Outside Hayate’s mind scape the towering presence of the Corpse King rattled the moral of the Brotherhood. This would have been the first time anyone other than Shinsou himself set eyes on the power the dwells deep within Hayate. The sheer heat emanating off the brazen red armor caused clouds of steam to drift in the wind. For a moment it appeared that the handful of soldiers lost their courage and chose flight over fight as two of them holstered their bows and took off in the opposite direction of the titan. But still others stayed, readied their arrows, and fired upon the lumbering giant assuming it to be the enemy. This was the greatest mistake any of them could have committed.
Without warning the Corpse King reacted to the arrows ricocheting of its ethereal plate armor by turning sharply and dragging its forearm across the walkway. Cobblestones and debris flew widely in all directions as the blood of the Brotherhood washed away their transgressions. The titan let out a great bone chilling howl as it leapt from the canal up to the surface streets above where it noticed a few of the soldiers still trying to get to their feet. They were terrified as were the hundreds of nameless grunts killed by the Corpse King before.
Suddenly something happened and a dark cloud soared through the sky and smashed against the helm of the titan knocking it off balance and staggering back into the side of a low hanging veranda. Whatever it was the attack had potency behind it and was strong enough to at least impact the beast. After a moment of recovery the titan returned to its upright position at its red eyes surveyed the direction that the magic attack had come from. By this time the soldier on the street had disappeared and all that was around Hayate and the Corpse King were empty streets.
Back with Hayate’s consciousness they two spirits fought vigorously causing flashes of red and black light to light up the desolate place. Hayate had always been confident but now was different, he wasn’t fighting an opponent. He was fighting a friend, one who literally trained him and was like a father to him. With every one of Yamato’s strike he felt like a disappointment to the only person Hayate had left he cared for.
“I’m sorry…†the words left his lips as the two clashed once more. Hayate grabbed Yamato’s ethereal blade with his titanium arm and forced the visage of his father to look him directly in the eyes. At spitting distance the two felt each other’s emotions and truly knew one another.
