〘Date: 2/14 - Thursday〙
〘Time: 4:30 PM〙
〘Location: Texas, Spade District - 4th Arc〙
Allie and Jade finally made it to Miriam's neighborhood, an active, suburban location named Jack Street. The two girls stuck close together, noticing residents going on strolls, walking their dogs, and even lounging around their yards.
Allie glanced around, noticing a few people giving them both dirty looks. "Not...too fond of outsiders huh..?"
Jade kept Allie close by with a protective hand on her wrist, her cautious gaze scanning her surroundings. "We do have to remember... mostly here is a Crooked Spade. We look like two city girls that seemingly got lost."
"Look at what the cat dragged in~ Two fine white city rats just strolling along our block," A male chuckled, watching as Allie and Jade approached his house.
Jade scoffed at the man and his friends, ignoring his cat call and rolled her eyes. "C'mon...just ignore him."
"Okay," Allie nodded, following Jade's faster pace but grunted softly as one of the guys grabbed her arm. "Hey—"
"Whoa now, sweetheart. You ain't check in with any of us, and you think you can just walk around here without consequences?" The man with a black bandana taunted, using his strength to pull Allie and Jade toward him.
Without hesitation, Jade struck the man with a groin kick with a frustrated grunt, watching as the man sunk to his knees. With quick reaction, Jade grabbed Allie's hand and began racing down the block. Allie ran behind Jade with quick pants, looking back and noticing the guys chasing them.
"Aye! Get these city rats! They're outsiders!" The man with the red bandana called out, hawking down Jade and Allie with his athletic speed.
Jade looked around quickly, flashes of her past playing in her mind of her last concert. She pushed Allie forward, stumbling forward as she used all of her force to give Allie the boost. "Run!"
Allie looked back at Jade, her eyes flashing with panic as she noticed the mob gaining on Jade. "Jade, what are you doing?!"
"I said run, Allie!" Jade yelled, pivoting around and landing a powerful roundhouse kick along the side of a woman's head, knocking her out in one blow.
The man with a red bandana charged at Jade with a steel bar, swinging it at Jade's head, but a figure rushed in front of Jade and blocked the attack. The man grunted heavily, stopping his attack before it hit the woman before him along her skull.
"What the fuck..? Venus, why—"
"Shut your bitch ass up! You're attacking two women who don't even know where they are, and think that shit is being a rebel?!" The woman roared, pointing her weaponized guitar at the man with the red bandana. "Markus, you and your little hood rats can go home! I will deal with these two!"
Markus grunted softly at the woman's commanding tone, adjusting his red bandana along his neck and began walking backwards, retreating with his allies. The woman watched as Markus ran off, scoffing at him and flipping her hair. She turned around to face Jade, looking her up and down with intrigue.
"Nice boots..." She complimented, looking down at Jade's boots. "Real steel toe or repurposed?"
"Repurposed, painted real steel on these when I was still a Rockstar. Nice jacket and guitar by the way, you're a Rockstar as well?" Jade asked, placing a hand on her hip and looking the woman up and down, admiring her aesthetic.
"Mhm, the name's Voize, with capital Z. I only use Z Level Alchemy and the word of tongue in my strength. But, you and your girlie can call me Venus North, my government," Voize introduced, holding her hand out to Jade.
Jade smiled at Voize, taking her hand for a handshake and met her gaze. "The name's Jade Bell, and my best friend back there is Allie. We're not exactly from here.."
"I can tell, but don't worry, you'll be safe at my hideout. C'mon, you can tell me everything along the way," Voize said, letting go of Jade's hand then began making her way toward the large three story home in the distance.
Jade nodded and followed behind Voize and gestured for Allie to follow behind, the two girls running behind Voize to keep up. With them meeting one of the two Old Spade allies, they knew they were closer to their main target, Miriam Zamora.
〘Date: 2/14 - Thursday〙
〘Time: 4:40 PM〙
〘Location: Texas, 4th Arc - Zamora Residency〙
The group made it to the Zamora Residency, a tall three story home with a beautiful well kempt yard and three supercars parked in front of the driveway. Allie and Jade glanced at each other in awe, wondering how someone was able to afford all of the luxuries.
