*Outside of the Clockwater Gate Prison a river could be seen flowing through it and searchlights were on looking for any intruders. There were also steel fences surrounding the prison which prevented the Eclipses from getting in. All they found were Eclipses in the shapes of crocodiles and wolves. The members of Shadow Eye and Balor Family were up on a hill where they saw the prison*
(Jin): Well this is the place. And judging by the searchlights, I think they’re expecting us.
(Raika): That won’t be a problem. The Eclipses on the other hand might get in the way.
(Kai): Leave that to me. I’ll clear you a path.
(Dante): Allow me to assist you with that.
(Sanada): I shall help as well.
(Lylah): Me too.
(Jordan): I’ll stay behind and provide cover fire with Raika here.
(Brigit): I’ll also help out. Can’t let you guys have all the fun.
(Morgan): Very good.
(Lylah): There’s a good chance that those who went missing are locked inside. I volunteer to find them but I’m worried about Dust.
(Jin): Leave that to us. We’ll find them.
*Jin, Gael, Alita, Scarlet, and Sera stepped forward*
(Gael): We’ve been sitting on the sidelines long enough. It’s time for us to go wild.
(Ryuuji): They seem confident they can handle this. So I say we leave it to them.
(Lylah): Very well. I’ll trust you to find and save those who were kidnapped.
(Brigit): All right. Let’s forget our worries and start this party.
*Brigit pulls out a 16-inch blunt knife and runs down the hill to face the Eclipses*
(Kai): Always the first one to move out.
*Kai runs down the hill*
(Dante): Drinks on the person with the least amount of kills.
*Dante followed by Lylah runs down the hill as well*
(Raika): Hear that, Sanada? Looks like you’ll have to try this time around.
(Sanada): It would appear so.
*Sanada runs down the hill after the others while Raika and Jordan get into position. Back at the watchtowers in the prison, members of the Bansika Family spot Brigit, Kai, Dante, and Lylah*
(Bansika Family member #1): Ah! I spotted them! On the southside!
*A member of the Bansika Family with a sniper rifle moved into position as the other member shined the spotlight on Brigit. As the dark elf was getting ready to fire, he was taken out by Raika with a headshot from her sniper rifle up on the hill. The sniper fell backward much to the shock of the dark elf working the searchlight. Seconds later the searchlight was destroyed by Jordan’s lightning arrow*
(Jordan): Nice shot!
(Raika): Same to you. Let’s move on to the next tower.
*As Raika and Jordan began to focus on the next tower, Brigit made it to the first Eclipse which was a wolf. As soon as the wolf sensed her presence it turned around and charged at her. Brigit quickly disposed of the wolf by slicing through it with ease. Her knife caught fire as it cut through the wolf like butter and two cards appeared on the knife. One card was the queen of hearts and the other was the seven of spades. With her knife still on fire a second wolf leaped in the air trying to attack her, but Brigit easily sliced through the neck of the Eclipse to kill it. This time the king of diamonds and the jack of clubs appeared on the sword. A third wolf Eclipse tried to attack Brigit from behind, but she did a backflip to avoid the attack. While in the air she fired a die at the Eclipse. When the die hit the Eclipse it came up six and exploded destroying the Eclipse in the process. As soon as Brigit landed an alligator that was 17-feet long came crawling with its mouth open ready to eat her. Once again two cards appeared on the knife. One was the ace of hearts and the other was the king of hearts*
(Brigit): Firejack!
*Swinging her knife downward, a large eruption of fire shot from the blade and sliced the alligator in half straight down the middle*
(Brigit): Blackjack!
*Back on the hill. Everyone watched with amazement at Brigit’s display of power*
(Jin): Woah! Commander Brigit is so powerful.
(Ryuuji): It’s not power, it’s luck.
(Jin): Huh?
(Ryuuji): That girl was blessed with incredible luck. Even at the academy, she had so many lucky breaks it was almost unfair.
(Gael): What do you mean by luck?
(Ryuuji): Brigit’s magic is very luck based. If I had to describe it, it’s like a character in an RPG. Most players will put all their points in their character’s strength, defense, and magic.
(Hibana): Obviously. Who gives a damn about luck and agility?
(Ryuuji): True. And she’s the exception to that idea. She’s like a character who put all her points into the luck stat. Her luck is so high that all of her attacks do a little extra damage each time. It’s what gamers like to call a critical hit.
