Sovereign's Tourney: Part 5

Clang! My katana touched the enemy’s sword. At this point, neither of us was using any proper techniques. We flailed our swords, an extension of our bodies, at each other, hoping the blade would connect with our foe’s skin. With every swing, a gash on her body grew larger or a new one formed. With every counter swing, the same happened to me.

I could barely think. My body was moving on autopilot. I wasn’t Yukino Hiroshi anymore. I was an embodiment of a broken and battered katana. A living weapon counting its last days. The enemy general blocked each of my hits deftly but stumbled at the weight of my blade. I had given up on defence entirely. If I got hit, then so be it.

The Athelheim general swung her blade vertically. My instincts triggered, dodging the attack and returning a slash at her thigh. A deep groove like that was sure to hamper her movement. I was ready for another slash. If I attacked her other leg, I was sure to knock her down completely, earning me the victory.

I dashed with the last bit of energy I had. It was now or never. I filled my blade with as much light energy as possible. This final slash would blow up everything in its vicinity. With a powerful war cry, I swung the blade vertically with my remaining strength.

Skrt! A sharp pain shot through my stomach. All my nerves screamed, unable to contain the damage. I looked down at my torso.

She had stabbed through my stomach.

Blood and vomit rushed out of my mouth as I screamed in pain. I couldn’t feel the sensations in my limbs anymore. As she released her blade from the clutches of my body, I fell like a rag doll onto the hard ground, drenched in my own blood. Breathing burnt my nostrils, and my vision was slowly turning black with traces of red.

I was dying, wasn’t I?

“You fought well, Princess of Aogiri. I’ll never forget you as long as I live.”

Had living always been this hard? Breathing had never felt this difficult before. The warmth in my body was slowly depleting, leaving me with a frozen chill. Dying felt awful.

Tears ran down my face. I didn’t want to die, especially not like this. Images of my parents, Riku, Chiyo and Mr Arakawa throughout the years ran like a slideshow in my mind. I regret not giving a proper goodbye, especially to the man who changed my life.

This was goodbye, Aki Kurokawa.

I wish I could have told you that I loved you.

—--------------------

I knew where Yukino was and how to get there. I was even using a horse. Yet, she was too far away from me. No matter how far I rode, it brought me no closer to her. My observational magic was no longer working. My mana had depleted too much.

I focused on the area, looking for Yukino’s familiar jet-black hair. I rode through piles of bodies and debris. There was no sign of her. I felt like killing myself for my stupidity. Why did I set her so far away from the main army? Why did I leave her alone?

“AAAAAHHHH!!!!” A bloodcurdling scream came from my west. I immediately recognised that voice.

My brain went on autopilot, leading the horse towards the source of the scream. Every second I wasted led to more pain for Yukino. I was on a time limit, and my time was running out. I pushed the horse, forcing it to break its limits.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed a woman with long silver hair standing. Her porcelain skin and white dress were damaged by bleeding cuts. Her armour had been cut to pieces, except for the mask still on her face. She was looking down at the floor.

She was looking at Yukino.

She sank into the pool of her own blood. Her face was pale and motionless. Her body was tattered and bruised. It was covered with scars from head to toe, with a gaping hole through her stomach.

There was a hole. A hole.

Blind rage consumed my inner being. My body was hot with unadulterated anger. All I felt was pure hatred for her killer.

The Aethelheim general turned towards me, listening to the galloping of my horse. Though her breathing was ragged and her body damaged, she prepared her blade to fight me. Only a single thought remained in my mind.

“I’ll kill you!” I shouted with uncontrollable hate.

I hopped off the horse, soaring into the air. With my katana in my hand, I aimed for a direct slice at her neck. She saw through this attack with ease, however. But I no longer cared for strategy. Comparing our conditions, my strength was enough to take her down.

Clang! The sound of a collision between pure metal. With my power alone, I pushed the general back. I could tell she was using all her strength to prevent her fall. This allowed me to swing continuous slashes at her. Each one was an imitation of Yukino’s techniques.

Her mind could predict my movements, yet her battered body couldn’t defend itself in time. She was dancing to the beat of my swings, controlled by my strength. I was the puppetmaster in this battle, and I was going to destroy this piece.

Crack! With one last swing, the general’s sword shattered into two. The impact of my attack was too great for her to bear. She fell to the ground. The head general of Aethelheim had been reduced to a frail girl in front of me.

I stood above her. I had to show her fear. She had to understand what she put Yukino through. I was going to make her understand.

The edge of my katana rested on the edge of her helmet. I slowly applied more pressure. Cracks like spiderwebs grew longer and longer. The pain of her head being crushed by her own helmet must have been driving her mad. I enjoyed seeing her suffer. But she refused to make a sound.

