Beyond Your Expectations

[Breach]

Tick heads to the forest to chop more trees down.

After greeting Tick who was chopping down trees, Flint went a distance away to do, once more, his usual herb-gathering. While he was doing this, he had a bright idea.

Tick, steel knight, and the Chimera tried to chop as many trees as possible. After a few minutes, Tick had felled 10 trees with the help of his puppets.

As Tick was felling his trees, Flint managed to only forage 4 healing herbs, making the halfling think that he may be drying up this area's resources, if he haven't already made the particular plant species extinct in the area already.

After a quick look around, Flint walked up to Tick as the sounds of falling trees stopped.

Without a word, Tick headed to his workshop with wood while Flint followed. They arrived and Tick started to craft his weapon.

"So, making yourself something with all those trees? Mind making me a batch of arrows then?" the halfling asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to make a weapon for myself. I know that I need something to help me defend myself."

"What sort of weapon are you making there, Tick?"

"It will be something that uses skill and strength depending. I'm trying to make a wood fist that is connected through pieces of link wood to a bracer."

"So, a gauntlet per say?"

"Like mace fist."
"What in the world is a mace fist? Ah nevermind, enough of that."

"In the near future, it would do more."

"Alright then.. while you work on those wooden gauntlets, I'll set myself up to make a potion, alright?"

As Flint said that, he walked away from the gentlemen working on nearly a dozen trees that he somehow brought to the workshop with only the efforts of said gentlemen, his wood-clad steel knight, and the corpse puppet of a metal chimera. The halfling chose a corner to lean back upon as he began brewing a single potion out of the herbs.

When he finally began grinding the herb up, Flint stared at the person who was fiddling around with his wood (no, not that kind of 'wood', you shameless fool).

Silently, the halfling looked back to the herb he was grinding up into a red paste formed through the herb's moisture and the herb's natural reaction to oxygen, oxidizing into a dull red color, though it became lighter as a bit more water was added to dilute it into an appropriate volume to fit into the potion bottle and putting in different techniques to make the herb's natural potential to heal injuries increase.

Out of the blue, the halfling began humming to himself a tune familiar to many people with a childhood- a nursery rhyme, before repeating it in a verbal form.
"Jack and Jill went up a hill to get a pail of water. Jack fell down, broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after," he murmured to himself. This was quite inaudible and only a person carefully listening would be able to hear the halfling sing an old tune from his orphanage days.

Finally, the three green leaves that were the healing herbs became a popular item to adventurers- a god damned healing potion.

When Flint finally closed up the potion bottle with a cork stopper, he looked up from his potion to the black elf, glistening with sweat from the effort of making his weapon.

"I definitely need to find a girl one of these days- I swear this academy isn't a boys-only school." the tiny, two-foot-five-inches creature thought.

As he got bored of the craftsman doing his thing, Flint decided to take a step outside.

Tick start to started to condense the wood into pole. He then started to curve one end of it. He then start to create 5 indentions along the spear.

As Tick had curved the pole into a katana-like blade, he then started to work making a wooden arm guard for Flint. Flint walked in through the door at that time with a hum.

"Hey, you're back, how was your trip?"

"What trip? I just went to the bathroom. Wait, are those going to be your first words since you agreed to make a bunch of arrows for me and instead made arm guards?" Flint said in a level tone.

"Yeah… the quality of the arrows wood be to low and what we are going to face in the metal dungeon is going to be tough so I made you arm brace to at least give you something to help protect yourself."

"Still, don't you think they're a tad too.. You know, large? You do realize that I'm literally half your height and that arm brace is practically chest armor to me, right?"

"I made sure they fit your size."

"I was joking with you, you know?"

"So have you made the potions from the herbs you gathered because we are going to need them when we encounter the giant metal louse and whatever made the tunnel and anything else in those caves."

"I only made one potion, and a giant metal louse? What are you talking about?" Flint was quite confused since the dark elf had never told him he left to solo the dungeon before.

"Well I went back to the metal dungeon to gather more iron ores."

"Right then.. So you decided to solo the dungeon despite meeting the Chimera back then which nearly obliterated you, and would have done so if I had not created that magic shield. Despite that, you still decided to go alone? Anyways, what kind of changes happened after the teachers resetted it?" reprimanded Flint

"That was the strange part… the dungeon was not resetted."

"What? Even though we finished off the Chimera?!"

"Yep and and I discovered a new tunnel at the end of the dungeon."

"Guess that giant louse was the reason why.."

"Actually, it was man made."

"Hm? No, I meant that the big old insect was likely the reason why it didn't reset after the Chimera died."

"True. I am still curious about what made the tunnel."

"You said it was man-made, right? It was probably a teacher who hid something back there. You know, something like a big-ass insect?"

"Maybe, but why the big metal louse because I am sure if there was threat it would have been the chimera?"

"Why should I know? I mean, 'why did they put a chimera in there' would've been another good question. And who knows? The louse might have been supposed to help the chimera!"

"Or something more dangerous in the dungeon?"

"You know dude, I'm pretty sure they didn't make that dungeon specifically to kill us since they are, in fact, built to train us and reward us with material goods. You do know why they don't monopolize the cores and materials from the dungeon, right?"

"Yeah you're right."

After their conversation, Tick finished the spear, deciding to finish the arm guard up later since the varnish needed to dry.

Tick made a torch for Flint and for himself.

"Let's head to the dungeon." Tick left the arm guard alone.

"Let's go then!"

Tick and Flint went to dungeon and arrived at to the new tunnel, Flint holding up a torch in his right hand and dagger in his left. Although no one ever noticed, he was left-handed.

They stopped at edge of the tunnel and where there was an enormous hole in front them.

"Huh? I thought this was a tunnel, not a hole into the ground," Flint said as he raised the torch in front of him a bit further, looking down into the tunnel. "How will we get down there?"

"You'll ride on my back, while I fly us down."

"Hold on, you can fly?"

"Yes? Remember the fire board"

"You've only shown me it once and never again. I thought it was a hoverboard that ended up breaking when the Chimera spat on it with its Hyper beam."

"Well it can fly, so…"

"Alright then.."
Reluctantly.. very reluctantly, Flint climbed up Tick's back and sat on his left shoulder.

Tick then summoned his fire board and started to fly down the pit after getting on it.

They weren't even halfway down before a familiar snarl echoed up from the darkness.

The pair weren't on the ground, but they noticed it started to rumble around them.

Tick continued heading down, but in the meanwhile, he got prepared.

In a silent motion, he held his dagger in his left hand above his right shoulder, prepared to swing it.

The flames lit up the chamber to reveal a sight that was more than enough to induce some fear.

The enormous louse was still there, curled up in its spiked shell, rolling around the walls faster than any cannonball. The room was by no means small, but it could get around it about three times every second.

Whatever this thing was, it certainly wasn't playing around.

Tick's knight puppet launches forward with its spear pointed in front of it.

The puppet was, of course, thrown to the bottom of the chamber, bent almost completely out of shape.

"You should've made a wooden puppet," Flint stated. "Let me try something, my impulsive friend."
Flint, from his seat on Tick's left shoulder, swung his dagger with his dominant hand, the left hand, and sent a blur of energy towards his front as he assumed it would not matter where he swung it.

The blade of air exploded on contact, knocking the louse right off course, forcing it to open up upside down and on its back, shrieking.

Tick's chimera used blade rain on the louse.

The creature couldn't dodge if it tried, squirming on its back. The blades sliced into its body, drawing huge amounts of blood.

With what could only be called a colossal squeal, the louse seemed to "flex" its exoskeleton, ejecting the blades one by one in sprays of blood. It began to sway from side to side, attempting to get up. It didn't seem to be making a lot of progress… yet.

Flint checked the distance from the ground in a fleeting moment before he swung his dagger at the louse's underbelly as he still sat on Tick's shoulder.

The creature screeched in agony as another wound opened up on its underbelly, trying to get back up to the best of its ability.

Tick punched with the arm that didn't have a halfling on it while the chimera use it claws to attack the louse.

The chimera struck first, causing the louse to screech again as it pressed down on its underbelly.

But as Tick got close, that was enough for it to curl up.

Once again, he was trapped in a perilous bind before he could attack, just short of being crushed.

This time, however, Flint too was in there as he was sitting on Tick's shoulder since the beginning. Flint took a stab at the creature with his arrow he summoned since there was not enough room to swing his arm around to cause significant damage with the dagger.

Tick punched while the chimera use it claws to attack the louse.

The chimera's claws hooked something.

Something large and red was pulled out as the monster screeched one last time, collapsing.

As soon as the louse loosened its muscle as a result of death, Flint got the hell out of there, walked to a wall, and puked his guts out. His stomach was not really happy with a god knows how far drop from above, a merciless charge from his ride into the constricting insides of a giant metal louse, and all of the guts he touched in there. The stomach was really not happy.

Tick went to the body and took its core.

Tick started to turn the louse's corpse into a puppet.

After Flint's stomach was finally vacated, he approached Tick and told him, "Don't go down so fast next time, alright?"

"Sure, but let's move on," all his puppets walk with him.

Taking it as a lesson to never sit on Tick's shoulder (the knight never had a problem), Flint took a few cautious steps on the ground confirming to his mind that it wasn't going to fall down before following behind the chimera carefully.

At one side of the room was a shallow indention, and in that they saw a chest and Tick went over to it to open it, but Flint got there faster.

Flint scooped up the silver ring immediately, telling Tick about it and leaving the sparkling diamonds to the craftsman.

Suddenly, a giant crack appeared behind the treasure chest. Flint ignores this, however, as he just wanted to be finished with this dungeon. Flint stood under the roof, waiting for Tick to fly him out when he's ready.

Tick punched the wall.

The cracked wall crumbled away instantly, and Tick very nearly fell down a drop.

Light spilled through, and the two of them could at last clearly see why the dungeon hadn't reset.

In the first place, they had not cleared it the first time. In fact, they had never cleared it at all.

This entire time, they had been fighting inside one cliff face in an entire underground iron forest, something on the ceiling giving off light comparable to the sun.

This was an entire ecosystem down here.

This was a dungeon.


Flint's definitely finished with this dungeon.


This was certainly a job for another day.


"Can we leave now, Tick?" Flint was getting quite impatient, ready to get out of here.

"Fine."

Tick and Flint left the cave and they headed towards the craftsman teacher at the school to identify the ring.

 

[Mardyth]

As Flint bid Tick farewell after their trip into the metal dungeon only to realize it wasn't the actual dungeon, he began his way into the school's craftsmanship facilities that was for the students' free use. The halfling hummed to himself a random tune as he grasped the silver ring in his hands.

It didn't take him very long to reach the teacher he was looking for; the Craftsman, Breghin, sitting in his empty classroom. Apparently he didn't have much better to do, and he raised a single inquisitive eyebrow as Flint stepped in.

Silently, Flint unclasped his hand around the ring and showing it to the teacher before saying, "I found this in a chest of what seemed like an offshoot of a dungeon, and I'm not sure if there's a unique effect on it that may be harmful or beneficial. Do you mind looking at it for me?"

"Magic ring you don't know, huh?" he asked, almost monotonous. "Well, I can give it a cursory glance, but I'm not completely versed in enchantments myself. Give it, I'll see what I can get you."

Without hesitation, Flint stretched his hand outwards toward the teacher, palm up and the ring sitting on it's side waiting to be picked up by the teacher.

He took the jewelry and began inspecting it as if it were an interesting rock. It didn't seem to be even remotely difficult for him, and he gave it back after only a few seconds.

"Nothing special," he shrugged. "It's got a map or something in there. You should be able to read it if you run some Exin through. Honestly, if you're going to come to me with a magic ring, at least make sure it has something interesting like a death curse first."

"Sorry, but I'd rather not risk my life to figure that out. Though, thanks for checking it for me, Mr. Breghin. Also, do you know where I can exchange monster cores for different cores or items? I only recently joined the academy a month ago because of.. Reasons."

"You want cores? Go find Nageth, teaches magic. Oh, you probably already know that. You want items, bring some stuff to me, and I'll give you something equally interesting. Or boring, more likely."

"Alright then, sir. Thanks for answering my questions!" thanked the halfling before he turned to leave.. Only to turn back while looking through his person for the core he had obtained from the chimera. Flint held up the orb before the craftsman. "Oh right, I forgot that I needed a few arrows since the only one I have is my buddy here," the student said as he tapped his soul tool that was hanging around on his back with his free hand. "Oh, and before I forget, do you have any in stock with twisted arrowheads?"

"What stock," he said. "This thing… If you want twisted screw heads, I'll give you fifteen for this. How's that?"

"Just the screw heads, or attached on the arrow?"

"The arrows come with them, obviously."

"Alright then, I'll take 15 if you include a quiver."

"Get your own quiver. Fifteen is generous as it is for a petty core like this, kid."

"How many arrows can I get if I also get a quiver?"

"Ten. At most."

"Alright then, 10 arrows and a quiver for the core? If so, I'll take that deal. What will the arrowhead me made out of?"

"I'll give you something out of iron. Easiest to twist."

"Thank you sir," said Flint as he handed the craftsman the chimera's core before asking, "When will it be ready? I'll come pick it up."

"Two minutes. Three for the quiver."

"Oh, then I guess I'll watch you as I wait, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead. Don't bother me while I'm working and we'll get along fine," Breghin added.

The halfling silently nodded before going off into a corner to watch the craftsman do his magic.


He was done in mere seconds, with tactical flares of Exin placed throughout the process to shape the wood and metal with ease, and then he simply weaved a quiver out of a sheet of leather and hooked a strap to it, handing it all over after a minute and a half.

"There," Breghin waved it at him.

With wide eyes and new admiration for craftsmanship, Flint accepted the items and thanked the teacher before gleely putting on the new quiver across his back, sending his soul-tool back to.. Wherever it went to, and left the workshop while humming.


After a couple minutes, Flint suddenly remembered about his new ring. After checking the ring for which part was up and which part was down, he put it on his left index finger, hoping it would fit his tiny fingers.

It didn't fit his index finger, but it did fit his thumb. Because of that, he left it on his right thumb before pushing some Exin into it with the little proficiency he had that led him to being able to use magic.

A blue pattern of light projected from the top of the ring onto the wall in front of him, arranging lines and dots into a map.

At first, it didn't seem like it was anything special, but Tick did eventually notice something oddly familiar about it.

Specifically, it was a map of his own home country, in Avalon, albeit slightly rotated, and with a few towns and cities with crosses through them for some reason. In fact, he could even see his hometown from here.


It also had a cross through it.


Flint tried to estimate the amount of Exin it took to project the map, however he decided to think about why some of the towns were crossed out, though he likely wouldn't be able to figure it out so far away from home.

The amount of Exin it was taking him was miniscule, not even enough to make a dent in his reserves… although he would need to figure out exactly why it was so off-center now that he looked at it.

Besides the obvious nagging feeling that this map was some kind of hit-list for towns, he couldn't come up with a viable explanation for the crosses either. Perhaps he would need to check the place itself to know for sure.


Flint was reluctant to return home soon, however the possibility of his hometown being destroyed was quite worrying as he thought of the children and the caretaker from his home, the Caprio Orphanage. He stood still, thinking about all of the possibilities of what the map could mean.

He then decided that if he wanted to be of any help, he would at least need to be prepared in some form as only a dangerous, powerful entity could be the cause of destruction, and even if the map does not mean that the towns were destroyed, there is still the possibility of the former and he'd rather not be destroyed in his attempts. He silently hoped in his heart that everyone was safe and sound.

Flint went straight to the first step in his plans: lunch.

The little halfling with a big imagination began his trip to the cafeteria to fill his stomach.


Lunch today had seemed modest at first, but after actually getting into it, it was much more filling than it had looked.

That said, despite its density, it had in reality genuinely been a small amount, so it only took Flint a few minutes to finish it all.


After savoring his last bite into his delicious meal, Flint simplified the plans he had in his mind. Get information, get strong, and get items.

 

[Breach]

Tick went back to his work shop and started to repair his knight puppet. The puppet's limbs were broken because of the impact it suffered from its fall in the metal dungeon. He started to mend the arms and legs. The puppet's arms and legs were eventually repaired. He then got started on repairing his wires. Every puppeteer can fix their strings without a problem, including Tick. It also helped his a craftsmanship. After he fixed his wires, he sat at his desk and started to think he needed an edge in battle, maybe start working on poisons. He also tried to think about the large jungle in the metal dungeon. What sort of monsters are in that jungle, like were there flora, metal, and/or somthing else? He decided to get some lunch at the school. He got and ate steak at school's lunch room. He sat down at a table, the table that was in the middle of the room.


It was barely a few seconds later that a leafy-green-skinned girl shot a light glare in his direction, before shrugging and sitting down a little way across from him, setting down a plate of raw vegetables and a large textbook.

Tick noticing the glare, he said, "Hello," wondering why she shot him that glare.

"Afternoon," she bid him dryly, not so much as looking up from her textbook as she took a bite out of some kale.

He nodded and started writing on a piece paper, "Ok, first I need to develop a poison that can weaken a monster, but I need the necessary ingredients."

The girl let out a quiet sigh, frowning a little, but kept working frantically.

Tick notice she was also working on something and asked, "What are you working on?"

"Mage homework. Gotta get it done in the next ten minutes or I'm dead meat," she muttered.

"Do we know each other because I noticed that glare you shot at me?"

"I don't think we've met," she said monotonously. "I was just about to sit there, is all."

"Oh sorry I was too busy figuring out what kind chemicals I need to poison a monster and how to turn it into gas."

"Mm," she mumbled, apparently only half paying attention and dismissing it as him having homework too.

"My name is Tick."

"Kind of a weird name," she frowned, still not looking up. "You doing anything important there I need to know about, Tick?"

" Yeah, I trying to make a gaseous poison."

She gave a largely unentertained glance. "Anything I need to know about?" she repeated.

"Are you a chemist because I need help with making them and someone to help in battles, like a dungeons."

"I'm an alraune. Chemistry is easy. Managing workloads isn't," she muttered. "I literally don't have three minutes to spare."

"Ok." Tick hands hers a number to his room and said , "Well when you are finish me meet here."

"Hold on, hold on," she said. "I didn't agree to this, I can't meet you anywhere. I have this, then I have class, then I have more work to do, and by the time I've finished that, I'll have remedial classes. Then I have herbs to replant in the greenhouse and then I have a batch of potions to make, and by that time it's probably already going to be way past curfew!"

"Alright, alright trying to gain friend is all. I could help you replant herbs and help brew potions."


"Easier said than done," she sighed. "Even if you were to do that, you'd need to go out and get a bunch of Lioneye Nettles . I took five last time, so I need to put five back, but I don't even know where to get them… The hell kind of system is this, anyway…?"

"So what kind of environment do they live in?"

"Beats me. I heard something about the underside of cliffs near powerful Flora monsters, but I don't know much more than that."

"Maybe, the Lioneye Nettles are in the flora dungeon? Dungeons were set up to have monsters to fight against students and have resources to help students."

"Probably," she said. "I haven't checked there, but if you think you can survive the monsters there, go ahead. They're becoming a lot stronger recently…"

" Sure, can you come along and help? It would help to have back and I don't know what the plant looks like."

"I don't even have time to eat, let alone venture into a dungeon. This is why things take me so long. I'm going to class, don't worry about me," she said, getting up. "Good luck on your poison or whatever."

Tick, with a curious look on his face, asked, "What do the plants look like?"

"They glow a bit. It's not important, I'll just find them later." With a brief wave, she was gone.

Tick waved back and went to the school's library to found out what the Lioneye Nettles plant looks like. He arrived at the library and had hopeful look on on his face, "Let's hope I am able to find out what it looks like."

He went to the plant section and grabbed stacks and gave them to his knight to carry them, his knight was balancing them on its shoulders. Tick sat down on a nearby table along with his puppet,it putted down the books on the table. Tick flips through the books searching the books with great focus. The steel knight wiped away the sweat on the began to to form on Ticks forehead.

He found very little on them, only a segment on how they got their name: the half-bloomed flowers looked like a lion's slitted eyeball.

He was excited and whooped. He had the puppet put back the books and they exited the library.

Tick went to the forest and found torches and 3 herbs that could help him in the dungeon. He left the forest and headed to his room. He started to carefully, sticking out a tongue while doing this, ground the herbs with surgeon like movements, then boiling and pouring them into containers. After he finished, he putted his items into his pack and headed towards the flora dungeon with his puppets.


The dungeon apparently didn't need any torches at all. It looked like some kind of barrow, but it was lined with bioluminescent plants that lit the way.

Tick tried to blend to his environment, in order to sneak around, his puppets walk forward into the dungeon, while he sneaks in.

He looked around for herbs while sneaking inside the dungeon.

There wasn't much of note that he recognised. In fact, he could barely see anything useful at all. He eventually found himself edging around a ledge that seemed to border the rest of the dungeon: a gigantic well of plant life that stretched on for perhaps a mile or so. Sunlight spilled in from above, the ceiling of crisscrossing vines leaving the sky clearly visible. It wasn't long before he came to a split in the ledge, with the outer half going down and the inner going up.

Tick looked both ways and he tried to focus and tried to rely on instinct to tell him what to do.

But he had absolutely no inclination on which way was better from instinct alone.

Ticks shrugged and continued to sneak his way up with his puppets in front.

It was a surprisingly short way up before he found himself nearing the ceiling of the dungeon. There didn't seem to be an awful lot up here, but he did just about spot something shiny on the other side of the top of the ledge from here. It looked like he could get around from where he was, but the ledge this high up looked thin and cracks lined the ground.

"Mmm."Tick tried to think what he should do and decides to walk carefully through the ground to get to the glowing object.

He managed to get around half of the way before the ledge started to shift under his weight. It looked like he could take a few more steps, but it was getting risky.

He used his string to grab the glowing object from where he was.

Yeah, no. It only took him one attempt to realized that there was absolutely no way that was going to happen. In the first place, it didn't even seem like his strings were long enough for that.

He was sweating, nervous on what going to happen next, and tried to tip toe his way to the glowing object.

He got another quarter of the way around before the ground began to give way to him. It didn't fall, not yet, but it was definitely going to sooner or later. Exactly when was a mystery.

His sweating increasing, but with an iron will or pure stupidity continued sneaking forward.

Crack. That was it.

The rock under his feet lost patience, sending the ledge he was standing on crashing down into the well below and taking him and his puppets into freefall with it.

The chimera used its cat like agility to land safely to the ground below or least try. The louse , with it bugs legs, grabbed the the knight and Tick.It roll up it`s metal exoskeleton body, around tick and the knight, into a ball. Tick , screaming bloody murder, grabbed and held the metal core and used iron stakes to turn his body into metal to protect himself from the ground.Tick also activated the common core inside the steel knight to save his puppet, also a thought came to his head that he should install springs in the knight legs after finishing this dungeon.


The louse struck the ground, collapsing under its own weight, all but smashing the knight puppet to pieces, and sending Tick to the infirmary with several bones broken.

 

[Zyxis Ouroboros ReArchtype]

Kheire sat in the corner of his cell, absentmindedly leading through the pages of his mother's journal. He stumbles upon an unfamiliar page with instructions for a summoning ritual of some kind. "This is new. Which should be impossible. I've read this journal a thousand times. How could I have missed this? Maybe Mom is sending me help… Couldn't hurt to give it a shot."


The young, floral hybrid proceeded to draw the summoning symbols on the ground using his blood from the injuries he received in his last fight in the pit.

The moment he finished, the ground beneath him seemed to warp in a spiral around him, the walls and ceiling seeming to leak away like melting ice.

Left behind was a dark grey dusty-looking cavern, an opening a little way ahead. The air seemed heavy, almost hot, it felt as if it was burning his lungs just to breathe, but it wasn't even room temperature. He took a moment to adjust his breathing, "This seems… promising. If not really foreboding, " he murmured.


Kheire decided to exit the cave to see if he was actually in a different place or not.

Well, wherever he was, it wasn't familiar. The sky was completely black, but it was as if he could see the shape of the wind in the sky, laced with a dark indigo glow. There seemed to be a path of black rock that had formed above some kind of verdant abyss below, leading through a dark mist ahead.

A foreboding presence, unignorable and blinding, was quite clearly at the end. It was like it was slicing away the world around it, forcing tunnel vision onto the boy.


Kheire promptly turned on his heel and walked in the other direction as briskly as possible without drawing what he thought would be too much attention. "Whatever that is, it can have all of my nope."

It seemed that the cave he had come from contained that circle and little else. His fluffy antennae twitched in an agitated manner, "Well, I suppose that I did ask for this. Mom should have put warnings in her journal," the youth muttered to himself as he started to approach the figure.

The figure seemed to… grow? No, it wasn't getting bigger, it was large to begin with, just far away.

And it didn't look that humanoid, either. In fact, it seemed to be a tower of some kind.

[glow=#3300ff]...and I'll thank you to not bother me with that again,[/glow] said a voice, reverberating the wind itself, [glow=#3300ff]you fat-faced snivelling traitor. Okay? Good. Glad we're on the same… Oh my.[/glow]

Something seemed to shift, pointing at him.

Kheire, not quite knowing what he was getting into, did the most elegant, refined, and proper thing that came to his mind in that moment. He stared up at the big thing and waved. Yes, he is an intellectual of the highest degree.

[glow=#3300ff]Hold on, hold on. I've got something to take care of here, so all of you can shut it just for a decade or so. Hello, little… thing. What are you supposed to be? It's like a bug or something. How did you get in here? I could have sworn I shut the windows… Shall I just get a glass and paper, or do you have some kind of problem with me? Oh, wait, hang on, I know. Did I… Oh, tell me I didn't sleep with your mother or something. That would be really embarrassing. You don't look like any kid of mine though. A crossbreed, mind you, that's nice.[/glow]

Kheire, realizing this figure is probably his best bet at getting home, decided it would be in his best interest to respond politely. "Um… Mr. Dark Figure, Sir? I do not know who you are. My name is Kheire Hecatox. It is a pleasure to meet you, and yes, I am a hybrid. I got in here through a summoning ritual," he almost-yelled up to who or what he would assume is the owner of this domain.

[glow=#3300ff]Summoning ritual?[/glow] the voice echoed. [glow=#3300ff]That ritual? How on earth did you get the Necronomicon?[/glow]

"What's a Necronomicon? I found it in my mom's old journal," he responded.

[glow=#3300ff]Mother's… Oh, I did do that thing after all. I think. That's unfortunate. Seranate, wasn't it? That makes you the baby Hecatox, right?[/glow]

"I would assume so, yes. Seranate was my mother. Who are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

[glow=#3300ff]Isn't that a loaded question and a half? I know, how about I level with you. Let me see… Ooh, how about classmate? That'd be fun. One second.[/glow]

The tower seemed to melt and dissolve, dripping into a human-shaped container of some kind, and out from the mist came a black-haired boy with indigo eyes, wearing long grey robes.

"The name's-- oh, that's fun, new voice. Hello. Hello? Hello! Hello," he recited, trying out a variety of tones. "Ahem. The name's Nyarlathotep. Don't screw it up. But if you do, you can just go for Nyarl. Nyarla? Lathy? Tentacles. No, wait. Crawling Darkness… Shadow. No, that sounds like an edgy cartoon character, doesn't it? Oh, I know! Spider. Yeah, that's much better. Spider-Man. ...No, just Spider. Yeah, that's cool."

"May I make a suggestion? How about Dusk? It fits, being the time of day when darkness crawls in for the night."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kinda vague. Sure. Dusk it is. Dusk is fun. Haven't seen it in a while. There's no sun here. Anyway!" he announced, strutting over and wrapping a robed arm around Kheire's shoulder. "What can I do for you, baby Hecatox?"

"Well. I was in prison. So, if at all possible, I would like to stay out of prison and possibly get home. Oh, and I would like to know more about my mother and how you knew her, please." Kheire looked up at him with his shiny, purple eyes pleading for freedom and information.

Dusk cracked a grin and chuckled. "Prison? Oh my, that is rich. Was it the fae or the oni? Which is more racist at the moment? No, no, let me guess. It was the oni, wasn't it?" he smirked. "Yeah, I could descend and wreak havoc upon their civilisation, but you know what would be more fun? If I got you to do that! Wouldn't that be great?"

He clapped his hands together. "Sure, let's do that. I'm sure you'll be running cults in no time. That always tends to happen with things related to me anyway. People get sort of obsessive. Is it the smile? The aftershave? The capacity to laugh at myself? The brainwashing tentacles? Maybe it's my great hair. I dunno, it's crazy!"

"Maybe it is your sparkling personality that shines through the darkness you… excrete in a way that defies all known laws of physics. I certainly would not have any clue." Kheire did his level best to keep up with the strange… man's eccentricity. "How will I be wreaking havoc, exactly?"

"That's a good question," Dusk nodded. "I'm thinking… guns. You like guns, right?"

"I love guns, yes. I create guns. I shoot guns. Guns are cool. What about them?"

"Great! Let's give you… a… shoggoth baby. A miscarried one. Yes, that's good. Here's the deal. I give you one of those, and you turn it into a rooty-tooty-point-and-shooty. How's that?" he grinned. "You're a plant, you can handle it. Oh, but then again…"

He looked Kheire up and down.

"Hm, hm. You're more of a chemistry kind of guy, am I right? Oh, but you can do lots of different things. What a multitalented young man," he commended. "Ohohoho, you are plenty like your mother, aren't you? Okay, okay, okay. I know what we'll do. How about this. You can do lots of different stuff, right? And you want to follow like a dozen different dreams? Yes you do. So how about I give you the capacity to… do… all of them? I will split your destiny up so that you can succeed in all these things if you put the time and effort in. Perfect for someone with enough dedication to find the summoning ritual. Oh, baby Hecatox, this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."

That afternoon, at nine, Kheire's eyes grew to the size of moons. "I will accomplish ALL the things. Gotta make Mom proud. Thanks, Dusk. You are a lot more alright than I expected. I half expected to be eaten, killed, and/or enslaved by whatever I summoned. This is much better."

"Don't worry, buddy, all you summoned is yourself. To me. Good job. You did well."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Although, that said, you'd be a pretty valuable acolyte for me… Thinking about you actually getting eaten, killed, and/or enslaved is preeeetty dull. Might have to give you a trusty, uh. Surrogate parent. Yeah, sure. Something to make sure the baby Hecatox doesn't die just yet. You're okay with that, aren't you?"

"Not dying is usually considered to be something in my best interests. At least, from what I have been told. Who would do it? I haven't seen anyone else here."

"Eh, I can probably pawn off the task to someone. Some archangel from the heavens or something. I've got it handled, baby Hecatox, I can take care of this one hundred percent," Dusk assured him. "Well. Ninety-nine, ninety-eight."

"Very reassuring. I will leave it to you. So, how exactly will I be getting the ability to do all of the things?"

"Well, see, there's actually a kind of very important reason your mother got my super private diary about all the cute boys in my class. It wasn't to scribble in it, even if she did do that. See, there are actually a couple of extremely vital pages that happen to have been slightly displaced. That's the trouble with writing things down, all the paperwork just piles up! I did have a look down the back of the settee. I found a sweet, some spare change, a bus ticket… Have you met my daughter, by the by? She might have a couple of clues for you since she's mildly responsible for this whole fiasco. Either way, I would really quite like it if you could get them back, so here's the deal: for each page you find, I will give you an extra branch on your fate. Find a page, get a cool job. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like it is the only shot I've got. But, really, thank you."

Dusk shot a finger gun. "Don't you worry about a thing. I'm not one to go back on my word. Usually because my bargains are ones where I only stand to gain things. It's easier for me that way."

He slipped his hands into his pockets. "Alrighty, one future cult leader, coming right up. Go out into the world, find scraps of paper and bring them back. Arbitrary fetch quests suit you well, baby Hecatox."

"I prefer to call it treasure hunting. But. As long as I get cool stuff, I'm happy," with that, Kheire left to find his new patron's daughter. He will need all the hints he can get.

Dusk watched him leave, a grin still etched onto his face.

"Well," he muttered quietly to himself, "flowers will be in vogue before long anyway… Maybe I can spice myself up for summer after all, don't you think, old man?"

 

[Breach]

Tick left the infirmary while slumping because he had lost a core and two of his puppets in the flora dungeon. Tick went to eat at the school's lunch room to fill the hole in his heart.

He sat down on the same table from yesterday and had his puppet to get his steak.

The puppet walk towards the table and put down the plate,with the steak, on the table, like a waiter, stiff back and holding the plate with one hand.After angry munching on the steak, like a hamster, he heads towards the forest, slowly breathing deeply of the woods to help him calm himself down, to get supplies, like torches and herbs.However ,Between Tick and Flint, they seem to have stripped the area dry. He and his knight started to slice and dice trees fueled to create something great with these trees.from the forest came bang and another, Tick walks, carrying few pieces of wood , while his knight carry the rest own each of it's shoulders, it's feet digging in the ground. They walk back to Tick`s workshop. Tick laid his pieces on the other side of his work desk.the knight laid the pile of woods on one sided, with a thunked.

He used his wood carving tool to start to carve its head into angular shape, gave it four slit for eyes, and gave it horns pointed forward from its face. Gave it a large body and carved a two large eye beast eyes to its chest and a monster largemouth in it`s abbs. Tick then created two legs the bent back and the feet looked beast like, with claws. He then carved the symbol of a giant gear with fangs at four corners on the gear, pointing away from each other. At the shoulders they were made to look like the chimeras heads on each shoulder, as a token for the now "dead" chimera. He then finally created it arms, they look "bulging" with three huge knuckles in each large hand.He look at his work and then with a smile said, "your name is Monstro".

He nodded and walked with his puppets , his Monstro trudged along with with a rumble with it`s footsteps, to the flora dungeon.

The dungeon was similar to before, although it had obviously been reset. This time, there didn't seem to be anything risky like a ledge, just a straight set of stairs going down into a forest. Standing above it, Tick could see a lake at the other end of the dungeon, a cliff rising just above it. This place seemed to be an oasis of some kind.

He this, but he remembered what happened last time and light his torch just in case. He walked forward with his two puppets walking forward, Monstro walk seem like a beast looking for a meal.

Nothing seemed to appear as Tick entered the forest. In fact, it was eerily quiet. He picked up various scents on the air. It was if it were spring, but the air was heavy, like a rainforest.

This dungeon was place for battle, but he enjoyed the smell of it has he walked.

The scents were getting stronger as he went, as if telling him he was going the right way.

Something rustled in the foliage as he walked.

Tick, along with his puppets, stop and prepared for battle, knight hold its shield and it spear point forward and Monstro rises both it first in a boxer stance stand in front of Tick!

A high-pitched cackle echoed from the bushes, a trio of small wooden fairies popping out. Forest sprites, as he recognised them. The three flew up in the air, shedding some sort of odd silvery dust over Tick.Tick has a confused look on his face and it stay that way, along with his body. He thought, "F!@$#$!%@#!%@@!!@!#@". He began to sweat.

The sprites swooped back down hovering around the strings of the puppets, plucking at them curiously. One of them produced what looked initially like a leaf, but in reality, on second glance, it was quite clearly a dagger.The sprite cut a single one of "Monstro's" strings, giggling to the others as it did.

He felt his mind clear and felt rage. He tug his one his fingers and which the knights to at the one with dagger. He tugged another finger and had his Monstro slammed down it hammer like fists on top of one the sprites. Tick himself aim one his arms at one of the sprite and fired a giant ink ball at it.

The sprite was thrown back into the tree, apparently unconscious, the other two spinning around him rapidly. They sprayed dust at him again, but it had no effect this time.

He gave them a twisted smile and had his knight tried stab both with hits spear to make sprite on a stick!

It easily managed to impale one, but the other got free, trying to escape.

Tick sees this and aim a ink ball to stop it. He said, "f@#$ you!"

He knocked it out of the air pretty easily, not seeing where it landed.He shrugged and he walked toward Monstro to check on the strings on Monstro.He found out that one of it`s string was detached, so he began tug and attached the string to the puppet. He then continue walking forward. He started to feel dizzy and stopped.He had his puppets form around him, the knight holding his shield in front of of it, to protect him.Tick then noticed a smell, which is causing him to feel dizzy, and it was coming from ahead of him and He trudge forward with one foot at a time with his puppets.

Getting closer, he could definitely feel that the source was right up ahead. Nothing else barred his path though, and quite soon, he came to the end of the forest. Sure enough, across the lake, cliffs were clearly visible, with a striking flower growing from them. Those seemed to be the nettles he was looking for, just over there.

On the other hand, directly below those cliffs was a huge flower with a monster, or perhaps three monsters… Either way, three feminine bodies seemed to be growing out of it.

They didn't seem to have noticed him yet, however. He walks slowly and trying to sneak on it, with his puppets tried to do the same in front of him.

The closer he got, the more he realised that the dizzying scent seemed to be coming from them. As he walked around, he seemed to be getting encouragingly close, but he felt some kind of aura emanating from the monster.

He shakes his head continues sneaking, along with his puppets, forward.

The moment he started moving onwards again, one of the heads turned slowly to look at him and his puppets.

Noticing one of the head notice them he , and his puppets, continue to run around the lake to get to the monster.He raise his arm and launch a ball of ink at its eyes

He hit directly, but the other two heads just turned around to look at him, less pleased.

The flower they were in began to vibrate a little, it seemed, with some kind of odd purple cloud spraying in all directions, filling the air.

He then try to walk forward, but collapse on his knees and then he fell on to the floor sleeping, his eye trying to stay open, but failed.

The liliraune seemed to congratulate itself on a job well done, filling the air with the dizzying scent this time. With its prey firmly within its grasp, it finally released a lovely, mind-numbingly sweet aroma that filled the sleeping svartalfr's lungs.

He wakes up and trying to get up. He wondered what just happened and then he looked up.His eye widen bec

ause he the saw the most beautiful creature he ever saw.

The liliraune waved, beckoning him to come and rest in its flowers.

He nodded and slowly he walked forward with a goofy grin on his face to one of the flowers.

Vines wrapped around him, softly and painlessly injecting what the chemist would have recognised as poison into him if he had been fully aware.

He sat there like a lovesick fool, but he snapped out of it . However, he was in a sleep trance.

He waked up and saw his love was still there with him. he's basically continuously charmed until the poison finally takes him out and he ends up back in the infirmary filled with shame.

 

[Breach]

That same day of Tick's dungeon, Flint had been walking through the forest, figuring out that he had stripped it of any healing herb that he could find, when he spotted a dark elf he haven't seen in awhile. The little hobbit waved his arms at the distant figure shouting greetings as he got closer. He finally noticed the svartalfr's depressive posture and asked, "What's got you down, Tick?"

"Shame..lots and lots of shame", Tick said, looking down and not at the hobbit in the eye.

"Come on big guy, tell me about it! Oh, and what happened to your chimera? Does that have something to do with your state?"

"No, my chimera was destroyed from a fall in the dungeon and the dungeon reset, the chimera body deleted," Tick said looking above, remembering. "What happened to me personally was that I met a plant monster, who charmed me." Tick said, he was looking at the ground and his fist clenching.

"A plant monster charmed you? Are you an idiot or were you affected by some sort of magic?" the halfling both insulted and inquired the dark elf that was double the shorty's own height.

Tick eyes widen and his teeth clench, his Monstro began moving and punched a hole in a tree with its fists. "I didn't know! I didn't encounter it from my last visit!" He slumped on the ground and his eyes close. Monstro's own hands started to flex tightly.

The halfling grinned, "Well then, I assume that this happened in a dungeon, right? Why don't you tell me about this creature and how you met it, my good old friend? Let's get back at it!"

Tick look at him and grinned back. Tick told him everything that happen to him in the flora dungeon.


"I see then.. So you weren't cautious of the gas despite being a chemist yourself? Put your brain to use when you're in danger! You were likely suppressed by the poison in the gas that made you less wary and even attracted to such obviously dangerous creatures! What I do want to know, however, is what sort of monster it was.. And if they're part of the flower or they're separate creatures living in a symbiotic relationship," the halfling lectured before displaying the knowledge he had learned while seriously focusing on the chemistry classes he had due to his interest in plants and the thousands way a person can die. Flint, evidently, loved to learn as that was the main reason why he had left his home behind to study abroad in such a well-known and famous academy. This, in fact, made him forget entirely about the map and concerns he had about his home region, Avalon.

