Tigress Souken

The Dungeon huh, Fei and I will most likely die if we enter there alone now. It is better to get a strong fighter to accompany us. That became my real objective after seeing Master’s condition. Originally I had planned on making Master accompany us but she’s ill. 

Before setting out to clear the dungeon, I asked Ragnah if we could explore the world for a bit. Ever since we have arrived here, the only place we know of is the forest where Master Trish lives. I am curious to know how other people are doing in other countries and villages. First place we checked was the village closest to us  Javahono.

The citizens of Javahono were not doing very well. Around 40% of the people residing in this village are on death’s door. No doctors were present during the village’s health crisis. Children younger than seven are coughing blood, unable to use certain parts of their bodies and suffer from intense fever.

Anyone who was infected by Saigon disease was confined in an underground basement where they can die without others witnessing.  The disease is contagious and travels at an alarming rate. Locking up the citizens was a price to pay to save those who weren’t infected. A despair inducing tragedy indeed.

Ragnah waited outside the village borders as I searched for a food stand. At the center of the village, there was a market that sold food. Every vendor there sold the same thing for the most part, only a few decided to be different and sell beverages. Tangerines, apples and grapes were my favourite of the bunch so naturally I tried to buy a dozen.

“Three tangerines and a dozen grapes please”.

“That’s $350”. The vendor could have already tell I had no cash on me the second I stood before her stand. After naming her price she proceeded to ignore me.

“Can I pay you with something other than money? I am really curious how your fruit tastes like” I told the lady politely.  Feels like forever since I have bitten a fruit, plus there’s the chance food from this world taste is different from mine. I have to know. “Son you are a grown ass man. Find a job and make money to buy what you want.  Stop idling by my stand”. Her words cut deep within me. Never intended to come across as a loser without a job. I have an important mission to save the people of this world, surely that can be classified as a job.

“OK lady, I’ll be back soon” I told her. As I walked away, nothing in this world impressed me more than these grapes. Not the concept of zone or magic but these yummy grapes. At the very beginning before the vendor noticed me, I already had multiple grapes in my pocket. Only thing I regret is that my pocket cannot fit tangerines or less I would have taken one too.

“Yummy, I could eat these all day”. Using the Shadowing for selfish means is something I need to do more often.

“Brat!! Come here!!”. A little boy was getting chased by a grown man in a suit of armour. He reminds me of a Knight. The left part of the boy’s face was blue just like his hair. His right side had a pale brown colour to it,  honestly it creeped me out.

“Huff! Huff!” the boy was clearing out of breath but he still continued running. While he was being chase I happened to overhear nearby villagers talking.  “Daniel, that boy really needs to die before he gets us all killed” one man said upsettingly.  His wife beside him nodded in agreement to his statement.  “He’s  going to get us all killed by Saigon. Why doesn’t he stay locked up like a good boy”.

….

The boy’s name is Daniel and he is infected by Saigon disease.  The villagers are uncomfortable around his presence because they fear being infected with the incurable disease. No one can blame them for wanting to confine the child with the others. “Seriously,  I might kill that boy myself if he gets out of hand”.

….

When fear takes over the mind, humans tend to do and say the stupidest things. I am hoping that is what’s happening right now. The man behind me has been saying some harsh things about the boy getting chase. It better be because he fears the disease.

“Momma, I want to see you”.

“Quit running!”. The villagers were too afraid to touch or even get close to the boy so the man in heavy armor had to struggle to catch him. From the sounds of it, Daniel just wants to see his mother. They should just grant his wish since he’s out in the open already. In the end, the boy got caught. The Knight dragged the boy with him in which I followed behind.

“Uh sir, where are all the sick people taken?” I asked him.

“You are obviously not from around here if you’re asking me that. There’s a underground passageway outside the village borders. That’s where we keep our sick villagers” he surprisingly answered me. Daniel was screaming and making a lot of noise while the Knight dragged him by his collar. “I only wanted to see mommy” his voice was filled with grief. Judging appearance, Daniel is either 7 or 8 years old.

“Tell me your mom’s address. I would be happy to let her know your sorrow. I’ll even convince her to visit you” I reassured the boy.

“Really Mister! Thanks a lot, I want to see mommy again.  I don’t have much time left” Daniel said as he rubbed his chest. The Knight had only a suit of metal armour while I had on normal clothing.  Is metal and steel is a good countermeasure for Saigon? If not I can’t imagine why this knight would casually touch the boy without fear of being infected. When we arrived at the underground passageway, the Knight warned me of the dangers.

“If you follow me down here with those clothes then you’re getting confined along with them ya hear”.

