His eyes were watering because he had yawned unknowingly with his mouth completely closed. His head was spinning, he felt like falling flat on his face. Something was keeping his body up. He felt like sitting on something hard. He couldn't move his hands nor legs.
My hair isn't falling…? Dan thought. Oh, right. I'm wearing a headband.
He moans half awake, my head hurts, he thought quietly. He opens his eyes, halfway. He saw a bright white floor that blinded him. He looked up, still with his eyes half closed, still blinding him. He tried moving his arms to cover his eyes, he couldn't move them.
Dan opens his eyes fully and looked over his shoulders and down to his stomach, a glowing white cable was tying him down to a chair.
He looked to his right, confused. "Where the fuck…?" He asked quietly. He looks to his left, it was Laura. His frowned anger turned to a bright smile, "Laura!" He said gleefully.
"H- Hi," she replied quietly.
"Are you okay?" He turns concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Weren't you bit in your arm?"
"I- I was," she replied. She glanced at her arm, "it's healed now."
"Maji? Douyatte?"
Maji? Douyatte? = For real? How?
"Because I healed her!" A reverb loud voice intruded their conversation. Dan grits his teeth and looks behind him. He sees the man with the half-white half-black mask and bomber jacket. "I remember you… You're that fucker that took us!"
"A quick one this guy," the man replied sarcastically.
"What the hell is this?"
The man glitched out of existence and reappeared in front of Dan and Laura.
"A kidnapping, duh," the man giggled.
"Yeah, I mean for what!?" Dan yelled, reiterating what he said.
"Can you stop yelling?" The man complained.
"Hell I would! Who are you? Where are we?"
"We are in my Imaginary Dimension."
"What, is it like a domain expansion?"
"I don't know what that is," the man replied.
"Answer my other question."
"Namae wa Shujin desu."
Namae wa Shujin desu = The name's Shujin
"Well, Shujin, get us out of here."
"I'm not here to save you, headass."
"I'm demanding you."
Shujin grips his right hand and a curved dagger appeared inside his grip. He was suddenly right in front of Dan; his dagger tip was on the top of Dan's neck.
"You demand nothing of me."
"Like I give a shit?"
Shujin's cartoonish eyes twitched intensely, filling himself with annoyance and frustration. "WOULD YOU LET ME EXPLAIN WHY I KIDNAPPED YOU FIRST!?" He spat loudly, his voice laced with frustration.
"WELL…" Dan paused and thought it was a good idea, "I guess you could."
Laura couldn't help but find their bantering funny. She didn't dare laugh out loud though.
"Thank you. I'm here for the Gravity Ring," Shujin claims.
Dan raised an eyebrow, questioning, "whazzat?"
"What do you mean whazzat?"
"Well, I don't know what that is," he claims. He looks over to Laura, "do you know what that it, Laura?"
She nodded.
Damn. Guess, I'm still a normie, he said inside his head.
Jon?
What?
Help me out.
"Who is that talking?" Shujin asks, looking around.
"You, stupid," he immediately projected.
Did he hear me talk to you, Jon?
Jon thought about staying silent, but he wanted to test it out. Yes.
"That! Whose voice is that?" Shujin again wonders.
"Off topic!" Dan spat. "What is the Gravity ring?"
"A ring," Shujin replied with a dead tone.
"Well, I couldn't figure that out myself."
"It controls gravity."
"A ring that controls gravity? Or the person wearing it?"
"Latter," he replied, annoyed. "Smart ass."
"What's with the mask?" Dan asks, "you ugly?"
"Quite the opposite," Shujin's mask smirks for him.
"Take it off then," he challenged. "Handsome," he said patronizingly.
Are they flirting? Thought Laura. She was very confused with where this conversation was going. She was awoken quite a while before Dan was, but Shujin did nothing more than introduced himself and ask who Dan was.
"Maybe if you take it off yourseeeeeeeeeeeeee-" Like a crashed program, his voice was stuck at that specific note. His head glitches all over the place. He was stuck like that for more than ten seconds, Dan was quite afraid that the dagger tip would suddenly move and cut him.
Shujin then backs away a few steps, it was like having a seizure. Then everything just stopped. "Anyways, do you know a man named Eric Fash?"
What was that all about? Wondered Dan. Did he say Eric Fash?
Dan's poker face was terrible, it was obvious that he knew the name but didn't know who that person was. Shujin didn't probe and let Dan finish his thought process.
