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[Spoiled Bread]

"Wow wow wow." Urias put both her hands up in a mocking manner while she stood up and recovering from her fall before. She tried to dodge the vines that was shot at her, though her unbalanced state failed her. She decided to hack the vines away with her sheer strength, cursing at every swing she made. After the vines removed, she brushed the dirt on her body and spread her arms to adress everybody nearby "I know I'm strong and cool and amazing. But this is the first time I get this many fans!"

"Hear my name and tremble!! I'm Urias!! The Blade of Darkness! The Demon Slayer! The Chosen Blood Knight! For now, I shall let you all live, but fear not! Someday I'll come back and take what should be mine"

Today was a big disaster for her. Her mission turned to be much much harder than she first thought and honestly her stamina had been greatly drained fighting all these random folks. Though she won't show it to her opponents. Urias shows no weakness!!

Instead, she formulate a plan. An emergency retreat, with a bang!! What a brilliant mind she has!! This way she would be able to escape prevent further crisis while keeping her coolness. Her mission? It could be accomplished another day after she recover. She grinned mischievously.

The 15 plant kids were still stunned from her previous attack and were recovering themself near a three story building. Urias called her last reservoir of energy to quickly dashed to the building and jammed Oriana into the wall. Cracks appeared on the whole building. When Urias pulled her sword and dashed to the alley's exit, the building started to crumbling down, huge chunks of concrete threatening to kill the dazzled kids below. This would be a very good distractor, haha.

She laugh loudly as she fled from the battle field, her sword easily shattered the ice wall. After running for some time she threw one of her precious smoke bomb to provide some smokescreen and disappeared into the darkness of the night...

 

[Fire Mana]

The spikes on Parker's wing stopped in place inches away from the knight as he let out another bellowing roar. The boy struggled to keep his footing, he was starting to grow fatigued. His right side was practically dragging the rest of his body around. He finally lost his ground and flew forwards towards the mysterious masked man who he now recognized as the same one who tried to take Neta away previously.

"Alright child, I don't think I can stop this one. Brace for impact."

The wing on Parker's right shoulder extended again, pulling Parker to the right and narrowly avoiding the masked man. However, he was sent into a heap of rubble next to him. He groaned in pain as his right arm pushed his body back to it's feet.

"I see that you tire child... How about you allow us to take over completely, only for a while. We promise to return your body back to you afterwards."

"You sure? You'll just return my body after this fight."

"Of course child, you make for an excellent vessel. We want you to remain alive and well, so that we may continue on living in your body."

"Ughh... Sure, take over I guess. Just make sure to end the fight fast!"

"As you wish."

It took a moment, but the pain once again returned to Parker's body. Only this time, it was much much worse. He tried to scream, except no sound escaped him. His jaw locked and his eyes bulged. He fell to his knees, clutching his head which was now pounding. His whole body twitched and pulsed, like all of his muscles and veins were moving by themselves. He finally crumpled to the ground, the pain shifting around his body trying to find it's place. After a few seconds, a figure emerged from the rubble. It was pitch black, and gruesome. The arms and legs were covered in spikes that pointed upwards and at an angle. The hands and feet were claws with extremely sharp talons, they looked as if they could tear a man in half. The shoulders were covered in spikes as well, and he now had two shredded wings instead of one. His torso seemed to be ripped open, with a black and silver jagged crystal in the center of the chest. Inside of the crystal appeared to be a small ember, a Shadow Flame. Finally, the head appeared to have bladed horns extending from the top. His face seemed a cross between anger and agony. He extended his right arm, a large blade of pure Shadow Fire clutched in his hand.

"Sleep for now child, we will take care of this"

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Okay, um, Clayton-" She didn't have time to finish her sentence, because Mallory had told her that there was no time for questions now and was gone with Arisa in an instant. This sudden name change made Neta realize that she didn't know who these people really were, foes or not. But she would continue calling Mallory "Clayton," at his request.

The woman he'd addressed as "Davina" was telling Neta that she was no foe. She was more believable, because she seemed to have history with her friend Clayton and opposed Arisa's kidnapper.

