Disclaimer: 'Honkai impact 3rd' is the property of Hoyoverse, Singapore. I do not own any characters in this story except the minor OCs here and there.
Night of the Blood and Death
WAREHOUSE'S VICINITY (SIXTH SECTOR) (BUCHAREST- ROMANIAN EMPIRE) – 2021(Previous era) (Half an hour later)
The musky smell associated with warehouses and small industrial buildings hung in the air, permeating it. The entire neighbourhood was deathly silent despite being part of the capital city of one of MU continent's biggest industrial empires. This may be due to the Empire-wide celebration today, the party at Imperial Hall which was a part of. It was supposedly an annual Empirical holiday to celebrate the ascension of the first and current emperor. He supposedly ascended to the throne of the Romanian Empire during the aftermath of the worldwide disasters which struck and destroyed the old-world order nearly three years prior. However, the commonfolk didn't know that this new world order that promised them safety from those disasters was no better than the old one.
These people who now stood at the apex of political power were similarly powerless to defend their supposed sovereignties in the event those disasters happened again. How was one supposed to defend their people when they didn't even have the knowledge to fight back? Honkai beasts were not normal creatures that would die with conventional weaponry easily. The technology and knowledge of dealing with them were the sole property of the organization called FIRE MOTHS until now; because it seemed that another organization had developed its own methods of dealing with the Honkai beasts. However, instead of actually employing it to deal with the said beasts, they had their own agenda. Agendas that they wanted to complete, no matter the cost. It was also shown by the fact that they had removed whomever or whatever posed threat to their goals by their supposed Agents.
That was the reason he was here, in this abandoned and silent part of this city on this evening where everyone was celebrating outside. Kevin checked his equipment for the last time before having to make his way to the Warehouse. The twin pistols APOLLO were polished and primed for action at any time. Homura was sheathed and kept on the floor of the car he was driving, keeping it away from the eyes of the guard that was supposed to be present at the main gate of the warehouse. His mind conjured up the possible scenarios as he drove the rental car that he had gotten his hands through the connections of Pardofelis. He was impressed by the number of people that this girl knew; ranging from shopkeepers selling medicines to arms dealers. The latter he didn't know for what she needed, but his experiences in the Sundown Alley told him that such connections came in handy more often than not in such a place.
As he arrived at the front of the main gate and stopped, a watchman as expected came up to the car and knocked on the window to ask the driver to lower the window. As Kevin did so, he came to face the supposed man. A thug-like face with little scars greeted him indicating that he was not a typical security guard. This made Kevin surer that he was in the right place. The watchman looked around the car, supposedly inspecting it for anything amiss; but with his guns and the sword hidden expertly by him, the thug with his limited intelligence could not spot them. Then with a rough voice, he started speaking:
"Who're you? 'nd fer what reason yer here?"
"I'm Coscoe working in the company that owns this warehouse. I came in the day earlier to check up on the shipments. Now I'm here to make sure that the shipments are ready to move out tomorrow morning."
"Hmm." there was a hint of recognition in the thug's eyes at that name. It seemed that using that man's name had been the correct decision after all.
"Fine then show yer I.D." the thug demanded. At this Kevin remembered what he had to speak for the thug to allow him inside the warehouse.
"Please forgive me, but it seems that the I.D's in the white closet in the warehouse."
There was a notable shift in the thug's posture when he said this. He looked more… rigid? Formal? This made Kevin realize that the Coscoe man was quite a higher up in the organization, maybe even higher than Sakura. As he was thinking this, the watchman opened the main gate and told him:
"Should'a been more careful handli'n it. Don't forget it next time." To which Kevin just nodded and made his way inside the Warehouse property. He then drove the car to the back of the warehouse and parked in such a place that it wouldn't get in the crossfire should he have to fight here. He didn't want to pay the full cost of the car and some more in case something like that happens even though was technically rich. He personally thought that being prudent with money was also a discipline that helped with self-control and awareness, which was instrumental in fighting Honkai. It also led one to have a better quality of life, as they said that money is the root of all evil.
Pushing these thoughts outside his head and focusing on his mission ahead, he entered the Warehouse. Once he stepped in through the main doors, he saw what was actually happening behind the shadows.
Weapons. All types and kinds were present in the different crates that were scattered all across the warehouse. People were already moving them some of them onto the backs of lorries and loading them up. So, this was it, he thought to himself. It was a smuggling operation of weapons for the organization, to bolster their fighting resources no doubt. It seemed that they were planning on doing something big by the number of weapons that were being loaded now. And Kevin was sure that this was not the only one.
One of the persons noticed him looking around the warehouse and approached him. he then asked in a rough voice indicating his suspicions about him:
"Who 'r ye?"
"I'm Agent Coscoe from the Cocoon. I'm here today to escort the delivery to the port."
"Yea' and I'm the emperor of this place." the man laughed and said:
"Don't screw with me. I've seen a lot of members and they're strong. Not some boy like ye." At this Kevin released his breath a little. It seemed that he had to do this the old-fashioned way then. He readied his body in preparation for one of his fist techniques. If he could just control his strength enough, the thug should be alive after being hit… hopefully. The thug was alarmed at seeing the man in front of him get into a weird posture. All of his instincts screamed at him to dodge this attack, it was as if he didn't, he will die, literally. However, his small head couldn't admit that thought and just fuelled his ego to prove himself superior to the boy standing in front of him.
"Ye wanna go. Ye 're gonna regret it, you cocky brat."
Kevin on the other hand just calmly let the Honkai energy flow and strengthen his arms for the attack. He then suddenly vanished from the sight of the thug, who exclaimed in shock at his inhuman speed.
"Wha-!?"
Kevin was nearly at the midsection of the man, pulling back his outstretched palm to land the strike when a voice called out:
"WAIT! STOOOP!"
A gust of wind blew across the warehouse as Kevin's palm just stopped millimetres short of the thug's chest. However, the after winds of the stopped strike were enough to make the thug get pushed back and fall on his ass after losing his balance. He hit the side of one of the crates as he fell down and was out cold instantly.
"Guegueguegue…." the thug mumbled in his unconscious state.
