Episode 65 Do Not Interfere! I

Kunai lowers his brand new sword, staring at its augmented features. He weighs it in his right hand. “Heavy,” he growls. “Just perfect…for causing a lot of damage.”

Without warning, Lord Gilford appears directly in front of Kunai. He swings his axe brutally, and it scrapes across Kunai’s cheek. Blood spews out freely from the wound, but Kunai merely shrugs it off.

With a heave, he retaliates, sending his heavier sword hurling towards Gilford. The lord dodges, but Kunai rapidly sends another slash right at him with the blinding speed of a Hermit.

Lord Gilford slides out of the way, and blunt edge of Kunai’s sword merely collides with the ground, sending up a huge splash of murky water.

Ivy cowers fearfully nearby, bent over Rill and determinedly attempting to heal him. Though his wounds continue to progressively look better, his face still remains a sickly pale gray. She watches urgently as Kunai and Lord Gilford continue to exchange blows, each metallic collision louder and fiercer than the last.

Meanwhile, Kunai spins in midair right after a miss, trailing Gilford right on his tail. He swings, and his gigantic sword collides against Gilford’s shoulder.

With a slow tug, Kunai pulls his sword back, widening the wound in Gilford’s shoulder. Lord Gilford bends over for a moment, rendered motionless due to the blow.

He grasps his shoulder abruptly, as blood pours out and a wide, grotesque grimace crosses his face. “Impossible. He’s beating me with sheer force alone? He’s not even fighting with any sort of strategy. He’s just swinging his sword recklessly back and forth!”

Lord Gilford suddenly tenses, as he stands on his knees on the floor. He reaches into his pocket, drawing out a small packaging case. “I’ve had enough of this…” He pops a small pill from inside the case into his mouth, and stands up again, appearing to be fully rejuvenated.

Kunai stares perplexedly as Lord Gilford grabs the handle of his axe, holding it lightly aloft. Though the blood continues to flow speedily from his shoulder, Lord Gilford shows no signs of it bothering him.

“The Myougun’s special wartime pills, in case you’re wondering,” Lord Gilford leers. “It numbs all pain and doubles the attacking power, for the price of quadrupling stamina consumption. Essentially, it makes fighting machines out of even the weakest of humans.”

“Then all I’ve gotta do is tire you out,” Kunai replies, not at all disconcerted.

“You’ll find that is harder to do than it is to say,” Gilford growls back.

“We’ll see,” Kunai returns smoothly. He disappears in a flash, and Gilford only has time to raise his axe to counter the blow, before Kunai brings the edge of his blade two inches from Lord Gilford’s neck.

Slightly unhinged, Gilford throws his weight against his axe, pushing Kunai backwards. But the next second, Kunai disappears again, challenging Gilford from behind.

Gilford turns once again and stops the blow, considerably more calmly this time. Kunai, however, merely reappears in front of Gilford, placing the entire blunt edge of his sword over Gilford’s neck.

“I’m not going to let you leave this place alive today, Gilford,” Kunai says darkly.

“Oh really?” Gilford smirks. All of a sudden, he grabs his pant leg, and begins shaking it vigorously. Kunai steps back, perplexed. The next second, several silvery-black marbles drop to the ground and explode upon contact, unleashing a steady stream of gray smoke.

Kunai coughs violently, as the smoke crawls under his eyelids, burning his eyeballs. He falls onto all fours, coughing and grimacing even after the smoke begins to clear. A flood of chilling poison flows through Kunai.

As he finally opens his eyes, Kunai finds himself lying flat on the ground, his right hand still gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. He props himself up on his arms, and attempts to rise—only to find that his legs refuse to move.

He clenches his teeth, as his eyes widen considerably. He glances back. His legs lay like blocks of heavy stone on the ground, immobile. He tries once again, and slowly lifts one of them. Slowly, he rises to his feet, shakily.

Lord Gilford sneers as he watches Kunai’s struggle to rise from the ground. Kunai glares back. “What the hell was in those marbles?” Kunai inquires aggressively. A fierce sweat breaks out over his forehead.

“Are you really that stupid, or have you never experienced this feeling before?” Gilford retorts back.

Kunai wipes his forehead, and all of a sudden, his eyes widen in realization. “Weak?” he mutters softly.

“It is high-tech Myougun technology,” Gilford explains. “We’ve succeeded in capturing these spells within tiny marbles the size of pills. Upon contact with the ground, they will explode and the spells will consume anyone caught within the spatial area of the smoke.”

“D-Damn you…” Kunai curses, as he is nearly pulled toward the ground under the heavy weight of the Weak spell. He staggers, and lunges forward, throwing his sword out to support himself.

Lord Gilford immediately bursts out laughing madly, as he watches Kunai’s struggle with the spell. “In the end, nothing more than a pathetic human,” he sneers, approaching the frozen Kunai slowly.

