Re: The Last Strand of Glory (Kiriyama)
“Yep,” Dante replied, snubbing his cigarette out on the palm of his hand. “The lab is somewhere in the Oripawn Mountains. Grasthos had a habit of placing his laboratories in places that people weren’t likely to go. A desert, a remote island, you get the picture.”
He turned and looked up. The horizon West of them was dominated by rocky, ice-laden peaks, just past a small expanse of forest. According to the map inscribed in one of the late Death Dealer’s journals, those were the Oripawn Mountains. Most maps referred to them by their newer name, adopted around five hundred years previously, the Peach Mountains.
Grasthos himself thought that calling them the Peach Mountains was absurd. He decided to place his final lab there, nonetheless. Kaja recalled what he’d read in the Dealer’s journal.
~
“The Oripawn Mountain range is where I’ll build it. Peach Mountains, pfft. No peaches have grown there in at least twelve decades. Calling it by that name is bastardizing all that the range once stood for. Anyhow, I think this lab will be entrusted to Toka. He’s been *****ing about how he needs a lab of his own, and I find myself agreeing with him.
I figure giving him the lab will lead to some interesting creations. His roots may be in necromancy, but he’s shown a great deal of capability when matters pertain to Tainted Element. I’ve seen him utilize his necromancy skills in conjunction with what I’ve taught him. Iruki and Shanz are perfect examples. They were once upper demons working for the original Gorin, but now they’re something far better.
Imagine a creature that is made completely from ash, the particles bonded together to form bodies. Now imagine that ash being capable of dispersing into a cloud and killing a man by inhabiting his lungs and reforming from the inside. Excellent creatures. Their capabilities seem to be degenerating, however.
First that Nenet woman burned them to death. Toka revived them and their Tainted Element gave them their ash abilities. Since then they’ve had encounters with Dante’s allies, a ninja by the name of Nenshou, and Dante himself. The last time I saw them, they were barely capable of fighting.
I’m encouraging him to get to work on his latest idea. Harvesting Tainted Element from pre-existing elements seems pretty primitive, especially when he could simply use Echo Side, but it does seem to work. He’s got an interesting list of people he plans on making into primitive echoes. Just by looking at the list, I can tell that this will be great.
Now then, to finish things with Dante. He’s learned how to cultivate his own Tainted Element, and will become a neo-echo if he gets any more…”
Primitive echoes. That’s what Dante was afraid of. Would his own use of Tainted Element make them stronger, as the substance had done back when he was a normal echo? Or were they too primitive to absorb the Taint from unnatural sources?
Whatever the case, Kaja set out for the mountain range without another word. It wouldn’t take too long to get there so long as there was nothing that would impede their progress.
~
“They’re near,” the necromancer’s voice echoed, causing the forest-bound creatures to stir. Before they had been great threats. The demons were capable of matching Dante when fighting together, and the hulking creature was more powerful than either of the demons individually.
Toka would be lying if he claimed to believe they would stand a chance. Iruki, Shanz, and #2 hadn’t fought Kaja in quite some time. From what he’d heard, the echo became a neo-echo, and then somehow managed to fuse with Echo Side itself. He alone would’ve been able to kill the trio.
To make matters worse, the fencer was with him. The fight wouldn’t be too long, but at least the trio would cost them enough time for the necromancer to escape from the lab. Let the primitive echoes deal with Dante and Zorlo. Arius alone was almost as powerful as the fencer, and Mateus would provide a psychological advantage over Dante.
“After all,” he scoffed, cutting the mental link to his minions, “Gorin and Dante both have enough memories of their original form to remember their mother abandoning them. Discovering what became of her after that, and facing the creature… That’s going to be priceless.”
He almost lamented the fact that the God of Wrath wasn’t with the fencer and the Tainted Incarnate. Oh well. Gorin would be destroyed in time, and his son would serve his purpose. Just so long as things went the way Grasthos had predicted.
Toka stepped out into the sunlight and pulled his cloak around himself tighter. He really should see Cross. Adam had as much to do with the late Death Dealer’s plans as he did.
OOC: I realize Iruki, Shanz, #2, and Toka haven't appeared in my work for some time. I'll PM you with the details on the trio waiting for Dante and Zorlo.