Yuurei continued to hear the screams of the people that were within Rush Valley. This wasn’t good, but he was going to make it stop. Migi would move Yuurei’s right arm and he would look at Renji and Yuurei.

“If you don’t want to be seen, then you should move to the back of the place and work there. I haven’t been in your body for too long, but I can tell you’re strong and fast. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t take over your body, or things would have gone worse than they are now.” He said to Yuurei.

Yuurei would hear this and he would nod as he was glad that he didn’t lose his life that day. He would, however listen to his advice because it was the right thing to do, so he didn’t run into the guild.

“Alright we will do just that. Let’s go Renji.” He said to his companion.

Renji would hear this and he would hop off of Yuurei and the two of them would start walking through the dark alleys. He would see people running for their lives, and he would press against the walls, so they couldn’t see him. It was then that he figured that he would get his cape to wrap itself around his face. He covered himself as he would walk around, still doing his best to avoid the people around here.

Renji would walk beside Yuurei the entire time. He was making sure that nobody would be able to see him until it was too late. While moving through the area Yuurei would see some people who looked menacing. He chuckled a bit as he figured that they must have been a part of the dark guild. The Seraphim would walk through their path on purpose, and he would catch their attention.

They would look at Yuurei and look upset that he wasn’t panicking or anything of the sort. It was then that they would approach him.

“Who do you think you are? You better bow down to Chaos Eclipse, or you going to wish you weren’t born.” He said to Yuurei waiting for him to grovel.

Renji would look at them and he decided he would be the one to speak.

“Bow down? You should be the ones to do that.” He said to them as Yuurei’s right arm would grow into more appendages that had blades at the end of them.

Yuurei would look at the two of them and before he could do anything Migi acted. He would cut the two guys that were in front of him without hesitating. The Seraphim would see this and he could see how this could work in combat.

Yuurei would look at the third one as the man was terrified by what he had seen. The hunter smirked, which couldn't be seen as he rushed straight to the man in front of him. It was then he would swing his left arm and he would cut the man down with his invisible sword at hand.

“We should keep going, there must be people who need our help.” He said to them as if they would agree.


532

Huginn had flown down from the darkening sky and landed on the shoulder of Brone Heavyaxe. The dwarf and his troops had gathered at the base of a cliff that overlook the city of Rush Valley. The troops waited for their commander's orders before making the first move. When several of the lieutenants saw the raven land on the dwarf's shoulder, they assumed it was a messenger bird and hoped it would provide some letter which would determine their next course of action. Huginn was about to whisper into his ear, but Brone stopped him with a gesture of his hand, he would then point to different entry points of the city and say to his lieutenants "Enter through those points, keep to the shadows and keep silent, help those in need by escorting them outside of the city; battle when necessary" His voice was different, though it was still Brone's voice, but the tone and even the accent was different. He seemed to be more reserved, calmer, but focused as he observed the city.

"How will we contact you?" Said one of the lieutenants.

"Worry not of that, I will know" Brone gave the man one look of assurance with a small smile that comforted the man before he mounted Geri, the tempest wolf, and rode down to one of the sally ports.

"There are fires scattered throughout and people being taken hostage" Huginn said as he flew along side the running tempest wolf, "The entry points are guarded by Chaos Eclipse members."

"And Yuurei?" Brone asked, his voice little more than a whisper.

"He and Renji flew directly into the city, one of the darker parts of the city that lost it's power."

"Thank you" And with that, Huginn flew off again to continue his scouting.

"You seem different, Brone-kun" Benimaru, the voice of the spirit came from the unmovable mouth of the oni on the shield.

"My apologies, I am not he, but Shimada Minori, I am helping the great dwarf" Though he was the dwarf physically, he spoke as if he was truly a different person and the oni spirit immediately understood because not only this Shimada Minori spoke with a Joyan accent, but with their language as well, which is Benimaru's first language, "It is an honor to fight along side you, Benimaru-san".

Benimaru laughed, "Another Joyan spirit; this indeed will be fun; it is an honor, Shimada Minori". Hiding inside the white cowl, Gnicholas heard the entire conversation. Initially he was concerned, but given how peaceful this Shimada Minori seemed, he could only assume and hope that this spiritual possession was temporary.

Once Geri reached closed in on the Salley Port, Minori spotted a group of people who seem to be guarding it; if Huginn was right, then these were enemies. Minori took Benimaru's sword and positioned it at his waist, holding it with his left secondary hand, his right secondary hand on the sword's handle while both his main hands held Geri's reigns. Once the tempest closed in on the unsuspecting group of dark guild members, Minori leaped off the tempest wolf, rolled on the floor before getting back onto his feet and immediately started sprinting towards the enemies.

