( This is a Dark Origin story, so please be warned about the harsh words.)
...
[ 12th Floor ]
"( Adrian is really showing his claws after so long of preparation... )" Flolial says to herself while she watches the boys fight each other.
" Burn!!! " Ignis yells as he just blasts his fire off at Adrian who immediately summons water from the ground, using it as his shield.
[ Water Fortress ]
As he summoned it, the water created a giant fortress-like defense barrier that holds Ignis's fire attack.
" Haa... you think that fortress could hold my fire! " Ignis mocks Adrian.
" Don't forget my fire has been combined, reforged! " Ignis says in his humanoid Balrog-ish form.
" You were so stupid, Adrian! "
" You should've remembered that fighting fire-based monsters, beasts, and creatures is totally my very own thing to devour! " Ignis just say things to him, telling his advantages with full pride.
" Hmph...! so what...! " Adrian replies to him sarcastically.
" I'm still unscratched, by the way. " Adrian says as he then shifts the water fortress making it swallow the straight fire, and slowly crushes it inside, as it just Pac-Man'd it.
" Adrian... " Ignis then decides to attack him once more, feeling more pissed than before.
" You were always so annoying, huh!? Mr. Waterson...! "
" Or one of your friends once called you the 'Son of Water'...! "
" What's that really stand for? does that mean that you like to cry so much as waterfalls come out from both of your eyes!? " Ignis just trash-talked Adrian while Adrian keep it calm.
"( Yes, yes, say it what you want... )"
"( I still have more to show you though... )" Adrian smirks as he thinks of it.
.....
( Meanwhile. )
[ 6th Floor. ]
" He was given a chance? you mean there are some Hunters who already searched for that demonic fruit before him and you!? " Aphrodite asks all of the sudden.
" Hey goddess, we're Hunters, okay..."
" Our main purpose to fight monsters is money, we're basically your capitalism Inquisitors. "
" It is written in many of the Hunter Association points, remembers? "
" Even the leader, Hayden Wayne himself had said it in many of his speeches... " Raiden reminds Aphrodite.
" So, you use your job's excuse, to validate and defend your doings in the past...! " Battle Maiden growls for a Divine Priest like her can't stand to hear such degeneracy for a job.
" You Hunters...! " Battle Maiden grips her hands, as she tried her best to quench her anger.
" It's not an excuse, it's just the world we live in... " Raiden replied to her without any regret as he close half of his eye.
" In order to fuel your needs, you were all expected to work hard and f*king gain as much as you can, for status, for survival, and even for your own security. " Raiden says telling the Maiden how the Hunters world operates.
" Everyone knows how we all operate, we didn't care about morality, we care only about how much the money. "
" Money, money, money, money's sweeter than honey. "
" Money, money, money. more money, that's how we Hunters live, nothing different than those who lived in the Underground world of Trinia. "
" Indeed... " Kara then says while having a defensive pose by folding her arms across her chest.
" The Hunters are basically gangsters but were actually legal in the terms of the law. "
" But at the same time, they are technically a freelanced Inquisitors, for they do kill monsters based on their own selfish and individualistic rules. "
" All of the Hunters I've seen and dealt with always had some shady things behind them. "
" Nothing is always pure good and evil in the lives of the Hunters... " Kara looks at Raiden with her eyes, showing him a disappointed look.
" For their lives are basically a shady dark grey area, always had something dark needed to be hidden. " Kara says while looking at Raiden.
Raiden catches the gaze, as the Inquisitor's gaze really catches him at the moment, making him feel bad suddenly, just for a moment.
"( Damn woman, why the hell you have to be my lover in the 'Previous Timelines'...? )"
"( If I'm not eternally bound to her in every term of fate, I would've chosen another woman more assisting than she could ever be. )"
"( But still, went she looks at me... )" Raiden sighs as he can't hold it.
" Dammit, could we just continue, no distractions...!? " Raiden asks them, met with silence.