Abruptly, he throws his knee forward, kneeing Kunai roughly in the chest. Kunai is thrown backwards into the air; the next second, Gilford hurtles forward, and clocks Kunai directly on the side with a heavy blow of his axe.

Kunai spins as he crashes to the ground, lying there in a helpless heap. He pushes himself slowly up, though he no longer finds the strength to stand. “Damn you, Gilford!” he curses again, futilely.

“Kunai!” Ivy shouts desperately, running forward towards him.

However, Gilford steps in her way, raising his axe at her. “You are to come with me, girl,” he rumbles. “There is to be no protest, or else I shall have to take you forcefully.”

“Get out of the way!” Ivy argues defiantly. She attempts to go around, but Gilford follows her, blocking the way through. Quickly, he jabs her lightly on the side with his axe, just enough to knock Ivy into semi-consciousness.

“No!” Kunai cries, throwing his arms forward irrationally, as if to hold on to Ivy that way. He clenches his eyes shut tightly, willing himself to rise to his feet.

As Gilford turns to pick Ivy up, he feels a firm jerk on his shoulder. He inclines his head lazily, only to find Kunai tugging on his shoulder. “Amazing, you can still stand, huh?” Gilford growls.

“Not just stand,” Kunai howls back between clenched teeth, “but fight, too!” Out of nowhere, he swings his sword violently, but it stops just inches from Gilford’s already-injured shoulder, as the warrior stops it with his bare hand, protected only by a leather glove.

Kunai’s eyes widen in shock. Then, Gilford smirks and throws his arm forward, punching Kunai fiercely with a swift, decisive uppercut. Kunai is thrown once again into the air, and falls heavily, lying still and not moving.

Gilford bends over and picks Ivy up, easily carrying her over his shoulders. He turns briefly back to Kunai, a devilish, triumphant gleam in his eyes. Kunai stares back as he lays his head on his arms, unable to move due to the Weak spell.

‘Dammit,’ he murmurs to himself, as his vision begins to blur, ‘even though I trained long and hard with Azuma, I’m still not strong enough to beat this guy on my own? I…need…help…’

With one last smirk, Lord Gilford turns to go. But instead, his eyes widen, as he hurriedly grabs his axe in order to counter a blow from behind.

Turning his head, Gilford finds himself now facing the battle-worn, red-haired face of Ryuu. A broad smile suddenly crosses his lips, as he recognizes the face.

Ryuu snarls back, as his flaming sword scrapes against Gilford’s blood red axe in one mass of fiery crimson. Behind him trails Ayame, carrying an unconscious Sasha on her back, while Lily, Wing, Tide, and Silver follow.

“Ryuu!” Kunai shouts with utmost surprise.

“You rang?” Ryuu grins back.

“Here, put Sasha down,” Wing says, turning to Ayame, who resigns herself to complying. She places Sasha gently on the ground, and Wing immediately stoops over her. “I’ll continue the healing while you guys fight.”

Wing glances over at Tide and Silver, who are standing around unsure of themselves. “You two should stay back as well. You’re more than lucky to be standing right now after the injuries you two have sustained.”

Tide kneels over on Wing’s left side, watching as he heals Sasha. “Say, thanks, Mr. Fairy-Mayor-Guy, for healing us. Me and Silver owe ya a lot.”

Lord Gilford sneers, as he surveys the scene. Ryuu and Ayame stand before him, armed with sword and Geta. The two stare defiantly back at him, their faces of absolute solemnity.

“Well, have I landed the jackpot or what?” Gilford taunts. “Two Joukai members. The only two left alive, I might add. Seems like today that number will shrink to zero.”

“In your dreams, Gilford,” Ayame replies. She disappears with a flash, and reappears behind Gilford, kicking him from behind fiercely.

Gilford stumbles forward, as Ayame grabs hold of Ivy and snatches her back from Gilford’s shoulders. Meanwhile, as Lord Gilford is sent hurtling forward, Ryuu grabs him by the collar, ramming him with his sword.

Lord Gilford grimaces from the blow and draws back, clutching his chest. However, he quickly recovers due to the power of his pills, and lashes back at Ryuu, slashing him across the shoulder.

Ryuu dodges, avoiding the worst of the hit. Even so, however, he staggers, and clenches his teeth as the pain throbs in his shoulder. He grabs hold of his sword, and swings, blood spewing freely from his wounds even as he does so.

Gilford counters the blow with his axe, and stopping it quite easily. Leaning against it, he swings, meaning to finish Ryuu off. However, Gilford’s sword pauses in midflight, as Ayame grabs hold of Gilford’s wrist from behind.

Ayame jabs her Geta straight into Lord Gilford’s back, holding it there firmly. She smiles triumphantly. “Nowhere left to run, Gilford.”

“Oh really?” the snide smirk returns to Gilford’s lips as Ayame holds him there tightly.