“No problem,  if a boy can escape this basement I’m sure I can”. The three of us headed down to the basement where hundreds of villagers were kept confined. Dirty, rotten stench, crowded and corpses filled the corners like flies. The Knight pushed the boy in the pile of corpses and told him “You’re about to become one of them. Stay there!”. How dare he! The people inside the basement pretended as if they didn't see the boy thrown. This is still happening eh, no matter which world I'm in there is always an Abandoned Zone.

WHOOOSH!!

This time I could not help myself,  without thinking of the consequences. I punched the Knight square in the face. The Knight’s face barely moved an inch as a result though. “Why did you punch me? Don’t tell me you’re picking up for a boy who threatened the lives of our citizens on the surface!?”.

Seeing my punch dealing no damage at all was an unpleasant surprise.  The next swing I made was infused with all the Mana I could muster. I am strong enough to knock out bears with four punches so I know I'm not weak. This guy's durability is just way superior. 

BOOOOM!!

The Knight tanked my blow with little difficulty once again. It was at this moment I realised he was in a different league. This man’s toughness surpasses anyone I ever laid eyes on till now. “You shouldn’t have done that”.

“Any man who would throw a boy like that is filth. You should be thrown to the corpses as well”. Before getting pummeled to death, I braced myself for what’s to come. The Knight introduced himself to me at long last. “I am one of the 48 Imperial Knights. Ranked 8, Sosuke Koji”.

After his formal introduction he shouted two word. “Gaman Yoroi!!”.

A beam of light engulfed the Imperial Knight from head to toe. Once the light vanished, Sosuke’s appearance changed. His rusty metal armor was instantly replaced with a golden one. A shield made of ice appeared in his hand as well. His presence lit up the entire basement that was dark seconds ago. His current form is intimidating but his stupid face remains the same. I stood no chance against a man like him,  an Imperial Knight ranked No.8.

The boy Daniel along with many other infected villagers went on their knees starting to plead for their lives. “Don’t kill us, please Sosuke! There is still hope for us”.

“I am too young to die”.

“We did nothing wrong”.

“Leave the guy alone Sir Knight. You were the one who rudely threw a boy near corpses”.

The people inside the basement all sounded like cowards. Weak individuals who bows down to the strong and egotistic scumbags. Their pleading stopped Sosuke in his tracks for a brief moment. He might be considering the words of his villagers.

“Fine, I’ll spare you all if that young man apologizes” Sosuke says pointing at me. Everyone stared at my direction in attempt to pressure me to decide the wrong option.  Wrong option being apologising to a Knight who would throw a little boy in a pile of corpses. Apologise to a guy who won’t let Daniel see his mother before his death. Apologising to a guy who locks up hundreds of people and not bothering to show them care. The basement was crowded and filled with disgust, how can I apologise to someone like him.

“I’m sorry—”.

“Good, glad to see that you’re back to your senses. You’ll stay down here with them”.

“I wasn’t finish. I’m sorry you were born out of a woman’s womb. You are your family’s biggest mistake”. His golden armor and ice shield is not enough to make me apologise to the likes of him. This feeling is all too familiar, when I lived in the Abandoned Zone as a child this is how I saw the adults. Spineless, unable to change the fate forced upon them. These people in the basement are the same.

“Fool!”. That’s what all the villagers shouted.

“Fool? Everyone of you are being treated like crap down here. This Saigon Disease is no excuse to treat people this way. The world is facing a severe crisis that will decrease it’s population and humans are helping it’s objective instead of stopping it. I get the confinement part but look!!”. I pointed at the dead bodies on the floor. Many of them did not die from the disease, stab to the heart, a slit throat and busted heads. “What the hell is that!?”

“But by all means, continue to support the individuals who treat you like garbage. I certainly won’t”.

CRAAAAACCKK!!!

In an attempt to shut me up, Sosuke slapped me with his ice shield. From just that one hit, my right hand broke. That was not the end of it either. My body temperature was rapidly decreasing. Within mere seconds my body began to freeze from the inside out. Holy shit, this Knight is overpowered.

“I am angry now. Yall serve no purpose in this world anymore.  Those who are infected with Saigon are free to die a painful or painless death. The people on the surface does not care”.

Harsh words that everyone wished were lies. Most are fully aware that their hopes for the future has been snatched thanks to Saigon. After dealing with me, Sosuke went on to killing dozens of people who gave him a bad expression.  “Filth! All of you are filth!”.

Freezing to death was never the way I expected to die in my second life. While Sosuke went on a temper tantrum thanks to my words, there was one girl that caught my eye. She was about the same age of Daniel. So young and her life is already hell. I’m sorry little one. As of right now, all I can see is pitch black. I lost consciousness from the cold temperature in my body. My big mouth caused my death yet again. 

