Paradise: On a Deserted Island deep within a lost city ~ April 9th, 1585
Running through the alleys of the vast number of houses located in the underground village, Hitoku carefully observed each strategic point in search of useful information. "Well, as for the houses, there's nothing special about them, it almost looks like this town has been cleaned out yo!" Hitoku thought as he deftly jumped over some walls to reach the roof of a building.
"So, mausoleum on the right, central square in front of me, city hall or headquarters on my left. Where do we want to find some nice kai treasures?" Hitoku carefully considered what to do, closed his eyes to concentrate as he generated a thin layer of dark fog only to hear in an instant a voice carried by the wind, "You're not far away, look for me."
"What the fuck? For the love of the queen of the seas, Fuchi, have you learned to speak by any chance?" Hitoku asked his katana, only to see a moment later the dark spirit with a contrite face. "Yoyoyo quiet I joked," the voice came from the left. I was already sure to find juicy news in the main building, but first, mausoleum for gold, yoookai!!!" Hitoku jumped from the roof of the building then disappeared in midair only to appear later in front of the mausoleum's entrance.
"Fuchi, take a quick walk around the central square, I'll be right there, WOW." Hitoku sent his friend made of darkness toward the easiest destination while he lit a cigarette and looked at several paintings on the walls.
The structure was very simple, a long corridor full of paintings, and at the end was a hall from which a door stood imposingly. "These paintings keep depicting wars, glory and excellent buildings. You have to say they had a way with architecture here, yokai." Hitoku said to himself as he studied everything in front of him until he came to the hall with the huge doorway. "Mhh this hall is so empty compared to the hallway, KNOCK KNOCK, and what are you hiding in here pretty little door?" Hitoku asked the huge doorway in front of him.
As he was trying to figure out how to get in, Hitoku's shadow turned pitch black, and from there Fuchi emerged, returning from his search in the central plaza, explaining in his own way that there was nothing important and alerting Hitoku that Nigel and the others had descended via the platform found earlier and were heading for the most important building. "Already? Thanks Fuchi, let's catch up with them yo. As for you pretty little door, don't move! I'll be right back kai." Hitoku prepared to leave and POOF disappeared, only to appear in front of the entrance to the main building near which he had released dark mist earlier, so he could catch up with her in an instant.
"Hi guys, you are a little slow I see. Don't worry I've already checked everything except this imposing building, I think it's a city hall or at any rate a building belonging to some big shot. Last but not least, before we leave I have a door to open yokai." Hitoku warned everyone, puffing some smoke upward.
Nigel and Aceiro would watch as Hitoku would dash from rooftop to rooftop, and enter house to house until they couldn't find him anymore. Hitoku seemed like an estranged man to them but other than that he was a cool guy. As the platform finally reached its end Nigel and Aceiro would jump off kicking up small clouds of dust and sand into the air. The sight of the small city was truly amazing, Nigel nor Aceiro had seen anything like it, the city spanned a wide area covering a vast distance.
There were all kinds of old structures and buildings that surrounded the city. Most of them could be identified as houses and small shops and workstations but the others were too damaged and corroded due to time. The same voice was heard again that moved through the city reaching their ears.
"There it is again," Aceiro said.
"... Come this way, I think it's coming from over here," Nigel said, starting to move his way into the city. Just as he was about to head off Hitoku appeared again, after telling them about the building ahead Nigel started to move in that direction.
"The central square is empty, turn right....RIGHT NOT LEFT YOOOKAI!!!" Hitoku shouted, seeing that Nigel and the others were moving to their liking, resignedly, Hitoku followed them by placing himself in front of the group and acting as a tour guide.
"This is Sverten's house, at least that's what some of the cards I found inside read, nothing exciting, almost all normal houses are like this, kai." Hitoku recounted the information he had gathered during his search.
"Hitoku! How far are we out from the building?" Aceiro would ask running through the streets as Hitoku was way ahead of them. He looked around his surroundings quickly analyzing anything out of the ordinary. He would look to Nigel who was also keeping his head on a swivel. A loud screech could be heard, coming from above them.
"What the fuck was that!
"I don't know we should be..." Aceiro's response was cut off by a giant cave spider falling from the ceiling and it wasn't alone. 3 more so so spiders also descended onto the rooftops.
"Well, the main building is five alleys away, we're close, now let's go left...WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? YOYOYOYOYO, what spectacular spiders...let's kill them yokai." Hitoku said excitedly, smoked from his cigarette and then puffed out a cloud of fragrant clear smoke.
The four spiders were really huge, at least forty feet tall and ready to kill anyone they saw as prey. "Please gentlemen, after you yo, I wouldn't want to take away all the fun kai!" Hitoku advised elegantly as he tied up his hair with a rubber band and later showed off his Shisha no Hyouryuu whose perfectly treated blade shone, ready to reap blood.