'Lame.' everyone present in the warehouse thought the same thing.
After this whole debacle was over, Kevin looked around to see who had called out to make him stop his attack. He then saw a man wearing a white shirt and black pants making his way toward him. by the way the man was dressed, it was simple to make out that he was from the hierarchy person present in the warehouse currently. As the man approached him, he just looked at him with narrow, guarded eyes.
Once the man approached him, what he did however was unexpected. He bowed down to a perfect ninety-degree bow and said in a loud voice:
"Please forgive us for the rudeness that we have shown to you."
"…" Kevin just looked at him silently with a guarded expression.
"This guy was newly appointed so he didn't know about the pendant hanging from your waist. Because how could a long-time member not recognize the Cocoon pendant that is only given to the Six Agents of the Organization."
As the man finished speaking, he looked expectantly at Kevin for his reply. Kevin decided to store the new information that he got about the number of members to himself. He then saw the expectant stare of the man and knew that he has to give some sort of response. However, he had to be cold and rational so that they don't suspect him anymore like the thug, at least until he reaches the port and gets the full picture of these weapon shipments.
"Don't make the same mistake again." Kevin said coldly, his face hardening to akin a stone.
"Yes, yes of course sir Coscoe." The man bowed and accepted his words. Then he raised his head again and asked:
"Do you want to go over the shipment again sir?"
"Hmm." Kevin nodded. This was his chance to get an idea of Cocoon's fighting strength, so he decided to take it.
"Please follow me then. You can see the inventory that we had done in the morning." The man said motioning to follow him. Kevin however called out to him:
"Excuse me Mr.-"
"Oh, please forgive me for not introducing myself. Please, you can call me Dominique."
"Then Dominique, I have work for you."
"Yes?"
Kevin just pointed his chin towards the still unconscious thug:
"Take care of him."
"Take care… you mean-"
"I said take care of that man. We can't have disobedient people in our ranks."
At this the man now named Dominique inaudibly gulped. He had heard that the Agents of the organization were extremely cold-blooded, but never he would have thought them to be this cold. Still, the man before him was extremely strong, he had already seen it first-hand. Thus, he replied:
"As you wish, Sir." and he nodded to two men to take the thug away to the back of the warehouse to do the deed. Kevin in the meanwhile just looked on with a blank face while everyone shivered around him due to the coldness he has shown. To him, these people already had thrown their human lives away, and as such didn't need any sort of mercy. He then walked forward telling Dominque to continue leading him.
He will complete his mission, no matter how much he has to stain his hands with blood. He was already stained in it from head to toe, so one more drop didn't matter.
IMPERIAL HALL (CENTRAL SQUARE- PIAŢA CONSTITUŢIEI) (BUCHAREST- ROMANIAN EMPIRE) – 2021(Previous era) (Around same time)
The hall was newly constructed when the Republic of Romania gained and absorbed nearly ten countries after those disasters three years ago. The current president then declared the Republic to return to Monarchy and named themselves the Romanian empire, with him becoming the first emperor of the newly formed Empire. As expected, there was initial outrage from various groups of liberals and NGO's citing that the return to monarchy was killing the essence of people's right to living. There were various demonstrations in various places from these groups but soon they learnt that the world was not the same as before. These groups were mercilessly crushed down and their members hunted to entire family trees in a worldwide witch hunt of sorts. These new Monarchs and Dictators quickly demonstrated the power they held in this post-disaster world, causing these voices to grow quieter day by day until they finally disappeared.
It had been three years since those events, called the 'New Dawn Rising' by these people. The various Empires and federations were becoming more stabilised as time passed, with them prospering economically due to the world now having only around 50 of them compared to earlier nearly 200. However, it was also a true fact that now these people controlled the entire human population. Just 50 people controlled the entire human race; financially, politically and symbolically.
And today was the celebration of the ascension of the first Emperor of this Empire, VLAD GOIAN I. The man was coincidentally named similarly to one of the most notorious rulers of Transylvania: Vlad the Impaler. The main banquet was held in the imperial Hall which was located on the same premises as the Imperial palace. The imperial palace itself earlier was the parliament palace of Romania. After the new world order was formed and Emperor Vlad ascended the throne, he ordered the parliament palace to be turned into the Imperial palace. And the Imperial Hall was soon created on the same premises to hold important events, such as this evening. And to this event, she was invited as one of the guests of honour.
The party was extremely lavish and glittery to her tastes, causing her to slowly develop a headache over time. However, since she was one of the invited guests along with her popularity it was nearly impossible for her to get some time alone. Eden sighed as she smiled falsely at yet another group of people who wanted to invest in her concerts, saying that they wanted to promote art but what they wanted was simply a commission from the money the said concerts make. She was tired of people who only looked at art as a source of making money and prestige. However, she had to maintain her image not only for herself but also for the hardworking people in her group. Thus, she had to grin and bear through their mundane conversations as if they were a connoisseur of art, while in reality, they couldn't even differentiate a sound between a sneeze and a flute.
The situation was also not helped by the looks that some of them gave her. They were mostly men who looked at her with lust clearly dripping from their eyes. They thought she wasn't noticing when their eyes would trace her all over and stop at her chest area. She felt disgusted and violated by their stares. Even the crown prince, who hosted this formal party was not exempted from this. He had subtly tried to get her alone somewhere secluded since the first dance ended. Thankfully, her popularity meant that there was always someone wanting to talk to her foiling his plans to get her alone and God knows do what. Still, this party was making her exhausted on a mental level and she just wanted to go somewhere alone to sit down and unwind.
She soon got her chance when there was some kind of announcement made by the person who was the star of the party itself, the emperor himself. All the people looked over at the man speaking about the growth of the Empire in two years, how positive it was for the people and some other lip service. Eden decided to sneak away during this time to get time to herself. The crown prince noticed her sneaking away but was unable to move to catch her as he was on the stage along with his father.
'Dammit. If only I was able to get her now.' he cursed in his mind and then thought maliciously:
'You are going to be mine, my dear nightingale. Your everything is mine; your heart, soul and of course your…. so so delectable body that drives any man crazy.'
