Reaper walked across the streets just after he had encountered a mysterious child.
'Damn, what was that all about?' he thought to himself as he sat down and gazed into the night sky.
'That reminds me, I shouldn't just walk around like this' he said as he put on his mask and robe. He then walked towards a mirror placed outside a closed shop as he wore his robe. He looked at his own reflection, as the mask reflected the rays of the full moon, along with his red eyes contrasting the darkness of the night. As he walked across the streets with his robe on, a beacon popped up out of nowhere, grabbing his attention.
'Now what on earth would that be?' he thought as he climbed on top of a building and noticed how the beacon emerged from Crocus's castle.
'That doesn't seem right' he said as he used his firebird strike to travel across the buildings. As Reaper leaped across the buildings, the intensity of the beacon grew, soon after which it disappeared.
'Still think I should go and have a look' mumbled Reaper as he neared the castle.
As Reaper stood in front of the Castle's main entrance, he immediately heard footsteps closing in.
'Come out with your hands up!' yelled one of the guards, alerting the others and drawing attention.
'I don't want any trouble, just wanted to know what that beacon was all about' replied Reaper as he raised his arms.
'Stand down guards' exclaimed A man walking towards Reaper, wearing a suit of armor, having a smile on his face.
'You must be Crimson' he said as he patted his shoulder.
'Oh I remember you, you're..' replied Reaper, only to be interrupted by him completing his sentence.
'Arcadios, Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron in the Royal Kingdom of Fiore' replied Arcadios.
'Well that's some fancy title huh?' replied Reaper, in a low tone.
'That doesn't matter for now, tell me, what brings you here?' he asked curiously.
'Well for starters there was this beacon that caught my attention while I was walking around the streets. The beacon had seemed to come from here, from what I saw' replied Reaper.
'A beacon you say?' replied Arcadios, after which a voice interrupted the conversation between the two.
'Arcadios, is everything alright?' asked Princess Hisui as she stepped out.
'I assure you everything is fine and is under control' replied Arcadios. Hisui gave a stare at Reaper, who was wearing a mask.
'You're... Crimson!' she exclaimed as she walked towards him.
'An honor to be remembered your highness' replied Reaper as he waved his arm.
'What brings you here?' she asked curiously.
'Crimson had reported that a beacon had emerged from the top of this castle, it indeed sparks trouble' replied Arcadios. 'It might be something dangerous, we should go and investigate immediately' replied Hisui.
'We'll investigate it alright, but now's not the time. I'll keep the guards on high alert if it really bothers you' replied Arcadios. 'What?! why not investigate now?' questioned Hisui.
'The only witness we've got here is Crimson himself, I don't want to risk using half of my men to investigate something which couldn't have possibly happened' replied Arcadios with a justified tone.
'Are you trying to say I'm lying? or are you saying I'm crazy?' asked Reaper as he stared at Arcadios.
'Neither.. all I'm saying is..' replied Arcadios soon after which an explosion rocked the area.
A beacon emerged from the rooftop, similar to what Reaper had seen earlier.
'You believe me now?' said Reaper soon after which Arcadios signaled the soldiers to a formation.
'Princess Hisui, stay behind me! I'll handle this!' he yelled out soon after which the guards held Hisui.
'Let me go! I want to help to!' she exclaimed as she attempted to free herself.
'It's too dangerous for you' said Crimson in a calm tone, soon after which he went forward straight into the castle, followed by Arcadios. Hisui struggled, but managed to break herself free and rushed towards the two. As the guards chased Hisui in an attempt to stop her, the gates closed soon as she entered, leaving them behind.
'What's going on?' asked Reaper as he looked around and witness himself being imprisoned inside the castle along with Arcadios and Princess Hisui.
'I am not sure, it sounds like an intruder' replied Arcadios as he drew out his sword.
'An intruder huh?' replied Reaper as he narrowed his eyelids and charged his fist. Suddenly, Reaper punched in mid-air, leaving the other two clueless onto what he was trying to do. 'Lucky shot!' yelled out a voice familiar to him.
'Huh? Is that...?' said Reaper as he tried to recognize the person he had attacked.
'I don't need any formalities for you.. R..' he replied, soon after which Reaper interrupted him by punching onto his torso, knocking him against the wall, and breaking his invisibility.
'I see, so you're as strong as before' replied the mysterious man as he stood in front of the three. He wore a black robe and had dark purple eyes which complimented his black hair, similar to Midnight in appearence.
'What's going on? You know this guy!?' questioned Hisui.
'Can't say I don't' replied Reaper, as he grunted and charged his fist.
'Look if you two want to settle your scores it's fine, but please, don't involve Princess Hisui in all of this.' said Arcadios soon after which the man smiled as he raised his arm.
'Oh it has a lot to do with her' he replied as he fired an energy orb aimed at Arcadios in an attempt to kill him. Reaper deflected the orb with his hands, causing it to collide with the wall, creating an explosion. The man raised his hand once again as he was about to fire another, Reaper quickly fired an alpha bolt onto his head to stun him, soon after which he charged straight towards him with his fists covered with Red lightning. As the man recovered, he was greeted with punches followed by a punch blast, which knocked him against the wall. Reaper walked towards the man as he was about to get up and aimed his fist right at his face. The man smiled as his body disappeared.
