A strong wind brushed through the field of tail grass with dozens of people spread out. They were all varying in age, but had ohing in on, fusion. All of their homes had disappeared suddenly without warning or expnation. Around them was only grass and some had begun to panic.

  Momoko had been preparing to go to her css at the college when their house disappeared. She had wao panic, but felt something inside her that she could not expin. It felt familiar to her in a way. “…Yuki? What’s happening…”

  Chapter 60 – Reborn

  “Enough about worthy! You murdered my friend!” Yuki slowly measured out his distanbsp; His muscles tightened up with the emotions that still ran through his body. When he had thought that he had e with Demosthenes much of it had been finally released. Some had beeurned, but his mind was starting to see more clearly than it had.

  There did remain an annoying sehat the old man wasn’t being cocky with his decration, but Yuki had difficulty seeing that from his oppo. All that ainted on his face was the serious stare he had had before of someohat took a fight in a very rigid pnned manner. “So you’re saying that you’re much strohan that e of yours?”

  “Correbsp; Being further away from me, I didn’t give it my full strength.” Demosthenes put his spear down in the ground and materialized a new spear that looked lighter. The purpose was clearly different from the previous spear he wielded. It ear meant for throwing uhe former which was meant for close bat.

  Yuki narrowed his eyes seeing the actibsp; ‘If that’s true, how much stronger is he now? I shouldn't tempt things right now…’ The spear was unched into the air towards Yuki with surprising speed, w if there was some Law at work aiding it.

  Taking his own advice he stepped out of the way of the spear, but it disappeared immediately upon hitting the ground. However, he had no time to think about it as another was already inbound against him. Several more were followed in simir fashion with Yuki evading the attacks skillfully. ‘He’s not a ranged fighter… This seems ter to his style, what’s he doing?’

  There was little time for Yuki to try to uaheactics as the spears became almost stant as a stream that he was forced to tio evade, that felt as though they were locked on him. He was able to keep ahead of them, but they narrowed in on him with each attempt. Yet it wasn’t the goal in mind as he reacted a moment too te.

  Demosthenes charged in at Yuki wielding his inal spear taking a swing at him. Yuki barely mao see it in time, but it was still not enough. The tip of the spear cut through the cloth of his vest coat and down to his robe underh. He tried to leap out of reach of the spear, but found that he was suddenly pletely surrounded by all of the spears that had been thrown at him. They nearly numbered into the hundreds it seemed. ‘Trapped, this was his pn all along…’

  Something that Ayumi had said to him once came fshing back as Yuki began to uand the man’s strength. ‘A Meso Prosecho user’s worth is judged heavily on how many objects that they maintain in their field at oime and still be able to fun.’ The thought made Yuki give pause for a moment before he had to evade atempt at him, but tripped up by the spears.

  ‘If he maintain all of those and still fight like this against… Just how strong is he?’ Yuki narrowly escaped another swing from Demosthenes, but became even more boxed in. ‘The only thing keeping me alive right now is my reflexes and luck, but I’m running out of both.’ The hrust at Yuki was unavoidable with his position and he was forced to take the spear against his shoulder cutting down to his skin to draw blood. ‘He mao get through my defenses! Is he strohan the King’s power I supposedly have?’

  Yuki evaded the attempt, deg to take to the offense. He tried to get in close past the spear, but Demosthenes rotated the metal shaft of the spear down as Yuki came underh the attabsp; The end of the shaft smmed into Yuki’s already wounded shoulder. He ground his teeth through the pain. It turned him away into a wall of spears that his back fell against.

  His moment sted no more than a sed as the spear was already ing in again, swinging. Yuki rolled across the grass to avoid it with the hopes of getting inside once more. His efforts weren’t pletely wasted. It pushed back the stage enough for Yuki. ‘Hope this works…’

  As Demosthenes recovered in the moments after Yuki’s ter, Yuki jumped back, getting to his feet. He spun around. His leg plowed through all of the shafts of the spears blog him snapping off the wooden shafts. It gave him the room to escape his cage just as Demostheried to restore the damage.

  Freed, Yuki immediately went on the terattaing arouhenes. There was an almost pleasing sound of Yuki’s fist hitting inside his defenses and making his first ected punbsp; Demostheumbled backwards.

  The pause to enjoy the moment became a liability for Yuki. He made the attempt follow through with his momentum, but Demosthenes already recovered making use of his thrown spears. All of the spears began to pull themselves free from the ground and turn themselves towards Yuki, which he caught out of the er of his eye. ‘Too many to dodge…’

  His hands began to lightly glow a soft blue as he fully extended his arms towards the ining projectiles. It was just in time as the spears were almost upon him. They all halted in mid-air shaking violently trying to pierce the invisible barrier. However, the barrier wasn’t enough to hold the spears. They began to push through with Yuki having to shift his position to avoid a couple that broke through. ‘Even at this range?! I ’t hold them back!’

