10

LChapter 10: Green Unleashed

Notes:

Magnus: Finally managed to finish it, after countless interruptions and being trapped by Monster Hunter World! Hopefully you'll enjoy Izuku's first real fight.

Disclaimer: I may or may not give Izuku something similar to an Insect Glaive in later chapters.

This chapter has been Beta'ed by Vandenbz.

Edit: The story is finally fully migrated. Updates will come at the same time for both sites now.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Green Unleashed

Aela was having trouble reaching a solid opinion about her new party leader. On one hand, she hated him; having seeing her beloved Kyouya humiliated by the underhanded tactics of the green-haired Druid filled her heart with dark thoughts. On the other hand, she couldn't help but to admire him as he had a devotion to his party members rarely seen before; showcased by how he had taken to heart knowing them, not just their strengths and weaknesses, as well as planning for all contingencies the party might face in the field.

Unlike Kyouya, who hardly remembered her name, much less her class and skills.

Aela also noticed certain similarities, like both male leaders being surrounded by an all-female party. Unlike Kyouya, though, the young Druid seemed aware of the feelings of his companions, and had accepted them. She had mixed feelings about this; Kyouya seemed to avoid any level of romance when she and the Thief were together, but had agreed to take her to his tent in the night, while the other girl wasn't present.

The mental image of the other girl getting the same treatment made her shiver.

"So, what class are you?" Izuku asked to the pinkette, bringing her back to the present with a start, "If you have a specialty you need to tell me too. Having the right tools and equipment is key out there."

The pink-haired girl grumbled a little bit, not knowing if she was still upset about being questioned, or pleased at being noticed and considered part of the group.

"I'm a Ranger…" Aela's answer was barely loud enough to be clearly understood.

She noticed the puzzled expressions of the Druid and his party, getting flashbacks to the day she met Kyouya. Back then she was ready to do anything to impress the Hero, to claim him as her own. The Thief had more to show though, flaunting not only her feminine assets, but her skill at lock-picking, stealth, trap-disarmament and appraising.

The only thing she could present was her ability to recognize the properties of plants she touched, and never get lost… in the wilds…

"Another expert of the wilderness then?" Darkness asked, making the pinkette wince. Redundancy is what most likely made Kyouya choose her as the sacrifice, and it would probably lower her worth for this party too.

The Druid was obviously a much better choice as an expert of the wilderness than she'd ever be.

"What about the specialty?" The diminutive Arch Wizard asked, to which the pinkette averted her eyes, "Something you are good at?"

There were things she was good at, of course, but she wasn't better than anyone else.

"I have good dexterity…" Aela began, voice growing fainter as she tried to continue, "I can set basic traps… and cook simple things…"

She was level fifteen. She should have been better at her specialties. Maybe even reach an advanced class…

Traveling with Kyouya had hurt her growth. She was aware of that now. But at the time that didn't seem to matter at all. She and the thief had no need to do other things than field support and carrying light loads, setting camp, and being praised for their moral support. Kyouya had done almost everything on every quest they had taken; from killing the target, to destroying impossible obstacles.

She doubted the Druid would settle for a cheerleader.

"A sniper then?" Izuku asked, showing a kind smile that made the pinkette grimace, "We can certainly benefit from ranged support and someone who can actually cook."

The Druid had great expectations of her then?

"I agree." The little Crimson Demon added, making the girl in question feel bad, "Someone who can shoot arrows at things that escape our Crusader will be great!"

"No one has ever passed me." The blonde Crusader suddenly said, startling Aela as she thought some rebuttal would come, "It would be great to eat more things than berries when out in the field though. No offense, but jerky is not the best way to eat meat."

Aela couldn't take it anymore. This wasn't an interview to get into a much-desired party. This was a review of her skills to survive the burden she so foolishly took from Kyouya's shoulders!

"WAIT!"

Aela's shout got everyone's attention, including those outside the party.

"I can use a bow, that's true." The pinkette said as she began to fidget, "But I need time to line up the shot… and I get easily tired of holding the arrow in position…"

Aela felt the eyes of the Druid's party land as one on her, so she looked down before continuing.

