The Hidden Gold, Beneath Our Feet [Job | Imai & Kirara]

"Strength". A word that may mean entirely different things to different people. For some, it may mean how much weight you can lift, how many large things you can break, or how many hits you could withstand. Those were common ideas of strength, to name a few. But true strength is very broad. It covers many different areas, and very few contain "real" strength. Real strength comes from the mind and the body. Mental strength comes from good morals, open-mindedness, not being broken by traumatic events, and pulling through many stress inducing situations. Physical strength contains many of the common beliefs, that's true, but it also covers more. You must first have a strong mind to possess a strong body, for it is useless for one to contain such bulk if they are broken down by a few simple words. A strong body comes from, in a nutshell, durability. That's all you reaply need for a strong body. Muscles are just for show. If you cant withstand a few hits, you do not possess a stronf body. So, the question we're presented with is; are Imai and Kirara truly strong? They have certainly proven themselves to be, so the answer to this question would stand at yes.

With this strength, Imai and Kiraea would prevail in tjeir journey and find that treasure! Her face burned with strong emotion at the thanks. She wasn't sure what it was,  but the feeling was reoccurring. It happened so often when she was in Imai's presence, and she couldn't figure out why. "And our voyage across the land leads us toooo..." Kirara's voice silenced. "... This." She sighed, as she would have preferred to not engage in another battle. She gasped. "Is it really? That guy's certainly no pushover based on what ive heard." Kirara began to tremble a little, but quickly calmed herself. She refused to let herself become afraid again. She would prove that her mental strength was at full effect! "This time, we're not fighting alone." Kirara clasped her hands together and began to chant. "It is true That Im prone to panic, but I say no more! For I have you,  the great Nemeanic!" After she finished, Nemeanic appeared, roaring with rage. "Who the hell does this guy think he is!?"

Imai grinded his teeth as the two treasure hunters showed up. And now that Harper was out to search for the treasure, they had to deal with this one crystal mage. “Hehe… you’re quite stubborn if you want to take us on by yourself,” the star mage slowly spoke to the hunter with a cocky tone. Despite that he wasn’t really feeling that well at the moment, he trusted in Kirara’s potential and that she would solve the problem before them. And she sure kept her promise as another deity was summoned by her, this time a more violent-appearing one. Even Imai felt intimidated by its sudden outrage, but it sounded like that it was on his and Kirara’s side. “I know, right? Let’s teach him a lesson, big guy,” Imai friendly suggested the strange summon, which shocke the hunter a little. “There’s damn no way that I’ll let you!” he roared out as a large spear was launched towards the group out of desperation and fear that the team would overpower him if the treasure hunter didn’t pull out the first move. Although, Imai was still helpful as he grabbed Kirara’s body and leaped upwards in a flash of blue light, watching that the hunter was mainly aiming for them. “Phew, that was close…” he expressed. As his feet landed, he would continue: “I hope that you’re just as strong as you’re scary, Nemendanaci-guy…”

Stubborn, idiotic, moronic, and insane. A few words many may use to describe anyone who would willingly engage in a 3 versus 1. Imai, Kirara, and Nemeanic vs The treasure hunter. This fight appeared to be in their favor. Though Nemeanic and the rest of her deities were fueled by her energy, Kirara could still go into action. She was a mean, clean, fighting machine! Though she would have to limit herself, as she couldn't keep it ongoing forever. If her and Nemeanic were to go full strength at the same time, Kirara would run out of energy a lot fast. Though that was the case, she wouldn't limit herself to the extent where she would be useless in combat. She doesn't want to have someone do all of the work for her, so she is slightly stubborn when it comes to that.

