Azumi Estate

The fires around Devils Park had begun to die down but the aftermath of the assault was still being felt. Those that survived began to exit outside of their makeshift shelters to re enter a world that resembled a battleground rather than a town. The smoke cleared as Miyuki parked the hover taxi outside the old post office, carefully making sure to camouflage it with debris in case she needed a fast escape. The door of the post office had been kicked off it’s hinges and a hole had been cut open in the middle of the floor leading downstairs to Molenda’s secret laboratory. Voices could be heard at the bottom of the hole. Miyuki looked straight down, noticing another Peacekeeper team of assassins huddled around a box of mines.

‘Talon 1-2, you stay here and guard the entrance. We’ll need to cover all access points to this lab.’

‘Copy Talon Leader.’

‘The rest of you, I want mines placed on the back door. When she shows up, we need to take care of her. Maybe then master Mikael will promote us!’

‘Sir, excuse my ignorance but is all of this necessary for one girl? How deadly can she be?’

‘This ‘one girl’ was the deadliest assassin in The Guild’s history. It’s said she’s never failed a single assassination contract. She’s also taken out two furies and she presumably wiped out the team stationed at the bank. We found most of them with multiple bullet holes. When she finds out about this she’ll come running.’

‘Sir, what about the other woman that was here? What happened to her?’

‘Don’t know and frankly don’t care, she’s not our priority, leave that to the other teams. Now enough chatter, get to work!’

One of the assassins walked towards the hole, allowing Miyuki to jump down and onto him, silently stabbing him in the neck. The power inside the laboratory had been cut, disabling the security measures inside, although this allowed Miyuki to get the upper hand over her opponents. Using the tables as cover and silently moving between them, she stopped as an assassin blocked the doorway leading to the other side of the laboratory. Miyuki removed the magazine on her sub machine gun and picked out a bullet, tossing it on the other side of the room near the hole allowing her to pass undetected. As the assassin moved away from the doorway to investigate, Miyuki walked behind him and stabbed his right leg causing him to fall to the floor.

‘You make one sound and that’s the end of you.’

Miyuki pressed her blade to his neck.

‘Nice trick with the bullet, but it’ll all be for nothing. GET IN HERE!’

The assassin screamed at the top of his lungs causing the other six assassins to rush inside through the doorway, drawing their weapons on Miyuki who was still holding the captured assassin as a hostage.

‘Everyone! Surround her now! As for you, Ms Azumi, drop your weapon! We have you cornered. Just keep calm and come with us.’

Miyuki slit the throat of the captured assassin and dived behind a nearby table as a hailstorm of bullets began to fall on her position. Bullets clattered to the ground as the table shattered into pieces of wood. With her body exposed, Miyuki pulled the pin out of a grenade she had taken from the captured assassin and threw it in the middle of the room, before jumping over the table and ran into the first assassin, pumping her with bullets from her sub machine gun.

GRENADE!’

One of the assassins began to shout before he combusted.

Miyuki threw her weapon at the third assassin, stunning her then ran in for a final blow as she stabbed her in the stomach then unclipped the grenade on her belt and tossed it along with the body into the assassin that was running towards her. Miyuki drew her sword and engaged the final two assassins in sword combat, carefully parrying their attacks. The first assassin began wildly swinging his sword, a tactic Miyuki used to her advantage by slicing off the assassin’s hand then finished him off by stabbing him in the face. The final assassin was the commander of the unit, as his armor was decorated with a gold finish on his shoulder pauldrons and helmet, contrasting with the sleek black uniform. Miyuki was easily able to disarm the commander, then grabbed him with one hand whilst pointing her sword at his heart with the other.

‘The scientist and the woman that were here. Tell me where they are!’

‘I’m not telling you anything! Betrayer!’

Miyuki tightened her grip on his neck whilst inching the blade towards his chest.

‘WHERE!’

‘G-Go ahead and kill me betrayer! You have no idea what Mikael has in store for you! You BETRAYED us! You betrayed The Guild!’

The sound of a ringing phone disturbed the otherwise silent room. The commander looked down at his pocket and began to grin.

