Fate/Infinity Shuffle: Reshuffled

Chapter 12 – Action Button:

The week ran like any other. Mizuki looked forward to the weekend, since it would be her very first Team Gathering. She asked for everybody to gather at Sayuri's house, to plan things out for the future in the Game.

While no big events took place during said week, there was a moment where the Players posted a poll on the Class Card Game Website related to the Ranker that began to believe that 'showing off' really wasn't that good an idea for someone that didn't like this sort of attention.

'Which Hakuno would you date?

-The beautiful red swordsman wielding flames

-The rock star Archer that uses swords

-The fox boy with traditional Japanese clothing'

Hakuno didn't dislike it, granted, but he'd rather not know the results. But it was a fun topic to discuss among Players. He left quite the impact on some Players through that stream. To the point that there was a spike in number of Matches that took place throughout the week. Not the tallest of spikes, but it was noticeable.

And then, Saturday came along. A team meeting probably wouldn't take that long, but they could take the opportunity to spend time together and maybe get to know each other better.

Mizuki waited by the meeting place that had been set. And it didn't take long for at least one of the other two teammates to pop up.

"Yo, Leader."

"Ah, Mongami! Good afternoon." Mizuki gave a slight bow as the girl with silky black hair approached. "Did you make your way here without trouble?"

"It was pretty easy to find this place." Mongami assured, placing her hands in pockets before leaning on the nearby wall. "So, I'm finally gonna meet this new Lancer you found?"

"That's the plan. Since we need to plan things out, you and Sayuri could meet Lizzie in the process."

"Sounds about right. Is she walking porcelain doll over there?"

"Huh?" Mizuki turned around and understood what Mongami meant. Lizzie was by the closest crossroad, trying to follow the directions on her phone, wearing a black and white, Lolita-style dress. "Oh! Lizzie! Over here!"

"Eh? Ah!" Once the aspiring idol turned to Mizuki, she increased her pace and joined the two in no time. "Hello!"

"Hey. Oh, this here is Mongami, our Team's Archer."

"Ah. Good afternoon. I'm Lizzie. Nice to meet you." She spoke with a slight bow. Mongami got off the wall and bowed back.

"Nice to meet you too. You're our Lancer, right?"

"Yup! I'll make sure I won't let anyone down."

"Y-You don't need to think like that. We're in it for the fun, after all."

"Maybe, but you know reaching the EX Rank is important to me. So I'll give 200% of what I've got!" Lizzie struck another idol-like pose.

"Ohhh?" Mongami was intrigued. "Someone wants to make it to the top real bad, huh? I like the moxie."

"Why thank you!"

"Let's just hope it's not stubbornness." Mizuki admitted. "Well, I think we're good to go."

"Speaking of which," Mongami was slightly confused. "Why meet up here? Wouldn't it be easier to meet in front of Sayuri's place."

"I was wondering that too." Lizzie admitted.

Mizuki couldn't help but let out an awkward chuckle. They were standing in front of Sayuri's house. It was just that…

"…She lives here?!" Lizzie was a little surprised at the size of the house. And so was Mongami. It was big enough for them to think that, well, Sayuri wouldn't live in such a place.

"Just don't talk about it so much, she might get a little embarrassed."

It was hard to ignore though. The house was at least three times bigger than the surrounding ones. It wasn't a mansion or anything of the sort, but it was definitely a house a rich person would buy. It had multiple floors too. They stood by the front gate of the house.

Mongami couldn't help but scratch her head. Though, it would explain the episode with the 500 Yen Coin. "Sayuri doesn't seem to be very… rich lady-like though." It was hard to pinpoint a proper adjective.

"Again, don't bring it up. She can get pretty embarrassed by it."

Lizzie tilted her head. "Why?"

"W-Well… she doesn't want to give off the wrong impression."

Mongami crossed her arms. "Ah. She doesn't want us to think she's uptight, or shallow, or something like that?"

"Exactly. Because she isn't those things." Mizuki clarified before ringing the doorbell. And a few seconds later, Sayuri opened the door and moved towards the gate while greeting them.

"Good afternoon!" They answered back as the girl wearing a light pink kimono opened the gate. "And you must be Lizzie."

"G-Good afternoon…" A slight bow from the idol.

"Come on in. I haven't had this many people visit me at once since I was a kid."

