Tareus Dimension...
In the Great Hall of the Fortress of Screams, the Great Shadow Defenders once again gathered in front of Emperor Darshao. Only five of the seven were present, though. The leader's fury at the fact that the Seitengers' powers were revived in the bodies of young people that Hideoki had hidden from the enemy's radar for the past ten years.
"That damn Hideoki should've been killed that night, as well!" Siriso growled as he clenched his clawed fist.
"Who would've thought that they could still use that much Hasureiki despite knowing the obvious that those chosen to become the new Seitengers are novices in the field?" Alvre remarked as she faced Siriso with a smirk. "And you, my dear General Siriso, lost to a bunch of novices. To think you're a warrior for 5,000 years... Have you lost your raging desire to kill them?"
The general didn't like the condescending tone that accompanied Alvre's words, at all. Out of anger and frustration, he unsheathed his sword and swung it to Alvre who managed to evade it with her speed. It only infuriated Siriso even more and Alvre was laughing at his behavior. The deed went on for about a minute or so.
It only stopped when the general and the assassin were thrown by a blast of dark energy. As the two struggled to get up, they saw the emperor's right palm facing them. They realized that it was Darshao who threw that attack to stop them.
"You're only making my headache from your foolishness! And you call yourselves warriors for doing that?" In seconds, he cast an electric attack on the two thrown Shadow Defenders which caused them to scream in pain.
It went on for a few moments before Darshao immediately stopped and collapsed on his throne.
"Your Majesty!"
Orcus and Nemia attended to the emperor. Karkino approached the slightly weakened Siriso and Alvre.
"Save your squabbles to the Seitengers. We could use it more to defeat them," Karkino stated calmly.
Alvre looked up to the Lieutenant. "It's rare to see you calm in this kind of situation, Karkino."
The Lieutenant scoffed. "I'm saving my temper for dealing with those Seitenger brats. Not even the emperor would dare stop me if I decided to unleash my rage on them." He faced Siriso. "While the emperor sleeps, do your job outside the dimension. I think he collapsed because the negative emotions your Triske Monster gathered weren't enough. Our ruler needs all the energy from those negative emotions. Of course, you know that we're after the energy of one particular emotion. That's why we're causing terror to the humans."
As much as Siriso hated being lectured and ordered to, he couldn't think of a retort. He knew that his fellow Shadow Defender was right.
"Gather hopelessness..." Siriso stood up and started walking away. "You got it. Though you must remember, humans are stubborn beings. The same goes for their hope."
As soon as Siriso got out of the Great Hall, he kicked the nearby wall with intensity because of his frustration. It was meant not only to the Seitengers revived but also to what Emperor Darshao did to him. He could care less about Alvre. She could die for all he cared.
Once he managed to calm himself down, he found a hidden spot where he could concentrate. This time, he must do what it takes to win. By conjuring a rune circle in front of him, he began summoning a Triske Monster that would be perfect for the job.
The monster materialized after a few moments, its features blocked by the dark shadow that engulfed the area.
"Cyone... it's your chance. Appease my frustration. Do all that you can to destroy the Seitengers."
= = = = = =
"Thank you so much!" Eichirou said to the cashier as he took the bags with his grocery items in them after paying the total amount. With that done, he went out of the grocery store.
He didn't have any trouble carrying two bags full of groceries. Ever since he was a child, he was always the strongest among his friends in terms of physical strength. Come to think of it, he didn't struggle too much in fighting the Gargonema that day. He was able to throw them away or beat them to the point of unconsciousness with just a few punches and kicks.
It looked like he was able to put his strength to good use.
If he would analyze his friends' strong points, he could say that they were unique. Eichirou already knew his strong point was power. Shuichi was, no doubt, his leadership skills and perhaps even the brutality and ability to easily adapt to different situations as he had already observed. Itsuki was reading too many books ever since, so he knew the composer would surely become the brain of the team. Misae's strong points would be precision and control due to her archery training. Maybe he could also add speed to that. Erika would be her strong will and calm mind no matter the gravity of the situation.
Eichirou just smiled as he thought of that. Why in the world did he begin thinking of such issues?
But all of a sudden, his smile faded as he stopped in his tracks. He looked around but found nothing unusual. And yet he couldn't shake off that weird feeling.
Until it hit him!
That's the same feeling I got when the Tareans first attacked!
As soon as he realized that, he heard a familiar beeping sound. He put the grocery bags down on the nearby bench and saw his Celestial Shifter on his wrist. The lotus symbol on it was blinking.
"Not the Tareans again..." Eichirou could only mumble as he pushed a certain button on the side. It soon materialized as a holographic screen displaying a map with a black dot blinking on one particular location in the city. "It's not far from here."
He took a deep breath, determined. Before he decided to head out, he saw a perfect place to hide his groceries since he didn't want his Aunt Nanami to scold him for losing them. As soon as he secured it. he rushed toward the scene of the attack.
= = = = = =
Back at the Mizuhashi mansion, the other four Vessels were still busy doing their own thing. But almost all at once, they froze when they heard four familiar beeping and they could only come from one source.
"The Shifters!" all four of them exclaimed at the same time.
With that, each had focused on their respective Celestial Shifters. The lotus symbol on each of them was blinking. Shuichi pushed a button on the side of his Celestial Shifter and let it project a holographic screen that showed a larger version of the city map. Aside from one blinking black dot, he also saw a moving blue dot.
"Eichirou's already heading to the scene. We have to hurry, as well," Shuichi suggested.
The others nodded and they immediately left the house.
Nanami went out of the kitchen and she could only watch the closed door with concerned eyes.
"Good luck... and be careful, everyone."