Arcosian Arc Summary
General Overview:
- Primary Character of Focus: Ryu Naraka
- Antagonist: Atem Illiad and Doctór
- Date: Year: 3273 - May
Summary
Mr. Yama has arrived at the central hospital of Amandine City where he is in search of a young 13 year old boy named Ryu Naraka. He has confirmed that this boy is a member of the Sephirot, but has yet to meet him, let alone inform him of this information. As he approaches the hospital, he begins to sense an incredibly powerful aura coming from the third floor. He makes his way to Ryu's room, and with each step the aura from that room becomes more and more intimidating. He begins to wonder what kind of monster resides behind the hospital room door and is having great trouble mustering the courage to open it. He paces back and forth in the hallway as he is asking himself whether or not he should go inside. He begin to imagine a large monster that would tear him limb from limb the moment he opened the door, and he tries to convince himself to leave and lie to his superiors about the candidate but is unable to do so. So, with a deep breath, he opens the door and to his great surprise he sees a young frail looking boy (who he is debating on whether or not is a girl) and a 17 year old female nurse. He asks if the boy in the hospital bed is Ryu Naraka, but before he can answer, the nurse, Yuuki Silvers, interrupts and asks who he is and what his business is. The man introduces himself as Mr. Ido Yama and shows her his federal officer badge. Ryu introduces both himself and the Yuuki, who is still giving him an angry glare. Yama tells Ryu that the government has asked that he come along with him and Yuuki is infuriated by this request. She claims that Ryu cannot come along with him because he is hospitalized and that they cannot even tell if he is even telling the truth. Yama tries to console her but she continues to yell at him until Ryu finally asks where he intends to take him. Yama tells him that he cannot reveal that information as of yet because it is classified and that he would be informed along the way. Yuuki turns around and whispers to Ryu that she does not trust him because she thinks he might be after his Arcosian eyes, but Ryu tells her that even if he refused to go along with him, there would be no stopping Yama should he resort to force. With this Ryu reluctantly agrees to go along with him, much to the concern of Yuuki. Overjoyed, Mr. Yama thanks him tremendously telling him that he does not know what he would tell his superiors were he to return empty handed. Yuuki, now frantic, begins to ask hundreds of questions of Mr. Yama concerning Ryu's safety and health, and he assures her that all precautions have been made and promises that he would be returned to his hospital room unharmed by night fall. With this Yuuki grabs a bag and begins to pack emergency equipment, such as a breathing mask, a change of clothes, bandages, a cell phone, and medicine, for her patient, while Ryu leaves to go change. When he returns Yuuki is still berating Mr. Yama with questions as he tries to console her. Yuuki then hands the bag to Mr. Yama telling him that Ryu's body is too weak to carry it so he will have to do it for him.
Yuuki follows them to the entrance of the hospital where a long black limousine is waiting. The two get inside and Ryu waves goodbye to Yuuki. As the limousine pulls away, Mr. Yama tries to calm Ryu's nerves by acting friendly and making jokes, but is not very successful. He then notices that Ryu is fascinated with what is going on outside the window and question him about it. Ryu apologizes and says that he does not get many chances to leave his hospital room and is curious about the outside world. Ryu then continues on to tell him that if he is planning on hurting or kidnapping him, he might as well tell him because it is physically impossible for him to resist. To this Mr. Yama frantically tells him that he has no intention of harming him, and that he actually needs his help. A confused Ryu inquires into what he means by this. Mr. Yama takes this opportunity to explain what the Sephirot is, what his role in it is and where he is going. He asks Ryu whether or not he believes him, and Ryu says he must because he knew about the mark he was hiding beneath his glove. Mr. Yama then asks why both he and Yuuki were so quick to assume that he was going to kidnap them, but at this statement Ryu lowers his head and claims that it is a private reason. At this Mr. Yama does not inquire further and offers Ryu a sandwich, but spills a bottle of pepper by accident. This causes Ryu to sneeze and release a wave of energy which cracks one of the limousine windows. Mr. Yama, who had been knocked back by the wave, sits up and asks if Ryu was all right, but to his surprise he finds that Ryu's eyes were no longer cyan but now a bright orange. He almost jumps and asks what's wrong with his eyes, and at this exclamation Ryu realizes the situation and lowers his head to hide his face, but says nothing. After a while, Mr. Yama puts two and two together and deduces that Ryu is an Arcosian, a statement which he initially denies, but later admits to after being pressed on it. Mr. Yama then states that that explains Ryu's tremendous energy. Ryu then explains, while eating a new sandwich, that the reason why he and Yuuki were so concerned about Yama was because they though he was after his eyes.
