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Chapter 5 - Road to a Hero: Three chances in another world. Chapter 5: Meeting the Sect of Anarchy

Rosemary rushes towards Jeremiah, with his mana arms rushing towards her as well. She curves between them just rushing to hit him, her aura of golden flaming mana seemingly increasing every aspect of her combat ability.

 

Gray {What the hell? She just got fast and strong all of a sudden! Does she have some sort of awakening or strength buff?}

 

The mana arms turn around to go and grab Rosemary, Jeremiah uses the arm behind him to move around splitting the four arms into six, using the other two to move around the walls like a spider. Soku uses some wind magic to cut Gray free, breaking one of the arms and seemingly causing Jeremiah some pain, letting Rosemary get close enough to land a head-on strike!

 

Gray: "Thanks for the save, where's Ophelia?"

 

Soku: "She slipped out the back. She's hiding outside right now. I don't know if we can beat this guy, and there might be more cultists around."

 

Gray: "Dammit this is bad like really really bad! Rosemary seems to be doing well LOOK SHE'S ABOUT TO HIT HIM!"

 

The mana arms grab Rosemary right before she's able to hit him and squeeze her body as she struggles to break free from his grasp. Soku charges up another wind blast to free her but Jeremiah reforms all his arms into one big arm, throwing Rosemary into the air and punching her down to the ground! Then the giant arm splits into five arms which all rush them toward the trio!

 

Gray {Dammit what can I do? I don't have a special power or skill. I can't do anything but watch them get beat up! Why, why am I so useless, THINK, THINK, THINK DAMMIT THINK!}

 

Soku embeds wind mana around her blade, slashing at the arms but only grazing them. Allowing Jeremiah to grab them all and hold them in that air.

 

Jeremiah: "Look, just surrender, so we can be on our way. I don't want to hurt you guys! Let's just be friends and stop this useless fighting!"

 

Soku: "YOU CAN GO TO HELL I'M NOT JOINING YOU, CULT BASTARDS!"

 

Rosemary struggles to speak with her injured body.

 

Rosemary: "Yeah .. ugh... I would rather die than join you, people, you're all insane!"

 

Jeremiah: "I think the more insane people would rather die than understand someone!"

 

Gray: {Dammit, why can't I muster up any mana!? Please, please, PLEASE!}

 

Jeremiah: "What about you sir? You don't seem very talkative, you seemed quite arrogant and confident before what happened to that confidence?"

 

Gray: "Sorry about that. Does it make you sad having to wait for me to speak, gonna cry?"

 

Jeremiah tightens his grip on Gray, hurting him.

 

Gray {OH WAIT I GOT IT!}

 

Soku tries to muster up more mana around her but before she can do that Gray takes a deep breath and starts to shout!

 

Gray: "HEY BUDDY DID YOU KNOW THAT I'M FROM -"

 

Mana surges through Gray's body, causing the arm to pop, freeing him. Soku flows a massive amount of wind mana around her body, breaking free. She goes to free Rosemary so Jeremiah decides to take Gray out of the fight. He combines two of his arms and punches Gray into the wall, which he hits so hard that he goes through it l. Gray gets knocked back into the loot room and lands behind the counter.

 

Gray: "GAH OW, DAMMIT UG!"

 

Soku flows as much mana around her as she can and starts rushing toward Jeremiah. The wind mana cuts through the mana's arms, causing Jeremiah to combine them while dodging her attacks. He uses his arms to jump but being in midair hinders his ability to dodge allowing Soku to throw a large amount of wind mana at him He tries to block with the mana arms but the sharp gust of wind slashes through the mana arms giving him deep cuts in his flesh. Soku tries not to fall to the ground due to exhaustion. Rosemary on the other hand stands back up, ready to fight. Gray struggles to get up, looking around for anything to allow him to fight back.

 

Gray: "What the hell!? Rusty sword, rusty sword, a broken shield, random armor, anything good is too heavy for me to carry. Here we got some swords that don't suck! What's this crate?"

