----- 10 years earlier -----
----- 2 days into Ao's journey -----
Thomas: “Welcome to Nakagata, Ao”
image [https://i.ibb.co/0fmbvGH/00030.jpg]
Thomas took Ao under his wing, seeing that he was not used to the outside world, and decided to accompany him on his journey.
They end up in Nakagata, the capital of Ilenkrad, a large modern metropolis ruled by the Japanese “Naka” dynasty.
Ao and Thomas walk along and observe the alleyway lit up with different signs; Restaurants, Hotels, Hairdresser, Massage Center, Cat café, and many more
Thomas: “Here, you have nothing to fear-” Stops and observes Ao
Thomas' thoughts
Poor guy.. he's still confused about the little demon girl, completely lost in the middle of it all..
Hmm..
Thomas: Waves to Ao and smiles “Come with me, I'll buy you dinner”
Ao (Child): “Hmm.. Dinner?”
Thomas: “Ahah, I'll show you!”
Ao and Thomas enter a restaurant, and are greeted by a charming hostess who directs them to sit at a 2-chair table
Thomas: “2 miso soups, please”
The 2 miso soups are placed on the table, and Ao looks at her with starry eyes.
He then looks at Thomas, who shows him how to drink the soup, with a hollow spoon.
Ao makes the same movement.. and his face lights up with pleasure.
He's never tasted anything so delicious before!
Thomas: “We'll take 2 sushi discovery dishes, please”
2 large dishes, each containing a variety of sushi, makizushi and nigiri, are placed on the table, followed by 2 pairs of chopsticks
Thomas: “I'll show you how-”
Ao (Child): “I know how to use chopsticks, my master taught me.. it looks delicious!!!”
Ah.. He looks much more comfortable, that's good
Thomas looks with a big smile at Ao, who is enjoying every dish
Thomas: “Your master. Is he the one who dropped you off in the village where we found you?”
Ao (Child): “... Yes..” Looks down
Thomas: “Don't worry.. you don't need to tell me any more than that!”
Ao (Child): “I.. I..”
Thomas: “Hmm?”
There's a short silence, then they hear and see children playing happily with their friends in the restaurant, and the hostess comes over and laughs with them.
Ao looks at those children with admiration.. happy to see that peace exists in the world below.
He resumes the discussion with a big smile
Ao (Child): “Thanks for showing me around.. really.. I.. I think I'll stay here for a while”
Thomas: “Ahah..” Raises his glass “You'll see, Ao, we're fine here!”
This is how Ao lived in the capital of Ilenkrad for..
...
1 week
...
1 month
...
1 year... before a battle disrupts the peace of this metropolis
Thomas: “AO RUN!!”
Smoke.. everywhere, and sounds of explosions..
A large-scale terrorist attack has broken out in the Nakagara metropolis
Soldiers are preparing to strike back, and large numbers of troops are on the move throughout the city
Ao and Thomas run to take refuge in a courtyard, a little further away from the explosions
Ao (Child): “What's going on, Thomas?!”
Thomas: “They're being attacked”
Ao (Child): “By what?!”
Thomas: “I'm not sure..”
Cries of distress and hatred begin to erupt in the distance, amid the smoke and explosions of the metropolis, a horrible carnage is taking place
Suddenly, a green glow approaches Ao and Thomas at high speed, and just as it's about to land on them..
Thomas: “Ao, take cover!!!”
Ao (Child): Gets in the way of the green glow and launches his technique “Nova”
The green glow explodes, falls to the ground, and reveals a knight in great armor filled with gold, with a gaping hole left by Ao's Nova technique.
The knight dies on the ground, and Ao moves closer to his body
Ao (Child): “Why.. Why are knights attacking us?!”
Thomas: “This armor.. It's a Pendragon knight”
Ao (Child): “Pendragon?!! That's.. impossible” Shocked
Ao remembers his master's words
Ao's master: “If you see a member of Pendragon on your journey, tell them who you are, and they'll welcome you with open arms”
Ao (Child): “Pendragon are the good guys?”
Master: “Ahah! Yes, they're the good guys. I'm a Pendragon too, you know”.
Ao (Child): “Wow!! Does that mean they're heroes like you, Master?!”
Master: “Exactly!”
Ao finishes remembering his master's words
Thomas: “It's quite possible.. That's what I thought” Clenches his fist tightly
Ao (Child): “Wh.. What?!! Pendragons are supposed to be the heroes of this world, aren't they?!!”
Thomas looks at Ao, who seems shocked and delirious about what he's just done..
Suddenly, another knight in armor appears far down the alley, and approaches a young woman, lying on the ground, mourning the death of a man she's holding in her arms
Woman on ground: “Honey, wake up!!!”
