12 - The Replicator

“Can you feel that, Otto?” Reina asked. “Soul presences popping up here and there.”

“Perfect time for a good harvest.” Otto replied.

Otto, Erwin and Reina strolled through the streets, without a care in the world. Erwin found another similar ice cream stand, this time, there were small birds drawn on the ice cream instead of cat faces.

“Anyone we come across should be eligible for the Replicator to do its thing.” Otto said. Soulfuls usually kept their weapons unsummoned, but Otto chose to wear his, attaching it to the back of his uniform. It became a part of his appearance.

“Sir Otto, how many soul expressions do you think you’ll need to copy before facing him?” Erwin asked. “All five, right?”

“It’s a complicated matter.” Otto said. The chilly wind got his clothes to sway a little, it caused some dust to fly into his eyes, against which he held his hand. “All five would be ideal, but they need to be capable of doing the job.”

“As long as the condition is true...wow, you’ve hit Jackpot.” Reina smirked. “What if you run into him early?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“No one will be stupid enough to attack Sir Otto.” Erwin said, excited. “As long as I’m here, at least. I’ll make sure he’s not alone.”

“How very touching...” Otto smiled. “Reina, you should learn from Erwin.”

“Why’s that? Do you not trust me?” She said, teasingly.

“I trust everyone in the Adler Group, I even got myself to trust the insomniac. But Erwin’s my right hand.”

“I’m happy that’s the case, Sir Otto.” Erwin said, looking back at Otto with a genuine smile. Otto felt a little worried for a second, but hid his anxiety, and smiled back. He put his hand on Erwin’s head and playfully ruffled his hair.

“What do you say we kill some time here, Erwin?” Otto asked.

“Kill time? Aren’t we supposed to-”

“I feel like grabbing food.” Otto said. “I heard the street food here can be pretty good. Just gotta find the right place.”

“That or a corner shop.” Erwin said. “Or any small place. It’s not the fancy restaurants that serve the best food, it’s always these small family-owned spots.”

“You couldn’t have worded it better.” Otto said. He took his phone out to check for directions. “I think straight ahead there should be a seafood place. The reviews say they serve great eel...”

“Let’s go there!”

“You’ve convinced me to grab some for myself too.” Reina said. “Unless you want to keep this moment to yourselves.”

“Of course you’re welcome.” Otto said. “It would be a nice break from walking endlessly and waiting for something to happen...”

“Which way is it?”

“Gotta turn the corner here, then walk straight for a bit...and we should get there.”

...

“Ichika, maybe slow down a little?” Ausra said. She was firmly holding onto her friend, who was skating across the streets at full speed, conjuring a pathway of ice beneath her.

“No point.” Ichika said. “The more we explore, the higher the chance we stumble upon someone.”

“Fair enough...” Ausra sighed. A few moments later, she chuckled a little. “Ichika, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why him?”

“Huh?” Ichika didn’t understand the question yet but she was already annoyed. “What do you mean?”

“From what Oskar told me, you and her aren’t too different.” Ausra elaborated. “I guess I should’ve reworded my question. Is there something you see in him?”

“Ausra, do you want me to slam you into the concrete?” Ichika asked, calmly.

After a brief silence, and a few moments where she was lost in thought, she finally answered.

“I guess there is something.”

“He took care of me, he didn’t laugh at me...”

“And I remember the look in his eyes.”

“There’s something special about him, something-

“Ichika, slow down!” Ausra yelled, just as they were about to turn the corner.

Ichika quickly turned around, trying to put a halt to her speed. She pushed herself forward while making the turn to redirect her speed, and stumbled upon...

[CRASH]

Otto and Erwin jumped back in surprise, and the two girls struck them with great force. They knocked their ice creams out of their hands, Otto was able to jump back and evade getting knocked down, but Erwin fell over. Reina stood there, bemused at the sight.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Looks like we’ll still be busy...” She said to herself, a manic smile emerging on her face. With a flick of her finger, the confused girls, who were starting to apologize, had a tough string wrapped around their wrists and ankles.

“Reina, halt.” Otto said, taking a better look at the two. They seemed scared and genuinely confused. “Who are you two? You’re clearly soulfuls.” He said, trying to sound welcoming but coming off as intimidating.

“Ichika...”

“Yeah, I know...” Ichika replied, taking a step back.

“This isn’t an elemental...”

“This is someone of a completely different caliber! His soul presence is through the roof! And if that’s not enough, it’s the three of them against two of us!!!”

“I’m calling him.” Ichika said, pressing the small device hidden in her pocket.

“I have no intent of harming you as long as you cooperate.” Otto said. “I have no idea who they are, the condition for replication needs to be fulfilled. One of the girls, Ichika is her name apparently, wields what appears to be ice manipulation. It’s definitely a useful soul expression.”

“The other one’s soul expression is unknown. I’ll have to get her to reveal hers.”

“We said we’re sorry, okay?” Ausra said. “I-I’ll buy you more ice cream, okay?”

