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DML (OLD) — C7
🕑 Added 2024-06-09 03:00:55 +0000 UTC"… So, how is the investigation? Have you found anything interesting" I looked up from the map and shook my head. "No, we have established his hunting ground is near Chionji Temple and Kyoto University, but I have also found earlier reports of children and teenagers disappearing around the small road next to the old Imperial Palace and even the Nyakuoji Shrine in the outer edge. I think he might be hiding in a residence nearby." I pointed at the board with multiple copies of images and reports I believed were related to our resident Apostle.
"So his base must be near Kamo River then…" Both of us fell silent as we thought things over. If I was a newly-turned Apostle, where would I hide? It needed to be somewhere dark and out of sight, but near residential area so I could snatch up unsuspecting people… Suddenly, a thought crossed through my mind. "What if–…?" I pulled up the city plans I had taken earlier today, searching for the sewer lines map. There, I got it! "What? What is it? Speak up you idiot, we're supposed to be bouncing ideas off each other here!"
I put on an infuriating smirk and slid the city plans and several news articles over to Sven. "Take a look."
"… Funded by the Fujiwara Corporation, the new sewer lines were supposed to connect to their factories outside the city, leading to Kamo River, but due to severe public backlash, the construction had to be put on hold. Nowadays, it's mostly a place the homeless of the city call home?" Sven's eyes widened as he looked back at me. Indeed, according to the plans, several large room where machineries were to be put were empty due to lack of funding from the company after that whole fiesta, the perfect place for a budding Apostle to hide and Sven must have realized it too.
"'He wouldn't stay there', is what I want to say, but it's the Black heir, I doubt he would be picky about his temporary hideout." I nodded. "True, and given Regul's cunning nature, I'm guessing he avoids killing in Kawabata Street so he won't arouse suspicion from locals." It's a decent plan for sure, but rather juvenile and poorly thought out. The sewer lines were populated by the homeless, and when it came to serial killers, those down on their luck would often times be the first to be scrutinized.
In fact, it baffled me that the police hadn't found Regul these months, but thinking back on those lazy sacks of shite in the precinct, I supposed it wouldn't be much a stretch to say they weren't looking at all. Regul had also been cautious with his victims, targeting only the poor, homeless and those with no true social standing to speak of. It was a good decision, since if he had taken some rich kids, the entire police force would be cracking down on his hideout now. "So he's staying in the sewer… What do we do?"
This was looking quite bad for us. The sewers were the worse place to fight an Apostle, our molotov cocktails would be severely limited in their destructive capability, and the claustrophobic environment, twisting paths would make navigating and fighting incredibly hard. Not to mention, we only had one chance at this, if we failed that's it. The Apostle would escape, we would make our presences known and lose our element of surprise. I whispered. "… What are the chances of us successfully killing Regul Black?"
44.812%
That's… Pretty good odds actually. It was an almost fifty-fifty gamble. If we're careful, we could pull this off with relative ease. "This changes nothing, we follow through with our original plan. I'll take down the Bounded Field as quickly and quietly as possible, we sneak in during sunlight and start blasting down doors, burning down any flesh puppets we meet. If we are separated, try to regroup before taking Regul on. The sun will keep him trapped inside with us, so we must locate him within those hours."
"What about now?" Sven asked, eyebrow raised. "Well, we just stay here until my package arrives, after that we leave at dawn, when the first rays of light break through. Breaking down a decently made Bounded Field will take me a few hours at most, then we can go wild." My grin was wide and predatory as I imagined the Apostle on his knees, begging like the filthy mutt he was. Though my insults were positively poisonous at times, I had never been particularly vindictive, but the Apostle had crossed the line when he rigged our HQ with explosives, and I'd make sure he paid for it with his life.
KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
Our heads shot towards the sounds, bodies tensing only to realize it was just one of the many monks living in the Temple. "Mr. Magnum? I want to inform you that your package has arrived, we brought it to your room and left it next to the futon, please check to see if anything is missing." Huh, that was sooner than I expected. Kotomine worked fast when there's promise of rewards, didn't he? I opened the door, greeted by a slightly nervous monk playing with his hands. "Thank you, disciple… What was your name again?"
