Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Souls or Akame ga kiru
Soul of the General
The Empire's capital was home to many buildings of both residential and governmental purposes. However the most impressive and important building out of all of them was the imperial palace, the true center of the empire. Home to hundreds, if not thousands of officials and nobles, and nearly twice as many servants and guards. The palace can be quite hectic during the day, but the night often brought some sense of rest. This wasn't true for all of the servants, especially the maids, and at times the night can be worse. Many interesting things can happen in the palace, but if one were to ask what the most interesting thing happening tonight was, they would say it was the strange knight and lady that were following the famous general Esdeath.
Adrien's armored footsteps echoed through the hall as he and the Firekeeper followed general Esdeath. The general had asked Adrien to follow her to some other part of the castle immediately after the meeting with the emperor was over, and considering she was now his 'captain' then he more or less had to obey. It is inconvenient that I am under her command, but if the emperor will consider my words, and this issue is dealt with without bloodshed then it will be worth it. Adrien thought while he looked at the back of Esdeath's head, considering what his time in the 'jaegers' will be like. I hope she does not put me on a tight leash. Briefly he thought about how Koro was strapped to Seryu by a leash, and it amused him.
"May I ask where we are going?" The Firekeeper spoke up, breaking the long silence she had kept up.
"The dungeons, I must ask Adrien an important question." Esdeath responded, looking back to the blind maiden.
"Why does that require going to the dungeons?" Adrien asked curiously, and Esdeath huffed a bit in amusement.
"You'll see." Esdeath's words did not comfort Adrien, and he became more wary of the Firekeeper's safety. They continued toward the dungeons, and they approached a dark metal door, which Esdeath opened with a small key she had in her front shirt pocket. They all went down a dark staircase beyond the metal door, and soon found themselves within the dark stone walls of the palace dungeons. They walked forward for a bit, and Adrien could hear faint screams and the sounds of crying in the distance. The whole atmosphere reminded him of the irithyll dungeons, which brought back painful memories, and put him even more on edge. Adrien signaled for the Firekeeper to come closer, and she complied, the pale lady scooting close enough for her to hold onto Adrien's cloak.
"How much further?" Adrien asked, looking around at the cells on either side of the wall they were going down.
"We're here." Esdeath announced immediately after Adrien's question, making it mute. She opened a cell in front of her with a different key from before, and ushered her two followers inside, where they saw a figure hanging by chains that connected to the figure's wrists by steel cuffs. Adrien recognized this figure.
"G-General...Esdeath?" Liver groaned as he awoke, pain still lingering in his body. He still vividly remembered his punishment for failing so miserably. While none of it was permanent damage, the physiological trauma would most likely be there forever. Before him was Esdeath herself, and two strangers, one of which was an armored knight with a tattered cloak, and a fair lady with a metal blindfold. "Why have you returned?"
"I have not returned here for you." Esdeath said while looking down at the man, before she faced Adrien. "I came here to find out if he is the same knight that attacked you." Adrien faced Esdeath fully, and Liver's eyes widened. "You see, Liver here gave a very good report of the mysterious knight that attacked him in regal armor. One thing that I noticed was the impressive strength, durability, and the strange ability that killed one of my beasts by seeming to suck the life right out of them. An ability that seems very reminiscent of the description Seryu had made of your strange red hand." Adrien rose his head, realizing what she was implying. "Not to mention your strength and durability match this 'other' knight's" Esdeath continued, putting a sarcastic tone on the word 'other'. The general then began to walk towards Adrien, as the undead prepared for a fight. "So, are you and this knight the same person? Or am I jumping to reasonable conclusions?" Esdeath said, now mere inches away from Adrien's face, the general only about an inch shorter than the knight. Now that she was this close, the unkindled looked at Esdeath's marking that was on her chest. The style was unfamiliar, but judging by it's color, and it's prominence Adrien Figured it might have something to do with her powers.
"And if I am?" Adrien asked, and Esdeath smiled.
"Then if your thinking I'm going to arrest you or something, then don't worry. No one else knows the details of the attack on my three beasts, so no one has to know." Esdeath said with a sinister smile. "However, what I truly want is for you to finish what you started. Liver has proven to be a weak individual, and he has no more use for me. So show me if your serious about being a part of the jaegers." Adrien looked at the man briefly, before turning back to her.
"He is defenseless, and means no harm to me anymore. There is no need for him to die." Adrien said, and Esdeath frowned a bit, but it was more of a pout if anything.
"So your going to disregard your superior because of your morals?" She asked dangerously.
"My morals and desire are the very reason I am under you in the first place. I do not like suffering, or needless bloodshed."
"So your saying you never killed anyone with either of those two?" Esdeath's question caused Adrien to huff in annoyance at the general, who was still right in his face.
"I have done much wrong in my past, but now I only kill who I have to, or who gets in my way." Esdeath smiled at that.
"A mysterious past? I like that. So will you still not kill him?" At Esdeath's question, he shook his head, and Esdeath walked away from him, and towards Liver. She withdrew the large rapier that had been on her back since she had been in the hall before the meeting, and pointed it at Liver's throat. "You will do what I say, Adrien, one way or another. If I kill Liver, and you do nothing to stop me, are you still not abandoning your morals? But if you try to stop me, that would be attacking your superior officer, a grave offense."