Kirara was a bit shocked by the sudden action, but luckily Imai had been at her side, so she was able to avoid the attack. "Hmph. What a dirty tactic." Kirara frowned. "Let's go, Nemeanic!" She called upon the lion deity so that they could attack him together. "Don't worry, Imai! I think we can do this! All of my gods are only as strong as I am." With that, Kirara quickly charged at the treasure hunter with Nemeanic behind her. She pulled out the rapier, and destroyed several blocks of crystals that were sent toward her. She thrusted her rapier at him, but he avoided it. She followed up by a quick onslaught assault of thrusts, but he managed to dodge them all. Nemeanic attempted to claw at him, but the treasure hunter seperated them by a block of crystal. He then sent Kirara flying into the air with the sudden burst of a crystal out of the ground. Nemeanic broke the crystal separating them and connected two slashes with his claws.

stats:

You could quickly see a thumbs-up of approval from the star mage as Kirara was about to take the charge. Luckily, that girl could quickly follow up with an action after the hunter’s attempt to surprise-impale them with his crystal magic. Not only did it fail, but he also left a good view on his magical sphere that was slowly trying to engulf everyone in the room; it had openings here and there. While Kirara struggled with the treasure hunter, Imai dashed pass the holes that were utterly camouflaged within the dome of crystals. He got closer to the crystal mage’s position and prepared to repay the surprise-attack from earlier, until Kirara came flying from below, alongside a rain of crystals from the block that hit her. “!!!” His reflexes rampaged at that moment, in which he flapped his hands out, “Kirara! Prepare to take him down..!” As he said that, air began sucking into the area between his hands that were held around a sudden, black orb. It was small, but it definitely looked like a black hole as it vacuumed in both the crystal shards and Kirara. Now, don’t think that his plan was to betray her and send her to some other dimension or anything; like if he had the power to, anyway. No, he managed to let the white hole (the black hole’s exit) right in front of the crystal mage, who suddenly saw shards hit his face and torso from nowhere. “ARG! WHAT THE HELL?!” the hunter complained in shock, totally open for the summoner’s wrath…

After he sent Kirara towards the crystal mage, Imai charged downwards with a fierce heel to the floor, causing the marble bricks to fly away from the small area around his figure. A hole would be formed, letting him into another room; an alter was visible a few meters ahead of him. He quickly looked upwards, a little worried if Kirara succeeded in bringing the other mage down, or if he was to regret for letting her behind this brief moment. Although, as he sighed, he did believe in her strength and that she would easily finish things up there…

Stats:

The treasure hunter's strength did not surprise her a bit. From her knowledge, they both had been in the treasure hunting business for years, so they were bound to have come into contact with other mages. However, Imai and Kirara were different from all of those other mages. They had determination, courage, and true strength. Not only that, they also have teamwork, as Imai would soon prove to them. Kirara was slightly stunned from the direct hit of the crystal, but she snapped out of it at the sound of Imai's words. She was not sure what it was that he was planning, but she trusted that it would work in their favor. She was a bit surprised by his idea, but she trusted him. She did not believe that he would betray her; she trusted him. So, to go along with his plan, she prepared herself. To ensure that the treasure hunter couldnt get away, Kirara called out to Nemeanic. "Nemeanic! Do the roar!" Nemeanic smirked and did as he was instructed. He ran toward the treasure hunter, grabbed the treasure hunter, and roared directly into the treasure hunters ear, dealing damage and stunning him.

After that had happened, Kirara was sucked into the hole and appeared in front of the treasure hunter. She flipped behind him and struck him the neck with her rapier. She wasnt interested in killing him, or anyone for that matter, so she struck him in an area that would incapacitate him, but not kill him. He went down with a not so subtle "Argh!" Kirara cheered and giggled. "Yeah! We did it, guys!" she high fived Nemeanic and looked around. "Hey, where did Imai go?" She had got so focused on what she was doing that she had lost sight of him.

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Imai quickly looked around the new platform, spotting the alter once again. Was that… weapons? Apparently, a lot of artifacts were present around the alter, along with a kind of staff on top of the alter. It was simply fashioned, being a black stick with a golden crown on the tip that resembled a kind of sun-moon thing. It caught his interest for a moment, before his eyes scanned the room for any threats; the other treasure hunter, Harper, had seemingly entered this area earlier. What if he… was waiting? To be on the safe side, Imai began checking around the place, looking over every corner to search for this guy. He just didn’t know that the hunter was the best crystal mage… and he had many ways of utilizing crystal dimensions; for example, using the surface as camouflage to blend in with the area…

