Tides Of Protomis CIV

The allies, in addition to Volker, had begun their long walk to where the apparent leader of the holy order was. The large and dense forest they found themselves in seemed mostly lacking in any sort of human activity. Though it was clear that was not the case, given that they were being led there. The sound of their feet crunching on the grass below was interrupted by the slayer speaking.

“We’ll be there soon…”

Almost as soon as he said this, the man came to a stop, before he overturned what looked to be a patch of grass on the ground. As one stepped closer, they could note a holographic screen projected from the dirt underneath. A light went up and down Volker’s face, trying to identify him as a member of the organization. After a few moments, an audible click was heard.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Volker promptly wiped his hands on the dirt, removing it, and revealing what could be compared to a cellar’s doors. Though, reinforced by Zycrium. Just below that, there was a small flight of concrete stairs, and a corridor. Which itself leads to a freight elevator. Volker was the first to begin descending, with the others quick to follow… All things considered, however, Arctaius did not have a large amount of trust in, or like of the Holy Order. Considering how dangerous the situation was now, time was something they just couldn’t waste, in his mind.

“This’d best be worth it..” Arctaius stated.

“Agreed.” Alarick responded.

As they entered the elevator, Volker pressed a button on the control panel, which promptly brought them to the base itself. It was lied with walls of metal, and concrete, and clearly, function had been chosen over form. The main corridor had a number of doors lining it, going into others, and rooms whose purpose were unknown to them, aside from the slayer. The activity within was as high as one would expect in the wake of the recent attack. Whether it be slayers receiving their orders, or medical staff carrying the injured to the medbays, and those who were leaving to act on the orders, rushing to the other elevator shafts. But the rush of activity seemed to slow a bit, as one of those within sensed demonic energy, and looked to the elevator, to see the violet devil, four tides, and Jirou Hashimoto… One turned to two, and two turned to three, and so on. Eventually, the entire room had come to a stop. Though no words were spoken loudly, the tension between the groups was clear. Especially if one listened to the whispers that trickled throughout the crowd.

“She’s the one who destroyed the barrier… Just why is she here?” One questioned, leaning to the woman at his side.

“Along with those who killed the four corners? What’s to say they don’t try attacking us right now?”

Though they spoke lowly, it wasn’t as if the subjects of the conversation couldn’t hear them. Arctaius stepped forth, before speaking.

“The hell are you looking at, Huh?”

This simple statement was enough to put the other group on edge, even more so than before… The relative silence, however, was interrupted by the sound of boots clanking on the floor below them. As this sound got closer, the crowd began to part, until, standing in front of them, was the head of the Holy Order himself, Lyle.

“Alright, Enough of this, let's get back to work... Unless you want the demons to go any further than they already have, that is…” Thankfully, the man’s attempt to defuse the situation went well. The crowd began to break up, as they resumed their work. Of course, this would not stop off-hand conversation between them. With that much taken care of, he began walking toward the group.

“You’re here, so- let's get started, I am Lyle D’Chauvethier, leader of this organization. I’m sure Volker told you about my reason for calling you here.”

“You said you wanted to cement the terms of our ceasefire, correct?”

Lyle nodded.

“ And I have something I believe will benefit us both. We will agree to stay out of one another’s way, until we have contained the scourge, that is... But, if need be, we could provide support to one another.”

“Well… As for me, I personally don’t see anything wrong with that plan, but I'm not the only one here.” Alarick responded, glancing at Zhao.

“I believe I can agree with that as well.”

Miyamoto only gave them a curt nod, as did Jirou, and, though Kazimir didn’t say anything, the man didn’t refuse outright. Now, all that was left was Arctaius. In the youth’s mind, now seemed to be the best time to unveil the results of the thinking he’d done in the past few days. He only guessed that his allies would agree with him, but there was no guarantee in that regard. Arctaius began stepping forward, keeping his gaze upon Lyle as he spoke.

“I agree as well… Especially with the strategy I have in mind.”

“Oh, And what would that be?” Lyle questioned. Having not been told anything, the others in the group looked upon this with an equal amount of confusion.

“It's a very simple one, really. In order to stop this now, we need to attack at the very source of our enemy. The question you may ask is how. The answer is, that I'm launching a counteroffensive, I'm going into the demon realm… “

This much resulted in activity halting once more, as a surprised expression came onto Lyle’s visage, and even Volker’s. To go into the demon realm itself? No such ideas had been proposed since the order’s founding. And even then, said ideas had been shot down relatively quickly. Arctaois decidedly ignored the change in demeanor, as he looked back to the allies standing behind him.

“You all are free to come, or stay, I will not force you to come, it's not as if I'm a leader…”

But by this point, Volker had regained his composure, and stepped in front of Arctaius before any responses could come out. His expression was hardened, brows furrowed.

