Chapter 4:
Shura continued on his path, killing mages and enduring the torture he received from Nifrit. He had been doing this for a couple of weeks, but found the acts soothing. He had come across low-class mages, around C-Rank or D-Rank. While laughably weak, they were excellent blood banks. Plus, they were also great practice for his use of Celestial Spirit Magic. Capricorn did feel insulted whenever he was summoned to take down some weak mages, but Shura assured him it was so he could get used to using him and Cancer much quicker.
Speaking of Capricorn, the Celestial Spirit had taken time to teach Shura how to fight in hand-to-hand combat properly. It was something he took to heart, since he both respected Capricorn and saw the logic in his words. There may be moments where he could be without magic. And while he could rely on his Curse, Shura didn't want to take the chance. So he kept on practising with him, getting the hand of physical combat.
At night, he was assaulted with almost unimaginable pain from Nifrit, who saw fit to punish him for his disobedience. Shura took it in stride. He did end up crying every time he went to sleep, but - if anything - he had gotten used to the pain. At least he built up his pain tolerance during each nap.
Finally, after killing another pathetic mage, Shura found himself quite bored. Truthfully, it had been a while since he had gotten an actual challenge. Someone who could actually fight back. While he was no battle maniac, he was feeling quite restless at the fact that he had no one to properly test his skills on. No one a good fight.
He considered his options. He could either keep on doing what he was doing, and hopefully come across someone strong, or attack one of the guilds. He was liking the latter option much better, and was considering which guilds to attack. Light Guilds were probably not the best idea, since there could be more stronger mages who could take him out. Dark Guilds tended to have weaker members, with only a couple truly standing out. At least, those not in or connected to the Balam Alliance.
Mind made up, Shura was able to enter quite a small town, named Truffle Town. He immediately went to the local pub, as that was the best place to gather information on certain topics. As he walked, he could see a couple of Rune Knights stationed around here. He frowned, noting to keep his actions to a bare minimum.
He walked in, pushing past the doors and immediately headed towards the main desk. He could feel eyes on him, but he didn't care. He walked up towards a stool, sitting on it as he faced the male bartender. He had quite a large beer belly, with an apron that managed to contain his size, and civilian clothes. He was currently wiping a glass cup.
The bartender raised an eyebrow at seeing Shura sit down at the desk. "Aren't you a little young to be entering a bar, kid?" he asked, amused.
Shura simply placed a hand on a rune that he had inscribed onto it, pushing some magic. There was a small burst of magic, before jewels were in his hand. He slapped it on the desk, looking at the man with a deadpanned look. "I have money. I assume that it won't really matter what age I am?"
The bartender raised an eyebrow, eyeing the money on the table. "You sure, kid? I don't want anyone accusing me of robbing you? What would your pare-" He immediately stopped as he felt the glare that was aimed at him from through the cloak. Despite his age, it was a very intimidating glare. (A.N. - Like how Alucard - actually, a lot of people, now that I think about it - have an eye - or eyes - showing through the shadows in Hellsing).
"R-Right! W-What would you like, kid? Beer? Whiskey?" he nervously asked, sweating.
"Anything that's good," he replied. The bartender took the money as Shura waited patiently. He ignored the sniggers and laughter of seeing a kid here. As long as they didn't start anything, he was good. The bartender came back with a glass of whiskey.
"Here ya go, kid," he said. Nodding in thanks, Shura picked up the glass and tried to down the whole thing. Immediately, he recoiled, almost spitting out his drink.
"Hahaha!" the bartender laughed, a couple of others joining in. "Don't you know not to down the whole glass in one go for your first time?! You really are a newbie!" a man shouted. He then proceeded to down the whole of his glass, getting cheers from the other men around him.
Slightly embarrassed, Shura raised his glass to drink more of his whiskey. The bartender grew alarmed. "H-Hey kid, slow down!"
Shura didn't listen, downing the whole glass in a go. He ignored the burning sensation that he felt and looked at the man who had spoken with a challenging look.
"Lookie here, Rick! The kid's got some balls trying to challenge you!" a man beside Rick laughed. Rick ignored him, sneering at Shura.
"Kid, you really don't want this challenge," he growled, standing up to loom over the boy. Shura didn't waver, only smiling slightly.
"I'm pretty sure I do," he rebutted, making others 'ooh'.
Rick laughed, his muscular body lurching. "Alright! Oi, Matt! Bring the kid and me a couple of barrels! We're doing a drinking challenge!"
There was loud cheering from around the bar as Rick sat down beside Shura, the bartender bringing out some barrels. Rick glared at the God Slayer. "Name your price, boy."
"If I win, you give me information about why the people here are so uneasy, and the cause of it," Shura said. There was some unease amongst the crowd, but they managed to get into the cheer.
