Lina POV
I attempt to force myself to focus. I am a professional, and I have been given my objective. Locate the deserters and, if needed, eliminate them. That is my primary and most important goal. My secondary goal is to investigate… I cut off that line of thought with a growl. Nothing I do seems to draw my mind away from the fact that Minato disappeared on me. He was there one moment and the next he was simply gone. There was no trace of him and I even took the time to look in a four-hundred-meter area from the point he disappeared. If I didn't know any better I would have assumed he would had teleported.
It frustrates me. I am an elite. I have accomplished things that many would only dream of doing. Yet a mere student has the gall to threaten me and then run away. The thought alone makes my pride sting. To be bested by an amateur! My internal tirade is cut short as my radio crackles to life.
"Agents Q and R have come in contact with the target." Silvia informs me. "They are just outside of Shibuya's central park."
"Is the target putting up any resistance?" I ask as my stomach clenches involuntarily awaiting her response. If the target is…he will need to be eliminated. I will need to kill another of my former co-workers. Silvia is well of my internal struggle and attempts to ease my growing nerves.
"I'm sorry Lina. Please get there as quickly as possible." I bite back the rising unease. I have a mission to complete.
"Understood."
-Ω-
Hunter Q POV
Hunter R motions to me quickly running through a list of hand signals. The target is about a hundred meters ahead. She is suggesting a pincer assault. I will take the front while she attacks from the rear. I nod my consent and my partner disappears around the corner to move into position. I chance a peek around the corner of the alleyway where our target is currently located. Charles Sulliven, one of the deserters, is dressed in a long black overcoat completely covering his body. A large hat as well as a scarf served as a pseudo mask. He is just standing there as if he was… waiting.
"I am in position." Hunter R's whisper bleeds through my earpiece derailing my train of thought. I refocus my attention on the target and after only a moment of hesitation I whirl around the corner, gun drawn. R mimics my movement and we effectively have the man surrounded.
"Deserter, Demus Second. Put your hands in the air and keep them where I can see them." I wisely use his code name as to not spread his real identity. The target agreed to my demand, slowly raises his hands in the well-known act of surrender. Perhaps he could be reasoned with.
"We've been given the order to kill you on sight" I warn. "Though if you offer us information on the other deserters, your punishment will be lessened." My eyes flick to my partner for only a moment, but she understands my message. A moment later the air is filled with psion noise. As requested Agent R had activated a Cast Jammer. It was exclusive equipment used in the U.N.S.A, that had functions much the same as Antinite. Instead of stopping all types of magic, the Cast Jammer targeted CAD specifically. With this Sullivan would be unable to utilize his CAD leaving him effectively dead in the water. "You have ten seconds to comply." My finger stays resting on the trigger of my gun, ready to pull if need be.
"No, there is no need." Confusion wells in my chest. The lack of terror or anxiety in his voice is disturbing. Does he assume he can match us in combat? "You are Hunters Q and R from Stardust, correct?" We stay silent watching Sullivan for any suspicious movements. "You two cannot defeat me." Upon his last statement, I reach the conclusion that he is unwilling to cooperate. I immediately fire intent on completing my mission. My silencer muffles the sound and the bullet leaves the gun unimpeded. However instead of striking my opponent's chest, the bullet curves and a moment later Hunter R screams in pain. The bullet has clipped her arm and a steady stream of blood is beginning to leak from the wound.
"Didn't you hear? Command must have told you to avoid firearms when going up against me." My mind is trying to catch up with the event that just happened. My shot was true and yet the bullet curved. My mind immediately recalled the files I had read on Sullivan. His specialty magic was trajectory manipulation. I am unable to keep the shock off my face and my gun begins to tremble. But we were prepared from this. He could only use his magic with the assistance of a CAD, thus we had used a Cast Jammer to seal that possibility.
"Is the Cast Jammer not working?!" Hunter R exclaimed giving the device in her hand a once over to check for any deficiencies.
