouldn't hurt that much. Roko dug his boots into the dirt...and then launched himself at the bandit mage.

Eiam saw him coming and began unleashing spells of all different types of elements at him. The water blasts were too weak to do any damage, Roko just had to avoid letting them hit him in the eyes or slip up his feet. The earth stones weren't sharp enough to pierce his body but they could impact him enough to cause him to stumble so these were probably the most important attack to avoid. Fireballs hurt on impact but they didn't seem to do lasting damage, not even singeing his clothes. Still, to avoid getting hit in inconvenient places and to avoid getting too burned just in case, these attacks along with the rocks were the main attacks Roko parried with his sword. The wind attacks were nothing more than a stiff breeze. Nothing compared to Gaurav's wind magic. Completely negligible. In this way, Roko quickly made his way towards Eiam very quickly. Eiam took a few steps back as he continued to barrage him with attacks, completely baffled at how his attacks were having such minimal effects on him. Before he knew it, Roko was right in front in him. Roko slashed at Eiam who cried out in terror, shielding his face and ducking under Roko's swing as he quickly scrambled away from him.

"You feel like giving up yet?" Roko called, "I personally don't care about your little scam and I would like to get back to my trip."

"Hehehe..." Eiam chuckled nervously, "You think I am scared of you?! If you think that's all I got, I'll have to show you my real strength! FIRE!

Eiam held up his arm as he conjured a small fireball above him, "Now...bigger! Fire!"

The fireball began to grow bigger and bigger, from a baseball sized fireball to a basketball, to the size of a tire and on and on until a giant burning sphere the size of a house was looming over the bandit.

"You see this?!" He shouted, sweat pouring from all over from the exertion, "There's no way you'll survive this!"

"...Analyze." Roko said, "Hm. You actually have a ton of mana. I guess that's something."

"Haha, finally seeing how powerful I really am?! Well it's too late to beg for your life now!"

"Yeah, I'm still not impressed." Roko said as he drew his sword back, "All I have to do is kill you before you throw it."

"Y-You dare?!" Eiam gasped.

"No hard feelings right?" Roko said as he prepared to sprint again.

But before he could jump forward, he was suddenly grabbed by two pairs of arms from behind, holding him back and stopping him from swinging his sword properly.

"What?!" Roko grunted as he recognized Seoul and Uther clinging onto him, not just preventing him from attacking but holding him in place.

"You thought you took us out didn't ya?!" Seoul sneered, "You thought you beat us but we're tougher than you thought!"

"Or I went easier on you than I expected." Roko scowled.

"Oh keep talking you fool!" Uther grinned, "But you're going to get hit by that giant fireball whether you like it or not!"

"You're going to get hit too!"

"No we won't! Get him, Anoter!"

A giant hand grabbed Roko from behind and lifted him up as Seoul and Uther let go of him. Roko struggled as he was lifted a several feet up as Anoter held him out towards the fireball.

"Haha! This is the Badguys' greatest teamwork technique!" Uther cried ecstatically, "With you held in place, you'll have no choice but to take our brother's most powerful fireball!"

"This is the true power of the Badguy bandits!" Seoul shouted, "This is how strong we are when we work together!"

"I don't see you two doing anything down there." Roko scowled.

"Shut up! Get him big brother!" Seoul shouted.

"With pleasure!"

Eiam moved to throw the giant fireball until a bolt flew across the air and froze the burning sphere completely in ice. Eiam looked up in stunned befuddlement as he looked up at his spell. Then his face turned to horror as he began to lose control of his spell and the sphere of now ice crashed on top of him.

"Brother!" The bandit family cried out.

A giant blast of lightning hit Anoter in the back and the giant child's grip on Roko released. Roko fell to the ground, landing on his feet from a leg numbing height. Anoter teetered about on his legs before he collapsed to the ground again with a large thud. And behind him, Roko could see the image of a young woman and a black knight in the distance.

"Hey!" Corissa waved, "You sure got into trouble real quick."