"Killing your subordinates? Is this what I can look forward to while working in the jaegers?" Adrien asked, keeping an eye on both Esdeath and Liver.
"No, after all this is a once in a blue moon scenario, Liver was weak, Nyau was weak, Daidara was weak, so I'm going to make use of the last of the three. You interest me Adrien, and I intend for you to see things...my way." Esdeath sliced Liver's throat quickly, fresh blood spilling out from the arterial wound. Adrien balled his fists in frustration as he felt one Soul of Liver enter his body, along with several thousand normal souls. "Now, why don't I show you two to your room?"
Night Raid's hideout was what many would call more of a castle considering it's size, despite it being a hideout for an assassination group. The large tan-stone structure encompassed the side of a cliff face, and among it's many rooms was an open training area that a certain assassin was using. This assassin was the newest member of the group, Tatsumi, currently clad in the imperial arms Incursio. Thankfully the armor was indeed compatible with the young man, and he had spent the last week honing his skills with the imperial arms.
Tatsumi struck a straw dummy with the long red spear that came with the Incursio armor, and the dummy was completely bisected by the spear. Tatsumi sighed, while he was getting better at handling the weapon, he didn't know if he was ready for combat, especially with another arms user. Leone opened the door to the training room, and approached their newest member.
"Lookin' pretty good Tatsumi, you sure showed those dummies." Leone said enthusiastically, but with a bit of snark as well. Tatsumi groaned a bit, and the Incursio armor began to turn to smoke around his body. Soon the armor and spear completely dissipated, leaving Tatsumi in his usual white duster and sweater vest, holding the sword form of Incursio.
"Yea, well, I've been getting better at it. I can even use the trump card well enough now too." Tatsumi said confidently, and Leone smirked. While the Lionelle imperial arms user would have loved to chat with him more, she needed to get him inside where Najenda had called a meeting about her return.
"Glad to hear it, but I should let you know, the boss needs to talk with us." Leone said with a bit more seriousness, and Tatsumi nodded. Leone walked back inside, and Tatsumi followed her. As they walked, Leone chuckled a bit, but Tatsumi couldn't tell what she was amused about. Before he knew it, she was crouching low next to a door with a cheeky smile on her face. She carefully reached for the doorknob, trying to be as quiet as possible. Tatsumi decided to stay back, not wanting to be a part of whatever was going on. Leone slowly opened the door, and peeked in. "Hey there! You both ready to...oh." Leone's face looked surprised for a second, before the same cheeky smile returned. Tatsumi's eyebrow raised in confusion. "Mine, I know you missed Sheele, but I didn't think you missed her that much." Leone chuckled. Curiosity got the better of Tatsumi, and he went over, and peeked in.
Sheele was standing with an ornate dress on, while Mine looked to be...groping Sheele's breasts. Mine was faced forward, so she couldn't see Tatsumi lean his head in. Sheele looked to be very uncomfortable.
"I'm trying to get this stupid dress off! And her bra got stuck on the inside of the dress!" Mine yelled in frustration, before looking back at the door. "Why don't you stop staring and..." Mine then noticed the unwanted attention. "Tatsumi! Lubbock! Get the hell out of here before I blast you both to kingdom come!" Tatsumi and Leone looked over to the other side of the door to see the familiar green haired assassin there to witness it all. His perverted grin told them he was enjoying this.
"But pumpkin's still not repaired, how are you gonna blast us?" Lubbock teased, and Mine growled.
"Then I'll just beat you to a pulp." Leone said cheerily, and Lubbock gulped, before he began calmly walking away toward the meeting area.
"See you guys there." He said while waving behind him. Tatsumi looked at the back of the assassin's head, before he looked down to see Leone giving him a pleasant smile.
"I'd get going if I were you Tatsumi." Leone said dangerously, and the newest member wasted no time in leaving the area.
"Now that your all here, I need to tell you I'll be leaving for the revolutionary army headquarters. I would have left sooner, but I needed to be sure of everything I was going to take, and everything I needed to do." Najenda said to her subordinates, who had all gathered in the meeting room. "I should be back soon, but until then, Akame, your in charge." Najenda said while directing her attention toward the crimson eyed assassin. The girl nodded, and Najenda lifted a large backpack over her shoulder.
"I understand the basics." Akame said flatly.
"The basics?" Tatsumi questioned aloud, but no one bothered to respond.
"I should be back with Pumpkin fully repaired, and some new members. Try not to burn the place down while I'm out." Tatsumi, who was next to Lubbock for the meeting, chuckled a bit at the thought of being able to burn an almost completely stone structure.
"Don't worry about a thing, we'll be just fine" Lubbock said confidently, holding out a thumbs up.
"Oh right, before I leave, Leone wasn't there something you needed to tell us?" Najenda asked, suddenly remembering that Leone had needed to call a meeting anyway for some reason.
"Yea, it has to do with our not-friend, Adrien." Leone said, and at the mention of the name, most everyone adopted an almost sour look on their faces. "Saw him earlier today being escorted by some guards toward the palace. Didn't hear what the guards said, but I heard from some sources that the emperor himself wanted to meet with him. Don't know why though, apparently it was a bit of a surprise to people within the palace too. At least thats what they say." Leone explains, and Najenda nods thoughtfully.
