Forgotten World: The Promise We Made That Day

Volume 2 Chapter 9

"Another one down. Whew... Looks like I've met my quota for today. How did I do, Mizuki?" Taku glances back at Mizuki with a light smile on his face, wiping the sweat away from his brow using the bandages wrapped around his right arm. The brown haired girl smiles in response to him and stands up from her seated position on a nearby rock. "You're in top form today, Tak-kun! Let's see. That's.... 105 Uncontrolled taken out? That's not bad. Much better than the 85 you've defeated yesterday." Taku was impressed by his own improvement, happy to know that he was able to take out 20 more than the day before. With training out of the way, it was time to take a break. "I'm glad I'm able to train like this, but.... I feel like I'm doing all the heavy lifting for the German Alliance." He lets out a light sigh.

Mizuki couldn't help, but giggle at what he'd just said. "I'm sure it's okay. They still have a lot to deal with, what with you and Tarou defeating both Charlotte and Alfred Weber. We won't have to worry about them bothering us for a while." He nods to her in agreement, ready to take a seat next to her and rest for a while. However... something seemed off. It was as if there was something or someone approaching them. Taku could definitely sense an Uncontrolled nearby, but there was that gut feeling that there was more to it than just another Uncontrolled. It was.... a human presence? "Mizuki, watch out!" He immediately springs into action and jumps in front of her, acting as a shield towards what was to come. A large, bird-like Uncontrolled came swooping in, flying straight at the two hybrids. Azure optics lock onto the creature as he readies his twin blades and gets into a stance. He then takes a slight step back as he notices that someone riding atop the bird-like Uncontrolled.

"Wh-What the...." All of a sudden the mysterious person leaps off of the bird and comes flying down at insane speeds. Luckily for someone like Taku, he was able to keep up with them. His sword suddenly comes into contact with what looked to be a curved dagger, which was no ordinary weapon at that. It was on par with the Divinity Arms used by the AUA. Sparks fly as the two weapons clash, causing Taku to be pushed back a bit. "Mizuki... g-get back!" She nods and goes to take cover behind some rubble, but Taku ends up losing focus and is swiftly kicked in the side of his head. He is sent flying into a nearby building, bricks and debris falling onto him in the process. "You're reaction time isn't bad at all, but you're still lacking. Hard to believe that you're Hybrid-01." The smoke clears and reveals a young man wearing a black coat with silver hair and heterochromia eyes of red and gold. Covering most of his face was a long navy blue scarf that hangs down his back. Taku staggers to his feet and wipes the blood away from his lips while wincing. "Who the hell are you...?" He asks the mysterious person.

"I have but one name. Shinku. I'm likened to the Grim Reaper, sending Uncontrolled to their graves. In other words, an assassin." A chuckle escapes his lips before responding to Shinku. "I didn't know the German Alliance had another powerful soldier at their disposal. I wonder why they didn't just send you to attack me earlier." Shinku shakes his head. "You're incorrect. I'm not with the AUA. In fact, I hate goody two shoes like them. They play by the rules and are the textbook example of stuck up brats. I'm only here to exterminate Uncontrolled and find out the 'truth'. In order to do that, I needed to first gauge your strength." He points his blade towards Taku, who grits his teeth and tightly grasps the hilts of both swords. "If that's the case, then allow me to show you just what I'm made of!"

Not even a second had passed when Taku closed the 8 foot distance between him and the assassin. A vertical swing from the sword in his right hand along with the horizontal swing from Shinku's dagger causes yet another clash between the two, the ground beginning to quake beneath their feet. The shaking of the ground even affects Mizuki, who has to resort to grabbing onto a nearby pillar in order to stop herself from falling over onto the ground. "O-Oh my!" Taku enters a flurry of slashes using both swords. Shinku easily keeps up with his movement, blocking and parrying every slash that came his way. "You're far too slow...." Shinku's palm thrusts into Taku's stomach which causes him to fall to his knees. The force of the hit was comparable to being hit with a semi. This young man was on a much different level than that of the Demon Generals.