Tomo Yuki v. Mr. Go
He closed his eyes and the man’s magical energy surged as a blue aura formed around him. Mr. Go split into five copies, each carrying a dagger in their left hand. They raised their blades into the air, directing a beam of light at me. I was blinded for ten seconds and all five Mr. Go’s surrounded me, thrusting their blades at me. I repelled them back, unable to discern which was the true one. I stepped forward, summoning Mirror’s Rend, attempting to cut them all down. I swung at the closest one, missing by a significant amount. One of the copies dashed towards my backside. I pivoted, raising my blade to parry but failed as he slashed my left hand. S***, my vision was all f*****.
I stabbed my sword down into the ground, producing an earthquake. All five leaped into the air and merged back into one. I shot a bolt of compressed electricity but he was no longer there. Crap! I blocked too late as five daggers pierced my stomach. I dropped my sword and coughed out blood. At least my vision was back to normal. Ksi raised her hand in the air.
“Can you continue?” she inquired.
“I’m fine. Let’s keep going,” I answered, waving her away.
I ran around the battle field and scattered invisible dust on the battleground. Mr. Go split into multiple copies again. They triggered my trap after stepping on my dust. Consecutive explosions occurred and a single dagger flew into the air. I accelerated upward, reaching for it. Mr. Go emerged from the smoke, his fingertips touching the handle before me. I yanked it away from him with Shan’s gravitational powers and felt a slight pain after wielding it. I angled the weapon, flashing a beam of light into his eyes. Mr. Go fell to the ground with a thud. I rocketed downward and aimed for his back. He rolled away at the last moment before pulling another dagger from his pocket.
I stabbed upward, but Mr. Go parried my attack, eyes closed. Our blades clashed, and he kicked my hand, disarming me. The dagger flew into the air and I retrieved it. Mr. Go grabbed my legs and slammed me down. My head struck the ground and I felt woozy. He split into two copies and both stabbed their daggers downward at my legs. I teleported away but both copies flanked me. I disarmed them with Ichaival’s portals and ducked. They struck each other’s face, leaving only one Mr. Go.
Ksi checked in with Mr. Go and he shook his head. The hero stepped away, allowing us to continue. I pivoted behind him, locking in Kyoi’s neck hold, flames surrounding both my hands. Mr. Go struggled but eventually faded. I kicked both his feet before throwing him onto the ground. I slammed my left palm into his back, encasing his body in ice.
“One, two, three, four, five….,” Ksi counted.
I clutched my stomach as the pain finally set in. The front door flew open and Lyra burst out, an army of stuffed animals trailing behind her. She broke through our battlefield barrier and pushed Ksi aside. The prophet glared at me and the frozen Mr. Go.
BATTLE SUSPENDED
“Why did no one tell me?” she demanded, glaring at Ichaival and Shan.
“Yeah Icahaival, why didn’t you tell her?” Shan pushed his friend forward to accept responsibility.
“This is your fault too, Shigetzu. Don’t fuckin’ put it all on me!” Ichaival protested.
“Technically it is Tomo’s victory,” Ksi declared, pointing at the frozen Mr. Go.
A gray-haired man, wearing a black suit, stepped out of a portal. I noticed a “P7” pin on his lapel. He touched the ice, melting it, and hoisted Mr. Go onto his right shoulder.
“Miss Tachibana, I apologize for my subordinate’s behavior. However, I do wish for you to return the mask you found in Lake Rahu,” he said.
“I don’t know your affiliation. I will not hand it over to you until I confirm your identity,” Lyra refused.
“That’s fair, Miss Tachibana. How about I make a deal with you? I know you’ve been searching for watch parts. I can grant you access to the underground facility beneath Lake Rahu,” he offered.
“That’s a generous offer. I’ll hold onto this mask until my men here find what they’re after. Once they’ve exited with the part, I’ll return this to you,” she provided a counteroffer.
