Ghost (Buryoku Book 11), page 26
With this last proclamation, the previously cowardly soldier rushed forward, pulling a dagger from his boot and stabbing Roy in the chest. The dagger flared for a second, some sort of script or construct trying to activate, then it failed, shattering into a million tiny pieces.
The soldier stared at the remains of his dagger, the fight suddenly gone from his eyes. He looked up in terror, just in time for Geon’s leg to slam up between his own. The man shattered beneath the force of the kick, his dead body sent flying into the distance.
“I think that was a smidge too far,” Roy said, trying not to wince as the other soldiers were.
“I never go too far,” Geon said.
“Alright,” Roy said, returning his gaze to the remaining soldiers. “Whoever volunteers to give us a detailed map of the city first gets to live.”
The soldiers could not have moved faster, each trying to volunteer.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Roy said, pulling parchment and ink from his ring and tossing it to the ground. “It better be accurate as well,” he warned, “or when we return, you won’t find us very accommodating.”
The threat was clearly enough to keep them all on track and honest, the few remaining soldiers working as quickly and efficiently as they could to beat the others to making a map faster. One of the soldiers even attempted to turn on the others, in hopes that if he was the only one left, they’d have no choice but to rely on him.
It was not a bad idea, given his situation, but Roy hated traitors. The man didn’t live past his first attempt.
In just a few minutes, Roy had a completed map of the city and true to his word, he let the man live after Geon had broken his legs so he couldn’t run anywhere.
“That was unnecessary,” Roy said as they walked away from the screaming man, who clutched his ruined kneecaps.
“What? It was a clean break,” Geon defended himself. “If he lives, it’ll heal normally, and he’ll be able to walk again with only minimal discomfort.”
“I’m sure that makes him feel much better,” Roy said, rolling his eyes.
As he walked, he examined the map, noting the various sections of the city itself. First, there was the outer wall, where soldiers were stationed to repel any incoming attacks. Here, they also set up garrisons to move out quickly if needed. In total, over ten thousand soldiers were set up around the perimeter wall.
Once you passed the wall, you were in the slums, where the poor and destitute lived. It was the ruined part of the city everyone pretended didn’t exist. Once you were out of the slums, you came to the marketplace, which stretched for a good while before turning into the first of the residential areas.
Those stretched for a good portion of the city, coming up against the second garrison wall. Here, inside the inner wall, the more elite and highly trained soldiers were placed made of another eight thousand, all strong and loyal.
They had more powerful weapons, armor, and better training. Once past that wall, the wealthy district began, with a secondary marketplace and sprawling estates. The further one went, the more important they were. Each estate also carried with it its own garrison of guards and soldiers. These varied in strength and skill based on how powerful the owner of said estate was.
Once one reached the innermost wall, they met the third garrison. It had five thousand soldiers who were the best of the best, set to guard the royal family themselves. Within this third wall was the Royal Family, where the king, queen, and direct descendants called home.
It was here that the greatest wealth stood and the most powerful weapons and armor were placed. Apparently, the Royal Family also had a trophy room, where they kept relics of the Martial Artists they had defeated.
“Looks straightforward enough,” Roy said, closing the map and leaping up into one of the trees at the fringes of the forest.
The only question now was if he should bash his way through the city or simply skip the walls, battles, and weaker soldiers and head straight for the center.
“I say we take the long way,” Geon said, cracking his knuckles.
“That just wastes time,” Roy said. “Going to the inner wall will be the fastest way to make it through. Besides, there will still be loads of guards to kill if we head that way.”
“But there’ll be more to kill if we take the long way,” Geon said.
“You’ve had your fun,” Roy said, making up his mind. “We’re heading for the inner wall, and that’s final.”
40
The screams of soldiers echoed in the early morning air as Roy and Geon landed within the innermost wall. It had taken them virtually no time at all to reach this place, having flown over both walls and making a beeline for the third. Alarms had started ringing the moment they’d entered the city, but the soldiers couldn’t even hope to keep up with them and found themselves trailing behind.
When they’d come to the third wall, Roy had debated continuing to the massive castle looming before them, but when a blast of searing heat air had scorched the area next to him and his aura flared instinctively, Roy knew he needed to take care of these soldiers first – or rather, the weapons they seemed to have on hand.
He’d dropped from the sky, landing amidst the massing soldiers, and began to dole out death. Each time he killed a soldier who carried a particularly nasty weapon, he stored it away in his ring. After all, if he could take them, then why not?
Roy didn’t have to enhance himself to kill the soldiers, but he did in order to face the weapons head-on. The majority seemed to be some sort of miniature cannon that was handheld. Soldiers would level it at him, depress a small trigger, and a blast of condensed Chakra – there were multiple types – would explode from the end.
Worst of all, it seemed to have multiple charges, so the soldiers could fire multiple times before they ran out.
On top of that, they seemed to have multiple types of these weapons. Some were long and thin, fired by those at a distance, while others were short and squat, fired up close. The distance ones packed a real punch when they hit, but the ones up close had the most stopping power, as they didn’t appear to need any form of precision. Roy was hit multiple times per second as he and Geon slaughtered their way across the wall.
