Failure, Too, Is A Form of Death [Marceline, Raiza, Vlad]

ooc: While oocly I'm SS. In character this will be prior to leaving GH for all plot references. Still A-rank though

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A smile dictated the fact the figure within the shadows was either Happy or amused. The snicker that followed only drew in the eerie cold that followed the sound of the hushed footsteps. A presence within Era began with but just a single step inside the shadows. Lingering within Era while keeping his own magical presence at the bare minimum. Despite him wishing to launch a full scale explosive strike against the capital here and now, Raiza yet still kept to his own plan to aid his guildmate, and closest friend 'Marceline' in this job. Speaking of the job, it highly both impressed and unimpressed him. The black blood brotherhood was supposed to be an organization well above this sort of thing. Hiring mages to do their dirty work made Raiza feel something had happened for them to start needing aid. A mystery he could uncover at a later date, or destroy if they were just a colossal waste of time. Oh well, the pay was supposed to be good at the very least. It was an S-class job after all.

Speaking of on the job, Raiza had been participating in jobs with Marceline off and on now, and this time it wasn't a planned group. Instead he simply heard of the job, and decided to try and provide some help to the matter. What ever 'help' that could be. Though the time would come to see how effective the dark mage could be, but for now Raiza only crept closer to his destination. Each step within the shadows lead him closer. The figure slowly entering the shadows of the wall near Era, and traveling to the closest within, bypassing the rune knight guards that were in there. A chuckle escaping his mouth as he looked around the corner from a building not even a block from the guards. Killing them now would be way too easy. In fact, if he were to do that now it would only cause trouble. Who knew exactly what or how Marceline was doing right about now on the job. A death causing the guards to flood to the scene could possibly make the job harder on her.

Which would be counter productive to what he exactly wanted to happen. A sigh escaping after having stepped back into the shadows, moving in closer but not before a strange crystal object was placed tactically near the gate, and set to sky explosion variable. He had arrived in Era slightly later, not having as advanced of a travel as Marceline, which he did wonder how far they had progressed already. An interesting turn of events though when he began to reform from the shadows, keeping a careful and watchful eye on the events unfolding. Watching Marceline do distraction work while the other guild mate had wandered inside the house. A smart plan seeing as if Marceline would have done the kidnapping then the kidnapped ones would die on the way out. Though those guards no doubt would die soon if they got too close too. An interesting twist really. He was now only a couple blocks away while he kept to the stealth approach and instead an object was pulled out from his hoodie. a crystal like appearance with a skull that Raiza began to twist before dropping inside of a nearby trash can within the allyway. A simple 'sky' explosive charge that'd he'd use remotely when the time was right with the hand held detonator. With both charges secured in tactical spots, to prevent others from trying to follow a decent escape route Raiza had planned out.

His grin turning rather terrifyingly eerie at this time as the man finally stepped completely out from the ground, but in reality he was actually stepping out from the shadow while yet remainin on top and hidden within. He was now within quite a close distance, across the street to be exact as his figure began to show as the blanket of shadow had began to at least reveal him a little. His wild flowing blonde hair came first before his crystalline blue eyes could be seen at all. From the shadows the lean muscular physique came next, clothed with a red hooded jacked and black pants. The man known as Raiza's newest appearance, one that had only happened after the 'change' into what he was now. A smile appeared on his face as he remained stationary, observing while staying out of sight, keeping his head low the matter, only extending his magic out to make sure Marceline knew he was there, just watching, waiting on a cue for him to act before retracting his magic.

So far, he had two bombs placed, and the remote detonator handy in case it was needed, or even if he just wanted to troll the living shit out of any guards that tried to follow. After all, that was all sky was good for. Slowing and forcing movement abilities to become quite limiting. A heavy armored guard would be stuck in it for a number of minutes giving someone like Marceline whom had advanced travel, more than enough time to escape. Though even if he had not set up such a thing, he was not about to underestimate the woman who he knew was able to level this entire city, or at least that was Raiza's assumption. Though never does hurt to be sure. Especially because the mission being done right now is a S-class job.

Despite that, Raiza knew to keep his appearance as it was. The moment Marceline was going to retreat with the kidnapped, then Raiza could make a more 'public' appearance near the town square, securing the exit with the 'package', before he himself would up and vanish to rejoin them. After all, traveling with hostages he could only imagine would be a lot more difficult with people on your trail than one escaping a trail of people. How to do that however could be quite difficult. So possibly Raiza could be used elsewhere and he finally let out another sigh. Instead now he was reforming elsewhere, slowly creeping through the town. If the pair was fetching the child and mother, then it would be his job to fetch the father. Which should not be too...difficult right?

While Raiza had little information to go on himself, he had at least trailed enough to realize that Mr.Thompson was not home, and the scheduled time he would be arriving home. If anything, Raiza's disappearance from one scene would tell Marceline without any words needing to be said about where he exactly was going. It was not that hard to realize that Mr.Thompson was going to be as easy to find as any political figure. After all a pro-mage like the Thompson family was, meant they would have some form of press following them or at the very least someone would know his location. So, time to stop by the nearest coffee shop. A business politician perhaps would get his coffee there? No. Public eye would be too bad right now for the situation. A lead like that though could not be ignored. Though looking across from where he was, he noticed one of the cashiers in the store was a female. "time to test 'that' magic out then". A sly snicker accompanied with his smile as his body crept back into the shadows, only to re-appear elsewhere

That elsewhere was within the shadow of the alleyway behind the coffee shop. A simple trick and the door was open and Raiza was already in the back room where he awaited the cashier to appear. It was only moments when she did too. A break perhaps? What ever the reason was. Raiza had appeared behind the woman with no one else around to see what events had transpired behind the closed door, yet Raiza assured the woman she would not be harmed here. Information was all he was seeking, because he needed to 'interview' Mr. Thompson for the most recent bill he was pushing through. The rest of what went on was did not matter. Raiza was keen on torture after all, what mattered was Raiza had gotten the information he required. What Mr.Thompson looked like was not all he learned. The workplace, and where he was had been acquired too. Luckily actually, the information he obtained was that Mr. Thompson was actually on his way home from, as he was actually a frequent visitor, and should be arriving soon to the shop anyways. A smile appeared on Raiza's face as he began to leave through the back door "Speak about this, and you'll die. Stay silent and maybe... I wont need to act out what was discussed earlier"

After what seemed about ten minutes had passed, Raiza watched the man known as Mr. Thompson finally arrive and leave the shop with no better knowledge of the danger he was in than before. This was good, as the shadows themselves contained Raiza's Malice while he stepped out from the shadows, his hood up covering the top half of his face, and his jacket zipped up as he approached Mr. Thompson from behind and placed an arm around his neck "Oh hey Mr. Thompson its amazing what you're doing I'm a hugeeee fan of your political views, can I get a word with you?" At first it was just a ruse for anyone watching, but Raiza tilted his head and whispered in the man's ear "Play along or your family will die We have your kids and wife, and all we want is you anyways. So this can go the easy or the dramatic way your call... ready? three two one...your turn"

After Raiza's words, the man only let out a grunted chuckle, trying to play along "Oh, you young-lings getting into politics always make my day. Glad to hear you're so interested in my views. Are you looking to become a politician yourself some day young man?" The rough, yet good enough voice and acting the man was doing was at least satisfactory to Raiza as he began to lead the man down the road slowly. "Yeah, I'm in lamia scale right now, looking to grow in knowledge, but hoping prestigious men like yourself can help me along. Oh hey, lets go down here. My house is really close, I want to show you my recent project too. Would you mind please sir?", although those words were false, that was the last anyone heard from the conversation as the two went down an alleyway no not be seen again. Anyone that followed would no doubt be killed off if Raiza deemed it to be required, but luckily no followers occurred.

