"Slayers!" - Talking

'Slayers!' - Thinking

"Slayers!" - Communication via Lacrima / Telepathy

"SLAYERS!" - Screaming

"Slayer Attack!" - Spells

Slash! - Sound Effect

[ Here / Now ] - Place / Time

Chapter 3: The slacker and the returning Slayers

[Outskirts of Pinnacle Town / 19th July X786]

"Rights Over Prey…?" said Cobra, looking at Katharina with confused eyes.

The guild master turned to look at him, before pressing a finger against his chest "Of course, also referred to as R.O.P.! You are a Dragon Slayer, so you can and must kill dragons but if we were to face a demon or a god, you should leave the task to Nox or to me, unless we explicitly ask for your help. Everyone respects this rule, after all many of us have been trained for it."

The former dark mage raised an eyebrow "That sounds like a stupid rule. Isn't there a higher risk of someone dying that way?"

"Each of us trains day after day to become stronger so we don't die against those for whom our magic was born." said Ossian, walking at Cobra's side "Getting stronger is also one of the reasons my sister chose to set up the guild in such an inhospitable place."

"Yeah, I can tell…" replied Cobra while looking around and seeing only snow, ice, rocks and a few trees. Right after killing Brain, he and the others had returned to Era with his corpse (only after Katharina had drained the blood from it) and Gran Doma had been satisfied with the result, after which he had led them towards the Port Chamber, from which they had teleported back to Pinnacle Town. Once out in the open, Cobra had needed a few seconds to adjust to the harsh temperatures of that kingdom and then he had started following Katharina and the others.

Katharina chuckled after seeing his unconvinced face "Oh don't worry, you'll get used to this climate too, plus it's definitely hotter inside the guild. For the time being you will have a room in the dormitory, and then, if you want, you can buy yourself an apartment in the city." she then stopped suddenly, shifting her gaze towards the snowy wastes.

The other three stopped too, and Ossian looked at his sister in confusion "What is it?"

Katharina was silent for a few seconds before grinning "Change of plans! We're not going to the guild right away!" she walked towards a small mountain not far away "If I'm right, we'll find a certain someone lounging in his house."

"You want to go to him now sister?" Ossian blinked at her, exchanging a look with Nox, who merely shrugged with a calm smile on his face "Are you sure?"

"If I wait for him to come and introduce himself, I have time to really grow old! Not as old as him but you get the point." she then looked at Cobra without slowing down "Come on, it's time to introduce you to one of the more peculiar members of the guild!"

"If you too describe him that way I don't know if I want to meet him." replied Cobra, even though he was already following her along with the other two. For several minutes, the four Slayers continued to walk through the snow while Katharina continued to explain to him some guild rules and other things that might come in handy, such as the fact that their pantry was very unique and that there were also some very powerful poisons that he might like as an appetizer or breakfast.

"Oh yeah, one of the most important rules of all!" continuing to walk, Katharina turned to him with a serious look "Never make fun of or denigrate generations. Of course there are some Slayers who find their magic or their type of magic better than others, but never mention the generations, as there are some mages who, despite being Slayers, have suffered trauma precisely because of the method by which they obtained their magic."

Cobra said nothing, remembering when he called Natsu Dragneel an old-style Dragon Slayer, however he had to admit that Katharina's words made sense, since implanting the Lacrima into his body had caused him to experience unparalleled pain. Not even all the damage he'd sustained in battle since that day was even remotely comparable to the pain he'd felt during the operation.

His internal brooding was interrupted when he noticed that they were very close to the mountain and he could now see what looked like a small fort built into the side "What is that?"

"The old base of a group of bandits." explained Katharina "The fort itself is older than I am, but about forty years ago a group of bandits decided to use it as a base. I would have even left them alone if they hadn't tried to attack my guild, thinking they'd make easy money, since we were few at the time. We killed them and not even their names remain to this day; now the fort has become the home of one of my Slayers after he refashioned it a bit."

Cobra raised an eyebrow at the bandit story but said nothing about it, after all forty years ago he wasn't even born. Finally they arrived in front of the fort's large double door, made entirely of wood with two large metal rings hung in front to be used as handles. As Katharina approached the door and then knocked hard on the wood, Cobra observed the large stone building and had to admit that it seemed in excellent condition, even the few visible windows looked new and…was that pop music he was hearing?

Before he could focus on the sound he was stopped by Nox, who had moved behind him before covering Cobra's ears with his hands.

"Hey what are you-?!" Cobra stopped when he saw that Ossian was also plugging his ears and seemed ready for some kind of attack. Looking ahead, he saw that Katharina had stopped knocking and was puffing out her chest, arching her back in the process 'Don't tell me she's going to take the gate down with one attack?!'

"RADOGAN ELGRAVE! I KNOW YOU ARE HERE AND YOU ARE AWAKE! I'M WALKING IN AND I HOPE I DON'T FIND YOU DRUNK ON THE COUCH AGAIN!"

Despite Nox's hands, Katharina's sudden scream made Cobra wince in surprise and also due to the pain in his ears, forcing him to press his hands against Nox's to drown out the noise. Beside him, Ossian also seemed to be affected by the loud voice of his sister, who, after having finished screaming, threw a front kick to the two doors, opening them with a loud bang.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, woman?!" shouted Cobra after removing Nox's hands from his ears before pointing at them "You almost blew my eardrums!" he then pointed a finger at the doors "And couldn't you have opened the door like that from the start?!"

