PREVIOUSLY;
"The candle light that illuminates your existence… I shall make disappear!!!"
The words of an assassin, Neon got careless, and got caught out. Seyhn seems to have his own opinions of Neon's past and Neon couldn't figure out what he was going through, his only option is to rely on someone else, something he's been avoiding for the past 8 years.
---
"ECLIPSE!!!"
Neon cried out desperately as Seyhn's Fiery beasts were indeed about to make him disappear
"huh!?"
Seyhn shocked as he spotted faint dark particles surrounding Neon
"Begone!" Eclipse's resonating voice called out.
The dark particles stained the flesh of the fiery beasts and immediately a black flame consumed them completely to ashes as Eclipse was reborn from these ashes; with his all dark cloth and crimson eyes. He was without a weapon as he stares at Neon with a slight smirk.
"Why Neon, I never realized you'll be so terrified of dying a second time, I mean you've died once- "
"Now's really not the time Eclipse"
Neon interrupted as he pointed at Seyhn who was still baffled how easily his beasts were wiped out.
"I don't know what's the deal with him, but it seems he's after a certain bounty on my head" Neon said as he gestures on his head with his index finger
"…so, he is…" Eclipse remarked coldly.
Seyhn then puts his hand on his mouth and covers his eyes, then all of a sudden started laughing like a maniac.
"Hwah hahahah ahahahahahahaha!!!"
"How crazy is this guy?" Neon asked to no one.
"Be on your guard Neon and stayed prepared to retreat at any time" Eclipse warned Neon.
"Retreat?"
Neon surprised Eclipse was prepared to back away from this battle, he always appears the strong type in his eyes and now he intends to run away.
"Who is he really..."
Neon thought to himself as he stares at Seyhn who really couldn't help himself laughing as he supports his aching forehead with his arm, aching and choking from all the laugher.
Then Seyhn suddenly calmed down as he covers his left eye with his right hand, and had this wide evil smile on.
"So, your Hunter was Eclipse himself, now isn't that just an amusing surprise!"
"Who sent you after us?"
Eclipse asked as he narrowed his sights on Seyhn's eyes, in an attempt to intimidate the answer out of him.
"Oh, they're just a bunch of nobodies really, please don't concern yourselves" he chuckles lightly then continues
"And to think I was actually reluctant to accept this job, oh this is just amazing! who would've imagined this, tell me, WHO!" he yelled on 'WHO' and this prompted Neon to back up a little.
"This guy is insane. Eclipse do something about this now!" he commanded
"Something sinister approaches… I can feel it" Eclipse was staying cautious, ignoring Neon
"I deem you worthy Eclipse and you too Neon, to have had your Call answered by him. So, I feel you deserve to know my name, the name of he who would send you back to the Void, from whence you came" Seyhn smiled as he closed his eyes.
"You already told me your name, you freak. 'Sane' was it? although you're anything but" Neon thought to himself, then he looks up shocked to see Eclipse all serious.
A strong breeze passes by, blowing flower petals and grass from the outside fields into the Ruined chapel. The atmosphere was tense, the silence and the breeze playing a huge part of it.
"Liheis Seyhn"
Seyhn introduced himself as he was concentrating on the spot, causing the floors to tremble again, only this time heavier as the bricks on the floors break apart and were tiny bricks suspending in mid-air around him.
"I'll run now if I were you"
Seyhn warned them with a deep voice paired with an evil wide smile.
Then blood started flowing down his eyes and nostrils and even from his ears, it was a terrifying sight. His mouth opened up as his canines grew larger forming fangs.
Eclipse did not waste time to take heed Liheis' warning as he grabs Neon on the collar and was dragging him out of there against his will.
"Arrgh!!! What are you doing Eclipse! Urgh"
Neon was being strangled in the process, even though only lightly as Eclipse was taking the shortest route out of the Chapel.
"It'll be foolish to fight back now, not without a means and not without MoonDark" Eclipse cried
"MoonDark?" Neon asked
"My Scythe"
Then they heard a loud cry from behind. Immediately as they made it out of the ruin Chapel, they looked back and watched what's left of the chapel reduced to rubble by an enormous explosive crimson energy release. Then dust covers up the entire area. Eclipse scorns at the sight while Neon gasps, terrified at what's he's just seen; they barely escaped with their lives.
"No-no way…" Neon exclaimed.
"…It must be him! I'm now certain" Eclipse said
"You know what's going on?" Neon asks nervously
"Not entirely, but this is all the reason we should retreat. If he is Crexilius and has Ignisia with him, then we must leave now before he gets the situation and come after us. There's no way we can win if I don't retrieve MoonDark before then."
