[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/RibgqJr.png[/img][/center] [indent][sub][COLOR=slategray][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [color=lightgray][I]California, An empty parking lot at a cheap motel[/I] [/color][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=slategray][b]Issue #1.03:[/b][/COLOR] [I][color=lightgray]The [s]Vagabond[/s] Manslayer awakens[/color][/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=dimgray][SUP][sub]_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR] [quote][i]The only reason why a warrior is alive is to fight and the reason why the warrior fights is to win. -Miyamoto Mussashi[/i] [/quote] The stage is set. A lone samurai is led into a trap and is now facing four ninjas of a murderous cult. The tension and the urge to kill is palpable around them. Katana presses her thumb against the back of her hilt, itching to unsheath her man-slaying sword. She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. She analyzes her opponents, visualizing them in this dark environment, Opening her mind's eye to the possibilities and capabilities of each weapon the shadowy fiends are wielding. It's quite obvious she is at a disadvantage here. She has to conserve her energy with each motion she delivers and strike with efficiency. Be swift, Be efficient, and be like water. Yup, that's the game plan here. Without warning, Katana rushes through their formation and into the fray. The nimble samurai chose not to play defensively, despite being outnumbered, which surprised the assassins, thinking she's either brave or have a death wish. 'I dictate the flow of this fight!' She yelled at the back of her mind. She delivers a skull-crushing high knee to one of the thugs as her opening, rocking his brains out. Katana then drew her second sword and started slicing the air around them. The sound of steel clashing echoes through as one of the ninjas parries her blow with a sword of their own. A sequence of collisions takes place as three ninjas jump on her at the same time with their bladed weapons. The rhythm of combat increases, exchanging blows for blows in a fast-paced setting. Within this entanglement of fist, foot, and steel, Katana saw her first victim amongst the four assassins. She parries his blow and riposte, delivering a quick spartan kick to the gut that staggers him. She then followed it up with a blur of two deadly slashes with her twin blades. One to his torso. The other was a clean cut to the neck. SCHWINGGGGG!!!!! SCHWINGGGGG!!!!! In the blink of an eye, Katana beheads him, painting the pavement red as the head plops to the ground. [color=ed1c24]"One"[/color] The samurai steps back, preparing for another strike. She remains silent and focused. Her expression stays the same -- a joyless killing machine. The other ninjas looked at each other and began to disengage. They realize how cracked and lethal this lady is in close combat. They proceeded tightly holding their weapons as they grew wary and stayed out of Katana's striking range. They encircle their prey and go in different directions, flanking her from all sides. Playing a deadly game of tag with Katana being 'it'. Katana took a steadying breath, maintaining her composure as she sensed the shift in the fight's tempo. It doesn't matter where they strike, I'll kill them all. She thought to herself. The battle continues as one of her opponents releases a flurry of sharp projectiles that slice through the air, aiming at the heroine. The swordswoman drew her sword in an arc motion as she powered through the barrage of knives and started twirling her dual swords like a fan. CLANK!! CLANK!! CLANK!! CLANK!! CLANK!! CLANK!! Her blade sings as she deflects most of the thrown steel stars. Katana takes multiple decisive steps and advances, bridging the gap between her and her mark. LEAP! ROLL! SWING! TURN! SWING! FEINT! THRUST! Within this sequence of her deadly dance, Katana got the second ninja on the ropes and skewered him, lifting him a few inches off the ground. She then forcefully rips the sword out of the ninja's body, twisting her own, and takes a full swing at the incoming third ninja who'd tried to attack her from the back, slashing the poor bastard in half. [color=ed1c24]"Two."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"Three."[/color] Both bodies hit the floor as Katana makes quick work of them. The fourth ninja took advantage of the moment, as a chain suddenly flew in and coiled around Katana's neck. She gasped intensively as she could feel the metal rope constricting her throat. Katana had no choice but to drop her swords to the ground and use both hands to relieve the pressure of strangulation. "Get over here!" Said the ninja, reeling her leashed prey with his chain. In a moment of clarity, Katana chose to abandon her resistance and boldly decided to confront him directly. She swiftly turns and runs in his direction. She slides down between the footman's legs, causing his chain to wrap against his limbs, and flips him over with a forceful yank, falling flat on his back. Katana draws her kunai and mounts him. A pair of dead cold eyes looked down at him as the manslayer slit his throat. [color=ed1c24]"Four"[/color] She heavily pants and rolls beside the lying dead assassin, waiting for her battle adrenaline to subside. It was a messy finish, but it is done. The wounded warrior stands up and picks up her Soultaker on the ground, limping away from the carnage she has caused. Katana grunts and takes one last look at the scene with her bloodshot eyes before disappearing into the dark. Four trained assassins are dead that night. Only one lives to see another day. [hider=The beast below] Somewhere at a Chinese restaurant, A meeting of a crime syndicate like no other takes place. They rented the whole place and discussed the situation last night. Unknownst to Katana, her fight is being recorded during that bloody night. Five members are present at a long dining table, bickering and arguing on the topic with an old-battle-hardened Asian man silently sitting at the end of it. "Four of my best men are dead! Such a waste of resources!" "Heh, that's what you get sending children to clean up your loose ends! You should kill that mobster the last time he was in New York!" "It's not the student's fault they achieve failure, but the teaching and product of their mentor's incompetence" "Shut up you hag! I will not be lectured by you!" "Tsk, if only I had been aware and escorted them in that mission, I would have that swordswoman’s head and serve it on a platter at this very table." "I doubt it, I've seen that cursed blade can do during ancient times, your immortality means nothing if you get killed by it" [b]"Enough!"[/b] The leader of the cult raised his voice. Silence followed as he commanded authority amongst his five lieutenants. [b]"Can't you see? It's fate! this is the prophecy of the beast! And we found her -- An efficient and ruthless killer in the modern era. A worthy candidate to corrupt. She could be the vessel to our success...Our black sky."[/b] He smirked, resting his chin on his knuckles. [b]"Put a bounty on her, alert all the clan but do it discretely. This new regime is so busy looking at superpowered threats from the sky that they don't even bother noticing the gaping abyss hidden from below."[/b] Another clan takes interest in the wandering ronin! This time devil worshipping ninjas from the past. The consequences of disrupting the underground scene are piling up against the sword-wielding heroine. [/hider]