"Kokonoe? This is Pyrrha, I've arrived at the location" a young girl announced as she stepped out of the transport ship. She made her way towards the docking station moving along with the crowd; her attire consisted of a black pinup coat with a red shawl draped across her shoulders coming together into a small ribbon and small heel boots. Physically she resembled a young woman into her early 20s, with vivid green eyes and red hair tied into a ponytail with a bronze headpiece circlet with teardrop emeralds hanging.
"So, how's the view?" Kokonoe asked through the radio earpiece." Well, it is a magnificent sight, but that's not why you told me to come here, is it" Pyrrha answered, looking over the edge of the balcony. The view offered by the Kagutsuchi Port was fantastic sight to be sure, with almost the entirety of the city on full display, but there was more to this city to her than one would expect. "Sorry, Sector Seven doesn't exactly like to give out paid vacations. There's something I need you and Tager to do, but seeing as it is, you're all way up while Tager's right at the bottom and that's kind of a problem" the scientist affirmed. "And you want me to join up with Tager?" Pyrrha asked. "No, don't bother. I've set up Tager for an important task. I want you to do something else for me" Kokonoe replied.
"And what might that be?" the redhead asked, curious as to what plan the scientist had conjured up that would require her solo assistance. "Well the primary objective for you is to retrieve an asset that I currently believe is holed up here in Kagutsuchi. I need you to get it back for me" Kokonoe ordered.
"Asset? You mean the ones they stole from Ikaruga? Is it really here?" Pyrrha replied, curious yet confused. "That little princess is sleeping in that iron fortress of hers. Don't worry about her yet. It's not her I want, it's the Susano'o unit I'm after" the Sector Seven scientist answered.
"Hakumen?!" said Pyrrha, her expression was that shock and bewilderment. Hearing this made her goosebumps rise and her heart pound, yet even she was unsure whether it was out of fear or excitement. "Don't worry, you don't have to beat him. Tager's placing thirteen Ars equipment's in designated points to create a space-time warp, that'll get him back, all you have to is stall him and keep him monologuing like an old fart" Kokonoe reassured. She had a way with words, even if it was buried within heaps of cynicism and sarcasm. Pyrrha made sure to take note of that ever since the first time they worked together; the bigger question right now was why she was utilizing Ars magus, especially considering Sector Seven's reservation against magic. 'Kokonoe isn't known for patience, better not ask too much' Pyrrha thought to herself. "Understood" the redhead answered without question. "Oh yeah and one more thing" Kokonoe continued "I heard rumors about the Grim Reaper. Any news of him?"
"Yes. There has been talk about the arrival of Ragna the Bloodedge here lately. The locals are restless" Pyrrha answered. "Could his presence be the reason why Hakumen is here as well?" she continued. "My thoughts exactly. Anyways, if you do see him, the retrieval of Azure Grimoire is your secondary objective. Ditch it if you don't think it's worth it though" Kokonoe informed.
Now it was common knowledge about the existence of Ragna the Bloodedge: the man who carved a path of destruction over entire NOL branches earning him the infamous title of Grim Reaper. What was an even more heated topic of discussion, was the source of his strength: The Azure Grimoire. A prize considered greater than his own bounty reward, high enough for an individual to buy a small country. Every faction wanted the Azure Grimoire, from his enemies the Novus Orbis Librarium to the organization Pyrrha herself currently worked under, Sector Seven. Every upper echelon of the Committee wouldn't stop talking about it, treating it as if it were the Holy Grail. So, it came to a surprise to hear her own personal superior talk about it as if it were nothing more than a trinket.
"I thought something like the Azure Grimoire would be of great interest to you? Shouldn't that be a mission priority as well?" Pyrrha questioned, with frown that expressed confusion. "That cheap knockoff?! Maybe someday I'd like to look at it but till then, it doesn't really bother me that much. Oh yeah, one more thing, I've lost trace of him for a while, so your best bet to finding Hakumen is to find Ragna. Anyways, we've chit chatted long enough. Contact me when you've found something important. Kokonoe out" and with that, there was silence once again.
"It seems I'll have to act under my own discretion" Pyrrha muttered to herself, letting out a deep sigh. "Infiltration unit 0008 commencing mission" she announced over the earpiece.
Just as young redhead was about to begin exploring the area, she noticed that there was something strange in the area around her: just a few minutes ago, there was at least a small gathering of people around. But the minute she turned her back the whole place had become deserted. Not a single living soul was sighted anywhere and it was so eerie that even a whisper could make a loud noise. Pyrrha looked at surroundings before quickly deciding to depart; she had mission to do after all, there was no time for such idle motions.
"Leaving so soon?" A voice called out to her, just as she was about to make her exit. It had a youthful yet elegant tone to it; posh even. Pyrrha knew all too well whom it belonged to. "You look rather pale Pyrrha. Something frighten you?" the voice called out again. Pyrrha turned around to face the voice. Before her stood a young girl, who resembled a child somewhat, dressed in Gothic Lolita and had a strange Cat-like umbrella and an even stranger pink bat like creature hovering around her. There was no mistaking it; she was Rachel Alucard, the current head of the vampiric Alucard family.
