Chapter 33 V3 [7]
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 “Hello? Is my voice going through clear? What's the situation outside? We’re currently stuck underground, within the factory? Beneath it seems” 

  “Natsu is that you?”

 “Sayuri!” 

 “Everythings going well, im headed to intercept the client's daughter. It seems the beam has been thrown off. What's your situation? Are any injured?” 

“Human survivors have been found already? Perfect.”

As the Setsu duo opened their way through one of the entrances at the back of the factory, Sayuri and Keichi looked at each other with contentment in their gazes yet the atmosphere around was still heavy with the weight of the ongoing battle.

 “We’ve moved into the third exitway, pack three, are you ready?” Sayuri asked, listening to the pack that was Kiku’s in a hover craft flying near the rooftop of the factory. 

“Mushroom clouds ready for consumption.” 

A Setsu said as a second asked “What are you on about?”

“That’s the code!” Although not a stranger to her absentmindedness, the Setsu sighed.  “You’re tripping out tonight, sit this one out.”

“Like it’s that easy! Can’t collect my pay if I did-” 

The two argued for a moment, only to be reprimanded by the rest of the group from their earpieces. Those within the craft readied themselves as they arrived just above the cloudy rooftop. A visceral feeling came on with every instance a luminous crack of light shone from between the clouds they kept an eye on; stretched monstrous shadows resembling tarantulas could be seen amongst the beams that surrounded the pillar of grey light. That’s where the storm was being made from – the source they'd have to destroy. 

As such, it wasn’t a surprise it’d be the central point where the infestation was housed. There were menacing vibes below, many of them for sure. Though all were silent, they were in agreement, weapons drawn. Just another cleansing to carry out. 

“That things messing with the connections to the others,” one of them said as all of them watched out the windows. There were frowns plastered in all of their faces. “A pesky disruption, these strays are crafty after all.”

As some of them gripped onto their weapons a bit tighter, all of them were more than ready to jump into action. “We have to eliminate it to communicate with the different packs,” Sho said without hesitation. Follow my lead.”

 “And as much as the thoughts of revenge are swimming in my mind for what was done to Chinatsu’s sister, Shosa Kiku please remember we have to clear this as a pack” 

Kiku slammed the door open and jumped out of the helicopter without waiting for another word. She landed down and the others followed seconds later as they dashed in hunched, ready to commence their task. They turned the corner and knelt down, scoping out the area when they saw humanoid creatures pulling crates into some sort of portal. 

“Is that what’s creating this weather?” one wondered as their eyes widened.

“No, that’d be that machine all the way at the centre over there near the portal.” 

“Group one, head down and join up with the other packs, save any survivors. The rest of you, stay here,” Kiku dismissed some of the Setsu and walked over to the others that were surveying. They did as they were told and sneaked off to find a way down for the double interception. 

“There’s a portal, what the hell are they pushing in there?” A third one knelt down between the two and pulled down his scoping glasses. 

Kiku looked at her carefully before turning back to the place, asking, “How many are up ahead?” 

“There seem to be roughly a dozen Shiki…. Maybe one Stray?” he squinted his eyes, only to get his glasses taken from him by one of the other Setsu. 

“That one up ahead,” the female Setsu confirmed. Then one of them stood up beside her. He tapped his watch and a red dot spread out and took in the form, zooming into the Stray’s helmet. “It’s the one that’s been appearing over the past two months… He’s here.” 

Kiku listened in and took note of the shady individual that concealed his identity. “He’s the ring leader, follow my lead and move in!” she ordered.

At her word, all rose. They all got into formation around her and then silently ran into the fog. Their pace grew louder when they stepped through the water puddles that were in the fog, and the sounds made the Strays ahead aware of their presence. Their silhouettes became visible in the mist that covered the rooftop. 

The enemies dropped the crates that were being hauled as four jumped out into the mist, only to be killed by the Setsu. Black particles splurged, tainting the foggy mist. 

