Chapter 14: Northern Lights, Part 1
Armsmaster lunged at him, raising his halberd above his head. He screamed with rage and determination as if he could change what had happened. Piggot's heart was still beating in Kazuya's hand, but that woman was naturally already dead. No one could save her.
Kazuya prepared to face Armsmaster with a smile and toy with him until he got bored. However, something unexpected happened. Ciara got between them. Of course, Kazuya was concerned, but nothing happened. He only had to step in to move Ciara out of the way and avoid her getting crushed as the guy fell.
There was no need to check his pulse or anything to know that the guy was dead. Just like that, so suddenly.
"Strange."
"He died because I touched him," Ciara said.
Kazuya laughed heartily. What an imagination kids had! He ruffled her hair again. He wondered if Jin had been this funny. Probably not.
He left Piggot's office with her still-beating heart in his hand. Ciara followed him closely like a lost puppy. Naturally, soon enough, some small stones got in his way, hoping to make him trip as if he were an ordinary man.
He had kicked the hornet's nest, and this was the result. Red alarm lights, metal doors dropping, blocking the way. Come on, the usual. It could be another world, but it wasn't that different.
The entire Protectorate had quickly gathered to stop him. Except for those who were already dead, of course. He had let them do it, and it wouldn't change anything, but still, he was surprised by their speed. They had also brought ordinary soldiers with a weapon that looked ridiculous. He didn't recognize the design, so it wasn't bad to be somewhat cautious. Just in case.
No, what was he saying? He would crush them like insects with his overwhelming power. He had no reason to be cautious of anyone. Remembering that golden man who had practically killed him with a single blow, Kazuya's face twisted ugly. That being was an exception to the rule. Besides, he would have been able to put up a fight if it weren't for being tired from the battle with Lung. Without a doubt!
"Damn animal," someone muttered.
"Maybe we can handle Mishima, but Glaistig Uaine..." said another.
He didn't really remember them well. They were weak, had stupid names, and their somehow even stupider costumes definitely didn't help. Anyway, they were just obstacles in his way that would soon disappear. So he had no reason to bother remembering their names.
"Her name is Ciara. And being called an animal by people who lock up a little girl in a super cage means nothing to me."
"She's not a little girl. She has... Well, I don't know how old she is, but she must be around your age."
Kazuya laughed. What nonsense these clowns from another world were saying. As he laughed, he squeezed Piggot's heart a bit too much. Naturally, the organ exploded like a piñata.
"Well, I was saving it for a more dramatic moment," Kazuya complained. "Did I get you dirty?"
He felt Ciara shake her head.
"Good girl."
"What's wrong with that crazy girl now?"
"Be careful with your tongue, or I'll rip it out. Oh, I almost forgot. Jimbo! Jimbo!"
He hadn't wasted so much time training the animal to leave it there. It better manage to hear his call somehow. What if they had killed him? It was just a bear, but he didn't have the time or desire to train another, so he'd be without a bear to give to Ciara. He had promised her. Kazuya frowned.
He took a step forward.
The inevitable fight was interrupted once again. Someone or something entered through the window unceremoniously, landing amidst the shower of broken glass. A machine in the shape of a dragon that looked like something Seto Kaiba would design if he were into red dragons instead of being a white supremacist.
"Dragon," said Ciara. "I thought Azazel had finished you off."
"It was close," a subtly robotic voice replied. "Where is Armsmaster?"
Ciara smiled.
"He's with me."
The mechanical dragon's shoulders sagged as if it were deflating.
"Oh, Colin. It's my fault."
"With you where?" Kazuya asked. "It's fine for girls to have a big imagination, but don't overdo it. That coward is dead, nothing more."
Dragon launched a lethal charge. However, the explosives went nowhere; they didn't even explode. For some reason, they disappeared right in front of him anticlimactically. He had prepared to receive them, demonstrating his resilience. Let's say he wanted to leave them awestruck by his power. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing.
"What the hell happened?" Kazuya wondered.
"Glaistig Uaine did it," one of those idiots said.
"Ciara is just a girl." Kazuya rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable."
They had no shame, all of them, emprisoning a girl of maybe twelve years old and then attributing all sorts of things to her. Were they crazy and stupid, did they believe their own lies, or was there a bigger reason? In any case, it irritated him. He had chosen Ciara as his protégé, and she, as it couldn't be otherwise, had obeyed, seeing the opportunity as the blessing it was. It was his responsibility to shut those mouths.
"Enough of this farce."
Kazuya took another step forward.
**ROUND 1! FIGHT!**
Well, no one said that, but he heard it in his head anyway. Habit.
The guy in Greek armor threw his electric spear at him. Kazuya transformed into an Devil at the last moment, but it still managed to penetrate his skin, albeit not very deeply. The worst part, naturally, was the shock. But Kazuya stood firm, his expression barely changing in response to the pain. Without blinking, without looking away from the guy who had done this, he pulled the spear out and tossed it behind him. He had no need for weapons like those. His body was the weapon.
The other arrogant woman (apart from Piggot, who no longer counted at all) used her power to form an assault rifle or pull it from some pocket dimension, or whatever, the point is she opened fire and each and every bullet bounced off his chest uselessly. They didn't even damage his suit.
Yes, now Kazuya was wearing his usual suit, not his karate pants.
He hadn't thought it worthy of mentioning his detour to have a tailor make the suit while Jimbo held him at bear claw point.
Kazuya might be a monster, but he was an elegant and refined monster.
One of the many guys with a stupid look approached the only other woman on the team while the first continued to open fire on him. He touched that woman, shooting towards him. However, he was not nearly fast enough. Kazuya didn't even have to do anything.
Because he was intercepted.
Jimbo had heard his call after all and arrived at the fight by bursting through the wall, rolling.
As expected from something he had personally trained, the debris didn't even slow him down. He caught Assault, whose name Kazuya managed to remember only because that's what was happening to him now, gave him several spins like a toy, and then threw him out the window.
Assault screamed like a girl or even worse, but fortunately, the scream was quickly silenced after a loud crash. Kazuya imagined he had burst against the asphalt. And he imagined wrong because soon an alarm started blaring; what he had done was crush a car.
Well. Even he could be wrong sometimes...
"Ethan!" the woman shouted.
Jimbo, in contrast, was very happy. Wiggling cheerfully, he raised one of his claws.
"Here I am, Master. High five!"
Kazuya rolled his eyes but high-fived him.
He assumed a fighting stance alongside Jimbo.
He supposed this was round two.
Northern Lights, Part 1: END