CHAPTER 41:
"He Who Invites…Disaster!"
"Kill them, Demmy!" Light shouted from the smashed warehouse wall. "I want L and his cohorts dead!"
Light gave the order standing next to a dark Sedan that was parked outside. They had driven from Tsuku-Yoki Tower to the warehouse following Geist's direction, following Morph. Demetre drove, since he was the only one who knew how. And he gave Demetre his customized golden luger to use because it was so powerful.
Takada was in the back of the car and remained out of sight and out of danger.
Next to Light, stood Ryuk. Both Shinigami had flown here.
"Ryuk, go help Geist." Light ordered. "I want them all pulverized to dust and ashes, just like what you and Geist did to Wammy House. And bring L here for execution! I'll kill him personally."
"I won't kill for you, Light," the Shinigami stated. "But I'll go help Geist." He then flew into the warehouse.
Gun fire ensued, and he became a little more bold. He stepped into the warehouse. He could see Clavis—the Quindecim'ium supernatural being Demetre had told him about—wielding a sword, seemingly slicing Demetre's bullets out of the air.
Then he saw L hiding, peaking out from the side of a large overturned RV within. He had no idea how that happened and he figured the vehicle was the New Kira Task Force headquarters. By the looks of it, may not anymore. But the strange thing was Morph was no where to be seen.
That was a moot point at the moment. With Demetre and the two Shinigami, he had L and his allies cornered.
Ryuk flew up, and landed next to Geist, acting like a shield for Light to enter further.
"I finally have you where I want you, L," Light shouted. "Disingenuous and fowl, trying to use my family against me. I won't let you, or anyone else, take away what I've worked so hard to build. Not you, not Near, not anybody!"
Demetre reloaded the golden luger. Light had given his friend six magazine clips with a dozen bullets, it sounded like Demmy was on the third. With a click, Demetre then re-aimed at Clavis, and began firing again.
But Light was more focused on L. Demetre could handle the rest. But Light did notice a tall, and beautiful golden/brown coloured looking skin woman hiding with L near the RV. She must have been Castra, Clavis's partner, who had come with him, as part of the original party to take Light back to Quindecim.
That as never going to happen, they were all dead.
"This time we finish it properly, L. This time, I have two god's of death on my side. The odds are stacked in my favour, and I won't even have to persuade one of them to sacrifice their life to kill you, like I did Rem."
"You're blustering again, Light," L suddenly snapped back. "That's the sign of an immune mind, much like Kira's judgements. You're a child, nothing more. You need to be spanked. And I would kindly volunteer to put you over my knee, make you cry like the whiny baby you are."
Light git his teeth in anger, then said: "Kill'em, Demmy! Kill them all! And let Kira sort them out!"
Suddenly, a single shot rang out, echoing in the vastness of the warehouse, and through the chaos, sounding much like a gun shot from the old American Wild West. A momentary silence followed, as all parties looked around for its origin. For a time it felt like everything had stopped, an eeriness ensued, and not a sound could be heard.
Then came a scream, and it was from Demetre.
Light snapped his attention around to his friend.
Demetre's mouth was open, screaming, as he held his right forearm in hand. His hand a blood pulp, blood dripping in think globs at his feet. The golden luger, shattered to pieces, scattered, around him. The mysterious shot blew the gun and Demetre's hand apart like he was holding a grenade.
"Demmy!" Light shouted.
Demetre Draycott staggered forward, compromised by the shock. Then he collapsed to his knees, and fell face first to the ground, his arms folded into his body. He then lay there still.
"Demmy!" Light shouted again.
"Demetre!" Geist shouted.
Light's eyes teared up and he seethed with a vengefulness bordering on madness. He looked up at the warehouse rafters. Of all the underhanded things, L had a sharpshooter to target would-be intruders.
He had given his customized golden luger to Demetre to use. It had never been used before, a merely trinket and symbolic of his new station in life, and something that he carried around with him for protection if needed.
But now he reached into his jacket pockets and took out two colt .45 handguns.
He never forgot what his ex-police foundation course trainer said: always carry a secondary weapon. He gripped both colts with steady hands. Powerful guns in their own rite, small and compact, and he fired one into the rafters where the shot had originated, and one at Clavis—being ambidextrous.
