Supreme Evil King in,

Yo, I'm back with new chapter. I'm not dead, and I'm thanking you, all the reviewers, and also you guys who had favorited and followed this story.And I'm sorry for updating so late, I was distracted by Fate/Grand Order, the US version. That game stressed me out and I was frustrated.

And there's also Fate/Extella. I'm also distracted by that game.

I'll answer the reviews.

Yoga Pratama : Thank you for still reading this story, and I hope you still liking this story. For the Kamen Rider story, sorry, for now it's in hiatus. I just had a little time and I'm only focused to continue this story.

Blazblue Empire : Just like I said in previous chapter, I can add them as a cameo, well except Eltnum who I might add to Rizuki's harem.

That all for the review answers.

Happy Reading.


(Opening Song : Asterisk by Orange Range)


Chapter 04

'Damn, my bad luck is at it again.'

Now Rizuki was in life or death situation. Just one mistake, and he can say goodbye to his life... because currently there is an insanely large scythe, its edge pointing at his throat, held casually by the strange girl he saw earlier.

She wear purple hooded robe with blue jewels and a skull shaped accessories on the middle of her chest. On her robe there is an eyes symbol. Her hair is red and have a blue eyes. Looking at the reflection of the girl on the scythe, Rizuki can't help but blush. It was shameful, but really, he can't do anything about that...

The girl's robe was so flimsy and revealing so many parts of her body, a body that was curvaceous and beautiful in many way... in short, an ideal body for a woman.

Damn, that's a big pair of b—no, focus Rizuki. Not the time.

Now that he think about it, why he always had to deal with women nowadays? And all of them ends in various problems. First off, his life was saved by his goddess, then met with Shatoyan in the invasion, called forth a spirit of a knightly woman, then a mission together with his goddess. What's next? Another invasion from Endbringer and he meets with another girl, who happens to be their member? Or go on a date with the [Goddess] of Planeptune?

Or worse, he would meet the Endbringer's leader, who also happens to be a girl? Pfft, not likely. As if that would happen, he thought. What are the chances of that happening? There's... like, a one in a million chance of that happening to him. Impossible.

However, as of now, he must find a way to get away from this strange girl, quick, or he'll get himself killed. Unknowingly to him, the tribal tattoo on the back of his hand glowed brightly for a second as [The Power of Soul Linker] beckoned him to escape before things got awry. Only, the problem is... how is he going to do that?

Few moments later, as he simulated many ways to escape from the literal scythe of death, the strange red-haired girl opened her mouth to talk, which was unexpected.

"Something... is strange. You are strange." She spoke. "Something about you... is wrong."

Rizuki furrowed his brows.

"What do you mean?" Rizuki asked, puzzled.

"Soul. Your soul."

"What about it?"

"You are... one of the living. You're alive... but your soul is hollow. Empty." The girl said, her voice almost a whisper to Rizuki's ears. "I have never seen any soul like you... a living creature with empty soul. You. What are you?"

He was honestly surprised by the girl's question, because what she said is somewhat makes sense for him. For him, there's practically nothing to live his life. Power? He doesn't need it. Wealth? He doesn't need it. Fame? He doesn't need it either. Those worldly desire was nothing to him, as he has given up on life since long, long time ago.

However, to cover that void inside him, he puts on a mask so that nobody would question him about his emptiness. Why? Because he promised something with his missing brother and has to fulfill it before he can die. Basically, waiting for his brother to return home was as good as waiting for his own demise. He has to live, to survive, until his brother returns.

He frowned at that thought, but in the same time, it brought up a sudden ache in his heart... no, his soul. The red-haired girl behind him... her soul felt so similar to himself, so empty that his soul sympathizes with it. [The Power of Soul Linker] allowed him to sense it.

Although the cause of nothingness of their soul was different, still... he can't help but ask.

"Then I can say the same to you. Why is your soul feels empty too?" He asked.

If he could see the girl's expression he would see a genuinely surprised face, but he can't, so he took an opportunity to push her back with his elbow, turning around, and jumped away from her before she can do anything. He suspects that the girl would be angered, but...

Her expression was as empty as her soul.

Now that he look at her face again, she was so inhumanly beautiful. It was strange, it felt the same as the divine beauty that the [Goddesses of Gamindustri] all possessed, minus their positive energy that always emanated from their entire being. This one was different...

Her blue eyes reflected nothing. Empty. A gaping void that was ready to devour anything.

"You are... interesting. Not just your... soul." The red-haired girl said. "But I'm... curious. A living creature... with empty soul. I wonder... how your soul would taste."

She pounced forward, rearing her scythe and struck at him with undoubtedly powerful swing to the side. In response, Rizuki reflexively ducked and took off his right glove.

"Soul Link!"

In an instant, Rizuki transformed into his [Soul Linker] form. Ignoring the surprise from the red-haired girl, he quickly took out his Twin Blade. His first pair was broken in his mission with Black Heart, but he still had another pair ready. Quickly, he used [Reinforcement] to enhance them.

Normally, he could only use [Reinforcement] twice a day, but with the power as the [Soul Linker] he can use them without tiring himself... too much. He was already tired from the mission, and judging from his lingering dizziness from the venom of [Deathstalker], he still hasn't fully recovered.

Even with his power as the [Soul Linker], the odds are still against him.

Wasting no time, Rizuki attacked the girl, swung one of his blades, only to be blocked easily. Unfortunately, even after being [Reinforced], the blade shattered on contact with the scythe. Capitalizing on his surprise, the girl countered with a downward swing, which Rizuki was able to parry with his other blade... only to shatter it to pieces.

Unarmed, he quickly backed away for a good distance. For some reason, Rizuki felt his hands shiver. Is is fear? Or some excitement because he was fighting such a frighteningly powerful enemy? His priority was to escape without being followed by that girl, or lure her to the town, where he has the advantage in numbers. If he has some extra hands to fight...

But there's no choice for now. Too risky, I have to fight her alone and win somehow.

Manifesting his power, he created an [Aurora Sword] and once again charged at her, swung his sword in a diagonal arc... only to be parried again. His [Aurora Sword] flickered in his hand and vanished on contact, as if absorbed by something. This shocked him greatly, and for this carelessness, the red-haired girl punished him with a chain of relentless attacks.

At first, he still can see her movement and he was still able to dodge her attacks. However, slowly but sure, her speed increases to the point that he can't see when she moves and gives him extra difficulty to dodge, he can't even fight back. He moved away from a downward swing, which left the scythe on the ground, stuck.

Chance—!

Manifesting another [Aurora Sword], Rizuki charged at the girl to capitalize at the chance. But to his surprise, the mysterious red-haired girl extends her hand, which was engulfed by some kind of black aura, and took a hold on his chest, grabbing it with her sharp nails.

"Ack!"

He growled in pain, feeling that something was being sucked strongly by something, and it it was not pleasant... it hurts badly and he can't do anything to prevent it. Fortunately, after a few seconds, the red-haired girl narrowed her empty eyes and quickly pushed him away.

But unfortunately, her push was very strong and it was enough to make him collide with a tree—which cracked—and brought him to his knees. He tries to stand, but he felt powerless and so much pain, and all his fatigue from his mission before this coming back to him.

While the red-haired girl took a whiff of her hand, the hand that was previously grabbed Rizuki, her flat expression cracked a bit. As if...

As if she found something new and interesting. Just like a curious children that just found a new toy to play with.

"What have you done to me?" Rizuki asked, still struggling to stand.

"I tried to... eat. Eat your... soul."

"What?!"

The girl ignored him.

"This was... unexpected. Your scent was... unique. I have never felt something like... this." She said, still staring at her hand. "Normal human can only lasts five seconds... I've proved it. But you can last about twenty second... why?"

The red-haired girl looked at him, her brows raised.

"I don't feel like exactly telling you." Rizuki replied. "And I can ask you the same. Why?"

"Why... what?"

The girl tilted her head to the side, a gesture which Rizuki would appreciate as 'cute' if it's not for the dangerous situation at hand.

"Why... why didn't you just finish me just like you finished the others?" Rizuki asked. "Don't you want to... I don't know, eat my soul?"

At this, the girl's face shifted into something akin to irritation.

"I want to... but I can't. It's... annoying."

"What do you mean?"

"Something... something stops me. Something inside you... it doesn't want me to... eat you."

"... you lost me. Can you elaborate?"

