The Eighth Sin

"Iris, wait!" Riyku was running through the abyss, chasing after a small pale petite girl who was walking away from him. "Wait!" Riyku shouted reaching his hand out towards her as he continued to sprint after her. "Iris!" Riyku shouted while chasing her down, but... It would seem he was unable to catch up. The distance between them grew by the second. "Stop please!" Riyku called out, before tripping over and falling face-first into the ground. "Wait..." He muttered as he reached out for the girl. A heavy sigh would catch his attention which drifted his eyes towards a person beside him. "I told you, you were too weak. You were unable to protect her. Your friend Kristen was massively injured and Lira was put into critical condition. You were bound to lose someone eventually." The male who held a mighty resemblance to Riyku with icy pale flesh, green glowing eyes upon black sclera and several markings engraved upon his body had looked down at him. His snow-white hair dancing against his pale shoulders as he shook his head. "Tell me Riyku, are you still willing to deny me?" The male would reach his hand out towards Riyku. "Let me help you. Let me give you the strength to protect everything dear to you. Who knows who may be next, Vex, Mina, Skylar or anyone of Rick's group for that matter." The man would add which caused Riyku's expression to change from wary to acceptance. "I..." He would steadily reach out for the man's hand. "All you need to do is say my name. Call out to me." The man said as he reached his hand out more and eventually Riyku would grasp hold of his hand.

"HARVESTER!" Riyku shouted aloud in the form of an anguished roar. The mana in the atmosphere becoming visible to the naked eye unlike how it was normally invisible to the naked eye. Small purple orbs started to filter towards the male's body as an immense distortion waved off of his body pushing the leader of Team Reaper away. Well more so, it shoved him back since the man tried his best to not lose his balance. A black and purple electrical current steadily began to spark around his frame which would singe the ground around him as it struck. Another roar would escape the male's lips, sounding off of normal humane vocals. "Diabolical Energy?" The young male who was watching everything played out. "So, he is a demon..." Aima muttered, narrowing her eyes at the torrent of black winds. "Hmm... I don't think he is any ordinary demon." Naomi spoke up which caught their attention. "He has several other scents infused with that one. I was unable to detect them earlier, and I have no reason why. However, now... there are other scents. Rage, Hate, Malice, Anguish, Sorrow, Pain, Retribution... and Blood Lust. But the one that seems to be the heaviest of them all, is the scent of Death." Naomi would add as her body steadily began to tremble. "Does that mean that some beast had been awakened?" The young male, Noah would inquire as he narrowed his eyes.

"Your Majesty, might I strongly suggest we take you to a safer place." One of the guards had called from the Emporer's side. The elder would raise his hand and shake his head. "No. I will see this through till the end. Contact the Hunter Legion, tell them we will be needing them. Inform them of the situation, but not to act until I give the order." The elder stated his eyes upon the battlefield before him. "Well... if the old man is staying here. I might as well." Another attendant stated. "I guess I should too." Another seemed to speak up. "I am curious about what will come of this myself." Another one added and eventually, the remaining spectators of the high class sitting would agree. "Let us see if those two were right about this." The elder would narrow his eyes with the determination to watch everything until the end.

"Riyku..." Mina would shake her head. "You... you can't. You can't give in... please." She cried out, tears running down her cheeks. Skylar would place a hand upon his sister's shoulder. "Mina..." He whispered before shifting his eyes to Riyku. "Can you feel it? He is in pain... We need to go to him." Skylar stated which drew her attention. "But... but..." Mina would repeat through heavy sobs. Skylar would shake his head, his eyes slowly starting to tear up. "We promised to protect him, no matter what. Right now, he needs us more than ever." Skylar would remark boldly, holding back his tears as much as possible. Mina would softly nod and the two would move from their seats as if to take action.

"Is that... is truly this happening?" Rick was shocked, paralyzed with fear and anger. He was afraid of what would become of Riyku, afraid for the future, but he was also upset about what had befallen the man. Reunited with his daughter only to watch her be taken away moments later. "It doesn't seem fair." Jessica would growl. "I understand..." Ion would place a hand on Jessica's shoulder. "Hey, isn't that Mina?" Nora had taken note of Mina and Skylar leaving the stadium. "Hey, you are right. What do you think they are doing?" Rick had turned his attention towards the two of them. "I'm going to go find out, you three stay here," Nora stated as she shot up from her seat, but Mel would grasp her wrist to stop her from leaving. The girl would shake her head, "No. We are going to come with you." Melaine would remark firmly, tears clearly in her eyes. Nora seemed like she was going to tell her not to, but Rick, Ion, and Jessica all had this expression that told her they would not take no for an answer. "Fine. come on, if things become too dangerous though you three are leaving, understand?" Nora was firm in her statement and the three nodded. "Alright." They all agreed in some form or fashion and the four of them were off, chasing after Mina and Skylar.

