The Fights Begin

 Wally: “Years and years you’ve been gone…And now you show your face on the opposite side of us. What a shame of a swordsman you are! How dare you?!”

Hachiro: “Gain some weight, Wally? Might want to cut back on the hamburgers.”

Iki: “Wally, I don’t care what past you have with this man. Shut it out. At this moment right now, he is a threat to many. Do not be careless and most importantly, don’t get yourself killed. I need you throughout this whole attack.”

Wally: “Yes boss.”

Hachiro: “Done with your little romantic conversation?”

Iki: “Yeah, let’s do this…Warped Singularity: Dismiss.”

A beam of light extended out of Iki’s sword with a strange noise that expelled along with it. The light grew and grew and grew. He aimed it right at Hachiro and fired the large mass of light at him. Hachrio evaded just barely as it passed by his nose. Instead, the light hit 5 of the witches who were defenseless while doing their spell. As Hachiro flipped in the air, Wally suddenly appeared underneath him and punched him all the way in the sky. He aimed his sword at the sky and chanted, “Crimson Severance.”

Hachiro turned his body midair and ran around on green crystal swords that appeared one after another in the sky, ultimately evading Wally’s attack. He headed back towards the ground where the Dark blue slashes of blood hit the ground, forming massive lines in the ground resembling the attack.

Hachiro: “Ta, ta, ta. Something tells me you both just aren’t taking this seriously. I hear that’s a common thing at The Association. You all think you’re too good for anybody else? You think your swords are justified with your skills? Keep in mind Wally, it was you who told me that tale about a woman who defeated a powerful swordsman with only a common sword, was it not?”

Wally: “That was only a story, Hachiro. How should I know if there is any truth to that?”

Hachiro: “Stories are for winners, Wally. Stories are what shape people into who they are and what they believe. Do you not see me as the villain right now? Am I the big bad wolf in this current story? Who’s to say you aren’t? Who’s to say which is which.”

The black ball of goo started to shoot liquid at them again.

Iki bounced back while protecting Wally with defensive barriers. Hachiro went for Wally first as their swords crossed. Their swordsmanship was on par with each other. Their blades went tip for tip as nobody could penetrate each other's surroundings. There was no need for Iki’s barrier in the first place. He focused on the witches, aiming his sword high in the sky saying, “Prism Overload.”

The light from the sky above them split into dozens of rainbow-hued beams that bounced unpredictably, hacking away at everyone, even Iki.

Wally backed off from his fight with Hachiro when seeing shades of light go right in between them. He had to focus to barely avoid them. He couldn’t see them, but he could sense Iki’s mana, which created an opportunity for him to evade.

Hachiro on the other hand struggled to move around so quickly. “User’s Visual!” he called out, which seemingly allowed him to see where the light was now moving. Iki and Wally awaited for the light shards to stop. 10 more witches were killed in the process. The black liquid began to sink lower as if their life forces were the ones that were fueling it.

Wally: “Red Thread Execution, Threads Basket of Fate!”

Wally’s ability took to the sky that turned red and began to fall onto all of them. Him, along with Iki were surrounded in a cage made of his blood. Hachiro was as well, but thicker, to ensure he didn’t escape.

Hachiro: “You think a little blood can escape my blade?”

Hachiro’s blade cut right through the cage like nothing and when he pointed his sword to the sky, the same exact sword layered on top of each other until reaching the point where Wally’s ability was and sliced right through it, clearing the sky of the dark red color. Iki was not worried, but he knew that they were facing a Great Swordsman too. This was not an easy fight.

Iki: “Wally…Go help Natsuki and Yahiko.”

Wally: “But sir, I–”

Iki: “He has an ancient sword. I’m sure you know what that is, but he’s concealing it with a different design using a chaplet.”

Hachiro: “Ah, I see you're the brains of this operation, aren’t you?”

He hovered his hand over the sword, which created an entirely different blade. A light purple crystal blade opened up with a carved dark wooden handle and an orange gem at the bottom. The wood extended up to the bottom of the blade, forming circles around it that looked like rings.

Iki: “The Selezzar sword. The only one in the entire world. What a shame, it needs a better user. Too cocky to even form a covenant with it.”

Hachiro: “I might say the same thing about you. Ain’t that the pot calling the kettle black?”

Iki: “Wally, go inside. I got a bone to pick with this one. Don’t make me say it again.”

Wally: “Yes sir.”

As Wally walked away from them, sprinting to The Association, Iki took a couple steps forward towards Hachiro and did not stop walking.

