by Brandon Chen
When he pulled himself from the hole, he found that they were on a rather large, flat green field, somewhere in the noble section that overlooked the city. He admired the beautiful view of the city below and smiled at its magnificence. He was about to say something when he heard a rumble. Then an explosion. A burst of dust and a shockwave knocked over multiple buildings in the distance, and Keimaro’s eyes widened. A giant spike made completely of metal bulged from the earth—a technique learned by Yata. Without a doubt, it was him. The fact that he was resulting to using such strong techniques would mean that he really was in trouble. Was it the Bounts? It definitely wasn’t Gavin; that soldier was far too weak to drive Yata that far.
“Aika.” Keimaro glanced over his shoulder at the princess, who was staring with wide eyes at the explosion. “Your highness! We need to get you to safety. Go back into the tunnel, got it?” He gripped his sword tightly, knowing that he should stay with her to ensure her safety. But right now, his prime priority was seeing if Yata was all right. “I’m going to go see what happened. Go back to your room and make sure you’re safe.”
***
Aika stood there for a moment, staring at the explosion with disbelief as Riku ran off, his sword raised high in the air. Her hands were shaking at her side, and she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Four years ago, she had awoken with an abnormal ability that wasn’t known to man—an ability of healing that could instantly mend any wound, no matter how bad it was. The only thing that she could link her foreign powers to was to that meteor that had fallen out of the sky. It, without a doubt, gave her this odd power. She’d always wondered whether or not it had given Keimaro or Yata powers, but that Bount by the name of Junko had clarified that for her. He had said that Keimaro Hayashi had the ability to control fire. Magic. So, everyone who had been within range of that meteor was given a power. That disturbance in the distance—was that the doing of Yata and Keimaro? The destruction of her city?
Then again, she supposed that she could understand their hatred for Faar. Their armies had destroyed everything that they had. Bakaara had been completely massacred without warning. In fact, they were wanted dead as well. Why must things be so complicated? Why was there even war in the first place? All that remained after a war was a desolate wasteland of destruction littered with corpses. The winners never cheered nor celebrated, for the loss of their comrades haunted them so. In the end, there was always sorrow and nothing more.
And then there was this boy, Riku. There was something about him, something that Aika couldn’t quite point out. She felt as if she recognized him, which was why she had led him into the secret tunnel. She’d immediately felt as if she could trust him with everything. She had no idea why. The way his eyes looked at her made her melt with warmth. The way he smiled was the one thing that had made her giggle in a long while. Yet, he was a commoner. A simple guard. Any relationship, whether friends or more, was completely forbidden. Her father would just have him executed if they got too close. Thinking about friendship or beyond was simply nonsense, especially for an important person such as her. But she didn’t want to be alone forever.
The princess had climbed down into the tunnel and walked into the darkness alone. The dead silence truly was disconcerting. She made her way back to the royal garden and pushed the plant back into place with a heavy sigh. She really did hope that Riku didn’t reveal the tunnel to anyone. Why did I trust my only secret way out from these walls to a complete stranger?
She heard another rumble and felt the ground shaking ever so slightly. To be able to feel such an explosion from this distance was incredible. She turned around and looked off into the direction of the city through the glass panes of the greenhouse. What was going on?
***
Keimaro couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The entire inn was obliterated, pieces everywhere. Corpses of men and women lay inside, scattered about in the debris, and soldiers were trying to pick up the pieces or at least identify the bodies rather than finding out what had happened. A huge crowd had surrounded the area but was being blocked off by mobs of soldiers who had recently arrived.
The young boy began to push his way through the crowds, looking for Yata or Gavin. He hoped to the gods that they weren’t amongst these unidentifiable corpses that lay on the floor. The mere image of all these bodies under the debris reminded him of the massacre of Bakaara four years ago. He shook away the thought and trudged on through the debris until he saw small pieces of metal on the floor, tiny shards in a concentrated area. He walked up to the spot, knowing that this was where Yata had been defeated. He had been beaten in his metallic form, as indicated by the metal, which meant that whoever was here was truly a strong opponent. Then he looked down and saw blood. His eyes followed a trail of small droplets that led into an alleyway. There, he saw Gavin leaning back against a wall, breathing heavily with his head tilted back.