  Around the spears, the air turned violet as red hues began to surfabsp; It engulfed the spearheads first and transitioned on c the shaft as behind the spears were disiing. O was over Yuki dropped his hand down at his sides before looking over at Demosthenes.

  “Your mastery is certainly impressive for only just awakening…and you’ve seem to have found a strange power to suit yourself,” the old man ented as he straightened himself out. “I still feel it on the i’s no mere pund your defenses as well. I must admit my own curiosity.”

  Yuki watched the eye-patched man carefully, waiting for the assault. “It’s just maniputing physical energies,” he said, willing to give into the break in the fight. “Call it spiritual, magical or psychibsp; It makes no difference.”

  “I see. You seem to uand the basics, however you’re wasting so much of that power.” Demostheurned his head about to look at the enviro. “It’s clear that your power is indeed on par with that of the King a I’m still able to break your defenses. It’s a question you’re asking yourself now isn’t it? You still barely uand the power.”

  The words weren’t somethio Yuki, but he had thought that the supposedly immense power of the King would be enough to make up the differenbsp; It had been what saved him before. Yet there was a very clear differeween them. “Are you even strohan the King?”

  “No, but you’re wasting your strength on allowing your Field to be fully projected.” The shrass of Demosthenes’ field suddenly expanded outward rapidly going far out of sight and artially cut off by the natural strength of Yuki’s Field. It had been a near perfect circle before that remai a radius of twenty meters. However, Yuki was stunned by the suddeion that he could expand his Field. “I have a Field nearly as impressive as yours, but it’s a waste. All you’re doing is funting your power, it’s unrefined. That’s why I’m strohan you. And why you’ll lose here.”

  The shrass Field swiftly fell back to its previous size as the tension in the air suddenly jumped. Yuki dropped into a defeance reizing the killing i in the man’s eye. The break was over as the wave of spears being thrown forced Yuki to move. He wasn't going to be caught in the same trap as before. Yuki kept moving forward, and always against the dire that Demosthenes was trying to lead him, to close in the distance while evading the spears.

  Once he reached the range of the spear ihenes’ hand, he was forced to keep dodging the thrusts and swipes. He had doubled the thiess of his prote. It dampehe blows that he was forced to parry with his arm. The spear’s bde was still getting through, but it was left as only bruises rather than cutting him. ‘I ’t keep up with him anymore…I’m being overwhelmed… This isn’t about power anymore, but experience…’

  Yuki was knocked back by Demosthenes, but he quickly returo his feet using some awkward footwork to get around behind the old man. He tried to make a strike as the spear came around behind him. ‘I don’t think even at my peak I could have stood against him. He’s a trained soldier… He’s so far out of my reach…’

  A mistake by Yuki’s legs left him in a vulnerable position. The spear wasted no time in taking the opportunity and pierced through the defensive yers of energy to dig into Yuki’s side just below his ribs. Yuki's eyes grew wide in the shock with his teeth grinding through the pain. He stumbled backwards after the on had been removed. Yuki’s chest took a long ssh from a follow up swing by the spear. He colpsed to the ground panting heavily through the fatigue and sore muscles. ‘e on! Damn it! Move I refuse to let this be it! Not now!’

  “This is over now!” Demosthenes brought up his spear, lunging it down at Yuki’s heart for the final blow, but he met resistanbsp; “What?!” Yuki’s less injured hand held back his spear. He tried to push in through the invisible force holding him back, but there was more than half a meter between it and Yuki’s hand. “I see, you’re fog all of your armor into a single area, but that won’t be enough!” The spear began to make progress irating the energy slowly digging.

  Across the field, Saki stared from inside Ayumi’s barrier. ‘…Yuki…’ It had left her palms raw from the stress. The fight went badly for Yuki retly, making her muscles burn. She turned back towards Ayumi. “Ayumi! Let me go now!”

  “I ’t, none of us are able to take him on. We have to believe in Yuki!”

  “Don’t you care that Yuki is going to die!?” She charged for Ayumi with her fists raised up, but was brought to a stop by a wall of ice blog her path. “Let me go or I’ll hit you so hard you’ll be feeling it week!”

  “Anger isn’t the answer. You’ll just die!”

