Chapter 312 - Meet the Family (1/2)
As the sun set in Japan that night, floating high above the land was a massive complex that looked to be a blend of a fantasy style castle city, and scientific advancements not yet available in the modern world. Within this giant floating castle, a group of four people were sitting around a large table while a beautiful woman with darker skin and light blonde hair sat their head, and a girl who almost seemed to be her spitting image stood attentively by the doors. All six were sitting quietly as of waiting for something, before one of the men, an extreme looking young man that had mane of long and wild hair, demanded impatiently,
”What's keeping that bastard?! He should know the meeting started already, unless he's making us wait on purpose again!” In response to his demand another of the men present, one who looked almost like a stereotypical gangster with his hair slicked back, stated calmly while lighting a cigarette,
”He has been pissed ever since he was stationed near the ocean, but perhaps all of his subordinates referring to him as a 'being closest to God' is getting to his head.” A couple of the people there nodded in agreement of the man's assessment of their comrade, before one man, who was attired so completely in a suit of samurai armor that you couldn't even see his face, turned to look at an empty chair and stated,
”Id be more concerned with Xia-Long's absence. After what his traitor father pulled, you'd never know what he might be thinking.” The one who responded to this was the man who had been silent thus far, and was seated to the immediate right of the woman at the head of the table.
”I wouldn't worry about him too much, yet. It's a lot of responsibility to run an entire family, and there's also the fact that he's the only one of us abroad so he has to be a bit more careful while traveling.” The man within the suit of armor snorted at the other mans words, his distrust of Xia-Long's allegiance obvious. The group continued to wait for a few last minutes, but, right as the gangster looking man was about to suggest they just start their meeting, the woman at the head of the table suddenly glanced up towards the door before saying to the girl standing there,
”Kahlua, it appears that someone is about to interrupt our meeting.” The girl, Kahlua, nodded and said respectfully, ”yes mother,” before opening the door right as the person outside was about to knock. With his expression paling instantly as every person in the room turned to look at him, the woman in charge stated lazily,
”You better have a good reason for interrupting our meeting.” The man swallowed nervously, and stammered,
”I-I'm sorry lady Gyokuro, but the seventh division headquarters has just been attacked!” In an instant the atmosphere in the room intensified as everyone instantly became alert, and Gyokuro shouted,
”WHAT!? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!?” The man flinched as all of her aura condensed into him, practically suffocating him as he struggled to breath in her presence.
”Go easy on him Gyo, the man can barely even breath now.” The man to her right, Issa Shuzen, said calmly. At her 'husbands' words the atmosphere pressuring the man disappeared in an instant, before Gyokuro sneered,
”Out with it quick, before I lose my patience.” The man trembled as he thanked her for her mercy, before quickly making his way to the giant screen and fiddling with it for a moment. After a brief wait, during which the man could feel the pressure on him building up slowly but surely, the screen flickered to life and showed the image of the lobby of one of their buildings. Though Gyokuro was about to snap at the man to hurry up the recording, she held herself when a single man appeared on screen, walking up to their men casually and confidently. It didn't take long for the attack to begin, as after a brief exchange between the man and the Youkai who tried to scout him, a giant scythe appeared seemingly from nowhere before bisecting the scouting agent into two.
From there the man began a brutal slaughter as he made his way up the levels of the building, the cameras following his progress the entire time, before finally getting to the point where he entered the seventh division officer Kanade's office. They thought that'd be the end of it due to Kanade's specialty, his 'Song of Death', but they were mistaken as the mysterious intruder dealt with every one of Kanade's cards with ease, even going as far as to face his true form and 'Symphony for the Devil' up front, breaking the attack and sending Kanade flying in a single move. The group then watched as Kanade tried to beg for forgiveness, but was unable to do so after the attacker sliced open his throat and left him to bleed out while going through the remains of his desk. They thought that'd be the end of it, but as the man was leaving through the lobby he stopped, and looked directly at the camera before smirking, as if daring them to come after him. With the video over, the man who played it nervously added,
”Shortly before this attack a dozen other subdivisions were suddenly cut off from us, not only is their live feed blank, but none of our attempts to contact them bore fruit.” At the footage they just witnessed and the added information there was dead silence in the conference room, before a thunderous 'BOOM' proceeded to shake the entire floating fortress as Gyokuro slammed her fist into the table between all of them, effectively reducing it to rubble instantly. Though Kahlua looked concerned at her mother's actions, the other three men at the table merely sighed in exasperation while Issa tried to say soothingly to his 'wife',
”There there darling, no need to get too worked up.” Taking a deep breath, Gyokuro calmed herself before saying to her 'husband',
”You're right Issa, we need to be calm about this.” She then turned her attention to the rest of the division leaders, and continued, ”I don't care what it takes, we need to find and remove this man before he could either do more damage, or meet up with those fools Mikogami and Touhou, if he hasn't already.” As she said this the gangster looking man suddenly appeared as if he just realized something, and said,
”Speaking of Mikogami, I haven't heard from Kiria at Youkai Academy in a while.” Though such a situation wouldn't normally be cause for concern, with the fact that there was someone apparently hunting them down everyone took it seriously, while the wild looking man added,
