Dark Clouds

Chapter 5

By Amazon

"Good god." Amazon said as she pushed open the front door to the house that she and the guys lived in. It had been a nice house but now it looked like a tornado had been through it. Seiji and Amazon had a good idea who had been there for the empty shells of what they had found out to be called Dynasty Soldiers littered the ground and front entrance.

Seiji ran his armored hand over the wall in the foyer. The wall had a huge gaping hole in the center of it as if some huge thing had been thrown through it. He could see in the rubble of the dining room a body; it was probably another Soldier. He paused when he heard several sounds that sounded like footsteps. He slowly drew his no-datchi from the sheath on his back just in case anymore Dynasty Soldiers were lurking within.

Amazon peeked into the living room and found it in the same state of disaster as the dining room and foyer. She frowned. Where was Kenji, Yoshio and Kinjiro? If they had been killed Amazon would seek out and destroy who ever had done it. She also paused when she heard the sound from upstairs. She reached for the katana’s on her back, letting the ring of metal on wood and leather comfort her.

Seiji moved slowly and silently into the kitchen where the stairs to the upper level of the house were. He held the no-datchi out in front of him, letting the light that poured forth illuminate the shadows. Amazon looked over his shoulder into the corners of the kitchen. Nothing was there except for a mess. She turned to the stairwell and peeked up. More darkness.

She started to climb up but stopped and jumped back into the kitchen. Seiji and Amazon stared at the three golden arrows that were now lodged in the wood of the wall. The white feathers gleamed in the light from the Halo sword.

"There’s something up there." Amazon hissed to Seiji. Seiji nodded and moved forward, intending to go first but Amazon stopped him. "You stay. I’m quicker and smaller than you are Seiji."

Seiji opened his mouth to protest but stopped and nodded. Fighting with Amazon right now was pointless and would get them no where. Amazon slowly crept up the stairs, testing each stair before putting her full weight on it. She was halfway up when a board squeaked Amazon cursed herself and put the twin katanas in front of her face in case any arrows were shot off.

A figure pulled itself out of the shadows and moved out of her view. Amazon jumped up the rest of the stairs, pursuing the figure. The figure ducked into the office right beside the stairs. Amazon followed stealthily. Whoever or whatever the figure was already knew she was there but she tried to be quiet anyway. Amazon could see the outline of the figure in the little light that came in from the window.

The figure leapt at Amazon, bow raised in the air above it’s head, ready to bring it down on her. Amazon nimbly dodged it while bringing her own weapons down onto the back of the attacker. Metal rang on metal and the figure let out a painful grunt as it hit the floor. Amazon put a foot on its back and brought one of her swords to the figures neck.

Wait a minute…this isn’t a soldier! Then who is it? Amazon kept the sword poised at the figure’s neck as she turned it over onto its back. Two coal black eyes glared at her as wisps of blue hair fell into his face, escaping the helmet. Amazon nearly cut off his head when she realized whom it was.

"Kenji!?" Amazon shrieked. Kenji’s eyes widened as he also realized who it was.

"Amazon? What the hell…" Kenji got to his feet after Amazon removed her foot. "You’re wearing armor too. Didja hear that voice?"

Amazon nodded, sheathing her swords. "Hai, Seiji’s downstairs and also has an armor. We’ve been fighting our way all across Tokyo it seems…where’s Kinjiro and Yoshio?"

"I don’t know. That stupid voice said something about a Dynasty invading and that he could revive these stupid armors. There was this flash of light and when I could see again they weren’t here."

Amazon processed that before saying anything else. "Yea, the same thing happened to us, too except Seiji didn’t disappear the only thing that happened was that all these Soldiers froze. C’mon we better go downstairs where Seiji is before he comes stampeding up here ready to fight."

Kenji nodded in agreement and they both headed downstairs. Seiji looked up from where he was kneeling, examining the now destroyed kitchen table. Surprise was clear on his face when he saw Kenji.

"Hello Seiji." Kenji said bitterly. Seiji nodded curtly before examining the armor he wore. In the light the armor revealed its color, a rich royal blue with golden horns on the helmet. In Kenji’s hand was a golden bow.

"Okay since you two have reacquainted, let’s get outta here before more Soldiers decide to investigate." Amazon said. The silence troubled her; it was never this quiet even at night there was the steady noise of traffic to break it. Seiji and Kenji nodded, the silence was unnerving and their run-ins with the Dynasty Soldiers had them on their toes.

