x
Lowly growls had Cordis waking to see several dozen Ones watching him from the far corners of the lobby. He groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes, blaming it on the heavy dosage of medicine that Jayden took, before turning his attention to the Umbra that was gnawing at his foot. Raising an eyebrow at it when it didn’t notice he had awakened, a grin slowly spread across his face as One took notice of the silence. As golden eyes locked with the man’s it was already much too late.
“I doze for a few moments,” Cordis mused aloud before swinging his foot to knock it into the wall, “to be awakened by the likes of you trying to eat my foot?” He chuckled to himself as he got to his feet to examine the shoe before strolling over to the Umbra that was growling at him. “What, no apology?” Sidestepping the One as it lunged at him, Cordis pinned it beneath his foot to listen to it growl. “Just because I’m a tad injured that automatically means I’m food?” The Umbra growled louder this time. “Let’s see if the others share the same sentiment. If not, I get to pick your punishment. That’s only fair, right?” Cordis looked at the others to see them avert their eyes. “No one agrees? Shocker. You know what that means, he replied as he turned his attention back to the other Umbra as he kicked the one beneath his foot towards the them. “Eat it.” The others looked at Cordis. “Eat it or I eat you.”
Slight hesitation gave way at the statement before the other Umbra circled the One. Its singular growls then gave way to screeching as the others descended upon it much to the temporary amusement of Cordis. His attention then went to a pair of Ones covered in rainwater. Seeing how they were distracted with the sounds coming from the Umbra being eaten, Cordis walked over startling them before they shrank back. A head tilt prompt them to start growling their message lest they suffer the same fate.
Looking in the direction of the door to see the rain, Cordis flexed his hand at his side before looking down at it when the scythe didn’t appear. Repeating the action for the same result, Cordis sucked his teeth before looking back at the Umbra that had relayed the message. Shooing at them as he turned his attention to several other Umbra tumbling out of the stairwell. As they eased forward, growling their own message of what was happening several floors above, Cordis glanced at the ceiling then down at the Umbra that were retreating to hide amongst the others. His attention then went back to the rain momentarily before sparing the ceiling one more glance.
A smile ticked in the corner of his mouth as he got an idea.444Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRMwQENeNK
Carlos eyed the portal located in front of the elevator as he toweled his hair dry. Talon had insisted that the thing stayed for their safety despite the reassurance of his companions. Sustaining such a thing after a while would have had to start draining the man’s energy.
“Talon?” He found the portal maker staring out a window. “Why not take a break? You seem a little…tense.”
“Given the circumstances, I think anyone would be a little tense,” he replied as he glanced at the prince,” but I don’t need a break. The last thing I need is that… that Cordis coming up here again.”
“I think he would’ve made an appearance by now if that were the case,” Carlos commented. “Don’t you think you’re being overly cautious?”
“You’d be cautious too if that lunatic held a syringe to your throat.” Talon touched his neck before shivering slightly. “He’s too unhinged to stay up here with the rest of us.”
“But is it really ok to leave him with those… things down there?”
“After seeing what he’s done, I think the Umbra should be the least of our worries,” he replied as he turned his attention back to the rain.
“But Jay –”
“I know you’re worried about Jayden,” Talon sighed, “but getting killed by Cordis won’t help. I think we need to focus on staying alive until an opportunity presents itself.”
“But—”
“Senshi would want you to live.”
Reaching out to pat the prince’s shoulder, his eyes shot towards the elevator at the chiming of its bell. Talon took a step back before pulling Carlos with him as the doors began to part. Widening the portal as light flooded into the hall, neither were quite ready for a cascade of growling Umbra to topple out. Watching as several dozen fell into the portal positioned outside it, Talon raised an eyebrow as this continued for almost a minute. Carlos even had to tilt his head as the stragglers tumbled out clumsily before the elevator chimed and the doors closed. Glancing at each other then at the last Umbra that fell through the portal, Talon closed it before sucking his teeth in annoyance.
“Well, that was undoubtedly odd,” Carlos commented as he watched the numbers tick back down as the lift went back to the lobby.
“Odd is an understatement,” Talon replied, “but I’m sure there was a reason behind that.”
“It was a distraction obviously.” Both men turned to see Cordis approaching from up the hall with a syringe in his hand. “I also see that you wasted no time in finding someone new to hang out with,” he chuckled as he dashed towards Talon, “and that just hurts my feelings!”
Erecting a portal in front of himself as the blonde attempted to stab him, Talon took a step back before doing away with it a few moments. His face paled as Cordis stood there twirling the syringe on his finger with an unamused expression. That soon transitioned to an ominous grin before Carlos stepped forward with an unsheathed blade.
Eyeing the weapon for a moment, the grin softened as he reached out to lower it. Reaching into his pocket, Cordis held up a pink petal before presenting it to the prince.
“Carlos, get away from him,” Talon warned.
