Score Resurgee was in an uproar following the evacuation order issued by Alnico. Trusting though the town's people were, they found his most recent order the hardest to comply with. "We leave then what happens? He may be a guardian but he shouldn't just go around giving such orders. Curfew…we agreed. The new forest farming expedition, we agreed! But this…we can't comply with this! Is he trying to chase us out of our homes!"
Though seething with rage, he brought out the points that would prove difficult as they were unheard of. Since Alnico became Seeker's guardian, he restructured the town's policies with the people's best interests in mind with the help of the village chief. People don't take kindly to excessive change, worse still, over a short period of time.
What to do? Alnico typically operates without ever mentioning anything with regards to what he is doing or think? It just randomly works out. Asa snapped. Their constant murmuring fueling his anxiety as the perceived threat was one they could not ignore. From his time spent with Alnico, he had become accustomed to the former's tactics. He was an arrogant man, one who would stare death blue in the face and proceed to jest about it.
"You know what—shut up! Stay if you wish to die!" Silence consumed the room, his words echoing as he had just laid bear the stacks. A monumental battle was yet to take place, yet, they cared more about staying in their houses.
"De-Death…" someone from the crowd murmured.
Asa stood, wondering what next to say. Regardless of how stupidly they may have acted, they were still citizens of Conflagraflaria. Thus, they had to be protected. Mrs. Chimeralana, the innkeeper of Score Resurgee, gave Asa a few pats on the shoulder. "That was undoubtedly pathetic—I mean, wonderfully handle. I felt the desperation."
Asa sighed before adding, "You need to fix that habit of blurting out your actual thoughts before trying to sugar coat them."
"I have been trying sith I was a little girl. It doesn't seem to work out. Take notes, this is how you give a speech." She cleared her throat, muttering to herself, "first, you draw their attention. Flame Art: Hallowed Incandescent; Fireworks." Crimson flames scattered through the upper parts of the ceiling, drawing their attention to where she and Asa stood. Silencing any and all murmurs in the room.
"Must you be stubborn? Sith when has Alnico deceived us? He toils day and night to preserve our peace. Why do you seem to believe he wishes to chase you from the very homes he is sworn to protect? Alnico is a slave to us all. He gave us a curfew, one which ensured we would be out of danger when he hunted Bystier at night. We exist in the deepest part of the forest and he is aware of that fact, so much so he rarely slumbers.
Any and all people who run restaurants and even inns are aware of this fact. The fact that all the quarry he gets his hands on is given to us without so much as a fee. That is right, Majority of the food you dine on is provided by him. Yet, you question him still. Everything he does is for our sake. If he tells us to leave then it is only to ensure our safety. Doubt him not, I believe this is for our sake as well. An enemy is approaching, that even he wonders whether he can defeat. Should we not comply?"
A man who stood at the back of the line raised his arm and shouted, "We should!" His words echoing by the lingering silence. "Alnico is our guardian, if he wanted to chase us away, wouldn't it have been more convenient for a man of his statue to use brute force rather than attempt to reason with us."
Asa looked on, watching as the room's atmosphere had completely shifted. Mrs. Chimeralana as well as that man were casually shifting the dynamic. Making everyone believe that everything was being done purely for their sake.
He chuckled, recalling a moment he had a chat with Alnico.
"Asa, you are stepping up as a leader, no? You will be the new chief of magical research so I am sure you will need to address a lot of people. Your usual antics won't fly there."
Asa sat at his desk, a glass of alcohol at hand. "What do you suppose I do then?"
"Give up…honestly, if I tell someone that if you touch that piece of glass, it will cut you. And you proceed to touch it anyway. If it cuts you, I will be on cloud nine celebrating. That's what you deserve, you should have listened."
Asa gulped down the whole bottle, pausing to think about what he had just heard, "How do your juniors survive? Is that why they always quit? Once bitten, twice shy I guess."
Alnico opened another bottle, "Why are you drinking so much? Are you not supposed to go and chair a meeting in about five minutes?"
"It's not like I will be drunk for long anyway. You know how I am with alcohol, that stuff stays in my system for a few seconds before becoming water and glucose."
That was a memory he was fond of. Alnico would have probablywalked out the moment they started arguing. If he found someone in a fire after warning them against something, he would probably wait for them to burn a little before saving them. In this case, he would have walked out…he loves his breaks way too much.
