Heroes of the Holy War

"You could have died along with your wretched mother," Aki's father says, looking at her with a scornful gaze. Akira immediately grabs him by the hair. Before he can lift the old man, Kai stops him, grabbing Akira's hand. Akira, casting a terrifying look at the unfazed Kai, pulls back his hand.

"If you don't want trouble, get out of here. But you two stay," says an enraged Akira, pointing his sword at the king and the heroine.

"No. We're staying here. You're a traitor to this country," says the old man, adjusting his bangs. Akira turns back and leans down toward the old man.

"Get the hell out. Do you understand, or do I need to spell it out for you?" yells the furious Akira. The old man stands unmoved. Instead of answering, he bypasses Akira and heads towards Aki, but Gamble blocks his path.

"Take your cane, unless you, too, are a traitor," the old man says, attempting to manipulate Gamble, who ignores him.

"What exactly do you want?" Gamble asks again.

"I'm taking my daughter home. She's going to marry someone respectable, at least useful as a housewife," the old man says coldly, looking at Aki.

Akira, pushing the old man aside, kneels before Aki. He plants his sword next to his foot and pulls a ring from his pocket.

"Aki, will you marry me?" he asks in a calm voice.

"You must be joking, brat!" the old man shouts, trying to interrupt the proposal, but Kai stops him, a tear falling from his eye.

"I'm sorry, but this lady is my wife," says a mysterious voice from the stairs. Akira quickly hides the ring and grabs his sword.

"You bastards," mutters Gamble, while Kai shouts,

"What is the meaning of this, Father!"

The old man smirks and says,

"You'll thank me when we experience the honor of living in the Kingdom of Light."

Kai loses control and strikes his own father.

"I've ignored this for too long. I didn't think you'd go this far," Kai yells, shaken.

"Enough. I summoned him here. This is my proposal," says the king, standing beside the angel.

Elara and Seraphina stand in shock, saying nothing.

"Are you conspiring with him?" Gamble asks, to which Elara replies no.

"Have we been used all along?" Seraphina mutters, clenching her fists. The princess tries to say something, but her head is pierced by a blade from the wall.

"I don't need you anymore," says the angel, pulling his hand from the portal.

Seraphina, horrified by the sight of the murdered princess, stands paralyzed with fear.

"Let the flames of the heavens reach your soul! Lotus Dance!" Akira yells, performing the Lotus Dance technique, attacking the angel, who stops the sword with his wing.

"So, you're the reincarnation of Sio," the angel says, pushing Akira back.

"The great master and greatest hero reborn in a cursed, reincarnated body? Amusing," the angel says, then pulls a spear from the portal.

"Let's not fight. Take the girl, and let's go," the king interrupts.

"Hmph, as you wish. At least she's worth it," the angel says, reaching through the portal to grab Aki.

"Welcome, Aki Sunfire," he says, pulling her close.

In a moment, Akira appears behind the angel, attempting to slice off his head. But Akira's sword passes through the angel's neck. Akira kicks the sword's blade to deflect it so it strikes the angel, but it nearly hits Elara.

"Damn, Akira, watch out... wait," he says, noticing that Elara's mana has changed, as well as her hair. Her brown hair and yellow eyes have turned to dark navy hair and blue eyes. Her mana has shifted from gentle to turbulent and fierce.

"You know, it was nice, but I'm leav-" the angel says, opening a portal under his feet, but an arrow appears out of nowhere.

"Gamble, trap Aki in a barrier to separate them," says Elara, transforming her bow from its basic form into a golden one with lightning elements.

"Let the gods lock you under my will! Divine Cage!" Gamble shouts, creating a barrier between the angel and Aki.

"Let the thunder herald your arrival, Shiraijin – fight in the name of my will!" the old man says, putting on a golden ring.

After a moment, a lightning bolt strikes the old man, and a white tiger appears beside him.

"Shiraijin! Make the sword hero regret his betrayal! Pierce his heart!"

The tiger, looking at Akira, says,

"No." The old man, surprised, yells,

"Do as I say! You are my summoned creature, and you are—"

The tiger, casting a menacing look, replies,

"I am not foolish enough to attack a user of the Six Paths." With that, the tiger disappears, and Akira pins the old man down with earth magic.

"Alright, enough," he says, and an immense force then knocks out the heroes.

Yet Akira barely remains standing, blood streaming from his eyes and mouth and dripping onto the floor.

"Akira!" Aki screams, as she is thrown through a portal.

"Akira, is it? I'll remember that name," the angel says, pulling the old man along and stepping through the portal.

Akira is the only one who retains consciousness, but he is unable to move, his thoughts drifting aimlessly. His eyes fill with blood, and saliva and blood flow from his mouth like a leaking faucet.

The house, under unknown circumstances, catches fire, and Akira regains control of his body, but he collapses from the pain onto the floor.