Gaps opened through the helmet, revealing her pale skin dyed red and purple. My patience was wearing thin. If she wasn’t going to scream in pain, I’d rather slice off the entire helmet. With a single stroke, the helmet split cleanly in two, revealing the monster underneath.

But I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. My brain was destroyed. It was unable to process my emotions and thoughts.

There was no way.

The same radiant silver pupils.

There was no way.

The same pale skin with an adorable mole below her right eye.

There was no way.

The same soft and smooth curtain of silver hair.

There was no way they were the same.

It was impossible. It made no sense.

There was no way the girl in front of me was Natsu.

“...Natsu?” I uttered weakly.

“So you really are Aki…” She replied matter-of-factly. Her warm way of speaking was gone. The cheerfulness in her voice had disappeared. If it weren’t for the way she looked, I would have never recognised her.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Our bitter reunion was interrupted by an uninvited guest. He donned a black coat, hiding his decently muscular build. In his hand was an abnormally large scythe. If I didn’t know better, I would have guessed that the Grim Reaper had arrived.

“Who are y-” I couldn’t finish my sentence. In the blink of an eye, he had teleported from a few metres away. He was now right opposite me, looking at Natsu on the ground. Natsu had no strength left to resist his arm as he touched her forehead.

Pop! Her body disappeared right before my eyes. It was as though she had been deleted from this world. My brain, already not functioning, was completely eradicated. I gave up on finding a reason for everything.

I brandished my sword. I refused to go down without a fight.

I slashed where he stood, but he nimbly evaded it with ease. No matter how many swings I took, none of them connected with the hooded man. He made me look like a child playing with a sword for the first time.

He continued to dodge my attacks, yet he never once tried to counterattack. But I didn’t care. I was going to keep slashing until I was either dead or disabled.

I prayed for one of my attacks to hurt him..

But, instead, he kicked me directly in the chest. All the air in my lungs was forced out at once, burning my trachea. I coughed up some blood. Only a simple kick caused this much pain to me. I didn’t want to imagine the pain he could cause if he were serious.

My body was paralysed. No matter how hard I tried, none of my limbs responded. I was a sitting duck, ready to be killed. I felt the pressure of his rough hand on top of my hair.

Everything went black.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------

A piercing headache woke me from my slumber. I thought I had been sent to hell. The 4 walls around me were made with dilapidated black bricks. The only source of light was a lamp hanging above, with a tiny flame in its centre. The windows in the room were shattered, letting in torrential gusts of wind and rain.

I could tell that I was neither in No Man’s Land nor Aogiri. The topography and building structures were vastly different from those in both countries. I searched for an exit. There was a door at the end of the room

Through the door was an equally dark corridor. Its floor contained tiles that alternated between black and white like a chessboard. Several rooms were locked behind rotting doors. I continued walking through the corridor, testing doors one by one until a single door opened.

It was similar to the room I was previously in. The only difference was its patron. Natsu sat in the centre of the room, staring blankly at the rain outside. I had to admit, watching the raindrops was oddly satisfying.

I was blank on what to say to Natsu. On one hand, seeing her, my closest friend, alive and well, made me overjoyed. However, she was technically my enemy and had killed my closest friend in this world. My emotions were strongly conflicted.

“That’s you, right, Aki? Have a seat.” She tapped the spot on the floor next to her. The warmth in her voice had slightly returned.

As she requested, I sat beside her. We sat in awkward silence, watching the pitter-patter of raindrops. After what we had both gone through, starting a conversation had become so difficult. It was nothing like old times.

“You look so different now: new hair colour, new glasses and your pupils are star-shaped now. I guess Aogiri’s training was pretty gruesome.”

“Magic training was hard indeed. I still remember the pain I felt when I cast my first spell. I could say the same for you, though. Your sword skills are way better now compared to your kendo days.”

“Morning to night was just sword training. I swear I spent more time with a sword in my hand than without.”

We both laughed, lightening the atmosphere slightly. At least the frozen atmosphere had warmed up.

“Hey, Aki. Tell me how you came to this world.”

I recounted the events from the past 2 months. From being summoned by royalty and gaining their trust to working with the other generals and proving myself to them. Only when I narrated my story did I realise how much had happened in such a short time. And it all led to the Sovereign’s Tourney, whose results are currently unknown.

“That’s surprising. Your story isn’t as far as mine. Though I think I had an overall easier path.”

I was shocked. Did Aethelheim accept her that easily? What did she do to gain her trust?

“I wanna hear it,” I asked her.

And so Natsu began recounting her memories of the past 2 months.