“Neifer, they’ve arrived!” one of the Strays nervously hid behind one of the crates. The individual paid no mind to the Setsu that had arrived – he continued marking up the amount of crates that were left to pull in and did some calculations on a clip. All of the noise became bothersome. The Stray repeated himself and freaked out when Neifer glanced down at him.

“Sorry!” he said, quivering in fear. “S-Sorry to bother you, bu-” Neifer reached out to him and set the clip on top of the crate that the Stray was on, signalling for them to keep moving without mustering a single word.

Reluctantly, they did as they were told, trusting their leader. 

Neifer walked off into the mist and stopped just in front of a red line that spread out to both ends of the vast rooftop. He wouldn’t let a single one get past that line. One of the Strays confidently boasted and signaled for the other two to lift the crates and move on as Neifer disappeared past the line and struck away the first two Setsu that had blindly ran in, slashing their sabers at him. 

The deflection knocked them off balance, leaving them open to a second whip that flung them several hundred feet off the roof of the factory. The third Setsu ran to the rooftop and yelled for them, but their bodies disappeared into the sea of black trees. Angered, he turned around with the intention of killing Neifer, but Neifer already had his Rescizer aimed at him. In one trigger pull, flames sprawled out, engulfing the Setsu and destroyed him as the green flames swayed along the roof ledge. Neifer slid it back under his cape and continued to walk through, seeking the other Setsu until a series of wires flew past him.

Someone jumped over him as two others appeared as well and all tugged the wires in. “Did we get him?!” one squinted but realized they only tore the cape he had been wearing as he pulled a single piece of cloth from the thorny coil. 

“No! Where is he?!” the first one to realize tensed up, their gaze going from side to side of the area.

“Keep your eyes out for him!” Ironically, the one to alert the others was also the first to go. Neifer slipped right out and when he came down, slammed his heel down onto that Setsu’s head. The head snapped sideways due to the crushing force, followed by him stepping off and kicking the corpse over towards one of the other two. 

At that moment Kiku withdrew her saber blade and stepped in close near Neifer’s lower side. The cold surface of her weapon slashed across his side, taking a slit of his blood. He doubled back and withdrew his own saber. The remaining Setsu ran in and swiped his saber towards the centre of Neifer’s helmet, but missed as he ducked and the blade collided with the ground. 

By the time the Setsu planned to swing the saber sideways, Neifer already had a hold of his wrist. At that very moment, the Setsu gasped, only to realize his arm was missing. He dropped to his knees. The missing limb was then lodged through his mouth before he could scream thanks to Neifer’s swift manoeuvrability that didn’t end there. 

The enemy leader withdrew his Rescizer and pulled the trigger. The green flames sprawled out and engulfed the Setsu as the flashing green light shone across Neifer’s mask. He glanced over to the fog and saw another silhouette but this one had a different vibe from her, though. He slid the gun back into its holster to recharge and turned around to face the incoming Setsu. 

That Setsu was Kiku. She dove out of the mist and circled around as Neifer moved in too; she sucked her teeth and doubled over, shifted her direction and rushed straight for him. Both clashed and the metal grinded and released sparks that flew around, lighting the grey space around them.

Kiku swept her foot below him in an attempt to mess with his balance. He jumped over the sweep and aimed to stab her so she wouldn’t move, but she lifted her legs up over herself in the form of a handstand before he could and nearly connected the tip of her boot with his chin.

That would have been successful if he hadn’t let go of the handle.

He back-flipped once and ran off at the same time. Kiku grabbed his weapon and went after him, both sabers drawn to strike. Then, the hilt from Neifer’s blade released spikes that stabbed into her palm, draining her blood. Kiku instantly let go, jumping back. The saber was magnetically pulled back to Neifer’s hold as he then raised it over his head to reveal a glove that magnetically attracted the saber, and she found herself shocked that the weapon was now pulling her in towards him. He swung his blade down, forcing Kiku to deflect with her own. 