The small group moved out into the streets. Amazon looked over her shoulder as the house she had called home for at least three years was slowly swallowed by mist. There was one question that she wanted to know the answer to: Why?

Yoshio looked around the Bay of Tokyo. It was deathly silent and a tension hung in the air not to mention the stench of death and smoke. The bay was empty, the waters still a crystal blue. The surface of the water did not stir nor move; the current had disappeared…just like the citizens of Tokyo had.

He could remember fixing dinner, laughing at one of Kinjiro’s jokes when mist filled the kitchen and several strange things had also appeared. They had attacked…after that everything was a blur. The details were foggy at best but the one thing he was sure of was this armor. It was light blue in color and had white peeking through, mainly at the joints, on his back was a yari, a pair of wings and a short sword while claws were on his right arm guard.

Yoshio fingered the claws while he thought. The voice had said something about a Torrent, a Hardrock and a Strata. He had also said something about reawakening some armors which was probably why he was wearing armor. He figured that the name of the armor he wore was the Torrent. Probably has something to do with water. Yoshio thought as he stood up.

He brushed the sand off of his armor and started walking down the beach. The city surrounded the bay. A city that was lifeless, black and mist-filled…probably also filled with more of those Dynasty Soldiers. He would stick to the bay for now until he knew more about those hollow armors of black smoke.

Kinjiro grunted as he pushed a large portion of a now demolished building off of his back. Kinjiro looked around in awe. Whatever he had done, or screamed, had destroyed a good portion of the street and surrounding buildings. He brushed himself off pausing to scowl at the brown, orange and white armor he wore. This is not a very funny joke…if it is a joke.

He moved some other boulders around till he found what he was looking for. He twirled the naginta as he strode down the street. I never knew Tokyo could be so quiet. Whatever invaded kidnapped the people…am I the only one left? If they hurt my friends I’ll kill them…whoever they are.

Mist swirled as Kinjiro made his way down the street. Abandoned cars and other articles littered the street. Kinjiro stopped and put down his weapon. "Why should I fight?! What does this have to do with me? Hey! You disembodied psychopath, tell me that!" Kinjiro yelled into the streets. It probably wasn’t such a good idea with all the Soldiers running around but he didn’t care. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"So…you want answers do you?" A voice lazily crawled through the mist. Kinjiro spun around, weapon now in hand. He could see nothing; the mist was too thick to see through. "Answers…whats to an answer? It just leads to more questions."

"Who are you? You don’t sound like that psychopath." Kinjiro continued to try and see into the mist.

"Another question? My, my, my. We seem to be full of questions, don’t we?" The voice laughed. Kinjiro scowled, he didn’t recognize the voice and it was starting to get on his nerves.

"Just…tell…me…who…you…are!" Kinjiro growled. The voice laughed again.

"Do you really want to know that, my good man?"

"Hai."

A figure on horseback appeared on the edge of Kinjiro’s vision. He suddenly remembered that he had heard the sound of hooves but had dismissed it as his imagination. "As for my showing myself I also propose a challenge. A duel."

"A duel? Sure!" Kinjiro held the naginta in front of him so that its bladed end pointed at the figure. "I’ll take you on."

"Yes, yes. Introductions first though. I am Apollo, Warlord of Cruelty and this is my faithful horse and companion, Menares." The mist peeled away to reveal the Warlord and his horse. The horse was a chestnut color with a black mane and tail. The Warlord wore a dark brown-gray armor with a vest over it of different colors. He wore his helmet with the face guard down, something Kinjiro found restrictive.

"You-you wear armor?!" Kinjiro nearly shouted his question. The Warlords gold eyes twinkled as the skin around his eyes crinkled as a smile spread across his face.

"Yes, as do you but I am not here to help you, strange one, Master Talpa wants your armor and I will bring it to him. Now which one are you?"

Kinjiro smiled and laughed. Apollo frowned at this. "You chase after someone then propose a duel but you don’t even know who it is? That is pathetic."

Apollo growled. "How dare you! You laugh at me!" Apollo calmed himself down and went on in a calmer tone. "I have given you my name and I require yours."

Kinjiro stopped laughing and scrutinized the Warlord some more. Should I tell him my real name? Something bubbled up into his mind…it was a name.