Blind rage overtook him. He wanted to kill the sharpshooter, he wanted to kill everyone!
Ryuk and Geist protected him. Bullets and knives couldn't harm a Shinigami, and when they remained solid, and stood together, they acted like a shield for him, using their wings like hard kevlar, wrapping them around each other, as Light shot in two directions at once.
"You son-of-a-bitch! This is for Demmy!" he said to the mysterious sharpshooter.
The sharpshooter returned fire, but the Shinigami stopped every bullet, bounding off their wings.
Clavis backed off, Light shooting at him, too, like an insane depot. Obviously, it was too much for the supernatural being, and he ran and hid behind the RV, rather than face the chaotic fury.
Suddenly, Geist did something unexpected. He opened his wings and pulled out his bone club.
He shouldered it back and threw it up into the rafters at the approximate location of the sharpshooter. The bone club crashed through the roof, debris and steal beams then came plummeting down, crashing to the ground.
Ryuk whisked Light out of the away from the chaos.
When the dust settled, the ground near where they once stood was covered in a chaotic mess with wooden boards and twisted metal gurters, even the sharpshooters rifle. Surprisingly enough, the warehouse didn't come down. But the hole in the roof did cast the entire interior in brightness.
Unfortunately, the sharpshooter had avoided the onslaught and remained aloof.
Light waved dust away from his face, coughed. Ryuk had made him drop one of his guns when Light was snatched. But it didn't matter, he still had one more.
Ryuk chuckled. "Oh, this is so much fun. More entertaining than the last time around. Funny, isn't this the same warehouse where Matsuda shot you, and where you confronted Near?"
"Shut up, Ryuk," Light said. "This time it'll be different."
Light looked at Demetre laying on the ground, but he remained steadfast and gripped his gun tightly. His friend was badly hurt, but he'd get Morph to help him later.
Despite Morph's admission of wanting to take Light's soul, he still wanted Morph as an ally, and if push came to shove, he would give the supernatural Imp exactly what he wanted, and kill one million criminals to satisfy Morph's need to feed his people that resided in him.
Kira would begin his mass punishments once more and the world will quake with fear at his return.
He had already established his Grand Agenda through trade and commerce, and used his Death Mouthguard's on about a dozen people around the world so he could get what he wanted as Shinto Izanagi, some of them elitist. But that was not enough.
His agenda also included Kira's rise back to power.
And this time, no one will stop me!
Something suddenly caught his eye and he turned. Then he saw it, another attack!
Clavis suddenly came out of hiding, and was running towards them, wielding his sword, shouting some sort of unknown battle cry. Demetre had said Menace, Morph's brother, described this guy as a fierce warrior who fought along side the Shinigami in some sort of Great Death Note War. It was Shinigami versus The Brigade of Light.
Light fired at him, but Clavis cut the bullet in half out of the air, as he charged forward.
"Geist, watch out!" Light shouted.
But it was too late.
Clavis cleaved the Shinigami in two from pelvis to shoulder in an upwards thrust, the cut was so clean and fast that it was barely seen. Geist's upper body began to slid down off his lower torso. Human weapons could not harm a Shinigami, but Clavis's weapon wasn't from the Human World. Geist literally meant Ghost, but if his transparent ability could not stop the attack, did that mean there were other ways to murder a Shinigami than the Love Option?
Light watched in horror as Geist's upper body began to drop to the ground, even Geist looked shocked.
Clavis ten delivered a series of quick and decision strikes with his sword, slices and cuts through the air, that not only cut the Shinigami into pieces, but also decapitated him, sending Geist's head rolling to Light's feet.
Ryuk quickly backed off, not wanting to suffer the same fate.
Light lifted his gun to fire at Clavis, but Clavis quickly sliced off the barrel, leaving Light with a stumped weapon. Clavis extended his sword and brought it to just under Light's throat.
"Yield, Light Yagami! Your friends and allies have fallen," Clavis said.
Light looked down the blade of the katana. It had all the appearance of an ancient Japanese sword, and Clavis fought with the ability of a swordsman from the feudal era.
