[Music Resonation (Major)] inflicted on [Wrath Demonkin, Vifi’Yok]

“DJ HESTIA IS IN THE HOUSE! W-wait, what do you mean I have to be quieter, Sis? This is the entire point of this stream! See? See? Hello, everybody! My name is Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, and I’m your musician for today! Oh, I do recognize a few of you guys from my concert in Coral Beard! Right, I saw your message! Thank you for liking the show—and, no, Flowseed8, don’t try to be cheap. We all know you aren’t in Lecullius; I still remember GaismySadow doxxed you. As a reminder: No doxxing! No personal information revealed without the person’s approval! Second rule of my stream and every video on this function! Gais is still banned for a month for that; anybody will be too if you break it. Not even my family is immune.”

“Your—”

My rapier pierced the air like an arrow, yet my tip missed spectacularly as it slid into the solidified water greatsword’s fuller. I could not even graze his cheeks despite his attention being split between that cawcaw above and our duel here. Yet, I wasn’t too sad or surprised with how he reacted to my speed. He didn’t need to disable my voltaic lightning’s activation condition like Hee, for he was the Warlord.

A moment’s distraction would end even the hardiest warrior? No. To him, the commander of the entire Bole’Tarian army, he was expected to fight, kill, and stomp our enemies, all while processing logistics, tactics, morals, and every other aspect of making war. Those green eyes of his, like emeralds in the sky, glowed brilliantly as four fluid horns grew from the back of his head.

“—new mistress is certainly a character.”

Despite his rather appropriate comment, I kept my mouth shut as I kept my focus solely on him. My hands were twitching, and my muscles spasmed. A sixth of a bell had passed since I started dueling the Warlord of the Bole’Tarian army, and although my Stamina wasn’t even close to dropping below 90% just yet, I felt so tense I couldn’t even shout at Hestia to get her ass over here already.

Although I had tried to hide it, my 25% demonic feature had appeared from [Fear], reaching 27% the moment I realized I would face Lord Wrath. Only two arms, though, but I was still wielding my gauntlet in one, like a shield, while my halberd gave me some ability to hit him despite our size difference. I had a lightning rapier in my right arm and my normal one in the left, using the Yok style fencing stance to keep up with this giant.

Our preferred blades sliced, slammed, and punctured each other. Electricity crashed against water like lightning hitting the surface of the ocean. My legs were empowered by my red lightning, giving me Agility even Lord Wrath could only dream of, yet the way his limbs slid through the ground and air, like being dragged along the currents of the oceans, allowed him to keep up with me using his [Thought Acceleration], [High-Speed Calculation], and [Foresight].

Talliho.

I launched a barrage of swift thrusts, each abiding by the Yok style’s tenets of “grace” and “unpredictability.” I aimed to sever the tendons keeping his limbs together, yet my stabs were either parried by his blade or were blocked by the moving water armor he created once he reached 25% with [Excited], [Anger], and [Fear].

“Do you remember what I told you when you asked why I chose water as my element?” Barely going on the offensive, Lord Wrath parried my most recent strike and stomped forward, using his larger frame and physique to cast a shadow onto me. I knew I was short—blame childhood malnutrition—but it really felt like Lord Wrath was taller than usual.

Was it because he was mad as heck?

Haaaaa, probably.

“Of—Urk! C-course, I do!” I struggled to say as he suddenly slammed his greatsword over my head, forcing me to dodge it as I wasn’t confident my Strength could beat his, even after a year on Iceskale. “‘Swiftness. Moldable. Lethality. Everything you—’”

“‘—could wish for on the battlefield.’ Although my house’s martial techniques involve the usage of high Strength and Vitality to overpower enemies, I prefer the usage of all stats. While my house enforces its members to accept fire, earth, or magma to conjure their meisterweapons, I prefer flexible elements that can be swift, adaptable, and lethal all at once. Our borders keep increasing, but we quickly lose them due to how spread out our armies are. Flames are fierce, but,”—Lord Wrath took a stance—“can they survive even under the weight of the world-ending tsunami?”