Back in my world I never held out on speaking my mind. Even if it was not a popular opinion. Many hated me for that,  some loved me for it. I regretted nothing in my previous life, I was right to pull the trigger…. This time however, I do have regrets. I was given a second chance at life with my memories intact and made two new friends. Master Trisha and Fei, I won’t see them again at this rate.

At this point moving an inch was impossible. My life begins to flash before my eyes.

“Cj! Guess what”. That familiar voice, I can’t mistake it for anyone but Sayaka. My beloved girlfriend who I recently proposed to. We were supposed to get married in the summer.

“Can’t bother to guess. You’re too unpredictable”. I was in the middle of reading through my case files when Sayaka called out to me.

“Nah uh, you gotta guess this time. I’ll give you a hint. My weight will change drastically over the past few months” Sayaka grinned.

“You planning on getting fat. Good luck with that” I told her unimpressed.

“No that’s not it” she said slightly disappointed. 

“Then you must be pregnant then. That’s the only guess I have left”. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention to the good news. I was obsessed with a murder case that was recently assigned to me. An entire family of ten was murder over night. After intense research I managed to narrow down the list of suspects to the Fosters. Harriet Foster was seen visiting the family at 9 pm the day before the bodies were discovered. He is a likely suspect but one of the family members wrote a suicide note and hung herself. There is a chance she was the one who killed her family and committed suicide afterwards. The suicide note might be a distract though.

The news about me becoming a father did not hit me immediately.  Looking back, Sayaka must have been upset with me. We were about to have a child and I didn’t react to it any at all. I simply continued reading. It may have looked like I didn’t care but I most certainly did.  Please forgive me Sayaka.

Another memory flashed into my mind.

I was on Harriet’s tail, there was enough evidence for me to arrest him. Sadly before I got the chance he died. Someone killed him. The next day after hearing of his death, I was finally relieved from the case. Sayaka and I celebrated for me having more free time.

It was on that day, Fei charged in my house with a gun enraged. He refused to listen to reason. He kept on talking about how his brother was killed by me. Who knows where he got that information? His words of vengeance infuriated me so I took out my gun as well. In the end we both shot each other in front of my dear Sayaka. If only I had calm down at that moment,  I could have snapped Fei out of his rage.

Regret, the worse thing you want to have when you’re about to die.

….

An unknown amount of time has passed since I have been unconscious. I am not dead yet, if I were I should be before one of the three angels by now. What is happening?

“What is your name?” a voice called out to me. 

“Cj Coley. Who is this speaking?”. This was not Theta’s voice, some unknown being is speaking to me.

“Open your eyes Cj”. I did as told and was shocked of the fact I could have opened my eyes. The pitch black I saw earlier was no more. Standing on top of a cloud, floating in the air. The sun was bright, sky was blue, the wind was just right. How did I end up here? Wasn’t I just reminiscing before my death.

A figure appeared before me, it was so bright it took time for my eyes to adjust. “My name is Tigress Souken. Nice to meet you”. After her introduction,  her face became clearer to see. A white haired girl with two pig tails, she was the size of a grade schooler but her voice sounded so mature. For some reason her face looks familiar too. As if I had recently seen it. “Do I know you?” I asked her curiously.

“No, I am fighting spirit. A spiritual being designed to enhance attributes of a living person. For decades I have been manifesting a physical form so that I could live amongst humans. My true identity has been kept hidden for a long time. None of the villagers know about me”.

“Fighting Spirit? First time hearing of it. What are you planning on doing to me? You pique my interests”.

“Same goes for you Cj. You knew Sosuke was many times stronger than you but you still stood up for what you believed is right. Humans normally act upon their fears. Fearing death, every human I came across are restrained by invisible shackles. They think they are living free lives but they truly aren’t. Cj, why is it you didn’t fear for your life just now?”

Sounds like she was impressed by my actions earlier. Although I did nothing except getting killed by one strike. “Fear death, I don’t see the point in doing that anymore. After dying once, a sense of freedom has covered over me. I’ll do whatever I want, say whatever I want. People call it reckless and they are exactly right. But I never wanted to be right since the beginning. I never said I wanted to be a good boy. Sosuke, he’s lucky I can’t bully him”. The little girl smiled at me. Each step she took, my body felt heavier.

“A fighting spirit can’t live on their own for very long. In a year or so I’ll disappear from existence. I need your help. Can you share your body with Me? If you do, I’ll  grant you the gift of Infinity”.

“Sounds cool, as long as I get to be in control at all times I would be happy to share with you”. This girl is giving off an insane amount of aura. I thought Ragnah and Master Trish were incredible but this girl’s presence overwhelm theirs a dozen times over.

“Hahahaha” she stretched out her hand. When our hands touched, Tigress disappeared without a trace. We are now sharing bodies but I don’t feel her presence anywhere. Where is she hiding inside me? Her immense aura shouldn’t disappear so suddenly. “Tigress?”.