New Strengths

Kizou walked down towards the river to find Kaiya standing there and fidgeting with her fingers. Her eyes instantly lit up at the sight of Kizou.

“Happy Birthday!” Kaiya said with a bright smile.

“Thanks,” Kizou replied back with a smile.

“Can’t believe you’ve been here for 10 years already, feels like yesterday,” Kaiya said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, it feels like it was yesterday when you called me a pervert,” Kizou said with a smirk.

“That-That was an accident!” Kaiya said embarrassingly.

“It’s no problem,” Kizou said with a laugh.

“Well, I have a present for you,” Kaiya said with a smile. She handed him a small box.

“Thank you,” Kizou said happily as he opened up the box. He found a bracelet inside and put it on.

“I’ve kept that bracelet with me for a long time,” Kaiya said. “And now I want you to have it, since you’ll be leaving soon.”

“Well, I’ll cherish it,” Kizou said with a smile.

“And there’s just one more thing I wanted to say,” Kaiya said as she kept her head on the ground.

Is this the confession? Kizou nervously thought to himself.

“I like you!” Kaiya yelled out before running back to the village.

Huh? Kizou thought to himself.

He started laughing after realizing that he didn’t even get to respond to her feelings. He walked over to the river and started reminiscing about Tomiko. He wasn’t sure whether he liked her or not, but he knew that if he told Kaiya that he couldn’t return her feelings, she would think it was due to Tomiko. Kizou let out a sigh as he felt that he was still too young to worry about these things.

A loud cry could be heard coming from the village, and Kizou became terrified.

Don’t tell me that they came back, Kizou thought to himself worriedly.

He rushed back towards the village to find four individuals standing there with their swords out.

“As mercenaries, we’re just carrying out our job,” said the Demon boss.

I have to go help! Kizou thought to himself.

“As villagers, we’re just doing ours,” answered Kaiya back. Kaiya, Taishi, and Reiji stood next to each other.

Wait, what? Kizou thought to himself as he stopped in his tracks.

“What are some little humans going to do?” asked one of the mercenaries as the rest of the group laughed. “I’ll finish you myself!”

The Demon soldier rushed towards Taishi who was able to block the attack. The Demon soldier kept throwing strikes, but Taishi was able to dodge each one. The soldier leapt back towards the boss.

“They’re not half bad,” the Demon soldier said with a chuckle.

“That’s what I should be saying,” Taishi replied with a smirk which got the soldier angry.

“All of you, go kill them already!” the Demon boss yelled towards his troops. “If I even have to move one step to help, I’ll kill you myself.”

Kaiya, Taishi, and Reiji were all rushed by a Demon soldier and were now fighting seperately throughout the village. The Demons kept on rushing each of them and increased their speed which caused Kaiya, Taishi, and Reiji to only dodge.

“When we go serious, there’s no way for you all to even manage a strike,” the Demon boss said with a laugh.

It was evident to see that the Demon soldiers were pushing the humans back towards the forest, and the Demons continued to laugh at seeing their prey run. After a while, the demon soldiers stopped, and they all stood in the forest together.

“Do you all just know how to run?” said one of the soldiers with a laugh.

“I thought this would be a challenge, but I guess you’re all just children,” the other soldier said while laughing as well. As the three of them laughed, the humans kept their heads down.

“Nah, we were just waiting for this moment,” Kaiya responded with a smile while looking up. “Now!”

“Forest of the Elves!” Reiji and Taishi yelled out.

“Magic?!” the Demon boss yelled from a distance.

The three Demon soldiers got tied up in leaves and couldn’t wiggle out.

“Never underestimate humans,” Kaiya said with a smile. “Phoenix Burst!”

Huge swarms of fireballs started being fired to the Demons as they saw their last moments.

“Boss, help!” they yelled as they slowly started burning to death. Their bodies slowly disintegrated as only ashes were left.

“Nice one!” Kaiya, Reiji, and Taishi yelled as they bumped fists.

Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure caused them all to be struck with fear. They could feel the gaze of someone powerful staring at them.

“Seems like you brats aren’t little pushovers,” the Demon boss said angrily.

They slowly turned around and found the Demon boss looking over where his soldiers

died. The books that they’ve learned about Demons couldn’t have prepared them for this moment.

“Oh, are you looking at this,” the Demon boss said as he pointed up to his horn with a smirk. “I’m glad that even you humans know that a horn signifies the stronger Demons.”

“Phoenix Burst!” Kaiya yelled as she tried to overcome her fear. The barrage of fireballs seemed to hit him as a cloud of smoke appeared where he was standing.

“Did she get him?” Reiji asked.

The smoke disappeared, and the Demon boss stood there without a scratch.

“That was some measly magic,” the Demon boss said as he spit on the ground. “Let me teach you all a lesson.”

Kaiya stood still frozen after realizing that her attack didn’t work. The Demon boss pulled out his sword and rushed towards Kaiya within a blink of an eye.

“No!” Reiji yelled as he rushed over and hugged her tight in hopes of sacrificing his life.

Clang!

“I’m not very appreciative of having my students bullied,” Kizou said as he stood there with his sword blocking the Demon boss.

