Chapter 24 ~ Mist And Wind (Part 1/2)
The 'Spring Journey' region, the second major territory on the map of Royal Fantasy Elixir. Here, the creatures and challenges presented levels ranging typically from 10 to 19, and the zone itself was generally classified as a C-Rank Green area, indicating moderate difficulty. The vast, grass-covered expanse where Hikari and Rentarou had been ambushed was, in essence, a transitional bridge, a stretch of land connecting the First and Second Regions, theoretically devoid of monsters or significant threats.
But... the highwaymen, Arujo and Yuta, had expertly exploited this supposed sanctuary, turning it into their personal hunting ground, preying upon unsuspecting travelers making their way from the 'Old Ruins of Rona' to the anticipated 'Spring Journey'.
Currently, a pall of grey dust and acrid smoke choked a radius of at least thirty meters across the sweeping grasslands. The immediate blast zone, though devastating locally, seemed almost insignificant against the sheer immensity of the plains, yet the explosion itself had been undeniably colossal.
Arujo, the blond swordsman with the sharp green eyes, his recently retrieved longsword now lying on the scorched earth near his feet, and Yuta, the youth with the cascading long black hair and obsidian eyes, stood side-by-side. The reflection of the slowly billowing smoke clouds danced in their gazes. A chilling calm settled upon them.
"Let us proceed to gather the spoils of their demise," Yuta said, a predatory smile playing on his lips.
Arujo bent down, his hand closing around the hilt of his sword. As he straightened, a fresh gust of wind, cool and mournful, swept through the area, stirring the heavy smoke, causing it to swirl and drift like ethereal clouds, and tugging at his blond hair. Both he and Yuta fixed their attention on the gradually clearing curtain of smoke, anticipating the grim tableau it would reveal.
They began to walk forward together, confident strides eating up the ravaged ground. Suddenly, Arujo stopped dead, flinging out an arm to halt Yuta beside him. A look of stunned disbelief, quickly morphing into annoyance, twisted his features. "What," he growled, "is the meaning of this...?"
Yuta's black eyes, following Arujo's shocked gaze, widened as he too saw what lay within the dissipating haze.
It resembled a cluster of igloo-like domes, but fashioned not from ice, but from rough, grey stone. And they were largely collapsed, shattered remnants of a hastily erected fortification. The distinct, grating sound of falling stones and crumbling grey bricks reached their ears.
Through the last wisps of smoke, Rentarou was revealed. He was kneeling on the bare, scorched earth, surrounded by a chaotic ring of grey stone rubble. The Stone Dome, or what was left of it, was a testament to the explosion's fury – sections had been obliterated, while other, more robust arcs, miraculously held, albeit precariously.
His gaze drifted down to the bottom edge of his vision. His HP bar was a stark, furious red, pulsing erratically, appearing and disappearing like the last flicker of a dying battery. It read: 1 / 1000 HP.
He stared at the Stone Gauntlets encasing his hands, a wave of crushing failure washing over him. His grey eyes, usually bright, were dull with despair; his light grey hair was matted with soot and sweat. Dark, char-like marks and fresh tears marred the edges of his black clothing, and his silver chest plate bore similar scorched blemishes. "One… health point?" he whispered, his voice hoarse with disbelief as he looked at his trembling hands. "Is that all I managed to preserve? Is this the true power of my new weapon?"
With a cry of anguished frustration, he slammed his stone-clad fist into the ravaged earth. "Damn it! This weapon is utterly worthless! Damn it all!!"
A calm voice cut through his despair. "Quite the contrary…"
Rentarou's head snapped up.
At that precise moment, a stronger breeze sliced through the remaining smoke, clearing it entirely, as if drawing back a final curtain. The silver crescent moon still hung high, but now, the first, faint blush of dawn was beginning to paint the eastern horizon, its subtle light mingling with the starlight.
Hikari stood steadfastly before Rentarou. As if on cue, the last surviving segments of the Stone Dome behind him groaned and then crumbled completely, dissolving into more dust and rubble. The immediate area was now a desolate circle of bare earth littered with grey stones. All traces of the vibrant grass within the blast radius had been utterly erased, leaving only scorched ground and the lingering, pungent smell of combustion.
Under the vast, star-dusted sky, now tinged with the promise of morning, Hikari was an island of calm. With the smoke entirely gone, the highwaymen, Yuta and Arujo, stared, their expressions a mixture of shock and disbelief. Hikari's simple brown adventurer's attire was surprisingly intact, though dusted with grime. The two white sashes that fell from his shoulders fluttered gently, along with the ends of his golden hair, in the cool, pre-dawn zephyr.
His blue eyes, clear and serious, met Rentarou's. "Thanks to your timely intervention," Hikari stated, his voice even, "a mere 0.1% of our HP remains. I was utterly certain I was dead. But you saved me, partner."
A slow, incredulous smile spread across Rentarou's soot-stained face. What he had done… it hadn't been entirely futile. He looked at Hikari's strong, unwavering back.
The Water Fox Fang in Hikari's left hand pulsed with a faint, cerulean light. In his right, a vial containing a light-grey elixir materialized in a shower of blue digital sparks. With a practiced flick of his thumb, he dislodged the wooden cork, brought the vial to his lips, and drank the contents in a single, swift motion. He then tossed the empty vial onto the bare earth beside him, where it dissolved into another flurry of azure particles.
