In The Dragon's Wake - Seiryuu

[Jasper]

The long blue dragon, Seiryuu was considered a sign of optimism to citizens of the Eastern District of Kyou. Albeit known to be a troublemaker, the people in the area always thought of their guardian highly and often boasted of his endeavours to the residents of other sections in the city. On a rain day, people have claimed to have seen Seiryuu move in and out of clouds, bringing them the goods that the rain has to offer for their lands and water supply. An award winning painting by a humble painter in the area shows Seiryuu flying towards the sky with the clouds clearing a narrow path for him to enter into, with little sunlight passing through that orifice.

The citizens of the Eastern District were not aware of Seiryuu's loss to the Earl until the fateful day when the dragon descended on earth. As if barely clutching to the last of its sanity, the dragon peeled two of its scales and gave them to the strongest two bodyguards in the districts. Until the dragon regains its self-control, these two were assigned with the important mission of guarding the district from all harm.

Rules:
1- Only Matrosu and Raphael are allowed to RP.
2- This is a side arc, don't expect more than 2-3 XP a person.
3- Beating your side bosses/current gem handlers is a must. Beating Seiryuu is not. Based on your posts and interaction with the beast (once both gems are obtained), I'll evaluate whether Seiryuu will fight you or not.
4- Matrosu's gem, the heavens gem, is in current possession of a young yojimbo who uses his superior agility and fists while fighting. As a person, Tenma is selfish and eccentric, often portraying signs of egoism in his speech.
http://static.animepaper.net/upload/thumbs/scans/Harukanaru-Toki-no-Naka-de/[small][AnimePaper]scans_Harukanaru-Toki-no-Naka-de_MyrrhLynn_3285.jpg
5- Raphael's gem, the earth gem, is in the possession of an aristocratic family's bodyguard who goes by the name Yorihisa. Aside from his astounding skills with a katana, Yorihisa can enlist the aid of lightning bolts in battle. Generally, Yorihisa is a soft-spoken person with little to no words to share and can be often seen resting against a sakura tree with his katana resting against his shoulder.
http://static.animepaper.net/upload/thumbs/scans/Harukanaru-Toki-no-Naka-de/[small][AnimePaper]scans_Harukanaru-Toki-no-Naka-de_MyrrhLynn_3287.jpg
6- This is an RP-only arc. Please RP your characters accordingly.

[Jasper]

"I apologize for cutting your time short with... Angelique, Jacques."

Raphael seated himself on an elevated chair with his back to Jacques who skillfully handled a pair of scissors in one hand, and a comb in the other; his eyes were focused on Raphael's long sleek hair that competed with Lenalee's in terms of length.

"It's alright. I'm glad I could offer my help every now and so often."

A feint smile drew itself on the face of the mildly blushing face of the seated exorcist. He nodded in thanks and asked Jacques to proceed accordingly. Chunks of auburn hair fell on to the marble floor as Jacques cut through Raphael's hair working his way up to the predetermined length that both exorcist have agreed on. Given Jacques's latent skills with a barber's set, the job was done and over in almost no time. Raphael was pleased with Jacques's final product. He shook hands with the man before walking out of the room, carrying his slab of metal behind his back like he usually does. Out of curiousity, Jacques stepped forward and asked the reason behind Raphael's urgent departure.

"I am afraid that I have been nothing more but a hindrance to you as of late, Jacques. I have endlessly critisized you and Angelique for not sorting your priorities out while on a mission, but during our last visit in China, I saw things from their real perspective. Throwing the blame on you two was the easiest way for me to rid myself of the creeping guilt associated with being a burden on the group. Heh, I haven't even mastered my innocence's powers yet. One disappointment I am, I tell you."

Jacques could not help but interrupt the outspoken man's speech with one of his own.

"Just what are you talking about? Sure you're a stiff person while on a mission, but that's just part of who you are. We accept you that way, and would like you to st-."

"Jacques... Have you spoken to Lamia yet?"

The Canadian exorcist was in shock at Raphael's in depth knowledge of his innocence. Information disclosed about her were considered confidential and locked up in Komui's room with no access to any power within the Black Order. Then, how did Raphael know about her?

"I... Saw her when I absorbed your innocence's power back when we were in Germany. Normally, when using Falling Penance my insight abilities are limited to knowing what it is that the bearer is capable of doing with the innocence he or she weilds. In your case however, I saw the figure of a young woman in green. Instead of fleeing from the snake's power, the lady embraced him and allowed him to coil around her voluptuous body, whispering her name to both he and I."