"I can set traps…" The voice of the Ranger was becoming even smaller, "But they can only hold tiny animals…"

Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, feeling completely useless against a party that had to be top notch in order to have been able to defeat the great Kyouya.

"And I barely know how to make sandwiches and juice…"

Aela, without needing to look at the Druid, could tell that she would be sent to the market to sell things at some random stand. Perhaps being used as an extra waitress at the guild if lucky enough. In her mind and heart she knew she was to blame for her mediocre skillset, that she should have trained, even if Kyouya didn't need the help.

"I see." Izuku spoke, taking a thinking pose, "A crossbow should help you then."

Aela blinked in confusion. She wasn't expecting support or understanding of any kind.

"The rest only needs to be trained with time and patience." Izuku's judgment had been surprisingly kind, seeing the rest of the party nod in acceptance was also quite the oddity too.

"Izuku! Izuku!" Megumin suddenly called for their attention, with sparks on her eyes, "Why don't you design a crossbow for her?"

"A weapon created by Master?" The Black Harpy asked in her whispery voice, still making the skin of the pink-haired Ranger crawl, "That's going to be awesome!"

"I can make the blueprints." Izuku replied, trying to downplay his skills, "But I'll have to commission it with the dwarves."

That statement confused Aela.

The only ones who could make better bows than the elves were the druids, as they could command the wood and the cord to take any shape and have any features they wanted. Making crossbows should have been within the skills of this particular Druid too, so it made little sense to commission such a thing with the dwarves.

"Getting a mess kit would be useful too." Darkness added, her mind quickly remembering that while raw natural food was good, cooked meals were still better to her, "No offense, but having proper cooked meals would be great if we get on a prolonged mission."

"I can only make sandwiches though…" Aela repeated in a low voice, trying to avoid setting high expectations.

"None taken." Izuku replied with a smile before he got serious, "Now to address your accuracy problem, Darkness."

The smile that was adorning the face of the blond Crusader disappeared, now replaced with a grimace.

About an hour later …

Behind one of the blacksmith's shops, in a small zone designated to test weapons, the young Druid and his party members were gathered.

TWACK!

Aela fired a light crossbow, scoring a rather decent hit on the target ahead.

"This is actually easier to use than a bow." The pinkette muttered as she reloaded the weapon, "Less tiresome too."

TWACK!

Firing another bolt, and getting slightly closer to the very center of the target, she began to remember all the times Kyouya told her to take it easy and practice with the bow; to take her time, because he really didn't need her to grow fast. That, and he didn't need help fighting.

Seeing her aim getting better, she couldn't help but to question Kyouya's wisdom.

"I know I told you that I love being humiliated…" Darkness' voice forced the Ranger's attention to shift away from her own training, "But I refuse to use something so unrefined!"

The blonde Crusader no longer wielded a well-crafted long sword; instead, in her left hand she was wearing a large round shield, while her right hand held a wooden club. Both items made by the green-haired Druid.

"It's just for a test, Darkness." Izuku replied in a placating voice, "Your weapon of choice requires you to allocate skill points into accuracy due to its finesse and martial attributes. Maces and Clubs only require your strength to be effective."

The young Druid seemed so meek that Aela couldn't help but to wonder how Kyouya lost to him.

"As a Crusader of Eris, I must maintain an image of elegance and discipline." Darkness began to say in a solemn voice, just to start waving the club in her right hand wildly, "This is just barbaric!"

The club she was wielding wasn't just a shaped piece of wood. Izuku had created it by growing one of his vine whips, giving it an ergonomic handle in addition to a uniformly and balanced hardened body that grew towards the head in a perfectly symmetric shape, all covered in wicked thorns, spread about in regular intervals and geometric patterns.

"And the shield?" Darkness continued, this time hitting the shield with the club, creating a powerful sound that left little doubt about her strength, "How am I supposed to enjoy being hit while wielding one?"

The shield was made with two hardened vines that had been coiled into themselves, giving it a rather beautiful spiraling pattern. The wicked thorns that littered the front and edge gave it the brutal and barbaric look that the Crusader seemed to dislike so much though.

Aela blinked a couple of times, trying to focus on the type of plant used to make the items.

