As the Phoenix deflected the shot, some strange markings appeared on Zane's skin. Zane recognized the symbol on his right arm, it was the symbol of the Phoenix, bonding the two of them. But the other symbols were written in an Eldrich language he didn't understand. It wasn't Arcanic, it was something stranger, older. But somehow, he could tell, it was fueled by his desire to become stronger. To defeat Rose, his parent's murderer. Aurell looked back at him. "Zane, control your emotions and focus! Those symbols are not something you should use!"
Zane snapped out of it, and withheld the symbols he didn't understand. He clashed blades with Emerian Jones, who was now part demon and whose broadsword burned him with demonic energy. As they clashed though, the demonized man smiled at him. "Those symbols...I see now, so thats who you are...valuable indeed, I guess I should leave you alive after all....once I break every bone in your body!"
"Not...going to...happen!" Zane shouted while under strain, repelling the attack with Blazestorm Zero. Still, he couldn't run. If he didn't win here, he would never beat Rose. But would one battle really give him enough strength to allow him to fight Rose? The jewels alone would strengthen his power, and the Phoenix now moreso, and with his knowledge of Rose's tricks, he would be able to ensure she wouldn't weaken him again. But even then, would it be enough? What if he failed?
Zane quickly realized he got distracted for a second, and tried to react to an attack but was too late. However, before the broadsword struck him, someone else had appeared from nowhere and blocked it...with a revolver. Zane stood in awe as he looked at his mana levels. A spell seemed to have temporarily paralyzed the enemy as well that came from him. "Who...are you?"
"A friend. However, I won't be helping you again. I only stopped that attack because you got distracted with worry you would not get strong enough to fight your real enemy, right? That if you couldn't beat him, you couldn't beat that woman either?"
"How do you know so much?" Zane asked.
The man smiled. "Sorry, secret. But, you have to remember one thing". He took out something and handed it to Zane. Zane looked down at it, and it was a Gatewatcher's ID, Emeregency Beacon, and Enchanted Phone and earpiece. "You are not alone. You might not like all the things they do, but everyone has differences of opinion. You have friends there, so you know this. So stop acting like you will be fighting Rose alone. Even if they are not there physically, their mana, their skills, their friendships, their techniques are always there, helping you get stronger. Because they are the people who you fight for when you cannot fight for your family".
Suddenly, the man disappeared, and the man unfroze. All this time, Zane fought for two things. The truth, and for vengeance. As an orphan, he grew up alone. He was used to being alone. He expected to be alone. He was used to the turmoil inside of him. So never once did he consider this. This man, he hurt a lot of people in Alleytown. He considered that it would help them, but it was never a reason he was here to fight, or he would have shown up sooner. That was different now. Now, it was a reason. Now, it was a part of him.
So when Jones attacked again at full force, he blocked the attack with Blazestorm Zero...using one hand. He wasn't alone. "Aurell. We are not going to be allies. We are going to be friends".
"I have no complaints about that" Aurell mentioned, flying out from Zane's arm and attacking the demon man.
Meanwhile, Jones looked in anger. "How? Blazestorm Zero takes two hands to use at full power! You cannot use it with just one!"
"I can" Zane said. "I can because my friends need me to".
Aurell smiled a little inside.
Actually, that is sort of true, but not completely. Your mind is so focused now. Before, you were too distracted by another opponent. By another fight. It was weakening your magical power. But now, you are focused and sharp. There is more then one way to strengthen yourself, just like there is more then one way to weaken an opponent. One's conviction affects their mana strength. And now that Zane is focused, he can use his teachings to their fullest...Zane meanwhile flashed back to what he learned from his master, about the truth of magical fighting styles. While it certainly helps to learn one, in the end mana is different to each and every person, and so their fighting style differs.