"Emperor Makoto himself huh? Thats certainly interesting, but it's also worrying. They may be trying to recruit him." Najenda says, and the rest of Night Raid harden their gazes in thought.
"What would he have to gain by joining the empire though?" Lubbock thought aloud. "He has power, doesn't really need fame now, and he probably has a lot of money somewhere." At his statement, Akame hummed.
"Its not just that, my sources also say Esdeath is gathering imperial arms users to make a special team. Adrien could be called to become a part f it." Leone said ominously.
"He did say he had his own goals right?" Akame asked, and Leone nodded, remembering what all was discussed that night nearly a week ago. "Perhaps he needs to join the empire to accomplish that goal? If he was truly sympathetic to the empire, and was as vile as them, Sheele would not be here." Mine gripped her dress in frustration, remembering when she and Sheele had fought him. Sheele nodded, seeming to try to remember something.
"Yea, he didn't really care about that Ogre guy being killed, so he definitely has alternative goals." Tatsumi said while putting his hand to his chin.
"From what I remember, Adrien seemed really concerned about the...the uh..." Sheele stopped, briefly forgetting the name of that lady's name. "Oh! The Firekeeper! Thats right, he was really concerned for her, and he gave me Extase back for saving her."
"So he's seeking security then." Najenda said contemplatively. "I'm not sure why he cares so much for his 'servant' but thats the best we have right now as for the reason. Still though, I feel like theres more to it than just that." Leone nodded, understanding what she meant. "Well, Until next time I suppose, when I get back fill me in on anything that happened, as I'm sure you will." Najenda said, as she left the meeting room, leaving the rest of Night raid to contemplate what exactly to do next.
"Breakfast is served!" Bols announced, getting the jaeger's attention. Bols was a large muscular man that wore a pair of white pants with large white gloves for his hands. His face was covered by a white gas mask, and his chest was bear, but had three large scars on his upper chest. He also had several plates of breakfast food in his hands and on his arms which he soon brought over to the rest of the jaegers.
"Thanks a lot Bols." Wave said thankfully when his plate was put down in front of him. Wave was a young man with dark blue hair, and eyes. He wore a blue leather jacket with a white shirt that had a single blue stripe down the center. He also had a red scarf around his neck with a small anchor on it. Next to him sat Kurome, a young girl with black hair tied in a twin tail style, and black eyes. She wore a black and red sailors uniform, and had red gauntlets around her wrists. She also had a katana with a red handle on her hip. The young girl said nothing when the food was put in front of her, but nodded in thanks.
"Yes, thank you." Run said as his food was presented. Run was a young man with fair blond hair and golden eyes. He wore a white robe on top of a black shirt and pants with a brown belt, a feather pin behind his ear and a collar-like accessory on his neck.
"You have my thanks, Bols." Dr Stylish said. Dr. Stylish was a near middle aged man with black hair that had a white patch in the front. He was currently wearing his normal white lab coat and yellow suit with a blue shirt.
"Thank you Bols! I'll be sure to eat it all!" Seryu said excitedly when her plate was put in front of her, and Koro gave a bark of appreciation when some dog food was put before him.
"Oh don't worry about it, I love cooking, so theres no problem." Bols said a bit bashfully, as he finished giving out all the dishes. The jaegers were all currently in their main eating hall that had been reserved for them in the palace by Esdeath when the team was formed. They were not only eating breakfast, but were also waiting on their captain, general Esdeath, as she apparently had an important announcement for them. "So what do you think Esdeath wants to tell us?" Bols asked curiously as he sat down on an empty chair at the table.
"Don't know, but it must be important." Wave said with his mouth half full. "After all we've only been a team for...what? A few days? And already she has an announcement?"
"I do hope nothing went wrong at that meeting yesterday." Dr. Stylish said after wiping his mouth of some food. The other jaegers looked at him curiously, and Dr Stylish looked at the rest of them oddly. "What? Did you all not hear of the meeting that the emperor was holding yesterday with that mysterious guest?" At his questioning the rest of the jaegers shook their heads. "How on earth did you all manage that? Its been the talk of the palace for almost a week!" They all shrugged, unsure of just how it happened. Stylish was about to reprimand his teammates for being so unaware, but then Esdeath forcefully opened the door to the room. The general smiled upon seeing her team gathered.
"I'm glad your all here, as I have an important announcement. We've gotten a new member." Esdeath announced while walking a bit into the room. All the team's eyes widened a bit, except for Bol's who's eyes were hidden behind his mask. "I know its already a bit early for a new member, but the current situation has led to this."
"Don't worry, we really haven't gotten a chance to really know each other anyway, one more member won't hurt." Run pointed out, and Wave nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad, because I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Did you all hear about the meeting the emperor had yesterday?" They all hesitantly nodded, as most of them had only just heard about it from Stylish. "Well, the guest emperor Makoto had invited, has made a deal with the emperor that allows him to join our team. I would like you all to welcome the knight Adrien to the Jaegers." Esdeath finished, before stepping aside, letting Adrien step forward. The Jaegers had various different reactions. Wave gulped a bit, upon seeing Adrien's intimidating visage. Kurome bit into her meal, appearing to have little to no interest in the new member. Dr. Stylish cringed a bit upon seeing Adrien's appearance, apparently finding it unappealing. Run raised his eyebrow, while Bols looked at the newcomer with interest. Before any of them could say anything, Seryu acted first.