Due to sun going down over the horizon, the enemies didn't notice the dwarf in time before Minori got close enough to draw Benimaru's blade and immediately cut down one of them, then proceeded to strike at the other. By the time the third managed to draw his sword and react to the surprising situation at hand, Minori was already moving towards them. They clashed swords; then the enemy took another swing which was immediately blocked by Benimaru's shield, to which Minori took the time to strike at the enemy, bringing him down as well.

"Arigato, Benimaru-san" Minori said. As Benimaru laughed in enjoyment of this new tagteam, they made their way into the city as Geri ran back to safety.

666

The three sentient beings would hear what Yuurei had to say and they would be well aware of what they had to do. They would stick to the shadows as planned as they would move around. The Seraphim would look at his right arm and he would ask the question that he wanted.

“Hey Migi.” He said to get his attention.

Migi would move Yuurei’s hand and his eyes and mouth would appear as he looked at Yuurei.

“What’s up?” He asked Yuurei, curious to hear what he had to say.

“Making those blades are the only thing you can do?” He asked as he wasn’t sure.

“I can do a lot of things. I can make around two appendages come out of your hand. So, technically you can have two hands come out of your original hand. I can only sharpen them, wish I could do something defensive with them. Also in battle, I can make sure you don’t stay unconscious or die. As long as I’m conscious you can go another round; and I can also separate from you, but then you would lose an arm.” He explained to Yuurei.

The Seraphim was glad to be given this information as it was something he didn’t know about his right arm. Renji heard all of this and all he could think about was how Yuurei had gone from a weird arm to an even weirder arm. Still, he hoped that this arm would benefit him just as much as the previous one.

“So, Yuu could wield three weapons at a time?” Renji asked.

“I don’t see why not.” He said Renji.

It wouldn’t take long, but Yuurei would see a few people running for their lives, and he would approach them. They were frightened when they saw him as they couldn’t tell who it was. He was wearing his cape around his face to hide his identity.

“If you keep going in that direction, you will be safe and out of harm's way. I dealt with men that were stationed there. Also, could you direct me in the direction where I might find these crooks that are here to destroy Rush Valley?” He asked them waiting for an answer and pointed in the direction of where they needed to go.

They would point in a specific direction and Yuurei would nod as he kept moving. They would start running in where he told them to go, and he would do the same. The hunter was indeed a hunter, the way he moved around the shadows. He kept moving around and he would feel the vibration in the air to his right. He would shift himself in that direction; it wouldn’t take long, but he would see four people laying on the ground and five men laughing at them as these people were crying for their lives.

Yuurei would shake his head as it was time to show these guys that it wasn’t a good idea to mess with people protected from Paradise Dawn. He would take a step forward as it was time to clean up the house.

519|1051

Minori rushed through the dark streets of the southern part of the city. He looked up to the sky to see the raven Huginn who was guiding him, "It is a blessing to be able to see in the dark" Minori lived his life as a human, so never experienced seeing through the eyes of a dwarf.

"A trade out for the size difference I suppose" Benimaru chuckled as the both of them were trying to remain quiet as they were essentially sneaking around to try and scout the enemy and to help innocent civilians rather than cause destruction which would risk the lives of the locals.

"It isn't the size that matters, for the shortest blade can cut faster and more precise than a broadsword" Minori replied with a soft spoken tone similar to that of a night's breeze. Gnicholas and Benimaru were still trying to get use to this new personality which was very different than Brone.

"What has happened to Brone?" Gnicholas couldn't wait for the oni spirit to ask. He was concerned about his friend and was irritated that Benimaru didn't question this situation.

"He is fine; we decided that my approach to entering the city would be more affective" Minori didn't sound defensive at all, because he understood that the gnome was worried about his friend. The gnome couldn't deny the fact that if Brone chose the plan on how to enter the city, it would have been more destructive and would put the locals in danger, so for the moment, he let the situation be and put more focus on what's important.

The raven cawed and his flight shifted, indicating to Minori that there was something up ahead. So he slowed to a halt as he came to the end of a alleyway. Before he could even peek around the corner, he was able to discern that there were three aggressors and half a dozen weaker people being shackled. This extra sense seemed more like an advance intuition. When he peeked around the corner, he could confirm his suspicion. Three men who wore aggressive black leather armor were rounding up people who wore a variety of common clothing, tying them up by rope.

"I need to somehow blind them" Minori whispered as he examined the area.

