{Month: Sunflare}
{Date: 1/7}
{Time: Day}
I raced ahead upon Blanche's back, her hooves galloping through the forest at top speeds. Ahead, I could see Therian Ninja swarming a village ahead, each one wielding one to three fox tails and raiding various areas for magic stones and potions.
"Onward! Stop the Fox Ninja!" I commanded, boosting myself off Blanche's back then summoned my katana and matchlock, landing on the ground and raced forward. "Leo, Izumi, you two take on the market area, Aunt Mira, you assist Jin and his retainers at the residentials. Victoria, at my side."
My army rallied and charged toward the village ahead, each one drawing their weapon to face off against North Wadataka's imposing forces. We began splitting off to handle my delegated tasks, Victoria and I taking the the main square.
The Fox Ninja began catching whiff of our scents, turning around and noticed me and Victoria charging toward them with weapons ready, the two of us cutting through them with ease. The Foxes began scattering to ambush us at once, attempting to overwhelm our senses.
"Victoria, do it!" I commanded, tossing my katana forward with black lightning surrounding it.
Victoria used a burst of speed to appear in front of my sword, catching it with her mouth then began slicing rapidly through the foxes with unnerving control, barely breaking a sweat. She let out her demonic howl and released blue and purple energy from her body, suspending the Fox Ninja in the air.
"Lunar Arts: Shooting Comets," I said, a dark grin stretching across my face as I began firing darkness bullets encased with light energy from her matchlock.
Each dual affinity bullet landed their marks, causing dual elemental explosion and incapacitating each low ranking Fox Ninja held by Victoria. The dust began to settle, a few shivering Water Elves looking up and noticing me and Victoria standing before them, their eyes widening with relief and recognition.
"Q-Queen Stella and Lady Victoria..! The Lunia Army has come to save us?" A mother elf asked, getting up from the ground with her child in her arms.
I looked over at the mother elf, my gaze shifting between her and her son, a vision of my past life flashing in my head reminding me of my own light. I scoffed softly at her, walking forward and shuddered from the warm feeling I received from her gratitude.
"It's my duty...I am a Dark Queen, not a Tyrant or a Dictator. Anyone who dares to stop me shall perish, this is bigger than my own path of revenge," I said, shifting Nyx and Nox into my Vesper Argentum as I continued toward the main square.
Victoria grunted softly at my snooty response toward the Water Elf, chuckling nervously then turned toward the mother elf, giving her a courteous bow. "My apologies about Your Highness, we've been thought a lot the past few days. This is only added troubles we don't need."
The mother elf bowed back to Victoria with a gentle smile, shaking her head with understanding. "I understand, I heard the news of Lunia and I send her my prayers. Please save Rae Serin from these crooked foxes."
Victoria nodded at her request, running after me and sheathed her twin katanas. She began walking by my side, the two of us talking strategy on how we would even fight against Yomi if she ever shows up. Once we made it into the main square, the gates around us began to close, locking us into another ambush.
"My, my..~ Aren't we lucky, Miko Fujika?~ We have Queen Stella and her Advisor all to ourselves!~ Lady Yomi's plan worked! She fell for it just as she said!" The beautiful, samurai woman in front of us giggled, her kimono jacket flowing calmly in the wind.
Fujika hummed with a pleased reaction, nodding her head as she pulled out a large scroll from her bag. Her magenta hair flowed gracefully with the gentle breeze, her purple eyes glowing with power. "Yes, it did work just as planned. Now, all we have to do is defeat Queen Stella and Victoria then we have a clear path forward."
"We don't have time for this," I scoffed, dashing toward Fujika with my sword ready to strike, dark energy forming around my blade.
Fujika smirked at my charge, unrolling her scroll and the glyphs within began to shine, unleashing bolts of powerful lightning magic toward me. Instinctively, I began evading the bolts of lightning with efficient steps, making my sword disappear then caught one of the bolts of lightning, corrupting it into black lightning with my dark energy.
"What the—" Fujika grunted in disbelief, closing her scroll quickly and searching her bag for a defensive scroll.
I summoned my Twilight's Bolt using purple lightning to build it's shape, manipulating the bolt into the shape of an arrow. "It's too late for you... Lightning Arts: Kaminari no Rai!"
I fired the powerful bolt of lightning, streams of black lightning surging around the market area and creating a trail within the ground from the thunderous boom. I grunted as my arm jerked back from the recoil, a dark, wide smirk forming on my face.
Fujika could only gasp as the arrow bolted toward her with electrifying abyssal energy, her life flashing in her eyes in pure defeat. Quickly, the samurai woman pushed Fujika out of the way then let out a powerful howl that stretched across the village, awakening her Fox Power, storming winds and light surging around her body.
The woman thrusted her six light tails forward, clashing with my Kaminari no Rai and grunted heavily as the force of my arrow began slightly overpowering her. She grit her teeth as she tried resisting the might of my attack, one of her tails slowly corrupting into a dark energy tail.
