Kept you waiting huh?... yeah sorry about that, I just needed a break y'know? Anyways, we got some comments to answer!
Darkmaster10000000: No, canon will definitely have a MUCH lighter tone, very akin to how it normally is. Some new subtext and background will make some motivations and moments darker, but overall the tone will be virtually the same.
Arclight001: Yeah, I'm honestly kinda regretting some choices this arc. I'll definitely go more in-depth with where my mindset is with the AN for the epilogue of the arc and where I wanna take the story after this phase of Matt's character/journey is over. Also, oh yeah it is, remember Lucius slaughtered an entire prison of guards without remorse. I'd think anyone that lived in a country with legal slavery would have a chip on their shoulder against governing powers for allowing it.
Alright! That's done for now, so let's get a rollin'!
In the dimly lit corners of a large mansion within central Bosco, a young green-haired boy smiled as he rushed through the halls in what could be best described as rags for clothing. His filthy naked feet slapped against the marble floor as a wide, ear-to-ear smile was carved into the boy's face.
"Mom! Mom!" He cried out as he opened a door to a bedroom.
Atop the sole bed of the room was a woman who seemed to be knocking on deaths door itself. Her sickeningly pale skin, shaking, frail limbs and exhausted eyes showing the how plainly tired her very soul was. Even her once beautiful green hair had lightened and begun to wither away. Her maid outfit hid this fact by covering her entire body, save her head and hands.
The woman turned to her son with a pained smile.
"What is it my sweet child?" Her coarse voice would make most people wince upon registration.
"Look at what I can do now!" He smiled and cupped his hands, a powerful, white-colored aura engulfed the limbs as his magic power took shape into a sphere. "Isn't it cool?!"
The woman gazed at her son's incredible gift, not with great pride or love, but with abject and primordial horror.
She grasped his limbs and looked to the open door, with surprising speed she rushed over and closed them.
"Listen to me closely Carlo, no natter what the circumstance is, never, and I mean NEVER, show this to anyone else." She looked her confused son in the eye.
"But- but why?" The confused boy's shoulders were seized by his mother.
"Because the people that truly hide behind the mask of this countries leaders wish to use your incredible gift to cause nothing but cataclysm. They wish to take the very expression of your soul, and have it serve their false god. Promise me Carlo. Promise me you'll listen to mother." Her eyes begged her son to listen.
The boy nodded, "I promise."
The woman smiled as the door barged open, a butler directed his attention to the woman.
"The master requests your assistance with... the usual." While bordering on a robotic tone, the plain disgust in the man's eyes spoke all that needed to be said.
"…I understand." Her hollow eyes nodded to the man who promptly left. "I'll be back before too long dear." She gave a kiss to his cheek and left, softly closing the door behind her.
"… It's not fair. None of this is fair." The boy bit his lip and cursed fate for this rotten hand.
The group of 9 made their way to a warehouse on the far northern wall. Thankfully no one was bleeding badly anymore, so no trail was left behind to follow.
Winged Kuriboh flew around and treated injuries, Matt having lazily summoned the beast before going off somewhere.
"What a handy magic." Seigrain clenched his hands tightly and nodded in approval, the bruises on his body healed.
"It's quite cute too." Ultear smiled at the creature as it was tending to Yoru currently.
Normally this would be Hina's job as she was the medic of the group, however…
'She's still out of it.' Yoru cast her gaze at the woman who sat in the fetal position with her eyes a blank stare. 'Can't say I blame her though, no one should have to see their lover be killed like that.' She looked around the room to judge morale.
Siegrain and Ultear, who leand and sat against the wall respectively, seemed fine both physically and mentally. However their eyes still held doubt as to whether or not they could succeed, she couldn't shame that mindset at this point though.
Yato paced back and forth, obviously itching for some payback. Yoru could at least rely on her to keep fighting. Though the woman also cast a worried glance to another member of the group covered in his own blood.
Cosmo sat on a crate, looking at his trembling hands. He was obviously scared shitless, Yoru couldn't blame him though. The remaining batch of opponents were not jokes in the least, hell seeing once comrade get eaten alive and one of the strongest members nearly bisected effortlessly should scare anyone senseless.
Jura in a meditative position. The girl was confident he was ready to go at a moment's notice, but likely wanted to be sure everyone was prepared before leaving.
