A/N:
Welcome back to Bleached Clover. Thank you everyone for supporting my stories. For reading, reviewing, favouriting, and following it.
Please also do support me on Patre-on to get access up to Chapter 17. You can also read my original story, Immortuos on Wattpad or Royal Road and find newer chapters on Patre-on.
Visit the homepage of Patre-on and add /poisonedwriter to the URL to find my page.
Sit back, lay down and enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 12 [Part One]: "Welcome me back, impudent humans."
Metal screeched against metal, orchestrating a deafening cacophony. The obsidian blade left its sheathe; fingers gripped around its handle firmly. Ichigo rested the blade to his side, a single eye following the figure of the lithe woman beside him.
Together, they observed the eerie sight of pale-skinned humans, lumbering relentlessly after anyone in their vicinity. The term 'zombies' immediately sprang to mind at the unsettling sight.
The group moved sluggishly, arms trembling as they pursued anyone who strayed too close. Panic filled the air, chilling it with terror-laden screams.
Ichigo exhaled at the sight of the helpless zombies. None seemed dexterous enough to grab onto a prey. Doubt creased his forehead at the sight, casting a sidelong glance at Anna. "Is this your doing?" He asked coldly.
Anna furrowed her brows, her features adopting an innocent mask. "What do you mean?" she replied with a brazen tone. Ichigo scowled harder.
"I know it's you. The one I fought in the dungeon." He stared accusatorily, continuing,
"Your eyes, your voice, your presence, even your mana. All of it matches." Ichigo continued. The evidence was stacked against her. Anna deepened into thought before lighting up in a snarky smirk.
"What mana?" She quipped in mock confusion Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at her rhetoric.
"You don't use mana?" He inquired, shifting in his place. He slowly turned to her side. Anna tensed at the shift, stepping away at an angle.
A critical eye followed the orange-head's movements, marking the wayward arc of the dark blade. Gazing back , she replied,
"Don't give me that surprised look." She scowled at him. "It's not like you use it either." Her words struck the nail on its head. Ichigo bristled at the claim.
"How do you even know this?' He closed his eyes attempting to calm his racing thoughts. The word 'this' carried a deeper context. 'How I'm not from this world, how I may even be dead, how I am just soul right now' topped the list.
Anna gave a tight-lipped smile. "It is said that one should research an enemies and ally with equal vigour." The sentence hung in silence for a brief moment. "Since you're neither, it warranted even better information."
Ichigo leaned forward, words waiting at the tip of his tongue. A needy, loud grunt stopped him short.
The two turned back forward in alarm, facing a desolate town square. Shuffling feet marched towards them, breaking the lonely silence.
Ichigo raised his sword deterministically. Anna eyed the glinting blade with amusement. "For someone who's supposed to be the 'Number one protector', you sure raised your sword against those innocent people quickly." She teased with snide.
The orange-head flashed her a confused frown. "Innocent people? Are they even people anymore?" He countered.
"And why do I get the feeling that you know more about this than you're letting on?" He questioned, casting a suspicious gaze at Anna.
The girl lightly scratched her brown hair, eyeing Ichigo with veiled disappointment.
"We're in a world of magic. Use your head." She prompted. Ichigo froze, understanding dawning on him.
The horde dredged increasingly closer to their person and Anna's attention glazed over the group, latching on to a pale figure leading the charge, a man with glazed eyes and an eerie grin, his hands hanging limply by his sides.
"Something's not adding up." Anna voiced, rousing Ichigo's attention. He glanced at her as she steadily eyed the traipsing group.
"If they were being controlled, their energy signatures would have matched. All I'm sensing are distinct signatures." She pondered aloud. Ichigo scanned the area between Anna and the zombies.
"I don't sense anything emanating from them." He revealed, concern lacing his voice. Anna exhaled in response, turning at him with pursed lips.
Without observing eyes over, the pale man at the forefront slowly erected himself. "Not bad, little girl." His cold voice echoed.
The two froze at the sound. The pale man blurred from where he stood, launching at the two with astonishing speed.
Ichigo reacted first, catching the man with the flat end of his katana. The blade banged against the man's face with a resounding slap. Yet, he stood unfazed.
A feral smile bloomed on his face. Anna focused past the man, noticing a change in the horde at the back. The 'zombies' straightened themselves bearing an equally feral grin as the pale man.
The assailants sprang at them. Ichigo disappeared in a flash-step, reappearing a small distance away.