Fujika grunted softly as she looked up at her partner, noticing her taking on my attack alone, her heart thumping with the sense of danger. "Izayoi..! You can't...take on that attack alone..!"
Fujika rushed to get up, but groaned heavily as Victoria appeared in front of her with a kick to her stomach, knocking her in the air. Victoria struck her with a powerful force of energy, shifting her Affinity into Water and blowing her away with a pulse of aquatic energy.
Fujika grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground, using a burst of wind to propel herself in the air, using yellow lightning to summon her mace and shield, taking on her Battle Mage form. She landed on her feet, bolting forward at lightning speeds with a horizontal swing of her mace.
"You're too slow..." Victoria taunted, dodging Fujika's attack with ease and stepped backwards, sheathing Lotus and opting for Azura, her Water Affinity. "I'll even fight you at an Affinity Disadvantage to prove you're nothing like me..."
Fujika stepped backwards in slight disbelief, scanning Victoria with her Aura Reading, her heart skipping a beat in disbelief. 'What the heck is she..? Demonic Energy resides within her...and based off her reflexes, she's faster than a Mastered Wind User...'
'She's also not going to let me save Izayoi...no wonder they deemed Queen Stella and Lady Victoria as the greatest duo in Cynthia. They don't even need to verbally speak to be in sync,' Fujika thought to herself, her calculated gaze lingering onto Victoria's cold gaze.
Izayoi grunted heavily as she used all of her strength to deflect my black lightning arrow, sending the arrow into the air and fell onto one knee. She panted softly, looking up at me with nervous sweats running down her face.
'Her energy is a lot darker than before...she's changed. The old Princess Stella never fought with such... intensity,' Izayoi thought to herself, standing onto her feet and readying her sword in front of her.
I made my bow disappear into dark energy, letting out a soft chuckle and rolling my shoulder gently. "You're still standing after all of that? Huh...Fox Power is more interesting than I thought. That was one of my best moves actually..."
Izayoi grunted softly at my calm arrogance, glancing over at Fujika, who was also being held up by Victoria. She turned her gaze back to me, carefully watching my every move with a sharp gaze. "Queen Stella, why are you in Sylvannia? We all thought you were rebuilding Lunia after the attack!"
The scene of the attack on my home by Zhang Li played in my head clearly, every moment of that horrific night still as fresh as if it just happened. I met Izayoi's gaze, my own darkening as a cold smirk grew on my lips.
"I am rebuilding...I am rebuilding the army by beloved older brother took. Reshaping the legacy he tried to burn down. I captured South Wadataka, and that's only step one. Step two...it was to capture Sylvannia," I began, slowly swiping my hand to the side, lunar energy forming to manifest my Star Vesper Argentum.
"However, it seems the Queen of North Wadataka has similar plans and we can't have two conquerors on my region. So instead, I will be using the Relationship Card and Lunia and Sylvannia happen to have the closest relationship of the Seven Kingdoms...so by my orders..." I continued, pointing my sword at Izayoi, the glyphs upon my sword slowly lighting up with lunar energy.
"Protect Rae Serin and Sylvannia, my loyal advisor. Destroy those who dare harm our allies,"
With my command, Victoria dashed toward Fujika at near invisible speeds, landing a brutal slash upon her stomach and sent her flying with raw power. Izayoi gasped as she watched her Miko fly across the main square, leaving her wide open for me to blast her away with beams of dark energy from my sword.
I dashed ahead at high speeds, dragging my sword along the ground and generating sparks around my sword. I let out a battle cry as I began spinning around in a circle, encasing the blade of my sword in flames then slashed downward toward Izayoi and Fujika, releasing a large fiery cutting wave toward them.
Fujika landed on the ground and slid backwards, quickly recovering long enough to raise her shield to block the cutting wave, the force of the cutting wave pushing her backwards with immense strength. "I-Izayoi! I need a boost!"
Izayoi flipped backwards in the air as recovery, planting her feet along a wall then propelled herself toward and pat Fujika's back, leaving behind a wind sigil on her back. "Storm Arts: Fresh Wind Blessing!"
Fujika bellowed as Izayoi's sigil began to glow, fueling her with immense Fox Power, a Storm Fox Cloak forming around her body. "Burst Skill: Raging Storm Scream!"
Fujika's shield began to shine a bright green light, lightning crackling powerfully around her body and weaponry. Intense winds began flowing around the area as Fujika unleashed a destructive twister toward us, the twister breaking apart the ground and ruining everything within its path, dispelling my cutting wave immediately.
Victoria rushed in front of me, readying her blade and surrounding it with water energy and lowering her body temperature energy to freeze the waves around her sword. "Azure Technique: Koriutsukushi..."
Frost began to surround Victoria's feet, snowflakes forming and swirling around her body as she prepared her attack. With a swift slice upward, she began to freeze the twister, turning it into a blizzard and changing the weather terrain to give Wind Users a massive Affinity Disadvantage against Ice.
Izayoi's body shivered as the cold winds rushed around her body, her fox ears folding backwards in an uncomfortable demeanor. "What the heck..? She changed our Windstorm into a Blizzard! Our wind attacks won't have any effect on them!"
