Feathered Conflict: Discovering the Reason

Introduction
The next day Markus had gather the team who would explore the Drake-Lord's Hut. Gathered around the table was Markus and Cynteria of course along with Itachi, Motoko and Chloe.

"Ok the plan is simple i'll take our guest up to the hut and let her find what she needs." Said Markus as he looked at the ground the twins looking dejected. "I'll take you two on the next job......Besides this'll be quick and easy."

The twins nodded as they walked off to find someone to prank. Meanwhile Chloe and Ellena went off to get a drink at the bar.

"You don't mind do ya Cynteria?" Asked Markus looking at his fellow Slayer.

"Um sure, sounds good, though what exactly will we be finding in that hut?" She said looking over to Chloe as she got up and walked over to her godchildren and picked them up before running towards the outside.

"Death.....The Drake Lord was also a necromancer....A bad one at that....Alot of his first attempts are still there so rotted and messed up they've fused with the inside of the hut itself." Said Markus clenching his fists. "It's the reason nobody goes up there....."

"Are you sure you'll be okay with going up there? If you rather, just give me a map and I'll head up by myself" Cynteria said as she could tell the mention of that hut was causing Markus to shiver with anger.

"I'll be fine....I just dislike necromancers....As does everyone on this island they go against our ideals and beliefs." Said Markus as a smirk came across his face. "Hence why your the only one going in there."

Markus then picked up his bag then started to walk to the back door.

Cynteria just scoffed at his remark, she didn't know what crawled up her butt, but it was annoying her as she grabbed her gear and followed him.

The two walked through the dense forest climbing over fallen trees leaping over rivers and streams. Also avoiding afew dangerous beasts knwon for their poisons. They evenutally came to an area that looked like the remains of a village covered in moss and new trees.

"This is....Was the town of Oddelberg.....It's where The Drake-Lord got his victims for his necromancy." Said MArkus as he walked slowly through the ruins. "Women, Children, men.....Even the pets all were taken one at a time for him to test new necromatic spells on."

"I could only imagine how much pain there was here" She said looking at an old doll as she picked it up, only to see it covered in dried blood.

"Hence why my great great grandfather personally executed him infront of the entire city......A warning to future enemies" Said Markus holding his hand out for the doll. "May i have that...I'd like to bury so the little girl who owned it can have her friend back."

Cynteria looked down on it before looking back up to Markus, she smiled and reached into her backpack, ripping off some cloth of a cloak she had as she wrapped it and gave it to Markus, "I thought that would be appropriate for when you went to go bury it" She said with a smile.

"Thank you...." Markus took the dool bowing his head slightly. He then walked over to a clear untouched spot and dug a small hole placing the wrapped up doll in it and putting the dirt back over it, he then began a prayer for the girl and those who died in the village. "Honoured gods i pray that you ahve taken these souls into your world and allow them to live in peace.....I pray that you take this doll to the girl who lost it.....I also pray for the strength to finish my goal and bring peace to my home."

Markus then got up walking on silently he however was stopped by a large mass of trees and vines. This presented the perfect moment to let out some agression, Markus smirked and used his Phoenix Shriek spell to open a path.

"Lets go...." He said walking at a normal pace.

"Sounds good to me" Cynteria said with a smile as she followed Markus through the broken and beat up path, despite his annoying remarks at times, she saw him as a good person.

The two evenutally reached the top of the path where the nut was located, Markus sat down on a rock and looked at the hut.

"There ya go....See what you can find." Said Markus pointing to the hut. "Don't be too long....I've been given permission to destroy this place after your done....The king's aide jsut send me a message via his telepathy."

"Sure" She said slamming her fist into the ground, causing strong vibration to go throughout the area to make sure that no one else was around or in hiding. "Alright, no one around, I'll be back soon" Cynteria said making her way to the hut. When she entered, a sudden chill ran down Cynteria's spine, making her shake a bit in fear. The darkness in there was unlike anything she ever experienced, making her see images of chaos and destruction along with the horrible screams of every victim ever done there.

She was unware of her surroundings as she had found herself outside on her knees, panting heavily as Markus had come towards her.

"Told ya it was bad...." Said Markus kneeling down next to her. "I doubt you'll find anything here anyway."

Markus helped her up and led her away before turning around and readied a massive blast to vaporize the hut.

"I... I just... I've only ever felt fear like that when I was training with my father" She said looking over to Markus.

Markus then let out a hugely powerful lightning botl from his hands that vaporized the hut leaving nothing but a burnt trail of earth.