Upon stepping onto the front yard, a camera detected Allie and Jade and sounded an alarm, warning the people within the house. Suddenly, a woman sprinted out of the house, hurling a speeding ball of light energy toward Allie and Jade, the two women hesitating slightly at the ball of light.
Voize strummed her guitar, releasing bursts of musical waves to intercept the sphere of light, causing an explosion in the middle of the yard. "Hmph! Cool it, M! They're with us!"
The woman calmed down at Voize's shout, her cold silver eyes shifting to meet Voize's hard expression. She smirked and fixed her jacket upon her shoulder, looking over at Allie and Jade with subtle curiosity. "Who are you two, chicks? You don't seem local to Royal Creek."
"U-Uhm, my name is Allie! We're not local here, we actually came from Trinity Valley! And low key I wanna go back," Allie giggled nervously, rubbing her arm and gently pinching her own skin to calm her nerves.
"Yeah, shits been kinda chaotic, but we are still here to support our boyfriend. It's for a greater cause, so I'm willing to endure anything for it," Jade said, crossing her arms and scanning the woman's appearance with a cautious gaze.
The woman rose an eyebrow at Jade's comment, letting out an intrigued hum. "Your boyfriend..? And who might this man be that's causing more chaos?"
"His name is Ryder," Jade answered, noticing the woman's eyes light up with recognition.
"Ryder Dawn? The man that foolishly lost to Fredrick on live television? Pfft! You're better off following Azul's footsteps, and Heavens know where that man has my brothers at!" The woman laughed, crossing her arms and shook her head.
Allie glared at the woman's mockery of my name, growling loudly and stepping forward, her Love Sigil glowing in response to her strong, protective emotion. "Stop laughing right now! Ryder is better than some unknown King you just named! At least he challenged Fredrick after four years of straight disappointment of your supposed King!"
"Oh, the little Pomeranian has some bark in her huh? Did I strike a nerve when I spoke the truth? Your boyfriend is too weak to be called anything beyond a Pawn! Tony is more of a King than he is," The woman taunted, smirking at Allie's growing anger and noticed a soft glow upon her pelvis.
"The truth is certainly hard to handle isn't it? The Word of Tongue is powerful...but soon you'll have to realize that your savior is nothing but a shadow of what Escobar is. Another clown terrorizing the streets. I bet you two are allied with Karin, aren't you?" The woman continued, chuckling softly at Allie's growing anger and protectiveness.
"So what if we are..?" Allie hissed, her entire body slightly trembling from her overwhelming emotions.
"Shame...The blind leading the blind. A failed Queen now sharing her throne with a Failed King," The woman chuckled softly, turning away from Allie and making her way back toward her front door. "Voize, toss them to the streets...I don't have room for waste in my home."
"Miriam, that's not called for. Ryder is fighting for what we are, the destruction of Fredrick and Valerie. We have to take all the help—" Voize began, grunting softly as Allie pushed her back, stumbling lightly with surprise.
"Hey! You don't get to walk away after talking all that shit about MY RYDER! If he's so useless what does that make you, bitch?! You're just a sitting potato ROTTING away in a failed town that is no better than the 7th! Just worthless... ʻōpala waiwai ʻole!" Allie screamed, faint crimson black energy flashing around her body from her raw anger.
Miriam paused in her steps, glancing over her shoulder at Allie, sensing a sudden increase in her energy level. 'What the hell is that..? Why does it feel so primal..?'
Miriam turned around to face Allie, cracking her knuckles and marching toward Allie with seriousness, readying herself to fight Allie's rage. "Are you mad now? You'll willing to fight for this?"
Allie charged toward Miriam with anger and passion, evading Miriam's swift attack and countered with a wrathful blow to Miriam's stomach. The impact of Allie's strike knocked Miriam away, as if she was struck with a Pressure Strike, catching Miriam off guard.
Allie rushed forward once more, launching wild, primal attacks straight at Miriam, letting out loud grunts with each attack. Miriam dodged and evaded each attack quickly, trying to find an opening wherever she could.
'Right there,' Miriam thought, finding an opening for Allie's jaw, slipping a right hook through Allie's offenses and cracking her along her chin.
