9

When the third wave happened, everything became a blur to me, I was making sure nearby villages were alright before joining the others at the main scene of the wave. Seeing that ghost ship monster, the tentacles inside it, and the bag of bones dressed as a captain, I realized something. Then, when I met Glass, something snapped when she insinuated something and threatened to kill people I had taken under my wing.

Next I knew, I had unlocked four new series as my mind and heart battled with my demons against things I knew that wouldn't happen or that COULD happen, with me around. Yet, I didn't care much for those words, "Ah, you're the one who is hunting. Don't worry, just let me kill those heroes behind you, and I shall help you hunt personally." repeated in my head that they made me single-mindedly target Glass before she fled with me following her. I do know that the Fallen Guardian had defaulted to the weapon I was using, however, given that I can't forget its new appearance.

Looking at the appearance, I looked at myself using a stream inside the Infinite Labyrinth, as I hadn't bothered switching from the Fallen Guardian weapon form. Behind my back at the very top, as if saying they were superior was Pride, but as black and golden Vectors tightly sticking together as angel wings, toxic green flames licking at their forms. Just below them were the Wrath wings, blood-red and black in color with flames licking at them, which had taken on the form of slimmer Groms to stick closer together as wings mimicking an angel's wings. Then finally Greed was below them as Mosin-Nagants, with green and black coloring as golden flames licked at them while compacted together as angel wings. Going by the pattern, I could tell the remaining four sins would take on the same theme to their appearance.

The gauntlets on my wrist and covering my hands, with a black and gold trimmed leather acting as gloves, had three glowing runes. Repentance otherwise known as Humility after some digging into the Sins, Acceptance otherwise known as the virtue of Kindness, and finally the last rune. Guardian. Otherwise, known as the virtue of Diligence. Meaning just like Lust, Sloth, Envy, and Gluttony for the sins, I still had the virtues of Chastity, Patience, Temperance, and Charity. Each weapon is tied to some ambiguous demon that changes or the most feared Angels Gabriel, Michael, Cassiel, Azrael, Ramiel, Uriel, and Raphael.

The weapon form seems to have also permanently changed my clothing and hairstyle, given that the clothes and my hair refuse to budge. Brown messy hair now stuck as lighter brown messy hair that mostly leans towards covering my right eye, glasses now essentially stuck to my face, rebreather and gas mask combo melded into my skin before disappearing entirely.

With a dark blue military like trench coat with golden trims and a bronze cross with segments of representations behind it for the sins around the center back of it as a bronze spiked circle, directly over my heart. Some light green dress pants with several belts with pouches along with a holster strap around my left thigh, a long dark green with black stripes vest, a black tie, and a light faded orange dress shirt. The weapon form, having a strange but old western mobster style choice for my new appearance, but I couldn't complain, I liked it.

When I dismissed the form finally I saw something strange happen, in the holster around my thigh my base pistol appeared, while the Mosin-Nagant was hanging from a strap around my right shoulder. A prompt from the Hero System, however, cleared that confusion up for me and also dawned a little light onto my situation.

『 Cardinal Weapon Notice: Synchrony with between the Cardinal Weapon and Host, Kaiser Lockheart has reached 99% causing a change in the Gun Spirit. The Gun Spirit has separated its small arms and large fire arms forms into two separate appearances to better accommodate situational and general use. The Spirit Gun's trait based on its current host, Necromancy Monarch, has surfaced.

Necromancy Monarch is caused by the hosts' connection to several entities who have committed several large-scale massacres, connections to Wendigo's, Death inclined nature, Executioner Status, and Magic Affinities of Death, Fire, Electric, and Water. Weapon Treatment Assessment in progress…. Respected Partner, Grateful, Execution Partner…. Assessment Completed Judging Gun Spirits Host Requirements… Murderous, Sociopath, protective, NEUTRAL… The host still meets prerequisites. 100% Synchrony requirement shall now be shown and the benefits of fully syncing with a Cardinal Weapon.』

『 Necromancy Monarch: You can summon the body count you've been racking up as undead soldiers to distract enemies and siege strongholds alone. The stronger a Human, Demi-Human, or Monster was before dying to you, the stronger they shall rise as an undead under your command due to your Level, and their brain functions no longer restricting their bodily strength.