"I say we go back, relax then find out who posted the job in the first place. The Drake-Lord infomation is relativly unknown outside the archipelago so it had to be an inside job so to speak." Said Markus as he picked up his bag and looked at his handywork. "Not bad if i do say so myself."

Cynteria nodded as she shook her head and tried to get the images out of her mind.

"Don't worry you should forget about that later...." Said Markus as he led her back down the path.

They eventually returned to the mansion and saw the usual things happening, various mage training for just relaxing with friends.

"Hmmm seems Zero woke up at last....." Said Markus seeing Zero training with Yamatora. "You can join the others with training or relax by the pool....We got some spare bathing outfits in the pool shed."

"Huh.. oh yeah, sounds good" Cynteria said walking over to the pool shed and closing the door behind her to change into something that would fit her.

Markus went off to get Zero to help him find the fake job posters. "Zero! We need to dig in the underworld abit!" Shouted Markus which got Zero's attention at the wrong moment causing him to be hit by a shockwave knocking him flying. "Ohhh sorry dude...."

"I dislike you Markus...." Said Zero sitting up with a huge red mark on his face.

The doors opened as Cynteria came out wearing a bikini top and bottom that showed her very large endowments as she went towards the pool and dipped her feet into it, simply looking at the passing water.

As Cynteria watched the water Alice and Ellena appear sitting next to her wearing their own bikinis.

"Something up Cyn?" Asked Alice poking her in the arm. "Did you see the hut?"

"Yeah we saw a massive blast up in it's area....What happened?" Asked Ellena putting her hand on Cynteria's shoulder.

"Huh.. oh I'm sorry, yes we were there, but it's just... What I saw in there was horrible, the pain and sorrow of everyone that was hurt by that being. I can honestly say that I'm glad he's dead...." She said looking down at the water.

"Yeah i've been there as well....It's not nice..." Said Ellena as she hugged Cynteria. "Don't worry we'll help you deal with it."

"I ain't been there kinda glad i haven't but i'll help as much as i can!" Smiled Alice as she gave a really corny thumbs up. "Right now lets get wet!"

Alice dived into the water splashing Cynteria and Ellena as well as other mages sun bathing near by.

"How can a girl so small cause such a splash?!" Said Becca shocked at the size of the wave created by the smaller Hotaru.

"Must be the cleavage...." Said Ellena moving her hair out of her face.

"I had that trouble before when I used to bath in the river, the trick is to have your swim suit tighter so they don't bounce around too much" Cynteria said moving her hair away from her face.

Alice's head appear out fo the water smiling at the number of people splashed. "It's a simle martial arts trick i learnt.....By focusing my physical energy down i can increase my weight.....Makes dropkicks and axe kicks all teh more dangerous." She said proudly. "All cos of my mastery of Red Fist Kenpo!"

"You know Red Fist Kenpo?!" Ellena said slightly shocked. "I thought the last master of that was killed."

"Nah my old mentor taught me!" Smiled Alice not really knowing the history of the martial art she so proudly uses.

"Ya do know some of the most deadly and uncontrolable assassins used that right?" Said Ellena smirking alittle.

Alice shrugged at the question before pull Cynteria into the pool and hugging her.

Cynteria blushed a bit from the sudden hug, but chuckled as she hugged back, "You're very friendly aren't you?" She said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah but the fact your hot helps as well." Smiled Alice giving Cynteria a peck ont eh cheek before swimming into the deepend of the pool.

Suddenly MArkus appeared with a scroll in one hand and some blood stains on his armour. "Yo Cynteria!" He said taking his mask off. "We got a lead...."

She gave a wink to Alice before swimming over to the steps and getting off while wrapping the towel on her waist, "What did you find out?" She said looking over at Markus.

"A local gang known as The Long Poles, might've been hired by a Dark Guild under a known enemy of the archipelago in hopes of getting some outsiders to cause problems here." Said Markus reading the scroll. "Zero and Yama will meet us at their underground MAge Brawl ring in afew minutes....We can have some fun while we're there."

"Underground Mage Brawl?" Cynteria said moving her wet hair back as she looked at him, confused about what exactly he was talking about.

"Yeah illegal underground fighting....We have legal versions but the illegal ones make much more money for people so normally gets ignored." Said MArkus handing her a towel. "THey're a good place to get some active training and infomation."

"Well that sounds interesting, let me just go grab my gear and a quick shower" Cynteria said with a smile as she wrapped the second towel around her hair and walked inside the guild to her room.

