Chapter 4: The legendary sword
Yoshiki had searched the entire floor, calling to Ayumi while keeping an eye on Ami. The young girl looked tired, but continued to push herself so she wouldn't fall behind.
"Ami, sweetie… are you okay?" He turned to his daughter. She perked up when her name was called, nodding quickly. He could see how fatigued she was becoming, and looked around for any signs of a classroom. The first door he spotted were two red doors, the custodian's closet.
Walking over to it, he expected it to be locked; however, when he pushed on it, it opened easily. Both stepped inside, the smell of rotting wood was strong.
"Why don't you sit down for a little bit," He turned to Ami, and she shook her head again.
"What about mommy?" She whimpered. Yoshiki frowned.
"I know you really want to find her, I do too. But, I don't want you getting sick from walking around so much," He leaned down to her level, patting her head. Her vibrant blue eyes looked down.
"Okay…" She squeaked, walking over and sitting down on the higher level of the room. Yoshiki rose back up, deciding to investigate the room. A ceiling lamp was giving off some light, allowing him to see well. He walked over to a cabinet, the drawers opening up easily. However, there wasn't much inside. On the last drawer, he pulled at it, but it refused to open. Blinking, he put more force into it, the drawer finally giving and sliding from its hinges, onto the floor. He backed away quickly, not wanting to be caught under it.
He leaned back down when he saw what was inside. A stack of newspapers, all in different languages that he couldn't read; some in English, French, even Spanish.
Ami only watched as her father reached in and grabbed the stack of papers. He walked up to her, sitting down next to her as he placed the newspapers on his lap.
"What is it daddy?" She asked, looking over as he grabbed one, starting to study it. She glanced down at the other articles, not recognizing any of the languages written.
"I don't know…" He trailed off, trying to make some words on the article in his hands. It was in English; he could speak a little from learning the language from high school years. However, he wasn't fluent in the language, give or take. Placing the article down, he started going through the stack, hoping to find an article in Japanese. Eventually, he came upon one, the paper worn at the edges. It was much darker from the today's newspapers. Reading the date, his eyes widened.
"An article from… 1921?" Scanning it, to his surprise, it wasn't about any murders like the articles from before; he could clearly remember reading an article about the four children that were murdered here in Heavenly Host.
Reading it, his eyes narrowed at its content. It was… about a strange creature appearing in the west mountains, attacking villages. There were few survivors; those that had lived were stripped of their minds. They went insane from the horrors they experienced. A photo was next to the article, a drawing depicting of the creature. It looked like a dragon to him; slender, serpent-like body. Horns protruding from the back of its head. It had no wings, thin arms and legs, tipped with long talons. The upper half of its head topped with a reptilian-like skull. The picture depicted it breathing fire.
"What is going on?" He muttered, setting the article down and looking through the other newspapers. Dates varied from 1867 to 2002. The 2002 article had taken place in France, where a photo was taken of a creature similar to the picture in the Japanese article. He couldn't read what it had to say, but the photo gave him an idea. It had appeared atop a tall statue, unleashing a powerful plume of fire from its mouth.
"Why… would something like these be in Heavenly Host…?" He questioned, unaware of Ami's presence. Something suddenly caught his eye. From the cabinet, in which the bottom drawer had slid out, something was gleaming from the back. Setting the stack next to him, he rose and walked over. Getting to his knees, he peered in, and reached forward, his hand brushing up against leather. Blinking, he wrapped his hand around it and pulled, loosening the object. Pulling it out, it his eyes widened at how long the object had really been. It was a sword, the leather holding it looked too old to be recent.
"What is it daddy?" Ami had her knees up to her chest, hugging them.
"It's… a sword," He replied, his hand going to the handle of blade and sliding it out the holder. It looked old, but the blade shined as if it was brand new. In the dim light from above, the sword shined in different colors.
Sliding back into its holder, the leather at the base peeled away to reveal a small piece of paper. Confused, Yoshiki grabbed the paper; it was folded, so he unraveled it, the message in Japanese… in ink.
