A week passed after that last mission, I was starting to show signs of getting up, but my body was still asleep. The team had fully asked Martha about what happened during the mission, but nothing seemed to come out of it, since she didn’t remember how she injured Iris after her tiny blackout. And the attacks seemed to have stopped for a bit, even if there were new sightings of attacks, none of them were made by people like the ones of the two previous missions, only being disposable monsters that were easily defeated.

-So, what do we do now? – Ness asked this as he was sitting down on the circular couch.

-You do know the training room is here? You should probably go train just so you’re not owned by the next person we go on a mission to defeat- Martha said this as she walked around the room, playing with her fingers lightly

-Oh, come on! I’m not really that badly beaten by them-

-Well, let’s see, the first beast we fought beat you in one hit of its paw, the first enemy from Anima Daemonium knocked you heavily into the ground, and if it wasn’t for that helmet you would’ve probably died, and the most recent one put you out by keeping you on the ground with a rapier of all possible swords- Martha said this with a soft chuckle with the last part, clapping her hands a bit

-Those are some valid points from her Ness, maybe you should train- Mark said this as he stood in the corner, his armor fully repaired from last mission.

-Look, I’ll show you, I have a new strategy for the next enemy that drops. Since we already met the bracelet and the boots, the next one will be between the helmet and the chest plate, and I have a plan for either of them, so they shouldn’t be much of a problem- He said this with a laugh, crossing his arms in front of him.

-As if. You know, if you keep up like this, you might end up being the weakest of the team in terms of both offense and defense- This was said by Martha as she kept walking around the room

-Oh really? Says who? -

-Well, that is obvious. Up until this point, your attacks have been nothing but flashy. But in terms of how strong they are, they aren’t quick enough to make enough damage to your opponent, and you don’t compensate that with them having raw strength. Meanwhile, Colin did show his capabilities with the fight against the Masked Bracelet, even if Mark hasn’t shown his true strength, his defensive properties have been shown to stop the Masked Bracelet, which up until now had the strongest attack out of all the enemies we have faced, and I have the “allegedly” Demonic Form that you saw destroy Iris- Martha said this with a calm tone in her voice as she landed herself on the couch, laying down on it.

-Ness, really, go train, before we head ou- Mark was silenced by the sound of the alarms, as the next objective appeared on the map, this time marking the appearance of an Anima Daemonium member.

-Well, there’s no time now, is there? – Ness said this with an exited tone as he ran towards the teleporter, jumping in quickly to disappear into the location.

He was followed by Mark, who walked slowly towards the teleporter -I don’t think this will end well for him, what do you think? -

-I’m thinking the same. How much do you bet that he’s already trying to find the enemy, or trying to fight him? -

-20$ Dollars-

-Deal-

Mark chuckled lightly, which was a first for him during this whole time of the team being together. I kind of regret not being there when he did that, but I was still knocked out cold, so I didn’t get to see it.

Mark entered the portal after Ness, Martha following him closely behind. This time, the area of fight was… different, since, as they walked out of the portal, they seemed to be walking on top of the ocean. It didn’t matter where they turned their heads, there was just the vastness of the ocean surrounding them. It looked astonishing. The waves moving under them without any water touching their feet, the sounds of faraway waves, and, off in the distance, the fins of dolphins and sharks could be seen, the different species being on opposite sides. But, the one thing that couldn’t be seen in any direction, was any sign of either Ness, or their next enemy.

They walked around the water for a while, shouting out Ness’s name to no avail. After walking a while, they noticed under them that the water was sometimes moving sporadically, as if there were explosions underwater, each getting more intense than the last.

-Hey, I think we should move away- Mark said this as he slowly started to run far from the explosions

-Yeah, I think I know what you mean- Martha said this as she also jumped away from the explosion, activating the Flames of Hatred as she fell, only managing to pull one out

After one of the bigger explosions, the ocean sat still for a while, to then have someone jumping out of the water, holding someone in its hand. That someone being held of course was Ness. He was struggling on the grip of his holder, but he was grabbed tightly. The one who was holding him, a person in an armor like that of Mark’s armor, but bigger, and in a darker color scheme. He turned his head around as he lifted Ness. He chuckled heavily after seeing both Mark and Martha

-So, the little rat brought some friends. I must say, I’m quite impressed, I expected him to last less than what he did based on what my partners told me – He then quickly turned his head towards Martha -And I watched a lot of your fight with Iris, you’ll be interesting to fight… although, didn’t you have more flames? -

-I do not know how to control them, I can only summon one- Martha said this with an angry tone in her voice as she looked up at the new enemy

-Huh, that’s weird, it seemed like you knew exactly what you were doing back against her with those flames of you. Oh well, doesn’t take out the fact that this will make for an interesting battle-

-How about you just tell us who you are so we can kick your ass before it becomes late?! – Surprisingly, Mark was the one that asked this question

-Oh, are you finally starting to open to us? Well, that would be good, if it wasn’t for the fact that WE’RE IN TROUBLE! – Ness shouted this as he continued to struggle to get off the grip of his holder

-Man, you really are annoying- The person in armor then removed his grip from Ness, to then descend back onto the ground, taking of his helmet in the way down, revealing another mask, like that of the first member of Anima Daemonium they fought. -But, unlike him, I will tell you who I am… although, not by my real name, but rather, my title. My team, they know me as the Crimson King, the team leader of Anima Daemonium, the one bearing the Chest plate- He then slowly took off his mask, letting all his hair fall back, showing itself as a bowl cut. His eyes tainted red on the iris, with a large scar across the right side of his lip.

