All it was after that was a long walk across town. We were lucky enough to face no other confrontation today. But the day was about to end. The group was barely near the edge of town and managed to reach a fire station. The garage door was still open and with another firetruck at the opposite end. Richard then called out everyone at the front. "Now we're going to divide everyone into groups." He says, "The ones I pick will go to me to find the generator. Those who are called by Magna will stay at the carts. The ones who are called by Mika will be scouting the interior. As for me, we'll find the facility's generator."
All of us came to agreement. However in the process our group was separated. Tyrell ended up going with Richard's group to fix the generator at the back and Mr. Williams stayed behind with Magna to guard the carts. As for me and Rebecca, the both of us were paired with the Archer, Mika and the boyish mage girl, Luka. "Why didn't you call someone else?" Luka asked rudely. "They look pretty capable. Besides, Fenrir was curious about why he couldn't pick up his scent." Mika told her. It was there that Rebecca asked, "What scent?"
Mika then took some chalk from her bag and wrote some kind of rune at the brick wall. The rune circle glowed green and out came a wolf pup surrounded in teal mist. "Try to sniff him around." She pointed to the pup at me. The little pup circled around me and tried to smell me. "Who is this cute little thing?" Rebecca asked over glee. "This is Puck, one of the many children of Fenrir. I can summon him." Mika replied. The wolf pup tried to smell me but looked confused. "Looks like he doesn't have a scent at all . That is weird." Mika commented. "Why even bother with his sent?" Luka asked.
"Well just in case if we get lost."
"It's a fire station. Don't sweat on the little stuff."
At the middle of their conversation I picked up Puck and pet him at the head. At first he whimpered but after caressing his head a little he started to wag his tail. "Aww...so cute!" Rebecca squealed. She then reached for some jerky and fed it to the pup. As she fed him Rebecca petted his lower jaw as the pup gave a cute expression. The two of our group members then noticed us and the both of them surprised. "That's odd, Puck isn't usually friendly to strangers." Mika said. "Whatever! Are we gonna do our job or what?!" Luka complained.
The mage then walked ahead of us. She went inside, only for her to be chased by Mika. "What's her problem?" Rebecca asked. The wolf pup whimpered and ran out of my grasp. Puck followed the both of them along the path. The wolf pup looked at us halfway and stopped. I guess that was a good sign for us to follow them.
The both of us entered the spacious facility to find Mika and Luka. Luka was blasting the doors with some fireballs but there wasn't no effect. "There's no use trying to blow it up. It's practically fireproof." Rebecca says, "We are in a fire station." Luka shrugs it off. She looked at us in the most intimidating way. "You got any other ideas? Noob." Luka questioned. I looked at the door. It had a double lock on it and the door was full steel construction. It looked as if destroying the door was not an option. "You take the lock on the knob, I'll take the harder one below it." I instructed Rebecca. The both of us took out our lock picks and managed to get the door open. Mika was looked rather impressed. "Maybe I shouldn't be leader." Mika implied. "Beginner's luck. Let's just get this over with." Luka insisted.
Luka opens the door, only for a dead body to fall out. She freaks out and shoves it at the ground. Turns out it was a corpse of a dead firefighter. Behind him he had been looking as if he was stabbed at the back. There was no weapon found on him but he was bleeding through every opening of his face and had a missing leg. "What happened?" Rebecca asked. "I don't know but we should behead the guy. His eyes are blackening along with his eye bags." Luka instructed.
"So he's turning into a ghoul?"
"Now you're catching on, rookie."
Luka then gets a fireman's axe and chops the head off in one swoop without hesitation. Me and Rebecca were rather disturbed how she managed to do it without hesitation. But as blood spilled, something comes out from under the stairs. It was a large black scorpion as big as a fully grown dog. I took out my gun and let out a few rounds. It took three rounds just to take it down. I then stabbed it with my sword and it was dead. "What the hell is that!" I freaked out. "It looks like a Glowing stinger." Mika said.
"A what?!"
"It's a large scorpion that wanders the night. It must have killed this guy with her poison."