Katharina looked at him with confused eyes "What? I may be old, but I'm also educated! Always knock first!" she then trotted into the fort without any hesitation "Come on! Rad should be in the living room on the second floor!"

Cobra's eye twitched for an instant before Nox swept past him, following the guild master inside with a calm face. Ossian looked at his fellow Dragon Slayers, before patting him lightly on the shoulder "I'm…really sorry about her…" after which he entered the fort.

Cobra shook his head before rubbing his forehead, then following the others inside the front, finding himself in front of a large round room decorated in a spartan way, with only a few tables and chairs positioned near an unlit fireplace. On the other side of the room was a closed wooden door, however Katharina and the others made their way to a stone staircase built along the wall which quickly took them to the second floor which was as big as the one below, but much better decorated, with a lit fireplace, some paintings hanging on the walls, a precious wooden table with some chairs around it, a Lacrima-radio which was playing the pop music that Cobra had heard from outside and also an easel on which there was currently an unfinished painting, however Cobra's attention immediately shifted to the large red velvet armchair placed near the fireplace, on which a man was lying, with his feet resting on a small footstool of the same color.

At a quick glance he must have been as tall as Cobra himself, but even though his head was mostly covered by an open magazine resting on his face, it was possible to see his scraggly and long hair which color was a dirty blond, falling freely over his white shirt combined with black trousers, a belt of the same color, brown shoes and black socks. Furthermore, Cobra was able to immediately notice that the left hand of that guy, resting on his chest, was completely covered in white bandages.

"Oi Rad, I know you are not sleeping!" said Katharina, walking toward him without a care, before removing the magazine from his face, looking with a smirk on her face as the man on the armchair was already giving her a half-glare with his right, scarlet red eye, with it being silted almost like those of a cat, all the while his other eye, like the rest of the left side of his face, was covered in bandages.

"Hey there!"

"…what do you want?"

"Do you want the complete list or just the most important things?" asked back Katharina without losing her smirk before gesturing towards Cobra "I wanted to introduce you to our new Slayer!"

The man turned his head slightly to look at Cobra, allowing the latter to see his upper left canine protruding from under his lips "Name's Radogan Elgrave, call me Rad or El if you want. I don't really care." he then looked back at Katharina, raising his right arm, where the purple guild mark was visible on the back of the hand "I met him, now I can get my magazine back?"

Katharina simply held the paper up, out of his reach. Radogan looked at her for not even a second before lowering his arm "You can keep it."

The blonde girl sighed before tossing the magazine on his face "How can a brilliant old man like you be so lazy, I still don't understand."

"I'm not lazy."

"Yeah, you're just a slacker." Katharina shook her head before looking at Cobra "Well you just met the biggest slacker in all of Ishgar! Despite his attitude and his age I can assure you he knows his stuff!"

"Age?" repeated Cobra with a raised eyebrow "He doesn't look that old to me, maybe in his mid thirties."

"Oh but that's just appearances, just like me!" she chuckled for a moment before pointing a finger at Radogan, who was still lying on the armchair "This old fossil is over three hundred years old, he was born when some dragons still flew in these skies and wizards' guilds had not yet been created."

Cobra widened his eyes in shock "What?! How is he still alive? Is he a blood mage too?"

"No, nothing like that. As I said he is a brilliant old man; when he was younger, and I mean really young, he tried to become a Dragon Slayer by studying the old notes belonging to a deceased Dragon Slayer. He succeeded but everything has a price in this world, and the price he had to pay was to get a body that practically doesn't age anymore." Katharina threw a quick glance at his bandaged left hand "Along with something else." she then looked back at Cobra "And that's why he belongs to the zeroth generation, or generation zero if you prefer."

Cobra was silent for a few seconds, processing everything he had discovered, then asking "Why not fourth generation? You mentioned a fifth generation of Dragon Slayers earlier."

"Because the fourth generation is the one to which the artificially created Dragon Slayers belong. We have one at the guild and I'll present him to you as soon as we arrive!" explained Katharina with a smile before shaking Radogan's legs with one hand "Come on, dress quickly! We have to go to the guild!"

Cobra could distinctly hear the other Dragon Slayer's soft sigh "Why should I come? I'd rather be here with no one bothering me."

"Because we have to throw a welcome party for Erik! Both Nox and Rayleigh will be cooking, so you can eat your favorite spicy fried chicken!"

Radogan looked at her unimpressed "I like their recipe but it's not worth standing in all that mess."

"I knew you'd say that, so…Nox!" the Devil Slayer nodded at her words and reached inside his uniform before pulling out a sheet of paper folded in four, which he then handed to Radogan.

The blond Dragon Slayer took the piece of paper and, after unfolding it, began to read in silence, arching an eyebrow "Is this real…?"

Katharina nodded "But of course! A very simple control mission! You'll just have to sit back and make sure nothing happens in a small town in the Kingdom of Bosco where they are low on guards! Even if you insist on sticking to the lower ranks, you should be able to handle it!"

Radogan narrowed his gaze slightly "What's the catch?"

"As the rule dictates, you will have to go with at least one partner but you can choose it as usual." was Katharina's immediate response "But all in all it doesn't seem like a big deal to me given the reward for such a simple mission."

The Dragon Slayer seemed to think about it but finally sighed, putting the sheet of paper in his trouser pocket before standing up. Without saying anything, he took a pair of rectangular glasses placed next to the Lacrima-radio and put them on before doing the same with a black fabric coat placed on one of the chairs around the table. While he was finishing getting ready, Katharina started walking back downstairs and Cobra could only sweatdrop when he heard her inner voice 'Uhuhuh! I'd like to see his face when he finds out that a group of bandits is heading towards that town!'