…
Eden made her way to the roof as quickly as she could. Even though she was used to wearing such restrictive and fancy dresses, she could never walk properly in them. That was the reason she mostly wore clothes designed by herself, as they were easier to move in despite being glamorous. She was the type of woman who believed that a perfect combination of beauty and functionality was essential in today's world. This belief along with her natural talents and willingness to improve were the reasons that she was not only the most famous singer in the current world but also a very successful fashion designer and model as well. She was well known in the entire luxury industry as the 'GOLDEN DIVA', an untouchable goddess who swims in an untold amount of gold. And it was true indeed as well, she knew for a fact that she had enough wealth by now that she can retire and live the rest of her life peacefully.
However, she had never shown unwanted pride or ego in it. She understood that her rise to fame and wealth that she currently possesses was only made possible by the hard work and dedication of various people. Whether it be her piano teacher who came to teach her even on cold days to the backstage workers who worked tirelessly day and night to ensure that she had the best stage for her performances. And of course, she couldn't forget her millions of humble fans who supported her in every way possible ranging from physically coming and attending her concerts to sending her flowers and well-wishing cards telling her that she is not alone. She was really thankful for these people and that inspired her to give her best for the thing that she loved to do the most, that is singing for others.
She however, still remembered that time last year when her determination started to sway a little. She had been continuously performing for the past three days and felt burned out by the stress of the big-scale concerts. So, when the final concert ended, she put on a coat and slipped past the security in the Five-star hotel she was staying at. Once outside she felt a wave of freedom she had never felt for a long long time, and thus she decided to enjoy it to the fullest. However, as expected she got lost quickly in an unfamiliar city but she didn't care in the least, her mind fully occupied with seeing the different scenes of the city in the evening glow.
She kept roaming until she got tired and decided to sit on a public bench. She was reminiscing her experiences in the city as a normal person, not as a music icon or a famous personality, just as a simple woman named Eden when she noticed that it was already late at night. She decided to trace her steps back in hopes of returning to the hotel and that was when those thugs noticed her as she took a wrong turn into a back alley. They quickly surrounded her and started throwing innuendos at her, one even tried to grab her arm against her will. She almost broke down realising that nobody would help a stranger like her this late into the night. And that was when he appeared.
Eden still remembered how he took care of the thugs even though he was hurt earlier and one of his arms was in a cast. After the thugs were taken care of, they spent some time searching for a hospital for treating the cut on his already injured arm. Fortunately, they were able to find a local clinic where the doctor was able to treat that boy's cut. After they exited the clinic, she scolded him gently for his reckless action to which the boy just shrugged it off. To this day she didn't know why she had scolded him like that, but just the thought of him getting hurt made her stomach twist into a knot and made her feel uncomfortable.
They soon found a bench at a local park where they stayed for some time, and she finally confessed to him her current inner thoughts. The pressure she felt from people's expectations, the different expectations of her event organizers for her to sing a different genre of songs than what she loved to sing; and the feeling of suffocation that she felt every moment due to these happenings. The reply which he gave her, made her stunned to her core,
Flashback
"You are the writer of your own story, and nobody has the right to say it otherwise. So, if you have something that you absolutely cherish and believe in, then follow your heart for it will surely lead you to the light you seek."
Current time
She cried after hearing those words that she longed for someone to say to her, that it was okay to follow your heart. At that time his validation of her love for singing meant more than anything, and thus those words said by him at that time saved her. It gave her the strength to move forward according to her own terms and not to others. She had not looked back since then, always following her heart and his words. And the results spoke for themselves; she was now the most popular singer of the current times. There was nothing she couldn't have, fame, glory, wealth she had it all. However, her heart desired only one thing, and that was to meet her saviour again.
"Kevin." the name left her light pink lips like a prayer. There was not a single day where she didn't remember him, those sky-blue eyes that seemed to encompass the whole sky, that white-silver hair that seemed like fresh snow and that handsome face. Eden's face grew hotter as she remembered his physique: his tall frame, his toned chest, his broad back and his strong arms. She sighed as she held the railing on the roof that she stepped on earlier, as she realised that meeting him again was next to impossible but if she did, then maybe… she wants to get to know him better. A date perhaps; going to a movie, to a park or doing something more… intimate.
Eden shook her head to get those thoughts out of her head and then blushed a deep red at the implications of her thoughts. It almost seemed like she had a huge crush on him. it was true that she liked him a little, and maybeeee had a litttttle crush on him but nothing major…
"uuuuu…" she lamented as she realised that she couldn't lie to herself, and then sighed again. That was when she heard a soft voice speak up:
"You know, your life shortens a little every time you sigh."
Eden whipped her head around quickly to find the source of the voice and when she saw the person who spoke it, she was speechless.
Light pink hair swayed in the wind like fine, silky threads. The girl was wearing a black dress with a rose pinned at the waist. She had a black bow in her hair under a large butterfly-shaped hairclip. The hairclip looked expensive with precious stones studded in it. The girl wore a backless black dress with a long train and a golden thread twirled around the dress like a river. Small white gloves with black heels completed her attire but what stood out the most were her eyes. They were a bright blue, with pink pupils.
"Pretty." Eden said unconsciously. At this, the girl giggled and said:
"Thank you for the compliment~. However, you are quite beautiful yourself~."
"Oh, thank you." Eden said bashfully. She was complimented numerous times at the party. However, it seemed different when a pretty girl such as one standing in front of her complimented her. Also, it seemed sincere unlike those of earlier masked with either lust or jealousy.
"Ehehee~. You can trust a beautiful girl's word such as myself~." the girl said with confidence. However to Eden, it didn't feel like she was boasting about herself or filled with false pride. What she said was true, she was beautiful.
"So can you tell me what are you doing here on the roof, Ms-"
"No, no, no; don't call me miss. My name is Elysia Levedeva, but call me Ellie~."
"Then Elysia, my name is Eden Gräbner. But just call me Eden."
"I told you to call me Ellie." the girl pouted and frowned a little.
Not wanting the girl to be upset for some reason, Eden buckled and said:
"Fine then, E-E-E…. Ellie."
"Okay~." the woman now named Ellie smiled happily and in a giggly voice asked:
"Then what did you want to ask earlier, Eden?"
