Did you miss me?
I sure hope so!
Here with a long, brand-spanking-new chapter!
I do not own My Hero Academia or the Nasuverse, all disclaimers as usual. You know the drill, read, review, moo, yodelayheehoo. Constructive criticism is welcome as always.
Big shoutout to storybookknight, MentalForge and old man of the mountain for betaing!
Paradox Spiral - Sanguis Por Sanguine
Along with being a history nut, I'm an avid enjoyer of video games. Single-player mind you, no MMOs for me, but I've played all kinds of them, adventure, action, indie, puzzle, even a few horror games. A common foe that I've encountered in my digital adventures was undead, of all shapes and sizes. Depictions of zombies and undead have given me a pretty good idea of what to expect.
But nothing's prepared me for the real thing. The smell hits my nostrils, even filtered through my mask. Garbage, feces, spoiled milk, and sewage are all mixed up together. Their forms simply compound the effect. Skin hangs off their limbs and bones, sometimes to the point where it's one second away from tearing off. Their eyes are milky white, some bulging so much they look like they're about to come out of their sockets.
My mind flashes back to when I first met him in one of those rooms, surrounded by corpses with missing lungs and hearts, taunting me with that severed arm. I allow the horror and revulsion to churn but I dare not react.
What on Earth did he do to these people!?
One resident to my left lets out a screech and flings himself toward me with swinging arms. With a flash, my Concealment activates, I sidestep and carve through his rotted neck. A spurt of blood - foul, tar-black - coats the dagger and the repulsive odor stings my nose so hard I hold down a hiss. It stumbles and tries to retaliate but I slash it again and kick its sides. I barely have time to see if it worked before the other zombies let out a guttural cacophony of screeches and start advancing. They can't see me, so I have the advantage -
"GRAAAH!"
- but they can see Shiki!
Just as I stab through another zombie's skull, I take a quick peek behind and see…Shiki slicing through a neck so cleanly the head flies off. A female resident leaps at her, but she then twirls and slices again, bisecting her by the waist.
That's gotta be her Quirk - shit, no time to gawk!
I swiftly return my attention to the walking husks in front me and look up at the scum responsible for this whole thing. Araya is still at the back of the corridor with a hand on his rough chin, taking in the sight as one would look at a museum piece.
Something you look at while munching on snacks. This ibn kalb, who turned this whole building into a corpse farm. And he treats it like a show.
He dies tonight.
Holstering the dagger, I whip out two other knives and throw them at two other zombies hard. The first one gets the blade lodged right between the eyes, while the other gets lodged in his fat, bulbous neck. I break into a sprint, my finger twitches, and the knives fly back to my palms, tearing the two's flesh and drowning them in their blood. One last zombie remains, an older woman with tattered clothes, and when she breaks into her own crazed dash, I shove a knife right into her face and kick her in Araya's direction. She barely makes it halfway when the priest-garbed man snaps his hand up and she explodes on sight, leaving bits of her entrails on the floor.
I lunge at him, but as the blade approaches his throat, he vanishes in a blur and reappears to my right. I pull my arm back just in time to avoid piercing the wall and quickly turn around. His hand is back resting on his chin, eyeing Shiki who has cut down another zombie.
"Hmm…I may have expected too much. The brain is not complex enough to discern threats at their current stage."
He takes a little glance in my direction and I tense up. How is he able to know where I am? The shadows over his eyes make it a bit difficult to read him, but I can tell he can't actually see me. Is it some kind of sensory Quirk? Then how can he phase through the building? And how are these zombies related!?
"Perhaps a different method will suffice." With those words, he phases down through the floor and vanishes from sight.
Shit. No time to waste. I glance toward the entrance of the stairwell; it's obviously a trap, but I've got no choice. I run to Shiki who gives me a quick nod.
"He's gone below, but I don't know which floor. We'll have to look one by one and strike the moment we see him."
She looks down on the floor, covered with the rubble from our earlier descent. "I can cut up the floor like this one. If he can move through the walls, then it won't matter much how we go down."