"S... Nake? Your innocence takes the form of a snake?"

The exorcist paused looking around a bit on Jacques's face as he slowly collected the facts regarding it's name.

"Godsbane. Originally spelt as "God's Bane". A snake... Satan was in the form of a snake when he entered Eden to tempt both Adam and Eve to eat from that apple. It's only logical for one to assume that if God is "positive", then his "negative" counterpart would be Satan. Thus implicating that he is His bane. Why... This is almost biblical!"

Stroking his now much shortened hair, Raphael left the room and headed towards Martosu's quarters. Earlier this week, and after receiving a briefing from Komui about the 8 innocence fragments scattered all over Kyou, a neighbouring country to Edo - Japan, both Martosu and Raphael had a recurring dream. One in which a man whose figure could not be identified, stated in a clear voice that they should head eastwards of Kyou in search of the "Seal of the East". Upon confronting Bookman with the dream and the information they received, they were told that the innocence fragments of Seiryuu yearned for them, for their "true" masters as Bookman put it. Upon researching the unfathomable amount of power they would receive in case the gem fused with their bodies, both exorcists agreed to set on the hunt quest to find the two missing pieces that would bring back Seiryuu to the control of its people.

"Martosu, I'm done. You?"

Martosu was just as soft spoken as Raphael if not even more. He nodded and wrapped his bag behind his back as both exorcists headed towards the caverns below the Asian HQ and onto a boat that later on transferred them on a ship heading to Kyou. Upon arrival, both exorcists were recognized as strangers with their unusual outfits and flashing badges. Being a town of aristocrats and people of significant economic influence, the normally concealed bodyguards blew their cover and pointed their blades at both Raphael and Martosu, giving them no room to speak and throwing them into the district auttorney's office, where they were to be held until prosecuted.

So much for racial bias.

[Jasper]

Two hours passed since the restraint issued by the "sherrif's" office in the district. Raphael and Martosu, each entrapped in a cell on their own, heard the village people yelling and protesting at the presence of foreigners in the area.

Weak dogs bark the loudest...

Thought Raphael as he walked slowly to his wrapped up innocence at the corner of the room, next to his bunk. He slowly activated it to form his frequently used black bow to target the bolts and chains locking both he and his partner up.

The amount of money flowing into this specific area of Kyou is almost enough to feed 5 countries, each equal in size to Kyou itself. Without a doubt, some of this money was obtained through the coercion of the tactless, ploying of the weak and at times by brute force. The fact that these people need bodyguards to cover their every step means that they're afraid of being attacked. Our presence here makes those of power and money think that we've been summoned to aid the weak in this country, and act as advocates of justice...

Swiftly, Raphael released his translucent white string, shooting two bright yellow arrows that broke the bolts on Raphael and Martosu's prison cells. The two exorcists walked out of their cells slowly, and through the backdoor where there wasn't much coverage by the public. After being motioned to by Martosu to split up, Raphael ran through a series of alleys and low-populated roads that brought him in the end to the eastern borders of the district.

His eyes scanned the area. A small abandoned well to his left with some untamed grass around it. In front of him was a trail into a forest with what resembled pine trees growing on both sides. To his right was a spacious piece of land, with several one floor homes built on it. Call it instinct, but Raphael felt an unstoppable urge that drove him closer towards the land's open gates. Slowly walking in, the exorcist eyed the area for any suspicious behaviour or traps, the silence and tranquility in the area was ironically, too disturbing for him. Every step he took on the grass registered in his mind as a possible trap. Anxiety and adrenaline ran through the exorcist's body, mentally and chemically respectively as he closed in the distance between him and the house's entrance. Signs all over the yard showed that it was inhabited until a very recent period of time, and possibly still serves that purpose. The fact however that there was no one to kick him off the premises just made him all the more concerned as he drew closer to the wooden structure. It wasn't until a few hundred yards away that it was finally brought to his attention that a man was out there to welcome him, with a blade to his throat.

"Who are you?" Questioned the man, his hair tied up in a pony tail, with pitch black and hair as deep as the sea. His leopard skin jacket made him stand out from the averagely dressed man in the country, but his tone and accent implied his lineage from it. The well-maintained blade he held against Raphael's throat shone against the sun's bright light into the man's eyes, but he did not flinch.

