Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

Yusa gasped as ripples of a similar reaction went through Red Cloaks watching with him. Unlike the other people of Melbourne, who were scrambling to get away from the fighting, the Emperor's Men couldn't leave the scene, as the boy currently standing up to a monster was their whole reason for being there.

The only difference between their assignment and how this battle was going was the end result. Alaric was to be taken alive, and yet, Yusa saw no way he would walk out of this situation alive.

Even so, he felt his body quiver at the sight of the battle.

"So that's the power of the boy the Apostle was afraid of," Roan's voice rumbled with a spark of interest.

A Steel Rank, two whole ranks above the Wood Temper Rank, was being tossed around, and the sight of it was nothing short of breathtaking.

Alistair, now Alaric, wasn't doing any real damage as the dark magic coursing through the mage's veins kept fixing him right back up, but for a Wood Rank to damage a Steel Rank time and time again was unheard of. It was an impossibility, and the rage on Avaros's face as he flew up and summoned a deluge of shadow weapons was justified.

Yusa put his foot forward and felt a hand grip his wrist. "What's wrong with you, boy? Are you looking to end up like the Commander?"

"He did the right thing."

"He died for the assignment he was given. To capture the boy alive. We aren't in that man's shoes, and he's not the saint you think he was trying to be. In a few short minutes, that boy will be dead, and our job will be no more. Pray the Commander's death will be enough of a distraction to get us pardoned," Roan snapped at the boy, his tongue only babbling twisted logic.

Yusa looked back and saw the Commander bleeding behind Alaric. In a moment, the blades would come crashing down on the two of them, and there was nothing he could do against a shower of blades.

The grey-haired boy yanked his hand out of the man's grasp, muttering to himself, "They are not dead yet."

Roan simply laughed, "That spear went straight through the Three-Star armour and body of a Stone Rank. You really think that Wood boy stands a chance? You're even more foolish than I imagined."

Before any of them could say anything, the shadow weapons rained down on Alaric's form. Yusa and Roan, who were considered elite among this squadron, were the only ones who noticed how space curved around Alaric, slowing the blades down just a bit before the rest of the stray blades obstructed the view and crashed on the ground around him. Yusa's eyes went wide, and his gut flared with anticipation.

A second passed, and there was no sign of blood or pain, just the resonant clang of a sword striking numerous objects at once. This wasn't over yet.

Alaric felt the hilt of his blade heat up as he sent the sword into a whirlwind of motions. His eyes tracked each weapon coming straight for him. He parried one into the others and slammed the net of blades with the flat of his blade, entangling the ones raining behind them.

The temporary wall of weapons sent some off course and let others through, and these ones, he dealt with them with pinpoint precision. His hands and blade blurred into a haze and cut down every weapon that came within reach of him.

It was a feverish effort at first before a dome of tranquillity took form, inside which no shadow blade was allowed. Safely inside that dome, the Commander of the Red Cloaks lay clinging to his life.

Alaric's muscles burned, but the aether flowing into his body turned green and repaired them, something he'd picked up from Kair'ak during his training. The barrage continued to fall with no end in sight, and Alaric continued to parry the falling weapons relentlessly.

"How long do you think you can keep up these parlour tricks?" the Dark Mage called out with dark glee.

Just then, a rift opened below him and a black maw emerged, clamping down on his right hand. The portals shooting out countless blades in the air vanished instantly. A moment later, Alaric's blade also stopped whirling, and he looked up, only for his heart to stop and draw a gasp from his lips.

The Dark Mage's right hand was trapped in the ruthless maw of a large winged black puma, and that puma was thrashing him around like a ragdoll. The pair fought for control in the skies with the puma sinking its teeth deeper into his arm while the Dark Mage uselessly smacked its head.

"You dead mutt!!!" he shrieked, "Go back to the grave!"

Dark spikes shot out of the bottom of the puma's maw and a few closer to its nose, forcing it to pull away. Staggering through the air, the beast circled Avaros, blood dripping from its maw.

"Sabre!" Alaric called out. The puma snapped out of its snarls and landed by Alaric's side, spitting a metal bracelet onto the ground.

