Arc 7. Death to what came before
Road to a Hero:
Three Chances in Another World
Chapter 20. A kick before the mission begins
A few hours after the rainfall stopped, just before the sun had fully risen, Gray stood atop a large branch looking down at the flooded ground.
Gray: “I shouldn’t have sent Dema home so early, the whole ground is still rushing with water. It’d be a death trap to step into that deadly stream, but I haven't run into any monsters so I guess that’s an upside. I should stop talking to myself.”
Gray, wearing his armor, has already flown his cloak out, and has his bags on his back, he is fully ready to infiltrate Ravoria, but he’s still got a bit of a journey ahead of him. He stretches his arms, looks behind him to see Ander and Ari following close behind, and leaps off. The cloak attaches to the branches, swinging off of them like a spider, flying through the tree line. He drifts above the green-ish running water, to fling himself into the air, grabbing onto another branch right after. Ander and Ari leap from tree to tree, using their claws to stab into the tough bark and leap off again, struggling to keep up with Gray’s quick speeds. He jets across the bog, passing some large centipedes spiraled around the trees, uses his flames to burn through the giant spider webs, and glides up and over the branches.
Ari: “So he’s heading to Ravoria? Is he going to scale that giant wall?”
Ander: “No. A few months back a giant beast from the bog stumbled along the wall, breaking a large crack in it. Now they dealt with it before any more damage could be done, but it allowed for a pretty big entrance.”
Ari: “Won’t it be heavily guarded?”
Ander: “Most likely, but I bet Gray Kyojin will easily get past them.”
And they would be correct because when they finally reach the border between the bog and Ravoira, they see a camp of Ravoiran soldiers right in front of the large opening. Their pure white armor, bird-like helmets, and use of spears with over-designed spearheads, all cause Gray to assume that Ravoria loves their theatrics. While perched upon a soaked branch, he looks down on the camp, trying to find an easy way around it. While it’s not very big, it has large towering guard posts, and a thick wall made from sharpened logs, and every single guard is diligent, trying their best to find anything trying to get in or out.
Gray: “Alright…deep breath…El-Detic.”
A large distortion of spirit mana coats Gray’s body, making him invisible to the naked eye, but this warping nature could catch a glance from these eagled-eyed soldiers. Even when they’re sharpening the twisting heads of their spears, washing their armor, or clearing out some wandering beasts, they’re still paying attention to everything around them. Right as he prepares to leap into the air, he’s suddenly attacked by an unknown assailant. Using two kusarigama tides around his forearms, latches onto the thick tree, kicking Gray back, and then swings around to try and grab him. Gray, surprised to see this person dressed in all black is suddenly trying to kill him, and shoots the cloak of darkness forward, shoving the attacker away. Before Gray can catch his breath, the assailant throws a shuriken at Gray, so Gray uses the cloak of darkness that’s spread across his skin to grab the shuriken.
Gray {Is this guy a ninja? What the hell’s a ninja doing out here, and why is he trying to attack me!?}
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Gray pulls the shuriken into the cloak, running it out to his hands so that when he fuels them with mana they can be launched out as his own weapon. The ninja vanishes into the tree line, but this stealthy approach doesn't work well on Gray, because with a simple burst of pure spirit mana into his body, Gray’s instantly able to detect the attacker. The ninja, knowing this, leaps downward swinging the kusarigama down at Gray.
Gray {Too easy.}
Gray, without even turning around, shoots the cloak out, grabbing onto the attacker and encasing them inside a large ball of goo. Ander and Ari, still watching from the trees, notice the guards running over to the loud noises Gray’s making, so Ander rushes down and grabs Gray, jumping back into the trees just in time.
Gray: “Hey! I almost let go of the ninja!”
Ander: “That isn’t a ninja! It’s something a little worse.”
They land on a rather large branch, giving Gray time to reel in the ball of goo and release the man from within, binding him to the tree with the cloak. With a better look mixed with pulling the cloth from the attacker's mouth, they figure out that the assailant is a man, one with a scar stretching from the right of his lips to the right of his jaw.
“You’re lucky I was off my game.”
Gray, hearing the man's prideful words, takes off his mask and gets right into his face. Gray’s dead eyes cause the man to shake, but before he can do anything more Ander pulls Gray back.
Ander: “Your name, now.”
Lee:“...Lee…but you won’t get any more out of me!”
Ander gets right into Lee’s face, snarling at him. With his hot breath, the demeanor of a wild animal, and the strength to beat him with one blow, Lee instantly breaks his cool.
Lee: “Alright! Get away!”
Lee’s screaming causes the guards below to notice, so Gray is forced to act fast. He strengthens the bindings held on Lee, while also covering his mouth, and lastly casts a spell he doesn't find to be all that useful.
Gray: “Conic.”
A wave of mana pulses out, surrounding them in a purplish dome that traps all sound inside, but it’s not invisible. Thanks to some quick thinking from Ari, he creates a large splash in the mud, attracting the small group of guards elsewhere.
Gray: “Now nobody can hear your screams. So unless you want to be sliced to bits, burned to a crisp, or become Demi-human food, I’d say you should tell me why you attacked me.”
Lee: “Your bounty idiot! A thousand gold pieces! Everybody's after it, I just got lucky enough to catch you first!”
Ander: “That’s not good. But staying in Ravoria might be the best choice of action now, it’s hard to get in there, and even harder to get out.”
Gray sits down, holding onto the small string of goo that’s the only thing holding Lee around the tree, pondering to himself. In his mind, the small amount of fear resulting from the news is snuffed out, being pulled nowhere, as if it never existed. What remains is drive, and since there’s a bounty on his head, that means whatever he’s doing is causing an effect, or what he will be doing has already spread to cause the same effect.
Gray: “Who set the bounty?”
Lee: “Some guy called the Baron! He’s becoming a pretty big name, and he’s got bounties placed at every depo! I remember seeing a bounty for you a while ago, the “Phantom Knight” but it was for so little coin nobody wanted it. But now? It’s enough to live for the rest of anybody's life!”
Gray stands up, and wraps the cloak around his body, putting all of his armor into place, freeing Lee. Lee instantly tries to attack, but Ander bashes his face in, knocking him on his back.
Gray: “You do what you want with him. I gotta go.”
Ari, climbing as fast as he can, is unable to make it to Gray before he leaves. In one jump, Gray flips onto Ander's fist, which shoots him forward at a breakneck speed. Mid-air, looking down upon the outskirts of the Ever-bog, spreads the cloak out, gliding right into Ravoria’s capital, landing on a nearby building. He finds himself in what seems to be the slums, as all of the buildings are old, soaked in rain, and crumbling to pieces. This dilapidated area shines over the Walgonian slums, as even Walgoania’s had a bit of life, but this is pure despair.
Gray: “Walgonia is a bit boring, but grand in scale. Athens was destroyed and a bit baron…but familiar. Valatrositce is Victorian, over-designed, but pretty. But this…this is different.”
Gray perches on the rooftop, takes a deep breath, and begins to focus on the spirits in all of the capital. He spreads his mind out, trying all of the spirits to his advantage, with one phrase in his mind, “The Sect of Anarchy”. While it rips at his mind, tearing it apart, and straining his consciousness, he finds something, a sharp ping in the capital. In a flash, he leaps off, gliding through the air. Wild animals look up, starving children hide away, confused adults hide their faces, and the rats scurry away because the sight of this Phantom in the sky is far too scary.
End of Chapter Twenty