"Crexilius…Ignisia…" Neon pondered.
Eclipse then inspecting Neon hurriedly touching various parts of his body, arms, head, hands.
"Did you get marked? Did he come in contact with you at any time?" Eclipse asked.
"umm, yeah on my shoulder I think… when he warped us here, to this…area" Neon responded
"I see. Means you've been hit with the Hunter's mark already. There's no way we can leave the Other Reality until it is cleansed by a Shrine Maiden or is called off by the Hunter that placed the mark in first place"
Eclipse dashing away as Neon gives chase.
"You're not yet prepared to frequent the Other Reality"
"So, this atmosphere, this somewhat suffocating air…is that of the Other Reality…" Neon meekly remarked.
"Yes, one in which you are not yet accustomed to, and haven't been tutored well enough to survive in. For now, the priority is getting away from the threat and return to the Present Reality"
The ground started shaking again as they keep up the pace.
"If we're lucky, we'll meet a shrine maiden in the New Holy City of Nailia that's close by. Hunters can't get in Holy Cities, not even Crexilius Ignisia. So, we'll be safe for a while there as we discover our next course of action" Eclipse assured Neon
"I thought Ignisia was his weapon's name?" Neon asked.
"Yes, Hunters have close ties with their weapons. Without a Hunter's weapon, he can't be called a hunter given he's greatly depleted of his abilities. As such, Hunters are named in accord to their weapons"
"So, your full names' Eclipse MoonDark?" he asked yet another question
"You're asking the obvious and too many questions Neon… relax. I know this is all new to you. But don't let new change you. Rather adapt to new." Eclipse replied with a slight smile
"…you're right, I'm just nervous is all"
"… Understandable"
Then the trembling of the earth intensifies as they looked back and saw Crexilius closing in with pace.
--> He had a good build and exposed his muscles, all he had on, on his upper body was red fabric shoulder pads, his hair was long and messy and moved about seamlessly. There were very hot Large Iron Rods Pinned deep within the flesh of his Back, forming a line down his Spinal Cord area. He was dressed in torn red fabric skirt as well, and had iron bindings on both legs with broken chains like he was an imprisoned convict who just broke out of prison. His overall appearance depicts ruffian.
"Darn! Eclipse at this rate he'll catch up to us!!!" Neon cried.
"Tsk!"
Eclipse analyzing the incoming threat. Then his face lit up as he smiled.
"what?" Neon asked.
"It seems he is without Ignisia; we have a better chance of escaping"
"I don't know about that, he's gaining on us as we speak and this is as fast as my legs can carry me" Neon complained. Eclipse took heed.
Crexilius getting closer as he increases his pace and was breathing heavily. With every step he takes, he uproots the grass in the fields behind him, leaving destruction in his wake.
"And why the hell did you leave your weapon behind? Aren't you Hunters?" agitated, Neon asked.
"How much will you sacrifice to live?" Eclipse interrupted.
"Huh?" Neon didn't get the point of the question.
Crexilius then removes a Rod from his back as another one immediately pops up to replace it, then he aims and, turns around before throwing with huge penetrating force towards the escaping party, the Rod just scrapes Neon on the shoulders as it crashes on the ground beneath them and the force of impact causes Neon and Eclipse to lose balance as they were halted in their retreat.
"NEON!!!" Eclipse cries.
Neon though didn't get good hold of his balance as he was knocked out after hitting his forehead, blood flowing down his face. Then Crexilius removes yet again another Rod with his left arm and aims at Neon once more.
"Tsk! He's after Neon, if he gets to the Void, I won't-"
Crexilius throws the Rod once more, but Eclipse rolls and grabs Neon out of the area and evades the Rod, saving their skin as the rod destroys the ground massively. Crexilius keeping the distance to just a few Meters now.
"Grrr"
Crexilius rues his missed chance as he tries to intimidate Eclipse.
"Hmph! So a new hunter weapon can be developed if the Hunters fuses with the supernatural, interesting" Eclipse thought as he looks at Neon who was out.
Eclipse carries Neon on his back and was dashing away this time faster than before as Neon was not awake to hold him back, Crexilius finds himself being distanced.
Ahead of them was a deep forest, Eclipse heading with pace towards the forest.
"With Neon unconscious even if we get to the New Holy City gates, we won't be able to get past the Holy Guards." Eclipse calculating the circumstances.
Eclipse looking back as Crexilius didn't let up, readying this time 2 rods on both arms.
"I have no choice, I'll have to hold him back long enough for Neon to recover, without Ignisia he won't be much of a problem" Eclipse reached the conclusion in his mind.
