In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some kind of transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true, that man has no control, even over his own will… Void

Meanwhile in Tenalbrum…

Opening song: "Almost Easy" by: Avenged Sevenfold

Alan, Hikage and Octavian disappear over the edge of the skyscraper. As much as we'd like to help, Yuyaki and I have other matters to attend to. The both of us hop over to the next building and make our way to the middle of the city.

On top of helping Alan, Yuyaki and I are here for another reason. As much as I want to kill Homura's parents, Yuyaki made a point back on the train. Simply taking Homura's parents out isn't going to do. Someone else is just going to take their place.

Instead, Yuyaki insisted that we cripple their funding as well as the council's. At first, she recommended stealing it, but because this started out as an assassination rather than a heist, we didn't come prepared to move hundreds of millions of yen fast. Nor did we have the time to case the building and form a plan.

As we talked, the plan came down to sneaking in, filling our pockets with what we can carry and torching the rest. It's not enough to finish them, but it will be a severe blow to the council's life savings. It may even be enough to cut that Ange and Gallowglass off financially for a little while.

Up ahead is a street intersection that separates the next building. Yuyaki slows down and lets me get a lead. I jump off the building and cross my arms, "Summa nulla (absolute zero)."

A colorless wave emits from my arms as I release. The snow speckling through the air in front of me freezes and forms a narrow, makeshift catwalk. Yuyaki lands on the ice behind me, and we sprint across. The path below crackles and shatters. Chunks fall off and dissipate back into snow behind us.

I jump the small gap at the end of our walkway and get out of the way. Yuyaki's weight shifts forward and causes her to stumble. She lets the momentum push her down as she rolls and returns to her feet. I slide behind an air conditioner unit and wait as Yuyaki pulls out her monocular and examines the building we need to break into.

"Roof access is out of question, can't use the front door."

I pull out my revolver and twirl it around as she exhausts all the options we can't take. Knowing her, she's probably found the actual solution but is trying to convince herself it's the only solution. Yuyaki's vision traces down the side of the building to a dark alley that's got a multilevel fire escape.

"The council's chamber is on the top floor, and the only way we can possibly get in undetected is that fire escape, but it's exposed to the moonlight, and it doesn't go all the way to the top. So we would have to make it quick if we want to get in without being seen." Yuyaki says.

"Sounds like a plan."

I put my revolver back in its holster and follow Yuyaki. The both of us circle around and jump to the building right next to our target. Yuyaki takes a couple steps back and charges towards the fire escape. She grabs onto the railing, pulls herself up and climbs to the next one.

I leap across the gap and hold my hands out, "frigus tactus (freezing touch)."

A thick layer of ice coats my fingertips and grabs a hold of the building. Yuyaki jumps over the railing of the final level as I drop right next to her. She pulls out her nodochi and places it on the window. The tip of her sword gently slices through the glass as she makes a hole big enough for us to crawl through. I step into the building and immediately start sweeping the area. Yuyaki follows me in and double checks the area's I covered.

"Lawrence, something isn't right."

"I know. Where is everyone?"

The entire floor is completely devoid of any kind of activity. All the office rooms are empty, and almost every one has been ransacked. Sparks from smashed computer monitors spray out and many of the desks have been flipped over. File holders and papers of both current generation shinobi and past crinkle under our feet as we make our way through the seemingly abandoned complex.

Something catches my eye on the ground. I bend over and pick up a document that has a picture of Hikage. It hasn't been updated recently, so the information is a little old.

Name: Unknown

Nickname: Konsai Rattlesnake

Date of Birth: Unknown

Age: Possibly 16

Sex: Female

Hair color: Green

Eye color: Slitted gold

Tattoos and markings: Left breast, lower left stomach

Classification: Shinobi (Possibly hunter)

Criminal record: forty-seven counts of murder, ten counts armed robbery, seven counts of grand theft, one count of assisting and abating a hunter, fifty-eight counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Rating: SS

Threat Level: SSS

Weapons of choice: 8 inch (20cm) long knife, fully automatic crossbow, potentially skilled with other bladed weapons and firearms.

