Episode 19 A Priest Who Lost His Way

As the smoke clears, the result of the initial explosion is made clear. Zack remains standing still on one side, apparently unmoved, fixed and rooted to the same spot, that same mocking, grinning expression on his face.

On the other side stands Kunai and Ryuu, side by side, weapons bared and flares of anger in their eyes. Ayame and Ivy stand idly by, shock woven into their faces. Sasha and Claire stand nearby, unable to come to terms with the events that had just happened.

However, one thing remains clear: the Mayor and his son are nowhere to be found. A cold wind whips through the semi-dark boulevard, as the sun dips just behind the peak of a nearby tower, throwing the small narrow section of the street into a veil of shadow.

“Damn you…” Kunai mutters, his eyes lowered, unable to stare straight ahead at the bomb-ravaged scene in front of him. “DAMN YOU!”

Kunai lunges forward, a Steely clasped tightly in his hands as he clambers through the air, chasing after the villain that had allowed the explosion to occur.

However, Zack remains standing motionless still, and it is only as Kunai approaches him nose to nose that Zack reaches out and easily stops Kunai with a single index finger, by tapping him on the forehead and throwing him back.

A darkened expression looms over Zack’s features momentarily. ‘So I was right…it seems that they can’t see my Teleport. I’m too fast, after all. I’m too nice for my own good.’

“My apologies,” Zack bows, turning to the girls in the group, ignoring Ryuu and Kunai. “My apologies, my fair ladies, for making you witness such a grotesque and arrogant thing such as a man blowing up. I promise you that I’ll give you a more appropriate sight to cast your luscious eyes upon in the future.”

‘Is he for real…?’ Sasha wonders to herself, digging her heels until they hurt into the ground below her, ‘To be able to speak so calmly after what happened…’

Sasha suddenly staggers, and falls to one knee, shock written on her face as she realizes what has just happened. She quickly realizes that tears are streaming down from her eyes as well, and hurriedly wipes her face clean. ‘Damn. I swore that I wouldn’t allow this to happen again, and yet…here I am, I just witnessed another person die before my very eyes!’

“Stay calm, Sasha,” Ryuu replies in a low grunt, “there’s nothing we can do about Stan anymore. But we still can’t let this sick bastard off the hook for what he just did.”

Kunai draws a Steely and points it at Zack with the utmost resolve. “I’m gonna kill you for what you just did, Zack. I swear it!”

Zack smirks, so widely that his eyes melt into narrow slits as he returns Kunai’s deadly gaze. “The trick is, man,” Zack retorts, as his feet shift to allow him to spring forward at any given moment, “that you have to catch me first!”

Kunai tenses and sprints after Zack, just as he leaps into the air. A moment later, a flash of blue light envelops Zack, and he reappears behind Kunai, clasping him tightly around the neck.

Zack casually brings the tip of his Kage to rest along Kunai’s throat threateningly, yet with a powerful, eerie sense of control. “As you can see,” Zack murmurs phlegmatically, “I can’t allow that.”

“Damn you!” Ryuu curses, and lowers his sword through the air with a powerful thrust. However, Zack turns without letting Kunai go, and with a decisive flick of his finger, stops the blow with one hand.

Ryuu is sent flying backwards as a brightly glowing dragon counters his attack, knocking him back with a beam of white light. Ryuu finally regains his ground, and charges once more, this time at the dragon.

However, the dragon, nicknamed Zack Jr. by Zack, merely blocks the second attack with another powerful blast of its beam, and throws Ryuu backwards just as easily as the first time.

Ryuu finally doubles over, worn out from the effort of attacking. He clutches his sword tightly, though it slides down so that the tip is now resting on the ground, a sign of fatigue.

Ivy and Ayame watch the fight in awe, as Zack gracefully negates each of Kunai and Ryuu’s successive attempts of attack. They still sit kneeled around the spot where Alex had stood only mere moments before.

Meanwhile, Sasha and Claire stand side by side, watching the fight solemnly. Sasha’s Berzerker leans by her side, her fists clenched tightly and shaking too overwhelmingly for her to do anything.

Zack’s grip on Kunai’s neck steadily tightens further, until Kunai is nearly purple in the face. As for Ryuu, sweat drips down from his forehead, down his cheek, and drips onto the floor near his sword.

“Tired, hm?” Zack grins mockingly to Ryuu, staring at him still with the same smirk on his face. Ryuu returns his gaze with a contemptuous one, though he remains unable to move due to the fatigue.

“You may be wondering how come you’re so tired just now, Mr. Apple,” Zack continues after Ryuu fails to reply, “I have the answer to that puzzling question. Zack flicks his wrist lazily, and all of a sudden strange sparks of dazzling blue light can be seen convening around his wrist and staff.

