It's Barking Again (Solo)

It hasn't been that long that Savage Skull had accepted him and already Javel found himself on another mission. The dark mage's destination, this time, was a southern town known as Oshibana. It was quite the distance and Javel wasn't as sure this time to leg it from the guild to the town, given the mission's rather urgent request from the cilent to get it done.

Speaking of mission, it was a very peculiar one, one Javel would've never expected to actually be a job in the first place. Apparently, the client is requesting that whoever answering it kill a pet dog for whatever reason. Noise complaints were one thing, but this in particular sounded ridiculous and the dark mage pondered if he would end up encountering more strange missions in the future. He would need to inquire more about the mission when he met with his client...

Javel left the train station and silently went about on his business, keeping his head down and making his way past the crowds of people occupying the area. Leaving the station, he was faced with a beautiful scenery that was Oshibana, small but peaceful. It was rather disheartening that amongst its own citizens would be a malefic one plotting to kill a dog and cause unwanted commotion for anyone involved. And for the dark mage, a job like this was more of a bother than a legitimate request.

The location printed on the mission slip wasn't that hard to find. Oshibana was a small town and navigating the streets was a breeze and he eventually found himself at the client's home. Javel held on to the slip as he knocked on the door a couple of times to get a response; soon enough the door open and he was greeted by a middle age who looked a little worse for wear for the likes of him. Javel was, however, not exactly one to judge immediately and simply displayed the mission paper to his client.

The middle age frowned and spoke to the dark mage, "Well greetings, stranger....About time somebody answered my favor...Maybe I can finally get some sleep after this..."

Javel was quick to question the tired old fellow. "Sir, I presume the details on this slip is correct? You want me to deal with your neighbor's pet?"

"Well no shit, Sherlock." the old folk grumbled. "Damn dog never shuts up and keeps waking up the entire neighborhood every damn night. It's been hell this month cuz none of us around here can get enough sleep because of that dumb animal along with his stupid caretaker. And every goddamn morning, I find my garden constantly ruined all because the stupid animal isn't on a leash."

"And I'm here because-?"

"To fix the problem, stupid youngster. I don't care how you do it, just get it stop barking...permanently. Put that little bastard six feet under."

"You didn't answer my question; why am I here? Can't deal with a small rude canine, yourself?"

"I'm old, you think I got the strength for that? You youngsters are better suited for the job than I could ever be. Hell, I'm paying you to do this."

"Don't you citizens of Fiore have the Rune Knights?"

"Given the situation this country's in?! You honestly believe that they have the time to answer this little complaint? How about you stop asking questions and just do what you're told? You're the worker and I'm your client."

Javel was rather irritated by the utter lack of respect that the old fellow was showing to him, but he kept up a cold and expressionless front and nodded reluctantly to the man's words. He looked to the left and noticed the neighbor's house, prompting him to ask, "When do you want me to strike?"

The old man followed Javel's gaze and answered. "The damn owner left town yesterday and won't be back until next week. The animal is usually more active at night so it's best for you to get it over with tonight, kapeeesh?"

Javel nodded "As you wish."


Javel decided it was time to act. He was quick to move from his hiding spot and leapt across the wooden fence and into the adjacent garden that belonged to his client's neighbor. It was awfully quiet and the dark mage decided that his second course of action would be scouting around for his target. He quickly found the outdoor doghouse and approached it with haste. As he approached, he frowned; the dog was not there as he expected, ruining his initial idea of attacking it while it slept. Since the large doghouse was empty, this would only mean that the animal was indoors somewhere and some intruding had to done. With no other choice, Javel made his way to the house. The front doors were always so stealth was out of the question; he would have to break in. Gripping his Berserker's Hand, he held it back and swung forward at the closest window, utterly destroying it with one strike.

The dark mage vaulted into the premises of the home, his shoes landing on the broken glass as he landed. Not a split second, he heard an ominous growl coming from within the house itself. Javel had not expected the animal to be that responsive so quickly and was taken aback by the sound, which was far too beastly to be from any dog he'd ever known. Come to think of it, the pethouse he investigated minutes earlier seemed awfully roomy for a dog, so could this mean something else? He couldn't help but he feel that he missed something really important.