Allie staggered lightly, a pulse of crimson black energy flashing around her body, allowing her to endure the pain of Miriam's power hook. Allie immediately retaliated with a primal haymaker, her first connecting against Miriam's face and knocking her down.
"Damn!" Jade exclaimed, rushing over to Allie and grabbing her to pull her off Miriam. "Hey! Hey! That's enough, Al! Let her go!"
"Oh shit..!" Voize gasped in disbelief, dropping her guitar and rushing over to help break the brawl between Allie and Miriam. She grabbed onto Miriam, using her strength to try to pull her off. "Yo..! It's over, girl! Stop the fight!"
Hearing the commotion outside, two men stepped out of the house, immediately recognizing Allie and Jade then glanced at each other. They rushed toward the cat fight, helping Jade and Voize to break up the battle between the brawling and scrappy women.
"Yo! Free, grab Miriam! I got Jade and the wild Chihuahua!" Lando shouted, hurrying to help Jade hold Allie back.
"I'm already doing it," Free grunted, assisting Voize in holding back his sister from pouncing onto Allie.
"Let me go! She got all that shit to say! She ain't talking no more when I clocked her shit!" Allie yelled, kicking her feet in attempt to strike Miriam one last time.
Miriam growled as she tried to escape her bind, tugging along Voize and Free to break out. "You're still talking after one lucky strike?! You're only mad because—"
The chaos began to stir into more chaos as black winds began howling around the group, knocking each of them away from Allie and Jade with one burst. Ravens called out in the sky, swarming the skies and a thundercloud began to form in the air.
Allie and Jade looked around themselves, noticing everyone wiped out in one blow. They looked up at the rooftop of the house, the two of them freezing at the sight of The Fool. They held onto each other, backing away from the house and stared at me, noticing my golden eyes glowing at them.
Lando grunted softly as he began to recover onto one knee, looking around his surroundings before freezing at the feeling of a dagger against the back of his neck. He gulped lightly, sensing my dark presence looming over him.
"I saw everything..." I said silently, my voice dripping with venom. "From the alleyway...to their appearance to your neighborhood. You're no different from Bear..."
Lando grunted and took a leap of faith to pivot around and unholster his pistol, pointing it ahead of himself, but noticed no one was there. He heard the groan of Miriam, looking over and noticed me holding her up by her hair.
"Miriam! You let her go right now!" Lando yelled and pointed his gun at me, freezing as I held Miriam in front of me.
"Now, let's not put on a fake poker face now...Lando. I heard it all...I saw it all. And 4th...is no better than 7th," I said coldly, glaring down at Miriam with her hair wrapped around my hand.
Miriam grunted softly as she tried releasing herself from my hold, attempting to pry my fingers from her hair. "Who the hell are you..?!"
I tossed Miriam along the ground near Voize, scoffing at her then adjusted my black gauntlet as a show of dominance. "You haven't seen the news..? Fitting for someone who clings onto hatred for a woman who didn't know where else to turn.."
"I am The Fool...And I am your new King of Spades. You all go around smearing Karin's name into the ground, kicking a dead horse and expecting it to neigh. What are you all rebelling against? She's lost her crown already!" I shouted, my gaze flicking between Free, Lando, Miriam, and Voize.
"We're rebelling because she sold us out and left us to die out for four years! You don't know anything!" Lando argued, his gaze hardening with inner resolve.
"I know that killing Karin and trashing her name isn't fixing anything. In fact you're dividing yourself even more with this nonsense! It's been four years already and you've lost the plot!" I retorted, my gaze meeting Lando's with tribal justice.
Voize scoffed at me, standing up from the ground and picking up her guitar. "You sound just like my sister...and while I do feel bad for her, I don't forgive her for ruining our careers! All for what..? A position on the system that Momo burned down?! She did all this for nothing and you're fighting for her?"
"I'm fighting to rebuild her, to rebuild the kingdom I see she once bad. A kingdom of true royalty from across the globe, and yet...you all are blinded by your hatred of her. That's alright... because Requiem will be set in Spade District first," I said, using black lightning to manifest my broadsword.
Free grunted softly, his dragon tattoos shimmering an ethereal amber light. He stood up quickly and braced himself for combat. "He's really about to fight us?"
