At the Margue Plateau...
Akame and Walker had returned from their hunting trip, bringing many dead Danger Beasts back with them. Course they had to sort through the beast cut down my Murasume otherwise risk dying from its poison, but lucky only a third of the corpses these two brought back were tainted.
As Susunoo, Akame and Walker prepared some of the fresh meat for tonight's meal, Shi approached the three.
"I have news." The controlled shinobi spoke. "When you are able, head into the cabin. I wish to share this with all of you at once."
It took about ten minutes for the entirety of Night Raid to gather. Shi slowly scanned the room, looking into the faces of everyone gathered there before he spoke.
"Pyro is currently engaged with General Esdeath and her Jagaers." He said bluntly, pausing as several of Night Raid's members gasped. "He's holding his own for now, but there seems to be some sort of complication."
"What kind of complication?" Najenda asked in her usual 'down to business' tone.
"What seems to be a new type of Danger Beast has suddenly appeared around them and in large numbers." Shi replied, glancing at the leader of Night Raid. "Their appearance is...odd. Like they're some kind of mutant or artificial creation."
"Wait." Tatsumi spoke up this time. "You're saying there Danger Beasts in the Capital?!"
"Correct," Shi turned his gaze towards the young man. "But for the moment I have no knowledge of how these monsters appeared out of thin air."
"Seems like someone took a page out of you're book." Lubbock muttered, but loud enough so the other could hear him.
"Perhaps..." Shi closed his eyes.
"We have to do something though!" Tatsumi grinned his teeth, clenching his fists tight enough that they began to shake. "Innocent people are going to die!"
The young man felt a hand grasp firmly on his shoulder. He looked up, noticing Bulat staring right back at him. "There's no way we can get there Tatsumi." He said in a calm tone. "Even if we did and moved to the Capital right this instant, it would probably be over by the time we arrived."
Tatsumi looked down at the floor. "But..."
"I'll have you know," Shi continued. "That Bols and our inside agent Drake are currently evacuating the nearby populace. Casualties should be kept to a minimal thanks to their efforts."
That seemed to satisfy the young man, at least enough to stop his worries.
"What made Pyro engage Esdeath in the first place?" Mine asked. "I mean, did Clockwork finally decide to strike or what?"
"Far from it." Shi replied. "He's only acting as a decoy while other operatives carry out key missions that -I regret to inform you- are top secret and any information regarding said missions cannot be shared with you."
"So you do have secrets you don't wish for us to know." Chelsea added.
Serpentine's puppet turned his head towards the girl. "Don't we all?"
Shi turned his head back around. "The situation is developing. I'll give you information as it comes along. Until then, you may carry out your business."
Meanwhile, at the Capital...
Pyro had no idea what the hell these creatures surrounding General Esdeath, her Jagaers and even himself were. Best guess, these some new type of Danger Beasts, but how the did they get into the Capital? And what was that purple glow from before?
Whatever. It didn't matter right now. Hell, these monsters unexpected appearance will probably help occupy his opponents. After all, the Clockwork member was stalling for time.
Pyro looked back to his true opponent, who in turn meet his gaze.
After a few moments, the Danger Beasts began there move. Some wondered around the streets below as others choose one of the humans around them, gathering around in small herds before striking at their indicated target.
The mutant like monsters roared as they closed in, either running or jumping towards their prey.
The Jagaers turned their attention to the incoming threat. Each member of Esdeath private army engaged their new foes, cutting them down one by one. Problem was, there were many of these Danger Beasts and each one as tenacious as the last.
Several of the humanoid Danger Beasts leaped towards General Esdeath and Pyro, easily jumping dozens of feet as they rushed towards these two. Even so, neither General Esdeath nor Pyro acknowledged the airborne Danger Beasts.
As the monstrosities loomed inches from the two, they spun around facing the abominations.
Pyro threw one arm out, then made a side aimed slash motion. "Don't you-" He yelled as fire suddenly engulfed half the approaching Danger Beasts.
"-Interfere!" Esdeath finished as she created numerous ice shards. She commanded these shards towards the monsters, impaling the rest that dared tried to intervene in her battle.
The two spun back around, looking into each others eyes as the corpses of the Danger Beasts plummeted to the ground.
"Looks like its down to you and me again." Pyro said with a smirk.
Esdeath smiled in kind. "Indeed. Now we can fight without interruption."
Pyro let out a chuckle. "I think it's time I start cutting loose." As he spoke, the pulsing flame wings on his back began to morph. The set of wings began to take a more physical form as details started to take shape upon the flame wings.
They extended out, pulsing with new found life. Now, the set of wings, aside from the pulsing motion and the fact that they were made of pure fire, looked almost exactly like a set of red bird wings.
"The Phoenix has taken flight." Pyro smiled, grinning his teeth. "Get ready, cause I'm fired up now!"
Drake cut down another of the new Danger Beasts. That made 5 so far.
Damn things where everywhere, chasing after anyone they saw and eating anyone unfortunate enough to be caught.
It was a good call trying to evacuate the civilians before had, otherwise there would be a hell of a lot more blood on the streets.
"What the hell's with these freaks?" The double agent said. "I swear, Pyro shows up to take on Esdeath and all hell breaks loose." He looked up at the sky. "World would go to hell when those two fight each other." He let out a sigh. "Just my luck to be caught in the middle of all this..."
Before he could add anything further, Drake heard a roar coming from behind him. The forward managed to turn half his body around before spotting the nasty bugger charging towards him.
"Look out!" Bols appeared out of nowhere, ramming the Danger Beast with a speed most didn't think the big guy could achieve. The force of the blow sent the monster flying into the side of a building.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, the former Incineration Squad member pulled his Imperial Arms: Rubicate forward. Bols took a moment to aim before activating his flamethrower. Flame raced towards the Danger Beast, setting it on aflame and reducing it to ashes soon after.