He has no idea what are she talking about. Is she talking about the [Power of Soul Linker]? Doesn't matter, if he can stall for time, then he will talk as much as he needed to.

"... can't. I don't... understand either. You are... strange. What are... you?"

"Hmm, actually, I don't know what I am either." Rizuki shook his head. "But if—"

"In that case... I'll find out by... eating you."

Apparently, that was a wrong answer. The girl suddenly decided to attack him again, to his horror. As he danced around her attacks, narrowly dodging the deadly scythe just by inches. He doesn't know what to do, he wasn't strong enough to fight her, so he—

"Can you—can you stop attacking me?!" He shouted, as he dodged another swing.

"No... I'm hungry... I need to eat soul. Your soul."

"Can you eat something—something else than a soul? Like, Sushi, Ramen, Onigiri?"

Silence for a moment.

"No." The girl said flatly.

She continued on attacking Rizuki... who can only cringe at his epic failure.

Gaaah, my rotten luck!

What can he do? Taking a thousand steps to get away from the girl, of course.

The assault goes on and on, her scythe swings at him non-stop. Rizuki tries to make another attempt, creating [Aurora Claws] and [Aurora Hammer]... only to be disappointed as the materialized weapons vanished on contact with the scythe. He also tried [Aurora Shield] to block her attack, but it was in vain.

Nothing seemed to work... so he ran away. As far as possible from the city.

Ahh, goddess, what is it with my misfortune?! Is my misfortune really amusing?!

Back then, he was always unlucky about nearly anything. And somehow always causing some sort of misunderstanding to anyone who saw his misfortune, and they always said that his little bad luck was amusing... But this has just escalated to a whole different level... did his bad luck just level up? Did the universe add his troubles just for shits and giggles?

This is getting nowhere...

Sighing, he tried to focus on saving his own skin... or fighting the red-haired girl. And as always, if he had decided to focus, his red eyes begun to dull, devoid of all emotion. The lifeless eyes stared back at the girl's similarly empty eyes. The girl was surprised... is she seeing what she thought she saw on his eyes?

Or is that simply her imagination? No matter, she'll just had to find out by herself.

Faster than he did before, Rizuki made an [Aurora Sword] to deflect her scythe, although it was reduced to nothing instantly, it was enough to give him some time to keep his distance. Rizuki keeps making various kinds of weapons with his Aurora, albeit it meant literally nothing before the girl, who devours all those energy weapons with the swing of her scythe.

Unknowingly to him, the red-haired girl clenched her hand behind her body as she swung her scythe with one hand, gathering black aura on her fist. As Rizuki deflected one strike from her scythe, she lashed out with the hand, hitting him in the chest and blew him away.

"Playtime's over..." She said flatly. "... just give up."

Rizuki clenched his teeth. If this wasn't a fight to decide that he would survive or die, then he surely wouldn't mind to give up. However, in this situation, he can't just give up without a fight. He thought that if he used his Aurora, he would find some sort of weakness on the girl... but he was wrong. As long as he can't block her scythe for longer than a second, it would be impossible.

I can't allow myself to lose here. If it's only me dying, that's no problem... but if I let her loose, she'll kill the others... There's no way I'd let that happen!

The girl keeps attacking Rizuki, who tries his best to block with his Aurora, although it was pointless... he can't even do anything beyond blocking, and even that wasn't enough. He can't do anything else since he has no other weapons to fight her—

Wait. Weapons?

He narrowed his eyes, realization slowly burning in his mind.

That's it! I need a weapon to keep up with her, a strong weapon which is... the very same weapon that she held. If only I focused on [Projection] training with Aniki back then...

He ducked under an attack, making the scythe stuck on a tree. Unconsciously, he touched the edge of the scythe. Normally it would harm him, but his hand was engulfed in his own Aurora, which provides protection. As he let go of the scythe, he saw a vision.

No, not a vision. A memory where he was training with his brother. He saw his brother do a [Projection], using it as well he did [Reinforcement], and taught him how to it. Back then, he couldn't remember anything that his brother had said, but now he could... somehow.

Remember, Rizuki. Now I will teach you [Reinforcement] first, because it will be needed for the next level, [Projection]. This level of technique is very difficult, and our family is the only ones capable to do it successfully. [Projection] has seven levels, consisting of...

Now he remembered how to do [Projection] and why he always failed to do it. He never followed those seven steps, making the things he wants to project only consisting on its outer shells, a hollow object. Rizuki made another [Aurora Sword], his last hope to survive.

And this is his only hope to make a successful [Projection].

The first phase...

Judging the concept of creation...

Rizuki charged at her with all the speed he can muster. The girl thought it was another futile attempt, attacking with same tactic over and over again... but she was shocked when Rizuki stopped right before her, ducking under her attack, and touched her scythe.

Same as before, his Aurora protected him from any dangerous effect from making a contact with the scythe. And a simple touch was enough for Rizuki to analyze the scythe, before he backed down.

It is a demonic scythe, born from its wielder's desire to fill the void in her soul.

It is designed to consume any soul it reap, absorb it into the wielder's very soul.

The second phase...

Hypothesizing the basic structure...

After making another [Aurora Sword], Rizuki pounces back at her, letting her deflect his attack and launch a counter attack on purpose. He let out a smirk when he managed to dodge her attack, albeit narrowly.

A one-handed scythe, designed to strike enemies down with one swift, fatal blow.

Its basic shape resembled a regular scythe, yet enormous in size and dangerous to wield.

The third phase...

Duplicating the Composite materials...

Rizuki keeps dodging because the red-haired girl never let up on her assault, never let him to fight back. He somehow managed to dodge all her attacks, plus her sudden punch. He realized he was getting used to her attack patterns, but not before the scythe struck another tree... which was perfectly cut down.

It was not forged by human hands and composed entirely by otherworldly metal.

The wielder's empty soul served as its core to consume everything it touches.

The fourth phase...

Imitating the Production Process...

He tries to keep his distance from the girl's reach to no avail, since the red-haired girl always managed to catch up to him. He let his instincts take over to dodge the impending death, as his eyes was focused on the abnormally huge scythe. He has to analyze it...

This scythe was never made by anyone's hand. It had been born from its wielder's soul.

Created by the accumulation of despair, emptiness, and hunger of a solitary heart.

Then, the fifth phase...

Symphatizing with the experience of its growth...

Rizuki keeps on dodging, dodging and dodging until finally he can make a good distance from her, making an [Aurora Scythe], before charging at the girl. This time, he directed his attack not at the girl, but at her scythe.

The girl countered with her own scythe, which shattered Rizuki's scythe on first contact... but he wasn't done. He keeps making [Aurora Scythe] and relentlessly attacked the girl.

For many ages this scythe had preserved its shape, never once changed.

Only one wielder it acknowledges as its master, and the only one had wielded it

He's almost done. The sixth phase...

Reproducing the accumulated years...

He felt some sort of connection between the girl and the scythe, something special that he cannot fully understand... he cannot grasp the full understanding of their connection, but he now knew enough. It's...

The scythe had began to accompany its sole wielder since it was born.

It was almost as old as its wielder, its age reaching back for millenias.

This is it. The last step, the seventh phase.

Excelling every manufacturing process...

Now that he has done the previous six steps, he can guess the girl's scythe good enough. He just had to make a good distance before he can finish the process. As he backed away from the red-haired girl, he heard a voice... he doesn't know if it was the [Power of Soul Linker] or anything, but somehow... he... knows.

Its name is Burial Scythe, and it would preserve its wielder's life by devouring the life that had exiled her, absorbed their essence into her own.

It stands ready to devour any living soul, to bring the oblivion of Void upon her prey. Though only appeared in few unnoticeable occasion, all who live for more than a few centuries know the wielder's name as... Ragsmuena, The Death Goddess.

Then he grinned. He's already done with the process to make a successful [Projection]. This is also his last gamble, because if he fails on this one... goddess knows what would happen to him. If this works, then... maybe he can survive.

Here goes!

"Imprint…On!"

Then, a bluish-green light envelops Rizuki's hand. His eyes widened and he screamed as he felt unbearable pain. His hands shook uncontrollably, his biceps trembling in pain. The girl, seeing the strange light emanating from the boy's body, decided to end this battle. Her scythe poised to deal a final blow, to slay her prey with a single swing...

As the girl draws near, Rizuki extends his hand, which exuded the same bluish-green light, this time forming some sort of weapon. The girl swung her scythe, but Rizuki parried it with the weapon he just projected, their weapons clashing repeatedly and sending sparks everywhere.

