Gray, The Grand

I was down to ten fresh bodies, the constant battle dragging on. At first, it was manageable, now I was fighting figures made of magic. I wasn't sure when it started, but they crept in slowly after the few hounds sent by tamers. I had thought they might have been Scix's, but they lacked the connection. It was just random magic users coming to take a shot at Kobe.

I was already a gold down from him and his champions stepping in. The price would quickly escalate if I sat back and did nothing. Bodies two and three slashed their claws through the shadowy figures. It was easy enough to break their physical form with a 'fatal' strike. The issue was that they were being summoned again by other shadowy figures. I wasn't able to locate the source! I could sense it when they were forming, I could watch the influence of the Aether, yet I lacked the eyes to locate the original summoner.

My teeth were gritted under my mask, as I swapped out another two bodies. I couldn't regain blood from these shadows, and their magic was more than enough to leave lasting damage. To make matters all the worse, Kobe was happily counting each summon as another kill. It didn't matter if he or his champion had killed the same one more than twice, it was still a new kill.

The Minotaur laughed, "Tell you what, I'll save us both some time and cut you a deal. Twenty gold and we'll crush the summoner and leave. You can have the territory, and do whatever you want."

It was more than I had, and a lot more than I was willing to pay. If I couldn't deal with a problem like this in a reasonably safe environment, then I wouldn't be able to handle it when one of my students was in danger. "No thank you, I'd much prefer to solve this problem on my own."

Kobe chuckled while his champions clapped. "Well said! Even pushed back and ragged he's still polite!" He bellowed while the champions laughed alongside him. I didn't care that they were laughing at me, keeping him happy was enough to ensure Scix got away safely. Doing this would earn me some reputation with the Leeches to keep my lie going. I hadn't been pushed this far, even by the fiend I ended up killing on that wonderful night. The first time we all felt the Queen's anger and had it directed towards an enemy.

It still sent chills down my spine. The raw emotion that reverberated and amplified by every mind within the Hive. It was easy enough to lose yourself to such a thing. The Night of the Blind Eye was the night mine truly opened and I understood our purpose as personalities. I only regretted that I couldn't open the eyes of at least one of the others before all this happened. They probably thought I looked very silly right now, but it was nice to have talked to them. Even if I couldn't tell them a single thing. Hopefully, they might remember every word and the Queen would get my message.

Bodies four, five, and six managed to take out more shadows. They moved as if they had a mind of their own. It wasn't much of an issue to take them out as soon as they were summoned, since it took them seconds to become aware of what was going on. The problem was that their numbers exceeded the number of bodies I could control. Body one got damaged, but nothing serious, it still forced me to switch it with another.

I smiled under my masks, the square covered in a circle of black blood. I was down to six fresh bodies I could swap into after an hour of fighting. Bodies five and six were sent back as I let go of control over them. They slumped with the rest as bodies seven and eight put them on the rack. Some answers required brute force, and I had my twice the focus surge into bodies one and two. Their eyes glowed under my mask, the color of my namesake. Bodies three and four moved to keep them covered as the blood staining the ground was gripped by my will.

Kobe raised his war ax, as his champions put up their guards just in case I decided to betray them. They could sense the magic charging the air. The blood continued to rise and swell behind bodies one and two. Three and four were used for the fine directing of the blood magic. Sand and stone had drunk the blood with greed, and now they were lifted and brought to the surface. Bodies one and two pointed as bloody bullets rubble tore through the air. The wind howled as it was parted by the force of my will.

The shadows were showered with the blood left here by forty bodies. Each summoner shadow pierced through the head with precision, as the square went silent. My eyes scanned the empty alleys and buildings. I searched for the bastard that took so much of my time. Then I saw the change in the Aether. Another summoning starting to take place. Bloody bullets rained into the building, shattering the stone walls, and splintering any wood in the way. Bodies three and four rushed towards the spot to see a demon using its wings to shield a human youth.

Piercing yellow eyes met those under my mask, before she spread them and took to the air. I vaguely recalled the two, but I knew not from where. Magic was gathering behind me, as Kobe was about to swing his ax. The boy was hardly a man! His demon was carrying him away, but she hadn't felt the change in the Aether! The options played out before me, but what was the best!? If I let them get away I might gain a powerful ally, letting them die wasn't an option. Not when the youth was young enough for me to consider him worth saving!

Kobe's slash tore through the air, as I sent as much mass of blood through the air as quickly as I could. Our strikes collided, the demon looking back at one of my bodies before diving into the alleys. Kobe tilted his head, his eyes falling onto number three. It was the closest to him, "Want to tell me why you let them go?" He tilted his head.

"I already proved I could defeat them, there was no point in letting such potential go unfulfilled." I moved the body away from him. "I have different rules and do not serve you."

