Raid: The Blacksmith-Chapter 82: Get The Fuck Up: Part One

The F-Rank is sent flying at a speed beyond anything the eye can see towards the mountains. His body sliced into multiple pieces, that along with the mountains he’s sent hurling to. He crashes hard into the rubble of extreme height and sinks deep within it without his momentum decreasing even a little.

The sky clears up, and even the night’s darkness seems to brighten up also, as if morning is approaching. The radiation of pure energy that seemed to hold the very air around by its neck dissipates, allowing Taipan, the unofficial leader of the Twelve Guardian Shadows, the strongest surbodinate of the Reinhardt Family, of Andrew Reinhardt, number one, to slowly descend down and land safely on the now snow deprived ground. The cold wind that once blew is no more. Instead, the air now feels warm as the sun, or a sun, rises.

"Hah." Taipan sighs. "In all my thirty-three years of being a Warrior, I’ve never had a battle that intense. That Raid kid really is a different kind of monster. How can someone be that strong in just a manner of three days? I’d understand if he Awakened as an A-Rank Warrior or higher, but his Rank is F, the weakest there is. His strength goes against every rule the System has set, no such anomaly should exist." He exclaims to himself. "Still, he hadn’t gotten as strong as he could’ve had he been left unchecked. There’s no way he survived that attack. My mission is complete. I should leave this Dungeon now." He turns to the direction leading to the Dungeon Gate, away from the mountains Raid was sent flying to, but immediately pauses afterwards, a hint of doubt clouding his mind.

"What the heck is this feeling...?" He wonders. "I’m sure he’s dead. There’s no way he isn’t, but..." He pauses and looks behind him, towards the mountains now turned into a great pile of rubble of immense height. "Why do I feel the compelling need to double check?" He questions. "... Hah, fine. I’m still sure he didn’t survive that, but if ever my instincts had failed me once since the day I became a Warrior, I wouldn’t be alive to this day. I’ll just go check to make sure, and if he’s simply half-alive, desperately clinging on to life with will alone, I’ll just finish him off accordingly." He declares and sets off towards the great pile of mountain rubble.

*******

"Master! No!" Is the last thing I hear as my body is split into pieces, and I’m sent flying towards the mountains. I crash hard into them as they’re also split into pieces, causing the resulting rubble to bury me underneath.

Now I can’t see anything. Nothing but utter darkness. The pain I feel is indescribable. I don’t even know how I’m still alive.

"...ster!"

I hear a faint voice.

"...aster!"

Someone is calling out to me.

"Master!"

It’s Dawn.

"Master! Please tell me you’re okay!"

"Dawn? Where... are you?" I ask.

"I-I’m still in the Item Space, Master!"

"Oh yeah? That’s good, so you’re safe." I say in relief.

"Why, Master!? Why won’t you let me protect you!? Why aren’t you letting me out of the Item Space!?" Dawn asks. Her voice laced with aching worry. But it’s her question that confuses me.

"What? What do you mean by that? You don’t need my permission to exit the Item Space, you can do so anytime you want." I affirm.

"But I can’t, Master!" She retorts. "I tried to when that attack hit you earlier! And I’ve been trying to ever since. Something’s preventing me... from leaving... the Item Space...!" Her voice fades off midway as if she’s whispering... or yelling from afar.

I don’t hear what she says at the end so I ask. "What? I can’t... I can’t hear you Dawn. You said something is preventing you from what?"

"Something’s stopping me from-"

...

Silence. She gets cut off immediately before finishing. I can’t even sense her from the Item Space anymore. More than that, I can’t even sense the Item Space itself anymore. I’m completely isolated.

"Dawn?" I call. "Dawn!?" Then shout internally. "What the hell?" I question.

I can’t see anything, now I can’t hear anything. My body’s in immense pain... And that’s when I hear it. A voice. A deep, dark voice. No... that’s inaccurate. There’s still no sound. It’s not something I hear, but something I feel. Not even in the telepathic sense. The voice feels like it’s speaking directly through my soul.

"Just... just what the fuck is going on?"

Get UP, Stupid.

"Huh?"

GET The FUCK Up.

"... That’s not Dawn’s voice. Who are you?"

Oh, YOU Know ME.

"No, I really don’t."

THINK Back... STUPID.

"... ’Stupid’... you mean... from my first kill-?"

-Our- FIRST Kill.

"You’re telling me that wasn’t just my subconscious talking to me or some shit?"

OH, I DON’T Know, YOU Tell ME. Is THIS Real? OR Are YOU Just A Psychopath WHO Talks TO Himself IN Times OF Crisis?

"Really leaning towards the psychopath scenario-"

Or MAYBE, The QUESTION You -SHOULD- Be ASKING Yourself IS — Does ANY Of THAT Shit MATTER?

"I’d like to think finding out if I’m a psychopath or not matters quite a bit."