[Mahg Style Swordmanship: Swiping Wave]! I called the man’s technique out in my head just as he slashed horizontally, causing water to explode from the greatsword’s edge, causing waves to sweep through the streets.

Hee, who had been watching this battle the entire time, had already climbed up a building the moment he saw Lord Wrath take his stance. Lowered knees, blade behind the hips in an unprotective manner, and shoulders slightly turned to the left—one of many different stances of his house’s swordsmanship, adapted to fit his element.

In other words, Lord Wrath was just like me—a little rat who gnawed on their “home’s” foundation to make it their own. Yet, unlike me, Lord Wrath didn’t learn the martial arts for only two years, but had become a master who was allowed the privilege to grow the house’s long-standing, generational schools of warfare. He helped the current branches to grow more leaves while creating an entirely new branch just for his own style, using water as the primary element.

When I met him again after it was decided that I would be his next third Warbringer, I swore the oath to survive under his command to gain the strength needed to find the one who killed Father. Yet, that ambition quickly crumbled when I met Donut. Why?

It was because I realized that I feared Lord Wrath, while Donut reminded me that I found a reason to point my rapier forward beyond just my survival.

A sixth of a bell of fighting is already far too much when the opponent is higher leveled and more experienced. The Yok style is barely keeping me in this battle. I thought as I dashed up a building to avoid the torrential waves.

Why did Lord Wrath not attempt to slow me down, despite knowing how my [Voltaic Electromagnetism] worked? Simple. He was fast enough to catch up to me before I could start throwing out [Voltaic Red: Thunderspeed Roars] or [Voltaic Red: Thunder Divider], and was sturdy enough to just take a [Voltaic Red: Rumbling Crash] and [Voltaic Red: Bunker Breacher]. Admittedly, my timidness was still affected by my fear.

Effects: [Excited: 13%] [Anger: 24%] [Fear: 27%]

I don’t even need [Emotion Surge] with how this battle is going. So fucking annoyed with how I can’t stop my shaking right arm! The prosthetic is doing better, but it isn’t the dominant one.

The moment I landed, the mere sound of splashing water was already unnerving me. I looked down from the roof, only to see Lord Wrath casting a spell to conjure a water golem in the shape of a horse, using it to gallop along the walls as he transformed his elemental weapon into a greatbow.

Pulling it, he conjured a water arrow on it, while I pulled out my crossbow to respond with a lightning bolt. Unfortunately, as I barely had the time to charge the bolt with enough mana, Lord Wrath’s arrow pierced right through it as it sundered the rooftop I just stood on, before he landed on an undamaged one.

Materializing my lightning staff and crossbow, I started bombarding the area with lightning bolts with [Voltaic Red: Thunderclouds]. Drawing his bow, Lord Wrath galloped and dodged the barrage of lightning bolts zapping through the area, all while increasing the size of that one arrow he was aiming at me.

One single shot can break through my armor and any defensive rune I have. The recoil will send me reeling, and he’ll land the finishing blow. Doesn’t have to kill me through my Health and Vitality—both of us have taken no damage up until now; just expended Mana and Stamina—but just enough to shackle me in fairnite chains. I’ll be tried if that happens.

Fighting this man wasn’t my priority. It was just to keep him preoccupied until my reinforcement arrived, and I wasn’t counting on Hestia playing some bit of music to buff me up. The important part was that I separated Lord Wrath from engaging anybody else, allowing them to hopefully find our mark. I should flee, instead of trying to fight a battle I wasn’t sure I could win.

The thing is… isn’t this the perfect opportunity to start crossing out of the list of people Donut has to kill? Lord Wrath has to be removed so a revolution can sweep through Bole’Taria, and… I still don’t know if Donut will have the guts to execute all of them. Lord Wrath isn’t exactly the most morally upstanding person, but he definitely doesn’t fall into the same category as people like the Prince of Envy or Gluttony.