…that's a valid point. "True, but I don't want to risk this building collapsing on us. Not to mention whatever he is doing that's keeping this building hidden. If the neighbors suddenly wake up and start calling the police, he'll run away and I'll be back to square one."
Her expression scrunches up, but she then nods in agreement. "Then we take the stairs?" I move to reply, but she cuts me off. "I'll take point." With that, she turns and heads toward the stairwell door. Maybe I should check the rooms first? No, too enclosed, and I don't know what Araya put in there to make the poor people turn into…those. I glance one last time at the ruined hallway. The rotted, saggy corpses lie in pools of black liquid, spurting from their necks and heads. Or, in Shiki's case, their lower bodies.
Disgusting. Everything about this mess is horrid.
I move after my newest associate and start heading down the stairwell. The metallic steps clang with each step, and I wince at each one. Maybe I should have let Shiki cut open the floor. No, that would still be loud. But what if -
The air shifts.
My ears tingle as I quickly twist to avoid a fist that comes flying from the wall behind me. Araya's robed form halts in front of me and I jumped to grab him. I pull out the dagger and catch Shiki advancing herself when:
"Shuku!"
That shockwave again. The golden wind strikes me head-on, and my momentum breaks. It feels like knives lance my back as I crash against the stairs. But he's rushing towards me and I know I have to push aside the pain - and myself. His fist bends the stairs near me and I swivel with my blade, only for it to screech against his skin. Right, I should've known that wouldn't have worked…
A loud whoosh reaches my ears and I see Shiki swinging her knife right toward Araya's shoulder. A shimmer, then another pulse flies - and then it breaks. Like painted glass.
The fake priest leaps to the side and phases right through the stairs. Just before he phases through the wall and out of sight, I catch his shadowed eyes - and feel my hackles rise. I don't know what that is, and quite frankly I would prefer if those eyes stayed closed. Shiki stays in that pose for a moment, knife angled down and a focused look on her face, before lifting herself up. I do the same, though I inwardly wince at the pain my back suffered. God, I can hear Jirou teasing me.
"...Next floor. Now."
We bolt to the exit below us and open the door to see more apartment doors opening with evil residents slumbering out of them. The priest isn't here, but I'd better take care of them before they chase us below. I enter a stance and prepare to leap when a sharp shrill echoes throughout the building. I look up…and it begins to rain.
No, not rain. Fire sprinklers? Did he trigger the fire alarm?
The whole hallway soon becomes utterly drenched, but that doesn't stop the zombies. They start to run towards us, and we strike, my dagger flying from my wrist, piercing through a skull, and flying back with brain matter scattered all over. Shiki takes off at lightning speed, charging toward a massive one that must've not changed in looks much since his death. In a flash of silver, the walking corpse falls into pieces, limbs and tissue marring the wet floor and her kimono. She moves back to avoid more blood and I rush towards another, body checking it before ramming a dagger up its chin. A hollow scream bursts through its mouth, sending spittle and that foul odor directly into my face. I pull the dagger out, half-tearing open the face. I notice the now-split jawbone hanging and catch two more bolting toward us, more shrieks arising from gap-toothed mouths. We both rush forward and charge, one of my knives striking its eye and the dagger slashing at its thin yet bloated throat. It gets stuck for a moment, the bone being tougher than anticipated, and the abomination capitalizes. It lets out one last screech and slashes a clawed hand at me, making me jerk away as the fingernails scrape over the wet fabric.
At least I can't feel the water seeping through. The material holds strong even against such a downpour.
But the zombie's strong. It pushes me back for a moment and my boots scrape against the wet floor. I growl and rip the dagger out with such force that the neck twists off and the head falls to the floor beside me. The blood drips into the water rushing around my legs, dying it black. I force myself to look upwards and meet the sunken eyes of the last zombie, a muscular thing with a sleeveless shirt. I take a few steps forward when it lets out a roar and dashes right at me.
It proceeds to swing its heavy arm and I sidestep, moving to stab it in the ribs, but then…
The other arm comes at me, aimed at my head.
