Davey

Hey guys. Terrence here. Been a long time.

I'm doing okay. I'm back with Ciel, Keran, and that Davey guy. I've been keeping up with Justin's end of things. I'm proud of him for making it to the semi finals, but I'm worried at the same time. He could be up against Faceless or Malkator next, neither of which would be an easy fight, and that other girl could be a threat as well if she decides to break out that flamethrower of hers.

Speaking of Malkator, apparently Davey's his cousin. Apparently the Ace of Swords and his lieutenant tried to capture him like they did with Julia so that he could join the final spectators, but he managed to fight them off.

He's been training me to use that broken sword I got from the Crimson Knight. He's pretty skilled with a sword, but he says he prefers to fight unarmed. He only carries the sword so that he can be on even footing if someone else pulls a weapon on him. I'm getting better with the sword. It's heavier than the knives I'm used to fighting with, but I stole this weapon fair and square, so I figure I should try and get the hang of it.

He's been training with Ciel and Keran as well. He doesn't bother with the sword against them. Last week, we all took him on three on one. He won. Effortlessly. Know wonder the Ace of Swords had trouble with him.

And, of course, speaking of the Ace of Swords, our training with Davey has been put on hold indefinitely, because he's sort of... not here anymore...

We were training with him the other day, when he ordered us to stop out of the blue, a panicked expression crossing his face. I then collapsed to my knees, as I was taken by an overwhelming feeling of sadness. Ciel and Keran were hit with it too, but Davey just calmly wiped a tear from his eye, and scowled.

"They're here," He said through gritted teeth.

Suddenly, a woman appeared before him, and slashed down at him with clawed fingertips. He blocked them with his sword, as she grinned slyly at him.

"Kallaway," she said.

"Empress," he responded.

The woman, in addition to having claws, also had a long, furry tail, and a pair of cat ears. Her hair was long, and colored gold with black highlights.

Davey swung his sword, pushing her away from him.

"So where's the old man?" Davey demanded.

"Oh, he's around," the Empress said playfully. "But he agreed to let me have some fun with you first."

She charged at Davey again, swiping with her claws, but he dodged her and hit her in the chest with a strong kick, pushing her back a few feet. As he did, Ciel seemed to shake off whatever that sad feeling was and charged at the Empress with he knife.

"You stupid, slutty bitch!" Ciel exclaimed, swinging her knife through the air.

"Ooo," the Empress replied, catching Ciel's forearm in her hand and sinking her claws into the flesh. "Fiesty!"

I got to my feet, and drop my sword swinging down at her. She caught it in her other hand.

"Nice try, sweetheart," she chuckled.

"Made you look," I replied.

A brief moment of confusion crossed her face, just as Keran hit her from behind with a massive blast of cold air. She lost her grip on my sword and Ciel's arm, and the blast sent her flying straight at Davey, who clocked her with his free hand, knocking her out. He then turned away from her.

"Show yourself, old man!" he demanded.

Another figured appeared before us, dressed in dark black clothing, with a long hooded cloak draped over him. The Ace of Sword.

"So eager for the reunion," he said.

"Hardly," Davey replied. "How many times do I have to fight you off before you leave me and my family alone!?"

"I have my orders, David," the Ace of Swords replied, raising his hands to reveal a gun in each of them. "I am to bring you. No matter who else dies in the process."

Suddenly, I felt another overwhelming feeling. But this time, it was an intense, and very real fear. I dropped to my knees, trembling. The same happened to Ciel and Keran, but Davey once again proved stronger than whatever we were feeling, only staggering slightly before returning to his fighting stance.

What came next was a rapid battle that I could barely keep track of. Davey's sword flashed through the air in blindingly fast motions, deflecting the Ace's bullets before they could hit him, and every time Davey got close enough to attack with his sword, the Ace would parry with the barrels of his guns. At once point, Davey lunged with a stabbing attack, only for the Ace to jump upward, causing the blade to plunge into a wall. The Ace then proceeded to kick Davey away from him, then pulled the sword out of the wall, tossing it into the air. As it came back down, he shot the swords hilt, sending it flying at Davey, who managed to plant his feet, dodge the blade, then grab the hilt out of midair and deflect the Ace's next shot with a quick slash.

I don't know exactly how the Ace of Swords was able to force us all to feel such intense fear, but as the fight between them went on, his power over me seemed to weaken a bit. I struggled back to my feet, tightening my grip on my sword. I took a deep breathe, and charged at the Ace while he had his back turned. Is slashed him diagonally across the back, leaving a line of crimson pouring from beneath his cloak. For a split second, I thought I had gotten him good.

I was immediately proven wrong. The wound did little to slow him down, and he turned to me. A bullet tore through my side, and searing pain spread from the wound, quickly engulfing my whole body. The sword fell from my hand, and I dropped to the ground, writhing in agony.

"Terrence!" Davey exclaimed.

I struggled to look up at him. The look of concern on his face was quickly replaced by anger, and he swung his sword through the air behind him, tearing open some kind of rift. He stepped through it.

"No!" The Ace of Swords shouted, as Davey sliced his sword through the rift, causing it to vanish, with him on the other side.

The agony I was feeling faded, leaving only the pain of the bullet wound itself.

"He's... abandoning us?" I panted.

