Back on Nemeth Island earlier in the day...
I could now be seen on the opposite of Rutger's side. Several bloody marks could be seen on his body. Not deep by any means, but they were wounds nonetheless. Caused by Crimson Hearts infused with Bloody Needles. It is an S-Craft that I can now use at the steep cost of 10,000 EP! I have over 30,000 EP now, so I can cast it a few times. In succession, I am not sure. There is no AT Delay or any sort of system here. I really wondered if I could spam such a technique. My EP is already at absurd levels. It might be worthwhile learning concurrent casting where I can cast multiple Spells at the same time.
But one thing was for certain. I was the victor. Turns out it triggered a Hidden Quest. You'll see this crop up on occasion. They happen pretty randomly. Trigger a certain action, and it will appear. Much more obscure than a normal Quest.
Still, it got me to Level 41!
A satisfied smile appeared on my lips, letting my figure rest on Glistening Moonlight.
"To think it would be the Boss's loss...", Killing Bear said, seeing several marks over Rutger's body. Even his black battle qi was receding back into his body.
The crystal formed from Crimson Hearts has already shattered, which concluded the S-Craft. I was honestly shocked to see such a damage number appear. But that's definitely Trails fashion. You can build any character you want, and have them bonk monsters, defeating them in one go. I recall a certain character who likes to swing a giant sword around who was easily capable of doing that. Laura Arseid...
"Hah...hah...", I said, continuing to pant heavily. My EP is currently depleted. I didn't know whether or not a level up would trigger a full recovery, but it looks like it doesn't. I'll need a good night's rest or use Meditate for a little while to get it back up to full.
"Naoto!", Emma exclaimed, and tried to approach my side. And yet, Rufus was quick to take action, and blocked her attempt from reaching me.
"It is best not to interrupt the Young Duke, little lady. You may worsen his condition.", Rufus said, blocking Emma.
"But...", Emma tried to say, only to peer her head out from Rufus's arm and look at me with worry in her eyes.
" The noble is right, missy. This is how we Jaegers fight. And ya managed not to land just one blow, but several blows on me, Your Highness. This is your victory.", Rutger said, swinging his glaive around with ease before he placed it into an idle position.
"Indeed. It is as the Boss says. Or do you want to stamp on a Jaeger's pride and have your life forfeited right here and now?", Behemoth questioned, causing Emma to pause. She glanced over and saw the towering man staring right at her. She gulped. Behemoth's presence alone was enough to frighten her. Hearing this, Rutger laughed.
"Haha. Stop scarin' the girl, Behemoth. Ya almost got me serious for a moment there, Your Highness.", Rutger said. His figure was clear now. Several clean cuts over his torso. They weren't deep, but you could see blood seeping out of them. It dripped onto the sand around him, painting it red.
Hearing that, I smiled back at him, only to feel more strength leave my body. I wasn't sure if it was due to the lack of EP, but I was feeling quite tired. I ended up falling onto my back, letting out more heavy breaths.
"Ugh...", I uttered, trying to respond to the Jaeger King. My mouth suddenly turned sweet, and I spat out a mouthful of blood onto the sand, which dyed it red around me.
"Ya okay there?", Rutger asked. There is Limit Break too. This is probably what it feels like when someone finishes using such a Skill. My Stats are returning to normal, and at the same time, my body is screaming at me in an attempt to recover...
"I've never felt better.", I tried to say after letting out a drawn sigh. Slowly but surely, my strength returned. Seeing this, Rutger approached me, and looked down.
"That move was pretty interestin'. Ya can even boost your strength like no tomorrow. Similar to battle qi, but different at the same time. I won't ask what it is, considerin' it's your Skill, and it ain't mine. We Jaegers respect our own strength first and foremost, and ya showed me that in this fight. I can see why ya gave the War God's son a run for his Mira. Honestly, I was a little hesitant goin' up a brat like ya.", Rutger said, praising the power I showed him. I saw him bend downward, and extend his hand out. I had enough strength to respond to him, and he pulled me back up.
"Heh.", I said, letting out a chuckle after hearing Rutger praise me like that. While I did not have a physical injury, the blood that came from my mouth still dripped from my lips. I could see the blood on Rutger's injuries too. "I guess it's my win, eh?"