”There's also Xia-Long's absence too. While it could be nothing, the fact he hasn't at least notified us that he wouldn't be attending is strange considering what's going on.” Unlike a few minutes before when they discussed the same topic, there was a round of nods as everyone agreed regarding the suspicion of Xia-Long. The man in the samurai armor then added,
”Raika has a point, I'll go to China and investigate if Xia-Long is still with us, or if he's turned traitor like his father.” While almost everyone present thought this was a good idea, they were surprised when suddenly,
”No.” Everyone turned and looked at Gyokuro, who appeared eerily calm compared to before, as she continued, ”If we presume that Xia-Long turned traitor, then that means anyone who goes to China will be alone against the two families there, while we are also aware that someone is apparently actively hunting us. Instead we need to restablize our control over Japan, checking on each of the blacked out subdivisions to see if they are truly lost to us, and recruiting more to our cause to make up for the loss. Miyabi, you said that you haven't heard from Kiria recently?” Everyone's gaze turned towards the gangster like man, who took a slow drag from his cigarette before replying,
”No. Though it isn't strange with how deep undercover he is, with the current events we can't help but wonder.” Gyokuro nodded as, though she wouldn't normally care about one of their subordinates, Kiria was their mole at the esteemed Youkai Academy right under the hateful Mikogami's nose. If they had lost him then that not only meant they no longer had an eye on the Dark Lord, but that they would have a harder time recruiting students from the academy to their cause. With this in mind Gyokuro stood before continuing,
”Then we'll send an assassin after this man, and have them start at the academy. There they'll either be able to confirm Kiria's situation, or possibly find a link to this mysterious attacker if he's made contact with Mikogami.” As she spoke, Kahlua stepped forward and stated,
”I'm ready mother.” As Gyokuro looked her daughter up and down she was tempted to send her as she wished, but hesitated to do so due to the various mysteries surrounding this man. Instead, deciding to wait until they knew more, she answered,
”While your eagerness is something to be praised, I intend to send someone else to do this.” Though Kahlua frowned at that, she didn't say anymore while Gyokuro ignored and strode past her as she left the conference room, silently dismissing the rest of the division leaders to return to their duties.
As Gyokuro swiftly and purposely made her way through the maze of metallic corridors that made up the floating fortress, she passed all manner of Youkai who either stepped back as she approached fearfully, or bowed towards her with reverence in their eyes. Though she only showed them indifference or scorn, Gyokuro reveled in their adulation of her grace, her power, and her beauty. 'To think my idiotic husband and that worthless tramp would give this all up, only to be considered normal and to live with HUMANS of all things!' As this thought crossed her mind Gyokuro's expression turned bitter as she remembered her real husband, and not the doppelgänger that had been taking his place ever since she had him imprisoned. While reminding herself to remind that fake not to forget himself with his newfound authority and power, Gyokuro arrived at her destination and entered the room without bothering to knock or announce herself, making the sole inhabitant of the room look up from her book with an annoyed expression. With a glower at the girl, Gyokuro spat out,
”Don't look at me like that you ungrateful brat, I'm here to give you a contract.” Following her words, the girls expression changed before she said in a monotone voice laced with sarcasm,
”Oh I am oh so sorry my beloved stepmother, please forgive me for not being more grateful that you didn't have me killed when you stole control of the Suzen family from father before having him imprisoned. Now what's the contract?” Though she could tell there was nothing sincere in her voice, Gyokuro ignored it as she merely snorted before explaining to her stepdaughter, Akua Shuzen, what had happened.
”Someone wiped out the entire seventh division by himself before butchering Kanade, and at the same time we lost contact with a dozen other subdivisions, the Miao family isn't responding to us, and our contact in Youkai Academy has gone silent.” The moment Akua heard all of this her eyes widened slightly as she immediately asked,
”Was the attacker one of the Darks Lords?” Gyokuro shook her head and answered,
”We have no idea who he is, only the footage of him attacking the seventh division. We're going to start checking on the rest of the subdivisions and try to recover the damages from this, you're going after the attacker while also checking on the fate of Kiria. If he's been to the academy then you'll most likely pick up his trail there.” Akua nodded, her earlier attitude towards her stepmother gone at the thought of getting to fight such a strong opponent, while Gyokuro immediately left her room after giving Akua her mission. As she did, Gyokuro couldn't help but smirk as no matter how Akua's job went, she'd benefit. If Akua managed to kill the mysterious attacker then they'd be rid of him and be able to reestablish their numbers within months, if she lost her life against him however, then they would be able to gain more information about him while she would also finally be rid of the annoying bitch. After Gyokuro left her room however, Akua let out an uncharacteristically girlish squeal as she enthusiastically leapt onto her bed while simultaneously grabbing the picture frame next to it, depicting a certain young silver haired girl. As she stared at the picture lovingly, Akua muttered,
”I wonder what you look like now, my beloved little sister Moka.”
***
At the same time, shortly after the sun had set, Alex appeared at a certain location that the magic compass directed him in the same city where he had killed Kanade, though he had made a quick stop before coming here. As he looked around for his target, Alex finally noticed them right as something else started happening, making him mutter,