If the masked man only looked thespian, this Blood Knight definitely played the part. She spread her arms out dramatically and introduced herself as the Chosen Blood Knight Urias, before she abruptly stopped the show, shattered Clayton's ice wall, and retreated from the battlefield. But not without collapsing a building onto the fifteen children who were unequivocally Neta's enemies.

Urias may have been a Blood Knight like Claro, but she'd stayed true to her word until the end and helped Neta with the plant kids. She could neither see nor confirm their status through the cloud of smoke that accompanied the building's collapse.

Neta approached Davina, who seemed not to know who or where she was. "It's nice to meet you, but..." It was a curious way to begin a sentence, telling someone it was "nice" to meet her when the circumstances surrounding the meeting were so harrowing. "But, Urias is gone now."

The Blood Knight wasn't the only one who might be gone, however. In the corner of her eye, Neta could make out a distant figure, a demonic warrior with bladed horns and sharp talons. "Is that..." He looked so different now, and she didn't know if her friend was still conscious within that body. "...Parker?"

~~~

Claro cursed when his vision of the mask and the demon in a pile wasn't realized. He glared at Magnus, who appeared unscathed. Somehow he'd avoided a crash landing when the knight had blown him away earlier. All Claro had managed to do was ruffle his clothes.

He shifted his focus away from Parker's costumed sidekick and back to the demon himself, satisfied that at least one of his targets had hit something solid. But the boy was transforming again. Or was he being torn apart from the inside?

The knight could barely recognize him now. With spikes all over his arms and legs, he looked like an overused voodoo doll that had been stuck with too many needles. Sure enough, the face that stared back at him was one of agony, and anger. To Claro, the boy looked more like what he really was: a demon, a reject, a creature that knights like him were meant to slay.

But he had fewer options now. The demon's blade was composed purely of Shadow Fire, so any previous success that he had in parrying it could not be repeated. Locking swords was impossible, he predicted, because Parker's would simply pass through his own and cut him down. Perhaps that wasn't true, but Claro wasn't going to test his theory now. He hadn't let the Shadow Fire touch him once and didn't want that to change.

He did not fear Parker's new form, however. The knight was simply exercising caution. He'd keep up the long-range attacks and hopefully bring his foe to him instead of charging forward like he had at the start. That crystal in the center of his chest... Could that be his heart, if demons have them? Claro thought, paying closer attention to the one thing that seemed remotely beautiful about the boy's new form. Then, that is where I'll put my blade. My arrows couldn't pierce his skin, so I need to attack a specific area.

The knight seemed angry and out of control when he raised his voice, but he had a plan. These sound waves were directed to barely miss Parker, bounce off from the rubble, and hit him from behind, propelling the boy toward Claro. He threw his blade straight at the crystal in his foe's chest, projecting his voice behind the weapon so that it would fly faster. With the boy sailing at him at such a speed, and his own sword prepared to meet him at equally fast one, Claro would shatter that crystal and end this once and for all. Then, he'd be sure to give that costumed theater reject in desperate need of a stage a grave instead.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

"Seems like they're gone." Urias said to herself after running for minutes. She was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, but at least she had been quite far from the inn. Now that most of her adrenaline had been depleted, she could feel the pain on her body. Her head was still throbbing from the kid's attack and the ice wall crashing. Curse that kid! Curse those scientists! Curse that ice guy! Curse Claro!

She just wanted to live a happy life with Oriana, but now things had turned into this mess... She must climb the rank fast so she could took her revenge!

Her vengeful thought got interupted by the sound of footsteps. A single person emerged from the darkness of the alley. He was battered and rugged, not much different from her condition, but his hand firmly grip his sword and his eyes shows sheer determination. It took Urias several seconds until she realized the newcomer.

"I thought you're still tied on the damn chair." She said with a smirk. The man said nothing. Instead he raised his sword and lessen the grip on his sword.

"I demand a rematch." He said in a flat tone.

Damn, I'm already at my limit. But, Urias never show weakness! Toughness, grit and guts are her middle name! She grinned menacingly and assumed an offensive stance, Oriana on her hand. This battle would end in a flash like before anyway.

"I accept! Let me show you the true Terror!! Prepare yourself to be drowned in despair!"

After a few quick breath she launched herself at her enemy, she swung Oriana on a powerful downward swing. Her roar penetrate the silent night. The crytal on Oriana shone brightly, ready to sent strong vibration through the knight's sword the moment a contact made. But the contact never happened.

