Chapter 50: Iroas Sealments

While the situation with ’Ard Araml and its vegetation problem was unfurling, another event, one on a much larger scale, was taking place. An event that would affect the fate for all of Eegalia and the world’s within it, sending a ripple through all of reality.

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Piedra, The Long Rock World

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

"This must be the place. Can’t imagine it being anywhere else."

A young man, seemingly in his late teens to early twenties, hopped down from the boulder he had been standing upon, landing on the smoothly carved metallic floor a dozen meters below. Bright white hair caught in the passing breeze, fluffy locks that almost seemed to glow under the gentle light of the enormous moon hanging in the night sky. Brown skin, an interesting shade of brown that was neither tan nor caramel. An equally white hoodie with golden owl symbols on the front matched with a pair of midnight colored pants baring the same emblems.

Even in a densely populated crowd, one could distinguish Kenma Iroas from the rest with little to no effort.

Hands tucked deep into his hoodie pockets, the white haired Rift Hunter strolled through the empty space, footsteps echoing through the massive chunk of open land. Situated in the center of the the area, resting upon a block of metal with rune engravings, was a lone hammer.

"This thing is such a pain in the ass to locate." Kenma stopped shy of reaching the weapon, eyes studying the instruments handle and many faces. "Mjolnir, one of the 52 Legendary GodKillers. The only GodKiller said to move on its own wherever it so wishes, refusing to be lifted by those it deems unworthy. Talk about an independent thinker."

Lifting his hand, the white haired Rift Hunter wrapped his fingers around Mjolnir’s cushioned handle, preparing to remove it from its pedestal. However, right before the individual could do anything, Kenma retracted his hand and stepped to the side.

BOOM!!!

"Well. What have we here?" Kenma swiped some gravel off the shoulder of his hoodie, looking rather unbothered by the sudden attack. "That wasn’t very polite of you. Clearly you weren’t taught proper etiquette. Attacking from behind is considered poor sportsmanship. Obviously it was a sneak attack, but my point stands."

Right where the white haired individual had been standing, a long gash extended from Mjolnir’s podium towards a mountain resting just outside the open space. In back of the gash, a thick Cleaver type weapon buried into the thick rock, was a cloaked entity, completely covered from head to toe with no discernable features. The only notable attribute was the arrivals immense height and solid build, towering over Kenma’s 185 centimeters with an aura that would’ve intimidated even the most seasoned of warriors.

"Wanna start with introductions?" The Rift Hunter readjusted his hoodie. "My name is Kenma Iroas."

Without uttering a single word, the bulky warrior reached out from beneath the dark concealment cloak. A single arm, one as thick as a tree trunk and covered in thick golden yellow fur, reached for the hilt of the Cleaver. Effortlessly, as if it’s weight was equivalent to that of parchment paper, the sword was yanked out of the ground, its blood red surface glowing ever so lightly. Slicing through the air, the Cleaver was once again swung in Kenmas direction.

"So. We’re just going to get right into the good stuff then?" Kenma casually sidestepped, the breeze from the attack ruffling his hair. "Some people have no patience."

CRACK! WHAM! WHAM!

Over and over again, the figure swung the sword, moving faster and faster with each consecutive attack, pouring on strength and precision as the seconds ticked on by. Each and every strike radiated power, magic energy resonating through the surrounding atmosphere, the strikes themselves causing nearby mountains to tremble and shake. However, even with all that was happening, Kenma didn’t so much as flinch, evading each and every strike with his hands tucked deep in the pickets of his white hoodie.

"So. Do you have a name?"

WHAM! Another series of attacks missed, the white haired man dancing around the battlefield.

"I mean. If you dont give a name-"

WHAM!!

"-I’ll just give you one. How about Arnold? Seems fitting right?"

BAM!

The following strike after that sentence was far stronger than the previous, mana imbued into the very core of the blade. A shimmering mass of what looked to be blood erupted from the Cleavers surface and shot towards Kenma with pinpoint accuracy.

Unfazed, Kenma raised his hand, allowing the blood to make contact with his palm. The small bit that managed to make contact with the intended target disappeared on impact while the rest continued onward far into the distance. As if to demonstrate how strong the slash was, everything lying in that direction was erased from existence in an explosion of pure crimson. All that was left was a floor of molten rock and melting glass.