Instead he was able to bind mr. Thompson up, put a gag in his mouth, as well as a sack over his head while he began to drag the man against a wall. "Okay, so, now we wait for my partner to get done" Which Raiza could only hope and anticipate was done with getting the rest of the family. Which by now, he  arrived in the alleyway nearest the house. His aura slowly creeping out as a signal that he was done with fetching his target, or at least for Marceline to make an appearance, sadly telepathy was not a magic Raiza knew, or this would be done. Though he did still have the coin. would doing the incantation now be a thing that summons her directly without consent or... would it just call for her? The unknown risk was too great. Best not to use it... Though that did leave Raiza with another plan all together as he kept his prisoner from moving or making sounds, the plan began to unfold. Slowly making his way to the shadows the alleyway across from the building, Raiza chose to use the pact mark as a communication, 'letting Marceline know he had mr. Thompson caught and ready to meet up somewhere close by. Though the exact location was up to her. Either come to him, or he would tail her to the meeting point. He was ready to move when she did. No response was needed either'. That was all Raiza had to mention or bring up in the pact mark communication before getting ready to move at a moments notice by grabbing the man by the dog leash he was leading him around by currently "Get ready to move again"

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ooc:

The mornings were always a dull moment for Vlad. Sure, it was the beginning of what could be an amazing day; a day where anything could happen, yet on the same not it was always slow. There was never something that tore him from this mundane world and launched him into a new one; a world that was able to utterly occupy his mind. A world that was interesting. Sure, this place had its moments, but they were often far and few between. Why complain now though? It's not as though this was something new. Perhaps it was due to how he had slept? It was with this final thought that he would finally awaken; yes, even in sleep his mind was turning.

Awaking in the canopy of some forest Vlad found no real trouble with beginning the day; he quite enjoyed what little peace he had. The only reason he enjoyed it was because it allows a time to reflect on one's thoughts; it was not often that he was able to do so. With a slight yawn, he simply began to stretch. Sure, the canopy offered a beautiful view, but the lumbar support was lacking. Well, this was not a perfect world; what could one ask for? Rubbing his eyes Vlad simply rolled to his side, falling from the tree. The air running through his hair, and his boots making solid contact with the grounds. Yes, these were two things that he truly enjoyed. They woke him up, made him aware that he had to be fully prepared for the day ahead. Standing up, simply looking around, Vlad would begin to assess his situation. Where was he? Well, it was not as though that mattered much; he simply had to find a town. It was with this decision that he heard his stomach growl. “Tch…” It seemed he was in the mood for something he had not had in quite some time. With a smirk he would begin to walk through the woods; today was going to be one of those “far and few between” days. A day where he actually enjoyed his time on this rock.

As he walked through the forest not much was different. The birds chirped, the deer are whatever it was they were eating. Hell, even the bears were gathering salmon from the stream. All of this, such an average scene, was occurring as the sky darkened. It seemed the forecast called for rain; well, this made things much more appropriate. As the clouds gathered, the forest began to dim. The canopy consumed most of the light the sun emitted, and now that was reduced even further. Many would be scared of those darkness; their primal instincts telling them to run; Vlad, however, simply smiled. His eyes becoming a bright red as he transversed the land. Even with this little light Vlad was able to clearly see the area around him; these eyes helped him become something more. Something more reliable than most. Well, it was not his eyes that made him dangerous; they simply helped. What really made a person dangerous was their intent. The mindset that they entered the situation with. Take for example a man on the brink of death; if he believes he has no chance at survival then he shall do as he pleases; whether this be an attack on another, or a change in character. This was all brought about by the person's mindset. Going into a situation with nothing to lose made a person far more dangerous than someone with everything to lose, it was that simple. With a chuckle he would quicken his pace, hoping to find a suitable meal within the next hour. Even cannibals needed breakfast. It was with this determination that his boots would hit cobblestone.

The town was quiet, not many of its residents wandered the streets; yes, it was still early, and yes it was a rather ominous day, but he did expect a bit more life in this place. Stopping at the edge of town and running his hand through his he simply let out an unamused sigh. It seemed things were going to be rather dull.

Stepping forward, Vlad simply began to saunter around town, it was much too early to expect any of the fine establishments to be open. As he meandered about, Vlad had noticed a few oddities that peaked his interest. The first of these oddities was the lack of activity; sure, it was still the wee hours of the morning, but there should atleast be a few farmers or artisans about. Artisans were much like farmers; they had to work hard for their pay. While it was manual labor, the labor was in effort. It took a artisan much longer to become somewhat popular, and make a few coin, than it did for the farmer to maintain a rather comfortable life. Sure, there were more differences than similarities between the two, but it still applies. The second oddity was the town; having arrived only moments ago he felt as though he knew this place. Vlad knew he had never been here before, and it was a no name town, but it still had a feeling to it; a feeling one could only experience in a place that they longed to return. This oddity, however, was rather easy to ignore. Simply attributing this to his recent departure from slumber he was sure this feeling would pass. The third oddity, and the one that was something Vlad could actually change, was that there was a person brave enough to tail him. While he did not mind this very much it was something that he was not expecting; what was expected was a rather quiet day. A day where he could simply wander around a town, see whatever sites they may offer, and enjoy a delicious meal; this alternative, however, was not unwelcomed. Such a day as he had planned could occur any day, it was not necessary for it to be today. It was with this decision that he began to alter his path; choosing to turn into an alley, Vlad would disappear from the man's view. It was with this that Vlad would reach around the corner and grab him; throwing the male against the wall he simply gave the man a single knee to the gut. “Who are ya bud? Do not make me ask twice.” He chuckled, lifting the man’s head. It was with this that the man simply motioned towards his pocket. “Smart man. If you had gone for that yourself I may have killed ya!” He chuckled, reaching into the male’s pocket. It was with his that he was able to feel his hand brush up against a piece of paper. Grabbing it and removing his hand from the man’s jacket pocket, Vlad simply tossed the man aside. “Now shoo!” He chuckled, motioning for the kid to run. It was with this that Vlad simply unfolded the paper and began to look it over. It was as he did this that he began to smirk. “I do love people like you.” He chuckled, rolling the paper up and tossing it onto the ground. “Contacted later, eh?” It was with this that he exited the alleyway, continuing his saunter through town; it was not until noon that he had found something he wanted. His stomach growling, now louder and more persistently than before, Vlad was able to lay his eyes on meal.

This meal was, or at least seemed to be, nothing special. Following this female through town it seemed that she was out for the same reason as himself; she simply wanted to walk about and enjoy the day; this was, however, an odd choice. The sky was still dark, the clouds amassing. Rain drops began to fall from the sky; dropping from the sky as though they had no place to go. It was this gloomy day that she chose to go out and explore; people are so very odd. It was with this in mind that he would trail the female; he highly doubted she would stay out much longer. As he walked the streets the temperature gradually decreased; the rain that fell began to feel like ice, slowly gnawing away at the skin. He gave it another hour, max. There was no way this girl would simply continue. It was at this time that she would arrive at the door to an apartment; rummaging through her bad she was able to grab her keys and unlock the door. Yes, this was the moment he had been waiting for. Following up behind her, catching the door before it closed, he would enter the apartment. Each step he took was a feather, falling from the highest point in Era. Quietly making his approach Vlad simply wrapped his arms around her neck, forcing the young lady into a choke hold. Patting her head as he squeezed the breath out of her, listening to her consciousness fade, he let out a low chuckle. It was done. She lost consciousness. It was in this instant that he began to move; he had a plan and it was rather simple. Dragging the girl into the kitchen he would begin his world. Lifting the girl up, placing her on the butcher's block, oh what a funny occurrence, he strapped the female down. With this he began to peruse through the females kitchen. Countless knives, many of which he would be able to use, and countless spices. What a fine lunch this would make. Grabbing a fillet knife he found himself in a rather interesting position. What was he in the mood for? Tapping the blunt side of the knife against the female's forehead he simply sighed. He was unsure. Without any sort of plans he simply tore the female's shirt open. He had no real plan aside from eating, but perhaps he could have some fun. No. He had a plan made, no need to deviate from it. Pressing the fillet knife on her sternum he would move down a few centimeters, clearing the bone, and simply press down. Easily penetrating the skin Vlad simply ran the blade down her abdomen; slicing down to the female’s hip. Sure, it was a bit longer than necessary, but who cares? A smirk still apparent on his face, Vlad simply rose his hand; moving his hand up, to the middle of the woman’s stomach, he would move the blade to the females left side, stabbing the blade in and running it across her body. With this he simply peeled back the skin and began to evaluate the body. As he sunk his hand into the female’s body his mind began to wander back to a older time.

