Chapter 6
The Tarantula
Max, Saga, Buzz, and Schneider all entered the office, the guard shutting the door behind them.
It was a spacious room, long enough to have another table inside. The floor was overlayed with a finely knit carpet, the tight dull cobalt kind that seemed to buzz as you dragged your feet.
There were only two walls oddly enough, the long entrance wall, and the primary work area. The outer corner walls were replaced with tall sheets of glass. One window allowed you to see the sea, allowing you two walk along the ocean as you met for business. The other, had a view of the city. A glimpse of the wealth and civilization ahead, or behind you.
Near the desk were two giant bookcases, the company logo hung between them. They stocked with various books and journals, likely records and shipping logs of Eight-Legged Shipping Company.
Two leather comfy charts sat in the middle of the room, each with their own coffee table and tumbler glasses. The liquor cabinet stood the the side, just close enough to the desk it would be considered rude to open.
And in front of them was a man sitting behind a desk. Darrian Lytton, the Tarantula.
Lytton rose as the outlaws entered his office. He was a middle-aged, severe looking man with platinum blonde hair and surprisingly ruby red eyes. His hair was parted, slicked back with a stylized curl to his bangs. A goatee hung from his already pointed chin, making Lytton look even sleazier with his taught-lipped grin. And his suit was a checkerboard of dark red and navy colours.
"Lytton!" Schneider cheered, holding his arms wide wide as if to give Lytton a hug.
The albino didn't move from behind his desk though. "Schneider." He simply greeted his old associate. Buzz charged around the desk to greet the old businessman the way a do would. And Lytton greeted him back with a scratch behind the ear.
"I take it, these are your associates?" Lytton looked behind Schneider to see Saga and Maxwell standing behind him.
"Indeed!" Schneider hooked an arm around Maxwell's neck, "This one here, actually saved my life! You see, he's in a bit of a pickle. So I thought you might be able to help him out! …With a little bit of incentive." Schneider then slyly winked, showing off the tablet hidden his his coat pocket.
"Interesting…" Lytton's pupils dilated upon seeing the Maruchi game piece. He was clearly interested, but quickly masked his desire. "And your other companion?"
"Hired muscle," Schneider grinned.
"Get off!" Maxwell finally pulled himself out from under Schneider's arm. He hadn't anticipated Schneider doing that.
"Hm…" Lytton sat back down into his high chair. "So you owe the 'Magister,' Maxwell Trevelyan, a favor, and you have the 'Seventh Star,' Saga, acting as your bodyguard. I must say Schneider, I don't know whether or not to be appalled or impressed."
"Why thank you!" Schneider accepted the snide remark with a cheesy grin.
Saga had reacted upon hearing his title. "Wait—! You know about—?"
"That you are the 'Seventh Star' Saga, Butcher of Asuka Island?" Lytton answered. "Yes, I've heard all about you."
"What did he do?" Maxwell quickly asked the Tarantula. Saga glared at the mage, Maxwell had been trying to get the story of of Saga all morning. Saga's bounty was either old, or hushed up, to get a title like "butcher." This might tell him a version of those events.
"You don't know?" Lytton asked inquisitively. "He's responsible for the death of a Marine officer—ah, two lieutenants I believe, and the destruction of a navy training centre."
"It was a dojo…!" Saga growled through gritted teeth.
"Yes… And it was quite the betrayal too. Rising through the ranks, stealing a holy relic, I even heard you murdered the high priestess—"
"WHY YOU—!" Saga's face contorted into barely controlled rage as he drew his sword.
"Whoa!" Schneider quickly moved to hold the swordsman back, Maxwell joining in.
"Saga!" Maxwell barked, holding onto his sword arm. "If you want to draw your sword, point it at me! I'm the one who asked. Remember?" Saga's face looked the mage, it's fury barreling into Maxwell's eyes. A ring of red fire was glowing around his eyes. The same kind of glow that came from Shichiseiken.
"Remember why we are here!" Maxwell stared deep into his eyes, grabbing Saga's hair to look at him. He was hoping to confuse Saga, distract him. Letting the swordsman have an opportunity to regain himself. Possessions were tricky, depending on the source.
"You want to complete your tasks, remember…!?" Maxwell stared back at Saga, his face trying to convey sympathy. Lytton's reports weren't the whole story, but Maxwell could put some of the pieces together.