Information: Sources indicate that this young woman tends to coat her weapons in poison during engagements, making her a very dangerous individual. She is usually traveling with a hunter and tends to show wasteland like behavior as a result. Really aggressive, and very dangerous. Especially when she is paired with her hunter partner. Exercise extreme caution.

"Hikage? Ah come on! She's a big titty plush toy! Hikage wouldn't ever hurt anyone!" I state as I light the paper on fire and let it burn within my hand.

"What about Hikage?"

"It's just the shinobi overacting! Claiming that her and Alan are a dangerous pair!"

"Speaking of which, what's the story behind them two?" Yuyaki asks as she presses the call button for the elevator.

"Oh them? Well believe it or not, Alan and Hikage didn't really like one another from the start. She was a prideful drab and Alan was an arrogant loudmouth. Which is why they got along so well. At first, it was just business, but as they began to learn more about one another, they became the best of friends."

"Hikage seemed to think very highly of Alan. Did things ever take off between them?"

"No. Although I knew for a fact she wanted it to, but Hikage didn't know how to express her feelings, and Haruka unintentionally got in the way because she was a lot more flirty and open. Although Hikage didn't pass up an opportunity. Except she tried to hide it and say they were just TRAINING when she was rolling around with Alan on the ground."

"Young love. I suppose." Yuyaki says as we get into the elevator.

"At first, she was really upset about Asuka, but as time passed, Hikage accepted that Asuka was a better woman than she could ever be, and that Asuka would never leave Alan. Even if things got difficult."

Days after the incident at the Bolakna, me, Hikage and Haruka just left. The three of us didn't know what all was lost until we got back to Hebijo. Mom gave her life to ensure Thomas, Alan, Hikage and Haruka could get away, Thomas stayed behind to protect Alan, Hikage and Haruka, and then…Roger saved Alan and covered his escape.

Thomas was killed, Roger went missing, Alan had to put Niauora out of her misery on top of suffering severe injuries as well as the psychological trauma. He'd done things in the wasteland before, but that was because nobody really cared about anyone out there. There wasn't any kind of emotional attachment. His first real loss was Minori's parents, and I didn't think Alan was ever going to recover from that. Then it was mom, Thomas, Roger, and then Niauora.

We knew it was wrong to just run, but we didn't have a choice. Gessen was notorious for hating evil shinobi at one time, and I was worried Yumi would possibly give Hikage and Haruka up, so we left as soon as possible. Alan was safe though because Yumi loved him like her own family.

A couple days after we arrived at Hebijo, Haruka thought if we invited Alan, he'd come with us, and we could rebuild our lives there. So we went back to Gessen when things calmed down.

As we searched, I found Yumi crying. She told us that Alan just left. He got up, put his stuff on and just left the medical bay. Yumi found him walking out the gates, so she chased him down and asked what was going on.

He didn't say a word, and Yumi assumed the worst. She said "Whatever you do Alan, please don't do anything that will break my heart."

Alan still didn't say anything and just walked off. Yumi said she lost it and collapsed right there because she knew what Alan was intending to do. My heart imploded at that moment, and it felt as if I was the one responsible for what was going to happen to him.

When I told Hikage and Haruka about what happened, none of us said a word, and we silently got back on the train. Weeks later, Yomi came back and told us that this man protected her and this village from a group of hunters that were trying to kill her, and the shinobi there.

As she described what happened, Yomi mentioned he had a black-haired doll hanging from his belt. Then she said he was using a scythe. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders because I knew he was still alive. Even though I hadn't seen him myself.

Yuyaki opens the top hatch on the elevator and climbs to the roof. I follow her up and ready my shotgun. The steel cable vibrates with a metallic clanging sound as the pulley raises the elevator to the doors.

