Here's the next chapter! I will admit, this was harder for me to write since I don't think I'm very good with writing combat scenes, and this is the first time it was more than just swing and dead. Hope you enjoy it.

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Itsuki Perspective

I’m just running straight, making as much noise as I can. HEY STUPID TIGER OVER THERE! Like that. I really don’t know, how do you insult or provoke a tiger without sounding like an idiot? Well, it doesn’t matter. Every time I pull a group towards me, I slaughter without mercy. Blood splatters everywhere around me as I cut and slash away at the pouncing tigers. They each fall with one slash of my sword. Without a doubt, I feel like I’m playing a symphony of death right now. Alright. I’ve cleared this area of tigers. Time to move to the next area. HEY TIGER BRAINS. OVER HERE. Yup…I sound like an idiot. Good thing the girls aren’t around.

Girls Perspective

Eulina: “Ok, we need to move quickly. Itsuki can’t last forever.”

Eryth: “I…can feel the presence of my sisters in that direction.”

Polly: “Let’s go go go!”

Using Eryth’s connection with her sisters, the group immediately closes in on a cage with 5 nymphs inside.

Nymph 1: “Eryth! You got help!”

Nymph 2: “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

Nymph 3: “All those tigers ran away chasing some heckling crazy guy. Well, I’m not complaining.”

Nymph 4: “C-can you girls get us out of here?”

Nymph 5: “…Please.”

Veri: “Alright. We just have to break this lock off…damnit! We totally forgot about this! That Hercule guy most likely has the keys on him! None of us can break the cage…”

Polly: “Fufufu. This is where I shine! As part of Head Priestess Natalia’s lessons, lockpicking was one of them!”

Eulina: “Eto…why would a Head Priestess teach lockpicking?”

Polly: “Well, in her words, ‘If a guy were to kidnap you and lock you up, you need to be able to escape! Unless you’re into that.’ But I’m not, ok!!!”

Veri: “Seriously…what kind of priestess did she want you to be? Anyway, we’ll leave it to you Polly.”

Polly: “Roger!”

Eulina: “Eryth, start searching for the next group. We’ll need to be effi…Huh?!! Eryth…why are you still holding Lute?”

Eryth: “Ah! I’m sorry…He was so comfortable that I accidentally carried him with me. I’ll make sure I don’t drop him.”

Eulina: “Be careful with him…”

Polly: “Done! Onwards we go!”

Nymph 5: “…Thanks.”

Nymph 2: “Freedom! Thanks girls! We’ll come along to help you too!”

ROARRRRRRR

Veri: “Let’s get a move on! Itsuki probably encountered more tigers. Move!”

The girls along with the newly rescued nymphs began running again in another direction, following Eryth’s lead.

???’s POV

This is so odd…Moments ago, the presences of my nymph sisters have grown stronger. Why, I can even sense Eryth’s presence. Does that mean she succeeded?

Hercule: “Oi, hurry up you stupid nymph. There’s a second barrier on the apple grove. I can’t waste any more time in this dump.”

I need to buy time then. A strong yet familiar feeling presence is making his way here.

???: “I can’t open it that easily. There’s a ritual that needs to be done in order to break the barrier.”

Hercule roared: “I don’t care! Hurry it up or the other nymphs will become tiger chow!”

???: “I understand. I, Aegina, leader of the Hesperides, invoke Apollo’s barrier. Answer the call of this humble servant, and fuel her with strength. Engulf my enemies in darkness, Erebia!”

Immediately, Aegina activated a function of Apollo’s second barrier. Using it as a link to the musical essence of the world, she converted that essence into her own energy, allowing her to temporarily utilize a self defense spell, Erebia. The Hesperides were often referred to as the daughters of Nyx or Darkness. This allows them access to dark magic; however, they normally do not have enough strength to cast dark magic. Thus, Apollo granted them a self defense mechanism at the golden apple grove barrier. Rely on the barrier, and use your talents in dark magic to save your lives was his message.

Currently, Hercule was shrouded in darkness, causing confusion to appear on his face.

Hercule: “What the hell are you playing a-! What?!! Why’s everything so dark! Grrr…messing around with me, you bitch! TIGERS MASSACRE THE NYMPHS NOW!!!”

Silence ensued as no roar of affirmation was heard.

Hercule: “ANSWER ME!”

Under the veil of darkness, Aegina escaped from Hercule and dashed behind a stunning man with his emerald colored eyes and jet black hair. A sense of security exuded the man, and she instinctively knew she could trust him due to her own connection with Apollo. Apollo’s power flowed through this young man, and she made the instant link to his being a conductor. Despite Erebia’s powerful darkness, Hercule’s power, granted by Ares, forcefully ripped the darkness apart. A normal human would have been trapped in darkness for years! Once the dark veil lifted, Hercule could only glare at Itsuki. In his rage, he began to roar like a beast.