A system interface notification appeared before him:
[ Elixir Activated: Mist Flood. ]
Hikari's gaze shifted, locking onto his two astonished opponents. I have only one health point remaining out of a thousand, he thought, his focus narrowing to a razor's edge. A single mistake… means certain, unequivocal death.
Yuta gritted his teeth, a venomous hiss escaping him. "Damn it! Only 99 damage? They were just a single, ragged breath away from dying! What accursed luck is this?!" He turned to Arujo, a confident, predatory smirk spreading across his face. "But that hardly matters now, does it? We're bound to win; they're practically on death's door already—"
He stopped mid-sentence. His dark eyes, shifting back to his companion, widened in shock. The usual cocksure arrogance was gone from Arujo's expression, replaced by a heavy, somber gravity that Yuta had rarely witnessed. A single bead of sweat trickled slowly down Arujo's temple.
"Yuta…" Arujo began, his voice uncharacteristically serious, his green eyes clouded with a deep, unsettling concern. He tightened his left hand on the hilt of his sword, while in his right, a vial containing a cool, light-green elixir materialized with a soft shimmer. "Get out of here. Right now."
Yuta's black eyes blinked, disbelief warring with a dawning unease. This was not the response he had anticipated.
Arujo, without waiting for a reply, uncorked the green elixir with a flick of his thumb and downed it in a swift gulp. "What are you saying, Arujo?!" Yuta protested, even as his companion drank. "How can I just abandon you here? Besides, they're on the absolute brink of death!"
[ Elixir Activated: Wind's Howl. ]
Arujo tossed the empty vial onto the scorched grass. His eyes seemed to flash for a microsecond with a faint, verdant light, as if the elixir, perfectly attuned to his constitution, had instantly invigorated him. "That 'Rising Star'," Arujo stated, his voice flat and grave, "he will kill us both if you remain. I can sense it, Yuta. A certainty. So please, for your own sake, leave this place immediately."
Yuta clenched his fists, his instinct screaming at him to unleash his own explosive power, but a sudden, horrifying realization struck him – his personal supply of the necessary elixir components was depleted. His dark eyes widened further, this time in genuine shock and a flicker of panic.
As if sensing his predicament, another vial of the same cool, green elixir materialized in Arujo's outstretched right hand. He offered it to Yuta. "My last remaining 'Wind's Howl' elixir," Arujo said, his voice firm. "Take it. Use it to protect yourself while you make your escape."
Yuta snatched the vial, his expression now a mask of grim determination. He uncorked it, drank the green liquid in a single, defiant swallow, and hurled the empty glass container to the ground. "If we are to die," he declared, his voice raw with a fierce, reckless loyalty, "then I will fight alongside you until the bitter end, you absolute idiot!!"
Arujo's eyes reflected a brief flash of exasperation at his companion's stubborn, almost suicidal, devotion. With a sigh that was more air than sound, he made a sudden, sharp backhand motion. It wasn't a mere punch to Yuta's chest; it was a focused strike, followed by an almost invisible but immensely powerful wave of compressed air that erupted from his palm, blasting Yuta backwards, sending him tumbling away from the immediate vicinity of the impending confrontation.
Yuta's long black hair streamed wildly as he was propelled through the air, a surprised yelp escaping him. "No way am I letting you die here alone!" he managed to shout, even as he flew like an unwilling superhero being launched into the stratosphere.
Arujo kept his gaze fixed forward, on Hikari, his voice a low murmur, knowing full well Yuta's stubborn nature would bring him back the moment he could. "Yuta… this is hardly the appropriate time for our usual bickering, you fool… That brat…"
Meanwhile, Hikari's blue eyes had taken on an icy, almost glacial sheen, a hue that perfectly mirrored the ethereal glow of his Water Fox Fang. "Commencing the process," he stated, his voice devoid of all warmth, a chilling pronouncement in the pre-dawn air, "of ridding the world of your collective menace."
Arujo swallowed hard, an involuntary reflex. He could feel his sword trembling faintly in his grip, but he forced his hand to steady, his resolve to solidify. Calm yourself, he mentally commanded. It is impossible for me to lose here. Absolutely impossible. All I require is one single hit. Just one successful strike. Even a mere scratch upon his cheek, a graze upon his flesh, and victory will be mine. There is no conceivable scenario in which I lose!
Hikari, without taking his eyes off Arujo, spoke to Rentarou, who was now standing, albeit shakily, behind him. "Create a dome of rock around your body. For protection."
"But… what about you, Hikari?" Rentarou asked, his voice still laced with worry.
A ghost of a confident smirk touched Hikari's lips. He subtly adjusted his stance, shifting into a more aggressive, offensive posture, drawing his blade back slightly, coiling his body for a powerful swing. A faint, greyish-white mist, almost like a tangible aura, began to emanate gently from his form, swirling softly around him in the cool air.
"This," Hikari replied, his voice resonating with an unshakeable, almost unnerving self-assurance, "will not take more than thirty seconds. Maximum."