Jugo and Leon staring down each other, as Merika watched in worry
"Don't flinch, lady Merika" Stella said bluntly to the princess.
"huh!?"
"It's not often our leader brandish his Rune Sword - 'Atelier'; more so for someone other than a Grimstone Banner member. So watch him, closely"
Merika understood the meaning behind Stella's words, as she turned back to the battle about to unfold.
Her hands brought together, praying for a favorable outcome to the one she was silently cheering for.
"..." Leon's focus and breathing optimal as he dared Jugo to initiate the attack
"...HOOOAAARGHHH!!" with a battle cry, Jugo takes the bait and paced forward.
His every step carrying heavy momentum as you could feel the earth vibrate with his approach.
Within range, Jugo goes for a crush attack with his club
CLING! Leon parried with an upward stroke of his sword Atelier.
"WHA!" Jugo's got disarmed, and his guard left completely open as he was struck by surprise
"Atelier - Heat Wave!" using the momentum in his favor, Leon transitioned from the upward stroke to a down slash, which produced a fiery wave slash projectile.
"Grrugh! STEEL SKIN!" Jugo managed to recover quick enough and reinforced his defense with the skill, using his strong muscular arms as the flames attempted to engulf him.
He resisted but before he could regain his bearings after the flames died out, Leon was above him, readying a downward thrust attack
"HAH SAW THAT COMING!" Jugo announced and efficiently moved out of the way once Leon descended with his attack
His sword struck and pinned into the soil instead of Jugo's body
"You're open!" Jugo rejoiced
Then,
Bringing his fist together, he goes for a pound attack on Leon
"LEON!" Merika screamed from the distance
From her pov, Leon had no escape from the incoming attack
But,
CRASSSHH!!
Jugo fists crashed on bare earth, as Leon had used the tip of his sword that was rooted to the ground, to propel himself upwards acrobatically
"WHAT THE!" Jugo shocked by the move
"He escaped!!?" Merika said, surprised and impressed at the same time.
Using force, Leon pushed himself out of harms' way mid-way
Then on landing he placed his hand on the ground to activate a counter technique.
"Atelier - Sunrise!!" Leon commanded
A large radius of the earth around the sword burnt to molten and a volcanic eruption blasted up within that radius
"ARGH!" Jugo caught in the area effect of the attack as he tried to pull clear.
Some of his flesh burnt as a result, but mostly minor as he was quick to escape
Once the attack dissipated, Leon walked and picked up his sword once more
"Grrr...you're a sneaky bastard aren't you!" Jugo growled as he had a taste of the hurt he's been dishing out.
"That was amazing! so that is how an adventurer fights..." Merika commented
"If all adventurers are of Leon's pedigree then yes. Sadly, that is not the case" Stella said
"A combination of skill, covering weaknesses, and escaping from dangerous situations while bending it to your favor; that is what makes Leon special"
"His every move is calculated, combined with his Sun rune sword Atelier, as he stands as the only adventurer in the revered 10, yet to lose a single 1-v-1 battle this season" Stella concluded
"Wow..." Merika watched on, further inspired by the leader in front of them.
Leon takes his stance once more
"Atelier is my sword. With its raging flames of the sun, I shall purge your barbaric soul to ashes" Leon said, and with a frown readied for the next round
"Come at me, at your peril!"
"Grr!" Jugo's forehead twitched, he's just been angered. "YOU!"
Provoked by Leon's threat, Jugo lost even the miniscule amount of restraint he had and went all out aggressive on Leon with his fists.
"GRRAAARGHH TAKE THIS!"
Jugo unleashed barrage upon barrage of fist punches
Leon was facing some difficulties defending with this sword as he was being pushed back by the relentless assault.
"Leon!" Merika called out worried
Stella frowned, as the barrage was visibly starting to overwhelm her leader
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORAAA!!!!" Jugo doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon
"tsk!" Leon's defenses were weakening as some of the punches were leaving bruises on his body
The punches were impactful, as Leon was giving it his all to keep a steady grip on his weapon from the relentlessness of the assault.