"Wait, what?" Mongami was confused. She turned to Mizuki and a simple nod confirmed that it was true. Taking into account Mizuki's previous explanation, it made sense.

"Feel as if you were home, no need to be formal."

Lizzie couldn't hide her curiosity. "But then why the kimono?"

"Hm? This is my casual wear."

"I-It is?! I haven't seen someone walking around in a kimono our age in forever…"

Mongami cracked a smirk. "I don't think the goth barbie doll can comment on that."

"H-Hey! That's too much of an oversimplification of my outfit!" Lizzie retorted. At this point, the four had entered Sayuri's house and swapped shoes into in-door slippers. ~

Mongami noticed that theirs were the only shoes on the entranceway. "Your parents are out?"

"My parents don't live here."

"Wha-? So this is literally your house?"

"D-Don't put it like that." Sayuri requested, blushing lightly. "I didn't buy it myself…"

"I don't think that makes a difference."

"Ah, Sayuri, we need to order the pizzas." Mizuki reminded. They set the meeting right before lunchtime for a reason.

"Right! I'll take care of it. Mongami, Lizzie, do you want anything specific on it?"

"Ummmm…" Lizzie thought for a moment.

"Anything's fine by me. Haven't eaten pizza in forever. Looking forward to it!" Mongami flashed a thumbs up.

"Anything works for me too… Ah! But nothing weird like corn or peas on it, please."

"I-I wasn't going to do that… Who even does that?"

"I was just making sure! There are some weird people out there." Lizzie admitted, giggling awkwardly.

Sayuri started ordering the pizzas through the internet on her phone as Mizuki guided the two new guests to the living room.

The moment they entered, Lizzie and Mongami almost gasped.

"Whoa!"

"That's one big TV." Mongami was impressed. Mizuki recognized it as pretty big too, but it was far from the first time she had seen it. The novelty had wore off by then. An eighty-five-inch television set. Though it was a handy thing to borrow for two hours in case she wanted to watch a particular movie in greater detail.

"Big?" Sayuri, on the other hand, wasn't phased by its size, not one bit. Aside from owning it, once you see a built-in cinema room, every home screen will appear small.

"I-It's bigger than most I've seen…" Lizzie noted awkwardly, as Mongami approached it, still amazed by its size.

"I'm not that much into video games, but not gonna lie, wouldn't turn down the opportunity to play a few in this."

"Ooh, maybe I could study some famous choreographies better through it!" Lizzie moved closer to the screen too.

Sayuri couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "M-Maybe it is bigger then I thought…"

Mizuki patted her head. "There there, don't worry about it. I had the same reaction when you first got it, remember?"

"Yeah…" With a sigh, she pressed the button to order the food.

The four gathered at a table and opened the boxes. After cutting up the pizzas into slices, they proceeded to eat while discussing what they had gathered to do. They had ordered three pizzas in total, which was more than enough for all four of them taking into account the size. Capricciosa, Four Cheeses, and Meat Feast.

Mongami decided to break the ice. "So, where do we start?"

Lizzie started out by asking a rather concerning question. "What is our Team's Rank?" Lizzie wondered.

While biting down on a slice, Mizuki pulled out her phone and quickly checked the Game site. A few taps later, she had the answer. "Apparently, Rank E+."

"Sounds about right." Sayuri noted, taking a sip of her water. "Both Mizuki and I are Rank E, but Mongami and Lizzie should be higher from all their battles. If they are at Rank D, then it averages out."

Mizuki swallowed the contents of her mouth before voicing her question. "How many more battles would we need to become D Rank?"

"I'd say one. Maybe two." Mongami deduced. "If we fight a Team, we'll definitely jump all the way to C."

"I don't think we're ready for that yet." Mizuki decided to play it safe. "We don't even have a full roster yet. We'd probably lose facing a whole Team."

"Yeah." Mongami pointed out while fetching her second slice. "Between the three of us and Leader's Cards, all we're missing is a Caster. That isn't urgent for now, since that's considered to be the weakest Class. But the lack of people really hurts us."

Mizuki tilted her head. "Casters are the weakest? How so? Aren't they the only ones proficient at Magecraft?" She remembered her battle with Ryuusei from a few nights ago. While not as difficult an opponent she figured he could've been, he still put up a fight.