"Doesn't matter..." Replied Raphael, after having analyzed the man's stance and posture from top to bottom. He certainly was no push over should the two of them battle.

The katana pushed itself closer against Raphael's skin, making him taste the blade's cool surface in this heat wave that the entire country incurred.

"I said who are you!"

Pushing the blade away from his throat and walking towards the exit Raphael whispered his name to the stranger.

"Exorcist?"

"A servant of God, and the Black Order's dog. I am in search for a young man by the name "Yorihisa". You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?"

The bushido warrior stopped sheathing his katana abruptly and pulled it back into the air, pointing its edge at Raphael who stood there slowly unwrapping his innocence after predicting the outflow of this conversation. There was no way the two of them could have avoided confrontation.

"Yorihisa is I. What business do you have with me?"

The man slightly turned, exposing his left ear to Raphael. There, on the upper lobe hung a small brilliant blue gem that shone the minute Raphael raised his slab of metal in its direction.

"This gem in your ear. I have come to collect it. Seiryuu may have temporarily given it to you, but it is actually mine. Would you please hand it over? I'm afraid that if you chose not to, then you would leave me no choice but to fight you."

Not one to spindoctor his words or even try to make them sound acceptable to his coversational partner, Raphael -though indirectly- asked to fight the man over for his gem. The reason was for Raphael to assess the gem's power through someone else's potential.

"Draw your sword... Exorcist."

"I see you're a fan of the bushido-style of fighting. Always give your opponent a chance to draw their weapon..."

Raphael's irregular slab changed its form to the golden bow labelled under his third level of his innocence. Taking it easy against the man in front of him would mean instant death if he were lucky, which was something that Raphael was not willing to experience at the time being. Slowly, he raised his bow to his eye level and waited as the man in front of him continued the sentence he said above.

"Never cut your opponent slack."

"Exactly!"

The sound of a speeding arrow released from Raphael's translucent string echoed in his ears, aimed for the man's left shoulder. Just in the nick of time though, Yorihisa swung his katana diagonally upwards deflecting the arrow's direction first, then breaking it in half with the second blow. Almost surprised at the speed and precision of the attack, Raphael left his defense wide open for a long range assault by his counterpart, who at the time was not known to possess long range techniques. A bolt shot itself from the heavens and down on Raphael, whose entire body spasmed upon contact. He fell down on his knees, with smoke coming out of his robe as the swordsman drew himself in short, slow steps, closer to Raphael's exhausted body.

Wow... This is overwhelming. Not only is he skilled with a sword, this guy completely mastered his power over the gem. As if shooting a bolt from his sword was not impressive enough, this guy shot a bolt from the sky! To gain power enough to mess with nature's order and force the creation of a bolt would have been impossible for me to believe had I not seen it now by my own eyes.

Staggering back on his feet, Raphael looked at swordsman who now assumed a defensive stance waiting for Raphael's second wave of attacks.

"It's not going to be as easy..."

Were the last legible words he said before yelling out a battle cry and conjuring his bow once more, this time shooting a massive arrow, that resembled a spear in its size as opposed to a traditionally sized arrow.

"Now dodge THIS!"

[Reco]

Martosu walked down the cobbled streets away from Raphael, who in turn ran down the nearby alley. Hearing the shouts of the officers behind him growing closer, he quickly jumped on to the roof of the nearest building, ran across it and quickly jumped over to the next roof. The voices grew fainter as time passed, making Martosu sigh.

Idiots. As if they would have a chance against an Exorcist in a fight.

A slight tug on his being reminded Martosu of his task and he ran off to the north, hopping from building to building. As he traveled on the feeling grew in intensity, throughly irritating him.

My head is crowed enough as it is...

Jumping onto the street, he walked toward a portion of the small stream that weaved itself through town. He peered at its surface, at first only seeing his reflection in it then a darker shadow appeared behind.

"Your not much to look at. Now, me on the other hand is a different story."

Martosu spun around to see a young man with wild orange hair. He was wore a shirt with no sleeves, reveling his arms, one of which bore a blue tattoo. A slight glitter from the bottom tip of the tattoo caught Martosu's eye.

"Say, would you be so kind to inform me about the wear abouts of a man called Tenma? I grow weary of my search for him."

