Chapter 1: The King of Heroes

I'm not one to judge people on their past, but it seems like that is all others see me for. I've been fighting for my life since I escaped, but it isn't exciting. The Mage's Association thinks that they can take me but they have no idea what they created.

I've been on the run for a while now, jumping from city to city as soon as I'm discovered. Killing mages or executioners, or whoever was in the way. I never ran away from a fight, but once I won I would skip town. A change of territory is nice, especially when both sides are unfamiliar with the terrane.

I am in Fuyuki again, after five years. I don't know what it is about the city but it's probably the memories that it holds. But, right now I enjoy the silence. Walking by the river with a bridge that is still under construction. There is debris in the river, from an unknown battle, but I only saw the fire that followed.

It's been forever since I could just walk without distraction. I had tried to stay out of sight for a while. I would find underground boxing matches to keep me entertained, make a few bucks to get from place to place. That's how I got here, with only one hundred dollars left over in my jean pocket.

I try not to draw attention to myself with my outfit. I have a long sleeved black a gray striped shirt under a black cropped jacket with sleeves that puff out like a nineteen eighty's bridal gown. My black lace up boots and skinny jeans made most people think that I was a normal punk up to no good. And to finish off the look, I had some leather biker gloves to cover my palms.

Most of the time the Mage's Association didn't recognize me until I opened my eyes. My hair was black and wavy, shoulder length. But my eyes are a bright yellow thanks to the experiment that they did on me. That how they find me most of the time. They ask around find me, then I kill them, and move on. It's that simple.

I only wish I could have some competition. They never send experienced mages, it is always the newcomers. Almost like they are trying to kill of the younger generation. All I want is a challenge, a situation where I feel I may have to make an effort that could risk my life. That is what I wanted, a thrilling battle. I'm 20 after all, I would think that I'd be able to fight someone that could make me break a sweat.

"Hazel Matterhorn." Damn. They found me again. I turned around, might as well see the faces of those I was about to kill.

"Hello, it's always a pleasure to see you all." There were seven total. The one who spoke had more experience. He would have to go down first.

"You're under arrest, for the deaths of 73 mages, 32 executioners, and treason." I was shocked.

"Wow, I thought I killed more." They didn't have a sense of humor, I would have to fight.

"This isn't a joke Hazel. We are ordered to take you in dead or alive." That had changed since the last group that tracked me down. I was told I had to be alive, which made it easy.

"Then I hope you said good-bye to your families." I prepared to fight. I had discovered something being outside of the facility. They had implanted two rods in arm. These were meant to amplify my magic, but I found that I could also use electricity to increase my mana. What they didn't notice was that I was already collecting mana, because all of the street lamps on the river walk had gone out except the ones that we stood under.

It began. Most of them were not armed except for the elder for the seven. He had a sword and gun. They casted their spells all at once, but I deflected them with a shield. There attacks had power together, but it wasn't enough to take down my shield. I could use little effort with the electricity as a second supply of mana.

"Really, that's it?" They were scared. I was in control, and the others could see but the elder wasn't intimidated. He told them to regroup and I thought it would be best to move the fight elsewhere, by the river was too noticeable, so I began running.

There was a junkyard nearby through some tunnels. That way we could actually fight and not have to worry about the cops being called. I ran into a tunnel, and began to shoot volleys just to get an idea of where they all were. I managed to shoot a blast one through someone's chest and another through a person's side. Though they're attacks were strong, they were poorly executed. I wasn't worried about the rookies because of their power, but the elder mage would be a threat. I couldn't sense his energy.

They kept firing blindly as we went down the tunnels and I turned toward the junkyard. The cars were piled so high that the stood above the light posts. Though they blocked the view of the city, the sky was clear and the moon was full; however the attacks stopped. They were only hiding, trying to trap me. I sensed out the area, there were five and I had killed two in the tunnel. This was going to be easy.

I waited for them to attack. Though I knew where they were, it was a matter of seeing who would break first.

"Stop this Hazel." It was the elder mage. He was on top of a large car pile, with the moon as a back drop.

"It's simple, you just have to leave me alone." That's all I wanted, to enjoy life without annoyances.

"We can't do that, you're too dangerous." I could sense two mages behind me they were moving.

"Only because I escaped." I turned and shot the legs of the two behind me so they couldn't get far. I faced the elder mage again.

"You should tell your rookies it's impolite to interrupt a conversation."

"They were only a distraction." I saw a truck coming at me from my right side. I caught it in a yellow force field and threw it at the elder mage. The other two kept throwing cars as I ran to the other side of the junkyard. I reached the gate but there was only one exit, which was where I entered. I had to kill them here, I didn't run from fools like these, especially when I could take them. I stood by the fence, and waited for them. It was time to test my new technique. They stood in a line, ready to cast a spell.

"You're trapped." I wasn't, but they were naïve. I noticed the elder mage had a radio, he was trying to contact the main facility. It was perfect.

"Oh, I guess I am." I held up my hands. He reached for the radio, and let him talk.

"We found her. She's dead." Before he hung up the transmission, I casted a volley. Because of the electricity I shot a volley through the radio and then through his body. I could sense the nerves and I was able to control his movements.

I dragged him over towards me and made him grab his gun and point it out. He screamed.