Should a Hero be allowed to use the dead like this? No, not really. Yet, we don't care, we're against the world and the world's beyond, so fuck that logic! Let's use the dead as unliving murderous meat shields! You can also cast Death related spells like Create Skeleton easier with no issues as there are dead bodies everywhere under your feet from wars or some other horrible reason.』

『 100% Synchrony Requirement: Kill the Ancient trying to destroy the two worlds.

Benefits: Mortal Statues Promotion to Marksman Myth (Demi-God) from Marksman Hero (Mortal), Eternal Gunsmith Class, all previous Marksman Heroes weapon forms (total Marksman Heroes: 6)

Demerits: Eternal Life, Aging Stops, Sterile, Death's watchful eye, Attention of the Four Horsemen』

『ERROR! ERROR! THE WEAPON FORM, FALLEN GUARDIAN, HAS ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF APOCALYPTIC ENTITIES! ERROR! ERROR! HERO SYSTEM HEEDS THE ENTITIES REQUEST! FALLEN GUARDIAN FORM HAS BEEN ALTERED DUE TO VIRTUE GABRIEL AND SIN BEELZEBUB!』

『Showing message and Fallen Guardian (Fallen Seraphim) new amendment from Virtue of Diligence, Gabriel and Sin of Pride, Beelzebub due to the request of Apocalyptic Entities.

Fallen Seraphim: The Seven Sins and Seven Virtues were never meant to work together in a single form seamlessly, but your statues as an Executioner and Hero have attracted the interest of the entities they're based from. Due to their interest, they have decided to make an amendment to this Weapon Form, as you shall send them fresh souls whenever you kill for your job. The five assigned to you from the Sins and Virtues are meant to keep the worst-case soldiers assigned to you from destroying an entire universe.

New Abilities: Honor Guard, Disgraced Guard, Purgatory Guard, Permanency

Honor Guard: Call forth a detachment of five Thrones now assigned to you.

Disgraced Guard: Call forth a detachment of five Fallen Thrones now assigned to you.

Purgatory Guard: Call forth a detachment of two Leviathans now assigned to you.

Permanency: You have been classified as a Fallen Seraphim and a designated look has been assigned to you, and the weapon form, Fallen Seraphim, can now appear at will without prompting your Cardinal Weapon.』

That was all a strange but note-worthy string of system notifications from the HS as those were mostly hinting at some facts I had already assumed to be true. The fact I was called out just helped make it pretty clear that each weapon series is either tied to a certain race, or entities with stories that can be found across all multiverses and civilizations, like the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Virtues. I'm just glad though I helped Naofumi, over a call, and Ren figure something out before I came here.

Because frankly, the original four weapons seem like idiots. As it took, Naofumi being actually willing to work with us, like actually trusting us enough to test something. That well, because he did, he can now craft swords and guns to use alongside his shield. However, the secondary weapons won't kill, but they will stun or push enemies back, Ren could craft and summon shields now, but he's insistent he's going to master the pile bunker. I did now have the option to summon riot shields, so that's a plus for me. Because the shield actually used my broken defense for a gunner to well be a shield worth a shit.

Just after the secondary weapons unlocked, the other two weapons kindly explained why they couldn't use shit else for a weapon. The reasoning was basically "You can't use anything besides me for you must master me solely, but because you worked with your fellow heroes for this… I guess I can acknowledge using at least crafted copies of their weapons but only as utility weapons." Needless to say, Naofumi was livid, Raphtalia actually scolded the Shield, and my gun just clicked at me with a prompt saying I could always have had daggers as a backup weapon without the shock.

Yet, I sort of preferred just feeding it everything anyway to see what it'd come up with for a new guns' description. As I admit, I liked its descriptions. Pulling my pistol from its holster, I aimed to my right without looking and pulled the trigger, a bang ringing out as a Kappa Yokai from Japanese mythology fell dead with a bullet through its left eye. Seeing a prompt saying I had reached level two I chuckled, from the top once more I see just now with my third world guns locked, my invader guns which I unlocked in my second world were unlocked but grayed out due to levels.

