Chapter 26 - Enter, The Arutimetsu

Yuri and Izuku stood at the top of the hill right outside the city, on guard against the potential threats that may soon discover the secret of the Kami No Me and come after the twins that manifested it.

They stood there, vibrant and watchful, even though the spectacular view of the Kami No Me in action would be tempting enough for them to lose focus.

Enji and Genta sat on the floor, both in a typical Buddha position, with each focused on keeping the celestial manifestation in this dimension for as long as it was needed.

But something felt wrong, and only Izuku could sense it from Enji and Genta's sudden aura of discomfort.

"What is it?" Enji? Genta?" Izuku called out, tapping their shoulders.

"What are you doing, Izuku?" "You are distracting them!" Yuri protested, holding him back as fast as she could.

"You don't understand, Yuri..." he replied.

"Then make me understand, damn it!"

"Something has gone wrong, Yuri, and I can feel it!" he said.

"Really? Our mission is on the brink of success, and your best justification for trying to stop it is, "I can feel it." Izuku?" asked Yuri.

"Don't you get it, Yuri?" he asked, frustrated.

"Get what?" asked Yuri, getting annoyed.

"Master Drey is in trouble!" said Genta, still keeping her focus.

"What?!" yelled Yuri and Izuku simultaneously.

"Someone far stronger than him just overwhelmed him; he came out of nowhere!" said Enji.

"How do you know that?" asked Yuri, feeling skeptical about it.

Izuku looked at her in disbelief.

"Why do you doubt that?" "They have the literal "eyes of God" with near-omnipresent abilities currently gazing down on the city where he is, and yet you doubt if they are sure of it."

Yuri shook his head,

"No, you don't get it, Izuku. Master Drey has godlike abilities that rival those of the fabled gods of Olympus. There is no way he would get overwhelmed by an ordinary man who just "came out of nowhere!"

"So how do you explain what they had just seen?" he asked.

"Can we at least wait a little longer before jumping to conclusions?" asked Yuri back to him.

"Okay, fine. "So what do we do now?" asked Izuku.

"We wait here and keep watch over the twins, just as we were instructed!" answered Yuri.

"Alright, then," concurred Izuku, temporarily ignoring the bad feeling in his gut.

...

Right outside the burning tavern,

"Arutimetsu?" asked Zaraki. "What is that?" "What are you?"

"That is classified." But for now, we have to protect this kingdom from annihilation. "Can you still fight?" he asked.

"How many more of you are out there?" asked Zaraki. "Or is that also "classified"?"

"Please focus, Sir Zaraki! "This is urgent!" urged Tang Fei. "I promise that you will get the answers you are looking for in due time, but for now we have work to do."

"Alas, something we can agree on," replied Zaraki.

"Who are you?" asked a voice from behind. "Zaraki, who is he?" asked Hirai as he struggled to get up, pointing at Tang Fei.

Zaraki's eyes watered as he saw his friend, whom he had assumed dead, now trying to stand up.

Instinctively, he rushed to help him up,

"I'm glad you are okay," he said.

"Do I look alright?" "You stupid idiot!" Hirai replied.

"I'm glad the both of you are alive," said Tang Fei.

Almost immediately, he looked up as if alerted by something, and then said to them,

"Duty calls..." he said as he joined his fists together, triggering his instant disappearance.

In a second, Tang Fei was no longer there, making Zaraki and Hirai feel like weak nobodies. This stranger had outclassed them in everything, making them wonder if their Elite Rank was even worth anything, given what they had just witnessed and encountered.

They were pretty much defeated by Drey and protected by someone even stronger than he was. This event would be more than enough to make them question their current status as leading operatives of the League.

.....

Meanwhile, Mia, Jin, Ken, and Akito were still stunned by what was going on around them.

Large meteors were falling from the sky and destroying everything around them; heavy bolts of lightning were striking at random places; and the frightening gaze of the fierce red glowing eyes right above the city instilled fear in the hearts and minds of every civilian within its reach.

Several meters ahead of them were the invaders, one of whom had the power to breathe fire like an actual dragon, and the other looked like a chimera (having the multiple weaponized body parts of different monsters).

They were heading to the gates to join in the struggle against the invaders, and it was not working so far, as the soldiers were getting slaughtered and burned mercilessly by the infiltrators.

Mia looked at all that was happening before her, and one thing caught her attention.

Somehow, the sight of the soldiers, who weren't physically trained as much as she was, giving up their lives to protect the kingdom, deeply appealed to her.

She was not a coward who would look away from her responsibilities and allow those inferior to her to do her dirty work; she was never known as the type to back down, and she was certainly not going to do that now.

She knew she was going to die if she faced the Invaders, and she was not willing to force her comrades to join her because she too was afraid. Nevertheless, if she was meant to die tonight, she might as well end it gracefully.

She took the first brave step, and then another, and another, with her resolve growing with every move. She was not brave at this point but simply forced herself to attempt the impossible. She was going to die as a beacon of hope to her comrades, as she was sure none of them would come with her on the apparent suicide attempt.

Then, to her surprise, she heard footsteps approaching behind her and briefly looked back to see her surviving comrades all following her lead—all terrified, injured, and weak but resolved.

She smiled happily, getting more and more excited, looking forward to facing her glorious demise until she felt a firm hand stop her on her tracks by the shoulder.

"You have fought bravely, young ones." But the Arutimetsu will take it from here," said a strange but charismatic male voice that made her stop along with the others. He wore a heavy leather cloak and was well built physically.

On Mia's other side was another one, similarly dressed but female. Now talking to him,

"I'll take care of the invaders here; you take care of the ones on the hillside outside the city," she said.

"Just try not to die, okay?" he replied sarcastically, right before flying off as if gravity had ceased to exist, to the astonishment of the operatives.

Then the lady turned to face the operatives,

"I'm Mu Lei of the Arutimetsu. Thank you for your help so far. But I will take it from here."