Sa:cryd ZERO

Chapter 10

The next day, the news reported that the arsonist had burned himself alongside an inn located in a certain neighborhood. Lexus couldn’t help but to think about the time he was in Vanessa’s room. He had an idiotic look on his face, as even Alice could tell that something had happened yesterday. However, she decided to let that one slide as she would eventually find the time to wring out all the juicy info from the teenager. School went on as usual but when classes ended and Lexus was about to go home, he saw that Vanessa was standing beside a black vehicle as she called him over. Lexus quickly went towards her as the two entered the vehicle, which then drove off. In the vehicle, Lexus couldn’t help but to ask Vanessa what was up. “We have a special mission on our hands. We’re currently being driven to the Eastern branch of the League of Guardians”, Vanessa answered. “Oh, I see”, Lexus could feel excitement brewing up inside him, since going to another branch meant meeting other guardians his age as well as other commanders. In no time, the vehicle had arrived at the eastern sector as it took a special underground passage to where the headquarters was located. Once they were inside, the two were greeted by two personnel who then took them inside. The place was huge as lots of people walked about doing their jobs. Lexus had an excited look on his face but that immediately disappeared when he saw the totally annoyed look on Vanessa’s face as the two walked. “Why does she have to be pissed every single time? It’s not good for her pretty face”, Lexus thought as he kept staring. Vanessa felt the stare as she directed a glare towards Lexus, who immediately averted his gaze and started sweating bullets. “We’re here”, the man they followed finally spoke after stopping in front of a particular door. Vanessa immediately entered as Lexus also followed. Seated was Ezekiel and two other people that Lexus didn’t recognize. “I knew I’d definitely get to see your ugly face again”, Vanessa immediately blurted out without a care in the world. She was talking to the lady standing beside the other seated individual who was a man in his late fifties. She took one look at Vanessa and retorted, “And the princess has finally returned home. I was so worried you’d never make it back here in one piece, but I guess vermin like you are hard to kill after all”. “Wow…”, Lexus thought when he heard her rebuttal, since that is honestly not what he was expecting to hear at all, considering how composed she was when she spoke those harsh words. “You’re still annoying as ever Erica. I heard you managed to climb your way up the hierarchy by l*****g some shoes”, Vanessa said next. “It’s captain Erica to you spoiled brat. Your mouth has gotten even more foul since the last time we met. I guess I’ll have to put you back into your place”. “I’d love to see you try”, the two ladies were about to fight when the man spoke. “You dare bicker in my presence? You have a lot of nerve. If you weren’t a commander, I’d have had you immediately fired and punished. And you (Addressing Vanessa) who the f**k are you anyways?”. “I’m terribly sorry Sir. Maxwell. It won’t happen again”, Erica immediately apologized. “Uhh please forgive her. Her name is Vanessa and the guy standing beside her is Lexus. They’re both young guardians that I have brought here for the purpose of the joint operation since their skill is quite good”, Ezekiel immediately spoke on their behalf. “Hmph, I don’t care who the f**k they are or if they can even bust the moon with one fist but keep your underlings under control, understood?”, Sir. Maxwell said as he looked away, quite pissed. “Understood sir”, Ezekiel said as he gave a sigh of relief. Soon after, the door opened as a woman who looked quite old entered the room as she used a cane to help her walk. Lexus noticed that she was missing an arm as he was curious as to her identity. Erica and Vanessa immediately bowed as Ezekiel did the same. Lexus then quickly bowed as the woman asked them to raise their heads. “It’s so good to see you, Ezekiel, and I see you brought Vanessa with you. And this fella must be a Lexus, right? I’ve heard a lot about you”. “It’s good to see you too, Lady Noire”, Ezekiel answered after raising his head. “Chief guardian, we await your orders”, Erica said respectfully. “Yes, that’s right. Sorry to keep you waiting Sir. Maxwell, I was a bit preoccupied, you see”, Lady Noire said. “It’s fine. Let’s get this over with”, Sir. Maxwell said. “Chief guardian of the eastern branch!”, Lexus thought as he looked at the woman who gave off a very gentle yet powerful aura. “For those of us here who don’t know who, Sir. Maxwell is, he’s the owner of the underground railway company ‘Freed ego’. Recently, the underground railway station connecting two cities was destroyed by a kanizor as there were several casualties. Those that managed to survive were captured by the kanizor in an effort to snack on them later. This kanizor is believed to have wormed its way to a 'shatter' level of ‘king’ as it has been deemed a special threat. Ezekiel’s team as well as Erica’s team will join forces as the objective of this joint operation is to eliminate the kanizor and rescue the civilians that are being held captive. Sir. Maxwell here has agreed to support us financially if it means killing the kanizor that caused him considerable losses, so failure is not an option. I’ll leave any form of preparation to both teams. That’ll be all, Vanessa, come with me”, Lady Noire ended her speech as she proceeded to leave. Vanessa followed after her as Lexus noticed that her mood had changed significantly ever since Lady Noire arrived. “Let’s go Lexus”, Ezekiel said, as the others had already left. “Yeah sure. Do you know what’s going on between those two?”, Lexus asked. “Well, it’d be better if you heard it from Vanessa herself. Come on”, Ezekiel replied.

