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No. It was true, Maximos took longer to get ready. But not by much. He washed, he dried, he put the contents of his pack back in order. His hair was properly spiked, his arms were properly re-dressed...such a deep cut was not simply going to vanish in moments, and the burns on his right almost never seemed to let dressing stay clean.

One, by one, a series of cracks jumped from Maximos room as he checked each of his weapons. Projects for later. For now his attention was on Ankokuko.

He held it in his hand as he exited his room, and made his way down the stairs to Ryugi. His wrist flicking so as to bounce the weapon in his grip and get accustomed to its weight. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he questioned Ryugi, with honest curiosity on his tone, and his head cocked to the side a bit.

Do you think the monks will mind me walking in like this after all that Rammiel business?

Of course referencing the exposed sword.

Somehow Maximos was both relieved, and worried.

If the monks were that strong, they shouldnt have lost to Ramiel who lost to Ryugi...meaning...

He scratched the side of his head, and then shook it free. That didnt matter, he could get himself confused for days trying to figure out how this culture worked.

Instead Maximos smiled from ear to ear, and flung the sword up over his right shoulder and said.

Excellent! I dont want to give the wrong impression.

He waved back at the house at Cruxis. And then they were off! Every so often Maximos would take a slice at the air, or run Ankokuko through a shadow to feel how it effected it. He was all together beside himself with amusement.

Maximos loved the winter!

It was something he would explain, without a drop of sarcasm, several times over. If there was a spectactular dancing parade of snowflakes.

"Wow thats beautiful, I love winter."

If there was a tree covered in hanging icycles Maximos would run off towards it like a child, standing under it with starry eyes, and letting a...

"Woooooow..."

Slip out. To be followed by..

"...thats really pretty. I love winter."

For some, it might actually be a bit annoying. Perhaps it was the way that almost anything covered in snow or ice that looked serene and peaceful elicited the above reaction.

A bunny hopping away.

Look at that! I love winter.

A bird dusting off its wings.

Astounding! I love winter.

A stream frozen over.

Its so beautiful, yet so deadly....I love winter.

A large snow covered rock.

A rock! I love winter!

To be safe, the duo likely paused for something every 50 - 100ft, or 2 minutes which ever came first. Because Maximos loved winter. Alot. It wasnt even really winter but, the sentiment of the season was all around.

Eventually the duo would make there way higher and up into the chilly peaks. Max had been good. They had made it almost half way up the mountain with him more focused on Ankokuko than the winter wonderland. It had been something around 10 minutes, and Maximos hadnt found something to catch his attention. Was it over?

The air was just so crisp...sp beautiful, so perfect. Maximos took a deep breath, looking at just about nothing and stopped in his boot prints. He turned to Ryugi and said, in a deep sort of wise way.

You know...

He looked at the beautiful scenery, and let the cool air slip from his lungs refreshing him utterly.

...Ryugi...

It was coming, it loomed in the air. It was enough to make someone hate winter.

...I...

He turned away, looking at the gorgeous albeit sudden flurry, resting Ankokuko on his right shoulder again.

...I think its suddenly gotten colder. Is that normal?

"Watch out!"

Maximos' eyes suddenly opened at the outburst. All he could truly was grunt, as he was tackled to the ground by Ryugi. White filled half his vision and was cast outward in a fluffy tuft as both figures impacted the ground. The Shadow grunted, the bare fingers of his left hand crawled through the snowy cover reaching for the night black form of Ankokuko.

For a moment he wondered if this was some kind of odd draconic snow game, until he saw a blue crystalline and blue soar over him.

He rolled to his side, shoulder over shoulder, before he shoved outward with his right arm, launching him upwards where he completed one airborne loop and landed nimbly on both feet. The twist and sudden impact casting puffy white flakes off his form.

Ryugi was being carried away. He didnt think, his grip tightened around the hilt of his new blade and moved. Or rather, he took a step, and then stopped in his tracks.

"Max! Don't worry about me! Take care of yourself! I've got this handled!"

If there was anything the Shadow believed in, it was honor if Ryugi meant to handle them on his own, Maximos would oblige. He nodded, stoutly, just as the sound of jingly ice met his ears from directly behind him.

He grinned, a wry dark grin, the sort that would make the devil quiver as he looked his shoulder at the group of nineteen coming with bloody blank demonic gazes. And as fate would have it three broke from the crowd directly at him.

Maximos reached his right hand across his chest grabbing Ankokuko with both hands, and dashing forward with childish glee.

I LOVE winter!

He exclaimed, with an exceedingly large grin on his face, just before the laughter overtook it.