Shrugging, I would feed the Kappa to my gun, unlocking a third fantasy world series of guns, which means I now have futuristic, medieval western, and Japanese style weapons from three different worlds. I felt like I was making a Pokédex but instead of Pokémon it's seeing which guns I can get from different worlds. Huh… I should copyright that, the Gundex, my gun and ever present partner, found it amusing as the Mosin on my back pinged a chime a few times before a system screen popped up with some random guns' information.

Kuruma thought I was stupid for messing around with that idea, given we're in a prison. Bahamut found it amusing and for the shits and giggles unlocked the Dragon Series for me for all three different world weapon sets and a fourth for the entirety of the Final Fantasy multiverse. Carnage just cackled and would play along by actually saying a cheesy line about any new guns. Although the Symbiote, Ninetails, and Chakra Beast series, that Kuruma and Carnage also unlocked for me, were downright evil for if I ever went to Marvel or Naruto.

Because if I can liquidate myself like Carnage, which was one of the abilities of the Symbiote Gun, which reminded me of a certain sword given the black and red appearance with just a green gem in it added on. I could theoretically now just pop up and shoot someone in the face from just a compact droplet on the ground or wall. Kuruma's two series essentially gave me nine energy-based gun tails, and essentially metallic clawed gauntlets, that could double as armor as the tails were sentient due to my gun becoming them. Sort of like Doctor Octavia from Marvel, but my sentient robot limbs don't brainwash me. Plus, I liked the sound of it because I can fuck with Kuruma by complaining about the tails and see how he'd react.

While the other one let me possibly… liberate the other chakra beasts of their jailers to, in a roundabout way, make them familiars. My gun was devious and apparently didn't like Kuruma's world. Since I KNEW that the gun has control over abilities, it gains slightly. Although, Kuruma seemed to greatly appreciate the thought of one day just having his siblings around and being a family again. So my faithful Cardinal Weapon won that eventual plan if we go to a Naruto world, as I definitely would fucking steal the one-tailed beast if we got dropped in the past.

Since, like the grumpy fox, they got abused a lot and so did their jailers. So yeah, I'm down to steal a world's Guardian Beasts if it helps them get a better life. I should note that during this entire tangent about Kuruma's siblings, ten tails included, I was wandering around killing things indiscriminately. That I almost popped the Hunting Heroes' head with a sawed off shotgun. She understandably paled at almost dying a quick but horrible death, but sighed in relief, seeing I was focused and hadn't just nearly shot her head off. The sawed off shotgun was ironically the Kappa gun, which shot super condensed bullets of water.

"Uh… hi, thank you for not blowing my brains out mister…. Are you a Cardinal Hero by chance?"

"Marksman Hero, Kaiser Lockheart, and your girlfriend Glass almost died to me, after invading a world I am temporarily in charge of, to murder the four original Cardinal Heroes of that world."

She blanked for a bit before speaking with a slight fear to her voice.

"I'm Kizuna Kazayama, the Hunting Hero of the world you're currently in… did Glass really invade another and try to kill its heroes and… almost die for doing something so stupid?"

"Yes, while two of them I couldn't care less about. It doesn't change she tried killing a boy who is the Sword Cardinal that I had taken under my wing, and the Cardinal Shield, who is a good friend of mine. Though I don't technically belong there as a Hero, given I'm in this universe as an executioner for executioner reasons. Your girlfriend, however, knew this, which triggered my overprotective, and paranoid, murderous psychosis and sociopathic nature in full effect. As she was still trying to kill my friends while trying to talk to me about joining her side."

She seemed to process that before asking something and saying something that triggered one of my many gun forms that essentially… made it hard to willingly spill the beans. She had unknowingly just entered a contract with me, and my gun used that to prevent her from saying anything carelessly should we meet anyone I have to kill, as she is also a target still.

"An executioner? For wha…. Are you here for people like me? Wait, only here temporarily, doesn't that mean you'll disappear once you do what you need to?"

