Chapitre 49: Chapter 54: Heroes standing through it!

"All of my excellent work on you for zero satisfaction?" Asked The Mistress' torturer with a displeased tone as he waddled back into the torture chamber. Derek stood on his table feeling indifferent to speaking to him and a distant expression. "Right. This is no longer fun if you won't cry and wine for me anymore." Her torturer continued as he glared at Derek. No reply from him was spoken. "This is exactly what happens when you won't kill your enemies, kid, they won't hesitate against you, I'll go see if the Head Mistress agrees that the job is complete so you can quit aggravating me." Her torturer mocked and finished before he began walking to find her. Her stubby torturer opened the door and was greeted by his superior, Emilio with a friendly grin. The heir of the mistress walked in as her torturer walked out and was decapitated as he walked out. Anthony hopped back and screamed as the head fell toward him, Amin laughed as Reynard found himself lightly gasping by what they saw of Derek's torture. Emilio was downcasted but his eyes grew wider by the sword with a glass ball on its hilt in the back of the chamber as Derek stood in the center. Amin and Anthony ran towards the hero with a tear gliding down his cheek from an eye. Reynard stomped his foot and tightly clenched his fist. "It's all my fault, if they didn't use me as the weak link to get the upper hand on us, damn it!" Reynard whispered in a lowered tone with immense disappointment and frustration. Smoke surrounded the missing limbs of the living union of smoke and ash clearing from his them slowly as they inched closer. Everybody saw Derek's face and eyes without his mask and body without his suit as he had been reverted back into his casual attire. He wears the suit on top, shirtless with scars on his chest and stomach from the razors that had been used to cut through him, torn clothing from his removed limbs. "I— stood through it, fellas. They couldn't convince me that you wouldn't come for me. Marching from down the corridor, fellas." Derek whispered before a groan from his hurt body. Emilio opened the door and saw his fellow gang members lined up running across the hall walls. Reynard squared up against the hall of dangerous fiends but Emilio gestured for him to calm himself before he walked down the right side, leaving the others with Derek. "She sent me out to confront and kill you guys as a final test of my loyalty. She's been watching us here and she knows. She doesn't care about whether you four are living or not any longer. It's me that she wishes to see, I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this is where I die but I've always loved you and that never changed, it would never, little bro. Rescue the superhero and rescue our city from that deadbeat stepfather of ours." Emilio demanded as he threw out his fist before he left for a bump. "No. We'll face this she-devil together! I'm not going to let the same mistakes continue on my watch, I wouldn't work with my best friend Keelstelle who kept fighting Mack Merrick, I wouldn't work with Mistdeemer. We're doing this like brothers!" Reynard declared with the most decided tone Emilio heard from his brother. "Alright. I'm not going to be able to convince you to use that brain gifted with a knack for roasting, maybe lady fortune is on our side." Emilio replied as he looked up at his brother from originally at the ground as he heard him. The brothers bumped fists before they walked out to finish the fight leaving the others to leave with Derek. "Hey, hey— Ant, got your… spectacular camera on you?" Derek asked as he mustered up the strength and reason to speak. "Yeah, brother, I don't ever leave where I hide without it." Anthony replied as he tiptoed closer to the hero. "They… didn't— take a picture of me right now and I need you to remember the email address that I'm going to tell you." Derek replied and directed as he laid his head back. Anthony backed away, uncertain of whatever was going to come from Derek's mouth. "You could have had all of my power, all of these soldiers, all you had to do was worship Lord Enotocin and fear me, not stay loyal to a world that has no care for you." Said the Mistress of knives. "You used worship and put Lord Enotocin's name first but everything you said just now tells me that wasn't a condition to inherit leadership. You want to be worshiped and feared by the world, that isn't the way you taught me!" Emilio argued as Reynard stood by his side. "Pathetic. I taught you sense and everything you know. Don't come at me with crap I know that you're better than, Emilio. I've already been far more lenient on you than I should have so strike your brother down right now and appreciate how fortunate you are!" Said the Mistress as she reacted quicker than Reynard thought she could tell by her age. He began shooting while her second claymore began deflecting his gun's bullets as she approached with her first in the rear stance. The head Mistress guestured her third claymore defending her from his hail of gunfire on the offensive to keep Reynard's attention away from her as she smiled with her pupil standing his ground in front of her. Inside left with her blade, she took the first thrust as he stepped over with a slash which she blocked then he ate a push kick that knocked him away from her. Emilio closed the gap as swift as he could by sprinting with his blade on the side as he slashed downwards with all of the strength he could muster, her claymore stood at her defense as she turned away, five minutes of spectating his struggling duel with her long sword she began walking away disappointed in him. "You'll run out of your stamina like your little brother eventually, unless you've mastered the technique we've been working on for ages. Perform the trio bladed mind wield." Said the Mistress of knives. Emilio stepped past her flying long swords through her blade garden, he began multitasking, focusing half his mind towards the technique for him to take control of two blades other than his own which surrounded them in the garden in his control. He succeeded and shook her blades off his trail as he headed directly for her head leaping from the top of the banister in her sword garden to strike her down. As he were in his confrontation against his brother earlier, Mistress knives' blade had him pinned under with a much bulkier blade, as exhausted as he were, he refused to give up and give in to the weight squashing him.