Apparently, Sei could sense his presence nearby, but Imai was unaware of its warnings. “Huh? What’s going on, Sei?” he asked it. It would begin soaring around the place, having its eyes searching around slowly. As it returned its gaze towards Imai’s side, the star mage followed that gaze and spotted the appearance of Harper - just as the crystal mage was about to sneak-attack him. A moment after, the heavenly body user had his fist all over Harper’s face as it cracked by the sudden impact. The treasure hunter was pushed away as his feet glided on the floor. “Darn you and your little pest here..!” he roared out, “I finally found it! And then you… you ANNOYING, LITTLE BRAT!” Crystals appeared to be fueled by his rage as they engulfed Imai in the blink of an eye. “I won’t let you touch a single thing here! Begone! Be forgotten!” he crazily shouted to the star mage. Imai found himself kind of trapped; Sei even tried to attack the treasure hunter itself, too worried of Imai’s state to mind its own business. However, it appeared as if one of its many secrets wasn’t high talent in offensive combat. “Sei..!!!” Imai tried to call out to his friend, begging it to get away. Obviously, Harper had no trouble pushing it away with a crystal that imprisoned the little alien. It was launched down a few meters away from the crystal mage, leaving Sei immobilized. “Gah, how shameful… to be annoyed by mere kids. I, at least, expected a member of the MC himself, but you...” The crystals began to crack, seemingly tearing up whatever was within the lines that spawned from the breaking gem. It began approaching Imai as Harper continued: “You should’ve stayed in your kindergarten!!!” However, what Harper didn’t notice was Imai’s grinding teeth as the crystal began tearing up itself from his position, leaving him unharmed unlike earlier. From the cracking lines erupted bluish ‘flames’, reaching out towards the treasure hunter who suddenly leaped back from the phenomenon. “What?! Just what is going on with you..?!” he asked in confusion, only to hear Imai’s words of reply: “You know what happens with people that underestimate mere children… let me show you just how annoying that I am!” And with that sentence, the crystal broke down and freed him. It was a rather pretty picture with the shards floating around the room, with the background of Imai charging towards the crystal mage with a knee to the stomach. Although, as he kept with multiple volleys of attacks, Harper seemed to resist quite well. “You’re done for, old man!” Imai roared out, “I wonder…” A kick would suddenly launch Harper up in the air, while Imai appeared on the track, “… how shameful it will be to lose to a mere kid!!!” Rapidly, he continued by slamming the crystal mage down, but Harper was a smart one; he softened the fall with a crystal dome, apparently impenetrable. Well, Imai just had to find out himself… or until Kirara appeared. He was forcing himself a little too much, too; he needed assistance. Now.

Stats:

Kirara searched around for him frantically, but could not see very well due to her only being able to utilize the vision in her right eye, and the camouflaging effect of the crystals. "Neameanic, I can not find him! I don't know what to do!" Nemeanic roared. "RRRRAAAWWWRRR! Just start smashing up these crystals!" Nemeanic began to angrily thrash about, hacking and slashing any crystal that he saw. Kirara would have joined him, but she came up with a better idea. An idea that, hopefully, wouldn't harm her in the long run, but even if it did, she was prepared to take the risk. She placed her left hand on her eyepatch and slowly lifted it up. As she lifted it, she opened her left eye. A large flash of golden light encircled the room, reflecting itself on each and every crystal. As she opened her eye, she Saw herself rushing to Imai's side in the future, giving her the route she needed to find him.

She quickly shut her eye, as the more she used it, the more strain she would subdue to herself. "Nemeanic, come!" Her rushed to her side. She climbed on his back and directed him toward the hole that would lead them to Imai, grabbing her umbrella along the way. As they landed, Kirara quickly hopped off and rushed to Imai. She could see that he had been hurt, and she wasn't happy about that at all. "Let's give it another go..." She mumbled to herself. She knew that her abilities alone wouldn't be enough, so she would call upon Psyche. "My soul is clear, my mind is not. Come and save me from this rot. Heart, mind, and body alike, come and save me, Psychrodite!" With her special prayer, Psychrodite appeared. "Quickly, use eruption of the soul on him! And Nemeanic, you charge him when I do!" Kirara casted the spell that sped up her movements once more, and she lifted up her eyepatch, opening her eye after she did. "Im going to make you regret laying a single finger on him.... You... You asshole!" Kirara began to tear up. Not from anguish, but from anger.