"Takashi, sir. I'm disciple Takashi." I grunted, giving him a smile that seemed to make him even more nervous and spoke. "Thank you, disciple Takashi. Now that my things have come, we will be out of your hair soon." He appeared relieved at that, I didn't blame him either, while we had tried to keep our more… Special abilities hidden, it was bound to be discovered by someone in the Temple. Takashi had come across us during one of our extensive combat training, and for whatever reason, he could neither be compelled, nor hypnotized.
Sven even proposed we silent him permanently, but I didn't want to kill the young monk. Guy was just trying live life the way he wanted, and it's not like anybody would believe the crazed ramblings of a young monk anyways. At best they would think him insane, at worst they would make his story one amongst countless other urban legends. It wouldn't compromise the secrecy of the Moonlit World in the slightest. It was only my assurance that kept him from a brutal murder, and Takashi knew it, which was why he had been doing everything in his power to make me happy.
I blinked at the shivering monk. "You can go now." And he ran for the hills like the Devil himself was on his tail. To be honest, it was quite an amusing sight. "He's an unnecessary risk, if the higher-ups of the Tower know, it's our heads they will crack down on..." Sven grumbled, glaring murderously at the fleeing monk, but I just gently shook my head. "He's an innocent." I knew Nasuverse was an edgy, grimdark fantasy, but that's no reason to act like remorseless animals.
As the idiom went: 'A clean breakfast is better than a dirty one.'
Call it arrogance or whatever, but I wanted to keep true to my conscience in spite of the hardships I'd face. "Urgghh… Fine, go check on your equipment, we will set out at the earliest tomorrow." I threw Sven a triumphant thumb up and retreated back to my room. I was met with a big box covered in bubble wraps. I quickly tore them off and carefully cut the tapes with a razor blade. Yes. Apparently, monks did have razor blades for trimming or shaving purposes.
Inside was a familiar black case, almost as long as a guitar case, one I had seen several times in different places in the Church. I could swear the priest was buying more of them just to make me feel like I was losing my mind. I glared at the ugly-looking thing, the smile on my face wiped, replaced by angry, fixed twitches as I groaned. "This damned priest, I'm going to fucking end you when I get back." At least he packed all the stuff I needed, a newer-looking, but still blocky military cellphone, two sets of clothing, a bundle of cash and three gleaming Black Keys.
I took up the blades, swinging them to get my muscles used to the motions once more. The whooshing sounds of air being sliced apart were nigh orgasmic. Don't get me wrong, the tomahawk axe was cool, but after a month of practicing with these rather unconventional weapons, I had grown to prefer them over any other. Besides, there's a reason my skill is called [Sword God Style], and not [Axe God], using an axe instead of the traditional double-edged blades would have severely limited my combative capability.
"Right, time to get some rest, tomorrow is a big day." My first actual fight outside of training. I could only hope it wouldn't traumatize me too much. "If only I had Gamer's Mind…"
.
.
.
"How is the mongrel?" Gilgamesh sat lazily on the velvet couch; long, perfect legs sprawled on the soft cushion, hand cupped around the wine glass as she watched the liquid swirl. "Prince Leo was attacked by the blood-sucker, but he otherwise sounds perfectly fine." Kotomine let out what appeared to be stuck between a chuckle and a growl. "If anything, he seems almost excited and bloodthirsty at the prospect of facing the leech… He even made a new friend."
Gilgamesh hummed. "Excellent, I'd be disappointed if he had come home crying over such a small loss." Kotomine turned to stare at the Queen, her posture reminded him of a resting lioness, just waiting to pounce on its prey. Despite their appearances, he knew those delicate arms and dainty fingers could very easily throttle the life out of him even with his years of studying martial arts. Reinforcement wouldn't make a difference either, for no single person in this Age could ever hope to match the strength of a Heroic Spirit, even if their might had withered due to the invisible, yet ever present restrictions placed on them upon their return.
