Hokkaido's Mansion (Front Gate), Serpent's Forest

Seishin Realm

4:21PM

On Jax's orders, everyone had assembled out in front of Hokkaido's mansion. Hiding amongst the great fields of bushes and trees were Colt, Hisa, and Jax. Scattered about was also an group of warriors from the village, with Lamia leading them.

As expected, the front yard was crowded with men in suits.

They're not even trying to hide the fact that they carry guns...

Within the stifling silence, Jax gave Lamia some sort of signal, prompting her to toss some sort of pod over to the gate. Upon impact, several rounds of seeds scattered through the air, blitzing into the men at the stairs.

As several men came barreling down with wounds piercing their flesh, panic cast through the scene. "What the hell?"

"Get down!"

"Someone's shooting!"

Leaving no room for them to recover, Lamia's villagers continued to chuck the pods out into the field, shredding through the armed men on the stairs. With the sporadic nature of the "fire", Colt was forced to be on the defensive just as their opponents were.

In the midst of the chaos, Lamia signaled over to Hemiko, prompting her to toss a ton of seeds into the soil. A field of trees erupted from the ground, shielding everyone from the ricocheting seed bursts.

Hisa giggled as she reached over to rub Hemiko's head, "Good job, Hemiko!' "Good job Hemiko!"

"Thanks!"

Jax covered his entire body in scales, rushing out into the field. "Colt! Hisa! We're moving in!"

"How are we supposed to-Nevermind." Colt leapt out after him, with Hisa following right behind him.

The staircase once covered with men from top to bottom was no more than a graveyard. Streaks of blood ran down the steps, staining the soil at the first step. Without a doubt, the men were dead, freeing the trio to head into the mansion.

"Wow...this is pretty anticlimactic..." muttered Colt as he glanced around the spacious room.

The walls were painted a beautiful shade of maroon, with exquisite paintings hanging everywhere. There were shelves covered in gold dishes, trophies, and more pictures, with a sturdy golden vase placed in each corner of the room. In the far left corner of the room lied a staircase leading to the next floor.

Another swarm of mafia men came rushing down the stairs with pistols locked and loaded.

Keeping them from moving, Jax held his arms out before Colt and Hisa, "We're not wasting energy on the bastards."

With perfect timing, Kinsho and Ginsho came blowing into the room, tearing through the men with their burly spears.

"They're good." Colt looked to the staircase, "I guess we're going up, right?"

"Yeah-" Jax came to a stop as a man appeared out of thin air, blocking the staircase. "Who the hell are you?"

The man flicked his slick, purple hair out of his face and smirked, "No honey, the question...is who are you?"

"He's got a navy blue suit, while the others are wearing all black. He has to be the last guard." chuckled Colt, earning a laugh from Hisa as well.

"You're probably right. "Let's jump him." Jax sharpened his claws.

"Screw this!" Hisa leapt onto the wall and launched herself past everyone, including the guard protecting the stairs. "I'm fighting Hokkaido, you guys handle the extras!"

"That moron!" Jax grit his teeth and ran after her. "Wait-where did he-"

Colt and Jax leapt back, narrowly avoiding a sudden strike from the guard.

Is this guard teleporting? It must be his core power...

Jax took a defensive stance, "Colt! Let's hurry up and kill him!"

"Osu!"

As they both sprang in to attack the guard, the chilling swing of a sickle came glancing across Colt's skin, bringing him to a screeching halt.

Jax snapped the blade with his hardened skin, moving in to slam the guard into the ground.

Just as quick as they brought him down, he had teleported once more, leaving no traces in his wake.

"Colt," Jax reached over to grab his shoulder, "G-Go after Hisa. The plan's already falling apart,. If Hisa runs into Hokkaido, I'm not sure if she'll be able to win on her own. Go stop her, and return once you've done that."

"Jax!"

"You don't think I can take this guy in a 1v1?"

Colt sighed, "Fine...He's already wincing from that one hit you landed onto him, so he's pretty weak. You got it from here."

