*In an undisclosed location, Ryuuji was writhing in pain on the ground as his pupils were completely blue and blue markings appeared across his face and body. In another room, Cinder watched from a monitor while sitting in a chair. She had an unamused look on her face as she watched Ryuuji scream out in pain before pressing a button and inching closer to the monitor*
(Cinder): The longer you fight it the more painful it becomes. Just give in.
*Cinder takes her finger off the button and turns around in her chair to see Oriane*
(Cinder): What’s the situation?
(Oriane): The citizens that we sent out into the field have been defeated. Including Gilda and Vincent.
(Cinder): So even Gilda and Vincent were defeated. They are more persistent than he led me to believe. Do we have a location on them?
(Oriane): The demihuman and robotic soldier have flown to Zegkirche. I’m sure they’re there by now. The samurai and other demihumans were last seen somewhere in the mountains and the big group are resting in an abandoned village.
(Cinder): No doubt to find shelter for the night. I’m sure the mountain group wouldn’t be stupid enough to traverse the mountain at night which means they’re taking shelter in a cave or something. Tell our citizens to stay on guard and search the surrounding area come morning. As for the group in the village, I shall leave Aires and the other citizens to handle them.
(Oriane): Understood.
*Oriane leaves and Cinder goes back to watching the monitor where she sees Ryuuji has stopped writhing in pain and begins to smile*
***
*In the abandoned village, the group had entered a house and started a fire in the fireplace to warm up and cook some canned food they got from the train. While Raika and Zia were busy preparing the food, the others were busy planning their next move and surveying a holographic map being projected from Hibana’s laptop*
(Hibana): So according to Gael, the aura of the guys who kidnapped Ryuuji leads further up into the mountain and stops around this area.
*Hibana zooms in on the area where everyone can see an abandoned building*
(Morgan): An abandoned monastery. How fitting.
(Rika): The good news is there’s a path that’ll lead us straight to the monastery from there. We’ll meet up with Sanada and the others and storm the place.
(Nate): Sounds like a plan.
(Zia): Foods ready!
*Everyone rushes over to the fireplace where Raika and Zia begin to hand out the food to everyone*
(Raika): Let’s hurry and eat, so that we can get to bed early. Who’s taking first watch?
(Dust): Rookie and I will handle it. We didn’t fight so we’ve got plenty of energy left.
***
*A few minutes later, everyone had finished eating and were sleeping by the fireplace to stay warm except for Dust and Jin who were on lookout duty for citizens and Eclipses. Zia and Ember were both cuddling and hugging Amarti and Nate respectively as they slept. Raika and Morgan slept peacefully while holding on to their gun and wand in one hand. Rika laid her sword above her head as she slept while Hibana clutched her laptop like a teddy bear. Up on the second floor, Dust and Jin were looking out the window while wrapped in blankets to stay warm. Jin was starting to doze off but fought hard to keep his eyes opened*
(Dust): Get some rest, rookie.
(Jin): Huh!?
(Dust): You’re dozing off. Get some rest, I got this.
(Jin): No. I’m awake. I can handle this.
*Jin sat up in his chair*
(Jin): This is not how I thought I would spend my first holiday as a knight.
(Dust): Unfortunately, you’re no regular knight. You’re a member of Shadow Eye. Starting to regret your decision?
(Jin): What, and miss finding out that the Demon’s Shadow all this time used to be a mobster? No thank you.
*Dust smiles and laughs*
(Jin): I sure hope Sir Ryuuji’s okay.
(Dust): I’m sure he is. But then again Hell hath no fury like an ex.
(Jin): I still can’t believe he had an arranged marriage when he was just a kid.
(Dust): Call it old fashioned but these things did happen quite a lot back in the day and still do with royalty.
(Jin): I guess, but for a guy like Sir Ryuuji? I always saw him as the guy who blazed his own path and overcame every obstacle presented before him. He’s the gold standard of what every knight wants to be and should strive to become.
(Dust): True, but he’s also a human being. He’s not perfect. He makes mistakes and he has a dark side.
(Jin): You think Sir Ryuuji has a dark side?
(Dust): Of course. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t be trying to save him. I don’t trust a guy without a dark side. It’s one of the reasons why I trust you so much, rookie.
(Jin): Me, when did I show you my dark side?
(Dust): In the desert near Carnivale.
(Jin): What, you mean that little spat?
(Dust): It may have been a spat to you but to me, it showed me the vicious side you’ve been hiding for such a long time. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone has their dark side. The trick is to make sure you don’t get consumed by it and overshadow it with your good side.
(Jin): That. . .actually makes sense and sounds logical. So does this mean you’ve seen Sir Ryuuji’s dark side?
(Dust): I’ve seen it and survived it. Pray that you never have to see it.
*As they finished talking they heard the creaking sound of wood as someone was coming up the stairs. They turned around to see Morgan and Rika coming to take over*
***
*The next morning came. The skies were clear and the sun was out. Woodland creatures quickly scattered as 25 individuals led by Aires arrived just outside the abandoned village. Taking a deep breath and smiling menacingly, Aires led the citizens into the village. He could see smoke coming out of the house’s chimneys and closed in on it with the citizens. The citizens could see figures on the second floor and surrounded the house so that no one could escape*
(Aires): Knights of Brister. Consider this a morning call.