"If I may, I haven't the chance to ask before, but why exactly did you decide to take him in, your Majesty?" Although the boy's talents were clear as day, given the time period Gilgamesh was born in, she must have seen plenty of people with more or less the same gifts. And talents alone wouldn't be enough to catch the resurrected Queen's attention anyways, there must something else. Something more about Leonis Magnum.
Gilgamesh lowered her head, and for the slightest seconds, Kotomine thought he might have over-stepped, but then the soft chuckles that had sounded so much like furious growls turned to full-blown laughter as she threw her head back, hand clutching her head as though she had just heard the funniest joke ever made. "Just a moon has passed and you already think to question my decision, Kirei?" Kotomine grew tense, ready to defend himself at moment's notice. Even knowing it would be futile, he didn't want to die before he could realize his ambitions.
"I thought he was… Interesting, that's all. There is no other reason." Though he dared not inquire any further, Kotomine did not miss the heavy emphasis on 'no'. "Though if you must know, the mongrel possesses an ability that helps him elude even my Noble Phantasm." That did explain it a bit, coupled with Magnum's absolute disregard for the Gods, it was assured that the boy would have the Queen's favor. Now, whether he could keep it or not, that was the real kicker– The billion dollars question. It didn't matter to him either way, but for his sake, Leonis Magnum had better treasured her favor.
"I guess we will have to wait and see then."
.
.
.
Takashi was a monk. He had been a monk all his life, left at the door of this Temple at the tender age of two. His mother, whose face he could barely remember had asked the former abbot to take care of him while she went to get grocery, then disappeared into the winds, never to be seen again. He had all the rights to resent her for that, but he never did. Life was good for him, three meals a day, clothes on his body and a roof over his head, Takashi couldn't have asked for a more comfortable life.
Indeed, life was good for him…
Until they showed up. Two kids, one a mere child, the other barely putting foot into young adulthood. Both were good looking, always seen in prim and proper clothing. Poor kids, the other monks would whisper when they went about their days. Apparently, they were cousins on their vacation, but their hotel– The Blossom Sakura had a gas leak and blew up. It was quite the spectacle, even in the Temple, the resulting explosion was visible for all to see. They lost all their belongings, along with their tour mates in the accident, and their parents couldn't come get them so early, which was why they would have to stay for a few days.
That was the official story, the story told to the other monks, but Takashi knew better…
It was dark, past midnight when he stumbled upon them practicing their strange abilities– Magic, a voice in his head whispered. That's what it was, Magic, for there could be no other way to explain the strange glows that stuck to the child's skin, running up his flesh like electric circuits, or the phantom light with animalistic traits that had encased his presumed cousin's form. They were training, fighting in the Temple's backyard, rumored to be haunted by evil spirits, it was a place forbidden for all comers and even the newer monks.
Takashi caught them sneaking there, and in his curiosity, stupidly decided following them would be the best course of action. It was a decision that landed him in his current situation, held hostage by two powerful sorcerers, who probably orchestrated the entire accident at the Sakura Blossom for their nefarious purposes. He nearly pissed his pants when the older one came swinging his claws at his very unprotected throat. If Leo, the younger child hadn't come to his defense, the Temple's number of occupants might have been reduced by one.
After that, Takashi had learnt a valuable lesson: 'Curiosity killed the cats', which was why he found it strange that he had once again opted to follow the sorcerers unannounced. He couldn't help it, someone must keep an eye on these scheming Supernaturals– At least, that's what he told himself anyways. Truth was, Takashi had always had an unnaturally small presence. No one could find him unless he stood directly in front of them, touched them, or verbally tried to communicate, this coupled with his passion for gossips and secrets had made for an incredibly bad habit of spying on people.
It's something he had never had to change, having not been discovered even once since his first excavation. "This will be the last time…" Takashi swore to himself as he tailed the pair, though whether it proved true or not remained to be seen.
The two had taken lots of weapons with them, all of which looked every bit as bizarre as their respective wielders. For the teenager, it was an oddly-shaped stake, while the younger had taken along a tiny axe and a few gleaming, handle less black blades that he had used like claws jutting from his knuckle. Hidden beneath their attires, the pair almost seemed harmless if not for the thick tension that seemed to hang over them, the slight, but still noticeable twitches of their muscles and the bottles of alcohol hanging from their belts. "Just what are these two up to?"
