He means to succeed, and a man who has centuries before him can afford to wait and to go slow.
Chapter 6 – Plastic Nights
Down was really the only place they could go at this point. Avoid the main areas of the city and find a way back to the Kaka village and maybe find his missing wallet. Not that he could use it to pay for food back at that restaurant given the presence of the bounty hunters and his face being well-known there now. But even now, they found themselves still hiding on occasion.
He had recognized the groups of bounty hunters searching about and he can't know for sure if they were the same as the ones from the restaurant. Best to stay clear, even if he could probably take them in a fight.
They were close to one of the old elevators that lead down when the pair had to hide within an alley once more. His back was to the wall as he peeked over to the side, looking behind to observe the three individuals waiting by the elevators. Nier pressed herself close against him as she too, looked at the obstacles barring their path.
A man and a woman, but they didn't look like the typical bounty hunters from earlier. One dressed in the typical blue garb of an NOL officer complete with a berret while the other wore a darker, black suit and a matching fedora. The latter was giving orders though he was too far away to hear or observe properly.
Minutes passed before the two NOL officers left the area, both Ragna and Nier finally stepping out to cautiously make their way towards the elevator.
"Can you believe it? We lost the bounty…"
"Just imagine what we could buy had we turned him in…"
Ragna's eyes widened and he dove behind a stack of crates with Nier kneeling down beside him, her head peeking out to get a glimpse. These were bounty hunters alright, similar to the ones at the restaurant.
"If it isn't the Sector Seven, it's the NOL. And if it isn't them, it's these guys." Ragna whispered, moving a hand up to press down atop Nier's head. "Your ears…" he continued, signalling that they would be easily noticeable from the crates as she peeked out.
"Sorry…" Nier replied, sitting down on her knees as they waited for the bounty hunters to move away. "Those bounty hunters are really inconvenient aren't they?" she whispered a question.
"Bounty hunters, vigilantes, thrill-seekers… can't resist the highest bounty ever, I guess." Ragna replied, sighing as the two turned around and walked away. Give it a few more minutes and the elevator should be free to use. It was in a remote enough area and even those passing it by weren't using it.
"How do you do it?" Nier asked him.
"Eh?"
"How do you keep on going when everyone's against you? Don't you feel so much hate and resentment for all those trying to get in your way?"
He shrugged. "Sure, I guess? I'm annoyed by them, but I don't hate them. I only really truly hate one person. The one who did this to me." He held up his right arm for her to see as he got up to lead the way once more.
"That doctor called your arm an Azure Grimoire," said Nier, "…said it could devour souls."
"She's not wrong," replied Ragna, "Which is why we're heading back to where we met her. I've got a few questions to ask about why she knows so much. And… we kind of need a place to stay so…"
"It was a cozy place." Nier smiled as they stepped onto the elevator, Death's card vanishing from sight. The descent was smooth as they took it all the way to the lowest level. From there, it should be easy to retrace their steps back to the Kaka village.
The Warehouse was empty of personnel but there was plenty of equipment that lay unused. NOL junk, but the two bounty hunters were resourceful at least. If the NOL weren't going to use these discarded weapons, then they can retrofit it into something more useable.
"I don't think the Grim Reaper's targeting any of these places." Said the taller one.
"More for us to use at least. These places are a goldmine of forbidden technology. Hell, even discarded cores for Grimoires can sometimes be found here."
"Still, you think they can be used against the Grim Reaper?"
"A scary guy, but still just a man. We can always outsmart or outmanoeuvre those that may be stronger than us. Now hand me that chainsword there." He pointed to one that stuck out of a metal box behind them while he worked on unlocking this other one.
Usually, important things have a magic seal around them making them more difficult to unlock. But in this warehouse, a lot of the seals had degraded and became nothing more than warning lights making it easy pickings to lockpick in the conventional manner. They can't stay too long though as an open warehouse door usually meant an NOL guard eventually detecting a break-in. One or two shouldn't matter and at this remote a location? Probably not even worth it to send one in.
"Hey, what's taking so long? It's not that difficult to carry." He stood up and turned around. The sight that awaited him chilled him to the bone.
His friend was being lifted up into the air by scythe-like blades from a tall figure in a mask and an elegant dress. He didn't know what to say and an instant later, the figure's scythes sliced apart the stuck bounty-hunter into many chunks.
He screamed, pointing his arm-mounted weapon at the figure and fired ball after ball of explosives that detonated everywhere. He didn't care about being heard by the NOL, he just wanted that thing dead.
The dust and debris cleared, though that thing just turned its head towards him now.
"Hush now… embrace the sweet release of death…" the creature spoke, floating ever so slowly towards him. He turned to run and then paused… one of the entrances above opened. A door followed by two people… NOL officers!
He was about to wave at them before he found himself sailing through the air. No pain, just a sense of vertigo as he flew, and then he saw the lower half of his body collapsing on its knees. A moment later, his vision split into many different chunks as Death granted a parting gift here, there, and everywhere.
Two down… Death floated above a shipping container and paused; head turned towards the two newcomers. They watched in full view what just happened and Death immediately recognized them from her beloved's sight. Whatever they were talking about now, they had become targets as well.
The woman leaped down, two firearms appearing in her hands as if reacting on instinct. Shot after shot was fired at Death and the Primal began to block and parry each and every one of them. These were far more powerful than the explosive devices of the bounty hunter though and this opponent's aura was far more robust.
