Episode 4 New Enemies and Old Enemies
The assassin stares down at his stomach as Kunai mercilessly pulls the Avenger out. Blood splatters all over the floor. “Bas…tard!” he shouts, staring straight into Kunai’s cold black eyes.
The assassin collapses to the floor and spits out more blood. His companions shout in alarm. Kunai jerks his Avenger through the air, allowing his opponent’s blood to splatter off it. The assassin’s cronies jump in alarm and run away immediately upon seeing the sight.
Kunai turns to face the frightened Ophelia. “You all r—”
Kunai agilely leaps out of the way, dragging Ophelia with him, as a bullet flies past him, just barely missing the side of his face.
He raises his claw, two Steelys clenched in it as he stares up into the face of a red-haired Corsair. The Corsair in turn lowers his rifle, whistling obnoxiously.
“Phew, that was a close one! Almost got ya.”
“Who the hell are you?” Kunai growls.
The assassin with the Red Pilfer slowly raises his head from the ground. His eyes widens in shock as he sees the Corsair looking down on he, Kunai, and Ophelia from the branch of a massive tree. “Th-that’s—!”
“You know him?” Kunai mutters, glaring at the thief.
“He’s…dangerous! He kills…hybrids…stay away from him!”
Kunai glances from the thief back to the Corsair. “Kills hybrids?”
Ophelia’s eyes suddenly widen. She gives the Corsair a stare that is both frightful and angry at the same time. “You did something to my sister, didn’t you?! What’ve you done with her?! Where’s Mira?!”
“Oh ho ho,” the Corsair exclaims, clapping his hands. “Smart little girl ya are. Yeah, I’ve taken your sister.”
Kunai now stares at Ophelia, before turning back to the Corsair. ‘What the hell’s going on here…?’ He brandishes his pair of Steelys. “You haven’t answered my question yet…who are you?”
The Corsair laughs, a high-pitched, obnoxious shriek. “I think I’ve already made it pretty clear…I kill hybrids.” He tilts his head towards Ophelia upon seeing the horrified look on her face. “Oh, don’t worry, cute little girl. I haven’t killed your sister…yet.” He licks his lips as he utters the last word.
However, the Corsair suddenly snaps his fingers and points at Kunai. “Wait a minute. I thought ya looked familiar. You’re Kunai.”
Kunai raises an eyebrow. “How do you know who I am?”
“Doesn’t matter,” the Corsair replies simply. “But hold on…you’re a hybrid, aren’t ya?”
Without warning, the Corsair fires a shot from his rifle. Kunai dodges the first bullet, and then deflects a second with one of his Steelys.
Flipping over to avoid another barrage of bullets, Kunai hurls a pair of Steelys towards the Corsair, who simply leaps out of the way. The Corsair lands lightly at the top of another tree.
The Corsair sneers. “Come on, I know all about ya, Kunai. Show me that sword you’re famous for. You know, that one.”
Kunai’s eyes widen upon hearing the Corsair’s taunts. ‘Just how much does this guy know…?’ He lowers his claw as he continues to stare at the Corsair.
“Come on, come on, COME ON!” the Corsair continues to shout raucously. “Show me that sword of yours! I know you have it!”
The Corsair suddenly freezes in his taunting, however, as he feels a breeze flash by him from behind. He turns, but not quickly enough, as Kunai appears with an Avenger in hand.
“Sorry,” Kunai mutters in the Corsair’s ear, “I don’t use a sword anymore.”
The Corsair only manages to leap away in time to avoid a devastating blow. However, he lands roughly on the ground several yards away, blood dripping from his side. He grasps his wound, inspecting the blood flowing rapidly onto his hand.
“Not a bad move,” he hisses.
Kunai disappears again, and in a flash appears behind the Corsair once more. “Hey, hey!” the Corsair cries, blocking a second blow from Kunai’s Avenger with the length of his rifle. “You got me once, but I ain’t that bad!”
The Corsair frantically leaps backwards and pivots, aiming his rifle at Ophelia instead. “Bang!” he shouts, just as he fires a round from his rifle.
Kunai turns, but notices too late; he can only watch as Ophelia screams and cowers, throwing her arms out in order to shield herself from the attack.
However, before the bullets even connect, a massive explosion of fire engulfs the entire area. Kunai hurls himself back, using his arm to shield himself from the heat. He watches in amazement as the fireball hurtles through the clearing like a hurricane, before combusting in one chaotic eruption.
As the smoke and fire clears, Kunai raises his head again. Ophelia is standing awkwardly in the middle of the field, panting heavily. Kunai rushes over to catch her as she falls, having lost consciousness. Kunai glances around the area, but the Corsair has disappeared.
From behind a tree, the Corsair watches as Kunai slowly walks away, carrying Ophelia on his shoulders. Kunai pauses momentarily to kick the stranded Assassin still cowering in a corner, forcing the Thief into a frantic trot ahead of him.
The Corsair whistles. “Phew,” he pants, wiping sweat from his brow. “That was some explosion. If I’da been caught in that, it would’ve been the end of me.”
