Elizabeth, her titanium cleaver in hand, gave another swing at the Adept. The annoying one had been showing the same qwaser element as her, but only a cheap imitation. He was easily cut in two and within seconds, burned up in the signature blue flame of death.

"Alright who's next?" She roared at the other two hooded Adepts. They stepped back, stunned by her battle cry, having never expected such a tomboyish petitle little girl in a black sleeveless sweater and a blue slacking overalls to be able to wield such a giant blade with such strength and speed. "Sing, Excalibur!"

The duo were overwhelmed within seconds and burned up into dust. "They didn't even put up a good fight. Adepts these days are weak….." She grinned as she wrapped Excalibur back into its black cloth sheath wrapping. The park around seemed to be clear of any adepts. A familiar blonde nun came up to her, putting her uniform on properly. Her hair had two locks that appeared uncannily similar to dog ears and they were flapping. Which means Teresa was happy.

"Thanks, Teresa. It sure is good to have a source of Soma every time I go out for a fight." Elizabeth, also known as Lizzie, gave another beam and the nun returned the gesture. It has been at least three months since they have started working together. Such a long time obviously created a bond between them.

After cleaning up the mess they had made at the park, the two departed back for the church, their mission done and the night late. Unknown to them, from a distance, two other cloaked figures were watching them. One was gripping onto his naginata of air and the other held a chainsaw at the ready.

"I'll take out the nun. You take care of the Qwaser…."


Jethro was wandering as usual. The park was one of his main points to visit every day. It was the first place that reminded him of his contact with the humans, or rather normal people. Back then, all he knew about were Qwasers at the same gae as him, innocent, childish, playful. He could remember as a child he would often play with them for fun and laughter. And by playing, he meant fighting.

Back then, he was a sadistic idiot. An abomination. A person that did not deserve to live. Yet he still did. He killed every Qwaser that was shown to him, just to demonstrate his powers. Just to freaking demonstrate his strength and his dominance. Now, he was guilt-ridden. He had been the cause of the deaths of so many child qwasers, all of whom had great potential in the future. And he was the one that robbed them of that chance. That fact irritated him to the core, knowing how baka he was then.

The coffin he carried immediately gave him a nudge.

He stopped. A nudge is never good. A nudge means food.

He looked at the place, his innate instincts taking over. He saw two girls, one with brown hairs with dog ears and the other a blonde wielding a massive black-wrapped club. Or a sword. Definitely a Qwaser. An Athos Qwaser. But they were not the ones he was interested.

Though he could not see them, they were there for sure. The two hooded figures were in the trees, giving off so much sound that it was annoying to his ears. So much for enhanced senses. What he would do to just cut himself off from the world around him.

The Adepts were up to no good. That's for sure. Adepts….real cowards to backstab people from behind. But not on his watch. Not on his watch.

"Ikuzo, Izanagi." The loyal zweihander flew into his hands. "We have someone to help…and someone to kill."


"You feel that, Teresa?" Elizabeth asked, an uneasy feeling coming to her. It was a sense of anger, rage, death, sadness and most importantly danger. Teresa however seemed to have noticed too and nodded.

"That's the aura of Thanatos….." She whispered under her breath.

"Thanatos?"

"You should know him better as Jethro. This feeling is something that anyone can feel if he is nearby. Jethro has been a target of recruitment for Athos for 4 years now."

"4 years? You're kidding me right? No one can possibly be on demand for so long. And I thought I heard Jethro is never going to join Athos. Shouldn't we be killing him to prevent him from joining the Adepts…." Elizabeth felt the presence become more eerie and sinister. Damn, this dude is unnerving.

"For normal Qwasers yes. But Aldous is a special case. You see, he has no interest in joining BOTH Athos and the Adepts. And Adepts who have attacked him die, while Athos who try to persuade him failed utterly. However, he is more friendly to us than to them. And why we want him for so long? Cause he is the Qwaser of….."

CLANG!

The duo turned to the loud sound and witnessed a tall man blocking them from the strikes of two ambushing Adepts. He was all dressed in black. He was carrying a huge coffin and wore a large unzipped black treanch coat. Under he wore black jeans and a jet-black shirt. The only things not contributing to his "man-in-black" appearance were shiny leg and shoulder guards.

