"Die!"
A word saturated with filth and malice spewed from the beast's maw, trailing strings of rancid saliva bridging the canines.
Klein's figure instantly collapsed, shriveling like a discarded parchment before being torn into jagged fragments by the invisible force. However, those shreds did not bleed as they fluttered away as mere scraps of paper.
BANG!
Simultaneously, a sharp, thunderous crack erupted from a different position. The iron-black fur of the Devil Dog bristled as something fast and invisible streaked through the crimson stained gloom of the night.
Klein had already completed his "Flaming Jump," and had instantly followed up with an Air Bullet. However, just like many of his prior attempts, it had ended up in vain as the Devil Dog dodged it effortlessly and began pouncing towards Klein, aiming to bite his neck in half.
The physical abilities of this beast far outshone Klein's, and after using Flaming Jump quite a lot of times, his spirituality was close to getting depleted. While the divination that he had done before leaving his house with Isengard Stanton did say that it would be dangerous, this level of threat made him a little rattled.
As the beast covered the huge distance in a matter of two seconds, suddenly two machetes came flying towards the beast. However, they clattered harmlessly against its skin that was resilient enough to block sharp weapons.
However, the sudden downpour of weapons was a distraction as Isengard Stanton appeared from behind the beast and aimed to stab it right between its eyes. But alas, the speed of a Sequence 7: Detective, despite getting a boost to their agility, was nothing to a Devil.
The dog spun and instantly opened its giant maw. Isengard's eyes went wide as he tried to twist his body mid-slash, however, it became apparent that it was impossible to get away from it. Just as all hope felt lost, a sudden explosion of ice followed by an icy wall, saved him.
Looking back, the beast saw a group of dead creatures—Zombies—running towards him. At the same time, the figure of a blonde woman in a black regal dress flashed in the beast's eyes. Another man with a gloomy expression ran towards the beast at a frightening speed and made a throwing gesture with his arm.
At the same time, the beast's body shivered and it began to be encased in ice. Right at the heels of that, a sludge that carried in itself the properties of Rot, Decay and Wither suddenly appeared inside the cocoon of ice, burning the beast's body.
The ice continued to grow while the beast's body that was already exhausted from the continuous fight with Klein and Isengard Stanton stayed frozen. Inside its eyes, the expressions of the blonde lady grew strained, however, she persisted.
After a few moments of struggle, the beast's actions grew even more lazy as it froze in place due to a Zombie's Ice Stun.
The light of life flashed a few times in its eyes before going dark.
The beast had died.
The Devil Dog responsible for the deaths and subsequent devouring of multiple victims had died.
The Devil Dog that was attempting to complete its ritual, required to advance to a Sequence 5: Desire Apostle via serial killings of those who had fallen from grace had finally perished.
The multiple zombies that had rushed towards the creature and had held him in place for the gloomy man to encase him with ice, instantly walked away from the scene, scattering everywhere.
Klein looked in confusion at the two familiar people. Well, one of them, as the blonde lady was still inside the beast who was encased in the cocoon of ice. After a beat or two, he saw an illusory figure phase out of the cocoon and disappear almost instantly.
The gloomy man casted a fleeting glance at Klein and then ran away.
At the same time, Klein jerked his head towards Isengard Stanton and saw him still sitting on the ground with his back against the wall and a grievous wound on his arm. He was about to go and help him, but Isengard motioned to him, indicating that he was alright.
Klein pursed his lips and nodded. Then he walked over to the dead body of the beast that had plopped down on the ground after the cocoon had disappeared. He stood there for a long time, looking at the corpse and waiting for the Beyonder Characteristic to form, however, it never appeared.
Sighing, Klein got to one knee and placed his hand on its body.
Now that Isengard and Klein had informed each other of their status as Beyonders, he did not stand at the ceremony. Instead, he hurried towards channeling the beast's spirit.
A soft, black horn-like object covered in eerie patterns manifested over the dog's body. However, Klein had merely blinked and the manifested Beyonder Characteristic had suddenly vanished! Klein couldn't help but stare in disbelief!
*****
In an underground tunnel, somewhere inside the West Borough, two men dragged the lifeless body of Jason Beria—the Sequence 5 Desire Apostle that was weakened by the Church of Evernight Goddess and then exterminated by the involvement of a Baron of Corruption and a Disciplinary Paladin from MI9.
While during the battle, the two parties had refrained from any kind of internal strife, after a weakened Jason Beria who was on the verge of losing control, was killed, the two parties got on the verge of having a fight between themselves.
After realizing how hard it was for them to fight a single Sequence 5, picking up a fight with a Sequence 5 and a Sequence 6 who were in a totally fresh state, the idea felt highly illogical. That was why they had to concede the corpse of Jason Beria to MI9.
