Chapter 4: The Meaning of a Punch

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

A full day managed to go by peacefully. Training was still as intense as I expected, and yet, much more balanced when compared to the first day.

The wooden swords we used were fairly sturdy and resilient, but still a far cry from the real deal.

Unlike her poor performance with her bare hands, Adela seemed to have a decent understanding of swordsmanship. Not only was her footwork more stable, but her grip over her blade costed me a few defeats during our lengthy sparring session.

I still got the best of her more times than she could over me, but the difference in combat prowess with a blade was less than I had thought it to be.

Lunch and Dinner went by smoothly and uneventfully, with Archie joining us for some conversations through the meals. Since the ship was out of harm’s way, he was allowed to stand away from the cockpit and rest away from his tasks as the ship’s pilot.

He would quip his own thoughts over the various topics brought up in each discussion, while also quietly running some quick check ups over the current status of the ship.

The fuel was going to keep the vehicle running for at least four months at our current pace, and the food stored away in special containers within the kitchen were meant to last for two more months.

Sleep came faster and surprisingly way more calmer than I had imagined. Since we all had been frightened because of the blockade, I had thought that a few nightmares would’ve come around and ruined my chances of having a good night of rest.

And yet I was blessed with a dreamless sleep session.

Morning went by calmly and devoid of surprises like the ones of the day before. But while we were away from facing a new crisis, that didn’t mean that these hours were without some curious culture shock now that Addie and I were discussing some more about Humans and Primes.

“But why so many wars?” The young queen pressed on, looking legitimately confused as to why human civilizations were known for warring with each other.

“Resources, land- greed. It’s all about getting something from an enemy,” I muttered calmly, leaning back on the couch we were sitting by. “And while there have been times where it was more of a defensive take of a conflict, we still demanded something from the losing side.”

The Coyote Prime had a tiny book she had planned to read during this little break from training, but she had delayed that situation just to learn more about me. In return, I was asking more about Prism and… I too was confused over some topics that just didn’t make any sense to me.

Like if Gods exist, then why did they favor one race over the others?

Sure, we humans weren’t shy from painting ourselves as paragons of morality and civilization with movies and books, but I can easily say that the Primes didn’t seem to have a particular reason to be favored.

In fact, the more I studied the matter, the more I realized that the reason why no war had ever come to be in Prism was because the deities were constantly intervening and preventing large fights.

Competitions to test warriors’ potential were well accepted in fancy tournaments, but nothing was waged out of self-interest and against the greater good of Prism’s civilization.

The only two instances that brought an end to this very peace were all related to the Empire.

The first one was when the Narakhans ‘came to be’. Adela didn’t know where they came from exactly or why they showed instantaneous dislike for Prism, but the Gods themselves saw it fit to curse their entire race to live within chaos, for chaos, and under chaos.

Then the Emperor, a powerful being able to muster masterfully chaos as an element, waged a war against Prism and the Gods.

Like the former episode, the deities tried to fix this issue with a punitive strike… only to discover that their powers meant nothing against this new threat.

And things took a turn for the worse when one of the Dragon Gods was killed during that confrontation, especially with the rest of the divine beings running away from the ‘God-Slayer’ and left Prism alone to face the full brunt of the invasion.

The Narakhans were coordinated and their attacks easily broke through the first brave lines of defense.

The battle for Prism lasted for five days, only for more than half the population to be forced to evacuate the planet.

Deeming it right to show his might once again, the Emperor did something that nobody had expected a foe to be able to accomplish.

Prism was destroyed by a single being, and those who survived were either killed, captured and turned to the empire cause, or even sent to remote planets in exile.

The largest group of Prime that lived after Prism’s destruction served and fought under the Royal Family.

Centuries easily dented over the manpower until the day I was summoned.

Now… it was only the two of us against a tyrannical government trying to exterminate any trace of resistance to its iron rule.

The thought had failed to settle only until I pondered over the Primes’ background, and while I was tempted to consider a cautious and lengthy approach to try and find the Crests, I knew that every passing moment would see the Empire growing stronger and more prominent in the galaxy.

We had to be bold with our moves for the sake of not dying.

“But why won’t you just… agree to share the resources?” Adela looked incredibly unconvinced of my explanation, and I couldn’t blame her for that.

The mere concept of a race that would be so fragmented and divided had to sound jarring compared to the state Prism was before its destruction.

The young woman mentioned that there was just a single government ruling the entire planet, which was surprising for me considering how easy it was for people to distrust each other.

But then again, there were factors that would make that situation possible.

