Rangers Endgame

Chapter 94: Preparations

Moonlight trickled through the dense canopy of golden bamboo, casting soft dappled patterns on the forest floor as a ranger followed a hooded man. The ranger's armor, the sigil of a horned wolf branded on his chest plate, clanked with each step as he navigated the maze of stalks, the scent of earth thick in the air. After what felt like an hour hike, he reached a secluded clearing where a tall figure awaited their arrival.

Standing silently with his hands tucked behind his back was the man he assumed he'd be meeting with. He was clad in loose, flowing robes of carbon black that rippled like water against the whispering winds. Contrasting against the darkness, a tail of snow-white hair danced gracefully behind him from an opening in his hood, a mask of shadows concealing his features.

Despite not speaking a word, his regal demeanor exuded an air of quiet strength that even nature itself seemed to recognize, hushing the creatures of the forest and calming the rustling canopy. The ranger's breath halted as his gaze got lost in the black void within the figure's hood.

His escort dipped his head to the man and gestured to the ranger. "My lord, I bring you Maru Gabimeri." He said before joining his side.

The tall man nodded then looked at Maru, appearing to study him a moment before finally speaking. "My apologies for meeting like this, Mr. Gabimeri. I know your schedule is quite hectic." His deep, gravelly voice carried throughout the forest.

Maru steeled himself against the man's pressure. "Not an issue. I'm still surprised you wanted to meet with me at all."

"The esteemed Maru Gabimeri, head of the Razorback Wolf Clan, is a name respected by his peers. Whispers of your talent have reached my followers' ears."

A haughty smirk pulled at Maru's lips. "So glad I've caught your eye. And to be honest, you've caught mine as well. That stuff you're selling has gotten a lot of attention lately. Especially after that little...demonstration in River Town."

"It was never our intention to cling to secrecy forever." The man said evenly, still unmoving.

Maru tilted his head curiously. "Then what is your intention?"

He got the feeling that the man's features had hardened. "To steer humanity away from its fate."

Maru crossed his arms, unconvinced. "By making everyone go berserk? And those who can't handle your elixir don't make it."

"Compared to the torment the near future promises, the jaws of death is a mercy for those who cannot withstand my gift of hope." He reasoned, frost emanating from his voice. "S-ranks and Sentinels will be vital pieces moving forward. However, it would require an egregious amount of time to attain such power naturally."

Maru narrowed his eyes. "Why have you called me here?"

"You have a gift yourself, Mr. Gabimeri. Unfortunately, it is wasted on frivolous adventures. I would like to give it a more meaningful purpose, and I have no doubt you will survive the transformation," the man raised a welcoming hand to Maru, revealing the set of gold rings on each finger. "Serve under me, and not only will I bolster your gift beyond measure, but I will spearhead your salvation."

The wind blew between them, filling the tense silence. Maru considered his next words to keep him occupied, uninterested in his offer. It wasn't until he spotted shadows moving through the bamboo that he began to grin.

"Spoken like a true lunatic." He finally said. The man who'd escorted him tightened his fist and was about to lash out in defense, but his master calmly motioned him to hold his tongue. "You misunderstand the situation you've put yourself in by coming to an undisclosed location."

The shadows within the bamboo emerged. Dozens of rangers bearing the same horned wolf sigil on their armor stepped out of the darkness, their spears, swords, and axes glinting with lethal intent. Their steps were slow and calculated, some with grins plastered on their faces while others snarled in satisfaction at their fresh catch.

Maru looked over to a broad-shouldered ranger to his right. "You're late."

"It's hard to track when the forest emits a thin veil of interference." The man responded. "But no matter, this was an easy hunt."

The escort tried to act unbothered but his frantic glancing around gave him away. However, though the rangers surrounded the white-haired man from all sides, he didn't so much as acknowledge them, appearing to continue staring ahead at Maru.

