**Another section of the forest**
Loud growls and bellows could be heard from within the denseness of the dark.
The swift lacerations from something large, crunching slushes of flesh and bone cracked, echoing sounds of scattering, sight unseen.
Only nocturnal eyes filled the endless sea of shadow.
Then, like the eclipse had paid a visit to this Keeperforsaken place, the darkness opened wide from a blast of dark light; a beam broke a path amid the dead trees.
It lasted ten long seconds, leaving only a glimpse of the wreckage after its brief passage.
A monstrous beast lay hidden from within it.
The stains of yellow blood that splattered from its rampage glowed briefly before they faded into the air—souls returning home. They lit the place for but a moment, revealing only, what seemed to be a young man from where the large monster once was.
"Fuck," he uttered dreadfully as he looked up, and his features shone dimly from the fading corpses all around him. Each with only a single eye—just like him…
"I used too much mana… I can't transform again today," he spoke to no one in particular. "Unless… one of these shitbags manage to almost kill me—and then maybe I could try out that form again…" he sighed equally as dreadful. "That form's so annoying to activate—too many conditions… too much effort… More annoying than base Great Behemoth's Revenge… In the famous words of Jo, 'what a fuckin' pain'."
He slung his hands in his pockets as a flurry of fading yellow dust flickered on the left side of his face, which was scarred unforgivingly with only a blind left eye at the center of it; his other right eye glowed green in contrast.
"No signal either… that's just great," he complained, quickly checking his comm, and then throwing it back in his pocket.
He kept walking as he scratched his head indifferently. Among his many healed scars, only a lone tattoo from his inner right bicep was shone from the passing of the fading yellow glow, reading a single word in the native tongue of the Primal. And ironically the living noun of what he had done here.
***
**Another section, far from the last**
This place was home to silence. Only the occasional scurrying from behind the gray bark sounded every so often.
Beasts with cycloptic eyes flocked in droves as if weaving through the trees. Hunting, it seemed… or perhaps, they were the ones being hunted.
From among them, the sound of fingers snapping echoed as one of the beasts' snarls quieted halfway—like it had passed through a door leading elsewhere from the rest of them. Then the sounds of that same beast screeching in pain echoed from the far distance.
The other beasts reacted, facing the direction they were all running.
As they headed back, another eerie echo of fingers snapping rang in their ears—another brethren gone.
The same outcome met with that one, and they diverted their path.
Over and over, the sounds of the snapping fingers echoed. One by one the beasts were picked off from within these shadows that were once their home, now the home of another hunter.
It kept on until there was only one left; its single yellow eye trembled when it realized it was the last one from its scurrying brethren.
And then from the dark, calm footsteps entered, crunching the dirt and dead leaves. Then a silhouette, and then the reflection of a small flame light off two round glass pieces resting gently on the bridge of a nose.
The beast was a Grade 3 in its own right, towering over the average man at an intimidating seven-foot. But the figure that approached was smaller in frame, about a foot shorter and not as large in build, yet it was the beast that cowered in fear of the shadow, not the other way around.
"You creepy fucks almost got me with that 'illusion'… but here's the problem with what you decided to show me," the male spoke. His voice was rasp honed by the years. A flare of light shone, then faded, as he inhaled from the cigarette bud in his mouth, trail of smoke following closely—inevitably behind. "I replay that memory every fucking day. I already know how it ends."
The Grade 3, in a desperate attempt, began charging the male—fear driven rather than courage in its vibrant yellow eye.
The male blew a puff of smoke and then flicked the cigarette while he gently grasped the hilt of a blade resting from his back. The hand that flicked the bud formed into a snapping gesture, followed by the sound—and all the while the beast drew ever closer as it ignored the bud it was about to run straight into.
Just as quickly as the sound of the snap, the male was now in front of the beast, blade drawn and already in motion down its neck, with the cigarette bud dropping to the ground from behind, where he last stood.
The sound of a sharp clang rang as the beast's body ran in a separate direction from its head, spinning to the side and flopping, twitching upon landing. Its head rolled on the opposite side, gathering dirt and chips of leaves in its cornea, yellow hue now becoming as gray as the trees.
