The Ruins of Memory

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- The two were clearly much too fast for the giant to handle alone, as much as it would pain him to admit. His body tensed and he brought his arms inward so as to keep the spikes from hurting anything vital, and as the lava rained down he dashed back. This left him with cuts all along both arms, and large burns across his shoulders and back.

- "You're not bad, I'll admit." A moment was taken as he straightened himself, and a sensation seemed to run through his body that he did not recognize. Despite the overwhelming odds against him, he felt like maybe he could get out of this and leave the two immobilized. "But you should know, you won't leave here conscious." His voice grew in volume, and as it did, the statue of the lion in the building began to creak and glow.

- Takehiro steeled himself, breathing calmly in hopes to stray from the feeling that burned across his torso where the lava had struck him. "Come."

[Kazuya Hikari]

"Brave words, but it won't be us that will not leave here conscious."

The young man would sneer, but Takehiro would notice his smirk fade slightly, but it wasn't from the giant's words, instead, it was the creaking and glowing emanating from the statue behind him that caused him to begin worrying. Even the young woman was beginning to become just as worried as her brother, as evident by the ring of lava decreasing in diameter and forming a smaller ring.

Slamming his hand down onto the ground, the young man would launch ice spikes that would run forward along the ground straight ahead of him, seemingly trying to impale Takehiro, but in actuality, it merely served as a distraction, as he would fire a blast of ice upwards from his other hand, breaking the ice apart and making it rain sharp ice shards down on Takehiro. At the same time, the young woman would begin firing blasts of lava at Takehiro, seemingly at random, but in actuality, she was trying to drive him to the side... and into the path of her brother's icicle rain.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- As soon as the two made their move, the statue seemed to animate itself, lunging toward the boy. He would find his icicle rain ineffective as the lion simply charged through it, providing Takehiro with the cover he would need to effectively avoid the bursts of lava.

- Despite his surprise at this sudden and unexpected ally, he would use it to his advantage. While the boy was distracted with a stone lion intent on ripping his face off, he himself would charge the woman. His whip would form from his wrist once more, and he would begin to crack it on either side of her over and over as he rushed her. Once he was close enough, he would pull the whip over his head and crack it toward her neck.

[Kazuya Hikari]

Both the young man and woman's eyes widening in surprise as the stone lion statue came to life, while the young man dealt with the stone lion, protecting himself from its lunge by encasing himself in a dome of ice spikes pointing outwards, the young woman would protect herself from Takehiro by reshaping the ring of lava into a dome of lava and rapidly cool it to harden into rock, protecting her from Takehiro's whip, which would break off chunks of rock from his attacks. Just as the twins would prepare to launch another wave of attacks, they would immediately freeze and both domes of ice and lava would break apart and dissipate as a voice would speak up, footsteps echoing through the silent building.

"That's enough."

If Takehiro looked over, he would see a man come striding towards them, not a hint of fear visible on his face. Though the man has spoken softly, to the twins, it was like he had shouted, as they would quickly re-group and stand at attention side by side, their backs straight as boards. Even the stone lion had ceased in its attacks, the aura emanating from the man impressive and intimidating enough to stop it in its tracks, as it would hover above them, growling lowly. Clapping as soon as he reached Takehiro, the twins would stand at attention behind the man as soon as he came to a stop.

"Bravo Mr. Amakusa. It seems you have discovered your Qi. But I would think twice about attacking me, as I did not come here to attack you."

Shifting his right arm, Takehiro would see a patch stitched onto the upper sleeve of the man's arms, not only denoting him as part of Midgard, but also his rank. He was a General and Battle Leader.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- Takehiro would pause, and he did, so too would the lion. His gaze turned to the new man. It seemed he held a high rank within Midgard, though, to the behemoth, this didn't mean much. He, too, could've have been a general if he so wished, from a written assessment. Still, he would show a semblance of respect where it seemed to be due.

- "You know me, but I know none of you," he began, the lion moving to his side. It seemed this was his QI... rather unexpected, given what he'd seen everyone else had been capable of, but it was nothing to complain about, for sure. "What is this?"

[Kazuya Hikari]

"I am Sol Ransley, General of Midgard and in charge of Underground Facility 4. The Kurosaki twins, Kenji and Yuna, are under my command, and all this, was a test Mr. Amakusa. A test to show me what you were capable of when under attack. Discovering your Qi was simply an unintended added bonus."

He would then dismiss the twins with a wave of his hand, as the two of them would bow lowly to Sol, before quickly turning and heading out of the library without a single glance back. Only after the twins were gone, the door shutting behind him with a quiet click, would Sol once more address Takehiro.

"I heard about you from the Midgard scientists. If you had so chosen, you could've been a General as well, but chose not to. You certainly have the physical capabilities to match the others, myself included. But now that you know the reason behind the attack, what you do from here on out, is yours to choose. But I will warn you once more, attacking me would be highly unwise."

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- The behemoth simply scowled as the man spoke. He disapproved of these methods, though he himself would have likely used them. The difference would be, he would fight, rather than using someone else, and he would not hold it against the other party, should they hurt him back in the process. This is what seemed to separate him from many figures of authority. "If you wish to not be harmed, I highly advise you be wary of your actions. Were the circumstances different, you would find my hand at your throat. Especially with your friends having left."

- That being said, unless the man was agitated at Takehiro's words and initiated a fight himself, he would go back to his reading, the lion in tow. "I suppose I should give you a name, huh..?" He mused, picking up the book on Susano-o once more. He was done with this hostile "friendly" party, for now.

[Kazuya Hikari]

"I beg to differ Mr. Amakusa. You see, it would not be me that needs be wary of actions taken."

If Takehiro were to look over, he would see Sol removing his sunglasses, and upon making direct eye contact, a brief but very real image would be projected into his mind, and would keep Takehiro in its grasp until Sol looked away from him, placing his sunglasses back on.

"And that, Mr. Amakusa, is why you should take care of what you say and threats made. You will find there is a reason even your stone lion ceased its attacks when I arrived. Now then, enjoy the rest of your research."

And without a moment's hesitation, Sol would turn around, his duster jacket making a swishing sound from the quick motion, and would leave the library, leaving Takehiro to his research... and the aftermath of seeing his greatest fear realistically before him.

[Amakusa Takehiro]

- The behemoth looked into the man's eyes, indeed. If this were truly his greatest fear that he would see, the man would still get a disappointing reaction, if any. Takehiro's fists tightened only slightly, and his teeth clenched barely. However, it was an unsettling thought, though that was never anything he was going to show, particularly to someone who could be an enemy. Never show your weakness.

- He paid no attention to the small detail of the lion freezing, and he would continue not to. Hell, he hardly knew what to make of the beast's manifestation. There were so many questions raised from only a few minutes since entering this library... but, for now, he pushed them aside. He came here to read about Susano-o, damn it, and that's what he intended to do.