Chapter 29

Mayhem in Capital

“I’ll handle the rest!” Sky twirled around struck a pose despite how silly and childish his pose was, no doubt his declaration. Thanks to his display a moment ago, he easily sent two men flying with a finger flick.

“Well, then…” Sky places both her hands on her hips. “Anybody else wants to challenge me?

“Such confidence, but I understand where it comes from now. “Valentine calmy dust off his suit as he stood back up. “I always thought the tales of the royal guards was a lie to boost soldiers' morale, but it seems I was wrong. Good.” A wicked grin spread on Valentine’s face. “It’s going to be fun turning you into one of my pets.”

The tension from the would-be battle dissipated as the ground shook. Screams and cheers could be heard coming from the theater.

A massive wave of water surges out from the theater. On top of the wave was Aaron, the beastman, and the samurai clinging to a giant shark with their lives.

“What… the…” Catherine stood dumbfounded at the weird sight before her. Sky sweeps Catherine off her feet and jumps high into the air, easily shooting past the building.

The wave crashes onto the street. The massive volume of water could’ve easily flooded half of the pleasure district, but strangely it seemed to sink into the ground, seemly vanishing from the world.

While still holding onto Catherine. Sky happily hums to herself as she skips towards the ground. A ripple appeared underneath his feet as if he was walking in a pond with each step he took.

“Are you ok?” Still stunned by what she just witnessed, it took me a moment to realize she was now on the ground and that Sky was examining her.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” Catherine jumps out of Sky’s arm and tries to compose himself.

“Where is it? Where did the shark go!?” Aaron frantically looked around with his bow drawn. However, there wasn’t a sign of a shark or even water passing through the streets.

“Catherine! You won’t believe what I saw!” Aaron excitedly ran up to Catherine and started shouting about his strange journey. “…And then we open another door which somehow led to an underwater city. First, a bunch of weird humanoid fish things attacks us, then Leo punches a fish tank for some reason.”

“The shark was going to break the glass, so I decided to break it before he could!” Leo exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. “But I’ll admit I didn’t expect us to be swept away.”

“What did you think would happen when you broke the glass?” The samurai drew his sword and pointed at Leo’s throat. “If you put this team in danger again, I will kill you.”

“Hey, there’s no need to fight!” Aaron stepped in front of the samurai sword. “It's because of Leo we manage to get back to our world. But, wait, this is the real world, right?” Aaron looks to Catherine for answers. She shrugs her shoulder at him and then looks at Sky, who kept his eyes on the fog, keeping a watchful gaze on the shifting shadow moving in the mist. Finally, he glances back at the royal guard in white armor while silently weaving hand signs.

“Tch.” Sky clicked her tongue, annoyed at Harden's disapproving headshake. “You still plan on continuing the trial even now?” She mumbled under her breath. “Everyone gather near me! I’m going to punch a hole through the fog. Use this chance to get out of the pleasure district! The final trial awaits you at Remembrance Hill in the royal district!”

“Wait, does this mean we pass the trial?” Aaron’s face glowed with excitement.

“!” A gun goes off simultaneously. Everyone drops to the ground looking for where the gunshot comes from, everyone except Aaron. Slowly, Aaron touches his side. Blood seeped through his shirt, staining it a dark red.

“W-What is this?” Aaron staggers backward-looking at his blood. “Is… is this bad?”

“No, it's just a little blood...” Leo grabbed Aaron and placed his hand on the wound. “Just relax and put pressure on the wound.

“O-Okay.”

“Good, keep that up.” Leo pat Aaron’s head as he tries to steady his breathing. Leo’s voice was comforting, but his expression was grim.

“Sky, can’t you heal him?!” Catherine tugged on Sky’s sleeve to try to tear his attention from the fog.

“I can’t! But there’s someone who can heal him in the final trial!”

“Oh, he’s alive?” Valentine emerges once again from the fog holding a white pistol. “My aim has gotten sloppy. I guess this is what I get for relying on ability too much.” The man in blue eyes begins to glow as he places his pistol underneath his chin. “This time, I won’t miss.”

“Everyone, get behind me!” Sky screams as he jumps in front of everyone.

“!” Blood sprays from sky’s head as the gun goes off again.

“What?” Catherine’s eyes rapidly darted between Sky's limp body and Valentine, who had still had his pistol underneath his chin.

