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Rangers Endgame
Chapter 57: The Fiends

Chapter 57: The Fiends

Once the cuffs were placed onto the clan members' wrists, veins of amber climbed down the men's arms and siphoned into the cuffs, turning them amber. After the Ripper's capture, Aki had developed artifacts designed to detain rangers. These cuffs would funnel the wearer's radiance into them but leave just enough for them to stay conscious. This way, even if they were to break free, they'd be too exhausted to fight or flee.

After clan members were arrested and escorted outside for capital guards to take them away, Kiyoshi and Haruka left the guild to hail a carriage.

"They weren't the brightest, thinking they could cover up what happened," Haruka remarked, but her partner didn't respond, seemingly in deep thought. "Is something the matter?"

"The town they referred to is where I grew up." He gave a straightforward answer, watching thoughtfully as a carriage approached. "To think there's a distributor there..."

"What's River Town like?" She asked, curious.

A smile of reminiscence formed on his lips as fond memories of his time there began to resurface. "As the name implies, rivers and streams wind up and down the town. Before I left to study law enforcement, I recall beasts roaming freely through the town living in harmony with its people. It's one of the only settlements located in the mid rim that remains undisturbed by monsters because of the terrain that surrounds it—a vast lake that protects it and the townspeople."

"Sounds like a good place to take a vacation." She said as the carriage pulled up beside them.

"Indeed. But I'm afraid this will be a business trip."

"You're all about business, aren't you?"

He climbed into the back as she followed after him. "Crime doesn't rest so neither should we."

*****

The next day, Yakeru made his way to the guild to pick up the additional compensation that was promised. The capital walls grew larger as he silently walked down the road; it was times like these that he allowed his thoughts to wander. Recently his mind would always go back to the recent events. He knew he'd eventually come to terms with his trauma but that experience made him question why he chose to continue as a ranger.

'To think there are people who deal with that kind of stuff on a regular basis.'

Reaching the capital, he elbowed his way through the usual crowd and found his way to the guild. Opening the door, his eyes drifted around the lobby and found a familiar conjurer sitting by his lonesome counting his sack of coins. Yakeru approached the receptionist and was given an extra sack of platinum coins.

Before he could turn to leave, the receptionist stopped him.

"Hold on a moment," She said as he turned to face her. "Although defeating a behemoth wasn't initially in the mission's description, the guild has taken note of your resolve and ability to slay a beast of its caliber."

She presented him with a brand new rank ID card.

"Therefore, the guild has decided to promote you from C to B-rank. Congratulations."

Yakeru stared at the card, stunned for a moment before accepting it. Inspecting it closer, it still had the same design as his old ID card, the only difference stating that he was now a B-rank. Although, he technically wasn't the one to slay the monster, he was still promoted which he now assumed Fuyumi had gotten promoted as well as Kenji.

"I see."

He'd thought getting a promotion would fill him with a sense of accomplishment—proof that his hard, arduous work had paid off. However, under the circumstances, he didn't feel such excitement. Nonetheless, he thanked her before making his way over to the conjurer, startling him as he sat at his table.

"Oh. Hey, Yakeru."

"Hey, Kenji." He set his bag of coins on the table to count with him.

"You just came for your extra coin too, huh?"

"Yeah, I wasn't going to stay long but I wanted to see how you were holding up."

Kenji puffed air through his nose. "I should be asking you that. Sure, we've all seen things we'd rather forget but...we were so close to losing you too. Are you feeling any better?"

Yakeru wasn't sure how to respond. It'd been two months since that day and he still hadn't fully processed it.

"I'll manage." He replied curtly, idly counting his coins.

"I see."

Kenji scooped his platinum coins back into the sack, satisfied with his compensation. After counting his coins, Yakeru placed them back in the sack when he noticed glances from other tables. Although it was impossible to overhear what they were muttering about over the noisy rangers, he had a good idea what their choice of topic was. After all, the guild had failed to keep their recent mission undisclosed.