Bols lowered his weapon, turning his head to Drake. "Are you alright Drake?"
That latter blinked a few times before replying. "Thanks, I guess. Could've got him though."
"Sorry. I saw that creature caught you off guard and thought you needed help is all."
Drake grinned his teeth in a smirk. "Not at all, dumb bastard gave himself away with that roar." He lowered his lip, covering his teeth while still maintaining his smirk. "Still, thanks for that."
"Of course. What are comrades for?"
That stung Drake somewhere in his heart. Comrades huh? If only he knew.
"R-right." The old soldier replied, trying his best to mask the uncertainty in his voice. "Hey, lets move on." He gave Bols a half smile. "There's bound to be more of those things around here." Drake leaned his sword on his shoulder. "Best hurry and kill'em all before they eat anymore innocents."
"Oh! You're right!" Bols spun his head back around. "Shall we go?"
"Aye, hell maybe I can save me a damsel in distress."
Bols let out a short chuckle. "We make quite the pair of heroes don't we?"
Drake shrugged his shoulders. "Well I wouldn't go that far."
Bols chuckled one more. "You're right, but hey let's get going." He started off, half running in some random direction.
Drake paused for a few moments. The look on his face turn more serious. 'If only you knew who were the real heroes.' He thought, clenching his fists. 'Then maybe you wouldn't have to die, Bols.'
Joker threw a knife into the forehead of another one of those abominations. The creature screamed in pain, giving Lacus an opening. The scythe welder sliced the beast's head off with one strike.
Joker turned his head, the alleyway was littered with the dead bodies of these new creatures...Oh and the half eaten corpses of Nouken's whores. The general however, was rather unscathed. He wasn't a general for show it seems, despite how easy it was to gain control over him.
These creatures however, were a complication. What the hell were they? From their appearance, they seem to be some sort of Danger Beast, but they seemed...off. Like they were artificially made. That, and the fact that they look somewhat human didn't put those thoughts to rest.
"Master, if I may." General Nouken spoke, interrupting Joker's thoughts as the forward slowly approached. Joker turned his attention towards the mind controlled man. "Go ahead."
"Given the current situation, I believe it's best if I return to the nearest Imperial garrison and quarantine this area." The general continued. "These monsters could prove a problem, both to you and the overall plan. That said, the best course of action I can take to assist you is to confront these beasts while you slip through and carry on the your objective."
Nouken bowed as he finished speaking. "If you would allow it, my master."
It didn't take too long for the politician to decide.
"Very well." Joker turned his head to the Bloodborn Twins. "Lacus, Luna, where leaving." He turned around, leaving Nouken to his task. The latter bowed once more before turning in a different direction and storming off.
True, these creatures would pose a problem, but if Nouken could command enough men to contain them then there shouldn't be a problem. And as a bonus, the Empire's attention will be focused on these Danger Beasts. Leaving Joker all the time in the world to purge or convert the rest of his targets.
Minutes later...
Fuyu watched from the palace walls as soldiers moved around with great haste. It seems there was a great deal happening in the merchant district, much more than he planed. Perhaps Pyro was going over board in drawing attention to himself, but that was the case these fools would do little good against the likes of him.
Now with the mass murder of most of his opposition in the Senate, all blamed on the poor Senator Nark, the talks scheduled for today have been postponed. This will most likely stand for hours, days even, as the decide who should fill the now vacant chairs.
This suited the Partas survivor just fine. Though he had a talent for politics didn't mean he enjoyed them, it fact thanks to his little scheme Fuyu had all the free time in the world.
Perhaps he go down to the merchant district.
A large volume of fire suddenly streaked across the distant merchant district, engulfing several dozen feet.
Fuyu smiled. This might be an interesting day after all.
General Esdeath rolled across the rooftops adjacent to her, narrowly avoiding the massive attack Pyro had recently unleashed. In a straight line that was close to a mile long, a large volume of fire raged in the occupied space instantly incinerating all caught in its path.
'His powers have increased dramatically!' She mentally shouted, glancing at her opponents newly formed flame wings. 'Such an interesting Imperial Arms. If only I knew more about it I could find some sort of weakness.'
"Told you I'm fired up!" Pyro shouted, his wings flapping up and down as he hovered in place. "No more pulling punches, this is were the fun truly begins!"
"Well then," General Esdeath grinned her teeth. "I hate to disappoint you!"
A pillar of ice spawned beneath the general's feet, carrying the latter rapidly up in the air. After she gained a good dozen feet distance from her opponent, the ice pillar stopped its accent. Esdeath looked down at Pyro, smiling.
She snapped her fingers, a moment after a massive ball of ice formed above her head. The iceball plummeted towards the Clockwork member. Pyro smirked. "This trick again?"
He flew towards the ball at top speed. Halfway towards the object, Pyro began to spin round and round, creating a flame spiral around himself. He rushed towards the iceball, colliding with Esdeath's attack. The two forces seemed even at first, briefly pushing one another.
After a moment, Pyro burned a path through the massive ice chunk. The latter burst out the other end as his flame vial faded., imminently coming face to face with a waiting General Esdeath.
The latter sent an upperkick towards her opponent, to which the latter dodged by a hair. She followed up with a small volley of ice shards. Despite being almost point blank, Pyro managed to back up a few inches before blocking the attack with his wings.
In the next moment, Esdeath closed in on her opponent, catching the man by surprise as he pulled back his flame wings. The sadistic general threw a right hook at Pyro, the latter barely managed to catch the blow with his left hand.
General Esdeath let out a chuckle. "I'm starting to figure out that Imperial Arms of yours."
"Oh?" Pyro smiled. "Well by all means, share with the rest of the class Esdeath."
"Before your 'wings' sprouted, you were rather untouchable save the moment I caught you off guard as you can willingly turn your body into flames. Other than that, you attacks were rather...insignificant compared to now."
