13: Bloodscourge, The Plaguespreader
A scampering shadow followed the hunters as they walked through hell.
Still shaken by the spinechilling realisation that his nightmare monster was real, a snow white Dante slowly trudged along at the rear of the group, his wide eyes ever on the lookout for the mystery monster. Of course, each and every one of them was eagerly seeking out signs of the creature, but Dante's eyes flitted from one angle to another, more paranoid than he'd ever been. Despite the intense heat, his skin looked clear of sweat and ice-cold.
"There, there! Look!" Dante blurted out, pointing frantically to the north-west of the scene. The hunters all saw it, as clear as day; a large, four-legged creature with nimble limbs and a smooth, rounded head and a large, flowing shroud -perhaps wings- which was tugged by the wind as the creature moved, like a large cat with a cape. It was there, and in the same instant it was gone. If you blinked or looked away for just two seconds, you'd miss it. The silence already choking the inferno tightened its grip.
"...I think...it's safe to say...that we are not safe." Ash said meekly, as if she'd been running for miles and was out of breath. A small silence followed...and the group broke into a run.
As if waiting for its prey to pick up the pace, the creature lurking in the flames screeched. Seconds later, for the first time, the monster's footsteps could be heard. It was obviously clambering its way across the fragile, burnt out skeletons of buildings after its quarry, gurgling and shrieking with eerie delight as it did so.
"What in the world is that thing?!" Teiko panted as he, along with his sister and their friends ran through their temporary -and utterly incinerated- home. The only trouble with running is such an environment is that the only guide you have is the sky, the only visible thing amidst the smoke and flames. They had no idea where they were running. It felt to them like they were trying to run away from themselves. They were more likely to run into a wall than they were to get out of this labyrinthine vortex of fire. But running is what they had to do if they didn't want whatever was dogging their every step to make mincemeat of them. They knew it was hopeless; this creature clearly knew its away around what passed for a "town" far better than they did and with its speed it would undoubtedly force them into a confrontation. Attack of the cornered rat, as they say.
Suddenly, the group ground to a halt and let out a collective cry of shock and surprise as two armoured figures emerged from the unrevealing wall of fire before them, almost stumbling toward them then stopping sharply themselves. At first, the flames hid the duo's colours and shapes, making them appear as nothing more than phantoms. But now they hunters could see them clearly, they recognised them immediately. One was dressed in Rukodiora armour with a matching sword in hand. The other sported Barioth X armour coupled with a matching sword and shield, their waist decorated with a combat knife made from a Barioth's tusk, as well as countless kunai. The party sighed with intense relief.
Irvine and Miyuki.
"Oh, thank goodness! You're all safe! Where have you been?!" Irvine exclaimed.
"We heard the noises and saw what was going on outside so we grabbed our stuff and ran as fast as we could," Ruby explained simply. While she appeared to be looking at Irvine and Miyuki, she was keeping close watch on her surroundings for signs of the mystery monster.
"Where the hell is everybody? The fighting can't have started very long ago at all. Everybody can't just disappear," Yumi growled, frustrated and confused.
"So you haven't found anybody either...I see...So that's the case..." Irvine muttered to himself strangely.
"What are you saying?" April asked, looking grave. Irvine exhaled deeply, as if preparing to tell somebody that a sick relative isn't going to make it.
"What I'm saying is that we're trapped. We can't see anything beyond the immediate area and the noise of the crackling fire combined with that of the cannon fire overhead means we can't hear very much either. There could be people fighting very close to us, but there' no way we can know without staying mobile. It's an old form of psychological warfare. Tenkai used it against the Guild at the Sinata Border five years ago, albeit on a smaller scale. Our men thought that everybody else other than themselves and those they happened to be with at the time were dead and panicked." He paused for a moment. "...I suppose you've all seen the shadow, too? The creature in the flames?" He took the groups stunned silences affirmatively. "That same shadow was in that fire, too. It frightened the soldiers, kept them moving...straight into enemy hands. We are in a very dangerous situation indeed, far more dangerous than you can even begin to appreciate. I know this sounds like some kind of silly ghost story, but believe you me, it's anything but false. It happened at Sinata, and now it's happening here, in Kojo. There's no saving this bastion; Yii-Do is finished. What is important is that we find a way off this island post-haste."
No sooner than Irvine had finished his explanation had a small battalion of Dyuragaua-clad Tenkai infantrymen jumped out from the fires and the nothingness and surrounded the group, each pointing a blade or bowgun at them, silently warning them not to event think of drawing their weapons.
"A way off the island, you say?" a crisp, familiar voice, resonating from everywhere and nowhere, much like the shadowy creature's shrieks, echoed. A few seconds passed, and then a figure as familiar as the voice emerged from the inferno, calmly strolling towards his newly-captured prisoners.
It was Emperor Shikimaru Tetsuya.
He looked the same as he did when the teens had met him at Fort Ryu; the purple, expensive-looking shirt, the black hakama, the dark, enticing eyes and slick black hair shaped into a stylish, pointy mullet with a bang covering his right eye, although this time he wore an extravagant green cloak that touched the ground. The hunters couldn't see from this angle but the cape's back was, like the Tenkai flag, emblazoned with the province's hallmark, the red dragon. He appeared to be unarmed, but they remembered his unexpected pet form their last encounter and were sure that if would come to his aid should he call.
"Where's your pet rock pile? Gonna call it and fuck off like last time?" Yumi spat, having nothing but hatred for the young man, the country's biggest enemy. Shikimaru chuckled wryly.
"Oh no, no, I've no need for the Jaganoto here. He is otherwise occupied. Besides, I have dearest Bloodscourge to keep me company."
"Who's Bloodscourge? And what the hell d'you mean by "otherwise occupied"?" Aaron growled, trying to resist the urge not to pull his Shiny Rathalos Sword G from his back and smite this smug bastard where he stood.
"I am not at liberty to divulge such information to you. Besides, you will find out what I mean soon enough. Bloodscourge, on the other hand..." Shikimaru chuckled again, with a more sinister tone this time. "Well...You've already been introduced. Why don't you say hello in person? Face-to-face?" The emperor snapped his fingers promptly.
Summoned my its master's call, Bloodscourge leapt from the flames and landed inbetween Shikimaru and the group, facing them with its featureless face. There was hardly any difference in its visage in clear view than when it was concealed by the fire. It was the most alien thing they had ever seen.
"This is Bloodscourge, the Plaguespreader," Shikimaru said. "Well, not exactly; that's just a silly nickname to scare the children of Tenkai. This creature is unlike anything you have seen before or will ever see. This is a Goa Magara."
Eternal seconds of silence passed. The faceless abomination seemed to be analysing you. Staring at it was like staring into an abyssal void. You felt yourself slipping away each second you met its "gaze". The party snapped out of it when they noticed the soldier surrounding them forming two single file lines on either side of them as a Tenkai airship descended into the fiery remains of the area, clearly here to take them onboard. Shikimaru made a superfluous, almost sarcastic gesticulation, half bowing and extending his arm to the ship behind him.
"Please, step aboard. There is much to be seen and done."