Chapter 98 – Players v Non-Player Characters. (Part 2)

Chapter 98 – Players v Non-Player Characters. (Part 2)

{If my piercing attacks can't deal with her. That leaves me without a whole lot of options, she must have some kind of weakness. I just have to look hard enough until I find it!} Roxlex could duel reasonably well, but the issue was that he lacked the oomph to deal major damage. His normal strategy was to use flare and footwork to enable him to use his magic dagger to finish opponents off, since that was his classes' entire schtick. If that didn't work, he couldn't reliably put out damage and he'd lose.

He looked towards Hitamaguchi who was engaged in a fierce duel with Marshal. The two seemed evenly matched, and he couldn't rely on her for help.

"Taking your eyes off your opponent?" Kira flashed forward and swung her blades at him. "The sign of an amateur!" Kira increased her speed and put more force behind her strikes. Roxlex's ability to deflect her strikes annoyed her, but he couldn't do that forever.

*CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK*

The two fighters clashed blades again, this time much faster than before. Roxlex was struggling to keep up with this increased level of speed, and he realized he was in danger of being overwhelmed by the half dragon.

{I wanted to save this for Akagi, but I have no choice} He deflected one of Kira's attacks and feigned another magic dagger strike which caused her to back off slightly. She had no idea if he could pierce her armor with that attack and wasn't about to take chances. Seizing on this opportunity, he activated the Greater Ability Boost stored in his gauntlets and struck back at Kira. Now it was the half-dragon who was on the back foot as he was suddenly faster and stronger than her.

{This won't last that long, and I can't use it again. But I need to deal with this bitch so I can help Hitamaguchi!} His flourishes increased in speed and he even managed to scratch Kira across the cheek a few times with the tip of his blade causing her to step back to gain some distance.

{Interesting. My Lord did inform me that they'd found a way to place class abilities in items. That must be what's going on. How pathetic, is what I'd want to say if it wasn't so effective.} Kira thought to herself. {I should end this before he unleashes any more surprises. Waiting out his timer isn't a great idea, especially if I don't know what else he has up his sleeve} She put away one of her swords, holding the remaining with two hands. She channeled magical energy into it, and it shone with a bright red aura.

"Come!" She exclaimed. "I'll finish this in one blow!"

"That's my line!" Roxlex dove forward. He assumed this would be a clash of blades, but just before their blades made contact, Kira dropped hers to the ground, swiftly moving her arms and catching his blade between her hands with her palms.

{Shirahadori! She actually did that kind of crazy move?!?} (Roxlex)

A famous, yet usually dangerous move, shirahadori was not something a normal martial artist would use. But Akagi wanted a show, and Kira aimed to please, as she figured Akagi would appreciate this turn of events. Kira smirked as she moved her arms and snapped his blade in half.

"A weak blade for a weak man." Kira punched the shocked Roxlex in the head, knocking him out. Due to being a magical rogue he was extremely weak and even one good hit would incapacitate him. "I would have killed you, but my Lord wanted you alive. Though, knowing what she intends to do with you all. Death would have been a mercy.” She tied him up and looked over at Akagi, who seemed to be enjoying herself. The battle between Hitamaguchi and Marshal raged on and was proving to be a bit flashier.

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*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BANG* *SHIMMER*

The two swordsmen clashed their blades over and over again. Each time, Hitamaguchi put a small amount of her magical energy into the attacks. This was her specialty as a paladin as her class allowed her to easily mix magic and swordplay into a deadly combination. While she lacked major magical offense, she could augment her strikes to compensate. Marshal had dealt with these kinds of fighters before, so he knew to be careful around the radiant energy.

"What's wrong old man, can't handle the heat!" Her blade erupted with radiant energy as it collided with his sword. "I can do this all day. Can you?" She goaded him. She had quite the large pool of magic and using her augmented strikes didn't take up that much.

"I think I'll be fine, so don't you worry about me. In fact, I think you should be more concerned with yourself" He chuckled. "Compared to Silfana, you're nothing special and I think this will be over in due time". The two continued back and forth across the darkness. As neither was a caster, they could only duel in a contest of strength and technique. Marshal had spent his entire life learning the ways of the sword and was extraordinarily gifted and was a master of the blade. He'd risen to the highest tier of the Imperial Military and was widely regarded as the best living swordsmen in the Empire.