" Oh no response from you all, fine, guess I'll just go into it then! "
.....
Like I said before, after preparing for a week, Adrian then take me into the Hunters HQ to take the test.
After eating the [Gift Pills], I entered the test and get a good start as a Hunter, while those fools didn't detect my [Sin Mark]. I just realized that Adrian was not the only one who had the [Sin Mark] dissipated from his skin and entered the body, becoming a New Core that operates my unlocked Gift Ability and makes me undetectable in the formal sensors of society.
For as my [Hand Scythe] Gift was first unleashed at the time, it began to attract someone, some senior Hunter who see both my and Adrian's potential.
" Hello there, are you Wilson? " a voice calls my name while I and Adrian want to leave the place.
We looked at its origin and we see an eyepatch guy coming, I'm already prepared my hands if the guy means trouble but before that, the guy releases a [Hand Scythe] too, shocking both of us.
"( [Hand Scythe]...! )"
" Oh, it's you brother, we meet again! " Adrian says as he greets the man.
" How are you man, did you get a great amount of treasure again? "
" Nah, I just came here... " the man says while still releasing his [Hand Scythe], making me confused.
"( Why does it...? )"
" Hey Adrian, is this the one you told me about? " the person asks as he looks at me.
"( Who is this guy..., why do I felt...? )"
" Raiden, let me introduce you to this person... "
" This guy here is Randall Wilson... "
" Or... for you Raiden, you might call him... " Adrian says his actual full name which shocks me, clearing my doubts on how he got the same Gift as me which all makes sense now.
" Randall 'Jack' Wilson. "
" He's part of the Vulture Guild and also... "
" Based on what I've realized, I think both of you are cousins, related by one ancestry... " Adrian says to me which made my eyes wide open as I stare at Randall, the guy that will become the Vulture Guild's Vice-Guild Master, the guy who is actually were, my cousin from one ancestry.
" Hello there, Raiden..., cousin..., nice meeting you. " Randall and I immediately shake hands, after meeting each other, our blood felt joy inside our very veins for both of us who came from the same bloodline finally met after the entire bloodline of our ancestry fell into disarray. separating us from each other, lost.
" I was taught that I'm the only 'Jack' that still exists in this Continental Country (Trinia)*. "
" Goddamn, I feel so secluded after the doctors identified my origin after I was delivered by my mother... "
" Do you get that too, being branded after the doctors know who you are because of the DNA Test procedure after we were born? " Randall asks Raiden about it, for he knows how they live to get into this in the first place.
All 'Jack the Ripper's descendants in Trinia, being the descendant of the great Sinner, are branded after they were delivered by their mothers, for the world had that procedure of an immediate DNA Test after the baby was delivered into this world, making the gods and humans can detect if the newborn baby is a descendant of a great Sinner they punished or not.
After having the DNA Test, if they were found to be one, then the doctors had to add their ancestor's name to brand them as who they really are, even as a baby per the Divine Law and procedures.
" I too felt that... " I said that as Randall tells me more about him which makes me triggered for we had the same upbringing due to our blood.
" I am now here because I too was smart enough to escape from the Governmental Orphanage, as I know that the place was actually a prison for the kids of the sinners and the guilty. " I said to Randall as I remember escaping from the Orphanage through its very sewers. I don't know how I and the others ended there, but it must be the doctors who immediately give me to the government per the 'procedure' they must comply, those blind compliance bastards.
" But still, why are you here, cousin? "
" Do you have something to do with Adrian and me? " I asked Randall.
" Of course, I know why you're here after all... " Randall says.
" Months ago, Adrian give me something great and I'm here to return the favor by helping both of you. " Randall says.
" For I too will join your quest, to find a way to get, "
" The The [Arch-Deviant Fruit]. " Randall says as he then swings his [Hand Scythe].
" What did you... "
" Killing the spies, cousin... " Randall says as blood sprays into my face, from above where I see a slashed man, fall down in front of me.
