Vol 3 Chapter 16 (1/2)

LEVEL 3: Even the Best Laid Plans go Awry, but Such is This World

Chapter 16: Last Stand

We reco any reader’s comments here until you’re done, unless you like spoilers

PART 1 of 3

Long answer short, yes, they got out

Haruhiro re it at a nearby orc, dragging Yu her to run After that, he was so preoccupied with getting away that everything was a blur of events he couldn’t recall with any clarity

They eventually ducked into one of the stairwells leading up to a watchtower Another party had hidden theht on the ground floor Haruhiro didn’t recall whether they switched places or chased the other party out, but that’s where Team Haruhiro stopped now to catch their breath

Mary had healed the critically injured Yuzo His armor and helm were still intact, but he had taken the brunt of an orc shaman’s fire blast and was badly burned Was he okay? Haruhiro didn’t think so

“Thank you, Mogzo,” Yume went to sit down beside the Warrior “If you hadn’t come, Yume would’ve been killed”

“Oh, uhh…” Mogzo hesitated “We’re friends, right? We look out for each other”

“Yeah,” Yuht”

Ranta sat on the stairs, knees drawn up to his chest, uncharacteristically silent Neither Mary nor shi+horu said a word either Even Haruhiro didn’t feel like talking shi+t The silence was suffocating It was a miracle that everyone was still alive If anyone had le mistake—no They hadup or doing everything perfectly, in the end it came down to sheer, dumb luck

If they had been unlucky, one of theone down, then a second or third person would’ve followed and then the entire teaone in the blink of an eye It was pure luck; fortune was the only thing that had saved them

Was retreating the right call? If one of them had been cut down as they withdrew, then the majority of them, if not the entire team would have followed The only reason it didn’t happen that as because their luck had held Haruhiro was glad that it worked out, but he also knew that it wasn’t due to some brilliant decision he otten lucky

“What now?” Ranta whispered

Good question, Haruhiro thought What were they going to do now? Going back in was out of the question They were too outht they could win If even Tea, then it was i was probably an understate to be overwhelmed sooner or later Maybe they were all dead already

Haruhiro looked up When he saw the gazes of all his companions locked on hilued to the floor this entire ti at him? Oh yeah… because he was the leader Everyone looked to hi to do now?

Even if that was the question they were all silently asking him, he didn’t know He couldn’tto shove the responsibility onto him He didn’t have what it took to be a leader The responsibility was too heavy a burden to bear I can’t do it I can’t There was too much death Everyone was dead and he was afraid Just quit it Stop it already He was terrified that his friends would die too

She had already died Choco And Haruhiro’s companions would follow Even Team Renji would die Just like Choco, everyone would die He wanted to say to the others, I’ at me He didn’t want to be the leader anymore He couldn’t do it; he had no idea what to do He wanted to tell the others to go do whatever they want Just do whatever the hell you guys feel like Don’t look at me for answers and don’t expect ht, he couldn’t lead

Let’s just all die The situation was hopeless and there was nothing left to do but die That was his decision and if anyone had a problem with it, then they could be the leader instead They could come up with another idea They could tell him what to do next

But he kept those thoughts to hi like that out loud because if he did, their party would fall apart He could i in hisapart for their sake No, that wasn’t right He would be lying to hi it for the others

In the end, it was for his own sake Even in a desperate situation like this, Haruhiro wanted to keep up appearances, wanted to act cool He didn’t want to disappoint his coreat leader and maybe he would never become one, but he didn’t want the others to see him as bottom of the barrel pathetic He didn’t want the others to hate his ended, Haruhiro wanted to be part of this team until the very end

When it really mattered, this was the type of person he turned into? He wasn’t a Manato, but this? No, it was too pitiful There was a limit to how pathetic he could be If he said as really on hisoff as uncool

“I’ to assess the situation,” he announced instead “Stay here”

Everyone was currently perched a little ways up the stairs Even from here, they could hear the sounds of pitched battle but no one kneas really going on No one wanted to know That’s why they were hiding here That’s why no one wanted to leave this spot, Haruhiro included But doing soreedy stares of the others dereedy” but that’s what it felt like Their gazes were terrifying He descended the stairway, reached the ground floor, and poked his head out

“Renji…” he whispered through gritted teeth

Teaedly Ron and Chibi were covered in blood, struggling to defend Sassa and Adachi fro Zoran one on one Zoran looked mostly uninjured while Renji bore so in to describe it Even so, Renji was still on his feet, dodging Zoran’s attacks andwithout pause Renji was epic There was no other way to describe it

There were ht, but the orcs had hardly suffered any casualties How did the situation become this bad?