The general smiled before continuing. "When you sprouted these Phoenix Wings, your powers have increased dramatically. However, them seem to come at a cost. Thanks to these last few attacks, I have reason to believe you gave up you intangibility in exchange for power."
"And what makes you think I can't turn intangible like before?" The Clockwork agent smiled. "I could be playing around, making you believe what I can and can't do."
Esdeath smirked. "You're correct in that aspect. I have no idea if you are leading me on to lure me into a trap or not." Her smirk widened. "Well just have to find out!"
Meanwhile...
One of the new Danger Beasts crashed though a building and into another, dying instantly.
Wave turned to his left, focusing on a hesitant group of the same type of monsters.
"There's still so many of these guys!"
Kurome jumped to the young man's side at that point. Her gaze fixated on another group of Danger Beasts she'd been fighting.
"Oh, do you want to take a break?" She teased her ally with a smirk. "I can handle your group of Danger Beasts as well. Maybe I'll even let you have some of my snacks if you beg me."
"I'm doing just fine by myself Kurome!" Wave replied. "Besides, I don't believe for a second that you would share food with anyone."
"Ha, I guess you got me there." Kurome smiled. "I wanted to see you beg is all."
"You really are heartless." Wave smiled underneath his helmet. "But, in your own way, that's how you show you care about me."
"Yeah, cause an idiot like you would probably die if I wasn't watching your back." She bluntly replied. "Oh, and you'll be cleaning up this mess once we're done. So keep on smashing through those building, idiot."
"Wait what?!"
At that moment, both groups of Danger Beasts charged the two Jagaers. The latter two refocused on the approaching enemies, dashing after their group as they renewed their efforts to exterminate the abominations from the streets of the Capital.
Feathers rained down on a small group of Danger Beasts, wounding most while killing a few.
Run hovered high above the numerous abominations, for if he drifted any closer to the ground the beasts would surely catch him. For such large and clumsy looking beasts, they were quite agile and able to jump several dozen feet into the air.
"They truly are relentless." The young man said after watching the group he attacked stand to their feet. These Danger Beasts were tough to be sure, but they had weakness. Weaknesses that were share with humans...How very odd.
That's when I thought popped into Run's head. These abominations shared human characteristics, however fleeting they where. Could it be that these monsters were once human?
Artificially created Danger Beasts. Human beings that went through ungodly modifications to become carnivorous monstrosities.
Run only knew of one man who would carry out such an act, the very same scientist who was known for his human modifications surgeries.
It still didn't add up though, as the good doctor was certainly dead. Since that's the case, who released these creatures out into the open? And who other than the Jegaers had knowledge of Dr. Stylish's laboratory?
Perhaps there was another, secret lab the doctor kept hidden. If so, who was the one whom found it?
"Open fire!" A voice shouted, breaking the young man out of his train of thought.
A moment after, numerous machine guns rang out as they pelted the Danger Beasts with a volley of bullets. Only once the last abomination fell did the firing stop.
Run landed in front of the firing squad. He slowly paced to the apparent officer in charge: A dark skinned man with short white hair and barely anything covering his chest aside from two shoulder pads, a white cape, and leather straps holding his shoulder pads and pants.
General Nouken barked orders to his subordinates.
"Set up a perimeter encircling the Market District! Eliminating these Danger Beasts take highest priority as does securing the lives of any civilians caught within the crossfire!"
The general turned to his right.
"Tell the 101st Riflemen corps to position their marksmen along high buildings overlooking vastly open areas! Make sure they are supported by platoons from the 203rd and 35th divisions!"
"Have Imperial Artillery on standby at max range, I don't want any of these monsters taking out our heavy guns when we need them most!"
"Sir, artillery inside the Capital?"
Nouken turned to the soldier that uttered the last reply. "This is a crisis soldier! As such, I will not hold anything back to exterminate these abominations from the streets of the Captial! If we must destroy a piece to save the whole than so be it!"
"Sir!" The trooper saluted.
General Nouken turned back around. "Once we have secured our net and ensured none of these Danger Beasts have slipped through, we shall slowly push forward and eliminate these abominations to the last! Now move out!"
As the Imperial soldiers rushed off, Run closed in on the general. Nouken turned his head to the approaching young man.
"I take it you are one of the esteemed Jagaers?" He said bluntly.
"Indeed, my name is Run." The blond haired man replied in a serious tone. "While your assistance is kindly appreciated, I most question the timely arrival of your forces."
Nouken let out a huff. "Suspicious are we?" He turned his body to face the man. "It so happens that I was enjoying a stroll through this district some time before these beasts suddenly arrived. My entourage and I were moving towards the sounds of explosions when these monsters suddenly attacked us. I managed to escape unscathed and moved with all haste towards the nearest Imperial Barracks to contain this catastrophe."
Run frowned. The explosions the general claimed to hear were no doubt the clashing sounds of General Esdeath and the mysterious Pyro. While he does seem to understand how serious the situation is, given he mobilized an entire army to contain these Danger Beasts. As for his claim of being ambushed and the deaths of his men, those can be credited after this mess is cleaned up.
Assuming there is anything to pick through, given the abominations apparent craving for human flesh.
"Very well, I'll accept your alibi for the time being." Run turned around before taking flight once more. "We of the Jagears will cut into the beasts formation and leave any who get past us to you and your men."
"I understand." General Nouken said with a nod of his head. "Happy hunting."
Ten minutes later...
"AAAHHHHAAAAA!" Wave threw a Danger Beast into the air. He jumped up, delivering an uppercut to the monstrosity. The force of the blow increased the monster's velocity to the point that it faded from eyesight within a matter of moments.
The armored Jagaer landed, he scanned his surroundings. All around him, the humanoid Danger Beasts gathered as they prepared to strike at the young man.
It seemed like he made no progress at all.
"Looks like I got separated from Kurome somehow." He said, settling into a fighting stance. "No problem, I can take all of you at once!"