"He made the right choice," the Ace of Swords said bitterly, as a set of claws inside is sleeves pulled the guns out of his hands, storing them somewhere in his sleeves. "I was here for him. I have no reason to bother the rest of you any further now that he's gone."

He turned and walked over to the Empress's unconscious figure. Before he could collect her, KEran rose to her feet angrily.

"You bastard!" she exclaimed, hurling a giant ball of fire at him.

He was caught off guard, and the flames hit him full force, very nearly knocking him over. The smoke cleared quickly. While his body seemed mostly unharmed by the fireball, his clothing has been scorched badly, and his hood had been burnt away entirely. I could now see his face clearly.

He had long, greasy hair, and a straight black goatee. Beneath all of that, his nose, jawline, and cheekbones looked all too familiar. He was damn near identical to Davey, albeit a decade or so older.

He looked curiously at Keran, and began approaching her.

"Interesting," he said. "I've never seen a female Devil Killer before."

He continued walking toward her, as she backed up, clearly intimidated by him.

"I didn't even know it was possible," he continued. "Tell me, what is your name, girl?"

I fought through my pain, picked my sword back up, and got between them as quickly as I could, bringing the sword up to face him.

"Get out!" I demanded.

He stared me down for a moment before turning, collecting the Empress, and vanishing into thin air.

So yeah. Davey's gone, and I have a fresh bullet wound that hurts like hell, despite Ciel's treatment.

I hope Justin's next match goes better than that whole experience.

Fallen

Sal's been defeated. He went up against the Faceless Bastard, and, well...

Faceless... or, rather, Sergei, I should say. He got in some cuts early in the fight. Sal gradually lost more and more blood as the fight went on. Eventually, despite his efforts to win using his terrain control, he lost consciousness. Sergei charged in and tried to end it, when something unexpected happened.

The terrain shifted again, entrapping him, and the Ace of Diamonds appeared in between the two of them.

"What is the meaning of this?" William demanded.

"Valon Saltown has lost consciousness," she replied. "By your own rules, the fight is now over."

William's bony hands clenched tightly. His frustration was obvious.

"Am I wrong?" she asked him, in a challenging tone.

After a few moments, William relaxed a bit and nodded.

"Very well," he said. "Valon Saltown has been defeated. the winner is Sergei Korchaviv."

The Ace of Diamonds left, seeming relieved, and took Sal with her, as the terrain returned to normal, setting Sergei free.

I bolted immediately, making my way to Sal's room, thinking it was the most obvious place for them to take him. As I ran, I thought of what I had just witness, and a couple pieces fell into place to me.

The Ace of Diamonds has the same powers as Sal does. Furthermore, the way she stepped in to stop Sergei... That wasn't the action of someone randomly trying to spare a live. That as the action of a parent protecting their child.

I made it there and flung open the door. Sure enough, Sal was lying unconscious in bed, with one of the Hearts standing over him, treating his wounds. But someone else was there as well, sitting in a chair. I recognized him as the Eight of Clubs. The Shopkeeper who had melted my scythe before. The reason Malkator was in this tournament.

"What the fuck are you doing here!?" I demanded.

"Watch your language," He said coldly.

Ignoring him, I turned to the Heart.

"Is he alright?" I asked.

"He will be," she said. "So long as you stop distracting me while I work."

The Eight of Clubs took a moment to stretch out and adjust his seating.

"Seriously, why are you here?" I asked.

"If you must know," he said, nodding toward Sal. "I'm here to see that my nephew is taken care of."

Nephew? Sal mention his dad was a Spade, but he never said anything about a Diamond mom and a Club uncle.

"So wait," I said, turning back to the Heart. "Are you related to Sal too?"

"I'm just here to treat his wounds," she said, through gritted teeth. "Which the two of you are making very difficult for me. Would you please take this conversation outside?"

The Eight of Clubs and I stepped out into the hallway.

"So just who the fuck-"

"Language," he interrupted.

"Who are you, exactly?" I asked.

"My name is Estren Saltown," he said. "Valon's father is my older brother. He had something of a short fling with the boy's mother, and the result was the first ever hybrid Card."

"I see," I said.

"Would you mind doing me a favor?" Estren asked.

"No. Fuck you," I replied.

"Language," he repeated haughtily. "Just listen to me."

He reached up, placing a hand on his mask, shifting it aside to reveal one of his dark black eyes.

"If, in this tournament, you face the man who did this to my nephew..."

His iris suddenly turned a bright yellow, and his pupil stretched upward, thinning into a slit.

"...Wreck his shit."

I smirked at him.

"Language," I snarked.

He tsked at me, before putting his mask bac on and turning to leave.

Wow, Daniel chuckled. If HELLFIRE swears, you know its serious.

"HELLFIRE?" I asked.

Long story, Daniel replied. So, what's the plan from hear?

"The quarter finals are over now," I said. "There's only four of us left. Me, Cerise, Sergei, and Malkator."

What do you think? Daniel said. Can we take them?

"We have one advantage against all of them," I said.

Oh? Daniel asked.

"Our fight with Henry wasn't just me vs him," I said. "You and Judgement were also part of that fight. No matter who we fight next..."

Will be 2 on 1, Daniel said.

"In our favor," I said, nodding.

Heh, Daniel chuckled. Maybe having a dead guy living in your head could give you an edge. But we'll need a plan.

"Don't worry," I assured him. "I got this."

And with that, I left to go find Anthony. I needed words with him.