The man held Hori like something precious. Carefully but firmly wrapped within his biceps as large as one's torso. The speed he displayed in rescuing her was astonishing. Since Arson hadn't yet caught on that his prey wasn't in its stomach.
As he landed on the rubble, a loud boom erupted due to his size. Clattering rocks and debris around him.Arson's bulbous eyes widened in shock, its massive frame recoiling in surprise as it finally registered what had happened. "Where did she?!" He snapped, searching for what stole his meal.
With a calm, almost sad voice. The large man spoke to the sleeping beauty. "Poor kid.... She passed out."
He referred to the unconscious Hori, still nestled in his arms. Her body stained with all manner of fluids.
As the dust cleared, his rugged features came into view. He was a muscular man in his mid-30s, wearing a tight black shirt that strained to contain his massive frame, exuding raw masculinity with every flexed muscle. His legs were clad in iconic American army camo pants, paired with massive black boots that thumped the ground with every powerful stride.
His dark brown hair was buzz-cut, practical and straightforward. Stylish black shades hid his eyes, but his jawline spoke volumes about his serious demeanor.
A stylish beard and slight fades on the side.
A Colonel necklace hung around his neck, and below it, a golden cross glinted on his chest.
Arson glanced to his massive right arm, where a black badge with a bold, white 'B' emblazoned it. The sin nearly gasped.
The mysterious man glanced at Hori's left leg, with his shades reflecting the injury. The large wood stabbed in her calf.
His face squeezed unknowingly.
"That's gotta hurt...!" He let out a frustrated groan, followed by a heavy sigh.
He cursed, witnessing multiple dead civilians littered around Arson like trash.
Carefully, he set Hori down on a clear patch of floor a few feet away. Turning his attention to the Sin, he finally acknowledged the elephant in the room. A twisted grin spread across Arson's face, like he was expecting the man all along. In a giddy, mocking tone, it said, "We meet again, Bishop Number 6... Goliath." It spat out the last word like a compliment.
"Don't call me that, Arson...we're taking this somewhere else." He said after glancing around. They were still in a large neighborhood, despite it being completely evacuated. Property damage on such a scale would best be avoided. Arson let out a chuckle. "Fine by me... where do you want to die, Goliath?" It taunted, slithering closer to the Priest with a menacing swagger.
"I said... don't call me that." In an instant, Arson and the soldier were suspended in mid-air, 20,000 feet above ground level! The Earth's curvature stretched out beneath them, confirming their impossible elevation.
It all happened at the sound of a kitchen bell, serving as some form of teleportation. They both had no reaction to what just happened, as if accustomed to such instant movement.
It was finally time to do battle. A fight against this "Bishop" was sure to satiate Arson's burning desire.
---------------------------------------------------------
Far below, the majority of Fukui had already begun watching.
Before the first blow landed, a major news network tuned in. "Live Bouts"
Even at an altitude where planes thinned to specks, the network didn't miss a frame. A satellite hung just past orbit, watching, recording - built for fights like this.
"Following the tragic bombing that occurred at Matsumoto springs. Bishop number 6 is engaging the rank 2 Sin! Sir Allen Scott vs Arson!"
The female reporter cheered on, accompanied by multiple hurrahs.
"With the presence of such a qualified Priest, Hataki can finally deploy for search and rescue of survivors." She finished, attention snapping back to the live feed of the clash.
"Ohohoho! What took you so long? I was this close to incinerating all of Fukui." Arson cooed, almost delighted. His fingers clawing in excitement.
Its glee cooled and logic took over.
'My Blessing. I should use it on Goliath, immediately. He's stronger since our last dance... I can sense it even without observing his flame!'
For the first time, Arson's certainty cracked. It stared intently at Sir Scott, the large man simply standing airborne with folded arms.
Arson hissed angrily, the Bishop was clearly underestimating him by not attacking first. A mock vein throbbed on its timber head, cracking wood as it spread to the eyes. Composure shattered, Arson lost it.
"D-Don't look at me like that!" The words were a snarl, a threat.
Then it moved.
