This chapter's song is Fallen Angels by Black Veil Brides.
I return to the box, disabling the rune and closing the door behind me, finding Bickslow drinking some blood from a goblet like I was earlier. He does nothing when he sees me out of the corner of his eyes, and gulps down the contents of his cup. I smile wickedly, looking at my Mate and the wrongs I've made him do to survive. Then it falls off my face, and as he turns to refilling his cup, a sadness makes itself known to me. What is this feeling?
Ah, it is regret.
I haven't felt this is… centuries.
I scoop up my goblet, drowning the frown that is my expression with blood, it going down much easier than before, even compared to an hour earlier. I would be startled, but I expected something like this. Bickslow's drinking it with eager abandon, as if he had trouble with it just as much as I did. (38)
I look at the field, and a pleasantly surprised to see that it is Noctus on the field, with Kagura at the opposite end, who looks both focused and nervous at this. Her blade remains sheathed, however, but she looks like she might have to draw it at this battle.
Noctus, however, is looking as chipper as can be, except for glaring up at the sun, using an umbrella to shield her pale skin from the sun, and her eyes. The girl is so sensitive to it, she only travels during the night. She's actually nocturnal, and people think that's why she's called Noctus. (39)
Her bangs, white on her right side, black on her left, frame her face, with her mouth covered in black lipstick curve into a smile, tiny as it may be. Her pigtails flare out behind her, white at the tops and black at the bottoms, while her outfit suggests she's an innocent little girl, the umbrella shielding her a mainly black figure, with bows and connecting cloth around the rim a cheery red, as is the handle. Her outfit is a small corset with a halter top, blue in color, not quite reaching her neck, with a red bow but blue strings and red fabric configuring the corset, the lower portion of her top.
Her skirt also suggests an innocent schoolgirl as much as her pigtails do, the overlay red with a bow, and the bottom portion of it a blue, layered so that if she spins, they'll flare out. Her tights are a black and blue, in a diamond pattern, covering her legs up to her mid thigh, with bows of blue tying them in place and hanging down so one can see them. Her boots are black with red bows adorning them, going down in the front.
As cute as she might look, she's one of the most powerful of people here. This is really just for show; she likes to throw her opponents off. Normally, she looks as serious as she is, dressed in blue or red, even sometimes black. However, at this contest, I guess she's feeling cheeky. I doubt she'll show up in the same outfit all the days.
Her golden yellow eyes pierce through everyone except Morrigan, Nightshade, and I (40), making her seem like she knows everything about you, and can see your soul. (41)
Morrigan and her are probably the most powerful members of the Dark Brotherhood, besides myself (42). Nightshade, though, has her talents.
Noctus looks at her opponent, turning around fully to assess her. She smiles even more, and I laugh behind my hand, knowing that no matter how good Kagura is, she's no match for Noctus. Although they do not command opposite forces and I don't expect anyone to really do so in this contest (43), Kagura is hopelessly outmatched and definitely going down.
Bickslow looks at me from a slouch on his chair, peeking at me, really, from under his visor. His head is held in one hand, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair and his head tilted to the left slightly. He must be wondering what I'm thinking; I don't care right now. Noctus is going to fight and win, and I'm sure it'll be a good one.
"Match start!" calls out Jason over the loudspeaker, and Noctus immediately raises her umbrella, a magic circle forming above it, casting a spell of darkness to cover the arena and prevent any sunlight from filtering through. I expect she'll do the same thing for all her fights, or create a tiny little cloud to block out the sun.
Kagura, already charging, can no longer see her opponent, letting Noctus swing by her and hit her in the back, with her umbrella, no less. The thing is closed, and with a click of a button, she lets out a blade concealed in it.
Unfortunately, Kagura hears it, and chooses to rely upon her sense of hearing instead of sight. She dodges out of the way of Noctus' slash, and raises her still-sheathed blade in a defense position.
Noctus hits it with her weapon, mostly the fabric part, but a clash of blades can be heard. My Night Vision is making it almost impossible to see anything but inside that sphere of darkness. The Lacrima Vision is doing well, illuminating the pair as they fight by special magic, not interfering with the magic that happens in there anyway.
Jason's going on just this, though, making it a bit behind, but it's better than nothing for them. "Kagura is being forced down to her knees! I don't know how she can survive this onslaught!"