Ao (Child): Looks at the woman in the distance “Hey!!! It's the hostess from the restaurant!”
Thomas: Bars Ao's way with his arm “Don't go any closer, Ao..”
The knight stops in front of the woman who is crying and begging her husband to wake up, while his condition seems to indicate that he is already dead..
Chevalier: “Don't worry, my dear lady, it'll soon be over”
Ao (Child): Turns to look at Knight in the distance and points at him
“Look! He's going to save her!”
Thomas: “No Ao.. don't look!!”
Chevalier: “Anyway, it's all over for you, dear lady”
Sheathes his sword and slices off the young woman's head violently and quickly
Ao is completely stunned, and can't believe his eyes... but as he watched the smoke behind the knight dissipate, he saw even more knights, finishing off the civilians on the ground... some praying for their lives, but in vain...
No.. No.. !!
Ao remembers the short time he spent in this town, the restaurants, the laughing childrens, the good meals, and the good times with Thomas.. all destroyed, killed, trampled.. by the war of men
He hears the knights laughing.. as they continue to advance down the alley and kill the poor wounded citizens, crawling on the ground..
This sight... was a trigger for him... an immense anger seized him... an anger such as he had never felt before..
I
A growing anger, as he walked towards the knights
AM
His face twisted with uncontrollable anger, a terrifying aura grew around him
GOING
His hair burns with a blue fire, giving way to a brilliant blue hair color
TO
Thomas: “AO GO AWA-” Interrupts, shocked, as he notices Ao's anger
KILL YOU ALL
image [https://i.ibb.co/RNbwsXx/00033.jpg]
And... Ao let out a very long scream of extreme anger, which echoed throughout the metropolis.
A sharp cry, coming from the depths of his soul, damaging even his throat and vocal cords, such was his anger.
It was in this continuous scream.. and in the screams of many others.. that happened what the Pendragons have named..
The Blue Massacre
And the birth of the urban legend of Blue Light
----- Back to present day -----
A very cloudy sun rises over the red desert of Artand, the sound of war horns has continued to resound all night until morning, presaging many deaths.
Gin couldn't help falling asleep, while Yumi stayed awake to watch over him and Kin.
As for Ao, he remained at the entrance to the cave, keeping watch throughout the night of the red cult's horror
Hmm, if the Kamelott kingdom troop moved during the night, they should arrive in 3 or 4 hours
Which leaves me only 2 hours to find it..
Yumi: “Hard night?..”
Ao: Turns around, and sees Yumi in the cave “You're not asleep?”
Yumi: “I don't trust you”
Huh.. that's got the merit of being clear
Ao: “Do you want to know what I did to your brother, Kin?”
Yumi: “I especially want to know why you chose us for your experiments!”
Ao: “My experiments, eh?..
It's weird, isn't it?
How come you were able to use a technique that 'supposedly' didn't belong to you?”
Yumi: “I hate playing guessing games and riddles!!!”
Ao: “Well, you'll have to make do with that for now.. Think about it anyway”
Yumi: “How do I know this isn't one of your traps?”
Ao: “Nothing at all, maybe it's one of my traps, who knows!”
Yumi: Leaves an exasperated moan “You're unbearable!!!”
Ao: Sneers “Go and wake Gin up, we're getting out of here!”
Yumi: “Wh.. What?! Why? Shouldn't we wait for Kamelott's reinforcements?!”
Ao: Looks at Yumi with a sadistic smile “Need I remind you who decides in the group?”
Yumi: Angered and humiliated by her last fight with him “Grr.. And Kin?!”
Ao: “I'll carry him” Heads into the cave, but is stopped by Yumi
Yumi: Gets in Ao's way “And.. what if we decide not to follow you?!”
Ao: “Hmm.. You have 2 options:
The first, you wake up Gin, I carry Kin, and we break camp for a new destination.
The second.. I put you all out, and the automatic tournament system disqualifies you all!” Looks Yumi straight in the eye
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
A short silence fills the room, as Yumi trembles in front of Ao.
But soon after this silence, she decides to let him pass, and silently accepts the first solution
----- Kamelott's troop, en route to Artand's red desert -----
A large troop of knights and their horses advance at high speed, through forests, muddy villages, swamps, rocky roads, and finally, the great forest surrounding the kingdom of Artand, and its red desert, situated a hundred kilometers from their position
This troop is led by King Arthur Pendragon himself, followed by 5 of his knights of the round table, Siegfried Pendragon the grand master of the adventurers' guilds, and William Shakespeare the master of the Shakespeare guild
Siegfried: Closes in on Arthur, gallops to his side “Arthur, I have received a telepathic message from King Geirford, ruler of the kingdom of Artand”
Arthur: “What does it say?”
