A Side Villain…

Last Day was an option available to players in the game who were on the verge of dying, simply stating the game initiated a setting saved by the player for these times. Akira discovered this setting back in the dungeon when he was pressed to extreme, he had planned to go hyperdrive if the situation called for it.

 

It wasn’t a bad choice per say but after the time constituted for it ended he would be put into an even worse situation compared with the current one.

 

“Haah.” He sighed and got up from the ground with the spear still impaled into his stomach.

 

His right hand gripped onto the part of the spear that was lying outside and with a force he pulled it out in one go, his face showing no pain whatsoever. 

 

Amelia who had thought that everything was over was shocked again, she couldn’t believe as to just how this boy was standing even after being impaled by the darkness imbued spear? All of this made the weird feeling in her heart rose more and more.

 

The top puppet of her saw this happening and he too conjured a sword made out of darkness imitating the one in Akira’s hand. Both him and Akira looked at each other and jumped into action.

 

Akira was using his blitz boltz spell to make his perception and reaction time quicker, quick steps and raijin to move faster and water shield to absorb any attacks made by the puppet. All of this was possible due to mana cores being hyperdrive and because of the potions.

 

The puppet was in the first tier meaning that naturally his attributes were greater than Akira but he had one weakness: his intelligence and battle IQ which was exploited by Akira who would not let him rest for even a moment.

 

He would try to break in through his defense and slash with the blue fire imbued katana which acted as a poison for the puppet but only one or two of his hundred sword attacks met the puppet as he was still faster and stronger than Akira.

 

CLANG..

 

Their swords clashed once again and Akira gritted his teeth as his eyes were getting heavier, his attack speed slower and his mana cores were getting burned little by little. 

 

The dark sword of the puppet had also slashed him here and there adding to his ever increasing injuries despite the Ror doing heavy damage repairing.

   

 

And yes there was this annoying timer constantly hanging on the top left corner of his eyes reminding him to finish the fight faster and get closer to the big guys.

 

“Combine spells.” He muttered.

 

“Yes.” 

 

He stopped and began making several cannons above his head with the help of blue fire, the cannons were then arranged into a circular pattern gaining the attention of the dark puppet and its master both at the same time.

 

Then the seemingly faded blue color of the cannons started turning into a more darker tone as the Raijin spell infused into it making the lighting element take charge, the atmosphere also changed from that of a clear one to that of cloudy.

 

Amelia was now totally attracted towards the boy, his tenacity to live, swift thinking on how to outdo his opponents and most importantly how much he was glaring at her during all this time was making her blush. She wanted to keep him with her, take him away and never let him go.

 

The canons on Akira’s head were going berserk, they were throwing balls of dense fire mixed with slight lighting elements at the fastly evading puppet who was now looking tired and that was bound to happen given his extreme sensitive weakness to true fire.

 

“Come on, stand still.” Akira shouted and fired a barrage of fireballs towards the puppet who this time couldn’t dodge it as neatly as earlier and was now thoroughly poisoned due to it.

 

Not missing the opportunity he quickly dashed ahead and severed the puppets head from his torso while raining fire so that he couldn't get back up.

“Fuck.” 

 

It had taken him less than five minutes to kill someone at first tier which was something impossible for him yet it was not enough as the puppet master was barely harmed.

Yes she had to face the backlash of her puppets being destroyed but it wasn’t something that would stop her from killing him, gritting his teeth he looked at his surrounding and sure enough,

 

His senpai’s were having an edge over their opponent but the portal was still controlled by her minion and to make matters worse Ivan had decided to show himself up and get captured by Zephyr in between Akira’s fight.

“Oi brat are you okay?” Brian came in after beating his opponent into a pulp.

 

“Barely.” Akira said as the adrenaline was now going down making his legs wobbly and his consciousness fade out.

 

“Never knew that you were hiding that secret.” Kazuya chimed in from his battle, his body had several wounds but nothing dangerous.

 

Calvin had also dragged Ivan from the clutches of Zephyr and the one puppet that Amelia left to protect him, and now all of them were facing each other waiting for either the action to restart or something else to happen.

 

That was the last thing Akira saw before his consciousness faded away and caught by Brian midway during his fall on the ground. Amelia’s heart ached when she saw his state and something in her heart told her that she should help him.

 

It was not something rational absolutely not when the consequences of it would be a mission failure for her and her group but she wanted to do this, she wanted to help him. So she declared among her comrades,

 

“We are leaving.” A cold tone pretty different from how warm she was feeling inside her heart.

 

“But what about the mission-” Jin commented.

 

“You have utterly failed to defeat the Dark Swords.” She replied back.