Maru's brow twitched at his lack of response to his brilliantly orchestrated trap. Reaching into his chest plate, he presented a mission sheet.

[Raid]

Rank: Variable

Location: Sotiri Village, Inner Rim

Threat: Second Grades & Third Grades

"This technically hasn't taken effect yet, but I'm certain it won't matter if I present your head a couple weeks early." Maru's voice dripped with confidence as he drew two wands.

Pushing radiance into the conduits, he shot them both out to either side of him. Waves of hot amber raced through the edges of the clearing, their path bending to envelop each of his men in the ring formation.

They glowed with a harsh gold as their bodies greedily accepted the influx of power. Thick layers of radiance clung to their armor and transparent energy reinforced their weapons.

Though Maru had limited information on the hooded man before him, it was irrelevant next to his amplification ability. After all, all twenty-six of his men were now equivalent to that of S-ranks thanks to him. Yet even this didn't seem to shake the white-haired man's uncanny composure.

With Maru's annoyance growing and his men readjusting their grips in eager anticipation, he signaled with his head to engage. His men burst forward with enough force to crush craters in the ground. They raised their weapons high in a synchronized onslaught to overwhelm while their sporadic movements were meant to disorient. Their battle cries blended together as they rapidly closed the distance.

In one casual motion, the man lifted up his palm, his rings glowing gently as he cast a blanket of soft white amber over the ground. With a simple lift of his finger, spikes of compacted dirt and stone exploded from the earth. Maru's men didn't have a chance to react before they were all skewered almost simultaneously with deadly precision.

Maru stood frozen in disbelief, the horrible cacophony of shrieks, twisting metal, and the spray of crimson ripping through the forest. The man responsible, untouched by the carnage, stood unbothered in the midst of it as the rushing wind from his counterattack tousled his hood.

For an instant, Maru could see his features. His cold, calculated gaze, swimming in a myriad of cool colors, burrowed deep into him. Bangs of snowy hair framed his senior face, barely touched by time.

It was only when the forest descended into a haunting silence again that Maru realized fear had locked him in place. The man kept the corpses suspended as if for him to see the consequences of his arrogance.

"What a shame," the man finally said, his voice dangerously cold. "You would have made a welcome addition, Mr. Gabimeri."

He relaxed his hand and the radiance keeping the spikes' shapes fizzled. As the dirt and stone crumbled, the bodies dropped carelessly.

He looked somewhere past Maru. "Yuurei, you may dispose of him."

Before the last ranger could break free of his frozen state, a sharp pain tore at the side of his neck. He tried to speak but his voice came out gurgled. Forcing his eyes to his left, he found a distorted transparent figure in the vague shape of a human.

Streaks of white-gold began to evaporate, clawing across the figure's body as their camouflage reduced to a colony of embers.

A masculine form took shape, clad in garments that blended seamlessly with the shadows, with an obsidian dagger lodged in Maru's neck. Bandages wrapped over his eyes and forearms, and his dark battle robes accentuated his lean physique. His battle-scarred shoulder plate caught the light as he pulled the blade out.

Maru dropped to the ground, pressing both hands over his wound in a futile attempt to stop the gushing blood. He could barely hear the receding footsteps of the man, Yuurei, as his vision rapidly darkened.

"Let us take our leave." The white-haired man ordered, his voice now distant.

"Savior, what of the bodies?" Another voice, that he assumed was Yuurei's, asked.

"Let them serve as a warning for those who wish to extinguish our light. Come. There will be more, and we shall prepare to greet them properly for their arrival."

*****

The guild was a flurry of activity as the lobby buzzed with incomprehensible chatter. Rangers swarmed the interior, making reaching the reception desk nearly impossible after Yakeru and Itsuki's return.

They knew it was usually packed but to the extent of bumping shoulders with someone each time they took a step caught them off guard. As they elbowed their way through the crowd of warriors and conjurers, Yakeru picked up bits and pieces of conversations.