The Gods themselves were a major contribution in keeping a single culture, a single ‘religion’, and a single language.

It was still a surprise, but I merely accepted it as a lucky beginning influencing the history of an entire planet to the best of futures…

Except the incapacity to fight in space.

Since starships lacked energy cannons, it would be impossible to make any genuine space warfare doable without hoping to intercept and board individual ships one at the time.

It was a disadvantage for Prism but also for the Empire.

Since the main purpose of the Emperor’s military was to invade a planet that didn’t have any orbital defense, it just didn’t seem ‘important’ enough to create weapons capable of shooting down ships from a safe distance.

“Because the easy way is ignored for the bountiful one,” I remarked calmly. “And before you ask, war isn’t my expertise. I was a student when I left.”

Addie nodded, her green eyes moving away from me for a moment as she seemed to be thinking about something else.

“A student is… someone that learns things at... school?”

Blinking, I felt surprised at receiving such a simple question. Part of me just wanted to rebuke with a simple ‘of course’, but then I remembered that Adela didn’t have the same upbringing as mine.

Always on the run, the only knowledge she had was from her mother and the few tutors she managed to study under.

“Yes,” I replied, hoping for my tenseness to not appear within my words.

“Can you tell me more about it?” She inquired with some curiosity.

I nodded, “Sure.”

I tried to keep my explanation to just the years before Uni. I knew that going through that would only get some headaches from the two of us.

This topic was the last one we discussed, with it taking the remaining time of the pause before we had to return to the gym room to resume our training.

Addie was waiting by the doorstep of the kitchen as I went to retrieve some water battles as the ones we had been using until now were close to being completely empty of water.

Humming quietly as I looked inside the fridge, I calmly took out two cool bottles out of it and… then paused when I noticed that there was something off with the current situation.

I tensed up out of instinct, my eyes narrowing as I looked around to understand what got me this nervous all so suddenly and then I ended up staring at the tiny window that gave sight over the ship’s right side.

At first I thought that the blackness of space was going to greet me, and yet I saw another color in its stead.

It was a dark-red, and some orange details over the surface of what looked to be-

“Archie,” I called with a loud tone, knowing that the spirit had access to the cameras within the ship and could hear us from anywhere within it.

“Yes, boss?” The pilot replied through the communication system within the cameras.

“Can you access the external cameras and tell me why there is a fucking ship trying to board us?!”

My nervousness flared in a moment of angry panic and I heard Archie scrambling around to check on what I just told him.

There was silence for some time and I kept on staring at the small tube extending from the ship onto ours, ignoring as Addie decided to approach and check this with her own eyes.

“They actually found us?”

“Y-Yes, it’s the Empire.”

Paling a little bit, my brain tried to grasp over the fact that we had been caught without us even noticing about it.

Sure, I knew the Empire’s ships had a cloaking device that was able to hide their energy patterns, but it shouldn’t be able to trick a detection system by being this close to it.

And yet they did and… then I noticed another detail that I found the most confusing of this scene.

“It’s only this ship...”

I couldn’t see any other vehicles surrounding us, and while I was aware of the chances of others being cloaked, I couldn’t help but realize that they would’ve deactivated their cloak now that the boarding operation was now happening.

“It wouldn’t be the first time some grunts would try and get all the glory,” The young queen added dryly. “A few died because of it, but then there was this one that was obsessed in fighting mother’s guard.”

I blinked. “You mean… the one that tried to kill you both?”

Adela looked tense already, a mix of the reminiscence about that recent bad memory and the fact we had to deal with this new problem, but she still managed to offer a quick nod.

…

Wait, does the Empire know that Queen Rehema is now dead?

I had forgotten to take under consideration the fact that the assault force that was sent to destroy her entourage didn’t have any survivor out of that large explosion.

And since the ship that was once used by the group led by her was now flying in proper conditions, maybe they thought both the former ruler and her guard were still alive.

“Archie, can you try to shake them off by-”

“To the current occupants of the ship, this is Captain Carmesi of the Empire. Your ship is now being towed, and attempts to try to escape shall be met with extreme prejudice,” A woman interrupted loudly with this announcement. “I shall expect to find the leader of this rabble and her guard to come by the storage bay of the ship in two minutes from now. If the request is ignored, then I shall directly order the ship’s destruction.”

A few quiet moments passed once the announcement was over. Then I stared at Adela with a confused look.

“Why would she-”

“It’s the one that was obsessed with mother’s knight,” The young queen answered curtly, and I got most of my confusion solved with those few words. “Still, I think we should make a detour.”

