► Argument ◄

Trigger warning: Death, Violence, Swearing

A few weeks passed since Shoto started his mission. He and Pomu found out that the miasma was caused by magic circles that were scattered everywhere in the forest. They were carved on small trees that were hard to find. The two were able to erase many of them in the past weeks, but there were still a lot of them left, since the forest was very large. Someone must have planned this for weeks beforehand. But why would someone contaminate an entire forest? If they wanted to get something that lay inside of it, then there was no point of doing all that. Pomu was also of the opinion that it wouldn't make any sense. So it was obvious that the mastermind's target was the castle or rather what was in it.

Shoto was on his way home as he was running through the snow. It snowed quite heavily that day, so it was good timing for him. Since he was on his way to get a birthday present for Celine, he had to part ways with Pomu a little earlier than usual. As he ran, he felt that his stamina and strength had diminished a lot over the past weeks. It wasn't a surprise to him because it was obvious how much time he spent in the miasma and he also ate less. He was always tired when he came home, so he sometimes skipped his meals. Ike would always reprimand him for that, but Shoto just brushed it off. They made such good progress in clearing the miasma that he found it more important. He always told himself that he would take a few days of rest after they accomplished their mission.

After getting Celine's present, he made his way to the castle where he put it in his room before going to the kitchen. Him and the others wanted to hold a meeting for planning Celine's surprise birthday party. Around that time, she was always playing with other resident's children. As Shoto entered the kitchen, he saw Vox sitting at the table. He was immersed in paper work, like most of the time. 'Hey. Busy as always hm?' Shoto asked. 'Yeah. But, someone else seems to be enyojing himself these days though' Vox said accusingly. 'Excuse me?! Where did that come from?' Shoto was a little taken aback. 'Aren't you always talking about your little friend, the fairy? It seems like you two have a lot of fun together, considering how you always talk about her at dinner' Vox answered cynically. 'Well, we are working together to take care of the miasma, so I'm bound to talk about her' Shoto countered and paused for a second. 'Wait, is that about what Pomu told me?' he wanted to know. 'What did that fairy tell you?' Vox asked interested. He now looked up from his paper work and looked Shoto directly in the eyes. 'She only told me that fairies and demons don't like each other. But she said that it didn't matter to her. She judges people herself' Shoto answered carefully. 'Oh, how benevolent of her. I don't really care about that either' Vox spoke in a sarcastic tone. 'Then why are you mad when I talk about her? You don't even know her and you are so keen on undermining her' Shoto was now getting angry. He didn't understand why Vox would suddenly be this mean. Was he that stressed from his work? But what about Shoto? His body was screaming for rest. He did his best every day. Did Vox not see any of that? 'I'm not mad' Vox suddenly became a lot louder while talking. 'You don't sound like you are not mad' Shoto said annoyed. 'If you don't like how I talk then how about you go back to your fairy? I'm sure you already talked a lot. It must have been fun. I wonder if you are even thinking of your mission' Vox spoke without thinking and was surprised by his own words. That's not what I wanted to say. Fuck- Vox thought in regret. But the damage was already done. Shoto wouldn't have any more of this. 'Fine. If you want to get rid of me that badly then I'll take my leave' he shouted before running out the door. 'Fuck!' Vox shouted. Why am I such a dick? I should have just told him that I'm jealous... But, what would that even have changed? I would have gotten rejected anyways... Vox thought while frowning. I should go after him. He decided and headed to the door. But before he could leave, he got stopped by the others. 'Oh hey Vox. We just saw Shoto run off without saying a word. He looked really angry. Did something happen?' Ike worried. 'Yes. I happeneed' Vox replied. 'Excuse me?' Ike was confused. 'I'm so stressed lately that I somehow took it out on him. I need to talk to him' Vox said in a hurried tone. 'No. let me go. I think, he will probably not listen to you right now' Luca disagreed. Ike nodded. 'Maybe you are right. Ok, please tell him that I'm sorry and that I need to talk to him again' Vox pleaded. 'Will do' Luca smiled and ran of.

Shoto was running until he was out of breath. Tears started to form in his eyes. He was very angry and sad. But most of all, he was disappointed. He never saw Vox like that. Why would he behave like that? Wait... Is he jealous? That flirt is jealous?! Although it would make me kind of happy, it still hurt how he treated me and how he was talking about Pomu. He stood there for a few minutes while deep in thought. His thoughts got interrupted when Luca called out to him 'Shoto!' He stopped in front of Shoto and gasped for air. 'Man. You can really run fast, can't you? We are almost at the outer castle walls' he laughed. 'Oh. I didn't realize... ' Shoto frowned. 'Are you ok? You are sweating quite a lot' Luca worried. 'Ye-Yeah, I'm fine. I guess, I just need some rest' Shoto assured. 'Alright. Then, let's walk back while we talk, ok?' Luca suggested. 'You want me to go back? After what just happened? I don't know if I want to do that right now' Shoto refused. 'Ok. Let's go to our guild house then. We are nearly there, anyways' Luca replied. 'I'm fine with that' Shoto agreed.