The Monkey King that Sarutobi had summoned leaned against the wall by the door. His staff next to him. He served as a cold reminder for what may, no, what must have happened to their Leader.
Lastly, she looked at Matt who had an unreadable expression as he sat on the large pile of boxes and gazed out the glass ceiling the building had. Out of everyone, she was actually the most concerned for him. At the very least everyone else was showing emotion in some manner, he was just…
To say Matt was a mess would be an understatement. First off he loses a fight against someone he didn't even scratch. Sure, the teen still hadn't tried all his best attacks, but at the rate they were going? It would've ended in his sound death, hell it almost did. His damaged clothing laced in an oobsene amount of dried blood being a cold reminder.
Then he has to be saved by someone he didn't ask for help from. What the hell was it with people thinking they have to do something nice for him? He's the bastard that plans to leave all these truly wonderful people behind after all… though at this point, his fickle resolve to think there was still a way home had all but died. A part of him knew it, but the mere principle of the idea was just something he did not want to admit.
And don't even get the teen started on how he had to run away. The guy who beat someone with four goddamn Dragon Slayer Lacrima and could destroy a metropolitan city, had to run. Sure, just spit in the face of his nearly nine years of hard work and say "Sorry kid, you just don't cut it," and kick him to the curb without a thought.
Finally there was the fact that Sarutobi probably sacrificed himself to he could live. If there was one thing Matt hated above all else: it's people that think they have to play the hero when they don't. Why the hell can't they just stay out of his business? Why the hell can't they just leave him alone to die by his own mistakes? And most importantly: why the fuck does he keep being so nice to invite all the love they show him?!
As he silently tried to guide himself through his self-imposed mental labyrinth, Yoru tried to pick up the pieces of this broken group.
Sure, the risk to continue was insane. However, this is taking it too damn far. How the hell could the council have not checked themselves to find Civilians? They have a giant magic laser in the sky, you'd think that they could aim it with some kind of camera. In fact, why the hell did they just not immediately assume the innocents would be murdered as soon as those evil bastards made land?!
The purple haired girl sighed before looking around once again. She stood with a stretch and approached the center of the room.
"Listen up, we'll be staying the night here in order to recover lost Magic Power and stamina."
"Are you sure that's safe?" Ultear, with clear uncertainty looked around the current hideout.
"Positive. If they wanted us dead now, they'd already have found where we are. They're likely waiting for us to come to them." The younger girl nodded, seeing her point.
"Jura, Siegrain, you two and me are gonna see if this place has any sleeping items. Monkey and Yato, keep that door guarded." Everyone nodded as they went off to do their jobs.
Ultear gazed up at Matt and sighed. Not even she could read what was happening with him, and it was starting to get on her nerves. So she did what any reasonable person would do, join the potentially beyoned-furious city destroyer for a midnight chat.
"Your little friend is certainly helpful." She smiled and sat next to him.
"Yeah, I suppose he is." His tone, while not robotic, was certainly unfocused. Ultear could work with that though.
Though to her surprise, Matt spoke first.
"Why do you seek to be stronger?"
Well she certainly didn't expect that kind of question.
"I… wish to create a better world for myself." She calmly stated, answering honestly with carefully chosen words.
"Why?"
Ultear placed a finger to her lips in thought. "I suppose it's because I'd want what happened to me to never happen to anyone else."
"I see..." His expression was still unreadable.
"How about you? Why do you seek to get stronger? Let me guess, it's for your friends or something?" Ultear tried to tease him with a coy prediction.
"No, I got stronger for myself."
Well that certainly caught her off-guard. She blinked a couple times in surprise.
"I have a selfish desire you see. And I got stronger as a precaution to claim that desire." His gaze turned to the box he sat on. "However, over the years I've sought it out, I've realized just how lose-lose it all is." His legs rose as he crossed his arms by his knees. "So all the power I've worked to gain has been a complete waste; as no matter what I do, everyone loses. I still haven't lost sight of my desire, but now I know that either choice will leave me with immeasurable regret. If there even is more than one choice anymore."
He raised his right hand and clutched it. "So I don't know what to do anymore. Do I lay down and die so no one except me loses? Or do I push onwards so everyone loses?"
"Well you're wrong about one thing." Ultear looked at the stars. "If you died, everyone would still loose."
Matt scoffed, "Yeah right. They'll get over whatever feelings of grief they have for me faster than the alternative."