They stopped by Kamo River, eyes looking, searching for something. The moment he saw the large, abandoned alley leading up to the sewer line, the young child– Leo ditched his companion, skipping towards the deep, hostile darkness that appeared almost like a living organism on its own. It was then that a war broke into Takashi's mind. On one hand, his rational side was telling him that the darkness was dangerous, and it promised naught but pain and sufferings. One the other, his curiosity had still not been satisfied, yowling for him to follow.
"This… This will be the last time."
…
The inside of the sewer was as he had expected, dirty, damp and moldy. The air, stale and lifeless was overwhelmed by the stench of garbage and wastes, the walls were lined with empty cans of foods that must have been eaten and left there by the homeless that populated the area. What truly made him fear for his life was the growing blood splatters that stained the grey concretes, nothing to be concerned of in any other setting, but in this desolate sewer, it was something straight out of a horror story. Takashi rubbed his arms, which were now filled with goosebumps, made worse by the coldness that pierced through his being.
Takashi wasn't a coward, but this was too much even for him. Still, at this point, following the pair was the only option left for him, especially after all those twists and turns that they made, forcing him to keep on their tails. He was lost, and in situation like this, staying close to other people was the best bet.
The sudden noises of clashing steels, ripped concrete drew his attention. There they were, blades drawn, claws glowed as they fought something that hid deep in the darkness. The occasional sparks shredded through the blackness, allowing him to glance at their attackers for but a second. Takashi fell back, slumping against the concrete wall, hands clamped over his mouth to keep down the scared screams that were threatening to bubble up his throat. "A- Amitabha. Gods, Buddha, please save this idiotic disciple, I w- ill never spy on someone else again…"
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As planned, we reached the sewer line when dawn first broke through. I didn't know what I was expecting, but the place was cleaner than I had previously thought. Frankly, I had made peace with the fact I'd likely have to tread through miles of liquid filth, none of that was present, at least in large quantity. It made sense, since the project had been abandoned for almost a decade, and if the colors were anything to go by, whatever wastes left must have either dried up or become parts of the concrete floor.
"The smell is… Insulting." Sven groaned, nose scrunched up, twitching wildly at the disgusting stench. As for me, given my past, having entered, used and experienced public toilets that reeked far worse, I didn't have much of a problem with it. Don't get wrong, staying here for too long would still give me a killer-headache, but I could endure for a few hours. "It's the sewers, what were you expecting, princess?"
"Shut up, Leo. Just because you peasants are accustomed to this…– This abominable odor, doesn't mean the rest of us are the same!" Sven shouted, then quickly added. "This isn't going to work. My senses can't pick up anything, the smell is overwhelming my nose, and the echoes make my hearing far less accurate than it should be. We will have to rely on Structure Gasp to find its location." Hmmm, that kind of sucks, but I had anticipated this so it's not a big loss. What annoyed me was his affected hearing, that would hinder our search immensely.
My Magic Circuits flared to life, and I imagined Sven's did as well. Bursts of knowledge started to hammer down on our minds as we looked for clues. While I was still struggling to ignore the overload of information, Sven waved me over as he crouched on a harmless looking spot. "Come here, I think I found something." And found something he did, on the cold, wet concrete was a tiny dot of blood. Someone had tried to clean this up with relatively success, but the dot was glaringly obvious once we had Structure Gasp activated.
With our highlighted visions, the smaller splatters were clearly visible even in the dark and stained floor. "Someone was attacked here… No, they were running, but whatever it was chasing them caught up and dragged them further into the tunnel." I pressed on the blood, bringing it closer to my face. No, there was no reason for my actions, I just wanted to look cool… Sven scoffed sarcastically. "Nice observation there, Sherlock. Anything else useful you want to add?" I responded with a heated glare that promised retribution and threw him a middle-finger. "Fuck off, Glascheit."
"Jerk."