"Something always bothered you about learning Blitz Style. Tell me, what is it Zane?" "Its just, some of what you teach, it seems a little contradictory. And what if I cannot keep up a steady pace of attacks because someone's defense would counter it? What if I have to wait and take time?" "To be honest, Blitz Style does have a secondary method. People hear Blitz and assume a flurry of attacks. But in truth, Blitz style is all about the Blitz of the enemies movements. Figuring out how to keep them on the defense or the retreat, finding the weaknesses in their defense, and then exploiting them. Blitz isn't just about speed. It's about timing. Choosing the right time to attack, and the right time to strike". "Hold on, aren't they the same thing?" "When you are in a battle against a difficult opponent, you will realize what I mean".
I understand now what you mean, Master. And this is my plan of attack for this battle... Suddenly, a large amount of magical energy focused into his free hand, and smashed it into the stomach of Emerian Jones, sending him flying. However, he suddenly sprouted wings, and turned around midair and charged back towards him. The broadsword was going to be a pain, but Zane had no intention of losing. Last time, technically he and the other Gatewatchers lost against Rose. Sure, they left the battle alive, but only barely, and it was certainly a defeat more then a victory. After all, it had been five vs. one. Zane brought his full strength to his next attack, and charged forward. Before the two clashed though, the phoenix flew in front of him. "Phoenix Feather Portal!"
Suddenly, Zane went through a portal and appeared behind Jones. He slashed one of the wings, sending him crashing into the ground, before Zane landed on him again, and stabbed his right arm, causing him to lose grip of his broadsword and drop it to the ground, sliding across the floor to the far wall. Zane stepped back. "Alright, now together! Burning Phoenix Fire Wave!"
"This again, I will just..." Jones started, when he realized he had dropped his broadsword. Was that his intention the whole time? All the sword clashes, had that all been to measure his grip strength? Were all of his attacks simply to prepare for this final strike? After all, Jones' main hand was his right. Furthermore, the wing he hit was the left, which ended up making the right easier to hit. And that was when Jones saw it. There was another mana color underneath the red. There was...white mana. "Just who the fuck is this kid? Is he even human?"
And then the fire wave hit him, full force, with Phoenix energy to increase power. He looked at the Phoenix, and he could see it in its face. "So, thats why it was so easy..."
Jones fell to the ground. Although Zane knew he should have survived the attack, he started to crumble into dust. Zane looked confused. "What is going on? That wasn't a lethal hit, not for a mana user".
"Its the demon's energy. He needed to drain you of your energy so that he could live without the demon class entity. He did this to himself though, your mana would probably have poisoned him anyways. No matter what he did, he was dead the moment he used the demonic power" Aurell told Zane. "His blood is not on your hands".
"His might not, but hers? Hers soon will" Zane told Aurell, as he fit the gemstones into the slots of the scepter. He felt his mana level increase on the spot. "So this is the power of an item focuser infused with mana? It still won't be enough for me to take her on, but....I won't be alone either".
As Zane began to head through the doors, Jones got up with his broadsword recalled towards him and charged towards Zane. Zane made a handsign. "Eight Trigram Seal! Explosive trap!"
Suddenly, the floor Zane had touched earlier at the very beginning of the battle revealed trigrams, and an explosion occured right as Jones went over it, finishing him off.
"You are stronger, and you know Rose's secrets" Aurell commented. "So why are you not happy?"
"Because of two things. One, that man isn't the one behind all this. He wouldn't have revealed himself if he was, he would have been more subtle. And two, there is no way they could prepare this unless one of the Local Council had authorized it. Which means, there is at least two people hiding things from me that I should know" Zane told Aurell. "I don't know what is going on, but its possible I am just a pawn for a bigger scheme. And I don't know if this scheme is something to support, or stop".
"You shouldn't let this distract you" Aurell warned.
"I won't. But before the rematch with Rose, I need answers".
Suddenly, a large influx of power emerged from the center of the room.
Music Zane turned around, only to see a Rose stuck in the ground, and a Gateway opening right in front of him. As it did, a strange bubble invisible to those without mana emerged from it, surrounding the whole top of the building. "What the...?"
"Its a Null Zone! Beings from other worlds take exponentially longer to manifest in the real world depending on their power and size, and so the Gateway will project a bubble, known as a Null Zone due to the fact it nullifies the disruptive affects of entering a new world until it is completed, to allow it to stabilize in our world. It means, we have company. Alright, its time to get to work!"