“You still have suspicions. I can understand why. Fine, I’ll accompany them there and ensure they leave without any issues. You’re a person of your word, Miss Tachibana, from what I’ve heard. I hope you won’t renege,” the man accepted her terms.
“I will not as long as you fulfill your end of the deal. What’s your name?” she inquired.
“You may call me Mr. Hepta,” he answered.
“A fitting name,” Lyra said, staring at his pin.
Mr. Hepta left. He would return in an hour. Lyra lectured Shan and Ichaival for sanctioning the fight in a separate room. Ksi assisted me inside and patched up my wound. Jacque remained outside, sketching something.
“How are you feeling?” Ksi inquired.
“Not too bad considering I got stabbed five times,” I replied.
“This is no time for jokes, Tomo. Their behavior has rubbed off on you,” she chided.
“No, that’s just my usual sarcasm. Pretty typical of me,” I pointed out.
“I see. Your fighting has improved. Very impressive,” she complimented me.
“Just training more, it’s nothing special. You’ve been doing this for a lot longer than I have,” I dismissed her praise.
Shan and Ichaival finally returned. The gravity manipulator was his usual self despite Lyra’s tirade. Ichaival stared at the ground with a contemplative expression. Jacque entered last and showed us his drawings. They were accurate sketches of my fight, not completely fleshed out yet with detail, but captured the essence of the battle.
“Any particular reason for doing these?” I asked.
“Tess told me to draw uh…. ‘exhilarating and critical moments’ in a fight. Something about breaking down barriers and bettering myself,” the artist replied.
“No idea what that means. If it’ll help with your powers then keep at it,” I responded, sipping a cup of tea.
“You’re improving your drawing skills too. Tess is looking out for you, Jacque,” Shan said.
“Didn’t think of it like that,” Jacque said, tapping his lead pencil against his sketchbook.
Mr. Penta, carrying a briefcase, returned as promised. He showed the contents to Lyra before providing coordinates for the facility. The man instructed us to head there first. The prophet kept a watchful eye on him, assuring us it was safe.
Lake Rahu Abandoned Underground Facility
“I would not lead you astray,” Mr. Penta announced, appearing seconds after us.
“Let’s get this door open,” Shan said, placing the cog in.
Steam burst out from underneath the door. Shan’s cog, in conjunction with the others already present, turned clockwise. The steel square door finally opened with a creak.
“I came prepared with flashlights,” Mr. Penta revealed, placing his briefcase down on the ground.
“No need. Jacque, do your thing,” I commanded.
“Right,” the artist said, twisting the top of his lead pencil.
The pitch-black hallway turned bright. Shan rubbed his eyes in confusion. Ichaival stared at the artist in astonishment. Ksi continued forward with no reaction.
“Impressive. You must be the newest addition to the Gatekeeper’s squad,” Mr. Penta complimented and picked up his briefcase.
“You know Tess?” I asked.
“Of course. Let’s proceed further in,” Mr. Penta answered.
The hallways lacked creativity, painted a bright white. Broken fluorescent lights lined the ceiling. Unlocked doors led to abandoned laboratories with broken machines and glass shards strewn across the ground. I peered inside, discovering burnt scraps of paper and damaged lab equipment.
“These schematics….,” Ksi remarked.
“Anti-orc weapon blueprints?” Mr. Penta speculated.
“No, these depict the cannon parts we discovered while searching for Ichaival’s Kali sticks,” Ksi responded, shaking her head.
“You’re right,” Shan said after staring at the paper.
We walked straight ahead, passing numerous rooms, each one a disaster zone. Faded plaques hung to the right of each door. I glanced over, seeing the number “45”. What exactly were they researching down here?
“This one’s locked,” Ksi commented.
“I got this,” I said, summoning my grimoire.
There was an office inside with three overturned chairs and filing cabinets. Mr. Penta searched the area but found nothing inside the cabinets or desks. Ksi tapped the floor and stopped in the middle, summoning Muramasa. She jammed her blade into the floor, prying off multiple floorboards, revealing a steel hatch.