"I don't know who that is," he replied honestly.
"Really?" Shujin doubted. "He's got your family name."
Dan knew it was his father's name, he didn't want to say. He wasn't sure. "I know the name, I've no idea who or where that guy is."
"What is he to you?" Shujin raised his cartoon eyebrow.
Dan threw his face away, "nothing," he mumbled.
"And, technically?"
"My... Dad."
"You're fatherless!" Shujin laughs.
"DROP DEAD, ASSHOLE!" Dan yelled.
Though true, Dan was still a little offended about it. Half the time, he blames his father for how he is. In truth, it revolves around himself.
"Why do you want my dad?" He asks, gritting his teeth angrily.
"Apparently, he has it. But, I can't find him."
"So…?"
"I thought you would know where he is."
"I never know where he is."
"Omae no oka-san?"
"Korosuzu."
"Oouuhh… Kowai."
Omae no oka-san = Your mom?
Korosuzu = I'll kill you
Kowai = Scary
The two stared at each other. Well, Dan was looking at Shujin's weird eyes. This continued for a full minute in silence.
Are they having a staring contest…? Laura thought.
"Then why kidnap Laura too?" He questioned.
"Well, she… Wait, I actually didn't ask you anything, right?" Shujin realized.
She shook her head, "no."
"Do you know where his dad is?"
She shook her head, "no."
Shujin planted his mask onto his right palm, "this is going nowhere," he sighed.
"Why would my dad have that ring anyway?" Dan asked.
"Maybe coz he likes being powerful? I don't know."
"Is he not some regular deadbeat?"
"No," Shujin shook his head. "I heard he has a nickname."
Dan leans back slightly, his eyebrows narrowing in confusion, "what?"
"The Manipulator."
"The Manipulator… Why does that sound familiar?" He whispered to himself. He leans over to Laura, "who is that?"
"The… Mass murderer from 16 years ago?" She whispered.
"OH-" Dan's brain.exe stopped working. He was confused and utterly baffled. "Wait, you mean to tell me, that my dad is a fucking genocidal maniac?"
"Yep," Laura and Shujin answered at the same time.
"Why did my mom be with someone like that?" Dan asked himself quietly.
"Well, people change…" Shujin sighed reminiscently.
"You don't turn into a genocidal maniac!"
Shujin scoffs at the idea that people don't, "you have no idea," he laughs. "He was never good to begin with. He's a crime lord since he was twelve, Dan."
"That... Can't be true," Dan was in denial.
A foldable metal lawn chair in front of Shujin, he grabs the back rest and flip the chair around. He sat on it facing the opposite direction. Resting his hand and chest on the back rest.
"Nee, okasan o hanashimasenka hou ga ii?"
Nee, okasan o hanashimasenka hou ga ii? = Maybe you should ask your mom?
"Yeah, I should," Dan nods, agreeing.
"Can we leave?" Ask Laura.
"Well, you have nothing else to offer me. So…"
"Wait, why do you need the ring?" Dan had only thought about such important question in the moment.
"Glad you ask. I'm..." Shujin said it in a long breath. "Going…" He did it again. "To…"
"This is getting on my nerves," he whispered to Laura.
She nods in agreeing.
"Repeat…" Shujin's still on his bullshit. "History!" He said the last word in an excited tone.
"Which history?" Dan asked.
"Destruction of Bright."
"Joudan darou?" Dan felt a little nervous.
"Joudan janakute. Demo, omae sono ichibude wa arimasen."
"Ii deshou?" He replied sarcastically.
Joudan darou? = You're kidding?
Joudan janakute. Demo, omae sono ichibude wa arimasen = Not joking. But you won't be a part of it.
Ii deshou? = Great?
That's right, if it wasn't going to involve himself, he wouldn't bother to do anything. Perhaps, warn the others. But, other than that, he wouldn't care.
"So, I'm going to let you go. You have no use for me."
"Good, untie us then."
"Us?" Shujin raised an eyebrow, "omae tte yo."
Omae tte yo = I said 'you'
"What do you…"
Shujin uses the dagger in his hand and had it lined up from afar at her neck. "I'm going to kill her." Laura's eyes widen with fear, her heart starts to race and she started struggling to free herself.
"What!? Why?" Dan ask, getting angrier by the second.
"Killing her would leave a big impact, it would spiral the sorcery world to chaos," Shujin smiled. "Something I'd like."
"Why would that happen?" Dan asked. "I mean, why her?"