A quiet office overlooking the rest of Ellinia stands at the highest peak of the city. The new academy built to train young students stretches out in a mass of buildings and fields below. Here and there, a lone student roams around the compound in the middle of the school day.
A knock sounds at the door. The headmaster turns in his seat, in which he had been looking out the window before, to face the door. “Come in,” he rasps.
The door opens. A Night Lord stands in the middle of the doorway, one of the academy students in his arms. A nervous-looking Assassin is quivering behind him, peeking over the Night Lord’s shoulder into the room inside.
The Night Lord and the headmaster stare at each other for several long, silent moments. The red-haired headmaster continues to stare unsmilingly at the intruder into his office.
“Ryuu,” Kunai says, interrupting the silence at last, “I’m back.”
The headmaster suddenly rises from his seat, and strides over to the Night Lord. Kunai watches with bated breath as his old friend and companion approaches.
Ryuu raises a fist and pounds the top of Kunai’s head with it harshly. “WAHH!” Kunai shouts, tears coming out of his eyes as he awkwardly juggles the unconscious girl in his arms so as not to drop her.
“What the hell did you do to one of my students,” Ryuu barks, glaring at Kunai out of the corner of his eyes.
“I didn’t do anything,” Kunai mutters, laying Ophelia down on a sofa sitting against the wall. He rubs the top of his head. “That’s some way to greet a friend you haven’t seen in four years.”
Ryuu shakes his head, striding back behind his desk and reclaiming his seat. He points at a wooden chair in front of the desk. “Have a seat,” he offers.
Kunai complies after a brief moment of hesitation. Ryuu continues to stare at Kunai with his bright green eyes. “Before we get to the reason why one of my students is unconscious, tell me what you’ve been up to the last few years.”
Kunai narrows his eyes, looking down slightly as he opens his mouth. “The Anti-Paradox,” he mutters.
Ryuu swivels in his chair, placing his legs up on his desk. He stares out the window, into the clear blue sky outside. “The Anti-Paradox, huh? Is that what you’ve been hunting for? I thought it was just a rumor.”
Kunai shakes his head. “That’s what I thought at first too,” he hisses, “but it’s real. There’s a group in the Night World called the ARES Project. It’s run by a bunch of crooks and shady people, but they’re looking for it too. And I’ve been cooperating with them.”
“Be careful who you’re working with, Kunai,” Ryuu warns sternly.
“They’re not dangerous at all,” Kunai says hastily, “they may be crooks, but they’re totally harmless.”
“Okay,” Ryuu growls, stretching his arms lazily, “then have you located the Anti-Paradox?”
“No,” Kunai returns. “I wanted to continue the search, but I felt I needed to return soon, seeing how it’s been almost…”
“Seeing how it’s been almost five years since that day,” Ryuu finishes for Kunai. A long silence ensues as Kunai stares at the floor and Ryuu glares out the window.
“Arai will be back soon.”
Kunai grits his teeth at the name, glancing up at Ryuu’s unfathomable face. The elder swordsman remains silent, his eyes staring at something not in the room.
“Um…” the Assassin mumbles, still standing in the doorway. “I’ll just…excuse myself, all right?”
Ryuu looks up suddenly, noticing the Thief for the first time. “Hm? What the hell is that thing?”
“WHAT THE HELL, I’M NOT A THING!” the Thief yells.
Kunai glances over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot he was there.” He stands up suddenly, and grabs the Thief by the collar and shoves him into the room in front of Ryuu. “I caught him preying on that girl over there,” Kunai says, jerking his head over in Ophelia’s direction.
“I was going to teach him a lesson, until we were interrupted by a Corsair.”
“Not just any Corsair!” the Thief cries in a frenzy as he struggles to escape Kunai’s grip. “That was Soma Vesta! The creepiest, most dangerous, most crazy—”
Ryuu’s eyes widen upon mention of the name. “Kunai, you were attacked by Soma Vesta?”
Kunai stares questioningly at Ryuu. “Huh, you know him, Ryuu?”
Ryuu folds his arms, sighing heavily. “Soma Vesta. He is currently one of the men rumored to be working under Lord Duncan for the Anti-Hybrid League.”
“Lord Duncan?” Kunai gasps. A brief memory of an obese, devious-looking man creeps into Kunai’s mind. The man is riding a Dark Drake through the sky, clutching a frightened young girl with brown hair at his side. Kunai descends upon the two, drawing out his sword and—
The Assassin breathes a sigh of relief as Kunai relinquishes his hold on him. Kunai grabs the chair he’d been sitting on, and slowly lowers himself back onto it.
“Lord Duncan is back? He’s still alive?” Kunai hisses.
Ryuu looks at Kunai with his green eyes unblinkingly. He stares off in the distance again. “Yeah. It certainly seems so. It could only be him pulling the strings behind the Anti-Hybrid League.”
“Hybrids…? Now that you mention it, that Corsair said something about hybrids. What is this Anti-Hybrid League?” Kunai asks.
“They’re some underground group that’s supposedly trying to kill all the hybrids,” the Assassin chirps up suddenly, still trembling slightly.
Kunai glares at him accusingly. “You know about them?”