The man laughed, "Your search was worth it, to find such a man great as I. Yes, I am Tenma. Please, hurry with your words since I cannot be expected to converse with you until the sun dies."

Martosu narrowed his eyes, "Your expectations are false. I did not come to converse with you, I came to acquire a certain gem from you. From the looks of it, the one you have placed in your arm."

Tenma's humor disappeared at Martosu's words, "As if such a powerful stone belongs with you. Only I am worthy to wield its power."

Tenma rushed forward to strike Martosu across his head before he could react, sending him sending him flying to the side and landing on the ground on his knees. "Do you see?! I am the ONE and ONLY to use the power this gem holds," Tenma boasted while walking over to Martosu.

"You are only an idiot," muttered Martosu before he quickly pulled his swords out of their scabbards, activated his level two and fired a surge of electricity at Tenma, forcing him to dodge and move back slightly. Standing up, Martosu glared at him, "I will be taking that gem and you have no say in the matter."

[Jasper]

Raphael let go of the massive arrow that charged point-first at his opponent. Yorihisa, who was now on the defensive, did not have much time to react, in an attempt to deflect the arrow in a similar manner to how he did before, the swordsman swung his katana diagonally, bringing it from his bottom left to his upper right. The sword however cut through the ethereal point like a knife through butter, it failed to deflect the direction of the charging arrow. Aware that his defenses have now been breached, Yorihisa moved his waist to avoid the injury of it any vital organs to his body. The arrow sunk into his chest, a jolt of pain could be felt in his body for a short while before suddenly disappearing, the arrow disintegrated.

"Curses." Muttered Raphael. It was then clear to him that he was yet to perfect his control over his innocence, a conclusion that his opponent came to as the arrow disintegrated into thin air.

Without as much as hesitating for a second to think over his next plan of action, Yorihisa charged in with his katana in his hand before Raphael had a chance to charge for another one of his arrows, big be them or small. The man swung his katana repeatedly, while firing small bolts of lightning at Raphael whenever he managed to evade a critical hit. Damage piled up on the now weary Raphael, whose entire body was covered in scratches, wounds, bruises and burns. The exorcist however was just as determined to win this fight as his counterpart, who made sure he gave Raphael no chance to fire. It wasn't long before Raphael was in a clear disadvantage against his opponent, his knee now resting against the grass as the swordsman swung a powerful downward slash.

"This is IT!" Claimed Yorihisa as the blade's edge came in closer to Raphael's neck.

An English soldier once said that the worst opponent for a knight would be an archer, given that they could snipe them from a distance before they could ever approach them for a strike of their own. Similarly, the worst opponent for an archer is a knight, should they happen to somehow evade the archer's arrows then he's as good as dead in close range. He knew that well, and was more than prepared to take on an opponent such as myself. In no time, this man closed in the distance between us. Also... Those bolts. Not only can he channel them through his sword and strike, he could individually summon them on their own. The longer he stands still, the more powerful the bolt is. Those quick jolts he threw at me were hardly damaging, but they were perfect to neutralize my attacks. Heh... This is indeed what I should expect of a bushido warrior, however... There was one detail he missed.

Yorihisa's figure suddenly came to a stop. His entire body felt too heavy for him to move. Changing his eye's focus to meet Raphael's, the man questioned of the use of underhanded tactics in battle.

"Underhanded tactics? Sorry, but I should have never brought your bushido lineage into play. I was never a bushido warrior, nor do I intend to ever be one. I did study about their rituals and traditions, so I know well what it is you guys believe in and how you fight. I exploited your straightforwardness and gave myself a chance to beat you, even if it weren't filled with pride like you or your clan would do."

Yorihisa snarled in anguish as he looked at Raphael rising back to his knees and patting the dust off his white robe.

"Let me tell you what was it that I did. Remember that large arrow I fired at you earlier? Well, its purpose was not to damage you, but to paralyze your nervous system and give myself an advantage over your to-be immobile body. I have to give it to you though, normally it would've taken around 2-3 minutes for someone fall prey to my technique, you on the other hand, stood your ground for over 10 minutes. Had you resisted the after effects of the arrow any longer, I would've most definitely fallen to your katana's edge."