"No, you Cast Jammer is working correctly." The was a beat of silence while I took in this information. If that were true then… Realization hits me as I connect the dots. Even beneath his mask, I can feel the sneer that is forming on his face. "I no longer require a CAD." A rock drops into my stomach and I attempt to repress the chill that fills me. For a second panic surges within me until my training forces me to calm myself and reevaluate the situation. Guns as well as any potential projectile are effectively useless as Sullivan can use his abilities with a CAD. This means that there is no need to keep the Cast Jammer active. The next best step would be counter with magic of our own. However, we only have psion tracking at our disposal as that is our specialty. Thus, the only option to complete our objective is close quarter combat. My partner has reached the same conclusion and in one motion we both withdraw a knife from our belts. He may be able to manipulate a bullet midair, but not a knife in our hands.
As one R and I converge on our target and begin our assault. Each jab, thrust and slash is made with deadly precision, but none of us can land a hit. Even though Sullivan is dodging, it should be impossible for a human to avoid all our attacks. Disbelief begins to cloud my brain when I realize that the knife in my hands is curving off path.
"He can even change the trajectory of the blade that's in my hand!?" I cry is horror. "How are you able to manipulate such powerful magic?" Changing the path of a bullet involved so many vectors, but it was possible. Changing the direction of a knife would need to include the vectors of the human wielding that knife as well. Sullivan had never used this ability is the past. My accusation is brushed aside.
"I have no reason to explain this to you why I am no longer who I was." I ignore his comeback and put on a burst of speed.
"Silence!" With a quick downward slash, I tear open his trench coat. He remains unharmed due to the carbon armor he wears underneath. Our assault is not over however, R attacks immediately after me aiming for the gaps of his armor. Even though she is behind him he still reacts turning and manipulating her blade to skid across his armor instead of the gap. Agent R falls, her balance lost from his sudden movement. She collapses to the ground and Sullivan takes the initiative revealing his own knife ready to plunge down and take my ally's life. I am powerless to stop him as he brings the knife down as inhuman speed. Yet as the knife approached, it is bounced back by some unseen force. I look up and feel relief wash over me.
"Major Sirius!" Before me stands one of the strongest in the U.N.S.A. army. The terrifying mane of crimson hair flows gently behind her and her golden eyes survey the situation. For a brief moment those eyes turn to me, looking me over for any injury of damage, before they rest on Sullivan. As expect, the man stills for a moment before he turns tails and flees.
"You won't get away!" Four daggers drop from the sky, sweeping down towards Sullivan like a flock of birds. Sullivan leaps to the side dodging the assault, but Angie is not done. The blades swoop back again. The traitor sees there is no way to avoid the knives, thus he uses his magic. The path of the knives warp and bend allowing him through unharmed. With a final look back, Sullivan beats a hasty retreat, leaping up the sides of the buildings and to the roof. The major prepares to follow, but an activation of psion in the nearby park causes her to pause. It seems something is happening in the nearby park. She sends us a worried look, but I attempt to reassure her.
"We will be fine Major, please investigate." I receive a single nod and the major quickly runs off leaving R and I to lick our bitter wounds of defeat.
-Ω-
Leo POV
I can taste it in the air. The scent of battle is well known to a fighter such as myself, and with all the previous goings on of last year it has only sharpened my senses. However, I am not a fool nor am I itching for a fight. I feel no compulsion to join a battle that doesn't matter to me, nor do I want to stick my nose into something that will come back to bite me. The only reason I haven't left is because, I need to contact Erika's brother, the inspector, of this location. I draw out my mobile device and quickly punch in the number he gave me along with a small message containing only 'The vampire is here.' That should be more than enough to help them. The message would include the coordinates it was sent at thus my job was done. However, as I make to leave a figure laying on the nearby park bench catches my attention. It is a young woman dressed for a night out on the town. She is wearing a nice coat, but what grabs my interest is that she appears to be sleeping, her eyes closed.
