Okay, I know. I am taking too long to get to specific parts of the story. For now, I would try to put more content in each chapter.
I don't know what to call Tatsumi's Imperial Arms, so there will be no name for it at this moment. If you have an idea for it, please tell me. In this chapter, Tatsumi's Imperial Arms finally make its appearance.
Also, I took it upon myself to make Zank a little bit more over powered.
Okay, enough ranting, lemme start writing.
Volume 1: Chapter 9: Armor of Black IV
This spectacle before me was not possible. It just simply isn't logical. How can the dead be still alive. It just isn't right. They were standing in front of me, with the same smiles etched onto their faces. The radiant smiles that gave off warmth.
No way. I saw them die before me. They should have been dead. So why are they in front of me? Wait, no, that isn't right. He did mention that his Imperial Arm messes with my mind.
Even though I know this piece, it was replaced by the shock of seeing Ieyasu and Sayo who stood before me. They are dead, and they are never going to come back. So why are they still alive?
Just what did I get myself into.
...
I sprinting around the Capital, hoping to familiarise myself with the streets and not get lost. I doesn't hurt to be hardworking. This also serve as a way for me to be prepared for anything. Knowing the terrain would be helpful, if I were ever to be caught in a sticky situation.
The Capital seemed like a maze. Every corner I turns results in me finding something new. It seemed as though it would take at least a few days just to know where everything is.
"Hey did you hear? Someone was murdered yesterday. Heard from the Guards, it was Zank, the warden. Apparently he went mad and starts murdering everyone he sees."
This discussion caught my attention. Zank? Where have I heard that name from?
"Yeah, I know. He is the reason why there is a curfew put in place. Anyone, including the Imperial Guards, found outside would always be headless." Before long, their discussion became something about things that happened in their personal lives.
I have heard that a curfew was put in place. Apparently, the moment the sun goes down, everyone was expected to be in their homes. No one should be on the streets, unless you have a death wish. The streets would become completely empty. Perhaps there would be some people who are still outside, skeptical of being dead only by going outside. The result would be the same regardless of whoever set foot outside. Death.
I had initially wanted to stay past the curfew and battle Zank, but judging from my fight with Ogre, it was clear how much of a gap there was between a veteran fighter and a rookie. I wouldn't even be a match for Zank.
I remember now. Zank. The Beheader. He escaped from the Imperial Prison in the West of the Empire. Apparently, he went insane and caused a rampage. Killing wardens and prisoners alike. The cause of his insanity was unknown. Some theorised that he went insane from the number of people he executed as a warden. He also acquired a Imperial Arm while he was on rampage in the prison. I never was able to grasp what Imperial Arms are. I only regarded them as weapons with powers that is capable of performing miracles. I was hoping to find one myself. It seems pretty useful and it doesn't hurt to possess one. However, Hikari did mention that the wielder of the Imperial Arms needs to be compatible with the Imperial Arms to be able to use it.
Something invaded my thoughts. It came as an image in my mind, which only came for about an instant. It was a black knight. Blue flames danced around his helmet and between the cracks in his armor. Just as sudden in its appearance, the image was dispelled by my other thoughts. I desperately tried to find that image again from within the depths of my mind, hoping to find answers. It wasn't easy and I never did find it. It took me a few moment to comprehend what had just happened. The last time I had visions like this was after Ieyasu and Sayo had died. I told no one, but while I was crying I had visions of them dying over and over again and I also saw them back at the village, happily interacting with everyone.
I looked up at the sky. It's getting late. I should hurry back soon. The sun has set and curfew should have already been in place. I stopped at a convenience store to grab some snacks before heading back.
"Someone, please. Anyone, help me!" someone screamed. It seems like the person who requested for help was nearby. Maybe I should go check it out, see what's going on. I started running towards the direction of the voice. Someone seems to be in trouble. In front of me, a burly man was having a tug of war with a lady. It seems like the man was dragging both the bag she was carrying and her towards the alleyways. Maybe an attempted robbery and rape. When not many people are outside, crime like stealing and such would be common.
Rushing to the ladies' aid, I tackled the burly man. The man tried to score a few punches on me but was ineffective and they were easily dodge. Seeing as to how things aren't looking up for him, he started running away.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
"I think so." She said.
