"Our? Go on, tell me about our enemies." Sora replied
Levy explained who they were fighting: ex-Marines working undercover for an underworld organization with significant power. They controlled slave labor camps on the main island of the Oykot Kingdom, where they had citizens mine stone all day in the mountains.
Sora bit his lip until he tasted blood. He hated nobles and especially slave owners.
"That is crazy," he muttered.
Levy glared. "It is horrific. Those are not humans. They are devils living in human skin."
Sora jumped onto Yakko before she could say more. He understood the enemy. There was no need to think about it anymore.
Yakko roared. The sound shook the trees. Sora gripped his spirit fur and leaned forward. The air trembled around them as Yakko leapt into the jungle. They dashed through the fog-covered forest. Yakko's spirit blended in with the fog as if he were a part of it.
Sora saw the five men, probably ex-Marines by their boots and posture, and wearing the red coats. His breathing quickened. His sword, Shiro, felt heavier than before. Sweat rolled down his temple.
"Skill Ghost Step + One Sword strike," he spoke silently as he disappeared from Yakko's back like a ghost towards a man with a mohawk and holding a great sword on his back.
The world blurred. He struck. Steel clashed, and sparks burst through the fog. The soldier with a mohawk had barely blocked his strike. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the hell, a kid. No, a monster." He muttered.
Mohawk was in disbelief at the strength and speed of the strike that had almost ended his life. The rest of the men drew their weapons with trembling hands, as they looked at the giant spirit tiger that had appeared from the trees. They almost forgot about the kid who had attacked them out of nowhere.
Sora dropped back onto Yakko, chest heaving, fingers tightening as he raised his blade again. His eyes burned crimson with spirit energy.
"I am surprised you blocked that attack," Sora said to Mohawk, holding the great sword.
Sweat dripped down the man's face. The Mohawk soldier had come close to death many times, but that might have been the closest. He had not seen the attack; it was pure instinct that had saved his life, every bone in his body, and he yelled to defend himself.
"Do not hold anything back. This could be our last battle," Mohawk roared with fear and courage as he looked at Sora and the twenty-five-foot spirit tiger.
"Bang."
The rifleman fired as the last word left Mohawk's mouth. The shot went through Sora's head, but there was no blood, only the smoke of an afterimage left behind by the Ghost Step skill.
Sora stood behind the rifleman. Shiro was covered in blood, but still shone through the light fog in the moonlight.
Mohawk roared and charged at Sora, so did the two swordsmen with their sabers in hand, and the man with the sickle chain spun his chain, ready to attack at any moment, but the next minutes would be their last. They had forgotten that he was not alone; the two swordsmen were crushed by Yakko's giant paws before they could even reach Sora. Mohawk, enraged and kept charging towards Sora, even though he had lost three of his friends. He knew his fate, but as a soldier, he had to keep charging forward and had to take down the monster that had killed his friends out of nowhere. Even if the chance was less than one percent, it was at least he could do so as all of his life flashed in front of him.
"Bang."
A revolver bullet went through Mohawk's back and past Sora. It was Levy. She had finally caught up. Mohawk did not stop even after being shot and finally reached Sora, swinging his great sword, bigger than Sora's whole body. Sora parried with Shiro and swung his body around with a rising kick to Mohawk's face, sending him flying into a tree, then slowly walked up to the man.
"Any last words?" Sora asked, walking up to the wounded man.
"Who are you?"
"I expected you to say something cooler, after all that courage you showed, but I will be your new captain… after you die."
"Damn monster, what the hell are you talking about !"
Shiro plunged into his heart, stopping its intense beating.
The last survivor dropped his weapon and fell to his knees with shaking legs. He made a last-ditch plea as he looked at Levy, who was pointing a gun at his head.
"I hated those guys. I will work with you. We can take down Chains and that fake government king. Le—"
Levy shot him in the temple before he could finish.
"That was ruthless. Are you sure we could not interrogate him?" asked Sora.
"He had nothing to offer, and I do not like cowards who easily betray their allies when they lose, no matter how bad the people."
"Is this Chains the same leader you said was strong?"
"Yes. My father is a terrifying man. Even with a big tiger, it would be hard to defeat him and those government thugs. After watching you fight, I think I see a sliver of hope."
"Father! Huh, I see Father issues, but I don't like that you said you only had a sliver of hope, you're still underestimating me…. Let me show you the full extent of his power."
Sora cracked his back and walked to Mohawk's body and whispered, "Summon."
Mohawk's dead body did not move, but a dark orange spirit arose from the corpse, looking like a replica of Mohawk before the battle. The spirit stood tall and then bent to one knee before Sora like a squire waiting to be knighted by his lord.