"Mr Adrien!" Seryu shouted excitedly, and quickly got up from the table, rushing for the knight. To much everyone's surprise, except for Adrien's and Esdeath's, Seryu gave the knight a large hug. "I didn't know you were going to join the Jaegers!" Adrien looked down at the girl, and gently rubbed her head with an armored hand.
"I suppose it just happened, how have you been Seryu?" Adrien asked gently, as he noticed that Koro was still eating his breakfast by the table. Seryu smiled at him, before letting go of the knight.
"I've been really great! We haven't got to go on any missions, but living in the palace is still really fun!" Seryu looked behind Adrien, and seemed to notice something. "Hey, wheres the Firekeeper? Isn't she usually with you?" At Seryu's question, Esdeath decided to answer.
"The 'Firekeeper' is in Adrien's room, guarded by two solders who I personally selected." Esdeath explained with a slight frown, almost as if she was disappointed. "Adrien requested it before he came here." Adrien nodded to Seryu to say that what Esdeath said was correct.
"Oh okay!" Seryu said happily. "Oh! Since your joining the jaegers you should meet the rest of them!" Seryu went over back to the table, while both Adrien and Esdeath followed her. The other jaegers smiled a bit upon seeing how warm Seryu was with their newest member, and Bols was the first to speak up.
"Hey there Adrien, my names Bols, Its a pleasure to meet you." He said while walking up to the knight, and holding out his hand to shake. Adrien shook it, and nodded before letting go, giving no reaction to the man's mask. Wave got up from his seat, and held out his hand as well.
"Name's Wave, I read a bit about you in the papers, with you on board, theres no way Night Raid will stand a chance." Adrien shook the young man's hand after he introduced himself. "Oh, and thats Kurome." Wave said while pointing with his thumb at the young girl that was sitting next to him. Kurome nodded at Adrien, before continuing her meal. Run waved to the knight, and Adrien turned his gaze to him.
"Hello Adrien, My name is Run, I've also heard a lot about you. I'm eager to see how you preform in battle." Run said and Adrien nodded, expecting that his new team members wanted to know just how well they can count on him in battle.
"Oh yes, I'm very curious as to how well you'll perform." Adrien turned his attention to what appeared to be some kind of odd scientist. "Oh, where are my manners, my name is Dr. Stylish, at your service." Adrien nodded at the odd man. "I do believe you'll be needing my services as well, that armor your wearing is just...just...ugh." Stylish appeared visibly repulsed by Adrien's armor, and the unkindled huffed a bit.
"Don't be like that Doctor, I think it's cool, makes him look mysterious." Seryu said while looking at Adrien's armor carefully.
"Well, I suppose it does a bit, but its not the stylish kind of mysterious, if you want I could make you a dark cape, maybe a top hat to go with it?" Stylish offered to Adrien, and the unkindled looked at his armored gauntlets. Stylish? I guess thats why he gets his name. What benefit would that give me though? Adrien thought, before he looked back at the doctor.
"I appreciate the offer, but I believe these will do just fine for now." Adrien responded, and Dr. Stylish looked at him with disapproval. Before the doctor could retort, Esdeath slammed her foot on the ground, her heel causing a large crack to fill the air.
"Your newest member isn't the only reason I needed you all here." Esdeath began, and the jaegers were all looking at their captain with anticipation. "We have our first mission." Adrien looked over to Seryu, who's eyes were sparkling with excitement, and then to the other jaegers. Wave and Run had a determined expression, while Kurome and Bols seemed to have no reaction. Although with Bol's mask it was very hard to gather any information as to what he was thinking. Dr. Stylish had an amused grin on his face, which told the undead that Doctor might be hiding something a bit Dark under the surface. All of this told Adrien that he was going to have to get used to all of these different people who he was now teamed up with. He kinda missed good old fashioned jolly cooperation.
The Firekeeper gently caressed the knife that the ashen one had given her before he parted to meet the 'jaegers', as they call themselves. It was a rather large dagger, bigger than the first one she was given nearly a month ago. It was ornately designed, and signaled to the blind maiden that it was special. She slipped it behind her back, where she had kept the first one, and mulled over her thoughts. Mostly of what the last week or so had been like. Adrien had described his confrontation with Night Raid in detail, and of the deal he had made with them afterward. Although what they discussed most was his ability to still come back from death, only this time instead of a bonfire, the Firekeeper herself was the catalyst. This apparently had confirmed Adrien's theory that somehow the First Flame was now imbedded within her. Although he couldn't prove it, it was a very reasonable theory considering the circumstances.
So once the guards started asking around for a 'knight named Adrien' the ashen one had been very wary, not waning to compromise him or the firekeeper after this revelation. It had gotten more difficult as the patrols seemed to become more frequent. Nevertheless he would go out, and often buy treats for her at her request. He always does try his best. She mused to herself. Even when he was leaving, he wanted to be sure that the guards now stationed at her door wouldn't try any funny business. The Firekeeper smiled to herself, but her thoughts turned to recent events again, and she frowned, especially remembering when Adrien had used the transposing kiln again.
