Samurai SEED

by AJ-Writer

Kira's a lowly ramen bar waiter in wartorn world. Thrust into an age of warriors where legends are made, Kira don a mask and found he's fighting not only against his enemies but also his very own demons. New chapter is up! PLEASE, PLEASE Read and Review!

62. Dance of Shadow and Light Part 2

Kira - Noir & Kage

Lacus - Hikari

Athrun - Rosso

Chapter 62

The Dance of Shadow and Light – Part 2:

An Order of Chaos

"Well… if you feel overwhelmed by Noir, it happens to everyone." Rosso chuckled at Slytherin. "Noir and I were both Lord Yuki's student. But, truth be known, we're both trained in the art of war… not the art of law enforcement. So… yeah… we often had no choice but to use our skillset and mindset in the duty."

"…so I see…" Salazar sighed. The stuff that Knightmaster came up with…

"So… you continue your investigation into the other hotels?"

"Yes. We continued the very next day, we go through the remaining hotels plenty quickly. We worked pretty fast… but…"

00000008 years earlier0000000

"Zip… nada…" Noir smothered his smoking head on the table in a café after the last eighth hotel had been visited while Lacus played with a few ice blocks over said head to cool down that poor overheated brain. They've went to the remaining hotels and run through their entire guest list without a hitch, but according to Noir, there's no one that matched the one they're looking for. "There's a lot of fugitives in those hotels, not one of them are our guy."

"You seem so certain?"

"We're looking for a highly skilled veterinarian with a bloody rap sheet in his name. There aren't many people in the whole NATION that match that description."

"Umm… Master Noir, if I may?" Salazar picked his words carefully. "You… you ever consider the possibility… that you might be wrong?"

"…maybe."

"What?"

"…maybe you're right. Maybe humans didn't do this… maybe he didn't stay in a hotel, maybe he had his own hideout, maybe the one who did this is not a professional… maybe this, maybe that…" Noir grunted. "Ultimately, maybe I'm wrong. But… it's what we can do right now."

"But what if this ended up for nothing?"

"I don't know. But I do know this: while we're here asking all these Maybes or What Ifs… there are people out there capturing Unicorns and ripped out their horns while they're still alive, and we have to stop them."

"…there are no more hotels."

"…none that we can see." Noir shrugged then she turn to Lacus. "I've been thinking about that Fidelius charm. Is there a limit?"

"What do you mean?" Lacus asked.

"It kept a secret. Insofar, what you've been telling me are examples of which it was used on a person… does it had to be a person?" Noir looked at the two gawking witch and wizard. "What if it's a building? A WHOLE building. A whole hotel."

"That's insanity! Do… you even know how complex a spell a fidelius charm is!? To use it on a person is hard enough, using it on a BUILDING!?"

"Actually…" Lacus tilted her head. "That might be possible…"

Noir nodded at Lacus. "Can you list me the procedures?"

"That… might take a while."

"Get started."

"Oh dear." Muttering something about slave driver, Lacus began listing the procedures on a paper… it's quite… long. "Step 1…"

"Hold it… How do we even know if this hotel exists?"

"The suppliers." Noir asked back. "Your snakes are still tracking them?"

"Yes." Point in fact, one of the snakes are hissing to Salazar, giving him a report. "They even get to see their bills as you requested. You note them down yourself."

"Right here." Noir swing the notes in his hand. Again, insofar, nothing weird or out of place. At least… on the hotels that they know of. "I've mentioned this before, and it bears repeating: even if something has been made unperceivable, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. A hotel even more so."

"…you're suspecting that hotel will purchase supplies from these shops… but… I don't see any significant purchase…"

"If one is a clever secret hotel owner, one would not buy things in bulk from one shop." Noir began to work again differently. He set aside all the purchase orders that he confirmed to be coming from the previous 8 hotels, and start looking at the other purchase orders. He went at it multiple times… pausing and looking at the assembled notes, as if he's looking for a picture… then he shook his head when the picture was wrong, and then he went at it yet again.

Salazar waited awkwardly as these two children are working diligently on their respective assignments. He looked like a teacher overseeing two students working on their tests. Minutes went by and then… "Done."

It was a simultaneous declaration from both children, causing them to look at each other, and then their respective work. Lacus had written 3 pages' worth full of formulas and enchantments.

On his side, Noir had assembled multiple purchase orders in a certain pattern.

Salazar seems to be more impressed with Lacus'. "Only three pages, milady? I remember people had assembled entire tome."

"I simplified it to an abridged version. Made it easier for non magician to read." Lacus handed it to Noir.

Noir nodded. And while he read it… "While I'm at it, look at what I've assembled."

As Noir read Lacus' notes, Lacus and Salazar looked at Noir's lists. An observant one would notice that Noir arranged different purchase orders from different stores and grouped them together when they contain one or two same items. Furthermore, if the amount of these items were added… they do reach the amount needed for a fully functional hotel. "But… isn't this a bit stretching it?" Salazar still had his doubts. "It could be ordered by some random people!"

"Of course it is." Lacus chuckled. "A secret hotel owner would take pains to make it like so, making it all the harder to be traced."

"Correct." Noir had also finished reading Lacus' report, and seem to be in deep thinking. "This is one heck of a spell. A combination of not just enchantments, but also potions and charms. I began to see why Master Slytherin thought it impossible to be done on a building scale." Lacus smiled happily, glad her work was of help to his insight. "…that being said… reading this simply makes me all the more convinced of my theory." Noir's tone becomes firmer. "Especially the potion part."

"How so?"

"To upscale this whole procedure to an entire building… one may need to purchase appropriately huge amounts of ingredients to match. I'm gonna guess, the ingredients listed herein are rare and uncommon. Not many shops have them, correct?"

"You want me to track those shops too?"

"…no. There's no need." Noir shrugged. "Even with her dire financial straits, Lacus was able to purchase the ingredients. They're expensive and rare, but not that rare. But… if the amount listed here are correct… these are enough Fidelius Charm for… 1-2 people?" Lacus nodded. "So… yes, if I'm the owner of a secret hotel, buying them in bulk enough for an entire building will draw attention… but…" Noir snarled. "What if… you only need to purchase this small amount… because you can somehow amplify its effect exponentially?"

Everyone's expression changed at that. Their eyes shined ever so briefly with epiphany. There IS a Unicorn Horn Dust in the ingredients Lacus listed…

Noir nodded. "So, there IS a ninth hotel. And within that hotel… lies our quarry." Salazar barely had enough time to comprehend how Noir was able to arrive at that conclusion, the Judge already moved on to the next course of action. "I need a background check on all the people who paid for these purchases."

It took a while for Salazar to realize Noir was talking to him. "W… What?"

"We know there's a ninth hotel, and whoever sends this people to buy all this stuff is the owner. We find HIM, we find the hotel, we find our guy. Contact your father, tell him to do the background check on these people, see if they all had a common denominator that links them all together."

When Salazar sent the messenger owls back to the HQ, he did not expect an answer… imagine his surprise when answer came on a raven… when the sun barely set. His father's answer confused him all the more.

He sent a letter, and a small pouch containing… sparkling dust…

The letter only state: 'find a place, light up the fireplace.'

Noir looked at the letter and this dust… "…what is this?"

"That's a floo powder." Salazar answered. "Father wants to send in someone."

"…what does a dust and a fireplace had anything to do with sending in someone?"

"Ah! Noir! Lord Balthazar planned to send in someone using the floo network. This floo powder had been set up to open a portal straight from the Warden HQ!"

Noir's eyes told everyone he understood only about a quarter of that. "…but why the fireplace?"

"Let's just do as he says." Salazar sighed exasperatedly. The things the Judge knew and not knew is… bewildering.

What surprised him the most is not the speed in which his father replied to Noir's request; No. What surprised him the most was the fact his father replied to him at all. Salazar began to feel overwhelmed. It's like everyone around him knows something he doesn't, and he's being left behind.

They stayed in a different hotel that night, one that had an indoor fireplace. And then, after they've eaten their dinner…

"Here we go." Salazar lighted the fire place. And then, he tossed the dust into the fire. In an instant, the fire burst into a massive conflagration, it grew and grew until it was even taller than Salazar. And then, at the center of raging green fire, a dark silhouette of a person is coming towards them, growing increasingly bigger and its shape became more defined, to form that of a woman.

And when she stepped down into the floor, the fire died down behind her. Noir shrugged and Lacus cheered at the familiar sight of Rowena Ravenclaw in their midst.

"Milady." Noir bowed his head.

"Master Noir, it is a pleasure." Rowena also lifted her skirt and graciously greeted her hosts. "Master Balthazar sent me to help advise you on your… hunt, is it?"

"I asked him to do a background check, not reinforcement. Not that your presence is not appreciated."

"And he did as you requested. The information was… such… rather than sending a mountain of files, he decided it's best to send the right person to explain."

"Explain… what?"

"Your guess… was correct. All these people you listed from the purchase, they all worked for one person. A… goblin, to be exact. Krassus Goldback. One of the richest, most successful Goblin Lord in this region. He owns this very Market."

"So it's very likely he owns a secret hotel."

"Yes. But…" Rowena shrugged. "Lord Slytherin asked me to come here to advise you on this matter. He told me about the travesty that is the case you are working on, and I vow I will do my best to aid you… just… I don't understand why he asked me to tell you this."

"…guess we'll find out as we go along." Noir nodded. "First… I imagine you ought to know about everything that we've done so far."

Indeed. Rowena was aware that they are hunting Unicorn poachers, but she had not the specifics of what Noir had done so far towards that end. So they fill her in: they're looking for a highly skilled illegal vet surgeon, one who most likely are capable of performing the surgical removal of the Unicorn Horn. They suspected he's hiding in one of the hotels. They've searched 8 of the known ones, no luck so far. But then Noir explained he had deduced that a Ninth Hotel exists; one hidden by a large scale Fidelius Charm, using the living Unicorn Horn dusts to amplify its effect. To Salazar surprise, Rowena was far from incredulous. She was in awe.

"Based on these notes Lacus gave me, I suspect it might be doable. What's your opinion on this, as a more experienced mage?" Noir handed the notes to Rowena, who briefly read it.

Her expression was further flustered as she read these notes. "…w… who wrote this? Did you wrote this?"

"Lacus did." Noir jerked to the pink haired girl who smiled at Rowena's shocked face.

"Is there something wrong with it?" She asked calmly.

"…hardly." Rowena relaxed her expression immediately. "No… No. This is a good read. And… I support your idea, Master Noir. An entire hotel, hidden using an amplified Fidelius charm, that is ingenious. It is in Krassus' character that he would own such an asset."

"Is there any way we can break this spell?"

"There are only two ways this spell can be broken. The Secret Kept must spill the beans… and insofar as I know, walls may have ears, but they can't talk." Rowena smiled uneasily. "Which leaves only one way. The Secret Keeper must reveal the secret himself."

"Whoever that is." Noir sighed, to which Rowena merely chuckled.

"Whoever that is? Ahaha… Master Noir, you don't know Krasus Goldback."

"Enlighten me."

"Nothing simpler. His sobriquet Goldback… refers to his hunched stature. But he's not hunched. Everybody knows, he had a 24 carat buckler strapped to his back, which he wears under his cloak. And he carry them everywhere, even to sleep. It is a local legend that Krasus Goldback survived multiple assassination attempts thanks to that buckler. Quite a few of them were done by his brothers, his wife, even his own father and mother. Typical Goblin backstabbing society."

Noir nodded immediately. "So… to say he's VERY paranoid… would be an understatement."

"Of the century." Rowena snarled. "But Goblins are also greedy by nature. His desire for more and more wealth than he knew what to do with often outweigh his paranoia."

"But this does make it easy. Good chances are, he himself is the Secret Keeper." Noir snarled. "Is there any way I can talk to him? Or… let me guess, he's averse to public appearance."

"Not really. It's just the matter of figuring out which auction house he's in…"

"…auction house?" Noir blinked.

"Yes. He owned several auction houses in this market."

"…Lacus…" Noir need only say a word, the pink haired Princess' sensor ears were already on to what's in his mind.

"Hugo is in an auction house right now… I gave him the description of Krasus Goldback…" Lacus grinned. "…he found him."

In no time flat, the whole team arrived at the Auction House, Hugo welcomed them. He seems rather agitated. "Uhh… he's still here. Is what I would like to say…"

"…he's waiting for me?" Noir can guess that much.

"Uhh… I'm… terribly sorry…"

"First off, I never asked you to be discreet. Second, I don't see how that's possible with your size."

"A… ahaha…" Hugo chuckled nervously. "Thing is… he's… quite well aware of who you are."

"Hm. Let's go." True enough, the guards noticed their coming and opened the door for them.

Once they're inside, the wave of noise overwhelmed them all. Lacus in particular, fold down her (disguised) rabbit ears to reduce the audio overload. But, she doesn't need to hear clearly to know what was being shouted.

"3000!" "3,200!" "3,500!"

"15,000! Do I hear 15,000!?"

"Going once! Going twice!"

"SOLD!"

The place was packed with all kinds of people… of all kinds of species. Both ones that are being sold in their cages and the ones outside the cages who did the buying. For something managed by Goblins, the auction house was surprisingly clean and tidy. The interior is centered around this one large stage situated right at the center of the room, beneath a colored glass dome. There, at the stage, the merchandise that is being auctioned was showcased to the audiences, seated in multiple dining tables encircling the stage.

"Hugo, which one?" Noir asked.

Hugo looked around a bit and pointed up the balcony, in the VVIP. "He's waiting for you."

Once he arrived, they were halted by a pair of Goblin, who snarled and screeched at his coming. Goblins. They were short, shorter than even Noir's original stature. But they have disproportionately large head, oversized pointy ears, large nose, and a slanted black pupil on yellowed cornea that filled their eyelids. All features of a creature well suited in skulking in caves. The two that welcomed them banged the door, and the door was opened… and everyone gawked as all but Noir found themselves needing to tilt their head up.

For the record, the two that banged the door was even smaller than Noir… But the next two that opened the door was head and shoulders bigger than a full grown adult. They're also goblins… but significantly bigger… much bigger… very muscular and well built. These are Goblin Champions. When a Goblin lived long enough (which is quite rare) they'll have a growth spurt, and it is quite a jump in height… and body mass.

But the one that is the center of their attention was this big fat goblin sitting imperiously on a throne made of gold. He was dressed in very regal clothing, with jewels and ornaments bedecking his features in abundance. His clawed fingers seem to be covered in various rings, and said hand is holding on to a chain connected to the shackle on a slave's neck, like a master holding a chained dog. His neck was burdened by dozens of necklace and jewelry… but the most eye catching feature of this goblin is his hunched stature. Except it's not because of his bone structure… it's because strapped on his back, is this… dense jeweled gold buckler. It was obviously very heavy, considering how it made him looked like a hunchback. But it does explain his sobriquet…

"Greetings, Krassus Goldback."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Judge."

The one who answered is not the goblin… but this human slave with a shackle on her neck. Krasus didn't speak in human language, but he speaks in a guttural tongue that is a mix of growls and grunts. Noir tilted his head. He didn't need the slave girl to translate his words to him, so the Goblin understands human language. He just didn't bother speaking in human language. Just as he didn't bother turning away his attention from the auction.

"Pleasure's all mine. Now… may I-"

"Can you wait?"

"Huh?"

"I still got a few more items on sale. I wanna know how much I'll get." Krasus snarled and spluttered.

"…"

A commotion occurred on the auction stages. "MAMA! MAMA!"

"PLEASE! LET MY DAUGHTER GO! OR AT LEAST… SELL US TOGETHER! I BEG OF YOU!" But the goblin guards didn't care and yanked the mother and daughter apart. Some are even cackling.

Hugo frowned in disgust. Lacus could only steel herself and closed her eyes from the sight. Only Noir seemingly unmoved. Krasus waited as several items were brought into auction and bought by the highest bidder. Noir took this chance to observe the items being auctioned. His eyes buzzed around the place, searching for their quarry. No Unicorn Horn.

"I see you've taken interest? Come! Sit as my guest." Instead of a chair… another human slave just went and knelt on all four, expecting the Judge to sit on her back.

"…I'd rather stand." Noir frowned.

"You reject my hospitality?"

"…we both had very different idea about hospitality."

"So, sending your goons to spy on my auction houses… is that hospitality for humans?"

"Spying? No. He's scouting. I have no quarrel with you. I sent Hugo here as my representative: to scout around trying to find a certain item that I need. For the moment I'm neither warden nor Judge, I'm just a customer, looking to conduct a transaction to buy a rare and specific merchandise. Is this how you treat your customers?"

"Ah. So I see." The Goblin tilted his head away from the auction event for once. "I do apologize, but when a human of your stature sniff around… it gets someone like me nervous."

"We're both busy. So I'll get straight to the point." Noir stated: "I'm looking for a Living Unicorn Horn."

Krassus' golden eyes widened at those three words. He turned away from the auction to face the masked Judge for the first time. The other goblins around him, large and small, all shirked. "Living Unicorn Horn…!? Do you realize what a dangerous thing you're looking for?"

"And you look like just the kind of guy who would peddle such dangerous thing."

"…there is such a thing as too much. If I had something like that… I'm gonna need more than one shield on my back."

"Ha… so you don't have it?" Noir tilted his head. "Then… I need to enter your hotel."

"What hotel?"

"I looked at your files before I came here… so I know you're not someone to be underestimated. So don't you underestimate me. I'm looking for one of your clients. One who most likely had paid your services with a certain type of Unicorn Horn dust."

"Ha." Krasus snorted. "For the record… I didn't underestimate you. But… it is precisely because of that… that I cannot let you in."

"…?"