“Nooo!” A high pitch scream pierces the air. Emma ran out of the theater and charged straight at Valentine. “I’ll fucking kill you!!” Emma roar as she pours all her strength into her punch. Her fist slams into Valentine’s face, instead of being rewarded with a satisfying sound of bones cracking the ground next to Emma shatters. Valentine did he flinch. He simply looks down at Emma with predatory eyes.

“You don’t look that bad, how about you- “Before he could finish speaking, Emma spun her body around, striking his face with feet. Again, despite putting everything into the kick around put her entire body weight into a kick that hit Valentine’s temple. Again, despite placing everything into the kick, he remained unfazed, and the ground next to her cracked slightly. Valentine simply sighed and pointed his gun at Emma.

Bloom: 5%

Catherine rolls towards Emma and tackles her to the ground with the bit of strength she has left. A fireball flew over both Catherine and Emma's heads as they dived to the ground. The blazing ball of heat suddenly dissipated, almost like it was sucked into an invisible whirlpool. A moment later, flames erupt from the ground behind Valentine.

“Max! Cover!”

“Yea, I’m on it!” Max throws multiple fireballs at Valentine as Catherine tries to pull Emma away.

“You don’t seem to get it.” Valentine, approach the fleeing girls, ignoring the flames. Each fireball vanished and exploded somewhere else. “The reason why I’m standing here without any guards by my side is because none of you is capable of hurting me.

“And you said I was cocky.” Valentine froze when he heard the voice of someone who should be dead.

And in what seemed like a single step, Sky closed the large gap between him and Valentine. Sky easily knocks the gun out of his hand with deft hands while striking his side with his elbow. The ground beneath Sky’s feet crack from the force of the blow; however, Valentine remains unfazed.

“Didn’t work, huh? Let’s try a different tactic.” While tightly gripping his arm, Sky gracefully spun behind him. Valentine's cocky visage turn to one of agony as the bones in his arm begin to snap.

“Get him off me!” The fog begins to shift as wolves Leap out from the mist and aim their fangs for Sky’s neck.

“Are you sure…You want to fight me?” For a moment, the air grew cold as Sky turned his head towards the wolves. In the eyes of the feral wolves, what stood before them was a massive white fox bearing its fangs.

The wolves ran away, whimpering to themselves.

“Everyone, go now!” Sky shouted.

“Hold on, Aaron!” Leo lifts Aaron and charges straight through the fog. The other contestants follow behind the giant beastman leaving Sky alone. After seeing everyone successfully escape from Valentine's clutches, Sky lets out a relieved sigh before turning his attention towards the threat in front of him.

“You shouldn’t relax just yet, little pup. The entire pleasure district is your enemy. Every gang, every mercenary will be after you and your little contestants’ necks.

“What exactly do you gain from earning the King’s ire?”

“To prove a point. This district is ours. None of your little soldiers belong here!”

The fog begins to thicken; Sky’s eyes widen in disbelief as the man in front of him vanish from his arms. In a panic, he reached out in front of him only to grab air. A gun goes off, and Sky’s head reels back as a bullet strikes a thin veil of aura protecting his head.

“Amazing, not even bullets could stop you. You royal guards are monsters. Say, why don’t you become my pet? I’ll treat you much better than your current master.” Valentine lets out a cruel laugh. However, none of his words reach Sky’s ears. Hundred of thoughts rush through Sky’s thanks to decades of experience, the welling panic disperses, allowing him to analyze the situation before him calmly.

It is evident to Sky that the fog is supernatural. However, he didn’t believe it originated from Valentine. After seeing his ability in action a few times, he concluded that Valentine possesses a gift that can teleport attacks away from him, including his attack. Which could only mean there’s Gifted here who can produce a fog that disoriented the senses.

A bullet struck Sky’s aura snapping him out of his thoughts. Unfortunately, the mist is disorienting the gunshot, making it impossible for Sky to track down. And Valentine’s ability to teleport attacks made evasion impossible.

“What a troublesome combination.”

“You like it? I came prepared in case you Royal guards are as strong as they say.” Multiple gunshots echo through the mist. Each bullet teleported and directly hit Sky. While Sky’s aura prevents the shots from piercing his flesh, the impact from the bullets still bruises his body.