"I didn't have any necessary antidotes to counter any poisons or any other chemicals. I knew that gas could harm me, but I needed to know what it would do and where it came from." Tick knew the dangers, but also knew that he would have been sent to the infirmary if he was about to die. Now he knew what the boss is and what it can do, so does Flint after what he told Flint what happen.

"Well, I guess it was a good enough plan, considering that we're saved before we meet actual death, but you shouldn't have a habit of risking your life to test things in case something happens to the safety mechanism or when we're outside of its range because we were sent to a random place," scolded the creature that was half as tall, if not shorter, than the person he was scolding.

Tick shook his head and said, "I am a scientist and we will do anything to learn and solve what we can, even if we are in danger of our own lives." It was true, he had in danger in his life before to gain knowledge and he will not stop until the day he dies.

Flint shook his head left and right before responding, "Haven't you heard of safety first? Anyways, don't put your craziness in the same category as normal scientists- most usually doesn't have the same passion for their work as you do."

"Not exactly, I had teacher who had done the same, but he has done more insane things than I would have ever dared to do." Tick said this with a straight face, looking at Flint.

"Anyways, enough looking down at me and making your neck sore. Anyways, how far away can your puppets be from you and still be able to move under your control?"

"About 16 feet."

"Alright then.. When we spot those bastards.. No, bitches in this case, you should stay away from them while I shoot them full of holes from afar. There's also likely a reason why they didn't spit out the 'seduction' poison immediately when you came out, which can't be because they need the other gas first so that the second one will work since they could have been spitting out the first one all the time… unless there's a limit to the number of time…" mumbled Flint.

"I wonder if the gas is flammable?" Tick sound out loud.

"It may be, it may be not, but there's one certain thing: We must not breathe it in. And don't think of lighting it up because if we have some in our lung, our insides will also burn since it probably won't stop with just the gas in the air."

"True, but can we use fire on the monster itself?"

"If we try to burn the creatures themselves, there may be the gas lingering in the air and we may burn ourselves! We should simply give up on that and try different ways to prevent it, such as staying away in my case and if really need to approach it, we should get scarves and minimize the damage."

"Will wooden masks do?"

"You do know we're trying to filter out that poisons from the air, right? As long as it's some sort of thing material that can completely cover our mouths and noses and still allow oxygen to go through like cloth, then yes."

"I need cloth to make the scarves."

"You have clothes, no? Take off your shirt and use it unless you can think of a way to get us some. I'll be using my blank- I meant, cloak," Flint says as he takes off his cloak before wrapping it around his neck.

Tick does the same with his suit jacket. "Ok how many arrows do you have?"

"Got Mr. Breghin to make me 10 with a quiver. I've been planning on using them for traps, however. Why?"

"If we are to keep our distance to the creature and its gases we need ranged attacks. And you can do a lot of damage with arrows.

"I can make your arrows and give them a screw design."

"Nah, it's fine. I mainly got the arrows to use in traps, not to shoot at monsters. If you don't remember, I can use my dagger to send long-ranged attacks too!"

"Alright, let's go then to the flora dungeon" Tick stood up and he, and his puppets, began to head back to the flora dungeon.

"Alright then," Flint said while trying to keep up with the group before him. He did, however, stay at least 5 feet away from with with his dagger ready.


The two friends headed straight for the dungeon's depths, passing through the empty forest before seeing the small expanse of water, a size unexpectedly a bit bigger than what Flint thought, though not too surprising to get a response from him. The hobbit looked around, searching for this plant creature.

Tick looked around and searched for that monster as well. Tick felt dizzy and said quietly "I feel dizzy, I think it is nearby."

"Look, I think that's it!" Flint said pointing at the liliraune across the lake.

"So now what?" Tick gave Flint a questionable look.

"Shoot at it, of course!" before Flint could pull his soul arrow back against the string he noticed an odd smell in the air. "Is that what you smelled last time or is it different?"

"It is the same smell."

"Good, there aren't any new variables. I'll shoot now to see if it does or doesn't have anything that can counter long-ranged attacks or if we're currently too far away. Guard my surroundings in case those pixies come and mess around again, alright?"

With this, Flint drew his Elken Longbow, holding the soul arrow in place with his fingertips, before aiming and estimating the distance. With rough estimations on distance, wind speed and direction, and the bow's own ability, he aims a bit higher than he had before, and let his marksman's instinct control the final adjustments.


He let the arrow fly.

The spiral-tipped projectile sliced through the air.

Flint's soaring staircase struck its mark. One of the bodies in the liliraune's flower flinched back in pain, the other two immediately turning their heads to look at him. More flowers seemed to spring from the petals, releasing a cloud of spores over the lake at him and Tick.


"Damnit," Flint swore to himself as he noticed that the spores created a smokescreen while still heading towards them over the waters.

"I know these spores! They are the same ones that knock me out before! Also don`t talk" Tick used his brainiac powers to send that message to Flint.

"We'll be screwed if we breathe that in, so of course I won't be talking when that'll be coming to us," Flint responded with another telepathic message before sending his arrow back into its spiritual form. "And get ready to run, it's coming in quick! Actually, run right after I jump on your new puppet!"

Tick nodded to him and his puppets ran back to avoid the spores as Flint jumped onto Monstro.

They managed to outrun the dense fog of infectious spores.


Noticing that the spores were nowhere to be seen as they've reached the bottom of the staircase, Flint jumped down from the puppets shoulder, clearly unexhausted as he let the hulking figure carry him the entire way.

"Well, I didn't think the spores could be that fast and dense," Flint commented. "What do you think about it?"

"I think that you should try to hit them from here, but first let's see if it is possible!" Tick raised his arm and handed it to Flint because Tick did not have anything to light the torch with at the time.

"I don't think we can shoot it from here unless we can see that thing from mile away, and I'll try to let this torch for you," Flint said as he laid the torch on the ground and tried to use 2 of the arrows he had obtained from Breghin the craftsman teacher to try and create a spark.

An arrow snapped. "Shit, that cost me a core!" Flint exaggerated."I give up! Do you have a magnifying lense? I would rather light the torch up with it then break another arrow.. Oh wait, can I use my magic instead?"
Curiously, Flint decided to create a new magic.. He amassed the exin in his body and let it out, trying to squeeze a concentrated beam of energy to try and put enough energy into a small area to create enough heat to make a fire, creating a tiny laser beam focused on the torch.

"There we go, a torch!" Flint handed it to Tick. "Didn't think I could create fire with my light magic." After that, the hobbit halfling thing jumped onto the dark elf's shoulders, sitting in a way that would remind onlookers of a father and child, except these two are of the same age.

Tick nodded and started to create a fire board. Tick flew straight up until they could see over the fog.

"Fly closer, I want to see the state of it after I've killed one of the humanoids."

The liliraune was sure enough still on the other side, apparently not having noticed the pair, but the strong scent of flowers still hung on the air.

While on Tick's shoulder, Flint materialized his arrow before drawing it back onto his Elken bow, aiming it at another liliraune. Once more, he roughly calculated the distance and adjusted his aim with his instinct, hoping to take out another woman. He let loose the arrow, hoping he'd be able to hit it despite to dizzying scent.

The arrow flew just about on target, but the trio noticed it before it hit evading by leaning back.

Quickly, they countered, spraying spores high into the air, right in Tick's path.

"Flint raise a shield for both of us," Tick sent that message with his mind. Tick tried to steer back away from the spores.

Silently, Flint casted a thin veil of light around the two of them, hoping in the back in his mind that this insubstantial shield would be able to protect them. Scratch that, he has no hope but he would love to keep any small amount of magic that the liliraune may have decided to put into its attack, though he didn't want to spend too much exin for that off chance.

The barrier was about as effective as holding out a sheet of cardboard to protect them from the wind. The spores filled the gap with no trouble, albeit only in small concentrations as Tick pulled upwards. In fact, the spores appeared to be the least of their problems now, as in their dizzied state, Flint lost hold of Tick, and Tick was nowhere near fast enough to catch him, leaving the halfling in freefall right over the border between the lake and the ledge below the cliffs where the liliraune sat in wait.

In a short daze, Flint didn't realize he was falling until it was too late and he was heading head-first towards the liliraune that was waiting to devour him. As he began to pick up speed like an eagle would as it swooped down to catch it's prey. Basically, he's going to become a patch of blood as he crashed into his death.

Tick saw this and flyed over, like a speeding missile, to save Flint from becoming a pancake,trying to being positive. Tick tried to reach for Flint's hand, but miss by an inch. Tick knew he will not be able to catch Flint now. So, now he tried to crash the fire board against the plant monster.


His attack connected, apparently dealing a significant amount of damage to the already weakened monster. The liliraune wasn't having any more of that crap.

Letting loose its enthralling scent from last time, Tick found himself instantly charmed once again.


Flint, after having missed the chance of being caught by Tick, fell straight to the water. Did he become a pool of blood as the water solidified on impact or he fell into it safely, who knows?


He hits the water, getting quite deep into it as his tiny body had less surface area for water resistance. The lake's surface, at this moment, had a layer of spores on the surface along with a cloud of it hanging above. Flint, as he hits the water, gains a moment of clarity. Go up too early, he's affected by the spores in an unknown way. Is he paralyzed? Does he simply grow weak? He doesn't know and doesn't want to drown.

With those thoughts in mind, he began swimming towards the shore with the liliraune as he held his breath and kept his body underwater. As he swam, he took his dagger out as he knows that there won't be any time to aim carefully.

Like a fish in water, Flint slipped through the water and onto the shore in time to see his friend with a new mindset.

Tick stare at flint with a zombie-like look and he launched ink ball to hit the bow.

Seeing the incoming black mass, Flint hopped to the left as he saw the source of the attack. The halfling hobbit thingy ma jig had a moment of pure shock and surprise, a moment of anger, and then hit by clarity when his feet hit the ground again. This guy got hit by idiot's pollen!

"What the fuck, you got charmed again?! Screw this!" Flint, in a tantrum, swung his dagger horizontally in a wide swing at the liliraune even if Tick may be in the way sending a way of invisible energy.

Tick staggers back, but he growled and tried to land a punch on the halfling.

Maybe Tick was too tall or Flint too short, but the attack flew over the halfling's head.

Annoyed by Tick, Flint tried to run past Tick while preparing another swing at the liliraune's women in a horizontal swing, trying to get his ki croissant to hit both. Flint was a tiny bit hungry as he thought 'Ki Croissant' in his head. Scratch that, he was starving for 2nd lunch.

Tick saw this and tackled Flint to stop the attack.

Flint was pushed over, and although he regained his footing, his his croissant struck the cliff. Then he had a brilliant idea. He tried to send a telepathic message to Tick. It was "There's a sniper across the beach. He's aiming for your liliraune!"

The liliraune, at this point, had produced several vines from its flower, attempting to climb up the cliff like a spider to avoid getting hit in the crossfire. How like an animal to hide and lick its wounds.


Running a distance away from Tick as the dark elf may have been distracted by his message or was simply too slow, Flint does a vertical swing at the wicked liliraune, hoping that it didn't root itself to the cliff or it'd be a massive pain in the arse to collect it's corpse and dissect it. Well, at least he'll be dissecting it a 'bit early' if this cut through it.

The liliraune managed to get atop of the cliff with the tiniest margin to avoid the slash, just about making its way into cover, spraying sleeping spores down below.

Seeing it go over the edge, Flint turned around and ran towards the lake while making sure to keep Tick a distance away so that he could avoid the dreadful spores while materializing his arrow and bringing his bow out after having put away his dagger.

Tick sees this and tried to fire a ink ball to stop Flint from running. A huge glob of black darkness struck the halfling/hobbit/thinga-ma-jig in the back.

Flint falls flat on his face. However, he got up in a split moment and kept running away as the cloud of sleepiness came towards them. With a sudden thought, he manipulated the light with his magic while utilizing his natural stealthiness to hide from Tick's view.

The magic failed, through, as Tick could still clearly Flint black-dyed backside.

Tick ran at Flint and put him in a bear hug, crushing him.

The poor, small halfling tried to struggle against the bear hug in an attempt to escape as the life is being literally hugged out of him.

Flint managed to drop out of Tick's grip and as he ran, Flint chugged a health potion.

The liliraune had apparently had enough, climbing down from the cliffs and spraying more spores directly at him.

Mother fucker! Wait, in this case, what would it be? A plant can't exactly 'do it' with a half- oh shit, here comes the gas! What do I do, what do I do? Wait, when you're trying to get out of a fast-flowing river, you should eat some fish- I meant, swim perpendicular to the flow. I'll just run perpendicularly! Flint's wild imagination flew as the spores came at him and drowned him in drowsiness.

Tick grabs Flint shirt and head butted him.

Flint's head snapped back as the head butt nearly snapped his neck, however it wasn't that strong. But it was strong enough to wake him up to mind-fucking pain while stunning him with such tremendous agony.

The liliraune, now close enough to use it, released another dose of its charm scent. Flint, in his stunned state, could not resist its effects while Tick was never able to recover from it.


The liliraune beckoned to the charmed boys, inviting them into the flower as it had Tick the last time he had been in this dungeon.

Tick did not move and stood there like brain dead animal,but inside his mind he was fighting against the charm.They were both sent to the infirmary and both felt shame.

 

[Ornifex]

(Heyo, once again please excuse the shit tier writing and be sure to praise Ren for his god tier writing. Yes I suck his dick too much.)

(Forgot to mention this is part two of the long ass overdue arc my bad.)

The trip was not nearly as long or painful as expected from a journey on foot through hell.

The Blazing Cliffs, the realm of the 28th King, was pretty much exactly as advertised, however.

The cliffs in question were made from what looked like rusting iron, the occasional tuft of flame spurting out from a fracture in the face. The grass, if it could even be called that, was merely a sheet of scarlet stretching on into infinity.

And yet, despite the cliffs there, there was not a drop of water in sight. No, instead there was a drop akin to a canyon, the bottom lined with magma.

And atop the peaks of the cliff was a palace, built from bronze, much larger and taller than the 72nd. At a glance, it looked to be the size of a village all by itself, and the walls were easily some fifty feet tall.

"Ahhhh, just as I remember it." Yui looked somewhat happy to see his home once again. "Could be just in case the magma decides to spit up or something else. Hell if I know."

"If that's the case, caution is probably advised," Hestre pointed out. "You do have access to the palace after all these years, my lord?"

"Uhhhhhhhh I should. C'mon." Yui picked Dia up and hoisted her onto his shoulder, carefully walking up towards the palace.

Dia squirmed a little bit, but eventually seemed to calm down just as they reached eyeshot of the guards.

"Y-Yui? This is weird," she said, sounding a little desperate. "They think I'm a kid, don't they? Don't they?"

The trio reached the pair of gate guards, who inspected them mercilessly.

"72nd, your majesty," one of them observed.

"I'm… ex-72nd now, actually," Dia admitted sheepishly. "He's 72nd."

The guard turned his head to Yui, expectant.

"Uhhh, I beat her for the role. Now let me in please I gotta talk to daddio Raizel." Yui set Dia down and gently pat her head.

"Lord Raizel? You would be his son?" the guard asked. "I do see a resemblance, but I'll need to ask for your family seal, just for safety's sake."

"I uh, don't have the seal on me. Just restrain me and take me to him. Please?"

"You seem rather confiden--" the guard began, but the second stopped him.

"He's not strong enough to smash his way out of a cell if Lord Raizel doesn't recognise him. We might as well."

The first guard looked a little skeptical, but…

"Alright," he sighed. "This way, you three."

He'd nod, following the guard. "Stay close to me you two."


They were up in the throne room in minutes, a figure very familiar to Yui sat on that throne.


"Hello father, how's the castle been since I left?"

Faluzure Hadras Raizel leaned back in his throne, an amused grin passing over his face.

"Well, it hasn't moved," he said. "Welcome home, Yui. To what do I owe an unexpected visit?"

"Well first off I'm engaged. Secondly, I'm the 72nd now. And maybe a few family techniques or whatever." Yui groaned, rubbing his shoulder. He was a little tired after their hike.

Faluzure didn't need to hear anymore.

He snapped his fingers. "Leave us."

The command echoed around the room, with every single guard standing up simultaneously and leaving the room in an organised, uniform fashion. The military discipline of his elite guard was astounding to say the very least.

Leaning forward, Faluzure pulled himself to his feet. The walls of the palace had seemed much smaller to Yui, but his father's imposing figure was no less formidable than he remembered.

"I was wondering what she was doing here. Two birds with one stone, hm?" he chuckled. "How does it feel to be blown out of the water by a Raizel, ex-72nd?"

Dia said nothing, simply shooting a moderately intimidated glare for a brief instant.

Yui snapped in. "Listen, I care not if you are my father. However, you will respect her as if she was a god to you am I clear father?"

Roaring laughter shook the very earth. "You know, you haven't changed a bit. Alright, just this once, because you asked. Now, what's this about family techniques, hm?"

"Seeing as I have grown stronger in a considerable amount of time I think it's best if we started teaching me. I am the 72nd now am I not? And besides, what would happen if I were to be assassinated because I didn't have the proper skills to defend myself hm?"

Faluzure folded his arms. "Law of the jungle, my boy," he grinned. "It's been that way since before my great-grandfather was born, let alone you or me. But I see no reason to not give you a bit of an edge."

He began walking down the steps to his throne, one by one, before he stood on the same ground as Yui, Dia, and Hestre.

"But a serious question," he said. "72nd King of the Black Realms, ruler of the Steel Palace… Is that really the best you've got? I don't think it is, and I doubt you think so either. Am I wrong?"

He'd have a begrudging look on his face as he looked at his father. "Yes, you are wrong. But at the same time I suppose you're not. But what a shame it would be if you let your own son die because you refused to teach him. Just imagine a whole family line perishing because of your silly little act. Anyways let's begin. I'd like it if they were both taught to their full potential as well."

Faluzure let out a faint but clear sound, something that could only be described as a satisfied growl.

"Alright, let's see what we can do," he agreed. "But first and foremost, I'd be a miserable king if I were to just go around teaching the royal techniques to people who couldn't make use of their full potential with a little creativity, wouldn't I?"

His aura, his presence, filled the entire throne room in an instant. A pressure like a second gravity felt as if it were pushing down on everything without exception.

This was no magic nor technique.

Faluzure's pure power was radiating forth.

"So here's the deal. If you can break even one of my bones while I stand here, then I'll teach you. I won't do anything. It's all down to you," he challenged. "Show me how you've grown, Yui Cadis Raizel!"

He'd sigh. "Typical masochist." Yui activated Crimson Break.

Faluzure's expression shifted to a wide grin. "So even your wrath has become stronger? I'd be impressed, but I suppose it's to be expected of my own son."

Yui was silent and his expression was blank. You could tell he was focusing hard on this. He needed to succeed in this 'test'. He launched his fist at his father's stomach with full force, extending the bones in his knuckles about eight inches as he did.

Yui felt something budge, just slightly, for an instant.

An instant that seemed to last for eternity.

Even Faluzure seemed to watch in anticipation as the rib cracked, just slightly, and then…


Shrrrrk.

The sound of fractures rehealing instantly.

The blow hadn't left any lasting damage. No, it hadn't left any damage.

That damage that it had caused was instantly reversed.

"Hm," his father frowned. "That wasn't everything, was it?"

"Just wait. By bones are still stuck in your body ya know." He'd extend the bones, wrapping them around a rib and yanking out as hard as he could.

Snap.

It didn't come free. Not yet.

All of Yui's remaining power, focused into a single movement, was still not enough to pull it out completely.

But.

Neither was it so little that it healed.

The crack that he had made in it remained.

"Excellent," Faluzure nodded. "I'm satisfied. I'm not convinced you'd win if we fought, but that's why you need these techniques. You've convinced me you're ready."

Yui would retract his bones and let his arm fall to his side. "When are we starting then?"

"When are you set?"

"Let me think for a second. I might need a bit of rest first. I did use up the rest of my power to break your damned rib ya know."

The 28th nodded firmly. "That sounds acceptable. I don't suppose either your fiance nor your maid are capable of manipulating their bones?"

"Not that I know of no." Yui'd look back at the two.

Dia shook her head, Hestre said nothing.

"Didn't think so," he shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You're the one I care about here. Get yourself some rest, and come to me when you're ready to begin."

"Yes father." Yui beckoned Dia to follow him. "Hestre just find a room and lay in it."


It was an hour or two before Yui's energy fully recovered. Once it had, Dia was already asleep, and Hestre hadn't been heard from since they parted ways.


Yui sat up and yawned, looking next to him. "Hey Dia. Wake up." He gently shook her before getting out of bed.

"Hmmmm…?" she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes.

"We gotta go.Trainin' time." He got dressed. Of course, it being Yui was dressed in nothing more than a t-shirt and sweatpants. Making his way to the main hall he started thinking about something. It wasn't too big. Just a thought in the back of his head, however, something wasn't right.

The door to the throne room was closed, but once Yui opened it, it was apparent why.

Faluzure seemed to be plotting out a map with a man besides him, the latter seeming to be doing most of the work and explanation. Said man turned around on hearing the door.

"Ah, my liege, your son," he observed.

Faluzure turned his head. "Ready, Yui?"

"Give Dia a bit to wake up. Speaking of which, have you seen Hestre at all? Ya know. The maid that was with me. I've got a bad feeling father."

He shook his head. "I haven't. She went to her room on your orders and hasn't come out yet. You can check on her if you want."

"I want a guard with me at least. For safety that is," Yui jokingly said "you never know if she could've been murdered in her sleep."

"Of course. Here, take Kurax."

The man turned his head. "My liege, I'm in the middle of something…"

"It won't take a moment. Accompany Yui."

Kurax sighed. "Of course, sire. You're right, safety is paramount here if there could be a traitor in our walls, but I'm not sure that any mole could stay in our ranks for any period of time…"

Yui quickly made it down the hall, shoving Hestre's door open.

Hestre, laying on her bed, quickly sat up. "My lord? And the 28th's chief advisor…?" she observed. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Get up. Now." Yui nearly sounded angry. His face had a stone cold expression as he stared at the woman.

She leapt to her feet instantly. "Is Lady Dia safe?" she asked.

"Yes. She's perfectly fine. Now c'mon." Yui'd pivot on his heel, walking down the hall to the throne room.

Hestre and Kurax followed in tow.

"Might I ask what's going on?" the maid pressed.

"No." Yui stared at his father before walking up and whispering to him. "I'm getting bad feelings from her. I've been a little on edge since we've gotten here, father."

"You suspect her? Of what? Has something happened?"

"She's barely said a word to be or Dia the whole time we've been here. If at all. It's rare I feel this way, father. She leaves a very bad taste in my mouth." He'd walk back and sit on the ground cross-legged. "Ahhhhhh I'm hungry. We should eat."

"Eat…?" Hestre echoed. "I thought there was something wrong."

"We can discuss it while we eat."

She looked a little questioning, but sat. "If you insist. Will Lady Dia be with us?"

"Are you going to eat in here?" Kurax asked dryly.

Yui glared at Kurax. "Are you retarded? Of course not."

He sighed. "I'll get a meal made for you three downstairs."

"Four." Yui corrected. "I'll go get Dia." He'd walk down to his quarters only to be carrying out the small girl.

The trio, along with Faluzure, made their way down to the dining hall. The table itself seemed to be made of marble, and had to have been around fifty or sixty feet long.

Faluzure, of course, sat at the head of the table, and after a few minutes, food began to be served out.

"This seems pretty grandiose," Dia observed. "A perfect fit for me."

"Ex-72nd," coughed Faluzure, but said nothing else.

Yui fake coughed. "So, father, do you know what we're even gonna be eating?"

"I often just trust Kurax to surprise me. He's been here since just before you were born, actually, although he only became my chief advisor a week after you left," he explained. "I can generally rely on him for something entertaining."

Lids were removed from trays, revealing all manner of exotic dishes that Yui hadn't seen in a long while.

"Ohhh boy. Hey Dia you might like this stuff. I don't exactly remember how it tasted but it's great! Besides that, Hestre, you've been off a little bit since we got here. Care to explain?"

"Off, my lord?" she echoed. "In what sense?"

"You haven't said a word since we got here. Not to mention you haven't even bothered to even ask a few questions. I'd assume you of all people would be skeptical of a few things, would you not?"

"I don't believe it's my place to speak," she reasoned. "I am a maid, after all. I'm here simply to serve you and Lady Dia."

"Damn right. You're allowed to speak. You haven't even cared to check up on us since we left too. Now that's odd even for a maid."

"I attempted to," she pointed out. "Leave a sock on the door handle next time."

Yui's face when completely red. "You damn bitch. I should beat you black and blue for that. But it doesn't matter. I want honest answers. I still think something is seriously wrong with you."

"Feel free to ask anything you'd like," she said. "There are certain questions I reserve the right to avoid. Apart from that, anything is acceptable."

"Why haven't you checked up on us? Even before..you know what you saw."

"In what sense?" she asked. "Before then, I have been accompanying you, have I not?"

"Accompanying is different from actually making sure someone is okay. And how do you know everyone here exactly? Don't get me wrong I know you were with Dia but how?"

"We have known one another from childhood. I was the next in line to become the 72nd King, but Dia convinced me to step down."

"Father, how long have you known this woman?"

Faluzure looked her over. "I don't believe we've met before today, as a matter of fact."

"And you, Kurax?" Yui had almost forgotten to eat least try to eat his breakfast. "If you know her at all that is."

Kurax, who had been standing near the back of the room, looked her over. "Her name does sound vaguely familiar, though I'm not sure where from. Either way, I haven't met her personally."

"Hmm. When you say familiar, do you have an idea of where? I'd go as far as to say you have resentment towards me because I stole your spot on the hierarchy. It's a bit jumpy for me to say but people have been killed because they stole the spot of someone next in line."

"Forgive me for saying this, my lord," Hestre said carefully, "but if I wanted you dead, then at least one of us would be bleeding out already."

Yui got up and calmly walked over to Hestre, placing a hand around her neck. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't snap your damn neck right now. How do I know you haven't poisoned me in my sleep? Or something worse. I have every reason to be even more suspicious of you right now."

"I understand that perfectly," she said calmly. "In essence, it is impossible to prove to you anything from where I stand. Even if I were to confirm your clear suspicions that I am a traitor of some sort, I would have no evidence to present to you a convincing argument."

"In that case, father, get the guards in here now. For my safety and the safety of everyone else she needs to be locked up. I am now treating her as a threat to this palace." Yui let go of her throat and sat back down, sighing. "I really don't like you Hestre."

"I didn't ask you to like me," Hestre said, standing up and allowing a pair of guards to restrain her.

Kurax glanced to Yui. "How much security do you want on her?"

"As much as we can get while making sure this damned place is okay from the outside. If need be I'd say starve her so she has little strength."

"Understood."

"For good measure, put the Ankhoran Guard on her cell too," Faluzure ordered.

"My lord, the Ankhora--"

"It won't be a problem," he said firmly.

"...As you wish."

Dia watched as Hestre was marched out of the room, an expression of anxiety and fear etched onto her face.

"Father, I want Dia protected heavily as well."

"Of course. Kurax?"

"I'll assign her a third of your elite guard," Kurax nodded. "Do you expect you'll need protection yourself, young master Raizel?"

"A little. I want most of my elite guard on her. I can handle myself. Father, we need to get started on teaching immediately."

"I agree. No point wasting any more time. Do your job, Kurax. I'll be taking Yui to the training grounds."


The training grounds themselves were an impressive sight.

They were around a mile long, lined with all manner of training dummies as if simulating a battle against an army.


Yui was astounded. "This is honestly amazing. Is this where you prepare them for war? Assuming they aren't talented enough already."

"Ah, actually, that's the twist," he grinned. "These mannequins are my frontline soldiers. On a command, I can animate them into powerful golems that can destroy towns in minutes, sometimes by themselves. They can regenerate, so there's no need to hold back."

"Great." Yui'd start to stretch. "Father, how is it that you heal so fast?"

"Good question," he noted. "You should know that bones are filled with marrow, right? But do you know what marrow is for?"

"Not exactly no."

Faluzure folded his arms. "It creates blood. And blood is full of microscopic 'flakes' called platelets that heal wounds. In other words, by controlling the marrow in your bones, not just the shell on the outside, you can heal much faster than any mere peasant."

"I have a question about our abilities. Can they be passed down to someone who doesn't have them? Or at least teach them how to do so?"

He nodded slightly. "In theory, so long as they have a natural affinity for bone-type magic or abilities, anybody should be able to use these powers. If not, they might be able to adapt, so long as they have some kind of elemental martial arts to compensate. The principles are more or less the same."

"So that means I can teach it to Dia?" He'd sound excited. "Besides that, let's start learning."

"Indeed. Try focusing your energy not into the shell, but the marrow. It's easier when your breathing is steady." [spoili]This may or may not be a reference to Hamon from JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure[/spoili]

"Right!" Yui would calm his breathing, attempting to focus all his energy into the marrow of his left index finger.

It felt as if clean, cool water was flowing through the bones. A refreshing sensation, like he had just wiped dirt from a window and could clearly see now.

"I think it worked. Hopefully it did anyway."

"Go ahead and do it for all of them," his father advised. "If you get your entire skeleton going, your core should adapt to it and grant you much more energy to accommodate for it. You should be able to make this permanently active."

He concentrated hard, focusing all of his energy into every single bone in his body.

It felt like he was flushing every speck, every trace of impurities from his entire body. It was as if he was always meant to be able to do this. Perhaps he was.

"Hey hey hey, I feel a little light. Is this normal?"

"It is. That's the feeling of your regeneration working its magic. If it goes away, that's how you know something is cutting it off, so be careful."

"So it's easy to tell, correct?"

"That's right. You'll know instantly. Once the block is cleared though, it'll turn back on all by itself, so there's no need to worry."

"Right, what's next? I got that down pat."

"You have indeed. Let me see… The next thing ought to be your finger bullets. You've probably got a little practice in already, am I wrong?"

"No, I've used them a few times already."

Faluzure nodded. "That makes this easier. I'll tell you a secret to mastering them: you'll want to go for around half, maybe 60% of the force. That way, you'll be perfectly balanced between power and accuracy."

"Okay, so shoot?"

"Give it a try."

Yui'd raise his hand, aim at a random dummy and once again, concentrate. Soon after he'd fire off a single nail.

It hit, dead on the mark, leaving a clear scratch across the dummy's head.

Faluzure nodded firmly. "Good job. You should be able to easily grow your nails back now, and if you keep at maintaining that balance, you should be able to make this three or four times stronger than any bow."

Yui nod in excitement. "So what are we going to learn after this now?"

"There's probably one last thing I can hope to teach you right off the bat," his father mused. "That is, reflexes. Specifically, with enough training, you should be able to instinctively create spikes from your bones wherever you get hit, so they you can hurt them back when they attack you."

"Father, I had that sort of interaction when I met Dia. Her guards attempted to attack me and I didn't even know what happen they just sort of popped out and stopped them for me."

"That's an excellent start, but that's instinct," Faluzure noted. "You need to be able to do that on command, even for attacks where you'll never see it coming."

"Ohhh alright, I really understand it all now."

He nodded. "Well, let's test that. I'm going to hit you lightly, but just enough to hurt, so let's see if we can't drill a counterattack into you. Ready?"

"Of course." Yui nod his head in agreement.

"Alright. Here we go," Faluzure said, taking a half-hearted battle stance, if it could even be called that. "The moment you feel it, send out a spike."

With that, he launched a light punch at Yui's arm.

It's almost like his body over-reacted, a single spike shooting out and breaking off into multiple points.

Faluzure had already retracted his hand, although he seemed to be a little surprised at the size of the spike.

"You've gotten yourself some excellent reflexes while you've been away," he observed.

"I guess, nothing too surprising to me honestly. So is that it?"

"I expected you'd need more training, but that's more than fast enough. If I didn't know that was coming, I'd probably have lost a finger or two," he speculated. "It's almost as i--"


Boom.

The sound was loud and deep enough to shake the earth below their feet.

Faluzure's head snapped around to just above the wall.

"Damn it all…!"

"Eh? What's going on exactly? Is it war?"

The man's brow furrowed into a scowl. "Worse," he muttered.

A trio of knights rushed out of the castle onto the training grounds.

"Sire!" one yelled. "The Guard is reassigned! We're defenseless!"

Faluzure shook his head. "Are you new here, boy?"

"Y-yes sire, but I don't--!"

"Then you'd know that as long as I, Faluzure Hadras Raizel, walk on these grounds, we are not defenseless."

The guards glanced at one another. "My lord, can even you take this on?"

Faluzure let out a bellowing laugh. "You fools! How do you think it even got here in the first place?"

"Father, what is going on?"

"That thing has woken up. The monster of the cliffs," he said. "The Ankhora hasn't stirred in a century. It was bound to happen eventually."

Yui groaned. "What is this Ankle thingy anyway?"

"The Beast of Wrath," explained Faluzure. "Do you know where the seven deadly sins came from? There are more sins than just seven, but what makes those ones deadly is that they are the ones that are linked to the Cardinal Beasts. The Ankhora is the fourth Beast, and it's the reason that Wrath demons like us thrive in this land. They slumber for thousands of years, or hundreds, or occasionally dozens. It doesn't matter. You can never tell when one is about to awaken, but when it does, it wreaks havoc on everything in its path. I dragged the Ankhora here in my prime and used it to build this kingdom when I defeated it. I didn't expect it to wake up this soon, but I suppose I'll have to go and take up the sword I used back then again."

He frowned.

"But if the Ankhoran Guard, the elites that are supposed to keep it at bay until we can strike it down again, are reassigned to that Hestre girl's cell… there's no telling how much damage it'll do."

"Pffffffffft, how bad could it possibly be? I doubt it's something me and my father couldn't handle."

Faluzure's eyes were not what they were a moment ago. "No. You are nowhere near strong enough to defeat it. I wonder if even I can, especially if it has just awoken a few minutes ago…"

"It'll be fiiiiiiiiine, are you saying you don't trust in my ability to put a damn thing to bed?"

"The damn thing eats continents for breakfast."

"And I eat things that eat continents for breakfast."

"Don't get cocky here, Yui. Just stay put. I'll get my sword."

Faluzure marched towards the throne room, and with a snap of his fingers, the guards followed in tow.

"No, I'm gonna fight it and you're not gonna tell me no." Yui followed, for some damn reason.

"The Ankhora is immortal," Faluzure informed him, not even looking away from the path ahead of him. "The Beasts were created by the Silver King himself to prevent the Under Kings from attempting to rebel. In my prime, all I could do was put it down for about a hundred years. It was not a one-sided battle by any stretch of the imagination."

"Anything can be killed if you try hard enough."

"Everyone has limits. Even you and I," he said, beginning to ascend the stairs to the throne room.

Yui ran past him, skipping a few steps and almost tripping on the way. "I'm going to get that sword first."

The throne room doors were already wide open, with Kurax gazing out the window at something… enormous.

"Oh. It's you," he muttered.

"What's this sword that my father speaks of? Can I see it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid not. Actually, I intended to be the one to take it."

"Why's that Kurax? To take it to him?"

"That strongly depends on who you mean," Kurax glared, turning to face him. "One way or another, I doubt neither him, you, nor I could wield its true potential in the first place. That blade has stayed unused and stagnant long enough."

"Can I at least see it?"

"You're getting on my nerves, boy," snapped the man, walking calmly to the throne and holding out his hand.

He began to recite something.

"I give to you blood. I give bone, darkness, a soul. Alight the crimson flames of wrath. The gate opens seven times, and closes three. Awaken once again, look up and behold. I call up Cadis, the Furious Steel!"

The throne shimmered red, seeming to crack down the middle.

It split into seven parts, revealing a sword within, blade glowing with blinding scarlet light. Its very existence was one that blazed with anger, one that seemed to gaze around the room to survey how much there was to destroy.

"Kurax!" yelled a voice.

The man glared over his shoulder. "Oh, it's Faluzure. I was wondering when you'd show up."

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm really impressed that you're dense enough that you still have to ask that now."

"Reseal the sword, Kurax," warned Faluzure.

"Why? So you can lock me up?"

"You can't handle its power! You couldn't in a million years!"

Kurax chuckled snidely. "Of course I can't. I'm not an idiot. But I know someone who can, and that's all that matters."

"If you take that, this entire kingdom will be devoured in a matter of hours! We need that to defeat the Ankhora!"

"Do you really think I care about something as petty as your little kingdom? You're so narrow-sighted, Faluzure. You can't even see the grand designs unfolding beneath your nose, can you?"

"That's enough! Stop this insanity!"

"Come make me."

Yui stormed over to Kurax and slammed his fist into his face. "Shut up. How dare someone like you speak to him like that. You are in no place to defy my father so I suggest you reseal it like he says, or hand it over to me so I can hack your disgusting head off. At first I honestly thought you wouldn't be that bad but now. Ohoho now you've made me upset."

Kurax's head had not moved an inch when Yui struck him. Even now, his facial expression hadn't changed in the least from his demeaning, condescending, pitying gaze.

He was silent for a second, as if evaluating him.

And then he let out a long, resigned sigh.

"Damn kids."

He barely drew his sword.

It was not enough to pull it out of its scabbard. It was not enough to cut anyone. It was barely enough to see his blade.

But the moment the sabre's edge became visible, a violent flash of light exploded forth, a lightning bolt blasting Yui across the throne room and into the wall with a crash.

"Yui!" cried his father.

A decent amount of blood left his mouth as he fell down onto his side. "Well that fucking hurt like a bitch." Wiping his mouth he stood. "Now why did you have to go and do that?"

"That didn't even qualify as a warning shot," Kurax sighed, his blade sheathed. "If you can't even withstand the impact of me drawing my sword, I suggest you step aside."

"I was just surprised." Yui coughed.

"Make sure you don't have a heart attack," sneered the man.

"Son of a bitch…!" growled Faluzure. He was clearly weighing up if he would win in a straight fight, let alone without damaging the sword or destroying the throne room, and his former advisor gave a wry smirk.

"I'd suggest you make your decision quickly, oh Lord 28th," he said, the ground beginning to rumble. "Wouldn't want your pet dragon to break the weapon by accident, would we? Or for that matter, this entire palace."

Faluzure clenched his fist. "Don't test me!"

Kurax seemed to find this reaction immensely entertaining. "Oh, but I should thank your son while I'm here! Good work on that hunch. I didn't expect anyone to figure out there was a traitor in the midst, and you scared me just a little. Good thing you were mistaken after all. For a maid, no less… I'm just impressed enough, and just relieved enough, to not be insulted."

"You're the typical bastard, you know that? It's disgusting how you get one small bit of power and you think you're some sort of god. Filthy animal."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I admit I might be a little haughty, but I'm not delusional. It's difficult to mistake oneself for a god, labouring in service to one," he said. "Not that self-indulgent demon kings like yourselves would understand, I suppose."

"Ugh, you're so boring too. Can't even try to strike one of us right now."

"I'm not going to waste this power on feeble weaklings," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking this…"

"[glow=#ff0000]Kurax![/glow]" roared Faluzure.

The room shook.

Yui's father's wrath was burning. A flash of red filled the room, and Crimson Break spilled forth.

Power radiated from every fibre of his being, drowning out everything else in the room.


Kurax only smiled.

"And there it is," he muttered, clenching his fist.

A glint of light danced from a silver ring on his hand, and in an instant, that crimson was turned inside out; a crushing pressure on Faluzure that caused blood to burst from his skin.

The king glared up at him, fury in his eyes. "Bastard…! What did you…?!"

"I was wondering how long it'd take for you to get mad," Kurax said. "Your Crimson Break has been changed from an ability to a curse. It's surprising how many of these cursed rings are around, you know. I hear there's a whole cult that uses them."

"I'll kill you!"

"Not at half your power, you won't, old man. My sword would finish you in seconds. If only you had controlled your anger. What a shame."

He reached forward to the blazing red sword, but stopped just short.

"I trust there's no objections?" he sneered to the room.