“That is not the primary concern.” Otto said, drawing his sword. The replicator was a large sword, the blade had a slightly dark steel color. It had five empty vertically aligned circles on the base of the blade, and the hilt and silver decorations.

“How long till Hayk gets there?” Ausra asked.

“I don’t know-”

“She said the name Hayk.” Erwin quickly pointed out. “They’re associated with him, and he’s likely going to arrive on the scene soon.”

“Hayk?” Otto asked, now sounding both angered and excited. “That unreasonable soulful is once again shrouded by irony. Instead of fighting for a cause that’s worth it, he’s abandoned his sense of justice and ran away...only to be fighting once more.”

“Who are you? What do you want from us?!” Ichika asked.

“My name is Otto Richter, I am the head of the Adler Group.” Otto commanded. “Cooperate with me, and this conflict will be resolved. We will leave you.”

“What the hell does he want?” Ichika asked herself. “He knows Hayk too? Ah...to hell with it!”

“Ice Blast!”

A large formation of ice was launched out of the ground, knocking all three of them away. Ausra jumped on Ichika’s back once more, and they attempted to escape...

Reina was instantly filled with bloodlust, but Erwin, with a stern look, disallowed her to act radically. Otto, who brushed the dust and ice remnants off of his uniform, smiled. He watched, as one of the empty circles on his weapon turned into a light blue gemstone.

“One done.” Otto said. He jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building, getting a perfect scouting position. He found the girls skating through the street beneath him.

With one swing, he released a massive flying slash. Thankfully, however, it didn’t target the two of them - its target was merely the ground beneath them. The impact knocked both of them off their course, causing them to tumble across the street. As they stood up, they felt Otto’s presence quickly get closer to them.

“I’ll just need to separate them.” Otto thought. “And focus on the other girl.”

He struck the ground with his sword, releasing a tremendous mass of ice, and knocking Ichika into a nearby building. He channeled more soul prowess into the sword, creating a ring-like trap around Ausra made of ice. Now, unless she used her soul expression, she couldn’t get out. The ice started to close in more and more.

Ausra summoned her own weapon - it looked like a short katana. She sliced the ice up around her, but it started to overpower her.

“Sir Otto...are you sure this will work?” Erwin asked, watching the events from afar.

“It should.” Otto said. He patiently waited.

The moment he sensed an increase in Ausra’s soul presence, he carved a pathway through the ice and reached her. He made it just in time for the detonation.

A powerful explosion shattered the ice jail, knocking Otto away. Ausra, however, didn’t stop her assault - she threw a pair of pebbles at Otto, which, upon contact, detonated in a flashy manner. Otto wasn’t damaged too much, but he was impressed.

And so, a second gemstone appeared on one of the hollow spots on his blade. This one had a yellowish color.

“Good enough.” Otto proudly said.

“I can sense his soul presence at a distance.”

“I can’t afford to risk confronting him just yet, especially after the stress I’ve put his allies under.”

“Erwin, Reina, I got what I needed.” Otto said. “Ice manipulation and soul detonation. We’re out.”

“Got it.” Reina said, grabbing Otto with a thread of string and doing the same with Erwin a moment later. She pulled herself and her comrades out of the area with tremendous force, allowing them to escape before...

“Ichika! Ausra!” Hayk said, jumping down from a rather tall building and rushing towards them just a few moments later. “Where are they and how many?”

“They just left...” Ausra said, slowly standing up. She was very happy that whatever was going on, was over. “Where’s Ichika? Ichika?!”

“I’m here...” She said, walking over to the two. “The asshole used my own ice against me...”

“Wait, what?” Hayk was instantly concerned. “Which elemental did that?”

“It wasn’t an elemental...” Ausra said, sitting down again. She had sustained a few nasty injuries from the tumbling. “It was someone else. There were three of them.”

“Who was the one that used your ice?” Hayk asked Ichika. “Describe him right now.”

“His name was Otto Richter...he said he was the head of some Adler Group.” Ichika said. “They told us to cooperate, they got us to attack them, they...left...I don’t know what the hell their problem was.”

“Otto Richter?” Hayk asked, and after a long silence, he took a deep breath. “He’s making moves now, huh?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ichika asked.

“Hayk, he knew who you were-”

“Yeah, I’m aware.” Hayk said. “I know who he is too. And I know why he decided to attack you and why things worked out for him. His soul expression lets him replicate and store any soul expression he comes into contact with. His goal wasn’t to kill you, if he wanted that, you would’ve been dead already.”

“And why is he doing that?”

“Because he’s preparing for something. Judging by the tension right now, he’s assembling a nice little assortment of soul expressions for himself for when he needs to get his own hands dirty.” Hayk explained.

“And that might involve me.”

“How the hell do you even run into that guy by accident? Looks like Oskar used up all of our luck, didn’t leave any for the rest of us.”

“For fuck sake. If I hunt him down right now, especially when he has company, I’ll put Ichika and Ausra at risk.”

“We’re going back to the gym.” Hayk said. “You need to recover.”

“But we didn’t get any elementals.” Ichika objected.

“You got me some very useful information instead.”