“N-No!” the Thief cries in a panic. “It’s not what you think! I’m not one of them! It’s just that everyone in Victoria knows about them lately!”
“If you’ve got no useful information to give us, you can leave,” Ryuu says to the Assassin dismissively.
“Really?! Th-thank you kind sir!” the Assassin shouts, clearly in a rush to exit the room. “Your kindness won’t be forgiven, kind sir! Thank you for letting me go! You are merciful! Kind! And—”
“Just remember,” Ryuu adds darkly, his eyes glowing malevolently, “that if you try to lay your hands on another student here again, I’ll make sure you’ll be swimming with the Gobies, understood?”
“A-All right!” the Assassin cries, stampeding his way out of the room.
“Anyway,” Ryuu says, glaring at the doorway with a mixture of irritability and sadistic amusement, “the Anti-Hybrid League is a relatively new movement that seems to have gained steam in the last year or so. They’re concerned with eradicating all hybrids from the world.”
“Are you serious?” Kunai gasps. “Come to think of it…that guy…Soma Vesta or whatever, mentioned that he knew I was a hybrid. So he came after me because he knew I was a hybrid?”
“Possibly,” Ryuu says, “although…” He glances over in Ophelia’s direction.
“Although?” Kunai asks.
“Nothing,” Ryuu replies. “In any case, the Anti-Hybrid League is obviously a misguided attempt against hybrids. You might ask why they’re persecuting hybrids all of a sudden. Well, it’s mostly because of the panic caused by the Fatalists. It seems Lord Duncan’s come back and taken advantage of the general nervousness over the Fatalists into causing a widespread panic against all hybrids in general. Of course, all Duncan’s concerned with is reconsolidating his power. I doubt he really hates hybrids as much as he claims, although he probably does have a grudge against the Fatalists, and you…”
Kunai balls his hand into a fist, punching his knee. “Damn that Duncan…just like him to cause trouble. Now all hybrids are in danger because of him. Is this Anti-Hybrid League powerful?”
“Oh yeah,” Ryuu replies, “they’ve actually gained influence in a number of areas all over Victoria Island. I don’t think they’ve spread beyond this island yet though. But they’ve got a lot of men and troublemakers who’ve joined their cause. To be honest, they’ve been a bit of a thorn in my side lately.”
“Wait a minute,” Kunai says, “aren’t you a hybrid, Ryuu? Why haven’t they come after you?”
Ryuu smirks. “They have. But there’s no way I’m going down that easily. They’ve got my wanted posters plastered all over the place, despite the fact everyone knows where I work anyway. It doesn’t really bother me, although it’s been terrible business for the academy. People don’t wanna send their kids to be lectured by a creepy hybrid geezer like me.”
Ophelia suddenly shuffles about on the sofa, drawing attention from Ryuu and Kunai. She springs into a sitting position immediately, yelling out loud. “Mira!” she screams.
“Mira?” Kunai murmurs.
“Your sister…” Ryuu says out loud, without looking at the girl. “She’s gone missing, hasn’t she?”
“H-Headmaster Ryuu!” Ophelia cries, as if emerging from a daze. She scrambles to her feet. “I was going to ask you about Mira, but then I was attacked by—”
“Wait,” Kunai interrupts frantically, “you…you’re not a hybrid, are you?”
“She’s not,” Ryuu answers Kunai, “but her sister is.”
“Mira…” Ophelia murmurs. “She was supposed to be back already, but when I went to go look for her, she wasn’t anywhere in sight. Then that Corsair came and said she’d been captured…”
“It’s very likely that your sister was attacked by the same Corsair that you two were attacked by,” Ryuu continues. “If that’s the case…they’ve most likely killed her by now.”
“No they haven’t!” Ophelia screams. “That Corsair guy…he said that she was still alive!”
“He what?” Ryuu says, rounding on Ophelia. “That’s strange…why would they have any reason to keep her alive? Unless…”
“What is it, Ryuu?” Kunai asks.
“Never mind,” Ryuu growls, his voice suddenly serious. He strides purposefully towards a display case nailed to an adjacent wall. Lying on the case is a beautifully made sword in its sheath. He takes the sword and holds it at his side, then heads straight towards the door.
“Where are you going, Ryuu?” Kunai cries, jumping to his feet.
“Gonna go pay the Anti-Hybrid League a visit,” Ryuu replies simply.
A pair of torches lights the way along the very dark passageway. A throne made of coldest stone and marble sits at the far end of the passageway. A solitary figure strides down the hallway, headed for the throne at the end of the path, where the two torches blaze.
A high-pitched wheezy voice speaks from the throne at the end of the passageway. “You’ve come, eh? We are about to have some house guests very soon.”
The footsteps stop as the figure reaches the throne. Despite standing so close to the torches, he is shrouded in darkness, wearing a black robe that covers his entire body. At his side he drags a massive sword. A pair of bright red eyes glimmers in the light from the torches.
“Come, Kunai,” the wheezy voice says, “let us prepare to greet our guests.”
One Comment
Ever since you said that your work is mostly drawn from popular medias, it’s been a lot easier to catch them (though it doesn’t really weaken the influence of the series, of course).