NameLess

”NameLess.” Jak repeated the word to himself. ”A symbol of strength.”

”That’s right. Now as for your mission.” Dante glanced briefly towards Oginio before looking back at the redhead. ”I want you to sprint back towards Greldoa as fast as you can, put that freakish athleticism to good use for once. When you get there, don’t come back until you can find me a good chunk of Volcanic Ore, at least ten tons worth of the stuff. You can find some if you dive a ways into the world so make sure to look carefully.”

”But isn’t Volcanic Ore....” Jak trailed off mid sentence. ”Understood. You can count on me.”

The Rift Hunter smiled warmly. ”I know I can. If you can move-”

”You can fight!” - Jak

”And if you can fight?” - Dante

”You can win!” - Jak

The orange-haired individual readily nodded. ”Nothing can keep you down. When you have the Ore, come show it to me. We’ll talk about weapons and metal just like we always do.”

Jak nodded and turned to leave, attaching his newly obtained Masamune onto his hip, setting his old katana onto the ground. Glancing back towards the leaders of the Flaming Sparrows, he gave them a wave.

”I won’t be too long. Try not to have too much fun without me.”

”Wouldn’t dream of it,” Oginio replied, smiling sadly. It was off-putting to see anything but a serious or amused expression on the mans face, especially since all Jak was doing was going to Greldoa. Of course, the redhead merely shrugged it off. ”Stay safe out there Jakklo. Get back safely.”

”Right.”

Bending his knees slightly, the young Rookie burst from his position and into a full on sprint, blasting past Flaming Sparrows and Deryipall residents alike. Weaving back and forth, he made his way through the crowds, waving back to those who stopped to wave at him. Despite the speed at which he was going, he could make out every detail and every individual his crimson gaze landed on. He even spotted a small glimpse of Mark and Anjo, their eyes briefly connecting once again.

Tak.

Moments after Jak lost contact with Anjo and Mark, time seemed to slow to a crawl, the world very near coming to a complete standstill. Heart thundering slowly in his chest, a feeling similar to one felt before with Dante’s old friend resurfaced, one packed with intense hatred and utter contempt. As his foot moved to take another step in his unfaltering run, Jak managed to turn his head just enough to see who had made him feel the way he did.

There, just off to his left, mixed in with the crowd of Deryipall citizens, was a young man maybe in his mid twenties to later thirties clad in a common cotton t-shirt and pants. Neon purple locks, violet eyes, and black lightning streaks dyed into his hair. Apart from his stand out appearance, he didn’t look like a threat. The only thing that truly caught Jaks attention was the lack of magic coming off the man, similar to that of Anjo as well as the malevolent look deep within his eyes when the two of them locked their hues onto each other.

Still, despite this, the redhead didn’t reduce his speed even for a moment.

((”Weird guy. Maybe he doesn’t like parties?”)) Jak mulled it over a little as he finally left the innards of Deryipall and on to the outter edge. ((”Can’t be angry at me. I don’t even know who he is. Same with Sir Anjo.”))

Putting on some more speed, the redhead cleared the last bit of the Village with ease, tracing a path towards the gate leading back to Greldoa. The lights from the festival quickly faded in the distance, leaving Jak to find his way through in pure darkness. Of course, having grown up in a forest away from civilization, such a task wasn’t even worthy of note.

Neither was detecting the sudden presence of someone tailing him.

At first, he figured it was some wild animal or monster that was either curious or simply hungry for a late night snack. It didn’t have a very unique presence nor a particularly strong mana and most likely would’ve gone undetected for a while had Jak not been on full alert. However, the very idea of it being some kind of beast was ruled out entirely within a matter of seconds. Though not prone to bragging, Jak was quite proud of his own speed and how much quicker he was than the average monster, let alone animal. Especially around the region the Flaming Sparrows were residing in. The entity following him had not only managed to catch up to him, but was also keeping the same pace whilst maintaining an unchanging distance.

Even when Jak pushed himself to the utmost limit of his speed, the unknown individual remained hot on his heels, neither too close nor too far. No monster in the area could possibly replicate the same feat.

((”Not a resident of Deryipall. Most of them aren’t combat oriented. Maybe a fellow guild member?”)) Jak narrowed his eyes. ((”If it was one of them though, seems like they could just catch up and talk to me directly.”))

Needless to say, the redhead was already heavily confused by the events of the last hour and how quickly everything had escalated. From casually hanging out with his Guild to bidding farewell to his closest friend and receiving priceless gifts for some random mission, a mission to retrieve an Ore that possessed no value whatsoever. Now he was being pursued by some mysterious being with just as mysterious intentions. It was times like this that Jak wished he was not only stronger, but smarter as well.

At least then he could piece together the ongoings of the night better than he was doing now.

All the youth could do was keep running and adhere to Dante’s mission to the best of his ability. If the one pursuing him had ill intentions, then he would know soon enough.

It took about a half hour to reach the world of Greldoa from the town of Deryipall, much faster than it had taken to initially get there, mainly in part of Jak having already made the trip once before. It was around this time, when the redhead had reached the spot where he and the others had made camp previously that the one following him finally made their move.