The prince stared at the petal before having the thing placed in his hand. Frowning as he closed his fingers around the delicate item, he looked back up at Cordis to see him eyeing him curiously.
“Have you asked for her soul yet?” he questioned. “You know he has it, right?” Gold eyes panned over to the portal maker before sliding back to Carlos. “Have you asked for it back just to have him tell you no?” He leaned in to be by his ear. “How many times do you think this has happened since being trapped here? How many times do you think he let her die before finally coming to intervene?”
Carlos watched the blonde then clutched the petal to his chest. “The Hanahaki disease kills because of love. Did she love…?”
His gaze then shifted towards Talon to see him hold up his hands quickly. “Whoa, she wasn’t in love with me. I just got here remember?”
The prince then looked at Cordis as he twirled the syringe in his hand. “It was you?”
“Well, to be honest, she was in love with Animae,” he replied nonchalantly as he looked at the prince, “but I play for the home team, so she was barking up the wrong tree.” Pausing at what he said, he then snorted his amusement before turning his attention to the prince that was starting to grow red in the face. “Slip of the tong–”
“This is your fault!” Carlos snapped as he swung the blade. “She’s dead because of you!”
Sidestepping the blade to see it cut several strands of hair, Cordis scowled at the haircut before smiling at the last statement. “You’re calling me a heartbreaker?” He hopped back to avoid the next few swings. “Yes, let’s displace the blame to make ourselves feel better, Princey. She just suddenly got that disease after meeting me?” He stepped back before nearly stumbling into a portal set behind him. “Isn’t it your fault she’s here in the first place? You spurned her, she died, and she moved on to like someone else.”
“Who also spurned her,” Talon added.
“I didn’t spurn her,” Cordis corrected. “I was willing to play along and make her happy. As long as she did what I requested, I could’ve made her very happy to an extent. All I asked was that she did a few simple tasks.” He then hummed in thought before sneering. “Then she wanted to go back to Animae and thought everything would go back to normal.” He sighed soon after. “It’s unfortunate that she died due to love –” Carlos lowered his weapon for a moment “—because I really wanted kill her myself.”
“I’ll kill–!”
“You’ll what, kill me?” Cordis questioned as he rounded the portal. “You wouldn’t want to hurt Animae remember?” The prince clenched his teeth as he held the blade tighter. “Then again, you couldn’t land a hit. You’re not like that annoying little spitfire.”
“Shut up!”
Dodging a swing of the blade, Cordis stepped around the prince before kicking him towards Talon. As the portal maker caught the fae, Cordis hurled the syringe at them to watch Talon erect a portal just in time to send it away as the pair toppled over. Leering down at them as several Umbra crept from the corners of the halls, Cordis flexed his fingers at his side before looking down at his empty hand when the scythe didn’t appear. Sucking his teeth as he tried again, he spared the duo one more look before walking down the hall.
Hurried footsteps after him had the blonde turning to barely avoid the weapon swinging at him. Cordis stumbled over an overturned wheelchair before sitting up to see the prince lunging at him.
“C-Carlos, what are d-doing?”
“Jayden?” The downed man nodded hesitantly before watching as the blade was lowered. “Jay–!”
A well planted kick to the stomach had Carlos nearly retching as he dropped to one knee. He was soon taken off his feet completely when Cordis lunged at him to pin him to the ground before holding a broken glass shard up to his eye.
“Animae isn’t available right now, Princey,” Cordis chided as he trailed the shard under his eye. He then leaned in before offering a smile. “You’re kinda cute like this actually. Not as cute as the gunner but not bad.” His attention then went to the portal maker as he lifted a hand. “Do it and he’ll be missing a goddamn eye.”
“That’s enough.” A dagger resting under his chin had Cordis tilting his head back to see the once missing Magpie. “Ah, Birdie.” He then tilted his head slightly. “You’ve seem to have a new eye as well.” His attention then went back to the prince. “Why don’t we get you a new one as well?” The sharp edge pressing against his neck made him drop the glass. “Ok, fine.”
Rising to his feet slowly, Cordis turned to see Magpie still aiming at him before he rounded the woman to enter the room. He spotted Ignatius eyeing the medicine cabinet before locking eyes. Spotting his scythe stationed near one of the beds, he made a beeline for it before being cut off by the caster.
“I have a few questions for Jayden.”
“Aww, now I’m starting to think you guys don’t like my company.”
“I want to speak to—”
“He ain’t here right now,” Cordis interjected. “The idiot took too many pain killers and hasn’t slept in a long time so he’s out.” He then rounded the man to have him cut him off. “Move.”
“You’re too dangerous to have that weapon.”
“Oh?” Reaching over to grab a medical tray, Cordis used it to bat at the man before snatching up his scythe. “You don’t get to make that call.”
Wiping the small stream of blood from his nose, Ignatius raised a hand in Cordis’ direction. “If you attack anyone, I will put a restriction spell on you.”
