92 Eye powers and vengeance... is this an Uchiha?

[ Shiki pov ]

I stared at Azaka with the same blank expression while preparing my luggage.

"You will be useless." I said calmly. "Whoever took Touko and killed Mikiya is out of your league, so just stay here."

Anger became clear on her face as her hands began to glow slightly. "You dare-"

"The same goes to you." said a voice coming from behind me. "The person that took Touko is out of your league as well."

My instincts flared up as I turned around in an instant, standing between Azaka and the unknown person.

"Who are you?" I asked, tightly holding the knife in my hand.

"Someone who agrees with your anger towards the man who took Touko." said the person, slowly coming out of the shadows.

I stared at the muscular, blonde man for a moment before narrowing my eyes. "That is not the answer I want."

"I am McDonell Trambelio Elrod." he said calmly. "Head of the Democratic faction in the Clocktower."

"A magus..." I muttered with slight displeasure. Not only had I already met magus, Touko also talked about them, and it was obvious that for the most part, magus were not to be trusted.

"Indeed." he replied calmly. "However, unlike most magus, I do not believe that the means justify the end nor do I think that bloodlines are the most important thing in this world. I value individuality, hence why I became the head of the Democratic faction instead of joining the Aristocratic faction or the Neutral faction."

I remained silent for a while, listening to him before interrupting his speech. "That means nothing to me." I said. "I don't know what the clocktower is nor what those factions are. Now, tell me what are you doing here and leave or stay and die."

The man sighed before walking calmly to the couch and sitting down. "Two weeks ago, Touko Aozaki was brought to the Clocktower by a man." he said in the same calm tone. "I managed to talk to her for a few seconds and she told me to come and find you, Shiki Ryougi."

"You met her?!" asked Azaka. "Where is she?"

"That doesn't matter." he replied. "Because you have no chance of saving her."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Who took her? Who killed Mikiya?"

"His name is Dio Salvatore." replied the man, pulling out a file from his suit and handing it over. "The rising star of the clocktower, the greatest prodigy in the history of the clocktower, the golden boy of Atlas, the greatest inventor of the century, and countless more titles."

I grabbed the file and began reading it, still looking at him from the corner of my eye.

"Is this... real?" I muttered in disbelief after I finished reading, placing it on the table for Azaka to grab.

"It is." he said. "You see, there is one other title that isn't commonly used when talking about him, but is undoubtedly better suited to describing him, 'the devil'. That man is the worst of the worst, the number of corpses he has piled is so high that even a blind man could see them."

"This is impossible!" said Azaka from my side as she finished reading the file.

"Oh dear, it gets much, much worse." said the man, shaking his head. "I will tell you about it, but I want you to join me."

"What makes you think I need you?" I asked.

Now that I know his name, I will simply find him and slice his throat.

"Because alone you won't be able to even enter his house." replied the man. "You won't even enter London without him knowing. He has more support than any single person has had since the foundation of the Magus Association aside from perhaps the founder himself."

I looked at Azaka for a moment, thinking about what the man was saying. While we might be able to find him, we have no actual information about it besides the file this man gave us...

"Explain yourself." I said while sitting down.

I was still holding the knife in my hand, ready to strike, however this 'McDonell' guy didn't seem to be lying.

"Years ago, he invented a way to grant people extra lives, a way to truly cheat death." he said, making my eyes widen. "Something on the realms of true magic was sure to have consequences, so Lord Valueleta and I decided to conduct a private research on the subject. Eventually, we found out the material he used to make them... people."

"So that is why the file says he has killed so many..." I muttered.

Absolutely disgusting.

People like that shouldn't exist.

"Exactly." he replied before continuing. "When we found out, we tried to push a sealing designation. So far no one had made the proposal because they were too interested in his creation or lacked the proper authority, which means we were the first."

"And?" I asked.

Touko had mentioned what Sealing Designations were because she had one, basically a death sentence that gave the magus permission to probe your brain in order to understand your Magecraft or something like that.

"Some people supported it... but many didn't." he said. "Among them, we received heavy backlash from Atlas, both the director and the main families. The worst part of all however was the intervention of the Wizard Marshall, who said he didn't support it."

The man paused for a moment and looked at us before continuing. "With the intervention of one of the founders of the Clocktower and the discontent of Atlas, as well as the lack of support form many important families, we found ourselves on the loosing end."

The man continued talking about this 'Dio Salvatore' for hours. He mentioned his rings becoming a symbol of status and power among the families of the Magus Association and the relationships he had established within the Aristocratic faction, which now threatened to break the balance that held the Clocktower together.

He explained to us the basics of how the Magus Association functions and why it is so important to get rid of him.

Perhaps it was the amount of details in his story, which matched things I had heard Touko say, to perhaps it was the genuine concern he showed. it might have very well being just a gut feeling, but I found myself believing him more and more.

"But one of the most troublesome parts is his closest allies." said McDonell. "He has three heroic spirits who are absolutely loyal to him at his side almost at all times, so even catching him by surprise or alone is impossible."

"Heroic spirits?" asked Azaka confused.

"Indeed." replied the man. "Heroes of the past, legends incarnated. We came across this information when he destroyed the Rail Zeppelin."

"The what?" I asked. I didn't quite understand why this guy kept bringing stuff we obviously didn't know about without giving an explanation.

"A train that was known for trafficking mystic eyes." he said. "The rumours say that they sold him a pair of fake eyes a long time ago and when he found out, he tracked them down and erased them from this world. I am saying this because the likelihood that he took all their mystic eyes is quite high, which means that he is even more dangerous than we might think."

"And this 'group' of yours, who is in it?" I asked. "Who else have you managed to convince to go against such a figure."

"I am." said a new voice, coming from behind me.

Faster than ever before, I turned around with my knife swinging in the direction the sound came from, but I found myself slicing simple air.

"If that is the fastest you can move then this was a waste of time." said the same voice, this time coming from behind.

Turning around, I saw a red haired woman sitting in the couch next to McDonell, a mask covered her face, and it was clear that beneath her robe there was only one arm.

Before I could say anything, Azaka spoke.

"And who are you?" she asked, her tone being a combination of impressed, angry and restless.

"I am Touko's sister." replied the masked woman. "Aoko Aozaki."

Something clocked in my mind. While Touko almost never talked bout her family, she would occasionally laugh when buying something, saying she placed it in the name of her sister so she wouldn't pay.

"Unlike McDonell over here, I do want to rescue Touko." she said. "However, I doubt it will be possible."

"How so?" I asked before Azaka did.

"Because I lack the strength to do so." she replied. "It is as simple as that."

I hated to admit this, but this woman was stronger than me, much stronger, if she couldn't save her... what were my chances?

"And what about Dio?" I asked.

All my instincts warned me of how dangerous she was, so maybe she could fight him while we rescue her?

The woman took off the mask, revealing a terribly scarred face. "This is what happened when I tried to fight him." she said, gritting her teeth in clear anger. "If we want to kill him, then I alone am not enough."

Sigh, what a messed up group we have here...