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At last, help had reached him; from his side, Kirara appeared alongside Nemeananigan-or-whatever-he-was-called. A relieved smile appeared on his face, but the moment was tense; Harper was darting them both with sane-less eyes. “Two against one seems fair enough, don’t you think?” he cockily commented as Kirara was about to summon another of her allied deities; this one was called… battle first, names later.

Now, it was four against one; it still seemed fair as this guy had brought it upon himself since the very beginning. Although, Kirara’s emotions were bursting out from her face as her other eye was suddenly revealed… its golden contrast was almost blinding. This was, honestly, a new side of Kirara that Imai hadn’t faced before at all… it kind of reminded of himself when enraged. Did she… did she really care that much for him? They really built up a strong relationship after such a small amount of time, but it wasn’t disliked. Not at all. “Tell him, Kirara!” he cheered up his guildmate, moving his eyes towards Harper once again… wait, what was he doing? His arm was suddenly stretching towards the alter, upon which the staff was placed. “NO YOU DON’T!!!” he roared out as Imai’s hands were found holding onto the staff simultaneously as Harper did; the clash caused them to fall onto the ground, literally leaping around the room to try and get the staff. “Get lost, brat!” the treasure hunter exclaimed, followed by a crystal hammer that slammed right onto Imai’s palm as he was trying to parry it from hitting his head. He was launched off the staff’s hold and landed on the ground close to Kirara, slowly standing up with an angered look on his face. “That bastard… just what is he going to do with that staff? We can't let him get out of here with that thing, Kirara…”

kirara was beyond pissed off. Seeing Imai in sch a state triggered something within her. A deep anger. One she had never felt before in her life. She didn't understand the feeling, but she definitely knew that . Sheshe would risk her neck if it meant saving hhim, which she Did; she unleashed her hidden ability. She can glimpse into the future at the expense of suffering excruciating pain afterwards. Kirara stared down the treasure hunter, trying to see if she could peer into his future, hopefully giving her an advantage.

Through her eye, she could see him attempting to escape through the crystallized area he formed, but now that she could see it, she wouldn't let him. She cut off his escape route, and charged him with Nemeanic by her side. Psychrodite casted a spell on him which would decrease his speed. Kirara launched a volley of strikes, though he evaded them. She wasn't gonna let that get her hopes down, though! She thrusted her rapier at him. When it got close enough, he grabbed it, but she saw this as an opening, and grabbed him. Once she got a good grip, she launched him toward Nemeanic. Nemeanic clawed at him, but was met with several crystals to the face. "Kirara, I can't handle anymore of this. Sorry ro go so soon, but I cant hold out!" with those last remakes, he returned to the heavens. Kirara wasnr discouraged by this. She would continue to press forward. She would do anything it took to win. She had to. Not just for the sake of everyone else in fiore, but for the sake of her partner. She hadn't known it yet, but her feelings for him ran deep. She was new to the whole "love" thing, so she couldn't explain her emotions.

(SORRY I GOT ROPED INTO A BUNCH OF IRL STUFF)

”Kirara…” Imai stood a few meters back, spectating the volley of attacks that were launched out by his guildmate. She was quite skilled at focusing on the points where her opponent seemed to plan to move over to, or so it seemed. If he just knew what her eye could do, but it caught his attention as it was revealed. However, she was filled with rage… it kind of worried him. One that was outrageous would easily lose focus, thus bringing themselves in danger if not totally dominating anyway. It was natural feeling, though. His fists clenched in anger, getting even more worried to just let Kirara fight him alone. She was too precious for him to get hurt. She was his friend… perhaps even more than that. It was illogical to let her walk around in rage like this; exhausted or not, he was ready to fight again!