Iki: “Now, I’ve been struggling lately, truly. I’ve been struggling with emotions and leadership and maturity and all these things. Even the paperwork adds up day by day and sometimes I don’t want to do it, you know? It just sucks sometimes. And it’s funny because I just had this really, really strong person that wanted to kill us come here. Kind of like what you’re doing right now, and my people were threatened. Wally, Natsuki, Yahiko, and myself included. Like, this man was so powerful, yet I knew he was holding back for some stupid reason, like he was testing us. Now, as a leader, I wanted to make a decision not to kill him, but capture him. I had my own ulterior motives involved too, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go all out, even when my men were in danger. Selfish, isn’t it?”

Hachiro: “Yeah, that’s pretty selfish if you ask me. You’re a sorry ass leader. I’m glad I turned my back once Masaru died. This place has become a crapshoot. There is no pride in swordsmanship anymore.”

Iki: “Well, you see…Even that man at half strength is stronger than that ancient sword, so this shouldn’t be difficult for you to understand that I should go all out. Now that nobody is around, I think it benefits me to at least show you that Masaru indeed left this place in good care. But, it all starts with a choice, doesn’t it?”

Iki was now face to face with Hachiro.

He was a whole 2 feet shorter than him, but they glared in each other’s eyes as if they were souls. Iki grabbed his sword and his pink hair lit ablaze. His eyes shifted in between multiple colors and his body did not light up with mana lines or cryen, but something else. Dark black and purple swirling circles crested upon his body. Hachiro could not pull his sword away, nor could he even move his body away at the moment.

Hachiro: “Wh-What are you?! Get away from me! Let go! Let go!”

Iki: “Cower in the ground where you belong.”

Hachiro’s sword broke into thousands of tiny pieces in his eyes, however when he looked again, it was normal. This fluctuated back and forth with him believing it was breaking and healing over and over again. The space between them became a dark flowing purple of unfamiliar material that floated around. What looked like a poison purple snow falling lingered in his eyes. He saw darkness, but mustered out words as loud as possible, but in reality, his shouting was whispers.

Hachiro: “NOW! Do it now!”

Luckily for Hachiro, his crew was watching nearby. 5 people surrounded the scene out of nowhere and enclosed Iki, trapping him in a cage crafted from mana and chaplets that was unbelievably strong, and rendered him almost unconscious.

A tall man wearing a suit walked up to Hachiro and began to speak, but Iki could not hear him so much. Suddenly, another person appeared, walking from The Association. A man with black split hair, dark eyes, and a light black beard crouched down in front of Iki. He wore a white collared shirt, black pants with a belt, and a pocket watch that hung from the middle of his suit. He spoke to Iki.

???: “Be careful. You might not see the trick.”

With this, Iki was furiated and started to spew out uncontrollable dark mana that the cage could not withstand. The tall man approached, signalling for everyone to step back, holding out his hand without a sword and using a technique that would repair the cage while the others knocked him unconscious. Iki did not know this man, but he talked as if they had a history together.

He spoke to one of his allies.

“Sayaka, poison him with whatever you can without killing him. Tenken, hold him down. Takeshi…Don’t get any smart ideas.”

Sayaka: “Yes boss…Wild call’s night!”

A strange sticky substance shot out of their black swords that matched the yellow glowing aura surrounding it. It narrowed down in size, piercing Iki’s neck as his eyes shut. He fluttered in between consciousness and with a last bolt of energy, he showed the same darkness that he showed Hachiro to all of them. They panicked for a second, but it quickly went away. Sayaka was left shaking along with the others. It was like a neverending chill down their spines. Everybody, even the man with the suit had to smoke a cigarette to calm down, questioning how Iki’s ability got through to him. Takeshi laughed.

Takeshi: “All that time and effort just to still have your barrier shattered by one kid. I can’t wait to see who else breaks it. Maybe a random mother and her child. Should we test it? Wadda ya say, Reiken?”

Reiken smirked, but did not want to bother with Takeshi at the moment, knowing his temper was always a problem. “With time, Takeshi. With time.”

He signaled for Tenken to throw a Smile Chaplet down as well and to shrink the size. In doing this, the cage became surrounded by the excess barrier and Iki was left fully unconscious, unaware of the events that had happened, nor where Wally, Yahiko, and Natsuki had gone.

Back at The Association, two familiar foes stood at the front door in front of the three Great Swordsmen. Yahiko was the first to speak with his boastfulness.

Yahiko: “Agatha and Akari Rekka. What a pleasure. That is the presumed Dougen sword correct? Deemed one of the two only mythical swords. The other belonging to the 1st Great Swordsman. Be glad that was passed down to both of you. That is something even kids believe is a rumored sword. I can’t wait to take it and call it my own.”

Wally: “You wouldn’t break your covenant. You’d be a fool, Yahiko.”

Yahiko: “Shut up Wally. Iki clearly didn’t even need your help to be sent over here. Just take the stupid dude with the girl’s makeup.”

