In another section of the ship, two mercenaries stood guard at the entrance of a heavily fortified room. The door itself was composed of solid steel with a layer thick enough to substitute two walls, reserved for only the most important of cargo; that cargo in question was a large adult man in his thirties, whom their employer stated was one of the most dangerous men in all of Ishgar, something that was baffling to them as natives of Alakatasia. But they were certain that even the strongest in Ishgar would be no match for the strongest in the Alvarez empire.
Still, they were bored out of their minds. This high-stake operation turned out to be a routine grab mission of kidnapping two kids and a grown man. With the adult, they could understand his value, but they couldn't fathom why those children were just as important nor did they care to ask since they were getting paid after all. Their only disappointment was in the fact that they barely saw any action.
Unbeknownst to them however, this seemingly impenetrable door, guarding a very valuable cargo had one weakness: a weakness that its architects never accounted for; one so obvious it could be considered a lack of foresight. Given the enormous size of the ship they were being stowed on, a complex ventilation system had to be designed to regulate the temperature and flow of air inside such a massive machine, especially one comprised of wood and steel. And that meant passageways for those small enough to fit in. It was a weakness Sasuke and Erza took advantage of once they broke free from their bondage and set out to rescue Gildarts.
The duo weaved through the complex maze of dead ends and the trumping sound of marching foot soldiers looking for the escaped prisoners. After what seemed like an eternity, Sasuke and Erza finally chanced upon the room they had finally been looking for. Looking through the exhaust door, they were greeted by the sight of the slumbering Gildarts, his hands, and feet shackled by metal frames that held his limbs tight. Not that it really mattered, since it seemed like he was still fast asleep.
Gingerly reaching out his fingers through the openings, Sasuke pushed open the door and slid down to the room below with Erza following suit. While he looked around the perimeter to ensure no traps had been set, Erza made her way to Gildarts, looking for a way to free him. "C'mon Gildarts, wake up" she whispered as audibly as she could to ensure they couldn't be heard, even shaking him multiple times to no avail.
"Don't bother" Suddenly, a strange voice came out of nowhere and spoke to them. An alarmed Sasuke and Erza gasped as their eyes darted everywhere until they happened upon what looked like a holographic projection of the duke's young secretary. "Your friend has been injected with a special sleeping agent that's put him in some sort of coma and I'm sure you know how hard it is to wake someone up from that state"
Sasuke and Erza were put on high alert. They warily observed the projection of the secretary and remained silent. They had their suspicions about the duke from the very beginning, but her sudden change in demeanor troubled them even more since that timid side of her was now starting to seem like it was all an act.
"You don't trust me, I can tell by the look on your faces" she sighed, placing a hand on her hip, "But you really don't have much of a choice, especially if you want to save Mr. Gildarts over there"
"Tatiana, right? Why should we believe a word you say?" Erza crossed her arms and looked at her with a frown.
Tatiana's projection began phasing through them, her fingers tracing through the table, "Because if I wanted to, I could've told the guards that the two of you are here in the special containment room."
"But you're not going to because…." Sasuke pressed on.
"Because I have no interest in compromising you. You two might not believe me, but I'm also investigating Duke Manuel here and you two just became prime witnesses" Tatiana explained.
"On whose orders?" Sasuke inquired.
"Era"
"The council?" Erza repeated, puzzled by Tatiana's answer as she looked over to Sasuke, who was equally surprised despite his stone-faced expression.
"Explain" Sasuke demanded, keeping his guard up.
To their surprise, Tatiana started to giggle as she adjusted her glasses while she walked past them. "I would love to but there's no time for that. We're about to reach land as we speak, so instead, I'll instruct you tow on the best place to hide here until we dock. Once that's once, I'll mark the rendezvous point for us to meet. I'll explain everything there."
Erza and Sasuke shifted their gaze toward one another, out of earshot of the mysterious girl. "Can we trust her? She seems kinda shifty" Erza expressed her mistrust over the girl, especially since she was associated with the duke and the fact that she was not as transparent as she had hoped.
"Make your choice fast. We don't have much time, especially with your big friend there. You don't have to trust me but you'd rather have me on your side than against" Tatiana insisted.
The mistrust towards her was a sentiment shared by Sasuke as well, but at the same time, Gildarts life was on the line too. "We'll play along with her for now, but keep your guard up" he whispered and explained his reasoning, "If what she says about Gildarts is true, we'll need to find a way to wake him up."
After a few minutes, the two eventually reached a consensus as they moved their gaze from each other and towards Tatiana. "Alright, we'll follow your lead" Sasuke answered, "for now. But we're only doing this for Gildarts"
"Good, that's all I needed to hear from you two. Now let's begin and remember…do exactly as I say."
And just as Tatiana had predicted, the ship eventually made its way portside, where an entourage of more mercenaries awaited their guests. Leading them was an enormous armored figure akin to a knight standing head and shoulders above everyone else, draped in golden armor with a blue cape. Next to him was a smaller armored humanoid, leaner in build and with armor of the same gold design but form-fitting, in fact, he was inhumanly skinnier than even the average mercenary.
As the duke emerged from the ship, the large knight noticed that he was carrying a sour expression on his face, possibly indicating to him that something had gone awry. "Duke Manuel" the knight greeted as he approached him, towering over the duke as he cast a shadow over him and his escorts, "Have you encountered any trouble?"
"You can tell?" the duke blinked, as he once again wiped the sweat off of his forehead with trembling hands. "Sir Marcus" he addressed, gulping in fear as he continued, "I-I assure you; everything is under control. I will contain the situation as best I can."
Without warning, the knight Marcus lowered his enormous hands, which were roughly the size of the duke's entire head, and reached out for his collar. As he pulled him closer, Marcus leaned down to his helmet and was within eye contact with the duke. "You know very well that Lady Irene has little tolerance for failure, let alone incompetence. I do not care whether you believe you can solve this problem or not, explain the situation to me."
Even though his face was hidden behind a helmet, the duke could see an expression of contempt from the knight. In a strange reversal of roles, it was the warrior who commanded the person of a higher position, mostly because their benefactor was of even higher authority than either of them. "We still have Gildarts within our grasp. It's the children who have escaped."
"When did they escape?"
"We don't know, I came to inspect the room and they were gone. We searched everywhere within the ship, but they are nowhere to be found."
Marcus the knight tightened his grip around the duke's collar as he raised him from the ground while his breathing became more intense, barely able to contain his contempt for the duke, who began stammering while his tiny secretary looked away. "P-please, I beg of you…give me another chance. I-I will fix this!" the duke began pleading, clasping his hands and stuttering away, "Please spare me."