“This must be frustrating. You have all that power, yet you can’t do thing a thing.”

“On the contrary. You’re starting to make my old blood boil.” Sky punches the air in front of him, a ripple where his fist struck. The ripple burst like a bubble creating a shockwave dispersing the mist around him.

Standing before Sky was Valentine and another finely dressed man. The finely dressed man raises his hands in a panic. However, he buckles in pain as another shockwave goes off, striking him in the chest. As the man leans forward, holding his chest, Sky dash towards him. With a twirl, Sky lands a kick with the man slamming him into the pavement.

With man conscious rob from him, the mist begins to dissipate.

“So, now that you can’t hide anymore, what other plans do you have up your sleeves?”

Valentine back away as Sky inches towards him with a mischievous grin

“D-don’t think you won just yet. Did you forget any attack against me is useless?

“Oh, I didn’t forget. Let’s see how invincible you are?” Sky’s eyes begin to glow a bright blue. He lifts his foot and stomps the ground. A ripple appears on where Sky struck the ground. Multiple ripples begin to appear on the ground. It looks as if someone were skipping the stones on a lake.

Each ripple burst, destroying the ground. Debris rises into the air and then suddenly stops, frozen in time.

“Good luck redirecting all this?” With a flick of his finger, Sky sent hundreds of debris hurtling towards a screaming Valentine.

Blood ran down Valentine’s nose as he concentrated all his powers to redirect the shrapnel flying towards him. Focusing solely on defense, he couldn't notice Sky, who went low and swept Valentine's feet from under him. His concentration is broken; multiple shrapnel pierces his skin as he falls.

A groan slips from Valentine's lip as he tries to get back on his feet.

“Wait right their young man.” Sky places a finger on Valentine’s forehead. “Before you get up and try something stupid, there’s something you need to know about my ability.” Sky gently places his finger on one of the Shrapnel sticking out of Valentine’s body. Valentine’s heart nearly stopped when he looked down saw multiple ripples on the debris in his body.

“My ability has two effects, nullify and amplify. Whatever action I take I can choose either to amplify my action or nullify it, or both. The only reason why you didn’t suffer any severe injuring is because of my ability and good grace. So be a good boy and don’t move we have a lot to talk about.

“You finally finish your little bout?” Harden stomps his ways towards Sky who simply frown at the heavily armored man approach.

“You know the whole reason the captain orders us to move in groups of two is to assist each other.”

“I did help you. I kept the contestants and your fan from running into the mist and getting themselves killed.”

“Fan?” Sky tilts his head slightly. Harden answers his question by simply stepping to the side. Standing behind the heavy armor man was a short hair woman wearing a simple white dress shirt and black pants. The woman nervously looks down at Sky.

“Oh, Emma you’re still here?” Emma’s face lit happy that Sky remember her. However, that happiness almost immediately faded when she look still dripping down his face.

“Um, are you ok?”

“Of course! I’m super strong you know!” Sky energetically puffs his chest out. If someone else were to stumble onto this Sky would look like a kid who’s bragging about chasing away a starving goblin with a stick. It took all of Emma’s strength to stop her maternal instinct from taking over and snatching the boy in front of her.

“To think I lost someone as pathetic as you. No, I refuse to accept this.” Valentine struggles to get up to his feet his eyes bloodshot. He lifts his gun and aims at its Sky. “I win.” As Valentine pulls the trigger the ripples on the shrapnel suddenly burst causing the debris sticking into the body to dig deeper piercing multiple organs.

Valentine let out a grunt before dropping to the ground, his body riddled with holes.

“What an arrogant fool. To the very end, he thought he could beat us.”

“This is all our fault.” Sky looks towards a street that eventually leads back to the center of the Pleasure District. Even being five blocks away he could hear gunshots and other commotions coming from the center of the district. “It’s because we turn our gaze away from this place and allow them to do whatever they want their ego grew uncontrollably.”

“If that’s the case, then I guess it’s our job to humble them.”

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After a long, long, long, day my body finally begin to break down on me. Each step I took felt slower than the last. Against my better judgment, I look behind me. There were four men in black suits following me. Their faces were twisted with rage and hatred.

“Why? Why are you chasing me?!” I wanted to scream out, but all that came out was a gasp for air. My legs burn as I try in vain to increase my speed. Little by little I could feel them closing the distance. Desperate, I begin to knock down any table, stands, and anything else that litter the street.

