Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc
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She wants me to fight them? I mean, sure, I don't mind that at all, in fact, I'm all for it, but...I really wish that she'd stop impulsively making decisions that involve me without discussing it with me beforehand...I mean, really, is that too much to ask for!? Though I guess she has a point, we'd be better prepared if we know exactly how strong these summons are...
"Sure, I'm game too," I replied with a friendly smile, after Shin voiced his agreement.
I feel like I put in a fair bit of effort into my performance to get them on our side, so I might as well see it through...do I have to fight all six of them though? Though that's a moot point if they all turn out to be weak...
"Great! Then I'll activate that barrier that's often used for dueling, the one that teleports you out if you're about to receive a fatal blow or severe injury," Said Belia, before looking at the six summons, "So, who wants to go first?"
"I'll take the first crack at this," Volunteered Ren, stepping forward and cracking his knuckles.
I am admittedly curious about the power system of the world that they were summoned from, so yeah, let's have some fun with this. Hold on, are their powers even compatible with this world?
"Hey, wait, can you still use your magic or whatever?" I asked, putting on a look of concern, "If magic works differently in the world you all came from, then it might not work here."
"Oh, come on, what do you take me for? The spell I used to summon them also adapts their bodies to operate without a problem in this world," Explained Belia with a smug look on her face.
"I don't know how it works in this world, but in the world we were in before, humans can't bare-handedly use any magic, we need to use special tools, which could be either enchanted physical weapons or magic crystals. In other words, if we're unarmed, we only have our natural physical abilities to rely on," Shin informed me.
Huh, that kinda sucks...this world's power system is way better than that.
"However, there were these rare and heavily sought-after magical weapons in that world that were called Legendary Arms, that would grant their users superhuman abilities. But just finding these weapons isn't enough, the moment you touch them, they put you through a difficult test, and if you fail, you die...but if you pass the test, the weapon becomes yours and yours alone, and you become super strong and fast even without it, it basically turns its users into superhumans. Oh, and it can't be stolen, only the person who owns it can use it. If the user dies, only then can someone else attempt to stake their claim to the weapon," He continued, before patting the sword on his hip, "Oh, and incidentally, all six of us are users of Legendary Arms."
So, it's a power system that relies a fair bit on luck...
"Interesting...so, can one person own multiple Legendary Arms?" I inquired curiously, "And what's the test like?"
"No, one person can't own more than one Legendary Arm, and if they do own one, they can't relinquish ownership of it until they die, even if they want to. As for the test...we immediately forget the details of it the moment we regain consciousness."
"Huh, I see...so wait, earlier when you said that they can't be stolen, do you mean that they're literally impossible to steal or just that there's no point to stealing them?"
"See for yourself," He replied, holding out his sword towards me.
I reached for the handle, but the moment I touched it and began to grip it, my hand got repelled away from it like a magnet.
"Wow, didn't expect that," I remarked in surprise...okay, so maybe the power system of the world they came from isn't TERRIBLE, but I still stand by my statement that this world's power system is way better.
I'd rather rely on my own power than the power of some weapon. But I guess there's only one way to really find out which power system is actually better in effect...
"Hey, we gonna do this, or what?" Said Ren impatiently.
"Yeah, let's get started, shall we? The two of you stand over there, I'll make the barrier nice and big so that you have plenty of space to work with, 'kay?" Replied Belia, forming the barrier as we both took our places, "Feel free to go all out, no need to hold anything back!"
"You can have the first move," I offered with a smirk, as I put up my guard.
"Hmph, hope you don't regret that. My weapon is called the Axe of Hephaestus, and I'm about to show you exactly what it can do," He replied confidently, as he took his double-headed axe into his hands.
"Hephaestus? So, then, the Legendary Arms are based on Greek mythology?" I asked, genuinely intrigued.
"No, not exclusively, there are plenty based on folklore, along with Indian, Norse, Irish, Japanese and even Arthurian mythology. Enough talk...here I come!" He then exclaimed, raising his axe off the ground.
He shot forward at a rapid pace, swinging the axe across at me as he closed in, which I narrowly avoided by ducking backwards and back flipping away as the blade whizzed past me with immense force, slicing through the air powerfully. Damn, I didn't expect that speed from such a bulky guy.
And he's crazy strong, he could probably cut me in half with a single swing, even with my reinforced skeleton...that axe of his has a pretty long handle which appears to be slightly flexible, and he grips it right at the end of the handle to maximize the momentum of each and every swing by making maximum use of the handle's flexibility...what's more, his arm speed is absolutely rapid, he swings that thing around with so much ease that you'd think it was made out of plastic.