"Darkness, you are a Crusader, you are supposed to use a shield." Izuku's voice carried wisdom and kindness to a level the Ranger was not used to hear, "If you don't want to use it to protect yourself, then at least use it to protect those weaker than you."

"Wait…" Aela's voice suddenly caught their attention, "Is that Iron Bark?"

"I think they look good on you, Darkness." Megumin raised her voice, masking the question of the Ranger, "Since they look menacing, only the strongest will try to hit you."

As Darkness started to murmur about new possibilities for her, Aela began to notice that, indeed, the shield and club were made of iron bark, just not the one carved by elves, but one naturally grown. That meant that the young Druid was far more capable than he seemed to be.

"Fine!" Darkness nearly shouted, a blush adorning her face as she felt like becoming the laughingstock of the guild for using such crude looking weapons, "I'll give this setup a try. But if it doesn't work, then I'm returning to my long sword!"

For just a moment, Darkness held an aristocratic visage that was borderline arrogant. It disappeared when Liza stepped in front of her. Darkness raised a brow in honest confusion, unable to read the stoic face of the gator-girl.

"Is… something the matter?" Darkness asked, sounding rather neutral, much to the surprise of the pink-haired Ranger, "Do you need something?"

One second, that was all Darkness got to ready herself for a strike.

Liza, quick as a flash, had raised her massive tail, spun on her feet, and slammed the scaly appendage on the blonde Crusader, who instinctively raised the verdant shield.

BOOM!

The sound of the resulting collision had been so strong that the owner of the smithy had come out to check on what had happened.

"Oi!" The dwarf shouted in distress, "No breaking my weapons without buying them first!"

Taking a moment to calm down, he and the rest of the party looked at what actually had happened. The shield had withstood the impact, and Darkness had been pushed back a couple of inches. The blonde Crusader was actually looking shyly over the shield, wide eyes looking at Liza with a rare glint.

Aela didn't know what was more impressive. If the fact that a wooden shield had withstood such a brutal impact, or that the tail of the gator-girl was still unscratched after colliding with such a brutal looking shield.

"Master… strong!" Liza said, pointing at the shield, "You… say thanks!"

While obviously her way of showing off her Master's providence, Izuku couldn't help but to think she was a little overzealous. He was still going to scratch her chin in a show of appreciation though.

Darkness looked from her shield-arm to the gator-girl. That had hurt, a lot.

"Liza!" Darkness shouted as she saw that the albino had turned to walk to her Master.

Liza's unreadable face turned to look at the Crusader, and Aela thought for a moment that the aristocratic girl was about to demand compensation. A lowly demi-human had attacked her after all!

"Do it again!" Darkness added as she began to breathe in an unsightly way.

Aela was dumbstruck by the scene.

"Chika thinks blondie is wrong in the head." The Black Harpy quietly spoke in her raspy whispers, even if everyone was able to hear her, "That is not right."

Izuku only gave a nervous laugh, happier to see that the shield had actually worked much better than intended compared to anything else.

"Chika is not wrong." Megumin seconded, although she actually looked afraid, "That… was enough to shatter the bones of a Bugbear chieftain…"

Aela knew that such a feat would be deadly for an unprotected human. Worse still, she could tell that the reptilian albino hadn't used all of her strength. That fact meant that her bite would be far more deadly.

That also meant that the Thief had gotten off easy… this demi-human could have torn her to pieces in the blink of an eye!

"Emergency! This is an emergency!"

All the loudspeakers around the city flared up to life at the same time, broadcasting the message of the Guild. The announcement also interrupted what Izuku's party was doing.

"All able adventurers, and everyone capable of fighting, head to the main gate immediately! I repeat…"

As the distressed message began to repeat, Izuku exchanged glances with everyone, none seemed any less confused than him.

A minute later, at the gates of Axel …

"WHO WAS THE KNAVE WHO DESTROYED MY FORTRESS?!"

Izuku and company watched in stunned silence as the headless knight screamed in outrage at the assembled adventurers, many of which were trembling in absolute horror.

They were looking at an undead powerful enough to stand before them in the middle of the day.

"WHERE IS THE IMBECILE WHO RAINED FIRE UPON MY LAIR WITHOUT HAVING THE DECENCY OF INTRODUCING THEMSELVES?!"

