Tengoku
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Tengoku
Chapter 1
The Assassins
"There is one acting in the mortal world as a sorcerer, he has violated the sacred rule of transcendence," emperor Temmu roared in an awesome voice that resonated with power. The three men before him each knelt, their heads solemnly bowed. The three men were made up of a large wolf in the center, a tiger on the right and a dragon on the left. "The three of you have proven yourselves worthy in the realm of Tengoku, you have stood up against darkness that would have brought ruin to others and you have destroyed sorcerers possessed of evil who came in from the other world. You shall breach the barrier and enter the world of Chi, there you will hunt down and destroy the condemned sorcerer Aster. Do not return without his head or it will be your deaths, if you fail to return in one hundred and eight days it will be assumed that the darkness has consumed your souls and assassins will be sent to dispatch you. Do not disappoint me warriors!" The emperor of Tengoku rose from his cushion on the dais before the three champions, his face obscured in darkness only his gleaming eyes and shiny silk robes could be seen. He raised his right hand which instantly became engulfed in blue flame and thrust it before him and a vortex opened. "The realm of Chi awaits you, a realm that hungers for your deaths!" The emperor growled a deep menacing sound like the low rumble of thunder. The three beast men rose in unison, unhesitatingly they stepped through the vortex.
"Cursed to enter a hostile realm because our outstanding service gained the notice of his majesty the emperor, what rotten luck." the wolf Muramasa spoke as he carefully surveyed his surroundings. The three of them stood in what appeared to be some kind of park with grass and trees. All around them were tall dark buildings with pinpricks of light shining darkly from small luminescent the windows.
"Others have suffered worst fates for their service; do not forget about the eleven warriors who his majesty the emperor chose to sacrifice to the high goddess to appease her wrath when our world was shaken to its core." Now it was the dragon Razor who spoke with a bitter stab of anger in his tone.
"They were our best but let's please try to think positively here, speaking ill of his majesty the emperor will not accomplish our mission, also I can already feel the darkness creeping into our souls." The tiger Astrega spoke in a tone that hushed them all for a moment.
"We must summon the veil before our presence becomes known in this world." Muramasa began casting a spell but his head felt like it was being split in two and his fur stood on end, his mind reeled as he tried to comprehend why his spell was backfiring.
"Remember we are in the realm of Chi now, the physical energetic base of our magic has been removed and replaced with a pure energetic base which has been amplified unto infinity,therefore we must cast our spells from the soul." The calm minded Astrega spoke, he then proceeded to raise his hand much as the emperor had done earlier and without so much as uttering a word the spell was complete and a veil of invisibility cloaked the three warriors.
"Ever the calm minded cat I see, I am a warrior and rarely rely on magic to fight my battles," Muramasa growled.
"Don't worry, you will adapt, if we are to complete our mission you don't really have a choice." The dragon began working a spell of his own. Razor's eyes glowed with magic as he finished his spell. "I cast a scrying spell to find our quarry but there is a lot of noise in this world, I'm not so sure-"
"He is to the west! Muramasa licked his finger, touched his nose and sniffed the wind, I have found his scent, we must waste no time!" Without waiting for the others, Muramasa began walking due west. The two others followed Muramasa until the three of them were stopped at the parks edge by traffic.
"What the devil are those contraptions!?" Razor shouted as a car rushed by.
"Leave them, the veil will protect us from their physical presence," Astrega urged as the dragon began working a spell. Razor stepped outside of the veil and created a ball of lightning which he held in his green scaly hand, it shone like a miniature blue sun. Razor hurled it at one of the cars while the others stared in disbelief. The car exploded flying twenty feet into the air it crashed into the side of a building. People began screaming and running in every direction. The dragon quickly stepped back into the veil.
"This world is going to be a lot of fun! Razor grinned wickedly."
"Already falling prey to the temptations of darkness are we?" The tiger slapped Razor on the back and without further ado, the wolf lead them toward their prey.
Aster, the man clad in darkness stood in his lavish penthouse office at the height of a massive black sky scraper. He looked down at the neon lights of the bustling city with an evil gleam in his eye.
Sir, the reactors are complete though they don't work by any means which science currently understands, we have been able to back engineer them from the plans which you have so graciously provided for us.
"Excellent, that miniature reactor which you now hold shall provide the ordinary man with a most extraordinary power, but what of the black gates? "
"They have been constructed at the key points around the world as you have ordered and each has had a reactor placed in the specified area..."
"As planned the marketing of the reactors have already showered us in profit, now we need only market them to the public and we will be the single largest company on earth!"
"As always sir you have proven a genius."
"Oh I am more than a genius David I am a god!"
"Isn't that going a bit overboard sir?" David's voice quivered ever so slightly as he spoke.
