Under New Management (Demon Blade Members Only)

The signal the deed had been done was all the Fallen Angel needed to implement stage two of the plan. Zagan had been in the guild long enough that he knew how Bertha called the members together and the usual time it took for them all to group. It gave him plenty of time to set everything up and the gathering members would never see it coming. The main hall buzzed with the low mumble of curious Guild Members. The message that had been sent out had only said to come as quickly as possible, Bertha had an important announcement for the entire guild that would change everything. Eagerly they all waited to hear what this important announcement was going to be. Was it that they were going to finally come out of hiding? Where they going to go attack another guild? A Country? Every member was asking the others if they knew anything about what was going on. Zagan smiled at the thought of seeing their faces once they find out what was really going on.

"My fellow guild members," Zagan said as he walked out on the stage at the far end of the main hall. The hall immediately went silent. Though Zagan hadn't been a member of the guild long, it was known that he was powerful and had Bertha's confidence. "My Fellow Guild members," Zagan said once more, his voice amplified enough so that everyone could hear him, "we've all been summoned here today by the will of the Guild Master for Tartaros. I know you've all been curious what this is about and I don't want to keep you in suspense. So without further ado, I give you Big Bertha." A cheer went up among the guild as they looked to the stage, waiting for their Guild Master to step out and give them what ever announcement that was suppose to change the way the guild was doing things. A moment passed. Then two. Though they waited patiently, they never saw Bertha walk out onto the stage.

It was then that a few guild members looked back towards Zagan who was still gesturing as if he was showing the way that Bertha would enter. They noticed he wasn't pointing to any place on the stage, but his hand was aimed at the rafters. Slowly the guild members started looking up. Zagan smiled as this was the moment he was waiting for. Releasing the prepared magic, Bertha's body fell from the rafters straight down. a few feet before it hit anyone, the body was jerked to a stop but only for a second. It jerked and swung and then there was a sound of bone breaking and flesh tearing and the body landed a top three or four of the members. Blood spilled from the body, staining a few members with the crimson liquid. The members tossed the body away, sicked to be covered in their former Guild Master's Blood. "Oh my god," someone exclaimed as they gestured towards the bodies head, except there was none. Dangling in the air with ropes tied around it, the head of Bertha stared at each of them. Eyes and mouth both open wide.

That hadn't been some accident. Zagan had found Bertha's body with the knife still lodged in her neck. All it took was some careful cutting and he had a great drop and snap effect. Voices of outrage and horror rose up from the guild, angered looks all staring towards the Fallen Angel. "Silence." Zagan's black wings shot out and snapped like a whip in time with his voice. The Guild fell silent, though their demeanor didn't change. "I have not been a member of the guild long, but I knew from the first time I heard Bertha's motto, 'Permanent peace at the cost of temporary destruction!', that this guild was sick." Zagan's voice was mocking as he recited the motto. "For that reason it was decided that this guild needed new leadership. I give you the new Guild Master." Zagan pulled his wings back in as he turned and gestured this time to the side of the stage.

Axel had been off to the side of the stage the whole time as he waited for Zagan to cue him to come out. Axel saw everything that was going on between Zagan and the members and it as rather humorous to watch. As Axel began to walk out onto the stage he thought about how the plan he and Zagan constructed was finally coming to light. However Axel knew that even with a guild of dark mages at their disposal that their task would be no easy one, and one that required only the toughest and most trust worthy of people. Right before Axel stepped center stage where anyone could see him he put on a cloak and a hood that covered the entirety of his body. He even put on a pair of black gloves so that not even his hands could be seen. And the hood covered his head in such a way that nobody could see his face, almost as if there was no head underneath of the hood.

Current Appearance:

"Hello Tartaros, I am your new guild master! You all may call me the Visionary, because I have a vision for this guild, the people in it, and the entire world." The crowd of mages were silent but their facial expressions showed that they were far from happy. Axel didnt need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out however he knew the plan must continue on. So Axel thought it best to tell the members all the new rules and what not he had for the guild, but first he thought it best to share his spotlight for a moment. Axel walked over to Zagan and put his glove covered hand on his shoulder and say "I would just like to thank Zagan, without him none of this would be possible! However without further delay lets get on to this meeting. First of all Tartaros no longer exist." The crowd errupted in anger and loud noise. This was when the crowd was about to storm the stage and probably attempt to kill Axel. However Axel had a fail safe, and he clapped his hands loudly so that they could echo throughout the hall.