While giving Yorihisa this enlightening speech, Raphael moved in closer towards the man's left ear and touched the blue gem. Immediately it shone in his face, detaching itself from Yorihisa's body and sinking into Raphael's left ear, right above his auditory canal. A surge of power flowed through Raphael; his innocence deactivated itself and reactivated several times indicating its current state of instability. The picture of a blue dragon with white whiskers flashed in his head several times creating a painstalking headache in the process. He felt that his brain was about to implode and that death would be a mercy penalty for him now. All of a sudden, it just went black. The pain faded away, the pictures of Seiryuu stopped, and the surge of immaculate power paused; his conciousness was back. Yorihisa then spoke, his body now free after the innocence's deactivation.

"If it is in fact fate that has chosen you over me as guardian of the Earth gem, then I have no regrets passing it to you. However, I cannot continue my life as a bodyguard and a warrior knowing that someone else has defeated me. Please, kill me."

The blue-haired man kneeled and bowed his head low, while handing Raphael his katana to chop his head off. Wanting to comply with the warrior's request, Raphael received the katana in his hand, unsheathed it slowly and threw its scabbard on the ground next to Yorihisa.

"If this is what you seek as a bushido, then I have no objections granting you your final wish."

The man nodded.

"Very well... HAAAAAA!"

Blood spattered over the ground as the corpse of the swordsman fell to the ground covering it. Raphael sheathed the sword back into its scabbard and put it next to the man's body. He started walking away slowly while talking in a loud voice to the surrounding trees and flowers.

"Let this mark a new life for you samurai. The small scratch you incurred on your face and the wound inflicted on my hand are marks for us to meet in the near future and conclude this battle of ours, this time there will be no "underhanded tactics", I promise you. Until then, take care of the young girl whose life you are incharge of protecting. Abandoning her might just be the gravest mistake you'll ever make."

Indeed he was right, a young girl no older than 12 years of age, rushed to Yorihisa's aid and turned him over, exposing a smiling Yorihisa with a minute injury on his face.

----------

At Seiryuu's Shrine, East of the district, past the pine forest trail.

Raphael sat on one of the steps of the shrine waiting for the arrival of Martosu in order for both of them to confront Seiryuu. Albeit in possession of the gem, Raphael's powers have not yet awakened to their potential yet.

[Reco]

Tenma scoffed at Martosu's comment and ran forward to strike at him once more. Martosu had already seen this attack before, so he quickly brought his sword up to block the fist coming at his face. Tenma quickly brought his other fist around to slam into Martosu's stomach, making him stager back a step.

"You see? You have nothing but a grain of power compared to mine."

As if I would fall to someone like you. Though, he did land two hits on me in no time at all......Even if my level three is largely untested it wouldn't hurt to try it...

Martosu reached out toward his Innocence while Tenma hit him once more. Once more nothing happened when he first asked his level three to activate but then the blue and yellow light returned to engulf the twin swords, leaving behind a blue scythe.

Why can't it just activate without the annoying glow? It's getting old.

"Now you resort to foolish tricks because you realize you cannot beat me? No matter..." with those words Tenma rushed around Martosu to aim a punch at his back. Martosu quickly spun the scythe around to block the fist with the bottom part of the shaft.
He pushed back against the fist, freeing himself of the hindrance and swung the head of the weapon at Tenma. Unexpectedly, white down feathers shot out at Tenma, who quickly raised his arm to protect himself before laughing.

"Feathers? And this is your top level? I'm almost disappointed," said Tenma snidely. He waved his arm through the feathers in a defiant manner, "They are soft as well. What is the point of this? Are you going to be making a pillow to smother me in?"

Martosu watched as the feathers landed on Tenma's arm...and how they started to disappear under his skin, "Well, I know for certain I'm not going to be making you a pillow." Tenma narrowed his eyes at Martosu before a slight itching sensation drew his gaze to his arm, just to see the last tip of the feather disappear into it. The itching sensation grew, forcing him to rub at his arm. After ten seconds, the infected flesh shlopped off his bone and fell to the ground.

"My God! What did you do to my arm?!," shouted Tenma while Martosu watched with interest.

"Didn't you just see or do you need another presentation? No, how about a different scene all together," said Martosu as he swung directly at Tenma's chest, causing reddish-brown and grey feathers to appear at fly toward Tenma. Tenma was quick enough to evade the attack partially, though the feathers were able to implant into the left side of his chest. Martosu quickly spun his scythe around and hit the infected are with the end of his scythe. A loud crunch sounded as the force of the blow forced the ribs back, puncturing the lung.

I didn't hit him that hard.....those feathers must weaken the bone in someway.