He was moving fast, but there were so many soldiers that it was impossible to avoid them all. His Armor was soon activated, leaf-shaped scales forming over his skin as his Demon’s Hide Chakra technique repelled the incoming barrage of attacks.
Roy continued moving forward, his arms and legs flashing out, crushing helmets, breastplates, arms, and legs. Weapons poured into his ring as he moved, taking out soldier after soldier without exerting himself too much.
It was the strangest thing, leaping into a mass of people trying to kill him and slaughtering his way through them. He knew how the soldiers felt, as he had once been one of them – weak and unable to do anything as someone more powerful tore their way through their ranks. He still felt that way some days, especially with the demons and other Scions around.
Perhaps that was why he felt so weak in comparison to the Sovereigns, as they somehow managed to stand on par with the Scions in his mind, even though he knew the truth couldn’t be any more different. Scions and Sovereigns were like night and day. There was no comparison, yet his mind couldn’t help but draw one.
Roy was so distracted with his thoughts that he didn’t see the larger cannon fire until it was too late. A wave of freezing death slammed into him, killing nearly a dozen soldiers who’d been massed around him and knocking him from the wall. He felt it tear through his Armorer technique and try to attack his body directly.
Oh, no you don’t, Roy said, his aura flaring and destroying the foreign energy.
The cheering abruptly stopped as Roy flashed back over the wall, appearing before the massive cannon and slaughtering anyone who stood around it. He then proceeded to take it into his ring as well, sure that it would serve them well in the future.
Roy flexed his fingers, feeling the ice flaking off them as he warmed once more. This was a warning that he needed to remain focused. A single slip-up here could be dangerous, and while these soldiers weren’t all that strong, the weapons they carried were.
Geon was having a great time, shearing through soldiers, ripping them apart, and completely ignoring anyone that tried to attack him. As a result, he’d become a bit damaged, with small chunks missing from his body. However, seeing as he was made of Reiki and sufficient force hadn’t been applied, he had yet to explode, which was kind of nice.
Horns began blaring in the distance and Roy paused for a moment to look back, seeing lines of soldiers swarming through the streets in their direction. They could, of course, be weaker than the ones here – supposedly – but more soldiers meant more fighting.
“Come on,” Roy called to Geon. “I think it’s time we start fighting our way in.”
“I don’t think we’ve killed enough of them,” Geon said, crushing a soldier’s head.
The ground around them was littered with the bodies of hundreds as the soldiers continued making their way around the wall in order to face the present threat. While Geon wanted to continue fighting, Roy knew that the longer they did, the greater the chance they would bring some sort of weapon that could really hurt them. Ignoring Geon’s protests, Roy leaped off the wall and began battling his way inward, toward the castle.
Geon had a choice to make. He could either stay where he was or join Roy. Geon chose to stay, continuing to battle the soldiers on the wall and leaving Roy to advance on his own.
Roy tore through the forces blocking his way, leaping the small iron fence and into the grounds of the castle. More soldiers came, though these moved with a fluid grace that the others had been lacking. Their armor seemed to be made of something different than the others, as it moved too easily.
The first troop met him, all wielding polearms containing blades that crackled with yellow light. Roy darted in, slamming a punch into the first soldier’s chest and knocking him back. The armor rang like a bell, and while he managed to leave a sizable dent and throw the soldier back a few dozen feet, the man remained among the living.
Roy spun, twisting into a powerful kick and enhancing his body with the Demon’s Hammer. Chakra flowed through his channels and out into the technique that formed around his foot an instant before impact.
The shock of force this time shattered the breastplate, killing the man within and sending him spinning and tumbling as he tore a swath through the grass and trees. Roy spun, throwing an arm up to block, and winced as the heavy ax blade sheared through his armor and into his arm. The blade didn’t bite very deep, but it did hurt him.
Roy seized the blade as the man tried to retreat, ripping it from his hands and using it to bash another over the head, splitting his helm, head, and going deep into his chest. The soldier didn’t have time to scream.
Three more soldiers attacked his back and Roy flared his Chakra, layering it more densely to repel the attacks. The ax blades bit in once more, only this time, they became lodged in his Armor. When Roy spun, he wrenched the blades from their hands.
A couple of powerful blows later and the men crumpled. Roy stored the polearms and continued moving, only to be met by another group. This time, he used his Full-body Chakra technique and easily tore through them all, managing to separate a man of his armor and store that in his ring before he moved on.
Behind him, he could still hear Geon wreaking havoc, the sounds of screaming men, their buzzing cannons and Geon’s laughter – in his mind anyway. He was too preoccupied with moving forward, and as he approached the castle doors, slots opened in the walls above.
Massive cannons rolled out, their payloads unleashing as he moved to intercept. Whoever was in charge of these cannons had much better aim than the soldiers outside, as they all struck their mark. Roy managed to dodge a few but was hit a couple of times in a row.