Siegfried: “A message of deterrence.. They've spotted our troop, and advise us to come as friends, not as enemies”
Arthur: “Tss, are they messing with us?! They infiltrated the red cult into an official tournament, we gave them our approval and trust for this event, and they think they can get away with it without reprisals from the Pendragons?!!
Ridiculous!”
Siegfried: “I couldn't agree more, my king”
William: Closes in on Arthur, gallops to his other side “Don't forget, rescuing our warriors is the top priority before retaliation!!”
Arthur: “What if we did both at the same time?”
William: “Hmm, you want to split the troop in two?”
Arthur: “I'll take care of King Geirford and his guard with my knights, while you, Siegfried and the rest of the troop will go through the veil of the tournament to rescue our warriors, and take care of this ‘Blue Light’”
William: “Let's do that, my king”
As Kamelott's troop advanced with great confidence, William felt a strange sensation.. a sensation he hadn't felt in a very long time..
He feels.. the aura of an extremely dangerous entity
----- On Ao's side -----
Ao and his companions have broken camp, and are walking through the desert towards a concentration of grey and red clouds.
Kin is still unconscious, carried by Ao on his back, while Yumi and Gin follow him with great caution, not understanding why they are moving towards a place that seems dangerous
Yumi: “You really don't want to explain why we're moving?!”
Ao: “...”
Gin: “Where we're going, the red cult might come down on us, answer us, Ao!!!”
Ao: “As I told you, as long as you stay with me, I'll protect you from the red cult, that's all you need to know for now, now move on and shut up!”
Thomas will surely not like what I'm about to do,
but it's time.. to declare war, and wake up the..
----- 9 years earlier -----
----- 1 day after the start of the Blue Massacre -----
The capital of Ilenkrad is ravaged, thousands of bodies lie in the streets of the metropolis, massacred by what messengers describe as a blue bolt of lightning that ravages everything in its wake.
But one person in particular seems to have managed to stand up to the blue lightning, in what was once the great square commemorating the creation of the Naka clan, displaying statues of the clan's many members, now all reduced to a pile of stone and ashes
As the fight between these two individuals rages on, one begins to gain the upper hand, a man wielding a super-powered katana, emitting thick, red smoke, trying to set the Blue Bolt straight..
Thomas: Wielding his katana, Satsui
“Ao that's enough!! There's nothing more to be done!!”
Ao (Child): Moves very quickly around Thomas, leaving a trail of blue lightning behind
“THEN LET ME GO AFTER THEM!!!”
Flashes at Thomas to hit him, but is countered by his katana
Thomas: “IT'S USELESS! YOU CAN'T DEFEAT THEM ALL!”
Pushes Ao away with great force
Ao (Child): Continues to lunge and hit Thomas, but seems increasingly weakened and tired
“I'M GOING TO DESTROY THEIR WHOLE FUCKING KINGDOM!”
Punch
“ONE”
Punch
“BY”
Punch
“ONE !!!!”
Thomas: Gets Ao and crushes him against him and in his arms, preventing him from moving
“I know how you feel Ao! But.. even you, even if you think you're stronger than them..
You won't make it, they have much more powerful warriors than you think!”
Ao (Child): Tries to get out of Thomas's embrace, but can't
“I am the disciple of a great sage!! I WILL NOT LET THEM RAVAGE THIS WORLD ANOTHER MINUTE!!!”
Thomas: “THE GREAT SAGES ARE PART OF THE PENDRAGON ALLIANCE! THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE IN THEIR CAMP!
DON'T THINK, YOU CAN OVERTHROW SUCH AN ORGANIZATION, WITH ONLY YOUR ANGER!!!”
The great sages.. with these.. murderers!!!
Wha.. What.. can I do?!!
Ao releases his aura, and collapses to the ground crying, helpless and desperate, still in Thomas's arms
Ao (Child): crying “What.. How can I.. We've got to stop them!
But.. I'LL NEVER BE STRONG ENOUGH!!” shouts of rage and sadness
Thomas: “I know, Ao.. You realize.. at last, the tragic fate of this world..
One day, they'll dominate all the independent kingdoms, killing people like us who get in their way, despite the infection of the dark power, they'll never give up their desire to conquer.. until the last minute”
Is this what you wanted me to see, master?!..
You wanted me to realize that this world is condemned to live in war until its last breath?
No.. No, I refuse.. I REFUSE!!
...
...
...
Thomas: “We must hide, Ao.. Swallow your anger, your sadness, your injustice.. And if you decide to really overthrow them one day..
Then we'll have to come up with a plan
And the day we're ready.. The day you're really ready, give the signal!”
