Chapter 20: Warfare

"A-Aosaki Toshirou? The outsider who infiltrated my city, was you?"

"I don't know, maybe it was someone else." He replied sarcastically. He jumped down from the rooftop and landed as light as a feather.

"Don't mess with me? What is the meaning of all this!? Why the heck is the Min-ji army here? You didn't give me that information." Dae said angrily.

"Likewise, Aosaki-kun. Your intentions this morning became quite unclear and I assume this is a result of that?" Yeong-ji came out from within the mass of armed men and stood beside Dae, equally just as puzzled and upset by the current circumstance.

"Result of what exactly? My intentions? What were they as a matter of fact? Could you care to explain it to me?"

Yeong-ji furrowed his brows, annoyance getting to him in contrast with his usual calm and collected personality.

Toshirou sighed. "Humans are so terribly deceived by the littlest of things. It is truly intriguing how a small display of so-called loyalty,"- he stretched out his arm and rubbed his index finger and thumb together- "can make even the mightiest of men to fall and scatter like grains of sand."

"Was everything you told me a lie? Raynell, was that a lie too?" Dae asked him.

"Yeah. It was all... a lie."

Dae instantly attacked him. She slashed her sword at him, aiming directly for his head. It happened so fast it appeared as a blur to the soldiers behind.

"How amusing." Toshirou blocked the attack with his own. He used the katana strapped to his waist to intercept the attack done by Dae and jumped back a few meters from her.

"Good grief, calm down Dae." Yeong-ji pat her shoulder and stood beside her. "This is not just your fight, but mine also. After all, I did accommodate him. It's hard to accept, I know, but I'm sure you're also aware that this is not someone we can defeat on our own."

"What are you implying, Yeong-ji?"

"A temporary alliance. We will settle out disputes later but for now, this is the current issue on ground. We have both been deceived, especially myself. Right now, I do not know whether my wife and attendants at the palace are alive. Worst case scenario is that they are already dead."

She looked into his rose-golden eyes, and understood his heart. He was afraid for the people closest to him but as a leader, he would have to cast aside his fears and worries for the sake of the people, to avoid more casualties.

She moved her glance away from him. "Sorry, I understand."

She raised up her left hand and swung it down. "All troops move forward! Take him down and capture him by force!!"

Yeong-ji swiped his hand across his neck.

"Ahhhh!!!!" Both armies casted aside their differences and rushed at him. Unleashing deafening battle cries, they all ran forward to lay a wide scale attack on Toshirou, even the archers fired their deadly arrows at him.

Toshirou did not move. He merely stood there as all forces assailed him from all sides; left, right, front, back, and even the sky. Just as all attacks were about to make contact, he cocked his head slightly to the side.

*Boom*

An invisible force around him deflected all the attacks and the attackers, causing a powerful shockwave that sent the soldiers flying back. The soldiers from the rear took up arms and succeeding in getting close to him.

He took up his katana and lunged at them. He struck his sword at the chest of one of the soldiers and kicked him away. Another came up from his back but he moved left, dodging and swung his sword at him.

"Tch! How interesting."

Three warriors closed in on him, each holding a sword in hand. At the same time, they attacked him. Toshirou used his left hand to take up the sword from his lower back, held the two swords in his hands and spun around with a force that broke the blades of his assailants, much to their astonishment.

"Wha-what the hell!?"

Toshirou smashed the hilt of the wakizashi blade in his left hand on the collarbone of one of the attackers, used the heel of his foot to kick the neck of the second, and grabbed the head of the third, throwing him into the air.

"What monstrous strength!!" Some of the warriors exclaimed.

Toshirou crossed the two blades in his arms in an 'x' and bent low, putting his right leg in front of him in a battle stance.

"Hollow." He said.

He slashed the sword at his offenders and a blue energy beam in the shape of an 'x' shot out and blasted into the army, wiping out a large number of their men and forming a large crater on the earth.

In that moment, arrows came from the sky and struck down on Toshirou. He used both swords, slicing and hacking through the projectiles that aimed for him. With superhuman speed, he cut through every single one of the arrows shot at him.

A dozen soldiers rushed him from all sides. Two of them attacked him with spears but he was too quick, he ran towards them, jumped, put his hand on the wooden handle of the spear and flipped over them, cutting them down with his sword as he did so. The rest were not deterred and came from him by his left and right. He held both swords in hands by the hilt, facing them downward and lifted himself into the air, spinning around and throwing the blades through the stomach of all ten soldiers, five on his right and five on his left, at the same time.

'These attacks... They're not uncoordinated ones. There's someone monitoring their movements and telling them how to act.'

He stretched out his arm and pulled out a broadsword from thin air. He held it by the hilt and stabbed the blade into the ground.

"Find him."

A blue shockwave emanated from him, blasting everything and everyone around away from him.

