Volume 2 Chapter 1

“Diran, snap out of it!” I screamed. We all had a role to play, there was no room to mess around in our current predicament.

The city was being attacked, and we were too late. We didn’t make it in time to stop the carnage from happening, but we could prevent it from worsening.

At this time of crisis, when it is imperative to hold strong, to not let your emotions get a hold of you, Diran was falling apart. I never thought I’d say this, but it was too much for him to handle. The blood, the destruction, losing that many innocent lives would take a toll on anyone. It was taking all I had to keep my cool. We needed to defeat the man who caused this destruction and prevent any more unnecessary bloodshed.

The man responsible was in my sights, I could handle him. But there were still survivors, civilians that had either been trapped or injured. We needed to save them first and foremost, and that’s what Diran was supposed to do. Our other two team members were helping, but they couldn’t do much, they couldn’t save them quick enough. The civilians would get caught in the crossfire of my fight.

“Shai! Useless! Do something! I can’t fight if I'm worrying about the injured! We need Diran!” I unsheathed my sword and faced the enemy. The sight of him was sickening.

He stood at the epicenter of the carnage. He was responsible for this death and destruction. Worst of all, he was emotionless. He wasn’t the kind of villain who’d smile and laugh at the sight of his handiwork. He wasn’t a normal person who’d be horrified at the destruction surrounding him. He was cold and emotionless. This destruction, this death, it induced no reaction whatsoever.

“Are you the so called strongest? The one known as ‘Diran’?” The foe met my gaze.

“Diran? No, he’s far too kind. You deserve a worse punishment then he could ever dish out.” I unsheathed my sword. Just talking to the guy was making me lose my cool. My hair stood on end and my hands began to shake with rage.

“Fine, I could use a warmup.” The man unsheathed a sword of his own. He held it almost tiredly, as if it was a chore to even hold.

“I won’t give you the chance!” I shot at him like a missile, my speed was unmatched.

My blade struck against his, the force of my blow pushed him back. I would have to end this quickly and concisely. With Diran still out of the equation, we couldn’t afford a long-drawn-out battle. I would end this battle in under a minute.

Electric sparks covered the battlefield each time our blades connected. I launched a flurry of attacks with no time between them. I was attacking with a ferocity I had never had before. There was no room to joke around, no way to make light of any of this. This was a tragedy that had to be stopped.

The man jumped back 100 meters in an instant, retreating from the fight for a moment to regain composure. My swift attacks with no break between blows had slowly whittled down his defense. As he’d strained to block each blow his fatigue and shortcomings had become evident. He was trying to create just one chance to turn the tables and go on the offensive, but I wouldn’t give him the chance.

“Banished Blades Version One!” I activated my first ability. If he couldn’t keep up with my normal speed, then my lightning enhanced speed will spell his end.

I launched across the battle with a thunderous boom. The gap he had created was closed before he could have a chance to make use of it. My blade connected with his, but this time the force was enough to throw him through one of the buildings.

A smirk began to crawl across my face. I didn’t want to show it, but I was beginning to feel happy. This opponent wasn’t too strong, it would be a stretch to even call him a threat. I barely had to use my powers to put him on the ropes. I was going to beat him, save the day, and be the hero.

Ever since my injury...no, even before that, I’ve been only a sidekick. But I was finally back in my groove, finally fulfilling my potential. It hadn’t even been a year since my injury, but those mere months of being a pitiful side character were enough for me. I hated to be feeling joyous in a time like this, but I felt good nonetheless.

I looked back and spotted Diran. He was still on his knees, in shock at the horrid scene. Useless was by his side comforting him, if you could call it that. She was a very blunt person who I wouldn’t peg to be good at those types of social interactions.

My other teammate, Shai, was standing behind him, doing nothing. She’s not a bad person, she just panics and gets overwhelmed relatively easily. I highly doubt they’ll be able to help Diran before this is over. Seems like that role will fall on my shoulders as well.

It’s ironic, we wouldn’t have even needed them if we had proper teammates. If we had a healer, we wouldn’t need Useless or Shai. The reason they were brought on was because of my injury. A healer could have fixed me up good as new, but without one present, my body had to undergo the natural healing process. Once a body starts healing on its own, it's too dangerous for a healer to try and work their magic. I had to spend months recovering from something that should have taken a healer five minutes to do.

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It took a while to swallow my pride and accept the need for teammates. Diran and I did just fine with just the two of us. Shai and Useless don’t even bring anything to the table, neither of them are healers. We are in the same spot we were with just Diran and I, except with more dead weight. But if I can do this, if I can show I’ve recovered. Then maybe things could go back to how they used to be.

“Y-You! Who are you! My opponent was supposed to be Diran!” The man began to struggle his way out of the rubble. Seems blasting him into a building did a good amount of damage.

“I already told you...Diran, the people’s “Hero of Justice!” Wouldn’t give you the punishment you deserve...... But I will.” I reactivated my ability. Lightning coursed through my veins. My eyes and sword glowed. Sparks shot off me and into the ground, and the static caused all the hairs in my body to stand on end.