Searing pain flashed through his arms as he raised them to block, the cannon fire blasting through his Full-body technique’s Armor. Roy’s knees flexed as he was driven back through the grass, pumping lightning into his body to keep the invasive energy from boring deeper into him.
By the time the cannons had released their energy, Roy had been driven back a good fifty yards, the ground around him a smoking mess and his arms trailing the same. They stung, but as he switched from Chakra to Reiki, the pain faded. His Reiki Physical and Armorer techniques formed, and Roy darted forward once more, covering the distance before they could so much as react.
His Demon’s Roar blasted the doors wide open, revealing a group of soldiers in even sleeker armor. They all carried buzzing blue swords. Roy didn’t care. He plowed straight into them, ripping them to pieces before they could do anything.
Some of their swords made it into his ring, while others were ignored as he raced further into the castle. By this point, he assumed he would have to find whoever was in charge and kill them. He hoped that locating them wouldn’t be too challenging.
He flashed through an ornate entryway, moving up a twisting flight of stairs and onto the second floor, where he was once again faced by a group of soldiers. These wore bulkier armor, ones with clear lines of text scrolling across their surface. Each also carried different weapons, showing that they were more specialized.
Roy’s fist caved in the first one’s head before they could react, but react they did, and faster than he would have thought. One with a trident and net attacked first, casting the net at his legs. Roy found himself tangled by the glowing mess for a moment before he tore free, but that was all the time the soldiers needed.
A huge club, glowing brown, came crashing down on his head. Roy’s Armor stopped it dead in its tracks, but as the trident slammed into him, unleashing a payload of energy, Roy felt his Armor begin to strain.
Roy growled, then kicked out, a clawed foot slamming into the trident-wielder’s chest and throwing him through the far wall.
He was a Sovereign for pity’s sake! They shouldn’t have been able to slow him down.
Roy’s aura flared brighter as a spearman tried to skewer him, the weapon bouncing off the denser Reiki combined with his will. Roy’s hand snapped out, seizing the spearhead and snapping the weapon with a flex of his fingers. He then threw the spearhead back, smashing the man’s breastplate and sending the broken weapon through his back.
The club came crashing down and Roy turned, glaring up at the man and stopping him in place. His armor whined and buzzed as whatever scripts that powered it tried to work past the immense power blocking its advance.
Roy felt a searing heat coursing through him as he felt his bestial side take hold. He remembered Snarl’s words clearly. He wasn’t an ordinary human, so why fight like one?
His Demon’s Hammer vanished, though his Armor remained, and Roy took a step forward, forcing the other man back a step. He took another few, forcing the man back further. His armor screeched suddenly and parts of it began to tear themselves away. First a gauntlet, then a pauldron, followed by a bracer. Soon, the man within was revealed, frantically trying to hold the armor together, while simultaneously trying to attack Roy.
Roy glared at the man, his burning eyes meeting the terrified soldier’s.
“Die,” Roy commanded.
The man’s neck snapped with a wet crack, and he slumped to the ground. Roy turned, the Power in the air around him gathering and lifting him off his feet. He floated forward, his burning eyes locked on his next target as his Spirit Sense engulfed the entire castle, seeking those he needed to kill in order to finish this stage.
41
Roy tore through yet another group of guards, Reiki flowing through his channels but not forming into any technique. He didn’t need one in order to kill these weaklings. The armor the guards wore grew more and more advanced as he tore his way through the castle, as did the weapons they wielded.
By the time Roy found his way to the throne room – directed by a very kind soldier right before he’d ripped his head off – he had taken some hits. Now, facing the massive double doors that barred his way, Roy once again found himself facing opposition, though these seemed to be a cut above the rest.
Three figures stood before him, all dressed in armor of varying colors. One wore a sleek green, the plaits overlapping in a way that would offer great movement as well as defense. They carried a staff that had glowing ends.
The second’s armor was yellow and made entirely of interlocking scales. They were larger and bulkier than the green armored fighter and carried a flanged mace and shield. The third fighter’s armor was blue and made of a fine mesh, covering a thin layer of leather. They carried two swords, each straight as an arrow and double-edged.
“You shall not pass, invader,” the yellow armored man said. “We, the Royal Guardians, will stop you where you stand!”
Roy unleashed the Demon’s Roar, a condensed wave of Reiki blasting from his throat and slamming into the armored man, driving him back and into the wall. His armor flared bright and the attack was destroyed, though it did leave a sizable scorch mark on the armor’s surface.
“Have you no honor?” exclaimed the blue-armored man. “I will see you to the afterlife!”
“What’s with these weirdoes?” Geon asked, popping unexpectedly into his mind.
“Beats me,” Roy replied, rushing forward to meet the blade-wielder.
His blade blurred as it came down, slashing at his shoulder. Roy caught it with his claws, then punched the man in the face. The man ducked, then lunged, trying to skewer him in the ribs. Roy released the blade, then kicked him, enhancing his speed with his Ripple Step.
The blurring kick slammed into the man full on, hurling him into the air where he smashed into the massive doors at the other end of the room. Clearly, both the doors and armor were made of tough stuff, as they both remained unharmed.