The blow rattles against my mask as my momentum breaks, and I slip backward. I grip my dagger tightly as I try and recover, all the while the zombie pauses and stares blankly ahead. But after a moment, it roars and attacks again, this time swinging down. Right where I'm sitting. With not a moment to lose, I roll to the side again and fling the dagger full speed at its skull. My aim proves true as the zombie screeches, and I leap up and push it down. Ripping the blade from the skull, I stab it over and over, spurts of blood flying over me, as a squall of rage overcomes my mind.
After five or six stabs to the brain, I get up and look at my latest…kill? Were they actual undead, or just close to it? Its muscles seem to deflate and the water rushing around me begins to pull it apart, piece by piece of flesh.
That second attack was no lucky swing. It knew where I had landed. Did Araya do something different to it?
A slashing sound draws my attention, and I look to Shiki who just cut down another two. Her kimono and jacket were soaked, and the water did little to clean the splashes of blood on her clothes and face. Her posture shows little signs of exhaustion, though I can hear short breaths escaping her, almost drowned by the sound of the sprinklers.
I take a look around and grimace. No Araya or any more zombies. At least this building doesn't have that many floors so -
The air shifts.
I barely manage to jump sideways as a fist rockets from my right. It still catches me at the side, sending me crashing against the wall and sending another sear of pain down my spine and through my ribs. I glare at Araya as he gets up and stares at me with those shadowed eyes.
"I must say, I was not expecting much from these failures, but your performance is exceptional. Kudos to you."
I fight the urge to retort, unwilling to give up my location. I slowly push myself up and crouch into a rising stance. As if on cue, Shiki bursts into action and rushes forward, her own knife at the ready. I take the chance and leap forward - but the priest then thrusts his hand forward and pushes me against the wall again. I see stars, then fall as his iron grip loosens and he phases through the floor. My hand grasps my sore neck as my heart skips a beat.
He didn't strike randomly; he deliberately aimed for my throat. He could see me. He could see me.
Clanging metal draws my attention and I see another horde of zombies clambering out of the stairwell. Unlike the ones from before, they look far more mutated: some have gangly limbs, others with tree-trunk arms, all of them tall enough to bump against the door lintel and bearing nails as sharp as claws.
Without a sound, Shiki dashes toward the zombies as they bellow out their disgusting war cry. I'm about to do the same when that fucking hand appears and -
"Shuku!"
The shockwave blows me away to the end of the hall, but I manage to right myself up just in time to avoid another hit to the back. The priest pops his head out and I throw a knife just for him to pop back out of sight. I summon back the knife just in time to catch a blow from right behind me. I'm sent flying towards the zombie horde, which Shiki is cutting down one by one but -
"Shuku!"
Something grabs me in the air and holds me tight. I try and break free to no avail. I look down but see no ropes or chains, the torrents of water splashing around me obscuring any possible hint. I'm pulled away from Shiki and I'm forced face-to-face with Araya, who's holding out his arms in a grasping motion. He squeezes, and the bindings grow tighter, forcing a groan of pain from my throat. Something which he notices.
"Interesting…even under my spell your invisibility does not falter. A feat crafted by willpower and training no doubt. Most invisibility users I have encountered could not hold their hidden forms for long, save for mutations. What drives you? What makes you focus so intensely that you have escaped the reach of Heroes and Villains alike for so long?"
I raised my head and hiss at the piece of monologuing trash. I need to break out of whatever this is and shove my dagger into his throat, or get Shiki out of the zombie swarm so she can do it and get past his iron skin.
"Though I must say, your focus has narrowed your thinking." He pulls me closer and sends a fist flying toward my ribs. The blow rattles me hard, but not enough to black me out - yet as I try and swing, he phases through the floor again. Thankfully, whatever he used to bind me is gone, so I land on all fours with the knives in my hands, the water around me splashing as I -
Oh no.
That's it.
The water.
That's his trap - he can't see me or sense me good enough with his power, so he's using the sprinklers to flood the floor and see my movements.
I've got to get out of here.
Easier said than done when he appears again in a flash and tries to roundhouse kick me. I block it with my arm and shock travels through it.
"You come into my domain knowing there's a trap. The failures were to draw your attention and they performed sufficiently in that regard."