However, it was true that there would be far reaching consequences of this action. After all, The Church of Evernight Goddess was not going to let it slide so easily. In its essence, the problem was not about distribution of spoils of war, but rather the brazen audacity of the members to swoop in like vultures and take away the kill.
The negative implications stemming from this were infinite.
*****
Sitting in a lavish room, Kiyotaka placed the cup down on a side-table and looked at the ceiling.
He had a content look on his face and it felt like he was able to feel easy for the first time in a very long while. The constant threat of death was no more, albeit, the fallout of the situation was still a huge problem.
Hearing three knocks on the door that were spaced irregularly, Kiyotaka casted his pale blue eyes at the door. "It's open."
As he said, a man dressed in a new classical robe slowly entered. He had a hunched back and a hooked nose. Underneath the new classical robe were the same old rags that he always used to wear.
Malakhi—or as the other members of the Zmanger Gang used to call him, Mal.
The man who had become the pseudo-boss of the gang while Kiyotaka was not around.
He walked over to Kiyotaka and stood silently.
Kiyotaka looked at him from top to bottom and breathed out. "You are unscathed."
"I was really lucky. The demon was too busy killing the others, so I managed to sneak out..." Mal replied.
Kiyotaka, once again, stared at Mal from head-to-toe. "I see. Why did you come?"
Mal did not reply, and instead walked towards the side-table, where Kiyotaka's expensive liquor still stood. The bottle was almost full and the liquid inside had a nice, amber color. Not staring at it too much, he placed down a soft, black horn-like object covered in eerie patterns on the table, right beside the bottle.
Kiyotaka stared at it for only a moment and he could feel nasty desires bubble inside him. Thankfully, he had regained a lot of his emotional restraint and hence the subtle derailing of emotions that stemmed from it did not affect him much.
He was about to ask Mal how he retrieved the Beyonder Characteristic, however, something about asking him so felt off. Even when he wanted to, Kiyotaka refrained from doing so. Something that his body and mind refused to do so in tandem.
"Thank you." Kiyotaka whispered slowly. Then, he tapped on the table. "Take the bottle as well."
Mal picked the bottle up silently and hid it inside his rags. He bowed in respect, and his bent back made him look even smaller than he already was.
"We've had around 20 casualties. The ones who were observing him with me died at that man's hands and the ones stationed in nearby houses also mysteriously died. All of them were the ones who you had doubts on that they would betray you.
I also found out that the man we were tailing for so many days was originally called Jason Beria.'
Kiyotaka nodded. At the same time, Mal bowed once again and left the room.
Kiyotaka looked at his palm and then at the roof.
'The essence of a Barbarian is opposite to a Lawyer. Lawyer finds loopholes in current rules and acts accordingly, however, the core quintessence of a Barbarian is to reject the current sets of rules completely, and then meet the rules head-on. This has one minor problem.
The problem is that I have to be very proactive in my involvement. I digested more of my potion when I beat up the Highlanders than the current debacle.
Well, I suppose this was necessary. After all, there was no way I was ever beating Patrick Jason—or rather, Jason Beria and his Devil Dog. I am not sure if I could even beat the Devil Dog. The only real chance I had was if I had used Sherlock and Isengard to wear the dog down and then chain Flesh Bomb, Flame Infusion and Delayed Explosion using Cyst and Ember.
Even that was not guaranteed to work.
From now on, I should focus more on meeting things head on. The identity of "Hyde" I am using, by changing my features subtly with Cyst and wearing a wig and contact lenses can be used for this matter. Rumors about a "Hound of Zmanger" are circulating inside the smaller gangs, hence, the identity is already gaining substance.
All I need to do is act on the acting principle of a Barbarian and meet the systems head-on. If I were to do this, while maintaining my real persona as a businessman, it would be quite easy to complete my ritual once I am ready to advance to Sequence 5: Mentor of Disorder.
How strange... The direction I had taken for this life, the small, seemingly inconsequential decisions that came naturally to me... All of them seem to be well fitted for the rituals in the future. Way too well fitted.'
Sighing, Kiyotaka stood up and walked towards the door and locked it. Once he had done that, he walked over to the giant bed.
'Now that Jason Beria has been eliminated, I can finally rest in peace, for some time, that is. There is a chance that the Beria family, which is one of the three most prominent Devil families, might take revenge for his death.
I should rent a small villa near the Church of Evernight Goddess. The last time I was attacked by the Rose Bishop, I am quite sure it was someone from the Church of Evernight Goddess who helped control the scale of destruction and even discreetly helped me win. I am more sure of this after witnessing the powers of a Sequence 6 firsthand.
Once I get a villa, I should probably invite the first potential customer that Leppard talked about. It's about time I increase my social presence. After all, the one thing that I have observed so far is that passiveness will only get me manipulated and killed, both of which I am not fond of.
