Issolde and Volcanis

Nothing was different, from Nemesis' cryptic rune which seemed to like a twisted hybrid between a bird's talon and Hunger's elongated, bone-thin, razor-sharp claws to his still face and piercing dual coloured eyes. Shane reverted his gaze back to the rune becoming enthralled by it as he thought about his small encounter with Hunger. The pressure he felt was etched into his bones, he was sure that Hunger could tear apart the Griffith Kingdom's castle with ease as if a heated blade slicing down upon soft butter. The Griffith Kingdom, by the way, wasn't made of cement or any other ordinary building materials but instead were built using Grade - 2 [Griffith Iron]. A rare iron which could only be found within the territory of the Griffith Kingdom and thus was named after the kingdom. All building materials and metals which could be found on Earth were graded. From the scarce Grade - 1 tier minerals and materials which only the richest kingdom on Earth, the Cortellia Kingdom which spanned across multiple continents could afford, to the plentiful and flimsy Grade - 10 metals. Due to the two being either weak or more used for jewellery, both steel and diamonds are within the Grade - 10 category. The difference between each grade was immense, where each and every metal held a stable position within their grade with very few to no counter arguments on their position in the grading category. If the difference between Grade - 10 metals and Grade - 9 metals was equal to comparing the strength of a 9mm round fired from a rusted, malfunctioning 9mm Browning Long pistol and firing a magically enhanced bullet which would set the target ablaze and explode with the explosive power of several ballistic missiles and was fired from a newly cleaned, functioning Nag-Pistol, that was the comparison between the two weakest of metals. The difference between Grade - 2 and Grade - 10 was complete idiocy, the difference was so clear that even the heavens and gods would all unanimously agree to the fact that the difference was between the Angelic Holy Lands within heaven and the Underworlds within Hell…

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Shane heard a loud snap in his left ear. He quickly turned to the left only to see Nemesis' right hand, frozen in the position one would take directly after snapping their fingers.

"Shane, don't lose focus!" Nemesis warned after seeing Shane enter a deadly trance after staring at the rune upon his attire. 'Vanish,' Nemesis said within his mind as instantly a [Void Haze] shrouded the rune upon his breast pocket in a purplish-black haze. Within seconds, the purplish-black haze melded with his pitch-black suit. With the rune now gone, Shane was completely removed from his trance.

"What... what even happened? Why did I start thinking of ho-... Griffith Castle." Shane asked in awe and confusion, hoping to receive an answer immediately and not have to wait.

"My rune. Peering into this rune and trying to figure out what the symbol is shall make one's mine drift off of thought, making them think of things related closely to their lives. Since you lived in Griffith Castle for your entire life I guess you grew an attachment to that place. Honestly, I only engraved that rune onto my suit so that it could aid me when thinking of other more… sentimental events or objects while some idiot would blabber on for what feels likes hours monologuing before a fight. Trust me, it happens too often to even be a joke now." Nemesis replied, revealing the truth behind the rune and its conception. While Shane may not have known what the symbol was supposed to be, Nemesis knew exactly what it was, and that thing which it was helped him alleviate some of his inner pains and think blissfully until he was needed to do something.

Nemesis decided to check how much time was left in the day out of fear that they may have taken too long talking and what he saw horrified him. He only had half an hour left! While the clearing of the brothel may only take just a few minutes at best, he didn't wish to mess things up as if he did, he wouldn't be able to divert the army being sent to Deale's village to [Vanquished Town] and thus prolonging the time it would take for them to capture her and send her off to an 'educational camp'. He had a goal in mind and now he was serious.

'Nemesis, no more blabbering. Start the operation.' Nemesis told himself.

"Shane, we can't halt the assault any longer, our rambling has already cost us around 10 minutes!" Nemesis exclaimed at Shane then before he could respond, two Void objects began to manifest themselves onto his palms. Rapidly gaining form, shaping themselves into two daggers, one 7 inches long while the other was slightly longer at 9 inches. The slightly longer held in Shane's dominant right hand while the shorter one manifested itself onto Shane's left hand.

Shane's hands dropped due to the sudden gain of weight his hands experienced. The daggers, which Shane found absolutely fascinating was that the daggers both weighed a substantial amount but not to the point of him losing control of the daggers due to their excessive weight, it was as if they were perfectly crafted for him and his hand's strength. That was what captivated him, it was how precisely they fit him.

