Opening Song: Hunter by Jesper Kyd
I round the corner of the old archives building and avoid the scattered patrols. Those explosions from the smoke bombs combined with whatever Yuyaki and Hikage are doing worked. It has opened a way to Kurokage's old room. The problem is the courtyard is in the way, and it's under heavy surveillance.
I stay on all fours and use the leafless hedges along Gessen's wall as a blind. It appears Yuyaki and Hikage aren't the only ones here causing problems. A red staff imbedded with lighting twirls around a body dressed in a black stealth suit as they fight with some Gessen students outside the gate. Judging by the curves, and the modified visor on the helmet, it's safe to assume Oliveria, and her Hebijo girls are here somewhere.
A mob of Gallowglass members and Gessen students relentlessly chase Yuyaki across the rooftops, but there are no signs of Hikage, Lawrence, Homura or the others. All the fighting is still taking place outside the walls or in the shadows. It hasn't spiraled into a full-blown war, but the whole place is a powder keg waiting to explode. Which means I need to pick up the pace before someone gets killed. It's bad enough Yumi, and the others are caught in this madness, but Minori is the one that worries me the most. Once Paladin is dealt with, I'm grabbing Minori and taking her to Jonathan until everything calms down.
"Alan! Over here!" Haruka's voice whispers from a nearby building.
I lay flat against the ground and look around. Haruka is peeking out from an underground transom. Yomi and Mirai are hunkered down by her side as they take cover from the unpredictable behavior of the patrolling students and Gallowglass members.
"You sure whipped Gallowglass into a frenzy. White flame bomb?" Haruka states.
I roll across the ground and slide through the basement window, "Smoke. You have Shokudo and Fubuki-chan to thank for that. What are you three doing?"
"Prowling around. Using chaos and fear as an excuse to run into restricted areas." Yomi replies as she shoves some bolts into her wrist crossbows.
"We're trying to get into the main tower, but ever since Yumi walked in, I doubt the 'seeking shelter' excuse will get us inside." Mirai adds as she pushes bullets into a magazine.
"Can't walk in the back door, and each level has someone scouting the perimeter. Doesn't look like we're getting in without a distraction, but I'm afraid my charm won't work since the school is on the verge of a battle." Haruka replies.
"I have an idea, but it's risky." I state.
"Anything is better than sitting here." Yomi states as she takes off the bloody bandages draped around her shoulder and rewraps it.
"Wait here. When you see me hauling ass across the rooftops, you'll have a short window of opportunity to get in. It's not guaranteed, so have a backup plan if it goes to hell."
Haruka grabs my shoulder and stops me, "Don't get yourself killed."
"And don't risk your life or theirs for nothing."
I waste no time and rush across the open. Haruka makes sure it's clear and helps Yomi and Mirai out of the basement. The three of them stay behind me and stick to the darkness. I stay out in the light and try to draw any free attention to me. It was dangerous before, but this calls for drastic measures.
I use a nearby lamppost to gain some extra air and sprout my wings. There is a yellow flash a couple buildings over, and a small suppressed pop. The sound of a whistling bullet gets louder with each nanosecond. I wrap myself up and brace. The round slams into the bone of my dead wings and sends me flying back. I flip backward and skid across the rooftop of the dormitory.
A spearpoint bullet is deeply wedged into my left wing. The tip mushroomed out and offset the portion where the ulnare connects to the phalanx. I dig the bullet out and reset the position of the bones. There isn't a follow up shot, but it seems there is some attention drawn to me. Bone tissue and sinew stitch the fracture together and restore the wing back to its original state.
Some Gessen students climb up to the roof and surround me. All of which look like they are only halfway through one year of training. The small group whispers back and forth on what they should do, and if it's worth the fight. All of which probably have little to no combat experience outside a controlled environment.
"We can all walk away injury free if you let me off with a warning." I state as I walk in the direction of the main tower.
"We can't let you do that." One boy states as the group cuts me off.
"Then I request audience with the man named CV." I state.
"You're not going anywhere."
My right wing connects with someone's body as they try to grab me. I snag the boy by the collar and chunk him towards the group. They break his fall and make sure he's okay. These kids really are as green as they come.
Normally by now, everyone would be trying to attack. Nor would they have taken their eyes off me during an extremely crucial moment. A moment that could have been the death of them all if it were anything else. They confirm that their friend is okay and turn attention back to me.
I unsheathe my kopis blades and hold them away from me. A final warning to back off before my patience reaches its end. I flip my kopises around and cut down a barrage of throwing knives that fly out from a building off to the left. The image of a woman leaps across the gap and lands in between me, and the kids. Her red hair stained with snowflake whips in the frigid wind.
"Well, what a surprise! Did the leader of Gallowglass come over just to give me a personal escort to Mr. CV?"
