("Master, it's so.. FREAKING cold out..!" ￣﹏￣;)
"What in blazes are you blabbering your little mouth on about? The wind is just right for the night of a Hunt." I say to my witless little companion, the night breeze meeting upon my skin as I stare off at the gothic-like castle of the Ragnav Kingdom.
I am still quite irritated at the memory of losing my target. That silly little bugger was my main lead in ending this little trip.
I could be facing off against The Order right this second if I did not grow so careless.
Before I realized it, nightfall soon fell onto the mortal plain shortly after taking my leave from the ruins of rot.
Regrettably and truthfully, a clown appeared out of nowhere and snatched it from my hands within an alleyway.
Surprisingly, as a direct result, I did not get the chance to turn in my evidence of clearing the bounty and collecting my reward from the Hunter's Association.
But such is the life of a Hunter, and I now find myself standing on the top of a church, the moon shining behind me as I gaze down at the dark streets of the Ragnav Kingdom covered in bloodshed from all the hunters embarking on their hunts.
<["Alek, just how long are you planning on dramatically looking down at the streets like this? let us go collect souls and bathe in the blood of our adversaries~"]>
"Hush now, I am observing for any signs of Viktor. You cannot rush the art of surveillance and analysis. And that's Mr. Denmark to you, wench."
<["FuFuFu~"]>
"OH YEAHH!"
I hear a familiar voice and I quickly and stylishly swoop down from the church to trace the source of the vibrations that brough forth the voice.
CLACK CLACK
The sound of my boots hitting against the bricked streets echoes across the corners, my long black coat swaying behind me as I dash and vault over fences and buildings, attempting not to accidentally damage my loin area in a brutal, explicit way.
"Well well, look at what we've ere' Lads. A nameless hunter out on his lonesome."
A group of hunters stop me in my tracks. There seems to be about six of them from all visible directions within the alley.
"This confrontation is most inessential. I am but a humble NPC civilian seeking a place of solitude. You are in the way, do grant me passage." I propose, my hand slowly inching towards my holster and onto my ranged armament.
"And why N' tarnation would'a we do that?" Says one of the men with a cowboy hat, his flintlock revolver already pointing at my head.
"Hmm, so be it." I reach into my coat pocket and throw a silver coin into the air.
BANG
He fires, startled from the sudden motion.
PEUOOM
The bullet ricochets across the alley, making the men drop onto cover.
"Did we get im'?" Asks one of the hunters as they stand up.
"I believe s- AGCKH!" His throat gets sliced by the bayonet on my revolver after I rose from his shadow behind him.
PLOP His deceased body drops onto the bricked ground, the other hunters scrambling to their feet at the sight.
"W- what the devil? When did he-" WACK "AGH!"Another one of the men meet their end after the flank of their skull gets bashed in with the grip of my revolver, the black afterimage of my previous position fading away.
BANG!
A shot gets fired onto me before I appear from above and plunge onto the hunter with the cowboy hat, my previous black afterimage with the gunshot wound fading away yet again.
"Gentlemen, please. One at a time now... Hmm.. as a matter a fact, no matter, bring yourselves onto me all at once." I exclaim, readjusting my top hat and spinning my revolver around my finger.
"YOU BLOODY FREAK! TAKE THIIS!" One of the men charges at me from my right with their axe.
"RAAAHHH!" The other charges from my left with their spiked mace.
"I see." I raise my revolver and block the axe to my right against the bayonet, creating small sparks.
CLANK
"AGGH!" The one to my left drops dead as a throwing knife makes contact to his head.
BANG!
WOOSH!
I lept into the air, avoiding the gunshot from the hunter in front of me, before throwing another throwing knife to the hunter with the axe, swiftly excluding him from the equation.
"Ghh!" The final, isolated hunter in front of me then crouches against a short brick wall.
"Do come out now, the night is still young." I utter as I am sitting against a balcony I landed on, leaning back and relaxing my sore muscles.
"Wh-.. what kind of Hunter are you..?"
"You may remember me as Mr. Denmark for this moment. A shame you won't live to spread my name across the Kingdom." I exclaim, lifting my top hat to ruffle my hair before putting it back on.
"Hm, 'Mr. Denmark'!? What a load of rubbish!" He gets on his feet then shoots a bolt of lightning from his right hand.
FWOOSH
I swiftly avoided it, landing on top of a streetlamp. "Quite the gizmo you've granted yourself there my fellow chap."
"Hhhrg..!" He pulls out a syringe with glowing blue liquid before injecting his right hand once more, causing his hand to spark yet again.
"I don't suppose you would want to do that again, yes?"
He pulls out a pink glowing sphere-shaped vial then smashes it on the ground, releasing a red cloud of smog.
The smog eventually clears, and he is nowhere to be seen.