"It's about to get hot yo!" Hitoku whispered with a big smile on his face.
Nigel and Aceiro were now ready to take on the spiders if they attacked them, Nigel drew his weapon the scimitar, and then split himself into 3. Vernon, Magnus, Elyisa. They all began to attack the nearest spider to them, on the left-hand side of them. These spiders were bigger than the houses they crawled upon with sharp teeth and pincers at the ready.
Aceiro would then reach into his green fanny pack and opened and slipped out a dark forest green card, throwing it out into the air the card began to form into a small magician with a black cloak that covered its face filled with only black smoke and red beaming eyes.
"Ukey! I summon you!"
(Ukey: Green Beast Card, This beast card allows the user to summon a dark shadow wizard that can do your bidding.)
"Ukey! Attack!" Aceiro said pointing at the large spider closing in on the team. Ukey was small no bigger than 3 feet tall, he had no arms or legs just some large floating white gloves and small brown boots. Ukey held a small wand aswell which was almost the size of himself. Ukey would fly close to the spider and scream in its face, "UUUKKKKEEEEYYYY!SHADOW BALLON!"
From his wand Ukey cast a large black and purple shadow ball the size of a large stone and threw it at the spider, the attack would hit the spider's face causing a large explosion and would send it crashing down into the roof of a house.
Large clouds of dust launched into the air covering the entire area full of smoke... Nigel and his splits have been fighting another spider on the opposite side of Aceiro. Since they were splits of Nigel they could communicate and move just as a hive mind. Each one dipping and dodging the large arachnid. They all bore different weapons, together they carried a vast arsenal of weaponry. Nigel often used his sword the same as Elyisa, they both had twin scimitars with the handle and hilt made of gold and the steel iron blade. Vernon carried with him a serrated-bladed whip, along with a rifle. and Magnus used two sickle daggers.
The spider would attack all of them over and over but it didn't seem to matter for Nigel and the others, Nigel's fruit ability works in a very unique way...
Nigel is able to split himself into 5 persons. Each person represents one emotion that embodies Nigel as a whole. The emotions are
Wrath:???
Joy: Elyisa
Cunning: Vernon
Fear???
Pride: Magnus
All of these emotions/persons can become stronger the more they embody their specific emotion. Each Person can live without being attached to Nigel so they can live as their own being. Each split causes Nigel to lose an emotion, they depend on which spilt occurs. When they are not split Nigel is at his strongest because as his splits get stronger individually when Nigel calls them back he gains the strength, speed, etc of his splits.
"This is rather fun Elyhahahah!" Eliysa said laughing, she jumped up into the air with her sword drawn. She then swung her sword arm downward causing a projectile slash into the back end of the cave spider. She was immediately splashed with blood from the spider as he laughed uncontrollably.
"Save some fun for us...I got the legs!" Vernon shouted as he ran around the side of the spider, he would lasso his whip around a few of the spider's legs making it immobile for a moment. He then flicked his whip causing the serrated blade to cut deep into the spider's legs, "Die!" Vernon would thrash his arm upward causing the spider's arms to rip off its side. The creature screeched as Vernon slid underneath, Magnus jumped up near its head and Nigel had come from below its head. Together they both crushed the spider's head, Nigel used his bare fists.
The spider crashed into the ground as Nigel and the splits landed safely away from the crashing beast. They were all covered in spider guts and blood, truly a terrible sight.
Upon seeing such a scenario, Hitoku was shocked and speechless, not because of the spiders killed but because of the damage the city was suffering. His veins began to throb so strongly that his face turned red. "YOU ARE FUCKING MORONS, YOU MUST NOT DAMAGE THE FUCKING CITY!!! AAAAAA I'M PISSED OFF NOW YOKAI!!!" Hitoku shouted like a madman to vent and a moment later stopped, breathing to calm himself down. "Anyway, well done, you have some interesting ways to fight yo." Hitoku complimented the others.
"Now step aside, it's my turn kai!" Hitoku prepared himself by loosening his muscles a little. The long katana he held in his hand vibrated slightly, and as he changed his grip on the handle slightly, it began to vibrate conspicuously. BURN, small sparks formed from the blade that soon became flames that enveloped the entire weapon.
Hitoku sprinted towards the first of the two still-living spiders, the snap was so violent that it broke the ground beneath his feet. Generating a large amount of dark mist, Hitoku swirled it around the katana, channelling the flames, in an instant all this preparation turned into a huge dragon of dark mist and flames that started from the blade. "RYUGEN ITTORYU: Hametsu no Michi" (Phantom Dragon One Sword style: Path of Ruin).
