Hell Contractor: Rise of the Last God

Fallen Giants.

A dreary colossal castle towers menacingly above a dark chasm, with a turbulent storm brewing in the background. Deep within the castle, Nomzamo is tirelessly swinging a giant axe made of granite, while maintaining control over all of her muscles carefully. Petal is on the side, watching her with a solemn expression, but her eyes seem concerned. Nomzamo has been forced into this state in order to prove to Abaddon that she can keep her place within the Twilight Vanguard, and resume her missions for the Banish Empire. As Nomzamo swings the giant axe, she rushes towards twelve quartz pillars that are arranged in a circle, and strikes at all twelve with all of her might, causing them to ring violently. Within the ringing, the pillars begin to glow then release a vast amount of daemonic vitality into the circle, which Nomzamo absorbs instantly, then she strikes at the pillars again repeatedly. As the amount of daemonic vitality increases, Nomzamo becomes more focused, with her eyes shimmering with the blaze of hell-fire, and after striking out ninety nine times, she concentrates all of her strength into the final blow to all of the pillars. Nomzamo's strike is so pure, that the axe disintegrates, but all twelve pillars implode and turn into dust. As soon as this happens, the three crystal beasts which serve Abaddon reveal themselves from the shadows, with satisfied looks on each of their evil faces.

"Well done! You've passed the first step of the Trail into Abyss." the grey crystal wolf snickered as he nodded gently.

"Yes, master will truly be pleased. But don't think that you're stronger yet. You've only solidified your daemonic vitality circulation. You should be able to handle yourself without Petal's assistance."  the teal crystal eagle remarked.

"Mm. Now we will follow master's wishes and allow you to return to your old position." the orange crystal bull told Nomzamo calmly. He turned to his fellow crystal daemon's, and they looked back at him to nod back, "Master wants you to oversee a special mission since you've yet to return to your post in the Twilight Vanguard. You'll need to head out to The Dragon Province again and meet with one of our spies. They're about to retrieve something important for our master, and may need your support in escaping with it. All you have to do is ensure that they have the item they've been sent to retrieve, then dispose of them once you get it." the orange crystal bull ordered.

Nomzamo had no expression on her face as she listened to her orders, then she asked, "Where do I need to go to find them?".

"You'll receive that information when you go across the border. You won't need to expose yourself until you reach the outskirts of the area." the orange crystal bull's eyes flashed as it transmitted the map straight into Nomzamo's mind.

"Neon Bridge?" Nomzamo thought to herself, as she had a flash of the name as she analyzed the entire map carefully while considering her route to get pass the border between the Banish Empire and The Dragon Province. She silently waited to the three crystal beasts to vanish into the shadows once more, then exhaled quietly before leaving.

Back at Neon Bridge, Ayanda was contemplating whether he should help Qiniso or not, but now that she knows where he's from, there's a high chance that she won't just let him say no easily.

"If I help you, does that mean I must expose myself to the Palace Guards?" Ayanda asked her solemnly.

"No. I can get us close to him without you being detected, but once we're in, you'll have to rescue him while I keep them distracted. Yesterday I was only caught because I couldn't completely get through the security systems in place at the mayor's estate." Qiniso answered clearly.

"The mayor's estate?! As in, you want me to break into there and find this Quake person AND still get back out?" Ayanda was shocked. He was hesitant before, but now he really didn't want to take any dangerous risk that would likely spell death for him.

"Don't worry. Once you're in, I'll make sure nobody can find out anything about you. And on top of that, you'll have a huge window to work with once the mayor leaves his estate." Qiniso answered Ayanda as though he's already accepted.

"There'll still be Palace Guards there. How will I be able to even find this Quake?" Ayanda was against her thinking.

"Inside the estate, there's only the Gold Warriors to worry about, and they're automated robots that can be accessed remotely. The security is tight, but the mayor has his own dirty secrets that he's rather keep hidden. Quake is somewhere in a hidden space, but it can only be accessed by using a certain key in a another place. You'll rescue him while I make sure you can get in. Simple right?" even her lax tone made it really sound far too simple.

