Rise of the Soul Hero

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***

Everyone was surprised by the appearance of a new enemy. In addition, this enemy was a girl. Black-haired, red-eyed, quite beautiful in face. She was holding a fan in both hands, and it felt like she wanted to attack everyone in front of her with it. It was true, though, because she herself had said that she was their enemy now, the enemy who wanted them dead.

Hearing those words, Andrew didn't hesitate a bit and drew his swords and prepared to fight. Seeing his reaction, Naofumi, Raftalia and Firo prepared to fight. The others, however, were rather sceptical of the girl's words. The girl herself, seeing all this, smirked, just slightly covering her smirk with one of her fans. She walked slightly forward, after which, she began to speak.

- What a pity, my words, are not taken seriously. Only the shield hero, and a hero not known to me, are ready to fight right now. Hmm, and the rest of them are just servants. -

Hearing those words. Motayasu, Itsuki, and Ren immediately jumped up, and with rather indignant faces, began to stare directly into her eyes. Then, Motayasu walked forward and began to speak.

- I'm a spear hero, not some assistant. So, you better hold your words before you cross the line. -

Motayasu gave a belligerent look as he put his spear forward in anticipation of an attack. The girl herself, in response to this, began to laugh lightly, and when she finished, she began to speak.

- Oh, such self-confidence. I've seen you and your comrades fight, and to be honest, I'm disappointed. Only the shield hero, and the white-haired hero with the scar over his right eye, were able to perform well. They're the ones who led you to victory. Without them, you'd be dead. -

She smirked again, turning her gaze straight to Andrei. He, in turn, noticed her gaze. Not stopping to be ready for the fight, he decided to start talking, to find out something about his opponent.

- I apologise for interfering in the conversation, but I want to correct you. I'm not a hero, I'm just a human assistant to a shield hero. My name is Andrei, what's yours? And if I may ask, what's your connection to this wave? -

Andrei said the last words, and made a kind of tension in them. The girl herself turned fully in his direction. After thinking for a while, she started to answer the questions he asked her.

- Hmm, quite interesting, an assistant who is stronger than the heroes. I thought that could be a joke, but as you can see, it can be real. As for your second question Andrew, my name is Gras. But about the wave, maybe if you survive, you can figure it out for yourself. -

After these words, she waved both fans, from the tips of which blades immediately appeared. Seeing this, Andrei realised that talking was useless. He wanted to attack her together with Naofumi, Raftalia and Firo, but at that moment, Ren walked forward.

He looked very unhappy, in his hands, he was clutching his sword, and with a small grin, he began to speak.

- What are you talking to her, Andrei? Let's start the battle and finish her off. You heard her yourself, she said she was an enemy, that's all. -

At the same second, Ren, Itsuki and Motayasu and their aides went to battle against Gras. She, in turn, gave them a bored look, and with a few swings of her fan, sent them into unconsciousness. Then she stepped forward, and began to speak again.

- I'll finish with them later. With you, however, I'll have to do my best not to disappoint me. It would be a shame if you got out of the fight too quickly. You can use all your strength, if you have any left. -

After saying that, Andrei, Naofumi, Raftalia and Firo really felt tired. But despite that, they were ready to fight, and Naofumi, began to speak.

- We are ready to fight you Gras, but I warn you, we have no pity for our enemies, no matter who you are, so I give you one last chance, go away, so that everything ends without blood. -

In response to this, Gras made a bow, and began to reply, while slightly covering her face with one of the fans.

- If that's the way it is, I'm ready to take the fight. Make sure I don't get bored. Otherwise, I'll be very disappointed in you, you don't want the people who are waiting for you to never see you again. I think it would be an irreparable loss to them. -

As soon as Gras said those words, Andrew was reminded of Lisey, the slave trader's uncle, Erhart and Leafanah. For this reason, in a flash, Andrei activated most of his mental powers. Particles of the powers, he began to transfer to his comrades, with the help of the soul chains he had formed with people close to him.

At the same second, everyone who was near Andrei felt all these forces. They carefully looked back at Andrei. He, in turn, made a slight smile on his face, and began to answer the question that had not yet arisen.

- I apologise for not telling about all my aces, but, it appeared recently, and I had no chance to use it. But now, it's the right thing to do, no one minds that I gave you some of my powers. -

Everyone smiled in response, and Naofumi, laughing slightly, began to answer.