The mob of monsters pulsed, seemingly preparing to strike all at once like their prey wanted when several of the abominations inexplicably exploded outward in every direction.
Wave turned to the newly formed gap, his jaw dropping as he seen the apparent cause of the last attack casually walking towards him.
Several Danger Beasts rushed at the light blue haired man, the latter swiftly cut each one down with his rapture like sword. One that looked almost exactly like his sister's.
Fuyu continued his slow pace towards Wave, all the while humming a tone like he was enjoying a walk through the forest.
As he neared his sister's subordinate, another Danger Beast lunged at Fuyu from behind. Without skipping a beat, the latter swung his sword over his shoulder piercing through the beast's skull before swiftly pulling his sword out while whipping off the abomination's blood in one motion.
The Chairmen of the Senate stopped beside Wave, he looked down at the armored man.
"Your name is Wave, correct?"
Wave hesitated for a moment before replying. "Y-yeah it is!"
Fuyu chuckled. No doubt the young Imperial Arms user still held some fear of some sort towards himself thanks to his casual threat the other day.
"I shall grant you my assistance Wave. I am rather bored after all." Fuyu moved his left arm behind his back before holding his sword before his face. "Perhaps these abominations will provide me with some form of entertainment."
The Danger Beasts roared in response to the man's challenge. They all rushed forward, charging towards the two humans.
"There's too many for you to handle alone!" Wave turned around, facing the half of the beasts behind Fuyu. "Let me deal wit-"
"No need to trouble yourself." Fuyu interrupted the young man. "If nothing else, I say there's too few here to even hope to overwhelm me."
Before Wave could offer any sort of reply, Fuyu seemingly vanished. At a speed that few outside the level of Commander Budo or General Esdeath could follow, Fuyu seemingly hovered across the ground as he sliced into each and every Danger Beast within eyesight with quick pinpoint thrusts.
By the time Wave realized Fuyu had vanished, the first Danger Beast's corpse was hitting the floor. The abominations collapsed in turn, like dominoes only most weren't knocking one another over.
Fuyu reappeared behind the young Jagaer, slashing his sword one last time in the open air. The trace amounts of blood that caught on his sword splashed onto the cold ground.
"And that takes care of that." He said before sheathing his blade.
"Wha? But? HOW?!" Wave spun around. "That was insane! How could you move so fast?!"
Fuyu chuckled. "I trained myself to be that fast and before you ask, it's a sort of training that only a certain breed can undertake and not end up breaking themselves in the process."
"That was amazing! I never known there was that kind of speed!"
"Yes well, back in my general days I was known as the Flash Demon. Course that name became overshadowed by the Tyrant Duo."
"Wow, I can see now that you were a badass general."
Fuyu smirked. "Why thank you, but if you were impressed by that warm up you should've seem us back in the day. My sister and I would decimate entire armies numbering in the thousands in mere minutes."
"Well, well look what we have here!" A new voice called out to them. A moment after, a cloaked figure emerged from the shadows as he approached the two.
"I'm surprised someone of your stature would come down to the battlefield, but then again you were a general once upon a time." Another voice, originating from behind the pair spoke. "To think that Fuyu of the Tyrant Duo would grace us with his presence."
Fuyu eyed the cloaked figure standing behind them.
He couldn't detect either of these cloaked figure's approach. Given, he was briefly occupied with slaying monsters, but still this was something new. Perhaps he skills dulled a little more than he realized or perhaps these two were quite skillful, at least when it came to masking their presence.
"I see my reputation proceeds me." He replied with a smirk. "Since you know my name, would you care to share yours?"
The figure in front let out a laugh. "Nice try, but it won't be that easy!"
"So what do you want?" Wave half shouted, somewhat frustrated by the fact that he was being ignored.
"What we want is something you cannot grant boy." The figure behind replied.
"What we plan to do is something you are getting in the way of." The figure in front spoke.
"And as such, you need to be removed from the picture."
"Not to worry though! I make sure you get to play with some of my special new toys!" A small device slid down the sleeve of the first cloaked man's arm and into his hand. He held out the device towards the two before him. "Enjoy your trip Flash Demon!"
The device shone a purple light, a moment after the same symbols that spawned before the humanoid Danger Beasts arrived appeared below Fuyu and Wave.
Recognizing the symbols, Wave realized that these cloaked figures where the masterminds behind the summoning of the Danger Beasts. "Wait this is-!"
A ray of purple light engulfed the two, spiriting them away to some far off location.
The first cloaked man chuckled. "That'll keep them out of the way for a little while."
"And give you more time to enjoy the slaughter, isn't that right?" The second cloaked man chuckled. "I swear, you are such a child."
"What's wrong with having a bit of fun at the expense of others?" The first man grinned his teeth. "Besides, every person in the Empire is nothing more than a toy to play with."
"Aside from your father."
The first man frowned. "Yes. Aside from my father."
"Well then." The second cloaked man placed his hand on his wast. "We better leave before anyone spots us."
"Yeah." The first man let out a chuckle. "Can't have anyone spoil my entertainment now can we?"
Meanwhile...
Pyro flew backwards at an alarming speed, stopped suddenly then dove up at the same speed as before. Following behind was his formidable opponent General Esdeath.
The latter threw a hailstorm of ice shards at her opponent. The winged Pyro almost graciously dodge each shard. He threw his hand back, forming a wall of fire before the general.
Unphased by the move, Esdeath pushed forward. As she was about to make contact with the wall of fire, Pyro suddenly erupted out of the flames and into Esdeath.
He grabbed onto her as the two plummeted towards the ground.
"Not so hot using your own trick against yeah is it?" Pyro said with a laugh.
Esdeath smiled before kicking the latter in his side. Pyro cringed, allowing Esdeath to free one of her hands. She threw the arm forward, forming another ice shard. The shard rushed towards Pyro's forehead. The latter reflexively turned his head to dodge the blow. The ice shard phased through a small chunk of Pyro's head as it morphed into flame.