Murmurs full of fear were blooming here and there, no one sure what the powerful undead before them could mean. Then, among the murmurs, some people from the Guild recognized the figure accosting them.

It was Beldia, a General of the Devil King.

Izuku felt a knot forming in his stomach. The undead mentioning a destroyed fortress sounded too close to home to his liking. One quick glance to his petite Arch Wizard companion was all it took for him to understand that he and his party were to blame.

Megumin was doing everything in her power to look away.

"IF YOU DON'T COME OUT…" Beldia continued shouting, getting to the point of hysteria and rage, "I'LL RAZE THIS TOWN TO THE GROUND, AND ADD EVERY SOUL TO MY LEGION OF THE DAMNED!"

Fear and despair washed over every adventurer present. The threat was way too real, and most of the adventurers hadn't seen a challenge this big in their entire lives. Only the high-ranking adventurers could claim to have enough strength to face a General of the Devil King.

Megumin was trembling; this had to be her fault. There hadn't been any fortresses destroyed in a blast since she tested her new spell, which means that it had been her Big Bang that caused this development. Steeling her own resolve to shoulder this in the most glorious way possible, she took a step forward…

Just to be stopped by Izuku's hand.

"Mister!" Izuku called out, voice slightly wavering due to the panic of both getting the attention of such a foe, and the lack of a plan. "Mister, uhm…"

His body had moved without thinking, again.

Not that he regretted protecting Megumin and his girls… and his friends… or the whole town.

"Uh?" Beldia seemed taken aback for a moment, "Beldia. I'm Beldia, general of the Devil King."

Izuku finally noticed that the headless knight was actually holding his own head with one hand.

"And who approaches me?" The question of the powerful undead threw Izuku for a loop; he almost expected to have to evade an attack.

"Me?" Izuku allowed his nerves to show a bit, "I'm Izuku, a novice Druid."

There was a moment of silence as both undead and Druid stood there, watching one another. Izuku knew that this enemy was way stronger than anything he had faced before, that he was not ready for combat on this level. Beldia was now slightly wary; the Devil King himself had warned him and the others to not take Druids lightly, because no one knew when the world itself would come to their aid.

"Maybe if you explain what happened…" Izuku continued when he saw that there was no open hostility, at least for now, "We could… help you?"

Another moment of silence filled the field, everyone waiting for the response of the fearsome undead.

"I…" Beldia began to speak… and then, his demeanor seemed to change, "… may have started off on the wrong foot here."

Izuku blinked in surprise.

"Certainly I was going overboard for a moment there, how unsightly." Beldia lamented, much to Izuku's surprise, "But you have to understand that losing such a perfect fortress, let alone the resources I had stored there, without receiving a proper challenge is incredibly rude!"

"I can imagine." Izuku conceded, and then he remembered that he knew who the culprit was, and that he had helped her.

"Day after day after day I had to return to my fortress just to find new holes and scorched walls." Beldia began to narrate his woes.

One little girl dressed in red was suddenly at the side of the Druid, and was very quick to interrupt.

"That was my fault!" Megumin shouted, surprising everyone, especially Izuku, "I had to practice my Explosion magic, and that big and hard thing was the perfect target!"

"THAT WAS YOU?!" Beldia roared in anger, "DID YOU EVEN CHECKED BEFORE FIRING AWAY?!"

"I did!" Chika flew by the side of her master, earning winces from everyone, even the Dullahan.

"Chika flew over the castle every time." Chika added, returning to her raspy whispers, "There were only dumb skellies there; not even a wand weaver to order them around."

Izuku moved without thinking again, pushing both petite girls behind him.

"You three are together?" Beldia asked, for a moment remembering the time when he was a chivalrous knight, full of love for his maiden… a love betrayed in the name of a dumb religion.

Three heads nodding were enough of an answer for the undead general. The eyes full of determined love in the face of the young Druid more than enough to drown his ire.

"So, bombarding my castle was the result of my butler not being out in the open…" Belida lowly said, going unheard by those reunited, "I understand. I'll forgive you this time."

Izuku let out a loud sigh of relief, and then he saw the Dullahan pointing at him while leveling a stern glare his way.