"Maybe. Maybe not." She shrugged. "It's true I can't even begin to understand your situation, what I can say is that you don't have to face it alone." His gaze met hers. "After all you've got that guild of loud fools as you described, and I suppose I'll lend you a hand if I feel like it." She smiled at the teen. "After all, friends support each other, stupid choices and all right?"
Matt took in her words. While his face was still unreadable, at the very least his thought process turned a bit more optimistic.
The girl stood and began walking off.
"Ultear." He spoke. "Thank you."
She grinned with her eyes closed and went back to the ground floor.
"Friends are there, no matter what decisions you make huh?" He absentmindedly looked to the sky.
"You can't do this!" The young boy shouted at the butler.
"Not my baby please!" A mother cried out in horror.
"Shut the fuck up! You don't get to have a say!" A fat, waste of flesh snarled.
"Humans are just each others playthings after all." A cloaked man wickedly smiled, the emblem of a dragon's eye engrained on the back of the robes.
"I'll always love you…" The dying woman smiled weakly as tears streamed down her eyes.
Lucius opened his eyes as he slept in the chair of the command room he'd currently housed himself in.
"That dream again..." He scowled as he reached into his shirt and pulled out a golden locket.
Opening it revealed a picture of a young boy and his mother.
"Rest assured Mother, I'll soon change this world for the better." He smiled warmly at the photo before putting it away.
The terrorist stood and approached the nearby window overlooking the ruined city.
"Now then, the time fast approaches on this day of reckoning. All the neccessary pieces are on the board. Every player has their endgame. And our leading men are almost ready to take to the stage for the final act." A smile rose on his lips, "And our dear audience awaits in anticipation." The flashing lights of the newly made control room had their illumination die out to the morning sun.
"So what's the attack plan?" Siegrain asked Yoru. It was currently about 6 A.M, and barely any sleep had been achieved.
"I'm still trying to figure that out." She looked at a map of the city. "All of them are likely holed up in the Command Tower. However they likely have traps set up for us if we just walked right in."
"Are we seriously gonna fight?" Cosmo shook, not having moved or slept since they arrived, the grim image of the deceased Ken and their leader marching straight to his inevitable death haunting the man's mind.
"We either fight and die here, or get executed by the council for Treason. Pick your poison." Ultear sighed at the young man's fear.
"We could run and hide though!" The redhead exclaimed. "The council can't chase us on another continent!" He desperately tried to make his case.
"..." Hina hadn't moved at all from last night, she hadn't even tried sleeping, her bodies systems in complete shellshock.
"I'm inclined to agree with the coward." Seigrain spoke up. "These odds are far less than 1% for us to win."
"You can't just run!" Yato yelled at the bluenette.
"Oh? Can you take on all the remaining enemies yourself then? Including the guy neither our dear leader or the King could handle?" He raised a brow at the blonde, her clenched teeth but silent voice answering that inquiry.
"…" Jura too remained silent, as he waited for something in particular to happen.
As the feelings of doubt and anger at each other grew, Yoru scowled in frustration.
'Damnit Sarutobi, just why the hell did you go and pull that stunt?! I'm... not cut out for this kind of thing.'
"Well to hell with this! I-" A fist mercilessly buried itself into Cosmo's face, sending him crashing into a crate. Silencing everyone and getting their attention.
Matt's eyes were covered by his bangs as he slowly approached the redhead.
"The fuck do you think you're- AGH!" Matt lifted the man by his throat and held him against the wall, the crimson fluid flowing from the broken nose freely.
"Listen to my words very closely all of you. Because the fact I have to say anything at all about this pisses me off." His furious eyes met Cosmo's, causing him to stiffen in fear.
"So you wanna run away at the first sign of challenge huh? You don't wanna face the Big Bad Dark Mage's do you?" He scowled at the redhead. "Fine, I'll let you go and walk away. As long as you can answer this question for me." The intensity of his gaze increased. "Why did you become a mage?"
The question was absurdly simple, so simple it should have been easy it answer; and yet, not a single voice of the group rose up to answer Matt's supposedly easy question.
"Was it for Fame? Glory? Power? The fact you can't even tell me means you've clearly forgotten. So allow me to remind you just what the hell a Mage is to jog your memories." He used his spare arm to roll up the sleeve of his right arm, showing his Guild Stamp surrounded by glass-shaped scars.
