The Summoners (T.A.S Fanfiction)

Chapter Four: Missionaries - Blazing Path (1)

He had trained for as long as he could remember to be of use to a great cause if he should be needed. With a singular determination, he had trained and trained, waiting for the day he would be given a role to fulfill. He was ready for it to come at any time.

When his time finally came, the role he was given was Torturer. He was tasked with wielding the fires of Purgatory to burn the sin from those who broke the laws of the world. Days after day, he continued to fulfill his duty, even as the flames licked at him, as well.

His work went on for what seemed like an eternity. Meanwhile, his colleagues seemed to harbor no doubts about their assigned task. Inundated with endless repetition, he tried to find meaning in his work. He had to believe it was necessary, that it absolved the sinners. He had to believe it would deter innocents from making similar mistakes.

But that work, the torture, was unending. No matter how hard he tried, sinners continued to sin. The number of sinners continued to increase. No one seemed to heed the examples he made of his victims. He began to doubt his task, yet even in the face of doubt, he remained strong... In the beginning.

In truth, he simply suppressed them, refusing to come to terms with his reservations. They collected like snow at the bottom of his heart, One day, he, nay, the voice in his heart, released a silent scream that questioned if his actions had any meaning at all. It was then that he heard a voice that responded to his call. It came from far away, transcending time and space to reach him.

In that instant, his body, and all the fire within him, transformed into a sliver of light that disappeared through a shining gate. That was the beginning of his long, long exile. The beginning of his journey through the inferno.

Aoyama Cemetery...

"Huff... Huff... I'm not done yet!" Kengo was breathing heavily as he glared at the stone face of Zabaniyya who didn't look tired at all. Back above the ground, the fated battle taking place in the Aoyama Cemetery was entering its final stages.

"You have fought well. I commend your efforts... from the bottom of my heart." Kengo, though he has taken severe damage from the Sacred Artifact in Zabaniyya's hands, remains standing. Zabaniyya, on the other hand, remains unharmed. Still, Kengo taunts him despite their difference in standing. "Heh... Commend me? I don't need your pity."

"How are you still able to fight?" Zabaniyya's expression grew upset as he looked at the badly injured Kengo who just didn't want to go down no matter how many times he got hit by Zabaniyya Sacred Artifact.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Kengo managed to get that out through his quick breathing. He looks like he was ready to fall to the ground but he still forces himself to stand up against Zabaniyya.

"You are knocking on death's door... and surrounded by my brethren... Furthermore... you are strong. Strong enough to understand the difference in power between us. And yet the fire in your eyes still burns so brightly. How? How are you able... to keep that fire lit? How can you set your heart towards such an impossible purpose?" Zabaniyya's stoic expression seem to crack for a bit as he asked Kengo this question.

"Oh, now I get it. Now I know why I feel like I could never lose to you." Kengo gave a wide smirk to Zabaniyya as he finally understood something. Zabaniyya raised an eyebrow at this and gave Kengo a curious look. "That is an interesting statement. May I ask you to expound?

"It's simple, really. Basically, you're the type of guy that just whines about the stuff you can't do. I should just accept that beating you is impossible because I'm surrounded and you're stronger than me? You gotta be kidding! That's totally whack! If you ask me, living life like that wouldn't even be worth the effort. The things people tell me are impossible... are the only things I'm interested in." Karate power breathing, a technique that absorbs the qi of the natural world, is the source of the torch in Kengo's eyes. "I won't lose to the likes of you. See, I know my partner believes in me and is gonna come back!"