*In the forest, a young Amarti wearing brown shorts, a long-sleeved buttoned shirt, long black socks, and brown shoes was walking while carrying an axe. An older elf with grayish blonde hair and wearing a butler uniform that consisted of a long-sleeved buttoned shirt, white gloves, black jacket, black pants and black shoes was chasing after him frantically*
(Older elf): Master Amarti, please, I beg of you to reconsider.
(Amarti): Don’t try and stop me, Omar. I’ve made my decision. My 18th year of Yeline (birth) has passed. I am officially an adult now which means I can now make my own decisions.
(Omar): But your father will be most unhappy that you did this behind his back.
(Amarti): He didn’t even come for my birthday. I highly doubt he cares.
*Amarti finally stopped at a small tree with green leaves. Despite it being small the tree was rich, healthy, and looked beautiful. Even in a forest whose majesty was only overshadowed by Amarti’s family mansion, this tree managed to stand out amongst the others. Even Omar stopped his rambling and stared in awe at the tree*
(Amarti): Magnificent, isn’t it? When we woodland elves are born our parents infuse a seed with our blood and plant it. That seed is then left to grow and blossoms into a tree where once the elf has come of age must chop it down and craft it into their own personal weapon. It’s ironic, we woodland elves value nature yet we don’t mind chopping down trees for our own benefit.
(Omar): I always saw it as a way to make room for new trees to grow. Making way for the next generation if you will. It’s funny, I’ve visited this tree many times in the past. Yet, despite it being one of the smaller ones I always found it to be the most charming and comforting of the bunch.
(Amarti): Remind you of anyone in particular?
(Omar): Unfortunately, no. It’s the exact opposite of a certain young master who’s constantly getting into trouble and worrying me. Still, he has brought a lot of joy to my otherwise boring mundane days.
(Amarti): And that young master is very blessed to have such a great friend by his side.
*Amarti gets into position to begin chopping the tree down*
(Omar): Master Amarti, are you sure you want to go through with this?
(Amarti): I’m sure Omar.
(Omar): Then, I will not stop you and be a witness to this glorious moment. Proceed when you are ready.
(Amarti): Thank you, old friend.
*Amarti grips the axe firmly and begins chopping down the tree until it falls*
(Amarti): Ydressibell (thank you for this blessing).
(Omar): Ydressibell. So, what will you craft the tree into, Master Amarti?
(Amarti): I have a good idea on what weapon I want. How about you, Omar? Got any plans for after this?
(Omar): Well if you’re going through with your plan I think I shall retire, but before you head out allow me to give you one final gift.
*Omar walks over to Amarti and hands him a wooden ring*
(Omar): I crafted this ring as my weapon when I was your age. Where you’re going I can’t follow, but hopefully this ring will serve you well just like it served me.
***
*Back in the present, as Morgan was battling Lukas, Amarti was busy fighting against Indigo who was using a tree for cover while firing at Amarti with her crossbow. Her shadow clones were also firing at Amarti who was dodging all of the arrows and making his way to the tree Indigo was hiding behind. Using the disc blade in his hand Amarti slashed through the tree forcing it to fall. Indigo had jumped out of the way, while the shadow clones in the tree jumped out of the tree to avoid getting hurt and disappearing. Once they landed on the ground, five of them were attacked by Amarti’s blade discs. The discs cut through the clones and made them all disappear. Two more shadow clones shot at Amarti who spun in the air to dodge the arrows and he threw three discs at one of the clones to destroy it. Once Amarti landed he ran toward the final clone who began firing at him, but he blocked all the arrows with his disc and slashed through the clone to destroy it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Indigo charge at him with a dagger in her hand. Amarti managed to dodge the dagger, spun around and tried to slash Indigo who ducked the attack. Indigo then thrusted forward with the dagger to stab Amarti in the chest only to see that his blade discs were protecting him. Sparks flew as Indigo was pushed back. Amarti charged at her only for Indigo to create a shadow clone to take the hit for her. Indigo retreated to the top of a tree branch and pulled out her crossbow where she fired off in arrow into the sky. As it came down more arrows that were clones of the original arrow Indigo shot appeared. As the arrows were about to land in the general area Amarti was in, he lifted his hands up to call upon multiple blade discs which formed a spinning wall above his body. The blade discs shredded away all the arrows and protected Amarti from Indigo’s attack. Some of the blade discs had been destroyed from the barrage of arrows. Amarti then fired two of them at Indigo who sidestepped out of the away. Just when Indigo was about to fire off a powerful attack, she gets hit from behind by a blade disc and fell forward off the tree branch. Amarti then used his discs as steps to reach the falling Indigo and wrapped his legs around her head to send her flipping through the air with a Frankensteiner. Indigo goes crashing to the ground in pain while Amarti lands on his feet safely*
***
*Back in the observation tower, both Korone and Bradley were both stunned by Amarti’s fighting prowess while Ryuuji looked on proudly, Hibana smiling, and Zia grinning happily with a blush on her face and hearts in her eyes*
(Bradley): What the hell is going on? Is this really the same obnoxious elf I saw in videos who could barely fight? How did he get so strong in such a short time?