 

The others in her group could not say much as their body and morales were already drained after another fight with the Dark Swords as they proved to be more than a match for them.

 

A miscalculation on Cultists' part to underestimate them and they got their ass kicked due to it but still to run away in a battle was opposite of what they were taught so this action was going to warrant some hardships on them, hardships that Amelia was ready to go through for him.

 

Zephyr deactivated the alternate dimension and all of them were thrown out of this place with the Dark Swords and an injured Ivan in the bretton woods and the Cultists back to their headquarters. Akira was still unconscious; his Ror was working to patch him but gradually.

 

“We are back.” Ben stated the obvious.

 

“And it was a failure, we couldn’t get what we wanted.” Ivan complained, he had lost his left hand in the skirmish with Zephyr.

 

“Sir with all due respect it was an extraordinary situation, one that no one could have prepared for.” Calvin retorted.

 

“Yet none of us were killed but the only thing that we were out there to get eluded us, you failed in your duty Captain.” Ivan shouted.

 

“Oh so only if one of us was killed in this excursion then you would have deemed it satisfactory?” Ben asked, barely controlling his fury.

 

“Don’t you look at him? He is what, a 16 or 17 year old and yet he went through all those things. Don’t you see his condition? He has risked his life for you.” Brain said, stomping his feet.

 

“My life?” Ivan said confusedly.

 

“Didn’t you see that those tier one puppets were there for you and yet he fought one of them while knowing that he was not a match for him.” Brian said angrily.

 

“I-uh…” Ivan couldn’t say anything and with his anger flushing out his mind was back on rational thoughts.

 

“Let’s head back to the town both him and you need healer’s assistance.” Calvin interjected to calm down the situation.

 

“No he is right Captain, sorry for showing such a sorry figure. I guess the failure of not obtaining Ambrosia had hit me pretty hard.” Ivan chuckled at his own misery.

 

While they were talking a group of people were heading inside the place where Ivan and members of Dark Swords were supposed to be as something big had occurred just after Ivan left his house.

 

After an hour or so when Ivan Feodor left his house three letters were sent, first to his own house telling the maid that their master had been abducted by the forces of the Romanov empire.

 

The second letter was sent to the royal family of Von Astrom telling them how the Romanov empire plans to kill Ivan Feodor for his betrayal against his homeland and since Ivan was an influential member of Merchant’s association so an uproar ensued.

 

A third and final letter was sent to the Romanov empire telling them about the ‘supposed’ retaliation from Von Astrom due to Ivan’s death whose fault was going to be pasted on their heads.

 

All in all the cultists have laid their cards out and one has to say it was killing three birds with one stone except that they didn’t as their initial plan on killing Ivan had failed courtesy of a lot of factors.

 

The Von astrom’s had dispatched the elite guard squad under one of their commanders to conduct a search operation in the Bretton woods their mission was to find any clue relating to Ivan and Dark Swords and then report back to the emperor.

 

But what they didn’t expect was to find them in a battered and bruised state with Ivan missing one of his arms and an unconscious teenager. They talked with each other and the Commander of the guards escorted them back to the city.

 

Pretty anti-climatic as the ones who took up the escort mission were being escorted by someone else. They reached Feodor estate and were taken care of by the maids and healers who were already called in.

 

The healer quickly took care of everyone but they faced a surprise as Akira was already healed by that point and it was only the fatigue and soreness keeping him unconscious.

 

“Sir Feodor, I think you should head to the royal palace. There has been a lot of commotion there and the King has demanded your presence .” The commander requested him and he nodded.

 

“The king also wants the members of Dark Swords to be present there.” The commander said.

 

“Well what are we waiting for then?” Ben asked.

 

“The boy?” Commander asked.

 

“Come on, he’s got it pretty bad let him rest.” Brian argued.

 

“Uhh fine the boy can rest.” The commander said and all of them began leaving the estate.

 

“Keep good care of him.” Ivan said to one of his maids before leaving.

 

On the way to Royal palace

 

The royal palace of Von Astrom was situated in the upper districts of the city, it was the biggest building in the entire city visible from every nook and corner. The roads leading to it were much wider than usual and the entire area was an open place.

 

Walking down the road which led to the main entrance of the palace one would be hit with feelings of awe and amusement, the very architecture of the place was built like that. 

 

The front entrance gate was guarded by no less than a hundred elite guards who were always on guard for something foul. The commander who brought the group to the entrance talked with one of the guards who then let him and others enter the place.