Sabre's feminine voice filtered into his mind, slurred and in pain, [ This is what he was using to summon weapons from a pocket dimension. ]

Alaric reached for two green elixirs in his Storage Bracelet and threw them in the direction of the Commander of the Red Cloaks, "Get that man out of here and don't even think about returning."

[ Yes, Master. ] With that, the puma picked up the elixirs in its maw and dragged the Commander away faster than the Dark Mage could recover from having his arm mangled.

Black mist surrounded Avaros, tainting the air with a dark, repulsive aura. Bones could be heard crunching as the dark aether in his veins repaired injuries painful enough to draw hollow screams from him, "I'll kill that wretch!"

"You curse a lot when you're angry," Alaric observed.

"I'm done playing these games," the man growled. He tore the scaly sleeve of his armour off and dropped to the ground, drawing a pair of scythes joined by chains from the shadows on the ground.

Alaric picked up the bracelet on the ground, stared the man in the eye and said, "So am I." Then he crushed it, enchantments and all.

Tossing the remnants aside, Alaric gripped his sword tightly, for in the next moment, a scythe was coming straight for his eye. He parried it, and the next one came just as fast. This one made his sword rattle with a powerful clang, but by then, Alaric was moving.

He dove right under the dark mage's fist and trailed his blade across his torso, but drew no blood. 'He layered already. He has adapted.'

This thought had barely formed when Alaric sensed the killing intent of the Dark Mage surrounding him. His sword flashed, parrying the scythes yet again, but this time, the scythes returned, falling into a pattern that could only be a result of gruesome training. These were weapons he knew how to use.

Alaric's training kicked in as well, and the pair unleashed the full force of their blades in a clash of skill and destruction. Alaric parried and attacked while the Dark Mage returned all his efforts in kind.

When the Dark Mage made a mistake or misstepped, he layered his Spirit Vessel and protected himself from Alaric's blade, then adapted in the middle of battle, growing faster and more ruthless.

The battle quickly drew to a stalemate with the two fighters battling with all their might, not letting up even once. Alaric's superior Aether Manipulation pushed his reflexes to the pinnacle of his rank, perhaps even beyond, while the Dark Mage attacked with the might of the Steel Rank.

"No one's drawn this much effort from me for years," the man howled in the middle of their fight, "Colour me impressed!"

Their battle continued this way, leading up to a shockwave from the two weapons clashing that sent the two fighters flying back several meters, equally injured and rattled. The small retinue of Red Cloaks gasped at what they saw. Alaric was already beyond the realms of possibility, having lasted this long and continuing to give the Steel Rank a hard time. Perhaps he could even land a decisive blow.

At first glance, that's what it appeared to be, but up close, Alaric was barely hanging on. He had all these tools helping him, weapons of gold that were sharper, lighter and more lethal than anything he'd ever used before.

'I wonder if this is what Bumi meant by me being able to identify a good sword eventually.' He struggled to his feet while his aether reserves replenished themselves off the giant ring of aether floating above the city.

The aether from the massive floating halo joined that which circulated through his body, elevating his abilities to their very heights. Alaric was tired, even with his body constantly healing and an endless supply of aether elevating his abilities indefinitely while healing his injuries.

He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, but he wasn't done yet.

The Dark mage staggered to his feet too, chuckling deeply as he wiped a stream of blood of his lip, "They said… that you were Loved by the World. I truly doubted that. But now I know what they meant by it."

"Who's they?"

"That's none of your business right now," the man dismissed the question, then turned to the soldiers watching from afar. Buildings had been destroyed during this battle, and yet these men still managed to find a place to watch the battle.

The Commander had returned to his men's side, bandages going around his torso as he watched with a pale face.

"Enjoying the show, Commander?" The commander stood still, without as much as a reaction except for the slight flicker of his eyes, "Go on, Commander. Join me in putting him down. You might even get to take him alive."

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Alaric chuckled, "You're not seriously expecting them to help you, are you?"