"Beware of the creature that has a body of tar and flame of violet. Not even the strongest of Knights can defeat him. Only one has been able to defeat him, under the name of… Shinozaki…" Yoshiki's eyes widened at the surname. Ayumi's last name was Shinozaki… but she took his surname name when they married. He continued.
"…This creature, killed by the blade that can cut through anything, seeking revenge for the knight that slaughtered him. Using his magical abilities that are as powerful as the stars and moon, set a curse on the man's family, forever burdening the name 'Shinozaki'," He couldn't believe what he was reading. Ayumi's family name had been cursed for centuries. Was that also the reason why the girl in the red dress had shared the same surname…? Why they all had been brought to this unforgiving hell?
"What does that mean daddy?" Ami was even more confused than before. None of those words was in her level of vocabulary.
"I don't know sweetheart," He turned to her, lying to her. She was too young to understand what was happening. Maybe when she was older.
Rising to his feet, he decided it be best to take the sword. If anything, it was a weapon of defense. The leather holder had a strap on it, so he swung it around his arm.
"Are you ready to keep moving?" He stepped over to Ami, and the young let go of her legs, her feet dangling over the edge.
"Yeah," She nodded, rising to her feet. He smiled, before going over to the articles. He took a few of them, best to keep them with him. If they did find Ayumi, she had a better chance of reading the different languages. Her medium status required learning a few different languages. If anything, she could get some more information out of these newspapers. Folding them up, he stuck them inside his dress shirt, a hidden pocket encasing them inside.
Both exited the custodian's office, unaware that a spirit was watching them. Her eyes narrowed a frown upon her face. Without warning, she disappeared into the air.
In the underground bomb shelter…
"God… damn… HUMANS!" He roared, slamming a bucket of blood against the wall. The wall covered over with the thick liquid, pooling at the bottom.
He had sensed that one of the five had found the legendary sword, the very blade that had ended his life. Just what he needed; for them to get stronger. He knew that the sword had been hidden in the walls of an untouchable dimension in the universe. He felt its powers growing stronger the closer he came to it. He had searched for the sword everywhere; wanting to enhance its powers into his own soul. He needed the magic it held.
He paced around the room, scratching his talons into the dirt floor; leaving deep claw marks in its wake. He needed to act fast, before the five and their families were reunited. They could not win. That's when an idea sparked.
He would attack the source of his presence. The Shinozaki woman, the woman that refused to continue the bloodline. She had caused the curse to flutter; when her child was born, she was supposed to kill her husband. However, because of the sudden fluctuation in the curse's abilities, her family had been completely skipped over.
That didn't mean her child possessed the same abilities as her mother. The little girl was born with such great energy… energy he also needed.
Striding out of the blood-soaked room, he paced down the dirt hallways, his red pupils appearing in his green eyes again. He could fight holy water. His bright flame could not be extinguished by the pure liquid.
He would slaughter the woman. End her life in an unimaginable way. The child following her would come next… Then his bloodlust could not be tamed.
Ayumi and Aya were walking down one of the hallways, a newspaper in Ayumi's hand. She was reading over the text, trying to piece together what was going on. However, the article had given her nothing. She already knew all of this; four children were kidnapped, one escaped with her life while the other three were brutally murdered.
Sighing in defeat, she placed the article down on a nearby desk.
"Ayumi?" Aya looked at the older woman, worried.
"Yes Aya?" She turned to the dark-auburn.
"Are you okay?" Aya asked, fiddling with the hem of her dress. Ayumi blinked, and gave off a fake smile.
"Yeah… everything's fine," She was quick to respond. Aya didn't seem convinced, but didn't want to upset the woman. She looked to the ground, still messing with her dress.
"Oh… so everything's fine, hmm?" A dark, brooding voice broke the silence of the halls, and Ayumi turned to the source. On instinct, she put out an arm before Aya, wanting to protect the child. A flash of lightning struck out, the hallways gleaming as the creature was standing before them.