"The condition was for ya to land a blow on me. It's clear as day in my books. A loss is a loss, fair and square. I didn't think ya would trap me from all sides like that. Given another moment or two, I probably could have broken free.", Rutger said. I'm sure he meant every word there. This is the Jaeger King. An extremely strong guy. I'm sure he could easily break this S-Craft. And now that he's seen it in action, he most certainly can devise a countermeasure against it. I caught him off guard since he hadn't seen it before. I don't think it will work twice the same way. Here's to hoping I don't have to fight the Jaeger King again. I quite like him as a character, haha!
Seeing the battle now over, it was only then that Rufus parted ways, allowing Emma to dash toward me. Emma still had worry in her eyes.
"Are you really all right, Naoto? You coughed up a lot of blood there...", Emma asked. I really am happy she's this worried for me. I smiled at her.
"You're such a worrywart, Emma. I'm fine, really. I'll recover in no time. I'm just experiencing a side effect from one of my techniques. I'm sorry if I made you worry.", I said, apologizing to Emma.
"You can at least let me heal you.", Emma suggested. It's possible using Crimson Hearts might've caused some form of internal injury seeing that amount of blood come out of me, but I shrugged it aside.
"The boy's fine, Emma. You can attest to his words.", Roselia's voice called out to us, and appeared beside Emma.
"If you say so, Grandmother...", Emma uttered. It was then she decided I was fine, and slowly backed away a little bit. This allowed Rutger to get a good look at Roselia.
"So you're the little lass who is acquainted with His Highness.", Rutger said, observing Roselia approach us.
"Hmph, that's right. But I'm not some little girl. I've lived far, far longer than you have, Jaeger brat.", Roselia scoffed. Roselia's age was such a sensitive topic, haha! She's been alive since the Great Collapse. Over a millennium!
"Fair enough.", Rutger replied, shrugging his shoulders at that comment. Now that Rutger's battle qi was completely gone, the others around us all let out sighs of relief, like Van. He was used to street fights and such, but I doubt he ever felt such a thick pressure before. There were a couple who didn't bat an eye, though. The other members of Zephyr, and Ennea. She's an ex-assassin, so I'm sure she's used to dealing with powerful bloodlust and such.
It didn't take long for Roselia to look back at me and spoke out
"I know you were occupied with the duel, Naoto. But you might be getting a little rusty. Didn't you say that surveillance is your strong point? Haven't you noticed something is amiss?", Roselia suddenly asked, which drew my attention to her.
"Eh?", I tried asking while regaining more of my strength.
"Hmph. You might as well come out. It is no use hiding anymore.", Roselia said, only to confuse us. We all saw her gaze look elsewhere. It landed on the sight of battle not too far away. Most of us just ended up confused as a moment passed in silence. And yet, shortly after, an ambiguous voice suddenly struck our ears. We heard a laugh. My eyes turned wide the moment I heard it.
"Hahahaha! Au contraire. I am rather impressed you managed to spot me. I thought it would be His Highness to do so, but you're no slouch yourself.", The voice said, laughing at us. "Oh dear me, and here I was, only to be an observer during all of this."
"Who...?", Sherryl asked, trying to find out where this voice was coming from. The others who were confused and shocked snapped out of their stupor, and traced Roselia's line of sight.
All of a sudden, not too far away from the beach chairs and resort building, a green-colored magic circle appeared on top of the sand. It did not take long for an illusory figure to arrive who sported green hair. It was as if the figure hadn't aged a single day from the last time I saw him. He smiled at us, and greeted us with a bow.
"As expected of a Witch. I knew His Highness would be distracted with the fight against the Jaeger King. I had made an error on my part not knowing that you would make an appearance here.", The boy said, acting as if he was disappointed in himself.
"Hmph. This much is nothing. Naoto was simply distracted. That's all.", Roselia said, scoffing at the boy.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be? We're kind of having a party here. Such a rude uninvited guest.", Firebird said, also scoffing at the boy.
"Oh woe is me. How could I forget my manners?", The green-haired boy responded, looking back at Firebird. After he said this, I calmed down while letting even more stamina return. Ignoring the rest of the group, I took the time to approach him. I let my Glistening Moonlight vanish back into my Inventory. It still remained equipped, by the way. Such a convenient function~
Seeing me move around like that, the green-haired boy spotted me.
"Oya? Are you sure you're fine enough to be moving around like that, Your highness?", The boy asked.
"Cut that crap out, Campanella. You know very well why you're here. Isn't that right?", I asked back, declaring his intent to the rest of us.
Who else could it be but Enforcer No. 0, Campanella the Fool?