The Bounty Hunter

November 14th, 2089

King William’s POV

“Father, I don’t believe it is wise to drink whiskey this early in the day.”  I ignored my daughter in favor of refilling my glass.  “Allow me this, Vivian.  You have just proven the existence of magic and that the world is currently under assault by real demons.  And you have found your mysterious man, who happens to be a powerful sorcerer.  Any drinking man would be drinking at this news.”  My daughter and I were in my private study, having retired there after she had demonstrated the power of our ancestor’s heirloom.  “What do you think we should do now?”  Vivian asked me.  “Keep it secret.  The exposure of the supernatural to the rest of the world will cause chaos on the level of the Cyber Plague.  We will do as proposed by Mr. Cross:  search for Pandemonium so that he may destroy them.  I will gather some trusted people to start researching the occult in the meantime.”

I finished off the last of my whiskey, before turning to the computer console to start on the logistics of this endeavor.  I am getting far too old for this.  And there is the investiture to begin planning for as well.

Reiji’s POV

Somewhere in the vast, empty plains of Mongolia, there was a boy who was deeply regretting a request he made yesterday to his secretly insane friend.  Spoiler:  that boy is me.  “I HATE YOU!!!!”  I gasped out as I was frantically running.  “If you have enough breath left to shout, it means I haven’t been pushing you far enough.  Irene, if you would.”  Minato spoke while sipping some tea in a comfy chair that was floating in midair. 

There was a strange shimmering around him, which he had said was him releasing mana.  He said that the high levels of ambient mana in the air was part of the reason why the otherworlders were so physically superior.  Thus, he mimics that by releasing mana during the training sessions.  Our worn-down muscles will incorporate the mana while repairing and thus strengthen.  None of which matters as the psychotic automaton hefted up her big-ass machine gun with a grin “It’d be my pleasure, boss.  RUN THE FUCK FASTER, TRAP-KUN!!!”  *Ratatatatatata*  Rubber bullets pelted the area around me, many of them hitting me and hurting like hell.  Although my inner otaku is delighted at meeting an automaton, I wish this first meeting didn’t sting so much!

Pain is an amazing motivator, causing me to move at speeds I hadn’t even known I could reach.  That still doesn’t make it okay.  Eventually my torment was over and I was on the ground, unable to move due to the severe aching in my muscles.  “Reiji, I must say I’m a little disappointed.  All we’re doing right now is some light cardio, yet you’re barely managing.”  “YOU CALL THIS LIGHT CARDIO!?!?!?!!?!” I yelled at him, unable to even raise my head to glare at him.  “Fucking hell, you’re a whiny bitch.  Look at the harem and what they have to fucking do before you complain about some lousy running, ya pussy!”  Irene jerked her thumb towards Kira, Veronica, and Hikari.  I managed to gather enough energy to turn my head and gawk at the sight that was the higher level training.

They were training with strange markings on them that Minato said were weight seals, frantically trying to fend off Rin as she did her best to rampage amongst them.  She was having far too much fun, clearly using the “training” as a chance for vengeance against all the one-sided cuddling done by Kira and Hikari.  “NYA!  Vera, put out that fire!”  “Don’t bother with that, dodge the tail!”  “MINATO, I PROMISE I’LL MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL AFTER THIS YOU SADISTIC BASTARD!”

Shortly after that, the three girls were on the ground like me, unable to move.  Rin was getting praised by Minato for a job well-done, while Irene was snickering at our pathetic forms.  “Okay everyone, good work.  Now it is time for the end of practice spars.”  The girls collectively groaned at Minato’s words.  “End of practice spars?”  I asked in confusion.  Minato spared me an indifferent glance “It’s nothing that you should worry about just yet.  We need to build-up your body first, so for now you’ll watch and get a feel for combat.”

