Sergio and Koji heard a sharp laugh emanating from the door before them.
"It's like he's gone mad," Sergio mumbled.
"Yeah," Koji replied, "ever since his power was fully restored, he's been laughing like a maniac."
The brothers pushed through the door, revealing the source of the laughter.
David sat at the far end of a white conference table. As he noticed Sergio and Koji's arrival, his laughter ceased.
Three others sat with David at the conference table, and Sergio and Koji were familiar with all but one of them.
Of the two people they were familiar with, one of them sat upright, attentively watching his surroundings.
The other was slumped, lying facedown across the table.
"Who's the new guy?" Koji asked as he took a closer look at the stranger.
The man's entire appearance was pitch black.
He had black-torn clothing and unnaturally dark skin. And, the various wounds and bruises on his body suggested that he had been the target of a savage beatdown.
His only discernible aspect was the black spear that sat in his lap.
Koji stumbled back, "did you pluck him out of a dumpster?"
"He looks like he's knocking on death's door."
"That can wait," David said dismissively, "do you have what I requested for?"
Sergio and Koji dropped the two bodies beside David's seat.
Staring down at the bodies before him, David said, "Sergio, you froze his entire body?"
"I did," Sergio replied, "what about it?"
"Oh, nothing. But his entire body has stopped functioning due to your ice."
"He's an elite, so he's fine. Why are you worried about him?"
"I'm not," David answered, "It's just very unlike you to apply yourself this much."
"Honestly, I expected you to have brought someone back with minimal injuries."
"Or," David turned to Sergio skeptically, "did you choose this sovereign due to personal reasons?"
"He gave me some trouble," Sergio shrugged, "so I didn't hold back."
"I see," David turned to the other body.
"It's obvious you didn't hold back, did you, Koji?" David said, staring into the gash in Saul's body.
"Of course not," Koji replied.
"Well then," David placed his hands on the two bodies, "let me finally test the power of my ririsu."
"Ririsu Prana: Power Assimilation!"
A quick flash of darkness followed, which blinded the others.
Once their eyes adjusted, they saw David throw his head back and let out a cold, cruel laugh.
David held his hands out for the others to observe.
In his left hand, a slither of smoke emerged from his palm. And, in his right, a long black bone protruded from his palm.
"Change of plans," David said as his prana conjurations vanished.
He motioned for Koji and Sergio to have a seat at the table, and while Koji complied and took a seat, Sergio did not move.
"I'm fine with standing," Sergio said as he leaned against the wall.
As David was about to speak, he was interrupted by a gurgling and almost moaning-like sound.
Excluding the woman with her head down, everyone turned towards Ventura and Saul.
The sound was coming from Saul, who had his mouth open. With each breath Saul's nearly dead body took, he made a gurgling sound.
"Such an irritating sound," David said.
Sergio began, "I can take his body aw-"
"No need," David interrupted as two prana-infused bones shot out of his hands.
One bone pierced through Sergio's ice and into Ventura's body, and the other punctured Saul's skull.
The skeleton of both kings instantly disintegrated, leaving them as nothing but a sack of skin.
David retracted his bones and snapped his fingers, teleporting the two sacks elsewhere.
He then turned his attention to the table.
David motioned toward the injured man, "this is a lieutenant of the Avalon Army. His name is Malaki Bāgen."
After hearing this, the attentive man gave Malaki an intentionally hostile stare.
"Hey," Malaki said, feeling intimidated, "I'm not here to start a fight."
His voice was so hoarse that it sounded as if the mere act of speaking was hurting him.
Noticing the tension, David said, "drop it, Suna."
The man continued to glare at Malaki.
"Sunahara Kyohi," David said in a more demanding tone, causing the man to turn toward him.
"I said drop it."
Suna looked at Malaki one more time before rolling his eyes and returning his attention to David.
"I'm well aware of your relationship with the Avalon Army. But, there's no reason to be angry at Malaki. After all, he's no longer a member of that army."
"This guy can barely speak," Koji objected, "don't tell me you invited him to join the Anbura."
"I did," David admitted, "and since he accepted, he is now a member. And, I expect you to treat him as such."
"But he can barely fight," Koji argued, "how would he be of use to us?"
