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Dashing through the forest of Akumu, Mantis� thoughts retain a solid memory�embraced in color, still fresh like it was just yesterday�the day Lord Sukinahito gave Nightstalker immortality, thus he made him physically superior over the average immortal soul such as his very own. The enactment, the actual ground fight he had with Damien that just happened moments ago remain tauntingly trapped in his mind. . o O (�Why has Lord Sukinahito made you this powerful�???) O o . Feeling Nightstalker�s spiritual pressure gaining on him, Mantis seems surprised ever since Damien first got into his face to rightfully accuse him of being a traitor, an inside man for the Shadow Clan�which is truly furthest from the gospel truth. . o O (�I cannot allow for him to learn of my affairs, he�ll blow my cover�) O o . His lungs burning, his heart throttling, his legs refuse to stop churning against the forest floor. Dodging trees that block his retreat, hurdling several other things in his way like brush, tiny streams that would slow him down, large stone�s and fallen tree logs. Yet Damien continues to gain on him due to his resilient speed and endurance after being blessed with immortality by the God of Life. It is then Mantis realizes that he�s like a beckon for Damien to sense and there�s no hiding or escaping him at all. . o O ( Alright Damien�now that Faye�s trailing behind�) O o . Coming to a sudden halt is entitled to skidding for a few feet, kicking up dirt in the process, jumping up and into a tree he awaits Nightstalker in silence. A few moments pass and Damien Draven comes walking under the tree that he hides in. Dropping down before Damien has the chance to figure out where in the hell he went, Nightstalker gets kicked on the top of his head by Mantis. Forcing him to face plant to the forest floor below. ~ Mantis ~ �You should have minded your own business, child� Nightstalker rolls to his side and kicks at Mantis� feet but Mantis jumps over the foot. Dodging it was utter ease before pulling out a kunai and quickly dropping his body down onto Damien�s stomach just as he rolls over to his back. Mantis presses the kunai to Damien�s throat, glaring down into his former students eyes. Rage settled in his eyes, the anger controls him yet resistance to his actions can be felt. ~ Mantis ~ You are correct, yet you are so very wrong�Damien. Allow for me to explain�I�ve been away from the Andin Islands in an attempt to prevent Tokachi Shoudashi�Moku himself from attacking the Islands, like he had initially planned from the very start. If I didn�t go to Yuku Haru to engage into combat with him, then you all would have died there in our homeland the second he would have showed up to assist Vlad Volrian. Not even Syn Declarion himself would be able to stand the very ground I�ve heard of all those years ago. I couldn�t be in the Andin Islands to keep Tokachi Shoudashi�Moku away. Now don�t get me wrong, child�It wasn�t ONLY Tokachi whom I was keeping away from the Andin Islands. It was empty soulless bastards like Ethando Shoku�Nore�a hunter of Hades herself�Onslaught�and Nedji Ranjiku. Nightstalker tries to disarm Mantis by grabbing his equipped wrist with both hands and pulling Mantis� arm into one direction, trying to reverse this situation�but he fails and gets backhanded by Mantis before he presses the kunai back to his throat again. ~ Mantis ~ Onslaught is the most psychotic vampire to ever exist�he�s the type to kill you for looking at him wrong, he�s not like Vlad Volrian�whom picked and chose his victims. Onslaught kills fucking everything for entertainment�And Nedji Ranjiku was my very first apprentice, my first student�he was the best, before Tokachi Shoudashi�Moku stole him from me by turning him into one of those fucking suck heads. Genga�the reptilian half-man half-monster�and Renkutsu, another mutant freak of nature�both with remarkable power beyond your imagination�upon many others that are highly trained in deadly arts, only taught by Tokachi himself. Hundreds of those fucking bastards die by his beckoning command every year. If I didn�t go talk sense with Tokachi, he would have sent�EVERYBODY�and not one of us would have survived. ~ Nightstalker ~ �We still lost hundreds of loved ones because you weren�t there to protect them� ~ Mantis ~ �No, they were already dead�I�m surprised your ignorance still remains fresh� Nightstalker frowns and uses his weight to his advantage once again to overpower himself out from under Mantis, to pressing Mantis� shoulders to the ground. The kunai still pressed against Damien�s throat, Mantis holds him close enough to do so by pulling on his upper body mantis clan attire. Keeping him close enough from doing any damage. ~ Nightstalker ~ �You lie� ~ Mantis ~ �Like always, you still have a hard time listening� Nightstalker wants to hit Mantis, but making any further moves downward would cause for his neck to get slit. At this point, Nightstalker is trying to pull away from Mantis, but Mantis isn�t giving him the space in between them. Preventing Nightstalker from getting comfortable with this confrontation by literally keeping him on his toes. ~ Mantis ~ Tokachi Shoudashi�Moku and I were once upon a time comrades, best friends if you will�under Lord Sukinahito�s command. Linca replaced Tokachi after Vain stole him from Sukinahito the way he stole Nedji Ranjiku from me. The Shadow Clan and Mantis