"Think carefully on you words David; no mere human could have invented a device which converts an energy source undetectable by science into gross physical energy which can be employed in the empowerment of machines. But enough of that, have my lightning troopers been properly trained, have their minds been broken?" David snapped his fingers and three boys walked in clad from head to toe in black body armor they knelt before Aster. Aster looked down at them with an evil intensity. "As I am sure David has taught you as part of your training three evil beings have appeared on earth from another world. They seek my death and will attack this building before the night is done. Your duty is to use the reactors David has provided you with to fuel spells which will destroy them, incinerate them, and utterly annihilate them! Do you understand? The future of the world depends on your actions and if you fail me and live so help me god there are no words for what I shall do to you!" Aster raved in an unnatural voice like a demon from the depths of hell. The three boys looked at him with unwavering gazes.
"Yes sir!" They shouted in unison and rose to a standing position.
"Give them the detection devices David, when the beings enter this building, they will be slain! By the darkness I swear it!"
"This building!" Muramasa pointed a hairy paw toward a large black building.
"The presence of evil here Is unmistakable..." Astrega spoke in a low tone. Razor regarded them both in grim silence; he unfolded his wings and then closed them.
"We can take the direct path, storm the first floor and work our way up or we can do the intelligent thing and attack from the rooftop." Razor spoke in somber tones as he looked up taking in the height of the menacing building.
"I suggest we split up, while it is often best to work as a group our odds of making it to the enemy undetected are much higher." Astrega rubbed hi s paw thoughtfully on his chin.
"Absolutely not! We must work in a group, if we split up then the sorcerer Astor will have us in his hands, divided we will be conquered!"
"Sorry but I kind of agree with the tiger here, if we split up we can each take advantage of our own abilities and magic and we won't have to worry about being spotted as a group, we can meet near the source of the evil energy and as a group we can destroy it!" Razor punched his fist into his palm as he spoke the last word.
"Sorry wolf, I guess we have you beat two to one here..." Astrega said apologetically, looking down at Muramasa.
"Whatever! do what you want, If I have to destroy the sorcerer myself then by god I will!" The angry wolf stomped the ground in frustration. "I will take the bottom and work my way up, Razor, since you have wings why don't you start at the top, and you can do whatever you want Astrega..." Muramasa stormed off toward the building's main entrance alone, his veil of invisibility remained intact.
"Muramasa's plan isn't bad... "The dragon spread his wings and took to the air.
"So be it than, I shall attack from the center!" The tiger leapt sixteen feet into the air, catapulting from one sky scraper to the next until he burst through a window shattering the glass, unseen but certainly heard.
Jon stood at his post as per David's orders. When the company had offered to give his father a huge raise and promotion in exchange for his services in a special project Jon had found himself in a position where he was being treated as an object rather than a human being. Both of Jon's parents had jumped at the opportunity to gain more money at their child's expense. Jon had begged to be left out of this but they asked him how he could possibly be so selfish. The company of course honey coated their words by using vocabulary such as education and program and career. Jon had found himself in some kind of soldier project with excruciating training. He had been both mentally and physically broken down and he had been forced to learn the ins and outs of a strange device that gave him power. Of course it was made quite clear that it wasn't his power and the threats of what would happen to him if he failed in any way were bone chilling. Whatever the case, Jon would do his duty or die trying. Jon took a deep breath and brushed his blue hair out of his eyes. The devil detection device which he had been given suddenly showed a dot moving toward him at a rapid speed. Jon held his breath, this was the moment! The air in front of him shimmered ever so slightly and he knew exactly what to do...
As Astrega hurried down the long cold dark halls of the massive foreboding building he found a child blocking his path. This was only different from other humans he encountered in that the child was looking directly at him with cold piercing blue eyes, there was no way it could see him through the magical barrier which he had erected.
"Die!" The child shouted and a beam of red energy blasted from his hand destroying all spells which Astrega had in effect.
"What the devil are you!" Astrega roared as he readied a destructive spell. Astrega blasted lightning from his paw toward the child, but the boy batted the electricity aside as if it were some toy! Astrega's eyes widened in astonishment as the child attacked him with another spell before he could even recover. The boy threw fire at him; Astrega erected a barrier mere milliseconds before the fire would have incinerated him. Astrega charged the child quickly hoping to overpower him, but the boy pulled out a mini Uzi and began blasting away. Bullets destroyed the ceiling and wall and everything around him as Astrega attempted to protect himself mid pounce with the result of him crashing hard into the floor and smashing into a wall. "Damn you!" Astrega roared, "even if you are a child..."
"You have to die; you have to die right now!" The child shouted and held out his hand where he held some sort of energy device which blasted out fire lightning and ball lightning in every direction! Astrega cast a powerful defensive spell but not before being hit by some of the lightning! His body twitched as the smell of singed fur filled his nostrils. He groaned in agony and his eyes blazed with a fire that made the boy stop in his tracks as he rose to his feet.