”Flashback(Literally just a similar experience) ”:

It was with this that he had realized just how much time had passed; being lost in memories simply meant that he had already conducted his work and continued on. Wiping down the table and cleaning his hands Vlad would find himself exiting the household. It was as he closed the door behind him that he was informed. “Yes, who are you?” He spoke, very nonchalantly, losing the door. It was with this brief encounter that he was informed of a warehouse, something that involved him broadcasting a message. “Sure, sounds like a fun time.” He chuckled, leaving the man behind. Walking down the road he simply began to think about who he could be working with, there was not a large pool to choose from. With a smirk he simply left the town, heading for his new destination.

It took no more than an hour for Vlad to arrive at the new location; with a smile he simply pushed open the doors, “No worries, your savior is here.” He chuckled, entering on his own accord.

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Doubt isn't what fills the air, but rather curiosity. It drilled into the atmosphere from the many equations that had gone through, and yet it still didn't bother Raiza.  In fact it made him play along with every word Marceline said to or about him in front of Thomas. It was quite the ruse actually, and in fact it was such a good act and toying with the man that Raiza almost wanted to question it before the situation kept going, but yet, he didn't. Instead he had Marceline do all the talking until they ended up moving to a new location.

Honestly the new location was suiting for the situation. The three people brought were of little interest to Raiza, as he but simply stayed patient with the entire job at hand. Though what perked his interest was after the explanation of what all was going on, Marceline had questions, and that was actually what made Raiza in a more 'talkative' mood.

"Daunting task? Perhaps, yes an S-class mission or job, what ever you'd like to call it would be a daunting boring task. However, as true as that is, this job is not to me, a daunting task. Rather, such a job sounds like the typical run of the mill S-class. Secure and capture a target, and bring them before an audience. What is more is this is in Era, a well known and guarded place. I do not doubt anyone's skill, nor could I even do this alone.  It'd actually be more of an annoyance if I even 'tried' to take this job alone only to need to call in potential back up."

At first, he avoided the question as to why he was here. It'd be creepy to say that he just wanted to do the job with her, but it would also be stupid to say he figured they would need back up or some lame cliche response such as 'I was just in the area and suddenly knew everything about the job. No in reality? Raiza knew about the job, read the flier, and had gotten enough information to do part of the job without Marceline having ever told him anything. That alone showed he wasn't 'just in the area' so he couldn't use that excuse. Yet, there was nothing he could say other than the truth really.

"Well as blunt or creepy as it may sound, I wanted to come along. I heard of the job, knew you had taken it up, and looked into it. Guess I wanted to take another job with you after that damn werewolf one. I don't know the reason, aside from wanting to hang out with someone, and the only one I actually considder a friend." His response, he himself was not happy about. He knew it was all truth, and didn't lie once, but thats what bugged him. It bugged him because thinking back on the way he said that, he felt it sounded weird.

"Anyhoo, sure, if you want me to take care of the woman I'm sure I can cook up some form of amazing torture. Might even through in some of my newer magic tricks into that mix too" He smile turned into a grin. "I'll set up all of the tech and gadgets, as I kind of do like to do that kind of stuff"

At first glance such a task to anyone not familiar with this sort of scene it'd be too confusing. Though it already looked as if Raiza knew what he was doing the moment he began extending the bi-pod's legs and positioning it closer to the middle allowing free walking roam behind it in case anyone from the team needed to stay out of view temporarily. Though the majority of the space was setting up the other little fancy gadgets, sound recorders, voice changers if needed, not to mention signal blockers to prevent their signal from being interupted mid-broadcast. It in all honesty was not going to be some lack luster setup, and Raiza saw to that one

As for the remaining tech it was simple. A magic generator with lacrima as fuel to run it all, and not to mention a wireless link to his lacrima detonator device for the explosives he had planted in Era. If anything started to go down here, it'd be a quick tap of the button then attention would have to be split both ways.

"Alright, most of the tech is set up, and if anything goes wrong I planted bombs in Era when we were still there. Figured I'd of used them as an escape rout but it is now just going to be used as a diversion in case anything gets haywire. We've got all the visual and audio control we'll need in case you'd like to blur, or modify voices, or completely make this a hillarious sit-com comedy turned into a horror flick. What ever you'd need, it is here" Satisfied with his own work, Raiza would keep modifying the smaller end details to all the technology and work up from there, ensuring no loose wires, or problems would occur.

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Having put in a decent amount of effort to simply arrive at this place he was greeted by none other than Marceline. Making such simple demands, and acting though she was leading the parade, it seemed to be another usual encounter for the male. With a simple sigh he closed the door behind himself and looked around the warehouse; the place was extravagantly large; too large to be wasted on something as simple as this. What was odd, however, was the lack of... well everything. The only items taking up space within the warehouse would be the people themselves, nothing else. It was with this that he entered the warehouse; he had no real intentions of doing too much, at least not without some careful deliberations. Well, this was Vlad; it probably would not last very long.

"New accent? It's very weird. Perhaps you should drop it? I'm not sure what the point of it is, it's not as though anyone will be trying to catch us. Plus, it's a pain to listen to. Germanic languages are so forceful. It is as though they are raping the ears as they enter." He spoke very calmly, simply walking further into the warehouse. He had no real expectations for those that were captured, and he had no real expectations as to what it was that he as going to do on this job, though he was sure he would enjoy whatever it was that he was asked to do. Torture was always fun. Always. It was with this belief that he examined the group of captives; they were no one that he cared to interrogate, nor were they anyone who he thought may be useful in the future. "Well, I do suppose you two should have your fun first. I'll do what I please as I please. There is always a reason to do something at such a time. There is an appropriate time. Those who don't recognize this simply see the act as a blurring of multiple actions. How naive." He chuckled, looking up at the ceiling. It seemed they had taken the entire family. Was it truly necessary? Was the use of the child and wife going to make a difference? Well, it changed the message that would be conveyed. It changed what this would symbolize. By choosing to bring the entirety of the family it would, probably, be more effective. Sure, it was a wise choice and it would garner more attention, but that could be troublesome. Savage Skulls, a guild which Vlad believed to be teetering in activity as it was, would have the light shine on them. There would be hunts; so much blood spilled. Whose blood would it be? Well, only time would tell.

With a slight chuckled he walked over to the child, looking down at her. “What is your name dear? How are you feeling? Do you realize where you are and what will be happening to you and your family? Well, it may be better if you don't. Maybe it would make this a bit easier for you. I cannot, however, allow for it to be so easy. Life is something that should be used effectively. I will use these last few moments of yours to allow you to realize just who we are. What people are capable of.” Leaning in he simply patted the female's head. Perhaps he would not kill her. Perhaps he would allow her to live, use her in the future. “Oh, perhaps I'll let you live. Though if I do, you may change. Drastically. Well, I think that it may lead to a very new and interesting time. Yes, perhaps I shall allow this.” With a chuckled he would pick the little lady up and move over to the forefront of the building. Placing her down, facing her toward her parents, he simply stood behind her. “Please do watch, it will fuel your future. It will give you a new raison d'etre. A new reason for life.” It was with this that he simply motioned for the two to carry on; he too wanted to see how this would play out.

4,042 wc

No words were needed till Raiza finished up the project at hand. A wide smirk on his face when he finally got done fine tuning even the smallest of details on the tech setup. If anything, he may have overdone it a bit.

"Its ready" he replied back when it was finally done, still paying attention to Marceline's words as well. Invited someone else because Nirvana had not shown up? Who could that possibly be that Marceline had to give a preemptive warning that he'd not appreciate who it was. Though, that came quite with the confusion as Raiza typically either didn't care for the person which made him ignore their presence, or didn't mind them. There was only a few he actually 'disliked' or 'hated' so it made him wonder exactly which person was going to be joining them in on this.

Though the moment the door opened, and the voice of Vlad reached Raiza's ears it was obvious why Marceline had made such a comment from before. Thoughts began to run wild through Raiza's mind as his gaze quickly shifted towards Marceline, not in attempt to see what she would do, but rather if she signaled anything, he'd be ready. Though despite it not happening, Raiza had his own thoughts, circling in a deep dark spiral around him as he stood there, behind all of the lacrima-electronics. There were many words he could say to Vlad right now, a few of them fight initiating but yet he remained quiet gazing forward towards the hostages.