Suddenly, Zane's power spiked even greater. He was focused now, and his focus gave him strength. And he would need it, because his opponent was strong. Dark energy came through the Gateway, and flowed into the remains of Jones, causing a new, monsterous form to be created. It was a demonic figure of untold scariness and power. "Well well, if it isn't a runt".
Zane twitched, and his power spiked further. "Did you just call me a runt!?!? Time you got a taste of Blazestorm Zero!"
"Lets go, runt!" it yelled, as the two charged towards each other. The demon summoned a blade of darkness, and countered the attacks from Bladestorm Zero. All of the attacks. Whatever this demon was, it was even more powerful. The blades clashed, and huge amounts of power vented out, practically putting a mana flare on the building. The power was so intense, the glass completely shattered. They fianlly disengaged the clash, and Zane's power kept increasing. The demon sent various boomerang shaped blades made of shadows at Zane, to tear him to shreds. Zane managed to dodge them all, but then was attacked as they returned from behind. They tore through his chest and arms, ripping his shirt to shreds. "Did you really think that you could face me, boy?"
Zane looked back up with a pissed off expression on his face. The demon scoffed, as his wounds healed themselves.
Is this.....could he be.....is this boy even human?! I better kill him quickly! Zane moved up right to his face, and gave a full roundhouse kick to it. Magic was floating through his body. This was one of his Special Arts: Total Boost! The ability to temporarily boost every attribute, though it meant he was spending mana even faster. Still, his supply of mana seemed boundless. The demon was sure of it now, he knew who this boy was. It was him! The Demon launched another powerful blast at Zane. Zane then used another Special Art: Countless Clones. By creating copies using illusion magic, and then projecting energy within them, he could create clones that could do actual damage.
"Lightning Pierce!" they all shouted, as they all used Lightning Pierce on the demon. The demon, in term, took up the broadsword and destroyed a whole swathe of clones. It was now wielding two large blades, which it brought down on Zane. Zane created an neergy barrier, stopping the attack, but only for a few seconds. The demon charged forward, and tried to obliterate Zane with its fist. However, Zane focused all the mana in his body into his right hand, and caught the fist bare handed. He then crushed the demon's hand, shattering every bone in its body.
"Now, explain to me...." Zane started. "Why have I fought two demons today? One I can understand, but two? ANd then an ancient mana user earlier. And then before that, on the train, there was another dark presence I could sense. Tell me, who is following me other then that man?"
"You think I am going to tell you anything? Obliteration..." he shouted as he charged up energy in its mouth. "....Cannon!"
Suddenly, a large amount of dark energy hit Zane full force, but Zane caught it in both hands. "First comes Suppression!" Suddenly, the energy was suppressed, no longer able to cause any harm or influence on other mana. "Then comes Compression!" Then, the energy shrunk into the size of a basketball, with Zane holding it with two hands. "Next comes alteration!" Suddenly, the energy changed color and other powerful energies were mixed in and started radiating out of it. "And now...RETALIATION!" He then threw it with one hand right back at the demon.
The demon took the full brunt of the attack. This Zane was different from before. In fact, Zane's entire mana presence changed. Before, he was just fighting a demonized human. But once he encountered the demon itself, his power level skyrocketed, as well as his magical capabilities. Zane did an uppercut kick, sending the demon sprawling backwards.
The demon then moved behind Zane at lightning speed, and smashed him into the ceiling. Zane's magical defense remained strong enough for him to take the blow. Thankfully, Mana Users had magical defense, or else they would end up flattened, smooshed, or completely totaled, like what should happen to most anime characters.
As the two forces clashed, suddenly the Gateway began to get bigger, and the Null Zone started to fade. Zane could not let this demon escape into the world, it was too dangerous. He pointed out his hand, and suddenly, Blazestorm Zero and his scepter appeared next to each other. He clashed blades with the demon, and the force of their collision did permenant damage to the building. Suddenly, the demon shifted behind Zane, and stabbed him in the back. However, Zane's sword shifted behind the demon, and stabbed it in the back as well. "Special Art: Perfect Mimicry".