Pyro pulled his head back, laughing at his opponent. "You really are insane!"
He let go of Esdeath's other arm, letting the general fall on her own. Now hovering in place, Pyro held one of his hands out. Much faster than before, the latter formed a large fireball before himself and sent it towards his descending opponent.
Esdeath formed layer upon layer of ice as she descended, each catching the fireball and decreasing its mass as these sheets slowly evaporated it.
Once the fireball had dissipated into mist and water, Esdeath turned towards the ground. She created a ice pillar, originating from her hand that shot towards the ground. In a few moments, the ice pillar had stabilized with the ground.
Esdeath knelt on the pillar, she looked up. Her widened as she saw a plummeting Pyro speeding towards her. The Clockwork agent plowed through the ice pillar, taking Esdeath with him as the two crashed into the ground.
Pyro pinned Esdeath on the ground, that latter bleeding from the corner of her mouth. The Clockwork agent held one hand up in the air, fire seemingly engulfed it moments after.
He slammed it towards the Esdeath's face, the latter narrowly avoiding the flame hand as she tilted her head out of the way. Pyro's hand impacted with the ground. A giant pillar of flame erupted out of the ground a fair distance away from the two.
"My, my. Isn't someone showing off?" Esdeath said with a smile. She snapped her fingers with one hand, creating a large iceball above the two.
Pyro smirked, clearly noticing the massive shadow the iceball had cast over the two. He twisted his body around, pointing one hand towards the incoming iceball. Flame launched out of the raised hand and towards the iceball, melting it to mist.
Now able to move her right hand, Esdeath formed an ice sword of sorts around her hand and thrusted it towards Pyro's head. The latter managed to turn his head around just in time to see the attack coming. Quickly Pyro tilted his head to the left, mostly avoiding Esdeath's sneak attack.
Pyro jumped away from his opponent, allowing her to jump to her feet. The Clockwork agent smiled, gliding his thumb across the scratch on his left check.
"Heh, now how's the one showing off here?"
Esdeath whipped the blood tricking down the corner of her mouth with a balled fist. "I say we both are." She smiled. "I must admit, this is the most fun I've had in a fight in a long time."
"I can relate to that. There's too many weaklings around to truly let loose anymore." Pyro shrugged his shoulders. "It's kind of sad really."
General Esdeath replied with a simple heh. Before either could make another more, a red flare shot out from somewhere nearby and hovered in the sky. Pyro knew all too well what that meant.
"Ah man! I was on a roll too." Pyro moved one hand behind his head, rubbing it back and forth. "Tsk, this sucks but I need to get going."
"What makes you think that you can escape me?" Esdeath took a step forward.
Pyro lowered his hand, a moment after his wings began to waver. Slowly, they diverted back to their previous undetailed form then gradually morphed back into his long jacket.
"Ha, like you could stop me!" He said with a smile. "Next time, we'll finish this! Just you and me!"
Before another word could be said, a spiral of fire surrounded Pyro. Esdeath dashed forward, determined to prolong this battle until a winner could be decided. However, all that meet the sadistic general was open air.
Esdeath let out a tisk. Disappointing that her interesting opponent managed to slip away.
Elsewhere...
"Wha...WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Wave yelled at the top of his lungs.
One moment, he was in the Capital with its stone covered streets and large buildings. Now, he stood on a sandy beach with a lush forest behind him and a vast ocean before him.
"Well this is an interesting development." Fuyu -whom was besides Wave- added. "Seems we've been teleported to some tropical island. Most likely thanks to the device that man had."
Wave dispelled his Imperial Arms at that point, exposing himself. "Hey, can you like hurt me really fast?"
Fuyu turned his head towards the latter. "What are you a masochist?"
"No! GOD NO! I just want to know if this is some sort of illusion."
"Ah, good thinking then." Without so much as a warning, Fuyu slapped Wave across the face. The force sent the young man spinning into the trunk of a tree a few feet from where he stood before.
"Well, it doesn't seem to be an illusion after all."
"Yeah..I figured that out already..." Wave muttered painfully before pulling his face out of the tree. After taking a breath, he walked back towards Fuyu. "So where are we?"
"Given the climate and our surroundings, I say a island along the tropic belt. Of course I need to more data to confirm where we are exactly."
"Well what are we waiting for?!" Wave said enthusiastically. "The sooner we find out where we are the sooner we can figure out how to get home right?"
Fuyu closed his eyes and smiled. "I admire your enthusiasm." He turned to the young man. "Very well, let's explore shall we?"
Just then, the ground started to rumble, bits of sand rose and fell as something emerged from underneath. Something massive.
A towering beast about the same size as Dr. Stylish when he transformed himself stood before the two.
"What the heck is that?! A Danger Beast?!" Wave yelled.
"The same type as the others it appears." Fuyu frown, recognizing the similarities of this beast and Dr. Stylish's transformed state. 'So this is where he experimented on that drug.' He thought. 'It would seem that those other creatures was his handwork as well. Funny, even in death your work still manages to cause all sorts of problems.'
Wave pulled his sword out, then stabbed it in the ground. In moments he downed his Grand Chariot armor.
"Alright! Time to take this guy down!"
"Wait." Fuyu held out a hand to the overeager Wave. "Before blindly rushing in, look at your opponent. Scan for any potential weak spots, then plan to strike those spots."
Wave briefly looked at the man before returning his gaze to the looming Danger Beast. Fortunately, the towering giant didn't seem to notice the two at the moment. (Despite Wave's overeager shouting.) It took the navy man several moments before he identified a potential weak point.
"That spot on his forehead looks vulnerable!" He said, turning his head to Fuyu. "That little creature popping out of that scar could be his core or something, right?"
Fuyu smiled. "Excellent assessment. Now, how do you plan to strike at that spot?"
