The Invasion

Yusato’s gut sank hearing that declaration. The invasion was already happening? So then, they’d have to fight right now. The throne room got hotter all of a sudden and Yusato tugged at his shirt.

“Are you nervous?” Dadilda smiled down at him. “Don’t be. You otherworlders are at an immense advantage. Trust me.”

There wasn’t any more time to think. Two knights walked out from the crowd and pushed the massive double doors open.

“Let’s not waste any more time!” The Knight on the left unsheathed his sword. “It’s time to protect our kingdom!”

The rest of the kingdom’s army followed after the knight, running out of the castle, their weapons drawn.

The clunk sound of their metal armor echoed throughout the room as they all charged forward. Yusato’s clothes and hair blew back as they all rushed past him.

“Ready for this, buddy?” Tomoki grinned as he slapped Yusato on the shoulder. “Let’s go get ‘em!”

As Tomoki ran forward as well, Yusato smiled. That’s right. As long as he had Tomoki, he was sure everything he would be okay. The guy whose always led him and the others since they were little kids. Strong, brave, and reliable. There was no need to worry.

And in accordance with those thoughts, Yusato ran out the door as well.

Outside there were fountains of whales and dolphins spitting water into the other’s mouths in sparkling arcs.

Different murals painted across several of the buildings. Some of swords, others of shields or spell books, and quite a few of King Aster. There were bronze, silver, and golden statues towering over him.

An empty horse stable. Stalls with a bunch of glimmering gems. Rows of a variety of different fancy houses. A lot of which had symbols inscribed into them. It was all a very fascinating beautiful sight.

Or rather, it’d be beautiful on any other day.

Thump thump.

Yusato’s heart pounded against his chest as he saw creatures peek out from behind the fountain. Then, the stalls. The houses.

They were everywhere.

Black as midnight. A morphing shadowy figure that seemed to perpetually sway. Crimson glowing red eyes. Claws, fangs, and demons horns poking out of their heads. And several sharp appendages jutting out from their backs.

“What…are those?”

“They’re the Obsoletes.” One of the knights in armor stood next to Yusato. He had an intimidating presence, probably due to his bulky frame and rugged features. Though those creatures were still a tad bit more intimidating.

“Those are the Sirhix.” The knight scowled. “Terrible monsters that terrorize humanity. They’re creatures of chaos.” He readied his sword. “Be careful. They use powerful dark magic.”

“Captain Tito!” A younger-looking knight ran up, carrying four spellbooks in his arms. “Here. There are for the otherworlders.”

“Ah, thank you,” Captain Tito said as he took the spellbooks. “Here you go kid. This one’s yours. Take care of it.”

“Right.” Yusato nodded. “Thanks, um…Captain Tito.”

Tito slapped him on the shoulder again before heading off. “I’ll go give these to the other three. Do your best!”

Yusato looked straight ahead. The fight had already gotten started. Several of the knights were in the midst of combat against the Serhix, slashing their swords or raising their shields in defense.

Dadilda was with other cloaked mages firing off a volley of spells at the creatures. Fireballs, water bullets, streaks of lighting all coalesced together as they struck the monsters.

“Guess I should get in there too.” Yusato gripped his spellbook tightly. He opened it and remembering what Dadilda told Tomoki closed his eyes to focus. He waited. And waited. And waited some more.

The wind whistled in his ears.

Nothing happened.

Opening his eyes, he stared down at his spellbook in complete bafflement. “It didn’t work?”

A sharp hiss.

One of the Serhix was right in front of his face. Yusato nearly fell over as he stumbled backward.

That was way too close.

Catching his breath, Yusato tried to cast a spell again. He focused even harder this time.

Still nothing.

The Sirhix swiped it’s claw at him, slashing his forearm. Yusato winced in pain. Blood dripped out from the wound, tainting the ground.

It burned. The searing pained burned in his skin. Clenching his teeth, Yusato did his best to ignore the pain. This wasn’t the time to worry about that. He had to fight.

But how? His magic wasn’t working. So then, what could he do?”