"Hey are you, ok?" I call to the woman cautiously, hoping it is enough to wake her. She does not respond even when I draw closer and shake her. Fearing the worst my fingers go to the side of her throat checking for a pulse. For an agonizing second, I feel nothing but then I a weak pulse radiates against my fingers. She is alive but needs medical attention immediately. I immediately raise my mobile intent is sending out a distress beacon but my battle instincts flare to life. I spin using my small terminal to guard my face. There is a figure behind me already striking at my face. My phone shatters at the impact of their weapon, what seems to be an retractable police baton. I leap away creating distance between me and the mysterious assailant. The figure is covered head to toe with a trench coat. Their face and its feature and completely concealed by a stark white mask. I can't make out the gender of the person, in fact I couldn't even tell if what I was fighting was even human. The thought strikes home as realization blooms in my mind.
"So, you're a vampire, huh?" I receive no response, but I am certain I am right. Without any warning the creature shoots towards me, much faster than expected. I silently realize that it is using acceleration type magic, however what confuses me was there was no activation sequence. I push such thoughts to the side. I need to defend myself, but I don't have enough time to activate my fortifying magic. I immediately raise my left arm to defend myself and police baton sticks my CAD. I waste no time with my counter attack and strike my opponent's chest with my right fist. Pain erupts in my hand while opponent retreats to safe distance. He is wearing armor I surmise quickly, most likely carbon armor. Still there is some positive news from out small exchange. The vampire police baton has bent from its impact with my CAD. He is now weaponless. The creature seems to realize this as well and tosses the offending baton away instead settling into a fighting stance that I recognize to be Chinese.
"Panser." With a single word, my CAD activates cloaking me in fortifying magic. Now I have the advantage. Carbon armor is one thing, but magic is on a different level. I am also relatively confident in my close ranged combat skills. I watch my opponent gauging his next move before he rockets at me once more. This time he uses a combination of movement and acceleration magic crossing the distance in mere moments. His fingers are straight and goes for a chop at the neck. I react quickly, raising my right arm to deflect the strike. Instead of a chop my opponent changes his attack and latches onto my arm instead. Immediately my strength begins to leave me and my knees go weak. This isn't good and I watch with terror as the stranger begins to move his other hand to my chest.
"Damn you!" With a final push of strength, I drive my armored hand into the vampire's chest. It crumples and I drop to my knees. My hands meet the grass and I gasp trying to take in air. My consciousness is already fading and to my dismay the vampire is beginning to stand up again. It seems like my last attack wasn't nearly as effective as I thought. I desperately try to keep conscious, but like a hand trying to cup water, it slowly slips through the cracks. I am doomed. The vampire rises to their full height, but does not attack me. Instead they look to their right and following their gaze I see someone else has joined. Even though my thoughts are muddled I can make out the crimson hair and golden eyes beneath the mask. A demon had appeared and it seemed like the vampire was afraid of it. With a flurry of motion, my assailant fled and a moment later the demon pursued. At that is all I knew until I lost consciousness.
-Ω-
Erika POV
At the first slivers of light peak through my window, my alarm clock started its shrill alarm. My hand exited the warmth of my blankets and gently pressed the off button on the face of the clock. Even as my body argues, I force myself up from bed suppressing a yawn as I do so. I make my way to my private bathroom and flick on the shower. While I could switch on the water heater, I chose to make use of the cold water to wake me completely. If I am going to get a morning run in before school I will need to hurry. As I dry myself and return to my room, I notice my phone notification light is blinking. It appears I missed a message, but I had gone to sleep at 11:30 PM and woken up at 5:30 AM. Who could have messaged me in the dead of night? The thought of ignoring it came to mind, but it was only a single message, I would read it and be on my way. I quickly open my phone and realize the message is from my other brother. Not alarming but certainly odd. My confusion only increases once I read the subject of the message.