“There’s one right here!” Two men burst out from a building on the left side of the street, both men held rifles which they aim at me.

“Fucking… seriously?!” I threw myself into the nearest building. I tumble down a couple of steps landing on my back. The world spun around me as I try to get back to my feet. Through my blurred vision, there was a woman standing before me.

“H-help…. please.”

“….” The woman didn’t respond to my weak pleads. She simply continues to stare off into space.

My vision begins clear. There were dozens of people aimlessly wandering around the halls of this dilapidated building.

“…” Even after I got close to her and wave my hand the woman didn’t respond. Their eyes were glazed over, and their faces were twisted with ecstasy. Multiple alarms were going off in my head telling me to get out of here, however, I had bigger problems to worry about.

Behind me, I could hear multiple people storming the building. I made my way through the dazed crowd.

“There she is!” Someone shouted. I slam my shoulder against a door. I nearly fell over again as the door swung open. I quickly regain my balance and slammed the door shut behind me and locked it with multiple bolts it had attached.

They bang relentlessly on the door. Knowing full well the door will break eventually I looked around what seems to be an old dingy kitchen. The shelves and table were covered in herbs and sickly yellow dust. And in the center of the kitchen was a table that had all vials with different color liquids in them. After being a part of a gang for years, I immediately knew where I was, a drug lab.

I cover my nose. Thanks to my sharp sense of smell, I can easily be affected by the substance just by simply being near it. I make my way to the door on the opposite side of the kitchen. The door opens just as I was grabbing the knob a man in scrubs suddenly open the door. Before I had a chance to even utter a sound. The man lunge at me, in the next moment I was on the ground.

I bury my fangs into his hand. The man grabbed his hands and screamed. I crawl from under him as I try to get back to my feet, he grabbed my leg and dragged me back. Enraged, he punches the ground. I lean out of way, his fist slammed into the cold ground. The man reels away. I roll backward pouring all my strength into my legs before thrusting both into his stomach.

The man onto his back the air knocked out of him. As he struggles for air he reaches into his pocket. I could feel scream at me to move. I threw myself at the man, a gun falls from his hand as we slam into the ground. A bullet flies out the pistol as it slides under the table.

For a moment I stare at the weapon shock. The man push me off him and dove under the table scrambling for the weapon. I force my exhausted body back onto its feet and hop onto the table. Pots and glass crash onto the ground as I ran on the table.

I jumped off the table and stomp on the hand reaching for the gun. As he scream, I reflexively spun my body around before kicking his face. As his head whip back from the blow, I spun around once more and leap into the air. As I twirl landed another on him. The force of my attack planted his face into the ground.

“Ah.” I let out a groan. My back into the cold stone floor. Seeing that my assailant was out cold I let out a relieved sigh. As soon as I allow myself to relax a little the thugs kick down the door. I reach for the gun and then time seems slow when I pull the trigger. I swear I could see the bullet flying from the pistol sinking into the closes thug head and leaving out the back. Blood and brain splatter onto the ground.

There were no final words, no screams, not even a grunt. He simply fell to the ground dead like a marionette that had his strings cut. The other thugs scream at me, but I couldn’t hear a thing. There was a ringing in my ear and a searing headache was beginning to form.

“Stay where you are!” Fear was evident in their eyes when I pointed the gun at them. I back away from them while keeping the pistol on them until my back hit a door. “Don’t follow me.” I stumble my way out the door stepping into a backstreet. As the door shut, I caught another glance of the body lying lifeless in his own blood.

My stomach turn and my vision blur. I lean against the building to keep myself from falling.

Not bad kiddo, now do it again.

Crook’s voice echo in the back of my head. I took a few nervous glances but there was nothing there.

“Keep it together Catherine. They were trying to kill you and you rightfully defend yourself. Yea, it was self-defense.” I force my body to keep moving trying not to think about what transpired.

Bullets flew past the alley. A shadow dip into the backstreet taking cover from the gunfire. The person raises his hands in the air and froze when he notice me aiming the gun at him.

“Are you a gang member?”

“N-no! I’m a tourist that was interested in the tournament.”

“You’re a contestant?” I took a closer look at him. The man was quite scrawny and wore thick glasses. Honestly, it was hard to believe he was a fighter. As doubt grew in my mind, I took a good look at myself and realize I don’t really look like I belong here either.