Instead of parrying the sword. The knight abruptly dropped his sword while turning his body, shifting his weight to the other side, dodging her swing and deliver a powerful hook with his left hand. Caught off guard, Urias clenched her teeth and took the punch on her head. She prepared to retaliate, but another punch hit her abdomen below her ribs. The knight didn't gave her room to breath and sent more punch on her head. After a few more hit, she collapsed on the ground unconscious.

-------

I did it! I did it!

Easen glad that he could beat the woman who defeated him. Even if he resorted to using trick instead of fighting her head on like a knight he should be.

After falling to her ambush, humiliated by a chair and getting too late into the chaos that the person he should be protecting ended up being protected by strangers, he was so ashamed of himself. Being defeated reminds him of the time when he was just a mere streetrat, powerless and had no control over his own life. Beating her is one of his way to retain his self-worth, but it's not enough. His hunch told him that he would face stronger enemies in the near future. He need more than raw skill, he need rule-breaking power. If only he had it...

He looked at the woman's black sword. A thought appeared inside his mind. After a few moment of thinking, he picked up the black sword and wrapped it in a cloth. He left the woman and walked back to the dierction of where the inn once was.

 

[Fire Mana]

As the being was still getting used to it's new body, the knight launched an attack... except it missed. The being chuckled to itself before being launched forward from behind.

"That little!"

The black figure flew forward at the knight as he threw his blade, increasing it's velocity with another booming projection of his voice. The being raised it's left arm, clutching the thrown blade in it's hand right as it was about to make impact with it's chest. Chances were that it wouldn't have scratched it's core, but it wasn't taking any chances. The being rose it's own blade, and as it did so the Shadow Fire erupted. The blade grew triple it's length as he brought it down upon the knight. The force behind the swing easily had enough power to devastate the surrounding area, but the being only cared about slaughtering it's opponent.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"IMPOSSIBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!"

Claro screamed when the Shadow Fire sword was brought down upon him. How did this creature manage to catch his blade with such accuracy when both were moving at such fast speeds, then raise his own all in the span of a second? The knight maintained the last syllable of that word at full volume, hoping that he could stop the demonic weapon before it made contact, but there was so much force behind it.

He wasn't entirely unsuccessful, however, because the blade slowed with each reverberation of his voice. But how long could he keep this up? He was fighting to keep the sword from creeping any closer to his shoulder. He wasn't even breathing anymore. Claro had barely stopped Magnus's advanced bullets and it was impressive that he'd slowed this vile blade at all, but even his booming sound waves would have trouble completely thwarting a weapon swung so forcefully from above. The Shadow Fire was licking at his shoulders now.

Crack. The sudden crack of Claro's voice.

Another crack. If the Shadow Fire had been licking at him, then like the crack of a whip came a merciless tongue-lashing. Not in the sense that he was scolded. Rather, the knight was punished severely by that blade, the Shadow Fire filling the gaps in his plate armor and cutting him down. To think that he'd managed to avoid the eldritch flames all this time only to fall when they finally touched him.

"NO, I HAVEN'T FALLEN!"

Supporting his badly injured self with a trembling right arm, Claro caught himself when he fell forward and was now on his knees. Grunting in pain as he slowly picked himself up, the knight looked the demon dead in the eye and forced himself to concentrate through the pain of the dark embers that burned at the large gash on his chest. He cleared his throat and said at an uncharacteristically quiet volume, "Both of you will die here..."

Blood dripped from his smirk. He'd thought that he would simply defeat his opponent after a brief struggle, but he didn't anticipate that he'd be using this attack.

"This is humiliating..." Claro's voice was low.
"I've 20 years of experience..." he continued, slightly louder this time.
"AND I WAS INJURED BY A MERE...!" he was shouting now, his voice twisted with rage.
"SSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTT RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The entire town shook. Every window intact shattered, and the fragments of those already broken turned to glass dust. The demon and the masked man would be dead in a matter of seconds. This attack required Claro's utmost concentration, but it would make their eardrums burst, their very heads explode. And they wouldn't be able to move to stop him, because those piercing sound waves stunned all who heard it and were unfortunate enough to be near.