In the end, Rizuki pushed her back and this time she's the one who had to keep her distance. Even so, although she was genuinely surprised, few moments later she was back on her neutral expression, staring at Rizuki blankly.

"This was... unexpected." She said. "You can use... the same weapon... as me."

"I didn't expect this either." Rizuki replied.

He put a tough act, but actually his body was refusing to move, and his hands were shaking. He can only grasp his projected scythe tightly in his grip, hoping that the weapon wouldn't fall.

"... how?"

"That was a simple gamble... and I was lucky."

"You have an... interesting ability."

"I could honestly say the same about you. You have a very powerful and terrifying ability." Rizuki said. "But that was to be expected from you, Ragsmuena... the [Death Goddess]."

The now named Ragsmuena narrowed her eyes. The grip on her scythe tightened.

"You know... my name."

"Let's just say my power tell me something about you."

"... tell me how."

"I don't want to."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell. Me."

"Nope."

They both looked at each other stubbornly. It would look very cute, if only they both doesn't have an enormous-sized scythe in their hand. Even the so-called [Death Goddess] was pouting, if the slight crease on her brows and lips can be called that.

"You're annoying." She said. "If I kill you, you won't answer..."

"Then don't kill me." Rizuki replied with a deadpan look. "Simple."

"But I'm hungry..."

"Eat something else."

"I can't."

"Haven't you tried anything else?"

The girl was quiet for a moment. Even Rizuki can tell that she's hesitating for some reason.

"... not yet..." She said, with a small voice.

What was that? Why she's getting shy all of a sudden?

"Then I don't see why not." Rizuki smiled. "You can come with me if you want to try. I can cook something for you... I promise it will be good. How about it?"

Can this succeed? If he can make her stop without fighting, then it really worth trying. If he can do it without hurting her, then he would gladly do so.

"... sorry..."

What?

He blinked at the red-haired girl.

"... I can't."

She vanished without a trace, and a second later, she was right in front of him. Her scythe raised, ready to slice him in half. He has to dodge her incoming attack, but he can't even move right now! His body was not ready for his sudden [Projection], and this was the price.

He was paralyzed. He can't do anything to prevent the death from taking his life... so at least, he must be prepared to die—

"Invisible Air!"

Just as Ragsmuena closes in, the scythe almost reached Rizuki, she was blown away for a good distance by an unknown pressure. Rizuki felt it too, the wind-like pressure bursting from behind him... and all of a sudden, Arturia and Shatoyan was already beside him.

"Are you alright, Rizuki?"

"Are you hurt, Master?"

He was glad Arturia and Shatoyan made it just in time to save him, but also he was curious as to why those girls knew he was here. Because he was sure he didn't tell anything to them, aside that he had a mission in the Guild today. There's no way they could tell where he was.

"I'm fine. It's just... I had a problem. Thank you for saving—"

"Who are you two? You're... annoying."

Unexpectedly, Ragsmuena is the one interrupting him. She swung her scythe around, now looking somewhat irritated. Her body was emanating black aura, painting the ground as black as the darkness. Seeing that, Arturia and Shatoyan sent an inquisitive glare... to Rizuki.

"Who is this girl?"

"She was dangerous, Master. Who is she?"

"Um, this is complicated—"

"I just want to taste him..."

First, Rizuki thought it would be easy to explain the situation to them, however, came Ragsmuena's flat reply and it made everything worse for him.

"What does that mean?!"

"Master, I thought you were better than this."

Their glare was increased in intensity, one hundred percent. Rizuki blinked in confusion, speechless. What are they saying...? Maybe they just misunderstood Ragsmuena's words somehow. What are they thinking... no, Rizuki doesn't want to know actually.

"She wants to eat my soul, and I don't know what you're saying, Arturia. Don't assume things, and... don't look at me like that, you two."

"... I suppose... I apologize."

"Sorry! ... I guess."

They didn't seem to believe in his words, but as Ragsmuena readied her scythe again and solely attacked Rizuki, Arturia stepped in and blocked the reaper's scythe with her blade. For some reason, Ragsmuena's scythe can't absorb the energy from Arturia's blade. Sword and scythe clashing against each other, sending sparks all over the ground.

While they were busy fighting against each other, Shatoyan materialized her bow and gathered her energy in it. She formed the energy into a green arrow—which was crackling with electrical current—and aimed it right at Ragsmuena's direction.

"Arturia, move!"

Having heard her cue to get away, Arturia backed away from the reaper and Shatoyan's aim.

"Shining Shooter!"

Shatoyan shot her arrow of light and lightning, which launched so fast from her bow that Ragsmuena didn't have time to dodge... but that doesn't mean she can't block it. Her scythe collided with the arrow, causing an explosion that kicks the dust and smoke around her.

Silence ensued for a moment. Then a small chuckle echoed from behind the smoke, and even after it cleared up, they were surprised. The girl was uninjured, not even a scratch. Even so, Ragsmuena slowly raised her hand and pointed at Rizuki.

"I'll retreat for now..." She said. "But... next time we meet, I'll eat your soul... definitely."

Then the red-haired girl was enveloped by black aura and vanished into thin air.

Rizuki fell to his knees, his hands touching the ground shakily. The projected scythe slowly disperses into small particles, which eventually vanished too. Then, after making sure that there is no more threat around, Arturia faced Rizuki to take a look after him.

"Are you alright, Master... I mean, Rizuki?" She asked. "I'm glad we made it in time."

"Yeah, I'm fine Arturia. Speaking of which... how did you two know I'm here?"

"It's... in fact, I don't know, it's simply a feeling that you were in danger, and that feeling led me here." Arturia stated. "I apologize, I can't explain this either."

"Maybe it was the form of connection between [Soul Linker] and the spirit he called upon." Shatoyan gave her two cents. "More importantly, Rizuki, who is that girl, do you know her, why you had her weapon, and why that weapon disappeared just now?"

Rizuki flinched a bit at the barrage of questions.

"I don't actually know who she is, I just came here because the [Power of Soul Linker] sensed something abnormal and I followed it... then I was attacked, and... you know the rest. As for the weapon, that was my [Projection]."

"I don't know you were capable of using [Projection], Rizuki." Arturia said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hide it. But before this, what I can do is creating the outer shell and it was empty inside... this is my first successful [Projection]. Before this, Aniki... sorry, my brother, told me to just focus on [Reinforcement]."

"I see... I understood."

Silence for a moment.

"Well, that was a thing..." Shatoyan sighed. "How if we go back now?"

"Yeah, but before that, I have to report to the Guildmaster. I haven't visited the Guild yet, thanks to that reaper girl."

Just as he stood back and ready to go, suddenly he felt a piercing pain in his entire body, he was paralyzed for a moment and he stumbled over the ground... he almost fell on his face, but thankfully Arturia caught him before it could happen. That was close.

Arturia observed Rizuki with a worried expression. She was aware that something is wrong with her Master, but since she doesn't know how Rizuki fares against the reaper girl and his condition in his mission, she just watched him without saying anything. She helped him stand and let him go.

"Rizuki..."

"I'm fine. You two should head back to my home now."

"But we can't leave you in this condition. I'll accompany you, Master."

"No, it's fine, just..."

"What she said is true, Rizuki. You worried us. We'll go with you, whether you like it or not." Shatoyan added. "No argument."

"But we can't take any risk, Shatoyan. After all, this won't take long." Rizuki said quickly. "I'll just report to the Guild and take my rewards... this is nothing to worry about, you two should just..."

But the girls just stared at Rizuki, saying nothing with their expression as blank as a sheet of paper. For some reason, it scares Rizuki and sent chills over his spine. He tried to say something to them, but...

"Shatoyan…Arturia…"

They were still staring with blank expression and sharp eyes. This doesn't make anything better for Rizuki, it made him more afraid than before. They were just staring, why they can look so scary all of a sudden? As if he could see some mysterious creature from behind their them, ready to attack him any time.

Seriously, girls nowadays. He couldn't understand them.

"O—okay, you two can come with me." Rizuki said, finally relented.

He felt like Shatoyan and Arturia won't accept 'no' as an answer from him this time, and there is nothing he can do about that... but something is bothering him.

"Good, that's what we want to hear."

"But Shatoyan, Black Heart has already seen your face, I afraid that she would recognize you if we go to the Guild together. How we are going to do this—"

Shatoyan held up one finger to stop him from rambling.