Yuuki follows them to the entrance of the hospital where a long black limousine is waiting. The two get inside and Ryu waves goodbye to Yuuki. As the limousine pulls away, Mr. Yama tries to calm Ryu's nerves by acting friendly and making jokes, but is not very successful. He then notices that Ryu is fascinated with what is going on outside the window and question him about it. Ryu apologizes and says that he does not get many chances to leave his hospital room and is curious about the outside world. Ryu then continues on to tell him that if he is planning on hurting or kidnapping him, he might as well tell him because it is physically impossible for him to resist. To this Mr. Yama frantically tells him that he has no intention of harming him, and that he actually needs his help. A confused Ryu inquires into what he means by this. Mr. Yama takes this opportunity to explain what the Sephirot is, what his role in it is and where he is going. He asks Ryu whether or not he believes him, and Ryu says he must because he knew about the mark he was hiding beneath his glove. Mr. Yama then asks why both he and Yuuki were so quick to assume that he was going to kidnap them, but at this statement Ryu lowers his head and claims that it is a private reason. At this Mr. Yama does not inquire further and offers Ryu a sandwich, but spills a bottle of pepper by accident. This causes Ryu to sneeze and release a wave of energy which cracks one of the limousine windows. Mr. Yama, who had been knocked back by the wave, sits up and asks if Ryu was all right, but to his surprise he finds that Ryu's eyes were no longer cyan but now a bright orange. He almost jumps and asks what's wrong with his eyes, and at this exclamation Ryu realizes the situation and lowers his head to hide his face, but says nothing. After a while, Mr. Yama puts two and two together and deduces that Ryu is an Arcosian, a statement which he initially denies, but later admits to after being pressed on it. Mr. Yama then states that that explains Ryu's tremendous energy. Ryu then explains, while eating a new sandwich, that the reason why he and Yuuki were so concerned about Yama was because they though he was after his eyes.
The two then arrive at a large skyscraper known as the City Tower, and entered into the building. Mr. Yama, still carrying his bag, covered Ryu's head using his hood for fear of someone recognizing him. They were greeted at the reception desk and led to an elevator where they proceeded to go down ten floors. They vacated the elevator and entered into a massive room filled with training equipment, a large; elevated fighting ring, advanced technology and a sitting area. Ryu noticed two individuals in a standoff in the ring, who were just beginning to fight. On the left stood Aaron Lotus and on the right was Erza Cross. Then suddenly, Erza quickly materializes her soul weapon, Sol, and charges at Aaron. She swings for his neck and barely misses as Aaron dodges by leaning backwards and then back flipping to gain some distance. Aaron then materializes Paradox and charges at her and the two proceed to attack back and forth with their weapons, skillfully blocking each other's attacks. Aaron begins to gain the upper hand and Erza jumps back. She then fires a flaming projectile at her opponent, but Aaron smiles to himself and says, "I've won". He swings his sword and cuts right through the fire, it is then absorbed into his blade, giving it a red aura. He launches forward with incredible force and connects swords with Erza, but the force sends her flying out of the ring. Kira, who Ryu had not noticed yet, then approaches the ring from the seating area and congratulates Aaron on his victory. Erza climbs from the rubble and tells him that the she would win the next sparring match.
After this, Mr. Yama claps his hands together to gain their attention and calls them over. Ryu, quickly hides behind Mr. Yama's back and peaks out from the side. Aaron asks who the new "girl" is and Erza approaches and says that it is wonderful to have another girl around. At these statements, Ryu blushes and lowers his head in embarrassment. Yama coughs and says that there is someone who he would like them to meet. He leads Ryu out from behind him and says that this boy is Ryu Naraka, the newest member of the Sephirot. Aaron and Erza are shocked at the revelation of Ryu's gender and the latter quickly apologizes. Aaron on the other hand, is curious about Ryu's strength and tries to get a good look at him, but Ryu keeps cringing away. To this, Aaron grabs his arm and tugs him forward, telling him to stop hiding, but quickly withdraws his hand. Ryu jumps behind Mr. Yama, holding the spot where Aaron grabbed him. Erza asked what scared Aaron so much, and he replies that he felt as though Ryu's arm almost broke in his hand. Mr. Yama, who is now greatly distressed at the fact that Ryu may be injured tells them that Ryu suffers from Illumi's disease and explains the condition. Yama rolls up Ryu's sleeve to find that his forearm is heavily bruised, which shocks everyone in the room. With an annoyed sigh he asks himself how he is supposed to explain this to Yuuki. As Yama is bandaging his arm, Aaron apologizes for hurting him and Ryu tells him that it is alright.
After this, Yama leaves to inform his superiors of the situation and Erza takes Ryu, who is clearly beginning to breathe heavily, over to the seating area where Kira is. She delicately seats him in a soft chair and tells him that for now he should concern himself with fighting, but to instead focus on observing her and Aaron as they train. Ryu begins to converse with Kira, who tells him that he is not a member of the Sephirot but is still trying to help, and that he feels better now that he is not the only one who is not focused on fighting anymore.