“Let me bring you war. Let me bring you victory. Let me make your ambitions come true, General! I am your Warbringer, and to one who seeks peace like you, I swear to become the weapon you need when words do not suffice. When compromises are impossible!” I still remember giving her my renewed oath. Maybe this is my time to show I’m not just all talk?

“Vifi… what are you thinking about?” Lord Wrath said as I felt his aura blazing up again, freezing me up for a moment, just as a signal suddenly jumped onto the roof from below me.

I snapped my head to see a cloaked wrathie expelling wind from their body, momentarily destabilizing my electromagnetism, but not enough for me not to use my voltaic lightning to dodge out of the way as Lord Wrath shot his arrow. The water projectile shot through the rooftops, drilling through the tips of numerous buildings before it dissipated into a rain shower.

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They’re hiding inside the buildings.

More cloaked figures appeared from the side of the roof, with some expelling their elements around the area, while those with elements without a gaseous form threw powder bombs. I could feel my ability to create electromagnetism wane in the area, leaving me a sitting duck as Lord Wrath charged at me with his lance.

Blocking the thrust with my gauntlet, I was flung away from the hit, while the lightning arm holding the gauntlet broke apart from the blow. Rematerializing it, I formed my hammer just as Lord Wrath formed his lance into a mace, leading to us clashing with our blunt weapons.

The Yok style doesn’t work on horsemen! I complained as we continued our duel from here, with me wielding my various weapons as Lord Wrath kept himself mounted on his water golem horse. The cloaked wrathies weren’t attacking, signaling Lord Wrath ordered this to be a true duel, but I could see on my [Detection Sensor] that more and more were starting to approach this rooftop, surrounding me to tell me there was no way for me to escape but to take to the skies with [Air Walk].

Cornered rat, and the only way out is through the skies. Reduce all options to one, but keep that one option available. Predictable. I could go through the building, but that’s just worse for my voltaic lightning compared to the sky. Dammit! Donut, can you stop playing some random tunes and start playing something so I can use [Dancing Thunder] with?

“Huh? Neill? Oh, she won’t be joining the stream. It’s just me and my big sis over here!” I heard Hestia speak. Her voice was echoing through the entire inner city like a bomb exploding every other moment. “Yes, yes, I know you want to see her again, but our rank A celebrity over here can’t just always appear! This is my stream, after all, and DJ Hestia needs to keep the music on! But—actually, the crowd looks pretty large. Does anybody mind telling me how large it has gotten? I’m a bit stuck in my subspace here, you know? The portal entrance isn’t large enough for me to get a huge view, and we’re still setting things up to properly stream things.”

Stop talking and start singing a spell song already!

As my weapon clash with Lord Wrath continued, I eventually found a moment to break this stalemate to throw a [Defensive Rune: Auracoil] rune onto the ground and a scale-dust bomb into Lord Wrath’s face. As the mana barrier blocked his next swing while the bomb blinded him for a moment, I dispelled my lightning rapier to wield my halberd, cleaving the back legs of the golem before throwing the halberd upward, forcing Lord Wrath to parry it. With his arms not in position to block the next attack, I grabbed my hammer.

Voltaic Red: Rumbling Crash!

Like a lightning storm hitting the earth, the electrical impact ignited the air as my warhammer struck Lord Wrath’s cuirass. Sadly, I did see water forming around his right side where I hit him, absorbing most of the hit with his [Defensive Rune: Auracoil]. Still, the blow dismounted him, sending him flying across the rooftops.

As clay tiles broke and were sent flying, multiple cloaked wrathies shot up as they placed their hands on their weapons. Their antagonism for me was clear, finally raising my [Excited] up to my current maximum of 27%—all emotions were flaring to their limits. Yet, before my former comrades drew their steel, Hee shouted, reminding them all that “Lord Wrath has ordered as such.”