"The whole city may have had the wrong idea about what you are… but not my clients. Oh… the ruckus, the Hell they raised when they've realized that you, the infamous Judge Noir, were here, on the very same continent with them. The effort I had to go through to make sure they didn't leave in a massive exodus…"

"I'm not going after everyone." Noir may have inwardly added 'not yet.' "I'm only after one person. The one I know you know had broken a taboo of your people. You claimed you're averse in selling the item I'm looking for… How will that do to your hotel's reputation if everyone finds out you've been protecting the person who supplied it?"

"That's the point of my hotel. This is a place with people of such reputation to avoid public eye. I may not like such bad business, but what my client does is not my business, so long as they did not interfere with me."

"…Maybe you haven't noticed: you are being interfered. I am interfering with you. And the reason is simple: your kind sent me here."

"…I'm not losing the reputation of my business for one stupid horse with a horn."

"…" Noir didn't say anything… at first… "Then… how bout this. I just want to find one person among your clients… And you don't want to compromise your hotel. Very well… instead of me coming to them… let them come to me."

The Goblin laughed. "A… And… And how exactly are you going to do that?"

"By offering them something they would want more than anything else. Even their own safety." Noir snarled beneath his mask. "Find an excuse… to invite these customers… to a never before heard, a very exclusive, very limited auction of a one of a kind item. One time offer. But they have to come in person. Because I will give it to them myself."

"Oh? And what kind of item you would be willing to put on sale that they would leave the safety of my hotel personally to meet the one person they were on the run from?"

"Information. An information so secret, so critical, so valuable… your client, everyone in the underworld would kill to get it."

"And that information is…?"

Noir grinned behind his mask and dropped the bombshell. "…my origin story."

0000000-8 years later-0000000

BURSSSSSSTTT! Rosso choked on his drink when Salazar told him that. "HIS WHAT!?"

"That is… quite the extreme reaction." Salazar sighed in sympathy as the crimson Judge struggled to breathe again.

"Oh my God… Oh my God… he said that." Rosso recovered after a few more coughs. "…in case you guys didn't understand the gravity of what Noir just did, here's an illustration: merely revealing a Judge's face to the public… to anyone not a Judge… is the equivalent of a Judge automatically resigning from his post. And the person who saw a Judge's identity will be subject to censure or assassination at worst."

"Uhmm… why?" Hugo timidly raised a hand in question.

"If you know who we are behind this mask, you will be target to our enemies, which includes some of the most dangerous and ruthless criminals of the underworld. This mask isn't for us. It's to protect those we care about from reprisals of our enemies. And Noir… being the best… he collected enemies like he collected evidences that could've had them all executed from seemingly thin air. The worst of the worst of them all. His origin story, you say? Forget killing each other, they'll raze entire cities for that."

"…that would explain why his plan worked like clockwork…"

"I imagine he's having the time of his life."

"Oh, you know him so well, Master Rosso…"

0000000-KIRA-0000000

Kage can't say for sure if he's having a time of his life.

The Atilla… is quite small for a Slayer Tank. The smallest of all the Slayer Tanks he's seen so far… but it's also the fastest.

But let's stick with the small size for now.

It's small enough that it can be stored on a train. Small enough that platforms around the super massive Qin Shih Huang are big enough to support its size. But that is a very narrow margin. For one thing, when people arranged these platforms inside the Super Train, they did not take into consideration for the Tank to move INSIDE the train.

Which also means these troopers inside won't find any room to escape in those platforms when the Atilla went a roaring rampage of a joyride on those same platforms.

"RUUUUNN!" The troopers ran for all their legs' worth as the Atilla is rolling right behind them. Some tried to loose some shots, but… their guns aren't strong enough to penetrate Atilla's armor. So, they try to use bigger weapons, like the bazooka. A task made harder because the Tank kept firing its gatling gun haphazardly allover the place.

"Captain, keep it steady, I'm having a hard time aiming!"

"I'm trying…! Where's the brake on this thing!?" Only now did Kira realize; as he rabidly operate this stupidly complex murder machine; that Athrun really did go out of his way making his inventions user friendly.

For the record, Kage had like… 15 minutes to learn how to drive this 300 tons mini monster tank. As far as amateur tank driver concerned, he's not bad, Rygart had to admit.

…ignoring the fact he already rolled over several dozen troopers trying to stop him. But… since they all try to kill him, well…

The Atilla's rampage continued unabated, not a single trooper was able to stop it… And so… since they can't stop it… they had to resolve this with the only method left… to seal it off. The last of the surviving troopers rushed quickly towards the armored door leading to the next car, trying to outrun the tank grinding right behind them and most importantly, trying to get to the other car before the door was closed. One last trooper never made it as the door was sealed shut from the other side. Leaving the frustrated trooper banging the door futilely.

Thankfully, around that time, Kage had finally found the stupid brake. The tank stopped inches away from his nose.

"Okay…" Kage's voice echoed from inside the now blood drenched front portion of the tank. "Now that we have the time to talk… Can you open the door, please?"

"I would rather die!"

"Wasn't talking to you, Mr. I'm-running-with-my-tails-between-my-legs-a-second-ago. Mr. Arrow… you have a cannon, can we not just blast this door?"

"We could… except… while the ammunition for the small caliber bullets are stored in here… they're smart enough to store the ammunition for the main gun in a different car. The… fifth Car. Which is behind us."

"And I suppose ramming it is out of the question."

"Forget the door, that's 50 inch of reinforced steel wall. This tank didn't have enough mass to ram that… even at top speed. The best we can do is dent it."

"…" Kage looked around… and he looked up. This train is several stories high… and the platforms were designed in a… spiral. "…Can we get to the roof?"

"Sir, did you not see? Even at the top floor, the ceiling is several meters high. The only way we can get up the roof is… fly this tank…?"

"…Rygart… you said the cannon doesn't have the bullet, but it still had the Gunpowder yes?"

"Yes…?"

"Put all the gunpowder you can jam into it then."

"Excuse me?"

"Just do it!" Kage switched gears and the tank first move in reverse before it spin around in place and start rolling across the platform, slowly climbing up, slowly picking up speed. The last surviving trooper just watched in confusion as to what the captain is thinking, climbing floor after floor towards a dead end at the top.

"Have you done what I asked, Rygart-san?"

"I did! But… the amount I just stuffed… if you fire, this tank will roll over! It can't handle the recoil!"

"It's not supposed to. Turn the turret 180 degrees and depress it as much as possible!"

"What!? You want it to point backwards?"

"Exactly! Hurry!" In the meantime, Kage also quickly familiarize himself with the weapon system. The twin linked gatling guns at the center chassis is operable by the driver, but the sponson mounted ones needs to be manned. However… there's a certain locking mechanism which allow the center gunner to operate all guns simultaneously. Just one problem, they can only point forward.

Which is good. Because that's where Kage need them to point. At least later. For now, he manned one of the sponson Gatling guns and took his aim.

With a push of a trigger, the gatling gun whirred as steam hissed around its rotating barrel. Once the spin reached top speed, a rain of hot lead poured out of the whirring barrels. Kage chose his target with care: namely, a certain set of support columns holding a section of the topmost platform aloft. The gatling gun swiveled as it fired, its stream of crimson destruction rip through multiple columns like red hot blade and then they move up, cutting through the platform. Once that was done… finally, the severed platform, with nothing to support it… collapsed. And the way it collapse… it did so in a very well calculated manner, it collapsed unto the platform beneath it, and there it rest in a diagonal fashion, becoming a makeshift ramp pointing to the ceiling.

It was then that the last surviving trooper finally realized the acrobatic insanity the now clearly insane captain is attempting.

Rygart also began to realize what the Captain was trying to do. Especially now, when he finally understands why the Captain asked him to do what he did. "…you're crazy…"

"I'm picking up speed. Get ready to fire that cannon on my mark!" Kage kicked the speed dial to full steam and the Atilla roared and start zooming across the platform, picking up speed as it climbed up the rectangular spiral. As his speed continue to pick up, Kage is having harder and harder time to make those sharp turns. The last few turns saw the tank's side smashed through the corner walls, denting it, rocking the insides of the tank, much to its drivers' discomfort. "Get ready, Rygart-san! The ramp is ahead!"

"Oh God oh god oh god…"

By that time, the Atilla is practically a runaway steam engine, with all the speed it had built up, even the brakes won't be able to stop it. "HERE WE GOOO!" The Atilla charged across the final stretch of the platform and rapidly climb up the ramp. The makeshift structure isn't exactly sturdy either. With the Atilla's weight, it'll collapse moments after the tank run through it, but Kage only need moments. In those moments, as the Atilla rushed up the crumbling ramp, Kage fired every forward facing gatling guns of the Atilla, the elevated angle allowed the barrage to target the ceiling, riddling said section into a beehive of bullet holes. And just as the ramp is one moment away from complete collapse: "RYGART-SAN! FIREE!"

Rygart closed his eyes, prayed to every deity he can think of… and pulled the trigger.

The backward facing cannon opened fire. No shell came out, but the ignition of so much gunpowder stuffed into that barrel unleashed an explosive jet of fire that was funneled by the cannon barrel. The concentrated explosive force propelled the tank in a burst of speed… it rushed through the final stretch of the crumbling ramp in a blur. The ramp chose that time to fully collapse, but the Atilla's tracks had left the crumbling road. The tank flew onward and upward until it reached the bullet riddled ceiling, smashing right though the now fragile plating.

The whole train shook as the Atilla burst out of the Third Car's roof and landed not so gently on the edges of the second, then it rolled forward ever so slowly for several meters before stopping.

Inside the tank, Kage hang awkwardly by his one leg around the driver seat after he was thrown off it on impact… Rygart was eyes white and unconscious, hanging upside down from the manhole leading to the smoking turret. The whole chamber was a mess. Dangerous hissing sound can be heard from very part of the tank, plates were snapped off their rivets… pipes bent… What they just did, the Atilla was never meant to stomach.

Yep. Kage thought as he's nursing the pain wracking every inch of his body… They always said riding a tank is a man's romance. He failed to see the appeal.

He's DEFINITELY not having a time of his life.

0000000-8 years earlier-0000000

"Oh my god… I'm having the time of my life." Noir, in his dark Judge attire, chuckled sinisterly as he looked at this assemblage before him. "Vito Grazeone, the Butcher, head of the Grazeone family. Rejavik Nastovitch, wanted serial killer in 5 nations. Bozerikh Von Burgunsten, the Bloody Hound Duke…" He laughed. "I've been after you assholes for months, now here you are in a bad guys' convention in my honor. Hahaha…"

"I'm shocked you can actually laugh at all this…" Just hearing the surnames attached to these names really sent shivers down Salazar's spine.

"I'm not." Noir growled. "Just the opposite. All these bastard sons of bitches escaped justice… here they are and I can't bring down the army to jail every single fucking one of them."

"I'm surprised they actually come here in person!"

"Of course they are." Noir chuckled. "Information as crucial as the one they're about to bid is too critical to be entrusted to a surrogate. Gaining the origin story of a Judge is the same as gaining leverage on a Judge… as I've stressed time and again: they'll kill for that." Noir turned to put the final preparations in place. "Lacus… is everything ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Lacus smiled calmly. She seems to be the only one who can smile like so, in this situation.

"Salazar, Hugo, Rowena… you three have those files?"

"Yes." Salazar gestured at a pile of files Noir withdrawn from the Circle's librarium. It contains the data of the many criminals the circle had listed, including their mugshots. Quite a few names in these files are among the list in attendance of this auction. "We're looking for an illegal and high skilled vet surgeon. My snakes had been alerted."

"Good." Noir turned to the door. "Now… let the show begins."

The door opened, and Krasus was waiting for him… but in his hand he also holds something else. He tossed it at Noir's feet.

"What is this?"

"That's a magical slave collar." Lacus answered.

And Noir knew what the Goblin want him to do. "In your dreams." He kicked the wretched thing back at him. "I'm going in there to show them you're not joking. I'll even swear on Deep Magic to make certain of it. But I will not do it with that thing on my neck."

"Then we'll cancel the whole thing." The Goblin threatened… and Noir laughed cruelly.

"Go ahead. Go ahead! Cancel! Cancel the whole damn thing! I lose nothing but time. But you. You know what you just did? You just broke your promise to them. Do you even know the people you just brought here? The things they've done? What they're going to do to transgression far lesser than that!? I do." Noir hissed. "Ohh… the things they can think of. See that guy? That's Turnaball the Shushi Cannibal. Serial killer wanted for 67 confirmed manslaughter in 3 continents. Get that nickname because he loves to eat his victims fresh. Sliced steaks off them bit by bit and eat them while they scream for months. Heard he got bored of humans and wanted to try something more exotic. He will eat you ALIVE. That's just an example of the least horrible things the others will do to you."

Krasus deep green skin had turned sickly lighter green… a Goblin equivalent to being pale white with terror.

"So go ahead. We do this my way… or you cancel… and I'll give you at the longest… a week to live."

"You can't kill-"

"They'll find a way. They can always find a way. They're smart enough for that. One of them had already done it!" Any paler and Krassus' face will be whiter than a paper. "You're scared, Krassus Goldback? Not nearly scared enough. I've seen far worse monsters amongst my own kind. And you were stupid enough to put the worst of them all in one room."

"You… made me…" There's a bit of disharmony… between Krassus's terrified words… and his slave translator's somewhat pleased translation. "You made me bring them all here!"

"You do this my way… and you might live. This much I can promise you."

"…" Krassus looked at Noir with renewed sense of hate. "Fine. But if I don't get something out of this… then I will have you pay your pound of flesh, Judge."

"Save your threats, you'll definitely gonna get something worthwhile out of it." Noir scoffed. "Now let's do this."

Krassus made an ugly scorn and walked off, dragging his slave behind him… the girl pass Noir a loving wink and kiss, causing a certain princess to grimace. Noir turned back to his team… then he realized their faces were just as pale as Krasus. Just a bit more discernible, seeing they're all humans.

"You… You're seriously gonna go in there with all those… those… monsters…!?" Hugo choked. After hearing just a smidgen of what those people had done… it really made it hard for Hugo to classify them as humans.

"It's okay." Noir stepped out of the door. "Because of all the human monsters in this house, I'm the worst of them all."

And he closed the door behind them, leaving everyone chilled to the bone… except Lacus. They moved to the edge of the balcony and watched the 'show' proceed. The room was filled with people in masks. None of them clearly want to be identified entering this kind of place…

The MC did his best to make a grand opening… and then… "And… without further ado… I give you…" the nervous MC took a bit to swallow a gulp: "…Judge… NOIR."

If looks can kill, the MC would be dead instantly. Luckily, everyone in the room weren't looking at him. They're all looking at this black figure like a reaper, with a bone white face waltzing in, replacing the MC at center stage. "Good afternoon assholes and motherfuckers. How… nauseating it is to see you sons of whores still fit and well, your undeserving heads still burdening your shoulders."

Salazar and company swallowed a gulp. Even Lacus was chilled to the bone. Today, she's hearing what pure hatred sounds like.

"Now… I can imagine you're all wondering if it's really me in this thing. I'll prove it. I trust Lord Gantherhall over there still miss his son terribly. I assure you, that child rapist is having fun in his jail cell, enjoying his life sentence. In fact, all the inmates seem to love him… inside out. Last we check he was only half sane." It was quite obvious then that despite their masks, the Judge can see through their identity quite easily. "I'd like to also address Lord Berren Von Vakhesar… whose wrongfully acquired riches from selling illegal weapons to our enemies we confiscated a few months back, thanks to the testimony of your cheating drug trafficking of a wife who you tried to kill. Oh, don't bother looking for her. She passed away peacefully in the brothel district not too long ago… And don't bother looking for the money either, I'm pretty sure she already spent the last cent overdosing herself to death. And let's not forget Lord Randish, looking well without your legs there, milord. I'm sorry. Despite our best efforts, your beloved Rottweilers are dead. Eating your legs, your ball sack, and your dick, right after they ate your psycho of a brother's innards caused them all lethal indigestion. And Lord Burnack… I would like to apologize for Rosso's behavior, reshaping your originally pretty face into that vomit inducing nightmare… I mean… you did try to burn down a school full of children in an insurance swindle, so we both just hate you… so… well… sorry… NOT."

After that short cheerfully toned sermon, the bloodlust in that room was thick enough to choke lesser man to death. Pretty much every infuriated blackened soul in that room is now fully convinced this… this small minuscule bag of insolence they want to kill right now is definitely their mortal enemy. The shadowy bastard son of death and war they want to rip limb to limb slowly… this… is… Noir. The Reaper Judge of Aprillus. And oh how they hate him so…

Some of the crime lord in that room who had yet been consumed by their fury and bloodlust still had enough sense to ask: "That thing about your origin story and whatshits… Are you for real or what, asswipe?"

"I'll swear it to you, here and now. Under the law of the Deep Magic." Noir raised his hand up and make his oath. "I swear under the Deep Magic, the highest bidder today will receive what has been promised. My Origin Story. Straight from my own lips. And I hereby swear that I will tell you the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth. And they will receive it today, right away, as soon as they win this auction. Whoever it is who will win it."

Every audience in this room knew the binding power of Deep magic, so they know damn well Noir can no longer go back on his word, as he already binds himself to an unbreakable oath. Oh… the fun they will have with this wretch when they have this prize…

Noir can pretty much guess what these black-hearted bastards have in their twisted mind… not that he gives a damn. He's looking for one target… just one… and he found him. "Lacus…" he whispered. "On my right, 2 o clock, third row. That African gentleman."

Lacus immediately direct everyone's attention to the person in question. Salazar quickly skimmed through files, searching for the relevant data. And he found it before long. "Oh my god… fit the bill like a glove… Mustafa Akhoni Thanoya… the Witch Butcher of Zambize. Wanted for an unconfirmed number of first degree murder of Zoans in Africa and suspected organ trafficking… his known method is… ripping out specific organs from them…?" It had to come with pictures… pictures that made onlookers sick to the stomach.