"Riyku..." Vex would mutter as she saw the display upon a monitor. Anyone could tell the woman was upset that there was nothing she could do. She was no longer in the Capital, and leaving now would not do her any good since it took several hours just to get to the Capital. Her eyes shifted to her left and right side when she felt Lira and Kristen squeeze her hand tightly. Their expressions pained, "Lira... Kristen... You can feel it too? The pain he is enduring..." Vex muttered before shifting his glance back to the monitor. "Mina... Skylar, please... Make it in time." Vex would pray.

Another vicious roar escaped the male's lips one final time and the torrent of black winds would disperse. The visible Diabolical Energy in the atmosphere became invisible as the male stood up. His skin of pure pale coloration. His hair was also snow-white to match, but one of the many things to note was a pair of curved horns that perched from his skull. If that was not all there was a spaded tail that flickered behind him and a pair of black boned wings that would unfurl from his back. Clear flaps like that of a bat's seemed to flourish before the wings would retract back into the male's backside. Both of his hands appeared to be more like claws, rather than fleshy hands, and if that wasn't all his height seemed to increased about thirty centimeters. Releasing a heavy breath would reveal canny fangs.

'System Error: Class invalid! System Error: Data Breach! System Error: Virus found!'

'Error!'

'Error!'

'Error!'

Flooding around his body in plain sight was several cybernetic screens that popped up with the word 'Error' on them. Flicking his wrist another cybernetic screen would appear before him titled. 'Administration.' There was a User ID and Password section and the male would tap upon the keyboard of the screen to log in which would bring up another screen over that one. 'Error! Riyku Von Rosario does not have Admin privileges. Starting up shut down sequence!' The text wrote. Sigh heavily the male would slam his fist against the screen.

[Oh no you don't. I have already secured the Operator of version two. You won't be getting in my way this time.] Harvester stated throughout Riyku's mind.

'Error! Unable to startup the shutdown sequence. Error found! Database contaminated! Er--' All of the screens suddenly filtered out rapidly. [There we go... all done. Now then... Limiter level one has been released. It won't be long until you are back at your fullest potential so for now you will need to make do with this power I have been able to get you.] Harvester stated to Riyku who would nod lightly.

'Defeat The Dark Demonic Reaper!'

A large cybernetic screen appeared above the battlefield for everyone to see, which even caught Riyku's eye. [Oh, the system had one last trick up their sleeve eh? Too bad, this ramble can't do anything to you. Not when I am around.] Harvester snickered.

"Dark Demonic Reaper?" Noah narrowed his eyes. "Defeat him? What the hell!?" Aima exclaimed. "So... he is a boss level mob?" Naomi remarked with a growl. "Boss Level? Like as in the dungeons, fields, and castles?" Noah inquired and Naomi would nod. "From what the weird box is portraying and the dark red cursor that his now above his head." Naomi would state which drew Noah's eyes to the text.

"Riyku Von Rosario, The Dark Demonic Reaper... Level... N-Ninety Four!?" Noah exclaimed. "Are you fucking kidding me!?" He shouted aloud. "Noah! You need to keep calm!" Aima shouted as she placed a hand on the young male's shoulder. "How can I? This is just like...." Noah would swiftly turn to face Aima who would give her a firm look and nod softly. "I know. I was there, so was Noah. But, if you lose composure now, everything will be for naught. You need to remain calm and collected. There is still a chance." Aima would speak as calmly as possible to Noah and thankfully her remark worked out. Noah would slowly release his tension and calm himself. Taking in deep breaths and releasing them steadily and slowly. "Okay. I am better. Sorry for making you worry. What do you have in mind?" Noah inquired of Aima who would nod. "Welcome back first of all. Secondly, We should work together with that jackass over there. Although... that is only if things turn south. I don't think he is after us solely." Aima stated which caused both Naomi and Noah to look a bit shocked. "What do you mean?" Naomi asked. "Well, remember his battle with that pink-haired chick and the remember all of the other battles he had. He only killed that pink-haired chick, but in his previous battle, he saved his opponent. If I am correct, he may only go after that guy over there, and afterward... he should calm down." Aima stated. "And you are sure of this?" Noah narrowed his eyes as he asked her, but Aima would shake his head. "No. Honestly, I don't know what to think. Just seeing the Diabolical Energy in the atmosphere earlier felt chilly. Everything about me screams to run... but, there is nowhere to go. I can only hope that his focus on solely on that man. If it is, we should take the time to recover to a full and prepare just in case he comes after us." Aima would remark. Both Noah and Naomi would give her suggestion some thought, before agreeing to follow her lead. "Alright, let's go with that then. I would rather not help that scum anyways." Naomi would relay her response. "However, we will be throwing away a heavy portion of any chance of victory by letting him die. You do know that, right?" Noah inquired and Aima would nod. "Yes." She would state and Noah would sigh heavily. "Alright then. Let's take shelter and recover. Prepare for an upcoming battle as well." Noah would add and the two would nod.