"Oh, just what were you doing on the roof."
"Oh that. I just got bored listening to that old man's speech. So I decided to sneak off." Ellie said. She then held Eden's hand and said excitedly:
"But who would've thought that I would be able to meet the beautiful singer who sang the first song to the emperor at the party."
"That was nothing." Eden said humbly.
"What do you mean?" Ellie said passionately "your song was so romantic and your voice is so angelic. I found myself falling for your voice the moment I heard it first."
"It's just an exaggeration, Ellie."
"It's not." Ellie pouted (which Eden found cute) and continued:
"It really was beautiful. I don't know about others, but I can say with all of my heart that your sincerity in your song has touched me deeply. So please don't think less of it. It makes me sad to see such a beautiful girl such as yourself degrading themselves."
Eden was speechless after hearing this. Until now, nobody had declared their liking for her songs this way. Many people loved her songs sure, but the sincerity and truthfulness that this girl showed in her voice and face stunned Eden. For the first time, she heard someone saying that they found her song beautiful in its essence, not only for the sake of it. She realised that Ellie truly was complimenting her as a person and not as an idol or star. This made her very emotional and she said in a choked-out voice:
"Thank you so much, Ellie. It means so much to me."
"Giggle… I only tell the truth. So can you please let me hear your singing sometime again?"
"Of course." Eden said happily. It seemed she had found another person who appreciated her for her. And it all happened when she was thinking about him too. It seemed like he looked out for her, even when he was not present. Just like a Guardian Angel. She then herself giggled and said:
"Ne Ellie."
"Hmm?"
"Do you suppose, we can be… you know… friends?" Eden asked a little nervous as this was the first time that she had initiated the request for becoming friends. This girl touched her deeply with her sincerity and kindness, and she wanted to believe that it was not a fleeting dream that will vanish into thin air upon her waking up. She was also nervous about the possible rejection from this girl, as it was him who guided her to this girl and a rejection seemed as if she had failed him.
Eden waited with bated breath for the girl's reply. Every moment of silence just served to increase her anxiety. However, the girl with the brightest smile she has ever seen said:
"What do you mean, Eden? We are already friends, aren't we?"
Hearing this made Eden feel happy and content, she just somehow knew that this was going to be one of the best decisions of her life.
"Yes, we are." Eden said happily and smiled herself. Perhaps this party was not so boring after all.
At that moment there was no way for her to realize how much she would be right as this girl would not only become an inseparable and dearest friend, like a sister; but also, it would lead her to be closer to the one whom she would devote herself to.
DOCKYARD NO. 3 (HARBOUR AREA) (BUCHAREST- ROMANIAN EMPIRE) – 2021(Previous era) (An hour later)
The man named Dominique shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. He was currently sitting in the driver's cab of the leading truck that was being escorted to the harbour to deliver the weapons to the organization. The one escorting the trucks was no other than one of the six agents, the most upper members of the organization. They were extremely powerful, being given weapons far more advanced than anything seen before, which can seemingly change shape if the rumours were to be believed. And to think such a high-ranking member was sitting beside him… driving the said truck.
Dominique glanced sideways to see the face of the agent. Cold, emotionless sky-blue eyes, a sharp and emotionless face set into a thin line and silver-white hair greeted his vision upon him turning his head. He internally shivered at the cold aura that emitted from the man sitting at his side. He had understood clearly with what happened in the warehouse that it was not wise to mess or in any way make the agents feel displeased; because when you do that, your family will not even know how you died. This he can't allow. Sure, he was an irredeemable scum that worked for a shady organization that smuggled weapons, but when you are faced with the choice of seeing your daughters die on the streets, shivering or working in a dark organization to make enough money to ensure that they can have all of their dreams fulfilled, then the choice was simple. He promised her that he would, no matter what; they were the only thing left reminding him of the blissful days that he once lived, of the love of his life, of her.
He was brought out of his thoughts when the truck abruptly stopped. Dominique quickly looked at the person who was driving the truck. He saw him looking at him with his cold eyes which made him have cold sweat from fear and nervousness. He then gulped inaudibly and after mustering all his courage asked in a meek voice:
"I-Is there s-something the matter, s-sir?"
He mentally berated himself for stuttering, but what could he do? This man before him was dangerous and could kill him easily. If he was alone, it wouldn't have mattered; but then his daughters would be alone. His eldest was in high school with the second one still in middle school. If he died as well, then they would have to brave this world alone. Just thinking about it was enough to stop him cold. The only thing he could do was to cower and live his life as he always had.
The man unknown to his inner fears replied:
"Where are we supposed to do the handover?"
"Oh, was that not mentioned for you? I thought that you knew already?"
"Answer my question." the man said coldly.
"Y-Yes." Dominique shook with fear "The drop-off will be done at the fourth pier."
"Hmm." the man acknowledged and started the truck again to move it to the appropriate place. All this while Dominique cursed his luck to be in this position for the first time since he joined as a field clerk for the organization.
Kevin could see clearly the fear and nervousness dripping off the man sitting beside him and from this, he could safely conclude that he was not a fighter but more of an errand person. Although by seeing the respect and behaviour of the thugs in the warehouse, it seemed that he was one of the older members. Then how did he not recognise that he was not the real Coscoe?
There was something wrong with the entire situation. Once this realization hit him, he became more cautious and guarded. If his line of thinking was correct, these people were out of the loop of the happenings of two nights prior. They have been set up as bait to lure him out, presumably to take care of him once and for all.
Kevin drove the truck to Pier no. 4 as this man had said earlier. However, there were no people guarding the place, which made him sure that an ambush was waiting for him the moment he stopped the truck and stepped out of it. He then looked over at the man beside him, seemingly unaware that he had been fed as a scapegoat just for the sake of luring him out. How typical of a dark organization, he thought. However, even though it left a bad taste in his mouth after seeing how the lower members were treated, he was not going to save them. It was not the time for cheap pity, these people should've understood the risks when joining Cocoon in the first place.