NO... Not IN The GRAND Scheme OF Things... NOT When YOU’RE About TO Die, ANYWAY...

"Don’t you mean, we’re about to die?"

Heh... SMARTASS. Just GET The FUCK Up, ALREADY.

"Easier said than done, voice in my head... I don’t know if you’ve noticed but, my legs and arms are cut off. My torso’s split in half. And I can’t even use Resilient Regeneration. ’Cause it’s a fucking Spiritual attack."

WOW. Pitiful... YOU’RE Really GONNA Allow A Measly A-RANK To PUT You IN This STATE?

"’Measly A-Rank’? Did you not see what he just did?"

So HE Can SPLIT Up A Few MOUNTAINS... Big DEAL.

"’Big deal’? You can’t be serious. Do you even hear yourself? Why don’t you fight him then-?"

I Can’t. ’CAUSE You’re THE One IN Control, STUPID... You’re THE One WHO Needs TO Get THE Fuck UP... So GET The FUCK Up.

"I’m the one in control...? Yeah... I’m the one in control... this... this is all my doing. I’m the one preventing Dawn from leaving the Item Space. I’m the one who cut her off along with the Item Space. ’Cause subconsciously, I still want to fight. Even though it looks like I’ve lost, I still want to fight. And I don’t want any distractions. Yeah... You’re right. Or should I say, I’m right. I do need to get the fuck up. So get the fuck up, Raid. Get the fuck up!"

"Hah." I manage to let out a sigh, even under all this rubble. "Alright... Let’s do this then. Tenacity..." I whisper. "Heed my command."

As soon as I say that, an indescribable sound travels through practically the entire Dungeon. One that makes it feel as if the Dungeon itself is breaking apart.

[Report! The Aspect of Tenacity has heeded your command. The Aspect of Tenacity is and always will be yours to command. You will not truly die as long as Tenacity exists.]

I move my hand. A hand I don’t even have, yet the sensation is real. The thought alone is enough to turn all the rubble in the area to dust in seconds, with the wind immediately blowing said dust away in the process. From it, I emerge, a floating half torso with just its head intact, my eyes gleaming a deep maroon hue. I don’t regenerate, rather the split up body parts that were cut off levitate and return to me at great speeds. A white light shines around them to put them back together with my body in no pretty manner whatsoever. It looks like the white light is trying to glue them back together like broken plate pieces, rather than genuinely healing me. First comes the lower half of my torso. Then my right leg. Then left arm, along with Left Fang, still gripped tight by my left hand. And then my left leg, followed by my right arm, also along with Right Fang, its chain dangling from the handle. My clothes, however, are still in shambles.

"Aren’t they supposed to be healing as well? Considering all this energy surrounding me, right now...? Unless... Isn’t this...? This energy... Is it not Mana...?" I wonder... but immediately dismiss whatever outlandish assumptions I may have about what’s happening. "Hah... Whatever it may be, none of it really matters. Not now of all times."

I look ahead, in front. Only about fifteen or so metres away, stands a man. A very annoying man. Clad in pure black attire. Wielding two black daggers. His name is Taipan. And he’s a real jackass.

"Seriously... this bastard really put me through it." I sigh.

But then... why is he making that face?

Upon closer inspection, he’s...

"Well lookie here, someone’s seems shocked I’m still alive." I taunt. Even at this distance, he hears me, and immediately responds.

"You... just... what the hell are you?" He asks. His tone sounds genuine, as if he’s honestly hoping to get an answer. His eyes are spread wider than I’ve ever seen him since this battle started. He looks like he’s seen a ghost, which, technically, from his point of view, isn’t that far off. "How the hell did you survive that? No, more than that, how the hell are you still standing tall, right now!?" He yells.

Well, I’m technically not standing, rather still floating. I then stop as my feet softly connect with the ground, then start approaching him. "Wow, number one..." I say with a combination of a cold glare and a devilish grin forming on my face. "I think that might be the first time I’ve seen you lose your cool." He instinctively steps back a bit as I slowly draw closer. "What’s wrong? Scared? Is that a foreign feeling for you? Or have you felt it before from a certain someone I don’t think we need to specify."

"Heh!" He manages to let out a snicker even as his hands begin trembling a little. "You’re so arrogant that you would readily compare yourself to the Great Lord? I’m not scared of you, kid." He quickly denies. "So you rose from the dead. Big deal, I’ll just have to kill you again. And if you wake up again, I’ll kill you again. I’ll keep killing you until you stay dead if I have to. You’re not leaving this Dungeon alive, you hear me?" He quickly takes a battle stance.

"Really?" I snicker myself. "Alright, if you still think you have what it takes even now, then go ahead and try, fair warning though. Right now, I can’t explain it in words but, the power I feel... I don’t know, I just... really don’t see myself losing this one." I take a battle stance myself.

Then, once again, for the last time, we clash.