In response, Marcus released his grip on the duke, causing him to collide to the ground with an audible thud. While the duke groaned in pain, the knight managed to collect himself as he looked over to his compatriot. "Remus" he called out, to which his partner responded by raising his head, "Can you sense them?"
The skinnier knight joined his fingertips and looked to the ground, remaining silent for a minute or so while the mercenaries looked on with confused faces. Once that was done, Remus looked toward Marcus once more with a firm nod.
"Where are they?" Marcus asked, to which Remus pointed out toward the east side of the island. "So, they've escaped there" the knight mumbled as he turned away and began making his way towards the interior of the island. "Well done brother, let us move. We only have a few hours before Lady Irene arrives, we must retrieve them as soon as possible. Minimize harm to the girl with scarlet hair. She must be brought to Lady Irene unscathed."
Weaving through the dense jungle was no easy task, but for Sasuke, such a thing was a normal occurrence, after all, he had been used to such predicaments in his previous life. Erza herself had endured similar hardships and tribulations that a trek through dense vegetation had become trivial by comparison. What concerned them more was the thought that they might be walking into another trap, especially since everyone they've encountered so far seem to have their own agenda and were more than willing to sell the other one out, all the while maintaining a friendly façade.
"Hey Sasuke, are you sure we're going the right way?" Erza asked, trudging along the dense jungle while cutting down the thick shrubs with her sword.
"If the coordinates she gave us are accurate, then yeah" Sasuke answered, leading the way as held the hand-drawn map with one hand and a sword with another. The sword was an extra loaned by Erza since her equipment was stored in another space separate from the current reality, while Sasuke had no such ability and his gear was subsequently confiscated.
"I feel like we're just trading one backstabber for another, ugh?" Erza whined, vocally expressing her displeasure at the thought of putting their lives on a stranger. "One moment she's all shy and sweet and the next…."
Sasuke quietly listened along to her rant, partly because it ensured that Erza was with him at all times and partly because he didn't mind. Eventually, the duo came upon a clearing with a road that led to a few small, run-down houses in the middle of the forest. Most of them were destroyed, except for one.
"That looks like as good as any place for a meeting," Erza said, creeping up beside Sasuke, "let's go."
The Uchiha grunted in agreement and the two carefully made their way to the cabin, keeping their guard up at all times. Upon reaching the door, Sasuke carefully turned the doorknob and pushed through, until he was in the clear. Much to his surprise, the room itself was empty, save for a few notes lying around. The two entered the room and browsed through it for any clues, many of which were simply logistical requests and other mundane assignments. It took a while until Sasuke and Erza chanced upon a sheet of paper with unique writing. "Know what it says?" Erza asked, puzzled by the strange symbols.
"It's encrypted" Sasuke answered, immediately activating his Sharingan and scanning through the paper's contents.
"Have you figured out what it says?" Erza inquired, curiously looming over the paper.
"Site is compromised. New coordinates on the following: 42 lat,28 long" Sasuke quickly replied.
The answer from the paper only served to frustrate Erza even more. "Seriously!? I'm starting to feel like she's just sending us on a wild goose chase or even a trap. We never should've" She paused herself as one of the words on the paper struck into her mind as she stared at Sasuke, "Wait, did she say compromised?"
The two looked at each other as they heard the sound of something rolling towards them and instinctively dove out of the room through the window as a grenade set off inside the room. Despite the ringing in their ears, Sasuke clutched his head and grabbed Erza by the arm. "I'm alright" the redhead reassured him.
Once the dust was clear, the duo realized they were surrounded by mercenaries, armed to the teeth with all manner of weaponry. "So much for subtlety" Erza sighed, pushing her back into Sasuke's as they covered each other's rear.
"Well, well, well" a voice stated as a young boy pushed himself towards the front of the crowd, "Looks like we got ourselves a-"
"Shut up Alzack" the older one in front of the boy shut him down.
Alzack did not take kindly to his monologuing being interrupted as he summoned a gun and brandished it in front of the merc, "Hey! I was in the middle of my awesome speech here!"
"We don't care, ya little punk"
"Yeah, just zip your mouth for once will ya"
"You've been yapping since we got here"
More and more voices began dissenting on the boy until he was drowned out by a legion of adult choirs telling him to remain quiet. Gritting his teeth, Alzack meekly conceded and took a vow of silence for the time being, while Sasuke and Erza looked on, puzzled by this strange act of bullying. If they weren't on opposite sides, Erza almost felt bad for the boy.
In a strange turn of events, the boy suddenly changed his demeanor and summoned his weapon, one that neither had ever seen before. Without a word, he fired off the weapon through which a loud bang emanated from its chamber as something whizzed from it and flew in every direction, knocking off some of the mercenaries' weapons. "No one talks to Sugar Pistol Alzack like that!" he boldly declared, tapping his chest.
His fellow mercenaries, however, were not pleased by this brazen act of defiance as one of them grabbed him by the poncho and picked him off the ground. "What do you think you're doing you little punk!?" the man snarled at Alzack who seemed a little surprised but chose to stare back at him defiantly, "Maybe you'll like it once I punt you-"
The man was cut off before he could go through with his threat as a kick sent him flying, dropping Alzack to the floor. Pushing himself off of the ground and dusting himself off, Alzack bore witness to a sea of broken bodies falling everywhere as the two kids they were supposed to apprehend began to systematically neutralize them with a series of fast punches, kicks, and sword strikes until he was the only one standing.
The moment the two kids had their eyes fixed on him, Alzack immediately had a hitch in his voice as he took a step back. His heart was pounding faster and faster, his breathing became more rapid, and deep down, he cursed his inability to control his fear. But that fear was warranted, because these two kids, no older than he was, took down an entire squad of armed men in less than a minute. It felt like he was biting off more than he could chew, but he had come this far. He was out to prove to everyone that he was just as good as he claimed and this was the perfect opportunity.
Taking a deep breath, Alzack composed himself as he began walking around the two targets while twirling his gun. "Not bad, not bad. Guess you two were well worth the money" he paid a backhanded compliment, "But these losers were amateur. I am in an entirely different league. Sugar Pistol Alzack"
"Sugar...Pistol?"
His bluffing didn't seem to have worked, as instead of quaking in fear, Sasuke and Erza simply blinked and stared at him with a blank expression, confused by his actions. The girl even seemed to be holding back her laughter at his nickname. Annoyed by this fact, Alzack grumbled for a bit before pointing the gun at them, "Maybe now you'll take me more seriously."