Thinking this, he just pulled the truck over to the supposed pier and stopped. He then turned off the engine and stepped out of the truck. There were three more trucks behind him, all loaded with various types of weapons worth millions of NAF (North American Federation) dollars. He wondered if they were okay with letting this much amount of weapons go up in smoke, just for the sake of killing him. It seemed like backwards for an organization which was militaristic in nature and wanted to pile up weapons to build up their arsenal and expand their fighting strength, especially to supposedly rival the Moths. The last deduction came from seeing the actions of the agents he had thus met so far. They wanted to see him dead at all costs, so it was safe to assume that they wanted to decrease Moths' fighting strength by killing him and other stronger fighters. He was sure that people like aniki, aneki and Kalpas would also have assassination attempts made on them. Kevin suddenly came to a stop as he realised something,
What about Elysia?
'Dammit.' he cursed himself as he realised the true meaning of why there was no one here today. They were not targeting him at all, especially after what happened two nights ago. Their real target was…
"Elysia." Kevin said out loud, turning on his heels and intending on making his way to the party at the Imperial Hall. However, before he could even take a step, a flying rocket came barrelling toward him. He quickly brought out and unsheathed Homura, just as the rocket approached him.
SLASH.
He slashed hard, causing the rocket to get bisected into two. The two bisected halves flew away from Kevin on both his sides and impacted the large crane behind him, blowing away its entire base. The crane then without its base came crashing down on the last of the trucks that he escorted here. This caused the explosives in the truck to ignite and blow up.
BOOOOM.
A large explosion rattled the entirety of the Harbour area, with the second truck coming in the way of the flying shrapnel from the third truck. Although it did not combust like the earlier one, the virtue of being only carrying rifles and empty weapons; still the people in the truck were not spared as they were literally burned to death.
"AAAAAAAAAA." the thugs' screams rang out in the night, as their bodies literally melted from the inside out. Some tried to escape the wreck of the truck to save themselves, only to find that that it was so mangled that it was impossible to crawl out of it. Kevin can only stand there as he saw with his eyes, a thug's face melting off his skull with him pleading in a desperate voice for Kevin to save him.
"S….a…ve…m…..e…" as he completely melted away, turning into ashes by the intense heat of the flames produced by the burning of the explosives. Kevin then turned his head ignoring the cries of other thugs, as by looking at the condition of the two trucks and the spreading fire, it was safe to assume that it was too late.
Kevin was trying to locate the place from where the rocket was fired when he heard a door being opened and someone came rushing toward him. He tilted his head slightly backwards to see the man with whom he came running up to him. Once he approached him, the man stopped and panted a little to collect his breath. He then looked up and asked with fear clear in his eyes:
"W-what is happening, sir? Why are we being attacked?"
Kevin remained silent before speaking up:
"We are being targeted."
"But why?" Dominique asked not able to understand the situation. One minute they were pulling up the designated pier; and the next thing he knew, two of the four trucks were blown apart by an RPG supposedly fired at Agent Coscoe. He wanted answers, but more than that he wanted to leave this place. His instincts screamed that if he remained here, he will die. He didn't want to die, he can't die. He had to go home to his lovely daughters. Thus, he looked expectantly at the agent in front of him, to give him an explanation and hopefully a way out of this situation.
However, a new voice suddenly spoke up and broke all his expectations:
"It is because he is not the real agent Coscoe."
"Eh?" Dominique turned his head to see a bulky man walking towards them. He was wearing a military vest along with several utility belts attached to it, carrying weapons like throwing knives, daggers and ammo for different types of guns. In his hands, he was carrying a huge Gatling gun and on his back, there was a big axe that seemed like it weighed more than the man's own weight. There were numerous scars on his exposed arms and on his face, there was a cut running from the left bottom cheek all the way to the right eyebrow. All in all he looked like a typical all-brawn and no-brain type of guy.
He stopped short of them and steadied his gun. This caused Kevin to become alert as his fingers tightened around the handle of Homura. Seeing his reaction, the man gave a burly laugh and said:
"Don't be so hasty now, we will eventually get to the good part. However, shouldn't we explain to the poor man why are you attacked by us?"
"…" Kevin remained silent.
Dominique on the other hand was totally confused. The one standing before him should be Agent Ralph, an agent just like Agent Coscoe; then why was he attacking his own comrade like that? Was this organization that deranged? If that was the case, then he made a choice to come here today. As he was going to get killed here.
Seeing the conflicting expression on his face, the burly man named Ralph laughed a hearty laugh and said:
"Can't understand still? It's very simple; the man you are with is not Agent Coscoe. He was killed by him two nights ago."
"What?" Dominique said in disbelief. If he was not the agent of Cocoon, then who was he? Agent Ralph answered his question for him.
"He is whom we are all trying to take care of desperately. The hero of the Moths: GODSLAYER."
"!" Dominique was shocked beyond belief. This man who had been accompanying him WAS the Godslayer? He had killed Agent Coscoe two nights prior? Then why-
'Oh.' He realised finally why this man was so distant from the people, why he didn't know about the inventory of weapons in the first place, and why he asked where the shipment was to be transported. It all made sense now, this guy was not his ally. He was…. He was…. a traitor.
"You fucking traitor. They all died because of you. I'm going to die because of you." he cursed at the man on his side, now who he knew was the organization's target: The Godslayer, Kevin Kaslana.
Kevin just kept his silence. He didn't have to explain anything anymore it seemed. However, it also meant that he was now alone with enemies on both sides, as the thugs in the remaining truck were coming towards him with whatever weapon they could get hold of from the truck. Seeing this the man named Ralph laughed again and said:
"Oh my, such a betrayal. I wasn't expecting the hero of the Moths to be such a low person."
At his jab, Kevin just pulled out the Homura completely and held it steady in front of him. He then looked into the red eyes of the third Agent that he was facing and said:
"I'm no hero, just a monster like you lot."
At this instead of becoming angry, Ralph just smirked and said:
"Yes, yes. You are correct. We are all monsters. Then you should know how we do our business, right?" He then loaded the Gatling gun and pointing it towards Kevin said:
"So, let's settle it as monsters, shall we?" and started firing the gun.