At the cry of his technique, Hitoku launched a violent aerial slash that was carried by the dragon, cutting off all the legs of the two giant spiders, who fell to the ground on the spot as their legs caught fire.
"Yōkai Rengoku" (Purgatory of the yokai), Hitoku commanded the dragon's movements, which began to swirl around the two spiders until it became a tornado that concentrated flames within it, later becoming smaller and smaller until it extinguished, revealing the fate of the two spiders, pulverized.
"The End yo." Hitoku said with a satisfied grin, twisting his katana making the residual flames on the blade disappear, then holstering it behind him. Finally, he untied his hair and puffed out some smoke, extinguishing his now finished cigarette.
As the dust settled Nigel and Aceiro watched as Hitoku took out the spider swiftly. The group then sat down for a brief moment as they caught their breaths, "That was nuts!" Aceiro said as excited as ever, for this was the first time that Nigel, or anyone else for that matter has seen him like that. Aceiro was normally calm and quiet but the thrill of battle brought his energy and mood up.
"We should rest for a bit the go find whatever is in here, the faster we can find out what's in here that faster we can leave."
"Agreed!"
"Why are you in such a hurry? Relax and enjoy the silence of the ruins, music to my ears yo." Hitoku advised as he lay down for a quick nap.
"And anyway there's nothing to look for, I've already told you where we have to go, don't worry, I know this place like the back of my hand now yoyoyoyoyo'YAAAAWN." Hitoku closed his eyes after reassuring everyone, but in that instant, the voice heard already on other occasions returned: "You are close to the truth, you are close...come and get me..."
"I'm not crazy, I heard it again. You too heard it yo?" Hitoku snapped to his feet and cupped his hands near his ears to hear better. "Fuck rest, I'm going to the main building, whoever wants to come follow me, yooookai!" Hitoku walked towards what he believed to be where the voice was coming from.
"Yeah I heard it" Nigel replied as his head swiveled looking for the sound. Quickly he began to run toward the sound, he followed the wind that carried the voice through the cave. It was something that pulled Nigel toward the voice, it felt familiar, like he'd heard it before, but also very different at the same time.
He quickly called in his splits to move with him. They moved in unison together forming a v shape line when darting through the city. All of them were fast and agile, they're hive minds allowed them to see each other's vision, as well as share thoughts and feelings. They could never lie to each other knowing this. For the center of the city is where they were heading toward, exactly the location Hitoku told them about.
Aceiro was also following close behind, with his Beast Card Ukey actively floating at his side. "The Nigels are fast," he thought, "No wonder why he is called Moody 5.
Arriving in front of the entrance to the huge building, Hitoku walked inside, immediately observing and studying the layout of the main hall.
"Naaahh this place is not telling it right yo!" Hitoku whispered with a serious expression. The hall had a long row of columns that created a central corridor, on each column were pictures of people who probably lived in that now lost place under the sand. "Hey Nigel, this guy looks like you YOYOYOYO!!!" Hitoku jokingly turned to Nigel, pointing at the painting of a funny-looking guy.
Nigel would glare at Hitoku and began to stick his tongue out and pull down an eyelid. Nigel and Aceiro would walk around the main hall observing all the pictures. The pictures consisted of men, who looked to be human. Each picture had these men dressed in fine fabrics and garbs, fine jewelry and crowns.
They had come to the conclusion that these men were depicted as old rulers or kings that had once lived in this city. But one of the portraits that caught Aceiro's attention seemed to be torn and partly destroyed, the other portraits were in good condition besides having dust and whatever dirt had formed on the painting.
"Nigel, look. This one is torn." Aceiro would point then began to walk toward the large hanging portrait, "I wonder if I can..." Aceiro's sentence was quickly interrupted by a violent shaking as he accidentally stepped on a secret contraption. In the middle of the room, the floor began to swirl around in a clockwise motion. The floor began to unlock itself hearing gears and binds freeing themselves, yet another layer descends into the city. Stone stairs started to show, running its course along the side of the walls. Once the commotion stopped a large whirl of wind was freed from its depths, carrying a loud voice.
"COME! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!"
"Hey hey hey, stop right there yo!!! I told you this place was hiding something, let me check kai!!!" Hitoku warned everyone by stepping forward as he approached the stairs that had just appeared.
Generating a large quantity of dark clouds, Hitoku sent them downwards, filling the entire staircase and whatever was below, after which he closed his eyes and concentrated. 'Mhh, the staircase to the floor below is short, a new hall awaits us and I'm pretty sure it won't be the only one before we reach our destination. If this path appeared like this, I really think you'll have to open your eyes wide, puzzles and traps await us yokai!!!"