All though the way, he watched in horror as a clear sword cut through the pale man, severing him from shoulder to hip. Anna stood her ground with fiery eyes, her blade resting back in stance against the others.
Ichigo glared at her. He reappeared by her side, standing resolutely in opposition. "I thought they were 'innocent' people." The man's eyes shone with accusation. The girl stood unfazed at the scolding, not blinking twice as her victim's blood dripped down her blade.
"This is different." Anna grit through her teeth. She launched at the rest before her words settled, moving in a blur of precision. She struck the pallid-skinned zombies with clean cuts, killing the remaining four, with exact four arcs of her blade's swing.
Ichigo watched the unfolding massacre grimly. Standing among the fallen, the girl jerked her sword in a cold swing ridding the blade of ominous red grime. Blankness grew over her features in response.
She walked back over to Ichigo, uncaring of the man's glare.
"What was that? You said they were innocent." Ichigo's voice was cold and precise. A pair of blank, burning emerald eyes gazed up to him. "I am doing my job, Ichigo. You'd be wise to not be an interference." The words held an air of threat and finality.
Ichigo thinned his lips in displeasure. Anna turned away from him, observing the tall, towering structures in the city.
"I don't know if this is an isolated incident." She voiced deeply, hardening her gaze.
"If this is going to happen." Ichigo started, a swift finger pointing to the cleanly severed corpses at her back. "You're going to have to explain a lot more than just abstract words." The black sword raised threateningly, pointing at her chest. Ichigo's grim features mirrored the girl in front of him.
Anna silently contemplated the threat. She blinked once, colour returning to her pale skin.
"This is not the time, Ichigo. We need to hurry." She made to move past the orange-head, footsteps hurried by a sense of urgency. Ichigo shook his head with a darkened gaze, restricting her with the outstretched edge of his blade.
"Don't expect to leave without an explanation." The warning hung heavy in the air. Ichigo held his sword in place, its blade nearly pressing into Anna's chest.
The girl grit her teeth. Her neck swivelled between the city and Ichigo in indecision. She resigned with a frustrated exhale. "They're demons."
Ichigo nodded with a grimace, waiting patiently for the honey-brown haired girl to continue. Anna grew discombulated at the settling silence.
"That's it?" Ichigo finally asked, disbelievingly. Anna raised a questioning eyebrow. "This is not a common occurrence, Ichigo." She iterated with a disappointed shake of her head.
"Help sort your mess out and maybe you'll find answers along the way." She gestured at the city with her chin.
Ichigo's frustration boiled over as he glared at Anna. "Why do you keep looking over-?" His words were abruptly cut off by a deafening explosion that ripped through the cityscape, a chillingly eerie response to his inquiry.
A plume of fire erupted from within the expanse reaching against the cloudy sky.
"Damn it." The girl cursed, vanishing in an astonishing display of speed. Ichigo bit his lips, following suit with a flash-step.
Anna screeched to a halt atop a clay-tiled roof, with the orange-head following suit, landing gracefully on the agitated surface moments later. Together, they observed Asta as he battled a horde of pale zombies, using the flat ends of his swords to fend them off.
None of the zombies could regain their footing after enduring a strike from the teenager's blades. The two observers continued to watch in curiosity as this revelation unfolded.
Emerging from the shadows of a nearby arch, a hooded man stepped into the muted sunlight. He began, "Impressive, young man. But those are merely low-level minions."
Ichigo turned to Anna in confusion. The girl nodded in affirmation, allaying his suspicions. 'These were not demons.'
"What in the world is going on?" Ichigo cursed in frustration. Anna closed her eyes, deep in thought.
"We need to focus on the bigger threat." She ordered in frigid calm, flitting off the roof in another burst. Ichigo scowled at the air, repeating her movements. He zipped around the city, surveying the general situation nearby.
Panic filled the air, amplified by the appearance of a group of hooded persons claiming responsibility for the attack. Amidst the turmoil, Magic Knights worked tirelessly, grappling with the possessed, struggling to contain the relentless onslaught.
Yet, the proud towering structures of the city, the manors and castles stood burning in eerie dusky flames. The skies turned ashen from the smoke, reflecting a golden cast from the inferno blazing below them.
He arrived at a narrow street set between smaller shops and structures. All through the way to his current position, he spotted numerous zombies trudging along the city roads.
Anna stood in a defensive stance against a plump man donning a white shirt and pants, his smile bringing forth a disconcerting sense of familiarity.
