The Unholy and The Devine (JaK)

PLAYERS: EXCALIBUR, RAPTURE, “FUMETSU”
SETTING: JUMP CITY, USA
PLOT: Two separate supernatural-hunting organizations vie for the same target: a human imbued with immortality ill-gotten by way of a cursed Japanese artifact, the Onimaru Kunitsuna.

Rain. Of course it had to be raining on the day she had arrived back in Jump City, dispatched by her parent organization of supernatural bounty hunters. And not just a simple pitter-pattering, but a downright deluge. In the countryside it would have been a blessing, renewing crops and fueling rivers. In the city, sewers overflowed and garbage took over the streets. Cars swerved, people swore. But thankfully, her target didn’t seem to mind.

Possession by way of yokai is a simple enough affair. It became routine for the petite powerhouse, a woman no taller than five feet and not even in her twenty-fifth year. She should know, sharing a body with three ancient spirits. But for the four of this, this could be no ordinary affair and quite frankly, they were outnumbered. By about one thousand.

Peering through the torrential downpour, Rapture observed the cause of all the commotion that even the rain could not compete with: a towering two-story, sulking figure, gaunt and zombie-like but deceptively so; there had been reports of this monster striking at superhuman speed and with force comparable to tsunamis. “Fumetsu,” they called him, albeit uncreatively as the Japanese word meant “immortal.”

“Immortal…” Rapture grimaced. It certainly seemed that way, seeing that no one had been able to lay a scratch on the ugly being. What the human looked like before his transformation, she didn’t know. But now, with a long white beard and matching scraggly hair dressed in rags and donning a traditional kasa hat and looking as if death’s door was right around the corner, eternal life didn’t look so good. Westerners always had a way with stealing from Asian cultures. This one happened to steal one of the most legendary and cursed swords of all of Japan’s history: the Onimaru Kunitsuna, or simply, “Demon Sword.”

A seemingly simple, curved, slender blade with handled scabbard, the weapon boasted some of the finest craftsmanship to ever come from Japan. Legend had it that when first created, the forger had been able to slay a demon haunting his dreams. Now Imbued with the spirits of over one thousand slain yokai, the sword followed a storied and bloodied history before coming to an agreed resting place in Japan. The blade meant for banishing demons was now being used to murder innocent humans as its possessed owner sought to add even more souls, and therefore power, to its form.

How it had been stolen for some time and now winding up in her old haunt, she had no idea. Coincidence didn’t exist in her world, and if she played her cards right, Fumetsu wouldn’t either for much longer, either. The police and special forces had naturally been useless. The host could die, but the spirits and the sword were hers.

That is, so long as everyone stayed out of her way.

3 helicopters flew into view from the unending skyline as if fading into existence like a mirage. The choppers flew in a circle around the demonic blade’s host from hundreds of feet up but landed one after another a safe distance away from him. Far enough that he perceivably couldn’t reach the helicopter crew in a single bound. Out of each chopper appeared 3-5 individuals for a grand total of 13 men and women. 10 foot soldiers in knights armor. The lowest level of the organization. Then there were 2 men that looked almost like cybernetic ninja knights. They donned high-tech armor and commanded the 10 foot soldiers. But there was also one more individual among them - Primarch  Alastair of the Church of the Throne had arrived.

“Praise be, praise it be my men…finally we have located the heretic who hordes the secret of eternal life.” The saint sauntered in front of his apostles as they prepared for battle and pointed in the location of the demon blade. “And what does this man use this power for?…destruction, murder, other chaos.” As Saint Alastair spoke the bishops knelt beside him and tented hands. “And will we stand for this!?”

A resounding “NO” followed the Saint’s words from all 12 individuals.

“Praise be, praise be WE WILL NOT let this stand. As it says in the Gospel verse llV, line ll. ‘For anything that last eternally shall be dwarfed by the everlasting purity of the throne.’ And we will PURIFY this monster. For the order shall not EVER tolerate that which does not belong, and we will exterminate all threats to mankind and by my will, this shall be done! No ash, no bone, for the order and the throne!” Directly after Alastair’s final words of his sermon the apostles and bishops began banging on their chest and approached their target while also chanting “no ash, no bone, for the order and the throne.”