Everyone had coh the roof access stairway and then spread out to search the watchtowers Zoran had not been present then Had the Guardian and his underlings been hiding somewhere? There were other rooround floor, but all of them had been searched and cleared out Zoran hadn’t been on the first floor then Maybe there was a hidden sublevel? Zoran concealed hi his time and waited for the reservists to scatter to the watchtowers before co like that, at any rate

Zoran’s honor guard consisted of twenty orcs, including three shaer than the average orc Team Renji consisted of five members, there were six—make that five, other reservists, and six in Haruhiro’s party The orcs not only outnu ability was probably superior, too Was this what you called a hopeless situation?

The party-less reservists would go down first Then the orcs would eliht would be hopelessly lost What about the current situation though?

In terms of numbers, the sixteen here wasn’t their entire force Kajiko and her Wild Angels were still searching one of the watchtowers They were eighteen in number; at least fifteen even if they lost a few Kajiko herself was a strong fighter If they joined the fight, the tables would turn into check the situation at the y had called for the reservists to act as a distraction while the regular arate and took down the fortress Maybe it was taking theular army would come sooner or later Supposedly When the army arrived the battle would turn in their favor for sure

Should Haruhiro and the others wait then? If they stayed hidden in the watchtower stairwell until reinforce when reinforceot wiped out before then, they were all finished The orcs would search the keep for any human survivors and eliminate them Even if they hid at the very top of the watchtower, they would be found sooner or later

They couldn’t wait for the regular army, but Kajiko… maybe it orth the risk to wait on her They could reot here Would Renji’s party be able to hold out until then? Haruhiro honestly wished he could say yes He didn’t want to put his coer Team Haruhiro would stay hidden, Team Renji would stay alive, and Kajiko would come The tide would then turn in their favor It was the ideal scenario, but there was no guarantee things would work out that way

A part of Haruhiro wanted to help Renji, too To Teas, but it didn’t change the fact that they all arrived here at the sarasped the terrible significance of thisnow didn’t sit ith him If he failed to take action, he would never sleep well at night again

There was one more consideration to take into account: Team Renji needed to be alive when Kajiko arrived Haruhiro didn’t kno good the Wild Angels were, but if they lost Renji, his tea five reservists, Kajiko’s arrival would at best even out the nuht still have a nu for hiainst the orcs alone And if Kajiko lost, then Tea too

How long had he been standing here deliberating? Haruhiro didn’t know but he knew that they didn’t have any more time to dawdle He didn’t know much else, but he knew that he had to hurry and make a decision

If they sat back and did nothing, they would probably all die Actually, all of the about it that way, things seeain soon We can take our tiotten, one by one

Haruhiro returned to where his co

I’m sorry, everyone I know it’s horrible of et back in there, is what Haruhiro wanted to say, but he didn’t We have to help Renji We’ll go after the shaive voice to that either

“The orc shaman Avaael is probably down there,” Haruhiro said instead “His head is worth fifty gold Zoran h for us to take on, but we can definitely clai to his co to hiuilty

“YESSSSSSS!” Ranta exclaimed “FIFTY GOLD! ALLLLLLLLRIGHT!”

Ranta was as simpleminded as they ca with the prospect of hitting the jackpot

Haruhiro patted Mogzo on the back “We’re counting on you, Mogzo I know you won’t let us down”

“Right!” Mogzo replied with swift confidence that surprised even Haruhiro He followed Ranta down the steps

Next, Haruhiro nodded once to Mary, Yuht? Yes, it would have to do The moment they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, Haruhiro spotted a shaman They would take all the shamans down one by one Haruhiro pointed to Shaman A

“Him first!” he ordered

Teanored both Zoran and the orcs in his honor guard Shaan to open the lid on the flask at its hip, but it was too late

“[ANGER THRUST]!” shouted Ranta

Ranta lodged his sword into the base of the shaood start, but Haruhiro suppressed the urge to let that small victory affect hiuard orcs noticed their presence now and lu a guttural battle cry Haruhiro spotted another shaman

“Hiuards went to cover him The orcs realized what Team Haruhiro was up to now

It didn’tdistracted fro open a path for the attacks relentlessly with [SWAT] shi+horu used [SHADOW BIND] to immobilize nearby orcs while Mary rained bloith her staff, forcing the orcs to block with their shi+elds and back away Yuht, exclai each toss with a cat-like “rawr!” noise Haruhiro wondered what that was about, but whatever

Ranta was the first to reach the noide-open Shae, he could use that skill…

“[PROPEL LEAP]!”