I shove the leg aside and move to grab him, but he phases again. His voice echoes throughout the hall, seemingly coming from all directions.
"In his lair, a spider rules all who land in its web. He is the decider of their fate, as I am over the two of you."
Another punch leaves me seeing stars and nearly making me lose my grip on my blades. I frantically look around, searching for anything that might give me a clue. My Quirk is at max power, but the sprinklers are drowning out anything useful.
Suddenly, he attacks again, but not me. A series of palm strikes fly from the wall and at my companion, forcing her to twist and jump backward. She lands and flows through the fake rain like a dancer, her blade leaving a faint trail of shine, yet Araya vanishes again and a gangly one bears down upon her. I let the knife fly and strike it right between the eyes, but the priest appears again and blocks my vision, letting loose an assault of limbs and force.
Block, parry, block, dodge, slice - fail, push - fail, dodge, stab - fail, block - SHIT!
A palm strike breaks my guard and forces me back. I leap forward and he's gone.
"Your companion is intriguing. Her ferocity, her technique, the smoothness of those cuts…not even Quirks can break my barriers with such ease. You have felt it too, an unnatural shift. A twisting in the realm where it should not be. Why else would you bring her here?"
Where is he, where is he? Another kick, another sting of pain.
"Such drive, such viciousness toward your victims. I have seen the reports and heard the whispers. There is emotion, but no vengeance. What have you seen to change you so? What have the demons shown you in the dark?"
The rain keeps falling. Another wave knocked my dagger free. Where are you?
"When their lives ended, what song did your soul cry out? Life and its cycles vanish instantly, transmigrating to the beyond, taking root, and reborn anew. Sins and virtues, shared by all like the dregs above, yet what meaning does it ultimately bring?"
Twin-fist blow, I dodge back and leap forward. Disappear again. Where are you?
"Do not dare disappoint me, Shinigami, or I will ensure you curse every waking moment your mind has the freedom to think. I have invested much to bring you here, and I will not let my efforts be wasted, my travels be in vain. So, reveal yourself…"
I barely see it, only thanks to the shadow obscuring the light.
"AND THROUGH DEATH, REVEAL NIRVANA! SHUKU!"
This time, I drop down. The sound is nearly deafening, especially to my ears. The shockwave cracks the walls and floor, even breaking the doors. I get dragged along, but not as much had I've been standing. I stop after a moment and slowly push myself up.
I glance to see Shiki still hacking at the residents, of which more are streaming through the stairwell door. I push myself up and feel my body ache in protest. Bruises all over, and maybe a broken bone, god. My arms and legs feel numb from all the parrying and blocking, and if it wasn't for my suit's vest, I'm sure my ribs would've turned into pancakes.
I pick my dagger up and hold it tight, ignoring the waves of torment rocking through me. No sign of him, but he's there. I know it. Come on Ritsu, you can't let this son of a bitch get a leg on you! Think what he did to those people!
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, letting the sounds of the world around me fill my ears. The rain, Shiki, the zombies, they are present, as am I. My heart thumps against my ribcage as the echoes of the world blend together. A rhythm I know, a harmony that I understand.
A shift in the air.
I duck and feel an arm passing over my head.
A dissonance in the rhythm.
Another shockwave, but I hold firm and dodge.
A defiler of balance.
Two blows against my arm, another to my leg - I pull away.
A sound that does not belong. Murderer in black, harvester of flesh.
"Thy ability will prove most useful in the coming time, contractor. 'Tis the will of Allah that thou should be blessed with the gift of heightened hearing."
A discordant howl, against a sky of black.
He has done this for too long. No compassion.
"When Allah floated in the primordial chaos, 'twas his words and sound that brought light to the world - and thus there was light."
The whispers of men, fluttering through stone streets. Souls in the dark, lamenting their choices.
No empathy. Barely a soul, pitch-black as tar, filled with delusion.
"Men talk when they believe none can hear. Secrets spilled into the world, ripe for thy taking."
The howling winds, carrying ashen sands.
The souls here demand retribution, howling to the r̵͖͇̓̿́ő̶̖ö̴̲̬͕́t̶̡̧̩̪̽̀ heavens to reason their demise.
