Tides Of Protomis XCVII
The Fourth Untamed
The city of Kobe had been somewhat important to Yamato. While not holding an abundance of any one industry or the center of any large economy, it was indeed a good enough place to live. But, clearly, the demons that rained down from the portals in the sky had changed that. What was first a peaceful day had turned into a fight for survival in the streets. One fought by both the military and its inhabitants. For two, in particular, this fight was incredibly desperate. In one of the streets, which was lined with commercial buildings, there were two young children who couldn’t have been older than eight. A boy with wild brown hair and a girl with long, straight blue hair. Given their expressions, they were clearly frightened by their situation.
“What now, Yuji? I don’t think it’s gonna let us run!” The girl questioned. In response, the young boy swallowed thickly as he continued to keep his watchful gaze on the being in question.
“I don’t know, Emi…” He admitted. They did not have much time to think of a plan if they could have come up with one, as the demon was soon running toward them with a screech. This promptly led to the two doing whatever they could to defend themselves with what they had on hand.
“Whirling Frost Blades!”
No sooner did the air around Yuji begin to chill. Something that was noted by Emi, the latter chose to move away because of that, but her actions did not stop there, as she put one palm out and attempted to use her ability as well. Which was, unfortunately, much harder to use; even getting something this basic had taken time.
“Reinforcement- Power!” Emi shouted.
Something which led to a feeling of higher power rushing through Yuji, which certainly bolstered his confidence. But the question remained, would this be nearly enough? The frozen projectiles flew toward the demon, which simply continued its charge, undeterred. Unfortunately, the blades promptly shattered into flakes as they came in contact with the creature. Clearly, their inexperience was beginning to show.
“No Good, we’ll need to try something else!”
With that said, Emi began running, with Yuji soon following along.
“It’s at times like this where I wish we figured out flight already!” Emi agreed though she didn’t say it out loud. The demon was gaining on them fast, and as of now, it didn’t seem like there was much they could do. The young boy began to comb through his mind, thinking about the few techniques he’d managed to make. Perhaps, stopping the creature would work. He turned on his heel and planted his feet on the ground. As if it was a direct challenge to their pursuer. This did not go unnoticed by the girl, who looked over her shoulder, noting that his footsteps no longer fell.
Her eyes widened at what she saw.
“Yuji, what are you doing?!”
“I have an idea, Emi. Just watch this! Frozen Glaives!”
As this much was said, the asphalt directly in front of him began to crack. This much continued as the demon got closer to him, something which led to the girl’s worry growing. She was ready to enhance him once more and tell him to get out of the way. Until his technique took effect, spears constructed of ice burst out of the cracks, managing to flip the creature over, and stop its movements there.
“We got it!” Yuji yelled excitedly.
Leading to a smile coming onto the faces of both Yuji and Emi, with Yuji’s gamble being a success. Or, so they thought… Though one creature had been kept from hunting them, that was not the end of their struggles. Soon enough, three more had come, one vaguely resembling a bird, another one, which was more humanoid in nature, and another almost identical to the one that was flipped over. The latter working to help the other member of its species at this point. Meaning that their work would be undone shortly. This much left the two children wide-eyed, as a dreadful feeling began to run through both of them, fear.
“Oh man…” Yuji mumbled.
Luckily for them, however, help had finally come in the form of a blonde-haired former noble. He moved in at high speed, which the two couldn’t even register with their eyes. The two children saw not a rapid storm of attacks from Alarcick, but rather, the man appearing in front of them suddenly and the creatures that were attacking them disintegrating in front of their eyes. But, more than that, some excitement boiled within them as they finally got a good look at their savior’s face.
“Woah… you’re Alarick Grayhelm, right?!” Yuji questioned.
“Correct.”
“So… Does that mean the other three Tides are nearby? Things are… Bad, here.” Emi questioned.
Alarick shook his head as he spoke once more.
“Their out handling battling in the other cities. That aside, what are you doing out here alone? Shouldn’t you be with your parents or something of the like?” Alarick questioned. Something which the two seemed to brush past as they stepped toward him. To them, there was something more pressing, something which they had to ask him.
“If you wouldn’t mind, could you and the other tides train us to use our abilities?” Yuji questioned. This left Alarick speechless. People asking for such things had never crossed his mind. Either way, he was not so quick to accept this. Especially not without input from the other tides. He wasn’t the teaching type. He knew that.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why exactly do you need me to do that?”
