WebNovelVoltiana24.24%

Chapter Twenty-Four: Fateful Day

Many years ago...

"Mom! Can I go out into the forest to play?"

A young Alarax, standing at a miniature size, tugged on the dress of Queen Odina, a taller dwarf of elegant appearance. Sitting on the throne, flanked by guards, she reached down to pat her son's head.

"Now, now, my child. You know heading in there is dangerous. Those...people...enter it often. How about you go play in the town or one nearby?"

"Aww, Mom! What's so bad about them anyway? You always say they are cruel and heartless, but why?"

She dismissed her guards, standing up.

"Come with me, son."

She took him out of the castle, taking him to the edge of town, right near the forest. As they got closer, he saw an open space in between the trees. Odina pointed at it.

"Do you see that, Alarax?"

When he took a closer look, he saw the graves of hundreds of dwarves all scattered about. Horrified, he watched as his mother gave him a sad look.

"This...is all from just one attack on us. There's many more of them all around the forest."

Despite this, she had a hopeful glint in her eyes. "But I think one day, we can achieve peace. One day, we may be able to co-exist peacefully."

"Are you sure, Mother?"

"I can only hope. Let's go home. Your father and sister should be arriving home soon."

Later on, the dwarves residing in the town lined up and cheered as a wagon carrying King Nerat and Princess Throme drove past them. The King waved to his fellow dwarves as he crossed by, and Throme clung to his side.

The wagon pulled right up to the castle, and its occupants got out.

"Hello, Dear!"

Odina hugged Nerat, who gave her one back in return. "Haha, your grip is as tight as ever."

He then turned his attention to his son. "And you, got in any trouble lately?"

Throme scoffed. "Of course he has."

"No, I haven't! I've been good, just like Mom told me to!"

Odina smiled. "Yes, he has." Then, with a more serious expression, she whispered something into her husband's ear. The mood immediately shifted.

"Kids, we've got to handle some business. We'll be in the castle if you need us." Nerat gave them both some strong hugs and he and Odina went into the castle. One of the guards, wielding a stone sword, walked over to the children.

"Hello! I must watch over you two!"

"Ironbeard! Did Mother send you?" As he nodded in response, Alarax scratched his head. "Ugh, I guess she really doesn't want us going into the forest."

Throme gasped. "The forest? But those mean tyrants always appear in there! Why would you wanna go in there?"

"Because it seems fun, but now I don't know..."

Ironbeard put a hand on his shoulder. "It's very dangerous...but there's a nice pond nearby I can take you kids to! Want to go swimming?"

"Yeah!" Alarax pumped his fist in the air, and Throme thought for a moment before sighing.

"Sure, I'll go!"

Ironbeard, flanked by two guards, took the two to the Quiet Pond, which glittered with a soft teal color and emitted a warm aura.

"Woah...amazing!" Alarax immediately prepared to hop in, but Ironbeard stopped him. "Wait, don't go swimming in those clothes! Take some off!"

After changing into only some ripped shorts, Alarax got in. Throme also changed and dipped her feet in the water, feeling its warmth. While they splashed around, laughing, Ironbeard began to close his eyes, resting on a nearby tree.

Minutes in the pond turned into hours, and before long, night began to fall. Ironbeard had gotten up from his short nap.

"I think it's time to go now before any wild animals show up."

Alarax groaned. "Aww, do we have to? Throme, don't you want to stay?"

No response. "T...Throme?"

She was looking at something, stone-faced. When Alarax saw what she had been staring at, his heart nearly stopped.

"N...no!"

Coming from their kingdom, there was a smell of ash, fire, and a MASSIVE amount of smoke came from the area. Sounds of screams could be heard.

Alarax immediately ran in that direction, a worried look on his face.

"B...brother? Brother!"

"Prince, wait!"

Not too long after, he found his home, burning and in ruins. Humanoid creatures with glowing white skin, various colors of hair, and weapons that Alarax had never seen before were attacking the town.

Dwarves everywhere were running as they were gunned down. And the castle had smoke coming from it as well...

"Mom! Dad!"

He took off toward the castle.

Present Day...

As the fans zoned in on him once again, this time, Alarax was ready.

"TAKE THIS, you BASTARD!"

He swatted the fans away and tried to hit Naito in the same swing, but she effortlessly backflipped over the attack.