When Mr. Yama returns, Aaron confronts him to state that he feels that Ryu will neither be safe here nor will he be of any help in the impending battle and asks why he brought him here. Yama calls Ryu (who was not at all offended by the statement because he feels the same way) over and tells him to try and calm himself and to let his energy flow naturally. Ryu begins to object, but Yama interrupts him and asks him if the reason why he has been suppressing it since they left the hospital was because he was trying to avoid attention. Ryu admits to this and Yama tells him that no one will notice down here. With a bit of hesitation, Ryu takes a deep breath, and releases his aura. The moment this happens, Erza and Kira cease what they are doing and look over at Ryu, and Aaron jumps back after feeling how massive his aura is. Aaron, who is clearly distressed by Ryu's energy, demands to know how someone so weak could have such immense power. Mr. Yama places his hand on Ryu's head and tells everyone that Ryu is an Arcosian. Everyone is shocked and begins to convene around where Ryu and Yama are standing. Erza is observing Ryu, trying figure out whether or not what Mr. Yama claims is true or not, while Aaron states that he doesn't believe him. Now eager to show off his new recruit, Yama tells Ryu to show them, but he shakes his head no. He asks him why he won't show them, but Ryu responds by telling him that he is embarrassed because his Arcosian item makes him look like a freak. Yama tells him that it doesn't, but Ryu, whose face is beginning to blush from difficulty breathing, is obstinate. Aaron claims triumphantly that he knew Mr. Yama must have been bluffing, and the latter puts his hands in his pockets as he thinks of a way to prove it. It is then that Yama notices the pepper shaker from earlier in his pocket and he grins to himself as he has just come up with a devilish idea. With Ryu knowing, he uncaps the shaker and dumps it in front of Ryu's face. He then grabs Kira and runs behind a couch yelling take cover. Ryu sneezes and knocks both Aaron and Erza back with a shock wave of energy. When the dust settles, Kira and Yama rise out from behind the couch and approach Ryu along with Aaron and Erza. The group is surprised to find that Ryu's eyes have turned bright orange, and Yama exclaims to Aaron that he told him so. The now greatly embarrassed Ryu crouches on the floor to cover his eyes, but Erza tells him that he has nothing to be ashamed about and convinces him stand up. Aaron is still blown aback by Ryu's immense energy, but he manages to bring himself back to his senses and tells Yama that all the power in the world won't help if a mere gust of wind can kill him. Mr. Yama tells him that he is well aware of that and that he plans to find a way that Ryu can help those two fight. After this statement, Ryu begins to start coughing and his eyes deactivate. Kira asks him if he is okay, and he says he is fine, but as he tries to walk towards a chair, he collapses. Erza catches him and asks him what is wrong, but Ryu is unconscious and breathing heavily. She turns to Mr. Yama who exclaims that Yuuki had warned him about his lungs, but he thought that the air would be fresh enough inside the building. Aaron asks him what they should do, and Yama begins to frantically rummage through the bag Yuuki gave him for the breathing mask. He finds it and quickly puts it on Ryu. The boy's face quickly relaxed and his breathing returned to normal, but he remained unconscious. Erza moved him to the couch and covered him with a blanket, while Yama left the room to adjust the oxygen levels and turn up the air purifier.
After this, Mr. Yama claps his hands together to gain their attention and calls them over. Ryu, quickly hides behind Mr. Yama's back and peaks out from the side. Aaron asks who the new "girl" is and Erza approaches and says that it is wonderful to have another girl around. At these statements, Ryu blushes and lowers his head in embarrassment. Yama coughs and says that there is someone who he would like them to meet. He leads Ryu out from behind him and says that this boy is Ryu Naraka, the newest member of the Sephirot. Aaron and Erza are shocked at the revelation of Ryu's gender and the latter quickly apologizes. Aaron on the other hand, is curious about Ryu's strength and tries to get a good look at him, but Ryu keeps cringing away. To this, Aaron grabs his arm and tugs him forward, telling him to stop hiding, but quickly withdraws his hand. Ryu jumps behind Mr. Yama, holding the spot where Aaron grabbed him. Erza asked what scared Aaron so much, and he replies that he felt as though Ryu's arm almost broke in his hand. Mr. Yama, who is now greatly distressed at the fact that Ryu may be injured tells them that Ryu suffers from Illumi's disease and explains the condition. Yama rolls up Ryu's sleeve to find that his forearm is heavily bruised, which shocks everyone in the room. With an annoyed sigh he asks himself how he is supposed to explain this to Yuuki. As Yama is bandaging his arm, Aaron apologizes for hurting him and Ryu tells him that it is alright.
After this, Yama leaves to inform his superiors of the situation and Erza takes Ryu, who is clearly beginning to breathe heavily, over to the seating area where Kira is. She delicately seats him in a soft chair and tells him that for now he should concern himself with fighting, but to instead focus on observing her and Aaron as they train. Ryu begins to converse with Kira, who tells him that he is not a member of the Sephirot but is still trying to help, and that he feels better now that he is not the only one who is not focused on fighting anymore.