A sound resembling flesh being cut echoed throughout the streets. I looked around. There was no one in sight.
"Say, I think we should go indoors. There is a serial killer on the loo-" My words were stuck in my mouth as something landed onto the ground near me. I looked towards the object. There were few strands of hair attached to the object, and one end of it has a red liquid oozing out of it. I turned back to the girl which I helped. He body was still standing, like before. The only difference is that her head is missing from its usual spot. Blood was still spurting out of her neck, which looked like a fountain. After a few moments, the body fell onto the floor. I stood up from where I was and looked around. I was in the middle of an alleyway. There are many places that the culprit could be at. I could be taken by surprise and that could be fatal. Drawing my sword, I started sprinting for the town square. If I remember correctly, there are tons of space for combat and very little place for the killer to take me by surprise. I kept running, all the while checking for traps. My mind was working in overdrive, looking for places where I could be ambushed and also places he can run to as a last resort.
The Town Square came into my view. Giving myself a bit more strength into each step, I burst into the Town Square. Whoever was trying to kill me earlier would be forced to come out should he or she want to kill me. I waited, but no one appeared. I kept waiting but still no one appeared.
Someone tapped me on my shoulder. Sensing unease, I moved away from my initial spot. Turning around, I received the greatest shock of my life. In front of me were the people who I had seen die before me. Ieyasu and Sayo.
"Guys? You're alive?" I was shock and surprised. My friends are dead, I buried them. So how is it that they are still alive. Something seems off.
The two friends gave no reply to my question. I was going to approach them when a stray thought came into my mind. This could just be a hallucination. Lately, I have been mentally unstable due to the loss of my friends. It would not be surprising if I had actually gone mad and start seeing illusions of them. There is no way they are still alive. That's right.
An illusion.
Now that I think about it. Since they are already dead and the people before me should've been dead, doesn't it make sense to kill the illusionary them too? This way I would be able to get over their deaths. That's right. Kill the two before me.
"""Kill them."""
It seems the voices that have been in my head have returned. It seems they are now urging me to kill them.
I charged towards my two friends, blade aimed at their necks.
The illusions of them quickly changed as I charged. Replacing them at that spot was a middle-aged man. He has blades attached at his wrists, which he had used to block against the attack just now.
"Man, you really are crazy. I wanted to kill you tomorrow since you were just another ordinary guy, but it seems you aren't ordinary in the first place. Oops, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Zank and many call me the Beheader. I am very good at executions I gotta say. Your mind is as fucked-up as mine. Man, you are not even hesitating when you wanted to kill your dead friends."
He sneak a peek at me and instantly stopped speaking. It seems he was preparing himself for combat. I gripped my sword firmly. I am pissed. This guy claimed to have made me see the illusions of my dead friends. I was relieved. It proves that I wasn't insane. That's really great, but I was also pissed. He made me see illusions of my dead friends. He must have been playing tricks on my mind. I really hate it when someone is able to read my thoughts. I readied myself and charged. Putting all of my power into each step.
I looked at him dead in the eye. Every voice in my mind is now screaming for me to kill him. It keeps getting louder every second. I reached him and stabbed my sword tip-first. I tried to stab him, and it pierced his flesh. Well, would have, if he didn't bring up his wrist blades to deflect the stab.
"Useless. Simply useless. None of your strikes would even land a hit on me. Not while I have this thing on me. Behold. Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator. I can see every move you make. My Imperial Arm allows me to see into your mind. I can hear every thought you have and also allows me to see the future. " Zank explained.
I processed this in my mind. The voices are now a symphony of different verses. Some screamed that he was lying, others screamed that what he said was impossible. I tried my best to ignore them and focused on my thoughts and begin to think. I was skeptical about seeing into the future. The future isn't set in stone. Maybe he can only see a possibility of how the future would turn out to be, or predict. Also seeing into another's mind would seem impossible, but after witnessing first hand the power the Imperial Arms contain, I was starting to believe that this could actually be true. If Zank can read minds, he would have known everything that I have in my arsenal and techniques that I could pull.
