10 Commandments Story Prologue - (Event still won't be for a few months)

"Is it a cult?" Asked Juriki, a man of small stature, and shaggy brown hair.

He was the latest member of the Societal Threat Addressment Group (S.T.A.G), a group of 20 nen-users employed under secrecy by several of the world's most influential governments. The aim of the group was to work alongside the Hunter Association's own personnel to hunt down dangerous groups of criminals, or threats to society. The idea behind the separation from the Hunters was that it allowed the authorities to have a more direct control over the individuals in the field. Hunters were known to be reckless and carefree, often refusing to listen to orders in favour of doing things their own way. Having S.T.A.G working alongside the Association allowed governments much more direct control over situations.

For the most part, the team was a success, with an impressive track record. The commander of the team, Geryld, had faced off against Uvogin of the infamous Phantom Troupe and walked away with his life. Geryld would have argued that he could have won, but their fight was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the Troupe, forcing him to flee.

"Nobody quite knows." Replied Sierra, a woman in her late thirties, with expertise in computing, and handling information. She was not strictly a member of S.T.A.G, as she did not fight, but was employed to assist the group in their current mission. Her nen ability greatly aids her ability to manage masses of information at one time. She utilises conjuration to create a robot that can connect to databases and to her mind to funnel out information she is searching for. It is also capable of calculating trends and extrapolating information, usually accurately. "The leader seems to have some sort of god-complex, which was drilled into him from an extremely young age by his peers. It also appears that most of the other members see him in such a light, but they don't engage in worship as is usually associated with cults, and as demonstrated by their name, they base themselves on a pre-established religion."

"Juriki, I'm really not sure you should come with us on this one. You've only just joined the team. You aren't as experienced as the rest of us, and this is one of our biggest strikes yet. We're hitting the 10 fucking Commandments on their own turf. We outnumber then 2 to 1, so we don't really need everyone to tag along." Geryld said, laying back on a red sofa with the TV remote in his hand. He was a fairly tall man, muscular but not overly bulky, with short blond hair spiked at the front.

"No, I have to go. I joined this team to hunt any and all bad guys, I'm not ducking out on my first mission because it's menacing. And like you said, we outnumber them 2 to 1, I won't be alone."

"Whatever you say..."

Sierra stood to speak "Okay guys, you're heading out in five minutes. Don't forget, you've each got files for all the members with everything we know about them as well, so you can check something if you're unsure" She announced, standing from her desk and knocking her papers against the table, to align them. "We don't know much, we have a basic run down of how capable they are physically, mentally and in nen, relative to one another, and have a vague idea of their personalities. Their abilities are unknown, however, so exercise Level 5 caution when engaging." She added.

People started moving. Checking their bags to make sure they had all the equipment they needed, preparing their weapons and nen abilities, or talking to other people. Sierra was saddened by the sight. She didn't expect all of these people to return, and seeing them all together as a team having fun, laughing and messing with one another was a soothing sight. One which she didn't often see. Despite not being a member of the team, she had developed close friendships with many of the members, including Geryld and Juriki. After a few moments of reflection, she told herself that on his return, she would confess to Geryld how she really felt about him.

Interrupting her thoughts, Juriki approached, with a nervous look on his face, and each arm holding the other, not quite crossed. He was scared, that much was obvious.

"Um... I was thinking there's a possibility I won't come back from this mission, and since I'm new the odds are probably higher... so I just wanted to say... I really liked spending time with you the past few weeks, and I've sort of um... developed feelings for you..." Juriki mumbled.

Sierra's face flushed beet red. She didn't know what to say, or do, and was as awkward in this sort of thing as he clearly was. A few people had noticed the interaction and started giggling quietly. Juriki's face was as red as her own, and in a spur of awkwardness and confusion, she hugged him, hiding her face in his shoulder. She felt terrible, as she knew she didn't feel the same way about him, making this very misleading. She also knew Geryld had seen what happened, and that annoyed her. Her chances of success with him would be significantly reduced by this. She'd run some numbers while they were gone. After about a second, she let go of Juriki, and half-smiled at him, before saying:

"Make sure you come back alive."

He nodded and scurried off uncomfortably. Sierra returned to her desk and sat in her chair, dropping her face into her hands.