"Don't worry, I have something for that."

She smiled and begun to chant something that sounds like a mantra of a foreign language, causing a veil of light to envelop her body, so bright that Rizuki and Arturia have to close their eyes shut to avoid being blinded... and then...

When the bright light fades away, they opened their eyes... only to be genuinely surprised to see Shatoyan in an entirely new appearance. Her formerly green hair has become blond, which she tied into a ponytail, her pale skin now slightly tanned, and her eyes blood red.

"How about this? Nobody would recognize me if I change my appearance like this." She said, looks satisfied to see the baffled looks in Rizuki and Arturia's eyes. "Problem solved, right?"

"How..." Rizuki said, eyes still wide. "... how did you do that? To drastically change your looks like that?"

"This is another ability of my [Will] of Light, [Delusory Reflection]. I can conceal my true form with light manipulation, although I can only maintain it until my energy runs out. Don't worry, I still have much energy left, so I can look like this... for a few hours at best."

Rizuki only nodded dumbly to see Shatoyan's new appearance, he didn't know if Shatoyan had this kind of ability... this was useful, and she—

"Well, you certainly look younger now..."

He unconsciously said that, and instantly regretted it. He just said a taboo that he promised that he would never say... which prompted Shatoyan to get a grip on his collar and shook him repeatedly, like a milkshake.

"I TOLD YOU TO NEVER BRING UP MY AGE. MY AGE... DOESN'T... MATTER!"

Shatoyan just keep shaking him until his eyes was spinning in his head, spiralling in dizziness. Arturia wants to stop her but for some reason she felt that she shouldn't. Shatoyan needs a few good minutes until she eventually calms down.

"I'd prefer that we don't talk about this anymore."

"O—okay. I'm sorry."

Rizuki feels dizzy and nauseous now, even though it only lasts a few moments. He wish he held himself talk about Shatoyan's age since it was obvious that Shatoyan had something of a complex about her age. Whatever the cause, he won't allow himself to bring it up again.

But, more importantly, it turned out that Shatoyan can disguise her appearance... maybe it's fine to let her come with him. He suppose that's no problem. Also, no one had met Arturia yet and they obviously don't know if she was a spirit whom he called upon. No problem.

Although he actually doesn't want them to come with him but fate says otherwise. It seems that his misfortune would follow him, no matter what and where.


(Lastation Guild)

Moments later...

Rizuki left Shatoyan and Arturia outside the Guild building since he was worried and sure that it would make another misunderstanding with his little 'lucky' moment. Judging from how his Guild members usually behave (except the Top Ten), it would surely end in chaos.

Nevermind that, ever since he entered the Guild building the atmosphere was so different than usual. Normally, the Guild members would be mocking, glaring and doing many sort of unpleasant thing for him. This time, the Guild members were whispering under their breath, and some things were not in their proper place... as example:

What's a broken table doing over there?

He shook his head and approached Almo's counter as usual.

"Hey, Almo."

She was doing something that looks like a Guild's paperwork at the moment, and she was so focused on it that she didn't take her eyes off it for a second.

"Oh, you're back Rizuki, thank you for your hard work..." And she looks up. "W—wait a second, you look horrible!"

At Almo's horrified expression, Rizuki touched his own face and examined his body... but nothing felt out of place...

"Really? I'm still in one piece, I'm perfectly fine..."

"It's not that! You're pale!"

"Oh, about that... I'm just tired. Really tired. The mission was so hard..."

"Then get some rest!"

"Well, I guess I must... but I have to report my mission to Guildmaster Ozpin first."

"... should I accompany you there?" Almo offered worriedly. "You looked like you're going to fall anytime soon..."

"Thanks, but it's fine." Rizuki smiled politely. "Guildmaster wants me to go to his office alone, after all. He's not going to be happy if I bring anyone else..."

He saw a frown on Almo's face and quickly followed with his question, the thing that had bothered him ever since he stepped inside this building. He'd prefer that nobody ask him about his mission, or why he felt so terrible... yes, something wasn't right about his body, but he's not going to tell anyone.

"... more importantly, what's going on here? Why is everybody so silent?"

Almo looks like she want to talk about Rizuki's weird condition more, but after seeing the young man's attempt to steer out from that particular topic, she sighed and relented.

"Actually... quite a few things happened. First off, one of our Guild member has been killed by someone."

At this, Rizuki'eyes narrowed.

"Who's the killer?"

"We don't know yet, but the witness said that the killer was a girl..."

Something stirs in Rizuki's brain. The red-haired girl he fought before—Ragsmuena—is she the killer? Maybe she had killed his fellow Guild member before she met Rizuki. No, it was possible that the killer was from that group he fought before that—The Endbringer— and he felt that Ragsmuena had no connection with them. He knew that, somehow.

He shook his head, and turned at the damage in the Guild's lobby.

"Then... what's that damage? Why is the table broken?"

"Oh, yeah... you remind me, there is two members from the Planeptune Guild, they came here to deliver something for Black Heart-sama... and they said that they were your friends."

Rizuki looks at the broken table once again, and he knew who would do that.

"One of them... is he a young man with red hoodie, blonde hair and a scary face?"

"Yeah, that's him. Is he really your friend?"

Rizuki can only facepalm.

"Yes, he is. The other one... is it a girl, red cloak, almost red hair?"

Almo just nodded, baffled at the accurate description of Rizuki's 'friend'.

"Yep, they are really my friend... I made friends with them when I was on my mission in Planeptune. They really are siblings, by the way. The man with scary face, Yin Branwen, was the brother, and the girl was the sister, Ruby Rose."

"Hmm..." Almo frowned again, but Rizuki missed it. "I see..."

"Did the trouble happens because someone tries to harass the sister?"

"Yes..."

"Well, that's definitely them." Rizuki nodded. "Yin's pretty protective for his baby sister. No wonder if something would break if someone tries to—"

"Rizuki." Almo cut him off.

"... yes?"

"Why didn't you tell me before that you have friends outside Lastation?"

"Because... um, because you never asked."

Almo was pouting, he realized. When she stares at him, he could remember the same stare he got from Shatoyan and Arturia... why the girls have the capability of being so unfairly cute and scary at the same time?

He doesn't know what to do or say, so he just shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to report my mission to the Guildmaster."

"Fine, alright... but I hope you would tell me if something happened next time. Whether it's bad or good, I don't care... you have to tell me, you understand? I'll listen to you."

"O... okay, I understand. See you later."

"Yes, see you later, Mr. Hardworker."

He nodded nervously and turned away from her, walking towards the Guild's elevator. He felt something different from Almo's behaviour, something about her was off... not that it was wrong, she was worried about him. It makes him happy, but...

The way she spoke to him, as if he was more than a friend. He... wasn't worthy of that.

She was beautiful in her own way, one of the few people that would never mock him, and always on his side. Again, he was happy to have someone care for him, but in the same time, he felt that he wasn't worthy... he was a distorted being, hollow and empty.

To love someone is just something akin to a dream for him.


(Guildmaster's Office)

Rizuki entered the Guildmaster's Office.

He saw Ozpin sitting in his usual seat behind the table, sipping a glass of coffee and a hand on his cane like usual. Seeing that a guest have arrived, the Guildmaster politely gestured at him to sit down and give him the mission report.

"How about the mission, Mr. Narukami?"

"It was successful, Guildmaster."

Rizuki handed the mission paper that he received from Noire, a proof that the mission has been completed successfully. Ozpin examined the paper briefly and smiled at Noire's seal of approval for Rizuki. He was expecting him to just ask for his reward and then leave, but...

Instead, he explained in detail why the Guild members who had been sent to Toh-Kiden Cave never came back. That they had been fallen victim to a hundred-years old Death Stalker, without exception. A strong species of [Creature of The Grimm].

He also mentioned about the moment when Black Heart's power suddenly disappeared for some reason. The young man doesn't seem to know the cause, but Ozpin was aware that it would appear to be the [Anti-Crystal]... he didn't say anything about that to Rizuki, though.

Maybe it was something else... a hypothetical deduction, so he may be wrong.

"I see... thank you for your thorough report, Mr. Narukami."

"Your welcome, Guildmaster. Speaking of which, I want to ask you something..."

"Ask ahead, Mr. Narukami."

"I've heard something about... the mysterious murder of our Guild member. I heard that some unknown assailant was the killer... is that true?"

