Weeks Later In Valentina Village
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“Damn it all!” The bells were tolled to signal a safe return of other warriors, though their return did not come free of tragedy. Leader Of The Defenders Hiashitori Nari was most infuriated by this. Xenthos, Utsukushī, Lee, Sun, and Ibaraki had all come back alongside the Defenders.
“The heck is his issue??” Lee asked, rubbing his head scratching it a bit looking over at Hiashitori, he would see him storm over to his troops.
“Status report now! Where is Team Bravo?” He asks, looking at his troops.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoGXsXDZjX
“Answer me!”
“Geez. Can’t he see they’re at their limit? Man doesn’t have a lick of patience.” Lee groaned looking at them. He was about to walk past and ignore this but he couldn’t not without Utsukushī.
“Hey! Ease up on them, they’re tired, probably injured or poisoned! Give them a second to recuperate.”
“Quiet you scatterbrained buffon, you’re not a village member. You’re just an exile like the rest of them! Be silent and mind your tongue when speaking to me!”
“If our name is used in insults you can expect our aid to never be gifted again.” Vegril came walking over from inside of the village looking towards Hiashitori and then within moments, the bells tolled and in came a few exile members. Rose stepped in with a black haired woman following her, she seemed to yawn for a moment.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJoGCjlYi2
“Status report please.”
“Forgive us Lord Takai, we couldn’t find them…” Rose bowed her head.
“Unfortunate, Ara what of Team Omega??” He asked looking behind Rose at the black haired woman Ara.
“Tch! You didn’t look hard enough if you even looked at all!” Hiashitori shouted at them, Ara & Rose looked towards him before focusing back on Vergil.
“Team Omega is as usual acting out of impulse, they’re still deep in the underworld. There was a swarm of Demons that seemed to have congregated in the lost village and the deep ends of the forest. They said they plan to clear them out so they don’t push the village. We told them it was against direct orders but as usual they couldn’t care less.” Rose looked towards Hiashitori.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfzHtt5ilt
“If it makes you feel any better, they chose to close in on the gate. Past the last point of sighting for the group.”
“If they’re still alive Kenji will find them. I’m sure of it.” Takata said walking past carrying books. Xenthos looked at Hiashitori and began to step forward, Utsukushī looked towards him.
“Xenthos?”
“Old man?” Sun called out concerned as she was for the next moves. Xenthos grabbed Hiashitori and shoved him hard causing him to fall to the ground, his troops took out their blades and Xenthos looked towards them. Their stances were weak, their stability was frail, and he could tell they could barely breathe.
“All of you are pathetic, bickering like children while there are living breathing fiends at work. Utsukushī, do you know where this gate is?”
“I’m starting to feel left out sometimes Xenthos, you’ve gotten close to Utsukushī and have started to disregard me.” Everyone turned towards The Scientist as she came walking over.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡau5N1QEzfD
“Fortunately I don’t care, I’ve been meaning to test a theory for a while but I need to know. Xenthos, how serious are you about finding these Defenders?”
“They’re fellow fiends, they’ve spilt blood for this village as I have. I’m serious about saving them.” Hiashitori stood up dusting himself off glaring at Xenthos.
“You dare to do that again, I will cut your hands from your body.”
“Cute Hiashi, well the last thing we want is for any of you to die. I’ve upgraded Sōzō’s hand to do us a bit better. Thanks to some assistance from Tachibana I’ve infused it with a much more potent form of the peep’s energies.”
“The what?”
“Unimportant. It should be able to keep you all in the underworld much much longer and when you find those Defenders it should help reduce the poison in their lungs long enough to escape with them, chop chop everyone. Who’s with who and who’s going where??” With this information given she gave everyone some special data chips that improved Sōzō’s hand, then the teams were set. The Scientist & Xenthos, Utsukushī & Lee, and Sun & Ibaraki. They’d all split up and search once they arrived. The group left and headed down the mountain and moved west of it, speeding down they felt it the air became thick and dry, the poison began to seep in and everyone kept running. Soon they came to a new destination, instantly they felt their lungs rejuvenate but the feeling was all too lacking. They felt as if the poison kicked in more and then… it stopped. By Sōzō’s hand, it was purified and thus they were protected.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiy9Jh6uKWx
“Xenthos we’re going north, Utsukushī & Lee west, Ibaraki & Sun go east. Hurry, we don't know how much time we have.”
North Of The Emerald Forest
“Beautiful isn’t it…”
“What is?”
“The Forest, it’s beautiful… It would be much more so if the underworld didn’t relinquish it of the sun and bury it in this cold Miasma. Don’t you agree?”
“You’re not usually one for small talk, where are you going with this?”
“Must everything I say have an ulterior motive behind it? I was hoping we could make some measure of conversation. I guess not.” The Scientist would stop in front of something, a pile of rocks. Fallen not normally there.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEmiJMJmxJ
“No, you'd rather talk to someone stronger than you or break things. So go ahead Xenthos, break things.” She stepped away and Xenthos walked over, with a surge of energy he charged into his fist he launched a fierce punch and obliterated the rocks. Showing a pathway forward.
“If you’re mad at me for something, say it, quit beating around the bush about it.”
“If I were mad at you, I would’ve embedded a self-destruct button in your Sōzō’s and flipped the switch. No… I’m worried about you. You’re reckless, you’re dangerous, and overall I’ve noticed despite your consistent needs to help the village everything seems to tick you off. Lee, Hiashitori, Ibaraki & Sun together, lots of things make you mad and you send yourself on these deadly missions constantly. Did you forget you’re my assistant, I need to know what’s on your mind at all times. Otherwise I risk losing you. Now, while we’re on the focus. What is it with you Xenthos? Is it about Junsui? Your captain? The past?”
“It’s about my Master, Axel. Nothing is said about him… I worry about everyone I knew ten years ago. It makes it hard to live when all you know has passed you in the blink of an eye.”
“Preaching to the choir here. Well chin up, you keep messing up and we won’t get the attention we need. Follow me Xenthos and I promise I’ll make sure you find every person dear to you, their memories, their selves or something. But we can’t find them if we don’t have a base of operations.”
“Why bother about this? I haven’t had any incidents.”
“You’re right and I’d like to avoid that.” The Scientist said walking forward, knowing well and truly that all she said wasn’t true. He has had incidents… During his sleep. She doesn’t want him lost in time. No more than-
KATHOOM!!!
“Hm?”
“Are you that caught in your mind that you didn’t sense it?” A large beast was launched aside, flying away and crashing into the ground. Looking to her left where it had flown from she saw what appeared to be a small tear in the fabric of reality. With purple energy oozing out of it, Miasma… It was a demon gate.
“No. I just knew you’d defend me, it seems we’ve stumbled upon what I figured. A feeding ground. Look.” The creature hissed and screeched out and began to hurry and climb up the walls. The Scientist took out some stones and smacked them together a bright blue light emitting in this small cave they’ve entered. Inside were walls coated in spider webs and across them were bodies covered by a wall of webbing, they were seemingly unharmed… For now. But above them a demonic beast the size of three homes resided, a Chimera. The head of a lion, the stingers of a scorpion on its shoulders and the body of a spider. It hissed and leapt down to attack.
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