It was only then that the lips of both downturned… As recent but bitter memories appeared in their minds. Feelings of both grief for what they’d lost. And anger, at themselves, for not being anywhere near strong enough. They were almost being pushed to the brink of death despite trying nearly everything they had up their sleeve. The difference between themselves and this man was straightforward, and they would need help from someone on their level to even think about being strong enough to protect, as the two saw it. As he noted the change in their expression and body language, the Von Zaisen began floating, ready to continue toward his goal.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“We can discuss it later, but for now, there is a threat that needs to be taken care of… Stay out of sight. I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep you safe next time around.”
And with that, the blonde was off, attempting to find the very demon that led to him coming here. The two simply watched this with admiration in their eyes, but they shortly acted upon his words and ran toward a nearby shop, opening the door to enter and closing it behind them. Alarick continued his flight over the Kobe Skyline.
“Now then… Where is our opponent?”
The blonde began to lower himself below the skyline, bringing the streets below him into closer view. But, even so, he saw very little in terms of demonic activity. Perhaps the one he’d come to fight had already moved on? If so, that made their situation much worse. If what they’d briefly seen happening in Shima was anything to go by, there was certainly no shortage of bloodlust among the creatures. However, his introspection was soon interrupted as he noted a shadow appearing above him that blotted out the sun above him. It only took moments for it to become clear what was happening.
As he looked above, what he saw was a mass of thick, gray skin. Though he questioned what it was, getting the answer was hardly the most prominent worry he had. After a prolonged look, he was already diving out of the way, quickly ascending to the sky above. It was only then that he saw the creature make landfall. The impact that followed something that could only be likened to the descent of an orbital shell. A gigantic shockwave flew outward, quickly destroying the area around them. Alarick’s mind swiftly drifted to the two he’d defended beforehand…
“If they only recently figured out how to activate their abilities, then-”
Alarick’s words were quickly cut off as a deep sound came from the throat of the colossal demon that appeared. One which had finally turned its head, revealing a whiskered, wrinkly face with two long tusks, which were building-sized in their height. The blonde could not observe the beast's features for long as the resulting sound shoved him backward. Something that he promptly stopped, pushing against the wave of force and focusing his attention on the demon once more. Now, it spoke its first words. Its loud voice reverberated through the ruins of Kobe, as one would expect from a being of its size.
“You must be one of those humans we’ve been told to watch out for…”
“Correct… And you must be the demon I was sent to kill.”
“My name is Rosmarus, human… I’ll make this brief, I'm going to end you, so I can resume my previous activities… I was supposed to slumber for another 15 “years”, as you call them... But that Maleggan character came along.”
Short and straightforward, it seemed as if the creature didn’t wax poetic like many of his opponents had. He took this in stride as he watched for the being’s next move. For some time, there was none, something that would have made a less experienced fighter more restless and jump to the attack. But he restrained himself nonetheless. His opponent did not. The being began to breathe in, inhaling the, surprisingly, much thicker air, at least compared to what he’d lived in. But it wasn’t as if the next attack would be affected. Within a moment, he bellowed once more, significantly louder than last time and sending out a much stronger burst of air. Something which both proved to do damage to the blonde and send him flying back. The constant application of force, he could say it felt somewhat oppressing.
“Dammit, I can’t move… This constant force, it… Keeps going.”
Having pushed his opponent to what he felt was a safe distance, the demon began to turn his head, moving it downward, as the power of the airwaves sent outward increased further and further, enough to send him skyward. All the while, Alarick was carried in that opposite direction. It did not take long for him to find himself in a deep crater. What came next was not lost to him as the creature began to descend again. Outside of the human here, there was still the question of the other members of their group, who had disappeared from his senses. Save one more.
“Regardless, once I handle you… I will be the one to take care of those who killed the others…”
The Von Zaisen did not find himself undamaged after that stream of attacks. How long was he caught within the constant stream of air? That much, he could not tell. The only thing the youth was sure of was that he wouldn't allow it to happen again, and he surely wouldn’t let the demon’s next course of action go smoothly. The blonde promptly got to his feet and dug them into the ground, lifting both arms to the sky in preparation for what was to come.
“Be crushed, human!!!” Rosmarus bellowed.
However, much to his surprise, the rapid descent stopped before he hit the ground.
“What?!”