'There you are.'

As fast as a blur, he ran straight ahead. He lifted the broadsword and swung at the man that was his target.

Yeong-ji remained unfazed as Toshirou spotted and rushed at him.

Before the blade of the broadsword could make contact, Dae moved swiftly into his front and blocked the attack from Toshirou with her sword.

Toshirou opened his eyes in mild surprise. Dae kicked him but he moved back, he came at her and the both of them fought together, striking and blocking the other's attacks with inhuman speed. Powerful gusts of wind emanated as the two made series of contact with each other.

Yeong-ji covered his face with the back of his hand as the wind the two combatants caused blew everywhere, mixing with sand and dust. He gave the command;

'All warriors attack him at once, from all sides. Leave him no room for escape.'

He did not speak but the soldiers responded as such. Coming in hundreds, from all sides, they charged at Toshirou with their weapons aimed at him. Dae struck his sword away and kicked his chest, pushing him away into the crowd of soldiers coming at him.

"Dammit!" Toshirou looked up at the sky and saw hundreds of arrows coming down on him, all targeting his body.

A large explosion erupted as all attacks hit him head on. Shockwaves blew through the entire city, waves hitting hard on the buildings and trees.

Dae jumped out from amidst the collision back to Yeong-ji's side.

"You really are a thinker through and through." She said.

"So it would seem but I didn't do anything outside the ordinary." Yeong-ji replied.

"Interesting, but did we get him?" Dae asked.

"Not at all."

*Boom!!*

All the warriors flew away, crashing into buildings and trees. Debris flew from the earth and made impact with the archers on the rooftops, making many of them to lay down to avoid being hit by the rocks.

Toshirou emerged from the destruction with his clothes stained with dust and sand, but no scratch or wound could be found on his body.

"Seriously," he said, moving forward at a steady pace. "You're both trouble. Let's cut of all reinforcements, shall we?"

A loud bang rang throughout the entire village, alongside screams of horror and pain.

"Seem familiar, Dae?"

She grit her teeth furiously. This time it wasn't a bluff, her men had been either decapitated or eliminated.

Yeong-ji put a hand on the side of his head. "Dae, your men-"

"I know." She said. "They're dead. Focus on the battle at hand."

Toshirou narrowed his eyes. "I see. You can read minds Yeong-ji-san, just like a particular person I know."

"Indeed." Yeong-ji replied.

"The coordination of the attacks, the impromptu timing, they were all you. As expected, you are the most dangerous one left unchecked." Toshirou said.

"Why are you doing this!?" Dae exclaimed. "What would you gain by doing any of this!?"

"What would I gain? Is that really a question you should be asking? Who doesn't love acquiring more power?"

"That's your motivation? More power?" Asked Dae.

"Yes,"— he stretched out his left hand towards them and clenched it into a fist— "If I can attain angelhood in such a manner, why wouldn't I? I will be like the angels and be seen as their equal. I will pose such a threat that will lead to the disruption of the heavens!"

The two feudal lords widened their eyes, dumbfounded by this statement made by Toshirou. Be like the angels? Disrupt the heavens? What nonsense was this person spouting?

"But for me to do that, I would need to eliminate all oppositions standing in my way."

He opened his palm. The next series of events happened so swiftly and unexpectedly.

Raynell suddenly appeared before them, with Toshirou holding the back of her neck letting her face Yeong-ji and Dae.

"Raynell!" Dae shouted.

Raynell was just as startled at the present situation. "Huh!? Wha-? Mo-mother?"

"I'm here... I'm here for you!"

Frightened, Raynell slowly turned her head to the side, her scared ruby eyes making contact with Toshirou's empty azure ones.

"To-Toshirou-san?"

"Aosaki-kun! What is the meaning of this!?" Yeong-ji exclaimed.

"Meaning? There's nothing to it. As of right now, all troops at each gate have been taken out. Look around you, your soldiers have been eliminated. Only a few hundred, at most two, are still armed on their feet all around us, too wary and cautious to make a move. What better way to kill everyone here than to first make their leaders succumb to despair?"

Dae clenched her teeth together. "Aosaki! Just what are you trying to do here?"

He smiled.

"This."

Raynell's head exploded. Blood splattered everywhere, onto the ground, on his hands, the attires of everyone near the scene, and onto Dae's cheeks.

With horror filled in her eyes, she watched the decapitated body of her adopted daughter fall... to the ground.

Dae screamed. She abandoned all caution and ran to the dead body of her only child.

"Aosaki-kun... how could you do this?" Yeong-ji said in a shaky voice. "How could you do such a terrible thing without batting an eye!? Didn't you promise to set her free!? Didn't you vow to return her home!? So why!? Tell me why!?"

"I think you're mistaken, I did just that. I sent her to heaven."

