The Tale of how I Reincarnated as a Hero but Decided to Help the Demon Lord Instead (pt.2)

Castle Lothrin grew smaller and smaller in the distance as Gurak's party walked from it even if Gurak himself was barely conscious

"Don't you think we should've helped Eldin?" Nyx asked timidly. "It feels pretty wrong just leaving him by himself."

" it's what he asked for remember? Besides Gurak's in no condition to fight." Laif replied solemnly.

"Your not the one carrying him!" Valencia complained as she supported an unconscious Gurak over her shoulder. "He is seriously heavy! He's gonna owe me so bad once he wakes up."

Laif's eyes immediately shifted to the sound of a branch snapping. He immediately grabbed his bow and used his new favorite spell to instantly string it with an ethereal string.

Gurak stumbled to his feet. "A demon," he groaned.

Part of Valencia wanted to protest against him moving but another part was glad to not be carrying him anymore.

"Wait. Laif. If you could instantly string your bow like that." Gurak said calmly as he clinched his fist. "Then why wait until now to tell me!"

"I just learned I could do it in my fight with Eldin." Laif defended.

"Laif..." A female voice said. "Gurak, Nyx. "

The four prepared for a fight. Nyx clutched unto her staff. Gurak unarmed, raised his fists to his face in a defensive stance. Laif nocked an arrow. Even Valencia pulled a dagger from her bosom and prepared for a battle.

"Koroki, stop terrifying the poor people." A man's voice said.

When Laif saw a unique shade of golden hair he'd only seen on Lothrin he immediately released his arrow.

"Heroic shot!" He shouted as his arrow glew with brilliant light before launching itself at the golden haired man.

"What the-" just before impact Laif saw a golden haired man catch his arrow in his hand. "That was a lot closer then I'd like. And quite rude."

"Introduce everyone already! Your a shoddy leader!" A rabbit Homo-Bestia scolded.

"Yes ma'am!" The gold haired man said in a salute before turning to Gurak's party and speaking formally. "My name is Lux, appointed leader of the Towyn resistance," Lux professionally stated with a heroic look. "Much to my own dismay." He added in under his breath.

"That's much better." Usagi replied cheerfully with a hop.

Everyone lowered their guards. Laif was a little embarrassed by the fact that he not only unknowingly shot an ally but it was also completely ineffective.

"Don't tell me your going to Castle Lothrin." Laif complained in a desperate attempt to overshadow his mistake.

"That is exactly where we're going." Lux answered mercilessly.

"I needed my shield back anyways." Gurak stated as though he was never exhausted whereas Nyx, Laif, and Valencia all pouted. "It's a good thing we're going with."

********

To Graxia it felt as though Musashi and Johannes had been fighting for days yet neither of them seemed to be getting exhausted, whereas Graxia was about to pass out, but she knew she needed to stay awake in case one of them needed help.

A crowd of Lothrin appointed nobles gathered to watch, where normal nobles would've turned their noses to such a barbaric event, Lothrin's nobles were shouting instructions to the fighters.

"Come on creepy ronin! Your footwork is all over the place!" One said.

"Johannes kick his sorry rear."

"Hmm I dunno that ronin dude looks pretty skilled."

Not a single noble seemed to know or care about the fact that Musashi was an invader they were just bored.

"Quite an audience you've attracted." Musashi said as he slid back on his sandals and entered the Chudān-no-Kamae stance. "Stance of water: Chudān-no-Kamae."

Johannes entered a similar stance with his sword extended forward at his hip level pointing to Musashi's throat and his footwork unchanged "Stance of the longpoint: Langort." With their stances both posing an immediate threat to one another neither of the two dared to charge the other.

"I'm curious Musashi. How is it you came to learn the art of fechtkunst?" Johannes asked as the two circled each other.

"That story dates back to my childhood." Musashi said.

Graxia just barely caught her head from slipping off her hand falling asleep, not because the fight was boring but because she was actually quite tired. "Musashi could you be a little quicker? I'm falling asleep here?"

Musashi ignored her words and continued his story. "My father was a legendary swordsman, the best in my world. Of course I looked up to him wishing to one day be just as skilled as him. He was reluctant at first stating that I was too young but eventually he gave in and began teaching me. And so for years we trained rigorously. Until one fateful day he passed away in a attempted mugging. I continued the training I was taught never sure whether or not I was doing him proud or disappointing him. By the time I enrolled in high school I was of Olympic skill level with the katana, when I finished school I was appointed the best swordsman in the known world abled to cut a high-velocity bullet with the proper precautions. Still I could never know if I ever succeeded my father.