Death glided forward atop the shipping containers, closing the distance between the two as she spun about with her scythes, one above and one below, though the woman twirled and twisted in mid-air, spinning in between them to shoot at Death straight in the face.
The impact reverberated throughout the warehouse as Death briefly staggered back before renewing her assault without missing a bit. Downward slices with the scything talons tore through the shipping containers and boxes arrayed about the warehouse, making footing more difficult for her opponent.
This did not mean she ignored the other one though. Even as the woman leaped away atop a third container, Death flew up directly in front of the dark-clad man and sliced diagonally, tearing apart the platform he had been standing on. But the man zipped away, pulled towards the roof by a glowing chain before he made an exit above. A slithering, cowardly snake that hoped to keep on watching without placing himself in any danger.
Death simply cut upwards and moved atop the roof, spotting the man who seemed to stare at her with surprise. She glided atop the warehouse's roof, the twin scythe-like blades surrounding her as they moved like serpents, slicing horizontally in an attempt to cut the man in two.
But the attempt was parried by the two knives, expertly spun to deflect the blows and each subsequent slice. But he was still on the defensive as Death moved forward ominously, the scythed blades slashing with increasing speed and intensity. Yet, the man continued to smile.
Death directed him towards the edge of the roof, trying to cover any attempts to escape. And then finally, a gash across his chest, tearing diagonally through his clothing.
But something felt off. The feeling of slicing into mortal flesh was different. Even as the man fell backwards, a new sight awaited her as something hovered at the edge of the rooftop.
A puppet reminiscent of the one she and Nier had encountered earlier on. But while that one was purple-coloured, this one was a deep shade of crimson. Death feared nothing, but she was immediately cautious and floated back from the puppet, reassessing the next plan of attack.
"What's this? Are you afraid?" a voice called out to her as a masked man appeared right beside the crimson puppet. "You're doing better now compared to my previous observation. Is Ignis that much more imposing than Nirvana?"
Death said nothing as she circled the puppet, who in turn began circling her. Both floated slightly above the roof, each waiting on the first move.
"Not a truly physical existence… marvelous…" the man said.
His voice was the signal as Death lunged with both her scythes, only to clash with the crimson puppet's arms. Arms with a clawed grip that took hold of the scythes before proceeding to then slam her down against the rooftop, sending both crashing down to the ground floor.
Death's shrieks echoed about as she thrashed against the crimson puppet, twisting out of its grip before making another frenzied assault. Unpredictable, slashing everywhere in wide arcs that carved deep gashes into the floors and walls of the building. She had even succeeded in striking the crimson puppet undefended, but it was strong and durable, far different from everything else she had killed. And even from just the feeling of slashing at it, this was much more durable than the purple one as well.
The crimson puppet reared back, arms transforming into drills as she rushed forward to pierce right through Death's chest. Driven back by the shock, Death found herself floating back just to get away, only for the crimson puppet to extend one arm forward, a ball of energy colliding Death. It did not blow away the Primal as expected however as layer upon layer of magical wards began to enclose her. A sphere of magic that surrounded, compressed, and readied itself to seal her away.
"An intriguing specimen, that one." The masked man said, leaping down from the roof to land by his puppet. "Good job, Ignis. This will be a useful research project."
The girl from earlier walked cautiously forward, her weapons lowered and then disappeared. "Is it over?" she wondered, her eyes gazing up at the Primal.
"Perhaps. Its companion observed earlier is nowhere to be found though." The masked man continued, staring ahead at the captured Primal. "Lieutenant Vermillion, you have other business to attend to, do you not? Why are you still here?"
"Sir!" the girl stood up and gave a quick bow before running off.
"As for Hazama… that vessel will require a fair bit of recovery. I wonder if 'he' was injured as well?" the man wondered.
Just as he turned around, a cracking sound could be heard from the magical prison. His masked face stared at the orb before it simply shattered like glass, the Primal breaking free with a horrendous screech as the energies that served as its prison ran amok, scorching the inner walls of the warehouse in a blast that tore through the sheets of metal.
The man was protected from the blast by his crimson puppet and when everything cleared, Death was gone.
"That is plenty of data I suppose. How disappointing that we'd have to search for it once more. Come, Ignis." The man said, walking away from the incident site.
Nier felt weak and dizzy as Death's card reappeared in her hands. Death must have used a tremendous amount of energy for her to feel this way. Sustaining the Primal with her own life force took a toll and unless she could find someone else's life force to enhance her own, she would need rest to recuperate.
Thankfully, no one noticed a thing. They had returned to Tao's house, though the doctor wasn't there yet. Tao herself was quick to invite them in, excited even, to have company.
Food was prepared again though the quality this time was… questionable. Ragna seemed to eat just fine at least, though it took some coaxing to get him to even try the lizard on a stick.
Nier smiled. This place at least, was fun. Tao was an odd one, sure, but she accepted them just fine without even any questions asked. And it was safe here. That's all she could really ask for right now.
Nier found herself drifting off into unconsciousness, falling from her chair as Ragna stood up and ran over to her. She didn't even hear his words, but at least she saw the door open. Ah… the doctor was here too…
Her vision went dark, and she dreamt of pleasant memories.