Avaros looked back at Alaric with a confused expression, only for his face to contort with rage. His voice came as a low growl, dark and threatening enough to send chills down Alaric's spine, "You've disabled their guardians."

The boy laughed out even more, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Commander, deal with this boy or there will be problems," Avaros ordered.

The commander turned to his men, "You heard the man. Let's…" but then there was silence. He'd stopped as soon as he'd started.

The air around the soldiers fizzled and rippled. From rifts in space, a variety of guardians emerged. A frog larger than a wagon with skin so red that it sent shivers down Alaric's spine.

A wolf at least twice as tall as the average human, with metal plating on the top of its skull. A lizard with ten legs and the head of a crocodile slithered out, all limbs walking in tandem with each other. Three more chimeras emerged from the rifts only to turn on the men and pin them down in any manner of fashion.

They barrelled down on them, knocked them out, pinned them under their massive bodies or constricted their movements with magic. All except for one.

The commander struggled under the massive body of the red frog and yelled out, "Yusa! Attack. That man will have our heads."

Yusa nodded and left his pinned comrades walking right up to Alaric and staring him in the eye, his hand on the pommel of his sword, "You look like crap."

The beat-up boy shrugged, "It happens… in battle. If I get lucky, I might even get myself a few battle scars to tell stories with."

Yusa's face rarely made expressions, his emotions leaking out in his voice and actions, but today, his eyes quivered at the sight of the boy, "You're just a Wood Rank. Where do you get the courage?"

"To fight a losing battle?" Alaric raised a brow at him, "No one has that courage."

Yusa allowed a small smile to grace his face before standing by Alaric's side and turning to face the Dark Mage, "I'm assuming you have some kind of plan. You can't keep this up forever."

Alaric merely smirked, "Don't fall behind, Stone Rank." Cool as that sounded, Alaric wanted to hug the expressionless oddball and thank him profusely, but he restrained himself.

His guardian chimed in with a chuckle, [ That's a surprise. Didn't think you'd make an ally of him. ]

[ Neither did I. I thought he hated my guts. ] Alaric responded in a high-pitched tone.

A yell came from the Red Cloaks, hoarse but angry, "YUSA! YOU IDIOT!"

The dark mage chuckled, but before he could speak, a large white lion landed beside Alaric, his rider climbing off to stand at the boy's side, "The others went to help with the demon subjugation. I came here as soon as Aslan's ability started acting up. Alia told us the plan."

"Thank you," Alaric responded, brandishing his sword in his hands.

"Aaaahhhh, enough of this," Avaros screamed, "It makes no difference how many of you there are."

This much they all knew. They had no business fighting a Dark Mage of the Steel Rank. Alaric was of the Wood Rank Level Five, with a halo of aether constantly supplying his aether channels, an Inborn Ability he was yet to use, as well as the Dance of the Sword. These weren't enough to bring him close to winning this fight, even with Spirit Layering and constant Healing Magic, but the goal was to buy time.

LionHeart was of Wood Rank Level Six with mastery over the Dance of the Sentinel and an Inborn Ability to create shockwaves powerful enough to destroy buildings in a single blow. Considering the Dark Mage had survived the explosive force of eight Cataclysts, even he wasn't enough to tip the scales.

Yusa was of the Stone Rank with an unknown guardian and a nasty Inborn Ability to mess with gravity and his target's understanding of it for as long as he could see them. His skills were unknown as well as his guardian, which made him a bit of a wild card and yet even then, no one was confident in their odds.

At the end of the day, their victory didn't rely on their individual strengths but on their teamwork. Alaric still remembered a time he described teamwork as a double-edged sword. It could either make or break the whole team. It was time to find out.

"Decided to turn a new leaf, Yusa," LionHeart chuckled, pulling a large sword from his storage bracelet and holding it up in the battle stance of the Sentinel, tall and indomitable. Yusa drew the sword at his side and held it forward without saying another word.

"How quaint!" Avaros's dark voice pierced the air, "A Red Cloak and a Heretic."

Alaric smirked, "Jealous, Avaros?"

Avaros didn't smile. The air grew heavy, and everyone tensed.