"Aaarrggh!!!" Dae lunged at him, grabbing his neck and threw him into a building which came crashing down as a result of the impact.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Tears streamed down Dae's cheeks. "I'll kill you!!!"

Her body was enveloped in a white aura, the aura so powerful it sent a mighty shockwave around her and a large crater in the ground. The aura shot into the sky with such power and ferocity. Strong gusts of wind blew all around her, making everyone to brace themselves at the impact.

Yeong-ji covered his eyes to avoid being blinded by the wind. He recognized the event taking place.

"T-This is..."

In an instant, the shockwaves and wind dispersed.

"I'll kill you, Aosaki Toshirou."

A shadow of something huge was seen in screen of dust. The dust suddenly cleared, revealing the true form of what it was.

Dae stood amidst the destruction but she was completely different. White breastplates that shone with a touch of pure silver and black stripes adorned her torso, dark midnight skirt that stopped at her mid-thigh and heeled silver-striped boots that reached above her knees. On both her arms were silver bands that extended all the way to her wrists and formed talon-like claws that attached themselves to her fingers. On her head, she wore a silver helmet with ears like that of a cat and something like a tail protruded out of her lower back.

*Grrrr*

An enormous white tiger with black stripes stood behind her. It's size was magnificent, as huge as the nearby houses in the area. With its large spiky tail, it covered Dae like a shield while its main body stood behind her, towering over her in great heights. Its fangs extended downwards from its upper teeth, like a sabertooth tiger. The eyes of the creature was a silvery white, just like hers, and a white circle with vertical and horizontal symbols lay in front of both their eyes, showing the strength of their connection.

Yeong-ji looked dumbfounded at her appearance. This form of hers, the animal behind her, her attire, all confirmed one thing to him; Dae Chun-ja, was a Summoner.

Toshirou emerged slowly from the rubble the collapsed building had become. His eyes went wide as his gaze fell on the foreign appearance of Dae.

'A new form, the large animal behind her, the Mark of Connection on their eyes, there's no doubt about it; this woman is...'

As fast as the wind, Dae was directly in his face. Toshirou's eyes widened in shock seeing Dae's face right in front of his.

'What the-'

Dae clenched her right hand, swung it at him like an uppercut and punched him square in the stomach.

"*Pwah!!*"

He spat blood as he was sent flying by the blow. He flew into trees, buildings and with a powerful force, fell down to ground.

'B-Bloody hell! She broke one of my ribs! What the hell's with that beastly strength!?'

His thoughts were cut short. A gust of wind blew and Dae was in his presence, standing over him. Bewilderment washed over his face.

She swung her sword down at his head. In the nick of time he rolled over, dodging the attack. He lifted himself off the ground with his back but came face to face with the talons of the large were-tiger.

'This thing's fast too!?'

The tiger struck him with its claws. Toshirou brought up his broadsword and used it as a shield to block the attack. He succeeded, but the power difference was quite clear and the attack still pushed him back.

'My back's wide open.'

The speed was unfathomable. Dae was behind him, his back wide open. She released the double-edged sword, a blazing silver-colored energy enveloping it, and said,

"Way of the Tiger: Act 1; Sacred Fang!"

She slashed him, with enough force to decimate the immediate environment and part of its surroundings. A massive explosion occured as a result of the attack.

Yeong-ji and every single soldier stayed away from the fight and braced themselves at the powerful shockwave that made contact with them.

'My, my, this is not a fight I would like to get myself involved with. If she had been our enemy it would have certainly been troublesome.'

He left Toshirou to Dae, confident enough that she will prevail. However, something else was on his mind that caused him great trouble. He could hear it, sense it, and feel it - the presence of an unfamiliar divine energy. He couldn't pinpoint the exact location, like there was a signal interfering with his thoughts.

'Well, I'll leave that for now. Removing my focus from the current battle isn't virtuous of a lord.'

He turned towards the battle at hand to see Toshirou and Dae swinging their swords at one another, terrifying bouts of energy sparking out of their weapons as they hit each other repeatedly.

'What path did you really choose to follow, Aosaki-kun?'

The two fighters continued to slash their weapons at the other. They clashed and held up their swords against each other.

"I'm surprised you survived the Sacred Fang." Dae said, pushing her sword against his.

"No biggie. Just concentrated divine energy at my backside like an invisible shield." Toshirou replied, also pushing his broadsword against hers.

"Commendable but useless."

She pushed him away and her were-tiger rushed at him with incredible speed. The tiger leapt at Toshirou, striking him with its razor-sharp claws. He put up his broadsword and blocked the offense. The tiger swung its enormous tail at him, sending him straight headed for a building.