Whatever he had made, he had used all of the powerful souls he had collected when he got here, Some he used to make artifacts, but others, he directly absorbed. This was especially odd as the ashen one had never absorbed important souls in the past. With the large amount of souls he had collected he used her to make him stronger. Vigor and more intelligence, those were what the ashen one had decided to enhance, but it didn't make him too much Firekeeper moved from her position on the couch in the room to where she remembered the table was. She silently prayed that Adrien would remain safe, and those new items might be of use to him.
Adrien walked with the rest of the Jaegers to the location of their first mission, a bandit fortress. Apparently they had captured it, and were now holding it in direct opposition to the empire, using it to stage operations miles away from the fortress itself. Rather resourceful for bandits, but the nature of their crimes made that resourcefulness seem more like devious planning. Which it was considering the nature of the crimes they committed. Adrien observed his teammates as they all walked. Bols was holding what appeared to be a large firearm that was attached to some kind of mechanism on the his back. Wave, Run, Seryu, and Kurome had no discernible difference form what they were wearing before, while Dr. Stylish now had on a large pair of gloves. Esdeath was in the back, observing them all.
"This shouldn't be too difficult. Its just a bunch of bandits right?" Wave asked nonchalantly, and Seryu nodded.
"Don't underestimate your enemies, you never know what they might have up their sleeve." Run said while looking left and right for potential threats. Seryu then scooted back, and approached Adrien with a smile.
"Excellently said Run." Esdeath praised. "I'm sure we won't have much of a problem, but you never know unless you find out yourself." Soon, the walls of the fortress came into view, and the jaegers all looked at the structure from a hill in front of it.. "Looks like we're here." She said smugly.
"Hey Mr. Adrien, I want you to have this." Seryu said while handing Adrien a small white whistle. Adrien looked at it oddly, visibly confused. "Its a special dog whistle that'll signal Koro if your ever in trouble, that is." Seryu said a bit sheepishly, and Adrien looked at the whistle again.
"If I need it, I will use it." Adrien said thankfully, and Seryu smiled warmly before she returned to the front.
"Is this it? The bandit's fortress?" Bols asked aloud, and Stylish responded.
"It is, our first major mission as the jaegers is to bring that place down."
"Whats our strategy?" Run asked aloud, and Seryu took point as she looked at the fortress in the distance.
"Justice should boldly launch an up front attack!" Seryu proclaimed, and Adrien hummed at the idea. Everyone began to move again, and Adrien looked back to where Esdeath was, and saw she was looking right back at him, observing him. What does she want from me? He asked himself, before turning his attention back to the front.
"Alright, this is where I leave you." Esdeath said with a sigh, catching the other's attention. "I'll be observing you all, to see what you can improve on. Be sure to perform at your best." Esdeath gave Adrien a wink before she jumped up and away from view. Esdeath climbed up a nearby hill with untold speed, and found a large cliff face to look at the fortress from. She walked over to the edge and sat down. She looked down to see the rest of her team climbing stairs to reach the fortress. Esdeath noticed that Adrien was staying near the back of the group, next to Bols. As interesting as Adrien is, I need to be sure he's perfect. She thought to herself, her eyes planted firmly on the knight's form. He certainly shows potential, and he is younger than me, but I still need that smile. If he can show me that, then I'll take him as my own. At that particular thought, she stopped herself, and imagined what it would be like to be close to Adrien in that way. She couldn't help but blush at the thought.
Bandit's appeared in the jaeger's path before they even reached the fortress. Adrien observed the bandits, and noticed they were all wielding firearms or knives, pointing the weapons at them. They were wearing strange white helmets that completely encompassed their heads, and visors with multiple horizontal slits.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here! Attacking from the front!" One of the bandits shouted, trying to sound threatening.
"Koro, Number Five." Seryu said, keeping her head down slightly, and Koro seemed to tremble a bit, before growing exponentially, and spitting out a large green drill with a gun-like handle. Seryu caught the weapon, and swung the now rotating drill at the bandits, who had since charged at her. "Judgement of the ten heavenly kings! Enma's spear of justice!" The drill killed several of them, but others managed to avoid the strike. "Number Seven!" Seryu shouted, and threw the drill back at Koro, who seemed to eat the weapon, before spitting out a huge cannon with a vest strap at the back. Seryu slipped it on with ease, and pointed the long barrel at the door to the fortress. "Taizan's cannon of justice!" Right after she said that, she pushed a button on the side, and the cannon fired, blowing the door to the fortress to smithereens.
"Heh, I created those weapons, you know?" Dr. Stylish said proudly. "God hands, the perfecter, they increase my speed and precision a hundredfold. They are the most stylish of imperial arms!" Adrien looked at the doctor oddly, before he noticed that among the team, one was missing.
Kurome had gone ahead, and with her katana and the cover of the smoke from the blast she cut down a dozen bandits, saying something quietly that Adrien couldn't hear. He decided to act, and he rushed in to the forest along with the rest of his team. A bandit appeared from around a corner, and aimed a pistol at Kurome, Adrien was about to shield her from the shot, but Wave suddenly appeared from behind the bandit, delivering a harsh kick. Bandit's began to form up around the walls, but before they could do much Fire suddenly engulfed them all.