Finally, she grits her teeth, opens her eyes, and they blaze with power. Her second origin is releasing, allowing her to push Noctus away and give herself a boost in power. The next move she makes is to draw her sword, which she charges with, aiming to slice Noctus in two.
My Sister smiles darkly, and retracts her blade into the umbrella, placing it in front of her like a cane, then flares it out, the covering on the floor as Noctus flips up, gripping the handle and holding her position on the top of the umbrella, her skirt not even swaying the slightest bit. The only part of her that doesn't defy gravity is her hair, her pigtails moving slightly in the breeze and her bangs hanging upside down.
Once Kagura reaches about four feet from her, she pushes off the handle, her pigtails trailing behind her as she spins around and around, her hair actually wrapping around her. Her hands touch the ground behind Kagura, who is in the process of turning around to face her opponent once again, and she kicks her legs out, hitting the maiden of Mermaid Heel in the side with such force one could hear the cracking of her ribs. At least three, I think.
Every Dragon Slayer besides Cobra and I flinches at the sound, which makes the people they're with look at them with questioning looks. Bickslow even flinches, though that's more due to being a vampire. Our hearing is much better, supposedly, although I never noticed. Mostly because I already had great hearing.
Kagura gasps, clutching her side as she falls to the ground, her sword falling from her right hand.
Noctus bounces back, doing a handspring and landing on her feet delicately. She smiles sweetly, and the crowd waits with baited breath.
Kagura, always determined, stands with a struggle, bringing her sword up again in her right hand. It's probably better that way, as it would be a strain on the ribs she broke to wield it with her left hand.
She walks towards Noctus rather than charging, but I suspect this is already painful enough for her.
Noctus smiles wickedly, and moves her arm up to chest height, holding it about a foot away from it, making a hand movement, much like a summoning. Kagura looks up in time to see this, and her panic makes her look back, which she then sees what Noctus was doing. The umbrella is coming at Kagura, very, very fast.
The blade is out, too.
Noctus laughs and pulls out a dagger with her left hand, still holding the sigil in her right, and runs at Kagura, slicing at her while she's distracted. She only just blocks, before trying to get out of the way of both the objects trying to hurt her.
My Sister does not like that, but still laughs, and I watch, as does the audience on Lacrima vision, as the umbrella's blade pierced into Kagura with startling accuracy, going through to the other side. Blood squirts out, as Kagura looks at the small steel blade, hidden in a seemingly innocent thing, poking through her body. It's in her midsection, an unfortunate place for a blade to be, but it could be worse. In that case it could have impaled her head.
Noctus smiles, stowing away her dagger and walking around calmly, to the other side of Kagura, pushing her down with her boot to pull out her blade.
She leans down, whispering in her ear, "Don't get up, darling. I'd hate to have to tear your head off, although I'm sure you'd make a nice treat for my pet."
Kagura tries to get up at that, but Noctus digs her foot in and twists the blade, eliciting a gasp of pain from the female warrior under her boot, as Noctus leans back up, finally pulling out the blade.
Kagura collapses, and doesn't get back up. She's almost struggling to draw breath, as well. A pool of blood is forming under her, prompting an immediate medical response.
Noctus wipes the blood from the blade off on her skirt cover, and the audience is still in a deathly silence, until one person breaks out in applause. My team smugly grins, and the stadium gradually explodes in roars in celebration for Noctus' victory over one of the toughest people in the realm.
I join in on the applause.
The next battle is between Laxus and Orion, making me nervous for the upcoming rounds beyond this. Orion is fantastic at sharpshooting; however, this is not a long distance kill. This is serious.
He's about to go up against a Dragon Slayer (44). Not only that, but a clear shot might be difficult. Laxus can teleport, and I don't want them to go head to head. I have no choice in the matter, however. Besides, if I did, Orion would think I think him too weak to take him down.
No, this must play out, no matter how bad it may get. I only hope that the infirmary is up to the challenge.
That reminds me, I've got to go visit Kurohebi.
I've got some time before the match- the darkness spell Noctus laid takes a while to dissipate. They can't start a new match until that happens. It'll be a while.
I stand, setting down my goblet and exiting the room, Bickslow wondering if he should follow. I answer the question with a kick to the doors, shutting them behind me and placing a rune on them to discourage him or any who wish to enter.
The path to the infirmary is inside the stadium halls, making it easy for me to get there with plenty of time to spare. If I had to weave my way through people, I doubt it would have been as smooth or as quick.