*The citizens surrounding the house shot fireballs inside. This caused the house to catch fire and the citizens stood back waiting for the knights to come running out. Instead, they heard a door open from the second house on the left and saw Morgan exiting the house with a canister in his hand*
(Morgan): Good morning. If you’re waiting for someone to come out of that house then I’m afraid you’re out of luck. They’re just stick figures. The only one in this village is just me.
***
*Flashback*
*As Morgan and Rika were walking up the stairs, they were holding life-size stick figures*
(Morgan): Okay, put that one over there, but keep it far back where you can just barely see it.
*Following Morgan’s advice, Rika did as she was told*
(Dust): Care to fill us in on what’s going on?
(Morgan): No time. Right now you need to get out of this village with the others.
(Jin): Why?
(Morgan): Think about it, with the smoke coming from that chimney it’s a dead giveaway to the citizens on where we are. They’ll be here to attack us at dawn, but I’ve already laid the trap. Start heading up the mountain and meet up with the others. I’ll handle the citizens and catch up with you later.
(Dust): You sure you’ll be okay by yourself?
(Morgan): Not to worry. It shouldn’t take long. I just want to ask them a few questions.
(Dust): See rookie? Everyone’s got a dark side.
*End flashback*
***
(Aires): Pretty noble of you to stay behind and fight. But also stupid.
*Aires prepares to launch a fireball at Morgan only to find himself unable to produce fire. He tries again and fails. Other citizens try to create fire as well but have no luck. In fact some find their hands frozen over*
(Morgan): Right on time.
*Some of the citizens begin to fall over and shiver from the cold. Morgan begins to drink from his canister as he watches everyone begin to freeze to death*
(Aires): What. . .did you do?
(Morgan): Nothing much. You see in order to make fire you need three things: heat, fuel, and oxygen. However, if you’re missing even one of them then it becomes impossible to make fire. When you create fire using magic you replace the fuel with magic particles floating all around us but the same rules apply. Miss even one of these three things and you can’t make fire. So I got to thinking how can I stop fire mages with my magic. Eliminating magic particles is impossible and if I eliminated oxygen I put myself at risk of dying. So that left heat and where does the heat from fire magic come from? The body. If the body is too cold it can’t produce heat. When you entered the village you may have noticed a slight temperature change. Well that’s because you entered my Ice domain and I’ve been dropping the temperature.
*Aires and the others looked around and could see the landscape of the village change into a frozen tundra. Morgan dragged a lawn chair over to Aires and the citizens and sat down in front of them*
(Morgan): Now before you freeze over in this hellhole you’re going to answer a few questions. If I were you, I’d be quick to answer them.
***
*Outside of the abandoned monastery a fog was covering the area as citizens who were a mixture of humans, elves, and demihumans were guarding the pathway. Everyone was silent. Only the sound of wind could be heard. One citizen who was a wolf demihuman with yellow eyes and curly hair that was a mix between black and white was looking around when all of sudden his mouth got covered and he was dragged away unable to call for help and went unnoticed by the other citizens. He was knocked out and thrown to the side as the members of Shadow Eye and the others began to walk toward the monastery unnoticed by the citizens. Dust’s image was seen leading. Followed by Amarti on his right and Zia on his left. Behind Amarti were Sanada, Jade, Gael, and Hibana. Behind Zia were Raika, Rika, Jin, Ember and Nate. Hibana’s drone was flying above them. In Raika’s hand was a modified shotgun and in Zia’s hand was a crossbow. When the group got at a good distance from the monastery’s entrance, the citizens began to notice them. Zia quickly fired off her crossbow and shot four citizens with light arrows to kill them instantly. Raika was next and fired off her shotgun to shoot lightning bullets. She took out three citizens at once who were charging at them and two who got hit by the electric shockwave of the blast which caused them to fall off the edge of the pathway. The citizens began to shoot fireballs at the group but the knights scattered to avoid getting hit. Using the fog as cover, Sanada and Rika were able to make it to a group of citizens unnoticed and slash through nine of them total. Nate and Ember ran past them followed by Hibana with Jin and Gael covering the rear. Their goal was to reach the door and unlock it. Eight citizens stood in their way and Nate and Ember sped up to take them down. Setting her feet ablaze, Ember leaped forward feet first to deliver a corkscrew-blazing dropkick to four of the citzens to send them flying backwards. She landed on the ground feet first and defenseless as she was quickly surrounded by the remaining four citizens each ready to attack. Before the citizens could launch their attacks, Nate came in from behind and sent them airborne with a wind uppercut. The citizens fell to the ground unconscious as Hibana, Jin, and Gael ran past them. Ember looked back at Nate and smiled*
(Ember): I love watching you fight, babe.
*An elf citizen tried to attack Ember from behind but she sensed the attack coming and swept the citizen’s legs to bring them down.