"What do you mean by her?"
"Her eggs are right in front of you."
Under the staircase looked to be a small nest of that scorpion's eggs. "So you think there's more of these?" I asked. "No they're completely territorial." Mika said. I then I summoned a bird shikigami and used it to splatter all the eggs. "Looks like we solved that problem." Rebecca said out of positivity. Mika helped me up as I sat on the floor. There I come to look at the body of the dead fireman. "If this was one of them, then what happened to the others?" I asked.
Screeching and laughing then can be heard at the floor above us. Up the staircase we went. The steel steps masked the sounds of our movement. We slowly opened the door up ahead to find something out of the ordinary. It was a pack of hyenas in a group of four. They were eating the dead carcasses of decaying firemen. The laughing make a lot of sense but it doesn't explain the reason why they're here. I then get my gun ready but I was stopped by our archer. Mika takes a deep breath and pulled back an arrow. Luka then kicks the door open and releases a chain lightning spell. It paralyzes the hyenas. Mika then launches a barrage of arrows. With her quick hands, all of them died with one shot each. It wasn't like in the movies right expect that there will be some crazy somersaults and backflips. All of it was plain and simple. But as we walked in another one leaps from on top of the dresser. She managed to dodge it but with the cost of her bow. Her bow string split in half and the hyena went for another pounce. I then quickdraw my katana and swung it in great speed. As soon as the hyena lands on the floor, his head is loft off clean.
Rebecca and Luka came in and we checked all the corners. We were safe for now and the coast was clear. I slammed my butt on the floor, already relieved. However next to me was the dismemberment head of the animal. To my surprise, there was a tag on its right ear. All of them had one for some reason. "Looks like they came from a zoo." Mika said. "There's a zoo not too far from here, maybe they might have escaped." Rebecca pointed out.
We continued to look around a bit further but there was nothing else in the building. Most of the food supplies have been eaten and a quarter of amount of water was available in the tank at. "What should we do?" I asked. Richard looked around a bit and noticed some tires and sandbags lying around. "Maybe make a barricade with the stuff here. For now, get the horses and carts in." He says, "We don't want to get anything in." Richard then gives a whistle and a few of his orders. But as I was about to help make the barricade I was suddenly pulled from behind by Luka. "Where are you going?" She asks, "You're still need to gut those hyenas."
Luka then drags me away from the crowd and pushes me to the second floor. She then slams the door from behind and left me with Mika. Mika was starting with her first one with blood at her face. "Good. You came." Mika says, "I saved the one you killed." Yep, there it was. The headless hyena I killed. Again there was that uncomfortable feeling. However I took out my knife and started to skin it. The head was already chopped off so I took a rope and tied the body outside the window to drain the rest of the blood. Once that was settled I took a knife and started to skin the animal. After gutting the carcass I hung the pelt outside and washed my hands with whatever water I had left with my canteen. Mika then comes next to me but instead bags my pelt in a sack and washes her hands outside the window. "Not bad. Where did you learn how to skin?" Mika asked. "I went on a few hunting trips with Mr. Williams." I replied.
"The old guy?"
"It was that or starve during the government shutdown."
"How did that go?"
"Hard to tell…there was a lot of swearing but at least we ate something."
"If that's the case, chop the parts off once you're done skinning."
"Will do."
A memory flashed. It wasn't of a past life but more of my current life. I could even hear a blood curdling scream ring in my head and a sound of a gunshot. There I turned away and decided to butcher on whatever was left of the hyena. Screams rang at my ears. I drowned it with the sound of chopping. Soon as the parts were properly butchered, I took a plastic garage bag. I was stopped again by Mika before I can get the bag some prime cuts at the counter. But before I can do that, Mika stopped me before I can get the first piece. "We're gonna just burn these." She tells me, "Hyenas are scavengers. We don't wanna risk it." I raised my eyebrows a little. I didn't know what was going on so I decided to ask why. "There might be a chance that these things might have eaten ghoul flesh." She to told me.