"But you better keep your girlfriend on a short leash!" Beldia's words made the Druid and the Arch Wizard blush, "And make your slave search more thoroughly next time!"

Chika pouted, but otherwise said nothing.

"I still intend to leave with the head of the idiot who blew up my castle, though." Beldia's next words froze everyone.

"But we already…" Megumin began to raise her voice.

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR PETTY EXPLOSIONS!" Beldia interrupted with a shout. He may have been enchanted by the image of these two lovebirds, but he was going to get revenge.

Izuku quickly covered Megumin's mouth before she could say too much.

"My home was not destroyed with Explosion magic." Beldia clarified, gaining the attention of the adventurers, "I was returning from my previous lair, carrying precious heraldry and decorations so that my new castle would be up to the standards of a General of the Devil King's army."

Beldia knew very well each and every piece. Portraits, large pictures and statuettes of a nude woman he knew all too well. Heartwarming pieces of pure art that made him feel alive… all of them now turned to dust.

"There was a light, intense and hot. It erased the entire terrain, incinerating everything in its way." Beldia explained, leveling a deathly glare toward the adventurers, "I was sent flying for a few miles away. That was the power of a relic weapon, and I want the fool that used it against my home!"

Megumin was unsure if she should feel honored that her Big Bang spell was considered in the same category as the power of a Relic Weapon, or insulted at not being given the credit for such a level of destruction.

"Wait, was that Kyouya?"

Murmurs began to erupt again.

"Must have been Kyouya, he is the only one with a Relic Weapon in this town."

The murmurs became louder, easily heard now by the Dullahan and the Druid.

"Must have been pissed off by losing that duel."

While Izuku was against the very idea of blaming someone else for his mistakes, this time he considered it a tactical decision. The blond Swordsmaster was not in the vicinity, which meant that the Dullahan would not have his battle today; at most, he would issue a challenge to the guy, to which Izuku would later apologize and even offer his assistance when going to fight this formidable foe.

"I see." Beldia's voice commanded silence, "So the imbecile has a name. Where is this fool now?"

Something in the Dullahan's voice placed Izuku on edge. The undead General wanted blood.

"I can answer that!" Luna was the one to speak, showing that she was far more than just a Guild attendant, "Kyouya left town yesterday, taking an urgent quest near the mountain range."

That was a lie, and Aela knew it. Her dear Kyouya didn't take any quests, she had asked, which means that he simply left the town to find wealth elsewhere.

Izuku began to send his vines into the ground. One side glance to Chika, and the Black Harpy tensed in anticipation.

"Ah, I understand." Beldia's cordial tone held a somber tinge to it, "Your local hero was summoned to fix some sort of crisis."

Izuku's vines had popped off at the feet of Liza and Darkness. Both powerhouses quickly understood that their leader was getting ready, and so should they.

"I guess I'll just have to make the fort near the river my new home." Beldia continued, directing his gaze toward Izuku and Megumin, "Hopefully this time there will not be more… unwelcome Explosion training."

The Druid and the petite Crimson Demon nodded.

"Now is there anyone here who personally knows this Kyouya?" Beldia sweetly asked, "I wouldn't want my message to fail to reach him."

As one, hundreds of fingers pointed to a horrified pinkette. The girl in question felt betrayed, and Izuku felt like the town had thrown one of their own to the wolves with no remorse.

The novice Ranger missed how a little vine poked out of the ground beneath her feet.

"Very well." Beldia was now directly looking at the horror-stricken girl, "I want you to tell him that he has five days, starting from today, to go and face me at my new home, or else…"

The Dullahan lifted his free hand, now covered in a mass of darkness, pointing it at the girl.

"You will die!" The undead General shouted as the mass of darkness shot from his hand, flying incredibly fast toward the unprepared girl.

Then… a miracle happened.

A wall of thorns shot up from the ground, intercepting the mass of darkness. The plant died instantly, leaving behind a dry thorny bush. Aela was now on her butt, staring dumbfounded at the plant that had saved her life. She didn't need high intelligence to know what had happened. This was the work of a Druid.

The Ranger and the undead General turned to look at the young Druid. The boy had the hood of his robe up, slightly hiding his face, leaving only glowing emerald eyes to be seen.