"The fuck, how do you know so many Special Arts? You are only a kid!"
"I am not just a kid! I....am....a damn Gatewatcher now!" Zane yelled, as he used a firefist uppercut on the demon.
That wound is serious, but I am still in the game. I can use my mana to heal myself once I take down this demon. "Aurell, its time!"
"Fire..."
"Phoenix..."
"Nova..."
"Feather..."
"Storm!"
Suddenly, a barrage of fire and lightning charged feathers errupted towards the demon. It got injured in the attack, and when the smoke cleared, Zane was standing with his blade at its neck. "Now, tell me why you are here! Why are these dark energies following me?!"
"You really don't know? Heh, how hillarious. You don't know a thing about your own bloodline...about your own father".
Zane's anger and curiosity sparked. "What do you know about my father!?"
"I know what he meddled in....I know why he died".
"Tell me everything you know! Tell me right now!"
"Why should I, when I can watch you suffer instead!" he shouted, slashing Zane's back with his claws. Zane quickly dodged the rest of the attack, avoiding a lethal blow, but the scratch still hurt. Suddenly, waves of shadow energy was sent at Zane with such tremendous power that even with a full block, he was injured. Suddenly, the demon was right up in his face, but then he vanished from sight, reappearing behind the demon. Its a fire based technique, where you heat up every cell in your body to bring forth more energy at once, allowing near lightning fast movements. Its called Flashfire.
Zane then brought down a full power magical kick onto the demon's head. Zane then switched to a long range position, and drew a ring of fire in the air. He then pressed the palms of his hands together in front of him, and then directed them outward. "Circle of Flame! Resolute Destruction!"
The demon took several massive hits. Even when he tried to dodge some of the attacks, the tracked him, and when they hit, they exploded in a fire that could burn through steel. Zane then used his mana alone to push the rubble out of the way, and face the demon. "Now, tell me what you know!"
"Never!" the demon raged. "I will never tell you, you brat!"
Suddenly, a large explosion occured behind the demon, sending him flying right into another one of Zane's kicks.
"Okay brat, just what is..." he started, when he saw it. Zane's shoes were covered with impact trigrams. That was why Zane's physical attacks often included kicks. "I see, so thats it. You must have several surprises prepared ahead of time".
"I actually have trigrams set up in most public places I frequent, if not all of them" Zane mentioned. "Now, tell me what you know".
"Not in your life, bloodscum!" it shouted, launching a full power attack at Zane. He managed to dodge it, but as the demon clashed blades again he only barley had time to block. Suddenly, it was in that moment his scepter became a sword".
"What the....oh, I see now. So the Sceptor has various configurations, huh? Well then, lets try configuration three!"
Suddenly, it became a spear that could float on its own in front of Zane. Zane moved his fingers around, and it seemed to respond to that. The demon charged forward, but Zane struck it in the face before it got close, and then knocked it back. The spear floated back to him, and he jumped on it. As he did, the null zone finally broke. "Ha! Now I am at full power!"
"About time" Zane mentioned. "This is training after all, how am I supposed to get stronger without strong opponents? I just had to do enough damage to you so you couldn't run away when you reached full power".
The Demon just looked confused and bewildered. "Hold on, did you just say you let me get to full power?"
"Oh yeah, but I had to wound you enough so things wouldn't go out of hand. You see, I couldn't risk the possibility of you winning, so you kept you just weak enough to prevent that. My calculations are quite adament" Zane said with a smile. "Weak enough for an assured victory, strong enough to be full of experience. Sounds like its time to go full force! Lightning Spear, only this time with a real magical spear!"
Suddenly, an electrified spear stabbed through the demon. "Oh yeah, since its a really cool shape altering weapon, I should give it a name. It shall be known as...Aetherion!"
"SERIOUSLY?!?! THATS THE NAME YOU CHOSE?!?!" the demon yelled. "And you claim to know nothing. I see now, boy. You are the biggest liar of all times, even if you don't realize it. Why don't you look down?"