I frowned at her as she started to walk towards the doorstep, stopping just for a moment to grace me with a determined look.

“The Armory is before the Storage Bay. I guess we need to dress accordingly to greet our foes,” The Coyote Prime added, her smile widening. “I hope you're planning something once we get rid of them.”

The degree of trust and certainty her words were dripping me was enough to make me smile back… but also worry about the true extent of our current circumstance.

While it was good to keep up an optimistic look over the situation, I was more of a realist when tackling a problem.

And I was really hoping things were as easy as they looked like.

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Gearing up for the approaching brawl, we were both greeted with a slow clapping coming from atop one of the various boxes within the storage bay.

I looked up at the origin of the sound, narrowing my eyes at who I presumed to be the leader of the enemy ship.

Light-blue eyes bore on us with a curious and mirthful glint. Her hair was mostly brown, with several of her frontal bangs a bright blonde.

The Fox Prime looked incredibly slender, and her armor fitted over her slim body almost flawlessly.

But as I studied her armor… I couldn’t help but frown at how skimpy it looked.

Not that it was showing any of her modesty, but… I could see a glaring weakness on it.

“Finally, I was starting to think I was being ignored,” The woman muttered, a tiny smirk on her face as she jumped off the crate she had been sitting on for the whole time. “And… what are you?”

She pointed at me with a confused look, and I frowned.

“I’m a human, and my name is-”

“Theo,” Addie interjected much to my sudden annoyance.

The Fox Prime blinked in confusion at this, her arms crossing under her bust.

“A human? I hope you understand that you were just pulled within this conflict without even realizing that you’re fighting for the losing side,” The captain remarked. “Still, I suppose the queen is going to join us soon.”

...

“The queen is already there,” Adela replied dryly, drawing the captain’s attention on her.

Carmesi blinked, perplexed by the choice of words… but then she snorted.

“Funny joke aside, princess, where is your mother and that bastard that is-”

“Roland?” I interrupted calmly. “He died after mortally wounding Queen Rehema. He was corrupted with the Taint.”

If there had been any hints of disbelief about Adela’s claim within the Fox Prime’s face, now that I had given more details over the matter I could see her resolve wavering.

“A ruse to get me to not fight? I will still destroy the ship if I’m not granted what I ask, so it’s futile that you delay the inevitable,” The Captain retorted sternly.

“Tough luck, lady. We told the truth,” I shot back fiercely. “Plus, don’t you think it odd that there isn’t more of us coming here to beat you back?”

“Once again, it could all be a trick-”

“To what end?” The Coyote Prime interrupted with a frustrated tone. “Why would we need to delay this situation? Why not defeat you here and now?”

Carmesi was taken aback by that rebuttal, but as she prepared to reply to that she stopped before she could say anything about it.

Her mouth opened and closed, offering no logical response to that, but then she snarled in irritation at this predicament.

“So this is it? He just died like… that?!”

“Pretty much,” I replied without thinking. “I mean, I did use some explosives but-”

“You what!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud.

“Nothing,” I tried to defuse the ticking bomb I just enabled, but I soon discovered that it was already too late for that.

“You were the one that killed Roland? You?” Carmesi’s lips twitched in clear amusement and disbelief. “Don’t try to make me laugh. You, a ‘human’, is behind the death of one of the strongest enemies of the Empire.”

Now that she puts it like this… I actually didn’t pay much attention to the whole power scale thing. I mean, I just tricked the guy into triggering some explosives that obliterated him.

Not much of a ‘fair fight’ to begin with.

“He did,” Adela vouched calmly.

The captain’s amusement vanished in a single blink, and a scowl replaced her amused twitching lips.

“If so, then how about you prove your words by the way of the blade?” Carmesi asked fiercely, deploying what at first looked to be two daggers… only for the two weapons to extend into curved swords.

“I don’t need to prove anything,” I remarked sternly, unsheathing my sword and preparing for the fight. “But I agree. I will show you that you’re not going to win this battle, Captain.”

The Fox Prime chuckled. “Truly? Then come forth!”

I complied instantly, rushing towards my single enemy, only to be met mid-way by her. A grin was there on her visage, an attempt to reply at my uneasiness as I was quick to pick up that my opponent was a speedster.

Our blades clashed in a mighty match, sparks exploding from that single contact as the young woman tried to push me away and gain an opening through that victory. Yet I proved her plan futile as I shoved her back, getting just a cut on her cheek as I pushed my sword forward towards her face much to her surprise.

While Carmesi was faster than I was, I was slightly stronger than her.