"An escort to an early grave is what you're about to get." Ange looks back at the students, "Ryan and Luke are at the east entrance of the academy. They need your help finding a set of sisters posing as Gessen students."
"Names are Ryona and Ryobi. Heterochromia-colored eyes. One is stacked while the other is about as thick as a washboard." I add.
Ange remains quiet but nods to confirm the statement. The students obey Ange's order and jump off the roof.
"I heard those pesky sisters are quite a handful. How about you go back those rookies up, and pretend I was never here?"
"You know, that sounds nice, but then I realized how stupid that was because it was your idea." Ange replies.
"Come on! What about friendship, and those having each other's back lectures we hear about on tv? I'm sure those Gessen kids would love to have a strong role model fighting by their side."
"Debatable but not the point. That's why they have Ryan and Luke to look up to. Besides, you're a much bigger threat than Ryona and Ryobi, and I've always been fond of doing the more dangerous things myself."
"I have done nothing that warrants anything more than a disciplinary notice." I reach into my side satchel and pull out a pen, "I'll even provide the ink for the warning slip you're about to write."
Ange flexes her shoulder and extends her hand. The plastic top of the pen shatters and spills ink all over my gauntlets. Recoil from the throwing knife ruffles the black leather of my duster as the knife sticks in the air conditioning unit behind me. I spin around and avoid a follow up throw. She lines a blade in between the gaps of all her fingers and flicks both hands.
I drive my wings into the roof and leap onto a nearby heating unit. Spikes sprout out the tips of all four wings. I snap the molted bone off and throw them at Ange. She weaves in between the spikes and unsheathes her massive katana. The neck of my kopises catch the elongated blade and stops her hip slash dead in its tracks.
"Steel on steel. Just like ye days of olden." I state.
"You're lucky there's children below us."
Ange throws my kopises to the side and slashes vertically. I spin to the side and dodge the following downward cut. She steps back and runs her off hand down the blade. A trail of wind follows behind her as she launches off her back foot. The blow bounces off my dead wing and causes her to recoil back.
I cross my wings and charge into her. Ange loses balance and drives her sword into the roof to brake herself from going over the dormitory's edge. She steps out of the way as I roll off the roof and descend towards freedom from her unprovoked conflict.
"Oh no you don't!" Ange yells.
The tip of her katana scrapes against my kopises with an ear grating screech. I spin around and counter slash. We both land on the adjacent classroom building and prepare for another engagement. I take up a defensive stance and flip the kopises upside down as Ange pulls out a crude looking knife out of her boot. The blade is jagged, unrefined and unfit to even be considered viable. The cross guard houses some kind of hourglass shaped object. Oil simmers within the clear window as white crystals sparkle with a certain purity above the black surface of the liquid.
I rake my blades together behind my back and cautiously move forward. Ange points the tip of the primitive blade at me. The crystal chunks burst and fall into the boil. Grey liquid percolates and forces pressure onto the glass. Cracks form along the base of the dagger, and the fluid seeps out. Gold crystals turn the useless blade into an indescribable conglomerate of rock and metal.
"It looks like you found a new toy while I was gone." I say as I pull my wings back inside my body.
"How observant of you. Come closer and I'll show you how it works."
"I'd rather you tell me about it, and then pretend it never existed."
Ange flips forward and drives the knife into the ground. Misshapen spears sprout from the ground and cover a portion of the roof in gold crystal. I grab hold of a nearby flag pole and spin around to avoid that area attack. Ange points the blade at me.
I dive behind a set of pipes as a beam strikes the flag pole. The solidified gold object explodes into a shower of holy shrapnel. The shards lose velocity and bounce off my duster, but it causes the yoma skin to smolder like fresh tinder. She fires off another bolt and completely misses. The shot hits the main tower, but it does no damage to the building's integrity.
"I'm guessing friendly fire isn't worth consideration." I state as I use the air conditioner and heater units to avoid Ange's beams.
"It's something that's been long in the making. A weapon designed to kill souls corrupted by evil." Ange leaps up on top of a set of pipes and stabs down at me.
"Holy?" I snap back and avoid the incoming blow.
"Holy only affects monstrosities like you. This knife can not only kill halfbloods and yoma, but people alike."
"What do you mean people?"
"This world is overrun with filth masquerading as humans. Hunters, evil shinobi, every day criminals. People who stray from what is law. It's hard to tell who's truly good, and what's not. But with this, it will make culling this world so much easier." Ange replies.
"Stray from what is law? Or what the man with money deems socially unacceptable?" I state.
"It's not about the money. It's about ensuring good people and those I love have a future. A future you hunters and evil shinobi steal from us on a daily basis."
"Like how Homura's good shinobi parents stole her life to save face?"
"SHUT UP!"
Ange flips the blade upside down and slashes. The crystalized knife glances off my kopises and slices right through the duster. Instinct takes over and darkness imbeds itself into my skull. I drive my head forward and slam into the bridge of Ange's nose. Bone shattering to dust vibrates against my forehead.