Alice's face tooka twisted grin before she became frozen in the ice by Becca. "Thank you Becca!" Said Markus chuckling as he walked off.

"No worries boss!" Smiled Becca as she went to lay down on a deckchair.

After showering and putting on new clothes with her cloak on, she walked to the front of the guild with her bag, looking around as she was searching for Markus.

Markus appeared from a quick flash of lightning. "You won't need your bog it should be a quick stop." Said MArkus landing gracefully next to her and started to walk towards the industrial quater.

"You never know" Cynteria said with a smile as she followed Markus.

"Touche but still it'sll be a quick....chat with them...." Said Markus as he walked through the crowded city towards the smoke and dirt of the industrial quater.

Cynteria started coughing a bit from some of the smells that the industry buildings were producing, "Ugh, how could anyone handle this kind of smell?" She said with a groan before pinching her nose to try and keep the smell from coming in.

"Thats the smell of coal...Earth being used to make weapons, armour, jewelry and parts for the ships that go from this island." Said Markus exmining a sword and making an order of trainign swords in the same style. "Plus you get used to it.....If you use your sense fo smell right you'd be able to smell the food they bake here using the hot coals."

"Well either way, I've never smelled earth like that before" She said looking around, "So where exactly is this underground mage brawl?"

"Let me find out...." Said Markus as he spotted someone and dragged them into an alley. He then proceded to beat the infomation out of him. "Ok follow me...."

"Well that's one way to get information I suppose"  Cynteria said with a sweatdrop down the side of her face as she followed Markus to a shady location in the city.

"Well that or waste time talking to him." Said Markus as he openned the door to a large tavern with a pit in the middle. "Now all we do here is enter the fights and win....Then they'll talk to us..."

"You sure you want me to fight alongside you?" Cynteria said looking over to him with a worried look on her face, she knew he was powerful and she didn't want to do anything that held him back.

"One on one fights only....So we need to enter seperatly unless i can arrange a special match." Said Markus looking around for the organizers. "Keep an eye out for soem fat guy with half his face burnt off."

"Alright, you can count on me" She said signing up in the tournament as she went to the waiting spot until her name was called.

Markus signed his name and spotted the guy he was after at that moment. After several minutes talking to him he came bak to Cynteria.

"Ok we've got out two on two match......And i was right the guys we need to talk to work for Daimon...A couple of his top assassins and manipulators in this region.....We need to be careful." Said Markus as he waited with Cynteria noticing a familiar scent entering the building. "You gotta be joking...."

She looked around trying to pinpoint the smell, making her look around until she suddenly felt someone grab up behind her and hug her tightly. She turned around and found Alice's smiling face staring at her's.

"Why are you here sis?" Asked Markus flicking a nut at Alice's forehead. "I thought the ice would hold you for atleast a day."

"Well Zero got me out....I decided to follow you guys using some tracking tricks i learnt." Said Alice looking at Markus.

"Well now that you're here, we can at least have another person to watch our backs" She said smiling at Alice, causing her to blush.

Just then the announcer on his raised platform above the pit announced the special match Markus and Cynteria were entered in. The two slayers lept into the pit followed by the two men they were after.

"Becareful of the big one....He uses Magma Magic.....Very difficult to counter with earth magic as he can convert it into magma.....The other one uses Ice and Wind Magic, not too difficult." Said Markus requiping his armour and mask. "good luck Cyn....You'll need it in here."

"This isn't my first fight ya know...." She said as she landed next to Markus and looked to her opponant who matched Markus in height and build, but lacked his natural imposing precense.

"Ok remember there aren't many rules in here....Just don't kill thme." Said Markus firing a botl fo lightning directly at the Magma Mage who blocked it with a wall of magma made from a swipe of his arms. Markus then vanished appearing behind him landing a lightning infused elbow to the back of his head.

Cynteria attempted to follow up by shooting out rocks at him using Earth Magic, sending multiple slabs at him with ease.

The Ice Mage countered by turning the slabs into ice and shattering them with his fist. The mage smirked before lanuching a blast of ice shards aimed at Cynteria.

"Oh forgot to mention he's a former Red Dragon Monk....They're some of the best fighters in the archipelago...." Said Markus as he broke through the Magma Mage's lava barrier hitting him with a barrage of lightning infused fists.

The earth began to merge with her hands, creating wings of rock that sent out rock feathers that broke through the ice shards and pummled the mage. "I'm not exactly a weak person myself" She said with a grin on her face as one of her wings shaped itself into a fist as she slammed it into the ground, creating a fissure that was aimed right at the person.