Maxwell felt remorse for Saga. The swordsman had come to the Grand Line, trying to achieve his dream. He may have even been a marine, and was stationed on Asuka Island. There Saga built a dojo meant to train recruits, and may have even built a life there… Maybe he even fell in love with the mentioned priestess.
However, Saga found the sword, and became overwhelmed by the Shichiseiken's bloodlust. He slaughtered anyone who came near him until… Until he finally overcame the curse. Or someone broke the curse… Maxwell wasn't sure how it happened, but it had resulted in this suicidal drunk that wanted to run him through.
Saga saw the look on Maxwell's face and hated it. He didn't want pity. He didn't want anyone's sympathy! This was his burden, and his responsibility to hold it alone!
But, he gritted his teeth and calmed down, pushing back Shichiseiken's influence. His arm now wafting green smoke! The swords power might have been sundered, but it still existed!
The glow of the Shichiseiken dimmed as it returned it's sheath and the smoke cleared. Saga elected to stand against the wall, behind one of the comfy chairs. He could deliver payback later.
"Well, it's good to see you actually live up to your reputation as a first-mate, Mr. Trevelyan." Lytton smiled at the mage. It took a certain temperament to be a man's second-in-command.
"And what rumours have you heard of me?" Maxwell's tone came out harsher then he intended. He may be focused on his task, but the lose of the Straw-Hat crew was still raw to him.
"Well, there are plenty of rumours about you," Lytton told him, standing up. "Probably more rumours then truth. The list of crimes the marines gave you are mostly fear-mongering nonsense, and theory. I prefer to stick to the facts." Lyton walked around as he spoke, eventually leaning against the lip of his desk.
"You assaulted a marine captain at the start of you pirate career." Nezu, Arlong's conspirator. "'Secretly' assisted in exposing the coup of the ex-Warlord Crocodile." Their actions had been covered up by the World Government to save face. How'd he found about that?
"And~ you summoned three demons during the assault of Enies Lobby." That certainly wasn't made secret. "Made all the more interesting when I can't find a single thing about you before you started sailing with Straw-Hat Luffy… Care to explain?"
Maxwell remembered that look. He'd seen it plenty of time when nobles tried to weasel out some sort of favor out of him. Thinking they were sly, and that magic may solve their problems. Though, he supposed a information broker would find his lack of background disconcerting.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Maxwell chose to sit down into the chair in front of Saga. "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Lytton, what gave my identity away?"
Lytton scoffed, "Besides your rather public arrival, yesterday?" The Tarantula pointed at Maxwell's coat. "The thread count of your jacket. It's Royale Sea Silk, normally reserved for the rich and nobility of Creamy Mist. There are only a few tailors in Creamy Mist that are allowed to use it. Given your escort by the king back to the palace, and the fact you haven't changed your hairstyle, I figured it was you."
"Though I must say, you looked far more distinguished with the beard." Maxwell scowled at that remark. It was going to take him months to grow all that facial hair back.
Lytton then pulled out a rather square glass bottle from beneath his desk. "Drink, anyone?"
Maxwell looked between the desk and where the cabinet was, confused. Why have a bottle in your desk, if you already had a shelf full?
Schneider eagerly took his glass from the coffee-table and handed it to Lytton. It looked like water. But there was a certain aroma gently wafting from the bottle that told Maxwell it wasn't.
Maxwell waved his hand, declining the drink. Saga didn't move to pick up the tumbler either. He was too busy glaring at the businessman.
"Now, what can I do for you today, gentlemen?" Lytton asked after pouring himself a glass. He poured himself a finger's worth and shot it back, "You know I don't like surprise visits, Schneider."
"Ah… well," Schneider took a sip of the crystal liquid, "I was looking to cash in that favour you owe me. For Maxwell here."
Lytton looked over to the mage, "And for what need would you require my services, Mr. Trevelyan? Couldn't you simply magick a solution for yourself?" He chuckled like it was supposed to be some charming joke.
Maxwell however, steeled himself. This request could go either way, given on who he was interacting with.
"I'm looking for the Children of Nightmare."
Lytton went very still at the mention of that organization, stopping before he could pour another drink.
He looked at the mage seriously, as if assessing a threat that had sudden presented itself, "…And for what reason are you approaching that band of miscreants?"
Maxwell meshed his fingers together, "In exchange for my freedom, His Majesty requires that I find the Children of Nightmare. And help route them out of the archipelago. Given their nature, he felt best that I was best equipped to get rid of them… As well as find Ms. Helsing."