"Stella! do something!?" Merika ordered
"I can't... not now" she murmured
"What do you mean not now, Leon is in trouble! help him!!" she shouted
"Lady Merika, you have to go now" Stella said softly
"huh? what are you-" before Merika could finish her question, she felt a presence around her.
Then her hand was grabbed by the side, It was Yel in stealth mode
"My Lady, this way, while he's still being occupied by Leon" Yel said
"That voice...Y-Yel?"
"Go now! Yel will take you through the forest. We'll hold this one back and catch up on the otherside"
"Bu-but"
Stella held Merika's hand, an attempt to comfort and give her confidence.
"Trust me Lady Merika, everything will be fine. Yel is more than capable to guide you through the forests. For you see, navigating treacherous paths and dangers is a specialty for scouts-"
"I am not talking about myself!" Merika interrupted
"For once would you all think about your own circumstances!?" she continued her protest
Stella was surprised by her complaint, then she held her staff strongly and lets out a genuine smile.
This was the first time Merika had seen her let out a smile that wasn't tinged with her teases or manipulations.
"Stella..." she said softly, in shock
"Why, if we let ourselves get killed here, I'd be quite disappointed with us. I give you my promise lady Merika, this will not the last time you shall hear my voice, nor would it be the last time you see our leader stand by your side"
Then, she gave her a warm hug
Merika was taken by surprise. As royalty, scratch that-
As the future ruler of the 8 kingdoms, hugs came at a premium for her
This was one hug, she felt genuine sincerity from and all desire she had of going against Stella's order vanished.
Then Stella pulled away and smiled
"Do punish me if I crossed the line just now my lady, but do that later. Right now you really have to go with Yel"
"...fine, I'll go; Stella, don't you dare die on me"
"Yes, my lady" Stella said, then she gave her a gentle shove. "Yel, Go!"
"Right." Yel responded
Then, he picked up the pace and guided Merika by the hand as they made their way towards the Malign forests entrance.
All the while Merika looking back at the team she was leaving behind, with watery eyes.
"(Stella, Leon...please be safe)" she hopes.
Yel on the other hand, looked to the far left, where the only surviing cleric was taking care of Luche and Klein, trying to keep them among the living
"(tsk...I'm sorry guys, I have to leave you behind like this...I have to...get her to the chapel, or...things will only get worse, I'm sorry...)"
His thoughts weighing heavy on him as he pressed on
Meanwhile back at the battle, Jugo was unrelenting
However,
Leon managed to have been keeping up with his pace after some time
"(his strikes have become monotonous, I can keep up)" Leon thought.
Then he half stared at Stella, pleased to find her alone
"(hm, it seems Yel managed to slip away with her, about time)" Leon thought continued
"HHAARRGHHH, DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AWAY FROM ME!"
Jugo increased the intensity, annoyed Leon wasn't giving the same focus as he was to the battle.
"As you wish. You shall have my full attention now" said Leon
"Huh!?" Leon's quick shift in focus somehow took Jugo off-guard
Leon parried his next attack with another upward stroke, but this time-
"HEHE I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!"
Jugo said, and used the momentum of the parry to turn around with a back-handed fist attack
"GRROOOARRRGH!"
"Holy skill - Blinding light!" said Stella from the distance as she directed a light from her staff towards Jugo's eyes
"WHA- THE!?" it blinded him temporarily, causing him to misdirect his attack
Consequently, the supporting move gave Leon room to initiate a combo.
Thus, he went down and then forcefully forward with a heavy powered shoulder tackle
"UGH!" Jugo got unsettled by the attack
Then Leon followed up with a diagonal slash that connected on his right shoulder for a successful
"AARGH!" cried Jugo in pain
Finally, he spun around once as Atelier's orb lit up
"Atelier - SUNSPARK!!!"
As if doing a golf swing after the spin, Leon completed his 3-hit heavy combo with a slash attack that lets out a spark on hit, heavily damaging and burning the area of contact.