"I can help with that" the gnome whispered from the white cowl. He then cast a spell which conjured a globe of magical darkness that encircled the entire group. Minori smiled as he was able to see through the darkness to witness the dark guild members quickly get defensive while the locals drop to the floor, scared.

Minori whispered a thanks to the gnome before he ran into the darkness and began to cut the enemies down, taking advantage of their blindness. By the time he was done, the globe vanished, Gnicholas cancelling the spell. "It is a shame I had to strike unprepared enemies, but this was for the sake of the citizens" Minori said as he looked at one of the fallen enemies. He then cut the rope bonds and guided the civilians he freed towards the gate he had came from before moving onward.

537 | 1,203

Yuurei didn’t want to alert the men that he was there, so he decided to change his choice of weapons. He would bring out Zabimaru, and his Gae Bolg. The Seraphim was ready to do what he needed to. He wasn’t going to allow the people on the floor to be harmed. Migi was new here, so he was still learning what Yuurei could do. What he understood was that this man was a master with weapons.

The hunter would toss Gae Bolg into the air as he would going after the man on the far left with it. The spear had homed in on his target. Yuurei would move closer as he would swing Zabimaru and he would have it extend to the man on the far right as he wanted to take him out at the same time as the man on the far left. Yuurei had rushed to the two in the middle of the group he would kick one on his back with all his force, and he would backhand the man next to him.

When the guy on the far left noticed what had happened, the spear would pierce through him and it would return to Yuurei’s hand. Zabimaru had cut down his target as well before retracting back to its original size.

The fifth man, who was in front of the four guys would turn to see blood splatting all over his face. Yuurei would look at him as he could tell that he was shaking in fear. He wasn’t sure who this guy was, but the weapons were familiar. They had gathered information on a lot of people within Paradise Dawn.

“Are you…” He never got finished saying what he wanted to say.

Migi’s appendages would make their way toward the fifth man and he would cut his head off. the man would drop to the ground as he was no longer within the living. The people on the ground were scared and were hoping that whoever was there wouldn’t harm them. Yuurei would cut the ropes that were tying them down and he would step away from them.

“You guys are free to go. I took care of them, and these guys won’t harm you ever again. Take the route behind me, and you guys will be safe.” He said to them as he would keep moving forward.

The people there would get up from the ground and they would listen to the man. When they saw the people who had captured them dead, they knew that whoever that was not to be messed with.

“I guess I should be helping out as well.” He said to Yuurei.

He would get off his shoulder and he would start walking with Yuurei. The Seraphim had one goal and it was to make sure that those from Chaos Eclipse would be taken care of and the rebuilding within Rush Valley could happen. Migi would return the arm back to normal as he was looking around through Yuurei’s arm to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

511|1562

Some streets were still lit by lacrima crystals as they are normally activated during the night, but other streets were left in darkness or only lit by the uncontrolled fires that are eating away at the debris of destroyed property. Minori made sure to keep to the shadows as best as he could, but his main focus was following Huginn who flew in the sky above him, for the raven was leading him to areas where help was most needed.

Suddenly, after a few turns, Huginn had stopped his advancement and immediately dove out of sight as if he was suddenly attacked. Benimaru nor Gnicholas could tell what had caused the avian to react in such a way, but Minori had an idea. His insight had told him there was some form of large enemy that was around the upcoming corner, so he made sure to prepare himself for whatever this threat was.

The moment Minori turned the corner, he was surprised by what he encountered; a giant tiger made of pure fire was pouncing around, destroying the street and spreading fire. It was obvious what was causing the large spread. "This is truly a problem indeed, how do we defeat something that is made of fire, but not flesh?" the samurai wiped the sweat from his brow as the heat from the large feline was getting to him.

"The green axe upon your back is called Spellcleaver; Brone uses it to cut through magic. This may be the tool you will need" Benimaru said.

Gnicholas had poked his head out of the cowl, taking deep breaths as the heat from the large feline was making it difficult for him to breath. Minori knew he needed to make this quick, so he drew forth from his back the green axe using his main left hand. It was then at this point the fire-tiger spotted the dwarf and decided to rush at him. Minori didn't deter away from the elemental beast, but meet it head on. Off he ran, wielding Spellcleaver in both of his main hands. He knew he needed to finish this quickly, for the longer Gnicholas was in the area, the more the heat would affect him.

The moment they clashed, Minori swung the axe and immediately, the elemental creature vanished along with the heat. Minori came to a stop and looked around. The fires were gone in the immediate area.

"Were the fires all connected to that one beast?" The samurai asked.

