The Hero Faction (II)
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"Hey, Cao Cao, are you sure it's necessary for all of us to be present for this mission? It still feels like overkill to me." A bespectacled man with spiky black hair spoke, wearing a mage's robe over a Japanese boy's school uniform, currently surrounded in a sea of violet mist as he walked beside another man.
"It's necessary Georg, Yasaka and her subordinates might not be in any trouble, but now the fact that there's a Dragon here changes things significantly. Only by facing one first-hand will the people of our faction truly understand what our purpose is, words alone won't cut it." Next to him stood a handsome young man with short black hair and bright blue eyes, also wearing the same uniform alongside hanfu attire that originated from the Three Kingdoms era of China.
"Pandora, I believe its name was?" Georg sought to affirm, earning a stiff nod from his leader. "Even if it's a Dragon, its strength hasn't actually been confirmed by anyone, at least not publicly."
"Considering the position it has within the West Youkai Faction, it has to be Ultimate-Class at the bare minimum." It didn't make sense for Yasaka to elevate someone to a position equal to her own if they were weaker.
"And at maximum?" Georg raised a brow.
Cao Cao shrugged, smiling a little as he continued to stroll through the indigo fog.
"I guess that's what we're about to find out."
Both these men were the current leaders of the Hero Faction, one of the many groups within the Khaos Brigade. The only faction to consist solely of Humans, all of which were either Hero Descendants, Sacred Gear wielders, and Holy or Demonic-Sword users.
Georg himself was the possessor of [Dimension Lost], which had enabled him to bypass the Urakyoto barrier effortlessly as they casually made their way to the headquarters, the mist he had created around them masked their presence from the Youkai to give them an edge once the battle had begun.
Well, that was the plan.
"Stop," Georg ordered. His subordinates behind him all came to an immediate halt as they wondered what was going on, Cao Cao being the only person besides him who had an inkling as to what had happened.
"What's the meaning of this Georg?" Cao Cao spoke. "I thought your [Dimension Lost] was impenetrable." He said somewhat accusingly.
"I was under the same impression," Georg broke into a nervous sweat, readjusting his glasses as he felt his muscles start to tense.
There were two figures that had appeared in front of them, both of which were cross-legged and sat opposite to one another, their figures shrouded in the mist from [Dimension Lost].
"Dude, you're definitely cheating." One of them grumbled, having what appeared to be a set of cards in his hand. "How do you keep getting +4's every time? You're hiding them in [Vacio] or something aren't you?"
"Nope, I'm just really good at Uno." The other replied, earning a scoff from the one who had spoken first.
"Alright, first of all, no one can be good at Uno, it's a game based entirely on luck. And secondly, I'm pretty sure there aren't even that many +4's in a deck to begin with, I bet you're using your illusions to make the cards look different."
"Nuh-uh." As Cao Cao and Georg drew closer, they were able to see that one of them had slicked-back brown hair, with a single strand falling down his forehead.
"You can't just say nuh-uh and expect me to take that as a valid counter argument." And the other, seemed to be wearing a bucket hat with messy blonde hair.
"Nuh-uh," he repeated, causing a vein to bulge out of the other's forehead.
"Stop saying nuh-uh!" The blonde individual appeared to have more to say, but stopped upon turning to the members of the Hero Faction, a somewhat surprised look on his face. "Oh, you guys are finally here. What took you so long?"
The other turned, with pretty much the same look on his face.
"You all really did take your sweet time, and to think we went through all that effort to be punctual." He pinched his nose bridge, slowly hauling himself to his feet as he stretched his hands behind his back, breathing a fatigued groan.
"Who are you people?" Georg asked apprehensively, arching his hand back as he discretely started to gather Mana around his fingertips.
"Woah, what do you mean you people? Is that supposed to be racist? That's racist isn't it?" The brown-haired man looked at his companion.
"What are you looking at me for? We're not even remotely the same species."
"Just answer the damn question," Georg pressed, deliberating on whether to start attacking the individuals or not.
"My name is Masashige Kusunoki, but you can call me Masa if you like. It's a pleasure to meet you, members of the Hero Faction." He tipped his hat, not seeming to take the situation all that seriously.
