Online In Another World

He gulped and held his spear tightly, "…Don't worry. I'll save you!"

Though he said such courageous words, his heart thumped inside of his chest with fear; his fingers trembled against his spear and sweat dripped from his chin,

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

It was only thanks to the two lesser spirits that aided him and the light they emitted that he saw the approaching figure: it was an Outrider dressed fully in black garbs; he was bulky and stalwart like a steel wall. In the hand of the approaching foe, a large greatsword was dragged across the floor.

In the face of such a beastly adversary, he found his legs quivering beneath him as his grip on his weapon felt as fragile as glass, but he held himself together with a false stretch of his lips. Being able to smile in the face of dread allowed for some semblance of hope, no matter how insignificant it might be.

"...You're awfully big, aren't you?..." He said with a shaky smile.

"--" The Outrider stopped, staring at him from behind his painted mask.

There wasn't a word or growl that came from the scarily silent Outrider; the foe simply stood still, watching him for a moment with eyes that had seen a thousand deaths. If it wasn't by sharing a gaze with his adversary, it was by the scent he gave off that the young warrior recognized the kind of person he was faced against.

This man…the stench of blood is engrained in his body. So much death…How many has he killed? It's not surprising…this is the "butcher" of the Outriders…That just means I have even more reason to stand my ground and fight, he thought.

With what feeble resolve he managed to etch together, the youthful warrior of the Verma people rushed forward with a warcry, holding his spear forward.

It was a blind attack; he had to fight not to close his eyes out of fear as tears lined the corners of his eyes as he thrust his weapon forward.

"...Ah!"

Of course, such a straightforward attack was countered as the mask-wearing Outrider smacked his spear to the side with his hand, going in for an attack of his own.

Being on the receiving end of an Outrider's aggression, who towered over him like a swaying tree, he yelled out desperately.

"Hey! Spirits, do something–! Please!" He called out.

As he shut his eyes out of instinctive fear, he found that the massive greatsword wielded by the Outrider didn't rend his flesh.

THUD.

Opening his eyes, he found a shield of stone between him and the steel of the man-eating demi-human.

For a moment, he was left awestruck, but quickly resumed back into the nitty-gritty of battle as the broad foe in front of him slammed his blade against the rock shield again, cracking it heavily.

"--Thanks for the save!" He called out.

As he jumped back to create some space, he looked to his shoulder at the crimson sphere as it glowed with a red light.

"...Err, can't you blast that guy…or something?!" Bruman asked.

There obviously wasn't any verbal response from the lesser spirit of fire, but it did blink a few times before shifting around, seeming to ignore his words.

"What?! I thought you were supposed to help me?! Do you only listen to Emilio?!" He asked frantically.

Again, the crimson orb simply blinked a few times before the young man was forced back into action, having to duck and weave as the Outrider's sword aimed to behead him.

"Ghh!" He breathed through his clenched teeth.

The wind pressed against his ears; hissing through the force of each sword swing that came from the burly bear-man.

Remember…what you trained for! He reminded himself.

In the face of a life-or-death battle, with a foe stronger than oneself, it was easy for even the fundamentals of combat to be lost with the inexperienced; it was the most valuable asset of experience–the ability to retain your composure and swing your weapon when pressured.

A single misstep and I'll be cut in two. But, that won't happen…! He thought.

As he continuously dodged the sword slashes, which came both horizontal and vertical, sometimes nicking the walls as the steel rang against the solidified mud, his foe seemed to grow impatient.

That impatience led to an opening, which was compromised immediately–

"Do it now, brown thing!" He called out.

As he had commanded, the lesser spirit of stone conjured a small protrusion on the ground, causing the Outrider to trip forward in the middle of rearing his blade back.

"Gragh–?!" The Outrider warden grunted in surprise.

"Raaagh!" He let out a warcry.

With all of his might and desperation, he lunged forward, thrusting his spear through the sternum of the beastly foe before him. It was almost as if the Outrider had fallen right into his spearhead, which helped to dig the wound in deeper.

"Hah!...I did it!" He celebrated.

As a smile, both of triumph and relief, stretched across his lips, it was quickly snatched away as the hand of the beastly foe gripped onto the spear, keeping it locked in place.

"Huh?!" He let out in shock.

"...Grrrh..!" The Outrider growled out.

He tried plucking his spear from the flesh of the masked man-eater, but found it not moving in the slightest.

This strength…! He thought.