Not missing a beat, he attempted to crush her using his hammer, but she got out of the way. Holding up two fingers again, she swiped her arm and her fans returned to her hands in nearly an instant.

"Look at you! Using magic JUST FOR EVIL!"

As Dachii and Tomoko watched, Alarax's aura seemed to grow even more uncontrollable and feral. His armor grew thicker, his hammer grew bigger, and every step he took had a newfound purpose in it.

"You'll all PAY!"

His movements were now faster, coming at Naito like a bullet. She managed to avoid most of the attacks, but the last one nearly grazed her. Alarax stomped the ground, and just like snakes, a bunch of wood branches came out of the ground, lunging at Naito, who used her fans to slice them all to pieces.

But before she could even process anything else, Alarax kicked her back almost ten feet. She gracefully did a handspring and recovered, taking a second to catch her breath.

"His attacks carry a lot of aggression," she thought. "I guess I'd better keep my distance."

Right after, she had to leap to the side after Alarax threw his hammer at her. He jumped right over to it and picked it up.

"Run, run, run. That's all you cowards do!"

He stomped his foot into the ground again, saying the words: "AH-MAH-KANAWA."

Right on cue, a giant, sentient wooden golem formed from the wood that arose from the ground. It had its own hammer, and it lifted it to try and crush Naito.

"See how you like THIS! You're not the only one who can use magic! She will give us LIFE!"

Naito noticed the necklace he wore, and she thought: "Okay. Guess I grab that."

Tomoko watched the battle with an unhinged hunger. "Hahaha! Should we help her?!"

Dachii looked from Alarax to the golem, to Naito. "Uh, I think she's got this, no problem at all."

The golem swung, and Naito jumped onto its hammer and then into the air, using her fans and spinning like a tornado to deliver a deep cut into its head. Landing on top of a building, she tossed her fans back into the air and had them hover in preparation to attack.

Alarax pointed the golem to her. "Crush her! I'll deal with the human runts!"

While the golem kept Naito busy, Alarax jumped right in front of Dachii and Tomoko. Dachii had to pull Tomoko out of the way before Alarax could grab them.

"You two, you're COMING WITH ME!"

"I'm good, thanks!"

Alarax attempted to pummel the two into the ground, and Dachii had to yank a giggling Tomoko out of the way. Alarax swung the hammer, and Dachii glowed gray just before it hit, making the hammer bounce off with a BOOM.

"Ugh, yep...time to take a break."

And then Alarax swung the hammer again, batting Dachii away. Tomoko stared up at Alarax as he walked toward him, and then...

"Ultimate Move: Drag and TAKEDOWN!"

He tried to grab Alarax's leg and pull him down, but Alarax simply watched as he struggled to do it.

"Wow. You ARE human."

"Yes! And I will WIN!"

He tugged some more, and Alarax just kicked him off. As he tried to pick up Tomoko, a blur knocked his hammer out of his hands.

WHOOSH.

"Not again!"

Naito was next to Tomoko, handing him a gun. "Here. This is yours."

"Haha! You got it! How?!"

"You left it."

Tomoko immediately aimed the gun at Alarax and began to spam the trigger, shooting loads of plasma rounds at the dwarf. He had to put up his hammer to deflect them, and Naito moved so fast that she appeared behind him again.

She almost slashed him, but he slammed his hammer down, knocking both her and Tomoko back. Yet again, she landed on her feet.

Dachii stood up, his head a bit dizzy. All he heard again was another voice. "There. Right...there...monster..."

Before he could respond, Alarax had him in his grip. "I want answers, now! Who planned this?"

"I...don't...know...?"

"Don't LIE to me, KID!"

But before he could do anything further, Naito grabbed Dachii out of his hands. While Dachii felt warm and relaxed in her grasp, his body began to glow gray against his will.

"What the...?"

Naito gently sat Dachii down, fans snapped open. Alarax looked over at his wooden golem, which she had slashed to pieces.

"Hmph. So you're one of THEM. A General."

Naito's response was almost lazy, almost as if she didn't even want to be there. "Yes."

Alarax had a more serious, cold-blooded look in his eye. "I see."

He held out his hand, and a wooden horn appeared in his arms. After taking a deep breath, he blew into it, but not before saying the words:

"AH-MAH-KANAWA."

Naito's attention shifted as HUNDREDS of wooden golems formed from out of the ground, wielding massive weapons. Dachii stared in pure shock, even as he tried to get his body under control.