"Yeah, but not only are they fragile and weak physically speaking, most Classes have Magic Resistance. Since you have a Rider Card of your own, that means all of us have that skill inherently one way or another." Mongami explained, right before taking a bite out of the slice.

"I see." Mizuki couldn't help but feel a little impressed. While it was common knowledge for most, to Mizuki, it showed Mongami's experience compared to herself.

After swallowing, Mongami proceeded. "In my opinion, I think that we should get a proper Rider."

Lizzie couldn't help but tilt her head. "But doesn't Mizuki already have a Rider Card already?"

"Yeah, but she's going to be flip-flopping from one Card to another. And she has a thing for that Assassin Card of hers. So I figure we should get a proper Rider for our Team."

Sayuri felt curious. "But why a Rider specifically? A Caster or Berserker wouldn't be bad choices either."

"Because," Mongami raised finger, as if calling for everyone's attention. "We should have tricks up our sleeves. Riders might not be the strongest, but they usually make up for their weaknesses by having some weird, high-power Noble Phantasms up their sleeves. Usually more than one on top of that. Berserkers are just rampaging monsters most of the time, and I already explained the deal with Casters. A Rider sounds like the best choice."

After flashing a grin, Mongami took another bite to finish off her second slice. But then noticed how she had three pairs of eyes staring at her intently. One red, another light pink, and another vibrant blue.

"W-What? Why are you girls doing that?"

The three turned to each other and nodded in agreement.

"Mongami, sorry for saying this, but" Mizuki spoke with a serious face. "you're smarter than you look."

"Eh?" Mongami's eyes shifted to show the rage of demon even if her lips kept curled up. "You lot sure are brave to say something like that to my face."

Mizuki raised an arm in victory. "Alright! We're searching for a Rider next!"

"Oi! Don't ignore me after calling me dumb-looking!"

"Ahh…" Mizuki slumped over on Sayuri's overly sized couch with a full stomach down. She probably shouldn't do something in front of the others, but they felt just as full and let their bodies relax.

"I think I ate just a tiny bit too much…" Sayuri admitted, feeling a slight drowsiness.

"I ate like one hell of a king!" Mongami stretched her arms up, trying to get rid of a pesky tension that bothered her body.

"Gyah… I need to roll over." Mizuki pointed, adjusting her position. "I can't be comfortable stomach down like this for that long."

"Hm?" Lizzie's head perked up. "Why not? I always found lying face down always more comfortable."

"Huh? Lizzie, how is facing down more comfort-" Upon looking at the aspiring idol, the Saber of the team stopped herself from talking any further. Lizzie was confused as to why Sayuri suddenly stopped, and even more so when the other two girls looked at her and all made the same face. It was as if they said 'How didn't I notice this before?'.

"Hm? What?" Lizzie sat straight up and looked down. Maybe she had a stain of sauce on her dress, but that was impossible. That's when she noticed what was lacking, and why Sayuri found it so weird that sleeping 'lying face down' was more comfortable for Lizzie.

Fearless, but with a strong blush, the idol stood up and took it upon herself to declare, with all her might…

"FLAT IS JUSTICE!"

Silence instilled for a moment. Lizzie was too embarrassed to move, and the girls with full stomachs decided it was best not to add anything to the conversation.

Change of topic! "U-Umm, maybe we could watch a movie?" Mizuki suggested. She pulled out her phone and started browsing around the Game Site, searching for a Rider. As Sayuri turned the TV on and browsed the streaming channel, searching for a movie all would agree on, Mizuki came across a profile of a D Rank Rider. Seemingly without a Team. "I think I found someone interesting." She admitted, showing the profile to the others. Their thoughts were the same: they had found a candidate.

And thus, Mizuki wrote an email.

The sound of a notification called for his attention. "Hm? New mail?" With a few clicks, the eyes read what was on the computer monitor.

'Subject: Challenge

Text: The Team 'Conquerors of Deva' has challenged you for a Bet Match. Stated Bet: "We want you to join our team". Time, Location, and remaining details yet to be discussed.

Accept?'

"Oh? I wasn't expecting another challenge so soon." His ever-present smile curled slightly higher. Fingers on the keyboard, he began typing. "But I don't have plans for tonight."

The girls had settled on a black and white samurai movie. Mizki had already watched it, but she didn't mind doing it again. It was fun seeing her teammates reacting to the movie.

"For a black and white movie, this is surprisingly captivating…" Mongami admitted.