Keimaro walked up to the soldier and stood beside him, expecting him to say something, but he never did. He slowly knelt down beside Gavin and touched his shoulder. “Hey, are you okay? What happened here?” he said calmly, trying not to lose his cool.
Gavin’s eyes were barely open, and he sucked in a deep breath. “A guy came. He had white hair and was so fast and strong. Yata and I didn’t stand a chance. They took him to the mansion that we passed by on the way to the inn; you remember it? It’s disguised as a warehouse to the ordinary eye. But certain people can see it as a mansion. I’m assuming that you were able to see it. It’s called Z’s mansion, a rumored place where only magical beings are welcome.”
“Z?”
“The richest man in the city. No one ever sees him, and he’s supposedly the one who kidnapped Yata,” Gavin murmured. “That’s where we’ll find him.”
Keimaro nodded and stood up once more. Why would those guys want Yata? “Can you walk?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s go.”
Two Heroes
When they arrived at the gates to Z’s mansion, they opened automatically as if they’d been expecting Keimaro. The boy walked forward with Gavin closely behind him, both of their weapons sheathed at their sides. They walked along a tiled pathway made of some type of expensive marble that led out into a garden and eventually to the mansion itself. The mansion towered high and looked exactly like one of the nobles’ houses. Compared to the other houses that surrounded it, this building was massive. The grandiose pillars supported the red-tiled rooftops. Stone statues of naked angels had water pouring out of their mouths and into fountains on the lush green lawn.
Once again, it made Keimaro wonder where all of the money was going to in this civil society. Someone living so high and mighty seemed to have far too much in comparison to someone who was barely scraping by in order to survive. At the door, he saw a boy, a few years older than he, walking in his direction. He had snowy white hair with a pale skin tone. His eyes were an abnormal turquoise that narrowed onto Keimaro with seriousness. He wore a tight red scarf that was curled around his neck as well as a white sleeveless shirt, revealing his toned muscles. This was the guy who had defeated Yata supposedly.
Beside him was a girl around the age of nineteen from the looks of it and a man who was probably in his early twenties. The girl had light brown hair that was tied into two ponytails. Her hazel eyes gave off a stare that would probably make most run at the very sight of her. In her hands was a type of weapon that Keimaro didn’t recognize, a rather long weapon with a barrel. It looked like some type of ranged advanced technology. If anything, it was the single shot rifle that Keimaro had heard about. He had also heard it took forever to reload that weapon—but, for someone like her, perhaps it took only one shot in order to take down her targets.
The man had glasses and was completely unarmed. He had dark brown hair that came down to his forehead, and he wore an expensive black suit with a red tie as if he were going out to dinner for a special occasion. He smiled calmly at Keimaro and stopped along with his comrades a couple of m
eters from the boy.
Keimaro had noticed that the gates had closed behind him, and he smiled to himself. Then no one will be able to see me massacre all of these bastards. Fine with me.
“My name is Yuri,” the white-haired boy called out. “I have no intention of hurting you or your friend. All that we ask is that you come in and have a talk with us so that we may—”
“Show me Yata.”
“Look, lay down your arms and—”
“You know who I am, don’t you?” Keimaro said, annoyed, his eyes turning from their original dark color into a glowing red. He smiled when the girl lifted up the rifle and aimed it straight at him. He saw Gavin tensing up and instinctively taking a step back, but he stood his ground and glanced at the girl. “Give me back my friend, or I can’t be held responsible for what happens next.”
“Is that so?” Yuri said, his eyes turning red as well, albeit a different kind of red. This red wasn’t demonic at all. Instead, it was monstrous and beastly, as if he were losing control. “Well, then we will force you to listen to what we have to say.”