- Andrew, I told you before, you're like a brother to me, and I'll be glad if we're even a little more united. So let's give her a thrashing, for all those we care for, for all those who are waiting for us. For them! -

As he shouted the last words, he launched one of his shield powers at Grass. In the same second, she was wrapped in chains and then covered by a metal ball. Without waiting for any orders, Raftalia went on the attack, she pierced the ball, thrusting her sword to the hilt, followed by Firo, making a blow from above, slightly flattening the ball. At the end, however, was Andrei. He pierced the ball from both sides with his swords, he stuck them to the hilt and everyone was sure that this was the end of it.

But unfortunately it wasn't. The orb exploded and the foursome was thrown slightly off to the side. Luckily for them, they were able to stay on their feet. But as usual, there was a downside. The smoke cleared, and at the site of the explosion, stood Gras, unharmed in the slightest. On her face, there was a thin smile. With leisurely steps, she walked forward a little and began to speak, fanning herself with one of the fans.

- Pretty good, fast and deadly, looks like you really wanted to kill me. To be honest, I'm pleased, but it's not enough. Well, now it's my turn. -

Having said all that, she swung her fans. Blades flew out of them, glowing a dark purple colour. Everyone quickly blocked, or repelled those daggers. Andrew, activated his shield, and when the daggers stopped flying at them, he quickly leapt towards Gras.

With a quick swing of his swords, he wanted to end her life quickly and almost painlessly. Except, Gras didn't want to accept doom so easily. For that reason, both swords were blocked. Both strained themselves as much as they could, and during this process, Gras began to speak.

- Well done Andrei, very fast, but it's not enough. Try, I don't really want to kill such a good warrior and man in one person. In addition, I need only the lives of heroes, so you can leave, taking those who are dear to you, and that's the end of it. -

Andrew gave a small chuckle through his teeth, and then began to respond to Gras's words.

- I'm sorry, Gras, but I won't let you lay a finger on Naofumi, or any of the others. My principles won't allow me to abandon my family and those I care about. So I'm going to decline your offer. -

After that, swords and fans began striking each other with unprecedented speed. The wielders of these weapons were not inferior to each other, both of these men were working hard and were beginning to feel the fatigue coming into their bodies.

Eventually, Andrei's right hand trembled and Gras took advantage of this moment. She made two quick strikes, one on the sword and the other on Andrei's body. The first shattered the blade into tiny shards, and the second shattered the leather protective suit and the pale, once-white shirt. Fortunately for Andrei, only the clothes were cut, but he had to retreat. For this reason, he pushed himself back, and with a heavy puff of breath, stood next to Naofumi.

Naofumi gave him a quick glance, and made sure Andrei was perfectly fine. He let out a sigh of relief, but decided to ask a question.

- Andrei, are you all right? -

Immediately after the question, Andrei looked in his direction and started to answer with a small smirk.

- I'm fine, I just got my clothes ripped open, but another centimetre and I'd be bleeding to death. Eh, looks like we're going to have to try really hard, she's a very strong opponent. -

After these words, Andrew turned towards Gras and with a sharp swing, sent the rest of his sword into Gras's face. She dodged, but after that, her face trembled and she touched her cheek. Removing her palm, she, like everyone else, saw the blood. Her smile, became thinner, and her eyes seemed to glow with fire. Naofumi, seeing this, smiled and began to speak.

- I think you were expecting something like this, but you're not very happy about it. It's a pity, maybe Andrei and we should try harder. -

After saying that, Naofumi activated the strange power again. He was covered in a red aura and didn't hold back a bit. Along with him, Firo started to strike in the same way. Because of this, Gras could only defend herself, she had no chance to give any response, so several minutes passed, and finally Gras jumped back to the mast of the ship, and then looked up into the sky.

Andrew did the same, he saw that the sky was starting to become normal, which pleased him, but Gras' smirk made him very wary. She, in turn, began to speak.

- Hmm, looks like you managed to hold out until the end. But that doesn't mean you've won. There's still plenty of time for me to keep you from leaving this ship, and I don't think hitting the sharp rocks is going to be pleasant for anyone. -

Hearing this, Andrew realised that they should not fight now, but rather retreat. For that reason, he quickly ran up to Naofumi while activating calmness. He leaned his hand on Naofumi, and the latter in turn fell to his knees breathing heavily.

Then, he took him by his body and moved him to Firo, after which, he began to speak.

- Run along, I'll take care of this. Don't worry about me, I've been through worse than this. Don't look back, or I know you, you'll be back again. -

Raftalia and Firo nodded to him, and then Raftalia began to hold Naofumi, and Firo began to run away from the ship. Andrew himself turned towards Gras and saw her smiling. With a quick jump, she jumped to Andrei and quickly moved the blade of her fan to his neck, while he did the same with his sword.

