The King of Fighters '94 Rebirth

Chapter 13: Holy Place

In an unknown time just before 1994 and into some ruins also from an unknown place in the world that remembered Japanese's culture, Rugal Bernstein arrived and entered firstly passing by into a cave that seemed to be submerged in the middle of the end of the world. Overtaking a torii (Japanese gate placed in sacred places) Rugal was each time closest of unveil what he just had heard. Stone walls with Japanese scriptures were between the ruins in the middle of the darkness, Rugal started a fire and was using a torch to ease the scripture reading that was wrote in very old Japanese. "So, Orochi really exists..." Rugal was thinking with himself seeing also some pictures of the Yata mirror, Yasakani's magatama and the sword Kusanagi. He barely understood what was written because the scripture was from many years ago and according to his progress into the ruins and his discovers about a legend that seemed to be real, Rugal saw a type of guardian inside the ruins. "I did not think I would find an intruder in holy grounds." The voice issued with elegance could be heard with echo in the scenery. "Who are you?!" Rugal turned around holding the torch with his right hand and searching for the guardian that was next to an exit with his face covered by a white robe. "I am the guardian from these ruins, apparently it was not without knowledge that you arrived at the legendary place." The man was saying without hesitation in his words.

Rugal threw the torch in the center of the place and walked slowly to the guardian. "You seem to be a man carrier of great greed. Well, I'll be very specific with you, I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi." He spoke calmly making Rugal to stop in the way. "Did you say one of the four?!" The mobster was amazed with the news but, his happiness was bigger because he was very confident about his strength and power, soon after he started to laugh. "Do you know Orochi-sama's legend?" The calm man asked without insulting Rugal's arrogance. "I don't know every detail but I want this power." He spoke like it was an order. "About more or less 1.800 years ago, Orochi-sama ruled the entire world until be captive by three clans being these, Yasakani's clan, Kusanagi's clan and Yata's clan." The guardian's explanation was interrupted. "Will you tell me how do I get this power?" Rugal roughly touched the guardian's robe, almost pulling him by the collar. "First of all, who are you?" He continued to talk politely but changing his voice tone a bit. "I am Rugal Bernstein, I'm the world black market leader, probably you already heard it..." replied roughly and still yet didn't get his answer. "Now I can finally introduce myself." The man grabbed Rugal's right arm to let loose and soon after took off the robe from his body revealing then his clothes and face. "You can call me Goenitz. Why me as a guardian should give you such power?" The man dressed in blue with a priest's look, had a blonde hair above his head and black hair around it, with a beard also black. "You still dare to ask?! Apparently, you don't know me." Rugal released an arrogant smile of debauchery. "I think I already spoke too much; you will not have such power." Goenitz said to Rugal and that have angered him. "Very well then..." Rugal was taking of his red jacket and was getting ready for a combat. "...You'll have to give me by force."

He threw a punch into Goenitz face and ended up hitting the wall, Goenitz disappeared from his sight. "What?!" He yelled confused, because his opponent disappeared like it was an illusion. "Searching for me?" Goenitz's right hand touched ironically Rugal's right shoulder in a gentle way by his back. "Pray to your god." Rugal heard Goenitz voice and turned around angry giving a spinning punch with the back of his right hand, but he lost sight of him again. "Here?" Goenitz was exactly where he initially was asking Rugal on a challenge way and raising his point finger alongside his middle finger from his left hand summoning then something like a hurricane exactly where Rugal was. "AAAAAAHHHH!!!" Just a pain yell could be heard, Goenitz did not want to destroy a holy place and that's why he waited for his technique to end to grab Rugal by the neck with the two hands "I don't want to damage or to stain sacred ground, let's fight in another place." That was Goenitz sentence taking the collar from Rugal's shirt with both hands and moving fast until the cavern exit which leaded to the sea. "From outside we won't have any trouble, besides, I can discard your body here." Spoke calmly the guardian of Orochi as if the sea was Rugal's grave, and really could be. "So, this is the power of Orochi?" asked Rugal amazed and after giving a really loud laugh. "What are you laughing at?" Goenitz asked confused. "You seem to be even stronger than me. If that's the power of Orochi I'll get it even if it be by force, but don't worry, I'll keep your body and cast in bronze like one of my trophies." Rugal squeezed his right hand with strength out of the blue like if he were to crush Goenitz, and that was his intention. "The power of Orochi can't be controlled by anybody." Goenitz was not in the mood for a fight, but he would fulfill his duty rightly being about his function as a guardian, he knew he couldn't let anybody obtain the power and would take the combat seriously. "And you think I'm anybody?" Rugal started to run at Goenitz. "Yonokaze." That was the name from Goenitz skill and soon a hurricane was created just in front of Rugal preventing his passage but, he stopped in time of not being hit.

"If you insist on using your power like that..." Rugal raised his right hand forward next to the hurricane and made some kind of energy. "You can call it Dark Barrier." His technique which was used to reflect projectile powers simply fade away alongside the wind. Rugal looked disappointed. "Were you waiting to reflect this technique against me? There's no way to reflect my wind blows, but I'm surprised that you know how to use a technique like that." The guardian was underestimating Rugal and now he was seeing that he had tricks on the sleeve. "You will be surprised when I defeat you." Rugal started to charge some Ki and Goenitz wasn't waiting for that. "You can still give up and spare your life." He replied him walking calmly to him, Rugal then stopped charging the energy knowing that would be useless, because he didn't know how to use his Ki on powerful techniques yet, his normal techniques already were powerful enough to cover that disadvantage.