Rather than fall for his blunder, the boy with the eyepatch dashed at him before he could even pull the trigger and tackled him to the ground, taking away the gun from his hand and throwing it away, causing it to disappear. With one hand on his arm and a knee on his chest, Sasuke had effectively disarmed Alzack in seconds. The gunslinger struggled with all of his might to break free but it was to no avail. "If you really want to be taken seriously, then stop fooling around in the middle of a fight" he advised him, releasing his grip on Alzack and walking away. "Stay out of our way and you won't get hurt."
That feeling returned again; the feeling of absolute humiliation. He hardly got a hit in before he was taken down with little effort by that boy with the eye patch and the way he 'advised' him, it felt like a tinge of condescension as if he was barely even a threat to him. At least the other mercs were treated as enough of a threat to be worth knocking out, while he was simply being let go as if he wasn't even worth the trouble. As his heart beat faster, Alzack curled his fist into a ball as it collected dirt: all those years of training and hard work felt like nothing. The look in the boys' eyes angered him as he bared his fangs. "Fooling around? I'll show you what I'm made of!" he roared as he rose to his feet and made a mad dash for Sasuke, who instantly lowered himself and spun backward, striking Alzacks' stomach. As his eyes expanded in response to his stomach being struck, Sasuke grabbed his right arm, spun around again, and lifted him off the ground before finally slamming him to the floor.
Alzack felt like his chest was about to explode as there was a deep ringing in his ear. "A word of advice" the girl spoke, "Ditch the Sugar Pistol part, it's ...not really as cool as it sounds."
Alzack interpreted the girls' advice as mockery. He had spent months coming up with that nickname, reciting it to himself for hours in the mirror. Sugar Pistol was NOT uncool: it was hip, it was awesome, and it defined him. Sadly, he could not find the energy to argue back for his vision became blurry while the two kids began walking away, while he frantically reached out to them until there was nothing but darkness.
Sasuke and Erza rushed through the thick jungle, hoping to cover their tracks from any reinforcements that might come their way. After all, if a few amateurs could find them quickly, it was only a matter of time before more showed up. Trudging through the uncharted vegetation, the duo realized that something was amiss. The air had become thicker and visibility was being affected as a fog appear out of nowhere. While both remained cautious, Sasuke knew that something was amiss as they reached a suspension bridge that connected one part of the island with the other. Sasuke's paranoia was warranted as something was making its way to them, nimbly dashing across the flora with relative ease.
Upon reaching the entrance to the hanging bridge, Erza gazed down to measure the height of the gorge and it took all of a second for her to immediately take a step back with bated breath despite the fog. Between the two tracks of land that divided the island were steep rocks and a river far below that looked a like a stream from the top, something that could be visible even amidst the fog. Taking a look at the bridge, it seemed stable enough to dissuade Erza from her worries, on top of having Sasuke around, to whom nothing seems to get a reaction out, although the wind didn't seem too promising. She could only hope that the fog wouldn't trouble her.
But as she readied herself to take the first step, Sasuke called out to her. "What is it?" Erza asked.
"Something's not right" Sasuke warned, his eye scanning the foggy environment while he kept his ears closed. Erza herself kept a vigilant watch even if the fog obstructed her vision. Keeping his senses sharp, Sasuke made a note to make a mental memory of every little thing that was happening around them. The whirling sound of the wind, the chirping of insects, and the rustling of leaves. That last sound alerted him and he immediately drew the sword Erza gave him. "Erza, get ready!" he ordered.
Before Erza could respond, she was tackled by what seemed like a golden blur, rolling around until they were right at the heart of the bridge. Pinned to the wooden floor, Erza felt cold steel pressed against her throat while her gaze was fixed on a humanoid being with golden armor. Its helmet was unique in the fact that it was featureless save for a single white eye at the center.
"Erza!" Sasuke yelled as he ran over to her aid, brandishing his weapon. Just as he neared the bridge, however, his pathway was blocked by a massive crash that sent him tumbling back. When the dust cleared, a heavily armored knight stood in his place. He was much, much larger than his brethren with an equally bulkier armor as well.
Summoning an enormous sword and a shield, the knight Marcus, pointed his blade at Sasuke. "It would be wise of you to surrender now. Do that and no harm will come to you or your companion" he warned, slamming his rectangular shield to the floor as it shook the earth.
His warnings were ignored by Sasuke, who ran forth without a word and jumped over the knight, only to be caught by his large hands and thrown back down to the dirt. Glancing at the events unfolding on the bridge, Marcus looked back at the boy who was looking intently over to the girl. "My Lady has requested that the girl not be harmed and we will honor her wish. You on the other hand…" he said, giving out a thinly veiled threat.
On the other side, Erza struggled to free herself from the grip of a morbidly scrawny-looking armored humanoid even with a blade held against her throat. Her herculean strength, one that had been developed over the years thanks to her newfound magic, was the one thing she could rely on now and even that was being tested. But with each push, the blade inched away from her, slowly but surely until there was enough space for her to push her assailant back with a kick and roll away, giving herself some much-needed breathing room. Once that was done, Erza immediately looked back at the commotion behind her, as the sight of Sasuke battling a gigantic armored being worried her. Summoning a weapon at hand, Erza tried to run towards them only to have the lanky knight leap from behind her and block her path.
"Remus, do not let her escape" Marcus ordered his brethren, who silently complied and two more arms emerged from underneath the chest area of the armor, alongside three more blades adjacent to each hand. The lanky knight began twirling each blade in hand, spinning his own wrist as if they were toys. Erza's eyes could not keep up their speed, yet she readied herself for battle in any way she could.
Sasuke meanwhile, was kept busy by the long slashes of Marcus' great sword, which was almost the size of an average human, meaning that it kept him from reaching to the other side. These slashes were slow, winded, heavily telegraphed and they were easy to dodge, yet Sasuke had a feeling that they weren't meant to harm, just be a nuisance to him. As he slid under another slash, Sasuke was met with a different obstacle in the form of a massive shield, as big as a large door which the knight was strong enough to lift around like a normal shield and push him back.
Having no other option, Sasuke bit his lip and summoned the appropriate hand signs for his fireball technique. Pumping air into his lungs, Sasuke belched out a torrent of fire that engulfed the large knight, who blocked it with his shield. Simultaneously, Sasuke had reminded himself to hold back a little lest his fires accidentally burn off the ropes that were holding the bridges. Once the fire was put out, Sasuke charged forth with electricity coursing through his right hand that he used to inflict a frontal attack on the shield, only for it to do nothing as the lightning simply cackled through the armor. With an eye open wide, Sasuke was sent flying into the arm before crashing into the ground with a nasty thud. But as he recovered and looked ahead, he could see that the Chidori had inflicted some sort of pain on him, at least momentarily. He deduced that his armor probably conducted the electricity from the shield.