Ryuu’s eyes widen immediately in realization. “You’ve been—!”

“Yup, s’right,” Zack replies, “took ya long enough to figure it out. I’ve been slowly draining your mana each time you attack. Looks like you don’t have all that mana after all; it only took a couple futile attacks to get you all worn out.”

“His Mana Eater is impressive,” Ivy whispers in awe, “to be able to drain so much mana that Ryuu can’t even stand anymore!” She stares miserably down at her own hand, clutching her Thorns. ‘Sometimes I feel like my Thorns is only there for decoration. I can’t even to begin to pretend to be as strong as everyone else is…’

Ryuu draws a deep breath heavily, his entire body convulsing to the rhythm of mana escaping from his body. He finally forces himself into a decent fighting stance, and swings his sword high above his shoulder. “Please. I’d be embarrassed if I really could be taken down by a few cheap magic tricks. I’m not going down just yet!”

Ryuu shouts out loud again, stunning even Zack. He rapidly darts down the boulevard, headed right for Zack again, this time shredding his way right past Zack Jr. and plunging his sword deep into the flesh of Zack’s shoulder.

Zack lets out a piercing exclamation of pain, falling to his knees at once. Kunai is immediately let go thanks to the blow, and allows himself to be removed from Zack’s painful grip.

However, Kunai remains stumbling around for several moments, until Ivy cries aloud and helps him to his feet, dragging him to rest beside Ayame.

Ivy murmurs some soft, reassuring words into Kunai’s ear, while his breathing remains irregular. Ryuu glances at Kunai with a slight glint of irritability mixed with worry in his eyes. ‘So Kunai’s been feeling the effects of his Mana Eater too. Damn.’

“Yo,” Zack says right next to Ryuu, catching him completely off guard, “s’not nice to take your eyes off your opponent, man. They just might…creep up on ya.” Zack whispers the last few words right into Ryuu’s ear, watching pleasurably as Ryuu’s eyes widen in alarm.

“How…did you get right next to me without noticing?” Ryuu murmurs, his composure completely and visibly shaken by Zack’s antics.

“My secret,” Zack whispers back, a wide grin quickly replacing the slight frown that had darkened his face.

Ryuu turns, blocking the anticipated blow from Zack with his sword. He gazes down angrily at Zack, who now stands between himself and the others. ‘This guy’s starting to worry me…he’s a lot stronger than he makes out to be. I have to make sure this fight ends soon.’

Ryuu lunges forward, but pauses in mid-step as another flash of blue light engulfs the air between he and Zack. Ryuu spins rapidly around in anticipation of Zack’s sneak attack, but a moment later, Ryuu feels a finger tap him on his shoulder from behind.

Ryuu’s eyes widen as he realizes Zack had teleported behind him while he turned around. Another moment later, Ryuu feels the effects of the attack, as several blue projectile claws tear at his unguarded back.

Ryuu is thrown onto his knees, crying out in pain. He lays on the ground for several moments, his breathing ragged and his brows furrowed in absolute shock. ‘I see now…first, he teleported and snuck up behind me to show me what he could do. The initial first attack was a bluff, he knew I would easily block it. But then the second time he attacked, he attacked first then teleported second, foreseeing that I’d anticipate a repeat attack. That’s how he got me.’

“Surprised, Hun?” Zack whispers tauntingly into Ryuu’s ear. “Heh, heh. So judging by your big narrowed eyebrows, you figured out my trick.”

Ryuu’s eyes narrow angrily, as he shoulders his sword and a burst of flame renews in vigor around his sword. “I told you before. A few cheap magic tricks aren’t enough to beat me!”

Ryuu charges once again, throwing his entire body forward to push his sword into Zack, while Kunai, out of nowhere, simultaneously attacks Zack from behind.

The two of them make a direct hit on Zack at the same time, but both remain standing still, not due to victory, but due to shock, as the dust that had been thrown up into the air during their sprints clears, and Zack is revealed to be holding each of Ryuu and Kunai’s weapons in his own hands.

Blood can clearly be seen dripping down Zack’s hands from the sharpness of his opponents’ weapons, but he shows not the slight sign of a grimace. Zack calmly lets go of Kunai’s Avenger and Ryuu’s Twin Dragons, grinning.

“H-How?” Kunai mutters, as his Avenger cracks in half, collapsing into shards on the ground.

Zack closes his eyes serenely and flicks his fingers again, this time revealing a constant stream of green light surrounding his entire body. “I’m continuously healing myself, dude. Even if you were to hurt me, my wounds would recover in an instant.”