Harper appeared to slowly predict her moves, compared to her way of predicting his. Suddenly, Imai was seen darting through the room and into the treasure hunter as he tried to aim the staff at her. This time, the impact gave him an opportunity to pull the staff off his hands and land with it a few meters away from Kirara and Harper. Turning around, he had the staff aimed at the hunter; although, nothing particular happened. “Huh?” he spoke up in curiosity, before shaking the staff up and down, “Come on, work, staff! Do something..!!!” As it turned out not to work, sweat dropped from his face in a comic way, completely contradicting the situation. Quickly thinking of something, he let out: “Ehm, ehm… BEGONE!” With a dramatic pair of palms aimed at the hunter, it appeared as if he was sent into a black hole from nothing. His waist shrunk in, then his arms and legs, and in the end his head.

“He’s showing up in a second. Before you,” he warned his guildmate, “I’m… it took quite a lot there. Please… end this, would you?” He used up the extra mana to quickly pull this off; he couldn’t but put his trust into Kirara now. A faint but lovely smile was thrown at her from his face as he felt quite sure in his decision…
(Ooc: It's okay, Kirara-chan. Just glad that you made it ^^ hope you'll be fine for now)

Spell Used:

Kirara was tiring herself. Using her "Chaos Eye" ability was certainly starting to take it's toll on her. She was in excruciating pain, but she tried holding it back. She didn't want to appear weak. She didn't want it to look like the enemy had the upper hand, though his anticipation of her attacks had already proved that she had been at a disadvantage. However, she would not let that discourage her. She would press forward and work as hard as possible so that she could defeat the enemy. She had someone who she was really fond of... Someone who she believed she needed to keep safe at all costs, even if it resulted in her own demise.

Her rage strengthened her physically, however it resulted in her cool nature being altered. She was not able to think clearly, and was falling prey to messy combat. Imai had taken note of this, so he attempted to assist her. When he had gained control of the staff, she relaxed for a moment, thinking that things would be fine considering that the staff wasn't in Harper's clutches. Boy was she wrong. Things had suddenly took a turn for the worst. Imai chanted a key word, and it triggered a reaction within the staff. However, the reaction drained Imai of what little mana he had left. Kirara was running empty herself, but she had enough to end it. She was a bit confused by waht the staff had done, as it just somehow made Harper disappear. She grabbed the staff. "Is the item that they were looking for?" She calmed herself, falling to the ground in agony."GAAAAHHHHH! AAAAAHHHH!" She let out several screams of pain, as she had used Chaos Eye for too long. One of her deities handed her a milky looking object. "Drink it. It should help." She slowly slid it to her lips and sipped it. She didn't feel much different, but her pains was a slight ease.

(I'm good for this week. We have a break from school)

”Yeah, I think that it’s the- KIRARA!” the voice altered completely in the middle of his sentence as Kirara, his precious guildmate, collapsed to the ground with screams of pain. He lifted her up a little by his arms, while witnessing the milky substance easing her pains. He was shockingly confused at how she suffered so much at the moment, until he caught sight of her strangely crimson eye. Wait…, he began to think, having his eyes’ vision caught by the red light that reflected from the eyelid… it sort of looked back at him by its own. As if the eye was hiding a life of itself behind the pupils. It was confusing, triggering curiosity… but also appearing at the wrong moment.

Slowly standing up, he spoke up: “We need to get out of here as soon as he’s knocked out.” He would stand still at his spot, while waiting for a certain person to appear out of the thin air… which happened now! The vacuum began to shrink, revealing the outburst of another person who was in a lot of strain and pain. With a single step, Imai leaped across the floor with inhumane speed, forcing his skull to black out Harper in an instant. The room reacted from the contact as rocks began to crumble and the walls were shaking. Imai breathed heavily as he was finally claiming the victory; however, they were in a bad situation. With all this friction, then the room could collapse at any second.

He ran back towards Kirara, lifted up her body without taking any questions, and began running out of the room. Although, he would brake mid-running and look for Sei; that guy was gone for like the entire fight. “Sei! Seeeiii!!!” he called for his friend with tears appearing on his eyes, while above-mentioned appeared to rest on his shoulders the entire time. When Imai noticed that, he grinded his teeth in annoyance and charged through the hallways that crashed behind his track…

The pain she felt was extremely severe, for she had utilized her crimson eye for such a prolonged period of time. Normally, she would use it within in moderation. She would still feel pain, but it was moderate. She could handle it. This one had been of no such moderation. The pain was so unbearable, that she could not even scream in pain anymore. She just simply remained motionless, and let it be. She could not stop it, so there was no other choice. Just deal with it. She groaned, and her toffee colored skin grew pale. Her skin grew cold, and she broke out in a cold sweat. She did not wish to be in this state. All she wanted was to save her friend, but in the end, she ended up hurting herself more than she did the one that had hurt Imai. ¨Pathetic...¨ she let out lightly. That is all that she was able to say. Nothing more. She heard Imai, but she could not let out the words. It was as if something had been lodged in her throat, preventing her from letting out complete words. She had never felt so helpless in her entire life.