"With every ounce of my power I shall destroy all of the elements you are using and leave you as helpless as the child you are!" A red aura blazed around the tiger as he concentrated all of his effort on one spell. Unleashing all of the energy at once the tiger created an explosion which demolished the entire floor of the building leaving him and the boy both suspended in mid air. The boy and the tiger were both immersed within a sphere black as night. The boy floundered as his powers failed him. Astrega casually walked up to the boy, lifted him by his head and squeezed until he felt the child's neck snap. He then released the boy letting his body fall away through the bottom of the sphere and through the air below until it crashed into the wreckage that had once been the fifty first floor of the building.
Ten men all had guns pointed at Muramasa and one young boy commanded them with a dark hatred burning in his eyes. Muramasa was no genius with magic but he quickly cast a spell which made his flesh impenetrable, the bullets bounced off harmlessly. He tore his way through one man after another, ripping out their throats and bashing their skulls in with his superior strength. Without their guns, the wolf had learned that humans were as weak as maggots and could be killed with ease. The child who was commanding them seemed reluctant to use his power but when he was the only one left he just stared at Muramasa.
"You're just a cub; you don't want to die like them do you? Hand over your weapon, I'll show you mercy." Muramasa growled through clenched teeth.
"Even if you showed me mercy, they wouldn't, I will fight you here or die trying!" The boy shouted as he blasted red energy from his palm toward Muramasa. The wolf dodged the energy and looked the boy in the eye.
"I can see in your eyes that you don't want to fight, don't make me kill you!" Muramasa growled as he scanned the boy for weaknesses. As the boy readied another attack Muramasa noticed a device in his hands that had to be the source of his power since humans couldn't use magic naturally in the realm of Chi. Time seemed to slow down to Muramasa as the boy began his attack, the wolf focused all of his magical energy into a concentrated blast aimed at the device in the boys hand. "Gocha!" Muramasa shouted as he blasted the device with a beam of concentrated lightning before the boy even knew what was happening. The device exploded creating a brilliant flash of white light that left them both stunned for an instant, images of grey blue demons merged with one another filled the air and quickly faded.
"Your just a normal human now, do you still want to fight me?" The wolf walked a semi circle around the stunned boy never letting his guard down. The boy took a few steps backward his eyes wide with terror.
"You don't understand! They will kill me!" The boy charged Muramasa who swiftly knocked him unconscious.
"I don't have time for this!" Muramasa quickly charged down the hall toward an elevator shaft where he ripped through the ceiling of the elevator and bounded up the shaft with bestial speed.
Joey the last of the children stood at his post waiting for his enemy to arrive when he heard over his radio that unit's one and three had been defeated. Quickly pocketing the reactor he turned and ran, he ran with all his might, ran into the darkness, nothing was worth getting killed, Joey had to find a way to escape!
The three of them arrived as planned at the source of evil; two of them were covered in blood. They stood in a large dark room with a view. Lush potted plants filled the room and strange art covered the walls. They panted with exhaustion to tired from their battles to speak except for Razor who gaped in wonder first at the room and then at his bloodied comrades.
"I am glad you could make it!" A demonic voice seemed to boom from everywhere at once as a shadow materialized from the night time darkness in front of a massive window, the shadow hovered in the air and took the form of a man as it landed gently on the floor.
"I must say that I am impressed with you demons, you have proven to me that pure magic cannot be rivaled by mere machines... A lesson I will keep in mind." The man's demonic voice had calmed to something more human sounding, something that better fit his image of a man in a black suit with a tie and short black hair, handsome young features but with cruel hate filled eyes.
"I am Astor the sorcerer from Tengoku which you are all here to slay however, I have a proposal; won't you all join me? I am in need of seasoned sorcerers, and in return I offer you a place by my side when I become God of the merged worlds!
"Our mission is to destroy you and we will never deviate from it! Your words are wasted on us sorcerer, I will tear that evil tongue right out of your mouth!" Muramasa yelled as he suddenly recovered his breath and began advancing toward Aster with a stronger sense of purpose.
"It's both a pity and a waste that you won't accept my offer, you three would have proven excellent soldiers in the coming war with Tengoku." The man's voice became more demonic as he ceased to disguise his words and the oppressive hatred in his tone rang with a cruel tinge of evil. Before Muramasa could get very far Astor made a brief gesture with his hand. "Kill them" he said with a casual air to his speech.
"As you wish my liege," Astrega blasted black bolts of awesome omnipotent energy from both his hands at once, they hit Muramasa and Razor in the back downing them both in one fell blow; disbelief, hatred and confusion crossed their eyes all at once as they had just been betrayed by their best magic user, ally and friend.