"I see..." Riyku's voice was distorted, holding a coldness to it. He would reach his hand upward and steadily his hand would begin to tear through the atmosphere as if ripping open into some kind of sub-space. The sound of rattling chains followed as she steadily began to pull out something. Chains were what the man had grasped, but what came from the tear, in reality, was something else. He had completely ripped out a scythe. Not just any scythe at that, but a double-headed scythe. The first head so to speak held this black ooze which when dripped onto the ground caused the ground to burn up as if acid had touched it. The second head held this eerie aura around it and attached to the middle of the pole was some kind of lantern that held a discoloration of wispy lights. Screams could be heard crying out from this lantern as if wanting release.

Type: Harbinger

Rarity: SSS

A weapon hand-forged by Riyku Von Rosario himself. The two blades have special attributes, one for tearing the life force of his foes while the other tears through any protections bestowed upon one, be it normal armor or magical armor, even shields and buffs. The lantern in the middle holds the souls of those he has taken to either be used to strengthen his scythe or himself. +100 to all stats. Effect: consuming souls reservoir will either strengthen your weapon or yourself permanently. 10 souls = +1 stat.

Soul count: 9,230

"So this was that unidentified weapon... I guess this weapon has been strengthed many times for it to have a bonus of one-hundred for everything. It even tells me how many souls are in the lantern, how nice. Though, I see no reason to use all of the souls at once." Riyku had read the text box that appeared before him when he examined the weapon. He would glance out at the leader of Team Reaper who was crackling hysterically at him. "So you use a scythe to? Don't know what's with all the flashy light show, power-ups and whatnot, you should have just pulled out that thing from the start. It looks rather lovely. I should just take it off your body once I kill you... Yes. I think I will!" The man charged straight towards Riyku. Bringing his weapon around to cut him down. Make no mistake, the man was quite fast, so much so that his speed even surpassed Naomi's and he wasn't even using any kind of wind elements to add to his speed. Still, the strike would miss. Riyku would sidestep the man, twirling his weapon around and strike through him with the blade that held the aura edge. "Is that all? If I used the other edge, you would have died." Riyku stated as he watched the man stumble forward growling before pivoting back towards him. The same thing happened again, and again, and again, and again until the Leader of Team Reaper was filling exhausted.

"What the hell? You keep hitting me, but have yet to be killed? What kind of bullshit is this!?" The man shouted through heavy breaths. Riyku would shake his head to the upset man. "You truly do not know and yet you call yourself a Reaper... How pitiful. I am stealing your life essences away steadily. Why do you think you feel as tired as you do. Your body is about to collapse, so I guess I'll end this now." Riyku would release the scythe which caused it to distort for a moment and vanish. He would take a single step forward before his body vanished and appeared in front of the Leader of Team Reaper. "What the!?" He shouted as he tried to pivot backward and backward he went... though not by his means. His body was pushed backward when Riyku had reentered the atmosphere. A black wind seemed to have shoved him away. Riyku would bring up one of his hands which caused the shadows to rise and smack or well... slap the man back towards Riyku. Stomping his foot would cause the shadows beneath him to rise as well, but this time they smacked the man upward which sent him high into the air. He would bring up his opposite arm, curl his fingers into his palm then shove the palm down towards the ground which caused the man's own shadow to yank him towards the ground and crater him into the battlefield. Riyku would approach the man who was coughing up blood and struggling to break from the earth prison he was in.