Wave raised one hand to his chin. He knew he could jump fairly high, but not enough to reach that spot in one go. There wasn't anything around he could use as a springboard either and he doubted that he could knock the beast over.
'Aha! Maybe I need to resort to jumping and climbing after all.' Wave looked at Fuyu. A smile formed on the young man's face as an idea popped into his head.
"I know this might sound crazy but hear me out." Wave started. "I know there's no way I can jump high enough to reach that weak spot, but if I throw you up there you might be able to make it. Even if I only get you half way, with your speed you can totally hit that spot in seconds."
Fuyu blinked a few times before bursting out in laughter. "So your plan is to use me like a cannonball and take out the monster for you?"
"Well...I don't think I can do it myself without getting knocked off." Wave lowered his head in a bow. "Please, would you help me this one time?"
Fuyu smiled at the boy. There was a bit of innocence in this one despite being a killer. It reminded him of Tatsumi, strong in his convictions and willing to do anything to make sure his comrades make it out alive.
Course Wave was a bit more oblivious when it came to tactics (and a number of other things), but nothing that couldn't be fixed with the proper tutelage.
Perhaps there was more than one candidate out there worthy to be his successor after all.
"Very well." Fuyu placed one hand on his waist. "I'll go along with your plan."
"Alright!" Wave shot back up, raising one of his hands in the air. "Let's do it!"
The Jagaer crouched down while moving both hands to one side. He crossed his hands with one another, allowing Fuyu to firmly place his feet on Wave's hands.
"Here we go!" Wave moved his body forward, throwing his arms up with all the strength he could muster. Fuyu flew up towards the Danger Beast, easily passing half the beast before gravity started to take effect.
The Partas survivor place his feet upon the beast's upper chest and began running up the towards it's forehead. At that point, the giant noticed Fuyu but it was too late to do anything about it. Within moments, the white-blue haired man reached the monster's weak point: a half emerged man wrapped up in a straight jacket and a ball gag over his mouth.
Fuyu smirked. This was another example of the...strange fetishes the late Dr. Stylish possessed. The Flash Demon quickly pierced the man through his heart, then followed with a quick thrust to the skull for good measure.
The beast paused for a moment, then fell backwards. Fuyu held his ground as the large abomination landed on its backside.
"Awesome! Way to go!" Wave shouted enthusiastically. Fuyu turned towards the young man and smiled. "No need to praise me, I already know how 'awesome' I am. You should be taking pride in yourself Wave. After all, this was your plan."
"Ah well, I wouldn-"
A loud roar interrupted Wave, he turned towards the source. Charging his way was another giant humanoid Danger Beast, a dwarf compared to the last but still large enough to tower over an average sized building.
"That one's all yours Wave." Fuyu causally said. "Show me what you're capable of."
Wave smiled. "Roger!"
He rushed head on towards the charging beast. Moments before these two would collide, Wave slid underneath the towering beast. The Danger Beast stopped after taking a few more steps, it slowly turned around. Wave rose to his feet, turned and ran towards the beast. As it began to turn, the Jagaer jumped high in the air reaching the monster's face.
Wave pulled one fist back and let it loose, smashing it into the beast's face. The humanoid abomination fell towards the ground. As it fell, Wave landed on the beast and jumped off once more.
He flew up higher than before, flipped once than brought one of his legs up as he aimed the other at the Danger Beast's head.
"Grand Fall!"
Wave plummeted to the Earth, smashing his armored boot into the abomination's skull.
Fuyu chuckled. "Well done, I doubt he'll be getting up after that."
Wave and Fuyu heading off into the jungle shortly after slaying both massive Danger Beasts. They spent the next half hour searching for any possible clues that would tell them where they were.
"Have you ever heard of a Northern Tribe known as the Partas Clan?" Fuyu suddenly asked after a few lasting minutes of silence.
"No, never have." Wave bluntly replied.
"I'm not surprised." Fuyu said with a smirk. "They were a tribe of hunters that specialized in hunting Danger Beasts. My sister and I are the only survivors of that clan."
"Survivors?" Wave turned his head back.
"Yes." Fuyu gave the young man a sad smile. "You see, one day a rival tribe invaded our territory and nearly wiped us out. I was there when it happened and nearly died myself. Fortunately a miracle happened and I survived to become what I am now."
"What about Commander Esdeath?"
"She managed to avoid the conflict and managed to make her way to the Capital sometime before I did."
"I see..." Wave placed his hand on his chin. "Than it makes sense why she used such brutal methods on the Northern Tribes or so the reports say."
Fuyu let out a chuckle. "It maybe true that she had a reason to use such methods, I assure you even if the Northern Tribes weren't the ones that wiped out our clan she would've gladly used such tactics it anyway. Besides, the Empire ordered her to use those brutal tactics to begin with."
Wave turned his gaze back to Fuyu. The young man could hardly believe what he was hearing. Then again, Wave has witnessed a glimmer of the twisted kind of person General Esdeath is from time to time and even fell victim to it at one point.
"My sister was never one to bat an eye when it came to killing any sort of prey. Honestly, I believe there's something broken inside of her." Fuyu shrugged his shoulders. "That, and the philosophy of our chief didn't really help mold Esdeath into a kindhearted spirit either. That man was always going on about how the weak die and the strong survive."
"That's a black and white way of looking at things." Wave added.
Fuyu smirked. "That's exactly how my dear Esdeath looks at the world. The weak will inevitably succumb to the strong, thus is the way of the world to her."
"Yeah, I can see that." Wave looked to the ground. "She's really a cold blooded killer isn't she?"
Fuyu let out a chuckle. "That's kind of person my sister is; a sadistic killer who will gladly use any methods she deems necessary."
Wave crossed his arms, nodding in agreement. It took a few moments for the young man to register what he had said. "Wait! Did I really just say such things about my commanding officer?!"
Fuyu let out a short lived laugh. "No need to panic. You were speaking the truth after all. Besides, it's not like anyone important was around to hear you."