Yui would sigh. "My word such a surprise. You can't even take my old man in hand to hand. Please just stand down that way I don't have to put effort into actually killing you myself."

"Please," scoffed the man. "I've been working behind his back for years to get this sword. I'm really not that concerned about an honourable duel for it."

"Drop it. Now. Damn it all if you make me break your arm I'm going to break your skull open after."

"You really are a cocky brat, aren't you," Kurax muttered, getting a little irritated. "Can you even survive another hit?"

"Hey Kurax, I have a question. How many times have you gotten into a fight in your youth?"

"I'm 512. I lose count."

"Then you sure as hell have no right to ask if I can beat you. Old man, you're getting way too old for fighting anyway. Just drop the damn sword."

Kurax took a deep breath. "You know what? I don't even want to pick that thing up until I'm done with you. If you really think I'm too old to be fighting, then come on over and we'll see how a toddler swings a sword."

"This is such a drag." Yui calmly walked forward, analyzing Kurax with each step he took. "Going to use a weapon against me?"

"I wonder. I might just break your neck to prove a point," he said. Despite Yui's best efforts, there was little to nothing that he could pick out from his stance beyond that he was at least trained in hand-to-hand combat.

He'd scoff. "Let's go then." Yui'd duck down, throwing a gut punch.

Kurax easily stepped aside, avoiding it completely.

It was a feint. Yui swept his leg in an attempt to trip him up, but the man stepped over it like a crack in a pavement.

"Is that it?" he asked dryly.

"You'll see." His shin bone shot up directly at his thigh.

Once again, it was child's play for Kurax to avoid. "You seem to be trying very hard. Well done."

"You really think I am trying?" His bone retracted, pushing himself up into the air my extending his wrist bone and summoning Okin.

"A Bloodbound weapon? Interesting," Kurax observed. "But something that paltry won't be able to do anything." Yui landed, wrapping the chain around his hand. "So fucking sick of this bullshit." Yui lept forward, performing a roundhouse kick.

In a move, his target was behind him, just far enough that the kick came a fraction of an inch from connecting.

Yui expanded every bone from his leg all the way up to his shoulder out behind him.

Kurax managed to evade one after another after another, and then finally stepped back.

But, in the midst of the hail of bone, it appeared that there were two distinct wounds on his body.

Yui contracted all his bones and landed, spinning around as he did.

Kurax brushed the red on his hand, as if ensuring it was blood.

"It's barely a paper cut," he muttered. "But I have to commend you nonetheless. You did actually manage to hit me, not once, but twice. Perhaps I ought to be fighting back now?"

"I honestly don't care."

"Suit yourself. Well, in that case," he said, reaching for his blade.


He never quite got the chance.

The walls and floor seemed to fall away, crashing down with a thunderous roar from outside.

"What the…?!" Kurax spluttered, seeming to catch himself on a platform of water as a colossal, monstrous, black-red shape seemed to shatter the very earth, tearing through the ground and sky alike.

There was no mistaking it, even as Yui fell.

Of all things, the Ankhora had saved him with pure timing.

"Just my damn luck." Yui swung Okin out, attempting to latch on the one wall still magically standing.

It was an easy enough feat for him to manage at this point. No matter what had happened up there, his skill with Okin was nothing to scoff at.

He could hear a familiar voice from below.

"Y-Yui…?! Yui!"

"Eh?" He'd look down.

Sure enough, there was Dia, covered in soot and dust from the rubble. "Are you okay?" she called. "What's happening?!"

He'd sigh, desummoning Okin and sliding down the wall. "Yeah yeah I'm fine. Just some really old beast thing waking up. We'll be a-okay."

A figure crawled from some rubble beside them, startling Dia.

"Hold on. It's me," Faluzure groaned. "Son of a bitch… Did he wake up the Ankhora? Does he have any idea what he's done?!"

Dia seemed frantic, but she collected herself just enough to voice a coherent thought.

"H-Hestre. We need to find Hestre. Hestre can help."

"I'm not sure a maid's gonna save you now, little girl," Faluzure grumbled, shoving a slab of metal off his leg. "That's gonna bruise bad..."

He'd sigh once more. "And you're both okay I take it?"

Dia nodded, and Faluzure sighed.

"Sure, I'll be fine eventually," he muttered. "I'm more surprised Dia's unhurt from all this. Even I've got a scratch or two… Damn curse is already getting on my nerves."

"Alright alright calm down. What's with this thing anyway?"

"The curse?" he asked. "Not sure, but it looks like it's turned Crimson Break inside out. Instead of doubling my power when I get angry, it halves it even if I'm not. Watch yourself around him. I don't know what that ring can do, but I doubt you'll get out much better than I did."

"Whatever, so, what is the Ahnko-whatever thing?"

"The Ankhora's an immortal dragon that embodies wrath itself," Faluzure explained. "It's not that inaccurate to call it a god of wrath, now I think about it. You can't kill it, because it revives itself after some arbitrary period of time depending on how badly you wounded it."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Dia asked.

"Well, you can't match it physically, that's for sure. That's why the Silver King created the sword to go with it. Cadis, the Furious Steel. That's where your middle name comes from, Yui. We can't kill it just by swinging the sword at it, but it has a hidden power that can kill it for a while if you activate it. Anyone can do it. Well, any archdemon of wrath. I don't know what the hell Kurax wants with it, but I sure as hell know it's not to kill the Ankhora."

"Why can't we just tame it?"

"The Ankhora's very soul is wrath itself. There's no way it's listening to us," Faluzure shook his head.

"Tame it anyway. Use wrath against wrath."

"That's how wars start, right?" Dia mumbled.

"This thing was made by the Silver King himself to keep us demons in check," Faluzure pointed out. "I doubt it's even possible to tame it, and even if it were, I doubt the Second Under King would let it slide."

"Under King under shming. Doesn't matter."

"Give it a try if you want, but I've fought this thing. I'm pretty sure it's suicide to even try."

"Later. Dia needs to get cleaned first."

The sound of explosions rang out in the distance.

"Is that really that important right now?!" she spluttered.

"Yes, cleanliness is key. Even in the heat of battle. But I mean if you really want we can fight it now."

"I don't really want to fight it at all…!"

Faluzure stood up, shaking his head. "This thing is ripping my kingdom to pieces as we speak. I'm not waiting around. I'm going after Kurax. He almost definitely has Cadis now."

"Then go ahead. Nothing's stopping you, but it is suicide since he has that curse."

"Curse or no curse," he grinned, "I wouldn't be much of a king if I didn't go after the man who did this to my realm."

"Alright. As for you young lady, you aren't hurt at all? I mean no broken bones or anything else?"

"Not a scratch," she confirmed. "I'm surprised myself."

"Then you can help me dig through rubble. I still need to find my bag. I had my clothes in there."

"I grabbed it when I felt the ground start shaking," she said. "It's just over there."

"Oh how very sweet of you. Thanks Dia." He gently kissed the top of her head. "And on top of that I need to find other things."

She blushed, but looked pretty proud of herself. "What are we looking for?" she asked. "Just leave it to me. I'll find it right away."

"People." Yui scanned the rubble.

There were indeed bodies amongst the debris, but most of them were in pieces. In particular, there was a large group of mangled corpses next to a familiar face behind bars. Hestre hadn't noticed them, it seemed.

Besides that, there were a handful of guards who seemed to have survived the collapse, along with one or two servants.

"Is that Hestre over there?" Yui wandered to who he believed was Hestre.

"Good afternoon, Lord Raizel. Is Lady Dia unharmed?" she asked. The faintest hint of desperation slipped into her voice.

"She's alright. Sorry for uh, wrongly accusing you of being a traitor." He'd scratch the back of his head being only the slightest bit nervous.

She shook her head. "I've already forgotten about that. I don't care at all. I'm only glad that you two are safe. If I may, might I aid you here?"

"Of course, we'll need it against that bastard Kurax anyway."

"Very well," she nodded. "In that case, I strongly recommend you step back a little bit."

"Alright alright." Yui, grabbing Dia's hand took a few steps back.

Dia looked a little anxious as Hestre extended her arms.

The maid crossed them over, forming three arrows of light between her fingers on her right hand, and three arrows of darkness in her left.

Extending them once again, she threw the bolts of black and white, shattering the bars holding her in with with next to no effort at all.

Walking out of the remains of the cell calmly, she looked around. "Where to, my lord?"

"I have no clue honestly."

"Is there anything in particular we could track the enemy with?"

"He has Cadis. Big flashy silver sword. He couldn't have gotten far from here though. Especially with that thing still raging about."

Hestre scanned the rubble as if looking for something.

"Cadis? That glowing red blade, you mean?" she asked.

"Uhhhh yeah." Yui shook his head. "Sworn it looked silver. Just a little hint."

She pointed into the wreckage a little way away. "I doubt I can pick it up, so you might need to retrieve it."

"I can try. I hope.."

"Well, it's just over there," she said. "You'll need it if we want to win against the Ankhora."

Sure enough, a crimson glow spilled out of the rubble where she was pointing. Kurax hadn't made off with it after all, it seemed, although he'd doubtlessly be back soon enough.

"Are you two sure about this…?" Dia asked anxiously.

"When have we ever not been sure Dia? We'll be fine, I guess."

She looked between Hestre and him, and finally sighed. "Alright. Good luck."

Yui carefully walked through the rubble, minding his step very carefully as he did do. "I found it." He'd shout out, picking it up. Yui groaned as he did, the sword itself was heavy. However it wasn't heavy enough to tear his arms off but it was still pretty damn heavy. "So what do we do now exactly?"

Hestre stepped forward, apparently with an answer.

It was just as she began to speak that the sword reacted.


A white flash, ringing in Yui's ears as if an explosion had gone off next to him. He couldn't see Cadis, but he couldn't ignore its weight. It was invisible, but definitely there.

What wasn't there was everything else.

He was stood in the center of a white void, with up, down, left and right completely indistinguishable from one another.

A few feet away stood the only thing that seemed to exist in this impossible place.

A young woman, clad in a trenchcoat, facing away from him, silvery hair tumbling down her back as if it were a waterfall of mercury.

"So, how the fuck did I get here?"

As if in shock, the young woman spun around, wide-eyed and confused.

She looked him up and down, her eyes settling on the invisible blade.

"That sword…" she muttered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Yui. And where are we exactly?" He had an extremely puzzled look on his face.

She frowned like she didn't quite understand the question. "That's… difficult to say…"

It was at that moment that the air around him began to prickle at his skin, weight increasing massively second by second, like an elastic band being drawn back.

Yui, in pain, managed to speak a sentence. "So why is this happening exactly? Did I not answer the million dollar question right?"

"I'm not completely sure myse--"

The girl did not reach the end of her sentence.


"Yui? Yui?"

Dia's voice was what finally dragged him back to where he had been standing just a moment before.

"Are you okay? You just froze for a second there."

"Do you think I'm okay? I'm being crushed by weight and something is prickling at my skin. I don't think I'm fucking okay!"

It was just as he said that that the sensations rapidly began to fade like water down a drain. That feeling of being ripped out of the world had already subsided.

"Crushed? Prickling?" Hestre echoed. "Could you have… Did you see anything odd?"

"I saw a white flash and there was ringing in my ears. That's about it."

"Was there anyone at the other end? Did you see a person?" she pressed.

"Yeah I saw a person. They weren't that interesting though."

Hestre clenched her fists. "I see."

"Is something wrong, Hestre?" Dia asked.

"...Nothing important for now. Let us focus on the task at hand," she suggested. "That blade seems to have taken a liking to you, milord."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what do you mean?" He'd be oblivious to everything going on currently, not sure of what to do even.

Dia jumped in to cover for her. "While you were… uh, elsewhere, it looked like the sword fed some of its light to you," she explained. "I'm not sure what happened, exactly, but it looks like you can use at least a part of its true power already."

"So that means we're all good right?"

She nodded. "Right. You think you can figure out how to put down that dragon thing?"

"I'm Yui, violence is my best line of work Dia." He gently pat her head. "I'll be a-okay so don't worry."

She gave a small nod. "Can I back you up? Just to be safe."

He gave a warm smile to her. "I can't stop you if you tried dear."

She cleared her throat, her expression turning serious. "Very well. Then I, Dia Irius, shall lead the way."

Her body flashed with golden light, her already-familiar ability drawing itself from her depths.

In an instant, she seemed to vanish into a gust of wind, and an earth-splitting crash resounded in the distance behind him.

He sighed shaking his head. "Some damn ability."

Behind him, the small girl was floating in the air, the colossal beast at rest below her.

No, that wasn't quite right.

It seemed impossible, but…

Yes, it must have happened.

She had knocked that monster out of the sky with a single blow.

The Ankhora raised its head up at her, howling with fury great enough to drown the very sun.

A declaration of war.


"There!" Hestre yelled, pointing.

On the beast's back, at the top of its neck just below its head, there was a gap. No, a slit?

A crimson light, much like that of Cadis, faintly spilled from it, as if calling the sword.

"That's how to stop it," she observed. "The problem will only be reaching it."

Yui's back burst open, blood spraying everywhere. From his back were skeletal claw like protrusions. Almost as if they were wings. Between each radius of the wing tough cartilage began forming.

"That will certainly help," the maidservant observed.

"It also hurts like a bitch." Yui tried moving them around just to get used to them.

At first, they tore at his skin just moving, but his regeneration was more than enough to deal with that. In a matter of mere seconds, they controlled as smoothly as his arms and legs.

"Now, how does one do a fly?" He'd attempt to flap the wings, trying to at least get some lift off of the ground.

At first, nothing happened, but it seemed that the mere formation of the wings caused Exin in his body to flow in such a way as to lift him a few feet into the air with a single flap.

He'd keep flapping them. He wanted to get used to them before he even tried flying.

It took a few moments to really get a sense of balance in the air, but it was easy enough once he got around to it. Tip to one side, extend that wing. It was a simple enough method of keeping upright.

"Now, to even try flying towards it." Yui pushed his wings back, causing them to push him forwards.

He rocketed forwards at a pace much faster than even he was expecting towards the Ankhora, ripping through the air like a missile.

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit." He'd yelp as he attempted slowing himself.

The air in front of him seemed to flare up, grinding him to a much slower speed very quickly. Acceleration seemed to be a point to work on.

He'd sigh seeing as he'd have to chose one or the other. He, of course, chose fast. Extending his wings backwards once more to send himself flying towards the Ankhora.

It was that decision that saved his life.

The Ankhora had apparently noticed him coming, swinging its massive tail to knock him out of the sky.

It missed by mere centimetres. Glaring at both him and Dia, the beast snarled in anger.

It had acknowledged them both as its opponents.

"Welp no turning back now. Are you ready Dia?"

"As I'll ever be!"

The Ankhora let out an earth-splitting screech, a crimson light visible from the bottom of its throat as it aimed its mouth directly at Yui.

"Uh fuck Dia what do I do? Please inform me on what to do right this very instant before I die please kay thanks."

"Uh, um! I don't know?! Dodge? Block? That sword can block, right?!"

"HOW THE FUCK DO I BLOCK A GIANT ASS BEAM OF DEATH?!"

The giant ass beam of death erupted from the depths of the creature's lungs, tearing the distance to shreds as it burned through the air towards Yui.

Yui just..stuck his hand out like an idiot. His mind was blurred as of that instant and everything was getting hazy. He officially blacked out.


It was a well-known fact that a single spark, under the right circumstances, could start a forest fire.

Yui had unknowingly held out Cadis.

It was impossible for him to have known the sword's purpose.

No, its purpose was clear. What was hidden was its function.

As such, there was no way that what he had done was deliberate.

It was sheer luck that the blast was entirely and instantly absorbed by Cadis, flooding through the Raizel heir's body.

A Wrath demon's Crimson Break was the epitome of their abilities, but few questioned where the energy that they used for it actually came from. Or rather, since it was their own Exin that fueled it, what the template was that caused rage to become power.

In truth, that had been the purpose of the Ankhora: a factory of unlimited power and infinite fury.

As such, it was only natural that the purpose of the blade Cadis was to absorb that power and disperse it.

It was not designed for a wielder, but a demon was the only being that could wield its true power.

Crimson Break… What had been broken?

Whatever it was, it had been broken because there was not enough power to repair it. A half-tied knot unravelled.


In other words, thanks to the beast and the blade, Yui Cadis Raizel's Crimson was instantly Reforged.


A world of red.

That woman again.

A faint, familiar voice was calling his name in the distance.

"It sounds like someone needs you," the silver-haired girl observed.

"Ehh? Oh it's you again. Wait..why am I even here? What's going on? And who are you anyways?"

"I have… a few names. Call me whatever you like. Some people have called me the Swan, some people have called me the Star of Rebellion. I don't really care," she said. "The reason you're here is that sword. It's linked to me, apparently. What a drag."

"So does that mean you're like, the physical body of Cadis in my head or some shit?"

"Not exactly. I'm more like a blacksmith." she sighed. "More importantly, don't you have something better to do?"

A storm, a wind, a lightning bolt? Some enormous force tore him from the the void.

Before him was the beast once more. But this time was different.

This time, Yui was filled with Crimson.

He snapped back into consciousness, breathing somewhat heavily. "Well, guess I have a job to do then." Yui adjusted his wings as he prepared to fly directly at the Akhora's neck, his wings slamming backwards. The result of this, of course, was him rocketing at the beast.

No, rocketing was too small a word.

It was more akin to teleporting with sheer speed.

In one moment, he was there. There was no time in which he could have "travelled".

So this was the power of a true demon, then… It felt good.

Just then Yui had rammed the sword into the back of it's neck.

It fit like a key in a lock. No, a thermometer in a pot?

It was difficult to tell what it did originally, but now Yui knew what Cadis was, he instantly understood what was happening. The light spilled from the crack in its neck, filling the sword in seconds, growing dimmer and dimmer.

So that was it.

Cadis was not a sword strong enough to kill an immortal god to begin with.

It was a battery to drain the powers of the Ankhora.

"So it's done then right? Did I do it? Is it going to sleep now?" He was exhausted, albeit it barely did anything it was still exhausting.

The Ankhora's blood-coloured body began to rapidly drain to grey, slowing down, a grinding noise escaping its throat as it scraped at the last of its energy before finally stopping.


A statue.


Yui ripped the sword out. "So what do we do now Dia? I assume we help my father with Kurax right?" It was hard for him to stand, his eyelids grew heavy and his body felt as if someone had placed an immense amount of weight on him.

"You look exhausted," she said. "Are you okay? We need to find somewhere to--"

"No time," Hestre said, stepping forward. "Yui, I understand you're drained, but that energy is going to disperse in a few minutes. We need your power to defeat Kurax."

"I understand, come on then, we have to hurry." His grip on the handle of Cadis grew tighter as he grit his teeth. He despised Kurax. It was simple.

"Come on then," she nodded. "Do you know where he is?"

"I saw him head that way," pointed Dia. "Faluzure was going too quick to follow normally, but…"

Yui grabbed Hestre by the collar. "Dia, I need you to do that thing again, I only have one other free hand." Yui flew up into the air.

"I was taking powers from the Ankhora…" she explained sheepishly. "Let me see if I can use yours."

With a flash of gold, she soared up after him.

"Both of you look closely for that damned weazel." He flew towards the direction Dia had pointed to. So many thoughts ran through his head as he scanned the area for Kurax.

He didn't have to look long.

An explosion, like a shell had broken in the earth.

Faluzure had been thrown almost half a mile into the ground away from a lightning bolt crashing down on the horizon, a spire towering into the sky, as if shattering the clouds.

"Think we found him." Yui sped towards the lighting not wanting to waste any more time then he had already.

He arrived instantly.

A swirl of buzzing air was rushing around the figure that was already the center of such hatred.

Kurax looked up, almost in surprise. "You took care of the dragon, then?" he asked, paying no heed to the spiralling, roaring vortex of heat and light that sparked and hissed.

Yui held his tongue, Kurax was nothing more than trash to him. And talking to trash is like talking to a brick wall. It's pointless. "Are you safe to be dropped from here Hestre?"

"I'll be fine," she confirmed.

"In that case." He dropped her and sped towards Kurax, readying the sword.

"Oh? So that's your play?" Kurax raised his own sword. "Then come. Let's see if you've closed the gap."

Yui shifted his entire weight to the left, and pushing with his wings to the side.

"Then I'll start."

With a slash, a lightning bolt shot forth towards Yui.

He dashed right and lunged forward, sticking the sword out towards his opponent.

The blades struck, a storm of blue and red light.

He'd grunt, leaping backwards.

Kurax grinned. "You're pretty good after all. A big improvement from last time," he nodded. "If it was someone with this much power naturally, I might think twice about fighting you head-on."

Yui wasn't speaking at all, and his expression was cold. Once more he dashed directly at Kurax.

With a flick of his rapier, Kurax closed the gap between them with another lightning bolt.

He'd duck down, extending his arm bone directly for his right leg.

The bolt seemed to expand as he ducked aside. No, it changed direction?!

It shot through his body, throwing him off-course.

Normally, he would die instantly, but now he was strong enough to take that in stride.

"But with you, I think I can afford to stand my ground."

His arm bone would expand into what looked like multiple branches of a tree, five at that. All with fairly sharp points.

They pierced his body in a flash, yanking his feet from the floor and leaving him dangling a foot or so away.


Kurax didn't say anything at first.

He simply stared, wide-eyed, as if what had just happened didn't really connect with him at all.

His eyes slowly moved up to bones impaling him to see Yui.

He opened his mouth to speak, and blood came out, bursting like a water balloon in his throat.

His face with surprised, incredulous even.


Yui had begun to form one inch spikes (two centimeters) from the bones inside Kurax.

Those spikes were enough to tear apart anything he had left in his torso, but the man didn't cry out in pain. The agony was only indicated by gritted teeth.

"Ah. So that's what it was," he whispered.


He wasn't done with him however. "Hey, Kurax. Tell me, does it hurt?" Yui extended the spikes another inch inside of his body, making each and every one serrated.

"Probably," he replied. "I doubt there's any point in feeling it anymore. Or perhaps it's just numb."

He looked at the boy, as if analysing him.

"I see. So you were wrath after all."

Yui had a disgusting grin on his face as if he was enjoying watching the man suffer. Just then he tore the bones out and made them retract back into his arm. It was back to normal now.

Kurax fell flat instantly. Whether he could stand up or he couldn't was irrelevant. A simple glance made it obvious that he simply was not willing to try.

"Raizel," he said, managing to force a surprisingly coherent, audible word from his lungs. "Do you know the difference between revenge and justice?"

"I do not care for it, I wanted to watch you rot as I destroy you and your sad existence. And that's what I got. Now shut up and die already old man." He'd spit on his face, his disgusting grin growing wider than before.

"No. You don't care. But you will," the man promised, his eyes glazing over. "It's pride. That's the only difference."

He let out a long sandpaper sigh.

"Dignity… Yeah, right."

He did not move after that.

"Welp, you're dying a little fast aren't you? I was expecting more from you, even from the attack I gave you. A little disappointed honestly Kurax."

No response. No, there was no way for him to respond.

His body was not cold yet, but his mind was.

All that was left was the flesh to dry and waste.

The difference between Kurax and a skeleton now was only pride.

Pride that would soon become meaningless, in time.

Hestre looked on at the pair. "I expected less from a traitor," she admitted. "He seemed to have conviction to whatever cause he was sworn to, even if it was not your father's."

Dia slowly began to land between them. "You say that, but he never really stood a chance, did he?"

"I don't care, but I'm glad he's dead." He spat on him once more, putting his foot on his face and rubbing it around.

"Is there a point to you doing that?" Hestre questioned.

"Yeah, humiliating his disgusting dead body." Yui raised his foot and stomped down on his head. "You need to understand how much I hate this man Hestre."

"Perhaps it was mutual. But you are not Kurax, Yui," she reminded him, bending down to the body. "Do not become him. Profess more dignity than he could claim, not less."

She passed her hands over the man's face, closing his empty eyes.

"May death grant whatever peace you sought."

She stood up, brushing herself down.

Hestre had become almost someone else too slowly to notice over the course of this affair, so it was a mild shock when she suddenly became a simple maid again. "Will that be all, my lord?"

"I want him burned. In front of my father if you would, should he not be dead that is."

"I will build a pyre right away," she bowed, going to collect firewood.

Dia looked around at the rubble and wreckage, her eyes settling on the palace in the distance. "What even happened here? Why did he do this?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know, but I am glad you're fine. If he even laid a finger on you it would have been a lot more gruesome." He'd gently kiss the top of her head as he pulled her into a warm embrace. "I love you Dia."

She nestled closely to his body, hugging back. "You're not used to being toyed with, are you?" she smiled to herself.

"No, I'm not."


The crimson began to wisp from Yui's body, blowing on the wind to somewhere else.

 

[Random]

Viviane yawned as she sat up, grumbling as she rubbed her eyes. She was thankful that they were able to stay over at Ephialtes; it would've sucked to try keep watch and stuff like that. Making her way to the sort-of bathroom, she sighed as she looked at the water core, making…well, water come out as she splashed some on her face.

"Refreshing," she grumbled, glancing up as she frowned. When did her rope turn gold? And…moving? "No wait, the rope's on the right arm. So…shitwhatthefuck."

Staring hard at her reflection, the glowing mark on her left hand was…well, cause for concern was one thing. Especially because it looked like it was moving. Furiously rubbing at it with some water, she sighed after it didn't disappear, grumbling as she stared at it more. "Jeez that's dizzying," she mumbled, blinking a few times as she finally tore her eyes away from the mark.


"It's not moving, it's just a trick of the light," she mumbled, sighing as she glanced to her wrist again, shaking her head. Maybe someone else would know what it was…



Val hadn't slept all night. The encounter from the night before was still bothering her, and on top of that she was having to trust an Oni for safety. No way, her nerves were far too high.
And now, of course, something weird was going on with Viviane. Perfect, wonderful, magnificent! Weird marks on the arms were never a good sign, she shuddered, remembering the panic-attack-inducing death curse.
Should she offer her help? What if the curse spread or something? On another hand, did she really need to be involved in another weird-ass fiasco? She had those in spades. Still… she couldn't help her eyes drifting to the rest of the party. What kind of guilt would she feel if she didn't?
This will be filed under "take care of at a later date."

Viviane saw Val was awake after she came out of the bathroom, and quickly made her way over to the other girl. "What should I do?" she asked frantically, waving her left hand in front of the other girl, the gold mark trailing from her pinky down to her wrist, over the back of her hand.

"What's all the noiiiiise," mumbled a totting pale sleepy thing as it wandered aimlessly into the hall.

Ephialtes chose this moment to wake up, rolling out of his bed, flopping onto the floor, and grabbing the nearest drink. All of this occurred while he muttered a wide array of rude words towards the nature of all the party's birth and ancestors. After taking a long swig of what he determined to be whiskey, he shouted out to his young guests, "CUNTLINGS! SHUT THE HELL UP, OR FIND A FUCK FOR ME TO GIVE ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS. It is too damn early in the fucking morning for me to care about some shitty golden mark. My best advice to you lil asshats is to grab a drink. Izanagi knows it's the only thing I can do when life dicks me over…" Upon finishing his crude statements, during which he shoved various jars full of different forms of alcohol into the hands of the adolescents, he stumbled back to bed.
"Is this even edible?" pondered Ren. "This looks like furniture polish."
Viviane didn't pause after she was handed the drink. After all the weirdness that morning, some de-stressing was definitely in order. Tipping the jar back as she gulped it down, she pinched her nose as she swallowed…whatever it was, hiccuping almost immediately afterwards.
"Don't drink too fast if you don't want hiccups," Ren scolded, placing his cup of fucking something on the floor. "You could choke if you do that. Or worse, drow-- Actually, never mind that last one."
Akio politely refused offer as he doesn't like any substance that affects his way of thinking.
Viviane giggled through her hiccups, throwing an arm around Ren. "Don't *hic* be like that," she mumbled, poking his cheek as she frowned. "You know what, Ren? You need to sleep more…I can seeeee the bags under your eyes," she mumbled, pinching his cheek as she pulled it to the side.
"R-really…?" Ren murmured, his face beginning to glow from being so close. "I can't…"
"Chieko, I know that you are a party girl but you can't drink tonight." Akio giggles while Chieko tilted her head in confusion. Akio sat in front of Ren.
"Don't worry about that R- *hic* -en," she mumbled, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "I can definitely help with that…" She then sat up straight, clearing her throat for a moment as she began to sing a lullaby to get the small white haired boy to fall asleep.
"That's not the best idea," Valentina interjected aggressively, moving quickly to Ren's side, "There's better times."
Ckieko crawled on Akio's lap and just collapse as those two didn't sleep last night but Akio doesn't sleep. He never sleeps.
"Stop, stop, stop, everyone stop!" Ren squeaked, trying to get some space. "I'm fine!"
"Could you stop yelling. Chieko is taking a nap!" Akio says starting to be impatient.
Val turned and glared at Akio, "If you would've been around Ren as long as I have, you'd be angry about a drunk siren trying to push him into a magical stupor too."
"It sounds like someone needs a nap too!" Akio move a bit to the left and signaled Val to just sit next to him.
She actually was really tired, and genuinely considered his suggestion, but was aggravated at it nonetheless. Who knows what would happen in this dumb old drunk's house with the clumsiest person in the world being harassed by what may be the drunkest mermaid in the world without her to watch?
Viviane made a small scoffing sound after Akio told her to stop yelling, rolling her eyes as she thought to herself. IT WAS SO DAMN HOT! AND DRY! Pulling out a pen from her bag, she paused for a moment before frantically writing on her arm, ignoring the tingle that came with writing on skin. "Elements…move the x…no wait more suction…" she mumbled to herself, before clicking the back of her pen and closing it. "Perfect," she thought, leaning on Ren's shoulder as she looked at the equations she'd written on her arm.
This, of course, also left her head near Ren's ear, and she ended up humming the rest of her lullaby right by his ear.
In seconds, Ren's expression had shifted to a dopey, blissful smile, and he let out a small sigh as his eyes drooped, swaying back and forth before finally collapsing against the siren, fast asleep.
Chieko yawned very smol-like and Akio was shaking his hands "GUYS LOOK THIS IS IMPORTANT. SHE IS COMFY!" he says whisper yelling.
"That's great," Viviane replied in whisper as well, smiling as she leaned over to look at the small Chieko. "Awww, I wish I brought my budgie along…"
Val almost growled. Why was the world so set on making protecting Ren difficult for her? Where was Miki when he's needed? Now what's going to happen if something goes wrong and they're all in trouble? How is he supposed to get out?
Of course, Val knew the answer for that, because she always got him out of situations even when he was awake, but still.
Akio took the chance to whisper to Viviane. "Hey I get the feeling that you and that Val character aren't really the bestest of friends but could you just ease the tension a bit?"
Viviane shrugged. "Sure. I need to head *hic* out for a *hic* bit. Think that *hic* would work?" she asked, leaning forward and whispering as if Val wasn't there. Hopefully she wasn't paying attention either.
Except, she, annoyingly, was always paying attention.
"I think you should take a nap."

Viviane stood up after a few more moments of swaying, as if she'd finally made up her mind. "I willl be back," she said, turning to try find the door for a moment. "Like…an hour? Two? Two," she said, nodding once before turning and heading out the door.

It took maybe an hour after leaving to make it to the beach again (who knew she had a sense of direction when drunk), and she stood there for a while, staring at the equations on her arm. "So……exin…" she mumbled, waving her arm as she spread the power. "Infuse…then squeeeze…and bottle," she murmured, the ocean in front of her almost glimmering as a sudden chunk just…disappeared, only for water to rush in where it was.

"Perfect," Viviane mumbled, bringing the bottle up to the sun as she inspected the glitter water (and tiny fish) inside. "I di-HRRGH!"

The trip back for Viviane took about an hour and fifteen minutes, as she spent another 15 minutes…relieving her stomach of its contents. Since most of it was alcohol in the first place too, it didn't take long for it to be out of her system. She was still drunk, of course. Just…well, at least it wouldn't get worse?

"You're awake Miss Viviane?" Miki peered out from behind one of the larger boulders that littered the land.

Viviane jumped when she heard Miki, turning to face the large boulder the guy was behind. "I'm *hic* awake," she mumbled, groaning as she held her stomach. "Why wouldn't Iiii be?"
"For one, I've heard times when Master sounded more awake than you." He gestured at the bottle in her hands. "Another thing, why are you holding that? Fish were not alcoholic last I checked."

Viviane blinked before proudly jutting the bottle forward. "This is not alcohol, Miki. No, this is terraforming," she said happily, waving the bottle in front of him. "A container to hold an environ! Like, it'll uhm…uhm…sorta…crack…big cracks…break! Break after you use it, but otherwise, perfect!"

"This 'ere is the uhm…salt water," she said, nodding.



The siren may be more of a problem than Varuna had previously estimated. She seemed to get actually smarter from alcohol.
"They keep surprising me..." Varuna whispered aloud to her self. That was stupid. Talking out loud to yourself is stupid, especially when two of the people you were following decide to go outside.


Ren stirred a little while later, yawning contentedly as he rubbed his eyes, sitting up and immediately snapping to attention once he remembered where he was.
"Eh?! What just…?!" he looked around frantically for Viviane, but no such luck. In fact, nobody seemed to be around at all.
Glancing at the nearest clock, he took note of the time… Two hours?
Viviane must have made him pass out with that song. He was getting drowsy again just thinking Shaking it out of his head, he stumbled to his feet, looking around. Did he miss a memo while he was asleep?

Speaking of Viviane, the half-siren half-mermaid took this opportune moment to burst back into the home, grinning from ear to ear as she waggled her terraform potion by the neck between her fingers. "Ooooh, Ren," she said, carelessly walking over and leaning on the wall nearby.

"Hmmm…do you want to sleep more?" she asked, frowning as she squinted, as if to try see him more clearly.

"I-I probably shouldn't," he insisted, waving his hands anxiously. "W-what's that! Did you make something more interesting than knocking me out?"

Viviane smiled as she thrust the glass bottle forward. "Yesssir, I did. Marvel at my geeeeeenius," she said, cackling for a moment before throwing an arm over Ren's shoulder. "Tadaaaa, oshean in a bottle," she said. "Good for one-time ushe."
His eyes widened. "How did you manage that?" he murmured in awe. "That looks a lot like it violates Kulle's Conservation Laws."
Viviane rolled her eyes as she gave Ren a light push on the shoulder. "Lawsh, shmlaws, who cares, I did it. What, you don't think I did?" she said, poking Ren's chest. "I CAN PROVE IT. JUST WATCH," she said, about to throw the bottle and smash it on the ground.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you...?!" the boy cried, panicking. Oh, this was not about to end well.
The bottle didn't stand a chance after Viviane threw the bottle, and in the next instant, the entire room was filled with salt water and fish. "HA, SEE?" she said, having no problem speaking underwater. "OSHEEAAAN! NOW GIVE ME MY BETTINGS."
Ren, on the other hand, was just slightly preoccupied flailing about, trying his absolute hardest to not drown.
On the plus side, if he wasn't awake before, he sure as hell was now.
Not having the slightest idea of what else to do, he set his body on fire, trying to boil away the water around him so he could breathe just a little. He seemed to scare off a school of salmon or something as he did, but really, he had other concerns at the moment.
Viviane sighed as she watched Ren begin to flail, and grumbled before her tail snapped into existence. Grabbing Ren around the waist, she swished said tail a few times before they ended up outside again. Miraculously, her drunk mind didn't mess with her directions, and it only took a little time for them to be breathing air again.
Ren was coughing and spluttering and trying to yell the moment there was oxygen to be had.
"Viviane! You could have broken the house and I couldn't breathe and saltwater tastes horrible and those poor fish and you've broken the laws of magic and now I'm gonna have to study that entire course again and I nearly drowned and I'm soaking wet and it was super cold and where did your tail even come from aaaaand your dress is soaking wet oh my god."
Suddenly distracted from his spiel by more urgent matters, he quickly looked away so as to preserve moral decency.
"Why did you think anything about this was a good idea?!" he cried.
Viviane rolled her eyes (and then stumbled as a sharp pain went through her head. Don't roll your eyes) before casting her fire armour, her dress drying in an instant. "Jeez Ren, it'sh not sHoooo bad," she said. "The water will be gone riiiiight abooout…now."
True to her word, the simulated ocean she'd brought forth suddenly disappeared, not even leaving a fish or puddle in its wake. "Tadaaaa, now PRAISHE MEEE, FOR THE GENIUSH I AM!"
He gave a small sigh. "Well, I can't deny you made a mess, but this isn't kid stuff. You've just disproved a 2000-year-old principle in about two hours, so I can't call you anything else," he nodded. "Maybe write this all down somewhere in case you get sober and can't remember any of what you did…"
Viviane made a 'Psssh' sound as Ren spoke again. "Yeah yeah, it'sh all on my arm," she grumbled, before glancing at said arm. "Wait, lemme write it again," she mumbled, taking a minute or so of scribbling before she looked up."Do you have a book? A book with linesh?"
"Uh… I might have," he mumbled, fumbling around. "It's probably soaked, but…"
He produced a small notepad, handing it over. Sadly, it was dripping wet, but that was probably a resolvable problem.
Viviane shrugged as she took the notepad, using her fire armour to carefully bake around the pages before she snapped it open to start writing. "Aaaaand…there we go," she mumbled, tossing the pen into her bag as she ripped out the three pages from the notepad with her theory on them. "And…plastic bag…" she mumbled, passing the notepad back to Ren as she shoved the important pages inside a bag, then into her larger bag.
Ren, on the other hand, had his attention elsewhere whilst she was writing. "What's on your hand?" he asked. "Reminds me of a while back when I got cursed… Did you get cursed?"
Viviane frowned as she looked at her left hand. "No idea…" she mumbled, placing her other hand to her head as she leaned on Ren a little. "Whooooo boy…thatsh dizzying…" she mumbled, gently shaking her head a few times as she tried to stare at the odd golden tattoo again. "How would I know if it'sh a curshe?"
"Does it feel weird? Do you know if anyone would curse you? It doesn't look like a death curse, but…" he frowned, racking his brains for anything he might have seen to resemble it.
Viviane frowned. "It a…makesh me dizzy," she mumbled. "And…hmm…I don't think anyone would…try curshe me…? I haven't done anything THAT bad…wait…yeahh…I'm good."
"The fact you had to think about it worries me," Ren muttered. "Well, it's probably worth keeping an eye on, but I don't think we can do anything right now… Be careful, okay? Looks like something you'd find graffitied on a temple wall in Graecus..."
"Graecshush? Shoundsh like a…a…old thing," Viviane mumbled back.
"It's a pretty old place. Not as old as somewhere like As-Ur though," he added. "We should go to As-Ur one day."
His voice was somewhat distracted at this point, flipping through pages as if trying to make sense of this mess.
It was a pretty hopeless endeavour. Ren might have understood some of the theory behind it if he had a textbook with him, but in the first place, the handwriting of a drunk mermaid looked to be chicken scratch at best.
Viviane hummed as she looked over Ren's shoulder at her hand-writing. "Y'know, that's probably the neatest I've ever written," she mumbled. "Isn't it neat?"
Ren almost face-faulted. "You mean it's worse when you're sober?!" he spluttered.