I backed away and charged to wards him once more. I made sure to run as fast as I can. I wasn't satisfied with my current speed. Zank was taken aback when I charged towards him. He hastily lifted his wrist blades to block my strikes. His wrist blades are more for consecutive strikes than heavy strikes. If I can gather enough strength, I would be able to gain an opening.
"Kid, here's an advice. Don't think too much." Zank said as he punch me in my stomach, launching me a few metres back. I wasn't stabbed, the blade merely grazed my sides.
"Kid, tell me this. What do you do with the screams? I peeked into your mind. Screams of people are there. Were they people you killed? Or were they people whom died in front of you? "
I gave no reply. I don't even know myself.
"It seems like you could use some entertainment." he started laughing.
I looked up from he he had fallen. The entire landscape has changed. I continue to look around. The skies were dyed red. In the ground were many crosses. Everywhere, people were crucified. Some tied to it using ropes, while others were pinned using nails. Most of the people who were crucified were strangers whom I don't recognise. Some seemed familiar. Among them, I saw someone familiar. It was someone he had seen many times. He had also saved me a couple of times. On the cross, was Hikari.
...
Zank kneel down from where he stood. Using his Imperial Arm's trump card is actually physically demanding, but it was worth it. He had manage to immobilize his target. He wondered just who this kid was. His mind was pretty scary, and his past was tainted with blood. Especially blood of his loved ones. Just as he was about to behead him, he felt a sharp pain on his right hand. Something was stabbed into his hand. Another sharp pain was felt. He look down to see strings shooting out of his stomach.
"Sorry. I had wanted to kill you in a proper but the current situation now doesn't allow me to do so. You see, that kid is somehow related to us so you may want to spare his life."
With some movement of his fingers, Zank's wrist blade was now lodged into his throat and he lay dead, choking on his own blood. Hikari walked towards the corpse and plucked the eye shaped Imperial Arms off his forehead.
"Now whatever he did to Tatsumi should wear off."
Hikari took a step forward, hoping to retrieve Tatsumi. In that instant that he was about to pick him up, his instincts started to act up. His legs pushed him away from Tatsumi's body.
In the next instant, the area around Tatsumi exploded. The entire ground surrounding him began to burn in dark blue flames. Tatsumi' body began to stand up from within the flames. His skin melted under the strong heat. Flesh began to darken as it becomes burnt. The black parts of the flesh melted and moved throughout his body. It eventually hardened and formed a protective layer around Tatsumi. He took a few steps forward, and pulled a sword out from a region of space that seems like it was also burnt black by the flames. A sword materialized in his hand. With a demonic roar, the flames that burnt were extinguished by the wind created from it. The concrete tiles were also blown away in all direction by the wind caused by the roar.
Analyzing what had happened, Hikari looked shocked at what was once Tatsumi. Tatsumi was now wearing an armor that was even darker than the night sky. His armor also has cracks in several areas and blue light of the flames shone through the cracks from under the armor.
Hikari stared at the suit of armor, wide-eyed.
"When did he acquire an Imperial Arm?" Hikari yelled to himself from within his mind. This is bound to attract attention. This has to be settled cautiously and efficiently. I can't kill Tatsumi who could still be alive under the armor. Yet I have to make him regain control of his Imperial Arm. Maybe the activation and lost of control of the Imperial Arm was caused by the effects of the imperial Arm Spectator. The trump card of Spectator was recorded to be capable of any feat as long as it is done on the mind. Hikari is unsure of what Tatsumi was shown, but it couldn't have been pleasant.
This message implies that rewrite for this chapter is done.
As you can clearly see, Tatsumi's mental state is becoming increasingly unstable when mentioned about his friends or loved ones. The Teigu he possess is also created by yours truly. I upped the specs for Spectator. Instead of just simple mind tricks, mind reading and prediction of the future, it is capable of anything related to mind abilities, provided the user is able to handle it. Of course, none of the users, except for the first user of the Imperial Arm, can be able to bring out its full capabilities.
This chapter took me quite a while, since I have to describe how the transformation works, and it killed plenty of my brain cells trying to think of unique transformation for Tatsumi's teigu.
Well, all I wanted to say for this chapter have been said. Please leave a review.
Thank you for reading and have a good day.