"Hope gramps trained you for five on one Hanzo kitten!" Shokudo teases as he dodges an incoming swipe. He drives his elbow into Asuka's stomach. The leather in her armor crinkles under the brute force as she collapses to the ground. Fear overrides the ability to be reasonable, and the impulse from Asuka being in danger forces me to take my eyes off my fight.

Cataphract rears back and lunges his halberd at me. The point of his weapon slams into the neck of the chain sickle and snaps through. The sickle's blade snaps off and tumbles directly into my chest. A pulse of light temporarily blinds me. A flash of gold erupts within the disabled vision, and the entire inside of my left arm rattles. A dizzying sensation overtakes my senses as Cataphract's halberd snags hold of bone in my forearm.

My back nearly folds in half as I slam into a tree. Multiple branches claw me all over, and a cold white blanket leaps on top and suffocate me.

"Vis…. Mittere… (Emit force)…" I strain and struggle to channel any kind of mana.

Wood, rock and stone explode from the makeshift tomb Cataphract made for me. The bones in my body slowly mend back. I grab hold of the blade wedged inside me and pull. Flesh and fabric yank back. I take a deep breath and rip it out. The blade has a series of jagged ends that jut off its razored tip, and an uncomfortable feeling pokes at the closing wound.

Rust flavored liquid mixes with saliva and forms a pool in the recesses of my mouth. Cataphract charges in. I wipe the blood off on the palm of my gauntlet and flip the broken blade upside down. Cataphract jabs at me with his halberd.

I weave in between his blows and deflect a genuine attack. The grains in our weapons grind to the point they hurl blue sparks. Cataphract savors the momentum and spins the halberd above his head. He charges up and lets loose with a huge sweep. I get inside the weak point of his polearm and kick the shaft in the opposite direction. Cataphract's halberd wedges itself into a nearby tree, and the counter force causes him to stagger. Red mist sprays out of my lips and coats the front of his visor. I drive the broken sickle blade into his exposed neck and sweep his legs. With a small moment of reprieve, I look back at Asuka. She's engaging with a horseman that has the commander's crest on his helmet. He is deflecting all her attacks, but he can't hit her because she's faster than his ability to wind up a swing from his sword.

With Cataphract down for the moment, I channel the last of power into sprouting my wings. Each tip digs into the packed red snow until it bites through the solid cold ground. A packed snowball pelts Asuka in the side of the face, and she staggers. The commander grabs hold of her by the throat and slams her into the ground. Asuka violently coughs and writhes on the ground in agony.

"You've just been bested." The commander says as he steps on Asuka's gut.

"You piece of shit!" I scream as I slingshot my way directly towards the commander.

A fan shaped object slices through my gut, and something hoists me up into the air. A pair of black eyes light up with glee. Fubuki clenches her fist and forces all the mana in her body to her arm. Blood from my draining body spatters across her pale face as she picks up Asuka's little wakizashi and slices her arm open. White flurries and turbulent droplets mix with the blood and form a black icicle that sprouts out from Fubuki's palm.

"Should have kept your mouth shut! Fire in the hole!" Shokudo yells as he covers his ears.

Fubuki releases, and the icicle rockets through my body and sends me up into the air. Several little white dots spin out of control to the point my eyes can no longer trace what is going on. Hundreds of razors bite and slice me all over the body as the icicle explodes.

The pain is so intense that I'm losing the ability to even feel anymore. My collarbone violently rattles from the impact of hitting the ground. Fubuki grabs hold of the handle sticking out of my stomach. A crimson line jets out of my body as she wipes the blood off the folds and puts it away. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"If you were half as good as you claim to be, you would have been able to land that without five other people using Asuka as bait." I taunt.

Fubuki tries to keep her composure but anger and hatred overwhelm her. The heel of Fubuki's shoe clips me on the tip of the nose. She pulls out a regeneration elixir and bends down by my side, "this time, it's just going to be me and you. Now get up."

Shokudo snags the elixir out of Fubuki's hand, "Hold your horses there sweetie pie. That won't be necessary."

"What do you mean that won't be necessary? Did you just hear what he said to me?"

"I did, but he's beaten. He's lost."

Fubuki thinks about what has just happened, "well, yes. He is beaten, but I wanted to be the one that defeated Alan."

"And you did!"

"With your help that is." Fubuki states.

"See? You let his little statement get to you. The moment he springs back up, he'll beat you."

"He will not!" Fubuki rages.

Fubuki and Shokudo argue back and forth on whether or not she could win in a fair fight. Catapharct waddles over to the other horsemen, and the four of them huddle up in a group. I roll over onto my side and look in Asuka's direction. She works her legs up underneath her body, but she can't follow through and stand. As scary as it got, Asuka is going to live. She looks over at me with a joyful face and is just as relieved as I am.

Although neither of us are in any condition to fight. Asuka was fighting against Shokudoche, and I had to deal his horse's ass of an assistant named Cataphract. Probably wouldn't have won, but we capable of fighting them off until they everyone ganged up on us.

"Sire, I do hate to intrude on your conversation, but what exactly are we going to do with these two?" Cataphract asks as he wipes my blood and saliva off his visor.

"I don't know. I didn't really think I'd make it this far." Shokudo states as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crumbled-up post it note. "Let's see, we've got Kagura bound and gagged so she's no longer a threat, we have the talilbasha. Next on the list was getting Morabis out of the picture. Then we proceed onto killing the team leaders of Hanzo, Gessen, Hebijo Academy, and then that ex-shinobi group. Was it killing or forcing them into submission?"

