Arc 5: The Heart Within
Road to a Hero:
Three chances in another world
Chapter 20. Misty ground
Ryo’s eyes flash white, then his amber iris becomes brighter, entering a mastered spiritual state. Amidst the thick cold mist, stands a god of war filled with terror. Fear, worry, and constant denying of the fact within his head. Ryo quickly turns around, blocking a quick sword strike. The power of both swords connecting blows the mist away. As the stone ground cracks between the two masterful fighters Ryo is forced to face the truth, the identity of the opponent.
Ryo: “Musashi…”
Musashi wore a tattered black cloak, straw hat, armor, blade, and his mengu. The two katanas clash over and over in quick flashes. The loud booming noise of the rapidly connecting blades echoes through the streets while the sparks flying illuminates them. Ryo, in his spiritual state, can see Musashi's OD. An OD wrapped in messy purple chains. This tells Ryo that Muashis body is being controlled, an obvious claim, but a truth that had to be confirmed. But his body is still in a somewhat decayed state and his OD is weaker than usual, so the strength of his zombified friend has fallen dramatically from when he was once alive. If he was at full strength Ryo may have died in an instant as he always holds himself back on purpose. But even if Ryo could defeat this version of his dead companion, he can't will himself to, he can't even push himself to use anything that isn't a defensive spell. Musashi swings down his blade as hard as he can, so with Ryo's lesser strength. Blocking Musashi's immensely powerful sword strike. A terrible amount of stress is put on Ryo’s body, barely being able to push Musashi back.
Ryo {I have no idea how to free him...if I even can. …I apologize to all the people that have faith in me. I am a failure as a warrior as I can't force myself to kill him, I won't defeat my friend…but I won’t lose this quickly.}
Ryo takes out his second katana; strangely enough, it’s only a hilt. Then pure purple spirit mana flows around the hilt, creating a blade made solely of mana.
Ryo {I don’t know why, but Musashi had never achieved the necessary means to be granted a weapon of Alfheim…so I have the advantage of using this otherworldly weapon.}
Ryo: “MUSASHI! MASTER SWORDSMAN! IT IS ME, RYO HOLLIS! YOUR FRIEND!”
Ryo yells at Musashi, trying to get through to him, but it doesn't seem to work. Musashi only responds with thoughtless grunts, causing Ryo to sign. Musashi rapidly shakes his head, shaking off whatever thought appeared in his mindless head. Ryo swings his mana blade down, throwing a massive slash of spirit mana at Musashi, which he dodges. The attack damages the house behind the two, causing Ryo to feel awful. Musashi returns with a flash, appearing around Ryo on all sides. Ryo's movement speed is great, but Musashi's is much greater, as he's barely visible. The only reason Ryo is even able to block the attacks is due to his spiritual state, granting him just enough of an advantage to survive. The ground beneath the two continues to break even further, the wind coming off of them breaks windows and blows all the dirt off the street. Civilians running to the safe zones either avoid the battle or watch in awe. Some comment on the battle, saying things like “I thought he was dead”, “I’ve never seen anything this cool before” and “To think people can get this strong, it’s terrifying.”
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Ryo surges spirit mana, seemingly interfering with the thoughts of the crowds, making them want to run away, making it so he doesn't have to worry about hurting or protecting civilians. Musashi sends himself spinning sideways through the air, right about to slash Ryo right down the middle.
Ryo: “EL-WALNIC!”
A large thick wall of transparent mana forms right above Ryo, saving him from the attack. Though, due to Musashi’s still indescribable strength, the shield shatters. Drops of sweat start falling off Ryo’s face, the feeling of death sneaking up on him. Ryo tucks and rolls out of the way, then is pushed back by the force of Musashi's attack. While he’s being thrown back Ryo tosses multiple slashes of spiritual energy. Musashi swiftly dodges each of the attacks, like he was coded to, losing that human feeling. Ryo thinks about trying to free him from the chains attached to his soul, but being in the astral state leaves one's body immobile. Ryo uses his mana blade, swinging like a whip. Musashi catches it, so Ryo creates a spike on the whip, about to pierce Muashis hand. Right before they can pierce his hand Musashi lets go so it only breaks the top layer of skin.
Ryo { I might be able to incapacitate him. But even if Musashi isn't as strong as he usually is this won't be easy. In terms of strength, he was third in the world, behind Kioshi and Lincoln of course. So now he might be on my level. But I have my spells to give distance.}
Ryo uses the momentum, swinging the whip back, and transforming it back into a blade. Musashi ducks, swings his sword up, and cuts through the mana blade, causing it to shatter. Ryo understands that if he doesn't do something soon, or lets himself die they'll lose hold on the east side. So he plans on getting help from Lincoln, the only other person in the entire capital capable of assisting him. Even if it’s not honorable, Ryo runs as fast as he can to the west side, with Musashi following close behind. He blasts over crowds of people by zooming across rooftops, breaking ceilings, leaving tracks in the ground, and doing anything he can. Curving around buildings, trying to dull Musashi's senses, he never gets any farther away than he was when they started running. The legends say that Musashi was a god, an unwavering, unbeatable, unmovable force of nature who hid in the thick fog of death. Even if the way he usually acts is different, shown by how he interacted with Gray during his time at the mansion, but still his skill remains the same, this is a man of legend.
Bodies everywhere, blood pools on the streets, men, women, children, Demi-humans, all on the ground lifeless. Bodies of Anarchists laid on piles, houses ablaze, a tragic battle in the making. Two thousand six hundred soldiers against an army of thirty to fifty thousand, and the two thousand soldiers are winning. Even if it’s by a slim margin, even if it’s by a hair, they will come out on top, because that’s just what the Leviathan army does. They do not falter, even in the loss they find solace in the fact that they did the best they could, but their failure doesn't exist, because they have never lost. And everyone in the capital has to hope this isn’t the first time.
End of Chapter Twenty