"He's our primary suspect, do NOT let him out of your sight."

"I won't." He told his snakes to do as much. But… Salazar also noticed these two hooded figures next to their man. "Master Noir, who are those two white hooded figures next to Akhoni?"

"I don't know." Noir also noticed them. But he can also feel them glaring at him. "Keep watch on them too. Don't be noticed."

Noir left the stage, and the MC was left the unpleasant task of conducting the auction… to a bunch of very pissed off and evidently bloodthirsty bidders.

"U… Umm… uhh… well… as you can see, we have the goods…" Forget the usual flair, the poor MC looked like he's forgotten how to breathe.

"GET ON WITH IT!" "START THE BID!" the bloodshot eyed crowd roared, almost foaming and half mad with rage.

"Oh… they REALLY hate him…" The MC sighed. "…the bid starts at… 1000 galleon!"

"2000 GALLEON!" "3000 GALLEON!" "4000 GALLEON!" "8-no-10,000 GALLEON!" "15,000 GALLEON!"

This happened in a span 10 seconds. Even Krasus was bewildered. A human can be so hated by its own kind (well, a niche portion of its own kind) that here they are, trying to outbid one another for the pleasure of gaining his deepest secrets… all so that they have the opportunity of making him suffer… or whatever else their perverse mind will come up with.

Within minutes, the bidding price had soared exponentially. "100,000 GALLEON!" "200,000!" "350-no-500,000!" "550!" "650!" "750!" "ONE MILLION!"

Krasus jaw dropped. The last time someone bid that much, it was for a contraband that almost cost him an arm and a leg.

"1,200,000!" "1,250,0-" "1,30-" "1,500-!" The bidding war was so intense; the bidders didn't bother finishing the whole number to hasten their bid. Usually, when it already breaks the 1 mil, the bidders would slow down to think it through… but no. They were driven mad by rage and hatred, everyone in that room bid like they have nothing left to live for. Actually… now that Krasus think about it… after hearing some of the things that Judge had done to some of them… it does make sense… "5 MILLION!" "5,2!" "5,25!" "5,3 MILLION!" "5,35!" "5,5 MILLION!"

By the time it finally break the inevitable 10 million galleons, the heat in the room finally ignited their already burning temper to an explosive effect. "YOU DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY!" "SHUT YOUR COCKHOLE!" "SHUT YOUR OWN!" "HE'S MINE YOU HEAR ME!? MINE!" Some of the bidders finally come to blows. Still bound by the three laws, they can't kill one another but… as Noir had said… they are very creative.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Turnabal for instance… in his anger, he lunged into Bozerikh' ample belly and start biting – eating his way until he start ripping out his intestines… and eat them… while he screamed. Another noble attacked the other by choking him and then rip out his tongue with his bare hands so that he can't bid. He didn't kill him, but he was injured severely, but not dead. And that's what happening during the chaos: they didn't kill. They just hurt each other… BADLY. Maim them. Mutilate them. As long as no one died…

Krasus gaped in panic when his clients are starting one bloodbath after another. "Security! SECURITY! WE NEED SECURITY NOW!" A bunch of armored Goblin Champions rushed in to restrain and subdue the riot. Several wounded and dying client, including some of the most ferocious/bloodthirsty ones had to be dragged out of the room.

"Well I did warn you… they were pretty creative." Noir watched in amusement. But he also watched Akhoni was still in his spot. He had bid several times, though not as zealous as the others… right now, he seems to be in a conversation with those white hooded men…

As this happened, the price had soared to a mind blowing: "25 MILLION GALLEON!"

There are fewer bidders now, and their temper cooled off somewhat… apparently, the soaring price finally brought them some much needed sense. Noir realize the bidding war is about to end. "I'll be in my room. Take the highest bidder there."

Krasus growled in his guttural tongue, and his slave girl translator was released. "I will show you to your room, master Noir."

As the slave girl lead the Judge to his room, she began to talk: "Are you going to be okay, master Judge?" She was noticeably livelier and more chipper than her usual deadpan state.

"Worry about your own condition, before you start worrying about mine."

"Oh. He raped me barren years ago… whipped me until I'm numb allover… what more can he do to me?" The slave girl smiled sadly. "…be wary. Krasus is more cunning than you think. He doesn't just own this auction house, he owns the Arena, where he kept the most terrifying of beasts."

"Figured as much."

"He also knew about your friend… the man that disguised himself as a beastman, the one carrying a ruby jeweled silver sword."

"Godric?" Noir stopped. "…how much trouble he's in?"

"More trouble than he realized. From what I hear, he kept on winning… but he didn't realize the Goblins that run that place had seen through his disguise. Krasus planned to have the arena surrounded and your friend arrested… or killed. Either way, he's going to use him as leverage."

Noir nodded. Then he noted the shackles on her neck. "…I wish I could set you free as thanks… but it's not that easy, isn't it?"

The slave girl smiled sadly. "Just make that shit Krassus squirm… and I will be well rewarded." She smiled sweetly, then she knelt to give the Judge a peck on the forehead of his mask, then she saunter off, leaving the Judge alone to do his work.

"Lacus… you heard all that?"

"…so… she's… your type…?"

"What? Focus Lacus! It's about Godric! Did you hear what she said about Godric!?"

"Y… Yes. I heard it. Everyone has been made aware. What now?"

"Just a slight change of plans."

"The bidding is almost finished, I think." Salazar warned everyone.

"GOING ONCE…! GOING TWICE…!" The MC raised his gavel… "SOLD! To honorable Lord Gantherhall!" The MC slammed the gavel several times… almost in relief. The bidding war had escalated to such unprecedented high number, he was afraid that the next outbreak of violence will bathe the whole room in blood and blew up the entire building, literally.

The elderly man was then led to the stage to receive his prize he had paid so much for. "Where is he?"

"He's waiting for you, in there. He's unarmed, milord."

"Hmph!" The lord was led to Noir's room, where there, awaits the hateful black cloaked figure… with a bone white mask. The being whispered in urban legend of Aprillus. The one responsible for sending his son to prison for the rest of his life.

"Gantherhall. Still fucking your sister? Oh wait, she's dead."

"That's LORD Gantherhall for you, wretch."

"Fuck you and your title. I don't know if you've heard, but you've been stripped of it."

"When we're done here… I will first teach you some respect-"

"Like how you teach your son respect?" Noir was undaunted. "Do you know how Rosso and I got him? We catch him on the verge of tricking another country girl to be used up then made prostitute, like so many you have broken. We had to rescue him from being torn apart by the mob of angry parents of his victims… I'm still thinking we should've let them. For mercy's sake. Because sending him to jail was far worse. Child Rapist is still considered the lowest of lows even amongst the worst of inmates. I hear they made him suffer every moment of what's left of his miserable life."

Gantherhall's face reddened as his grip on his cane tightened. "Finish this… Give me what I'm owed. NOW. You. Gave. Me. Your. Word!" His hoarse voice trembled with rage.

"So. I. Did." Noir growled, his own rage matched the old man's in every syllable. "My origin story. Uncork those holes you call ears, you old shitbag. I will only say it once."

Meanwhile, out there in the stage, the crowd had yet to leave. They were all disgruntled and unwilling to give up this prize, even though they've failed to bid for it. Some, Salazar noted, based on some of the most unsubtle of murmurs, are plotting to take it by force…

No one knows what was said in that room. No one except the two in the room… and one very keen eared princess.

"I don't think this will end well…" Salazar gulped. "Lady Lacus… what do you think? Lady-!?"

Lacus had been still for quite a while as her ears heard everything… so much so that she didn't realize the tears falling off her baby blue eyes. What she heard… it's…

And then… Noir finally walked out into view once more, into the full view of the audience whose murmurs and plotting was silenced when they noticed him, coming out… alone. Wait… where's the highest bidder?

"Where's Gantherhall?"

"…I did… as I promised." Noir replied calmly. "…how much did that old shitbag paid for my Origin Story?" Noir asked.

"50 million galleon." One of the now genuinely curious audiences answered.

"…" Noir was stunned into silence. "…again?"

"50. MILLION. GALLEON." They repeated, louder and slower.

"50 Million… 50 million…" Noir seem to be in a daze as he repeated the astronomical amount his secret is worth. "…ha…"

"!?"

"…he paid… ha… that much… bwahaha… Well… that explains… why he had a… ahaha… a heart attack just now…!"

"What!?" The audience gasped. Heart attack? Gantherhall is dead!? "Did you kill him!?"

"MIND YOUR TONGUE!" Noir briefly snapped. "Who do you take me for? YOU!?" But his angry tone quickly turned gleeful once more. "I told him… EXACTLY as I promised. I told him my origin… I told him the truth. Only the truth. And nothing but the truth… The thing is… ahhaha…" He's struggling… and failing not to laugh. "Ahaha…. I don't think he likes it… Ahaha…" The Judge was swaying and shaking… trying his damndest to contain his glee. Then he remembered how much money Gantherhall had paid… and he just couldn't take it anymore: "50 MILLION! HAHAHAHA! 50 FUCKING MILLION! FOR A SECRET THAT'S NOT EVEN WORTH IT!" He couldn't hold himself anymore. "Hahaha… Hahahahahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He laughed. He laughed and laughed… in twisted glee, in dark terrible joy, he laughed. All these crime lords so used to the most horrifying of sounds, and now, they swore they've never heard a sound more terrifying than the maniacal laughter of this death incarnate… a sound they will now carry to their worst nightmares. For three years this Judge had lay hidden in the darkest corner of the underworld, no one has ever seen him, only feeling his ever encompassing influence. They had no idea what kind of person he is, what was he like, what droves him… he was… the ever present unknown number. They hate him for what he's done them… And now… they suddenly understood something that's even worse: what he did to them, it's not only because it was his duty… it was his greatest pleasure. His passion. What he is… is something that cannot be bought, destroyed, or compromised. He just wants to watch them all burn! He's a devil. Through and through. The only problem is, this devil sided with the Angels. All these disgruntled crime lords who were plotting to steal the prize suddenly had second ideas on whether or whether not they want this… lethal prize. Salazar, Hugo, Rowena and Lacus who watched the Judge's terrible laugh up on the balcony were suddenly reminded of what he said:

"-of all the human monsters in this house, I'm the worst of them all."

Noir's dark laughter lasted for quite a while… the audience was too terrified to stop him… but finally it stopped. The Judge panted and gasped, trying to catch his breath… once he's calmed down… it's time… to end this charade. "Mustafa Akhoni Thanoya!" Noir suddenly pointed his finger at the eyes wide Witch Butcher. "You're the one I want. This whole shit of a show… is for you. And ONLY you. The rest of you: get the fuck out of my sight. You're free to leave, until I find another a way to bust your sorry ass. And mark my words: I will find a way! NOW BEGONE!"

0000000-8 years later-0000000

0000000-LACUS-0000000

Every Division in the Alliance army served a purpose. But, based on their functions, the 13 divisions can be broadly split into two main categories. With the exception of the First Division which is the Central Command of the whole Alliance army, the remaining Divisions were categorized as either the Fighting Divisions or the Specialist Divisions.

The Specialist Divisions are Alliance Divisions that focused on very specific functions. The Third Squad, focused on Logistics and Supplies. The Sixth specialized in cavalry and rapid strikes. Eighth that focused its effort on medical care, Ninth specialized in infiltration and Intel gathering, and Twelfth are masters of the big guns. Each of these Squads focused on their area of expertise, each specialized on a single facet of warfare. Put it benignly, the Specialist Divisions are like an Academy that train its students, the soldiers, on one specific craft. For this reason, not just anyone can enter a Specialist Squad, as there are prerequisite talents specific to each Squad. In this, the Specialist Divisions looked to the Fighting Divisions massive pool of human resources to recruit candidates that fit their requirements.

On the other hand, the Fighting Divisions are broader in scope. Second and Fourth divisions are Vanguards – Shock troopers and the tip of any offensive campaigns. Seventh and Tenths are the Army. The bulk of the Alliance Military's muscle mass. Fifth and Eleventh are the Navy. If the Specialist Divisions are the Scalpel, the Fighting Divisions are the hammer. The blunt instrument to roll over everything in their path. Blunt… because there's nothing specialized in the fighting division. Soldiers of the Fighting Divisions were expected to be able to do just one thing: to fight. The Fighting Divisions were composed entirely out of indistinguishable common foot soldiery, the only difference between each Division is simply in how they were recruited and armed (Militia (Volunteers) and Regular Troopers (Paid Professionals)), or where they're placed (Vanguard (Land) or Navy (Sea)). There's no distinction, no specialized skills needed to do what they're expected to do. Here's your weapon, there's your enemy, kill it. That's it.

In practice of course, these two broad Divisions had to work together. Because of their specialized nature, Specialist Divisions are all invariable low in numbers. In a direct confrontation, with nothing to support them, even a Specialist Squad armed to the teeth will be butchered to a man. That's where the Fighting Division provides the muscle to keep the fight going until the job is done. Similarly, one cannot win a war with just Foot Soldiers. An army marching into battle without logistic or artillery support is a fast track to suicide. Putting soldiers from various divisions into a single squad is common practice.

The one and only exception to this is the 13th Division. On paper, they are a Specialist Division geared towards one specific task: Internal Affairs. Their official job description is to police the army. Making sure the army did not misbehave, or engage in criminal activity or disrespecting the chain of command with mutiny and insubordination. But more importantly than this… is that they are also Counter Espionage.

The 13th division requires people with exceptionally inquisitive minds. Skeptics and cynics who constantly doubt known facts to search for the truth. This is a critical requirement, as it is their job to root out spies. After all, not all Advanced is easily discernable, sometimes all they need to do is to not use their Bloodline Limit in broad daylight, and then they can easily pass off as a Natural. To that end, the 13th division had absolute authority to literally overrule any form of military boundaries and regulations. Their special task force, the Phantom Pain, is a counter spy network of double agents that are inserted into Alliance's infra structures, to monitor and evaluate suspected Advanced that had infiltrated their ranks. This is not a job for ordinary men, as members of this division cannot help but see even the most earnest ally as potential foe. Between this, their haunting past, and the nature of their job, the 13th division is understandably the least liked division. But all must grudgingly accept them as the necessary evil. After all, they're just doing their job… like everyone else.

Unfortunately, whether the 13th division can actually do their job right remain an unanswered question to this day. There's been far too many examples of the so called suspected Advanced Spies turned out to be Naturals who just really good at what they do. These mistakes had allegedly cost Divisions many talented aces. But at times, there was just no proof to the contrary. The 13th division can be said to be one of the oldest Division in the Alliance, as they can trace their origin back to the time they were part of the Inquisition, the organization created by the Logos to hunt down Advanced during the Holocaust, an event that caused the deaths of not only many Advanced, but also countless other innocents caught up in frenzy. Even now, after centuries had passed, a surefire method to distinguish between Natural and Advanced that looked like a Natural had yet to be determined. So more often than not, they had to pray to the Gods to sort well those they've sent forth. Their methods produced more innocent casualties than results. And the worst part is… more often than not, they get away with it. The 13th division is expected to be cautious and pragmatic: better sometimes to miss an opportunity rather than to invite disaster.

And this is how one would describe the 13th Division… on paper.

But the more experienced Captains, like the Blacklists, knew better. Rena Imelia's personal slang for this division perhaps best sum up their true role in the army in practice:

Logos' Official Lapdogs.

It's basically a public secret that everybody, even the common soldiery, will quick to learn. Somewhere along the decades of the Bloody Valentine War, the 13th division, perhaps encouraged by the constant alienation from other divisions, had thrown in their lot completely with the Logos. They still have Captains and Lieutenants… but most consider them nothing less than window dressing. The Logos are the ultimate authority, and the 13th division became their enforcer. Forget the stringent requirement to enter the Specialized Division, if you're loyal to Logos and you hate Advanced with a passion, you're in. They still do their job (or try to anyway) but now, their list of suspects expanded to not just possible Advanced… but also all those who had offended the Logos in some way. If you had displeased the member of Logos in some way, a few days later, the 13th Division will suspect you as an Advanced, and then you disappear during interrogation.

So… what if one KILLED a Logos?

As in… publicly killed a Logos and then showcased his head for the front page of the Morning news.

In normal situation, one would be immediately shot on sight. But the case of Kage is FAR from normal. For one thing… the one who killed the Logos is a Blacklist Captain. What's more, this Captain had killed the Immortal Goud Veia. Destroyed the Carpentaria Fleet. Massacred the Bladebanes to near extinction. And there were rumors that he's responsible for the public discredit of Raww le Klueze, resulting in his demotion and imprisonment. Furthermore, it was said he survived a week in Junius, gravely injuring another Hakutenkun, in the process. In summary, barely a few months after his debut, Kage had inflicted more damage to the Zaft Empire than any other Captain in history.

And insofar, based on what agents of the 13th had been seeing in Shanghai, they had yet to see anything that will refute these feats. A Blacklist Captain is a Blacklist not because he called himself as such… but because this Captain is so good at killing Advanced, the Advanced themselves, NOT the Naturals, consider him a monster.

The Logos tend to look kindly on that. At least… some of them anyway. Whatever their politicking, some Logos proclaimed Kage a Hero, others clamored for his execution. This conflicting interest led to indecision that tied the 13th Division's hands. They're not exactly sure what to do with him. Or his men, for that matter. So when they massacred and then burned hundreds of Rena's Regulars in braziers for conduct unbecoming, they remained still, as Rena, and most importantly, the Logos, made no word of rebuke.

When the Captain was finally arrested, they thought that would be the end of it. The Captain would be executed, and soon, the 7th division will be dismantled and his supporters purged.

Except… the order never came.