“There’s something even deeper down?” I exclaimed.
“Might as well see where it goes. Mr. Penta, why don’t you go first?” Shan suggested.
Mr. Penta yanked the hatch open to reveal a hole. He descended without hesitation. Shan peered downward and waited for a minute. He pushed Ichaival forward, grinning at him, and pointed at his watch. His friend sighed and entered.
“I’ll go next,” I offered.
“How generous of you,” Shan said, smiling.
“Yeah, super generous,” I shot back at him.
I slid down a system of interconnected tubes and landed on a pile of cardboard. Mr. Penta and Ichaival stood near a door.
“Can’t open it?” I inquired.
“I’m discerning the mechanism,” Mr. Penta replied.
Shan, Ksi, and Jacque arrived three minutes later. The artist hit his left shoulder on the sharp edge of a cardboard piece. I checked up on him while everyone else gathered around the door.
“I solved it,” Mr. Penta announced, twisting a knob.
We went through and saw a lage shattered glass tube in the center. Stripped wires lay throughout the floor. To our right, there was an entire console of broken screens. Ksi investigated the left side, staring at a table full of test tubes and other electronics. Shan joined her, wearing gloves before picking up one of the test tubes. Ichaival walked to the back. I flipped open my grimoire, checking for any residual magic. It pointed me towards the center.
“There’s still a presence here,” Mr. Penta reported.
“That’s what my grimoire is saying too,” I confirmed.
Shan dropped a test tube into an evidence bag, handing it over to Ichaival. He joined Mr. Penta in the center, shifting away the broken glass shards away for a closer look. There was a hiss and a metallic object descended from the ceiling. It was a sphere, the size of a wrecking ball.
“Mr. Shan, it’s main target appears to be you,” Mr. Penta said.
“Nah, can’t be. Must be trying to get to Darryl,” Shan disagreed.
“You bastard, it’s definitely not me!” the false archer shouted.
A gigantic beast, similar to the one I encountered during my training with Jen in Kisai’s dimension, emerged from the ball. Its roar caused objects around us to drop onto the floor and explode. Mr. Penta flew into the air and hurled a kunai at the creature’s neck. He snapped his left finger and a chain wrapped around the beast’s neck. The man reappeared next to us in an instant, securing the chain end with another kunai.
“I will restrain and weaken the beast. Mr. Shan!” Mr. Penta ordered, stepping on his kunai.
Shan flew onto the opposition’s back. The gravity manipulator swung his sledgehammer into its wing spike, shattering it. He dashed into the air and smashed its head. The creature toppled onto the ground, screaming out in agony.
“Should we help Shan?” I questioned.
“Let him fight that thing alone,” Ichaival replied, shaking his head.
“Really?” I stared at him.
“Yeah,” Ichaival stated.
Jacque scribbled in his sketchbook, observing from a safe location. Shan switched out his sledgehammer for an umbrella, jamming the tip of it into the enemy’s eyes. He yanked his weapon out and flipped it over, latching the handle around its horn, before snapping it off with ease. The beast thrashed around in pain. Shan’s high ranking was making sense now.
“Why doesn’t he do this all the time?” I asked.
“Cuz he’s a bastard. Besides, Shigetzu never shows off unless he wants to,” Ichaival replied.
Mr. Penta’s chain finally snapped. The creature hurled Shan into a table full of tubes and rammed into him with its broken horn. Ichaival stepped forward but Mr. Penta shook his head at him. The false archer opened a portal, but Mr. Penta dispelled it and shook his head.
“We must let him handle it alone. Please consider it a favor. I am curious how he handles this without aid,” Mr. Penta said.
Shan fighting alone was rare. Most of the time he fought together with Ichaival. Correction, he let his friend do most of the work, only inserting himself if necessary.
“We’ll step in if things get bad. You’re fine with that, right?” I negotiated.
“Of course. I will be the first one to act if that occurs,” Mr. Penta agreed.