“What?!” Ryuu cries in outrage. “That’s impossible! No one has the capacity to constantly keep up that much mana usage without dying!”

Zack grins unsettlingly again, winking at Ryuu. “That’s true, but you handsome guys should feel a sense of pride that I’m even using this strategy. I only use it when I feel I need to in order to win. That is, when I’m facing strong guys and I’m sure that I’ll gain more mana than I lose.”

“Then…that means…” Kunai gasps hoarsely.

“That you want us to attack you?!” Ryuu finishes for Kunai, though his voice is equally hoarse.

“S’right,” Zack replies nonchalantly, “so do you guys wanna continue this fight or what? I’m a busy man.”

Ryuu pauses momentarily to consider these words. ‘Damn…we’re trapped…if we don’t attack, he’ll get away with murder. If we do, he’ll just drain our energy and wear us out, eventually killing us. There’s no way around it! No matter how much we attack him, he’s just gonna keep regenerating his own mana, while our own diminishes.’

A smirk returns to Zack’s face, lighting it up. “I suppose you’re beginning to realize your dilemma, huh? Ah, such a painful choice…to pursue your friend’s murderer or just kill yourself? I wonder what I’d do in your position…”

“Stop mocking us, dammit!” Sasha speaks up for the first time. “I’ll never let you get away with killing Mayor Stan and his son Alex!” Sasha charges angrily at Zack, swinging her Berzerker widely in the air.

At once, several ghostly images of dragons surround Sasha’s figure as she attacks, and she collapses the extent of her attack entirely on Zack, who merely raises his arms against the force of the blow.

As the dragons tear and rip, ramming themselves into Zack’s figure, he merely stands with a sly smile on his face, and when the attack is ended, Zack remains standing without a scratch.

Sasha draws to a stop, at a loss for words. However, Kunai steps up, waving a Steely angrily in front of Zack’s face again. “Can I ask you one question, Zack?” Kunai mutters through his teeth, as though with great effort.

“Huh? You wanna ask me a question?” Zack replies dully, “Well that’s awful weird. Well, g’ahead, I’ll answer whatever questions ya got for me.”

“Why…” Kunai murmurs, “Why do you choose to side yourself with the Myougun? Why do you choose a life of murder and crime?”

Zack’s face darkens momentarily, though the same smirk does not disappear, but is instead augmented eerily by the darkness of his visage. “Ah, nice question, m’friend!” Zack begins clapping, while Kunai tenses suspiciously.

“Haha,” Zack laughs, noticing Kunai’s tension, “no need to get all tensed up, Kunai. I’ll answer your question.”

Kunai remains standing still, not bothering to relieve the tension built up in his muscles, eager to lunge at Zack and resume the fight.

“The answer’s simple,” Zack replies in a rather simplistic manner and tone, “I got my reasons. Paradox mutation.”

Kunai immediately glances up at the last two words, as does Ivy, Ryuu, and Ayame. “Paradox mutation…?” Kunai murmurs, “I don’t understand. What does that have to do with you?”

“Lots,” Zack replies, “for example, m’brother and m’sister. They’re goin’ through this thing called Paradox mutation. I never was much of a schoolboy, so I can’t really tell ya guys much about it. Just that my lil’ bro and my lil’ sis are sufferin’ from it. Kinda makes ya think, eh?”

“Paradox mutation…” Ivy repeats, her eyes wide with wonder.

“Then…then why?!” Kunai screams, “Why do you choose to work for the Myougun?! They’re the ones who invented these Paradoxes, these things that made your brother and sister sick in the first place! Why work for them?!”

“Simple,” Zack repeats, “I owe the power I’ve gotten to some dude I call my master, y’guys may have heard of him. His name’s Lord Kimura. He picked me up from the slums, educated me, and made me powerful. I owe him lots, and what Mr. Kimura says is what Mr. Zack does. S’he tells me that if I got this little doozie of a thing called a Third Phoneme for him, that he’d figure out a way t’cure my bro and sis. S’all I want, really. And he keeps his promises to me, so I keep my promises to him.”

“They’re…” Kunai mutters, “all lies. He’s not gonna keep his promise, and you’re just gonna wind up hurt. You’re just a pawn.”

A cold wind blows by, rustling Zack and Kunai’s hair as they stand facing each other. Zack stares resolutely at Kunai, as if he hadn’t heard his words.

Finally, Zack speaks up. “I’ve made my decision, bro. No use arguin’ with me.”

A steady silence follows after these words, as Kunai and Zack stare solemnly at each other. All of a sudden, Zack checks his wrist for the time, though there is no watch on it. “Well, time’s flyin’ by and I’ve gotta jet! Toodles!”