The shiny, chrome doors split in half and reveal the main chamber. I slowly count to seventeen and drop down into the elevator. Yuyaki lands beside me and we rush into the room. There isn't anyone on this floor.

"Hey Lawrence! Look!" Yuyaki says as she points towards the open vault door.

Inside is all the money the northern council has collected over the decades, and none of it looks like it's been touched. This doesn't make sense though. Who would run the risk of breaking into the council's main chamber, only to leave the money untouched? That vault would be impossible to drill into. Even thermite would have difficulty melting through.

"No time to question it. Grab whatever you can carry." I state.

Yuyaki pulls out a couple water bottles of gasoline from her side satchel and begins grabbing stacks of money. I make my way to the back where they keep the really valuable stuff. Chests of gold coins, precious stones and priceless jewelry line the walls of the room. I open my side satchel and grab whatever is closest to me. Sapphires, rubies, diamonds, gold and silver fill my gauntlets as I stuff my side satchel full.

"Bag is full!" Yuyaki states.

"Same!" I reply as I pull out a pipe bomb I threw together on the train.

Yuyaki breaks the bands holding stacks of money together and scatters them all over the vault floor. I grab the bottles and turn them upside down. Gas splashes all over the place and soaks the bills. Even if we can't destroy all of it, destroying a fraction of it will buy us some time.

Yuyaki stops at the mouth of the vault and pulls out both her guns. I reach for my shotgun, but something is off. Yuyaki seems shocked at whatever is out there. She waves for me to come over. I peak outside and look in the direction she is pointing.

Sitting on top of a broken, over turned throne are two people on their knees. One man and one woman. Both have been bound with multiple chains, and they're mouths are stuffed with bandanas. I immediately go back and search my mind for what happened a couple minutes ago. They weren't here when we first arrived. Were they? I don't remember if they were or not.

"And people say I'm the bad one." A metallic voice chuckles off in the distance.

I take aim at the darkness directly behind the throne. The glow of the moon shines off an emerald colored mask and paints the floor in front of the shadow a light shade of green.

He steps out of the dark and reveals himself. A black hood conceals the true color of his hair. His eyes are an amethyst color and shaped like Alan's. Almost like they've been tainted. That alone proves he is a half blood.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shokudo."

"What are you doing here!?" Yuyaki asks.

"I could ask you the same question."

We both keep our sights on him while he casually approaches us. There is absolutely no fear in him as he reaches over and pats both the man and woman on the top of the head. "So tell me. Do these two look…familiar?" Shokudo states as he jerks their heads and forces them to look directly at us.

At first, nothing comes to mind. They look just like regular shinobi. However, the woman bothers me. She looks a lot like Homura. In fact, exactly like Homura if she were an adult. She's got long black hair, and the same exact eye color. My grip around the shotgun tightens, and I put my finger on the trigger. This man is asking for it, and he's about to get it.

"And what about you? Care to tell me your real name?"

"Shut up asshole!" I yell.

"So you must be the one they call Lawrence! These two told me so much about you! Speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to know where little Homura is?"

"No. I wouldn't." I reply.

"Ah, ah, ah! These two said if I wanted to find Homura, I should find you!"

"What do you want with Homura?" Yuyaki asks.

"Well it's simple really. To kill her, and the three other academy leaders." Shokudo states as he casually uses Homura's parents as an armrest.

"What for?!" Yuyaki says.

"All the shinobi care about is prestige. The people of this world deserve so much better, and I'm going to give it to them! Four girls, four horsemen, and this place isn't big enough for all of them!"

"So it was you that stole the stone!"

"Ding, Ding, Ding! Give Mr. Lawrence a price! Although it was a pity the Hebijo elite and Hanzo girl didn't kill one another. Such cowardice, but I'd expect nothing less of them."

"Miyabi and Asuka refusing to kill one another isn't cowardice. Using deception is." Yuyaki states.