"Don't you know?" Shujin presumed Dan knew, "she's a royal."
"A royal…?" Dan hadn't put it together yet. "Crescent…?" Dan looks at her face to see her face a little terrified. His panicked face wasn't really comforting her, but she appreciated his concern. She thought it must've taken a lot for Dan to feel that way towards someone.
"You're her partner and you didn't know?" Shujin mockingly scoffed.
"Well, to be honest, we got off on the wrong foot. I stepped on that foot. So, yeah, I didn't," Dan openly admitted.
"Too bad, I suppose," Shujin sighed.
Shujin coursed mana through his body and onto the dagger. The blade glowed brightly white. "I don't have to make contact, the moment I move the blade, everything within my sights is cut unconditionally."
"Wait…!"
"Goodbye, Laura Crescent."
"Wait!" Dan somehow managed to phase through the binds and stood up. He lifted Shujin's hand that was holding the dagger. Dan was confused as to what happened himself, but he was glad to be able to step in.
With his free hand, Shujin grabbed Dan's jacket and pulled him close. "That was a soul spell…!" Shujin noticed. He became intrigued with Dan. "You're capable of that?"
Shujin forcibly released his grip on Dan's jacket and it threw him a few steps back. Dan rushes in, starts with a right hook then followed up with a left cross. Both to create an opening for Dan's kidney punch with his right hand. All three strikes were easily blocked by Shujin's left arm. After being blocked, Dan goes for a low groin punch with his left hand, Shujin sweeps it off course with his right hand. After going low, he went high, to Shujin's head. Shujin uses his left hand to push under Dan's wrist to bring his hand up higher than his own head. Then, with his right arm, Shujin charged a small amount of amplification. He strikes Dan's abdomen, Dan was able to block it with his free arm. Then everything coursed through him. He felt a wave that tired him out. It was equivalent to doing a hundred push-ups at once. Dan felt his hand tremble from the sheer force. He thought he would be feeling it for days.
Shujin then turns around and brought his right knee up. He continues to spin as he released his leg, channeling amplification, from the chamber and kicking Dan's abdomen completely unblocked. Dan slips forward and falls to his knees. His head hung low, blood rushing through his throat, he coughed up a significant amount.
"My amp has a special property," said Shujin. He turns to Dan and walks to him. "It allows me to punch through my enemy's defenses. Basically, they're un-blockable," he further explained. Shujin crouches down to Dan and pat his head, "shinpaishinakute, even at max output, I doubt it would kill you."
Shinpaishinakute = don't worry
Dan had nothing to say, he looked up and glared at Shujin. Shujin's smile on his mask was patronizing. Shujin looks back at Laura, his head twitches back and forth. He's glitching again. The cable tied around Laura disappears and she was release. Luckily for her, and idiot move on Shujin's part, her weapon was left unattended next to her. She grabbed her scabbard and pulled out the sword from it. She rushes in, running as fast as she could.
Shujin finally stops glitching. He was suddenly holding both of Laura's wrists. Keeping her sword in place. In fact, her whole body in place. She couldn't move. Shujin looked into her eyes, "you were scared, weren't you?" He pulls her close. "Not because I said I was going to kill you, but rather of something else, am I right?"
Laura cast Light Amplification to her arms and pulls her right hand free. Gripping her blade tightly, she lifted her right leg up to land a roundhouse kick to Shujin's head, hitting his mask. Her kick was connected with the shin, by normal means, it could leave a concussion.
After one kick, she kept going. Using amplification to enforce her entire body. After about a dozen kicks in the span of four seconds, Laura lifts Shujin's hand that was gripping her left wrist still. She goes under it and lowers his hand. She lifts her left leg and went over his arm. Having his arm under her crotch, she forcibly pulled his arm the wrong way as strong as she could. His arm snapped by the elbow nearly ninety degrees.
Laura then was released from his grip, she got away from Shujin. Shujin looked incredibly… Unbothered. Laura dashes forward and stabs Shujin right through his stomach. She twists the blade and pulls it out in a downward slanted way, carving his stomach open. His entrails spilling out and his blood pooled under his feet.
Laura then gripped her sword with both hands, pointed the tip under Shujin's chin and stabbed right through it. Then she leaps above Shujin, stabbing him right in the neck. She then uses her entire body weight by falling down and driving her blade deep into his body. All the way down to his groin. Then she drags the blade out through his back. She spins around him and joins Dan.
"A- Are you okay?" She worries.
