The Martial Unity

The fact that her aunt was here personally was proof, as far as Ria was concerned, that there truly was something important about the mission. Most likely, the fact that the planet could be an infected world had managed to get the attention of the most powerful blood human alive. The moment she read the message, she immediately logged out of her account, grabbing Runark’s hand as she dragged him away. “Whoa, you want to go there right away?” Runark asked.

“Why would we wait?!” Ria grinned, “We haven’t seen her in a year!”

The two of them rushed outside the Adventurer’s Guild, drawing the attention of the bemused pathwalkers who walked to and from the guild around them, before rushing through the city at high speed in the skies. FWOOSH

The air and winds fluttered against their Martial suits as they sky-walked above City Stormfront, rushing over in the direction of the Stormfront Branch of the Blood Humanist Society.

The organization was founded to resist blood supremacy and to integrate hemosapiens into human civilization; thus, it had branches across much of human civilization to ensure that it truly could integrate into humanity. The half of the blood children belonging to the Blood Cult and the blood children belonging to the rest of human civilization clashed with each other across not just battle warfronts, but also civilizational war fronts as their ideologies decided their battle strategies. Ria and Runark had visited the local branch many times in the past when she had just started out, learning the ropes of the city and how to get things done. WHOOSH

As they skywalked through the city, they found themselves admiring the beautiful city lattice of activity. The lighting of signboards, holograms, and the city lights cut against the darkness of the sky, supported by the waning light of the second red dwarf star. Her eyes lit up as she spotted the city branch of the Blood Humanist Society. It resembled a pavilion with a skyscraper at the very center of it, serving as a large office space to sustain its many operations in the frontier. As an organization with a political goal and many members with ideological commitment to that goal, it worked hard to obtain more power, both de facto and de jure, to achieve it. That required constantly gathering and mongering for more capital and power, as unsightly as it might have seemed for an organization that strove for peace.

As they arrived closer, they spotted a hologram mentioning the name of the organization and its motto immediately below it.

[Red Within Humanity]

It emphasized belonging to human civilization, not towering over it as some kind of racial overlord. The moment they arrived at the branch, walking into the pavilion, they found themselves in an entirely different population.

A population composed of men and women with red features, whether it was their hair or their irises. They were blood-red. This was hardly surprising, given that this was the marking feature of the Blood Goddess, their progenitors. The two of them spotted several unusual sights, such as the blood martial arts that had been developed by the Blood Humanist Society and had been taught to all of their disciples. “Hyah!” A man kicked the air as a trail of floating blood flew along with his feet, slicing the air around him as blobs of blood floated about his palms and his feet. “Hyargh!”

His movements were smooth and efficient, cutting through the air at a high speed as the blood followed and even enhanced movements, allowing him to extend his reach beyond the limits of his limbs with a fluid weapon that possessed great power. Ria and Runark watched with admiration as various other disciples trained out in the open, honing their martial routines and combinations. Martial arts in the Blood Path were different from Martial Art of the Martial Path. They didn’t have the kind of individuality that Martial Artists possessed, and practiced standardized martial arts that were made to complement their Blood Paths.

“How may I help you?” The receptionist at the counter within the central building asked them the moment they entered. Ria showed her the invitation that she had gotten from the Blood Humanist Society to meet with Arastia. The receptionist’s eyes widened at the fact that the young lady had been authorized to meet with the President of the entire organization. “You may head over to her office, just follow the maps.”

Most of the building comprised surprisingly non-path-related activities. Many business rooms filled with employees working at a computer, tackling the many projects and operations that the Blood Humanist Society was engaged in.

It raised most of its capital through profitable operations that were intended not just to raise money, but also to integrate into human society. They offered many civil services using their Path prowess, though in the frontier like Arima III, they played the same game as everybody else, accepting commissions as an organization of pathwalkers.

Soon enough, they reached Arastia’s office. A spacious, but relatively humble and plain office cordoned off with transparent glass walls that focused on functionality rather than extravagance. Within the office were several other blood humans that sat across the table, speaking with a woman in her early thirties.

She wore crisp business attire, leaning forward as she steepled her hands authoritatively. She spoke with a calm but confident body language, deliberating with the others in the office as they went over several documents laid out on the table before them.

Both Runark and Ria felt a tremendous amount of power from the woman, as well as those around her.

“It’s Aunt Arastia.” Ria’s eyes lit up as she rushed towards the office.

“Um… I think we should wait,” Runark murmured. “They look busy.”

Arastia paused as her blood-red eyes shifted towards them, noticing them immediately. She simply smiled with a warm expression, gesturing to enter the room with a shift of her head.

“Let’s go.” Ria pulled Runark along with him into the office.