Vanessa and Lady Noire entered a study as Lady Noire took a seat while Vanessa was still standing. “You can have a seat if you want”, Lady Noire offered. “It’s okay. It’s been a while…”, Vanessa spoke. “Been a while since you last saw me or since you ran away from the Eastern branch?”, Lady Noire asked as she poured herself a cup of tea. “Both actually. I didn’t mean to run away but…”. “And yet you did. What did I tell you about excuses”, Lady Noire interrupted. “Sorry…grandma”, Vanessa apologized. “Now that’s a word I haven’t heard in a very long time. Have you finally come to terms with all that had happened years ago?”, Lady Noire asked. “I’m sorry…”, tears welled up in Vanessa’s eyes as she looked down. “Look at me”, Lady Noire said as Vanessa hesitantly looked up. “It’s not your fault about what happened. You lost your mum. About me losing my arm when I tried to save you. It’s all not your fault. I’d happily lose this other arm if it means I’ll be able to protect you once more. So don’t keep beating yourself up because of all that”, Lady Noire gently spoke in an effort to calm Vanessa down. “I swore I’d become stronger in order to kill the kanizor that killed my mum and took your arm, even if it’s the last thing that I do, but I couldn’t help but to think that…it was all my fault in the first place. Because of being there when I wasn’t supposed to”, Vanessa spoke after calming down a bit. “That’s fine, but you don’t have to punish yourself any longer. Just focus on getting stronger, my dear. You and your mum are what I consider my greatest treasure and that will never change”, Lady Noire said after a sip. “Yes grandma”. “Okay, back to why I called you here. I wanted to give you this…”, Lady Noire got up and retrieved a katana (Japanese sword) from a case and handed it over to Vanessa. “But this is…!”. “Yes, this is the weapon I used during my active days and now it's yours. This bad boy hasn’t seen action in a long time, so I’d like for you to have it since you’ll be able to put it to better use rather than me letting it sit here and rust away”, Lady Noire said with a look of genuine approval. “Thank you so much! I won’t let you down”, Vanessa said with a confident look on her face now as she squeezed the katana now in her possession. “Now that’s more like it. Oh, I almost forgot. That Lexus kid, he didn’t seem like a bad person, but I’d still like you to keep a good eye on him. If he’s as they say, then he’ll be a strong asset for us”, Lady Noire added. “Sure, I will. I’ll take my leave now grandma”, Vanessa replied as she proceeded to leave. “Have fun out there”, Lady Noire said after her before she left, as she proceeded to smile to herself. “She keeps growing to look more and more like you, my beloved daughter. If only you could watch her grow like I have”, Lady Noire thought as tears welled in her eyes.

Vanessa rejoined with Ezekiel and Lexus as she was looking even more relaxed and composed. “I guess talks with your grandma went well”, Ezekiel said with a smile. “Yeah, you look way more…wait what?!”, Lexus paused then said after he processed what Ezekiel had just said. “Yeah, she’s, my grandma. She trained me here ever since I was young until I decided to leave this place”, Vanessa clarified. “Oh, I see”, Lexus said, as he was quite surprised. “Well, let’s get a move on then. Erica and her team must have already left for the location so we’ll have to follow after them”, Ezekiel said. “Right!”, Lexus and Vanessa answered, as the three then quickly left.

The three arrived at the site of the incident as the place was a serious mess. The railway lines had been severely busted as the bullet train had been utterly destroyed, as debris could be seen everywhere with some blood stains. Erica and three other people were standing behind the police line as Ezekiel, Lexus and Vanessa joined them. “Such a fine mess we have here. And whatever is responsible is still lurking about in there”, Erica said when the tree got close. “So, what’s the plan”, Lexus asked, since Erica was clearly in charge. “Ezekiel will take the three guys from my team and focus on rescuing the civilians. You, Vanessa and I will take on the task of killing the kanizor. Well, I think I’ll be more than enough for that task, but having some backup would be fine as well. Just don’t make any mistakes, since I don’t want any collateral damage to my end”, Erica instructed, as the last part was directed at Vanessa. “Hmph, glad to see someone still prides herself on that ability I can only describe as mediocre…”, Vanessa retorted. “Say that again. I dare you…”, Erica was about to pick a fight when Ezekiel stopped them. “Well, now that we know what we’re supposed to do, how about uhh, we get going. I’ll see you guys after the mission”, Ezekiel said as he took the three guys and entered the tunnel. “Let’s go”, Erica said in an irritated tone as Lexus and Vanessa followed after her in a different direction in the tunnel.

Whatever lived down there had gone through the trouble of digging several tunnels that led to God knows where and had clearly made this place its home. As the three walked, they occasionally stepped on bones, which only served to anger them more as they made their way towards where the fiend was hiding. “King level…I wonder if this kanizor is strong enough to require a captain to sortie. I’m more curious to find out what ability Erica uses though”, Lexus thought as they proceeded. Several meters into the tunnel, the three stopped when they heard rumbling from up above their heads. It sounded like something was drilling its way down towards them as the ceiling exploded. A huge figure landed on the ground with a loud thud. The creature was holding something. The trio looked closely and realized that the kanizor was holding the lifeless body of a human male who was probably supper. “Oi, you there”, Erica drew the attention of the kanizor. The kanizor turned to look at the humans before it as it only grinned. The kanizor resembled a minotaur (half-man and half-bull) with mole-like claws and huge horns, but only had one eye. The kanizor dropped the dead body as it then roared heavily, which shook the whole tunnel. “I guess you can’t even reason. I’ll kill you for all the sins you have committed. Warp cartridge…”, Erica said calmly as she pulled out two daggers and crouched very low. Before Lexus and Vanessa could even blink, Erica was now standing behind the kanizor as one of the creature’s arms could be seen flying in the air and falling down. “There, Erica’s space-time ability”, Vanessa said with an unimpressed expression, but Lexus' face said otherwise as he had never seen anything, as cool as that.