"The flamethrower imperial arms, Purgatory's invitation: Rubicante." Bols said while dousing the walls in flame. "This, too, is part of the job." Adrien looked at the masked man, noticing his tensed up face. Adrien saw the bandits that had avoided Seryu's drill get cut down by Feathers sent by Run's wings. Run now sported a pair of angel wings that were on his back.
"The winged Imperial arms, thousand-Mile Flight: Mastema." Run seemed to explain to his now deceased enemies. "I won't let any of you escape." All of this reminded Adrien of the angels withing the ringed city, which brought back rather painful memories. Adrien walked further into the fortress, and he could hear the sounds of battle as his teammates fought bandits. He stepped down an alley to hopefully catch any bandits attempting to escape. Seryu certainly is skilled, and so are the ret of the jaegers. Perhaps a little too skilled I can't seem to find any bandits to- Adrien's thoughts were interrupted by multiple gunshots as his back was peppered with bullets. The pain he experienced was minimal, but the force managed to knock him off balance and onto the ground.
"Ha! Got one of the bastards!" A bandit shouted from a rooftop upon seeing the knight fall after his and and three bandit's barrage of bullets.
"Yea, now lets get out of here while we-" Another bandit's statement was cut off as a bolt was suddenly shot through the bottom of his mouth. The other three looked on in horror and shock as the bandit fell down off the roof, and into the alley where the knight was standing again, now holding an odd looking crossbow. Before they could ready their firearms again, the knight pointed the crossbow at them, and a flurry of bolts were sent toward them. Two of them were cut down instantly, and the other was hit in the shoulder. Seeing three of his fellows so easily killed, he decided to get the hell out of there.
Unfortunately, Run of the jaegers had a different idea, and upon seeing the wounded bandit fleeing on the rooftops where Adrien couldn't reach him, decided to act. Three quick feathers cut down the bandit, blood splatting on the rooftop. Run looked to the alley roofs where three other corpses were all lying there. He spotted Adrien walking away, out of the other end of the alley, scanning the area around him. Run hummed to himself, thinking about what the knight might do, before he went to fight in another part of the fortress.
Adrien managed to find a small collection of bandits that were organizing some kind of retaliation plan, but never got a chance to act it out because of the undead. Adrien began by firing a volley of crossbow bolts into the small crowd, killing many of them right off the bat. Three attempted to engage the knight in close combat, all of the charging him. Adrien blocked one of the knives that were directed at him with his knight shield, and sliced the bandit's arm off with the lothric knight straight sword. Another bandit attempted to jump at the knight from behind, but Adrien put his shield on his back, grabbed the bandit's face, and used the Dark hand to drain his humanity in moments. That was a large enough opening for the last of the three to strike the Adrien's helmet, but the blade did little to stop Adrien's assault. The unkindled decapitated the last bandit, and left the first one to bleed out. There were only two more, both of which held firearms with shaking hands. Adrien used this moment to use the new tool Patches had given him. Adrien retrieved the large four-barreled pistol from his tool belt and shot twice, each shot hitting a bandit, the large round puncturing the little armor they had on. Adrien looked at the pistol, A useful tool, he thought, before putting it back on his tool belt. Adrien walked further down the street, searching for more targets, eventually coming across three more. They were heading down a different street, toward the walls of the fortress.
"C'mon we're almost there!" A tall man yelled to his teammates. This man was wearing the normal bandit drab, but instead of a helmet he instead had a large collection of scaly dark grey scarves that covered his neck, and the lower half of his face. His two teammates were following close behind. One was a large burley man that had similar attire to the rest of the bandits, but wielded what could only be described as an oversized Gatling cannon. The last member was a young woman with dark blue tight fitting garments with a single dark blue scarf, wielding two large ornate knives.
"We're coming We're coming, geez. Don't get your nickers in a twist Freddy." The burly man said with a roll of his eyes, and the woman snickered.
"I asked you to call me Fredrick! Whatever. Sasha, anyone following us?" Fredrick asked, looking behind him towards the woman. She looked around them, but her gaze was suddenly set on their right side.
"We got someone." Sasha said dangerously, and her two male companions looked to where she was, and saw a knight in a dark green cloak. "I'll take care of him." The blades she held were suddenly surrounded with a visible wind, and she began to rush at the man with enhanced speed. The wind pushed behind her, and she prepared to strike the knight. The knight put up his shield, but she dashed behind his back, and dove to hit him.
Adrien easily blocked the attack by spinning around in the nick of time. Adrien couldn't see the bottom half of the woman's face, but he figured that she was surprised based on the look in her eyes. She dashed back, and attempted to strike again, but Adrien already saw the attack coming thanks to one of his newest items. The Foresight ring. Adrien had transposed it from Zank's soul, and it allowed him to see the future attacks of enemies, as long as they were kept in sight. Thanks to this, he was able to predict this woman's backstab. However the ring's effects did not activate unless he first saw his opponent, hence why he got bombarded earlier. He had to replace his sun princess ring, but he figured he could do without it. Now his hand sported the enhanced cloranthy ring, Silver covetous serpent ring, the knight ring, and the aforementioned Foresight ring.
Sasha's second attack was parried with the knight's shield, and before she could get away, a sword was thrust into her abdomen. Her face ignited in visible pain as she coughed up a bit of blood. The knight retracted his sword, and Sasha fell to the ground, barely breathing.