Captain Kage was acquitted.

And the prosecuting Logos was discredited… quite possibly, he was on the verge of losing his position as well. Assuming he didn't rage himself to death later.

This was unprecedented on so many levels. The first Captain to openly defy the Logos… and he won.

Still the order came anyway.

Kill him. Make it look like an assassination attempt from the other side. Don't mind the casualties and the collateral damage.

A bit on the nose and a lot less subtle than what they usually get… But orders are orders. It's not in their place to question the sanity of the order. A sizable task force was placed for this mission. That counts for more than half of their standing force in Shanghai… and some backup from Beijing. This left them somewhat under strength in both areas… but… this is a Blacklist Captain, for cryin' out loud.

And so… while the Captain in question is giving those greater half of the 13th division Hell like no one could believe… the other half, blissfully unaware of all this, remained on standby in Shanghai, wondering what else they should do.

The order to deal with the Captain had come down, but no order yet on what to do with his men. The reason was obvious. They still had no idea on the results of the former operation. If the reports they've heard are to be believed, this Captain doesn't take too kindly on anyone messing with his men. They've heard this one person who impersonated him to wreak havoc in his name had his limbs ripped off one by one. Until they can be certain there won't be this kind of retribution waiting down the line, best keep quiet and watch.

And then this came about.

A report from a Squadron from the 10th about a possible Advanced Infiltration. There aren't many specific… but as proof of her less than savory intentions, this Advanced had kidnapped several important personages. And… she might have hidden them in the 7th division's floating Fortress… the Archangel.

The 13th argued about this amongst themselves for a bit. No order had come down yet, and, in all honesty, after they saw what the 7th did to the 10th… they're not interested in trying to do anything funny with their manpower in such a reduced state.

"It wouldn't hurt-" A voice spoke up. "-to just look around and see what the fuss is all about? Ask some questions too while we're at it."

After all, they're supposed to be the 13th division. The division tasked to root out spies.

It's not supposed to be an easy, likable job.

Canard's expression pretty much sums up how much everyone dislikes their job.

Three men in black overcoat entered the room with an authoritative and borderline arrogant demeanor about them. They all dressed in black, wear black round glasses, and black top hats. The black attire was more of a uniform rather than attire. "Canard Pars." The leader of the three, a thin gaunt looking man hissed with a flat emotionless tone.

"How can I help you?" Canard's eyes shined in disgust.

"We'll be blunt. Who is Kage?"

"I'll ask him when he's back."

"Don't play games with us, Pars."

"Do I look like I'm playing?"

The Inquisitors were not amused at Canard's seemingly lack of cooperation.

The inquisitors glared at Canard. But he still smirked anyhow. "You seem to think, these extreme measures will illicit some form of reaction. That it will… squeeze confession out of his men or something… hoping that amongst the thousands of those who served and adore him, some would know more than the other." The three inquisitors frowned. "Let me save you the trouble. I'm his first lieutenant and all I know is that he came from Orb. And yes. I have seen what lies behind that mask. And to me… to the few who knew that face… it's just a face. Some guy who had a bright idea of putting on a mask to hide who he really is. And that's all I know. That's all everyone knows… and that's all you ever gonna find out about him."

"You're saying no one knows who he is? No one knows where he comes from?" The Inquisitor glared. "And yet despite not knowing all that, your division still raised him into the height of command of an Alliance division?"

"It does seem like a bright idea at the time." Canard chuckled. "And I wasn't there when he was sworn into the office. The only person who came up with that bright idea is Harlbarton, and in case you haven't noticed, he was no longer around so Lord Knows what he was thinking then. Over the time though… I had to approve his choices. I mean… it's not that I don't enjoy serving under his leadership… well… I do actually. Because unlike some other Alliance officers I can name, he actually get things done."

"Is that sarcasm? You want to try sarcasm with us, Canard!?"

"Get off your high horse, I know you can't do shit." Canard growled back. "What you fail to understand… is that you're dealing with an entirely different kind of monster of a man who did not play by your rules or any rules for that matter. You can't reason with him, he can't be bought, coerced, or corrupted… because he's not a man. He's a mask. He's a symbol. You had nothing on him. Family, friends, trusted colleague… as hard as it is to believe… he trusted no one. It's called compartmentalization. Nobody can spill the beans because nobody's basket held all the beans. The only one who knew all the secrets delights in not talking. Not even to us. You're just gonna end up hurting a lot of people, pissing a bunch of very dangerous people off as you usually do. The best things you'll have out of us is… false leads and lies that'll get you absolutely nowhere."

"W… We're getting a little off track here." One of the Inquisitors spoke out in a hurry. "Look… that's not what we're here for. We're asking about Kage because it's kinda related to him. We're looking for a Dr. Hikari, his so called Girlfriend."

Canard raised an eyebrow. "This again…! Look… the only person who can keep that crazy doctor under control is Kage, okay? We've all given up trying to put her on a leash."

"We've received report that she might be an Advanced Spy and she had kidnapped an important personage."

"Oh, you mean the Empress?"

The Inquisitors found their jaw hung open. "…she kidnapped the Empress of China…!?"

"…you guys didn't know!? It's allover the CITY!" It also helps when the Doctor in question was shouting about it as she went about, dodging bullets and dropping firestorms.

The three Inquisitors glared at one another. Which idiot missed this little detail…?

"Now… this is the part where I must very politely and very insistently say to go have intercourse with yourselves, and get out." Canard groaned… and blinked in disbelief. "…or better yet, just turn around because she's right behind you."

"!?" All three Inquisitors did turn around and…

"Haaai! (Koff) Good day to you gentlemen of the 13th division. (koff)" Hikari happily raised her hands. "I surrender. (koff)"

0000000-KIRA-0000000

The last trooper in the third car was still having a hard time believing how this giant hole on the ceiling was made. But eventually he picked up his jaw and return to banging the door, calling out to his colleagues, he need to tell them their quarry just escaped confinement by FLYING a tank through the roof - literally.

Actually, why does it sound so crazy when he think it all by himself?

After several minutes of ceaseless banging and screaming, his friends on the other side was finally convinced he's not some wailing ghost. When they opened the door and saw all this carnage, the trooper merely summed up what happened with a single answer. "He's on the roof! Blasted through the ceiling with the Atilla!"

Considering the fact that the captain and the tank was nowhere to be seen and there's this giant tank shaped hole on the ceiling, they have no choice but take the word of mouth as gospel. "Well come on then! Let's go! To the rooftop!"

The troopers scrambled to find a way to access the roof… only to find there's none. No direct way to get there. No stairs or ladders. Not even a maintenance access. "Well, that's just stupid! Find a way!"

As this happened down below, Kage, still inside the hissing tank, finally regained consciousness. Taking a while to figure out which way is up, he managed to spot Rygart's unconscious body in the process. Clambering around to almost a crawl, Kage reached Rygart and gently, and quickly, shook the man awake. "Hey, hey! Wake up!" He slapped him lightly a few times for good measure.

The engineer finally woke up. "Wha… what… wahappened?"

"We're still alive. We made it to the roof!"

"We're alive…?" Rygart found that hard to believe… at first. "We're ALIVE!? WE'RE ALIVE! WOOHOOO!"

Rygart cheerfully punched his fists to the ceiling – specifically the floor. Because then he realized then and there that he's still upside down. And then he finally fell off the manhole, bumping head first. "Ow…" But… as the pain of this bump on his head throbbed his senses… the latter half of the captain's statement was finally processed on his brain. "Wait… did you say we made it to the roof?"

"Yes."

"The roof… as in the rooftop of the moving train?"

"Yes?"

"Oh no… oh no, no, no, no…" The Engineer start to panic again. "That's not good! That's not good at all!"

"No. It's not. The tank won't move, we're sitting ducks. We need to get out of here, those assassins can climb up any second now."

"No." Rygart shook his head. "No… those troopers are the LEAST of our worries."

"What-" Before Kage can have this question answered; a gunshot struck the extremities of the Atilla. The bullet bounced off, but that alerted the two occupants that they have company.

Peeking from the slits of the tank, Kage noticed several troopers had climbed up the roof and they start opened fire. Damaged or not, Atilla still had enough armor to shield its occupants from a hail of bullets. But more are pouring in, the whoer of bullets increased in intensity, and the two occupants can't get out. But it does provide Kage the opportunity to observe the situation… namely… how the troopers climbed up the rooftop… using handheld ladder. And they came from the sides? "…? That's odd. They're using the side doors? Why the roundabout way? Why not use a straight up ladder from a maintenance hatch or something?"

"Because there's no maintenance hatch to the roof. There never was such a thing!" Rygart curled in horror as more shots fell upon them. Stragglers from behind the grounded tank also climbed up and start firing at them.

"That's stupid design. What would you do if you want to commit some emergency repairs while the train is on the move?"

"Protocol only allowed external repairs to be done on stations, when the train stopped." Rygart gulped. "And for good reason."

As Kage and Rygart were discussing this, one trooper finally managed to get close enough to see the arguing occupants. He smirked and pulled out his trump card: a bazooka. He calmly took aim, and waited just long enough for Kage to realize this doom staring in the face.

"Fire in the HOLE-"

SPLATZ.

So says the stump of a man's lower half missing his entire upper half.

"…what?" Kage can barely see what happened. One second ago that trooper was aiming a rocket at them, and the next… unless his eyes deceive him… a boulder struck that man's body from the side and shattered his entire upper half to bloody biles, leaving only his lower half still standing with the stump around the waist.

Judging by the wide eyed look of the other troopers behind that stump, Kage wasn't the only one who had little to no idea what just happened.

A trooper looked slowly to his side… before being crushed underfoot by the landing of the thrower of that rock: a 30 foot tall Gorilla.

The audience took a few seconds to understand the enormity of the problem that just literally fell in their midst. The Gorilla used this time and roared to the sky as it beat its chest. The booming sound can be heard echoing across the forest.

Barely moments after the unearthly huge Gorilla made its call, another mass landed violently unto another pack of troopers. Those who weren't crushed to a stain were thrown overboard. And another… and another… and another… The Gorilla had called in his troops, each and every one of them is hardly smaller than the first. At least. The troopers quickly shifted their focus from the trapped tank to this unwelcome guests. Some opened a volley at the closest primate and watched in disbelief as their bullets bounced harmlessly against the creature's fur. The Gorilla recognized hostile reactions and responded in kind, attacking every human in sight. With a swat of its massive arm, at least a dozen troopers were sent screaming to the air before falling into the darkness of the forest. Another was flattened to a pulp by a crushing overhead slam, and yet another trooper struggled in vain as he was grabbed by a Gorilla's oversized hand before he was thrown unto his comrades as an impromptu projectile, smashing them off the roof, some, in the worse case, were torn limb by limb or even devoured. The Troopers mounted a stubborn resistance, but the Gorilla's rampage was all but unstoppable. Before long, most of the troopers on the roof had been wiped out this way. Few managed to retreat back into the safety of the train where the Gorilla's massive size prevented them from following.

Kage watched all this in suspended disbelief. "Rygart… what in the actual fuck…?"

"…in case you haven't noticed… some of the tracks of the Qin Shih Huang edged dangerously close to the Forest of Sages, some actually went through it." Rygart explained as the chaos unveiled outside. "In normal case, we may not think much about the deforestation that ensued, but this is the Forest of Sages. In here… humans don't make the laws. The occupants of this forest… they're not the sort who tolerate that kind of thing. End results: everything that crawls, walk, or fly in that place wants to kill us. The Qin Shih Huang's armor was made ridiculously thick, not just to protect us from Zaft attacks… but mostly from the constant harassments of the Forest's Mega Faunas. The Gorillas are amongst the most prominent repeat offenders. Not a day goes by they didn't try to attack this train in some way. Each one of those gorillas can throw boulders like it was softball! That's why there's a protocol that forbid this train to slow down in certain areas. That's why there's protocol that forbid access to the train's externals when it's on the move. Going out… means you're putting yourself at the mercy of these… things."

"And you didn't think to warn me before I blew a hole on this train!?"

"Sorry… it's a bit hard for one to remember these kinds of things when you're being showered with bullets left and right!" Before Rygart can rant his heart out, something struck their tank, HARD.

The first Gorilla who led the charge just landed right on top of them. It noticed the two humans hiding within, and it start viciously tearing slabs off the tank's armor, intent on crushing these puny humans hiding inside this metallic cage. But before it rips out another piece, it noticed something else… this giant gaping hole in what used to be the impenetrable armor of this metallic serpent of a train. His Gorilla troops had pretty much finished with all the humans at the rooftop (with the exception of these two) and there are plenty more humans to kill through that hole.

The Gorilla roared again, thumping his chest, calling the rest of his troop to pay attention. With grunts and growls, he communicates, with sign language, he pointed at the hole and the Gorillas followed the leader's direction, jumping into the hole. Gunshots soon followed by screams of horror from the troopers within when an army of oversized Gorilla climbed their way in and unleashed the same carnage they've showcased on the roof, this time in the closed space of the train's car. The Alpha Gorilla waited until the last of his troop had crawled in, he took one last look at the two humans still trapped beneath this pile of iron carcass. Perhaps some kind of understanding was reached… or the Alpha Gorilla doesn't want to be left off the carnage… the primate stepped on the ruined tank one last time before he jumped away and descended down the hole to join his comrades.

Kage and Rygart looked around and then each other… before letting loose a genuine sigh of relief. "Okay… I don't know how that happened… but I guess we're safe… for now."

"With all due respect, Captain, …the next time you go by the train… please stay the fuck away from my shift."

"…I'll try… but no promises in the nearby future."

"Assuming there's a nearby future."

"On that matter…" Kage sighed. "Rygart-san… can you fix this tank?"

"You ever try squeezing blood out of a rock, Capt?" Rygart groaned incredulously.

"Forget about the guns. Focus on the engine and the wheels. We just need it to move." Kage explained. "We need it to take us from here to the frontmost locomotive, with speed."

"It'll take HOURS!"

"With those gorillas unleashing havoc down below, those army of killers won't have time to worry about us."

"Why do you want to go to… ooohhh…" Rygart hate himself that he's starting to understand how Kage thinks.

"Whatever the circumstances, the fact is, this train is runaway. The front engine will keep on going, and there's no one that can do anything about it. There's only one way we can stop this train to prevent catastrophe."

"Fuck it." Rygart growled as he get back up and rolled up his sleeves. "I'm so gonna get fired… but they were about to kill me anyway. So fuck it. Let's do this. Captain, I'm gonna need the extra pair of hands."

"You got it." Kage wanted to get up, but then his head sting him so much he collapsed. "…as soon as my head stopped throbbing…"

"Okay."

Kage siged and looked at the hole. He can still hear them screaming and gorillas roaring. Strategy 101. If you're not strong enough to face the opponent, do not fight them directly, direct in someone else who can. Use violence to suppress violence. One of Lord Ray Yuki's favorite. '…If I think about it this is not the first time I used this tactic… but this… why does this one feels a bit more… familiar?'

00000000000000

"I… still don't understand it to this day." Salazar bit his lips. "What kind of origin story could kill a man just by hearing it?"

Rosso sighed. "…did any of you… visit our cafeteria, perchance?"

"Yes…?" Hugo raised his hand.

"Over the counter… you'll see a blackboard… written on it… is its name: the Truth Pool. On that board, we wrote the names of active Judges… and we bet on theories of a Judge's true identity. It's… just a little deduction game we play, a favored intellectual pastime. A Judge identity can only be revealed when he quit… or when he dies. So… when a Judge's identity is revealed, whoever gets it right gets paid." Rosso chuckled. Ray Yuki had furiously berated his boys that it's illegal, but still they play it. After all, they all mean well. Yes, they bet money on it… but those whose names were finally revealed after death or retired were honored. The Truth pool is the Judges' own slightly morbid way to pay their respects to those who fell in the line of duty. In fact, more often than not, the winnings of this bet were then anonymously given to the families of the bereft, if there are any. "You might notice my name and Noir on board?"

"Yes. They've been betting on several theories on your true identity… and… now that you mentioned it…" Hugo tilted his head. "Yes! Noir's name is still there! It remains unclaimed to this day!"

"Indeed? Thank goodness." Athrun smiled in relief behind his mask. The Truth Pool is meant as a place of honor. If a Judge's identity was revealed because of a dishonorable discharge, by tradition their names must be dashed from the board. If Noir's name is still there… then it means he was still honored among the Judges… to this day.

"Noir's theories were also there… the top most favored theory was that he's… Lord Yuki's bastard son."

"Indeed. Do you see what's at the bottom?"

"The bottom. Yes. Some lazy oaf just wrote: I don't know." Salazar chuckled… then he stopped in realization. "…you can't be serious!?"

Rosso nodded. "…Noir secretly wrote that himself."

The audience jaw dropped.

"That's his origin story: he doesn't know. No one knows. He was a foundling. No one knows who his parents are. No one knows where he comes from. No one knows anything about his origin… not even Noir himself. How do you lie… about something you yourself don't know?" And that's the truth of it. The Yamatos are Kira's adopted family, but they're not his real parents. Even Ray Yuki with his considerable intelligence gathering came up blank on his most prized protégé's origin. No parent. No family to call his own. No place to belong. No distinctive bloodline limit that can identify him. He is… the most unknowable of all Judges.

"…so Gantherhall… paid 50 million galleon… wasted all his money… for something that doesn't even exist!?" Salazar gawked. "…no wonder the old fool had a heart attack! That's… cruel!"

"Save your pity for someone who deserves it. Anyone but that old sister fucking shitbag." Rosso growled. "Anyway… Mustafa Akhoni you say…?"

"…you know it?"

"He was an old case long before my time or Noir. Now that I think about it, more than 10 years ago, there was a wave of Zoan disappearance in Africa. He was the primary suspect. But recent discoveries showed his treachery ran deeper than you know. We've managed to made connections between Akhoni… and an Alliance outpost in Akuze."