"Fine. When I win, you give me all of your money," Rick listed. There was a lot of booing from the crowd, but he waved it away. "Deal?"
"Deal," Shura confirmed. With that, the two began their challenge.
(Twenty minutes later)
Shura was sluggishly drinking his fifteenth barrel, his opponent slowing down and collapsing on the table. He sighed, the empty barrel landing on the ground as he burped slightly.
Turns out that both he was somewhat immune to getting drunk. He felt light-headed, almost woozy, but he was coherent. It must've been due to his immortality. At least he could avoid getting poisoning from alcohol.
"N-No way!" a man uttered. "Rick lost. To a kid."
Seeing that the man was down, Matt raised his hand in the air. "Give it up for the kid!"
There was a lot of cheering, some boos, and other kinds of sounds around as Shura drunkenly raised his hand in the air. He made to say something, but paused, holding his mouth. He quickly ran outside to vomit, having consumed too much alcohol.
After ten minutes of using his Healing Magic, he recovered, walking back into the bar again. He saw that his opponent was still unconscious. "Now that I've won," Shura said, as if he hadn't just thrown up, "anyone want to tell me why people are so afraid?"
It was silent in the bar, no one willing to speak up. Finally, someone said, "I know."
Parting, the crowd could see that it was a man, who had a severe pot belly, and balding hair.
"What do you know?" Shura asked him.
"It's the Dark Guild, Dark Claw," he revealed, making other people flinch.
"Do they attack you?" Shura asked curiously.
"Aye. They keep robbing us of all of our goods and people. They kidnap most of the women, run off with them." He scowled. "We've been trying to get the Rune Knights to deal with the case, but they're all like: 'Oh, we don't have enough resources.' Or: 'We're busy, come back another time'. It's disgusting."
"Do you know where they are?" he asked.
"Yeah. Six miles south of here. They live in a big, dark building. Can't miss it."
"Thanks," Shura nodded. He then went to exit the bar.
"H-Hey, kid. You're not seriously thinking of attacking their guild, are you?" Matt questioned, nervous.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Shure replied, still walking.
"T-They'll kill you! This isn't time to be a damn hero! Don't be so stupid!" a man yelled. Others joined in, trying to persuade Shura to stop and listen. He did none of those things. Instead, he disappeared in a burst of shadows, leaving the pub stunned.
XXX
The members of Dark Claw were all drinking and laughing inside their guild hall.
"So when do we go back to that village and pick us up another few whores, eh?" a member asked with a perverse grin on his face.
"Come on, man. We've already taken enough people for the slave trade," another member responded to his comrade's question.
"Pigs," a female member of Dark Claw muttered, before slapping a male member who managed to grope her breasts, sending him to the ground. The guild master was a large man, in terms of muscle size, not fat, and was laughing as he sat upon the throne set in the room.
"Master, when do we go back for more people?" another female member asked. The master waved his hand.
"We will return to Truffle Village for another set of people in another hour, then we will have some 'fun'... with our new 'guests'," the master of Dark Claw grinned widely before getting up. He walked over to a door that led to another part of the large guild. The master smirked as he saw the frightened men and women, ranging from teenagers to full grown adults, backing into a single corner to try and escape the man. He bent down and cupped the cheek of a young girl who looked to be around fifteen.
Suddenly, the door was kicked down harshly, making it fly towards a couple of Dark Claw members. The door collided with them, making them barrel towards the wall in a crash. The mages of Dark Claw panicked, before getting ready to attack.
The master was not happy. He stepped forward, muscles clenched. "Who dares come and attack Dark Claw?!" he bellowed. He was surprised when a young boy who looked to be fifteen entered. He had dark skin, long hair and crimson red eyes. He wore a black cloak that seemed to cover his whole body, not giving any other physical features away.
"It's just a fucking kid?!" a man exclaimed, stunned. Shura ignored the outburst, looking directly at the master. "Are you Dark Claw?" he asked, voice monotone. The master Requipped a large, obsidian blade to his hands, clenching it.
"So what if we are? You're going to be dead before you'll leave this place." Shura chuckled at that, irking the master and the other mages.
"You stole my line," he said simply. With that, the corks of his gourd popped open as blood rushed out of them, surprising and scaring many of the mages. Morphing into tendrils, the blood rushed towards many Dark Claw members, piercing and skewered them. There were cries of pain as most of them died, their blood being drawn towards the tendrils of blood, making them stronger.
"K-Kill him!" one mage shouted. Many roared in agreement, charging towards Shura, despite their fear. The boy hummed, a mass of blood whipping behind him and choking a female guild member. She tried to gasp, but was quickly robbed of oxygen as her body fell slack. The mass of blood wrapped itself around her neck, snapping it.
