Hello everyone! Long time no see! I hope you all are doing well! I'm back with another chapter of Rise! I hope you all enjoy! I hope to be pumping out more chapters of my stories soon!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SAO OR ANY REAL WORLD REFERENCES IN THIS STORY!
Chapter 4: Trouble on the Horizon
It had almost been a week since I had become a vigilante. And not a damn thing has happened, at least not in terms of fighting magic creatures or bad guys and whatnot. Every night, I patrolled the rooftops for signs of anything going on, and nothing happened. Occasionally, I'd find a person who decided to make a bad decision and be a criminal. All it took was a smack with the hilt of my blade, and they were out like a light. Then, all I had to do was drop them in front of the police station and bada bing bada boom, donezo.
It's been pretty easy hiding my identity. Yui explained that the magic spell or whatever allowed me to don this outfit also altered my facial appearance to those without magic perception. Not only that, but when my eyes changed color, that was not only a sign that the spell was activated, but also part of the alteration itself. I still don't understand it all, but it's cool. I don't have to spend money on a cheap mask that an enemy will break and dramatically reveal my identity to the world. Whoopie.
Tonight felt different. It didn't feel like anything was going to happen, but it just felt off. Since I was on the rooftops, I chose to sit on the edge of one of the apartment buildings nearby. I dangled my legs over the edge and slumped over. Yui fluttered out of my pocket and looked at me worriedly.
"Kazuto, are you alright?" She asked, her voice soft and delicate. She put her tiny hand on my shoulder as she hovered in the air.
I nodded. "Don't worry, I'm fine." I said, trying to reassure her. I wasn't only trying to reassure her, but myself as well. I couldn't explain it. I just had this feeling in my gut that something was just off. I didn't have a clue what, so that just made it worse.
I was just about to continue when I heard voices down below and to my right. They sounded panicked. I got up and quietly made my way to the edge. Down below was a dark alleyway, and to my surprise, a group of three shady looking people dressed in dark getups. I couldn't see their faces, or any skin for that matter, but they seemed to be in an argument over something laying at they're feet.
"What the hell do you want me to do!?" The one growled in a hushed voice. "Touch it!?"
The one in the middle, who seemed to be the leader, shot back at him. "We have to if we want to bring it back!" He said. "Don't be such a pussy!"
"Ohhh you said a bad language word!" Giggled the third, seemingly a female. "I'm gonna tell Darlene!"
"Oh shut up, the both of you!" The leader grunted. He reached down, bent over and began to lift part of the thing that was on the ground. "Just call for a truck to meet us in the sewers! Then, you'll only need to touch it for a second! We can't damage the carcass any further or we're dead meat, got it!?"
The other two sighed. "Yes sir." "We got it."
"Good, now come on. We're wasting time."
As they started moving the carcass of whatever it was down there, I watched in bewilderment. Maybe they had something to do with the disappearance of the dragon's corpse. I thought. Maybe if I follow them, I'll find it! Yui quietly sat beside me as we watched them disappear into the manhole. Once the cover was on tight, we quietly made our way down.
"Who do you think they are?" Yui asked. "And what do you think they took with them?"
I shook my head. "I don't know, but they seemed a little shady. And they were in a hurry." Clearly something pointed to a bigger force at work here than just three people. The leader did say they couldn't damage the carcass any more than it already was. But why? What could they need it for? After waiting a little while, I removed the manhole cover, "Only one way to find out." I said, looking at Yui before I began the climb down into the sewer system that ran beneath the entire city, and most of the island.
Deciding it was best not to wait for me all alone on the surface, Yui followed me down into the darkness that we found ourselves in. The sewers underneath the city were extremely large. Each passageway was an ovular shape, the width being greater than the height. Each side of the passages had walkways as big as a one lane road. The middle contained filthy flowing water. The smell wasn't as bad due to the preparedness for people coming down here in case of inspections and repairs. I'm not sure how they did it, but that's how it was explained to me.
As for me,I tried listening for trio's voices, but they were suddenly cut off by the hum of an engine. I cursed silently to myself for not remembering that before I jumped in. If I lost them now, I'd never be able to find where they were going. I darted in the direction of the humming as it sped off. I could hear it getting away from me. As fast as I could run, there was no way I could catch it. Regardless, I did my best to keep them in earshot. Luckily, they didn't go too far. But by the time I caught up with them, in the exact spot where I heard them, they were gone. The truck, the people, and the carcass had disappeared completely. That was impossible. How could they have vanished into thin air?