"Attack, do something!" The rookies were confused. They didn't want to hit their leader. I went down the line, making him fire. Two were shot in the head and the others moved out of the way. They tried to attack from my sides but I only need my right hand to control the mage. I created a yellow sword and stabbed it though the person's chest. The other was shot through the neck and then the head. I let go of the elder mage. He was to only one left. He was appalled by what I made him do.

"Who do you think you are? To murder your own?"

"I told you, I'd like to be left alone."

"But you still have family." It couldn't be. She couldn't still be alive. Not after the explosion

"What do you know about Rikki?" He smirked.

"Got you." He had used a cloning spell. I man in front of me was just an illusion. I put up a force field but it broke. He swung his sword, but missed. I ducked and created a sword of my own from the mana I had left. After possessing him, I had little left. I needed to kill him, he knew my weakness.

We fought, his sword against the one I created. My weapon looked like a lightning bolt against his blade. He was powerful, but not strong enough to take me. But I made a fatal error, I tripped over one of the bodies he had shot. I fell and he lunged for me. I made a shield but he slowly began to tear it apart. My mana was draining fast, after creating those big force fields, I could barely make one to protect myself. I what could I do? I'd hate to run, but I didn't have enough to take him alone. And then, out of nowhere, a miracle.

A spear pierced him through the chest. The blood splattered on my golden shield. It looked like it came from one of the tall piles of cars, but I couldn't sense another mage. It was as though someone was watching out for me. Or they had a vendetta against the Mages Association too.

Either way, I could hear sirens. It was obvious that the demonstration at the river was recognized. Also, flying cars were quite uncommon. I grabbed the spear, maybe its owner wanted it back. Or, I could sell it to pay for a ticket out of here.

I jumped over the fence. I had to restore my mana, get a goodnight's rest, and move on.

I went down alleyways and gravel streets. I wanted to be quiet, and not draw attention to myself. There was a tunnel underneath a small bridge, which lead outside of the city. The traffic passed above but the area beneath was just a walk way. Some people had abandoned boxes and other debris. There was a mattress that was riddled with holes but it was better than sleeping on the ground.

The spear was still in my hands and I was looking at it closer sitting down on the mattress. It was old, ancient even. It appeared to be made from gold, and the inscriptions was some form of Mesopotamian. I couldn't read the inscription but some of the characters looked familiar from scrolls I studied as a child. The only words I could encode were "King of Uruk".

"That does not belong to you, mongrel." It was a male voice. I still chuckled.

"I haven't been called that in a while." I didn't want to look at first. By the voice and the weapon, I had a feeling he was more powerful, or experienced. But my eyes peeked. He had blonde hair and red eyes. He was in a white shirt and snake skinned pants, which was definitely a sign he didn't know who lived in this part of town.

"I'll give it back." It wasn't a problem for me. I wasn't going to be a thief if he came back for his weapon, I was just covering up the attack.

"Really?" He scoffed. "It's been tainted by vile hands." Okay, did he not understand how fighting worked? Weapons get used, they get bloody, and that's about it.

"Sorry for the blood, but if I left your spear there, the Mages Association would be on the hunt for whoever possessed the weapon. And I would think you'd want to be left alone."

"You have no idea who you are talking to." I had a guess. The weapon was familiar, but he may want to be entertained.

"That's true." I didn't stand until now. He wouldn't kill me, he just wanted to feed his ego. "So please tell me."

"I don't need to disclose anything to you." So he was playing hard to get. He was used to having others obey him, maybe even ask if it was okay to breath in his presence.

"Well, may I have permission to guess?"

"Entertain me."

"You're old."

"How dare you insult…" I just laughed.

"Relax, I mean the weapon is from ancient times. It's a spear from the Mesopotamian era. I can't make out the inscription fully, but my guess is that it was a gift, probably for a king because this is laced in gold." I placed the spear into a grass spot where the cement was buckled.

"So, what is your guess?" There was only one legend I could think of that would have this weapon.

"You must be the King of Heroes. Gilgamesh." I had enough mana to cleanse the spear of my finger prints and blood. "There, your spear is clean from my veil hands." I bowed.

"You have an eye for treasure."

"Thank you. When I'm not killing mages I enjoy reading. History fascinates me."

"As it should." He took the spear and opened a golden portal. The spear was sucked back inside and the portal disappeared. That must have been part of the gate. I couldn't imagine what treasures where behind it. The infinite weapons. But that didn't explain my biggest question.

"So, what is a king doing in Fuyuki?" How could he still be alive? Did someone summon him? I was intrigued.

"It's none of your concern. I just wanted my treasure back." Of course he would say that. I held my tongue. I needed to rest.

"All right. Then I'll let you be on your way." He began to walk away. But then stopped and turned around.

"What is your name?"

"Hazel." I paused. "But if you prefer mongrel then that works too."

"Hazel." I wondered if he had seen the fight. Of course I wouldn't challenge him. Especially since I hadn't seen the full power of his gate of Babylon. But why would he help me? Probably because he had nothing better to do.

"Don't think I saved you out of mercy. I was bored. " My prediction was right.

"I know that." Guess I was good at reading people. He was at the end of the tunnel and I almost shouted my final remark. "I may be a mongrel but I'm not stupid." He let out a chuckle.

"Farewell Hazel." He disappeared in a golden mist, and I sat back on the mattress.

"Goodnight, King of Heroes." I fell asleep quickly. It was just another day gone.