"When it comes time to fight, never do it yourself! If people are stupid enough to jump to conclusions, then everyone involved deserves what they get! So in a way, deception is a tool for the wise, and a weapon against the foolish. Isn't that right?!" Shokudo replies as he maliciously pets Homura's parents.

"Y, I'm tired of looking at this son of a bitch."

"The feeling is mutual."

Shokudo steps away from Homura's parents and pats his chest like he's anticipating a shot. "You cowards wouldn't shoot if I was standing behind them, so come on!"

The stock of my shotgun recoils into my shoulder, and a hail of yoma bone chunks spew out and strike Shokudo in the chest. His body hits the floor. The sound of the plastic cartridges bounce across the ground as Shokudo lays there. His lifeless body shakes as a hysterical laugh bursts out of his mouth. He flexes his arms and drives his fists into the ground.

The marble floor cracks underneath the impact and Shokudo returns to his feet, "A little fight in you both. I like that." He says as he reaches into his gaping chest and pulls out a handful of hellshot pellets.

I fire again. He snags all the pellets out of the air and clenches his hand. A cloud of dust puffs out between his hands. Muffled screams from Homura's parents roll out of their obstructed mouths as Yuyaki and I unload all the shells in our shotguns.

"Done yet?" Shokudo taunts as he catches the last of the pellets and throws them out the window.

"Not quite." I reply as I pull my sword out and rush towards him.

Shokudo pats his knees and urges me to hurry. I swing at him, and he bats my sword away with his bare hands. I spin around and swing overhead. Shokudo rotates out of the way of the incoming blow and draws a kriss from under his duster. The curved blade slams into my pomel.

Yuyaki flips through the air and drives her sword into his. Shokudo spins around and drives his leg into my chest and knocks me away from the conflict. Yuyaki and Shokudo cross their swords. She tries to push him back, but it's clear Shokudo is much stronger.

Shokudo ducks down and sweeps his leg. Yuyaki jumps and crosses her sword in front of her. Shokudo changes course and drives the tip of his kriss into Yuyaki's weapon. The impact causes her nodochi to bow as it launches her up into the ceiling.

Chunks of tile and metal rafters come crashing down as Yuyaki hits the floor. The floor ruptures and causes the marble underneath to tremor as huge cracks tear through the polished rock. Yuyaki gasps in pain as her sword skids out of her reach.

"You shinobi are so delicate." Shokudo states as he kicks up her nodochi and flips it upside down.

He twists the blade in midair and stops me from hitting him. He brings his kriss around and lodges it into my hilt as he brings the nodochi around and runs it into my shoulder. It fails to punch through, but the force knocks me back. Shokudo crosses his arms and leaps towards me. I lunge forward with my elbow extended and drive it into his chest before he can counter attack.

"That one actually hurt. Well done." Shokudo softly coughs.

I jump forward and swing my sword overhead with all my strength. The weapon comes to a complete stop as Shokudo holds his sword horizontally and blocks my attack. He reaches around his back and pulls something out. I immediately grab a nearby coffee table and use it as a shield. The entire barrel of his gun rockets back and throws the back half of the bolt assembly open.

All of the sound vanishes the moment the thunderclap from his gun hits my ears. The bullet for Shokudo's gun rockets into the table. A shockwave erupts through the entire chamber as the jacket snaps the table in half and strikes me in the middle of the stomach. All I can see is the ceiling as my body flies through the air.

The back of my head slaps into the ground and my vision cuts out for a brief second. Hundreds of thoughts rush through my mind as I try to regain my senses. What the hell just happened? I run my hand over where the bullet hit me. What feels like hot glue coats the tips of my gauntlets as I bring it into my view.