Just as Ranta reached Shaman B, he rotated his body around so that his back was to the orc From Sha human had come at him then suddenly and inexplicably turned around Before the shaman could make sense of it, Ranta’s butt had crashed into him and Shaman B stumbled backwards in shock Ranta’s ass attack had knocked it off balance and it looked like it was going to fall over

Now! Haruhiro thought and dashed towards the fallen shahtly past it, reversed the grip on his dagger and buried the blade into the side of the shaman’s neck It was the modified [BACKSTAB] technique, borrowed from Sassa Shaman B went down instantly

“That’s tn!” Haruhiro called out

As if the announceor in Teaan to assault the orcs anew It was all about et caught up in the exciteht, more to himself than anyone else But if not now, then when?

“We can do this!” Haruhiro encouraged

He didn’t knohether he should have acted withoverly cautious The situation ht have called for it, but noasn’t the tiain at any moment and then it would be too late It wasn’t the ti call

“We can defeat theht!”

A fah-pitched battle cry filled the roos happened… she was here, the owner of that terrifying voice: Kajiko and her Wild Angels They poured out of a watchtower staircase, Kajiko in the lead Two of Zoran’s honor guard were cut down—cut to pieces—right off the bat When Haruhiro saw that, he no longer doubted that they could win

If they kept this up, total victory was theirs And at that moment, Haruhiro believed it without a shred of doubt

The last orc shaman, it had to be Avaael, let out a jet of fire towards the Wild Angels ere still co down the staircase But it wasn’t just fire… he had shot so, squir Snakes Live snakes And not just one or two, but scores of theround at the feet of the Wild Angels Cries went up as the all-female clan was thrown into a hysteria

Zoran Zesshu then suddenly disengaged froels, double swords hacking and slashi+ng in a frenzy Four, five of the Wild Angels died in the blink of an eye

“Don’t panic!” Kajiko commanded as she moved to stop Zoran

They clashed Kajiko’s sword met Zoran’s double blades in a shower of sparks

PART 2 of 3

Kajiko backed, not because she wanted to, but because she was forced to by Zoran’s raw strength

“shi+t!” Kajiko cursed “We can’t take any more losses! Everyone except Mako, Kikuno, and Azusa retreat!”

Those she didn’t na after Zoran and it looked like he got through, but his attack was suddenly effortlessly turned aside by the Guardian Zoran was toying with hi with a person like Renji But Renji was injured and exhausted No way he wasn’t fatigued So had to be done about his wounds at the very least

Chibi, however, was occupied with healing Ron If Haruhiro ree Priests could use healing ic at a distance And they had a Priest, someone besides Chibi

“Mary!” Haruhiro said “Heal Renji!”

“He needs to stopfirst!” came Mary’s reply “Heal spells have a limited area of effect!”

“Limited area!?” Haruhiro echoed

Oh yeah… Healing ht spells illuminated the area where they were cast and only worked if the person being healed reaged with Zoran, he couldn’t stay in one spot

“But Renji’s not gonna last like this!” Haruhiro said They had to give Renji a chance to rest, even for a few seconds

“I’ll go! I got this!”

The voice didn’t belong to Ranta It was Mogzo There was no hesitation, no doubt as Mogzo clashed violently with Zoran His swings were powerful and fast; each bloas forceful and heavy They were almost on par with Deathpatch’s attacks Zoran was forced onto the defensive Renji was about to renew his offensive as well—hold on! That defeated the entire purpose of Mogzo going in Haruhiro grabbed Renji’s arm

“No!” Haruhiro yelled “You need to get yourself healed!”

“Let go,” Renji said

“Forget it!” Haruhiro replied “Mary, now!”

