Four people stood around Gonzalo, their gazes fixed on the black mass of fog a few meters away. Three men and one woman, each holding a different weapon, a stern expression on their faces.
"You called the executives for a mere pup?" One of the males asked, his tone stern and laced with irritation. He had crimson eyes and red paint below his eyelids. His black hair was wavy and unkempt, and he wore a robe over his black clothing, with jagged sleeves. On his back was an iron pole, with a mace at the tip of it.
He was Krit Folly, the Fifth Executive of the Red Peacemakers.
"Oh please, the boss sent just me. The rest of you decided to come with me because you were bored". The female said with an annoyed expression. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail that cascaded down to her waist, and her dark eyes brimmed with life. She wore a white mini jacket over a black crop top and tights, with boots that increased her height by over four inches.
"It wouldn't have been a mere pup if only I came to handle the situation". Mila Jack, the Third Executive of the Red Peacemakers. She had a double katana placed around her waist as she folded her hands and sighed.
"Mila dear, you know we couldn't let the only woman in the team stress herself over something so little". Another man said, a relaxed expression on his face as he smiled from ear to ear. He had a rough goatee and mustache, with long, slender hair that stopped at his neck and covered one of his aqua-blue eyes.
He was in a kimono, with an odachi across his back.
Nicho Mayuri, the Seventh Executive of the Red Peacemakers.
"Forget about that…" the last man said, his bulky build thumping as he walked in front of the group. He was bare chested with a black trouser as his only form of clothing. He had a tattoo of a dragon's head on his back and gauntlets wrapped around his hands. With fiery yellow hair and sharp crimson eyes that sparked with brilliance and excitement.
He slammed his fists against each other as he smirked.
"This mutt is a Darkpelt?" Lioren Koske, the Second Executive of the Red Peacemakers.
Gonzalo groaned lightly, his gaze scanning the people gathered, blood oozing out of his injuries as he attempted to sit up. "Yes…Yes sir". He replied, coughing out blood as he fell back to the ground.
"Relax lad, we'll take care of things here". Nicho said as he threw a potion at him. "The others escaped by the time we got there but I assume we'll at least capture this one?"
"Of course. It looks like a rare breed…we might gain a good bargain once we sell it". Mila said with a shake of her head as she walked towards Lioren.
Both stared at each other and the others.
"Let's get it under control and leave…the chieftain will soon be on his way".
Gonzalo grabbed the potion and drank it, a calming sensation spreading through his body as a green aura appeared over the wounds.
He dissolved the armor into the shadows, and the healing process suddenly spiked up, closing up his wounds and drying off the blood.
"The chieftain? We can take it too once it gets here". He said as he struggled to stand up. The sensation of pain had been eased to a high degree, but the discomfort lingered.
The executives turned towards him in unison, their gazes stern and devoid of warmth, and a sudden pressure suffused the air, nearly choking Gonzalo as he gasped out in shock.
"Who gave you permission to speak your thoughts?" Mila asked with a click of her tongue.
"We ignored your earlier comment because you were at the brink of death but you speak like you want to return to your former state?" Krit said with a distasteful tone in his voice.
The pressure released and the four figures walked away, heading towards the black mass of fog and leaving Gonzalo to his thoughts.
'Those fakes! Just wait till I reach level 100! Let's see who gets the last laugh'. He thought as he glared at them in repressed fury.
The executives were known as the cornerstone of the Red Peacemakers, taking important positions in the Underworld. Of course, all this was to their goal of World Peace.
Gonzalo was forced on the sidelines, as he awaited the results of the executives. Elsie's sudden outburst had taken him by surprise, but he wouldn't have been able to capture her if he had not asked for backup…though he never asked for four.
Mila, Krit, Nicho, and Lioren walked toward their target, preparing themselves for the inevitable.
"It's experiencing an outburst of affinity. I heard wolves unable to control their element of affinity tend to go berserk when using it for the first time". Mila said.
"True, we'll just use a seal to seal it off then" Nicho said as he pulled out his odachi.
"No…instead of sealing, we should restrict it. Sealing it will give it an opportunity to use it again but if we're selling her, then we should make sure it's incapable of using it". Lioren explained.
The group of four remained silent after that, stopping just a meter away from the effect of the tendrils of darkness.
There was no scream, no noise, or signs of life of Elsie, but the darkness moved like it was brimming with life. Slamming and tugging at everything it came in touch with, and sucking out the life of every living thing in its midst.
The area around the dark fog had gotten darker as well, the moon's luminance unable to pierce through it.
"Let's just get her under control. We'll decide afterward". Nicho said with a sigh as he swung his odachi in the air, forming a crescent arc.
"Shall we?" He asked, and tension brewed in their hearts. They didn't need to reply with words since their actions spoke volumes.
With a slight grunt and a mad sparkle in her eyes, Kila charged forward like a bullet, sparks of flames igniting around her as she brushed past the mass of darkness to the other side.
Her body slammed into the ground, forming a crater, flames pulsating around her as she was suddenly ignited in a pool of flames. She pulled out her katanas and swung them to the side, leaving a trail of fire in its wake as the aura of flames shot out from her body into the sky like the accelerator of a car.
Growing brighter and wilder by her will.
"Master Skill; Fire Light".
A spark of flames ignited at the tip of her blade as it suddenly erupted into a bright, blinding light of flames. The dark skies had suddenly turned bright from the might of the flames and the darkness was burnt from its glow.
The mass of darkness was suddenly shrunk from its large size as a loud shriek pierced the sky.
At that moment, the wind rippled as green energy erupted out of Nicho's body, his aqua-blue eyes igniting a green glow.
He swung his odachi through the air, forming a thin line vertically and horizontally in a cross.
"Master Skill; Crosswind".
The air rippled as the wind struck against the black mass in a cross shape, causing it to dissipate into oblivion.
He swung his blade again and then again for the third time, causing the same attack but increasing each size as he did so.
The mass of darkness quaked as it shrunk, the sound of screaming only increasing as it dispersed into the atmosphere.
Lioren laughed out like a maniac as his body exuded a golden energy. His lion tattoo glowed golden from the outpour of energy as he took a step forward, disappearing and reappearing next to the shrunk black mass, his fist sending a wave of shock through it as he punched it.
"Master Skill; Golden Blow".
A wave of energy pulsated through the air from the force as the ground shook and broke, forming a crater below the mass of darkness as it shattered into millions of pieces.
Elsie's figure began to be visible from the black mass, and at that moment, Krit appeared next to her, black wings emerged from his back as he grabbed her by his left hand and swung his weapon around with his right.
"Master Skill; A Mile Of Thorns".
The ground rumbled to his decree as thousands of wooden spikes, the size of an automobile emerged out of the ground and pierced through the darkness, glowing bright green as it exploded in the next second.
The sky was soon filled with smoke as a crimson hue was left on the canvas of the night. The sound of crackling wood and chirped-up plants echoed in the darkness, telling tales of destruction that could never be ignored while the moon left its luminescent imprint on the scene.
At that moment, five figures stood in the skies, a floating mat beneath their feet.