----- Back to present -----
Ao and his companions have arrived at their destination, the rain is raging, covered by grey clouds, a large red structure, resembling a ritual totem, stands before them, along with a silhouette
image [https://i.ibb.co/30tBnPS/00008.jpg]
Gin: Terrified “Wha.. Where are we, Ao?”
Ao: “At the result of the ritual that the red cult has been preparing all night”
Yumi: “What the hell are we doing here?!!”
Ao: “Ignite the wrath of the beasts of this world!!”
Ao readies his fist, and a great glittering ball of blue energy forms and encompasses that fist
Suddenly, he throws it in front of him and incants
Ao: “Nova Star”
The scintillating ball of energy moves at full speed and crashes into the large red structure, making a large, noisy blue explosion.
The noise and shockwave of the explosion spread throughout the tournament area, reaching the tournament veil, and when it did...
the veil was covered in a brilliant blue, slowly seeping into its material and cancelling out the veil's trickery, allowing thousands of people across all the kingdoms to see what was really happening in this bloody inter-kingdom tournament!
----- In the lair of a very influential person -----
In this lair, a spy and her master are getting very agitated
Anne: “MASTER, THIS IS VERY SERIOUS!!!”
Anne's master: “What's going on?!”
Anne : “THE MERCENARY OF THE GOLDEN ORDER HAS JUST DESTROYED OUR DEVICE IN THE TOURNAMENT'S VEIL!!!”
Anne's master: “WHAT?!! WE MUST CUT THE TRANSMISSION, QUICKLY”
Anne: “THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO, BUT WE'RE NO LONGER CONTROLLING THE VEIL!!!”
----- Kingdom of Kamelott, in a tavern broadcasting the tournament live -----
Child: “Daddy, look! What's all the red in the TV?”
The many people watching the tournament transmission are shocked, the atmosphere has gone from jovial to terrifying in just a few seconds after the veil trickery is destroyed
Child's mother: “Don't look at the TV, darling! Hides child's eyes
----- Pendragon Alliance headquarters -----
Everyone is agitated, doing their utmost to jam the waves given off by the tournament veil to stop the transmission, while high-ranking members of the alliance look on in dismay
Suddenly, a man in noble golden-blue clothing, one of those in high places, turns his head towards his neighbor, a very muscular man in the same noble garb, crossing his arms, and whispers
???: “Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Master Denken?”
Denken: “If it's what we think, the emperor will be furious.. but I also think.. it's him!”
----- On the Ao side -----
Ao has erected a large shield around himself and his companions to protect them from the explosion, and starts waving his arms, controlling the desert veil, and brings all the chameleon cameras above him, filming him from several angles
Ao: “Smile back there, you're being filmed!!”
Yumi: “Huh?!!”
Ao gently lays Kin's body on the ground on the sand, and approaches the chameleon cameras, currently playing live on all the tournament transmissions
He takes a deep breath, and prepares to speak in front of the cameras
Ao: “Ahem.. I.. Um..
Look, I'm not made for speeches, so I'll keep my words short, but good enough..
My name is Ao Starbreaker.. Remember this name, because from now on, you're going to be hearing about us everywhere!
The newspapers will speak of us as terrorists, criminals, monsters..
But we're not what they say, I can assure you!
What happened here is awful.. but we're used to the awful reality the Pendragons have forced us to live with all these years!
For those who don't understand these words.. believe me, they will resonate within you, more and more each day!
This is what the Starbreaker clan has to say to all of you watching this transmission!
The Starbreaker clan will liberate all the kingdoms that have fallen under the forces of the Pendragon alliance, and we will put an end, once and for all, to the infection of dark power!
It's a promise: we'll do everything in our power to put mankind back on the right track!
To you who have lost hope,
To you who have lost your former lives, imprisoned by the lies of the Pendragons,
To you who try to be fair in these times of constant battle,
To you who are getting drunker and drunker, waiting for humanity's last hours,
To you who feel powerless in the face of all the horrors caused by this alliance,
The Starbreaker clan is coming for you! And we'll take back everything they've taken from us!
As for you.. the Pendragon alliance..
Send me your best warriors, your best inventions, your angels, your Soul Killer, your great sages..
NOTHING! WILL STOP ME FROM REDUCING YOU TO ASHES!
The history books will talk about what you did to the world, but they'll also talk about how the world recovered from your bullshit, and sent it all back to you.. A THOUSANDFOLD!
Pendragon Alliance, it's war!!!
Come and get me if you want, or I'll come for you!!!”
image [https://i.ibb.co/vVn2Wc1/00041.jpg]
...
...
...
“You heard it.. It's the signal!”
“I know, get ready”
The Starbreaker clan awakens, hidden in the shadows for many years, now ready to unleash its fury!