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Ryu's POV
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I wake up with a start as the door to the room I slept in is opened, my hand already outstretched for my sword.

"Whoa, calm down." (Etsu)

Holding his hands out towards me, Vice-Captain stops me from swinging my sword.

"Come on, we're starting." (Etsu)

With that, he turns and leaves, leaving me sitting on the bed.

My body seems to groan as I stand up, the previous fatigue still lingering.

But I pay little attention to it as I pick up my sword and bag while leaving the room.

"Let's go over the plan again: Starting at opposite ends of the pier, we will slowly move along until we find the group. After confirming its the group, Captain will signal and we will jump out to attack. Do not kill them unless absolutely necessary. After we have them, Astrid, you dispel the magic on the town." (Etsu)

"Alrighty~." (Astrid)

"Then let's go." (Captain)

We stand up from our seats at the bar and leave, heading towards opposite ends of the pier.

I'm walking alongside Archer and Vice-Captain, while Captain, Healer and Knight are heading to the other side.

I think it was a way of balancing the fighting power on each side, which means, Captain might be able to take on both Archer and Vice-Captain and win.

That thought scares me more than I thought it would, so I push it away and continue walking.

Considering where the Inn was, our side of the pier was surprisingly close, having only taken us around 5 minutes to walk there.

Stepping onto the wooden planks of the pier, I could hear the waves of the sea colliding with the rock beneath us, and the smell of salt overwhelms any others.

I take a look around, trying to find a spot to hide in, before spotting a set of boxes at the edge.

Hiding quickly, I lay down my backpack and sword, making it easier for me to squat down.

Having nothing to focus my attention to, the stress on my body seems to take over.

It seemed to groan at any kind of movement, no matter how small.

But I toughed through it, and after waiting a few minutes, we started to move further down the pier.

We did this a few times, going in and out of spots, before coming up on a small gathering of people, all wearing black cloaks.

I suppose they didn't really care about how suspicious they looked, since all the town folk were under a spell, but it helped us a lot.

As we wait, more and more people seems to join the grouping, and at this point, there seemed to be around 15 people, all wearing the same cloaks.

On the other side of the group, I manage to catch a glimpse of some armour.

I guess they've finally reached us.

However, despite this, no signal was sent. So we waited, and waited, and waited.

Nearly 20 minutes had seemed to pass since we had surrounded the group, and we were still waiting.

I had a line of sight on the Vice-Captain, yet he seemed to have no confusion on his face, only resolve.

5 more minutes passed before I see the Vice-Captain ready his sword, and I set my sights on the group, my hand on my sword.

I see Captain ahead of us, slowly raising his throwing arm, before swinging it forward.

A few seconds of silence pass before a small tink could be heard on the armour of The Cardinal members.

At the same time, everyone jumped out of their spots, weapons ready.

Just as I was about to go, a hand could be felt on my shoulder, with a small prick at the base of my neck.

"Now now, Ryu dear. Let's not have you doing that, eh?" (??? Female)

My heart seems to rise throat as the ice-cold words pierce me.

"W-why are you here...?" (Ryu)

"Ara, I thought you already knew I was here?" (??? Female)

"I did, but why now?" (Ryu)

"Hmm, too many questions, Ryu dear. I simply came to warn you of something." (??? Female)

"What could you warn me of, Asa?" (Ryu)

"Ooh, cold words, Ryu dear. I'd be careful, after all..." (Asa)

The world goes silent as Asa finishes speaking, my mind only focusing on the words she spoke.

"Well, with that, I'm off. It was fun." (Asa)

I feel the hand pull away from my shoulder, and the prick recedes from my neck.

Losing all strength in my body, I fall to the floor, my sword clattering against the wooden boards.

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Airi's POV
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The tink could be heard all around us as it cuts through the perpetual silence of the pier.

Almost in an instant, we all burst out on to the pier, taking all the members by surprise.

Very few of them manage to draw their weapons before we knock them down, and the few that did were taken down quickly thereafter.

Only after it was over do I notice Ryu's absence, but it's something that was quickly washed away by the large gust of wind that seems to fall down onto us.

"Jump back!" (Captain)

Hearing the command, I distance myself from the wind, sword ready.

It's only after the wind settles that I can see the cause of it.

"Kagei..." (Etsu)

"To think we'd meet again so soon. My, it's wonderful how fate works in this way." (Kagei)

As he finishes, he barely manages to stifle a laugh.

"Fate. What a ridiculous idea. Something you cling to so you can blame something other than yourself. If fate were real, it's something that breaks at even the weakest of forces." (Kagei)

He seems to dance around as he speaks, his words forming what almost seems like a manifesto, before turning to the group we had captured.