~~~

Neta instantly fell to the ground, covering her ears. Had there been a sudden tremor? An explosion? This noise shook the whole town. Her very surroundings were fuzzy with vibrations. She couldn't tell if her eyes were bobbing up and down, as if her consciousness were fighting a seizure that threatened to roll them back into her head, or if they were the buildings that bounced. The sound of Claro obscured the sight of Parker, and Neta could no longer make him out.

This was bad. Parker and the masked man were in serious trouble! But what could she do? These sound waves were not the kind that blew opponents back. They were loud, frequent, little vibrations that amounted to a paralyzing force. Plant X wouldn't be able to penetrate them, however small.

Having collapsed from the overwhelming noise, Neta could look at nothing else but the ground beneath her. In that moment of defeat, she realized that the answer was staring her right in the face.

"The... ground... X, go under...ground..." she managed through the ear-splitting sound, tapping her ring with a trembling finger.

The vine shot out but had no intention of writhing at the surface. X burrowed into the ground straightaway and drew closer and closer toward the distant fight. Neta would use up a lot of strength extending the plant this far, but she had to save her friends from whatever this unusually loud noise was.

~~~

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Claro's mouth was wide open, so his emotions were indiscernible from the nose down. But his eyes were equally widened, crazed, even. The demon had cut him down, humiliated him, hurt his pride, but all that colored his face now was bloodlust.

"I HAVE WO-cough"

No, all that colored his face now was blood. His own blood. And it was this, not sound, that escaped his mouth. All that bleeding might as well have been caused by a crowbar being shoved down his throat, because it looked like something was prying at his neck to force his gaze downward. That's how much Claro's head was shaking with pain, as he examined his new wound.

A vine had pierced him through the gaps in his armor, where the demon had cut him.

"It's that... bitch... the Seed...!"

The knight grabbed the plant that had skewered him and pulled it out slowly, opening the wound and coughing some more blood. "I can't... I can't die yet..."

Letting the dislodged Plant X fall to the ground and retract, Claro reached his trembling hands into his pockets and produced four glass bottles of pink gas. "I have not failed... the Seed is still mine. But I've enjoyed playing with you, mask and demon..."

Magnus was pointing a gun at him, hoping to capitalize on the opportunity to kill the knight when he was at his most vulnerable. But Claro distracted him by tossing the four bottles of Etherflower gas into the air. He had the children to thank for these, because they shattered upon hitting the ground and provided him a smokescreen to escape.

With the strength that he had left, the knight projected his weakened voice and launched himself onto the nearest intact roof, before fading out of sight completely.

~~~

Neta could hardly feel her ears, but she was relieved. "They're... fine. I'm glad. Parker, the masked man, they're okay..."

But the young woman was still in danger. She suddenly felt the familiar numbness of her temples all over her back. One needle. Three needles. Twelve needles. Twenty.

The children's needles hit Neta in each of her pressure points. She managed to roll over and face her attackers before collapsing completely, unable to get up. The smoke of the building that Urias felled had cleared, and all fifteen of them stood before her.

"Did you really think it was over? Claro may be stronger than all of us, but his only purpose was to distract your friends so that we could capture you alive. Well, some of us will do the capturing, and the others will stay behind to take care of that woman beside you."

The seven-year-old vine user was, of course, talking about Davina. Claro had sustained serious injuries and withdrawn, but he was right about one thing: they hadn't failed yet.