"Hold up… ALLIANCE!?" Hugo growled. "So not only he's a murderer, he's also a TRAITOR!?"

0000000-8 years earlier-0000000

The auction house was emptied in less than 5 minutes. Only Akhoni and his two white hooded guards were left to their fate. Akhoni's dark skin paled as he watched Noir closing in on him like a specter of death. Even worse, his entourage, all armed and angry, came down from the balcony and joined him. Surrounding him.

"Judge Noir… I… if this is about Africa-"

"We'll get there… in time. But this is not about what you did years past. This… is more recent." Noir grunted. "You pulled the wrong organ out of the wrong victim this time. If you think the Unicorns are peaceful creatures that won't hold grudges, then yes. But that doesn't mean they won't demand retribution. That's why they send me."

"I… I…" The man choked on his throat. It's like he was trying to say something, then the word got stuck on his throat.

"I don't understand? Is that what you're going to say? What's the matter? Everybody used that lie so easily… 'I don't understand what you're saying!' 'I don't know anything!' etc… etc… even knowing they can't lie in this place… saying that overused phrase had become such a muscle memory for you guys at this point, hadn't it?"

"My Lord… I… I…" Akhoni choked again. He was trying to lie, again. And failed.

"Enough. Get your ass up. We've got some questions for you."

"Actually…"

Noir sighed. "Oh, here we go." The annoyance.

Noir and team turned around and oh surprise, surprise: Krasus is there, along with a small army of Goblin Champions, armed and snarling.

"I just netted you 50 million Galleons." Noir groaned. "Is it too much to ask that would give us some quiet and peaceful exit!?"

"I am grateful. I never knew auctioning information can net me that much money. Even if I have to close my hotel tomorrow, it'll still gonna be worth it… I think all of my clients just asked to check out within the hour."

"…should I apologize for that?"

"Eh. No… this is a bit unrelated, I'm afraid." Krasus grinned. "Because you didn't just send that fake bear man into my auction houses… you also send another one of your agent into my arena."

"…what of it?"

"Nothing. If you send just anyone, I probably wouldn't raise this fuss…" The Goblin continued. "But when I heard that Godric Gryffindor the Thief is in my arena… I KNOW I can't just let him pass."

"Thief!?" Now this Noir never heard. And it's just unlikely. That straight laced Godric Gryffindor, a thief? Error, does not compute much!? "Thief?" He looked questioningly at Salazar, Godric's best friend.

"You Goblins have no shame!" Salazar growled. "The Gryffindors had Ragnuk forged that sword for them and Godric paid him in full, fair and square! But then Ragnuk tried to renege on the deal because he liked the sword too much! He deluded himself into thinking Godric stole it!"

"You're telling me my brother Ragnuk lied to me then?"

"Considering how everybody knows you two tried to murder one another at almost daily basis, yes, I think so." Rowena raised her eyebrows.

"ENOUGH." Noir barked. "Lacus… can you connect to Godric?"

"I just got connected to Lord Gryffindor… he's in a bit of a pickle."

"…Can I talk to him?"

"Go ahead."

"Sir Gryffindor, you there?"

"Master Noir! Happy as I am to hear your voice, I'm in a spot of trouble at the moment!"

"Can you talk?"

"One moment…" Noir heard the sound of a sword being slunk in a sickening lurch, a death rattle, and then Godric spoke. "There! That should buy me a couple of minutes. First, allow me to report that, despite my hope that winning the arena would aid us, alas, I'm wrong. I won the fight, after a fashion, but the prize is not what we had hoped. There's no Unicorn Horn here."

"Leave that aside for the moment, how bad is the situation on your end?"

"Alas, my disguise was undone, and now they had me surrounded. The whole Goblin pack, 100 strong."

"…I take it you could use some help."

"I welcome it… but… if it put your person in grave danger, master Noir, then I must respectfully decline! A goblin horde is no easy foe!"

"I bet. Hold tight." Noir first looked at Krasus: "Look… I don't know what vendetta goes on between the Gryffindors and Goblins… But at the moment, Godric is one of my subordinates. I'm responsible for his life and his actions. Let him go… and I'll let you walk away unharmed."

At first… it sounds like Noir is pleading… but that last part implies the Judge is capable of a more violent repercussion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Noir growled. "We both know, you're just looking for an excuse to detain me here, realizing how valuable I am. One measly secret is worth 50 million galleon… and I hold thousands more in my head. Let me tell you: it's not worth it. Be happy with this fraction I gave you… or force my hand and so help me… I will tear everything you've built to ruin in one day."

Krasus snarled and laughed. "I had an army! What do you and your 'army' have?"

Noir nodded. "Ok. Lacus, connect me to the Bicorns." Lacus did so. "Bicorns! You there?"

"We're here. What is it?"

"That… thing you mentioned this morning… how big have they gotten?"

"…uhh… critical. Any bigger and-"

"Perfect. Let them in."

The Bicorns' looked at each other in horror as their eyes widened to a teacup. Did he not realize what chaos he's about to unleash!? One Bicorn asked as politely as he can afford. "Excuse me, are you insane!?"

"Yes. I am. Bring. Them. In."

"Excuse me… bring what in?" Krasus couldn't help himself and finally asked.

"…a few days ago… I crushed the two Trolls you used as Gatekeeper. Apparently, a company of Dwarf warriors saw that… and saw an opportunity. Of course, I felt sorry for those Trolls so I left two Bicorns to guard the gate. That kept the company at bay… but they keep growing… and growing… and growing… and thanks to you wasting everyone's time with your hiding my quarry these last few days, last report I got this morning… that company has turned into… an army. With artilleries, cavalries, and the whole shebang… You… Goblins and Dwarves are still at war, yes? So… I just let them in."

At that, Salazar and Lacus paled in horror. "Umm… are you serious!? If you bring them in… this place will be wiped out in a… in a… oh my God…" He wasn't kidding… he can… nay… He just tore this whole place apart in a day!

As if on cue, the rooftop of the auction house suddenly exploded, all colored windows shattered by the blast. Shouts and screams can now be heard from the streets. Cries of horror and battle cries in foreign tongue echoed along the trampling of hundreds of steel boots on a march. Krasus squirmed in terror as more and more explosion echoed like distant thunder, the roaring symphony of Dwarven war machines, and the whole buildings shook with every projectile that struck the ground.

"BARUK KHAZAD! (THE DWARVES ARE UPON YOU!)" They can hear the Dwarven battle cry. And boy, those dwarves can roar. Especially when they're mad. "DU BEKâR! (TO ARMS!)"

"Oh, before I forgot, Bicorns… if it's still at all possible, could you ask the Dwarves to direct some of them straight to the arena? They can? Wonderful. Godric you heard that? Reinforcements are on their way, so hold on a little longer. Godric?"

Salazar was quite sure Godric was so shocked on the other side, he didn't have the wits to answer. When Judge Noir sent for reinforcements he does NOT mess around.

Krasus start blabbering in his guttural tongue, roaring and sputtering… the smirking slavegirl was either too busy smirking or she just couldn't translate on the account her Goblinese could not keep up with the onslaught of profanity her master is spouting at the moment. "YOU WRETCHED SON OF A WHORE!" And thus, Krasus finally spoke in human basic, to the surprise of everyone present. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU COST ME!?"

"Haha… Finally." Noir smirked. "I knew you can speak English. But you thought that is beneath you… in fact you thought everyone else is beneath you." And then… "Den an dar makhaac… daac o'raan duun rhorec duc duun rhaan daan tagaan rhac ac daan kuul. (This is what happens… when you're too busy trying to be the smartest brain in the room.)"

So Noir says… in Goblinese.

To say everyone is shocked is an understatement.

"O… daar! O taash huukec!? (You… wretch! You speak Goblin!?)"

"Duush ghaan a shuukhaan or dran. (Took me a couple of days.) Huukec ter ac takhaar duun ghon (Goblins spit and spatter too much.) Thank you for those books, Master Slytherin." Noir nodded to Salazar. After spending so many hours reading all that foreign books in various languages… it would be funny if someone as smart as Noir didn't pick up a new language or two.

"Ec… O daagaan daan al'dec or daan Dragaan ach al'duuc? (You… You were the ally of the Dwarves all along?)"

"Khruur kaal'dec. A druuc'r muul akukhec akuur akec dragaan. (Not really. I don't know anything about any dwarves.)"

"Daac dec drel o maach daal!? (Then why did you help them!?)"

"Khruun kaaruuc (No reason.)" Noir's tone had been flat throughout. "Alol'dec, okaan kaaruuc: A lhon druuc'r kelaan o (Actually, one reason: I just don't like you.)"

Krasus squirmed in horror… CRASSHH! And then another projectile hit the building squarely, alerting everyone that there's a battle erupting outside. Even Krasus realize now is not the time. He can still send his Champions at them, but there will be casualties… and judging by the intensity of this barrage - CRAAASH! - He will need every bodyguard he can spare.

Throwing one last hateful look at the masked human boy who brought about this calamity, the Goblin finally made his decision and run the opposite direction.

When the last of the Goblins finally left, Salazar found his breath again… and his voice. "Now that you've turned the Troll Market into a warzone, what's next?"

Noir glanced at Akhoni and his hooded company. "Escorting Mr. Akhoni out of here would be nice… except in their idiocy, they're trying to run."

Akhoni and the Hooded figures… who were just one step away from jumping through the now open window halted midway when Noir addressed them as they try to escape. Ignoring the stares, they hurry along and jumped anyway unto their awaiting brooms that immediately flew away into the sky.

"Idiots." Noir shook his head. "Salazar and Rowena, go after them. Lacus, send word to the Bicorns, give them detail of our runner. After that you, me, and Hugo we'll be going to the arena!"

It was happening so fast, Salazar and Rowena had already pulled out their brooms before they even understand what they've been ordered to do. The order was given to them in such a smooth surety that they felt inclined to just follow it without question. In fact, when the two had blazed out of the crumbling building, Noir had already put on his Bert suit with Lacus and Hugo are waiting at their brooms to take him to the arena.

When the second group left… they soon realized they really flew into an active warzone. The auction house immediately received its final bombardment and crumbled to dust within seconds after they left. Salazar wasn't kidding about the amount of bad blood between Dwarves and Goblins.

0000000

There's one thing everyone knows about dwarves. They take debt very… VERY seriously. If it's a good debt, a Dwarf will do everything in their power to repay them. But if it's blood debt… they will never ever let it go for as long as they live until it is paid in kind. And like most Magical beings from Alpheim, Dwarves had such long life, they're functionally immortal. And the blood debt between Dwarf and Goblin had mount up for generations.

They've been wanting to retake the Troll market for centuries now. But the Goblins are very cunning. Whenever they've tried, the Goblins somehow always got wind of it and prepare an overwhelming defense. The Trolls were the worst. It took so much time and firepower to keep that thing down, and usually, by the time they managed to put it down (temporarily because DAMN that regenerative capabilities) the Goblins had amassed an enormous defense, making sure the subsequent battle a costly affair even just to put one step into the door. But today of all day… things are a bit different. Their merchants reported a human kid crushed the pair of trolls the Goblins had set up as bouncers at the front door – and they'll stay that way for days. This was a chance. An opportunity for a surprise attack. In a blink of an eye, the Dwarves took the time and amassed an enormous invasion force.

And the Goblins? They had no idea. The kid had cleverly left behind something even scarier than Trolls: Bicorns. One of the most terrifying beast in all Magical realm, and he set up TWO of them as door guards. No one had any idea how this was possible, but the effect was clear: Not one of the Goblins dared to get within a mile of the two. They were so terrified, they didn't even think to send out a scout to see what's going on. Hell… by the time the Dwarves had amassed all their armies, the Goblins still didn't even know that their Trolls had been pulverized!

Now it's just the matter of discussing passage pass two of the most terrifying magical beasts in the realm. It's not as difficult as it appear. Unlike with the dumb trolls, at least with the Bicorns, they can talk back, and though they're tightlipped on certain subjects, they're surprisingly reasonable. Then again, the Dwarfes were originally were on the verge of running out of patience with their constant refusal… until this afternoon…

When the emissary of the Dwarf King himself was about to threaten the Bicorns with violence – a suicidal prospect, no matter which way you shoot it… when mid discussion, a look of horror pop in their eyes and all they said is:

"…come on in."

"What?" The Dwarven emissary tried to check his ears.

"Our Master said… you can come in. You and everyone else. And… do as you please."

"Tell whoever your master is, we owe him a debt now!" That was all he said before he rushed back to inform the army already ready and waiting just outside the gate. "DU BEKKAAARR!"

The Dwarves so hated the Goblins, they brought everything they got to bear: portable auto-reloading mortars that fired fiery explosive shells… and some kind of device that launched metallic balls that seems to be composed of whirring teeth of iron – when set loose these grinder spheres will zoom through the ground, tearing through everything in its path: stone, wood and flesh. Centuries of pent up rage and hatred unleashed such devastation; the hustling bustling market from a few days ago had been turned into a landscape of flames and ruins in a matter of minutes.

The Dwarves, as the name implies, are humanoids, very much like humans… but only half the size of a full grown man. But they are bulky and stout, with bulging muscles thicker than a man's arm. The Dwarves Noir had seen so far were indeed merchants. They wear leather clothing, with padded protection… but these are Dwarvish warriors: armed with Axes, swords, hammers and pickaxes, every single one of them were armored head to toe in solid steel armor, joints covered in padded leather; not even a single opening can be seen. One can easily mistake them for humanoid automatons. Why, they even move like machines: shields locked in a solid phalanx and they march in unison with discipline and mechanical precision across the street.

By comparison, the Goblins… hardly bigger than Noir, but numbered in incredible hundreds poured from every nook and cranny. Even Noir was amiss on how can so many goblins fit into a space clearly so small… yet there they are: screeching and howling, surging endlessly from every direction, consuming all with their strength in numbers… In direct contrast with the fully armored Dwarves, the goblins are at best, covered in only loincloth, and armed with sticks or knives. If the Dwarves are a marching bulwark of immovable steel, the Goblins are like a raging disorderly green flood. A flood that breaks every now and then when mortar shells landed upon them, incinerating dozens of their ranks at a time, or when a grinder sphere tear through them, eviscerating entire rows into minced meat… and still they keep going forward.

The unstoppable green flood crashed against the immovable Dwarven bronze phalanx… and for a moment, the Goblins' momentum managed to push the phalanx back… but only for a bit. The dwarves steadied their footing, and the charge was stopped… and the slaughter commence. With mechanical precision, the dwarves raised their weapons and, as one, bring them down with fury. In one instant, the front most tides of the goblins were pulverized into blackened bloody pulp. Then the Dwarves marched on; pushed their phalanx forward, trampling over the mangled goblin corpses until the next wave of Goblin came… and repeat.

This is a scene that played over and over on every street, every alley. The Dwarven phalanx marched slowly, but surely, making their way forward, leaving behind a black carpet of trampled and mangled Goblin corpses. The smell was awful… as if the smell of sulfur from the mortar and the rotten stench of oil weren't bad enough. And then, plunging amidst the stampede of smaller goblins, the larger and heavily armed Goblin Champions strode forth, trampling their smaller kin to death in their zeal to charge the Dwarven phalanx. Once one the Champion gets within reach, they start yanking pieces of the phalanx, including the Dwarves holding the shield, and one by one tossed the dwarves into the swarm of Goblins. A single dwarf could not match that many goblins alone, and they were ripped to bloody shreds in an instant. The Champion swings its giant mace and was about to bring it down, but 6 dwarves hurled their axes at his chest; all of them sank into his putrid flesh. The Champion was only stunned for an instant, but it didn't seem to care. And then, a piece of the Phalanx's shield roof opened up, and out of the opening jumped a roaring Dwarf, armed with a pair of Axes. The Dwarf run across the interlocked shields and hurled himself upon the roaring champion, his momentum pushed the champion out of the way as the berserk Dwarf hacked at his prey with reckless abandon. The remaining Dwarves changed tactic and break formation, and they charged the Champions head on, overwhelming them with numbers. The Champions struck back, catching a dwarf and ripped him in half even as the rest of his brethren hacked the champion to pieces… truly, it's a scene straight from hell.

"This is… war…" Lacus' eyes were wide in horror as they saw all this as they flew above all this carnage.

"Yes." Noir answered. "A small scale version of it… but yes. This is war… and I made this happen…"

"No. All you did… was open the door. Judging by how quickly the dwarves gather in force, and the hardware they had prepared, this was bound to happen sooner or later, with or without you."

"…true."

Soon, they reached the arena. It is located right at the center of the market. And it was already under siege. Layers of it. Down there on the field just in front of the arena entrance, the Goblins seem to be encircling a pair of humans holed up in front of the ticket booth… while the Goblins themselves are being surrounded by Dwarf phalanx. Noir and company can easily identify Godric's red mane… but who's that next to him?

When Hugo tries to get closer, the Goblins took notice and opened fire with arrows. The fliers had to make sharp turn to avoid the volley, some of the arrows missed them by the inches!

"Well, that was close." Hugo sighed. "But that's him alright. I'm not sure who's the other one… but clearly he's a friend."

"How long can they hold out?"

"Not long. At least… not long enough for the Dwarves to break through that encirclement to get there before those goblins tear them apart."

"…okay…" Noir rubbed his chin in thought… then he looked up. "…up there."

Hugo and Lacus looked up… lo and behold, there's an array of large stalactites, neatly placed. Hugo immediately knew what Noir asked of him. And they quickly parted: Hugo headed up while Lacus and Noir went down and made ready to charge. The Dwarves, particularly their commanders, saw this happening, they too made preparations.