"Yes, an executioner, I get deployed to different worlds across the multiverse to hunt and kill anyone from a "main story" and "side story" from going too far that the world would be in danger because of them. Which yes… once I kill two people from here and then kill the main bitch, who is causing the two worlds to collide, I suppose I will just disappear as if I never existed… it wouldn't be a good way to just leave, but it'd save people from having to see me once the truth came out. It'd leave questions and others to think I was running away, but there is no good way to just say that I was watching people and judging the entire time if I should murder them in cold blood."

"True… that would be hard to explain and while I shouldn't really believe you, if I can get sent to another world as a hero, anything is possible. Just… does… Does that mean you know who is behind this all? Behind the waves, behind all the pointless suffering, and why I'm here? Do you know… if I could return home to say goodbye?"

"Yes while I have witnessed one world already be destroyed by a different one, for these two worlds I know who and what is responsible for all this worthless death… and I believe I could temporarily help you go home if my boss would allow it just so you could say goodbye then let your weapon bring you back after a set time frame. Would that work with you, Cardinal Hunting?"

The small teenage girl looked confused at who I was addressing before her weapon, which was currently a fishing pole, started to blink its gem, small beams of light etching a triple digit number onto the ground.

"400… you'd allow her six hours if I could? That's generous and honestly the best she could ask for, as that'd be dinner and some time to share stories with her family… the Cardinals in my current world probably wouldn't even allow that for the only living member from his world among the four, it'd just drop him off then abandon him…."

"You… you can speak with the Cardinal Weapons? That's outstanding, how do you do it?! Are they all talkative or introverts?!" In response, my gun just pings and clicks which causes the Hunting Cardinal to reel a hiss causing the teen to chuckle. "And thanks…. Six hours wouldn't be long, but it'd be enough to convey everything and make some lasting memories with them before I can never see them again…. That's all I could ask for from you or my partner in fishing, I wouldn't want to impose on you or them more than that…."

Chuckling rather fondly of the young teen and some memories with Ren or some old friends, I reached out and stroked her head. Causing her to jolt but remain still as I just stroked her head, trying to give her a feeling of normalcy as a teen missing her family, not as a hero. While she seemed to unwind from some of her problems, I spoke up while eyeing her weapon.

"It honestly no sweat off my back to just give you a lift home before I'm gone completely if I can, your weapon also probably feels sorry for involving you with this all and would gladly repay you by just letting you enjoy time with your family one last time before time's up. As I imagine, that's not that big of an issue for a Cardinal Weapon."

That caused the fishing pole to hiss at me as it reeled its line in, as if insulted by me hinting that it would be unreasonable. After that, we just started working together, with mainly Kizuna watching as I literally tried breaking a hole in the dimensional pocket space that was the labyrinth prison. She was also rather clingy to Nilla, Gwain, and Kuruma like they were emotional support animals due to a lot of stuff going through her head. Kuruma surprisingly allowed the teen to just hold him while hiding her feelings. We were seeing my attempts work on creating a way out. The teen, seeing some of my attempts working, I could tell she was both excited yet apprehensive given what she'll have to do once out.

Without much fanfare, after a few days of testing out how durable the boundaries of the prison were, a few times with some of my more dimension breaking and conceptual guns. I was fairly confident I could break a wall of the prison and get us out. Only, it would be more effective if I just gave into wrath and pride while using Fallen Seraphim with greed and the virtues, helping the cursed guns break the laws of physics as those guns admittedly were tied to the emotional and cognitive spectrums to unlock and boost their power.

Making them some if not my strongest guns if I just were to give in to wrath, with pride keeping my thinking in line, as that curse would make me too prideful to turn on the teen hero and instead focus on the thing denying me as if mocking me. So when I had made breakfast for everyone and tethered her to me with a harness and reinforced bungee cords mixed with Carnage coating them, I switched to Fallen Seraphim.

My gun I could feel connecting to me on an even deeper level with a faint voice in the back of my head, as Gwain and Nilla disappeared into my soul. Which it would seem my world hopping automatically brings them with me after realizing they shouldn't technically have been here. Focusing on the air before me, I just let go of my inhibitions stopping me from remembering everything to ever pissed me off, feeling out of all my muted emotions the strongest bubble and burst forward.