"If they hide from thy judgment, they will breathe hard. The sweat will roll down their brow, their hearts beat like bells in the night."
Voices in the dark, muttering ancient tongues. Pounding drums, shaking the castle.
"A weapon none but thee shall have!"
Yes, I understand now.
"The evening bell will toll, and only you shall hear its truth!"
The voices come, their cry for vengeance loud and clear. So it shall be. My power, my gift…I hear clarity.
The evening bell has tolled.
The scum will die screaming.
And I will hear every moment.
Sound and sight, bestow upon me thy revelations…
ZABANIYA!
I hear everything.
From the sprinkler water to the groans of the zombies, from Shiki's heartbeat in the stairwell to the faint breeze from the floor above, I hear them all. Even the water rushing to the sprinklers from the ceiling was as loud as a river.
But it does not deafen me, oh no.
Images form in my head. Like blueprints of my surroundings, all the way 'till the furthest rooms of the building. Every sound I hear forms a piece of the image.
It is…overlaid…yes that's the word…with my sight. One moment, I see the hallway as normal. The next it is a crisscross of outlines that extend all the way below. Flickering every second, yet I feel no confusion.
From the right. The air shifts behind the wall.
I see– hear –the blow coming. The robe melts through the plaster and its bearer is poised to strike. I move to the side and it passes my chin, barely even scratching my chest. Every drop of water that falls upon him is like a thundering drum. The very air moving around his body is a howling gale.
A perfect target.
I grab his outstretched arm and halt him mid-strike. His flash of confusion is enough for me to grab his head with my other arm, bring it down, and knee him hard. My leg aches, but as much as I had thought. His defenses must be weaker around the head.
He looks rattled but not injured. He tries to push me away, and his shifting upwards is more than enough to notify me. I back off, making him over-extend. With as much force as I can muster, I take the knife and ram it deep in his gut. He grunts in surprise, but only a drop of blood is drawn. I'm surprised it doesn't break. He tries to uppercut me - I dodge again. He phases through the floor, likely to recuperate and make another attempt.
I hear him. Moving through the walls like they were water. It is not him becoming intangible but something else entirely, as though the concrete is bending around him.
Above.
He tries to kick me through the floor. I jump backwards and he rockets from above and cracks the tiles beneath him. I tackle him hard with my knife raised high, aimed at his eyes. There's no way he has defenses there. My blow is halted and he stands firm, our gazes locked with each other. The shiver down my spine is less than before, but it does not make it any less displeasing.
"You…you have changed just now. Whence before you could barely react to my attacks, now move from where they strike." His muscles clench like rattling chains, and I hear the attack coming and I kick his leg. It's enough to break his focus and I keep trying to push the dagger into his eye, but he stops it a hair's breadth away.
And this is while I'm still Concealed. His battle reflexes are as impressive as the Hero Killer's.
"You desire my death, that much is obvious. That desire… showed you lucidity, enough to hone your instincts to this point. What was the experience like? The overwhelming urge to end me, to bring about death to your fellow man, what revelation did it bring you to reach such a state?"
'Fellow man'? Don't make me laugh, ibn kalb. You, who butchered innocents, toyed with lives like a mad child pulling a bird's feathers, and robbed the dead of their final dignity? You are unworthy of being called human.
He tilts his head at my silence, though his expression seems tighter than before. "No matter. It appears I will have answers in this bout. But my patience is not infinite. This will do little to save you."
On that one thing, we agree. I need to end this, but his iron skin and phasing make it difficult to land a solid blow, not to mention his shockwaves. Shiki's blade rings in my ears, and I hear only two other zombies - and she just cut down one.
Time for a gamble.
I pull the blade away, making Araya grunt in confusion as his grip is pulled with it. My other arm now freed, I grab him by his robes and pull him around. He tries to move but I kick him in the guts hard enough to make him pause. With a quick yet deep breath, I ram against him full-throttle. He lands farther away than I expect; the water must be sliding him along. Not giving him a chance to retreat, I sprint and start grappling with him, trying to draw his attention enough so he doesn't phase.