Red. Red from my body. What the hell did he shoot me with? There was no way hellshot could have punctured all the way though my armor. Even if it were divine, it wouldn't have hurt this bad. The open wound in my torso seals itself shut and something gets caught in the base of my throat. I sit up and slap my chest. A red wad of saliva and a crooked, mushroomed-out jacket lands in the palm of the gauntlet. Whatever he shot me with, it was huge, and it had a massive powder charge. Bigger than anything I'd ever been hit by. The ringing in my ears subside, and my equilibrium finally balances itself out.

"Consider that a warning." Shokudo states as I stand back up to my feet and wipe the blood from my chin. "Oh, do you want to give it another try?"

I grab my revolver and pull the trigger. The percussion cap emits a small spark as the hammer hits it. A huge cloud of smoke exits the barrel and Shokudo spins his handgun around and shields himself from the incoming ball. I pull the hammer back, and prepare to fire again. However, I get the feeling to stop.

He's standing dangerously close to Yuyaki, and at any given moment, he could grab one of my bullets and throw it into Yuyaki's skull. As mad as this son of a bitch is making me, I don't know if there's anything I can do.

I could ascend, but the moment I do that, I'm going to give my position away to anyone within the vicinity, and although I could handle it, I don't know how bad Yuyaki is hurt. From what I seen, she hit the ceiling hard, and there's a possibility Yuyaki could have gotten impaled or broke something.

Shokudo prepares for me to fire again. I pull the hammer back and take aim. As the hammer drops, my thumb catches it, and I ark the barrel up. The hammer drops all the way and hits the percussion cap. The round ball flies up into the ceiling and severs a cable holding an overhanging light fixture.

Electricity crackles, and the bulbs flicker as the entire set swings down like a pendulum. It hits Shokudo in the face and snaps off on top of him. He drops Yuyaki's sword and attempts to get the broken glass and light fixtures off. I run over to Yuyaki and pry all the debris off her. There isn't any signs of heavy bleeding, but her back is definitely going to be bruised and scratched to hell.

"Off your ass and to your feet!" I say as I help her stand.

She uses me as leverage and wobbles on her feet. Shokudo laughs as he tears the last cord off himself and snaps the light holder in half. "I have to admit. I actually wasn't expecting that, but you weren't expecting this!"

He points to the window we are standing by. Glass pelts me in the face and what feels like a foot drives its way into my head. The teeth in my mouth rattle and my neck rolls to the side. An orange screen blinds my eyes, and suddenly, I'm skidding across the ground.

A dull but fierce pain eats at the side of my face. Blood floods into my mouth. My tongue touches something jagged as I feel around. A window shard must have worked its way under my mask and punched all the way through.

"Ah! So nice of you to join us Fubuki!" Shokudo states.

"It is done." Fubuki replies.

"Gekko and Senko taken care of?"

"Octavian isn't going to let them live."

"And what of the others?"

"Homura and the little Hanzo girl came."

"Excellent! Everything is going to plan!"

"There's a problem though."

"What is it?"

"Morabis' successor is here." Fubuki says.

"Morabis?" Shokudo questions as he looks deep into his mind as if he's trying to remember who it is. "Oh yeah! The bastard horseman! That could be a problem!"

"As long as Morabis has a successor, you, Ritus and the Horsemen will be unable to strip her power. She will fully awaken into her god eater form. If that happens, then we won't have any chance at killing her."

"Then we will start with what she loves." Shokudo states.

"His name is Alan." Fubuki says.

I yank the shard of glass out of my face and return to my feet, "leave Alan alone you son of a bitch!"

"Oh don't worry. I'm not going to be the one that kills him, or Homura for that matter. Care to do the honors?" Shokudo states as he hands Fubuki a strange looking object with a green light.

"Absolutely."

Fubuki jumps out the window as Shokudo holds his arms out and slowly falls back over the edge, "Long live the Apocalypse!"

Red lights underneath the broken throne Homura's parents are sitting on come to life, and a very loud beep erupts from the shadow. What appears to be a nine suddenly shifts into an eight. Homura's parents violently struggle and mumble through their bound mouths.