He stepped out of the shadows, his eyes glowing brightly as he smirked. His talons brushed against the wood, the air turning hot from his body.
"So… you can talk," Ayumi decided to converse with this creature. His eyes narrowed, his head rising above them.
"You really think such an idiotic animal could take over this dimension and resurrect a god. So low of humans to think such things," As he spoke, his tone got more and more angry. She stood her ground however. He found this intimidating.
"Are you the one that brought us here?" She questioned, and he let out a laugh.
"You really think that little Sachiko could bring humans here without the use of the charm? The five of you knew of the charms effects if done wrong, so you didn't dare go near it again," He spoke, starting to walk forward.
"Why bring the children into the mix?" She asked, and his head lowered.
"Such young things should experience seeing their parent's deaths… and then join their eternity of pain…" He responded. Her eyes widened.
"What are you?" She pondered aloud. He smiled again.
"Death," Suddenly, from his jaws, his long tongue shot out, lunging at Ayumi without giving her time to run. The tip wrapped around her throat, immediately cutting her off from air. She was lifted off from the ground, her hands clawing at his tongue's flesh, but like the rest of his body, the tongue was covered in tar. Aya had run off, too scared to be around the evil creature.
"I… w-wo… n't… l-lose… to… you…" She choked out, feeling it dig deeper into her throat. She felt herself losing consciousness. She didn't want to die; she had a family to live for. However, she couldn't fight when she had no oxygen.
"Such a foolish human. You can't fight against me," He spoke, grinning as her life slipped away. A loud crash of thunder split over the skies, a flash of lightning beaming out. Before he could react, he felt hot pain run through the base of his tongue, screeching out as his tongue had been completely sliced off.
Ayumi was dropped to the floor, the tongue instantly liquefying and disappearing. She gasped for air, her chest heaving. A dark bruise was already forming around her neck, some areas of her throat bleeding.
The creature shook his head, his tongue disappearing inside his jaws. A growl radiated from his throat, looking up to see who had cut off his first kill. His eyes widened, not at the human that was standing before him, but the blade in his hand. The legendary sword; the sword that had killed him.
"Stay away from my wife," The man ordered, and the creature leaned down, the growls growing louder.
"So, you found the legendary sword," He spoke out, his eyes narrowing as they focused on the shining blade. The blood from his tongue still covered the edges, dripping down onto the floor. The dirty blonde holding it didn't reply, his grey-blue eyes squinting at the vile creature.
"No response hmm? You really are the stubborn one," The creature chuckled, standing his ground. Going towards the human with a weapon, a weapon that could harm him would be idiotic.
Tightening his grip on the sword, Yoshiki swung his arm forth, the sword slicing through the air as it aimed for the creature. The creature had been expecting the attack, easily dodging the attack and landing back.
"Even wielding the sword, you are not worthy of its power! You don't even know how to attack correctly," The creature played with his words, before rising on his back feet. His throat lit up, his jaws opening as fire with the color of violet was unleashed on the human, engulfing the man in powerful flames.
"Yo…shi…ki…" Ayumi whimpered out, reaching her hand out as she saw the bright flames engulf the man. Her already blurry vision faded to black, no longer able to stay awake. Before she completely lost consciousness, she swore she saw faint blue.
"Daddy…" Ami, who had been told to hide, peered behind the cabinet. She felt tears swell in her eyes, her father disappearing into the flames. She tensed when the hot air turned cold, and dared to turn around. She could feel a presence behind her. She turned her head around slowly, her eyes widening as she let out a gasp. Before she could yell out, her body felt extremely hot, and she quickly lost consciousness. The only thing she saw before blacking out was the color blue.
When his foot met the ground, the fire disappeared. He expected to see a burnt, limp body, and a sword that would finally be his. Instead, there were no signs of a human even being present. The creature's eyes narrowed; somebody was helping them.
Growling, his head rose as he let out a frustrated roar, the noise echoing off the walls and all around the school. He will get that sword, at any cost.
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