Falling flesh echoes in my ears. From the peripheral of my vision, I see Shiki cleave through the last zombie in two. We catch each other's gaze, and I yell.
"SHIKI! NOW!"
I had no plan. We didn't prepare any tactics for this fight, nor did we anticipate the abominations. But I had brought this girl with me out of desperation, for one reason above all, and she knew it.
She looks up and practically flies through the hall, her knife parting the water like a curtain. I falter, and Araya takes advantage. I grab his arm and try to subdue him further, but one arm evades and he raises it at Shiki.
"Shuku!"
The golden air flew from his hand and almost pushed me off him, but Shiki swung her blade, and it shattered like glass. I hear his hiss, he tries to pull away, but I stab his iron skin again, drawing more drops of blood. Then -
The arm goes flying.
My blade sinks deep into his back.
The scream that escapes his stony lips almost makes me smile.
Another slash from the girl rips his robes apart and scars his chest. I pull the dagger out in a flash and stab him again, higher. Blood spurts from his clavicle as he tries to shake me off -
"SHUKU!"
His other arm was on the ground, and thus the shockwave was more like a blast. I lose my grip and Shiki her balance, and he sinks to the floor with a ripple.
I stare down at the spot where he vanished. He thinks he's safe. He thinks he can run. I look at Shiki and through her wet bangs, I see her frustration.
"He won't get away. Follow me, and stay fast."
I run to the stairwell and jump down several stairs at a time until I reach the ground floor. The outlines still echo, trailing from the floor we were on, leading down here. Not even a few seconds pass before she joins me again. I point to a section on the wall, completely bereft of anything distinguishing.
"Cut that wall open. He's hiding behind it."
If Shiki has any doubts, she doesn't speak them and slices through the plaster and concrete like butter. The wall bursts inward and a dark, dusty stairway is revealed, illuminated only by the faint exit sign behind us. We head down and I follow the map formed in my mind. The stairway doesn't look or smell like it's been used for ages…which, considering the powers Araya has shown, makes sense.
A floor's worth down and we come to a large stone basement, illuminated by fluorescent lights. Wasting no time, I followed the mental map and headed deeper and deeper. More zombies stand guard in the halls, likely the kalb's previous victims, but they are unfocused, and erratic, slamming themselves against everything with no awareness of their surroundings. I throw and retrieve through heads, while Shiki cleaves through the rest. Twists and turns later, we reach an open door. Behind it, in a large circular room lies Araya, the scum grasping for something covered on a long table. He turns toward us and I let a knife fly. He raises his remaining arm and the knife bounces off it, but before he can do anything else, I move and slice him across the chest, drawing much more blood than before. He keels over at the pain from both of his new scars and raises his arm again. However, Shiki appears from right behind me and slices that off too, sending it flying right over us and onto the floor.
As the shock of the blow registers, I grab his head one more time and finally slam him down on the floor.
I feel the urge to stab him right then and there, or to get Shiki to do it. I don't know how much of that iron skin is still active, however weakened it may be.
But then I recall the zombies we just saw. How he turned this whole building into some twisted experiment and used his 'failures' to taunt me.
"Ugh…you…don't understand."
From his place on the ground, he turns his head enough for one shadowed eye to glare at me. "I…am so…close. You have…just…begun to show me…I cannot die here."
I say nothing but grip him tighter. Even so, he continues.
"My search…in death, must not end yet! The girl, you saw it too! Her eyes, she sees it! You, in your awakening, you saw it!" His voice grows more and more manic as he starts to thrash. "I cannot, will not, be cut off here, not when the truth of life is approaching!"
I cannot listen to another word this trash is spouting. I take a deep breath -
"If you end me…" he suddenly calms, and his tone grows ominous. "...it will end in despair for you both."
I freeze. A trick? A trap, like a dead-man switch?
I look down and stare into his eyes. His heartbeat is rapid, yet despite the bleeding stumps and cuts, his breath is calm.
"You…have angered many, Shinigami. They all wish you dead…if I die here, so will you."
…
…
…
So what?