"I won't let you harm anyone." Izuku's voice resounded with power, something new for the group of adventurers watching this development.

"Now this is rare." Beldia said as he finally dismounted his headless horse, quick to take his massive sword in his free hand, "I never thought that this city of beginners would house two heroes."

Darkness and Liza moved to flank Izuku's sides, getting ready for a confrontation that was probably well above their rank. One was baring her fangs in barely-contained rage; the other was brandishing a thorny round shield.

"Or perhaps… since the other boy left town after testing his weapon…" Beldia paused, seemingly for dramatic purposes, "It is you who is the true Hero of this town."

Beldia menacingly pointed his massive blade at Izuku. That was Chika's signal to act.

"KKUUUUUEEEEEEEE!" Chika's exceedingly loud cry was enough to make all the adventurers and the Dullahan flinch. The Black Harpy used this distraction to grab Megumin with her talons, making sure not to hurt her, and quickly fly behind the wall of adventurers.

"That wasn't normal…" Beldia muttered to himself, "What kind of Harpy does that?"

"Kyouya isn't here, so there is no need to fight." Izuku called to everyone's attention, still feeling bad for pinning this on the blond warrior, "Leave."

Beldia snorted in amusement.

"A Hero indeed." Beldia loudly stated, "It'll be an honor to have your head instead."

The real reason to reside near this town of beginners was to look out for a rising hero. The Devil King had felt the hand of the gods moving, which means that a potential hero had been chosen. Beldia felt it his duty to deliver the head of this wannabe to his lord.

"Of course, now that I have found a Hero…" Beldia narrowed his eyes, never losing sight of the Druid, "I will first break your spirit!"

From the shadow of the undead General, a horde of lesser undead warriors materialized, rotten carcasses with trapped souls that made Izuku feel sick.

"Now go, my minions!" Beldia motioned for his troops to advance, "Go and kill everyone! Men and women, the children and the elderly!"

The Dullahan watched intently from his position, how the Druid didn't move, not even turning around to look at the horde of undead. Not even when they all passed by his side… and the side of the strong women by his side.

'Why isn't he moving?' Beldia's thoughts were answered when the undead horde passed a little behind his query.

SHHHIIINNKK!

A massive spike came out from the ground, impaling an undead warrior, keeping it in place.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

Then another, and another. Then three more and then five at a time. Soon the entire field looked like it belonged in Walachia.

"You… you were casting this entire time…" Beldia said in awe at the way his army had been obliterated in one attack, "But how is it that you can cast World of Thorns?"

The spell the General mentioned was well known for being of very high level, something that only the leaders of the druidic circles should be able to do. That meant that this boy was even more dangerous that he thought.

"I'm not done yet." Izuku softly replied.

Then all the corpses that were impaled began to grow flowers, flowers that gave a rather beautiful bluish glow.

"Those are Mana Eaters!" Luna's voice carried over the field.

Mana Eaters were a rare kind of flower that only grew on sites rich with mana; they were highly coveted due to their mana-depleting properties, which helped to ease the rare condition known as mana sickness. Lucky gatherers could find a dozen of these flowers per year…

Izuku had produced thousands of them in the blink of the eye.

"You…" Beldia was starting to get concerned, "I have to kill you now!"

While this spell, rare as it was, did not purify the undead like holy magic, it could destroy the anchoring that kept the souls bound to the undead bodies, releasing the souls out of his control. He couldn't allow that, that's why he leaped at the Druid, fully intending to take advantage of the fact he couldn't move while maintaining this complicated spell.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" Darkness shouted as she leaped between the two, using her shield to stop the massive blade.

BAM!

"What in the world?!" Beldia shouted in disbelief as his sword bounced back from the wooden shield.

A moment of silence took place as the General and the Crusader stood against each other.

"Hey!" Darkness shouted in disapproval, looking back at the Druid, "I hardly felt that!"

"What?" Beldia was taken aback by the words shouted, "I've cleaved countless shields, both metal and iron bark made. How many gods blessed that thing?!"

Izuku wisely decided not to comment on the shield, instead focusing his attention on the battle.

