Crimson Twilight

Author's Notes: Well, this chapter is going to show a little bit of action. It's also going to introduce a few more characters (with which you should all be familiar), the two Canard members as well as the Epitaph Users. I'm planning on doing this part a bit differently from the story, too, so keep your eyes peeled. Not much else to say about the chapter, but hope you guys have fun.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Absolutely nothing. (Although, I wish I owned Haseo... -cough- I didn't say anything!)

II Chapter 2: Shadows II

The second he'd made it back to town, two people came rushing up to him. The older of the two was a young man with long brown hair tied back in a long ponytail, which curled at the end; he was dressed in green clothing, and it was obvious to Haseo that he was a Blade wielder. Standing next to him was a pudgy, dog-like boy; his body was perfectly round, his legs were stubby and his hands were abnormally large, indicating the choice of creature that this soul had inhabited. He was colored a light pink color and his hair was a slightly darker color, spikes brushed back between two floppy canine ears. His tail was wagging slightly as he hugged the older boy in front of him.

"H-hey! What's up with you!?" Haseo complained loudly, shoving the overweight dog-person off of himself. The boy tilted his head, mouthing an apology.

"You look like you just finished Cycling," the green-clad young man commented. "You're not very strong, that's for sure. Would you like a little help?"

Haseo shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. I'm scheduled to meet up with... a friend... somewhere. Let's just say that I've... come back recently. I lost all my power..."

"Well, that's okay," was the response from the young man. "By the way, um... my name's Silabus, and this here is my friend Gaspard. If you want, we'll come with you to the place you're going to with your friend."

"...Fine," Haseo muttered, turning away. "Let's go, then."

"...I'm sorry," Silabus said. "Did I... bother you?"

Haseo grimaced. "No, you didn't bother me..."

"He's wearing black and red," Gaspard pointed out. "And his hair's all silver and his eyes are all red. Do you think he might be the 'Terror of Death' everyone's been talking about?"

"I doubt it," Silabus said. "The 'Terror of Death' was a lot stronger. Well, anyway... I guess we should follow him. Um... what's your name, sir?"

"...Haseo."

"I knew it!" Gaspard exclaimed triumphantly. "He is the 'Terror of Death'!" His expression suddenly turned to a much more frightened one. "B-but... if he's the 'Terror of Death', does that mean he's gonna... kill us?"

"No way in hell," Haseo snapped back. "You two didn't do anything to deserve getting killed. Now let's go before Atoli decides to chew me out for being late!"

Silabus flinched at Haseo's tone. "Y-yeah... let's go, Gaspard."

"Okay! As long as he doesn't want to kill me," the dog-person muttered, hanging his head.

aba

Haseo looked around the field as soon as he entered. The sky was clear, and the sun was setting in the distance... indicative that they couldn't have gone far from Mac Anu. There was a considerable amount of open space surrounding them.

"Hello, Haseo!" A familiar blonde-haired girl ran up to the three, smiling. "I see you brought some friends with you!"

Haseo shook his head. "They're not my 'friends', Atoli."

"Well, I guess you just met them," Atoli suggested. "...I think I've seen those two before."

"You know them?" Haseo inquired.

Atoli nodded. "Yes. Lord Zelkova introduced me to the guild 'Canard' a while back, and those two were there along with a nice young man named Kuhn."

"Erm... well, about that..." Silabus scratched the back of his neck. "...Kuhn left. He had some responsibilities to take care of, and entrusted Canard to me... I'm the guildmaster now."

"Oh, that's too bad," Atoli said. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

"...Actually, I don't," Silabus said, hanging his head. "He said... that the guild he was moving to was called 'Raven', but he didn't indicate any other reason why he was leaving..."

"I'm sure he has his own things to take care of," Haseo said. "C'mon, guys."

Atoli giggled. "You're so impatient, Haseo. I bet that you're really around my age!"

"The hell do those two things have to do with each other?" Haseo grumbled, walking off. "If we don't get moving soon, I'm going on my own! Get a move on!"

Silabus laughed. "Well, you definitely are right, Atoli. He's impatient and stubborn to boot. Then again... he is the 'Terror of Death'... or so he says."

"Yes, he is," Atoli said. "I recognized him the second I laid eyes on him. He saved me before... I'm indebted to him for that."

"So you two know each other from before," Silabus said. "That's really neat. He saved you? You mean, from Cycling?"

Atoli nodded briefly, picking up her pace so as to catch up to the still-annoyed Haseo. "Yes. There was this really mean woman named Bordeaux, and she tried to kill me... I feel lucky to have come out alive..."

"That was really nice of him!" Gaspard commented. "I guess I have good intuition after all... hey, you two, wait up!"

