So here is chapter 4. Also for those of you concern with Tatsumi getting strong to fast, don't worry. The release of power from Imperator is only when he first activates it, he still isn't as strong as Esdeath yet. But…well the rest you have to see as the story progresses. Anyway, in this chapter we meet the first member of the hidden group. Read, enjoy and review!
(Afternoon Outskirts of the Capital)
"So this is the Capital? The center of the strongest Empire in history?" A figure said as he looked at said city from a top of a mountain edge. The sun setting from behind the palace gave the city an illuminating appearance. "Not as impressive as I thought it would be."
Said person, a male, was completely covered in a dark green trench coat that went all the way down to his ankles. His hands were tucked into the coat pockets and a hood stuck out from underneath the coat, covering the man's head. He was completely hidden from the world. But you could see that the man had no footwear. Instead his feet appeared to be made from a metallic-like material.
Behind the man was a large group of cloaked people. These people were tall, around 6 feet and lean-muscular builds could be seen under the cloaks. Covering their bodies were red, ankle-length cloaks with hoods covering their heads. The sound of metal clanking as the wind breezed past them could be heard. One of the hooded giants stepped forward towards the person at the front.
Bending forward a bit, the larger being whispered something into the coat wearing persons' ear. Said person was silent for a moment, before a chuckle came out of the hood. "I see," He said. "Please go and take care of it." He ordered the larger man. Said person nodded before dashing off with three others.
The coat wearing man turned to look back at the city. "I guess its time we paid the palace a visit. Hopefully are contact will be at the rendezvous, otherwise this is going to get messy." He said before jumping over the ledge down to the forest below. Soon the rest of the cloaked beings followed suit, none saying a single word as they headed towards the Capital. None of them, however, seemed to have noticed a pair of yellow eyes sticking out from a nearby bush, watching the large force descend.
"I've got to tell the boss about this." Leone muttered as she watched the last of the cloaked people disappear. Clad in her teigu, the catwoman dashed off back to the Night Raid base at superhuman speed. However the assassin was unware that she herself was being watched, by the four cloaked men that had vanished a moment ago. Three vertical yellow glowing lines could be seen through their hoods, following Leon's movements before taking off.
But none of them, the small army, Leone, or her stalker, were aware of a third party that was watching them. From an edge not too far away, a familiar large wolf watched the whole show with its silver eyes. As it switched its attention from the army towards Leone and back to the Capital, the wolf finally moved. With smooth agility, the wolf darted down the mountain, heading straight towards the city.
(Imperial Palace)
"Again!" Esdeath exclaimed as she shot a barrage of ice shards towards Tatsumi. Said person was clad in Imperator, a sword in each hand as he used them to deflect the projectiles. The blades batted the ice with ease, but it left Tatsumi wide open to a kick to the right. Esdeath's strength was enough that it sent Tatsumi skidding several feet back across the ground. Despite wearing nigh-impervious armor, that kick was enough to make Tatsumi flinch, a testament to Esdeath's strength. The title "Empire's Strongest" was well suited for her.
Ever since the destruction of the bandit fortress, Esdeath had been dead set on seeing more of Imperator's, and thus in extension, Tatsumi's, capabilities. The pulse of power she had felt, though brief, during the Teigu's activation, nearly overwhelmed the Ice General. Even now, she could feel the blood of Demon Extract tingling at the short sensation Imperator gave out when Tatsumi donned the armor. It was an experience Esdeath had never felt before, that brief moment of being overpowered. However at the same time it excited her, and solidified her belief that Tatsumi was indeed the only man for her.
Of course, Esdeath knew there was room for improvement. Despite the display of power earlier, Imperator still possessed many hidden skills, waiting to be unlocked. And Esdeath was determined to push Tatsumi to the limit in order to do so. He was very skilled at the moment, having been able to last longer then anyone that has sparred with her, but he still had a little more to go before he reached her level.
Back in the present, Tatsumi extended the talons on his armored feet, gaining a foothold in the ground. Using the momentum, he shot himself forward at an impressive speed towards Esdeath. The dual short swords clashed against Esdeath's long rapier, both combatants trying to overpower the other.
