Upon the soon to be battlefield, the wind picked up, brushing past Yosho and Forcent with a chill.
Tension in the air was high, both waiting to see who would be bold enough to make the first move.
Yosho raised a fist, drawing it back. She watched closely, a smile spreading across her face as Forcent tensed up.
She swung her fist forward, with excessive force, Forcent had no chance to react as he felt a blow collide with his head, knocking him unconscious, off his feet, onto his side.
Yosho sighed, calmly, she straightened her hair. "Oh Dear…"
Laid out on the ground, less than five seconds later Forcent's eyes jumped open, his gaze sharpened. He growled and stood to his feet.
Yosho stood there, her hand resting on the other that she held in front.
Yosho's eyes widened, the trickle of blood from Forcent's head bringing quite a surprise to her. "Dare. Pardon me, that was... Unintentionally."
Forcent frowned a little, his expression calm. "This battle continues," Forcent said out loud and proud.
Electricity crackled across Forcent's body. Yosho didn't wait around for him to make his move, right in the midst of striking him with another punch, Forcent's lightning struck the ground first, the dust from the impact concealing his location.
A heavy step, instinctively made Yosho step back enough to have her barely dodge the pouncing Forcent.
The dust cleared out, Forcent spotted Yosho ready to attack again from a distance. He Charged, letting loose a raging bolt of lightning towards her.
Before he realized what she was up to, Yosho already abandoned her initial approach of attack, using Forcent's lightning to slip to his side, she fired a heavy kick, pushing him back.
Forcent smiled, mildly entertained.
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Gradually Forcent's form began to fade, until he vanished completely.
Silence befell the battlefield. Yosho's eyes darted around in search of any signs of Forcent. Reacting swiftly, Yosho spotted a bolt of lightning, heading towards her, but before she was able to leap out of the way something pushed her right back into it.
"Unwise," Yosho said, ducking the lightning with a split, and flipping back up to her feet. Utilizing her gift—Space, she punched towards the last known she was pushed, punching Forcent right out of his invisible state.
Not letting up, she landed three decisive kicks, and one final punch without needing to directly interact with him, sending him tumbling across the land.
A bright smile shined through Yosho's heavy breaths, her face plastered with a pleased look.
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Forcent's body vanished once again, stunning Yosho, and kicking her senses into high alert.
The undetectable Forcent didn't waste much time, to reappear and bite Yosho's arm, spinning with her once and tossing her with full force.
Yosho stumbled back, losing her footing, two bolts of lightning were unleashed towards her from Forcent, dissipating just right before impact.
Yosho pant, taking a quick look at her arm to see that she wasn't harmed from his bite. Yosho smirked, closing her eyes. "You win."
Forcent sighed deeply, stepping up to Yosho, he sat on the ground. "Yosho..." He began, "I will admit the circumstances of us meeting were not the best. My pursuit for what I have lost drove me down a terrible path... You have no need or right to, but will you accept my apology?"
Yosho opened her eyes and blinked, taken back by the unexpected apology. "I will. Oh! One more thing, if I'm not correct you had different intentions after joining us?"
Forcent's ears drooped. "Thank you. And to answer your question... My mind has been changed, for the time being."
"Is that so..." Yosho stretched, at moment satisfied with Forcent. "Now then shouldn't we be heading back?"
Forcent mumbled incoherently to himself. "I'll be here to make sure our path is secure," He said reluctantly, addressing the question.
"Now, now. I'm sure Great Imuru is dying to see you," Yosho remarked. She kneeled down beside Forcent, confusing him as to what she's about to do.
"You're indeed a lot larger than the Persudos, being near you made that apparent... but I just need a grip." With that said, she lifted Forcent off the ground having all intent to carry him if she must.
Embarrassed, and unwilling to let anyone see him in such a position, he retracted his previous statement earlier of him wanting to stay.
This satisfied Yosho enough for her to put him down. "Now then shall we?" She asked, gesturing for them to be on their way.
"Please never do that again," Forcent requested, walking past her slightly ashamed.
Yosho giggled. "Of course, as you wish," She sarcastically replied. "If you mind me asking... What was this pursuit of yours?"
"In order to regain my skills... The guardian of the forest sealed them..." Forcent replied.
This caught Yosho by surprise, her interest piqued. "Dare. That means you've targeted the forest before, on a much wider scope I presume. What did she look like?"
Forcent glanced at her. "Female? I believe. Oh, right. You all had great respect for this thing," He murmured, disdain laced in his tone.
Yosho chuckled lightly, amused just a bit by Forcent's disdain, a wide contrast to how she feels. "As children, we had a plethora of stories about her.. But, belief in her faded. More and more towns left the forest as generations pass by. Soon there wasn't anything there to prove her existence, so the Sacred Forest Council dropped significantly in members. And It all came crashing down—"
"When that Demon King took over," Forcent said, finishing Yosho's sentence.
"Precisely. You saw her, meaning my beliefs were true," Yosho murmured, a sense of joy building within her. "So... What did she look like?"
"It had somewhat of a form. It was featureless for the most part, think of it as a fairy made of green energy," Forcent explained.
"A fairy?" Yosho Mumbled back, her eyes sparkling with excitement from the news.
She composed herself, and looked ahead, her mind subconsciously filling in the blanks of what the guardian could've looked like, despite the fact Forcent recited that she had no features whatsoever.
Her expression remained the same on the outside, as usual a warm smile that flowed along with her forward elegance and professionalism.
"You're quite strong. Unlike your brother," Forcent murmured, a tinge of intrigue in his voice.
"Oh, yes." Yosho nodded. " had training. With the dream of being an adventurer... But I had to help my brother—" She exhaled. "Well, now I'm here..."
Forcent looked at her with a gaze of respect. "We have dreams, like everyone else," He agreed proudly. "Some are more ambitious than others..." He muttered, referring to himself.
Yosho nodded subtly. "Agreed."