The Ice Mage countered by creating a wave of ice spikes to charge at Cynteria deflecting her attack and freezing anything in it's path. Markus however was holding his opponant back obviously holding his own attacks back so he can savor the fight abit.

Cynteria used another Quake fist to shatter the ice in front of her, while at the same time lifting up into the air and sending another barrage of stone feathers.

The man blocked it with an ice shield and began to prepare a technique that caused Markus to throw his partner into him. "Change of plan Cyn....You deal with the Magma i got him....I know his fighting style." Said Markus leaping voer and kicking the Magma Mage towards Cyn while driving forward at the Ice Mage landing a flying knee to his face.

Cynteria nodded as she used her quake fist once more, slamming it hard into the magma mage's stomach as he was sent flying right into the wall while she flew down to the ground to absorb some more earth.

"Very well i shall fight you Infamous...." Said the Ice Mage taking a fighting stance and coating his fists with ice knuckle dusters.

"Lets see if you've mastered the 55th technique...." Said Markus placing a foot down at a 10 degree outward angle and vanishing.

"I know your route Storm....You'll appear at my left!" Said the mage confidently throwing a punch intended to intercept Markus' apparent left side attack. "You a fool!"

Markus however appear on his right and landed two lightning infused pokes to his side and arm. "Wrong i'm attacking from the right....I took your 25th technique and modified it." Said Markus smirking behind his mask. "You need to adapt for more than just what you know."

Meanwhile the mage fighting Cynteria was fighting on the defencive something he obviously didn't like. He movements were sloppy compaired to Cynteria's attacks.

Cynteria started flapping her wings as it sent out more earth shards that peeled off from her wings, sending them all flying towards her opponent.

The mage barely manages to defend himself taking two hits to his left leg and right arm. Markus however was fighting his opponant to a standstill. The ice mage managed to land some good strikes but not strikes that would impead Markus' fighting abilities.

Cynteria decided to end the battle as she flapped downward, sending her towards the man once more as she charged her fist once again to deal the finishing blow.

The mage got flattened by Cynteria's attack causing Markus to smirk at the result. "Cyn grab him and sit ont eh rail up there....I'm gonna finish my guy with a new trick."

Cynteria nodded as she used her wings once more, grabbing her defeated opponent as she flew up to the rail and dropped the guy on the otherside, looking down on the field to see what kind of attack he was talking about.

Markus used his Wind Mover spell to move his opponant into the middle of the arena. He then telelported behind him, the mage tried to counter Markus teleported again and kept teleporting again and agian all around the mage before teleporting one final time above him and landing a rapid flipping axe kick to his head ending the fight.

"Well that was fun..." Said Markus picking his fallen enemy fromt eh ground and leaping up next to Cynteria. "Now we find out why they posted the fake job and who they did it for."

"Sounds like a plan" Cynteria said as she followed Markus as they both left behind the unconsious mages while they went to go find the person who was in charge.

Markus then kicked in a locked door and walked through. "Benny! Long time no see ya worthless peice of trash!" He said ina friendly tone as he knocked out the two guards in the room. "Tell me who hired you to post that fake job and i won't cut ya other arm off."

"Hey hey what the hell ya doing?! You come into my establishment knock around my people and threaten me and my only arm?!" Shouted Benny standing up behind his desks grabbing a wakazashi in his only hand.

"Benny, Benny you remeber the last time you pointed a blade at me?" Said Markus sitting down in a casual manner. "Now tell me what i wanna know or i will get really very angry at you...."

"I'd tell him really soon there, otherwise he get's itchy and the only scratch is you getting cut up like sushi" Cynteria said sitting down on the ground as she started to absorb some of the rock on the floor, waiting for the man to come to his senses.

"Ok! Dark Storm did it.....He said he's trying to get some in-fighting going amoung the Phoenix Slayers so he can take advantage of who's left." Said Benny sweating like a pig and panicing greatly. "Thats all i know! I swear!"

"Benny if your lieing about that being all you know i'll be back...." Said Markus standing up before re-knocking out one of the guards. "Come on we need to hunt down Dark and it won't be easy.....He thinks alot like me....."

"Try Blue Stone Island.....Rumour has it he's hanging out there undercover." Said Benny before ducking under his desk.

"Thanks for the info Benny" Cynteria said getting up as she followed Markus out of the room and out of the area as they made their way towards a ship that was heading to Blue Stone Island.