'His reaction time has increased greatly.' Esdeath thought with pleasure. Of course a part of it was because she could not strike at Tatsumi with her sword. Her bladed weapon would have no effect on the armor due to Imperator's ability and most likely be absorbed. Despite it being a disadvantage, it actually excited the Ice Queen. Handicaps and other unforeseen circumstances merely made battle more fun for Esdeath, as it gave her greater pleasure in crushing her enemies, overcoming whatever advantage they had. For the current situation, she would use her rapier for defense, while using hand-to-hand combat and ice for offense.
Tatsumi performed a thrust, which Esdeath was easily able to parry with her rapier. Than with a single flick of her finger, a pillar of ice shot out of the ground between the two. Tatsumi was force back but at the same time, he showed an act of creativity. Extended the talons on his right foot, Tatsumi gripped the block of ice with the blades. Following that, he used surprisingly great leg strength and tore a large chunk of the ice off from the ground. Using the momentum from that, Tatsumi performed a spin before releasing the chunk of ice towards Esdeath.
Esdeath was taken by surprise of that unorthodox tactic, but it did not last long. Seeing how she created the ice, she merely snapped her fingers and the ice dissipated into ice dust. However as she did that, Tatsumi lunged at her, both of his blade posed to strike. Esdeath merely stepped back, getting out of the blades' range.
'Damn it!' Tatsumi cursed as he realized his plan failed. He then had to dodge several ice projectiles fired from Esdeath. 'If only I could summon a longer sword like I did with that bandit. Even then it would have to be strong enough to cut her ice.' Tatsumi thought angrily. Upon his return from the bandit camp, Tatsumi had been trying to summon a sword longer from the usual shortswords he's been doing. But so far he had no success, that incident was more like Tatsumi was following his instincts.
If you wish for such a sword, forge it.
Tatsumi blinked, startled by the sudden voice that he almost lost his footing but managed to recover. 'Where did that voice come from?'
Forge your desired sword, fuse the ones you hold and. Your hands are the tongs, the chisel and the hammer, your will is the anvil, and your soul is the furnace. Forge the sword and fight!
Still unsure of where this voice was, Tatsumi decided to follow its advice. "Fuse Sword," Tatsumi muttered as he connected the blades together and envisioned the blade he needed. They began to glow briefly as he launched himself at Esdeath again. This time Tatsumi no longer had two shortswords, but a single longsword.
The new weapon had caught Esdeath off guard. No time to dodge it, she summoned a pillar of ice between her and the blade. She had confidence that her ice would be able to block Tatsumi's blade.
As Tatsumi swung his sword towards Esdeath and the pillar of ice, the voice spoke again. To break the unbreakable, your sword must be strong, durable, and possess a sharp edge. You must…
"Charge Sword," Tatsumi whispered. As those words left his lips, yellow glowing lines could be seen running up the blade, disappearing as they reached the tip. And when the sword struck the ice pillar it did not stop. Instead the blade cut all the way through, as if its hardness and sharpness increased. Again, Esdeath was surprised, but this time she could not react quickly enough. As time seemed to slow down, Esdeath's honed battle instincts came into play, as she managed to avoid taking a full blow. However the blade's tip touched her left arm, tearing through her black sleeve and leaving a gash on her flesh. Not deep enough to cut the limb off, but enough for blood to seep out.
Esdeath took several steps back, giving her distance between herself and Tatsumi. Said person still gripped his sword with both hands. His head was down, as if looking at the blade.
The blue-haired beauty took a moment to look at her left arm, watching the small trickle of blood, her blood, sliding down her arm from the thin cut. She was no stranger to blood of course, but Esdeath cannot even remember the last time she had seen her own blood. Hell, she can't even recall the last time someone managed to even scratch her. Slowly, she slid her delicate fingers across the wound she felt a sense of excitement replacing shock. Her first wound since becoming a general, and delivered from her lover!
Her instincts went up again and she saw Tatsumi rush at her, another longsword in hand. Immediately Esdeath wave her rapier, their blades clashing violently. This time it was different. Tatsumi was no longer on the defensive now. Esdeath's rapier seemed almost useless against the blades of Tatsumi's weapon and that only made this more exciting for the Ice Queen. Now fully immerse in their duel, Esdeath held nothing back as their blows met, small shockwaves that soared through the air and sent dust flying.
