Chapter 1: Prologue: Two of Swords

SPARKS FLEW AROUND AS his blades clashed with the monster's claws. His ears were bombarded with sounds of blood-curdling screams whilst swords whistled and clashed through the air. The houses around him were doused in a sea of fire and countless bodies lie motionless as crimson liquid pooled under them. In just a single day, the elegant aroma of bamboo and sea salt was replaced with that of acrid fumes and copper. This was no longer the beautiful Little Hōjo he had once been accustomed to.

This was nothing short of a nightmare. 

The remains of Kageryuu foot soldiers lay at his feet. He had arrived just in time to see the beast make quick work of them, divorcing heads from torsos with a single swipe of its claw while sending countless others flying through the remains of nearby buildings. It was a bloodbath that would surely never be forgotten. 

Damn…so this is the power of a frenzied vampire… And here I thought he was strong before. I knew he was holding out on me!

His attention returned to the creature, blood ran down its mouth and its round crimson eyes bore deep into his very soul. He still couldn’t believe it. After all the intense research Bishizu and her father had done to ensure that vampires could coexist with other races. He could only imagine how heartbroken she must’ve been to see her beloved in this state. 

And of all vampires, it just had to be... 

“Rona! Get a hold of yourself, man!” He pleaded for his friend to snap out of it. “I know you’re still in there! Do you really want to go out like this? And leave behind your friends, your wife…”

RUUUUU…

“...Or even your daughter?”

RUUUUUOOOOOAAAAHHH!

But no matter what left the man’s lips, it did not register with the monster, and his attempts to sway it was for naught. The man he once knew had been completely consumed by his bloodlust and there was no turning him back. A red aura enveloped its muscular frame and created a magical pulse, pushing the man several feet away from it, his boots skidding across the gravel. 

“Hah….hah…” He panted heavily as a strong gust of wind swept over them. The long tresses of his thick burgundy mane danced hysterically in its turbulence. He stared up at the frenzied vampire. 

“I didn’t want to do this…but you’ve left me no choice.” He closed his eyes and reached deep into his mana pool. Suddenly a veil of purple light formed around his body and he felt a large surge in magical energy. 

“Haaaaah…” 

He inhaled deeply and his left hand gripped Twilight, the black-bladed bastard sword, in midstance, now rippling with a purple aura. 

“Hyyaaah!!”

With all his might, he sliced at the air, opening up a gaping black vortex between him and the vampire. Just as the vortex opened, the powerful gale around them began to intensify, letting out a howl that no living creature could rival. 

Without wasting another second, he dashed forward, raising Starlight, the silver longsword in his right hand, preparing to swing his steel blade. The monster charged at him, brandishing its blade-like claws. 

The battle raged on. With his signature weapons along with a buffing spell, he kept pace with the creature and parried its incoming attacks with relative ease. Their fight had reached a cliff, one that led down to a riverbank that separated Little Hōjo from the Great Forest. 

“Gah!” 

With Starlight, he sliced downward at the vampire’s legs, cutting through its left thigh and slicing it open to the bone. The creature let out another thunderous roar and its red aura intensified. Suddenly, several spheres of orange flames materialized in the air, hovering above the vampire, aimed at its target, the man, and rained down on him with great speed. 

“Agh!!” 

A few of them hit their mark, searing his abdomen and right leg. He twisted his left wrist, the hand that held Twilight, and the black vortex behind them kicked up more wind, pulling the pyro spell towards its center like a power vacuum. Soon, the remaining fireballs had entered the vortex and were no more. 

RUUUUUOOOOOAAAAHHH!

Massive bat-like wings sprouted from the vampire’s shoulder blades, beating loudly as the creature lifted itself off the ground, soaring away from the vortex’s radius. Several more pyro spheres formed around it, which regrouped around its left shoulder and waist like an incandescent sash. The vampire let out another roar before lunging at him with great speed. 

Seeing the incoming danger, he channeled every ounce of his mana into his weapons. As he did this, a memory from his training days came rushing back. 

 

“I refuse!” 

“What?” 

“I refuse to use these weapons to kill!”

It was at this point in his training that his master apprised him of the destructive capabilities of the weapons he forged. Even as a teenager, he possessed an unshakable sense of honor and compassion. His master knew this, so she took a breath and explained further. 

“Listen well, boy. I understand what lies within your heart. But the world is a cruel place, and it won’t simply stop because of one’s morals or feelings. What of your friends and loved ones? Realizing your potential with the ███████ doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll become a dark mage. You need to learn to control it, to hone it, and then not only will you reach new heights, where no mortal has gone before, but you’ll also be able to protect what you hold dear…”

 

As his late teacher’s words resurfaced, a deep feeling of melancholy washed over him. It took me a long while, teach, he thought, the corners of his lips beginning to curl, but I finally understand.

That was already twenty years ago. He was still so naive back then. But after fighting countless battles since becoming an adventurer, he knew the importance of doing what he had to do to ensure the survival of not only his comrades or loved ones but himself as well. 