'Death is patient, so must you be Raiza'

A voice, it belonged to someone that was once just but a pet to him, but had become sentient enough to speak words, and wise ones at that. That is why he remained standing there, keeping an eye on the situation from behind the recorder.

"Since the child is out of the picture, our newcomer can take care of the wife. I'll need to maintain maintenance on the electronics from back here anyways to ensure everything goes right. So, when you're ready, we'll go live to every lacrima TV across Era and Fiore."

Despite excluding himself intentionally now, he still yet had a flashback of his old prior training with slow painful torture.

==Flashback - time unknown - place Savage Skull Dungeon==

The air was ripe with the scent of blood, sweat and tears. It felt cold, as if death itself was watching from every crack in the stone working. Even the lighting was a shitshow, barely functional, but that only added to the horrifyingly cold truth. This was no amusement park gone wrong, this was the dungeon specifically made for one thing, and only one thing. The training of the pillar of screams members, or at least those that wished to be part of a select individuals that enjoyed the sweet luxery of making one's life a living hell before they finally 'break'

With screams filling the air every time a stone door was opened, Raiza's attention would shift as he and a masked figure before him would be walking down the long narrow corridor."You can back out now if it is too much", the figure in front of Raiza had spoken only as a last warning before the door they were about to enter had been pressed up against.

Which only ended up with Raiza replying back with a grin. He had already been corrupted to a certain point, there was no way he'd miss out on this training "I'm here to stay" He finally replied, entering the room.

Looking upon victim, barely clothed and squirming already. What were their story? Who were they? Any family? Ages? Names? Genders? There were many potential questions Raiza could extract answers from, and the more in depth knowledge he found out, he'd b graded on. Shit such as favorite foods was nye pointless, but it'd all be useful. After all, knowledge is what could make or break the victim, and at this time, all it required was but a 'touch' from Raiza, forcing the victim into a little 'game'.

==End flash back==

He remembered it, the room, the first time he learned how to force someone to say something, the first time he learned many tricks of that trade. Sure the methods he used at the time were unrefined, but now he only stood there, visualizing the hostages being the ones on that operating table. Tool of choice? The scalpel, for in case the victim insisted on shutting their eye lids. He liked to make people watch after all. A sadistic grin on his face as he thought of another person on that table. It in all honesty made him only more amused when thinking about it all.

Now though, he no longer had that luxery of the reaper's game, nor did he need to extract knowledge from the hostages, so why think of it it? Fun perhaps? Though no matter what the reasoning was, he still had to remain patient about this all. After all, he'd get frontrow seats to the hell the two job partners of his were sure to bring. Though Marceline did bring up a point, one that made Raiza aware of those pesky runeknights. Surely in case they ended up surrounded or something of the alike, they needed a way out, or at the very least, a reverse ambush.

That was when he withdrew a knife, slitting down his hand to draw a circle of blood, writing ancient runic text before the entire thing solidified with a dim glow. It was his Abyssal ritual circle, and the reaper's circle both in one. While the wound healed quickly, the effects of the circle were already in place, including a 'summon' he had brought forth as well. One that lurked within the treelines, hidden within the shadows only waiting to be called upon.

"Ready when you are" he spoke, adding one last final adjustment to the circle. He'd have included a special backup plan to it as well, only for the 'what if' moments. See now, there would be roughly 25 undead 'creatures' in the forest, not even noticeable till they emerged from the ground, only ever growing in numbers the longer the spell went on, and with his special little secret, they were much more potent now that before. Though, that was just one matter of added precaution really. The others he had, were the bombs he planted in Era, curtsy to the guild itself for supplying such a thing. Though that only made him wonder, what sort of precautions Marceline or Vlad would have made as well.

Though what he added as a precaution, only Marceline would know, as only she had the same connection to be able to know. No questions would need to be asked about why, but if it all came down to it, then Raiza was more than ready to use 'that' combination. Which was apparent the moment he finally rested up against the wall, gazing forward at the screen that the camera provided, making sure the shot was clear.


+1183

4115/10,000

Usefulness? Sure, Raiza could indeed be useful to many situations. Being called out by Vlad only set a pawn onto the board. To react to such a direct comment would only play into that man's hands which both himself and as he assumed also Marceline had already thought of how bad of an idea that could end up being. Though to directly attack the man or show too much hostility was bad, especially with the camera beginning to capture Marceline's words on tape. The fear she was installing not just to the hostages, but also to those watching the camera now. Questions were no doubt by now being raised as to quest the why and the hows. Was this a job showing betrayal or perhaps how dark they really could be. Though regardless, it was going to drive home a point, and even with the little girl out of the picture the job was not going to be in any jeopardy since Raiza already had confidence that Marceline would handle this quite well.

Well enough that Raiza took a step back from the camera, it was still rolling but this time Raiza did have a rather twisted grin on his face. In fact, listening to Marceline's words only made Raiza's thoughts even more twisted, oh the fun he could have this the trio of hostages.The thoughts racing through his mind right now were not very pleasant, easily breaking many pg-13 guidelines when he leaned up against the back wall, signaling the camera was still rolling completely and the show was going to continue despite a small spike of energy in his body.What was Raiza up to? The only one that could truly guess just by his small spike of magical energy that something was indeed about to happen would be Marceline only due to how close of similarity the magics were.

Though by now the camera had stopped rolling, and Marceline was explaining how the demands would be met. However Raiza's spike of magical energy would fade and spike back to normal only once after Marceline spoke a certain phrase.

"but I also don't expect Vlad zu do vhat he's supposed zu do."

That phrase had triggered an event for Raiza to finally act right now. Raiza didn't even need to listen to any further words to know his new orders. His eyes began to drift to a half way shut while a sigh escaped his mouth. Nothing was heard, or seen as to what spells he had activated, strictly because what he activated was but a sound based spell that he chose to not target anyone but the small girl and anyone that tried to protect her in some strange way unless by some miracle it was Marceline that tried to protect the small girl, which only then would it not do any damage. The other spells activated were simply attachments to it, or preparations to what he required to do. No signal would be shown as he activated any of them, it was as quiet and unnoticed as an assassin preparing their target for death.

For whom the death bell tolls?

What Raiza had done, was silent but the small child only kept her eyes forward until it hit her, and at such a short range, unrprotected, and vulnerable her eyes began to drift shut before her head nodded downwards before her heart stopped completely. Even her soul was already torn into pieces as a small drop of blood dripped down from her right ear signaling something had happened, but what? A silent assassination to those unaware, but one that was painful to those that could hear it. The sound of a loud gong had escaped Raiza's body, the only ones that could hear it were the ones targeted(the girl) but not even they had the time to react before such a high class spell combination took their life and soul. Had by some miracle their soul been 'captured' or saved, it'd be found it was already torn to shreds from his ability to target souls directly, and what would a soul striking sound attack do? Simple, raw destruction.

A grin on Raiza's face as his gaze shifted back to Marceline just about the moment the child's body would slouch down as much as they could, and if they were not restrained then the child would fall right out of the seat onto the floor dead. His gaze showed the lack of regret or lack of care of the small child's life, it meant nothing to him because it was not a life that was required to continue existence. In fact, Raiza didn't even give Vlad a chance to save the child as a pet, or to make their mind up to kill her themselves. Not even reanimation would save the child as the brain was long scrambled from an overload of sound.


"It is Done, no force required.".

His cold-hearted words paired equally with his sinister grin before a second sigh would escape his mouth. Was Raiza an obedient dog? Yes, and the writer was proud of that fact. Raiza had loyalty to Marceline for a reason, that reason may reveal itself over time, maybe it wont. Though for now Raiza kept his loyalty to Marceline until otherwise a reason was given to not be such an obedient person. Though even if he wasn't, he was still an ally first and foremost only to her, and would carry out plans as so long as he deemed the plan or order something worth following, which included even attacking Vlad with no mercy, no hesitation, and without holding back in the slightest of ways if he had to.