Speaking of restraint, this was something that Erza also had to keep in mind as she carefully navigated her weapon through the bridge, making sure not to cut one of the ropes accidentally. It was also the reason why she didn't summon her stronger set of armors. The lanky knight Remus, on the other hand, seem to have no such reservations as he spun and moved his arms around through various degrees and angles, almost as if he was contorting them with ease. Erza couldn't make heads or tails on where to strike as there was danger on all corners. As one arm thrust forward and Erza blocked it, another immediately came forward and nearly stabbed her in the arm as she quickly reeled her sword arm back and blocked it. But Erza could not afford a moment of rest as another arm came in with a slash, while another went down on her with a pinpoint stab. And so, over and over again, Remus attempted to defeat Erza via a thousand cuts, his speed, unconventional fighting style, and inhuman contortionism causing her to struggle.
Clutching her cut arm in pain, Erza dissolved her sword and summoned a single shield instead, using it as a barrier and a battering ram to brute force her way through him. Initially, it seemed to work as Remus was unable to find an angle to attack Erza as she pushed him. That advantage did not last long, as two pairs of feet suddenly emerged and gripped the top half of the shield and pulled his body upward. Once he was on top of Erza, Remus twisted his torso and brought his blade down, forcing Erza to let go of the weapon. Forced back into retreat, Erza dismissed her shield and brought forth a spear instead. In response, Remus began to crawl on all fours with his two free hands raised upward, but unlike an animal, his hands were faced backward, his torso faced upward and his head was upside down, yet it did not come to hinder him as he crept his way to an uncomfortable Erza, threw his two blades into the air, lifted his legs up, caught the two blades with his feet and began attacking her with them as she frantically blocked them with her spear, struggling against his unorthodox fighting style.
Taking a quick glance through an opening, Sasuke caught a brief glimpse of Erza struggling in her fight against the lanky figure. He needed to find a way to get to her, even if he was struggling against his towering opponent. Not helping matters was that most of his gear was confiscated and there was no opening to use a genjutsu on him either; something that bothered him since even with the thick helmet, there should have been gaps to give him an opening. Rethinking his strategy, Sasuke decided to focus on a different method of escape. He first blew another torrent of flame against Marcus, one that was easily blocked by the shield.
"It's futile" the knight lambasted him for using the same method of attack. As the flames cleared, Sasuke tried to jump over Marcus, only for him to be caught by his gigantic hands, which were large enough to cover Sasuke's torso. But just as Marcus brought Sasuke closer to him, the struggling boy disappeared in a puff of smoke as another slid under his legs and right toward his brother. The perfect diversion.
"Dammit!" Marcus cursed under his helmet; his large heavy build was unsuitable for such a small bridge since he was too big to fit nor was, he light enough for the bridge to contain his weight. "Remus, that boy is coming for you!" he yelled to his partner, who immediately ceased fighting the girl and jumped straight towards Sasuke, who flipped back as the lanky knight brought his blades down on him. Contorting his back to bring himself off the ground, Remus stood up and brandish his four limbs.
"Careful, Sasuke. He's too fast!" Erza warned him.
"And the other one's too tough. His armors' too thick for any of my attacks. But he's slow" Sasuke gave a warning of his own. "I don't think he can get to the bridge, but he might try to find a way to interfere. Can you keep him busy?". His request seemed to defy logic; after all, if he couldn't find a way to dent the giant's armor, then what hope did Erza have? But if the years of experience in his former life had taught him anything, it was that strength alone wasn't the only factor in deciding a winner, but rather skills and arsenal as well. And Erza's new magic gave her access to a nigh-infinite number of different armors and weapons. Not only that, her physical strength had grown to an astronomical degree, enough that he speculated that she might surpass him in terms of might somewhere down the line.
In response to his request, Erza turned back and looked at the towering knight, waiting patiently. She could see why he'd have such trouble dealing with it, speculating that the armor must have been made of something incredibly dense yet durable to withstand all of Sasuke's attacks. That or it must've been enchanted with some kind of magic. Either way, she could probably guess that his armor was far tougher than the lankier knight's one. "Not a problem" she answered with a smile, while her body glowed in blinding light. When the light disappeared, Erza was coated in a heavy golden-colored armor with fur trimmings all across its edges, most notably in the shoulder pads. Accompanying the armor was an enormous lance, at least relative to her size. The sheer weight of the armor began shaking the bridge, down to its foundations. "Requip; giant armor!"
"Erza?" Sasuke warily chided her, as he kept his balance amidst the rocking bridge.
"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in just a minute" she reassured him, hurling the lance straight at Marcus, who tried to deflect with his shield, only to find himself pushed back as Erza jumped as high as she could until she landed on solid ground.
Sasuke gave a quick glance at Erza engaging with the giant, finding her to fare much better than he did. Quickly focusing his attention on his smaller compatriot, Sasuke deftly evaded a swipe from one of his blades and spun back. "And that leaves you" he stated, turning his eye in crimson red as he activated his Sharingan.
Remus began by jumping into the air and plunging his two swords down on Sasuke once more, who stepped back. As the blades lodged onto the wooden floor, the knight stood on his hands and used the blades held in his feet to swipe horizontally, to which Sasuke responded by blocking with his sword. The stalemate did not last for long as Remus unleashed his remaining two hands to take a stab at Sasuke, only for the Uchiha to easily sidestep both jabs and deliver a swift kick to his metallic abdomen, which sent him flying back while leaving the two blades lodged on the floor. Refusing to give his opponent time to recover, Sasuke charged forth while holding his sword in a reverse grip, narrowly sidestepping another jab with the two blades barely touching his right cheek and torso. Before he could retaliate, Remus spun his body like a gear contraption and locked weapons with Sasuke's sword thanks to his two right arms. While his two right limbs kept Sasuke busy, the lanky knight twisted the wrists of his other left limbs till the blades of his two left arms were facing the one-eyed boy directly, right in his blind spot, and moved for a direct stab, which Sasuke narrowly averted by ducking down even if it came at the cost of leaving his sword, which was lodged between four hands.
Having disarmed the boy, Remus tossed the sword away and attempted to thrust his weapon down on him, only for Sasuke to jump forward, passing through the gaps between the hands. Having closed the distance and with the rare opportunity of having his opponent wide open, Sasuke took the initiative and delivered two nasty hooks to the body. Despite the body being made of metal, the knight reacted all the same and reeled back from the punches even if there were no signs of shouting or grunting or any sign of it being in pain. Hitting something metallic with his bare hands wasn't the most pleasant experience for Sasuke, but given that it seemed to be working, he pursed his lips and pushed through, following his punches with a swift summersault kick to the face that sent his opponent tumbling back.