Seemingly an eternity later, the team got up to leave, and she walked to the door to wave them off. She tried to shout goodbye to them but was unheard over the rotors of the several aircraft.

The group was split into four. Mono Team: the initial wave, that would attack first, drawing out the Commandments, when the second team, Bis Team, would drop in off to the side and flank them. These two teams were comprised of the most capable fighters the team had to offer. Geryld was part of the first wave. The last two teams, Trit and Quadra were to land slightly further away but dropped at the same time as the first wave. This team was comprised of the ranged units, with a few close quarter fighters to protect them. Jurki was in this group.

Each of the carrier crafts took off simultaneously, and Sierra turned her head back inside. A single tear streamed down her cheek.

.

"Okay, Mono Team. We jump in 2 minutes, on my signal. Reyes, when we hit the ground shroud the area in your aura. Abi, you're our heavy hitter. Take on the biggest threat they send our way, anybody you ask to help will obey. Equipment on people, we're almost there!" Geryld put on a confident face. He was worried about this mission. Good people would die, and even should they eliminate the Commandments, none of them would receive proper recognition from the public. That wasn't to say they wouldn't be aptly rewarded, however. Great compensations were promised by the higher-ups.

As the final two minutes passed, Geryld leapt out and dove through the air. At the latest possible time, he deployed his parachute. From above, he got a good look at the area that was soon to be wiped off the map. The Commandments had commandeered an abandoned mansion, surrounded on all sides by dense forest. There was a lake a few hundred metres from the house. That was fortunate, Geryld thought to himself. It meant he could use his Hatsu to its full extent. Geryld's ability involved the manipulation of water. He could control it's motion with manipulation, as well as condense it into ice and use that as well. Conversely, he could also create water vapour, but that was much less useful in combat. He began drawing water from the lake and started creating walls of ice in various around the site, to prevent the escape of the Commandments.

From as high as he could muster, Geryld dropped from his parachute and smashed into the ground obliterating a small crater around himself. Others began to land with him, five in all. The strongest fighters S.T.A.G had to offer. If there was one thing he could trust in, it was this team. They had to move quickly and draw out the Commandments before Bis Team jumped.

Mono team hit the ground running. Geryld heading up the front, gathering streams of water in the air. Upon reaching the house, there were three people the front garden. An enourmous, beast of a man with dark skin and torn clothes was laid down peering into the sky. Geryld was astounded at the size, and mentally drew comparisons to Uvogin. The other two were sat together at a roud table. A small girl with pink hair and clothes, with two yellow bows in her hair sat legs crossed, sipping from a mug. Across from her, sat another. A young man, presumably in his early twenties, with black hair and clothes. His elbow was on the table and his chin planted on his palm. He was looking bored, eyes set on the girl. He recognized them as Filia, the girl, and Fur, the boy. That meant they were in the right place, and that the giant was Caeder. Geryld planned to draw these three away from the house, and ambush them with Bis team.

"Hey bastards! Send me a postcard from hell!" Geryld shouted, sending two streams of high-pressure water at Fur and Filia as he doubted it would have much effect on Caeder. The techniques he used on Uvogin would have to be used for him. Slowly trapping parts of his body in ice, until he can freeze over the whole body, long enough for another to incapacitate him. For now, though, he'd have to settle for Fur and Filia.

Before he could even blink, Fur had sent out a rope of black aura to a nearby tree, attached it around and pulled himself out of the way with Filia under his arm.

"Holy shit guy. I have no god damned clue who you're supposed to be but just attacking people like that is a dick move." Fur said.

"Fur, mind your language," Filia spoke, softly.

"I'm an adult Fili, I'm allowed." He replied.

"It's still rude. You might offend one of our guests."

"They just tried to kill us though. If I can piss them off, good. Try it. Swear at them you'll feel great"

"I refuse," Filia answered, folding her arms and shutting her eyes.

Taking advantage of the mistake of closing her eyes, Geryld sent a gush of water her way. About halfway there, Filia opened her eyes. The look she gave Geryld there froze him in fear. Time appeared to slow. Never in his life had he seen such dead, emotionless eyes emit such a strong feeling of anxiety. Before the water could reach her, she drew her knife and swung it through the air. A sharp, slicing blast of nen slung from her knife, and flew at Geryld, cutting through his water as it went. The last command Geryld sent before his decapitation, was for the water to protect him. His head fell from his shoulders, and masses of water blasted into his body, obliterating it in an attempt to protect it.

