[Episode] Vikings, Knights, and Pirates, O my!

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Castor watched as the youth was man-handled by Dax, and stripped of his ability to speak. The crowd of Bandits looked at them even more resolved than before, the mentioning of the amulet did the opposite to the hoard, it invigorated them. Bloodlust brimming amongst the mob, neither party wasted any further words explaining themselves. Absolutely, even at the costs of their lives, they could never turn over their sacred heirloom to servants of Waldon's regime. Taking up arms, the pack of warriors dashed to surround both Dax and Castor, using multi-team combinations to setup the battle in their favour.

"If I was an honourable man, I would fulfill each of your desire to fight with my blade. However, honour is a fool's plaything. A toy loved by the egotist."Castor stated sighing, growing bored of the Bandits underestimating them. Activating his Haoshoku Haki, the pressure of the man will suppress them all. Leaving not even a single soul within their immediate range except the two sins awoke. Extending his hand forward, Castor blasted away the barricade with a single lightning bolt.

Without a single cue, the two Knights in disguise began to climb the final hill before the summit. At its peak, sitting at about ninety meters from their position, in front of a cave's entrance, was the man known as Bobbins. Riding atop his four-foot beast, Fenrir, Bobbins reached at his waist for a conch horn. Funneling air into the instrument, the sound echoed along the mountain range, and emerging from it's forests were the remaining of Bobbin's pack.

Nineteen wolves in total surrounded the duo, Bobbins barking commands to the animals as a general would to regular foot soldiers. The spiky hair goth enthusiast tossed his favored fur coat onto the ground to reveal his extremely chiseled figure. Reaching into his pouch, the man revealed four pills, each with a Kanji embroidered into them.

Each read as followed, starting from between the thumb and index: Quarter Moon, Half Moon, Full Moon and Eclipse. Popping the Quarter Moon pill into his mouth, the man's body began to bulk up, additional mass and definition being placed all across his figure. The man's nails elongated, the sharpness of which seemed to be able to cut through stone easily.

Fang's Den was an open area, with several stone formations resembling that of an animal's fang. The entrance to the cave itself resembled that of a Wolf's Head. Once inside the Den, the cave led into the mountain itself, a passageway leading directly towards White Lotus Keep, where the remnants of the Fiore Family resided. However from within the cave, an ominous aura(Haoshoku Haki) permeated, prohibiting anyone who wasn't strong willed enough from stepping into the cavern.

The murderous aura consumed Castor and before either Dax or Bobbins noticed, the knight had transformed into his element, covering the distance in seconds. At Bobbin's hind, the wolf tamer's eyes expanded widely in awe, his senses couldn't even follow the man's movement. Bobbins knew himself that if he'd step even an inch backwards, the aura would have consumed him, rendering him unconscious. Yet, Castor has been unaffected.

"Oi. Dax. I'm going ahead. I'll leave wolf boy to you.You better not lose. Remember. We're on the clock." Castor shouted, walking into the cave whistling.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

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Walking into the cavern, the smell of rotten flesh overwhelmed Castor, even to the point that he’d throw up in his mouth a little. The skeletons of warriors old and new decorated the stalagmite and stalactite populated chambers, and finally, after dashing through the cave in flight, an open area revealed itself.

Filled with green glades of grass spread across it’s flooring for as far as the eyes could view, in the center of the cavern, a six footer who’d been the source of the menacing aura stood staring at the open area’s ceiling which had caved in, leaving a sky’s view on display.

Gawking at the clouds, the man’s cloud watching was interrupted by the Three Eye Imp.


“Such a beautiful day. Yet you disrespected the sky god by shedding the blood of my men in her presence” Balthazar declared, still refusing to look anywhere in Castor’s direction.

“Oh. If I knew I had a spectator, I’d torture them more before I ended their lives.” Castor responded snidely.

