Baska, a boisterous city that serves as an important hub for trade and travel in the west. It’s in this place that Ikazuchi found his travels coming to an abrupt halt. His aimless adventure had brought him to Baska with no real goal, but his travel funds were reaching their end at this point. He had left Magnolia to walk the path of a warrior, so it wasn’t long before he was seeking work that would suit those intentions to alleviate his financial issues. Despite not having any prior experience as a mercenary, Ikazuchi possessed the confidence to match any beginner belonging to the profession. What he lacks in combat experience would be made up for by the many long years of training.

Early in his search Ikazuchi realized that the readily available quests that he would be permitted to take weren’t suitable for his goals. That was when Ikazuchi determined a new course of action. He gradually made connections with the right people in an attempt to find work that would put his skillset to full use. One of the connections he found happened to be a like-minded individual aiming for a similar kind of work, and through a give and take relationship the two found their way to a person named Cain. The size, appearance, and general occupation of the man were discomforting but the quest this time had a solution which Ikazuchi could accept. Ikazuchi’s morals didn’t prevent him from dealing with people such as Cain, but he couldn’t simply harm innocent people. The only option which remained was for Cain’s abomination to disappear today.

It was like this that the two, Akushitsuna and Ikazuchi, made their way to the designated location after a short discussion to determine what the other intended. Neither was particularly talkative after that, nor was their relationship close enough to really open up to each other. Ikazuchi simply walked near Akushitsuna with enough space for the two to be comfortable as strangers. During this time Ikazuchi was inspecting his equipment. Confirming that his armor was securely worn and his swords were comfortably positioned with one in reach over his left shoulder and the other at the right side of his waist. ‘Good.’ He was able to properly relax and calm himself in preparation for what he would soon come to face.

WC - [390/1000]

Akushitsuna had spent days in the town looking for any meaningful tasks that would meet the criteria for what he considered to be ‘worthy’ of his time. It was out of his grasp as to whom would want to do such belittling work in these establishments that surrounded the majority of the perceived core businesses and places of entertainment. He’d decided to dig deeper into the history and unwanted activities that were hidden beneath the surface of this “outgoing” city. Suna quickly found himself talking to more mysterious individuals that most might think of as “nobodies” or “voiceless” persons.

His investigations eventually led him to seek out a rather odd individual by the name of Cain. Among his investigations to find such a person's whereabouts, he’d stumbled across a like minded person Ikazuchi. The two agreed to seek out this contract as a duo so long as a mutual respect of its rewards were to be evenly divided. The two would’ve eventually come to meet the Skull-Faced man known as Cain. His social skills were nearly as odd as his appearance, but the two accepted his terms and went onwards to solve the situation at hand.

Aku never would’ve guessed that the collective capabilities of himself were to be put to use to tame or slay a mindless beast attracted the undead, but whatever put thrill in his mind and coin in his pocket would have to suffice for the time being. The sorcerer couldn’t help but contemplate just how exactly the situation would be dealt with. His moral compass neither leaned in favor nor against the idea of either plausible options that were clearly present to the two making haste towards the horde. He let out a puff of air sighing as he would lift his hat from his head, allowing his two toned hair to fall and flow about the wind. He began twirling his hat in contemplation whilst looking over to his temporary comrade. “Shall we eliminate the beast, or sacrifice the few to save the many? I haven’t a true opinion on the matter, but I suppose that the former would make for a less frustrating solution.”

Ikauchi wouldn’t have very much time to decide, but he didn’t think that would be much of a problem. Surely the warrior would’ve previously thought about the scenario they were soon to enter. The two could see the horde in the distance, and it was time to commit to the cause. After a short period of time his ally would have answered and came to a conclusion of their path to follow, and Aku would flip his hat back upon his head. “Lets do this.”

WC: 457

Ikazuchi paused for only a moment when asked the question. He had made his decision from the start, but he didn’t know how to approach the topic. From a personal safety perspective, it was far safer to let others serve as bait to resolve the issue. If he was someone else with different values then that would be the best choice. But he wasn’t such a person, Ikazuchi was raised in the way that he respected life. His mother and father were kind, and would never condone such a decision. After putting it off until now, he was thankful that his partner had a neutral opinion. Without a conflict of interest on the matter Ikazuchi could confidently answer Akushitsuna. “There isn’t any reason to drag others into it when we can handle the issue on our own. I think we should take care of Cain’s creation, he gave us the option so he can just make another if he wants another.”

By the time he clearly expressed his thoughts the horde in question was visible in the distance. Had they intended to lead them away, it would have been best to find some unfortunate party nearby and bait the horde in that direction. That wasn’t their intention though, so all the two would be able to do is avoid the horde and make their way towards the graveyard where the abomination resides. “Let’s do this.” The words of his companion let Ikazuchi know that he was also prepared. The time for doubts, worries, and hesitation had come and gone from the moment the horde became visible. All Ikazuchi could do was take a deep breath and try to calm himself, it was finally time to take the first step on his path as a warrior.