Everybody calmed down for a minute just long enough for Axel to finish his sentence. "Now I know you probably want to kill me but if anyone attempts to come up on stage I will blow us all up with the lacrima bomb I put in the heating system this morning." After hearing that they all calmed down and decided to listen to what he was saying. "We will give you 10 minutes." Is what a guild member yelled out on behalf of the guild. Under his hood Axel smiled evilly even though nobody could see it. He then sat down on the stage with his legs crossed and began to speak yet again and hoped that he would not be interrupted. "As I was saying, Tartaros no longer exist this guild will now and forever be known as Demon Blade. Now I know this is a crazy sudden change so I will give you two options. Option one you stay here and serve me and the new guild. Option 2 you leave here right now and say noting of this to nobody." One member heard that and began to walk towards the door, however Axel hadnt truly finished his statement about option two. So as the young mage attempted to leave he met a timely end the same way Bertha did, with a knife to the neck that was thrown by Axel.

The body dropped to the ground as Axel said "You guys didnt let me finish. Option 2 you leave here right now and say noting of this to nobody and die."

A meeting? A puzzled look crossed Cedric's face. He had not heard of any meeting prior to this very moment. He had happened to over hear about it from another member whose name Cedric did not even know. Being one of the four Harbingers Cedric was normally told about these kind of matters days in advance, something was a bit off but he would go to see what all the big fuss was about. As members slowly trickled into the guildhall Cedric opted to find spot that was on the second floor balcony overlooking the rest of the crowd. Up here he had perfect view of everybody down below without the unnecessary shoulder bumping.

The crowd was full of energy until a lone figure took the stage. Cedric squinted trying to make out the figure, it took him a second to figure out that it was in fact Zagan not Bertha making Cedric even more intrigued. He listened patiently to every word Zagan spoke and when it was time for Bertha's grand appearance along with the rest of the guild Cedric's mouth was gapped with shock to see her corpse fall from the ceiling. He quickly regained his composure and watched as the crowd started to get a bit upset. He kept his magic in check though, not giving into his emotions and lashing out at Zagan but instead he kept calm and continued to watch.

A second figure emerged onto the stage and spoke for a few minutes. When they spoke about a bomb that they would activate if the guild charged them Cedric knew that he was going to have to step in soon. He did not know too much about Zagan other than he was also one of the Harbingers and that his title signified his ability to lay waste to large areas. He was probably not somebody that Cedric could handle on his own without the whole guild being laid to waste in the process.

After one of the members was killed right then and there on the stage Cedric knew it was time to step in. He did not care too much what guild he was in, who ran it, or what its name might be, all he cared about is killing people and figuring out a way to bring back the demons of legend. Cedric held out his hand and called on just a trickle of his magic summoning three very simple and plan throwing knives. His eyes locked in on all his intended targets and just using his raw strength without any magic backing threw each of the blades. Silently the knives flew through the air. There were blades aimed at the feet of both Zagan and the cloaked figure while the third was aimed right at the rope that held poor Bertha's limbless body.

Just as all three knives hit their marks Cedric would leap down from the balcony right onto of one of the members below, snapping his neck in the process. He had thrown the other knives so they would not harm Zagan or the other man but just give them a little shock, more so for shits and giggles than anything. "Yooo Zagan, what do you think you're doing making a big fuss for no reason. Don't you have better things to do than carving up poor Bertha like that?" Cedric let out a small chuckle as he stepped off the man's dead body and started walking towards the stage. The members seemed to part ways making a path for him to the stage. He walked about halfway there before stopping to see what Zagan might do, maybe he will try to carve Cedric up like Bertha.

Zagan stood to the side, listening, watching. This was a dark guild and though they may not be the most loyal group, killing their guild master might be one of those things that would band them all together. If they did rebel and attack, Zagan would have to kill the majority of them. Zagan shivered slightly. The very though exciting him, but he quickly fought down the urge. Killing these members, while satisfying, would delay the work that he needed to get done. What might only take months would instead take years. Zagan mastered himself and turned attention back to watching the crowd that could easily become a mob. All eyes were still on Axel. Curiosity overcoming most the rage that they had felt at seeing their Guild Master mutilated in such a way. That wasn't a surprise. What had been a surprise was Axel coming out dressed in all black and covering his entire features. The guild would need to see his face for this deception to work. If he was to stay hidden it would be easy for someone to take his place just by wearing a black cloak similar to the one he wore.

"Axel," Zagan hissed, only loud enough that Axel would hear, "show them your f---" He cut off abruptly as a knife flew from Axel to be buried in a members neck, dropping them. His blood red eyes flashed around the room. Killing another guild member might just set someone off so he was being extra aware. Magic. It was just a small amount, but with him being extra aware, Zagan could feel it. He looked in the general direction of the magic and saw the faintest glint of metal in the low light. Zagan acted as quickly as possible. He didn't feel anything other than that tiny amount of magic, so he didn't think what was coming would be anything too powerful. An attack meant to catch them off guard. His wings snapped like a whip, unfurling in the blink of an eye. A gust of wind passed over the gathered group, Zagan's wings making a single push. It wasn't strong enough to stop the three knives from continuing forward, but it was enough to move them off course.

