Asher wasn't here to play games, nor was he here for some obscene task that he usually partakes in. Today this was personal and it involved his daughter along with the woman he loved. Asher wasn't the most stern of people nor the most violent but the lords blessed him with the great ability of skill, both physically and mentally. As the snow landed on his coat and hair the Cipher Pol agent marched towards the Emerald Castle where his daughter was being held. He easily could have taken a horse but he didn't want that right now. He wanted to take his time arriving so he could think about what he was going to do to these fools for taking his daughter.

Horns began to sound as Asher marched further towards Emerald Castle and he simply smirked. He had his short blade in hand and he had a very murderous look in his face. Soldiers formed and came from the woodwork as Asher simply stood there. There was roughly fifteen soldiers who all wielded their blades towards Asher but still he stood his ground. Simply drawing his katana Asher would look up and acknowledge the men. A whistling noise came from behind them higher up though, it was coming from the bridge. It was the agent with the sword. The one that stabbed Ty'Leanna at home. Asher gave him a look before pointing his right arm at him wielding his short blade. It was then Asher took off in a dash forward. He would aim to kill each and every soldier here in the most brutal of fashions.

"Did I awake the beast? Hmm Asher?" said the agent who enjoyed poking the bear. This didn't really do much to Asher as he kept his same blank facial expression staring down the agent who enjoyed playing antagonist. Now with his katana as his primary weapon and his short blade and usual ally Yama-Ji was now sheathed Asher planned on making this fast and painful. "When this is all said and done, you and your higher ups will never disrespect my family again" said Asher before he dashed forward with both hands on his hilt. A clash of steel once more saw Asher get the upper hand this time. The grimace on the face of the agent Asher fought didn't do much to distract Asher who wasn't really worried about the agents feelings at this moment.


"Oh, seems you aren't playing anymore Kringle" said the agent who was starting to get concerned "Looks like... I need to turn it up a little" and with that the blade of the agent would began to release electricity which forced Asher to back up and regroup at a distance. Now standing on the ledge of the bridge Asher could hear the flowing creek underneath him as the catfish crawled up and down. Obviously the distance were mere feet but that wouldn't stop him from taking in his surroundings. Asher would side step twice landing back on the bridge which separated the two by roughly 8 meters. Asher would place Yaga-Ta directly in front of him before tilting his blade nearly upside down completely before stopping leaving it diagonal "One Sword Style: Morning Peacock" said Asher as he dashed forward at his base level of speed.

Ten strikes seemed like two wih the speed in which Asher would deliver them to his opponent. He was able to block roughly seven of the ten as the blade nicked his left shoulder, his right cheek and his right midsection. The agent grew annoyed as he saw the blood trickling down his face along with the rips across his clothing. Asher still blankly staring him down as this unfolded. Had the circumstances been different Asher could have enjoyed this fight, but sadly this wasn't time for play instead it was time for Asher to use his full potential to wipe the floor with his opposition.

"I hope you know, your daughter is going to die Kringle, just like you" said the agent as a sinister grin bore his face. This didn't affect Asher much as he turned his emotions off before he arrived. This wasn't the man who wanted to rule the underworld, this was the Asher his father thought he could become if the circumstances were different. Asher would sling his blade removing the blood from it as he brought it upwards and turned it, the steel bouncing off the jaded light through the snow. "You must die" said Asher in a very monotonic voice before he dashed forward once more with his blade pointed forward over his shoulders near his right ear. He would swiftly spin shifting low on a single knee aiming for the midsection as the agent would jump backwards and bring his blade down vertically causing Asher to block horizontally before sweeping the agent by his legs. One combat roll later Asher cleared distance.

Dodging a slash aimed towards his left rib cage was Asher who as always seemed to be focused on his target's blade instead of the he target itself. The blade is an extension of the users mind and if the mind willed the blade to do the body of Asher harm then Asher shall watch the blade since he physically couldn't attack the mind. Psychology warfare was possible but Asher was saving that for someone else... Someone far more deserving of his antagonistic ways. "Nice to see you play with your food, Kringle." said the agent as he would again come forward with numerous slashes and even mixed in a kick which actually caught Asher and knocked him back some. Gripping his mid section Asher would stab his blade into the wooden bridge causing pieces of it to fly upwards towards the agent.

The sudden shift in movement caused him to block his face to protect himself from the splinters he was due to receive but that wasn't Asher's plan. As the agent proceeded to shield himself Asher would grab his blade and stabbed the agent through the chest. A gasp escaped his mouth as Asher simply stared him in his soul, The agent would cough up blood as he stared Asher down with equal emotion. He would place his hands on the impaled blade and begin to laugh. "Not yet" he would say as he used his hands to push himself off of the blade and wobble backwards as his blood met the ground.