"You're right, Mr. Narukami. We haven't know anything about the killer, who he or she is, or the reason why he or she killed our Guild member. What we already know as of now was... the murder took place in the forest. I have some suspicion, however..."

Forest. This made Rizuki more convinced that his suspicions were right. Ozpin caught his thoughtful expression and made it known.

"Do you know something about that, Mr. Narukami?"

"Yes, Guildmaster. Just before I came here, I met a girl that I have never seen before... and her power was dangerous. It might be... that she was the killer."

Hearing the young man's words, Ozpin leaned forward in interest, maybe he can fit something from what the young man would say with his own deduction.

"Go on."

Rizuki told him about his fight against Ragsmuena, while hiding the fact that he was the [Soul Linker] (and he's also hiding Ragsmuena's identity)... and he was glad that Ozpin didn't notice his lie. Hopefully.

Meanwhile, from Rizuki's story, Ozpin was convinced that his own suspicion was right... this was an important matter that should be further discussed with the other Guildmaster.

"Thank you for your information, Mr. Narukami. Now I am fully aware of who had been killing our Guild member, and her identity." Ozpin leaned back.

Does he really know?But... Rizuki thought.

"If I may ask, who is that, Guildmaster?"

"Unfortunately, it was [Top-Secret], Mr. Narukami. I can't tell you." Ozpin shook his head sadly. "I have to discuss it with the other Guildmasters. This is a matter that should be kept secret until we had another clue in hand. I hope you won't tell anyone else about this."

"... I understand, Guildmaster."

Yes, he really understood the Guildmaster's words.

Ragsmuena was so terrifyingly powerful, and if it wasn't for the use of [Power of The Soul Linker] he probably wouldn't last long against her and die. Ozpin then gave the mission reward to Rizuki, who widened his eyes as he saw the amount he received... it was more than the promised amount.

"Guildmaster, this is..."

"Think of this as an additional reward for your information. Please accept it."

Rizuki can't believe it... internally, he was crying in gratitude... his Guildmaster was such a good man. Unknowingly to him, the reason Ozpin gave him more than he promised he would was to bring some amusement... to himself. And also because he pitied him a little.

Just as the young man leaned forward to take his reward, the paralyzing pain was back for a second, causing him to suddenly drop the money. The sudden situation didn't escape Ozpin. Seeing his pained expression, he suspects that something must be wrong with the young man... just because he saw something like this happened to someone before.

"I'm sorry, Guildmaster. I was tired." Rizuki said, after picking up his reward on the floor.

"It's fine, Mr. Narukami. You should return home and rest up." Ozpin nodded. "I'm sure your new... housemates were waiting outside this building. You shouldn't keep them waiting."

Rizuki nodded back, while thinking...

How did he know that? Is he really a FUCKING WIZARD?

He shrugged the thought off and left the office quickly.

Ozpin just stared at the elevator that Rizuki just took, steepling his hands together. He shows no surprise as a black-and-red portal appeared before the elevator, and Raven casually stepped out of it.

"Did you hear that?" He asked.

"Of course I did, but I didn't expect him to face the [Death Goddess] and survived."

"Yes, maybe he survived because of his power as the [Soul Linker]... or maybe his charm can attract any kindof girls. Even that kind."

"You sure look happy, Ozpin." The masked woman scoffed. "You're going to sit here and watch his life like a damn soap opera... you sick, bored old man."

"Well, I'd lying if I say I didn't." Ozpin smirked. "And I take your words as a compliment."

Raven sighed in exasperation.

"Let's put your sick amusement aside, Oz." She said. "The enemies has begun to make their moves. They were planning a huge-scale assault on this city."

"Is this the same kind of assault as the attack before this?"

"Yeah, but as I said, the scale is greater than before." Raven nodded. "So you may as well prepare your guardians. There's no doubt that this attack would claim victims... more than before."

His grasp on his cane tightened, and Raven didn't miss this simple gesture.

"I will not let that. Not in my watch." He said, cold determination filled his voice. "... and do you have any information about when exactly they would attack?"

"It's about four or six days ahead, Oz. That's what my source says."

"... I see. Judging from your information, I will prepare accordingly."

Raven nodded and return to her portals, disappeared from sight. While Ozpin begun to contact the other Guildmasters to prepare for the incoming events in the future... as the old saying, an ounce of preparation is better than a pound of cure. And...

"Before that, I have to pay him a visit..."


(Somewhere in Gamindustri)

A young man was running for his life, a young man with the name of Shinji Matou. One of the members of Endbringer... or in fact, former member, judging from the total failure of his mission. Knowing that his organization have no tolerance on failure, he intends to make a quiet escape from Endbringer... returning to his boss (or former boss now) was as good as digging his own grave, and she would take his new power back. Shinji was not that stupid.

He escaped the headquarters without much fuss since he values his dear life, and that was the first step of his plan to kill the [Soul Linker], take his power for his own and get his hands on the [Moon Goddess] and also that Arturia girl who was summoned by the [Soul Linker]. They would make good trophies for his grand victory. Then...

After that, he will show Lieselotte who's the real boss of Endbringer. That arrogant bitch would know a world of pain and humiliation. She WILL pay for everything she has done.

But unfortunately, someone from Endbringer found out that he was escaping, reported that to the higher-ups, and as result, he was hunted down by the Assassin Units of the group. Lieselotte herself has put high bounty on his head, so it was obvious that the seven strongest members of Endbringer had participated in the manhunt. As he ran away to protect his dear life from those assassins, he can only curse to the heavens.

"DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" He yelled in rage and fear of being killed. "CURSE YOU, SOUL LINKER! THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!"

He blamed the [Soul Linker] for all his misfortune, because he can't think of anyone else to blame.

"Give it up, Matou!"

"Just accept your fate! Accept your death, in the name of [Fallen Angel of Darkness]!"

Shinji had none of that and didn't listen to any of them, keeps running away to save his life. He literally cares about nothing but to preserve his own life, he would do anything... sadly, ever since his fight against the [Soul Linker] he didn't even get any chance to rest... thus, he can't use his [Will] or the power that Lieselotte had given to him. He was too tired.

He keep running, keep running and keep running until he entered a cave and he runs into someone. A man, who was much older than him.

This man had slanted, dark-green eyes and bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye. Black eyeliner traced his visible left eye. He also wore a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. His accessories included a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band.

"Watch where you going, brat!" Yelled the man. "What are you doing here, and most importantly, how the hell you can find this place?"

"Sa—save me!"

Before the orange-haired man can ask him more, he felt the many presences of individuals outside his cave... no, his grand headquarters. He suspected that the presences was about seven man with extraordinary combat and killing ability... not the ones to trifle with.

But since he's a true gentleman, he has to properly greet those unwanted guests before they... misbehaved. Yes, that would do for him.

He completely ignored the cowering Shinji and went outside the cave.

"Well, well... what I can do for you, gentlemen?"

He greeted those men in black cloak politely. However, one of the cloaked man scoffed.

"We have no business with you. We just want to settle our matters with the coward who entered that cramped cave of yours..." The man said. "So, get out of our way."

To the cloaked men's surprise, the orange-haired man just pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lightened it up with his lighter, lifting it to his mouth so casually as if he wasn't facing those assassins. Is this man an idiot, or...

"First off... I don't take order from anyone. Secondly, this is not a 'cramped cave', this is my grand headquarters, remember that. Lastly... if you still value your life, you may as well go back now. One step further and you'll regret crossing me, ever."

More scoff from the cloaked men.

"Oh, yeah? You and what army?" Asked one of Endbringer's Assassin condescendingly.

The orange-haired man merely flicked his fingers.

"This army."

Then, as if hidden by shadows before this, a large group of men in black and red sunglasses scattered into the area, surrounding the area with surprising combat readiness. They were armed with red-edged blades and automatic rifles, all pointed at the cloaked assassins.

"This is..." The cloaked assassin in the front muttered. "You are The Torchfires, the newly formed criminal group in Lowee, are you?"

He directed his question to the orange-haired man, who merely clapped.

"Well, aren't you well-informed, mate." He smirked. "So, what would you guys do now, gentlemen? This is your last chance... don't say I didn't warn you."

The Endbringer Assassins were in doubt. They have quite the disadvantage in number... using their skills, they surely can kill those men in black and their leader, but in cost of getting themselves all killed in process. Not that they feared death, but this isn't worth it.

Their leader won't be pleased to hear that they die just to execute the most arrogant, yet the weakest ex-member of their organization. They would only pledge their lives for the grand scheme of their Supreme Leader, to capture the [Soul Linker]... this pathetic excuse of a man wasn't worth their life at all.

