Tales of a Lost Sword 78

Episode 78 Alliance Towards the Future
Hot blood pours forth from Fayvard’s various wounds. He coughs loudly, blood splattering out of his mouth onto his chest. His bright green hair covers his eyes, hiding the painful look of defeat in them.

“Damn…it…” he curses hoarsely. He attempts to move, but Kunai only presses his blade harder against his throat, pinning him to the ground. “Looks like I’ve been defeated…”

“Yeah,” Kunai nods in a low voice.

Fayvard bursts into a smirk, his canine teeth showing. “Are you gonna kill me then? Look. There’s your revenge for Ryuu!”

Silently, Kunai continues looking down pitilessly at Fayvard. After a few seconds, he withdraws his sword, allowing Fayvard to slowly rise into a half-sitting position.

“What’s the deal?” Fayvard whispers, looking wonderingly up at Kunai.

Not meeting Fayvard’s eyes, Kunai merely mumbles to the trees nearby, “I’m not gonna kill you. If we’re gonna beat the Fatalists, then I need your help. But we’re going to do it my way.”

Closing his eyes, Fayvard smirks with a strange look of satisfaction. “Hmph. Suit yourself, then.”

Meanwhile, Zack and Cynthia rush towards the two of them, worried looks on their faces. Zack immediately kneels down next to Fayvard, tending to his wounds. Cynthia hurries to Kunai’s side.

“Are you all right, Kunai?”

Kunai watches with a small frown as Zack heals Fayvard, the latter’s wounds slowly closing. However, the blood remains as a testament to his and Kunai’s battle. Kunai nods. “Yeah. I’m all right, Cynthia.”

As the sun rises past the midpoint in the sky, Kunai, Fayvard, Cynthia, Zack, and Mira sit gathered around a cluster of trees under the sunshine. They sit upon the smooth, green grass chatting with each other as a gentle breeze blows by.

Fayvard glances at Kunai, his wounds now bound and covered by a wild mass of white bandages. “So that’s your plan, huh?”

Nodding, Kunai speaks. “Yes. We’ll defeat Arai and take both the Sword of Nexon and the Shield of Wizet from them. With those weapons in our hands, the Fatalists will be at our mercy.”

Fayvard sighs, staring down at the ground. He remains silently contemplative for several moments, before speaking. “It would still be easier to gather the three Anti-Phonemes and summon the Sheath.” He glances at Kunai. “But I guess we won’t be going that route. This is probably the only other way then. But I can guarantee that it won’t be easy. Getting to Arai and defeating him is going to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done.”

Kunai nods in agreement. “Yes. But it is the only other way. I’m sure that this is the plan that Ryuu would have gone with.”

“I think so, too,” sighs Fayvard, rubbing his head resignedly.

“Sounds like a plan then!” Zack says brightly.

“Yeah,” Kunai agrees, rising to his feet. Fayvard rises as well. Extending a hand to Fayvard, Kunai remarks, “Then it’s settled. We will team up once more to defeat the Fatalists at last without sacrificing the souls of the Anti-Phonemes.”

As Fayvard reaches out to shake Kunai’s hand as well, Kunai suddenly pulls back his hand. In a flash, Kunai pulls his fist back and launches a punch directly across Fayvard’s face, throwing him back onto the ground much to the shock of the others.

“Oww! What the hell was that for?!” Fayvard roars from the ground.

Kunai merely stares coldly at Fayvard, a thin smile on his face as his fist remains raised from the follow through. “A long time ago, Fayvard, you tried to do the same thing to me to point out how stupid I’d been. I was just returning the favor.”

“Fayvard!” Cynthia cries urgently, quickly stepping in between Kunai and Fayvard as the latter gets up aggressively, wiping his mouth with his arm.

Fayvard grabs Kunai on the shoulder, staring down at him with a haughty grin on his face. Kunai only stares back expressionlessly. Without warning, Fayvard laughs raucously and pats Kunai on the shoulder. “Good one. I probably deserved it, too. Does that mean you forgive me?”