Eventually Esdeath finally managed to find an opening. As Tatsumi performed a downward strike, Esdeath gracefully dodge the strike before following it up with a spin, her right leg out. The heel struck the silver blade with enough force to send it flying out of Tatsumi's hands. Esdeath was about to follow it up with a kick to the chest when her ears caught Tatsumi muttered some words.
"Equip Sword: Arm" And suddenly a large curved, wicked-looking, blade formed on the left arm of Imperator's form. The now bladed arm came down upon Esdeath. However said General reacted with greater reflexes. Blocking the blow with her rapier, she then summoned a large ice pillar that sprung out of the ground between them. Since the gap between the two warriors was so close, Esdeath was pushed back a bit by her own creation, but managed to gracefully halt her fall. Tatsumi however, had his left arm smacked to the side, with the rest of his armored covered body flung backwards. Unlike Esdeath, his landing was less graceful, hitting the ground back first.
In a last ditch effort Tatsumi summoned three more longswords in the air. He then shot them forward as if fired from a pistol. The blades soared through the air straight towards Esdeath. General however, easily managed to block them, but the force of the blades managed to knock her own weapon out of her hands, wounding her hand in the progress, blood already dripping from the wound. After that Tatsumi lost conscious, Imperator dispersing as his body landed on the ground softly.
Esdeath was automatically by his side, not even paying attention to the swords as they dispersed into dust around her. She knelt down beside Tatsumi and checked him over for any serious damage. However she found none and soon her worries were replaced by excitement of the spar that took place just moments ago. It had been forever since she was in such an intense battle. But for now she had to focus on getting Tatsumi back to their quarters. So with unusual gentle care, Esdeath placed Tatsumi on her back and made her way back inside the palace.
(Capital, Market Area)
Run walked at a leisurely pace, observing the bustling of activities around him. It truly amazed him in a way: Here around him people were moving about without a care in the world, while at the same time, other places of the Empire are suffering from the greed and cruelty of corrupt leaders. It made Run wonder if the citizens of the Capital were even aware of what was happening to the thousand-year old empire, or simply chose to ignore it. The former teacher's thoughts drifted back to why he was originally here, the images of his dead students filling his mind before he shook it off.
It was a stroke of luck he had managed to be invited to join the Jaegers, a unit led by Esdeath, the infamous sadistic General, dubbed "The Empire's Strongest." Of course Run was well aware that the unit was under the command of Honest, the corrupt Prime Minister. And it was a good chance that the Jaegers would be performing less savory missions. But that did not blind Run to the advantage of his current position. From within, he could begin to change the Empire, routing out the weeds that was causing the Thousand-Year Old Empire to slowly decay.
His thoughts soon shift towards his teammates. Run's opinions on them differ from each one, meaning which ones he could trust the most. Wave and Bols were in the okay in Run's books, with the latter being a prime example of never judging a book by its covers. The two of them clearly cared for the Empire's people and their loves ones, though Wave seemed a bit oblivious to the Capital's corruption, having been so far away in the Navy. Then there was Kurome, an Imperial Assassin and younger sister to Night Raid member, Akame. In her case, Run had to pity the girl. She had been sold by her parents at a young age and trained as an assassin, never given a true childhood and changing her mindset. Her sister's defection probably did not help either and seemed to have made Kurome fall under the belief that by making people into her puppets, they would stay with her forever. Still, Run could see there was some humanity within the young assassin. The last two were Seryu and Dr. Stylish, the two that Run was most wary of, after Esdeath of course. Seryu had a good heart in serving justice, but her black and white view of the world made her quite unstable from what Run could tell. And Run flat out distrusted Dr. Stylish…for multiple reasons besides his flamboyant personality.
Run's musings were cut off when something, or someone, caught his attention. A good distance away, Run could see a person completely covered in a black cloak, walking through the streets. Their presence seemed to have gone unnoticed by the people around them, a testament to their skills of concealing oneself. But Run's eyes were able to catch glimpses of the person. The blonde Teigu user could sense an aura that made him uneasy. Deciding to follow his instincts, Run followed the cloak person quietly.