 

[Sky_]

Sky was on top of a building when the blast struck. Recklessness had nearly gotten him captured, and he'd barely escaped unscathed. Although it was quite strange the kid just veered off towards the burning building, but stuff like that tended to happen often in the city. Perhaps he was new?

Instinctively throwing up a burst of wind to counteract the scream, the burning building was suddenly a lot more interesting. Fading into nothingness and reappearing on the next building over, Sky broke out into a sprint towards the smoke. He reached the site in no time and simply stood there, mouth hanging open for a split second. It wasn't every day you see what appeared to be a demi-demon standing in front of a cloud of Ether gas. Panning his head further, he spotted a crowd of kids in front of a girl with a vine coming from her hand lodged in the ground

Sky made a split-second decision. Launching himself through the air, a gust of wind below him keeping his momentum up, he dropped down between two of the attackers. A blade to the neck of each, he send two constant currents of air at another two, pinning them to the ground. "Well, what did she do to deserve this?" He asked, taking a quick glance back at the girl in question. "Oh, and none of you move. I can't kill all of you, but I can sure as hell take out a few." Sky flashed a smile at the one under his left sword, the same child who almost got him caught just an hour ago. "Especially this guy." He knew he couldn't keep the other two pinned forever purely through his own powers, but he hadn't really thought that far ahead. All Sky knew was that he wasn't going to run out of energy anytime soon

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"None of your damn business. You're just another common Aberrant, a small fry, who isn't worth our time!" the seven-year-old vine user retorted, unafraid. "But I'll say this in a way that even an airhead like you could understand: you're making a grave mistake defending the Seed. We lost our parents because of her! She's a terrible person, and associating with her will only get you killed. Figured I should tell you that right before it happens!"

The boy really hated playing by anyone else's rules. Parker had tried to do the exact same thing, chaining up two of his friends in Shadow Fire and threatening to burn them alive. Now this fucker had a blade to his and the pitcher plant girl's throat.

Vine boy gave his friend a wink, then did something that Neta was incapable of doing. He shot a vine out of his mouth, wrapped Sky's sword down the blade and continued to his wrists. The seven-year-old hoped to bind his arm so that he could neither swing nor drive his weapon any closer to his throat. Vines were fast, so the boy could restrain the sword before it even moved. But was his friend so lucky?

Pitcher plants didn't shoot out as quickly as vines did. A small one sprouted from the girl's mouth and spilled its highly corrosive juices onto the second blade. Hopefully this older boy's attention was so focused on the vine user that she could get out of this tight spot.

"I seriously hate older kids! They can't get it through their heads that we don't go down without a fight!" the seven-year-old spat. Each of the children specialized in one of fifteen plants, and only one of that plant could spring from their bodies at a time. But even though the boy was only capable of producing one vine, it could come out of his mouth and other areas, unlike Neta's multiple vines, which originated from her ring only.

The needles were still in the young woman's back, so she couldn't pick herself up. She looked up weakly at Sky.

"Please don't slay these children..." Neta croaked. "Scatter them, restrain them if you must, sir, but please don't kill..."

She knew that they had suffered enough, and that they were only trying to get their parents back. Neta couldn't comply with them, but she understood.

 

[AssassinGallade]

Clayton had made somewhat of an escape he managed to make it back to his tree where nobody knew the location of apart from him and Marybelle, once he got there he put Arisa down on a pile of leaves on top of the tree and the ice from his body melted away. Clayton groaned as he fell to his knees, “ok, ice form is powerful, and can freeze anything on contact, but the longer I maintain it the more it hurts after, noted..” He then looked over at Arisa, “kid, I’m sorry, I couldn’t protect you.” He said as he began making small charms out of ice. “Easen is probably worried sick and thinks your dead, the inn that was your temporary shelter is now in ruins, an-“ Clayton was cut off as he had a sudden memory of his old house being burned down and him as he watched his parents get taken away from him. “Damn it! It’s my fault! Because I couldn’t keep one promise you’re suffering the same fate as me!” He exclaimed still making the charms, “but even if this is true, none of it is your fault, it’s mine one hundred percent, and no innocent child like you should ever have to live through something like that.” At this point he was done making the charms and made a small string of ice and made a charm bracelet with little snow flakes. “I will take you back to Easen safely, and because you will both probably hate me, I will take me leave, I’ll find another town where I can fufill my dream.” He said as he put the charm bracelet on Arisa’s wrist.

