"We will cleanse the filth and rid it from the earth. We will seize it from its core and tear it to bits."
"That is our motto, as the Resistance Hunters."
The Resistance Hunter, "Sparrow", declared this proudly, with strength that far surpassed that of the three street gang lackeys in front of him.
"Urgh…"
"What are you waiting for?! Get him, you bastards!" The lackey of the Street Gang blurted, holding his bleeding stump in agony.
The two other lackeys charged straight at this "Sparrow", but before they could even reach him, he smirked, and from his gun blade an ear-piercing explosion was made, and the whole building came falling.
Sparrow quickly vanished into the smoke and dust from the lavish-looking falling ceiling, while Shuku dashed around, trying to find his way through this mass of shouts and screams, disruption and disarray.
"That man… who was that?" Shuku mumbled as he smashed a myriad of boulder-sized pieces of debris with his katana into mere stones and pebbles, "I was considering just watching to see how it would unfold, but…"
Shuku didn't want the building to collapse with his brothers and sister still inside, so he dashed rapidly, avoiding the falling debris, and struck the fleeing Resistance Hunter. Or so he thought.
"And who may you be?" Sparrow asked, blocking the blow from Shuku's katana with his broadsword and gun blade.
"What are you? Who are you? And, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Shuku said, as his eyes turned a brighter crimson red.
"Hah, it's none of your business, so stay away if you don't want to get hurt," Sparrow replied, leaping backwards and once again firing his gun blade, making the ceiling collapse in an instant.
He then glanced at the embroidered robes Shuku wore.
"…You cultist bastard."
Shuku felt the ground shiver and tremble, and the entire building became unstable. Meanwhile, Sparrow obstructed the entrance, making sure nobody got out.
"It begins now. We will yank out the anchors that occult of insurrection, masquerading as a 'street gang', has placed around that shell of a city. So, for our noble cause, everyone here, who has willingly surrendered to that occult, cannot and should not survive."
"…Including you."
Sparrow shot his gunblade for the last time at Shuku, so suddenly that he couldn't dodge, and so, at the very last second, Shuku could only resort to slicing the small projectile into two.
But suddenly, as his blade came into contact with it, a broadsword slashed him, and everything turned black.
•••
The sound of deathly, solemn stillness filled the air. The inn had shattered into pieces, and all that was left was orange flames and scattered debris, as far as the eye could see.
And, then, from the ashes of the building, a white tiger appeared, fierce, bruised and bloody from the scorching flames and the sharp pieces of rubble. This white tiger then turned into a human.
"Shit!" Nuru yelled, plunging on his rear onto the burnt grass and soil, "What the hell?! This was my go-to inn!"
"What kind of grudge could someone have to destroy it like this? There's nothing left to even rebuild it!"
Nuru sighed, "Ha… and, of course, my shirt's gone too, so I can't hide my Beastmark anymore too," He muttered, looking over his shoulder to see his apparent "Beastmark", which took the form of three large claw marks on his well-built back.
And, unlike a Cursemark or a Bloodmark, a Beastmark was a "Runic Purity Spell", which referred to "good" runic spells, and could either allow someone to speak to and control animals, or transform into them.
"Lilac told me beforehand that those six were the children of a cult leader, and not only that, but the cult leader of a fearsome cult that lives up in the mountains, so I guess they're all probably still alive. Probably."
Nuru then gathered himself properly and prepared to search for the six siblings who seemed to have only been lost within the rubble. But before he could, the now midday skies began to dim, and a shallow grey light blanketed the lands, illuminating the flames of destruction all around.
"Lilac…" Nuru muttered as he noticed the growing shade on the ground and the darkness that blotted out the sun, "Haha… I've been waiting for the moment she would summon her 'Full Moon' again."
Shadows were cast. The light turned to void. Darkness began to fall on the earth, and the Primordial Moon's energy was invoked. The Lightmark Lilac bore could summon a "Full Moon", which possessed the bulk of her abilities, as well as the abilities of those who were disciples of the Cathedral of Dawn.
Under the Full Moon, she was strengthened to an incredible degree, and the shadows were used as energy to siphon to fuel her near-endless capabilities in darkness.
Suddenly, a great explosion erupted behind Nuru, and small flashes of black and white could be seen in the shade of the "Full Moon", which appeared as a small blue moon that blotted out the daylight rays. Debris began to evaporate, and Nuru had to close his eyes as the flashes of light became too intense to bear.
And then, it stopped.
"Ha… she's… ruthless."
Nuru looked upon the devastation in disbelief. The debris was all gone, yes, but so were most of the corpses, and smoke rose from where the flashes of moonlight struck. But, thankfully, amid such ruthlessness, the young leaders were all right, dragging a now unconscious Lilac with them.
"Hey, guys!" Nuru yelled, changing into a black horse, "Over here!"
"Over… huh?"
Nuru detected the sounds of blades clashing above him, and he was left with no time to react as two men who were fighting descended quite close to him, one bleeding from his chest and one not, with shockwaves being sent out from their clashes.
"Is that…?!"
Shuku and Sparrow clashed furiously, Sparrow leaving Shuku no time to use his Bloodmark abilities and Shuku, likewise, also leaving Sparrow with no time to press the trigger on his gun blade.
"You've already lost enough blood, fool!" Sparrow said, amid the sound of blades conflicting, "Let us stop this pointless battle!"
"I would've stopped it already had you not stabbed me twenty more times!" Shuku bellowed, his eyes corresponding with his raging crimson fury.
"I thought you were…" Sparrow began, but it seemed like he changed his mind mid-sentence, thinking that trying to reason with such a bloodthirsty demon gained him nothing.
Sparrow drew his breath in quickly, just before he lurched forward and prepared to strike Shuku with both his blades.
However, just before his blades came into contact, he was halted by a fellow with white hair, who seemed exhilarated at the sight of a fight but opted to stop it foremost. It was Bōshi, who was soon followed by the others.
"Stop right here," Bōshi expressed plainly, clutching the sharp edge of Sparrow's gunblade with his bare hand, "Lest you want this area, wracked with debris and open craters, to be your final resting place."
"You…" Sparrow murmured, before saying, "...I didn't wish to continue fighting anyway."
He was not afraid nor frightened but simply showing hesitance since his job was already done.
"…You all seem to be heading towards the direction of Fols City, so, let me warn you. It will completely erupt into chaos in a few days, so you mustn't spend too much time there. If you value your lives, of course."
Sparrow glanced at Shuku with a hint of hostility in his eyes.
"Well, since one of you already doesn't seem to fear anything, perhaps none of you will heed my warning."
"But, you will all see in the end, for all evil will be uprooted eventually," Sparrow told them, with a tone of voice that expressed his righteousness, "It is only up to the onlookers to decide whether to be swept up in the storm and eventually fall into a river of blood, or, to pass by and live another day."