"So what's your point?" I asked.
"A couple of friends of mine got sick for eating scavengers so I rather not risk it."
"So in other words...we might get food poisoning?"
"Could be worse."
"Is that so… then why chop them up?"
"It makes it easier to burn."
"That makes sense..."
Mika and I put the chopped carcasses in a sack. She then took me outside to burn them behind the building.
Again a vial of Agni's blood was poured but instead Mika took out some matches. I then declined her and volunteered to light it for her. With a snap of my fingers I managed to light a small ember with the Tinder spell. I tossed my rubber gloves in the fire and Mika pours rubbing alcohol in my hands. We went on our way back inside only for us to be greeted with dinner. The food for today was mild chilli with hard tack and some water from my canteen. I was the only one there from my group at the mess hall. Mr. Williams joined Richard and Magna at the chief's room to some briefing. Rebecca was called to join some others. There was an announcement of those who had technological knowledge were to clear the building for parts. However two or three people, including Tyrell were working on one of the fire trucks. It was really more of a side project. There wasn't enough diesel on the tank but it was enough for it to reach the next area near the capital.
For me there was nothing else to do other than eat dinner at a barely lit, three-story garage. The firehouse was kept illuminated with a combination of electric and oil lamps. They were hung and placed at different places. It didn't actually matter where they were as long as the place was lit. While in line, I was given an extra serving of food and an electric lamp out of courtesy. "What's this for?" I asked one of the party members. "For the hard work." The cook said, "Never figured you be the one to put that much weight...keep up the good work." I thanked the cook and in return I gave him a chocolate bar out of my pack. I kinda felt guilty just to be given that much it looks like to them that the candy was already too much.
In the end I went to the corner to eat my meal. While eating I popped out one of the spell books and started to study. There I was with a cardboard box as a makeshift table and a stepping stool as my chair. It wasn't much but that was enough to be a spec of paradise for me. But as I ate someone joined me. It turned out to be Mika with a larger helping of food. She then whistled as she sat next to me. "Aren't you the hotshot." Mika complements, "Classy samurai guy with all the magic skills and now studying magic like a pro." I gave a light smirk, rather flattered. Mika then gets her water bottle and pours a purple liquid with some cups from the kitchen. It was sweet and yet sour; almost the equivalent to raspberry juice. "So what brings you alone here, stranger?" She asked. "Most of my friends are busy so I figured I might as well do my own thing here. You?" I asked.
"Luka is busy with helping the mechanics so I'm pretty much useless here."
"Makes two of us."
We then get our glasses and ate our own meals. Puck then appeared out of nowhere and started to wag his tail. On his mouth was a small wooden bowl. The pup puts it on the ground and wag his tail more rapidly. Mika smiles and pours some of her portion to the Puck's bowl. The girl then pets the young wolf pup and he starts to eat. As distracted I was watching the little guy eat his food in a messy manner. There was an awkward silence between us. I wasn't someone who was for conversation to be honest. If Richard were here he would make fun of me. But then again...none of my past lives were good conversation starters to begin with. I directed my attention towards Mika as she clears her throat. "So… what were you before this whole thing started?" She asked. "I was just a martial arts teacher going for his masters degree. You?" I wondered.
She takes out a small Polaroid photo from her bag. "I was actually a tour guide in Italy while studying abroad." She says, "During the time I was at the HAP in Milan."
"So you were Italy? I figured you might have been Russian when you were talking Luka with the language." I pointed out.
"My mother was Russian. I but I was born from the UK." Mika laughed.
The girl then stops me there and takes out another photo. It was a Polaroid selfie of Mika and Luka at Rome. "Me and Luka were childhood friends. Our moms were friends as well. But eventually Luka went to a magic School. However she did visit at vacation." Since they both had experience in magic I figured it might have been a goofy idea about how they got to know about magic. Surprisingly It was kinda vain. "Our mom's we're good magic users. But Luka is more gifted when it comes to magic. I'm good with magic and all but Luka is more talented." Mika told me.