Itsuki: "Your tigers are dead."

Hercule: “YOU killed them? Impossible! I can snap you like a twig!”

Itsuki: “I won’t repeat myself to a muscle headed idiot like you. Believe what you want. Your tigers aren’t coming, and it’s your turn next.”

After speaking those words, Itsuki slashed at Aegina, removing the chains that bound and restricted her movements. Hercule grabbed his axe, and their fight began.

Girls POV

Polly: “Phew. I’m tired. I didn’t realize picking open so many locks would be so exhausting.”

Eulina: “I think we released like 100 nymphs already. Are we finished yet Eryth?”

Eryth: “I don’t see or sense mama…she has golden hair just like me because she’s the leader. Hey, do any of you guys know where she is?”

Nymph A: “We tried to buy her time, but she got captured by that muscle guy. He threatened her using us as hostages, and he was definitely heading towards the golden apple grove.”

Nymph B: “If he gets into that grove, what if he chops down the tree? That’s a scary thought!”

Nymph C: “Wait, if you can’t sense her, then maybe she activated Erebia? That veil of darkness is really intense, so it blocks out the people around it.”

Eryth: “You must be right…Oh! I can feel her again! Doesn’t that mean it has been dispelled? That’s crazy!”

Clash clash Boom. The sounds of fighting could be heard clearly due to the intensity.

Nymph D: “Somebody seems to be fighting that muscle guy. Is it the one you talked about Eryth?”

Eryth: “Yea! Itsuki is right now! He defeated all the tigers to keep us safe, and he’s now fighting Hercule to buy us time.”

Veri: “We need to go to him now.”

Polly: “Hm? Are you worried Veri? Itsuki is strong! He beat the tigers so fast. I thought I was picking locks as fast as I could, but he reached Hercule even quicker than that.”

Eulina: “I understand going one on one against such an opponent is difficult after fighting a huge number of tigers, but that doesn’t seem to be the issue you’re worried about is it Veri?”

Veri: “Talk as we move.”

The group of girls and nymphs began to run to the sound of fighting. Meanwhile, Veri explained her fear.

Veri: “Other than the strength, speed, and instinct that I spent half a year cultivating in Itsuki, he has a trump card. You know which one right?”

Polly: “Um, I believe it was the Rhythm Break skill. Reading the opponent’s rhythm and throwing it off and all that right?”

Veri: “Correct. That one. He’s spent the most time practicing that one. However, Ares and his chosen fight without thinking and without pattern. This is where the difficulty lies. They have no pattern to find. Instead, they fight like berserkers who charge recklessly without fear of death. Ares grants them that berserker status along with incredible vitality and strength, causing them to be like tanks of war. That move won't work on them. I'm afraid it could put Itsuki into a dire situation”

Eulina: “So Itsuki might be in trouble then…We need to hurry!”

Veri: “I hope, no I know he’s resourceful enough to survive. Itsuki, hang on.”

Itsuki’s POV

After arriving at the golden apple grove entrance, I see a muscular giant of a man with a petite girl that looked around 12 years old. Her slender body with long golden hair reminded me of Eryth. The girl chanted something, and a shroud of darkness appeared around the muscular man, and she ran to me and hid. After trading a few barbs with Hercule, I destroyed the chains binding the young golden haired girl.

Itsuki: “Hm, your golden hair, might you be the leader of the Hesperides?”

Aegina: “Ah yes, I am. My name is Aegina. Thank you for saving me, Conductor of Apollo.”

Itsuki: “Huh? You can tell?”

Aegina: “The Hesperides are linked closely to the god Apollo in the first place. Thus, we can easily detect your blessing.”

Itsuki: “I see. We’ll talk later. Hide yourself so you don’t get caught up in the fight. “

Aegina: “Ah! I understand. Excuse me then.”

She trotted away, leaving Itsuki to face Hercule. After both sides grabbed for their weapon, they accelerated towards each other.

Hercule took a wide swing and smashed downwards at Itsuki. Itsuki immediately invoked glissando steps and dodged the swing with his slippery footwork. When the axe met the ground, a shockwave was released, forcing Itsuki to take another step back. Where Itsuki’s body used to be, a crater resulted.

Hercule: “Stop scurrying like a rat. Take my axe like a man!”

Itsuki: “Screw that. I don’t want to get hit by that.”

Activating his best skill Rhythm Break, Itsuki began to use his speed to overwhelm Hercule. Slash after slash rained down on him, as Itsuki began to read Hercule’s rhythm. Each slash had enough force to kill a C ranked beast, but it was completely ineffective against Hercule. Thanks to Ares’s blessing, Hercule’s increased strength and vitality were at a monstrous level.