Wave turned his head, staring intimately at Fuyu. The latter blinked a few times before chuckling once more. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what you said about my sister."
"Seriously?"
"I promise Wave."
"OK..." The young man wasn't so sure of the Chairman's words.
Fuyu smiled. "It seems you're not convinced. ALright, then how about I tell you something confidential as well?"
Wave raised his eyebrow in response. "You're not going to kill me once you tell me are you?"
"Of course not." Fuyu's smile widened. "As long as you tell no one this secret of mine, no one will hear a word of what you said about my sister."
"...Fine."
Fuyu leaned closer to Wave's ear. "Truth is, I have a private harem of maids at my household. Some given to me by the Prime Minister himself while others I picked off the streets myself. And the best part is, most of them are all young and extremely cute girls whom I simply adore."
Wave turned red in the face, quickly he backed away from Fuyu. "YOU SICK PERVERT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOOKED UP TO YOU!"
The Partas survivor let out a hearty laugh. "That's exactly how I expected you to respond!" He smirked at Wave once he ceased laughing. "You know, I can hook you up with one or two of my girls if you're ever feeling lonely Wave."
"I AM NOT INTERESTED IN ANY PART OF THAT AT ALL!"
"Oh so you're attracted to the same sex?" Fuyu moved his left hand to his cheek. "I had no idea that a strapping young man like yourself was into such things."
Wave's jaw dropped, completely overcome at how everything was spiraling out of control.
Fuyu seemingly blushed a bit. "I hope you aren't planning on having any naught fascinations about me before you go to sleep. I'm sorry Wave but I'll never be attracted to the other sex, no matter how handsome or utterly cute they might be."
"I'M NOT GAY!" Wave suddenly screamed. "THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD EVER DREAM ABOUT YOU IN THAT SORT OF WAY! AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING CUTE YOU PERVERT!?"
Fuyu busted out in laughter as Wave continued to shout at the forward about his sexual preference while pointing out how much of a pervert the man was.
Sometime later...
"Man, we've been spending so much time looking for a way off this island that the sun went down." Wave sat down on the sandy beach with a puff. He laid back and looked up at the night sky.
"It wasn't all a waste, after all I know were we are now." Fuyu, whom was sitting besides the latter, added.
"Really?" Wave picked up his head. "And where's that?"
"A few miles off the coast of the Imperial mainland. An island to the southeast to be precise." Fuyu sat up, looking at the stars. "We're so far away that where in a different timezone."
Normally, Wave would've overreacted but that's to that little incident a few hours ago, he felt a little tired out from all the shouting. "Well at least we know where we are now."
"Yes..." Fuyu smiled as he closed his eyes. "And I know how to return back home."
"Wait what!?" Wave hopped to his feet, suddenly catching a second wind. "Since when?!"
"About two hours ago." Fuyu turned his head to the young man. "It's nothing more than a theory at the moment, but if I'm right we should be able to get off this island with little trouble at all."
He turned on his heel and began to move off in one direction, beckoning Wave to follow. After walking a few feet, Fuyu stopped and pointed to one spot on the beach.
"You see this purple mark?"
Wave looked and noticed a small purple glowing circle on the sand.
"Yeah, I mean how can you not? It's glowing and has that creepy mist coming off of it."
"Heh, if that's the case how come you didn't notice it before?"
"..."
Fuyu chuckled. "Right, well my theory is that whoever that guy was can only teleport people to places he marked before like this."
"OK..." Wave turned his head to the latter. "And that helps us get of his island how?"
"Despite how godlike some Imperial Arms are, each has a sort of trick to it." Fuyu began to walk towards the glowing mark. "This one seems to lay in these marks. When the user activates that Imperial Arms, this mark should resonate with the others, opening the portal and allow us to escape."
"So we wait till he activates it again and jump on through?"
Fuyu turned to face Wave. "Exactly."
"Ok." Wave began to move towards the Chairman. "And when exactly would that be?"
At that very moment, the purple mark expanded outward forming the same symbols they had seen before.
"Right now, apparently."
A few moments prior...
The two cloaked masterminds watched as Esdeath and her Jagaers, along with a number of Imperial soldiers slowly wipe out the artificially made Danger Beasts they had unleashed unto the Capital. It took the Imperial forces all night to dwindle the abominations to a manageable size. They even managed to capture a handful.
Not that it mattered, there was no way they could figure out who summoned these beasts by studying a few of them. What they could find out however, was the dark origins of these creatures.
"They wiped out almost all of Dr. Stylish's creations." The first cloaked man said with glee.
"A miscalculation?" The second cloaked man smiled, before crossing his arms. "Or was this expected?"
"Does it really matter? After all, this is all one big game." The first man chuckled. "That reminds me," He pulled out his Imperial Arms: Shambhala once again. "I better let those two free."
The small device glowed. "Point B, open." The cloaked man commanded.
"I hope this distraction was worth it Syura." The second cloaked man said. "Our plans depend on whether or not my men had enough time to infiltrate the boarders."
"And if they didn't than that's your problem." Syura bluntly replied. "Besides, who died and made you boss eh?"
"Well one of us has to be on task, seeing as your always playing with your 'toys'."
"You're just a fucking party pooper Raven." Syura said with a chuckle. "You such learn to loosen up and enjoy the finer things in life."
"Oh will, once I find what I seek." Raven crossed his arms. "That, and this one particular Tegiu I've had my eye on for sometime. It's function is one of the most fascinating of them all, despite how overrated the majority of those artifacts are."
"Oh don't you start about how superior your country's Imperial knock-offs are compared to the real thing." Syura rolled his eyes. "I've heard enough of that for a lifetime."
"They are NOT knock-offs. Our Fushin are far above the abilities of even the most powerful of your Tegiu. The only category those relics have us beat in is their numbers."