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
She then gets a few seeds from her pocket and cast her spell. The seeds soon sprout into flowers on the plan of her hand. "As far as I can go...I'm only good in terms of using my magic to control flora… other than that, I was just incarnated by Fenrir as her overseer." She told me.
"Overseer…?" I asked out of confusion. There we go again. I was lost once more in magi-bable. I asked Mika to clarify. The way she puts it...many gods give power for them to fulfill a certain role. This status is considered incarnation. Incarnation the process when the gods provide power to a certain individual in order to serve the gods. There isn't really a specific role of whoever the power was incarnated to but the most well known is overseer. Overseers of the gods are those who observe the world in their eyes and report it to the gods whenever necessary. Basically they are the secretary of the gods. Even if the gods are all knowing I guess it still requires a personal opinion to know whether or not the they should intervene. There are various versions of incarnations that are still unknown.
Mika then goes to me and stares. "Is there something wrong?" I asked. "It's just odd." Mika pointed out as she took my hand. I feel a sudden energy flowing in and out of my body. And by that brief second I see a flow of aura flowing from all directions. It was flowing everywhere and circling all around my body. But soon the aura disappeared on that brief moment. "Strange...even if I cannot sense you...yet mana still encircles you and your chi is quite strong. That of even an arch mage." She pointed out. Again with the Magi-babble. So many questions I have and yet to learn.
But before I could even ask what all of these even meant, something passed through the building. It was gunshot passing through the room and hit Mika strait through the head. A bulletstorm followed and lead was swarming like bees. I took out my brush and wrote my glyphs on some bond paper while running. I barely block it just in time with a barrier seal charm to block the entrance. A projectile came and exploded upon the barrier. The barrier wasn't dented but it only blocked the lower half of the entrance. I then struggled to make another charm as the second as I can see from a distance that another projectile was going towards us. At the niche of time I managed to finish the charm and blocked the upper half. Another loud explosion came and out comes, Richard, Magna, and Mr. Williams. "What's going on out here?!" Magna demanded. "We're being under attack!" Mr. Williams shouted.
"Everybody get into positions!" Richard shouted.
Gunfire and arrows started to hit my barrier. It was holding still but others started to come and trying to break in from the back. Richard then takes out a large chest from one of the carriages and kicks it open. Inside was a fifty caliber sniper rifle. "Sniper team! Roof top now! Rin, maintain that barrier as long as you can! Engineers! Get the truck ready! The rest of you make sure nobody gets in!" Richard commanded.
Everybody did as been told. My memories start to kick in as I started to write paper talismans to make the barrier stronger. Most of the team was up at the roof or at the back entrance to hold the fort. Engineering team was repairing the fire truck to make an escape vehicle. It all the more was getting harder to focus as gunfire started to be heard from the inside. "I'll head at the back and help! Good luck, Rin!" Rebecca told me. RPG fire started to shake the building. There was also the threat of bandits trying to go in from the rear entrance. Tyrell started to panic and was about to run. Luka gets him by the collar. "Where the hell you think you're going!" She shouted. "I can't take this anymore! I wanna go home!" My friend started to brawl in tears. Luka then shoves the man to the engine. "If you wanna live then get your ass back in here! We don't get this fixed then we all die!" Luka demanded. From the other garage I hear the sound of thumping. It was one of the raiders busting the other garage door with an axe. I let out my pistol and shot the axeman. But as I dropped my guard, another RPG shot at the barrier with a crimson and black flame. My barrier was starting to crack. I wrote a different charm and it levitated to the barrier. The cracks started to disappear as I was pouring my chi into the barrier. I was slowly getting weaker as I used this technique. "I won't be able to keep this up for long! Get it fixed, now!" I shouted. And just as I left my guard down, another explosion came but with the same color of combustion.