When Mr. Yama returns, Aaron confronts him to state that he feels that Ryu will neither be safe here nor will he be of any help in the impending battle and asks why he brought him here. Yama calls Ryu (who was not at all offended by the statement because he feels the same way) over and tells him to try and calm himself and to let his energy flow naturally. Ryu begins to object, but Yama interrupts him and asks him if the reason why he has been suppressing it since they left the hospital was because he was trying to avoid attention. Ryu admits to this and Yama tells him that no one will notice down here. With a bit of hesitation, Ryu takes a deep breath, and releases his aura. The moment this happens, Erza and Kira cease what they are doing and look over at Ryu, and Aaron jumps back after feeling how massive his aura is. Aaron, who is clearly distressed by Ryu's energy, demands to know how someone so weak could have such immense power. Mr. Yama places his hand on Ryu's head and tells everyone that Ryu is an Arcosian. Everyone is shocked and begins to convene around where Ryu and Yama are standing. Erza is observing Ryu, trying figure out whether or not what Mr. Yama claims is true or not, while Aaron states that he doesn't believe him. Now eager to show off his new recruit, Yama tells Ryu to show them, but he shakes his head no. He asks him why he won't show them, but Ryu responds by telling him that he is embarrassed because his Arcosian item makes him look like a freak. Yama tells him that it doesn't, but Ryu, whose face is beginning to blush from difficulty breathing, is obstinate. Aaron claims triumphantly that he knew Mr. Yama must have been bluffing, and the latter puts his hands in his pockets as he thinks of a way to prove it. It is then that Yama notices the pepper shaker from earlier in his pocket and he grins to himself as he has just come up with a devilish idea. With Ryu knowing, he uncaps the shaker and dumps it in front of Ryu's face. He then grabs Kira and runs behind a couch yelling take cover. Ryu sneezes and knocks both Aaron and Erza back with a shock wave of energy. When the dust settles, Kira and Yama rise out from behind the couch and approach Ryu along with Aaron and Erza. The group is surprised to find that Ryu's eyes have turned bright orange, and Yama exclaims to Aaron that he told him so. The now greatly embarrassed Ryu crouches on the floor to cover his eyes, but Erza tells him that he has nothing to be ashamed about and convinces him stand up. Aaron is still blown aback by Ryu's immense energy, but he manages to bring himself back to his senses and tells Yama that all the power in the world won't help if a mere gust of wind can kill him. Mr. Yama tells him that he is well aware of that and that he plans to find a way that Ryu can help those two fight. After this statement, Ryu begins to start coughing and his eyes deactivate. Kira asks him if he is okay, and he says he is fine, but as he tries to walk towards a chair, he collapses. Erza catches him and asks him what is wrong, but Ryu is unconscious and breathing heavily. She turns to Mr. Yama who exclaims that Yuuki had warned him about his lungs, but he thought that the air would be fresh enough inside the building. Aaron asks him what they should do, and Yama begins to frantically rummage through the bag Yuuki gave him for the breathing mask. He finds it and quickly puts it on Ryu. The boy's face quickly relaxed and his breathing returned to normal, but he remained unconscious. Erza moved him to the couch and covered him with a blanket, while Yama left the room to adjust the oxygen levels and turn up the air purifier.
When Ryu awakens, it is already late in the afternoon. Mr. Yama and Erza are sitting by the couch where he rests and ask him not to move too much. Mr. Yama tells him he had the oxygen levels fixed and apologizes for earlier. Ryu tells him that it is okay because it happens often when he leaves the hospital. Ryu then continues on to say that he is breathing much better now. Erza tells him that Aaron and Kira already left, and that she would be heading out soon too. Mr. Yama then tells him that he will probably have to tell Yuuki about this because they are going to need an expert on Ryu's condition around. Ryu then bows his head and thanks the two for taking care of him while he was unconscious. Erza tells him not to worry about it, and that that was what friends are for. Ryu is delighted to hear this statement.
When Ryu returns with Yama to his hospital room, they find that Yuuki has been waiting anxiously all day. She jumps at the sight of the door opening and is relieved to see that her patient is okay. She hugs him (gently) and proceeds to ask hundreds of questions about where he was and what he was doing while checking him to see if he is actually unharmed. Ryu raises his hands in front of his chest and tells her that he is okay and that he isn't allowed to tell her anything (Mr. Yama still needs to get permission from his superiors about allowing her to come to the Central Tower). However, when he raised his hand, his sleeve fell a little and Yuuki noticed the bandages on his arm. She became infuriated and yelled at Mr. Yama for not taking proper care of him. After a while, Yama was finally excused and Yuuki replaced Ryu's bandages.
One week later, Mr. Yama comes by again to pick up Ryu and bring him back to the Central Tower. Yuuki, who still has no idea what is going on, had already prepared a bag, and Ryu was able to leave with the man with less of a scene. Ryu was greeted by Kira when he arrived and he proceeded to sit down where he did last time to observe the training of Aaron and Erza. Ryu began taking notes on their styles and Kira noticed. Why he was doing that and Ryu said he thought he could make himself useful by thinking of ways he could help the others to improve. Later, Mr. Yama called the three Sephirot members over to him and told them that he wanted to do an evaluation of their soul weapons since no formal records had been made yet. It is then that a detailed explanation of the properties, names and powers of Aaron and Erza's weapons are given. When Mr. Yama asks Ryu to show the others his, he says that he can't. Erza inquires as to why not, but Aaron interrupts by asking if he was like Kira, who he explains cannot summon his soul weapon because he can't control his energy. Ryu tells him that it's not that he can't summon it, but rather that he cannot lift it. Yama asks what he means by that and Ryu tells him that his weapon is extraordinarily heavy and that no one is able to even pick it up. This statement greatly bewilders Ido and he tells him that that is impossible because every soul weapon is formatted to best suit its owner, so it should be impossible for an owner to be unable to wield it. Erza tells him to simply summon it on the ground and show them. Ryu agrees to do just that and crouches on the ground. He places his hand out in front of him and summons