Chapter 28- No Guidance

Chapter 28: Chapter 28- No Guidance

Arthur was stuck. He honestly wasn’t sure what to do. Their leader didn’t have a plan to win...? Someone like him? What are they meant to do now?!

His eyes shifted towards the battlefield. His eyes darted everywhere, to Aluxio, to Clorrissa, and to Alaric... What can they do? Was there anything they could do?

There can’t... be... anything.

Arthur’s eyes shined slightly as he stared at the field of battle. What? What is that? Arthur’s head began to pound as he recalled a few moments ago. When Arthur tried to follow Alaric’s instructions to regroup, Valen had moved from his position, losing sight of the ring bearer, his entire focus on Arthur. Was that an opening? If not then what was it?

He felt his palms sweat and he swallowed. Alaric hadn’t spotted this... was it smart for him to go off and put his plan into motion? He’s always asked Alaric for guidance when he didn’t know what to do, and even when he spotted something in a rare moment, he confided in the mature one, Alaric before he did it. He never went with his gut... and his gut is telling him that there is a small opening. Whether it could lead to their victory was another story, but... it could give them a fighting chance!

Even as he felt himself sweat, a small smile tugged at his lips. His eyes began to glow silver, and he pulled himself from the wall and began to jog. "Alaric... everyone... I think I might have a plan!" He called out into his earpiece as he began to build up his speed.

Alaric blinked as he ducked under a strike, "What? Arthur, what are you thinking?" He asked as he caught a punch pushing Jiro’s arm away and swinging his staff forward.

Arthur speed picked up as he launched towards Valen, who noticed him coming. He turned towards the speedster, swinging his arm towards him. Arthur reached out, grabbing his arm and swinging off him into the air, flying towards Kordra, who flew towards Skydancer and Clorrissa. He pulled his arm back, and with a swing of his fist, he finally put into practice what Alaric had suggested. A burst of wind flew towards Kordra’s back, crashing into her, making her lose her balance. Clorrissa glanced back, her hair whipping in her face as her mouth hung open. The Valkyrie turned, a frown on her face. But she couldn’t react, Arthur was right in front of her. He grabbed the collar of her armor. He swung over her, pulling her along as he was positioned behind her. He had to kill his momentum slightly, but landed a powerful kick to her back, sending her crashing into a building. He flew back and landed on the wall of a building, launching after her.

"Arthur!" he heard Alaric call out to him.

"Don’t worry Alaric... just follow my lead!" He landed and launched into a sprint towards Valen. He leapt off the ground and over Aluxio. He spun and landed a kick against his face, sending his large body falling back against the ground. Arthur flipped and grabbed hold of the ring bearer. He tilted his head to glance at Valen, who was picking himself up. He kept moving, shoving his shoulder into the ring bearer’s chest.

Aluxio watched, blinking in surprise. What was his plan?

Alaric blinked as he watched Arthur move. What the...? How was THAT a plan?! Arthur shoved into the ring bearer, which knocked him off balance. Valen had to react fast enough, rush towards Arthur. He smirked and launched into a sprint, knowing he had established himself as a threat to his support.

Alaric continued to watch and his eyes widened. He aimed a hand at Jiro, who froze in place. "I think I get it..." He whispered slightly to himself as he pushed off Jiro and into the air. As he could do right now was follow his lead. If his plan was anything like what Alaric was thinking, it just might work! He flew up on his staff, letting his eyes leave Jiro.

Jiro, who just broke out of [Immobilize], aimed a lightning bolt at Clorrissa. Alaric was quicker, he switched and froze the bolt of lightning.

"Clorrissa, I need you to fight Jiro!" Arthur called out as he zipped past buildings, narrowly avoiding the flying debris being thrown by Valen. Alaric’s eyes widened. He wanted to call Arthur insane, and refuse the plan. But... He pushed his worry down and whistled, signalling for Sky to lead her to him.