Dispelling the dark clouds, Hitoku, after inviting the others to follow him, set off down the steps towards the new hall that awaited them. "Almost similar to the upper hall I must say, let's observe and focus yo." Hitoku ordered as he took the packet of cigarettes from his shirt pocket and after lighting one, began to smoke.
The room was very large, a circular floor housed a series of randomly arranged columns, but according to Hitoku there had to be logic in that room and he was sure to find it quickly. The walls were composed of a vast combination of different stones, some more prominent than others. After a quick observation Hitoku puffed out some smoke, filled the room with a sweet scent of mint and musk, and asked Aceiro: "Hey, Ace, tell me exactly what you heard before the stairs appeared yo."
"There is someone down there!" They all then descended into the chamber. As they reached the bottom of the stairs they began to search for any more clues for hidden traps and doorways. This hall was very different from the rest of the rooms and passages they'd been in. It was cold and wet, the moisture in the hall left mold and dust everywhere making it impossible to breathe. The hall stretched deep and was faintly lit darkness. That's when they heard a muffled voice that came from it, "Don't touch the stone if you can use magic!"
"Magic?!" Nigel would say as he peered into the darkness, he looked at Hitoku, "You heard that too right."
"Don't go crazy by fantasizing, be focused and think yo!!! Touch some stones around, they are pieces of sea stone, if you ate fruit you lose your strength kai." Hitoku explained to Aceiro, after which he walked over to a pillar and gave it a loud blow, raising a small fuss.
"Mhh alright, now there yokai!" Hitoku went from one column to the next, giving each one a blow. Once that process was finished, Hitoku began to feel the walls with the scabbard of the katana he carried behind him. TAP TAP', TAP TAP, CLICK, WHOOM, yoyoyo so that's how it works, very good, I got it. GUYS FEEL THE WALLS WITH AN OBJECT WHEN YOU HEAR A CLICK STOP ON THE SPOT YOKAI!!!" Hitoku warned the others after noticing that by pressing a button on the walls, some columns started to rotate.
They followed along with Hitoku's instructions they grazed their fingers across the wall until they heard a click. Together they all trigged another mechanism, that flickered more lights that lead down the dark hallway. At the end of the hall, there was a large sea-stone door. Nigel would quickly move in that direction not doubting his decision for a second. As he approached something from behind the door began to move, the sounds of chains could be heard from the other side.
"You're almost there." the voice said beyond the door.
Nigel would inch closer and closer to the door he would then run a bit faster than before and would gear up to hit the door with his fist. "I'm going to need your strength bud..." Nigel whispered to himself, he then replied to himself but he sounded much different like he had switched bodies, "You always have." Nigel's right hand began to glow a bright red as sparks of black and red flames came from his hand,
"Goliath Fist" (ゴライアスフィスト, Goraiausu Fisuto)
Nigel would send a large manifested fire fist into the door...Even though the sea stone defenses Nigel would break through the doors with ease.
BOOM Hitoku saw Nigel break down the door, resigned to the fact that the room invited other behaviour. "Wait a second, "Don't touch anything if you know how to use magic" is what we heard, surely it was referring to the powers of the devil fruit, FUCK, NIGEL MOVE IT'S A TRAP YO!!!" Hitoku immediately warned Nigel as a shower of arrows prepared to go off from behind the smashed door.
The door would crash in, it seemed to not be made of sea stone or at least not much, the moment he would crash the door down flying arrows began to shoot out toward Nigel's direction. Nigel would duck on to the ground trying to avoid the onslaught of arrows, he didn't manage to dodge in time however. He was struck in the right shoulder with an arrow.
"GYAH!" he said falling to the ground holding his arm.
"FUCK!!! ACE DON'T MOVE FROM THERE, TOUCH THE BUTTON WITH AN OBJECT NOT YOUR HAND, THIS PLACE IS SENSITIVE TO DEVIL FRUIT USERS YO!!! Hitoku shouted at Aceiro seeing Nigel wounded by an arrow.
Taking a stone the size of the palm of one hand, Hitoku gave Aceiro new instructions. "We have to move, on my count of three press the button, I will do the same with mine and press Nigel's with this rock. One!!! Two!!! Three!!! Now yokai!!!"
Hitoku threw the stone and hit the button found by Nigel with high precision, at the same time he pressed the button he had already found with his katana and Aceiro did the same with a piece of wood. CLANG CLANG CLANG, WHOOM. The columns all began to rotate and after a few seconds a crack opened in the floor, revealing a new staircase leading to the lower floor.