Ragnarok. It takes on the appearance of a traditional European style double edge sword with a gold hilt and a silver blade. Mr. Yama then steps over and attempts to lift it, but it proves to be heavier than he thought. He puts all of his might into forcing it off of the ground, but it does not budge. Erza then attempts, and she too is unable to lift it. After this, Aaron tries and he is able to lift it about an inch off the ground before dropping it. Ragnarok smashes the cement ground when it hits the floor and Ryu tells him that that is what he meant by too heavy. Erza continues to talk with Ryu about his weapon while Aaron pulls Yama aside. He tells him that every weapon is created so that it best fits the wielder's strength, which means that Ryu has the power to wield Ragnarok, which he finds terrifying. Yama tells him that that is the power he is trying to unlock within Ryu because it will be necessary in the fight against the Reapers. The two then return and Yama tells the group to follow him over to a table in the sitting area. At the table there is a glass of spirit water, Yama tells them that he wants to try a technique called Water Divination to determine their elemental affinity and purity level. He continues on to explain how the different types of reactions work and what they mean. He demonstrates by holding his own hand over the glass with his spirit weapon, a pistol called Hawk, summoned. The water then begins to turn into a gelatin like substance. He tells him that this means that he has an affinity for matter energy, and (he takes out little pamphlet from his coat and opens it), that according to his guide this means he has a purity level of around 23%, the average. He then takes out a little pack, and opens it. He pours the contents (a white powder), into the glass and it causes the water to return to normal. He then asks Erza to give it a try. Erza summons her soul weapon, Sol, and places her hand over the glass. It begins to boil quite vigorously and he tells her that she has an affinity for fire, to which she responds by telling him that she already knew that. He then says that judging by the reaction he would estimate a purity level of around 42%, which is pretty good. After this, Aaron has a turn. When he places his hand over the water it starts to change into multiple colors, but then the glass explodes. Yama asks if everyone is okay, and notices that Erza shielded Ryu, so both of them were fine. Aaron asks what that means, and Yama explains that there are some reactions which have never been seen before, meaning that his purity level was indeterminate (the only thing he can deduce is that he has an affinity for raw energy). Aaron asks if that is a good or bad thing, and Yama tells him that in their current situation it is probably a good thing because that means he has an unknown power inside of him. Mr. Yama then leaves to replace the glass and comes back with a new one. He tells Ryu to give it a try, who is now very hesitant after seeing the way Aaron's reacted but Aaron assures him that if something goes wrong he will shield him like Erza did. Ryu thanks him. Ryu summons Ragnarok onto the floor and approaches the glass. Mr. Yama tells him that he is looking forward to what happens with Ryu because his soul weapon has never even been seen in action before. Ryu places his hand over the glass and the water begins to turn completely pitch black. It then decreases in volume until it is completely empty. Yama has a blank stare on his face and Ryu asks what that means. Yama tells him that he has an affinity for darkness and a purity level of 100%. Ryu asks if that is a good or bad thing, and Ido tells him that is an incredible phenomenon; only one man in history is known to have had a purity level of 100%, the only divine weapon user ever: King Arthur Pendragon. He tells Ryu that he is the second person in history to have a perfect purity level and Aaron gives him a light pat on the back and congratulations. Yama then tells the group that he has to go file a report about this to his superiors immediately and runs out the door.
When Ryu returns with Yama to his hospital room, they find that Yuuki has been waiting anxiously all day. She jumps at the sight of the door opening and is relieved to see that her patient is okay. She hugs him (gently) and proceeds to ask hundreds of questions about where he was and what he was doing while checking him to see if he is actually unharmed. Ryu raises his hands in front of his chest and tells her that he is okay and that he isn't allowed to tell her anything (Mr. Yama still needs to get permission from his superiors about allowing her to come to the Central Tower). However, when he raised his hand, his sleeve fell a little and Yuuki noticed the bandages on his arm. She became infuriated and yelled at Mr. Yama for not taking proper care of him. After a while, Yama was finally excused and Yuuki replaced Ryu's bandages.
One week later, Mr. Yama comes by again to pick up Ryu and bring him back to the Central Tower. Yuuki, who still has no idea what is going on, had already prepared a bag, and Ryu was able to leave with the man with less of a scene. Ryu was greeted by Kira when he arrived and he proceeded to sit down where he did last time to observe the training of Aaron and Erza. Ryu began taking notes on their styles and Kira noticed. Why he was doing that and Ryu said he thought he could make himself useful by thinking of ways he could help the others to improve. Later, Mr. Yama called the three Sephirot members over to him and told them that he wanted to do an evaluation of their soul weapons since no formal records had been made yet. It is then that a detailed explanation of the properties, names and powers of Aaron and Erza's weapons are given. When Mr. Yama asks Ryu to show the others his, he says that he can't. Erza inquires as to why not, but Aaron interrupts by asking if he was like Kira, who he explains cannot summon his soul weapon because he can't control his energy. Ryu tells him that it's not that he can't summon it, but rather that he cannot lift it. Yama asks what he means by that and Ryu tells him that his weapon is extraordinarily heavy and that no one is able to even pick it up. This statement greatly bewilders Ido and he tells him that that is impossible because every soul weapon is formatted to best suit its owner, so it should be impossible for an owner to be unable to wield it. Erza tells him to simply summon it on the ground and show them. Ryu agrees to do just that and crouches on the ground. He places his hand out in front of him and summons Ragnarok. It takes on the appearance of a traditional European style double edge sword with a gold hilt and a silver blade. Mr. Yama then steps over and attempts to lift it, but it proves to be heavier than he thought. He puts all of his might into forcing it off of the ground, but it does not budge. Erza then attempts, and she too is unable to lift it. After