"My name is Hardrock." Kinjiro blurted out. The look on his face matched the one on Apollo’s, surprise. He hadn’t meant to say that outloud but since he had he’d use it.

"My name is Kinjiro of Hardrock." Kinjiro repeated.

"So you are Hardrock. It seems I am not the one that is pathetic, I was expecting the original wearer of the Hardrock and it seems that a baby has taken his place." Apollo sniffed. Menares circled the new Ronin of Justice and stopped in front of him. Kinjiro scowled as he watched the Warlord. To be laughed at was one thing but to be called a baby was another. This man was getting on his nerves.

"Are we going to fight or not?" He asked, twirling the staff in his hands. Apollo nodded and dismounted. He took something off the saddle and undid it. A weighted end hit the street then raised into the air as Apollo twirled it over his head. Kinjiro recognized the weapon, it was a kusari gama, Seiji had used it before for some training.

Kinjiro took a defensive position as the Warlord of Cruelty let loose the weighted end. It wrapped around the staff when Kinjiro raised it to protect his face. Apollo pulled on the chain that connected the weight to the scythe, Kinjiro pulled back on his staff and soon the two were in a tugging contest. An idea popped into Kinjiro’s mind and he smiled, it would work but it would cost him his weapon. He was a good hand to hand fighter and with the increased speed and strength from the armor he could probably beat the Warlord without a weapon.

"Apollo, have you ever thought about having plastic surgery?"

Apollo stopped tugging on his chain to digest this question. That was exactly what Kinjiro wanted. He pulled on his staff a little till the chain was taut. Apollo snapped back from his thinking and pulled very hard…and was very surprised when Kinjiro let go of the naginta. The weapon flew at Apollo and hit him right in the head. Kinjiro smiled again when the Warlord cursed.

"That was a very good trick, Ronin but now you don’t have a weapon. There’s no way to protect yourself." Apollo chuckled softly. He leapt into the air and threw the scythe end of his weapon at Kinjiro. Kinjiro barely dodged it and it scrapped his back. Oh, shit! A deep groove ran along the length of the backplate of the armor.

Soon it was all dodge for him as Apollo attacked. This dudes strong but I’m stronger. If I could get my staff then I could do whatever I did earlier. Apollo drew back from attacking and stood quietly. Kinjiro watched him suspiciously. Apollo’s eyes snapped open and he leapt into the air.

"QUAKE" Apollo drew up the weighted end of his weapon, "WITH" He drew back his arm. "FEAR!" Apollo threw the weighted end of his kusari gama at the ground. Kinjiro jumped out of the way as the weight plunged into the ground. Nothing happened for a few seconds until beams of red light shot from the ground. One of them hit him square in the chest, throwing him into a building.

Several more beams hit him as he flew, entrapping him and stopping his flight. The beams solidified into chains, chains that choked and trapped. Apollo landed nimbly on the ground, laughing as he walked up to the chained Ronin. Kinjiro tried to loosen the chains around his neck but found it very hard for his arms were also tied up in the chains.

"A web…a web of chains. Deadly aren’t they?" Apollo chuckled as he studied his doing. The chains were anchored in the walls of the buildings and did indeed form a deadly web of steel. One that the Ronin of Justice found himself trapped in. Kinjiro glared at the cackling Warlord of Cruelty.

"Time to die, Hardrock." Apollo raised the scythe of his kusari gama, preparing to let it loose to kill the young man. He never got the chance though. A black figure leapt in front of Apollo and knocked the weapon out of his hands. Apollo looked in the black figures shadowed face in surprise.

The figure kicked the weapon away from the Warlord when Apollo tried to grab it. The person drew a long sword from on its back and cut Kinjiro free of the chains. He rubbed his neck and looked up to thank the man when his naginta landed in front of him; the shadowed man had thrown it to him. Meanwhile, Apollo had been able to get his weapon back and was now preparing for another go at the sure kill.

Kinjiro picked up his staff and tried desperately to remember what he had screamed earlier that had destroyed the army of Soldiers and a city block. He couldn’t remember until Apollo spoke the first words of his sure kill.

"IRON" Kinjiro adjusted his grip on his weapon, "ROCK" He twirled the naginta above his head, "CRUSHER!!" Kinjiro brought the staff down to point the nunchuck end at the ground and at Apollo. Apollo hadn’t been able to finish the call of his sure kill and was vulnerable to this one.