"A Mage is a person that doesn't let anything stand in their way. A Mage is person that laughs in the face of obstacles put in front of them. A Mage is someone who fights, be it for themselves or for others." His left hand clenched. "I once made a promise to myself. To grow as strong as possible so I could find the answer to my questions. At first my consciousness made me believe I did it all for myself. But eventually, I realized something after seeing the tears of my comrades. Seeing their grief and sorrow from the unjust cruelties they faced from this world. I grew to hate that rain they produced." He remembered the countless tears of his guildmates who suffered at the hands of rotten bastards and fate. "It took someone to remind me that no matter now bullheaded I think I am or want to be, that the lives of those around me are just as important as my selfish goal."
His eyes filled with a fire. "So why did I become a Mage? Because I'm a greedy King that wants to drown himself in his own selfish desires. So if seeing my precious companions smile and laugh makes me selfish. Than I'll accept that title without hesitation. And right now, I know dying here would surely upset those people in my Guild. So I'll fight against everyone if I have to in order to live. No force in the world will ever kill the selfishness of a King such as I, right?" He let go of the Mage, Cosmo coughing and he clutched his bruised throat.
"I'll fight, for both myself and everyone else. That's my reason for becoming a mage."
"…My father." Cosmo spoke. "I became a Mage to be like my father. I- I want to make him proud, to make him acknowledge me as more than just something he puts expectations on as his child."
"So what would you do in this scenario to gain his approval?" The teen gazed at Cosmo.
The redhead bitterly chuckled and stood. "He'd want me to kick those smug bastards asses for insulting the guild."
Matt nodded, satisfied with that answer and approached Hina.
"Stand up." He commanded her.
"..." The woman didn't even look his way, she probably didn't even acknowledge he was there.
Without missing a beat, Matt grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up.
"I said stand up damnit!" He growled at her.
"H-hey!" Yoru went to intervene, but was stopped by Jura who still had a clam expression.
"Save your tears until after you've avenged your comrade. They serve no purpose on a battlefield such as this. And once you're free from this hell, only then do you have my permission to cry until you don't think anymore tears will ever come again." He looked the woman right in the eye.
He dropped her to the ground. "Now stand up for the memory of those who have passed, and for the will of those who push into the future."
The teen extended his hand to the woman.
"You're right." Her voice was coarse. "You're absolutely right." She denied his hand, instead standing up with her own strength. "Thank you, for reminding me that I'm supposed to protect everyone until the end. It's what I want, and I know it's what Ken would want."
Matt nodded as he approached the map.
"Now then, if everyone is done with the mid-life crisis, you three included youngsters, how about we get down to business?" He sarcastically chided the group.
Yoru gave a faint smile. 'So that's why you saved him in particular.' She approached the teen. "So what's the plan?"
"Quite simple: we storm the base." He plainly answered.
"Isn't that suicide though?" Seigrain raised a brow at Matt's plan.
"And aren't they expecting us?" Ultear added on.
"Yes and yes. However who said anything about the front door?" Matt smirked before turning to the silent man. "Jura, did you find them yet?"
"Yes, now that I know what to feel for, I've located the nearest one." The bald man finally stood up.
"What are you two talking about?" Yato scratched her head.
"We're gonna use the tunnels they used on us to get in down below, right under their noses." The teen smirked.
"That... could work." Siegrain nodded as he thought it out.
"Won't they flood us with their remaining Mages though once we're noticed?" Hina voiced up for the first time.
"Hey Wukong, how do you feel about good ol' fashioned payback?" He spoke up to the nature spirit.
The Monkey smirked, "What do ya got in mind?"
"You storm the front and show your great gratitude to our oh so gracious hosts."
"Ha! Simple to follow and I get to raise hell without concern! I like it." His smirked morphed into a full-blown smile. Though one couldn't tell if it was of excitement, or sadistic glee.
"Give us 20 minutes to get in. Once that time has passed, go all out. We have to time it so they don't immediately suspect we used the tunnels, but also need to get underneath the tower first." Matt pointed at specific areas on the map.
"This plan is the best one we got, I'm in." Yato smirked and popped her knuckles.
"Yeah, I can't run for dad's sake. I'll fight too!" Cosmo confidently shouted.
"For the sake of Ken and the Captain, I'll press on and carry out their will!" Hina's will was set in stone.
"Hmph. Honestly I'd like to see how this all plays out. So count me in." Siegrain grinned.
"It certainly wouldn't serve my conscience good if I just abandoned everyone when all of you seem so determined." Ultear coyly smiled.
