The Battle Of Krahen Nest - PT 05

Because it was home to one of the terminals of the Floating Moonlight Express, the city of Krahen Nest had one of the most reinforced bases of the Mercenary Guild, boasting a large number of members.

Though he was relatively new, Masafumi's personal achievements and solid performance within the Guild had earned him the title of Guardian Mage of the city.

At his side were around twenty people—mages and warriors alike—taking turns guarding the borders of Krahen Nest, ensuring its Utopiosphere remained untouched.

Among those members, two stood out in Masafumi’s eyes. One was Kosuke, his best friend and the most skilled of the warriors. The other was Hayashi, a younger boy brimming with ambition for the future.

Hayashi constantly challenged Masafumi to duels, hoping to claim the title of leader of the base, even though the difference in strength between them was vast. As a local, he wanted the honor of leading the city’s defense.

Masafumi didn’t care much about the leadership role—it was simply a duty the Guild had assigned him. If those duels could inspire Hayashi to grow stronger, he was more than willing to indulge him.

But fate often hands us cruel surprises, laced with bitter irony.

In his pursuit of the power needed to surpass Masafumi, Hayashi ended up crossing paths with Cydonia, who seduced him with the promise of victory. That thirst for strength would be his undoing.

It was just another normal day. Masafumi was having breakfast with his fellow Guild members when—

"Masafumi! Emergency! Barrier number 4 just collapsed!"

Chaos broke out. “What?”, “How?”, “Is this some kind of joke?”

Kosuke was the one to calm the others. “If this is an emergency, we wait for the captain’s orders.” He turned to Masafumi, waiting for direction.

“Barrier number 4... Hayashi, I hope you're alright...”

“Masafumi!”

“Quiet! Can’t you see I’m worried about one of our own?”

A moment of silence followed. After grieving for the poor boy, Masafumi took on a different posture—one that reminded everyone why he was chosen as their leader.

“This isn’t the time to panic! It's time we prove why we're this city's protectors.”

His words stirred courage in everyone’s hearts.

“If the barrier’s fallen, then we need to stop any demons from advancing, immediately. The first express train of the day should arrive within the hour. Someone, send an alert to evacuate the population toward the station. The express has enough space to carry a good number of people and could serve as an escape route in the worst-case scenario.”

Masafumi exited the Guild base, with the rest following behind him.

“Those of you who are fast, help evacuate the civilians. The rest of you, come with me to the frontlines. This is a real battle—we’ll need everyone’s strength.”

Kosuke approached his friend. “Masafumi, you can count on me.”

“Our mission is to protect as many lives as we can. And remember… Memento Mori.”

...

In the end, the Mercenary Guild members fell one by one—some consumed by corruption, others perishing in battle.

Masafumi felt as if he had sent them into a graveyard.

Corruption prevailed, and under the crushing weight of leadership, Masafumi’s heart too began to decay.

All that remained in his memories was the vision of his friends dying, whispering his name in their final breaths… Masafumi.

(...)

“Masafumi… That’s my name.”

“Well, that’s a start. Let me help bring you back to the human side.”

“This is the most humanity I have left.”

“Then let’s find out—together!”

“...” The demon took a stance, ready to continue the fight. “Very well. Then promise you can hold me back.”

“I promise!”

“That’s more like it.”

The battle resumed with even greater intensity—blows and kicks flying in a furious exchange, both fighters fueled by magic.

Peter summoned flames now taking the shape of a tiger, dancing around his movements, searching for any opening.

On the other side, Masafumi had infused his entire body with wind magic, striving for some equality in close combat.

Masafumi believed he found a weakness in Peter’s guard—he dodged a punch, conjured a blade of wind in his hands, and aimed straight for the boy’s neck. But—

Peter had grown accustomed to his own flaws in defense. He simply turned his failed attack into another attack. Pulling his arm back in the opposite direction, he used his flames to boost the movement, landing a powerful elbow strike right into Masafumi’s face.