this, Aaron tries and he is able to lift it about an inch off the ground before dropping it. Ragnarok smashes the cement ground when it hits the floor and Ryu tells him that that is what he meant by too heavy. Erza continues to talk with Ryu about his weapon while Aaron pulls Yama aside. He tells him that every weapon is created so that it best fits the wielder's strength, which means that Ryu has the power to wield Ragnarok, which he finds terrifying. Yama tells him that that is the power he is trying to unlock within Ryu because it will be necessary in the fight against the Reapers. The two then return and Yama tells the group to follow him over to a table in the sitting area. At the table there is a glass of spirit water, Yama tells them that he wants to try a technique called Water Divination to determine their elemental affinity and purity level. He continues on to explain how the different types of reactions work and what they mean. He demonstrates by holding his own hand over the glass with his spirit weapon, a pistol called Hawk, summoned. The water then begins to turn into a gelatin like substance. He tells him that this means that he has an affinity for matter energy, and (he takes out little pamphlet from his coat and opens it), that according to his guide this means he has a purity level of around 23%, the average. He then takes out a little pack, and opens it. He pours the contents (a white powder), into the glass and it causes the water to return to normal. He then asks Erza to give it a try. Erza summons her soul weapon, Sol, and places her hand over the glass. It begins to boil quite vigorously and he tells her that she has an affinity for fire, to which she responds by telling him that she already knew that. He then says that judging by the reaction he would estimate a purity level of around 42%, which is pretty good. After this, Aaron has a turn. When he places his hand over the water it starts to change into multiple colors, but then the glass explodes. Yama asks if everyone is okay, and notices that Erza shielded Ryu, so both of them were fine. Aaron asks what that means, and Yama explains that there are some reactions which have never been seen before, meaning that his purity level was indeterminate (the only thing he can deduce is that he has an affinity for raw energy). Aaron asks if that is a good or bad thing, and Yama tells him that in their current situation it is probably a good thing because that means he has an unknown power inside of him. Mr. Yama then leaves to replace the glass and comes back with a new one. He tells Ryu to give it a try, who is now very hesitant after seeing the way Aaron's reacted but Aaron assures him that if something goes wrong he will shield him like Erza did. Ryu thanks him. Ryu summons Ragnarok onto the floor and approaches the glass. Mr. Yama tells him that he is looking forward to what happens with Ryu because his soul weapon has never even been seen in action before. Ryu places his hand over the glass and the water begins to turn completely pitch black. It then decreases in volume until it is completely empty. Yama has a blank stare on his face and Ryu asks what that means. Yama tells him that he has an affinity for darkness and a purity level of 100%. Ryu asks if that is a good or bad thing, and Ido tells him that is an incredible phenomenon; only one man in history is known to have had a purity level of 100%, the only divine weapon user ever: King Arthur Pendragon. He tells Ryu that he is the second person in history to have a perfect purity level and Aaron gives him a light pat on the back and congratulations. Yama then tells the group that he has to go file a report about this to his superiors immediately and runs out the door.
A few days later, Erza confronts Ido Yama to gain permission for her to undertake a mission assigned to her by her superior officers in the youth military of Amandine City. Ryu inquires as to what she is talking about and Erza explains that when she was ten, she applied for a special division in the military designed for bringing up soldiers starting at a young age. She continues on to say that on occasion they are given official missions alongside adult soldiers to help them grow accustomed to the stressful atmospheres of combat and infiltration. Ido asks what kind of mission this is and she tells him that it involves an undercover infiltration of a drug cartel's headquarters which are based in this very city. They have managed to locate their base of operations and intend to learn more about the nature of the operations being performed there. Ido makes his point very clear that he absolutely forbids it. He claims that she is far too valuable an asset for them to risk unnecessarily and that she would stick out like a sore thumb because she is so young. Erza, who has taken some offense at his comments, is angered by his objections and tells him that they have evidence to support that there are many youthful participants in the cartel and that she cannot just stand idly by as a group of criminals threaten the stability of their government. Aaron quickly jumps down from the ledge he was sitting on and approaches Erza. He asks what she meant by that last part, and Ido follows up by commenting on how a simple cartel does not pose a risk of civil war. Erza, with a sigh, confesses that the cartel has recently gotten its hands on a super drug that multiplies the power of those who take it several times over for a total of ten minutes. The drug was made illegal due to the fact that it increases violent tendencies in the process and was deemed inhumane by a multitude of different organizations. Ido tells her that he cannot allow her to take part in such a dangerous mission, but Erza dismisses him, saying that she will do it anyway and that she did not actually need his approval, but wanted to ask out of courtesy none the less. She begins to storm out of the room, but stops at the door and asks Aaron if he wanted to join her, but Aaron refused, claiming that he despised the idea of taking on individuals to afraid to fight their battles on their own. After Erza leaves, Kira turns to Aaron and tells him that it might be a good idea for him to go with her considering the fact he specializes in assassination. Ryu, who is sitting across the coffee table from them, tells him that he was completely unaware of the fact that Aaron specialized in this field. Aaron reminds him that he is part of the Lotus family after all, but Ryu has no idea what that is. Mr. Yama jumps in and asks him how he could not know what the Lotus family is, but the boy just shrugs. Ido tells him that it is the most dangerous and powerful group of assassins (as well as also being a family) in the known world. Aaron stands aloof to his definition, shrugging it off as though it were no big deal. Ryu then asks if that would make Kira a member as well, but Aaron tells him that Kira is his adoptive brother and was never actually trained.