…
…
…
…Lytton sighed in relief, "You had me scared for a minute there..."
The kingpin pulled out a file from his desk and began to peruse it, "So, old King Cello wants you to help find his precious niece, eh? Well, given what the cult has been recently up to, I can't say I'm surprised…"
"You know where they're based out of then?" Maxwell asked, hopeful for an answer.
"No, I'm afraid I don't," Lytton answered, regretfully. "Their movements have been like grasping at shadows. I can't seem I get a single informant into their organization without my spies being killed or converted into their religion."
"Dammit," Maxwell cursed. He knew it wasn't going to be easy. "Do you have any idea as to what their goals are then?"
"Hm…" Lytton twirled his goatee, "Form what I have been able to gather, they are a monotheistic cult, worshipping something they call the Nightmare. They believe that this, 'Nightmare,' will supposedly arrive and overthrow the current world order. Creating a paradise for it and all of its followers…"
Lyton looked up as if he was considering something, "They may even be trying to summon it. But, then again, I don't give a lot of stock to religious zealotry."
"Not even when these cultists are using blood magic?" Maxwell asked the kingpin, making Lytton pause again.
"Lytton, just how bad is it?" Schneider asked his old friend. They had been friends for many years, doing business for one another. Buzz even whined showing his concern.
"…The Children of Nightmare have been a thorn in my side, ever since they came to the archipelago." Lytton decided to put down his glass. "Several of the robberies behind them had hidden assets for me, and the kidnapped victims were people I personally knew to be upstanding citizens in the kingdom!"
Lytton scowled, "…A lot of people are afraid to go out at night right now. They've only ever did their deeds under the cover darkness. And now all that has intensified with yesterday's assault. The only ones who are brave enough to venture out now are fools and foreigners like you." He looked at each of them, as if his statement affected all of them.
But he saw something in Maxwell's eye. "You think there is something bigger to this, don't you."
"I do," Maxwell replied, though he didn't dare to elaborate. He already had a dreadful suspicion as to what these cultists were worshipping.
Lytton sighed again, pouring a rather large glass for himself. "I don't know where they are, so I can't help you on that front. *Gulp!* …But, I can direct you towards Helsing."
"Huh?" Schneider blinked. Maxwell leaned forward in his seat though.
"Ha! The Children have been careful in covering up their tracks, but little Ms. Helsing has certainly not!" Lytton walked around and pulled out a map from a drawer inside his desk. He laid it out across the table and Maxwell, Schneider, and Saga all got up to look at it.
"My intelligence has gathered that Helsing has a hideout here in the red-light district." Lytton points to a spot on the map. A city block between 97 Street and Liam Avenue. "And from what my sources can tell me, she has been doing regular weekly meetings with all kinds of people. Thieves, gangsters, pirates—If she is involved with the Children of Nightmare now, like you suspect, then your best bet is to catch them is there."
"Okay, great! When's the little lass having her next rendezvous?" Schneider asks with a victorious grin.
Lytton smiles back, "Well, that just so happens to be—" but before he could answer, there was noise from beneath his desk. *Puru-puru-puru-puru-puru—*
"One moment." Lytton then opens his drawer again and takes out a line of transponder snails sitting luxuriously on a plate with a bowl of lettuce. One of them was making it's usual sound whenever somebody was making a call. Layton picked up the receiver.
*—Peru-puru-puru-puru—Gatcha!* "Report—"
"[BOSS! We got a problem!]" It was the same security guard from the booth. "[It's the Children! They're assaulting the—GAHK!]" There was a sound of shattering glass before the guard was hit, and the line went silent.
"They're here!" Lytton shouted and Saga immediately drew his sword. Schneider and Lytton drew out their pistols, and Maxwell summoned Salem, Mordred, and Mineive from his bag.
There was a pounding clatter behind the door. It was the telltale sign of clambering footsteps up the stairs. Buzz growled, teeth bared. His fur bristling along his wrinkly hide. Maxwell, Saga, Schneider, and Lytton all faced the door, weapons pointed at the entrance.
A blue smoke began to seep through the doors, like disturbed dust hanging in the air. It was like the same kind of powder Helsing used to retreat! Then like a flash bomb, the powder condensed and exploded, revealing a figure.
It was a cultist, dressed in black robes and holding a dagger like the assassins back in the town square, yesterday. More flashes of blue smoke erupted in front of the doors, and the assassins moved forward with purpose as soon as they appeared in the smoke.