  “I don’t care! Yuki’s out there alone being killed!” Saki became distracted wheendrils came up to restrain her. It only made Saki even angrier. She broke the ice with her arms and turned back towards the barrier. Saki ran to the barrier her fists raised up. “Let me out, Ayumi!” Her fists smmed the clear barrier eg through the enclosed spabsp; She kept pounding against the barrier.

  “It’s useless. It’s far to for you to break.”

  She wasn’t thinking anymore tinuously pounding her fist against the barrier until it suddenly developed a crabsp; Her fist rammed into it again, increasing the crack.

  Ayumi was quickly alerted to the damage and sealed it up quickly. ‘Impossible! No human could have the strength to break this!’ However, it wasn't enough as Saki’s fist rammed into the barrier once more creating an even rger crack than before. Ayumi wasn't fast enough as Saki’s punpletely shattered the barrier to her utter shobsp;

  “Yuki!” It was then in that instahat Saki disappeared.

  The spear broke through the st of the yers and Yuki could no longer hold up his arm. It was the st of his strength that he had used to keep Demosthe bay. ‘No!’

  A brief shadoly cast over him followed by a loud d thud. The spear was no longer ing at him. In fact, Demosthenes was o be seen. Yuki fought to focus his eyes on sing the area until he saw that Saki was standing in front of him. “Saki?” Saki turned and helped him up to his feet. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. I searched, but I couldn’t find him.”

  “It would seem… her of us… is in a position to keep fighting.” Demosthenes’ voice echoed from all around them. The sound of his voice carried a disguised pain. “I shall retreat for today. e and face me in our homend… and prove to me that you’re worthy to be our King.” Silence fell over the grounds leaving Yuki and Saki to guess that he had departed.

  “He retreated? But why, I didn’t defeat him!?”

  “What did you do, Saki?” asked Hiroshi ing up behind them. Everyoh them looked out of breath from running the distao reach them, while Saki looked as she always had. Ayumi was evehing heavily from the run, but still tried to ceal it.

  Yuki looked at Hiroshi and then at Saki being even more fused. “What’s he talking about, Saki?”

  “…I don’t know… I just remember trying to stop that man from killing you and…”

  “Saki covered the distance from us to you ihan a sed and literally sent the man flying with a single punch,” Ayumi said, filling iails for everyone. However, there was a hint of disbelief in her voice as it seemed impossible. ‘How did she break my barrier and then run that fast that I couldn’t see her? It’s not possible!’

  Saki looked over at Ayumi and the others. “I don’t remember any of that. I’m just relieved that Yuki is safe.” Her heart had finally stopped pounding and her muscles could begin to rex. “But he needs you to heal him, Ayumi.”

  “This isn’t over yet…” In the distaheir ruined school stood lined with cracks and shattered windows. “ime… I will defeat him… Demosthenes…” Along the first floor and foundation sat a small pile of debris from the created earthquake. The ground itself was whole as though it had never happened, but the building still stood as the reminder.

  “Need me to punch you in the head, Yuki?”

  “No, it’s already off.” His school uniform was ba him, though with blood and rips left in them from his battle.

  “What’re you talking about? No, it’s not. There’s still grass and trees everywhere, even ireets. See?”

  “I’m certain it’s off.” Yuki stood up feelier, but weak. He could see the school and the neighborhood of houses and small shops all around. However, wherever he looked there was wilderness. The sidewalk, the roads and the gardens all of it was covered like his Field. ‘Maybe I’m mistaken. I guess there’s only one way to find out.’ He turowards Saki with uainty. “Whack me…”

  “I’ll do it.” Ayumi stepped forward stopping Saki mid wind up. She tightened up a fist and knocked him hard. It stunned him enough that it should have worked.

  Saki looked at her a little fused. “Ayumi?”

  “I don’t know yet, but your strength isn’t human anymore. You might’ve killed him.” While that shock ran through the crowd, she examihe enviro again. “His power is not active. This is perma...”

  “I thought it was just an illusion!”

  “It is, but he’s made it actually real.”

  “What?!”

  “Hey everyohere’s a strange broadcast ing in on the radio,” a male student said, pulling down his headphohat were ected to something in his uniform pocket. “They’re saying something’s happened across Japan. That everything’s been ged!” His words spread panic throughout the crowd as everyone began to whisper and talk between each other making wild specution and guesses.

  A wave came out from Yuki’s feet followed by him snapping his fingers. A TV summoned on the ground that was immediately broadcasting a news station.

  “…in Ibaraki Prefecture. We only have reports for the Kantion still, but early signs indicate that the entire try of Japan is no longer as we know it. Strange animals and pnts have appeared in numerous areas. It has been described as though every work of fiyth and dream has suddenly bee reality in Japan!”