Kevin was quick to respond, rolling away from the place where he was standing earlier while taking Dominique with him as well. Once they stood up again, he tried to kick Kevin in his stomach, only for him to get stopped by the man's hand grabbing his leg. He then looked at him with loathe and spat on his face; and then with all the venom he could muster in his voice said:
"Unhand me, you scum."
"Leave here, if you want to live." Kevin said unflinchingly in a neutral voice even after being spat on the face.
"Like I will listen to a word you say. You motherfucker."
"I will not repeat it again. Leave this place unless you want to get killed by me or that man." Kevin said as he unhanded his leg and before Dominique could say anything, bolted away drawing the attention of the thugs and Ralph towards him.
"HAHAHAHA… Stop running away like a rat, get him you lots." Ralph roared and fired his gun and filled holes in literally anything that came into his path.
'Such monsters.' Dominique thought to himself as he saw Kevin running across the dockyard, cutting up any thug that came in his way without hesitation, his eyes now totally narrow and devoid of any emotion.
…
Kevin cut some more men as he dodged another hail of bullets being fired by the Ralph guy. He internally scoffed at the man, who stopped nothing to kill him as quickly as possible even if he had to shoot holes through his own men. Tens of people had died within the span of a few minutes; some from his blade, others from getting gunned down by the agent.
The said agent laughed like a maniac as he continued to shoot bullets at him. As he dodged another hail of bullets, Kevin noticed that there was a group of people running toward him holding swords that held moderate amounts of Honkai energy. It was as not advanced as his Surtr or the Homura, but for normal people like them, this moderate amount of Honkai energy was enough to corrupt them. This was supported by the fact that some of them were clearly showing early symptoms of zombification.
Such a headache, Kevin thought as he cut up another group of members who were turning into zombies. He already had these people trying to kill him and now he had to take care of humans turning to Honkai as well. He decided that it was enough holding back, as continuing to do so will only lead to things getting more difficult. These people had made their choices like those two nights ago the moment they started with the intent to kill. As he said earlier to himself: it was not the time for cheap pity.
He thus pointed Homura in the forward direction, channelled Honkai energy through his body to the blade to activate it and said the command:
"Ignite."
Flames rose from the blade of the Tachi, threatening to burn everything in its way, living or non-living. Seeing the Godslayer using the supposed sword that killed Coscoe filled Ralph with excitement. He then threw away the Gatling gun to the side and drew out the axe from his back. He then activated it by switching on its Honkai activators. As the surrounding temperature decreased, the blade of the axe froze, indicating that it was the opposite of the weapon that the Godslayer carried. He then swung the axe over his head; then pointing it towards the Godslayer, he said:
"Let's do this. I will freeze you to eternity with this sacred key of zero: Nix."
The moment he said the weapon's name, a great frosty wind blew through the entire dockyard seemingly freezing everything. Some of the remaining thugs who had the misfortune of being the ones trying to attack Kevin during this time were frozen to death instantly. When the wind stopped, Ralph struck the ground with his frozen axe shattering the sculptured thugs and killing them gruesomely. He then looked at the remaining few men and said in a low voice:
"Don't get in between our fight, weaklings. Anyone interfering, I will kill them personally." the remaining thus moved far away, not wanting to in between the fight two people having weapons that can burn or freeze somebody to death.
Ralph made the first move by swinging his axe and causing a wave of frost to shoot toward Kevin. He retaliated quickly by slashing with Homura and releasing one of his basic attacks:
"Caladbolg."
BOOOOM.
The collision of the two attacks caused a great explosion to occur which caused many of the thugs standing away to fall down. After the mist from the resulting explosion dissipated completely, one could see the resulting aftermath. The entire ground between Kevin and Ralph was gouged up with traces of scorch marks and freezing simultaneously visible.
"Oh, I'm soooo going to enjoy this. Don't die on me quickly GODSLAYER." shouted Ralph as he rushed towards Kevin with the axe's blade glowing a whitish blue. Kevin raised the raging Homura to block the attack. He slashed the Tachi upwards at the man, while the man brought down the now frost-covered axe on his head.
CLANGGG.
The clashing of the two weapons sent another gust of misty wind out. Kevin saw his hand freeze a little due to the pouring of ice from the axe and no bout he would get frostbite if he kept it up. However, he refused to give up, as there was equal damage to the enemy also. From his side view, he could see Ralph's hands getting burnt by the flames of Homura. Kevin then poured more Honkai energy causing Homura to roar more and then with the help of his mark and his natural strength started to push the man back little by little.
Seeing himself being pushed back, Ralph said:
"Don't think it's going to be easy as with Coscoe."
Then to his surprise, the man started to pour even more Honkai energy into the blade of the axe. The axe responded to the increased energy input by becoming colder and releasing more frost which quickly froze his hand holding Homura. After a minute or two of such blade locking, they simultaneously pushed back each other. Kevin looked at his right hand holding the Tachi and found it completely frozen to the handle of the blade. He then melted his hand with the flames of Homura, noticing that his hand had become a little purple. He then noticed that breathing was getting more difficult and a little cloud of puff came along his breath.
Kevin knew that if he kept this up, he will eventually get hypothermia; a condition that he was in no way prepared to face now. So, he had to end this battle fast. He then looked over at the man to see that even he was damaged by the flames of Homura. However, the damage done to him was minimal compared to him. it was then when the man started laughing:
"HAHAHAHAHA… didn't think that I would be immune to fire damage, right?"
"…"
"Shall I tell you a secret? During your fight with Coscoe, live data was sent to the Cocoon headquarters. So, we know everything about your fighting style and the specifications of your weapons. And the fact that you have some sort of unexplainable power that allows you to have superhuman abilities."
"…"
"There is no use to stay silent, Godslayer. This battle suit that I'm wearing today absorbs a huge amount of incoming Honkai energy attacks and converts it to raw Honkai energy to power the Nix. On top of that, it is also loaded with a top-class A.I that has learnt your fighting style and can provide me with the perfect counter for each of your attacks. Plus, the coating of Fire-resistant material on both the battle suit and Nix meant-"
He was interrupted mid-boasting when he had to deflect bullets fired suddenly at him. He just brought Nix to deflect the bullets; however, some of them still managed to pass through and burned his body. At this Ralph was genuinely surprised and it showed on his face. Then with a voice in disbelief, he asked:
"What?"
