The wind ripped through the grassy fields, tearing the loose blades of grass out of the ground. The trees danced wildly, whipping back and forth. In every direction there was no civilization, no people, and barely any animals; only the greenery, and tall hills over every horizon. This was the primary and one of the only advantages held by Oldum over Britannius. While Britannius' towns and villages sprawled out for tens of miles in every direction before getting to the capital city, everything in Oldum was relatively compact, making it much easier for them to defend themselves.
Red stood atop one of the tallest hills, overlooking some of the smaller villages on the outskirts of Oldum. Wooden airships floated through the air leisurely. The animal skin he draped over himself barely provided any solace as the air continued to assault him. Red stood, unmoving for a long time, deep in thought. He questioned his decision to leave the guild, to leave Day, and he pondered on the identity of the person in his head, Valafor. More so than that, he struggled to understand why the King of Oldum was attempting to target him so stubbornly.
He looked out, past the small villages that dotted the landscape and stared at the country of Oldum. The walled country was massive, despite being a significant distance away it was still hugely imposing. It was surrounded by a wall that rose tens of feet into the air, and a large empty moat, isolating the country further. What little of the country Red could see past the wall, was immense in scale. Thousands of homogenous off-white, almost grey square buildings sprawled out in every direction, with only small bits of greenery in between breaking the monotony.
The most striking feature of Oldum was the large, copper-brown castle sitting in the center of the country that made everything look minuscule. In contrast to the simplistic and samey designs of the buildings, the castle was an ornate and regal piece of architecture, that breathed personality into an otherwise lifeless area.
Towers gave way to more towers, pillars jutted out in awkward angles and the entire structure breached the sky and passed it.
“Man, that’s making me dizzy,” Red thought to himself.
Red slowly sat down on the ground, crossing his legs. The wind whistled and whined around him as he closed his eyes. He performed a few signs with his hands before placing them in a rest position. His mind began to drift, and soon he found himself surrounded by pristine white walls on all sides. Green vines sprawled out over the walls. He sat in the same position in a courtyard, flanked on all sides by small wooden benches. The sun stood high in the sky, burning everything in its presence.
Staying in the same position, he examined the area closely. Over the walls, he could hear the lively cries of other people. Two young men in light leather armor approached and passed through him as though he wasn't there. He looked at the two for a long time, then turned his eyes away from them. They stopped toward the end of the benches, and one boy, a significantly shorter boy with wavy brown hair, placed his hand on the other boy's shoulder.
The short boy spoke quietly, "Can you cheer up a little bit man? You're starting to make me worry too."
The other boy, taller and stronger than his friend but more timid, hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Sorry Arthur. It's just…after seeing everyone else fight, I just don't know…"
Arthur smiled brightly, "Oh please, Redhead. I know you couldn't tell but everyone freaked out when you showed off that ability. Perfect for offense and defense, and the more enemies you take on, the stronger you get! You might be the first Knight 1st Class to get his own squad."
The young Red pushed him lightly, laughing, "Don't worry Arthur, I'll let you on my squad! You can use Holy magic, right? I'm gonna need a healer."
The two boys began to wrestle, and Red finally turned his head back, smiling. He watched on for a while, as slowly, a beam of light began to fill the area. It started small, and it quickly ballooned until everything was swallowed by its blinding radiance.
Red opened his eyes slowly to find himself still on the same hill, in the same position. The easy morning had transformed to high noon, and the heavy wind nearly completely ceased, opting instead for a light breeze.
Down the hill, stood a stoic yet familiar dark-skinned young man with a short curved blade, the length being barely bigger than the length of his hand. The man stood motionless at the base of the hill, staring directly at Red as he struggled to get up. There was a groggy haze over Red's eyes, and he rubbed them a couple of times, looking closely at the kid and trying to recognize him.