Kobe snorted, "That kid was from the Kingdom of Fire, but whatever. This has been entertaining, but now I'm getting bored. I'll be taking my leave, good luck getting this place in order."

"Thank you." I started to bow when a voice echoed through the streets.

"KOBE!" It was a familiar voice, that I had heard many times alongside Richard's own. I was so close! He was leaving! Please... I don't have enough bodies for this. The alleys lit up with the light of fire climbing the walls of the buildings. They were close, but not one flame licked those homes. Standing atop the backs of giants was Robert.

His face was scarred, as he had his arms spread out. His demeanor was confident even as he strode before the might of the Minotaur. Kobe snorted, letting out a low laugh before hefting his war ax over his shoulder again. He let out a small whistle, "Impressive entrance. What does the lapdog of a monster want with me?"

Robert crossed his arms, "I'm here to kick you out of my territory."

Kobe let out a bellowing laugh, "You!? Listen, I allowed you to walk away because you were useless to my gang, Robert. You didn't know anything important, you don't have any magic, and your talent is shit!" His champions began to laugh as well. "You think you can come here with an army of overgrown beetles and kick me out? Fine, you can have this little shitty territory of a plot. I'm going to the next one, and I'm going to claim it."

Kobe and his champions turned to start walking when Robert spoke up. "That's also mine. The entire Southside now belongs to the Wraiths."

This made the Minotaur and his gang stop. I could see a vein bulge on Kobe's forehead, another popping on his bicep as he gripped his ax harder. He turned back around, his smile a little more forced. "I'm afraid I misheard you." He faced Robert, his ki gathering. "Say it again, and you're dead."

Robert smiled, crossing his arms, "By the request of my leader, I am here to claim the entirety of the Southside under her banner. You may leave in peace, or we will draw blood from every member you have in my territories."

Kobe's veins pulsed as he narrowed his eyes, "That's one hell of a statement, making an upstart punk like you vice. I can't walk away from a challenge issued by someone without magic." He brought his war ax in front of him, the light glinting towards Robert, as his champions spread out. "I've been playing nice with your bitch's little gang as thanks for removing the Fiend's Eye and taking them over. I've kindly watched and allowed her that little plot of monsters in the Eastside. She could deal with Mal, but now she's bringing her little gang to play with the big boys?" He ground his teeth, "I hope you brought something more than bugs to back up your words."

Robert tilted his head back, "The way we see it, it's the other way around. In a mere month, she united the tribes. In mere weeks she took out and assimilated the hags while fighting in your Arena. You've grown complacent and took to using those that dedicated themselves to your gang. Leaving it was the best thing that ever happened to me, because we all know you wouldn't have given me your scraps to save my wife." He gestured to the champions, his gaze meeting Kobes. His eyes were defiant, as his words became more powerful. "You are no longer the gang of the people, Kobe. You are a bull that has grown fat and lazy, and I am here to claim my kilo of flesh."

Kobe's eyes glanced down at me, "Leave, things are about to get ugly. If the Leeches want an alliance, then tell them to put in some damn work." His voice was low as I teleported to the rooftops with two bodies, while the others ran away. I had to witness this. Kobe snorted, steam flowing from his nostrils. Steam rose from his fur, as he swung his ax at Robert. "Empty threats from a weakling, bring out your bitch!"

Robert chanted a language I did not understand. The air suddenly cried out, as he spoke to the Aether itself! "Sa eht thgil fo efil sedaf, os to seod eht yromem dna eht kraps fo sti ecnetsixe. Tel eht dlrow flesti tegrof eht cigam erofeb em! Llun Erehps!" The fire's around him died in an instant, the body close enough to hear the chant collapsing as my connection to it was severed. I tried to reconnect to it, but failed. Robert's nose was bleeding, as he spat out blood. The magic behind Kobe's strike dissipated so that only a light breeze caressed Robert's figure.

The man pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed the corners of his lips and wiped the blood from his nose. The Minotaur and his champions were stunned, leaving the square in silence. Robert let out a soft laugh, "What can I say? My boss knows how to bring out the best in people. You can still retreat, but if you choose to fight we will go for the kill."

Kobe tilted his head forward, a cruel grin spreading as he showed his teeth. "What kind of trick did you use?" The sphere of null magic was receding as I reconnected with my body.

Robert grinned back, "No tricks, it's just my talent. Guess it's not as shit as you thought, huh?" He winked at Kobe. I watched as the Minotaur stepped forward, the sphere receding around Robert.

Kobe's ki was back, covering his body completely as magic armor. "Then I shall take it from you and leave your shattered body on your bitch of a boss' doorstep." He pointed his ax at Robert, "We only need to capture him alive. Charge!"