Though in all honesty, Raiza had no plans to attack something like Vlad unless ordered, or in defense of either himself or Marceline. Though after that stunt, he did keep a mental eye on Vlad, waiting for a trigger of moments that they may act foolish & attack or do more than just run their mouth by barking nonsense. As Raiza saw it, Vlad was there in case they needed more bodies in on the job, and nothing more. Why else would Marceline put up with such arrogance. Even as Raiza listened to Vlad's words of 'lucky he was even chose to help?' Such words only made Raiza's smile turn into a grin when he turned his eyes to Marceline before his gaze shifted back to the remaining hostages.

"Lets face it, Vlad wasn't going to kill the child, so I did. When the death bell tolls, nothing is safe after all."

Was this a threat? Perhaps, but not a direct one, not yet at least. Though there was a reason he used such a high class spell to kill such a fodder child as that one. If Vlad had some how intercepted it, then Raiza wanted to make sure that the attack would still work, while showing how bad of an idea it would be to stop death from claiming a soul that was meant to be claimed.

"We'll just show the dead child on camera, perhaps just her decapitated head would suffice. If needed I'll bring it into view myself, though I doubt I'd be needed. After all, I don't have good stage or camera presence. I'm more willing to stay off, and act behind the scenes unless I truly need to destroy something. " In other words, Raiza was shit on camera but in reality, he could easily destroy or level towns, possibly cities too without much trouble, something that if caught on camera would show his level of darkness. However if he were to act on camera then it'd be quite un-entertaining. His thought of being on camera would simply walk in front of it, slit the throat of the hostages, and leave one before he issued the first, only, and final warning all in one.

"Actually, know what." He let out a chuckle before unsheathing his blade of reckoning. A single swift motion and the already dead child's head would be now rolling away from their body. By the time the head got too far, Raiza was already picking it up by the hair and planting the child's head on a end-table that was camera height in front of the camera so that the moment Marceline wanted the camera to be turned back on, then the whole audience would see the now dead child's head with fresh blood coating the table right in plain view. A signal that the first warning was given. As for the child's body? Raiza cared nothing for it, and already figured Vlad could go have fun with it for all he cared.

"There, when cameras start to roll, people will know the demands will be met or a second death will happen. I know you told them the wife first but this way we get to look at the mother's expression of lost hope when they realize their child is now dead". What followed Raiza's words was a muffled scream from both the father and mother which made Raiza's eyes widen with joy. "oh, thats right! they can hear me".

A chuckle escaped his mouth as he walked over to the couple, and removed their blind fold, and pointing to the head to the small child's detached head, before placing the blindfolds back on. The screams of horror were so... fulfilling as even while they had been gagged to prevent their screams being too loud it was still quite the enjoyment to witness the tears running down both the mother and father's faces instantly before he even had a chance to put the bags back over their heads.

"Well they have less than two hours to grieve, gotta put on a show for the audience soon after all, and if need be I've still got a plan just in case we absolutely require one of those two to cooperate even if they were to die right now."

Said plan was one that involved using his transformation skill, a skill only Marceline knew about at the time, seeing as Vlad never saw Raiza before his 'change', and while this new form he was in right now was his new permanent base appearance, he still could easily shift to the likes of the mother or the father if for any reason it was even remotely required, an if it was required then the two would no doubt already be dead by then anyways.

"By the way Vlad, as to your comment of it going to be a long day and to be prepared. I say this, you knew it was going to be a long day when you were invited, we were all prepared for it, I do wonder if you were prepared yourself for it." Only replying not out of necessity, but more out of because Raiza did so on a whim and nothing more, after all it'd get to be quite one sided if all he did was reply to Marceline, and not even acknowledge Vlad at all, even if he didn't want to.

---

+1854
5969/10,000

Vlad simply watched as the dog lunged forward; it seemed he had received some new orders from his master. With a slight sigh he simply allowed the mutt to do as it pleased, no reason to start a fight which would only lead to a wounded dog. What was the point in doing this now? Breaking protocol. He had already played into Vlad's hand, though he doubted that was what they were thinking; while it was true that he had some interest in the child, children were one thing that he found he had a softer spot for, it was not as though he could not replace it with something more interesting.

"You are like a mutt without a muzzle. Simply going berserk whenever your master requests? That is how one finds themselves executed. This is how a person is caught. Blind obedience leads to a persons demise. While I, personally, hate your type of person... I'm in no mood to dirty my hands with something as dirty as yourself." With this he spat on the ground in his direction. "Who knows, I may even catch something if I did. Who knows what the slut has given you? Eh?" He chuckled, looking over to the child's head. Such a waste of potential; why throw away something so promising?

"You know what bothers me more? More than the fact that you cannot act for yourself, that you have resigned your consciousness to this woman's design, but the fact that you cannot think of the effects that your actions will have on the job in general; were we not asked to execute the child last? At least not until a later time. Not only have you made a rash decision, like some child who wanted to have the first piece of cake, but you have failed this job. Such an idiotic man, falling victim to a succubus's wiles? Grow up." With this he waved the man on, he was tired of looking at the failure of a mage. "Leave. I see no reason to have a person who cannot take orders from their employer around. Or would you rather leave in a body bag? I'm sure that's what she would prefer, though I dislike playing into others hands. Either way, be sure to clean up after yourself before you leave. I hate having to look at failures. It's disgusting." 

It was with this that he walked over to the wife, simply running his hand down her cheek. "One of the worst things a parent can do is outlive their child, no? While I do dislike having to associate myself with a person as pitiful, and dirty, as him... This is a job. You have to deal with the cards that you are dealt, no? I'm sure you understand what I am trying to say. I'm sure you've dealt with people like him; those incompetent fools who try to run the government. Well, it is business. Although I was willing to spare your child, I'm afraid I could care less what happens to you. You've been on this planet long enough and I'm sure you've lived a rather fulfilling life. 

Grabbing the wife, forcing her onto her feet, he simply place her over his shoulder and brought her over to one of the cleared tables. "Is the mutt still here? Perhaps he would like to watch a talented mage? I mean, this could serve as a lesson and warning! This is how I enjoy to use my time, and I don't mind slaying those who perceive themselves to be close to me. Everyone can die. Everyone can experience pain. If I cannot kill a person I can sure as hell make them wish that they were dead." It was with this that he reached into his pouch, pulling out a leather bound pouch; unzipping this pouch a variety of tools would make them self shown to those who cared to look. Running his hands over the blades he simply let out a light smile. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" He chuckled, pushing up the thinner blade; this was the most optimal for simply incisions. It was the best to simply tease the person. It was very much equivalent to sex in a way. The foreplay could change the entire experience. Spend too little time on it, and they are not prepared; spend too much time on it and it seems to desensitize the person to the real meal. 

It was with this that he simply placed the blade on the females blouse; running it down, slowing tearing through the fabric, he simply pushed it aside. "Now you see, the same area that one would focus on for sex can be used in torture; the reason a person teases those areas is simply because they are sensitive. I assume you are an idiot, you have very little knowledge on the body, and as such will not get into the complex mechanisms that allow for this to exist." It was with these words that he placed the blade on the shoulder blade of the female; running it downward, allowing it to slowly weave as it approached the breast, he would quickly accelerate; the blade ran cleanly through her flesh, tearing the skin asunder from her shoulder to her upper torso. "I could continue this demonstration, though I do not really feel the need; demonstrating ones skills is only done when they feel the need to impress others, or help their own confidence. I need neither. I know I am better than most. I need not worry about you all." It was with this that he place the blade on her neck and simply ran it through; severing her jugular and carotid he simply allowed her to bleed out. "Do not expect me to entertain you as the child does. There is no reason for me to." He chuckled, whipping the blade on the females torn blouse, and returning it to the pouch from which it came. From here he returned it to his other pouch, so many pouches. "Lets finish this." He spoke, looking to the pets owner.

6069

Are you afraid of death? Well you shouldn't be, for death is a beautiful treasure that takes one an entire lifetime to seek out. Life? Now that is what you should be afraid of. Life is but that beautiful lie you believe till death. It is the lie the betrays you countless times, and yet you still believe there is a chance. Some defy this, and find ways around life and death, but no matter their method, there will be an end in the future.. So, let me ask this again. Are you afraid of the truth? or do you enjoy the comfort of the lie? No matter how many times that topic crossed Raiza's ears or mind did it ever phase him. Threats of death by a salty individual, encounters with it as the whole, no, he accepted it's existence as a part of who he was. Even watching the two hostages squirm made him feel anything. How long had the clock above their head been at 0? How long had those two existed long past the time they should have died by the group's hand. Was it fate that he chose to take the child's life first rather than second as the job had suggested?