A few days later, Erza and several other military officers, all disguised as common city dwellers, come across a moderately sized building deep in the shadier parts of the city. They join up with another group, who are clearly members of the cartel, and approach the door. One of Erza's companions approaches the man in black guarding the door and whispers something into his ear. He asks if he knows all of the members here, and he only points to those that were part of his group. The man allows them to pass through and tells them to head down two flights of stairs and then take a right and enter the third door on their right. Her group decides to follow his directions and they come across an extremely large auditorium filled with heavily armed men wearing similar uniforms as well as many dressed in common attire. As more individuals make their way into the room (there are no chairs), the group spreads out so that each is member is still visible to the others, but none are too close together. A man wearing a white and brown jacket and black cargo pants tucked into a pair of dark boots makes his way onto the center of the stage and all of the commotion in the room silences to focus on him. The man begins a speech in which he starts off by introducing himself as Atem Illiad, the leader of the cartel, and continues on to reveal the true purpose of this gathering. Atem raises his arms and declares that today is the day their plan is finally set in motion; that tonight they will overthrow the capital of Romeria. Erza is shocked by this revelation and immediately turns to glance at the other members of her group. One passes her a nod and she replies in kind. Erza pulls out a small recording device from her pocket and activates it. The device is designed to record the sounds it hears and upload them to the ASDF HQ computer where Ido Yama would discover them. In his speech, Atem reveals three objectives that they must complete in their overthrow of the city. The first is the destruction of the City Tower, which is home to the City Director's office along with many other federal offices for not only the city, but also the country. As he reveals this, a large television screen behind Atem turns on and shows a picture of the tower. The second was the assassination of the police chief, Tobirama Omaido; the screen changes to a picture of the man. Atem pauses before he reveals the third: the capture of Ryu Naraka (the screen changes to a photo of Ryu as he says this). Erza is absolutely shocked and confused by this revelation, asking herself what they could possibly want with him. Atem continues onto say that he is not to be harmed under any circumstances and that he has assigned a set of elite men to locate him; he has evidence to believe that his target is currently stationed at the Amandine City Hospital, and thus that building should be left completely untouched until they have received word of the boy's safe extraction. While Atem is giving the instruction to set off a red flare should one of them find him outside the hospital, Erza looks to one of her allies and finds that three of them are missing. Frantic she looks to the left and finds that all of the ones on the left are gone as well. She looks back to the right and discovers that now all of her group members are missing. Erza makes her way to the back of the auditorium to prepare to retreat, but before she can make it to the door, a man in a white lab coat and a stitched scar horizontally all the way across his face appears behind her and says, "You know, it’s rude to leave before someone is finished speaking."
Erza leaps away and turns around, but finds herself no longer in the auditorium, but now trapped alone (the man had vanished) in what looked appeared to be an interrogation room. She had dropped the recorder in her panic when the man appeared behind her, and it was now laying, still active on the floor of the auditorium. She notices a speaker in the upper corner of the room which was transmitting Atem's speech. The speech continues to grow in intensity and upon its conclusion, Atem sets off a set of C4s all over the capital and his soldiers begin to storm the city. Erza perceives this as loud rumbling and explosions occurring above her. Ido Yama looks in shock at the explosions from a window in the City Tower as does Ryu from the window in his hospital room. Aaron, who is currently outside the city on a cliff side with Kira, looks upon this with a sense of excitement, while his brother is horrified by the display.
“Our world, corrupted and tainted by false visages of conquerors, scorns those of superiority. I ask you, join me tonight as we rewrite this distorted novel!” - The concluding statement in Atem Illiad's speech
Aaron tells Kira to go and find a place to hide far away from the city, and to call him if there is any trouble. Before Kira can respond, Aaron leaps off the cliff side and begins to make his way to the city. Fire and death covers the wake of Atem's soldiers as the spare no civilians' life and leave no building in one piece. The police are frantic and caught off guard by the chaos. They are quickly forced into heavy conflict with the cartel members who begin to overwhelm them. It is not long before Aaron is approached by six of the cartel members and a fight ensues. At first, the fight is extremely one sided as Aaron uses his incredible speed to outmaneuver his assailants, but after he beheads two of them. The others take a step back and ingest a small blue pill. Aaron lunges at them, but they all move at speeds which rival his own and one uses a pair of spiked gauntlets to deliver a heavy blow directly to his lower abdomen. Staggered and caught off guard by this attack, the enemies take this chance to kill him but just before they reach him, there is a massive change in Aaron's aura. He has become enraged at the cowardly tactics of his enemies (Aaron has no problem with underhanded strategies, but he despises those that are done out of cowardice) and has entered a state of mind focused solely on the assassination of his targets (a technique passed down in his family). He quickly ducks down, dodging the swings of his enemies and uses paradox to impale two separate targets in their abdomens. He then throws their bodies off his blades and leaps at another, who uses a feint swing of his rapier to trick Aaron. However, as he moves toward the target, he is able to block both the expected and real strike using his two blades, and then use the now available one (the side that was not attacked) to slash off the head of his enemy. The last criminal lunges at him from behind, forcing Aaron let go of paradox and deliver a blow using his elbow to the gut of his attacker behind him. This is followed up by a kneeling turn to palm the man's ribs and then rising back up to deliver another palm blow straight to the jaw, snapping his neck in the process. As the last man falls dead to the ground, Aaron returns to his normal mentality and falls exhausted to his knees. He tears off a piece of clothing from one of the dead men to wrap up the spot on his abdomen where he was pierced by the spiked gauntlet to stop the bleeding. He then sits down on the burning street for a while to catch his breath.
