Bruman rolled across the ground before looking up at the blonde-and-black haired boy, “..Emilio?! Nice save!”

“Thank me later!” He said, holding his staff up as he wasted no time with his next incantation.

The ferocity and tenacity of an Outrider warrior couldn’t be understated; even with a spear lodged in his gut, the bear demi-human launched forward, swinging his blade wildly towards the boy.

He moved around, rolling and using his spear to create walls of rock to space the Outrider away and give himself room for a counter.

Though the slabs of stone were merely momentary stopgaps, as a single swing of the massive weapon of steel crushed the walls in the Outrider’s way.

“Gah!”

Upon one of the walls breaking, a piece of stone flew out, hitting him in the forehead, which caused him to flinch for just a moment. In that single moment, the warrior closed in, watching him with those beastly eyes as it reared its blade back.

SQUELCH.

The leather-armored Outrider, who stood three times his height, stopped.

“Huh?”

He finally noticed it: behind the Outrider, Bruman was standing there, shaking but holding a confident smile as he had picked up a sword from the ground, sticking it straight into the leg of the giant demi-human.

“Graaaagh!” The Outrider roared out.

“Do your thing..!” Bruman yelled out.

He nodded and hopped to his feet, readying his staff as blood trickled down his forehead. There wasn’t much time to think about repercussions, so he unleashed it: a flaming sphere conjured at the tip of his staff, spinning and lashing out as the flame grew in head with oxygen being supplied to it aggressively._.

As the flame turned to a crisp blue, he unleashed it in the form of a flamethrower that shot out like the breath of a mighty dragon.

In order to avoid turning his Verma friend into a charcoal corpse, he pointed upward, scorching the top half of the Outrider’s body in the path of the destructive flame.

“Woah! Hot!” Bruman ducked down, covering his head.

Faced against a foe like this, the boy didn’t consider restraint or holding back; he simply unleashed his magic in full-capacity. In the end, with the flames quelled, this resulted in the top half of the Outrider warrior seizing to exist.

“–” He caught his breath.

Bruman looked up, moving out of the way as the body of the Outrider fell over. Ash lingered in the air as the cries of battle continued all around. In an environment like this, there was hardly any time to lament what was done.

“..Nice one,” Bruman complimented him in surprise, patting him on the shoulder.

“Let’s keep going,” he said, wiping the sweat from his chin.

“You got it!” Bruman nodded.

Fortunately, it seemed not many Outriders occupied the main pathway as they diverted their attention to the Verma that were attacking the outskirts.historical

“So, you’re thinking they’ve got your pal in there?” Bruman asked, looking ahead towards the large structure.

He nodded, “I saw him being carried off in there–it’s the chief’s place, isn’t it?”

“Good eye! Yeah–that’s definitely their leader’s place. We’ll just have to kick his butt and free everybody in there!” Bruman said.

“You think there are others kept prisoner?” He asked.

Bruman looked at him, “..Of course! That’s a big reason why we’re here!”

The path being clear made them lower their guard for a moment until proven otherwise once reaching just shy of the temple’s entrance.

This didn’t mean there weren’t any Outriders, however. As the two reached the steps leading to the chief’s large abode, a group of six of the man-eating demi-humans greeted them with their weapons raised and eyes gleaming with malice.

The place in which the chief occupied, and where Vandread was seen to be brought, was a large temple that seemed to be used for other things besides the chief’s living quarters. It was mostly made out of wood and shoddily banded-together leaves and twigs, but it was grand in size.

“..Uh-oh..” Bruman said quietly, stepping back with his spear held up.

“Aren’t you a warrior? Shouldn’t you be jumping at an opportunity like this?” He asked with a half-smile.

Bruman smiled as well, “..That’d normally be the case, but these guys scare the crap out of me!”

“Can’t say I disagree,” he said.

Just then, a pair of the bear men launched forward, dressed in leather armor that covered most of their large bodies; the one on the left wielded a halberd, and the right held a black-tipped spear.