The man regarded the two with a lifeless face, the usual wide smile forgone. His eyelids calmly closed. A serene blankness overtook his features. "You've found me." He spoke, cold and unmoving.
"You don't have many options, demon." Anna threatened the man with a poisonous glare. The man opened his eyes, bloodshot, weary irises darting across the road.
"Options." He mused, the word warranting a hint of amusement. "Why would I need something like that?" A chilling innocence conspicuously mingled in his tone. Ichigo glared at the man. Yet, his sole focus remained on Anna.
The girl's sword left its persimmon coloured sheathe with a shrill note, her fingers tightening around the jade-threaded handle. "This will be swift." She declared in a strong voice.
"You are correct." The demon replied. He launched himself at her with a loud crack. With a clean swing, Anna cut the air. The man dodged with ease, swivelling about the blade's arc. A gust of air emanated from the empty strike, blowing a wad of dust from the vicinity.
The man struck a heavy punch aimed at his opponent's head. Anna raised her left hand, catching the blow against the broad side of her forearm. A resounding boom crashed over the strike. Anna grit her teeth, surviving the punch with a tremoring wrist.
The demon launched a flurry of fists, each sharper than the last. The girl dodged each with rhythmic ease but stood unable to cut an attack of her own between the barrage.
Stamping her foot in determined frustration, the demon's hands froze. Ichigo focused on the move, a flash of unpleasant memory resonating. The plump man struggled against the hold.
The hassle lay futile as a clean cut from Anna's sword cleaved the man's hands. The severed limbs fell to the ground with a lifeless thud. The demon screamed in agony, jumping back with a pained expression.
"You bitch!" He spoke in a guttural tone. Anna stared back with an amused glint. "You show your crudeness, the moment you face imminent death. As expected from a low-ranked demon." She mocked. The demon chagrined at the insult.
He sided his stubs, the blood gushing from the wound slowly coming to a halt. His lips curled in tremors, flashing the two a pained smile.
"You'll never find it." The man foretold ominously. A flash of red burned across his irises and in the very next moment, rousing blue flames swallowed him whole.
Screams of his agony lit the air and yet, Ichigo could make out occasional bouts of laughter twisted into the screams. The fire consumed the man, leaving behind a layer of disintegrating soot. The putrid smell of the flame enveloped the two.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes in irritation as he overheard Anna muttering while she sheathed her sword in frustration. "I should have killed him the first time I laid eyes on that abhorrent creature," she grumbled.
Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Ichigo sighed and watched as Anna walked toward him. Resigned, he asked, "What do we need to find?"
Anna glanced up at Ichigo with a pensive expression. "A tree. But not just any tree. This one has a distinct demonic aura," she began, leaving Ichigo somewhat taken aback by the abstract description.
"Is it a twisted black tree with light streaks of white running over them?" Ichigo asked seriously. Anna blinked at the question. "You've seen them before?" She inquired with a slightly raised tone.
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, once. At the southern borders of the Clover kingdom." He did not delve into further details.
"The southern border." Anna repeated to herself contemplatively. Ichigo watched the girl pace slightly in her deliberation.
Anna brightened at a sudden idea, turning to the orange-head with a glint in her eye.
Ichigo stopped her with a gesturing palm. "We're not splitting up. I'm still unsure if you're behind this." He reasoned earning a look of incredulity from Anna.
She lightly rolled her eyes, sighing. "Fine." She accepted in a whine. The two eyed their surroundings thoughtfully, a small bout of silence settling over them.
"Can't you sense it?" Ichigo asked with a sudden glimmer of hope. Anna shook her head in disdain. "It doesn't work on a type of energy that can be sensed. Not in the traditional manner, anyway." She explained. Ichigo narrowed his eyebrows.
Anna sensed the orange-head's confusion. She continued, "The tree captures life-force. That kind of energy is present everywhere. Even if I learnt how to sense it, it would only serve to clog my senses due its omni-present nature."
Ichigo dropped his head in disappointment. The two walked further back into the city.
A/N:
Welcome back to Bleached Clover. Thank you everyone for supporting my stories. For reading, reviewing, favouriting, and following it.
Please also do support me on Patre-on to get access up to Chapter 17. You can also read my original story, Immortuos on Wattpad or Royal Road and find newer chapters on Patre-on.
Visit the homepage of Patre-on and add /poisonedwriter to the URL to find my page.