"You know Kringle... When I first joined this army I heard about you... I heard you had ties to this town in your youth. Didn't make much of it and truthfully still don't. But what I will say is you'll die here in this kingdom today." said the agent as he continued to bleed out from his chest. Asher didn't pay his words much attention as he continued forward preparing to end the life of one of the men who tortured him an his family. Slowly but surely the emotions of Asher grew as he saw the woman he loved being stabbed in cold blood over something that didn't really concern her. Asher wasn't the most emotional man but when he was pushed to that point it was something to view. He would look at the man as they now stood a meter apart from one another. Asher simply looked at him before pushing him down to the ground with his middle finger and index finger of his right hand.

It wasn't much force within his hands that sent the man to the ground. He was probably standing off will and will only. He was a strong idiot to say the least but that wouldn't do him much favors with Asher right now. The snow fell and blended with the blood on the ground. Raising his blade and letting the apex of its anger reach the heavens Asher would descend his blade towards the ground impaling the heart of the agent with a swift stab of his black blade. He smiled just a bit as he did this because he was finally doing with hearing him talk. From there he would pull his blade and place it back in its sheath before continue on through the bridge.

With his opponent dead Asher could finally get a move on an advance towards saving Katalya. He wasn't side tracked but he could tell things were only cracking the surface in terms of what he was going to go through this morning. Continuing his walk across the bridge and towards the Castle of Emerald to which Asher planned to end it all he noticed something.. It was completely deserted out here with absolutely no one. Asher continued to walk but figured they didn't expect him to defeat the first agent he came across, but judging by his location that was obviously a bad investment. As he finally reached the palace Asher could hear someone whistling for his attention. He was trying to find the source of the whistling until he heard the voice of the second agent "Up here, Kringle" said the voice. When Asher looked he saw a smirk on  the face of the agent as he smoked his cigarette.

"Oi, I'll be up here relaxing until you're ready to fight mate" said the agent before the front entrance to the castle opened which didn't shock Asher. He could tell these people were all about a movie."I'm going to kill him and get this over with." said Asher in a monotonic voice as he walked through the front entrance and was surrounded immediately by 15 soldiers. They were wielding guns and swords and all aimed at Asher to which he simply raised his hands. "I'm more dangerous like this compared to my hands down" said Asher as one of the soldiers spoke up "Hands down then Kringle" said the soldier to which Asher responded "bad mistake" his short blade was up his coat sleeve and he chucked it directly at the head of the soldier killing him instantly.

The sound of a gunshot went off as we see Asher standing over a downed soldier who just got shot in the face. He was covered in blood as he had killed fourteen soldiers and there was one remaining. He was crawling away as Asher stalked him standing directly behind him whistling as he watched the soldier crawl. "h-h-h-he is upstairs" said the soldier who Asher didn't pay much mind to "I know where he is, I don't care, but I know." said Asher who threw his short blade at the leg of the crawling soldier stopping him in his tracks. He let out a scream which made Asher laugh just a bit. He was enjoying this now, all the blood he had spilled was starting to make this fun for him. Grabbing his short blade from the leg of the soldier Asher would stay down on his level as he gripped his leg in pain. "I usually enjoy this kind of thing, killing people that is... But today is different. I didn't want to kill anyone. My hand was forced and now... you and all your people die."

Asher was angry and you could visibly see it now. His face was flushed under all of the blood that stained him and his smile was crooked. A swift stab through the throat of the soldier sent him to his death and Asher back to his feet. "Now.. for you" said Asher as he turned his head slightly to the right and saw the blonde agent lighting a cigarette. "Glad to see you didn't waste any energy on the boys. Lets get the real show on the road" said the agent as he removed the cigarette from his mouth flicking it towards Asher almost instantly the agent would draw his pistols and released a shot from each chamber one even splitting the cigarette in half as Asher used his footwork to navigate between the two. The agent on the other side of the wall would stare each other down as he blew the smoke from his pistols. "...Go" the duo began to run down the hall as the agent released shot after shot on Asher with him simply dodging and using his short blade as defense.

The flurry of bullets continued as Asher continued to hide and find a way around the gunfire. He was actually impressed with the marksman aim as he managed to nip the hair covering Asher's eyes. That could have turned into a bad situation for Asher if he had moved a split second faster. this let Asher figure that this agent was calculating his speed and using that as a means to predetermine Asher's movements on the battlefield. "So, when you killed Aoi did he scream? Or did he take it like a man" said the agent as he stood in the center of the room and Asher behind a pillar. Asher showed himself from the pillar and faced the second agent. "You can ask him yourself when you join him" said Asher as his blood stained face shrouded the blue in his eyes. He wasn't him right now. He was Slasher Kringle. "Hmm, you got jokes Ricochet" said the agent as he fired a single bullet at Asher which he dodged and immediately felt the pierce of the bullet on the opposite side of his body on his left shoulder.

