Aegis

Apex Predator

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Reginald was panicking and sobbing while the walls kept closing in on him.

"I know I was a petty thief, but I never thought I'd face an end like this".

Meanwhile.

Ace appeared at the end of the portal...

"Huh, the portal didn't work!"

It looks like the crypt would only allow for Regii to pass through.

Ace clenched his fists at the thought of Reginald not coming out of the portal, Self guilt is a terrible feeling.

"If I hadn't taken his damn hat, he would be here right now"

"You've got that right, you bastard!"

A familiar voice shifted the current atmosphere.

"Regii!"

Ace jumped on his feet excitedly at the sight of his teammate coming out of the portal.

He quickly rushed towards his partner and gave him a bear hug while sobbing.

"There there you little demon spawn, I, the great Reginald Star have successfully raided a crypt all on my own".

He declared, recalling how he escaped from his previous predicament.

A few moments earlier, Reginald was being squished by the moving walls until an idea came to him.

He struggled to push his body forward, barely managing to take a few steps closer to the lasers.

"I hope this works"

He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth while reaching for a laser with his foot barely managing to touch one and then... ZAP! He disappeared.

"And that was how I, the great Reginald concurred the accursed crypt hahahahahahahaha!".

He finished narrating an alternate story of his experience in the crypt. One with Zombies, Robots, and Aliens at the dumbfounded Ace

"Well, I'm glad you're alright".

Ace had a faint smile on his face.

'I can feel it'

He looked at the still gloating thief as he walked past him towards their original destination.

'Regi has gotten stronger'.

"You're telling me he's headed to that witch's district?"

"Yes Commander, we managed to track his Ain after it spiked for a while earlier".

The location was currently what seemed like a throne room only that the floors were all covered with animal skins.

A large man was sitting on the only throne in the room while three figures were reporting something to him.

"It shows his ain to be on par with yours, sir."

The one speaking was Cain, one of the trios that serves directly under Vorus, the Commander of the Kondo district.

They were currently reviewing Ace's current locations and discussing an abnormal rise of Ain that he showcased earlier.

All this was possible due to Ruth, and her Tracking relic's ability.

"He'll be in Regrah by sundown".

The person who spoke this time Was Vidal, he was in charge of accounts and resources in Kondo.

He was an expert strategist whom many commanders wanted to scout, but he ended up serving Vorus a few years back when his village was raided by Rebeasts.

He was saved by the traveling Vorus and was the only surviving member of his village.

"We can reach there in a week taking the Chariots, Ruth will keep on keeping tabs on his activities during our journey."

A chariot is a vehicle powered by the Ain of the driver, the more Ain you give out the faster it goes.

It would take a week for Kondo's top Charioteer to reach Regrah even at top speed, Vorus didn't have the liberty to wait that long.

"One day."

The trio was perplexed as they figured out what their leader was talking about.

"Commander Vorus, we can't keep up with your speed you'll be alone if you run all the way there and it's our duty to keep you sa-"

Before Cain could finish, Vorus channeled his Ain and dashed forward breaking the sound barrier as he ran past them towards the direction of his prey.

He seemed to have a grin on his face.

'Finally! Someone worth fighting'

Vorus seemed to only focus on something that Cain said earlier.

'It shows his ain to be on par with yours, sir.'

He licked his lips and dashed even faster over the thought of finally getting a good hunt.

"Where did you say this crafter was?"

"Follow me he's by the central area, keep a low profile okay, and don't do anything to cause an uproar"

Ace and Reginald have finally arrived at Regrah to get their emblem done.

The two were wearing black cloaks to Hide their identities.

Regrah was a beautiful and large city of hundreds of houses located several kilometers South of Kondo.

The two stooped at the entrance of a crafts shop, it was a shady building that looked as if it could fall off at any time.

"Are you sure this is the place Regi? it kinda looks deserted".

" Do you want The Emblem or not?"

" (- -) "

They walked inside.

The place was near empty … it looked strange, too, it was approximately twenty-eight feet long, by perhaps half of that wide.

A man could be seen dozing off.

He was around five feet tall, bald, and had a large potbelly.

He was dressed in a black tracksuit that was all dusty and oily from all the work he'd done for the day.

He was drooling and snoring loudly oblivious to the fact that he had customers.

"...."

Ace turned around to leave but Reginald grabbed his color and dragged him as he struggled to get loose.

"Now let me do all the talking okay?"

He tapped the man's shoulder to wake him up.

"Hey Old man Kurt! get up!"

"Haa Lady Serena, you shouldn't have."

"KURT!!!".

This time Reginald shouted right in his ear making the old man jolted and shouted "I'm up! I'm up!! ".

He was interrupted from his daydream only to be met by the now laughing Ace who finds this funny, and a familiar face.

"Regi-boy! It's been a while how are Bo and Cly?"

"Glad to see you're still your old drunk self Kurt".

Reginald avoided the question not wanting to delve further into the matter.