‘You gonna answer that? I think it’s for you.’

Miyuki sheathed her blade and moved her hand into the commander’s front shirt pocket and pulled out the ringing phone then immediately tossed the commander to the floor, placing the ringing phone to her right ear as she answered it.

‘Who is this?’

‘Come now, Miyuki. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me after all this time.’

‘Mikael. What do you want?’

‘I’ve been.. informed that the power of the Dark Assassin resides within you. To put it simply, I want this power. I crave this power. I’ll stop at nothing until it’s mine. Come home, Miyuki. Hanan is desperate to see you.’

‘Is she alive?’

‘How monstrous do you think I am Miyuki? Yes, she’s alive. Provided you play along, it’ll stay that way. Or, you could resist and come charging in here, but you’ll find Hanan looking a bit.. different than usual. Do I have your word you’ll follow my instructions from here on out?’

‘Yes.. you do.’

‘Excellent Miyuki. Simply leave your equipment with the commander. I’ve sent an Osprey to pick you up. It’ll be arriving shortly.

The sound of rotor blades roared overhead.

‘Ah there it is, right on cue. I’ll see you soon Miyuki.’

The phone clicked off. The commander got up and pointed his sidearm directly at Miyuki’s face, with his other hand outstretched.

‘Your equipment. Now.’

Miyuki’s hand began to twitch in indecisiveness as she reluctantly handed over her sword in addition to her sub machine gun. The commander nodded in acknowledgment before pointing the pistol at Miyuki back and swiftly proceeded to shepherd her into the Osprey that landed outside. The aircraft was a big hunk of grey metal, sporting two wings with propellers attached and a troop and supply area in the back, used for transporting Guild troops and supplies to combat zones. On the front of the ship protruding out of the cabin were two 25mm flak cannons. The rear door of the Osprey opened allowing Miyuki to enter into the troop area, where a full squad of Peacekeepers were sat, acting as her escort. The twelve Peacekeepers split into two lines and stood opposite each other as Miyuki walked inside and began to salute her as a sign of respect. She recognised these Peacekeepers as her father’s former personal guards given they still donned the azure coloured armor. The rear door of the Osprey folded up and Miyuki sat down in unison with the Peacekeepers. The room was filled with uncomfortable silence, disturbed for a brief moment by the hum of the engines powering on. She felt a jolt now that the Osprey was airborne. Within minutes, the engines powered down. The rear door folded up, revealing their destination, the Azumi Estate. After being escorted out of the Osprey and into the gardens she was greeted by a smiling Mikael.

‘Hello, Miyuki. I trust the ride inside the Osprey wasn’t too uncomfortable for you?’

Miyuki gazed up at the wretched man’s face in defiant silence.

‘What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Silly girl. Commander, well done on delivering her to me. There should be an open position in my personal guard roster soon with your name on it. Everyone, give us some breathing room whilst I take Ms Azumi here on a tour of our house.’

Mikael handcuffed Miyuki and held her by the neck as he slowly walked inside the mansion. The once luscious green gardens had been razed and trimmed, with only splinters of trees and thorn bushes left. Upon walking up to the path the led inside the house, Miyuki noticed multiple dead bodies with holes in the back of their heads leading away from the house. Mikael noticed Miyuki’s interest.

‘You want to know who these people were? Quite frankly they were fools who couldn’t accept me as leader. But that doesn’t matter now, I mean they’re in the ground and I’m on top!’

One of the bodies had been stabbed repeatedly and his body thrown into a ditch dug in the gardens. Miyuki recognised the body as Saya, the woman that used to bathe, feed and read stories to her at night. A sense of dread ran through her entire body noticing Saya’s eyes wide open and her mouth cut into a twisted smile.

‘Come on , Miyuki. Into the house now! Don’t slow down.’

Mikael shoved Miyuki down the path and eventually they had reached the house. The gold statues of Miyuki’s father had been torn down and replaced with golden Mikael statues, the ultimate sign of disrespect and vanity.

‘Up the stairs. Go. Head into your father’s – I mean MY office, after all it’s not like your father’s around to say no is he?’