Saint Alastair lead the way with his men in tow. These men and women were all ready and willing to die for the cause they believed in. All who got in their way would also feel this unwavering resolve.

Rapture, not being a prude but not one to partake of any drugs, figured that what she witnessed was the closest thing to a trip that she would experience. As if like some strange medieval flash mob appeared before her eyes, the spiritualist couldn’t quite grasp the heavenly display of might. “Who the fuck…” she began, her spirits rousing in turn. ‘Pious pretentiousness,’ the Golden Scorpion snickered. ‘Look at them running about, all pomp and circumstance. I knew I smelled something stinking in the rain tonight… and look at that, it’s not even our vagabond! Give me a good look.’

Happy to oblige, the petite powerhouse performed a quick prayer and let the spirit of the Golden Scorpion overtake her in a shower of electricity that erupted from within her and overtook her body. Her blue eyes were eclipsed with a bright amber hue. The traditional purple kimono she wore transformed into more modern, punk-style with golden accents and a pair of chakram were placed within her grasp. ‘Tch!’ the Scorpion scoffed. ‘Drones, all of them. My interest lies in Fumetsu! Get me closer, let’s see him bleed. Ignore the rest for now, if they get in our way, it’s their death wish.’

Rapture nodded and spirited forward, her speed enhanced for the time being. Fumetsu seemed invested in the strange troupe –– a worthy distraction. He bellowed loud and shrill, a shrieking of a thousand souls that shattered any glass around him. Pedestrians who could escape already had, and the police force had already backed off with the arrival of the two opposing supernatural factions. Now Fumetsu seemed to be incensed with anger, brandishing the demon sword. The wicked blade had an intense presence and seemed to cake the air with despair, and upon closer inspection, Ryuu noticed that it seemed to drip an unending stream of blackened blood that eroded whatever it came in contact with. Something seemed… off, though, about the possessed man. As if what they were witnessing was only the beginning. A bad omen for worse things to come.

As if on cue, the substance began to coagulate on the pavement, mixing with the rain and sludge until a ghastly group of proxy zombie-like creatures emerged. They each took the form of fallen samurai with their own set of blades, about three sets of nine in total, ready to die again for their master.

Alastair had to make a split decision when one of his men alerted him of what looked like zombified samurai approaching. Alastair pulled his weapon from its sheath and howled out a battle cry as he pointed the sword straight up into the air. An archaic glowing white rune circle spiraled out from around Alastair’s feet across the battlefield and then dissipated. However Alastair and all of his men within the circle had been blessed by the rune circle with an aura and were also now glowing with a tinted hue. As long as Alastair’s blade was drawn he and his men would continue glow and all of their physical abilities were enhanced. “Apostles with me everyone else, engage the others!”

Alastair lead the charge against the immortal. He blocked Fumetsu’s sword swing but just barely held his ground. The flooring cracked under his feet upon taking the brunt of the blow. Had he not been enhanced he would’ve been blown away. “FOR THE THRONE!!’” Alastair’s cry rallied his soldiers. The ToT apostles all charged from different angles at the immortal intent on overwhelming him from his left, right, and behind, one even jumped over head an attacked from above. The apostles on the ground must have been instructed on what to do in this battle prior to arrival because they were aiming their jabs at his legs. That way he couldn’t move or escape their merciless onslaught of cuts and slices.

Meanwhile, the two more advanced armored knights acrobatically assaulted the zombie samurai. Armed with dual laser blades - similar to beam swords or lightsabers - they showed off their skills as one attacked the zombies while the other parried in a well poised dance of death. They were clearly used to practicing this maneuver.