"Oh, sorry, Gaspard!" Silabus said. "I forgot... you have problems moving fast."

Atoli blinked, seeing Haseo trying to pick a fight with a pack of dog-like monsters. "Haseo's gotten himself in trouble... there's no way he stands a chance against enemies that strong!"

Thinking quickly, she drew her staff and prepared a spell. "Rue Kruz!"

The monsters, who had encircled Haseo and were attempting to pick him off, were blasted away by a geyser of water that erupted beneath them. Unfortunately for Haseo, he also got caught in the ensuing blast. Atoli quickly rushed to his aid, but by the time she arrived, he was standing up.

"You think that attack was powerful enough to hurt me?"

"Um, I'm sorry," Atoli said. "I... I didn't realize-"

Haseo cut her off. "Don't apologize! I'm fine, geez! I don't think the monsters liked it very much, though..."

"I didn't think they would," Atoli remarked, holding her staff up to deflect a monster's attack.

Haseo had already begun to fend off the monster attacking Atoli when another similar geyser knocked him back. He winced, this attack having hurt him a little more than Atoli's. He recognized who it came from, and his anger began to mount.

"Calm down, Haseo!" Silabus called. "Gaspard was only trying to help! He didn't think that his attack would hit you as well..."

"I-I'm sorry," Gaspard mumbled, walking forward slowly, though he stopped when he was jumped from behind and knocked down. Scrambling to get back up, he realized he was surrounded.

Atoli looked displeased. "Are you okay, Gaspard? I'll help you out!" She ran over to the dog-person and dragged him off, making sure that they were a good distance away before launching her spell. The monsters started to flee before the blast of water knocked them out.

"...looks like the mages have a better time with this kind of enemy," Haseo muttered to himself. "There's more of them, though... there's always more of these."

"Haseo! Look behind you!" Silabus warned. Haseo listened, turning around and holding up his sword. Much to his surprise, there was nothing there.

"Dammit, Silabus! This is no time to be playing-"

The wolf-like creature that Silabus had pointed out was now pinning down the swordsman. Haseo swore under his breath, charging toward the wolf and knocking it off of Silabus.

"I guess this guy's the leader of the pack... he looks pretty strong."

"Don't try and take everything on yourself, Haseo," Silabus suggested, readying his weapon. "There's no way you'll be able to beat something like this by yourself!"

The wolf snarled, leaping at Haseo, who was unprepared. He fell down, knocked on his back by the monster. Struggling to get up, he realized he was being pinned down by its claws... and was bleeding from the small wounds inflicted by those claws. Its beady yellow eyes glared into his as its jaws came nearer to his throat.

Haseo realized suddenly that one of his arms, which was still clutching a weapon, was stuck underneath the wolf. While he was trying to move that arm, the blades of his weapon embedded themselves in the wolf's stomach, causing it to yowl and fall back. He gave a flick of his wrist, which caused the blades to start rotating, throwing the wolf off of himself so that he could get back up.

"...Man, this thing's got a lot of spirit power. It isn't gonna go down easily..."

"Try not to get too worked up," Silabus suggested. "I'll try attacking it. You're still weak, so you shouldn't push yourself-... Haseo, are you bleeding?"

Haseo grimaced. "You just now noticed?"

"I'll take care of him," Atoli said quickly, pushing Haseo down on the ground and beginning to heal his wounds. The distraught Adept tried to push her off of himself, but failed when he noticed that she was surprisingly strong for her size.

"Don't move, Haseo... I'm trying to heal you!"

Struggling to get back up, Haseo glared over Atoli's shoulder. "Dammit, I wanted to kill that thing myself!!"

"Haseo, I told you to stay down!" Atoli said. "Don't worry about getting stronger. You'll do just fine as long as you don't get yourself killed, okay?"

"Grr..." Haseo finally listened to her, remembering something that Shino had said a while back. Something about the spirit energy of your foe being shared by friends...

"We did it!" Silabus suddenly called, lowering his blade. "That was a tough monster, though... a lot stronger than a normal wolf. I hope there isn't someone controlling them..."

Atoli let go of Haseo, and he immediately took the opportunity to stand. "Wouldn't surprise me. Maybe he's one of Tri-Edge's lackeys or something. I didn't think that something like that would show up in this kind of place..."

"You're a little suspicious, Haseo," Atoli commented. "...But you have a point... I..."

Haseo tilted his head. "Yeah? What's wrong, Atoli?"

"N-nothing," Atoli said. "I... I just thought I heard something coming from that wolf."