"Dammit!" came a voice at Light's feet.
Light was aghast. Geist was still alive?
Yes, of course—Shinigami can't die by conventional means, but obviously their bodies are susceptible to otherworldly weapons that can harm them.
Morph had mentioned that The Brigade of Light had weapons that could harm Shinigami and even kill them. Clavis must be one of these weapon-wielders. He had used this sword it to protect the Shinigami when he fought with them against The Brigade of Life. Now, here, he was fighting against the Shinigami, allied with L.
"My blade is made of a special material that subverts a Shinigami's ability to go transparent," Clavis explained, his eyes looking down at Geist's head. "That is how I was able to cut you down, Shinigami. But, unfortunately, you won't die. However, this will keep you out of trouble for a while."
Suddenly, Ryuk flapped his wings, and Clavis shield his eyes from the dust and gale force winds. Light was blown over, the winds not giving him much of a choice. He protected his head with his arms as he dropped to his hands and knees. But Ryuk's attack on Clavis was focused, much like what he and Geist had done to Wammy House.
It didn't last long, and Light looked up, and saw Clavis had been blown far back. Strangely, Light had subconsciously clutched onto Geist, so his head would not blow away.
Light looked down at the Shinigami's head, then Geist said, "Stop hugging me, human. I'm not that kind of Shinigami."
Light pushed the head away.
Clavis had been blinded, he was rubbing his eyes. And he was crying out from the pain.
Clavis had dropped his katana and Light quickly scampered over and grabbed the sword. He then stood on his feet.
"Clavis, watch out!" came a shout from Castra.
Light looked over. Once again, for an alien, he found her strikingly beautiful with her golden brown skin.
Clavis lunged and punched wildly through the air. But he couldn't see, eyes closed, and Light easily avoided the strikes, pivoting out of the way. Clavis swung heavily, and then twisted completely around, and fell to the ground, swirling like a drunken man. He dropped to his hands and knees, his head down, as if he was bowing.
And Clavis was also in the perfect position for a decapitation like what some cultures did in the Middle East, when they wanted to put to death criminals.
"The tables have turned, I have you now," Light said, and he lifted the katana aloft to strike down.
A flaming anger enveloped Light's entire body. And he would use every ounce of it to strike at the heart of L's new Kira Task Force, taking Clavis's life. His hatred for L went far beyond simple revenge now.
The New Kira Task Force had hurt his best friend, his closest childhood friend. Even when they fought in their own Death Note War, Demetre had returned to his side, their friendship rekindled anew.
Clavis had not hurt Demetre, but he was guilty by association. And to kill him with his own weapon was poetic.
With the katana raised aloft, Light gripped the tsuba—the handle—tightly to make the death blow. "Die, Clavis!" Light said. "You can return to Quindecim in disgrace and face your own spiritual fate. What shall it be: Resurrection or the Void?"
"Light Yagami! Stop!" came a familiar voice.
L came out of hiding and stepped out into the open. Light saw Clavis tilt his head over in L's direction, his eyes still shut. Then Light looked.
"Don't kill him!" L pleaded. "This fight is between us. It has always been between us. Let him go."
Light kicked Clavis away. Castra ran to him. Ryuk flew over and protected Light from any attack from her. Castra dragged Clavis away and helped him where she could.
Light smirked. "Watch then closely, Ryuk," he said, and then stepped away to face L head on, katana in hand.
"Finally we meet again, L, it's been such a long time," Light said, smiling amused. He felt empowered, almost like he was possessed with a demonic influence. "You look exactly how I remember you."
"And you look like a dirty, rotten skunk," L said back.
"Hey, you do," Ryuk said with a chuckle. "Must have been all the dust that blew over after Geist brought down the roof. You have some dirt in your white hair, Light. You do look like a skunk. Here, let me brush it off."
Light hit Ryuk's hand away when he went to touch his hair, but then ruffled his hair himself to knock any dirt off. But in stead turned his hair salt and pepper, mixing the dirt in with the white. But he didn't care. "My white hair is a result of my resurrection, it stems from certain external factors. But I like it, as it adds a little flare to my new personality."
