Red Like Roses... Green Like Greed

Styn was leaning back with his eyes closed, feet propped up on his small desk. The solid surface was littered with papers. In the corner opposite from his legs was a computer screen which had been flashing at him for the last several minutes. The volume of course was off. The Demon Knight was resting for once. It wasn't quite sleep, as he remained aware of his surroundings, but it certainly was relaxing. Lately he seemed to spending alot more time closer to home and it was refreshing. Doubtless this would change when the people calling the shots figured out what to do with him.

His casual awareness locked onto an approaching Za Koa signature. In addition to an almost meditative state of mind he was taking this chance to try and hone an ill practiced spirit sense. Styn's ability to perceive reiatsu and other forms of energy had always been low. Mostly that was because he had always trapped his own aura from escaping by constantly reinforcing his passive Akuma Kyodo. Death could come at any time and the young demon preferred to be prepared. Expecting the unexpected had saved his life before, and he was sure it would again.

Closing his eyes made the process simpler. There were actually very interesting things he had begun to notice over the past few sessions. Not only for example, was there a rapidly approaching Za Koa signature that he recognized. By the flux of the demon's energy Styn was also able to tell that whoever it was, they were quite upset. So it was that when the demoness stepped into his office, she found him bright eyed and bush tailed, ready to deal with whatever the latest crisis was. Seeing Styn look at her so expectantly threw her off for a moment, but she was quick to recover.

"Styn, we've got a problem. Do you know where Archduke Hobgoblin is?" she asked with anxiety oozing from every word. The demoness even went so far as to dry wash her hands and if Styn wasn't mistaken that was a nervous tick in the flesh around her right eye.

"Um no, no I do not know where his excellency is at this moment. What kind of problem would require the Archduke's personal attention?" Styn said with a healthy degree of skepticism. He knew the demoness in passing and struggled a moment to recall her name. "Why don't you calm down and tell me what's going on Calina. Perhaps you'd care to sit?" Styn asked while gesturing for her to take a seat on a smaller table, also cluttered with paper.

"No!" Calina shouted before taking a deep calming breath. "No, I don't have time to sit down and I don't have time to tell you what's going on. I need to find someone strong enough to deal with this mess before Queen Mana decides to take a personal hand in it. Reigen Akogi is laying waste to Flow City. We've already lost an entire company of Knights."

With a wild look in her eyes the demoness spun about and dashed from his office. Styn felt a chill go down his spine. He had always known that he would have to fight Reigen one day. There had been a time when he had hoped to make the man a friend, but that option was never really on the table for the Immoral Dealer. Reigen played his own game and he was generally smart about it. Which of course begged the question, what did Reigen think he was doing assaulting one of the largest and most protected cities in the Demon World.

It would seem that Styn wasn't the only one who had been growing in power, although truth be told he was hardly in a position to measure the gentleman demon in their last encounter. It was completely possible that Styn had never properly comprehended the strength that Reigen had. All of this was a moot point though. While Styn would have preferred to put off this encounter until the turbulent mass of his implanted memories stabilized, it would seem that call wasn't going to be up to him.

He had made no move to stop Calina from leaving. Although many had begun to suspect that something had changed about Styn, the things that had been done to him were still considered a top secret project even among other Shadow Fall operatives. As a bastion of order, Styn tended to follow commands. In this case it even made sense to do so. He represented a new degree of battle power for his organization. Keeping him in reserve was a sound tactical decision.

This particular mess was clearly on the First Circle for whatever reason, and Mana expected results from her Archdukes. An attack against a demon city under Shadow Fall's direct protection could not go unpunished. It was completely possible that someone else was already on their way, but with everything that was going on all over the multiverse Styn might very well be the only one able to answer this challenge. Standing up he moved to the doorway, but did not exit.

Styn stood not quite six feet tall, taller then average perhaps, but not in a way that stood out. His medium build accentuated his averageness, he wasn't quite slim, but fell short of heavily muscled. Dark green hair only an inch or so in length, could possibly be a dye job. Pale violet eyes, while a questionable fashion choice, were not outside cosmetic modification. Both ears came to slight point at the apex of their arc, something easily overlooked. His teeth might be a bit sharper then normal for a human, but they retained the same basic shape and placement. The demon's nails also came to a point and were thicker then common, but were by no means long talons or claws. All and all - discounting Za Koa which was naturally suppressed in this base form - Styn would go unremarked in most locations.

The Knight of the First Circle sported a dark green business suit, almost black outside of direct light. The pale violet tie was clearly meant to bring out his eyes, which were somewhat concealed behind a pair of gunmetal gray glasses with translucent bottom rims. Black dress shoes capped out the attire, with especial detail paid so that the combat boot soles didn't look out of place. Still the effect lacked a certain something. First of all, his white button down shirt was untucked, which his unbuttoned dark green jacket didn't quite conceal. His tie was loosened at least an inch, and cocked slightly to the left. His pants looked a bit rumpled and his shoes were scuffed. In addition his eyes had heavy dark bags under them and his stare was half lidded, giving him the appearance of someone tired or sick.

With a flick of his hand the Demon Knight ripped open a hole in the fabric of reality. Kage Chokyo-shi was a bit of specialty of his and he was familiar with with Flow City, having worked patrols there several times in the months since he had been with Shadow Fall. Stepping forward through the rift onto the roof of an industrial complex, Styn cocked his head to the side getting a feel for his present location as the portal whisked shut behind him. He had a vague sense of where Reigen was at the moment, but just barely. The Immoral Dealer's Za Koa signature was as enigmatic as when they had last met.