They worked as a team, a trio, a hunting party. Skuttling as a group, focusing on one target it seemed. Which meant that Maximos had the merry job of splitting them up! And thats precisely what he planned to do. Maximos held his blade low and to the left, his feet powering through the layers of white beneath him, while an iron-gray sky blotted out the sun above, like white-out on a sheet of notebook paper.

It was with each step Maximos realized, exactly how much the cold had effected him. He felt like he was running through mash potatoes, his arms felt heavier than usual, his body felt frosted over. Yet still, for a man of Maximos' speed even frosted he was quite fast.

Recklessly he charge forward, the sun was directly above him, casting shadow straight downwards like pools gathered beneath the feet of there owners. Sparks danced from his eyes, down his arms, and across Ankokuko, giving it a silent command. As he reached the trio, he immediately banked left. The Caller of Darkness lived true to its title, tugging the shadow of the crystalline creature to the left, out across the distance and directly too the Shadow.

The left most creature lunged forward, and Maximos immediately dropped the tip of the blade downwards dipping it in the shadow like one might tip a quill into an ink bottle. The beast's clawed appendage tore forward at the black clad man, Maximos lept, quickly slashing Ankokuko's blade straight upwards. His left boot smacked on the back of the hand, stepping off of it, while his right boot kicked off the back of the top of the creatures head. But more importantly, as he rose, so did the stabbed shadow in one razor thin stream, attached to the tip of the Caller of Darkness' blade.

With that kick to the head the beast was sent flying into the shadowy blade Maximos had summoned from the round, cutting a long vertical line in its frame. As he launched off the beasts cranium, Maximos twisted in mid air, turning to face its back, slashing a black line straight down its back. Any onlookers would see a ribbon of black running up this creature's front, an then down its back...about then they might notice it fall directly in twain, cut neatly from head to toe.

Too slow...

The second frozen monster spare no time in seeking revenge. It slashed out its claw, and Maximos leaned to the side dodging by an inch, the uppercut quickly with its other, and Maximos just barely broke Ankokuko up in front of himself to bear the brunt of the slash with a loud screech. Its flawless construction leaving it entirely unharmed while sending the shadow black three feet in place.

More!

He stepped forward, aiming to slash the creature across the midsection, instead finding himself too slow, as it made a wide swipe for his head, forcing him to duck. A duck he exited with slash making a gleaming line in its frozen body from groin to chest, before Ankokuko was set free. The blade tossed into the sky with a rhythmic, "Whub, whub, whub!", as he spun hilt over blade.

Just a moment friend...

Maximos thought to himself, as the creature roared in pain and anger.

I just need a moment...

Slam! Ice shattered in all directions as Maximos' right fist impacted the center of the beasts chest. It recoiled around the blow, only to have it followed by an expedient jab of his left, towards its face, lurching its head back. He bent at the knee quickly following up with uppercut from his right square to the creatures chin, hoisting it off the ground a good three feet.

Maximos smirked.

Left, right, left, right, left right. His fists flew like pistons, burrying themselves into its torso. Each fist harder and faster than the one before, each fist serving to keep the creature airbrone. Sparks of a purple-indigo danced and skittered between Maximos' hands, trickling down his arms, and across his chest, driving him fast and faster. Icey bits fell like torrential rain.

His muscles burned, filling with that island heat he was so lacking. His arms were positively bristling.

Suddenly both hands smacked together and dropped by Maximos' side. The creature began to fall. Purple and indigo swirled up both piston arms, over Maximos hands were they were immediately crammed into a small compact black ball about the size of a softball, sparking and crackling with essence. Then he shoved it into the creatures already damaged belly.

...to prepare for...

A 5ft radius was filled with a flurry of violet, white, and icey as the Shadow Bomb which exclamated the Black Lighting Blitz was fired off into the creature turning it to meager shards.

The third creature had already begun its lung. Both claws tearing forward.

Maximos had already lept just a foot or two off the ground, his right hand snatching Ankokuko out of the air, his left following shortly behind, bringing the blade down over head. Both arms nice and defrosted. The blade seemingly absorbing some of the explosions residue from the air.

Showtime!

The creature smacked its arms together in an X acting like a sort of shield. The Caller, tasted the ice, but was halted, Maximos grinned. He yanked the blade straight down slicing a clean line down its arms. It swung, outwards, Maximos ducked, bringing the blade across, from left to right, releasing his left hand at the end of the swing, bringing his arm around his back, to pass the sword back to his left, which immediately cut a diagonal from lower left to upper right. About halfway up the slash it was rejoined by his right arm, exiting the creatures right shoulder. Fluidily, he brought the sword up, around over his head, before crashing it back down again, cutting from upper left to lower right.