Javel wasn't able to take more than three steps where he heard heavily paw-like thuds followed by heavy panting nearby. He quickly darted his sights around, scanning every square inch of the house trying to track where it was coming from, but it was far too dark for him to see properly with the moonlight not offering much illusion either. He couldn't find the source in time and in the next moment, the dark mage was blindsided from the front when he wasn't looking, sending him back and tumbling over the broken window back outside.

Javel rolled across the garden, and tried to stop his movement. Unfortunately, he couldn't get back up in time and found himself bull-charged again. Javel crashed into the fence and grunted from the sharp pain wondering how was he getting beaten by a mere animal. He looked and finally got a good look at the animal charging at him for a third time; and Javel knew for certain that what he was dealing with wasn't an ordinary dog.

The dark mage dodged the incoming ram with a sidestep and watched as the beast smashed through the fence like cardboard. He wouldn't have time to address the situation because the animal was quick to recover and focused on the mage with great hostility and rage. This specific canine was like a behemoth, packing massive size and jaws that would put even wolves to shame. There was no way he could fight the beast-like predator as he was now; he needed more power.

Javel extended his right hand and clenched it into a fist. He bent his elbow and raised it in front of him, as he commanded  in an emotionless voice. "Requip: The Soul."


A yellow magic circle in the shape of an eye was expelled from the end of his fist. It retracted as Javel pulled back his hand, landing on his chest and prompting blue lightning-like patterns to outline through his entire body. Blue energy combusted from the magic eye, his Soul Armor now in the place where he was once standing. Javel flexed his arms in triumph and a hooded cloak sprouted from his chest-embedded magic eye, flying over and then coming back down on him. The cloak then merged with him, forming the armor's unique faceplate and finalizing his transformation.

The huge canine roared at its prey and charged violently, opening its huge jaws in an attempt to get a bite out of the dark mage. Javel was not intimidated by the slightest and prepared himself; he spread out his legs and leaned forward. In one move, Javel forced his weight forward and stopped the animal's charge, having grabbed it by the jaws and preventing them from closing on his head.

The jaws were very powerful, but Javel believed in his own strength. Without saying a word, he slowly pried the jaws further and further apart away from. His armor was taking the brunt of the damage, but it deter the mage from stopping and with the weight now shifted to his favor, he tossed the canine aside.

Picking up his Berserker's Hand, Javel followed up with his initial throw and slammed the front of his weapon into the animal's head. The beast was stunned and recoiled back in pain and Javel struck again. One hit after another, the dark mage violently bashed his weapon at the beast in increasing force per hit. Each swing hammered away led to more blood being spilled as the animal's skull as slowly being bashed in, its poor cries echoed through the air as it begged for mercy, unable to free itself from Javel's relentless onslaught. The dark mage did not so much as feel a touch of mercy for the animal and continued striking non-stop. Blood splattered onto his armor and weapon, but the mage kept going. And going. And going...

...He had lost track of time; Javel only snapped out of his cruel trance when the day of light slowly began to rise up from the horizon. The worn-out mage stopped his overboard violence and took a look at the damage he's done. The head of the animal had been utterly destroyed, its brains and pieces of skulls utterly pulverized by the dark mage's repeated hammering. The blood on his armor had dried and stained, his own weapon covered in it. All the while, the dark requip mage felt no remorse for his actions. It was a distubring and graphic scene, but it was a job and it had to be done. He wasn't proud of it, but there was no point in moping over the killing of an animal that deserved it.

Finished and satisfied that it was over, the dark mage canceled his requip magic and sighed heavily, exhausted and deprived of energy. He left the neighbor's home and walked back to the client's house, knocking on the door when he arrived. The old man opened it and was stunned by the mage's bloody exterior. Of course, the old man quickly regained his composure; the mage had done his job and he would keep his word.

"I see you've done your part. Come inside, your money's waiting."