Holy Lands - above ground - afternoon

Okay, after a rocky ass landing, I finally made it to the village, and what do ya know, this thing is still pointin’ to this place. Oddly enough, it’s still pointin’ down. What the hell is this shit? Is this broken? Nah, can’t be it. Maybe I should cut down? Nah, a swordsman needs some subtlety… Where the hell do I go then?

“Ah, to hell with it, might as well search this place.”

Still, how the hell do I get underground? Is there an underground passage? Hmm…

“That big building!” That’s it, it’s gotta have a secret passage. How do I know this? Intuition! Not just normal intuition, swordsman intuition! After all, a swordsman needs to have the best senses, afterall, or else he’s as useless as a dull sword.

“Alright, I’m getting pretty hyped! Time to kick tail!”

Underground town - afternoon

Entering the banquet hall, we lug in the last of our guys. Thank god, they’re heavier than a sack of bricks. Alex lets them down gently while I just drop them.

Alex pats us on the back. “Right, Proxy, good job.”

“Thanks, but next time, I’m gonna drag them.”

“Now, now…”

“Proxy, Alexander, is that everyone?”

“No, it’s all the ones we could carry. Gil is going to get the rest after he’s done going at it with his dance partner.”

“What are you… Never mind, Marie is hurt badly.”

Not wasting time understanding why she is, Alex runs ahead of me. He drops to his knees next to Marie, who is sitting on the ground with Richard working his Source. Walking up beside him, Vzra and Marie look like they went 8-rounds against a heavyweight boxer. Well, Vzra for the most part, since Richard didn’t heal her yet.

“Marie, you doing fine? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“None, and stop talking to me like I’m an idiot!”

“She’s acting as pissed as usual, she’s good.”

“You’re lucky I can’t kick your ass right now,” Marie threatens, her voice rough.

I let out a relieved sigh, relaxing my body. “Ain’t I… But what happened here?”

“Vzra tried to kill me, we beat the shit out of each other for a couple of minutes, now we’re good,” she summarizes in a matter-of-fact way.

I nod my head. “Beating ass and making friendships. Not bad. Richard, you wanna try that?

“Yeah, no thanks. You and Nunnalé can go ahead and do that.”

Nunnalé cracks her fists, gazing at me with those cold, yet serious eyes.

“I’m brave, not stupid.”

“Debatable,” Nunnalé, Richard, and Marie simultaneously say.

“Screw you guys!”

Alex laughs while covering his mouth. “Even in the depths of danger, we are still able to have a wonderful time. Albeit, as much as this pleases me, we must ruminate our current predicament.”

“What’s there to think about? Now that we got most of our boys back, we just need to go and kick the elder’s ass! Though, that big bastard might be a problem. He was able to harden his neck, minimize the damage to his neck. But thinking about it, Nunnalé could deal with him, so I’m not too worried. So instead of sitting on our asses, let’s go and fight!”

Marie lets out a quiet hum, pondering our next move. “You’re not wrong, but we shouldn’t underestimate our opponents. Right now, we’re in their turf. Vzra, you got anything on our enemy?”

“I’m not too knowledgeable on everything about Walter and his companions, but I do know that they are special."

"He has companions? No, wait, never mind, forget about that. You said something about special abilities?"

"They have strange abilities, one of them is able to shoot ice, the other can create weapons that seem translucent, and the has the ability to enhance their body. But Walter is the strongest of them all."

"That dude doesn't seem so tough."

"It's not about his physical strength, he’s just untouchable.”

“Bullshit, no one’s untouchable.”

“Believe me, I’ve seen it. The day he recruited me, I tried to kill him, but I was blown back. Even when I attacked from a distance, my projectiles were blown away. Then, when he pulled out a flute, a dreadful sound filled my ear, scratching against my eardrum. I never felt so powerless…”

Richard turns his attention to me while healing Marie. No doubt about it, it’s probably Source. This gonna be a bitch and a half if he’s actually that powerful.

“...As for the elder, she is proficient with a whip, but that is all she’s good at,” Vzra ends, her contempt blatant. “Also, some of your allies are in the tower, being used as a means of defense.”

I crack my fist, giddy at the opportunity. “Nice, so we can just go in, knock them out and kick some enemy ass? I’m all in!”

“You dumbass, we’ll be cornered if we went in there half-cocked, and the last thing I want is to harm our allies, in any major way. Point is, we gotta come up with a plan.”

“...If it’s a plan you require, then I may be able to assist you.” A voice comes from the entrance of the banquet hall. It’s Crow who walks inside, wearing a pleasant, but ghastly smile as usual. I put up my fist, getting ready to fight him if I need to. “Settle, Proxy, I am unaffected by the brew that everyone ingested earlier.”