When Nox and Ossian also moved towards the stairs, Cobra started to follow them but was stopped by Radogan's voice "So you're the infamous Cobra, a dark mage belonging to Oración Seis."

"I go by Erik now, it's my true name." replied Cobra, narrowing his eyes.

"Is that so? Not that I care much about it." said Radogan while placing a golden pocket watch within an inside pocket of his coat, with the chain going all the way into a trouser pocket. After making sure the collar of his shirt was as neat as everything else, he shifted his gaze to Cobra "I have seen many like you, and know that you always have a hidden motive behind your actions. I don't care what you do, but don't you dare betray us."

"Are you trying to make me angry? Do you want to fight?" hissed Cobra, letting small drops of poison drip from his fingers, but Radogan quickly raised a hand.

"No no, of course not, you are stronger than me. It was just a friendly warning, if you want." said the blonde, walking past Cobra without a care in the world "After all, the last person to betray the guild is currently the number one target of all the other Slayers."

Cobra followed him with his eyes before going down the stairs in turn, finding himself together with the others, with Radogan observing the entrance doors whose hinges had been damaged by Katharina's kick. Looking at the guild master, Radogan raised his only visible eyebrow "Was that really necessary?"

"Hey you just had to come open the door when I knocked the first time." replied Katharina, not at all sorry for what she had done "Besides, it won't take long to fix them, you should be able to do it in a few hours."

Radogan looked back at the doors before shrugging "I live upstairs anyway, might as well leave them as they are." and then exit the fort, walking towards the guild.

Watching him walk off into the snowy wilderness, the other four Slayers had only one thought running through their minds: 'What a slacker…'

After finally making up their minds to follow him, Cobra then turned to the guild master "Are the others like him too?"

"Oh not really! He's actually very normal compared to the others!" grinned Katharina "Of course if you ignore the fact that he is a slacker without equal."

Cobra groaned upon hearing her words "Right…also, what was that rule about having to have a partner for a mission?"

"It's one of the rules created to protect each other." explained Nox, walking at Katharina's side "Since there are several groups that see us as enemies, it is mandatory that the missions are always carried out at least in pairs. In some cases it is even necessary to be more than two or to have a certain type of Slayer magic in the team."

"These groups that hunt us down…are they that dangerous?" asked Cobra, remembering the fifth generation Dragon Slayers who apparently hunted dragons and other Dragon Slayers "Are there groups that want to devour you or Katharina too?"

"Ah! If only it were that simple!" Katharina pointed at herself "First generation God Slayers like myself are seen as insults to the gods or as a way to harness their power. While as far as Nox is concerned, there are countless idiots who associate him with demons only for his power and therefore deem it necessary to kill him; the list then goes on and on."

"Can't we just attack and kill them all?"

"It's not that easy, as many of them are officially the 'good guys' and therefore we can't attack them openly; for example Diabolos is, as I already told you, a legal guild." explained Katharina with a shrug before flashing him a somewhat creepy grin "However now that we have more freedom of action we can think of something…but first it's time to organize your welcome party! I want rare steak!"

'We were talking about our enemies and now she thinks about parties and food…talking about a free spirit…' thought Cobra before following the others toward the guild. Might as well not think about it and enjoy the upcoming party for once.

"Oh I almost forgot!" Cobra looked at Katharina as she stopped for a moment "Doma-kun told me that the Alvarez Empire might again try to invade Ishgar, so I told him to leave the first line of defense to us Slayers! Aren't you excited?"

.

.

.

.

"YOU WHAT?!"

Cobra couldn't tell if he was more shocked by the news or by the fact that it was Ossian who had screamed, a clear sign that he wasn't aware of that particular either.

"Why didn't you tell us anything before?!"

Katharina punched her head, while sticking out her tongue "Tee-hee! I forgot!"

Cobra's eye twitched for a brief moment "I'm already regretting prison…"

A few meters ahead of them, Radogan had heard everything 'I have to look for ways to stay as far away from the front lines as possible if the empire does indeed invade.'

"If you're thinking of sneaking out, think again! You will come to the front with me Rad!"

"Oooh the joy…"

[Border between the Pergrande Kingdom and the Kingdom of Iceberg / 19th July X786]

A caravan of nine wooden, horse-drawn wagons moved at a regular pace along the snowy road in the middle of the mountains, towards Pinnacle Town. Snowflakes fell slowly from the sky as a slight wind blew from the north, yet none of the coachmen seemed bothered by the cold weather, especially thanks to their winter clothes which they had put on as soon as they crossed the border.

Suddenly, one of those who stood on one of the central wagons sneezed, startling the young blonde girl sitting next to him "Damn, we've only been in these ice wastes for a few hours and I already have a cold. I'll never get used to these temperatures."

The young girl giggled for a few seconds "Maybe you should move to the Kingdom of Desierto permanently, dad. I can take care of the shop in Pinnacle Town."

He looked at her at once with his serious blue eyes, identical to hers "And leave you alone in such a place? Don't even think about it Alice! If something were to happen to you your mother would never forgive me, and I don't trust anyone to protect you!" he then looked to his right with a calmer face "No offense to those present, of course."