He's even more disgusting than the fake Hero Domino.
This…thing…cannot draw breath for another second.
Only fitting that they die the same way.
I release my Concealment. His breath hitches.
"You are not even human, Araya Souren. To let you live would be the pinnacle of insults. The only truth you need to know is that you die here, alone, and forgotten. As for your threat…
…I don't care.
Carve it into thy soul, my judgment as the Assassin:
ZABANIYA!"
Countless deaths I have witnessed, from my humble beginnings. They all swirl together now.
The wars, ignited by humanity's newfound powers, scarred the earth far and wide, caring not for the corpses in their wake.
I could not help them. No prayer or medicine made any difference.
What point was there in this cycle of death? Was there a point of happiness in fie that made such ends worth it?
Was there no finality to it all? Death was a necessity, this much I knew. But surely there was meaning behind all of this.
So I observed. Witnessed men and women laugh and bathe in euphoria. I took it away and searched their souls, seeking the answer.
I found none. I turned from happiness to despair. To experience the lowest of lows, the depths of the abyss where no light reaches…I was thorough in my methods.
The answer kept eluding me.
I continued and tested. An admirer reached out, I shared with him my work, and he empowered my gifts, even extending my life. We called each other friends, yet we cared little. I hope he appreciates my latest gift.
When he told me tales of this neophyte intruding into his work, I grew intrigued. And now I see how right I was to be.
I cannot end here! I felt it in my bones when he fought back and when the girl severed my arms. Revelation was in that boy's mind! I must know, I must keep testing, I must -
BONG!
"Silence, worm."
Sand blows around me. A halo of ghostly blue, around a figure clad in black.
BONG!
"Thy desire for truth is perverted, thy means and ends repugnant. Thy form tainted and abhorrent, unworthy of existing."
BONG!
"Judgment has been demanded. And unto thee, it shall be inflicted."
BONG!
"Burn to ash, down to thy very soul."
The blue flames of the Valley burst from his eyes and all around me. The fire engulfs his body in seconds, scorching every inch of his skin. A silent scream escapes his lips as I feel the body crumbling to dust in my hand. Yet I do not let go. The flames do not harm me, nor does their heat affect me. More and more his body burns. The stench of burnt skin pierces my mask. I do not stop.
Something shatters. I pay it no mind. He must be erased.
Seconds later, only ash remains. Not even a corpse for the rats to chew on.
At last.
No more.
There I am, soaking wet and covered in blood. And the scum lies judged before me.
I exhale and get up, the exhaustion rolling over my body like a wave. The adrenaline is wearing off and I'm starting to feel the aches and bruises. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an open wound. I look to Shiki, who just stares at the ash pile with slightly wide eyes. She looks back at me but does not back off, nor does her stance change.
That's…good. Maybe.
As much as I want to relax, the priest's last words prevent it.
Did he rig something? A timed explosive? One last abomination from his corpse farm?
Yet the seconds tick by, and nothing happens. I strain my ears, the side-effect of the map wearing off. I hear nothing unusual, but something is off.
Something is very off.
There is cracking, something moving above.
A charge in the air.
"GET DOWN!"
The ceiling breaks. Rubble rains from above and moonlight streams in. I squint and cover my mouth.
In the debris cloud, something rises. I make out a form, surrounded by black mist. Tall, jagged, and glowing red eyes.
A clank of metal and the debris cloud shifts. In his hand, I see something long and heavy. Wait…is that a sword?
As the cloud begins to clear, I feel myself give into shock.
What the hell?
"AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Noble Phantasm Unleashed!
Zabaniya: Delusional Echo - Rank C+, Anti-Unit (Self)
A superpower of the modern age infused with the power of the Valley of Death. For a short period, the skill Quirk: Super-Hearing's rank becomes A+, increasing its range and sensitivity. With a method similar to echolocation, a mental see-through map of the user's surroundings is formed in the mind's eye and overlaid with the user's sight, which he can navigate through at the speed of thought. Sound information is taken no matter the barriers stopping it, be it stone, metal, wood, or otherwise.