"Blood-Make: Blood Tsunami," Shura intoned. Immediately, all of the gathered blood obeyed his command and coalesced together, forming a giant tidal wave of blood. Some guild members stopped, turning to run away, but it was too late. The tsunami burrowed straight into them, crushing them under the force.
"Blood-Make: Blood Stakes!" he yelled. The blood on the ground sharpened, forming into spikes and instantly skewering through many more approaching guild members who survived the first attack, killing them brutally.
All of the kidnapped prisoners watched, astonished. A boy no older than fifteen was decimating an entire guild of mages. They saw how he didn't even move, bending the blood around him to slice members of the Dark Guild in half, chop off their limbs, decapitate them, stab them through the heart and other vitals.
"Bullet Magic: Bullet Volley!" a member announced. A magic circle appeared in front of her, releasing a hailstorm of bullets towards the prone Shura. Without even looking at her, Shura commanded the blood to shield him from the bullets, making them flow inside the liquid. They then warped slightly, firing back the bullets with twice the speed that they were initially fired with. This rebound killed the caster and several other of her comrades behind her.
Shura finally moved, dodging a double kick from two members. He punched through one member's chest, blood coating his fist that came from the other side. He then grabbed the dead man's body and bit down harshly on his neck, drinking his blood. He mentally recoiled, still continuing his actions. His blood tastes disgusting.
Kicking him away, Shura commanded the corpse's blood to form a whip, controlling it to swing around and decapitate several approaching guild members. Turning the blood into a massive glob, he then grabbed several female members in it, crushing them. "Blood-Make: Blood Coffin."
The half-Etherious kicked another three members with a roundhouse kick, which had allowed for him to simultaneously cut them in half at the hip as whips of blood ejected from the point of contact with the member he hit. The whips flew through their bodies like they were water and they fell to the ground, dead.
Shura then connected with the remaining blood trail, creating a large construct. "Blood-Make: Blood Dragon Dance!" A large blood dragon formed, tearing and shredding approaching members, coating the floors with massive amounts of blood.
"Blood-Make: Blood Twister!" A small whirlpool of blood was formed, swallowing up any remaining guild member. The guild master and kidnapped people watched in awe and fear as Shura and the the guild walls were coated in blood. He slurping sound was heard as Shura drank up all the blood around him, gulping as each gallon poured down his throat.
Shura wiped his mouth as he grinned darkly at the remaining members, who shook in fear. Shura kept on approaching them, eyes gleaming. "M-Monster!" a male member shouted, falling to his knees in fear.
"Flattery gets you everywhere," Shura responded. Blood bent to his command as he sliced off the head of another member and then kicked another in the skull, causing the neck of the victim to snap from the force. Shuta ducked beneath a stab from a sword and grabbed the member's outstretched arm and broke the arm at the elbow joint, causing the sword to fall. Shura caught the blade and stabbed it into its original wielder's skull before withdrawing it and throwing it as if it were a throwing knife. The blade flew straight and true, impaling through at least three people in one go, making them look like a shish-kebab.
Shura twisted and slammed a fist into another member's face, causing the nose to break before sending a barrage of blood from the magic seal that formed in front of his palm, shredding the Dark Claw member's face to the bone. Looking down at a whimpering and crawling man, Shura quickly stepped forward and stomped down on his head, blood, bone and brain matter scattered all over his foot.
A lightning spell flew at him, but Shura dodged it, a blood tendril slicing through the caster and appearing out of his chest. During a small scuffled with a large crowd of Dark Claw members, the kidnapped people, despite the fact that they were tied up, managed to get up and hop out of a large hole in the wall.
Seeing this, Shura decided to finish this. "Blood-Make: Blood Rain!" A large blob of blood floated in the air, before firing off bullet-sized projectiles of blood, piercing and killing any remaining Dark Claw member instantly. All except the guild master.
Shura scowled, holding out his hand. His Violent Fierce God Slicer appeared in his hands. He kept on walking towards the guild master, who had soiled himself in fear. "Humans like you disgust me," Shura said, snarling. "People like you remind me that humans are just as bad as monsters."
Raising his hand up, Shura brought his magic sword down in a wide slash, bisecting the guild master in half and literally splitting the guild hall in half. A large shockwave erupted with enough force to shake the earth and the kidnapped victims who had run a decent distance away from the guild, also managed to feel it, causing them to fall to the ground. They turned back and gaped as they saw the guild suddenly have a beam of energy that cut through it, before it just split open, like an egg.
Dismissing his Violent Fierce God Slicer, Shura sighed in relief. "That... was exhilarating," he muttered. "My first actual fight, and it was glorious." Done with his work, Shura walked towards the crowd of shocked, but still tied-up, people. Shura simply raised his hand, making them flinch out of fear as they thought he was going to kill them as well. However, they were surprised when blood flew to his command, slicing through their bindings. They tore the duct tape from their mouth, looking at Shura.