Having solved the puzzle of that room, Hitoku ran towards Nigel, ascertaining his condition "It's all right yo, smoke my cigarette you'll get over it yoyoyo" Hitoku tried to cheer up the situation.
Nigel would take a drag of the cigarette and take a break for a moment. As the floor revealed yet another layer to the madness, he would rip the arrow from his shoulder and throw it down onto the ground. "I fucking hate this part! There is no fucking treasure we found yet besides hidden rooms and passages!" Nigel would deeply inhale another puff and then blow the smoke out of his nose.
Aceiro would walk over to Nigel and help him up, "Come we must go further we are close."
"It's just like Aceiro says, the next room is the last one. Let's solve his puzzle and we'll probably find out who the voice we heard belongs to, yokai." Hitoku reiterated, his face serious and focused but at the same time he couldn't help but let out a laugh out of excitement.
The first puzzle was not even definable as such, the second one was already more complex than the previous one, but all in all not a great challenge, it just needed the right amount of attention. Yet Hitoku sensed this, he clearly felt that the last room would engage them all with head and body.
'Eyes open guys!!! We're in for a real treat yo!!!" Hitoku prepared everyone for the worst, at least mentally, if there had been other beasts it wouldn't have been a problem, but difficult riddles yes, it would have been.
The room was large, much larger than the others. It was a circular room, filled with only stone and dirt beneath the earth. Holes protruded out of the ground and walls all in awkward shapes and places. Nigel and the others walked down into the room with their feet touching the tile stone surface. "I've got a bad feeling about this" Aceiro added, he would only make the tension rise, "Would you just shut up already with that damn talking!" Nigel shouted back.
"You're right to have a bad feeling, but stay focused, head on your shoulders and be firm, upstairs was good for us before, this time there could be bad surprises yo." Hitoku retorted slightly annoyed by Aceiro's excessive worries.
"This damn room is too quiet, too big and too empty kai!!! What kind of mystery do we have to solve to move on! Huh?..." Hitoku stopped suddenly as a gust of wind brought with it the usual call "You're really close, we'll catch up."
"This damn voice again...EHY YOU WHO ARE TALKING, IF YOU HEAR ME PRAY THAT THIS IS NOT A JOKE BECAUSE IF I FIND YOU YOU WILL BE A BAD END YOKAI!!!" Hitoku shouted in response to the voice they all heard, the situation was becoming quite ridiculous as they couldn't understand where it was coming from.
"Let us proceed with the study of the place yo, all this emptiness leads one to think there are keys to press kai again." Hitoku gave an initial assessment looking around.
As he continued walking, however, there was an unwanted turn...CLICK DOOOM a small tremor was felt as a patch of ground subsided under Hitoku's feet, and he turned to Nigel and Aceiro, looking at them with a huge grin on his face. "Dear gentlemen, WE'RE FUCKED, YOKAI!!!"
It was at that instant that from the holes in the ground at the end of the gigantic hall sprouted three huge desert claw worms, each at least 20 metres long, with sharp claws and spikes all over their bodies.
The 3 of them stared in shock as they'd never seen a creature like this before...
"What!" Said Nigel.
"The FUCK!" Said Hitoku.
"Is that!" Said Aceiro.
The worms would rip their way through the hard earth popping in and out as they pleased. "Why can't this shit be easier!" Nigel would draw his scimitar from his side and summon a brand new split known as Sylas (Nigel's aspect of fear). "Whhhaattt issss thhhaaatttt?!" Sylas would say as he cowered away behind Nigel.
"Would you stop this nonsense Sylas and take this seriously for just one second!" Nigel would scream at Sylas grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.
"I'm sorry big brother...It's just that...It's so pointy and you know I hate pointy things!"
Aceiro looked at the two of them bickering with each other, "Nigel and his splits were like a bunch of twin siblings always fighting and arguing. How strange." The worms had still been coiling in the ground, "This would be a great time to grab a few more cards, wouldn't it? Come on out UKEY!"
Ukey would appear beside Ace, "Come on Ukey let's start to handle this." They both would start to move in the center of the room, they would dip and dodge between coils trying their best not to get hurt. Ukey would enter an offensive state when Aceiro gave him the okay to attack, he used the move Ukey Shadow Baloon again.
The attack was too large too slow and would miss the worm completely creating a large crater in the wall. There was something that could be seen on the other side, a fake wall was placed to hide it. Aceiro would begin to recognize this "Look!" He would point toward the crater. Nigel would shed his sight onto the crater but, he and Sylas had been running around being chased by the other worms. "We have to open that wall up."
"Disgusting fucking maggots, now let's get serious again, they're not even worth being considered a problem yo!!!" Hitoku said smiling as he did two quick squats to loosen up his legs.