"Fucking hell he was a cocky prick, wasn't he Fur?" Filia's second personality said with a smile.

"Hi, Filia. Mind your language." Fur responded

"Fuck you. And fuck this fucking headache. Who's dumbass idea was this condition on swearing?"

The four remaining members of Mono Team rushed in, splitting up. Abi took another member and went after Caeder, while the other two charged Filia and Fur.

"What the fuck? Why are we less of a threat than Caeder? I could snap him like a twig, but we're the ones that get stuck in stupid fucking one-on-one's while Caeder gets to fight two. Am I right Fur?" She turned to look at him, but he was gone. "Uhh.. Fur? Fine. I'll fight them both myself. This is what I wanted anyway." Taking a step towards the two men rushing her way, she drew her knife and licked the blade, grinning at them. As she was about to break into a run, 2 black ropes dropped down out of the trees, each with a noose on the end. The men were plucked from the ground by the neck, and started choking.

"Fuck you Fur." She sighed, as she half-heartedly swung her knife and cut the bodies loose from their necks, flopping to the ground.

"No problem Filia. Always glad to be of help. Should we go assist Caed-" He turned towards the other fight, and saw two bodies, mashed into a bloody pulp with Caeder sat picking up pieces and tossing them into his mouth. "Never mind. What an animal." He finished

Fur looked up, and saw a group of five people falling towards the ground.

"Here look Filia. Some more are on their way. I'll let you have all of the ones that come my way. How does that sound?"

"I'm gonna kill all of them, not just the ones that come our way." She decided. "Hey Caeder, keep doing your thing, we got this."

He grunted in response. Filia worked out roughly where the team were to land, and headed in that direction. On arrival, she started yelling unintelligibly.

On the ground, lay a large red circle of inscriptions and intricate patterns. In front of it, sat Mendax, chanting away.

"Oi! Prick! Don't fucking blast them, I've called dibs on these jackasses." Filia shouted.

Fur burst out laughing, then said "He can't stop once he's begun. And don't interrupt him either, you'll screw him over hard."

"Bugger you, bugger this, bugger everything. I've got a killer bloody headache, and I didn't even get to fight anyone for suffering it. I'm bringing Fili back." Filia mumbled, as her eyes regained life, she put her hand up to her forehead. Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes and she looked up at Fur. He picked her up in his arms and began walking back towards the mansion.

"Sorry Fili, I tried to stop her breaking all the rules like that."

"No you didn't, I saw it all! You didn't try very hard!"

"I did my best!" Fur protested.

"Well okay then. If you say so. I know she's hard to cooperate with. I apologise for any inconvenience she caused."

"That's fine Fili. She should be the one apologising to you, for being mean and abandoning you to deal with the headache she caused. Come on, I'll make you some food to help it."

Filia squealed in delight "Can I have pasta?"

"Sure."

As they walked towards the house, Mendax' spell finished, and a wide red laser of aura obliterated all but one of the men falling from the sky. Mendax aimed his palms into the air and began firing smaller beams at the man. His screams came into range as he was torn apart.

Mendax folded his book and stood up. He turned to face the group that had gathered behind him. He saw Deus first. The leader of their group. A deity in the eyes of his subordinates. Deus was a tall, old, muscular man with long white hair and grey robes. Next to him stood Gennasis, in all her angelic radience. Mendax bowed to Deus and spoke.

"Was the other group any trouble, my lord?"

"I didn't need to activate a single ability to beat all of them. Small fry."

"That hardly makes them small fry, my Lord." Mendax rose. "Did you keep any alive?"

"All of them. There should be ample sacrifices for you and Caeder for a few more fights, Mendax." Deus replied. "It seems like there was another attack here. Though with the three we left behind, I doubt any of them survived."

"You would be correct in that assumption."

Deus folded his arms and began walking towards the house. The six other Commandments closed in behind him, carrying the captured remnants of S.T.A.G. All unconscious except for one. A small man with shaggy brown hair, silently weeping.