“Was that your attempt to make me emotional? Rile me up and then take advantage of the bandit who loves his men like his own flesh and blood?” Balthazar said rhetorically.

Leaving no room for the man to jest, “It won’t work. I understand the circle of life. The strong live and the weak die. The Fiore were weak… That’s why we lost to the Waldon’s.

Mighty nobles reduced to nothing but Bandits, it’s almost hilarious when you think about it.” Balthazar said, chuckling in between.

“Give me the amulet.” Castor stated, cutting right to the point. “Ah. Did my history lesson bore you Jotun Knight? Then how about this ” Balthazar said, pushing off his right foot, starting into a dash towards Castor.

Hands resting atop his two blades’ hilts, wielding both long and short swords simultaneously, the man progressed swiftly, with an odd calmness in his movements. The elegance in his body’s posture, as his running form wasted no unnecessary energy, the man lunged into the air, leaving an after image of himself in the sky.

While on the ground, before Castor could even respond, Balthazar had already stepped into striking range.

Impressed by the man’s nimbleness, Castor reached for his own blade to counter but the interception was lost in translation, as Balthazar sped up once again, increasing his pace and slicing through the man’s chest, stretching the blade’s tip to right underneath his right eye.

The shorter tool of combat stayed wedged in the man’s left leg momentarily before Balthazar’s darkened boot, covered in Busoshoku Haki pushed Castor backwards. His hand still gripping the blade, the liberation from being wedged in Castor’s leg result in his hakama and kimono to be soaked in blood. (MT)[Knight’s Valor]

Making sure to respond while Balthazar was still in range, Castor instantly heat up the air around him using an electrical field. A loud boom erupted, the compact explosion’s heat was so vast it melted the man’s chainmail and singed his fur coat. (HT)[Kari]

Balthazar’s body began to feel heavy, in a lot of ways the man’s counter-attack was unexpected. The supernatural element to his abilities leaned Balthazar to believe that the man was indeed a Devil Fruit user and if that was the case, it’d be an uphill battle from here.

Retreating backwards, Balthazar tried to create room so he could regroup and regain composure but Castor continued the chase. Emerging from the Logia user's back, two lightning bolts shot off, running against the ground, setting the grass aflame as they did.

Augmenting themselves in the form of wolves, the lightning bolts danced in a zigzag pattern, before elapsing their routes behind Balthazar’s body, connecting against his back.(LT)[10 Million Volt – Raiju]

A plume of dust covered Balthazar. The intensity of Castor’s attacks left his body shaking violently. Gripping onto his blades' hilts tightly, the man jumped into mid-air, spinning his body like a top. From his blade's spiral, two wind blades flew towards the Knight Bastion.

Removing Summer Rain, Castor blackened his blade and cut through the wind blades, splitting the compressed air into four fragments, the pieces crashing into the ground left noticeable dents.

Coating his appendages in Haki, Balthazar dashed in once more, this time attempting to slash towards Castor’s jugular. Allowing the blade to slide through his neck, rejecting the haki around it and retaining his intangibility, Castor counter slashed his blade along Balthazar’s exposed ribcage.

Enduring the pain, Balthazar waited until Castor swung his blade all the way through, to lung forward, attempting to head-butt the man to create distance once more. The shiny metallic texture of Balthazar’s forehead was intercepted by using the flat side of Summer Rain to act as a shield.

During the power exchange, Castor’s body began to feel noticeably groggy. As the man’s panting quickened, the Bandit used the opportunity to create space between their person, leaping backwards.

“It looks like my poison has finally begun to take effect.” Balthazar declared grinning.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

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“While you try to regroup… Can I bore you with an old story?” Balthazar stated, hopping backwards to maintain a safe distance. Cautious of Castor’s ability to manipulate electricity, momentarily, Balthazar decided to switch to long-range assault to wither down the Masked Knight’s stamina.

“There once was a mighty family. Who knew nothing of hardships…Their ancestors helped build a Kingdom that many men would come to envy and try to destroy it.