'This thing is in my way.' He stabbed his broadsword into the ground, stopping his momentum in the air and flipped backwards, landing on his two feet. Removing the black katana by his waist, he threw his broadsword which vanished into a blue portal, and released the wakizashi blade from behind his lower back. Holding up the katana in his right hand and the wakizashi in the left, he went after the giant tiger with the intent to decapitate it.

"It's useless."

Dae stood in front of the animal, held her blade horizontally, and uttered these words,

"The sea bares its fangs against the land,

The land bares its fangs against the wind,

The wind bares its fangs against the firmament,

And the firmament bares its fangs against the heavens,

Way of the Tiger: Act 2; Claws Of Rebellion!!"

Her sword shone brightly, brighter than the very day. Wind encompassed her and tiger, the silver eyes of the tiger glowed immensely, as with hers. There was a loud rumbling noise!

Toshirou stopped in his tracks and crossed his swords into a plus sign as silver lightning shot out from Dae's sword and blasted straight at him.

*Skchrchr*

The bolts of lightning hit him head-on. His crossed swords were not enough to dispell the attack. The lightning threw him back, carrying him in the air into the sky.

"Ngh!!" Toshirou grit his teeth as electricity coursed through his veins and entire body.

Dae jumped into the air, with silver sparks of energy flowing through her sword and cut Toshirou across the stomach, making him shout out in pain.

With a loud crash, he hit the ground causing a large hole to form in the earth.

He was bleeding profusely. A large gash across his stomach produced blood at an incredible rate. Dae came down and walked towards him. She stood over him with disdain in her eyes.

"This is the end of the line, Aosaki-kun. You betrayed everything you stood for and believed. To think you were merely a child who was seeking delusional power, it's almost pitiful. But I don't feel an iota of remorse for you, not after your hands had been stained with the blood of my daughter."

Toshirou coughed up a large quantity of blood as he lay on the floor. Shakily, he tilted his head up towards her and smiled, his mouth stained with crimson. His voice barely came above a whisper.

"You're... You're strong, D-Dae." He coughed up blood. "Th-that's good. Protect... protect Min-ji... and Raynell."

He coughed up blood once more and smiled looking up at the clouds, laying his head back on the ground.

Dae was astonished, bewildered. Words could not begin to describe the expression on her face and the state of her heart.

"He-Hey, Aosaki, what do you mean by that?" She said, her eyes opened with disbelief. She bent down and grabbed Toshirou by his shirt, hoisting him up to her face. "Answer me! Just what in the world are you talking about!!?"

Seeing the battle end, Yeong-ji walked up to Dae, signalling to the remaining conscious soldiers to follow him closely. On getting closer, he saw Dae drop Toshirou's limp body on the ground, with a horrified expression on her face.

Yeong-ji placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Dae, what's the matter?"

She did not answer, much to the concern of Yeong-ji.z

"Dae! What's the matter!?"

"Ray... Raynell.."

"Go on." Yeong-ji urged her.

"Ra-Raynell... she's alive."

Yeong-ji was stunned by this news. "How? Is that what he told you?"

"N-No, she really is. There's something... far more dangerous that's about to happen."

Yeong-ji was troubled. Was his inkling of trouble earlier valid? The unfamiliar divine energy, was it really a sign of trouble? 'What was Aosaki-kun trying to do? What did he want to accomplish?'

"I don't even understand what's going on anymore." Yeong-ji said, feeling both puzzled and confused.

"My, my, what a shame. He's dead now, isn't he?" A voice echoed.

Dae, Yeong-ji and the remainders of their respective armies all looked up at the tallest building in the city. Within the belfry, someone sat in it, his figure hidden by the darkness.

"And just when I was looking forward to meeting him, you just had to go all out and kill him. I'm gonna get you for that just so you know."

A loud marching sound was heard. The sound grew nearer to them by the second, holding them all in shaky anticipation.

Soon enough, a large army came forth from all sides of the city, dressed in black robes and armed with a sword each by their waist. From the crowd that was the army, two men came forward; one with pale blue hair tied in a ponytail that reached his mid back and the other with short plain brown hair slightly shaved by the sides, dressed in a white sleeveless karategi that was filled up by his muscular build and a thick brown leather belt around his waist.

The figure that sat in the belfry stood up and jumped down, landing beside the two men.

He had jet black hair and golden yellow eyes and his build was slim yet defined. He wore a pair of black knee-length sultan shorts with yellow hems, a grey open-neck t-shirt and an open black sleeveless jacket that extended to his knees, accompanied with brown slipper-like sandals.

The three individuals stood before the Feudal and their army with warriors of their own behind them.

Casting them a serious look, the man with pale blue hair said to them with a cold voice,

"As of this moment, Yeong-ji Choi, you have been dethroned as the Feudal lord of the Min-ji village!"

This turn of development, was something that neither Dae nor Yeong-ji could have ever expected or foreseen.