"FIRE!" Maxwell focused his foci, letting his familiar unleash their arcane bolts onto the assassins.
They didn't really have a plan. Schneider and Lytton just fired their pistols, adding to the salvo. Maxwell chose to fire towards the side of the office, creating a corridor for Saga to attack in. Saga dashed towards any assailant that got to close, his sword singing with every slash.
*GRRR!* Maxwell looked over to the side to see Buzz growling. However, he had to balk when he saw the bulldog grow.
Buzz had begun to transform, growing larger and larger, and sprouting feathers. His muzzle became elongated, like german shepherd. His tail became a feathery ribbon. And great coppery wings, with black feathered tips, sprouted out from the canine's back!
Maxwell thought for a moment that Buzz was a griffon, but not like any griffon he had ever seen. Then he thought back to the aerial battle back in Skypiea, and the Sky Knight's mount. Buzz wasn't a griffon, Buzz was a dog that ate a Devil Fruit! A Zoan Fruit! Making Buzz an Eagle-Dog!
Saga and Maxwell had both blinked at the transformation, and the assassins immediately become wary when they saw the great canine. Only Schneider and Lytton weren't confused about Buzz, seeing as Schneider was Buzz's owner, and Lytton was Schneider's friend.
*CAW! CAW! BARK!* Buzz barked at the assassins and pounced on a stunned assailant.
"GETT'EM BOY! Hahahaha!" Schneider cheered as his dog charged. Buzz had chomped down onto and man's torso and shook him like a chew toy. Then he let go as he threw him towards the window, shattering it.
Maxwell and Saga snapped out of their stupor and redoubled their efforts on fighting the assassins again. Saga fought with a fencers's grace, slicing his opponents open like he was using a paintbrush. Said "paintbrush" also glowed with a gleaming red light. Like the sword was relishing in the bloodshed. Maxwell also started trapping his opponents. Assassins were caught frozen in Winter's Grasp when Maxwell he rose his hand. Or they tripped over the Ice Mine circles Maxwell threw out as they charged. He didn't want to destroy the room after all.
All that commotion ceased though when the doors suddenly flung opened. Another Child of Nightmare had entered the room, wearing the same black robes as his brethren. Except, this cultist wore his hood down, so you could see his face.
He was bald, with pale grey skin. It was like if all the blood was drained from his body, leaving only the fresh corpse behind. Dark red face paint covered his eyes, stretching from the back of his head to the jowls beside his lips.
He took in the sight of his fallen comrades. They were encased in ice or laid bloody on the floor. Yet, this only brought a smile to his face. And those that were still conscious seemed to shy away from him. His eyes, they were red and bloodshot, a wild and frenzied look! Like the man was high on drugs… or possessed!
"BLOOD MAGE!" Maxwell immediately cried out, warning his companions as he preemptively prepared a fireball. They had to take him down quick!
Even as he thought of it, the cultists had already drawn his dagger and slit his wrist. The blood didn't just drip from the wound though, it poured! It held and swayed in the wind, like rain cascading in sheets! Then the crimson shot towards them!
Lytton and Schneider immediately dove behind the desk, with Buzz following behind them as he shrank back down. Saga chose to dive behind Maxwell, believing he had a better form of defense. And Maxwell did. He slammed his hand down on the floor, dispersing the famed and creating an Fire Wall. The barrier hissed and steamed as blood tried to pierce their skins, but Maxwell kept the flames concentrated in order to protect them.
Cultists, who had open wounds from the battle, then began to have the blood drained out of them. It rose like dripping wet ropes, blood intermingled with blood like macabre threads on a spinning wheel.
Maxwell did not want to know what kind of spell he was preforming! He immediately transmuted his wall and unleashed it in a ball of Flashfire, followed up with multiple flashes of Immolation.
The blood rose like a woven shield, boiling and steaming as the mystical fires clashed with the unholy magic.
This clash immediately drew the blood mage's attention, "The Magister…!" Maxwell could see him through the sheets of spinning red liquid. A gaze of somewhere between crazed hatred and pure euphoria.
Whatever he was before, he was no longer human!
The inhuman cultist leapt at Maxwell, dagger raised to rend his flesh. Maxwell immediately flung him back with a Mind Blast. He did not want this maleficar anywhere near him! And this bastard simply had to flip in the air and run back at him as soon as he landed!