The door to Mikael’s office was guarded by two Peacekeepers.

‘Welcome back Master.’

‘At ease soldier. Is Megeara in?’

‘Yes Master. She’s just arrived. ‘

‘Open the door. Miyuki, inside, cmon let’s go I don’t have all day.’

One of the Peacekeepers grabbed Miyuki and shoved her inside, throwing her to the ground. Looking up, she noticed a woman towering over her, donning Arctic white colour armor and sporting two dual blades that protruded out of her arms. Her menacing emerald eyes and blonde hair identified her as the last and final member of the Furies.

The door banged shut as Mikael closed it behind him.

‘Megeara!’

‘Yes, Lord Mikael?’

‘Stand Miyuki up. We don’t have much time.’

‘Yes, Lord Mikael.’

Megeara grabbed Miyuki with both hands and forced her to stand up, then held Miyuki’s arms behind her back. Mikael went over towards his desk, procuring a glass of wine, gazing at it the blood red colour of it before pouring himself a glass, then turning to face Miyuki.

‘I don’t know whether to congratulate you or to kill you for what your accomplished Miyuki. You took on Cyntech, the biggest corporate entity in the city and won, annihilated two of my Furies, destroyed countless months of careful planning, killed your own friends and most importantly, unlocked the power of the Dark Assassin. It’s over. You’ve won, you corrupted my entire operation. But you see, I’m not walking away empty handed. I want the Dark Assassin, Miyuki. Or else all of this would’ve been for nothing. ‘

Miyuki looked up at Mikael before smiling.

‘Go to hell Mikael. You may as well kill me right now’

‘Idiot girl. Why can’t you see the bigger picture here? With this power The Guild could remain the city’s protectors forever. The rise of machines will be the death of US. Your father couldn’t understand that, and neither do you. Whatever, I’m done talking. If you won’t give me what I want, then I’ll simply take it myself. Megeara, bring her in.’

‘Yes Lord Mikael’.

Megeara walked over towards the door and opened it as one of the Peacekeepers handed her a figure, then proceeded to push the figure inside then slammed the door again.

Mikael began to laugh to himself as the figure walked into view.

‘H-Hanan? I-I can’t believe you made it out alive and never told me!’

‘L-Lady Miyuki, please, you must understand I-‘

‘Enough of the chatter Hanan. Megeara, prepare the Obelisk.’

Megeara reached behind Mikael’s desk, retrieving a small dark blue sphere.

‘Hanan!’

‘Yes Mikael?’

‘Take the Obelisk. Now. Miyuki, how does it feel to watch the last person who truly cares about you rip what you earned away from you?’

‘I-I’m sorry Lady Miyuki.’

‘It’s OK, Hanan. Just get it over with.’

‘Miyuki. I never explained to you how I’m able to take this power of yours. See, the power of the Dark Assassin can only be transferred between inheritors, but also by those who are close to said inheritor. The last Dark Assassin before you was your Mother. You never knew that did you? All those lies your Father kept spewing to you over and over again. Hanan here is the last person left alive that’s close to you. Hanan! Move the Obelisk towards her! Let it siphon the energies!’

The sphere began to pulsate as it commenced with the siphoning of the Dark Assassin energy. Miyuki’s entire body felt like someone had doused her in gasoline and set it alight, writhing in pain she could only watch as her best friend held the guillotine over her head.

‘Miyuki…’

The disembodied voice began to worm its way inside Miyuki’s psyche once again.

‘Miyuki… You cannot let our power slip into the hands of those who would use it against us! Your foolish Father refused to enlighten you about the power the dwells within you.. and now, I will have to take control once more. Just like I did on the ship. Don’t worry daughter, leave everything to me..’

A loud hum emitted from the sphere, just before it was ripped to pieces by the force of the energy being released. Hanan lost her footing and fell to her knees, whilst Megeara and Mikael stood facing the now rage filled Miyuki. The shattering of the sphere triggered an energy explosion, eviscerating the room as the front of the house crumbled. Cold air from outside seeped in as walls decayed.

