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A MORTAL REMINDER

Lino watched as the pile of rocks shambled together into an upward rain, blasting away at speeds that left the dusty trails behind them . A faint, golden glimmer traced in-between the darkened piles, winding around the tunnels digging through the mountain .

"A quick reaction . . . " Hannah mumbled, frowning slightly .

" . . . is that Eight?" Lino spoke softly, barely managing to discern a solitary figure upholding the entire dome that prevented hundreds of deaths . "Oh my . I was not expecting this . You?"

"Nope . " Hannah shook her head . "Upper-end barely ever leave the main headquarters . . . "

Meanwhile, Eight scrutinized the two figures carefully, his frown exceptionally deep . Though he’d heard the news that they were now in an official war with the Empyrean and his forces, that was less than a month ago -- when they deemed the Empyrean too hurt to make a move for months, at least . Yet, there he was, unhinged .

Eight sighed lowly and let go of the shield, lifting himself up into the sky, quickly followed by four other figures -- Fifty-one through Fifty-four -- as they reached up to Lino and Hannah’s level, meeting them squarely . Eight stared solemnly at the middle-aged figure floating opposite of him; black hair woven into a long-trailing tail, disheveled by the edges slightly, accompanied by a pair of terribly dark eyes that seemed to pierce through all the realities .

" . . . it’s been a long while, young Empyrean," he said . "It’s unfortunate we meet under such circumstances . "

"Isn’t the word you’re looking for inevitable?" Lino said, smiling faintly . "From what I recall, you warned me quite clearly . "

"I imagined you’d heed the warning . "

" . . . I have . " Lino replied, his smile vanishing .

"Intending to end all Bearers that don’t bend to your ideals . . . isn’t exactly heeding my warning, now is it, young Empyrean?" Eight said, smiling faintly .

" . . . how far up do I have to go to meet someone who’s not hellbent on being hypocrisy-personified?" Lino chuckled bitterly, shaking his head . "Alas, it doesn’t matter . Did the Descent order an attack on my people?"

" . . . what are you talking about?" Eight asked, tilting his head sideways .

" . . . ordinary peeps trying to run a shop and make a living . Do you know that barely anyone even knew those were my shops?" Lino said, his smile turning dark . "And, lo and fucking behold, they get butchered like swines and hung on the spikes like morbid decorations . "

" . . . "

"Perhaps . . . it’s high-time I paid in kind . " he crackled, taking out the [Dragon Slayer] gripping it tightly . "It’s a simple game, now -- surrender and you live . Oppose and I’ll ensure you wish you were dead . The choice is yours . "

" . . . alas, my point has been proven . " Eight said, shrugging .

"What point?" Lino’s eyes suddenly darkened as the sky thundered temporarily . "That I have a heart? That it can bleed? That each time you cut one of my own you also cut a part of me? That, eventually, I too get tired of watching people I love being mowed down like pigs? That point? Then, yeah, your fucking point has been proven . Now make a choice, lest I make it for you . "

"--there is no choice to be made," Eight said, suddenly spreading his arms as the golden light bound him . Millions of threads exploded out and encompassed roughly ten miles across, pulling everyone from down below into it . "You’ve overstepped your bounds and trailed down the path I cannot tolerate . The time for you to die has come . "

After momentary blindness, Lino jolted his eyes open, quickly realizing he was neither in the high sky nor anywhere near those crushed mountains . Rather, he stood on a flat field surrounded by a dipping valley, ending over into open ocean on each end . Hannah stood next to him, just as confused, while the opposite of them stood an army of nearly ten thousand, led by Eight .

"--do you know where you are?" he asked Lino .

" . . . " several things became clear to Lino quickly -- this was a blended illusion, the type of reality-changing Eight was famous for; in it, he also realized, there was no Qi . He couldn’t utilize any one of his arts, or even his items . The [Dragon Slayer] in his hand was but an ordinary weapon made out of steel . There were no Levels, no realms, no nothing . He was just an ordinary mortal . . . as everyone else, including Eight, was . "In your worst nightmare?" he chuckled .

"You can helplessly try to fight us here and lose," Eight said, smiling lightly . "Or you can try and break out of . Which will happen first, do you wonder? Will you get out? Or . . . will we kill you?"

" . . . so, let me get this straight . " Lino’s smiled turned wicked as he took a slow step forward . "You locked yourself inside a reality-blend within which Qi doesn’t exist, everyone is an ordinary mortal, and is forced to use powerless weapons . "

" . . . "

"With a fucking Empyrean . " he stopped, sighing and shaking his head . "I don’t know whether to applaud your stupidity or thank your subtle support . "

" . . . there’s still thousands of them," Hannah added as she joined him . "Can we really take them all on?"

"Why all? Just kill Eight, and the illusion stops . "

"He’s gonna hide . "

"There ain’t a fuckin’ hole he can hide himself in from me . You have a weapon?" he asked, glancing at her .

"I’ve got that rod of yours; I’m well-practiced with it . " she replied, taking out a small, strange-looking object .