At the docks they saw Alice and Zero who had followed them as well but did a better job at hiding himself. "Yo Markus! Thought i'd tag along been seriously bored just sitting around." He said waving alittle and picking up his backpack. "What we up to then?"

"Usual stop another of Daimon's plans, try not to get killed and so on." Said Markus walking up to Zero.

"Mind if i come along as well?" Asked Alice holding her backpack ready to go. "I need something to do."

"Sure, it'd be nice to have another girl around" Cynteria said wrapping her shoulder around Alice as she smiled, making her blush.

The group got on the ship and made their way to the island. As they arrived they arranged to be dropped off in a lifeboat off shore to sneak through a cave system Markus and Zero knew about.

"Me and Zero took down a crime lord here.....These caves lead to his mansion basement....." Said Markus as he guided the group through the dark passages. "Becareful of Vampire Cave Bats and Blood Trolls......"

"Gods i hate Blood Trolls...." Said Zero looking around erratically. "I like to keep my blood and heart where they are."

"I've never heard of those types of animals, they must sound pretty bad if you hate them Zero" She said feeling Alice stand right next to her as they walked.

"The bats are kinda obvious...Blood Trolls are basically vampire trolls...Roughly my size but twice the bulk.....They're not the smartest beasts ever but in numbers they'redeadly." Said Markus looking around just in case. "But seems something has cleared them out."

"What makes ya say that?" Asked Zero.

Markus pointed to a half eaten corpse of a man from the island. "That explain it?" Said Markus as he continued to lead the way.

"Thats just wrong......" Said Alice following Markus and Zero who was trying to hold down his lunch.

Cynteria shuddered at the sight she had, holding Alice tightly as she didn't want to look at it until they were out of the cave, She however stopped them as she slammed her fist into the ground, seeing the cave inside and out to make sure no one was inside or out. "So, looks like we're the only ones in here for the moment, but there is an obstruction deep in the cave, like a room" She said looking back at them.

"Yeah that was the secret vualt of the crime lord...We're cleared it out once we killed him." Said Zero "I have to  say the money did help sort out the estate and aid the war effort of the archipelago."

"Yeah we also caved in the entrance to the room....We'll need to clear that quietly." Said Markus picking up a skull and exmining it briefly. "After that we'll be in the mansion and we'll need to see what we can find before acting in any agressive manner."

"We better hurry, who knows if they'll even be there" Cynteria said as she along with the group began to walking towards there.

The group reached the caved in entrance. "Ok Cyn we'll need you to clear that as quietly as possible. After that we'll rush in eliminate any guards that investigate and figure out our next move." Said Markus who sat on a near by rock. "If all goes to plan we should finish this with a small degree of fighting and risk."

"So it's gonna be boring then?" Said Alice looking alittle dejected.

"Leave it to me" She said focusing her arms into the cave walls as the rocks began to merge with her arms once more, slowly taking the shape of wings as she stood at the entrance, focusing her magic through the feathers as she made them sharp. She slashed twice and in that instant the rocks began to rumble down to the ground as the entrance was now cleared. "How's that for quiet?" She said looking over to them as she winked at Alice.

"What was that?" Said a voice at the end of the now open hall.

"Ehhhh...Not so good." Said Zero as he and MArkus snuck to the sides of the doors.

The two guards came through the doorway and Markus and Zero killed them with a single strike each. "Fakers.....Ok we got Black Hand members here......" Said Markus exmining the bodies quickly. "Ok screw the looking around we're going all out for this....Zero, Alice got look around and try find any local defence and get them to help."

"Got it!" Said Alice and Zero as they went on ahead.

"Cyn you and me we'll provide a nice little distraction for those two.......Up for that?" Said MArkus standing up and summoning his two swords.

"Fine with me, I've been wanting to try out this new move I thought up of" She said having her sharpened wings as she sent out a barrage of sharpened feathers as some of the grunts easily.

Markus smirked charging up the shairs into the large courtyard surrounded by a large number of fakers. "Second Moon Clear Sky: Crescent Edge!" He said as he swung the blue sword around decapitating the mob in one fell swoop. "Bring out the big guns already.....We'd prefer it."

"Very well Storm.....Titan Corp take them out!" Shouted Dark from a tower at the other end of the courtyard.

Suddenly a large number of bigger tougher looking fakers appeared from the opposite tunnel.

"Much better...." Smirked Markus as he stabbed the blue sword in the ground and readied a strike with his red sword.