‘Yes! Yes! Finally Hanan you did something right!’

Hanan regained control of her footing and rose to her feet, tears visible in her eyes as she shouted at the overjoyed Mikael.

‘What have you done?! Your thirst for power might just kill her!’

‘No, Hanan! Although the Obelisk was destroyed, we now must kill her while she is in this form!’

Miyuki’s body was surround by a deep red menacing aura, her glowing amber eyes pierced the gaze of anyone looking at her. The suit she previously wore had been replaced by the jet black armor – thick black heavy boots, a chest plate decorated with a skull in the centre, as well as shoulder pauldrons decorated with human skulls. Finally, the helmet resembled a knight’s from the Crusades, with devil horns protruding out of the top.

Megeara instantly ran forward, drawing her sword in a futile attempt to kill the now commandeered Miyuki. No words left her mouth as their blades crossed, sparks flying in all directions. Megeara was only able to last a few seconds against the combat superior Miyuki, who slashed Megeara’s arm off, then delivered the final blow to her heart. Meanwhile, Mikael watched in awe at the true power of the Dark Assassin. He grabbed Hanan by the her shirt collar and ran out of the the door towards the staircase whilst barking out orders.

‘I want every Peacekeeper defending the door to Azumi Estate! Miyuki Azumi does NOT leave this place alive!’

‘Yes Master, understood! Moving to intercept priority target!’

Multiple voices could be heard outside the door of the office as the Peacekeepers checked their weapons whilst standing in formation at the bottom of the staircase. Miyuki walked past Megeara’s lifeless body and into the hallway where she was met with a hail of bullets.

‘Visual on priority target! OPEN FIRE!!’

Bullets bounced and ricocheted off Miyuki cascading onto the floor in a sea of brass.

‘Master Mikael! Bullets won’t stop her! She’s still coming down!’

‘Very well then. Switch to armor piercing rounds!’

Three hundred Peacekeepers were all that stood between Miyuki and Mikael, the hum of an Osprey’s engine exuded from outside. A group of five Peacekeepers ran up the staircases with their weapons raised, firing blindly in a desperate attempt to stop Miyuki from achieving her mission. Their bodies began to rag doll down the stairs one by one as Miyuki mercilessly cut them down, using the fourth as a bullet shield. At the foot of the stairs sat three Peacekeepers with rocket launchers. Before they were able to fire, Miyuki tossed her bullet shield into the group of three, causing them to shoot their rockets into the staircase. The ground trembled as the staircase came crashing down, out of the smoke a multitude of black tendrils materialised, spearing multiple Peacekeeping and hoisting their bodies into the air as Miyuki advanced through the smoke. The floor was littered with bodies as some stayed behind to fight, whilst some dropped their weapons and began to run. Miyuki tossed the bodies aside and shot her tendrils into the ceiling, which moaned under the strength of multiple black tendrils pulling it down. The roof cracked and warped until it finally collapsed, crushing anyone who was unlucky enough to be underneath it. As the smoke cleared the ruins of the former Azumi Estate were stained with the blood of those who had betrayed it’s one true leader. Only destruction and death lay in the air. Miyuki looked around to see some had survived the collapse of her former family home, these people were granted no mercy despite begging her to stop. Miyuki’s eyes glimmered with joy as the Peacekeepers that were still alive fell to her blade.

‘Hey! Get me out of here!’

‘No way man! You’re on your own! She’s coming!’

A Peacekeeper was trapped underneath a pile of rubble that had fallen on him, whilst his friends were dead all around him. Miyuki used her tendrils to latch onto a piece of rock and flung it at the trapped Peacekeeper’s face, ending his suffering instantly. The deserting Peacekeeper’s luck had ran out as Miyuki’s tendrils latched onto his legs. A single cry of pain escaped his mouth moments before his legs were separate from his body. The telltale hum of the Osprey grew closer. Looking around at the devastation left in her wake, Miyuki slowly walked down the path and into the gardens, where the Osprey was. Inside the cockpit was Mikael, holding a pistol to Hanan’s head as he saw Miyuki emerge from the path. The Osprey came to life, the rotor blades cutting the sky in half as it lifted off the ground and into the air. Miyuki ran forward and used her tendrils to grapple onto the rear of the Osprey as it ascended into the air. Metal creaked and groaned as she furiously ripped off the rear door and entered the craft. The Peacekeepers inside had all been executed as their bodies were all sat hunched over in their seats. The door to the cockpit lay in front of her.