“You three go and secure the area up ahead while I take care of this one!” Kiku told the others who watched and ran at Neifer again, struggling with how she was being dragged towards her opponent. Her command snapped them back into their current surroundings, and they did as they were told. 

The Stray reached back and Kiku caught sight of the motion of his hand, diving aside just in time as he shot a dagger that had a thin wire attached to it. It pierced through the wind, nearly slicing across her upper arm but continued on. She thought she had avoided it, but a second later he swung the wire sideways so it’d come in towards her.

She used her blade to block the incoming attack, but the dagger continued on. It spun rapidly disappearing into the mist. He stepped back, measuring so that the dagger would come in and strike her from behind but just as it was going to, she lifted the wire up and avoided the dagger. It flew over and struck one of the three Setsu that had been running off right on the top of her head. Blood spread down her face, blinding her as she collapsed in visible confusion. 

The other two heard her fall and looked back, horrified at the pool of blood forming around the girl’s head. Kiku yelled at them to watch out but their attention was on their fallen comrade, something the Stray took advantage of as he sneaked up right between the two and struck them with his arms extended out. They flopped several times off the ground and collapsed as well. Wires landed on top of them, and they fought to get free but the more they fought the more they became entangled. 

Kiku bit her lower lip and thought that, clearly, who she dealt with wasn’t going to be someone she’d easily take out but if she was going to find out where Hiiro was, she’d crush any that got in her way – especially the freak ahead of her. What happened next made her blood boil, raising her killing intent significantly. 

Neifer looked over his shoulder and lifted his arm up. With a tug, her blade flew out of her hand. He played with the wires, making the sword rise up along with the two Setsu he had previously struck down. One of the Setsus caught it and questioned what the Stray was making him do. He could only look on in sheer terror. “D-Don’t! Shien block!

“I-I can’t-” A bloody trail sprinkled across his face.

The Stray made her jab the saber into her friend repeatedly, and he cried out for her to stop in an effort to end the pain but she only apologized; she wasn’t in control anymore. All she could do was plead. “No! Shousa!” She called out for Kiku to help them but she only stood by, well aware of the wires ready to spring out. She couldn’t move in, as that’s what he wanted her to do. 

“Help! Please!” the saber stabbed into her friend’s eye, killing him. The weapon was then turned to her and pressed roughly up against her throat. “Captain!” was the last thing she shouted before her vocal cords were severed. She desperately gurgled, choking over her scream as she felt the steep cut open her throat and tear right through the muscle and bone. Her head cocked aside and blood splattered at her feet in thick droplets that clumped up. The red, thick liquid sprawled out and formed a small puddle below the falling Setsu’s body.

From the very blood of the two, hands appeared and grabbed Kiku’s ankles. She closed her eyes, only to have his face in her mind again. A visible pink heated vibe sprawled along her body, and the hands that tightly locked onto her ankles evaporated just in time for her to dodge the incoming saber that the Stray had one of the Setsu throw at her.

She ducked and swiped her hand over her head. She caught the blade and whipped it forward. Just as she did, wires came in from behind and wrapped around her form, constricting her. In spite of every tormenting night she had to endure, she never gave in to death. Could she really let herself be finished off in such a way? There was still too much to do, she told herself. Given the situation she found herself in, all seemed hopeless. That is, until someone swooped in and severed the objects that were entangling her.

Kiku opened her eyes shocked. Sayuri had slashed it all away with her claws. “Sayuri… am I relieved to see you,” she breathed out in relief. 

“Kiku, you alright?!” Sayuri asked, checking on her to see if there were any bad injuries.

“You’re not relieved to see me?” Another voice spoke. She followed it over to someone that landed right beside her.

Keichi. 

 “We were told you’d need us here, it was quick to relay-” 

He scuffed and sniffed the air and the fresh scent of Setsu blood, and he looked ahead only to be shocked along with Sayuri. “Linolin!” she yelled out the name of the Setsu that got killed moments prior to the two saving Kiku.