Yellow blood sprayed after; the motion too quick for the body to respond in appropriate time.
The male raised slowly and whipped his blade to the side, spraying the ground with glittering gold; carefully, elegantly sheathing his blade back into its home.
Different pockets of the dark began glowing along with here, giving this secluded section temporary light as what was left of the faded beasts fluttered like fireflies all around.
The male took out a cigarette pack, opening it, but only disappointment shrouded his face.
"Of course," he carped, putting two fingers to his temples.
He dropped the empty box and began searching the ground for the last bud he switched with, hoping that when he did find it, it still had enough light to scratch his itch.
"Of course, you had to remind me how much I fucking hate him…"
It was then he heard the sound of a larger beast. And then another—and then two more… It sounded like something evolving…
And then, lastly, he heard the sound of another male's voice among them that he knew all too well…
"Speaking of things I hate…" He found the bud, and picked it up. "Though, this one is a lot easier to tolerate, I suppose."
***
**Another section where Greed, Ophelia, and Ulrich inhabited**
Greed:
I blazed a path in the direction Ulrich had told me where Milo and Kiki had been. I at first wanted to head over to Jo, but she was unfortunately farther away than where Ulrich had originally came from, and the Arabella maids were a part of the pack now. Maids or not, they helped defend the Den when Alice was alone against the Nightbanes. So, saving them for last just because they weren't official members would not be fair. Even a walking red flag like myself can tell the difference of mercy and cruelty.
We shifted through the dead trees as Ulrich led the way, trying to keep up with my pace even though he was now the one in front.
And at last, after only what seemed like a quarter of a mile, I saw them. Their backs against one another, eyes wide like Ophelia's had been, with multiple of those Oculus Fiends crowding them like they were about to share a delicacy.
"Here, hold this," I said to Ulrich as I passed him Ophelia.
"This!?" Ophelia barked.
When I slung her into Ulrich's arms, he blushed as her bare skin brushed off him—she was surprisingly lighter than the average five-foot-seven gal.
"Don't you get any ideas, chubs," she said heartlessly to him.
"I-I-I-I would never!"
Then with my arms free, I stepped forward, making my presence known to them all. The Oculus Fiends shifted their hideous eyes over to me like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Sorry to spoil your gang bang."
They hissed and spat with false confidence, not knowing what I had done to their brethren on the way here.
A group of four charged me. They weren't dreadfully fast, but to the average mage who were unlucky enough to face a horde of them, their lanky steps were the stuff of nightmares.
Each one a foot taller than myself, each one with arms and legs that could stretch and grab from a long distance. But none of that mattered.
I hopped in place, then gave myself a running start before leaping in the air toward them.
When I landed, I cratered the ground into a fissured mess; some Fiends fell in the crevices, and some speared from the shards of protruding earth.
Two more jumped me, and I landed my fist into one then twirled to spin kick the other. the other four that charged me earlier, loosed their stabbed flesh from the jutting rocks and began flanking me from all sides.
When they arrived, I engaged them in close combat, striking them away with each calculated hit. Then more charged, and then more. There were more than dozens of them in this section alone.
And before I knew it, they piled onto me from my blind spot one after another, until the only things I saw from within were their yellow cyclops' eyes swirling, lording all around, inches from me.
Some of them even dared to gnaw at my body. Big mistake.
The pile of them beat like a heart, followed by the explosion of my roar. The air pulsed and surged with the Fiends, flailing and flying off every-which-way. My skin glistened darkness as my vantablack Tantra coating enveloped me; the fangs etched eerily across my face along with a single glowing red eye that traced the air with each movement I made. The other side of my face was left unshrouded—half-human, half-Sin.
There were three guarding the maids, and I eyed them.
The Fiends trembled, and then the one in the middle forced the other two to attack. That one must be the leader.
The two and I dashed at the same time, leaving nothing but dust and the dropping bodies of their brothers atop this rummaged battlefield. And then just as quickly, I met them both—forearms to necks with a devastating double lariat.
I continued on my tunnel visioned path with the last one at the end of the line, and then it transformed. Its body morphed into something bigger—lanky arms and legs becoming thick like a power-up.
I see, just like the one from that time, I thought as I recalled the last of these I fought—which was when I had first recruited Jo.
