Down in the deep a rumble will reap
I don't own any copyrighted material, except my own OC's: anyone else's OC's will be acknowledged in their introduction chapter
"Where is she?! Where are you keeping her asshole! Tell me now or the sword goes through your other hand!" Cao yelled directly in the face of the spy
"Sir that is enough!" The magistrate said as the assistants pulled Cao off him
"Let go of me!" Cao roared as he tried to break their grips, but to no avail
"Even if this man kidnapped her, there is nothing here." The magistrate said as he looked over the spy, trying to discern any detail he could about him
The spy tried to move, but the wakizashi still in his hand made any movement there extremely painful. The magistrate gently pulled it out, causing further pain to ripple through him. As soon as the blade was out, the spy rolled off the table, clutching his head as pain throbbed with each heartbeat and blood oozed from the wound freely. Then he tried to get out of the house as the assistants had their hands full with Cao, but the magistrate stopped him.
"Sir, I would like to ask you a few questions." He said firmly, his grip firm and preventing the thin spy from moving away
"I have nothing to say to any of you. I need this wound fixed now." The spy said sternly
"Don't you have any evidence to counter the accusations of this man?" The magistrate asked simply
"I am bleeding out and you want me to answer your stupid questions? How about I tell you the girls in the basement will that shut you up!" The spy yelled in the judges face, but shut his trap when he realized what he said way too late
"Ruby!" Cao yelled and broke free of the assistants grip as he began frantically searching for the basement, but continually failing to find it
"You are under arrest for kidnapping. Now tell us where the entrance to the basement or I will let you bleed out." The crane magistrate said sternly
"You can't do that! Its illegal!" The spy said in a panicked tone
"You must not be from around here. In Wei lands the magistrate on the case is judge jury and executioner unless a higher ranked magistrate wishes to get involved." The magistrate explained
"Damned Wei, we should have wiped you out sooner!" The spy yelled and spat in the judges face
"That explains everything then Wakano spy. Only you would be so dishonorable and barbaric to kidnap women. Tear away the floors men. Get into the basement. This is likely a safehouse. Quickly now." The Judge said as he reached for his wakizashi
"No chance in hell…" The spy said as he reached for a dagger to stab the man holding him, but was stopped when the magistrate cut his head from his neck with the short sword
"I couldn't agree more." The Magistrate said as he began to search for the entrance with the others
While the group of 4 began to noisily rip, tear and pound at the floorboards to try and find the entrance, it easily alerted the rest of the members of the cell. It also had the added effect of waking Ruby up from her chemically induced slumber. When she woke up, she was bound and gagged and tried to break them to no avail. However, the others didn't notice her waking up as they rushed to grab weapons and prepare for the assault before them.
"Why did we not install an emergency exit?" One of the cell members asked the leader
"Because it was too expensive, and I didn't think we would need it." The leader replied, readying his katana towards the stairs
"Gods above we are all going to die." Another member said, holding out a yari spear
"Men, we will fight this and win. Our ancestors will give us strength and victory this day. We are Sotoras, and our superior honor will carry this day." The leader said, trying to drum up morale
As soon as his lips stopped moving, Cao's foot went through the floorboards above the stairs. He then uses his katana to cut through the rest of his boards in his way. After that he rushed down the stairs as fast as he could. After that the fight began fiercely. The fight began so quickly it caught the magistrate and his assistants off guard.
"Ruby!" Cao yelled as soon as he saw her
"So that's her name. Lovely name for a hostage." The Leader said before slicing at Cao
"You're not getting her as anything!" Cao said as he parried the strike
"A simple Ronin thinking you can defeat me and my men? Don't make me laugh" The leader said with a chuckle
Cao then activated his semblance, and his eyes glowed ever so slightly. He looked over the leader and his companions quickly and smiled. 2 of them were demoralized and browbeaten, while the leader was overly confident and ambitious. He would be able to easily work with this. He then entered between the three of them and began fighting them all at once. At first it shocked the three of them that he would be so reckless, but the leader smiled and started laughing.