(Nate): Not now honey. I’m working.
*Nate grabbed the citizen’s hair to pull them up and delivered a knockout punch to the face. Hibana made it to the door and began hacking into the electric lock while Jin and Gael fought off any citizens that got near her. One citizen on the pathway who was human used a Fire Grid technique to create a fire and was aiming at Hibana. Before the citizen could fire the shot off, they were lifted off the ground from behind by Jade who wrapped her arms around their waist and delivered a German suplex*
(Dust): Impressive bridge.
(Hibana): And open sesame.
*A click could be heard and the door to the monastery was opened. The knights ran inside where they could see the place was poorly lit*
(Amarti): Gael, can you sense Ryuuji?
(Gael): I’m sensing a powerful aura deeper inside. But something’s off.
(Jade): Is it Ryuuji?
(Gael): I don’t know. But it’s definitely warped.
(Dust): It’s as good a lead as any. Lead the way mutt.
*The group began to make their way through the monastery with Gael leading the way. While they couldn’t sense any of the citizens they still proceeded with caution. They eventually came to a pair of big doors where Dust used his wires to cut open a hole in the door for them to enter. Once inside the next room they saw Cinder, smirking and standing with her hands behind her back*
(Cinder): Welcome, knights of Brister. You’ve certainly exceeded my expectations.
(Gael): Guys, it’s her. She’s the one emitting the warped aura.
(Dust): You must be Cinder Palic. Let’s skip the pleasantries and get straight to it. Where’s Ryuuji?
(Cinder): Judging by your mannerisms you’re Dust. You certainly don’t waste time.
*Not hearing an answer, Dust charged at Cinder who created a fire whip with her fingers and tried to attack Dust but he dodged the attack and slid behind her. Before Cinder could turn around and attack, Dust rose his feet and wrapped a wire around Cinder’s neck to subdue her*
(Dust): Okay. Maybe you didn’t hear me so I’ll ask again a little closer this time. Where’s Ryuuji?
(Cinder): Impressive. But a big mistake.
*Before Dust could react, he was punched in the face from the side and sent to the ground. When he looked out to see who punched he was shocked to see that it was Ryuuji*
(Ryuuji): Are you alright my queen?
(Cinder): Of course sweetie. I had everything under control.
(Ryuuji): I’m sorry. I had to come out earlier than you anticipated. I couldn’t stand that dark elf touching you.
*Ryuuji kisses Cinder’s neck causing her to purr*
(Raika): Ryuuji, what the hell? Get away from her.
(Cinder): No need to be jealous. He’s just showing his affection like a good lover.
(Gael): Something’s wrong. His aura is emitting the same kind of warpness as her.
(Zia): Explain yourself. The true Ryuuji would never do something so disloyal and sinister.
(Cinder): I simply freed his mind. The blue flame has a lot of powerful abilities. One of them is being able to overwrite memories through intimate contact.
(Amarti): So he’s been brainwashed.
(Cinder): I prefer cleansed. He’s taken his rightful place at my side as leader of the New Sun. With our combined powers we shall burn this corrupt world to the ground and lead the new world.
(Dust): That’s one distorted fairy-tale dream. Ryuuji’s body may be under your control but the mind is still fighting.
(Cinder): Yes, I can’t deny that Ryuuji still resists me. He has yet to use the blue flame. Perhaps the death of his friends will be all he needs to push him over the edge. I have things to prepare so I’ll leave it to you, sweetie. Do your best not to get blood all over your outfit.
(Ryuuji): Of course, dear.
*Cinder heads toward the back door and exits the room leaving everyone in there with a brainwashed Ryuuji. As Ryuuji was getting ready to attack them with a large fireball, Dust wrapped a wire around Ryuuji’s right leg and flung him through a pillar*
(Dust): Guys, go after Cinder. I’ll handle this. Part of the protocol.
(Amarti): Alright. We’ll leave it to you. Best of luck.
(Jin): Wait, we can’t just leave Dust to fight by himself. I’m staying.
(Dust): Get out of here, rookie. Unless you’re prepared to die you’ll only get in the way.
*Jin looked into Dust’s eyes and could tell how serious he was. As much as Jin wanted to help he knew just how powerful Ryuuji was. Begrudgingly, Jin left with the others to pursue and capture Cinder. As they left, Dust spoke Elfen and summoned his twin nichirin swords*
(Dust): Alright Ryuuji, welcome to Dr. Balor’s therapy session. Instead of looking at pictures of blobs and talking about your feelings, I’m just going to beat the shit out of you and see if that snaps you out of it.
Author’s Note: Early upload. Hopefully, this makes up for last week’s delay. Not a whole lot to talk about in this chapter. It serves as the setup for a fight I’ve been wanting to do since I first started the series. Dust vs Ryuuji. The two faces of Shadow Eye going at it. Even though Ryuuji isn’t in the right state of mind, I can assure you it’s going to be an epic fight. While Dust handles Ryuuji, can the others capture Cinder and stop her? Tune in next week to find out. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.