(Hibana): And since her luck stat is so high the critical hit is always guaranteed.
(Sera): So that’s why all of her attacks are based around gambling. The odds are always stacked in her favor.
(Scarlet): And since the odds are always stacked in her favor, even her simplest attacks can be quite destructive to enemies.
*Back on the field. Sanada was slashing through Eclipses left and right at high speed. Kai was slashing through waves of Eclipses with his sword which he made to be seven-feet long and ten-inches wide. Alita speculated that a sword that long and wide would weigh around 500-600 pounds. Yet, Kai was swinging it around with one hand. When he became surrounded he tossed his blade up into the air and followed after it. Blue fire soon began to form on the blade. Kai jumped up and grabbed the blade by the handle*
(Kai): Burning Impact!
*Kai and the blade came crashing down to the ground creating a crater and unleashing a large wave of blue fire which sent the Eclipses flying and burning to ashes on the spot. Near the gates. Twelve members of the Bansika family were standing their ground with wooden swords in hand. They all wore dark silver kimonos and black straw hats. Lylah approached them with her dual axes in each hand*
(Lylah): The Bansika Family’s infamous wooden ronin. Flint must be desperate if he’s sending you out here.
(Wooden Ronin): The Queen of the Night graces us with her appearance. Why would you go through such lengths for a demon?
(Lylah): Because that demon has done more for me than you could ever imagine.
*Lylah lifts up one of her axes and points it at the dark elves*
(Lylah): One warning. Stand down.
*The dark elves remained silent. However, one of them vanished in the blink of an eye and appeared behind Lylah. Believing he had the advantage, the dark elf prepared to draw his sword and slash through Lylah. Another dark elf charged at Lylah and screamed to keep her attention on him. Both elves believed that Lylah would be struck down by one of them, but they soon found themselves flying in the air barely conscious. Lylah sensed the attack coming from behind and up front. Rather than panic, she gripped her axes and spun around creating a black and purple vortex out of magic. The vortex cut the bodies of the two elves as it flung them upwards into the sky. As Lylah stops spinning the two dark elves crash on the ground hard with cuts all over their body. The remaining dark elves charged at Lylah believing she’d be unable to defend herself against their combined barrage of attacks. A dark purple aura began to form over Lylah’s body and take the form of a panther. As the dark elves went by Lylah they slashed at her with their wooden swords only to immediately fall one by one with large slash marks appearing over their chest areas. Lylah used her quick reflexes that were enhanced by her Shadow Beast form to block the attacks of the dark elves and counterstrike them. Her attacks were so quick that the elves couldn’t see her counterstrike and defend against it. Not that it mattered as she swung her axes with such force that she would have easily slashed through the wooden swords and broken them. When the last elf fell to the ground, Lylah dissolved the Shadow Beast form and returned to normal*
(Lylah): Shadow Beast: Dark Vengeance.
*As Lylah was fighting, Dante made his way to the steel gates of the prison where he created an opening with his sword. The gates to the prison open and out came twenty dark elves who quickly surrounded him*
(Dante): Twenty against one? That doesn’t seem fair.
(Dark Elf #3): You’re welcome to give up.
(Dante): I was talking about you.
*Dante quickly ran to the elf and slashed him across the chest diagonally. The blood that came shooting out was instantly frozen as the elf passed out from pain. One dark elf took a shot at Dante where he quickly grabbed another sword from the pouch on his back and blocked the attack. The elf kept shooting at Dante who deflected the bullets with ease. As soon as Dante reached the dark elf he sliced their hand off with one sword and then used the other sword to decapitate him. Fear soon started to creep in as Dante attacked the remaining elves one by one, cutting them down. One elf tried to run away but Dante threw his sword which pierced the elf through the leg and they fell over. Dante then pulled out another sword from his pouch and continued to slice down the remaining elves that stood in his way. After slicing down the last elf, he walked over to the elf he pierced with his sword who was trying to crawl away. Dante pulled the sword out of the elf’s leg who screamed out in pain. Then Dante plunged the sword into the chest of the elf to kill them. He then waved at the hill alerting everyone that the coast was clear and they came down. Back in the prison’s control room, Flint watched with anger as his men were easily taken down*
(Flint): Shit! All family members converge onto the lab! Don’t let any of them through!
