Shan rose up from the destroyed table, clutching his stomach. He summoned a martial arts staff, steadying himself. The beast flapped its wings, generating a large gust of wind. The hero remained in place. Our enemy snarled at him, charging towards the man headfirst again. Shan swung his weapon upward, striking the beast’s forehead and stopped it in its tracks. He propelled himself up onto the enemy, causing a red welt to appear on the beast’s head. The gravity manipulator switched his weapon over to a large studded mace. At this point, he was another Kisai with the variety of weapons.
“I’m guessing Shan has always been able to do this?” I questioned Ichaival.
“Yeah, just wasn’t able to when you met us. You know, Tess’ seal and everything,” he answered.
“Does he know how to use Kali sticks too?” I realized.
“Yep, not as good as me though. Doesn’t have the training for them,” Ichaival answered. “Since Lyra gave him that watch, he’s slowly regaining all of it.”
The gravity manipulator slammed his mace into the creature’s neck, piercing through its scales. He slid down to its wings, gashing the beast’s body with his embedded mace. Shan yanked out his weapon, swinging at the remaining wing spike, knocking it off. The beast bellowed out in agony and threw him off. He floated to the ground, switching back to his umbrella.
Our enemy cracked the ground with a massive stomp. It reared its head back, unleashing a blue beam. Shan opened his umbrella, twirling it around, blocking the attack. The ground shook and an eruption of blue fissures burst out from the cracks. Shan got caught and he flipped his umbrella over, negating the danger.
The beast swung its tail and struck Shan’s stomach. The man crashed into the large monitors mounted on the walls, glass shards flying everywhere. His opponent galloped over, claws outstretched, ready to grab him. The hero rolled away as glass pieces pierced his back. The beast flicked its tail, slapping Shan’s face. Blood flew out from the hero’s mouth as he lay motionless on the ground.
“Uh,” I said, glancing over at Mr. Penta.
“I understand your concerns but observe,” he said, pointing at the man.
As the beast whipped its tail, the shattered screens on the ground clumped together in the air, blocking the attack. Shan stood up and stretched his hand out, gaining possession of large bundles of electronic wires. Dodging multiple stomps and tail whips, Shan arrived at the beast’s legs. He bound its legs with the wire and flew onto the beast’s back. He summoned a sledgehammer, slamming it downward. A massive hole formed underneath the beast before it was dragged down into it. When the beast landed, the welt on its head burst, blood spilling out. Its remaining horns also shattered as the beast’s eyes closed.
“Is it over?” I inquired.
“Yes, the beast has fallen into a temporary slumber. It should be safe,” Mr. Penta replied.
The false archer checked on his friend. Shan bent over, coughing out more blood, grimacing. I scanned his body with my grimoire. Oh, two broken ribs? There was a magical internal wound sustained too. F***, I wasn’t skilled enough to patch that up. However, I could at least remove his external bruises and cuts with En’s blue flames.
“You don’t have that ‘great news’ face on,” Shan joked, still in a good mood despite his predicament.
“Yeah, you’ll have to get checked out by Lyra later. Get closer to me,” I commanded.
“Damn, didn’t think we were that close,” Shan quipped.
“Just get your ass over here!” I sighed.
I placed my left hand on his forehead. Light blue flames scattered throughout his body. The cuts on his face and arm bruises vanished. Mr. Penta stabbed more kunai into the beast’s neck and tapped the top of his projectiles. Ksi conversed with him, curious about his weapons. Jacque closed his sketchbook and walked towards us.
“Is Shigetzu’s watch part even here?” the artist questioned.
“Yes, it resides in this beast,” Mr. Penta answered, overhearing his question.
“Really?” Shan uttered in a raspy voice.
“My intent was to weaken the beast enough and discover where the watch part was hidden within it,” Mr. Penta revealed.
The beast roared suddenly, breaking free of Shan’s wire restraints. The kunai embedded in its neck popped out, rattling on the ground. Its scarred eye glowed a scarlet red as its wing spikes and horns regenerated. I created a giant ice wall, shielding us from its paw swipe. Shan held his staff, stumbling as he took a step forward.
It created cracks in the ground with one gigantic stomp. Blue streaks of energy shot out from them, striking all of us. I absorbed most of the damage with Mirror’s Rend, but not everyone was so lucky. Shan’s umbrella fell apart and was blasted into the broken table chunks. Ksi waltzed around the cracks, taking no damage. Ichaival avoided major damage with his portals. Mr. Penta carried Jacque in his right arm, dashing into the air with a flourish.