“My sword, will be the last sight you ever see.” I launched at him once again.

He raised his sword, ready to block my incoming attack. As our swords connected, I parried him. Knocking his sword to the side, leaving his chest wide open.

For the first time in the fight, he began to show emotion. The icy, emotionless stare that his eyes once possessed, melted away to reveal one thing: Fear.

As the sword in my left hand pushed his sword away, my right hand unsheathed my concealed second sword. The split second between revealing this sword and landing the finishing blow felt like an eternity to me. The split second, this one move, was all that stood between me and changing the fate I’ve had to live with. Inversely, that eternity all within a second was too fast for him to even comprehend, until my sword had already pierced his heart.

“To the innocent, I may be a hero. But to the wicked, to you warriors of evil, I am a revenger, a harbinger of righteous judgement! To you wielders of death, I am your punishment!” I stifled my smile as I gave my speech. Any cool protagonist always delivers a few badass lines when they save the day.

I had done it all on my own. It had been way too long since the last time I could say that. Best of all, I had done it quickly and efficiently enough to prevent any more civilian casualties. Now I just have to comfort Diran, do some search & rescue, and we’ll finish this day on a high note.

“What have you done!? I.....I won’t be able to control it anymore!” A scream of panic emitted from the man on the end of my kebab.

“What? How are you still alive?” I pulled my sword from his heart and stepped back.

“It's....It’s...It’s coming!!!” He squealed as black smoke bellowed out of the gaping hole in his chest.

“Shit!” I leapt back unsure of what was to come. I didn’t know what was happening, but it couldn’t be good.

The man who by all accounts should be dead, began to grow....to convulse. His body almost opened like a cocoon, as a black, smoky mass began to violently escape from it.

The ground began to shake as the smoke grew and grew. When that smoke cleared, whatever it reveals is going to be huge. A large, titanic thing. All somehow housed within my previous foe.

My assumption proved to be right, as when the smoke cleared, a Kaiju let out its roar. It was a giant, green monster. A lizard, alien like, demonic.... thing. As its tail knocked over a building behind it, one thing became clear. My fight was just a warmup.

“A giant monster...... A giant...Monster.” I couldn’t really wrap my head around how something of that size was just, inside that regular sized guy. But I couldn’t deny what I was seeing.

Once more a smirk found itself upon my face. A big, sly, almost fiendish smile. Enemies like this, giant inarticulate monsters, are my specialty. A guy with super speed who can fly around with swords is a hard counter to giant monsters; Just look at Levi Ackermann. Now, not only am I going to save this city from a terrorist, but a Kaiju as well? What a comeback game this is proving to be!

“Let's get started!” I twirled both swords in my hand as I prepared to launch my attack, but before I could do so...

“I won’t let you trample on anymore lives!” Diran joined the fray.

The ground shacked from the force of Diran’s righteous power. A heat began to emanate, not from the flames around the city, but from the sheer unmatched volume and magnitude of Diran’s energy.

“Alright! We’ll take it on together!” It was just like old times again. Diran and I against whatever the world could throw at us. While it would be cool to save the day single handedly, nothing is cooler than a team combo attack.

“I’ll...Destroy you.... You won’t get away with this!” Diran’s words shook the earth once more.

Steam began to pour off his skin from the sheer energy he was exuding. A red glow began to form around him. Was it a mirage? Or a literal manifestation of his overflowing boundless power?

“Woah, calm down...We need to keep our wits about us.” I’d never seen Diran get this angry. I stepped towards him to try and calm him down. You can’t lose your head in a fight or you’ll, well, lose your head.

“Stay back! I....Don’t know how well I’ll be able to contain it!” The red energy encircling his body began to warp, to flow like water fitting the shape of a glass, it was molding into shape.

“Wait, but I-” No....I was finally getting my chance. I was finally changing things.

“Get away before you make things worse than they already are!” Useless interrupted me, as she and Shai hid behind cover.

No! I am not like them! They hadn’t done anything yet! They hadn’t even tried to rescue any survivors. I was not going to be like them. Watching from the sidelines, never intervening, never making a difference. I would never sink that low.

“We need to search for survivors before they get caught up in this! My fight was at least containable, but this....” I looked over at Diran and saw something I have never seen in all the years I've fought alongside Diran.

His energy had formed into a giant...person, with Diran as the heart. It was like a mech but made of pure energy. I had never seen Diran use this ability before, but from the pressure alone, I could tell it was unmatched. A power unlike anything I’d seen. A strength that could level any city, flatten any foe. Diran was capable of destroying anything in his path. And yet, he’d never used this power before. Even in fights where I was exuding every ounce of my strength, he hadn’t even seen the need to go all out. Was this even his full strength?

“Really? He has Susanoo? He has Susanoo!? This can’t be real.... I....No.... Why....but.... no.....” I see now. I can’t change it. I can’t change anything.

He is the protagonist, no one can match up to him. No one else can come close. Nobody else can be the best. Nobody else can make a difference. He alone is power. He alone will get the glory. He alone will fulfill his dreams.

And I, am just a side character.