"That was an interesting attack. Guess you didnt like the name?" Kenma looked at his hand, of which was now coated in red liquid. "I was curious about it when I first noticed, but that blade of yours. I believe it’s the Sword Of Surtr, correct? Another of the 52 Legendary GodKillers. The Cursed Blade. Fascinating. A Cleaver that is normally too heavy to properly handle, once wielded by Merlon Yanda, the strongest Hero to exist during Ragnarok."

The figure didn’t respond, shifting out of the fighting stance and into a regular standing position. Apart from the immense destruction now littering the surrounding mountainsides, it was almost as if nothing violent had happened betwixt the two.

"My bad. Listen to me rambling. Got me out here sounding like Neil DeGrasse Tyson on a talk show." Kenma swiped his hand to the side, throwing the blood off his palm as best he could manage. "Let’s continue I guess-"

Zwoom!

The sound of the air vibrating caused the individual to halt mid sentence as a miniature and completely transparent bubble of condensed magic materialized around him. Following up with the bubbles appearance, two blue lights, similar to that of flames appeared within the same sphere. These lights turned and flickered, magic power growing exponentially.

"Well, this is ne-"

BOOOOOOOMMMMM!

An explosion, one stronger than anything the cloaked individual had done, rocked the area, vibrations and shockwaves alone enough to cause the rocks nearby to crumble apart. Even with the blast contained within the bubbles created prior, the effects were easily felt by those who happened to witness it.

"You really ought to stop talking. You’re irritating me."

Another cloaked figure landed on the scene, as if materializing from the air itself. This one was shorter than Arnold and Kenma, but just as mysterious with a cloak covering them and every inch of their skin. Unlike the bulkier one who refused to utter a sound, the new arrival didn’t seem to have the same qualms, as they trekked over to Arnold.

"I guess we don’t have to seal him after all." The new arrival calmly tucked his wand back into his robe. "All that hype around a single man was nothing more. Truly, this era of Rift Hunters is pathetic. The Golem God. A simple title with no meaning."

Tap.

"You know. It’s considered rude to barge into the battle of others." Kenma wrapped an arm around the wand weilder, a smile on his face. "You should lighten up a bit."

The new guy immediately slipped away, moving as far as he could manage in as short a time as possible, wand once again at the ready. Arnold, however, didn’t move from his position as Kenma rose onto his feet. Other than a small speck of dirt located on his back shoulder, the Rift Hunter looked entirely unscathed. Even the wild white hair was unruffled, not a single strand missing.

"You both got some pretty interesting True Magic." Kenma narrowed his eyes, gaze flickering between. "Explosion based Magic and Blood based Magic. Some pretty nifty weaponry as well. Sword Of Surtr and Wand Of Ashes. You aren’t run of the mill Adventurers or Rift Hunters. Not Dark Guild Material either. Mercenaries is probably also out of the question. Are you the start of some boy band out to overthrow the government?"

(("He figured out my magic after getting hit with it once? He didn’t even see my wand long enough to know what it was!!")) The wand wielder grit his teeth as he prepped for another attack. (("He isn’t fazed by the GodKillers either. Damn it!! Opened my mouth too soon!!"))

"I suppose it doesn’t matter." Kenma raised a hand up, hues glowing as he placed his middle finger and thumb together. "Let’s wrap things up here."

SNAP!

The sound of Kenma’s two fingers snapping was like the loud crack of a whip, a sound that shouldn’t have been heard with how far away the Wand Weilder was.

Zwoom!

The invisible bubble from before returned, but this time, it manifested itself around the two attackers. Humming with a mysterious power, the wand wielder could only stare in horror and disbelief as the blue lights quickly followed up. Instead of a measly two though, five lights emerged within the bubbles confines, throbbing and convulsing with packed in mana.

"Boom." - Kenma

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!

"I should really hold back more. Don’t want to mess up the planet TOO much. That’d be a pain to clean up. Of course, more importantly-"

The dust slowly began to settle, the ground up shards of rocks falling back towards the floor from whence they originated. There, hunched over in the freshly formed crater, was the exposed wand wielder, cloak fully disintegrated.

