'That ID card…'
Uriel's appearance shone under twilight. Snowy white hair moving with the wind, baby blue eyes glowing from the sun, the young Prince turned. Opening his eyes while facing the sun; the boy basked in golden light for but a mere instant. Yet, even so…
"Hey, you alright?"
Upon turning back, Talen was there waiting for him. Uri stifled a chuckle and nodded.
"Fine. Just got lost in the scenery, I guess," he said.
Talen scoffed. "Really? Well, can't say I blame you."
The Prince chuckled under his breath, beginning to walk—striving to catch up with the other two ahead.
"Hey."
He stopped. At the sound of Amit's voice, his head turned.
"When we're done with this mission, let's come back here. I'd never really seen this view before. Now that I have, it's undeniable. You, me, Lora, maybe even Anthony… we could all be together. Wouldn't that sound fun?"
"Anthony?" Uriel chuckled. "You're warming up to that kid, huh? I can't believe you're envisioning a future with your friends and some brat we barely know being part of our group."
"So? Remember the promise we made? It was unanimous," Tal said.
"That's true. Still, I have my reservations about this…" Uriel spontaneously remembered. "Oh, right. Can you give me the assassin's ID you found?"
Talen shrugged. "Sure." He handed Uri the card. "What do you want with it?"
"I told you, I still have my reservations about this. We already established those assailants weren't random. They were contracted through a proxy that has connections to assassination organizations. For example, the Deserter Association."
Uriel flipped the card around to reveal the organization's insignia: two fangs biting a dagger sharpness.
"Those associated with the Deserters are former Enforcers. A group of Enforcers grew bored with Barronia's system that relied solely on Violator extermination. One day, one of the strongest Fate-users, neither Amit nor Barron, suggested something new. Why not do things your way? Of course, freelance Enforcers exist, but they adhere to the King's restrictions. That was the only thing all Enforcers undoubtedly yearned for. Freedom."
Talen's eyebrow raised. "What changed, then?"
"I have no idea. The Deserters work outside of Helenheim. They must warp to get here so fast," Uriel said.
"It's weird. They're just normal assassins, right? But the guy I faced and those dudes I had Disorder swallow… they were pretty much like fodder. If they're former Enforcers, why're they so weak?"
"Because whoever's sending them is testing us." The Prince sighed. "We established this earlier."
"Maybe the reason the Deserters wanted freedom… is that they wanted to venture. Beyond this land. Beyond this continent. To what's left of the outside world."
Uri shrugged. "Perhaps. Then again, it doesn't matter. We should keep moving. We shouldn't be too far now."
The Prince walked over the hill, vanishing beyond the steep another side. Anthony and Alora would've made it miles away, and soon, Uriel would reconvene with them. Talen was alone, still idle under twilight while the setting sun produced crimson colors. It was a sight to behold. Night… would soon fall.
…
The four had walked for hours on end. Their feet collectively blistering, one dared to ask the ultimate question.
Anthony asked, "Are we there yet?"
"Shut up. I'll kill you," Talen said.
They'd already been walking deep into the night. It made sense to them that the capital's streets were abandoned. To all but one, that is.
The Prince's azure eyes scanned the vacant streets. "Where're all the civilians?"
"What kinda question is that?" Talen emerged from behind him. "They're sleeping in their beds. Don't worry about them."
His comrade's reassurance was helpful. Even so, something remained 'off' to Uriel. Within his mind, hundreds upon thousands of cogs were tirelessly working to deduct this mystery's truth.
'It doesn't make sense. If what Talen said was true, I still would've been able to sense them. All humans possess Fate, it's just the markings we're engraved with that grant us Predestined Powers and the basics. I should still be able to sense it. Only one explanation makes everything else reasonable. Yet, it couldn't be. Maybe I just don't want to believe it, but it should be impossible. If each of the homes we've passed is vacant, then who? Who could've abducted all these humans… and why—?'
Talen's hand grabbed his shoulder.
The Prince stopped, looking at Amit and then where his finger was pointing. At the end of the road they'd been marching along, there was a person. Cloaked by the darkness of night, their gender was indistinguishable.