Alarick proved to be the source of his confusion. He was undoubtedly straining himself, but the weight he carried on his shoulders didn't feel nearly as heavy as the knowledge of what would happen if he lost here.
“Did you think it would be that easy?!” The blonde yelled defiantly.
Alarick steeled himself for his next course of action, running calculations in his head. Though he didn’t know the being’s weight, he could only guess that if he threw him too close to the coast, they’d have a tidal wave on their hands. If he did so on land... Well, they’d seen the results of that earlier. Deciding to launch him into the farther out oceanic waters, he did just that. Within moments, the creature was careening through the air at a speed that looked almost uncanny for a beast of his size. This much did not go unnoticed by the people below, who looked up with some level of confusion. That only subsidized, as they noted a yellow blur following it. Making it clear just who was responsible.
It did not take long for Rosmarus to fly past Osaka bay and into the deep-blue waters of the north pacific. As Alarick had predicted, the waves were roused by the sudden impact. Something which undoubtedly was the cause of the panicked movements of the undersea life. It certainly didn’t bode well for the individuals caught directly under the demon. But that was something neither of the fighters could think about. After all, Rosmarus observed the human on a collision course with him, seemingly, some sort of black light in the shape of a blade radiating around his left hand. He didn’t know what this technique was, and, to be frank, he wasn’t exactly willing to find out… He inhaled once more, and, at that moment, Alarick knew it was crunch time…
“This will be the first time I use it in battle… Let’s see if it holds up.”
Alarick swiped his hand, cutting a hole in space, and summoning a void for his use. As he entered, he found himself in yet another realm that seemed to be naught but pure white. He couldn’t say he liked the look of this one much, but it did what he needed, and that much was enough… In a few short moments, he emerged into normal space once more, directly above Rosmarus, to the demon’s surprise.
“Void Blade - Extend!!”
The glow of black light around Alaick's hand began to gain more length until it had grown somewhat longer than his body. He did not extend it until he finally drove his blade into the beast’s muscle. Alarick began to run across the rough skin, continuing to leave gashes on the body, beginning to turn the waters around the two crimson red. But the creature was not planning on letting him be finished yet. Another bellow came from his throat once more, throwing his opponent back. But, in the same way, he did not accept loss, nor did the Youth. He kept his hand on his blade as he grounded himself once more, yelling out once more.
“Extend!!!”
The blade grows larger, and, as expected, The demon’s defense seemingly did very little. Rosmarus was quiet for a few moments, closing his eyes as he began to think of his situation. The short burst of introspection was ended by his eyes shooting open as they began to glow once more.
“It’s crunch time…”
Part B
By now, he’d grown tired of this battle and, as such, pushed himself to his full power. The creature began to grow in magnitude. Alarick noted this almost immediately and tried to move in to stop him. But, another loud bellow kept him at bay long enough for the transformation to finish. By the time he stopped, it seemed like he’d almost tripled in size. Another bellow flew out soon afterward, this one pushing Alarick skyward to a nearly uncontrollable degree. What was first the azure sky became darker and darker as time went on, accompanied by the thinned air.
“I’ll admit, you are formidable, but now that I've gotten serious… You have no chance of defeating me... When you come down, I'll be more than prepared…”
Now, Alarick found himself floating in orbit. Both of his hands, now cloaked by the space-rending blades, as what just happened was processed.
“You’ve become bigger, then? If that’s the case, I’ll have to do the same with my blades… If I were to lengthen them to an extent where they’d be effective, I’ll definitely be pushing the limits of what I can produce… I only have one shot. Let’s make it count.”
“Extend!!!”
Alarick crossed his arms over one another as the void blades extended once more. With no more words, he burst forward, beginning to descend upon the demon from orbit. Leading to the demon’s gaze flying upward, and the creature prepared himself accordingly. Just before he made contact. A barrier spread around the demon’s body in its defense. Unfortunately, he did not know what Alarick’s abilities could do besides their basic cutting. Given his surprised expression, as the barrier was promptly cut into pieces.
“Void Blade- Cutting Surge!!!”
Alarick swiped both blades, uncrossing his arms, cutting the demon into two pieces. What was to then became four, eight, and so on. As for what remained? It simply began to sink into the waters below, dissipating into red particles, the very same thing that happened to his contemporaries.
“... Alright, let’s move.”
Alarick began flying away from the scene.
To Be Continued