Prodigal Son

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya grinned at the two men who stood to oppose them.

"You know, up until now, all of the opponents I've had while fighting for this team have have mostly been non-human on one way or another. I had to fight some skeletons, a golem... I mean I fought a basic mage, but they were teamed up with a summoner who summoned otherworldy beasts that were definitively not human." Raiya talked a bit slowly, dancing a bit around the point, like a lioness stalking a fresh prey. "You see, in all of those battles, I had to twist my fighting style, tweak it a bit to combat non-human entities. And while I can certainly do a good job fighting those types of enemies, well, it's just not that fun." Raiya was still dancing around the point. She unsheathed her katana and threw the scabbard to the wind, it evaporated in a flurry of electrical mana. "I certainly can get the job done, fighting non-human entities. But... My specialty... my, shall we say, expertise, is in killing humans." Her eyes narrowed as she finished her point. To drive home the point she raised the hilt of the sword up to her face. She tilted the sword horizontally so the back of the blade rested on her lips. Then she took a deep breath and opened her mouth, sticking out her tongue. Her tongue was a bit longer than the average tongue, but nothing too abnormal. Though it was distinctively pointed, not rounded off at the tip like normal tongues. She then ran her tongue all the way along the side of the blade, a coat of overly abundant saliva could visibly be seen dripping off the blade. Although, Raiya knew the truth, that the saliva wasn't just saliva, but a powerful paralyzing poison.

Raiya enchanted herself with her speed enchantment, and in the blink of an eye she was behind the bat wielder, Her blade thrusting out towards the small of his back.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya felt the familiar pull of a realm spell and immediately went on the defensive. Her hands snapping outwards, summoning her main weapon, her custom katana, in a flurry of purple electricity.

Raiya's attention snapped to the magic attack whizzing towards Travis. She felt the attack before it got within range, and as she was about to move in to intercept it, Nemo jumped into its path instead. An explosion briefly enveloped the two but as the dust settled, it could be seen that they were more than alright.

Raiya's attention then switched to the two who were atop the shipping crate. They certainly were a motley crew. The dirtiness of the working class blue collar outfit of the man on the left, completely contrasted the neatness and privileged elegance of the gentleman's zoot suit. They dropped down from their perch and began to walk towards the group.

"So much for the element of surprise..." Raiya murmured. "You got any ideas, Nemo?" Raiya asked genuinely, her teeth gritted in anticipation.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya felt her weight drop away from her as her center of gravity shifted when she melted into the shadows. This combined with all the alcohol she drank earlier and the dark claustrophobia of it all almost made her vomit. After being spit out at the destination, she huddled over herself, latching onto what little feeling of easiness she had left. After gaining her bearings back she stood back up straight. She saw that Travis was hard at work, and from the look of it, it looked as if he was almost finished.

"Well, I hope he finishes before the ship shows up to load these crates on them, otherwise, we will be in for quite the treat." Raiya said with what sounded almost like hunger.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@ShiningSector The post

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya followed closely behind Nemo, listening to what he had to say about the mission. As they continued to walk, they passed a few warehouses and came up to a yard of varicolored giant shipping containers. No doubt every single one of them each had priceless cargo being transported, and with how many there were it might have seemed like a daunting task to find a specific one. However, Nemo seemed to pick out the important containers with relative ease, volunteering Travis to disarm any wards that may prevent them from entering.

"Not to rush you or anything, but we do have a time limit. Just in terms of common sense, I am sure there is a boat coming to get these specific containers soon." Raiya pursed her lips. "We'll protect you while you work, but as soon as the boat gets here, and the containers get loaded up, we will have missed our window." Raiya explained, "So, we are going to need you to get it done before then." Raiya finished

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Yup. Cornelius Morningstar is the current papal magi." Raiya replied.

Shortly after, Felix opened up a portal that linked between their living room and a destination that was close to the mission location. Raiya stepped through behind Nemo. The warm woodsy air of the cabin was replaced with a cool salty air of a coastal area. The were in an alley between two warehouses, it was increasingly obvious they were at a trading port.

"So what now?" Raiya looked at Nemo who planned out the current mission.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@ShiningSector can we get that post mang.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya's ahoge began to vibrate with energy as her anger surged. Thinking about Thadeus irritated her above all else.