*Ryuuji kicked open the gates of the prison doors and the group splits. The young knights led by Gael ran down a hall on the right to free the prisoners. Meanwhile, the others led by Hibana went to look for Dust. Hibana led them down some stairs where they came to a crowded but empty hall*
(Hibana): We’re getting close. Dust should be down this hall.
(Lylah): I pray to the gods he’s still alive.
*All of sudden, a dark elf came flying out of a closed room and slammed into a wall. The elf was bloody and had bruises all over his face. Dust soon walked out of the room and stretched his arms*
(Morgan): He’s alive.
(Dust): Hey guys. Didn’t hear you come in. So glad you could make it.
***
*In another section of the prison. Gael led the group to the prison cells holding all the kidnapped elves where they came across Isaac waiting for them*
(Isaac): You’re not getting past me.
(Gael): I would find that intimidating if I didn’t find it so funny.
(Isaac): You idiots have ruined everything! I worked hard getting that idiot to the position he’s at so that I could live the good life, but now it’s all crumbling down because of you.
(Alita): Why are you working under someone like Flint in the first place? You seem too smart for a guy like that?
(Isaac): What choice do I have? The clan recognizes strength first, and intelligence second. If I want to survive I need to attach myself to the strongest and control them from the shadows.
(Scarlet): And you’re prepared to sacrifice others to achieve your own selfish needs?
(Isaac): It’s a dog eat dog world. I’ll use whatever means necessary to reach the top. Including sacrificing the lives of insignificant people.
(Jin): You know, Flint may be a scumbag but you’re way worse than him.
(Isaac): I could care less.
*Isaac reaches into his pocket, pulls out seven brown crystals with different markings on them, and tosses them*
(Isaac): Zaiso! Ki spirits! (Rise! My spirits!)
*The crystals glow brown and turn into possessor spirits. They all stood at an average human height with brown eyes, brown skin, and darker brown clothing. Two of the possessors were holding spears, two were bare-handed, one was holding a sword, another was holding an axe, and the last one had sais*
(Sera): Possessor spirits.
(Gael): Nothing to worry about. These things are amateurs compared to Morgan’s spirits.
(Issac): Seiyak! (Attack!)
*The spirits charge at the group and they split up to fight them. Scarlet took on the two spear spirits. One was in front of her, while the second jumped behind her. Scarlet was able to block the attacks from both spirits. Remembering her training with Morgan, she sought to isolate the two from each other and take them down one at a time. The good news was Gael was right about these spirits. Compared to Morgan’s spirits, these spirits were slower by comparison and not as strong. Even summoners she faced within the kingdom seemed to be more of a challenge than these spirits. She managed to kick the spirit in the front away and started focusing on the spirit behind her. She turned where she started going on the offense. The blade of her spear caught fire and she managed to slash through the spear of the spirit. She then pulled her spear back and thrust it into the chest of the spirit and the back. She managed to pierce the core of the spirit to destroy it. The other spear-wielding spirit tried to attack from behind but Scarlet sensed the attack coming and spun away to avoid getting hit. The spirit then tried a thrust attack, but Scarlet did a split to avoid the attack and was now on the ground. She thrust her spear diagonally upward and pierced the chest of spirit. When she pulled the spear back out the core was around the blade and shattered. Gael saw Scarlet’s battle out of the corner of his eyes and was impressed. Not wanting to be outdone, he picked up the pace against the sword spirit he was fighting against. After parrying a strike, Gael twirled his light bo staff above his head smacking the spirit in the face multiple times before doing a split and firing a sphere of light magic into the chest of the spirit to destroy the core and the spirit along with it. Gael wanted to get back up but couldn’t move*
(Gael): Okay, this wasn’t as easy as I thought. Could somebody help me, please?
*Gael’s request for assistance fell on deaf ears as everyone seemed busy fighting. Alita was busy dodging the attacks of the axe-wielding spirit by hopping backward with an unamused look on her face. She finally got tired of hopping and jumped in the air where she wrapped her tail around the spirit’s neck and decapitated it. She then turned her attention to one of the brawler spirits who charged at her. With one hand behind her back, Alita easily blocked the attacks of the spirit while standing still and using her other hand. After seeing enough, Alita turned her hand into a beam of light and slashed through the spirit to destroy it. Sera was battling the spirit with the sais. Her knives and the spirit’s sais clashed against one another. As they continued to clash against each other, Sera finally managed to have an opening and slashed the chest of it to expose its core. The spirit jumped back to repair the damage, but Sera threw her knife and pierced the core to destroy it. This just left Jin who was using his metal tonfas to block the attacks of the second brawler spirit before going on the offensive and striking the spirit with multiple punches and kicks. In the middle of his strikes, he transformed one of his tonfas into a mallet and cracked up the chest of the spirit to expose its core.