"You talk too much." Kevin just said these words as he started running towards him with Homura in one hand and one of the APOLLO in the other. he slashed horizontally with Homura which was blocked by the man, but in doing so the man had actually blinded himself by blocking his line of sight. Kevin took this opportunity by firing APOLLO at the man again, hitting the man once more. He knowingly fired at the unprotected arms, especially the one that held that axe. He knew that without that axe, this man was not a threat and can be taken care of easily. Ralph in response swung the axe in a circular fashion around his body, aiming at decapitating him but was unsuccessful. Having fought the third Herrscher came in handy and added with his sword martial arts training meant that he had a better sword discipline and awareness that allowed him to see the gaps in the swings of the man.
He kept dodging the attacks of the burly man waiting for the chance to strike. Ralph obviously getting tired from swinging the axe continuously got irritated at Kevin's continuous dodging and said angrily:
"Stop dodging like an insect and face me properly."
However, Kevin paid no mind to the man's taunts as he knew that they were just empty words used to rile him up. He kept dodging and parrying until he finally got the chance he was looking for.
'Now' Kevin thought to himself as he found an opening. Then with all his strength, he slashed the flaming Homura at the left hand of the man. Ralph being currently in a fatigued state wasn't able to dodge the attack completely and was slashed deep by him, his arm falling off in a clean slice.
"AAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH." the man wailed as he felt immense pain at his limb being cut off. However, there was no blood as the stump was instantly cauterised by the flames of Homura as it cut him. Ralph knelt down at the immense pain of his limb being cut off and cursed at Kevin:
"YYYYOUUUUUUUU FFUUUUUUUCCCKKEEEERRRRRRRRR."
He then got up slowly and looked at Kevin with eyes that showed his rage and insanity. Then with as much contempt in his voice as he could muster, he said:
"That's it you little shit. I'm done playing. I'm going to crush you to powder."
He then started charging the axe with more Honkai energy than Kevin had seen earlier. After the axe was brimming with Honkai energy that shouldn't be possible for anyone to achieve outside of Moths, he said a command phrase which made Kevin too stunned to speak:
"Nix: 0th Drive."
The entire surroundings got engulfed in a blizzard of Honkai energy, killing the remaining thugs by freezing them to death. When the blizzard died down, Ralph came out in what could only be called frozen armour with his cut-off arm being replaced by a frozen one made of ice. He then pointed forward the now transformed axe which looked like a halberd towards him and said:
"This is it for you, Godslayer."
He then threw the halberd with such strength that it caused the wind to be pushed aside as barrelled its way to Kevin. In response, he just concentrated all the Honkai energy towards his arms and the Tachi as he could to brace for impact. However, he clearly underestimated the force of the impact as he was flung with the halberd hitting him towards the nearby building. As he hit the building wall, he coughed out blood and heard a sickening crunch coming from his chest. His breathing became more difficult as he hacked out some more blood.
His ribs had been fractured no doubt, and perhaps some other things are broken as well. Thankfully, he couldn't feel pain anymore otherwise it would have been impossible for him to get up now. Still getting up took up quite some effort, as his legs seemed uncooperative to him. He felt a familiar coppery taste in his mouth and spat it on the side. His mind was becoming groggy with his internal injuries and blood loss from perhaps many wounds on his body.
This power was dangerous, he decided. He was in this state by just one throw of the halberd, then what would happen if he went to fight close quarters with him? He would most assuredly be cut in half. However, it wasn't as if he could give up now. He had to take care of this man and make his way to the party where most assuredly the main force of Cocoon was present to kill her.
As he was contemplating his choices, he heard a voice coming from the side:
"Pssst… Here, here."
He looked over to see the man whom he had said to leave waving his hand to him, calling him towards himself. As Kevin made his way toward the man, he saw him shivering no doubt from the sub-zero temperature of the surroundings. Once he reached him, he said:
"I told you to leave, didn't I?" to which the man replied:
"Yeah, no shit. I would've had, if not for Agent Ralph to go batshit crazy and gain that powerup."
"…"
"So, look here. I have a plan. It's going to be insane but it's our only shot."
"…"
"Look here, Scum. I wouldn't want to work with you if I could help; but at this rate, both of us are going to die. And if you want to die alone then go ahead and be my guest. But I will return to my daughters no matter what, that is the promise I have made to myself." Dominique said passionately.
Hearing the word 'Promise' made something move in Kevin's dead and frozen heart. He also made promises to his fallen comrades and *** didn't he? Then will help this man keep his promise as well; he thus decided and said:
"What are the odds?"
"Better than zero."
"Hmm, explain."
"You sure? I am technically your enemy." Dominique asked surprised that the Godslayer was suddenly so cooperative.
"Wasn't it you who said if we do nothing, we both are going to die?"
"That's true but…... aaahhhh Fuck it. Fine. So, here's the plan."
…
Ralph was searching for the Godslayer after he struck him to the building earlier. He was sure that anyone would've died of the impact if they were a normal person. However, as he knew, the Godslayer was not; and this was the reason that the Grandmaster was so interested in this man. He had ordered him to bring back the corpse, if possible, but had said nothing about the condition of the corpse. Good, that means there would be no problem if he roughed the Godslayer a little before killing him. he would make sure to make him feel 100 times the pain he felt from losing his arm.
As he searched the now frozen dockyard, he saw suddenly something rushing towards him. He just raised his halberd and blocked the attack. Blazing red met Cold sky-blue as he said:
"I already told you that you are going to die here, didn't I?" Ralph grunted out as he pushed the Godslayer off him. He then swung the halberd downward slash to cut him off in two.
Kevin just dodged again. He had to ensure that the attention of this man was on him as Dominique prepared one of the remaining Honkai-powered RPGs that he found by chance. And when he got struck by the Honkai-powered rocket, then along with it he had to use his strongest attack, hoping it would kill this man. It was a dangerously simple and reckless plan, but it was all that they had now. He looked to the side seeing Dominique getting into position with the rocket launcher. Good, just a few more minutes.