During her long journey away from friends, Vivi sat in a tree in cat form in the west of a thick forest, licking her paw like any cat would. How she got here started all from when she had first left to find Vixie. The danger in her life, her mentor, and also the first guardian of her life. Her hunt had led her to go to previous towns she frequented as a child, looking through the slums for any signs of Vixie drinking away and gambling. Finally, she had come across a huge familiar violent town she stayed in the longest as a kid. The slums had been huge, and in the center had lain the only place that was wealthy and with proper people with rich lives. One night, where it all started, had been when she heard the pained cries of children not so far from her place in the outskirts of the wealthy part of the city. She had turned into a cat to sneak towards the sound out of curiosity, heading towards a nearby house and looking through a basement window that held the noise. There, children had been chained and held up as their bare backs were whipped by a drunken fat lard of an aristocrat. Memories had surged through her and to put it simple, she had fun torturing the fatass and taking the kids to safety and sheltering him with the disgusting man's money. All the children had ranged from kitsune's to cat demon's to beastkin. And that had been her first mission. From there, she had continued doing this, rescuing slave children and supplying the slums with money while keeping some for herself each mission. This had happened 5 times before Vivi had gotten cocky and tried to raid a big aristocrat party. It had resulted in being beaten to death by a group of monster bosses that were 'pets' of the rich people until she was saved by a hooded man who had later confessed to being used as a distraction while he raided the treasure room. The man had taken her in to train her better, sometimes sending her out of town and at one point, sending her to another country with a plague to save anyone who lived. This had been how she met her other teachers she stayed with for a month, the Plague doctors. They had taught her more in the art of medicine and even taught her how to raise the dead. She had grown more inspiration as she returned, wanting to follow more of Vixie's powers of hell. And now, she was here in an oni tropical like island, told specifically to research and nothing else. This seemed absurd, she should be helping, not researching and standing by. But it was her 2nd day there and all she saw was violence. But she understood more, that this seemed most common. She disliked it greatly, but she had to stay and learn.

"Um… Excuse me? Mr Ephialtes?"
A few minutes passed before Ren had seen fit to bother their host a little more, prodding at his arm as he slept.
"Hm? Why am I wet..? Sticky is understandable. Wet is new. Meh… What do you need, kid?" With a snort, the large man rose up to a sitting position.
"Ah, that's. Not really anything to do with me. I wouldn't know. Um," Ren coughed to himself. "Yes. Well, you know I told you about my friend? We were about to set out to look for him soon. Well, I was about to tell everyone we should, but I don't know anything about this island at all… I was wondering if I could pick your brains about it."
"I can give you a general idea of sorts as to where certain things are. I know that the capital is somewhere to the east. There are a couple small settlements in the north. One settlement is to the far south. One is directly below us a small ways. I know the most about that, since it is the most popular area for those not considered important to our race and it is where I was born. There is a forest a little bit east of the center. I believe there are some fairies there. There is also some sort of settlement built on the ocean in the southwest. They have some parts floating and some parts stuck into the ocean bottom. Out of all these places, I have no clue where your friend could be. The vast majority have their own jails, and I am certain that I missed a few places too."
Ren nodded thoughtfully as the sort-of-giant recited off what he knew.
"Hm. Out of curiosity, just in case Viviane is hungry and still drunk… What do they do to thieves in the capital?" he asked.
"If they get caught? Public execution in some form or fashion. Whatever would entertain our leaders the most that day. The wronged party can make a request as well."
"I'm having flashbacks to gladiatorial games."
"Ah, yes. Those are the most popular. Whenever a warrior brings back an interesting beast or we have multiple criminals that day, they put them in a pit surrounded by raised rows of people and force them to fight to the death. But we do that everywhere. So. If nothing else, our rules are simple and static across the land. Not that I agree with them much."
"Kinda creepy," Ren agreed, shuddering. "So the other settlements are kind of around the edges? There's not one up the mountain, is there?"
"There is a community living inside the mountain. But I wouldn't call it a settlement. They set up that place strangely from what I hear. Out front, the path leads to a portal room that takes you inside the top. From there you go down, heading deeper inside."
"Ah, that's convenient. If anything, it'll show us a pretty broad view of the island, right?" he nodded. "I think we'll head there first."
"You don't actually see the outside. As I said, you are transported to the inside of the top. There is a way out of there, I just don't know how."
Ren nodded slowly. "Hm. Well, it's still worth an explore, right?"
He was going to find a way out of there, of course. He had nothing if not a blatant disregard for rules that way.
"Alright, thanks. Is there anything we can get for you in return while we're out?" he asked, as if checking if there were any groceries to grab.
"Any seeds for fruits, berries, and grains would be nice. Seeds in general are good."
"Will do. I kind of want to see what you can make with mountain fruit," he smiled. "N-not that I can drink it."

It was a little while later that Ren finally managed to gather up the remainder of the loose party in one place, and the run-around had left him in dire need of yet another nap, but frankly, they'd burned enough daylight today already.
"Okay," he let out a long sigh, trying to work things out in his head. "There are a couple places Kheire could be, so we'll need to split up. Viviane, Akio, would you two mind scouting around the edge of the island? There are a couple of settlements that we should probably check out. I was going to head up the mountain to see what we could see up there, if nobody has any objections."
Miki perked up, "I made a few rounds past Ephialtes' land and there's not much beyond one small camp. If you guys find the camper you can probably kill them."
Ren raised an eyebrow and pulled a concerned expression, as if to silently ask whether Akio and Viviane could kill much out here alone, but said nothing. In the first place, there were too many problems with raising that concern, so instead he opted to suggest, "Maybe don't kill anyone if you can help it." Taking Kheire's map, he sketched out the general area where Ephialtes had said there were settlements, and held it out to Viviane. "You can't fly, so keep hold of this. We can't have you getting lost."
Viviane was a…yeah, still drunk. Perking her head up when she was offered a map, she glanced over it, humming as she shook her head. "Whatsh…up?" she asked, holding the map upside down as she squinted at it.
"That's down. Just drop by those places, and then meet up in the capital once we're done, okay?"
"If you do get lost we'll know you weren't capable enough to begin with so it's your fault." Miki deadpanned.
"Miki, that's cruel! In the first place, wouldn't it have been my fault for wasting our only map on someone who couldn't read it?" Ren exclaimed.
He responded with his best unimpressed look.
Viviane shook her head as she tried to keep up with the convo. "Capital…capital…" she mumbled, staring at the map before she took out a pen and made a star mark around it.
Ah. Yep, muttered Ren mentally. Just graffiti on our only map. Sure.
Well, as long as it was useful, he couldn't complain out loud. Just…
"Whatever you do," he said slowly and firmly, "please, don't doodle on it. Just mark anything important. Do not draw cats or dinosaurs. Please."
Viviane glanced up and puffed her cheeks at Ren, putting her pen away. "But…catsh…dinoshawsh…" she mumbled, pouting at the shorter boy.
"We really need that map. Do it on a different map. That we don't need."
Viviane grumbled and sat back, crossing her arms as she continued to puff her cheeks and look annoyed.
For a brief instant, the boy shot Akio a silent apologetic glance, and then did a quick stretch.
"Alright! Settlements, mountain," he summarised, pointing at the angel and the… fish, and then at himself. His stance became slightly meek as he looked to Miki and Val almost pleadingly.
Miki nodded, "It seems fine. Drink more water Miss Viviane."
"Greeaaat idea," she replied to Miki, reaching for the nearest jar and chugging down its contents before coughing harshly. "That water burnt…"
She then proceeded to pass out from the exceedingly high alcohol content in the not-water. Silly her.

 

[Ornifex]

The morning after the Ankhora had been defeated, it was very apparent that Yui had a new monument to look at outside of his room, an idol standing to his accomplishments last night.

Faluzure had been more than a little embarrassed at his own shortcomings, but nonetheless had proudly thrown a feast in his son's honour.

As such, it was already approaching noon once Yui actually woke up.


His head was pounding the moment he opened his eyes. What he had pulled of yesterday was far from what he could normally do, and as consequence of this he was suffering from a migraine.

The blade, Cadis, was by his bedside. Faluzure had attempted to place it back in the throne, but it seemed like Yui had already become its designated wielder, and nobody else seemed to be able to pick it up without slicing their hands open.


"Ah hell." He rubbed his temples as he sat up. "What time is it?" Yui looked around the room. Scanning each corner carefully to see if he was in another one of those 'dreams'. If you could even call them dreams.

Fortunately, everything seemed to be quite real, including the midday sunlight (as much as calling the interior lighting of hell "sunlight" meant) coming through the windows.


He'd grunt as he left the bed, grabbing Cadis. "Shit..too fast." He basked in the 'sunlight' of hell before walking to the dining hall.

There, he found Faluzure and Dia chatting lightheartedly at the breakfast table, the former noticing him first.

"Ah, the hero of the hour! Come in, have a seat. Anything you'd like?" he greeted.


"Anything works, I'm just tired and in pain." Yui sat next to Dia.

Faluzure bellowed with laughter. "What's the matter, drink too much wine last night?" he grinned. "Some bread for the 72nd, if you would!"

The servants bowed and made their way down to the kitchens.

"Is the Ankhora really dead?" Dia asked.

"Dead is a strong word," Faluzure explained. "It's not really alive in the conventional sense, so calling it dead is a stretch. In short, it's basically out of energy. Should take it a few centuries to wake up again. What I'm more concerned about is how Kurax figured out how to wake it up."

"It's Kurax father."

"Exactly. Without that magic sword he got from who knows where, he's weaker than I am considerably. So how in the world was he strong enough to wake up something that I wouldn't be able to if I tried?"

"It's. Kurax. I have no damn clue on how he did it but it's out of the way for now."

"True enough," Faluzure acknowledged. "I'm still going to find out how the hell one person could threaten an entire kingdom so heavily in a few minutes."

"Any ideas Dia?" Yui sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What're we going to do anyway Father?"

"I have clean-up to do," he admitted. "You can help if you like, but I figure you're probably more interested in other prospects right now."

"Like resting, finding more out about this damned sword and a few other things but I suppose I could try to help you a bit first."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "It's just filling out papers and delegating tasks to the townspeople. Go out and do something interesting," he offered.

"I'd much rather help my father with his people first. And the clean-up."

"They're one and the same. All I'm doing is ordering where to put money to fix damages. Kurax would do it normally, but with current circumstances, it looks like it's my job. Either way, it's really a one-person thing. You're welcome to it if you want, but…"

"I said I am want to and that is my final decision." Yui huffed, rising to a stand.

"If you wish. The paperwork is on Kurax's old desk."

"Yessir." He had rushed off to retrieve the papers for his father. His grip was tight on Cadis, so much so that it was beginning to hurt his hand.

"Ah, thank you," Faluzure nodded at the stack is was probably about a foot tall, if not more. "All of this needs filling out. Want to split it?"

"If you want. I just want to get it done." Yui swiped the first paper off the stack and eyed it closely.

It was titled REINQUISITION OF MANPOWER, BY ORDER OF THE KING, and it seemed like to be an order that would put employment in the working sector on hold to rebuild instead. There were boxes to decide all kinds of details, like hours, pay, and additional details like accommodation.

"Would you like to handle this one or should I father?" He held the paper out to him, resting Cadis down and taking another paper.

"What are you looking at? Oh, workforce? Go ahead if you'd like. It's good leadership practice."

The second page wasn't titled, but… Oh, the form seemed to be in half a dozen parts. Fun.


He took the first paper and laid it on top of the second. "Pen please." He wasn't able to calm his mind after what happened. And more importantly he could not forget about this woman that kept appearing in his 'dreams'. But Yui needed to focus on the task at hand, repairing the damages caused.

Faluzure, however…

"Something bothering you, Yui?" he asked, handing a pen over.

"Huh? Oh..no it's nothing. I'm fine sir." He took the pen and began filling out the paper. At this point his hand started to get shaky. He paused, took a deep breath and starting filling it out once more.

"'Sir'?" he echoed, chuckling. "Boarding school really got to you, huh? Relax. You're at home now. Are you sure you don't want some fresh air to get those nerves out of your system?"

"I said I'm fine. Just focus on the papers for now, please. I promise to you I'm alright father."

"As long as you're sure. Tell me if anything comes up, okay? Cadis can be a real strain."

"I figured." He finished the first paper. "Where do I put this, father?"

"Leave it in a different pile. We'll deal with it later," he instructed, filling out his own. "So. The 72nd?"

"Mmhm." Yui placed the paper aside, filling out the second paper. "Why do you ask about it?"

"I was wondering how you got that title without a full-blown military assault. Irius is weak, but she's known for her ridiculously large military."

"I killed her escorts I guess you could say and then beat her fairly in a duel."

"Well, that's certainly one way to do it. Have you ever commanded an army before?"

"No, I have not. Nor do I think I could ever do it."

"I might have to teach you. When the time comes to take my throne, I want you to defeat me at my best," he mused.

"Who said I was going to need to take it, father? Are you implying you want me to murder you in cold blood for a throne?"

"You didn't kill Irius, did you? I just want to see you become a better king than me. That's all I could ever ask for."

"Having a war would imply many innocent men and women being killed for a throne. I refuse to do that. Let alone kill you should I see it fit. It's just stupid that way do you understand?"

"I understand well enough, but the way I see it isn't quite the same," Faluzure explained. "A king's throne is their very identity. A king does not exist to serve his country, he exists to lead it. In other words, the country exists to serve the king. That is why the king must be a greater man than any in the kingdom, and that is why his subjects should be glad, no, proud to die for their country."

"Yes but I do not see it as that. I understand that one must lead but I do not want them to throw their lives away to protect me. Some, if not most have families that would mourn over their loss just as I would you. To me they're people not pawns on a chessboard."

"Of course they're people. And I don't doubt that their loss would be mourned. There are many worthless things in this world, but there are no pointless things. But you also have to understand that it is a soldier's job to fight and die. This is what they chose. They have accepted a fate that may well come all too soon. They kill and they are killed. Perhaps in the next life, when war is over and we've moved past petty sins, then they won't have to. But for now, they embrace this world and use its own workings to push it to become better, wouldn't you say?"

"I do not care. I'd rather fight you like a proper man with my own skill against yours. That isn't by means of using soldiers."

"I won't argue with that. But my skills include commanding my golems. If you think you can slay them all when the time comes, you are very welcome to take me on yourself."

"I'd be more than happy too. Oh, a few years back when I was at the school I got a core, not too cool of a core but I'm able to use fire and ice in my right arm. I mean, it's another ability I can use to my advantage in the future yeah, father?"

"Fire and ice? Polar opposites? That sounds like a very sophisticated core indeed. It should come in handy."

"Father, I need to talk with you about something important. We can let the papers be handled by Hestre for now if you'd like."

"Of course. I'll send for her. What is it?" he asked.

"I keep seeing this woman in my 'dreams' I guess you could say." Yui threw up quotes with his hands just to emphasize. "She said one her names is Swan or whatever. And quite frankly, father, I am upset with this."

"Oh? In what sense? Does she irritate you?"

"The fact I do not know who she is but yet she keeps popping up? The fact I have no clue what she even is besides what my guess is a demon. The damned fact I do not know if she could possibly want to even hurt me?"

"Don't worry about it unless she shows up in the real world. After all, it might well have been just a dream," Faluzure suggested.

"It's still scary nonetheless."

"Nightmares can be. All you can do is sit back and ignore them until they come true, and when they do," he advised, "crush them."

"Alright." He let out a long, tired sigh. "I might take Dia to check on the people. Sorry for cutting it so short with you."

"Don't worry about it at all. I can't tie you down." he said.


Yui let out a decently loud shout as he called for Dia. "Dia! Come on we got work to do!"

Dia made her way down a staircase in a bit of a hurry. "What's going on?"

"We're doing work for the kingdom after, well ya know, Kurax happened. Him and the Ankhora."

"Work?" she echoed. "What sort?"

"Just making sure everyone is okay and the like. Nothing too hard for you. At least I don't think it is."

"I should be alright, yeah. Just check on everyone, see what they need, take a body count?"

"And don't let your pride get in the way." He pat her head. As he was walking out he took Cadis with him, like always, keeping an ironclad grip on it.

"Don't you want a scabbard for that?" a voice asked from behind.

"Just a little bit yeah." Funnily enough, Yui hadn't even noticed he was holding Cadis by the blade, let alone causing it to bleed.

Hestre shook her head, handing over a large metal sheath. "Keep this with you. It's dormant right now, but it will do its job."

"Thanks Hestre." He wiped all the blood onto his pants and slid Cadis in. "I really hope everything is okay in that crazy noisy bizarre town."

"Come again?" Hestre asked. "Actually, I'm not sure I want to know. You and Lady Dia are going to go out to support the citizens?"

"Mmhm, it's the best thing we can do besides sitting around filling out papers. Don't you think?"

"It's true that it would raise morale," she agreed, "but there is the more pertinent matter of that blade as well."

"A god damn sword giving me nightmares can wait. I'd rather help fix my place of residence for now."

"If you insist," Hestre said, bowed, and left.

"Dia. Come on." Yui beckoned for the small girl to follow and walked outside.

"R-right."


It was around eight or nine hours before the pair finally caught a break.

Dia wiped a thin layer of sweat from her forehead. "We never have disasters back at the Ironlands. I don't even have to go to other kingdoms. Are all the other realms like this…?"

"Pffft. Of course not Dia. Maybe, you just aren't cut out for physical work. You do look a little weak now that I think about it."

"E-excuse you! Just because I'm a little scrawny, doesn't make me weak!"

"Maybe not weak in the head."

She puffed up her cheeks and glared. "I'm a really good general, you know!"

"Yeah, that's mental strength hun. I doubt you could even last a few rounds sparring with me if you tried hard enough. And that's me, I'm pretty fucking weak."

"I can always use Aureate Break."

"And I can use Ankhora break. Tell me, Dia, have you ever put your whatever the hell it's called to sleep?"

"What do you mean?"

"Crimson, sorry, I just happened to get names mixed up. But please do tell. Have you ever put the beast of pride back to sleep?"

"Do you think there is one?" she asked, as if she'd never considered it.

"Most likely yeah. I mean why would they have one just for wrath? I wouldn't put it past me to guess there's one for all of the main sins."

"Yeah, that's true…" she nodded. "I have no idea where we'd find it, though…"

"Me either, probably near the area where your castle is."

She shook her head. "I'd be a lot stronger if it were. We'd probably have to find the court of the strongest Pride demon."

"Then let's do that you knucklehead."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? The strongest Pride is the 7th King, you know."

"Why would it be bad? We're just asking them some things. Unless you intend to have a fight."

"I don't, but… Well, they're so full of themselves it's legendary. They probably wouldn't even see fit to look at us."

"And I'd be more than happy to talk them into their goddamn place. I did it with you didn't I?"

"I'm not the same as that guy! At all!" she insisted.

"I humiliated you. I'll humiliate him. Now let's go get Hestre and we'll be off."

Dia pulled a defeated face, and then went off to find her former lady-in-waiting.

"Guess I went a little too far that time."


Hestre had shown the way to a portal to arrive at the Fields of the Diamond Sky, supposedly the realm of the 7th King. It looked practically idyllic by the standards of hell; the kind of place it was easy to envision selling one's soul to reach. The ceiling of the cavern was immensely high and covered completely in glowing sapphire, and the grass was so green it was as if it were a freshly-ripened fruit. A cool breeze passed by every once in a while, and it felt homely even despite the fact that Yui hadn't grown up anywhere like this. Even Hestre seemed a little more relaxed.

Dia, on the other hand, seemed tenser than ever.

"What's wrong Dia? Do you not like this place?"

"I grew up here," she said simply. "I'll be fine."

"Okay. You can lead the way then."

"Ah. Uh." She looked around anxiously, and then settled on a path. "T-this way…"

Before long, the trio reached a titanically huge set of golden gates, stretching up so high that it was impossible to see the top. In front of these gates, Yui could count hundreds of guards in full plate golden armour, each with two in silver besides them.

"Wow, I've seen pride. But this right here, this isn't pride at all. It's arrogance and pride mixed together making a nice concoction of stupidity. My word you all look like freshly smelted bars of metal."

None of the guards said a word, not even batting an eye under their helmets. One stepped forward.

"These are the gates of Gamlann. State your intent or leave."

"We wanna ask some questions and have a glass of water my dude."

"You seek an audience with the Seventh on whose authority?"

"Mine. We've got a concerning order to discuss the Seventh."

"Identify yourself."

"Yui Cadis Raizel. Seventy-second."

The guards parted, a shout to open the gate.

A rumbling reverberated through the earth as the golden wall cracked open to reveal what was practically an entire city of ivory and metal.

This was quite a palace.

"The throne room is at the very end." the guard directed him.

"Right. Come on then you two." He held Dia's hand closely as he walked onwards. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I've been worried from the beginning," she shook her head. "I'm not sure at all. I think we're more likely to not be."

"Alright, but if something bothers you tell me okay?"

"Yeah."


The throne room in question was in sight soon enough. Well, to call it a room was a stretch.

An enormous diamond tree, spiralling up to the heavens, stood tall at the end of the palace-city, a set of glass stairs leading up to it.

"Well that's certainly one hell of a way to make something flashy." Yui was still holding Cadis at this point, even inside of the throne room. He couldn't let it go.

The hall inside was vast, but the stairs stopped shortly. There were gold-clad guards everywhere… No, armour golems?

And on a throne elevated far above the ground lounged a young man, only a few years old than Yui, with long blonde hair, white robes, and glowing golden eyes that didn't even look at the trio.

"Arcturial Moadistr Irius," he introduced himself simply. "For those too ignorant to know it. It's been a long time, Dia. I don't think I ever repealed your exile, did I?"

"Hey buster brown skin, we're here to discuss something more important than an exile."

Once again, he didn't even look down. "Which one of the pair you've brought with you is the rabble, little sister?"

Dia didn't say anything for a moment, having to force out the words. "H-Hestre. The m-maid."

"Then take her with you as you remove yourself."

"Yes, brother."

She took Dia, leaving the building entirely without looking up from her feet for an instant.

"And that leaves…?" he asked, leaving the statement hanging in the air.

"A guy that won't put up with bullshit. We need to talk about those beasts or what not. If you don't know what I'm talking about well, think of the Ankhora yeah, but for pride."

"You refer to the Arenikral," he said dryly, apparently not paying enough attention. "I don't concern myself with vermin."

"The Ankhora awoke recently and I have reason to believe the Arenikral may do so too. Unless you want to die along with the entire kingdom I suggest you show the slightest bit of concern."

Arcturial did not show the slightest bit of concern. "It's hardly my problem if a rat wakes up in a wine cellar now, is it."

"It is if it kills innocent people."

"You've lost me."

"What if you die from a mistake? Surely your pride would suffer being killed by a rat."

Arcturial was silent for a moment. Perhaps he was mulling it over.

"...Mistake?" he echoed darkly.

Ah. He wasn't.

The air temperature suddenly seemed to shoot up. A prickling of heat danced against Yui's skin, the wall of gold behind the Seventh beginning to glow, but he still didn't look at him.

"Are you, 72nd King, implying that I, Arcturial Moadistr Irius, would make a mistake?"

"I'll imply anyone would make a mistake. You're a cocky little shit that needs to care a bit more over a giant fucking beast able to destroy a place like this. I have a low tolerance for bastards like you. So either show some concern or die for being stupid and careless."

A hand made its way to the man's face. The Seventh King began to convulse madly with laughter, practically shaking the room with it.


And then he stopped.

His face was calm.

He stood up.

He still did not look at Yui.

"I detest ignorance. But I detest the sight of lowlife blood even more."

He snapped his fingers.

"Guards. I leave this matter in your hands."

He turned to leave, the golden knight-golems arming themselves with crystal spears instantly.

"I dislike this hostility and take it as a threat. Please call them off or else I will have to defend myself in a proper manner. I am being as civil as possible with you."

Arcturial had already gone before Yui was even finished, and the metal soldiers advanced at a walking pace towards him.

Yui sighed. "Please tell me these idiots aren't sentient."

They were halfway before dashing forward. The only side he wasn't being rushed at was directly behind him, giving him a free run to the door.

He reluctantly turned and walked out the door. He doesn't really have any other choice.

The moment he turned to leave, the golems seemed to simply forget he was there and returned to their respective posts.

Dia and Hestre were stood at the bottom of the stairs, the former looking like she was a veteran having a war flashback.

Hestre frowned. "Negotiations fell apart, I take it?"

"Cocky bitch didn't choose to listen. Expected from someone with an ego like his."

She shook her head. "What are we going to do, then?"

"Make them realize this is a serious situation. Hestre, what can you tell me about planting explosives?"

"Very little. I am, first and foremost, a mage. But do you think it is wise to try and terrorise the realm of that man?"

"Of course it's a wise idea! We either do that or wage war with the 7th."

"Neither of those strike me as particularly wise." the maid muttered. "Do we not have any options that don't involve potentially harming civilians?"

"Who said we have to harm civilians? I was thinking about just making a point to him directly. If you really want we can write him a very concerning letter."

"Don't get on my brother's bad side," warned Dia frantically. "Just don't. He's way too strong. He could kill us all without even thinking about it."

"Killing me will result in a war being waged. And the boarding school would not take it lightly I do not think so. After all, pretty sure I am a registered student still."

"My brother has never lost a single war. No, worse than that, he's won all of them in a single night," she protested. "Don't use violence, I beg you."

"Dia, these teachers are not to be taken lightly at all. I think you underestimate just how strong they are. That is, if he kills me."

"He killed the last king here instantly when he was badmouthed."

"I badmouthed him. I only almost got escorted before I decided to leave."

Dia shook her head. "In his whole life, my brother has never killed a fly. It's not because he's kind. It's because if you're not at a certain level of power, he doesn't think you're even worthy to be killed by him, let alone looked at. That's the reason he has guards, so he can order the death of someone talking to him if they don't prove they're any better than a fly."

"Well I mean, he's wrong. To merely judge someone why what they look or sound like is wrong. That's hypocritical of me to say but we're demons so it's fine."

"I don't know how he does it. All I know is that we're absolutely going to die if we prove ourselves worthy of being killed by him."

"Well yeah, that's why we gotta get stronger Diadoo."

"I don't know how. I've never seen him have trouble with anything. I don't even know if he has limits."

"That's why. You have. To train. Dia."

"Is any amount of training going to make us strong enough?"

"It's going to be with my father. We'll be fine. I mean just look at him. He looks pretty strong yeah?"

"Faluzure is really powerful, but I don't think even he stands a chance against my brother…" she murmured.

Hestre shook her head. "Curse me for saying so, but Lady Dia is in despair. Trying to convince her is a lost cause, milord."

"Dia, Hestre will help us too. We're gonna beef up and beat his ass."

"If you'll forgive me, I did actually take note of his power while we were in there."

"Speak."

"That man is at the absolute limits that a demon can be in terms of raw strength. He is unlike anything I have ever seen from an Under King. However, that power alone would not be enough to wipe out entire armies overnight. He must have some kind of weapon he uses to do it."

"Ohhhh no. Don't tell me it's like Cadis."

"It's not out of the realm of possibility, but that would imply he already drained the… what was it? The Arenikral."

"I believe so. He seemed to not care about it at all."

"I was under the impression that he thought he was stronger than it."

"Hmm. We need to head back. Right now."

Hestre raised an eyebrow. "Head back? You mean to Faluzure?"

"Yes, what else would I mean you busty maid. You think I want to just head back to the gate and rot there? Of course not. Use some common sense Hestre, you're smart so it shouldn't be that hard."

An aura of hostility was expanding while he spoke.

"My lord?" she smiled sweetly. "You should probably know that any further comments about my chest will lead to an immediate termination of my contract."

"I'm not exactly in the mood right now and it was a way to vent. I'm sorry, but honestly." Yui whispered. "Stop having such big tits."

"We're. Going. To Faluzure's. Come. On. My. Lord." A very strained smile was maintained, poison behind gritted teeth.

"Yeah yeah."


They were at the palace once again soon enough to find one very, very done Faluzure. He was clearly awake, but he had his head on a desk, staring catatonically at the stack of papers.


"Ayyyye pops! Oh boy do I have news for you! We gotta discuss this shit in private because wooohoooo I might've pissed off the wrong person."

"Pissed someone off?" Apparently that was much more interesting than paperwork, enough so to revive the man instantly.

"Get the alcohol we got drinking to do!"

"Sounds good to me!"


Before they knew it, the four were in the dining halls again, all manner of wines and beers laid out to sample.


"Right so," Yui belched a little. It's what alcohol does to him. "I was in the 7ths place yeah. And da little bastard was eh cocky son-of-eh-bitch. Talking all great n' shit. Really pissed me theh fuck off. Right anyways straight to the points I almost got my damn body mutilated from these like giant dudes! And even better was Hestre! I think I pithed her off." Yui raised both his arms up, tipping over and spilling beer everywhere.

"I'm right here." Hestre muttered.

"Wait wait wait wait," Faluzure said. "So… Thish guy. He's talking shit. An' you tell 'im he'sh talkin' shit. An' he tries killin' ya? Tha's some bad hoshpitality."

Yui rose, grabbing a bottle of wine and began chugging it. "Mmhm! And it's jhust him who orda' it! He didn't even man up and schlap me."

"You're lucky he didn't," Hestre muttered.

"Tha's unacceptable. 'E let's ya in an' won' e'en fight'cha? Coward!"


Yui's head slammed against the table from a standing position. His moments of silence were due to him about to pass out. "I'm tired. Hestre is it okay if I just sleep right here?"

"Don't ask me. You give the orders."

"I'm ashking youuu for advice Heshtre." He tumbled down to the floor. Yep, Yui had passed out from drinking too much.


A wooden chair in a silver-coloured void.

Another, opposite.

Yui finally saw the swan from the front. Given her trenchcoat, a surprising amount of flesh was bared.

"So here you are again." she observed. "You keep coming back here. Why?"

"Do you think I have a choice over it? Because if you do well I hate to break it to you but I don't. Quite frankly I want it to stop."

She shook her head. "Nobody comes here unless they want to. You seem to be wishing for something."

"Well, yeah. I guess you could say I am. But that doesn't mean I like coming here or even want to."

"You might think that at first," she admitted. "The truth is that this place holds the answer to your prayers and wishes. No, this place is your prayer and your wish. The prayers and wishes of each and every Cardinal. Yourself included."

"Every Cardinal?" A puzzled look grew on the boy's face as he stared at her with the intent for more knowledge on what she just told him.

"That sword of yours, Cadis. It is a counterpart to the Ankhora, the Cardinal Beast of Wrath. As such, it is the Cardinal's Blade of Wrath," she explained. "And only a Cardinal can wield it."

"What about the pride thingy or whatever. What about that Cardinal? Can you tell me anything about it?"

"Do you mean the Arenikral? Or do you perhaps mean the Cardinal's Blade of Pride?"

"Both. I want all the information you can give me."

She smirked, leaning forward, a whisper in Yui's ear.

"The Arenikral is already awake. It has been for decades. But it doesn't feel fury as the Ankhora did. It has no desire to destroy that which does not threaten its pride."

His eyes widened as he came to the sudden realization of something. "What can you tell me about Cadis itself?"

"The Cardinal's Blade of Wrath?" she smiled. "There's little to tell. It's ancient. It was forged to absorb the power of the Ankhora."

"Yeah yeah I got that but what can it do exactly?"

"It can intensify your anger. It can channel it. If you were to wish it so, it could inspire anger in others. If you were a certain Silver someone, it could even grant any desire you pleased born of that anger."

"How many Cardinals are there? And what ones are even awake?"

"There are seven Cardinals for seven swords for seven beasts. Pride, Greed, and Lust are awake. Wrath, Gluttony, and Envy are sealed. Sloth sleeps of its own accord."

"What position is the Cardinal of Greed in? I mean, who exactly wields it?"

"The only name I care about is 'Cardinal'. I don't care enough to remember what they called themselves. The one who lives presently has yet to claim the blade just yet. Satesfachten… It has yet to call out. But it will. It is simply not in its nature."

"What about Lust?"

"Solet has claimed a wielder already. The Cardinal of Lust has yet to learn the extent of their powers, but it is in their nature to be self-indulgent. It always is."

"Is that all you can tell me for now?"

"That is all there is to know," the swan said simply. "The rest is minutiae. I could hardly care less."

"What about yourself?"

She smiled. "I am not a Cardinal."

"And? I want to know more about you."

"Oh, you will. Eventually. All you need to know for now is that I am all but a guide for you. You have a greater destiny. All I am here to provide is a little... direction."

"Very funny. What can I currently do with Cadis? What am I limited to?"

"The Blade grows with its Cardinal. Your wrath can be expelled as you please, and amplified further. Perhaps, in time, you will fashion it some greater powers."

"Who, out of the Pride, Greed and Lust is the weakest currently? Who's gotten the sword most recently and the like."

"You are the one to have newly acquired your blade. Greed has yet to find theirs. But they will, soon enough."

"So that leaves Lust and Pride. I need to know, who is the best out of all the Cardinals currently."

"The one with the most natural strength is Pride. But the most dangerous to you is Lust. Other Cardinals can inspire more rage in you. But Lust and Sloth can quell it. And to the Cardinal of Wrath, that is the most dangerous power of all," she smirked.

"How can they quell it exactly?"

"How else? With bliss and restfulness and desire."

"So you're telling me Lust can seduce me to quell it?"

"Precisely."

"And how would Pride go about doing so?"

"Pride would not stoop so low. Pride would simply destroy everything you embody. Pride is proud for the singular reason that they have earned that right through unparalleled strength."

"Huh. Okay I think I'm done for now. Mind sending me back?"

"You can come and go at your behest," the swan said. "I will be here regardless."

"But how does one just wake up?"

"Like this."


With a snap of her fingers, Yui was dropped back into reality.


"Alright. Another 'dream'. Now I gotta do shit."

 

[Ornifex]

"Milord, are you ready?" Hestre called. "We're prepared."

"Mmhm." Yui responded in an almost bubbly mellow tone.

"Do you know where we're actually going?" Dia asked.

"Not myself. I was hoping Lord Raizel would have an idea," Hestre responded.

"We're trying to find the Cardinal of Lust. We do plan to get to your brother without as much violence as possible yeah?"

Dia nodded, but seemed confused. "Alright, but I still don't really get this. What exactly is a Cardinal of Lust anyway?"

"So you know how I wield Cadis yes? That makes me the Cardinal of Wrath. A Cardinal of Lust or any other sin is just the person the sword chose to accept."

"But what do the Cardinals actually do?" she asked.

"Wield the swords or some shit. I don't really know myself and I am one. But we really need to get going. Hey, Hestre, try your absolute hardest to get us to any kingdom of Lust or whatnot by any means possible please kay thanks."

"There are nine Lust kingdoms, my lord. Which one exactly? Is Cadis not conveniently drawn to its ilk or some such thing?"

"How the fuck would I know? Do you think is some JoJo's shit?"

"Some…?" she shook her head. "How did you even learn about this Cardinal business in the first place?"

"Nightmare dream place with a lady who calls herself Swan. Okay long story short I have no idea who she is but she got me a little information so that's all we need now let's go visit all nine until we get the right one."

"Could you not ask this nightmare woman for help here?"

"If you feel like knocking me out then sure I could. It's a way for you to get back at me anyways."

"I don't have any way of doing so," she pointed out, "and neither does Dia."

"Punch me right in the face Hestre."

"I would prefer to not. Let's just go in the direction you feel is the right way."

"That is not a good idea at all. See now I have to order you to punch me in the face and knock me out."

"It will not knock you out, my lord, it would just kill you," she sighed.

"Hnnnnnng then I'll do it myself."

"That is very ill-advised. If you injure yourself we'll have to wait for your recovery before leaving."

Yui walloped himself directly in the nose. "This is the way we gotta do it for answers."


The moment before his fist actually connected, however, he was transported to that silvery void again.

"You're back," a certain someone observed.

"Yeah where's the Cardinal of Lust? I need the location for research purposes."

"And not just for mere deviance?" she chuckled. "Be careful. As I told you before, Lust has the advantage over Wrath. If you truly wish to go there, then Cadis shall show you the way to its sibling."

"Alright thanks send me back."

"You can come and go yourself, you know."

"How do?"

"Simply will yourself."

"Okay so punch myself in the nose again." Yui, once more, walloped himself in the nose.


He returned with the idea that maybe punching himself was not the way to go, but it worked.

"My lord? Are you alright?" Hestre asked. "Why did you do that?"

"For answers of course. The Swan lady whatever she is said that Cadis will show us the way. How exactly I do not know but it's worth a shot."

Hestre nodded slowly. "I heard something about the swords being capable of tracing the others. Hence my comment earlier. It's definitely something we could try."

Yui drew Cadis and stared at it for a good minute. "Alright magical sword thing show me where the Cardinal of Lust is or something I don't know."

It seemed the very act of staring at it was carving something into Yui's mind, six points all around him.

One of them, far off in the distance… Yes, that was what he was looking for.

"That way. We gotta go that way." He pointed and began walking.

Hestre looked like she was about to speak, but she and Dia said nothing, following suit.

"What are we going to do if they see you coming?" asked Dia.

"Be calm and talk nicely. And if they don't talk nicely then we'll burn down the entire area. Then follow with the rape and pillaging of their people."

"Y-you're kidding, right?"

"I will commit mass genocide if I see so fit. So, no, I am not kidding at all."

Hestre muttered something about that being "a demon for you".


It was hardly all that long before the destination was on the horizon, but it wasn't what Yui had expected at all.

An Eastern, Byzantine-looking castle, with no city around it.

"Well shit. Let's go then?" He sheathed Cadis and marched onwards. "Uhhhh hold on. Where do we even go in?"

Hestre pointed to a large set of door, fashioned from some kind of purple metal, wide open.

"I'd suggest we start there."

"Okaaaay. Hestre since you can apparently kill me in one punch you take lead."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that wise? Intruding on a palace of an Under King is a concerning offense considering I am not one, let alone a Cardinal…"

"Do you want me to die? Or possibly die? Hestre it's fine, if you want I'll walk right next to you."

"Please do. My leading make it seem as if I am the one intruding," she explained. "If it is a fellow Cardinal, it might be forgiven."

The interior seemed to be deliberately grand and oversized, with fine art painted onto the ceiling; familiar scenes from history across the realms: the Garden of Eden, How Mordred Was Slain By Arthur, even a tapestry to illustrate some of the events of the Kurukshetra War.

Dia looked around in wonder. "Wow. I've never seen anything like these," she breathed. "What are they?"

"What do they look like Dia?" Yui coughed, staring directly up.

"Well… that one looks like how I imagine the Silver King to be… but he seems really hurt. Is it possible to harm the Silver King?"

"I'd say so. Yeah. We need to hurry though."

She nodded. "Good idea. This way, right?"

Another large set of closed doors at the end of the room stood out, and seemed to open simply because the trio was walking towards them.


Oh? Are you that interested in me?

Without warning, a voice shot through Yui's head.

Well, I suppose I could entertain you for a little while… If you can get to me with your wits about you, I'll consider hearing you out.

"Oh don't tell me you're the Cardinal of Lust."

Surprised, little boy? We'll see if you're so disgusted when you get here. Until then, keep yourself sane, won't you?

"Not really, I just expected more. But besides that, I need help."

Ooh, a challenger with an agenda. I'm intrigued. Perhaps I'll hear allll about your troubles when you get to me. If you ever do.

The presence seemed to vanish as the three stepped into the corridor.

This hallway, too, looked practically Sistinean, but there was something off about it unlike the first room. It was dimmer, but that wasn't it. The paintings on the wall seemed subtly different in motif.

The Birth of Venus, Lilith, an impression of Astarte.

Yes, something was definitely different in here.

"Hestre, Dia, do you recognize any of these?"

Hestre looked them over, noting some of them as she glanced back and forth. "There is Hecate. That's Ishtar. That's Eros. All deities. Except for Lilith, but that's a conversation for another time. Very few, however, have direct overlap in terms of origin. When they do, it seems to be those from Graecus. I'm surprised to find an impression of a goddess of As-Ur out here, though..."

"Well, where should we go now?"

"To the end of the hallway, I suppose. There seems to be a room of some kind there."

"Then let's go." Yui was beginning to feel uneasy. The dimly lit room. The paintings. He didn't exactly feel comfortable.

The hallway expanded out into another hall, some kind of lavender-coloured smoke drifting lazily across the floor, up to Yui's knees.

"What is this?" muttered Dia. "It looks like it's coming in through the brickwork…"

"Eh?"

It looked like she was right. Cracks… No, holes made in the walls pumped through the strange-looking smoke, slowly rising bit by bit.

"Is that...normal?"

"It's at least by design," Hestre assessed. "I suspect it's… some sort of incense…"

"I remember," whispered Dia. "Incubi and succubi can only use Velvet Break in someone's dreams. They must be trying to put us to sleep."

"Hold breath then? What the actual hell should we do?"

"I have no idea how long it'll be before we reach the Cardinal. If we faint from holding our breath too long, then it was pointless anyway," pointed out Hestre. "We just have to advance as quickly as we can."