"Thank you... for saving us," they all thanked, bowing to Shura with large grins on their faces. Shura just stared for a moment at seeing them bow to him. He felt... slightly good. He didn't plan to save them, only to test his abilities. Yet... he found their thankful expressions towards him slightly satisfying. Still, he decided to be honest.
"I didn't aim to save you all," he revealed to them. "I just wanted to kill those Dark Claw members."
"Even so..." a man spoke, stepping forward. "You did indirectly save us, so again... thank you." Shura nodded, before walking around the group. The crowd's eyes still trained on the cloaked boy. He headed back to Truffle Village, the crowd following behind him, as if he were a king.
"Well... this is an interesting development," Shura commented as he saw the hearts appear in some of the eyes of the women in the crowd as they looked at him. After a good ten minutes, they all arrived at Truffle Village. Shura turned to the crowd of previous kidnaps and looked back at the entrance to the village. The sky was beginning to gain a golden glow as the sun was about to rise. He looked over the crowd.
"Your families are waiting for you," Shura said, gesturing towards the village. "Go." With that, Shura disappeared in a burst of shadows.
"W-Wait!" a young girl who looked to be about sixteen, with blonde hair, called out to the boy as he disappeared. The girl frowned as her 'hero' had disappeared. However, she then took off towards the village, her fellow villagers running after her.
"EVERYONE! WE'RE BACK!" the young teenage girl called out. The members of Truffle Village were all rudely awakened by the sudden shouting and screaming below and couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the kidnapped people had returned safely.
"ILLIANA!" Matt the bartender yelled, running out of his pub to embrace his younger sister. "H-How?"
"It was awesome nii-san! We were all trapped and stuff, but then this red-eyed kid wearing a cloak came out of nowhere, and then he started beating up all the members of the Dark Claw guild. He was bending blood, Matt. It was sooo cool," she said with a dreamy look in her eyes. Matt chuckled and was about to refute his sister when he began to hear the other victims of the kidnapping beginning to praise their saviour.
"Well what do you know?" Rick spoke. "The brat actually did it."
"I know. It was amazing," one of the kidnapped people replied. "He controlled the blood of the Dark Claw members as if he were its master. L-Like a vampire!"
"At this point, I'm willing to believe anything," Matt replied, shaking his head while he chuckled.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when that kid killed everyone without so much as batting an eyelash," a woman told her friend.
"We should thank him!" a villager yelled.
"He already disappeared," another villager disputed.
"Well if he left, then we should at least honour him with a name," a female villager spoke. The villagers all agreed to the idea and began to call out random titles before one was uttered by Matt.
"How about... the Blood-dimmed King?" the bartender suggested. The other villagers went silent, before nodding.
"A fitting name," Illiana agreed. "He controlled blood like a master. And practically dominated the entire guild, like some sort of king." The other villagers nodded in agreement, liking the name.
Shura stood atop one of the buildings of the village, having heard the name. He hummed. "Given my circumstances, I wouldn't consider myself as a king... but it does sound cool," he muttered. He smiled, his cloak billowing in the wind. He turned away, disappearing in a burst of shadows.
XXX
(Two days later, Magical Council - Fiore Branch Meeting)
The Magic Council is the main ruling body in the entire world of Magic. It comprises of council buildings stationed all over the continent in order to maintain order throughout the lands. The Council rules over all legal guilds and have the ability to punish every and all mages who break the laws they have made. When a mage commits the act of killing or something illegal, that mage is labeled as a dark mage and if the guild refuses to disband, the guild is labelled as a Dark Guild. The Magic Council consists of eight members who make the decisions as to what happens in Earthland and are the ones who bring about the formation of laws and what guilds should be disbanded and whatnot.
The first member of the council, as well as its second seat was an elderly man named Org. Org was a tall old man with a large grey beard, moustache and long grey hair. He had tanned skin and wore a cream robe-like set of clothing with a red line going down the middle of the robe. Over the robe, Org wore a dark blue and white cloak, the white taking up the majority of the cloak's surface area. A gold trim separated the white from the blue. The collar of the cloak was rather high and dark blue with a green area near the end of the collar and separated from the blue area by a vertical white line. A pair of black pants and brown shoes were shielded by the large cloak. Org had black eyes, but strangely had only one eye open while the other was tightly shut. Atop his head was a red devil-like sort of creature.
Another member of the council is Leigi. He is a tall, middle-aged man with black hair that has huge sideburns that almost touch his lips. His eyes are covered by dark coloured shades. He had thin, yet large lips and small hairs were scattered along his chin. His outfit consisted of a white and blue robe, with the hood of the robe being put up. He wore a dark purple, V-neck shirt beneath the robe and a pair of black pants and brown shoes.
