Anomaly Ch. 41

It was eerily quiet the first few minutes they left the safety of the barricade. Not entirely unexpected, as the frontlines would have been constantly harassed by the knights had they stayed there. What was completely unexpected was the complete lack of any bodies. He would have thought that any amount of fighting would have resulted in some casualties. Instead, while there was a disturbing amount of blood, there was not a single corpse to be found.

Shirou had a plan for all of them to make it out of here. All he needed was one chance to make his case. It was obvious to him and to anyone around that, should the rebels fall, they’d all be either imprisoned or executed, the latter being the more likely scenario. Subsequently, if he helped Piña, he was entitled to compensation of some kind, not even including the promise from Norma.

And since the rebels who nobody would trust to put back into chains would be seen as dead weight, if Shirou were to offer that his reward be those very same rebels as his ‘prize’, then he would be killing two birds with one stone. The first, that he’d manage to get the slaves free, even if only a portion of them for now. The second, he’d ingratiate himself into the graces of the nobility here, making it all the easier to infiltrate.

There were still several problems with his plan, however. The first was actually making the rebels listen to him. It was going to be difficult, as he would have to find some way to get their leader alone, talk to them without anyone else interfering, and then convince them that Shirou’s plan would actually work.

Still, he’d get there when he’d get there. He was somewhat certain that a decent display of power would be enough to at least be amicable to a sit-down.

It was when they had reached a somewhat isolated area that Shirou started thinking that he was maybe wrong. It was minute, but his Reinforced senses managed to pick up a soft clicking sound. His eyes swiveled to the top of one of the buildings, instantly locking gazes with a Yaga wielding a matchlock rifle.

He fought against his instincts borne of being shot one too many times and stood his ground, flooding the armor he wore with Reinforcement to the point of near breaking. He couldn’t dodge even if he wanted to, doing so would expose the people behind him to the line of fire. The Yaga hadn’t even hesitated in that time, shooting their rifle right at his center of mass.

It was only as the impact pushed him back despite all that that he realized that, yes, he should have expected the clearly magus-made species to also wield magus-made guns and gunpowder.

“Mage-cannons!” With a shout, a moment too late considering he already got hit, Piña continued, her voice rising above the chaos. “Shields up! Advance with caution! Chulainn, are you alright?”

The Rose Order scrambled into action, forming a tight phalanx around their leader. Shirou grit his teeth as he pushed himself back onto his feet, the searing pain in his chest already fading as his reinforced body recovered. The shot hadn’t pierced the armor, but it had bruised his ribs, “It’ll sting, but nothing I can’t handle.” With a grimace, he stared at the suddenly escalating situation before him. 

“They’ve got ranged weapons. Tuka, cover the merchants. Lelei, disrupt their formations.” Shirou ordered quietly, his voice sharp and steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him. He raised his shield, bracing himself for the next assault as the Yaga snarled and advanced. 

The Yaga had come out of the woodwork, from the nooks and crannies that the partially destroyed district housed. Only a handful of them had any more rifles, but that was more than enough to dissuade him. The problem? These Yaga weren’t like the ones that he had freed. They weren’t malnourished, weak, or raving mad.

Focused. Predatory. The fact that they hadn’t attacked was a testament to how disciplined they were. Or how confident.

“Hand us your cargo and we’ll let you go.” The Yaga at the front spoke, gruff voice sounding over the standoff, “Try anything else-”

They were cut off as Lelei summoned a vicious gale. Wind warped as a spear of solid air tore through the middle of the rebels. They reacted quickly, scattering without so much as a yell. Tuka followed up with a burst of earth beneath them, a wall of plant growth blocking them from any shots that would have befallen the caravan.

Shirou seized the opportunity without hesitation. The Yaga’s momentary disarray gave him the opening he needed.

“Hold the line!” He barked, glancing over his shoulder at Piña and her knights. “This fight doesn’t end until we make it to the other side. Don’t break formation!”

Piña’s jaw tightened, but she gave a curt nod. “You heard him! Shields up, maintain the phalanx! Protect the caravan at all costs!”

