12 Crimson Nigh (1/2)

Riyku had already made his way back down into the Lower Quarter and just as he thought, there were 'guards' everywhere now. The same bandit looking men that he had slain earlier; in fact... They looked like your typical monster in a video game retextured. Still, this was no time to be wondering why they all looked the same. Slipping around unseen and silent as ever the male seemed to avoid the majority of them. No sense in wasting any Energy or Mana right now. He did not know what was to come when he reached Lira. Speaking of which, where was she? He had overheard that she was in a Whore House; but where was that? Kissing his teeth in thought he was about to ask Coco for some help; until he remembered seeing her name on his companion's list. Hastily the male opened his menu with a flick of his wrist so he could navigate to the Companion's page. Without delay, he clicked upon Lira's name and clicked track from the list of choices which brought up the same trail for him to follow. Dismissing the screen he would continue his stealth approach; slipping past many of the bandits until he reached the open area where he had executed the 'Boss'. The corpses of the fallen were still there; as well as more Bandits. It was as if they were investigating the area; perhaps looking for clues?

It was then that male noticed the Gunblade from earlier. Several bandits were attempting to lift it off the ground, but it appeared to be far too heavy for them to get it to budge. Well, that could have been because their level was short of the requirement for the weapon. Regardless, if he could obtain that it would be a steal. Even if he could not use it. Extending a hand outward he though to use Weapon Return to store it into his inventory; however...

'Weapon has not been registered to you. You can not use Weapon Return.'

Well, it kind of made sense. So, now he had two choices... slaughter everyone present or attempt to steal the weapon and remain nothing more than a wisp of air. The problem was which one would be the shortest. He did not have time to sit around after all. Probably slaughtering the bandits... though he could not use the same skill he did last time since it consumed nearly half of his mana to do so. Which would leave him with nothing by the time he reached his destination. So, he would have to do things another way. Using Weapon Summon; he called forth to two weapons. A single curved dagger that looked like it could easily slip into someone's vitals without leaving much of a mess and a glove with blades; well in truth it looked like a claw; though the ragged edges from the blades looked like they could tear through armor and flesh with ease as well as rip out organs without so much as a warning. ”The Assassin's Dagger and the Night Crawler... These will be the perfect two weapons. Compared to the Duelist Blade and Ion Gun which is more suited to dealing with one person.” The male nodded lightly in content.

Assassin's Dagger +4

Type: Dagger

Rarity: A

Condition: Sharp

A blade used by the Assassins of old. It is said that these weapons were capable of silently piercing their target's flesh from any direction and easy to withdraw for a quick escape. Effect: Deals addition damage if used on Vital points.

Night Crawler +4

Type: Claw

Rarity: S

Condition: Lethal

Where this... thing came from is unknown. No one knows who used it but what they do know is that it was used to take out high priority targets without delay. Effect: Armor Piercing. Bleed Damage (Causes internal bleeding for several seconds). State of Shock (Paralyzes the target instantly for several seconds). Instill Fear (Will fear all non-boss mobs and monsters below the users Level when spotted while killing a target with Night Crawler).

Duelist Blade +4

Type: Sword

Rarity: A

Condition: Sharp

The one who challenges a Duelist is always said to seek thrill or death. Effect: Bonus Damage when facing against a single enemy.

Ion Gun +4

Type: Gun

Rarity: B

Condition: Piercing

The Ion gun is said to be one of the top model guns used by the military. What it lacks in magical power makes up for physical piercing. Effect: Armor Piercing.

Those were the four weapons he had used out of more he had at his disposal. Looking back at the Bandits that gathered in the open area. It would appear that even more had gathered in just a short time. Kissing his teeth he would dash from the hiding spot he was as he approached one of the backs of a lone Bandit. Driving the dagger into the Bandit's back while he used the claw to tear at the throat at the same time before moving onto another Bandit with haste. Before the first bandit even began to fall he was at another. Bringing his dagger around to slice at the neck from behind while jamming the claw into the back. Again he moved on to another; however, one seemed to have taken notice of their fellow comrade in still motion. Tossing his dagger for the Bandit's skull; he would take that one out while simultaneously taking another out by jamming the claw into the back of the second one and using his free hand to keep that Bandit silent while he drove the claws upward before ripping them out. Quickly he extended his hand outward to use Weapon Return to bring his Dagger back into his free hand while moving onto another Bandit. The first Bandit he had killed was starting to fall forward while he had taken another Bandit out with a quick jab from the claw to the targets ribs and the dagger to the throat. Then moving onto the next and the next; it didn't seem to take long since the moment the first Bandit fell the rest were already dead. This completed another elimination of twenty or so more Bandits in a hare of a second.