"He can't take all of us! We are Two of the Three Dragons, bro! Ryuk! Let him hear us roar!" Lando roared, purple and black energy surging around his body with draconic energy.
Free nodded, unleashing his draconic energy as well, his eyes glowing a faint amber shine. "Right...his only feat is killing Bear and paralyzing Escobar. He couldn't even kill the Old King of Spades."
"How cute, you also hold draconic energy? Well, I know the source of it..." I boasted calmly, awakening the Art of Passion within, an ethereal purple energy flowing around my body with a battle surge.
Miriam grunted softly at the pressure of the energy around my body, guarding herself from the extreme heat. 'Draconic Energy..?! How does he have access to that and not be a Yakuza..?'
Voize readied her guitar, clearing her throat and took a deep breath and exhaled. "The Word of Tongue is my strength...I shall only use my power for justice above revenge.."
Allie and Jade quickly hurried to safety, hearing Wendy's whistle and turned around to see Wendy and Desiree in a car across the street. With urgency, the two ran toward the car and got inside, Wendy quickly driving off to safety.
〔Art of Ambition - The King of Spades〕
〔New Main Objective: Defeat Free, Miriam, Voize, and Lando.〕
〔Task: Charm Voize.〕
〔Reward: Credi +5000, Art of Talent/Ambition EXP +1500〕
I flourished my blade, dashing toward Free leaping with a twirling horizontal slash, but he reinforced his arm with his aura, blocking my sword with ease and pushed me back. Orange lightning crackled around Free's body, boosting his speed greatly as he appeared in front of me before the others noticed.
I dodged his spinning kick, adjusting my mask then smashing the handle of my sword against his stomach, staggering him momentarily then followed with a Destiny Flash, the energy taking form into a Dragon Head. The head opened as my fist connected to his solar plexus, releasing a burst of black winds to knock him away.
"Free!" Miriam called out, hurrying toward her brother as he gasped for air on the grass.
Lando grunted at my power, a nervous sweat rolling down his cheek. 'He overpowered Free's defensive prowess..? But how..? Fenrir is supposed to give him Unchallenged Stamina...'
I sheathed my sword, lowering my stance and cloaking myself in purple lightning, a cold smirk forming on my face. "Didn't Azul teach you to keep your eyes on your target?"
Lando quickly turned toward me, noticing my movements flickering across the yard before reaching him, his instincts forcing him to dodge my attack immediately. I rolled forward along the ground, fusing the Earth and Water Energies together to form Plant Energy, generating a root to wrap around his leg.
I pulled upon the root, dragging Lando toward me and landed a clean left hook upon his jaw, but a pulse of dark energy protected him, Lando's blue eyes glowing brightly with pride. Lando pushed me away, launching heavy blows toward me.
"Hmph...Too slow. I hope you know I'm just a street level vigilante right?" I taunted, countering Lando with a clean liver blow then an European Uppercut.
Lando stumbled around, holding his mouth and turned around to a Destiny Flash to his jaw, the purple lightning causing Static ailment upon his body. I began moving around him at high speeds, rushing him with a flurry of Destiny Flashes from every angle, leaving Lando stunned and vulnerable.
Upon my final attack, my body immediately changed its trajectory to evade a blast of soundwaves from Voize's guitar. I awakened a bit of Tengoku's Energy, using my reflexes and agility to evade each of Voize's projectiles, making my way into the street.
"March to my beat," I said, dropping down into NY Flares and launched black whirlwinds toward her with my feet in waves of four.
Voize began strumming in 4/4 time signature, using each soundwave to disrupt my whirlwinds. As she played her guitar, she noticed I had began launching my wind blades toward her faster, her fingers working the strings with more exertion. 'What the hell..?! How can he keep this going..?!'
"Try to keep up with this!" I challenged, landing on my feet and snapped my fingers, Phroa revealing the volley of Aero Ripples around the area. I unsheathed my sword, holding it in reverse grip and smirked. "Let's see an Encore!"
I began quickly tapping the handle of my sword, rapidly firing whirlwinds toward Voize at dangerous speeds, but Voize quickly acted, playing quick rifts on her guitar and rapidly shooting out soundwaves to protect herself and her found family.
