-=Dark Lord=-

Kerning City was a bustling area of urban culture. No other location on Victoria Island left a greater touch of industrialized flavor. All around the people in the city were buildings set at numerous heights, though they all reached well into the sky. In the parts outside the city proper, a few construction areas could be seen, some crudely fashioned into cheap structures. Those areas were usually monster infested with many creatures, including snails, stumps, and green shrooms, along with a unique visitor-the octopus. The skies above, if not infested with gray clouds, held an amazingly beautiful sunrise and sunset, each of which were viewed by many adventurers from high points in the construction zones.

Shadow Viper was among one small group. Having woken up from slumber in time to hear talk of the event, he followed the group to an enormous crane structure near town. Ascending to the top, they made it just in time to see the sunrise break through the clouds, giving way to a new day. Despite the tragic events from last night, the one-armed bandit’s confidence seemed to be renewed as he watched the shining sun rise in the sky. *It’s been a surprisingly difficult road so far,* he thought, *but at least I’ve made it here, the home of Dark Lord.* Having seen the morning sky spectacle, Shadow began descending the crane fixture, ready to begin his search for Dark Lord.

-Woobledywop!-

Deep beneath the caves of Victoria Island, darkness was also staying fairly active. Standing atop a high archway, the red ninja gave patrol orders to the towering tauromacis and taurospears, positioning them so as to keep their hideout from being discovered or invaded. Meanwhile, the blue and yellow ninjas took time to spar, fending each other off with dazzling martial prowess and powerful magic abilities. Though they all seemed preoccupied, each ninja was waiting for the fourth one, who’d been set on another mission not long ago.

Eventually, their patience was rewarded when a green clad figure suddenly popped into view from out of nowhere. He walked over to his brethren with confidence brimming in every footstep. “The ordeal has been resssssolved,” he announced with a rash hiss.

The red ninja nodded. “Was success yours?” he asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

The green ninja responded with a moment of frightening laughter. “Their souls departed faster than I did!” he bellowed. “Nonetheless, I easily made it out unseen. Not even that one-armed bandit could detect me.”

If the red ninja hadn’t worn a mask, his broad smile would’ve been revealed. “Excellent work as always,” he said. The blue and yellow ninjas nodded in agreement. “The deaths will make certain that difficult one of ours doesn’t have any doubts about us again. Now, we haven’t gotten any other orders besides that, so you may go to Lith as originally planned.”
The green ninja bowed, and then turned invisible. Not even his footsteps could be heard as he left unseen. Afterwards, the red ninja turned to the other two. “We’ll focus on the fourth target for now, since she will be the weakest. Once she’s out of the way, each of us will take the remaining three. I know you two are eager to fight. Don’t worry; I sense your turns will come soon. I’m going to meditate and keep watch over her arrival. Run the place in my stead.” He then headed off towards a smaller chamber at the end of the tunnel.

-Woobledywop!-

Twenty minutes into his search, Shadow Viper hadn’t found where Dark Lord was residing. He’d checked around many of the back alleys, certain Dark Lord would keep himself hidden within them, but the master ninja of Maple World wasn’t among any of them.

*Maybe the townsfolk know something,* the one-armed bandit thought.

Just as he was about to begin asking, a familiar voice suddenly called out, “Shadow!”

Shadow looked over to see the blond-haired, green-eyed boy from back on Southperry walking towards him. The bandit’s could feel some of his burdens lifting as his heart lightened at the familiar face. Bearing a smile, he walked up to Lance and gave him a handshake.

“Excellent, you made it here!” Lance said. “I was actually just here to meet some friends of mine who were going to meet me here for training. Skye is still at Henesys, spending time with her family. So, have you found Dark Lord yet?”

“No, not yet,” Shadow replied as some of the burden returned. “I searched all over the back alleys, but he isn’t around there. I was about to ask the townspeople, and-“

“Actually,” Lance interjected enthusiastically, “I’ve heard of where Dark Lord resides!”

Shadow raised his eyebrow in certain disbelief. “You, a warrior, know where he is?” he asked.”

“Half the ISLAND knows!” Lance said in surprise. “I’m surprised you hadn’t heard before you got here. Anyway, as for me, not all of my friends are warriors. In fact, and older friend was promoted by Dark Lord to Assassin three weeks ago. Believe it or not, he actually lives out in the open. He just resides in a place you wouldn’t expect him to be. If you ask me, it’s a lot craftier than any back alley, which everyone and their brother would assume people like Dark Lord to live.”

Shadow pondered Lance’s words. Despite not being a rogue, the blond warrior did make several good points. Dark alleys had been known to be a common, if not overused stereotype of a hideout for any ninja and rogue. After all, the one-armed bandit’s home village was out in the open, albeit enshrouded in magic darkness. After tossing the thought around, he decided to take a chance. “Very well, Lance,” he said upon concluding his thoughts. “If you know where he is that well, then I guess it can’t hurt to look for him out here. If you can, lead on.”

“Awesome! Follow me.” Lance quickly ran ahead of Shadow as they searched around. They passed through what seemed to be half of the city, following the solitary street through the bustling urban area, before Lance stopped and looked around. He quickly found what he was looking for: a two-story building, with the first floor door crowned from above by glowing neon words. The words read, “Jazz Bar.”