"Bitch."
Despite the horror-inducing atmosphere, Sven managed to share a laugh as we bantered. We were careful to keep our voices down, but it was moments like this that truly reminded me the beauty of life. Ahhh, if only I had had actual friends to help me through that rough patch in my first life, things might have gone different, I might not have committed suicide… "You alright, peasant?" I gave him a hollowed chuckle. "I'm fine, just thinking 'bout some bad stuff." I paused, then continued after swallowing the knot in my throat. "I think we can keep to the blood trail. Our Apostle must be behind this."
Perhaps noticing my poor attempt at changing the subject, Sven didn't inquire further. "What if he isn't?" That's a valid question, and a possibility I had considered, my predictions might be all wrong, and the blood could be from the conflicts of the homeless, but somehow I doubted they would bother to clean it up. Hell, I doubted they even had the means to do so. "If it's just homeless people fighting, they wouldn't bother to wipe the blood. They're homeless, they're at the bottom of society already, no one would bat an eye or care that one is missing."
Sven looked thoughtful at that. "Then what are we waiting for, let's go."
…
The sewer tunnels got more twisting and complicated the deeper we went in. The bloodstains clearer and more visible. It was a haunting sight, I couldn't keep count of the number of dirty, used sleeping bags ripped and dyed dark red we had come across. There were even floating, rotten eyeballs lolling around om the ground in some places. I had done my best to break the multitudes of Bounded Fields we had encountered, but I knew my limits, we were bound to have crossed some without noticing.
It's only a matter of time before Regul sent his puppets after us.
"I can smell something…" Sven spoke, pausing dramatically. "Prepare yourself, we have company."
'Ah yes, speak of the Devil and he doth appear.'
From the darkness, out walked five naked humanoid creatures. Their arms lanky and far too long for their sizes, their mouth sewn shut with thick black threads, their bodies covered in lacerating wounds that yellowish liquid seemed to pour from endlessly. Each drop of that substance made the ground smoke and sizzle, and if you paid close attention, you could see giant micro-organisms sprouting from them. Their upper-faces were hidden behind rusted iron helmets, seemingly nailed to their foreheads.
The creatures held in their hands large, clunky, bastardized halberds with dull and chipped edges. Those things probably couldn't cut anyone, relying on pure force to chop through flesh and bones. Despite their rather sluggish movements, they were surprisingly fast, quickly closing in on our position. My eyes narrowed as I pulled the Black Keys from my inner-pockets, while Sven was instantly encased in blue Magical Energy shaped like a Were-Doberman. "You ready, princess?"
Sven replied with a smirk. "Please, I was born ready."
There was no signal, nothing to be said as we both launched to action, bolting from where we stood as weakened concretes shattered from the forces of our feet pushing against it. I darted forwards, Black Keys slashing through the omni-present blackness. My blades clashed against the creature's as I swung into a kick straight into it abdomen. My reinforced strength proved too much for the creature as it fell backwards, while I landed, arm tensed as I fired one of the Keys into its throat.
The next one jumped on my head, the large hunk of iron in its hands pulled all the way back to its head as it smashed down on my head. I parried with the two Keys still in my clenched hand, throwing it off balance as I threw a fist at its lower-jaw. The creature's neck snapped with a satisfying crunch, as I lashed at the side of its knee, crushing the bones upon impact. The third came rushing from behind, but I was prepared and managed to block its attack, though the collision did leave my arm rattled and weak.
I retaliated by gutting its stomach and pulled, an attack that resulted in its innards falling from the exposed wound, crushing its spine as the acidic substances that made up its blood flew dangerously near my eyes. They were alive still, despite the wounds that should have left them dying, if not outright dead. Whatever these were, they weren't humans, or at least not anymore, their bodies simply didn't have the same limitations that humans' should.
The one I had stabbed in the throat was gurgling on its own saliva and blood, trying to get the Key in its neck off, but the attack had severed the nervous system connected to its body. The second was struggling to keep itself up due to the destroyed kneecap and broken neck. That left the third the last threat in my vicinity, one I quickly killed as I chopped through its neck in one clean swipe. The head rolled with a loud thud, the metal parts clanking against the hard floor as its body fell, the only indication that it still lived was the constant motions of its sewn mouth.