"Besides the internal bleeding, I'm fine, honey," he said in a half-sarcastic tone.
Did he just call me that? She couldn't believe him.
The two looked at Shuijn who was bleeding too much. A whole gallon and a half's worth of blood. He was still standing, unfazed. The two were confused. How is he still standing? Questioned Laura.
"Heheh… HEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA…!" He continued to laugh.
"I get it, you're batshit insane," Dan said.
"What makes you say that?" He was still laughing.
The two had nothing to say. If they wanted to escape, they needed to know where they are first. Laura hasn't been taught about the whole Imaginary Dimension thing yet. Jon never intended to teach Dan at all.
"Out of all the villain archetypes, why did I have to get the insane ones?" Dan thought out loud.
"Ehh… Gomen ne. Jibun no chi o miru no wa nare teru, omoshiroi neee…"
"Nani ittenda yo?"
Gomen ne. Jibun no chi o miru no wa nare teru, omoshiroi neee = Sorry about that. It's been awhile since I saw my own blood. How interesting.
Nani ittenda yo? = What are you talking about?
"None of this," Shujin gestures at his mortal wounds, "…Can kill me."
Shujin's entire body then suddenly glitches. Though, it was a different kind than before. It was almost like a player lag jumping due to low ping. Known as rubberbanding. He did not move any place, rather, his entire state of being reverted back to what it was before. Perfectly well. Unharmed. Even the blood that had left his body disappeared.
"See?"
Reality then seems to warp within Dan and Laura's vision. Then Shujin disappeared from their sights and then all they could see was each of his palms were heading straight to their faces. A simple slap to the face and the two were completely out cold.
A full day after Dan and Laura was kidnapped by Shujin
On the site of Dan and Laura's mission, the BCC was cleaning up the mess. Only now since Kai called recently.
"What do you mean neither of them called for your services?" Kai asked, his forehead clenching in anger.
"We confirmed it, Mr. Hinora," said one of the crew members. "We keep a list of the people who called us, their numbers mostly, but names too if they give us one."
"Naze karera wa kinou denwa shinakatta no?" Kai spat, frustratedly
"Shirimasen," the crew member replied.
"Sore wa shuuji-tekideshita!" Kai yelled at him.
He then bowed to apologize. "Sumimasen deshita," the crew member did not deserve such treatment.
Naze karera wa kinou denwa shinakatta no? = Why didn't they call you yesterday?
Shirimasen = I don't know
Sore wa shuuji-tekideshita! = That was rhetorical!
Sumimasen deshita = I'm very sorry
Kai then started inspecting the site for any clues. After a full minute of running around, ruining the BCC's operation, he gave up. He didn't find any clue. What intrigued him most would be this crater on the ground. It was random and misplaced.
The beast was too big for this small of a crater. A ground pound wouldn't make sense, this crater is too perfect shaped. It's a maniacal, perhaps a spell? Kai then proceeds to conjure up a play-by-play in his head.
It had a special built throat to complement its spells. If it was some energy ball, maybe. But magic isn't affected by gravity, unless that's the specific condition. Beasts aren't capable of that! Bakayaro! It was probably sound…
Bakayaro = Idiot!
"You know, it's easier to chalk it up to a third party," said a woman that walked beside him.
"You think so?" Replied Kai, casually.
The woman was named Cathy Mcarthy. A High-Rank sorcerer in charge of the students, just like Kai. She walks up to the crater. "Yeah, this had no mana stain on it," she pointed at the crater.
"Who could it be?" Kai asked, hoping for a definitive answer.
"Now you're asking the wrong question."
"You know things."
"Because I know beforehand," she said. "The beast is also interesting," she points out.
"How so?"
"It had stains of otherworldly mana, but not the same as its own."
"So, a third party it is."
"Same thing with the beast from the train station."
"Cloaked presence and… This one?"
"Evolution."
"It's so frustrating," Kai groaned.
"You're worrying for nothing," said Cathy. "Laura is a tough girl, she wouldn't die by a kidnapper."
"What if she's being tortured? Or worse, raped?"
"You think she wouldn't be able to defend herself?"
"Of course, she could. But, the fact is that she's missing right now…"
"Dan should be with her, she'll be fine."
"He'd be the type of person to just watch," Kai replied.
"You and I both know that's not how Ava raised her kid," she argued.
"He's pretty fucking nonchalant and irresponsible."
"You've only met him yesterday."