Sprinting wildly toward one of the three giant worms, he took a leap to get closer to its head. Noticing him in the air, the worm launched itself towards Hitoku with the desire to devour him in one bite. The result was not as hoped... I won't even give you the honor of using a sword, YOOOOKAAAAIIIIII!!!" BOOOM Hitoku bent his arm, pulsating veins could be seen all along it, and then threw a very violent punch at the worm's head, smashing it.
"THIS AIN'T OVER YO!!!" Hitoku rushed towards the tail of the now dying worm, lifting it up and spinning it at high speed only to throw it against the wall on the end. "Open that shithole, you worthless carcass!!!" SBAM, CRACK, the worm crashed into the hole Aceiro had opened, widening it even more. "Come on you guys, make it quick yo, I'd like to have a relaxing smoke after this room kai!!!" Hitoku teased the others who were fighting with the two remaining worms.
Nigel and Sylas had to make their move fast as the earthworms made their way closer to them, Nigel and Sylas would both zip off in opposite directions, Nigel would telepathically tell Sylas to kill the worm while it followed him as a distraction, "Come get me you maggot!" He shouted as it followed him ready to also devour him into one whole bite.
Sylas would run around the back of the worm and jump high into the air pulling out large sickle daggers. A faint blue and black aura bleed from the edges of the daggers as Sylas had a sinister frightening face, "Fright Night Slash" Slyas would release a large sword slash in the shape of an X. The attack was covered in a black and blue aura that looked like smoke, it would pierce the worm in its back, causing the animal to scream.
Nigel at the same time would use another "Goliath Fist" aimed at the head of the worm. The combined attack would cause the worm to fly back into the wall destroying it completely. Aceiro had too also defeated his worm but smashing it with Ukey.
"Huff...Huff...Thank god that's over."
The 3 would stand in front of the collapsed wall which revealed yet another large room with one large brown door. The door itself had many metal bars and binds with locks attached to it. The door itself stood at least 20 feet tall and was 20 feet wide, in the middle of the door was a large dragon crest that was carved into it.
Nigel would walk out to the room and take a picture of the worms and the large doorway, he cast a small rock he picked up out into the floor. Aceiro was confused to be he explained that it was to see if there were any more traps. Luckily the traps and tricks had come to an end, behind the door the voice they had been hearing would emit.
"Hero is that you? Have they finally come to free me?"
Everyone would look puzzled at the voice's statement, "What did he mean by they?" Nigel said.
"Free me? Is he locked away? He must be if he is buried all the way down here right?" Aceiro replied as he walked closer to the door. There was a slogan that was written above the door, Ace had used his Nightshade to illuminate the room and allow them to read. The slogan read:
"Val um Travo Kia Draco" (Which translates to "Long live the Dragon King")
They all stood there confused looking at the words trying to decipher it's meaning. "What could that mean?" Ace said scratching his chin and thinking of any possible hints. Nigel however looked and stared at the passage, "Hmm...It looks awfully familiar..." Nigel would walk toward the door and place his right hand on it.
The moment he did the locks and mechanisms in the door began to move and shift. The place where he put his hand would glow a bright yellow light as the designs and details of the dragon crest would lighten up. A violent wind would start to pour out from behind the door as it slowly began to slide apart. "What the fuck did we find?" Nigel would yell out to the others as he was being blasted with gusts of air.
As the door finished opening there would be a small old skinny man with white hair locked away with many chains attached to his arms, hands, legs, neck, and torso.
The old man would tilt his head upward looking at the silhouettes of the men who would free him, "Finally." He groaned.
"Oh wow, I am no longer the ghost of the situation, yoyoyo" Hitoku joked upon seeing the man's condition. Puffing some smoke after pushing the cigarette away from his mouth, Hitoku looked around finding only empty cells. "Hmm at a first glance I must say those handcuffs are made of seastone yo." He observed.
Hitoku approached the cell, took one of his katanas and cut through the bars with two slashes. CLANG', the cut bars fell to the ground and Hitoku entered the cell. "Ohhh my saviour, free me please." The elderly gentleman begged Hitoku who promptly replied, "Just think how lucky you are today, Fuchi! Deposit yokai."
Hitoku gave the order to his cursed sword, which surrounded itself with darkness and placed itself on Hitoku's shadow, turning it pitch black. "Give me all the keys we had secretly collected yo." At Hitoku's order, several bunches of keys sprouted from the darkness generated by Fuchi, Hitoku took them and threw them at Aceiro. "Ehy Ace, have fun finding the handcuff ones yo, I'll rest here Kai." Hitoku entrusted Aceiro with the task of freeing the elderly man.