Neither Georg nor Cao Cao were sure what to make of the man, having never heard the name before.
"And I'm Pandora," that name on the other hand, put them all on edge. "Or Ashikaga Takauji depending on how much research you did, call me what you like."
But it wasn't just his name that alerted Georg, it was the fact that he couldn't even remotely sense his presence, even with [Dimension Lost] having its mist active, the same going for the man beside him.
"What's with that look? There's no way you guys weren't aware that I was here." Takauji scratched his head. "Oh well, if you guys want to go back and train before fighting me I'll give you the chance to do so now, otherwise I'll just have to kill you." Just like Masashige, his current situation didn't seem to be even remotely alarming to him.
"How did you get past [Dimension Lost]?" Georg felt the need to ask, his curiosity as a Magician burning within.
"I walked through it," Takauji stated.
Normally Georg would've taken it as a joke, but something about the way Takauji spoke made him believe he had actually done such an unthinkable thing.
"Look," Takauji held his hand up. Georg was mesmerized by the iridescent light that was seeping out of his fingers, radiating an energy that seemed to deny the very space around it. "A good chunk of my body was created from the Dimensional Gap, a spatial distortion as weak as yours isn't hard for me to get around."
He was Great Red's other half for a reason.
"The Dimensional Gap…" Georg repeated in a quieter voice. "How is such a thing possible?"
"That's for you to figure out," he shrugged. "Now, what will you do? Will you go back and hone your strength? Or will you fight me now?" They hadn't even exchanged a single blow, and Takauji had already determined that they were too weak.
"Of course we're going to fight," Cao Cao stepped forwards. "Capturing Yasaka is essential for us after all."
Takauji tilted his head.
"Capturing? Eh, I won't ask what you plan to do with her since you're incapable of accomplishing such a thing to begin with."
"We'll see about that," Cao Cao turned to his Vice-Leader. "Georg, do it."
"Understood," Georg held both of his hands out, the density of the mist coming from his palms increasing at an alarming rate.
[𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝔹𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕣: 𝔻𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖]
The mist shot out in all directions, enveloping what looked to be the entirety of Kyoto itself as Takauji breathed an impressed whistle.
"You created a sub-dimension within a sub-dimension, nice work." He clapped slowly. "Now I won't have to worry about Yasaka yelling at me for destroying her territory."
"You may have been able to enter as you pleased Pandora, but don't think leaving will be nearly as easy." Georg grinned.
Takauji didn't respond, there was simply no need to.
"So, which one do you want?" The Dragon turned to Masashige.
"I'll go after glasses over here, I must admit I'm rather interested in [Dimension Lost], though not nearly as much as Azazel would be." The corners of his mouth stretched a little.
"Then I'll fight skirt-boy." He looked at Cao Cao, his reptilian slit pupils menacingly starting to dilate.
"What about the rest?"
"They'll probably die in the crossfire anyways."
"Don't get cocky Dragon, I was born specifically to get rid of pests like you, a creature like you could never understand the true strength of human potential." He started to walk towards Takauji.
"Oh, but I do. You see, I was also human once."
Even Georg felt the need to stop and listen, almost forgetting that he was going to be fighting Masashige.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Naturally, he didn't buy it.
"Nonsense? Haha, Dragons can be born through many ways, regardless of what species they start out as. But I don't see much of a point in explaining everything to you, so just forget about it. We're here to fight, not chat."
"Indeed," Cao Cao extended his arm, summoning a brilliantly-crafted spear out of thin air. "Pandora, I will make today the last day you shed your blight on this world."
So that's [True Longinus], the strongest Sacred Gear in existence. Then again, I've more than learned by now that it's the wielder that makes up 99% of a Sacred Gear's strength. It's a shame really, if he had chosen not to die here he might've made for a brilliant opponent.
"Then come forth, child of man." Takauji motioned with his hand. "Show me the alleged strength of your humanity that surpasses mine."
Cao Cao lunged at him, taking off at a speed that the naked eye couldn't even begin to register, the tip of his spear aimed directly at Takauji's heart.