Zane looked down, and saw he was floating off the ground without realizing. Flight magic, but he never learned flight magic. So how....
Zane just barely dodged the attack done by the demon. THe demon must have caused him to float without him realizing it, to distract him so he could land an attack. Zane was back on the ground now, with his spear spinning between them. "Aetherion, lets try out your fourth configuration!"
Suddenly, Aetherion turned into a powerful Manabow. Zane fired off an arrow from it, which then split into eight arrows, which all exploded with magical energy when they hit their target. Zane also notied seveal other applications for this weapon, he would have to try out later.
"Back to Third Configuration Aetherion, and lets go with a Lightning Joust!"
"Unholy Damnation!" it shouted, laucning a massive shadow attack of unknown levels at them. The shadows ripped through the floor, through the building, through everything. Aurell let loose a barrier, and Zane tried to use his mana to suppress the attack. It was then, at that moment, that symbols in a spiral pattern appeared on Zane's back, and various other symbols appeared on his chest. What trasnspired next was insane. Zane appeared on the other side of of the demon, his eyes empty. Aurell was flying up above. The demon turned to face him, when he saw it. He saw Zane's face. "To think, that is the kind of man his father is....to have used this level of caution and safety",
And then, Aetherion emerged from where the demon's heart would be, returned to Zane, and went back to configuration one. At the same time, the head itself fell off the demon. "Shit. I wanted to question him some more, try and get more information out of him".
Suddenly, the ground exploded underneath Zane. It was a different demon this time, with ice shards sticking out of its body. Zane looked back towards the Gateway. "What the hell? I never saw anything else pass through".
"It must have been when you temporarily lost control" Aurell mentioned.
"That was only for a second though" Zane mentioned, though he was wrong. In fact, he lost control for ten minutes. The fighting during those ten minutes was insane. Zane didn't even register the wounds he got. There was clearly something wrong with him, but something stopped Zane from seeing it. Still, now he had a new demon to deal with. He looked back to the Gateway. "Okay, this thing needs to be...."
Zane lost it again, as another presense became known to him. He quickly jabbed his hand into the Gateway, and began draining it dry faster then normal. Most of the time, Gatewatchers never (for lack of a better word) physically touch the Gateway directly to close it, due to obvious dangers. But Zane had to bypass that, because deep down fear and anger had taken over his body. Something horrible existed inside this Gateway, lurking. Waiting. Hunting. It was after someone. Maybe multiple someones. But its Mana levels....it surpassed Rose by far. If it were to get out...
He ripped out the mana from the Gateway, absorbing it into himself and causing the Gateway to close. It also restored his own magical power. He then turned towards the demon. "Well well, look at what we have here..."
Zane quickly held the demon by the throat, the symbols spreading throughout his body. They started to flow into the demon, and it triggered one of Zane's visions. He saw people entering a Gateway, about a place called Lab 51, and something about blood. And then he saw it. Beyond the Gateways, there was something. A temple. "Why do you demons know so much?! What happened to my father?! Why was he killed!?"
The demon stabbed him through the chest, but not the heart. Even at the distance, Zane had managed to dodge the lethal blow from the ice spike the emerged from its body. Still though, it ran right through him. His hand then crushed the demon's shoulder, and his other broke the ice crystal itself. Zane shouldn't be this strong, but it wasn't him in control right now. Something was wrong with Zane. Something was broken, and its been broken for a long time.
Zane unleashed Static Force on the demon, causing Zane's body to become electrified and zap the demon. He then used Flamefist to uppercut the demon, before kicking it right in the stomach. He was getting really pissed off. All he had were questions, but he had no answer. As a result, by the time he came to, the demon was already smashed, and Aurell had manifested into the Phoenix marking on his arm. "Are you okay? What just happened here?"
"I am not sure. But all I have are more questions" Zane replied. "But right now, I think its time we left".
The room was in fact beyond recognition. As in, most of it was charred, zapped, crushed, or beaten. And lets not bring up a few priceless artifacts in the room. Zane quickly disguised himself and left before anyone could arrive.