“The hell is going on up here?” Keichi asked Kiku, his growing anger almost palpable.

“That thing up ahead just set us up in a trap…” 

Sayuri stood up and was going to rush right in, but Keichi reached out and grabbed her arm. “No, don’t get reckless.” Sayuri's eyes were widened and she was enraged but grit her teeth. Her fangs grew as did the irises in her eyes, shifting a bright dark pink. 

Up ahead the space become less foggy. From the thick wall of grey fog, Neifer slipped out in a ghostly way. It seemed as if he himself were some sort of spirit. When Keichi laid his eyes on the helmet, his heart sank: it was the same one he had seen that day long ago, when his pack-mate disappeared. A jolt spread through his brain, there was no coincidence now. That thing was connected to Hiiro’s disappearance, he was sure of it. 

Keichi grit his teeth and yelled over to him. “You again!” Sayuri and Kiku glanced at him. Keichi then revealed he had seen him before. “It wasn’t a coincidence then. What’d you do with Hiiro?!” There was no response from Neifer at all, only a condescending gaze. “I asked you a question!” Keichi bolted for him. 

 “Didn’t you just say-” 

Kiku and Sayuri tried to grab at their friend’s arms but he was too fast. Keichi ran straight towards his enemy but quickly changed his composure and jumped aside; a tail flew in right before someone landed in front of the other being. Keichi back flipped and landed down, as the three watched the two. 

“Neifer, you shouldn't play with your food – that’s no good.”

“Jeel... They’re not food,” the individual that Kiku had been fighting finally spoke, his voice deep yet with a hint of anger mixed in.

“They are to me. Shouldn’t you be packing the cargo?”

“The others are finishing while I keep our guests occupied,” the Stray explained without taking his sight off the Setsus. “What are you doing here?” Neifer went on to ask. 

“I heard we’d have visitors and I couldn't help but want a taste!” Jeel slid his hood back, and his red hair flew over his shoulder. Kiku recognized him, from the other night. He was the one that intervened when they attempted to capture the Hercules Shiki, the one that caused Naomi’s situation. 

“Sayuri, you get to Linolin and the other two! They may still be saved if their heart gems are intact. Kiku, let’s get these two!” Keichi shouted over to Kiku who whipped off her tattered jacket and the two rushed in. Sayuri didn’t question his plan and dashed around to the other end of the vast crystal-like rooftop.

Kiku ran up to Jeel with her blade but he blocked with his tail, swinging his forearm in an attempt to slap her but Sayuri appeared beside him, keeping his arm from passing. At that moment, Keichi flew in from Neifer’s left and nearly kicked him across the face, making him jump back. Sparks flew between Kiku’s blade and Jeel’s tail when the latter started grinding rapidly past the blade. Jeel tried slashing his appendage over to whip Keichi in the back since he had his attention on Neifer, but it struck the ground as the Setsu had jumped out of the way.

Chunks of rubble flew past the creature and he reached out to grab Sayuri, but she backed off, changing her direction towards Linolin who was still bleeding out from the eye. She slid over to him, brought her knife down to slash his head off and pressed her bloodied hand over the glowing heart gem that was on the stump. She closed her eyes, focusing Retsu onto it and she looked back only after making sure she had it. She was shocked to see Jeel’s tail coming down towards Kiku in a rapid motion.

Although with time against her, she let out a warning shout for her teammate and got her to realize the impending danger coming towards her. Kiku jumped to the side only to see Neifer coming towards her as well, charging at full speed with the thorny wires all wrapped around his forearms; his face was twisted in an angry, almost raging expression that sent shivers down her spine as they locked gazes, and for a moment she felt frozen in place.