Cynteria placed her wings in front of both groups to block them, "Let me take this one, it's time for my new spell" She said before lifting off the ground with her wings. She began to start spinning in mid-air, beginning to cause powerful gusts of wind to be made as it was felt by everyone. Small bits of rock and stone began breaking off as it mixed in the wind, adding more girth to it bit by bit until a twister of sorts was made.

"Earth Phoenix:  Vortex of the Earth!!!  " Cynteria thrusted both wings, sending her twister right at them as it began bringing them all into it, then one by one, they all slammed down into the ground, bleeding heavily until they were all defeated as Cynteria landed on her feet.

"Not bad.....Alittle....Fast though i prefer to enjoy the fight abit more." Said Markus surveying the carnage left behind as more fakers arrived in large numbers including two actual human mages. "Ohhh new playthings!"

Cynteria send more feathers as she stabbed some more as she looked over to Markus, "This is a distraction, we need to finish this and go!" She glared at him.

"You can go find Dark if ya want....I'm gonna stay and enjoy myself here abit." Said Markus pointing his sword at the group as a challenge. "Who's first to die?"

Cynteria scoffed and went running deeper in, trying to find Alice or Zero as she used her sensing to keep herself from crashing into anything. She made her way to a clearing as she found herself looking at what appeared to be a barracade of sorts, but before she went any closer, a pair of arms reached out from the shadows and grabbed her waist and mouth.

She was about to scream, but found herself looking up at Alice who was motioning her to shush as she nodded and was released. "What is this spot?" She whispered.

"Dunno but Zero thinks theres a bunch of Reapers in here....They're assassins for hire, very good apparently even Markus is put on edge by these guys...." Whispered Alice looking into the shadows ahead of them. "Zero is there somewhere....He went to check it out.

Suddenly two dead ninja like figures fell from the shadowy roof with their own swords jammed into their necks. Zero then lept down with a couple of cuts on his chest and left arm. "There are more in there but i've found the lights so we can illuminate our current siutation. He said before firing a barrage of fireballs in several directions lighting the tourches around the room. "Hmmm there are mroe than i thought....."

Infront of the group were atleast 150 ninja all ready to fight. Quickly two lept forward at Alice and Cyn only to be stopped by Alice's surprising speed and strength. "Back the f*ck up!!" She exclaimed as she landed ready to fight.

"Wow....Ok mental note not to attack the girl you like....." Said Zero punching another one in the face without looking. "THough still have atleast 147 left to deal with....Where's Markus?"

"The guy is back there, getting a kick out of all this" Cynteria said shooting more feathers at some of the ninjas, easily killing them off, "No offense, but this seems more like a game to you guys than an actual life or death experience" She told Zero as she flew up into the air.

"Yeah it seems to be common amoung most of his clan....But it kinda comes from his ability to heal for even death.....But he is taking this seriously it'll show when the real big threats appear...." Said Zero blocking a Ninja's blade with a lightning shield in the shape of a wing and landing a powerful lightning infused punch. "But come on you have to be enjoying this alittle bit?"

"I am!" Said Alice as she knocked down ninja after ninja with her palm magic and raw martial arts talent.

Cynteria slammed down, creating a wave of rock that stabbed some of the ninjas as she gave an irritated look on her face, "I hated fighting, I had to do it to survive and I got sick of it, I do missions on occasions for money, but I won't ever enjoy it" She said with a harsh tone.

"Warrior culture for us i guess." Shrugged Zero as he kneed a ninja in the face causing his nose to vanish from his face. "Mochina is known for it's strong fighting spirit.....kinda rubbed off on the founding members except for Markus who as you know was born here."

"Fighting is one of those things that can't be avoided Cyn....There are always gonna be wars and conflict." Said Alice in a surprising burst of wisdom. "No point in trying to avoid it if you can't ya know?"

Zero nodded as he unleashed a bolt of black lightning at a group of ninja. "I'm always amazed at how many ninja you get for a payment of 55,000,000 Jewels." Said Zero as he threw a ball of magma into another ninja burning him to death as he tried to get the roasting magma off his face.

"Yeah but the quality fo these guys seems to be lacking...." Said Alice as she held two in arm locks. "I'm guessing the big guns are waiting for Markus....Compaired ot me and you Zero we're small fish compared to a shark like my brother."

"True that..." Said Zero.

Cynteria had landed down on the ground as she looked back at them, "Whatever the case, I will only fight if I need to, not for fun" She said with determination as she focused her energy inward, calling on the magic inside of her as she started to glow as the earth surrounding her glowed and began to move towards her. "Time for me to end these annoying people" She said before concentrating magic into her fists, merging them into the ground as she pulled them out, revealing two gauntlets of rock.

