Chapter 12: Captain Loopy

A disembodied voice echoed in my ears, deep and distant... Whose was it? And why was it reaching out to me? Perhaps it was death, summoning me from the netherworld... My time was ending! It was a farewell to my existence... Mother... Father... Sarah... and... Ruster... I would feel your absence forever.

This was the whirlpool of thoughts swirling in Luke's mind as Captain Loopy hoisted his fragile form from the cold, unyielding earth. His colossal right hand encased Luke's head, lifting him until their eyes locked in an uneasy standoff. Loopy's firm grip was a vice on Luke's skull, causing waves of agony to ripple through him. Luke clasped onto the Captain's broad wrist with his feeble hands, a futile attempt to escape the crushing hold.

"Such a wretched creature, I can sense your body quaking within my grip. Truly pitiful!" Loopy scorned in fluent Japanese, ensuring his torment was understood by Luke.

Terror strangled Luke's senses and stole his breath away. He could barely pry his eyes open to confront Loopy's disdainful gaze, let alone respond.

Nonchalantly, the Captain gave Luke's body a subtle toss, smoothly transitioning his hand from cradling his head to choking his neck. His fingers constricted around Luke's throat until the air was a stranger to his lungs. Loopy reveled in the symphony of agony and asphyxiation that Luke composed.

In the midst of admiring Luke's desperate fight for survival, Loopy's eyes fell upon the mutilated remnants of Squala. A growl of frustration escaped him. "Tsk! I warned them to evade conflict!" He bemoaned. Yet, something else piqued his interest. "Ruster managed to vanquish both... Quite a feat. He has grown far stronger than I anticipated!" The words were laced with a grudging respect for Ruster.

Without warning, an internal jolt coursed through Loopy's body, causing him to falter and involuntarily release Luke. It was akin to a cardiac arrest, a foreign sensation that left him reeling. Disorientation clouded his vision, sending his world tilting as if viewed through a malfunctioning camera. He reached for his head, eyes screwed shut as he willed his equilibrium to recalibrate.

Once his senses had steadied, Loopy's attention was immediately drawn to his left wrist. There, he witnessed an unfamiliar white strip insinuating itself amidst the pattern of black-lined tattoos, a distinctive mark each wardok bore since birth. This white strip seemed to crawl along the tattoo, erasing the black ink and replacing it with a pale specter of itself. "The curse! The boy has activated it on me!" Loopy exclaimed.

It had been an epoch since a human last bore witness to Captain Loopy, which accounted for his momentary disorientation as the curse activated. The curse of the wardoks, invoked by the gaze of a human.

Luke found himself collapsed on the ground, wracked by violent coughs courtesy of Loopy's vice-like stranglehold. When the spasms had subsided and he could finally draw a breath without pain piercing his lungs, he dared to look up at the approaching Captain. The sinister smile adorning Loopy's face held the promise of further torments.

Paralyzed by fear, Luke attempted to scuttle away, scraping the ground with his palms and dragging his body using his bottom. His efforts were futile as the Captain swiftly closed in, pinning him down with a heavy foot planted on his chest.

"You've seen me! For that, your life ends here, kid!" Loopy declared, pressing his foot down with more force, squeezing the air from Luke's lungs. Any longer and Luke would surely suffocate. To Loopy, Luke's death was the sole solution - the only means of reversing the curse activated by the human's gaze.

Luke's screams of desperation were a symphony to Loopy, who reveled in the boy's suffering. But Luke's resistance was faltering, the unrelenting pressure was too much to bear. His life was ebbing away.

"Disgusting! How can such inferior creatures inflict such discomfort upon us?" Loopy pondered, driving his foot further into Luke's chest. The choking pleas for mercy had lost their appeal to him, and so he decided it was time to extinguish the boy's life for good.

Lifting his leg, Loopy prepared to bring it down, planning to crush the small form beneath him like a bothersome insect. Luke, resigned to his fate, stared up at the impending doom from his prone position. He closed his eyes, surrendering to the inevitable end.

Unexpectedly, the swift movement of an approaching punch caught Loopy's peripheral vision. The punch landed with a resounding "BAM!" While Loopy was able to slightly mitigate the damage due to his lack of time to react, the sheer force of the blow sent him stumbling backward. Despite not being a direct hit, the blow was enough to disturb him. As he regained his footing, Loopy turned his gaze toward his assailant. "Ruster!" he shouted.

Regaining consciousness, Ruster grappled with labored breaths while his left eye, swollen from Loopy's vicious strike, rendered his vision on that side blurry. "Luke, are you okay? Can you stand?" He rasped out.