Hmm… He is talking, that’s more than what the others could do. Guess I’m a bit jumpy.

“Doctor Crow, I am pleased to see that you are alright,” Alex says.

“Vice versa for you as well. However, as for the plan you need, do not worry.” He places a container on the ground. It’s a silver box with a latch on the front of it. “I visited the medical facility of this town just a while ago. Truly impressive, the amount of supplies they have is astonishing, and don’t get me started on what they have there. Do you know they have black pheasant powder? Ohohoh, such a fascinating place.”

Glad to see the doc’s laughing like a madman, that never makes a shiver go down my spine. Still, I wonder what’s in the case?

As if he’s reading my mind, he opens the case in front of us. Several brown bags with knots keeping them shut are placed next to each other in a neat row by row order.

Alex grabs a bag, inspecting it with a thorough eye. “What are these?”

“While everyone was in a hypnotic state, I went along with the act, pretending I barely had little to no motor functions, matching my movement with the other soldiers. Elizabeth helped me as well.”

“Wait, I saw her drink more than one glass,” Marie says, quick to dismiss the claim.

“Believe me, I was skeptical too, but it turns out her alcohol tolerance is much higher than I assumed.”

So her being somewhat of an alcoholic saved her from being hypnotized? Well shit, who could’ve seen that coming?

“Thanks to her, we borrowed a two-way communicator.”

“Really!? Can I use it? I need to speak to Elizabeth.”

Walking over to her, he hands her the radio. His eyes dart back and forth between Marie and Vzra. “Are you two in any pain?”

“Nah, Richard is healing us, but Vzra could use some help.”

“Of course, I’ll give her my best treatment.”

Settling down next to her, he takes off his medical bag and goes to work.

“Please hold still, I’ll make sure to move you with the utmost care,” he whispers.

“Why help me? You do realize I was an enemy, right?”

“Because I am a doctor. I shall help anyone who needs it, providing they are not villainous… Although, even then I might aid them.”

“Why?”

“I wish to save lives, so whether it is right or wrong, I shall aid them and hope for the best. That way, After all, when one is given aid in a dire situation, they might have a change in perspective.”

She goes quiet, probably amazed by the doc’s words.

“...Richard, could you heal this young lady after Marie?”

“Of course, doctor.”

“Oh my, with how you said doctor, you remind me of a nurse that used to work for me. Speaking of you would make a fine nurse.”

“Oh, um, thank you, doctor.”

Continuing their treatment on the girls, Crow points to the case. “Inside, you’ll find powders that can cause a reaction from the nostrils from the sheer stench. I’ve studied ways to refresh the mind with herbal medicine, during that time, I happen to find a way to sober a person with certain herbs, mushrooms, and a spice. All you need to do is light the string coming from the bag and allow it to turn into vapor. Then, it shall permeate throughout the tower. Do keep in mind that it is rather putrid, so get away the moment you set it off.”

So it’s just a stink bomb? Heh, reminds me of this year’s senior prank. Planted stink bombs in the middle and high school buildings. I even helped.

“Nunnalé, Proxy, I want you two to go into the tower to plant them. Set them off when you reach the mid-section of the tower. Elizabeth will help you plant them. Got me?”

“Don’t worry, we got this in the bag, right, Nunnalé?”

“What bag?”

Clicking my teeth, I yell. “The metaphorical one!”

“I see. Your phrasing is rather odd, but I understand.”

Sure, I’m the odd one. Suuuure.

“The moment you plant them, get out, don’t linger!”

Her orders tug at me, hitting a nerve for some reason. I’m not mad at her or anything, I just don’t like that I have to cut and run when I would be so close to the elder

“Understood!” Nunnalé affirms with a shred of doubt.

“Like I said, you can count on me.”

We take a few bags from the case and head off to the tower. Feels as if I’m holding a bag of sand in my hands.

“Wait, allow me to accompany you,” Alex says, grabbing a few of the small bags in my arms. “I simply cannot sit on the sidelines while our allies need our aid. Right now, they are the most important thing, or enemies come last.”

I don’t know if he’s saying that to get my head out of the clouds, but he’s right. I have to stop thinking about other shit besides rescuing the guys. Yeah right, thinking about anything other than Vella is difficult… If I could, no, I need to talk to her again. I want to understand why she was smiling at me when we last saw each other.

Underground town - tower - afternoon

The dead silent streets are being guarded by girls with spears that are in perfect condition. I guess it's to compensate for their lack of muscle, but I doubt they'd be able to use it like Marie.

We dash through the shadows, moving low to avoid making too much noise.

The tower is right in front of us, thick with security with the girls from this place and some of our soldiers.