The first dagger, meant to free Bertha's head, drove deep into her forehead, maiming her further. The other two were pushed further off course. Metal that was suppose to strike the ground in front of Axel and Zagan instead drove deep into the shoulder blade of one man and into the kidney of another. Their pains of agony were sweet, but they were but a buzz in Zagan's attention. He was completely focused on the man who had thrown the knives. "Cedric," Zagan said, cooling his urge to go and strike the man down. He knew little about the man except he had been one of Bertha's Harbinger's of Sin. The Power if he remembered correctly. "Cedric, I didn't think you would be so foolish as to strike at the new head of your guild..... well maybe not your guild anymore." It was sort of a taunt, a threat. Zagan was daring the man to try something.

The fallen angel, curled his wings again and turned towards the rest of the guild. "You've heard the terms our new Guild Master has set. Become part of Demon Blade, or join Bertha in Tartaros." A smirk twitched on his lips. The members have suffered defeat after defeat in the recent years. He didn't think they would turn violent. They've all become to docile. To make his final message clear though, he released the last bit of magic that had been wrapped around Bertha's bleeding head. Timing it to activate when Cedric was close as he walked forward, the open mouthed head popped as if crushed by massive hands. Blood and gray matter rained down on all the members in the area. "Now is the time to choose," Zagan said, letting magic build within himself till it nearly suffocated the room, "kneel and show your new allegiance, or remain standing and fall before the Blade."

Axel saw the knife as Zagan began to deflect it and it hit one of the other members. Axel was not the least bit scared however he was intrigued as to who had the nerve to attack him. Axel then watched as the man jumped from the balcony and killed one of the other members, and did nothing as him and Zagan began to have a conversation. The man's name was Cedric and for some reason Axel had taken a liking to him and so he had started to formulate a plan of action. Soon after the conversation between Cedric and Zagan, the latter began to tell everyone to join Demon Blade or die a member of Tartaros. Thats when Axel spoke up and said "Actually Zagan I have changed my mind..." Axel then pointed to Cedric and 7 other members and said "You 8 get to live, the rest of you all die right here."

Axel knew that this wasnt part of the plan however he knew that this action would be better than allowing them to live and possibly betray them in the long run. It seemed like it was nothing more than the blink of an eye as the lights in the room went off and it became completely dark. After about 10 seconds the lights came back on and the members of Tartaros excluding the 8 Axel selected were all dead. Axel then looked at the 8 and said "You now all owe me your lives, so now I want you to all bow to me The Visionary." The 7 members bowed except Cedric and Axel smiled under his cloak. He then went and stood in front of Cedric, and as he did so he took his hood off to show not his face but instead it revealed a white mask similar to what an assassin would wear. "This is the first step... with the next step I will reveal my face, however you must earn it."

Cedric was a bit disappointed that none of his knives found their intended homes but he was not going to show it on his face. Instead he continued to wear his grin even as Zagan taunted him. He knew that Zagan would probably have enough strength to defeat Cedric but would the fallen one be so bold to do so right here? Zagan’s magical aura filled the room and Cedric began to see that there was in fact a large difference in their magical power but it did not deter him from slowly walking forward.

As he took another step forward the masked man seemed to point at Cedric and another seven members in the crowd, this cause Cedric to pause his progress towards the stage since he could very well easily be walking straight into a trap. He spoke about how that the eight of them would be sparred while the rest of the guild would be killed right then and there. “Only a fool would kill off an entire guild that he is trying to take over…” In mid sentence the lights shut off leaving the room in complete darkness. Cedric built up his magical power and kept focus on Zagan’s and the hooded man just in case they would make a move.

As the lights slowly flickered back on Cedric and the other seven stood there while the corpses of their brethren laid on the ground in a bloody mess. The sight seemed to shock a few of the survivers but Cedric’s smirk had faded to a rather anger looking scowl. “Well now that the guild’s muscle are all gone how will we keep the city hostage? Its only a matter of time before the people start to rebel and try to land the city back to the ground.”

Cedric could care less who ran this guild or what their mission was but he was not about to have to flee from his home because of some stupid whim two men had. Zagan was a fierce mage and if this man caused even Zagan to take the knee he must be strong as well but could the two of them alone keep the whole place in check or protected in the chances that the light guilds decided to attack. “I hope that you two know what you are doing by declaring this change, now that you’ve started it you’re going to have to keep at it until whatever half ass mission you’ve concocted is complete.”