With a nod, Skydancer flew, and Clorrissa tightened the grip on her staff. Engaging in combat with the guy that gave Alaric trouble? She wasn’t even sure if she was up for the task. But, she couldn’t back down now. Sky’s surface began to turn gray, lightning crackling against its body. Jiro frowned and shot lightning towards its direction. Sky didn’t let up, the bolt striking true. But, it didn’t stop him. With a burst of effort, Sky redirected the thunderbolt back at Jiro. His eyes shot wide and leapt out of the way. Clorrissa aimed her staff outward and shot her bubble beam directly at his feet. When his feet touched the ground, he slipped. Instantly, she switched spells and her body glowed red. Water flowed and condensed into a wave as balls of water launched out, crashing into his reeling body, driving him into the concrete.

The ring bearer was about to move and support him, but Aluxio closed the distance with [Twin Cleave], cutting into his body, his chest exploding with blood at the slightly deep cuts, the force causing him to roll along the ground. Aluxio smirked and shot ahead, but was intercepted by the Valkyrie. She lifted her shield and blocked his sword bash. He was shoved back. She lowered her shield and jabbed her spear forward. Just as the point neared his nose, she was frozen in place. In an instant, a red and golden staff crashed into the tip of her spear, repelling the spear backward. Alaric dived in and landed in between the two. He lifted his head, a smirk on his face. He made his staff reappear in his hand as he twisted and cracked it against her ribs. Alaric glanced back at Aluxio, who nodded, and passed him towards the ring bearer. The Valkyrie tried to shake off the pain of the strike and cut off Aluxio’s path. But Alaric was quicker. He extended the length of his staff, lifting himself off the ground and to the side. He pulled it back and increased its size, extending its length again and pushing it against The Valkyrie, causing her to be pushed into a wall.

Aluxio tightened his hold and launched up, his blade glowing. The ring bearer lifted his head, erecting a barrier, holding his bleeding chest as it was a bit weaker than before. It withstood one attack, but a quick slash from Excalibur quickly made it break. He lifted his sword and brought it down, the blunt side crashing into him, knocking him down. Aluxio turned and the Valkyrie was tailing him, blood trickling from her mouth. But, Alaric was right on her tail. He felt his hands twitch... he was running low on mana.

She froze in place. He narrowed his eyes and launched forward. He threw a kick knocking her forward, right in Aluxio’s direction. The ring bearer reeling from the blow and tried to throw up a flaming wall. But, it was shallow. Aluxio swiped his blade, [Twin Cleave] roared out, cutting into her armor. Alaric followed up. He clenched his fist and pushed his staff down, letting the tip crack against her chin, sending her soaring through the sky. Alaric and Aluxio quickly met eyes, with a smirk. Alaric followed after her, jumping on his staff.

Arthur ran, checking back to make sure Valen was after him. He made the possibility that he could disrupt their formation, which led to him chasing him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given him the time of day. He needed to keep up that image! He quickly changed his direction, jumping off the ground and zooming past him. But, Valen noticed and aimed to reach out and grab his leg. Arthur looked back, noticing the attempt. He smirked as his leg glowed faint before a burst of kinetic energy erupted from his leg, and the force sent him flying through the sky before Valen could grab him.

He remembered the lesson from Alaric, and how that was used to create bursts of wind from his punches and kicks. But... he decided to also take into note the other suggestion. Using his kinetic energy to create quick bursts of movement! And it worked like a charm! He twisted his body and watched as Valen got smaller. This was perfect, it gave the impression that he was currently heading back to the battlefield, where his support was... as long he kept this up, hopefully his team could take down everyone else.

Clorrissa remained atop Skydancer, weaving and dodging Jiro’s lightning strikes. But, she could tell that Sky was getting slower, whether that was from its mana or the force of taking in so many of Jiro’s lightning strikes was unknown. All she knew was that if this kept up she could take some serious damage. It was clear that the lightning strikes were too fast for her to use a barrier, so she just had to go on the offensive. She waved her staff and more orbs of water zipped towards Jiro, in which the two attacks collided together, causing the bubbles to explode outward. She wasn’t sure what Arthur’s plan was... but she could only hope to stall long enough for either someone to take over, or for the timer to run out, which had thirty seconds left. This was the final stretch. It was either now or never!

