Loki's Renard

Arc 4 Chapter 11 - Elf and Talent

Hey guys, Striker777 here. I know, I can't even remember the last time I posted this quickly, but some free time fell into my lap and I was in a writing mood, so I got back into it and finished off another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it, as it focuses a lot on Ryuu and Alfia, with a special twist near the end that will be addressed further in the next chapter. But for now, onto the story!

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Ryuu had spent the day running. She hunted down any member of Evilus she could get her hands on, and sent them to their death. Deserved, in her own personal opinion, given the destruction they all caused, their own hands in creating all this death. All of them deserved nothing more than to be snuffed from the world, like a forest fire that needed to be put out to allow the forest to regrow. In her mind, she couldn't help but compare this tragedy to the assault on the elven forests by the Kingdom of Rakia and the Crozzo Family, the untold destruction and death of those days still a fresh wound in the eyes of elves everywhere.

And now, this.

Now, well into the night, Ryuu had yet to return to the Stardust Garden. She refused to, knowing the kind of Justice that Kaguya tried to shove down her throat, not wanting that foolish notion of willingly sacrificing people to cloud her own views on Justice, Ardee's Justice. And Alise had let her down, not being able to smile, and to help her understand that her Justice was good, and had instead apologised for not being able to say what she wanted to hear. Alise Lovell, of all people in Orario, had not been able to save her faith in Justice.

What did that say about her Justice?

Probably nothing good.

Ryuu sighed, as she recollected herself for the moment, leaning against the brick wall of a still standing house. 'I've been running away from my problems like a miserable child. All of this running, this fighting, it's meaningless.' she thought, looking up into the sky. 'Why am I here? What am I even doing?'

"I see everyone has gathered!" called out an authoritarian voice. A familiar one too, as Ryuu stuck her head out from around the corner to investigate, finding  Shakti with a small force of Ganesha Familia members. "Here are your orders! We have a massive shortage of people at the moment, the Guild workers and some volunteers will be curing the injured and taking care of the corpses in the streets. Meanwhile, it is up to us to fight against Evilus with all of our might! We must become the shields that protect the citizens of Orario!" she called out, as the members of Ganesha Familia cheered on, fire ignited in their systems.

Ryuu was shocked to see Shakti out at the moment. She assumed the woman would be spending as much time around Ardee as possible, sitting next to the burnt girl in her hospital bed, holding her hand as she waited for her sister to awaken. And yet, here she was, working to protect Orario as if nothing had happened in the first place.

"I will remind you all one more time!" she decreed, addressing the group. "Never let your guard down, and don't show any mercy towards Evilus! Do not make the same foolish mistake Ardee made!" she exclaimed, causing Ryuu's heart to stop as she heard it, wondering briefly if she had been hearing things, only to be proven wrong.

"Ardee was foolish, almost got herself killed, and would have deserved to be killed had Akihide not saved her! She almost died whilst trying to save the enemy, a foolish decision! The enemy will not hesitate if you try to save them! They will explode and kill you, so kill them if they cannot be forcibly taken alive! I won't tolerate any of you making the same mistakes as Ardee and following her to the hospital, or worse, hell! Now go!" ordered Shakti, as the members made their way outwards, slightly awkwardly after that speech. And Ryuu stepped out of the corner, catching Shakti's attention. "Hello, Lion. Are you out here by yourself?" she asked, as if nothing had happened, looking around for another person. "You shouldn't be out here alone, you should go and regroup with Alise and the othe-"