'Active/Passive Skill Learned: Assassination Lv.1'

The text box that appeared caught his attention. Active Passive? What the hell was that? Sighing heavily he would shake his head before looking at the Gunblade on the ground. Squatting down he would place his hand over it.

'Take Prototype Series: Sinful Gunblade?'

'Yes.' 'No.'

The male blinked before hitting the yes on the option box that had appeared before him. The Gunblade would fade into tiny particles of light and seep into his body as if a sign that he had obtained the weapon. A smirk had appeared across his face at that moment. Though, he quickly remembered where he was when he heard more Bandits off in the distance. This caused him to return to reality instantly and quickly make way back into the darkness to keep himself hidden. For now, he would keep the Night Crawler and Assassin's blade on hand since they seemed quite effective; especially with his speed. Which was probably thanks to his Agility stat.

Meanwhile back at Mina's place, the girls seemed to have all been bathing in some kind of bathhouse fit for a royal. The interior was clean and sleek; statues of lion heads seemed to spew water from their mouths which happened to be what was filling the bath in the first place. Even though the steam would relax their bodies; Vex seemed to be having the hardest time of them all. Her eyes were still slightly dead and she seemed to have been hugging herself. Mina had a worrisome look; ”It is okay now. We are safe, and Riyku will save Lira. I just know it.” Kristen spoke softly as she moved to hug her friend who seemed to just seep into her arms. ”If you don't mind me asking; Can you explain to me what happened in full?” Mina was rather hesitant about getting information what it seemed Kristen was willing to divulge it in full. From beginning to now.

As Kristen explained what was going on and what had happened Riyku was 'assassinating' Bandits left and right without much of sound. All the way until he reached the heavily guarded mansion of sorts. Kissing his teeth the male would sleek away from any source light to keep hidden. ”It's far more guarded than the rest of this District.” The male would look around for an opening. The entry was guarded by several men, the rooftop happened to have what appeared to be snipers as well as people watching their backs. As for the sides of the building from what he could tell were being patrolled by squads. The thought of attempting to go underground crossed his mind, but the only direction given to him was pointing straight past the front doors. ”I guess I got no choice.” The male would hastily dash forward; though the moment a guard saw him ”Intruder!” He shouted which drew the attention of the rest of the guards. Bullets began flying in his direction; though they did not seem as fast as the bullet from the Gunblade. In fact, the bullets appeared, from his perspective, to be moving at speeds compared to someone simply jogging down the road. Using his Assassin's Dagger he would deflect any of the bullets that came close to him while avoiding the others. In truth, it was only about several seconds until the male kicked off of his feet to jump skyward; flipping in the air thanks to the motion he kicked off of and planting his feet against the gate that was closed only to kick off it and tackle one of the guards. Hastily he would dig the Night Crawler into the gut; grind the claw upwards and rip out several intestines.

'Fear has been instilled in all low level and middle-level mobs.' A text box appeared in front of him on sync with the screams of the dead guard's comrades. Taking this as a chance to slaughter everyone who was stunned in fear; he quickly kicked off the ground and lashed around like some wild animal. Gashing out stomachs and throats with both Night Crawler and Assassin's Blade. When all was said and done another text box appeared.

'Skill Level up! Assassination Lv.3'

'Skill Level up! Claws Lv.3'

'Skill Level up! Daggers Lv3'

The three skills he got just today all leveled up twice in a short time. Well... He did massacre over a hundred people in total today. Looking up at the roof he noticed the snipers and their guards had all ran away. Probably from the Instill Fear effect; but who knew. Moving towards the gate he would slash at the chains that locked it up before kicking it open and proceeding towards the door.

Back at Mina's place, it seemed Kristen had finished filling Mina in. ”You three have a strong bond. To be honest, I am quite envious.” Mina spoke softly as she looked down at her reflection. ”Well, I, Vex and Lira have all known each other since middle school. Back then things were simple. It was until we reached Highschool that things became complex. You see... The reason the three of us have a strong bond is because of the incident with Vex.” Vex would look away which caused Mina to shake her head. ”You don't have to tell me. Especially if it bothers you so.” Mina had noticed her sorrow but Vex would shake her head. ”It is fine. It all happened when we were Freshman. We were apparently the three most beautiful females on campus, but that was only because of some stupid vote the boys of the campus held. Thanks to that; we were always leered at by other girls. No one wanted to even approach or talk to us and instead, we received blunt bullying day in and day out. Of course, we went to Teachers as well as our Parents, but no one would do anything. All they said was 'It's part of life'.” Vex would begin to explain. ”Of the three of us, Kristen was always the strongest. She stood up against everyone; boy or girl even adults. She would defend and protect us. In truth, I and Lira looked up to her as an elder sister.” As Vex explained even more Kristen would blush a bit even though she knew how serious this was to her. ”Of course, we began to enjoy our daily lives. Just the three of us; until...” Vex paused for a moment. ”Until I was kidnapped and taken to the Lower Quarter. I was there all alone and scared; for several days... They tormented me and injected me with serums... I was used as some kind of pleasure toy for disgusting men. It was Kristen who came and saved me... Seeing her face, hearing her voice... She beat each and every one of those baddies into the ground; of course, she had the help of Lira as well. With the two of them, I came back to the Upper Quarter and we explained what had happened to the Police, but they said they could not do anything. The Lower Quarter is beyond their jurisdiction. In other words, It is a lawless land.” Vex explained through light sobs. Kristen seemed to comfort her. ”So you see... I don't want Lira to go through what I did. I hope Riyku saves her...” She spoke weakly. ”He will,” Kristen stated boldly which drew in their attention.

