Seraph

The trail was left uncovered for several minutes after Ryo escaped the Jester's mercenaries. The blonde woman's heavy perspiration lathered all over Ryo's shoulders, seeping into his nanosuit after nearly escaping their attack. They soared through Kathuz and found a small alleyway torn open by a pack of rabid dogs. Ryo and the woman slid through and rested themselves.

Ryo wiped the sweat that came from the woman off of the back of his neck and shoulders. "Are you... okay?" Ryo asked eyebrows slanted down from the disturbance of the sweat.

"I'm... fine," The woman struggled to catch her breath. She placed both of her palms on her knees, lowered her upper body, and hacked out to breathe properly. "I was prepared to do anything to save Kathuz, even if it meant stopping the Jester. But I never thought it would be this exciting. Did you see that kick?"

"Pretty impressive," Ryo chuckled, approaching the woman. "You know the Jester, then? And is it true that they're going to attack the ones from above at the Grand Gate?"

"It is true," The woman said. "But... there's nothing we can do for them. The Seraphians have been doing this for years."

"Doing what, exactly?" Ryo asked.

"Settling an agreement between the Seraphians and the people of Kathuz," The woman continued. "To sign off a deal to let the people of Kathuz rot underground to protect the people above from the plague. They're willing to sacrifice the thousands of people living here to preserve their health and survival. And in the end, the people of Kathuz kill them because they're tired of their cowardness."

"You can't be serious," Ryo expressed. "Do you know long has this plague been going on?"

"About a month," The woman continued. "I was once part of the Seraphians, the organization that focused on settling affairs with Kathuz by any means necessary. But ever since I saw the things that they proposed to the people, I felt an equity issue. I separated from their leadership and proposed my plan to save these people. The courthouse isn't doing anything, as you saw! These people are dying, and they need support."

"I appreciate that," Ryo stated, thinking about his past position as an ex-Yakuza. "I'm not exactly the expert on this stuff, but you seem to know more than I do."

"I'm hoping that I can at least make sense of what's causing the plague here," The woman said, turning around and shaking Ryo's palm with a smile. "You can put up a fight. Can you help me?"

Ryo's intention was not to help the people, he thought. His true intention was to find the Jester, but after tracing the potential cause of the plague to the existence of the Jester in Kathuz, he believed that this was his only lead. "I can," Ryo promised. "I'm here to find the Jester. If you can help me, then that would work out perfectly for the both of us."

"The Jester... I had a feeling she would be behind something like this." The woman said.

"Wait, she?" Ryo was astonished, hoping he did not hear incorrectly. "The Jester is a woman?"

"Yes, she is," The woman clarified. "The Seraphians caught sight of her ever since she laid waste to our district above. She's been the biggest problem because of how powerful and reckless she is. She's taken the lives of so many people above and below," She said, looking down at her left flank. "Including..."

A gust of wind swept through the alleyway. Ryo knew instantly whose presence greeted him. A pouch of gold coins was tossed through the air, landing on the blonde woman's head before leaning down to her palms.

"Think this belongs to you," Jinrai's confident voice came abruptly. The blonde woman did not have much time to react to his appearance. He rested his shoulder against the alleyway walls and crossed his arms together. "Now, what's a lovely lady like you doing here with my associate?"

"I-" The blonde woman gulped after she placed the pouch away in her back pocket. She stared blankly at Jinrai's attractive physical features and well-mannered demeanor. "Oh, well, hi there," She awkwardly began, staring at him as she rotated her waist left and right nervously. "I, uh..."

"I asked you a question," Jinrai's voice became deeper as he began to suspect something between her and Ryo. He approached her closely and placed his fist against the alleyway wall. His eyebrows slanted upward, surmising something behind the scenes. "Unless there's something hiding that you can't answer."

Ryo placed his hand on Jinrai's shoulder. "It's all right. She's one of us." He said.