"Let's help Derek get out of here, Anthony, c'mon." Amin suggested as he grabbed the last limb on Derek's body, his left arm. Anthony was still lost in his disbelief over seeing Derek's condition, his missing right arm and missing legs. "If she gets the better of the other two, contact that email, this isn't a suggestion but a demand. A swarm of heroes will rain hell down on the cult if they really can't—- Evidence of their wrongdoing will be sent to my best friend and tech man, he'll send it to the elders, hopefully they'll step in to take back the city and restore it somewhat to normalcy." Derek informed Anthony as Amin had his last arm but couldn't pick him up. "Alright. And how do I grab… you?" Anthony asked as he was hesitant. "Leave me, fellas. I deserve my fate to be gambled by fate. I want to stay here, GO!" Derek replied with a melancholic whisper. Anthony and Amin hated what they heard from him but neither knew what they would say, Amin knew what Reynard would tell his friend at that moment but couldn't bring himself to be as cruel as him. Derek rested his hand on his stomach and heard the struggles of Reynard and Emilio alongside the chortle which belonged to the head Mistress of the art of bladesmanship. The two hated seeing Derek's melancholy expression. Anthony and Amin began to notice beige ashes raining as slow as if there was a lack of gravity within the dim chamber. Some of the ashes that fell coincidentally found their way into the fire of the torches that lit up the chamber transforming the color of the chamber itself. "This is something normal for you, right?" Amin asked as he backed into a wall amazed by the beauty of the fire that surrounded them. "Mistdeemer!" Anthony shouted to compel Derek to open his eyes. The hero's mouth flew open by the spectacle he was seeing. It completely made the hero ask himself questions before noticing his replacement limbs formed out of his maternal inherited abilities which he thought he lost. The new replacement arm he acquired felt completely solid as he touched it with his remaining left, he immediately attempted to control his new arm yet he couldn't make it budge. Same with the brand new legs he looked down and saw. "Try not questioning them and accept the power of hope again?" Anthony suggested after seeing Derek's expression and watching him struggle. Derek laid his head back down and closed his eyes before he felt strong enough to take up his gaseous form to fly after a moment of struggle. "Basa won't miss you! Lord Enotocin won't be losing out with you from his coming society! Ungrateful!" Derek heard the voice of the head Mistress of knives through the corridors alongside Emilio's groans. Derek flew through the corridor and followed everyone's voice to find the peculiar blade garden where the confrontation between brothers and sensei was happening. Derek switched back into his physical form to grab hold of the two handed blade Reynard continued to struggle against and wound the Mistress of the cerebral blade arts in her shoulder with her own humongous sword before he crashed into a wall in front of her and behind Emilio who was on his knees. The Mistress of the cerebral blade arts let out a louder painful shriek. Emilio was able to recover his stamina while his teacher verbally scolded him as usual and took Derek's distraction as his queue to take over the offensive, he used her technique to give three blades under his control a semblance of a mind of their own to slash and thrust his way to her defeat.

Back at their emergency hideout on the upper east side of their beloved yet dangerous home in JinJunyë, the team was recovering from the battle that passed. "You're saying Mistdeemer looked like he needed a hug and some nice cuddling with his teddy bear before his brand spanking new powers kicked in?" Reynard asked Anthony, forming what he told him into something that he understood better. "Mm hmm. If you want to understate what he must have been feeling at the moment, it was rough seeing him like that, as defeated as he was." Anthony affirmed as he looked out of their wide window. "Yeah, then let's leave him alone to get himself out of his feelings. We finally beat one but it was grandma. And wha— so, What are we going to do about the other three trash bags?" Reynard asked Anthony wondering if he had a plan with all of his answers at his disposal. "The only idea I've got is to not give away our cowering hole by being afraid of them." Anthony teased as he began chuckling. "Spoiled milk smelling wet sock, I don't feel fear, I'm not immune to, ya know, regular stutter." Reynard shouted the insult before he eased back to a calmer tone. "Oh, and by the way, where did your brother vanish off to?" Anthony asked curiously. "Taking care of the other students of that sharp Grandma with the hideous bird feet. I don't think he'll kill them, don't worry." Reynard replied as he still held the two handed sword from earlier which he's keeping as a souvenir. "Life is worth preserving." Anthony spoke as he walked away with his hands in his coat. "I'm genuinely curious, you must have powers, how have you been collecting your information and surviving believing that lie?" Reynard asked with a genuinely curious tone as he followed expecting an answer.