The champions surged forth, as Robert shrugged, "Good luck with that." His voice was just barely louder than the screams of those charging towards him. He hopped back as the sphere disappeared, a wall of fire sparking to life in front of the giants as they marched forward. The Entomancers pushed their magic forward, attempting to take over the army of bugs, to force their magic to stop, but there were too many. The pyromancers and fire elementalists sought to control the flames, but even with the entomancers, their efforts were ten compared to hundreds.

The wall of fire was unbroken, and the giants moved forward combining to make an inferno. Kobe hefted his ax as ki surged through his legs. He jumped higher than the buildings, swinging his war ax down towards the giants. The nameless shadow leapt in front of the strike, absorbing it into their abyssal body. Then I saw a ball of white fire streak over the rooftops. I saw Argus and her bodies channeling their collective wills into a fire that matched the dragon's breath.

Kobe chose to pull back his fist, ki flowing through it before he struck the fireball and blasted himself back from the heat. His right hand smoldering. He rolled through the air, gathering ki in his cloves as he skidded on the ground with a grin. "It's been a long time since I had a good fight!" He roared

Nameless landed on the top of a building, the strike from Kobe's ax suddenly emerging out of his body and going straight for the Minotaur. Kobe brought his ax to bear, cleaving the strike in two in a display of the mastery he had over his magic. I watched all of it, my mouth almost watering at the frameworks I could try whenever I drank the blood of a ki user. Kobe let out a snort, "You'll have to do better than that!"

Screams came from the champions as Fukuma bit into the throats of distracted champions. All of them were perfectly executed, as I saw Scix's connections to the beasts. He assassinated the entomancers and fire users. Jordan let out a swear, "Kill them!" his null magic kept the cats from teleporting away. Kobe himself lept forward, his ax cleaving through two of the cats. Then the warriors went for his eyes and the eyes of the flesh weaver.

I realized how elegant the plan had been as soon as Kobe's ki armor was disrupted by Jordan's null magic. A masterstroke of baiting the opponent, and knowing how they might react from the pieces of information that was known. This must have been the Queen's plan, and if I were connected to the Hive, I would have had a place in it. The yellow warriors from Scix's hive claimed one of the Minotaur's eyes with their acid, while the reds flew for his mouth as he ordered Jorden to let go of his magic.

The Minotaur crushed those reds with his teeth, spitting out their black blood and venom. His ki surged to blast away the yellows that went for his other eye. Even from my position, I didn't notice the other white fireball soaring over the rooftops until it was above the walls of fire that hid its arrival.

Robert stood with his fingers pointed at the Minotaur and his champions, his chant completing right as Kobe looked up. "Yb eht semalf fo eht nus, by eht sehsa daerps tuohguorht Sotnex. I ksa taht eseht srebme eb detcerider to ekirts ym seimene. Tel ylno tsud niamer! S'nogard Htaerb!"

The moment the chant was completed all the flames surged to the white-hot ball of fire. It molded to an arrowhead before falling towards Kobe and his men. The attack was more than I had ever seen before. They were probably just as potent as the flames of that dragon that stole Cynthia from us. Yet, they were split down the middle by a strike from Kobe's ax.

Divine energy flowed through his body as Kobe's talent was finally put to use. I saw a red vampire tackle Robert off the building as the white flames exploded in all directions. The Giants pushing back against them with every ounce of focus they could manage. Kobe himself swung his ax again deflecting the shockwave and flames with pure power. Kobe fell to his knees, blood dripping from his good eye, and oozing out of the missing one. He had saved his men.

The Giant's were less fortunate, dozens of them cooked within their shells, the steam still rising. Robert got up with a groan, before leaning on the scorched wall. He vomited blood, before coughing up some more. "Do you acknowledge us yet?"

Kobe was panting, pointing at his flesh weaver to tend to the champions that were still alive. Which happened to be those Scix hadn't assassinated. "By the hells! It's been years since someone pushed me to the limits like this!" He coughed before laughing. He stood up, "Seems you're on your last legs, talent burn is a bitch ain't it?" He spat out some blood on one of the dead giants.

The Red vampire stood up, dusting himself off, eyes wide. He disappeared through the use of his talent. Robert wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, "I got a few more tricks left if you want to keep this up. Would be a shame to kill you. My boss is more than happy to spar with you outside the walls of Eclipse. No tricks, no traps, just a good old-fashioned fight between two monsters."

Kobe bellowed out a laugh, "Now I'm curious. I didn't bring enough men for a war over this territory." They all froze when a shockwave came from a nearby building.

We all turned to watch as a seven-foot-tall (213 cm) man walked out of the warehouse. He had thick black hair, that rose like an animal's mane. It crested over the front of his forehead without getting on his face. He wore thick black leather, and his body was slim but packed with muscle. He had his hands in his pockets as a blue-haired woman in loose-fitting clothes tailed behind. Her hair was cut short, but there were wolf ears on the top of her head with purple tips. The bristling tail and black sclera gave her away as a werewolf.