"None taken!" was the immediate response of a young man with short black hair and gray highlights. A toothy smile was visible on his rugged face, adorned by the black guild mark on the left side, as he advanced alongside the caravan, wearing a simple travel cloak over clothes not at all suitable for those lands, such as a sleeveless red jacket with a zipper in the middle over a blue shirt, beige pants and brown boots, yet he didn't seem to feel the cold, perhaps also thanks to his body with average muscles but clearly visible in his arms.

"Please forgive my father, sometimes he speaks out of turn." said Alice, throwing a quick glare at his father, who sought shelter inside his scarf and cap.

The black-haired young man chuckled for a few moments "I assure you it's nothing, your father is only worried about you, and in any case it takes much more to offend me! Plus it's clear that he wants to protect you and he has my respect for that!"

"You strike me as a very determined type Kris." noted Alice's father, now that his daughter no longer seemed angry with him "Is that why you proposed that we set off immediately after stopping in the last town?"

"More or less, but mostly because I want to do other missions! I've only been in the guild for two months and it looks like we'll have even more important tasks now!" his almond red eyes shifted toward the person walking on the other side of the caravan "Isn't that right, Dokuro?"

Alice and her father in turn shifted their gaze to the figure that could easily be mistaken for a child. If Kris was average with his meter and eighty in height (5'11"), this person was much shorter, about one meter and fifty tall (5'0"), slimmer and much paler judging by the few flaps of visible skin. His long black cloak adorned with white fur fluttered in the rhythm of the wind while on his head there was an ushanka hat, which still allowed his jet black hair to be seen, styled in a bob cut, yet when he turned to the others, Alice could not hold back a shudder at seeing the white, theatrical comedy mask that completely covered his face.

Since they had left, a week ago, none of the members of the caravan had ever seen him without it and, for many of them, that perpetually smiling mask was his true face.

"That is undoubtedly what the master communicated to us yesterday, Bliviah." said the masked mage, whose real name was Mukuro even though everyone else knew him as Dokuro the Blessed, with a calm tone of voice, perfectly audible despite not raising his voice in any way.

Kris looked at him with an amused look "Do you still call me by my last name? I already told you that you can call me using my name!"

"I have already taken note of your request, but it is my preference to use your surname." was the reply of Mukuro, who was looking ahead again.

"Um…do you want to get on one of the wagons?" asked Alice's father, not sure how to deal with that particular mage "We walked for a long time and…uh…"

Mukuro looked at him for a moment before bowing his head slightly "If you are afraid that the journey may have taken a toll on my body, you don't have to worry, Mr. Werro. I have been traveling for several years and am used to more arduous journeys than this."

Alice and her father nodded, mostly because they both noticed how Mukuro didn't have to force himself to walk in the snow; indeed it was as if the snow was disappearing under his red boots. Kris scratched the back of his head, looking at the masked boy "Mh…by the way, how old are you, exactly? Even though I've been in the guild for two months, I only traveled with you for a week."

"I am twenty-six years old."

"HAH?! Really?! You're older than me?!"

Mukuro turned his head to look at Kris "Is that a problem?"

"Ah…no, not really!" Kris shook his head, letting our a small chuckle 'With that mask on I can't tell if he's looking at me with anger or boredom…' but then he seemed to remember something, or rather someone, and then he brought both hands to his mouth "Hey! Did you hear that Kiro?!"

Several meters ahead, in front of the first wagon, a young boy with nape-length, messy and disheveled dark gray hair clicked his teeth annoyed "Tch! Of course I heard him, my ears work just as well as yours, fucking newbie."

A sudden strong gust of wind abruptly pushed aside his black fur coat, exposing for a moment the white long-sleeved shirt and dark brown trousers that hugged his athletic body. Despite the annoyed look, his blue, sharp-shaped eyes kept moving from rock to rock along the path that stretched out before them, until he saw something peculiar in the distance. Without saying anything, he stopped in the middle of the road while the coachman of the first wagon saw Kiro's hair stand up for a single instant, and yet the wind was not so strong; the next instant the young wizard's hair fell to cover his forehead again as a hungry grin was now visible on his face "We have company."

Kris's ears twitched immediately as he heard Kiro's words, slightly narrowing his eyes.

"What is it?"

He looked to the left and saw that Mukuro was staring at him, so he merely removed his coat, tossing it on the wagon where Alice and her father were "Looks like Kiro spotted someone." he then sniffed the air for a few seconds "The wind is carrying different smells…alcohol and blood mostly; must be a group of bandits."

"Can you figure out how many there are?"

"Mmm…hard to tell, they must still be out of my hearing range, and the smells are too similar to distinguish each person." said Kris, sounding a little unnerved by that detail.

Meanwhile, Alice, her father and the coachmen who had heard this seemed to be much more concerned, however Mukuro did not hesitate to ask "Mr. Werro, would it be possible to bring the various carriages closer together? That way it will be easier for us to protect you."

"A-Ah…s-sure!" and with a few quick orders, the wagons behind advanced while the others slowed down, thus forming a sort of square with Alice's wagon in the center. The caravan then continued forward for several minutes before Kiro stopped, causing everyone else to halt as a result.

No one dared to say a word until Kiro seemed to lose his patience "I know you are there! Stop hiding and come out to get slaughtered!" and for a few seconds nothing happened but then from behind several rocks and trees, about thirty men appeared, dressed in patched clothes, leather and metal armor, all armed with various types of weapons. Kiro, Mukuro, and Kris watched in silence as those bandits began to move to surround them completely, until a black-haired man wearing armor of black leather and metal parts appeared in front of Kiro.