-

As Colt ran up the stairs in search of Hisa, Jax removed his glasses and drew in a deep breath.

"Oh no...your little friend left." teased the guard.

"Don't worry, there's been a change of plans. I'm your opponent now..."

"Ooh...I like you. My name's Charmy, what's yours?"

Jax aimed his arms towards Charmy and fired off a round of scales. "Hey! You villagers better get out of here!"

Heeding his warning, Kinsho and Ginsho sped outside, leaving Jax alone in the room.

Shit, he's gone again.

Jax held his guard up, shielding himself from another slash.

Where are these weapons coming from?

There has to be some sort of trick that I can exploit here...

I could bank on him running out of core energy before I do...but that's risky.

Jax came to a complete stop, opting to shield himself from the endless stream of vicious slashes. No matter how hard he searched, there was just no rhythm hidden within his attacks.

"Did you think that you could just come into our little home and tear it down?" asked Charmy as he continued to shoot around the room, "There's a price to pay, little boy!"

Why does he keep slashing me with that blade when my scales resist it?

"I'm going to have fun killing you, boy!"

There isn't a rhythm with his movements...Wait...

Lowering his guard, he shuddered as Charmy came slashing across his face.

I didn't see him, but I still got hit!

More slashes began to pile onto him as he scanned his surroundings. Soon, his line of thought came to a screeching halt, with a fierce pain shooting through his body. As if his scales weren't even present, the fierce heat boiled within his veins, sapping him of his strength.

Before he knew it, he was falling to his knees in the middle of the room.

"There we go!" Charmy leapt in front of him, drawing his blade back.

I-I can't move...

"Poor baby...you didn't even see it coming, did you?" He held his blade out in front of Jax's face, "This blade is laced with a dangerous poison. It's not essentially lethal, but it causes extreme pain and paralysis."

How did it get me? My scales should've-

Did his take advantage of this small gaps between my scales? That thin blade would make that a possibility...

Charmy squatted in front of Jax and rubbed his face, "I love torturing my prey, so I don't use life threatening toxins. We're gonna play for a bit."

Damn it...I can't die yet. Colt and Hisa need me.

I need that apple!

In an act of helpless defiance, Jax spat some of his blood into Charmy's face. This act would only get him kicked to the ground, driving the wind out of his fragile lungs.

My scales are protecting me right now...but they'll wear off soon. I need to do something!

The scene of Charmy hacking away at him grew more blurry as the air grew thicker. The fierce pain from before rained in in several deep waves, only growing stronger with each progression.

I'm the one who came up with the plan...I can't die yet! I need someone to save me-

He stopped himself from finishing that line.

Don't think like that! No one's coming to save you. They're all away from you because of your plan...

They trusted you, and you're about to die.

The act of someone placing their well being into your hands is one of the most honorable achievements to reach in one's life. Someone's entire future, left to the mercy of your decisions.

While this may at first seem like a great testament to an existent bond, it quickly builds up a wall of pressure. Mistakes are now inexcusable, because once you trip up, harm will fall upon those who placed their trust in you.

This evident truth creates different ideologies between several groups of people.

Some people would just shoulder all of the pressure of those who trust in them, while others would eventually do something to betray that trust. Not entirely on purpose, but the weight of the world would bring anyone to their knees.

This slip up leads to the loss of that trust. Neither party has to worry about upholding their end of the bargain.

No matter who you are, or how you carry yourself, the pressure that comes along with maintaining trust will begin to crush you. The human soul seeks salvation from all forms of pain, and it will push itself as far as it needs to go to find that salvation. Even if it means tearing apart an unbreakable bond.

Knowing this, some people simply choose to ignore the idea of trust all together.

Betrayal, heartbreak, disappointment, failure, tragedy, separation.

None of these concepts can be born when there's no trust to be broken.

Jax is one of those people.

On the cusps of defeat, these thoughts continued to flourish in his motionless body.

I'm slipping away...

It's so cold...

Cold?