"My eyes can't get used to it!" Lizzie almost admitted defeat. "B-But… I want to know what happens next…"

Sayuri seemed to be highly interested in the action scenes. Probably to get ideas for herself, as she used the power of a swordsman.

With a short ring, Mizuki's phone notified her that she had received an email. A few taps later, her eyes widened a little in surprise. "Oh, he already answered."

"He did?" Lizzie moved closer, asking with a motion if she could peek at Mizuki's phone. She didn't want to be rude, after all. Mizuki showed her the screen and opened the email.

'RE: Challenge Accepted

Time: 23:00, Tonight

Location: The Children's Park downtown by the supermarket

Bet: Agreed. If the 'Conquerors of Deva' lose, their team disbands.'

"What?!" Mizuki couldn't believe what she read. "Disband?!"

"See, this is why we shouldn't let the other person decide what they get." Sayuri gave the Leader of the Team a dry look. "Didn't you learn anything from your match with Ibuki?"

"D-Don't remind me…"

"I don't want to disband!" Lizzie sounded genuinely worried. "I shouldn't abandon my number 1 fan!" Even if for an odd reason.

"Don't worry." Mongami waved her hand, relaxed. "If that Rider has Divinity, I'll beat him in a heartbeat."

Lizzie, curious, turned to Mongami. "Your Card has Anti-Divine traits?"

"And Anti-Mystery. Anything that has to do with Monsters and Gods, easy win." Mongami flashed a grin. "I have more trouble fighting against someone ordinary than a user of a Holy or Cursed Sword."

"And what if he isn't?"

"Then you take him out."

Mizuki responded. "There is logic in what she says." And then giggled to herself. The uncommon sentence was something she found funny, as she had watched it used as a joke in a video online, even if others wouldn't get it. "By the way, Lizzie, what kind of Heroic Spirit is in your Card?"

"My Card? It's someone just like me, yet not alike at all." The three girls simply blinked and then looked at one another, confused. "I'll explain later. But it's a Card with the Innocent Monster Skill. So, Mongami, please don't hit me."

"Don't worry about it. But if you get in the way, I'm blaming you."

"That sounds fair. Oh, and, Mizuki?"

"Hm?" She turned to Lizzie.

"Are you planning on using your Berserker Card?"

"Huh? I'm not sure, actually."

"Could you lend it to me?"

"Huh? Sure." Mizuki reached over to her pocket and handed the Card. "I guess I should tell you the Identity then."

"Oh, no, just the Card is enough."

The other members could be seen with interrogation marks floating above their heads by the remark. But before anyone could touch on the subject, Mongami recalled something important.

"Hey, Sayuri. Do these two know about Ascension?"

"Ascension?" Mizuki and Lizzie's looks gave away that the answer was no.

The blonde proceeded to explain. "It's similar to a power up. When you're in sync with the Heroic Spirit, the power, abilities, skills, maybe even Noble Phantasms become stronger. The Parameter Stats don't go up, but you still become stronger and you might even unlock new weapons, skills, or Noble Phantasms."

Lizzie grew curious. "How come you're so in sync then?"

"According to Hakuno, we're just naturally compatible." Sayuri explained, with a wave of the hand. "Some people have really high compatibility with a specific Heroic Spirit, making Ascension easier."

"Hmm." Mongami nodded. "I get it. Well, anything else we need to discuss, or can we just do whatever we want?"

"I guess that's it. So, what do you girls want to do?" Mizuki wondered.

Immediately, the girl with wide blue eyes and red hair sprung out of the chair and declared "Let's do karaoke!"

With tilts of the heads, the three asked the same. "Karaoke…?"

"Yes! It will be fun! Besides, everybody knows you can tell a lot about a person by the songs they listen to and can sing." Lizzie didn't even wait. She was ready to depart with the three, even if they were hesitant.

But the pop idol didn't admit defeat. She would never admit defeat when it came to music-related topics.

"Can we finish the movie first though?"

"O-Oh, sure." Slightly embarrassed from her enthusiasm, she sat back down.

Lizzie dragged the three into a karaoke place, with many vacant rooms, downtown. But to ruin her plans…

"Eh?! The prices went up?!" She was shocked to see this happening. With a bit of a whimper, she checked her wallet. She promised to pay for the room, but taking into account everything else she had to pay for the month, it was impossible. "This is my favourite place to practice…" She whispered under her breath, genuinely sad.