“That’s not fair,” Cordis remarked as he twirled the scythe in hand. “Think about it, if you or Birdie get possessed again and attack me, or rather Animae, how is he going to protect himself if you took away his ability to attack?”
“We’re not going to be possessed.”
“How do you know? Did you destroy that bastard? Last I heard from the Umbra he’s running amok upstairs somewhere.” He then pointed the scythe at the caster. “So, until you actually managed to do something about that asshole, you’re not putting any fucking spell on me.”
“Then help us get rid of Shadow,” Magpie chimed in from the hallway.
“Why should I?” he asked. “What’s in it for me?”
“Why are you trying to bargain with someone that just tried to kill us?” Talon asked incredulously.
“Why should anyone care what you think or say?” Cordis countered as the portal maker came into view.
“Because I’m actually trying to help them!”
“After how many iterations of this bullshit? How many times have we gone through this shit already before you finally decided to show up and tell us to trust you? You want to help but then not give back the souls you collected from here?” he asked as he made his way over to one of the beds. “I won’t deny trying to kill them but at least I’m fucking consistent unlike you.”
He then whistled as he grabbed the bottle of pain killers that Jayden had taken previously. One of the Umbra from the hall was nudged forward by its counterparts before it slowly made its way over to the blonde that was eyeing the medicine. When it growled quietly, Cordis squatted down before holding the bottle out to it. As it eyed the thing curiously, the man shoved the entire bottle into its mouth before standing back up when the Umbra convulsed. Watching it spit out a partially dissolved bottle, Cordis kicked the rest of it under the bed before rifling through the cabinets to feed the rest of the pain killers to the Umbra.
“What are you doing?” Ignatius questioned curiously.
“Getting rid of this crap.”
“Others can use it if you’re not going to,” Talon reminded him before having one of the bottles tossed at him.
“Think of that as a present then,” Cordis said before turning to lunge at the man. “You might need it after I cut you in half!”
The attack came up short as Magpie and Carlos stood in front of Talon with their weapons drawn. Looking between the pair, Cordis sucked his teeth before resting the scythe over his shoulder.
“Cordis, help us defeat Shadow,” Magpie requested.
“Why should I help you? What could I possibly get out of that?”
“We’ll have Nu back for starters,” Ignatius stated.
“That’s an incentive for the gunner, not me.”
“You get your round two with him,” Magpie offered.
“Perhaps.”
“Well, what do you want?”
“Several things to include his head on a platter,” he replied as he stared at Talon, “and Cae’s soul back.”
“Talon needs his head,” Carlos chided.
“I care why?”
Talon scowled at the blonde. “You’re insufferable.”
“And you’re a shady asshole. Anything else?” Cordis questioned.
“If you’re not going to help and just antagonize us, why are you here at all?” the portal maker griped.
“Honestly, I came for my scythe.”
“What, couldn’t summon it like usual?” Cordis tilted his head slowly as realization donned on Talon’s face. “You… couldn’t summon your scythe.”
“Anyways,” Cordis drawled, “I came for my scythe then I was going to head out to watch the fight between the two even bigger assholes: Gideon and your friend.”
“Wait, Moryuu is fighting Gideon?” Talon repeated.
“Yeah, I kinda want to see them tear each other apart,” Cordis replied. “If one survives then I get to kill them off. It’s only fair.”
“You can’t—!”
“What kill them?” Cordis asked. “Wouldn’t they just recycle and go through this same bullshit? I don’t see why you’re so worried.” He then pointed up to the ceiling as something heavy fell a few floors up. “Besides, shouldn’t you be worried about your healer and gunner? From what I’ve been told, there won’t be a Team Two for much longer if you don’t intervene soon.”
“Cordis, help us,” Magpie said.
“I don’t even help Animae when he asks. What makes you think that I’d help you?”
“Please?” she asked. “If you do, we can fix your arm.”
“Oh!” Gold eyes panned over to look at the sling before removing his arm from it to rotate it. “Nah, it’s just a little sore now. If anything, once the last of this pain medicine is out of my system, I’m leaving.” He then growled under his breath after a moment. “But then Animae will just come back because of that sense of goddamn duty.” A thought then came to mind as he focused on the Magpie then the others. “Oh, I know what I want.”
“If it’s reasonable then–”
Cordis held up a hand to cut her off. “If you want my help you, accept what I say with no compromises. You’ll just be wasting your friends’ time if you try to bargain with me.” He then looked at Talon. “Your head on a silver platter will wait for now. I’ll come for that later so aren’t you lucky?” Cordis then looked back at the original party members. “I’ll give you my help but what I want from you is tell Animae his presence is no longer required once he wakes up. If you can do that small favor wholeheartedly for me then I will assist you.”
“But—”
“Don’t make a bargain you can’t keep,” Cordis replied as he approached Magpie with an outstretched hand, “so do we have a deal?”
ns 15.158.61.47da2