The ground heaved and rocked as pieces of concrete and buildings were gouged out and crumbled into smaller pieces that slammed into Apollo. Apollo shrieked in pain and anger as he disappeared in the sure kill. Kinjiro smiled before passing out. A pair of arms caught him before he hit the ground.

"Geez it looks like Toyama when the Dynasty first invaded." Kento commented as the five men, White Blaze and Yuli ‘strolled’ down the streets of Tokyo.

"Yea, I know, except we’re walking targets without our armors." Sage said, looking around.

"Think about all the homework we’re gonna get from our Sensei’s when we get back to college." Kento groaned. The other four Ronins rolled their eyes. Only Kento would be thinking of homework at a time like this.

"We’re not going to get any homework from anybody if we don’t find our armors and fry the Dynasty like last time." Ryo criticized. Kento stuck his tongue out at him but the former Ronin of Virtue wasn’t looking at him at the time.

"Do you think that the Dynasty is in Toyama too? Mia’s unprotected there, even with Issa." Cye spoke up. The former Ronins looked at the ground as they remembered when they got the news that the college that had accepted them was in Tokyo. They hadn’t wanted to go but Mia wouldn’t let them stay.

"I think that Mia can protect herself, she has Issa ya know." Yuli piped up.

"You’re right, Yuli, let’s not worry okay." Ryo forced a grin.

"Hai, let’s not worry but there is a good reason to worry right now Ronins." A voice spoke from behind a wall of mist. The Ronins froze and instinctively took fighting positions. Several glowing red eyes in the mist told them they weren’t alone.

"Who’s there?!" Rowen asked. A menacing laugh echoed from the depths of the crawling, black mist.

"I am Ares, Warlord of Darkness and Corruption, and I will be your doom." The mist peeled away to reveal the Warlord of Corruption. His no-datchi was out and in his hands. The Ronins faces went pale as they realized that they armor he wore WAS the Lobo armor. Red eyes glinted from behind a red faceplate.

"You aren’t Cale!" Sage gasped out. Ares chuckled.

"Hai, I am not. I am his ‘replacement’ if you like to term it that way. Now for our little business. Master Talpa wants your armors." Ares pointed his sword at each of them. "Now, who will give it up first."

"First of all, Ares, we would never give you our armors and for second, we don’t have them!" Kento screamed. Yuli watched Ares move toward the small group. White Blaze growled and moved in front of the young boy. The former Ronins tightened their circle.

"Tch, tch. That’s so bad. For you I mean. Now I will have to do something very bad to you." Ares lifted his arm so that his arm was pointing with his sword. Sage’s eyes widened. He knew what was going to happen.

"RUN!" The Ronins started to run with White Blaze and Yuli at their side but they weren’t fast enough to get out of the way.

"BLACK LIGHTNING SLASH!!" Dark energy flowed off of Ares’s sword and rocketed at the fleeing Ronins. The energy exploded when it connected with their unarmored bodies and sent them flying, even Yuli and White Blaze didn’t escape it. The five Ronins, the young boy and white tiger hit the pavement or cement with enough force to crack it.

Ares advanced slowly on them, laughing as Kento, who was the first to recover, picked himself up and the others started to get to their feet.

"You all are weak, especially you." Ares pointed at Sage. "You Halo," Ares spoke the armors name like it was a curse word. "Where is your marvelous power, the light that will send me back, scurrying to my little hole? WELL?! Where is it?!" Ares voice echoed when he spoke. Sage clenched his hands into fists to keep from launching himself instinctively at the armored man.

"I told you, you baka, we don’t have them!" Kento shouted again. Ryo helped Yuli back to his feet while watching the Warlord of Darkness out of the corner of his eye.

"Lies!" Ares spat, he pointed the sword again, ready to do his sure kill. "I don’t care if I have to kill you five…six, for those armors. BLACK LIGHTENING SLASH!"

The Ronins screamed as the black energy danced on their skin, leaving the bruises as marks of its passage, and hit the pavement and cement once again.