Doors unlocked, I whisk through them, and look around to find a pink-haired lady looking very annoyed at the presence of the team of Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus. As soon as they see me, they shut up, except for Bacchus, who starts to yell. The rest of them simply glare at me.
I don't even listen to him, instead, I smile, then glare at the party. They take the hint fairly well, only taking a moment or two more than I'd like. The pink haired lady breathes a sigh of relief, until she spies me standing there.
"What are you doing here? I don't want any people in here unless they're unconscious!" she yells.
"You're welcome to try. What is your name?"
"Porlyusica. What do you want?"
"I would like to speak to Kurohebi. Is he awake?" I ask, holding myself back. Judging from that encounter, she doesn't like people any more than strangers.
"He should be. Although I don't know if he could get up to fight for your little teams just yet." she says dismissively.
I chuckle darkly. "My team is not the small one."
She falters, then looks at me more carefully. "You aren't-"
"I am. Listener. It is nice to meet such an attentive healer. You would do very well at research. I know someone just as arrogant and unhelpful as you. I think you would enjoy his company."
"I don't enjoy any human's company."
I move forward, finding Kurohebi's bed that Porlyusica indicated. "That's good. He's not human. Never has been."
"Who is he?" she asks, interested.
"He is a Dark Elf Vampire named Neloth. Arrogant bastard, but brilliant. You are probably his equal." I say casually, sitting on the side of Kurohebi's bed and checking his wounds. It's not bad, just a couple of bruises. Pain like that won't hurt him.
She hmms, then moves off. Before two seconds have passed she hits Kurohebi with a pen she threw. "Wake up, you miserable wretch."
I smile at the familiarity, and look back at my hopefully interested companion. He's awake, his eyes open and peeking at the retreating woman.
"Hello Kurohebi. Did you hear me introduce myself?" I ask, and his eyes flick to me.
"I did, actually." he says, his lips moving just barely, as if he'll upset Porlyusica.
"That's good. I want to talk to you about something. You are a very talented individual, and your guild is mostly crushed." I hold up my hand, as his mouth had been forming words. "Don't try to deny it; you know I'm right. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. I'm sorry to say it, but it is very true. I wish for you to join my organization before anything bad happens to you. Besides having rare magic, you have a personality and, I suspect, morals that would match our order with an efficiency that would do both of us great services."
"Am I not responsible for the death of one of your people?" he asks, sitting up in the bed, and I can see now how ripped his clothes are, his pants probably hanging off him in strips and his shirt torn already to shreds.
"Killian, Sithis take him at his side, made a choice, and he approved of you. Your brutal tactics against him made him a worthy Brother in his eyes. There was no other way he could defeat you. I'm surprised that you withstood it, actually. It is usually lethal, not to just the caster, but to any of those present. It's very impressive you're still here." I say, meaning the words.
He pauses in a reaction, then looks at me.
"Don't answer now. Find me later on, when you have your answer, or send for me. I hope you join our Family, Kurohebi. You will do much more than you think possible." I finish, then stand up.
"I await your answer, Kurohebi. May Sithis guide your path."
With that, I walk out of the infirmary; once closing the door behind me, I run down the path, trying to reach the box before the next match starts.
Orion needs all the support he can get for this match.
I pause in mid stride, changing my direction and sprinting faster.
The match is five minutes away. I caught Orion before he went out.
"Listener." he says, dropping his arm from testing the bowstring of his favorite longbow, nearly as tall as he is.
"Orion, good luck. You know who you're facing?"
"Laxus, the Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail. He uses Lightning Magic." he says, looking at me unsurely.
"Yes, but do you know the extent of his abilities?" I ask, looking at him seriously. "He has secret Dragon Slayer attacks, and he can teleport. You need to be on your toes. If you choose to use your bow keep moving, keep him guessing, use as many effectual arrows as you can. Don't let him hit you if you can. We can patch you up, but I'd rather you not know that kind of pain."
He nods, and then smiles at me. "Thank you, Listener. That's very considerate of you to warn me, but I am proud to fight for our Family."
I nod my head, and then walk towards him, touching his shoulder as he looked out into the clearing gloom left from Noctus' fight.
"Good luck out there, Brother. You'll do wonderfully, no matter what." I say, and he smiles at me, before heading out, as I race down the hallway again towards the private box.
