-Break-
I will gaze into greatness to regain it for myself
Location: Alchemist Country, Matibaypukaw;Outskirts of Maligaya Village
Swinging my sword against the partner given to me for practise, I parry and dodge each strike, making myself look like I can barely keep up. I force my breathing to accelerate, I try my best to shake my hands, and I force my face into a state of worry, all so that the smile hanging on my opponent's face grows larger and deeper.
Taking a blow, I fall onto my butt, and standing over me with a proud smile, my partner says, "Seems like outside of dealing damage and supporting people, your swordplay can't keep up with mine."
"I know what my roles are and I feel nothing but joy in accomplishing them."
"In a large group like this, that's a wonder. Everyone else is trying to either stand out or hide behind someone else. But thanks to your skills, you just so happen to be useful to anyone who needs you; it's rather amazing."
"Thanks for the compliment!" I say, stretching up my hand. Grabbing it, he picks me up.
A loud noise soon pierces my ears, and my eyes quickly move all around the area, where they eventually land a bit in the distance, where I see John standing with his hand against one of the rookies' heads. "Do you all know what's going on over there?"
"It seems the little mister, Jabari, has gone out and caused more issues for himself. He is always wandering off, judging from the direction he is standing, maybe he wandered off somewhere."
"He has blue and purple petals across his body. I saw some of those from the village down below back when we set up camp up here."
"Is he an idiot? Doesn't he know that the villages out here aren't the fondest of adventurers? We could get fined by the guild if we start harassing them. Enotita is already always a bother to ever get any mission into the land, so John must be ripping into his flesh for causing an issue. I don't know much about Jabari, but I think this means we should try to avoid him?"
The flowers in the village were farther inside, past all of the settlements. The villagers were keeping eye contact with us the entire time we were passing by. His hair looks ruffled, like something was nesting inside it, and there are little pieces of wood against his back.
Smiling, I say, "That's probably for the best."
-Break-
I will build up my legacy bit by bit, starting my legend with the pen and paper that lit this spark in my heart.
Location: Matibaypukaw;Expedition Campsite 7
With the pen in my hand moving faster than any sword or blade could ever hope to move, I write on the paper in front of me faster and faster to the point my mind and soul are captured, just so I can keep my thoughts up with my body.
From behind me, I hear one of the other men, veering out of their sleeping bags, say, "Captivant, what are you doing up so late?"
"Just getting some groundwork done for the future, so I can make sure we all survive as long as possible."
-Break-
Every single one of these things I did was for the sake of moving forward past all of my issues and battles I knew would come
Location: Matibaypukaw; Expedition Campsite 12
Staring up at the sky, a giant golden cloud lies overhead, and on top of it lies a mountain which spews lightning and hail from its mouth like a volcano all through the area around us.
And within that chaos, the members of the party all run around as a series of giant creatures fly through the sky. They are shaped like human toros, but their flesh is hard and black like obsidian. Across their backs are giant bat-like wings, and on their fingers a larges talons. Each of them lacks a head, but on the centre of all their chests is a giant eye they use to see and attack all of the party.
Throughout the battlefield, people rush around fighting them as they try to dodge the projectiles falling from the sky; it's a mess of blood, screaming and fear. And caught in the middle of it all, I rush around with my sword in hand, swinging it wherever it seems necessary, trying to get a hold of the situation. I knew Enotita had some strange weather phenomena, but I didn't expect a sky eruption to happen right over our campsite, and worst than that, it had sent Wonderbeasts running, forcing them into what should have been a safe area.
We were taken completely by surprise, and are already tired from all the work we had to do today. But worse than that, this happens to be a rather extremely annoying type of Wonderbeast. It's an incestoid called a Manananggal; it has a singular lower body that it uses to create the flying upper bodies we see all around by consuming nutrients. Killing them means nothing as long as the lower body is still alive.
Right now, the entire area is swarmed with them, so I can't even make out what direction they are coming from. We need to group and annihilate a few so I can properly map out the direction of their origin, and the only person who can get everyone back in line is our leader.
Moving my head towards John, I dash forward at full speed, using my sword to clear a path forward. Yet even with all the strength and skill I have built up, the swarm of attacks weighs on my body, bit by bit, with their strikes leaving holes, and cuts all around my flesh.
Seeing a torso heading towards John, I throw my sword at full strength right towards its eye, killing it. Arriving at his side, I look at his face and say, "Leader, right now the Manananggal body is untraceable in this swarm of enemies. We need to group up and strike them down till we can find an exit."
