Both Vincy and Obsidian locked their stares on each other. Ema and Yukiko, meanwhile, were spectating in silence, counting on Vincy for this kind of situation. Vincy's energy kept bursting over time, as same as Obsidian's dark energy.
Vincy's energy that burst out of him was called {Berserk Mode}, activated the moment he smashed both of his fists together, creating a static induction from his mana essence.
Instantly, Vincy dashed with his raised fist. Obsidian stopped his attack with two of his arms. Again, same thing happened with their other arms. However this time, a red shockwave came out of Vincy, stunning Obsidian. At this moment, Vincy smashed his chest repeatedly, it was much stronger than before. Again and again for minutes, Vincy kept smashing around all of his body without slowing down. With both of his fists together, he knocked him back, crushing to the ground.
Eventually, Obsidian stood on his own barely, getting very exhausted from all Vincy's hits. Vincy, meanwhile, didn't stop grinning until that time, surpassing his madness over his natural self.
"I... can't... disappoint my king!" Obsidian snapped, catching his breath.
Then instantly, Obsidian rushed to Vincy, raising his arm to prepare a punch. Vincy stopped it easily, saying aggressively:
"Go to hell with your king!"
Vincy's other hand surged with red energy. Instantly, he smashed his chest, creating a massive hole and sending him backwards.
Right before Vincy could do the final blow, a dark purple portal was opened. Suddenly, someone grabbed Obsidian without getting revealed. It was Malice, obeying her king's command. After a few seconds, the portal closed immediately, right before Vincy could reach it in time.
"Tsk, such chickens," he said, annoyed.
Eventually, his power started fading away. Later, he went to the other girls.
"You two are feeling well?" He asked.
"Yeah, you did a great job over there," Ema responded.
"Where did he go anyway?" Yukiko asked suddenly.
"That coward escaped, I could've won with one more attack!" Vincy snapped, clenching his fist.
Ema suddenly felt the presence of something... or someone nearby. Then, it disappeared immediately.
"What's wrong? Something happened?" Vincy asked.
"Nothing, now let's head back to our homes... I need to wash myself," she said.
"How could you find us?" Yukiko asked, staring at Vincy.
"When I went back, I couldn't find any of you," he responded. "Then, I started searching around, until I heard a quake. Meh, I just hope the pizza didn't arrive yet."
Away from the area, KevinDawson was watching all of them silently. Eventually, a girl with a lavender-colored hair stood along.
"What's so exciting to stand here watching those guys?" She asked in a cold tone.
"I thought you travelled to Japan, LaraTakumi," Kevin replied.
"I came back yesterday, did you miss me?" She said, smirking.
"Better remain silent," Kevin responded flatly, "this blonde can spot us easily."
Then she crossed her arms, and said confidently:
"Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Fair enough, shouldn't underestimate the Violet Ninja," Kevin said. "You are genius when it's about hiding your presence."
"Good, Mr. Crimson Knight," she laughed.
"Whatever, I'm going back," he said, turning around. "I'm not interested with them."
"Heh...? And who can interest the boring boy?" She asked, teasing.
"My flipped reflection, TaroAbodo," he answered.
In the dark realm, Obsidian was laying on the ground in front of Armageddon.
"Even Obsidian barely survived, how strong that wizard became?" He said.
"It wasn't the wizard, Your Majesty." Valdar jumped in.
"Not him?" Armageddon repeated. "Then who, Valdar?"
"Two young women and a red-haired boy with fiendish power," he answered.
"Fiend...? Hmph. Looks like even that fiendish princess joined the war," Armageddon replied, grinning.
Malice approached, then said:
"Sire, I got the perfect plan to lead our enemies into their demise."
After that, she summoned a shadow screen that was showing Vincy and Yukiko on their way to their home. Her dark crow was following them, showing her the view.
"I see, the interruptions who took Obsidian down," Armageddon replied with a serious face. "What's your plan, Malice?"
"Better not reveal it for a big surprise, my king," she responded, coldly.
"Hmph. I can't argue with your intelligence," Armageddon said, smiling.
Back to Taro and Cael, they cleared the whole area from all rabbits. Cael began collecting fur to sell them.
"Alright, Abodo, I grabbed all the fur," he said. "Let us return to–"
He froze in shock the moment he saw Taro holding a qualified quest, smiling innocently without knowing what he'd committed.
"WHAT?! A FOUR-STARRED QUEST, AND EVEN A BOSS FIGHT?!" Cael shouted. "Abodo, this quest is very dangerous!"
Apparently, the beast was a big bull weighted around 1,300 kg. Cael tried to convince Taro not to go there with their current condition:
"Let us at least return with that fur and–"
Right before Cael finish his sentence, Taro followed the map leading to the destination already.
"Aw, I have to follow him..." Cael whispered in frustration.
Around one hour of walking, they finally reached their destination. The area was a grassy field with few trees and stone pillars. In the middle, a big bull with a brown fur and two long horns was sleeping.
"Great, this is our chance to retreat..." Cael whispered.
However, Taro threw a rock at its head, waking it up.
"Abodo... are you kidding me?" Cael replied, shocked.