“Wait! Don’t go!” Kunai shouts after Zack, but with a flutter of his robes in the darkening boulevard, Zack disappears with a whiff of wind, as suddenly as he had come.

The city of Queen’s Port lies bathed under a blanket of night sky, the world suddenly thrown into an oblivion of darkness and unknown once more.

Sasha, Kunai, Ryuu, Ayame, and Ivy stand side by side, gathered once again at the arched entrance into the city; however, this time they face the opposite direction. The five of them are dressed once again in their thick, oversized traveling cloaks.

Standing across from them is Claire, her Red Bandana tied loosely around her flowing hair, fluttering slightly due to the nighttime breeze. She gazes down sadly at Sasha, whose face is concealed underneath a cloak of tears. ‘

“Sasha…” Claire murmurs, “please don’t punish yourself like I did. It wasn’t your fault that the Mayor died…it was out of our control. The circumstances around it…”

“I appreciate your comforting words, Claire,” Sasha replies softly, “but it will take me a long time to get over it. Please, allow me to grieve as I see fit.”

“All right then.” Claire folds her arms, still looking worriedly at Sasha. Meanwhile, she turns to the others. “Are you guys gonna be okay traveling by night? If you want I can let you stay at my place for the night.”

“No thanks,” Ryuu grunts in reply, “we prefer traveling in the night. Leaving during the night will be less noticeable and therefore we’ll have a lesser chance of being tracked.”

“Very well,” Claire replies. “So I guess that this is farewell again, Sasha.”

“Yeah,” Sasha smiles weakly, “but at least this time I can consider you my friend again. I’m really glad that we got this opportunity to make up.”

“Same here,” Claire grins, “and be careful on your journey! When you come back, I want to hear lots of stories about your adventures.”

“Yeah!” Sasha agrees, and with several last parting waves, the five wave goodbye to Claire, as they begin once again to depart on their long search for the Third Phoneme.

As the five draw closer to the desolate, lonely plains, Ivy suddenly points into the sky, where there is a large billboard standing in the middle of the road. “Look! What does that say?”

The five of them pause momentarily to glance up perplexedly at the billboard, on which is depicted a rather ugly redheaded man holding a gun in one hand and a scantily clad young woman with a well-endowed chest in the other.

Ryuu raises an eyebrow at the sight of the billboard. Upon further inspection, however, Ryuu’s eyes widen, as he reads the caption next to the picture: “The famous Apple starring in his next big adventure: The Mystery of the Bunny Queen!”

“Look! It’s the real Apple!” Ivy giggles.
“That…that abomination does NOT look like me!” Ryuu stammers, glaring angrily up at the sign.

Ayame rubs her chin, looking closely at the billboard. “I don’t know, Ryuu…at this angle, the two of you look awfully alike…”

“HE’S GOT BUCKTEETH AND TWIGS FOR ARMS!” Ryuu counters, practically screaming as spit flies from his mouth.

Ivy and Ayame begin tittering uncontrollably, as they point and laugh at Ryuu. With a sigh and a scowl on his face, Ryuu folds his arms haughtily. “Hmph. Glad I make such a funny joke for you two.”

In a remote corner of the now completely darkened city of Queen’s Port, a lone figure remains standing outside, shrouded within the folds of a heavy traveling cloak, the hood drawn over his head and low over his eyes. By his side, he leans on a Kage.

“You’re free t’go,” the figure mutters to two others standing beside him, shivering in the cold.

“Th-thank you!” Mayor Stan stammers, bowing slightly to his savior in front of him. By his side, his son Alex clutches his leg tightly.

“No problem,” the figure answers. He then sighs, mumbling something to himself. “I’m much too nice for my own good sometimes…”

As the moon begins to peak above in the sky, a ray of moonlight slants down from the sky towards the figure, and as he turns around to get a better look at the departing father and son, his hood slips slightly backwards, revealing the lean and calm face of Zack.

‘Master of Teleportation, the one and only Zack.’

Next Time: Episode 20 Red Eyes of Fire

Otis: Hey losers! It’s Otis the Green Snail here, and I’ve come to take over the previews from now on!

Arai: And this is his beautiful assistant, Arai!

Otis: So, Mr. Arai, what do you think is gonna happen next time?

Arai: Ryuu and Kunai bake a gigantic muffin chocolate chip raisin banana oatmeal cherry strawberry cookie!

Kunai: That is NOT what happens at all!

Ryuu: [grumble] Do the preview right, you idiots!

Otis: Wah! Ryuu is a big fat—

Kunai: Now you’ve done it! The preview’s been stretched too long!

Episode 20 Red Eyes of Fire coming soon!