The fight was still in its early stage, but I wasn’t willing to let my enemy recover and get her mind out of her arrogant self. She still couldn’t believe I killed the one that had been winning against her for a while now.

I wasn’t sure how much time of her life that took out of her, but I was also sure that she wasn’t planning to let go of that without killing the one that deprived her of that chance.

Still, the Fox Prime had yet to accept me as a worthy opponent and she was holding back a lot because of it.

At this point, I really needed to capitalize on giving damage now that I knew I could deal some.

Despite the first injury, Carmesi pressed on with the assault and tried to unbalance my footing and disarm me by striking me relentlessly with both her short swords.

My tight hold over my blade seemed to resist well enough for me to break the stalemate with a quick kick on her ribs.

She yelped in surprise, backing away for a moment to reassess her situation.

“So you know how to fight?”

I didn’t reply at that bait, but I still advanced on her defensive stance. This proved to be a mistake as soon I found myself deprived of a stable footing. Her right leg came in to sweep at my own without notice, and I tripped forward because of it.

Rolling away, the Fox Prime merely stood over me and gloated even more.

“Truly a shameful display.”

I gritted my teeth, picking up the sword and standing up to face her again.

I will give you ‘shameful’.

Another clash ensued as I got close enough, but instead of me merely pushing her back, I moved my left arm away from holding the hilt and cocked it in a fist.

Carmesi recoiled in surprise as a punch slammed on her cheek, creating a good distraction to push her aside and stab again towards the best opening available in her stance.

Pain flashed in her blue eyes as I managed to leave a large cut on her shoulder, but not enough to dissuade her from the close encounter.

“Fair enough!” She exclaimed fiercely. “I guess I should take you more seriously.”

Those words weren’t the ones I needed to hear now that I was making good progress.

As I had expected, her pace increased even more, and the speed of her attacks started to genuinely pose a problem for my stance as I was swiftly put on the defensive.

“What’s wrong now?” The woman asked giddily. “Having some issues with the heat?”

I huffed, shoving some of her strikes as quickly as I could, surprisingly enough managing to stave off almost everything. Some of her hits still managed to leave cuts all over my jacket.

“You really like the sound of your voice… don’t you?” I shot back, only to get rebuked with an unpleasant development.

My first injury was when her left blade took a sudden swing at my right knee, cutting just above the midpoint and sending some blood flying.

“Maybe I do,” Carmesi confirmed dryly. “But you seem to crave punishment.”

Shaking my head as I tried to keep a solid stance despite my noticeable wound, I studied what I could do to subvert her advantage.

I had some explosives but… I wasn’t sure how I could use those to beat her without damaging any of the boxes around us. The resources there were essential, and I had to do some damage control for what happens after this fight.

If there is an ‘after’ to it.

“Why?”

The Fox Prime blinked as she blocked the first strike of my desperate offensive. “Hmm?”

“Why did you want to beat Roland?”

Instead of just focusing on the fight, my enemy grinned.

“Because he beat me.”

“And you wanted to… beat him back?”

“Yeah,” She replied quickly. “And what are you trying to get out of these questions?”

“That’s simple,” I said, backing away as she slammed my sword off with the clash. “I don’t think you’re doing this out of duty, but out of personal gains.”

A snort left Carmesi’s lips. “And what if I am?”

“Then you’re gambling for the worst side.”

Her eyes narrowed on me, but I still continued to speak.

“The best you can get out of this is a promotion. But gratification? You’re in easy mode by playing on the side that is already winning,” I pointed out. “And I can tell from the way you fight and speak that this isn’t what you want.”

“And you think you know ‘what I want’?” She demanded, her tone hinting at some interest about what I was saying. “Then let me ask, what do I get out of betraying the just cause of the Emperor?”

“You wouldn’t be limited by any restrictions a military would impose to its soldiers. You would be a warrior, capable of making your own decisions. You wouldn’t be punished to death if you think differently from us.”

“And?”

I frowned. “And we have a Gym Room?”

…

“Hehe,” She shook her head, her stance easing up as she addressed the matter with proper attention. “You- you, a weak fool, is trying to convince me to switch sides!?”

I tensed up at her giddy look and then… she sighed.

“I will give you one chance, just because I’m now interested to see how far you would go with your word,” Carmesi proclaimed with a serious tone. “I know you’re holding back just like I am, and today I wanted to fight a memorable battle.”

She shrugged. “We stop holding back, and I will consider joining if you win.”

Holding back? She wasn’t at her maximum just yet?

That was news I really was having trouble digesting, but I was also confused by something else.