It was interesting, really, his actions were something he had no reason to regret, and this was confirmed so much more so when he had locked lips with Marceline even for the brief moment. 'Friends' they were called, but even so, Raiza still knew where he stood. While his expression could change to many things, and words could be used to further the situation, instead Raiza only let out a smile while he eyes gazed into Marceline's. While he would have loved to reply to Marceline in a German tongue to show a return of affection he had to default back to the language he did know. A grin replacing the smile he had, showing his response to Marceline's words.

"As sweet as ever, Marceline"

As the words left Raiza's mouth, his gaze never did shift away until Marceline began to move away. He could have gone into more elaborate compliments, keeping it short and simple was the route he took instead. All this while reflecting back on the first time they did meet. Funny really, how much had changed, how many tables had turned, and how many changes in one's path had been made. If Raiza had to sum it all up into one big game ride then it would be next to impossible. In fact, the sum of events that had all happened so far would be in his own words interesting, and quite the ride. Still though, reflecting back onto that first day they had met made Raiza realize more than one apparent truth about not just that situation, but rather himself as well.

While it was true, it had not been elaborated much before, but what was the connection between the two dark mages? Sure Raiza was well aware of who Marceline's significant other was, he still had to reflect back on more than just that very first meeting, but rather almost all of their encountered both shown and behind the scenes. Now the question remained, who was she to Raiza? A queen? A master? A friend? An Ally? A guildmate? An Unknown? While so many titles could be given, the truth wasn't so simple a single word could ever define what Raiza considered Marceline to be to him. This was why the reflection of who she was to him had come into question. This is why Raiza's thoughts were drifting off to reflections of the past. In fact, his current reflection was that of a line he once told Marceline back when they first met. Back in savage skull, and more so, back on their very first job together long before either of their names were really known in Fiore.
" I am not him. I have powers and his blood, however I do hope you see you and I as equals, not as me being above you."

How egocentric he was back then. To think, he had regarded himself as a higher being long ago. Truly, it was only because he didn't realize the ground he really stood on. Lowering himself to be Marceline's equal? Such an arrogent look in on life, it was him trying to reach up to be Marceline's equal, not the other way around. Though now? Where did he see himself? Not long ago he considered Marceline his queen, a royal figure of the undead. Though did that still hold true? Perhaps not, or Raiza would be calling Marceline queen or majesty right about now, but did he still regard her as above himself? Though the real question should be asked is 'why'. It was a level of respect for what had happened, what he had become and how he viewed Marceline as to be.

How far had this reflection gone was more than length of time. His smile even remained the moment he glanced back over to Marceline even for a split second. The rest of the world mattered not to him right now for around Marceline's neck was a necklace that was a token, a reminder of another time they had been together. Though it was more than that. It held a much deeper meaning because of what happened during that meeting. A change in path, an unfolding of event that held such impact that without it, would Raiza still be here? Would he still be so obedient? Though the thought of 'what if that meeting never happened' would be short lived as he focused back on deeper meanings within that memory. A few stuck out. The act they had done, the way they treated each other from the near end of the job, and then...


It was a powerful incantation, and the moment Raiza had thought about it, he still remembered the method of storing that object. To even obtain it from him would require his death or him to activate his death's arsenal technique. So what did something such as this mean to Raiza? An answer could not be formed in his mind, no line of words could define it, only express the feelings could be a smile. To attempt to even answer that would also drive back to the first question asked. Are you afraid of death?

While the reflections of the past could almost go on forever in itself, Raiza's mind wandered back to the situation and then back onto the clock. It was but an hour till show time, and the noise around him was nothing but like the salt filled ocean. Really, it mattered little to him what was going on unless he actually dictated that it should matter. Even as each second of the clock ticked closer to the start up time it only brought the reality of a truth closer. Each second provided intel for him to work. Each second provided more time on their side. In fact, each second closer only fueled the miasma in the air. A potent indistinguishable miasma that was similar to that of a succubus' allure. Was this out of natural reaction? That much was unknown, but the moment Raiza noticed it himself, the miasma would be gone before it had time to affect anyone.

'Is that the way I feel?' A thought simply crossed his mind, the miasma had no time to reach anyone in the room. It had been an invisible force he had made without even meaning to. Though, the purpose of that miasma was what made Raiza's gaze shift upwards to the ceiling. Resting there as a sigh escaped his lips while he stared up towards the dimly lit interior. The smile that remained on his face was no longer so easy to decipher as it held multiple meanings now, but would he explain what it meant? There was no need, as by the time he would have to, it would have already been all too clear. Though this is what some would call a shadowplay, no?

Though with realization of many other things was when Raiza's smile slowly vanished. The time? What was it now? Glacing over to the camera, he already knew time was sure to be reaching the hour mark. Five minutes to go, the camera was about to start rolling, and time to start the show was about to begin. This time, it was the wife's turn to die for the job was at hand. Though how ever slowly it came, Raiza's gaze only glanced over to the female hostage a single time before anything had even began. A single button push was all that was needed indicating the camera was rolling, broadcasting torture to all of Fiore. Once again, the pirated broadcast being played only to drive home a point. Their demands were to be met, or death would happen instead.

Keeping an eye on the monitor from behind the camera, Raiza noticed a single twitch of delay in the broadcast. To the untrained eye, this was just some camera error or some poor lacrima reception. However, Raiza had been dealing with technology for nearly his entire life and then some when it came to experimentation. To him, he knew what that small twitch of delay was. It in itself made Raiza grit his teeth before making a "tsch" sound. Time was limited now, the resistance had tried to crack his machinery and while it failed, it did signal a warning to him. Luckily, the broadcast was done and the female hostage was already dead. Though now a thought crossed his mind, should they wait the two hours and go along with the job or finish it now? How long could all of the precautions that were put into place stay there?

The camera was already shut off, and Raiza's gaze shifted to Marceline. "Marceline, Time has become limited. The council is starting to crack the lacrima firewalls that are being used to protect our broadcasting position and the pirated broadcast. I cannot give an accurate measure of when they will, their technology is far superior currently, though ironically we have at the very least two hours which is the time until our next broadcast to finish off the final piece. Even then with that projected frame the council will not have adequate time to mobilize anything greater than what they currently have in Era right now. Even with that, they cannot risk deploying the royal guard against us, not if they wish to leave the city wide open for even more calamity that will already happen with the planted explosives. Walking forward, Raiza placed down a single lacrima cube which began to project a hologram above it, large enough for all job members to see a number of details.

"Here is live feed from the security I've set up prior. Three hundred and sixty degree view of the structure we're in, and two hundred meters out. That and, if anything gets close, we'll know about it. If any parts of this goes black then we've lost a camera's view." Even as Raiza spoke, a few figures began to rustle around, shifting before going in hiding. "What you currently see outside are the undead I am controlling." It was an elaborate setup, but all the well worth it. Looking back now though, Raiza wondered how many trails he had to cover, how many angles had been looked at. Was this just the tip of a complex militant strategy? Unlike in many real time strategy games this was real life strategy. There wouldn't be any overhead live time view from satellite perspective. No cross team-speak chat channel to discuss active strategy of engagement from both those involved and non-involved. Instead, this was life, and the only intel they had would be the intel they either found themselves, or acquired through various means.

Such measures that Raiza had gone through only showed the level of precaution he took on even jobs that did not from the start directly involve combat, but still yet may have that component in them. Further out from the structure, would be a small electronic device, it had appeared rather simple in nature with what resembled a single long anti-tank rifle. This was the anti-infantry machine Raiza had in his own arsenal, a prototype to the anti infantry ship he used. While it only had limited ammo, in fact the prototype only had a single round, it would still be enough for in case the time came. Especially with wireless A.I communication. The only downside is, it was designed to work with Raiza's H.U.D ability, which is something he no longer possessed.