I heard a very faint hum in the distance. Another vehicle. Great. Suddenly, Yui latched onto my coat.
"Stay still!" She exclaimed before she began to speak a language I had never heard of before. It was bizarre. It sounded straight out of a fantasy novel or anime. For me, nothing changed. I was about to panic and move, but I decided against it. I stayed still as the truck pulled to a stop. More figures in the same black uniform filled up the cab and the back. One hopped out and walked over to the wall. They were close. A little too close for comfort. I stayed silent as they briefly faced up at the ceiling before facing the wall again. A soft rumble shook throughout the tunnel as a portion of the wall began to sink in. It was a secret door. The person got back in the vehicle and they drove inside. Yui motioned for me to slowly follow them. It was nerve wracking, but I agreed it was the best course of action. So I took a deep breath, and slipped inside the lion's den.
Once I was inside, I was in absolute shock. The chamber was enormous. There was a road that circulated along the entire wall, all the way up to what I assumed was about street level. The truck I had followed proceeded downwards. I quietly snuck to the edge and peered over. Below me was a mixture of areas. Again, this place was massive, and there were a bunch of vehicles that lined the area. In the center of the room was an extremely large and conspicuous metal platform, something that looked as if it could descend further underground. I looked back to the road, following its path. It ended on this floor, so that must be the only way for vehicles or anything large enough to go deeper.
I could feel my pulse quicken and my muscles tensed. There were quite a few, if not hundreds of these people in black. In the light, I had a better look at their attire, especially since three were walking by me. They must be guards since they were wearing some kind of kevlar armor. Underneath, they wore thin quarter zip shirts, complete with hoods they wore over their heads. Not only that, but they're faces were covered by ski masks, leaving only their eyes visible. On their lower halves, they had thin heavy pants with the legs strapped around the heels of their combat boots. Even they're belt buckle was a metallic black, though with a more matte finish. Each and every article on they're bodies was black.
In their hands, they held guns. And I'm not talking your average handgun, I'm talking assault rifles. They did have handguns sitting in holsters on their sides, but what made things weirder is that strapped to their backs or belts were weapons for medieval warfare. I'm talking swords, axes, and anything else capable of slicing or mauling an opponent to death with brute strength.
What the hell? I thought as they continued on past me. I was lucky that whatever Yui was doing was working. If not, I'd be in trouble. I continued snooping around, eventually and slowly working my way down to the main floor. I snuck around, hearing these minions(I'm really not sure what to call them, so I decided on that) run around, chatting, and doing tasks. I looked around, and noticed a doorway on the opposite side of the chamber from the way I came in. I carefully maneuvered around them, hoping it would lead me to something.
I don't know quite how, but I made it without alerting anyone to my presence. I carefully slipped through the door into a stairwell. To my right and to my left were two freight elevators. I decided to take the safer round and took the stairs. I went down them, avoiding two men in lab coats who went up to the main floor I assumed. But I froze when I heard one of them say almost exactly what I was expecting to hear.
"...the dragon's scales will hopefully prove useful once we strip them all." The one said as they disappeared to the floor above. I took a deep breath and continued my trek downwards. It took a couple flights worth, but I eventually made it to the floor below. However, it was only accessible via key card and a passcode. I cursed under my breath. How could I have thought I could get in without a key card?
Suddenly, I heard a loud buzz and the door unlocked, opening from inside. I stayed quiet as a woman in a lab coat exited. I managed to catch the door with my finger and quickly slip through. I heard the woman pause, obviously noticing the door didn't shut right away. I stayed still for a moment before I heard her walk away. I let out a breath and checked on my little pocket pixie. I gazed into it and noticed she was gripping onto my clothes. She looked tired, probably from holding the spell this long.
I had to act quickly. I couldn't just rely on her this whole time. She'd be drained and we could never escape. I looked around. This floor seemed to be more of a laboratory level. I snuck around and found an empty closet to hide in. Sitting at the door's base, I opened my pocket again.
"Hey, Yui." I whispered. "You can drop the spell now. We're safe."
