Mission (01)

[15 Years Later | Private Residence Embalmer] 

From the outside of the small dilapidated house, the two adults could see the large black SUV parked in front of them, its headlights glaring through the darkness like angry glowing eyes.

A small group of men stood surrounding the vehicle, talking among themselves. The lights flickered several times, as if someone was shaking their hands impatiently under the hood of the car.

A white body bag rested atop the passenger seat beside the driver's side window, blood seeped through the thin material. Both parents cringed at the gruesome sight before them.

"I wonder how bad the damage is…" Gemma muttered.

"Let's take a look before we worry about the damages," A woman's husband replied quietly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his keys.

He unlocked the car door as his hand brushed lightly against one of the blood stained handles. He yelped loudly in surprise when he felt a chill run through him. His hand was suddenly plunged into absolute freezing cold water, which sent him reeling backward.

The water flooded out of the car and onto the pavement below, causing everyone in the neighborhood to jump back in shock. Both the man and woman shrieked with fright and covered their mouths with their hands. The other neighbors gathered around the area with confused looks on their faces as they observed a very wet Lian standing by the road.

"Lian, you are late," Gemma chided. 

Lian dressed in a black hoodie as he swung his red scythe out and placed the tip of his scythe across his shoulder blades. The wind blew past the pair, blowing away their hair.

"Sorry, I got caught up." Lian chuckled sheepishly.

"It's not funny." The lady scolded.

The woman screamed as she noticed the girl with gray skin patches like that of a zombie was standing next to her.

"What the hell?" She screamed. Her husband glared at her and sighed 

"Go back home, we don't want our children finding out anything about this. We will discuss this later," he said. 

"River, can you lure the beast out?" Lian asked. 

"Yes, brother," She smiled. 

Taking a small envelope from her pocket she blew a substance at the body in the car just waiting for whatever it was to rise as Lian came forward proudly holding his scythe as he could hear a humming in his ears as the beast inside him awakened.

"You're finally here, my love." A deep male voice called from above.

River took a stance as they readied, a rush of water manifested in the air. The water shot towards his opponent and collided with it, sending ripples in all directions. The spiral tsunami manifested liquid swords as it charged towards him together. A few moments later, he found himself on the floor coughing, and gasping for air. 

"Fuck…" Lian thought. 

Behind the thinning waterfall that had created the tsunami, a verdant kappa is revealed, staring right at the man as it slowly crawled towards him. Its claws clicking against the tiles as it approached. Lian quickly got up and darted towards Gemma, running over to the car and climbing into the passenger's seat.

[Lian: Level: 20] 

[Mysterious Kappa: 25] 

"No one will have my partner!" He hissed. 

"She is dead! Whatever you did leave her exhausted, and she no longer lives!" Lain shouted. 

"I gave her a gem…she isn't dead!" It explained. 

Lian paused for a moment as he turned to unzip the body bag to gaze at the green scales covering her body. He ran his fingers across the length of her arm and found her veins beating an intense green.

"She does have a heartbeat! You almost killed her!" He yelled angrily.

"I gave her power! She can now live forever!" The Kappa cried.

Wrapping his arms, the woman he picked up bridal style as Lian began running down the street carrying the woman the kappa loved away from the dangerous creature that tried to kill her. The kappa growled angrily, then turned to follow them.

The water encircled the angry kappa as he propelled himself to Lian and the woman. Lian pushed himself harder as he carried the woman towards the nearby fountain, thrusting his large scythe into its face. Water erupted from the fountain, pouring down on the Kappa. He pulled the women away from the fountain and ran through the crowd, screaming and throwing the crowd around him like ragdolls.

Its body started to tense as Lian threatened its human treasure. Its face contorted in anger as it roared at him, the blue lightning flickering from its eyes. Its tail whipped out in anger, creating gusts of powerful winds as it moved closer. Lian quickly jumped back, dodging every move the Kappa made while shielding the woman out of the way to protect her.

"Is that all you got?" Lian said, sticking his tongue out.

The creature growled as Lian gawked at the Kappa with a silly grin as he dashed off, making the creature more angry. With another wave of water, it launched itself towards the young man, trying to catch him in its jaws.

The kappa slammed into the ground after it hit the ground, cracking through the pavement and shattering a few cars on the street. A few bystanders who were watching in horror gasped in horror when the creature rose back up on its feet, looking enraged at having been bested by a mere human.

It opened its mouth, showing its sharp teeth with its saliva dripping down onto the concrete, but Lian had already retreated down the road as fast as he could. He sprinted until he reached the corner of a park.

Lian felt nervous as he held tightly, thinking quickly what to do as he realized he can't run forever. His muscles tensed involuntarily, his breathing getting heavier. He was losing strength, exhaustion setting in as he continued moving further and further away from his pursuer. He stopped abruptly at the edge of a clearing, panting hard, and leaned back heavily against a tree. 

"I can't fight if I have to protect her…" He mumbled. 

He senses the creature nearby. Its footsteps echoed through the trees as it moved stealthily. He glanced behind the tree to see it still there, but closer than he expected it to be. Then he heard something rustle behind him, and he quickly turned around to get another glimpse at the creature, only to find a man approaching him from behind.

The young reaper was confused seeing the man's tattered clothing anconfused,d dirty shoes and a scruffy beard on his face. The man had a scarlet tattoo on his left cheek. As he got closer, Lian recognized that the stranger was wearing a torn up and bloody shirt, a bandage wrapped around the upper half of his torso. His head was covered in messy blonde hair.

"Do you know what you hold in your hands?" The elderly man questioned. 

"A woman victimized by a monster!" Lain shouted. 

Lian was distracted by how his dirty fingers just pointed forward as they clenched and unclenched repeatedly. It was as if they weren't connected to his brain at all and instead belonged to an entirely different person.

The sound of rushing water behind him confused him, as the sounds of splashing and snapping jaws below could be heard. The young man stared with wide and frightened eyes at the water surrounding him. The kappa was too close, his eyes widened with fear as the kappa bared its fangs in his direction. Without warning, the water surged towards him with alarming speed.

The young reaper panicked at the sudden change. He stumbled backwards and tripped over a tree root, falling to the side. As Lian fell, he was grabbed by the throat, the water lapping against the ground. He couldn't scream or breathe. Everything seemed to stop for a second as the man pulled him upwards. 

He couldn't keep a hold of the woman he was aiming to protect. He watched as she disappeared within the swirling water and was swept away with the current. Furthermore, he desperately reached out for her, but his hand was too weak to reach. His vision went blurry as everything spun around him. Then the world went white before turning dark. He was losing consciousness

Suddenly, he was being lifted and thrown aside from some unknown force. He felt weightless as he soared through the air until he crashed harshly into the hard cement beneath his back. The impact sent jolts of pain shooting throughout his body.

"Brother! Soul Embrace!" River shouted. 

[MP -70 1130/1200]

A large red shield surrounds the two warriors as the water that was once surrounding them turns into mist. When the mist dissipates, he finds himself standing in front of a massive castle surrounded by tall black spires. In front of him lies a river full of water and many small houses and shops, along with huge statues and monuments that make the whole place feel like a fantasy castle.

"This isn't real, is it?" Lian asked himself.