When it happened, I looked around and see that this is already night, which made us unseen for the night lights are not activated in these hours.
" Now it's 6 p.m. "
" While the lights are not on, should we dispose of this one before they got us...? " Randall asks.
" Of course, I will deal with the blood, I can clean it. " Adrian says as he uses his water mastery to control the very liquid of the sprayed blood, raising it up from the very ground.
As I see it, I then helped in our to attempt escape being caught by some random witness, and we leave the place in a hurry while cleaning the trace of our activities.
( Hours later. )
We came to Randall's place, where we discuss everything he knew which Adrian and I were very enthusiastic to discuss.
" So, there's a Dungeon that had grown the [Arch-Deviant Fruit] in its very plants? " Adrian asks.
" I've had the info from my guild leader, but my info was just a half from the whole thing. "
" For the rest is obtained by my rival in the very Guild I attend. "
" In order to know it, I need the information from him. "
" But... "
" It will be hard for you beginners since he's going to be the next in line of becoming the Vulture Guild's Master. " Randall warns us.
" I understand... " Adrian says as he then stands up from the chair.
" Thanks for the information, Randall... "
" Leave the rest to us! "
" Wait, Adrian! "
" Are you saying we're...!? "
" We're not! "
" For now... "
" Randall, how long before your rival becomes the next Guildmaster? " Adrian asks.
" Around the end of this year, which means you have ten months. "
" That is very enough time for us. "
" For we will prepare ourselves in at least four months. "
" And from there we will execute the plan. " Adrian leaves and I followed.
" Raiden...! " Randall calls me, stopping me for a second.
" It seems you got a great friend, cousin... " he says to me as I then had no reply to that statement and leaves, catching Adrian up.
" Adrian wait! " I chase him.
" What do you mean we will do it in four months!? "
" Do you already make a plan or something!? "
" Already done, after all before defeating a hoard of strong people, we need stronger people in our side. "
" And before I take you in, I happen to have targeted some people to join our cause, to become our ally to increase our power inside the Hunter Association. "
" I can see it, I can see where our path flows now. "
" After we recruit them after our numbers are big, we will then present ourselves as a Guild. "
" Like water that flows, I can bend its direction in order for it to flow to a better place, like our own very life and fate. "
" Hehe, I can't wait to do it! " Adrian just tells me that while I processed it.
....
" So that is the start, huh? " Kara asks Raiden after he finishes.
" You're distracting me... "
" No, I'm just wondering about it for your story reminds me of something I suspected from Adrian a long time ago. " Kara adds.
" What is it? " Aphrodite asks.
" Oh, that...! " Raiden says quickly.
" I will go into that part and explain it in full detail. "
...
( Meanwhile. )
" Again! " Galen says as he trains Ragna on his first task.
< Quest: [ Learn the 'Gunshot Steps' Part I ] >
< Status: In process. >
" Dammit, I get it wrong again! " Ragna says as he tries so hard to perform the very first thing he needs to learn, to attack a large rock from meters away, but had to do it in one large step as he was required to do it by jumping in order to get into range.
"( Due to my feet weakness, I lack the ability to move with great agility. )"
"( Sure my other body is still agile to dodge, but in movement, the more I move with feet, the more I have to waste my energy. )"
"( So in order to mitigate that, I need to learn what Galen called the 'Gunshot Steps', or it was called 'Assaulting Steps', 'Bullet Steps' or whatever. )"
"( This first martial stance is basically on how to attack a far away enemy in one solid and efficient movement in one moment. )"
"( Like a bullet that strikes fast its enemy after it was shot, I must attack my enemies like that very bullet, no fancy movements, just attack and get to the point. )" Ragna says as he keeps training.
______________________________________________
This is the longest chapter so far.
By the way, Randall 'Jack' Wilson already appeared in Chapter 38: Dainsleif (1), in the Ruin of Swords arc.
And speaking of Ragna's stance the
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