Scare Away Those Thugs...wait, I know that guy! (Mission - Zenshin and Marick)

Zenshin took in the smell of the ocean through his nose, it was a nostalgic smell. It reminded him of a time quite a while ago when he used ice make and was still relatively new to Eclipse Soul, his previous guild. Now, he was back with a mage who was new to *his* guild, it was such a familiar situation. All of the radiation had cleared from the port town and people began moving back in, including the owners of the restaurant he'd saved from thugs that time ago. A ring of the bell signaled that he had arrived, but there didn't seem to be many people in the once bustling restaurant. It was early, so he thought he'd surprise Marick whom he told he was filling out tons of paper work.

He approached the bar stool and ordered a bowl of noodles, his main source of sustenance. The noodles here could only be rivaled by food created by the gods, it was honestly the tastiest thing in all of Fiore, making him glad this place was up and running. After he finished the bowl, a waitress was quick to give him the check.

"No thanks, I won't be paying" he told the tall woman, who was obviously confused by this.

"Listen buddy, I don't care what you status is. Around here, even Saints have to pay. I swear, the nerve of some cele-" she began, beginning to tell him off, only interrupted by him standing up.

"Don't start with that. It's quite annoying when you're the one being insulted by ignorant people who don't even bother to ask why. Now, go tell your manager that it's Zenshin, he should explain it." he said, waving off her self-righteousness completely.

With a scoff, she left him and walked into a room behind where the customers sat and ate, further behind the counter. He began to wonder if Marick would wait outside instead of entering the building. It was definitely a possibility that would prove problematic. I'm sure he'll eventually walk in, it's hot out there he thought as he took another sip of his lemonade through the straw. The lady returned with a more apologetic demeanor.

"Sorry sir, I had no idea. Would you like anything else" she said, though he couldn't tell if she was actually sorry or irritated. Maybe both. Probably both.

Before the waitress left to get get her manager, Zenshin asked her for another large bowl of noodles, to which she nodded and went to go give the chef his request.

"Yeah, once before. That was a long time ago, before my days as 'Saint Zenshin the Unifier of Sabertooth'-" he began, saying that last part was disdain.

"Anyways, that was over a year ago. I'm surprised they're trying to make a come back in Lamia Scale's town after what I did to them. I guess it's because they thought they could take advantage while Lamia is still solidifying as an actual guild, won't they be surprised when they see us. I hope they remember me" he said as the waitress returned with the manager and a large bowl of noodles.

"Ah! Zenshin, it's been a while. They came back, can you believe it?!" the manager exclaimed to the Saint, who was already busy chowing down into his second bowl.

After swallowing, he responded.

"Sorry, I thought I beat them bad enough to keep them away for longer than just a year..." Zen apologized, as he was only come up with a temporary solution to the restaurant owner's problem.

"Don't beat yourself up about that, what matters is that you're back here and with someone to help you out this time, or maybe it's the other way around given you're status! Hahahaha! Anyhow, I hope my waitress didn't give you too much trouble, she's new and I hadn't gotten around to telling her that you come in from time to time to eat for free. It wasn't until we gave you unlimited meals for the rest of you life did we realize how much one man can exercise such a privilege! Ahahaha! That's why anyone who helped us out would get a -single- free meal, nothing like what you have. Thank your lucky stars that I'm a man who won't revoke a promise he made someone else!" the owner said as cheerful as the day he'd met him.

"Hey! It's also your fault for having the greatest bowls of noodles to bless Earthland with its existence!" Zen responded jokingly as he ravaged the rest of the bowl in front of him, flagging the waitress down for another one. The owner wore a defeated face.

"I liked you better when you didn't talk as much. Hahaha, well, good luck to you two. I have some more work to do. Pleasure seeing you again Zenshin, try not to bankrupt me with this visit. Ahahaha!" and with that final guffaw he was gone. Zenshin had already begun on his third bowl.

Zenshin finished with his third bowl of noodles before he heard yelling from outside. He had already begun with his fourth as he stood up to go outside before stopping right in his tracks. Zen eyed the door, then the steaming bowl sitting on the counter, and then the door again, this was quite the predicament. As much as he wanted to rush out the door and dropkick whatever enemy was waiting for him on the other side, he loved the stringy food too much to just abandon it. So, he picked up the bowl in one hand and the chopsticks in another before racing out, taking large slurps out of the bowl as he did so. He made it just in time to, as the bodyguard to the Toucan King had already begun retaliating on Marick.