Ksi hurled Gungnir at the beast’s uninjured eye and scaled up the beast, kicking her weapon in further. She switched over to Muramasa, hacking away at its head, but couldn’t shatter its horns. Ichaival swung his Kali sticks at the beast’s legs, but his weapon bounced off, and he lost possession of his right one. He opened a portal but the beast shut it off with a tail swipe. Whoever modified or created this had Shan and Ichaival in mind.
“Ichaival, catch!” I retrieved his weapon for him.
The man thanked me with a thumbs up. Ksi’s blade lost its form, breaking down into blood cells. What the hell was this thing? I unleashed the stored energy in Mirror’s Rend, slashing at the beast’s tail. My weapon didn’t bounce off and left a deep gash on its tail. I pulled back right after it swatted me. I dodged but was tackled.
“Is this thing getting stronger or is it just me?” I shouted, freezing its legs.
“It is,” Mr. Penta agreed, shielding Jacque from attacks.
My ice melted immediately. I teleported over to Shan, blocking another beam. I snapped my fingers, reproducing Lilith’s trip wires. Damn, they were poor copies though. The beast triggered all of them, not deterred by any of the explosions.
“Its magic resistance is too high,” Shan analyzed.
I hacked at its tail with Mirror’s Rend. Ksi’s breathing was heavy and her weapons were losing their solid form. Ichaival moved at a slower pace, his strength waning with each strike. Not good at all. Shan was out of commission too.
“You guys having trouble?” I heard a familiar voice.
Kisai descended from the ceiling, a bandolier strapped across his chest. Perfect timing as always. He grabbed vials from his bandolier and poured the contents across the beast’s back. The hero swung a large axe, slicing through the enemy’s back with ease. He dragged his weapon across its back, causing a massive amount of blood to spurt out. He tossed vials over to Ksi and Ichaival. He warped over to me, placing several vials in my hand.
I splashed the vial contents onto its tail and swung Mirror’s Rend downward. No resistance at all! I charged up my weapon with En’s powers and lopped off its tail. Ksi broke off all its horns with Muramasa. She switched over to Gungnir, hurling her spear at its exposed head. The beast tripped, colliding into the ground with a thud. Ichaival ran up its legs, breaking its wing spikes.
“Can’t even let me finish it off?” Shan rushed in with his sledgehammer.
He cocked his weapon back and bashed the beast’s jaw. It let out a weak roar and both eyes shut. Mr. Penta appeared next to it immediately, tossing a small sphere into its mouth. There was a beep and he waved us all back. I teleported myself and everyone away. A huge explosion followed. When the smoke faded, Mr. Penta carved the beast with a hunting knife.
“Jin, what the hell are you doing here?” Ichaival inquired.
“What do you mean, Darryl? Pretty sure you were getting your asses beat. I just came in and yeah,” Kisai replied, patting his friend’s shoulder in a condescending manner.
“Fuckin’ Jin, you piece of s***. Thanks for having our back though,” Ichaival said, pushing his friend’s hand away.
I jogged over to Mr. Penta. He already inspected the upper half of the body and was now on the wings. Kisai chatted with Shan and Ichaival, pointing at his bandolier. I was curious about what was in the vial. Definitely related to the Stellar Foundation somehow.
“I’ve located the item,” Mr. Penta reported, holding up the watch part.
“Perfect,” Shan said, walking towards him.
The gravity manipulator took out his watch and popped the back open. He placed the part in with a nod. How many parts were left now?
“My end of the agreement has been fulfilled. Let’s return to the Tachibana residence,” Mr. Penta said.
Tachibana Residence
“You helped Shigetzu out so I’ll keep my end of the deal,” Lyra said, handing Mr. Penta a wrapped present.
“I trust this is not a timed explosive,” Mr. Penta said with a chuckle.
“You can’t fool me, Mr. Penta. You already know the contents without even having to open it, correct?” Lyra pointed at him.
“You are correct. The mask is accounted for. My business here is concluded. I believe we will meet again, heroes. Until then,” Mr. Penta said, giving us one last bow.
Again? That sounded ominous. He helped Shan but only to get the mask back. Mr. Penta and Mr. Go were not our allies. In fact, I realized why Mr. Penta was so insistent on watching Shan fight the beast alone. Data collection and not just as a harmless hobby.
“Lyra, what did you do to the mask?” Shan questioned the woman.
“I have no idea what you mean, Shigetzu. I always fulfill my end of any deal,” the prophet denied, staring at the man with a shocked look.
