The Showdown

The air turned cold, each step synching with their heartbeats. Each crunch of the sandy ground sounded like bones snapping– the Demon’s eyes cold like the dead. Jester’s hands came together, his claws retracting back into long slender fingers, his cane producing power with each step.

On his right hand, the box of cards and his left, the cane. He walked with a relaxed posture, strolling towards them in silence, but when he was a dozen paces from the foremost member of the group, he stopped.

“What is this fucker doing?!” Masashi huffed, cold sweat falling from his brows, fists clenched inside his gauntlets. “I-Is this guy dealing?”

Like he had said, the Demon opened the deck of cards, the contents spilling out into four orderly lines. Hearts swirled around his person, the Spades around his right hand, the Clubs on his left hand, and the Diamonds around in the air above him before all settling in a ring that spun around with his position as the center point.

Akiro looked at the cards, their numbers and contained within them, each picture slightly different than the one before it. The pictures spun, their speed getting faster and faster, the images turning into a film– all frames to an animation, a foretelling.

The world, green, lush and full, slowly gets corrupted, the edges slowly closing in on the center, the people running in fear. The picture inverts from its center, the depiction turned into war, the blue sky turned gray, the green land stained with blood and the people’s numbers began to dwindle. The film repeats itself, over and over again, all in the flash of a second, the picture slowly getting smaller and smaller with each repetition, the black and blue symbols weaving itself into the paper, and sharp silver borders emerging from the edges of the cards.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Jester spoke, his voice gentle, human-like, his grotesque form slowly meshing itself together. His demonic appearance turned handsome, like a shell discarded by a butterfly.

“This is a gift from the Emperor himself, one amongst seven– given to the Seven Cardinals, the Seven Heavenly Kings, the strongest trusted generals of the Demon Lord’s Seven Armies.” He introduced himself again, his hand on his heart, head bowing down slightly in courtesy.

“I have misstepped,” He elaborated, rising from the greeting, “I did not realize who I had been speaking with. You are not mere rabble, but are more. I am Jester, the Joker of the Demon’s Court, the Cardinal of Greed.”

His voice dropped to a deeper octave, his body language screaming danger. Even the hardest, most steeled among them felt their heart quicken. Akiro frowned, crouching down, tensing his legs. “He’s serious now. What did ‘he’ say to rile Jester up so much? Whatever it was… I think some of us aren’t going to make it.”

Akiro accepted the fact, after denying it for so long. Kaiser was proof of that. Jester was not just a threat to their lives, but to the kingdom. And much as he loathed the title, as much as he began to hate being thrown into this world, as much as he wanted to run away– That was no longer an option here. It’s do or die now.

“Your apology has been accepted,” Sebastian calmly complied, “I assume that there shall be no quarters given, Jester?”

The demon nodded, the swirl of cards freezing in place, their skull coverings facing towards them. He pointed at the old priest with his index finger, his middle and thumb pressed together. “Yes, young one. Your surrender will not be acknowledged.”

Snap!

Clang!

“What!?” Sebastian gasped, the sparks flashing away from his neck, a light cut appearing on his cheeks. His brain finally caught up with the reaction of his mouth, his eyes shooting to the scythe over his head, Akiro next to him, weapon in a shaking hand.

“His cards are his weapons,” He said, loud enough for everybody to hear. “His magic aura has been condensed into 52 separate pieces– be careful. Mages, delegate magic for protection barriers, Fighters, with me.”

“He’s a dark-element specialist, make sure to keep Mitsuko and Kagiwara alive– They’re our aces. Ayama and I will take front. Fire-elemtalists, conserve your power, we’ll need you for openings.”

As fast as he appeared next to Sebastain, he disappeared to the forefront of the group, all of his weapons strapped onto his person. Some opened their mouths to protest, but Akiro shot them down with cold words.

“Follow my orders, unless we all die. Forget about Olivia-sensei, and keep yourselves alive and don’t take any risks.” Akiro slowly advanced, the ticking of his watch getting louder, his eye’s slowly changing color. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve already figured him out.”

The declaration rang in their ears, their hearts swelling with hope, no matter how little it was. Ayama couldn’t help but huff as he tossed aside his shield, greatsword in hand, the longsword on his person.

“Into the Lion’s jaws, here we go.” He smiled, his steps turning into a jog, and a greatsword dragged along the sand. “This is suicide.”

Akiro flashed him a smile, “Then we’ll go down with–”

Whish!

Jester blinked, two cards flying from the circle to meet the warriors separately, their blades inches away from his head and heart. Both boys smirked, eyes blazing with determination, speaking in unison.

“--A Bang!”

“How very important.”

clang!

Blades crashed and sparks flew, sending Akiro and Ayama back a dozen paces with the force alone. Ayama recovered from the blow by twirling the handle of his weapon before resting with a downwards guard, while Akiro let go of his scythe just before it lodged itself into the ground behind him.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Ayama huffed, catching the underlying intentions of his attack.

Akiro nodded simply, “Yeah,” He nodded, inhaling a deep breath, “Everyone! Every card in the suite of Diamonds has Physical attacks!”

Jester quickly frowned at that, his fingers snapping in frustration. “Sharp. How did you know?” He plainly asked, not expecting an answer, “Oh well, I suppose you’ll entertain me soon enough.