"Wait, can't you do the rescuing while I take care of the key part?" Ayanda was scared to take this whole plan seriously.

"Not possible. I have to hack into the system to make it not detect you, then forge the key with a cryptic sequence that will erase the all the back up system protocols. Since I have a cover at Lily Garden, I can do that all while they keep their eyes on me." Qiniso admitted calmly.

"Why... So I have to take the risky job while you pretend to work and not suspect anything?" Ayanda asked.

"I'm taking the bigger risk. Since I'm right under their nose, they could easily kill me on site. You'll have more than an hour to find him, and as long as you don't cause too much of a stir, you'll be able to leave safely. So long as you find Quake, you'll have no troubles getting out from there on your own." Qiniso responded assuredly.  

Ayanda contemplated with a serious face, taking into consideration all the severe consequences that he could face if he were to take part in Qiniso's daring scheme. Even if he were able to find said person, what guarantee would he have in order to ensure he wouldn't end up being framed or worse; killed over her plan. He wanted to get the Platinum Sorghum, but he wasn't that desperate for it, the only problem now was that Qiniso had leverage over him, including the fact that she knows exactly where he comes from. If he were to decline or no be willing to follow her, Qiniso could take more extreme measures in order to blackmail him into agreeing. Right at this moment, he decided to go with her plan, but prepared himself for the worse.

"Alright. I'll help you find Quake, but I'll need more information about where he is and what I'll possibly face if I go to where he's being kept." Ayanda answered calmly.

"Don't worry, I'll pass on everything you'll need. I was planning on trying again tonight, but I'll give you a day or two to get familiar with all the information." Qiniso replied to Ayanda.

With everything settled now, Qiniso released the bubble surrounding them, took a fierce gulp of her tea, and left promptly, not giving Ayanda a chance to say anymore. On the table, there is a key left behind, attached to a room number, "33", which appears to have been booked out by Qiniso. As Ayanda picked up the key, the tea house owner came by to pick up the tea pot and tea cups left behind.

"That appears to be a key for Lotus Inn. From what I recall, Dr. Khanyile has a room there." the tea house owner commented in a low voice which Ayanda could pick up on. 

"Which direction should I go to find it?" Ayanda asked in reply.

"Once you exit, take a left and follow the main road for less than three kilometers. You'll come across the sign, which only has the name printed on it." the tea house owner had answered him softly as he passed Ayanda on his way back with the tray in hand. 

Ayanda walked to the exit and calmly made his way down the main road after turning left as instructed. The shops in the area were starting to prepare for the night time trade, with restaurants lighting up lanterns and neon signs beginning to glow as the darkness crept over the sky. Ayanda was focused on finding the "Lotus Inn" that he was given a key for, and soon he came across an old, rustic building, which only had five floors, and a small sign hanging over the entry which indicated it was "Lotus Inn". Ayanda entered, and found a reception area which had an old granny watching over the bookings.

"Need a room for the night boy?" the old granny asked in a cheeky tone.

Ayanda took out his key to show her, "I already have a booking. Which floor is-".

"Third floor. At the end of the corridor." the old granny suddenly sounded very serious and dismissive.

Ayanda quickly scaled the stairway since there were no elevators, and as soon as he reached the third floor, he noticed how it was very loud with guests who seemed to be having drunken gatherings. As he was walking down the corridor, one of the guest's opened up their door, and a scrawny man tumbled out while clearly drunk. The drunk man landed on his face and Ayanda simply hopped over him silently, then continued to make his way to the end of the corridor. Room "33" was right in front of him, but he was hesitating to open it up for a moment.

"Sango, go inside and see if there's anything I should be worried about." Ayanda willed Sango inside the ring to wake up suddenly, forcing him out.

Sango was grumbling and annoyed, but quickly phased through the wall then replied, "It's clear. Nothing in here that's really..." his telepathic voice trailed off as he replied to Ayanda.

"What is it?" Ayanda was puzzled by Sango's sudden silence.

Sango quickly returned to the ring without being told to but then he said telepathically, "There's something in there that's waiting for you to come in, but I don't think it's dangerous. It feels like it can only "watch" you, which means you should be careful about what you say or do in there."