Despite its size, it blurred in an instant. Its jaw dropped past any sane limit, a wooden cavern meant to erase Sir Scott in one bite.
The shockwave hit first. Birds broke formation, fleeing.
Then the sound: an explosion that made thunder sound polite.
Arson's jaw didn't just break. It detonated. Fragments of mahogany and teeth scattered to the wind.
Sir Scott's left fist stayed clenched at his side. Wisps of heat bled from the glove, wood splinters still biting into the leather.
He hadn't moved. Still airborne. Still exactly where he'd been when he shattered a Sin's face.
Death's shadow nearly reached Arson.
Sir Scott folded his arms. No rush. No wasted motion.
"What do you think you're doing?" The Bishop didn't raise his voice. He lowered it.
The sin recoiled like it'd been struck. The paper frills at its throat, once proud, now hung limp. Cowed.
Sir Scott's composure cracked, a single vein throbbing at his brow.
"Activate your Blessing before we start," he commanded whilst staring Arson down like it was already dead.
"When next you respawn, shame will meet you before the earth's pull. I swear it." The chuckle that followed had no mirth in it. Only promise
The Sin slithered with less gall now, the damage it received was regenerating already, but its pride permanently scarred. Wood growing like flesh until the shattered jaw was fully revived.
Sweat fell from its forehead, steaming as it rolled down its hot jagged skin.
Arson used common sense, it was going to die without using this "Blessing" it swallowed its pride and brought a trembling right arm to its front.
The words shakily left its mouth, "W-work of the flesh.... Cinder!!!" It shrieked making an intricate hand sign, resembling one lighting an imaginary cigar.
The sea of clouds ceased to exist. Vaporized in a heartbeat!
Birds caught in the radius didn't fall, they ignited, blackened husks tumbling through superheated air.
Arson's maw split wide, a satanic glow bleeding from its throat like the gates of hell had swung open. Its skin darkened, hardened, polished to a terrible beauty.
The paper frills at its neck and wrists didn't just burn. They embraced it, fire sweeping across them like living gel, Arson shuddering as if the pain was pleasure.
Branch like horns sprouted from its head, snapping like firewood. They reached about the length of ten human heads. Arson now resembled a general from hell, exuding a crushing aura that would kill one for simply staying too close.
It cackled loudly, confidence clearly restored. As it loomed closer to the Bishop, about twice as large as it previously was. Which was just a humongous size.
"Unlike you blasted humans, Sins become 10 times stronger when a Blessing is unleashed! Remember this heat, Bishop. China still does." Arson added.
Sir Scott smiled, finally unfolding his hands with a descent towards the Demon.
It widened its mouth with a light that put the sun to shame. Arson unleashed hellfire, literally. The Sin adhered to its name and vomited scorching flames from its mouth.
Sir Scott dodged in the nick of time, a blast that dyed the sky bright red. As the bishop regained balance from the quick evade, Arson was already behind. One swing from his black talons should've sufficed, but Scott already noticed. He responded with a blow of greater strength, shattering 3 fingers out of 5. Arson hissed. 'What now?! Is he invulnerable?.'
He quickly whipped his tail, the lit bottle at the edge exploded on contact with the Bishop! Finally a direct hit that sent Scott flying.Arson saw it effective and launched more his way, flailing his tail about producing bottles like magic.
Sixteen flaming bottles hurtled toward the bishop, streaking through the sky with deadly speed. Scott anchored himself with sheer will, arms moving in a swift feint. At the ring of a kitchen bell, the bottles snapped into a perfect line.
He didn't touch them. Scott drove his fist forward into empty air, and a shockwave burst from it like water breaking a dam. Raw force tore through the bottles in a single chain of thunderous booms.
Arson surged through the flames, emerging in a vicious lunge. "Die!" he roared, his already regenerated claws carving down with immense force, leaving tremors in the little air that remained.
A barrage of strikes faster than sight fell upon the bishop. Talons flailed in a frenzy, desperate to rend him limb from limb. Scott flowed like a gentle river as he dodged, occasionally slipping through the dragons claws.