"Earth Phoenix Secret Art: Punch of the Golem!!!"

She dashed forward, punching like any normal punch, but right when the punch connected to one, it sent out a powerful shock wave that blew away more than half of the ninja.

"Hmm that was effective...." Said Zero as he unleashed a wind blast that froze the rest of the ninja. "Feel the cold breeze of death....."

"Ohhh nice spell.....and pun." Said Alice as she looked around. "Shall we go find my brother? He might be dealing with a decent fight."

"What is to you a guys a fight that might mean life or death?" She said looking back at Alice.

"I was raised to be an assassin by another guy who wants Daimon.....I just enjoy the rush of combat thats it the killing unless it's someone i really hate though like Daimon and his thugs i enjoy it alot." Said Alice clenching her fists.

"Me i'm the same i want Daimon dead for all the people he's tormented and killed so I WILL enjoy the moment i see Markus end his infectious life and put an end to his destruction of the innocent." Said Zero clenching his fists and causing his magical aura to appear. "THAT it why this guild exsists....To end The Black Hand Guild and any like them."

Just then a large explosion erupted from outside and MArkuscame flying through the wall. "Sh**********t!!!!" Shouted Markus as he passed the group. Markus then landed in the other wall his rear jammed through the wall rendering him stuck. "Well that was intresting....."

"Why do I get the feeling something bad is about to come" Cynteria said as she felt the rubble of another broken wall, looking back to try and see who was the cause of it.

Through the hole came a large imposing man wearing a long red jacket and baring a demonic right arm. "Evening ladies and gentleman...." Said the man as he stepped through the gap.

"Evening Star Buster...." Said Zero taking up a guard as Star looked at him.

"Look i've done my job so i'm gonna go home if thats ok....I left my shades in here." Said Star as he walked to a desk next to the door. "Cya!"

Star then walked through the door and left leaving Alcie confused. "He's not a bad guy....He's been forced to work for Daimon or his friends will be killed." Said Zero as he looked back to Markus who got himself out the hold.

"Ya know i really want him to join us...." Said Markus as he brushed himself off. "He's not a bad guy i can tell....We've never heard or seen him hurt innocent people infact he's even stopped Dark and the other member of the Black Hand Guild doing so."

"So what do we do now?" Cynteria asked looking over to Markus as she kept her gauntlets on, just in case anything or anyone else might come in.

"Dark Storm is the only one left....My guess as Star was a the distraction he's planning sometihng for us." Said Markus. "No offence though but he's my copy, my problem he's most likely got some heavies with him like Vega or their new guy so you three can deal with them....."

"Fine fine....I'm curious to see who this new guy is myself...Good way to know someone is to fight them." Said Zero smirking alittle.

"If it means getting out of this cave and back to the guild, fine let's get this over with" She said cracking her neck in irritation.

"Just so you know those two have dueled for 2 weeks....Soooo might take awhile." Said Zero with alittle smirk. "Might as well get used to the fact that while your here ya gonna get into alot of combat."

"He's right with a war going on any mage willing to lend a hand is being recruited on temporary military contacts." Said Markus looking for the door to Dark. "Surprised you weren't offered one when you arrived.....You obviously know how to fight and have the eyes of a hardened mage....The recruiter should've spotted you."

"Unless she arrived at dock 14.....Alexi isn't the sharpest eye." Said Zero pointing to the right door. "This one is unlocked....."

"Ahh right!" Said Markus walking over to the door. "Thats true though Alexi is going blind unfortunate really.....Nice guy loves kids, works part time at the orphanage when not trying to recruit people."

"Is that the guy with the large tattoo on his face?" Asked Alice joining her brother.

"Yep!" Said Zero. "He got that after the Drogan Uprisings.....Those were nasty fights several tribes of Drogans from the Northern isles attacked one of the Mochina allies so we sent the 11th Corps into aid them....Alexi was one of them."

"Wow....I read about those after i got here." Said Alice. "It ended when the Grand General Kiba Tsuchinami killed the Dragon chief and took his title."

"Yep he became the first outsider to take the title without any use of tricks." Said Zero as he followed Markus through the door and up the tower stairs. "He's now the Councilor of War as well."