Zenshin raised his leg high, blocking the steel with his gauntlet much stronger gauntlet before turning his head back to Marick with his mouth full. He swallowed hard and began talking to him.

"You know, if you want some, feel free to order and put it on my tab. I promise you won't find better bowl of noodles anywhere else." he told him, not making too much from the body guard who was dressed in a black cloak and dark sunglasses.

Zen was already slurping down the liquid inside the bowl before putting it down beside him and letting out an explosive kick at the guard, who promptly made distance between the Saint and himself. He's pretty quick... hmm he thought as he told the two to hold on for one more minute as he ran back inside and emerged with his fifth bowl.

"Okay! I'm ready now"

He normally never got to go out to a restaurant, so he wanted to utilize this job to make for all the times he couldn't go out to eat.

"No, seriously Marick, if you want to go and get yourself a bowl, I'm more than capable of holding this guy off while you do that. If you don't like noodles, try something else on their menu, but we're doing a job at a restaurant. It's times like these where you need to enjoy yourself on the job or else it'll get boring. Pummeling thugs into the ground gets a bit bland at times, but not normally" he said with a smile before slurping down another mouthful of his food.

Body guard's attack
Zenshin's block
Zenshin's attack
Body guard's block

"Okay, suit yourself. But you don't know what you're missing out on." he said disappointingly as he watched Marick clash with the bodyguard.

Shame that this had to get personal or this could've been a fun job... oh well he thought as he took another mouthful of noodles. After the fiery attack was dispersed by a wind attack of the enemy's own, Marick took a step back. Zenshin took this opportunity to take a step forward and strike with an a melee attack of his own, but was instead met with a powerful gale of wind magic that blew him back into the restaurant's wall. He slammed back first into the wall, causing him to drop the bowl, which shattered upon impact. Zen took a moment to analyze what had just happened. His bowl, full of delicious noodles, had shattered and hit the ground, rendering the food inedible, and it was because of some bad apple mercenary.

My food... he thought as he got out from the wall which cracked in the shape of his body. He actually hit the wall with such force as to cause an indentation. Zenshin simply looked down at the noodles and liquid that came from the bowl, frozen, before staring at the body guard with a glare that screamed blood lust. With a single linkstep, Zen was right in the man's face and threw the fastest uppercut he possibly could. The man barely had time to register what he had just done and barely got his hands up to his chin to try and cushion the blow slightly. It was a good effort, but the shock went through his hands and into his head, shaking him to the very core as he went flying upwards through the air and hit the ground a few feet away.

"Don't worry Marick, I didn't kill him, I just made sure to implant a memory in his head that would cause him to never screw with a man's food, ever, again. Honestly, the least he could've done was save the bowl when he knocked me back. Sometimes I can't help but overdo it though, it doesn't look like he'll be waking up for a bit... whoops."

Body guard's attack
Zenshin's block
Zenshin's attack
Body guard's block

Honestly, Zenshin wished he had done more to the man, as he considered the punch just a warning to him. Marick seemed to be speaking of his other guildless buddies from back when he was a part of their "gang" of people, and apparently the actions of these individuals didn't reflect the actions of their entire group.

"Yeah... I guess" he told Marick as he hung his head and walked back into the restaurant.

He ordered another bowl before they left, which was already waiting for him on the counter, they knew he'd come back for another. Zenshin thanked the lady at the counter and apologized for making an indentation in their wall and having their bowl broken. The lady sighed and gestured him away, signifying that she'd tell her boss. How he could only hear the man's reaction to hearing such awful news... Oh well... at least he won't have to pay those damned thugs again. By the time Zen exited the restaurant, Marick had already interrogated the Toucan King, getting the location of a hut down by the port.

"Jura? Huh, strange name" he said aloud with a chuckle at the card master's comment. It was amusing because Jura wouldn't actually wake up until the next week.

"Sure, I don't mind a challenge, but what exactly do you challenge me to MaricK?" Zen asked curiously. He was down to accept any challenge, but the least he could know was what exactly he was being challenged to.

With a gesture, Zenshin began walking towards the port where the King had said the other thugs were holed out, Marick trailing behind him.