The beast wailed and lunged. Maximos stomped forward and thrusted, jabbing the black black deep into the creatures chest. Black spilled from the entrance wound, visibly staining the ice from within. The frosty beast stuttered and twitched, its body lurching over Maximos' right shoulder before the shadow exclaimed.

Shatter and die!

And shoved Ankokuko the rest of the way forward. The ice monster obeyed, as black exploded within its chest, kicking up a tuft of snow in all directions and casting a shade over Maximos. He turned facing the other 16, grinning from ear to ear, Ankokuko balanced on his right shoulder as the man bowed formally.

Anyone else care to dance?

Max did all a man of his nature and type could do in a situation like this.



A light chuckle grew, and grew until it was a full boisterous thunder of laughs. The shadows of course joined in through Ankokuko each adding in there own flavor of chuckling or chortle.

More intelligent creatures might be afraid, but these were not. And deep inside Max loved them for it. This reminded him so very much of the old days, traveling and struggling, and how many times he had looked back and said 'What if I had to do it now....?". And here he was.

Ankokuko dropped downwards, its tip dipped into Maximos own shadow. As with all shadows it turned the thing a deep black from its ambient faded gray. The shadow wreathed around the blade likes a ribbon, loosely covering it, as he flipped it around in a reverse grip. Then he dashed toward his first target with reckless abandon. A faint glow poured from his boots, snow burst and fell to either side as the shadow held back nothing, leadin his charge with a dangerous grin.

The first of five attemped to slash. Before its claw was even raised, Maximos dropped to one knee, his momentum allowed him to slide along the ground as he slashed the beast across legs, slicing them clean off at the knee. Needless to say it fell, and Maximos slid right on past it.

A second was following closely behind the first, as Maximos exited his slash it was already prepared with a downward double handed slam. He stood, bringing Ankokuko up to bear, catching the slam at its apex, running a long black cut along its chest. A cut which seemed to linger, as if the ribbon gracing the blade was resting in it, and yet still attached to the sword.

He released the blade, and immediately brought up his right arm, to catch it a standard grip before it fell. In the same motion he pivoted on his foot turning his body away from the creature with the sword over his right shoulder. Sparks danced viciously down and up his arm, and then in one powerful heft of the cursed limb, he cut cleanly through both arms, sending them to the floor in a clatter. He brought the sword clean up and pointed it forward. The black ribbon visibly flowing to the creatures chest. Stunned the beast fell back, or rather stumbled back three steeps before a third monster muscles up to and shoved it to the ground, aiming to tackle Maximos.

How rude...

He said. His sword fell from his grip. As the blade led the fall, the hilt was placed in only the most proper position. His left hand grabbed the sword in rreverse and stabbed it straight back. Never turning.

With an audible c***k, like ice cubes breaking free from the tray, Ankokuko pierced the creatures chest. It stopped, its arms reaching forward just over Maximos shoulders. Quivering.

You can do whatever you like...

His right hand reached across his chest, grabbing the hilt below his right. He quickly twist his body around on his left heel, his jacket billowing in the wind. His let hand flipping its grip quickly, around as he burst forward, Ankokuko cutting a line through the creatures midsection and out where its hip sound be. Again, the wound was filled with black, as the ribbon seemed to lace from the other creature to this one, and then to Caller itself.

But...

In a fluid blur of black punctuated by crystal sparkles Maximos exited his slash.

You must never be rude.



He was beginning to get a familiar feel from this sword. Its curved edge reminded him so very greatly of a katana, a weapon of the orient. The Nameless had been a weapon of oriental construction, as had the Endless Shadow before it, nostalgia overcame him. He remembered the feel of the curved blade, the cutting power...

He grinned wider, he had an idea.

The fourth, had the mispleasure of having taken to the air as Maximos exited his slash. The shadow lept upwards, twisting his body in mid air. He spun something like a top, cutting line, after line, after line, across the poor beast, each line filling with black ribbon. The spin making the ribbon dance around his form and he spun.

The ice beast fell to the ground in a thud, its body wrapped in several layers of black ribbon.

Maximos however landed just behind the fifth.

The creature turned around, shock covered its barely visible features. Rage filled its cold eyes. Maximos stood with Ankokuko out in front of him. His mismatched eyes stared grinning at the fifth. The length of ribbon was now taught, leading to the tip of Ankokuko.

There was a pause. A momentary silence. A deep royal purple overtook the Caller of Darkness' blade, the aura wafted off it like a miasma as Maximos back stood to the sun, covering the blade in a thick healthy shadow.