What… she wondered to herself as she felt some kind of invisible force making her stay like that, only able to move her eyes – that’s when she saw Jeel now going straight for Sayuri and Keichi. Both her teammates appeared ready to fight but she could tell there was something else lying beneath their faces, a certain kind of panic that called out to her and gave her enough strength to let out a battle cry, her voice so loud it sent shivers down her spine and made it seem as if the whole ground below them was shaking.

It was all going as if in slow motion, and even Neifer seemed to fear her for a second. With enough force gathered inside of her, she was finally able to break free from the pressure and deliver a strong kick straight to the enemy’s jaw, sending him flying towards the other end of the room. The front of Neifer’s helmet slightly shattered to show a grey eye. I’m the one in control. Kiku ran after him as fast as she could, bringing her blade up and aiming at Neifer’s legs, ready to cut right through them in an attempt to hinder his chances to run away.

He managed to avoid it once more, but he wasn’t quick enough to evade the swing that came for his left arm; a pained yell came out of his lips, something almost primal, as he lost part of his appendage and thick red blood instantly started coming out of the injury. “Y-you…” he muttered, his voice raspy and his eyes teary as he watched the open hole. He seemed tired and worn out. “How could you…”

Kiku looked back at Sayuri and Keichi who were standing their ground against Jeel. “You’ll die here,” she said as she stood over Neifer menacingly. “How does it feel to know that there’s nothing you can do about it?”

He didn’t respond, and instead delivered a swift kick to Kiku’s chest to push her back before getting up and creating mist around him. It engulfed the whole room and lasted less than five seconds, but once it dissipated both Strays were nowhere to be seen. “We almost had them!” Keichi shouted, only to be silenced by Kiku putting a hand up.

“Don’t you even think about letting your guard down,” she ordered. “We’re not alone here until we see their bodies.”

 

 Right then, the three were shocked as Jeel appeared, his tail swinging to decapitate all three. 

 

 

 “YYYHHAWW!” 

 

 When he got a chance to catch them off guard and decapitate them, someone swooped in from above and slashed right through the thick tail; causing Jeel to scream out in pain. He flopped over. Between the severed tail, Chinatsu rose up with pure hatred in her eyes. 

 

“NAT-CHAN!“ Sayuri blurted out. Kiku smirked, helping herself up. 

 

“ Great, your timing couldn't have been any better ….. “

 

 “Thought you were tending to your si-” 

 

“ Shousa, leave that thing to me; It’s mine “

 

Chinatsu spoke over Kiku with purple flames blowing out of her eyes. Pure focused killing intent directed on the monstrocity before her. She’d slaughter it. It wasn’t like when they'd been caught off guard. It’d pay for putting her sister in a coma. Chinatsu growled, yanking her second Woshu dagger, Fangra; out of the strap that was along her thigh. 

 

“ You’ve got it! I’ll move on ahead “ Kiku took off, Jeel tried getting in her way but Chinatsu dashed in, meeting him face to face and her eyes glowed even brighter and released the purple flames; creating an explosion that incinerated the surrounding area to a black crisp. 

 

Up ahead, Keichi and Neifer fought evenly hand to hand. Neifer disconnected their contact and tapped his helmet, alerting all of the remaining Shiki’s to disband; it was time to leave. 

 

 “We have completed our use, the factory will blow up in the next five minutes” 

 

 Neifers voice was heard all over. From the lobby where Takumi crouched with Haruna in his arms, to a battle about to ensue deep within the factory. 

 

“LIKE HELL IT IS!!!“ Kiku came in, slamming the back of her heel right on top of his helmet, his face smashed into the ground, creating a crater. Kiku backflipped out of the crater and slapped her palms together. “To her surprise, she could have sworn she saw something familiar in Neifer’s eye yet the mist got in the way of her visibility. Neifer pulled his head out of the crater and dusted himself off as Keichi shuffled to Kiku’s side. Shiki’s sprawled out from the fog in all shapes and sizes. 