A few giggles echoed from the darkest corners of the room, causing Dia to jump and Hestre's eyes to dart about.

"As quickly as we can," she repeated.

Yui sighed. "Hestre, do you have any qualms if I go into Crimson Break?"

"No, but I wonder if that's something you want to save up. Doesn't it have a cost?"
"It's helping us dart to the end of this god damn corridor. As quickly as possible." Yui started jogging along.

"If you think you won't need it later, by all means," she agreed.

"Oh, why would you leave?" questioned a smooth voice.

"You don't want to do that," suggested a sweet one.

Hestre sighed. "Should I hold them off, my lord?"

"Just run. Okay?" Yui picked up his pace to what would now be a sprint.

The doors ahead once again opened, more smoke pouring out until it was up to his hips.

The imagery in this room was much more severe than in the last ones. In fact, these walls were patterned with taboo, borderline obscene paintings and pictures that went better undescribed if only for decency's sake.

"Oh for fuck's sake. Look if you guys want to rape me you could at least knock me out physically."

"Oh, we will," a third voice purred. "Just not from touching you. Getting our hands dirty before we've even started is bad form, you know."

"Wow that's really sad. Now I don't even feel like getting raped just because of that." He scoffed, looking at the walls.

Out of one stepped a tall woman, clad in nothing but a little bit of leather over the bare minimum, brandishing long nails with a smirk. "Give it time," she said, her eyes emitting some sort of ethereal glow.

"Oh that's great. That's just fucking nice. Real amazing."

"Hm. I expected a little more enthusiasm," she muttered glumly. "You two resist well for small fry."

"What are you playing at?" Dia demanded. "Are you looking for a fight or what?"

"Something like that."

Two more women, similarly dressed, seemed to materialise at either side of Yui.

"Oh my, a Cardinal," one grinned.

"Here to see the mistress?" the other asked.

"Uhhhhh yeah. But not for any reason you'd suspect. Trust me. I'm uh...I'm gay!" Yui was lying completely through his teeth in hopes of getting them off his back.

"Oh no you don't," the first laughed. "The reason we're here and not the boys is because a certain someone could practically smell the straight on you. We're lust demons, boy-o. We have an intuition for this stuff."

"I promise to you I am gay. I just wanna have a casual talk without getting raped in my sleep."

"Can't we change your mind?" the third one asked, her eyes glowing as well.

"What's that supposed to mean, yoouuuuuu…" Dia started, but trailed off, her expression going a little slack.

"Could you not touch my uh...my friend? Look you can try to seduce and rape me all you want but don't do that to a little girl. C'mon now, even demons like you know better than that."

"I'll take that as an invitation." the succubus smirked, turning her gaze to Yui.

"Wasn't exactly one but alright. I'd really prefer you didn't but I did say you could."

It was like his brain had melted. His senses became irrelevant, his thoughts were numbed, his body instantly warm and comfortable. His limbs, his eyes, his mouth hardly even responded to his commands, half-heartedly at best, as befitting half-hearted commands.

"I...uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"That's it. Come on," she smiled.

"Oh alright." He followed, having no choice either way.

With the third succubus's eyes luring him towards the back of the room, Yui was vaguely aware of Dia being enraptured firmly by the first and led the same way. The second seemed to be about to get to work on Hestre, but she politely raised a hand in refusal and followed behind.

"Oh, don't be like that…" the demon cooed, but Hestre shook her head.

"Don't try. It's a waste of your energy."

Yui wasn't even counting how many doors he was led through before what felt like years had passed, and the succubus finally blinked.

Instantly, his senses came rushing back to him. His memories of the last few minutes were hazy, remembering only the demon's eyes, up until she had let him go.

Hestre tapped him on the shoulder. "It seems like a kind of system to stop guests finding their way through anywhere the Cardinal doesn't wish them to be," she observed. "I know how to leave should you wish it, but I don't know what else is here."

The succubi drew a curtain back to reveal a throne, a regally (if barely) dressed young woman lounging on it, surrounded by succubi and incubi alike, all of them lazing around, attending to her or at least staring affectionately.

"Cardinal of Wrath," she chuckled. "My, oh my, wasn't that a little embarrassing. Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks, I'd rather just have a talk with you."

"Shame. I'll be having one," she said. "So what's this about?"

"I just want a little help is all. Nothing too important."

"Oh? And why are you coming to me? Don't tell me it's a crush, that'd be so dreadfully dull."

"Of course not. As if I'd like a woman like you. Anyways, I need help kicking someone's ass."

An incubus handed the Cardinal a wine glass filled with an odd-looking pink liquid, which she took a single sip of. "Fighting. Not exactly to my tastes."

"Well who said you need to do any fighting? What if I just need some of that chaaaarming maaaagic?"

"Who exactly are you trying to pick a fight with?" she inquired.

"Cardinal of Pride."

The woman let out a long, musical laugh at his words, wiping a tear away. "Oh, do I even need to tell you! Lust weakens Wrath, but it only strengthens Pride. You should know that, don't you? Pride would not dare tolerate their mind wrapping around my finger like you have. And with that strength of his? I'd be dead before I even could finish with him."

"Well why not tag along anyways just for shits and giggles? We could always, oh I don't know, get stronger?"

"I prefer to sit a long way away from any fireworks, drink in hand," she replied.

He let out a long, annoyed sigh. "Look lady I'm going to beat the shit out of this guy with or without you. Though I'd really prefer you help me that way it makes my life easier. To make the deal better I'll let you beat the shit out of me if I die."

"Like I said," she shrugged. "Violence really isn't to my tastes. All seven sins are ultimately self-indulgent. I doubt you'll find an authentic Cardinal eager to help kill another except perhaps for Wrath. And I wonder who this is in front of me."

She surveyed the trio up and down thoughtfully. "That maid seems strong enough to do something, wouldn't you agree? Perhaps use her to move up the ranks one by one until you reach him? Why exactly are you so set on fighting the Cardinal of Pride to begin with?"

"I dislike him is all. Also using Hestre for something stupid like that? Why would I have my busty maid potentially killed for something as stupid as that? I'd rather be raped by you."

"So you won't sacrifice a servant for it, but you'll ask a Cardinal a favour because you… dislike another? How hypocritical."

"We're demons."

"And so we are. Hypocrisy, self-indulgence… Perhaps even theft is permitted, wouldn't you agree?"

"Of course. But I really need your help. I'm practically begging for it."

She smiled. "Indeed. But as I can tell you, anyone can be taught to beg. So let's see how much you really want it."

Her eyes flashed for a mere moment, but nothing happened at first.

"Maid. Little princess. Sleep."

Without even the chance to say a single word, Hestre crumpled to the ground, and Dia fell into the arms of the succubus behind her with a blissful sigh.

"Theft is permitted, correct?" the Cardinal smirked. "So then, if you prove yourself to me, I'll give them back. If not… Well, perhaps I'll keep them. What would you say to that?"

"Now now now that's a little extreme. At least give back Dia."

"I will, once you pass… Hm, shall we call it three trials? It's rather classic, I would say."

He groaned. "Fiiiiiine. How much work will I need to do?"

"Oh, the trials will be simple, but I should probably let you know in advance…" She held up her wine glass. "A charisma potion. Between my natural charm, this, and these garments, I placed all three of you under my spell and erased your memories of it. I won't attempt to directly control you, of course, but you won't be able to break any rules or cheat, so don't even try."

"Alright, deal."

"Very well. I'm a little lazy, so how about we start with this?" She placed her wine glass down on the arm of her chair. "All you need to do is touch this wine glass. But there's a few twists, of course. You're not allowed to move your feet. You're not allowed to use any special blessings. You cannot use magic. You are only allowed to use your body to touch this glass with your fingertips."

"Now how the hell do I do that?"

She folded her legs over, stretching one of them out and tracing patterns in the air with her stockinged feet, as if to tauntingly demonstrate that while he was stuck in place, she was not.

"I wonder," she grinned.

He sighed. "Well I can't move my feet but you didn't say I can't move anything else yeah?"

"Precisely. Move whatever you want as long as you're still standing there."

"And I have to touch it with my fingertips?"

"You do." He drew Cadis, holding his left arm up. "You don't mind if it gets a bit bloody yeah?"

"My, my. Are you certain you want to do that?"

Yui simply put Cadis up to his little finger and sliced it off.

It fell to the floor with an unceremonious splat. The Cardinal raised her eyebrow, although it wasn't clear whether she was surprised or disgusted.

He set Cadis down and picked up his pinky. He held his breath, steadying the throwing hand and aligning the finger. Yui threw the finger, he could care less if he missed he just wanted it to be over.

The finger flew through the air, but fell short of actually getting to the glass, landing just on the base of it.


The Cardinal stared in revulsion for a second or two, before sighing. "Well, the glass is the glass, inside or outside. I suppose it has to count, but I have a good mind to give you a fourth trial for doing something so repulsing in front of me."

"Would you rather I threw the finger at your tits?"

"That would at least be a form of foreplay," she smirked. "Although I would have just handed it to you if you had asked."

"That's the easy way. And I'd much prefer you didn't move. I get a nice view."

"Not nice enough to throw off your aim," she observed. "I might even try that next time. Well now, for your second trial… I'm tempted to try a staring contest after that little remark, but I won't. How about this? You will, in my chambers, find my wardrobe. You may pick out clothing you feel most suits your tastes for me, and I will judge it myself. However, I will not tell you where my chambers are. You must ask a demon around the palace, but in return for a clue, you must obey whatever command they choose to give you."

"Can I have my finger back at least?"

"You can come and get it."

"Kay thanks." He walked up and grabbed his finger. Putting it back in it's spot and reattaching the bone. "Will I end up naked by the end of this?"

"Perhaps," she smirked. "If you come to me with your body bared, I might just give in to the temptation and restore your memories of falling under my spell, turning you back into that devoted puppy you were before…"

"I'll beat the shit out of you after if I get the chance. Anyways I'm off."

"Have fun," she chimed.

"Wait, where the fuck do I even go?"

"Oh?" she smiled. "Are you asking me for your first clue? Do you trust me to be kind enough to bear?"

"I'll get naked right now for a straight answer."

"Oh, nobody is going to give you a straight answer."

"Then give me the closest thing you will?"

She smirked. "Well, if you insist. As the mistress of this palace, I sleep in the most regal part, naturally. That is your first clue. Now then… What shall I make you do? Would you like to lay in the lavender fog for a while?"

"I want to find your chambers."

"You can do that afterwards. Enjoy yourself."

"I'm on a time limit. And it would be more or less interesting to see how many straps for clothing you have."

"Then I hope you're a light sleeper," she said, her eyes starting to glow again. "Now. Enjoy yourself."

His body once more reacted on it's own. Walking out into the corridor, Yui laid down and closed his eyes.

The fog washed over him, his thoughts become slow as a sweet scent filled his lungs. He heard the Cardinal's honey-like voice as if she were standing over him.

"This is my miasma. Magical mist that I designed myself to perfectly emulate my own scent to make victims a little more… malleable. Sweet dreams," she bid him. "And that's a promise."

Yui started twitching in his sleep. His eyes were moving rapidly under his eyelids.


He found himself in the void again, the swan sitting opposite him. From her figure, Yui almost thought that he had been trapped in one of the Cardinal's dreams, but his gamble seemed to have gone well, much to the woman's amusement.

"Dear me, isn't this cheating?" she laughed. "I suppose it's fine to get a single one-up on her like this, mind you, considering the humiliating enough position your body's in."

"Come again? Wait, what the hell are they doing to me?"

"Oh, nothing. They were going to do it all in your dreams while you were unconscious. You're just sleeping in the hall right now, with a very frustrated Cardinal not being able to get into your head."

"Oh, well I guess that's good and bad. Any advice?"

"I'm as much her ally as yours. I'm not going to tell you a special way out or anything like that. Just try and figure out your way to your objective with as few words of advice as you can. After all, if I were to tell you something useful, you'd have to obey my orders, wouldn't you?"

"Hmm. That's fair. Well I guess I'll be seeing you."

"Leaving so soon? The moment your mind goes back to your body, you do realise you'll begin dreaming?"

"That's fine. I'll accept that."

"Then you only came here to ask for help?"

"Only a few clues and advice as to what I should do. But seeing as you couldn't do that I'll take my leave."

"If you insist. You two have fun then."

"Mmhm."


The void fell away to reveal a bright, sunny field, with Yui stood under a gazebo, a teapot in his hands, besides the Cardinal in a long, flowing dress, drinking tea with a surprisingly ladylike posture.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" she smiled.

"Mmhm."

"Oh? What's with that kind of response? Do you have something on your mind?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine. The day is sure nice."

"Ah, it's a breeze like this that makes me want to do absolutely nothing… Just take a nice long nap," she mused. "Don't you think that should be acceptable every once in a while?"

"I'm not in a nap mood. I don't like these areas."

"Why, whatever do you mean? You've lived here for ten years now."

"I don't recall that. I'm sorry."

The Cardinal gave a devious smile, her eyes beginning to glow again. "Don't recall? How on earth couldn't you? You've been a butler to this family ever since I was a little girl."

As she spoke, she regaled tales of a peaceful past, picnics and boat trips and days out of all kinds, carving themselves into Yui's mind as easily as a knife in wood.

"I honestly do not remember any of this. I was never a butler and I just met you ma'am."

"Mistress, please," she insisted. "Perhaps a little Velvet would jog your memory?"

"I do not want any Velvet, whatever that is. I want to leave."

"Let's see if we can fix that," she purred.

Something broke. It was like a dam, bliss pouring into Yui's mind by the gallon, so much so that he wasn't even aware of what he was doing.

He felt himself, on occasion, chatting merrily with the woman, laughing at her jokes, following her instructions mindlessly until--


"Oh, I'm bored now," yawned a voice as some invisible force dragged him back to reality.

Yui was back in the corridor, bolted upright.

"Velvet Break takes effort, you know. You could have just let it take you," she sighed.

"I resist rape a lot. Surprisingly. So, am I free to get the hell out of here now?"

"Go on, if you must," she muttered. "I wasn't even going to do anything indecent. I just wanted to play around a little."

"You can do that after I finish these bullshit trials." Yui rose to his feet and looked around. The hall was exactly how it had been before he'd lain down.

He decided to walk forward. Shaking his head as he did.

The Cardinal let him past back into the throne room.

"The fuck."

The succubi and incubi were watching him with amused stares.

"What's wrong? Did you forget the layout?" the Cardinal asked. "I didn't think I wrung your brains out that hard."

"Listen you fucking skank I'll cut ya god damn tits off. Now which one of you is going to give me another clue before I start breaking this god damn place down."

"Language," demanded the Cardinal, her voice seeming to pass through his head, dragging the charm spell to the surface again. "Ask anyone. They'll all give you something."

"Uhhhhhh incubus fuck boy over there help me out."

There was a little bit of chuckling as the incubus in question stood up, sauntering over with a practically suffocating aura.

"Let me see… The mistress's chambers? You might not realise with all these spells flying about, but you've been there already."

"Oh for fuck sake! Well at least you were someone who was the least bit helpful. I won't chop your penis off."

"Oh, that gives me an idea," he grinned to a little laughter behind him. "Seriously though… Oh, I know. Why don't we make him drink a potion? Pick a colour, oh Crimson Cardinal."

"Do you have a fuck you let me go color?"

"I like orange. Let's go orange." He poured an amber-coloured potion into a wine glass and handed it over. "Drink."

Yui took the glass and lightly sipped it. He then poured the rest over his head allowing it to drip down. "Fuck you I drank it."

"Good enough."

Yui's body began to prickle, and his skin rapidly began to heat up to the point where it felt as if he was standing in a furnace.

It wasn't painful, but it was, at best, uncomfortable.

"Okay what the fuck is this. Are you some sorta gay trying to get me naked?"

"I'm bi. Incubi," he did a short bow. "Did you figure it out yet?"

"Very nice pun. We're friends now. As friends you gotta help me."

"One order for each clue. That's the rules."

"I'm okay as long as you don't try to stick anything up my ass."

"Down your throat, please," he laughed. "If you want another clue, go ahead."

Yui let out a long, annoyed sigh. The heat was starting to bother him so he took his shirt off. "I'll take another clue for three hundred."

A few whistles and claps came from the crowd around the throne.

The incubus gave a grin. "How about this. Our mistress is a succubus, so it's not right for her to sleep alone, right?" he pointed out. "Now, another potion, if you please?"

"Okay I refuse to sleep with her. And I refuse to do anything else that involves getting close to her in this state."

A tap on his back from a single cool fingertip. "I'm right here. Pick a colour, let's see what happens."

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh is there a color for I want to leave?"

"Would you like purple?"

"Can I drink another orange?"

"Too bad, you spilled all of it," he shrugged.

"Ughhh fine."

Another glass, this time of a violet drink, was poured out. "All of it this time."

"Down the throat," hummed the Cardinal.

He drank the purple potion. Half of it anyway. He poured the rest all over himself.

"Oh, I warned you to drink it all…" the incubus sighed, but he didn't seem very disappointed.

All of a sudden, where he had poured it seemed extremely… exposed. Like the very air was tracing shapes across his torso.

"My my," the Cardinal giggled. "It's just getting more and more promising. Did you figure it out yet?"

"You're having me drink something without the clues. And I'm probably dying."

"Oh, I gave you two," the incubus said. "You've already been there, and she never sleeps alone."

"I'll smack you in the balls and her in the tits now give me a clue."

"I did. Do you want another one?"

"You gave me two, so I want two."

"Two clues. She never sleeps alone. You've already been to the room you're looking for."

"Hnnnnnnng. Can I grab my sword? Is it okay if I just do that for a second?"

"Yes, but remember," the Cardinal pointed out, "you are still under my spell, so don't try anything rash."

"Yeah yeah follow me." Yui walked over and picked Cadis up.

"Do you have some kind of master plan?" she asked slyly.

"I don't intend to kill you. Just follow me." He walked out into the corridor.

"Very well," she said, doing as he asked.

"Strip. Only partially. But strip."

She giggled, pulling an unsettling expression. "Any requests?"

"I told you to strip. Or, let me put it in a nicer way. Would you kindly strip for me?"

"Top or bottom? I really do need your mind intact," she pointed out. "Well, I don't, but you do."

"Either or I could care less."

"If you insist."

Unbuttoning her waistcoat, if it could even be called one at that length, she let it fall to the floor.

Oh. There really was nothing underneath.

"Is that enough?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No. More."

"Aren't you the lively one?" she smiled coyly. "Might I ask what it is you're trying to do?"

"No, you're going to shut up and do it."

"No," she smirked, her eyes flashing again, "you're going to shut up and watch."


It wasn't long before she had totally finished, and Yui had been basically blindfolded to go with it.

"Decency," she'd insisted.

"A succubus with decency? You're funny. Alright, now you can unblindfold me and run off."

"Clever. My clothes are still here, though."

"I'll take them with me."

"You won't touch what I was just wearing while they're still warm," she instructed, the charm spell on his brain tingling like some "good kind" of bruise.

"If that's the case then you can't watch me strip down should someone ask. Fair is fair and I'm allowed decency am I not?"

"That would normally be a reasonable bargain. But remember," she whispered. "You're in my house. And I can do whatever I like with you. So you might want to think on that a little."

"Do anything and I'll smack ya tits. Now, bring me a potion of any color I could care less for yet another fucking clue. Preferably in a direction to walk."

"Would you like one to calm you down?" she asked.

"I'd like a direction to be pointed in on where your quarters are."

"Forward," she informed him, "not back. And no, I won't give you a potion. I'll give you… a desire to crawl instead of walk. How's that?"

"I'd rather be forced to have sex with you until I die. Too slow."

"You do seem to think with the wrong head a lot since you came here. Could it be you're craving something?" she laughed. "But alas, I shan't be giving you it even if you were to beg. Not until you prove yourself of enough character to deserve it. In the meantime, I might even have a better idea. When I snap my fingers, Cardinal of Wrath, you will feel as though you have become extremely drunk, but you will not be able to be violent."

And she did.

"Oh for fhucks schake." He wobbled forward.

The demons gave a few chuckles at the sight of him teetering back and forth, red-faced and sweating from the potion earlier.

"Look yous little schits. Shtop laughing at me!" He continued wobbling forward.

"So, what now?" the Cardinal asked. "Do you know where you're looking yet?"

"No bechause I am blindfolded. You schlut."

"You can take it off now. The clothes I need are back on."

He sloppily lifted the blindfold off and fell over. "Ah fhuck."

He was still back in the throne room.

"You know what." He was struggling to pull his shoes off. "Help."

The incubus stepped forward and skillfully removed them. "There you are."

He started removing his pants. "I want to be shober you fhucking bully."

"You can be sober once you pass," the Cardinal said simply. "Though at this rate, you might lose your mind first."

"I'm going to cut you to phieces." He was still struggling to remove his pants.

"Let me," she sighed, slowly stripping him down piece by piece. "Is there anything you're keeping on?"

"My underwear."

"Alright then," she muttered, as if it were a poor decision. "So then… Do you give up?"

"No." He squirmed around before standing.

"Then continue."

"Incubus friend phlease help me."

"Another hint?" he asked.

"No lead me."

"Against the rules," he chuckled. "I can only give hints. That's the will of our mistress."

"Ugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay is it near the entrance?"

"It's closer to you than it is to the entrance. Another potion?"

"Is it the throne room itself?"

"That'll cost another potion," he warned.

"Is it in the throne room or not friend?!"

"Pick your first potion and drink it. Then I'll answer."

"Yellow."

He was handed another glass. "Go on," the incubus told him.

"Help me dhrink."

"Put it to your lips," he instructed.

"I can barely handle anything bud."

The potion was guided down his throat. Swallowing was much easier. In a matter of moments, however, he began to feel very lightheaded, like the room was spinning ever so slowly and he was floating away.

"Okayyyyyy what the helllllllllllllll bud."

"Now, to answer your question… Yes. This is the room," the incubus confirmed. "One last potion."

"Oh hell. Okayyyy. Let's get it doooone."

"Pick your poison."

"Orrraaange."

"We ran out, remember?"

"Purrrrple."

"Already did that too."

"Yellllllllllow."

"Do you remember what you just drank?"

"Nope!" Yui said gleefully.

"Ah," the Cardinal breathed, stroking his face from behind. "Have you finally lost it?"

"Nuh uh. I found clothes for you to wear."

"Go on?"

"Mine!" Yui hiccuped, tumbling over.

"Uh-uh. My wardrobe, remember?" she reminded him.

Yui got up and took his clothes to her wardrobe, throwing them inside. He stood for a minute before taking them out and throwing them at her.

"Something, perhaps, a little more elegant?" she suggested.

He took out whatever blouse he could find and threw it at her.

Ah. It has looked like a blouse at first, but it turned out to be a silken babydoll. Well, at this point he could hardly expect much better from her.

He took out whatever excuse for a skirt there was in there and threw it at her.

Much like the one she had been wearing before, it was open at the front, but she slipped into it regardless, turning around and removing her waistcoat in favour of the babydoll.

"Well," she evaluated, "considering your mind, I would count this as a pass."

"Okayyy. I'm tired so what's next?"


She seemed to consider her options for a moment.

"Ah, your companions," she decided. "They're just down the hall. If you can snap them out of it a little, you win."

"I need a lead."

"First door on the right," she informed him.

He walked out into the corridor and to the door. "How do I open a door?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes, but it seemed more amused than anything. With a twist of the handle, she opened it to reveal Dia fast asleep with a faintly red face, and Hestre, with a dopey smile, having her bare shoulders rubbed by a succubus behind her.

"Okay so they're here."

"They're all yours," the Cardinal informed. "But know that if you give up or fail to stay awake or any such thing, I'll restore your memories."

"Wait so if I pass out I get my memories?"

"You do. And if that happens, you'll become my devoted pet."

"What if I want you to become my devoted pet instead?"

"Then you'll just have to cast a spell on me that I can't possibly resist," she smirked. "If that's even possible."

"What if I want to do it with you willingly accepting?"

"Oh, I will be. But, of course, that would only make you mine forever."

"So me making you my pet would make me yours forever. Wait no lady I don't want to marry you. Don't take it like that."

"Oh no, the deed just seals a spell if the wielder of my blade, Solet, is involved. Seeing as you're under mine, consciously or not…"

"Why not just take me out of the spell? I just want friendship and sex honestly."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll remove it if you pass this trial. But if you fail, then as I promised, you'll be mine."

"What's the trial then?"

"Snap your friends out of this sorry state."

"How?"

"I'll leave that to you," she smiled.

"Can I use things?"

"Whatever you like."

"I need the maid here. Too lazy to go inside."

"I can fix that." Her eyes flashed again.

"I need the sleeping one too."

"They're both in there. Go ahead."

"I don't trust going inside."

She shrugged. "Isn't that your own problem?"

"Fiiiine." Yui reluctantly entered the cell.

She shut the door behind him, leaving the three alone, minus the succubus inside.

He knelt down and lightly started frosting Dia's face with ice. "Wake up."

She started fidgeting uncomfortably, opening her eyes slowly, but they were glazed over. "Uhhh? Mis...tress…?"

"The fuck? Besides that get up idiot." He walked over to Hestre and starting heating her neck.

"But I was having such a nice dream…" Dia mumbled. "Where's Mistress?"

Hestre barely reacted, tilting her head back a little towards the succubus massaging her.

"Hestre get up or I'm going to rape you."

"Mm…" she slowly began closing her eyes, leaning back.

"Looks like she's enjoying herself as she is," the succubus hummed.

"I'll rape you too." Yui increased the heat he was putting on Hestre's neck.

"You can certainly try," challenged the demon. "I could put you to sleep whenever."

"Stop massaging her please and go fuck off."

"What's that? I almost heard a polite request."

"Stop massaging Hestre and please leave."

"That's… better," she decided, and obliged.

"Kay thanks." He started to lightly burn Hestre's neck.

She made a small noise, but didn't seem to feel any pain. Bit by bit, however, she seemed to come to her senses. "E...eh? What was I…?"

Suddenly realising her clothes had been undone a little to bare her shoulders, she yelped, pulling everything together to make herself presentable. "What happened?!"

"Succubus happened. But that's okay. Now before you ask where my clothes are we need to go."

"Where's Mistress?" Dia asked again.

It was at that moment that the Cardinal walked in, snapping her fingers.

Dia hardly even had time to cry out before pulling a confused expression. "What was going on…?" she wondered.

"Well, I suppose that settles that," the Cardinal decided. "I did say that you only needed to snap them a little out of it, and Dia was too weak to break out of it properly in the first place."

"Okay but can I have my clothes? I dislike being in this state around three women two of which can kick my ass."

The Cardinal shrugged. "As long as you know that. I have your clothes here. I've lifted the spell too, so you're free to go."

"But you gotta hellllllllllllllllllp ussssssss."

She sighed. "I did agree, didn't I? I'm not sure what good I'll be, but a promise is a promise."

"Okayyy thanks. And now that I think about it, it's kinda comfortable walking around nearly nude like this."

"You get used to it. It's how I can do it in my own home after all."

"Hestre, Dia, is it okay if I walk around like this for a bit?"

Dia glanced at him skeptically, but Hestre shrugged. "It's hardly the strangest or most perverse thing to have happened today."

"I could make it worse if you're so inclined."

"I'm not saying I'll enjoy it. Just that I'll tolerate it for now," she said simply.

"So you wouldn't tolerate me being near naked anywhere else? Why? Is it a struggle for you to not look at me with lustful eyes Hestre? That's a sin and you'll go to hell for that."

"I don't even know where to begin retorting to that."

"Because you can't look at me without lustful eyes."

"Watch me. Can we go now? I'm surprisingly exhausted after that."

"You probably got raped. And I need to get Cadis back. We also need to take lust bitch with us."

"I'm right here," the Cardinal sighed.

"You're still going to come with us you big tittied whore of a woman. How do I even know if you didn't have someone rape all three of us in our sleep?"

"I'm a Cardinal," she pointed out. "I have class."

"Being a Cardinal doesn't mean shit! I'm a Cardinal and I don't have any fucking class at all. If I wanted to I'd grab Hestre's tits and wiggle them around but I honestly prefer not to die at this very moment."

"Can you stop?" Hestre requested calmly, but the aura behind the words indicated that she was not calm at all.

"I apologize. I got out of hand. Let's make this quick and head back with sex demon."

The Cardinal shook her head. "A foul mouth, but I already witnessed it firsthand. Very well. I only ever got Dia's name, by the way."

"Back the fuck up before I shove my dick down your throat." Yui left the room to grab Cadis.

It was exactly where he'd left it, in the throne room.

He picked the sword up, sheathing it. "Right I'll see you later incubus friend unless you want to come with." Yui wrapped his clothing around Cadis' sheathe and went back to the cells.

"I have to take care of the place while Mistress is away. See you around," he bid.

The Cardinal, Hestre and Dia were all waiting and apparently ready to head out.

"Let's gooooooooooooo already. Oh boy is Faluzure gonna have a field day with you."

"I'll bet," she folded her arms. "Lead the way."

"Of course almighty sex demon."

 

[yonies_]

Adelaide was flying high up above the vibrant green trees. She was feeling very free and peaceful surrounded by the pink clouds, it had always been a serene place for her up in the sky. It was almost sunset now.

"It's nice to get away from the hut every once in awhile," she said happily to herself. She began running her fingers through the soft clouds that floated beside her.

It had been three months since she had been sent to Ephialtes by her parents, Oak and Anarée. She could visualize her home Avalon so well, and what her life used to be before it started to weaken. Her and her parents had lived on the slopes of a mountain she'd never known the name of before it had vanished one day, but the trees and plants seemed to breathe more life there than anywhere else in the entire world.

She remembered her father guiding her and teaching her how to tame and control plants, not long after she was born.

"Place your hand above the soil, like this," Oak said, guiding Adelaides hand.
"Here?" she said, scrunching her nose trying to be precise.
"Good," he said with a bright smile. "Now in the middle of your palm, I want you to imagine the sun."
She looked at him, confused.
"Why the sun pa?" she cocked her head.
He chuckled in his deep voice. "The sun is the source of all living things, Addy. By imagining a sun in the center of your hand, you now have your own source of life, and can create little plants of your very own."
Her eyes sparkled with wonder at what her father said.
She smiled wide, and was filled with excitement. "Lemme try! Lemme try!" she said to Oak.
She stretched her fingers, and tightly shut her eyes. Oak smiled at how hard his daughter was trying.
Soon he began spotting a small bamboo plant sprouting from the soil. He whispered to Adelaide.
"Look at that Addy."
She slowly opened her eyes, and looked. A large grin spread across her face. Her father squeezed her, and smiled.
"I'm so proud."
It was that same power that had taught Adelaide many other things: how to tame spirits, how to commune with the natural world, and most importantly, how to heal.

Her Mother on the other hand had taught her how to fly and fight. She was a strong and brave Dragonkin who had insisted ever since Adelaide was young that she needed to stand up for herself and for what she cared about.
That was why she had awakened her Soul Tool one night.
"That's it," she had whispered. "Relax. Concentrate. Your mana runs through your body in strings. Imagine a harp. Let it flow."
That strange sensation back then, her mother's fingers dragging across her bare back, almost like she was searching it for something.
A movement.
At first, it felt like she had strummed. Then, it felt as if she had plucked. Finally, it felt as though she'd had a sword rammed through her body for just a split second, and then…
In her hands, a ring, just big enough to fit her, had taken shape from just the whispers on thin air.

She missed her home.
But more than that she missed her mother and father.

I wonder what my folks are up to.

Distracted by her thoughts, she suddenly spotted Echo, her stag. He was trotting downward, leading her towards a tree below. She began to follow him.

What's he up to now?

She retracted her wings, letting her feet land softly on the ground. She saw Echo standing firmly by the beautiful tree. Approaching the tree, Adelaide placed her hand gently on the trunk and closed her eyes.
She could visualized a colorful aura surrounding the tree.

She smiled, and looked up at Echo.
"This tree is very healthy."
She bowed her head.
"Thank you very much."

Adelaide looked to the horizon and realized the sun was setting.

"And just before nightfall."
She readjusted her gaze to the place where her hand was resting, she closed her eyes once more.

Focusing on the trunk of the tree; her hand soon phased through the wood.
She grinned, and stepped into the tree.

Bedtime.
She thought to herself.

---

As the sun pierced the skyline Adelaide's eyes slowly opened. The rays caught her rainbow eyes and she slowly made her way out of the tree and onto the soft grass.

She inhaled the crisp morning air and stretched.

"The sunrise is so beautiful today."
She said with a sleepy smile.

While she was taking in the atmosphere she realized she had promised Ephialtes that she would get him oak for aging his special wine.

Uh oh, I'd better get to it before he pitches a fit.

She turned to face the tree and spoke softly.

"Thank you so much for letting me sleep here. I'd like to ask you for one more favor if I may."

She knelt down and placed her hand on the tree gently brushing her fingers across.

"Would you pretty please let me take some of your bark home with me? I'm asking for a friend."

Moments passed.
Soon Adelaide began to feel a rumble shaking the ground.

Then all at once, the tree started to shed its bark for her.

starting to giggle she hugged the tree Endearingly.
"Thank you!"

She picked up each piece of bark and held it tightly to her chest.

---

Taking one last look at the oak tree
She waved happily.

Her overalls had a gap over her back where a significant amount of her body was left to breathe. This was not there for simple glamour, and nor was it because she was an Arboren who needed the sun's rays, and it was not even so that she could simply feel the world brushing against her wood-like body.
From her back sprung a pair of symmetrical shapes in all the colours of the rainbow, larger than life, bursting forth and letting a few flower petals float to the earth to be born again one day.
These were not limbs. They were not frills. They were not for mere intimidation. They were not even claws that caught and sliced.
They were not sinister. They were majestic.
A thousand colours to herald to the world which she was so fond of.
Look up, behold, and rejoice, for I am Adelaide, and these flowers are my hoard.
A single beat sent her to the skies with a rush of rose-scented wind, a reminder to everything around her that she was in equal parts a citizen of this forest and the ruler of it. A dragon and an Arboren; two halves so incredibly different that one would have needed to see the whole soaring to truly believe it was capable of creating anything at all, and yet they blended with such perfect symmetry that it was impossible to ever imagine that such a creature was not inevitable.

---

She floated above everything for what felt like the longest time.

Then finally she caught a glimpse of the mountain. She was halfway there.

Coming closer to the peak of the mountain. She flew low to the ground, and began weaving through the pretty trees.

lovely little trees
She smiled

She began hearing rustling in the bushes straight ahead, and immediately changed her expression. Could it possibly be an enemy? Or maybe it was just an animal?
Either way she was cautious. Her eyes were fixated on the noise.

While she was distracted she failed to see a large tree branch headed towards her. The branch quickly clipped Adelaide's wing.

"Ah- AHHHHHH"

She was sent spiraling down screaming into the bushes ahead of her.

She suddenly was stopped
She had hit something...

Something small and squishy.

"Owwwww…" it complained, then looked at her, and blinked. "Oh. H-hello there. Um. And delicious chocolate cakes don't fall from the sky either."

 

[Sairento]

Co-write with a birb and an aesthetic gore. GMing of Zyxis and Random
-----

Viviane had regained…some semblance of consciousness. If her constitution could be expressed in numbers (which it could not. That would simply be silly), it would be…well, 1 maybe? Who knew. She didn't. She was still drunk.

"Wh…what's goooiiiing on…" she mumbled, weakly waving an arm as she tried to sit up.


Akio looked at Viviane with disappointment but with caring vibes. He hated alcohol but he was quite fond of the people who didn't. Luckily Akio made some tea for everyone so he walked up to Viviane and offered her a cup. "This will help with the headache."


Viviane blinked, shaking her head (and regretting it. Oooh…that hurt…) as she groped for the cup. "Thanks…" she mumbled, wincing as she held the still quite hot cup of tea. "Where's everyone…?" she asked quietly, blowing on and then sipping the tea.


Akio Shrugged as he sat in front of Viviane. "Don't worry about them right now first you gotta collect yourself………?" Akio was hoping for her to give her name as he indirectly asked for it.


Viviane waved her arm as she nodded. Slowly. Very slowly. And sipped more tea. "Viviane," she said, groaning as she pressed the heel of her palm into her eye gently. The throbbing headache was not fun. "And you're…?"


"Akio." He had a cup of tea as well. No one knows how he drinks but since everyone seems to be preoccupied he might as well do it in public. Still. He waited. "You seems to have fallen 'asleep'. You should awhile and rest."


Viviane sighed before standing up. And then sitting back down immediately. She could not stand that nausea. "Yeah…a small break would be good," she mumbled, taking a few shallow breaths to try push down the nausea as she sipped the tea. "Still, we need to get a move on. We have to…uh…shit, the alcohol makes it hard to remember," she grumbled, clutching her head as her head throbbed again.


Akio put his hand over her forehead and felt the temperature. "How are you gonna do anything in this condition?" he took off his armour as hidden inside was a small pillow (it was for Chieko but she is playing outside). He put the pillow against the wall and lead Viviane to place her head there. "I'll get some cool water." and he proceeded to do his without a shirt. As he turned his back, he indirectly revealed the whip marks that slight glows. Looks to be around 100 slashes.


Viviane didn't ask about the whip marks. She didn't even see them. She was busy squeezing her eyes shut and fighting a headache. "Do cool cloths help?" she asked, using her free hand to gently rub her temples. "Ugh…why did I dr…oh…" she mumbled, grumbling as she remembered the golden mark on her wrist. "Ten minutes Akio. Then we need to move. Fresh air can help, right?"


Akio had gotten a wet cloth for her forehead. "We will get ourselves killed. Don't worry we will catch up." He returned to her placing the cloth on her forehead. "Just calm down for a bit. You rush yourself you will get hurt." He had a warm and welcoming vibe to him. Other than the spooky mask on his face. "15 minutes and we will go."


Viviane huffed as she tried to relax and close her eyes. "Fifteen minutes," she said sharply, sighing as she tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her head. It was like someone had decided her head was a balloon and pumped it up too much, yet it wasn't made to expand. "Can you recap me as to what I missed while I was…I don't know, whee?"


Jokingly he said "honestly i wasn't paying any attention." he really didn't he found everyone sinful and continued tending to Chieko. "Everyone seems to be ok." 10 mins left. "Anything you want? More tea?" he wanted her to be at her best when heading out as she was basically the only person here the knew the rest longer.


Viviane gently shook her head. "No, one cup is plenty, thank you," she said, sighing as she leaned back and tried to relax for a few more minutes. "I just hope that when we move out, it's quiet," she grumbled, her headache still throbbing away.



Akio began on his armour and whistled for Chieko. As soon as she arrived Akio was packed and ready with all of his things. "Get up it's time." he began to walk straight for the door.


Viviane sighed as she sat up, still rubbing her temple. "Okay…what's in my bag…" she mumbled, snapping it open to see if drunk-her had left anything. On top, if crumpled slightly, was a map. Thankfully. Things would be much harder if she lost that.


Immediately below the lightly crumpled map were a few pages with some formulas and stuff written on them. She'd check those out again later. "Coming, coming," she said as she followed after Akio, pulling out the map as she tried to make head or tails out of it.


"Ugh, I bet Ren drew a star around the final destination," she mumbled, obviously not remembering what she'd done while drunk.


"Hey if you aren't feeling okay. I can carry you on my back" Akio offered meaning nothing from this but just wanting to find the group faster. Chieko was flying to see if see spotted anything. "I can use the map you aren't in the best state of mind"


Viviane scowled and waved her hand. "I'll be fine, thank you though," she mumbled, rummaging around for a bottle of water as she drank it down in one swig. "Much better," she said (sarcastically), forcing herself to move on sheer willpower. "Okay, let's go. This way," she said, glancing at the map and the sun before heading off.


Chieko came down tired and was quick to lying on Viviane's shoulder. Akio nodded towards her and opened up his wings. "Me and her will be taking turns scouting the area. So if you get in trouble just let Chieko caw." He flew up and out of sight towards the direction they were going.


"Sounds good," Viviane said, sipping more water as she tried to chart a path for them to take.