Tiny dots of light and star shaped objects pulse on an orange background. All the veins in my eyes become visible as I furiously rub my face. Even with the darkness solidifying my already hard and stubborn head, it did nothing to protect me from the pain. Nobody ever wins with a headbutt.
Ange grasps her face and staggers back. Blood runs all down her mouth as she drops her weapons and tries to balance out. Her nose is offset and nearly level with her mouth. She digs her thumbs into her collapsed nostrils and pulls. Ange's painful breathing returns to normal as she realigns her nose and allows the tainted black essence from her confused heart to regenerate the broken bone and cartilage lining her face.
The wound where Ange managed to slash me is turning the blood into some kind of glowing gold liquid. A line of solid crystal follows the veins of my forearm up to my biceps. What looks to be the main source of the spreading rock is a chunk that has burrowed into the bone and stabbed through the underside of the arm.
I break the spike growing out from under my arm and pull on the source of the growth. A jagged line of saw bladed crystals tear through skin and cause my body to lock up. I grind my teeth and pull the rocky drawstring that's been stained with coagulated blood and shredded skin. The pain disappears, and the black blood stored in my heart courses to the wound and repairs the excessive damage.
"Impressive. It seems my experiments are finally coming to fruition. Which means all the other projects will be a success as well." Ange states.
"The more inhumane, the better." I grab the wagon wheel on my back and block an incoming beam.
"Evil can never be tortured or dead enough. Abominations like you, and the evil shinobi deserve nothing less." Ange states.
I reach into the gauntlet of the wheel and pull the lever. The spikes inside draw a bit of blood and cause the wheel to split open and spin. Ange charges her knife and takes aim. I crank the wheel again. The spikes dig a bit deeper on the second pull and draw more blood. The wheel screams and sends out a cluster of red skulls that fly out and swallow Ange's beam. The attack causes all the skulls to burst into smoking fragments. Dust the color of blackened gold falls in unison with the snow.
The first pull activates the wheel. Second pull causes the spokes to spin and summons skulls that can block magic projectiles at the cost of a bit more essence. Each pull demands more blood sacrifice in exchange for more defense. The only time I used this thing was against Cataphract, but it was in the middle of a life-or-death situation. There was no time to evaluate the wheel or draw conclusions.
I also have the cup he gave me, but that saps a ton of energy. That will be reserved for Paladin if worst comes to worst. Verdict is the wheel is a terrible offense choice but can potentially be a viable defense against magic, miracles and physical attacks if used correctly.
"So on the morally ambiguous subject of good and evil, why did you confront the Warden over the way Asuka was treated?"
"Asuka is someone who can still be brought back to the right side. When I found out the Warden was being unreasonably cruel to people who can be saved, I set out to show him the error of his ways." Ange replies.
"Well I hope you butchered that asshole for what he did to Asuka."
"It doesn't change the fact she's still wanted. Sooner or later, Asuka, and the Hanzo girls will come back to what's true. When that happens, killing you, Lawrence, Hikage and Homura will be all too easy."
Ange comes at me with a flurry of slashes. I spin the wheel around and use the spokes to keep her back. She leaps into the air and descends towards me. I fling the wheel up and stop her dive bomb attack. The impact shoves us both across the building top, but she is unable to break through the wheel's defense. Ange uses her hands to balance herself on the handguard of her katana.
All the weight of my body is pushed onto the tips of my toes. I look behind me and notice that the only thing separating us from a fifty-foot fall is air. Ange eases around to try and gain footing but every movement nearly sends us both over the edge. I sprout my wings and fall back. Ange uses the momentum to throw herself back towards the building. She grabs a window seal and climbs down in hot pursuit. I flip backwards and land on the Academy's perimeter wall.
Ange jumps onto the decorative iron that runs along the wall and skips toward me. I put my arm into the wheel's gauntlet and charge toward her. Skulls form on the wheel and block another one of Ange's beam attacks.
Ange avoids a swipe from the wheel and kicks herself off a nearby lamppost. The wheel shakes again from the impact of her weight as we collide again. The crude looking knife rattles around as the osculating lats grind against the crystalized blade.
"You've turned into a much bigger pain in the ass since our last encounter." Ange grinds her teeth.
"Glad to hear it." I reply.
PATOOOF!
The section of wall we are standing under disappears, and the concussive blast of a huge object sends Ange spiraling out of control. The metal of a nearby lamppost wraps around my body and carries me directly into a wooden bench. Chunks of rock, glass and iron explode in a shower that pelts me all over the body. Ringing from the massive sound causes my eardrums to pound to the point they feel like they're about to blow out. Shrapnel from a round object rips through my leg, and a small section of iron bar impales me in the stomach.