For a short while, Rapture paused to watch the scene before her as she entertained the idea of waiting for the strange medieval troupe to take care of the proxy samurai in a type of historical warrior mashup. Nothing truly surprised the assassin at this point, but how little she knew of the newcomers bothered her. They hadn’t seemed to notice her yet, and that was fine enough; the less she had to deal with them, the more she could focus on Fumetsu. The cursed being appeared to be pulling out all the stops for Jump City, as if an old tiger sensing the end. The demon-blade had never been kind to its wielders, and this American rando would be no exception.

Before long, a group of blood samurai turned their attention toward her, which she greeted in turn with a few crackling bolts of lightning from her enchanted chakram. They appeared to have a slightly less sturdy constitution than humans, low in intelligence but quick to brawl. Their jerky, erratic movements harkened more to animals, and when they opened their sharp maws to roar, gobs of coagulated blood poured out. The three that had been struck with lightning only stopped momentarily before pursuing, proving the yokai priestess’s theory that they felt no pain, only anger.

Charging forward at an accelerated speed, Rapture made quick work of the already-damaged ones, felling them and absorbing their corrupted souls with her weapons. The Golden Scorpion began his feast as one, two, three more felt the electric sting of her golden chakram before another three managed to surround her––not something hard to do, seeing they towered over her small frame by at least a foot. But her height served to her advantage, dropping low and directing a spin attack at their ankles before vaulting upward and aiming at their necks.

Fumetsu paid no heed to his minions, instead focusing his energy on the knights. There were enough of them to be bothersome, so the shambling monster dug into his bag of tricks yet again. He brought the demon blade to his chest, breathed outward quickly, and began to speak in a tongue unknown even to Rapture. Soon he was surrounded by a black aura, obscuring his arms and the blade and growing in circumference until he was entirely engulfed. Seconds later, the light burst outward and revealed a sprawling set of multiple arms, each with its own blade in hand. They moved expertly, swiftly, practiced and lethal, each in sync yet entirely independent of one another.

Rapture’s face turned into a grimace, and she strained to not roll her eyes. Maybe having some cannon fodder would be beneficial after all, because she did not sign up for this kind of bullshit.

Unluckily for Rapture the two enhanced order knights also took notice of the quick work her scorpion like movements made of the zombified swordsmen. And without orders to differentiate targets that also made her one of the Orders. The two knights made an almost hive mind like decision to attack. One dashed over towards Rapture and just before entering striking distance the second knight (who had been running low right behind the first to create a blind spot) somersaulted over the other’s backside to attack from above while the other made a frontal assault, both with beam swords in hand. Unlike lightsabers these beam swords could not slice through just about anything like a butterknife - any skin or unarmored soft areas were at risk of of being sheered however.

Meanwhile, when the black aura began to surround the immortal one and he spoke in a foreign tongue Alastair knew something was coming. “Do not falter! Get the blade!” They had to get that sword from his grasp. Then when the sudden appearance of the other arms arrived and began whipping around the battlefield Alastair and his sacred order were put on the defensive. At first the battle became a stalemate - the knights would attack and be parried and the appendages would attack and the Apostles would counter or dodge. But this immortal man still was somewhat a man! Unlike a beast or completely mindless creature it adjusted. Soon the arms were dodging the knights attacks and countering. Bodies of apostles were being flung through the air left and right as they became unable to keep up with Fumetsu’s tirade of swipes. Alastair was forced to take the front lines. He took on the brunt of the barrage and with his enhanced movements and strength he blocked blow after blow from their opponent. However the Order was completely on the defensive now. It was a miracle none of the Apostles had died yet.

Alastair narrowed his eyes and began to backstep. “Retreat, and regroup!” Alastair said as he backed up and gave his followers time to get to their feet and find cover. Where were his two highly trained Vanguard troops? By now they should have handled those lesser beings and came to aide in the group effort. Alastair could not look away for even a moment to see what the the enhanced knights were doing for a loss in concentration at this crucial junction in battle could mean death at any moment.