"Aww…" Mizuki couldn't help but feel sorry.

"I guess we'll go somewhere else." Lizzie suggested, saving her wallet back in her pocket.

Sayuri looked towards the prices. Just as the others were turning to the exit, she walked towards the counter.

"Eh? Sayuri, what are you-"

"Your biggest room for 4 people, please. The whole evening."

"E-Eh?!" The three had the same reaction.

"Thank you very much." After the transaction was done, Sayuri returned. "Shall we?"

"I-I'll pay you back, for sure!"

"No need."

"E-Eh? But…"

"You need it more than I do. I don't want to come across as rude, but it's true. So let's not wait any longer and have fun!" Sayuri took Lizzie by sleeve and tugged her along to the door they would spend the next hours in.

Mongami and Mizuki followed.

"Oi, Leader?"

"Hm?"

"Does Sayuri do this often or something?"

"Not at all. She's not stingy, but I don't think she hands out money like that."

"Weird."

"I guess…"

"Hm?" Mongami turned to the smiling brunette.

"I guess she just wants to be nice to her new friends."

"Hmmm…" Mongami pondered about it for a few seconds. "Makes sense, I guess. If she can help, she will, huh?"

"It just so happens she has the means to do so.

The four moved into a room spacious enough for the small group. The four sat down, Mizuki and Lizzie on one side, and Sayuri and Mongami on the other, separated by a table with the song list and microphones beneath it

"Huh. Haven't been to one of these in a while." Mongami admitted. "Probably since I got my Card."

"Last time I've gone to a karaoke place was last year." Mizuki remarked, as she looked around the room. Definitely a well-kept place. Lizzie, in the meantime, had been going through the pages of the song list.

"Yes! They have my song."

With some interest, Mizuki leaned in to see if she found what Lizzie was referring to. "Your song?"

"Never mind. Here. You three sing first." Lizzie handed the book to whoever was willing to take it.

With both Mizuki and Sayuri hesitant, Mongami was the one with enough to courage to take it. She flipped through some pages and found the song she had in mind.

"Awesome. They have 'Outer Science'."

"What kind of song title is that…?" Sayuri wondered, but was ignored by the eager Mongami, who was setting up the song and the mic. Mizuki, curious, pulled out the menu for the food they could later order, also beneath the table.

"Anyone wants a drink?" Mizuki wondered.

"Cherry coke!" Lizzie said enthusiastically, enough to startle Sayuri.

"I-I'll just have a lemon-lime."

"Order a strawberry milkshake for me." Mongami requested, moving t the front as the room's lights dimmed. The projector in the room lit up, in order to show the videoclip and lyrics. Mongami grinned in anticipation, as Mizuki ordered the drinks.

"Let's rock!"

"Laugh in the haze!" Just as Mongami finished the song, the music finishing its run, someone knocked on the door. Mizuki opened the door, finding a small cart with the drinks she had ordered.

She brought them in as Lizzie clapped at Mongami's performance, while Sayuri looked like she had been hit by someone and slumped over the couch. "The hell was up with those clips…?" Too much visual information at once…

"Way to go, Mongami!" Lizzie congratulated. Mongami put on a smug look as Mizuki distributed the drinks.

Sayuri sat up again, one hand over her forehead like she had some sort of headache, the other reaching for her lemon-lime soda. She took a sip and only then did she react by spitting out and quickly turning to Mizuki's 'drink'.

"Mizuki, what the hell!?"

"What? It was on the menu." She had ordered a rather tall glass cup filled with multiple kinds of ice cream, with whipped cream on top, strings of chocolate and caramel syrup, and many pieces of fruit, especially sweet strawberry.

"You asked if we wanted drinks! Not deserts!"

Mizuki let out a mischievous laugh. "Once this melts, it'll be a drink."

"It's still cheating!" Sayuri's eyes glared at the Leader. Mongami and Lizzie stared at the ice cream as well, with a little bit of envy. "You'll put on weight if you eat junk food all day, you know?"

"Sh-shut up! That's beside the point! And today's my cheat day anyway!"

"I bet any day is your cheat day." Mongami snickered.

"T-That was unnecessary." Most likely payback for earlier. Mizuki took out the long spoon with the small head and took a small scoop of the whipped cream, quickly eating it afterwards. "Mmmh!"