The third member of the Magic Council was an old man of very small stature, who went by the name of Michello. He had short brown hair, but some tufts of hair seemed to styled into the shape of sharp triangles, similar to cat ears. A long, brown moustache lined his upper lip. His beady brown eyes were currently looking over his fellow council members. Michello wore a long sleeved, blue t-shirt with black tiger stripes along the sleeves and the back of the t-shirt. He wore a pair of black pants and large brown shoes. A long, yellowish tail of some sort, swished behind him making his appearance all the more cat-like. A T-shaped cane was held in his hands.
Shitou Yajima was next member. He was a small, old man who sported no hair on his head. He had a large pair of eyebrows and a small moustache that were both a pale brown colour. His eyes seemed to be in an ever closed position, but when opened it revealed the beady black irises within. He wore a pair of dark brown pants beneath a white kilt of some sort. An orange, long sleeved sweater with black, vertical stripes on it, was worn as to cover his upper body. Atop his head was a reddish-violet hat with three spikes at the front part of the hat.
Belino, the eldest female member of the Magic Council, was an elderly woman with dark blonde hair that framed her face. The back of her hair was tied up to form multiple tails in the shape of flower petals. These 'tails' were positioned in such a way, it gave her hair the appearance of a lion's mane or a sunflower. Like other members of the Council, she had black irises. She wore red lipstick and red nail polish and had a slightly long nose thus giving her a witch-like appearance. She wore a purple turtle-neck sweater with black, vertical stripes, but her impressive bust still revealed itself. She wore a long black skirt and a pair of black, flat-heeled shoes. Her cloak was a dark violet colour with white lining along the length of the cloak from the tip of the collar to the hem. Her cloak was held by a golden cord which had six golden rectangular objects strung along it.
The only other female member of the Magic Council's Fiore Branch was a beautiful pale-skinned woman with dark purple hair that stretched down to her mid-back, but it was currently tied into a single ponytail. She had on red lipstick as well. Her clothes consisted of a white, kimono-like outfit that stopped just above her knees and which showed her voluptuous figure despite it being a rather loose fitting set of clothing. A yellow sash was worn around her waist. Her dark brown eyes held a hint of mischief in them as she watched over her fellow council members and in her hand, she tossed a teal-coloured lacrima up and down in her hands. This was Ultear Milkovich.
The final member of the Magic Council was a young man with deep blue hair and had a red tattoo which was made of two separate marking above and below his right eye. He had slightly pale skin and wore an elegant yet simple set of robes; consisting of a long white tunic with black stripes across the edges and on the upper part of the arms, a decorated collar, large straps connected to decorated buckles, closing the inducement on the front over a dark shirt, and matching pants and shoes. He also sported a ring on his right hand's middle finger. Hidden by his jacket collar, the man wore a circular medallion, which was dark blue and lined with silver. In the centre of the medallion was a silver, cross-shaped symbol with two silver diamond-like shapes in between the spaces of the cross. Near the intersection of the silver cross, there was a small silver circle with a single silver petal placed within each quarter of the circle. This medallion revealed the man to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints. This was Siegrain.
In the space before them was an amphibious member of the Magic Council, who looked like a frog. The bipedal frog panted as he clutched his knees, trying to catch his breath. He had run in, alarmed. The council members waited patiently for the staff member to recover before he stood back up.
"Org-sama... I bring news of the dark guild, Dark Claw!" he announced. The council gained serious looks on their faces. Dark Claw was always a very problematic guild. Their guild members had gone on illegal requests, requests that demanded the act of killing and assassination. They had been found out one year ago when a platoon of Rune Knight had been wandering Truffle Village and saw them drag a man into an ally and slit his throat before trying to make a break for it, only to be caught. Since then, they had been taking many security precautions to prevent from being taken down by the Magic Council.
"What about them?" Ultear asked curiously. The frog took out a lacrima from his pocket and laid it out on the floor in the centre of the council room. He placed his webbed hand on top of it and pumped a small bit of magic power into it. The lacrima took on an electric blue glow before a similarly coloured magic seal appeared above it and a holographic image of a destroyed and ruined forest was shown, with what looked like a guild building cleanly cut in half.
"This image was taken by the Rune Knights stationed by Truffle Village, where Dark Claw had been stationed," he explained.
"Okay, so it's a destroyed forest... probably done by one of the beasts in the forests or maybe a member of Fairy Tail. They have been known for their destructive tendencies," Leigi said. The staff member shook his head.
"Ummm actually... this is... or was... the place where the Dark Claw guild was stationed." The Council Members' eyes widened at that.
"Are you sure?" Org asked, eyes narrowed in confusion and curiosity.
"Yes, Org-sama. We just heard that the citizens of Truffle Village who were kidnapped by the criminals stated they were freed and the criminals were... 'dealt with' and this was all that remained. They said this was done by a single mage."
"A single mage did all that?" Belino gaped.