Rapture’s suspicions were proven true as two of the strange knights aimed to attack her. ‘Mindless swine,’ the Golden Scorpion scowled, ‘how are we supposed to focus on Fumetsu while we’ve got these dogs?’ The beam swords did not look like they would be fun to get nicked by, something she learned the hard way as her lower arm got grazed as she dodge the other, performing a tuck and roll to the side. Her chakram expertly carried, the blades emitted streaks of lightning that caught the rain and caused an up-current of electric sparks heading the way of the priests.

“Fuck off, creeps!” she barked angrily, coming to her feet. “We have the same target; use your heads!”

Meanwhile, Fumetsu continued his flurry of sword swipes before impaling three into a police car and using them to hurl the vehicle toward Excalibur. Another guttural growl and it became clear that this foe would not be easily felled. He appeared frenzied and desperate to obtain as many souls as possible before the cursed blade killed its host.

Ryuuzaki had been fine to let that play out personally, but her organization had different ideas. That, and the longer the blade had a host, the more powerful it would become and less possible to contain. For this reason, the yokai priestess intended to purge as many of the souls before removal. A bevy of spell tags and other ancient precautions would have to be taken in dealing with the cursed object.

If Excalibur’s gang had behaved themselves, she might have considered teaming up with them. Instead, she gave an intense electric yellow glare through the rain, not-so-secretly hoping that the car would kill a good lot of them. She rubbed her chakram together, charging the weapons, then sending a concentrated dose of enchanted electricity that hit Fumetsu square in the back. The demon-possessed swordsman jerked forward, crying out not so much in pain as in annoyance. He swung around to face his tiny assailant, teeth bared like a wild animal.

“Finally,” she grinned, showing her own set of sharp canines. “A worthy opponent!”

The duo of Knights could not be swayed or stalled by Rapture's insults or pleas of any kind. No words, no action, nothing on this plane of exsitence would halt them from their NEED to erradicate the supernatural from this world except for death itself - the death of their enemy that is. However even with that level of conviction they both still barely managed to avoid being hit by Rapture's counter attack. One knight was knicked in the shin while jumping and fell and was then aided by his partner who scooped him up and dodge rolled out of range of Rapture, at which point Alastair, the platoon leader had finally noticed them again.

Not a moment to soon too - the immortal swordsman had impaled 3 apostles and thrown a vehicle at Alastair. The Saint ducked low. The vehicle grazed five hairs on his head as it soared overhead and smashed into a tree. The bodies of the slain followers of the order were in tatters. This was not going as well as expected. Those tentacle arms were an unforseen ability. Retreat wasn't an option but regrouping was. "You two, grab the wounded and stage over there on the hillside," Alastair commanded his high-tech knights.

The two ninja knights heeded as ordered and abandoned their attempt to kill Rapture, for now, and began scooping up any wounded and running them towards a sloped grassy hill not far off from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Alastair stayed and approached the enemy alone....actually, not alone. There was someone else here with sharp canine teeth seemingly also opposing the legendary sword's host? Were they not allies? Alastair didn't have much information to go on but that was what mattered least in this situation. All that mattered was could he use this individual to subdue the other or would he need to slay them both with haste?

Alastair stepped forward and pointed his weapon at Rapture. "You seem to have some skill to survive my most highly trained men, but now you will deal with me." For the moment he completely ignored Fumetsu. It seemed out of place but that was because he knew what had just arrived....

"I hope by worthy opponent you mean me?" A female voice rang out in the distance.

Spoiler:

A woman was strutting onto the battlefield with a golden glowing dagger in hand. Behind her were over a dozen more apostles who were currently fending off the police and keeping them from the scene. But their head of command had come to aid Alastair in subduing the target. "Praise be, praise be, it seems you are having a hard time with this one Primarch Alastair." The female said as she raised her weapon in the air and out of it streamed multiple little lights, almost like fireflies, that then took the shape of daggers themselves and stationed themsevles over head like a floating hive all targeting the evil blade's host.