"Stick to my back," he said . "Let’s go crack some fucking skulls . "

"Ha ha ha, yeah, let’s . . . "

Without seemingly any hesitation, Lino suddenly thrust into a sprint, running toward the opposing side uninhibited . Eight frowned for a moment before slithering back through the masses as thousands of souls pushed forward, charging at Lino in a half-circling formation . The latter, however, only had a maddened smile all throughout .

The two sides met mere seconds later as crude-looking swords and axes came swinging at Lino overhead . He blasted off a laugh before sliding in a spinning fashion, dragging the Slayer in the full circle, cutting over ten pairs of legs in one, swift motion . Blood spurted out immediately, fashioning his face crimson, as painful screams flayed out into the sky .

Hannah skillfully dodged a few stray attacks before elongating the rod and using it as a crude staff . Though she fought largely from range, through countless spars with Lino, she’d picked up many things . He also taught her occasionally to give her an edge if she ever found herself in such a situation . Her strikes were precise and lethal -- either aiming for in-between the eyes to immediately crack the skull, center of the chest, where two rib-cages met, crotch or lower back .

Lino heaved himself off with a free arm and jumped over three meters into the air, over the heads of all those who could merely look up and stare . He quickly located Eight in the sea of people, spinning like a whirlwind for a moment as he dove down, cutting through the meek blockade that welcomed him . Limbs scattered about as heads flew, blood dyeing the green grass red . Hannah followed closely behind, mostly picking up the strays and ensuring the circle around Lino never got too tight .

Striking forward, he slashed four more souls as a faint opening spurred into existence . Everyone currently present except for Lino had completely missed it, as hardly anyone had more than just basic experience when it comes to melee clashes . He stuck the Slayer into the ground and slid down once more, cruising through a pair of stretched legs before grabbing at the backside of the man’s belt and heaving himself off the ground, tearing away at the crotch and pulling the screaming man down . Grabbing the Slayer, he kicked himself off the man’s back and lunged over a small group of clearly young .

None of them raised their weapons properly, most-likely praying inwardly Lino didn’t reach them . Their hopes and prayers, however, were vanquished as he found his way inside a small group and began the massacre .

A new symphony emerged at that moment, one that had even Hannah frowning . All other movement ceased as even the battle-hardened souls came to a halt . He didn’t spare anyone, cleanly cutting their heads and kicking their bodies out of a small clearing he fashioned for himself . By the end of it, over forty heads lay around his bloodied feet, the Slayer dripping with crimson, creating an ever-growing pond of blood down below . Lino’s hair grew even more disheveled, covering one end of his face, while the other remained horribly bloodied .

Beneath the crimson, a singular eye opened and stared frigidly at its surroundings . Nobody dared move . They shook in their boots, their arms quivering, a mere whisper away from dropping the weapon .

" . . . drop your weapons," Lino said calmly . "And I won’t touch you . "

" . . . " nobody did, however .

"What are you bound by? Duty? Honor? Loyalty?" Lino smiled faintly . "You fucking morons . Instead of fighting me fairly to buy you enough time to escape, he dragged you all inside this nightmare and then hid himself like a fucking cunt he is, watching the rest of you die like headless morons from safety . Why are you protecting him, huh? You think he’s going to reward you? If anything, he’s going to punish you because you took to fearing me in the midst of a heated battle . "

" . . . he’s right," Hannah said; it was only then that the countless eyes noticed this seemingly innocent woman by Lino’s side . That thought, however, was very short-lived as they spotted a cleanly cleaved head spiked on top of her staff, blood dripping down over her crimson hair freely . "You were dragged in here without ever being asked . Who are you to fight the Empyrean? That is not your job . It’s supposed to be his, but he’s quite a bitch, ain’t he?"

" . . . I’m actually kinda disappointed . " Lino sighed, turning toward Hannah . "After the beating Two gave me, I honestly expected more . "

"You’re basically his bane," Hannah shrugged . "Sure, he can bend reality and whatnot . You can do whatever you want with it, though . "

"But I did nothing," Lino shrugged, sighing . "I let him drag me in here, I played by his rules . . . I was expecting at least something . Not ’oh, I’ve got thousands of people; by the time he kills them, reinforcements will arrive’ . . . fucking hell . "

" . . . sometimes I forget you can be quite observant and clever . " Hannah said, smiling warmly .

" . . . I’d like to retort, but there’s a fucking head spiked on your weapon . You’re way crazier than I’ll ever be . "

"Whatever helps you sleep at night . "

"Anyway," Lino turned toward the confused crowd once more . "I don’t mind playing his game . If that’s what it takes, I’ll kill every one of you motherfuckers to get to him . And then I’ll kill him . And I’ll kill whoever comes to help his stupid ass . And I’ll continue killing for many years to come while you poor sods will be doing whatever the fuck, having died for honor and loyalty . So, think carefully for the following few moments . . . " he added, his voice turning frigid once more . "You only have one life . . . don’t waste it . "