"I know a brat when I see one."
Cathy ignored Kai's comment and continued, "I found something else."
"What?"
"This beast was never spotted by anyone, despite it killing dozens already."
"You think it killed our second years, too?"
"Definitely involved. The corpses of our students…"
"Right…" Kai sighed. He remembers the disfigured bodies of his students. He's disgusted at the sight, also incredibly pissed off. "You'd think we would find out about this," Kai said, frustrated at the fact that they're in the blur.
"This sorcerer is definitely meticulous. Probably had inside help too," Cathy claimed.
"Who you thinking?"
"I don't know," she answered. "They kidnapped Dan and Laura, now I don't think they would need Laura for anything. They can't threaten her family with her."
"So, you're thinking it's because of Dan?" Assumed Kai.
"His dad is The Manipulator. It's probably an enemy of his."
"We'll just talk to the guy who gave them this mission. I'll make him fucking answer me."
"Good."
Heavy gush of wind knocked people over, the loud sound of a sonic boom made their ears rang loudly. Cathy sighed as she dissipates into mist, "sorry about him," she said.
Kai was inside the BTC office. Everyone there stopped working to look at Kai who just bust the door open. "Who gave the mission to Laura Crescent and Daniel Fash yesterday?"
"I- I did," said a man named Marshall.
"Okay, please stand up."
Marshall stood up from his seat. In an instant, they were on the roof of the office building. Marshall was shaking and terrified. "What the fuck?"
Kai grabbed his collar and pushed him to the edge of the building. He let Marshall hang. "Did you give them false dossiers, Marshall?"
"I- I don't know what you're talking about!"
Kai's eyes turned lifeless and cold, he glared at Marshall. "I will let you go and kill you before you hit the fucking ground. Did you do it?"
"Yes!" He quickly confessed.
"WHO MADE YOU DO IT?" His voice was sharp, stabbing through Marshall's ears.
"It was a man. He wore a mask. Black and white."
"What's his name?"
"He didn't say!"
Appeared behind Kai was a cloud of mist that turned into Cathy. "Kai, put him down."
Angrily, Kai throws Marshall on the roof. He stands on the edge and rubs his eyes. "You're getting reckless," said Cathy. "You nearly killed the BCC members earlier."
"Boo hoo," Kai didn't care much for it.
"You can't be like that, Kai," her patience was running thin.
"Ugh, I hate how you changed into… This," he snapped.
"I hate how you don't fucking change, asshole," she snaps back in a monotone voice.
"Ugh!" He pouts. He let Marshall stand on the side of the building, Kai was no longer holding him.
"Marshall, why did you do it?" She asks in an endearing voice.
"This guy threatened my family. He knew all their names and where they lived. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, we don't blame you."
"I do!"
Cathy runs up behind Kai, "shut the fuck up!" She yelled. Then she gave him a big push with her leg and threw Kai off the roof. "So annoying…"
"Umm… Is he okay?"
"Yes."
A second later, Kai comes back to the roof unscathed. He didn't say a word, he didn't want to piss of Cathy again.
"Anyway, Marshall. Why did he need them?"
"He wanted the kid named Fash? Something to do with his family, I think."
"I see…" Cathy thinks for a moment. "How strong would you say this guy is?"
"I might underestimate him, but really strong."
"Don't you know it's rude to talk about someone that's listening," appeared Shujin at a corner of the roof, carrying an unconscious Dan and Laura. Shujin throws the two on the roof.
"This is him, huh?" Kai noticed based of Marshall's description. Kai asked no further questions and dashed forward as fast as he could. His right hand was about to land a right hook. With the speed he's going at, it would be equivalent to being hit by a speeding truck. Kai's punch never landed, however. Shujin's left fist moved so quick, Kai didn't notice it. It hit directly in his abdomen. He was thrown across the roof but managed to stay on it. Kai's muscles twitched as his body became sore.
"How hard did he hit?" Cathy asked.
"Harder than Shino!" He grunts as he drooled from being hit so hard.
"I see."
"Thanks for everything, Marshall. Your family's safe, just like I promised," Shujin thanked with a giant grin. Reality then warps within Kai and Cathy's vision and Shujin disappeared from their sights. A sudden splash of blood occurred from between them. They both looked over to see Marshall ran down, turning into a red mush.
"See what he used?"
"Reality Snap," Kai answered. "Didn't think people still use that old technique."
"Take care of these two, I'll do something about Marshall."
"Alright."