"Liza, don't let that horse interfere." The order was said through clenched teeth, it was obvious to everyone that the young hero was concentrating on keeping the undead horde trapped.

The headless horse he'd mentioned had begun to charge against Darkness, attempting to blindside the Crusader. Liza was quick to tackle the creature to the ground, and then, proceeded to tear it apart.

It only took one second for the gator-girl to turn the undead animal into bloody chunks of rotten meat.

"That's not normal…" Beldia muttered to himself again, "What is she? A Dragonewt?"

"After we are done here, I demand something that fits my needs!" Darkness shouted as she readied herself for battle.

Beldia decided to finish this girl at once, lest the Druid complete whatever he was doing.

"It's time to end this!" Beldia shouted as he launched his severed head upwards, where a fiery eye formed, "Let's see if you can survive this!"

With that, the undead General launched his assault. With his head suspended in the air, he could see the battlefield with a much more beneficial perspective; this gave him an unfair advantage against warriors who attacked him, because he could see all their moves, and move accordingly.

This time, however, he was facing a tank. The girl in question was not attacking, instead, she solely focused on stopping his attacks, stubbornly preventing his body from reaching the Druid. Slashes from every angle, forward lunges, even pommel strikes. Nothing could break the infuriating shield.

Then his head finally fell down, right into his free hand.

"Ludicrous!" Beldia shouted, "This is supposed to be a town of beginners!"

"Don't stop attacking me!" The blonde Crusader shouted, unhappy with the attacks no longer being directed at her.

Then she swung her spiked club against her opponent, for the first time in the battle.

"Like that crude thing could…" Beldia commented as he moved his enormous blade to block the wooden thing.

BAM!

And he stumbled back two steps.

"What?!" The incredulity in the voice of the undead General was only matched by the awe of every adventurer watching, "What is that thing made of?"

The gathered adventurers were more amazed at the sight of Darkness actually hitting SOMETHING.

Darkness looked from the stunned Dullahan to her spiked club, and then looked toward Izuku.

"Izuku! Izuku!" the blonde was unbelievably happy, "I managed to land a hit!"

Feeling outraged for being ignored, Beldia moved to strike… only to feel killing intent behind him; it was on the level of a Dragon…

"GGRRAAAAAA!" The raging warcry came from Liza who had herself launched forward, ready to tear apart the Dullahan like she did the horse.

"What the?!" The Dullahan used both his instinct and combat reflexes to avoid getting grappled by the demi-human, but the girl had managed to catch his arm.

CRUNCH!

With her powerful jaws.

'NOT NORMAL!' Beldia shouted on his mind.

He was not unaware of the gator-kin and their powerful bodies, but this girl, this slave, surpassed that level of strength by a lot. His armguard was getting destroyed, and he couldn't shake her off.

"I'm almost ready!" Izuku shouted, earning the attention of the Dullahan, "Be ready to jump away from my spell!"

That was it. This was all to immobilize him, so the high-level spell couldn't miss.

Too bad for the young Druid he still had one last card to play.

"Then… this will end it." Beldia ominously said, "Vorpal Strike!"

In an instant, the body of the undead General turned into dense fog, which darted towards the immobile Druid. The Dullahan materialized right in front of him, far from the stupidly strong girls he was struggling with, and then plunged his sword into the chest of the meddling hero.

"Izuku!" Darkness shouted, horrified by the sight of her charge being murdered before her very eyes. She was quickly drowning in guilt, but when she tried to move to avenge her leader, Liza's strong clawed hand grasped her shoulder. Looking back, she just saw the gator-girl shake her head decisively.

"You were a worthy opponent." Beldia stated, reverting to his knightly tone, "But your adventure ends here."

"Is that so?" Izuku asked, quite unlike someone who had a massive sword impaling his chest, "You sing victory when you are within my grasp?"

The mockery in the voice of the Druid was the result of his well-planned strategy.

"What?" Beldia nearly shouted.

The hood moved slightly up, the green glow of the emerald eyes revealed itself to be fireflies forming tiny orbs, the head nothing but a mass of knotted vines. In fact, there wasn't blood on the sword; instead, vines were starting to envelop the weapon, much to the distress of the Dullahan.