"Sasha!" The burley man cried, before turning his giant Gatling cannon at the knight.
"Wait, Bords!" Fredrick exclaimed in warning, but it was too late as Bords fired several cannonball sized projectiles at the knight, the barrels spinning in accordance with each shot. The knight expertly and effortlessly dodged them, either weaving around them, or rolling under them. The knight was approaching faster. Fredrick decided it was his turn, as his scarves floated on their own, and six separate tendrils of the scaly carves suddenly thrusted themselves toward the knight.
Adrien was having a hard time, even with the foresight ring, the projectiles were appearing more frequently, and now that other bandit's scarves were attacking him, making it even harder to avoid any of the attacks. Then one of the scarves landed a hit, making Adrien stagger, the force behind the tendril was surprising, before one of the projectiles hit him square in the chest. He had enough time to bring up his shield for another, but soon his shield was taking the brunt of all the force, and his stamina was running out.
"Thats it!" The burley bandit cried, catching Adrien's attention. "Lets see how you like this!" he stopped his barrage, and the barrels seemed to unfurl, and the outer linings merged with each other, and stretched out, making one large barrel. "This is the imperial arms Peach! It was the prototype for another one, but its trump card is certainly more powerful than whatever that other thing can dish out!" As he said this, all six tendrils of the tall man's scarves pushed against Adrien's shield, attempting to hold him back. Adrien pushed forward, managing to budge the tendrils. He didn't have much time to progress though, as a massive explosion ripped through the air followed by a massive force striking his shield. It was blown to the side, and Adrien was thrown back into the building behind him, causing dust and debris to fly around where he impacted.
"Sasha!" Fredrick called, running for his fallen comrade. Once he reached her, he gently picked her up, looking at her injuries. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly, and she rasped a cough. "We need to get her out of here." Bords nodded, and picked her up gently, and placing her on his shoulder. They began to run back in the direction they were heading before meeting that troublesome knight. As they began to head back a loud thud made the two men turn around to where the dust cloud was. Then something parted the top of it, something massive. It was rugged in texture, and was a blackish purple with a wide end. It parted the dust cloud like a blade through water, and at the bottom of it was the knight, without his gantlets and helmet, holding the massive object by a handle. "What. The. Fuck."
Adrien figured that he could try to use the repeating crossbow, or even Avelyn, but with the dexterity of that tall man's scarves, he would most likely be able to block any incoming bolts. If He tried to use advanced sorceries they would eat up his magic sooner than you could say ashen estus flask. So his last option was using something with long reach, and with power behind it. While technically there were many weapons that fit that bill, there was only one that was the greatest at both. The Fume Ultra Great Sword. Of course, it wasn't the greatest weapon, but the intimidation factor he could tell they were feeling would help him. Adrien had to sacrifice his gauntlets, his helmet, and his silver serpent ring for Havel's ring in order to carry the damn thing, but it's worth it.
"Oh shit." Bords said aloud as the knight began to run, with the giant sword, swiftly approaching the three bandits. He looked at his imperial arms, which was still red hot from using the trump card, now unable to be used normally for some time.
"Go, I'll cover us." Fredrick said, his scarves floating threateningly around him. Bords didn't bother to respond, instead he ran with Sasha on his shoulder. Fredrick sent the ends of his scarves for the knight, and in response, the knight pulled back his left hand as if preparing to throw something. The knight's hand was engulfed with fire, and he seemed to toss the same fire in his hand toward Frederick's imperial arms. A large orb of Fire materialized that was surrounded by other rings and tendrils of fire from the knight's hand, soaring directly at its target. The orb of Fire struck the scarves, and they were blown back by the ensuing explosion from the orb. Seizing the opportunity, the knight rushed forward, and was soon upon Fredrick.
Adrien lifted the ultra great sword up, and slammed it down where the bandit was. The bandit's scarves quickly came up to block the attack, and when the ultra great sword came down, the scarves just barely managed to stop the sword. Adrien was a bit surprised, but he pressed down harder, and the scarves moved due to the added pressure. The bandit was struggling, and the sword was nearing closer to his face. Finally making up his mind, the bandit moved to the right, as his scarves held the sword for just long enough. The massive weapon slammed into the ground, causing the stone road to crack violently due to the force. Adrien adjusted his position, lifting the sword back up, before bringing it back down again. The bandit seemed surprise at the speed of his recovery, but again blocked the blow with his scarves. Adrien would not let that stop him again. Adrien retracted the sword, and prepared another bed of chaos vestiges pyromancy. Before he could cast it though, his side was struck with a large projectile.
"How do ya like that!?" Bords exclaimed victoriously, seeing the knight be thrown back a bit from his attack. I guess Sasha is safe somewhere else, but he still should have left with her. Damn idiot. Frederick thought to himself. In response to the attack, the knight started to pivot the sword behind him on his back, starting to gather momentum with it. Fredrick realized what he was doing. If he gathered enough momentum, and swung, not even his scarves would save him. Bords, completely oblivious to it, stepped forward, and prepared another shot. Time seemed to slow for a moment, realizing he had to do something fast. He used his mind to control the scarf imperial arms around his neck. He sent the six tendrils flying toward the knight. As the knight was getting ready to actually swing, the scarves imbedded themselves into the knight's chest, and hit the sword on his back.