"—looks to be a tough one—"

"—must be really desperate if their asking rangers to—"

"—heard clans are getting involved because—"

"—freaks are too much for Sentinels to—"

"—getting paid so much just to—"

After thirty minutes of dragging themselves through the dense mass of moving armor and robes, they'd finally reached the reception desk—or as close as they could get. Sentinel Sokuba stood in their path, the wires of amber luminosity sprouting from his fingertips stretching across the entire length of the desk to deter rangers from pouring in.

Frustrated, Yakeru peeked behind him. To his surprise, even Adrian was assisting behind the desk while snapping orders at his scrambling employees. After a while of waiting and being shoved, Adrian happened to spot Yakeru and Itsuki.

"Let Yakeru through, Sentinel Sokuba," he ordered before swiftly shooting another command to someone in the back room.

Sokuba glanced at Yakeru, then Itsuki. Flexing his pinky, one of the wires whipped under the rest before pulling them up to create an opening. The Sentinel nodded towards the desk while Yakeru and Itsuki gave appreciative looks.

The wires snapped back into place behind them and a string of curses from the other rangers followed as the two approached the desk.

"What's going on?" Yakeru asked Adrian, who dropped a stack of parchments on the counter from the back.

"The council is drafting rangers for an upcoming raid."

The two raised curious eyebrows as Sokuba let the next few people in queue through. Itsuki glanced back at the colony of eager rangers.

"A raid that involves everyone?" He asked.

"I'm not sure if you're aware but the council believes Sotiri Village is involved in illegal activity and they want the guild's assistance," To shave off minor details from his explanation, Adrian handed them both mission sheets from the stack of parchment. "Everything you need to know is there. I apologize that I cannot provide in-depth answers but I must tend to my duties," he gestured to the free receptionist to his right. "If you wish to give a mission report, she may help you."

With that, he retreated to the back room. Yakeru and Itsuki looked at each other then went to give their report. As usual, the receptionist nodded along while scribbling down details, her practiced hand moving with quick efficiency. It wasn't until they mentioned Daichi's betrayal that she slowed and met their gaze.

Itsuki described his battle with the Weaver while Yakeru recapped his struggle against Daichi and his lackeys. Itsuki glanced away, guilt crossing his face as he heard Yakeru's side. Her face hardened, a mix of anger and sympathy, but resumed taking down their report.

They the desk with their reward afterwards just as more rangers rushed to fill their place. As they pocketed their earnings, Yakeru examined the mission sheet more thoroughly.

[Raid]

Rank: Variable

Location: Sotiri Village, Inner Rim

Threat: Second Grades & Third Grades

The rest of the sheet explained in detail what second and third grades were and their differences. According to the description, he concluded that Daichi would've fell into the second grade category. It was third grades he found to be more interesting, however. Daichi's power had already been bolstered beyond what ordinary enhancement elixirs were capable of but third grades kept their intelligence intact and were generally stronger—equivalent to S-ranks or Sentinels.

The raid would include three separate teams. The first would consist of the Sentinels, the main force, that would punch through the village's defenses and infiltrate what was apparently an underground system where they believed the elixir was being produced and stored.

S-ranks from different clans would shadow the Sentinels and evacuate civilians, ushering them behind the second team, which was responsible for creating a perimeter around the village. It would preferably consist of B to A-ranks.

Finally there was the third team that was stationed beyond the perimeter, responsible for securing civilians and healing the injured.

"The payout is very generous, even for those who aren't expected to fight," Yakeru commented as his eyes reached the earnings.

"It's a serious job. They're counting on everyone to do there part," Itsuki replied, flipping the sheet over to check for any missing details.

As they continued elbowing through the crowd, Yakeru suddenly bumped into someone's back. "Sorry..." He trailed off as he had to bend his neck to see the person's head.