 

Rosemary flows mana from her body once again hearing the two clicks. Even with all the strain on her body, she rushes towards Jeremiah! He summons ten arms, combines them into two, and starts to attack her with them. They get hit off on each other though Rosemary can't hit Jeremiah's body and can't break the arms! But with him bleeding out and her about to break it's anybody's game. Gray wipes dust off the front of the crate, revealing a label.

 

Gray: "It kind of looks like English. Though the letters look sharper and longer if I'm right this may translate to "flame crystals" Oh please be right!"

 

He looks inside and just like it said he sees a couple of red crystals and picks up the crate.

 

Gray: "HEY SOKU HOW DO YOU USE THESE!?"

 

Soku struggles to respond and is surprised by Gray's idea.

 

Soku: "FOCUS MANA INTO THEM AND THROW THEM, THEY LIGHT ON FIRE!"

 

Gray still can't get any mana out of his OD and has to resort to using the now-named "mana surge" again.

 

Gray: "I'm from! - "

 

Feeling the surge of mana come from his chest, he feels his OD crack, like it's about to burst open. With the surge of mana, he tries to focus it into the crate and they all light up looking as if they are about to explode!

 

Soku: "What the… GRAY THOUGH THE DAMN CRATE!!!"

 

Gray: "HEAVE OH!!!"

 

Throwing the crate through the hole in the wall, right beside Jeremiah, Soku grabs Rosemary and uses her last bit of strength left to use her wind mana and leap out of the house.

 

Gray: "DAMMIT ALL!"

 

Gray grabs a shield off the wall to protect himself from the blast and then …. BOOM! … An explosion erupts! Destroying a good portion of the house and lighting it on fire! Gray lifts the shield off of himself, it has protected him from debris, and waits for his eyes to focus and his ears to stop ringing before he does anything.

 

Gray: "Did .. Did it get him?"

 

In the burning debris, Jeremiah creates arms to lift himself, and due to his proximity to the explosion his mask and cloak were destroyed and burned to cinders. Revealing his long black hair, and some light armor. With burns on his body and the gashes on his shoulders still bleeding he looks like he's about to die, he almost looks like a zombie. He uses his arms to sprint at Rosemary and Soku, both lying on the ground outside the house. Gray sees this, grabs a sword, and runs to the door of the loot room but it's blocked by debris, forcing him to move through it slowly. As Jeremiah is about to kill the two girls he gets hit with a brick! He looks over to see Ophelia who is waiting outside hiding. Jeremiah flings his arms towards her, and they almost reach her head before a loud voice is heard.

 

Gray: "LOOK AT ME! GRAY KYOJIN! THE STRONGEST KNIGHT AROUND!"

 

Jeremiah: "HEH!?

 

Like in the alley, he screamed in an overly dramatic way to both ease his fear and distract the foe in front of him.

 

Gray: {If I'm right his ability allows him to summon ten short weak arms made out of mana, he can then combine them into stronger and longer arms taking quality over quantity.}

 

Jeremiah: "You're not Kioshi, you're just confused! So come with us, let me -!"

 

Gray: "Let you nothing! I'm leaving, and you can't make me."

 

Gray smirks at him and Jeremiah turns his attention to him making his two arms separate, becoming four arms that he shoots towards Gray. Gray stands there scared but doesn't move an inch, instead biting the inside of his lip so hard it bled. However he had to act, and so he screamed from the bottom of his heart, bracing for impact.

 

Gray: "I'M FROM!!!!-"

 

Like before, a tsunami of dark purple mana emerges in a quick surge. But this time, after weakening his OD earlier that day, caused a crack to form. Then the pain which used to only last a second and is now on a continuous flow. Gray feels his muscles ache, and bones begin to crack. And even with tears flowing from his eyes due to the pain, he remains standing.

 

Gray {IT WORKED! NOW THIS JUST HAS TO!}

 

The arms come blasting towards Gray, but he stares them down, waiting.

 

Gray: "NOW! …. CENIC!"

 

A cloud of black mana erupts around them consuming them both in a fog of darkness.

 

Gray {"Baby spell" my ass! I can't see anything! Although. I may be blinded, but he's still right in front of me!}

 

Jeremiah: "WHAT IS THIS!? MAGIC!?"