"Is that all you got?" Takauji activated his [Touki], his unrivaled eyesight allowing him to effortlessly block each and every attempt Cao Cao made to pierce his skin, despite having no hand to hand combat knowledge whatsoever. "How pitiful."
He grabbed the tip of Cao Cao's spear, hoisting him up into the air with its wielder still holding onto the weapon's shaft.
"So much for human potential."
BOOM!
He slammed him onto the ground, Cao Cao clenching his teeth as he felt his bones crunch upon making impact with the concrete ground. Georg was unable to shield him since he was preoccupied with battling Masashige.
Takauji walked over to him, crouching down as he loomed over his head.
"You said you were born to get rid of pests like me didn't you? Allow me to enlighten you, no one is born with an absolute purpose. The whole point of free-will being a concept is so you can create your own purpose. Sacred Gears are designed to respond to the desire of their wielders, not that of the world. Didn't you know that much?"
CRACK!
Takauji's [Touki] infused foot crashed against Cao Cao's ribcage, sending him flying into the railing of a nearby bridge before he could get up.
"The only definite reason behind your birth was because a man and a woman somewhere in the world wanted a child, that's it. Anything beyond that is for you to determine. Not the world, not [True Longinus], and certainly not some lofty ideal like insistence on human superiority."
Cao Cao planted the hilt of his spear into the ground, using it to support himself as he stood upright, the blood he had inherited from being a Hero Descendant helping him regenerate faster than usual.
"Oh, I get it now." Takauji continued to pace towards him, making no immediate effort to continue his offensive. "You think you were chosen don't you? That [True Longinus] was given to you because of some divine purpose you needed to fulfill." He started to laugh aloud, as if he were mocking Cao Cao's existence in its entirety. "It looks like I've got one hell of a lesson to teach, do try to get the syllabus down before you end up dead."
Sensing that Takauji was about to make his move, Cao Cao stabbed his spear into the ground, destroying the footing around him in order to give him time to predict where the Dragon would attack from.
"I'm afraid, that it's no longer possible for Sacred Gears to truly choose who they end up with." Hearing his voice in close proximity, Cao Cao looked around frantically in search of where he was. Eventually finding him sitting cross-legged on one of the slabs of concrete that had been flung up into the air, resting his cheek against his fist. "The Biblical God is dead, which you already know, and the Sacred Gear system is half-broken, which you also already know. If that's the case, then why on earth do you believe there's anyone still around capable of deciding which Sacred Gear goes where? It's not Michael doing it, I can tell you that much."
Cao Cao's mind was sent into overdrive, both trying to anticipate when Takauji would attack, and unable to drown out the words leaving his mouth.
"There's no one left with the power to decide which Sacred Gear goes where, and the Sacred Gears themselves certainly don't choose whom they're paired with, I doubt they were even created that way to begin with."
Now his voice was coming from directly behind Cao Cao, causing the spear-wielder to swing behind his back only to end up hitting a cloud of dark smoke.
An illusion.
"Allow me to explain a rather interesting factor that decides how strong my illusions are, on top of my already existing strength." Now Takauji was right in front of him, Cao Cao unsure whether to attack or not in fear that he was just another illusion. "The more deluded my opponent is, the easier casting an illusion on them becomes, and you my friend–"
CRASH!
Cao Cao felt a monumental force pummel his back, pushing him into the other side of the railing with a loud thud.
"Are deluded beyond belief, it's like you don't have the faintest level of comprehension regarding even a single part of you, you're basically a headless chicken playing the role of Messiah."
It had been made abundantly clear, Cao Cao was completely outclassed, leaving him with only one option if he wanted to even the odds.
"Oh? Are you going to [Balance Break]? Unless [True Longinus] comes with a therapy ability I doubt that'll do you much good, but go on then, I'll crush that toy of yours all the same."
Cao Cao had made his bed by brazenly challenging the Vainglory Dragon, and now it was time to lie in it.
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Cao Cao you silly lil goober, you lil scoundrel, you lil deviant.
10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14
Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x
Word Count: 2486