"…" Black thought power thickened and encased Vere as the Authority Rami gave off a spine-chilling glow. The music in his head seemed to flow out into existence, as everyone within the mall was caught within the rapid, tenacious tempo of heavy drum battering.
Heavy, crushing bass noises resounded against the mall itself, each sound pounding into Koizuki's eardrums. Grooves seemed to shiver on his backside as an ominous, menacing collection of black waves formed Vere-shaped outlines. Cracks lined the floor beneath his footsteps, and a wicked smile bloomed before settling back into calmness.
But those eyes. A dangerous, violent glint of pure madness seemed to pervade that pointed stare. No matter how much Vere hid it—there was no hiding minacious brutality that leaked from them.
He cocked his head to the side. "What's the matter?" His voice sounded carrying a friendly yet eerie tone.
Purple light vaguely shone from his hair strands as the Detail (Selfish behavior) materialized in the form of lilac-hazed words that escaped his lips. A bestial vibe seemed to cloak the man, the facade of concern ripping to reveal unbridled hatred.
>Detail (Selfish behavior) has been implanted. Detail Gained: (Nicks and scratches on the blades).
His mind rapidly made deductions as he sauntered forth with heavy plodding steps. The conspiracy board stuck a pin in it and linked the details he now had…
> (Self-Taught)———(Nicks and Scratches on the blades)———(Selfish Behavior) Check! A fully formed Detail emerges...(Careless Hero). Case Understanding Lv 1 -> 2.
Koizuki trembled in his footsteps but couldn't help reassessing the opponent. Despite the unsettling feeling he got…the cognitive readings he was picking up on weren't any better than his. They were, in fact, inferior.
Confidence filled his stilling frame once again as an indifference formed his expression. Then, the Loose Cannon Arbiter sprung forth, connected to his body via a thin thread as it hurtled towards Vere.
It unleashed a barrage of powerful punches as hawk cries screamed with great fury! Then, finally, Koizuki spread his thought power over his body and became a violet streak of light, surging to perform finishing blows on that black coiled cockroach!
As if his spine bones cracked into controllable particles, Vere leaned so far backward it was inhuman. The most extraordinary round of limbo Monfrey had ever seen was taking place right now—the pissed-off Warden muttering as he deftly avoided each and every blow.
Koizuki closed in front what he thought was the man's blindside—surprised he wasn't reduced to mush already. As he clenched his knuckles, he stared at Vere, ready to reap his life faster than he could blink!
Yet somehow, time seemed to slow. Or maybe Vere was just moving incomparably fast…either way…
He saw the man's pupil languidly slide over while easily avoiding the Loose Cannon Arbiter. The calm smile threatened to descend into pure madness as his lips upended, and his eyes fixed themselves into crescents!
"You saw something you shouldn't have, didn't you?" His ripped glove fluttered in the auric onslaught, and Koizuki had indeed seen it.
The portion of his hand that was revealed…there was a horrible scar. The scar seemed to be the remnant of decade-old burn wounds, yet the marring was so intense that the man's pale white skin was permanently darkened in that exposed area.
The dreadful cruelty that was used to inflict such a wound in the first place—that feeling was so intense as Koizuki stared at the scar. An unstoppable sensation of sympathy welled up in his very soul…as if he could view the shadow of a horrible past.
Even the most stoic, unmovable hearts would buckle and falter under this sympathy.
Meanwhile, Vere's hatred seemed to envelop him fully as his thought power was constantly
[Refined]. He propped up a single digit as he leaned forward and met the fist head-on. It looked like a battering ram was being used against a centipede from a distance.
Yet the centipede won, effortlessly, at that. A finger flick forced the fist of the Loose Cannon Arbiter to disintegrate in gold-black particles, a thick haze intensifying as it segmented itself and covered Vere within its depths.
Pure Authority thought power reveled in the even more unadulterated hatred the amnesiac detective experienced at this moment.
>[Press!] (Careless Hero). It pertains to…
Suspect's personality? Suspect's motivation? Suspect's current irritation? Case Understanding Lv 2 -> Lv 3 max. "You. You must think the whole world revolves around you, huh?" Vere questioned—nay—he asserted. Koizuki wanted to resist but simply found the words dying in his throat. A black strand separated itself from the thick pillar of gold-black energy and stretched out the glove's material. It thinned a small amount—but the rip was fixed. But Vere's anger wasn't. [Press!] [Press!] [Press!] Vere expertly controlled his energy as it constricted around the poor Warden, biting past his thought power and dissipating it. Heavy punches battered like heavier rain as Vere precisely invested his thought power with each strike. Each strike, no, each blow left nothing but ruptured insides in its wake. Yet Koizuki didn't die because Vere didn't permit him. He was a reigning lord right now, punishing the arrogant enemy of his with quite the torture. Somehow, even though he only punched, cuts also formed on his body. Every single type of wound formed on the Warden, and it was like each compounded burst was followed by someone pouring bleach into the mortal injuries. This went on for a total of ten minutes. Vere finally stopped as Koizuki's consciousness faded, hiding in the depths of its own mind just to avoid abruptly dying from the intense, brutal shock of his wounds. As Vere finally stopped venting his hatred, he squatted. Perched before the unconscious Warden's head, he seemed to reminisce. He took his glove off. Both of them. He then remembered precisely how his body looked underneath his clothing. This body—his body, is marred by several wounds and scars. The old burn marks are most notable on his hands, which is why he hides his hands with gloves for the most part. A lot of his torso scars are hidden by tattoos, and his leg scars weren't bothered with at all, considering the fact that he didn't think anyone would see them. They are evidence of his blood-filled past…the horrific cruelty and marring scars enough to cause sympathy in even the most stoic people. Aside from the awful burn scars that make his hands look darker than they should be in some areas, his hands themselves are quite pretty. His fingers seem to have the build of a skilled pianist, his movements dexterous and precise with just the slightest bit of flair. Not all of the scars on his back are covered, however. They make up several crosses that look like stars and have weird runic patterns. In addition, there is a large scar on the left of his shoulder plate that seems as if there was something there. One of his tattoos is a clear-looking snake—named Edith. A feeling of unstoppable ire raged from the abyss of his mind and soul. He couldn't remember the progenitor reason behind this hatred—but he would know when he saw them. Closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh, he looked at Koizuki. He had long registered the SAD on his wrist…he was a Warden. He probably came here to investigate the changes in the skyscraper. Knowing that he just couldn't kill him without the information, he contented himself with planting a foot on his head. Vere felt like shit. He learned that he absolutely hated it when people exposed the scars on his hands—and promptly slipped his gloves back on. Othello walked out from a distance, standing by his side silently. As Vere looked up, she shushed him with a finger at the lip, and rich waves of azure blue haze erupted into the surroundings as it spread over Koizuki. "No one needs to know, okay? We can just play the fool. Get what information you need when he wakes up—" Othello stumbled and fell forwards, prompting Vere to hurriedly catch her. "Hey, are you stupid…?" The man grumbled as he hoisted the demoness on his back. He felt her presence weaken significantly, aware that she hurt himself just to keep his secret. A secret that even he didn't know.