The barrier started to take damage even further. I soon started to cough out blood. The effects of the spell were starting to make me weaker by the second. My body was getting drained. Everybody was soon hauling their asses into overdrive. However the gunfire started to stop and the raiders started to run. At first we didn't know what to make out of it. But then this large dinosaur like thing with a body of a T-Rex came and snatched up one of the bandits. It had pale white skin with transparent scales, black stripes, a bony like spine with spikes coming out of it, black horns of a bull, arms four feet long and teeth as large as knives. We couldn't help but tremble in fear as the thing was snacking on one of the raider's corpse in front of us. It then swallows the body whole and noticed me in the background.
The creature then attempted to break the brakes the barrier. It rammed my barrier several times and it started to crack. So I made two more barriers behind the ones I just made. The first breaks and continues on. I kept on putting more chi in the barrier and repair the damaged areas. But that beast just stops and starts to walk away. I fell on my butt again as I was in relief. Only after a few seconds we all get a message from our walkie talkies. "Get out of there! The monster is going for a running start to ram the place!" Richard shouted on the other line. But it was too late the beast broke through the barrier as if it was made out of plexiglass. The impact was so strong that it sent out a shockwave. The beast was reckless and sent me flying away to the other side of the room with a bash of it's head. One of the party members came in and was wondering what was going on. The beast then grabbed the man by its mouth and started to flail him like a rag doll. I summoned two bird shikigami to pierce the beast. But once they hit it...the charms went back to being pieces of paper and were of no effect. Luka and Tyrell came to pick me up. "It's no use! That monster can nullify our magic!" Luka shouted.
The two of them dragged me away as I was shown the full horror of what was happening. The impact from that force ruptured my muscles. I could feel my body self-healing but it wasn't enough. My body won't be able to heal in time. It was several people of Richard's party trying to attack the monster. Sadly, none of their attacks were doing any good. Even without magic, the beast was able to take on their attacks. From arrows to bullets, nothing happened. They even resorted to even melee but the thing barely bled. All met the same fate. One-by-one they were all getting grabbed by the beast's dinosaur like jaw and were gnawed to death. Some of the bodies were even thrown overhead with others being slapped across the room up in the air with its tail.
Tyrell and Luka then slammed the door as soon as we got inside a storage room. The thing was catching up to us. But while being chased, Luka pushes us away, only for her to be grabbed by the creature's jaw. Two party members managed to drag us in a narrow hall and block the door, only for that monster to break through it and drag one of the party members inside. We could hear screams of pain. People started to panic as it looked like the end.
At the ground my sight was caught at the bow and quiver of arrows at the floor. It was dropped by the party member who was snatched. A memory triggered within me to the point the whole room turned white. The only thing that had color was the bow and the puddle of blood below it. Time stood still as something appeared. In front of me stood a creature, a centaur. He had long hair and was fearless. "Are you gonna hunt this thing down or will you become the hunted?" He asked in Greek. All I could do was remain speechless as I couldn't believe what he was saying. The centaur couldn't help but sigh. He then pranced towards the bow and looked at it. "It's been a long time since we hunted with this." He says, "Of course I know well because I am you." I slowly walk towards the bow to get a hold of it. The memories started to flow as I remember who this being was. "How long has it been since I was Chiron?" I asked. "Beats me...How much do you remember?" He asked.
"Just enough to know that I was you."
"Which part then?"
"Achilles. Back when I was starting off as his teacher."
"With the memories that you have...I expect you to know how to hunt this beast."
"I am you."
"Then you remember the tactics I had."
"Just enough for a plan."
"You're going to need more than just arrows for that."
There appears a hooded figure, pure white and unrecognizable. He taps his staff on my head. "Stay alive, you need more than just our memories just to survive." He told me. A surge of memories flowed like white water in my mind. It was a quick glimpse but it felt like a thousand needles. "Pain and sorrow will follow from here on, both yours and ours." The hooded man told me. I screamed in pain and cried. "What are these?!" I shouted. "Your memories and ours. You think it was just fate for you to be chosen?" The hooded man says, "Power comes with a cost and you will come to terms with that. Especially your memories."