"Strange that you have a history with the thugs I beat up so long ago, I never would've thought we'd end up here. An ex-guildless mage who knew the same brutes that his guildmaster had beaten up so long ago. If that's not destiny, I don't know what is. Or if you don't believe in that sort of thing, it's one hell of a coincidence"

Another mouthful of the noodles slithered their way down his throat, filling him up even more. He was really "pigging out" on this job, taking full advantage that it involved his favorite restaurant.

"That's the plan!" he said while he eyed the different huts around the port, there were so many of them, it could take ages to find the one that the King spoke of.

"Get them!" a voice called out from an alley.

An ambush? Since when were these guys organized? I guess they stepped it up a bit since I was last here to avoid getting their faces punched inwards again... good times Zen thought as he looked towards the card mage next to him.

"Looks like were being ambushed, I think I'll go first" he said as he raised took a stance.

"Marick! You traitor! What are you doing with those Magic Council dogs! Whatever, don't expect us to take you when you come crawling after we break the two of you!" a voice said, looked to be the strongest among the men who ambushed them.

I'm no dog... but I've definitely got the ferocity of one when it counts he thought while slurping down another wave of noodles that sat between his chopstick. A few thugs charged him, attacking him with a flurry of unskilled punches that he easily blocked with his legs and pushed them aside while holding onto his bowl. It was apparent that he wouldn't be able to eat and fight these guys, he could choke. So, using hie origin perception on the bowl and the rest of the noodles in it, he finished it off quickly and threw the bowl on the floor, causing it to shatter. He then broke the chopsticks in half and tossed them aside as he projected three foot long blades on both of his gauntlets and prepared for the next attack.

The two body guard mages came in at once, one swinging a sharp scimitar at his right side and the other doing the same on the opposite side. Zenshin brought his arms to his side and the invisible blades blocked both of the weapons, the two body guards jumped back right after, not giving him a chance to follow up. I guess it's my turn he thought as he rushed towards the body guard on the left, grabbed it head, and slammed him downwards into the cobblestone floor, cracking it in the process. He then threw a hard roundhouse the the body guard next to him, who blocked it and got sent aside a couple a feet.

Before he could go after the strongest one of them, the mercenary mage, he came after Zenshin with a sword coated in lightning. An overhead strike was blocked by Zenshin's own blade, although invisible, the power of it was nearly too much for these mages. Zen countered with a palm strike that was met by a lighting barrier, which shocked him as he jumped back towards the thugs. He's stronger than I anticipated... hm The thugs all came at him, but he simple sent a couple of kicks their way, and to his surprise, they were also covered in the barrier of electrical magic. Shocked again, he hopped back. A lighting mage... huh, haven't seen one of them in a while

HP: 95%
MP: 109% (-10% for 'Force Projection' +9% from 'The Coat' and 'Perseverance' guild spell)

Marick seemed to be holding his own, as expected, against the lightning mages and his subordinates. Zenshin smiled, it was quite funny that these men really thought they could take out a guildmaster and their former friend, who was able to take on the strongest of them and win each time in a one on one, apparently. Before Zen could assist in retaliation against the man known as Lucio, he was assaulted by the thugs. With relative ease, he was able to dodge all of their strikes, but that's when the two body guards stepped in, with one teleporting in front of him and the other teleporting behind. In two hard swings, they attempted to cut him from both sides at once, overwhelm him, which Zenshin simply responded with by grabbing both blades while turning sideways.

He felt confident with those two blades in his hand, and then the flash of lightning. Lucio appeared in front of him and ran his lightning covered blade right through Zenshin's stomach, running his body through. With a wince of pain, he felt lightning surge throughout his body before Lucio removed his sword from within Zenshin and the two body guards at his sides teleported away, giving their master some space. Zen dropped to his knees as the self satisfied lightning mage looked down at him, pushing him face down under his boot.

"Your master is weak Marick! You chose the wrong people to side with! I'll kill him, and then I'm coming after-" he was interrupted by a quiet laughter that began getting louder into more of a chuckle.

"Hahaha! Did you think all it took to beat a Saint was a single stab from a pig stick? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Bahahahah!" Zen said as he stood up, his hand glowing while he cast mana cicatrize on the wound on his stomach.

The exit wound also healed, not even leaving so much as a scar.

"Friend, you chose the wrong side"

His demeanor suddenly turned cold as he recreated his scythe, The Reaper, in his right hand and thought, Egia, do it. Cracks in the ground formed under him as a black beam surrounded Zenshin, knocking anyone within ten meters of him back fifteen. The darkness faded and what was left wasn't the cheerful guildmaster Marick had come to know, no, it was something much darker. All that remained were two skeletal arms protruding from the long, black sleeves of the torn cloak.