“We’re here, so now what?” Alex asks.

“Let’s see.” Pressing the button on the side of the radio, it switches from mute. “Yo, Elizabeth, come in. Where are you?”

“Sorry, had a bit of a hick-up. Tryin’ not to get spotted by these guys, ya know?”

“I feel you, but we need a way in.”

“The front no good, gettin’ them away from there is risky.”

“So we’re shit out of luck?”

“Keep ya panties on, I never said there ain't no way in. There’s a backdoor into the tower. Come to the side of this thing.”

“Roger.”

I click off right when she was about to say something else. Leading the way, we all rush to the side of the tower. We climb up the guard rail blocking people from climbing it. Making it to the corner turn of the tower, we see Elizabeth pushing open a door that leads into the ground, waving at us.

“Sup, long time no see,” she greets us.

“You said it, but no time for chit-chat. Come on.”

Heading down into the apparent basement of the tower. Reaching the bottom, there are rows of doors that stretch all the way to the other end of the place, there are two other corridors, leading left and right. Elizabeth leads the way. Dim lanterns light the halls. These doors have nothing to tell the other apart, no different design, no windows to look inside the room, nothing.

“This place gives me the heebeegeebees.”

“I looked inside one of the rooms. This might be where the girls sleep.”

“The decor is so…isolating compared to everything in this town. It almost makes me feel…nervous.”

“Yeah, thought I popped into a graveyard for a moment when I first came down here.”

I wanna get the hell out of here, the cold atmosphere of this place is unsettling. Stopping at a door, Elizabeth opens it. A staircase leads us upstairs. We enter the main hall of the tower, our guys mixed with some of the girls guard the bottom floor. The stairs to the upper floors is on the other end of the room, about 80 meters or so.

“Damnit, they’re in the way!”

“Shall we combat them,” Nunnalé asks.

“Idiot, this is covert, we have to be ninja.”

“Welp, guess I’ll just have ta do somethin’. Y’all run when I get their attention.”

“Pull this off, and I’ll get you all the booze you can drink.”

“Ohohoho! Now, ya got my attention!”

Elizabeth runs ahead of us, putting herself in the open “...Heeey! Y’all know where the alcohol is? I need a, gulp, gulp, if ya know what I’ma sayin’?”

The girls immediately surround her with spears, and our guys close in on her. Seeing the opportunity she’s giving us, I run ahead, the others follow behind me. We climb the stairs, moving low to avoid detection.

On the midsection of the tower, we separate to plant the bags. To make sure it spreads throughout the bottom floor, we’re placing three bags on the guard rails. The tower is square-shaped, and the levels of this tower all have a square formation, save for having a bottom part. It should spread down nicely if we place three bags per side.

Once we placed them we light them with flintstone. Each time we lit one, we drop them to the bottom. Greenish vapor begins to blanket the bottom floor in its stinky color. Even all the way up here, I can smell it; like bad eggs that you leave in a bookbag.

“Proxy, let us move to the last floor!”

“Aren’t we suppose to bounce?”

“We have to see if there are any more up there.”

He’s got a point, don’t know if that’s all of them or not, so we better go check. Plus, I still have a bag on me, so if we need to, I’m ready to help our guys remember who they’re with. Ultra plus, I might be able to pay a visit to the elder…

Hitting the top floor, several of our men are waiting for us, staring at the stairs with those dazed eyes.

“Would you look at that, our guys waiting for us, and in a nice bundle. In that case, here you go!”

Lighting up the bag, I throw it at them. A green cloud obscures them from our vision.

“Nunnalé, go down to the bottom floor to take our allies back to the banquet hall. We shall escort these ones back,” Alex orders.

“Understood.”

She descends the stairs. Well, now we just have to wait for the stink to work and get these guys out. After a minute of it, it starts to dissipate. What it leaves is a bunch of confused guys who have no idea what the hell is going on.

“Mission successful, baby!”

Alex runs up to them. “Everyone, are you okay!”

For the most part, they’re trying to gain their bearings, but it seems like everything is fine… Wait a moment, something is missing from this whole set. That big dude should be here by now, so where is he?

From the shadows, a wall near the elder’s room opens up. A gigantic figure creeps out of the wall, a chain rattles as he moves. So that’s where the bastard showed up from! Well, guess what, shit lord, I’m about to ruin your day!

Running for a vase on the same side as the giant, I chuck it at him. The thing shatters into pieces. Seems like it kinda fazed him.

"Alex, 3:00 o'clock!"

Turning his head, he sees the giant enemy. “Everyone, run for the stairs,” he yells.

Seeing the big guy, they start running, clambering all over each other as they run for the exit.