“Let none interfere us!” I heard Lord Wrath before I threw another lightning halberd, causing the smoke screen to blow away as the latter cleaved through my projectile with his watery greatsword. Only a crack could be seen on his armor. “I did not expect you to finally accept the Yok style after you deserted. It has been a while since I sparred with Oshul, yet I will not excuse my inability to properly contest you in a duel, even if you are not as keen with the style as your adoptive family. I always appreciated your ability to adapt your fighting style on the fly, similar to Sakrha. Commoners have that benefit over us, noble-born. You are not trapped in rigid muscle memory passed down through generations of development and degradation of a fighting style.”

“Yet that style is what helped me survive this long.”

Lord Wrath cackled. “You do not need to show false modesty, even if Oshul is dead. Don’t show respect to him with falsehood. The truth is: your Agility and mastery over your unique skill is what has kept you alive this long. Yet… the fact remains that Satanael has stripped you of the power you should be wielding as my Warbringer. Your skill has not waned; no, you have become mightier. Yet, a wrath that cannot utilize their demonic bloodline to its fullest is but untouched potential. Go. I know you use six arms. Conjure them all, or are you simply minding your mana usage? Why? When you face somebody who will smother you with your own blood for betraying us.”

He figured it out.

“Yes, your limit is 25% at least,” he said. “Only two lightning arms. A wrath demonkin may conjure up to six arms at most, but they are not forced to train to use all six. The fewer elemental arms one uses, the stronger their remaining arms, and thus their meisterweapons, will become. Flexibility over specialty. That restriction allows even those who only choose a single arm, and thus meisterweapon, to become powerful. I chose four, for the sword, mace, lance, and bow are the only weapons my style teaches.”

“Yet while the Yok style only teaches the usage of a rapier and dagger in a dual-handed fashion, it is recommended to use all six arms to always preserve an ‘ace’ to defeat your enemies. Ha, I already preferred the flexibility of six weapons, even if I cannot become a master in any of them. It makes it easier to survive and adapt in the boot camp. More options, I think, are good,” I said as I lowered my body to get ready for a saunte. “Lord Wrath… you’ve spoken more here than either time I was allowed to spar with you. Once when I became your Warbringer, and once more before I left for Estralia. Your heart is not truly in this battle.”

“It isn’t, you say? Maybe. Maybe I longed to learn what you have experienced, to assure that I have something to talk about when I visit your father’s grave. Our blades have done much to help me learn, yet maybe I still possess questions that can only be answered through words. I might regret not speaking, which is why it is so hard for me to invest all my emotions into this duel. My blood might be telling me to slow down, so you may have even a sliver of a chance to survive,” he said as his green eyes started to glimmer, all while more water started to gather on his back and legs. His tail and four levitating arms burst into existence like slapping a water ball. “Yet, if my former Warbringer wishes for her Warlord to not to show her mercy, then how can I refuse such a wish? Maybe if I cleave you into two, I will find the answer for why you betrayed your country, your comrades, and your adoptive father! His memo—”

“Well, more than enough people have gathered around here now. DJ Hestia is out of the house! Sorry, people, for the long wait—pardon me for the intrusion!” With a snap of her fingers, geiglers started playing with the accompaniment of drums, trumpets, and flutes. “Opera singers” that sounded just like Donut started to overwhelm the city’s metallic cacophony, while filling me with power.

I am the ‘protagonist.’ I raised my rapier and pointed it at Lord Wrath. And you are my ‘antagonist’ in this [Trial of Kings and Queens]!

“Is this the fated battle, the light shines ♫

It’s blinding my sight ♫

But I’ve gotta hold on, the stage calls ♫

The cries of a thousand, the flames of war will descend ♫

… The carnage of the blazing sun ♫”

Now! Dancing Thunder! Saunte Blitz!

[Dancing Thunder (In Rhythm)] [Trial of Kings And Queens (Protagonist)] inflicted on [Wrath Demonkin, Vifi’Yok]

Perfectly aligned with the rhythm of [The Will to Fight and Survive], I activated my voltaic lightning the moment the second “crescendo,” a rising intensity or the loudest point of a music piece according to Hestia, of the song began.