"It is possible I suppose" Benimaru replied. Gnicholas would respond but it seemed he had passed out due to the intense heat. Minori had checked on the gnome to make sure he was alright.

After a making their way through a dark alley, Huginn flew down and spoke to Minori, "The fires throughout the area had gone out when you slayed the beast." This was confirmation of their assumption which was a small win for Paradise Dawn.

496 | 1,699

The trio would make their way through the city as they were trying to see if there was anybody who needed their help. He wouldn’t know this, but while he was lurking through the shadow, someone had identified him as a threat. They would follow Yuurei, they would make their way to the young man. The Seraphim would sense danger coming to him instantly. The hunter would turn around he would bring out his shield and would block the attack in front of him.

The man in front of him would look at Yuurei, and he was smirking and the young man.

“I found someone strong in this city. It was getting boring. I have seen what you were doing to the people in the guild, so I expect you to do much against me.” He said to Yuurei without knowing who he was.

It was then he would swing his weapon once again on Yuurei’s shield and he would push him back while doing this. Renji would see this, and he would run to the man before jumping into the air and he would swipe at him. The man would feel the wound on his back and when he had gone to smack Renji away, the Exceed wouldn’t allow that to happen. Yuurei was close enough for him to fuse with him, and he would disappear from the area and into Yuurei.

The Seraphim would start changing his form and soon enough he would have cat ears on his head. He would also become more toned than he was before. Yuurei would feel the power surging with him and the toughness of his muscles as well. It wasn’t just that, but Renji had used Yuurei’s mana to allow him to deal more damage than he would before.

Yuurei would bring out two weapons against this man. His shield had changed and now he had an empty hand, or what seemed to be empty. He was holding his Excalibur, and in his other hand, he would be holding onto his Vacuum Gun. He would shoot out a powerful shot at the man, and he would dodge it as he was trying to approach Yuurei. He was excited that this man had become stronger than he was before.

Yuurei would see him swing his Kanabo to try and hit Yuurei. He would dodge the attack and he would swing his left arm. It was then he would cut the man on his chest, and he would stumble back. He would see the wound on his chest, and he would laugh as he couldn’t believe he had an invisible weapon.

“Interesting you have different weapons, let’s see what else you can do.” He said as he would continue to close in on Yuurei.

The Seraphim would dodge the attacks coming from this person, and Yuurei would shoot at him, but he wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot at him. Still, he figured he would put this more onto his side as he would bring forth his armor and his helmet as well.

512|2074

"Anything my brother and I say to you remains between us" Huginn said to Minori as he perched himself on the samurai's shoulder. Though he knew it was Brone, for some reason, the dwarf was being possessed. Luckily, the ravens were observant enough to pick up on abnormalities just by watching the movements of the dwarf and listening to his speech. When he had questioned this, Minori had answered honestly, letting him know he has temporarily taken possession of Brone. When asked if he was a ghost or just a split personality, Minori truthfully stated he wasn't sure, just that he had his own memory of his life, but could have sworn his soul had passed on upon his death, "If any bit of information of us is spoken to anyone else, our pact with Brone is broken."

"I understand" Minori said. Though he wasn't Brone, he understood the situation and didn't want to risk the dwarf losing valuable allies. The group of them moved forward through the dark streets until they found another group of the Dark Guild harassing civilians. Minori was quick to act by closing the distance and cutting the enemies down; though one of them, possibly the leader, held off the attack for an additional couple of seconds, needing Minori to strike a few more times before being brought down.

Looking upon the civilians who were chained up, the samurai acknowledged that Chaos Eclipse's main focus is to kidnap people for some reason. He was going to ask Huginn if he could scout ahead and try and figure out what their reasoning is, but the bird had already taken to the air. When Minori asked the civilians as he was freeing them, they answered that they were unsure; the dark guild just attacked the town and began herding them together and began transporting them away dozens at a time. After than, Minori directed the civilians towards the south. They took up lanterns so they could be guided in the dark. As for the samurai, he moved on ahead, hoping to do more good. He hoped the rest of his allies, though he knew nothing about them, were doing just as good.

366 | 2,065

The man would see Yuurei putting on armor, which he had chuckled a bit. He was observant and he decided to use a bit more. He would charge up his Kanabo this time, and he would swing at t he Seraphim, and Ice would come out as it would be sent straight to him. The Seraphim would see this, and his eyes widen as that wasn’t good. He looked at the gun that he had in his hand, and then over to the man in front of him.