The wrath series on my back as wings, burning brightly as the cursed fire funneled around the Grom's main exit on its barrel. My vision tinting with red briefly before I just felt unnaturally calm and almost turned to Kizuna, to murder her for being a hero and a good person. Due to all the people claiming so much shit to me and then just being a bunch of hyenas. Yet, pride kept me focused as the whispers of my pride raged and fought against my deathly calm rage, reminding me that I wasn't to stoop so low as to kick a downed mutt.

Instead, I must kick the smug mutt thinking it can kick me while I was down, that thinks it could try and do the same thing people tried to me before. I wasn't going to be trapped in a cage…. I wasn't going to be a good boy…. Furthermore, I WANTED TO KICK SOMEONE's TEETH IN AND MURDER THEM, AND THIS SHITHOLE WAS DENYING ME THAT CHANCE, SO WAS MY WORTHLESS PRIDE.

Reeling my right arm back, I swung forward against the air, something trying to fight against me, which just infuriated me further as my repressed rage to finally just be free and be myself HATED the thing stopping me. More than anything else though, I was tired of so many god-damned, useless rules and endeavoring to make everyone, even completely useless fucking mutts I didn't know, happy.

I just wanted to break some bones and there was a fresh wide world with two smug little shit stains that needed their bones broken, their entrails decorating their homes, and their blood painting the ground and walls. I WILL get out and enjoy breaking them… I just had to keep my wrath in check with pride, for I should take pride in why the gun chose me and not let the wrath taint that. Its requirements weren't the only reason. It was a reason I wouldn't let useless sins or virtues muddle, it gave up a really worthwhile host to accept me instead, due to Keltson's recommendation and seeing what it saw in me over the other candidate.

I refused to let that reason be smeared by worthless wrath and pride or whatever else….

//\\ Kizuna Kazayama POV \\//

Holding on to the bungee cord attaching me to mister Lockheart I didn't bother hiding my fear of the older man before me. He had warned me of the cursed series and what could happen if he just gave in, as he knew the strongest of the current ones he had would contest with each other and feed on all his bottled up rage from his home world. The curse of Wrath was what scared me the most.

I've seen anger when someone went mad from it and started attacking without restraint, yet seeing anger manifest, be cold and focused, and become a weapon that grew stronger from getting more enraged terrified me. The feeling of the cursed rocket launchers would be overwhelmingly suffocating if not for the glowing runes on his gauntlets that covered his hands, or pride trying to smother and direct wrath.

As his fist impacted the air and the shotgun blast of his gauntlets roared, I saw reality being chipped away steadily with growing anger at the Labrinyth Prison trying to resist being broken open. When the wrath series fired, countless rockets firing and detonating against the growing rift, I saw and heard reality screech as the weapon's cursed flames ate at the chipped boundary. Visibly burning at the fabric of this reality, with hints of white and gold flames mixed among the red and black flames. Mister Lockheart's eyes from a glimpse that I could see were focused as his main cornea glowed blood-red, a glowing golden ring surrounding the red glow.

I know he said he could use his cursed weapons without being affected, and that it wouldn't be as effective so he was letting them ramp themselves up and going with it. Seeing that, I wished he had used any other weapons to break open a big enough space for us to escape. The oppressive and inhumane feeling the cursed weapons gave off was sickening, and so was seeing a man who could be so nice have so much hidden anger. So much of it that it could be used to help break reality. I saw it then, I saw pride fire consecutively rounds of a streaking bullet that was like the starry sky before the stars were swallowed up by white fire exploding from the bullet.

The flaming white bullets striking in sync with a shotgun blast from his right hand striking the growing rift. The bullets striking strangely enough at random spots around the outer edges of the broken rift before starting to meld with the red cursed fire and burnt away our prison rapidly. The rift we had intended to make had become the total destruction of the prison which held me for years.