Snap! Snap!

At the command, all of the remaining cards in the suite of diamonds flew from the deck, landing either side of the Demonic caster, with each piece transforming into a humanoid shape– knights in matching silver armors, all akin to that of chess pieces.

“One Queen, two bishops, two knights, two Rooks, four pawns.” Akiro counted silently, “So the one that went after Sebastian was another pawn– Jester being the king himself. Unsurprising, since it was an easy kill. ”

[ You have slain a disguised, summoned creature. ] [ +100,000 Xp ]

“But even at my current strength, even a pawn is a challenge– If I’m alone that is.” Akiro breathed, letting out a long breath. “Not only that, but with these, I don’t think I’m going to be buying anything anytime soon.”

[ Name: Akiro Hiroto / Age 18 / Job: Assassin / Sub Job: Gunman ] [ Title: Grim Reaper’s Emissary ] [ Lvl 95 ] [ ATK: 550 + 68 / STR: 225 / DEX: 450+ 42 / SPD: 380 + 25 / DEF: 150 + 102 / INT: 300 / MANA: 950 ]

[ Active Skill: ‘Gunman's Manual / EX’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Appraisal / A’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Stealth / S’ ] [ Passive Skill: ‘Weapon Master / S’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Sprint / FD ] [ Passive Skill: ‘Radar / A’ ] [ Active Skill: ‘Disguise / S’ ] [ Attack Skill: ‘Square Cut / A’ ] [ Passive Skill: ‘Language comprehension / E’ ] [ Passive Skill; ‘Swordsmanship / S’ ] [ Weapon Art: Moonlight-Execution Style / D ] [ Ultimate Skill: Reaper’s Culling / S ]

“Fighters! Advance, don’t get stranded, flanked or surrounded!” Akiro barked, grasping the handle of the scythe, gripping it tightly. “Mages! Keep them at a distance with low-tier spells! Don’t waste even a drop of magic power!”

The company of chess pieces slowly advanced, the fighting heroes meeting them. The designs on their armor were incredibly ornate, almost excessive, but it helped differentiate what unit was what.

Pawns wore simple armor, their armor silver plate, and the leather underneath black as soot, simple swords in hand; while knights were slightly taller, their build much bigger, more powerful, and their weapon of choice were great war axes.

The rooks were dressed in lighter armor, with great flowing robes underneath them. In their hands were lances, used in jousting, but they had no mount. The bishops stood either side of Jester and the summoned queen, their uniform like that of Sebastian, their staves decorated with upside down crosses with chains dangling from them– resembling torturer shackles.

The pieces began to crowd in the center positioned symmetrically equal on both, Jester and the Queen being hidden from behind. The spear-head formation was led by the pawns, the knights behind them, supported by the rooks and bishops.

“They’re all incredibly powerful, and since they’re constructs of unknown origin, I can’t appraise them.” Akiro frowned, his peers finally catching up to his position. “Don’t do anything stupid, Sasawa-san. I can’t watch the battlefield at all times, so I need you to pay attention.”

The archer steadied her breath, “A-Alright…”

Akiro couldn’t help but smile. Not a year ago, she was just a stranger to him, “Thank you.” He nodded, drawing his sword, “I’ll cut an opening in their formation, try to single them out. Keep an eye out for Jester. We don’t know what stunt he’ll pull next out of his circus.”

Sebastian recovered from his daze, looking around him, and then his hands. His hands, old and wrinkly, trembled with something else aside from age, or fear. It was a resignation. He did not admit it in his mind, but his heart felt free. It was almost like he forgot something? What were they doing here again? The old priest did not know, or he wasn’t sure.

Kids unfamiliar and familiar to him at the same time, surrounded him, all dressed in worn clothes and armor. The most eye-catching out of them all was the one at the forefront. His overcoat was made of feather-like material, his light armor textured like that of large scales, the suit underneath of leather from an extinct creature, and an unholy weapon in hand.

The shaft was a long spine straightened out, each disk in between the vertebrae glowing blue like sapphire gemstones, the blade a mirror of screaming souls, decorated by silver bones. Sebastian looked closer at them, wisps and faint silhouettes clawed against the cutting edge and the broad side etched with carvings of inhuman-faces.

He no longer remembers why he was there, or where he was, he just knew that that boy was a danger. A danger to whom, Sebastian wasn’t sure, but he instinctively knew that he must be destroyed. He is a cursed child. It may be the divine influence, but Sebastian doesn't see what the boy is for who he is anymore, but what's inside.

Akiro tore the scythe from the ground, magic power channeling into his limbs, an aura like that of Jester. The enemy approached, but they did not move. “Hold…”

Thud! Thud!

“Hold.” The marching boots grew louder, and louder, but still, they were commanded to stay. The berserker watched as the constructs began to run, dust being kicked around, the ground vibrating with their weight.

“O-Oi—” Masashi tensed, “What in the bloody hell are you waiting for!?”

The ground cracked, and the air thundered, the assassin no longer to be seen. The human moved at incredible speed, the weapon spinning in his hand, his body twirling with the momentum– all to complete a full turn, all that power concentrated into a full revolution. “[ Moonlight-Execution Style: Full Moon / Revolution]”