"He's not here because of his fighting capability," David responded, "Malaki had an altercation with Raijah, which left him in the state he's in now."
"He is here because of the essential knowledge he has on the Avalon Army."
"Must've been some altercation," Koji muttered sarcastically.
"Now, If you'd shut your mouth, I'd like to be able to finish explaining."
Koji immediately stopped talking.
David rested his elbows on the table and clenched his hands in front of his face.
"You're all aware of my previous plan to obtain Raijah's power, right?"
Everyone nodded their head in affirmation.
"Well, scratch that out of your minds," David said.
"I previously planned to steal Raijah from Aziel's side and train him to defeat that man-"
"You mean, Kaizen?" Koji blurted out.
Hearing his name, David began to relive his experiences in hell.
"David!" A voice shouted.
He heard the thunderous explosion that occurred when Kaizen attacked Isaac, and his father's last words echoed in his ears.
"What an honorable way to go!"
He then began to relive his last moments with his mother.
"David!" the voice repeated.
He saw Kaizen standing behind his mother with his hand extended forward.
"David!"
David arose from his recollection, feeling distraught.
He looked around and noticed Koji standing beside him.
"You alright?" Koji asked, "you zoned out."
"Koji," David began, "what did I tell you about saying that name?"
Koji closed his eyes and began rubbing the back of his head, "my bad. I forgot-"
Koji opened his eyes and saw a frozen bone in front of him.
The sharpened bone was an inch away from piercing his eye.
David retracted his bone and took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.
He looked toward Sergio. Although he was still leaning against the wall, David could tell that he was alert.
"I was just warning him," David said, "there's no need for you to be on edge."
Without saying a word, Koji returned to his seat.
"As I was saying," David continued, "I planned to train Raijah to defeat that man. After all, a devil and a god cannot live in harmony. Regardless of what may cause it, they will eventually be split up."
"But thanks to Koji increasing the speed of my elite cells on multiple occasions, both I and my prana channels are fully healed."
"That being said, so far, I've learned one of my ririsu abilities, which is the ability to steal power from other people or things."
"As you saw with those two kings, I used my ririsu to steal their prana. But, I can also steal the energy within none living things. For instance, I can also take energy from something like a planet."
"Now," David said, "to guarantee success, there's one specific prana that I want from someone in Avalon."
"Why can't we attack Raijah now?" Koji asked, "regardless of who's accompanying him, I doubt they'd be able to take all six of us at once."
"Four of us," David corrected, "you and Sergio are not a part of the Anbura."
"What?" Koji said.
"The Anbura is a group that I created specifically for the downfall of Avalon. And you and Sergio won't be part of that. We can't reveal all of our assets before we attack Raijah."
"And as for your question," David added, "not only have I not discovered all of my ririsu abilities, but the last time I encountered a being like that, my naivete got the best of me."
"Now I know better than to attack a devil or a god without the proper precautions."
Koji nodded his head in understanding.
"Anyway," David continued, "what makes the country of Avalon so special is the fact that it's the only country that currently has a military."
"Usually, a country only has a military early on, and over time, that military is eventually abolished. The task of protecting the country is then handed to the king's council or, like those two kings from earlier, a singular tyrant."
"But since Avalon is the most recently established country, its military has not been abolished."
"I am after the prana of the one who is widely acclaimed as the most powerful man on the planet."
"The king of Avalon and the General of the Avalon Army."
"The star of Avalon."
"Helios."
"However," David resumed, "General Helios is not the only formidable member of their army. Which is where the rest of the Anbura come in."
"With Malaki's knowledge, Sunahara and Namida will be able to infiltrate their headquarters and take out the other members."
"And, I myself will take on Helios."
David turned toward the man with his head down.
"Hey, Namida," he said, "did you hear all that?"
"Yeah, yeah," Namida answered, still resting his head on the table, "General Helios, infiltrate their headquarters, yadda yadda yadda."
"Let me cram it in your heads," David said as he stood up.
He slammed his hands on the table, and his dark prana erupted and enveloped the entire room.
Feeling David's aura, Namida immediately looked up.
David's aura continued to grow as he spoke.
"First, I will take General Helios's prana and, using his power and the power that I currently possess, I'll take Raijah's divine prana."
"Then, with all that power, I'll behead the king of devils."