Despite having a weapon impaling its sternum, the burly beastman still possessed such overwhelming strength, gripping like an iron vice as the young man was unable to budge his weapon.

In such an unpredictable situation, he looked up, watching as the hair-covered barbarian raised his sword overhead, growling out with a gargle of blood before–

FWOOSH.

A swift fireball shot out, blasting the Outrider back with an intense force and even more lethal heat. The fiery impact left the man sliding back across the ground, laying completely still as the blaze reduced his flesh to char.

"--" He stood there in shock for a moment.

He glanced to his shoulder, seeing the lesser spirit of fire still hovering, blinking subtly towards him.

"...Thanks," he said.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked around to find the imprisoned people watching with some hope in their eyes now, to which he smiled as he circled around the fallen man. He poked at the corpse for a moment with his spear, keeping his distance.

"He's really dead…right?" He mumbled.

After making sure he properly finished off the man, he reached down for the large, wooden key that seemed to be an all-purpose key for each wooden cell. Retrieving that, he held it with a bright smile.

Alright…I did it, Emilio…! I'll free these people and find your friend…! He thought.

Though victory wasn't something to be savored for long as a stomp came from behind him, thundering down like the signal of death itself.

"--!" His eyes widened.

In that moment, chills ran over his body as his blood ran cold; he could feel the large presence behind him as a heavy breath ran down his neck.

Another Outrider…?! He realized.

Within that moment of dread, he almost accepted his own death before pulling himself back together, letting out the start of a reigniting roar before–

SQUELCH.

"...Grah…"

"Huh…?"

To his disbelief, no attack came to rend his flesh as he turned around to find the towering, masked Outrider dressed in a black loincloth spitting out blood. There was a piece of wood, sharpened at one end, sticking through the throat of the Outrider.

What…? Somebody saved me? Who…? He questioned.

As the weaponized pole of wood slid out from the beastman's throat, causing him to collapse with a heavy thud, the unknown savior was revealed to his eyes.

A man with dark-brown skin, dressed in scars and wearing a gaze colder than any frost; he quickly recognized who such a person could be.

"Are you…Vandread?" He asked.

The platinum-eyed man looked surprised, in the middle of exchanging his makeshift weapon for the greatsword dropped by the felled Outrider, "Huh? Who's asking?"

In an abrasive, cautious turn, the man raised his corpse-looted blade, pointing its end towards the neck of the young wolf demi-human.

"Eep…!" Bruman gulped, raising his hands in defense.

Such an action caused his words to be caught in his throat at the ruthless tact of the man, and his silence only served to further stoke the fire of suspicion within the scar-layered stranger.

As the blade pointed closer, touching the skin of his neck, he yelled out, "--I'm a friend of Emilio!"

The man's eyes widened, "...What? Oh. I think I'm starting to understand now. Huh…"

It seemed the usage of the human boy's name got through to the man as he withdrew the sword, looking down in thought for a minute.

Out of fear, Bruman stayed still with his hands up to make sure he stood as no threat to the man.

"Alright, I get it now. That brat actually managed to do something pretty impressive, didn't he? Yeah, I'm Vandread," the man finally confirmed.

Bruman let out a sigh of relief, "...I'm Bruman. What a relief…We assumed you were being held prisoner–but, by the looks of things…you handled that on your own, somehow."

"Of course I did," Vandread said, glancing towards the weaponized piece of wood he discarded, "The bars of the cell were shoddy, at best. I used it to my advantage to make a weapon. These guys are awfully confident in their strength, so they didn't see my counterattack coming."

"I can see that…" He chuckled wryly.

Vandread looked at him, "Catch me up on the situation–everything. I can hear it from down here–there's a raid on this place, isn't there?"

Like that, Bruman filled the companion of Emilio on the entire situation, from the very beginning of his capture and up until that very moment.

"...Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh? He's just like Julius…hot-headed bastards," Vandread mumbled.

Though those words left the man's lips, he smiled just a tad bit at the information of Emilio's reckless battles he's pursued.

Straight into Outrider territory…That kid is as reckless as he is stupid. Still, he's just like you, Julius. It's that "Dragon blood" you always touted, Vandread thought.

"What?"

"Nothing," Vandread said, walking past him, 'If the plan is to rescue everybody here, then I'm leaving that part to you."

"But–"

"I'll join the fight. Just worry about getting these people to safety," Vandread assured him, holding the greatsword on his shoulder, "...What a drag this has all been. Let's just get this over with."

"Right!"