Decades… Centuries even passed, and this family among five others, thrived in peace. Until, the King of the Kingdom allowed a snake to slide into the court.

That snake… Murdered my love ones. I ask no mercy or sympathy from you, Knight. I only tell you this story because you don’t seem to be like the other Jotun Knights. If you were… You wouldn’t be here before me.” Balthazar declared.

Gashi Gashi Gashi Gashi

Breaking into a maniacal laugh, the Masked Knight couldn’t help but relate to the Bandit’s story. “I know all too well how it feels… To have your destiny determined by a fool in scholar’s clothing. The moment I decided to set sail on these seas… I promised to never put my fate in another persons hand ever again.” Castor responded, discharging electricity from around his body violently.

The surge from his discharge grew larger, each bolt expanding outward before separating into small pollen size spores. Consuming the battlefield, the dazzling light show immersed Balthazar. Escape at this stage was futile, as several the spores had already stuck to his person. Convulsing violently, the Bandit fell to his knees, panting rapidly as he’d clutch at his chest, dropping his two blades to the floor. (MT)[Enlil’s Curse]

In this moment of a lapse, Castor shot off his right arm in the form of a lightning bolt, the impact of which crashed against Balthazar’s chest. (LT)[Orko’s Whim] In the last moments before the bolts contact, the Bandit Leader grabbed onto his blades’ hilts, taking them along for the ride. Screeching out in pain, Balthazar quickly followed up by silencing any further signs of weakness. Muffling his own cry, the Knight stood once again.

Rotating his body 360 degrees, spiraling forward, the man’s two swords acted as a kind of saw, blasting through Castor’s guard, cutting his golden armor in two. The gash from the strike, split Nox’s chest cage open slightly, splattering blood everywhere. (LT)[Pride Rotation] Balthazar had proven that in terms of speed, the two were equals within the same bracket, or so, he thought.

Sticking to his hit and run tactics, Balthazar opted to create distance once more but after the first hop backwards, the man’s body convulsed, stifling his retreat.Grinning beneath his mask, Castor pointed his index finger at Balthazar’s right leg. Shooting off in a bullet like fashion, the bolt from his finger tip pierced through the Bandit’s right high, crippling him. (LT)[Volt]

Jerking his blade forward in response, from the Bandit's longsword an arc of air was released. Shaped in the visage of a blade's edge, the wind blade flew towards Castor’s chest cage, around the same region as Balthazar's prior attack. (LT)[Wind Blade] Making mincemeat of Castor’s flesh, the blade pushed him aback against his will. Boots grinding into the mud, the Three Eye man waited until the blade dissipated enough, before cutting through the remaining force with his nodachi.

Rattling violently against the tension, Summer Rain fought valiantly to act as a shield from the force. Hungry for more blood, Castor wasted no effort in zooming into the man’s personal space, both men exchanging a single blow along each other’s body with their respective weapons.

“What is your motivation… How can you fight with such ferocity when you yourself don’t seem to harbor any ambitions of garnering favor in his eyes?” Balthazar observed.

“That’s a wild assumption but of course I don’t care about his favor. Whether it be you or Waldon who takes over Jotun… Either way, I’d have to kill you both eventually.” Castor retorted.

“Such cold words from a lonely man.” Balthazar said.

“Are you a psychic or something? I won’t be lonely forever. I’ll be sure to give you the perfect show from the other side. As I slaughter your entire family, wiping them from history’s page for wasting my time. Oh and if your clan decide to haunt me, I'll have plenty of company. Poetic, no?” Castor concluded.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

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At this moment, Castor and Balthazar could only focus on one thing, the incredibly loud noise of their hearts beating. The sound rang in their ears as ounces upon ounces of sweat fell onto the cavern’s grassland. A gush of air rushed in from the ceiling, fluttering the pirate Captain’s ponytail in the breeze. Blood stained garments told the tale of a Pirate Captain masquerading as a Knight on a mission for genocide. Electrocuted motor skills told the tale of a Prince who’d been reduced to a Bandit on a mission for salvation.