Quickly gripping his shoulder as the blood rushed out "You like that eh Kringle? Special bullet of mine, these walls here at Emerald Castle are made of a special material that my bullets are made from which makes it very reflective." the agent would proceed to walk up towards Asher who would stare him down with each passing step. "So, you said I would be joining Aoi in the afterlife? I think you'll see him first" said the agent as he pointed both his pistols to the head of the now downed Asher. It was at this moment Asher closed his eyes and begin to relive all of his most traumatic memories. It was him as a child with his sister, than it was him training with his sensei and lastly it was his daughter crying along with his love being stabbed. A tear shed from his right eye as he jumped shifting his left leg to hook the agent as he fired his pistol causing his arms to jerk from the force. Asher would combat roll back behind the pillar as he created room between the two.

"Honestly Kringle... You will die here today. Even if for some god forsaken reason you make it through here.. you think you could beat what's waiting for you up those stairs? Me and Aoi are just the beginning of your problems. Save yourself the ultimate heartbreak and surrender now. Maybe that way Hento will spare your child" those words struck a nerve with Asher as he was breathing really fast and shallow trying to suppress the blood lost and everything associated with the wound. The agent had fell when Asher wrapped his leg and he was now starting to get up. Asher once again came from his hiding spot behind the pillar as he saw the downed agent. "You aren't in the position to be threatening people" said Asher as he approached the downed agent. He wouldn't attack him but he would kick his guns away from him. "We're going to do this the only way men can. Close quarter"

Asher would throw his short blade on the ground to which the agent would look at as Asher stood. The agent would try and sneak Asher who would unsheath his katana and parry the attack as the clash signaled a wave of energy. "Don't sneak me, I'm giving you a chance to redeem your honor before you die. Take it" said Asher as he turned back and continued to walk away. He made just enough space between the two and then he turned back towards the agent. "Now stand" the agent would stand as he had the short blade in his hand.

The clash of the two steel objects left for little room for error. This shooter was oddly good with a sword. Asher could appreciate such versatility and if the circumstances were different but he would enjoy it for what it was which is a blood bath. The pair would exchange wild strikes throughout their close quarter situation. The shooter even managed to slice across the shoulder which he previously shot Asher in. This caused the swordsman to back up and cover his shoulder. His exit wound was wide open and sliced like a four pointed star.

"What's wrong Kringle? You aren't a fan of your own blade? How will it feel to get killed with your own weapon.." Both men were bloody and battled through the passing hour mark. Asher's endurance faced a real test today and as of right now he was passing with flying colors. Somehow he still managed to keep his energy in the reserves for what awaited him above on the upper levels. "Not today." Asher was determined not to die here today and if he had to go out of his norm to insure that he had no problem doing just that. Asher would stab his blade forward which made the agent jump back placing his blade over Asher's as a means of knocking it to the ground which now left both men sword-less. "Seems we have to do this the old fashioned way.. No blades, just our first and our will. I will say, you are far more combat ready than your friend Aoi, I wish he could have provided me with such a battle."

This was quite fun. Even hand to hand this fellow could throw a mean hook. Him and Asher slugged it out with each other and Asher was getting the better of the exchanges until a swing of the right leg to the testicles of Asher sent him crashing down to the floor. "I figured since you already have a kid you won't need those" joked the agent as he began to take off his eye patch. "Remember, earlier when I told you I knew your old man?" the agent picked up a rock from the previous debris "Well?" he held the rock to Asher's head as his anger grew along with his intensity "I remember." said Asher in a very blank voice staring up towards the agent.

"Well.. My eye, its gone because of him." Asher slightly raised his right eyebrow as a means of telling the agent he wanted to hear more. "When I was younger your father and his band of "marines" came to get my father. My old man's people rebelled and they had a fun fight. Me thinking it was safe to come out walked straight into a shot from your pops. Haven't had an eye since." Asher simply snickered as the story genuinely amused him. His snicker soon turned into a burst of laughter. The agent stood in anger "Is this funny to you!" he would scream as he looked down at Asher "Honestly. Yes" said Asher who fought back his laughter as much as he could.

He went to grab his pistol but but when he turned his back Asher grabbed the short blade adjacent to his left leg. He would tuck the blade slightly under his leg while holding on to it with his left hand. "Now you die Kringle" said the agent who while taking off the safety was met with a cold stab through the throat. As he started gripping his throat as a means of preserving his air Asher would stand and light one of his cigarettes. "Bye" picking up one of the agent's pistols Asher emptied the clip in his chest killing him for sure. Throwing a cigarette on the body Asher would watch as the flames would catch on his hair. Asher now had one more stop.