As the lean knight dropped to his knee, Sasuke realized that his kick did more than just hurt his opponent: a piece of his helmet that had been covering his face had been removed as well, revealing a transparent shell that contained a very soft, very vital organ of the human. "Wait, it's just a brain!?" a baffled Sasuke mumbled to himself, his face perplexed by the notion that what he was facing was nothing more than an automaton controlled by a brain. But that also left him with an idea as he charged forth, electricity cackling through his left hand. Sliding past one of its strikes, Sasuke quickly turned around and struck the point of the lower right hand where its joint was connected and with a concentrated force of the Chidori, blew it out of its socket. Even if he didn't express it verbally, Remus had become irate as he hastily spun his left limbs to try and take out the Uchiha, who easily anticipated the attack, used Remus' body to jump off of him and bring down his Chidori on to his left arms, slicing them both off. Sparks of electricity flew everywhere as Remus began to fluctuate and spasm as if his brain could not handle the loss of his body leaving him wide open for a hurricane kick that shattered the one eye on his face and brought him down with a sudden thud.
On the other side of the battle, Erza was engaged in a deadlock with Marcus, her shield locked firmly against the larger knight's shield. With both feet planted on the ground, dirt was beginning to form like a mound around her soles as the scarlet warrior struggled against the might of her bigger opponent whole was also standing firm. The deadlock was ended when Marcus abruptly slammed his claymore down on Erza's shield, who answered by raising her lance to counter it. But even with her growing strength, it was becoming obvious to Erza that she was struggling against the knight who barely seemed to treat her as an actual threat. Once an opening was found, Erza quickly switched back to her normal attire and leaped back while the claymore slowly touched the ground. Not wasting any time, she hurled the lance towards the knight, who blocked it with his shield before tossing it to the wayside.
Erza took the opportunity to catch her breath while she kept her eyes on her opponent, who looked like he was not even out of breath. She clenched her jaw and bared her teeth, bringing forth another weapon, this time in the form of a club with a dark armor to go along with while exhaling as much as she could control her heartbeat. But just as she prepared herself for another bout, she noticed something was off about the towering figure; his face, given that his eyes were not present, seemed to be focused on what was behind her rather than her. Quickly looking back, Erza realized that it was the scene of Sasuke standing tall over the other knight that caught his attention.
"He…. beat Remus!?" Marcus said out loud. Even if his face was obscured, the tone in his voice indicated that he was in disbelief.
Erza on the other hand was relieved, as it meant one threat was neutralized and now another can be dealt with together. "Sasuke" she called out to him, "How's everything going there?"
Sasuke glanced over with his single eye and nodded in response to Erza. But just as he was about to make his way over to her, the prone body of Remus began twitching; first with a single finger, followed by the other fingers on his remaining hand and then the rest of the arm as he pushed himself off of the ground and wrapped his metallic hands around Sasuke's throat before he could even react while Erza could only look on with wide eyes.
"Sasuke!" Erza cried out, her hand reaching out for him as she hurried over to his aid, "I'm coming for you, hold on!". As her armor scraped through the dirt to reach the bridge, Remus' eye shone even brighter as it sent a beam of pure white energy straight towards Erza, who had no choice but to block it with her club as the speed with which it traveled prevented her from changing on the fly. The force of the beam shattered her club and sent her flying back.
Struggling under the tight metallic grip of Remus, Sasuke's finger tried to dig into the arms to give his throat some breathing room, but even that was a hurdle in and of itself. As the beams whizzed past him, Sasuke was taken aback by its existence since he never used it against him.
"Guess this must've been his secret weapon. Who knew the bastard was holding back on us. You'd better step it up unless you want Erza to die."
" ." Sasuke sneered at the voice inside his head, even if he did agree with him. The revelation of his enemies' new power also gave Sasuke a window of opportunity, especially with this new revelation. "If his powers are coming from that head, then maybe I can..." he rummaged through his thoughts as he activated Chidori before sending it straight into the eye. In an instant, Remus let go of Sasuke as his body began to spasm uncontrollably and violently with electricity running through his entire body. Then, in a gruesome twist, the exposed part of his head that displayed the brain exploded as chunks of brain matter flew everywhere while the body crashed to the ground, remaining still forever more.
Silence fell over the place as Erza and Marcus looked on; the former slowly strutted over to Sasuke with a look of disbelief over what had just happened. She was aware that she should not have been surprised yet it never got easier every time Sasuke took a life. The latter, on the other hand, had his body firmly planted on a singular spot, completely ignoring Erza walking past him. His helm concealed any sort of horrified expression he might have exhibited, but his hitched breath revealed the shocked individual beneath that armor.
"Sasuke, you…" Erza refrained from finishing her sentence. She thought she had grown numb to the act of taking a life over the years, yet the brutality of it didn't change how disturb she felt about it.
"I…...didn't have any other choice" Sasuke explained.
"I know" Erza nodded in understanding, accepting his answer. "Did you get hurt?" she asked, scanning his body for any visible injuries.
"Not a scratch" he reassured her. Unfortunately for the duo, their brief moment of respite was cut short by an ear-piercing wail that reverberated all throughout the bridge, comparable to a strong tempest.
"REEEEEEMUUUUUSSSS!" Marcus howled to the heavens, the grief and sorrow in his voice made its presence to the world around him as flocks of birds departed from their homes in the nearby trees to fly away, almost as if they were instinctually aware of the disaster that awaited them should they linger around. Hunched over, Marcus began inhaling and exhaling violently, like a starving beast ready to devour its prey after weeks of going without food. Tossing aside his claymore and shield, the colossal knight charged forth like a crazed madman. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he let out a blood-crazed scream.
The sight of the titanic armored humanoid running for them like a primal beast put both Erza and Sasuke on alert. Admittedly, such a sight made Erza even more nervous than she already was while her one-eyed friend was frantically thinking of ways to combat this behemoth until a thought occurred to him that he didn't have to. Without another word, he grabbed Erza by her wrist and bolted for the other end of the bridge. But even as they made it halfway through the suspended platform, they were intercepted by another individual; this one lacked the splendid golden armor or shining blue cape of the other two but made up for it with an equally intimidating presence. His stature wasn't as imposing as the knight in front of him, but he carried with him a sinister aura as almost all of his body was obscured by a dark raincoat.