This attack sent Jugo flying as he crashed in the distance, suffering major damages.
"huh huh huh" Leon breathing heavily, a result of the effort he's been putting so far
Stella ran up to him immediately casting a healing spell, the same she used for Yel back at the guild.
"Are you alright? This should take care of your immediate injuries" said Stella
"What took you so long?" Leon asked
"Merika was being unreasonable, so I had to do something out of character. Honestly, she can be quite pushy" she responded
"hmph, I'd ask you to still your tongue, but we've got bigger problems ahead of us" Leon said and turned his attention ahead
Jugo found his feet once more, letting out his usual menacing grin.
While his chest was covered with a blood from the slash wounds, he proved to be quite tenacious by standing firm.
"Hehehe...this! this is the feeling I was craving! I missed the thrills!!"
He said with a smile, then pointed at the duo
"Once I'm through with you, I'll pour out every damage I suffered, onto the little lassie! Sounds fair, wouldn't you agree lassie?"
Jugo said looking to where he was expecting to find Merika, but she was not there
"Huh?"
Then he looked around, no sign of Merika.
"What the...WHERE THE HELL DID SHE GO!? WHERE ARE YOU HIDING HER!?" Jugo asked angrily
Stella smiled as she was just about done with Leon's healing.
Then Al rejoins them calmly to form the full Grimstone Banner party
"Report, Leon. I can confirm Yel and Merika has made it to the Malign forests" he said
"Good, and the others?" Leon asked
"The knight will survive, but the cleric is working hard to ensure the archer doesn't meet a different fate. I'd suggest Stella-"
"No can do Al; so long as this one still stands, I'll stay by Leon's side and ensure he's dealt with appropriately" Stella interrupted with a determined frown
Stella stepped forward and strengthens her grip on her staff.
"Besides, so long as the cleric stays by her side, she'll survive" she said
"In that case, we can conclude the gang is all here then"
Al said, equipping his bow once more, and takes position to the left of Leon.
His hand reaching for an arrow in his quiver, as he was getting ready to join the battle
Leon lets out a subtle smile, then takes his stance once more
"Good, we proceed as usual." he ordered
As the team stood ready and focused, Jugo started laughing
"haha...hahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" the laughter got maniacal fast
Leon frowned at the seemingly insane Jugo
"This is too easy! Have to hand it to the Maghull, everything has somehow played exactly like he intended!" Jugo said
"What are you talking about?" Stella asked loudly
"Your little lassie is in for a nasty surprise once she gets to the other side of the forest"
Jugo spread out his hands, announcing the bad news and being quite casual about it.
"one of the lords of the shadow walkers anticipated this, and is currently making his move. Once they emerge-"
Jugo then brought his hands into a fist, insinuating the grim outcome
"It's goodbye lassie and hello true scripture. HAHAHAHAHA HOW FUNNY IS THAT!? HEHEHEHEHE" Jugo proceeded with mocking laughter
"A bluff, nothing more" Leon said as he readjusted his stance
"I agree, what does he take us for?" echoed Stella more annoyed than stunned
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT'S ACTUALLY MAD YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME! THIS IS TOO MUCH! HAHAHAHA" Jugo's laughter intensified
"...Actually, Leon" Al interrupted, as a tiny drop of sweat had started to build up on his jaw
"Hm!?" Leon turned to him
"!? Al...don't tell me!" said a concerned Stella
"I can pick up a faint disturbance in the forest...bearing the same malicious intent as the brute in front of us"
Leon and Stella stunned by Al's revelation
Meanwhile without knowledge of the predicament that lied in wait for them, Yel and Merika entered the forest.
They quickly make for cover in one of the bushes, surrounded by unknown of this eerie looking forest
It was a breeding ground for all kinds of adversities, poisonous air and swamps and vicious beasts
Will Yel and Merika be safe? and how will they overcome the shadow walker that lied in wait on the other side of this treacherous forest, should they manage it...