"Praise be, Cardinal Alexa," Alastair said while keeping his attention on Rapture. "this one got in my way but in any case I appraciate your assitance on the matter, sister." He had pinned the blame on Rapture.

"In times of damnation the might of mankind must show its strength in way of force in the face of other annihalation, The Gospel. Section X. Verse XIII - I am that force." Alexa smirked and then pointed her glowing dagger at Fumetsu. As if on command the glowing light daggers all began to dive at Fumetsu one after the other. These blades were like like an endless storm of red hot flaming arrows that she could conjure continuously. The perfect counter for these appendages Fumestu had created.

If Rapture weren’t a woman of her would, she would have left the battlefield after witnessing the onslaught of Christian intervention. They had no place here, dealing with someone clearly possessed by Shinto spirits. She hated interfaith conflicts and sought to quash them as quickly as possible, but doing so would be done so easily in this case. Holy warriors seemed to appear out of nowhere in the torrential pouring of rain.

Fumetsu met the newcomer’s attacks with frenzied parrying, some successfully while others not favoring as well, resulting in the loss of several of the myriad elongated arms. The severed limbs seemed to sizzle and disappear in the same strange black light that introduced them, their long weapons melting with them. This only made him angrier and more violent, picking up his speed and strength of attack. Oddly enough, his facial expression looked more pained and tired than anything, signaling a battle between the host and the demons. For a brief moment, Ryuuzaki heard two voices call out, one in the ancient tongue she could not understand and the other in English. The English-speaking voice was low and rough but clearly muttered “KILL ME…”, something the demon voice sounded none-too-pleased with.

This shocked the yokai priestess, the fact that there was even a remnant of a man still within that mess, let alone one that could speak. However, she felt no remorse for the idiotic foreigner, letting out a bark of a laugh in response. Her spirits murmured chuckles alongside her, the exception being the stoic Red Dragon, who found no humor in the situation. “Let me at him,” the fabled yokai instructed.

“It’s too soon. I have to conserve my energy. Let’s focus on severing those arms,” Rapture replied evenly, followed by a smirk. “I might need you to take on our Christian brethren.” That notion seemed to temper his spirits, allowing her to form a plan of attack. While Fumetsu was busy with the foreigner, she would work on hacking away at the arms with her chakram. If the strangers still insisted on seeing her as an enemy, she would ensure that they were treated as such.

Gliding through the air at precision speed, her sleek weapons struck the arms in rapid succession, successfully separating limb from limb with ease. “Fight it!” she roared, rather loudly for her size. “Fight it, and your death with be swift!” Of course, she only wanted this to be made simpler for her. After all, Rapture held precision and efficiency in high regard.

The thunder cracked loudly in the sky as the regular rain turned to a downpour. Mother nature’s sour mood may have had something to do with the ongoing battle with a being that clearly defied the natural order and laws she had in place. Like mother nature, Alastair was appalled this woman had the nerve, no even the mere notion, that he could be persuaded away from his duty. Alastair took a step forward and pointed his sword at Rapture like a javelin and then charged towards her as she struck at the demonic sword host. Clearly intent on impaling her ——

The foot steps made rippling puddles as they drew near, however, these foot steps did not belong to Alastair. No the boy they belonged to sprinted to the scene and decked Alastair mid lunge causing him to veer off course and stumble away from Rapture. When Alastair looked at his attacker he would see a gray skinned teenager, rather built for his age, sporting a biker jacket and a yellow communicator with a T on his waistline. “JaK Sage.” Alastair said with seething fury.

The Teen Titans had arrived on scene at the request of the JC Police Department for reinforcements. While the other Titans dealt with collectively shutting down the Order of the Throne’s forces. JaK, Alexa, Fumetsu, Alastair and Rapture were all left alone amongst the heated rainy day battle.