“Running away like a pack of animals, how unsightly.”

Behind me, there’s a weirdo wearing fur on his arms and legs. His teeth are jagged, and his hair is like a wolf tail.

“Hey, little boy, you wanna–”

I kick his head before he could finish speaking. He falls off the rail. I poke my head over to see where he landed. Don’t see him anywhere, but that’s a good thing. “And stay out, you creepy son of a bitch!”

“Now that’s not nice.” What the shit, where is he!? A hand latches onto my shirt, he’s below me! “How about a trip down?”

He throws me over the rail with one hand. My heart races, blood pumps faster through my body. All my thoughts are ideas on how to save my life. There’s a pillar that connects from the bottom of the staircase to the next landing.

Grabbing the enemy’s arm, I use it to swing myself to the pillar. I wrap my legs around it as I shimmy down.

“Oh man…nearly pissed myself for a second.” Seriously, I’m cool and all, but I can’t lie to myself about how scary that was. Landing on solid ground is like a blessing from God himself.

Not giving me a minute to rest, the weirdo fur man swings from the bottom of the stairs, jumping to and from the pillar I climbed down from to land on the same floor as me.

“You gotta be shitting me!”

“Not bad, little boy. Surely, I thought you were–”

I run off for the stairs before he can finish. He’s quick to chase after me as his weirdly long yet narrow toenails clatter against the ground. Reaching the stairs, my sense goes off. He’s about to slash my back. I jump forward to avoid it, nearly going over the guard rail for these stairs. However, I dig my fingers onto the top of the stone guard to twist my body around with my legs raised. My feet smack his face, he tumbles back. Putting my feet on top of the rail, I slide down to the next floor, continuing to run on it after reaching the bottom floor. The wolfman, on all fours, flies down the stairs, chasing after me. This dude takes cosplay to the next level.

Whether he is cosplaying or not isn’t the issue, he’s closing the gap. I’m not gonna be able to juke him the same way. He’s pulling behind me as I’m closing into the stairs. Can I do it, I think I can, maybe! Screw it, I have to go for it.

Taking in a deep breath as I edge closer to the stairs, I jump for it right when he slashed at the guard. Each nerve in my arm is hyper-sensitive, racking up any feeling it can to make sure I grab this ledge. As soon as the tips of my fingers touch the ledge, my muscles strengthen ten-fold, making it easier to pull myself over the guard rail.

However, my footing wasn’t up to snuff, so I go tumbling down them. In the end, I manage to gain my bearings, continuing my escape. Heading downstairs, I reach the bottom floor. The girls who were guarding the place are sprawled on the ground, unconscious. Guess the stink was too much.

Near the steps, the wolfman is catching up to me. Right when I ran out the door, the wolfman pounced on my body, pushing me forward. We hit the stairs, rolling down as he tries to claw into my chest. I kick away from him. The kick launches me off the stairs, I hit my back.

“Now I got you!”

He’s quick to recover from our little tumble. He drags his arms behind himself while running. Jumping to my feet, I get ready to fight him. Right when I was going to draw my swords, a blur passes me by. Blood suddenly spurts from the chest of my enemy. It all happened in a flash, I can’t tell what the hell just happened. Like a sports car going too fast, he veers off course, crashing to the ground. His flesh has been torn open from the middle of his chest to his shoulder. The cut is clean, like someone tracing a line on a piece of paper.

“Whoa there, you shouldn’t go too fast. You might run into a badass swordsman!”

Gray hair is the first thing I see when looking at this newcomer. He’s wearing light armor akin to a samurai armor, and his sword… No way, no freaking way!

“Is that a samurai sword!?” My voice booms throughout the town.

The swordsman puffs his chest, looking proud of himself. “Why, yes, it is.”

“Can I touch it?”

He lets out a light-hearted chuckle before answering, “no”.

“Come on, just once.”

Closing in, he keeps me away by pressing his foot against my head. “Hey, stay away from me, kid. Them eyes are creepy as hell... Hm?”

Looking at a sheet of paper tied to his wrist, he shares an peculiar stare. “Hey, let me ask you somethin’, kid…”

He spins his body, hitting me with a roundhouse kick. I blocked it, but it hurts like a bitch! Son of a bitch almost cracked my arm.

“You asshole, what the hell is your deal!?”

“Let me ask my question: you have somethin’ called the Black Grimoire?”

What did he just say…? No, I heard him loud and clear, no goddamn doubt about it!

“How do you know about it?”

“So you do, good.”

He points his blade at me, deadly intent honed into it like a raging sea. A sense of panic runs through my body, making me flinch.

“...Then, I’m gonna take it from you by force. No hard feelings, kid.”