"Isn’t the taste of dirt enough to make you give up?" Ares questioned. Sage lifted himself to his feet, the kanji of Wisdom burning brightly on his forehead and somewhere else in the city another kanji of Wisdom burned brightly. Sage looked around at his friends, Cye had already passed out, Rowen looked like he was ready to, Kento was getting back on his feet, and Ryo...Ryo had several cuts along his back from protecting Yuli.

A look at a shattered window told Sage where exactly the cuts came from. Ryo groaned as he also got to his feet. A crackling sound grabbed Sage’s attention. Black energy leapt from Ares hands and engulfed Rowen and Cye. The remaining Ronins watched in horror as their friends slowly disappeared right in front of them.

"NO!" Kento yelled as he stared at the spot on the street that Cye had occupied. He knew where Rowen and Cye were. "You-you…I’ll get you!" Kento launched himself at Ares, only to be caught in the same black energy that had taken Cye and Rowen to the Nether Realm.

Ryo and Sage’s eyes flared with anger as Ares turned his attention to them. The Warlord chuckled as he strode forward almost nonchalantly. Sage and Ryo took fighting positions, they knew they were no match for him but they weren’t going down without a fight.

"There’s still a lot of spirit there, ne? Well I’ll just have to get rid of it. BLACK LIGHTENING SLASH!" Sage dodged the black electricity but Ryo wasn’t so lucky. Ryo screamed again as the black lightening coursed through his body and once again he was flung into the pavement. Sage heard Yuli yell and White Blaze roar but he could only watch hear Ryo’s scream as he stood there helplessly as Ryo was also sent to the Nether Realm.

"Poor, poor Halo. Left all alone and with no armor to protect you? I wish you would stop being so stubborn and just hand it over. That way, you don’t have to join your friends in their fate." Sage’s eyes widened when he realized that Ares was right behind him.

"I won’t abandon my friends, no matter how much you hurt me and I won’t hand over my armor because I don’t have it." Sage said through clenched teeth. The only thing that was keeping him on his feet was sheer stubbornness and mental determination.

"Fine, be it so." Claws ripped into Sages back and he stood there in shock, eyes even wider as he realized warm fluid was racing down his back, his blood. Then the pain started. Ares smiled evilly as the former Ronin of Light whimpered in pain. Blood excited Ares and drove him into even more of a battle frenzy, which was why he was named after the God of War himself.

Ares slashed again and again at the defenseless man in front of him. He didn’t care if Sage died from the loss of blood, he just wanted to see it running over warm skin and puddling on the ground. Ares stopped at last when Sage hit the ground, his chest rose and fell as he took in gulps of air and looked at his claws. They were stained red with blood and it dripped off the ends of them.

Master Talpa wants the Ronins alive, this one could be dead. He’ll have my head if he is. Ares knelt down beside Sage and felt his throat for a heartbeat. It was there but faintly. Good I didn’t kill him. I’ll have to see if Artemis will heal him. At least the lazy girl is good for something. Ares picked up the blood covered Ronin and slung him over his shoulder and disappeared.

Yuli started crying into White Blazes fur when the Warlord disappeared. Just now did everything register in his mind. Ryo, Rowen, Kento, Cye and Sage were gone and he was all-alone…except for White Blaze. The large tiger sadly licked the tears off the child’s face as he looked at the red puddle in the middle of the street.

"CALE! GET BACK IN BED!"

"Mia! I don’t need the rest!"

"I don’t care if you are five hundred years old, you will MARCH UPSTAIRS AND GET BACK IN BED!"

"Okay." The former Warlord of Corruption/Darkness looked five inches tall as he walked, or shimmied, past the furious Mia who was pointing at the stairs. The other warlords snickered behind their hands as Kayura tore her gaze away from the Ancient’s Staff long enough to flash a smile at Mia.

"What’re you two laughing about?" Mia turned to face the other two. The two men quickly buried their noses in whatever they had been reading before Cale had come downstairs.

"How do you do that? I can’t get them to do anything." Kayura asked, stroking Issa’s head. The large brown and black tiger was half curled up onto Kayura’s lap. Mia plopped down onto the couch.

"You just have to show them whose boss." Mia whispered so that the Warlords didn’t hear. Kayura smiled and laughed. " Do ya think it’ll disappear again?"

Kayura shrugged. "I don’t really know. Why had it disappeared?" Kayura thought that over but didn’t come up with an answer. She sighed, there were just some things that probably weren’t meant to be figured out. The Ancient’s Staffs rings clanged gently in the breeze that came from the open window. Issa sniffed the wind and settled himself again.