Neither of them even tried to make the fatal blow that would be the last for either of them. For that reason, Gras began to speak.

- It was funny, it's a pity you didn't leave right away. We could have maybe even met up later. You're quite an entertaining man, and it's a shame to waste such talent. Under my tutelage, you could have developed those powers to the fullest, and you'd have had a lot of attention yourself. -

She winked at him, but did not remove the fan. Andrew, in turn, smirked slightly and began to answer.

- It's not a bad offer, but I already have someone for whom I will become stronger, and I'm not lacking attention from her. So I'm sorry, but I'm going to say no again. -

Gras smiled a little sadly and then began to answer.

- It's a shame, we could have been very close friends. But for the moment, I have to go. I'll see you next time Andrei. Hopefully, by next time, you'll be even stronger. -

Having said that, she carefully removed Andrei's blade from her neck, and with quick jumps, left the ship, Andrei himself, decided not to do anything to her, instead, he examined everyone who was unconscious. For that reason, he ran round each of them and brought them to their senses, even Malti, though he didn't want to. Last of all, he brought Motayasu to his senses. He quickly got to his feet, and he began to ask.

- Andrei, what happened, and where is that girl? Damn, she hit us pretty good, I didn't even realise what happened. -

Having said that, he looked around and really couldn't understand anything. Andrew helped him to the edge of the ship and started talking.

- She escaped, Naofumi, Raftalia and Firo I sent ahead. But it's best not to delay, the ship is flying straight into sharp rocks. So we're all going down, or we'll either crash or burn. -

Motayasu nodded, and jumped over the edge and grabbed the rope. Behind him, the rest of the group, only Itsuki, the girl with green hair, and Andrew himself remained. Itsuki was swaying quite violently in different directions, and he could barely step over his feet.

Andrew wanted to help him, but at that moment, the floor of the ship broke beneath him. The girl with green hair shouted his name and wanted to run to help him. Andrei stopped her and then started to say.

- Run, you fool, you'll only ruin yourself. I'll help him, and you run, I see. -

For a while, the girl trembled, but eventually, she nodded and ran to the edge of the ship. Andrew in turn jumped into the hole where Itsuki had fallen, he quickly looked around and saw him.

Everything was more or less fine, except for the fact that Itsuki was pinned by some wood. He tried to get out from under it, but he couldn't. For that reason, Andrew quickly ran over to him and grabbed onto the wood. At the same second, Andrei felt pain in his palms from the burnt wood, but he pushed it aside and reached out to Itsuki. He grasped Andrei's hand and stood up to his full height, then they headed for the stairs that led to the deck,

They managed to take a few steps, big steps, despite Itsuki's condition, but as usual, everything went against them. They both felt the ship hit something hard. Andrew knew it was rock, but that wasn't the worst of it. The stairs were covered in burning debris, and because of that, Andrew and Itsuki were surrounded by flames. It was unbearably hot, and neither of them knew what to do.

Eventually, there was another ship strike. Andrei and Itsuki were thrown to the floor and then covered by several burning wood. Andrei felt the pain, he realised that it was far greater than the sensitivity process given to him. But regardless, he shovelled himself out with his sore hands, and with his eyes, he began to look for Itsuka. He in turn, was lying nearby, face down, and his green coloured cloak, was covered in fire. For this reason, Andrew quickly took off his leather sleeveless shirt, and began to beat it on Itsuki's cloak.

Once the fire was gone, Andrew yanked the remains of his cloak off of Itsuki, then took his hand. Holding him, he led him to the wall, which looked rather rugged, but he made sure that he was okay. He was breathing and opening his eyes every two seconds to make sure he didn't pass out. Seeing this, Andrew smiled slightly and began to speak.

- Hold on Itsuki, hold on, we'll get out, I promise, we'll get out, otherwise what kind of Andrei Sokolov am I? Shit, it's really hot here, but it's okay, it's good for your health, and in addition, you're still young, you're still like the others to save the world, and then, you can marry someone. Even that green-haired girl, she's obviously worried sick about you. -

But as soon as Andrew said that, Itsuki smiled slightly, and feeling strong, began to speak.

- First we'll celebrate your wedding, you already have a girl, who else would you spend on gifts. I can see from your face that you're not just living for Naofumi and your sister, but for someone else as well. So we should really get out of here. -

Having said that, Itsuki, completely on his own, started resting his feet on the floor and helped Andrei. He, in turn, smiled a wide smile and together, they reached that very wall. They looked at each other, and then Andrei began to speak.