‘Miyuki…. It is time. You must kill them all. ‘

‘Even Hanan?’

‘She will just hold you back… you must destroy anyone that will stand in your way on the path to victory.’

‘No Mother, there has to be another way. ‘

‘Foolish daughter. There IS no other way. After this, you must kill me and take over. The path to glory lays steeped in bloody knuckles and broken bones.’

Miyuki put both her hands between the cockpit door and prised it open, using all her force to tear the door off of it’s hinges. Hanan looked behind her in shock just as Mikael fired a volley of bullets until his pistol clicked empty.

‘Damn thing! Why won’t you fire? Ah screw it, I’ll kill you the old fashioned way Miyuki!’

Mikael threw the pistol to the ground and pulled back his sleeves exposing his forearms, which folded outwards creating razor sharp blades.

‘Who will come out of this alive? Machine or Manifestation?!’

Mikael screamed at the top of his lungs before throwing himself at Miyuki, using his years of training to slash his opponent to pieces. Whilst the two were engaged in a battle to the death, Hanan sat inside the cockpit piloting the Osprey as best she could. A roar emerged from the rear of the craft, just before Miyuki came flying into the cockpit, her back slammed against one of the dials on the pilot’s console, causing the Osprey to fly downwards. Hanan struggled to regain control of the craft as the Osprey plummeted towards the ground, sending Mikael flying towards Miyuki. The floor beneath them transformed into an obstacle both combatants would need to scale. Mikael dug his blades into the floor, tearing chunks out of it as Miyuki did the same with her scimitar, until both met at the seats inside the troop transport area. Mikael furiously tore off a leather seat and threw it at Miyuki, who cut it in half with her blade before rushing forward and grabbing Mikael’s left arm, tearing it off with one sharp slice. Blood spilled all over the floor as Mikael clutched his wound, before tossing another seat at Miyuki distracting her enough to rush forward and land a blow in her right leg, piercing through it. Miyuki howled in pain, swinging wildly, cutting into all the remaining seats around her. Mikael was able to dive underneath the swinging scimitar and reach for her left arm, pinning her in place whilst repeatedly kneeing her face until blood burst from her nose. The Osprey swiftly began to ascend back in the air, causing them to fall back on each other. As Miyuki was about to get up, Mikael jumped on top of her and shoved his blade into the skull placed on her chest plate that protected her heart. A sudden wave of black energy exploded from out of Miyuki’s body, tearing through the Osprey. Two loud explosions occurred simultaneously as the engines powering the craft exploded into a ball of molten metal. The Osprey began its quick decent downward. From the cockpit, Hanan screamed as she was forcibly ejected from the Osprey, shattering the windscreen and flying out. Miyuki’s vision was blurry, as her blood became the black energy that tore the Osprey apart. The world flipped upside down as the husk of the former Osprey collided with the ground, the sound of stone being flung against cracked metal filled Miyuki’s eardrums then ceased, followed by a heavy silence. Looking around, Mikael was nowhere to be found. The ground crackled with black energy as if it was flowing through the earth itself. Miyuki’s eyes began to slowly close, revealing a figure standing over her. Her eyes immediately opened, however the figure was nowhere to be found. Closing them once more, the figure reappeared.

‘Miyuki…. Look at me. You’re not dead. It’s not time for you to go just yet. ‘

The figure leaned forward, revealing a woman with brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail much like Miyuki’s, her pale skin caught the light.

‘Mother..?’

Miyuki began to whisper.

The exchange was interrupted by the sound of crunching footsteps, suddenly Miyuki felt as if her legs were going to be wrenched out of their sockets as she looked up to see Mikael dragging her out of the downed Osprey and onto the cold soft soil.