Strange really, looking back now, his view on the world had also changed drastically. Looking upon the world he used to see health bars, mana bars, numbers, calculations, and more. Now? It was as if he was playing a game that had disabled the user interface, and the heads up display. What this meant was he had to rely on other methods of aiming the machine, rather than mentally tele-communicating each dial of the angel of fire. Though, the machine wasn't designed for single targets, but rather to rip through multiple. Simply just another defense Raiza had, and this one was roughly three hundred meters away, keeping aim right at the main gate of the builing, which just so happened to be the least fortified. As for any other defenses, one came to mind but the repair on it had not been finished, and that was the mech suit. Shame those werewolves had torn through the metal so easily. It made Raiza realize he would need to nearly scrap the entire thing for it to be any good work. Though there was at least something from it that could help.

Raising up a hand, he had summoned what looked like a massive detached mechanical limb with a built in turret. While the ground work was crude, the thud it created when landing was enough to show how heavy it was, and had even cracked the cement flooring several meters away from where it landed. Though the power source was low, ammunition was less than fifty rounds remaining, and the fire rate was enough to drop that within a matter of seconds, it still provided another defense.

"Given the fact, I'm going to assume we'll be finishing the job. I've taken care of the mechanical side of defenses, as well as having a small platoon of undead outside. Reconnaissance of Era signifies there are currently no warp technology available, so any resistance will be of Era's own gathering. No information on any mages residing in Era, aside from the council itself, seeing as no guild resides here. I wont be underestimating what they may pull out though, and with us so close to their HQ, any actions they take will be quick. We'll have the edge when it comes to that. We have less than two hours till we go live with Mr Thompson himself, and by now they're starting to try and find where we are. No guarantee that we'll even get to do that broadcast if we in fact wait the two hours, however every time we go live it gives them more opportunity. What do you want to do, Marceline?"


Despite that Raiza knew the council would find them about the two hour mark, he was playing his own cards onto the field. Walking back to the magic ritual circle after setting the machine up on a rotational device, it'd be aimed upwards for the moment, until Raiza required it to open fire if a large group were to appear. Though how would the situation pan out? Still had the last hostage to deal with, as well as the black blood brotherhood. So far, the situation was still calm, and if need be, they were ready to have the magic council play right into their hands. Finding them? Sure, come find the group, and with the quick spearheaded assault of what they could immediately gather would only mean the force would not be fully in sync to fight a fortified, and properly recon'd environment. Though, if and when the group would be attacked then Raiza only had to push a single button, to detonate every explosive he had brought along, these explosives were planted inside of Era itself, and would no doubt split the attention of the forces even further.

"Lastly, the explosives within Era are all primed. I'll detonate it the moment we meet any resistance, which should allow a larger window of opportunity to do our work." A grin appearing on his face the moment he began to fiddle with the remote detonation device as if he was some satisfied sadistic strategist. Games were his specialty after all, even without his gamer magic anymore, this was just a game of strategy now. Chess or shogi were similiar, protection of pieces, claiming of an area, and the annihilation of select pieces. While Raiza had certain traits, one other trait that stood out was this exact tactical nature. Though to say he thought of everything would be egotistical. There were plenty of holes in his plan, plenty of ways around everything he did, but that would be highly unlikely that every single one would be exploited, or that the magic council would have time to disarm everything in time. With them needing to disarm over a few dozen camera, the long range infantry assault rifle, multiple bombs, and crack the firewall on their location in the first place. This would take time, which time was not on the council's side. To let them come attack would be to play into the job team's hand. Even some of the black blood brotherhood had already joined in the parameter defense.

All in all, the defense set up was flawed in a few ways, but it wasn't designed to be impenatrable, or was it set up to be a savior to all. No, what it was designed for was the X-variable of the three magi being able to use magic in response as well. It was designed to consume time, and to force the council into acting faster, while delaying time. It was designed to prevent an army at their doorstep, while being able to secure not just a viable advantage in the fight, but also a way out if they so deemed it needed.

---

+3126
9095/10,000

The Magic Council seemed to find themselves in a situation where they had very little time and very little options in order to save any of the Thompson family. It was like they found themselves in cornered by a approaching giant in their way with only two options to go about. One would be going quickly by the giant as stealthily and quickly as possible before being noticed and the other would be to use the giant's own legs as a way to quickly bring it down before things go any worse. The first option was a reference to the Magic Council sending in a group to directly save the family and hopefully not be caught in doing so which had the easiest and quickest possibility of loss. Their other option had them finding the hideout of the Black Brotherhood in order to cut out the money the criminals who were doing the job would be paid. This could cause them to not want to go through with the killings at all but if not then they still could use the opportunity to try and save the family while they were distracted by the loss of their employer.

The Magic Council decided to go with both plans but with the first plan coming after the second which they knew they only had so much time to complete but they needed to cover that base as soon as possible. There was an issue with this though. They did not want to use any of their own men to go on a suicide mission to deal with a dark guild. They knew they had legal guilds they could contact but the issue was they did not want the Black Blood Brotherhood to be left alive which forced them to have to deal with other options that did not mind killing for some reason or another. They could not trust any dark guilds to do this because they could possibly be enticed by the idea to join up with the others keeping the hostages for the payout they would receive. This forced them to deal with the very little guilds they had that were neutral guilds which lead them to quickly discussing a form of pay to one of the men who they have gained a form of trust with for doing their jobs; Cirven Mizune.

The demon was offered a lump sum of jewel no matter what happened in the job he was hired to do if he failed to kill the employer or not. The job he was hired to do was to take out the hideout they had found that housed Black Blood Brother members. It was a simple assassinate job for him and because of that he had similar feelings about doing it as he did in the past. Though in the past he was forced to kill without knowing exactly if the people he was killing were evil or not and was just assigned to kill them just to keep the guise of Cor Torva and the life of his sister intact. This time he was told that the people he was killing were all evil and needed to be rid of the world around them. He might not have thought that killing was always the needed option but in this time he knew something had to be done in some way to try and save the family but at the same time prevent any situations like this from happening again from his target. It was like a domestic animal tasting human blood for the first time; they'd feel like they wanted more and more of it and become obsessed with it which lead to the animal being put down quickly if those around it were smart.

The dual-eyed demon quartermaster of Black Sails found himself in the rocky lands of a nearby small mountain area to Era. The mountain area was something that most people did not pay much attention to for the most part because it was simply just a rocky area that most would only pass by on their way to or out of Era. There was something hidden in the rock formation in the form of a hidden door inside of a boulder that lead into a certain hideout. Cirven stood in front of the boulder dressed in all black as usual but this time with a hood that draped over his head to mask his face under the shadow it produced and only left out his fang filled mouth and some of his nose being visible. He knew that there was a secret way of opening the boulder's fake sheet of rock and revealing the door because of the Magic Council's research. They had known where this hideout was for some time but never acted upon it because they had not found the time to do so. That all changed now.

Cirven moved his right foot around on the ground until he could find a slightly discolored rock on the ground. It took him a short time to find it but it felt a lot longer to him as he shuffled his foot around the ground. The rock he was looking for moved into the ground with a click and with that the fake sheet of rock slide to the side and brought him in front of two guards of the entrance. "Who the hell are you and how did you find your way into this door?" The guards both stared at the cloaked Cirven and pulled out the swords on their sides as they waited for an answer. "I'm here for the party." Cirven spoke and then gave off a fang filled grin to the two men. "There is no par-" The man was cut off by the quick swipe of Cirven's hand that was covered in black electricity. His eyes widened from the attack and he started to fall to the ground with his head falling from his body. "-ty..." The end of his sentence escaped his mouth as he fell to the ground in two pieces. The second guard reacted quickly and swung his sword outward to cut through Cirven but the blade was caught by the demon's hand and his other hand quickly was thrust forward to the opening he had just created and skewered the man while surging his body with black electricity. Cirven pulled his arm out of the man's chest and flicked his wrist a few times in an attempt to get the blood off of his arm. "Sorry. Forgot to tell you that you were invited to the slaughter party I was assigned to give you all. Hope you enjoyed the surprise." The grin was still plastered on his face as he made his way through the door and deeper into the hideout.