Tal stepped in front of his allies. "Who's there?!" he yelled.
The silhouette smirked. "A ghost."
The houses surrounding the quartet started crumbling simultaneously. Despite nothing but debris and rubble littering the ground, they all started emerging regardless. Bursting from the crumble with extended arms and glowing eyes, the limitless assassins planted throughout Barronia's threshold finally revealed themself with a resounding bang.
The Prince's widened eyes glimmered. 'Impossible! Talen and I should've sensed them! Why couldn't we…? Could it be—?'
'Shit!' Talen sucked his teeth. 'They got us! The proxy must've anticipated we'd rely on our Fate-sensing abilities so they employed assassins without Fate auras to ambush us! But the thing is—'
"Let me guess. The two of you in the back there, you're both asking yourselves 'how', right?" The silhouette reached for his hood and discarded it with a throw. "The answer you're looking for is right before you. You children are ignorant. The only time a human being's Fate vanishes is when their life force is extinguished…"
Talen and Uriel's pupils shrunk. If what they were hearing was true, there was no mistaking it. What they'd first assumed was wrong. Those surrounding them weren't deadly assassins trained to suppress their auras. They were the corpses of the civilians being manipulated by the proxy at the end of the street.
"These are…" Uriel gulped.
Tony gasped. Scratching at his chest, he fell to his knees and started breathing heavily.
Alora knelt beside him, carefully rubbing his back. "What's wrong?"
"I feel it…" The boy grabbed his head, sinking nails into the skin. "The arm. It's nearby…"
"What?! One of Monstrum's limbs is close?" Talen groaned, profusely scratching his head. "UGHHHH! WHAT A PAIN!"
He tore the sleeves off both his arms. An unfathomable pressure started pouring into the air; sinking everyone to their knees but the darkened silhouette. The intact houses down both ends of the road sway with the rumble; moments away from the foundation releasing them. The Fate's emerald coloration slowly began to fade as Talen emerged from the storm—wounds engraving his dark-skinned arms.
"Last Resort."
The Prince raised to his feet, gazing through haziness to stare at Talen's newfound power. This was the truth of the Unconquerable technique. The hidden abilities of anyone blessed with that technique were innumerable; each possessing infinite power the beholder had to invoke carefully. If these techniques were ever misused by any one user, it would mean certain death.
After being cornered so vehemently, Talen had no other options. Where he stood currently was the Verge: between life and death. The single thing keeping him moving was his goal's accomplishment. Once that 'desire' was granted, the flame perpetuating Talen Amit's grand life would undoubtedly… extinguished.
The man dispersed the cloak, revealing his attire and his unarmed posture. "I see. So that's the Unconquerable technique. By sacrificing your life, you gain insurmountable power. Is defeating me THAT important?" Keres asked.
Talen shrugged.
"No words, huh? I see. You want to get this over with so you can die quickly. Fine, then. I'LL GRANT YOUR WISH!!"
A repulsive force slammed into where Keres stood, replacing the platform with a circular crater. Expectedly, Talen's target had vanished. Keres, wielding a curved sword, reappeared behind his foe and slashed his open rear. The boy reacted instantly—turning around in the same moment his burning fist stabbed the air. Stuck in this clash, Talen's eyes reflected Keres' smile.
"I see. Your technique relies on conditioning to amplify your power. Is that the secret of Amit's blood?"
Talen's fist sunk into the ground; once again, Keres vanished. After scanning the environment with glowing emerald eyes, the boy extended his hand, preparing to intrude on Keres' landing. Then he chuckled. Slowly, his fingers ensnared the length of Amit's arm, and, just when time seemingly stopped, the dark-haired assassin touched the ground.
Talen grumbled, noticing the enemy's grip squeezing his exposed limbs. Keres' smirk never faded.
"You're strong," said Talen. "Show me more."
Keres grinned, sweating a single drop.
The Unconquerable's other fist punctured the open air. Keres ducked under his blatant punch and extended one hand. In an instant, his palm slammed Talen's chest, effectively sending him flailing across the sky. Keres reappeared behind him in mid-air, kicking him in the back to form a crater in the street.