 

Jeremiah combines all his arms into Goliath's arm, and it comes barreling towards Gray. With the mana coming off Gray's body the sword starts to be consumed within it as well, causing its attack power to rise, allowing him to slash through the Giant mana's arm. The arm explodes giving Gray an opening. Gray grits his teeth, jumping towards Jeremiah! The sword was overwhelmed by the power of the mana turning it to dust. so he plans on hitting Jeremiah with his bare FiST! Jeremiah for the last-ditch effort spouts ALL TEN ARMS! SHOUTING IN PAIN HE RUSHES THEM TOWARD GRAY! Gray uses his shield to block some of the arms, and since the arms are so weak they pop by just being near Gray's aura of mana. Jeremiah is forced to combine them. The enormous arm blasts formward, tearing up the street as it closed in on Gray.

 

Using his quickly fading strengh he lept to the side, bracing with the shield as he moved. It broke, but he made it. He didn't skip a beat, leaping forward while he drug his blade through the arm.

 

Gray {LIKE IN THOSE SHOWS! FOCUS ON THE SWORD!}

Trying his best, he flowed his fading mana into his sword. It was done suddenly and without any proper form, breaking the blade. But it worked, for just a second, ripping the arm and causing it to pop like a massive ballon.

 

Gray: "NOW, DIE!"

His body was aching, his mind filled with pain and fear, but the people that had been so nice to him were still in danger. The feeling of living, that want was absent, but what flowed through him was the flaming desire to push forward if only for a moment. That was seen in his fist, flying toward Jeremiahs face. Without mana, it was only his latent strengh to guide him, landing a blean blow. It knocked the boy down, giving Gray the chance to smile with disbelif.

 

Gray: "...Hey, I -"

But before he could finish his sentence, people surrounded him in an instant.

 

Gray: "Huh?"

 

Before Gray even fall over five men dressed in black robes all holding daggers stopped Gray in his tracks.

 

Ophelia: "GRAY THERE'S MORE RUN! GET -"

 

One of the men ran off and slamed Ophelia down, resisting her volley of quick kicks. Gray tries to put his arms back up to fight but the mana had left him, his OD leeking bits of mana and lots of pain. What was worth was that adrenaline went along with it. Falling flat on his face.

 

Gray {NO! I HAVE TO GET UP! COME ON, I LIVED FOR A REASON RIGHT!? I GOT SAVED, SENT HERE, FOR SOMETHING! I HAVE TO GET UP! PLEASE!}

Tears from the pain and his powerlessness poured, his ears drowning in the sounds of crackling fire and the screams of his friends. With his muscles shredded, his bones cracked, and his mind fading, he was left unable to do anything.

 

Soku: "Gray... you have to get up, and save her..."

 

Soku, without energy, spoke out as she laid on the cold cobble road. Gray tries to speak but is interrupted by one of the Sect members.

 

"Yound sir, we meant you no harm. We just need to take you to our leader."

 

Gray: "...WHY!? WHY ARE YOU HERE!? WHY DID YOU FIGHT!?"

 

"You attacked first with that kick against Jeremiah, we only wanted you to join us, as that is the mission we have been given. You are not the clear victor here, nd your friends alone are not good people."

 

Gray: "What are you talking about..?"

 

Another member speaks out, looking much larger and not very human by it's build.

 

"That elf girl she's a thief, a well-known one at that, and that girl with the golden hair belongs to the Golden Knights, a group of people that live to kill... Though they all died out, by our hand. So it's strange that she is here at all."

 

Gray: "Just! Just take me, leave them and I'll go."

 

Out of nowhere, a cold fog starts to roll in only covering the group of people.

 

"Fog?"

A member screams out with fear in their hearts while the mist grew rappidly.

"No, IT CAN'T BE! IT'S THE RONIN'S FOG, WE MUST LEAVE AT ON-!"

 

An abundance of cold mist flows around them, with all Gray can hear is five sword slashes as blood splashes on his motionless body.

 

The Ronin: "You are interesting. "

 

Jeremiah: "NO PLEASE DO-"

 

A smack is heard as Jerimiah's body tumbles to the ground.

 

Gray tries to speak, but alas, he finally loses his battle for consciousness, passing out, ending his first day in another world.

 

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