Cirven was not always as sadistic as he could be because he preferred to keep that side of himself hidden from those around him but he did have a switch that he could go into when he needed to kill. A switch that lead him to kill over and over with no remorse for the life of those around him. A sadistic side that simply killed in order to rid the world around him of the sickness that was brought on by those he considered to be worthless to helping the world. With this persona in tow he made his way into the hideout where his target's could only wait for their moment to meet the now blood stained demon.

After making his way down a flight of stairs he was brought in front of a room where multiple members of the dark guild were sitting and resting in a fairly sized bar-like area. His presence brought on all the looks of those around him who probably quickly figured out that he was not one of them and realized the blood that covered his arm. "Yo." He spoke out and waved his blood stained arm. "Don't worry about this arm guys. The guard up top gave me some of his so its not even mine." His words were welcomed by silence and with that from another room came a man dressed in clothing that could only be looked at as 'the rich guy' of the group. Cirven quickly jumped to his assumption. "I take it that you are the guy who is in charge, right? I wasn't feeling like chasing you down through here either way." The man was not pleased at all by the comments directed at him. He looked around the room towards his men and then back at Cirven. "Kill this clown." With the order set in place the men all started to get up and make their way to Cirven. "I figured this would happen. Just be ready for the consequences." Cirven bent down with his arms in a cross in front of his face. Black electricity and a purple aura formed over his arms and body. The purple aura formed into a form of what most people would think was the a form of the grim reaper, Death. The demon would then quickly dash off between a group of the men with all behind him suddenly stopping and dropping to the floor with their bodies cut in two from the quick slashing attack. The sight seemed to only fuel the men around Cirven more and they each tried to attack him. A blast of fire came flying at him from multiple men, then a blast of water from some more and then the very earth around the demon was thrown at him. The attacks caused the area to quake and surrounded the area in dust and debris from the combination of attacks.

"That hurt a bit..." Through the smoke created from the attacks the glowing left red eye of Cirven could be seen before all the air around him seemed to be sucked into his body, revealing a new black armored form that seemed to protect him from the attacks to a degree. Cirven's cheeks puffed out before he then shot off a lightning fast bolt of black electricity from his mouth that enveloped all those in front of him. The attack was so powerful that it left the bodies of those hit with parts of themselves missing as well as shot through the wall of the underground area.

"Hey. The rest of you better come get some revenge before I kill you in vain or something. It might take out the fun of doing this otherwise." With his words each of the men continued their assault but after the battle ended it turned out to not be enough with bodies laid out across the area and Cirven finding himself and the leader of the hideout the only ones left. Cirven had taken attack after attack but because of his armor and healing factor he was left looking unscathed compared to the leader who's clothes were left shredded with his body, bloodied and battered. The demon held the man up against a wall with one of his hands through the leader's shoulder and pinning him there. "That was sort of fun, huh? Now I just need you to tell me if you were the one who hired those people to kill the Thompson family. My employer wants to know." The leader smiled a blood covered smile and laughed. "After all this, you ask that? I did not even hire them!
That wa-" Before he could keep speaking Cirven used his free hand to thrust into the man's throat and shut him up. "Too much info. Just needed that part." Cirven ripped his arms out of the man and let his body fall to the floor as he made his exit of the hideout. "Thank you for being cooperative everyone!" He spoke last as he made his way to the stairs. He arrived outside as he started to use the black electricity over his body to burn away the blood that was on him and his clothing.

A squad of Rune Knights approached him from a nearby position they were watching from. "I don't necessarily like doing that but its done. Sorry about the mess but it was pretty much the only way." He spoke as his persona changed back to the regular him. The Rune Knights nodded and went to inspect the area while he left to go and get his payment.

Word count:

It had seemed time had gone by so fast. Though the fact time did pass had actually allowed Raiza to build momentum up for the impending strike. Long after Vlad had vanished from the scene, and Marceline and himself were left alone, did the real setup begin. Though even with outside forces, it wasn't long before a weak spot in all the defenses had managed to be exploited. Which was to be expected after all, defend too much, and then people start getting strategic on you. Perhaps it was just too much of a concentration of defensive spells that caused their location to be found out. Though, there would be no use in trying to care even in the least bit now about how they got in. Now, would be the time to act on while they were in.

Though one single sight of the invader finally made Raiza realize another thing. It wasn't that the invader found a weak spot in all the defenses Raiza had up, but rather, they simply broke through all of them. Not only broke through the undead army Raiza had raised up, but also, fought off a majority of the other defenses. Even the turret that was set up had been knocked out of being effective. Everything that was happening so far, was almost as if planning was thrown out the window. Was this the level of strength the magic council truly had? Perhaps even far stronger than Raiza anticipated. Truthfully, it was a good thing, had they not had such a strength, then Fiore would already belong to the darkness. Though, that idea wasn't too bad either. However, with all that set aside, it wasn't long before Raiza witnessed Marceline confronting the big 'good' guy that dawned a sword and shield. Typical warrior or guardian style, which meant high defensive potential. Even as Raiza watched the fight, just waiting, almost in anticipation as if he knew to wait to be called upon, gathering his magical energy into his dark abyssal ritual circle.

Though it wasn't long till Raiza witnessed both the aura and a shadowy technique from Marceline slam into the opposing warrior full force and be defended. At that point, he was already positioning himself into activating another technique. One of blood magic that began to siphon his own health away before he heard his name get called. "Understood" he spoke immediately after being called, not even waiting for Marceline's next few words. He had already began to release huge amounts of energy, so much so that he had sacrificed roughly 75% of his own health, making him look extremely pale, as dark energy began to swirl around him. "Forbidden dark art". Raiza's own words, sent a shiver down his own spine as he felt the tinge of health be siphoned away from him as a small black sphere formed in the palms of Raiza's hand.

"Here lies the essence of darkness, kneaded by death. I call forth the abyssal end." Adding in the enchantment only seemed to further increase the spell's power, as if it was indeed a dark ritual spell, in fact this began increasing the energy into the sphere many times over before it began to drop him to his knees. "I was saving this spell for my next encounter with Hera. Hope you enjoy this, because this will be the last time you witness it." Crushing the ball in his palms. "Release level one, Eternity in hell", his final words as the sphere released such a tremendous energy, it quickly consumed the entire building, and several hundred meters in all directions from Raiza. Dark energy would quickly surge from the small sphere Raiza was currently holding in his palms.

The moment the dark energy did begin to surge out, Raiza was already a knee, looking badly injured from apparently no attack at all. Such a spell after all did cause terrible backlash to cast, but in the end it was worth it. After all was said and done, the surge of energy swept over the entire building, and went for many hundreds of meters away, eradicating the entire building structure, along with a huge chunk of the forest that surrounded them. As for the warrior that opposed them? He was no longer able to be seen, or sensed. Raiza had guessed the spell took that man's life, after all trying to retreat from that spell was next to impossible without proper precautions or a sufficient level of power. Once the spell did end, a lingering dreaded aura overcame the land, as if it had a secondary effect to it. It almost dared those to fight in it, be opposing those whom made it. Though after observation, Raiza let out a smile, struggling to stand back up as it looked as if his own body was beaten badly. He had black marks all across his body, and the rest of his body was a very pale color. Even the color in his eyes seemed to fade as if blinded. Truth was, he had nearly put himself at death's door with that very spell. An imperfect spell that he was still working on many times over.  No sign of any other life around him aside from Marceline, whom would have come out of that spell completely unharmed. That was a perk of the spell though, it ignored all allies of the user which made Raiza wonder, if Vlad didn't vanish prior to shit hitting the fan, would that spell have affected them? Who knows.

"I suggest we get out of here soon. We did our job." It sounded urgent, but at the same time, it was with good reason. In fact, late blooming explosions had gone off in the distance. They were the lacrima Raiza had planted within the city after all. A clean diversion for the later case, perhaps showing the duo may have just traveled in that direction. The moment said explosions did go off, Raiza began to cast another spell, despite being low on mana as it was, he opened up a black rift in the air. "They wont be able to follow us this way" Raiza added before ensuring Marcy got in before he himself entered, and the portal closed in behind, leaving no trace of the dark mages after such a destructive spell.

+1058
10,000+/10,000
(done)