Hitamaguchi on the other hand, lacked proper training, but her skills and powers more than made up for this deficiency. While she did have a bit of practice and technique from the game's teaching system, it was nothing compared to Marshal. Though, while her strikes were inefficient they were dangerous. If Marshal wasn't careful, she could still harm him, and her Paladin abilities make her trickier than your average warrior. In terms of raw strength, they were evenly matched, and as the two slammed their blades against one another, it was clear that this couldn't be won with sheer force alone.

A bright flash erupted as Hitamaguchi exploded another burst from her blade, pushing the two warriors apart. "Come on now. I'm getting bored! I thought you were suppose to be strong?!?"

Marshal and Kira dropped the other two onto the floor next to Merkyul and Sabia.

"I see you were just as foolish as he was. Your defeat was guaranteed from the moment you pointed your blades at my Lord." Kira scoffed. "That you lost was only natural when you are faced by an opponent such as her."

"Yeah! Myaster saw you coming from a mile away and you two were so easy." Chloe glared at him. "I have no idea why such weak people thought they could defeat me. In fact, I'm insulted!" She huffed. Chloe took pride in her status as Akagi's pupil and was careful never to sully her master's reputation with failure or defeat.

"Akagi, what is the meaning of this? This isn't right!" Merkyul still wanted an answer. "Answer me!"

"It's your fault, you know." Akagi smiled. "They only got so strong because you're friends Hijax and Sumeralia brought me out. Effectively, the stronger I get, the stronger they get. And well, since they can beat players." Her mouth twisted into a terrible grin. "Just imagine how strong I am." Akagi let out a demonic laugh. Her followers only received a few percentage of her total power for themselves, so that alone should show how crazy strong Akagi was.

Merkyul's eyes went wide. "T-that's that's insane! What the hell are you?!? You can't be that strong!"

"Ahh, that question again. It's funny, Hijax asked me the same thing before I killed him." Akagi got right up in his face. "I'm a Demon. An honest to god creature of nightmare and despair. And you, my little wolfie, have stepped straight into said Demon's lair and pointed your blade at it in anger." Akagi began to cackle like a madman. "And well. If you come for the king, you best not miss." Akagi quoted a famous phrase and continued her laughter.

The other two stirred from their slumber and sat up next to Merkyul and Sabia, confused and afraid.

"Fine, go ahead and kill us," Sabia said. "We lost, and I'm prepared to die."

"Oh no, no, no." Akagi shook her head. "Death would be a mercy for you four, and right now, I'm not really feeling it. Besides, it would be quite a waste to dispose of four willing volunteers. I've always wanted live test subjects. Imp will be thrilled!"

Hearing this caused the four of them to panic. They had no idea what Akagi planned to do with them, and they didn't want to find out.

"Squeal all you want my little piggies." Akagi's smile turned terrifying. "But in my shadow, no one can hear you scream, and no one is coming to save you."

"Muhahahahahahhahahahha." Akagi's shadow erupted and engulfed the four of them as she laughed maniacally.

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Akagi, Marshal, Kira, and Chloe appeared in the garden not much later. Both fights had occurred within Akagi's shadow body, as she brought them there not long after they entered her home. Her new test subjects were currently taking a nice nappy and would be sent to what she dubbed the Happy Farm, later for some fun experiments.

"Good work, you three. You made me proud today." Akagi smiled. "And Chloe, I'm truly impressed. You took down two players by yourself. That deserves special commendation and as your teacher, I couldn't be prouder of how much you've grown." She wasn't confident Chloe could do it, but the cat pleaded with her to allow her to try. Chloe still felt she needed to redeem her earlier failure with Sakura and figured this would be a good way to do so. "I shall prepare you a suitable reward later."

"Your praise honors us." The three dropped to one knee.

"Make preparations to use our new volunteers. We've got much work for them to do. But make sure you don't kill them, and I want their minds intact." Akagi's request wasn't out of mercy or empathy, rather because she wanted the four of them to suffer and because it was beneficial to keep them sane and alive. There would be much fun in store for those four.

"Of course." (Kira, Chloe, and Marshal)

"Quite good timing too. The Japanese government just accepted my terms a few hours ago. At least now I don't have to work for free." Akagi let out a laugh that would chill a man to his bones.