The path back to the box is longer than it should be, it seems, but I finally reach the box and enter. The match is just starting, and I close the door behind me, relieved that I didn't miss a thing.
Bickslow looks at me questioningly, probably wondering where I ran off to, literally. I don't offer any information, and I doubt he'd approve even if I did answer.
The stadium is erupting in applause, seeming that most of them are cheering for Laxus over Orion, but I can see several sections in the crowds that aren't doing anything, simply watching yet. I smile. Some are beginning to see the pattern here.
We're winning. Not overwhelmingly, as Killian demonstrated, but we're winning. All according to plan. (45)
Orion is standing with his bow at the opposite end of the stadium from Laxus. The Lightning Dragon Slayer is basking in the glow of the crowd, and Orion is doing nothing but sizing up his opponent. Once the countdown begins to the start of the fight, he pulls back the bowstring, notching an arrow aimed directly at his muscled opponent.
If there's one thing I'm worried about with Laxus, it's his secret Dragon Mode. The skin is hard enough to deflect iron and steel, no matter how much force is applied.
Luckily, Orion's reflexes and strength is not battle-hardened and tested for nothing. His bow and bare hands have taken down so many opponents, it's ridiculous.
He's fully pulled it back by the time the countdown ends, and he releases it as Laxus turns his attention back to the fight.
I watch his eyes widen in surprise as the arrow speeds toward him, and he moves to try and avoid it when it's already a sure thing.
The arrow hits him, and a magic circle is activated, pushing the arrow into his shoulder even deeper, almost drilling into him. He gasps in pain as the crowd draws in a collective breath, shocked that something can hit a Dragon Slayer, even something as ordinary as an arrow.
He lifts his gaze, his right hand clutching his shoulder, and growls, just in time to watch the next one hit his hand clutching the shoulder. (46)
Laxus is infuriated, and Orion hitches back another arrow as the 'Thunder God' charges towards him, magic lighting up his hands, no matter that there's an arrow in one of them. I hope it was magical.
Here is yet another example of the power we hold. Laxus has yet to land a single blow on Orion.
Granted, there are a few close calls, and it's making me nervous, but he is doing very well. My Brother is an exceptional individual.
Orion performs a back handspring with his bow in one hand, avoiding a blow, and swipes his feet under Laxus', making him fall, then running away to get some ground between them. With practiced ease, he notches another arrow, only to be stopped with a punch to the face by a teleported Laxus.
Finally, he's learning.
My Brother is dazed, and Laxus picks him up by the hood of his armor, lifting him up and sending a magically charged fist into his stomach, letting him go sailing through the air into the opposite wall of the stadium.
I cringe, as does everyone watching. That is painful.
Nevertheless, my Brother stands back up, his hood falling down and revealing his rather handsome face and almost-military haircut. (47)
He stashes his longbow on his back, pulling up his crossbow at his side, and firing a bolt.
It hits Laxus, and, instead of just hurting him with physical pain, he screams louder than ever, clawing at the bolt imbedded in the flesh of his leg, and it struck me. (48)
That was- is- an anti-magic bolt.
Stuck in Laxus' leg.
Ouch.
I chuckle, looking at the tormented Dragon Slayer, still feeling the effects. Orion has already loaded another bolt, and shoots it, the metal sinking at least three inches into Laxus' other leg, probably causing excruciating pain. (49)
Orion, not even changing his expression, lets his eyes glitter as he loads another bolt, firing it at the Dragon Slayer as he looks up at the assassin. It lands right in his chest, throwing him back with the impact a couple of feet, stirring up dust.
Laxus drops to his knees, holding himself up by his hands from the ground of the arena. He's gasping for breath, in so much pain that any other person would have probably keeled over to just stop any more from coming.
Orion walks towards his enemy, a loaded bolt in the slot, ready to be fired from the crossbow.
"Admit defeat." his deep, silky smooth voice almost drips out, and he lowers the crossbow at the blonde's good shoulder.
"Never." Laxus replies, and Orion instantly shoots the crossbow, and the resulting gasp of pain makes Lucy, waiting in the stands, cover her mouth in shock, with tears leaking out of her eyes. She's probably worried he's going to die.
Regrettably, not today. As I watch, Laxus gives one final effort, blasting Orion into the other end of the stadium again with his Lightning Magic, then the Dragon Slayer's body gives up, landing him in the dirt with a little puff of dust.
