Fates Entwined (A TodoBaku ff) ✔

LXIII

The air was still. The breeze had fallen silent, not a single blade of grass shivered under their feet, the forest ceased its eerie howling. Shoto kept his eyes on his father, watching and waiting for him to make the first move. They had to convince his father that he had the upper hand, to let his pride blind him before they retaliated with their own attacks. 

He took a slow breath, trying to ease the racing of his heart in his chest, the hand on his sword a white-knuckled fist as images of his father's blood staining the beautiful metal flashed in his mind. If those visions came true, if it was by Shoto's hand that Enji was killed... what would his people think of him? Would they think him a saviour or an unforgiving monster? What would the maiden tell him, would she trust in his choice or allude to another path? None of that mattered now, all he should focus on was protecting their front lines and infiltrating his father's army, reaching his first target. 

He watched as Enji raised his sword in the air, the sound of metal scraping against their sheaths echoing in the silent air, and Shoto swore when his father spoke those words were meant just for him. 

"Destroy them all!"

Enji's army raced at them with speed he had never seen. Their formations perfect, their steps light despite the frost upon the ground. How hard had his father trained these soldiers? How many times had he pushed them beyond their limits? The thought only angered him further and he looked to the side, giving a nod to Katsuki who grinned dangerously. Raising his own Dao, the tip pointing right at Endeavour, he spoke.

"Give him hell."

The warriors shouted and charged forwards, the middle lines breaking towards the front to intercept the first defense of his father's army. In seconds swords clashed against shields, their strongest warriors barrelling through Enji's soldiers effortlessly. Kirishima led the group, Shoto watching with pride as he could see the techniques he had taught the man being performed brilliantly, using his strength to disarm but not to purposefully hurt. It seemed that their strength was a shock to some of Enji's soldiers, realising that their numbers could not match their raw power. 

"Archers, go!" He commanded. "Block them off from the right! Draw them to the forest line." He watched the archers sprint off, racing around the edge of Enji's army to trap them from both sides, leaving no room to escape. "Ready?" He turned to ask Katsuki, whose grin widened further. 

"Course I am, princess."

"Then I'll send you the signals when it's time... And Katsuki," he added, just when the king was about to join the fight, "be careful."

"Hah! Tell that to yourself! Give your old man hell!"

And then Katsuki became a blur on the battlefield, sword swinging left and right and explosions at every corner. He met up with Kirishima, their power increasing even further, their enemies falling one by one. With a nudge to his side, Shoto urged Kita to move as fast as he could around the side of the battle, using the archers as his defense as he raced towards his father who had yet to take action. But his father saw him, and just as he had hoped, sent Inasa racing towards him with a whirling storm behind him. 

"Denki!" He yelled, and when a jolt of lighting raced between them, fizzling into the stormy air and sending Inasa racing towards the ground, Shoto used the screen to jump off Kita and send him over to Sero, knowing the man would use the extra height to better aim his capture attacks. When the stormy air cleared, Inasa was standing once more, fists clenched at his sides as a vein of purple lighting ran up his left arm where Denki's power must have hit.

"We don't have to fight like this. Look at what my father is doing to these people!" He finished speaking just in time to dodge a bullet of solid air from Inasa, sending up a shield of ice at the next attack. He had to get in closer where Inasa's power was weaker, to make it a battle of swords.