Dancing Thunder: A unique skill only usable while a spell song that applies [Music Resonation] is active. While moving at the same tempo and rhythm as the spell songs played, increase all stats by X and reduce mana and stamina consumption by X. As long as this skill is active, damage inflicted will be increased or reduced depending on the crescendo and diminuendo of the song and multiplied by X. If moving out of rhythm, temporarily remove stat increase and reduce all damage done by 50%. X is equal to ([Dancing Thunder Lv. X] * 5)%. If the owner forcibly cancels this skill, inflict a penalty timer of 1 Peolyncian Standard Hour until the next natural activation can occur

With my stats increased from her two combined spell songs, my speed shot me forward like a mana cannon as my arm was supercharged by my red lightning. My rapier’s thrust was true as I pierced right through Lord Wrath’s helmet with [Voltaic Red: Saunte Blitz]. If he hadn’t already turned his head to the side from being distracted by Donut’s song, I could have dealt a lethal wound!

Yet, I still drew blood from the back of his head.

“Grk! Good blow!” Lord Wrath said as he swung his greatsword, forcing me to step back, all while moving with the rhythm. “A wound like that may speak more than a thousand words.”

Tap, tap, tap. I counted the rhythm in my head while moving my legs up and down on the spot. I didn’t like this type of footwork with how I fought, even if it was useful to keep myself agile, but this was the best way I could think of to help me keep [Dancing Thunder]’s effect active. Hestia mentioned that as I got used to listening to music, maintaining the “tact” would become easier. Hopefully.

“So be it!” Lord Wrath shouted as he finished his potion. “A war cannot be won by a single person! Logistics, supply, morale… there is so much to assure to win a war, and this applies to battle. Come! Weapons! Allies! The interference of the gods! Challenge me with all you have obtained in your life, and show me how your achievements will contend against mine. After all, a lone man will die a lonesome death in war.”

“Vifi!”

I snapped my head upwards as I saw Shay crash behind Lord Wrath, crushing two of the cloaked wrathies with his wings before encasing them with his ice breath. No deaths, though, as I could see their eyes wriggling about as they stared at the humanized wyvern in terror.

“Sorry, the second princess asked me to wait for our lady to get ready,” Shay said as I noticed another signal charging at us from the sky, bellowing a mad laugh before she landed on the roof as if she was weightless, before unleashing a mighty mana blast from her palms at Lord Wrath.

Without even attempting to block it, a demonkin suddenly jumped from his shadow and sliced the beam into two with his shadowy longsword, causing the split blast to dissipate before it could destroy any more of the roof.

… First seat.

“Duarn’Atta,” I said.

“Why do you sound so surprised, Goddaughter?” The blind swordsman sheathed his blade as he didn’t move his head at all. He perked his ears up, revealing them through his waist-long black hair, so smooth and silky it could make noblewomen jealous. “The path you chose should have shown you our response. Sakrha should have taught you. Our friend entrusted you to our care to protect you from your family, but it seems you had little faith in us. A shame, Goddaughter.”

“… Hehe, I’m more surprised it took you this long to show yourself, Right hand of the Prince of Wrath. Bole’Taria’s Sword Saint candidate.”

“I am never too far from our lord. Always in his shadow.” He took the helmet hanging from his belt and placed it on his head, hiding his entire body in a black suit of armor. Shadows started forming in the eye slits, forming eyeballs similar to the ones floating around him like bats. “He ordered me to stay my blade until—”

“Can you TWO SHUT UP ALREADY!” That explosive roar silenced all, drawing our attention to the three-horned dragon princess. “I’m a bit too impatient to listen to this memory-lane moment you two are having. Goddaughter? Godfather? Friends of my adoptive father? Blah blah blah… all I need to know is that my little sister’s friend is being bullied by a few of her old acquaintances. We big sisters really have to remind you Bole’Tarians to not fuck with us dragons or our belongings! Get on your damn knees and beg for mercy, for I, Fargryneill Qilinus Kargryxmor, will show you why I am the [Tyrant of Ametyst Destruction]!”