The eccentric newcomer sniffed the air and examined the two targets in front of him. "Another soul departing from this world. I can feel it; so much pain" he said, slowly plodding his way towards them, almost as if in a trance as he pointed his finger at Sasuke "I can hear them, the cries of the dead; those whose lives have been slain by your hand. They whisper to me about how they saw that cold dead eye of yours in their final moments."
On the other side, Marcus' rampage was suddenly brought to a halt by two large blue draconic creatures clamping down on his shoulders, holding him in place. "Release me!" Marcus snarled, struggling to free himself from the tightening grip of the creatures.
"Calm yourself, Marcus. You are not to harm the girl, remember?" a voice spoke from behind him, casually strolling past the knight to reveal themselves as the fourth party. The stranger was of medium height with long black hair tied into a ponytail that hung from his right side with bangs that also covered his left eye. He wore a red, knee-length jacket with black highlights across the arms, alongside red pants and black shoes. The most distinguishing feature was the mask that obscured his mouth.
"I don't care Lief. That boy murdered my brother!" Marcus continued to argue, casting aside his orders for revenge, having long replaced the calm exterior with that of burning rage.
Hearing the word "brother" sent both Sasuke and Erza into a tizzy as they looked at each other before looking at them, while also keeping a close eye on the mysterious one in the rear. Sasuke especially felt a strong feeling of unease come over him as his body began to lose its composure.
"Your emotions matter little to Lady Irene. She has made it abundantly clear that at the very least, the girl is to be brought to her alive. If you attack them now, you risk destroying the bridge" Lief chided his larger compatriot before he turned around and strolled over to Sasuke and Erza, both of whom put on a defensive stance. "But then again, she never said anything about bringing the boy back in one piece."
Erza summoned a sword and ran towards him, attempting to thrust her blade into him only for Lief to quickly sidestep, slid her sword's handle away from her and push her down, disarming her in an instant. As she looked up at her assailant, the sight of a crimson eye with a black pattern caused her to let out a gasp. "That's…" she murmured.
It wasn't just Erza who was surprised; Sasuke had also been taken aback by the presence of another Sharingan user. Quickly grabbing the sword that had been tossed away with his left hand, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and jumped as high as he could while attempting to bring the weapon down, but his attempts were also intercepted by Lief who grabbed his wrist midair and directed his fall to the ground, all the while keeping hold of Sasuke's wrist. It was at that moment that the Uchiha got a better look at this mystery person: His Sharingan had already evolved into a three Tomoe pattern. "What are you?" he asked, "How did you get that eye?"
Rather than answer him, the mysterious assailant twisted the boy's hand and dragged him by the wrist till his left hand was twisted behind him, before slamming his elbow down Sasuke's hand, snapping it in half while the Uchiha could only let out a scream as he collapsed to the floor.
"Sasuke!" Erza screamed as she crawled her way over to Sasuke, cradling him while he attempted to control his breathing and bear the excruciating pain.
"I don't know why Lady Irene has vested interested in a failure like you," Lief said, his hands behind his back as he made no attempt to hide the contempt in his voice, "But I hazard to guess that you'll likely be dissected once you're back. As for the girl, that is Lady Irene's personal affairs."
Badly injured and surrounded on both sides, Erza and Sasuke struggled to find an avenue for escape as their enemies drew closer. But just when all hope seemed lost, the wood under their bridge suddenly began to rot at a rapid pace until it cracked under their weight, causing the two of them to free-fall into the rushing river below. As the two began plummeting to the river below, Lief dove down to catch them, reaching out his hand to summon more draconic creatures from the river itself yet strangely they dissolved back to ordinary water just as quickly. What's more, large rocks began splitting from their fissures and started pelting and blocking his path, as if the ravine itself was fighting against him. As he evaded each boulder, his two targets drew farther and farther until they were completely out of reach and their silhouettes disappeared against the raging torrent. A few minutes passed until he too was at the deep end of the ravine and the moment, he neared the water; he created a vortex that caught him.
Standing on top of one of his creations, Lief looked around for signs of life yet they were nowhere to be found. Calculating the time between their fall and his own, he speculated that they were long taken away by the river at this point. Casting off a disappointed sigh, he commanded the water to lift him back up to the bridge above. He could only imagine the anger on his master's face when she hears about this.
Dusk had settled in as the raging river carried with it an extra load on its journey to the sea. As one moved further away from the mountains where it originated, the river began to calm down, which also meant that whatever was caught in its torrent was also bound to have a chance to escape. From the waters, two figures emerged; Erza was the first to gasp for air as she held Sasuke up and dragged his carcass to the shore.
Lying in the shallow sand, Sasuke coughed up the water from his lungs, dry heaving as he panted heavily while Erza pulled him closer to her resting place. Once they were in relative safety, Erza began examining his body for any relevant injuries yet the most glaring one stood out: his left arm had been bent out of shape, almost to an uncomfortable degree. The sight of it caused Erza to look away and almost throw up, but she gathered enough fortitude to continue observing. "This is bad" she noted, panic almost setting in since she had never seen an injury like that even back in her captivity, "What do I do?"
"I've had worse" he tried to brush aside the injury, treating it as trivial but his pained expression made it obvious that the arm was bothering Sasuke, "I'll just snap it back in."
"What!? Are you crazy!?" Erza scolded him, "What we need to do right now is to get you to a hospital."
"And where do you think we're gonna find a hospital here?" Sasuke pointed out.
Erza took a brief pause to process what he said as she gave a disappointed sigh, "Right, but that's not the point, at least, let me help you get to a safe place first."
"We can focus on that once I fix this arm" Sasuke argued.
"Nuh uh, it's getting dark and we need to find shelter" Erza fired back.
"Erza…"
"She's right you know" a familiar voice told Sasuke, as the figure of a young girl emerged from the bushes, "Besides, you wouldn't wanna let your scream give away your position."
Erza immediately stood up and formed a defensive stance, "Tatiana. Where were you and how did you find us?"
"Your bird showed me the way" she pointed up, to which Sasuke and Erza saw a familiar creature circling around them.
"Talyn" Sasuke muttered. It had always been fickle when it came to his command. Sometimes it would obey his order, and other times, it would refuse to even accept his call.
"That still doesn't answer my other question. You weren't there when we showed up. Were you leading us into a trap?" Erza continued asking.
"I told you, that place was compromised and I even gave you the coordinates to the new hideout. It's not my fault that they found you first" Tatiana paused as she sighed and composed herself, "Look we can argue about this all night long, but the two of you are in no shape to fight. So, if you wanna live, follow me."