"Nothing I believe, that would frighten you Miss Rachel" Pyrrha greeted warmly, breathing a sigh of relief that it was a familiar face and not an enemy that had caused this silence, she assumed. "That may be true, that does not mean one should let their guard down either. And it has been quite a long while since we've last met" Rachel replied. "Yes, it's been quite a while. You should consider yourself fortunate that the princess has deemed you important enough to pay a second visit, Miss Nikos" said Nago, the cat-like umbrella. "Real lucky!" chimed Gii, the bat like creature hovering vicariously. But just as these two were about to open their mouths again, they received quick slaps in successive order from their master. "Oww!' they shouted. "I did not ask you fools to speak out of turn" Rachel scolded.
"So, what brings you to Kagutsuchi?" Pyrrha asked, feeling as if Rachels servants would be on the receiving end of more humiliation if she did not intervene. "I'm simply on a bit of an errand really. Though to be frank, there is a certain brutish animal whose inspection I must attend to. But that should not be any of your concern. What I 'am interested in however, is the progress you've made since the last time we parted ways" Rachel answered, her full attention now on Pyrrha. "My progress?" the redhead asked, puzzled. "Yes, I'm curious to see how far you've come and whether you've made any real gains under kokonoe's tutelage. Now ready yourself, and please, do try" Rachel affirmed.
"Very well, commencing activation of artificial causality weapons" Pyrrha announced as she readied herself. In a flash of bright light, her clothing had changed. In place of the elegant feminine outfit was an attire prime for combat. With a strapless top layered with bronze and stitched together yet maintaining shape, an elastic black miniskirt with a belt that had an emblem on her right hip. Her arms and legs were all covered in armor from greaves to cuisses. In her left hand was a hoplon shield while in her left, she held a red and bronze spear like weapon.
Pyrrha readied herself for battle against the vampiric aristocrat, raising her shield and holding her spear close all the while watching her opponent. With a smile, Rachel snapped her fingers and in an instant, lighting fell from sky. The redhead dodged the oncoming strike in the nick of time but before she had any time to recover, another lightning was conjured up followed by another one, forcing her to constantly stay on the move and evade the attacks. Eventually, realizing she could not stay on the defensive any longer, Pyrrha rushed towards Rachel, ready to lunge at her with her spear Miló. But before she could even land a hit, Rachel breezed herself away with a strong gust of wind that came out of nowhere. Striking the ground hard, Pyrrha looked up to see the vampire floating in the air, where in that instant, she threw her shield, Akoúo̱ towards Rachel, seemingly missing the mark in the process. However, as she threw the shield, Pyrrha extended her left hand, engulfing it in some sort of black aura which encapsulated Akoúo̱. At that moment, Pyrrha pulled her hand back and the shield itself went into reverse, this time, heading straight for the back side of the vampire. But Rachel was not unprepared, for just as the shield was poised to hit, her familiar Gii stood in the way, colliding with it in the process. Akoúo̱ was set off course, before flying back to its owner seemingly under its masters control while Gii hovered around Rachel, dazed and confused.
"Impressive" Rachel stated, before folding Nago into an umbrella stick and hitting Gii like a baseball. Pyrrha caught the flying bat like familiar with one hand, feeling the soft and squishy texture of the creature; believing this to be the reason why the vampire loved stretching and pulling him. Pleased with what she had seen, Rachel settled down to the ground.
"It would truly seem that you've made quite the improvement since the last time we met. Though I should expect nothing less from someone of your caliber" the vampire complimented, which was the highest honor one could probably even receive from someone as overwhelmingly powerful as her, giving her reason to treat everyone else as bore. "Thank you" Pyrrha said, smiling back.
"But even so, you're just a knight in this game of chess. There are somethings even you would do well not to stick your nose under" the vampire warned. "I don't think I quite follow you Miss Alucard" Pyrrha stated. This was not the first time Rachel had spoken like this, for she had a way with cryptic messages and riddles; some of them eventually came to be, others still as confusing as ever.
"A knight is represented by its value above a pawn, its equality to a bishop and its inferiority to a rook and the queen. The knight has potential for great things. But sometimes, it is best to let others do the work." The vampiric aristocrat answered," I know why you're here and I fully understand your intention to change the course of fate. An admiral quality to be frank, but do keep this in mind: the loved ones you are trying to save are not the same ones you knew before. They don't know you for who you are and you'd best understand that things are different than they were before. Sometimes it's better to let fate take its course" she continued, her tone and demeanor being much more serious than before. "Even so, my goal here since the very beginning has been to change their fate and this has been my very reason for existence. I've come too far now. But thank you for your words Miss Rachel, I'll…. keep them in mind" Pyrrha replied, still unsure as to what she had just said.
"It was a lot of effort to save you from the boundary, it would be a shame to waste such a second chance. But since your mind is set, then I shall be off now. There is an uncivilized brute I must attend to and I worry he may do something stupid without my supervision. Just do try to take my advice to heart, Miss Nikos. Until next time" and with that, Rachel Alucard disappeared in a flash.
"Uncivilized brute? I wonder who that could be? Hmm…. never mind, I have a mission to complete" Pyrrha muttered to herself. Changing back to her formal attire, she made her way into the heart of city. "The 13th hierarchical city of Kagutsuchi. Brings back a lot of memories…. but now, it's time to put these demons to rest" she continued. There was going to be a lot of work to do.