"Why you…!" Sayuri's glare was friendly, but with some anger over being deceived. That's when the spoon, with some of the whipped cream, almost touched her lips. "Eh?"

"You thought I wasn't going to share?" With a head tilt and a smile with shut eyes looked rather cute.

"…God damn it…" Sayuri cursed beneath her breath, as she ate the cream.

Mongami and Lizzie moved in as well.

"I want some too!"

"Gimme!"

"H-Hey!" Mizuki now had to protect her food from hungry wolves. "There's a menu! Read it and order!"

While she wanted to go last, Mizuki and Sayuri were still hesitant to take the mic. So, the singer of the group took action.

Lizzie's song finished. Just like a pop idol would, she hit every note with perfect accuracy. It was a J-Pop song, obviously, named 'AKOGARE~TION'.

Once it was time for one of them to sing, Mizuki motioned for Sayuri to go ahead. After all, she had an ice cream to protect.

Sayuri made an odd choice and decided to sing an aria. Most people would prefer lyrics, but Sayuri admitted that while she would sometimes switch the words when nervous, she'd still hit the right notes.

She sang 'The Poem for Everyone's Souls' from a popular series of games. She never played any of the games, but found the song one day by chance, and found it rather beautiful. So, she gave it a shot.

The song came and went.

The moment she finished, she let out a sigh, thinking she probably didn't cut it. But upon turning around, she found three teary eyed teens.

"E-Eh?!"

Lizzie was the first to respond. "It was so beautiful…!"

"God damn it…" Mongami fought back the tears.

"Again! Again!" Mizuki demanded an encore.

"Let's at least eat something first…" Sayuri's simple request was accepted.

The four had ordered food, just like with the drinks before. A pizza large enough to share and some snacks.

While the four talked about random things, Mizuki thought to herself for a bit.

She never had a real need for friends besides Sayuri, but upon forming the team, it was as if that said need had awakened the moment it was fulfilled. Lizzie and Mongami were fun to be around, even if she didn't know them all that well as of yet.

But she definitely didn't want it to end so soon. And that's why she definitely needed to win.

The hour came. The four girls were set and ready by the playground, waiting for their opponent's arrival.

Just on time. "Ah! Hello. Conquerors of Deva, correct?" A boy approached the group. His eyes were a soft but contrasting yellow due to his somewhat pale skin and short white hair. Despite not being a school day, he wore a semi-formal-looking set of clothes: a white button shirt, a blue sleeveless pullover, and grey trousers. Funnily enough, he didn't wear either a tie or bowtie, and sported the top unbuttoned. Age wise, he seemed to be Mizuki's age. And his most defining trait: a constant, soft smile.

"Y-Yes. Nice to meet you." The girl with red eyes bowed. "I'm the Team Leader, Shidan Mizuki." A hand was extended.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Isemi. Aro Isemi." He accepted the hand and shook it. "I'm ready when you are."

"Actually, before we start, I have to ask." Mizuki couldn't help but feel curious. "Why do you want our team to disband if we lose?"

"Ah, it must've surprised you." He chuckled. "I don't mind fighting all of you at once. But I think if a Team can't defeat one person alone, I believe it shouldn't be a team to begin with."

Mizuki found the logic a little harsh, but concise. Sayuri, Mongami and Lizzie could only agree with those words as well, even if their team was the one at stake.

"Mighty words."

"Appreciated. Now, shall we?" Isemi pulled out his Rider Card. Everybody copied him, taking out one card each, and using it to Transport out of everybody's sight.

The moment they arrived, Mizuki installed her Assassin Card, along with Sayuri and Mongami.

Lizzie installed her Lancer Card, and for a moment, everybody thought there was a mistake, since her clothes still resembled gothic Lolita fashion. However, the revealing nature of her dress, couple with the dragon horns, fangs, fingers, and tail, proved her to be Installed.

"Install." After the flash, the white-haired boy's clothes had been replaced.

Slick, pale, light armour protecting his torso, legs, and right arm, while the left had none. A cloak-like cloth wrapped all around his body, and a small sack was present, tied to the side of his waist. His left hand reached for it and, with a touch, a large, black scythe with a purple blade appeared in his hands.

He spun it over his arms and took a stance, and said "I hope you're ready, Conquerors of Deva."