Styn wasn't the sort of person to work himself up for a good brawl, slowly building to his full power. He didn't particularly enjoy battle, although at the moment a different set of instincts were savoring the pending conflict. When he was moved to fight he preferred immediate and overwhelming force to deal with threats. That's why he didn't hesitate to unleash his true form mere seconds after confirming that he wasn't in any immediate danger.

The transformation consolidated his power instead of expanding it. The concentration and density of his physical structure was roughly the same, with a few distinct differences. From finger tip to elbow his arms were now encased in a thick bone white mass. It was as if his hands were now the claws of a beast at least three times his size. They were still five fingered, and smooth across the top, however the underside of every digit was now razor sharp. At the elbow, extending out like short swords, were two double edged bone white blades, one for each arm. The tips of those edges would just barely pass his shoulder blades if his arm was fully extended.

Gauntlets were only part of the new look. His legs from knee to toe were also encased in thickened, claw tipped grieves. In addition, across the knees were studded spikes, needle sharp, but blade thick. The thin strands of his hair warped and locked into rows of hooked barbs, although the hair at least maintained its green coloring. As his glasses dissolved into his face, the final transition would be the opening of this third eye. This opening was accompanied by ninety-nine other eyes similarly opening all over his body, although these were mostly hidden by his clothes. The change in his energy would be equivalent to a Shinigami's Shikai.

The one hundred eyes all over his form pushed outward, briefly holding the ability to phase through his suit as his full power manifested. Once separated from his body they rapidly multiplied tenfold, filling the air with one thousand quarter sized spheres. Neural pathways normally dormant came to blazing life within Styn's mind. His brain capacity dramatically increased to deal with the sudden sensory overload. There was a moment of disorientation which quickly passed. The Demon Knight's Za Koa signature increased in magnitude to be comparable to that of a Shinigami's Bankai. Although obviously stronger and ready to fight, Styn's power didn't come with a large amount of spirit pressure. He made no attempt to lock down an enemy with the overwhelming might of his presence.

A single thought sent the pieces of his own flesh to swarm Flow City. He stood in the center of this mass for only a moment before his thousand eyes were out of his immediate view. They moved quickly and with a great degree of precision. Within moments an eye located Reigen and hovered three hundred meters above the area where the Provocateur of 'Want' was on a rampage. It would keep its distance and dodge any attacks aimed its way at shadow movement speeds. This small but visible piece of Styn would arrive about thirty seconds after his entrance into Flow City.

One hundred of his eyes sought out the commanders of this area in every corner of the city. Without waiting for permission they melded with these demons, one eye for each of the Shadow Fall officers. Words were difficult to send over the bond, but Styn concentrated on sending a calming sensation and an urge to stand fast. It would hardly do to lose more lives at this point. Reigen had proved that numbers weren't going to win this battle. It might have been different if it had been a shinigami or human attacker, but this was a Demon and would have access to the Za Koa that smothered this city. Whatever sponsored this particular rampage, it was time to end the loss of Shadow Fall forces.

Five hundred of his remaining eyes spread out to cover almost the entire city in his influence. Almost imperceptible red dust exploded from each of these five hundred orbs. This Za Koa then rushed to infuse every single molecule with his life force. Only the area three hundred meters around Reigen was spared this onslaught. It would be like the city itself was becoming a part of him. This awareness wasn't just for the purpose of information, although that was a handy feature, but by just standing within this affect Styn would be three times stronger then normal.

He fully expected Reigen to oppose this maneuver, but didn't intend to give the gentleman demon the time to do so. He had been in Flow City for less then a minute, his eyes were just that fast. Even as they prepared to claim almost every inch of the city for him Styn stepped into a shadow and pulled himself to Reigen's current location. This was not the sort of direct line of sight movement that was a normal shadow step. Styn actually moved his entire spiritual and physical structure into the shadow realm for a brief moment and rose out of the shadow of Reigen's latest victim.

As the dead body slid onto the ground, casting a shadow onto the cold concrete, a hand thrust up from the blackness and caught the falling demon. This wasn't exactly a slow emergence either, the Demon Knight exploded out of the ground. One moment his Za Koa signature was miles away from Reigen and the next he was standing before the Immoral Dealer. His greeting would be similarly fast, but it would come in the form of actions more so then words. Although there would be brief spoken dialogue if the Provocateur of 'Want' stayed close enough to hear.

At this point his five hundred eyes all over the city began to exert Za Koa's Influence. In addition, the last four hundred that were present at the borders of the three hundred meter radius of Reigen's current location were quick to not only attempt to claim the area for Styn, but to also crush the Immoral Dealer in overlapping Reiatsu Drain fields coming from all directions. These spirit rending projections of invisible force would follow in the wake of the concentrated Za Koa's influence.

Reigen for his part was suddenly confronted with a cold faced Styn pointing both clawed gauntlets forward. From these curled hands twin plumes of Black Inferno Blast lanced outward like curling solar flares. This attack was the quick and weaker version of the technique. As such it charged unbelievably fast and was capable of closing the short distance at shadow movement speed. Like all Black Infero Blasts, the heat was only one expression of this elemental form of corruption. Its true wrath was the after effect. To be inflicted with the parasite of this attack was similar to being bathed in lethal radiation and even a demon as powerful as Reigen would find his physical and spiritual structure attacked.

"Reigen Akogi, It would seem that we meet again," Styn said simply. Introductions at this point were unnecessary. They knew each other, although surely the Immoral Dealer must be doubting his sanity to see what had been such a powerless and weak demon suddenly challenging him. A few months shouldn't have made such a difference in might. In this case however it had. The faster Reigen came to terms, the better his chances of survival.