NOVEL NEXT Chapter 86: Oni Ronin
Within the hall, Falco sat behind the table, propping his chin with both hands while others stood around the table.
Charles sat at the opposite side of the table with Godfrey by his side. They were all gathered for a single reason, discussing how to get out of the dungeon, which would mean killing the boss.
"The boss is in the heart of the city, and with him is an army of two hundred armoured minotaurs, his main forces," Falco said, looking at the eyes of all of them, especially Godfrey's.
He had to admit, the kid flaunted a bit of his strength, and everyone had gathered to do what he said. Such strength at such an age was envious.
"What about the ones he killed? If you exclude them, doesn't that mean the Khan now has a hundred and sixty minotaurs?" someone hanging at the mezzanine railing asked.
Falco shot the man who spoke a side-eye. "I said armoured minotaurs. The ones we've faced so far, including those the kid killed, are all the Khan's marauders. There are over two hundred of them, but we've killed quite a number, and if we include the number the kid just killed, the marauders should be less than a hundred."
He continued after taking a breath. "The problem is the two mini bosses, captains of the Khan's army. The first is Demon Horn, who has an endless flock of crows that can devour their target, and the dead crows are also able to revive."
Falco continued, "The other is Ash Horn. Its ability is manifesting and controlling magma. Both these mini bosses are tier 6.9 each but can effortlessly handle a summon above 7.0. Bullets also don't work on them. The main boss should be a lord tier, but we don't know what it can do."
Percival crossed his arms. "I heard of a man who can kill two lord tiers. Why hasn't he gone after this boss?"
"Humanoid summoners are strange," Falco replied, glancing at Godfrey meaningfully.
Seeing his glance, Charles frowned and decided to speak up. "We have a speculation that the vagabond is after Cain's Fanatics. This is a window for us to kill the boss and leave. With Godfrey's summon, we have no problem doing that."
"I can't believe we're depending on a humanoid summoner," a guild party member spat.
Falco turned to Lotus. "What do you think about this?"
Lotus glanced at Godfrey. "A humanoid summon might have killed and eaten my brother's summon, but he feels different. He's not twisted like the rest of them… at least not yet."
"Well, if Lotus hasn't ripped your head off, then I guess we can—!" Falco couldn't complete the sentence as a loud voice came from above.
It was from Mrs. Joy, Percival's mother. "I can't sit and let you all talk like you know his fate! He's better than all of you gathered here. You talk like he can't kill all of you if he wanted to."
Everyone's faces twisted, Falco glaring at Mrs. Joy.
Mrs. Joy glared back. "Godfrey wants to get us out of here. By all means, aid him and stop finding reasons to sit in this dump acting like a leader!"
Silence spread out; no one expected this meek-looking woman to suddenly transform into this fierce lioness.
Charles suddenly burst into laughter. "You're one tough woman. Is he your son?"
Mrs. Joy crossed her arms while standing close to the railing on the third floor. "He is."
Godfrey blinked. A warm smile appeared on his face.
Charles rose to his feet. "You've heard the woman. It's time to get out of here."
Falco scoffed.
***
With the plan set, Godfrey and Lotus moved out with Charles to scout ahead. Standing in Charles' chariot, Godfrey squinted as the mighty horse galloped on the road, moving with great speed rivalling a vehicle.
All of a sudden, the horse came to a stop, neighing loudly with both forelimbs off the ground. The three of them in the chariot were frozen at the sight three hundred meters away.
A heap of corpses blocked the road, not the corpses of minotaurs but of Agents from the Authorities, guild parties, and Cain's Fanatics, numbering up to fifty summoners and fifty summons!
This was different from the forty minotaurs Godfrey killed. Against sixty summoners, it would not be that easy, especially when he would be dealing with well-trained, experienced adults.
And Godfrey knew it was simply impossible for him to kill all of them. Summons had a diversity of skills; they didn't charge head-on like minotaurs.
Yet, seated on top of this heap was a single being, a humanoid but with blue skin, a well-built, lean physique. It had a head full of long gray hair that fell down to its waist, and its face was hidden behind a thick metal mask with a ferocious expression and two short horns.
Two braids fell on both sides of its shoulders, resting on its chest.
