Fortress (IX)

『Byzan Fortress』

As Archibald ran down the stairs carrying Undine with Lamperogue, they defeated any guard that came their way.

"We're almost there," Archibald said, panting.

Lamperogue replied, "We're lucky Rolo and the team arrived."

Archibald agreed.

It gave them the perfect chance to escape the fire magus.

Before Archibald knew it...

Undine was no longer in his arms.

General Vorkalth had dashed past him and grabbed Undine with him, moving so fast it was like he was a bullet.

The boys turned abruptly and saw Vorkalth behind them, holding Undine tightly by the arms.

She struggled to break free, but it was all to no avail.

Vorkalth had a sword in his right hand, while the Aquos Chronicles was tied to his back.

An antimagic rune was inscribed on the book, intending to negate Undine's influence over it so that she wouldn't be able to harvest power from it as last time.

"Bastard!" (Archibald)

Vorkalth chuckled. "I hope you didn't think you could get away with the water spirit so easily," he said.

Archibald wore a serious expression.

"(This guy's giving off some serious bad vibes, he's definitely the General, this is bad)" (Archibald)

"...I expected you to pop up at some point..." (Archibald)

"....Naturally, but I'm surprised that Rivelune now needs the help of children to get the work done. Your team has done a mighty fine job in destroying my army, congratulations...." (Vorkalth)

In truth, he was just mocking them.

Lamperogue thought to himself, 'How could we let this happen?'

He was baffled by how fast the General moved.

Some Rivelune warriors had already made their way into the Fortress, about four were hidden in the surrounding area where Vorkalth confronted the two boys.

"What do you hope to gain from doing all this, Money? Power? Authority?" Archibald asked.

"All those things combined," Vorkalth answered coldly.

Slowly, his right hand reached under the tattered garment of Undine, caressing her nipple. Undine winced, trying to fight the pleasure she felt from it.

"Get your hands off her!" Archibald yelled, his eyes blazing with fury.

Vorkalth only laughed in response.

Lamperogue remained silent, watching the scene unfold.

Enraged by the sacrilege of touching the great water spirit, the Rivelune warriors charged at Vorkalth from all sides, but he remained unfazed.

With amazing strength, he threw Undine against one of the warriors, causing them to collide and fall to the ground.

Two of the warriors unsheathed their swords and rushed towards Vorkalth with deadly intent.

However, Vorkalth was faster and more skilled.

He clashed his sword against theirs, overpowering both of them, cutting off the leg of one, and putting his sword through the chest of the other.

Blood spattered all over the ground, the sight of which made the warriors pale in fear.

In the blink of an eye, Vorkalth had defeated the two warriors.

The last warrior, sensing his defeat, jumped at Vorkalth from behind with a renewed determination.

However, Vorkalth was already aware of his movements.

He swiftly turned around, and their blades collided causing a shower of sparks.

With expert precision and speed, Vorkalth reversed the warrior's blade, disarmed him, and then drove his sword through his neck.

The clash was so brutal that the sword sliced through his throat cleanly, severing his head from his body.

Vorkalth then retrieved Undine and, with a fluid movement, drove his sword through the head of the warrior he had first engaged.

All four of them were defeated in a gruesome and swift battle, leaving behind a trail of blood and violence.

"You bastard!" Archibald shouted, his voice filled with anger.

"Archibald, we have to be careful around this guy.." (Lamperogue)

Vorkalth tightly held Undine by her hair, causing her to struggle to break free.

".....I hope you both know what you're getting into. I'm ranked Disciple in both [Black Moon Arts] and [Sky Lord Arts]...." (Vorkalth)

He studied the two boys with a cold gaze.

Archibald froze, knowing the implications of getting into a fight with someone well versed in those two sword schools.

Vorkalth pointed his sword at them and asked if they were going to fight or if they would let him go.

Archibald didn't respond, neither did he move, and this drew Vorkalth's attention to him.

"I hope you're not so heartless that you'll let me go after killing so many of your comrades," Vorkalth said, his voice dripping with malice.

Archibald remained silent, knowing he couldn't beat Vorkalth, even with Lamperogue helping him.

"(I can't beat this guy... Unlike Rumia and the others, I'm not righteous enough to risk my life so needlessly)" (Archibald)

He remembered dying after trying to save Sakura.

A girl he didn't know all too well.

"(I don't want to die again...)" (Archibald)

He lowered his head, deciding to let him go.

Vorkalth chuckled, surprised that even do-gooders like Archibald could be so spineless.

He chose to take his leave and placed his hand on Archibald's shoulder, saying: "You and your friend should consider joining my army. I need spineless bastards like you."

While Vorkalth dragged Undine roughly on the ground, she screamed Archibaldʼs name, asking for help, but Archibald didn't respond.