(Jin): Bullseye!
*Jin reaches into the chest of the spirit to grab the core and pours his magic into it. A bright flash occurred and once it died down the brawler spirit was smaller and was now grey*
(Isaac): Wh-wh-what did you do to my spirit!?
(Jin): I turned him into a metal spirit. Haven’t you heard of magic conversion? It’s a very important lesson they teach summoners. If you pour your magic into the body of a spirit you can convert them into your spirit. All assuming your magic overpowers the original host.
(Isaac): Impossible. Using that technique takes years of practice to pull off.
(Jin): Or just a very good teacher who knows what he’s doing and can explain it for you to master.
*Jin walks over to Gael and helps him up while Scarlet, Alita, and Sera surround Isaac. They promptly beat him up to render him unconscious and take his card key that will unlock the door to the cells. They quickly use his key to enter the area where everyone is locked up in the cells. Everyone sees a lot of dark female elves and a few males. Going to one cell they open the door and see a young girl with pink hair and brown eyes shivering and on the verge of crying*
(Jin): Hi there. I’m here to help you.
*The girl quickly ran to a corner of the cell, crouching, and fearing for her life. The elf began to shout at Jin in the Elfen language*
(Alita): Stand back. She doesn’t understand human speech.
*Alita enters the cell and crouches down next to the girl and smiles*
(Alita): Cest goban! Reber wi hezzle mu. (It’s okay? We’re here to rescue you.)
*This managed to calm the dark elf down and she took Alita’s hand as she rose to her feet. Alita walked the girl out and she saw everyone releasing the other elves that were locked up*
(Jin): Is she all right now?
(Alita): Yes. I spoke Elfan to convey that we’re here to help.
(Jin): Didn’t know you could speak Elfan. Think you can do the same to a few others? Some of them are hesitant to step out of their cells.
(Alita): Understood.
*Jin led Alita to a few cells and she walked in to talk to the prisoners in Elfan. As she did this Jin pulled out his communicator to speak to the others*
(Jin): This is Jin. We have found and are securing the kidnapped elves in the prison.
***
*On the other team’s side of the mission*
(Amarti): Good job! Escort them out of the prison. But be careful, there could still be Eclipses out there.
(Lylah): If you see any members of the Bansika Family tie them up and take them with you. They’ll be important witnesses to this whole incident.
(Jin): Understood. Talk to you guys soon.
*Jin ends the call. Everyone was following Dust who had a determined look on his face*
(Morgan): How much further to the lab where they make the Smile?
(Dust): Lab? Forget the lab, I’m looking for Flint.
(Everyone): WHAT!
(Morgan): I thought you were leading us to the lab!
(Dust): I never said that. You guys started following me without question. Be a leader, not a follower you mindless sheep.
(Zia): What do you want with Flint anyway?
(Dust): He’s got my Sharkfang! I’m going to find this guy, kick his head in, and get it back.
(Hibana): Dust, we are smacked dab in the middle of an enemy base. All the evidence we need to bust this case wide open is here. What’s more important, the mission or your car?
(Dust): Car.
(Jade): Damn. Didn’t even take a minute to think about it.
(Dust): Look. As soon I kick Flint’s head in and retrieve my car, we can find the lab.
*The group comes to some double doors where they open them and enter a wide-open area where Flint and the members of the Bansika Family are waiting for them. There’s a bunch of lab equipment on tables and vials of Smile out in the open*
(Dust): Of course we can knock two birds out with one stone. I’m flexible.
Author’s Notes: Another chapter down and next week we get the climax. This chapter was just build-up for the final fight for this volume. I had a lot of fun writing the choreography for all the characters this chapter. We got to see new characters fight, show off their skills, and get some good laughs as well. Tune in next week for the climax. It’s The Demon’s Shadow vs The Lionheart for underworld supremacy. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.