One moment, Alaric, Yusa and LionHeart were facing off against Avaros, cranking up aether and sizing up the enemy and the next, a fist came within a foot of Alaric's head. LionHeart was frozen still. Yusa's eyes were turning, but slower than he'd like.

Alaric's heart sank, and his reflexes kicked in. He tilted his head and took a half-step back, avoiding the Dark Mage's attack while still within the man's range.

Two more agility-charged half-steps away, and he'd just avoided two blows to the face, but they were speeding up, going beyond what he could keep up with. Aether flowed through his body at top speed, and yet he still couldn't make sense of what was happening. The third attack he dodged was on pure instinct. Alaric's sword vanished, and he crossed his hands over his chest.

WHAM

The boy's body shot across the street and straight through a wall, crashing into the interior of what looked like a restaurant. Alaric's hands were vibrating, replaying the feeling of the Dark Mage's fist on his bones.

Had he not layered his Spirit Vessel in time, his bones would have shattered completely. An explosion shook the ground as Yusa and LionHeart finally engaged Avaros. Clenching his fists, Alaric dashed out of the restaurant.

Outside, he witnessed a metallic centipede at least the size of a house coiling around the remnants of the Sisters of Fragrance building, shooting scalding hot water from its maw. The centipede's numerous metallic legs stabbed the roof of what was left of the building, aiding the battle on the roof with well-timed interceptions as its long body coiled around the building.

The top floor of the building had been blown off, and on top of what was left, Yusa was fighting the Dark Mage, barely hanging on even with his guardian's help. The guardian had already lost one limb after having blocked the Dark Mage's blows three times.

LionHeart emerged from a demolished building next to the restaurant, dragging his giant sword while blood rolled down the side of his head."How far with that plan of yours?" he asked like he'd just come from a morning jog.

"We've not yet made a minute," Alaric worried.

"We'll be lucky to make more than that. He's getting serious," the man responded, before leaping high into the air to join the fray. His sword glowed a fierce gold before he let down a powerful slash of wind, courtesy of the Heaven-Crested Eagles.

Alaric clenched his muscles, then took a breath, 'I can't teleport.'

[ He's adjusted the Containment Barrier to account for your ability. We're almost there, Alaric. I need just a little more time. ] Alia's voice echoed in Alaric's mind.

Alaric's hands were still shaking. Avaros was getting serious indeed. The shock of Alaric's tricks had worn off, and now, he was taking the fight seriously. Circulating aether through his body, Alaric chose to ignore all this and look forward. A man with grey hair went flying off the tall building, skidding to a halt not far from Alaric and his guardian followed to protect its master.

"He's too strong," Yusa said through gritted teeth, and I'm running low on aether.

To that, Alaric placed a hand on his arm, sending a large stream of aether straight into his body. Yusa blinked as the aether filled his system. The sword in his hands was already chipped, telling Alaric a story of their high-speed clash. For Yusa to hold off that many attacks, he must have been very skilled with the blade.

Parting from the grey-haired slayer, Alaric held up his sword as LionHeart hastily jumped off the building, dodging a powerful slash made of shadow. An entire section of the building came crumbling down, cut clean by the dark slash.

Avaros stood at the top of what remained of the Sisters of Fragrance and stared down with a grin, "The gap between us is unfathomable. There is no hope for you. I don't know what got me excited when I heard I'd be facing a Great One. Should have known the moment I saw it was a child that you'd be this boring."

Alaric kept his eyes on the man, then lost him. The Dark Mage was standing so far one moment, then in front of him. Alaric's body could barely keep up even with aether coursing through his body.

Still, he didn't freeze. Alaric shifted his weight to the side and ran his sword along the man's fist, cutting a long line along the dark mage's arm and weaving around him, only for a fist to connect with his chin, 'When did he…?'

He gritted his teeth as his body flew through the air. The Dark Mage appeared above him, moving faster than Alaric could follow, and slammed his fists into the boy's gut, pummeling him down into the ground.

A shockwave shook the City.

Alaric tasted blood.