The man tilted his head, as the champions whispered, "The Raven."

Others started following out of the warehouse, armed with weapons and armor, each of them coming in batches of ten. The man himself stretched his arms wide, "Well, well, well. I was in my town outside the walls when the teleporter started making weird noises. I come through to see what's going on and I find the Minotaur himself sitting in front of me on a silver platter." He gestured to the giants, and then Robert. "Who the fuck is this, Kobe?"

Kobe rolled his shoulders, "Just some upstart wanting to claim your territory. Figured I'd give them a test."

The Raven tilted his head, as the werewolf hugged him, "Really? How'd they do?"

Kobe snorted, "Forced me to use my talent and still almost killed us both. Where the hells have you been?"

The Raven rubbed between the werewolf's ears. "I had to lay low after taking these guys from the Hole." He gestured behind him with his thumb. "Let me tell you, it was a pain in the ass beating them until they realized who was the boss. I still have assholes trying to poison my ale. Want to talk about it over some ale? How's my territory doing?"

Kobe rolled his shoulder, "Been better, the Fiend's Eye is gone and you had some idiots trying to take the place over." He gestured to Robert.

The Raven grinned at Robert, as over a hundred men and women stood behind him. "You don't say, still want to try it, tough guy?"

Robert held up a hand, "No thanks, I know when we're beaten. Name's Robert by the way, vice leader of the Wraiths."

The Raven whistled, "A vice leader pushed you that far? Who the fuck is their leader, Kobe?"

Kobe cracked his neck, "A monster bitch named Mimi, put a bounty on her and it's already up to a gold."

He took a slow breath, "Huh." He scratched his nose. "Bitch is apt, she killed Edna. Sorry Robert, but I'm going to cut off your head and have a bleeding raven drop it off on her front doorstep. Know where she lives, Kobe?"

Robert started to back up slowly with both hands raised. Kobe shook his head, "He's got a good talent, I'll pay you to let me have him for a few weeks before you send the message."

The Raven shrugged, "Sure, you can hold him hostage for a few weeks if you catch him. I gotta clean house here anyway, we both know you weren't here because your just that nice a guy."

Kobe smirked, as Nameless swallowed Robert into his abyssal body and started to run and swallow the others. The remaining giants used their strength to make a wall of flames as the Raven's men gave chase. "If he gets caught here, then he doesn't deserve to call himself a vice."

"Yeah," The Raven bobbed his head, "you're right. So, what's the deal with that vampire just watching us?" He pointed at me.

Kobe looked me over, "The Leeches are making their move. He's one of them, but I'm hoping to get them on my side. Did you hear that the Count is dead?" Kobe laughed.

The Raven chuckled back, "Yeah, read that and promptly wiped my ass with the paper. How's Cheshire doing?" He walked towards the Minotaur, the mute werewolf still following behind.

Kobe opened and closed his fist while the Raven got closer. "Cheshire? He's the leader of the tribes now. You two have a problem or something?"

The Raven stopped a few paces away from the Minotaur, while the werewolf rolled her eyes. She stood back, as her man flexed his arms. Kobe did the same in some kind of bizarre ritual. I could see both were channeling magic. Their hands collided in epic fashion, as they shook hands. "Nope, but I do need to ask him to check the teleporter he made me. Can't have it fucking up when something really important happens."

"Son of a bitch!" Kobe chuckled, "I didn't know he could make portals like that. How much did it cost you?"

The Raven shrugged, "I'll tell you over drinks in the red light district. You'll treat us, right?"

Kobe rolled his eyes, "Sure thing." He looked in my direction, "You want to come along as well?"

The Raven whistled, "Not every day you invite someone I haven't heard about. He must have really impressed you." The man looked me over again, trying to see if he missed something. "Yeah, I don't see it. What's his deal, Kobe?"

I teleported to Kobe's other side, taking a fresh body. This was a good time to gather information at the very least. The body I had following after Robert and the others had lost them when a tunnel to the Underneath collapsed behind them. They would be fine, I hope. Kobe stroked his goatee, "He's got potential, what can I say? Trust me, you'll be curious once he's not trying to be the silent brooding type." Kobe clapped his hands, "Alright champs, go back to base and train up. We'll be fucking with the Eastside since they challenged us."

The champions started marching home without complaint. One of my bodies teleported to the secret tunnels to contact the Duke. This was important, after all. I just had to somehow convince the two to not ruin my former hive mates, all while claiming to be loyal to the Leeches and hoping no one sees through my ruse. I frowned under my mask, thinking about how I might possibly pull this off.