Panic slipped into the heart of Nox first, as he would come to realize he couldn’t feel his right arm. The poison coursing through his veins was beginning to shut down his nerve receptors. Even the sensation of pressure at the bottom of his feet began to fail, giving him a feeling of standing on a cotton peg, his feet felt weightless. Blood pouring from the sawed open flesh on his chest and it’d take more than a few stitches to patch him up.

Panic paid Balthazar a visit next, his motor skills were completely shot. It was taking him everything in his power to continue maintaining a grip on his blades. His senses were failing him and if he’d lax his muscles even the slightest, the ground below him would be his new keeper. The wound on his thigh was bleeding profusely, and wasn’t displaying any signs of closing anytime soon.

Taking a deep breath, inhaling and then exhaling, Castor rose his left hand, snapping his fingers. A massive electrical field began to converge around Castor’s body, using his being as the epicenter of it all, almost like a power generator feeding energy. A massive discharge of lightning shot off towards Balthazar’s position. As it travelled, the point of the bolt formed into the face of a dragon’s head. The very ground rattled as the beast slid above surface level, anxious to devour it’s latest prey.

Balthazar tried to command to his body to move but his requests were left on deaf ears. As the dragon’s mouth swallowed the Bandit whole, 60 Million Volts of electricity seeped into the man’s body, eviscerating his armor and clothing. The man’s incredible durability alone left his body intact but his insides were electrocuted severely, Balthazar was essentially a zombie at this point. A loud explosion shook the whole cave, leaving a crater behind, in which the Bandit stood erect. The black charcoal look of the earth beneath his feet was a tell tale to the damage that had been done. (HT)[60 Million Volt - Julungul]

Still, the man stood at attention, as a statue would in a garden or landmark. Erasing his presence, Balthazar’s life began to transcend to the other world. Taking his spear from its holster on his back, Castor began to walk towards Balthazar, closing the distance within seconds. Skewering Iris’s blade through the man’s heart, Castor injected his pole weapon deep inward. When no more blade remained to wedge, blackening the wood itself in Busoshoku, through brute force, he'd continue with its insertion until half the spear was now protruding out of Balthazar’s back. (LT)[Impale]

Orally spitting out blood, Balthazar’s lion mane coat was soaked in blood down its center. Slashing his nodachi along Balthazar’s leg and elbow joints, the soldiers time at attention had ended. Face first on the floor, even now, the man refused to release the grip on his weapons. Standing confidently above him, Castor stooped down to administer the finishing blow.

“Goodbye stranger. Our conversation was intriguing enough.” Castor exclaimed arrogantly.

Suddenly, the same dread that Castor was known for instilling in others came over him. In one last hail Mary motion, a massive golden aura encompassed the Bandit. Coating the swords in this aura, the blackened blades pierced Castor twice. The first, a couple of inches off from his heart, and the second, a couple inches off from his kidney. (HT)[Lion’s Pride] Blood shot from Castor’s mouth, as the broad smile on Balthazar’s face widened from ear to ear.

“Learn the names of those you’re about to murder. At least then you can atone for your sins. My name is Balthazar Fiore. I am the heir to the Fiore family… The one you so nonchalantly mentioned you would annihilate!”Balthazar exclaimed panting. Using the last bit of his energy in the previous attack, the Bandit continued to twist the blade’s inwards causing Castor to vomit up more blood.

Dropping onto the floor with no more stamina to expend, Balthazar’s blades stayed wedged into Nox. The poisonous edges left their stain on the pirate, now infecting his main circulatory system. An ominous lull befell the cave before Fiore broke out into a crazed laughter, almost celebratory in nature. However, it was short lived, as the weapons in the man body began to melt, Castor plopped onto the ground in a seated position. Silence befell the cave once more.

