“SIIIIRRR ARREEEENN!”

---With a unified thud, both of Aren’s blade fall to the ground, his head falling backward. His blank eyes meeting Bruton’s, to Bruton, there is no life remaining. To Bruton, Sir Aren just sacrificed himself to protect him.

What… What just happened?

I’m the strongest in terms of strength amongst the entire Firebreed… How… How could I have let this happen? It’s all my fault.

If I had just kept down, Sir Aren would be able to have protected us.

No… If I hadn’t been fantasizing during a battle where not only Sir Aren falls at risk, but also Lady Alaine. HOW DARE I LET THIS HAPPEN!

“YOU MOSQUITO BASTARDS. I’M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!”

---With a blind charge of rage, Bruton charges at the two Mosquitoes currently piercing Aren’s chest.

~***~

With both arms wide open, Bruton breaks out in a blind charge, completely forsaking any defense against an attack from above.

Just as half of the distance had been cleared, Bruton, hearing a buzzing sound behind him spins around.

To his dismay, three Mosquitoes, in his recklessness, had begun their attack at the significantly large warrior.

“S##T! FINE, COME AND TASTE MY WRATH YOU PARASITES!”

Stopping where he stood, he outstretched his arms and braced himself to take on their charge. In this instant, Bruton closed his eyes and readied himself for the piercing pain.

But… It never came.

“Jeze, you are seriously an idiot.

Hey Bruton, remind me later to include forbidding stupid sacrificial moves in our training regime later alright?”

Bruton opened his eyes in shock, for this voice was greatly familiar.

“SIR AREN!?”

As bright as day, Aren stood before Bruton at eye level. It only took Bruton a moment to realize that the reason for the equivalence in height was due to the fact that Aren was perched atop of one of the Mosquitoes. One of Aren’s blades firmly planted between the eyes.

In Aren’s hands were another two Mosquitoes, skewered by what appeared to Bruton to be another pair of the Mosquito’s spears.

Coming back to reality, Bruton spins around to see what happened only to find that the two Mosquitoes that he could have sworn pierced Aren now lying on the ground. An eye of each seemingly being destroyed as if some sort of blunt force had forced itself within the very socket. Given that they hadn’t moved from that spot in the few seconds that have passed, Bruton is fully aware that those monsters are dead.

“Honestly Bruton, did I not just warn you to pay attention?”

Saying this, Aren tosses the bodies of the two Mosquitoes to the ground and hops off of the other, removing his other sword from the Mosquito to place it back onto his back.

“But… Sir Aren, I saw you pierced through the chest by those two Mosquitoes!”

“What is your point Bruton?”

As he says this, Aren deflects another Mosquito’s attack, sending it flying. While it recovered in the air, it’s side was heavily damaged from the blunt end of Aren’s blade.

“Tsk, these things are growing on my last nerve. Seriously, that last hit I took for you cost me 40 hp. It hurt like hell and I seriously nearly passed out there for a second. Do you even know, what it is like, to have giant spears pushed through your chest?!”

Aren makes a dramatic gesture while he swats at the dead Mosquito corpse next to him with his hand. He starts walking in place and begins a short rant.

“Jeze, if it wasn’t for my regeneration I would have ended up dying for you Bruton. Straighten up your common sense or next time i’m going to hit you twice as hard as I did to get you out of the way!”

“Regeneration Sir Aren?”

“Yes, Regeneration Lord Bruticus of the careless, it allows me to double the damage to my hp in order to repair the damage to my body. Quite useful if I were to lose an arm, but it really seems to take it’s toll if it’s a mortal wound. Guess it’s good that I know that early on so I wont try anything too stupid in the future…”

By this time, roughly half of the Mosquitoes had been defeated. Alaine’s side had managed to strike down nearly a dozen Mosquitoes that had attempted to land. In comparison, Aren’s several cut off warriors had dealt a crushing blow to the Mosquito’s raiding force. Nearly two dozen Mosquitoes littered the surrounding area around Bruton and Aren, more than half of which were felled by Aren personally.

While Aren was acting like he was, it was obvious that he was at his limit.

His hands were battered and shaking from the constant impacts from the Mosquitoes. While Aren may be quite strong, the fact remains that slamming the full body of something nearly your size away takes it’s toll.

His armor was covered in scratches and his two blades were chipped and on the verge of breaking. Aren had long since switched over to using his own two fists with his small claws to deter the Mosquito’s constant assaults.

Over the course of the fight Aren had also been fighting almost single handedly. While Bruton offered some support, the role of defending the wounded warriors while supporting Bruton was quite taxing. The sheer fatigue that was building on Aren who had to fight at full strength for nearly ten minutes against well over twenty to one odds had long since begun to slow Aren’s movements.

When Aren had knocked Bruton out of the way, he had severely damaged his arm in the process. Taking the full brunt of two Mosquito spears straight through the chest proved a great strain to Aren who had already hit his limit.

Aren had thought he was finished when the two Mosquitoes pierced him, but somehow he still had just enough vitality left to crush the two Mosquitoes and regenerate his mortal wound. It would be nearly impossible for Aren to regenerate much more damage after this. His hp was already below half now, his fatigue cutting his movement down by half. A drop that had not been missed by the remaining Mosquitoes whose efforts has seemingly doubled in their ferocity.

“Tsk, Bruton I need you to do something, even if it costs you your life, do you understand?”