And so they slowly backed down, away from their target that was Shinji Matou, who was still cowering inside the cave like a frightened mouse in its hole. Their leader would fully understand; after all, their lives are to be used for better cause than executing him.

Meanwhile, as he saw the orange-haired man drove the Endbringer Assassins off, begun to plot his plans to take advantage of that man and his mysterious group, to aid him in finding and taking the power of [Soul Linker] and to exact his revenge to his former group. Endbringer has crushed his pride, and when it comes to his pride, he would do anything.

Including lowering himself to the ground and beg.

"Now, brat. You better scram, get out of my sight..." The orange-haired man said, ready to give his men order to dispose of Shinji. "... or do you want to die?"

Shinji threw himself to the ground, prostrating and groveling to him.

"W—wait, please! Allow me to join you!" Shinji shouted, fake tears flowing on his cheeks.

The orange-haired man simply stared at Shinji, falling silent and blinking his eyes for a few times, before burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA! You are more fitting to become a circus clown than joining my group! Proposal denied, brat." He finished his words with a flat tone.

"Bu—but please, sir! I beg of you, please let me join you!"

"I already said no, brat. Now piss off before I really want to kill you."

"I—I can give you information! About my former group, Endbringer... and if that wasn't enough, I can show you the power that my former boss has given me!"

The man was slightly interested with the information, but then he realizes that Shinji was still hiding something from him, he's not telling him the full truth. How he found that out, it was easy for a man who immersed himself with crime to see some dishonesty. And he will take this advantage to get the information he wanted.

"Well, I'm not interested."

Shinji begun to lose his wits and he was forced to tell the orange-haired man about the power of [Soul Linker] and also give him the information about the Endbringer... after all, his priority was to survive first, blend into this man's group, then if the man can somehow kill the [Soul Linker], Shinji would kill him first before he can get his hands on the power. This oh-so-fabulous man was not worthy for the great power.

"How about this, then...? What do you know about the [Soul Linker]?"

Now that piqued the orange-haired man's interest. He knows a bit about the history of [Soul Linker], a small bits of information that he managed to hear from all his clients, and of course, the infamous [Story of The Origin] itself. He was also searching for that particular power, to no avail. Until this pathetic brat comes...

He smirked. There's no harm in making this brat one of his underlings. Maybe he can lead him to something big, something great that he himself had never seen before. If he tries to pull a smart move to trick him, well... that's too bad for the brat. Also, if he doesn't need him anymore, he can just get rid of this brat. Easy job, his most trusted can do that swiftly.

"Well, now you got me interested, kid. You're accepted." He nodded. "You'll be one of my men now. Obey my words and you'll survive."

"Of course! I'm grateful, sir. My name is Shinji Matou."

"Name's Roman Torchwick. You better remember that, kid."

It was at this moment that it was born... a new group has joined the hunt of the power of the [Soul Linker]. Its name was...

The Torchfires.


(Endbringer HQ – Throne Room)

Lieselotte sat on her throne, watching the battle between the [Soul Linker] and Shinji from an ability from the [Will] that one of her underlings has, [Solita Vista] or [All-Eyes World].

It was a useful ability, to replay events that her underling has seen to others by removing and crushing an eye, which turns into dust and flows around those he intends to use it on. In short, the dust of his eye relays his sight and feelings. This underling of hers was useful, not like the one she was watching now...

As expected, Shinji was losing badly because he underestimated his opponents too much. However, on the bright side, she now knows that her experiment was a success and she can grant her power to her most trusted, either from their loyalty or their competency. If that loser can use her power freely like that, how about the others, the ones that was far stronger than him? She has to run another experiment very soon...

Her thought was halted as the seven strongest Assassin of Endbringer gathered and kneeled before her. They were silent... so she assumed they failed to eliminate Shinji somehow.

She won't punish them for failing though. She doesn't know why they failed to kill off that pathetic loser, but she couldn't care less. He was nothing of concern as of now.

"Your task?" She said, almost bored, since she already deduced what happened.

"Pardon our incompetence, Lady [Fallen Angel of Darkness], but we... we have failed to eliminate the target, Shinji Matou, because an unknown group was protecting him. And since we can't afford to waste our life on that loser, we... retreated."

"There is nothing to be pardoned. Instead, you made a right decision to retreat... that was commendable. You would only use your lives to capture [Soul Linker], and nothing more. Now, return to your post... you are dismissed."

"Yes, my lady!" The Assassins said in unison, before turning and left the Throne Room.

Then, a man entered the room. The same man who witnessed when Lieselotte gave a bit of her power to Shinji. This time, the strands of his brown hair was visible as he approached Lieselotte and bowed respectfully to her.

"Lieselotte, the preparation is almost ready. We can attack... around four or six days."

"Excellent." Lieselotte smirked. "Have you chosen the one in charge this time?"

"I have. Unlike Shinji, this chosen commander was hand-picked by myself, and she was one of our best warriors. She is pretty competent, and eager to lead."

"Ah... the one you have chosen... is it 'her'?"

The brown-haired man was silent for a moment.

"Yes. Do you have any objection? Or any additional order?" he asked.

"No, I don't mind. Keep Cifer on watch and inform me if something unusual comes up."

"As you wish. Have a good day, Lieselotte."

"You too, Sosuke."

After the man left her room, Lieselotte was back on the depths of her thought, remembering her underling's words about a group that was protecting Shinji. If she found that particular group hunting for the [Power of Soul Linker], she would not let them have their way.

The Power was hers, hers only. For it was only her purpose in her life. She had to...

She would not have it any other way. She WILL have that power in her hands.


(With Noire in Basilicom Lastation)

Today was very tiring for Noire, after she parted ways with Rizuki she immediately cleaned herself and then she also worked on several important documents. That's what she used to do, always trying to be the perfect [Goddess] figure. However, today... there is something that was bothering her greatly... a young man named Rizuki Narukami.

Ever since she met him again on the mission today, there's a weird feeling that has bothered her. As if she had met and maybe befriended him before, not to mention how he fought like a trained assassin and also... when he saw an unusual corpse.

First off, he was very calm when he saw the corpse... and then, while he was fighting, it's as if his personality changed from the person who seemed to be very kind to be a very cold no matter the circumstances around him. Like a machine.

And so Noire was trying to find Rizuki's database. Because he is a member of the Guild, then there must be some data about him. She can access the data... it's the special privilege as a [Goddess] who is an area leader... and also for the Guildmaster, the highest rank that one can possibly have in the Guild.

After a few minutes of searching... she finally found the database.

Guild Member

ID : 204445013

Name : Rizuki Narukami

Alias : The Worst One (Guildmember self-proclaim)

Rank : ?

Age : 17

Affiliation : Lastasion

Will : ?

Description :

Eyes – Red

Hair – Black, length short.

Attire –Usually wearing a black mantle with white shirt underneath it, along with a jeans. Plus a red scarf around his neck.

Ability : Expert in the uses of[Reinforcement]and Mercenary-like fighting style.

Action :

Always failed in high-ranked mission. Sometimes successful in completing mid-ranked mission and usually choosing lower-ranked mission on his own. Never had a party in all his mission. Have joined the guild for one years.

Background : ?

Noire read up the database... and somehow feel annoyed. As a [Goddess] she should be fair to everyone... but deep inside her heart, she felt very sad for him. And popped the question... does he have any friends? Or another purpose in life, perhaps? She also knew, from their conversation before, that Rizuki had no parents... they have died since long time ago.

But does he have other relatives? Like an older sister or brother. If he does live without any relatives... then how long he has been living alone, without anybody to support him?

Then she saw his nickname [The Worst One], Noire had heard before that there are some members of the Guild who are weak because they do not have [Will] or haven't unlocked them yet, however...

Judging from the ability that she saw today... it's just the opposite. Rizuki does not have [Will], indeed, but the way he fights his enemies and quickly adapts to enemy movements proves that he can cover up his shortcomings with pure skills.

And also... the other thing that bothers her again is that his background is kept secret. Is it a deliberate action... or is this the Guildmaster's doing? That Ozpin? Noire wanted to find an answer but what she got was a lot of questions.

After reading the database over and over and thinking of searching for an answer that she herself knew had no results... then Noire decided to find out for herself and also maybe she could figure out the strange feeling she felt. The more she thinks that way, the more she imagines Rizuki's face, and...

