Capítulo 44: Chapter 49: King against the council!

Derek met with the stranger with slick black hair, mustache which Derek found incredible and wearing a dark orange and dark blue jacket that looked uniquely made to the investigative minded hero. "Glad you made it away from that woman who looked like she was ready to have both of our heads upstairs, prowler that hides in the gas!" Emilio shouted with a congratulatory tone as he slowly clapped as he approached the hero closer. The hero noticed the gauntlets that appeared on him as he brought his hands from behind him to clap. "My educated guess? Another assassin like earlier sent by your cult's masters?" Derek inquired as he held his stance and lower half ready. "Not usually, not exactly. Think before you piss me off further by mocking master Enenra's most loyal worshippers again for my courtesy." Emilio calmly replied as he glared into his soul. "This fella isn't just some schmuck. He must be a comfortably ranking enforcer for the cult, he might have just the right answers I'm looking for waiting to be squeezed out of him?" Derek thought to himself as he paid close attention to his clawed gauntlets and silly grin. "You know, Amigo, since you won't be making it out of this city and back to anyone who could answer your screams, I'm a practitioner of the study of the sharp mind. Emilio, Successor to the Mistress of the sharp mind!" Emilio boasted as he moved a long piece of hair from blocking his right eye while his elbow touched his wrist. "Nobody would miss you when you're behind bars." Derek responded as he held another confident smile to mock Emilio. The self-proclaimed greatest student of the Mistress of sword practice laughed at the hero's comeback. "You must have just arrived, so welcome to the city!" Emilio shouted enough to irritate his target, thoughts of the day he saw how the city hit rock bottom was playing on repeat in his mind. "I was born here, raised here for eight years of my life, I'm taking my home back from your clutches. I guess it starts here with you?" Derek spoke and declared as he leapt into a cloud of smoke he placed in front of him and rushed at Emilio, to his shock, the hero was wearing something new. Emilio slipped past all of Derek's swings before pushing him away with a powerful kick and placed on a mask of his own with a sword symbol on its forehead. "Ask yourself, do it? first!" Emilio replied before Derek found himself surrounded by his own small gang of swords floating on Emilio's command, Derek found himself waiting to dodge the sword awaiting his assailant's mental commands. "I find myself tormented by Mistress knive's looks when she tests me and I show her that I'm not as sadistic as some of the others when I fail yet… stabbing others doesn't please me, usually, when somebody is as cocky as you when they're talking to me find themselves at my mercy, I can't help but love it. Please, smokescreen me already, c'mon, hero." Said Emilio as he held his mask and chuckled to himself. "Tough but It's still far less strenuous than my plan. Slightly riskier." Derek thought to himself before he listened and caused his half of the hotel lobby to become encased in smoke. Emilio couldn't see his target, he sent the blades that he had surrounded Derek with to hastily slash and soar aggressively and erratically within smoke filled half with the hope of being lucky enough to catch him hiding. Derek felt one of the blades coincidentally heading for the person he heard who worked at the hotel leaving the back room. He was waiting dodging Emilio's perfect luck before deciding to save the civilian. An hour later, Derek found himself on the edge of another building's rooftop, eating mint chocolate chip ice cream that he picked up to heal his hurt as he thought about the battle and what his assailant told him on repeat. Fenella flew down and rested on Derek's shoulder when he finished his ice cream. "I just miss Chaelb, Set, and you and Henny— and Nick— and Grams— and even my loud old Grandpa." Derek revealed with his voice low as he stared into Fenella's eyes while speaking. "He tried to warn you but that power trip you were on and how you were ready. Sounds like you're rethinking?" Settembre responded over their communicators. "I've got— I'm yeah— try your best to keep the Purlieu's leader convinced that I can do this. I'll get in contact with him. I can do this, just not alone." Derek stuttered as he considered many things in this moment before the hero stood back up on his feet, bloodied but enjoying the wind flowing past his face with Fenella on his shoulder.