This was the danger factor when facing blood mages! You could not afford to prolong the conflict! As long as they had access to blood, they were deadly!
Blood magic acted as a secondary mana source for casting. The more access the caster has to blood, the more powerful their abilities were. And if he was strong enough, he could ensnare a victim's mind with their blood, and force them to do his bidding!
The red liquid congealed around the assassin's dagger, elongating and crystallizing it into a short sword. Maxwell had never seen a mage do that before! He had Mordred, Mineive, and Salem started firing off arcane missiles again, but the Maleficar also had the blood split and churn into a holdable shield, with a rippling face and scabbed boarder. The blood mage now had a sword and shield, to attack him with, like some inverted Templar! Great!
Seeing the trouble, Saga came in on the assassin's sword arm and slashed down. The Maleficar rose his sword to deflect, but the two blades locked together! Neither of them expected that. Nor when the Shichiseiken started drinking up the blood of the assassin's dagger!
Realizing this, their assailant quickly broke away, dissolving the sword and backed off. He had to reassess the situation, but before the cultist could think, he had to raise his shield again to block more arcane missiles being fired at him.
Lytton and Schneider also joined in, firing their pistols at the blood mage. To defend himself, the Maleficar expanded his shield back into the woven cocoon he had preformed earlier. But now he was stuck in that position!
Maxwell and Saga moved in to flank the mage. Saga stabbed his sword into the twirling mass of blood, and the Shichiseiken drank in even more blood with a hellish light. Maxwell didn't even think. With the shield disrupted, and the blood mage distracted by Saga, Maxwell lunged at the mage's unprotected back.
His handless arm conjured up a Spirit Blade, extending his forearm like a pata gauntlet. And Maxwell drove that sword straight into the Maleficar's heart.
The assassin grunted in surprise at being stabbed. No blood spattered from his lips. No blood dripped from his killer's blade. And no more blood came to him.
He was at his limit, the price paid for his magic. And he slumped back into Maxwell's arms!
Maxwell's mind froze as he felt the body fall into his chest. It was both quiet and storming as he let the Maleficar fall to the ground.
He had done it. He killed a Maleficar before they could become any more of a threat. This… was a perfect example of what every Circle mage south of Tevinter was scared of becoming. An immoral monster who relished in the sanguine power!
And yet… Maxwell had finally killed a man. His first real victim since coming into this world.
Maxwell had killed before, yes, he wasn't going to deny that. He had fought for his life against demons, mages, mobs, and Templars, as chaos spiralled out of control in the Mage-Templar War! Yet, he hadn't killed anyone since he joined up with Luffy…
Luffy was always for keeping his opponents alive. Because while he wanted them beaten, he didn't want to take away their dreams. Oh they would be sent away, usually arrested by the marines after the battle, but it could give them time to think of new goals. Learn their lesson away from the place they terrorized.
…But Maxwell couldn't rationalize that thought with blood mages. They preformed too much damage far too quickly. Whether by creating chaos with the summoning of demons, or enslaving the minds of their victims.
They grew drunk on the power, and much of what they wrought could never be undone. Especially with the thralls they employed. They often just dropped dead when their puppeteer was killed…
Blood magic simply had far to much power to be let go, easily. And that was why he hated it—hated using it! It was to far powerful to be used responsibly!
Maxwell had barely begun to realize he had used a Spirit Blade with his left arm when Lytton droned out, "Well, the carpet's going to have to be replaced… Too much blood on it."
Everybody looked around at that. All the blood that had been floating in the air had collapsed as soon as the cultist died. The whole carpet was soaked with it! Dark and red spatter trails that almost looked like a pencil drawings with a faulty tip. And the assassins who had their blood drawn out looked like mummies with drops of blood splashed on them.
Maxwell also realized he had also been splashed with the blood from the blood cocoon. The mage could feel in in his hair, and his long jacket looked like the inside of a geode. He was going to need a bath… and maybe some new clothes.
He then saw Saga staring at the Shichiseiken. It's gems were positively glowing with all the blood it had drunk. His robes were stained, but they hid more easily in the red fabric he wore. However, instead of being mesmerized by the display, he flicked the blood off the blade and put it back into it's sheath. "Now… When the hell is Helsing supposed to be at her hide out? It's safe to safe to say that the cult is now after us."
Lytton nodded, seeing their plight, "She's going to be at her base, tonight."
"Good." Saga then cuffed Maxwell behind the head. "Get your head in the game!"