"We would've been opponents before at the tournament Matt-dono, but I'd also never trade the chance to fight alongside you for anything." Jura solemnly nodded to the teen.
"Well if we go by majority then I got no choice." Yoru sarcastically grinned and shrugged.
"Then we're all in agreement?" The teen asked the eight people with him who all nodded. "Then." He stuck his fist out.
Jura saw what he was doing and joined his fist next to Matt's. Yoru, Hina and Yato followed suit along with the Monkey.
"Talk about hokey." Siegrain laughed through his nose as he joined in.
"Well they always say the best goes last." Ultear finally put her fist in the circle.
"Tonight we fight for the future and for the memory of those who are gone. Tonight we will show them who we are and that they won't stop us!"
The group unanimously cheered as the plan was set into motion.
"When shall I feast upon his soul?" A hooded figure boomed in a deep voice as he stood in the command room, glaring at Lucius.
"Soon enough my friend. Now go to your designated area and wait. I expect they'll begin their assault soon." The greenette waved the man off.
The large man wordlessly walked out with his steps making resounding thumps heard even down the hall.
"Now then King of Games, how shall you put me in checkmate?" The green haired man smiled. "I can't wait to find out."
The tunnels were dimly lit by torches which definitely helped since Magic Power didn't need to get wasted before the final battles.
"How much further?" Matt asked Yoru who had memorized how far they'd need to go.
"Another minute or so, we should be coming up on the exit."
They all ran at a brisk pace in order to time their entrance with Monkey's assault.
"How is that ape still around by the way?" Cosmo asked curiously.
"Captain Sarutobi used summons that can draw on natural Ethernano themselves to maintain form. Naturally they all have a limit to this, but the Monkey King is bar none his strongest." Hina explained to those unaware.
"I see a light!" Jura exclaimed as they group finally reached a large circular room.
It was completely white with four separate tunnels leading in the same direction. Well, it was white except for the stains of red in the middle of the room.
"Those bastards." Yato cursed in anger.
Hina covered her hands with her mouth and Yoru looked away with a pained look.
In the center of the room was a pole with Captain Sarutobi's head on top. A sign hung around his head that read "Welcome to the Show!"
Matt wordlessly walked forward and took the pole down and separated the head from it. After removing the sign he pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and covered his face with it.
"Rest easy Captain. We'll handle the rest." Matt stood as he walked past the head and stopped in front of the four entrances. "Four paths. Eight of us."
"Yeah." Yoru approached him with a fire in her eyes. "Split into groups of two."
"Dibs on the King!" Yato smirked as she draped her arm over his shoulders. They were to head to the far left door.
Meanwhile Matt tried VERY hard to not notice her impressive bust mere inches from his face. 'Goddamn second puberty' He nervously sweated.
"Siegrain and I shall head through this one." Ultear and the young teen faced the far right door.
"I shall ensure the safety of Hina-dono." Jura resolutely spoke. They faced the door on the center left.
"Then I guess that leaves Fish Boy and me." Yoru grinned as her and Cosmo took the last door, though the "fish boy" comment made him groan.
"Whatever any of you idiots do." Matt spoke. "Don't die." They all dashed forward with that. Heading into the unknown abyss that awaited them.
Yato looked at the teen intensely.
"Is something wrong?" He sweat nervously.
"Well it's just you remind me of my baby sister a lot."
"Oh. I see." Matt sighed in relief, sure having a very beautiful woman come onto him was nice as a warm-blooded male, but he also realized this body was still underaged… at least he thinks it is. Matt's knowledge of legal ages was pretty rusty.
"You both have that natural leadership aspect, you're both socially inept in your own ways, both of you certainly aren't getting a date anytime soon." Invisible signs of discouraging words stabbed into Matt. "Oh but you'd be so cute together! You're both the same age too so it'd work out perfectly! I always wanted a little brother!" As they ran she hugged the teen, smothering him in her mammaries. "You both could also use an older sibling figure to keep an eye on your boneheaded perceptions of yourself." She softly muttered.
"What was that?" He asked, breaking free of her hold.
"Oh nothing important, now let's get going hot stuff!" She pulled him along with a wide smile.
Eventually the pair reached a large room. It was completely white and empty with an entrance and exit. By the exit stood a large cloaked man.
"Just one guy?" Yato raised a brow.