Vines shot from beneath the ground and covered him, pulling his body under. The Dark Mage's evil laughter reached Alaric's ears even as his body descended into the ground, then light reached him.

The vines were all torn, the ground ripped open, and Avaros's evil face grinned with glee. Flames roared out of the ground, only to stop as Avaros plucked Alaric from the vines, unbothered by the flames, and threw him across the crater he'd created.

Alaric could feel his heart thumping in his chest, the aether flowing in his body, the Dark mage's dirty aether as he came rushing towards him for another attack.

Avaros's fist, however, connected with the ground. The boy had jumped out of the way in the nick of time and was already putting space between them.

Alaric jumped high and activated SwiftWind's abilities, soaring high into the air. Fighting on the ground had failed. He needed to change the rules a bit. [ You can't cast a spell you've never practised in the middle of a battle. ]

[ I don't need to. I just need to cause an aether storm and disrupt his dark magic. He moves faster, feels no pain and cuts my vines. I'm getting nowhere without my teleportation. ]

[ You'll get nowhere allowing fear to dominate your… ]

CRACK Alaric didn't know where the sound came from until he hit the ground. He took even longer to identify which part of the body had made it. One moment he was trying to get up, and the next, his face was in the dirt.

He rolled onto his back and gritted his teeth. One of his arms had refused to work. And the truth became more apparent a few seconds later. His right arm lay limp at his side, the shoulder completely crushed.

'No…' he gasped, panic setting in. Explosions echoed in the background as Alaric's hearing seemed to dim, 'I don't want to die.'

A green speck of light suddenly emerged from his chest, casting a warm feeling of safety and nostalgia on him, then shot into the sky. That warm feeling of nostalgia didn't last long, though. Fear now ruled his senses, and Avaros wasn't far.

The Dark Mage came gliding with a triumphant smirk on his face. Yusa and LionHeart were nowhere to be seen. Alaric looked around frantically.

Somehow, the two of them found themselves in the wooded parts of Melbourne. Much like the Five Hills, Melbourne had a section reserved for planting trees. In the Five Hills, it was reserved for times when demons were seen roaming beyond the Holy Barrier that it was too dangerous for anyone to venture out. Alaric assumed it was the same here.

As the Dark Mage took steps closer to Alaric, the boy inched back until his back was against tree bark, trapped between a tree and the Dark Mage, "Ready to give up, boy? You don't stand a chance against a Steel Rank. You're far too weak."

Alaric stared at the man and gritted his teeth, "Overconfidence… will be your downfall, Dark One."

Avaros stared at the boy for a second, then clicked his tongue and turned away. The slap came faster than Alaric could see it. The pain was equally as painful, raging like a hot blade had been placed on the boy's cheek, competing with the pain of his crushed shoulder, "Where do you get that unbridled, misguided, repulsive confidence?"

Alaric spat blood and turned back to look at the Steel Rank, "You're supposed to take me alive…"

"Alive comes in many shades. You could be missing a few limbs, unconscious, unrecognisable, burned, disfigured, missing a few toes and fingers, blind, deaf or mute. I even know a way to take just your head. How far will I go to take you with me?" the man argued.

Alaric felt a warm feeling bloom in his heart, as well as the wrongness of it. Was he running mad now that he stared death in the face without Kair'ak to put him back together? The boy chuckled hysterically, "You're lying."

The Dark Mage brought his face close to Alaric, a sight that sent shivers down the boy's spine, "Did your heart flutter? Did you feel that warmth of safety when you deluded yourself with hope that perhaps I need you alive?"

Alaric had felt it, but he would allow the man the satisfaction of knowing he'd suffered a momentary lapse into madness.

"Are you like him?" Alaric asked, "Darth. He tortured his guardian into submission with Dark Magic."

"What's a Dark Mage with a guardian? A Weakling. Guardians make us weak, reliant, stupid and obedient to the notion of… of a man who's long dead. A man who's been dead for ten centuries. Even now, when the world has moved on, they cling to the hope that he will return. Pitiful!" Avaros spat, pulling away from Alaric's face, "That is why you must die."