Gate Guardian - Tale of the Blazing Heart

Phase 15: Support Guardian

Phase 15: Support Guardian

According to Mia, she often sees Erylle stargazing in the middle of the night, crying silently. Mia would comfort her often. Erylle has been like this for two years. She hasn't moved on about her past a little bit. Not until the Summer Pageant.

[Transfield]

[7:37 PM]

"Let's finish this, Yohan!"

"Yeah!"

The moment Heushac shouted, he readied his sword to parry the Mantis' scythe. It's pretty much strong for a Level 1 Eidolon, but we're supposed to hunt this mantis anyway.

There are four levels of Eidolons. Level 1 Eidolons are not that strong for an average Guardian. Once they ate enough human souls, they evolve to level 2, which makes them ten times stronger than their first level.

The giant werewolf monster that attacked me when I first accidentally opened a Gate is an example of Level 2 Eidolons. Another example is the skeleton from the haunted house. Some of them, if they're capable, can proceed to another level. Level 3 Eidolons are ten times stronger than those of Level 2, and only a Class S Guardian can defeat those in a one on one battle. The cthulhu monster falls in this category. It's really a miracle how Erylle survived in that Eidolon.

Level 4 Eidolons stay out of the evolution cycle.. Erylle said that if I saw one of that, I should run and pray for the same time. Even a hundred Guardians will have a hard time defeating it. But those types of Eidolons only appear once in a century, so there's nothing to worry about.

About the enemy, it's not like an ordinary mantis. It's way bigger than me, maybe three times. It's too agile for me to hit and quick enough to hit me uncovered. It has four eyes and its skin is colored brown. It's scary, and I don't want to run into these things when I'm alone.

A loud metal noise became the product of Heushac parrying the scythe. That's my opportunity. I immediately dashed forward and punched the mantis' head. It was not enough, as I thought, but I got the ability to think fast based on my vision because of my eyes. It's my Guardian Ability.

I made connections and punched the enemy's head simultaneously, left and right, jab, hook and uppercut. That is my fury.

Sadly enough, it didn't have any effect.

The right scythe came rushing towards my face, but Heushac blocked it again with his broadsword.

"Stay back for a while, Yohan. Let me take over!"

I did what he wanted. I ran away and made a safe distance. Heushac started shouting, jumping for about three meters high, and smashed his thick broadsword into the mantis' head, slicing the mantis into two with his sword spell.

"<Tectonic Blow>!!!"

The broadsword glowed with red light and the ground shattered, letting pieces of earth fly and making a small crater on the ground. Then Heushac made a back step, and casted another spell.

"<Heavy Swing>!!!"

His broadsword from his left side made a blinding horizontal blow to the right, making through the mantis' upper body halfway sliced.

"B-B-Bzzzt..."

The mantis flinched and it exploded the moment Heushac drew his sword back from its sliced carapace. I sat down on the snowy ground and caught my breath. I almost depleted my stamina.

Heushac sheathed his sword unto his back and it evaporated into tiny light particles that flew into the air. He came to me and offered me a hand which I took and pulled me to stand up.

"We're finished here. Good job, bro!"

"It's fine by calling me by my first name..."

I just smiled, catching my breath. Sigh. I barely did enough. All I know is to distract the enemy. My Guardian ability is not even close to being useful. My punches are even empty.

Maybe I need to beef up. Or find a Weapon Gem like Heushac's broadsword, Erylle's bow or Mianette's staff. But it's really rare to find one. They told me that once I acquired a Weapon Gem, I can learn and teach myself new skills specifically for battle. I'll be much stronger.

<>

We came back to the bungalow where they lived. It was getting dark, and I plan to stay overnight again. We do this every Fridays and Saturdays.

Last week, I got trained by Mia. She's really noisy when it comes to training, and arguing with Heushac, but she's a really nice girl. I'm used to being yelled at, so her blabbing is not a problem to me. I managed to master all those boring support spells easily, since I have the spell book.

The only problem is that my offensive power is zero. Until now. They trained me how to fight, and we all know that I'm not improving. I'm close to giving up myself.

"What's the result?~" Erylle jumped onto my face and asked me. She was rather happy.

"No good. I'm nothing like Heushac."

"That's okay. You're still part of the Legion even if you can't fight~"

I know she's just trying to raise my confidence, but it's not getting any better right now. I know I'll be useless. Erylle's been pampering me for weeks but her charismatic smile doesn't help me anymore. Maybe...

"Here~"

She put a folded red cloth on my hand. It appears to be a jacket. It has a mark of a heart on fire on its back.

"You're an official part of the Legion now, so don't lose confidence. You can still do healing spells at the back when in battle."

That's better than being useless. I've decided. I'll be the support type Guardian! Sigh, she succeeded on pampering me again. I can't resist her delicate face and beautiful voice. Well, it's a good thing right?

It's been a month since I became a Guardian. I always join their Eidolon hunting in Transfield, though I don't participate in the actual battle. I'll just watch them from the corner. There's nothing I can do to help them. I mean, they are really strong, and I'm going to become a nuisance if I get on their way.

I don't get to fight the Eidolons, so that means no Quintessence for me. Wrong! Quintessences are equally distributed among us in our Legion. We take turns on harvesting Quintessence. Erylle even gave a bonus of thirty for me when I was baptized.

"Hey..."

Erylle tapped me and pointed on the sofa. It was Heushac, eating a sandwich and Mia, serving him some grape juice. I bet Mia made that specifically for Heushac of course. It's not really a rare sight. Most of the time, they spend together like this. Next day, they will have a kiddie fight again.

"Aren't they a cute couple?~"

Mia overheard what Erylle said, and then threw the juice on Heushac's head. Her face became red as tomato and cried so loud.

"W-W-W-W-We're not a c-c-c-couple!!!!"

"Oh?~" Erylle made a smile and a suspicious look. "I'm sorry I ruined your atmosphere~"

"T-T-There's no atmosphere!!! W-W-We're not like you two having some lovey-dovey after that Summer Pageant!!!!"

"Eh!?"

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