”He's...” Kristen would speak while Riyku simultaneously kicked open the door of this mansion like building. Screams from inside overrode the blaring music as the doors flew all the way to the DJ's booth which seemed to crash right into it which eventually disrupted the music entirely. ”Not someone to be trifled with.” Kristen finished as Riyku's grin curved wide across his lips. ”You have something of mine. If you are good boys and girls; I'll let you all go.” Riyku would shout throughout the building which caused what was probably the customers to rush out while the 'Whores' seemed to cower in fear. ”Who the fuck?” A sturdy masculine voice came from the balcony in the farthest direction from him. ”That's the one who is going around killing all the Bandits. He even took out the West Districts Leader.” A feminine voice spoke as a woman walked up beside the burly man dressed in robes. Even though her strips of clothing were more like censor lines; she was pretty much stark naked. Though not bad to look out. ”Oooh? Is that so?” The man would exhale a puff of smoke from a cigar before calling out to Riyku. ”You! What do you want? I don't know anyone who is stupid enough to invade my territory.” The man called out to which Riyku snickered as he approached only to stop mid-way through the building to look up at the burly man and female. ”You've taken something of mine. I want her back. A violet-haired girl.” Riyku stated to which the male's brow rose. ”Oh... So you are him.” Riyku's brow rose in return to the remark the male made.

”Confused? Well, Not a surprise. You see some broad came here about a day ago telling me that my good friend Blackbeard was bringing in some fine merch. I don't know how she got past all my guards, but she told me that a man will come seeking her. When he showed up, she said that you need to disappear. I don't know who you pissed off mate, but the woman gave me the points and the code. So... I can't give you the girl. In fact, even if I wanted to, it would be too late.” The man stated with a peal of soft laughter. ”She's already being used by my VIP guests.” He added. Riyku's eyes glared up at the man. ”I'll take it that she is in the room behind you.” His voice changed into a more darker tone. ”She is, but you won't be going back there. This is where you fall.” The man stated as he snapped his fingers. Several guards appeared from both top and bottom even from behind him. He was completely surrounded with guns pointed right at him. ”Fire!” The male shouted as bullets began swarming Riyku's position. Instantly Riyku would use Weapon Return and Weapon Summon to return his Night Crawler and Assassin's Blade; only to bring forth a single long blade stored in its scabbard; A Nodachi. With rapid rhymic movements the male would evade; cut down and deflect the bullets coming from all angles.

'Weapon effect active: Striker's Will.'

To Riyku the bullets were moving almost as slow as a snail which was why he was able to do what he was doing. It wasn't until the smoke had completely filled the interior did the man shout, ”Enough!” Which caused the guards to seize fire. ”Is that all?” Riyku's dark voice echoed throughout the smoke.

”Weapon Skill... Flash Step.” The male muttered.

'Weapon Skill activated. Flash Step will be enabled; Energy consumption will be increased by 3 times. Agility has been increased by 5 times the present amount.'

Another text box appeared to inform Riyku who seemed to dash around; after images of the male appearing everywhere as the sounds of the guard's final breaths were taken when he cut them down by one until the male appeared right beside the Man and the Woman. The tip of the Nodachi pressed firmly against the man's throat. ”Open it.” He stated coldly as he eyed the closed door which was probably locked. ”I wasn't told anything about this. You aren't even human. What are you a demon!?” The man complained as he began to sob. ”Open the damn door!” Riyku shouted which caused the man to become fear struck either from Riyku's intimidation skill or the fact that the man only noticed his guards' bodies all minced up into tiny pieces just now. ”Veronica open the door!” The man shouted to which the woman who was frozen in place suddenly moved to unlock the door. Removing the tip of the blade from the man's throat he would sheath the weapon and make his way towards the door where he witnessed Lira strung up. Sitting around her were several men each one seemed to be pleasing themselves to her naked body, and upon the floor before her happened to be a mess clear liquid. The musk of semen was a clear indication of what was going on, and upon a second look, Riyku noticed that Lira was covered in some of the liquid as well.

