Woohoo! Over 500 average views! I may not be as popular as some other story that started after me, but I am working on it.

BTW, trouble's a brewin'.

Valafar had been waiting all night for this. He and his men were finally about to get this damn child. The Wandering Spirit was probably a Baron, maybe even a Count. The Gryphon was definitely a high leveled Count, but the boy could repel a Duke! He had to get many men for this job. If he couldn’t win using skill, he would use numbers. There was too much riding on this job for him to fail tonight.

Over 100 peak Mortal Stage Warriors, 20 Demon Lords, 5 Barons, 2 Counts, and finally himself, a duke. He would have to fight today! He was told the body could be crippled, as long as it was easy to heal afterwards. They needed this human in good condition, after all.

Another party was slowly starting to head out as well. Prince Gäap was not willing to leave it all to this brain-dead dodo. He had sent his own little force. An entire Legion was on the move! This meant 10,000 soldiers! But this was just the scout group of the Legion. He left one of his Generals, Furcas, to deal with it. Furcas was a Knight, a proud Demon with the strength of a Duke, but did not hold authoritative power.

The scout force he sent consisted of only high leveled soldiers ranging from Lords to Counts. 20 Lords, 10 Barons, and 5 Counts. Not as many soldiers as Valafar, but it could hold its own against him.

Probably the most idiotic group attending this meet, a group of peak Mortal Stage Demons were following close behind Melakios and his two allies. There weren’t many, just 20 or so. Apparently, the Demon that Melakios had knocked out back in Gloss City had a few friends. Their leader was also trying to convince Teiko to ‘hang out with him’ before she stormed off to stop Melakios. After finding out that this was the same kid, he couldn’t help but get a little frustrated.

It didn’t help that when he went to assassinate the kid, he saw him sitting with Teiko, having a moment.

How was he able to get so close? Because no one cared. Sure, Melakios wouldn’t be able to win without his soul stuff, but he had it. Why not use it?

At first, the gang leader was angry. But when he saw the kid make the void rat bag, he went a little crazy. He deluded himself with visions of what he could do with this kid’s power. This leader had the ability to copy the power of the last guy he killed. It was currently invisibility, which was another reason he managed to get by.

But he was too blinded by greed and hatred. Everyone else including Melakios’ crew had noticed them. No one actually cared and they all decided to ignored them.

Staring at the oncoming carnage, a solitary Edimmu, an ancient race of undead Vampire, stood waiting. His power was restricted, but even Shouta would probably have difficulty fighting this person right now. The Edimmu’s power was limited because he was thirsty, deprived of his nourishment on purpose in preparation for the battle before him.

Seeing some tasty morsels may have unfortunately spurred him to act earlier than necessary.

The sky over the valley began to cloud out the moon as dark gray clouds moved in, threatening the inhabitants with powerful lightning. The rumble could be heard from afar as many shapes could be seen within the clouds.

With 100 peak Mortal Stage Warriors, 50 Warriors at the Lord Level, 20 at the Baron Level, and finally their leader, which was at the peak of the Count Level, the beings in the sky began to descend.

Melakios and company had already noticed the little gang following them, but he knew Valafar had to be there somewhere, planning something. The three began to equip themselves make sure they were ready. Soon, Melakios saw a familiar person.

“What are you doing, Teiko? It’s dangerous right now.”

“Who cares? And besides, I’m stronger than you. You have no place to warn me of danger.”

“Fine, but we’re being followed and want to continue at a fast pace, so hold on.”

They once again flew off into the night as the clouds began to get perilous with lightning striking almost 5 times a minute. Out of the clouds came many soldiers riding clouds as they began to glow with the power of electricity.

From behind the fleeing four, screams cried out across the valley from the gang members. It was at this time Valafar decided to appear at the scene. He eyeballed the army coming down from the sky and began to shout out orders.

The trees below them began to rustle, as many fast things were running using the branches as footholds.

Melakios pulled out some Cores he received from Takumi and created a small disc and ring. He gave the ring to Teiko and told her to wear it.

“Kind of an odd time to do this, don’t you think?”

“Why? You need this to protect you just in case.”

“Oh. It’s for that.”

“What did you think it was?”

“Never mind.”

After putting on the ring, Teiko could control the movement of the disc and make it reflect projectile attacks. She was surprised at how fast it was created, but looked in shock as he put on his new Beast Armament. Its change in shape was thanks to the many different kinds of powerful soul fragments he had. Resembling more of a Demon, Melakios struck a pose as he began to fly. Even though the new suit came with wings, he still wore the cape. It was good for hiding. Among other things.

The clouds began to clear as the now five parties got ready for battle.

The moonlight began to filter through, casting an eerie purple light over everything. A bloodied shadow, an army of cloud riders, a group of thieves, and assassins running through trees. Melakios saw Valafar, Alkelios saw the Edimmu, Clair saw the cloud riders, and Teiko noticed the assassins. Each person had their own plans. They all looked at one another before flying off.

The battle of Tengu Mountain Valley had begun.

RIP gangsters

I already started some new side projects. An Ultra Reality MMO in a dystopian future and a story of someone surviving a strange zombie apocalypse.

Pretty mainstream stuff with a little twist. But I like to put down my ideas and watch where they go. I'm not exactly sure when they'll hit the site, but I'm just talking about it for now.

See you guys tomorrow!