——-

Mary’s belle was still in the Alleyway with Neta and the children when suddenly another aberrant showed up. “Why do these kids keep showing up?” She wondered as she kept her form, her lance still in hand and listened to what Neta had said about the children. “Kid, I’m with the girl on this one, I don’t know what’s up with these kids but they look like they’ve suffered enough, our best bet would be to try and restrain them all.” She said still looking at the boy. “Besides you wouldn’t want to be known as the man who killed a bunch of kids, if they’re immobilized then they won’t be able to do anything, same as being dead.” She said, “now think and choose.”

 

[Sky_]

"Don't kill them? Lady, you're making this extremely hard for me," Sky retorted, giving his second blade a small flick to get the juices off and in the blink of an eye returned it to the neck of the girl. At the same time, he suddenly send one of the children he had under his hold flying into the one grasped onto his sword, tugging it out of the grasp of the vine. Mid-way through all this, another voice piped up from behind him.

Sky sighed, relenting to their suggestions. "If you inisist," he said, delivering a swift blow to the temple of the kids to either side of him, then slammed the other two into the ground. "Hopefully that'll have them out for at least a while, until I can deal with everybody else"

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

Sky had already taken out three of the children - the girl on his one side and the vine boy on his other side, along with a third child whom he sent flying into the latter - and restrained a fourth with his wind. "There is little I can do lying on my back like this, but I want to help as much as possible," Neta told Sky, tapping her ring. "Though, I don't want to get in your way. So please watch out for needles!"

Her vines shot out and restrained two more kids, holding them over the heads of their friends. X fired needles out from its thick binds, and they rained down at the children below. Neta couldn't avoid hurting them completely, but she made sure to avoid any vitals. An Etherflower bloomed on her vines and painlessly knocked out the two kids struggling against her restraints.

More of these pink flowers burgeoned all along the stems of the plant, backed by maple seeds, or as most people called them, helicopter seeds, that would blow their gases forward. Neta used up a lot of her strength to keep the seeds spinning, but they did their job and fanned the resulting pink cloud toward any children who were still standing.

It wasn't that she was weak. The young woman had no problem restraining the kids when Parker had saved her. But they had struck her sensitive areas from behind, rendering her so pathetic. Maybe she should have left them to Sky, because using so many of her plants at once was taxing. But she was trying her best.

Two of the children had escaped, however. A giant helicopter seed sprouted from a boy's back, and he took to the skies with a girl he was carrying. Claro wouldn't be pleased that they had failed to capture the Seed, but their excuse was that they were hopelessly outmatched when Sky appeared.

Neta couldn't see through it, but she assumed that the remaining children had succumbed to either the gas or the needles.

"We did it... We didn't need to take life after all..." Neta wheezed. Of all her plants, maple seeds were the most exhausting. "But-"