“Are you a fool, Agium? With how much you struggled against those demons you fought, what chance do you stand?” Volker questioned. But, As one would expect, Arctaius fired back swiftly/

“This is coming from the one who barely proved his own strength... Where were you when they made their attack... Scuttling around, fighting with the lower level demons?”

“Are you one to talk?! That one that he was fighting-”

Volker ceased, as he pointed at Jirou.

“Had a larger amount of power than whoever you were up against… Besides, i'm sure you did more harm than good, must I mention the collateral?”

“ If we worried more about collateral, rather than getting work done, our opponents would still be running around killing people. Causing even more destruction… We cracked some eggs to make an omelet, in the meanwhile, what did you make? Could you have changed the outcome?”

Arctaius began to stride closer, as did Volker. By now, it’d become more than clear that a clash would approach, if things did not change soon.

“Are you saying you could do better?”

“Demon slaying is in my blood… You didn't even believe in their existence a few days ago. I know much more about it than the likes of you does.” Volker questioned

“And yet you were nowhere to be seen… If Jirou hadn’t been here, what do you believe would’ve happened, HUH?!”

Arctaius paused for a moment, as he took another step closer.

“Putting that much aside… There’s still something else that needs to be said. I find it interesting how you all sneak around as you do…”

“ And what is that supposed to mean?” Volker questioned.

“If your goals were as noble as you claim, you'd have no reason to sneak around... Something reminiscent of a certain group.”

Volker’s anger began to grow once more, as his mind inched closer to attacking him here, and now.

“You wouldn't dare!” He yelled angrily.

“Trust me, he would…” Alarick responded.

Eventually, the holy energy flowing within Volker, condensed, and formed the holy arm Astaroth in his hand. The blades shining from the harsh light that came from the ceiling. However, it seemed that he was not the only one prepared for this. The room around them began to heat up, as a golden luminance surrounded Arctaius. By now, the two were but inches away. One among them decided that the squabble would need to stop here, after all, they had more important things to worry about. Zhao stepped between the two, pushing them apart as he spoke.

“I don’t believe it’s worth it to do this here, we’d best save our strength.” Arctaius glanced at Zhao, and from there, at his approaching allies.

“Yeah, We’re all coming, after all…” Kazimir stated, giving him a thumbs up.

“If I didn't. You'd get ahead of me in power, and I couldn't have that happening.” Jirou commented.

“We’ll simply need to handle this ourselves.” Zhao continued. This much seemed to be enough for Arctaius, and he stepped away from Volker, the light around him dissipating as he began walking back to the elevator. It did not take long for the others to do the same. To their surprise, However, stepping in front of them was yet another slayer. A large-framed man, with a head of dark blue hair, and a thick goatee lining his face. His body itself was covered in what looked to be a suit of heavy armor, laminated plates covering what resembled chainmail.

“:Now, hold on just a minute there… That little declaration there. I must say, I like your style... Hell, I agree with you.”

Of course, the group viewed this with some suspicion. Kazimir was the first to question him.

“What's your game here?”

“I’m gonna come with you… What else? If you’d allow that…” While they were surprised, the others in the room certainly weren’t, after all, a figure this important would be common knowledge among their ranks. But the mutters that one would hear made it clear that his reputation wasn’t exactly the best.

“That Gilga….” Another slayer mumbled.

“Always running off, almost never cooperating on his missions? It’s unbecoming of a member of the council…”

“And even now, he wants to run off with these people?”

Alarick glanced around, as he listened to the crowd around him speak. It seemed that they’d picked up an eccentric one, but nonetheless, if he wasn’t going to be a liability, it was acceptable to him. He decided upon figuring out when they would leave.

“We should leave two days from now… We’ll still need to get logistics figured out, and make some courtesy calls.”

“Right.” Miyamoto responded.

“Fine with me.” Added Kazimir.

“Alright. We’ll meet in front of Manchitsu financial… Don’t be late, “Gilga”. We will leave you behind.” Arctaius declared.

It was only then that the group continued on, making their way onto the elevator, that began taking them up with a buzzer sounding. Volker stood there as he looked back at Gilga disapprovingly. Why would he decide upon going with them? It was a course of action he didn’t understand. Nevertheless, he bit his tongue for the time being. As the group left, it did not take long for Lyle to approach Gilga.

“You never change, do you?” Lyle questioned.

Gigla gave lyle a shrug, as he began walking away.

“It’s just how I am.. Sides’, I could say the same for you, Lyle.”

“The same for us both, I suppose…” Lyle Agreed.

Lyle began walking in the opposite direction. All the while, the other high-ranked slayer stood there, still miffed about the exchange with the one they called the Agium. To come in here and speak as if he was the expert in terms of the enemy they now faced. As if he’d trained in the arts engineered to destroy them.

“Arctaius Corde, Mark my words… I shan’t tolerate this disrespect. Of me, nor my family line. We shall see who’s truthfully the better slayer here.”

To Be Continued