The bull instantly stood angrily on its four legs, locking eyes on both of Cael and Taro while lowering its head. Afterwards, it exhaled with its nose heavily. Even it scraped the dirt repeatedly with its front hoof, getting ready to charge toward the two knights. They prepared themselves for its incoming charge.
Then suddenly, the bull charged toward them. Cael tried to stop it with his shield, yet it pushed him backwards, cracking the shield. The bull charged again instantly, aiming at Cael. Right before it could hit him, Taro jumped in, blocking with his {Azure Shield}. Cael was surprised and amazed the moment he saw the shield.
After a few seconds, it broke the shield, scratching Taro's arm when he tried to jump away. Then suddenly, the bull's eye turned from white to red eyes, targeting Taro every single time. He kept dodging its charges instead of blocking. He was wondering about the reason of its eyes' change. After a few minutes, he realized that the blood on his arm caught the bull's attention, getting it more aggressive than before.
Taro got a plan, however, he needed time to prepare for it. He pointed at Cael to distract it for a few seconds. Cael jumped in, letting Taro hide behind a tree with a bundle full of rabbit fur. Then, Cael began distracting the bull away.
After a few minutes, Taro threw a rock at the bull, dragging it toward himself again with his cape... which was full of rabbits' blood. The bull kept charging, yet Taro spun away while dragging the cape with him, causing the bull to lunge empty air... olé!
After many attempts to grab the bull's attention, Taro headed toward a giant pillar. He dragged it one more time, but this time the pillar was behind the cape. The bull rushed immediately, and then it crushed at the pillar, letting it fall on its body. The bull completely froze, unable to move out under the pillar.
After a moment, Taro kept stabbing with his sword on its eyes and its stomach, until it completely stopped breathing. He sat on the grass, catching his breath.
"A-Are you the Seventh Legendary Knight, Abodo?" Cael asked, surprised.
Taro shrugged, not knowing if he was or not.
At the sunset, they arrived at the kingdom, grabbing the rewards of the two quests. Then, they headed to the bar, ordering steaks.
"How old are you, Abodo?" Cael asked.
"I'm eighteen, what about you?" Taro responded.
Cael stared at Taro silently, confused.
"Ahaha, you don't have to joke, Abodo," he laughed, confused.
"I was not joking, how about you?" Taro asked.
"I'm forty-eight–" he responded.
"F-Forty-eight?!" Taro repeated, shocked.
"One month in the Overworld equals three months here," Enzo said.
Oh, in that case, he is around sixteen... younger than me,Taro thought.
"I'm around fifty-two, sorry for that confusion," Taro replied, stressed.
"Wow, you're older than me... great!" Cael shouted.
After the food was served, they started eating together.
"Do you drink beer, Abodo?" Cael asked suddenly.
"No, and I won't," Taro responded.
"Ahh, same here!" Cael replied. "Many knights drink it generally, I don't even like its smell. Blah!"
"Right, it feels inappropriate for me..." Taro said.
"Such innocent knights, aren't you?" The bartender jumped in.
"We're serious, Lloyd." Cael responded.
"Sure, here... orange juice instead," Lloyd said, serving two tankards.
"Thanks, Lloyd," Taro replied.
A few seconds later, they started talking about other different topics.
"So, who's the lucky girl?" Cael asked suddenly... again.
"What do you mean?" Taro asked, drinking from the juice after.
"You know, a girl you love–" he responded.
Taro spat his juice on Cael's face.
"Ah, my apologies!" Taro said, handing over a rag.
"So you love someone, am I wrong?" Cael added, cleaning his face.
"M-Maybe... I don't consider it love..." Taro answered quietly, blushing.
"Heh..? And what's her name?" Cael asked curiously.
"Sorry, that's a secret," Taro responded, blushing more.
"Aw, well... you're lucky, I don't love someone yet." Cael replied.
At night, both of them decided to get back, getting some rest for tomorrow.
"So, where do you live?" Cael asked.
"Currently at my father's old house," Taro responded, pointing.
"It's too small..." Cael replied, shocked.
"That's alright, I don't belong here anyway," Taro said.
"Well, Abodo, see you tomorrow!" Cael waved.
Taro entered his father's house, changing his clothes and washing his cape out of blood.
"Sorry for that, father," Taro whispered.
After that, he hung the cape outside, and went to rest on his bed later.
"Why not sleeping in my room instead?" Enzo asked.
"That's all good, this place had the smell of my father." Taro responded, smiling.
"Good night then, young knight," Enzo said, smiled back.
February 5, 2009 – Thursday.
Around 11 PM in Brookhaven, Vincy and Yukiko decided to sleep, preparing for school tomorrow's morning. A few minutes later outside the house, Malice approached, then she read the mailbox's name. It was written "H. Abodo".
"Abodo... looks familiar," she whispered in a cold voice.
Then, she silently entered the house, searching for details or secrets.
While searching in the living room, she found on the table Taro's school ID.
"TaroAbodo... HaruAbodo, obviously not a coincidence," she muttered, grabbing the ID.
After that, she silently started searching in both of Yukiko and Vincy's rooms. At Vincy's room, she found a picture of him and Taro standing in a frame.
After that she went outside the house again through the window quietly, careful not to wake Vincy up. Then, she began shifting into Taro's appearance instantly, and said while grinning:
"Now to the part two of the plan!"