“Hey, I know you! You’re the feline that fought the flame guy at the theater.” The man's shoulders dropped in relief. “Luke, What’s your name?” He extends his hand towards me. I look at his hand and then past him. A group of thugs running towards a building on the opposite side of the street.

“Crap.” I took cover behind a trashcan and beckon for Luke to follow me. Realizing there was a bunch of goons behind him. He quickly duck behind me.

“Check these buildings there may be people hiding in them.” One of the thugs kicks open the door.

“Interesting.” Luke pulls out a notebook and pen and begins to vigorously jot things down.

“What the hell are doing?” I snatch the notebook out of his hand. At first glance, the maddening scribbles looked like a journal entry, but upon closer inspection, I realize this much, much more. There is incredibly detailed information on multiple countries' military movements, the trials we just went through. It even had the names of the gang leaders and the operation they run in this city.

“What is this?”

“It’s history. Or at least it will be.” The man excitedly thrust his hands into the air. “Take a good look around you, a historical moment is happening right before our eyes, and I’ll be the one to document it!” I quickly cover his mouth. Thankfully the gunfire drown Luke’s excited shouting.

“Since you seem to know so much tell me why every gang in the city is hunting us down.”

“If I had to guess they’re afraid of Rigel most people in a position of power are terrified of him.”

“Who’s Rigel?”

“…..” Luke looks down at me incredulously. “I heard Beastmen had one-track minds, but I didn’t think it was this bad. I guess I should be that surprised you don’t know him. While he is the current king of the country, he hasn’t made any public appearance since the former king died.” Luke looks down at the notebook in my hand.

“He really is a mysterious person. I’ve been keeping track of his movement but all I know is that he’s looking for someone, and this tournament is going to help him find that person.”

“What makes you think he’s looking for someone?”

“Why, the reward for this tournament give it away. Whoever stands victorious from these trials will be granted an audience with the king himself.”

Luke’s words swirl in my head. All this is happening, the bloodshed, these stupid trials is because the king is looking for something.

What should I do? I didn’t sign up to be part of some king crazy scheme, but if I go back now then everything I did will be pointless and I’ll never know why Dante got me involved in this.

For a moment I thought back to the corpse

“Got to keep moving.” I crept towards the end of the alley. I could feel a huge weight fall off my shoulders when I peek around the corner. A man clad in white armor walked up the streets. The gangsters on the streets and on top of the buildings fire their guns at the armored man.

A soft white light envelop his body and shielded him from gunfire. The aura around Harden quickly grew and enveloped the entire city in a dome of light. Harden raised his hammer and slams it on the ground.

Reality Shift: Phantasia

The very earth shook from the force of the attack. The dome of light shatters like glass revealing a purple sky and bright green stars.

A castle floating in the sky looms over the district. The sky darkens as dozens of gargoyles fly from the castle and dive straight towards the gangsters. Screams filled the streets as the thug was snatched off the ground and carried away.

“Listen and understand!” Harden's yell echo across through the city. “Any surviving contestant head to the nearest sliver gate! It’ll lead you to your next destination!

I looked down the street. The bridge that was connected to the other district was replaced with a massive shiny silver gate.

I took a deep breath and gather what little strength I had left.

“Hey, are you seriously planning to run out in that chaos!” Luke reaches for my shoulder which I slap away with my tail.

“I’m going to see this through to the end.” I dash out of the alley and sprint through the warzone. Bodies fell from the sky, arrows and bullets flew across the street.

“Keep moving, just keep moving,” I mumble to myself, trying to ignore the dead bodies on the floor, the screams and monstrous roar behind me. In pure desperation and exhaustion, I slam my shoulder against the silver gate. The gate creaks open and then the sound of battle vanishes, along with the entire city.

I found myself standing in between an old, rusted gate that led up a hill impale with a myriad of swords.

“What is this?”

“This is the place where those who the forgotten are buried.”

I move as fast as I could, practically dragging my exhausted body up the hill. desperate for answers, desperate to meet the voice. Standing on top of the hill was an old man dressed in a white military uniform. He looked down at the capital a portion of which was hidden in a dome of light.

“You made it,” Dante said as he turns towards me. “I always knew you would.”