The [Void Haze] encasing the two daggers began to rapidly vanish; revealing what was concealed by the [Void Haze]. Two sparkling, sharp, jubilant daggers greeted themselves to Shane who grasped firmly at the grips of the daggers almost out of instinct. The longer dagger had a snowflake within a circle which was surrounded by ice shards, etched onto the blade a few centimetres above the hilt which through the eyes of both Shane and Nemesis, radiated with the aura of a mellow, tranquil Italian sky blue. The shorter dagger had an engraving a few centimetres above the hilt as well, which portrayed a multitude of ashes spiralling outwards and transforming into a bird; a phoenix rising from ashes. The proud phoenix within the blade screeched a deafening cry. Shane lept back, startled by the unexpected cry. Withdrawing his attention from the long dagger and diverting it to the shorter one, he stared at it sensing a sort of resistance. He could see an explosive, direct, destructive, untamed, fiery reddish-orange aura gushing out of the mark, completely opposite to the peaceful and tame Italian sky blue. Before he could realise that he was clutching the two daggers as if his prized possession, an excruciating, throbbing sensation jolted his entire body. The pain lasted a single, solitary, second but that sole second of pain was equivalent to the pain an average adult male would suffer throughout their entire lifetime.

During that single second, Shane felt his entire nervous system suffer from a repeating cycle of rapidly freezing then abruptly lighting ablaze. The cycle repeated a total of 483 times within that single, isolated, second which Shane never wished to endure again. He was shocked to even find himself alive after that torture.

He felt different now though as if the daggers were an extension of his body; they felt like as if they belonged on him. The rowdy shorter blade had withdrawn its temper, stopping its resistance after being seemingly pleased with the fact that Shane had survived its trial. The longer blade stayed the same, peaceful. Strangely Shane felt as if a connection had formed between the three, the two blades contrasting each other like Ying and Yang but when used together they'd meld perfectly, becoming weapons of destruction. Two unfamiliar names resounded within his mind as if someone had bellowed it aloud within his ear. "Issolde... Volcanis." Shane unconsciously muttered.

Shane raised his head at Nemesis, his expression pleaded for him to give an explanation for what had just transpired within that single second. As he did so, only then did he notice how nothing seemed different; his vision was still the same as it was before he followed Nemesis' orders of closing his eyes.

Nemesis himself just stared back at Shane in awe. He could sense the confusion and excitement within him and see it even more within his eyes but instead of answering Shane's plea he kept quiet on that issue, a light smile growing upon his lips.

"Take good care of Issolde and Volcanis, they were my blades once." Nemesis said to Shane, confirming the names of the two blades but nothing more; it was up to him to find out the abilities of his new weapons.

After saying that, Nemesis didn't wait any longer and walked towards the door which led to the lobby cracking his knuckles on the way. He was ready to start this operation. Shane seeing that Nemesis didn't answer the question his expression portrayed stood still for a few moments deciphering what Nemesis told him. Two things resonated within his mind, the names of the daggers 'Issolde' and 'Volcanis'. He gazed at the longer one muttering "Issolde," then shifted his gaze to the shorter one and muttered "Volcanis,". Even though Nemesis only confirmed the names of the dagger and hadn't said which was which, an unknown feeling within himself told him that he was correct. Shane then focused on what was said at the end, how they were his blades once. Quickly it dawned upon him that Nemesis was giving these blades to him but that didn't answer the question he had which was related to the excruciating pain he had to suffer through and how he survived it.

Shane could only hope that after the assault was over, Nemesis would tell him what caused the unimaginable pain. Shane took a quick deep breath then followed suit, jogging for a bit until he was right beside Nemesis, walking in sync. Once right before the door Nemesis turned his head to Shane, looking down.

"Shane, don't forget. Run! Run when you enter the lobby, make sure to keep at a brisk pace up the stairs. Ignore everything else. Go down the left hallway and barge into the final door in the hallway. Stall the two demons there until I arrive, if you can kill them then do so, if you can't, no worries I'll do it." Nemesis reminded Shane of his directions.

Nemesis then grabbed onto the doorknob using his right hand twisting it open. Once it was open Nemesis used the strength within his right hand to push the door wide open while using his left to shove Shane forward.

Shane upon feeling the light shove started to run through the lobby towards the stairs. Just as he started his dash towards the stairs he heard a female voice exclaim in shock, "Hold on! You're not allowed there!"

Shane continued running and shifted his gaze slightly to the right and saw an obscure sight. Within the magnificent and luxurious lobby, standing just right in front of a comfortable looking sofa, purplish-black figure with a violet aura surrounding it was yelling at him. He realised that the purplish-black figure wasn't something Nemesis had summoned but probably a prostitute waiting for her next client to enter and serve. This all came to his mind as he remembered how Nemesis altered his vision before they entered the lobby but no immediate effect was had. Shane whilst running felt a weird gut instinct inside of him stir up, something was about to happen was what it told him.

Just as the purplish-black figure made it halfway to Shane was by the time Shane reached had the stairway, Shane heard a startled gasp then choking sound and turned around only to see Nemesis holding the purplish-black figure up by her throat with her legs dangling down.

"Go ahead Shane, as I said don't stop. I'll deal with this lowlife." Nemesis stated coldly, his voice lacking empathy as he harshly remarked the tainted prostitutes as a lowlife.