“Balthazar… Fiore. I’ll remember that name.” Castor declared breaking the silence in the cave. Sensing a familiar energy closing in, the results of Dax’s fight seemed settled. A loud bark filled the cave, echoing outward towards Castor’s position, the wailing sound came accompanied by a trinket. Tossing Balthazar’s comrade head to their position, the Bandit’s eyes shrieked with fear.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

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“Ah. I remember this day.” Castor thought.

Hallucinating, before him was a ten-year-old version of himself that sat in front of his mentor, Jules' cell, the night before her execution. Spending all day plotting frantically, the man who’d been studying the Montblanc’s Estates castles for as long as he can remember, used their various gaps to sneak in and attempt to free Jules.

Stealing the keys from a slumbering guard, the Three Eye Child stood to divert his master’s fate. However, sitting in her cell, chained to the floor, the woman refused to leave, even after Castor had opened the door and offered to liberate her chains.

“Leave this place now boy. Tell your father to take you and run.” Jules stated sternly. Her usual playful manner of talking to Castor had faded, a mere memory of happier days.

The woman’s words fell as crude thumps to his ego, sniffling, “I don’t want you to die… Jules.” Castor said, tears streaming from his eyes, falling onto the floor as steadily as raindrops on ceilings tops during scattered showers.

“Everyone has to die sometime brat. Dry your tears. Valhalla awaits for me.” Jules responded.

“B-But you can only make it into Valhalla by dying in combat…” Castor countered.

Breaking down in laughter, “I guess you got me there! How do you know that? You read too much you punk! I guess I'll just wander around and haunt you!” Jules exclaimed, chuckling heartedly.

“Jules. I promise you. I’ll avenge your death. I’ll kill them all. The King. That Celestial Dragon. Anyone who makes light of your death… I’ll kill them!” Castor barked violently, the once quiet pacifist youth, driven into a blind rage.

As Castor’s Three Eyes broadened creepily, Jules leaned forward, her chains rattling with the motion, head-butting Castor.

“Idiot. And then what? They’ll crown a new king. The World Government will punish any country involved in even the slightest scratch on a Dragon’s Head! Lvneel would be destroyed! You’ll surely be tortured and executed! Don’t you ever repeat what you just said in front of anyone. Ever again.” Jules shouted, shaking frantically as she spoke.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Castor simply drew close, wrapping his arms around the woman’s neck for a gentle embrace. This would be the first day in Jules life that she’d ever broken down in tears in Castor’s presence, and this would also be the first day that Castor lost his ability to sympathize or empathize with anyone. His great plot foiled by his masters kind words, Castor was crushed. He knew with his mother gone, his father tied to the King and his mentor murdered, he was all alone in the world.

“Cas. Watch my execution tomorrow. Once it’s over… You’ll understand what I mean. Your life will be very tough from now on. They’ll have some days where you truly want to die… but fight. Fight that feeling until your old and grey like me. Find people who you trust to support you. Forget about Lvneel… Forget about me… and most importantly,” Jules stated, pausing at the end of her farewell speech.

Leaning back, she’d shuffle around constricted, kissing Castor on his cheek.  

“Be Free. Revenge will only taint that plain white soul of yours.” Jules concluded smiling.

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Snapping out of his hallucination, before him was the present situation. Balthazar Fiore fought to crawl towards his beheaded comrade’s severed head.

“Bobbins!” Balthazar shouted with tears flowing from hid eyes. Finally, the effects of the electrocution had taken full swing. Balthazar was seconds away from losing his ability to move. His nervous system fried, the man used what was the last of energy to plop onto his back, staring at the clear open sky.

“You want the amulet... The elders have it. I beg of you please… Don’t kill anymore of my people.” Balthazar declared panting.