The knights of the Rose Order adjusted their stances, shields locked tightly together, spears bristling outwards. Their discipline was admirable, but Shirou knew their resolve would be tested if the Yaga pressed too hard.

The Yaga regrouped quickly, proving Shirou’s earlier assessment of their discipline. The one who spoke earlier snarled, gesturing with a clawed hand as the others began flanking maneuvers. “You’ve made a mistake, human. We were willing to negotiate.”

“And I’m willing to end this without any more bloodshed.” Shirou replied evenly, his swords raised in a defensive stance. “But if you want to test me, be my guest.”

The Yaga leader bared their fangs in a menacing grin. “We’ll see how much fight you’ve got left, hero.”

The rebels surged forward in coordinated strikes. Those with rifles hung back, taking potshots at the caravan while the melee fighters closed in. With the mess of bodies, they were thankfully limited in shooting due to the risk of friendly fire. This left them open for Lelei's continued bombardment, spells crackling in the air as she targeted the riflemen. Tuka, who at some point had gotten a bow, rained down pinpoint arrows, each imbued with magic that caused vines to erupt and ensnare the advancing Yaga.

Piña, Grey and the others worked together to isolate individual Yaga, while Shirou was left to deal with the opposite. Already, he knew that they were taking him much more seriously than the Princess, considering he tanked a bullet straight on.

And, from the clashes he had with the blade users, he could tell these weren’t the same as the last Yaga he had fought. No, these were well rested, well supplied, and had their entire faculties in check.

His blade deflected a vicious downward swing from a Yaga’s cleaver-like weapon. Twisting his wrist, he redirected the force, bringing the pommel of his sword down onto the Yaga’s temple. The beast crumpled with a guttural growl, momentarily stunned.

Another Yaga came at him from the side, their strikes relentless, each blow powerful enough to cleave through ordinary steel. Shirou gritted his teeth, meeting the assault head-on. He sidestepped a particularly heavy swing, using the opening to drive his reinforced blade into the Yaga’s thigh, severing muscle. The creature roared in pain, collapsing to one knee, but Shirou was already moving to the next threat.

“Princess, hold your right flank!” Shirou shouted, catching sight of a gap in their formation. “They’re trying to surround us!”

“I see it!” Piña barked back, her voice strained but resolute. She directed her knights with sharp commands, the phalanx shifting to plug the gap.

A rifle shot rang out, the sharp crack cutting through the din. Shirou barely managed to bring his sword up in time, the impact reverberating through his arm as the enchanted bullet ricocheted off. He winced, feeling the strain in his Reinforced muscles. They were adapting, targeting him more aggressively now.

A moment later, a surge of lightning arced across the battlefield, striking one of the riflemen square in the chest. The Yaga convulsed before collapsing in a smoking heap, their weapon clattering to the ground.

“Good shot.” Shirou nodded to Lelei, ducking under another swing and countering with a precise slash across a Yaga’s forearm. He didn’t have time for relief as another assailant immediately filled the gap.

The fight was turning into a slog. They needed to get out of this, somehow. If he was getting tired with his Reinforcement still active, he couldn’t imagine how Lelei and Tuka would be feeling right about now. Speaking of whom.

“Tuka, how are we holding up?” 

“We’re keeping them off the merchants, but they’re getting bolder!” She replied, her bow thrumming as another arrow loosed. The enchanted projectile struck true, erupting into a mass of thorny vines that ensnared two advancing Yaga. “I don’t know how long we can keep this up!”

Shirou's mind raced as he processed the situation. If this kept up, someone would make a mistake, and the whole formation would collapse. His eyes locked on the Yaga leader, who was barking orders from the backline, flanked by two riflemen. Their commands were keeping the Yaga organized and effective. If Shirou could neutralize them, the rest might lose cohesion.

"Princess!” Shirou shouted, breaking away from his immediate opponent and charging toward the leader. “Cover me! I’m going in!”

“What?! Are you insane?!” Piña’s voice was a mix of shock and exasperation, but she didn’t hesitate. “Knights! Form a wedge and push forward! Give him an opening!”