"Be careful, if they only felt the need to put one guy on guard duty he must be strong." Matt got ready for the imminent fight.
"My. How long its been." The deep gravely voice of the man spoke out.
'What the hell is this feeling…!' Matt's body started quivering as if it knew something he didn't. As if it recognized something he didn't.
"It's been a long time brat. And it seems like your body remembers me… go~od."
"You know this weirdo?" Yato looked at him, trying to mask her concern.
"I-I guess I do?" Matt didn't get it, mentally he was fine, so why was his body like this?!
"Gildarts ain't here to save you now brat."
Matt's eyes became saucers as it all clicked.
"No…"
"And I can't wait to hear your screams." The man grabbed the hood and removed his cloak. His body was absolutely disgusting. Half of it was fine in a traditional sense, showing his pale skin, bald head and brown eye. The other half? Pure muscle and exposed tissue. You could literally see the tendons in his face moving as he spoke. It was like an anatomy dummy come to life.
"Vladimir Khan. S-Class criminal and former leader of Wicker Man." Yato spat out in disgust.
Matt collapsed to his knees, he began to hyperventilate and clutched his now aching shoulder. His mind incapable of forming coherent thought out of pure fear gripping him. Fight and flight mixed as his synapses stopped responding and his brain couldn't properly send out the right chemicals.
"Hey! Get yourself together!" She gripped his shoulders, but one look into his eyes told her it wouldn't be that simple to snap him out of it.
A memory flashed in her head as her sister watched their village burn to the ground. The utter despair and hopelessness in her eyes that haunted her. The feeling of uselessness from her weakness.
"Not again..." She spoke out.
"HAHAHA!!! Good! I'm so happy you remember the face of the man who will show you true pain once more!" He cackled loudly.
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH YOU PSYCHOTIC ASSHOLE!!!" Yato roared at the top of her lungs.
She stood in front of Matt protectively.
"If you want him, you're gonna have to get through me!"
Not again. She refused to allow another child feel that despair when she could help. No matter what…
"I'll burn away that fear." She spoke to seemingly no one. "And show you the true beauty of this world!" A thick red aura enveloped her body as she took a stance.
"THEN COME AND TRY IT!!!"
"If I may not be intruding, what sort of magic do you employ besides Healing Magic? If any at all?" Jura spoke to the woman as they ran down the hall.
"Oh it's no problem at all. Because of my ability to see Ethernano, I'm able to use my healing magic in a manner similar to enchantments. I require physical contact for it to work, but I can make you fight longer and have you subconsciously use magic power more efficiently." The woman smiled as they ran.
"I see, that explains why you were brought on this mission." Jura knew just how invaluable that kind of magic ability is.
"…" Hina's face turned downcast as she ran.
"Hina-dono?" Jura called to her with worry.
"Huh? Oh I'm so sorry, I must've zoned out there." She nervously laughed.
Jura could tell she was still hurting from losing not only Ken, but the recent confirmation of Captain Sarutobi's demise didn't help. Matt's words were only that, words. It was up to the girl to pull through and continue to fight on.
As much as he wished he could just have her sit out, even Jura had to admit her value in the coming battles is unspeakable.
While the man thought this out, they arrived in a large room with nothing in it except two men standing guard.
"Oh well hello~ there beautiful." Hannibal licked his lips. "I'm so happy you could join us and I could see you again!" An inhuman smile found itself on his lips. "So you can join your precious friend. I still haven't even digested him yet, just for you!" He rubbed his belly gently.
"Fuckin' freak." Pietor spat out in disgust over the man he was paired with.
"Stand back Hina-dono. I'll handle the offense." Jura stepped in front of her.
"… No." She spoke out as the woman stood next to Jura. "I refuse to allow someone to fight a battle that was mine to begin with!" The fires of determination blazed in her eyes.
"Hoh?! You do care!" Hannibal yelled in absolute glee.
"Jura, I'll provide backup to you while I handle Hannibal. Just keep that Acid off of me." The woman took a fighting stance.
Jura looked surprised for a second before smirking. "Of course!"
Pietor took a wide stance. "Well then, time to take out the trash!"
The ceiling above Yoru and Cosmo shook.
"Looks like the Monkey started. Let's not waste time!" Yoru basically dragged Cosmo along due to their speed difference.
"Uh, Yoru, can you please slow down?!" Cosmo was being dragged like a ragdoll as she ran.
