Episode 49 Reason for Fighting
Recelo places his hand over his Doombringer, holding it out as it glints in the sharp sunlight. However, footsteps sound immediately in front of him, as a rush of orange flies at him, signaling the onslaught of Cynthia’s attack.
He sidesteps the rushed attack by Cynthia, grimacing slightly as he feels Cynthia pass him. Her Kandine just misses his head.
Recelo again holds his hand over his sword, but Cynthia immediately turns around with remarkable agility and swipes at him, causing him to leap backwards.
“I won’t let you!” Cynthia shouts fiercely, her green eyes blazing with determination.
In response, Recelo bares his teeth, gazing angrily at her. “How annoying…!”
Yet Cynthia does not allow Recelo a moment to even catch his breath. She speeds towards him once again, swinging her Kandine. Finally, Recelo blocks the attack with his Doombringer, using its superior weight to force Cynthia back.
As Cynthia retreats, Zack jumps in, firing his Holy Arrow. Recelo contorts his body sideways to avoid the attack; as Zack fires another round, he leaps into the air. Cynthia tails him immediately, leaping after his feet.
Recelo double jumps to avoid Cynthia’s attack, changing directions in midair. He turns around while still in the air to face Cynthia and holds his hand over his outstretched Doombringer.
“Triplication!” he snarls upon landing. Instantly, Recelo’s Doombringer glows with a bright white light, and suddenly, three shining Doombringers appear in his hand.
On the ground, Cynthia narrows her eyes, showing her teeth as well. “Damn it,” she hisses to herself. “He was able to use his move!”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Recelo bellows, his hands wrapped around three long metal chains. Each chain is attached to the hilt of a Doombringer. With reckless abandon, Recelo raises all three of his Doombringers in the air, spinning them wildly by their chains like a lasso.
“Cynthia! Look out!” Zack cries all of a sudden, as Recelo makes his move.
With agility and speed, Cynthia dashes straight towards Recelo again. At the same time, Recelo throws his arm back and lunges forward, sending all three of his Doombringers hurtling forward to meet Cynthia at once.
As she sprints, Cynthia sidesteps one, and then two more, expertly dodging the enemy’s attacks with precision. However, as Recelo jerks his arm back to retrieve his Doombringers, the chains tangle around Cynthia’s right ankle.
She trips and stumbles onto the ground, the smell of grass in her face. Cynthia looks up, but Recelo is already flying straight at her, a mad look in his eyes as he carries all three of his swords in his hands.
“Damn!” Cynthia tries to escape, but finds herself rooted to the spot by the chains tangled now around her entire right leg.
A flash of blue light interrupts the encounter. Zack suddenly appears in front of Cynthia, and then promptly turns around, firing a Holy Arrow at Recelo.
Recelo deflects the attack with one of his swords, but that provides more than enough time for Zack to teleport away again this time with Cynthia.
With a rattle of metal, Recelo withdraws his Doombringers, cradling them in his right hand like a mere set of throwing knives. “Tch,” he spits disgustedly, “quick little rats.”
A sly smirk runs across Zack’s face. He glances at Cynthia good-naturedly, a twinkle in his brown eyes. “Sorry, Cynthia, but I’m gonna have t’rely on ya to take him out on the frontlines. I’m just not built for this close-range combat.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cynthia sighs, showing her Kandine. It glows brightly in the sunlight, thirsty for contact with its enemy. “Just make sure you cover me.”
“Will do!” grins Zack, saluting Cynthia as she dashes off again.
Roaring at the top of her lungs, Cynthia once again speeds fearlessly towards Recelo. Grinning, Recelo takes up the challenge, spinning his Doombringers furiously as he waits for her approach.
At last, he hurls the first of his Doombringers at Cynthia; she skips to the left, deflecting the sword with her Kandine. Recelo recalls his first Doombringer with a jerk, while hurling a second sword with his other hand at the same time.