Taking him on in my normal state is gonna be near-impossible...time to use Vampire Mode. His eyes widened as my wings and tail appeared, and I could feel the gazes of the other five locked onto me too. As I finished transforming, he shot towards me again, swinging his axe straight down at me as he neared me. He really is fast, and right now...he's blocking me view, I don't have enough time to shift my gaze away and activate Teleport...but if nothing else, I can avoid fatal damage.
With a quick shuffle of my feet, I swept across to the left, just barely avoiding the axe falling down onto my head, and instead striking my right shoulder...and in an instant, slashed off my right arm. Woah...that was an incredible amount of force, his raw strength is absolutely monstrous!
"What-...I thought you said that this barrier would prevent fatal or severe injuries!" He exclaimed in alarm, stumbling back.
"Yeah, it does, what's your point?" I inquired in an innocent tone, before looking at my shoulder, "Oh, you mean this? This is nothing, as they say...'tis but a scratch."
His eyes widened as my bones grew back, followed by my veins, muscles and blood vessels, and finally, my skin.
"Woah...can all magic users in this world heal like that?" He asked incredulously.
"No, definitely not...but the person that I'm an inverse copy of, Kuro, is now even better at regeneration than I am," I replied, as my arm fully healed, before adding tauntingly, "What's the matter, done already?"
"Don't say you didn't ask for it!" He exclaimed, zipping towards me and leaping up as he closed in and swinging his axe down at me.
But I was ready this time...his strength is off the charts and his speed is impressive too, but while his attacks may be incredibly powerful, they're pretty straightforward and easy to dodge once you figure out his attack patterns. Not to underestimate him though, his raw power is no joke, he could probably even kill Kuro with a single swing of his axe.
I evaded the downward swing by using Teleport to slip behind him, before throwing him off balance by using Beckon to lift him off the ground a bit and then using Repulsion to knock him down onto one knee. If I ascend up to Demon Mode, I'll be able to use my Demonic Magic...I wonder if Alchemic Magic would work on those weapons? Well, against this guy, it's not worth the risk of getting close to his weapon...I don't want to get chopped up.
And I'll save my final form for later, I won't use it in this fight...no need to put all my cards on the table right from the get-go, after all. Instead, I'll finish up this fight as soon as possible, with what's probably my most subtle, and also one of my most effective, killing methods.
I then rapidly flew up and swooped down on him while charging up lightning, flames and wind in my hand, and as I began to close in, he swiftly spun around and with a flick of his wrist, whipped the axe straight up towards me, slashing through the right side of my chest.
Now, then...I swiftly pointing my left hand towards him and extended my claws out while also lengthening my arm and fingers as fast as possible, before reaching and piercing his bicep...
"I win," I declared triumphantly, as he got teleported out right before I could drain out his life force.
I walked over to him as the barrier went down and he reappeared outside of it. He was looking pretty confused.
"What just...what did you do?" He inquired with a frown, "That didn't even hurt, so why did I get teleported?"
"Well, to put it in a nutshell, I can consume a person's soul using my claws...or my fangs, as well. And if I do that, then naturally, they die," I explained briefly.
"Damn, that ability is a pretty bad match against me, since I'm a close range fighter," He sighed, hitching his axe on his back as he stood up.
"So, what's that form of yours? Are cool transformations a common thing in this world?" Inquired Dwayne with a look of interest.
"No-...or rather, they weren't, but lately they've become more common," I answered, correcting myself.
"I see...you sure have a lot of options, don't you? You have some pretty good close range skills but you've also got ranged attacks up your sleeve, not to mention that you can fly," Observed Kyle with narrowed eyes.
"Uh...from the looks of your weapons, aren't you all close-range fighters?" I asked, looking around at each of them, "I mean, none of you have any bows or guns or whatever."
"All the bow and arrow Legendary Arms were taken at the time we got our weapons, and that world didn't have guns," Explained Lily with a laugh.
"Guess that makes sense...oh, FYI, this world has guns."
Woah, that got all of their attentions immediately.
"Wait, for real!?" Exclaimed Ren with a wide-eyed look on his face.
"No way, you're just messing with us, right?" Added Skylar skeptically.
"Nope...guns exist here, I'm not joking."
"Holy-...can we get some guns? I want to see what they're like!" Remarked Ren, his face lighting up.
"Yeah, me too!" Chimed in Dwayne.
I better get them back on track...
"Sure, we'll go get some guns later. For right now, though...who wants to go next?" I inquired challengingly, looking around at them with a smirk.
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