"Here we go!" Hugo drove his broom up towards the nearest stalactite as he spin his hammer atop his head several times to build up the strength. "NUOOOH!" With a great cry, Hugo slammed his hammer at the stalactite. In a thunderous roar, the massive object snapped clean and fell down, straight towards the swarm of Goblins. The Goblins screeched in terror when they saw the massive spike fall down upon them. Those who didn't managed to get away quick enough were squashed into paste, the rest that was quick on their feet scurry away from the collapsing spike. A large opening is now made; Noir and Lacus quickly pushed their broom as fast as they can before the opening closes.

Godric and the other person noticed the coming rescue. And the two warriors fought all the harder, roaring and snarling like a pair of raging lions, their swords, already caked in Goblin blood, continue to rip a bloody tally. Godric in particular was dual wielding his silver sword in one hand, and his wand on the other, the former slicing Goblin throats with every swing, the latter blasting any Goblin that try anything funny from the distance. Lacus and Noir flew in towards them, but the Goblins start rushing in.

Godric took a deep breath and swing his wand: "FIENDFYRE!" Godric slammed his wand to the ground and a burst of flames erupted in an instant, forming a gigantic lion made of fire of unfathomable heat, its sheer presence even begin to sear off any Goblins that gets too close. The Lion roared and leaped towards the terrified Goblins, scorching dozens of them to ashes in one fell swoop, dispersing the rest.

As this happen, Lacus closed in towards the encircled warriors and Noir outstretched his elongated arm downward as they swoop in.

"NOW!" Godric yelled as he and his companion jumped up and caught the outstretched arms. Lacus pulled the broom up and turned away from the blazing inferno at the last moment and start flying away. At the same time, once the hostages are rescued, the Dwarves signaled their artilleries and they start opening fire with impunity.

"Impeccable timing Master Noir! Oh, allow me to introduce you to my father, Geralt Gryffindor!"

"Introduction later! Climb up you idiots!" Noir roared, even with Bert's amplified strength, his arms felt like they were about to be ripped off his shoulders.

"Oh… I like him." Geralt, who looked like an older, one eyed version of Godric with paler red hair, more beard, and a bigger sword, chuckled as he climbed up Bert's arm and mount the broom. Alas, with three oversized passengers, the broom is overweight and cannot reach high altitude, well within Goblin's reach… And indeed, the Goblins did hop and jump towards them, so it's up to Godric and Geralt to keep them at bay with their swords.

"How did your father get into this?"

"I fought my way through the arena… win against all opposition… and guess who they had me fight in the final bonus round."

"And to think… I was just practicing these old bones!" Geralt growled. "Those Goblins really had a sick sense of humor!"

"My advice: find a safer pastime!"

"TREE!" Lacus suddenly screeched.

"Tree!?" All three passengers looked up… right as a thrown uprooted tree is already right in front of them. The overweight broom, too heavy to dodge, was instantly crushed by the oversized projectile. Lacus fell off the broom to the front, the Gryffindor father and son fell on the side… but Noir… a giant splinter of the tree struck him by the shoulder and threw him straight into Godric's still raging fiendfyre.

"MASTER NOIR!" Godric screeched in horror.

Lacus, seemingly ignoring Noir, looked ahead, to see what had thrown that tree… most certainly not the dwarves… but something worse.

The ground shook with every step it take. It took everyone a few seconds to comprehend just how big that thing is… The Dwarves had to part ways and give this gargantuan creature a wide berth. The Trolls from earlier were big enough, this one made them looked like infant. The creature was so massive, the horns on its brows barely scraped the lower parts of the ceiling. It is humanoid in form, at least 60 feet in height, and it was extremely rotund and obese, sporting a pair of muscular arm, and its massive stone like legs can clearly support the weight. And it has more than one head. One head had two eyes with multiple misshapen horns protruding out of its brows… the other head seem deformed with one eyed and oversized jaw. Only several parts of the gargantuan creature were armored… such as one of its shoulder, its arms, and its waist, leaving a lot of its skin bare… because it would be difficult indeed to forge a full armor for a creature of such size. But they still managed to put a shackle on both its necks… arm that thing with a humongous axe that matched its size.

"What is this… monstrosity…?" Godric gawked.

"…an Ogre." Lacus grunted. "…an ancient deformity… of endless hunger and boundless devastation. Of all the magical creatures in the world… that's one of the most dangerous one."

"Which idiot thought this abomination will make a good pet?" Geralt growled as he saw those shackles on the Ogre's two necks.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE MY PRIZED PET, YOU WRETCHED DWARVES!"

"Oh… THAT idiot." All three echoed in exasperation when they recognized that now all too familiar disgusting voice.

Mounted on the plethora of deformed spikes that sprouted out of the Ogre's back, is a grand howdah, and Krasus Goldback sat imperiously.

"Okay…" And as Krasus start his monologue, Lacus proceed to completely ignore him and start thinking. "Umm… so… we need to… bring that giant down. Obviously."

"But… Master Noir… he's…"

"Fine."

As if confirming Lacus' declaration, a flaming stone pillar, ripped from the arena's support structure, were hurled across the field and struck the Ogre's head in full, VERY nearly hitting the howdah, scaring the shit out of its occupant.

Hugo, Godric and Geralt looked in shock at the field of Fiendfyre… stepping out of that inferno is this… thing that was Bert. He was still enveloped by the Fiendfyre, the fluffy parts of him sloughed off to ashes… parts within folding, reconstructing, reforming itself back… into its original form…

"Sigh… after all the trouble I went through to make sure it can't hurt anyone…" Lacus smiled sadly.

Bert's cartoonish figure was gone. Now… stood in its place, still covered in Fiendfyre… is a massive humanoid figure, about a few heads taller than Godric, the tallest person in the field… The Armor looked like it was composed of hundreds of metallic pieces woven together into a single Knightly armor… it constantly pulses and shift with every movement it make. Its chest armor is prominently black colored, with red energy pulsing inbetween the shifting plates from the center and flow outward, while the rest of the armor is white, with occasional red pulse from the center chest plate flow in its internal circuitry. The face… had completely integrated Noir's mask, slightly enlarging it and then reinforced it into a Lordly full head helm. Spraying from its back is a blue cloak with black undertone. The upper part was burnished with thick fur of black and blue feathers. Grey armored cloth extended down the elongated side waist armor. Overall it has the same color scheme as that of the Bert's original scheme… or rather… it was.

The Fiendfyre continued to burn even after Noir had made quite a distance from the primary inferno, and if the flame pains him, he did not say a word of it. The armor white color was soon flaked off. The crimson flame turned blue after absorbing the flaked pigment… and when he reached Godric and company, the flame finally died down to embers, but by then, the once magnificent white knight armor had been horrifically scorched jet black. The feathery cloak had been burned off into burnt stumps, and the armored waist cloth slightly melted, and they've turned permanently red, like red hot steel. Only the white mask remained the same color – although its edges are slightly singed, causing it to stand out over the charred black armor.

Noir looked at this… thing that he had become. He knew from day one that he wasn't wearing a plush toy. He was wearing an ancient relic, a one of a kind treasure Kings and Queens had waged war to get. This is… this is beyond his wildest dream. "So… this… is Titanbane." What is this…!? His weak body… his small, tiny, pitiful body… where did it go? What is this… power coursing through every strand of his muscle!?

"How do you feel?"

"I feel… among other things… taller…" Noir looked awkwardly down at the now diminutive Lacus… even Godric and Geralt seem very small… His mask tilted awkwardly, it literally became his face. "This might be the first time in my life I actually had to look down to see someone older than me…"

This feels completely different. By comparison, wearing Bert suit in its fluffy configuration make him feel like he's swimming in a mass of marshmallow… but now… it feels like he's actually standing. He can feel the ground groaning under his feet… and what a strong feet! He's just standing, but he felt it like his toes was stabbed firmly onto the ground like a pillar of steel. Even if a battering ram were to hit him squarely in the chest, he won't flinch.

"Okay. Is there any discomfort, or anything misaligned? Any-"

BAM! CRUSH!

Lacus barely finished her inquiry, in a blink of an eye, Noir zipped past her in a blur and caught the Ogre's massive axe before it crushed her… and he only want to catch it with both hands… but he ended up crushing it to dust under the overpressure.

Even Noir was shocked at this superhuman speed… and strength. He only thinks it… and the suit does it.

The Ogre only looked in confusion when he realized his massive axe suddenly had this massive chip on its blade. "Groh!?"

"Some people just don't have manners…" Noir was still adjusting to this new power at his fingertips… but he's getting used to it. "Oh… I forgot… you're a Goblin. But shouldn't they have manners too?"

"Mostly involve on which one not to stab in the back." Geralt scoffed.

"That explains an awful lot…" Noir flexed his armored fingers, flexing his new 'muscles'… slowly, surely… it was so easy… like breathing… when he balled that fist… he knew, he just gained perfect control to what is probably one of the most powerful weapon in the world. And a weapon this powerful should come with a manual. "Lacus… this Titanbane, how strong is this?"

"It was made to fight Giants on even ground… which is another way of saying this Ogre is just right up your alley. And… as before… no control panel: it's full manual. All limiters are off. That being said… please… be careful."

"Opposition, quick and dirty."

"Ogre. Very powerful, very troublesome. Twice bigger than a Troll, three times more dangerous. Has two brains, two heads… two way of thinking. One is the warrior head, the other is the magician brain. See the one eyed head? See him mumbling about? He's chanting. He's the spell caster. He's preparing for a spell, do not let him finish."

"…okay." In that case… he's not gonna pull his punches. Noir knelt and steadied his footing, preparing to start a sprint… but before he start… "You… might want to step back."

The three take a few steps back.

"A bit more."

Another few steps back.

When that's done, Noir lowered his upper body a bit more… raised his hip up… took a deep breath… and…

CRASH!

An explosion of dust rose up in an instant when Noir's kicking start cratered the ground behind him with an imprint of his footstep at the center. Within an eyeblink, the armored warrior had closed the distance and entered the Ogre's blind spot right beneath his feet. "First: your knee!"

As soon as he said that, a kick had already landed on the giant's left knee. A sickening crack of his kneecap being shattered echoed across the hall. The two headed beast immediately roared in pain and fell on his broken knee, his obese body weight worsening the damage. Around that time Noir had retreated to a distance, watched the damage, and waited for reprisal. As expected, the furious beast swings his primary weapon, his broken axe, in a feral motion. Noir dodged the attack at paper thin margin. And while the Ogre is still trying to confirm if he split his target in two or not, Noir jumped towards his heads…

But midjump, the Ogre's other free hand came crashing from his flank. Noir noticed it just as his gnarly finger is an inch away from his chest… and he reacted in an instant. When the oversized finger is about to touch him, he placed a hand on it, and, without the slightest bit of resistance, he let the fingers pass beneath him, gently using it as a platform for him to lift his whole body up. When the giant fist plows through where his body had been, Noir had safely rolled across his arm and stood firmly on it with his two feet when the now outstretched giant arm stopped. A second later, he kicked the impromptu platform (pretty sure he cracked the bone in the process) and jumped straight towards his face before he landed another roundhouse kick at the first ogre's head while he was still confused. The kick hit him squarely on his chin so hard, the first head was forcibly pushed to the side, its crown pummeled the second cyclopean head's temple hard enough to knock it unconscious. The first head didn't blackout, but getting kicked in the chin still send a shock to his brain, so his head is spinning.

Noir once professed he might be stronger than Rosso in this suit. He stood corrected… he can't even begin to imagine just how much stronger he is. Speed, power, precision, reaction time… holy shit, he's a monster!

"Whoa…" Violence was never her thing, but even Lacus was in awe. The Apex Enforcer Armor, Titanbane, to use the name it was known by, was designed to amplify the strength of its mortal wearer several folds so that they can fight toe to toe with giants. This one had been thoroughly customized for Noir's use by Lacus' request: it had its control panel removed, its system reworked for exclusive full manual control (something its maker had stressed to be insanely dangerous – to the target and the wearer, mostly the target), as well as various extensive fine tuning that made this armor is now unusable by anyone else… but Noir. Perhaps because Noir is an 8 year old child, the armor also adjusted its size to be much smaller than when it's used by grown men. That actually gave it the edge: even smaller, it's still a Titanbane. That means, all that destructive power is now concentrated in a much smaller body, making it significantly more dangerous. Still… what Noir just did… takes more than just amplified power. "…I didn't know Noir had such a high level of combat training…"

"Noir? Hold on, hold on… Noir, you mean the Reaper Judge Noir of Aprillus? Ray Yuki's favorite boy?" Geralt gawked. "…well in that case, that explains."

"Explain what?"

"Ray wouldn't shut up about him whenever he went roaring drunk." Geralt groaned. "…the kid had a problem: he's weak. Like… subpar weak." Geralt remembered one of Ray Yuki's drunken bragging about his finest student.

"The poor kid had weak physique. But… you know me…weak physique is something time and discipline will fix. Discipline; he had it. In gigantic spades. Time… well, he'll just have to wait… but then… I noticed one day he didn't just wait. He watched. Like… watched me, watched everybody else trained… like a hawk." Ray emphasis this by pointing at his eyes. "Everybody always brag: I'm watching! I'm learning! Not. Like. This. Kid. When he watched, he watched EVERYTHING. Every twitch of my muscles, down to the subtle ticks of my eyebrows. Apart from his eye for detail, he had this… level of concentration very few had. When he concentrate, when all the blood rushes into his eyeballs until his veins popped out… he watched it all… and nothing can faze him… forget blinking, not even when a fly landed on his eyebrows can disturb him. And he didn't just watch… he also understood it. Everything."

"How would you know he understood it?"

"I practiced a sword swing… the whole set of my Pentagon Shock movement – minus the elemental fusion. Out of curiosity, I asked him to do the same. Guess what: he perfectly managed the whole set after seeing it just once… then he was out of breath near the end and failed miserably, twisted an ankle, couldn't practice again for the whole weekend. And that is all. His weakness… his only weakness… is having a body… that can't keep up with what his brain is telling him."

"And now you just gave it to him." Geralt swallowed a gulp as he watched Noir standing menacingly atop the battered Ogre. A full manual Titanbane!? Meaning, every strand of artificial muscle in that suit will follow every command his brain tell him to. If he tell it to be as strong as giants while being as fast as gazelle whilst performing a ballet spin on its toes… it will do it. "You just gave him a body that can keep up with his brain."

"That's good then."

"That's good then!? You just put the deadliest kid on the planet inside the ultimate weapon… Do you even realize what kind of-" Geralt stopped mid sentence when he realized Lacus's gleaming eyes. Big glaring signal to the experienced elder Gryffindor. "…never mind."

Noir climbed over the still half stunned Ogre towards the Howdah at its back. Krasus squirmed in absolute terror as this black nightmarish knight is approaching him with evidently hostile intention. The Goblin starts screaming something that Noir translate as his offer to pay him all the money he asked. Bo~oring. But one person is missing. "Where's that slavegirl?"

"Wh… that useless bitch!? W… Well… I can always get you a different one-!"

"She's dead then?"

"…! I… I can give you other slavegirl if you like! I-"

"Will you just: Shut. The fuck. Up?" Right around that time, the first Ogre head had come to and sensed his hateful foe on the palanquin. So, without ado, he slammed his axe at the palanquin. Noir saw the attack coming from a mile away, Krasus didn't. Noir jumped away as the Howdah was destroyed to smithereens, not even caring if there are pieces of Krasus amongst the sloughing down wreckages. The Ogre roared at Noir, it doesn't need Krasus command to recognize the black armored knight as a dangerous enemy. He looked briefly at the massive chip on his axe and remembered what happened the last time. So now, he grabbed the axe with both hands and swung it down with far greater force and speed than the last time. Noir realized right away he can't block this attack, so he dodged to the side. But when he get back up, the Ogre's right foot came plowing. Noir had enough time to cross his arms and guard the attack, but the impact still sent him flying across the field. When he landed, his feet carved the ground to absorb the momentum. "Damn… that was pretty good for a beast."

"Ogres are Warriors by nature, kid." Geralt stood next Noir with his great sword at the ready. "And don't be fooled by its beastial appearance. It has a savage warrior cunning tucked up in that one brain. Luckily you knocked out the other head quickly, otherwise he'll add magical mayhem into the mix." Indeed, the one head is still roaring at them even with the other head is still dangling around uselessly in tongue-lolling unconsciousness. But it won't be long before the second head regain consciousness. They have to beat the first head quickly. Luckily, his injured kneecap rendered him much slower than usual.

"The literal personification of two heads are better than one, isn't it?"

"Truly. Allow us to help you, Master Noir!" Godric stood ready with his sword and wand at the ready. Hugo too landed next to them, preparing his hammer.

"Then, here's what I want to do." Noir motioned the three to come closer and they huddled.

"Well… that might work!"

"Don't see any other way we can beat something that big quicker."

"Indeed. We'll do that."

"Lacus you heard it as well, yes?"

"Yes." Lacus nodded. "I will help relay the orders to everyone!"

Phase 1:

Disarm the Ogre.

All four charged the Ogre from four different directions. The Ogre briefly looked at Noir and did consider concentrating his attack at him… but then he changed his mind and prepared a two handed horizontal sweep. After understanding how clever Ogre can be, Noir had predicted this. And his countermeasure won't be pleasant.