Another slash. It just barely nicked his ear as Yusato ducked to the right. Then, a ball of swirling dark matter gathered at the center of the monster’s palm.

It thrust it’s palm forward before being met with a large fireball to the chest. The creature fell over in an instant.

Yusato’s draw dropped. “What…?”

“Hey, you okay?” Tomoki held out his flaming hand as he continued firing away at the oncoming monsters.

Yusato could feel the intense heat from his flames. It was even worse than the heat waves he experienced in the summer. The fireballs blasted through each of the Sirhix with ease.

Azumi and Mahina were making easy work of the monsters as well. Azumi released hordes of water spikes at a group of the creatures, while Mahina tore through them with lightning surrounding her body.

Why? Why were they having such an easy time with their magic while he was struggling?

“Tomoki, my magic won’t work.” He didn’t think Tomoki would actually have an answer for him. But his habit of always going to him for advice got the best of Yusato and he didn’t know what else to do.

Tomoki smirked. “Don’t worry about it. Just sit back and I’ll protect you.” In a blaze of fire, he bolted off his feet, slamming his fist into a Sirhix’s gut.

All Yusato could do was watch as everyone continued fighting off the monsters. He desperately wanted to be of some help. Not a thing came to mind.

“Hey, kid!” Tito called out to Yusato. “What’re you doing just standing around for?!”

He swung his sword through a Sirhix behind Yusato. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Gritting his teeth, Yusato clenched his spellbook. “My magic isn’t working.”

“It’s what?!” Tito nearly lost his grip on his sword as he swung down at another monster.”

“I don’t know why. I’m trying to focus but nothing comes out.”

Tito narrowed his eyes at Yusato. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “You’ve gotta be kidding.” He handed his sword to Yusato. “Listen, don’t ever let the kingdom know about this, alright? That sword is imbued with magic gems, so use that to fight.”

The silver sword shined in Yusato’s hand. It glimmered so brightly he could see his reflection it, clear as day.

“Thank you, Sir!”

“Just try not to yourself killed.” Tito sighed again before cracking his knuckles.

Yusato readied the sword and zeroed in on a lone Sirhix. That was his chance. He ran and thrust the sword forward. The sword sank into the monster’s body with ease.

“I see. So this is what they meant.”

While Yusato may not have been able to use magic like his friends, he still had the other abilities the king and Dadilda talked about. Enhanced speed, strength, and the ability to use this sword.

Lightning crackled around the sword and the monsters crumbled to the ground. Not even a sweat.

Yusato smiled as he admired his sword.

“Crap!” Tomoki’s voice rang out.

“Tomoki?”

What Yusato saw shocked him to his core.

There was a giant Sirhix as tall as the castle over by the fountains. And more and more of the Sirhix were jumping up and melding it with it as it grew bigger and bigger.

Dark spikes shot across the floor. Azumi held out her hands, surrounding them in a barrier of water. The spikes broke through the barrier knocking them all to the floor.

“Tomoki! Azumi!” Yusato ran over in their direction, clutching his sword tightly.

“Damn it.” Tomoki bit his lip as he smashed his flaming fists together. “I’m gonna tear you apart.”

Tomoki launched a blast of fire at the massive creature. The creature released his own blast of dark magic. The two attacks collided.

Grimacing, Tomoki’s muscles tensed, his feet scraping across the concrete. The giant Sirhix’s magic blast was slowly, but surely overpowering Tomoki.

“TOMOKI!”

Yusato’s sword glowed a golden hue as he leaped into the air. An intense magic pressured hummed from within the sword as he slashed down at the monster. It roared out in pain and Tomoki’s fire blast struck it’s head.

Yusato landed on his feet and hurried over to Tomoki. “You alright?!” He held out his hand to Tomoki, which was promptly slapped away.

A scowl crossed over Tomoki’s face as he stood up, patting down his pants. “I’m fine.”

Tito grumbled. “I don’t have much magic left. Watch closely boys, I’m about to show you a little trick. If you’re ever low on magic, you can use this as a last resort. The Spirit Call.”