(Ryuuji): He’s always been this strong. If I’m being honest he could probably take down everyone in Shadow Eye if he felt like it.
(Korone): You’re serious? No offense, but I’ve seen his magical stats. They’re no better if not worse than the average student at the knight’s academy.
(Ryuuji): *Chuckles* Yep, just like the way he wanted it to be. That guy doesn’t fight like a knight, he fights like a businessman. In business, it’s always important to keep your competitors guessing what you’re going to do next and keep a trick or two up your sleeve. That’s how he fights. He wanted everyone to think that he’s weak when really he’s one of the strongest knights in our order. Maybe even the whole kingdom.
(Korone): Wow. That’s pretty high praise coming from you.
(Ryuuji): Of course, if you ask him, he’ll just openly admit that he’s the weakest member of the order.
(Korone): Despite how skilled and strong he is? Why?
(Ryuuji): Because in his mind he’s the gatekeeper of Shadow Eye. The Forbidden Door as he likes to call himself. If this guy is the weakest and he’s already this strong and powerful, then what does that say about everyone else in the order? To him, being called the weakest member of Shadow Eye isn’t an insult, but a badge of honor he wears proudly.
***
*Back in the forest Indigo was struggling to her feet. She had been taken completely by surprise in her fight against Amarti and it was starting to frustrate her. However, during this fight she managed to discover a secret about Amarti very few people knew*
(Indigo): Alright. I’ll give credit where credit is due and say I underestimated you. But that ends here. I was saving this for a group attack, but I think you more than warrant it.
*Concentrating, two black circles appeared next to Indigio and two shadow clones popped out of the ground. Indigo continued to concentrate as a circle appeared next to each clone and out popped another clone. This went on until there were fifteen total shadow clones of Indigo standing*
(Indigo): I’ve been keeping track of all your blade discs. You have a total of eighty-two blade discs that you use and control.
(Amarti): Impressive.
(Indigo): Which means, all I have to do is destroy all 82 of them and you’ll be defenseless.
(Amarti): I can always repair them.
(Indigo): True. But I doubt even you could repair all eighty-two discs at such a fast pace. Especially when there’s a barrage of arrows raining down on you. I win.
*Indigo and her clones shoot their arrows up into the sky where those arrows create multiple shadow arrows of themselves. Back on the ground, Amarti gathers up all of his discs and forms a shell around his body for protection as the arrows begin raining down on the area. After a minute and a half the barrage of arrows finally stopped and Indigo was confident that Amarti had fallen, but to her shock the shell was still standing. The discs dispersed to reveal that there were now four Amartis standing right in front of Indigo*
(Indigo): What? But, how?
*Amarti lift up his right hand to reveal a wooden ring around his ring finger*
(Amarti): A gift. From a very wise and old friend of mine. I can’t make as many clones as you but these guys are quite advanced when compared to yours and they also can control up to eighty-two discs. Let’s see how you withstand my barrage of attacks.
*All four Amartis repaired any discs that got destroyed and fired all three hundred and twenty-eight discs at Indigo and her clones. Not having the strength to move and realizing that she was bested, Indigo took the attack head on. Her clones attempted to protect her but it wouldn’t be enough as they were easily destroyed and Indigo felt the full brunt of Amarti’s attack where she collapsed on the ground unconscious with her clothes tattered up*
(PA System): Lukas Travis and Indigo Lotus have been eliminated.