Voize grit her teeth, stomping her foot down and began strumming with her heart and soul, releasing omnidirectional waves of energy to destroy the Aero Ripples. "I won't fall to a False King! I won't bow to anyone!"
Voize let out a primal scream, unleashing a destructive force of sound toward me, the high level energies managing to blast me away and crash into the side of a parked car. I grunted heavily upon impact, stumbling forward and falling onto one knee.
Voize panted softly and lowered her guard lightly to catch her breath, her gaze lingering upon me. She stood up straight and dashed toward me, swinging her guitar down toward me in attempt to slice me with her blade. "No more Kings!"
Before her attack could connect upon my body, time briefly paused due to Alina's Assist, allowing me to get out of the way of Voize's attack. Time resumed, Voize's eyes widening from my sudden disappearance.
Voize turned around quickly, grunting heavily as I struck her with a powerful Destiny Flash to her jaw, causing her to lose her balance. She recovered with a steady stance, swinging her guitar at me once again, but an Aero Ripple formed in front of her blade to protect me.
I adjusted my mask with a chuckle, generating howling winds around us and shrouding the two of us in darkness. Lando and Miriam gasped in awe, Lando quickly getting up and charging toward the dome of darkness.
"Let Voize go you coward!" Lando bellowed, throwing a punch at the dome but a repulsive force of energy sent him crashing through the window of his house.
Miriam's eyes widened in awe, looking back at where Lando landed and gulped lightly. She turned back toward the dome of darkness, her mind filled with concern for Voize's safety. She looked down at Free, noticing his tattoos glowing and gradually recovering his stamina.
Voize grunted softly as she opened her eyes slowly, looking ahead and seeing herself in The Throne Room. She looked ahead in the distance, stepping forward and noticing me standing next to Alina's throne, hearing the whispers of our conversation.
"This is interesting... You dragged her in here, even though you have Divine Guidance telling you to Charm her?"
I rolled my eyes at Alina's sass and leaned against her throne with my arms crossed. "I didn't drag here to Judge her...not in our usual sense. I came here to understand her... because in some way she's also an outsider to Azul's lineage unlike the Zamoras. She's Karin's sister."
"Karin's sister you say? How do you know this?" Alina asked, glancing at me with a skeptical side eye.
"Are we serious right now? I was synced to Allie the entire time, I can read lips and I damn sure know that when I'm actively using Synco, I synchronize with all of the target's senses, including hearing," I sassed, glancing at Alina with eyes of tension.
"Can you two just kiss and make up already? Geez, you're always at each other's necks when we get here!" Phroa chimed in, hovering between me and Alina.
Voize rose an eyebrow as she watched us talk, crossing her arms and letting out a soft sigh. "Hey! Are you just gonna ignore me the entire time? Hello! I know you hear me, Pretty Boy!"
I glanced at Voize and smirked lightly at the familiar nickname used for me, clearing my throat and began to walk down the steps. "So it's true...you are the sister to Karin."
"Twin sister...but it's easy to tell us apart. I'm more lightskin than her, my hair's dyed neon blue for whatever reason, I'm Alt...and she's a beautiful chocolate, lavender hair, Alt as well but more of the NuMetal kind," Voize said, her tone carrying a hint of casual sarcasm.
I chuckled softly at her and stopped in front of her, slipping my hands into my pockets. "There's no hiding here...only transparency and you can see my face. Not as The Fool...but as Ryder Dawn."
Voize's eyes slightly widened, her words getting caught in her throat from the shock. She tried to speak but her brain had no words to use, only allowing her to just react.
I used Earth Energy to raise two stone seats, allowing the two of us to sit down and chat. "Have a seat...I want to know why you are against Karin, and what is your motives."
Voize let out a soft exhale, glancing back at the seat behind her and stepped backwards to sit down, resting her guitar along the arm of her chair. "Alright...I guess since you're sharing your secret with me, I'll share mine with you..."
"I am against Karin... simply because of her four years of silence. She's supposed to be the Queen, Amelia helped our family rise in the Spade District, and she spat in the Hunt's faces when she betrayed Momo," Voize began, holding her arms and closing her eyes as the events of Karin's betrayal played in her mind.
