129 Camazotz (1/2)
”Alright.” Tai looked at one of the strong espers he had brought along. ”Cover us while we fly over.”
”Right.” A thin woman with blue eyes nodded. A mix of wind and water floated up from her body, creating a field of fog that lifted her with it. The other espers all flew within the fog, keeping themselves well hidden. They appeared like a cloud slowly drifting through the skies towards Mount Fuji.
Ed frowned. ”Is this really going to work?” He questioned Tai.
”I'm not sure.” Tai shook his head. ”We're a group of elite espers with excellent mana control. Even without any kind of mana-blocking clothing or technology, it should be very difficult to detect us. Unfortunately, it's impossible to account for everything with espers. Who knows what kind of powers their men down there have.”
The group continued moving slowly so as to not raise suspicion. A cloud moving too fast would draw unwanted attention. Nearly an hour later, they successfully crossed the guards defensive line and entered Mount Fuji. The fog returned to the blue-eyed esper as she led them to land near the base of the mountain.
”Good job.” Tai nodded. ”It should be relatively straightforward from here. Follow me.”
Together, the group started scaling the mountain. It was a relatively easy mountain to climb, and it even had designated paths for doing so. However, they avoided these paths and created their own route. It was safer that way, and any mountain in the world wouldn't present much challenge to these espers anyways.
As they didn't wish to draw attention to themselves, they took three hours to slowly climb the mountain. The sun slowly set as they did so, leaving the day's last rays of light shining upon the mountain. The upper portion of the mountain was covered in snow that crunched beneath their feet. But to the espers that had just recently faced the frozen energy of the Water Nightmare, the snow might as well be a nice summer breeze.
Nearing the ridge at the top of the mountain, Tai knelt down and gestured for the others to do the same. They slowly inched their way forward until they reached the very top. Just beyond the ridge was a large crater that made up the top of the mountain. The group of espers carefully peeked over the ridge to peer inside.
A small group of espers were within the crater. Based on their green uniforms, they seemed to be high-ranking Japanese military officials. A group of kneeling espers were just in front of the soldiers, their wrists and ankles shackled with what appeared to be some type of manullium chains. A fat bald man in a suit stood behind the soldiers with his arms crossed behind his back, a pleasant smile on his face. Next to him was a young girl, seemingly no older than ten or so years. She had short black hair and wore a school girl uniform.
”Can I really choose whichever one I want?!” The girl cheerfully asked, practically jumping with excitement.
”Of course!” The fat man laughed while holding his stomach. ”Only the best for my beloved granddaughter!”
”Yay, I love you grandpa!” She hurriedly hugged him, looking up towards his face. ”But won't it be expensive?” She hesitantly questioned.
”It's fine, it's fine!” He patted her head. ”It's expensive, but it's also an investment for our family's future. Just choose carefully, as this is a one-time deal. Afterwards, you can't change it again even if we had all the money in the world.”
”Okay!” She nodded and cheerfully skipped towards the soldiers, not seeming at all intimidated by their presence.
The highest-ranking soldier amongst them was a general with short gray hair. He stepped forward and saluted while smiling. ”Hina! I haven't seen you since you were just a baby. You probably don't even remember me.” He turned around and pointed to the prisoners. ”All of these espers committed heinous crimes, and so it's been decided their powers will be redistributed to worthy individuals. You can choose one amongst them to obtain their power. However, I must warn you. It's very rare to obtain the exact same power as the esper chosen. More often than not, the power changes significantly, though it should still end up being similar to what's chosen.”
”Alright!” She cheerfully answered, smiling so wide her eyes narrowed. ”Can you tell me their powers?”
”Mm.” The general nodded and stepped towards the left-most prisoner, of which there were a total of ten. ”This man can create large volumes of ice swords. It's both beautiful and deadly.” He took a step to the next prisoner. ”This woman can absorb various types of ore and cover her body in them for defensive power.” One by one, he continued explaining the powers of the various espers. Soon, he reached the tenth esper, who was a young boy that appeared to be about eleven years of age. He looked unusual for a Japanese child, as his short straight hair was half yellow and half blue, while his eyes were almost pure white. ”This one is a bit of an oddity. When the sun shines upon him, his body becomes extremely rigid and hard, making him a tough tank-like esper. When the moon rises, he instead becomes extremely agile and flexible, making him slippery like a rabbit. He was a tough one to catch.”
”Hmm...” Hina rubbed her chin before pointing at the boy. ”I'll choose him since it looks like we're the same age!” She said excitedly. ”Ah, what's your name?” She questioned the boy.
”Humph.” The boy snorted and turned his head away, completely ignoring her.
”Hey!” The general yelled while slamming his boot into the child's stomach. ”The young lady asked you a question, so you best answer!”
The child groaned in pain as he glared at the soldier, defiance and unwillingness shining in his eyes. He turned to look at the girl while scowling. ”Haru.” He said so quietly it was barely a whisper.
”There you have it.” The general smiled while turning back to Hina. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. ”Now listen carefully, Hina. This is very important for the ceremony. No matter what you do, you must not open your eyes during the ritual. Otherwise, Camazotz-sama will grow angry with us. Understand?”
”Mm.” The girl nodded. She glanced at the boy out of the corner of her eye. ”Camazotz-sama won't hurt anyone, right?” She naively questioned.
”Of course not!” The general grinned. ”Just follow the ceremony properly and everything will work out well. The criminal will lose his powers and be sent to a rehabilitation camp so that he can properly rejoin civilization in the future. You're not just getting a power today, Hina. You're helping give this young man a new future.”
”Okay. I'll do my best!” She nodded seriously.
”Alright, let's get started!” The general yelled towards the crowd. He pointed at a soldier. ”Take the other prisoners back to their temporary quarters. We don't need anyone interrupting the sacred ritual and angering Camazotz-sama!”
”Sir!” The soldier saluted as he grabbed onto a length of chain, dragging the prisoners away with him.
”Good. I'll go call for Camazotz-sama now.” The general slowly walked towards a small hole in the ground, which was almost unnoticeable at first glance.
”There's purple light shining from that hole.” Rubi whispered to the others. ”Think it's a manullium mine?”
”Probably.” Ed nodded in agreement.
”The opportunity is almost upon us.” Tai clenched his hands nervously. ”When the ceremony starts, that will be the best opportunity to land an opening blow on the bat mutant. That general is also going to be a problem.” He frowned. ”Rubi, you'll take on the general. Ed and I will handle the bat. Everyone else is to handle the soldiers and any other distractions that crop up. Any questions?”
The rest shook their head, indicating they understood. They looked back towards the hole, anticipating the upcoming battle.