As they approached their guild house, they were suddenly stopped by one of the guards 'Guild Master! Mr. Kaneshiro! There's trouble at the entrance' he shouted from a hundred meters away. 'What happened?!' Shoto shouted back. 'There are about 10 people approaching. They seem very hostile. I believe, they have mages with them' the guard reported. 'Ok. We'll take a look. Send someone to the castle. We need to inform the others' Shoto ordered. 'Yes sir!' the guard replied and ran of. Luca and Shoto ran towards the suspected enemies. Luckily, the enemy was still a few hundred meters away. 'Let's meet them half way. We don't know what they want yet, so stay a few meters behind me. I can use my earring if I have to, but you are an easy target for them' Shoto suggested. Luca nodded and followed after him.

They closed of each other's distance until they were close enough to talk. 'I see, we have some guests here. How may we help you?' Shoto asked politely. 'You might indeed be able to help us' a sinister looking guy with a scar covering his face said. 'You see. There is someone in this castle that I still have a score to settle with. And coincidentally, he has something I would like to aquire' he added. 'And which person might you be talking about?' Shoto asked. 'I believe, his name was Vox Akuma. He is the one who disfigured me' the man answered. Shoto and Luca knew what was about to come. They mentally started preparing to fight. 'You must have done something that justified his actions' Shoto carefully voiced. 'I wouldn't say, killing some of his people justifies his actions' the man smirked. 'You are right. A scar isn't enough punishment. I'm surprised, he didn't kill you' Shoto smirked back. In an instant, the smirk got wiped off the man's face. 'Boy. I'm giving you a chance. Either you bring me Vox or I'll kill every single person in this castle. Including you' he threatened. 'I want to see you try, scarface' Shoto taunted. The man got even angrier. 'I gave you a chance, but now I won't show you any mercy' he shouted. That was the sign that the battle had started. 'Luca run!' Shoto shouted before becoming insivible. Luca did as he was told and ran as fast as he could. They had to somehow hold out until the others arrived. Shoto knew he had to do something about the mages, since Luca and him were at a disadvantage. He rushed towards the first mage he could reach, deactivated his artifact for a moment, and cut the mage's throat in a matter of seconds. He instantly vanished again. The enemies had scattered, so it got even harder to get to every single one of them. He ran towards his second target and the moment he became visible again, he got struck by a magic attack on his left arm. 'Urg' he held his arm in pain after quickly cutting the second mages throat. He knew, his body couldn't hold on much longer. He was at his limit and it was also visible to the enemy as he was panting heavily. 'How come you are this weak? Could it be, you were the one who destroyed all my hard work?' the scarface sneered. 'Your work? Were... you the one that caused the miasma in the forest?' Shoto asked wheezing. The other clapped his hands 'Wow. So, I was right. Yes. I was hoping to distract you and it seems like my plan was successful. You look like you would collapse any minute now. Surely, you weren't the only one that erased my beautifully carved magic circles, right?' the scarface questioned. 'Who knows' Shoto shrugged. 'Well, it doesn't matter. I applaud you for holding out this long and even killing two of my people. I guess, even a weak person can achieve something with an artifact. But it seems like this is the end' the man smirked. 'You wish' Shoto spat. In that moment, another mage suddenly dropped to the ground. There was an arrow stuck in his head. 'Luca!' Shoto smiled. Luca was back with his crossbow and managed to kill the mage from about a hundred meters away. 'I would have been faster if not for the snow. I nearly slipped' Luca complained while gesticulating. Shoto lauged. How did Luca always manage to make him smile in the weirdest situations? But, it was no time to relax. Shoto's attention quickly went back to the man in front of him. 'You seem to be rather carefree when you are about to die' his opponent raised an eyebrow. Then he started to run in Shoto's direction. Shoto dodged just in time and used his earring to get some distance between them. He had to get as far away from his opponent's comrades as he could, since he knew he had to give his full attention to this one on one battle. 'You know I can see your footprints in the snow, right? Well, let's see how long you can run in your condition' the man sneered. He was right. Shoto's body was heavy, he was completely out of breath, and his left arm was still in pain from the magic attack. At least, he could still use his dagger or else he was just like prey running for it's life. Who am I kidding? I really am just his prey. I can't win against him. Not like this... Shoto thought devastated. 'That's enough running around' the man mocked before he slashed towards Shoto with his sword. Shoto parried him just in time, but staggered backwards. He felt a slight headache as he was forced out of his invisibility. But he had no time to catch his breath. His opponent swung his sword again and managed to injure Shoto's right leg. It wasn't a deep wound, but it was enough to restrict his movement. He had no other choice, but to strike back. So he aimed for his opponent's vital spots, but missed each of them. He only managed to give him a few scratches. 'Cute. But I'm getting bored' the man snickered. Suddenly, Shoto felt a piercing pain in his abdomen. He gasped for air and heard someone calling out to him, but couldn't focus on his voice.

'Shoto!!'