59 Completion (1/2)

Kufara Gumbo, the diamond of the empire they called her. The royal family bore many children but none could hold a candle to the young mistress. The reason being, she was a gold level talent.

To the Gutu, strength was everything, strength was determined by talent, thus talent was everything. It was ranked according to colour. Ranging from red being the lowest to gold being the highest. Each level represented talent that was present in every set number of people.

Starting from the bottom, red was the lowest, one in every ten people being red. Followed by yellow, which was one in one hundred, then blue and so on, covering green, purple, black, white, silver and finally, gold in that order. Gold being one in a billion. Starting from ten at the bottom you would multiply that by ten to get the next highest talent and so on repeating the process to figure the next talent level.

There hadn't been a gold level talent among royalty for generations, thus Kufara's position as the next ruler of the Gutu was set in stone. Usually, the emperor chose the ruler, be it male or a female. This time the he had no choice. Had he not appointed her, he would have been branded as the greatest fool in history.

As Kufara Gumbo grew up, her violent and cruel nature preceded her. By the age of six, her being drenched in blood became common place, by ten, she had already taken thousands of lives. Her cruelty and vicious personality pleased the current emperor, further cementing her position. She would be as strong as him within a decade. There was only one thing blocking her path to ascension, and it was now upon her in the form of Takunda Gumbo, her younger brother.

After months of grueling research and torture she finally discovered his position, only to learn that it was countless miles away.

She came up with the means to capture him with the use of a powerful spell. It required her to create a living, breathing avatar of herself. In order to do so Kufara had to sacrifice thousands. Thousands of lives that didn't matter to her one bit. The avatar contained a portion of her own power and was now facing Taku and Maka, as well as a suicide squad of hunters that was on their way to capture him. She needed to buy time. Her orders were to bring him in alive.

...

Hidden within Taku were memories that his mind had been stowing away for years, seeing Kufa finally brought them to surface. His vision began to blur as rage took over every inch of his body. Maka lept backwards, Taku wasn't a threat but something felt off. His current form was different than before but she couldn't quite place what about it strayed from the norm.

”Brother, did you know that I've dreamt of this very moment for so long? The moment I would find you at last!” The princess trembled. ”Oh, the sheer ecstasy of it makes me tingle!” Kufa bit her lip so hard that it bled, she quickly licked her lips and giggled in delight.

”This girl is nuts!” Maka said to herself as she subconsciously backed away. She was well aware of the Princess's exploits. Having witnessed them a few times at events held in the capital. Not only that but Saru had warned her multiple times to keep a good distance. Maka was brave, some might even say fearless, but none of it applied when it came to the royal clans. Each of which could exert a pressure that weakened a Gutu. That's why fighting against royalty was extremely rare, practically non-existent. No matter what, Maka couldn't muster the courage to do anything, that included warning Taku. Kufa's earlier words still rang in her ears.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. ”The princess is calling him brother? That means...”

Kufa began flexing her arms. ”Now then brother,” She crouched on the ground like a leopard ready to pounce, ”Let's see who has the stronger flame.”

Boom!

The moment she left the ground a deafening noise rose into the air. The ground beneath her immediately shattered, leaving a crater in her wake. In mid air she covered her fist in concentrated Nether Flames, aiming it straight at Taku. An attack made to destroy. Like her, Taku had a high affinity for the abnormal fire so there was little to worry about in terms of killing him.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Taku flew backwards like a meteor, crashing into the surrounding ruins, turning them to rubble. Kufa stabilized herself and frowned. ”I knew he was weak but this? It's pathetic, he better be alive otherwise the old man will kill me.”

Dust and debris flew everywhere as Maka covered her eyes. She did not dare activate her zesa lest the princess notice her. Maka was also capable of moving the same way the princess did, for a person at her level it was possible. Only if she went all out without worrying about zesa expenditure. Where as Kufa did it as a casual opening. The sheer gap between them was evident and more than Maka would like to admit.

As far as she knew, Kufa was fourteen, which meant she already reached such a level before adulthood. ”So this is a gold level talent. Just how strong would she grow up to be?” Maka was a silver level talent, thus she was considered top notch wherever she went, however, in front of Kufa she felt insignificant.

”Pa!”

With a simple clap, Kufa cleared the dust and debris, clearing the battlefield. Just a clap from the young lady already had such an impact, the very thought sent shivers down Maka's spine. Maka had seen more powerful beings, but the age was what was bothering her. ”Taku? Where are you? Still alive I hope? Please say yes, it would be really nice of you not to die so easily.”

She started walking, peeking around corners, looking for any sign of life. As far as she was concerned Maka didn't even exist. ”Darn.” She started scratching her head. ”I should work on holding back.”

At that very moment, some rubble moved, and out of the ashes, Taku arose. He still wore a faint haze of smoke but his eyes were different. The red had vanished, a sense of calm replacing it. Maka looked and realized a simple fact. The Taku she knew was gone forever.

..

In the hall of Guardians, Kaguvu was staring at the events, his eyes glued in place. ”The kid's finally one proper whole instead of a jumbled up mess. The pointless parts are history. Now let's see what he can do.”

...