The clanging grew louder with every second. Kayura leapt to her feet with Mia, Dais and Sekhmet by her side. The Ancient’s Staff rocked side to side in its base. Cale rushed downstairs, he had heard the incessant clanging and immediately known what was going on.

"What’s goin’ on?" Mia’s voice was a whisper but it seemed to echo within the house. The base cracked and exploded, showering the Warlords, Kayura, and Mia with splinters and slivers of wood. Kayura leapt forward to catch the Staff before it hit the ground but a wrinkled and aged hand stopped it.

The warlords gasped in surprise and it seemed Issa did too. Kayura’s mouth hung open and Mia stared. The aged hand belonged to the Ancient One. The clanging stopped and a soft glow surrounded the staff instead. The kanji’s of Serenity, Piety, and Obedience shined on the Warlords foreheads.

"Warlords, Kayura, Mia, the Dynasty is back." The Warlords knew this since they were attacked in the Dynasty but Mia didn’t. Mia’s eyes widened and she paled at this. "Talpa has been resurrected and he is threatening this world once again."

"What can we do? We don’t have our armors and the Ronins are in Tokyo." Sekhmet asked.

"Hai, I know this. The Ronins have been captured by the Dynasty and are now being held in the Nether Realm by Talpa. Their armors have been passed on to four young men and a young women capable of beating the Dynasty. You five need to go to Tokyo and find them. Mia, you will need to teach them of the power they hold in their hands, if you do not then they will destroy the world themselves." The Ancients timeless voice echoed in their ears. The Ancient One looked at Issa. "Issa, you also will need to go with them. Protect them and help them find the Ronins."

Issa bowed his head, acknowledging the Ancients wish. With a smile and wish of good luck he disappeared. The warlords looked at their hands and each other with looks of surprise on their faces. On their bodies, covering their hands, chest, and legs, was armor. Nothing mystical like their Seasonal armors but just plain Samurai armor. In the crooks of their arms they held helmets.

Kayura wore the Starlight Armor she had worn when she was still under Talpa’s control. Issa wore armor similar to Black Blazes except that it was brownish in color with a little yellow circle on the forehead plate. Dais turned to see if Mia also wore armor but she was gone. A voice coming in from the kitchen told him she was in there. Dais went to the entrance of the kitchen to see what she doing.

Mia was one the phone, talking to a friend about house sitting, she hung up soon. "We can go now. Nice armor." Mia grabbed her coat and keys from the kitchen table. She wasn’t surprised when she saw the other two warlords, Kayura and Issa in armor. They all filed outside and piled into the jeep. The three warlords crammed into the back, many curses and hits were exchanged before sword sheaths and joints were appropriately arranged. Mia and Kayura sat up front, Mia driving, of course. Issa ran beside the jeep.

Not one of them noticed the kanji of loyalty shining on the tiger’ forehead while it ran.

"Master Talpa, we have secured Tokyo." Athena said as she bowed to Talpa. The Lady of Illusions was now dressed in the sub armor of the Summer armor. Talpa looked up at her.

"Very good, Athena. Have you been able to track those pathetic Ronins down yet?"

Athena hesitated before answering. "Yes…and no."

Talpas eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"The original Ronins are being held in the dungeon but they say they don’t have their armors. They are telling the truth, my lord, they don’t have them." Athena backed up a step as Talpa stood up. His pure black sub armor glinted in the light from the torches of the great hall and anger flared in his eyes.

"Then who has them?"

"I do not know correctly Master Talpa, but several Dynasty Soldiers have reported seeing six armor wearers in the city." Athena glanced at the window set in the wall. It showed a picture of the city, mist filled and dark. "Two of them, Halo and Wildfire, are together and they have found Strata. Hardrock and Torrent still remain on their own."

"What is this sixth one?" Talpa asked as he stared at the window to the Mortal Realm.

"I do not know Master." Athena involuntarily straightened as Talpa looked at her again.

"Tell Artemis to find out who it was. I want to know who this sixth person is and if they pose a threat. Do you understand?"

"Hai, Master." Athena bowed again and left.

Talpa looked back to the window and smiled. With the real Ronin Warriors in his dungeon and probably inexperienced people with their armors the Mortal World and the armors were as good as his.