Tenma fell to his knees while chugging up blood from his collapsed lung. Martosu raised the scythe behind him as he was about to cut him side to side, before it flickered and reverted back into its level two form.

Damn it. I'll just have to kill him with this.

Martosu swung his blade through the air, cutting Tenma's stomach wide open. He stalked closer to Tenma, grabbed his throught and hauled him up until they were eye to eye, "You should have just forked the gem over. Now you have irritated me to the point of just killing you, even if you did surrender." Martosu tossed Tenma away from him and onto the street, "Why did it have to be this way?, " sighed Martosu as he moved over to where Tenma laied and neatly cut his head off with one strong swing.

He bent down next the the arm that held the gem and placed his hand over it. A sudden blue light covered his arm as the gem left Tenma's cold, dead flesh and transfered itself into Martosu's arm in the exact same spot. Then a sudden pain filled his head, along with images of Seiryuu. This continued on for only a moment but the pain made Martosu wonder if it went on much longer then it had. Once the gem and Seiryuu seemed satisfied with their new accommodations the pain and images stopped, making Martosu sigh in relief.He forced himself to stand, facing eastward.

Where could Raphael be...

With that, Martosu began to run toward Seiryuu's Shrine.

__________

When Martosu reached the shrine the sun had fallen from the sky and the moon cast its gaze on the land. He wondered forward, to suddenly notice a brilliant shock of red hair standing out in the darkness.

"So, you did beat me after all, Raphael."

[Jasper]

"So, you did beat me after all, Raphael."

"Took you long enough, Martosu."

The two exorcists refrained from greeting each other aside from the casual nod upon seeing that the other was fine. Raphael's scratched up body, and Martosu's bruises were of no concern to the other, believing that it was part of their agenda while hunting for Seiryuu's legacy on Earth.

"So... How do we do this?" Questioned Martosu, eager to get started and tap into his new found power's potential.

"Stand firm, close your eyes and try to channel all of your power into your gem. I suppose that should suffice."

"Suppose?"

"Well... You have a better idea?"

"No."

"Closing your eyes and channeling your power it is then."

"Right."

For five minutes, both exorcists stood their ground in front of a carved statue of the mighty Seiryuu, their palms touching each other and their heads bowed down should the dragon make a sudden appearance in front of them. It wasn't long after that, that Martosu chose to break the silence between the two.

"He's not coming."

"Maybe it's your negative thoughts that makes him care less."

"Hey, we've been here for over ten minutes now and he hasn't shown up yet. Look at you! Even you are getting restless!"

True... Thought Raphael in the back of his mind. For the flawless flow of events he had planned, this hit him as quite the surprise. Seiryuu's playfulness has never been expressed as such in the books, tomes, documents, and folklore tales that Raphael gathered. The fact that his partner was willing to give up for the day, discouraged Raphael from going the extra mile as well. He turned around facing Martosu's gem temporarily before noticing a rather large figure in its reflection. Upon completing the turn, Raphael found himself facing the dragon's fangs head on. The celestial entity's yellow sharp eyes pierced through Raphael's eyes seeing clearly through his lonesome soul. Without as much as a hiss, the dragon turned his attention to the now turning Martosu, who was speaking lively a few minutes ago about how he and Raphael should just call it a day.

"Is this...?"

"Yes..."

"Can he...?"

"Yes..."

"Ah..."

"Indeed..."

After a couple of more meaningless phrases from both sides, Raphael and Martosu straightened up and looked seriously back into the dragon's scrutinizing eyes. It wasn't long before the dragon broke the silence while withdrawing its head away from the exorcists.

"To you, I do not believe I entrusted my power."

Raphael felt compelled to answer the dragon's accusation.

"That is right. The two gems, often argued as portions of your power, were found compatible with our innocences: Fragments of God's Power."

"Nonsense! I am the only diety whose power is worth mentioning, and yet, you mortals claim to possess powers surpassing mine from some acclaimed "God"?"

"Here we go..." Commented Martosu, drawing his scythe at the ready in preparation to strike pre-emptively at the dragon should it decide to attack. Trying to act like the voice of reason in this conversation, Raphael lowered Martosu's weapon down before listening to the lecture the dragon delivered.