But she couldn't get up with those needles still in her back. She was unable to finish her thought between struggling to get to her feet.

~~~

An injured and bleeding Claro was retreating to a garrison where the Blood Knights were stationed when he saw an unconscious Urias lying in the middle of the street. "Seems like someone... beat me to it," he managed to quip, even in the state he was in. "Urias, I think you're a disgrace to the Order... but sadly I can't leave you here. If people see a Blood Knight lying in the middle of the road like this, they'll make connections and realize that we're involved in the damage to this town. The story is that a bunch of rogue Aberrants did it."

Picking up Urias, Claro noticed that she was missing her blade. "I'm beginning to question whether you'll be of any use to Pless going forward, now that you've lost your weapon."

The knight was condescending as always, but he'd also been handed a humiliating defeat tonight, despite his 20 years of experience. He'd enlisted as an ordinary soldier at the age of 15 and captained his own unit at 21, through the Briarwood incident that would become the defining moment of his career. He joined the Blood Knight shortly after awakening his powers and quickly rose through the ranks, making hardly any friends along the way. His involvement in the Briarwood case meant that he was destined to capture the Seed and usher in a new era of world dominance for Pless. Claro devoted himself wholly to his mission, directly from the king himself, and had no time for friends. If the children had secured the Seed, perhaps that would change.

"You can't die yet anyway. You and I have something to discuss later," Claro told the unconscious Urias when he set her down on a wooden chair upon reaching the torchlit garrison.

 

[Sky_]

Once the gas had cleared, Sky was just a bit annoyed to see that the women had quite efficiently taken care of every kid that he was against. "Aw, you couldn't just leave a few for me? Oh well," Sky smiled, turning back to Neta. His amusement quickly turned into concern at seeing her condition. Disappearing and reappearing seconds later in front of her, he immediately noticed the needles all across her back, specifically in the pressure points he had took it upon himself to try to learn. "Alright, hold still. This is probably going to hurt like shit, but it'd hurt a lot more if I did them one by one," he told her.

Spreading his hands flat, a sheet of (invisible) wind materialised over Neta's back, the top of this sheet flush with the top of these needles. With a sudden swing of his hand upwards, the sheet also shot upwards, taking every needle with it. Although the hand movements weren't necessary, they definitely helped with more precision movements. Kneeling down next to her, he asked "Are you okay? I unfortunately don't have any healing powers, so this is the best I can do."

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

Neta winced when the needles were removed from her back, but she smiled through the pain at Sky. "I think I'm okay now, thanks... and you helped me with those children, though I don't think we've met. But, I'm really grateful."

Slowly but surely, she attempted to stand, but she only got to her knees. It would take some time for her pressure points to recover. She'd smiled at Sky out of gratitude, not out of happiness. So when Neta turned to face him, she could not do so again after everything that had happened tonight. She simply swallowed and pursed her lips awkwardly, something less complete than an incomplete smile. A "smile" that did not bend the corners of the mouth even a little.

"I'm Neta, and... what the children said of me is true. I'm more trouble than I'm worth..."

She bowed her head slightly as she introduced herself. What she really wanted to do was hang her head and break down, but she forced it back up and hid her true feelings behind a polite gesture.

If there was any silver lining to this fateful, cloudless night, it was that Neta had met quite a few new people. Urias was a Blood Knight and an enemy. But there were Davina and this boy who had come to her aid. Looking at their sky-blue hair, she wondered if they might be related.

Neta had more questions about people she had met previously, however, like Clayton. Or was he Mallory? And Parker. She wondered about his new form, which looked so different from the boy she knew.

"That's right! Parker!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I should be fine thanks to you, sir, but my friend..."

Neta looked in Parker's direction. "...He was fighting Claro and is hurt worse than I am. He needs help, and if I could be close to him right now-"

She again paused and tried to get up, this time with more success, but her back felt stiff. Neta would do whatever she could to treat Parker's injuries, and the masked man's if he sustained any. Some of her plants had medicinal properties.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Arisa was barely conscious when Clayton finally put her down. Her whole body was throbbing in pain, she felt really cold and the world seems to spin around. Today she spent lots of time practicing her aim, then being sacked around by a crazy woman. She was exhausted past her limit, she couldn't even muster enough attention to fully heard what Clayton said. But even without hearing most of the words, she recognized the look on his eyes. They're almost the same as her father's when he found out that she's an aberrant. They're the eyes of guilt.