"Oh, my mistake," Jinrai chuckled, patting Ryo's back multiple times with his hardened strength. Ryo nearly coughed out saliva in response to his reaction. "Good work, Ryo Nakai. You've secured someone who's completely beyond the standard of our mission intent. Now, back to the task at hand-"

"I can be an asset to your mission!" The woman volunteered, placing her left hand on her chest to signal some kind of oath of pride. "I know where the Jester's mercenaries are hiding. I know almost every part of the city from the back of my mind. You can use me to gain access to all kinds of information leading to what started the plague here."

"Oh, is that so?" Jinrai laughed, approaching the woman again with a sly expression. "And you just happen to want to do all of this now because...?"

"Because I feel that it's my chance now," The woman confidently said as her eyes continued locking with Jinrai's. "Ryo Nakai saved me from capture. It's my responsibility to see that this city deserves the best, and if I must ally with you, then I shall."

Jinrai whispered into Ryo's ear. "What did you tell her, boy?"

"Not me, it's her," Ryo whispered back. "She knew that there would be an attack at the Grand Gate. She's aware of Jester's plans. She's an expert."

"Boy, I certainly hope you're right," Jinrai said, backing off of Ryo and raising his voice to speak to the woman. "Very well, then. Permission granted. To whom are we speaking in the first place, may I ask?" He mentioned.

"Claire," The blonde woman introduced with a short bow. "Claire Tianne Waters. Ex-Seraphian."

"Whatever that means," Jinrai said, shrugging with a smirk on his face. "Jinrai is the name," He introduced, holding out his palm for Claire to shake. "I'm a special operative from Sunlight. This is Ryo Nakai, the bait that I've chosen to carry with me tonight!"

"Funny," Ryo muttered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Claire greeted with another bow. "We should probably find another place to speak. I know a perfect area for us, but we need to make sure that we're out of sight."

"Lead the way, and we'll follow," Jinrai said, repositioning himself behind Claire and patting both of her shoulders. "We'll make sure you're safe on your way to-"

Jinrai paused. He flicked his head back and released a speedy spark from his fingers to snatch a pistol from his pocket holster. He blasted a bullet toward a canister of poisonous liquid and hurled it at their position, stopping it in its tracks. It collapsed on the ground and released gas from within, trapping the three in the alleyway.

Ryo looked up as Jinrai seized control of Claire close by. The Seething Vipers, armed with their chemical serrated blades and poison resistant armor, kneeled on top of the buildings above their position watching down upon them. All of them brandished their poison-dipped blades after watching that their assassination plan had failed.

Ryo activated his nanosuit, covering himself in full-plated armor. He grabbed a hold of his combat ax as the whirring sound of his ignition and mag booster activated. "Go! Get Claire and get out of here!" Ryo shouted at Jinrai, who acknowledged his plan and sped through the alleyway.

Two of the Seething Vipers chased after Jinrai utilizing a chemical enhancing agent to speed up their movement. Three of the vipers leaped down the building and jabbed their blades into the walls as they slid down.

Ryo exhaled a deep breath as the first one approached him with a stab toward the head. Ryo lifted his ax and sliced the viper's arm off. Green liquid spewed from the viper's arm, covering all over Ryo's helmet visor and shoulder. A heavy sting in which the liquid splashed began hurting Ryo from the inside despite his heavily reinforced nanosuit. Ryo kicked the fallen viper back as two more assaulted him from midair.

One of the vipers locked their legs around Ryo's neck and trapped him on the ground. The other viper rammed their knee onto Ryo's gut and prepared another vial of poisonous liquid. Ryo struggled to escape. He used his mag booster and recalled his ax back toward the viper's head, slicing through his head for a quick decapitation. Green blood spewed out once more, and Ryo yanked himself back with his ignition booster.

The final viper standing spun their poison-laced machete and charged at Ryo. The two of them clashed blades. Ryo was surprised at how lethal and quick the viper was in response to his attacks. The viper locked blades with Ryo and pulled his arm down before splashing another vial of small poisonous liquid on his helmet visor. The sting began affecting his eyes, despite being protected.