Aceiro would catch the keys, there were hundreds of keys, "How am I supposed to figure this out you asshole!?" Aceiro said. This was the first time he would get flustered, even Nigel was shocked but yet mildly impressed to say the least.
"You know, you're starting to rub off on me Cuda!" Nigel would whisper as he swung his lanky arm over Ace bringing him closer to his chest. Nigel would swivel his head in the direction of the prisoner that knelt before them, "Maybe this guy knows the which key," Nigel thought. Snatching the keys out of Aceiro's hand Nigel waltzed over the prisoner and knelt down getting eye level with him.
"Hey buddy," he would say slightly patting the old man's cheeks as he seemed to flow in and out of consciousness, "You know which key it is?" The prisoner's eyes open as he looked directly into the face of Nigel. "You look awfully familiar," he said. Nigel would look back at him with an awkward look confused at the old man's statement.
"Whatever buddy, I've never met you a day in my life. Just answer the question."
"haha," the man would cough out, "You even talk just like him...As for the key, ugh it's been so long, I almost forgot there was a key."
Aceiro would stand in awe at the mildly weird conversation Nigel and the prisoner was having, He continued to stare at the keys and try to think of which one it could possibly be. However one key in particular looked different from the others, it was the smaller key in the bunch and it had the same dragon crest on the door.
While bickering, Aceiro said to them, "It's that one, that key there!" He walked over to Nigel and snatched back the keys as he sifted through the keys until he found the one he desired. After locating the key he would circle around the prisoner trying to find the key latch, which was located on the back of the prisoner's lower spine, and inserting the key into the lock and twisting it the seastone chains began to unlock themselves slowly.
The chains were hooked up to every corner of the room some were attached to the ceiling others to the floor. They all worked as one large contraption to keep this tiny old man locked and restrained completely. "what did you do to end up here?" Aceiro asked as the final chains were being released. The old man responded as the final chain was released from his neck, "I was wondering the same thing kid."
The old man fell onto his hands as this was the first time he had been able to use them in centuries. He struggled to crawl he was so weak and frail. His long white and grey beard dragged beneath his sluggish body. He would cough and spit out some mucus that had been festering in his lungs for what seemed to be years. As he crawled trying to regain his strength he began to become flustered and angry with himself, "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ALREADY!!!" He shouted.
"Who was he talking to the others thought as they watched the strange man. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN WHO IS YOUR MASTER!"
That is when a whirl of wind gusted through the room lifting the old man upright on his two feet. His hair and limbs began to mutate and distort, it was a horrific sight to see, his bones would shift and break and reconnect along with his skin falling off his flesh and then re-growing itself to a healthier version. In front of their very eyes, the old man's appearance had completely changed, he had gone from a skinny weak short old man to a towering figure that dwarfed Nigel and the others in size standing about 10 feet. His beard was long and healthy flowing with orange and brown highlights running through it. His muscles were defined and full in both his upper and lower body. He had long orange and brown hair that looked like fine silk. He had a strange tint to his skin as he appeared the color of teal.
After his transformation, his new body sizzled as he stood there breathing gracefully in and out in deep intervals. He then turned toward the people who had set him free, "Thank you for your courageous service knights, I owe you great gratitude." The man would bow gesturing his sign of respect and thanks.
"Who the hell are you!?" Nigel pointed and shouted out.
The prisoner would laugh a mighty deep laugh, "My apologies my friend...My name is Philip…King of Jotunheim."
Upon hearing the prisoner's self-appointment, Hitoku bent his head to the side giving the king his best sideways glance, only one eye was visible in its brilliant emerald colour, the other covered by a lock of hair. "The king of what the fuck? My friend, tell the story in brief because if you were that old a few moments ago and you were really a king, you would send us to a place full of history and hidden ruins right yokai?" Hitoku asked with a fantastic expression, ready to grasp the usefulness of the situation he was in.
Philip looked down at Hitoku, "You know that dirty little mouth of yours will get you in trouble one day...But I would never send anyone to a place like this, this place is known as West Hell and was the old island of my people before it got turned into a prison. The place I come from is far more beautiful than this."
"Oh you look what a coincidence, hell, I would never have guessed it with the heat on the surface yoyoyo. Anyway, I've searched the whole village already, to say there's nothing there is a compliment yo, I only left one room to search because of the hurry, it's in the central hall of the mausoleum, do you know what it's hiding or are we going to find out ourselves kai?" Hitoku replied curtly, unfazed by the king's size.
"The day I'll have problems with my mouth will be when I haven't brushed my teeth or when I'll know dangerous truths yo!" Hitoku concluded, smiling contentedly as he finished the cigarette he had started smoking.
"The central hall, I don't remember anything about this place it's been so long. Last thing I remember about this place was that it was abandoned and ransacked over the years. If there was any treasure it is gone.