- Now we'll have to be patient, so get ready. -

Itzuki just nodded, then they ran around and knocked out the wall and were on the street, at which point there was an explosion. Because of that explosion, they were thrown one metre forward, they landed on the ground, then they rolled over onto their backs, breathing very deep sighs.

Andrew's eyes were still filled with smoke, and his lungs could not take in fresh air. In his chest, however, it was burning quite badly and painfully, and Andrew's system was ringing with a loud noise in his head. It arose in his eyes, and he saw that he had very little per cent of life left. Andrei's right hand, immediately pressed against his chest, and he felt that on that very dark purple stone, there was a small scratch.

Itsuki, on the other hand, was able to catch his breath at this point and got up on his knees. He immediately looked at Andrei, and seeing that he couldn't get up, he crawled over to him and started talking.

- Andrei, Andrei! Shit, what's wrong with you? Bear with me, I'll think of something, you just hold on. Now it's my turn to help you. -

Having said all that, Itsuki used his newfound strength and dragged Andrei to one of the rocks. Having done so, Itsuki took a breath and began to search his pockets for something. Andrew saw Itsuki's worried face, but he couldn't say anything, his tongue was glued to his palate and his lips were glued together. This continued until Andrei heard a familiar voice.

That voice belonged to Motayasu, and then to Ren. They ran up to Itsuki and Andrei, after which, Motayasu began to speak.

- Shit, the case as I see it is a mess, shit, now Andrei, bear with me. I've got a good quality drink in my pockets. Just be patient and don't fall asleep. -

Motayasu took out a vial of red liquid. He removed the cork and put the neck of the vessel directly to Andrei's lips. He was able to force his lips open and began to drink the liquid down his throat.

Eventually, all the percentages of Andrei's life were restored, but that wasn't all. He stopped Motayasu with a trembling hand. then, with heaviness in his voice, he began to speak.

- Stone, we need to spill a few drops on him as well. Otherwise, this will continue. -

After Motayasu and the others heard these words, they began to search for the stone in Andrei's body. They did it rather quickly, they unbuttoned Andrei's shirt and dripped a few drops on the strange stone in Andrei's chest. Andrei himself immediately felt his strength returning to him, and he took a more comfortable sitting position.

As he did so, he smiled and began to look at everyone around him. Despite having some resentment for Naofumi, Andrew was glad that Motayasu, Ren, and Itsuki were now by his side. For that reason, he began to speak.

- Thank you, thank you, you have no idea how the hell I'm glad you're around right now, especially thank you Itsuki, and you too Motayasu. I'd have choked to death for sure

Itsuki, in turn, held out his fist to Andrei, and then began to speak.

- If it wasn't for you, I'd be a crispy ham, so you're a hero today too. No matter what happens, now you can count on me anytime, now, we're definitely friends. -

In response to that, Andrew reached out his fist and gently slammed it against Itsuki's fist, then he began to speak.

- I'm glad to hear that, and I hope we'll be able to help each other many times in the future. Now, while my strength is still replenished, I'm going back to the village. I'm sure Naofumi, Raftalia and Firo are worried about me. -

Saying that, he stood up on his trembling legs and wanted to start walking. But at that very second, Motayasu put his hand on his shoulder and started to speak.

- You hold your horses, you're still barely standing, you're going to need help. So, I insist on giving you a ride. I've got just the thing, a pretty fast earth dragon. -

Having said all that, Motayasu whistled quite loudly. For the first few seconds, nothing happened, but then, in the distance, a cloud of dust began to appear. And after a few more seconds, a small earth dragon stood in front of Motayasu and Andrew.

Motayasu sat on the dragon first, then Andrei, and then Motayasu began to speak, looking back at Andrei.

- You just hold on tight. This beast runs pretty fast, so be careful. -

Andrei just nodded and grabbed onto Motayasu's arm, after which the earth dragon headed forwards, spreading a dust cloud behind it. The earth dragon under Motayasu's control ran quite fast, and in a few minutes, they were already near the village. Motayasu stopped his dragon and helped Andrei down from it.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Andrei began to speak.

- Thank you Motayasu, I know you're not a bad guy, even if you are a bit stupid, but you can be relied on. I'm glad we're not enemies. -

In response to this, Motayasu put his arm around Andrei and began to answer.

- I know Andrei, I often act without thinking, but I'll try to be a better version of myself. We're friends, after all. And friends should listen to each other. -