I heard her sigh with relief. She managed to fly a little before passing out mid air. I caught her, worried if she had strained herself a little too much. She was breathing hard, but at least it wasn't too rapid. I decided the best course of action would be to let her rest. Nothing could really change in a half an hour.
"Go ahead and rest. You deserve it." I gently tucked her back in my pocket, worried for her health, and determined to observe all I could so we could get out. "I promise that your effort won't be in vain, Yui." I whispered aloud, though it was more for myself. A promise to the both of us that I would get us both out alive.
I carefully listened before exiting the closet. Opening a few doors along the many hallways. I finally got to the center where the platform above was, only to find a wall.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me." I said aloud, irritated. All that work to get on this floor, just to find out I needed to go deeper. I carefully made my way down again. The next floor was barracks, which I decided was definitely not worth searching, and lucky me, the next floor was the last. I noticed it was cracked open, and curiously slipped in.
To my surprise, it was a hallway that surrounded the entire perimeter of the floor, and seemed to serve as a large viewing area for the open space in the middle. There were cranes along the upper walls of the inside, probably to unload cargo or whatever was brought down, as well as other large pieces of equipment and technology. And dead center in the middle was a dragon. The same one I killed the other day.
What the hell are they doing with it? I mean, those scales were hard, so maybe armor or weapons? My mind was racing, and my heart was keeping in time with it. I couldn't comprehend what was happening. All I knew was that these people were more than likely up to no good.
"Like what you see?" A very strange and familiar voice caught me off guard. It didn't sound human, at least not completely. It was slightly muffled and altered to sound slightly robotic. I turned my head slightly to see the man from the museum. Dressed in black from head to toe like the rest of the goons in this building, though his outfit was clearly different. Looking at him in the light like this, I could make out his attire. It looked like it was made of simple cloth with a leather belt around his waist. His head was surrounded by a black helmet, with two shiny blackened parts in the front that were probably for his vision. His helmet had strips of silver along the sides as well as an outline for the mouth section. That part was probably what changed his voice. Yes. This was definitely him.
"I hear that's your handiwork." He said, gesturing to the dragon and then me. I turned to face him completely.
"So what if it is?" I growled, narrowing my eyes. I didn't know what he was up to, but he moved his hand to his right hip. Then, I noticed a silver cylindrical object, dotted with some black parts and a small red button or switch. Is that…
"Well, I wanted to thank you personally." He said, taking the object off his belt. "And thank you for making things so much easier for me!"
"You're welcome." I grunted as I prepared for the worst. If need be, I could reach my sword and-
"Your sword won't save you." He said with a sigh.
"From your handy dandy off-brand lightsaber?" I chuckled. "Yeah, I noticed that little showpiece. It doesn't scare me one bit since I have this." I drew my sword, the Elucidator as Yui referred to it as. Apparently, it was a powerful sword from what she could tell.
"Very nice blade you have there!" He said, though he seemed to be mocking me with his compliment.
I charged him before he could say anything else, but he was quick. I stood there locking blades with this man, and his was a beam of red light. I could feel the heat, and I was so thrown off, he was able to push me back. I almost lost my balance, but luckily managed to hold it. He stood silent for a moment. Then he chuckled.
"Yes, your sword is nice. But it's no match for my blade."
"How the hell do you make such a thing!?" I asked. I had seen it before but it was still incredible to me.
"Oh, now that's a trade secret my friend." He said in a joking tone. "And I'm afraid you've seen too much, so now you have to die."
I didn't quite understand what was happening, but I had to get out of there quickly. This guy was exuding murderous intent, and he carried himself in such an intimidating way that I couldn't help but feel afraid. He had all the confidence in his skills, as he kept blocking every strike I threw at him with ease.
"Can't you just give up?" He said in an annoyed tone.
"Can't you just fuck off!?" I growled back. I quickly decided it was time to take things up a notch, so I drew my blade back and launched a vorpal strike like I had with the dragon. This seemed to throw him off guard. He stepped to the side to avoid the impact, so I managed to stop and sweep my blade around.
"Hah!" I screamed as I swung with all of my strength. I managed to push him back a bit as a result, giving me an opening.
I bolted up the stairs as fast as I could, taking out a few people in coats along the way. Soon enough, an alarm sounded off. I cursed myself for thinking I could be in and out without a problem. As I busted open to the door to the top floor, I was met with goons swarming for the door with their rifles aimed right at me. Some even had their handheld weapons out. My mind was racing as I found myself being surrounded. Yui's magic was a no-go, as she was still unconscious.