I’m holding... back? I’m putting everything in this fight, and I’m quite sure there is nothing I can pull within myself.

Despite this dreadful circumstance, I knew that I couldn’t just back away from the challenge.

Adela was giving me a tense look, her hold over her bow tightening as she seemed prepared to intervene in case things went wrong with my attempt.

But… I wasn’t going to lose. Not now!

“Fine! Let’s see what you’re holding back then, Carmesi!”

Her grin widened, and instead of resuming the brawl at once, the young woman took her time to do something.

A frown adorned my face as I saw something strange happen around her, and with myself.

The temperature of the room seemed to increase, and my throat tightened as my nostrils caught the familiar scent of… smoke.

Tiny drop-like flames started to appear around her form, her blades suddenly glowing a bright red.

“I hope you’re ready… because I will burn you up!”

She bolted, her speed reaching an insane level as I saw her smile already over me as her swords, currently lifted up and poised to strike, descended towards me.

Bringing the sword up just in time, I managed to clash against the stronger push coming from the Fox Prime. I could feel the heat, with my hands becoming sweatier at the unexpected development.

I couldn’t still wrap my head around it, and yet it would make sense for someone as hot headed as Carmesi to be given the rank of Captain despite the fact she still looked as old as Addie and I were.

The magical fire, the incredible strength behind her attacks-

Carmesi was the Crest of Fire.

Crap.

“Again? Why the gawking? Something caught you off-guard.”

“Yes,” I blurted nervously. “You… You really aren’t holding back.”

She actually giggled. “Damn right, little human!”

Against all the odds stacked against me, I managed to grin myself at her eagerness.

“Then I shall provide my best.”

A snort left her lips. “You better.”

I pushed myself to my very limits just to match up her hits with mine. The sparks born from these quick-paced clashes were far more intense and fiery compared to before and I could feel my hold over the sword slipping the more I kept this close to the heat.

But then I started to feel… better. Something burned from within my chest and I felt my tiredness vanish without notice as I started to hit faster and stronger.

Carmesi realized that something had changed in my pattern instantly, and her stare grew predatorial over the chances of this being what she was searching for.

“Finally.”

I frowned as I saw my sword and arms glowing- actually, my entire body was. It was a suave glow, so soft that I barely noticed at first glance.

I could tell that this was some magical boost but… was it the sword? It has to be.

But why now and… why was it helping me despite me killing its former owner?

Ultimately I decided to ignore this situation and press on this new advantage.

The Fox Prime backed away from a moment as she conjured a fireball on her palm, the attack rushed at me instantly and I barely dodged it. Another one was thrown, but instead of letting her target me like this, I rushed forward to resume the melee.

Her swords moved just in time to intercept my blade, but the surprise at the sudden increase of pace seemed to work well as a distraction to get her hold over her weapons less than it was a while ago.

I swung the sword upward, and her short blades were yanked off her hands.

We stopped for a moment, her wide-eyed look turning at her empty palms and then at me.

Surprise was mixed with something else. It was an expectation. Directed at me.

For a moment I was confused as to what she would want from me but… then I realized what she was indirectly asking.

Dropping the sword, I tightened my fists in preparation and Carmesi’s grin returned stronger than before as she took a stance herself.

We rushed back into the close fight, my jab reaching her nose, while hers slammed up to my chin.

The exchange was quite intense, and I could feel bruises forming with each attack we shared. She was vehement, but I wasn’t joking around with my own hits.

One thing was certain despite the frenetic pattern of this true brawl. Neither of us was trying to kill the other.

Gone was the fire and so my body felt fatigued once again. The punches and the kicks only worsened that state of tiredness we were both suffering through to the point where we had to stop and merely stare.

Barely standing up, still smiling as this felt to be the most honest display of opinions clashing with one another… the Fox Prime shook her head.

“For a time… For a time I thought this to be just a dream,” The girl muttered calmly. “To fight, to laugh and… to be there to do this with others.”

“You sound… like you wanted a friend.”

The young woman snorted. “As- As if.”

I managed a weak shrug, turning my attention elsewhere.

“So… are you joining us?”

…

“Only… only if I can punch you in the face-”

“And I punch yours.”

We shared a laugh, but that was the last thing we did before our tired bodies were left spent and unable to stand up. We fell down, slamming one close to the other and the last thing I saw was Adela rushing towards us.

Who would’ve thought that making friends by fighting was this easy...

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AN

A new crew member? Although she is a fiery spirit, she is also someone complicated and important! Who knows what happens next?