"Ahh, how hypnotic." I swiftly jump off the streetlamp.
PFFWOOOMSHH
The streetlamp explodes, the surrounding area catching on fire.
"Huff.. huff.." He reappears on the balcony below the one I was previously sat on, his other hand faintly glowing orange.
"And how long do you plan on keeping this up? Surely your fancy alchemical spells are nearing their end."
"Huff.. I.. am far from done!" He pulls out another blue syringe.
CLICK
He drops the syringe as he feels the barrel of my revolver pressed against the back of his head.
"Toodleoo."
BANG!
*plop*
The group of hunters are no more as I jump back down onto the bricked floor.
"OH YEAAAHH!"
And there it is again, as expected.
I leap and run up the side of the building next to me and discover the source.
I observe that dolt head Viktor walking away from the corpse of a beast as I begin tailing him.
I'll need to be as inconspicuous as a I can possibly muster and remain unseen.
I proceed to leap into the various shadows of fences, streetlamps, barrels and towers.
"Why does this not surprise me the least bit?" I say to myself as we approach the gothic pointy castle of the Ragnav Kingdom.
.
.
.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
A man is sitting on a throne within a large chamber illuminated by a black chandelier. The various bookshelves and gothic knickknacks cast their shadows across the black carpeted floor.
He readjusts his top hat with spikes protruding from its top, before removing his glasses, wiping them.
WAM!
The doors to his chamber get kicked in as a lanky man in glasses and a deerstalker hat waltzes inside, carrying a case.
"Ah, Viktor. Did I not tell you to not kick in my doors in such a fashion?" He asks, putting his glasses back on.
"Relax, it is I, VIKTOR! Bringing you what you requested! It won't execute you to show a tinge of gratitude!" He says as he drops the case onto the ground, making a loud THUMP across the black carpet.
"Hm." He stands up from his throne, grabbing onto his silver cane and making his way to the middle of the chamber.
"Of course, it only took until the end of today, but VIKTOR has singlehandedly slain the rot dragon and brought you the merchandise you've been ogling!" The young lad opens the case, revealing red vials, potions, a large jar, and a musket with an unnaturally big barrel.
"I can see that." He picks up the jar, his eyes roaming over the large, beating spiky heart emitting red gas. "You have done well, Viktor. You may go now."
"What?! Is that all? No promotion within The Order? I cannot believe it.. VIKTOR has been scammed?!"
"Oh, relax your dull-witted head now, I assure you, you will be properly compensated. But for now, I do request that you leave." He glares up at him.
"I-.. Fine!" He picks up his big barreled musket. "Let's go my fishy companions!" He says as a blood sucking monster fish is latched onto his hand, exiting the chamber.
"Yes...Now onto step three.." He says, before jumping backwards.
BANG BANG BANG
Bullets get shot from above, before a man clad in a dark coat, top hat and mustache drops from the shadows above, landing onto the black carpet.
"Ahh, I see you have finally found your way inside." The main in the pointy hat says, leaning against his throne and placing the jar on it.
"But of course. I did not want to end the night of a hunt in such a dull way. It's high time I confront the founder of The Order and end my hunt in an explosive approach." The man says, his fierce presence making the candles on the chandelier above him flicker.
"And you must be the one that's been making a name for himself. I do thank you for coming to me." He takes his glasses off, his pupils turning red. "It does save me the trouble of pinpointing your location and having your head brought back to me on a silver platter."
"The name is Mr. Denmark. I traverse the streets by night, and cleanse the impurity by hand. I dispose of the wicked through resolve, and bring forth calamity with resolute." He pulls out a silver revolver with gold engravings along its long barrel and a golden bayonet beneath it, glinting bright under the chandelier. "And the one that will garner your soul for the sake of delectation." He points his revolver to his head.
"I will certainly enjoy witnessing you attempt this delusion of yours." He appears behind the man with the mustache.
FWOOSH
The man with the mustache appears behind him in a faster instant. "I'm afraid I am already one step ahead of you, my good chap."
ZZING
Sharp black spikes erupt from the man's back and pierce the man with the mustache.
"One step? Afraid 'steps' will get you nowhere, my good fellow."
BANG BANG
The man with the mustache shoots his revolver from atop a bookshelf, sitting and leaning back. "Two."
The man in the pointy hat rapidly spins his cane, deflecting them. "Quite the sneaky fellow you are."
The afterimage of the impaled man with the mustache behind him then explodes in a thick black smoke.
FwOooOoosh
The chamber gets covered in a black fog.
"Three."
"Hm, I see." Replies the man with the cane, covering his mouth from the excess black smog.
The thick, black smoke then morphs into a group of spikes before thrusting onto the man with the pointy hat.