JaK looked Rapture up and down briefly after slugging Alastair and then at the immortal swordsman who was under siege from the light swords and Rapture and immediately assessed most of the situation. “Hey girl I don’t know, who you are, or what you’re all about? But as you can see these scumbag terrorist cultist dont negotiate and they dont like powered peoples very much. So I know you’re not friends.”

“Teen Titans!” Alastair roared as he charged JaK. The sworn mortal enemy organization of his own organization. “MUST BE DESTROYED!”

JaK took a defensive stance. “If my team and I keep the goons busy, do you think you could handle whatever that thing is before she does,” JaK said while pointing out that Alexa was still in assault mode despite the arriving enemy group of young heroes. “I’d much appreciate it,” JaK said. JaK probably had wanted to say more but was quickly enegaged by Alastair. An epic melee combat sequence proceeded as as the initial sword swing from the religious general barely missed JaK’s head.

If Rapture had thought at any point she would have time to converse with JaK about his request, she was sorely mistaken. When looking back at her opponent she would notice…He was retreating!? No. Just going backwards literally. Cardinal Alexa’s light swords were swarming the large monstrous being and causing him to constantly step back and reposition itself. Alexa gave chase and followed while unleashing more and more of the light sword onslaught.

With the police and the Titans keeping the other Order of Throne members busy, and JaK engaged in an epic battle with Alastair that left Rapture and Alexa alone with their target who was slowly but surely retracting from the battlefield. The only question is who would be first to claim the sword? Would it be the order of the Throne Cardinal Sister or Rapture?

Rapture wanted to know what she had done in her past lives to deserve such a menagerie of introductions in one day, although she could have expected as much from a city like Jump. She knew that the Teen Titans were operating but at what extent, she hadn’t been sure. For them to show up at the final hour perturbed her for a moment, but that moment passed when she saw how competent they were at distracting the cavalry. Finally, she could focus on Fumetsu.

Speaking of, he seemed to be taking on yet another tactic. Or rather, revamping an older one. Enough of his arms had been severed that their number no longer meant an advantage. Instead, he absorbed the remaining limbs back into his mangled body, again surrounded by a strange black light. And as if by some strange osmosis, one of his natural arms began to grow larger, the blade grafted into his flesh and rippling up his shoulder. Onimaru Kunitsuna, the demon blade, also grew in size. It seemed to become even sharper against the intermittent lightning, and even from the distance between them, Rapture could feel the dark energy of the concentrated souls coming off it.

She’d be damned if she let the holy woman claim it, and after the brief introduction to one of the Teen Titans, a young man name JaK Sage who made quick work of Excalibur, she figured it was time to go all out. “Now,” the yokai priestess signaled the Great Red Dragon, who in turn began to fully possess her.

Golden irises were eclipsed with crimson as the tips of her hair took on the same hue. Her sharp canines grew to full-on fangs, and her attire took on an even spikier and industrial look. Small but mighty, a bright aura of blood-red surrounded the petite powerhouse as she fully embodied her most ancient and powerful spirit, the two uniting in body and mind. Finally, Rapture spoke a quiet prayer in harmony with the legendary beast and slowly began to unsheathe a sword deep within her chest. The blade, made from her own blood, seared with intense heat, thirsting for combat and immediately being drawn to Onimaru Kunitsuna.  Wherever the blade was wielded, it drew in power from evil energy.

Fumetsu could feel it too, and after parrying another deluge of holy magic, he locked his long-dead eyes––now burning with black light––right with Rapture’s, who searched for any humanity left and found it.

‘Onimaru Kunitsuna is sensing the end. It knows it’s outmatched and its host is failing,’ the Red Dragon informed, translating the ancient language that only he could understand, giving his host an idea. “We kill the Christian together,” Rapture addressed Fumetsu in Japanese, her voice low and strange with the influence of the Red Dragon. “And you’ll die at my hands. Honorably. Refuse me and I will ensure you, as a vessel, will be kept alive for a very, very long time.”