The ability to hear comes back somewhat. I work myself up into a sitting position and try to make sense of what just happened. A cloud of black smoke steams out of the barrel of a massive cannon that's mounted to a guy's arm. He hoists it up and slaps around on the powder pan.
"Hmm… maybe doubling the powder canisters is way too much." Lawrence states.
"You think so?" Homura snaps.
"At least I took Ange out with it!"
"And Alan too!" Homura rushes over.
"Alan too? Oh shit! Alan too!"
Lawrence helps me up as Homura takes out a blood genesis syringe. The hypodermic needle pierces through the flesh on my neck and relieves the pain as Lawrence pulls broken glass out of my face. The serum hits and causes me to violently jolt. The bleeding from where the glass shredded my forehead stops, and the iron bar wedged in my abdomen is nothing more than a small splinter. I take a deep breath and pry the bar out of my stomach.
"You going to make it?" Lawrence asks.
"I'll live."
Lawrence pulls out a couple of I.R.E vials and gives them to me. "Sorry about that. I'm not used to seeing you with that wheel, and I was fixated on taking Ange out."
I reach down and dig the shrapnel blade that's stuck in my calf muscle out. "Let's not do that again."
"Sure thing." Lawrence says as he loads a powder canister and prepares another ball.
"What are you doing here?" Homura asks.
"Yumi. She's in trouble."
"What kind of trouble!?"
"Serious. Apocalypse level serious. Remember back on Caligula Island when that thing called Cataphract said 'four girls, four scrolls?' I think instead of taking Yumi's by force, the guy hosting the tournament is going to bribe her with the talilbasha for her awakening scroll."
"Holy shit. Things really are coming full circle." Lawrence states.
"Then we have to stop them!" Homura adds.
"Do you think you can get me to the main tower?"
"Only if you promise to win." Homura replies.
"Deal."
"Alright! Then let's go save best girl!" Lawrence states as he pulls the doghead hammer on the cannon back. Homura casts a malicious look at Lawrence. His expression goes from excited to desperate, "Number two of course! Next to my Kinky Kunoichi!"
"That's what I thought you said." Homura hisses.
Lawrence and Homura take the lead and I follow behind them. The main tower isn't too far, and with Ange, Fubuki and Shokudo out of the way for a brief moment, things should get significantly easier. We scale up a nearby building and rush across the rooftops. Homura draws her katana claws and scrapes them across the ground as Lawrence rests his sword over his shoulder and takes the lead. Up ahead are two of Ange's handpicked members charging straight towards us.
"We'll deal with this Alan!" Homura states as she slides under an incoming bolt of lightning.
"Ah yeah! Rematch time!" Lawrence slings his sword towards an incoming hammer and deflects the bodybuilder's blow.
Homura crosses her arms and slashes towards her cloaked female opponent. The girl blocks her attack, and all four of them engage. I slide in between the battle and leap towards the main tower. My wings sprout out and send me up to the top floor.
I scramble over the balcony's edge and rush into the tower. The hallway is unnervingly quiet compared to what's going on outside. There is no sign of life. Nor is there anyone guarding Kurokage's room. I open the heavy double doors and peek in. Yumi is dressed in Gessen's traditional grey and black uniform. She is completely oblivious to what Paladin has planned. Yet he's nowhere to be found. Come to think about it, there's been no sign of Cavalier or Knight either. Paladin has some kind of convoluted plan, and it's stressing me out not knowing all the details.
"Yumi!"
Alan? What are you doing here?"
"Getting you out of here! Are you alright?" I take out my revolver and aim up in the rafters to make sure there isn't anything unpleasant lying-in wait. Up in the corners of the room are a set of vents that lead to the outside, but it's high up and well hidden.
"I'm fine, but what's this about getting out of here?"
"You're in danger."
"Danger?"
"Yeah. The tournament is just a front to get to you."
"Why?"
"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to go."
My yoma senses perk up as something else enters the room. A shelf filled with scrolls rotate, and the wind off an incoming object whips my brown hair around. The heat given off the velocity of the projectile causes the humidity in the air to boil.
A pilum rockets into the door and slams it shut. I jump away from Yumi and shoot down another pilum. The man chunks a block of wood the size of a railroad tie towards the door. Within it burns a seal capable of producing a barrier.
"Go Yumi!"
I leap in front and prepare to catch the incoming attempt to seal Yumi in. Something shaped like an arrow scrapes me across the kneecap and forces me to the ground. I reach up but fail to grab the block of wood.
"Alan!" Yumi rushes over.
The wooden block seals the door shut and emits a sparkling mist to shut us off from the outside world.
"A kekai? What is the meaning of this!?" Yumi yells.
"You're not going anywhere." Paladin says as he puts a decorative longbow on his back and sits down at the foot of Kurokage's throne…
Ending Song: Apocalypse by Jesper Kyd