"Like hell I'm allowing you to…" The shout of the undead General died as he failed to jump back, vines stronger than steel were holding his feet in place. He couldn't even remove his sword from the vines.

'When did he make the change?' Beldia thought in distress as he kept struggling. The entire body he had been targeting was nothing but a mass of thorny vines all along. And he couldn't escape.

The skill, Vorpal Strike, had a pretty long cooldown, meaning that he had no way to use it to move around. Worse still, he needed to be able to move his sword to activate it, which was impossible at the moment.

One quick look around, and things started to become clear.

In front of the gathered adventurers, the Druid, without his robe, was standing at the side of the petite girl that the Harpy had spirited away. That cry had been a powerful distraction, enough to allow the Druid to dig below his feet to escape, and leave the plants behind as a decoy.

A Druid that thought like a Rogue. That wasn't normal!

"It's our turn, Megumin!" Izuku commanded.

"Of course!" Megumin answered while striking up a pose, "Our combined might will pierce the heavens!"

It was a half-cooked plan. A Druid and an Arch Wizard were about to combine their spells in order to destroy an opponent that outclassed them. It was their only chance, because they lacked divine spells or a Relic Weapon to do the job for them.

"Mother nature, Ruler of Life and Death; heed my call and listen to my heart."

Izuku began to chant, now kneeling down with his hands touching the ground.

"The first law of creation is destruction, and the end result of destruction is creation."

Megumin's chant started as a sphere of light appeared before her extended hand, like a bubble containing the spell.

"Take the chaos and ruin before me, crush it, break it, and consume it all."

Izuku continued as the spikes that were keeping the undead warriors began to move, creeping closer to where Beldia was being held prisoner.

"What is this?!" The Dullahan was beginning to panic since this was a spell he had no knowledge of, "What kind of sorcery is this?!"

"The blocks of reality, atoms, gather before me. Smaller than a droplet in the ocean, yet stronger than the hardest metal, heed my command."

The light on Megumin's hand changed its hue, taking on a shade that was now familiar to the undead General.

"That light…" Beldia suddenly realized he had committed a terrible mistake, "Was it you?!"

"Throw it all into the spiraling cycle of life, twist it and mold it until beauty blossoms again!"

The large spikes came out of the ground, revealed to be connected to massive vines that looked more like trees. The spikes themselves began to glow with magic. Izuku had changed the properties of the enlarged thorns, allowing them to reflect back energy, an attempt at containing Megumin's spell.

"NO! WAIT!" Beldia really didn't want to know how the spell was going to end, "I'll leave! I won't bother you again!"

"Clash against each other at speeds beyond speed. Shatter and unleash all the energy that created you!"

Megumin reached the climax of her chant, making the sphere look almost like pure liquid power.

Izuku did his best to ignore the pleading undead, he knew better than to believe in someone who probably never gave mercy to his opponents. Exchanging one last glance with his petite companion, it was decided that the last part was going to be shouted together.

"GENESIC BIG BANG!"

Megumin launched her spell at the same moment that the giant vines began to encircle the undead General. The collision happened too fast for anyone to follow, and the light blinded everyone. The massive thorns worked as Izuku intended, keeping most of the detonation contained inside the zone where the vines were beginning to wrap into themselves to form a new tree. Part of the detonation still got through though, sending to the floor most of the adventurers; the light, however, was sent toward the sky, piercing the heavens as the petite Crimson Demon had declared.

'That was not a Druid…'

Beldia managed to form one last coherent thought as his body was being destroyed at a sub-atomic level. He was pretty certain that no amount of magic would ever be able to put his body back together.

'The old gods are returning…'

The massive vines finally started to knot together. The light finally waned until it was safe to look again. The resulting image was something no one in Axel thought possible as the outcome of this battle.

A giant tree was standing in the middle of the road. The trunk looked like solid gold from a distance. Large branches extended everywhere, covered in leaves that looked like platinum. The adventurers may not have been able to know what Beldia thought at the end, but most of them agreed that the young Druid couldn't be… normal.

Notes:

Magnus: Can I ask you to not bombard me too hard with update requests? I still need to update Cursed Blood twice before coming back to this. (FF.net got too crowded with requests)