He’s fast! The Demon boss thought to himself.

“Looks like there’s someone in this village that can actually entertain me,” the Demon boss said. “Guess the money that the Guild provided will really pay off.”

So, it was that guy who hired these Demons, Kizou thought to himself.

“Hey, look at me,” Kizou said as he turned around towards Kaiya.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Kaiya said as she snapped back to reality. “You can let me go too, Reiji.”

“Yeah, I know,” Reiji answered as he let go of Kaiya and turned around.  Kaiya also turned a bit red from their interaction.

“Are you ignoring me right now?” the Demon boss asked angrily.

“No, I just didn’t think you were worth my time,” Kizou answered as he brushed off the dirt on his clothes.

“This insolent brat!” the Demon boss yelled as he rushed towards Kizou.

“Watch out! His horn is out, so he’s way stronger than other Demons,” Taishi yelled.

“Why are you yelling out things that a teacher already knows?” Kizou asked with a smile as the Demon boss started throwing strikes with his sword.

“You cocky humans need to learn to shut up,” the Demon boss said.

It was clear to see that the Demon boss had exceptional speed as Kizou seemed to barely block his attacks. His attacks were also stronger as every block looked as if Kizou was being overpowered. However, something felt odd.

Why does he keep smiling? The Demon boss thought to himself. He’s losing this fight.

“Guess I should go serious,” Kizou said as he backed up from the Demon boss.

“What do you mean by ser-”

The leaves around the Demon boss started circling around him to which he was barely able to dodge.

Chantlesss magic?! The Demon boss thought to himself.

Suddenly, a burst of water was being sent straight towards the Demon boss who was just able to dodge.

Multiple affinities?! The Demon boss worriedly thought to himself. Just who is this guy?

Kizou inhaled and let out a long exhale. His speed increased, and he was easily capable of matching up with Demon boss now even with his horn out. Kizou threw strikes with his sword that the Demon boss could barely block.

How did he suddenly get so strong?! The Demon boss thought to himself.

“What’s wrong? Are the humans too much for you?” Kizou asked with a smile.

Forget the agreement, I got to get out of here, the Demon boss thought to himself.

The Demon boss started running through the forest to avoid Kizou. He looked behind him to see that Kizou wasn’t there, but when he looked back in front of him, Kizou stood there with a smile.

“You came to the wrong village,” Kizou said as he let out a strong amount of pressure.

The words that Takumi gave rang back in the Demon boss’s head.

There’s one guy you need to watch out for.

Kizou lifted up his sword and threw down one strike at the body. The body fell to the ground, and Kizou let out a deep sigh.

He walked back towards the village to see everyone gathered there and celebrating. He walked up to his students.

“You all did a good job, so now I know this village will be safe,” Kizou said as he stuck out his fist.

“Yes!” they all said surprisingly, since they’ve never been complimented by Kizou. They all bumped fists and smiled at each other.

As the party continued outside, Kizou went back into the house to grab the box that Dax left for him. He opened it and found the sword made out of Dragon Scale. He held it up high and saw just how beautiful the sword was. He put it on his waist and packed up clothes from the closet. He saw the letter that Tomiko left and smiled.

I’ll find you again, and I’ll beat you this time, Kizou thought to himself as he left the letter back in his room.

Kizou walked out of his room and started saying goodbye to everyone. He walked up to his three students.

“I want you three to catch up to me,” Kizou said while looking at them. “I want you to be stronger than me the next time we meet.”

“You don’t got to tell us twice,” Taishi said as he started sniffling.

“Why don’t you just go already?” Reiji said while looking away.

“Oh, come on,” Kizou said while putting his hand through their hair. “We’re literally the same age, but you’re making me treat you like a child.”

“Kizou,” Kaiya said.

“Yes,” Kizou said as he turned towards her.

“Forget what I said back then,” Kaiya said with her face red as she looked over to Reiji.

I’m glad Reiji actually showed his feelings, Kizou thought to himself.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Kizou said with a smile.

“But don’t worry, we’ll get stronger and hopefully see you next year,” Kaiya said with a proud smile.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Kizou said as he hugged all three of them.

He walked towards Grandma and Grandpa who were clearly hiding their tears.

“I’ll visit whenever I have the chance,” Kizou said with a smile as he hugged both of them.

“Make sure you eat a lot of vegetables,” Grandma said as she wiped her tears.

“I will,” Kizou answered as he wiped his tears as well.

“And don’t go around and break every girl’s heart!” Grandpa said angrily.

“I won’t,” Kizou said.

“And make sure that you become the strongest in that school!” Grandpa said angrily.

“Of course I will,” Kizou said with a smile.

“That’s my boy,” Grandpa said with a smile as he held out his hand.

Kizou smiled and shook his hand before Grandpa pulled him in for a hug. Kizou started walking through the road and turned around one last time. The villagers were all waving at him with most of them crying. Kizou waved one last time before turning back around.

Kizou wore a black robe with a hood, black pants, and had brown shoes on.  He had two swords on his waist, the one that he crafted himself and the Dragon Scale sword that Dax gave.  He had a brown backpack on that was filled with resources such as food, clothes, and money.  He let out a smile.