I looked over to Sven to see he had made quick work of the two other creatures, one had had its limbs all ripped off, the other with its torso slashed open in disfiguring claw-marks that started from its shoulder all the way to its hip. I was just about to compliment him, when the next batch came in. This time, a drove of multi-eyed, steel-clawed rats with bubbling boils dotting their furless forms. Their speed had been severely affected by their… Afflictions. But they were dangerous nonetheless, as the first one I killed by throwing my Key exploded in a mess of thick acid.
I threw Sven a look, and he retreated back while I rapidly traced the Ansuz rune with my blood. Fun fact about this rune, while it was mainly used to create fire, the rune itself could symbolize the Gods themselves. Instead of the usual fire, I imagined Indra– The Indian God Of Thunder, the spell reflected my imagination as bursts of lightning shot towards the coming swarm, making them explode before they could reach us. The aftermath did leave the path ahead filled with acidic liquid substances, but we were safe for now.
[Skill: Ansuz(Active) – Veteran Lv: 12/15]
Or at least, that's what I thought. The attacks were relentless, the coming enemy was enormous humanoids with one arm far bigger than the other. Their mutated, enlarged fists were fused, almost seared together to make bio-matter hammers. What's even worse was the exposed false-ribs poking through under their chests, like menacing, curved spikes. Their heads were bald, unlike the first group we faced, their eyes showed a milky, glassy white pupils and reddened, veiny sclera. There nine of them in total and they were swiftly approaching us.
Our only saving grace was the narrowness of the tunnel limited their movements due to their sizes. I charged into the fray, stopping when I heard a loud scream from Sven as I glanced back briefly. A four-armed, spider-like creature with fleshy orb that contained the same acidic substance had jumped on him, its mouth wide open as acid dripped from its jaw. "Get off me, you filthy abomination!" Sven clawed at its head, careful not to disturb the pulsing orb, but it avoided his clumsy strike rather easily, so I jumped and spun, using the momentum to launch my newly recovered Key at the creature's head.
The attack landed, and its dead grip on Sven loosened, letting him throw its corpse off him as he huffed. He sent me an appreciative look that I barely caught as I continued to bolt forwards. I intended to use their clumsy, smashing attacks to my advantage, weaving between the creatures to bait them into hitting their companions. It worked at first, with the slower ones hitting the first in an attempt to kill me, but then they wised up and began to use their smaller arms to grab me. "Huh, so they aren't completely mindless then?"
That said, I slid through their legs, my smaller stature for once assisting me in fights instead of hindering me. I jumped to my feet, bouncing from the two in the back to launch myself at the ones ahead. My two remaining Keys clenched tight in my fists as I executed a double [Sword Of Silence], shredding through their unprotected heads as I fell into a roll. Meanwhile, Sven hadn't remained idle either as he kicked off the ground, phantom claws ripping through those in the back to cover for me.
It wasn't a hard-fought fight, but we managed to finish the groups of puppets. As expected, while they had some semblance of faux intelligence, the puppets and creatures were dumber than actual animals, besides the spider-humanoid that somehow snuck up on Sven, most of them couldn't quite coordinate their assaults like we did, though I was sure the location where they intercepted us had something to do with that. It would have definitely been harder, had they waited for us to go somewhere more spacious, where they could swarm us from all sides instead of coming in individual wave.
"Hmmphh… C'mon, let's go. I'm itching to beat the shit out of that Apostle." Sven glared at his shirt, then mucked up the thick saliva that the creature had left as a souvenir, throwing it off with a wet, disgusting noise. "Yeah? Get in line, that damned leech is mine." Just as we were about to continue on our way, we heard an all-too-familiar voice shouting at us. "W- Wait! Please, wait for me!" We traded odd looks, then turned to the source of the noise. There he was, Takashi– The monk, who was somehow here with us.
Seriously, how did we follow us without us realizing? "For the love of… Told you you should have let me kill him."