Subject: Leo
I frown. What would my brother want with him? Pushing away any errant thoughts, I quickly scroll down to the actual message and my heart stops. Below is a short message detailing that Leo was the victim of a vampire attack and is currently in the hospital receiving treatment. I am already throwing on clothes as quickly as I can and practically running out the door, all thoughts of a morning jog forgotten. My mind is racing for the information I have received. If the news reports are true, no one has survived a vampire attack. I can only hope that Leo is the exception to the rule.
-Ω-
Minato POV
My eyes immediately open when my phone begins to ring. My eyes dart the clock which reads 6 AM. I suppress a groan. I am no stranger to waking up early, but I would have certainly liked a little more sleep. Last night consisted of several hours of wandering the streets looking for a vampire. On top of that I also had to deal with the Dark Hour and all the shadows that dwelt within. It was overtaxing and certainly took a toll on my stamina. I am dragged from my thoughts as the phone rings again, and realizing the phone number I quickly answer it.
"What is it Mayumi?" My voice is rough from sleep but I manage to get the words out in an understandable way.
"I'm sorry Minato I know you're tired, but I had to tell you right away." Her voice contains none of her usually childishness, it is completely professional. "There were another two vampire attacks last night at around 2am in Shibuya central park. One was a young woman with connections to Saegusa, the other was… your friend Leo." Any semblance of sleepiness immediately disappears after that. The grip on my phone tightens, and I immediately throw my covers off as I leap out of bed.
"Is he-?"
"The reports say he is fine," Mayumi quickly assures me. "He is resting the police hospital in Nagano." I can feel relief slowly ebb back into my system. My heart is still pounding from the near scare though. "Juumonji and I will be visiting him shortly," Mayumi continues. "We are going to try and learn what happened and see if he could identify his attacker."
"All right I will be there in-" I begin to respond but Mayumi cuts me off.
"No, I understand you're worried but we can't be seen together. You know that I enlisted you secretly. It would raise a few eyebrows if you appeared without any reason. Go to school and visit him with your friends. I will update you on anything we learned." I give a small sigh of annoyance. Her reasoning was flawless and I couldn't provide a reason against it.
"I understand, I will wait till after school, but if he needs help, don't hesitate to call."
"Don't worry I will. Talk to you later." With that Mayumi hangs up and I am left in my room trying to suppress a maelstrom of thoughts and worries. Did the others know? Perhaps Erika with her brother in the police force, but maybe not. I should message them just to be sure. I am saved the embarrassment when my phone buzzes with a notification of an email. Quickly checking said mail reveals that Erika is already in the know and is sending out word to Mikihiko, Tatsuya, Mizuki and of course myself. It also says that she will be taking the day off of school to visit him. I slowly lay back down in my bed knowing that Leo is in good hands. Erika is more that capable of defending both herself and Leo. I want to rest before I need to get ready for school, but I know sleep won't come that easily anymore. With another sigh, I get up and prepare myself for the day. There are more productive things to be doing that lying in bed.
After a grueling day at school, our small group went to visit Leo. It was difficult to get out of both Student council work as well as Public Moral Committee but Kanon and Azusa were understanding relieving our group of any school worries. We entered the hospital where a familiar character called out to us.
"Everyone's here now." Erika declared from her seat in the waiting room. She got up to greet us and motioned us to the elevator she pressed the button for the appropriate floor and soon we were on our way.
"Is Leo alright?" Mizuki asked quickly once in the privacy of the elevator. Minato heard it had been affecting her all day, and Mikihiko had done his best to keep her calm. Still Mizuki's worries would not be calmed with simple platitudes thus the question came out.
"I told you in the email remember? His life is not in danger." Erika repeated and Mizuki gave a breath of relief. I could tell that the question weighted heavily on everyone minds as the air seemed to grow less tense with Erika's announcement. Still seeing was believing and we all filed into Leo's room one after another to see if he was injured.
