Chapter 33: A Fish out of Water

Yami

20 Years Ago

Before his mind could think, Yami’s reflexes kicked in as he stepped forward to cover Zena, he pushed her back as he kept his eyes on the unknown man’s evil face.

“Zena! Get oot uh here!” he yelled holding his left hand back to keep her away while he faced the threat. Before he could make sure she ran away to safety, the mysterious man jumped from about ten meters, all the way to a point-blank at Yami’s side. The threat moved so fast that Yami couldn’t even see him move. As he opened his palm to summon a sword, the man lowered his stance slightly and delivered a strike to the side of Yami’s abdomen. All the while keeping a menacing smile across his face. Yami expected the strike to hurt but he planned on holding his ground and counter-attacking with his mirage blade. The force of his fist however sent Yami flying back into a bollard a few metres away, almost pulling the bollard right out of the stone it was hammered into. The crowd of passengers and workers at the dock noticed the fight breaking out and many screamed and panicked as they tried to escape through the large gates. Families scattered and ran as fast as they could while yelling for help as each of them fled from the unusual display of strength. Yami only heard what sounded like an echo of screams and yelling. His hand was empty, he wasn’t fast enough to materialize a Mirage Blade in time. The impact of the bollard and strike he received ran through his back and abdomen respectively as they spiked out pain. His head felt rattled and slightly dizzy, though, his vision slowly came back to him as he struggled up to his feet. As he brought himself to a stand, he searched for Zena with his eyes but couldn’t find her. Only the crowd of passengers and workers escaping were visible. That lass better be in that crood. Yami fully straightened himself out and faced his powerful opponent. He stood with his knees lowered and on the balls of his feet, ready to strike if need be, with his hands guarding his face. “You weren’t able to defend in time, so you reinforced your abdomen with demonic energy. I had planned to finish you off with that one blow. Pretty sloppy of me,” he said casually with a smug smile. His voice was low and relaxed like this was nothing more than an ant for him. Yami did the same and took a guarded stance, keeping his demonic energy ready if need be to summon his Mirage Blades.

“Aye, I’m no that easy tae take doon. You’ll have tae to put your back in tae your next swing,”

“Hmm, Maybe I need to twist more,” As he finished his sentence the man dashed from his side of the port over to Yami, resembling a gush of wind with how fast he moved. Yami lept back and threw out three Mirage blades that fired off at different angles just in time, causing Lock to retreat by evading out of their arc. His movements…they're so fast. Noticed Yami as he saw the man settle down at the end of the pier, about ten meters from where he stood. I knew there was something off about this guy. Thought Yami as the opponent stretched and flexed his hands. He’s using demonic energy like me, but he hasn’t even used his Relic… A bead of sweat ran down Yami’s face as he kept his eye on his opponent. Lock began to dash into a burst of wind again, almost becoming invisible. He leaped and bounced around, using the posts of nearby ships to act as footholds. He bounced between each of them as he circled Yami. It felt like he was only getting faster and faster as Yami began having a harder time tracking him, even while sensing where his demonic energy was. It was as if he became a bolt of lightning, jumping from one post to another in less than a second. Yami stayed still and did his best to track him as best as he could before suddenly, the man made his move. In less than a second he kicked himself from one of the beams and flew faster than cannonball. Yami summoned a silver sword in his right hand, ready to defend. Lock, instead of striking before he landed, crashed onto the pier directly in front of Yami and cracked the planks with the force of his landing. Yami held his ground and was ready to deliver a downward strike. The opponent however was ready for this and ducked low, dashing under the blade and pivoting into Yami’s blind spot, almost directly behind him. Lock was ready to deliver another strike but a summoned sword interfered with his plan. Two summoned swords materialized from behind Yami and shot out quickly like arrows, almost embedding themselves within Lock's face if it hadn't been for his quick reflexes. Lock evaded back with a nimble backflip to avoid the swords and once again returned to bouncing rapidly between objects placed around the port. His speed only increased and increased. Yami could hear the wind dispersing past him as Lock dashed, circling Yami as he did. Damn, this guy is too fast to keep track of. Yami decided to take a different approach. He currently held one of his summoned swords in his hands, leaving two more available to summon before reaching his limit. Yami summoned two more swords that circled him like a wheel with their point extending out, though they did not circle him quickly. Yami’s control over his blades to do anything other than fire like arrows was limited. To mitigate this, Yami’s silver sword dematerialized from his hand, allowing him to concentrate on the two swords that circled him. The translucent swords sped up, not enough as Yami would like, but enough that someone couldn’t bypass them. With this, he could ensure he had no blindspots and couldn't be attacked point-blank. As Yami kept his focus heightened and did his best to track his demonic energy, the rush of wind stopped and he felt Lock’s demonic energy vanish. The port became almost silent, all he heard was the gentle sway of the ships as they sat in the water. Not a single person was left in the port. Yami remained focused, however, expecting him to strike at any moment. What felt like a minute passed - though it was only a few seconds - as Yami was ready with his two blades encircling him. Did he flee? No…there's nae reason he would…though wit’s his deal? Why’s he trying tae kill me? A thought then occurred to Yami as he began to rationally think again. Zena! He was still unsure of the girl’s whereabouts. His opponent may have been after her and decided to eliminate her bodyguard. Yami had no evidence to believe otherwise. As Yami turned his body to the gate to find Zena, he heard something crash against the planks.