Their broad shoulders blocked out most of the light and a battle axe was strapped to their back. There was only one giant he knew of with a brolic physique. The man turned to face the one who'd bumped into him but when his eyes found Yakeru, he bared his teeth in a cartoonishly large grin.

"Ah! Sir Yakeru, sir Itsuki. What a welcomed surprise!" His voice boomed over the commotion.

"As mountainous as you are, you always seem to get the drop on me, Kateshi." Yakeru greeted.

As the mountain of a man shifted toward them, Aoi, Kazeki, Fuyumi, and Kenji came into view.

"Hey, nice to see you so soon." Kazeki said giving a friendly wave.

Aoi gave a polite bow to Itsuki. "A pleasure to see you again sir," she then smiled warmly at Yakeru. "You seem to have recovered well after the Skirmish. I'm relieved."

"Likely because you played a part in my recovery," He responded casually before acknowledging his own party members. "Good to see you two again."

Fuyumi only nodded while Kenji responded with, "Likewise. I assume you just made a report?"

"We did," Yakeru's eyes went to the identical sheets in their hands. "Thinking about going?"

Kenji's mind drifted back to the Skirmish, to the Fiend who had nearly killed them, and his hand tightened around the sheet involuntarily. "This elixir is dangerous. If there's any way I can contribute to stop it, even if little, then I'm going."

Yakeru smiled faintly in admiration. Several months ago, the young conjurer was abusing elixirs himself but he was pleased to see his perspective shift.

"I'm likely going as well," Fuyumi answered. "Though, I'll need to better equipment first. That said, I need to get going." She gave them a small wave as she disappeared into the crowd headed for the door.

"That was quick." Yakeru tilted his head.

"This setting is probably a lot for her." Kenji reasoned.

Kateshi was about to extend a hand toward Itsuki but stopped midway when his eyes went to his missing arm, his brilliant grin dissolving. "Sir Itsuki..."

Itsuki waved away his concern. "I'm alright. We just returned from a tough one."

Aoi and Kazeki looked over and their initial elation dissolved into worry.

"What happ—" The words from Kazeki's mouth slipped out but he caught himself. "Nevermind, sorry. You probably don't want to talk about it."

"It's fine, kid." Itsuki responded reassuringly before delving into the story, excluding a few details.

"I admire your fighting spirit." Kateshi said after he'd finished.

Yakeru noticed the same public mission sheets in their hands. "Are you two participating?" He asked Aoi and Kazeki as he already knew Kateshi's answer.

Aoi looked at her sheet grimly. She'd already experienced a Second Grade first hand during the Clan Skirmish, and the rabid ranger nearly killed Kateshi. It was hard to believe, and somewhat terrifying that there were even stronger versions of the elixir.

"I can only imagine how much harm these elixirs would cause if it were to gain significant traction," she raised her eyes back up to Yakeru. "People are bound to get hurt, even those we're fighting against, so I want to help mitigate that."

'You're too kind for your own good.' Yakeru almost said aloud. The girl always was soft and exuded an uncanny compassion, even toward her enemies that he couldn't quite understand. "I see." He said instead before the silence became awkward.

"How about you?" Kazeki asked. "Thinking about busting some heads?"

Yakeru thought to himself a moment. "I don't know."

The truth was he was still on fence about offering his support. He'd barely survived an encounter with a Second Grade. If he were to join, he didn't want to just survive, he wanted to pull his own weight. However, Blitz Step simply wasn't enough, and there wasn't any time to time to develop new skills like he'd done before the Clan Skirmish.

The raid was two weeks out, and even that wasn't enough time to sharpen his abilities to make a substantial difference. His mind drifted back to his battle with Kai and Haruki and his rather ambitious solution to eliminate telegraphing Blitz Step.

'Even if I could pull it off, training it to that degree would render me...' His eyes shot wide in realization. Looking over at his blue-haired friend, he said, "Aoi. How would you like to come to my place?"

She flinched at the sudden invitation, her cheeks now a pink hue. "I'm sorry?"