That makes her cheeks blush. Aware of the thoughts running inside her mind, she shook his head vigorously and tries to calm herself.

"Anyway... I'll find out something about him later." She muttered to herself.


(Narukami Residence)

Rizuki, Shatoyan and Arturia have returned to Narukami Residence.

After Rizuki returns from the Guildmaster's Office he saw many people, especially the men. They were taking weird looks at Shatoyan (who is undercover) and Arturia.

Rizuki can only sigh, because he knows... sooner or later he should take them out.

But he does not expect them to come to the Guild. If they know that Shatoyan and Arturia are his acquaintances... he worries that they both would be ostracized.

As he approached the two of them and said that he had given his report, the three of them immediately left without wasting time. Rizuki knows for sure the men in the Guild would hate him even more because of this. Unknowingly to him, Almo who also saw him put on a sullen expression and jealousy-filled eyes... luckily for her, nobody saw it.

Before returning to his house, Rizuki went on shopping first... to replenish his food supplies. Also he buys a few bento for dinner because he feels too tired to cook. When he's at it, he saw Shatoyan and Arturia taking a look at the other shops...

He knew they were tired of staying low at his house and he was planning to get them both out. All he needs is permission to take a vacation from the Guild and hope that the money he got was enough to buy new clothes for them.

After the three of them arrived at Narukami Residence, Rizuki immediately cleaned himself and warmed up the bento he bought earlier. Rizuki does not care in the slightest about the taste because... as long as it can be eaten, that was enough.

But of course, with Shatoyan and Arturia, between the bento he bought and Rizuki's own cooking they both prefer Rizuki's cooking (And for Arturia's case, she needs more food) but they weren't complaining because of they knew the current condition of Rizuki.

Then after dinner, Rizuki cleans up the table and throws away the bento box to the trash can and tidy up the garbage of leftovers to be disposed of tomorrow.

"Shatoyan, Arturia... you should rest, you two must be very tired for today." He said.

"That's our line, Rizuki." Shatoyan retorted. "You must be very tired for today. You've went through so many things today. Compared to that, we're pretty good."

"What Shatoyan said was right, Rizuki." Arturia added. "You should rest up for now... I am concerned about your condition, Master."

"Hey, I'm alright. It's totally fine."

"Please don't hesitate to let me or Shatoyan know if something feels wrong."

"Yeah, of course I'll tell you if I need help. I'll be counting on both of you."

Shatoyan and Arturia looked at each other... and both girls were fully aware that Rizuki was hiding something. But for now they just went along with his words while looking after the situation. While Rizuki had to endure the pain because he did not want to trouble them both.

Rizuki sees Shatoyan and Arturia went into their respective rooms and after making sure they both asleep he sees his left hand trembling... and also his hands feels so heavy as if something was happening inside his body.

He also tried to sleep, but because his hands were still hurt, he could not fall asleep. He also groaned in pain but Rizuki made his voice as low as possible so as not to wake Arturia up.

He doesn't want her to wake up just to see him in his misery.


(Next Day)

Rizuki was awoke in the morning and realized that his futon is a bit messy... most likely due to the last night... he knew he was writhing in pain last night. Then he held his left hand ... that seemed to be okay.

"Thank goodness ... the pain is already gone."

Then Rizuki slightly opens the door next to him that shows Arturia's room. He could only smile as he saw Arturia sleeping soundly and was grateful he did not wake her up last night.

"I'm glad I did not wake her up last night."

Then Rizuki closed the door.

"Okay! As my gratitude, I'll make them both breakfast. Delicious breakfast."

When Rizuki tries to stand, suddenly his left leg cannot be moved, causing him to fall and woke Arturia from her sleep.

"Rizuki?" Arturia spoke in her room.

Rizuki was silent for a moment... then he saw his left hand which raises the question of ... is the pain in his left hand moves to his left leg for some reason? Rizuki tried again to move his legs and thankfully it didn't hurt anymore. But he still felt the pain in the left hand.

Rizuki stopped thinking about his pain, he just stood up and went straight to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast. He feels fortunate that Ozpin paid him extra more because he uses the extra money to make food today.

This morning, Rizuki made a Morning Set... consisting of toast with butter on top, bacon, omelette egg, and salad. As he took the plate, he accidentally dropped the plate. Rizuki saw that his left hand was still shaking.

"Rizuki, are you alright?" Shatoyan asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Maybe my hand's still sore from yesterday."

"Then let me help you." Arturia said.

"But…"

"I insist, Master. Let me help you... I just need to put them in the plates, is that right?"

"Well then... thanks, Arturia."

After Rizuki cleared the broken plate pieces and Arturia had placed the food on the table, the three of them immediately ate breakfast. When Arturia and Shatoyan eat Rizuki's cooking their facial expressions change (Except Shatoyan puts up a neutral face, but feels delighted anyway). It tasted really good, unlike the bento they had eaten last night.

After they done eating... Rizuki wants to to clean the dirty dishes, but Arturia forbade him from doing so and took his place. Rizuki had protested but Arturia insisted on helping Rizuki's homework... and once again, Rizuki relents.

A few minutes later Rizuki prepares to go to the Guild. Although he has earned a lot of money yesterday... there is nothing wrong if he can earn more, just in case he wants to save some money for his own.

Rizuki put aside the remaining money yesterday to buy a new weapon and when he got to the Guild he noticed that the Guild door was still closed... that was weird, in this time of day, it usually has opened already. Rizuki also saw a note on the door:

'For some undisclosed reason, all members of the Guild are off for several days. We are terribly sorry if all clients want to hire Guild services.
Signed
, Guildmaster Ozpin '

That's what Rizuki read. Why didn't the Guildmaster tell him yesterday when he reported? Did he deliberately not tell him? What is in the life of Rizuki is interesting to see that he didn't even bother telling the day off for him? After all, he doesn't need a holiday because if he is off then he can't earn anything and if he didn't earn anything, he can't eat.

"Aah, such misfortune."

Reluctantly, Rizuki returned to his home, he cleaned his garden and also mopped his house, washing clothes and so forth. But when he's at it, doing all those houseworks, his left hand sometimes can't be moved and always shaking like crazy.

"What's wrong with me? From last night... my hands was heavy and numb."

Rizuki keeps doing his housework until noon and he has to prepare lunch. He did not see Shatoyan or Arturia anywhere on sight. Maybe they were somewhere else at home or in their room...

Anyways, for today's lunch, Rizuki makes tonkatsu.

But he was surprised when few minutes later Shatoyan and Arturia come in simultaneously, watching him preparing food with surprisingly sharp eyes. Rizuki had a bad feeling about this... hopefully, he was wrong.

"Rizuki didn't you go to the Guild earlier?" Shatoyan asked.

"I did, but for a few days the Guild was closed. Now you two... just sit down and I'll make some lunch."

Rizuki picked up two small bowls containing the salad, while he was going to put one on his left hand, he accidentally slammed the first bowl to the second bowl, causing them to shatter in pieces.

"Rizuki?"

"Today I broke a lot of dishes and bowls... huh, maybe this is my bad day."

Then Arturia approached Rizuki and she saw Rizuki was cleaning the shards of the bowl.

"Sorry, I'll clean up soon. Don't worry, you two, just wait and sit down there... "

"No, you must be exhausted, Rizuki. It's okay, I'll clean it up. "Arturia said.

"Maybe you're right…thanks."

"Don't say that, that is my duty to help you, Master."

After Arturia cleaned up the broken bowls, the three of them ate their lunch, and afterwards Shatoyan asked him for the yesterday's events and Rizuki recounts his encounter with the mysterious reaper girl in detail.

After Rizuki told them the full story, the three of them had a discussion about the girl but had no clue, aside that she was Ragsmuena, the [Death Goddess]. Rizuki told Shatoyan and Arturia that he relies on his Guildmaster who already knows her identity. Initially Shatoyan and Arturia didn't believe in the Guildmaster of Lastation but Rizuki can guarantee that his Guildmaster can be trusted. Shatoyan and Arturia trust Rizuki's decision ... for now.

Time passed without they realizing it, and it's getting late. Rizuki returned to the kitchen to cook for their dinner. For dinner, this time he made grilled mackerel, nikujaga, cucumber salad and miso soup. And after the dinner, Rizuki once again broke the plates while he was cleaning them...