Alaric looked back towards Jiro, who was putting pressure on Clorrissa and Sky. He only got a short look and noticed that Sky was slowing down. Whenever Skydancer used a skill of its own, it drained Alaric’s mana. That along with his overuse of [Immobilize] it was running him dry. In a few moments, he would be completely useless to them...

But he can’t. Not when he’s so close. And... not when Arthur had given him a chance! He can’t let him down! Not after not knowing how to respond to the pressure. He felt red electricity travel and dance along his body, [Strength Boost]. It was now or never! He wasn’t letting anyone down again! He launched towards the Valkyrie. He extended the length of his staff, making it crash into her back. She staggered and twisted to face him. He jumped off the staff and grabbed it. He spun horizontally in the air, and increased its size. He then brought it down, making it slam into her, sending her crashing into the ground below, even when she tried to react with her shield.. He turned, his eyes glowing red.

"Arthur!" He called out as he fell and landed on the ground, rushing towards Clorrissa and Jiro. "The Valkyrie is done. What do you need me to do?!" He called as he neared Sky.

It only took a few seconds, "...Handle Jiro." Alaric simply smirked and he passed Sky and Clorrissa. Their eyes met, and he smiled back at her, a signal that she did good. Her eyes glowed as Sky flew away, knowing what was going on. Alaric closed the distance as Jiro looked towards him. His lightning began to build and Alaric narrowed his eyes, his mana was low and this would be his last spell. [Flame Enhancement]. He spun it in his grip and rushed forward. The two engaged, engaging blows back to back. Jiro wasn’t close to losing mana, Alaric was sure that his stats were made for it. Alaric hadn’t considered all the spells he would get, and hasn’t accounted for adding points towards it. And he was dealing with the consequences. With a kick to Alaric’s chest, he was sent back. He flipped and landed rushing back. He pulled his staff back and launched it at full force at Jiro’s chest. His eyes narrowed and darkened.

Three

Two

One

The staff collided with his chest, and the flames reacted with the electricity. While it didn’t do much on its own, but in only a short amount of time, it exploded against him, scorching his chest. He staggered as the timer roared that time was up. Alaric rushed past him, and tripped, falling to his knees. His hair fell over his eyes as his body felt numb, his lack of mana finally catching up to him. The faint sounds of the horn was like background noise to the intense ringing in his ears. He lifted his heavy arms to look at his hands, his palms red and burning from how hard he was holding his staff. What had happened? He lowered his hands and didn’t even notice when his ear piece fell out of his ear.

Had they won? He wasn’t sure.

But, all he could focus on was the intense pain in his body, making his limbs feel like lead. He could hardly move, it took what little strength he had left to do so. Eventually though, he felt something soft press into his back. The slight wiggle gave him a small clue as to what it was. He tried to turn his head but something clouded his vision. Clorrissa had flanked his left, hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright...?" She asked, her voice soft as he stared blankly at her.

"...Never been better." He joked lightly, his vision swimming. Her hand slid down his arm until it settled over his. He didn’t really react, he didn’t even notice. He noticed movement at the corner of his eye. He tilted his head and noticed Jiro walking nearby. He stared at him, before Jiro looked back, his gray eyes staring back at him. They stared each other down, even if Alaric was doing it all of his effort.

Jiro closed his eyes and turned away, walking off to check on his team. Alaric watched for a moment before lighting out a soft sigh, leaning forward. "Alaric!" He heard someone familiar call out. He lifted his eyes as Arthur rushed over and knelt down with him. "Are you good, man?" He asked as Alaric smiled softly. "I’m fine, just tired..." He lowered his head before lifting it again to look at him. "Hey... Arthur...?" He whispered, as he felt his head pound. His vision was blurring, he was about to pass out. "Y-Yeah?"

"...Good plan."