"My, they are all here. Every single one of them. I'd expect one or two to have ran away, but I suppose not." (Kagei)

A voice seems to raise from the group as Kagei finishes,
"Why would we? You promised us you'd fulfill our wishes!" (Albrio)

It was Albrio. His previous demeanor of a warrior seems to have been cut down in the face of the fast-caster, as he now grovels at his feet.

"Aah, I suppose we did do that." (Kagei)

Stopping, Kagei outs his hand on his chin, as if thinking.

"I've got it. How about we say... That the promise never existed?" (Kagei)

"Wha--" (Albrio)

Albrio's voice gets cut off as his head soars through the sky, detached from his body, wearing the same confused expression.

It stays in the air for a few seconds before hitting the ground with a splat, blood pooling underneath it.

His body seems to sit still for a few moments before also falling to the ground, blood seeping from the neck.

Shock overwhelms me as I watch the head fly, confusion also mixed in.

"Cheers for a new deal!" (Kagei)

Shouting out, Kagei holds out his hand and decapitates the rest of the group, their heads rolling on the ground near the bodies.

"Now then. Let's start this. Asa, if you would." (Kagei)

As he finishes, a large magic circle seems to appear above Alzibria, before a large bolt of light strikes the center of town.

"Astrid! What the hell just happened?!" (Captain)

"I-I think she just dispelled the mind control spell!" (Astrid)

Confusion crosses over all of us as we listen to Astrid.

With our focus taken away from him, Kagei starts preparing for the next part.

In less than a second, a small magic circle appears in front of his mouth, the lime green a show of the wind attribute.

"Now then. Ladies and gentlemen of Alzibria, you have now been freed from the spell that took control of you minds and bodies! You are now free from our grasps!" (Kagei)

Kagei's voice seems to echo throughout the town, the previous magic circle being used as a sound transmitter.

"But let me tell you this! We are back! The No-Names are back! Do not think you are safe under the protection of the Kingdom anymore! They haven't caught us once, and that will continue! We are no longer a simple bandit group! No! We are the ones who will bypass death!" (Kagei)

With his final words resonating through the town, panic begins to set in, the previous silence of the town now becoming a memory.

Having finished speaking, Kagei dismantles the magic circle in front of him and flies off with his wind magic.

After the reality of the situation finally sets in for me, my mind wanders back to Ryu's absence.

"Hey! Ryu's not here! He never jumped out!" (Airi)

"What? He was right next to us!" (Etsu)

"Where?" (Airi)

"Follow me!" (Etsu)

Breaking off from Captain, Kana and Astrid, me and Etsu run off towards Ryu.

Reaching him in seconds, we find him shaking, kneeling on the floor.

"Hey, Ryu? Ryu?" (Airi)

His mind seems to be elsewhere as I call out to him, so I reach out to his shoulder.

"Don't touch her!" (Ryu)

As I place my hand on his shoulder, he spins around quickly, screaming.

I flinch back, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"Ryu?" (Airi)

"A-ah..." (Ryu)

Looking at him, he seems close to breaking down, but I see him grip his fist, steeling himself.

He stands up quickly while picking up his sword and walks off, not saying anything.

Rather than chasing him, I simply let him leave, the outburst he just had weighing in my mind.

"Something happened to him just before jumping out." (Etsu)

"Yeah, but I wonder what. I've never seen him that worked up before." (Airi)

Ryu was usually an extremely calm child. He thinks things through, possibly too much. He thinks of concequences, of positives, of negatives. He rarely gets worked up.

And yet, someone managed to get him like that.

"I wonder who." (Airi)

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Author Notes
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Wow. That's all I'm going to say for this one. Just, wow.

This is the most enjoyable chapter I've ever written. I wasn't capping myself at a word limit, I had a minimum that I wanted to surpass, and I did.

It was honestly kind of freeing. Although, I don't think it'll be like this for every chapter. I highly doubt I'd be able to do 1500 words for each and every chapter.

But seriously, this was so much fun to write. The speech was my favorite. I tried to make it as threatening as possible, and I hope that made it through.

I'm kind of sad at where I ended it, but it couldn't be helped, I don't like switching POV's more than twice a chapter.

But Ryu's outburst, huh? We already know who caused it, but what did she say to him to get him like that? Who is the "Her" Ryu is in about?

Well, I doubt you'll find out anytime soon, but thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Also, Asa uses "Ara", which is a Japanese way of saying "Oh my", but I thought it fit better than simply saying "Oh my".

If you didn't know, this book is heavily based off anime and manga and Japan in general. I mean, all the names are Japanese.