CLANG CLANG
He blocks the black smoke spikes with his cane, before he feels his feet get grabbed.
He attempts slashing at the black hands gripping onto him; however, his cane only goes through the smoky substance.
THUMP
He then gets forced onto the floor as many more smoke hands materialize and grab onto his body.
RaAaAaAahh...
The shapes of smoky, black horned skeletons emerge from the smoke and swarm the man.
He begins rapidly spinning his cane, slowly clearing the smoke as he slowly rises from the floor.
"That makes four steps." The man with the mustache declares.
BANG!
A bullet hits the chandelier above before it drop onto the man in the pointy hat in a heavy and EXPLOSIVE collision.
PFOOOOM
"You have truly proven to be quite the sneaky, deranged individual." Says the man as he lays against the chandelier on the ground.
"I wonder... who else is capable of manipulating dark smoke the way you have?" He then pulls out a dark red syringe and stabs it onto his left hand.
FWOOOM
His hand glows, then gives shape to a black rune.
"So, who would have thought the Devil himself would be paying me a visit?" He says as he lifts the chandelier off him, the burning candles making contact onto the black rug and slowly lighting it on fire. "No matter, all I have to do is take it from you and give birth to a Rune of devastation capable of setting even the cosmos in anguish."
"If you so wish on embarking on that path, then I shall meet you with equal fervor." The man with the mustache holsters his revolver, taking off his right glove, revealing The Red Rune of Death.
The two men now face each other, Rune in hand.
The man with the black rune then channels his power onto his cane, creating an aura the shape of a scythe along his cane.
The man with The Rune of Death pulls out a pitch-black great sword from his hand, coating it in a red miasma.
The man with the black Rune lunges and rapidly strikes with his cane repeatedly.
CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK
His attacks swiftly get blocked at a high speed impossible for a great sword of that size to be capable of doing.
He then leaps backwards and fires a piercing bullet from the barrel of his cane.
PEUOOOM!
The man with The Rune of Death reaches with his right hand and grabs onto the bullet, absorbing it, then throwing it back.
FFFEUOOOooommmPWSHHHH
The man with the cane deflects it, causing it to fire onto the wall of the castle, piercing through the wall.
The man with the mustache then sends a red wave across the floor from his great sword.
PWFSH
He barely avoids it, before the man with the mustache appears above him, thrusting his sword downwards onto him.
THUNK
It meets the burning black carpet, before the man appears behind him, throwing his left fist at him.
PAM!
The man with the mustache blocks it with his right hand, before he reappears right next to the man with the cane and delivering an audible S L A P across his face with his right hand.
SMACK!
The man with the cane gets sent rocking backwards, the afterimage of the man with the mustache exploding in a black smoke once again and combining with the flames on the carpet
FWooOoSH
The black orange burning smoke travels across the floor and envelops the man with the pointy hat, fiery black hands re-emerging and grabbing onto his legs.
He then throws his cane across the chamber and towards the throne, reappearing where it landed.
The man bearing the mark of death emerges from the burning black smoke as if it were a portal, his sword absorbing the flames, catching in an orange and black fire.
"You are quite the persistent one, Mr. Denmark." The man bearing the black rune says as he picks up the Jar with the rot dragon heart, taking it out and piercing his left hand through it.
He pulls his hand back out, now holding onto a glowing pink ball of light. "See, Mr. Denmark, the thing is, my rune is handcrafted masterfully by my own hands." He says as he looks at the glowing anomaly."
"Oh? Do continue." Replies the man with The Rune of Death, stroking his mustache.
"Before the Kingdom's founding, I have experimented with ways of creating Runes not meant for mortals by hand. After trial and error, I have deduced that creating a certain Rune by hand would require not a soul from a human, but the pure blood of those that have had their souls tainted by unholy essence from transmutation to beast form. As well as from a power that is beyond the very heavens that taints this world." He raises the glowing rot dragon soul. "And that is when I gave rise to The Order. Spreading my alchemical compound within the Kingdom's people and absorbing their blood. And now, with the soul of an ancient creature that has existed during the Tenebrous age, I will create history's first Rune of Rot." He crushes the rot soul with his left hand, the spreading light merging with his left hand.
The pink light from his left hand spreads across the chamber, the walls slowly melting as the light makes contact.
"Bear witness.. to the birth of the Rot King." He floats into the air, plunging onto the man with the mustache in a glowing gas explosion.
PWFOOSH
The top half of the castle melts, the two men fall and land on the castle wall.
The Rot King lunges aggressively and delivers rapid blows with his glowing red gas infused cane.
CLANK CLANK CLANK
Their armaments meet with rapid and forceful impact after impact, causing the surrounding bricked wall to get covered in layers of red decay and black orange flames.