"As Shinto Izanagi, you mean? Your new name means 'he who invites; a deity born'. Most people would take that as a lucky sign to do business with you. Clever use of your company name, too: The Tsuku-Yoki Corporation, indicative of your cunning nature and name, as well: Moon God; from the old Japanese fable and character Tsukuyoki. The name almost slipped by me. But if I wasn't watching at a stock marker ticker on an International News Station at the time, and made the connection with your name, it would never have occurred to me where you were hiding."
Light frowned. I don't hide.
Then he smirked, said, "I knew only someone like you would appreciate the effort that went into it all."
"Effort, nothing, impressive is better word for it," L said, "but that's just my honest opinion."
Light's eyes narrowed confused. "Are you complementing me?"
"Indeed, all your hard work finally paid off. And you even cheated death, a tremendous feat. But like you, I'm back. I'm flesh and bone, just like you. Clavis and Castra, with myself and others, came here to take you back. But I believe now that that would be shame. You can do so much good here, benefit so many people with your accomplishments. Maybe even write a book. Maybe you can call it: How I Cheated Death To Become a Bastard Billionaire. Catchy, eh?"
Ryuk chuckled. "I'd read it, but you'd have to credit Morph practically on every page," the Shinigami said.
Light gave Ryuk and ugly look, then turned back to L. "You'll never take me back to Quindecim, L. Maybe if you caught up to me a little earlier. But that's why Morph did what he did. I needed to get established in my new role here. Morph altered the timeline to make your party arrive one year later. That was by design. And now that my name is written in the Life Note, I cannot be killed. I am immortal. In that respect alone, I am, therefore, truly a GOD!"
L cocked his head, unimpressed. He put up a finger. "One: You are not a god…" Then a second finger. "And two: Even if you can't die, Light Yagami, you can still experience pain. With Morph gone, who will save you if—"
Without warning, a single shot rang out. It came from the top of the overturned RV. Light looked up, L turned.
Jasper Yuta leaned out the doorway and he was held a gun. The left side of his face was covered in blood like he was wearing half a mask, caused by a head wound somewhere under his hairline.
"Jasper!" L said.
Light gasped, and staggered back. He dropped the katana and put a hand to his chest. Blood began to saturate his white dress shirt under his jacket. He looked at his bloodied hand. The bullet had struck his heart true. He looked at Jasper Yuta, his vision blurry.
"That's for hurting my son, you fucking bastard!" Jasper said.
But then, all of sudden, a weakness apparently struck Jasper, and he fell back into the RV through the doorway, the gun slipping from his hand. It bounced to the ground in front of the RV.
"Jasper?" L called out.
Light then fell back and collapsed to the ground on his back. He hit the ground with a heavy thud. He held his chest, it was hard to breath—very hard to breath, as blood began to fill his throat, internal bleeding setting in. He tasted blood, it streamed out of his mouth and down his face.
L came to him, and crouched down next to him.
Light looked up at him sheepishly. "Happy?" he sputtered out blood as he spoke.
"Frankly, I'm not. While I'm not a killer, I would have liked to know what it felt like to take a life, and yours would have been worth it. Alas, as for that Life Note—I would say, even with an injury like this, a shot to the heart will not kill you. After you heal, however, you'll be going to prison for a very long time."
Light smiled softly. "A man after my own heart, to kill a killer you must become a killer. Or, be Kira, the saviour of many. What is that saying? Oh yes: 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'."
L smirked. "Or, 'the one'," he replied. "Funny, your last words would so logical, while your actions as Kira, so immature."
Light turned his head and saw Demetre, then he struggled to turned himself over. He dug his fingers into the floor to get a grip, and then hauled himself over, dragging himself over to his friend. L didn't stop him.
With every movement, Light felt his lungs aflame. But he refused to stop. He had to get to his friend.
When he reached him, he lifted his right arm up and brought it down over his friend's body, pressing in close. Then all his strength left him. Demetre was his friend, and he never thanked him for all his efforts in helping him.
He whispered, "Demmy, my friend, I'm sorry…thaaaank yoooou…"
Then Light dropped his head, and lay still. He did not get up.
To be continued...