Crexilius hurls the rods towards Eclipse, he anticipated and sidesteps evading the rods as he runs. It continued in this pattern for a while as Crexilius managed to be slowing them down at every turn.
"This new weapon of his could be troublesome though" Eclipse admitted as they get closer to the forest.
-- The Deep Forest --
Eclipse dashes inside and jumps up along the trees dashing away by skipping from one branch to another with pace.
"Good, I can sense a Hunter's Camp here like I suspected. It's a good area for one. Now I just need to get myself there to retrieve MoonDark" Eclipse relieved
Crexilius makes his entrance by destroying some trees around him, then he stops and looks around, walking calmly into the forest. Too many trees, green leaves, branches and trunks blocking his view, he couldn't make out Eclipses' location. Eclipse was taking a breather a fair distance away from him standing on a giant tree's branch.
"Seems we've lost him, maybe we can make it without going through the trouble after all."
Eclipse relaxed a little, but it was short-lived as he spotted Crexilius running ahead.
"huh!? Where's he going?"
Eclipse follows him immediately from a safe distance. Then he noticed something.
"EH!? He's heading towards the camp! Darn it!!"
Eclipse increases his pace threefold as he tries to outrun Crexilius to the Camp.
"If he gets his hands on Ignisia he'll burn down this entire forest! They'll be no escaping then!! I have to get there before he does or this is game over" Eclipse realized as he was extremely worried.
Crexilius then suddenly spotted Eclipse getting ahead of him, he increases his own pace as he readies two Rods once more.
"GROOARRGHH!!!" Crexilius hurls the Rods with magnificent force towards Eclipse.
Eclipse manages to escape from one of them but the other got him on the stomach
"OOARRGKKK!!!" Eclipse feeling great pains as the Rod shattered his insides
He was carried far by the force of impact and crashes with Neon in an open area of the forest. Crexilius follows up after them angrily. Meanwhile Eclipse crawls himself towards the unconscious Neon, the earth around them trembling as Crexilius gets closer.
"I couldn't … come … with my weapon… Neon…because, you had it s-sealed wit-within you"
Eclipse struggling to speak as he coughs out black blood and was now close to Neon.
Crexilius growls as he spotted the team and removes 4 more Rods, 2 on each hand. Then he turns around and hurls them towards Eclipse and Neon, this surely spells the end for them.
"But now we're here-" continued Eclipse coldly
The ground around them had signs that lit up, it was a Hunter's Camp sigil. The sign covers a large radius around them. As the signs vibrated off the ground, Eclipse bites Neon's arm and an enormous and very intensive dark Aura surrounds them and destroys the incoming Rods breaking them to pieces as they fell. Crexilius makes it early enough to watch the Rods shattered.
"…hmm" Crexilius stares as the Dark Aura was dying down
Within the decadence, stood Eclipse, fresh, in all black and his eyes lit up with crimson once more. He had that evil smile and piercing look, like he's ready for a bloodbath. On his right arm, he held a long Reaper Scythe, with blood dripping from the edges of its sharp blade end. Wailing souls was the aura surrounding the scythe, as one look at it could draw the life out of you before it is even swung.
Then with terrifying and deep voice, Crexilius spoke.
"So, you've managed to retrieve your weapon."
The Dark aura completely dies down, as Eclipse stared at Crexilius with zero emotions.
"Eclipse MoonDark…" Crexilius said.
With a cold and calm emotionless voice, befitting his character, Eclipse responded as he raised his left arm up and the skies and clouds were turning dark; the atmosphere getting colder and the Moon suddenly appearing.
"You searched incessantly for Mada and now it's found you."
** Current Info: Mada is the Underworld in this World, and it exists in the Other Reality, Hunters can't be 'banished' to the Void directly as naturals and supernatural, so they end up in a particular area in Mada **
"Has it now?" Crexilius replied.
"Chasing after us was a mistake, quite possibly the last you'll ever make." Eclipse threatened as he retreats his left arm and tightens his grip on his Scythe.
"He's preparing to strike, without Ignisia I'll have to be very careful to avoid his Wailing Scythe - MoonDark" Crexilius thought as he takes a defensive stance.
"You have always wondered what it is we are Hunting Crexilius, why we were created…" the whole world was getting darker and darker as the Moonlight became the only light.
Crexilius stared silently at Eclipse.
"Allow me the honor to edify, in eternal despair" Eclipse readies to engage.
"Come at me.. " Crexilius puts on a brave face. He's confident.
"Eclipse!!!" He yelled out to intimidate
Eclipse dashes towards Crexilius with his reaper Scythe in tow as Crexilius readies to fight back.
. END OF CHAPTER.