"Cockroach indeed... He is the lowest of the low, and the one responsible for me being excommunicated. He experimented on villages, razed them to the ground with agnes spheres for no logical reason. The worst part is that he wasn't all that powerful for an arch-mage. It was nepotism that got him the position he holds. Because of his family ties, he was given access to a high seat and all the political power that it comes with. The funny thing is, he could not stand Felix, because Felix was the genuine article, a real powerful mage worthy of the title of arch-mage. You should have seen his face when he first saw Felix's manaegis. A mixture of jealousy and rage. The thought still make me smille." She finished with a grin

---

Felix entered the living room where everyone was gathered.

"Well, if there is not anything else to keep you... allow me to open the portal." Felix drew the cross glyph in the air in the middle of the room, opening a rift to what looked like an alleyway between warehouses near a harbor of some sort. "Off you go." Felix finished.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Raiya tilted her head to the side, "Something I regret? Do you mean besides making a drunken bet with you that essentially chained me to a team of misfits and vagabonds...?" Raiya pursed her lips and put her index finger up to them. "I regret putting my faith into an organization that would betray me and toss me aside. I regret ever thinking of Felix as a brother. I regret not being strong enough to take down Thadeus myself when I had the chance. Other than that, no I can't say I have any major regrets." Raiya replied.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Felix nodded his head at Zuri's question. He walked over to a brown box on the wall. The brown metal box was thin and its face was about 7 inches square. It had one button towards the bottom of the face, and one large black circle in the middle of the face. Felix pressed the button at the bottom and immediately a crackle of noise house-wide indicated that the PA system was in use.

"Paragon's End! We are commencing the mission ASAP, meet in the living room and I will usher you all through a rift."

Felix's voice rang throughout the manor.

Felix turned towards Zuri and Travis, "Let us be off then." Felix said, then he turned towards the exit and began his trip towards the living room.

---

Raiya blushed for a moment at Nemo's compliment. And it took a moment for her to rationalize to herself exactly what the nature of the compliments were. She didn't look into it too hard, after a moment she figured that it must be some sort of trick.

Raiya turned her head and scoffed, "Black hair is overly common from where I come from. So common in fact that our language had to come up with other words to describe people because of how homogeneous everyone looks. Complimenting the color of my hair is like complimenting a rock for being solid and blunt." Raiya explained a bit irritated, "One of those description words is, 'アホ毛 (ahoge)' which literally means 'stupid hair' and it is used to describe the 'antenna' you so thoughtlessly pointed out. Do you know how many times I have tried to get rid of the damned thing? It just keeps growing back. And no amount of gel will keep it down either." She said exasperatedly, "I even resorted to extreme measures, trying spells to nuke the bastard, but no matter what I tried it kept coming back, like a giant middle finger from God Himself." Her arms were v-d outwards as if pleading, begging for, at the very least empathy. "I have a feeling that even if I grow old and my hair turns grey and begins to shorten and fall out, that wretched thing will still be there, mocking me. I bet even when I am dead and in the grave, for hundreds of years anyone who stumbles on my skeleton will find that stupid lock of hair sticking up out of my skull like a monolith to commemorate my misfortune." Raiya had her head tilted down in a pose of defeat.

Then she leaned back in her chair as Nemo began to take out weapon after weapon. Many not just rare, but outright unique pieces that could be worth a small fortune to the right buyer. Raiya cocked in eyebrow in an expression of being impressed. "This is quite the collection you have here. You could arm a small militia with these. Or sell them to fund a full army... You even have some balisongs, I've been a fan of those myself but never really considered carrying one." She smirked, "I keep many of my own rare pieces behind glass back at my penthouse. Although, I didn't really show you my custom kusari-tanto. The chain is enchant-" She began to explain, about ready to call it forth before she heard Felix's call. "Well, I guess we must be off. Maybe you'll get to see my kusari-tanto in action here very soon." She suggested as she stood up and down the rest of her umeshu. She placed the glass down firmly, making a small knock sound come from the table. "Let's go then." She said as she began to walk towards the living room which was only about 20 feet away from where they were in the dining room.

She plopped herself down on one of the sofas, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.