The first Doombringer scrapes past Cynthia, causing her to pause and turn to avoid the attack. The sharp edge of the sword scrapes her across the thigh, producing a grimace from Cynthia. At the same time, the second Doombringer arrives. Flinching, Cynthia pushes the sword back with her Kandine.
“Gotcha!” Recelo booms victoriously. “Weapon Explosion!”
The second Doombringer explodes suddenly, sending dust, rock, and shrapnel flying across the air. The debris strikes Cynthia at point-blank range. She screams, collapsing to the ground and holding an arm across her face as smoke and dust surround her.
‘Damn it…I didn’t know he had that up his sleeve!’ Cynthia narrows her eyes desperately, trying to pick through the haze of smoke for any sign of her opponent.
Recelo bursts into a smirk. “Right on target…” he hisses under his breath.
Yet in another second, Zack suddenly steps into view with an even larger holy arrow directed at Recelo. “Angel Ray!”
Eyes widening slightly, Recelo flips over in the air, allowing the blast of white light to sail past under him in the meantime. The arrow of silvery light slams into a distant tree.
“I see…” Recelo huffs, “you’ve gotten stronger since the last time we met.”
On the ground, Cynthia glances at Zack, but the Bishop remains silent, his eyes devoid of any sign of emotion. “Met?” Cynthia mutters.
Finally, Zack acknowledges Cynthia. “Yeah,” he mutters, “we may’ve met couple times before.”
Recelo bursts into a roar of laughter, a wild sound that disturbs the peace. “Bwahaha! Don’t you know who I am, foolish girl?! Have you not heard hushed whispers of me from those around you? I am Recelo, the greatest of the Fatalists! Bow before my greatness!”
However, Cynthia merely stares blankly at Recelo. “No, doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Well,” smiles Zack good-naturedly again, “his ego may be bigger than Lord Duncan’s behind, but he’s a pretty strong guy. Not sure about greatest though. But he was certainly one of the four Fatalists that gave us trouble five years ago in the Maple World.”
“Five years ago…?” Cynthia murmurs, glancing from Zack to Recelo. “Then…”
“Say,” interrupts Zack, looking Recelo directly in the eye.
The Fatalist looks back at Zack, raising an eyebrow. “Hm? What?” he mutters impatiently.
“Seems kinda pointless to fight, don’t it? Why don’t we cut this business out and sit down n’ relax? Why are you fighting us as a Fatalist anyway? Ya already achieved your goals of getting’ the Maple Hero’s Sword.”
“Huh?!” cries Cynthia, glaring at Zack as if he has gone berserk.
But Zack presses on. “Why’re you a Fatalist?”
Recelo smiles knowingly to himself, and strikes the air with his fist. He places his clenched hand across his chest. “Because I love my country!” he says patriotically.
“Oh!” Zack pipes up. “A pretty profound reason. Just enough motivation for me t’not go easy on ya! Prepare to die!”
“‘Because I love my country…?’” repeats Cynthia to herself perplexedly. “That’s his reason to fight? What can he possibly mean by that?”
Zack ignores Cynthia’s mutterings as he concentrates on Recelo. He charges up another Angel Ray, holding the blazing hot arrow in his hands as he takes aim. “Hey, Cynthia, now’s not the time t’go thinkin’ too hard about things you don’t have time for!”
In that instant, however, Recelo gathers all three of his Doombringers in his hands once more, holding them together by the hilts so that their tips form a wheel.
“Tch…” he mutters, his eyes narrowing with focus. “‘Prepare to die,’ huh? That’s supposed to be my line! Are you ready for this? Doom Avenger!”
The three Doombringers glow brightly for several seconds, before reshaping themselves into a massive, three-pointed shuriken.
—END FORTY-NINE—
Did you guys miss ToaLS? In the week off (for you guys, anyway) I did manage to figure out the ending to ToaLS. Expect this crap to top 100 chapters again. It’s gonna be a wild finish, I promise.
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Yay, it’s back!