But this…

He raised his two swords and blocked the vampire’s strike. Locking eyes with the vampire once more, a quandary was brought forth from the very essence of his being. Never in all of his years had he been forced to do something like this. He’d been trained for all kinds of things; mana control, swordsmanship, mabeast ecology,  and interdimensional travel. He’d faced the toughest of foes, the fiercest of monsters. He along with his comrades even managed to save their realm from a yōma invasion. 

…I doubt there was a single lesson of yours that could’ve prepared me for this…

He’d done it all. But there were still several questions that he had been eluding for years: What if one of his loved ones suddenly lost control and ended the lives of countless innocents? To save those innocents and restore peace, did he have it in him to put said loved one to the sword? 

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And most of all…

If I don’t stop him here, how many more will die?

Gritting his teeth, he knocked the vampire back several feet, closed his eyes, and focused his aura once again. He then raised his two swords, each of them balanced across his shoulders. He knew what he had to do. 

“Convenio!” 

A white aura cased around the two weapons as his arms opened, and brought the swords closer together. As he did this, the vortex behind him closed in on itself and disappeared. In the blink of an eye, their blades seemed to temporarily liquefy as they came together before finally solidifying. Then there was a sudden flash of blinding white light.

“......”

In no time at all, the flash subsided, and floating there in front of him was a singular sword. One with a black hilt and a long solid white blade.

Stardust. 

He took his new weapon and held it in a hanging right position, his signature stance. He breathed in…

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaah…”

…and breathed out. His body gave off an iolite glow as he set his feet and rushed forward, his aura growing more and more vigorous with every step. 

He could still see their very first duel in his mind’s eye. The moment they’d become friends. The day they set off on their first journey together. The look on his face when he learned of his becoming a father. The sense of security they’d all felt once the last yōma had been slayed.  

The fact that this would be their last memory filled him with utter sorrow. 

Bishizu…I’m sorry. 

“Gyaaaaaaaah…!” 

He brought Stardust around and swung it diagonally, slashing the vampire from its left shoulder to its right hip. Blood burst from the newly formed fissure in the creature's body. He gathered himself and severed the vampire’s left leg, sending flying to the far right, and bringing the monster to a knee. 

RUUUUUOOOOOAAAAHHH!

The creature shook and writhed in pain as he stared it dead in its eyes. If there had been any trace of his friend in there before, that moment had long passed. This thing was nothing more than a mindless husk. 

With a heavy heart, he raised Stardust, preparing to divorce the creature’s head from its body. His sword still gripped in hand, fighting back tears. 

“If only it never came to this…I’m so sorry, my friend. Farewell.”

Just as he brought the sword down, he felt something sharp push through his back and a vivid heat quickly rushed over him. 

“Gah!”

He cried out and blood erupted from his mouth. The action was so sudden that it caught him off guard. He looked down to see the tip of a blood-soaked blade protruding from his chest. Some kind of dagger, he surmised. 

“Oh, that’ll be quite enough, Mr. Hero…,”  came a deep voice from behind. It wasn’t a voice he recognized. “Can’t have you ruining my fun. Not after all the work I’ve done. Have you any idea of the duration required to frenzy a vampire? ‘Tis quite the chore, I can assure you!” 

“You…did this?”

His vision grew hazy. Stardust slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground. His knees began to shake. Impossible, he thought. His mana signature was in full effect. Yet, I couldn’t…sense him? Fighting to retain his consciousness, he shook his head and brought his gaze upward to confirm the identity of his assailant. 

“—!”

Staring back at him was a tall figure wearing a white mask with a black ombre shaped like a bird’s beak. He wore a long red hooded overcoat adorned with markings of a blackbird in flight. That was the last thing he could make out before an overwhelming pulse shook him to his core, his vision slipping back into a blurry state. 

“Who are…?”

“Ah, yes. You’re ████’s apprentice, I presume? My, how you’ve grown.” The man nodded, placing his free hand atop his head. “Oh, bother. I thought for sure I’d get to make use of your power, someday.” The figure clicked his tongue bitterly. “But alas, I’ve gone and sullied that chance, haven't I? If only I were a soul mage… What a total waste…” He heaved a sigh. “Oh, well. Best not to cry over spilled milk as they say.”

He didn’t know who this strange man could be, but he certainly knew him. It was moments like these where he cursed his celebrity status. While he couldn’t see his face, the intonation in the man’s voice as he spoke gave the impression that all of this was nothing more than a minor inconvenience for him. 

“You… How do you…know…?”

His words ceased at that moment. The loss of blood was too much for his body and it finally gave in. Normally he would’ve healed himself from a wound such as this. The dagger must’ve been laced with some kind of poison. Done specifically to counteract that skill alone. Faces of those who meant everything to him flashed through his mind. Some had long since passed from this world, while others he himself would be leaving behind. Finally, his mind's eye settled on a single face, one that made his bleeding heart skip a few beats even now.

Sit tight, Lys… We’ll be together again, soon… 

FWUMP!

He hit the grow with a hard thud, his skull bouncing against the hard surface. And then, for the very last time, the world around him went dark. 

Thus his odyssey from a boy with untapped potential to a generational talent came to an untimely end. A friend to many, a hero to all. The Holy Kingdom of Taqora’s one and only Starlight Crusader.

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