"Archibald... I don't blame you for the choice you made, but expected better." (Lamperogue)

Soon after, Lamperogue hurled his shortsword at Vorkalth.

『Black Moon Arts • Executionerʼs Wheel!』

Vorkalth quickly turned and used Undine as a shield, resulting in the sword piercing her.

Undineʼs agonizing cries filled the air.

"You bastard.." Lamperogue said, overwhelmed with shock.

It was the most unusual way to defend.

But it wasn't an uncouth fighting method.

「Gregnar Zergack, the creator of the [Sky Lord Arts] defined it as a sword school of defence that focuses on protection by any means necessary. A utilitarian style of defending.」

Lamperogue charged for Vorkalth with his other shortsword, and while still holding Undine, Vorkalth clashed swords with Lamperogue.

"You'll pay for this!" Archibald shouted furiously.

He'd snapped out of it. He couldn't let the fear of dying turn him back into the unmotivated bastard— Haruto Sakamoto.

"Pay for what?" Vorkalth sneered, easily deflecting every slash Lamperogue threw his way.

He used [Sky Lord Arts] to defend himself, an unorthodox means of fighting.

"I don't answer to anyone, especially not weaklings like you." (Vorkalth)

Lamperogue gritted his teeth, swinging his sword with more force.

He knew he couldn't afford to lose this fight.

A strong gust of wind blasted Vorkalth away, breaking his hold on Undine.

He rolled roughly on the ground before crashing into a podium in the corridor.

Lamperogue was immediately by Undine's side to make sure she was okay.

"You made a big mistake," Vorkalth growled, picking himself up from the ground. "Now, you'll suffer the consequences."

The wind attack had come from Rumia.

She stepped forward to confront Vorkalth.

"Archibald, get your head in the game. You're behaving more like Lutessa than yourself. Where's the confident, perverted swordsman I met in the Nupokute Forest?" (Rumia)

"I'll show you that swordsman," Archibald said, slapping his cheeks to restore his confidence.

He turned to face Vorkalth. "Like I said before, I'll protect Undine!"

Vorkalth chuckled as he stood up, his eyes glowing with amusement.

He clapped slowly.

"You're all a pain in the ass. Congratulations." (Vorkalth)

Then, he picked up two other swords that were hung on the wall, holding one in his teeth and the other two in his hands.

This was him utilizing his dexterity.

In other words, the [Black Moon Arts].

"I'll make your deaths as slow and painful as humanly possible," Vorkalth said, his voice dripping with malice.

Lamperogue continued to hold Undine protectively. "We'll see about that."

Archibald readied his sword and asked Rumia, "Where are Lutessa and the others?"

"They're liberating the Rivelune people that were held captive," Rumia replied.

Archibald smiled. "That means the only thing left to do is defeat Vorkalth."

The tension between the two groups reached a boiling point.

Vorkalth charged forward with his swords, ready to attack.

Rumia placed her magic stave forward and materialized pieces of shaped rocks that she shot at high-speed towards Vorkalth.

"Take this!" she shouted.

Vorkalth laughed, "Is that all you got? It's too easy!"

『Sky Lord Arts • Hazar Spiral Counter!!』

He spun like a tornado, deflecting all the shaped rocks fired at him.

Archibald saw an opening and decided to charge forward, using [Burst of Sound].

But Vorkalth effortlessly stepped to the side and kicked Archibald in the face.

Archibald groaned in pain and stumbled to the side.

Vorkalth then set his sights on Lamperogue, who carried a wounded Undine.

"I'll finish this," he growled, stroking his sword horizontally from left to right, aiming to slash Lamperogue.

Lamperogue skillfully performed a backflip to move two meters backwards, simultaneously evading the attack.

"Not so fast." (Lamperogue)

Vorkalth was relentless and continued to run towards him, refusing to give him any breathing space.

Rumia knew that she had to act fast to support Lamperogue, so she made several mounds of earth to block Vorkalth's path.

『Sky Lord Arts • Attack Form Two: Clean Sweep!!』

In the blink of an eye, Vorkalth sliced the earth mounds like melted butter. He leapt towards Lamperogue like a bolt of lightning, too quick for Lamperogue to even react.

As he was about to attack, Archibald grabbed Vorkalth from behind, restraining his movement.

"Gotcha now," Archibald said triumphantly.

"Fuck off!" (Vorkalth)

Frustrated, Vorkalth struck Archibald who was behind him with his right elbow, effectively breaking free and leaving Archibald with a bloody nose.

Vorkalth ran again at Lamperogue, but on his left, Rumia fired more high-speed rocks that moved like bullets.

Using the sword in his left hand, Vorkalth deflected all the rocks and then threw the sword in his right hand at Rumia.

Rumia barely dodged, but it grazed her side, causing her to writhe in pain.

"Ugh!" she cried out.

They were obviously no match for him.

What more could they do?