 

If the leading road to entrance were wide then the road from the entrance to the gates of castle was the real deal, adorned with carpets made out of absolute best silk, with mana stones underneath it making even the tiles pretty soft to walk upon and the overall vibes of that place was something else.

 

The group was basking in all this when they were stopped by an entourage of maids and butlers wearing clothes similar to those of Ivan’s, Akira must have loved this sight too bad he’s not here.

“Please step into this portal to enter the throne room.” The head butler came forward and said.

 

“Umm okay but where’s the portal-” Kazuya couldn’t complete his sentence as the butler flicked his fingers and a golden portal came in front of them.

 

The commander escorting them went back and so did the entourage of the maids and butlers and only the group and the head butler entered the portal. 

 

Actually the portal also acted as a detection device meaning that anyone who was carrying any dangerous stuff would be caught red handed thus safeguarding the king, it also showcased the authority and power of the king to the people coming inside.

 

On the other side of the portal was a massive hall, a place where the King and his ministers sat and took the important decision to run this large empire. 

 

In the center of the room was the ‘Dragon throne’ made from the body of a real dragon and on both sides were seats for ministers, the hall was adorned by huge chandeliers, paintings, artefacts, statues and other items which were treasures in themselves.

 

On the throne was sitting the current Von Astrom emperor Arthur Von Astrom, he too had purple hair (the defining trait of an Astrom), his face was extremely handsome despite being in his 40’s and overall he was exuding a King’s aura.

 

The ministers were a mix of races with the majority being humans, they were discussing something when the portal began forming in the hall. Ivan and the others stepped out of the portal and immediately went on one knee after seeing the king.

 

“You may rise.” Arthur spoke, his voice too had an aura of itself silencing everyone else.

 

“Thank you.” They replied.

 

“It’s good to see you guys.” He spoke.

 

“It’s all due to his majesty’s blessings.” Ivan replied, he was an expert in talks like these.

 

“Umu, though I would like to hear what happened with you guys. Captain of Dark Swords if you may.”

 

“Yes your majesty.” Calvin then narrated the entire incident starting from the meeting with Akira to their adventures in the alternate dimension to the sinister plans of cutlists to brew war among nations though he hid Akira’s abilities.

 

Everyone in the room listened to Calvin attentively, each taking mental notes of all the things. After speaking for almost half an hour Calvin finally stopped and took his original position.

 

And it was easy to say that the truth behind those letters and everything else came forwards with his revelations, the Cultists wanting to use this opportunity to cause a big war was already a big enough headache for the emperor and his ministers.

 

“I have to say that this nation is highly indebted to Dark Swords for keeping Ivan Feodor alive and making it out that place.” Arthur remarked.

 

“You surely jest my king, it was my duty too as a citizen of this nation.” Calvin repiled.

 

“Modesty is a rare virtue these days and hence should be valued. Azrael arrange medal felicitation ceremony for the members of Dark Swords.” The emperor announced making everything nod in acceptance.

 

“Majesty isn't that too much?” One of the ministers asked, standing up from his seat.

 

“Too much? They not only successfully defused the sinister plans of cultists who wanted to usurp the throne and cause wars but they also defended an important citizen of our nation from harm’s way. Why shouldn’t they be lauded and awarded?” 

Arthur roared loudly.

 

“I-I apologize my lord.” the minister quickly sat down.

 

“And what was the name of that first year kid who went with you?” Arthur asked Calvin.

 

“Akira my lord, he would have loved to come here but you see he was still unconscious from his fight.”

 

“I assume that he is well taken care of?” The king asked, showing some interest.

 

“Absolutely my best healers are at his service.” Ivan replied.

 

“Good, Azrael announce that the medal felicitation ceremony will be held the day after tomorrow.” Arthur ordered his head butler.

 

“Yes my lord.” He bowed and excused himself.

 

“You can leave.” Arthur said and the Dark Swords left the palace.

 

Back to Ivan’s mansion

 

In the late evening Akira’s consciousness was finally on its way to return as the fatigue and exertion had fully dissipated thanks to the meticulous care of healers arranged by Ivan and his own Ror.

 

The first thing that he noticed while opening his eyes was a new ceiling upwards and the feeling of a softest bed underneath him. The smell of the room was filled by lavender which was alien to him hitherto.

 

All of this made him think that he must have died again and was now in another universe but that changed when he stood up from the bed and noticed a big painting of Ivan staring at him.

 

“What the-” He got startled and accidently dropped off the bed.

 

“Ouch.” He said and massaged his backside, it would have been okay if it was only that but no, as he heard a giggle coming from nearby.

 

“Pfftt..” 

 

He looked around and found that two maids were standing on the edge of the door controlling their giggles, this made him somewhat ashamed of his previous fall but he decided to act like nothing happened.