The shambling monstrosity didn’t move, the human and the power of the yokai battling internally. Rapture wasn’t sure if her gambit had paid off, a thunder cracked again overhead. And just about to attack anyway, she witnessed the unbelievable: Fumetsu nodded once, solemnly, and turned toward Cardinal Alexa, letting out another guttural roar. Now united, if but for this one moment, Rapture joined his side and the two charged, blades brandished with demonic fury.

Alexa watched as the already grotesque girl morphed into a creature so intolerable for the cultist she nearly threw up in her mouth by just gazing upon her afterwards. Alexa had done a good enough job of pushing the demonic being into a corner that it had done something surprising. It had given up hope of defeating her and chosen to align with its own kind. Now both beings hard targeted Alexa and were steadfast approaching her.

In response Alexa tented her hands in prayer with her blade rested across her forearms as she spoke aloud. “Praise be, praise be, may mercy be bestowed upon these monstrosities in whatever comes next after I dispatch them. For I shall show none. ‘In the face of the unrelenting force of the unnatural, show not fear, but rejoice’…” Alexa smirked as the creatures were nearly upon her now. “For it is only in the face of death is the path to the throne as clear. Rejoice for the chosen path is a noble one….” Alexa once again took hold of her sword and pointed it high into the air. Then just overhead the number of glowing daggers began to multiply at an alarming rate. The daggers doubled, no tripled, no quadrupled all within a matter of seconds. “Rejoice for my hand is the righteous wrath of mankind. And what furious wrath it will be…The Gospel. Chapter. 22, Verse XX.”

Cardinal Alexa pointed her blade at the monsters and sent hurdling forward a full swarm of daggers that removed her from view of her enemies just due to the sheer amount that were heading in Rapture and Fumestu’s direction.

Alexa’s religious zealousness felt like fiery poison to the heretic’s ears, robotic chanting coming from a drone-like being. For far too long, the Christian world had made it a point to try and butt its way into Eastern culture. The Westernization of Japan had been a pervading issue for hundreds of years, and now it was far time that someone from the East inflicted a bit of their culture in return.

Rapture let her annoyance fuel her, while Fumetsu only grew in rage. His demonic fury could be felt in full-force now, a sheer barrage of rage and pure evil. And while not much seemed to be left of the host, the nefarious entity seemed to be keen on keeping up its end of the bargain. Rapture had to improvise as more floating daggers appeared, this time in droves and within seconds. Dodging all of them would be impossible, but maybe if she could get above them.

The yokai priestess quickly backtracked until positioned well behind Fumetsu. Then, she sprang again, using the towering figure as a makeshift ramp to literally rise above the holy blades, wielding her own unholy weapon. Her unlikely partner didn’t seem to mind, instead using himself as a shield while still parrying a good amount of the enemy fire. The same strange black light took on a more physical, fiery form as the souls of the slain gathered in strength and number to combat the enemy, spreading outward to meet each offending blade.

Amidst all the chaos, Rapture felt time slow down as she hurtled toward Cardinal Alexa. It had been so long since she had been in Jump City, so long since she had set foot on American soil. To retrieve such an ancient and legendary Japanese weapon as the Onimaru Kunitsuna felt good. It felt right, and she had something to prove. Her blood-red eyes seemed to brighten as she focused, let out a guttural scream, “Die, bitch. Gospel of Rapture!” and brought her own blade down on her prey’s skull, bisecting the holy woman in a spray of blood and viscera.

Along with her life, Cardinal Alexa’s barrage of holy blades dissipated almost as soon as it had become, but not without a cost; Fumetsu had sustained an incredible amount of damage. Turning from the pile of gore she hard created, Rapture faced the shaming creature, now brought to his knees. He made no move to fight back as she addressed him.

“Fumetsu, I have a use for you,” she began, citing her old mantra. “As promised, death by my hand.” Without waiting for a response, the Japanese native used her blade in a swift and decisive motion, stabbing her foe in the heart.

“Oso…reiri…masu…” softly sang the chorus of demon souls as Onimaru Kunitsuna clattered to the ground, of which Ryuuzaki retrieved as she re-sheathed her own blade and transformed into her natural state.