Ryo deactivated his helmet visor to avoid the green vial's stinging sensation. The viper took advantage of this, aiming their serrated blade toward Ryo's head. Ryo ducked down and pushed the viper back with his mag booster. He wiped his face with his arm and saw his armor corroding by the second.

The viper readied a handful of throwing knives from faraway, tossing them at Ryo without approaching him. Ryo leaped into the air with his ignition booster and soared to the top of the building, but another viper was waiting for him. The viper collapsed down on Ryo's chest with a powerful kick. He settled back down against the alleyway as the vipers began ganging up on him once more.

As one of the vipers attempted grabbing Ryo's legs, a blade penetrated through the back of their head and out their plague doctor helmets. More green blood spewed out the mouth of the viper as the blade drove through it from behind. It was Natia who arrived. She slashed the blade to the side, decapitating the viper before lunging at the last viper behind Ryo.

The viper broke free of Natia's grasp and yanked both of their chemical tubes on their shoulders off by forced. A mist of poisonous fog blanketed their vision, leaving the viper enough room to escape. Natia coughed as Ryo retaliated, chasing after the viper through the fog. He ascended the skies and watched as the viper hopped from building to building ninja-style, endlessly on the run with near to infinite stamina.

Ryo shouted and dashed forward with his ignition booster, attempting to seize the viper with his hands. Yet the viper was too quick, and managed to inadvertently dodge all of Ryo's attempts by leaping and sliding. Frustrated by his inability to capture the viper, Ryo stopped, as his stamina was taking a toll without the use of his helmet visor.

Before the viper leaped off of their current building, Natia arose in front of the viper by surprise and used both of her blades to spin. She swiftly decapitated the last viper and sent their body flying down below to the streets of Kathuz. She deactivated her nanosuit. Natia's menacing glare was backed up with irritation and pure spite out of the living conditions of the city.

"I'll never do what that piece of shit clown tells me to do ever again," Natia hounded, placing her dual blades away. She then approached Ryo and noticed his eyes blinking rapidly. "Hey. Are you okay?" She asked.

Ryo exhaled, wiping his eyes with his sweater's sleeves. "My eyes are stinging like hell," He said. "What the hell did those guys splash on my face?"

"We need to get you somewhere safe," Natia said, grabbing Ryo by the shoulder to support him. "God, I hate doing this..." She muttered.

"Jinrai's with Claire," Ryo mentioned. "They're finding a safe place for us to talk."

"Who the fuck is Claire?" Natia asked.

"Someone who's willing to help us find the Jester. From the looks of it, it looks like she knows we're here," Ryo continued, eyeing the member of the Seething Viper on the ground. "Grab as much as you can from them; weapons, armor, whatever. We need to take a close look at them... ah, shit..." He finished, continuing to wipe his eyes with his sleeves.

Natia kneeled down the decapitated Seething Viper and snatched one of their protected poisonous vials of liquid. She carefully placed it in a pouch behind her back pocket. She removed the mossy plague doctor helmet to reveal a face shouded in black cloth. Whatever was behind it, Natia wanted no part of it. Yet the disturbance of the head rolling on the floor and the horrors that laid within stopped Natia for a split second.

Ryo looked at Natia, who froze in position. "Did you get one of-" Ryo stopped. He remembered the nightmare that Natia had the night before, and now she was greeted with a decapitated head, a reminder of what had happened to her mother. Ryo could not see her face, nor did he know how she was feeling. He approached her and kneeled down, placing his hand on her shoulder despite his eyes stinging like needles. "Hey. We should go. It's not safe here." He said.

Natia nodded, turning around and facing Ryo's cheek carefully. Her eyes began swelling up in blossoming redness as her mouth turned sour. The both of them supported each other with the viper's gear on hand before descending down the buildings of Kathuz.