"Of great help I must say... well guys, what do you say? Shall we head towards the end of this adventure? yoookai." Hitoku asked as he prepared to head back, past the hole they had made on the wall earlier.
Hitoku's departure was followed by that of the rest of the group, including the king, who hurriedly joined him. Within minutes they climbed the three floors to the entrance of the main building. "Mhhh the mausoleum was....mhhh.... there it is, follow me yokai." Hitoku warned after retracing his steps with his gaze before setting off again.
After a short but substantial walk, avoiding the worst alleys and passing through the central square, the group arrived at the entrance of the mausoleum, crossed the corridor and found themselves in the central hall in front of a huge iron door.
"Gentlemen, we have reached our destination kai. Ehy king, now you got something useful in mind or should I make a surprise entrance yo? The door can only be opened from inside in its current condition, if there is no secret entrance, I will go through the crack under it yokai." Hitoku explained the situation while waiting for the king's reply.
"There is no need for that young one... All things bend to my will. Open yourself to me." The iron door then grew a large eye and it spoke out to the king. "Yes sir as you wish master." The door would then open the entrance...
"EHHHH?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME OR WHAT?!?! WHAT KIND OF POWER IS THAT YOO?!?!" Hitoku shouted with a shocked expression, he would have expected a thousand ways in, hand that.
Philip would laugh once again, "philhahahaha! I like you guys! You're not the only ones who can use magic." Philip entered the room. Nigel and Aceiro both shrugged their shoulders and went along with it. During their time making it back up to the city they all grew a close bond, all three of them resembled a bunch of college frat boys hanging out.
Hitoku came to his senses and entered the room. It looked like a joke, but that giant door hid a small room. With a quick glance Hitoku also noticed the insignificance of what was in there, a few shelves with unimportant books, various tools for working with iron, and finally a large chest. "Ehy little one, at least you give us good news yo." Hitoku sighed, stroking the chest and opening it, revealing its contents.
"QUEEN OF THE SEAS THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS BLESSING YOOOKAI!!!!" Hitoku exulted delightedly as his face lit up yellow from all the gold inside the chest. Hitoku however quickly revealed the reason for his happiness, it was not the gold, but an eternal log pose. "Ehy king, king of Jotunheim right? Do you want to go home kai?" Hitoku said contentedly as he stretched out the log pose with the inscription 'Jotunheim' on its bottom.
Philip would smirk and would pick up the loge pose, "Home...I've dreamt of this day of being free and able to go back...But I would be a fool to go back alone. I'm not fully equipped to take back Jotunheim, I need my things."
"Things? What things?" Aceiro asked.
"Just a few things, my axe, gauntlet, and stead. My axe and gauntlet are close by, I'm drawn to them. My stead is on Jotunhiem most likely unless they killed her."
"Very very good...yes...well then you look for your things so we can leave yokai." Hitoku suggested to the king with some haste, the journey had lasted long enough and the air of the next adventure was a thought that was taking more and more space in his mind.
"In the meantime you finish up here, I'll look for some souvenirs while I go up to the surface, also to check if any obstacles await us. Do you remember the way up yo?" Hitoku mocked the others by pretending to doubt their sense of direction.
A few hours later...
The group had now all resurfaced from the cave and arrived back at Nigel's airship. With their newfound friends, the group's journey had only just begun. They now were on a mission to retrieve Philip's items in hopes of reaching Jotunheim.
Nigel had been on the phone with Harvard and would tell him about their little escapade, he had made sure to send pictures and the rest of the documented evidence to the Hunter Union and its reps.
"This sure will make big news if Harvard releases this stuff to the public," Aceiro said grabbing a shiny cup Hitoku had plundered from the city. "I guess we will be heading out soon."
Nigel would glance over at Ace and reply, "Yeah if he was smart he would wait until we have further evidence but I highly doubt he can hold his patience. But trust me, we'll hear about this sooner or later."
"Ah what does it matter if people know, Jotunheim used to be a well-known place in my younger years."
"It's not the average person I'm worried about, it's the World Government. Knowing those guys they're probably already setting up for a search party."
"Let them come...They won't be able to defeat us." Philip said clutching his fist.
"Hey hey hey, tell this Harvard guy that if there's going to be a name in the paper it's got to be mine, yokai!" Hitoku stepped forward, setting down some collected finds. "These are for you, on my notebooks I wrote down interesting information so keep the items without any problem, consider it payment for the next trip if you want to give me a ride yo. For the rest of the search there were no finds in the category I am looking for so you can keep everything." Hitoku explained, disappointed at the lack of the 'treasures' he usually looks for.