I have to prepare for the rituals in advance and climb through the Sequences so I can break free of the chains that have bound me to fate.'
Kiyotaka monologued as he placed a cigarette to his lips and lit it.
While his life was full of threats and twists, despite all odds, he had conquered the threat without even being present. The victory came at the expense of a lot of innocent people and his own gang members, however, just as it had been drilled into his mind since he first opened his eyes in the White Room, he had stayed true to his nature.
Because, like all men of power, when Kiyotaka talked of prices worth paying, you could be damn sure of one thing.
And that was that someone else was paying the price.
With the cigarette still between his lips and the night still young, he quickly walked over to grab his coat, hat and sword-cane, before leaving the hotel.
*****
Standing a bit away from a round table that was made out of pitch black marble, Spirit Guide Daly Simone, Soul Assurer Soest and Spirit Warlock Crestet Cesimir debrief the entire situation.
Sitting around the table were people whose entire existence seemed to have become one with the shadows, and concealed underneath layers upon layers of mystery. In the dark ambiance of the room, even their features were impossible to make sense of. To the three present there, it looked as if there were only mere clothes that had animated itself.
One of them who sounded like an old man and wearing a black and red archbishop's robe and five Dark Sacred Emblems on his chest spoke up. "May the Goddess bless the poor children's souls." His voice was deep, aged, solemn and carried a hint of fatherly love.
The other hooded figures nodded and tapped their chest three times.
"You have done well, all of you. We commend for staying alive, and continuing to serve the Goddess in a similar manner." The old man kept talking. "What became of the man who had granted us this valuable information?"
Crestet was the one who replied. "He is alive and well. It is actually the same person who we were informed about to not meddle with too much, unless absolutely necessary."
The man's features behind his hood, even though they were not visible to the others, grew grim. His mouth worked, and he opened it before closing it once more. The words felt trapped like a meek bird inside his throat.
"Very well. The matters after this shall be handled by us. After you take an oath of secrecy for this event, you will be rewarded accordingly."
The three who were standing bowed and then tapped their chests three times, saying in unison: "Praise the Goddess."
The three did not talk after leaving the underground meeting place and went their own separate ways. After about an hour, all three of them were finally done by swearing their oaths of secrecy separately.
Daly, who was the most injured, took a carriage to her flat that was not that far away from the Church.
When she reached the house where her flat was located, she saw a young man with an average face, blonde hair and charming blue eyes standing in front of her door. He had flowers and some other things in the cradle of his right arm. The Crimson Moonlight had washed him completely in its phosphorescence, making the usually average looking man appear much more handsome.
Daly stopped and looked at him for a long while, staring at his eyes and the creases around it before snapping out of her thoughts. "You... Why are you here?"
Kiyotaka walked forward and simply placed the flowers and other small gifts in her arms which made their way up to naturally hold it from him. "Thank you."
There was nothing else that he said. Just a simple 'Thank You" and then he turned his back and began to leave.
After he was about 7 steps away from her, Daly softly called out. "Stop."
Kiyotaka turned around and stood simply. He offered no words and stood like a statue, taking the support of his cane that doubled as a sword. "Why don't you come inside for tea?"
Kiyotaka stared into her eyes and a cold feeling crept up his spine. It was the same chilling sensation he felt earlier when he was handing the gifts to her and his hand touched hers. Daly was as cold as a corpse — to an unsettling extent.
"You are cold?" It was less a question and more a statement — a rhetoric.
"Aren't we all? Some days are just colder..." Daly's words drawled as she stepped forward.
'This should be alright.'
A thought flashed in his mind as he placed both hands over the head of his cane. "Tea it is."
Daly did not smile at his reply, and instead revealed a rather troubled look. She walked forward, held him by the sleeve and guided him inside.
*****
Author's Note: Hi everybody. This chapter was such a pain to write. I am not very satisfied with the final result, but it does coincide with my vision for the story, so I am still going to publish it.
On a more positive note, I have finally started reading Shadow Slave again and plowed through the flashback in Vol. 2
Currently on the part where the Cohort reaches the base of the mountains and Sunny gets his Aspect Legacy. How much should I read before writing the First Nightmare for Kiyotaka? Should I make it after Volume 2 (Chapter 350) or like LOTM, should I finish the story before writing anything?
Anyhow, with the immediate conflict resolving, the next few chapters will once again be used to build up the next big confrontation, which is the Great Smog of Backlund.
Comment your theories for the future, what devious shit Kiyotaka might be cooking and what devious shit is being cooked by "Them" involving Kiyotaka.
Enough chatter, hope you like the chapter (I doubt it's a very likeable chapter) and I will see you all next time. Tschüß