That's when he noticed the shift in everyone's attention. Their gazes followed a group of four people coming from the office spaces upstairs. Although their melee weapons told them they were warrior-type rangers, they wore minimal armor—mainly black uniforms lined with silver and a cloak to add to the dark aesthetic.

Their presence alone parted the lobby of rangers as they approached the mission board.

"Woah aren't those guys the Fiends?" A portly man asked his buddy.

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"Yeah, I heard about them. I've never seen them up close before." His friend responded.

"You think I'd have a shot at joining?" Another asked half-jokingly.

"I heard they have some weirdo in their higher ranks so I don't know if that's such a good idea."

From what Yakeru knew, larger clans usually tackled high-ranking missions, which would take weeks, sometimes months, to complete. To make their expeditions easier, they built and usually stayed at the outposts in the inner and mid-rim. Rarely would anyone get the chance to see them, only gracing others with their presence if they needed to pick up a mission or restock on supplies.

The leader, from what he could tell since he was at the front and center of the pack, had short crimson hair that hung just short of his dark blue eyes. His slender figure would allow for agile movements, complimented by the gaudy rapier on his hip. His uniform was more refined than his colleagues'. The fabric was of the highest quality and consisted of platinum lining the cuffs of his sleeves and the mantle draped over his shoulder. A golden grim reaper insignia was branded onto his right shoulder plate.

As the leader turned to the door, he and Yakeru locked eyes. He raised his brow before doing something unexpected—approached their table, carrying himself with a haughty arrogance. His eyes flickered between the young swordsman and the conjurer before he finally spoke.

"Hey, you two are pretty famous."

"Is that so?" Yakeru asked, not sure why he chose to approach them.

"Yeah. You are the commoners that got roughed up in that mine, right?" He confirmed though it sounded like he already knew.

Yakeru's brow twitched to his crass question. "That has nothing to do with you." His voice grew more prickly.

"Relax. I'm only curious. The rumors made that monster out to be some unstoppable force of nature. But it only turned out to be some measly behemoth." His shoulders slumped in mock disappointment.

Yakeru clenched his fist while even Kenji tightened his grip around his staff in irritation. Although Yakeru knew this guy clearly wanted to stir up trouble, he couldn't help but feel aggravated by his jabs.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," Kenji tried to defuse, standing to his feet. "Let's go, Yakeru."

"Right," Yakeru replied, not giving this guy the satisfaction of a reaction. However, as he tried to follow Kenji out, the Fiend leader stepped in his way.

"How cowardly do you have to be to run away from a casual conversation? Then again I'm not surprised." He lifted his chin to remain looking down on Yakeru.

Yakeru narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Excuse me?"

"If you can't handle something as simple as a little chat then maybe you're not cut out to be a ranger, just like how your party wasn't."

Yakeru's eyes widened slightly in shock at his audacity to call out those who lost their lives. The confrontation attracted concerned looks from throughout the lobby—concern for the B-rank as he wasn't aware of what he was getting into.

"What did you just say?" Yakeru hissed.

"Am I wrong? If your party was even remotely competent they would still be here." He insulted, a smirk forming on his lips.

Yakeru's temper had reached its limit. The veins in his forehead bulged as he raised his fist, intending to drive it into his jaw. However, the Fiends leader parried with ease and countered with a punch of his own, burying his fist in his stomach.

Yakeru doubled over, fluids spilling from his mouth as the crowd watching the altercation were conflicted whether or not to stop it. The fact that the Fiends were involved made everyone hesitate. Kenji, however, tried rushing to his friend's aid but was quickly seized by the arms and held back by the redhead's goons.

"What's the rush? Just sit back and watch the show." One of them said as he struggled to break free but to no avail.

The leader looked down on Yakeru clutching his stomach, his smirk never leaving his face.

"Done already? To think you're a survivor."