Gripping the Nodachi tightly he would hastily turn around and quickly draw the blade to lope off not one, but two heads in one strike. The draw was incapable of sight to the naked eye; the two did not even realize they were dead. Their corpses hit the floor with a loud thud which seemed to cause the group of men to perk up to see the lone male dressed in all black covered in crimson liquid with the same liquid dripping from the tip of the blade. ”Soundproof eh?” The male stated with a wicked grin as he shut the door behind him when he entered the room. ”You people....” His voice cold, menacing and full of rage.

'Conditions for Rage Form fulfilled. Rage form will be unleashed automatically in 5...'

A text box would appear before him. Something he seemed to have ignored. The Nodachi in his hands seemed to return to his inventory without him even realizing. ”You think toying with a woman is fun...?” Riyku's voice thickened with rage.

'4...'

”You think it's a game? That women are just your pleasure toys?”

'3'

”I wonder... would you have the same thought If I decided to play with your insides?”

'2'

”Shall we find out?”

'1'

It was then that a burst of ominous energy emerged from Riyku's being that seemed to send chills down the men's spines. Their rods had retracted and they all seemed to scurry around like roaches fleeing as fast they could. Two red beads parted the darkness of the hood with bright yet eerie illumination.

'Rage Form engaged. Duration available: 20 Minutes.'

His eyes shifted from the text box to Lira who had this dead look in her eyes; that only seemed to perch into light when she noticed who was there. ”S-save....M-me...” She could tell solely from the male's height who it was. The tone of voice was just a confirmation. ”Riyku...” Her voice weakly spewed forth. ”Please...” She would plea. Approaching her he would grasp the chains that had her tied up and crush them into dust with a single hand. Using his other arm to catch her and remove her from the dirty stage she was strung up over. It seemed several men would struggle for the door, but the moment they tried to open it a text box appeared in plain sight.

'Defeat the Raging Beast.'

”What?” One of the men shouted. ”What is going on!? Are you talking about that!?” He pointed towards the man who was nowhere to be seen. They all began looking around wildly until what they sought had appeared right in front of them. Grasping both men by the necks he would slam both men into each other repeatedly until their bodies mushed together into mushy meat.

'Defeat the Raging Beast.'

The text box appeared in plain sight yet again, even Lira could see it. ”R-raging beast?” She muttered. Shaking his hands from the mush he would look at the remaining men who were all shivering in fear. ”Impossible! What do you mean defeat!? Like hell we can! Let us out!” They all seemed to shout in fear.

'Defeat the Raging Beast.'

The text box popped up again, bigger and bolder. Yet the men only cowered in fear at the sight of the crimson glow staring upon them. Approaching them... and killing them painfully. Skinning them, ripping off limbs that would not kill them instantly, and even gouging out eyes. Finally, a single man remained; cowering against a chair he looked out at the mess. There was no trace of any living organism left from what was there.

'Defeat the Raging Beast.'

The text box appeared one final time. Riyku would lift the man by his hair and drag him over the stage. No words parted Riyku's lips as he shoved the man's face into the clear liquid. Using him like some kind of sponge or cloth. The man groaned and cried in pain and before long bones began to crack, not from Riyku obviously, but from the man. Riyku was slowly crushing the man's skull against the stage and there was nothing he could do about it. He struggled and struggled yet nothing seemed to come to fruition. And finally... it ended. The body went limp yet it seemed Riyku was not finished. Tearing the limbs of the man and even digging a hole in the body he would toss the remains around the room before releasing an unsightly roar.

'Quest Failed.' The text pop appeared and the doors seemed to pop open on their own. Riyku looked over to Lira who was out cold. Scooping her into his arms he would begin to leave this god awful building. The crimson illumination slowly began to die down.

'Would you like to end the Rage Form?'

'Yes.' 'No.'

Riyku would select the yes option in which the illumination completely vanished.

'Rage Form deactivated. Rage is now available to be activated whenever.'

The text box appeared yet again on his personal vision. Though he did not have time to think about any of this. Hastily he would proceed out of the Lower Quarter with Lira in his arms. His eyes staring at her body that he had cleaned off with a clean cloth before killing those men. If one could see the look under his hood; it was not a happy one. It was one filled with anger, filled with hatred. Only one person came to mind... One person who seemed to have had a vendetta against him. That Bell chick. ”I'll make sure you dance like the Whore you are.” He seemed to have muttered hatefully as he left the Lower Quarter. The journey back seemed to have been easier than going in; he did not move around hidden, in fact, there were no more Bandits around either.