Shatoyan and Arturia was starting to worry about him because... although they are not too familiar with Rizuki yet, but they believe people like Rizuki would never make a mistake if he's already getting used to doing homework. And they have no reason that Rizuki did that on purpose. Totally no reason.

After cleaning up his mess in the kitchen (albeit awkwardly), Rizuki immediately cleaned himself and after that he did [Reinforcement] for his newly purchased weapon, just like he usually did. After doing [Reinforcement] to his weapon and wrapping it with a white cloth, Rizuki heard the door open and saw Shatoyan and Arturia enter the room.

"Even tonight... you did your [Reinforcement] as usual," Arturia said. "Your diligence for training is admirable, Master."

"Well, most of the people have done [Reinforcement] but they didn't train it to the fullest, and I always told by my brother not to miss a [Reinforcement] everyday. Although for yesterday I skipped it because I was too tired... ah, but he also said that if you were sick or too tired, you can skip it."

"Is that what you learned from your brother?" Shatoyan asked. "He sounds like a good guy."

"He also taught me the fighting style and everything else. Also, he's sometimes difficult to understand, but... he once said that if there is something you think is fun... then do that as much as possible."

"I understood... having your brother as your teacher seems to be very pleasant for you, Rizuki." Arturia said. "And his teaching seems to left a good effect to you."

"Yeah, I admire him. We also love the same storybook. Although there's an unpleasant part but I think he's a great brother."

The three of them fell silent for a moment, before Arturia looked at Shatoyan who nodded then Arturia asked again.

"Rizuki... is there a problem with the left side of your body?"

"... so you both noticed." Rizuki sighed.

"Yes, of course."

"Well, it does feel a bit numb. But it isn't slowing me down at all."

"Then, the cause is..."

"Yeah, I think it's a reaction to the [Projection] I did yesterday." Rizuki shrugged. "But don't worry, it should get better soon, in time. A little rest, and I should be fine—"

Then Rizuki, Shatoyan and Arturia felt a sudden presence of someone near the door, and as Rizuki squinted to see the newcomer... that someone turned to be Ozpin, of all people. He didn't know when exactly the man came in, he made absolutely no sound until he speak.

"Is most of your body still numb?"

But for Arturia, Ozpin was just like a very skilled assassin who had just infiltrated her Master's home, and prepares herself to attack him. Her clothes changes into a shining armor with an old styled dress, made from old-fashioned blue cloth, underneath. She hold her invisible sword, wreathed in wind... and pointed it at the man.

"Who are you?! How can you enter this room?"

Ozpin ignored her words and stepped forward, closing in to Rizuki. Not like Arturia, Shatoyan seems to be familiar with the old man so she did nothing to antagonize him... and neither she did anything to calm Arturia down.

"Hold it. If you dare come any closer, you must be prepared for the consequences." Arturia spoke, voice a bit higher, as Ozpin stepped further. "Are you listening to me? Stop!"

Realizing that this unexpected event could turn very bad quickly, Rizuki stepped in to prevent her from attacking the old man.

"Wait, Arturia. He doesn't want to fight."

"But he..."

"It's okay, Arturia. He's the Lastation Guildmaster... as in, my boss. Ozpin."

"Rizuki's right, Arturia." Shatoyan put her two cents in. "I knew this man. He's dangerous, but not in a harmful way... at least for now."

Ozpin simply stopped his steps and smiled at the green-haired girl.

"It's been quite awhile since we last met, Moon Goddess Shatoyan." He said, addressing her before he turned to Arturia. "And also, good to see you in person, Queen of Knight, Arturia Pendragon."

"Save your courtesy, Ozpin." Shatoyan stepped forward, putting herself between Rizuki and the old man. "You are already aware that Rizuki is the current [Soul Linker], yet you did nothing... absolutely nothing. What are you planning? Knowing you, you clearly didn't drop by to say hello.What. Do. You. Want?"

He knows that I'm the [Soul Linker]?! And why he knows them both too!?

Rizuki was baffled at this revelation. Since when he know that he was the [Soul Linker]? Did he already know when he invited him to his office? How did he know that? Why didn't he tell him that he already know about his identity then? Why... why?!

And then he saw Ozpin's small smirk. Ah. So this was also amusing for him. Figures.

What could he say? Such misfortune.

"Don't be like that, Shatoyan. Just yesterday, I suspected Mr. Narukami's strange behavior and now I'm sure that he has done a successful [Projection] by himself. It really is true." Ozpin said, now looking at Rizuki in mild interest.

He paused for a moment, observing Rizuki before continuing.

"You have no sensation in half your body, and your center of gravity of [Energy Circuit] is seven centimeters off, right?"

"H—how did you..." Rizuki stuttered.

"That's hardly surprising, Mr. Narukami."

Rizuki can only be surprised because Ozpin could somehow knows what he felt right now.

"I might be of some assistance."

Actually Arturia can't trust this man before her Master, something about him feels... off. Something is just wrong about this man. Inhumanly wrong. But Rizuki's stare says that she could trust him... and Shatoyan had also gave the man some benefit of doubt. So... what she could do now is watch the man in black and green closely.

If he dares to try something... well, let's say it won't be pretty for him.

Rizuki took his clothes off and sat on the ground. Shatoyan and Arturia were genuinely surprised because there were numerous scars on his body, so horrible and can't be described by words. Ozpin merely raised his eyebrows and then proceeds to examine his [Energy Circuit],while kneeling.

"How did you get these scars, Mr. Narukami?"

"... I got it when I was training with my brother."

"He seems to be a good teacher."

"More like brutal, if you ask me."

Ozpin then moves his hand from the upper parts of Rizuki's back and then the bottom parts, causing the young man to groan in pain as the old man touched his [Energy Circuit].

"You're fortunate. I expected to see something worse, but it's only something that was closed... now has been opened."

"Something that was closed, now has been opened?"

"The [Energy Circuit] that were passive before has been activated. The numbness is only temporary. By flooding the circuits you never used with energy at full power, you sent the formerly neglected circuits into a state of shock. This means that the energy circuits can be returned to an active state if you wish so."

Then Ozpin channeled his own energy from his hand while pressing it against Rizuki's back. Then, green circuit-like marks flows and streams all over the young man's body. Now Rizuki felt his current energy flow back to normal... no, he felt that his total energy capacity has increased immensely.

"That should do it. You'll recover in a few days. When you can move properly again, you should be a better fighter than before, Mr. Narukami."

Ozpin stood up and walks away, but Shatoyan stops him from walking further.

"You certainly know a lot about this, Ozpin." She said.

"Well, few years ago, I saw a man with a similar problem, just like Mr. Narukami over there. That man had almost lost his hands."

Just as he about to exit the building, he looks back at Rizuki.

"Mr. Narukami... what path will you choose?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your path as the [Soul Linker] and your path as Rizuki Narukami." The old man said. "I certainly don't know what are you thinking for the future, but let me say this: the possibility of you making good of the promise you made with 'that man' is very slim and unlikely, not with how you are now."

"You mean my strength wasn't enough for that."

He felt unnaturally annoyed at Ozpin's words. Indeed, he doesn't know what path he would choose as the [Soul Linker], but as himself he knew exactly what path he would choose. That would be his purpose in life. A promise that would make him survive, even though it was a borrowed ideals.

"It's not about strength." Ozpin shook his head. "Take heed, know that there will be no victory in strength... sometimes, victory is in the simple things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a small, honest soul."

"I didn't quite understand what you meant by that, Guildmaster."

"Your soul. Your personality is just a simple, empty mask that hides something behind it, you live with no desire for yourself. You live just for the sake of living."

"I..."

Then he remembered something, a memory that he didn't want to remember, where death and flames was everywhere, dead bodies and ruined building everywhere...

"It would be better if you—"

"Enough of that, Ozpin!"

Rizuki suddenly yelled with a tone that nobody ever heard before, surprising the other ones in the room, including Ozpin himself. His eyes glinted for a moment, before he recovers.

"... I suppose I said too much. Apologies, Mr. Narukami... that wasn't my intention to hurt your feelings." He slightly bowed. "I think this is my cue to leave... for now, I bid you farewell, Mr. Narukami."

Just a moment and he's already gone from their sight. Sighing, Rizuki can only think how his life would continue on... he was unaware that something big would happen and enters his life, among other things.


(Ending Song : Danzai no Hana ~Guilty Sky~ by Kosaka Riyu)


That's it for this chapter.

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Thank you very much for reading this story, see you next chapter.

Supreme Evil King, out.