"I'll make sure you will never plague this town again"

Before the lightning mage could respond, he was already on the back end of his scythe, slamming face first into the ground. The two body guards assaulted him, but Zenshin dug his scythe into the pavement below him, grabbed the two men with his bony hands, and tossed them aside. Finally, the thugs had their turn, but instead of coming at him, they fled. Hahaha! Psychological fighting is also a big part of a battle. I must look pretty intimidating right now he thought happily, trying to fight off the blood lusting urges this form brought with it.

HP: 90%
MP: 108% (-10% from Mana Cicatrize and Angel Trigger +9%)

He looked down upon Lucio, who was now cowering. There was no escape for him, who was trying his best to scoot backwards as Zenshin slowly approached.

"Wh- What are you! You're a monster!" Lucio said in a broken voice as Zenshin brought his scythe up.

"Pl- please! Don't kill me! I'll do anything, just don't kill me!" he then said as Zen brought his scythe down, piercing the stone right next to the lighting mage.

He leaned down and grabbed Lucio by the neck with his left hand and brought him close to his face, close enough for him to see the bone jaw that replaced his normal one during this transformation.

"I won't kill you, but remember this every time you even THINK of doing anything that would be considered 'sketchy', because if you ever feel this bony hand wrap around your neck again... well, you don't want to know what'll happen." he told Lucio before shoving him backwards, causing him to fall on his behind.

Whether he believed he had nothing to lose, or he was really so crazy to believe he could kill Zenshin, the mercenary mage cast his most powerful spell at Zenshin when he turned his back, taking advantage of his trusting nature. The attack was blocked thanks to Egia's quick reaction with her spell 'Guardian Angel', but Zenshin still turned to face him, who was shocked to see that his spell had dissipated.

"I gave you your chance, and you squandered it." he said as Lucio backed up even further, the shocked expression on his face fading to a dreadful frown.

"Yo- you're just a le- legal mage! You can't do anything to me!" he said loudly, as if the louder he said it the more truthful it would be.

Without a word, Zenshin took his scythe out from the cobblestone and, in a quick slice, chopped Lucio's left hand off, causing him to scream in agony. He grasped his left arm with his right hand and looked up at "The Reaper" as he would come to be known throughout the underworld.

"The next time you try something stupid like that, it will be far worse than just your hand" he said as he reverted back to his normal form.

Thanks Egia, I owe you one. Mhm he thought, thanking the spirit within his necklace for shielding him.

"Are there any more Marick? Oh yeah... and sorry about not warning you, but at least you know to be prepared when I start glowing..." he finally said behind him to his partner on the job, wondering if it was just doing Lucio in would be enough.

"Hahaha, I guess you're right" Zen laughed at the pitch black humor that he hadn't actually experienced from anyone else.

It was nice to have someone with his sense of humor on board, or so he believed. Such a shame that there were still more men to take care of and more skulls to crack, as Zenshin was just about ready to head back to the noodle shop and stuff himself. With a shrug, he continued to walk, not letting go of the scythe in his right hand, and frightening quite a few bystanders. A few children from the slums Hargeon town ran up to him, praising him for taking care of those "bad men" while their mothers feared for their lives. One even asked for his autograph, bringing out a small piece of crumpled up paper. Tightening the right side of his lip, Zenshin recreated a pen in his free left hand and signed the paper "Saint Zenshin".

This was actually the first time he signed his autograph, because most of the time it was people he didn't find too desirable or didn't find the motivation to sign it. The kids were stunned when they saw the first part of it, as he must've been a Saint in order to put it. Impersonating one was a very serious crime punishable by life imprisonment... or worse... in Fiore, so no one even dared to try. Then, they scampered off, their mothers sighing breaths of relief when they found out that Zen was on the good side. Soon, everyone would know of his status, and although it wasn't something he wanted, it was something that needed to be done. Criminals had to fear his name and the innocent would come to respect it. All he needed was time.

Upon passing by a beaten up shack, an odor filled his nose that would rival the backside of a very nervous skunk, it was absolutely putrid.

"This must be the place, right?" he asked Marick who was beside him, who had probably also picked up the foul stench of this disgusting, ragged excuse for a head quarters.