“Understood!” Mary etched the hexagon emblem in the air as she ran towards therace of Lord Luminous… [CURE]!”

As soon as the God of Light’s spell took effect, Renji stopped resisting Haruhiro didn’t knohether he resigned hier tried to move Mary healed Renji’s head and shoulder injuries first, then pressed her hand to the deep gashes on his chest and ribs But no matter how many times Mary healed him, there were so many wounds, it see was labored and his face looked ashen as well He had lost too much blood

Ranta was busy with one of Zoran’s underlings and Yu for the exposed shi+horu and Haruhiro intercepted it with [SWAT] just in time

“That’s enough,” Renji said, cutting down the orc that had attacked shi+horu with one savage blow of Ishh Dogrann’s sword before running towards Zoran “Outta the way, dizo “Zoran’s my opponent!”

“No way!” Mogzo said “Don’t try to take him alone!”

Mogzo shi+fted to his left, leaving a spot open on the right Renji ap It o versus one now

“And I’ his sword in all directions endlessly In his all-out offensive He never paused, even for breath

Renji also rann’s blade dance in his hands To Haruhiro, the two of thezo with the power and Renji the finesse Mogzo fought with strength, Renji with technique Between the two of the off their attacks The scene before his eyes was so incredible, Haruhiro could hardly believe it

“That’s right!” Renji replied “No, you’re not! Shohat you’ve got, Mogzo!”

He was like a different person… or perhaps Mogzo was really like this all along He must have been called dimwitted and dumb all the time They couldn’t remember who they were or where they were froar, but the effects of the relentless teasing zo never had much self-confidence

But then he joined with Haruhiro and the others They fought together and struggled together, and Mogzo had becozo was the core of their tea happened to Haruhiro, then Mary could fill the role of leader and the teazo, they would be in trouble He was irreplaceable and everyone knew it Mogzo was the most dependable of all of them and he knew that the team relied on him

He remembered that now and his self-confidence had returned with a vengeance Finally, he was fighting at his full potential And it wasn’t just in this battle, his newfound confidence would serve in all the ones to come, too

Renji had ed with Team Renji But since Renji had underestimated him and passed him up, he had joined Haruhiro’s teaated to thank Renji for giving thes work out this way

“Letting boys do all the fighting ain’t my style!” Kajiko said and attacked Zoran from the back

Zoran sidestepped and jumped back The orc boss ran That Zoran Zesshu was actually running away from them

“We split the reward evenly!” Kajiko shouted

“Back off!” Renji demanded

Kajiko’s reply was to chase after Zoran Renji and Mogzo weren’t far behind

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” Ranta shouted

Avaael The orc shaman shot a streaulfed instantly by the fla hit and run tactics to avoid being attacked Ranta and the others were having a horrible ti to pin him down

“Mary! To Ranta!” Haruhiro said

“I know!” Mary acknowledged

“Yume, cover shi+horu!” he said next

“Waah!” came Yume’s reply

“Waah? What’s that supposed to

It didn’t matter because Yume shi+fted over to stand closer to shi+horu Maybe she meant to say “yeah”…

“Oom rel eckt pram das!” shi+horu chanted

shi+horu’s [SHADOW COMPLEX] spell hit its target and caused it to fall into a state of confusion, but it was like a bucket of water on a Goddauard orcs left, not to mention Zoran himself and Avaael They only had Tea froels, and three other scattered reservists Wait… that e in numbers but it hardly meant victory

Avaael toasted another reservist with his fire streauy took the brunt of it and went down crap, so was distinctly Priest class Even if it was on fire In that case, he would have to take care of himself Even if he wasn’t in any condition to Because neither Chibi nor Mary could be spared to heal him

“We’re going after Avaael!” Haruhiro declared

Mogzo, Renji, and Kajiko were too busy with Zoran Ron was covering Sassa, Chibi, and Adachi and wasn’t in a position to move

“Mako, Kikuno, Azusa!” Haruhiro called, recalling the naels “Avaael is the priority!”

Each of the three was engaged with one of Zoran’s guards, but one of them had just finished off her opponent She was a Warrior al for that exact moment The orc shaman shuffled quickly towards her and opened up the flask at his belt Insects ca out Before the woman could react, the swarm of insects was on her She screamed