I could see blood everywhere. Soon blood gushed like a geyser. But it soon disappears as knowledge came in my head. I get an arrow and cut my thumb. There I take a paper slip out of my holster and write some kanji and glyphs with my blood. I then roll it and tie it at an arrow. "It's kinda a Deus ex Machina for you guys to show up like this." I told them. "Gods have been intervening in mortal affairs for a long time. As being me, I thought you would have been used to it." The centaur answered. I chuckled and tested the bow I was holding. "I don't know who I am now. All I'm doing now is surviving." I replied. "Then you might as well learn all as you can while you're here." Chiron said.
I look around me and tried to get a grasp of what I was doing. The bloodstained arrow showed a reflection of my face. There I saw a sudden flash of two images, Chiron and Toshizo. "Mika said something about reincarnations having purpose once given another life...what is mine?" I asked them. The hooded man then stands there and looks at me. I knew this face from him. This was the face I gave out of expectation. Chiron intervenes. "My role as Chiron was a teacher, Toshizo's role was as an inspirational leader, you must find your own role. If not, then the gods will give it to you. " He told me.
"So I'm on my own?"
"It wasn't our first time. You had done this so many times."
Again the memories started to flow. One of a younger Chiron and one of Toshizo. Chiron learned all his skills from the wilderness and watching humanity then wished to becomes a teacher. Toshizo learned medicine to heart and mastered his full potential in swordsmanship to become a leader who can fight and support the Shinsengumi. All of this was up to me now. "So what do I need to do now?" I asked. "For now...live. Then you can learn the rest." Chiron said.
"It was nice to remember you guys."
"Likewise, Rin Kamiyama: Tragic Hero of Lost Souls."
"Your power was gained by your own strife but you chose to forget." The hooded man says, "You will suffer even more once that power comes back."
"Then what am I to do?" I asked him.
"Deal with the pain that you have dealt from past to present, that is the key." The hooded man said.
"Then what is this pain that I forgot?" I asked once more.
I was shoved by the chest by something. It was that same figure with a fox mask. But soon nothing existed. It was briefly dark. Then pours something wet. I open my eyes and in a stream of blood with a pile of corpses. The fox masked man then looks at me. I can sense pain, fear, and sorrow from him. Even without the mask, horror can be felt from him. He was about to remove his mask but just a showing of his cheek I return into the real world.
Again pain rushed in my brain. It smelled of gunpowder and blood. The sound of guns and catastrophe. The world's color returned and time moved forward. I could see the shadow of the monster eating the corpses from outside of the room. A couple of spells start to come to fruition. 'You have to quit sulking for now.' Chiron says, 'Your way to discovery starts now! '. My body then then jumped out to the garage and launched an arrow. It hit the eyes of the monster and it groaned in pain. It then recovered and stared at me furiously. As the monster attempted to charge, I got my stance ready. The arrow I shot was the one with the paper charm. I then set the charm on fire with a tinder spell. With just a small spark, the charm exploded. It may not have affected any damage to the monster but it was enough to knock the beast down to the ground. As it was struggling to get up, I circled behind it and launched a volley of arrows at the joints at the monster's left leg. The arrows crippled it and could barely stand. I cut my thumb once more and wrote another explosive paper charm. I shot it again at the left leg and snapped my fingers. It blew up the appendage. The shockwave of the explosion was just enough to dislocate the whole leg. All the beast could do was struggle in agony. I then unsheathed my sword and slit its throat with a vertical upwards slash.
The threat was over and soon people were starting to come into the garage area. All were in awe as they couldn't believe their eyes. All my spells were able to gain to affect. But my mind started to come in play. I started to feel woozy and my body started to become heavy as the presence started to fade. 'I'll be able to help you when needed but not for long. Use your skills wisely, friend.' Chiron tells me. 'Only a little. This selfish soul needs to remember his own sorrow. I'll let 'him' help.' The hooded man said. I was at my limit and fell hard at the floor. I could hear footsteps rush towards me. My eyes couldn't stay open. He looks down on me with his military boots and says, "You're dumb as ever I see...one of these days this hero act is literally gonna bite you at the ass, you know." Just what the hell am I doing on this floating rock?