Chapter 10:
Doppolia: A New Magical World
With time running out, I struggled to devise a plan. I didn’t know how to use my strength yet. I couldn’t compete against the mighty Astra.
Hinabe was too far from the splash zone of the slash. Meanwhile, Amada stood over Anojin’s paralyzed body. Because of his bulky armor, it would have been hard to move him out of the way. I looked over towards Amada and yelled, “Move out of the way!”
“But we can’t leave him here!” she responded. She had no intention of leaving Anojin behind.
I was appreciative of Anojin saving me, even if it was unintentional. But we have to save ourselves. I gathered every ounce of strength in my body and hurried to Amada. I grabbed her firmly and jumped out of the way of Astra’s deadly slash.
“Hey, what about me?!” Anojin shouted at me after being left behind.
“Didn’t you say you’ll be the greatest crusader? You’ll be fine!”
“Why you-” The slash was inches away from Anojin’s face. In a desperate cry, he used his block spell once again. The sheer gust of wind formed again.
The aftershock of the attack shoved Amada and I further away. We landed on the warm, dry soil. We shielded ourselves from the dust and rocks until the slash dissipated.
As the air cleared, Anojin remained on the ground, motionless. We glanced at him, with sadness in our eyes. We prepared for the worst. I felt bad about leaving him. I told myself I didn’t want him to die a meaningless death, and there I was, letting him die. Some hero I am.
Astra lowered her weapon with a slight grin of relief. “That should’ve finished him.” While pleased with her attack, she focused her attention on me. “Now with that out of the way…” A sadistic smile rose on her face. “You’re next, Mr. Satori!”
…
Oh crap! I knew I was in trouble. With Anojin gone, what could I have accomplished?
Amada covered her mouth, trying to hold in her emotions. However, her eyes sank into despair, exposing her sadness. Regret filled her soul. She wanted to save Anojin, but I stopped her. “Why did you leave him!” she cried out, half-heartedly punching me.
“I-I… I” The words never came out. I had never been in a situation like this before. Anything I would have said would have probably made the problem worse.
Before I figured out what to say, I heard a voice around Anojin calling me, “I’m… I’m going to kill you, Takumi!”
The voice sounded extremely familiar. Amada and I squinted our eyes in Anojin’s direction, hoping to see a miracle. The voice shouted again, “Miss Amada, why did you leave me?!”
Our pupils enlarged and our cheeks rose in relief. It was Anojin. He was alive!
I carefully asked Anojin, “How are you alive?”
“I used my block spell again.”
Amada interjected in our conversation. “I thought you could only use it once a day?”
“Yeah. Whenever I use this spell, it paralyzes my whole body. But I never really tried to use it again after that.”
“How in the world does that make any sense?!” I asked.
“I come from a strange family. We have a genetic mutation that affects our ability to feel pain. Our bodies respond to pain, but we can’t feel it.”
“That explained his paralysis when he was hit by the attack.” I thought to myself. That meant he was still hurt. Realizing the current situation, an idea popped into my head… one to defeat Astra.
“Anojin, can you still use that blocking spell?”
“Probably, but not for you!” Anojin refused to help me. However, his pupil shifted into hearts as his persona exposed itself. “Only if it’s for Miss Amada or Hinabe!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I said, brushing off his slick comment. “Hey, Amada. Can you wake Hinabe up? I’ve got an idea.” I didn’t want Astra to overhear my plan, so I quickly whispered my plan to Amada.
Astra confidently watched from a distance. She believed she would win, so she allowed me to waste time.
After fully explaining it, Amada gave me a nod of approval. With no time to lose, we split up. Amada ran towards Hinabe to wake her up, while I ran to Anojin with determination etched on my face. I stood above Anojin’s resting head and examined his body. I lowered myself and gripped his shoulders.
“What are you doing?” Anojin curiously asked.
“Just shut up and stay still.” I used all my strength to pull Anojin up, back to his feet. His armor made him excessively heavy. Surprisingly, I managed to lift him. Thanks to my hidden strength. “Now we wait…” I calmly said, leaning against Anojin’s back to support his balance.
“Let go!” Anojin insisted, trying to fidget around. “I’m not going to use that spell on you, you disgusting rodent. Especially, after leaving me to die!”
I clarified, “You’re not blocking it for me.”
“Huh, then who?”
A soft-spoken Hinabe arose and appeared behind us, “Mr. Anojin, are you alright?”
Although Anojin couldn’t move his head around, he recognized that angelic voice. “Miss Hinabe!”
Anojin’s cheeks blushed as his heart filled with glee. His mood drastically improved by hearing her cute voice.
“Alright, Hinabe. Heal Anojin, but not fully.” I explained.
Hinabe raised her arms towards Anojin and proceeded to heal his injuries.
“What?!” Anojin turned his focus to Hinabe, calming his voice down. “Miss Hinabe, thank you for the healing. Don’t listen to that pest, please heal me completely,” he requested with a kind smile.
“Heal him enough so he won’t die. But I can’t let him move around. He needs to be my shield.”
Anojin furrowed his eyebrows in anger. “Why you-!”
Before I let him finish his train of thought, I shouted, “Let’s do this!” and charged forward with Hinabe and my new shield.
…
“What are these weaklings plotting?” Astra tightened her grip on her weapon. Irritated by our refusal to admit defeat, she unleashed multiple slashes, each one not losing any power.
Anojin couldn’t bear to be humiliated like this. “I’m going to have my revenge when this is over, Takumi!”
He actually used my name, which told me he was genuinely angry with me. Luckily, I didn’t care what he said. It wasn’t like he could have done anything to stop me. I was secretly enjoying this. “Just shut up and do your job!” I commanded him.
My command enraged him even more. I wanted to laugh but had to remain focused.
With every strike that hit Anojin, he used his block spell while Hinabe healed him from that slash’s damage. They repeated this cycle several times until we closed in on Astra.
Astra continued her barrage of attacks, confused by their teamwork. “How are they blocking all my attacks! This can’t be! Wait a minute…” Her eyes scurried around the area. “Where’s the other girl?”
Amada disappeared from her sight. The demon was too distracted by our charge that she lost track of Amada.
We acted as the decoys, but Amada was secretly the main part of the plan. After Amade woke Hinabe from her slumber earlier, she sprinted to Astra’s blind spot: behind her.
“Over here!” Amada shouted, standing behind her. She raised her hands towards Astra and chanted her spell, “Lightning Ray!”
Astra heard Amada’s voice from behind. Before she had a chance to turn around, Amada’s lightning attack struck Astra’s hand that held the sword. The stinging sensation forced her to drop her weapon.
Hinabe slowly lost her pace and fell behind before she fell asleep again. But that was fine. Within inches of Astra, I told Anojin, “Alright, you’re up, you bulk of metal,” as I shoved the paralyzed crusader into Astra.
The two collided, bumping heads. They both fell hard to the ground. “What are they doing?” Astra said to herself, rubbing her head as she sat.
As her vision cleared up, I stood above her with her weapon in hand. My plan actually worked. It only worked because she was caught off guard. My ego was slightly inflated. I chuckled, “Oh, how the tables have turned!”
You might still be Astra, but you’re not the one I know.” I swung her great sword in the air and stared at her with resolve. “You attacked my team and now you’re gonna pay!”
…
Please sign in to leave a comment.