"You must have an enviable sixth sense, brat." the man looked at the wagons with a small smirk on his face, slowly stroking his beard "If only you hadn't said anything, we would have just killed everyone with some well placed arrows…except for the girl, she could have helped us deal with boredom for a while." and the bandits all around cackled with amusement, as they gazed upon the body of Alice, who sought refuge in her father's arms.

"Oh what a coincidence! I too have thought of something like that." replied Kiro eerily grinning as his body was slowly wrapped in a black and white aura before, under the shocked eyes of the bandits in front of him, his hair stood on end and a third eye opened in the center of his forehead; unlike the other two, this eye had a reptilian-like pupil and was purple in color, standing out even more due to his pale complexion.

"In fact, I was just thinking about how not to die of boredom!"

"Tch, a mage huh?" the apparent leader of the bandits looked annoyed by this, before shifting his gaze toward Mukuro "What's your affiliation? I don't seem to recall guilds that allow even children to fight, so I propose a deal. You three leave without resisting, and we will leave you alone, after all we just want the contents of the wagons, and the girl of course!"

Mukuro looked at the bandit leader before uncovering his left arm from under his cloak, showing the buttoned white shirt and pants he was wearing, but most of all the sheathed katana he clutched in his hand, the skin of which had crack-like scars across it. The hilt of the sword was rectangular with hollowed rectangles at each corner, while the blade was inside a snow-white scabbard; Mukuro unsheathed it with a single fluid movement of his right arm, showing everyone the white blade of his weapon that was suddenly enveloped in flames of the same color.

After twirling it between his fingers, Mukuro stuck it into the ground in front of him releasing more flames from his weapon "Fire Angel's Aegis." and from the point where the sword was stuck in the ground sprang two trails of white flames that ran quickly along the ground, surrounding the caravan until they created a perfect circle of flames that erupted in height until they towered above the wagons.

"You will be safe as long as you stay in there." said Mukuro looking at Alice and the others, who were amazed by how those flames had made the air warmer but without making them suffocate from the heat.

"Hmm…it seems that you people want to die." noted the leader of the bandits before pointing at them with one hand "Kill them all!"

The various bandits let out battle cries before rushing at the three defenders, the closest of whom was Mukuro himself, who turned toward his first opponent, a man much bigger than himself armed with a broadsword, with which he immediately tried to behead the masked mage; however, Mukuro did not flinch and brought the right arm to his left, keeping the katana pointed downward. The moment the broadsword made contact with his weapon, Mukuro slid it along the blade of his katana, accompanying it to his other side with a single arm movement, effectively parrying it, but before the bandit could recover from the imbalance he had suffered, Mukuro quickly raised his weapon and amputated the man's right arm, while opening a long cut on his chest.

With a choked scream, the man fell to the ground holding his stump, while the other enemies were shocked at the speed with which Mukuro had defeated their comrade. The masked mage gave them no time to regroup and sprinted toward the two nearest opponents, managing to knock them out with a series of quick slashes, then raising his blade to deflect an arrow fired by the more distant bandit.

The other seven bandits ran toward him to overwhelm him with their numerical superiority, but Mukuro pointed a hand toward them, creating a ball of white flames "Fire Angel's Divine Light." and instantly crushing it, creating an explosion of blinding white light that made the bandits scream in pain as they all brought their hands over their eyes. The next instant, Mukuro sprinted toward them and managed to take them all down with a single slash each, smearing the surrounding snow with blood.

Turning to face the last bandit, the one who had attempted to hit him with an arrow earlier, Mukuro saw that his opponent had already abandoned his weapon and was running away; moving his left arm outward, the masked mage created an angelic wing made of white flames from his back "Fire Angel's Feathers." and flapping the wing once, he hurled from it three flaming feathers that flashed through the air before piercing the bandit's legs, instantly cauterizing the wounds with their heat. Ignoring the archer's cries of pain, Mukuro sheathed his katana before approaching his target and knocking him out with a kick to the head, after which he grabbed the unconscious man by the leg and began dragging him toward the other bandits he had defeated, concentrating in the meantime on the fights of his two guildmates.

On the other side of the barrier erected by Mukuro, meanwhile, Kris dodged a bandit's hatchet before hitting him in the face with a punch, sending his opponent flying back several meters. Another tried to strike him from above using the metal claws he had strapped to the backs of his hands, but Kris quickly raised his arms and grabbed both of his wrists, stopping the attack, before carefully observing his opponent's weapons "Oh aren't these the famous iron claws used in the east? I heard that they are used by many soldiers from those lands!"

The bandit tried to free himself but could not overcome Kris's physical strength, so he turned to the right "Now brother! Kill him!"

"On it!" Kris turned toward the direction from which the voice came and saw another bandit, very similar to the one he was holding still, running toward him with a sword and ready to behead the mage, who did nothing to try to defend himself and the bandit managed to deliver a quick side slash, yet when he looked at his weapon, he was shocked to see that a good portion of the blade was missing.

Crunch!

Shifting their gaze to Kris, the two brothers gasped to see that the black-haired boy had just broken the blade with his teeth, and while some pieces fell to the ground, the others were quickly chewed and swallowed. Grinning at the brother in front of him, Kris expanded his chest and puffed out his cheeks before releasing his attack "Iron Dragon's Roar!"

A tornado of metal shrapnel was fired from his mouth and swept the bandit away along with three others behind him, creating a path of destruction in the ground for dozens of meters. Nodding in satisfaction, Kris then turned to the bandit whose weapon he had eaten and hit him with a powerful punch to the pit of his stomach, knocking the man unconscious, after which he picked up what remained of the sword and finished eating its blade.