"But why did Karin betray The Swords? Why did she betray Momo and The Spades? She said it was for the greater good, but what is this greater good?" I asked, the desire to get the full story eating away at my spirit.
"No one knows truly this...but Karin has a Sigil on the side of her neck. It's not like one of those Love Sigils we've read about in history books. It's like a charm of sorts, and it appeared on her when she was dating Tomi," Voize began, sitting uo straight in her seat and let out a deep sigh.
"She was under Tomi's command, following his orders and he framed it as the greater good. But anyone with a brain knows...the betrayal was only the beginning of the domino effect," She continued, looking up to meet my gaze with a serious expression.
"Tomi knew if Karin betrayed Momo, it would break the trust between Leona and Karin. He knows what kind of cloth Momo is cut from, he knew Momo would burn Spade District to the ground for Karin. Fredrick and Tomi knew...Momo would burn her own home to the ground if it meant ending corruption," She finished, her eyes flaring with wavering emotions within.
I grunted softly at Voize's truth, but her words cut deep and her tone carried nothing but deep honesty within. "And afterwards, Karin laid low...but what else could she have done? What more do you want from her? She's not Anastasia-Aurora, she's not Royal Blood, she's not even a Destiny Child, she's human. Just like you."
"She lost her crown, and you all just keep kicking dirt in her face. What will it take for you all to just realize that Karin isn't the issue anymore? When will you all realize the problem is you?" I challenged, locking my gaze onto Voize's, my eyes seemingly looking into her very soul for undeniable truth.
Voize lowered her gaze, running her fingers through her hair and let out a guilty sigh. "I know...but how are we supposed to even combat Fredrick and protest against him when even the Crooked Spades are at war?"
"Don't worry about that...I will figure something out. Leave your worries on my shoulders from here on out. A King should know when to carry the burden upon his shoulders, and no one is taking the burden off Karin's," I said, standing up from my seat and summoned the Mask of The Fool in my hand.
"And a true King knows when a system isn't working anymore. We need unity, discipline, a code everyone will follow, and most importantly we all need loyalty. If no one will fight to create stability, I will...but it won't be pretty," I finished, placing the mask upon my face and closed my eyes.
Voize stood up quickly, looking around and noticed the darkness cracking around us, the domain of The Ace slowly crumbling and returning us back to reality. She turned to face me, seeing I had become The Fool once more.
〔Voize's has become curious about you...〕
Miriam looked at Voize, noticing she was unharmed and turned her gaze toward me, watching as I stepped away from Voize. She looked down at Free, grunting softly as he began to stand up. "Hold on, you have to continue resting..."
Free ignored Miriam's plea and kept his focus on me, his eyes glowing a faint amber fight, steam emitting from his body as he began to get worked up. "I can't allow this guy to get in the way of our business...this isn't his fight!"
"You should've stayed down, Free. I was going to just walk away from you as I have other business to tend to, but I guess I can make you the first example," I said, demonic energy flashing around my body, the image of my single wing flickering upon my being.
Free growled lowly at me, his dragon tattoos gleaming with amber brilliance, a single dragon wing manifesting upon his back. Veins began growing along his arms and neck, his body bulking up with draconic strength. "Fenrir! Let's rip him apart!"
I adjusted my mask, and chuckled lightly, esoteric energy fluttering around my body as I began unleashing my current potential. A single demonic wing manifested on my back, a surge of blue radiance illuminating the area with a cerulean gleam.
"This is the power...of Talent. Esoteric Energy is something only Humans can wield, the same energy used to combat Draconic Energy. Can your Passion outlive my Talent?" I asked, chuckling softly and appearing in front of Free within a blink of an eye.
Free grunted heavily as I sent him flying across the street with a clean punch, his body crashing into a car with a heavy impact. He recovered quickly and looked ahead, blocking my next kick then pushed me away. He began using bursts of speed to move around me, appearing behind me with a devastating punch.
I smirked at his attempt, tilting my head to evade his attack from behind, countering with an elbow to his face then pivoted around with a leaping jump kick to the back of his head. Free staggered lightly, catching his footing before countering with a devastating uppercut to my chin.
Free propelled himself in the air, clasping his hands together and let out a roar as he sent me crashing to the ground with a double hammer fist to the back of my skull. He followed me down to the ground, surrounding his arm in draconic energy in the shape of a dragon's claw.