Yakeru wiped his mouth with his left sleeve, discreetly sliding the hand on his stomach to the hilt of his sword. The Fiend seemed to love running his mouth and gloating. Perhaps he could take advantage of that.

In one swift motion, he unsheathed his sword and swung for his legs but as if he saw this coming, he casually stepped back, avoiding the slash. The onlookers were shocked by how fast this had escalated, exchanging nervous glances.

With his blade to his side and blood boiling, Yakeru sprung forward, prepared to defend his fallen comrades' honor. The redhead's smirk widened into a smug grin as he nonchalantly sidestepped another swing. Mockingly dancing around the youth's barrage with a sneer and hands in his pockets, he reduced the once-skilled swordsman to a sloppy amateur. Although Yakeru's frustration made him careless, the arrogant redhead chose not to capitalize on the many openings he found.

His blade produced sharp whistling with every missed strike, inflating the haughty leader's ego. A collection of shuffling feet, murmurs, and gasps sounded around the two.

Unexpectedly, during his onslaught, he'd managed to nick the redhead's arm though it wasn't deep enough to break skin. Surprised, the Fiend decided it was best to end this scuffle. Dodging to his left, his hand shot from his pocket and struck Yakeru's throat with the web of his thumb with expert precision.

Dropping his sword, Yakeru reflexively clutched his throbbing throat, his breaths coming out labored. Before he had the chance to recover, his legs had already been swept from under him as he came crashing through a table.

Kenji was finally released, rushing to his writhing friend. The Fiend leader slipped his hand back in his pocket, amusement evident on his face. Just when Yakeru was reaching for his sword, an unknown force locked his hand in place. Looking down, he could see a faint streak of gleaming light that seized him by his wrist.

Rangers that were circled around them muttered amongst each other when someone called out from the crowd.

"What's going on here?!" The familiar voice roared.

The crowd parted to reveal none other than the Guild Master with a Sentinel accompanying him. The white-uniformed Sentinel had one hand up, the streak of light originating from his curled finger. Adrian stepped between the two teens, his stern face demanding an explanation.

"Guild Master. I was just having a casual conversation when this barbarian attacked me. I merely acted in self-defense." The Fiends leader answered innocently.

Adrian looked at Yakeru and followed his arm to his hand which was still frozen before he could grab his sword.

"You can release him now Sentinel Sokuba," Adrian ordered.

The Sentinel named Sokuba obeyed, relaxing his finger as the light, what Yakeru now understood was some kind of wire, unraveled itself from his wrist and returned to the Sentinel. Yakeru sheathed his sword as Kenji helped him to his feet.

"You can't possibly believe that bulls-"

"You two," Adrian's stern voice cut Yakeru off, shooting a furious gaze at him and Kenji. Outside!" He demanded before telling one of his employees to clean up the mess they'd made.

As Yakeru and Kenji made their way outside, Yakeru heard the redhead behind him mutter, "I guess that's what you should expect from commoners—uncivilized."

Adrian met them outside, pinching the bridge of his nose in disappointment. "Why'd it have to be you two..."

"Sorry for causing a scene." Yakeru apologized. "But if he didn't antagonize us, I wouldn't have-"

"To be frank, I don't care who antagonized who. You realize an unsanctioned duel within the guild is strictly prohibited?"

Yakeru bit his tongue and looked down, ashamed that he allowed himself to lose his composure to some snobby teenager.

"The council will expect me to ban you from the guild." Adrian sighed, conflicted.

Yakeru's eyes grew wide as he now realized the severity of his actions.

"However, it feels wrong for me to ban one of the rangers responsible for capturing the Ripper. So I'll try to negotiate with the council...I don't know how Councilman Yamato will react to this."

"Councilman Yamato?" Kenji echoed. Yakeru and Kenji recalled that name from when the Sentinels were first announced months ago. "Why him specifically?"

"Don't you know? The boy you attacked is Kane Yamato, the son of Councilman Rei Yamato."