“Not to be rude but sounds as likely as Shan actually not insulting Ichaival,” I said.
“What? Even dear Yuki suspects me of foul play? I would never,” Lyra continued her denial.
“She implanted a tracker on the mask. However, you know it’ll be discovered. What’s your intention?” Ksi hypothesized.
“Very sharp. Mr. Penta already is aware of the tracker and destroyed it. The destroyed tracker releases a minute magic. Let’s see if my plan will be successful,” Lyra revealed.
Kisai retrieved a medical kit and examined Shan. He directed the gravity manipulator to sit down on the couch. Kisai slammed his open palms into the man’s back. The force of the mage’s strike caused Shan to vomit out blood. Ksi glared at Kisai, walking over, but Lyra shook her head at her. Sweat poured down Kisai’s forehead as a golden light bathed the man’s hand and Shan’s body. One minute later, Kisai removed his hands and fell onto the floor.
“S***. Jin, you good?” Ichaival helped his friend up.
“Nah, I should be asking you that. I’m fine,” Kisai answered.
“What just happened?” I stared at him in confusion.
“Jin removed the internal malicious magic implanted in Shan’s body during the battle,” Lyra answered.
“So that’s what it was,” I said, recalling my grimoire’s analysis.
“Damn, you knew and didn’t even heal him, Yuki. What the heck?” Kisai teased me with a grin.
“Why don’t you teach me then?” I challenged Kisai.
“That’s actually not a bad idea. Anyways, I patched Shan up. Glad you survived until we got back,” Kisai said.
“Why are you really here?” Ichaival asked.
“Working with the Special Investigations Unit,” Kisai answered, pulling out a piece of paper from his jeans.
This was a warrant to unseal the records pertaining to the underground facility. I knew the Crossroads SIU handled inter-dimensional matters, but not to such a large extent. Did they have jurisdiction over all the dimensions I visited?
“We could have used this and kept the mask,” Shan remarked.
“Ksi, you said the blueprints we found were for a magical cannon. There must be a connection to what’s going on in Kisai’s dimension, right?” I glanced over at the mage.
“Yep. Some group has been smuggling in cannon parts into Za’ard. Rev and his team have been investigating,” Kisai revealed.
“You showed up at a great time,” I said.
“I always do,” Kisai boasted.
“Lyra, any news on where the last part is?” Shan asked.
“Not yet. But I have a lead. Go get some rest. You’ve all done a superb job today,” Lyra ordered, shooing us all out.
One last watch part, huh? Shan was almost at full power now. Crap, that meant an impeding meeting with Ace was also getting closer. I sighed as we headed back to the training facility.
Tuesday Summer Quarter 2016 Week 1
“En?” I noticed the short man after finishing my interview with the store manager.
He gave me a slight nod. I was surprised to see En here. What a coincidence.
“Oh, you know En?” the manager asked.
“Yeah, uh, mutual acquaintances through a classmate,” I replied.
“En’s a good worker. He’ll help you out if we hire you. En, you can take your break now. There aren’t a lot of people so I’ll give you a few extra minutes,” the manager said and walked away.
I’m pretty sure she just gave him extra time so En could talk to me. A poor decision on her part since En wasn’t talkative.
“What a coincidence, En. I didn’t know you worked here,” I started off the conversation.
“Yeah, surprised to see you. Are you trying to work here?” En questioned.
“Only part time though since I still have school after summer break ends. And we still have all that hero stuff going on too,” I answered.
“Oh, I see,” En said.
“Do you usually work at this time?” I asked.
“No, I usually do late afternoon but today things worked out so I came in,” En answered.
“Why so late? Isn’t it better to get work done early and do whatever you want at nighttime?” I inquired, determined to learn something new about the hero.
“I have a little brother and my parents don’t come home until four or five. The manager was nice enough to give me this schedule,” En revealed.
“I gotcha, kind of sucks you work so late. How many siblings do you have? Oh, guess that’s kinda personal so you don’t have to answer. You should enjoy your break instead of talking to me,” I realized.
“No, it’s fine. I still have time. Four siblings. Two brothers and two sisters. But the youngest one is almost in middle school and my parents don’t want him getting into any trouble. What about you, Tomo?” En asked.
“No siblings but I have a cousin staying over right now. No wonder you’re so busy, looking after your brother. I’ll see you if I get hired. Wish me luck!” I departed from the store.
En removed his employee badge and apron, heading toward the deli section. Guess he was getting food since it was almost lunchtime. I drove back home, feeling hungry.