"That was expertly handled, Mrs. Chimeralana."
"Well, how else do you think I get customers? They need to believe that staying here is really beneficial to them and not entirely me. Convince them and you win."
"Spoken like a true business man. Where did you even pick up those skills anyway?"
"I took notes from my husband. He is the head of the Chimeralanas after all."
Asa cleared his throat, watching the town's people scramble. They were hoping to get ready for departure as soon as humanly possible.
"Shouldn't it be was? He disappeared years ago."
Her gaze shifted to the halls which were crawling with people, each scrambling to heard to their rooms. At their feet, she saw a golden cat, squeezing through. It then rushed toward her.
"Hubby," she went to pick it up before saying, "Sometimes, I am reminded of how the world just wishes to ignore a threat they cannot contain." She placed her forehead against the cat before whispering, "You are going to have to help a lot of people evacuate. Tell me what you need, okay?"
Asa looked on, she must really love her cat. I pity her though, didn't he disappear only a year after they got married? It must have been devastating.
~
Alnico lay on his booth, his thoughts dwindling. The cloudy sky, signaling the coming of rain. "An entire night without incident—you are making me wait." A gentle breeze to calm the mind. He kept wondering when Xem would make his first move. He lost himself in the breeze, letting it distract him from what was yet to come.
Suddenly. A silence be fell the forest. The breeze that was once soothing turned brittle. Saturated with malice. It blew violently as though to devour everything.
"You took your time. I was starting to suspect you grew a tail." Alnico's words cut like daggers though they were little more than a simple jest.
"A tail? That is impossible. My familiars have tails though." He emerged from the trees, Nazir and Alda by his side. On Alda's back was a black bag.
Nazir chimed in, "Captain Sequiturom, he never meant that literally. He was attempting to mock."
"I understand it not. Brief me on the ins and outs of comic humor when we return." He responded. Alda gave a light punch to Nazir adding, "Seriously, you should stop teaching Captain Sequiturom stupid things. What will you do if he develops weird cravings?"
"Ser. Aside from fawning over Niveen, I doubt your brain contemplates on anything else. How is humor supposed to make him dangerous— oh, I get your point. You said stupid things, not humor. I will still teach him about girls though."
Xem looked on, watching Alnico sit up from his booth. They stared at one another, locking eyes for what seemed like an eternity. At least. In their eyes. Carefully trying to predict when the other would make their move. "Enough you two, raid the village and obtain Nyambe Chimeralana. I gave them an entire day to evacuate. If anyone is still present, treat them as collateral damage. Leave at once."
"Understood." They dashed forward before Alnico's gaze shifted, focusing on their movement. He clenched his hands before he felt a hand placed on them. "Huh," his gaze returned to Xem who stood there watching.
"So no soul paralysis…" Alnico chuckled.
"Imaginary plane, right? Its behavior is certainly one of a familiar. Getting stopped by my malice as it did." A severed slit tongue ripe with blood materialize beside Xem. Several more made themselves visible throughout the surrounding area. From their blood, eyes formed. Still dripping with blood.
"A blind spot exists no longer. Both on the real plane, or the imaginary. My team will pass unscathed." The tongues disappeared.
"Right." Alnico responded before dashing toward them. His hand became coated in a yellowish aura. He planned on grabbing Nazir before his hand was intercepted. A hand coated in black aura grabbed him tightly. "You did not catch what I said….they will pass unscathed."
"You are a quick one." Alnico turned to look at Xem when he saw a fist flying his way. A black fog coating it. He dodged, opting for one of his own. Xem dodged before a black fog materialized beside him. The fog turned watery, bubbling as from it, a maw of a lion emerged. Its carnassial teeth drenched in saliva. It was truly a starved beast.
The yellow aura that coated Alnico's fist hardened, preventing them from even taking the slightest bite. The bubbling expanded before a wing emerged. Black feather dropping as water formed from it. Alnico's body became coated in a yellowish aura before he forced himself back, dodging the series of water bullets.
"I suppose even with this many eyes watching you, you are still rather difficult to contend with. They left unscathed." Xem touched the maw's lower part, rubbing it. Its whole head then emerged. The head of a lion with horns of a mountain goat. Its wings, flapping as water continued dripping from it. It had no eyes, only hollow holes with blood dripping from them.
"Your name? What is your name? You are quite skilled."