A laugh escaped Neifer. He relayed what he was being told.  “The end of the Hachi of Osaka is coming, courtesy of Kogarashi “ 

Kiku’s eyes widened and she rushed at him as he turned his back to her but a slithery dragon like Shiki slid in her way. She jammed her blade into it’s mouth and cut along its side. When she got to the end, there was another one headed straight for her that she didn't notice. Kiku jumped up to avoid it and landed on it’s back as it flew up into the mist. She stabbed her saber into it’s back to hold on tight as a third flew in from above with its mouth wide, planning to bite through the second Shiki and eat Kiku whole. 

 

Before it had the chance, Keichi jumped along the other Shiki’s and met it right above Kiku with his knee. He grabbed onto one of the long hairs of the Shiki and jammed his knee into it’s eye, forcing it to lose control. 

 

The Shiki crashed down and Kiku jumped off of the Shiki she had been on. She landed back down and saw Neifer’s sillouette disappear. She ran after him, cutting through the different Shiki’s until she saw him disappear into the portal. The crates were all gone but that was the last thing on her mind. 

“GET BACK HERE!!!!“ She dogged desperately towards the portal with full intention of diving in, but was suddenly tackled aside. Her sabor flew out of her hand. She punched and kicked believing a Shiki had tackled her, only to realize it was her brother Shiro. 

 

Other Setsu arrived, killing the surrounding Shiki’s. 

 

“ I got here in time, you were going to do something reckless! Come on Kiku!“ Shiro tried pinching Kiku’s ear but she slapped his hand away and tried getting past him to get to the portal. 

 

“ No! Hiiro!!! They have him!!! I have to get through!! He needs me! “

“ Chill out! I’m not letting you- “ The two scuffled with each other 

 

“ Let me through!!!“ Kiku finally got through him. 

 

By the time she pushed past him, the portal closed.  

 

Kiku dropped to her knees and punched the ground in frustration. “I was so close!!!! And you stopped me elder brother!!! “ She whipped over with tear droplets passing out of her eyes. 

 

Shiro stared at her. “Look at you .. You’re a mess .. Get a hold of yourself! If you would have gone through, you wouldn't be of any help to him… you would have just been captured .. You’d end up like- “

 

“ Don’t say that! “ Kiku stood up and got into his face, making him turn his head aside. 

 

She stepped back, after realizing the other present packmates were watching. Looked down to her heels, clenching her bloodied fist and then stormed off. 

 

She bumped right by Sayuri and Chinatsu. 

 

Chinatsu too, was pissed. She kept her eyes glued to the floor. Jeel escaped her at the moment that she incinerated his body. When she approached the crispy body, she stabbed her dagger into the head and realized it was a cocoon. Jeel slithered off without her knowing. 

 

 “But… where?” 

 

Two failures, there was still one they couldn't fail. Sayuri stared up at the machine releasing the grey beam. It continued to expand progressively, making the snow storm worse gradually. 

 

“Watch out!!!!!“ Sayuri grabbed Chinatsu by her waist and dove aside from a chunk of ice crashing down. The others ducked too and Shiro ran up to the machine with others. 

It wasn't over yet.

 

“We have to fire this thing off its nexus and stop any detonation!” 

 

 Arriving at a safe location, Neifer made a call and waited until he heard the all-too-familiar condescending tone from the other side.

“Ohhu darling are you not hurt? This is what happens w-” Seilei said as her own way of greeting him. “This is not the time for that-” Neifer said, cutting Seilei off. 

“That businessman, did you kill him already?” He hurried to reply as he finally slowed his pace and leaned against a wall, catching his breath. “Have you caught him yet?”

He could sense the smirk on the woman’s face, something he found incredibly unnecessary. “Don’t worry about it, that’s my problem,” she added before letting out a sigh. “I’m on my way. I was going to but the two Setsu he brought with him sneaked up on me when I was going to, so I had to deal with them first. You can focus on leaving now and I’ll deal with the remaining problem darli-”

Then, she hung up. 

 

 

 

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