The city of Leviathan, a massive metropolis that once flourished with human life and innovation due to its close borders with other empires as well as the many trade centers it contained. Its magnificence had been reduced to rubble, as the city had been turned to a shadow of its former self.
The bunkers had finally opened up, releasing a flood of now displaced individuals. Within this crowd Zephyr had finally found Nikko, embracing her in a comforting hug. He swayed his fingers through her smooth, curly, white hair that extended all the way to her back. Her bright crimson eyes were teary, holding back a waterfall of emotion. She looked at his face for a while, showing off her pretty face that seemed like that of a Greek goddess.
"I'm s-sorry." She said, with guilt clear in her tone.
"There's nothing to be sorry about, none of this is your fault." Remarked Zephyr.
"No, everything's my fault. You came here just because of me didn't you?" She said, saddened with her head low.
"Of course I did, I'd never-"
"It's my fault Arvin's gone!!!" She yelled, though it was quelled by the chatter of the crowd.
"If I hadn't suggested we go to the Moon Star café, maybe, just maybe he would still be with us now."
I couldn't find the will to respond. The topic of Arvins' death was a sore subject, one that neither of us wanted to revisit. I had never truly even come to face the fact; I just simply used the system to distract me from the pain...the guilt of what if. But the truth is that the situation could have been a lot worse, what if I didn't win, and maybe Nikko had died as well? What if Naomi had come with us, would she have died?
I recalled my thoughts at the sight of a grieving Nikko; her radiant happiness had been replaced by irreparable sadness. I grabbed her by the shoulders and with a determined look spoke.
"You are one of the two most important people in my life; you can't hold yourself accountable for anything that happened that day, none of us could have known so take it easy okay."
Her face lit up by a bit as her cheeks became red.
"B-But because of me you came here during this crises. What would have happened if the Golden Blur hadn't arrived? Think about Naomi, what if something happened to you?" she said, concern was etched within her words.
"Don't worry, I'll never leave you two alone in this world, but I won't always play it safe either. Life is too short for 'what ifs'."
Our faces had gotten close to each other in the course of conversing, and upon realization we both went red with embarrassment, quickly putting some distance between ourselves.
'Wait, what did she mean by Golden Blur?' A new question had dawned upon Zephyr, but deciding to put it off until later he spoke.
"It's about time I get you home."
She paused for a moment, as if not knowing how to say what was on her mind. Her cheeks suddenly became bright red as she asked.
"C-C-Could I stay with you?" She said in a slightly embarrassed tone.
"....what?" Zephyr hadn't fully processed what she had just said.
"What happened to your place?" He asked, curious as to why she didn't want to stay at her apartment.
Nikko on the other hand was confused, did he really not know? She wondered.
"Didn't you read my letter?"
"Of course I did, that's why I'm here in the first place."
"Then how did you miss the part about my apartment being destroyed by the fallen?" She inquired how he could miss something so obvious.
Zephyr on the other hand realized that he had only red the front page before rushing to save her.
"Um...well you see?"
Far off from the colorful duo an enigmatic figure stood. His entire body was covered head to toe in a dark cloak, as he stared off at the two. One could see that he was particularly focusing his attention on Zephyr; he was clearly stricken with fear as he gazed towards the indomitable force.
"T-T-That boy s-slew the undead king; and wi-with such ease." He had been the only other person outside the bunkers than Zephyr, and was able to witness the entirety of the fight firsthand.
His feet shook rapidly as he struggled to keep standing, sweat dripped down his face as his teeth chattered. This feeling he had was not something common like fear, no he was in a moment of pure, absolute, unending despair. And just when he was about to run Zephyr looked right at him his gaze cold enough to paralyze even the most terrifying demons with fear.
Nikko had gone to go find the friend she stayed with and introduce her to Zephyr, giving some alone time. He then sensed a massive evil aura nearby; and by instinct her turned his gaze towards the source, a man in a simple black robe.
"System, identify that man, I get an uneasy feeling when looking at him."
[Opening Character Profile
Name: Leiden Mainz, Third Elder of the Cult of Diablo
Age: 37
Stats: None
Level: None
Exp: None
Skills: Hypnosis, Curse Infliction
Inventory: Poison Dagger, Spawn Repulsion Heart]
"Give more information about the spawn repulsion heart."
[The Spawn Repulsion Heart is a demonic A-class item which is made from the beating heart of a true demon, infused with fluid mixtures of unknown origins]
[Its unique composition allows it to radiate a specific demonic aura, akin to that of General. It is through this that the spawn have been contained within the beast planes]
"Huh, then why didn't he use it against the undead that appeared; specifically their king?"
[The Undead King is no simple demon; it in fact used to be one of the ________, during the time of the first clash between the forces of light and chaos. He was slain by ___ ____ but due to his nature of being undead his ____ was not completely destroyed, but instead dormant and awaiting a vessel]
[The Undead Kings strength was drastically reduced to that of a C-class spawn as the flaw for his incarnation]
"Oi, why the gaps?"
[That information is restricted until the host achieves _______]
"Come on, that too, never mind that anyway, I have to deal with him first."
The cult elder had reached into his robe as he began to cautiously head towards Nikko.
'If I attack the girl with the poison, I'd be able to use her to blackmail him.' That was just how depraved he was, even in a situation like this.
Stealthily he moved through the crowd, avoiding the attention of the people and the benefactors who came to aid them. He held his dagger tightly as he approached Nikko. Just a few steps behind her he pulled out his dagger, ready to inflict as much damage as possible, and then he stopped mid strike. For some reason he couldn't complete the strike. Was it remorse, regret or guilt? No, a member of the cult had none of such feelings; their sense of morality had been twisted beyond repair, this was something else. He once again felt that absolute dread from earlier, and slowly he dropped his arm with knife in hand.