"W-What are you?!"

Kris looked at the bandit who had spoken and flashed him a toothy grin "An Iron Dragon Slayer of course! Now, you wanted to kill the merchants and steal their possessions, right?" he made a 'come at me' gesture with his right hand "You'll have to deal with me first!"

The four remaining bandits braced themselves and attempted to assault him all at once, but Kris pointed his right hand toward the farthest opponent "Iron Dragon's Tail!" and a long chain with a weight on the end spilled from the palm of his hand, flying through the air until it hit its target in the chest, hurling him into a tree. Kris then quickly moved his arm and managed to get the chain wrapped around one of the three remaining bandits before hurling it at the other two.

While one of them managed to throw himself to the ground to avoid the attack, the second was not so quick and was hit by the human projectile, ending up against a rock not far away and losing consciousness from the impact. The last one didn't last much longer as Kris grabbed the chain with both hands and, after hurling the still chain-wrapped bandit into the air, brought him down hard, causing him to crash into his partner, creating a strong shock wave that blew away the surrounding snow.

Pulling the chain from his hand, Kris looked around and saw that all the bandits on his side had been defeated, so he picked up from the ground a sword dropped by one of his opponents "Might as well eat a snack." but just then, to his left, he saw a giant typhoon of dark energy blast away four bandits. Realizing immediately that it was Kiro's doing, Kris smirked before starting to eat the sword while walking in that direction "Snack plus entertainment, lucky me!"

Not far from him, Kiro nimbly avoided the attack of two spear-armed bandits before crouching down and knocking them to the ground with a single sweep of his leg, then grabbing the spear of one of them and hurling it with precision at another enemy, piercing his heart and killing him instantly.

"Wind Smasher!"

Kiro made a sideways leap, easily avoiding the tornado of sharp wind that swooped down on his position from above, severely injuring the two bandits he had just knocked to the ground. Not at all impressed by the attack, he looked up and saw the bandit leader levitating in mid-air with wind swirling around his forearms and ankles "Oooh? So you are also a mage? A weak one for sure, but a mage all the same."

A vein began to throb on the man's forehead "I am Kurel Ianoff! The strongest bandit of the country of Joya! Don't you dare look down on me, brat!"

"Kinda difficult when you are flying over my head, don't you think? I take it you're not the smartest of the bunch, huh?" asked Kiro with a mocking tone of voice "And what was that? 'Strongest bandit'? I didn't know useless trash like you also had such titles!"

"You fucking brat!" Kurel pointed both arms at Kiro "Wind Smasher!" to then shoot another tornado of sharp wind at his opponent, but Kiro didn't move this time.

The mage of World Slayers simply opened his mouth, a draconic eye materializing in front of it "Vision Dragon's Roar!" and a powerful typhoon of dark energy was blasted from said eye, easily overpowering Kurel's attack before hitting him full force, sending him crashing to the ground dozens of meters away. As the eye dematerialized, Kiro turned to face a bandit who was attempting to slash him from above with a sword; with his third eye glowing with power, the Dragon Slayer raised his right hand to smack the blade sideways, deflecting it away from him, then using the same hand to strike with a quick punch at the bandit's Adam's apple. The bandit dropped his weapon, bringing both hands to his throat, collapsing on his knees in the process and gasping for air, but Kiro gave him no chance to recover and, after placing a foot on his head, crushed it to the ground, rendering him unconscious.

Without saying anything, he focused on the last two remaining bandits but narrowed his gaze with clear irritation in his eyes when he saw them backing away with frightened faces.

"P-Please have mercy!"

"W-We will leave you alone! Please spare us!"

"What? You were all so brave before, and now you are afraid?" asked Kiro before raising his right arm, creating a black and white magic circle in front of his hand "Unfortunately for you, I detest people without backbones. Vision Dragon's Target Barrage!"

Dozens of dragon eyes materialized around the two terrified bandits before firing several beams of white energy that hit their targets causing numerous explosions. Within seconds, the two men fell to the ground badly injured, however Kiro didn't bother looking at them and returned his focus to Kurel, who was getting up again.

"Fucking little brat…" hissed Kurel while holding his right shoulder "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?!"

"I'm pretty sure you'll tell me now, after all talking seems to be the only thing you're good at." said back Kiro, walking toward his opponent "And I thought I could fight boredom with you all, instead I find myself more bored than before."

Gritting his teeth, Kurel aimed his left arm at his opponent but Kiro quickly closed the distance between them with a burst of speed and hit the bandit with a knee to the chin, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get up, the Dragon Slayer planted a foot on his head and started applying more and more pressure "What's wrong? Done already? If that's really how long you last I feel sorry for the poor girls who have had the misfortune to share a bed with you!" he raised his foot before stomping it on Kurel's head again "Well? Say something? Weren't you supposed to be the 'strongest bandit'?! Big news, fucking weakling! It doesn't matter that you consider yourself the strongest among all this trash! In the end, trash! Is! Always! Trash!" and with each word, he stomped on the bandit's head.

"Jarndyce."

Kiro stopped moving his foot still raised, looking over his shoulder where, a few meters away from him, were Mukuro and Kris. The masked mage looked first at his guildmate and then at the leader of the bandits "He has already lost consciousness, stop messing around."

The Dragon Slayer looked at the bandit, noting that he actually stopped moving even though he was still alive, before returning his gaze to Mukuro "So what?"