"Sorry! Can't waste any time!" The woman playfully smirked as they finally approached the room in front of them.
"Welcome young ones." Rasputin's deep voice boomed in the large, hollow room.
"Of course we get one of the worst ones…" Cosmo sighed.
"Ah calm down, we can take him." Yoru grinned as she took a stance.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Cosmo shrugged before transforming into the large beast he'd used earlier. Unfortunately his other form was 100% underwater use only, but this one had some nasty tricks of its own.
"I see. So you wish do die with dignity." The foreign priest sadistically smiled. "Very well then."
"So, what kind of forces do you think are left?" Ultear asked nonchalantly.
"Dunno, seems as though the only threatening one is the leader. So we have nothing to worry about." Jellal confidently spoke.
"Be careful now. If you raise your head too high, you won't notice the noose you wrapped around it." Ultear teased the bluenette.
"Hoh? Throwing out words of wisdom are we? Where'd that come from?" The teen shot back.
"What can I say, not every day I can interact with someone that holds intelligence." Considering the Kin currently consisted of herself, Zancrow, Kain, Zoldeo and recently Azuma, she longed for normal conversation with someone that actually used their brain. Master Hades excluded of course.
"Well Batou, it looks like the young sinners have arrived." Kaiser smiled at the two recent entries to the room.
"…" The Swordsman remained silent, the usual according to anyone that had ever seen or interacted with him outside of the boss.
"Tch. This bastard." Jellal clicked his tongue in annoyance. He hated to admit it, but this guy had proven some trouble beforehand. What did he expect though? Kaiser was a demon hunter after all.
Ultear scowled at Batou. He was on the list of those as potential Kin, but he turned down Master Hades citing Grimoire Heart as foolish idealists. Those were words she couldn't forgive someone for saying in relation to their goal. To her goal.
"Words of repentance shall no longer suffice to tainted souls such as your own." The odd-colored fire blazed behind him, "Fear not! I shall cleanse your souls with this fire that devours demons!"
"It seems like the final desperate struggle for victory has begun." Lucius smiled as he looked out the window. Sarutobi's summon was certainly doing damage to the remaining forces that weren't S-Class, in fact the Mage honestly figured he'd defeat them all quite easily.
"Unfortunately all your attempts will be for naught." He walked back to the chair in the center of the room.
"The sacrifices of my Brothers and Sisters will not be in vain. I'll have sent a loud and clear message to the world after today." His hand was placed over his heart, covering the locket he oh so treasured.
"And soon your sacrifice shall bear fruit Mother. The world is going to change sooner or later, but so many innocent lives will be lost to that time. So I'll just accelerate that process myself." The warm smile upon his face faded.
"No matter how many bodies must be walked over for it to succeed."
We approach the penultimate chapter of this arc! Welcome back everyone, once again I apologize for the delay, but I just needed a me week. Almost six months of consistent posting can be a bit exhausting after a bit y'know?
So, we got a fair bit here to kinda bounce around and discuss.
Firstly was a short bit of Lucius' backstory, unfortunately I'm not gonna be able to get everything I want with that our before this arc ends, but I don't feel too bad about that for reasons later on. Also I may or may not have hinted towards some future antagonists our dear guild will contend with down the line, nothing to worry about for now.
So Matt was pretty fucked up. I think anyone that lays in a pool of their own blood would definitely get a kick in the ass mentally. He's really not a fan of others helping him like that, mostly because he basically hates himself. I'll discuss more about one of the prevalent things that will be driving Matt forward for a significant while after this arc is done, but it's something I think most people will understand quite well.
Vladimir has returned as likely expected from some of you and commented on by another. I'll go more in-depth about why he's back besides the obvious next time and a bit for the epilogue, (that AN is gonna be lengthy since I have a lot I wanna get out there).
Lucius' plan is coming together, but it's not quite ready yet. I've given some hints towards it from his obsession with Matt in particular, his big talk and metaphors for making the events at the island a big show and message to the world. I'll be surprised if people can piece it together before more info next week with the bits and pieces I've given since the end of the last arc, but hey, I'll send ya a cookie wrapped in a newspaper of ya do... I actually probably won't since it'll expire by the time it arrives but uh... I'm just gonna stop there.
Next chapter is gonna be very action heavy to everyone's surprise, and we're gonna get a genuine interaction between our protagonist and antagonist.
Until next time, I bid you all adieu.