 

“Uhh hello maid-san, could you tell me where we are?” He asked politely to both of them.

 

“Master Akira, you are currently in our master Ivan Feodor’s estate.” The shorter one replied.

 

“Ohh, then how did I come here?” He again asked but before they could answer,

 

GROWL~

 

His stomach announced that these things could be talked about later on and the most important thing right now was that it wanted some food.

 

The maids giggled again and said,

 

“Would you like to eat something Master Akira?” 

 

“I am starving so why not?” He said nonchalantly, earning another round of giggles from them.

 

“This way then.” They bowed and showed them the way.

 

He was then led into the dining room where a huge table with a lot of chairs was arranged and Ivan was already present there eating some of the delicacies but when he saw Akira coming he got from his seat and bowed to him saying,

 

“I Ivan Feodor thank you sir Akira for everything that you did for me back there.” He bowed and then all of his maids and butlers also followed the suite.

 

While Akira on the other hand was dumbfounded, he couldn't think of anything that would warrant such behavior from this merchant but not trying to be impolite he quickly accepted his thanks and sat down on the table and began eating the dishes.

 

“Mr.Ivan could you fill in what happened after I lost consciousness and please just call me Akira?” 

 

“Yes so the thing happened was-” He narrated all the things upto their meeting with the emperor and the subsequent medal ceremony to be held the day after tomorrow.

 

He didn’t speak much after that and ate the food in silence, still trying to digest everything that had happened in the last few hours. 

 

First was the question as to why Amelia would have retreated, second was that his true fire skill was in the open and third was the upcoming medal ceremony which was the only good thing.

 

Then he remembered something and rummaged through his storage ring,

 

“Mr. Ivan I don’t know if you still need it but here’s one of the Ambrosia I found.” He had found one of the flowers back in the swamp.

 

Ivan’s eyes got wide open as he couldn't believe the thing he was seeing in front of him, afraid that it was a dream he snacted the flower from his hands and began checking if it was the real deal which it was.

 

Years of hardship had finally paid off and Ivan couldn't help but shed some tears of joy which only startled the boy as he couldn’t understand as to what would make a grown up man cry? 

 

Then adding to his confusion all the maids and butlers also began crying but they also looked happy as if they had achieved something great. He asked the man and he replied,

 

“I couldn't find any of them as they were already destroyed by the cultists but to think you would have found one.” He then again started crying.

 

This went on for a while but they stopped crying and told him the real reason behind it, apparently the ambrosia was required for Ivan’s own wife and daughter as they were the ones affected by devil’s curse. 

 

Ivan had searched far and wide but couldn’t find the flower even after giving extreme amounts of money so when Akira nonchalantly gave him the Ambrosia he couldn’t control but shed some tears.

 

“I am happy that your family can be cured Mr.Ivan.” Akira said.

 

“Yes and only because of you Akira so please ask for anything and I shall give it to you.” He declared.

 

“I only want one thing and that is you hide the truth about my true fire skill as you must know the consequences if that is revealed in public.” Akira replied.

 

“Very well, don’t worry this old man will take your secret to his graves.” He said and that made Akira chuckle.

 

“But that is not enough Akira and that’s why I have decided to fund you while you are in the Academy.” He dropped a bomb and Akira was truly surprised now.

 

Funding was a famous thing in the academy as prominent households used to fund poor yet bright students who would then in the future will form a good relationship with that house and although it was famous the reality was grim.

 

As several background checks were done before giving the funding then it was also seen whether he had joined a faction or not and whether that faction was not on the opposite side, so only a few candidates were actually funded.

 

“I am honored to know that you would fund me but are you sure about it? Like have you done a background-” He stated.

 

“Oh come on I don’t believe there’s a need for me to do a background check on me and my family’s benefactor. You are going to be funded by me and that’s final.” Ivan said and clapped his hands.

 

“Yes master.” One of the maids said while bowing her head.

“Arrange for a funding application to be sent to the academy.” He ordered.

 

“Okay master.” 

 

“Thank you Mr.Ivan.” Akira said, it was truly an awesome thing to be funded by someone like Ivan.

 

Then they stayed like that before Akira felt that it was getting late and that he should head home for which Ivan offered a carriage but he refused as that would be too ostentatious for someone like him but still on Ivan’s adamant insistence he accepted it.

 

By now the news of Dark Swords defeating the Cultists and foiling their plans of brewing another war had reached the general populace and along with it Akira’s heroism had also reached them stirring some good reactions.

 

Reactions about which Akira didn’t knew about and was going to face shortly.