THUNK
The man with the mustache slams his black orange inferno great sword onto the ground, spreading his flames across the wall and thrusting the The Rot King into the air.
The Rot King releases a wave of red gas across the zone while in the air, spawning gas beast heads that home in on the man with the mustache.
The gas projectiles explode as the black orange flames intercept them.
The surrounding black orange flames then spread across the area and focus on the revolver the man with the mustache withdrew, combining along the barrel.
"I welcome you to the fifth and final step."
click-*
The Rot King focuses the surrounding gas in front of him and forms the giant head of a dragon, before it opens its mouth and shoots a torrent of gas towards the man with the mustache.
BANG
The revolver shoots a rapid, burning demon skull, making the wall crack from the force.
FeeuOOOM
The burning skull projectile pierces through the gas and leaves an inferno trail that explodes along the path.
PFWOOM PFWOOM PFOOOM
The Rot King stumbles in the air, before the man with the mustache appears at the end of the skull projectile's path, finally delivering a fiery fist from his right hand.
POW!
The Rot King gets thrusted against the wall in a burning, bright trail.
SLAM!
"COUGH..COUGH.. Such.. power.." He says as he is impaled flatly on the wall.
click-*
The man with the mustache points his faintly burning revolver at his head
"I do extend to you my gratitude for the jolly good time my fellow." He says as he positions his finger on the trigger.
"Haha..ha..I may be a dead man now, but mark my words, Denmark, The Order will live on... COUGH COUGH.. You believe it ends along with my death? Do not be foolish, The Order has been spread across the central continent for centuries. And soon, the final step of my plan will be put in motion. And the Infestation will bring the world to its end."
"Hmm.. that's MR. Denmark to you."
BANG
A large hole gets pierced through the wall, vaporizing The Rot King.
.
.
.
---------------------------
"Hm...perhaps I went a tad bit too far."
It seems the amount of power I put into my shot was more than necessary, as the wall in front of me has a hole the size of three boulders stacked on one another.
("Hmph!")
"Yes Astal, what is it?"
("Don't talk to me!")
<["Oh come on now. You're not still mad Alek infused some of his hell flames with your form right~?"]>
("It burned.!!")
<["Suck it up. The way I see it, you seem just fine to me."]>
("Hmph!")
<["Oh don't you make that face now. Are you not glad you were of some use?]>
"Quite." I add as I stroke my mustache.
("W-wha..? Get out of that form already!")
"Aw man. I really wanted to go on one more hunt before heading back to the Luthran Kingdom." I groan as Astal returns me to my normal form as well as turning her form back to the tight black necklace around my neck. "I'm gonna miss Gloom."
("Who?")
<['It's the name he gave to the revolver."]>
("HAH?! MY NAME'S ASTAL!")
"Wait..."
The realization that I completely decimated the King of the Ragnav Kingdom without asking him for the whereabouts of the Luthran King hits my face like a sack of potatoes.
"SHIT."
.
.
.
-----------------------------
A woman with a giant white witch hat is sat on a throne, her hands crossed over her lap.
"Well? Have you found traces of The Rune of Death during your time in the Draevak Kingdom?"
"Nope. The King refused to cooperate and had me escorted out of his castle." Says a young girl with purple hair with pink highlights in pigtails.
"I don't see what there is to be so nervous about. It's not like the Devil will just show up to his doorstep after speaking about it. He's always been such a tense fella huh?"
"I see, most disappointing." She pauses. "It seems we will just have to increase the range of our scouting. Would you be a dear and travel to the Luthran Kingdom? It's been quite the while since I've heard of the Luthran King."
"Sigh I've done nothing but travel. I could use a break y'know?" The young girl stretches her arms above her head, soothing her muscles.
"Yes, I am aware. I'll have Lillia accompany you, will that suffice?"
"H-huh?! Me? I'm going too?!" The girl sat at a table in the corner of the chamber says, dropping her honey glazed bread.
She has long brown hair with a single braid, wearing a blue schoolgirl uniform.
"Yes you. Now drop the sweets and prepare to set out, Lillia." The woman says as she stands from her throne, looking out the big window and onto the snow-covered Kingdom of Azula.
"B-b-but...ugh fine!" She stands up before retrieving her magician's robe against the couch and slipping it on. "But when we get back you owe me four honey buns, Kanon." Says Lillia, a look of displeasure in her eyes as she walks out of the chamber.
"Hah?"
Kanon retrieves her wizardcraft rifle from the table, catching up to Lillia out of the chamber.
"I will find you, my dear bearer of Death.. and only then will I bring prosperity to my Kingdom." She sits on her throne, crossing her hands over her lap.
"Then together, we shall set the Heavens in collapse."
.
.
.
[____________________]
To be continued in...
Volume 3: The Plaguestone Protocol