The virgin snow was raped with a crunch by the first step in the beasts charge.

Maximos stance dropped low. Sparks danced up and down his right arm, as he jerked the blade to his right side, angled backwards, and toward the ground.

The sudden jerked tugged the four past creatures from there resting spot in a roar. Each was still alive, and each was tugged by the ribbon that pierced there injuries, or draped around it, in the case of the first. They screamed in protest as they were sent foward, and into the air, for just a split second lining with each other along the black ribbon which ran just past the fifths hip.

Nostalgia...

Indigo glow peeked through the snow, spreading across the white cover.

Maximos acted in that split second. He tightened his grip on his blade and shouted out a technique name in a way that seemed so characteristic that it wasnt.

Z A N T E T S U K E N!

Maximos burst forward, a stream of violet and black pouring behind him. Snow bursting in either direction.

His blade sunk into the fifth creature, indigo gushed out in all directions as he moved impossibly fast across all five beasts. His sword filletted down one side, of the mass of ice beasts, while a gush of black dark essence poured out the opposite side. Snow exploded from his starting point and before it had a chance to follow or fall, he exited the final/first creature.

The quintet hung in mid air for a moment, as Maximos skidded forward. Frozen, so all could see the deathblows. Any onlooker could only see one straight line, way it then they seemed so horribly damaged? A ribbon of black straightened in a line through all five forms. Chips and shards of black hung and danced in mid air, twirling in place in slow motion, as it seemed someone hit the pause button on time.

Maximos boot came to a firm stop. He stood tall, lifting Ankokuko tugging the ribbon, and then slashed straight downwards. It was like suddenly pressing play, the forces that be rushed to catch up, gravity, inertia, and the like. The beasts shattered into a thousand small pieces which framed the snow free violet streak Maximos had made in his wake. There was just no counting how many strikes he had made in that instant.

The caller pointed straight downwards, and the ribbon laced around the blade before bleeding off onto the ground, as the shadow returned home.

And so there he stood.

A pillar of black in a field of white. It was quiet. Still.

And then virgin snow was raped under a jagged claw. The creatures were cautious and yet blood thirsty. He could see, practically feel there hunger. Their blood lust. Max looked back over his shoulder. A coy grin on his face, eyes met.



The creatures paused. Maximos turned fully around, they were like racers at a starting line. One twitch, one move and the 10ft that separated them would be crossed with no intent on ever looking back.

There was silence.

Hungry?

He taunted. A snowflake gently fell, tumbling over itself softly, it danced elegantly on the wind. Then it waltzed between two mismatched eyes and landed directly on the tip of Maximos' nose.

The Shadow burst forward, his form a blur. One creature stood behind, the other moved to meet him, the duo clashing at the center of the space between them. Ice shards flew in all directions along side sparks of violet and black. The force of the impact sent snowflakes scattering out and away.

Maximos looked the ice beast directly in the face. His sword was held in his left hand straight across his chest with right hand supporting the blade. A shallow grinding crackle escaped where the edge of Ankokuko dug into two iicey claws, there extended digits just mere inches from Max. The fiends face less than a foot from Max. And he simply smiled into its gaping maw.

What the matter? I thought you wanted food! Your so close!

The second creature started to slowly creepy behind the first.

It was a tease, plain and simple. Something blueish clear even dripped from the things mouth. It sniffed the air, an ice blue tongue tasting its face and the air around it. And then it moved.

The first creature roared, slamming its claws downwards with all of its might, bending at its knees, and lunging forward. Maximos leaned back, as its jaws snapped shut so very close that its cold breath froze the droplet of water left on Maximos' nose from the snowflake that fell just moments ago. The Shadow's eyes opened wide.

You see the beast was smarter than it looked. No sooner than it had snapped it jaws shut, did it duck down, its blade like fingers gripping Maximos blade as it did so. As it ducked the second beast lunged forward one hand smacking on the back of the first for support as it leaped at Max. Instinctively the Shadow moved to jerk his sword free, only the creature was prepared. Its right arm tightly gripped Maximos left arm right at the bicep....

They had been watching, waiting. They smelled the blood that soaked the bandaged where Ankokuko had cut Maximos earlier this day. The tight grip caused Maximos to wince, his arm to drop, and gave that second beast free access to what it had wanted so very badly. What it was determined to have, alive or dead.

Meat.

Chilled fangs sunk into Maximos shoulder, chilling his clavicle. It moved to swallow his head, only by luck had leaned away. The sensitive spot between the base of the neck and the shoulder was now home to a plethora of frozen fangs. The very chill of each icey tooth quelled the pain leaving only an icey tingle, and the warm wet feeling of blood seeping into wet fabric. It was trying with all of its power to snap the bone and take the swordsmans right arm, only to find the bone metallic and unmoving. Maximos' eyes were opened wide, his jaw hung slightly agape. For a moment there was no emotion on his face save for a blank shock.