Clan were once one and the same�but Vain fucked all of that up, purposely. That is why you pulled your idiocy by coming after me when I did not require your help, then how dare you question my authority for trying to put a stop to Vain. You forget that I saved your ass from bleeding to death in that busted ass coffin shack that he kept me as a pet within�. You never stopped to figure out that he wasn�t dead and that I tried to kill him. I tried, child�rest assured, if he were like any average man�I would have succeeded. He defeated me without physically touching me, Damien. I had to play along�never accuse me for working for Vain again, because if you do? I shall spend the rest of my life correcting your blasphemy. As long as that may take, I will back up the words I speak to you this day. I tried to eliminate Vain!!! I tried for valid purposes�Tokachi would have had nobody barking orders at him anymore. I failed, I�m not perfect�and neither are you�so stop trying to act like you�re truly in the right when you are only fifty percent correct. Nightstalker stops struggling after the kunai is put away by Mantis�pressing his feet to Damien�s torso, he pushes his former student away before flipping right back up to his feet. Glaring at him, still in his fighting stance not for telling lies but for knowing how aggressive Nightstalker is, how predictable his rage often controls him well. ~ Nightstalker ~ �You�re a double agent for the Shadow Clan??? Why would you do that to us�??? �Mantis slowly shakes his head from one side and to the other� ~ Mantis ~ I�m trying to get Nedji Ranjiku from Tokachi Shoudashi�Moku�s command, it�s not going to be easy taking a vampire from his sire�but, if we plan on defeating the Shadow Clan in the end�then, we�re going to need Nedji to work with us, not against us. If he fights against us�we�re finished. He knows both the arts of the Shadow and the Mantis�and he�s powerful enough to destroy Linca and I together in an unfair fight. I was trying to kill Vain to get Tokachi to turn a new leaf as well, but now�I fear that is not possible any longer due to your mindless actions of coming after me the way you did. You foolish child, if you never showed up�Vain would have never attacked Fitstral. He had placed his trust in me the same way Tokachi has over the time of my absence from the Mantis Clan. Now? I cannot get close enough to attempt another assassination on Vain. Not again. �All of it starts making sense to Nightstalker as he lowers his guard� ~ Mantis ~ �My loyalty to Lord Sukinahito and the Mantis Clan are to never be questioned again� I would never even contemplate what would make my god vulnerable�I am his servant�I am his child�I will fight alongside him until my life is taken from me. Do not be mistaken by me again Damien, I will die by the code of the Mantis. I shall die with my pride, my dignity�I will probably die saving your ass�that very day. �Do you understand me when I tell you that??? �Damien slowly nods his head, being silent due to hearing the truth� ~ Mantis ~ I need to figure out what�s going on�I�m going to Yuku Haru and I�m going to need your assistance to confirm further proof to Tokachi that I am truly �his double agent�. I need you and your girlfriend to play rolls�you must trust me, Damien. I need you two to put up a fight against me�only to allow for me to capture you. The purpose is to bring you and Faye to a place where I�ve heard of concerning experimental grounds used for testing on living human beings, to be turned into bloodthirsty monsters. Fearantus. �Nightstalker blinks his eyes as they then sense Faye catching up� ~ Mantis ~ I know she�s not going to like this and I am sorry for not telling you the truth back there, Faye wouldn�t believe it therefore you would further be convinced into disbelieving me even when I did speak of the truth. That�and Kyren, Arignee and the others cannot come along with us�I sensed that they were close and the last thing we need are for a couple of inexperienced kids to follow us. Sukinahito would refuse to go and he would probably prevent us from going as well�that�s why he cannot know until we return. ~ Nightstalker ~ �We would have a better chance with Sukinahito with us� ~ Mantis ~ If he kills Tokachi Shoudashi�Moku, we�ll never navigate our way to an unheard continent�the experimenting on Fearantus will continue on undetected from the world, I feel that if we allow for it to continue like this then the world could be facing great danger in the future. I have a feeling that something very bad is going on over there, Tokachi hadn�t told me much concerning it�s contents�but, what he did explain to me is that black mages and vampires are working together to create disease carrying monsters. ~ Nightstalker ~ �Meet Faye and I at the port here in the forest, I will explain everything to her and meet you there� �A small smile comes to the face of Mantis and he nods his head� ~ Mantis ~ Bare in mind that if I were to be truly setting a trap�than imagine how I would have to explain this to Sukinahito if I were to be truly lying to you. Thank you for believing in me, Damien�I will see you there. God-Speed, every moment we waste could be crucial. Nightstalker and Mantis bow to one another before Mantis turns and jumps up into the tree�s to cover my ground, faster�to get away and to the Akumu port before Faye shows up to find him there, talking with Damien. Mantis gets on his way. | ||