“The hell it does,” Kunai mutters darkly. “We’re friends again, Fayvard, but don’t think I’ve forgotten what you’ve done. I’m only cooperating with you because Ryuu would’ve wanted it.”

“Fair enough…” smirks Fayvard.

“Oh…” Cynthia murmurs awkwardly, as Kunai and Fayvard walk away as though nothing has happened between them.

“Everyone, let’s go,” Kunai says.

“N-Now?” cries Cynthia.

Kunai nods. “Of course. We haven’t got time to waste.”

Zack pats Cynthia on the shoulder as the rest of the group gets going. “Well, aren’t ya glad, Hyacinth?” he asks with a grin. “Looks like they found a way forward without needin’ the Anti-Phonemes after all!”

“W-Wait!” Mira cries suddenly. “What about Ophelia? She’s still stuck in our dimension…”

Kunai and Fayvard turn back. “We’ll leave her alone for now,” Kunai says with a brief glance at Fayvard. “She’s safer there. Listen, Mira. Ryuu didn’t want you on the frontlines for a reason. But now that you’re here, there’s no choice. So make sure to stick close to us and don’t wander off. I can’t guarantee your safety if you get pulled into a fight.”

“There’s no need for you to always look down on me like that, Kunai!” Mira retorts scornfully.

“Hey,” growls Fayvard, touching his sword threateningly. He places a hand on Kunai’s shoulder. “Kunai’s our leader now. Any knock on him is a knock on me. Got it, little girl?”

“Little girl?!” screams Mira.

Cynthia glares with narrowed eyes. ‘More importantly, when did Fayvard get so buddy-buddy with Kunai so fast?!’

“Yeah, yeah,” Zack interrupts, providing the voice of sanity for a change, “we’ve got some Fatalists to beat. So s’time to get going, yeah?”

“Incidentally, how are we going to get in this time?” Cynthia asks. “We already tried sneaking in through the basement, but that didn’t work…”

“We’re going through the front door,” Kunai answers bluntly.

“EH?!” Zack, Cynthia, and Mira cry as one.

“Haha!” Fayvard roars, slapping Kunai across the back. “I like the way you think!”

Silver stands alone at the edge of the hillside, looking across the woodland below to the Fatalists’ castle resting upon an even higher hill. The sun’s rays slant against her as she stares west, the setting sun drowning her in a soft golden light.

A set of footsteps sounds behind her. She looks over her shoulder. “Are the preparations complete?”

Wake nods, bowing slightly to Silver. “The preparations are complete, Silver. The Rift Army awaits your command.”

“Very well,” Silver mutters. This time, she fully turns to meet Wake, the sun’s rays now illuminating her from behind. “From now on, the Rift World is at war with the Fatalists. We will win this war, and defeat the Fatalists with our might!”

As the sun prepares to set, Kunai, Fayvard, Cynthia, Zack, and Mira come near the front entrance of the Fatalists’ castle at last. They stand at the crest of the large hill upon which the castle stands. A bridge made completely of stone leads up to a large set of wooden doors. A light breeze blows through the area, ruffling the topmost leaves of the nearby trees.

“Amazing…” Cynthia mutters, staring up at the massive turrets and towers protruding out of the compound before them.

While they walk, Fayvard turns to Kunai. “Hey, so those moves you used during our fight…where exactly did you get them from?”

“I don’t know…” mutters Kunai. “They just…came to me. It was a spur of the moment sort of thing.”

“What?!” Fayvard cries, outraged. “You should know how your powers work, if you’re gonna used them!”

“It’s really hard to explain, but…”

However, the two of them fall silent as they approach the bridge. Standing directly in the middle of the bridge are two figures, dressed in black robes. Recelo and Midori stand side by side, their weapons drawn as they wait for the group to approach.

“Yo…” Recelo drawls, a wide grin splashed across his face. “It’s been a while!”
—END SEVENTY-EIGHT—