In the midst of all this chaos, the Romerian military arrives and brings with it many powerful soldiers to aid the city police. With the new reinforcements, the police are able to begin to push back against the cartel forces and take away their momentum. Back inside of the cartel headquarters, Atem receives an update on his earpiece from one of his elite soldiers that Ryu is not inside of the hospital as they had anticipated. Atem tells him to stand by for orders and to pass on the message to his associates to continue their search at "Point Beta" as they had planned should this circumstance arrive. He then leaves the room and meets the man in the lab coat outside in the hallway, who takes him to see Erza in the interrogation room. Atem introduces himself and the man in the lab coat, Doctór, to Erza, who has jumped to the back of the room with her soul weapon drawn in preparation for combat. He tells her that she has no chance against him in a straight up fight, otherwise he would have gone to the trouble to restrain her. Erza, who still refuses to lower her guard, has recognized this and begins to try and figure out a way to get past him and out the door. Atem turns to Doctór and says, "Doctór, if you would...", and in an instant, the lab-coat wearing man appears behind Erza and injects her with a strange blue serum. She is paralyzed with shock and begins to feel weak as she falls into a chair conveniently moved into place by Doctór. Erza, who is clearly in pain, struggling to move, looks Atem in the eyes and asks him what he did to her. He approaches the table where she is sitting and tells her that it was simply a "compliance serum" to make it easier for them to cooperate and that it would wear off in an hour or two. He then places his hand on the table and leans over toward her and tells her that he knows that she is an associate of Ryu Naraka and that he has been informed that he is not currently at the hospital. After a brief pause, he continues and asks where the boy is. Erza, who is struggling to keep her head up and has both arms on the table, meets his gaze and grins. She tells him that he will never talk. Irritated, Atem glares at his associate who simply smiles and tells him to give it another thirty seconds for the serum to kick in. Atem stands back up and takes a breath. Erza then suddenly goes limp and her eyes stare blankly forward. Doctór sits her upright in the chair and tells Atem that he may now continue. The cartel leader repeats his question and Erza responds in a monotonous tone that he was most likely relocated to the ASDF base, for which she provides the coordinates.
The focus is then shifted to that of the elite agent who had been ordered to standby in the city hospital. As he is receiving the orders to shift his investigation to that of the City Tower, he is confronted by Aaron who mocks the agent in saying that his original plan was to simply check in on his friend, but now he has come across something a little more entertaining (as he puts it). As their fight ensues, another agent arrives at the tower (hidden in the branches of a relatively nearby tree). The entrance to the tower is the sight of heavy conflict between the military and the cartel as it is home to many political facilities, including the city director's office. Using the combat as a distraction, the agent sneaks her way into the building and around all of the officers stationed inside (placing explosives around the building as she goes). She manages to locate the secret entrance to the ASDF headquarters and enters the elevator unnoticed. As this is happening, Aaron manages to slice the agent in two across the waist, killing him before he could take the body enhancing drug. From the body he takes the headset he was wearing and puts it up to his ear. He listens in on an update from the female agent who tells her that she had managed to infiltrate the City Tower and was currently on her way to the ASDF headquarters. Shocked by this revelation, Aaron pockets the headset and races over towards the building.
Ido Yama is currently pacing in circles around the ASDF training room while Ryu sits on a nearby couch, he is breathing very heavily and gripping his chest, with a hospital blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The prior is barking out orders to various officers and is clearly heavily stressed. Just as he hangs up the phone, the elevator door opens (which is outside of the view of the two, but can be heard) and Ido tells Ryu to get behind him. As Ryu ducks behind Ido, who summons his soul weapon - a revolver, and aims it at the corner where the agent should come into view. The agent comes around the corner and faces them without saying anything. After a long pause, filled only by the sounds of combat taking place above ground, the agent asks that he hand over the boy behind him. Ido screams "Never!" and fires his revolver twice, but the agent dodges the shots as races into an arms-length of him at incredible speed. Before he can react, Ido is launched into one of the large computers several feet behind him and knocked unconscious by a strong blow to his chest from the woman. The woman turns to Ryu, who is backing off slowly while struggling not to lose consciousness from a lack of fresh air, and says that he is to come with her.
Meanwhile, Aaron, while racing through the streets, is angered by his inability to get a hold of either Erza, Ido, or Ryu on his phone. He then calls Kira and is relieved to hear that he is alright, but before they could finish talking. Aaron witnesses a massive explosion a few miles in the direction he is headed. He stops in shock and realizes that the blast came from right where the city tower was located. By the time Aaron arrives, the tower is almost completely in ruins, and the conflicts have ceased. Only about twenty soldiers who appear to be of high rank remain. The underground segment of the tower has remained intact and Aaron rushes to the ASDF training room by jumping down the elevator shaft (which is surprisingly not clogged by debris). Aaron finds an unconscious Ido lying against a destroyed computer. After being shaken awake by Aaron, Ido tells him that someone took Ryu, and then has Aaron help him over to one of the working computers where he manages to track the location of the signal on the headset Aaron found.
Meanwhile, Aaron, while racing through the streets, is angered by his inability to get a hold of either Erza, Ido, or Ryu on his phone. He then calls Kira and is relieved to hear that he is alright, but before they could finish talking. Aaron witnesses a massive explosion a few miles in the direction he is headed. He stops in shock and realizes that the blast came from right where the city tower was located. By the time Aaron arrives, the tower is almost completely in ruins, and the conflicts have ceased. Only about twenty soldiers who appear to be of high rank remain. The underground segment of the tower has remained intact and Aaron rushes to the ASDF training room by jumping down the elevator shaft (which is surprisingly not clogged by debris). Aaron finds an unconscious Ido lying against a destroyed computer. After being shaken awake by Aaron, Ido tells him that someone took Ryu, and then has Aaron help him over to one of the working computers where he manages to track the location of the signal on the headset Aaron found.