He remembered what this gun could do and he would use it. He would press a button and the ice attack would be consumed by the gun without a second to waste. After that, he would shoot the attack right back at the man, which confused him to see that this was happening. He would dodge the attack, and when Yuurei seen that he was in perfect position for his next attack, the hunter would unleash the spell.

His helmet would glow for a bit and it would shoot straight to the man in front of him. He saw this attack coming, but knew that there was no way he could avoid that right now. He had to be quick on his feet, and he would use another spell from his Kanabo. It wouldn’t be enough as he was relieved that he had that in his arsenal. Yuurei would see this and he would run straight to him and he would swing his Excalibur at him once again.

The man being cut from the weapon before, did his best to estimate and guess how long the weapon was. He dodged the swing from his left, and Yuurei would shoot at him with another shot spell. It would hit the man on the chest around the same area that he was hit before. He felt the pain from the blow and he would look at Yuurei as he was having a fun time with whoever this man was.

335|2409

Minori kept his running pace, noticing he wasn't tiring, despite having a stout body. He acknowledged and respected Brone's body, Paradise Dawn, whoever this guild was, had a strong warrior protecting them. While mentally appreciating the commander and his troops, Brone's thoughts raged to the front of Minori's mind.

"Lad! How long are ye gonna have my body!?"

"My apologies, Brone-san, I believe my skills are best utilized here; I've trained to move swiftly and silently like the wind" Minori mentally spoke with the dwarf. Though Minori was considerate, he was reluctant to leave the innocent civilians in a risky endeavor, though he didn't doubt Brone's abilities.

"Should have let me take over, Minori!" Ranulf Althaus, the other personality called out in heavy aggression. Minori knew him too well and knew that savage warrior would cause the deaths of too many innocents with his selfishness, so he didn't even entertain him with any reply.

"Turmoil?" Benimaru said out loud, catching Minori and Gnicholas' attention.

"What do you mean, Beni?" Gnicholas asked as he hang from the white cowl.

"The city is in turmoil, of course" Benimaru said. However, Minori suspected the oni spirit was lying; wondering if he knew of the conflict within Minori's mind. Though Minori was in control of the body at the moment, a struggle even from the other two personalities would cause stress for him and could maybe even cause him to fall away from control; he hoped that wasn't the case.

252 | 2,317

Yuurei would look at him and it would seem like the man was enjoying his time. Still, it would mean that he could use this to his advantage. He would run to the man in front of him and see that the man with the Kanabo was excited. He would appear in front of Yuurei and he would swing the weapon.

The Seraphim would dodge the attack and he would swing his Excalibur to see if he could cut the man. When he did this, the man dodged it with ease, which depicted that he knew the length of his sword by now. He would also take a shot at him, but he would also miss, and the man with the Kanabo would see an opening with Yuurei. He would swing the Kanabo at the hunter, and Yuurei would see it coming. He would take the full brunt of the force, but it was something he wanted.

His weapons would change to his Yin and Yang, and he would swing his fist straight into the man’s abdomen. He would use his Trigram’s Destruction and it would cause more damage than it could on a regular basis. The man’s eyes would roll to the back of his head, and he would drop to the ground from the internal bleeding and damage that had been done.

Yuurei would crack his neck as he would drag the body of the man he had defeated as going to bring him to his master.

249|2652

[exit]

After crossing over a bride to enter another district, Minori spotted a source of flickering light; torches. He hid in the shadows as best as he could to spot a group of the dark guild lining up at least two dozen civilians. This was the largest gathering he has seen this night. The amount of Chaos Eclipse members seem to be about almost a dozen. When it comes to a handful, Minori knew he could handle it well enough, but this amount was a tad risky. He he asked for help from Brone's immediate companions and they agreed.

After a moment of collaboration, they enacted a plan. From the shadows, Gnicholas shot forward an arrow of pure darkness which hit the largest dark guild member, taking him out of the equation. While the rest of the enemies were surprised, Minori used the blade of Benimaru to fire a beam of magic which struck another large enemy, the focus was the take out the largest ones before moving in for the strike, but they needed to prevent any of the enemies from using the hostages, so Gnicholas conjured forth a globe of darkness to encase everyone in a blinding darkness. Luckily for Minori, he was told of the Asagai of Shaka Zulu, the golden spear. He tapped into it's magic and transformed into a large werelion. He then used his new speed to dive into the globe of darkness and take out the dark guild members quickly.

When the darkness faded, Minori returned to his regular dwarf state to prevent the civilians from being frightened of his large form. He then helped them escaped and began to gather them, trying to figure out what the next plan was.

287 | 2,604

[Exit]