"Ah, why am I so fucking stupid?" I say as I run over.

Yuyaki picks her nodochi up and helps me break the chains. Whoever this Shokudo is, he certainly didn't want Homura's parents getting free. There's at least ten chains, and that's not counting the ones underneath, and the double looped ones.

As long as they can get free though, I'm not responsible for their deaths. The beeping picks up in tempo, and my heart races faster. I look back down. A four suddenly becomes a three, and we are nowhere close to getting them undone. I pick Homura's parents up to move them, but the bombs are somehow attached.

"Yuyaki, get down."

She doesn't question. Yuyaki lays down and I jump on top of her. As quickly as possible, I pull some power from my soul and transform. My armor quickly wraps around and completely seals me in as I scrunch up and try to keep Yuyaki completely covered.

A massive concussion skids over my body, and the weight from my body suddenly disappears. I keep my eyes shut, but it feels like we are falling to the floor below. Yuyaki and I roll around in mid air. My armor slams into the floor below and we fall again.

Several massive explosions, and the sound of groaning metal screams all around us. Yuyaki places her feet on me and jumps off. Something grabs a hold of my forearm and stops me from falling further. I open my eyes and look up.

Yuyaki is straining and attempting to pull me up as huge chunks of burning debris and flaming steel girders fall from above. I look down and see an abyss of endless fire. Almost as if I'm about to fall into hell itself.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Don't look down Lawrence!"

"Well it's too fucking late for that!" I yell as I quickly grab ahold of an exposed crossbeam and scamper up. Yuyaki grabs one of my arms and helps me stand. Neither of us say a word as we both charge for the windows. We take occasional jumps and sidestep to avoid the collapsing floor and falling junk from above.

"Fucking hell!" I shout as Yuyaki and I both jump out a window that's been severely cracked, but hasn't shattered out.

The mixture of cold and hot hits my body as we glide through the air and land on the rooftop across the street. Yuyaki tucks her legs in and rolls while the weight of my armor forces me down to one knee.

Police sirens and firetrucks race all over the street to try and get as close as possible to the skyscraper Shokudo just bombed. Down below, people just living their lives gaze up in horror and stare at the flaming mass of gnarled steel and molten smoke.

As much as I hated Homura's parents, I can't help but feel resentment towards myself. Despite my best efforts, they are still dead. Yes, they did exile Homura and tried to have her killed, but deep down, Homura still had some kind of reservoir of feeling for them, and something about the way they died haunts me.

Was there any way I could have saved them? Of course, there was. If I wasn't so obsessed with trying to kill Shokudo, then maybe I could have broken the chains, or Yuyaki could have been cutting them free while I dealt with Shokudo. My mind shifts to their final moments. Could I have covered them up too? No, my armor is only able to completely cover up one, and that one had to be Yuyaki.

But was there any way we could have settled our differences if they survived? I'd stop killing their shinobi and stealing their fortune in exchange that they leave me and Homura alone? Guess the answer to that will never be revealed.

"Lawrence?"

"Yes?"

Yuyaki points up. In the sky, I can faintly see Alan flying through the air. He's got Asuka in his arms, and the both of them are rapidly descending towards a distant rooftop a couple blocks away. Muffled gunshots echo through the wind. Even with sensitive hearing, I can't really hear it over the howl of the wind and raging sirens.

"Do you think it's that Shokudo fellow?" I ask.

"I don't know, but Alan needs our help." Yuyaki replies.

The both of us take off in the direction we last seen Alan. However, something keeps buzzing around in my head. Homura's parents died, but they died helplessly. We were their only hope, and even we couldn't do anything.

The fact Shokudo killed them in such a cruel and hopeless way pisses me off. They at least deserved to die on their feet and sword in hand. Not bound in chains on their knees. They didn't deserve a hopeless death. Nobody deserves a hopeless death. One way or another, I am going to kill that motherfucker…

Ending Song: "Point of No Return" by: Starset