Now, although she wasn’t the savviest of American laws, she understood that murder didn’t usually go over well. If the Teen Titans or anyone else had a problem with her, they would have to deal with her superiors. In the meantime, they had about five minutes to try anything before she disappeared into the downpour. If not, she had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last of Jump for quite some time.

“Hold it right there!” A voice rang out to her just before she could break away from the scene. “Now I’m not gonna shed a tear over any of the holier than thou terrorist…” The same boy from earlier said as he stepped around the remains of cardinal Alexa - her heart was visibly still twitching in half or her torn body. “But that weapon you just picked up…. Letting you take it then comeback here and use it to cause havoc like that other thing earlier, I take offense with.” The boy in question was JaK Sage, Teen Titan. A deputized known hero of the city and even somewhat internationally known. He was alone and seemingly undamaged from his fight with Saint Sinclair but if one knew his abilities it would be obvious as to why.

Rapture could probably deduce that he was alone and his team and the police were still fighting off the other Order of the Throne squad members. “So what are we gonna do about this? The smart thing or he dumb thing? The smart thing would be to hand that to me right now. The dumb thing is to think I’m anywhere near as easy to deal with as her.” JaK’s yellow eyes shot a piercing gaze that made the individual feel like he was staring you down nose to nose even from a few yards distance. His presence oozed a peculiar confidence that made it seem as if he was aware just how many blades of grass were in the area. Each step he took was somehow aloof but clearly made purposefully. He could not be blitzed or caught off guard by anything less than far superior speed in this moment or just straight teleportation, and yet he stood with his hands in his black ripped jean pockets with no visible protection. The deep V-neck he donned betrayed the relaxed nature he was putting off by giving a good view of his herculean chiseled body that had been clearly molded by hours upon hours of hardwork and dedication. And his leather jacket was torn and cut in places from his bout with Alastair that indicated he had a serious injury, and yet, underneath each piece of damaged material his bare skin showed completely intact. Not even a blemish on a his pale gray skin. “Or you could take option number 3, and run for it.” JaK snickered a bit. “I consider that one both dumb and smart.” And there it was a very unhero like ultimatum from a rift raft street rat from Gotham. He stopped just a foot away from Rapture, within striking range.

As Rapture had begun to exit the area, for reasons that may or may not be connected to the fabled blade she had securely in a blessed sheath, the rain began to subside. By the time the strange grey-skin boy confronted her, it had stopped almost completely, allowing curious passers-by to gather and begin their nosy activities, holding up smart phones to record what was left of the absolute disaster. Normally, the yokai priestess would be annoyed, but in this specific instance, it worked in her favor. She kept her calm, narrowing her piercing blue eyes before speaking in a louder voice than necessary, her strange Icelandic-Japanese accent a mix of pointed and musical tones.

“You want the Onimaru Kunitsuna, boy?” she grinned, flashing her pointed canines. “On who’s authority exactly? Your vigilante justice, or the Japanese Imperial Government’s, who contracted in conjunction with yours, me and me specifically because only I can even touch this blade and its sheath without being possessed by scores of vengeful demons? Have you learned nothing from the other American who tried to claim an ancient artifact that belongs to Japan’s royal family?” She nodded to Fumetsu’s corpse with a cool casualness. “I already cleaned up one star-spangled disaster. So ask yourself, do you really want to do this? Star a war on behalf of your country and mine?”

Rapture did not wait for an answer. The matter was already settled. “But before I do go, pay attention, because you will more than likely see me again; I have jurisdiction here and I’m sure this won’t be the first time some yankee doodle decides to fuck around where he isn’t supposed to be––historically, your track record is grim. Our cities are intertwined in ways you can’t even fathom. So learn to coexist, because like today, I may have a use for you. But do not mistake this for camaraderie.”

With that, the strange young woman turned heel, crossed the police barrier with ease, and disappeared into the crowd.