What should I do? I thought. I had little time. If I didn't act, it was over for me.
"You really should have thought this through, Black Swordsman." The masked man's voice said. I turned around to see he had caught up with me.
"Quite a shame really." He said with a sigh. I was starting to get bored until recently. When you showed up, I thought you would be a bit more of a challenge for me. I even went so far as to ignore the fact that I saw your face. Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter now."
Shit! They're going to kill me! I thought, before I felt a soft poke at my waist. When the realization hit me, the masked man waved his hand towards me.
"Kill him."
As the bullets flew, I closed my eyes and took a leap of faith.
I felt okay, and so I opened my eyes again. I was in the air and the circle of armed goons was covered in gun smoke. I looked for my hand but I could barely see it. I was invisible again. I looked down into my pocket to see the little pocket pixie straining with her eyes shut tight. I sighed in relief and didn't waste any time looking back once I landed. I sprinted towards where I came in. The door was sealed so I looked for a way to open it. There was a console beside the large doorway, so I got to work on pressing every button possible.
"Where the hell did he go!?" I heard one of the goons yell.
"Find him! Don't let him escape!" The masked man's voice roared.
Finally, with a loud rumble, the door began to open. I heard them shout and begin heading in my direction. Now this was twice that I had escaped death. I kept running and running with Yui out cold again in my pocket.
After I had safely made it home, I locked my windows and my door before taking Yui out and laying her down. She was unresponsive, but still breathing. Hopefully she would be better in the morning. I managed to tuck her into my bed, even though she was extremely small. I sat on the couch in the living room with my head in my hands.
Damn it! I thought to myself. How could I be so stupid?
I looked down at the Elucidator. I had leaned it against the sofa. I sat there for a minute before sending all my equipment away, leaving me in the clothes I'd had on before. I eventually went and changed before I lay down in bed, completely ready for a restless night, and regretting following those goons to their lair. That night, the masked man haunted me to no end, leaving me feeling even more helpless than I already was.
Julian, otherwise known as Umbrās, clenched his fists as he sat around a round table. There were five seats with holograms sitting in them. This technology was still experimental, but his company had no problems with it whatsoever. And what could be a better way to show off one's success than flaunting it in front of the people you hate.
"Pray tell, Umbrās." Said one of the holograms. His voice was sarcastic and his face held a look of satisfaction. His pointed ears twitched as he watched on, amused by the young man's failure. "How did the little rat slip away?"
"He had a power that we did not foresee." The young man replied, trying to hold back his anger. If he bit his tongue now, he could spare himself more embarrassment. "I'm not sure how, but he was able to mask his presence, as well as his appearance to become completely invisible."
"Interesting." Muttered a woman's voice. Looking at her was rather hard. She wore an outfit that was rather… unbecoming of someone of her supposed stature. "Your excuse sounds believable enough to me."
"How so?" The point eared man questioned, his eyes narrowed and his smirk turned to a snarl. "He's supposed to be strong enough to be a part of our plans, isn't he? How could he let one little rat get in and then escape after being cornered!?"
"Calm down." An older man's voice chimed in. He glared at the pointy eared man. "We know you loath humans, but this young man has performed well in enacting our plans before. We all make mistakes, I'm sure you have your fair share like the rest of us."
"For someone who paved their way on the path of power with blood, you sure are forgiving when someone fucks up."
The older man shifted his gaze to meet him. "You seem to forget that sometimes mistakes are their own punishment." He replied curtly.
Umbrās remained silent in response. Despite his feelings of anger, it would get him nowhere to disregard the fact that his forces had failed to capture a lone intruder. Let alone someone who had slipped into his territory without him knowing. After all his progress, a thorn had appeared to ruin it all.
"He will not evade me." He said.
They all turned to face him. "Is that so?" The woman questioned him, resting her head on her hands. A smile fell on her face. "I guess we will see, won't we?"
"You all will see. I assure you of that." Umbrās stated before leaving, his rage becoming more than he could handle. He quickly exited the room. As the door closed behind him, he clenched his fists, pulling out a phone from his pockets.
"Adrian, get the troops ready." He growled. "We're going on a hunt."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, I hope to be pumping out more chapters soon!
~Mike
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