'He's strong. Those blows aren't empowered by elite Fate. They're unusually strengthened physical blows. I didn't think it existed but now that I'm seeing it before my eyes, I see no other explanation. This man before me now… is an example of 'Blessed Freedom'—the rarest technique in history.'
Talen stood from the crater and scanned surrounding the area. Despite his soul being devoid of Fate, the sound of footsteps was rapid and unmistakable. Keres reappeared from the rear again, attempting to behead Amit with one clean slice. Unfortunately, his unsheathed dual swords were blocked by the simple raise of Talen's arm.
"It's weird, right? My attacks shouldn't be hurting you. But they are. Do you know why that is?"
Keres was grabbed by the throat and punched across the face. Launched by the strike down the long vast road, the assassin's blade dug into the ground. Having slowed enough, the Blessed maniacally grinned, branding both swords as he dashed straight ahead. Talen moved instantaneously as well.
Keres was fast but Talen was faster. Upon concentrating immensely, the Unconquerable technique used instinct; throwing the boy's fist ahead without a thought coursing the youth's mind.
Keres began sweating. 'I can't dodge this..!'
Then he used instinct too. His sword raised, flawlessly stroking the air to strike away the incoming fist. From then on, to any bystanders, the battle was but blurs and explosions.
Talen punched the ground below, sliding into a stance that raised two fingers. "Last Resort: Zerstörung."
Instantly, his person abruptly exploded. Keres jumped, lounging the swords from his open hands. Amit caught them easily; examining the steel and analyzing the hilt. They were normal swords. The only thing that stood out about these blades was the beeping explosive attached to their guards.
Talen flew from the blast, exiting the smoke cloud to see Keres waiting above him—wielding new arms. As usual, the youth was faster: punching the man, watching him soar through the clouds.
He sighed. "I dunno who you are but no one gets to challenge me with pride and leave with it intact. Sorry but… I'm ending this."
Talen's left pointer finger and thumb touched by the tip, forming an O—all other fingers pushed together. The other hand remained a flat palm beneath it.
"Final Unconquerable. Heed, Disorder. Incarnate and destroy."
Somehow, the immense energy sending fear through everyone's stomachs was gone. Even Alora, paralyzed by its immensity, didn't notice. For half second, they were immobilized, Anthony had vanished from kneeling beside her. Her eyes widened. She turned to Uriel, tears beginning to leak.
The worst had occurred. Yet again, the Disastrous was incarnated. The immense pressure they were all feeling had only belonged to Talen temporarily. Upon its disappearance, it only took a second for them to notice. The pressure they'd been experiencing was mixed with something else.
Despair.
The arm Monstrum desired was consumed wholly. The Monster God enjoyed the meal that blackened his fangs, all the while a sadistic grin spread across his lips the entire time.
In Uriel's eyes, this was it. There wasn't any hope beyond this scenery. The peaceful civilians who had nothing to do with them had been robbed of their lives. Now, they were but surrounding zombies, leaking blood from every wound plaguing them. Who could've done something as horrendous as this? How could someone do something like this?
Why should things like this be allowed to exist? The Prince didn't understand. It was only then he realized the irony of everything. He was the Prince. What didn't he understand? He was royalty. It would've been easy. Just one word and everything wrong with this world go away. So why? Why hadn't he done so already?
'Responsibility is all about entrusting the King in how he decides to lead the nation forward. By doing that, Supreme King Barron intends to keep the strong in check and ensure the weak are protected. You see, Talen, we exist to protect non-Fate users' peace of mind.'
'Keep the strong in check'? 'Ensure the weak are protected? Don't be ridiculous! How couldn't he have noticed, even after all this time? Perhaps he didn't want to. Perhaps he'd wished to ignore these cracks. Cracks in the system his father ruled—the kingdom he would inherit. Had he been so blind? Had he been so… arrogant?
This was the kingdom his father was ruling. One where the strong rule all and the weak are crushed beneath their heel. It was an utter joke. Talen was right. His father—
"That bastard…"
Just when he was about to finish it there, someone invaded Talen's peripheral. He couldn't dodge it. Half of his face missing following a cleave, Amit glared at Monstrum's appearance.
He smirked. "Yo."
To Be Cont.