Lock landed on the planks of the port with a quick dash from one of the beams, enhanced by his use of demonic energy. The muscular man landed in a low stance ready to strike, directly behind his target as the sleeveless man’s attention was diverted. As he prepared to strike, the sleeveless man turned his head with surprise on his face as he had no time to react. Before he completely closed the distance, Lock activated his Devil Relic. Stopping one of the translucent blades that circled his target. It glowed with an unknown green energy as it stopped on the track it usually spun on. This caused the second blade to be blocked by the frozen one as it spun around and came to a complete stop, rendering both blades useless as a defense. Lock used this opportunity to strike. He plunged his fist into the sword user's chest. The force of the punch caused it to rupture his flesh and ribcage, reaching all the way to his lungs as he grabbed and tore out the flesh that made his organ. The face of his target widened with shock and pain, he almost made an effort to stop Lock but it was too late, his opponent was too fast. His silver swords dissipated in the air, along with the one Lock had frozen in time. With an evil, menacing smile. Lock then followed up with three more strikes to his abdomen. Smashing the ribcage and destroying the flesh. Lock was only focused on the kill, it looked as if only the whites of eyes remained on his evil face. Blood flew out everywhere and spurted from Yami’s wounds. Lock then ducked lower, delivering a sweep kick to bring his opponent to the ground. As he recovered from his sweep, Yami’s back smacked against the planks of wood as Lock rose from his attack. Yami’s skull bounded off the flooring and as it did, it was met with Lock’s boot. He delivered his foot directly into Yami’s strong face, Smashing his facial features in and leaving his once handsome face as a bloody crater. Finally, Lock seized his onslaught and looked down at the man he slaughtered mercilessly. Yami lay dead on the port’s planks. Blood pooled from all parts of his body. What was left of his face could only be described as a man who saw death right before he died. His eyes laid wide open. Lock took a deep breath and looked down at what was left of his slowly dying corpse.

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I never knew he could use his swords like that…It wasn’t a bad idea, using that as an ultimate defense for my strikes. His swords don’t matter if he can’t move them though. By using my relic to stop one of his swords in time, the other one would rotate into the frozen one. Rendering his defense useless. Honestly, for a devil relic user…I expected more. I thought he would try attacking with swords again once he dismissed them. That caught me off guard, the fact he could bypass the stopping of time to his blade by dismissing it. I guess it was just because he lost consciousness. Not that it was some great last resort…

“Oh well, that’s that. I suppose you were only a hotshot in Dangai because no one could match your power.” Lock said with a grin. He began to turn to leave for the port’s gate but stopped midway and turned back. “Oh, right the relic, no relic, no coin,” He strolled back over to Yami’s corpse and knelt down. He looked over his bloody and mangled figure but wasn’t able to find anything like a Devil Relic. “Never taken these things from someone before,” He stood up and shoved his hand into his pocket, letting out an exhausted sigh. “You could have mentioned that on the note, Morrison,” He reached into his pocket and took out his own Devil Relic. He held the metallic hourglass in his hand and looked upon its detail. Maybe it takes time for it to unbound from the vessel, he thought to himself as he looked over both Yami’s corpse and his own Devil Relic. Lock turned fully, placing his Devil Relic in his baggy pockets, and strolled towards the gate of the port.

Zena stood anxiously, not far from the Atlus port gate. Only she stood on the outside. Every passenger and crew member had fled to the nearest town. The force of the mysterious man’s strike had scared them senseless from how inhuman the act was. Yet, Zena was the only one who stayed. She knew she should have run. Her mind tried to convince her over and over that it was the sensible thing to do. For all she knew the attacker could have been after her. Yet, it wasn't the right thing to do, that’s what she told herself. She had no reason to stay behind to ensure Yami would be okay, she barely knew him. Something inside her however protested and made sure she stood and waited. As she stood on the sparse grass just to the side of the path. She began to get more nervous as time passed. She could only hear vague sounds she wasn’t properly able to make out beyond the gate. She held her hand out and made sure to channel mana down to her palms slowly, just in case she had to defend herself. Zena flinched as the large doors to the gates opened. She couldn't tell who it was due to the gate size. A bead of sweat ran down her face as anxiety coursed through her. This anxiety soon turned to dread upon seeing the criminal walk out from the gate. N-no! Yami Lost? Zena stood in place, mana channeled down to her right palm in small blue specs that floated off slowly. She watched the man walk down the pathway slowly, getting closer and closer to passing her. Something in her body was preventing her from fighting. If Yami lost then…What chance do I have? She looked down at her palms, they were only covered in sweat, no longer channeling mana as she began to falter in her resolve. No…he defended me. She recalled when he pushed her aside and ordered her to escape. He willingly sacrificed himself for me. It…It would be wrong for me not to fight…An image of his signature grin filled her head. Even if I lose my life…I need to fight for him! The specs of mana returned to her palm as they soon began to flood though, turning orange like embers of fire. Zena gave a feminine roar and closed her hand close to her chest. Flames grew from the seams in her closed fist before she then thrust the fist forward with her hand spread out. Zena’s growl reached its apex while a ball of fire the size of her head flew from her hand toward Yami’s foe. The ball of fire spiraled and traveled in an imperfect path. It roared as it neared the tall man. However, it stopped. The curling of the flames within the fireball completely ceased; no embers remained, though the fireball still hung in there. It looked as if it were frozen in time. Before Zena had time to question what had happened. Her target disappeared and before she could process it, Zena was being swung in the air by her ponytail. She then began to get slammed rapidly against the soil like a towel. It was as if she was as light as a ragdoll to the man. The ground shook and crashed as her small body impacted against the dirt. Zena’s ponytail was then released by being thrown in the air. She had no time to react, no time to feel, all of this pain and movement felt like it was happening in under a second. No please…stop! It hurts…stop…please! As she was thrown in the air, her head was then met with the muscular man's boot by delivering an axe kick to her head. The man gave a maniacal smile as he executed his attack. A man who showed his love for combat on his sleeve The kick took her all the way to the ground and dug a hole in her neck, reaching all the way to her spine and severing it from her head. Her body landed in the ground with a large crash, her figure was embedded slightly within the soil. Zena only lay on the ground motionless, killed instantly. She was unsure of what even happened or when she had died, but it left her in total terror through her last moments of life. Her face that lay in the soil had mixed emotions, fear, and pain. Lock only walked away, not paying her any respect or remorse.