After saying goodbye to his loyal artifact, Shoun found himself inside the dark building. Moving through the gap left by the vestige, he stepped over even the dark roots. They tried to attack him, but he simply killed them by blasting them with electricity.
—(Now I'm the one hunting… how ironic… He's still stronger than me, but in truth, we're equally powerful. After all, I've finally understood what truly makes a vestige a brute. A grunt is a new vestige, recently born and cared for by its elders. The wretches, on the other hand, are no longer grunts—now they must face the misery of their own existence. So a brute is exactly what its name implies: a mass of violent rage. They destroy everything in their path. And if that's the true meaning of their name… What separates me from a brute?)—He thought calmly. In an instant, he unleashed a Balanced Voltage Strike at a pillar, obliterating an entire section of the foundation—Ptoo… I thought you were there. Come out now, don't even think about running!.
Despite constantly spitting blood, he kept searching for the vestige. Every time he thought he caught even a glimpse of its hair, he fiercely attacked, destroying part of the building—though with little success in his hunt. At one point, Shoun fired another Balance Voltage Strike, taking a second to recharge his electricity. It was then that the barrage came, shooting straight toward the young man.
—Predictable—Without another word, he executed a Balance Voltage Tornado Kick as the vestige slid toward him, sending it flying only to be pursued by the young man—Did you think I'd run out of energy? Wrong.
With a shattered face and a body just as bloodied as Shoun's, the Vestige rose to face the young man's assault. It slashed at his abdomen with its claws, but with no sense of self-preservation, it took the full brunt of the counterattack. When Shoun was right in front of it, he spat directly into the monster's face. Blinded, it couldn't properly react to the next strike, forced to stagger back.
With a Balance Voltage Impulse, Shoun closed the distance mid-air and unleashed the powerful slash of his Balance Voltage Tornado Kick. The vestige rolled, dodging the attack by mere centimeters.
Seizing the moment while Shoun was falling to the ground, it immediately lunged at him again. Just centimeters away from striking, the young man "welcomed" it with a brutal headbutt—forehead to forehead. Both writhed in pain before finally recoiling.
—Aaaggh— the young man growled in pain, watching as the creature did the same. This only drew a blood-stained smile from Shoun—. Indeed... we're equals. But at this rate, I'll definitely die. Even if I kill you... which I absolutely can't allow. So forgive me for cheating.
Without giving it time to react, Shoun formed finger-guns. The vestige braced for gunfire, but instead, he simply shot at one of the building's few remaining support pillars.
—Survive this, bastard!— he declared just before being buried under a mountain of rubble alongside the vestige.
***
Moments before the building's destruction, one could see how the rest of Clover Flush fought intensely. The vestige they faced was a brute—taking the form of a black-rooted shrub that constantly severed portions of its roots to attack, while simultaneously firing hundreds of thorns that obstructed the team's movements.
—Sein I need backup!— Robin shouted desperately as black thorns pierced their body, soon revealing how they released black poison visibly spreading beneath their skin. Sein, with visible exhaustion, released a healing wave toward Robin, effectively purging the venom from their veins.
—Haaah...haaah— His spiritual core was dangerously depleted. His companions' shield neared collapse—to sustain it required more spiritual energy, impossible in his current state—(Even Shoun seems at his limit...I must hurry).
Growing desperate, he began swinging recklessly cutting and cutting ignoring his bleeding body and the venom now coursing through his veins. Unnoticed, his vision blurred, movements slowed, thick black liquid dripping from his nose. Without realizing, Sein froze completely, left vulnerable to the encroaching roots, only to be saved at the last moment by Deuz, who caught him with a shadow and yanked him to safety.
—Sein you're poison-resistant, not immune, heal yourself damn it, before it's too late!—At the beret-wearing boy's shout, Sein finally managed to snap out of his altered state, applying self-healing followed by his buff.
—Sorry Deuz, I'll be more careful this time— Gripping his sword again, he rejoined the attack. Now moving with more calculation, he swung his blade decisively toward the vestige. When close enough, he launched a slash that was easily dodged by the root-mass with a single jump, putting Sein back in danger and forcing his retreat—I can't land a single hit... What should we do Deuz?
—Tch... conserve your energy, you can't kill that thing... Let's hope he can— After these words, the masked one appeared beside the vestige, successfully landing a wind slash on the creature. Immediately forced to retreat from the barrage of counterattacks, he was fortunately quickly covered by Robin and Sein—Can you kill it Kaze? I doubt Shoun will have anything left to help us when he's done— He added this last part considering that if they were fighting a brute, whatever was keeping Shoun occupied was likely just as dangerous.
—I'll try.
—Don't give me that! Can you or not!?— Deuz lashed out while cutting through roots with his daggers, perhaps due to the pressure of this fight without Shoun, revealing a new, desperate side. Despite the shouts, Kaze didn't respond. He simply pulled his mantle back on and vanished.
From within his mantle, Kaze watched as everything moved slightly slower - or perhaps he was simply moving much faster. With his loyal companion, the cutting wind, slicing through roots and thorns came easily. When he reached the ideal position, he'd unleash a slash and retreat to repeat.
This was his modus operandi. In every battle, he was weaker than his opponents. Even among his comrades, his results showed that except in speed, he fell behind. So the conclusion was obvious: fighting head-on like the others wasn't optimal for him. But was that really true?