-----


Viviane was still nursing her headache as she traced the path on the map. "Yeah…about here," she mumbled, folding the map and stuffing it away as she turned to Akio. "Anything nearby?" she asked, more to whether Chieko had seen anything rather than him.


Vivi looked from behind the cover of the leaves of a thick branch, her belly fur of her cat form grazing the bark as her ears flickers in curiousity. The Nekomata watched the pair, not knowing the Oni folk were allowing other species. Another note to her journal…


Viviane stood in place, annoyed with how long Akio was taking to report Chieko's findings. And blissfully unaware of the new entity observing them.


Vivi crawled forward more and decided to make her presence more noticeable, jumping down and meowing loudly for attention. Her form was small, small enough to still be considered an above sized kitten, and the Nekomata was bored enough to try and gather information on why they were allowed here.


Viviane blinked after she heard the meowing, and turned her head ever so slightly to see the small cat. Smiling to herself, she reached over, intent on trying to pet the small creature. Wild cats were okay, right?


"Probably," she mumbled, before making quiet coo sounds to try coax the cat closer.


Vivi had a small smile hidden in her cat face as she purred loudly while treading closer. Surprising to her, the cooing was actually coaxing her forward. Maybe she could enjoy some loving attention, she hasn't had a good pet in a while, it was mostly grabby and pullng kid hands…


Viviane smiled as the black cat got closer, and bent down to squat as she scratched right between its ears. "That's a good...girl?" she said, unsure for a moment before simply going with it. It was 50/50, she was probably right.


The Cat Girl mewed loudly and jumped into Viviane's arms for more affection, rolling onto her back so her belly could be rubbed. 'Yeesss….Yeesssss…!! Continue mortal, continue…!!!'


Viviane giggled at the cat's mewling, and stood up again, one hand safely cradling the cat as the other continued to pet her. "Such a cute kitty," she said quietly, scratching her belly as she rolled over. "Yes, got the gender right."


Vivi sighed happily as she was done with indulging her needs, finally realizing the smell of strong fish that seemed to be holding her. Rotting in the sun fish smell...aaaAAAAHH!! She sneezed loudly and made a disgusted face, "Ew! Fish smell!!" She froze at her own words, eternally breathing in and saying 'You had one job…'


Viviane blinked as the cat spoke. Sure, that was surprising. What was shocking her and raising her blood pressure were her words. "YOU WHAT, BITCH?" she shouted as she threw the cat at a nearby tree. "YOU CALL ME A FISH? LET'S GO. LETS FUCKING GO RIGHT NOW."


"FUCK!!" Vivi yelled as she transformed into her humanoid self last second, twisting and dragging her feet against the floor to lighten her hit against the tree as she unleashed her sea green Halberd.


Maybe the cat turning into a person should've surprised Viviane more. She didn't pay the fact any mind actually, she was still embroiled in her anger at being called a fucking fish. "FUCK YOU," she shouted, throwing her voice towards the now cat-girl.


The Nekomata's tail puffed, eluded by this stranger who in retrospect, should've came off as a filthy pig but Vivi's needs proved too much. Putting that aside, Vivi held her halberd in an offensive position, ready for attack.


Akio started to fly in circles over Viviane. Chieko puffed up and hissed at the cat thing.


Vivi looked up and hissed as she noticed the air support above, tilting her halberd to be ready to swing both up and from the front.


Akio took aim and cocked his long bow. Akio flew still and aimed at the Cat thing. He shot one of his light arrows towards the cat thing.


The nekomata jumped up and onto a wind plate glyph to come face to face with the airborne creature, swinging her halberd across to hopefully hook him with the great curve of the blade. And with that, she was successful, as she fell she rotated her body while still having a hook on Akio and with a flick of the wrist, sent him falling hard to the ground, soon joining on the floor gracefully.


Akio opened his wings to stop the flow and was a bit shocked by the speed of the exchange. He switched and pulled out his katana. Chieko turned completely metal and was about to join the battle in the sky.


The Cat Girl snickered and looked at the 2 and a half fighters. "I realize this is indeed a daunting quest tasked to you. However I believe that with your might you can surpass the challenges ahead, and fucking hit me." she said tauntingly.


Viviane made a very annoyed "TSK" sound as she pulled out one of her terraforming containers. "Yeah yeah yeah," she growled, smashing the container on the ground.


In an instant, the world around the three shifted. Dramatically. Viviane sighed happily as water graced her skin, and she grinned as the landscape changed on each side to the ocean. "And tail," she thought, smiling as she dived and swam under the water.


Akio's eyes turned red and he cocked his three arrows (each arrow containing five more arrows that split) aiming towards the Cat thing. He was determined not to miss this shot. Meanwhile, Chieko flew towards the sun to get out of sight. Akio than fired. Each arrow was charged to the max.


Vivi used a another wind plate and jumped up, only evading all but three that caused her to hold back hisses of pain. The Nekomata then summoned a hell's vine wrap that covered her halberd blade. Raging inside as she jumped towards the annoying bird person, she used all her strength to swing as hard as she could from the upper left down across.


Viviane, being the siren/mermaid she was, had finally stopped humming with delight as she looked up and saw the bitch that had called her a fish again. Taking in a deep breath, she glared vehemently at the catgirl, screaming at the top of her lungs:


"BITCHES GET STITCHES."


With that, the Nekomata started to lose consciousness. But memories flashed before her eyes of her younger years. A bright colorful figure with beautiful wings...it was her last only friend while at the school. Kheire...Kheire, she still never got to see him after 4 years. 4 years of waiting to see her friend, she couldn't help but say her only sentence she could muster. "Kheire...I'm sorry I couldn't see you sooner…please don't forget me…"


Viviane popped out from the water's surface after a few moments of nothing flying down to strike her. "Is she down?" she asked as the world around them changed again, dropping them back into the real world. "Calling me a fish," she growled, walking over as she glared at the knocked out cat girl.


Of course, at this random point in time, Viviane's attention moved away from the catgirl as she heard a quiet 'blopping' sound. Spinning about for a moment, she used her excellent hearing (well, reasonably good. She was a siren. She listened to all sorts of music since she was young. It probably helped with hearing) and hunted down the source of the sound.


"What do we have here," she mumbled quietly, pushing aside a bush as she found a small quivering gelatin mass. Smiling as she leaned down, she reached out, intent on petting the slime…but it moved away. Mumbling under her breath, she reached into her bag, searching about as she tugged out a slice of dried beef. "Here you go," she mumbled, carefully placing the meat down as she backed away a bit for the slime to eat.


Smiling happily as she watched the small slime eat, she took the opportunity to reach over and pet the slime, grinning as it didn't edge away from her again. "That's a good tiny slime," she mumbled, blinking as she watched it spit out…something. She didn't know what. She chose not to try figure out.


Rummaging around in her bag, she soon found her sominaut helmet (fish bowl), and placed it in front of the slime. "Come on lil guy…girl…" she said, unsure which gender it was when it was still a blobby mass. Watching excitedly as the small blob shifted over into the bowl, she soon stood up, grinning from ear to ear as she returned with a small slime in tow.


…and in a few moments, it shifted to turn into a slime baby. It practically left Viviane screaming with delight to have an adorable pet..


-----


"…we should probably take her with us, yeah?" Viviane said as she returned, sighing as she knelt down next to the unconscious cat girl, still holding her new slime in her old fish bowl. "Can't just leave people unconscious on the side of the road," she mumbled in annoyance.


Her slime made a quiet bubble in agreement.


Viviane then proceeded to rifle around her bag (after she safely put down her slime-baby in her little glass fish bowl), and soon tugged out a medium length of rope. "Mkay…let's see…rope, here we are," she mumbled, bending down and rolling the catgirl over as she tried tying a knot.


…multiple times. "Ugh, loop…in and out…there," she mumbled, finally satisfied with her knot after a few minutes.


Vivi stirred awake, her eyes fluttering open as she looked around, feeling drained of energy. She made a small mew and finally came to, sitting up and going to scratch her ears until she noticed her tied hands...and her predicament.

"Oh fuck me…" she mumbled under her breath.

"I would, but you called me a fish, so no," Viviane grumbled, before standing up, crossing her arms as she glared down at her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't let Wings over here off you," she said. "And I highly doubt you could think of a single thing that would make me forgive you for calling me a f-"


"You're a really beautiful person." Vivi deadpanned, finally getting a good look at her captor who was now unblurred from her quick vision. Vivi did not lie, the half Siren was beautiful, not really her type, but Mermaids had become one of her favorite species for always having such an elegant scale pattern and tail form. It was just...interesting.


Viviane huffed, and shook her head as she threw her hands and head up and sighed. "Not good enough. Try again," she said, going back to glaring at the cat-girl. "Who are you? Why did you call me a fish? What are you doing here?"


The Nekomata grinned as she spoke, "My personal information does not have to be known, I didn't really call you a fish, your scent just hit me on full blast. Doesn't help you were in the sun and smelling of rotten fish. And i'm here for my reasons. How 'bout you, come here often?" Her horrible habit of terrible flirty one liners coming out to be make her awkward situation something extra.


Viviane huffed, stamping her foot once as she turned to Akio. "Never mind, lets leave her on the side of the road," she growled, leaning down to pick up her fish-bowl-containing-slime.


(She also attempted to find some perfume in her bag when she thought no one was looking.)


Vivi looked at them, really contemplating to run before she rolled her eyes as she noticed the girl search for something in her bag. "Look, I apologize, I say crap without thinking. You don't smell bad right now, it's actually a nice ocean smell right now. Just don't stay in the sun for too long without protection." She grudgingly said, trying to be polite and hopefully untied.


Viviane paused her searching, and turned back around, nodding once. "Good," she said, snapping her bag closed again. And then opening it again as she looked for sunscreen. "So. What about the answers to my questions?" she asked, still staying a few steps away from her.


She stuck out her tongue and worked it out easily. "I'm LuluBell Le Nar, I came here by accident when assuming my travel would take me to the lands of the Nekomata." She said smoothly. "Anything else Ms. Interrogator?"

Is it my turn yet??


Viviane sighed, and nodded once as she bent over, placing her slime fishbowl down again (man, with how many times she was lifting and putting down her pet, she'd get abs super fast). "Nah, you're fine now. With me at least," she said, glancing to Akio. "Anything you want to ask her?"


Akio was sewing his wounds while chieko sleep in his lap. He seemed angry with himself but doesn't show it...His eyes were still red. "No I have nothing." When he was done he put on his armour and looked at Vivi "Make even a twitch in the wrong direction, I swear I'll end you where you stand." He opened his wings and flew in the air.


The Nekomata looked up and smirked. "Someone is a salty hoe...~"


Viviane sighed, and pulled Lulubell up, untying the rope too. "Come on, we need to finish some scouting and regroup with the other group," she said, stowing the rope away as she hefted her fishbowl again. "Can you hold her for a second? I need to check the map," she said.


Chieko Puffed up and hissed at the cat thing and flew up with Akio.


Vivi instantly puffed into a small kitten and pranced off into a nearby tree. "thanks but I'll stick up here AWAY from bird dick."


"So long as you don't get lost," she mumbled, checking the map as she ventured forward. "You asked how I got here? First time here; rode some axolotls over the water. It was pretty fun" she said, smiling to herself.


Vivi jumped from the tree and turned a bit smaller to be the size of a 2 week old kitten, landing on the Siren's head and getting comfortable to lay down on top of her head. "Really? I fought an axolotl before..." she remembered with a grimace.


Viviane smiled, not seeing Lulubell's grimace as she reached up to scratch the small kitten's head. "Yeah, I sung a few ice-eating ones to sleep once…they're still cute though," she said as they continued to walk.


The Nekomata let out soft purrs as she continued, "I killed it, it was annoyingly my boss monster and wouldn't give up a water core..." she said surprisingly gentle.


Viviane nodded as she checked the map. "Yeah, boss monster's are a pain…" she mumbled, sighing as she resisted the urge to move her head too much now. "I had a giant crocodile for my first boss actually. Took a bite out of my tail. Man that hurt," she said, spinning the map in her hands.


"Rude, would've ripped it to shreds, forced it to come back alive just so I could do it again..." she said honestly, her tail was no joke. Fuck with it and expect hell.


Viviane chuckled quietly to herself. "Actually, its been made into this very nice cloak by my friend, Ren. Saved my life once so far," she said, picking at the transparent crocodile skin that she almost always wore now.


Vivi stared at it with a permanent 'oh shit' face. "I now worry that I could be made into a cloak. Now it is covered by the need for my own animal skin coat."


Viviane chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, you apologized already. I have no reason to skin you. Plus, it'd be really, really weird to wear a cat-girl's skin," she said, grimacing at the thought. "And the crocodile skin is mostly for the defense capabilities."


"I still want a coat..." Vivi said until she was reminded of her time in the ice dungeon when she made boots and a coat out of a yeti's skin. Whoops... "Hmm...so where are you from?"


"By the sea, in a…Adj…adj…gah, Aptera," she said, finally getting the name out properly. "Bleh, it's such a hard place to name sometimes," she continued. "The high tide was always high enough to reach the cove where I lived, with other sirens."(edited)


"Oh, that sounds cool. Mermaids and Sirens are just cool. My older sister is an mermaid." She said, her instinctively calling her mermaid friend "big sister" due to family like relation.


Viviane hummed her approval for Lulubell having a mermaid sibling as they continued walking. "Merfolk are pretty cool. It's always really fun to pop out your tail and feel the water rush around you…ah, nothing is better," she said.


"I like the sea, it's so fun to feel the mist when you are perched on a really high rock....when I was a kid, seeing the ocean was the most special occasion!" She chirped happily to herself


Viviane smiled as she scratched Lulubell's head again. "Yeah, it is a sight…" she said, sighing cheerfully as they kept walking. "So, how'd you get here, Lulubell?" she asked.


She purred more loudly as she nuzzled the hand. "Was flown here by my teacher..."


Viviane hummed as she kept walking. "May I ask why you're here?"


Vivi kneaded at Viviane's forehead as she spoke, "I'm here simply to look..."


Viviane sighed as she heard Lulubell's reason. "I wish I could be here to just look…" she mumbled. "Instead, I have to come here under the pretense of a prank to find the damn dorm advisor…"


Vivi stood on all fours and looked down, jumping a bit. "Dorm advisor?! Do you go to schism academy?! Who who who!!"


Viviane hummed as she tried to look up. It was quite hard. "Uhm…yeah. Viviane Saphalea. I came here after one of my friend's bug-well, asked me to, because the dorm advisor Kheire has been missing. Why?"


Vivi stopped jumping. She became dead silent as she hopped in front of Viviane and turned into her human form, taking out her halberd and holding spear part to her, giving the look of a pure killer. "Tell me everything you know of Kheire Hecatox and his whereabouts here. Now."


Viviane meeped once as she came face to face with the spear, and would've raised both arms in surrender if she wasn't holding her pet slime-baby in her fishbowl. "I don't know anything outside that he's here, that's why I was sent scouting. We're searching in two separate groups and meeting up here," she said, trying to both show the map, point, and not drop her fishbowl while Lulubell kept the halberd in her face.


The Nekomata put down her halberd as she looked down, a wave of emotions coming over her. Tears started bubbling in her eyes, from rage, happiness, sadness, she would never know. But she let the tears fall, knowing that after so long, Kheire was missing and she didn't want to lose another friend. Not again...


Viviane sighed as she stayed frozen, until she was sure the halberd definitely wasn't going to skewer her any time soon. Carefully placing her fishbowl down (her new slime-baby bubbled in annoyance at being picked up and down so often), she cautiously moved to the side of the catgirl as she reached an arm around to hug her. "Uhm, there there," she said. "We'll find him. He's definitely here. And Miki can probably kick ass, so we'll be fine…"


Vivi had hidden her halberd into her pen, rubbing at her eyes as she turned into her cat form and went back to laying on Viviane's head. "Ya ya, leave rapier wiener to try and show off his fancy sword thingy..."


Viviane chuckled lightly at Vivi's words. "Rapier wiener. First time I've heard him called that," she said, making note to do it next chance she got. "Anyways, yeah, they can handle whatever comes their way, so don't worry. Kheire will be fine."


"Oh trust me I know Kheire, happy go lucky fucker is probably trying to see a good side of his disappearance. But Oni civilization is...ugh, disgusting. But we can't intervene, you mess with the culture and you got a whole lot of em on your ass." Vivi whined, kneading Viviane's hair.


Viviane resisted the urge to tell Lulubell to stop playing with her hair. She was stressed, and VIviane's hair could suffer a little disorder. "Eh, we actually already met one oni. He was pretty…" she paused for a moment as she found the right word to describe the brewer-oni. "…chill. Yeah."


"Where the fuck were you guys? Everywhere I went it was the fuckers drinking, fighting, cursing, repeat, drinking, did I not mention fighting? And death?"


"By the side of the mountain," she said. "Some hut-tent out of the ways. He made pretty strong alcohol. It was uh…fun. Sure," she mumbled, trying to ignore the dull throb from her hangover.

Vivi scoffed and just laid there plainly. "Would I do anything to kill me now.'


Viviane simply hummed, not familiar with the expression, and so unable to give a dignified response as she continued following the map.

 

[Sairento]

Co-written with Vivi, GM'ed by Random


VIviane hummed as she continued walking forward, still carrying her new baby slime in a fishbowl in her arms.

…she should probably stop and let her arms rest for a bit (because even a baby slime in a fishbowl was starting to get heavy) but she could still manage for a bit longer. "Lulubell, can you check the map for me? My hands aren't free."


Vivi nodded and went from her cat form to a human form, walking along side Viviane while getting the map out of her bag. "Well, we seem to be going the same direction. It'd be great if I knew what the map meant and where we were at. But i'm recognizing that empty spot so…"


VIviane hummed. "Well, we're on track, and that's what matters," she mumbled.

A few minutes later, she decided it was a good time to rest, and listened for a stream of some kind so she could set the baby slime girl down, maybe try feed her a little fresh water.


There was a small splashing noise a little way away that she became aware of, but no running water.


"…eh, I'll just filter it or something," she mumbled, reaching a hand in to gently pet the baby girl sime as she walked towards the source of the splashing.


She came across a surprisingly clean looking lake, stretching around sixty metres in diameter, curiously unoccupied.


Carefully placing the slime girl's fishbowl down, she walked over to the water, cupping a little and sipping to check the water before bringing some back to her pet.


She managed to get away with breathing for an extra ten seconds or so after sipping, just enough to affirm that it actually tasted great, before hearing more splashing from just in front of her.

She also managed to figure out exactly what was happening just before a set of jaws easily the size of her whole torso sprang out of the lake at her.


Viviane gave a sharp yelp as she dived, trying to dodge the jaws as she pulled out a terraforming potion, managing to just narrowly duck aside.


Vivi went on to instant alert, summoning 5 large fireballs at full power and speed, aiming them straight at the water reptile.


The flames struck the serpent's head, exploding and knocking it back into the water.


Viviane cleared her throat before singing a quick lullaby at the aqua viper, without actual words. So it was really just steady tones, because holy shit she almost died, she wasn't in the mindset to actually make up words.


Its movement under the surface seemed to slow to stillness as she sang, and it stopped in a matter of seconds.


Vivi took her chance and charged, running forward and leaping high to land where the spot the original ripples were located, her halberd in hand as she slashed down at it with full force behind to counteract the water holdback.


The blade sank into the serpent's skin, the beast lashing around as Vivi fell into the water too. It managed to slink away with a trail of red a few moments later, swimming back around and attempting to bite Vivi with its enormous fangs.


Summoning a wind plate below her feet she propelled herself out the water and another one to let her jump back onto land. She looked back where the blood trail ended and flipped it off while yelling, "FUCK YOU WATER HENTAI EMBODIMENT."


"IT'S A SNAKE, NOT A TENTACLE MONSTER," Viviane shouted back at Lulubell, diving into the water after the two as she sang another lullaby at the snake.


"FINE ITS A FUCKING BAD DRAGON DILDO." She yelled towards Viviane.


After the snake was entranced in another lullaby, Vivi closed her eyes and let the urge to bring justice to overtake her, feeling Zillium's power course through her veins. This would have been the 3rd time she did it, yet the bursts of energy made her feel in a way, nervous. But, the feeling quickly left as her eyes turned a dark red and her skin turned more pale, a coat of red over her. Completely in bloodlust, she flashed forward in the blink of an eye, seeming to have stepped on water and swung down at the snake underneath the surface with full strength.


The water was immediately pierced once again, this time the whole way through, screeching in agony before going limp.


The bloodLust filled Nekomata summoned a windplate, and backflipped graciously to land, her skin and eyes coming back to natural color and her cape vanishing. She went up to the beast while popping her neck, pulling out an empty syringe from her belt and extracting its venom from its open mouth.


Viviane hummed, swimming through the lake to the serpent as she pulled out her carving knife. "Core core…ah," she said, yanking out the water core from the monster and tossing it in her bag. "…maybe I can try take a few scales," she mumbled, working on the skin of the snake.

She then spun around, staring at the bottom of the lake as she tried to see anything of note she could loot. A giant water snake lived here; she was expecting something.

 

[★Under The Stars★]

---

---

Persephone woke up from a quaint nap, which detailed her lying down in the soft leaves of one of the trees in the rainforest-esque island. It was not a rainforest, but Persephone wasn't sure how else she could possibly describe the layout of the greenery of the island and the makeup of the climate in the area. She stretched upwards, hearing some of the vertebrae on her back crack. She yawned wide as she let her tensed arms relax. She let out a breath of pleasure as she felt her muscles release their tension. She wagged her nine tails around a little bit, making sure her natural blanket and pillow was still there. She awaited the sounds of birds in the area, but nothing seemed to come into her earshot... Huh. That was odd. Maybe something was going on with her friend again. She had seen that her friend had encountered some trouble earlier, but seemed to handle it pretty well.

Persephone quickly jumped down from the tree and began walking toward the area where her friend was. Maybe they'd be happy to see her today or maybe they'd be in a snappy mood like they were earlier in the week. Something had been strange this week and she wondered what it was. She had lived here for enough time to tell when someone was seeming to go wrong and Persephone finally let the curiosity get to her. That was the entire reason she was inside the forest at all. She was normally nervous to venture out for fear of being eaten or killed by some animals that might be found in the forest. She wasn't very strong and, although she was confident she could charm things, it wasn't enough to make her feel that she could ever win a battle. She sought to grow stronger, but... Well, that mission was for another day. Today, she was paying her friend a visit.

As she moved through the forest, the lack of birds was alarming. Something was certainly happening nearby. That's when Persephone suddenly heard a sloshing noise. It was the lake. Was her friend playing around in the water again? That's when she suddenly heard the yells of a woman. Wait a moment. Who could that be?

Persephone drew closer to investigate. And as she did, she sensed two people, in addition to her friend, using her Exin Sense ability. It was odd, one person would draw close to her friend and one would stand far away. She wondered what was happening... Her friend didn't normally like visitors.

Persephone drew herself from the hiding place of foliage near the lake, and as she emerged, the familiar feeling of her friend disappeared. Persephone grew confused as it took a moment for what happened to sink in.

Her friend was dead.​

 

[Random]

When Ren had made the off-hand comment that "beautiful and interesting people don't just fall from the sky", he hadn't realised that he was joking.
But seeing as the moment he had said it, down came a ginger-haired girl with flowers on antlers and rainbow-coloured eyes to land on him at full speed, he supposed he must have been kidding after all.
"Are you, uh… okay?" he asked. "That didn't look very on purpose of you."

Adelaide rubbed her head and cringed.
"Nnnngh." everything was blurry for a moment.
Then she realized what had happened and looked up slowly; hopeful that it wasn't someone dangerous.
Her eyes adjusted then widened and what was in front of her was a very pale figure with a VERY confused expression.
Oh no, look at what you did.
She blushed in embarrassment. She hated hurting people (even total strangers).
"I am so so sorry, I really didn't mean it!" She inspected his body with her eyes, looking very worried.
"Did I hurt you?" She said softly.
"I hope you can forgive me."

Ren flushed immediately, suddenly driven by an all-too-familiar age-old instinct known only as do not upset the pretty girl.
He leapt to his feet right away.
"Don't worry! I'm fine, see? Right as - ow - rain," he insisted.

She giggled at him, and smiled.
"You're a funny one aren't you?"
She made her way up off the ground brushing off her knees; now standing in front of him.
She clasped her hands around his, and looked at him hopeful.
"Well, I'm really glad you're alright."

"Am I funny too?" he said optimistically, a little bashfully. "Good. Funny's good. Uhm. My name is Ren. Nice to meet you."

Adelaide's eyes twinkled in correlation to his words.
Almost as if she caught a glimpse of what was to come from this encounter.
She was excited.
She smiled widely as she took a moment to exam him, but not like before.
She had never seen a race like this, such pale skin, and silver hair.
Delicate features. He was very beautiful, but only one thought occurred to Adelaide.

What is he?

She leaned in for a closer look.
Adelaide cocked her head and let her eyes run. Trying to figure out a very difficult puzzle.
This was strange and foreign to her.

Her eyes suddenly stopped on his.

Introduce yourself, Addy!

She blushed.
"Ren. what a lovely name."
"I-is it?" he laughed anxiously, flushing a little himself. "Thank you."
"I'm Adelaide. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Ren did a little bow. "Do you live around here?" he asked. "You look a bit less tropical and a bit more temperate, so I was wondering."
"At the moment I am. I used to live in Avalon, before…"
Her words drifted.
"Avalon?" Ren echoed. "I know Avalon! I was born there! Sort of born. Not really 'born', but… Well, Lild says I just kind of happened and she doesn't like to draw attention to it. But I spent about a year there! With dragons!"
Her eyes lit up.
"Did you ever meet a dragon named Anarée by chance?"
"Anarée?" he said. "Anarée d'Halat? I think she was one of Princess Iselotte's handmaidens, wasn't she? I heard she ran away a few years before I was born, for an Arboren man."
Something, somewhere, clicked.
"Oh," he blinked. "Would that arrangement, by any chance, have made… you...?"
Adelaide smiled and nodded.
"Those are my folks."
She said cheerfully.
His eyes seemed to shine with sudden understanding. "Ohhhhhh," he breathed. "It's all coming together."
"Does it have to do with her falling out of the sky and hurting you?" Miki asked with a lilt that promised pain.
Adelaide shied away from the figure approaching from behind Ren.
She let out an awkward laugh.
"Mm, I really AM sorry about that…"
She said nervously, her eyes shifting quickly back and forth from Ren to the unknown boy.
Ren gave Miki an anxious smile. "We're okay, see? I'm not hurt at all so you don't have to murder anyone, okay?" he insisted.
"I don't have to, but I can." Despite saying that, he relaxed slightly.
Adelaide's tensity soon faded seeing that he seemed to be a close friend of Ren's.
She approached the boy; smiling.
"We haven't been introduced yet. What's your name?"
She said eagerly.
The brunette glared at her for a moment before biting out, "Miki."
"C-come on, you two," Ren said. "Play nice? Be nice? To each other? Nobody is doing anything bad, I promise."
Adelaide suppressed her nervousness very well.
"I like that name. It's wonderful."
She spoke softly to Miki, trying her best to make a friend.
Miki looked between the two flatly and gave a small huff, and took a few steps back.
Ren breathed a quiet sigh of relief, recognising the aura of a tamed Miki. Adelaide was safe for the moment. At least, from him. It would be another story when Val caught up, he imagined.
"Miki is a ghiest," he explained. "He's my…"
He was silent for a minute, frowning as if trying to pluck a word from the air.
"Well, he's mine, at any rate," he said firmly.
Adelaide cocked her head slightly.
It was all very vague but she tried to piece it together best she could.

All the time she had been conversing with what she considered to be her new friends. She had forgotten the task at hand.

Her nose scrunched up.

Oh no, he's gonna be pretty upset.

"I-i have to go."
She began picking up the bark sprawled across the ground from her fall.
"Oh, let me," Ren offered. "It's at least half my fault. Where are you going?"
"Your so sweet! Thank you." She said with a smile.
"I um. I promised a friend that I'd collect oak for aging his wine. His name is Ephialtes, and he loves his alcohol."
She giggled.
"Ephialtes?" Ren smiled. "I met him last night. We stayed with him yesterday. He's giving us some pointers to find our friend."
"Oh! you've met." she was surprised. " I apologize if you witnessed any drunken shenanigans. He can be pretty out there. But he can be very helpful when he wants to be. So..I'm glad that he could give you some advice." she said contently. "So you're searching for your friend?..."
Ren nodded. "His name's Kheire. He's half faerie, so he sprouts flowers too. He came out here, and I think something's happened to him."
"Have you seen him? He's about my Master Ren's height with blue-green hair." Miki said abruptly.
Adelaide looked at Ren and focused on his height.
Maybe she'd remember seeing someone like that.
But she could not recall anything of the sort.
"I'm afraid I haven't seen your friend. I'm very sorry." She looked disappointed.
"I didn't think you would have," Ren admitted, "but I was actually going to ask something slightly different. How much do you know about this island, Adelaide?"
Her expression suddenly light up.
"I know this island like the back of my hand! You're definitely asking the right gal."
Ren gave an awkward smile, but cleared his throat. "Ahem. Uh. I don't suppose I could ask you for a small favour?"
She grinned.
"Of course you can. Anything you'd like."

The cavern under the mountain had been largely passed by before, but upon closer inspection, it was a lot more menacing than it had looked at a glance.
A hollow howling throat of ragged stone gaped unto infinite blackness. Or, at the very least, as infinite as it needed to be to pique the interest of the maker of legendarily excellent decisions, Ren Vedas.
Sticking his head into the shadow just far enough that his face seemed to -- no, it probably did -- emanate a faint glow, he whistled a single high-pitched note and listened to it echo for a second or two.
Miki peered alongside him, creating a sword that he launched blindly into the dark. "I don't think I hit anything. Should we check?"
"I didn't hear a noise," Ren observed, nodding. "That means we didn't hit a dragon, anyway. That's a good start."
Adelaide laughed softly at Ren's remark.
Taking a single tentative step inside, he paused for a moment.
Satisfied that he wasn't about to die immediately, he strutted straight into the cavern without a care in the world.
"Yeah, we're good. If there was a trap it looks like nobody was around to monitor it."
As he finishes speaking, a circle of runes lights up in the center of the cave. It illuminates their surroundings a little, showing an empty, rounded interior.
"Magic circle!" Ren cried in alarm, leaping back and almost firing half a dozen laser beams at it.
It didn't seem to explode though, so he slowly and sheepishly lowered his guard.
"Well. It's, uh, not going to kill us. Probably."
"It's like a big hula hoop."
She said happily. Endearingly thinking about her chakram.
"Eh…" Ren mumbled. "Magic circles and I have a strained relationship. Do you think it's safe to step in?"
Adelaide's wings sprung from her back.
She flew inside and hovered about the giant circle.
"It's worth a shot. Don't worry if anything bad happens I'll pull you outta there."
She gave a thumbs up.
Miki deadpanned, "If we die I'll haunt your ghost for all of eternity."
Adelaide looked down at Miki, and grinned.
"No need to worry."
Ren smiled, and nodded. "Right. I'm counting on you," he said. "Mostly because I'm scared out of my backside!"
With that, he marched into the center, and...

"Ahahahahoh my god it's freezing."
On the other side, there was a pure white room, formed entirely of the ice and snow that had evidently accumulated on the mountaintop. Well, that answered where they were.
Amongst mental cries against the biting air, Ren did pick out a sort of ice window, overlooking the island, but…
"Ugh, it's tiny," he complained. "And it's made of ice, I can't see anything out of this."
On the other hand…
"Oh, it's made of ice."
Placing a hand against its surface, Ren let scalding heat flow forth from his palm into the mirror, in the hopes that he could get through to get a better look at the very least.

Adelaide suddenly appears in the room following Ren and Miki.
" I was wondering where you both had gone."
"Ah, it's just a teleporter. Not that far maximum range, good, old-fashioned, probably won't split us into more than one piece. Do you know, some people are scared of flying. Can you imagine?" rambled the small boy.
"I can see that but.. where on earth are we? I'm not used to this kinda weather." She rubbed her wood like arms.
"If you were the one flying I'd be scared too. If I remember correctly, you fell out of the sky onto my Master."
"M-Miki, really, I'm okay! She didn't mean it. We're not that far from where we started. Just the top of the mountain, see?" he waved a hand out of the expanding hole in the window. "Which brings me to that favour I was going to ask. Can you see anything you recognise?"
Adelaide peeked outside.
"Ah! yes I recognize this mountain. I've passed it a few times while I was flying."
Ren nodded firmly. "Is there anything you can tell us about the places you can see from up here?" he asked. She focused her vision. "There is a lake not too far away; to the right. A beach at the far end that is big enough to be a small desert. Also what looks to be a tent at the far left end of the beach."
"Don't suppose you've been to any of these places before?" Ren asked, trying to get a closer look himself. His eyes weren't that bad, he could probably pick out some details.
Adelaide nodded. "I've definitely been there"
She pointed at the beach. "It's a very nice and warm place. I went swimming there."
"S-swimming, huh…?" Ren echoed, his mind quite clearly wandering to lands unknown. "Wait, how do you not sink? Wait, no, sorry, that was… rude."
Adelaide laughed. "Wood can float ya know?" she quickly changed her expression. "Although…" she narrowed her eyes. "One thing about this place… I've never seen those there before." She extended her finger towards the giant tent.
Ren frowned, picking it out pretty easily. "Oh, really?" he said. "Well then. Shall we go find ourselves some happy campers?"
Adelaide nodded firmly. "Let's get a move on."
Ren clapped his hands together. "Great! In that case, stairs!"
He turned and began descending the staircase besides the teleporter.
Adelaide followed closely behind.
Miki sighed, trailing behind them.
"Don't be like that, Miki! It'll be fun!"

When they reached the bottom, all that stretched in front of them was a blank expanse of white. They could barely make out where the walls were by how they rounded out the much larger floor. Everything was made of densely packed snow.
"Master, are you sure you didn't get us lost?"
"I don't know about lost," Ren replied, beaming, "but it's extremely cold and I immediately regret this decision!"
Something seemed to move in the dark ahead. Ren immediately fell quiet, ready to illuminate the cavern, but he didn't yet, staying perfectly still.
"Is… that what I think it is…?" he murmured.
"Well we definitely are not lost, that's something." He muttered.
Ren spared a glance at the Arboren-dragon hybrid.
"S-say, uh… You wouldn't happen to know how to fight?"
Adelaide looked back at Ren, and gave him a smile."yes sir!" she salutes.
Val had been flying around, you know, as bird girls have a tendency to do, when she heard a rather loud explosion. She sighed, and she had just been wondering where Ren was too. What a completely unexpected answer… Except it was completely expectable. Slowly turning her head, she saw a shock of white hair, Miki being a shit, and some stranger.
"Yay.... Another one."
"Val!" Ren cried, turning around.
This was also a decision he immediately regretted, by virtue of its result involving being pounced on by a titanic white bear.
Val immediately felt a mix of exasperation and fear rush through her, slingshotting her around to them, "Ren!!!"
Miki's face turned positively stony, and it seemed almost effortless to create swords that shot at the bear.
As soon as Val's feet hit the ground she transformed into a rather large growling wolf. She couldn't risk hitting Ren with projectiles.
Fortunately for Val, Miki's blades had speared the behemoth's side, causing it to stumble off Ren with a roar.
From the darkness, a yeti leapt forward, howling, swinging a bulky arm at the wolf that had appeared while its back had been turned.
Crystals shot upwards between them, like a shield protecting Val's form. The barrier smashed against the Yeti's fist, leaving it unable to so much as crack is as a nauseating snap echoed through the air.
Val quickly turned back into her monster form, and summoned her rifle. She fires a blast into the yeti, aiming for it's head, and jumps backwards, grabbing her bag and pulling out four poisoned throwing knives.
The beast was struck firmly in the skull by the blast, howling aggressively, and poised itself for another leap.
A foul hissing sound came from the darkness as a wraith descended to join the two beasts, dashing at Miki with a pair of enormous frosty claws.
He matched the beast with a claw of his own, letting it shoot forward to catch on its see-through form.
The blade went right through the being, Miki realising its intangibility just as it slashed for him.
He moved to the side and the claw slashed through nothing but air.
Adelaide summons her chakram, and uses a range attack. Aiming it straight for the polar bear.
The bear ducked under the attack without even trying, a glare shot at Adelaide as it rushed her, claws bared, leaping over Ren's prone body.
"Ah. Hello," the boy said to the beast's underside, before firing a multitude of lasers at its belly.
Over a dozen blasts hit the monster simultaneously, causing its flight path to be thrown wildly out of synchronicity with its prior movements, causing it to land on its side some way away from the rest of the group.
With a sigh of relief, the small boy got up, brushing snow off his clothes and rubbing his arms in an attempt to not die of hypothermia.
Val opens her wings slightly to prepare to dodge, and throws one of the poisoned knives, aiming for the yeti's torso.
It hit its mark, much to the annoyance of the yeti in question, which immediately leapt at her again.
Val jumped out of the way to Ren, grabbing him and pulling him out of the direct line of fire, before turning her attention back to the very upset yeti. Miki turned to the yeti, grappling it with his gauntlet and pulling himself away from the wraith.
The yeti gave a howl of pain as it shuddered from the electricity coursing through it, allowing Miki to drag himself over.
The wraith didn't seem to care all that much, simply releasing a burst of freezing wind at the gheist instead.
It moved too fast to avoid, blasting him directly with a stinging pain.
Adelaide activates her ice aura. A sparkly layer of frost covers her entirely.
The bear was fairly furious at the pale thing that had disrupted its chances at killing its prey, but not nearly as much as it was at the feather thing that had stolen it away before it could kill that too. Baring its fangs, it rushed at Val this time, snarling loudly.
"Hey, no!" cried Ren, holding his hand out, firing off another rain of lasers.
As he did, an aura of light flared to life around him, seeming to spread to the blasts as well as they shot forward, striking the bear at full force.
"Everyone!" he called. "I'm sending you power! Let's get this over with already!"'
Val fired fireballs at the bear, aiming some at the face and some at the heart.
The bear's body was completely engulfed in flames, its fur combusting, its skin melting, its eyes popping like overboiled eggs, before it finally fell to the ground as a blackened corpse, the snow below it instantly evaporated by the heat.
"Wow. That's… overkill," Ren blinked.
"At least it's warmer now," Val stated, in shock at the damage she did.
"Do you want a prize?" Miki deadpanned, sending several more swords into the yeti's hide, running it through and pincushioning its body before it fell to the ground with a splatter of red.
"I'd love that, Miki."
The wraith glided forwards at an alarming speed, this time aiming for Val with its wind, the ice frosting over her feathers and her wings.
Adelaide summons Echo. He surrounds her with shadowy substance, antlers sprouting out of air and darkness from her head. Adelaide rushes the wraith, Echo's antlers aiming for the beast.
The wraith simply glided aside, preparing a blast for the half-Arboren now.
"No you don't!" Ren said firmly, firing another myriad of beams, blasting the wraith instantly into nothingness.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Everyone okay?"
Adelaide hunched over panting, glances in Rens direction. "Yes, thank you."
Val turned and looked Ren in the face, "Do your hobbies include collecting estranged monsters and finding trouble, dear ____?"
"...Uh," Ren frowned, trying to construe some kind of counterargument or devil's advocate to the contrary, but all that came out was, "Yes…? I think so? I guess it is now."
He was silent for a moment.
"Damn! I thought of a great one-liner, but it's too late now! Ugh…"

Adelaide makes her way over to the dead polar bear. She sighs and places her hand on the beast. "Poor thing."
"Try not to burn your hand," Ren advised, walking over lightly. "I think some of its skin melted."
Adelaide glanced at her hand, seeing a reddish glow start to consume the palm of her hand. "It's a-okay. I don't burn too easily." She said cheerfully
"That's a relief. Actually, that must be convenient, having wooden skin…" he mused. He held his hand just over hers. "Do you mind if I…?"
"Not at all." She smiled.
He nodded a little, lightly placing his fingertips on the palm of her hand, careful not to aggravate her burn. Fascinated, almost captivated, he ran his fingers over her wrist, up her arm a little, totally fixated on her woodish skin.
"This is…" he murmured, but trailed off, leaving a blank to be filled by imagination.
Adelaide blushes, and little peony blossoms start to sprout from her cheeks. She becomes a bit flustered.
"Ma~ster," Miki chimed from behind them, "if you wanted to feel something interesting you could've asked Miss Val or me."
Ren shuddered. "A-ah, Miki! I was just curious! I was wondering about her skin, that's all! H-hey, is it all wood? Are there any soft parts?"
Adelaide's peonies fully bloomed from her cheeks and a few strayed onto her body, the very moment Ren finished his sentence. "S-soft?"
Ren blinked, and his face began to glow a bright white. "Th-th-th-th-tha-tha-that's not what I m-meant! That came out wrong!" he cried.
Miki droned, "Maybe you should move your hands from her then so there aren't any misunderstandings."
Adelaide looks at Ren and giggles. "Don't stress."
She reaches for her shoulder, where a peony lays in full bloom. Carefully plucking it, she outstretches her hand offering it to Ren.
Staring in awe, he delicately took it, a light blush on his face. "A-are you sure? Is this okay?"
She grinned slightly and shyly nodded. "Mhm."
He beamed excitably, springing to his feet. "Alright! I'm motivated! Let's go!"
Without further ado, he turned and charged towards the exit, laughing to at nothing in particular.