Ryuu and Ayame draw back in alarm, crying softly as one. However, Gilford merely drops several of his Weak marbles again, and they explode on the ground, unleashing a steady stream of gray, poisonous vapor.

Gilford dashes out of the cloud of smoke spreading out from the area where he had been standing. He shoulders his axe, panting heavily as his wounds continue to grow worse as more blood pours out. “Seems like I’ve just about reached my stamina limit,” he announces from a safe distance away.

Ryuu and Ayame cough and cry violently as the smoke clears at last. Together, the two of them collapse to the ground, subdued by the Weak spell.

Ryuu, however, fights it, resiliently forcing himself into a half-bow. Lord Gilford stares amusedly as Ryuu struggles and staggers before him.

“I will depart now,” Gilford sneers, as Ryuu, Ayame, and Kunai continue to lie on the ground helplessly, “though I would advise you not to forget the influence of Lord Gilford too soon. I will return, and I will definitely bring darker times next we meet.”

“Running away like a coward, huh?” Wing retorts, as he continues to heal Sasha from the sidelines.

“Not quite,” Lord Gilford replies, “Lord Gilford is not one to run away from a battle. It is just far too much fun. However, the circumstances call for me to depart at this moment. I shall return, though, and you will sorely wish I had not.”

With one last, fleeting glance, Gilford turns to Kunai, staring down at him. “You,” he says, addressing him, “I must admit that even I am impressed with some of the skills you have displayed here today in front of me. Should you want it, I can easily offer you a position as my apprentice. We may rule the Maple World together, you and I, if you wish.”

From the floor, a cold laugh escapes from Kunai’s mouth. “Do my ears deceive me? You actually think that I’ll even consider taking your offer? Not in a million years, Gilford. I’ll never join the Myougun.”

“Hmph,” Gilford smirks, “even so, do not forget it. My offer stands as it is.”

Lord Gilford reaches briefly into his pocket and draws out a ragged old scroll. With one swift motion, he raises it in the air, and it glows with a bright, silvery light. In a second, he disappears, leaving nothing but a soft puff of smoke.

In the silence and calmness that follows, Wing strides over to Ryuu, Ayame, and Kunai, inspecting them for a moment. He heaves a sigh, and casts a brief spell. A glint of silvery-blue light expels from his hands over to the fallen three, and instantaneously, the weight is lifted from their legs.

Kunai, Ryuu, and Ayame all rise to their feet as one, dusting off their dirty and wet clothes. Kunai clenches his fist, as he coils it around the hilt of his sword. He stares at it fiercely, his eyes a mad pitch of black. At last, he resigns to heaving a sigh, and returns Myou back into its original form as a claw.

Kunai equips Myou, placing it neatly over his right arm. He walks over to Ivy, who is lying still on the floor, still in a deluded state of mind. He brushes her hair away from her face, and closes his eyes grimly.

“So it seems as though this round of fighting is over,” Ayame comments solemnly. “And we only just barely escaped alive. The round belongs, without question, to the enemy.”

Ryuu nods, recognizing the defeat. He sheathes his sword, and turns sullenly to Wing and the others. “Now the question is, what is our next move?”

“What I’d like to know is,” Tide says suddenly, “just who are these Fatalists guys? And what do they have to do with all this Myougun and Soul Eater business and whatnot?”

“Tide has a point,” Ryuu admits. “These Fatalists seemingly appeared out of nowhere. At this moment, we need to learn more about what is going on with the Myougun right now. After that, we can regroup and figure out what the next best course of action is.”

“You shall have my cooperation,” Wing says, as he finishes up healing Sasha, “those Fatalists or whoever they were attacked Ellinia under the name of the Myougun. They’ve violated our treaty by hurting my fellow fairies. I now see that your group, Ryuu, may be the only ones who can now stand up against them.”

“That may very well be true,” Ryuu growls, “but we are definitely not prepared for this fight. Having your cooperation is nice, Wing, but it means nothing. We need the support of the fairies and of Ellinia.”

“You shall have our support,” Wing answers, “but we cannot go back to Ellinia as it is now. The town is in ruins once again and the Myougun may very well return at any given time. For the time being, we must lay low.”

“Where shall we go then?” Ayame asks. “If we can’t head back to Ellinia to sort this out, then where to?”

“I have an ally,” Wing says slowly, “he is a dwarf that lives near Henesys. He may be able to help us by supplying us with more information.”

“A dwarf? Near Henesys?” Ryuu repeats perplexedly. “You can’t mean…”

“What’s his name?” Kunai asks hastily.

Wing shrugs. “Xolawora.”

Next Time: Episode 66 Gijiduny…Something…Something

Kunai: All right! We’re heading back to George’s place! Ahh…this place brings back memories.

Ivy: Like Ryuu in an ice box!

Kunai: Er…yeah, like Ryuu in an ice box.

Ryuu: What the hell are you two talking about over there?!

Kunai: Whoops!

Episode 66 Gijiduny…Something…Something coming soon!