“Believe it or not, this is the place!” Lance said. “My friend went in when he was strong enough, then came out and did a quest by himself. He must’ve done well, because after going in the second time, he came out with his badge.”

Shadow barely paid attention to everything Lance said as he gawked at the building. “The Dark Lord, master of all ninjas, lives in a JAZZ BAR?!” He then turned to Lance, looking annoyed. “I really hope you aren’t pulling my leg with this.”

“I’m honest, really!” Lance pleaded. “He’s in there, trust me. I know I haven’t gone in there myself, but that’s only because I have no business there. I’m a warrior after all.”

“I see…” Shadow nodded slowly, though doubt still clung to him. Of all the places a master ninja could live, it was here. He still couldn’t believe it; the place just didn’t have anything about it that let people know that even run-of-the-mill ninjas lived there. Unfortunately, the one-armed bandit didn’t have any other leads, and Lance did sound very convincing in his confidence. “Well, alright, I’ll check it out,” he said, feeling defeated. “However, I must know about these badges you speak of.”

“Oh, right, the badges,” Lance said. “I knew I forgot to mention something earlier. Our instructors always let us know about them before we go to Maple Island. Anyway, badges are proofs of job advancements that adventurers obtain. Everyone gets a beginner badge when they first start here. Check it out.” He then held up his wrist, which was adorned with a wide, silver wristband. A miniature golden medallion with the letter B on it was engraved in the wristband. “Isn’t it cool?”

“Yeah, sure is,” Shadow said, looking at the wristband with awe. “Say, now that I think of it, I don’t believe I got one.”

“Relax, you don’t need one,” Lance explained. “Those who come from other realms are assumed to know their own way of fighting. In any case, though, you’re still welcome to take a job here. Besides, I’ve got a good feeling you’re better than a beginner.”

Shadow chuckled at the compliment. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s nice to hear, especially when I’m about to meet Dark Lord.” He headed for the jazz bar, but turned back to Lance before he opened the door. “It was good seeing you again, Lance. Thanks for the help.”
“Anytime,” Lance replied with a thumbs-up. “Good luck in there!” Then he ran off, headed for his training group.

Shadow nodded, and headed inside.

-Woobledywop!-

She had finished some light training for the day. The monsters on the city outskirts were nothing to her power, though she hadn’t killed some off for the training any more than to blow off steam, and lots of it. First, she had run late in meeting with her cousins due to an ill timed nap, and then they were dead by the time she got there. Plus, she had a one-armed bandit follow her to town. Lucky for her he didn’t follow her beyond that; he must’ve been distracted by something. Now, however, she was hiding behind a building, waiting for him to leave the area so she could get home without being seen by him.

Still, ever since she left the gravesite, she simply couldn’t get the words he spoke to her out of her head.

If you are going to return to Kerning, you won’t do so alone.

The one-armed bandit finished his apparent conversation and headed into the jazz bar.

She screamed in agitation and whipped a star into a nearby wall. Half of the star was embedded in the wall upon landing. She then left her hiding spot and stealthily ran over to that same building, climbing a ladder on the side up to a small balcony. She went through the door there, arriving in a bedroom. She wasted no time falling on her bed, bursting into tears as her face hit a pillow.

This week had not been kind to her.

-Woobledywop!-

“Wow…this really is a jazz bar.”

A billiard room, complete with a pool table, a bar, and a jukebox was set before Shadow’s eyes. There was no one else there, but the room seemed to be nice and calm and quiet. Very quiet without jazz music.

Almost…too quiet.

For some reason, Shadow could sense something unnatural here, as though there was someone in this building. He couldn’t know for certain, but he felt like he was being watched.

Shadow unsheathed his dagger and crept forward, constantly glancing everywhere in the room. The creak of the floorboards accompanied his ears, but they did little to truly permeate the silence that stuck with the ninja bandit. As he looked around, he caught sight of a bathroom.

The bathroom…look in the bathroom.

Shadow had no idea why that idea occurred to him, but it did. He didn’t understand; the bathroom was empty. No one but the toilet and the sink were-

The toilet.

All at once, and without thinking, Shadow broke into a run. He quickly made his way to the bathroom, discovering a surprisingly huge toilet. Looking down in the bowl, Shadow could see a rope leading down into…a room. *It…it can’t be…* he thought. Even then, he climbed down the rope anyway.

He landed on more floorboards. Surveying around him, he saw the room around him was a small entryway into another room. In that room, he could see a wrestling ring, along with an upside-down masked head facing him, its two eyes meeting his gaze. *It..it is…* Shadow slowly entered the room. He looked up towards where the head was and gasped.

“DARK LORD!” Shadow cried out in elation. After many trials and tribulations, he’d finally found him.

The master of all ninjas nodded as he stood calmly on the ceiling. “It is good to see you too, Shadow Viper.”

—————————————————————–

And Dark Lord has been found! Heh, I can’t wait until I finally get to fight him on the game!
Mountain Dews to all who read!

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