 

[Sairento]

Co-written with Random, Under the Star, Vivi, and InKouah


Viviane popped her head out of the water a little later, her bag a little more stuffed with random tidbits she'd snatched from after the battle. "Hey Lulubell, these scales are pretty good," she said happily, before turning as she saw a…was that a fox-hume? She was adorable! So many bushy tails. Vivian proceeded to wave cheerfully from the center of the lake. She was in a good mood; beat up a giant monster, got some loot and a core for it…life was good.


Persephone was shocked by what she had realized had occurred. She looked toward the lake and noticed someone was waving to her. In a fit of rage, she walked toward the edge of the lake and looked in the direction of the person who was in the center of the lake. She was attempting to charm them. She was going to bring them before her and make them answer a few questions she had in regards to why they killed her friend.


Viviane blinked as she shook her head. "Shit, fucking…why am I getting tired now?" she thought, trying to think through a sudden haze, almost sinking underwater from how…fatigued? Confused? she suddenly was. Was she? She couldn't remember…it was nice to just stop…


Vivi from behind the snake had heard water movement and peaked around, smelling a new scent as well. The Nekomata spotted a...kitsune? Glaring in the direction of the sinking Viviane. Growling lowly and loudly, Vivi turned into a larger cat, being 10 feet tall on all four paws. She ran forward and picked up Viviane gently with her teeth, leaping to shore and laying her to the side before crouching low and daring the kitsune to come forward for a fight with a low hiss.


Persephone looked toward the girl in the lake who seemed to be affected by her charm, but there was suddenly another player in this game. A… Neko of sorts? She did not believe she knew the exact race of the other person who appeared. However, that was not exactly all that important. Right now, she was attempting to deal with the loss of her friend and she wasn't about to lose to someone. She needed to focus to revive her friend. If she was going to do that, she needed to take control of the other person. She stared toward the other person, hoping that they would taken in by her charms. If she did, she would attempt to revive her friend. If not, she would try to talk down the aggressor.


The Nekomata, who was not affected, slowly crawled forward, stomach nearly touching the floor as a hunting mode was set in the air around her. The Large Cat finally leaped across the lake, and landed in front of the Kitsune with a loud thud, not giving her a chance to react by swinging her paw to hit her to the side with only a quarter of her strength. Hopefully, an instant K.O.


Persephone felt the paw hit her in the side with enormous force, even if the neko seemed to be holding back. Persephone grimaced as she felt the pain shoot through her. Persephone flitted her tails around herself, her eyes becoming slits as she stared at the neko. Within a moment, she sighed and relaxed. "If you're going to kill me, go ahead. All I wanted to do was revive my friend, but if I've witnessed some unfortunate event, then please end me." She looked into the neko's eyes, betting on her ability to charm once more. She was going to ensure she could revive her friend.


No chance came. It was not because of any attack or resilience on the Nekomata's part.

Rather, for lack of a better term, Persephone was interrupted.

"No violence!" a voice called from above. "Chill yourselves before you kill yourselves! Such is the motto of the hero of justice, Captain This-Tree-Was-A-Terrible-Idea-For-A-Vantage-Point-On-Your-Fight! Please get me down."


Vivi's head snapped back to look at Ren and instantly relaxed, Recognizing him easily by the gentle tone of his voice, meowing(quite cutely but loudly) in greeting and padding over to Ren, she nudged forward so Ren could step on her head.

"Ah, it's a giant Vivi!" he observed. "Are you actually a nekomata or just a really big cat…? Well, I guess that doesn't change the fact I'm stuck. Excuse me…"

He dropped down onto her head, clinging lightly to her fur as he slowly slid off onto the ground.

"So then, Miss Huge Cat, what's all this violence for? It's rude, you know!"

The Nekomata chirped and meowed in response, looking over to the dazed Viviane with a sad look and then looking at the kitsune with a glare in a way of telling him that this new person had done something to her new friend.

"Master," a voice drawled from further in the trees, "don't run ahead like that… you'll get lost or... why are you on a cat?" Brown hair and acid green eyes stuck out from the brush.

Vivi rolled her eyes with an annoyed look, not very pleased to meet the lord of dick shaped swords again.

"I got stuck in a tree. This violent cat let me down. Speaking of which! Stop killing people! Talk about your problems, okay?" he chided, glancing over to the lake. "Oh hey, it's Viviane! Man, Viviane and Vivi would be confusing."


Persephone was about to charm her target, when suddenly she was interrupted by some voice above her. She suddenly felt the presence of this new person and she scoffed at herself. She was careless and lost concentration. No matter. She was going to revive her friend either way. She looked toward the person who got down from the tree. She looked over the small person. Well well well, what do we have here? She inched closer to the small person and her tails began to swirl in intrigue. What a cute person this was, and she was not about to let this person spoil her opportunity for peace now. She fell to her knees before the small person. "Oh dear, thank you very much for saving me! I just sought to revive my friend, as they killed him in cold blood! Please, you must help me!"

Vivi growled loudly and snapped at the Seductive Fox, fur raising. She finally reformed into her human self with a halberd in hand and marched over to the Kitsune and pointed it at her threateningly. "You did something to my friend. Fix it, or die." she said with complete malice."Well, to be fair, Actually Vivi," Ren said slowly, trying to process the fact that she was standing in front of him, "if you killed someone she liked, I can't blame her. But if they can be revived, then that's all that needs to happen, right? So stop bullying her and just let her do her thing."


Persephone snapped her fingers and Viviane was now out of her charm. She narrowed her eyes toward the Nekomata and smirked. "Well, I certainly don't plan to die. But it is true that I wish to revive my friend. I suggest you stay back while I revive him."


Viviane blinked, shaking her head as she glanced around. "Huh. At least I can breathe underwater," she thought, easily swimming up. "Oh hey! Hi Ren, MIki," she called, happily swimming over to the edge, still working off fight-high. "What're you doing he-oh wait, my slime," she said, quickly diving back into the lake as she made her way to the other side of the lake, picking up the fish bowl with her slime in it before swimming back, keeping the fish bowl out of the water lest she accidentally…drown the slime or something? She'd need to review a book on how to raise a slime-girl.


Vivi was not a very caring or nice person to strangers, and seeing a person with a smirk was the last thing she was going to listen to. She let the spear part of the halberd poke at the New Person's throat in warning. "I can damn well kill you right now and you know it. You better watch it." she growled out.

"Vivi, please don't make me have to give you a lecture," Ren frowned. "I'm terrible at lectures. We'd be here for hours while I figure out what I want to say."

She hummed in irritation but pulled back her halberd, settling to kick the new person'd with no effort in an actual attack. The Nekomata then went to walk to Ren's side and huffed. "She tries anything else and I'm killing her."

"Don't bully! More importantly, where have you been? I missed you!" he cried excitably. "No, no, wait, tell me in a second. I haven't seen revival magic before, I can't miss this."


Something about the interaction between these two people irritated Persephone. Deep inside, she craved this kind of connection with another being, but she pushed it aside for annoyance for now. Right now, it was important for her to focus on reviving her friend. It was her priority right now. So she got down on her knees near her friend, grabbed the item which was given to her by a very curious stranger, and gripped it with all of her might. She began to think thoughts about her friend and the experiences she had had with them in her short time on this island. Her mother, Veryx, and Persephone had moved here not long ago in search of something new, and this friend scared her at first. But it was just trying to protect its home, and Persephone eventually snuggled her way into the creature's heart. And it burrowed its way into hers all the same. She felt the magic begin working and felt an aura radiate from her and the object. The immense energy lifted into the air and above the body of her friend, eventually settling over the entire body. It began to sink into the body and reinvigorate the body of her friend. The snake soon rose once again, and Persephone quickly moved into its vision so it would be calm once it awoke.


As the serpent began to slowly regain life in its flesh, the short, pale boy was already trying and failing to look over Persephone's shoulder.

"I want that! That's so cool! How did you learn that? Did anyone teach you? What else can you do?" he cried, declarations of admiration and probing questions alike rolling over each other into some odd trainwreck of consciousness.


Viviane flinched as she saw the snake being revived. "…it's not going to attack again is it," she thought, wrinkling her nose as she thought back to her almost-biting earlier.


Vivi glared a bit and pulled Ren back gently. "Ren it's uh...rude to enter someone else's personal space without asking. You might...trigger them…?" she said, questioning herself as she didn't baby Ren often and chastising him was also new.

"Personal space?" he cocked his head. "Oh, personal space! I know personal space, yeah. It's that thing that always gets violated when other people do things. Yeah. But doesn't she have…? ...Tails are weird."

With that conclusion, he firmly nodded his head, like he'd just demonstrated some kind of mathematical proof.

"Ren it's that thing of being too close to someone that they feel uncomfortable…?" Vivi was lost as soon as he got lost, wondering how this lead to both being lost.

"Um. Miss Fox-Girl. Are you uncomfortable?" he asked simply.

Persephone looked as her friend awoke, keeping him calm and keeping him from attacking the people that had killed him. He probably would be upset seeing them, but she was positive she could keep him at bay if it came to it. She heard two of them speaking behind her and it was slightly annoying. As the small person asked if she was uncomfortable, she glanced behind her. "No, I'm not uncomfortable. In fact, you're welcome to feel my tails if you wish~" She smirked as she stood. "My friend should be alright now. As long as you don't react too much around him, he will probably not attack you. Just keep a low volume level for now. If we move away from here, we can talk at normal volume. I am curious as to who all of you are." She looked back to her friend and began walking in a direction, signaling with her tails to follow.


Vivi kept Ren close and said in all serious tones, "she might have rabies…or worse, STD's…"

"Don't worry. STDs are scared of water so we're definitely safe," he replied, a spark of curiosity in his eyes as he followed on behind the kitsune. "Miki, Viviane, come on!"

Miki's face was of longsuffering, even as he swung himself off the branches and trailed after them.


Viviane shook her head too at Ren's words, let some water drip off her bag for the slime girl to eat as she trailed after the boy.

 

[★Under The Stars★]

Co-written with Random, Sairento, Vivi, and InKouah



Persephone led the way to a small cottage in a secluded part of the foliage, which was spewing smoke out of the chimney. Persephone whispered, "Thank goodness she's home."

"Doesn't she have a schedule?" asked Ren.

"Oh. Well… Yes and no. There are clients that schedule appointments, but there are clients who just walk in and… Well, get their business done and then go. The chimney signals that she's home and has no clients right now."

"Ah, I see. She's probably a master potion brewer, right?" he beamed.

Persephone laughed. "Well, she's pretty good. I wouldn't call her a master, unless you want her to make a love potion. But she doesn't do that for just anyone." She winked at Ren.

He flushed just a little at the thought, his voice catching in his throat, and he shrank a little as he tried to get the cat off his tongue.

"Weird potion," she mumbled under her breath.

Persephone stopped before the group arrived at the house. "Uh… I also need to warn you guys. My mother is a master charmer. So if you get charmed, don't worry. She'll release you soon enough."

"Ah, don't worry! Nobody's tried anything like that on me before, but it doesn't seem anything close to falling asleep or anything!" he said. "I'll definitely be fine!"
"He won't be," Viviane quickly whispered. "I hum in his ear and he passes out."

Persephone quickly glanced at Viviane, realizing what she whispered and nodded. Ren was… To be frank, he was going to be quite alarmed by how quickly her mother would be able to charm him. "Alright. Ready yourselves. I'm opening the door." She turned toward the door and said, "Mother, I'm homeeee!" As she went to open the door, the door flew open and a very beautiful kitsune with nine tails appeared, sitting back on the doorframe. As she appeared, an aura of charming magic was released and everyone within the vicinity had to try and put up a fight against Veryx's affections.

This was easier for some than others.

In Ren's case, there was no way he could have even tried to resist. Any thoughts he might have been having in that moment, any spark of inspiration for an awkward one-liner was obliterated from his mind instantly, everything going numb as he sank happily into a soft, blissful trance.

Viviane's case wasn't very different, sighing happily as she smiled up at the kitsune, humming cheerfully as her mind idled on…what was it idling on?


The Nekomata froze entirely in place as everything started to feel fuzzy, as if she was being called by gravity to come closer from her rigid standing position.


Veryx opened her eyes widely when she noticed all of the children at her doorstep. She gasped and quickly released the children from her charm. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Persephone. "Do let me know when you're bringing guests home please! I bet they're all absolutely scared of me now!" She sighed heavily as she suddenly hugged her daughter. "But… I'm glad you're home safe. And I am glad you made some friends." Persephone blushed a little as she was hugged and didn't say anything out of embarrassment.


Viviane blinked as she came out of the charm, and shuddered before shaking her head. "Too much charming in a day," she grumbled, rubbing her head as she tried to get her thoughts in order again.


Ren looked like he was about to lose consciousness as his mind was revived, slowly but surely, and his head perked up to how it was just a moment ago, as if nothing had happened.

"See? Told you I'd be fine!" he grinned obliviously.

Vivi kept silent the whole time, although the rage underneath her calm blanket expression grew stronger as her mind immediately went to stringing curses and insults the minute her thought train started moving again.


Veryx looked around at the children and noticed how most of them seemed to be upset. She released Persephone from the hug and addressed the children once more. "I'm sorry. If I had known all of you were coming, I would've kept you all from being charmed. Can't be too careful sometimes. This one here," pointing to Persephone, "however, neglects to mention when she brings guests over. Well… Not that she ever does." Persephone glared at her mother. "Mother!" Veryx pushed one of her tails in front of Persephone's face. "Don't mind her, she's a tease. Now… I am curious as to why Persephone made so many friends so quickly. Why are all of you here?" Veryx's tail now began to push Persephone back behind her, keeping her from seeing the rest of the children. Veryx began to grow very protective of her daughter as the lot stood near her doorstep.


"Ah, hello, Miss… um…" Ren smiled, trailing off as he tried to figure out a comparative that didn't make him seem ruder. Bigger? Older? Squishier? No, no, none of those worked. "Um… Hello! We were out scouting the woods when we met Persephone. Certain people were trying to bully her at first, but I think we're all fine now."

"Excuse me Ren, she charmed me first," Viviane said, huffing slightly.


Veryx looked over Viviane and Ren before covering her mouth and stifling a laugh. "Well dear, you actually charmed someone, did you?" Persephone popped out from behind her mother. "Yes, I did happen to do that…" Veryx did not even attempt to cover up this laugh any longer, letting it run loudly and properly. "Oh dear oh dear, it seems my daughter actually got into trouble and made friends as a result." Veryx suddenly looked at Ren and said, "And there's even some wonderful prospects here as well~"

Ren flushed yet again, rather brightly as he adjusted his sari nervously. "U-u-um…"


Vivi glanced up from her spot looking down but at the sight of 2 kitsunes, her tail started to lash and flicker in annoyance, her left ear twitching down and swiveling as a natural instinct to signal others. She looked back down before her glares became noticeable and tried not to growl and flash her sharp canines in threat.


Viviane decided now was as good as any time to cover for Ren before he just flushed and stuttered for an hour. Time was a wastin', after all. "We'd like your help, ma'am, to try search for our friend. Persephone said he was maybe in a more dangerous district, and wanted us to ask for your help to get past some…checkpoints? Checkpoints."


Veryx looked over the children, noticing Vivi and her dislike for her and her daughter, as well as Viviane. Responding to Viviane, her tails began to swirl in excitement. "Oh? So you wish to go to the city, do you? Well, it is wise that you sought me out then~ And to answer your plea, yes, I can help you get there. But once we're there, I cannot help you leave. I'll have Persephone help all of you escape." Persephone looked at her mother. "EXCUSE ME? Uh… I… Uh… Mother, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"Oh please dearest, it's the best idea I've had in ages."


"Uh…sorry, what do you mean, ma'am?" Viviane asked, frowning.


Having enough of being in a readable human form, Vivi formed into a small housecat once again and jumped on to Viviane's head to rest, looking away. Viviane then instinctively petted the cat on her head.

"Ah, don't worry, Persephone," chimed Ren. "I've dealt with much scarier things than oni before, so if it comes down to it, I'll help you take care of any time-stopping giants that specialise in godly weaponry. ...There aren't any of those here, right?"


Persephone felt relieved and accidentally sent that feeling to Ren through teleempathy. She blushed a little as she did and then popped out fully from behind her mother. "Alright, well, I don't know think so. But, if we're gonna go, we should go as fast as we can." Veryx looked at her daughter. "Oh come on, they could probably stay for a cup of tea or something~ Kidnappings don't end up with killings that quickly."

Ren, however, was a little more distracted with a relatively minor detail, as usual. Receiving Persephone's relief, his eyes widened in excitement.

"You can do that too?!" he cried enthusiastically.

Vivi looked up and at the group of people conversing but like any other pompous house cat (or any cat in general) she looked away with nose in the air and went back to napping.

Viviane sighed, torn between tea or just getting on with their little rescue mission. "How long would it take to get to the city?" she asked.

Veryx suddenly chided, "Oh! I have an idea~ What if all of you just stayed a night here to all get cozy with one another before we start heading for the city! I'd be happy to cook dinner for all of you, and if anyone wants to help Persephone and I, it would be a great bonding experience~" Persephone wanted to say to her mother that they should really get moving, but she decided that it would be a good idea to get a feel for the kinds of people that this party was, rather than just joining with them blindly. Persephone spoke, "Oh yes, I think that is actually a good idea~"


VIviane sighed, and turned to glance at the others. "Are we all okay with this? Shall we put it to a vote? All in favour of staying the night," she said, idly raising her hand. She'd had a long day.

Ren raised a hand too. "Oh! Can I help cook?" he asked. "I've figured out how to use my emotion abilities in food a while ago!"

Veryx nodded as she raised her hand, and Persephone raised hers too. "Well, I suppose that staying the night takes the cake then~" Veryx purred. "Now, come on in children. Get nice and comfortable in here." If they would step in, they would notice that the cottage was much larger inside than it seemed to be from the outside.


The Nekomata got off of Viviane's head and turned human again, yawning 'tiredly' as to seem now comfortable. If anything though, her guard was raised to protect her friends from more...charming business. Ya, she supposed she would guard Miki too...Ren might be upset if she didn't...upsetting Ren is sinful.


Viviane shrugged, walking forward into the home. "Thank you for having us," she said, taking off her sandals at the door before walking further in. "Uhm. Living room?" she asked, glancing around.


Ren hopped in, astoundingly taken with the architecture and the furniture more than anything, looking around with a relentlessly curious gaze.

"So this is a Yamatic household…" he mumbled with excitement.

 

[★Under The Stars★]

Co-written with Random, Sairento, Vivi, and InKouah


After everyone is in the house, Veryx and Persephone went inside and shut the door behind them. "Alright, what does everyone want for dinner?"

"If you have it, human liver," Viviane said idly.

Ren turned his head, staring at her in horror.

Veryx smirked as she looked at Viviane, "We've got it if you like it. Although I'll have to make a special dish for you, as human meat is not to Persephone's taste. And it appears neither to this one's taste either." Veryx laughed.

Viviane nodded. "Maybe I could help cooking the dish? Something to keep me busy for a bit. And if the others get squeamish and don't want to help with the one dish."

"Sorry…" Ren muttered. "I don't want to be difficult, but something about human meat just doesn't sit right with me. It feels like I am human, even though I know I'm not."

Veryx stepped toward Ren and wrapped two of her tails around him. "No need to worry child, everyone is prone to their own tastes and that's why I'm making it separate from everything else." She patted the top of Ren's head and then released him. She turned toward Viviane and then nodded to her. "You're welcome to help me cook it if you like~" She got closer to her and then whispered, "Personally, I love the savory taste it brings, so I think I'll indulge myself in it a little bit. Our little secret." She winked at Viviane as she went into her kitchen and began gathering some ingredients. "Does everyone like casseroles? I do quite enjoy a good tuna or fish casserole myself." Persephone's ears perked up at the sound of casserole. "Yes please! And they're pretty easy to make too~"

"I haven't actually cooked with fish before," Ren replied. "I don't know why, but I'm better at vegetables and things… I'd say it would be a learning experience, but I don't want to mess things up for everyone else… I might deal with the vegetables and sauces for now."

Viviane wrinkled her nose at the mention of seafood. "Yeah, thank goodness there's human liver," she mumbled.

Veryx looked at Ren. "Well dearest, you'll never learn how to cook fish if you don't learn! So why don't you help me out and I'll teach you how to cook fish properly. And it's alright if we mess up because it still tastes good whether it's raw or cooked." Veryx also laughed as she heard Viviane's comment to herself. Veryx thought to herself, "That girl surely knows how to make others laugh. That's good for this little band of children. She'll be a great friend to Persephone."


Viviane stretched as she looked around. "Well, let's get cooking," she said cheerfully. "Which way to the kitchen?"


Veryx pointed off to the right, then walked that way. "Alright everybody, let's get moving, dinner isn't going to make itself~" Persephone quickly followed her mother and got into her battle station of cheese grating.


"Let's test that one idiom!" Ren declared.


Veryx pulled out three pans. Filled one with salted water, put one on the counter, and put the other next to the second pan. Looking at Viviane, she said, "Dearest, if you want to grab the liver, it's in the drawer at the bottom right of the refrigerator."


Viviane nodded, tying her hair back as she leaned down to get the liver. "What do you want to cook with it?" she asked as she sifted around the fridge, still leaning over.


Veryx said in reply, "Well, I support it's dependent on what you like. I normally like liver with a sweet potato reduction, as well as a red wine sauce. Would you like to try that?" As she asked these questions, she threw the noodles into the salted water pot and then said, "Oh, and would you mind grabbing some tuna from the fridge? I know you dislike it, but there should be a piece of it covered in paper near the top of the fridge." Persephone continued to grate cheese as Veryx and the others began working.

"Here, I'll get it for you, Viviane," offered Ren, hopping over.

"Thanks Ren," she said, still sifting about for the liver.


Veryx smiled as the young man sought to help the girl at the fridge. She turned to her daughter quickly before the other two came back into earshot. "That one is a keeper, you best not lose him to the other people here." Persephone blushed a little as she began to grate cheese a little faster. "Wh-Whatever mom…"


Viviane sighed as she finally found the liver, standing back up and stretching her back after having leaned over for so long. "Okay, here's the liver," she said, walking back over as she passed the older kitsune the meat. "Sweet potato and red wine…sounds delicious," she said cheerfully, before pausing. "Uh. Can you get drunk off the wine…?"


Veryx laughed heartily at the question. "Oh dear, no you can't. When wine is cooked, all of the alcohol is cooked out. So all you get left with is a delicious base for a sauce. I happen to be an expert with these kinds of sauces~" She turned back to Ren, who was at the fridge. "Have you found the tuna yet dearest?" Persephone continued to grate cheese.

"...I might have a problem," he replied. "Um. Vertically challenged. I didn't think this through."


Veryx laughed as she cleared her throat. "Persephone, if you would." Persephone sighed as she walked over to an area where she could see the interior of the fridge. She then used her limited telekinesis to carry it to where her mother was. "Now we can actually get the tuna casserole started. Thank you dearest." She sidehugged her daughter as she waved Ren over. "Time to learn to cook fish."

Ren gave an apologetic bow of his head as he made his way over. "This looks delicate," he observed.

Veryx smiled. "Oh dear, it may look delicate, but I can promise you that we can tussle with it a little bit. Also, we'll be using it in pieces, so there's no reason to be quite as delicate with it." Veryx stood near Ren, watching over him as he cooked. If she needed to step in, she would, but she would stay out of it as much as she could. "Now, if you bring the fish into the pan over here… You can cook it over this stove." The stove seemed to have no flame, until Veryx snapped her fingers and a blue flame exploded under where she wanted the pan to be placed. "Fire alignments come in handy for more than battle," Veryx mused. "Oh stop doting on him Mother and let him cook," Persephone commented.

"Ah, don't worry, I have fire magic as well," he smiled. "I usually find light magic more useful though. Um… Are these bits small enough? They feel too big…"


Alternatively, Viviane was on the side, idly defrosting the liver in a bowl. Perking her head up when she heard the size comments, she grinned from ear to ear. "I thought you liked big things, Ren."


Veryx's eyebrows shot up, hearing this comment. "Oh dear." She looked at Persephone, wondering if she would also have a retort for this. Veryx looked over Ren's shoulder and said, "Dearest, those pieces are just the perfect size! If you can cook them until they turn a wonderful white color, they should be done~" In the meantime, Veryx pulled the pasta off of the burner and began straining it. She then took that pan and began mixing together a variety of ingredients that she had Persephone grab from the fridge, creating a cheesy and milky sauce for the interior of the casserole. "If you want to dump those tuna chunks into this sauce, then we should be good to go soon enough~" She turned to Viviane. "That should be enough time to defrost. If you want to steal that pan that I left on the counter to cook the liver, then I'll start working on the sauce and the reduction. I trust you to make the liver tasty enough~"

Viviane nodded, taking the pan as she looked over the liver. "Hmm…" she thought, pulling out her carving knife as she carefully drew diagonal lines across the liver before throwing it on the pan to cook.


Ren, meanwhile, was individually removing the chunks one by one to place them into the sauce, distributing them as evenly as possible.

"I'm kind of curious," he spoke up. "Did you gather all of this yourself? I didn't take the Oni for having a taste for delicacies like liver or fresh fish."


Veryx smiled as she watched Viviane delicately slice the liver and cook them in the pan. In response to Ren's question, she smiled and said, "Well, my clients do favors for me as payment in addition to their fee. Sometimes I ask for fish and sometimes I ask for fresh vegetables. My business is my entire living and it provides well for me. It can be a little… Risky at times, but that's why I've worked on my charming ability all these years. If I can keep people from hurting me and my business, and by extension, my family, then I can protect all I love." Veryx suddenly shook her head and realized that she was getting a little too serious. "Oh dear, listen to me, rambling on. I must be getting to be more like my mother after all these years." She giggled, slightly concerned for herself by the sounds of it. "Also Ren, would you mind dumping that mixture into the pan with the noodles after another minute? Persephone can take care of the rest after that."

He gave a nod, holding onto the handle in preparation to decant.

"If that's true, I think your mother must have been very kind," he said idly.


Persephone laughed awkwardly. "She's definitely committed to her work, that's for sure. I love her." She leaned into Ren and whispered, "But if I'm being honest, her work sometimes comes first." Persephone put the noodles into the pan and held it, ready for Ren to decant into it, which he started to as delicately as he could.

"It must be strange, living with a bigger version of yourself," he mused.


Viviane eventually finished her cooking, having flipped the liver over at some point before turning off the flame. "Seasoning?" she asked, glancing up again, having chosen not to listen after hearing something about getting fish. "Not for keeping as a pet," she thought. "Most definitely not."


Veryx hummed for a moment before deciding on the spice. "Just put rosemary on it and call it good. Keeping things simple will make the reduction and the sauce taste even more divine~" As she said this, she happened to finish with her reduction and the sauce was almost complete.


Persephone looked at Ren and said, "I suppose it's strange living with a bigger version of myself, but it's actually nice. I know what to expect once I mature fully. My mother has some incredible power and I hope to be like her, if not better by the time I reach her age." As Ren finished decanting, she put all of the cheese on top of the casserole and threw it in the oven, which Veryx quickly lit. "And now, we wait." She looked at Ren, seeing that they both had nothing to do. "Do you want to help me set the table then?"

He nodded in agreement. "Where do you keep the cutlery?" he asked.


Viviane calmly sprinkled rosemary over the liver before looking for a plate, taking the liver off the fire while she searched. "All yours, ma'am," she said, finally finding a plate and placing the liver on before sliding the plate over.


As Viviane slided the plate over, Veryx was ready. She poured the sweet potato reduction around the liver, which she arranged in a circle. She poured the sauce over and in the middle of the circle of meat, allowing the sauce to be absorbed by the meat and the reduction. "Alright! Looks good to me!"


Persephone grabbed three bags from inside of a drawer. "We don't normally have guests, so I think we need to pull out the fancy cutlery." Within the bags contained golden silverware and napkins which seemed to be made of fine silk. "Alright, let's go set the table."

"Right!" he nodded. "Uh. I have no idea where we're going, so lead the way, I suppose."


Viviane was sorely tempted to taste-check the liver dish before they took it onto the table…but she could wait. Patience. "Patience," she mumbled, still staring intently at the human liver. It'd been ages since she'd gotten to eat anything human; Schism academy had strict rules forbidding the consumption of the race on campus. Hence she was going to enjoy it when she could.


Persephone led Ren to an open area on an opposite wall of the kitchen. "Alright, here we are. Let's start getting set up before the casserole is done!"


Veryx looked over at Viviane who seemed to be a little impatient. "Dearest, we're the only two who seem to be eating this, so it's alright if you sneak a bite or two." She winked at her as she pierced a piece of liver with her nail and inhaled the piece whole. "Mmm~ Scrumptious~"


Viviane nodded, sneaking a bite herself too as she sighed happily, the flavours bursting in her mouth. "It's really been too long," she mumbled, covering her mouth with a hand as she chewed and spoke.


Ren, meanwhile, was looking a little hesitantly over the table.

"A thought just occurred to me," he said. "The other two, the ones trying to contract that bear spirit… I have no idea how long that takes. I'm keeping myself visible to them with our link, but it's possible they might show up midway through."


Persephone smiled as Ren said this. "Well, we've got plenty of room here, as well as plenty of food. The casserole we made can feed plenty more than just us here~ And I'm sure if people want human liver, they can probably have some of that too."


Veryx quickly pulled the casserole out of the oven as she signaled for Viviane to grab the liver to serve on the table. She loudly announced as she walked into the dining room, "Dinner is served~"

 

[Illumi]

Draco breathed heavily, trying to regulate the flow of air to his lungs once again. His muscles ached, his ears rang, his vision blurred.

It would've been a normal day if he had just kept his damn jaw shut. But, alas, he decided to talk back to his father, and when his father savagely attacked him, he decided to fight back.


Leading to his current predicament of basking in his own sweat and blood, kneeling down trying to regain his breathe, and trying to get his muscles to move no matter how sore they were.


"Well, Draco?" the hulking figure before him spoke. "Do you understand where you stand yet? I think I've made myself clear already, but we can continue if I still haven't… persuaded you."


The dragon-boy spat blood out of his mouth, directly on his father's face.

"You can burn in hell. My whole life has been just taking your shit. The one moment I fight back, you get all pissy because you think you stand above everybody. Well, fuck you!"

Draco managed to push himself off the ground during his monologue, settling into a fighting stance.


His father narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think you understand the concept of parenting."

As he spoke, the ground shattered beneath his feet. Tiny fragments of rock hovered in the air for just a moment, and then…

"Let me explain it to you."


He dashed forward, reaching Draco in the blink of an eye, swinging a fist towards the boy's abdomen.

The blow sent him sprawling across the ground, not having the slightest chance to dodge.


Draco winced as his dad disappeared from sight and he hadn't felt the pain of being struck in the gut until blood was launched out of his mouth and he went skidding across the ground.

The boy righted himself, his claws digging in the ground to stop him from flying farther away as he back flipped and landed up right.


The dragon-boy would then heave out darkness from his mouth, the surrounding area turning dark and lowering his father's perception as he used Darkness Breath.

A pair of glowing eyes pierced the shadows, a clawed hand snapping out and grasping his neck, lifting him from the ground.

"Did you really think that a party trick like that would stop me?" he growled, slamming Draco's body against the ground with absurd force.


"F-Fuck you," Draco spat as he brought his arm back and summoned his Blood Bound Mana Absorbing Gauntlets.

Without wasting any time, he slammed his fist into his father's face as hard as he could and went to fly away with large gusts of wind from his wings.

Perhaps it was just to prove a point, but Illuminus didn't even try to dodge. Draco's blow did no visible damage whatsoever, and Illuminus just glared before vanishing again and appearing right behind his son.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" he hissed. "Go ahead. Do your worst. And when you've exhausted yourself, I will show you why you failed to even harm me."


"So," Dia frowned, "tell me again about this palace idea of yours. The Ankhora skeleton?"

"Basically, I want to kill the Ankhora and use it's bones to make a palace." Yui explained.

"Right, but what's the difference between that and a regular palace?" she asked.

"The difference is it's made from the Ankhora. And the Ankhora is the power source for the wrath stuff or whatever. So if I make a palace out of that I can only assume I'd have the source of power in my control."

"Wouldn't it stop generating that power if it died?" she replied.

"I have no clue but it's honestly worth a shot, right?" He sighed. "And if it doesn't I still have a palace of dragon bones."

"True. Really strong bones at that."


Draco's eyes steeled as his brow furrowed. If there was anyone that could piss him off, it was his father. The cocky bastard, thinking he was superior.

He probably beat on Draco so much because he could and nobody would stop him. If he was going to die, he was going to leave the world with the satisfaction of knowing his father didn't have a personal play toy anymore.

He brought his gauntlet back again and flew forward, using the forward momentum to power up his blow again. And instead of aiming for his father's face, he'd go way lower.

The dragon-boy slammed his gauntlet straight into his unborn brothers and sisters, or better known, as his family jewels and baby maker.


It was like steel.

"Hilarious," Illuminus snarled. "Well, if you're so ready to destroy what sired you, then I suppose that's admitting you're ready to die."


Yui narrowed his eyes. He was focusing on something in the distance. "Dia, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I see a child getting beaten to death over there. Should we go help him? Or her?"

"I… can't see anything from here," she admitted. "Should I just stay back?"

"If you want I suppose. Not going to force you." Upon saying those few words Yui had drawn Cadis.


Why was anything he was doing not working? He just couldn't understand. Was his father that much stronger than him?

Well, obviously. He was so fatigued and his father was taking his strongest hits like they were nothing. He was… weak. He accepted the fact that he was going to die here.

What else was there to do?

"Have you finally realised the magnitude of your weakness?" Illuminus droned. "Do you have any idea how puny you are? You've never had to struggle in your entire life until this moment. Do you think my life was anywhere as easy as yours that I would be as weak as you after four centuries, you damned mayfly?!"

Draco smirked, "You're so damn strong, you couldn't have raised me any better? You're as pathetic as I am."

"I raised you just fine if you never had to fight for your life before. Would you like to see what I could have done to you?" he spat. "Fine. Then look up and see your destruction incarnate."

He raised a hand, above him forming dozens of blazing fireballs, practically burning Draco's skin off without even touching him.

Draco was right. There was nothing he could do. As soon as he felt the searing heat across his face, he glared at his father. No words were spoken. He wouldn't show weakness or beg for forgiveness in front of the man who ruined his life.

"Die in ashes."


Yui felt a warmth rushing over his body. "Hey you bastard! No matter how weak someone is doesn't mean you have the right to beat them like a sick dog. The sight of you makes me sick, and you've officially pissed me off."

"Pardon me, Draco. I think I hear a gnat," the man growled, turning the fireballs on Yui.

Yui's back began to grow to large bumps and within a matter of seconds wings sprouted. He flew up, keeping his eyes on Illuminus.


Draco wasted no time in flying up as well, and going towards the mystery man.

"Who are you… why are you helping me?" Draco questioned, panting heavily. He didn't think flying would take so much out of him, but after being beaten into the ground, it made sense.

"Now isn't exactly the time for questions. Just go to the blonde girl down there and get the hell out of here."

"Y-Yes, okay," Draco muttered loud enough for the man.

He flew to the blonde lady and collapsed on the grass. "Hey, n-nice to meet you, I'm the bloodied up dragon-boy, Draco." He said, laying his head down in the grass. "By any chance do you know how to heal?

"I… don't know magic, no," she replied. "Nice to meet you though. I'm Dia."


Illuminus spread his wings, soaring up to meet Yui.

"Who exactly do you think you are, impeding on discipline, shitstain?" he hissed.

"I'm stopping you from killing a child. Killing someone isn't discipline if I remember correctly. You must honestly be fucking retarded to think that it is."

"Is an inferior being lower than an ant the one telling me this?" he snarled. "Perhaps I'll need to be rid of you first."

"Who exactly do you think you are, calling me an ant? If anyone was pathetic here it's you. I laugh at how stupid you look thinking you're all powerful as you were beating a defenseless child."

"I beg your pardon. Would you prefer this arrangement?!"

With a roar, he sent dozens more fireballs straight at Yui.

He attempted to dodge. "I have this really cool attack that I think you'd like because it can kill you so please stop launching fireballs at me for a minute."

"I'm not fighting you, boy! I'm killing you!"

He launched a second volley.

"Woah woah woah woah woah calm down for a minute and just wait to see the attack please!" He flew downwards, just about dodging again.


"Shit." Draco spat, turning to Dia, "Are you friends with this guy? Do you think he can beat my father? Should we jump in and help? Are you strong enough to help?"

The dragon-boy questioned frantically.

"There's no way I can do anything, but Yui is strong enough if he puts his mind to it," she replied. "Just give him time."


"I think we should just calm down for a second okay? Let's throw insults back and forth before we try to kill each other at least. Because I really don't want to use this super powerful attack against you. It's too powerful."

"Shut up already, insect!" He fired fewer this time, but a lot faster.


Draco cringed as the fireballs connected with his savior. He couldn't have someone else risk their life for his.

The boy took flight again and wasn't as scared as before as he was farther away. He summoned his Light Polearm in his right hand and brought his arm back, wasting no time in launching it forward and aiming for his father's solar plexus.

Yui started to charge, something in Cadis. The blade of the sword began glowing. "Dia do me a favor dearest. Even if you don't think you can try your best to help me."

Illuminus easily stepped aside, tossing a fireball into Draco's side and sending him down to the ground with almost no effort. "You wait your turn, boy."

"W-what can I do…?!" Dia cried helplessly.

"Just get the hell in front of me and don't move!" He shouted.

Tears streamed out of the eyes of the boy as he crashed to the ground, "D-Damn! That hurt! But I can't... I can't let him die!"

Draco once again lifted himself off the ground and brought his two palms together, charging a ball of ash in between his hands. It grew bigger, and bigger-!

He let it go, watching as it flew towards his dad and hoping it would hit.

"Dia if you don't get in front of me now all three of us are probably going to fucking die! All you have to do is stand there!"

Illuminus caught it, dropping it to the ground. "I've had enough. Just die."

That was when a golden bolt shot up between Yui and Illuminus.

"I won't let you," Dia said.

"Move, bitch," he snapped. With a single backhand, he sent her back to the ground.

The beam Cadis' had been charging was now ready. Yui aimed Cadis at Illuminus and fired it.

The crimson blast exploded from Cadis' blade, tearing across the very space itself and engulfing Illuminus in the blast, the sound of his screams echoing over the landscape.

"I'm tired." Yui had collapsed, unconscious.

Draco let out a sigh of relief he hadn't know he had been holding. It was finally over. He was never going to be tortured, hit, or looked down upon by that man again.

He was free… and he had to thank it to this duo.