"-I didn’t mean to hurt you guys to such an extent." Kenma let out a breath. "It was my first time using the spell. I held back quite a bit but I guess my control isn’t up to par. Or you’re both just super weak. Either or."

(("He hit me with my own spell?")) The collapsed figure coughed up something liquid, unable to see it with his vision blurring in and out. It was a struggle just to remain conscious, the unbearable pain coming in wave after wave. (("This man....is no Rift Hunter. He’s a monster!! Swatted aside like children. He wasn’t even trying!!"))

"Don’t worry. I don’t plan on doing anything with you." Kenma waved his hand as he began walking away. "Just slap a bandaid on your wounds and call it a day. You’ll be fine if you get even a semi decent...oh hoh!! We got a tough one."

The white haired individual halted in his tracks as the Cleaver wielding warrior stepped into the path Kenma had been walking. Just like the wand wielder, the cloak had all been all but eviscerated, leaving the man fully exposed for the world to see.

The head of a lion, golden fur that continued past a luxurious mane and all the way down to his bulky arms. Sturdy silver armor with red Rubendal stone embedded into various points including the chest plate, shoulder guards and wrist guards. Just above the right and left chest was a symbol of a crimson colored three toed claw mark. On the very bottom of the chest plate, almost completely unnoticeable, was a small slot in the shape of a clover. Muscles bulged and moved effortlessly, even with the smoke still pouring off the lion man’s frame.

"E Leonidas?" Kenma touched his chin, a look of intrigue and curiosity on his face. "Réytilt újio yaksinéh dah....." (*A Leonidas? Then you must be...)

The Leonidas didn’t answer, the beastfolks crimson hues furrowed in defiance as he raised Surtr off the ground. Even after tanking the full force of Kenmas mimicked explosion, it seemed the warrior had every intention to keep the battle going. Taking a step forward, the Leonidas swung towards Kenmas side.

Unimpressed, the individual halted the blade by raising the back of his hand.

"ùjio fru?yt ùjio jorgènd u wextel xuino?ol?" Kenma used his free appendage to tap the front of the lions armor, knocking on it with his knuckles. "ùjio hrênto u dah seledoi huntid e sèr. Y und jun plónd mu fe lon ùjio." (*You sure you want to keep fighting? You seem to be sealed quite a bit. I can get rid of it for you.)

WHAM!

Just as Kenma had finished his offer towards the towering Leonidas, another attack struck him from behind, one that managed to send him skidding across the destroyed stone floor.

"Another sneak attack?" The white haired individual stood back onto his feet. "I’m starting to think you guys just don’t like me as a person."

Boop.

It wasn’t a large sound, maybe a bit louder than that of a ring tone or a very quiet bell. On the grand scheme of everything happening around him, Kenma wouldn’t gave paid it much thought. However, for some reason, he found himself drawn to this noise, a noise emanating from his back, the same part that had just been struck.

There, squirming against him, was a living plant. The vegetation didn’t look particularly impressive or really seem like anything worth fretting over, merely wiggling in place like some harmless rodent that happened to accidentally jump on. However, Kenma immediately let out a breath and nodded his head, looking a tad grim as he straightened himself back up. Looking towards the now three attackers, one of which was still struggling to stand, he slowly began clapping.

"Using an Artifact. Quite clever. You couldn’t kill me on your best day, so you chose the next best thing. Ensealment." Kenma didn’t even seem upset as the plant slowly began to spread around him, taking up more of his body as the seconds passed. "I have a few questions for the lot of you, so try not to die until I wiggle out of this. Shouldn’t take me too long. Id give it half a year?"

"Silence filth. Be sealed with some dignity."

Kenmas eyes glowed briefly, staring into the new arrivals cloaked facial region. "Are you challenging me?"

For the briefest moment, the speaker immediately drew back, looking away from the Rift Hunters gaze.

"Don’t worry. Next time, I’ll actually deign to try." The last remnants of Kenma’s body was slowly being covered in the the Artifacts coiling binds. "I look forward to showing you my own personal magic. But, until then...keep an eye open."

With those final words, Kenma Iroas disappeared from Ornera and the 3000+ worlds.