Yet… Looking at mister Locheart I could see a fourth sin and rune glitching into existence as he seemed to revel in the destruction with a look that screamed he hungered for more destruction. Tentatively reaching out to the older hero, I touched his left arm, causing him to whirl around and stare directly into my eyes. His blood-red and golden glowing eyes give off a much more oppressive feeling than the weapons on his back like wings. I was actually suffocating now with what I could only assume were the Sins looking at me directly through his eyes.

When he reached a hand out to grab my throat, the runes on his gauntlets flashed a dangerous white light, causing the sins to retreat as his eyes turned back to normal. Yet, the words they left behind I believe were spoken as his true thoughts and feelings as his own weapons spoke them.

"Fine, you win for now, partner, but soon I'll spiral..."

After those words, he returned to normal with his Fallen Seraphim gun series disappearing as if it never existed, replaced by the two guns on his person once more. He looked at me calmly, and his words startled me before he turned and started walking, tugging the cord between us in the process.

"You may give into the Sin of Sloth Kizuna upon returning from this prison, but take it from a man already using the sins. If you lose to Sloth, you will lose the will to fight, the will to move, the will to survive, and the will to protect others you love like family. So once you unlock Sloth, don't fight with the Sin's laziness, instead go with the flow, direct that laziness to do things as Sloth hates anything that would threaten its time to just not do anything."

\\// Bahamut POV //\\

Watching the wrymling I couldn't help notice things about him, and about his soul. Things I wish I could fix without my own pride impeding me from helping the one who gave me something I needed. From the one who has not once asked for my powers or assistance and has just let me relax. Glancing over to Carnage I eyed the murderous Symbiote of another universe. The creature stitching up a section of the wrymlings soul without any permission or complicated reasoning. He simply wanted to do so for no other reason than because of the Wrymlings influence and attitude with him.

However, the gun spirit watches on with resolve and unshakable belief. That its belief was radiating from its weapon forms floating within the wrymlings soul. It was curious and reminded me of moments when I had met Warriors of Light, for those doomed souls they always had something or a creature strongly believing in them.

I need to know… I must make sure… I will not allow the ending I all know too well. He doesn't deserve it… he deserves a better end…

\\// Carnage POV //\\

Ever since I met this psycho things have been different… I've been different… I HATE IT! Yet I also like it… the bastard lets me have my fun, he actually TALKS to me unlike Cletus, mom, and her fuck toy Eddie. IT'S SO GOD DAMNED CONFUSING AND I HATE THAT! WHERE'S THE MOTIVE?! WHERE'S THE DESIRE?! WHERE'S WHAT I EXPECT FROM A HOST?! I get none of that from the psycho, I just get eugh actual friendship and it's so painfully nice to have.

So when I noticed the dicks soul taking damage or having existing yet "scared" over damage. I started fixing that for the bastard because I ain't no ungrateful asshole! I'm Carnage, a mass murdering piece of shit… yet I'm so confused with this bastard I'm being NICE. When I hear the big lizard fuck, darkly asking the floating junk something I focused on that. Because it sounded like there could be a fight… and if it's about something important I feel I need to make my stance known. By giving some idiots some good old violence.

//\\ Kuruma POV \\//

Watching the unfolding scene I chuckled as my roommates were finally getting around to asking about our new host. The Wendigo's didn't react, they just slumbered as rust covered metallic wood statues as I know for sure that if there'd be an issue. Those little monsters would be more active right now and they would maim us, if not try. I could understand where Bahamut was coming from, Carnage less so as the slime was murderously confused. Yet I believe I knew why even with how things are that the Gun Spirit was wholly on the kids side.

Because it reminded me of my siblings and I slightly. Even if this Father Keltson could've forced them together, I strangely believe that the Gun wouldn't mind. For the way it is with the kid is not like the other Cardinals. The Cardinals choose their "perfect" fit, the Gun it's as if it has chosen it's true Hero, even Death wouldn't part them. For the Gun has woven its fate into the kids, its very spirit as a sentient weapon is perfectly melded with the kids soul. How I came to know is ironic. Spending a long time locked within someone and near their soul, and you will learn a few things if your physiology is like mine. However, it's also because the sentient weapon hasn't attempted to hide it. In fact unless you can see or knew souls then you'd miss the signs of it all.