As I closed in, the Grand Oculus Fiend roared nastily. It grabbed the two maids and rushed them both into its mouth. Those sharp, knife-like teeth were now the size of machetes, shuddering at the nearing of its meal.
But just as quickly, I dashed to the side, leaving only a blur from where I had once been. Then as if maneuvering through midair, I met the massive beast in the face with a side kick, releasing both maids from its grip. It spun in a straight path after the impact as I grabbed them both and landed below.
From my touch, they came to—Milo inhaling as if she hadn't gotten any air, and Kiki with dilated pink eyes focusing on me and gasping.
"Master Greed!" She said with her high pitched voice ringing in my ears, followed by a death grip of a hug around my neck.
"Yes, good to see you too," I flatly replied. "Before you celebrate, let me finish that thing off first."
The Grand Oculus Fiend bellowed from where I had shot it; the crushed trees and ground revealed after its cry blew the dust away.
"Don't look it in the eye," I ordered them.
"What about you, Master!?" Kiki bayed.
I simply smirked, and she watched in admiration for a second more before finally closing her eyes.
When I faced back to the large Fiend now beginning to charge at me, I readied myself and began slowly walking toward it—gaining speed with each step.
We neared each other. The thing was twice my size and even more than the normal Fiend at more than twelve feet. My black coating drenched my fists like liquid shadow as I ran toward it.
And when we met, I leaped in the air, throwing a right fist while it did the same. Its fist was the size of a boulder but stopped just as it made contact with mine. The pressure halted us for a moment but eventually the test of strength was over before it even began.
Its massive arm flailed backward, snapping from the force of the strike. It then threw its other arm at me, attempting another power-packed fist, but I continued on a momentum and spun off it as it neared. I used the back of its fist as a platform, leaping further up into the air; its massive yellow eye following my every move a second behind.
Though now a Grade 1, Grand Oculus Fiends greatest strength—and greatest weakness, were their eyes.
I grasped my hands together, gathering all the force I could muster, and fell down onto it—eye first—like a mighty crash.
Its eye shot into its head, then through its body, followed by the head itself as it forcibly retracted until it could no longer hold, imploding then exploding inevitably.
Yellow pools and chunks splattered both Kiki and Milo with eyes still closed. Ulrich watched in awe as he had witnessed me for the first time, and Ophelia watched like she had already known, still in his arms.
Both Kiki and Milo gaped when they had finally registered that they were soaked, slowly raising their hands as if to wipe the glop from their faces to no avail. Luckily for them, this would fade soon. Still, though, it was gross.
"Sorry, girls," I said as I rose from where I had obliterated the beast—its chunks and yellow blood staining me as well. "Couldn't help myself."
Kiki eagerly shook her head and replied, "Not at all, Master Greed! I couldn't have asked for a better outcome from you!"
"Ugh," Milo said. "You got it in our hair and clothes too…"
"I know, right!? Some of it went up my nose! Isn't Master Greed the best!?" Kiki replied a little too enthusiastically. Oh, how I wondered how this conversation sounded to others listening in at the wrong time…
"That was…" Ulrich said in a low tone from the back. "Utterly amazing! How? How were you unaffected by their glares?"
I didn't bother answering as I closed my eyes and scratched my head. The remains of the Fiends were now fading at last, glowing faintly before being sent back to the ethers.
But then…
Before I could comprehend, I was flanked by three more…
Three more Grand Oculus Fiends.
What? This many? Here?
As they neared, I heard the sound of fingers snapping. And just like that, we were in a different spot entirely—switched by three falling mana grenades.
The explosions detonated, forming together into a single giant one.
I didn't even look as I said to the one who had done it. "Thanks Code."
The ground seemed to tremble at his onset. He had a different presence about him than one of utter power. Because even if you overpowered him, he would still find a way to win.
He emerged from the dark of the trees, smoking what little of the cigarette there was in his mouth.
"Whatever… Now," he said as he clicked his tongue after burning through the pathetic stub, standing next to me; and we witnessed the three large outlines appear from the smoke of the grenades blasts before us. "Help me finish off these fucks."
I snickered, then replied,
"Gladly."