"Nuoh!" Hugo slammed his hammer to the ground and a giant thick earthen shield form up next to Noir. Noir grabbed it and held it up. The Ogre roared and swung his axe. The first on his arc is Geralt and Godric, who was able to jump over the slice. The next in the way is Noir, who's holding on behind his earthen shield for dear life. When the axe struck, it pushed the shield, and him, until they carved the ground for a few meters, but then it stopped, not far from its fourth and last intended target, Hugo. The Axe had sunk into the earthen shield, and for one brief moment, it's stuck there. "NOW!" As planned, Godric and Geralt ran towards the Axe. Godric swung his wand and conjured an array of silver chains from the ground that briefly restrained the Axe. Geralt immediately brought up his great sword and stabbed the axe. The blade didn't manage to get through, but Hugo, first climbing over Noir's shoulder, then the earthen shield, jumped down from above and as he fall, brought down his hammer full force, right on top of the nailed Great Sword. The added force pushed the blade through, violently pushing deep into the axe. Compound this with the axe's overall poor quality and the already huge chip that Noir had given it earlier, the whole axe head shattered to pieces.

This happened in such a fast pace, the Ogre was left confused when he looked at this stump that used to be his axe.

Phase 2:

Immobilize the Ogre.

This one was easy. The Ogre is still confused after seeing how fast they destroyed his weapon, so Noir just zoomed past him, down at his feet, and kicked his knee cap. The right one this time. Again, the Ogre roared and he fell on both his knees, again. And this time, he can't get back up. Mobility – neutralized. There's just one problem… This time, the Ogre fell much faster than before (on the account he was already limping). In his cunning, he used the momentum of his fall to slam his broken knee right on top of the escaping Noir, pinning him down. The Ogre actually snarled a chuckle as he watched Noir struggling beneath his weight.

"Noir, are you okay!?" Lacus asked.

"It doesn't hurt much, but I'm stuck!" Truth be told, Noir punched the Ogre's injured knee several times, right at the open wound… but by then the Ogre was already in so much pain, a few more pokes means little to him. Instead, he twisted his knee even more, hoping it will hurt this insanely tough Knight thing.

"What should we do?"

"Don't mind me! I'll get out somehow! Phase 3!"

Phase 3:

Restrain the Ogre's arms.

The original plan was to split into a pair of two men teams; each team will take on an arm, and immobilize them, to prevent him from retaliating. With the aforementioned complication, the sturdy Hugo volunteered to take on one arm alone while the Gryffindor father and Son duo tackle the other arm. But the Ogre, even though he's been immobilized, doesn't make it easy. He swung his giant arms allover the place, wildly trashing the place, making it hard for them to hit it. "Let me try this again…" Godric grunt and start preparing his enchantments… He roared, and this time, larger version of the silver chains materialized and starts chaining the arm, but the Ogre's strength cannot be so easily suppressed. The chains groaned as the Ogre tried to yank back his arm. Meanwhile, Hugo was somewhat at loss. The Ogre's attention is mostly fixed at the Gryffindor father and son, so the arm he was assigned to was just flailing aimlessly. He thought giving it a good whack with his warhammer would break it… just one problem… it's well out of his reach.

And then there's also the problem with Noir still stuck on the Ogre's knee…

But unlike Hugo, Noir already had a very good idea up his sleeve. "Lacus… you know anything about Ultrasonic resonance?"

"…huh?"

"Clynes are Sound logia. You have the ability to control sound like an element, to manipulate it like a limb. Send an ultrasonic sound into my body… and let it permeate to the ground beneath me!"

"Ultrasonic… ultrasonic!" In an instant, Lacus understood. Suddenly, everyone thought they've gone deaf because there's no sound in… anything. Not from the roaring fire or even the crumbling ruin… Lacus had gathered every decibel of sound and voice from all around her and sent it to Noir's armor. And then, she set it to tremble. Sound is the air that trembles at a frequency. Now… what happened if the frequency was set in such a way, it resonates with the resonance of… say… the solid rock that make up the floor beneath Noir?

Ripples of shockwave emanated from the spot where Noir was pinned… and a moment later, the ground beneath where Noir was pinned… the solid rock that composed the floor instantly turns to soft powdery sand. The Ogre quickly sunk all the way to his waist. And now, he's completely trapped in a pool of sand. Realizing this sudden plight, the Ogre momentarily stopped his attempt to break through the chains on his left arm and using his right…

CRUNCH!

The Ogre roared in pain when Hugo finally landed that one solid hit to that giant arm. Now both arms are completely disabled.

"Okay… now what?"

"Is there a phase 4?"

"Well… we need that brat Noir to do it…" Geralt groaned. "Last I checked, he got dragged down the Ogre's knees into that sand trap…"

"Is there a way we can dig him out…!?"

"Not with that thing still going wild on top of him…" Geralt frowned. "Even if we could, he'll suffocate first before we can-"

CRUNCH!

"WROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Suddenly, the Ogre squealed in absolute pain. Not just the first head. The pain was such, the second head was also knocked out of its stupor and joined the other head in a chorus of tormented scream. The two heads screamed and howled several times in agony. And then… that sound again.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

Something is being… crushed. Really… REALLY HARD! Down below the pool of sand. Something is happening to the Ogre's lower half, something that sent unspeakable pain to the upper half. The Ogre trashed and roared, he was too deeply trapped in the sandpool, his one arm broken, the other arm chained, he can't do anything to get away from this trap. Whatever it is that is happening, whatever it is that torment him so… he can't get away from it.

CRUNCH! "WROAAAGH!" CRUNCH! "WHROAAAAARGH!" CRUUUUNNCCH! "WRGAAAA~~AAAGHH!"

Every time they heard that blood curdling crunch, the Ogre squealed. Not the usual roar of anger or pain… but a heart wrenching squeal like a pig gutted in slaughterhouse.

"What's going on!? What is tormenting this poor creature so!?"

"Noir! It must be Master Noir… he's doing something down there!"

"But what is he doing!?"

The only one who knew… who had some idea… is the furiously blushing and flustered Lacus. She had already located Noir with echo location… she knew EXACTLY where he is… it's just… the thing he's doing to get out… even if it's out of necessity… even if she understand why Noir didn't realize what he was doing… she really wished her ears aren't so good… she actually pitied the Ogre now… should she tell him with her remote whispers to stop or shouldn't she…!?

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CR-RUNNNNCHH!

CRUU~~UNCH! KERSPLA-BOOOM!

One last sound of that sickening crunch was followed by a loud boom, and an explosion of sand right in front of the Ogre. The Black figure of Noir jumped out of the towering cloud of sand and crash landed on his knees right on the edge of the sand pool.

"Master Noir!" Godric and Hugo quickly run to his aid.

"Master Noir? Are you alright?" The Black Knight that is Noir was heaving. Like he was trying to take in as much air as possible, having been deprived of it for a dangerous while.

"I was… running out of… air…" Noir gasped for breath as Godric and Hugo helped dragged him away from the creature that nearly caused this. "The Ogre… dragged me down under… but then… I got trapped… underneath him…"

"Where were you, Master?"

"I'm not sure…" After a while, Noir finally regained his breath and can speak more clearly. "… I was wading in the dark… then I got smothered by this… two gnarly spherical sack like thingy, I think I was right inbetween his legs…!? So… I punched my way out."

Then… Noir, Godric, and Hugo paused at that… and rethink the circumstances a bit…

Geralt, like Lacus, already realized what had happened and covered his face. "Poor boy…"

"…You were… right in-between his legs…" Hugo thought it more calmly… slow as he is, even he began to remember what limb located in that region.

"…you were squeezed under… two gnarly spherical… sack like thingy…" Godric shivered… now starting to grasp the image of the organ in question…

"…and I punched through it…"

They looked at what becomes of the Ogre…

The poor thing already fainted/half dead/mentally dead… its two heads bore frozen expressions of pure anguish and indescribable pain, with tears flowing down their rolled up eyes and snot streaming down their nostrils… and foam spilling out of their open slack jaw…

"Anoo… I know this is irrelevant now, but… what was phase 4?"

"…Phase 4, I would've… shattered his spinal cord. That would definitely make him stop moving, even if the other head regain consciousness…"

"You wanna shatter his spine now…?"

"I'm not a savage… he suffered enough already."

"Well you did punched off his-"

"SHUT UU~UUUP! Shut up! Shut. Up! In the name of all that is good and decent in this world, I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!" Noir closed his ears, his eyes rolling, finally realizing what he just did to secure his freedom. He needs a bath after this. He REALLY needs a bath… "You dwarves too! You hear me!? If you speak of this to anyone, I'll wring your neck out! ALL OF YOU!" In retrospect, Noir was quite panicked out of his mind, so everybody knows his threat doesn't mean anything…

But all the hundreds of Dwarves that witnessed this fight had pretty much also deduced what part of the Ogre the masked warrior had deprived him off. And their groin hurts just imagining it, so… they just nodded, solemnly swearing, if and when they have children, they'll omit this fact from the songs.

And make no mistake, Song will be sung! Because, by Gods above, an Ogre beaten to a pulp with one's bare hands is not a feat that just anyone can keep quiet about. Song has to be sung about this… this feat worthy of legendary heroes! When they heard from their merchants what Noir did to the Trolls with a Pebble, they still had some misgivings… now the convinced Dwarf Warriors will add a new one: Ogremauler. This one comes with a warning: don't say it in front of him, or he will maul you.

0000000

"I need a bath." Noir squirmed uneasily. "I REALLY need a bath."

"Don't worry! I'll make sure you'll get a good, long one." Lacus chuckled sweetly next to him.

"You got a far worse thing to worry about other than a bath, kiddo." Geralt gruffly scolded the boy. "As you are now, you can't even scratch your back!"

Geralt was referring to how Noir… right after he finally crawled out of the Titanbane Suit… immediately collapsed in sheer pain. He just learned the price he must pay for the all-out-no-bars-hold power the suit granted him. It amplifies his strength to unbelievable levels, but in return, the strain placed on the wearer was also amplified equivalent to the power granted. It was only because of Noir's inhuman pain tolerance that he did not scream… but all his muscles are torn and his bones cracked. Now, his life is not in danger, but he was in so much pain he could barely stand, much less walk… and he had to be carried on a gurney.

"Is this your first time fighting, little one?" Geralt gruffly asked.

"…yes." Noir sighed "…I could say… this is the first time I had to fight with my own two hands."

"I wish I could say you did pretty well…" Geralt snarled. "But we both know… that was a mess of a fight, yes?"

Phase 1: disable the Ogre's weapon. Phase 2: immobilize the Ogre. Phase 3: Restrain his arms. Phase 4: break the Ogre's spinal cord… But… reality is hardly as beautiful as a plan on paper. It was messed up straight from phase 2. "I… I never had any experience on actual fighting myself. I'm still… so immature." First rule of fighting: nothing will ever go according to plan.

"You asked too much of yourself, kid." Geralt scoffed. "Honestly… You're too much like your Master. That's not a good thing."

"…master…? Lord Yuki? You know him…!"

"Know him? 'course I know him. He and I used to be partners in the same Knightly order, after all. Kinda like you and your red partner."

"…!"

"Well… you still got a long way to go… but at the rate you're going, you'll catch up soon." Geralt growled. "Assuming you don't kill yourself first."

"Uh…" Noir frowned, and Lacus winced.

"Look, kid… you're smart. So I'll just go ahead and say it: at some point you gotta ask yourself this. What are you fighting for? Why would you push yourself this far? Don't bother answerin' me. This is somethin' you need to answer to yerself. Cause… if you think this is what Ray would want… I can tell ya, I've known him longer than you've been alive. I doubt he'd approve of you fightin' while bleedin' yerself dry like this." Geralt grunted. "…especially because that reckless idiot used to fight that way too…" He added that under his breath before he left.

And Lacus, who heard it, just raised an eyebrow.

Geralt turn away, preparing to leave, but before that, he looked at his son. "Godric! Balthazar assigned you under him, yes? Good. If he dies, I'll kill you."

"Very good, sir!" Godric just instinctively saluted his father.

Noir called out weakly but firmly. "…Lacus…"

"Yes?"

"…Salazar and Rowena… what becomes of them?"

"Ah!" Lacus blinked. She totally forgot about them. "Right! Right…" She concentrated… the battle across the market is not yet over… but the Goblins are being overrun everywhere. Nevertheless… it's still chaos. The Dwarves meant them no offense, that's why they were able to get by anywhere fast: they need only to be wary of the Goblins. The rest… it's free for all. Lacus filtered all these noises, looking for the one that really mattered…

"Found them… they're… they're in the sky. In a dogfight…"

"…dogfight?" Noir felt like he just heard something strange. "Dogfight!?"

"Yes. Dogfight. Akhoni and the two white hooded figures are engaging them. Not to worry, Salazar and Rowena are powerful wizards; they claimed they can handle it-"

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Noir struggled and finally managed to at least sit upright. "I mean: Dogfight!? Akhoni's priority should be running away, not dodging and fighting on brooms!" Noir rubbed his chin. There's only one reason a runaway would chose to fight back instead of escaping: he's buying time. "Lacus! Check the Bicorns! Ask them to look at the surroundings! Is there anything suspicious!? Anything that is coming in force!?"

"There is!" Before Lacus can contact the Bicorns, one of them already appeared before them. The Bicorn galloped towards them in a billowing black mist. The Dwarven army parted in horror and shock when they saw the ominous dark Gravetender. "My partner saw a small but heavily armed group of humans coming towards the Troll Market."

"Why did you left your post!?"

"I've tried to warn you, but nothing gets through, the little Clyne didn't seem to hear us, so I imagine you were preoccupied."The Bicorn looked at the half dead half buried Ogre and deduced as much. "And indeed you were. A contingent of Dwarfs stayed behind and helped my partner block the entrance. They will not let anything get in or out without your say so. But they dread the complication to face a human army."

"That heavily armed humans… describe them to me! They wear white cloaks? With pointy hoods?"

The Bicorn blinked and snorted when the Judge answered his own question. "Yes. My partner count at least 30-40 of them."

"…well… shit." As he said that, Noir struggled to get back up and dragged his way towards the open and waiting Titanbane Armor.

"What do you think you're doing? Your whole skeleton is fractured from head to toe!" Lacus protested.

"If those… white hooded guys are who I think it is, the Dwarves are in serious trouble. Only I can help them." As he said this, he already entered the armor. But alas, even when the suit closed in, Noir can only take one step before collapsing.

"What could you possibly do in that state, Lawkeeper?"

"Don't worry." Noir chuckled. "If all goes well, I don't even have to lift a finger. I just need to get there… quickly… because if either side draw even one drop of blood of the other, all will be lost."

The Bicorn sighed. "Get on my back."

"What?" Lacus blinked. "Are you sure? Bicorns only allow non virgin atop them, no?"

"You speak of infant Bicorns. Gravetender Bicorns are mature enough to… (sigh)… withstand the discomfort. Normally we don't allow anyone atop us, non virgin or otherwise."

"Alright." Noir struggled and managed to finally, with some help by Hugo and Godric, to climb atop the enormous black horse that matched the now equally enormous black rider. It made quite a sight… until Lacus hopped and glomped over Noir's shoulder.

"Unfh!" Noir grunted when Lacus giddily nested herself on his shoulder. "Ugh… I thought you said all my bones are broken!"

"I did. That's why I came. Who else can keep your bones from crumbling as you go?"

"Just hold on tight." The Bicorn gruffly neighed. "If any of you fall along the way… at my speed, it won't be pretty."

That was the Bicorn's last warning, because he soon live up to his promise, charging forth in a sudden burst of speed, causing his two occupants, one half dead child in an oversized knight armor and a giddy whimsical rabbit girl, to almost fell off his back. Hugo and Godric were slightly caught off guard, and thankfully they already get their broom at the ready, so they can quickly mount their vehicles and followed.

But even though they're flying, they can still barely keep up with the Bicorn. It explains how it was able to traverse across the market in such speed. When it gallops, the magical stallion became like a black mist zooming at terrific speed, completely undisturbed by the chaos and carnage of the warzone the market had become. No arrows or even cannonfire can stop him. Fact is, the nightmarish visage of the grim Bicorn roaring with a charred ash black rider atop him is not for the faint hearted (even with a dangling, laughing pink haired rabbit girl on his back). Goblins scurry away in terror by the hundreds, even the stoic Dwarves paused and dare not move until the Grim Rider passed… that's another title to the increasingly long list.

As Noir hold on to the Bicorn's mane, he looked to the side and noticed the aforementioned dogfight between Salazar and Rowena vs Akhoni and his two White Hooded escorts. Both sides sending all kinds of projectiles and explosives in the sky. He briefly noted the fact that only the White Hoodeds ones who fly… without brooms or any flying apparel for that matter. "Godric! Help them out! Wrap it out quickly! Remember: we need Akhoni ALIVE!"

"Yes, Master Noir!" Godric peeled off the pack and joined the dogfight.

"We're nearing the exit!"

At the exit…

The Dwarves stand ready with the other Bicorn looming angrily. The white cloaked figures stood in line in front them. Neither side was keen to start the fight… but neither was friendly. In fact, both sides were downright hostile.

The Dwarves had wanted to invade the Troll Market for years, and in one afternoon, Noir opened the door wide for them. So when the two Bicorns that guard the entrance (and for the record they're still having a hard time believing how a human can make two of the most vicious creatures in the magical realm to do that) told them they need help to block the entrance, they're more than happy to oblige, and a battalion was spared for the job. It's a tactical thing to do too. They need to make sure no Goblin can escape from this side… and no one may enter; for safety's sake, because there's a war going on. And just to be clear: dwarves are not friendly to human, but they're not at war with them. That is why they never even consider the idea of sharing their unparalleled craftsmanship technology (specifically their cannons) to humans (specifically Zaft). They prefer to stay Neutral at best. But if the humans come with hostile intention, one word out of the line… their cannons will start blasting without hesitation.

"…attention, humans! Turn back!" The Dwarf commander roared. "The market is CLOSED for today. I don't know if you noticed, we have a war going on!"

The head of the white hooded figures merely tilted his head and scoffed in a demeaning tone. "Attention, sub humans. We are under a holy mission whose importance is beyond your feeble comprehension. You will clear the way for your betters or suffer the consequences!"