A crack entered the air, and Keimaro’s eyes sensed a small lead ball leave the rifle in the girl’s hands. The ball spiraled, gaining incredible speed as it soared toward him, but Keimaro’s sword had already left its sheath. It slashed upward, cutting the bullet directly in half without much effort. The bullet split and flew around Keimaro, digging into the dirt behind him. Splintering pieces of lead glittered before his eyes as he glanced at the girl, his blade hissing through the air. The girl was staring at him with disbelief that he had just cut the bullet in half. That amount of strength and reaction timing was unreal, let alone the fact that the sword was strong enough to withstand the force of the projectile.
Keimaro sprinted forward at the girl, who was desperately fumbling with her rifle, trying to reload her weapon. The man with the glasses had taken a step forward to form a barrier between him and the girl, raising his hands. Instantly, a solid yellow wall was conjured in between them, transparent as if it were glass. Keimaro raised his eyebrow at the man’s ability. More foreign magic. So many freaks in one place. Perfect.
He slammed his foot into the ground, igniting a small jet of flame that sent him flying into the air above the wall. He performed a flip while in the air, generating fire along the metal of his sword, and smiled wickedly as he came down, smashing into the earth as the two opponents leapt away. A wave of flame radiated outward from his blow.
Smoke rose from the area where Keimaro had landed, and the grass around him was seared and singed from the flame, small amounts of smoke drifting from the lawn. He stood once more and twirled his sword in his hand as the man engaged him, conjuring a blue hammer in his hand made from the same foreign substance. Hammers were perfect against swordsmen, for they shattered their steel and usually overpowered them. However, they were extremely slow. Unfortunately for this man, Keimaro always had speed on his side.
The man brought the hammer crashing downward upon Keimaro, but the boy took an easy step to the side, reading his opponent’s moves perfectly. He rotated his body and grinned, driving his fist solidly into the man’s face, cracking his glasses with a single punch. He released a jet of flame straight through his knuckles and into the man, sending him flipping through the air and landing several meters away. The man slammed heavily into the earth, landing on his back, his body going limp upon impact.
Yuri was still standing there watching, rather impressed with the progress that Keimaro was making against his friends. He had his arms crossed and chuckled. “Not bad, demon scum,” he called out with a smirk.
Keimaro ignored the comment and stomped his foot into the ground, a wall of flame appearing in front of him. He punched the wall of flame, sending fireballs outward like little missiles at the girl, who leapt about, trying to dodge the barrage of concentrated flames. But one could dodge only so much. Eventually a ball of fire caught her in the shoulder and exploded upon impact, sending her flying backward into the ground, gasping for air. The boy then turned to Yuri, his hands tightening around the hilt of his sword. “There’s something abnormal about your hair, too, snow-white.”
Yuri raised his eyebrows and sighed. “You know, your friend called me the same thing.” His image vanished, and Keimaro’s heart leapt when the white-haired boy reappeared inches in front of him, his fist soaring forward at Keimaro’s face.
With barely enough time to react, he tilted his head to the side, dodging the blow. Wind from the force of the blow blew his hair back, and his heart thudded with self-doubt. He had never seen someone as fast as this person in all of his years—not since Tobimaru. He staggered backward after narrowly avoiding the blow but found that Yuri was already striking once more with a barrage of fast blows, some of which were impossible to dodge.
The first blow that Keimaro took was excruciating. A sinking punch to the stomach drove the wind from his lungs and damaged his diaphragm. He felt saliva gathering in his mouth as he stumbled away once more, trying to disengage and rethink his strategy. But Yuri wasn’t giving him the opportunity, for he leapt forward once more.
Keimaro swept his hand outward, and a wave of flame shot out, forcing Yuri to take a few steps backward in order to dodge. He was breathing heavily, but Yuri was simply smiling at him, still filled with energy.
“Oi, what’s wrong? I thought you were going to beat me up,” Yuri called with a lively chuckle.