She was extremely disappointed in herself, but once she had beheld that they ended this battle in victory, her disappointment eased, as did her pain, though it was likely from the milky substance that had been given to her. As Imai found Sei, tears began to trickle down Kirara's face. They were out of anguish, and joy. She was crying because they had accomplished their goal, but also because she was in severe pain. Her emotions had been extremely mixed, but her happiness overwhelmed the anguish. She contributed to the victory, and Imai and Sei were safe, along with her. This could have very well been her demise, but she survived it. They truly did create a great duo, and that put a smile on her face. She lifted her arms up, though very slowly, and held on to Imai as he carried her and Sei out of the cave.

She was amazed that he was still able to push through after all that they had been through. His drive was stronger than an insect's exoskeleton. He refused to give up, even when the situation got out of hand. Unlike he Kirara, he had remained relatively calm. He was able to think clearly and devise a strategy. Kirara on the other hand, acted entirely out of rage. Her mind was unclear and her judgement was clouded. The vivid image of her displayed anger resonated inside of her head. She felt bad for acting so rash and angrily. "I... Imai," She said lightly, finally being able to force a few words out. "I'm sorry... " She sounded extremely exhausted, as she was. Her bones were weak, her muscles had been through so much strain that they became almost completely relaxed. She could easily be characterized as paralyzed, as she had been motionless, though she still had slight control over her muscles.

She felt bad for having Imai worry about Sei as well. With all the commotion she had been causing, he lost sight of Sei. Sei had been a companion of his for much longer than Kirara. If anything had happened to the little alien, not only Imai, but Kirara would be crushed as well. She didn't think that Imai would blame her for what happened, but she'd always blame herself, and for every moment that Imai appeared to be hurt, Kirara would hurt as well. She felt extremely empathetic toward him. His hurt was her hurt, and living with the harsh reality that she could be the very cause of his hurt, would hurt her severely. "I caused you so much trouble... " tears began to fall down her face and onto his shirt. The thoughts were rushing toward her head, since all that she could do was think. "I can't say sorry enough" her voice trembled as she spoke. She hoped he wasn't angry with her, which he probably wasn't, but she wasn't certain. She was angry with herself more than anyone could be at the time.

As Imai’s feet made it across the halls with the echoes of falling rocks behind them, he heard words coming out of Kirara… she… she was sorry. Those words stung him really badly; why’d she excuse? It was his fault, all of what happened to her. He was the one… he made her come with him. He… he didn’t want this to happen to her, he couldn’t stand watching her so sad. He felt like a total jerk for not taking enough care of her back in the halls. “Kirara…” he let out, “… Don’t be sorry. It’s alright.” Despite the time, he actually forced out a smile on his face. What a guy.


“You’ll forget this day later. This and everything that you’ve experienced today… you know why?” His feet quickly stepped onto the small boulders that were clinging to the walls of a tall pit that lead up to a shining hole. “Don’t we still have thousands of amazing things to see? Isn’t your heart too eager to see tomorrow to worry about this?” Slowly, he looked up to one of the boulders, then proceeded to leap onto one at a time, “Don’t ever be sorry… please…” It had gotten to the point where tears even began trickling down his own cheeks. He really felt a lot for the person in his arms. More than he could imagine with his mind…

At last, light illuminated the darkness. The air was extremely fresh and healthy to inhale, unlike the underground supplies of oxygen. His hair waved in the soft breeze, while he began smiling even more. His tears were wiped away, and so he wiped Kirara’s away. This was no time for grief; it was the time for happiness. They completed their mission, and why wouldn’t you be happy for something like that..?

[END]