In a high pitched voice, Akari spoke like a woman and pranced around like one too. He was enjoying the scene and started the fight without even knowing by getting close to Iki’s throne and trying to sit on it. Natsuki snatched him midair and held him captive.

Natsuki: “Now, I do love a brother and sister bond. It is quite great seeing that love prosper, however I have my own love for my master and I must preserve his seating arrangements for the sake of my own pride. Please, I will let you go, young Akari. Please go back to your sister and I would love to hear how you both became so close and loved by one another. “Okay,” he responded as he pranced back to Agatha, who still had not taken a stance to fight. She didn’t seem to be worried, but told their story. Natsuki was fascinated by it, although something was bothering him.

Natsuki: “I believe your story with all my heart. It’s not often that my heart beats like this for love, but I can’t wrap my head around something. You see…This piece of metal right on the tip of my blade is telling me something. Something that just doesn’t make any sense and I don't even know why it would know this. Is there something you aren’t telling me that you would like to confess?”

Agatha: “I have nothing else to say. There is nothing I lied about. My brother simply wants to enjoy the time he has and I am here to make sure that none of you bozos murder him abruptly.”

Natsuki: “As long as you agree to leave, then we will not harm you, but let me circle back to this. This is something that is unfamiliar to me and I believe to my subordinates here also. We don’t know much of this place, but I had just visited it not too long ago and a strange person named Shin greeted us, however I do not know this individual. I was expecting a man made of bones named Kastor. Now, Yahiko, the rumor is that Kastor was once defeated, correct?”

Yahiko: “Where are you going with this, Natsuki?”

Natsuki: “I’ll get to the point. This girl right here, Agatha Rekka, is the one rumored to have defeated Kastor, the ruler of Deceased Paradise.”

Wally and Yahiko were taken back by this. They didn’t understand this either. They instinctively stepped back with fear.

Yahiko: “What’s going on, Natsuki? What is this nonsense?”

Natsuki: “Whenever this shard has spoken to me, it has been correct. There hasn’t been one situation in which it was wrong. It tells me that she was the only person ever to defeat Kastor. Is that the reason this Shin fellow is there now? Does Kastor not exist?”

Wally: “Explain yourself girl!”

Agatha: “Girl? You men are like little girls. Making rumors that aren’t true and spreading them like it’s nothing. What a joke the Great Swordsmen are. I’m not even going to explain myself. Look at me and my age and you’ll have an answer. Ready to go, Akari?”

Akari: “Yeah, I’m ready. Did we stall enough for them to take the leader?”

They all screamed out at once, “What?!” Agatha exhaled and shook her head in disappointment of her brother, but she patted him on the head and quickly took off out the front doors with her as the three of them headed towards where Iki was.

Nobody was in sight.

The three of them argued for 10 minutes about whose fault it was before finally making a decision. They knew the opponents were strong if they were able to take Iki, however they believed in their abilities and Yahiko knew exactly what to do.

He stuck his red and black jagged sword in the ground and chanted, “Paralysis Analysis.”

Yahiko: “Wh-What?”

Wally: “What happened?”

Yahiko: “My ability is…blocked? Who the hell did this?”

Natsuki: “Move aside. I got it.”

Natsuki stuck his sword in the ground, but to his surprise, he could only see footprints of people for a mile before fading off. They were stumped with what to do and began to blame each other once again. They felt lost without the master and didn’t know who to reach out to.

Wally: “Didn’t someone say that Michiaki was gathering all the swordsmen? He’s the only one that can do it.”

Yahiko: “That was a rumor, you bonehead. We already discussed this. Even if that is true, I don’t think Michiaki has any ability that can track people, although I might be wrong. I’ve never fought with him at my side, so I wouldn’t know. I just know that his sword is famously known as one of the two mythicals, but apparently he wouldn’t even use it sometimes.”

Wally: “Yeah, kids are even taught about it in school and call it a holy relic. What was the name of it again?”

Natsuki: “Nullfang. A supposed sword that has the ability to resonate with souls, but also block any attack from witches, swordsmen, or chaplets. He doesn’t even really have any attacking abilities, but he has reached such a high level of focus with his sword and the covenant that he made, that he does not need abilities in order to kill. Oh, how I love telling that story. I would love to meet him. I never have.”

Yahiko: “Apparently, he was in the titan war with us, but none of us ever saw him. Who knows what he was doing, and now…Aamon–”

Natsuki: “Don’t dwell on that, Yahiko. Aamon made a choice out of love. He made a sacrifice in order to protect the ones he loves. There is no better thing you can do as a human. He will find his way again, just trust in him as he trusted in us. But, for now, let’s figure out how to get to Michiaki to find our master…And the best way is going after that girl…”