—(...I feel like I'm being left behind)— Lately he'd found himself surrounded by comrades, people he could trust: the newest member Robin, his young friend Sein, the quiet but shrewd Deuz, and the eldest Shoun. Kaze had been a spectator in the young man's growth story - a weak seeker who, after making his decision, carved his path through monsters to become a strong apprentice, the strongest in their group actually. But what about his first spectator?—(...What is this feeling? Thanks to movies I thought I'd become an expert at understanding my emotions... Is it worry? I don't think so. While the situation is difficult, it's still manageable, though I might be worried about whatever Shoun is facing right now... Is it exhaustion? Not that either. That's even more obvious - I am tired but not to the point where it dominates my being).
Halting his thoughts for a second, Kaze appeared right beside the vestige and attacked. However, now accustomed to his assault, it easily dodged and launched a counterattack, forcing the masked one to retreat hastily, backed up by his companions. They were shouting something at him, but it fell on deaf ears.
—(Could it be... jealousy? That wouldn't make sense, since it only appears in romantic situations... Well, feelings are complicated enough that I don't understand them perfectly. Let's assume for a moment it is jealousy - why would I be jealous?)—Knowing the same tactic wouldn't be effective, he focused on defending against the roots with his companions. In his hands, he wielded the cutting wind. Despite lacking formal weapons training, countless battles had made him quite skilled - moving like the wind, he cleanly severed every root and thorn with pure precision. Even when something seemed about to hit him, without realizing it, his katana would already have sliced it—(...Am I jealous of my comrades?... I suppose I felt bad about not getting that candy, but perhaps the jealousy is related to me falling behind... It's a fact - going from being one of the group's two apprentices to the second weakest. Though being slightly stronger than Robin doesn't mean he's less useful... Thinking about it, it's plausible. Most came here not just to grow stronger, but also to help me recover my memories - that's why we came here in the first place. It wouldn't be right if I didn't contribute to the process... I must grow stronger, here and now. But how?).
Through pure logic, Kaze had dissected his problems and found a preliminary solution. Now he just needed to execute it. His thoughts immediately turned to Clover Flush's strongest member - Shoun.
—(He's strong. Not just because of his abilities, but how he applies them. On the surface, his apprentice skill only grants infinite energy, yet he made it the core of his combat style - an incredibly powerful one at that. I do the same with my mantle - hiding and attacking at the perfect moment. We're not so different... The problem is it's always the same trick. In prolonged battles like this, even vestiges learn to counter me. So I simply need new applications for my abilities)— This time, the masked one focused on his sword. It was part of his being, his ability. He understood its handling better than anyone, yet now recognized something was missing. After some consideration, his attention shifted to Sein, who was currently channeling abilities through his golden sword. Clearly, the golden sword was more special than Cutting Wind, but both were extensions of their wielders. If Sein could apply his skills through his sword, what stopped Kaze from doing the same?— Sein, pour all your shield's enhancement into me.
Without waiting for a response, he charged toward the mountain of roots. Sein hesitated, but seeing Kaze's determination, chose to trust him. Striking his own chest, a golden light erupted and bathed the masked fighter. Immediately, his movements accelerated - his thrusts and slashes grew even deadlier.
—(Let's see if this is enough)— Mere meters now separated him from the vestige. Before it could dodge, something new happened - he activated his mantle again. A whirlwind attempted to envelop him, but the masked one stopped it, redirecting it instead to cloak his sword. The wind mantle obeyed, and Cutting Wind began releasing a torrent of air. Gradually, the blade extended with the wind's assistance, its swirling currents slicing through space itself at tremendous speeds. With everything prepared, Kaze attacked, pouring every fiber of his being into that single strike. The resulting wind slash outpaced the vestige, cleaving completely through it and bisecting it in one motion. The Codex promptly announced their victory:
[You have slain the "Thorn Guardian," a brute]
—Damn Kaze! What was that attack!?— Despite being exhausted and nearly energy-less, Sein came running toward Kaze, who simply watched as the wind dissipated from his sword before sheathing it.
—Just something I could create thanks to you and Shoun.
—Thanks to me? How...— Before he could ask more, a distant building collapsed in on itself, precisely where Shoun had gone—Shoun!
Without another word, they all rushed through the area previously blocked by the Thorn Defender. Upon crossing it, they found a devastated street - rubble everywhere, deep cracks covering the ground, and splatters of both red and purple blood staining the pavement.
—W-what happened here?— The youngest stammered while searching for signs of Shoun.
—Seems our friend didn't have an easy fight— The beret-wearing boy remarked. Just then, Kaze noticed something among the debris and picked it up.
—Isn't that the chain Shoun always carries?— Robin approached and saw the broken Iron Serpent resting in Kaze's palms. Unlike typical artifacts, for some reason this seeker-level artifact maintained its physical form instead of disintegrating.
Before anyone could respond, the sound of shifting rubble came from where the building once stood. Everyone tensed, gripping their weapons, only to be stunned when a bloody, battered young man emerged from the debris.
—Hehehe... I won— Shoun laughed weakly as he struggled to rise from the wreckage. His uniform hung in tatters, futilely trying to repair itself. His body was bruised and smeared with both his own blood and his opponent's. Yet despite everything, his hands refused to release the artifact material dropped by the vestige he'd slain, and his eyes remained locked on the screen displayed before him.
[You have slain the "Fang Defender", a brute]