THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

"Ahaha!! Yes!! Yes!! This is what I like!! Run faster, prey!! Run!!" 

"Tch." 

It has been a good while since we have started fighting and so far I haven't made any progress towards him. Almost half the buildings of the city have been blown away and I will soon lack footholds if we continue like this. Most of the Longinus that were still in the city have been taken care of as well though.

"Kriekk!!" 

And that's one more. The strong Longinus doesn't seem to have any particular trick with his bow. I have tried to stimulate him in many ways so far but never did his arrow changed course midway. I think it is time to switch tactics. 

"Let's try to deflect that thing first." It is risky but I am used to the power he is using right now.. I should be able to give it back to him. 

I stand on a roof of a house that is far enough from the tower he is on. With this distance, I should be able to clearly appreciate the power I need to use. 

"Oh…You want to face me head-on? Interesting!! Then receive it and prove your worth as a prey!!"

Why does this guy keep blabbering about hunter and prey? I am clearly the hunter here, am I not?

He shoots his arrow and the thing is even more powerful than before. This time, the shockwave that is released destroys a corner of the tower and even the stagnant and enclosed air that is inside the city swirls around the arrow as it is coming. Still, I can do this.

I present my raizen, blade upfront and greet the tip of the arrow with it. Without trying to force it to take a new path, I accompany it down a new road, smoothly, while injecting as much Angas as I can into my raizen. The arrow gets just slightly deflected but it is the slightly that is important. This slightly makes the arrow lands near the house instead of on it, saving a foothold for me to stand on.

The arrow crashes in the streets with a loud noise while pushing the mist around. The crater it leaves is quite something. 

"I see. So you aren't just a rabbit. You are a deer. Then I should change the way of the hunt as well to match my prey." 

Once again, the fucking bastard compares me to mere prey. 

"We will see who is the prey soon enough." Wait until I reach you. 

His bow starts wriggling around like a worm then from it, three other bows appear. All of them as big as the first one. All of his left side is now occupied with those and even part of his face is stretched. I tend to forget that they aren't human even they look like us. But now, i can't forget because this looks nothing like a human anymore.

"Let us restart the hunt, shall we?" 

***

"Come on! Come on!! Come on!!! Do it again!!!!" 

This guy is getting on my nerves. I feel like a dancer right now. Forced to react the way somebody else taught me and wants me to. Though I don't really have the choice. He is firing four arrows now with the same strength. And the way he does it is completely random. Sometimes, he would just fire one to entice me into deflecting it then fires others as I do. Sometimes he just fires everything. 

The most dramatic problem is that almost all the city's buildings are now gone. Only those that are closer to the tower aren't damaged since I haven't reached there yet. At this rate, this city will be a bigger ruin than outside once we finish. 

Speaking of outside, I don't hear any noises at all. This dome really blocks any sound coming from outside well. The mortars aren't even firing on the dome. Could it be that…Nah, I believe in Frankher. He won't be defeated so easily. K'nor, Willhem and the others are there as well. They will certainly be fine. Willhem and the others, huh…Farner, Lanuvel. I wonder how you are doing. They must be fighting as well right now. Maybe even harder battles than me. For their sake, I cannot die. I do not want to die.

"Take this!!" 

Three arrows come simultaneously and I use Disperse by reflex to avoid them. Fuck, I got distracted and shown him something I shouldn't have yet. 

"Excellent!! You really have good reflexes!! You are a worthy prey!!" 

"…" Did being complimented by a Longinus just made me happy? Seriously? How low am I right now to seek compliments from monsters?

He unleashes four arrows as powerful as the precedents and I am forced to use my first trump card…

"Unbelievable!! This is truly marvelous!!!" 

What is he getting so happy about? Anyway, I fly while circling around him but the guy doesn't even follow me with his eyes. Maybe I can shoot the pillar now…or not. The Longinus dall with him is still very focused on me. 

"To think that you were actually a bird. This is exhilarating!!" 

He finally turns towards me but right as he does...

"Finally." The first shot of the mortars lands on the dome. Creating a bright light inside for a second.

"Hmph! Those preys seem to be-"

"Kriekk!!" 

The Longinus dall screams to remind his owner that he should focus on the fight. Sadly for him, by the time our eyes meet, my bullets are all ready and fired at the pillar. Ten of them to make good measure and a diversion so that he doesn't know I am aiming at it.

"Yes!! Show me more!!" 

He shoots his arrows and they pierce through six of my bullets. I evade two of them and block the other two with my raizen, which then shatters from the impact.

"Yes!! Now that you lost you-" That guy truly didn't notice, huh. The pillar is destroyed and the dall has been hit on the head as well. They both fall to the ground in the middle of the smoke created by the explosion and the ray creating the dome disappear. 

"…Kriekkk!!!" 

The Longinus screams madly and the pressure created is immense. But it is not enough for me. And I can't let go of such an opportunity. I land next to him and slash through usibg Raizen, bringing one of his crystals out of his body. I could feel since earlier that he has five crystals inside him so now, there are only four to go.

"KRIEKK!!" I barely get the time to grab that crystal that his hand changes into a gigantic sword the size of two men. 

"Oh shit!" 

He brings down that sword like lightning and I am glad I know Disperse. I land at his left as the sword cuts through the buildings below. Everything got severed fifteen meters ahead of him or so. I can't get hit by that. 

"Kriekk!!!" 

Oh, it is time to go now. I fly backward and fall from the tower. 

"Where do you think you ar-" Right after, a gigantic fireball hits the top of the tower. "Krieekkk!!" 

You forgot that the dome is not here anymore, but I didn't. I see something shiny falling from the tower. Another one. I see, yes. I can feel only three crystals left up top at the rest of the tower. 

I grab the crystal fly then towards the center of the fight. I have no more reason to stay here.

"You are not going anywhere!!" 

That was of course without you in the program. From the sea of fire that is destroying the tower slowly, four arrows are shot once again but I evade them all this time. 

"You won't get me like this, you know?" 

I am not even sure if he heard it. I am almost at the city's entrance now after all. It is far from the tower that is in the middle of the city. 

"We will see about that, bird!!" Oh, he heard it. He has really sharp ears. 

Another set of arrows are shot and I dodge again.

"Kriekkk!!" 

Then the scenery in front of me changes. I almost forgot where I was thanks to this guy. There are Longinus and humans blend together everywhere. Some kirsurks are sticking out with their immense size but they are mostly being dealt with. There is also a clear line of defense draw by white armor guys behind, who are protecting the…

"Thirteen, fourteen. Fourteen mortars. Wow, you guys went all out." 

"Kriekk!!" 

As if it was waiting for me, a kirsurk fires a black fireball at me, ignoring the incoming fireball of a mortar that will soon hit him. But when it should reach me... 

"NOBODY TOUCHES MY PREY!!" My opponent screams so loudly the whole battlefield stops for a second. Then, one of his arrows pierces through the black fireball while our own hits the kirsurk who got distracted by his general's words. I am surprised though, he ran to the city entrance in such a short time? I can't neglect his speed then. 

"So selfish." You want me all to yourself like a stubborn child. Fine then, have at it. "Bring it on then!!"