Minato gave a simple wave of his arm and the earth rumbled as a large elevated platform rose into existence.  It even came with a set of stands for onlookers.  “Woah, that’s so cool!”  I gushed.  I sat down next to Rin as Irene eagerly hopped onto the stage, while Hikari was far less enthusiastic.  She wearily trudged up the steps, clearly exhausted despite having the weight seals removed for the fight.  “Hey Minato.”  “Hmm?”  “Why do you have these spars when the girls are completely spent?”  “They need to learn how to fight in all conditions, including when they’re exhausted.  Once they get that down, I’ll have them learn how to fight while injured.”  I winced at the thought.

Irene had drawn out an aluminum baseball bat, an unusual choice of melee weapon, but it oddly suited her.  The words “Common Sense” were carved into the bat.  “Bring it on, Doll-Face!”  She taunted as she twirled her bat.  Hikari drew her katana and gave Irene a bright smile “Don’t cry when you lose!”  And with that, Hikari lunged forward at a speed that would make her the top sprinter in the track & field club in school.  Her draw-slash was parried with a casual swing of Irene’s bat, but Hikari seemed to expect that.  She used the redirected momentum to pirouette and conduct a side-swipe.  Irene jumped backwards to dodge, before charging back in on the offensive.  Her overhead smash was deflected, and it left a noticeable dent in the solid stone of the arena floor.  Hikari understandably paled at the sight, and quickly disengaged with a solid kick to Irene’s midsection.

After putting distance between them, Hikari’s sword started to glow.  “Light ‘em up! Dynamo!” she yelled, swinging the glowing blade.  The light was flung off the sword and flew towards Irene, who muttered something before swinging her bat at the ball of light like she was playing baseball.  There was a bright explosion, blinding everyone.  Once the glare faded, I was shocked to see Irene standing unharmed. 

“Well-done, Hikari.  You’ve really improved.  But try not to waste the mana you’ve generated with Dynamo.  I know you have plenty left, but the more you have in reserve the more powerful of a trump card it will be.”  Minato was already on the stage, patting Hikari on the head.  “So, Irene?  What needs to be optimized?”  “Hmm, Doll-Face really does have talent with the blade.  However, humans are fucking weak as hell.  She needs to improve her physique.”  Minato nodded in agreement, before taking Hikari back to the stands.  I was staring at Hikari in amazement.  Will I be able to do that eventually if I keep training?

Kira was up next, and she lithely jumped onto the stage.  Her tail was dancing back and forth in excitement.  God, cat girls are the greatest!  “So, Blondie’s next?”  Kira gave a feral grin as she replied “Yep!”.  She had twin butterfly swords in hand, settling into a clearly practiced stance despite being so weary.  “GO!”  Minato yelled.  The brawl that happened was incredible.  Kira and Irene were moving at speeds that were at least Olympic level, sparks went flying every time their weapons collided.  My kinetic vision couldn’t keep up with their movements after a while, they turned into blurs as the sound of clanging filled my ears.  The fight only concluded when Kira’s exhaustion made it impossible for her to continue.  “You’re doing well, Blondie.  Your technique is sub-optimal when you’re forced into prolonged clashes, so work on that.”  Irene advised.  Kira sleepily nodded in acknowledgement before being placed next to Hikari to rest.

Lastly, Veronica slowly walked up onto the stage with her estoc in hand.  “Let’s finish this up, Caramel!”  Irene yelled.  The ensuing fight was not a ferocious brawl at high-speeds, instead it was an incredible display of precision and agility as Veronica danced around Irene’s attacks.  Irene compensated for Veronica’s evasiveness by increasing the strength of her swings.  The backdrafts from her attacks caused winds to buffet the area, knocking Veronica off balance.  She was able to recover most of the time, but eventually she too collapsed from over-exertion.

“OK!  Let’s head home, everyone.  We’ll be back here tomorrow.”  Minato called out cheerfully.  A chorus of groans was the only response he got from us.  “Bastard.”  I muttered, only to be quickly shushed by the others.  “Don’t!”  Kira whispered frantically.  “He doubles the training load if we complain too much!”  Hikari added on.  “Did someone say something?”  Minato asked.  “““NO!”””