Fujika shifted back into her normal form summoning her main scroll and generated lightning energy around her body. "Doesn't matter! We have to stall them for Yomi to make it through North Sylvannia!"
"You won't even get the chance!" I called out, readying my blade and shifting it back to its normal forme. Dark energy began pulsing around my body, my eyes shimmering and flashing with awakening.
"Do not let them interfere..."
Listening to Boshido's Guidance, my royal crest began flashing in and out of view upon the back of my neck, the crest shining a dark purple hue and generating light markings along my arm. I grunted softly as red and black lightning began crackling around my body, my hand gently gripping my face in slight discomfort.
"This is your conquest...Not anyone elses! Destroy them!"
I let out a battle cry, my energy pulsing around my body and releasing pulses of Spatial Energy, repelling everything around me away. I grunted as Boshido's influence began overwhelming my body, but I remained strong on two feet, a sadistic grin stretching across my face.
"Heh...haha..! This power...feels similar to that night, yet...I can somewhat control it!" I bellowed, laughing with dark excitement and an adrenaline rush coursing through my veins.
Fujika grunted softly as she felt my dark energy, her body skidding slightly from the pulses of energy around my body. "I-Izayoi...that energy. That's Mastered Darkness, Spatial Energy. Queen Stella...has the Space Affinity."
Izayoi shuddered in anticipation as she locked eyes with me, her tails swaying with caution. She readied her blade once again, stepping forward and let out a shaky exhale. "Fujika...open the gates. We can't beat Queen Stella, but we can deter the others. I can feel Yomi's energy...she's already at Fountaine, one city closer to North Sylvannia..."
"I will hold Lunia's Queen here while you and the other Miko stall her army! Now go!" Izayoi exclaimed, dashing toward me at light speeds and engaging in battle.
Fujika grunted softly as she watched Izayoi clash with me, taking a step backwards before hurrying off. She gave the signal to reopen the gates, leaping in the air to retreat toward Fountaine. Victoria watched as Fujika retreated, swapping Azura for Lotus and shifting her Affinity to Wind before swiftly following her with silent steps.
Izayoi parried my next slash, countering with a thrust of one of her tails toward my chest. I deflected her tail then stuck the blade of my sword into the ground, slicing upwards with cutting energy trailing behind. Izayoi barely dodged attack, yelping in pain as the tip of one of her tails got cut off.
"What's the matter, Fox? I thought the more tails, the stronger the Kitsune! You make other six tail Kitsune look weak!" I taunted, striking Izayoi with a knee to her stomach causing her to hunch over, following with a brutal uppercut to her face and knocking her in the air.
"Disappear!" I laughed, palming Izayoi's stomach and releasing a repulsive force of energy shifting in hues of violet and blue.
The pulse of energy wiped Izayoi away, the force of the energy destroying the centerpiece fountain of the main square and reducing the ground into cracks and ruin. Izayoi groaned heavily as she slammed into a wall, her body falling onto the ground.
I watched as Izayoi's Fox Cloak gradually teeter out one tail at a time, her resistance admirable but futile. I pointed my sword at her, releasing a beam of dark energy at her back causing her Fox Cloak to vanish. Izayoi's eyes finally closed as her energy was spent, now incapacitated on the ground.
"Heh...Fox Power. Overrated source of energy compared to the power of Space. Now, onward. Fountaine waits out conquest..."
I nodded at Bushido's voice, hurrying off to Fountaine and sheathing my sword. I glanced at Izayoi on the ground, letting out a soft exhale before hurrying out of the small village toward North Sylvannia's Defense City, Fountaine.
"She beat Izayoi without breaking a sweat...what the hell was that power?" Ugachi asked, running along the rooftops alongside Tansuke, glancing at him with slight confusion.
"I don't know...I couldn't sense the energy she was using. The destructive force of her power is beyond anything I've seen before... plus those markings. Only Descendants of the Lunar Deities can have those," Tansuke answered, grunting as he leaped over the gates of the village and onto the ground.
"We have to head to Fountaine and meet up with our Mikos. Lady Sophia's retainer is 100% guaranteed to be there since we're officially raiding the kingdom," Celica said, looking back at Aname and helping her down off the roof.
Aname grunted softly as she landed on the ground with Celica's help then felt a rush of wind past them, her body jolting with energy due to her affinities alignment. "It's getting colder now and I can feel my Cloak growing stronger! What is this?"
"It's called Weather Alignment. Certain weather conditions can boost our prowess and hinder us at the same time. Right now, this blizzard weakens me, Tansuke, and Ugachi while strengthening you and other Water and Ice Affinity users," Celica explained, looking in the distance with a thoughtful gaze.
"At least with this blizzard, Sophia's Scald and Geyser Magic won't work due to the low temperatures, but now with the sun blocked, the water elves have nothing weakening them. This just turned bad for us," Celica mumbled to herself, rubbing her arm slightly to warm up her body.