"Xem Sequiturom."
"Sequiturom—huh. So you are the menace that has been causing an uproar in Hollow Veil. You are quite the subject. Since, six years ago, was it?"
"What of you? Earned yourself a title of a Sovereign. A title that might end up being my own once this battle concludes."
"You know how to talk big for someone who does not understand a joke."
"Humor is irrelevant to win a battle. Flames will soon be upon you."
Alnico looked to the sky. Seeing black wings. An eagle's head with crimson flames gathered at its beak. To it, a lions body was attached. Black wings that lifted its body keeping it airborne.
One by his side and another in the sky. He let out a sigh. "This is why half shadows are such a pain. Beasts everywhere." He returned his gaze to Xem. "Was that much truly necessary." He let out a sigh before adding, "Anyway— Metal Art: Structural Crystali; Unshakable. Alloy; Tungsten rhenium." This is not the best way to start a battle. The flames descended, devouring any and all things.
~
"Void…what do you think the chances of Xem winning that battle are?" They ran through the desolate streets of seekers. Heading straight for the place Alda thought the sound of footsteps was coming from. She heard the sound of burning, metal clanking as well as an explosion in the distance. She covered her ears, a strong ringing lingering in her ears still. "Were those flames from one of those winged abomination familiars of his?"
Nazir slowed down, matching her pace, "Which class do you think? He has over hundred you know."
"If I had to guess, I would say the eagle headed one. It's the only class of fire type winged beasts he has." The explosion that once roared so loudly grew silent. "Like I was saying…What are Xem's chances of actually winning? You have met Alnico before—though you were masked and constantly suppressing your presence. I am sure he caught on though, he aimed directly for you. One of the few who has escaped his soul paralysis."
"Realistically speaking, Xem may be stronger than me by at least a third of my full power. But, I can't picture him winning. His current rank is that of a false paladin…but he is going up against a guardian. The disparity in their power is too great to ignore. But then again, this is Xem. When push comes to shove, he can always just summon his true familiar." They took a hard right.
"So Void, what you are essentially telling me is Xem is in deep trouble. Niveen! We aren't too fast, are we?"
"It's fine I can keep up. In fact, I urge you to accelerate." Niveen jumped, from building to building. Conquering them as though their wasn't much to it. Sweat ran down his face, his breathing, shallow. It was apparent, he was pushing himself way too hard. We need to hurry…Xem's plan is to essentially distract the guardian while we move in. He may be powerful…but, he is still. He is still a human. He has limits.
Nazir's gaze shifted to Niveen. "Don't force yourself. Don't be so quick to forget…..unlike the rest of us, your brother Xem….can't be killed."
~
Xem looked on, watching as the dust cleared. The lion headed beast only growing more agitated. It roared before blood began falling from the portal from which it hanged. "I am yet to pass a new order. Learn some restraint lest you wish to be devoured by the rest." Xem's body became shrouded in a black fog when it burst out of the portal.
It was but a floating head, kept together with its body by floating blood. A gray scaled serpent was its body. It had two eyes floating beside its head. Each with a black wings that dripped water. Blackish water.
Its wings covered Xem, blocking three pieces of metal that flew his way. Tungsten rhenium alloy pieces. "That attack just now, was that much fire truly necessary? You could have easily annihilated everything within a 5Km radius. We are by the town's edge. Part of it would have been completely wiped out."
"But you would never let that happen now, would you? You are obligated to protect this town and its people. Plus, you are the all powerful Alnico, a task that meager could have been completed with minimal effort."
"Well naturally. The only problem is that your little trick kicked up way too much dust. Now I have a few specks on me."
The eagle headed beast that was still airborne flew to Xem's side. Staring intently at Xem's other familiar. Their species were never one to bond. They were known to hunt and devour one another. "I saw what you did. A pillar of metal to direct the concentrated portion of the flames to yourself. Then, like it was nothing, producing an exact replica of the portion in the magic to produce a clash, forcing the attack to be projected on the imaginary plain."
"How could you have seen that? I left part of the flames out to ensure your vision was obscured." Alnico touched the metal helmet he wore, adding more metal to cover his neck. "Right, I nearly forgot. This entire field is actively being monitored. The eyes go first then."
Another wave of flames was fired toward him. A metal wall materialized in front of him, deflecting them. "On second thought, I suppose, all disfigured beings, go first."