"I think its time we started looking for answers...." he said, as the symbols retracted from sight, including the spiral on his back. "But who delivered that rose?"
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Meanwhile, on a different rooftop, a man spied on Zane with binoculars. "Yeah, well I have no opening right now, but I have good news Rose. You can have you rematch with this boy. Once of the pieces we need? Its sealed inside his body. Clever bastard, his father is. Tomorrow, you can kill him, and still be on mission".
"Good" Rose said over the phone, clearly pleased. "I will rip it out of his body, as well as his heart. If he has one to rip out, that is. If it is there, I may crush it while he is alive first".
"Then I shall make my leave, so he does not notice my presence. Him, or that other man..." he said, quickly disappearing into the night.
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Maric got a little bit steamed, embarressed, and defensive all at once. "Hey, hey, I was more focused on the fight then anything else! And I am not a perv! That is a vicious lie spread by Harmony in communications after I tried to hit on her! I am just really eager to find someone who can love me, okay? You try that with this body!"
Artemis nodded. "Uh huh..."
"Now, can we stop beating around the bush. AKA, Stop lying Artemis. I know why you are really here" Maric told her.
Artemis looked stunned. "What do you mean?"
"No offence to either of you, Minori and Cedric, but neither of you are the type to ask about a mole. Minori is too focused on her research, and Cedric people find too suspicious. Which means, you are here to ask them about Project Icarus, which I know you are planning Council knowing or not".
Artemis scowled. "How the hell did you find out about Icarus?"
Maric suddenly teleported to the counter between Minori and Cedric. No one seemed to notice anything, so it was safe to guess Maric coated them with an illusion spell, to prevent eavesdropping and what not. "It was easy. Besides, you know my Spatial Magic will help build the bridge when its time, so you should bring me on anyways, just like how you want to bring Minori and Cedric here". He then looked at the two of them. "Project Icarus is fairly simple. Artemis plans to send a team through a Gateway to the other side. She has been planning it for some time now. Likely using the research from Lab 51, she plans to open a Gateway to the Other Side and send a team there. Not just any Gateway either, but I suspect the very same Gateway as in Lab 51. Its the only logical conclusion".
Artemis was a little bit concerned. How did Maric figure this all out? He has been in town for less then a day, yet he knows secrets that are highly classified. Could he have learned some of this before he transfered. As Artemis considered options, Maric teleported a beer into his hand, and continued drinking. Technically, he was above the legal age, and its not like it could affect him anyways. "Fine Maric, you are on the team. But, there is one other I want to recruit. Zane Bell. GIven the reports I saw, I am convinced he may hold the key to building the Perfect Bridge, a Gateway Link with no danger or ill effects at all, that will allow us to travel to the other side of the Lab 51 Gateway and learn what happened. You see, this is not the first time we attempted this. The first time was at Lab 51, 20 years ago, when Gateway activity suddenly went out of control, and people with no previous connections to mana began to develop mana abilities and what not. To discover this, we connected the Gateway to a place known only as The Hub. Based on accounts from some Visitors, many Gateways lead to this Hub, from all worlds, and it is common to pass through it. Apparently, it takes the shape of a subway terminal. We will open the Gateway to it, create a stable, or maybe even a Perfect Bridge, and cross into it. The research and data we can collect is one goal, but another....we also want to learn the truth about what happened twenty years ago to cause the spike in activity, and Cedric, your power makes you a clear choice for the team. Additionally, we will see things no human has ever seen before. So, you two, what do you say?"
Maric looked at Artemis questioningly.
Why the hell did he try to hide the existence of Project Icarus from me?Suddenly, Artemis punched Maric straight in the face. "And I told you this would happen if you ever followed me. You don't care about hte mole either, at least not as much as you claimed to. Thats not your style. You wanted to question me about Project Icarus, you little perv!"
"I am not a perv!" Maric exclaimed. "And seriously, this body isnt that physically endurant! You gave me a nose bleed, jerk!"
It was clear these two did not get along.