"Our mission is to escort the merchants and defend them from possible bandits, not to waste time." said Mukuro, not at all perturbed by Kiro's glare "Now that we have defeated them we can continue the journey and complete the mission." the masked mage then looked at Kris "Bliviah, make a few meters of chain and group the unconscious bandits."

Kris nodded before setting about creating the chains as requested, while Mukuro approached the wagons with the merchants, dispelling the barrier with a single hand motion. Kiro watched Mukuro walk away with an annoyed look before giving Kurel one last kick, then going to position himself atop a large rock, beginning to look at the surrounding area.

Back with Mukuro, the various merchants breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that all the bandits had been defeated. Alice's father looked at the masked wizard with a grateful gaze "Thank you for protecting us, I don't know what could have happened if you were not here."

"We were just doing our job, Mr. Werro." said Mukuro bowing his head for a brief moment "Now, did you by any chance receive the Lacrima-flare from the last garrison of Rune Knights we encountered?"

"Yes, I got it right here." said the man before showing him a small black cylinder with a spherical Lacrima at the tip "Do you need it?"

Mukuro nodded, gently taking it from the merchant's hand. Without another word, he then walked toward some trees not far away and began to quickly cut several branches. In a matter of minutes, all the bandits had been chained together around a small woodpile, which Mukuro burned with a small flame, creating a makeshift bonfire. Immediately afterward, the masked mage activated the Lacrima-flare and the gem began to pulsate with a faint white glow, so he drove it into the ground near the bandits, one of whom had already awakened "W-What are you doing…?"

"The Rune Knights will come to take you to prison. If you don't want to freeze to death, stay close to the fire, it will last at least six hours in these conditions." explained Mukuro before moving toward the caravan, which had resumed moving towards its destination. However, after a few steps he noticed how Kris was shifting his gaze from Kiro to the direction from which they had come and vice versa; tilting his head slightly, he approached the black-haired Dragon Slayer "What's wrong?"

"I don't really know, Mukuro." Kris shrugged at him, pointing at Kiro with his thumb "He has been staring at the same spot for a good two minutes. I don't think he has blinked once."

The Angel Slayer looked in the same direction but saw no one, so he asked "What do you see, Jarndyce?"

Kiro didn't even look at him, keeping his eyes on what had caught his attention "There is someone watching us. One person, black and red clothes, a hood over the head. Two miles in that direction."

'Well now I know why I wasn't seeing anyone, and we also have the wind at our back.' thought Kris, still surprised by Kiro's abilities. He knew his fellow Dragon Slayer was an excellent scout but this was beyond his expectations.

"Just watching?"

"That's what I fucking said!"

"Stay on lookout until we are far away." ordered Mukuro before moving toward the merchants, asking them to move forward, again grouped rather than in single file. Kris took the lead role after retrieving his cloak while Mukuro climbed onto the cart in the center of the group so that he could quickly reach any side in case of an attack.

Kiro remained staring at that lone figure for several minutes until he felt a pulse of magical power coming from Mukuro, probably signaling him to join them now that they were farther away, yet the Dragon Slayer could only grind his teeth when he saw that hooded figure raise a hand and wave at him.

'Are you fucking mocking me?!' thought Kiro, almost tempted to go to that person instead of rejoining the others, however, he knew that Mukuro would not appreciate his decision. The fact that that midget was currently one of the guild's S-class mages didn't really sit well with him, but he knew he couldn't win in a direct confrontation with the Angel Slayer, so after showing that figure the middle finger, he jumped down from the rock and started following the caravan as the eye on his forehead closed again.

However, one thought still buzzed in his mind, and that single thought was enough to put him in a bad mood 'I couldn't see under that hood…what kind of magic can deceive the eye of a dragon?'

An hour had passed, and by now the caravan protected by the three Slayers was long gone, and Kurel as well as most of the bandits had now awakened. The bandit leader had immediately tried to free himself, but Kris's chains, welded in certain places with Mukuro's flames, had managed to resist his wind blades. The other bandits were now resigned to the idea of being captured by the Rune Knights, when some of them saw a cloaked figure approaching them.

It was a tall person but it was difficult to tell whether they were a man or a woman because of the black tunic they wore, over which was a cloak of the same color, with the inside part red as well as the edge of the hood. Most disturbing, however, was the total darkness under the hood, which prevented them from seeing any details of the face.

Kurel finally noticed the hooded figure and, widening his eyes in surprise, again tried to break free in anger "You?! What the fuck are you doing here?!"

The figure finally stopped a few steps away from them, tilting the head slightly, until a deep male voice was heard from under the hood "I saw that you were easily defeated, Kurel. I expected more from a mage with a bounty worth a million jewels on his head."

"You tricked me! You told me this was going to be a small job!" growled Kurel but it was obvious that the man in front of him was not at all intimidated by him.

"That is undoubtedly what I told you." the man admitted with a brief nod of the head "However, you should remember that I have warned you of the complete absence of bandits in the entire northern region of this kingdom, which is why I told you about that caravan. I wanted to know if there was a particular reason for the lack of hostility around here, and you agreed to raid those merchants on the promise of keeping all their wares for you."

"You used me!" snapped Kurel "You never told me about mages guarding the caravan!"

"Come on, did you really think those merchants wouldn't hire someone to protect them?" asked the hooded man, with the same tone of voice a teacher would use with a small child. Seeing the furious expression on the bandit's face, the man chuckled for a moment before turning to face the direction the caravan had headed "Still, three mages so young yet so powerful…two of them with the powers of a dragon at their disposal." he then looked at the white fire burning a few feet from him "Holy flames…the ones used by holy warriors or even…angels. My my, what an interesting bunch of mages."