(Amarti): Oh, someone defeated Lukas. Nice. Thanks for your help guys. I’m all good.
*The three clones of Amarti smiled and nodded before they turned into beams of light and disappeared back into the ring. Amarti took a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground to take a breather*
(Amarti): That went on a lot longer than it should’ve.
*Amarti then stared at the ring*
(Amarti): Using this ring is quite draining on the body and I can only produce three clones so far. I guess I still have a lot to learn. How Omar was able to create up to ten clones of himself I’ll never know.
*Amarti stared up into the sky smiling happily remembering his good friend from his younger days*
***
*Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Jin was running and searching for Gael*
(Jin): Come on Gael, where are you?
*As Jin continued to run through the forest he sensed an attack coming and quickly stepped out of the way. He managed to avoid a wind bullet being shot at him which destroyed a tree branch. Jin continued to weave and dodge other wind bullets being shot at him all while trying to figure out where the shooter was. His attention quickly shifted to the road in front of him when Wato jumped out of the bushes for an ambush prepared to do a quick draw technique. As Wato drew his sword, Jin jumped over him to avoid whatever attack Wato used. As Jin was in the air, Brodie came flying at him from the side. Jin quickly got up his shield to protect himself from Brodie’s punch. The shield managed to absorb Brodie’s attack as Jin landed on the ground feet first but sliding backwards a little. Brodie landed by Wato who was holding a sword where the blade was made entirely of wind. The two were soon joined by Pennie who jumped down from the branch she was firing from*
(Brodie): Those are some impressive reflexes. Not only did he anticipate all of Pennie’s shots, but he dodged your attack Wato and mine.
(Jin): Yes. Well, my instructor taught me to never let my guard down.
(Wato): Smart teacher.
(Raika): Thanks.
*Brodie managed to deflect a lightning bullet that Raika fired. Raika came out from hiding where she was soon joined by Sanada and Gael who stood next to Jin*
(Jin): Guys. You’re here.
(Gael): I bumped into these guys while looking for you.
(Sanada): We appear to have the numbers edge. Raika, you take on Pennie. Jin, you and Gael will fight Brodie. Leave Wato to me.
(Brodie): Ugh~. Seeking two people on me. Can’t they show a little respect for their elders.
(Pennie): It just goes to show how dangerous you are to them.
(Brodie): I guess. You guys be careful.
(Wato): I’ll be fine. After all, I’ve been looking forward to this match for quite some time.
(Pennie): I can’t believe I get to face someone as great as Raika. I’m nervous, but I’ll give it my all.
*Everyone prepares themselves to take on their respective opponent except for Wato and Sanada. The two run toward each other and clash swords with one another*
(Sanada): Your sword. Is very interesting.
(Wato): Ah~, you like this? I call it the Kaze Sakura (Wind Cherry Blossom). I discovered it in my travels. A sword entirely made of wind.
(Sanada): Quite fascinating.
(Wato): A unique sword, yes? I have been training with this sword for months just for this battle. However, I for one find your sword all the more interesting. So, how about a little wager? My Kaze Sakura against your Sora no Senshi (Warrior of the Sky).
(Sanada): You seem quite confident in your victory if you’re willing to bet your sword. Very well, I accept your wager. The way to the grandmaster goes through me. You’re the brave warrior and I’m the dragon blocking your path. What will you do?
(Wato): What I’ve always done. Become the wind, slash through any obstacle and continue on my path.
*Sanada smiled and the two swordsmen began to clash swords*
Author’s Notes: Another victory for Shadow Eye. This chapter was all about Amarti showcasing his abilities. In the first volume I didn’t get a chance to do a good fight scene with Amarti. I felt bad because I like his fighting style but didn’t feel all that confident in putting fights together. Thankfully, over the year I had time to play around with his abilities and managed to put together a good fighting scene. This also gives you a good insight into elves and how their weapons work. Find out more about that in the Records of Rein. In the next chapter, we’ll be seeing some tag-team action between the samurai and gunwomen. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.