"Wow, that was pretty deep, and edgy." Graxia said dumbstruck.

"My life isn't edgy!" Musashi snapped before immediately blocking a attack from Johannes who took advantage of his opening. "It's your turn Johannes Liechtenauer, how did you come to learn swordmenship."

Johannes smiled as he began to speak. "I suppose it's only fair. Before Lothrin I was nobody, a nameless commoner destined to die alone and afraid in the poor village of Drove one of the village's which used to supply the old demon lord's castle before it was destroyed. I was forced to survive only by scrapping barely edible foods and water, taking shelter under bushes on cold stormy nights. But he saw something in me, something worth the trouble I'd cause. He taught me a language from his world so we could communicate without nosy ears, then he taught me his world's fechtkunst, he even gave me my name based on a famous fechter from his world. Eventually I surpassed even him in skill and was given the title of major general one of three in the entire world."

Musashi pondered for awhile realizing nothing was gonna change in their battle without an intervention."Let's stop holding back," Musashi proposed. "No more dueling, now we fight for real."

"If you insist." Johannes obliged.

Musashi sheathed his sword and shifted his footwork to a lowered stance bending his right knee forward while shifting his left foot at a forty five degree angle. He twisted his sword horizontally so the edge would face away from his left leg as it's tip pointed to the sky like a lightning rod. His right hand gripped his saya with his thumb extended to his tsuba as to push it forward for a quick draw attack, while his left hand gripped the bottom of his handle for maximum range. "Lightning stance: Rukūrai-no-kamae."

Out of nowhere rain began to pour from the sky as the heavens began to rumble.

Johannes raised his sword to his chin forming a cross with his arms he put one of his hands at the end of his sword's handle and the other at snugged against his guard pointing his blade at Musashi's face. "Stance of the Ox: Ochs."

Johannes' feet slightly elevated from the ground before he lunged at Musashi with speeds that caused the onlookers to stumble back and even fall back on some occasions.

Musashi barely escaped with a gash across his face. But Johannes was far from done, he continued to dash through Musashi leaving more and more gashes with each pass.

"Not yet." Musashi strained with his eyes shut as blood streamed down his face out of his mask.

"Musashi!" Graxia shouted as she tried to approach him to help before being forced back by Johannes' wind. "Get out of there!"

"Hmm. I thought you wanted to go all out? Why are you just letting me kill you?" Johannes asked.

A blood red aura began to emit from Musashi. "Not yet." Musashi groaned barely conscious.

Johannes lifted into the air and in a explosion of speed he flew through Musashi at the same time lighting struck his sword.

"Raimei no ten no Ikari." Musashi said with his sword caked in lightning.

Johannes stumbled forward before collapsing to the ground unconscious as a puddle of blood began to form.

Graxia immediately rushed to him and began healing him.

The storm began to clear as Musashi's sword shattered.

Graxia relayed what she saw as she was healing Johannes, immediately as the lightning struck his sword he unsheathed it and struck Johannes down in a single motion he wasn't actually summoning the lightning like Lux however he simply redirected it with his stance. Even then his body would've been turned to ash if not for the blood red aura he had surrounding him using a legendary spell called Unbreakable Spirit.

Musashi immediately darted off somewhere Graxia couldn't see but she was too busy to chase him.

"Musashi..."

********

Crann was pushed into a corner in what used to be his torture chamber but was now a crater in the ground.

"Luckily I placed those runes in the walls when I 'missed' you otherwise the whole palace would be a crater." Torrikkusatu chuckled.

"How. I was winning, how is this possible." Crann wheezed.

"In the Orochi Isles there are three types of people, Nulls who are born without the ability to manipulate mana from from their surroundings. Mages who are capable of manipulating the mana either within themselves or their surroundings. And sages capable of manipulating both the mana surrounding them and the ether within them"

"That's not possible, no mortal can't access the mana within themselves, that's what keeps us alive, drawing from that will kill anyone who's foolish enough to try." Crann shouted.

"Not if your as good as me." Torrikkusatu said smugly.

 "We understand! Don't kill him!" Cut pleaded as he rushed to Crann's side.

Torrikkusatu saw their semblance and mistook them as siblings. "I'm no monster, I wouldn't kill a guy in front of his own brother, I actually have one back in The Orochi Isles. Though our relationship has a lot more fighting mostly physical though so no harm done." Torrikkusatu chuckled.

********

"Damn it! Two of my generals down already. And Johannes might be... All that's left is Eros, Freiala and Colt. But I still have the upper hand." Lothrin said as Freiala chased me down the halls as I carried Makono. "He still doesn't know it yet. I've already won."