Kurel glared at him "Yes yes yes all very interesting, now set us free! I have to go get my revenge on that three-eyed brat!"

The hooded man turned to him and everyone could almost feel the raised eyebrow on his face "Do you really think you can defeat him after he has practically humiliated you? You are weak compared to that boy, and it is obvious that if you confronted him again, you would again be defeated and probably killed."

"Shut up! You know nothing!" Kurel spat at his feet "Once I get free I will find and kill that brat! Mark my words!"

"My my, what a feisty person." chuckled the man "You know what, I like your grit. In fact, I like it so much that I am willing to make you stronger, much stronger!"

The leader of the bandits narrowed his eyes at him "What are you talking about?"

The man brought forward a gloved hand that was slowly enveloped in a reddish glow "You probably haven't realized it yet, but I am also a magician, a very powerful one in fact; with my magic I could make you much stronger but of course the process is not free."

"What do you want for this…process?" asked Kurel, suspicious of the offer. After all, he was a bandit, and betrayal and deception were the order of the day for someone like him, especially after that hooded fellow had already deceived him once.

"Why, the blood of your comrades of course." everyone looked at him with incredulous eyes but he didn't stop there "I am sure you can attack everyone here with your wind without having to free yourself from those chains. Kill them. Kill your comrades and show me your anger, so you will become powerful. More powerful than you are now."

Kurel stared at him with narrowed eyes "Who can tell me that you are telling the truth?"

The other bandits looked at him with shocked and scared eyes "B-Boss…?"

"If what I say is not true, may all the gods of this world damn me for eternity." the mysterious mage brought a hand to his heart "I may have been dishonest to you, but when I talk about my magic I only ever tell the truth. That is my code of honor. Besides…do you really want to let that brat get the better of you?"

His words were followed only by silence for several seconds, until one of the bandits chuckled nervously "Y-Yeah…as if the boss would ever agree to such a deal!" and the others immediately began to agree with him, but then a slight wind began to swirl around Kurel, sending a cold shiver of fear down their backs.

"B-Boss…? Y-You're not really thinking of-?!"

Slash!

Thud!

All the bandits looked terrified at the head of their comrade just decapitated by a blade of wind and before they could try to get away from Kurel, he didn't hesitate to kill them all. For several seconds, the desperate screams of the bandits echoed through those snowy lands, until only Kurel and the hooded man remained, with the snow around them completely soaked in blood.

"Now…" Kurel looked at the other man with a furious glare on his bloody face "…make me more powerful!"

"But of course, a deal is a deal after all." nodded the hooded mage, raising his right hand. As he slowly approached the chained bandit, blood from the corpses around them began to pool over his palm, forming a ball of crimson liquid. When he was in front of Kurel, he grabbed his chin with his left hand, forcing his mouth open "Oh I forgot, this process could be very painful." and the next moment he forced the ball of blood into Kurel's mouth, causing him to swallow it.

The effect was immediate and Kurel began to thrash in violent convulsions, screaming in pain as the veins in his face began to swell. The hooded wizard watched in silence for several seconds until the bandit, with a last loud cry, collapsed to the ground panting. When he could steady his breathing, Kurel managed to sit up, still feeling pain shoot through his body; from that pain, however, he felt an anger born and grow that he had never felt before.

With a scream of pure fury, Kurel released a blast of crimson wind and red energy from his body that shattered the chains holding him in place. Catching his breath, the bandit staggered to his feet and saw that his entire body was enveloped in a red glow while on his chest, where his armor had been destroyed, there was a pulsating red gem in the center of his breastbone.

"What…what is this?!" asked Kurel, his eyes now glowing red.

"That is your new power." replied the hooded man with a calm voice, before raising a hand "Now come with me, I will teach you to control it before it destroys you."

"You…what you done?!" growled the bandit, holding his chest where he could feel his anger grow out of control.

"I made you an instrument of justice and purity." explained the hooded man, placing his hand on Kurel's shoulder "With you, we can finally cleanse this rotten world of all sins."

"W-What…are you…" Kurel feels on the ground "S-Shit…"

The other man knelt beside him "It seems that the process has exhausted you more than it should. Sleep for now, my student, tomorrow your training will begin so that you can fulfill your new duties." easily lifting Kurel's body, he slung it over his shoulder before walking south, letting his last words drift away on the wind.

"The duties of a Sin Slayer."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Here we are with a new chapter and Happy Easter everyone! In case you are not interested in this holiday, happy Sunday! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Honestly speaking the last part was an endless nightmare for me, I must have rewritten it at least four times before using the one you just read, but I still hope you enjoyed it!

We got to meet some of the guild's Slayers, and we'll be meeting many more in the coming chapters! We also got a little peek at one of the groups we'll find throughout the story, the Sin Slayers! This group was in doubt until the end, as I didn't know if anyone would use this magic, but since it remained untouched, I decided to implement it myself!

Being one of the first chapters there is little to say except:

- Submissions are still open and most likely the OC limit will go up to 20!

- You can find rules and all on my bio (plus the link to the Discord server)!

- I'm in need of FEMALE OCS please!

With that said, I hope you have a good Sunday!

See you next time!

OC list (created by you!):

- Radogan Elgrave, created by: alucard deathsinger

- Mukuro Murasaki, created by: Lezusia

- Kris Bliviah, created by: Singofffan

- Kiro Jarndyce, created by: theotakureader101