The two could only stealthily avoid the horde in order to handle the issue. Ikazuchi had thoughts of taking care of the horde itself, but it was neither in the job description nor realistic at this point in time. ‘Oh well, it isn’t my problem anyways.’ A large part of his desire came only from wanting to test his skills, and the confidence he has in them. Truthfully, it could even be called overconfidence but Ikazuchi wasn’t able to understand that about himself. With adrenaline pumping all throughout him, he didn’t have the right state of mind to actually face a horde of foes. It was for the best that he had a reason to direct his focus elsewhere. The long years of training that he went through with his father were a blessing at times like this, preventing Ikazuchi from giving into impulse. Even his breathing was steadily controlled leaving no apparent sign of his internal restlessness.

On the way he had been observing his companion, trying to gauge his skills as much as possible. For the inexperienced Ikazuchi, there wasn’t much that he could glean from his partner’s appearance. He could only assume that the man was a mage based on the lack of equipment, but he hadn’t thought to inquire about the man’s skillset. It wasn’t apparent to himself, but his confidence and lack of experience had caused a lapse in his judgement. A more experienced individual wouldn’t have made the mistake of going on a dangerous quest with someone that could potentially be dead weight, the same is true for a cautious individual. It was only now when they were nearly at their target that it dawned on him. It would be rude and rushed to bluntly ask at this point, and so he could only take the lead. His role in combat would always be such, rushing in and occupying the enemy at a close range was the simplest warrior tactic. With a clear game plan, Ikazuchi quietly spoke to his companion. “We’re nearly there. I will try to make an opening, so do what you can with that.” Ikazuchi would wait a moment for confirmation from Akushitsuna before moving into the graveyard.

What Ikazuchi hadn’t expected was how truly grotesque the appearance of the creature was. He understood what the undead were, but the term abomination was truly appropriate in this case. “What even is that?” This question quietly slipped out in a barely audible voice unconsciously as he observed from a distance. The monster standing two or more feet taller than himself looked like something straight out of nightmares. Stitched together rotting flesh made up a majority of its bulky frame, but white bones could be seen in some areas that lacked. The head looked vaguely human, but extremely disfigured without any clear features due to the drooping flesh which didn’t match the muscular appearance that the rest of the body had. On the left arm was a large bone protrusion somewhere between a blade and a bracer. Worst of all, the stomach area had organs bulging out as if it had more than it could ever fit inside. With the dried blood and maggots decorating the body, the inexperienced Ikazuchi felt all of his previous excitement become disgust. Truthfully, he had even lost his desire to fight such a thing. ‘It’s too late to regret it now…’ With that thought, he could only steel his resolve.

Seeing that it went beyond his expectations, Ikazuchi moved to a spot outside of the creature’s line of sight and spoke to Akushitsuna. “Okay, it’s not quite what I expected. I will try to flank it. That should be enough of an opening for you, right?” After getting a reply and confirmation from his companion, Ikazuchi would gradually make his way around to the back side of the abomination and gradually approach. It was a slow process as it kept roaming, occasionally even mindlessly attacking, but he eventually got within the range where he could rapidly approach. After a quick look to confirm his partner’s location nearby, he could only step in. Sharpening his focus like a sword Ikazuchi discarded all of his unnecessary thoughts, like second nature his right hand reached towards his right shoulder and his left hand reached towards his left waist. His approach was finally noticed by the creature, but he had the drop on it. With its size, it was impossible for it to turn in time to reach him.

With a low stance Ikazuchi paused his forward momentum on his leading right foot, planting himself firmly to produce the best attack he could. This moment would be his best chance to strike, and he couldn’t waste it. His core tightened as he pushed the air from his lungs, the only thing still in motion were his hands with each tightened around each sword. Rather, they were already half drawn at the moment his foot became planted. His targets were as clear as his mind in that moment, and so he could only strike true. The sword in his left hand followed a clear arc by both ankles of the creature cleanly slicing the thick tendons. His right arm slid partially down his left in that moment as it traced a path horizontally in the other direction aimed higher at the back of its knees. The cut at the back of the knees was deep, but striking the solid bones left his right hand slightly numb.

Due to the adrenaline at that moment, he could clearly see the abomination half way through its turn to the left in an attempt to take hold of him. ‘Too slow!’ It was already off balance from turning, but his attacks pushed it towards collapse. He had intentions for this to happen from the beginning, so he was moving immediately after success. Ikazuchi quickly pushed off of his left foot from his position to move diagonally by the creature. As he passed, he swiped at the creature with his left sword to try to keep its attention if possible. There couldn’t be much force behind the attack, but he tried to be true to his role and make an opening for his comrade. After taking several more steps out of its range, Ikazuchi quickly turned and faced towards the creature to see what Akushitsuna would do with this opening.