It also wore a hakama which went around its waist and came down to its ankles. Two weapons were at its waist, a katana and a wakizashi, both in their black sheaths with golden-plated ends and mouths.
This summon was called an Oni Ronin. Its tier was unknown, but it was nine feet tall and capable of slaying over fifty summoners from the Authorities and the Fanatics faction.
"It's the vagabond's summon!" Lotus gasped.
"Godfrey, follow Lotus and run. When you do, don't look back. That thing's katana can cut through anything. We've lost four of our men, one who was as strong as me and Falco, to it. The rest of us escaped because of Cain's Fanatics."
Godfrey's expression changed. "Why would you fight someone that strong?!"
"We thought he was a fanatic," Charles whispered. Just then, the Ronin leaped down. The instant its feet touched the ground, it held the wakizashi and suddenly teleported, appearing right before Charles' summon.
Lotus' eyes widened. 'It can teleport?!'
Both she and Godfrey leaped out of the chariot, and Charles's horse lifted its legs off the ground, evading the edge of the katana.
But the Oni's bare feet slammed into the huge stallion's neck, launching it and Charles through a building.
Charles' Inferno Titan Horse rose up, and Charles himself manifested a thick burning chain made entirely out of flames before hurling it at the Oni.
The Oni tilted its body, watching the flaming chain fly past it for a moment before lifting its leg up and stomping down on the chain, shattering it!
It spun, unleashing a mana beam, a sharp crescent-shaped light from its katana which the Titan Horse jumped over. The beam sliced through several houses, and they crumbled, raising dust.
Godfrey, even while retreating, couldn't see the end of it.
His pupils narrowed as mana gathered behind Charles, forming a huge titan horse glowing like yellow flames, and it stomped down with its powerful hooves, shattering the asphalt road as fire burst forth.
A sudden line appeared in the center of the projection, and it split into two parts! The Inferno Titan Horse pulled the chariot, attempting to flee, but the Oni appeared above it with a downward kick, crashing the stallion's head into the asphalt.
A huge crater opened as the Oni stood above the heavily wounded horse, whining weakly as it stared at its equally wounded summoner.
But Charles' wounds were barely scratches compared to his summon's.
Charles rose to his feet, formed a spear out of fire, and dashed toward the Ronin, only to be kicked. The power of the kick launched him through a building as he crashed over a hundred meters away, bloodied and heaving painfully.
The Ronin shifted its attention back to the horse, but just then, an Orchid Mantis, equally nine feet tall, flashed toward the Ronin.
"Lotus…!" Godfrey's eyes went wide as the Mantis burst into petals, evading the Oni's strike.
It appeared behind it, swinging its sharp forelimbs at lightning speed, unleashing over a hundred attacks in a second, but the Oni blocked all of it.
It took a step to the side, lowering its torso and slashing at the Mantis from a dangerous angle, but the Mantis had nearly a 360° vision angle. It burst into petals, appearing behind the Oni, only for the wakizashi to pierce through it!
"I can't withdraw my summon!" Lotus panicked, watching from a distance as the Oni approached the Mantis.
Godfrey quickly realized it was because of the wakizashi. As the Oni lifted its katana, a golden diagram appeared before the Mantis, and Mountain stepped out, instantly entering Black-Out State and transforming his shield into Achilles Shield.
However, the katana, gleaming with a coating of mana, cut through the Achilles Shield with ease, slicing off Mountain's arm and opening a deep cut through the Knight-Captain's cuirass.
Blood spilled down the armour as the heavy shield, split into two, fell with a loud clanging sound while Mountain fell on his knees before lifelessly dropping to the ground.
"Mountain!" Godfrey roared at the top of his lungs. It all seemed surreal to him, veins bulged across his neck, his face turning crimson.
"Godfrey!" Lotus grabbed him, pulling him away. They should have listened. Her summon pulled out the wakizashi, sped, and took the two of them, but it only went so far due to the intense bleeding.
Meanwhile, the Ronin remained in that same spot, looking at the dead knight from the eye holes in its metal mask.
Before its very eyes, the knight disintegrated into golden motes of light!
...
A/N: I had a class the morning, but I'm already writing the other two chapters to complete it three.