Biting into his arm, Castor transformed his left hand into electricity and began to feed on his lightning. The feast closed up any opened wounds on his body but the damage had been done. With poison coursing through his body and an overall soreness to his person, Castor used his Kenbunshoku Haki to scan the man’s body. After searching for about five minutes, he’d find a small vial with words, ‘antidote.’

After draining the glass vial’s content, Castor smashed it’s emptied vessel onto the floor, alleviating the toxin’s symptoms. Stripping the man of his Lion’s Coat, in the coat’s pockets contained the amulet in question.

“Even in your final moments… You lied to save your people. You were an honorable man. Unfortunately... I am not. Honor is a fool’s game played by heroes who need the courage to overcome adversity.

I’m sorry Jules. The moment you died… I was stained already. Your words moved me… but they had an opposite effect. The Castor you knew died in that shipwreck… Minion Island was my hell. I’ve returned from the depths for my toll. I will be paid.” Castor concludes, sliding hid arms into the man’s coat.

Returning his spear – Iris into its holster, Castor withdrew Summer Rain with his working left hand and beheaded the dead Bandit. Grabbing onto Balthazar’s full head of purple spiky hair, the man heckled at Dax, carrying the severed head under his arm. “I sense a settlement up ahead. I’ve also retrieved the amulet. We can’t have any survivors. I’m pretty sure Waldon’s a man whose not keen on mercy.” Castor continued to say, wincing at his wounds.

Traversing the cavern, eventually sunlight beamed in by its exit. Climbing a slight incline, walking outside the cave, the duo stood on a hill overlooking Lotus Keep. It was beautiful, White Lotus flowers flourished in every direction the eyes could perceive. Off in the distance, the voices of children, women and elders alike chimed into Castor’s electro radio.

“North East of here… There’s a huge settlement. I can hear it. Time to plunder!” Castor exclaimed grinning.

COMBAT TRACKERS:

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Lotus Keep | Jotun Mountain Range | Five Minutes Before Dax’s Attack

Today was their holy day of worship, where the Fiore sent their young out into the forest atop the mountain to gather the White Lotus as the centerpiece for their ritual. The elderly was ordered to gather in the town’s square, where worship to various pagan gods occurred.

To the Fiore, the goddess of the Sky specifically was one who overlooked their clan, a lost tradition in contrast to the new Vassal Lords who don’t follow any religion, only money, status and power garnered their faith.

The ceremony was intimate, to say the least. To those who carried the eyes of an outsider, it’d look almost foreign and occult. Once the collectors returned, they’d pass the Lotus plants onto the elders, who would then chew the plant in their mouths until it was mush.

Spitting the crushed leaves into a gourd at the center of an altar, the Three Elders spat into the clay pot, adding to the concoction. Lastly, each of the women from various households would grab a dull knife, extracting a single drop of their blood into ritual’s vessel, completing the trifecta, Man, Child and Woman.

The clay pot was covered in Sake and Oil and lit afire, and dancing around the flames, various members of the clan chanted and beat on drums to celebrate the day. The usual joyous rhythmic offerings would drown out the sound of the villagers who were late to the ceremony, being suffocated with lungs filled with gold.

However, the children darted pass the dead, rushing towards the town square to inform the others.

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As Dax went ahead, Castor remained on the cliff overlooking the village to the North East. Sensing the positions of every voice within the village, Castor waited patiently for the stragglers to make it to inform the Elders. Dressed in their traditional ceremonial drab, white elk skin knitted flawlessly together to form a war chief’s cloak.

On it’s back, each garment bore the symbol of wings. The wings were glued on to form angel wings that protrude similar to that of Sky Dwellers. The people in the village wore white plain robes to indicate their offering to the goddess in the sky.

Dancing, drinking and trading folk tales, as the drumming and the festivities launched, the image of a teen, no older than seventeen returned to the camp.