Ayanda sighed then took a deep breath before unlocking the door then going inside. As soon as he entered, Ayanda concealed his mortal vitality in order to hide his cultivation, but started to circulate his Hell Scroll Sacred Art in order to enhance his senses to spread them out into the room undetected. As soon as he did that, he sensed a globe-like shape above the room ceiling, which didn't react to his detection in the slightest. From what Ayanda could discern, the globe-like object appeared to be emitting a strange type of energy that normally would be undetectable, but to him it was as clear as day. Initially, Ayanda simply wanted to continue acting oblivious to the strange object but as he scanned the rest of the room, he noticed that most of the furnishings were all personalized by a single person, everything styled in the same olive colors that Qiniso would wear as Dr. Khanyile. As he observed the room, he ignored all of the obvious openings that were laid bare for him to snoop around and look into her life, but instead opted to make himself comfortable by laying down on the bed, then closed his eyes to sleep.

Back at Lily Garden, Qiniso was watching over a screen which was displaying the room at Lotus Inn, where Ayanda was now asleep in her view. Her look was slightly puzzled but satisfied.

"At least he's not too nosy." Qiniso muttered under her breath, before switching her display to reveal blueprint's for the mayor's estate, and pulling up a recent list of all the Palace Guards posted. She noted Captain Wood would be stationed more frequently for the week, while making small alterations to the overall scheduling, so she could create a decent gap to allow Ayanda to break in. She then pulls up a diagram for a Cosmic Key which is similar to the one she had used before, but this one is shaped like a cube instead and appears to have multiple cracks on it's surface. Qiniso contemplates with a serious look on her face as she analyzes the cube in the diagram, as well as bringing up vitality readings which indicate how the cosmic vitality within the cube is dwindling very slowly. As she observed the vitality closely, a message pops up on her screen which is a notification for a meeting between the mayor and Cobra later that night at the Black Vermilion Club.

At Lotus Inn, Ayanda is pretending to be asleep while keeping his senses sharp so he can be ready for any sudden ambush or surprise that could endanger him. Right now he's ready with his God Blood Lightning Sacred Art circulating very faintly, with power surging around his entire body. He is also keeping an eye on the strange globe above, but after some time it appears to slowly dim down as though it's run out of energy, which causes Ayanda to become more alert. Inside his Soul Scape, Levy was preparing something using the glowing essence from thee neon fireflies he had absorbed before.

"Oi, brat, I've absorbed the vitality from those fireflies into the Taboo Slayer Divine Art to give you a temporary false image ability, kind of like an illusion skill. It will take some of your power away, but you should be able to create a believable projection of yourself so you can escape for now." Levy transmitted to Ayanda telepathically.

"Where should I escape to? Wouldn't she still be keeping an eye on me somehow?" Ayanda transmitted back.

"Not if she still thinks you're here. Besides, if she comes back, you'll be long gone. All you have to focus on is breaking into the mayors estate using the illusion skill I'll give you soon. Better than waiting around like sleeping chicken's." Levy transmitted while pouring an iridescent type of vitality into Ayanda's Taboo Slayer Divine Art. As it flowed through, Ayanda suddenly felt like he could emit a strange light out of his body which he could separate from himself. 

Before the strange globe could pick up on the sudden changes, Ayanda circulated the Taboo Slayer Divine Art, quickly learning the ghost image skill, then used the vitality from the God Blood Lightning Sacred Art to form a ghost image of himself, while blocking any light reflecting from his own body in order to escape through the open window in a flash. It all happened so quickly that the strange globe above the room couldn't even detect it, and Qiniso on the other end could barely tell the difference since Ayanda's projection hadn't moved at all.

Once Ayanda had escaped, he rushed towards Lily Garden while keeping himself concealed, and was able to sneak past the Palace Guard's who were patrolling, and made his way blindly towards the underground laboratory where Qiniso is likely to be in. With his concealment active, it would take a powerful expert or assassin to be able to detect him, as the ghost image skill Levy passed onto Ayanda was developed mostly from the vitality of the neon fireflies who had existed for eons underground in their own world. 