“Shut the hell up, you stupid mutt,” Keimaro spat, grasping his stomach.
“What did you call me?” Yuri yelled, reappearing in front of Keimaro. He whipped his fist to the side and slammed it into Keimaro’s cheek, a sinking blow that cracked the boy solidly, sending him rolling across the grass. “You’re in no position to talk, nor are you in any position to fight me, Hayashi scum. Maybe we should just kill you so that we can end your pathetic species! I know everything about your story. Powerless and weak … that’s what you are. Incapable of protecting the ones that you love. You think you can treat others as if they’re lower than you just because you’ve got those eyes and a few sparks of fire, huh?” He appeared in front of Keimaro’s body and kicked him across the ground once more, sending him rolling a few meters away. “Stop acting so big, like you can do anything you want. Four years in hiding, training, and this is all that you can muster up to fight me? How are you going to defeat the Bounts with such a lowly power?”
This guy knows everything…. Who the hell is he? Keimaro’s ribs felt cracked, and he gasped for air, spitting blood onto the grass. His eyes were unfocused, and everything was a blur. He placed his palms on the ground in an attempt to push himself up once more. But it was hard. His body felt ten times heavier than usual, and his muscles were straining to pick him up. He felt powerless. Just like that one time. An image of his burning city flashed into his mind. Mai. His mother. All taken from him because he was too weak to defend them. He had trained four years to grow stronger. Was that not enough?
Yuri walked over to Keimaro, watching him as he tried to get up. He lifted his foot upward and brought it crashing down onto his back, sending him to the ground. “Stay down! Don’t even think of getting up! You deserve nothing.” Nevertheless, Yuri watched as Keimaro tried to get up before driving his foot back down into the young boy, sending him back to the floor. He sniffed the air and sensed a familiar presence. He smiled when he saw the soldier finally rushing toward him from behind with his sword raised. Yuri spun around, driving a kick solidly into Gavin’s ribs. With a crack, an explosion of force sent Gavin soaring across the lawn to slam into the gate. His body went limp as soon as he hit the solid gate, and he collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
Keimaro stared at the body of the soldier who had attempted to save him. A boy who had been a stranger only yesterday was now trying to save him. At this rate, they were both probably going to be killed. Then he remembered an image of his father. He recalled his father’s words: How many men would you kill to save your sister?
Yes … I rem
ember. Another kick. What was my answer? A third kick.
Yuri rose his foot upward to squash Keimaro’s skull.
I would kill them all.
As Yuri’s foot came down, Keimaro swung around, grabbing the white-haired boy’s ankle and redirecting the kick into the earth. He swung upward and slammed his fist solidly into Yuri’s stomach. He pulled back, seeing the pain in the boy’s face, and began to concentrate flames into his palm, gathering fire into a ball. He curled his arm around Yuri, grabbing him by his back and pulling the boy toward him. “I already promised myself I wouldn’t die until my goal is complete.” The ball of flame smashed into Yuri’s stomach. “I don’t break promises.” Not to Mai. Not to anyone. Especially not to myself!
The ball of fire grew smaller upon impact into the size of a tiny marble, and there was a millisecond of complete silence before a massive explosion. The sphere erupted, creating a huge roar of flame that extended up into the sky and sent Yuri flying backward. A vortex cloud of dust surrounded Keimaro, parting around him as he walked forward. His eyes were filled with apathy, and he stopped, watching as Yuri slowly began to push himself to his feet, smoke drifting off his clothes.
“Not bad,” Yuri snarled, his voice growing deeper as his body grew bigger. “About time I took you seriously.” His spine began to twist and lengthen, stretching upward. White fur burst from his skin and covered his body. His teeth sharpened to daggers, his eyes still glowing bright red. His fingernails lengthened into sharp claws that dug into the ground, his ears growing bigger as well. By the time the transformation was complete, Yuri was an eight-foot-tall white werewolf, a creature that Keimaro had only read about in books. They were only rumored to exist.