"Well this sucks. Sorry that you have to see me in such a pathetic state." Leo laughs lightly from the bed. We crowd around the bed and upon initial inspection he didn't look any worse for wear.
"Now that I look at you, you seem relatively uninjured." Tatsuya announces leaning a little closer in case he overlooked something.
"I'm not that much of a pushover. It's not like I wasn't resisting." Leo smirks giving a thumbs up. I am built like a tank."
"Then where were you hit?" My question seems to catch Leo off guard and his smile disintegrates.
"I…I would like to know that myself." His answer only piqued the interest of those around him. "At the moment of contact, I suddenly felt like I lost all my strength. I mustered my will to deliver one last attack, to which the perpetrator fled, while I was keeled over on the ground until Erika's older brother found me." Confused glanced were thrown between us and we refocused on the victim.
"You lost all your strength?" Tatsuya asks startled. Leo nods in confirmation. "Then were you poisoned?" It is a logical conclusion. Losing one's strength didn't happen in a normal situation and coupled with the fact that the event occurred on contact seemed to solidify Tatsuya's guess. Even so Leo shook his head in the negative.
There were no puncture wounds on my body and nothing came up in any of the blood tests." The mystery only seemed to deepen.
"How about their features what did they look like?" Mikihiko decides to change the angle of the attack. Perhaps knowing the perpetrator would help solve the puzzle.
"They were covered in a trench coat so I couldn't tell their body type. Their face was also covered in a mask, so I was unable that use that either, but I think it was a girl." That alone raises some questions, but Mikihiko's next statement is met with even more disbelief.
"Perhaps what he fought wasn't a human."
"Miki, don't tell me you believe all this vampire nonsense." Erika declares from beside me.
"My name is Mikihiko." His rebuttal is instantaneous, and I feel pity for him at Erika's constant teasing. Regardless he continues. "I believe Leo was attacked by a parasite." His statement is met with silence.
"You're kidding, right?" Erika disbelief is clear in her words and Mikihiko quickly rectifies his statement.
"I mean to say a paranormal parasite AKA a parasite for short. This term is used to discuss demons, djinns and other evil spirits. They infest humans invoke magic to alter their host causing them to become inhuman creatures." This was an honestly disturbing revelation. Honoka even began to tremble.
"I can't believe the monsters and djinns actually exist…" Honoka whispered in fear, but Tatsuya calmed her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"We don't need to be afraid of the unknown, we just need to make sure we are aware of it." Tatsuya looked back to Mikihiko. "How can we confirm if this was a parasite attack or not?" To that Mikihiko turn to Leo.
"Leo would you allow me to examine your spectral form?"
"Spectral form?" Clearly Leo is just as confused as several of us on Mikihiko's seemingly random request.
"Spectral form refers to the information body that is shaped like the physical body, except that it links the physical flesh with your spirit or your life force," Mikihiko explains. "Parasite feed on this life, therefore if a good majority is missing even though you have no external wounds, we can pinpoint a parasite as the culprit."
"If that's all it takes then I am all for it." Leo hardily pounds his chest. "Besides, if we don't know the cause of my weakness then we won't know the cure." Upon Leo's agreement Mikihiko walks to his bag and withdrew a single talisman. Pulling up a chair, Mikihiko sits next to him and concentrates. A few tense moments later, Mikihiko opens his eyes in confusion.
"Leo, are you human?" Mikihiko first words come out inbidden and Leo frowns.
"That's not very nice." Leo takes the jab is stride as Honoka and Erika erupt into laughter.
"I'm sorry, but with this much of your life force gone, most people would be unconscious, much less be able to hold a conversation. At Mikihiko's reveal, I take another critical look at Leo. It is only then do I realize that he is faking his strength. His breathing is deeper than normal and his shoulders are shaking from exhaustion. I realize that his is putting on a strong front to make us worry less. He is completely exhausted but tries to act naturally. I decide to keep my realization to myself as not to throw Leo's conviction away. My mind returns to the conversation, where Mikihiko agrees that this must have been a parasite attack as a good majority of Leo life force has been drained away.