Within the upper floors where Ayanda was sneaking around, there were mostly large scale greenhouses filled with exotic plants which are open for anyone to walk in an out of, with the researcher's all busying themselves with analyzing various specimen's, taking samples as well as writing notes then passing them over to other experts who were overseeing their work. The lower levels were heavily guarded, but Ayanda was able to sneak into the elevator's that required key access to go down to the restricted levels below, and soon he found himself on one of the floors where there were researcher's who were being followed by two sets of Palace Guard's each. The level Ayanda was on seemed fairly easy to infiltrate, and had less security, so he made his way deeper into the level and soon found a room which appeared to house records of the research being conducted in the lower levels. Fortunately for Ayanda, there were no Palace Guard's present, and as he got closer to the room, a researcher was on their way out which allowed him to slip inside without being detected.

Once Ayanda was inside, he spread out his senses and didn't find anything that would give him away, so he stopped his concealment for the moment in order to keep his energy for allowing the ghost image projection to stay active for longer back at the Lotus Inn. The records in the room were mostly kept in file cabinet's that weren't locked up in any way, so it seemed as though these were mostly public records for anybody to browse through. Ayanda started to go through the records in order to find any clues relating to Cloud Garden, the Platinum Sorghum and for any past records on what happened to Nimbus Garden. After a short while, Ayanda was able to find a report from a few years before which is about how Cloud Garden was shut down due to the mayor's orders, and all of the Platinum Sorghum that remained was seized by Lily Garden in order to research a legendary plant which had supposedly been kept hidden by the owner of Cloud Garden. The records indicated how this plant was actually an heirloom which proves the bloodline legacy left behind by the original gardener of Nimbus Garden, and if the plant is consumed, then one can gain legendary healing abilities from it. The only thing the records don't divulge is whether this legendary plant was ever found, but the mayor had seized everything already, so only he would know.

"Looks like I have no choice but to break into the mayor's estate to find what's left of Cloud Garden." Ayanda muttered under his breath. 

"This mayor probably has tighter security than this garden. It would be better if we could get a proper look at him so we can just make a projection of him as cover and sneak in while impersonating him." Levy transmitted to Ayanda as he kept his eye on what Ayanda was reading.

"Maybe we should find Qiniso first and follow her. Since she wanted us to break in for her, she might now where the mayor will be, so all we have to do is find out from her." Ayanda transmitted back, and quickly activated his concealment skill again, then slowly creaked the door open to sneak out in a flash after silently closing the door. 

Ayanda was alert to everything in his surroundings, but suddenly sensed a familiar figure appearing out of the elevator he was waiting to sneak into; Qiniso. She was being watched over by three Palace Guard's, but appeared to be indifferent to being guarded. Ayanda slipped into the elevator while another researcher was getting off, and he quickly went to hide behind the Palace Guard's who were keeping their eyes on Qiniso. Soon enough, the elevator reached the upper floor again, and Qiniso made her way past the Palace Guards who were patrolling, and the three who were following her remained behind in Lily Garden once she had left the site. 

Ayanda was tailing Qiniso as she strolled around on the street's. It was early in the night, and she was casually walking towards a bustling area where there were plenty of people who were drinking merrily while singing drunk song's amongst each other. After following Qiniso for over an hour, Ayanda watched her enter a luxurious looking establishment called "Black Vermilion Club". Ayanda had already placed some distance between them, but soon noticed that there were more ruthless looking guards outside the entrance, so he didn't attempt going inside yet.

"Should I try my luck?" Ayanda asked Levy as he summoned him out of the Soul Scape while concealed.

Levy looked to the entrance of Black Vermilion Club and then his surroundings before answering, "Don't take any unnecessary risks for now. I bet there are some powerful people inside. In a place like this, there's probably some unscrupulous people who may be powerful enough to see right through your concealment.".

As Ayanda was about to summon Levy back, there was a group of three who were following behind a man dressed in regal clothing with gold patterns. There were two Golden Warriors who were draped in thick robes, while in between them was Rome who was trailing behind the mayor.