The demon staggered again, but he didn’t back down. He grabbed Peter by the torso, cloaking his body in protective wind magic to block any follow-up blows.

With small but steady steps, Masafumi began pushing Peter backward. It wasn’t that Peter’s strength was being overpowered—it was the force of the wind repulsion that was driving them both in the same direction.

Peter lost his balance, allowing Masafumi to take control of the situation.

The two became a whirlwind, streaking through the city streets. Masafumi targeted Peter’s back against every obstacle in their path, trying to wear the boy down.

Peter was trapped, being tossed from side to side. It took him a moment to think of a way out.

He cloaked his body in flames, releasing as much energy as he could, causing the hot air to create a vacuum—immediately followed by an explosion-like burst that sent both of them flying into the air.

Peter and Masafumi spiraled out of control, crashing into a fence at the same time. The structure shattered on impact, marking a temporary draw in their battle.

(...)

Arya and Edward stood side by side, ready to face off against Cydonia and her minion.

“Minotaurus will take the front line. Look for a chance to take her down.”

“Got it.”

“Minotaurus, go!”

With his horns forward, the minotaur charged straight at Cydonia.

“I’ll handle the big one. Go after the necromancer.”

The demon with the cracked mask ignored Minotaurus’s charge, slipping past him. But before he could get close to Arya, Edward stepped in to block his path.

Minotaurus pressed on. When he reached Cydonia, he tried to impale her with his horns—but to his surprise, she stopped them with nothing but the strength of her hands.

The minotaur pulled back, freeing his horns, and swung his axe downward in a powerful vertical slash. But Cydonia turned sideways, just enough to evade it.

The axe struck the ground and stuck for a brief second, giving Cydonia the chance to leap onto his arm, climbing up to his face and delivering a brutal kick.

Minotaurus staggered again, and before he could recover, he felt his movements lock up.

On the other side, Edward was attempting to drive his bone blade into the demon’s neck, dodging the heavy punches from those massive arms.

When he noticed Minotaurus had stopped moving, he asked Arya, “What happened to him?”

“I don’t know! The melody is still working, but something’s holding him in place.”

“Something...”

They looked closer at Minotaurus—and then they saw it. A dense web of threads wrapped around his entire body.

His muscles trembled, struggling to move, but the threads sprouted from the ground and clung to the nearby walls, binding him down with a grip that couldn’t be broken.

The threads led back to Cydonia’s fingertips. These were the webs of corruption.

“Heh. Strength means nothing if you can’t move.”

Cydonia turned to the couple and extended her hand, launching more of those threads toward them.

Arya blocked them with her flute. Cydonia tried to rip the instrument from her hands, but Arya held tightly to both ends, beginning a brief tug-of-war. Edward sliced through the threads, interrupting the struggle.

The broken-masked demon took that chance to strike, but the couple quickly backed away.

“Looks like I won’t be using Minotaurus for a while, so... Cerberus!”

One of necromancy’s strengths is that there's no limit to how many times a fallen summon can be called back.

Cerberus returned to the battlefield, ready for his revenge. Cydonia hurled her threads to trap his movements, but the beast unleashed a massive fireball that incinerated the web.

“Arya, what if we got out of here?”

“Flee? Why?”

“Let’s call it a tactical retreat. We regroup with Peter and Reaper and deal with this demon together.”

“That... might actually be a good idea…”

“Running isn’t an option.” The words themselves weren’t terrifying—but the proximity of the voice was.

Cydonia had crept up on them, slipping through the blind spots created by Cerberus’s flames.

At the critical moment, her pride got the best of her and she gave away her position—but it was already too late. She was close enough to touch at least one of them.

“Arya!!!”

She went for Arya, the more dangerous opponent...

It all happened in seconds.

Arya was just about to be touched when Edward pushed her out of the way.

He managed to save the one he loved—but not himself.

Cydonia touched Edward’s right arm—a cold, morbid touch that would soon begin to corrupt his soul...

(...)