Before anything else could happen, they attacked the trio. Naito momentarily took a moment to think, as over a dozen golems prepared to shoot arrows at her. Then she began to glow bright white.

"Okay."

Dachii tapped Tomoko, who was now next to him. "Uh, what's she doing?"

"She's using a special move! Ha!"

As arrows sailed toward her head, she held up two fingers again, but her eyes were now glowing. Every arrow stopped in mid-air, hovering with a soft white glow.

"Now. Total Redirection."

She swiped her hand, and the arrows fired back at their opponents, sailing through each of the golems' heads. They dropped to the floor with a CLANK.

"No way! That magic!"

As more golems tried to attack, she sent the arrows through their heads as well. They seemed to have more speed and power than they did before.

Dachii watched on, speechless. "That's...amazing..."

As Naito took down more golems, Alarax began to grow more and more enraged. "No! NO! Not again! NOT AGAIN!"

Many years ago...

The young Alarax had rushed into the castle, frantically calling for his parents.

"Mom! Dad!"

When he got into the throne room, he saw them both fighting those glowing white creatures, who shot at them with powerful plasma guns. Nerat noticed him.

"Alarax! Son, you shouldn't be here!"

Odina also saw him. "Alarax, go! Run, my child! Run!"

But as a Voltian tried to shoot at him, Odina threw her axe at him, forcing him to dodge and get out of the way. She immediately grabbed it and then ran to scoop up her son.

Nerat called to her. "Odina! Take Alarax and run! I'll find Throme and get her to safety!"

"Got it!"

One of the Voltians tried to shoot them. "Hey! Don't let the Queen escape!"

But she was already gone. She had to run through the carnage of her kingdom, heading for the forest. Alarax watched as the home he knew was attacked, houses burned down, and his people slaughtered.

"Mom...what's going on?"

"It's...it'll be okay!" She tried to keep a smile on her face, but even Alarax could see she was worried. As they headed into the forest, they ran until they stopped by a statue. A statue of a WOMAN, cradling a bird.

Odina began to kneel to the statue. "Mistress, please help us during these times, please save my people..."

"Hey there! Can't believe I found the Queen! And who is this?"

Odina instantly drew her axe. "Alarax, go! Run!"

Alarax got a few feet away, hiding behind a tree, but when he looked to see who had confronted his mother, he saw a man WITH ICY HAIR AND EYES, wielding a katana made of ice.

Odina recognized him immediately. "Kenshi."

Kenshi Fujii immediately slashed at her, making her jump back. "Well, well, Odina. Told you guys you should have accepted the offer! We're trying to be fair!"

"Fair?! Living as your slaves is fair?"

"I mean, I wouldn't call it ENSLAVEMENT but—-"

Odina tried to strike him again, but he moved so fast she couldn't keep up. When he began attacking, it took all she could just to barely stave off his attacks.

"I will never have my people serve you! All I ask is peace! Leave us be!"

"Welp, that can't happen."

Odina had a solemn look on her face. "Then so be it."

"Yep. Either the King's way or no way!"

As his attacks got faster, Odina started to get overwhelmed by his attacks. Each tiny slice she received began to freeze her skin. Despite it, she kept attacking, not backing down.

"Anyway, I still need to find Nerat! So...sorry about this, Odina!"

Alarax jumped from out of the trees. "No, Mom!"

Odina immediately lost focus. "Son! What are you doing here? I told you to run!"

"No, I can't!"

This confused Fujii for a moment. "Son?"

Odina struck him back, and he steadied himself again. "Anyway, goodbye!"

With one powerful strike, he sliced her chest, a deep wound. Then he disappeared in a blur. Alarax immediately rushed to her, as she fell to the ground.

"Mom! MOM!"

She weakly reached to touch his face. "My child...you must run...don't let them get you."

As she coughed up blood, it began to turn to ice. "Please, resolve this conflict, in a way I never could. Watch over...your family...son...I...love...you..."

"Mother, wait! I can help you! I can save you! The magic! The gift! Wait! MOM!"

But she closed her eyes, and they never opened again. As Alarax knelt there in shock, he watched more of his people be slaughtered.

"Die. They'll ALL die!"

All around him, the sounds of death were heard. But when he looked at the statue, something was different.

There was a GLOWING BROWN NECKLACE hanging around her neck.

—-