Arc 5: The Heart Within
Road to a Hero:
Three chances in another world
Chapter 24. What it means to stand above all.
Ryo, still running from Musashi, is struggling to keep a reasonable distance away. He turns his head, staring at Musashi’s dead eyes.
Ryo: “ALL-CENIC!”
A massive wave of this black smoke covers the entire area, so with Ryo’s enhanced senses, he finally has the advantage against Musashi. Ryo, mid-air, charges up a large current of mana onto his katana. He puts his all into the attack, launching it directly at Musashi. The large spiritual slash carves through the air, forcing the black smoke away. It barrels towards Musashi so Musashi responds by putting his guard up as fast as he can, blocking with his blade. The attack forces Musashi into the ground, letting Ryo get even further away. Musashi gets up, shakes his body, and speeds toward Ryo, destroying the ground beneath him. Musashi swings at the air multiple times, using such strength that the air force created by his swings is enough to blast through the air. Ryo barely moves out of the way of them, using his mana blade to grab onto window seals and ledges, swinging himself to safety.
The swings that missed destroyed various buildings, and even hit soldiers fighting, demolishing them, and turning them to bits. Musashi uses his eternal mana to leap at Ryo, getting close enough to use another air slice, which he promptly uses. Ryo turns around just in time to block it but is forced into a back alley. Ryo crashes into the ground, destroying all the cobblestones and creating a small crater. Ryo quickly gets up, feeling back into a corner. Then, he’s backed into a corner when Musashi lands in front of him, blocking the exit to the alley.
Ryo: “Your OD is chained, locked down. Which means your soul is locked, your memories. You are MUSASHI!”
Ryo screams from within his heart, trying to break through to Musashi. But trying to remind somebody of who they are is useless when they aren't themselves. Especially when Musashi is currently more of a robotic zombie than anything. Musashi’s straw hat blows away in the wind, falling into the street, and then getting trampled by the crowds of people. Ryo gets a better look at Musashi's hair, finding black strands within it. His eyes are also further revealed as well, all black except for the white pupils, similar to Gray’s eyes when using the spiritual state. Ryo uses his mana sword to form a blade, much similar to his other katana. Wielding them like a duel swordsman. They go to clash swords in a way filled with the pride of a swordsmen. Telling that even when his mind isn’t even present, he will still fight with honor. Musashi’s strike destroys Ryos, pushing both of his swords down.
Then in that split second Musashi goes in for a strike. Ryo Hollis is about to let himself die in a random alley, unable to will himself to defeat his entranced friend. Ryo Hollis holds his values with high regard. He won't hurt a friend, he won't fight unless he has to and he'll avoid using offensive spells or killing anyone unless it's extremely necessary. So he'd rather die than kill others, especially Musashi.
Ryo {I'm sorry Musashi, I can't force myself to free you...and I'm sorry for letting your reputation fall because of my inability to harm you.}
But in a flash, right before the sword connects, the Dragon of Athens, the unstoppable force enters the battle, Lincoln Valentine. He catches Musashi’s sword with both of his hands, saving Ryo from a useless death. Lincoln looks at Musashi in his black dead eyes, finally fully understanding the loss of one of the only people he could call a friend. Musashi pulls his sword away, but he is kicked by Lincoln, getting launched into the side of a building across the street.
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Lincoln: “I assume he’s gone?”
Lincoln turns to Ryo, letting him regain his composure.
Ryo: “His soul has been taken over, disconnected. And one's self is its soul, its memory. His OD is chained up, locked away for the Sect to control.”
Lincoln turns his head back to the building where Musashi had been hit, seeing him lurking in the shadows.
Lincoln: “Can you free him?”
Ryo: “I…think so. But I need time, and even if I free him forcefully he may not live after. What they seemed to do to him has ruined his OD, and without the chains, his soul will fall, gone forever.”
Lincoln sighs, touching the piece of cloth covering the left side of his face, a piece of cloth that seemingly has the Red Arrows flag on it.
Lincoln: “I’ll stop him, I’m the only one strong enough to stand up to a man who was unrivaled by all in terms of skill. Named after a fantasy figure known for his sword skill, funny how that works out. A man honored by the heavens to such a degree that his daughter was a god. I may just be a man, but I will be the one to do it. I've trained with him, and he seems weaker than before, so I'll only hold him off until you're done."
Ryo: “Even if we somehow fall, if I’m unable to put a stop to this, I want you to know I feel honored to go down in history with you.”
Lincoln: "Don't worry, losing isn't something I do. I'll make sure this ghoul controlling his body is destroyed long before you or I die.
Lincoln takes a swig of his booze, spitting on the ground.
Lincoln: “Alright, let's go."
Musashi jumps through the rubble, so Lincoln jumps as well. The clash mid-air, Lincoln punching Musashi's blade, and thinking of his intense training all his life, his skin has gotten so stiff it wasn’t even cut by Musashi’s blade. The attack creates a shockwave that destroys all the windows in the area, as well as causing broken buildings to collapse. They land and continue to trade blows, Dodging, and attacking, with no thought at all, just pure instinct. Each punch Lincoln throws carries so much power it forces the wind to follow his fist, then uses the Dragons fist technique to heighten his attack to the limit, hitting Musashi so hard it launches him into the air.
Lincoln {I felt ribs crack, but not break…how tuff is this guy? Whatever, he might be the most skilled of us all. But I still hit harder.}
Lincoln leaps into the air, so they both fight and are airborne. Musashi throws slashes of wind, while Lincoln throws punches. With Lincoln's intense strength, he can essentially jump in the air, while Musashi can do the same thing, just at a lesser scale. Musashi takes a deep breath, launching himself towards Lincoln. Lincoln guards, being forced to the ground, creating another crater. Lincoln kicks Musashi off of him, then gets a quick look at his armor. Lincoln is wearing armor similar to the Athens soldiers. A chest guard, forearm guard, and leg armor. Dense and heavy armor was made so he could guard when needed and have a full range of movement. While Musashi wears much lighter armor, allowing him greater combat speed. While all the fighting is going on Ryo does what he’s best at, the spirit arts. He goes into his astral form and then flies straight towards Musashi. But due to Musashi’s toned fighting capabilities, he’s able to sense Ryo, trying to move out of the way. Lincoln tries to help, slamming his arm onto the ground, creating a shock wave that destroys the road and makes Musashi move out of the way.
Musashi flips in such a way that he dodges both of them, then returns the favor with a thick layer of mist and a large air-cutting slash. Ryo contacts the spirits, causing the mist to dissipate, and gives him another opening, one he takes advantage of. Ryo flies into Musashi, getting sucked into his OD, leaving Lincoln to fight Musashi and protect Ryo’s unconscious body. The cloth on Lincoln's face falls off, having been lightly cut by one of Musashi’s various sword swings and revealing the left side of his face. It’s aged, covered in burns and wrinkles. His mouth is hanging open, and his eye is stitched shut.
With no current knowledge of what happened, all that can be assumed is that something terrible happened, because what can hurt a god of war, other than another god of war? Lincoln touches his face, getting a large grin on his face, his hawk eyes narrow, and his muscles tighten. Musashi wipes the dirt off his sword, then creates another blanket of mist, turning the area grayish.
End of Chapter twenty-four