Ritsu Ogawa (Assassin - Hassan-i Sabbah)
Stats:
Strength: D++ - C
Agility: C
Endurance: C-
Mana: C++ - B(Only when using Power of the Valley. Otherwise, nonexistent.)
Luck: C+
Skills:
Presence Concealment C-: The ability to hide from others. A semi-decent level for any Assassin. Against ordinary criminals and some intelligent ones it works well.
Throwing (Dagger) B and Throwing (Retrieval) B: The expertise for throwing projectile weapons; in this case, daggers. His daggers have the same destructive power as firearms when thrown, typically spelling certain death for human targets. He can retrieve them to his hand with but a mere gesture
Information Erasure C++: Erases all traces of the user's identity, physical or digital, after leaving a scene of assassination. It does not hide the user's identity in any other situation, and clues can be pieced together to deduce identity. If the user's identity is discovered, then the effects of the skill weaken. Rank increased thanks to multiple exposures outside of Presence Concealment.
Power of the Valley of Death B: A unique connection forged as a result of finding a relic of Alamut. Assassin can draw power from the Valley to perform certain skills he would otherwise be incapable of doing.
Quirk - Super-Hearing B: A power gained as a result of evolution. Allows the user to hear precise details within a certain range, up to an including electrical movements and shifting of earth. Can extend the range in exchange for loss of detail. Also alerts the user of incoming danger provided they can react to it.
Muraqubah D+: A meditative state that enhances Ritsu's connection to the Valley. If used enough times/for long enough, combat specs have a chance of increasing. In addition, it also enables ?
Noble Phantasm:
Zabaniya - Delusional Judgment Rank C+
An 'ultimate assassination technique' bearing the same name as the angels of hell, a title which all previous 'Old Men of the Mountain' used for their own techniques. Unlike them however, who were forged by extensive modification of the Hassans' bodies, this technique is a reflection of the Assassin's desire to inflict what he deems true judgment. Calling upon his unique connection to the Valley in the Shadow of Death, Assassin drags his target's soul to the Valley, where the First Hassan awaits them. Their soul is laid bare before the Great Founder and should they be found guilty of whatever sin Assassin finds them to have committed, the flames of Gehenna will burn away their soul and body until naught but ash remains.
Yep, it's me! This story is still going strong! The penultimate chapter of the Paradox Spiral/Araya arc is here!
A lot has happened to me since last time. A gap year in uni, deciding to try out for DevOps (I start in December), working on my 3D projects and finding a job...a lot on my plate. But writing is one of the few things I enjoy, and I'll be damned if life takes that away from me.
And on that topic...1000 REVIEWS! A monumental breakthrough! You have no idea how much this means to me! *sob* Though for some reason the email notification system has been broken for a while...annoying to say the least, hope you all still see it.
Anywho - Ritsu has a new Zabaniya, which is a boosted version of his Quirk. This will allow him more opportunities to use his own gifts instead of the ones Hassan gave to him. This does NOT mean he will be copying Zabaniyas like No-Name-Assassin (Fate/Strange Fake anime in the works!), this will be further elaborated upon.
I think I gave Shiki a good chunk of screentime (or is it page-time?) while ensuring that both of the characters did not overshadow each other. Ritsu brought her for a reason, and she fulfilled it. Let's see where she goes from there. As for the ending...some of you guessed it, others not.
If you're feeling helpful, go to my page at pat . reon/ user?u=47732921 and donate a bit! Patrons will also get previews of future chapters! Also, if you don't wish to subscribe monthly, feel free to leave a small tip at my new ko-fi page at: ko-fi /darkscythedrake. I also make 3D art there, hopefully one day of my fics.
I'm a member of the Shiro's Gaming Omniverse Discord (discord . gg/wd3tUYWVCd.) server and the Emerald Library (discord . gg/elibrary). If you want to hop over and chat, either about this story or anything else, feel free! I also have my own server Drake's Lair, at (discord . gg/2bD4UgyyPA).
If you enjoyed this story, check out my other ones and look at my profile for challenges! I have a new ASOIAF x Yugioh crossover involving card lore and the Dance of Dragons!
Most importantly...
Read and Review! REVIEW!