"For ages, I have seen upheavals, defeats, bloodshed, shame, disgrace and other unmentionable vices from this fallen race you two belong to. Mortals, specifically humans are fools without a capacity to handle the precious life given to them. They come pray and seek forgiveness for the sins they have committed, faking their resolute to ever strive forward in this petty life they lead. I've had it with their half-hearted attempts to changing themselves for the better, simply, it doesn't exist."

Floating around the two exorcists in the area, then closing in on them with his body, the dragon resumes his speech.

"I'll start with killing you two first and retrieve the two gems I entrusted those worthless mortals. Once I'm done with you two, I'll move on to the other two who held my and handled my gems with their filth and impurity. Slowly, as I eradicate the human race from existence, the world will become a better place for the rest to live in. Maybe then, will they start to value their lives and work towards a brighter future. Heh, who am I kidding? Of course not. Those fools are better off dead!"

"Enough talk." Shouted Martosu, his javelin at the ready by his side and his "feathers" up in the air floating around him, waiting for his command to strike at the vengeful dragon.

“I find myself misinformed when being told that the Dragon of the East was a mischievous and fun-loving deity. He seems to be quite the old man on the inside, specially with these long lectures of his. I say we cut it to the chase now, right?”

Raphael summoned his irregular slab of metal, expecting it to reform and take the shape of the normal bow it usually took upon his activation. However, the slab’s metamorphosis was different this time. Upon the fading of the internal glow of light it shone in the surroundings, the chunk assumed the form of a long sword, with a well defined hilt and guard, but not much emphasis on the width of the blade. The sword’s width was comparable to that of a katana, yet did not possess the curvature, nor the one sided sharpness the katana did. Up the hilt, where Raphael’s fingers held the blade was the word “Godsbane” relating it to its only owner.

Raphael looked surprised; was this the form that his innocence assumed upon fusing with the gem? If so, then what was it that Martosu gained upon attaining the gem? Was it something so subtle for Raphael to notice as he stood next to the man’s released innocence? Or was it something passive that took place after the battle’s tides swept Martosu against the pitted rocks? At any rate, both exorcists were well-armed and prepared to launch at the assaulting dragon.

The dragon roared as it approached both exorcists with its open jaw. Deciding to stand strong against the ill fate that the dragon would bring them, both exorcists pointed the edge of their weapons against the dragon’s fangs. With their collaborative strikes, a canine tooth split itself into launching the dragon up in pain, and the tooth down to the ground right in between the exorcists who stood there baffled for a minute, trying to process the peril their lives were put under a second ago.

“Check out the size of his tooth.”

“Don’t fall on me now.”

“Hardly, I was just amused by how overgrown dragon sizes are. It should no longer be “jumbo size” or “family pack”, supermarkets would do well and label it “for dragons”.”

Martosu’s bad joke was countered by a huff from the dragon’s nostrils, who now calmed after the de-teething process that Martosu and Raphael offered him. He took a closer look at the two exorcists before speaking and revealing his remarkable healing rate.

“Despite knowing of your failures, you two still stand in my way. What is it that you seek? Money? Fame? Glory?”

Both Raphael and Martosu felt compelled to answer the dragon’s idle claims as he continued one babbling about what they sought from their battle with a deity.

“None of the above.” Replied Martosu, cueing Raphael to follow up.

“Neither of us are interested in trivial living matters. Much like how you would like to eliminate the world of its rotten apples, we’d like to do the same, except we’re a little more organized and prepared for this. Also, we distinguish between those whose lives will prove one day in time, pivotal for the future’s success and those whose sole purpose in life is to create a ruckus to everyone else.”

“Basically the Earl and his companions. You know, mechanized beasts with no will of their own, men with crosses on their foreheads, wrongdoers, murderers, they go by many names.”

“And for this cause you two have come to seek my aid?”

“As cheesy as it sounds…” Remarked Raphael before noting the nod that Martosu sent his way, “yes.”

It took the dragon a few seconds of deep motionless thought, before dissolving into light particles and combining itself with the gems located on Martosu’s arm and Raphael’s ear. To them he whispered his will.

“Bearers of the Seiryuu gems, the Seal of the East is under your bidding. I shall abide by your requests until the time comes that I deem both of you unworthy. Make note however, of my living distrust to humans and their doings in the land. Prove me wrong if you can.”

[Jasper]

XP earned:

Martosu: 2
Raphael: 2

Gems attained:
Seiryuu of the Heavens ---> Martosu
Seiryuu of the Earth ---> Raphael