“Of course Sir Aren, what do you require?”

“Hah… I’m going to need you to somehow get Alaine’s attention and get her over here. I’m nearly at my limit and she’s probably the only one that can force the Mosquitoes back long enough to allow us to get these guys back over to the main group. Can you do that?”

“By your will Sir Aren, however, there is an easier way to get her attention… Though, you may need to suffer a little bit for this plan.”

“... Ah, whatever, just do what you need. I’ll distract the Mosquitoes while you get Alaine.”

“There is no need for that Sir Aren, all you need to do is stand atop one of the Mosquitoes, and i’ll do the rest.”

“What the kind of ridiculous plan are cooking up in that thick head of your’s Bruton?

…

Ah what the heck, surprise me!”

Without another word, Aren hops on top of one of the Mosquitoes

“My apologies for what will happen Sir Aren”

Aren gets a serious face and looks at Bruton

“What are yo-”

“SIR AREN, LADY ALAINE WOULD NEVER APPROVE OF YOU MATING WITH ONE OF THE MOSQUITOES!”

The shout was muffled out by the cries of the battle to the extent that it was unlikely that even the closest warriors from the main guard army would not have heard, yet...

“eh… uh… wait.. do you even know what you have done Bruton…”

It wasn’t more than two seconds before a dark foreboding poured over the battlefield in the direction of the two standing warriors. In the distance Bruton could see the warriors parting as a sole figure followed by several of the guard following it. A great deal of killing intent

Aren’s face was in total shock and fear. His shoulders drooping down and he jumps down off of the Mosquito only to have his knees buckle beneath his weight.

“i...i.i..I swear Bruton… If the Mosquitoes… don’t kill you… I’m going to turn this unto you a thousand fold…”

“I accept the responsibility Sir Aren. I will offer my life if necessary, but no matter how I thought of the situation, this path was the only one to secure the safety of the warriors within the shortest period of time.”

“But… you just snapped a nerve Bruton, you don’t even realize what you’ve done!”

As Aren says this, the warriors at the edge of the main group of the guard parts way, revealing a glistening women, draped in a dress of shining scales. This women was none other than Alaine, wearing a smile, her arms linked behind her and her head tilting slightly with every step.

It was then that a massive surge of killing intent poured over Bruton and Aren as Alaine opens her eyes and stops moving.

“Hello Aren, I do hope you are alright.”

A chill ran down the two male warriors backs as Alaine gives a warm yet bitter cold smile.

“Just… just wait Alaine… Bruto-”

The moment Aren speaks, Alaine smashes a foot against the ground and vanishes.

Startled, Bruton looks around only to notice that Aren was also missing.

.*CRASH*

“GAH! Al..aine… you.. have to listen… please…”

“Oh? Sooo, what’s this about you mating with a filthy rotten Mosquito that I hear, my precious Aren.”

The Killing intent grows so intense that it is nearly visible. The Mosquito’s attacks cease, their instincts warning them of certain death should they attack at this moment.

“Oh, dearest Aren, what could you possibly say to earn yourself forgiveness, hmmm?”

Bruton quickly turns to see Alaine holding Aren by the neck against the tree. While there was some distance between Bruton and them, he could clearly see that with the other hand, Alaine was crushing Aren’s arm, causing a faint cracking sound.

“Lady Alaine! Please! I must offer my life for your forgiveness, for it was I, who in desperation declared such a thing to gain your attention at the expense of Sir Aren. Please, he holds no fault whatsoever!”

“Oh Bruton… you can be quiet now, i’m more than aware of what you have to say. Yet the fact remains that Aren must be punished for harming my delicate emotions.

Yes, I’m quite displeased with him for thinking that he could allow himself to play the hero to the extent that his body is in ruin.

I’m quite distraught over this.

Oh, such is my fate to be paired with such a man, oh my fate!”

“You’re… being dramatic again Alaine, we’re free from fate… *Caugh*”

To this, Alaine smacks Aren’s face, and then places her own against his, wrapping her arms around him.

“Never again… Do you hear me!”

Alaine’s body trembles slightly and Aren wraps his functioning arm around her and replies,

“As you wish my Lady…”

.*Rumble*

.*Rumble*

.*Rumble*

“SIR AREN, LADY ALAINE! LOOK OUT! IT’S THE HORSEFLY TRIBE!”

From the nook of one of the trees far in the sky, ten gigantic creatures surged forth, their size nearly four times that of a normal Mosquito. Their spears twice as thick, their bodies covered in spikes.

They were waiting for the perfect chance to strike at the Matriarch of their prey. While most Mosquitoes lack the intelligence to understand much more than killing and eating, their instincts can easily tell when a Matriarch or Patriarch is present and will focus their full attention against them.

A feast of royal blood is something that they rarely can enjoy, the benefits from it allowing them to grow far stronger than before. The more blood a Mosquito consumes, the more powerful they become. Blood, after all, is the essence of life, to consume it is to consume life and the Mosquitoes use this life to further increase their own.

Some Mosquito tribes that thrive on the constant shedding of blood and consumption of it become large creatures. One of these tribes, is known as the Horsefly tribe, one of the most fearsome variants of the Mosquito tribes.

It was one of these very creatures, that began a headlong reckless charge against the currently distracted Alaine and the heavily wounded Aren.

“MY LADY, SIR AREN, DEFEND YOURSELVES!”

[Ant Tensei - Chapter 10 End]