The young man yelled out something indistinct as he ran to approach Red. Red readied a knife made of blood and raced over to the man. As he got closer, he recognized the young man as Yasuke, Olo's apprentice. Yasuke stopped just short of Red, standing in a relaxed position despite Red doing the opposite.
Red examined Yasuke quickly. Yasuke seemed to be the exact opposite of his master. Where Olo was tall and majestic, Yasuke was short and rough looking, with dirt caked on his face and unkempt curly hair billowing in the wind. He wore gold and white gauntlets and greaves over a pitch-black tunic and ripped shorts.
Yasuke spoke sharply, without a wasted breath in his words, "Red, King of Crimson Blood. I've been ordered by my captain, and by proxy the king, to capture you alive. Although if you resist me too strongly, I am authorized to use lethal force."
The words came out coldly and mechanically. There was no meaning or passion behind them. But there was a look on Yasuke's face, of malice, like his body was filled with nothing but hate.
Red struggled to decipher him, "You really are Olo's apprentice. I sense the same thing in you I felt in him, that bloodlust." Red shivered uncontrollably at the feeling as it seemed to grow stronger.
Yasuke scratched at his arm, deeply, drawing blood, and in a completely different, much more sinister tone, yelled out, "Look at me again and see if you see that disgusting love for death!"
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Red looked at Yasuke, closer now, and drew in deep breaths. He used an ability known as Sensor, one he usually only used passively to determine what emotions others were feeling.
Extreme negative emotions poured out of Yasuke. The emotions weren't directed at Red; they just leaked out like a flood and corrupted the area around him.
Tears fell from Yasuke's eyes, and he spoke between labored breaths, "Have you ever really thought about your place in life? Have you ever compared what you want to do, you know, your wildest fantasies and delusions, to your current reality? I wouldn't recommend it. It might send you into a nightmarish psychopathy. It might change how you think about life, or the world, or your position in it. It might make you slowly lose touch with reality…" His voice trailed.
Yasuke wiped his eyes slowly as Red looked on, "That's okay. I accepted my fate a long time ago, I know it's already set in stone, so I'll just fulfill my duty like I've been commanded."
Yasuke reached his hand to grab his katana out of its scabbard and Red tossed his blood knife towards him. Before the knife reached, Yasuke disappeared from sight and reappeared behind Red, placing his sword back in its scabbard with a loud click. Looking down, there was a shallow horizontal wound across Red's chest. It bled slowly, so Red placed his hand over it and clotted the wound with his ability, essentially healing himself.
Yasuke sighed, "Please surrender Red. The longer this fight goes on, the less it's in your favor. Look, if you come with me, I can tell you why we're doing this, why we're chasing you through forests and grasslands across Stolid, and maybe more importantly to you, how we're doing it."
Red's eyes widened as Yasuke continued, "Haven't you wondered how we were able to find you in remote places and how we come straight to you after you wake up? I can tell you, just stop trying to battle and come with me."
Red quickly made many wide sweeping motions with his hands, causing blood to encircle him. With each second, the blood grew in quantity and density until it wrapped around him like a constrictor snake. In a brilliant flash of crimson blood, Red was draped from head to toe in every piece of his ceremonial armor, becoming almost a foot taller because of it. The horns of the helmet, before only consisting of small, barely noticeable protrusions, now spiraled out in every direction like an elk.
Red now carried a large jousting lance, several times the size of his body, that dripped with blood. He carried the massive lance in one hand and covered the other hand in especially thick armor. Despite the lance being all red, Yasuke spotted faint white glowing symbols under the surface.
Yasuke thought to himself, "Damn! If he had this the whole time, why didn't he pull it out yesterday? Well, that's okay, I have something too."
Yasuke backed up slightly and quickly sat with his knees to the ground. He placed his sheathed sword on the ground in front of him.