"Heard something? Hmm..." Haseo pondered. I shouldn't underestimate Tri-Edge... if he can mind control these kinds of monsters as well...

aba

The training session lasted only a short while. The area they'd gone to was sparsely populated, but it was enough for Haseo to feel more confident with his abilities. As they returned, Haseo, still wracked by his loss, had his head down, and when he spoke, he sounded bothered.

"...Damn... I hate feeling weak..."

Silabus frowned. "...I'm sorry, Haseo. You've been looking for that 'Tri-Edge' person, right? You wanted to be able to find and defeat him..."

"I found him, but he beat me," Haseo said. "Tri-Edge isn't someone just anyone can tangle with. I can't just try and go after him while I'm this... powerless... and..."

"Haseo, why do you want to find Tri-Edge?" Atoli inquired, concerned.

"...He killed my friend," Haseo replied. "...He killed her... and sealed her spirit. She can't come back to this world..."

Atoli blinked. "...I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said anything..."

"I'm... amazed that you're willing to entrust us with this information," Silabus commented. "I didn't think someone like you would be willing to say something like that to people you just met..."

Haseo fell silent, stepping toward the doors that would lead to the city. When he spoke up, it was in a dull, emotionless tone. "...I'm heading back home. I need to get some sleep..."

"Okay, then," Atoli said. "Goodbye, Haseo..."

"Yeah, see you later," Silabus agreed. "And... sorry I couldn't help more."

Waving back at the two, the depressed Adept opened the door and started off toward his home. Silabus and Atoli looked at each other, silently pondering what had happened to Haseo in the past.

aba

"As you can see, this boy is also one of 'them'..."

The speaker, a tall, muscular, dark-skinned, bald-headed man, addressed his two listeners; a pink-haired, scantily-clad woman, and a blue-haired, well-dressed man. "...Pi, Kuhn. You remember the segment of the Epitaph that I told you both about when you entered into this project... right?"

"Yes, Master Yata," the woman said with a nod. "The Eight Phases of the Cursed Wave..."

"That's ancient history!" the blue-haired man exclaimed. "I mean, come on. Pi and I are Tarvos and Magus, right? So, what's so special about this kid? Is he an Epitaph User too?"

"Yes," Yata stated. "...He, like you, is indeed an Epitaph User. He hasn't Awakened his power yet, though... unlike you two. I have the distinct feeling that the Phase attached to this boy..."

"Skeith, the 'Terror of Death'," Pi agreed. "...There's no doubt in my mind that's his Phase if he hasn't Awakened yet. That nickname just can't be a coincidence..."

Kuhn frowned. "So wait, you want Pi and I to go meet this kid and tell him that he's something he probably doesn't have a clue about? Gimme a break..."

"...Kuhn," Yata spoke, his tone commanding. The younger-looking man flinched and nodded. "...You will go to Haseo's house first thing in the morning. As for you, Pi... you will speak with the other one... the girl."

"Huh?" Kuhn seemed displeased. "Why don't I get to talk to the girl?"

"Master Yata is afraid you will do something unpleasant," Pi said. "You know... hearing you say that in that tone, Kuhn, makes me wonder why you were accepted into this project in the first place..."

"Hey, don't say things like that," Kuhn said, laughing. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Haseo. Still, I wanna know who this female Epitaph User is that you're seeing..."

Pi shook her head. "If you met her, you'd probably end up scaring her off with your antics."

"Oh, that hurts," Kuhn muttered.

"Don't worry," Yata said. "If she Awakens, then you'll have the chance to see her. And... when you do meet her, please, try to restrain yourself."

"You don't trust me on this, do you?" Kuhn complained. "Look, just because she's a girl doesn't mean I'm not gonna respect the fact that she's an Epitaph User." He yawned suddenly, then looked away, trying to hide his face. "Um... sorry. I'm a little worn out... hey, Yata, mind if I go get some sleep?"

Yata nodded. "Go ahead. It is getting rather late, after all... you're dismissed, both of you."

"Thanks," Kuhn said, yawning again. He walked off, not realizing that Pi was following him.

"...Hm... two more have shown up," Yata pondered to himself after the other two had left. "Perhaps... I should've informed Kuhn that it was someone he already knew..."

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Author's Note: Yeah, admittedly I've been working on this for a bit already. I still need to edit before I continue, though. Before you ask, yes, the wolf was infected with AIDA. It should've been pretty obvious to all you readers, but just in case you didn't know.

Silabus and Gaspard probably won't be showing up for a while - I'll be working with Kuhn (and his significant other) for the next battle. Until then, though, we're going to be seeing some explanations and a little more insight as to how the Epitaph Users work in this world. I'll go back and make corrections later, for now I'd like to see what the readers think so far.