The sound of Ruster's voice flooded Luke with immense relief, prompting him to pry his eyes open. He hastily sat up, coughing violently and retching onto the ground. "Yeah! Now I am..." He replied between gasps of air, slowly rising to his feet whilst clutching his aching chest.

"I need you to leave, now! I'm afraid I can't shield you from him; he intends to kill you!" Ruster implored, the worry evident in his voice.

Ruster was acutely aware of his dire situation. He had a working knowledge of Captain Loopy's arsenal, but his current condition rendered him significantly disadvantaged. His wounds from their recent escape hadn't yet healed, and an agonizing pain radiated from his ankle, hampering his ability to stand. "This must be a remnant from that collision with Koggy's shield. My recovery wasn't complete," he thought grimly.

"Will you be alright?" Luke managed to ask.

But Ruster's response was abruptly cut short as a sudden kick from Loopy catapulted him across the ground. Though he remained conscious, fear crept in – he hadn't sensed the impending attack, and neither had Ghost. "Damn! The Captain has picked up speed!" Ruster growled.

As Luke turned to flee, Loopy seized him once more, suspending him upside down by his ankles. "You nearly had me there, Ruster, I'm not donning my armor! I must admit, you've grown stronger!" Loopy called out, taunting the battered Ruster who was struggling to rise.

His gaze then shifted back to Luke, and a sword materialized in his hand. "Your time ends now, kid!" he sneered, poised to run Luke through with his blade.

"NO!" Ruster's cry tore through the air as he surged towards Loopy in a desperate sprint, intent on saving his friend from the impending doom.

Loopy's armor, Raigeki, rested on his back like a dormant exoskeleton. Observing Ruster's determined charge, Loopy commanded, "Raigeki!" Instantaneously, his armor transformed into a cloth-like substance, enveloping him entirely – it bore a design starkly different from that of Ruster's armor.

Ruster neared, fists balled in readiness for an onslaught, while Loopy braced for defense. Ruster lunged, delivering a swift punch that Loopy deftly sidestepped. In turn, Loopy brandished his sword, but to his surprise, Ruster wasn't aiming to strike. Instead, he dove towards the impending blow, allowing the blade to sever his arm as he seized Luke to retreat to safety.

Luke recoiled in horror, staring in disbelief at Ruster's sacrificial act. "Ruster... your... arm!" He cried, tears welling in his eyes.

"Never mind that! Are you alright?" Ruster responded, grasping the bloody stump of his severed arm. Blood pooled around him.

Loopy stood, momentarily stunned. He dematerialized his sword, glancing from Ruster's severed arm to the two retreating figures. A note of disbelief tinged his voice as he asked, "Ruster... Did you just shield this human?" He spoke in Wardokian.

Ruster offered no reply, fixing Loopy with a defiant glare. "You understand the implications if we fail to kill him, right?" Loopy queried, his eyes widening in confusion.

"Yes, I'm aware... but I have developed a bond with him now, and I will stand guard over him.." Ruster answered with resolution.

"Bond?" Loopy echoed quietly. His aura pulsed with a simmering fury that grew with each passing second, his blood boiling with anger at Ruster's declaration. "Are you implying my men perished... because you desired to safeguard a human..." His voice trailed off as his wrath mounted. Sensing Loopy's impending outburst, Ruster swiftly pushed Luke further away.

With an explosive burst of rage, Loopy vanished from his original position, materializing behind Ruster in an instant. Ruster managed a swift defensive maneuver, but Loopy's electrifying punch sent him reeling backward. The Captain unleashed a torrent of paralyzing blows, each one resonating with a stun-like potency – a testament to Loopy's power.

Ruster was left defenseless, enduring the onslaught of attacks. Despite the battering, his armor withstood the barrage. After a series of punches, Loopy mustered all his strength into a devastating blow to Ruster's midsection. The impact was so powerful it dislodged Ghost from Ruster, rendering him completely vulnerable.

Standing on wobbly legs, Ruster struggled to keep upright amidst the heavy blood loss and the ensuing disorientation. His will to persist was valiant but short-lived as he collapsed onto his back, unconscious.

Luke, at a safe distance, witnessed the entire event unfold. He felt a whirlwind of emotions, a deep sense of despair overwhelming him. He yearned to flee but couldn't abandon Ruster. His sense of helplessness intensified as he broke down, weeping not out of fear but frustration at his incapacity to aid.

Loopy, his rage subsiding, gazed at the fallen Ruster for a while before heaving a sigh. He approached the unconscious figure, falling silent for a moment, and then declared, "I was instructed to return you alive, Ruster... It seems this will mark my first act of insubordination... I WILL KILL YOU!"