"Oh, still alive? Well... that isn't much of a surprise." Riyku would remark coldly as he slammed his boot firmly against the man's which caused him to cough out both blood, salvia and whatever oxygen he had. Snapping his finger, the tip of his finger would ignite with some kind of small black flame and hovering his finger over the man he would let the tiny flame drop from his fingertip. When it reached the man the male's face would instantly ignite and a painfilled scream would fill the battlefield as the man seemed to try and put on the flames, but only flailed around aimlessly. "Does it hurt that much? Well then, let me help you...." Riyku would lean forward and bring his hand up as if he were about to slap the male. The back of his hand would slam firmly against the male's cheek as he swung his arm. The flames went out and several teeth flew from the male's mouth along with more blood and salvia. The male's face was scorched beyond recognition now. Though, when he saw the man cough as if showing he was still alive, Riyku would shake his head. "You just won't die huh? Fine then..." Riyku would remove himself from the man and flick his wrist upward which caused the shadows to rise him off the ground. The body seemed to have gone limp as if all strength was gone, yet the man himself was still breathing to some degree.

"Your soul..." Riyku would jam his hand into the man's chest which caused the body to jolt; however, no damage was done to the body. Instead, some kind of wavy distortion had been on display where Riyku's hand met the male's chest. He would rip his hand out from the man's chest only to hold a small black orb. "is corrupt. So far corrupt that it is not even worth adding to my collection. No... you are not worth salvation. You are not even worth damnation. You will be erased..." Riyku remarked coldly before crushing the black orb in his bare hand. The shadows would drop the now lifeless body to the ground and he would turn his attention towards the audience, then towards the final team, Team Phantom.

"Well, there are two teams left. Team Rosario and Team Phantom. Tell me, are you three ready?" Riyku called out from where he stood, his hands resting at his side as his crimson eyes upon black sclera stared them down. Aima would walk in front of Noah and Naomi. "Aima?" Noah inquired, but before he could do anything Aima would speak out to Riyku. "Tell me, is there any further need for conflict? You have killed the one who took from you, have you not? So, why must we continue to fight?" The woman seemed level headed, though her voice held firm her body was shivering in fear. Riyku would tilt his head to the side at her inquiry. "Why? Because this is the final round of the Death Games, that is why. I could say, that is was because you forced me into a wall and targeted Iris so I did not have a choice but to take your attacks head-on." Riyku would call out. "But, that was for the games! You saw we were fighting for our lives!" Aima called out and Riyku would nod. "I do admit you were fighting for your lives. Though, you were also planning on winning, were you not?" Riyku would quiz her. "Of course we were! But this is different. We know we can not beat you! We know we will lose! So, there is no further reason to continue this fight!" Aima exclaimed and Riyku would shake his head. "You can not give up either. Iris...." Riyku would narrow his eyes. "Iris, lost her life because her teammates were still alive and breathing. Her team was still in, and now she is gone. So tell me, why should I spare you? What makes you three so special?" Riyku would question as she steadily approached them.

"Damn it, we have no choice!" Naomi would grasp the hilts of her Gun Daggers tightly. "Wait!" Noah shouted which caused her to stop herself from dashing forth. "Believe in your sister, have faith in Aima," Noah stated, his hands trembling against his lance as if he were ready to attack any time. Aima would shake her head, "We are not. And, I am sorry for what happened with your daughter. Truly, we have nothing against you. Just ask you two had nothing against us." Aima called back in response to Riyku's question which caused the man to sigh heavily. "You know... I have nothing against you two. I already paid you back for what you did; however, rules are rules." Riyku continued to approach them which caused Aima to gulp heavily. "The rules also only state that you can also incapacitate us. Do you plan on killing us knowing this?" Aima would throw out her last card which made Riyku stop for a moment. His arms came up to fold against his chest and his eyes closed in thought.

The three of them were now sweating buckets and shaking viciously in fear. They had accepted the fact that their lives were at the male's mercy. They knew full well they could not beat him. "Who said anything about killing you?" Riyku had called out which gave them all puzzled looks. "Yes, I knew of that rule from the start. I never said I was going to kill you." Riyku replied firmly. "Then!?" Aima called out and Riyku shook his head. "I will only take a vast portion of your life force. Enough to accumulate a single soul's worth." Riyku called out which caused the three of them to go eye wide. "But that is!" Aima would exclaim. "Unfair?" Riyku would narrow his eyes at them. "The three of you get to live at the cost of a portion of your life and you find that unfair? I could just take away your lives just like I did to that trash over there." Riyku stated while eyeing the lifeless body, before looking back at the three of them. "Aima..." Noah would move to place a hand upon the woman's shoulder. "I'll give him my life, and you two can walk away free. It's fine after all, you two deserve to be happy." Aima looked back at Noah. "What, No!" Aima shouted. "It's the only way. After all, there is no guarantee he will not just take everything." Noah replied as composed as possible even though he was on the verge of breaking down. "Oh? Going to offer your soul for them? Well, as I said, I am only taking one soul's worth. It does not matter how it is done." Riyku would unfold his arms and steadily approach them yet again. "Noah wait!" Aima shouted, but Noah would shake his head as he slowly approached Riyku.