Adrien didn't stop as the tendrils dug into his chest and insides, and swung the ultra great sword at the tall man with the scarves. The man put fingers up to his temples, and six transparent versions of his scarves suddenly manifested from the real ones, these scarves hit the Fume Ultra Great sword in an attempt to stop it. Adrien felt resistance, but it wasn't enough as the sword struck the tall man. The Force was reduced, but he was still sent flying as a large cut was formed on his chest, reaching from one of his pectorals to the other. He screamed in pain as he flew to the side, and his phantom scarves dissipated as his fingers were removed from his temples.
"Fredrick!" The burly man exclaimed, Adrien finally learning one of the bandit's names. He remembered the burley one's name being spoken, but he forgot. Adrien was about to attack again, but gunshots perforated the air as blood suddenly burst into the air from the burley one's back. "W-What?" he asked himself as more gunshots were heard in the air. Frederick turned around to see where the gunshots came from, only to see a large dog like creature land on the ground in front of him.
"Leave Mr. Adrien alone!" A female voice sounded from afar, and Adrien looked up to see Seryu looking down into the street from a rooftop. She was also holding a rifle like firearm in her hands. It must have been what hit the burley one. Koro rushed at Frederick, and in response the tall man readied his scarves. Koro was struck by the scarves, his malleable form being ripped and diced. Adrien wouldn't have any of that, and readied his pistol, aiming it at the man. A heavy gunshot ripped through the night as Adrien fired his pistol, the shot hitting the man in the chest. He only had a moment to react to this, as Koro quickly chomped down on him, quickly swallowing Fredrick. Adrien looked at Koro, in slight bewilderment, wondering where he and Seryu came from. "Mr Adrien? Are you okay?" Adrien turned to his right, and saw Seryu was looking at him worriedly, but then she saw his face. She gasped loudly, placing her hands on her cheeks in excitement.
"Did anyone see where they went?" Esdeath asked as she looked at the wreckage around her as she walked a street of the fortress. The rest of the Jaegers, barring two, were following her as they searched for their missing comrades. Normally Esdeath wouldn't worry, but she wanted to see just how Adrien had done with his assignment.
"I saw Adrien head toward the east side, Seryu might have followed him." Run said, with a hand to his chin.
"Koro is a Dog, so he should be able to track down Adrien right?" Bols asked aloud, and Wave nodded at the statement.
"Lets head there then" Esdeath said, heading eastward, and the others followed. I certainly hope Adrien can satisfy my expectations. Esdeath thought with excitement as her pace increased a bit.
"This is the alleyway he went down." Run said as he followed Esdeath. They all noted the amount of bandits that were deceased were remarkably low. They exited into a street, and besides a small group of slaughtered bandits, there were no other bodies. "For the reputation he has, I expected more bloodshed."
"There probably weren't a lot of people over here." Kurome said, looking around them. "Most of these buildings look like houses, nothing overly important to protect." The young girl bit into one of her cookies as they walked, and Run hummed at that prospect.
"Well, it looks like something happened over there." Bols said while pointing ahead where there was a bit of rubble next to a house. They all went over there, and when they rounded the corner of the next street they found their other two companions. Koro was chewing on a leg in the street, amongst a large amount of drying blood in the street. Seryu appeared to be talking up a storm with Adrien, and they were both not bothered in the slightest that there was a burley man's body next to them. Adrien however was the most striking, as he no longer had his gauntlets, helmet, and instead of his usual weapons, he was wielding the largest sword any of them had ever seen, which was leaning against him, propped up by his left arm. He also had a very gentle smile on his face, looking at the young guard talk excitedly. "Wow." Bols said, eyeing the sword.
"Wow indeed." Esdeath said, eyeing the knight with an almost dreamy expression. His smile...its very nice. Esdeath thought, looking at the smile he wore while talking with Seryu. While she could tell it wasn't a wholly innocent smile, it still made her heart flutter. It was so gentle, caring, and to a degree, pure.
"Captain! Everyone!" Seryu shouted joyfully upon seeing her teammates, and Adrien also looked to them, seeing their mostly shocked faces. Then he saw Esdeath's slightly flushed face, and wondered just what she was blushing about, before he realized she was looking at him.
Author's note
Another chapter done! You might have noticed I put more emphasis on the paragraphs again, instead of dialogue. As you all (probably) know, I'm still pretty new to writing, so I'm trying to find my writing style. I don't know if ya'll have noticed or not, but I feel like I've wavered from how I was writing originally. Tell me what you think.
Now I'd like to say something about the weapons you've seen so far. Adrien has been using the basic knight shield, and the lothric knight straight sword in order to reduce his presence on the streets, but since he's an active part of the jaegers you can expect some more pyromancys, and unique weapons. And yes I am saving the firelink great sword for a special occasion.
What about Miracles and Sorceries? Well you can see some, as with the death of Andre, he basically absorbed all of the Firelink's power. However his build is mostly based off of strength with a bit of dexterity and Intelligence. Adrien on a normal level has very little faith, but he has enough intelligence to use soul stream. So you might be able to expect that in the future. ;) Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always...
Thanks for reading!