"You really do have a death wish don't you Ronin? Want to do die honorably? Oh, I'll give it to you, because it will be the only honorable thing you'll get!" The leader said and began to attack Cao with more fierce and powerful strikes
"And what do you know of honor? Hiding in a basement, kidnapping women and plotting against an enemy you don't have the balls to fight in the open? You speaking to me of honor is rich." Cao said as he parried the strikes of his three combatants
"You dare insult a Sotora's honor!? I am a member of the greatest clan in the region! You are a master less, honor less Ronin!" The leader yelled, starting to get a bit frustrated at Cao's words and parrying
"I might not be part of a clan or beholden to a master, but I have the balls to face my enemies in the open. I don't hide in the shadows waiting to stab someone in the back like a filthy ninja!" Cao said, and this accusation pissed him off
"I am no ninja! You will pay!" He said as he activated his semblance
His aura glowed pure rage red as his muscles glowed red. His eyes even glowed in such menacing color. Then with a roar like a enraged maddened beast as he surged forward with his weapon ready to cut him in half. Cao dodged out of the way and the maddened leader surged towards one of his comrades. Before the surprised comrade could react the leader cut him in half. The other however panicked and bolted.
"You fool you unleashed the curse! Now we are all doomed!" The samurai yelled before rushing up the stairs willingly to the magistrate above
"Curse? What curse?" Cao asked before he had to dodge another strike
"Cao-san get out of there! Its too dangerous! We need to call for backup!" the magistrate yelled as he cuffed the Sotora
"If he gets out he will cause unholy damage and destruction! We can't endanger civilians! He will literally attack anything! I'll hold him off and you get some back up!" Cao yelled as he dodged the powered-up strikes
"You hear the man, sound the alarm and get back up!" The magistrate yelled as one of the assistants rushed out of the house
Ruby sat against a wall in horror as Cao slowly began to lose ground. He was in a dilemma as there wasn't much space to dodge and his strikes were too powerful to parry. Slowly but surely he began to take nasty cuts on his arms and legs. He couldn't however grab Ruby and run as this maddened monster of a samurai would follow him and endanger others. He then realized he had no choice but to compromise his honor in front of his love to defeat this beast.
After a particularly close dodge Cao cut across on of his knees, and surprisingly it was able to cut through the aura and make a small cut. Despite that the man roared not in pain but in further anger. His aura appeared to be weakened by this ability, which gave him at least a fighting chance. Cao continued to slash at his legs deliberately, trying to bring him down. Slowly but surly as he dodged and slashed at him, the maddened Sotora slowly but surely began to falter.
Finally, after agonizing minutes of this fight, which to Cao felt like a eternity, a slash from his Katana severed his right leg at the knee, causing the samurai to hobble and try to maintain his balance. However, his body and aura were beginning to buckle under the strain of this ability and the exertion. He then began to fall forward after losing his balance. Cao swung his blade back, and then ballpark swung it forward, severing his head from his body. The samurai's lifeless body hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, and his head rolled till it stopped at Cao's feet.
"Ruby! Don't worry I'm here." Cao said as he rushed up to her and using his tanto dagger cut the ropes holding her
"Cao. Thank you. I don't know what happened… I was talking with him about getting some jewelry and…" Ruby said as she started to cry and clung onto Cao
"Its alright. I'm here and I got you. Your safe. However now I think we need to be more careful about you being alone." Cao said, and Ruby nodded as she buried her face into his shoulder
"Is everyone alright down here?" The magistrate asked as several more magistrates followed behind him
"Everything is fine. However, I think I need some healing." Cao said as blood oozed from his various wounds
"Get a medic in here stat. Also begin interrogating our prisoner immediately. We need to know everything we can about this. The rest of you search and confiscate everything!" The magistrate ordered and everyone got to work
As this frenzy of activity swirled around them, Cao and Ruby sat they're in each other's arms. Both knew that now this last part of their journey might be the longest part, and the most dangerous. And now no one could be trusted.
Terribly sorry that these chapters have been a bit late. 10-hour workdays in the field don't put you in the mood for writing. However, I will work to try and mitigate this from now on by getting into better shape. Next time we return to the Wakano Covenant and see just why these mystery Sotora's are willing to risk everything to kidnap Ruby, Yang and Velvet. Tune in next time for "Division and Terror in the Sotora Heartland."