"You promise, you will let them live. Correct?" Noah inquired firmly and Riyku would nod. "I am a man of my word. I will only knock them out without any harm. Does that sound fine with you?" Riyku asked and Noah would nod. "You have my thanks. But..." When they approached, Noah was shivering in fear of just being in front of the man. "But?" Riyku asked. "I truly am sorry... about your daughter. I won't lie. What we did was what led to this; however, we knew that you would protect her till the end. We never planned on actually killing her. If you had not done what you did, Naomi would have saved her." Noah stated firmly, and Riyku seemed somewhat surprised by this. Closing his eyes the man would release a heavy sigh. "Are you ready?" Riyku inquired and Noah would close his own eyes with a nod. "Yes." It was then that Riyku would plunge his hand into the male's chest. Both Aima and Naomi would scream out Noah's name, though, when Riyku pulled out his hand there was nothing there. Noah's eyes would slowly, seeing that he was still on the battlefield left him confused. "What? What happened?" He asked and Riyku placed a hand upon the male's shoulder. "I won't take your life. I can see through one's intentions by looking through their soul essences. I can see everything that their soul has been through. You have been through much. Not only that, but you were not lying about saving Iris. Therefore, I will take nothing from you three." Riyku stated which caused Noah to plop on the ground and look up at him. "Thank you..." He muttered and Riyku shook his head. "Don't thank me. I have done nothing worthy of being thanked." Riyku remarked.

"Noah!?" Noah!" Both the girls shouted his name as they raced to his side. "You're alive!?" Aima exclaimed. "How!?" Naomi hastily questioned. "Riyku.... he spared us." Noah looked at the girls as he said what he did and the girls looked up from him to Riyku who would simply nod. "I ha--" Riyku was cut off and stepped back from the three of them quickly using his wings to bust his distance further only to furl them back into his body afterward. His eyes narrowed at the arrows of light that had hit the ground where he once was, only to find himself suddenly surrounded by three more figures. Each holding some kind of weapon bathed in light. Noah, Naomi, and Aima looked shocked and confused. They did not understand what just happened. "Are you three okay?" A fourth figure had approached from behind them, the woman resting some kind of oddly shaped gun against her shoulder. "Yeah, but what are you doing?" Noah asked. "We are eliminating the threat before it becomes out of hand. We were contacted and told about a demonic figure who had appeared. I am just glad we made it in time." The woman would explain. "But, he isn't a threat. He was only going to kill that guy." Naomi pointed to the lifeless body which the woman looked at before looking to Riyku who held this glare. "Even if what you said was true, he is still of demonic-kin and all demons must be eliminated." The woman explained, "But that's..." Aima called out and the woman would shake her head. Several others would approach from behind her. "Captain!" One of them called out. "Take these three to the medical center and get them patched up." The woman replied and both of them would salute her before following orders. "Come with us." One of the men stated. "But..." Aima would protest. "There is nothing we can. We need to go with them..." Noah stated before looking back at Riyku. "I'm sorry..." He gave the male an apologetic look and Riyku shook his head. "Nothing worth apologizing for. Go with them." Riyku muttered.

"So, what are you muttering to yourself, Demon?" The woman would step up, aiming the barrel of the gun right at Riyku. "Nothing serious. Though, I am assuming you were the one who shot those arrows at me?" He inquired and the woman smirked. "My aren't we insightful. Yes. I was. I am even more so surprised that you are even capable of rational thought. Most demons just lash out, yet here you are having a conversation with me." The woman snickered, "It's disgusting." She added at the end and Riyku would sneer at her. "and yet you for have yet to attack me. Are you waiting on me, or perhaps you have something else planned." Riyku would narrow his eyes and the woman would chuckle. "Who knows..." She replied with a smirk, her finger holding down the trigger of her gun as if she were charging up a shot. "Guess you'll have to find out." She added.