"What I don't get is why they are sucking blood as well." Mikihiko announces. "If they can drain life force directly like they did with Leo then why are they taking the time to draw the blood as well?" The question remains unanswered when I see Leo arm give a small twitch of pain.
"Why don't we all head home?" I suggest. "I am sure Leo needs his rest." The others agree and begin to make their goodbyes. When it comes to me however I smile and say I have one last thing to discuss. Some of my friends frown questioningly, but one look to Tatsuya and Miyuki tells them that it is not for everyone to hear. They quickly usher the remaining people out of the room until it is only Leo, Erika and me left.
"What did you need me for?" Leo asks curiously, but his grip on his blanket is giving him away. He is forcing himself to stay composed.
"Relax Leo, your body needs rest so lie down." Leo look at me for a second before collapsing onto his bed breathing hard.
"Guess I couldn't pull the wool over your eyes, huh?" He speaks between breathes. "What gave me away?"
"Your arms and shoulder were shaking from exhaustion. Your grip on your blanket as well. Regardless thank you for putting up that front. I am sure Mizuki and Honoka will be able to sleep easier at night." Leo smiles at my reply. "Anyway, I thought I could try to use my abilities to heal you a bit." I outstretch my hand and cast Diarahan, but as I expected Leo is still weak. It seems Persona Magic only heals health not someone's spirit. Unfortunately, I have no way to pass spirit energy to Leo thus I leave it at that.
"So, what can I do for you?" He finally asks when he catches his breath.
"I was wondering the time you were attacked." I am relatively sure that this is not the work of shadows but they have surprised me before, they could be at it again.
"I don't know the exact time." Leo replies. "I think is was around two in the morning perhaps a little later." So, it wasn't at midnight… that saved me a headache.
"Why are you asking anyway?" Erika asks. Her eyes seem rather pointed as she fixes her gaze on me.
"Is it wrong to inquire about how of friend of mine got injured?" I shoot back. Erika shuts her mouth but still is watching me carefully.
"Minato, sorry that I am such a burden." Leo apologizes to my confusion. "I didn't try to recklessly play the hero or anything but I still ended up failing and making you guys worry about me." I shake my head.
"You could hardly be blamed for what happened. You were up against an opponent that none of us knew about with abilities beyond our comprehension. You did fairly well under those circumstances." I resist the urge to make a comment about his nightly excursions. If he would have stayed indoors he wouldn't be in this mess. However, I am hardly one to criticize him when I am out late as well. Ignorant of my internal musings, Leo gives a strained smile.
"When you put it like that I guess I did pretty well." He gives me one last look. "I will be back on my feet in no time. Then we can get those parasites as a group, just like always."
"All right, I will hold you to that. I will be waiting for you on the battlefield." With that the world comes to a halt.
To you who has endured the weight of the universe,
We of the Strength arcana give to you our blessing.
-Ω-
It has been three months since my last update and it honestly could have been longer. I will give out a silent thank you to those who contacted me about the release date and had the manners to understand that I have a life beyond this story. Thank you for giving me the motivation to make time in my schedule to type for an hour or two before I returned to work. This chapter is dedicated to you.
Another thank you to everyone who has stayed the course, regardless of my less than stellar track record of keeping to my release schedule.
Finally it is to my displeasure to announce that I will no longer keep a release schedule. While it did help me to have a deadline it also hurt my writing. I was either rushing to finish or unmotivated to begin. This means I can have two releases in a week or two releases three weeks apart. I will however strive to have at the very least two chapters a month. I apologize for the three month gap and hope to the future success of the story.
A huge thank you to my beta Mingyu, who was still ready to correct my writing without any prior warnings.
As always thank you to everyone who favorited followed and reviewed. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave a review or send me a private message. I will answer them as soon as I can.