Red barely stopped himself from laughing, "Are you giving…“ Red's sentence was instantly cut short as he glanced at Yasuke, who smiled at him with his eyes closed. Yasuke's demeanor and expression completely petrified Red. But it wasn't just that, the energy that Yasuke now exuded was completely calm and tranquil, as if he didn't have a worry in the world.
Yasuke began to speak, slowly and coolly, while Red stood, gripping his weapon tightly but unable to move.
"You probably aren't familiar with this sword technique, since it originates in the Far East. It's known as the Hidden Draw Style and it's extremely popular over there. So popular in fact, that there are five completely distinct versions of it, and each version has about fifty schools with their own variations."
Yasuke picked up the sword and examined the writing on it. It was in a language that was unfamiliar to Red.
"Do you want to know something interesting Red? I learned every single one, every version, and every variation. But that's not the interesting part," Yasuke placed the sword down and looked Red directly in the eye, nearly causing him to fall to the ground. His eyes looked completely different now, a vibrant, twinkling green like an emerald, "I took what I learned from all of those versions and united them. I made my own version of the Hidden Draw Style, a sixth version, which I call Caligo. I haven't had anyone to use it on besides Commander Olo since I came here, but I think it should work against you."
Yasuke bowed his head to Red, "This is how I vent that negativity. Every time I feel that madness encroaching, I channel it into my Hidden Draw Style. Allow me to demonstrate for you."
Yasuke raised his head and looked at Red once again, his eyes darting up and down, backward and forward, scanning for the slightest movement. Red finally steeled himself and took a step forward. The instant his foot lifted from the ground, Yasuke appeared in front of him, swinging the sheathed sword at his neck. At the last second, Red raised his armored hand and blocked the attack, the katana bouncing completely off of his armor and staggering Yasuke. Red took the opportunity and stabbed him with his lance. Despite the heft of the weapon, Red was still able to move relatively quickly with it. Red grazed Yasuke's side with it.
Yasuke audibly screamed out, and with a gust of black smoke, he retreated to the same sitting position he was in. He was visibly less calm now, however, and while he fought it back, the torrent of hateful energy he first presented seemed to slowly creep back out.
Yasuke went to say something but sucked his teeth and began to unleash an onslaught of continuous attacks on Red, his sword now unsheathed. The majority of the attacks were barely blocked by Red's armored gauntlet, but the ones that weren't cut through the armor very cleanly, with a few of them reaching the skin.
Red thought to himself, "I can't block him forever!"
Red swung his lance in a sweeping motion, shaking the entire field and rending the air. Yasuke stepped back and quickly stepped in again, now continuing his assault even more viciously.
Red released some of the armor around his offhand and summoned runes, starting to ready a spell.
Before he could begin to cast it, Yasuke stopped in the middle of his onslaught and placed his sword back in its scabbard with a decisive click. In a single breath, he chanted out, "Hidden Draw Style Sixth Technique: Dark Pledge to the Devil." Black smoke began to spew from his feet, and he disappeared from view. He reappeared a second later in front of Red and continued the same onslaught, much faster now. Red returned the armor to his offhand and let the runes fade, but to his horror, there was now a second Yasuke attacking to the side, with the same speed and ferocity.
"Clones?" Red thought to himself.
Red attacked the clone of Yasuke on the side of him, but his attack completely fazed through him, and the clone fizzled away.
It was an afterimage!
The other Yasuke took advantage of the opportunity and sliced through his side, completely cleaving through the armor and cutting deep into his skin. Red stumbled at this attack, nearly falling over. Yasuke raised his sword up towards Red's neck, but Red transformed his lance into armor for his main hand, using both of his arms to block the incoming attack. Yasuke then turned his sword and smashed the hilt of it into the same side he slashed, knocking down Red.
Red struggled to keep his eyes open. Every time he would close them and reopen them, he could only see Yasuke standing over him with a disappointed look on his face. He repeated this a few more times until he began to see a second figure next to Yasuke, with his arm over his shoulder.
Damn, I guess Olo wasn't far behind.