"Heh, yeah. Last time I check you had what? Like two?"
"Three. Though the original is missing." Raven looked out towards the rising sun overlooking the Capital. "I have reason to believe that it's somewhere in the Capital."
"Oh well good luck finding it." Syura teased. "I'm sure it'll be easy to find, especially since it can mask its true form."
"Laugh all you want, but our plan will never succeed without it."
"Yeah yeah." Syura took a step forward. A gust of wind blew over the rooftops, knocking the hoods covering Syura's and Raven's faces back.
Syura had a X shaped scar across his face, brown eyes, and a black horned crown that looked exactly like a certain individual's.
Raven's hair was split between two colors; dark purple in the front with black behind. He had dark blue eyes and thick eyebrows.
"Ah, the Imperial Capital never ceases to amuse me." Syura half shouted, pulling his arms out to his sides. "It's so great to be back!"
Meanwhile, at the Margue Plateau...
It's been a few hours since Serpentine's host Shi informed Night Raid on the conclusion between Esdeath and Pyro's fight. Near the end, both seemed to draw out a bit of their full power before the latter was ordered to withdraw.
This, and the fact that Clockwork possess a member who could go toe to toe and even push Esdeath to some degree was surprising news.
At the present time, Najenda was out meeting with a messenger from the Revolutionary HQ. No doubt the latter was carrying the long awaited response on how to address the coup faction.
Several moments passed before Najenda walked into the cabin. She eyed Shi before returning her gaze to the room as a whole.
"Gather around everyone." She addressed her subordinates. "Command has given us our new orders."
She waited for her fellow Night Raid members to gather around in the same room. Once they had, Najenda eyed Shi one more time. "But before that," She started. "Revolutionary HQ has finally offered their response to Clockworks offer."
Shi pushed off the wall he was leaning on. "Very well, let's hear it."
Najenda stared at the shinobi for what seemed to be the longest moment before darting her eyes towards Akame. She nodded at the latter, whom imminently took action.
In a flash, Akame appeared behind Shi and slashed her katana across his backside. The majority of Night Raid looked on in surprise as Serpentine's host staggered forward.
"My superiors have rejected Clockwork's offer and in turn order us to exterminate you to the last." Najenda let out a sigh, obviously disappointed in Command's decision. "I'm truly sorry, but orders are orders."
"Understood..." Shi fell to his knees. He, or rather the parasite inside of him could feel Murasume's cursed poison spread thorough the shinobi's body.
"It's a shame." He said with a smirk. "I liked this host." Shi fell on his side, curse marks fully spread across his face.
The room fell silent. No one knew how to react to this. They cut down a member of an organization that only desired to help their cause.
True, both these factions had a different end goal in mind but they shared a common enemy! So what sense did it make to create conflict between two factions that would clearly benefit from working together?
Tatsumi rose out of his seat. "What the hell?" He half-shouted. "Why did you kill him?"
"It was an order Tatsumi." Najenda bluntly replied, she pulled a cigar out of her pocket and plop it in her mouth.
"Still, the least we could've done is warn the guy!"
"He wasn't a 'guy'." Lubbock added in. "Did you forget that he was a parasite?"
"The one controlling him, not the person himself!" Tatsumi shot back. "I mean, it doesn't make any sense! These people wanted to help us!"
"Orders don't make sense sometime Tatsumi." Bulat cut in. "Still, I can't say that I agree with this."
"Agreed." Akame replied.
"Dependently leave a bad taste in my mouth." Walker added.
"It's from the top, so we can't just ignore the order." Najenda pulled out a lighter. She moved it up to her mouth, lighting the cigar in her mouth. The former general took a puff from her cigar before continuing. "I know we owe Clockwork for that mess with Dr. Stylish. So we can try to avoid them as long as possible. That said, we'll have to fight them sooner or later."
Tatsumi clenched his fists. He couldn't believe how foolish the leadership of the Revolutionary Army was! How, JUST HOW could the order the elimination of a potential ally like they were another instrument of the Empire?
That's when a thought popped into the back of his head. Maybe they learn of Fuyu's involvement in the group and acted out of fear like he predicted? Or maybe this was what the man had warned Tatsumi of, that their different end goals would create conflict between the two factions.
Before anyone could add any further objections, Najenda though it best to change the subject.
"Command has organized a new list of high value targets within the Empire." She said, drawing her subordinates attention. "I've also been informed that our new HQ is finished."
"You don't mean?" Tatsumi said what most everyone already assumed.
"That's right." Najenda said with a smile. "We're returning to the Capital!"
And here ends another entry to Clockwork!
So many (potentially mind blowing) bits in this one. From the involvement of Dr. Stylish's Danger Beasts to the conclusion of Esdeath and Pyro's battle to the official introduction of Raven and Syrua and so much more!
I'm just going to take a moment to explain what's the significant difference between Pyro flying before and him flying with more detailed set of wings.
Before, in order to fly in a somewhat physical state he had to morph his legs or some other part of his body (or something he is currently wearing) into flame.
Now with his Phoenix wings Pyro no longer needs to keep his body in an intangible state in order to fly. Meaning his body is in a physical state now, though he can morph it back into an intangible state at anytime like before to dodge attacks as long as he sees the attack coming.
In other words, more power in exchange for a bit more vulnerability.
Now I know in the past chapter, Pyro morphed his coat into a set of wings as well. That was an example of what I stated earlier, by morphing another part of his body or cloths he can fly while maintaining his intangibility.
Plus, these were a simple morph into flame wings, not detailed Phoenix wings like now. (In other words, it was a testament of how he was holding back before hand.)
And on a personal note, I've been dealing with numerous life issues which is why these entries are slower that the norm. As such, all I can say is these will be released as soon as I am able.
How will Clockwork respond to the Revolutionary Army's reply to their offer of an alliance? What sort of devious plot are Raven and Syura hoping to carry out? Find out this and more in the next entry!