He stares at my face, breathing in and out rapidly like his mind is lost on him. Then, as his face drops down, he starts to hold his hand against his chest as his eyes are overtaken by fear.
Is he having a panic attack? FUCK!
Grabbing him, I say, "No, no, no, no, no! I need you to get your nerves under wraps. If the leader can't stabilise the situation, everyone is going to die, your girlfriend Jane is going to die, come on, you must do this."
My hands tremble as I see my words have only sent him deeper into this spiral. I turn my head, and the battlefield remains as chaotic, with the only difference being the human blood spilling around each and every inch of the field.
The elite adventurers are holding their own, but fighting without purpose is just going to get them killed, and if they run, all that's going to happen is death in this land.
As we are right now, there is no chance of us winning this. We're all going to die. NO! I refuse to let it end here.
Standing up, I start running as my eyes wander around. If our leader can't unify everyone, I need to find a way to do so, but to get everyone to calm down and listen to me, I'll need some kind of show of power to give everyone a minute to breathe and listen to my words. But that's not something I can do; I don't have a Legacy, a Regalia, or some kind of Cursed weapon. But I do have what I have built and what I have seen, so I know who to count on.
Landing my eyes on him, I rush through the battlefield, cutting up whatever stands in my way, until I reach his body, and slash the torso in front of him to pieces.
Turning my head to Jabari, I say, "We can change this situation. I need your strength."
Holding a chain with a hammer on one end and a short blade on the other, he looks at me and says, "Ehh, then shouldn't you go look for one of the higher-ranked seats? I am just an average gu-."
Smacking my forehead against his own, I say, "STOP FUCKING WITH ME! I spent the majority of my life as a pathetic loser who couldn't accomplish fuck all. I know the smell of my own kind, and you don't have a single bit of it on you. Just look around, everyone else is splattered with the blood of our enemies along with their own, yet you're the only spotless person on this battlefield. You make yourself look like a coward, but in truth your nonstandard, a monster. Right now, people are dying all around us, and I don't have many ways to overcome it outside of you, so do what the fuck I say!"
Shock dominates his face, but it soon fades and staring into my eyes, he says, "When I start the hunt, I don't think I will be able to control myself and will end up getting fired from this job."
Slamming my fist against my chest, I say, "Do whatever the hell you want, and even if you get fired, I will give you the biggest lump sum you could ever hope for."
Smiling, he says, "What do you need me for?"
"Smash everything here to pieces as soon as possible! Then perch yourself up on the highest point you can see."
Like a flash of lightning, he moves past my body and eradicates the torso flying in the sky with speed and power that shake my the very ground, then from his mouth he yells, "FOUR BEASTS BATTLE ARTS; CONDOR'S PARADISE!"
And before the sound can even reach me, I see a giant swarm of the torso bursts open, with their body parts flying in every which direction, and as everyone takes a breath, I move forward.
"EVERYONE! I NEED YOU ALL TO FORM INTO SMALL UNITS OF 3, WITH ONE MEMBER OF EACH UNIT HAVING AN EXPERIENCED ADVENTURER! ALL OF YOU FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTION AND WAIT TO RUN IN THE DIRECTION I GIVE AS JABARI CLEANS OUT ALL OF THE BEASTS."
I am not the strongest or the smartest on the battlefield; I don't have the power to force people to unite like John or Jabari, but what I do have is everyone's favour. They all know me as someone who looks out for others, and my main goal is to support everyone's victory, so in their fearful and tired states, I am sure, they will follow my words.
Bringing a smile to my face, I see everyone rushing into positions under my orders, and I say, "JABARI, CLEAR THEM OUT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!"
Rushing around with his chain in hand, he shreds through the storm, and I shout, "MARE GROUP, ZOE'S GROUP, AND DIAS'S GROUP MOVE AROUND AND START HELPING THE INJURED. EVERYONE ELSE, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO ME, AND WHEN I SAY RUN, MOVE IN THE DIRECTION I AM POINTING AT."
Running to the highest point I can find, I stare out in the mess of hail, lightning and torso all around, looking for the point at which the giant swarm increases first. The bugs are smart; they know to loop around away from the lower half when coming towards us, so they won't be easily traced, but the more they are pressured, the shorter their path becomes to reinforce themselves.
So all I need to do is wait, and look, to stand and see. Because in this moment, everyone is relying on you, and you will carve your path into the history books, Captivant. So open your eyes as wide as they can be!