The two Adepts were obviously aiming for them. Had it not been for his timely intervention, they might have been cut in half. One Adept was using a chainsaw of iron and the other wielded a naginata shaped from argon. The latter was blocked by a huge sword, considerably larger than Excalibur while the former was being held by his hand. "Argon and iron. Never works well together." The man gave a glare that would gave anyone a panic attack. With tremendous force, he gave a light push, sending both adepts sprawling to the ground. "You should be ashamed."

Elizabeth immediately brought out her sword but was then stopped by Teresa. "Don't."She warned. " Jethro always fights alone. In his mind, it is him alone vs. the enemy. Any ally is an enemy to him."

"That is Thanatos? In the flesh?" Elizabeth thought when she realized the unusual feeling was coming from him. Instictively she put down her blade and just watched him. To watch the guy that the Athos had wanted for 4 years.


"Damn you! We could have succeeded in that ambush. You just have to intervene." The naginata-wielder gave another swift up-down two-attack combo. Jethro sidestepped, easily dodging it. "It's not over!" With that, the naginata came for a horizontal slash, this time made larger by the gas expanding. There was no way for Jet to dodge this time. The blade collided into him.

It was stopped in place. Jethro simply stood there, yet the air blade was stopped by his body, not even leaving a mark on his skin nor moving him an inch. "Die…." With a swing, Izanagi ran through the naginata and the Adept like they were butter. The two halves of the fallen Adept fell into a bloody mess before sparking into blue flames.

Shocked at his partner's death, the other Adept screamed in rage as he gave a series of violent uncontrolled cuts and thrusts, all of which deftly blocked by Jet. Then as they locked chainsaw to blade, Jethro ran Izanagi down the saw, cutting it cleanly in half and at the same time the opponent's hand. "GAHHHH!" The Adept fell backwards, trying to stem the overflow of blood spurting from the stub that was his wrist.

Grabbing his severed hand, the bloodied and fearful Adept tried to make a run for it, knowing he did not stand a chance. He did not make it far.

"Don't be a coward!" Jet snapped his fingers and on cue, two trees from both sides of the park bent to his will, wrapping their branches around the Adept and holding him in place, unable to move. Gasping at the sudden movement of the trees, Elizabeth said, "How….."

"It's his element. He manipulates the cellulose in the trees in order to change their shape and control them. The element he possesses is no ordinary element. It is the very reason why he is called a Biology Qwaser. The element requires him to specialise in Biology instead of Chemistry," Teresa explained.

Grabbing his coffin, Jethro thrust it into the body of the captured Adept and the body easily gave way for an unknown reason, as if it was allowing the coffin to enter. Yet, despite the seemingly grievous wound, the Adept was still alive and well and not even bleeding. However, he was screaming.

"Thanatos is currently controlling the Adept's life system and body cells. He is now the only thing standing between him and death now." Teresa continued. Elizabeth looked on in awe and saw how the Adept's circulatory system seem to be continuing on, as if there wasn't a giant coffin in its way in the first place.

"Complete the cycle of life...Devour, Izanami!" the man called. The coffin, as instructed, began to absord the helpless Adept.. First his skin was sucked off, then his red-pink muscular system, followed by his bare nervous system and finally his bones, all absorbed and "eaten" by the ravenous coffin. All the while, the Adept screamed and howled as he was digested part by part. There was soon no longer a trace of the Adept's existence.

"Wow…. He's strong….."Lizzie finally let go of her breath, which she had been holding since the fight that had lasted a mere 30 seconds. "And, Teresa, what is his element in the first place?"

As the young man began to clean his blade and coffin, Teresa told Elizabeth.

"His element is the most wanted element in the world of Qwasers. Its hold over life and death is so absolute that there is no stopping it. It was one of the first elements discovered by man and has been the core of our lifestyles today. Its uniqueness is unparalleled and its versatility unmatched. Known as the element that forms the basis of all known life, it is…."

"I think I'll take over your lengthy introduction for you." Jet finished placing his blade in the coffin and strapping the two on his back. He approached the two, standing a good head over Elizabeth. "My name is Jethro "Thanatos". And my element is…."

Elizabeth could feel a gulp going down her throat. She had already guessed what element it already was. And she knew that it was no joke to have such an element at your disposal. Atomic number 6.

.

.

.

"Carbon."