Itsuki: “I knew he would be tough, but this is ridiculous!”

Hercule: “Come! My blood boils for a fight. You’re not bad for such a scrawny punk.”

Hercule retaliated with slashes of his own, but Itsuki’s speed allowed him to dodge every one. However, a look of confusion appeared on Itsuki’s face. He couldn’t read Hercule’s rhythm…rather it was more like the man’s every move was incomprehensible. Erratic to say the least.

Hercule: “Haha…I can tell. You’re trying to read my movements. USELESS. Do you not realize the full extent of Ares’s blessing? I become more beast-like! Power, speed, and best of all instinct. What pattern do you think I follow? None. I just need to crush you somehow or another. Based on instinct alone, I can attack you any way possible.”

Damnit. If I can’t grasp his rhythm, rhythm break is useless. Not only that, but his instinct is similar to my own ability of reading the rhythm of the opponent. Just, in this battle, I can’t read a damn thing, but he can easily react. I guess speed is my best chance.

At that moment, Itsuki dashed towards Hercule and activated another skill, Clavichord. Since Hercule is using a huge battleaxe, his ability to respond to quick attacks should be considerably low. Aiming two simultaneous hi-low slashes at Hercule’s neck and stomach, Itsuki launched his skill. As expected, Hercule blocked the strike to the neck, and the strike to the stomach hit its mark. However, a fierce grin appeared on Hercule’s face.

Hercule: “Your specialty is speed right? Hehe, I wonder, where can you go if your weapon is stuck?”

Itsuki: “What the!”

Itsuki’s sword indeed pierced Hercule’s stomach, but it was now stuck there. Through sheer contraction of his stomach muscles, Hercule trapped Itsuki’s blade, and he was now primed for a counterattack. Letting go of the sword, Itsuki jumped backwards just in time to avoid the brunt of his axe. However, the little bit of force that did reach him propelled him 15 feet away against a tree. Immense pain ensued in Itsuki, as he coughed up some blood.

Hercule pulled out Itsuki’s sword and threw it to the side.

Hercule: “Hahaha, not bad. Without a sword though, you can’t do anything. Now, stay still so I can kill you as revenge for my dear tigers.”

Damn that hurt. However, I won’t lose yet. I refuse to lose to this bastard. I still have a weapon.

Itsuki switched to Pizzicato form and equipped his bow. Pouring as much vitality he had left into his arrow, it began to glow golden. Itsuki quickly aimed and fired it at the surprised Hercule.

Hercule: “What, he can use a bow too? HAHA Tenacious brat.”

Moving his axe to block the incoming arrow, Hercule was completely confident of his victory. However, the moment the arrow met his axe, a surprising event occurred. The huge amount of vitality poured into the arrow had enough force to shatter Hercule’s axe. Hercule, now weaponless, was excited.

Hercule: “You can fire such a strong arrow? Yes…YES. This is what I’ve been wanting! A battle to the death with a worthy opponent! HAHAHAHAHA. Good…Good! Keep entertaining me more!”

Ares spoke to Ares mentally: “Hercule, stop what you’re doing and go collect the demon tigers I got for you. Time to start the war on the Baroque Kingdom.”

Hercule froze as Ares began to speak to him. Itsuki, however, was confused as to why Hercule suddenly stopped talking and stood in place.

Hercule responded: “Aw man. I just found a fun opponent. Sigh. Got it.”

Hercules: “Well, battle’s over kid. I’ve got work to do. Hehe I know! Tell you what, go to the Baroque Kingdom. We’ll have our rematch then. Better be there kid! You’ve got my blood boiling for the first time in years hahahaha.”

With his last words said, Hercules ran off, leaving Itsuki dumbfounded and relieved at the conclusion of this battle. Falling onto his butt, Itsuki leaned against the tree that supported him quite exhausted. Tears of frustration streamed down his face, as he knew that this match was his loss, and he swore to get stronger for the next fight.

Aegina, seeing his frustration, walked over to him and hugged him while thanking him for saving her family’s lives. She could feel how anguished he was from losing, yet he failed to realize what he was able to accomplish. Without his assistance, the Hesperides would be no more than slaves, and the glorious apple grove would be reduced to nothing. Thus, she sought to comfort him, this young man who confronted such a dangerous foe for their sake.

Once he finally calmed down, Itsuki realized that he was being hugged by Aegina, but he decided to just let it be for a little while longer.

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Well, that's Itsuki's first sorta loss. Everybody needs to lose at some point right? Well, he'll get a chance for revenge later. Hope you all liked this chapter. By the way, anyone watch Gate? This past week's episode played Ride of the Valkyries hahahahaha. Good stuff.