”So.” Jak skid to a halt, stopping just before the start of the canyon, crimson orbs flicking across the vast area before him. ”If I were a useless hunk of metal, where would I be?”

”That’s a very good question.”

Jak immediately drew Masamune from its sheath, spinning on his heels. He hadn’t heard or seen anyone upon his arrival, nor had he detected a single drop of magic power. It was as if the individual had appeared out of thin air.

”Now now. No need for that. It’s just me. If you remember who I am of course.”

There, standing next to him, looking out over the canyon just like him, was a youthful looking man with the brightest and fluffiest white hair Jak had ever seen and also some of the smoothest looking skin. He was rather tall, a bit shorter than Anjo had been, with a simple black shirt and loose fitting grey sweatpants, an odd outfit considering their location. Fixed to his back, seemingly floating in midair was a large black staff made of a material Jak was unable to recognize. Poking out from the top of the mans head were two small stubbles, akin to horns. If they had been back in Intok’s Capitol, the guy would’ve definitely turned some heads with his looks alone.

Let alone his magic, of which seemed to be bottomless, radiating out of him wave after wave. It raised the question of how Jak had only just now noticed him.

Though it also told him that this wasn’t the one who had been tailing him since exiting Deryipall.

”Sir Aamon???” Jak froze for second as he processed what he was looking at.

”Oh so you DO remember.” The man beamed widely, flashing a pair of pearly whites. ”Aamon Belphegor at your service yet again. It’s been five years young Jakkin. You’ve grown up so much it’s almost scary.”

”Eh...but....what,” Jak tripped over his words as he struggled to find his own sanity. ”What are you doing here???”

”What am I doing here?” Aamon tilted his head slightly. ”Well now, thats an interesting question-”

”So. This is where you went, little birdie.”

Crunch. Crunch.

The conversation between the two of them was halted as a voice rang out from behind them, followed by the crumbling and crunching of dried rock. A huge, heavy set fellow, twice as large and three times as wide as Anjo had been trekked his way forward, surprisingly light for someone who appeared to have eaten a years worth of food in one sitting.

Bright pink hair. Black armor. A crimson battle axe. A cocky grin. Thick neck with little to no jawline.

”A Mastalon whale?” Jak asked aloud.

”HAHAHA!! He does look like a whale!!” Aamon didn’t even bother hiding his laugh, a chorus of bells leaving his lips. ”That’s hilarious!!”

”I’m not a whale.” The new arrival scowled deeply, resting his enormous axe on the ground. ”My name is Rygo Armuran. Known as the Crimson Axe.”

”That’s a dumb alias.” Aamon shook his head, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. ”Could have done better honestly.”

Jak frowned a tad before eventually widening them in recognition, the name fully registering. ”Do you mean the Crimson Axe from the Dark Guild known as Black Moon? The ones responsible for slaughtering the Elven Kingdom of Trinvale as well as Dwarven Royalty?”

”Hehe. So you DO know me then. Almost makes me wanna spare your life.” Rygo seemed rather pleased at the recognition and even turned his full attention towards the redhead. ”Unfortunately.....I still have a job to do. Your name is Jak Yanda correct? No need to answer that of course. I was already given your picture beforehand. The twelfth Elemental Rookie and rising member of the Flaming Sparrows. The youngest member of your guild. The Master expected this outcome, you being sent away before the battle. You Yanda’s are quite capable-”

”You talk a lot.”

Jak didn’t even have time to register what had been said, let alone by whom, before Rygo was utterly consumed entirely by a wave of purple flames. The victim didn’t even let out a single scream, dead long before his body tumbled over, the indigo tendrils eating away at the mans very flesh. The redhead could feel the heat of the flames even from meters away, fire strong enough to consume even the very metallic armor Rygo had worn. Within mere seconds, nothing remained of the Rift Hunters presence, not even a shred of bone or clothing. The only indication the man had been there was the crimson colored battle axe still resting on the ground.

Through the towering purple flames, just behind where Rygo had once stood, was Aamon.

”Apologies you had to see that young Jakkin.” The horned individual shook his hand, extinguishing the remnants of flames still attached to his hand. ”I wanted to be gentle with him and issue a simple slap on the wrist. Of course, I couldn’t just allow him to kill you. My hands were tied.”

”Yeah.” Jak blinked, glancing from the axe towards Aamon. He slowly retracted his blade and returned it into its sheath. ”If you weren’t here, I’d be dead. So, thank you.”

”Half expected you to tell me off for taking a life,” Aamon said. ”Who would’ve thought you’d have the same reaction as Merlon.”

”Merlon?”

The man shook his head, a nostalgic look in his eyes. ”Just an old friend. A really old friend. In any case, what brings you to Greldoa? Sightseeing?”

Jak let out a breath, letting the previous topic go. Without hesitation, the young Rookie informed Aamon of the situation as well as his own quest to find and retrieve Volcanic Ore.

”I see. Well, Volcanic Ore is pretty useless all things considered but maybe he has a purpose in mind. That Whale fellow said some interesting things.” Aamon furrowed his brows in contemplation. ”I’ll help you look for the Ore and then we can head back to Deryipall together.”

”Right.”