…
Dominique had never been a fighting kind of guy and as such, it was not a surprise that he was scared shitless by what he was doing now. There was a good chunk of a chance now that he was going to die now. But if they did nothing, they were going to die either way. He looked over to the Godslayer, distracting Agent Ralph. He steadied himself as he pointed the RPG towards the agent, hoping that he wouldn't notice him.
However, it would be the last mistake of his life.
"So there you are." a sound came to his ears that made him rooted to his spot. Time then slowed down as he saw a big black blur rapidly closing towards him. from the corner of his eyes, he saw the Godslayer trying to make it to him before that blur. Then something stabbed his chest and the next thing he knew pain he never experienced before spread through his entire body. He felt his consciousness slipping away with every passing second.
He squeezed whatever strength he had to see the person who had stabbed him with a halberd and saw demonic red eyes boring down at him.
"Do you think such a basic and unthoughtful plan would work on me?"
"Cough." Dominique couldn't answer and just spat out blood.
"We gave you a position in our organization and this is how you repay us? Then you can repent for your sins in the underworld." Agent Ralph said as he roughly pulled out the Halberd causing the gaping hole in his chest to get bigger.
Dominique just slumped down, blood flowing out of his body and forming a pool around him. He knew he was going to die; he was going to die and leave his two beautiful daughters all alone. He then looked over at the man who had effectively betrayed him, used him as bait, and now killed him.
'Dammit.' if it was like this, then he would make sure that this scum of a human being would go down with him. He thus grabbed the RPG with the Loaded rocket with one hand and the leg of the agent with another. Seeing this action, the agent tried to pry him away but he held on to his leg with whatever strength he had. He then looked at the Godslayer, whom he found surprisingly more trustable now, in his last moments even though 'he' was supposed to be their enemy. Then with all the remaining strength he had left in his lungs, Dominique shouted:
"NNNOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!"
Kevin didn't need to hear anything anymore. He pumped everything he had into the blade causing it to become overloaded with Honkai energy. The temperature rose and rose until it started to melt all the frozen ice and convert it to steam.
Seeing this display of power, Ralph felt fear for the first time. He somehow instinctively knew that if he didn't dodge it, he was going to die. Thus, he tried to kick the insect holding his leg away, but it held on to him like moss and held him down to the place.
"Let me go, you pathetic scum." He tried again but to no avail. He then felt extremely hot and realised that his battle suit was starting to melt and embed into his skin. His axe cracked and melted under the intense heat, and the biochip that had the A.I got fried and burst into flames. He then screamed as he saw his skin melting off his bones:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."
Kevin just pumped more and more Honkai energy as he could muster into Homura. The flames grew so hotter that his coat started to burn off the edges and his hands started to get burned, but he didn't care. He had failed again to protect the happiness of a family and had taken away a father from two daughters. This thought drove his rage towards the man who was the cause of it all.
Screw the mission he thought, he will personally burn down the entire organization into ashes, all the agents except Sakura and their supposed Grandmaster themselves. And it will all start from here now, with the man in front of him.
He then looked at the man which such an expression that made him scream:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA. DEMON."
He finally readied his strongest attack and said in a low voice which almost sounded inhuman,
"Excalibur… Galatine." And slashed downward hard. The flames carrying all his anger against this agent, regret to save Dominique and rage toward Cocoon came down on Ralph. The agent didn't even get the chance to make a sound as he was turned to ash in an instant. Unfortunately, Dominique who was holding Ralph also burned away.
As Dominique saw the flames of judgement reach them, he thought to himself just how shitty but blissful his life had been. Seeing that he would finally reunite with the love of his life, he finally thought:
'I'm Home… Martha.'
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The large explosion covered the entirety of Dockyard no.3, destroying it beyond saving. Many of the container boats that were tethered were destroyed as well, their cargo flying away in all directions. All the buildings in the dockyard were destroyed as well. If it would have been a normal day, then there would have been casualties in hundreds as well; but thankfully today being a national holiday, the only casualties here were the members of Cocoon and the thugs they had hired.
Once the dust settled down, Kevin looked around to see the destruction that his fight had caused. As usual broken earth, twisted metal and a burning surrounding greeted him. They told him of the things that he had done, of what he is. These past few days he had allowed himself to be swayed by those women's words, but he wondered if they would say the same after seeing this.
He then noticed something shining a few metres away. Picking it up, he saw it to be a pendant of sorts. He opened it and saw a picture of a family happily smiling while taking a photo. Seeing the picture, he knew that it belonged to the man who had basically sacrificed himself for his sake. He then saw the two younger girls and understood that they were the daughters that he was promising himself about going back to.
A promise that will now forever be left broken, just because he was not able to defeat the man named Ralph earlier. Dominique had to pay the price for his powerlessness and now his daughters were all alone in this world. He then saw something engraved on the lid of the pendant:
"My Princesses."
Seeing this just brought more guilt to Kevin. They looked so happy in this picture, and now it was all taken away by him. It was always like this, he burned to ashes whatever he touched, destroying it; memories, relationships, happiness, love. All that remained is this emptiness that never got filled, no matter how much time passes. This was the reason that he believed that there was no forgiveness or saving such a monster like him. A demon that can only destroy.
He pocketed the pendant, intending it to return to its rightful owners after all this was over. He put the self-deprecating thoughts and the guilt in the back of his mind, turning his focus on the current situation. There was always time for lament afterwards.
He sheathed Homura and made his way out of the dockyard to find any vehicle to take him to the Imperial Hall. Fortunately, that Ralph man and his goons had left many cars some distance away from the dockyard which he was able to break into easily. Once he started one of them, he shifted the gear and pushed the gas pedal all the way down, making his way to the Imperial Hall as quickly as possible.
He just hoped that he would make it in time.
To be continued…
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
Phew. Writing this chapter took way longer than I imagined. I struggled with writer's block so many times during writing this chapter because I wanted the fight between Kevin and Ralph to be as epic as possible. Since I had planned the COCOON arc to be finished in the next two chapters, I had to increase the word limit per chapter and here we are.
Anyway, with the dockyard fight over, we are coming to the climax of this arc. The next two chapters as promised will wind up the COCOON arc, and thus expect them to be filled with fights and revelations. So, look forward to it.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.