Erza was still hesitant to take her word as factual truths, but as she looked at Sasuke who nodded, she realized that the mystery girl had some points that couldn't be argued with. She reluctantly sighed and stared at Tatiana, "Alright."
"Good"
….
"Are you ready"
That question posed by Tatiana was a rhetorical one for Sasuke. He had to be ready for this particular moment whether he wanted to or not. In fact, they were the ones who were constantly interrupting him with their nosiness; that business being the dangled, misaligned left arm of his. He gave his answer in the form of a grunt and a nod, his mouth biting down on a piece of softwood to muffle any scream that might escape his mouth.
Erza and Tatiana offered to help, but the Uchiha declined as he took in a deep breath and without hesitation, quickly snapped his arm back in its place. Even with the wood wrapped around his mouth, an audible growl escaped his mouth while his eye shut tight. The sound of him being in pain was enough for Erza to wince and look away momentarily until she was calm enough to trot over to his aid. Tatiana, on the other hand, simply stood by and watched.
"Did it work?" Erza asked with a look of concern.
Sasuke spat out the wood from his mouth, letting out deep, exhausted exhales. Once the sensation had been stabilized, he answered Erza with an audible, "Yeah." Taking that as her cue, Erza helped dress the remaining wounds and assisted in setting up a sling for his arm.
"Jeez, what a mess" Tatiana lamented on their current situation. What was meant to be a simple met-up for debriefing, had turned into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
"Now will you tell us everything?" Erza demanded.
Tatiana drew in a breath and then exhaled as she replied, "Very well. So where do I start?"
"Start with who we're up against" Sasuke chimed in.
"Alright," Tatiana agreed. "According to what you told me, the ones you fought were Marcus and Remus, also known as the Golden Beasts. They're two brothers, as far as I know, who lead an elite strike force in Alakatasia known as the Four Silver Hounds" Tatiana paused as her voice hitched, "Well make that three, now. Marcus, Gravedigger, and Princess Poppy"
Sasuke wasn't sure if this was some sort of joke or if she was really serious when she blurted out those ridiculous names. Could it be that the one mystery person who also had a Sharingan goes by the name 'Princess Poppy'? Shaking his head off that thought, Sasuke tried to focus his mind on other matters; for one thing, it seems one problem had been taken care of, even if he preferred another outcome. "So who are they working for? The Duke?"
"Actually, Mr. Erdrine is just a cog in the wheel here. A small player in the grander scheme of things. A pawn, if you will " she bluntly answered, "Hardly anyone respects him there. The one who's currently in charge of this island goes by the name of Lief. If what you told me is true, then I think you've already met him."
"Lief?" Erza murmured, rubbing her chin as she recalled the events at the bridge. It was at that point, that she remembered a certain someone, "Wait, does he happen to have weird red eyes?"
"That's right" Tatiana affirmed as she faced Sasuke, "If I recall, you also have that same crimson eye too, correct?"
Sasuke looked away with an annoyed grunt. "Lief" so that was his name, his presence was an enigma all on its own, but most importantly, he was the second person he met who also wielded a Sharingan after the one called Malakai. "What do you know about him?" he asked.
"Not much, honestly. He's a mystery and an island to himself" Tatiana admitted, "But what I do know, is that even he answers to someone else. A very powerful wizard; someone called…Irene."
That very name caused Sasuke's eye to light up as he gasped. Could it really be her? Or was it someone else who shared the same name? A feeling of uncertainty came over him; unsure of what would happen if this person really was the Irene he remembered.
And his expression wasn't subtle either, since both Erza and Tatiana took notice of it. "Hey Sasuke, is something bothering you?" Erza asked with a look of concern.
"It's nothing" Sasuke brushed aside the issue as he adjusted himself, "Do you have anything on Irene?"
"No more than Lief, I'm afraid" Tatiana responded with a dejected sigh, "But listen, from what I could gather, everyone in the facility is terrified of her, even Lief, so she's got to be the top dog around there. I have a bad feeling about her."
Erza had a hitch in her voice as she blinked rapidly. The thought of there being someone even the adversaries they faced looked upon with fear and reverence didn't sit too well with her. "Okay, now that we know who we're up against, there's one thing we really need to ask" Erza began, "What do they want with us?"
"For that, we'll have to start in order of priority" Tatiana explained as she faced Erza, "You are priority number one. The whole reason this fiasco started."
"Me?" Erza pointed to herself, "But what did I do?"
"I have no clue. But it seems you're a valuable asset to Irene" Tatiana answered as she pointed her finger toward Sasuke, " You're priority number three. Not sure what your deal is but it seems they wanna dissect you for 'research'. As for Gildarts, he's what you would call a present for Alakatasia. They want to bring him over their side, whether through persuasion or …. other measures. A little present from the Duke"
Sasuke guessed that those 'other measures' probably meant torture and brainwashing. Not surprising given that Gildarts was infamous for his strength and power, so it was no brainer a rival nation would want him as a minion but that was easier said than done. "So where are they keeping him?" he asked.
"Inside a specialized room at the Padova facility in the mountains," the mysterious girl answered, "There's a way to wake him up with a specialized antidote but it's locked tight somewhere in the research and analysis wing."
"At least, we know where they're keeping him" Erza tried to reassure herself, "And we know there's a cure now to wake him up."
"He'll be our priority" Sasuke stated, "We find our way to the mountains, get the cure, wake Gildarts up, and get out of there before this Irene shows up."
"I'm right with you" Erza nodded in agreement.
Tatiana wordlessly strolled over to a corner of the safehouse and knelt down in front of a small crate. "If you're going to head over to Padova mountains, then the both of you are going to need this," she said, rummaging through the crate until she picked out what looked like several pouches wrapped around a piece of cloth. "I salvaged what's left of your gear and took a few extra stuffs," she said, handing over the items to Sasuke, who began inspecting them; the items in question included his blue jacket, his pouch, and his sword alongside a pair of shoes.
Slightly pulling the sword from its sheathe, Sasuke scanned the condition of the metal and pushed it back in once he was satisfied. "That'll do," he said, "So how do we get to the facility in Padova mountains?"
"There are two routes that'll take you to the mountains the quickest" Tatiana elaborated, "One is a tunnel in the northern forest that leads to a ladder that'll take you all the way up to the mountains. The other is a river out west that connects to a tidal estuary that houses a dockyard. In that dockyard is an elevator they use to transport goods up and down the facility. To get to the river, you'll need to access a canyon on the west end of the island."
With most of his equipment still held tight to his chest, Sasuke rose to his feet. "Then we'll proceed through the elevator" he announced, which only served to earn a laugh from Tatiana.