"Thank you… thank you so much!" Draco cried, tears spilling out of his eyes. He laid down on the grass, and closed his eyes. This was a crazy ride.

"Ow… That guy, what was his problem…" muttered Dia. "It's nothing, honestly. Last time we fought a dragon it was much more of a fight. We'd probably better get Yui to somewhere with a bed."

 

[Random]

Veryx set down the human liver toward one side of the table and signaled for Viviane to set the casserole on the other end of the table. "Alright children, take your seats! If you need something to drink, let Persephone and I know before we sit down~ Otherwise, you're fending for yourselves~" She gave a slight wink as she waited for the children to assemble around the table. Persephone held a chair open for Ren, hoping she'd get a chance to sit next to him.
"Ah, I can help with the drinks if you'd like," Ren offered, awkwardly raising his hand a little. "It's a team effort, right?"

Veryx smiled toward the young man. "Well, that's very kind of you bu-" Persephone finished the sentence for her mother. "But we've got this covered. You are a guest after all~ And guests are treated very kindly in this house." She continued to hold the chair, hoping he would plop down.
He nodded. "If you're sure… In that case, excuse me," he said, gently setting himself down on the chair Persephone was offering him. He gave a faint grimace thinking back to all the drinks he had stumbled across recently, before concluding, "I'll just have water, please."

Persephone smiled as she quickly ran into the kitchen to grab glasses for everyone. She was going to grab a water for herself and for Ren. Her mother would be able to handle most of the other glasses. Veryx turned to the rest of the guests. "And what do you all of you like to drink? I've got anything from juices to some more… Adult products if you're feeling ambitious~"

"Red wine for me," Viviane said. "Please."

Veryx gave a small smile in the direction of Viviane. "I like the way you think dearest~" She turned back to Persephone. "Persephone, grab this lovely girl a glass of the special red I keep in the cellar. Oh, and you might as well bring the bottle. I think I'll have some as well." From the kitchen, Persephone called, "Yes mother." Persephone disappeared through a door next to the refrigerator and appeared moments later with a levitating bottle next to her. She opened the cupboard and then poured the glass of red. She carried the two glasses of water in her hands, held the bottle of wine with one of her tails and levitated the glass of red wine over to Viviane. She set down the glass of water in front of Ren, placed the bottle of red wine near her mother, and placed her own glass of water in front of her seat.

Viviane nodded as she took the glass, giving the kitsune mother and daughter a thankful smile before sipping a little. "Mmm…this is good," she said, a pale flush already beginning to appear.
Ren stared unnervedly at her as she drank, resigning himself to the inevitable result in advance before clearing his throat.
"Um… I haven't actually been exposed much to Yamatic cultures before, so this is just what I've heard, but if I remember, it's customary to pay respects before eating, so… Thank you for the food," he bid, before taking a hold of his cutlery and preparing to dig in.

Persephone watched as Viviane took a sip of the wine. It was a wine her mother had been holding onto for a while, so she was surprised she wanted to pull it out for this girl. She then heard what Ren said. Her mother made eye contact with her and then Veryx and Persephone burst out laughing. Veryx replied, "Oh dear, you are just too sweet, aren't you? It is customary, but Persephone and I are not ones for tradition. We do appreciate the effort though." Persephone smiled at Ren. "It's quite funny, but it's also cute for you to be so respectful~ Honestly, I'm surprised to see someone with that kind of personality in our house." Persephone caught the expression of her mother, which became somber for just a moment. Persephone cleared her throat and then suddenly turned forward in her chair, turning away from Ren. "But thank you…"
His face was already beginning to flush again, just about matching Viviane's oncoming fever -- or perhaps frenzy, depending on how one looked at it.
"A-ah, it's nothing!" he insisted. "You were kind enough to offer us hospitality, so it's only right!"

Viviane hummed as she continued sipping the red wine, a healthy flush over her face now as she finally put it down. "Have to stop that before I pass out," she said with a slight giggle. "This wine really is marvelous."

Veryx grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet in the kitchen and poured herself a glass of red wine before sitting down. "Alright, now let's dig in!" Persephone grabbed some of the casserole and dished herself a plate. "Ren, would you like some?"

"Yes please," he replied cheerfully. "I'm hoping I got the fish right. I'm sorry in advance if I messed it up."

Persephone dished up a plate for Ren and placed it in front of him. "I'm sure you did a wonderful job Ren." As she said this, she took a bite. As she took a bite, she tasted mostly cheese, but then there was a strange feeling that welled up inside her. It came in small clumps, but it made her calm and content, completely changing her mood. "Ren… I… I don't know what you did to the fish, but it's... I don't even know how to describe it…" Persephone smiled a little. "It's really good." Veryx, at this point, had taken a chance to eat some of the liver and was proud of her cooking once more. "Mmm~ Dearest, you did an excellent job cooking that liver! It's absolutely divine~" She elbowed Viviane a little bit. "And I should say the sauce isn't that bad as well~" Veryx took another swig of wine, becoming visibly red-faced. "Ah what a wonderful meal this is."

Ren himself seemed very pleased that his work was being enjoyed, with just a tiny twinge of worry in the back of his mind as he watched the two increasingly drunk women. Oh no, he was completely comfortable with the two people here with the strongest mind control getting totally smashed. What was there to worry about in the world? Nothing bad could possibly have resulted from that. In all of history not a single embarrassing thing had ever come from getting immensely powerful hypnotists drunk.
"It's a little like your teleempathy you showed me earlier," he explained to Persephone to keep his mind off the subject a little bit. "I can do that too, sort of. One minor power it gives me is emotions in food, but if I can form an emotional bond with someone, I can send them power to accomplish things they're struggling with. The closer we are, the more their soul will let me in. Or maybe their heart. Or both. I don't really know how it works."

Persephone looked toward Ren as she listened to what he said. As he began to explain how his power worked, she grew more interested. This was a great opportunity to grow more powerful and finally find a mate! She looked toward her mother and she seemed to be making eye contact through her wine glass as she drank. Persephone looked toward Ren with hopeful eyes. "Wow! That's such an incredible power! I mean, I know my teleempathy is cool, but that power to make others more powerful as you grow closer to them is… Astounding! It's quite impressive, to say the least." Persephone swirled her tails in her chair and let one scrape up against his side. "It looks like I won't be going anywhere without you for a while yet~ I'm weak right now, but it seems like I'll get stronger if I'm around you. And you don't seem too bad, so maybe I can stick around you guys for a while… If that's okay, that is." Veryx's eyes grew sharp as she stared at her daughter. Everything she had taught her was finally beginning to pay off. This kind of opportunity for her daughter was too much to pass up on. Veryx would do anything she could to make sure her daughter grew to be as powerful, if not more powerful, than she was.

The boy's eyes, however, widened, a practically visible gleam forming in them.
"You'd come with us?" he asked, barely suppressing a smile, just trying to hold himself down a little bit on the off-chance that he had misunderstood, but he couldn't pretend it wasn't the answer he was hoping for. Persephone seemed curious and kind, and being able to take her with them on their travels would have been wonderful.
"Anooooother one to the harem," Viviane mumbled as she stabbed at the liver, humming cheerfully to herself.

Persephone politely replied to Ren first saying, "Yes, of course! All of you seem alright, even if I met you under… Less than favorable circumstances~" Then she responded to Viviane with a laugh. "I suppose it's a harem since all of you seem to be obsessed with Ren~ Although I can imagine all of you also want to be stronger as well, so I can't really blame any of you for it." Persephone began brushing one of her tails against the back of Ren's back and smiling. "I do hope we can become real good friends soon though~"

Viviane laughed openly. "ME and Ren? Oh that's rich," she said, struggling to hold herself back as she kept laughing. "Ah…nah, yooooou have to compete with Miki. And Val. And probably this…Adelaide, though I haven't met her."

"Who said anything about competition? I'm afraid that I'm just trying to be friends with Ren~ I have no idea what you're talking about with competition~" The brushing of her tail became a little more prominent as she said this. "Ren, don't you want to be friends with me?" Veryx, at this point, just laughed.

Ren gave a small whimper, his face brightening even further than before as he gave a weak nod.
"I-I do…" he answered, more faintly than he had intended, but it seemed that most of his voice was feeling much too embarrassed to escape with the few breaths that had.

Persephone's tails once more increased in prominence, attempting to get a rise from Ren. "Aww~ I'm touched Ren! I wanna be your friend too!" Persephone hugged Ren. She stopped using her tail to caress his back. "Well, I'm glad I can finally venture out to another place." Persephone said this cheerfully, but made eye contact with her mother, almost insinuating another meaning. Veryx locked eyes with her daughter as she took another bite of liver. Veryx said, "Well, I must say that it is a pleasure to meet such a merry band of children~ However, I am curious as to why your friend was kidnapped."

"I'm not c-completely sure myself," Ren replied, his face cooling off a little bit as he spoke. "But if I had to make an educated guess, then it would be his mixed blood. The Fair Folk, at least according to what I know, see the Oni as mindless barbarians that they want away from their shores, while the Oni see the Fair Folk as conniving, sly, and tricksy, and much too dangerous to be anywhere near, so there's probably an ongoing feud. Our friend is half Faerie and half Oni, so it would make sense for him to be a pawn in that."

Veryx raised her eyebrows at the issue at hand. "Well well well, it seems the Oni have become emboldened as of late. I do know that they have an issue with the Fair Folk, but I never imagined they would do something like kidnapping a child who belongs to the Fair Folk, as well as their own culture." Veryx practically purred as she continued. "It seems you children have gotten yourself mixed into something quite curious~ I would love to help you see it play out, but as I said, I'm entrusting Persephone with your escape from such a daft situation." Veryx took another drink of her wine. "And I do look forward to hearing of your tale once you're all done." Persephone looked toward her mother and said, "We'll make sure we stop by on our way back. I'm sure everyone would love to have another meal with you, Mother."

Viviane clicked her tongue as she continued sipping her glass, over half the wine gone. "Iiiiii would not recommmmmend that," she mumbled. "Who knooows what troubles weeee'll bring. Who knoooows~"
"Probably Val," Ren coughed. "She would not take kindly to being here. Which is a shame, because it's lovely."

Veryx smiled a bit and filled Viviane's glass once more. "Well dearest, I can promise that I can make her enjoy things if it comes to it." Persephone frowned at her mother as she turned to Ren, hiding the expression she gave to her mother. "And who is this Val person?" Persephone's ears perked up as her tails swirled. "Why wouldn't she like it here? Is she kinda abrasive? Is she kinda angry a lot? Do you like her? Hmm?"
"Valentina is a Veela hybrid," Ren explained cheerily. "She's a good friend of mine. She's not a bad person, but she always has this air of grumpiness when other people touch me. She's in the mountain right now with Adelaide, so they might come back soon."

"Touch him," Viviane said, snickering uncontrollably to herself as she took another sip.
Persephone purred and she mused, "Mmm~ Another person who's obsessed with Ren~"
"I-I'm not sure people are obsessed with me…" he mumbled bashfully.

"Oh they definitely are," Viviane said, nodding on the side. "You're at…foooour people? Three? Four? Threee? Fooooooour?" She took another sip.
As Viviane was in her drunken stupor, Persephone was swirling her tails a little quicker. "I'm counting… Four, as of right now. Including myself~" Persephone leaned onto Ren's shoulder and began nuzzling him. "Hehe~ I sure do hope Ren enjoys all of this attention~" Veryx looked at her daughter and smirked. She seemed to be doing a fine job of incorporating herself into this group of children.

"He certainly enjoyed it on the way here. Remember? Reeemmeber,?" Viviane said, nudging Ren's shoulder. "Glowing white in twooooo places."
There were several reasons why Ren was blushing right now. Being called out on that was certainly one of them, but being essentially sandwiched between two rather attractive girls, one fluffy and one intoxicated, was not really working wonders on his libido right now.
He tried to stutter out a sentence, but he just felt himself seem to shrink smaller and smaller, spluttering out noises instead of words.
The Nekomata who had stayed silent and still could've had 5 tick marks appear if she was an anime character, but now was not the time to dwell on whatever anime was. She instantly picked up Ren from his seat while frowning and held him to herself. She sent death glares to almost everyone in 4 foot distance and had accidently put up a hunter's aura, a thing she picked up to install fear in small prey.
Viviane snickered at Lulubell's reaction. "You need to caaaalm dooooown," she said, humming a lullaby in the Nekomata's general direction.

Persephone laughed. "I think the count just went up to five now~" Veryx stood as the nekomata grabbed Ren. "Now now, let's settle down children. I don't think any of you want to be forcibly put back in your seats by me, now do you?" Veryx raised a slightly drunken eyebrow.

Ren's expression didn't change from his visage of nervous embarrassment. Actually, being forced back down might have even restored some sanity to this situation, at least a semblance of it, so he wouldn't have even been opposed to it.

Vivi rolled her eyes at being considered part of their stupid love thing, or even being charmed by the humming. "Sorry, I dont like family being near molested by 2 drunken near succubi." the Nekomata said with slight sarcasm but with a mostly flat voice.
"To… be fair…" Ren murmured faintly, "Persephone had water…"
Viviane huffed. "Heeeeeeey, I'm not a succubi. They have uh…horns. And wings. Don't peg me with those demons. It paints a bad picture on siraids and mermens," she said,
Persephone had to agree with Viviane, she was not a succubus. "Well, excuse me for showing some interest in someone. Seems to be much more than you can do." Persephone swirled her tails and went back to eating her casserole, which made her feel calm. "Damn this fish," she whispered to herself. Veryx looked at Vivi and her daughter. "Persephone, that wasn't very kind. And you, I think Ren can handle himself just fine in this situation. If it gets to be too much, I can always get Persephone to stop. My daughter might be a little handsy, but she knows what is too much."
Ren gave her an almost mortified look, as if he were internally screaming 'no I cannot handle this at all I cannot even handle myself please help me'.
Vivi was not in any agreement with that, looking at Ren. "Do you want to-wait no, I should rephrase that…" she said as she put down Ren and made him turn to her so he wouldn't have to look at the others. "Are you okay with dealing with them? Truthfully?" She asked as she zoned out the world to concentrate using a soft caring tone. Right now, Vivi was treating Ren like one of the children she took care of, and her view didn't seem like it would change for a while.

Viviane huffed, rolling her eyes as she downed the glass of wine in one go, sighing as she placed it down on the table again. "And…that's…done," she mumbled, her face flushed red as she caught something shiny in the corner of her eye. What was it again? Nice and golden…

It was around now that Viviane passed out, front half slumped against the table as she quietly slept.

Veryx smirked as Viviane slumped onto the table. "Well, I was certainly wondering when that was going to happen~ I'm surprised she was able to last for about a glass and a half, this was a real old bottle." Persephone sighed as she continued eating. She paused for a moment to say, "Ren, I promise I won't tease you at the table if you come sit back down."

He nodded a little as he obliged.
"It's fine. I don't mind," he clarified. "It's just… embarrassing somehow."
He glanced over to Viviane's unconscious body.
"Is… she going to be okay…?" he murmured. "Should we move her?"

Veryx laughed. "Oh dearest, I'll take care of it soon enough. You don't worry your little head about her and just finish eating." Veryx sat back down and crossed her legs, taking another swig of wine. "So…" Her head bobbed a little bit. "Why do you have so many people chasing after you? You know, you're cute, but you're not that cute. I've had plenty of men in my house, so I should know." Persephone's eyes widened. "Mother!"

"No, she's right," he admitted. "I don't really understand it myself. I've helped a lot of people, but most of them don't think about me in that way. I'm not sure if Viviane is even remotely interested in me, but I know that Val is… probably just because I'm c-cute or something. To be honest, a lot of people have told me that, so I can't really deny it, but it still feels like I don't have any particular virtues. Miki and I are in a contract though, so that came quite naturally."

Persephone stood up from the table, accidentally knocking it with her legs, causing an audible clink of tableware, much to the small boy's surprise. She gave her mother a nasty glare as she grabbed Ren's hand and pulled him into another room, shutting the door behind them. "I… I'm sorry about my mother, she says things when she gets that way that aren't… They're not nice. She didn't mean that and I certainly hope you'll forgive her for that."
He shook his head, a smile on his face. He had been fairly astonished at first, but if that was what this was about…
"It's fine," he said. "I don't mind her being honest. I'd prefer that she spoke her mind. It reassures me when someone's words are just a little bladed like that. They're not trying to hurt your feelings, they're just not beating around the bush."
He paused for a moment.
"If I'm completely honest, it feels like she has a kind of frustration to her that she can't get rid of. Or maybe it's something different. It… feels a little bit like she's lost someone."

While Persephone took Ren into the next room, Veryx frowned. "Well, I suppose I have cleanup duty then." She stood up shakily and moved to Viviane. She picked her up and moved her to a couch close to the dining area. "What a bunch of kids," she said, not meaning anything in particular.

Persephone sighed. "I don't know what she could've possibly lost, other than my father. But… I have no idea who he is, so I don't know how I could help if that's who she's lost. I mean… I should tell you that my mother is… Well… Her profession is shameless, to say the least. If you haven't picked up on that…"
"I'm not sure I can call it shameless," he replied. "What she chooses to do with her own body isn't any of my business, I don't think, and if you're good at something or you enjoy it then there's no reason to not make it into a… Well, career is a strong word here, but… My point is that I don't think less of her just because she happens to do that for a living."

Persephone suddenly became somber. "I'm glad that you don't think less of her… But…" She stopped speaking. "I don't know what to tell you, but… Would you judge me if I told you that she…" Persephone looked Ren in the eye. "She passed on some of her knowledge…?"
"Should I?" he asked. "I don't think people can help what they know. All they can do is choose what to do with their knowledge, right? It's for you to decide what you should do with it, if anything at all."
Persephone paused for a minute before opening the door behind her, slipping through, and shutting the door behind her. She whispered as she walked back toward the dining area, "I didn't have the chance to decide, idiot."

Ren didn't follow her.
He had clearly upset her, that much was obvious. Had he said something wrong? Had he underestimated how important it was to her?
She had felt more genuine in that moment than she had in the rest of the time since they had met, and yet he had managed to get such a terrible result. The moment it had mattered, he messed up.
So what she values is… You've really dropped the ball, Ren.
He gave a silent sigh.
You're right, Huànlóng. I really am colourless, aren't I?
He hadn't finished talking with Persephone, but if he had missed something that simple, he probably didn't deserve to finish.
He would go back in there in a minute or two. It was probably better to talk to her about this at another time, but he was quickly coming to the conclusion that it was impossible to change someone's mind when it came to how they saw the world.

Adelaide inching her way through the brush, stumbled upon the cottage. Her eyes study the simplicity of the house, made of maple wood with warm smoke being released from the chimney. It was cozy. She smiled.
"How lovely"
At the entrance of the cottage, she knocked three times. Hoping for an answer.

Persephone's ears perked up, as well as Veryx's ears. As they both perked up their ears, they both moved in succession toward the door. Persephone looked her mother in the eye, as she braced for being charmed. Persephone nodded as Veryx quickly opened the door, exuding a charming aura. "Well hello~"

To Adelaide's delight the door opened to reveal a beautiful kitsune, with sharp features, and nine pretty tails. Looking into her eyes Adelaide felt relaxed. Small Peonies sprouted from her cheeks, as her face acquired a sleepy and hypnotized expression.
"H-hello" she Smiled

Persephone fell under the effects of the charm as her mother continued to charm Adelaide, hoping she could continue questioning her. "Are you a friend of Ren's?"

Adelaide's eyes lit up slightly. She nodded in agreement.
"Yes ma'am."

Veryx smirked as she released everyone in her vicinity from the charm. "Well welcome into my home dearest, I'm Veryx and what's your name?" Persephone wondered whether this person was one of the people that Ren was talking about earlier. Was this Valentina? Or was this the other person, whose name she couldn't recall…? Persephone peeked out from behind her mother as she observed her appearance. She was strangely composed of plants, but she also was quite beautiful despite her strange-ish appearance.

Adelaide heard the question, and wasn't quite sure what had happened a few moments before. She had forgotten, attempting to recall.
"My name is Adelaide Peony ma'am."
Adelaide plucked one of her flowers and offered it to Veryx with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Veryx laughed as she stepped away from the door, allowing the girl to walk through. As she took the flower from Adelaide, she smiled. "Well thank you dearest~ I appreciate the gift!" At this point, Veryx tripped over herself a little, as she was a little tipsy from the wine she had been drinking earlier. "This is my daughter Persephone and your friend Viviane is staying on the couch. I don't know where Ren is, but he's around here somewhere." Persephone led her to the area where Viviane was on the couch. There was another couch for her to sit on if she had followed Persephone into that room.

Adelaide followed alongside Veryx nodding and smiling. When She introduced her daughter, Adelaide peeked around to find another pretty kitsune following closely. Adelaide grinned. "Persephone. What a lovely name."

Persephone smiled as she looked back at Adelaide. "And I must say that Adelaide is such a lovely name as well~" Persephone sat down on the couch and crossed her legs as her tails swirled. "Ren didn't really tell me much about you. So what can you tell me about yourself?" She patted a place on the couch next to her.

Adelaide smiled. Persephone seemed very friendly.
She sat down next to her.
"I come originally from the mountains of Avalon. Mount Vortigern to be exact. I lived there with my parents Oak and Anarée. Since the mountains weakening, they sent me off to live with Ephialtes. I had been living with him for a few months now. This morning I bumped into Ren, and Miki, and Val. And now,"
Her eyes sparkled as she gave Persephone her most genuine smile.
"I have the pleasure of meeting you."

Persephone giggled. "Oh dear, well it seems Ren is making many more interesting friends today~ Although, it's definitely a shame that I didn't meet Ren sooner. He's quite wonderful, and I'm quite intrigued by him," she said. She thought to herself, "Even if he accidentally just said something insensitive." Persephone's ears suddenly perked up and her tails swirled quickly. "Oh! And if you're hungry, then we've got a little bit of food on the table which should still be warm!"

Vivi removed herself from the area, walking down the hallway to find which room Ren was occupying by scent. It wasn't the best trail since the doors were close together, but the smell of curry and spice was strong enough to make her guess correct. The Nekomata entered the room and called out to the last friend she could trust at the moment, "Ren?" she questioned for his presence in the dark room. "Are you alright?"
"Huh?" he blinked, looking up. He hadn't noticed her come in. "A-ah, yeah, I'm fine. I think I upset Persephone a bit."
He gave an anxious laugh, rubbing the back of his head.
"Really screwed up, didn't I?"
The Cat Girl frowned, and held back the venom she would've spitted towards her dislike for the...sexual fox. Right now was not a time for her to talk of her own opinion, but to comfort her friend. Walking closer to Ren, she sat on the foot of the bed and padded the spot next to her to signal Ren to come sit.
He nodded, almost stumbling over and sitting beside her.
"You seem a bit uncomfortable," he said.
She set an arm around his shoulders and smiled a bit too forcefully than intended. "I'm just not up to date as everyone, and I might be the only one really uncomfortable with meeting these new people and trusting them." she confessed, feeling dishonesty wouldn't help her trying to comfort the boy. "But let's talk about what happened between you and the fox girl. What happened that bothered you, if you don't mind me asking…" Vivi had asked with her mothering tone once again.
Ren gave a sigh. "I said something about deciding what you do with your own knowledge, and I think it upset her… The problem is, I don't have a strong enough link with her to know why. But I don't want to just ask in case it's sensitive, but I also can't just go back in there like nothing happened…"
Vivi hummed a bit to process the event that had been explained. "Well...you can't act like nothing happened, that would be rude...but I don't think it's the right time to ask why it bothered her. Honestly, it's when she's ready to trust you as well with her personal information. But that shouldn't stop you from going outside and talking like all the others. Talk to her, apologize even, and that would be all that would have to say until both of you are ready." The Nekomata had said, pausing to check if all she said was considered okay. "You're...really nice Ren, and that's what people need as friends. But, I don't think she's fully ready after just a day…Are you going to be okay though…?"
He nodded. "Yeah. You're right, I need to say sorry," he said. "Thanks, Vivi. You saved me."

Persephone had helped Adelaide find the food at the dinner table. She was excited to see what this flower girl would eat, whether it be the tuna casserole or the human liver. She didn't mind either way, she just wondered what she was in the mood to eat. She sat at the table and she put her head in her hands, leaning heavily against the table.

Vivi smiled at Ren and head bumped him to let her cat ears flicker and tickle Ren's face. "A sad Ren is a sad world, if Ren aint happy aint nobody happy."
A giggle escaped as her ears brushed against his face. "W-well, I'm sure that's not completely true. I have my fair share of people who hate me too, right?" he said. "Thank you though. I was just being kind of stupid. I'm glad you're here, Vivi."
The Nekomata let the hate comment slide, knowing there wasn't much to debunk on who would hate Ren and why. "I'm glad i'm here too, despite all the weird people."
"They're not that weird, I promise! I've met a few kitsune before. They're just naturally like that," he explained. "They used it to lure in humans back before the boundaries were put in place. I guess it makes sense that a cat and a fox would clash, though…"
She cringed at the false interpretation cat breeds and dog breeds would clash badly. "It's not the fox thing, I'm just not a fan of the personality she has. And her mother...it's because she attacked Viviane, and she tried to harm us. And she's...a stranger…! I can't be expected to be okay with her personality which instantly went to flirting the minute she saw you and everything became okay!" she finished off, flopping backwards to lay on the bed with a dramatic sigh.
Ren flushed a little, blinking. "I-is it me?" he asked. "Am I the reason this happened like it did? I just wanted to break up a fight!"
She groaned at herself, feelings mixing up entirely. "N-no it wasn't that I guess, she just listened to you and all of a sudden everything became okay because she allowed herself to talk to you calmly. Or something…? It's just…! Aaugh…! I want to blame her but I really can't because I could've calmed down and talked too and probably break up the fight but I didn't!" the Nekomata argued with herself, covering her face with her hands.
"I-it's fine! Really!" he insisted. "I think she was scared of you anyway, see! So I'm not sure she would have properly listened, and I don't think you could have come to a compromise as things were! You can't blame yourself, okay?!"
Vivi looked to Ren through her fingers and pulled him by his shirt to lay next to her. "...fine, but im still gonna feel bad." she pouted.
He did, lying back and poking her arm. "Don't worry about anything, okay? It all worked out in the end. Mostly."
Vivi wrapped him in a hug and pulled him close, purring loudly. "Okay, okay. Now shush and be snuggly you curry bun."
"C-curry bun...?!" he spluttered. He was getting pet names now? "I-I don't think we should fall asleep here though…"

Persephone waited at the table for a moment before she quickly became bored and her mind drifted back to Ren. The way she had left him… She supposed she felt bad about it. Maybe she should go visit him… But maybe what she said left a bad taste in his mouth and he didn't want to take her anymore. And maybe he wanted to never see her again now, but still wanted to use her Mom to get into the city. If that was the case… Oh god, she needed to apologize. She walked back over to the room where she left Ren and opened the door. To be surprise, he seemed to be getting plenty close to Vivi. "Well, it looks like I interrupted something." Persephone was highly annoyed, but also disappointed. She wanted to fix things with Ren.
Ren almost leapt out of his skin at the sound of her voice, his gaze darting from Vivi to Persephone and back again.
"I-i-i-it isn't…!" he cried, flushing. "I know it looks bad, but, I mean, I've been caught in way worse positions than this and… Wait, no! We're not! D-don't jump to conclusions!"
Vivi growled and got up, half asleep already. "I hate to tell you Fox Girl, but at the moment I'm aromantic and I'd like to remain that way. And sexual actions in general are not something i'd like to participate in for a while until I find a suitable partner or ever do."
Ren nodded tentatively. Although even though she's right, I feel like I'm being put down. She is still right though.
"Um… Persephone?" he said quietly. "I'm sorry. It was insensitive of me to not notice how delicate the subject was. I didn't mean to comment on your situation."

Vivi facepalmed internally, feeling like the moment was not right as Persephone looked quite more agitated with the way they were positioned. To make things better for Ren though, she stood up off the bed saying, "I'm going to take a shower." before she left to clean off and let them have privacy.

Persephone crosses her arms and gave the both of them a stern look. "Hmph. Well you both can do whatever you like. I just needed to say something to Ren really fast. But I guess it can wait." Vivi suddenly said she was going to go shower. "Well, I suppose that solves not being alone anymore…" Persephone looked at Ren and bowed a little. "I'm sorry for the way I acted. It was inappropriate and I know you think that you were being insensitive, but you didn't know or anything. I don't blame you and I hope that you can forgive my rude behavior."
He shook his head. "No, it was my fault. I'm normally proud of how discreet I am about things like this, but I should have really kept a bit quieter. Um… You're still going to come with us, right…?"

Persephone smiled and nodded. "Of course. And thank you for being so sensitive about the issue…" Persephone blushed a little and rubbed one of her feet around on the ground as she looked down. "I really appreciate it. And… I do hope that we get to know each other a little better…" Persephone looked up and her tails began to swirl as she took a few steps forward, standing above Ren. "So… Uh… Since we're alone…" Her face became a little less blushed as she looked off to the right of Ren. "Would it be okay if I… Gave you a hug? I-I know that we haven't known each other that long, but I feel like it's an appropriate way to seal an apology…"
Vivi stormed into the room again. "So hey, where's the bathroom again? I ended up doing a full lap around the house to not look like an idiot but now I'm just frustrated and in need of a pleasant shower." she loudly stated, tale swishing rapidly side to side and her ears flat down to her head.

Persephone quickly turned around to spot Vivi storming into the room. Her face turned a bright red as she quickly said, "U-Uh… I-It's down the hall to the right, two doors down!" Persephone tried to get Vivi to leave as quickly as possible. "And please knock when you enter next time. You took me a bit by surprise…" Persephone nervously laughed.

"I have fire magic," Ren whispered. "It's totally fine. Nobody will ever find her body if it's incinerated, right…?"

Vivi knocked on the door and let herself in again. "Okay ya but how do you work it? Like, I've encountered strange things so can I get a tutorial? I'm pretty fucking retarded when it comes to working strangers appliances so like, step by step twice so I don't forget and burn myself." she boldly stated with a very large grin hidden as she pulled a pokerface to look dead serious.

Persephone sighed and she felt the blush from her face disappear. Now the mood was ruined for her hug… "You just turn it clockwise. That's all you have to do. The water will start to flow and grow hotter the more you turn it." Persephone looked at Ren. "Wanna come into the dining room with me? I need to pack up the food if everyone is done eating. Your friends can heat up what we cooked if they get here."

"Yeah," he nodded. "I wonder what's taking them so long, anyway…?"
He was doing his best to hide the black aura of indignant fury that was pouring out from within. He had been deprived of warm, fluffy hugs. He had a good mind to obliterate that nekomata's very soul from its very fundament…

Persephone looked at Ren and shrugged. "I'm not quite sure." She looked back at Vivi. "If you need anything else, please ask my Mother. I'll be busy dealing with other matters. I'm sure she'd be happy to tend to your every need." Veryx's ears perked up as she heard the word "Mother". Veryx said, "Oh? Did I hear my title being called from somewhere?~" She appeared before Vivi, Persephone, and Ren. "What can I help with?" Persephone looked at her Mother. "It looks like Vivi might need some help with the shower. Could you go with her? In her own words, she seems to think she's mentally retarded when it comes to handling appliances that are not her own." Veryx gasped as she looked at Vivi. "Well of course I can help!"

At this point Vivi became invisible in the shadows and bolted to the shower at full speed, snickering a bit at the obvious cockblocking she had caused.
There was the sound of rapid footfalls and Miki appeared, seemingly unruffled from the distance. "Master, you're rather angry. Is there something I need to do?"
"Make it look like an accident?" the silver-haired boy beamed radiantly.
He nodded and looked pointedly at the kitsune."I can do that."
Persephone immediately waved her hands in the air and said, "NO NO NO, IT'S NOT ME!!! IT'S NOT ME!!!" Veryx's eyes became slits as she cocked an eyebrow at Miki. "Dear child, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to keep violence to a minimum in my home. Please." The "please" was more threatening than anything in those two sentences.
He blinked and gave a surprisingly timid nod. "Yeah."

Vivi came out of the shower in a fresh pair of chained army pants and a white tank top with dog tags. "Hey what's up here Ren?" she was grinning like the asshole she was now, not trying to hide it any longer.

Persephone saw the expression of Vivi and became too upset at this point to stay close to Ren. it was too much work at this point. She was just going to clean. "Nevermind Ren, I can clean up by myself. Have fun with Miki and Vivi. Viviane will probably also wake up soon if my Mother worked her little magic on the bottle before she gave Viviane any." Persephone didn't stay for a moment longer and went to clean up the dinner. Veryx held her hands on her hips as she faced Vivi. "You should learn when to keep things private between two people." She then shifted her gaze to Miki. "And to understand what you're being asked to do." Her eyes shifted back to Vivi. "Especially when someone asks to have private time." Veryx's mood changed suddenly as she walked toward the dining area. "But no big deal for now~ As long as you all behave yourselves and get along~"

Vivi laughed a bit coldly, thinking it was funny for caring for Persephone after the flirting attempts to Ren. Sure, she felt bad Ren was mad at her but she needed a laugh. And to keep Ren from kisses from strangers. That boy just collects them as he goes and sometimes Vivi thought he was aware of his harem habit. Besides, Miki might be thankful for her cockblocking the situation before the Fox girl did her flirting thing again. Honestly if she wanted privacy she could've been more lowkey about it.

Miki bristled at her words but nodded stiffly. "I'm going to look around at night," he informed them in a slightly clipped tone, "I'd like to find some locals and… question them about the Dorm Advisor's whereabouts. Unless you want to spend more time picking up strays, Master Ren?"
"Persephone isn't a stray!" protested Ren. "Adelaide isn't either! We just happened to run into each other and hit it off!"
Vivi rolled her eyes a bit. "Yes, you totally didn't stay in a dark room alone with one of them twice, her blushing like mad when I walked in the middle of it. Not suspicious of much, amiright?"
He flushed himself. "That's circumstantial evidence! Won't hold up in court!"
"We're lucky this isn't court then." Miki replied, only slightly smug.
"That's what I like about this, it's not a court. I can literally call this shit out and none of us faces death or jail." the Nekomata smirked.
"Why do you two automatically assume that just because I'm getting along with a pretty girl something weird is going on behind the scenes?!" Ren practically squeaked.
"That's some getting along right there. In a dark, private room where you two constantly tried to kick me out. I mean if it wasn't so bad I could've stayed, right?" she chuckled. "And, she seemed to consider herself having a huge fascination with you where it leads her to sandwiching you to Viviane at the table." the Nekomata claimed.
"Okay, that's not even fair!" Ren cried. "Viviane was doing it too and there's definitely nothing weird happening with us!"
Miki perked up and shot a considering glance at the adjacent room. "She was?"
Vivi facepalmed. "okay, Viviane was drunk and acting more platonic than anything. She wasn't even doing much, but Persephone seemed reeaaall interested in you. Especially with the private room and blushing and stuff. I dare say, what were the plans there? Her movements seem so different with you around."
"Oh, come on, Vivi," he huffed. "There's no way I could have had such a profound effect on someone in a few hours, right?"
"How do you explain Adelaide? Hell, Miki? Seemed kinda instant for Miki. You're doubting the cuteness now? You look like the last marshmallow in the bag and everyone wants another smore so now it's a big cluster of people trying to get it first." the Nekomata deadpanned.
"He was an interesting fight." The brunette defended weakly.
"Ya it was just the fight that led you to sticking to Ren's shoulder and calling him master. Got it." Vivi rolled her eyes. "Totally that."
"Fights show personality." Miki insisted.
"I still stand with my statement of why you call him master, serve at his every need, and look like you'll fight anything that looks like it will harm Ren." Vivi also insisted.

At this point, Persephone had finished cleaning up dinner and putting it into their 'fridge'. Persephone walked back toward the room, where she could hear a strong conversation going on. Without stepping into the room and wanting to hear what they were talking about, she stood just right outside the doorway.

"Of course I'm defending him! After all he's going to be able to e-" What was he going to do again? "He's going to... " The words died on his tongue.
Ren blinked, waiting for him to finish. "I mean, I don't have any plans except the star thing…"

---

And at that moment, there was a knock on the door, accompanied by a loud curse word. Val and Sammy.

Veryx's tails swirled as she heard an audible knock on the door. "Hmm?~ We have another guest, do we?" Veryx turned toward Persephone, who seemed to be trying to listen to some sort of information being passed in a room down the hallway. "Persephone dear, would you mind answering the door?" Persephone sighed as she made her way toward the door, waiting for her mother to appear in front of the door once she opened it. As she swung open the door, her Mother swirled her tails miraculously and covered up Persephone using them. Veryx, speaking to the person in the doorway, "Yes dear? And how may I help you?"

"I babysit." Val stated, "If I may come inside that would be lovely. I've had at least two panic attacks on the way here thinking of possible mayhem or almighty beings with a vendetta against a very small, very white boy."

Veryx's eyes raised. "Oh, might you be interested in Ren by chance?" She laughed, already knowing the answer. "Well I can promise you that he is more than safe within my home, especially with my daughter around." Veryx lifted her tails away from the kitsune girl. Persephone's tails swirled as she tried to look presentable to this new party member. Persephone spoke, saying, "Well I take it you're Val?" Her tails swirled out of extreme jealousy of her white hair. She wished that she hadn't been born with a different colored hair than her tails, but she tried to hide it by wearing a smile.
"I am, and you are?" Val didn't mean the words to come out so abrasive, but Val was typically very suspicious of strange pretty girls.

Persephone laughed a little. "I'm Persephone, a kitsune who happened to be picked up by Ren and others on their way to the beach. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Persephone bowed a little to show that she was nothing to be suspicious of… For right now, at least.
Val nodded slightly in response, her concerns turning towards her responsibility and joy, "Where's Ren?"
Veryx moved out of the way for the girl to move inside. Persephone pointed her in the direction of the room that Ren was in with Miki and Vivi. "Oh, I should warn you, they're talking about something somewhat serious right now." Persephone felt her mood dampen, as she was just called a "stray" by some of the others in the house.
Val blinked and continued to the room, proceeding to stand in the doorway. Her small dragon had already found the two she was looking for, with an unexpected guest.
As Val made her way to the room, Persephone followed in suit. Persephone then peeked inside the door to say, "Ren, you have another guest."
"Val!" he squeaked excitably, rushing her with a hug. "Val, Vivi's here!"
Val put an arm around him, petting his head. She narrowed her eyes, "Vivi."
Persephone could feel the incredible tension between Val and Vivi. Oh dear, it seems I walked into something very unfortunate… "Uh… I-I'll be leaving you to your business then."
"Feather Pussy." Vivi stood tall with her nose in the air, a hint of arrogance in her voice.
"Feather pussy? Isn't that a slur against you? You're the cat," Val questioned. Nonetheless, it was obvious she was angry from the feather that had sprouted then drifted off to land on Ren's nose.
Ren blinked, following the fluffy brown thing with his eyes as his nose twitched, knocking it off, with him quickly going to catch it.
"Guys, come on, don't fight, you haven't seen each other in ages! We're all finally here!" he pointed out. "Well, Viviane's unconscious, but apart from that!"
Not taking her eyes off of Vivi, Val asked, "Is she drunk?"
"Yeaaaah," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm worried she's getting too into alcohol."
"I'm afraid so."

Ren cleared his throat. "Um, Miss Veryx?" he called into the corridor.
Veryx popped into the room suddenly. "Oh yes? Did you need something child?"
"Oh, um, I was just wondering if you'd be prepared to help us into the city as soon as tomorrow?" he asked. "I know it's a bit short notice, but…"
Veryx laughed. "Oh dearest, I've been preparing this whole time. No need to worry, everything will be in place for tomorrow."
"Ah, you're a lifesaver, thank you!" he chimed. "Sorry to bother you with our concerns again, but do you know anywhere we can spend the night so we'll be ready for tomorrow?"
"Well dearest, you can spend the night here. There's plenty of room, after all."
"A-are you sure?" he blinked. "I don't want to impose on you or anything…"
"Oh dear, it's no problem at all!"