"Your end is here with Fenrir's Wraith Claw!" Free bellowed, slashing down his arm to strike me for devastating damage.
I recovered in midair, twisting my body and using a burst of wind to push my self toward, avoiding Free's Wraith Claw in the nick of time. I landed gracefully upon my feet and folded my demon wing, letting out a soft exhale.
"Hmph...you managed to dodge my attack. Your speed and reflexes are certainly more impressive than before," Free said, standing up from the rubble of the ground, looking down at the large scratch marks left behind from his attack.
"You've got it all wrong here...it isn't only my agility that is increased. Everything about me is increased! The Art of Talent allows me becoming the Apex of Mankind, and this isn't just Arrogance speaking! Allow me to show you, my Arts!" I boasted, gathering darkness energy around my body.
"Esoteric Darkness Technique: Shadow Bind," I incanted, forming a pool of shadows beneath Free, a group of shadow tendrils emerging from the puddle and binding Free in place.
Free grunted in shock as he began to succumb to the strength of the shadows, using every ounce of strength he had to break out. As he struggled, I rushed forward at high speeds, striking him with a flying kick to his faces, knocking him backwards.
"Esoteric Plant Technique: Blossom Cannon!" I bellowed, stomping my foot on the ground, releasing a pulse of plant energy within the ground.
The ground rumbled loudly, an Alarune Bud forming beneath Free and releasing a beam of floral energy, blasting his body further in the air. I turned away and snapped my fingers, the bud blooming and out emerging a beautiful, floral humanoid creature with a loud giggle.
"Esoteric Plant Technique: Venus Bomb," I commanded, pivoting around with an orb of Love Energy in my hand and hurled it toward the Alarune.
Using her roots, she caught the orb of energy and began expanding it using her own nectar and floral energy, the orb sparkling with gradients of blue, pink, and light green. She let out a loud note, detonating the Venus Bomb just as Free came crashing down, blasting Free through the rooftop of a house.
"Free!" Miriam yelled out, getting up to rush toward Free's aid.
Voize quickly caught up to Miriam, grabbing her wrist to stop her and grunted lightly from Miriam's strength. "Stop! If you go over there, you'll be a casualty!"
"So you'll just sit there and let Free die?! I'm not letting my brother die by some street vigilante!" Miriam yelled in protest, ripping herself from Voize's grip and hurried down the street.
Lando glanced between Voize and Miriam, gritting his teeth and following behind his sister to check up on Free. Voize sighed softly, hurrying behind the two with her guitar for their safety.
I looked back over my shoulder, chuckling softly at them. "Where is your trusted King when you all needed him most? Where is Azul when you all need him? He wasn't here to even defend the people he claims to take in."
"What I'm doing isn't an act of protest against you...what I'm doing is ripping down the very hierarchy you all set up and refuse to fix. The Age of Requiem begins now," I said, pointing at Miriam and firing a laser of esoteric energy at her shoulder.
Miriam gasped in surprise, groaning heavily in pain as the beam pierced her shoulder. She groaned loudly in distress as another laser struck her other shoulder, sending her to the ground in pain.
"Miriam!" Lando roared, looking over to find me, but noticed I was missing.
He searched around with rage in his eyes, the drive to avenge his family fueling his anger. He turned around, his heart dropping to his stomach as he noticed my hand reaching for his neck.
I grabbed onto his neck, raising him up and awakening the Art of Lust, draining his energy and stamina via his own bloodlust and anger. Once he fell weak, I released him and allowed him to fall onto the ground.
"Let this be known to Azul...if he's wondering who did this, tell him The Fool was here," I said to Voize, spreading my wing and flying off with a single flap.
Voize watched as I flew off, holding Miriam in her arms and waited for help to arrive for the Zamoras. She glanced down at Miriam, thinking about the conversation we had, understanding the route I was taking.
〔Art of Ambition - The King of Spades〕
〔Main Objective Complete: Defeat Free, Miriam, Voize, and Lando.〕
〔Task Complete: Charm Voize.〕
〔Reward Earned: Credi +5000, Art of Talent/Ambition EXP +1500〕