The memories belonging to the souls which he devoured weaved a tale of gristly death and torture for Mikaboshi. Bringing his hands up, Mikaboshi steepled his fingertips before his face as he mentally analyzed the information given to him. None of the memories had contained a decent description of the assailant but that was normal. Souls and spirits which were involved in violent deaths rarely-- if ever --remembered the identity or even vague appearance of their killer. It was a strange quirk of the universe. What they had contained however was enough to frame a profile of the murderer.
Firstly, he was above-average in the category of aggressive violence. Killers and predators tended to strike fast and kill quickly to end their engagement as rapidly as possible to minimize any possible risks involved with it. While this killer certainly had struck with speed, his kills were slow and particularly gruesome-- especially in the cases of the female bat-creatures. He had taken extra time in making them suffer while he killed them. Was this attack personal, then? Certainly possible. It meant that the attacker could certainly have had some sort of connection to the bat-creatures in the past. The monster that he had taken this quest from had given the implication that the stolen gem had great significance to oathbreakers. A former ally then, thought Mikaboshi as he considered the possibilities. It was too early to say for sure but certainly that was on the table.
Secondly, he was skilled. In both the cases of Nah-tee and Kah-tee the attacker had rendered them incapacitated with extreme alacrity and precision. While Mikaboshi remained confident that he was more than a match for whatever this place could throw at him he made a mental note of this particular fact. The killer was fond of surprise attacks which brought low his opponents before the battle even began. That meant he would need to be much more careful about his surroundings. But it could also lend a serious advantage to Mikaboshi. If he was fond of surprise attacks then it was entirely a possibility that he was not a particularly competent up-front fighter. Many times those that specialized in such tactics were extremely skilled in their field but lacked the experience to succeed at sustained engagements.
Third, he had known precisely what he was looking for. That supported the assessment that the being he was looking for was a former acquaintance or ally of the bat-creatures. At the very least, he had some very particular information about them to have known that the gem he was looking to take was concealed within the body of Nyan-Tee. The idea that the attacker was not skilled with sealing techniques crossed Mikaboshi's mind but it made sense that he would have taken his time flaying her given the predilection for mutilation that he had expressed already with the other females that Mikaboshi had witnessed the demise of. But ultimately he had known precisely who had the gem. While he had completely destroyed the bodies of a handful of the other women, he had not gone so far as he had with Nyan-Tee with all of them. Nah-Tee for instance had been quickly slain with the heated chains that he seemed to prefer as a weapon. No, the kill with Nyan-Tee had been slow and deliberate. Likely so as to not disturb the gem before he removed it. The nature of it's growth made Mikaboshi question for a moment what purpose such an artifact could have but he quickly dismissed that interest. It didn't matter.
Narrowing his eyes as he dropped his left hand and brought his right to his face, Mikaboshi reviewed what he'd learned mentally as he swiped his fingers across his face summoning his grimacing mask to cork up his spiritual presence once more. He'd had it active for likely too long already but that only meant that there was something strong prowling the twilight-- not necessarily that he was prowling for anyone in particular. With the blackness of his dark aura sealed up once more inside him and the remains of the bat-creature's bodies fading to dust, Mikaboshi looked up to the horizon and took a quick estimate of the time he had remaining until daylight. He could certainly continue his search in the day-- in fact knowing that his opponent liked to stick to the shadows and utilize surprise attacks that might even be an advisable idea considering the day posed no more of a threat than inconvenience to him --he didn't particularly want to. Still, it was the smart decision. He would learn what he could from the residence and then head out from there. If he needed shadows... well. The former Ancient of Deep and Shadow had not fallen so far as to not be able to conjure his own if necessary. Pulling his hood up around his head once more but expanding out his spiritual sense to be on the watch for potential surprise attacks, Mikaboshi approached the torn apart building that presumably the bats had been dwelling within.
[Investigate the residence]
Firstly, he was above-average in the category of aggressive violence. Killers and predators tended to strike fast and kill quickly to end their engagement as rapidly as possible to minimize any possible risks involved with it. While this killer certainly had struck with speed, his kills were slow and particularly gruesome-- especially in the cases of the female bat-creatures. He had taken extra time in making them suffer while he killed them. Was this attack personal, then? Certainly possible. It meant that the attacker could certainly have had some sort of connection to the bat-creatures in the past. The monster that he had taken this quest from had given the implication that the stolen gem had great significance to oathbreakers. A former ally then, thought Mikaboshi as he considered the possibilities. It was too early to say for sure but certainly that was on the table.
Secondly, he was skilled. In both the cases of Nah-tee and Kah-tee the attacker had rendered them incapacitated with extreme alacrity and precision. While Mikaboshi remained confident that he was more than a match for whatever this place could throw at him he made a mental note of this particular fact. The killer was fond of surprise attacks which brought low his opponents before the battle even began. That meant he would need to be much more careful about his surroundings. But it could also lend a serious advantage to Mikaboshi. If he was fond of surprise attacks then it was entirely a possibility that he was not a particularly competent up-front fighter. Many times those that specialized in such tactics were extremely skilled in their field but lacked the experience to succeed at sustained engagements.
Third, he had known precisely what he was looking for. That supported the assessment that the being he was looking for was a former acquaintance or ally of the bat-creatures. At the very least, he had some very particular information about them to have known that the gem he was looking to take was concealed within the body of Nyan-Tee. The idea that the attacker was not skilled with sealing techniques crossed Mikaboshi's mind but it made sense that he would have taken his time flaying her given the predilection for mutilation that he had expressed already with the other females that Mikaboshi had witnessed the demise of. But ultimately he had known precisely who had the gem. While he had completely destroyed the bodies of a handful of the other women, he had not gone so far as he had with Nyan-Tee with all of them. Nah-Tee for instance had been quickly slain with the heated chains that he seemed to prefer as a weapon. No, the kill with Nyan-Tee had been slow and deliberate. Likely so as to not disturb the gem before he removed it. The nature of it's growth made Mikaboshi question for a moment what purpose such an artifact could have but he quickly dismissed that interest. It didn't matter.
Narrowing his eyes as he dropped his left hand and brought his right to his face, Mikaboshi reviewed what he'd learned mentally as he swiped his fingers across his face summoning his grimacing mask to cork up his spiritual presence once more. He'd had it active for likely too long already but that only meant that there was something strong prowling the twilight-- not necessarily that he was prowling for anyone in particular. With the blackness of his dark aura sealed up once more inside him and the remains of the bat-creature's bodies fading to dust, Mikaboshi looked up to the horizon and took a quick estimate of the time he had remaining until daylight. He could certainly continue his search in the day-- in fact knowing that his opponent liked to stick to the shadows and utilize surprise attacks that might even be an advisable idea considering the day posed no more of a threat than inconvenience to him --he didn't particularly want to. Still, it was the smart decision. He would learn what he could from the residence and then head out from there. If he needed shadows... well. The former Ancient of Deep and Shadow had not fallen so far as to not be able to conjure his own if necessary. Pulling his hood up around his head once more but expanding out his spiritual sense to be on the watch for potential surprise attacks, Mikaboshi approached the torn apart building that presumably the bats had been dwelling within.
[Investigate the residence]