Struggling to catch his breath, Akira's thoughts appear and vanish, but every thought is focused on one thing: "How can I defeat him?"

Akira speaks as darkness and complete silence descend. "Failure. Loser. Why were you even born? Why do you waste the role of the sword hero?" Voices start emerging from the darkness. Looking down, Kitsun sees a reflection of his younger self. When he turns around, he suddenly feels something hugging him. It's young Hana, and from the darkness, Kaede emerges, hugging Akira and saying, "Weren't you supposed to protect her?"

With these words, Akira awakens in a cave.

"Careful. You have burns and lung injuries," says Hana, laying Akira down on a bed of grass.

"Where's Mother..." Akira barely whispers, coughing up blood.

"A sleeping curse was placed on her. She won't wake up unless we either kill the one who cast it or remove it ourselves," Gamble says, striking heated steel with a hammer.

"What about... Ben?" Akira barely whispers, and Hana, squeezing his hand, can barely hold back her tears.

"He's dead. They cut him into four pieces," says Elias, who's reading a scroll by the fire.

Hearing this, Akira struggles to contain himself. "Oh, Akira woke up!" shouts Kaen, dragging a pig along.

"Where are the heroines?" Akira asks in a hoarse voice.

"We're waiting for orders," replies Seraphina, helping Kaen. Akira slowly rises with Hana's assistance. "Where… Aki… where… do they have her…" he says, standing up painfully.

Elara, catching him before he falls, says, "They plan to hold a ceremony in three days, so you need to rest for at least one day."

Akira spits blood and notices Giene, who approaches and, wiping the blood from his face, puts him to sleep with magic.

"This one here doesn't know when to give up," Giene says, laying Akira down on the bedding.

"We have herbs!" says Kaido, running over and handing them to his mother, Giene.

"Unfortunately, there was no crystal clover," says Elarina, setting down a bag.

Gamble, finishing some forging, approaches Elias. "Do you know who they were?" he asks, to which Elias replies, "There is only one person named Kitsun Inagari, but there are two GGames – one is Garrett, the other Anthony."

Gamble, putting on his shirt, sits down and says, "Tell me what you've got."

Elias opens scrolls on the floor, showing sketches of people. "Kitsun was a man from a small family of swordsmiths. He was regarded as a demon in human skin for his skill, the 'Scarlet Flames.' As for Anthony and Garrett, they were brothers and your ancestors. Specifically, Garrett, whose name was later taken as a family name. Anthony, known as 'Anthony G. Game,' was a warrior of Monkey Mountain. He didn't have any special abilities, but he bore the title of 'Monkey's Child.' Both were trained by the 'Monkey King,' who is currently believed to be either sealed or dead."

Gamble thinks for a moment before asking, "Do we know what they accomplished?"

Elias, opening a scroll with drawn weapons, says, "Kitsun forged the Highlow Staff, which grows and shrinks when infused with mana, as well as the Sun and Moon Dagger. From what's written, Anthony was the first to learn how to resurrect the dead, which led to him being sealed in a half-dimension. After that, Kitsun disappeared, and his wife and son were found dead."

"He killed his family?" Gamble asks, and Elias immediately denies it, saying, "No. He vanished after burying them. He was seen doing it, or so it says here. Listen, Gamble, I know this is all myth and so on, but this happened 9,000 years ago. Why do you want to know so much about them?"

Gamble stands, taking the scroll with the weapon descriptions, and says, "No myths exist without a reason."

"But why do you need this knowledge?" asks Elais, tidying up some scrolls. Gamble, looking at the forged blade, says, "When we were knocked out, I dreamed of someone sealing me, killing a woman and child in the process... I want to find out who and why they gave me that vision." Putting down the blade and the scroll, Gamble walks over to Kai, who is still sleeping.

"We'll kill the angel and bring Aki back. Queen Anna should arrive in four days... she'll lead the war."

Kai opens his eyes at that moment. "Did they take her?" he asks in a broken voice, to which Gamble reluctantly replies, yes.

Kai tries to get up, but Giene puts him back to sleep. "Those two must have something that didn't knock them out completely but acted like a bomb," says Giene, removing Kai's shirt to reveal his scarred body.

"Treat their wounds; I'll handle the plan. Elara and Seraphina will take on the kids' training so they're ready just in case," says Gamble, sitting down by a rock that serves as a desk.

"You want to send them into battle?" Giene asks, horrified, to which Gamble responds coldly, "They'll distract the dragon, specifically a cave dragon. With earth and lightning magic, it can be easily subdued, and with Kaido's strength of will, we might even turn it to our side."

Giene looks at Gamble, who begins to write something.

Meanwhile, Aki is in the palace. She is supposed to choose a gown but sits by the window, deep in thought.