After walking past several buildings, the cloaked figure made a turn into an alleyway. Quickening his pace, Run hurried after his target. But when he entered the alleyway, the Jaeger was met with no sight of the cloaked person whatsoever. It was as if the person disappeared into thin air. Cautiously Run entered the alleyway, constantly moving his head side to side and even upwards. If someone was going to lay a trap, this was the right place to do it, which was why Run was prepared.
What he was not ready for however, was a hand grab his left arm and another hand press a dagger to his neck. Surprised by the unexpected presence, Run nearly walked right into the blade.
"Don't move or speak if you want to live." The cloaked person, a male from the voice, said behind Run, his dagger pressing a bit more into the blonde's neck.
'Where did he even come from? I didn't even hear his footsteps.' Run thought to himself. But he kept calm and made no movement or noise until he could think up of a plan.
"You're Run of the Jaegers, are you not?" The cloaked man asked.
Run said nothing nor tried to look at the person, but slowly nodded in response. The man continued speaking. "We know all about you, and the rest of the Jaegers and Night Raid." Run's eyes widened a little at that piece of information. "And you should know that in a few hours, the Imperial Palace will be attacked."
Run's eyes widened at that, just as he felt the dagger moving away from his neck and the pressure on his arm leaving. Spinning around, Run did not see his the mysterious man. Only an empty alley greeted him, with a neatly folded paper lying on the ground before his feet. Slowly Run picked up the piece of paper. Making sure no one else was around he quickly placed it into his pocket before activating his Teigu and took to the air, back to the palace.
(Back at the palace)
Night had already come, the moon shining over the Imperial Palace. Already night patrols could be seen moving around. The heavily armed Imperial Guards were staying ever watchful of any possibility of intruders breaching the palace.
In one of the inner courtyards of the palace, six guards could be seen moving as they surveyed the area. Just before they were about to move on, one of the guards stopped. "Hey look" He said as he pointed.
The others looked in the direction of where the first guardsman was pointing. Walking through the outer hallway opposite of them was the hooded trench coat wearing man, walking as if he owned the place. He seemed to pay no heed to the six guards across from him, either ignoring them or not noticing them. The guards immediately walked over to him, weapons at the ready.
"Halt!" Shouted the guard who had spotted the man. "Who are you and how did you get inside the palace?"
The hooded man seemed to ignore the guard as he kept walking. That only seemed to anger the guardsman even more. "I said identify yourself!" The guard shouted as he reached out to grab the man.
But just as he was about to touch him, the guard suddenly burst into flames from the inside of his armor. His fellow guardsmen watched in shock as he was burned to death instantly, not even given time to scream. The hooded man had one of his hands out as it happened. "What the hell?!" Another guard, who was the closes to the one that just died, shouted. He readied his spear and was about to attack before his entire body was encased in ice. Eventually the frozen guard's body shattered into millions of pieces.
The four remaining guards managed to compose themselves and were about to attack. However they were swiftly cut down at the hands of several of the cloaked men. With the six guards dead, the remaining cloaked men appeared from the rooftops.
"Nox-sama, we await your orders." One of the tall cloaked men said to the trench coat person.
"Good" The now revealed Nox said as he removed his trench coat. With the garment gone, Nox's body was now fully revealed. His entire form was in a dark blue full-body suit that covered him from head to toe. Over his body were onyx armored pieces, which covered his fingers, palms, shoulders, elbows, chest, waist, groin, thighs, knees and feet, with all of them connected to one another by black tubes running across his body. Over his head was a blank black helmet, that covered his face completely. "Now you boys know what to do." Nox ordered as he raised his right hand. Doing so revealed an eye on the palm of is hand.
As one the men removed their hoods from their faces. Doings so revealed that each one were wearing identical silver helmets with visors that had three slits that glowed yellow. The rest of their bodies were also covered in matching silver armor and they all had longswords in their hands. Hanging from their shoulders were red capes. "Executing orders. Commence assault." They all said in unison with monotone voices.
And thus the battle within the Imperial Palace commence. Next chapter we will see Nox facing against the Jaegers, the true identity of the mysterious wolf, as well as some more surprises. Sorry it took so long by the way, I had to make some changes to certain things since I wasn't fully please at first with the three first chapters, especially concerning Tatsumi's Teigu. Be sure to review!
Wacko12