Orion stands once more, reloading the crossbow with practiced precision and hurry, aiming it at where Laxus was last. Once he sees him on the ground, defeated, he drops his aim and arm, latching the crossbow onto his side where it belongs. He didn't even get out a gun.
My Brother walks, calmly, slowly, deliberately, limping slightly, towards the exit, while the crowd is silent, shocked at the defeat of Laxus, the 'Thunder God', an S class mage, renowned for his strength. Then, one of those who didn't immediately cheer on Laxus, starts clapping, the rest of the stadium hesitantly following his lead.
Orion exits the arena with two broken ribs, a cracked femur, and seven shattered finger bones.
But he won.
I sit back in my chair, smiling smugly, taking a covert look at Bickslow.
He's in shock, looking at the defeated person he used to follow so loyally.
Nothing for breaking down barriers like seeing his former 'God' defeated.
"Next match, in twenty minutes, is Lucy vs. Morrigan!" announces Jason, looking at the lineup of who is left for just today.
We're only on the fourth battle, with seven left. Eleven total, today. Tomorrow, we have some more. (50)
I relax a bit, knowing that Morrigan can handle Lucy, no matter her power levels, although the spell Urano Metria has me a bit more worried than I'd like to admit. It's powerful as all hell, but it does have to hit. During casting, too, Lucy is vulnerable, unless she can hold open a gate and cast it at the same time. Especially draining if she has to use two gates for it as well, in the case of doubling her magic power, as she tried to do long ago, at this very event.
Morrigan, down below, sighs, turning her head to the side slightly and crossing her arms. "When I came up with the name, it was supposed to be THE Morrigan." (51)
Sensing a glare, I look down at her, projecting my Thu'um so that it reaches her. "Take your damn cloak off, you overgrown raven."
We share a glare, then laugh and shake it off, Morrigan pulling off her raven-feather cloak and sending her pet raven, Hugo, off to a safer location. She's very connected with the bird, and he can often provide a distraction or deliver messages. Highly intelligent, as well, he can find almost anyone. (52)
Her black clothes and dark hair ruffle slightly in the breeze, plain black clothes down to her wrists, black pants, black boots. The only splash of color is the brown rope belt around her waist- her hair even matches the rest of her outfit, even her earrings. She relaxes in the sun for a while, not worried about it burning her. Ravens have already been burned from their previous white forms into black, they had nothing to fear from the sun. Morrigan had nothing to fear from it either, and her pale skin, though it might make people worry about her burning in the sunlight, is impervious to the sun's rays.
I'd explain why, but that is Morrigan's story to tell.
38- It was probably worse, of course, mainly because he was a new vampire. Vampiric newborns are thirsty nearly all the time, much like the rest of us, but we feel it less intensely than they do. He should have been taught. By me. 39- Her real reason for getting it was her parents freaked out when they saw both her eyes and pale skin. She's almost an albino, that's how pale she is. She does not, however, have the purple eyes that accompany them, and she could get a tan if she so wished. Her eyes are yellow, and she has poor eyesight in the day, but excellent night vision. 40- I don't remember how we learned to resist, you're on your own. 41- I wouldn't be surprised if she could. She's immensely powerful, of course not on my level, but she can hold her own against probably anyone, even a wizard saint, although the first four, I doubt that she could hold for long. It would depend on how much cloud cover if she was in sun, or if it was night time, dawn, dusk, et cetera. Lots of variables. 42- I can afford to be narcissistic, I'm great, and everyone knows it. 43- Hell, Vidaldus and Flare are gonna fight, and they both use hair magic. 44- A second generation Dragon Slayer, but still. Dangerous. 45- I'm sure I had a plan at some point, but I don't care anymore. I've gotten what I wanted. But, we are showing that while we are powerful, anyone can be one of us. I wonder if I can organize something like this for our regular assassins. I think I could; just a regular games. Wonder how it'd go down, though? Battles to the death? 46- Orion's smart. Laxus is right handed, always charging with that specific hand. It's easier to switch hands when you're ambidextrous, as most fighters aspire to be due to the potential hurt coming from a failed attack. 47- I'm pretty sure a fair amount of women, and several men, fainted at this. He is very handsome. 48- Not literally. Figuratively. Purely figuratively. 49- I don't want to know, and I don't plan to. 50- At least 9. 51- I read this off her lips, so I can't fault her for it. It also amused me. 52- I swear he has tracking magic in him or something. Always finds people. ALWAYS.