"And where do you think you're going tough guy?" Tatiana asked with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Sasuke responded by giving her a bewildered look and answered, "To the facility in the mountains, where else?"
"You wanna take on an entire army of mercenaries numbering in seven hundred with a broken arm and a battered body?" she pointed out.
"I'm fine" Sasuke irritably brushed aside her complaints and tried to continue, but just as he took the first step, his body gave up on him and collapsed on the spot, narrowly averting a disaster of his face colliding with solid concrete thanks to a timely catch by both Erza and Tatiana.
"Listen, as much as you boys like to puff your chest and act all tough, you're going to drop like a sack of potatoes if you keep listening to your ego" Tatiana scolded him, slowly pushing him back onto a bed where they made him sit, "So be a good boy and go to sleep. You'll need all the energy you need for tomorrow. Gildarts isn't going anywhere and they're not going to do anything with him until tomorrow."
"She's right you know" Erza joined in on the lecture, "You need to rest Sasuke."
As the sight of two ladies bearing down their overwhelming gaze fell on him, Sasuke wanted to argue against such a notion but eventually conceded with an irritable grunt. "Fine, if you sense any danger, wake me up immediately!" he ordered Erza as he laid down on the bed, to which the redhead let out a triumphant smirk.
"And that goes for you too, Erza" Tatiana directed her maternal nagging over to Erza, "You need to rest too. I'll keep watch."
"Huh, w-what?" Erza stammered as she stared at Tatiana with a baffled expression on her face, "But what about you? Don't you need to head back to the Duke?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I've got it covered" the spectacled girl swiftly replied, "Now, I won't repeat it again. .Sleep."
What Sasuke felt just moments ago was now bearing down on Erza with a domineering gaze that even she couldn't argue against. "Fine" she answered with a defeated sigh as she made her way over to the other bed. She wasn't sure whether she could place her trust in her or not, but at the moment, she was too tired to even think as her eyes slowly shut down on their own.
They had a big day ahead of them, and they were going to need all the energy they could get.
The clanging of metal on concrete echoed throughout the west wing of the Padova facility and beyond. The loud 'gong' sound was akin to hearing a church bell right between the ears, followed by wails of despair and shockwaves that followed felt like earthquakes. It had caused an already tense staff, composed of mercenaries, magic researchers, and other personnel, to become outright terrified.
The perpetrator behind this commotion originated within one of the senior offices. There, a distraught Marcus continued ramming his fits into a wall, creating a shockwave that reverberated all across the facility. As he released his hand from the wall, a hole was left in its wake, followed by several other holes in the wall. The surrounding area didn't fare much better either; from smashed furniture to a table that had been split in half. Not that it mattered to the other three residents in the room which comprised of the raincoat-wearing associate and a petite girl with white hair and a gray blouse humming along a strange melody, oblivious to the carnage around them. The last one was Lief, standing right next to the rage-filled knight.
"Enough of this, Marcus. You know as well as I do that this is simply the reality of our jobs. Death can come for us at any time" an irate Lief scolded, "Mourn your brother later. Right now, you need to focus."
"Focus!?" Marcus snapped his attention towards Leif and snarled, picking up one-half of the broken table and hurling it across Lief, who remained completely still as it missed him by a mere few inches. "That boy butchered my brother!" he let out a thunderous roar, stomping his way towards Lief, lowering himself till his helmet was directly in contact with the demon. There was no sign of tears anywhere on the helm yet his hitched voice and heavy breathing were all the indications needed to show that he was grieving, "And you expect me to…spare him!? No, no, no, no, no! I will tear him apart limb by limb!"
"Even the souls of the damned cry out in pain" the man in the raincoat commented.
"Ehehe, you mean joy right?" the girl added.
Unperturbed by the physically imposing knight, Lief stood his ground and stare right back at him. "I never said you needed to spare him. Do whatever you want with him, but bring him back here first" he calmly responded, strolling around the destroyed office, "And don't forget about the girl. She's our top priority, the whole reason this operation exists. Make sure you keep that rage of yours under control once we find her, she needs to be brought back here alive and unharmed."
A brief period of silence came over the room, as Marcus remained quiet. And then came a giggle, followed by a chuckle, and then a laugh until he was cackling like a madman. Lief responded with a very vexed "tsk" as he turned to face the other two members of the silver hounds, "Poppy, Gravedigger…. make sure you keep an eye on him. I don't want him doing anything stupid. Screw this up, and Lady Irene will have all of our heads."
"As you command" Gravedigger bowed, still holding onto the hood of the raincoat while Poppy nodded along.
Satisfied with their answer, Lief left the room with an annoyed huff as the violent shaking and wailing had now been replaced with a grating, maniacal laugh instead.
"You two" Marcus pointed out towards his two compatriots, "Ignore his order. Find the boy and girl and bring them to me. Half a million gold for their heads and a billion alive, so I can teach them a lesson."
"But what about Lady Irene?" Gravedigger asked.
"I will handle Lady Irene" Marcus answered, "Now go and find them!"
The two warriors silently nodded as they left the room without much incident. Leaving Marcus by his lonesome, privy to his own thoughts and feelings. As he stared at the shattered wall, all he could visualize was that cold, dead eye and a blank emotionless face as it slaughtered his brother right before him. If he could bare his fangs, he would gladly show them as he snarled like a rabid animal, ready to tear apart its prey. With a roar to the heavens, Marcus smashed apart the wall until there was nothing left of it, the impact of his punch shattering the floor beneath him as well as the surrounding rooms as well, sending the staff into a panic.
"There will be hell to pay, Sasuke Uchiha"
xXSelenaXx : Fair enough. That being said, I am well aware that "visual prowess" isn't really the most accurate statement and is just a add on by EN Dub, I just added it because it sounded cool. The same way I usually like "Planetary Devastation" over "Chibaku Tensei". Also, I don't think I've written Cobra the exact same way as Naruto (Unless I've missed out on some manga panel that details his backstory more). For starters, he's not an attention seeker nor does he want to prove to anyone either. If you feel that his aggressive attitude makes him similar to Naruto then by that same token Natsu would also be the same too. I actually tried to interpret his child self based on his adult personality but with the aggression and immaturity cranked up a bit: he's rude, defensive, standoffish but has a soft spot for Cubellios. Of course, I admittedly, I may have made things more convoluted then it has to be but it's too far at this point and I don't want to change my overall vision. But, at the same time, thank you for giving your insights. I always appreciate criticism like yours. You're welcome to come back to this story anytime.
Yoj1mb03796: Thanks. It's hard to update regularly but I'm trying.
Moose16364: Thank you, I'm always trying to balance writing this fic along with my work and other activities.