'Huh.. same old tricks' said Reaper as he turned around and saw Arcadios pinned to the ground along with a man holding a knife against Hisui's throat. Reaper was surprised as he saw Arcadios along with Hisui being held hostage.
'Now now, one wrong step, and you'll be framed for their murder' said the Man as he held the knife closer to Hisui's throat.
'You sick.. bastard..' said Arcadios as he tried to get up, only to be pinned down by him again.
*What do I do now..*
Reaper raised his arms and knelt on the ground.
'That's right..' said the man as he created a clone of himself and attacked Reaper, kicking him around.
'No.. let him go!' yelled out Hisui soon after which the man covered her mouth.
'Shut up, or I'll make sure you don't get to talk again' he said.
As Reaper got tossed around, Arcadios tried to get up once again, forcing the man to keep his foot down on him again.
'One more move like that and I'll make sure she see's the stars' he said. As Reaper fell on the ground, with the man's clone coming in for more. He placed his fist on the ground and sparked lightning on the floor, Shocking everyone standing, forcing the man to let go of Hisui and Arcadios, right after which he was punched at the face by Reaper.
As the man stood up, he dissipated. 'What's going on? Who was that guy? What does he have to do with me?' asked Hisui as she was confused.
'More importantly, how does he know you?' further asked Arcadios as he gave a blank look at Reapper. Reaper didn't respond for a few seconds, after which he broke the silence.
'I'll explain everything later, but right now, you're all in danger' replied Reaper, seconds after which an army of the man's clones appeared into the hall.
'Time to die' yelled out every single one of them, as they created energy orbs and fired straight at them. Reaper quickly slammed his fist onto the ground, creating a pillar of lightning with blocked their attack, right after which the clone army charged straight towards them. Reaper used his punch blast to knock a dozen of clones away, causing them to turn to dust.
'They're mere illusions!' said Arcadios as he drew out his sword and slashed one of the clones.
'Yeah, but their attacks do hurt' replied Reaper as he punched another and fired a rocket to take out a bunch of them. As the two continued to fight of the clones, which seemed never ending. Arcadios slashed through a bunch with his sword, as he stood in front of Reaper.
'Listen carefully, you have to find and defeat him, fighting off this army will wear you off' said Arcadios as he kept fighting.
'But Arcadios..' interrupted Princess Hisui.
'Take Princess Hisui with you as well' he added, surprising her.
'Alright, I'll end this quick, but, you sure you can handle it?' asked Reaper as he was about to leave.
'You don't need to worry about me Crimson, I'm not the chief of the army for nothing' he replied.
'Now go!' he ordered as he cleared a path for the two with his sword.
'Let's go princess' said Reaper soon after which Hisui nodded and agreed to follow him. The two left the hall, right after which Arcadios held his sword and fought off the clone army.
'Why is he attacking us? I'm so confused. Crimson if you won't tell me I'm not going any further! I demand to know who's invading us!' yelled Hisui as she halted while the two were sprinting across the halls of the castle.
'I don't have time to talk, Arcadios won't be able to handle those clones all by himself, and time's running out' replied Reaper. Hisui didn't respond, and nodded her face.
'Come on, we gotta find him and fast' said Reaper, right after which the man appeared out of nowhere.
'Oh, but you already did' said the man with a smile as he began walking towards the two. Reaper grinned as he walked straight towards him.
'I guess you haven't learned yet' he said as he charged lightning around his body.
'Oh it won't be like that, never again' replied the man as he fired an energy orb aimed at Reaper, who jumped to dodge it. The orb went on and hit Hisui, knocking her away.
'No!' yelled Reaper soon after which the man caught hold of his arm and punched him at his face, knocking him to the ground, right after which he fired a pulse of dark energy at him. As Hisui recovered, she saw Reaper stand after the attack, facing the man with his mask cracked.
'Crimson.. are.. you alright?' she asked as she stood up.
'Crimson? haha... ahahahahah!' laughed the man right after which, Reaper took off the mask and stared at him ferociously.
'So you've been hiding your true self from these people to gain their trust? how pathetic!' he said as he smiled.
'True.. self? Wh.. what's going on? Crimson?' she said as she felt confused, after which Reaper turned around, revealing his true identity.
'You.. you're that mage from Sabertooth.. Reaper!' she exclaimed as she felt a loss of words.
'Is that the only thing you know about him sweetheart? How about you tell her what kind of person you are?' he added, making Reaper clench his fists in anger.
'Wh.. what do you mean?' she asked.
'That's enough!' yelled out Reaper as he fired a skull bolt aimed at the man's face. The man was quick enough to dodge his attack.
'Oh? having a short fuse I suppose?' he said soon after which Reaper kept firing a barrage of skull bolts in anger.
'I will destroy you!' yelled Reaper in anger as he charged his body and dashed towards him. Hisui watched safely from a distance as the two engaged themselves in a fierce battle.
Just before the 3rd day of the Grand Magic Games could commence, Reaper found himself in trouble as he attempted to investigate an unusual activity around the castle. Who is this mysterious man Reaper has had fought before? What is his goal? Will Reaper manage to save Princess Hisui? All these questions seem to be popping in your minds at the moment and that's understandable.
Buhbye
EvilCole~