Sir Scott closed the distance in a single airborne step and grabbed Arson's right whisker, yanking it down with the savage jerk of a chainsaw cord.
Bone cracked. Arson's head wrenched forward, vision swimming. Before he could right himself, Sir Scott's backhand carved across his face, clean, precise, and loud enough to burst eardrums.
Scott's hand shot out, seizing Arson's left whisker. He twisted both around the dragon's hands, binding them as if they were a makeshift rope.
Arson struggled to no avail, the man had tied an intricate knot at blinding speed.
Sir Scott bent his head down, a slight change in his menacing aura. To something more calm.
"Arson... I've been thinking..." The Bishop let it drop, voice flat as if discussing lunch. But the sin wasn't finished. Heat churned in Arson's throat, coiling for a blast. 'Did the idiot forget my blessing was still active?! At this range not even his bones will remain!' the Sin thought with delight.
Sir Scott didn't flinch. He reached up, clamped a palm over Arson's mouth, and sealed the wooden lips shut with two fingers. "Shh~" Scott motioned his free right arm. No strain. No struggle. As if silencing a child. Arson froze. His arms hung dead at his front. The fire in his throat choked and died.
"Let me finish." the bishop murmured. The words fell soft, cold, and final. Heavier than any blow. After 3 seconds of silence he continued. "Don't you think it'll be better to... contain sins?" He tossed the question out like small talk, fingers pinching Arson's lips closed. Sir Scott shifted into a seated pose, still hovering high above the clouds.
His chin resting on one fist, the other hand keeping the beast from moving.
"…if I kill you now, you'll just respawn years from now and kill innocent people again, right? Same with all the Sins. It's a fucking cycle. So won't it be smarter to keep you guys alive… but trapped?"
Arson was too furious to follow. Who did this man think he was, forcing the embodiment of fire to sit there and listen to "suggestions"?
The flames at the dragons neck flared violently, black smoke hissing past his pinched lips. Scott ignored and continued, "Then again... confined Sins could just 'link' themselves out and escape."
A mental gasp shot through Arson's head, followed by a frown.
Ting~!
At the sound of the kitchen bell, the dragon teleported a few feet away, finally free from the Bishop's iron grip. Scott chuckled at the clumsy serpent, thinking to himself. 'Did he forget we could teleport?' the Sin could've avoided such embarrassment if it remembered earlier.
"I'll kill you, Goliath! I promise you this! Just like that human I flattened, your remains will be my lotion!"
One line in those empty threats rubbed Sir Scott the wrong way. A memory flashed, blood pooled on the floor after that blue haired girls' rescue. A quiet gasped escaped his lips. Followed by realization.
"That must've been the priest assigned to Katsuyama…" Scott's voice was less menacing, almost genuinely concerned. He held it there for a second before the rest came out. "…You killed him?"
Arson's grin widened. He couldn't stop himself.
"Priests," he said, drawing the word out like he was tasting it. "They're weaker every year, honestly!"
He let out a short, humorless laugh.
"I was actually shocked he died from that. I didn't use my Blessing. No enhancements. Nothing!" The Sin's shoulders shook as the laugh broke free: slow, grating, deliberate.
"How pathetic," he breathed. Arson watched Scott's face, dragging the sound out just a little longer, savoring the way the silence between them tightened. Every second of laughter was meant to cut deeper. 'If I can provoke him, his skill will slip! Then I'll incinerate him. Surely even Goliath is sentimental, all humans are.'
But the Bishops' reaction was unexpected. Scott's hand lifted, unhurried, and knocked against the dragons wooden skin. The distance between the two covered in an instant.
He tapped Arson's wooden chest.
Tok.
The vibration spread through the s
Dragon, rippling beneath the liquid within. Most people would hear nothing but dry wood. To him, the returning resonance carried shape.
Empty spaces answered quickly.
Dense matter returned heavy.
Scott felt something.
Arson, who was still laughing hadn't caught on. Scott had moved at speeds beyond perception, leaving the poor sin conversing with an after image.
What followed was a quick clean pop. Surgical precision was displayed, Scott had removed Arson's heart.