That is… more than just one word out of the line. The sound of the portable mortar being loaded filled the air, coupled with the sound of the furious Dwarves gritting their teeth.

"ALRIGHT! That's enough!"

Before it escalate any further, the Dwarf line had to part ways when a giant black horse with two horns jumped over them and landed right inbetween the two opposing forces. A jet black larger than normal horse is terrifying enough, that it has a jet black rider to match just add to the horror. And wonder. Because most magical beings never even heard the idea that someone can ride a Bicorn. Including the Bicorn themselves. The other Bicorn looked at his partner, questioning what the heck? The Bicorn in question didn't seem to know either. Nevertheless, the Black Rider didn't bother to get down from his mount, and, as if knowing what he wanted, the Bicorn merely obliged and took a few steps closer. At first, they think nothing of it… but as the Bicorn get closer and closer with every booming step of its hooves… that's when they realized just how big he is, even when he's not atop a magical horse 1.5 times the size of normal one. The tallest of them had to bend his head up to look at him in the face.

"I'm Magister Judge Noir, of the Circle. Who are you jokers?" The Bicorn stopped a few steps away and Noir wasted no time with introduction.

At that introduction, the white hooded men gasped. A murmur rose up amongst the hooded men; some instinctively made some kind of warding symbol. This does not escape Noir's attention. Nevertheless, the Head of the Hooded Men changed his tune from outright contempt to guarded vigilance.

"We are… a group of pilg-"

"Cardinal Guards of the Church." Noir cut them off before he can spout whatever lies he had cooked up.

"…!"

"Those warding hand gestures." Noir pointed with the chin of mask. "I've only known one group of people who can do that on reflex. You were gonna say Pilgrim or whatever…? You guys are way too heavily armed and well equipped to be warrior priests or missionaries… Cardinal Guards seems to be more likely… "

Right. A Judge's formidable ability of deduction. Especially this Judge's. Seeing that secrecy is now useless, the head of the hooded men opened up his hood, revealing a man in his twenties. His head is clean shaven, and tattooed on his forehead right inbetween his eyes, is an inscription quoted from the Holy Scriptures.

"We… we're here, my lord Judge… on a mission of rescue. A group of our missionaries are trapped inside."

"What were you guys doing here in the first place? This is a Troll Market… it's Black Market."

"The mission to spread the Word of God has no boundaries. I'd like to point out it is important to do so, especially in place as God Forsaken as this one!"

"That's not what I meant." Noir scoffed. "Cardinal Guards are the Honor Guard of the freakin' Pope Himself. Why would this many of you came here… just to rescue a group of… sorry… what was it? Missionaries? What, are they relatives of the Pope or something?"

"They're not. And, yes this many of us… is excessive. Problem is… we wouldn't bring an army here if these… bloodthirsty sub-humans didn't go berserk and started a battle in what is essentially a marketplace!"

"For the record: they didn't start the battle. I did."

"Why would you do that?"

"Why do you care?"

"…will you let us pass, or will you not?"

"No. I will not."

"You're going to let pious servants of the church die? What could possibly justify such barbarity!?"

"To capture a criminal who killed a… baby in a crib." Noir had a feeling if he mentioned Unicorn, the Dwarves will go ballistic. Figuratively and literally.

"…that's all!? For just such a stupid reason!?"

"For the record, this was the sicko's sixth victim! Sixth! I wouldn't classify something like that as stupid." Noir growled.

The man's face reddened in impatience. "…just let us pass. We'll fight you for something else!"

"Oh, no. There won't be any fight today."

"You think you can stop us all!?"

'So in the end, these idiots planned to use force.' "No. But I can bet my ass you can't stop HIM." Noir jerked his thumb to the side…

"Well, well… what is this? There's a fight and I'm not invited?"

When the hooded men looked to that direction, everyone's jaw literally hung open.

His height easily rivaled Noir's armored height, his muscular well trained figure is covered in full plated armor from head to toe, with a pair of dragons decorating his chest plate. His face was not visible on the account of this modified Samurai Helmet he wears over his head… but there's only one warrior in the entire Empire who would wear a helmet with such distinct antler horns. One will not call oneself a citizen of Zaft if one does not recognize the majestic sight of the immortal Hero of Zaft, Goud Veia.

He came with only two escorts… but that does not reduce his grandeur. Rather, everyone in that room, human and non human alike, felt his presence all the more. It makes them all wonder why they didn't notice him coming from miles away. In their defense, Veia was suppressing his presence as much as possible… until he noticed the brewing conflict between Noir and this group of hooded men.

"W… W… What a surprise. My lord Hakutenkun, Goud Veia!" Everyone hastily fell on their knees, even those from the church. Everyone… except Noir, who remained atop his mount. Veia's escort would've jumped in violence if the Hakutenkun himself didn't signal them to do nothing. Fact is, the Hakutenkun didn't seem to care as he paid more attention to the assembled Cardinal Guards. "T… To… to what do we owe the honor… of your… presence here?"

"That's what I want to ask him." Veia pointed at Noir. "He's the one who invited me here."

"EH!?"

"In all honesty, it has nothing to do with these idiots." Noir sighed. "However… whether or whether not Lord Veia will be involved… fellas… that's entirely up to you now."

"Wh…"

"Just to be clear: you wanna get in; you'll have to kill me first."

"You dare…!"

"Aaahh… he got you guys." Veia nodded. "Attempted murder of a Judge on duty, the punishment, at the lightest, is life in prison. If you hurt him, I'll be duty bound to arrest you!" Even a Hakutenkun is still subject to the law of the nation. "Though… may I ask why would you put your life on the line to prevent these gentlemen from entering?"

"Common sense, my lord. Common sense. There's a war going on in there. I can't let them in. And I'd like to point out: this is a war between otherworlders. This is a conflict occurring in another nation. It's not in our place to intervene. For whatever reasons."

"That maybe… but a warzone is a no man's land. Anyone can enter… albeit at their own risk."

"Except the fact that this is a no man's land in another world. I don't intend for this to escalate into an inter-world incident where several high profile personages from our side get killed in another world's war. As the servant of the law of this nation in this side of the world, I'm under duty to prevent any idiots from committing suicide, for whatever reason."

"But there are already important personages in that warzone! We are attempting rescue, why do you bar our way!?"

"Because I already have a couple of more competent reckless idiots in there risking their lives to 'secure' those important personage you speak of! I will not add more meat to the grinder just to fulfill your religious zeal for martyrdom!"

Veia smirked. This is a fancy roundabout way of saying he didn't want the Church to get involved. And he can understand why: if these Cardinal Guards were killed in the warzone in another world, next thing you know, some overzealous idiots of the Church would use that as an excuse for a Crusade. They're talking about the same idiots who once thought up the idea of sending a Crusade into the island of the dead which end up becoming the biggest mass suicide in history. As the immortal that had actually seen such historic stupidity in person, it was small wonder Veia easily accepted Noir's logic.

And he didn't live for over 250 years so that he can witness that kind foolishness again and again if he can help it. "I'm afraid the Judge had a point, boys." Veia asked. "I don't even need to be in there to know that there's an active warzone in there. Why would anyone want to go into an active warzone!?"

"We have several of our missionaries trapped within! We're here on a mission to rescue them! If it weren't for this Judge igniting this war…!"

"Uh-hm? Indeed? And you go to this extreme because…?"

"…let me put it this way: we have a collection of the worst assholes and scumbags of the empire hiding inside that black market. The sort that cannot be allowed to run free. Would I start a war to stop them? Let me think. YES!"

Veia twitched behind his helmet. "Kid…" He can't see the Judge's face… but he can see his eyes. "…you do know the consequences of a war? There are others in there, others beyond the criminals you so despise. This war will drag them too. Are you prepared for that!?"

"…yes."

Veia's eyes widened. The Judge's darkened eyes are firm and resolute. This is the eyes of a man who looked at the darkness of the depths… and lived through it. "Judge Noir, remind me to never piss you off." Then he turned to the Cardinal Guards. "Well, that's how it is. Even if every one of you is prepared to die, that warzone is… in essence… an international affair. Interference will just overcomplicate things. Even if it's for a rescue operation."

"Besides, if you're worried about collateral damage, not to worry." To the surprise of many, Lacus (still in her rabbit girl disguise) spoke up. "These are not your mindless rabble of Goblins or Orcs… these are Dwarves. They are well organized, disciplined, and honorable. It is against their code of conduct to attack woman and children. So collateral damage will be suppressed to the absolute minimum!"

'Hmm…? That rabbit girl looks familiar… ah!' Veia immediately saw through the disguise, but he wisely decided to keep quiet.

"How can we trust an army of these subhumans!"

"The sad fact is, I trust them more than I trust you." Noir sighed. "Also, please stop calling them that. Make another racist overture, and I won't be held responsible if they start opening fire. Those cannons pack a punch you know."

"Uwah… that is scary, scary. You Cardinal Guards had a bad habit of being a tad too overzealous, but please be prudent this time. Inter species war is way outside my paygrade." Veia chuckled. "And for the Dwarves behind me, hold your temper too. I trust your Elder still sing the song about me when I defended the Gate against your pounders, over 100 years back."

The Dwarves remembered the song well, even though they heard it so rarely, what's with despair and hopelessness being the theme.

The Cardinal Guards are now in an impasse: they still need to get in… but now there's a Judge and a Hakutenkun. The said Hakutenkun is thankfully a neutral party, but if they try to make an offensive move against the Judge, the Hakutenkun will turn hostile in an instant.

"Ah!" Lacus suddenly gasped.

"Hm?" Noir noticed Lacus's expression was that of horror. "What is it?"

"I just had a report from the Dogfight team… the two hooded figure is starting some strange maneuver… they seem to be trying to pin Mr. Akhoni…!?"

"Pin…?" Noir gasped as he caught on. "Tell those three to stop those two at all cost! Do not let them get anywhere near Akhoni!"

"Right! You three sto-" Lacus didn't get to finish her words, she paused in horror. Her pale expression made Noir realized what had happened.

In the market…

Akhoni vomit blood as his two supposed protectors suddenly turned against him and stabbed him with their swords. One was plunged to his heart, the other through his gut. Either is fatal enough alone.

"NO!" Godric roared and he swung his wand. He shot the two killers away with a spell. Rowena quickly zoomed in and grabbed Akhoni… but the wounds are massive… it was too late.

"DEUS VULT!" Before they can react any further, the two Hooded men were suddenly ablaze. They set themselves on fire, much to the horror of Godric and Salazar. The flame burns them so ferociously, before they can do anything to douse it, the two hooded men were already reduced to ashes. The remaining three were left watching all this helplessly. "Master Noir… we've failed…"

Noir's eyes twitched as he heard all this all too clearly. He couldn't help but to ball his fist in frustration.

Seeing this frustration, and the Cardinal Guards leader quickly understood what had happened. And with one last contemptuous scoff, he gave a signal and everyone departed en masse. "Know that the blood being shed today is on your hands, Judge."

"…at least there won't be any blood on yours." Noir and the man exchanged one last glare before he parted. With the Cardinal Guards leaving, the tension defused by half with the dwarves. Enough that Noir can be civil. But make no mistake: his mood had noticeably darkened.

When the Cardinal Guards finally disappeared from view, Noir finally sighed. "…you have my utmost gratitude, Lord Veia." Noir nodded.

"If you're thankful, shouldn't you at least be polite enough to get your ass down!?" One of Veia's escorts finally growled.

Veia chuckled. He's thankful for the Escort' blunt honesty, but the squire did not see what his more experienced eyes see. "It's not that he didn't want to get down. You can't… can you?"

And finally, Noir's heavy elaborated breathings became obvious to all. His hands, still holding on to the Bicorn is shaking. His once upright back finally curled down, and as expected… he finally collapsed from his mount.

Thankfully, Hugo was there to catch him as he fell, and he gently lowered the trembling and twitching judge on the ground. "It took everything you had just to stay upright on the saddle…" Veia can tell someone was badly injured, even if he's clad in a magical oversized armor.

Lacus quickly get to work and start doing something on the armor. Moments later, it opened up, revealing the severely maimed and bruised child within. Veia's escorts were practically speechless that someone can still stand with that much injury. A child no less.

Lacus quickly tend Noir's wounds the best she can while seemingly completely ignoring Veia. 'Ri~ight… still the silent treatment…' As for the boy… he was brutalized from head to toe, and yet the boy's eyes behind the mask are still very much alive and fierce. '…Ray had one heck of an apprentice…'

"So… may I ask what this is all about?" Veia asked. "I mean… now that I think about it… it was you who sabotaged Ray Yuki's orders. It wasn't me he asked to escort your partner's money transport the first time, but you intervened to ensure it so. You did it because you wanted me to stay here a bit longer? I take it was for this… request?"

"Yes, Milord. I apologize for my insolence. But as the pre-eminent naval master of the Empire, you're the only one that can do this."

Veia smirked. Quite frankly, he was so in awe with how meticulously this kid arranged everything, he was far too impressed to be upset. "Well? What is this request exactly? You're asking me to collaborate with the Seaguards to perform a… naval blockade of Februarius for the next week or two?"

"Yes. You're going fishing in a barrel." Noir handed Veia an entire block of folders: a list of wanted fugitives. Mostly those whose presence he had confirmed in that auction house incident. "Once we're done here, these fugitives will try to escape this continent. I pray that you can round them up as they try to leave this continent over the next week or two, my lord." He may not be able to arrest them when they have committed no crime in Februarius (not normally), but the moment they step out of the continent, he will have all their asses. "This is but my humble request, made because you were already in close proximity. If you feel insulted, my lord, you are more than welcome to reject it…"

And to think Veia was here for his much needed vacation. Yet he felt hardly insulted. "…what makes you so sure they'll be trying to escape?"

To answer this, Noir glared at the Dwarves. "Dwarves… how much longer before it's done?"

"It'll take a few more hours, master Lawkeeper… We have reports of Goblins retreating everywhere. But…"

"But…?"

"We received weird reports about buildings appearing out of thin air…"

"…buildings?"

"Aha~!" Lacus snapped. "With Krassus dead, the Fidelius Charm wore off. Maybe because of the Living Unicorn Horn Dust the magic lasted a little longer, but they wear off eventually. So the secrets' out."

"That shitty goblin." Noir grumbled. "He has more than one place. More than one hotel. Maybe like a series of villa or something…"

"What do you want us to do with it?" The Dwarves asked.

"They're illegal buildings, housing fugitives of the law. Ground them to dust." Noir mercilessly growled. "ALL. OF. THEM."

"…yes… sir…" Everyone, even the Dwarves, shivered in cold sweat at that bone chilling order. Between all the hardships endured in the last few days, being smothered and then punching his way through the part-that-shall-not-be-named, bruised black and blue from head to toe… only to lose his main quarry at the very end…

The Judge… is absolutely furious.

Veia rolled his eyes. With that, his prey will lose their hideouts and they have no other option but to flee the country. Yep. He must never, ever, piss this kid off.

The next message the dwarf sent to their men is simple – albeit worsened by panic: redouble your efforts… or Noir, the Lawkeeper, the Trollcrusher, the Ogremauler, the Grim Rider will go after you!

Whipped into frenzy by that figuratively AND literally life-threatening ultimatum, the Dwarves finished their complete subjugation of the Troll market in less than an hour.

An hour later…

Noir, in his Judge attire, stood amidst the ruins of what was once the Troll market. "…" Lacus may say the Dwarves do know a measure of restraint… but war is war. The devastation it left behind is enormous, no matter how disciplined the army involved in it.

Godric, Rowena and Salazar stood before Noir. Godric and Rowena in particular, bent their head down in a mortified silence. The reason for their indignity is currently being observed by Noir on a gurney. Two bodies. One is Akhoni… dead. Their strongest best lead to clear this case is gone. "So much for the thou shall not kill rule…" Noir shook his head. Mangled with two gigantic spots that completely missed his vitals, he may not be dead when the stab was made but two holes this big, the subsequent blood loss will make sure he's very dead within minutes. You can't get a confession out of a corpse. And the other was the Slave Girl, the unsung heroine who had made all this possible. Even though her body had been horrifically whipped to deformity, the smile of satisfaction on her lips was as bright as day. A small solace for the Judge that he had granted her last wish before her tragic end. He motioned the Dwarves and they carried the bodies away.

"We're terribly sorry, master Noir!" Godric bowed his head.

"What now?" The Bicorn, standing by next to the Judge, asked. "We've lost our lead, and you've leveled the market. How are we going to find the horn?"

"…the Horn's not here."

"What?"

"I was wrong. I thought they were trying to sell it… but no. It was clear to me now: they were planning to use it. Some they've already used to pay Krassus. But that was only a smidgen. They have plenty more leftovers for their purposes… whatever it's for… that's what we need to find out." Noir glanced at the Bicorn. "I'm sorry we couldn't recover your wife's horn."

"!" The Bicorn shot Noir a look.

"That last Unicorn… that was your wife yes? That's what I surmised given the number of times you nearly killed me when I was autopsying her body. Plus, you're obviously more committed to this, seeing you even went so far as to let me and Lacus rode on your back."

The Bicorn sighed and scoffed. "Just… find the butcher who did this. Then my wife… my mate did not die for nothing!"

"There are still ways. But we have to be VERY careful from here on out." Because now, Noir realized that the Church is involved. This is not a foe that can be taken lightly.

00000000000000

00000000000000

00000000000000

For those who didn't notice. Noir's Titanbane armor originally had the same color scheme as that of Freedom Gundam. Black chest and overall white body, with black and blue back wing (Cape). But in this story, I had the color reversed. This is after all, the reverse of Kira.

Anyway, here ends the First Half. The second half is composed of 5 chapters. I'll upload them as soon as I can.

Cheers.