"Such power... you are certain of this information?" Yajima asked with a serious tone.
"The Rune Knights interviewed every single one of the kidnapped citizens and they all have the same story. A single mage - about fifteen years of age - with extraordinary blood magic abilities came in and took down the whole guild by himself. He slaughtered the entirety of them and then sliced the guild in half," the staff member said. Silence filled the council room as they watched the image.
Ultear smirked. Master Hades would very much like to have a mage like that in Grimoire Heart.
"Do you know the name of this mage? Does he have any other abilities?" Leigi asked. The staff member thought for a moment.
"They say, as I have mentioned before, the mage was a male and had great skill with blood magic. Even going so far as to be able to bend it with no physical movement. He is said to have dark skin, crimson red eyes, and wore a black cloak." The amphibian staff member looked to see if the council members were still listening and found their eyes still trained on him.
"They call him...the Blood-dimmed King," the staff member concluded before picking up the Image Lacrima and the image of the destroyed Dark Claw guild vanished in a blue magic seal. The staff member watched the Magic Council with a few beads of sweat forming on his brow as he suddenly felt the tension in the room.
"Is that all?" Michello asked. The staff member nodded before he was dismissed by the council and he immediately, and quickly, left the room. As soon as the door slammed shut, Org spoke.
"It seems that we have a bit of a vigilante here in Fiore," he said.
"He's a criminal!" Michello spoke, his tail swishing behind him. "He has killed mages and thus has committed a felony. The Blood-dimmed King must be put down before it escalates into him attacking legal guilds."
"Michello has a point." Belino stated, in thought. "However, if we are able to bring the Blood-dimmed King over to us... we can possibly make a weapon out of him."
"But that goes against everything we stand for! Equality, fairness and that includes granting independence to those who have it!" Yajima said strongly. They all looked at him with a frown. The old man did have a point.
"Yajima is right," Siegrain said. "If we go after this man just for the sake of turning him into a weapon, there might be a chance that he will rebel. And with the power he has at his disposal... from what that staff member showed us, he would easily be able to take down many of those who stand in his way and he is not against taking a life."
"Even if we go through with this plan," Ultear stated, "we would still need to find him."
"Dark skin and crimson eyes should be distinct enough for people to find him," Org stated.
"Get the Rune Knights in Truffle Village to give us an accurate description of the Blood-dimmed King. We will then have one of our sketch artists draw this man from the description and then we will use it to find him. Deploy whatever available squadrons we have and we will find him and bring this man to justice," Michello spoke with an orderly tone. The council members looked amongst one another.
"It's a start," Siegrain shrugged. Org nodded.
"I concur. Very well, Michello. We will go along with your plan." Taking a deep breath, Org yelled, "RALLY THE RUNE KNIGHTS!"
"AYE!" was the simultaneous cry of agreement.
XXX
Shura was travelling to Clover Town, having recovered something from the now destroyed Dark Claw guild that caught his attention. Apparently, there was a mysterious mage named Godot(1), who was an old, wise magesmith. He could create any magical weapon, along with dozens of magic spells that were said to be deemed forbidden by the Magic Council. Shura didn't know how they had come across this information, but he didn't care.
The exact details weren't clear, but it was said he was around the shady parts of Clover Town, deep underground. So he was going to go there to see if there were any weapons or magic that he could recover.
As he walked, Shura spied a couple of Rune Knights putting up a poster. Curious, Shura walked up to it once he saw that they were gone. Looking at it, his eyes widened as he saw the poster.
"No way," he muttered, staring at the poster in shock. It was a wanted poster of him, with an accurate drawing of himself. Thankfully, his cloak didn't reveal too much of his face, only his eyes. He read the description below.
Wanted: the Blood-dimmed King. Said to have dark skin, crimson eyes, and wears a ragged black cloak. Looks about fifteen in age. Abilities include high levels of physical combat, speed, strength and endurance. Has mastery over blood magic.
"Just fucking great," Shura mumbled, quickly melding to a shadow and sinking into it. He remembered the people of Truffle Village talking. "I just had to kill a bunch of dark guild members," he muttered, moving around the town. "I do the Magic Council a favour, and what do I get? This! Now, it'll be even harder to travel without drawing too much attention."
As he skulked in the shadows, looking for Godot's entrance, he overheard some people talking, a poster of him in their hands.
"Dude, this guy is doing Fiore a favour. I mean, he got rid of a dark guild."
"Yeah, but who is to say he's a wanted criminal himself. Even if we've now heard of him, this Blood-dimmed King could be a serial killer or an assassin or something who goes after guilds and destroys them."
"Dark Claw were a bunch of lowlifes who stoles, raped and killed. It's about time somebody stopped them."
"But this guys is said to have outright murdered them. Whose to say he won't come after us next?"