And then a realization struck him.

His eyes slanted, his teeth gnashed. A violet spark danced from his left eye down his arm, while his right eye ignited as if were a brilliant white flame, white essence soaring from the socket.

You...b*****d...

Despite the pain, despite the streaks the fangs would leave in his flesh, he cocked his right arm back. An unholy looking miasma was beginning to form from the limb, small black hands leading ribbons of black seeped from and through his sleeve lashing at the air.

Your DEAD!

It wasnt said about a normal speaking voice and yet seemed to carry an icey weight that would even make these creatures shiver. Deep red, and icey blue spurted into the air and stained the snow as Maximos forced his entire form forward. His left foot stomped to the ground, and his right arm exploded forth, his fist smashed into the creature gut leaving a crater the size of a soft ball. An explosion of violet sent it soaring back 30ft, alive, but likely wishing it wasnt.

The force of the second creature's enforced retreat sent the first one onto its rump, releasing Maximos sword. As the up chucked snow cleared, that first beast would see Maximos standing over it, his blade pointed at its head. An angry look on his pale face.

Do you know why?

It lunged, Maximos hopped back, landing on his right foot and immediately kicked forward again, placing his form in between its arms.

Forget the bite...

Slash. From right to left, then left to right, the sword moved around his back, switching hands with blurring speed to come up at diagonal, then down, it switched grips, to slash up again at an opposite diagonal, then across.

Forget the blood!

There was no tracking his movements. His arms, and Ankokuko were a blur, save for swatches of black ribbon that hung in the air where the sword moved. Ice sprayed in all directions like rain drops during a thunder storm.

The sword came to this right side. His right hand leading, his left hand guiding, he stepped forward, sidestepping the beast, the ribbons lashed and then traced as he cut once, right across the belly.

But you ruined my new jacket...

Its head slipped from its shoulders, then torso, then legs, all in even diagonal cuts, but before those pieces struck the ground they scattered into smaller, and smaller chunks until only a myriad of small cubes actually litered where it once stood.

Ankokuko was utterly writhing in black, it traced up and down the sword to his right arm, and back, as the two fed each other. He lifted the blade pointing it directly at the second beast. It charged.

....and for that you die.

He slashed once. Right to left. The creature grinned catching the blade. In between its palms, feeling quite proud of itself as it held it in its quivering grasp.

Maximos face seemed entirely uninterested, maybe even bored as he spoke.

Oh...is that the only cut you saw?

It looked as if it had just seen the face of god, as if the impossible was now being proved possible. And then its head fell from it shoulders, its arms fell from its torso, its legs fell at the knee and hip, and its torso split from neck to groin.

Geh...

Maximos flicked the ice dust from his blade, and stepped forward turning to check on Ryugi.

Max stared with a slack jaw, and wide open eyes. His hood hadnt fallen back, but you could just tell the awe on his face. He had no real way of measuring power, but he could tell when alot of leylines met at one individual, and they did hear, curving through the ice to focus on this ice fiend. This was going to be different. This was going to be tougher.

This was going to be fun.

The shock and awe slowly chipped away, his cheeks rose, a grin spread from cheek to cheek, and only one word came to mind. Four letters that seemed to fit his feels about the situation perfectly.

Cool...!

He twirled Ankokuko around before, placing it over his right shoulder, blade upwards. He looked over to Ryugi, and then back to the fiend.

You know...

Max said, taking his first step toward the creature.

...its easy to look tough from way over there.

He pulled the Caller of Darkness from his shoulder and gestured it toward the fiend.

Why dont you...

He brought the blade down, its tip pierced his shadow as the stretched forward. Immediately the gray mass flooded with black from the cutting point. Maximos shoved the blade forward from its perch, like pushing a lever.

...come here and try that!

His voice never really shouting, only sounding that much more potent. His shadow would rip forward across the distance. He placed both hands on the hilt and immediate wretched it straight up, tugging up the entire length of black like a rug. The shadow reacted to his orchestration, bursting from the ground like a dolphin breaching water. The black mass now a large clutching had that soared straight for the fiend.

If it was successive it would grip and squeeze, before Maximos jerked it back like a fishing line, aiming to drag the creature straight towards the center between he and Ryugi, where he would be waiting, aiming to impale it as it "landed".

At the very least, he hoped a grip could hold it while, the gold dragon beside him gave it a good chop.