He turned around slowly, only to be met by a crushing force upon his body. His legs failed him as he collapsed unto his knees; his arms failed him as they became as stiff as boards. He looked towards the one before him, and in all his magnificence was a wrathful Zephyr.
[Bloodlust Active]
I was before the cult leader releasing a massive surge of killing intent, stopping him from going any further with his endeavor.
"Activate the Hand of God."
[Hand of God Active]
Zephyrs' eyes radiated a golden hue as he walked towards the occult practitioner. He eventually reached him, towering over the elder like a titan he spoke.
"I'll give you two options and two options only so listen carefully."
The man nodded his head hastily, hoping not to anger the being before him.
"You can either hand over the heart or die painfully before you do." Zephyr said, without a hint of hesitance in his eyes.
One could only imagine the inner thoughts of the cult elder at this point in time.
'Fxck, he has me cornered, and even if I ran there's no guarantee of him sparring my life.
He then had seemed to have made his choice, with hesitance he reached into his cloak with his other arm bringing out a sac moments later. This was the Spawn Repulsion Heart; an item of great power was now in the palms of black haired teenager.
"You made the right choice."
Zephyr said upon receiving the artifact, but then with a face of scorn and hate Zephyr snapped his fingers. In no less than a moment a loud snap could be heard, at least it would have been heard if the third elder wasn't trapped within a vacuum. Yes, Zephyr had trapped him within a gasless vortex, preventing the transmission of the sounds of his bones being crushed as well as stopping his ability to breathe.
Zephyr looked down on him with an emotionless view towards the suffering. This man, Leiden Mainz was forced to stay still within an oxygen less vortex while his bones were shattered within. This was all done with a single snap of the hand, showing the monstrous level of skill Zephyr had attained within a short time. Leidens' first instinct was to scream in agony, but he couldn't; only further choking from the lack of air. Every moment was excruciatingly painful as his lung tissue began to collapse; the lack of oxygen began to result in severe dizziness, headaches and eventually his heart stopped with a surging ache. As his heart stopped pumping blood, his vision blurred and all the pain came pouring out in a single desperate cry.
Leiden pleaded for the pain to stop, he pleaded for it all the go away, his pleads fell on deaf ears. When his victims begged did he think twice about their suffering, when they prayed for mercy was there an answer? No, there was not and in a just twist of fate he was now in the same position as those he turned into monsters. Now there was no one who would hear his cries either.
Zephyr on the other hand was entirely indifferent about the situation, letting out a sigh of dissatisfaction.
"Bastard, you don't deserve such a peaceful death."
With a swift gesture of his hand Leidens' right arm which held the dagger rose, and without seize he plunged it into his chest, over and over again. He gouged his organs out, with no sign of stopping as he eventually began spouting blood. His eyes reddened with each strike from the blood covered blade; it was only after he began to stab himself that people began to notice what was happening.
And soon people began to drift towards him, particularly the paramedics which were on scene. People watched on from afar in horror at his self harm, none questioning it and assuming he had lost his marbles due to the attack.
Once the paramedics came to stop him the restriction placed by the hand of god were removed, ending his endless slaughter. Leiden Gazed at the crowd around him and was prepared for the sweet relief of death to captivate him. Then a resounding snap sounded through the air, some covered their eyes and eyes, while some looked away in shock and horror. His neck had been broken in half, severing his spine from his brain and killing him instantly. Then his body went limp, falling on the floor like a ragdoll in a pool of blood.
It was in his final moments that the hood of his cloak unveiled his face. A tanned male with dark blue hair was the only description one could make of his distinguishable features.
Zephyr however was no were to be seen, as the day descended into the night. A few hours had passed as the efforts to ensure the safety and care of all survivors were still ongoing.
Under the hymn of the moonlight were three individuals centered round a makeshift campfire. One was Zephyr, pondering over the decision he had made, the other was Nikko, trying to ease her nerves from the earlier incident and the third was a yet to be identified girl.
She sat with her legs crossed in black shorts and a plain white top. Her dark hair was weaved into a neat bob cut complimenting her Latina skin which radiated in the light of the flames. Finally she had a small stature which had been properly endowed in all regards, seemingly by the goddess of beauty herself. She seemed to be the friend that Nikko seemed to have to come to stay with. She seemed to be worried about something as well before seemingly coming to terms with it.
"I will also be staying with you...please." She said in a stoic voice.
The other two were silent until a consecutive.
"NO!"
She fell on her back as if not expecting that response.
"What do you mean no?" She retorted in annoyance.
"I asked nicely didn't I?"
"A house with one man and three women sounds like prison sentence waiting to happen." Zephyr blandly said, letting out a sigh.
"But I have no were else to go." She once again said with a serious expression.
"Come on Maya, there isn't any space for all of us." Nikko spoke, trying to ease the mood.
"Then you can stay in a motel." Maya once again stoically said.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT." Nikko responded, being visibly annoyed.
"Alright, I'm sure I can make enough space for you as well so give it a rest."
"Right!" they both retorted in agreement.
Soon enough they both went to sleep under the stars, leaving only Zephyr to the loneliness of the night. Towards the horizon a new day had began, as the sun rose in the east, wiping away the light of the stars with its all encompassing shine. He looked towards the horizon and gave a deep sigh.
"I need to stop putting of this mission, sooner or later it'll catch up to me and there's no way in hell I'm going to leave them in this god forsaken world." He said, clenching his fist as his hair wavered in the wind and his eyes lit up with a golden hue once more.