He runs through his list several times aloud. I carefully grab hold of my broken chain sickle blade and sneak it into my side satchel. The commander of the horsemen walks over to Asuka while another approaches me. The commander examines us and tries to come up with a plausible solution. He looks at Asuka and then back at me.

"I have an idea. Bring him to me."

The horseman grabs hold of my collar and drags me through the snow. The commander takes out a dagger and presses it into Asuka's palm. The blade breaks her skin and blood flows out. Rage overtakes me. I grab hold of the mace on my captor's waist belt and yank back. The sudden change in direction forces him to stumble. I club him directly in the visor of his helmet. He violently spins through the air and skids across the white ground. I chunk the mace in the direction of Cataphract and knock him off his feet.

"Goddamnit…" Shokudo mumbles as he folds his list up and charges at me.

"He's mine!" Fubuki yells.

"No! You get back!" The commander yells.

I scoop up a handful of snow and fling it into Shokudo's face. He grasps his face but avoids the incoming fist from me. Something wraps around my left leg and trips me up. My face hits the cold snow and leaves a perfect impression of my head. I wipe my face and try to get up, but something prevents me from standing.

A golden thread has ensnared both my legs and is slowly coiling around me. I balance all my weight on my hands and fling myself in Asuka's direction. The commander restraining Asuka smiles as he presses Asuka's bloody hand into the snow. Mana from him flows through her and causes another thread to wrap around my stomach. Okay… Now I'm really pissed! Nobody pumps anything into Asuka unless it's me!

"Just wait you horsefucker! I'm about to end your existence!" I snag a throwing dagger out of a side pocket and disguise the motion like I'm trying to stay balanced. Another thread comes out of Asuka's hand and wraps around my right arm.

I let the throwing dagger go and grab hold of it with my left hand. The threads offset the weight within my body and forces me to tip over. I thrash around and claw the snow to try and get to Asuka. She is trying to remain strong, but deep in her eyes, she is weeping. Almost like she feels completely useless in this situation.

"What are you doing!?" Fubuki angerly asks.

"Taking care of our problem once and for all. Something you, and your subordinate have failed to do time and time again." The commander replies.

Shokudo consults his notes, "wait, we're using Korin Fuma? I don't remember that being on the agenda."

The horseman holding Asuka down gets off and approaches me in an arrogant manner. I reach out with my only free hand and try to touch Asuka. She crawls in my direction, but the horseman armed with the mace steps on her back and prevents her from getting any closer.

"Don't touch her!" I yell as I viciously squirm against this spell.

A hole in the ground opens up behind me and all the threads work in a collective manner to drag me in its direction. Every muscle in my body tenses up to try and prevent from going backwards, but the Korin Fuma threads are slowly gaining the advantage in this game of tug of war.

"Are we going to kill the girl after this is over?" Fubuki asks.

"She's a wanted criminal, and we're a little short on cash right now. Let's just sell her off, collect the bounty and take care of her later." Shokudo states.

"I don't care what you do with her, but no more mistakes." The arrogant commander states as he crouches down beside me. He pokes and prods at my face.

"You hear that Fubuki? I can finally take you to that five-star restaurant now!" Shokudo cheers.

"So, you're Morabis' harbinger? You know, if I could have it my way, I'd kill you, but I'll spare that girl the grisly sight since I am a very merciful man."

"And who do I owe the honor for being such a shining example of grace?" I reply as my boots finally reach the entrance of the hole.

"Paladin Victorum. Or in the tongue of you peasants, Conquest." He says as he raises his visor.

"Alan..."

I bury the throwing knife into Paladin's face. Blood spurts out of his face, and he silently swears. He yanks the throwing knife out of his cheek and throws it. I raise my middle finger as high as possible.

"Stupid kid! Just like Morabis himself!"

My fingers stab through the crunchy snow and dig into the malleable ground. No matter how much I pull against the Korin Fuma, it pulls back sevenfold. A sudden burst of outrage courses through me I am able to barely pull my head back over the edge of the hole. Hope spurs Asuka's expectations. I point directly at Paladin, "You may have won this battle, but our war has only begun."

Paladin pushes his blued steel boots up against my knuckles, "That is has, but unlike you, I'll be the victor when this is all over." He brings his leg back and makes direct contact with my hand.

"Alan! NO!" Asuka screams as I lose my grip and plummet directly through the hole.

The ground above seals shut, and the golden threads pull me further into the darkness until the only thing visible is a black curtain within this abyss. Everything feels like it's going in slow motion as I free fall through this never-ending hole…

"Wow. What an absolute shit show. The fact I got my ass rammed by good ole Fubuki-chan within the story's opening isn't really a proper way to begin this tale. And here you were expecting some power fantasy p and d story right off the bat. Now don't worry. They'll be plenty of that later, but for the time being, I bet you are wondering, 'Alan? How did it come to this? Aren't you the main character? You're not supposed to lose. Where was Gehrman? What about Oktitohbi? Who was that Paladin asshole? Why didn't you just use that ring Mirror Queen Makaria gave you to escape? Why is this happening?' Tons of questions and hardly any time to answer them all. Well. It's a long story. If you're willing to listen, then sit tight, and I'll tell you."

Sledgehammer963 presents…

"It all began thirty minutes ago. It's what the religious types like to call…

Damnation

Ending Song: Lacrimosa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart