Tides Of Protomis LXXXII

A New Threat

Within the very outskirts of Tokyo, the group of proto-humans had returned to a place they’d used for quite some time. Nestled between two brick buildings that looked like they hadn’t been used in decades was a dark alley. Due to the height of the structures, it was nearly pitch black, with only a small amount of sunlight making it through. Although some of it was lightened by the sun’s rays, much of it was dark, nearly pitch black. The four Tides stood on the right end of the alley, with Jirou standing on the left. All the while, Miyamoto paced between them, her hands shoved in her pockets.

“Now then… since we’re all up to speed, let’s figure out our plans…”

Arctaius leaned back onto the wall as he closed his eyes.

“Making a plan as of right now is hard to do… From how you’ve described the demons, they don’t seem to be capable of creating a rigid group. So while it would mean less organization, we wouldn’t be able to predict all their movements simultaneously. There are simply too many moving parts.”

Alarick leaned his head back, focusing his gaze on the sky as he attempted to devise a strategy. He was silent for what felt like hours, and even so, he could not think of anything- to his chagrin. After all, he was trained from childhood to be a strategist. Though perhaps that meant a lot less when they were talking about the strategies another species might have developed. The youth brought his head forward as he spoke.

“Indeed… And that’s not factoring in what the “Holy Order” As you called them, will do.”

Kazimir began to stroke the hairs on his chin as he thought, something which had become a habit of his.

“They were surveying us, but they haven’t attacked yet. So while I don’t think they’ll be after us anytime soon, I’m not saying it’s impossible…” He responded.

Jirou looked off into the street that lay behind them, throwing a coin in his hand.

“In any case, we have to be prepared… Those demons may not have been a problem for us, but if there are demons at our level, or possibly stronger running around, we have an issue…”

Zhao parted his lips to speak.

“Our lack of knowledge does not make this any easier… We know much less about them than we did the Kaemerge…”

Miyamoto let out a sigh.

“Yeah… Even I only know of a few demon species.”

Arctaius cursed under his breath.

“Danm”

It was a precarious situation, without a doubt. But one they’d have to deal with. Standing up straight once more and turning on his heel.

“In which case, That makes this much harder for us… In all honesty, there’s not much we can do for now. We may as well go back to what we were doing, see if we can get any more info from there.”

As he began to walk, Kazimir soon followed him.

“Alright then…”

That certainly could’ve gone better… But in the end, they were facing multiple species most knew nothing about, who came from a world that was equally undocumented. And an organization that managed to stay a secret for this long, even after governments started cracking down, looking for factions like the Kaemerge. Nobody wanted another war like that on their hands, after all. To the young woman, it looked as if they’d be stuck in the dark, trying to scrape together whatever info they could, while their enemies apparently had profiles on them. Something which she wasn’t fond of. One who’d been in combat as long as she was could see how that would be an issue. She didn’t doubt that they were making strategies to counter them as they spoke.

“Oh well…”

Miyamoto began to walk to the other end of the street, opposite of Arctaius and Kazimir. Jirou, Alarick, and Zhao soon began to walk away in silence. This silence continued until Miyamoto felt a tingle down her spine, and she swiftly turned on her heel.

“Wait!! I sense something…”

Her words caught their attention, and they all paused. Soon, space began to warp above them until out came crimson-shaded voids, the maw of the portals facing the ground. It was after this that five furred skull-clad beasts exited. However, this time, they’d gotten noticeably larger, now at three stories tall, with their limbs and torsos much thicker than before. Jirou frowned as he saw them land on the ground, breaking the concrete under them, and kicking up dust.

“These things again…?”

Kazimir’s eyes narrowed as his gaze moved between the beasts.

“Looks like they got bigger too. Junko, you know anything else about this?”

Miyamoto stepped toward the beasts as a red light began to radiate around her palm.

“Yes… Reavers may be “Killed”, but they will always return if not destroyed by demonic energy, in one form or another. If you destroy them in any other fashion, they return more powerful than before…”

A yellow light began to emanate from Arctaius.

“In that case… We can immobilize them. You finish them?”

“Sounds like a good plan to me.”

However, before any of them were able to make a move, a blinding white light filled their views, swallowing the reavers, and spreading into the area around them, something which was visible from across the city. Catching the attention of the crowd of people that passed by. At the least, until the light subsided. Within the epicenter, the group looked around in confusion, taking note of the fact that the area around them was undamaged, and the Reavers looked to have disappeared.

They stood unaware of the source, a man who stood on a roof above them, wearing a black trench coat lined with belts, many belts, in fact. His eyes were covered by the Fedora on his head, but the bottom half of his fair-skinned face was visible. For a moment, he stood in silence, looking down at his work, before jumping off, which caught the attention of all those there, as their eyes darted up and followed the man as he landed where the Reavers previously stood. Kazimir was the first to speak.

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“Who are you?”

“Who am I…? The one sent here to capture that one, Junko Miyamoto… I am also what some call a slayer, we who have devoted our lives to destroying demons with our Holy Energy… Recently, more demons have been crossing here from the demon realm, and we believe one of the lords may have a hand in this. But considering higher-level demons should not be able to enter without a link to this realm…”

The man paused as he opened his hand.

“You very likely have something to do with it. Prepare yourself…”

As he clenched his hand into a fist, a rod of light appeared in his left hand, which soon changed its shape into something resembling a mace, A massive one, much larger than his body. He dashed toward Miyamoto as he yelled out.

“I shall crush you with this Ramiel!!!”

Letting out a war cry, he swung Ramiel as soon as he got into range. Miyamoto moved back, eluding the attack without much effort. But the man did not stop there, Halting his charge, and changing his angle of attack, revolving around, and bringing the mace’s head back toward her.

However, Miyamoto put her palm in the mace’s path, grabbed it, and stopped it there. Her expression remained unchanged; clearly, she wasn’t impressed. The man frowned as he tightened his grip on the mace, preparing to begin another attack. But he soon found his mace shoved out of the way, exposing his torso to Miyamoto. And just as he took notice of this fact, her fist smashed into his stomach, sending him flying back. Though, after some feet, he began to skid, stopping himself.

“Tch. It seems you’ve advanced in the dark arts. No matter, I will return with the others, and I shall not leave so easily next time…”

Just like that, he began his attempt at an escape, bending his knees as he prepared to leap away. At the least, until Arctaius appeared in front of him. The man looked on in surprise, but not for long, as the man zipped around his body, peppering it with strikes until his eyes closed, and his body fell limp, but a few moments after. Arctaius watched as the man fell to the ground.

“Nope... Can’t have that. The last thing I need is to deal with people like you all the time…”

Alarick made his way to Arctaius’ side, looking down upon him as well.

“I suggest we interrogate that one...If he refuses to give us information, then so be it…”

“Sounds good to me.”

Arctaius soon grasped the man by the back of his coat before slinging him over his shoulder.

“Alright, Let’s get moving.”

Arctaius continued in his previous direction, with the rest soon following.

Part B

Shanghai

All things considered, the Cui Federation’s capital, Shanghai, was doing well after the Kaemerge attacks. Being one of the first urban centers to host a battle certainly took a toll. However, the Cui government’s effective rebuilding efforts helped to that end. Something that kept the grievances the people had at bay. But, such things did not matter to some of its inhabitants, including a particular proto-human. His home is a run-down studio apartment on the city’s outskirts. One of those who battled in Tsugashuan Yu Liang. He’d been wholly focused on the goal he set for himself.

What went on outside of that didn’t concern him. So, many of his days were like this one, sitting around, hitting the books.

Though he did not need to all that much, in no small part due to his natural talent, it was better safe than sorry. The book on his desk related to the study of virology. His laser focus was made clear as his eyes moved along the pages, and his hands quickly jotted down the important information. However, the peace and quiet was interrupted as he heard a familiar tone, the ringing from the holo-phone on his desk. The display came up as a result. Closing the book in front of him, the Martial Artist as he picked up the holo-phone. Seeing that the source was a video chat from Zhao Lei, he raised an eyebrow.

“What are they calling me for?”

He swiped his hand across the screen, accepting the call, focusing on Arctaius as he appeared on his screen.

“Yu, I got a few questions to ask you. This could end up being important.”

The man crossed his arms as he placed the holo-phone down.

“It’d best be. I was in the middle of something.” He responded.

“We found ourselves getting attacked by these creatures, skull heads, furry bodies, tall as hell, not Ardam tall, but tall nonetheless.”

Liang’s eyes squinted as he heard the description of the beasts.

“I did happen to see them appearing around me.”

“So it’s as I thought… You were attacked as well.”

“Correct. The men who eventually destroyed the thing called themselves “slayers”... That’s all I have for now.”

Alarick walked behind Arctaius, nodding.

“That’ll be enough… Nice apartment, by the way.”

“Shut it… this was all I could afford.”

Following this, Liang hung up. Shortly after, the group began to speak to each other once again, attempting to bounce around any information they could. Though, to the coat-wearing man that lay on the ground. It all came to his ears as garbled sounds. The strikes that hit still disoriented the man. His eyes began to open as his blurry gaze moved around the room, from the bare concrete floor to the two couches and the table between them, as well as the high, corroded steel roof. Something that, to him, resembled a warehouse. But, he soon focused on his apparent enemies. He attempted to jump to his feet, but he couldn’t. It was as if something was weighing down his entire body. Even so, he continued, grunting in his effort, which caught the gazes of those within the room.

“Dammit, why can’t I sit up?”

Jirou stood up from his chair as he began a slow approach.

“That would be because of me… I’m afraid you won’t be going anywhere. Tell us everything you know.”

Arctaius began walking toward him as well.

“For starters… Who are you, and where are the rest of you hidden… “

However, the man was silent for moments, looking between the two, what came out was not a stream of information but laughter. Which only subsided as he shot Arctaius a defiant glare.

“Did you think I’d tell you that easily?! Try what you might, but I shan’t disclose any information…”

Kazimir stood as well, looking down upon the man for some moments as a frown made its way onto his face.

“That look… I don’t think there’s any point in continuing this…”

Alarick looked down upon the man for a few moments before he turned on his heel.

“Agreed… Jirou, do you mind?”

“Of course not… Formula 30.”

The ground under the man buckled as his body shook from the force. Though he attempted to stand, regardless of this fact, his body simply could not withstand it. As his arms gave way, he fell facedown, unconscious. Those there looked down upon him for a few moments before they began to file out of the warehouse.

“It looks like we’ll have to do what we did back then…”

Zhao nodded.

“If that is the case, so be it.”

To Be Continued

Elsewhere, in Yamato’s imperial palace, a man with black hair that reached his shoulder sat dressed in a black three-piece suit. He looked to be a normal businessman, only distinguished by the pin on his jacket, the Chrysanthemum, the symbol of the Imperial Family. Most knew who he was due to the combination of these things, Emperor Shin of Yamato. However, the one in front of him was a different story. He was an older man, fair-skinned with dark blue, nearly black hair. The same color as the thick beard that lined his angular jaw. What caught the eyes of those around him were the white, regal-looking clothes draped over his broad shoulders. This was the man who was known as “Lyle D’Chauvethier”. A Slayer of high distinction, ranked Lumerius Magnus, the highest of all the slayer ranks, and, more importantly, he was the head of the holy order. The two sat silently for a few moments, staring at one another, until Lyle began speaking in his calm, relaxed tone of voice.

“Now then, Heika, I shall explain the situation. For the most part, we have had the demon situation under control… The demons we have seen so far are incapable of conscious thought and seemingly collaborating…”

Shin put his elbows on the table before him as he intertwined his fingers.

“However, these recent attacks are extremely coordinated… There is a clear pattern of them going after specific targets.”

“Indeed…”

Soon, a holograph formed between the two, a world map with red markings spread across it.

“And that brings me to my next point. Though it is rare, we do know that there are demons with a higher level of intelligence and power lurking around, and it’s highly likely they’re pulling the strings. Normally they would enter through spatial rips between our realms and theirs. However, some are intentionally made by themselves and the violet devil, Junko Miyamoto… We believe this may be purposeful.”

As he spoke, Lyle thought back to past events. His younger self and several men surrounded a red void from which a screeching armored beast attempted to escape. Its wings flapping to gain momentum. Though, seemingly, to no avail, as though the men in front of it struggled, they found that they were able to keep it in regardless. Lyle snapped back to reality as he continued.

“As we saw from the flood 15 years ago, when demons nearly broke through the barrier. There is clearly a group of demons with higher levels of demonic energy. A large group of D-classes is nothing compared to them… her use of their power will gradually weaken that barrier, and masses of demons will come, along with those very same high-class demons.”

Shin frowned at the mention of that name. He had certainly heard that name a lot. Just as he did with those like Arctaius Corde or Kazimir Rhuskov.

“The former Kaemerge member… While I do not take kindly to their remnants, I won’t allow that to influence me too much… That would be unbefitting of this country’s leader.”

Shin sat in silence as he began tapping his foot in thought, attempting to figure out a way to approach the situation.

“Is that so… Then I give you clearance, take her, if she refuses to collaborate, do what you must…”

“Of course. But, there’s one more thing. I believe that the Four Tides will not allow that to happen. If we’re to take her, we likely need to get through them as well. She will be enough of a problem on her own. I ask that we be allowed to concentrate more forces here.”

Shin sighed.

“I’d rather not have to go against those four. They’ve done a lot for Yamato, the world itself, in fact… But, if this must be done to avert another crisis, then do what is necessary… Hopefully, Watanabe will understand if he finds out.”

“Thank you, Heika. Now then… Kliest”

At the mention of his name, the slayer behind him perked up.

“Contact Genbu and the other corners…”

As the members of the Holy Order began to move around, the man, Shin, found himself questioning whether this was the correct course of action… In times like this, he wished his late father was here to guide him, even with his age.