Shura continued to listen to their opinions as he searched. Well, at least some sensible people are actually agreeing with me, Shura thought to himself. Not that I care, but it feels nice. And of course, there are people who disagree. But enough about that. Need to find the entrance... Aha!
Shura managed to sink into the alleyways of Clover Town, seeing a sewer opening. Grimacing, he crept into the tight space, his shadow form spilling inside easily. Shura turned back into his physical form, landing in a crouch in sewer water.
"After everything I've experienced," Shura commented, moving through the water, "this actually isn't the worst. Still, disgusting." Shura created a dark platform that he easily hopped onto, floating across the water. As he sailed, Shura tried to sense any underlying magic around, seeing if Godot was nearby or not. After a twenty minutes of nothing, Shura was ready to rip his hair out. Growling, he let out a pulse of darkness that connected with the nearby walls, almost shattering them.
"I knew this was a waste of time," Shura muttered. He was about to leave when he noticed something. One section of the wall seemed to have survived his blast. Although it was slightly crumbled, it definitely looked more durable than the normal walls in the sewer.
Humming, Shura got off his raft and walked towards the section. Curious, he reared his fist back and punched the wall slightly. It crumbled easily, allowing him to see an entrance leading somewhere. He smirked. "Guess that information was true."
Walking through the entrance, Shura made his way inside, closing his eyes at the feeling of the darkness surrounding him. As he walked, he surrendered his senses to the dark. He trusted it, controlled it even. It listened to his command where ever he went, as was his only solace while inside the Void. While he hated how he got his powers, he couldn't deny that they each had benefits.
Shura kept walking, eventually crossing into a complicated maze. Each pathway had elaborate turns and pathways that would've confused anyone. Sighing, Shura connected with the darkness again, trying to find any source of light or human movement. After finding one that led straight ahead, he grinned. He quickly melded with the shadows, moving quickly along the path that he had discovered.
He reformed himself, seeing a door ahead. He waited a bit, trying to decide how to go about this whole thing. Yet, before he had even touched the door, an elderly voice called out, "Come in."
Stunned, Shura paused for only a moment. But that was enough for the man on the other side to say, "Don't hesitate now. I know you're there."
Frowning, Shura decided to push the door open, stepping inside. Inside, he saw a smith's workshop. There was a large fire that roared over a metal bench. Several tools littered the table, though Shura was able to see many of the runes inscribed onto them. Looking at the rest of the workplace, there were at least a dozen different unfinished projects on different worktables.
The place was small, yet had a comfortable feel to it. Seated near the back was an old man with a surprisingly muscular physique, muscles straining as fiddled with something metal. He had a grey beard, and a balding head. He had crinkles around his face that stretched across his face. He didn't look up as Shura entered, something that both irritated and intrigued him.
The man - who Shura suspected to be Godot - kept on fiddling, making Shura impatient. He had already dealt with all of this mysterious, confusing shit. He was not dealing with it again.
"You going to keep playing with your toys, Godot, or are you going to look at me?" Shura snapped, annoyed.
To his annoyance, Godot continued working on the piece of metal in his hands. Just when Shura's fleeing patience was about to make him explode, Godot spoke. "My, my. You really are an impatient young man. So full of anger. Hatred."
He looked up towards Shura, and the half-Etherious was slightly taken aback by the wisdom in the old man's eyes. Wisdom and experience, along with a surprising amount of knowledge.
"You've come to me for guidance," Godot simply said.
Shura nodded, pushing the creepy vibe Godot was giving him. "Yes. I want several weapons and some Lost Magic."
"You know, saying 'please' goes a long way," the old man said.
"If I said so, would you actually give them to me?" Shura asked.
"Yes." The answer was so quick that Shura was almost taken aback. I-It was that simple?
"Then... may I please have some powerful weapons and Lost Magic?" Shura asked Godot.
"No." At his answer, Shura's eyes lit up in rage. "At least... not without an actual reason."
"What do you mean?" Shura asked, anger brimming at the surface.
"Why do you seek those artefacts?" Godot asked, standing up gently and walking towards his forge. He placed a hand on the forge, the flames spilling hungrily over the workbench.
"I seek strength, so that I can gain freedom. In doing so, I gain vengeance," Shura explained to the man, annoyed at all the stalling.
Godot hummed, picking up a small hammer on the table, along with a lump of iron. He started hammering into it, talking as he did so. "Is this 'freedom and vengeance' tied to a particular goddess? Specifically, the goddess of chaos, Nifrit?"
It felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He half-expected the goddess to pop into his mind, but paused, feeling that she was not there.
"Do not worry," Godot assured. "There is magic shielding you from her vision. It's quite useful in warding away pesky spirits."
Eyes wide, Shura looked at the man as he kept on hammering. "H-How do you know about her?"