Without any hesitation, he raised his staff and manifested water amidst the rainfall, spinning and weaving it into limbs made out of water. Though these limbs weren’t shaped like his, but made to be larger and bulkier than the Outriders.

In the rainfall, he was able to manipulate the precipitation around him without having to fully tap into his mana, allowing him to make the water arms larger than usual.

“How about this?!” He yelled out.

The water-formed fists intercepted the pair of Outrider warriors, slamming into the bestial mean and launching a swift number of haymakers against the unsuspecting warriors. He controlled the triple-set of water limbs with his staff, twirling his catalyst as the fists continued slamming into the two warriors.

Against the wooden foundations of the building, the knuckles of the aquatic fists slammed through with brutal strength.

“Magala! Tsurana! Tsurana–!” One of the warriors yelled out.

It seemed the usage of magic caught their eye, making them cautious as the first pair to meet the aquatic fists were swiftly knocked unconscious.

As he was focused on the two he had knocked out, he didn’t realize that another charged him before he noticed them closing in.

Crap, the water fists are too far! He thought.

But, the Outrider that lunged towards him, clad in black fur, was intercepted by a spear-rush straight to the side.

“Nice one, Emilio! But, I’m not going to let you one-up me all night!” Bruman smiled.

It seemed the young warrior had regained his composure as he now fought with a smile, plucking his spear from his foe’s side and using successive thrusts to overcome the Outrider.

“..Three down, three to go,” he said.

He stood side-by-side with Bruman as three more Outriders blocked their way into the chief’s keep.

“About what I said earlier..” Bruman smiled wryly.

He sighed, “I’ll take the two on the left.”

“Thanks!” Bruman said.

–

While the two youngest of the assault team handled their own battle, the Verma Champion remained agile and endless in his pursuit of Outriders.

“Come! Do not cower from your end!” Alekkai roared out.

The Verma warrior’s long, crimson hair swayed in the rainy wind as the blood of his enemies washed away in the nightly storm.

A dozen bodies of slain Outriders surrounded the champion as he huffed, unending in his vengeance yet.

..I’m close, brother, my son..It’s almost done, he thought.

THUD.

Suddenly, a figure was flung through the air, catching his attention as he looked up. Rather than picking up on the appearance of the figure, the scent was known to him.

“Yula?!” He yelled out.

Jumping up, he caught his kin in his arms, landing back down as he looked at the woman to see her body covered in lacerations and bruises.

“..Who did this to you?” Alekkai asked.

There weren’t many who could put the monstrously powerful woman in such a wounded state; he knew that well.

Yula coughed up blood, “It’s him.”

“–!” Alekkai’s eyes widened.

As he looked up once more, setting his kin down, he saw the one responsible–stomping out from behind the hutts, the massive figure clutched two Verma in one hand; they were mangled and torn limb-from-limb.

“Uryu! Massafa!” Alekkai yelled out in agonized anger.

The figure that clutched his fallen brethren was one he knew well; a sight that made his blood boil in rage as he squeezed the handle of his weapon tight enough to begin cracking it.

It was an Outrider, taller than any other and built like a mountain; the warrior wore the hide of a behemoth, protected in its scales.

“..You..!” Alekkai growled, “Urganna!”

The threads of fate seemed to intertwine to allow the two to meet; the Champion of the Verma, and the Champion of the Outriders.

Flung to the side, the bodies of Alekkai’s kin were tossed like discarded toys as the Outrider champion let out bellowing laughter, pulling out his twin war-axes as the rain ran slick on his scaly armor.

“It’s the wolf pup! I thought the Verma’s balls had been snipped, but here I find you attacking our village..I am excited!” Urganna laughed wickedly, “I’ll end your bloodline tonight! No–I have a better idea! After I end this attack, I’ll go to the Verma village myself and take your wife!..I’ll need to repopulate for my lost brethren.”

Alekkai was silent in his rage as his muscles bulkened; veins pressed against his tan, light-brown skin as he wielded his sword, “..I’ll kill you–right here.”

“Be careful..He’s got incredible strength–he’s not the same as before..” Yula said weakly.

“Got it,” Alekkai nodded quietly.