The Rose Order shifted into action, their shields locking together in a tight formation as they advanced with measured precision. Shirou used their push as cover, darting through the gaps in their defense to close the distance to the Yaga leader.

He focused all his Reinforcement into his legs, propelling himself forward with blinding speed. His sword flashed as he engaged the leader, their weapons clashing in a flurry of strikes. The Yaga was strong, their blows heavy and precise, but Shirou’s experience and agility kept him one step ahead.

The riflemen tried to intervene, but Tuka’s arrows and Lelei’s spells kept them at bay. Shirou pressed his advantage, forcing the leader onto the defensive. With a feint to the left, he created an opening and drove his blade into the Yaga’s shoulder, twisting it to disarm them.

The leader roared in pain, dropping their sabre and falling to one knee. Shirou didn’t give them a chance to recover. He grabbed them by the collar and slammed them into the ground, his blade pressed against their throat.

“Call them off.” Shirou demanded, his voice cold and unwavering. “Now.”

With a guttural laugh, the Yaga spat at Shirou, “No. FIRE!”

Instinct won over this time around, bringing up what he had as cover from the rifle fire. To his horror, he realized it was the Yaga that he had in his hand. The other Yaga didn’t pause for a moment to follow their apparent leader’s orders, shooting right through the body and into Shirou.

The impact of the rifle shot was instant and brutal. The bullet ripped through the flesh of the Yaga in his grasp, a spray of crimson that splattered across Shirou’s face and chest. He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain, but there was no time for hesitation. The Yaga’s body went limp in his hold.

But the danger didn’t stop there. Shirou could feel the heat of the remaining Yaga closing in, their rifles aimed squarely at him. He shoved the body of their leader aside-

Or tried to.

Surprise overtook him as the previously limp body sprang back up with ferocity, grappling with Shirou to the ground with a strength that should not have been possible with several bullet holes going through their chest like that.

The shock of the Yaga’s sudden resurgence left Shirou struggling to react. Despite the bleeding, the creature’s eyes burned with an intense, manic fury. Their clawed hands dug into his armor, their jaws snapping dangerously close to his throat as they wrestled him into the dirt.

Shirou fought to break free, gritting his teeth against the strain. His arms were trapped beneath the Yaga’s heavy form, and their ferocity was unnerving. He pushed against the creature’s chest with every ounce of strength he had, trying to pry its claws off him.

One step. Adrenaline flooded his body. The image of twin dao within his mindscape was brought forward. Could he risk it? If the others saw him Trace something, they might realize who he was. But what was the point of secrecy if he died because of it?

Two steps. The weapons that the Yaga wielded were high quality, looted from the guards that had left them behind. But that begged the question of where the rifles - mage-cannons according to Piña - came from. The Empire was at least familiar with them to give them such a name, but he doubted that they would just be left in the middle of the merchant district for anyone to find.

Three steps. The cold, light and dark metal of his favored blades. Were the Yaga considered monsters for the purposes of Anti-Monster properties? Maybe. Maybe that even explained the sudden snapping of each and every Yaga’s head in his direction. Had they sensed what was about to happen?

Four steps. He was delaying, he knew. He could do this in less than a heartbeat, and yet, he was still hesitating. He knew why. Revealing his identity here would jeopardize Lelei and Tuka. He couldn’t risk that. Could he?

Five steps. Maybe he didn’t need to. He saw Piña and the Rose Order backing away. They tried to coax his two companions, neither of which were having it. He locked eyes with Piña and nodded. They needed to get away, even if they thought they would be leaving him to die.

Six steps. With a grimace, he watched as Tuka and Lelei were swiftly knocked out. He would have to apologize to them later. Now though, with one last glance at Piña’s shame-filled face, he could not afford to think about it.

Seven steps. With the Yaga’s attention fully on him, the Rose Order had quickly left. None of the Yaga dared to approach him. That was fine by him. The indignant self-hate at the idea of helping slavers faded alongside the blade of Spartacus.

“Trace, on.”

He’d help these people to be free. He promised himself that. However, they needed to listen to him first. Even if beating the shit out of them was the only way to do so.

…