"Her presence is smothering you. Over your spirit," he explained, the resounding clang ringing through the air continuously. "I've dealt with enough gods and demons to know when I see any of their presences around mortals."
Shura was shocked. There was obviously more to this old man than meets the eye. A thought entered his head. "If you know about gods, then there's a chance that you have a weapon to slay them, right?" he asked eagerly.
Godot paused in his hammering, thinking. "I have a few."
"Then, can you give one to me?" Shura asked desperately. "Or give me all? Please." He even went on his knees as he begged. "I-I'm begging you, please! I need them! I-I want to be free, please!"
Godot was silent, frowning in thought. After a while, he opened his eyes. "Tell me, boy. You fight for revenge and freedom, correct?"
"Yes," Shura nodded quickly.
"An interesting duo... however, not usually the best path to take. Do you have anyone close to you?"
Shura immediately thought of Layla and Lucy, and the kindness that they had shown him. Along with the other servants in the Heartfilia household. "Yes. I do."
"Treasure them," Godot said immediately. "Vengeance might be all well and good, but all it does is leave you bitter, broken and hollow. And when you've achieved it, you'll feel nothing but more pain. Pain to fill your heart, for the previous hole inside your heart."
"That's all well and good," Shura retorted, anger in his eyes. "But I have nothing else to live for! My life has just been filled with hatred! I hate Nifrit for resurrecting me for her pride and ego, and then treating me like an immortal slave. I hate the Etherious for destroying my village and experimenting on me! I hate my father for blaming me for the cause of my mother's death! And..." He grit his teeth. "I... hate myself. For being the one to kill my mother. Due to my own magic."
Godot was silent as he continued staring at Shura. "You remind me of someone I've met," he said. "Long ago. He was just like you. He was filled with nothing but pain, anger, sadness and fear. He learned to rely on himself, thinking others weak. He used to struggle day in and day out to live and survive."
Shura was silent as he listened to the old man speak.
"But, I was able to remind him that there was value in relying on others. That having others fight with you wasn't a weakness, but a strength. You may think that you have to take on all your problems all alone, but remember that you should treasure those close to your heart. Let them be the reason you fight, not the fruitless endeavour known as revenge."
Shura was silent as Godot went to the back to retrieve something.
"But, just like him, I know that you won't listen to me, and that you'll insist that you have to be alone. So, I'll see what you can do once you've followed your path, and listened to my words."
Shura looked up as Godot came back, only to gawk at what was in his hands. It was a giant sword, which was held easily by Godot. It was long, about over six feet in length, and looked like a heap of raw iron. The blade was silver in colour, with a blood-red colour centred in the middle going down. It had a long, bandaged handle. The sword looked brand new, as if it had just been made. Moreover, it was also extremely sharp.
"W-What... is that?" Shura asked. He didn't know why, but he could feel the amount of raw power contained in the sword.
"This was one of the weapons you were asking about," Godot explained. "This is Dragon Slayer(2). A weapon used by the very man I was talking about. It's main purpose is to slay dragons, but over the years, it's seen its fair share of demonic and supernatural blood. It can harm and kill practically anything on the physical and astral plane of existence. Extending to ghosts, demons and gods."
Shura looked at the sword, standing up. He went closer to it, inspecting the craftsmanship behind it. He tried to lift it, and struggled quite a bit. Eventually, he had to wrap his right arm with darkness, making it much stronger. He then proceeded to carry Dragon Slayer with much more ease. "Is... is this mine?"
"Yep," Godot nodded. "I think you can use it with more ease and skill than the previous wielder. Though, you'll have to gain a bit more muscle." He gestured towards Shura's darkness-covered arm. "You can take it for a test run. I know a great place where dragons are residing."
Shura blinked, lifting Dragon Slayer up and down. "There are dragons around Fiore?"
"Kid, you'd be surprised if there wasn't something lurking around this world." Godot had a small smile on his face. "Now, you want to test that out, or not?"
Shura had a small, growing smile on his face.
Done! Whoo, me!
(1) - Same Godot from Berserk, but modified a bit.
(2) - Also the same Berserk. Some elements will be taken from the anime/manga.
Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. Shura got his first encounter with a dark guild, and is now dealing with the consequences. Namely, becoming infamous with the Magic Council.
Just know that Shura won't join any guild for a while, if at all. He doesn't like the idea of taking orders from people, as he's craving for his own freedom.
Next chapter will reveal a little dragon-hunting and the addition of some elements of a game with a similar genre. You wanna know which one, just wait and see.
Guest Review time!
1) Thanks. I'm glad you like the fic. I just like putting different stuff.
2) Right, it was the same complaints that I had while watching the anime and manga. And yeah, Natsu will get with Lisanna.
Hope y'all enjoy the story. Thanks to all those who f,f,r and r the story. Luv the support.
Thanks! Read and Review!