- Crimson King huh? That sounds pretty ballsy of you to be calling yourself a King – Martha said this with a snarky tone on her voice as she looked up at her.

-No, Martha, he’s not joking, he really is strong, don’t taunt him! – Ness said this with a scared tone in his voice as he tried to crawl away, to then have various swords land all around him in an oval shape, almost perfectly to stop any type of movement.

-Yeah, believe him, he tried with all his might and he found no way to attack me fully- The Crimson King laughed after saying this as he started to walk forward until he was right in between Martha and Mark, extending his arms outwards -Well then, how about we start this battle? –

Martha was the first one to attack, charging her flame into her fist to then attack directly into his head -Low Level! Phoenix Punch! – A small pillar of flame sprouted from her hand, as she tried to at least burn half of his face, but, after the flame went back to her, his face seemed unscathed, besides a few scratches from the punch, which didn’t take long to heal.

-I must say, that was a pretty weak hit, I was expecting more out of you… now, it’s my turn- He quickly materialized a bat, taking it out of one of the sleeves of his armor, to quickly swing it at the right side of Martha’s chest, launching her far to the left in a manner of seconds. The flame shielded most of the damage, but since it wasn’t as strong as before, most of the knockback still acted against her – Now that is true strength. Learn it before you think you can face me. Now then, it’s your turn – He looked in Mark’s direction after saying this.

Mark activated impenetrable defense as the Crimson King turned his head towards him to then dash into him with it, pushing into him with it

-You really think a shield like that is going to be able to hurt me?! Don’t make me laugh! – He quickly swung his bat back against Mark, hitting his shield, breaking it completely, which completely stunned Mark in place – Oh wow, so you can’t even sustain damage from the shield breaking? What, is every one of your members this weak? You’re no match for the Crimson King! – He shouted this as he swung his bat once more against Mark, hitting him strongly in the head, cracking half of his helmet and launching him back in the opposite direction, making him roll on the ground as he landed.

Mark laid there for a while before beginning to stand up slowly -Stop speaking all high and mighty as if you were the king of combat. I’ve had more than enough experience to know how to deal with people like you – Mark said this with a tone of struggle on his voice as he continued to stand up, his armor slowly disappearing as the chest plate began to incorporate into his clothes. His body finally revealed itself. His hair was spiky and at a shoulder length with a black and white spiral design on it. His eyes were a light tone of Cyan, with soft white streaks on them. His body was that of an exercising teen, not too lanky, but not too buff. He was wearing a pair of exercise shorts and a black tank top, which had some metallic parts to it due to the combination with the SoulCrash chest plate, with some running shoes on.

-So, you finally show your true self huh? Well, this’ll be interesting- The Crimson King said this with a smile on his face as he held his bat tightly -But, it doesn’t matter, since your friends won’t get to see you –

-And what makes you think that? – Mark said this with a smile on his face as he pointed his hand forward, with one finger out -My friends will always watch my back no matter the situation – His finger then started to glow, a black and white light appearing on it as he launched himself towards him

-Oh really? Then show me your strength! – The Crimson King launched himself towards Mark, holding his bat on his right hand to then swing it once again towards Mark’s head

The bat impacted on to Mark’s forehead while Mark’s finger impacted The Crimson Kings face. Mark slowly began to bleed from the impact, but continued to smile, as the light slowly began to envelop the Crimson King – 1st power, Stabbing Spark – He said this in a low voice as various amounts of swords appeared around the Crimson King, stabbing him all around, paralyzing him on the spot.

Mark slowly walked back, his face covered in the blood from before. He was smiling, looking over at the Crimson King as he began to walk towards the rest of the team -We are not capable of defeating you right now, and I know that those swords didn’t do any damage. But, they will help us escape and get stronger – Mark said this with a calm tone as he picked up both Ness and Martha, each in a different arm -But, when we meet again, you will not come back as unscathed as how you did today.

-Hey! Don’t run away! We’re still not finished! – The Crimson King slowly began to remove the swords from his body, trying to move quickly to stop Mark as the portal back to the base open -Stop! –

But, before he could speak anymore, all the members of SoulCrash that were there disappeared. Back in the base, they looked over at some cameras that were checking the spot where they were fighting. Right after the Crimson King removed all the swords, he shouted greatly, as a crater formed below him on the water, a crater of at least one kilometer of diameter. He was clearly mad, and next time they met was probably not going to be the best.

END OF CHAPTER 10