"I want you to make an emblem for us"

Kurt turned his gaze back to Ace as he studied the boy for a while.

"Ahh, you have a nice aura there kid, put it there, the name's Kurt Barns".

Yes, Kurt might not look it but back in the day, he was also a brave and member of the now-disbanded White Night Clan.

Ace seemed to also notice the reverberating aura that Kurt let out and smiled at the sight as he returned the handshake.

"Solemn! I'm Ace Shadows and I'm making a clan to find the Primordial Relic".

"Ho-Hooo, where did you find this energetic Boy Regi-boy?"

"Enough of that, can you do it or not? We have somewhere else to be"

"Regi!!"

Ace scolded Reginald for being rude to the person that was going to help them.

"Shut it demon spawn!".

It seems they had a past together and he's still upset about something Kurt did and the fact that he had to come to Kurt for help.

Kurt only smiled at this exchange.

"Don't worry, just write down the name of the clan and any other features you want here and you can come back for your Emblem in two days".

"Thanks, old man".

Ace readily filled a paper that was handed to him and gave it back to Kurt.

"Well, we'll be on our way now, see you in two days".

Reginald once again pulled Ace by his collar and exited the Shop.

They were now walking around the busy streets of the city...

"What was that back there?".

"Tsk, nothing you should bother about".

Reginald scoffed at Ace.

"Okay." Ace said with a smile as he places his hands on the back of his neck.

"Huh, you're not going to say something like 'we're friends, you can tell me anything'?"

"Nope."

Ace interjected, it wasn't that he didn't care about it but he understood something about Reginald...

'Everyone has a Past'.

"Now let's get something to eat!"

Reginald pulled out a sack filled with coins that he swiped from a passerby earlier.

"I saw a restaurant around the market side earlier when we were on our way to the Shop."

"Hahaha! I knew asking you to join me was a great idea".

The two associates ran towards their destination.

Meanwhile, Conroy who had his money stolen without him even knowing plopped to the ground and cried out upon realizing that he was robbed.

"My monthly savings!!"

He was having a bad day.

Earlier he ran mid-battle against Ace, he was then scolded and punished by Serena which was evident from the bandages that were all over his face.

"You should have returned as a corpse rather than a coward, no worries I'll permanently paint that lesson into you".

He flinched upon recalling his experience then went back to sobbing

"Woe is me!"

"Damn that Shadow user."

"Hey tiny man, you're one of that witch's slaves"

The figure who spoke from behind the moping Conroy was none other than a beastly looking man whose aura flared to incredibly heights open hearing about his prey, he could feel that he was closer to his prey.

"Ahh! Cc-commander Vorus! Wh-what are you do-doing here!?"

"Take me to the witch now!".

"Yum!! I've never had lasagna before"

"Stick with me demon-spawn and we'll be eating like kings".

Ace and Reginald were at a restaurant downtown and have finished devouring their meals.

"Thanks to Lupin's Hat I can see just how much wealth someone has on them and my dexterity is god-like now."

Reginald explained his newfound abilities to Ace. It was truly a relic befitting a theif.

"Solemn!"

The black-haired teen rejoiced with sparkling eyes.

"Excuse me".

A hand tapped Ace's shoulder from behind to get his attention.

But before he could turn around he was sent flying by a meteor-like punch as he smashed through the walls and was now lying flat on the debris right outside the restaurant.

"Demon spawn!"

Reginald ran towards ace but before he could offer him a hand...

"What's this! Ouch!!"

He was trapped inside a sphere of electric current and got shocked while trying to smash the sphere.

"You sit tight if you know what's good for you".

Vorus, who came out of the restaurant was holding a hammer that reached the height of his shoulders.

"I know that much won't be enough to put you out heck it won't even make for a good hunt"

He placed the electric hammer down and cracked his fist. His aura flared up causing major shock waves in the area.

"It's District Commander Vorus!"

"Is that other guy dead!"

"He sent him flying with a single punch"

The bystanders started to gather around them as Ace began to get back up wiping the blood on his face.

"Ow! HEY you big palooza!"

Everyone except for Vorus and Reginald stumbled at what they witnessed.

Someone talking smack to one of the strongest Braves in Ernia.

"I wasn't done with my Lasagna".

"....."

They all froze.

"He's dead"

"He's Crazy"

"Let's get out of here"

They all scurried out of harm's way giving enough distance to witness the beating that Vorus is about to dish.

Reginald being stuck could also only watch in silence praying for a miracle.

He being from Kondo knows just how powerful Vorus was even though he has never seen him in person, he heard stories about the great Vorus when He first came to Kondo 4 years ago.

Vorus had a smile on his face.

"Let the hunt begin!"

In the library...

"Lady Serena, Vorus has begun his assault"

The 'Witch' had a devious smile on her face as she slammed the book shut.

'You better pull up your side of the bargain for having me help you find your prey, Vorus'

Two beasts were about to clash.