"Look like I said, yes I understand that there are fights in life that one cannot avoid, and yes I have honed my skills daily in order to survive the treacherous wild that my father left me in" She said looking at them with a agitated look on her face. "But never, and I mean never, have I liked the thrill of fighting"

"There are four cornerstones to humanity....War, Death, Life and Peace.....War is part of our soul we fight to survive and we fight for our homes and lived ones....Despite what you say there is a part of your soul deep down that enjoys the thrill of combat......We don't enjoy fighting everyday against regular dark mages and their guilds but we enjoy fighting these guys mainly cos their fakers aren't humans despite their appearence." Said Markus leading the group up the stairs. "We respect your path but we ask you respect ours......"

"Bespides you saw the Drake-Lord's hut right? Daimon can and has done 100 times worse than that." Said Zero looking at Cyn with a burning hatred. "His sins WILL be punished with a slow and painful death in penance for those he's hurt."

"Gods willing he will....." Said Markus as he reached a large black door at the top of the stairs. "My family and every family he's destroied will be avanged 100 fold."

"Path of the warriors." Smirked Alice nudging Cyn. "Look on the birght side....They know how to focus their anger well."

"I just hope they'll be ready for when the path ends, I do respect their paths, but that does not mean I must like enjoy seeing it" She said continuing to follow with them.

"Some paths never end...." Said Markus as he openned the door into a large room where Dark, Vega and a mysterious new guy stood in the shadows. "Hmmm lets have some fun...."

"I've got the new guy..." Said Zero as he walked towards him.

"Errrr i guess i got Vega.....Cyn wanna join me?" Said alice looking alittle confused who to pick.

"Sure, I'll help" Cynteria said standing next to Alice as she turned her attention on Vega.

Both MArkus and Dark walked to the centre of the room with their swords in their hands. Ocne they reached that point they stabbed their swords int eh ground while holding them in a reverse grip and while still holding them they drop to one knee with their heads bowed to eachother. After about twn seconds Markus lept forward landing a powerful right hook at Dark who got up seconds before the strike landed. The two then began to fight eachother will full fury. Throwing martial arts strikes and close quater magic spells are eachother.

Cynteia focused on Vega as she dashed forward, attempting to punch him with her secret art spell she still had on her fists.

Alice joined the charge crushing one of her rune talismans in her hand to coat in it metal. Vega however smirked and used his High Speed Magic to vanish and reppear under the attacks striking them in the stomach sending them back. He then drew his short swords and charged them with murderous intent.

Cynteria went in, striking out at him as he swung his short swords, managing to block each move, but was still slashed by him. Though she focused one attack and managed to land a powerful blow on him, sending him right into a wall, though her gauntlets were destroyed in the process.

Vega continued his assualt throwing a mix of unarmed and sword strikes not aiming for fatal spots but cuts intent on disabiling his opponants. Alice tried her best to land a strike with her steel coated fist which she did, landing a blow on Vega's shoulders blade resulting in a painful crunch.

Cynteria had absorbed some of the rock, using more barrage feathers as she sent another wave of them at him, dealing a few blows, but ended up leaving herself open for one of the swords to be sent right at her, stabbing her in the arm.

Vega then avoided Alice's attack and summoned his friends. "You guys deal with them while i fix my shoulder....The boss left some of that regeneration potion around ehre somewhere." He said as he walked over to a chest. "Plus i need a snack getting your shoulder broken works up a real hunger."

Cynteria sensed something dangerous in them, as if they were corrupted, "What are these things??" She asked Alice as she could tell she was getting serious now apon their arrival.

"New girl remember?" Said Alice as she shrugged. "I hardly know the names of half the guild."

The creates charged forward with amazing speed aiming at Alice and Cyn when suddenly a bolt of white lightning hit the first few. Alice looked at Markus who had just deflected one of Dark's attacks with perfect timing and accuracy.

"Happy to help!" He smirked jsut before Dark landed a brutal flying kick to his face.

Cynteria looked back at the beings surrounding Vega as she made her wings and began spinning around in circles until the same twister appeared and began to suck up the assassins, but a few managed to slip through and slash her, sending her straight to the ground.

By now Vega had recovered so once Cyn hit the ground he charged her leaping above her and pointing one of his blades down aimed at her head. However his plan failed as Alice flew forward shoulder charging him away from her. Vega looked at Alice and laughed "A runt like you won't beat me!" He cackled as he drew another blade from no where. "But lets see how well you bleed."

Alice smirked and crushed another talisman turning her entire body into steel but still allowed her to move as a normal human. "Bring it!" She said taking up a guard.

Cynteria managed to absorb more of the rock underneath her as she was able to block the blade with her own razor sharped wing, pushing him back as she used her second hand to punch him, sending him flying right into the wall.