WC - [1,750/1,000]

Aku watched as his partner hastily made way through and around the horde with eyes locked in on the towering behemoth that they called an abomination. He could tell that Ikauchi was doing his best to move stealthily given the circumstances; however, Akushitsuna was rather thankful that this particular mission didn’t require such a necessity. The young mage was also luckily among a horde of mindless zombies, as he felt that his partners movements were the opposite of quiet. Perhaps it was the time he’d spent within the wilds that gave him away, or even a possibility that his tactics were much different than the current.

The sounds of the clearly clanking armor shifting armor proved to be a nuisance to Suna, but he merely scoffed as the pace slowly built. By this time he had taken on a less distracting ideology by pacing his movements more skillfully. His strides had lengthened tremendously, and the gracefulness of his steps were as close to silent as permissible; begrudgingly so, to the extent that Aku’s movements were practically completely masked in comparison to Ikazuchi. The two had now been moving semi-parallel, while Aku allowed his partner to be the main attraction. Whenever his colleague spoke that he would make an opening there was a slight chuckle to soon follow as Aku nodded his head. He couldn’t help but feel that the ironclad warrior had already been doing so this entire time thus far.

It was by this point that Akushitsuna’s movements had further shifted, as they began to near the clearly grotesque abomination that towered above them. As their pace quickened Aku leaned closer to the ground allowing his arms to seamlessly flow behind. It was at this point that his partner may have noticed the odd form of movement he’d taken on, before speaking once again to state his intentions. Aku shook his head in agreement with a light “Go for it.” before dashing off into the distance to prepare for a follow-up attack. Akushitsuna’s body would begin to slowly mean more and more forwards as his pace quickened,  before gradually assuming an all fours stance dashin around the battlefield. His body would simultaneously shift momentum causing his stance to slide momentarily as he did a roundabout turn to face the abomination that had become distracted several meters away.

The sorcerer began to dash on all fours towards the beast as it began to turn towards Ikazuchi, quickly closing the distance between them. When within a reasonable range Aku’s right arm moved leftwards to push forwards and hold his center of gravity before allowing his left hand to slide behind his body once again. “Yūgana shi Magic.” His eyes and hand began to glow a bright purple as it claws into the ground with a fierce motion. “Ōkami no ashi (オオカミの足, Wolf Paw)” A dark purple-like claw infused with a spiraling black appearance formed around his hand, causing the soil beneath it to fling. By this point Aku was within feet of the half turn beast, as Suna rose upwards to prepare an attack.

He would leap towards its hip connecting one foot before bringing the claw upwards in a diagonal formation. “Shunpo.” Purple seals appear beneath his feet as he runs completely sideways across the beast towards its front; meanwhile, the entire time it’s claw would be digging deep into the path-work flesh that seemed to barely hold the abomination together. He would bring his right arm upon his left to  grant it stabilization upon reaching its chest and running upwards stopping just before reaching its neck. It would have attempted to reach for the sorcerer by this point, be he leaned downwards as its grasp began to near. “Shadoudasshu (シャドウダッシュ, Shadow Dash)” The shadows barely present beneath the moonlight would gather from around the mage’s body, just as he makes a powerful leap backwards from the beast. The claws would tear its neck to shreds during the process, causing a near decapitation in doing so. Upon landing, Aku would slide whilst looking upwards at his nearly finished opponent before raising the claw once more. “Ōkami no ashi (オオカミの足, Wolf Paw)” The paw launches outwards at an astonishing speed striking the half-dead beast directly on the head. Blood gushed from the neck as the now decapitated abomination flailed about senselessly for a moment. As it slowly begins to fall to the ground Suna would look up to the sky, and let out a screeching howl that would mimic the animalistic nature he’d shown thus far. Beneath the echo of his voice you could hear a nearby pack howl in return, as he turned his attention towards Ikazuchi. His malice intent had since  vanished, but a blank stare came from the now blood soaked beast of a man. “Well done.”

WC: 813
TWC: More than enough xD

The bestial nature of Akushitsuna was put on full display within Ikazuchi’s line of sight. It was a unique experience for him to see someone look human yet act completely inhuman. The posture and movements weren’t something that someone just casually developed, and it spoke volumes about the kind of life his companion had lived. Without realizing it, Ikazuchi was holding his breath as he observed. It was only once his companion returned to his previous calm and seemingly emotionless state that he snapped back to reality. ‘That was...something…’ He couldn’t find words to describe what he had just seen, all he knew was that there was an excitement building within. The skills of his companion were interesting, and the success of the quest was guaranteed in an unexpected manner. “Well done.” These words from Akushitsuna were straight to the point, and there didn’t seem to be any intention to discuss the situation. “You as well.” This came out naturally for Ikazuchi who was pleasantly surprised after recovering from his disturbed state. “Let’s head back to Cain.”

The two young men left just like that, their responsibilities were finished from the moment they took care of the abomination. There wasn’t anything more to be said between them for now. It was up to Cain or someone else to guide the migrating horde back. They had easily completed their task, so all that remained was claiming their rewards… and a proper cleaning.

WC - [1,950/1,000]