Dropping to his knees at the perimeter of the clan’s encirclement, losing his life to lungs burdened by gold. The alpha males in the clan rushed to inspect the boy’s wounds but to his rear, an ominous gold dust loomed. The timing for a ritual of Castor’s own had arrived, forming a cluster of electricity in the form of a sphere, the Nox Pirate Captain fired off the dome to hover above the town-square.

As the sphere sat above the fluffy white clouds in the clear blue skies, the discharge from Castor’s orb began to cause the clouds to swell with animosity.

Black textured clouds expanded in a plume like fashion, until the heavens gave out a mighty roar. A humungous lightning bolt shot down from the sky, encapsulating the villagers in the eye of the ethereal azure beam. Coating the Three Elders in his presence, Castor left behind only them as the only survivors.

Aside from those still in the forest gathering, two-hundred and eighty-five of the Fiore natives settling in the Lotus Keep, had perished instantly under the bolts massive force.

“El Thor” Castor murmured.

The earth shook with tremendous force, uprooting the nearby tree-houses and tents of their content, scattering it around in a frenzy. No sounds of screeches in pain, no time to fear death and certainly, no suffering had been brought to the victims, they’d perished a single millisecond after contact.

The village uprooted, at its core, a large obsidian crater was left in wake of the lightning bolt’s wrath. The residual heat around the crater wasn’t under Castor's control however, and it began to cook the Elders alive. Torching their skin to shades of black that haven’t even been recorded on any spectrum.

Transforming into a lightning bolt himself, within in seconds Castor had streamed himself before the Elders, reforming his body into its human stature before the men.

Their eyes frozen open, unable to blink, frozen with fear until their eyeballs had began to burn out in their socket, robbing them of the ability to see. The last image in their mind would be that of the Masked Knight, fully cloaked in Balthazar’s jacket. However, the Knights shiny armor nor their heroes garments wouldn’t be the focal point of their last visual, it would be the sight of Balthazar’s severed head in the man’s hand.

Creating an electrical field around himself and them, he’d toss the Fiore Bosses head towards the Elders. Tears streaming down Bastion’s face, the Masked Knight removed his mask, revealing his sulking three eyes.

“Your ritual was beautiful. I’ll forever carry the image of your tradition in my heart. The look on their faces of pure ecstasy, as the drums entranced them. The look of panic on the older men’s faces as they realized the impending doom. Shed no tears… They felt no pain.” Castor declared.

The other two elders had caught heart attacks from the shock and passed out shortly after the electrical barrier was erected. Leaving Yukon and Castor, as the only two concious beings at the town’s center.

“You have some pretty intense Haki for an old bat.” Castor declared chuckling, as the man held on for dare life. “You kept us alive, but the other two couldn’t stomach the situation. I’ve lost my eyesight… and I’m in insurmountable amounts of pain. What do you want with this Old Man?” Yukon Fiore inquired.

“It might be a little abrupt to ask this but what are the markings on this amulet saying? Why did the Lord of Jotun send us all the way up the mountain for this dingy talisman?” Castor inquired.

“As if it’d tell you that! I’d die before-“ Yukon exclaimed, his words cut short with a lightning bolt through the head from Castor’s index finger. Resting his hands on the chest of the other two elders who’d suffered heart attacks, Castor would send a shock into their chest cages administering CPR. However, with one unresponsive, and the other hopping up panting frantically, Castor changed his attention to the next Elder Griffin.

He wasn’t as tight lipped as Yukon, but saw no point in revealing his clans secrets. Regardless, the strange being would slaughter him like livestock either way.

“I’ll ask once more. What is this amulet?”Castor inquired, digging through Balthazar’s pocket to dangle the prize in their clan’s heirloom.

Spitting in Castor’s face, with what was left of his strength, the Masked Knight wasn’t phased by the man’s taunt. Firing off another bolt through the elder Griffin's forehead, all three Elders had now officially perished. Expanding his Sixth Sense over the immediate area, after about twenty minutes of scanning Castor had discovered a slew of books buried beneath the town square, locked in a treasure chest.

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