No. Don't go away.

Even after her power manifested, she was sure that her father still love her. Though she strangely felt that he was distancing himself from her. It's like her father felt guilty to her for something... No, she didn't want that again! Nonsense! Was she annoying? Had she became too troublesome? She reached Clayton's cloak and grabbed it as hard as she could.

"DON'T GO!!" She intented to said it normally, but the sounds that came from her mouth were louder than she expected. She tried to stand up but the vertigo came down and she settled in a sitting position. The fever had started to turn her face red, but she endured it and looked at Clayton with wet eyes.

"Don't leave!! I will become a good girl! Promise!! I won't waste food or kick random puppies again! I will pray before eating and only take the necessary space when sleeping! I will also train hard so I don't become a burden! Really!!"

Since her trip began two weeks ago, some negative thoughts had been formed on the corner of her mind. She was able to ignore them most of the time, but now she was in her most vulnerable state, those negative thoughts started to resurface. What if this trip was just an elaborate plan from her father to ditch her? What if Zaryu had enough of her behavior and decided to leave her alone? What if... what if... what if nobody truly loves her?? That she was just a burden all along?

 

[Sky_]

"Hey, hey, it's cool." The girl was quite obviously in pain, in more ways than one. "I don't tend to save people that aren't worth the trouble, trust me." He slid his swords back into their sheath, and gave a nod in Parker's direction. "If you want, I can probably fly you over to him. You definitely aren't in any state to walk right now."

 

[AssassinGallade]

“Arisa...” Clayton said lightly as the little girl promised to behave. “That decides it.” He told himself, “we’ve suffered the same fate.. she was either abandoned or sent away, in order to be kept safe, she either had or found a protector and now wants to learn how to fight in order to not feel useless or forgotten.” He thought, “Arisa, no matter what happens, I’ll porteft you.” He told the girl, “I promise.... no harm will ever come to you ever again, I’ll teach you to fight that way you don’t feel like you can’t do anything, and if even if it comes down to it, I’ll die protecting you.” He said as he faced the girl with tears in his eyes, “I won’t let you suffer the same fate I did!” He said as he fell to his knees, tears still in his eyes. “I- I’ll keep you safe.. just like parents tried to do...” He said, at this point Clayton had suffered a burn from the building, his cloak was practically destroyed, and his bow his broken, despite all of this he didn’t feel pain, instead he felt a sense of duty to prevent this young girl from going down the wrong path. “I can’t tell her about my bow or burns or she might worry, I’ll keep it to myself and find Marybelle to see if she can fix the bow, the burns will go away eventually.” He thought still on his knees.

——-

Marybelle looked at the kid that had just appeared and began judging him in her mind, “I’m not gonna like this kid, but chances are I’ll probably run into him again, but I’m gettig this weird vibe off of him..” she thought as she then looked at Neta, “Neta, do you still have Mallory’s knife?” She asked her, “I noticed his bow was broken and that knife was his only other weapon.” She explained, “he’s out there somewhere protecting a wanted child and he’s unarmed so if you have the knife please allow me to return it.” She said.

 

[Fire Mana]

With the knight defeated and gone, the being inside Parker returned Parker's body to him. Unlike the initial transformation which extremely painful, this one felt almost nice. Like all of the pain he experienced with the initial change was being taken away.

"Well child, it seems we have won. However, he will be back eventually. When that day comes, hopefully we won't have to help you as much as we did today. Keep getting stronger child, embrace the power we have left with you."

Without another word, the being seemed to leave Parker's consciousness. He knew it was still there, he just couldn't feel it's presence like he could before.

Embrace the power... What kind of power do I posses?

Suddenly, the fatigue that had build up over the course of the fight all hit Parker at once. His muscles burned and even his bones ached inside his body. He gave out a shuddering breath before collapsing to the floor among the rest of the rubble and trash.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Arisa tried to kept herself awake, but the fever's ket pushing her down. Her body screamed at her to take some rest. But before she succumb to her fever there's one thing she wanted to do.

"Harmonia. My real name is Harmonia Galilei." She told Clayton. She already felt like she could trust him fully so she didn't want to kept her identity secret. She also wanted to tell him about the real reason of her trip, but before she could do that, the fever overwhelmed her. Harmonia fell asleep on the floor with a high fever, but a small smile could be seen on her face.

-------

Easen had checked the inn, but it was already burned to the ground. He was worried about Arisa, of course. He frantically searched the surrounding for her. Instead, he found a boy collapsed among the debris. He immediately recognized the boy. He's the same boy who threatened the drunkard and save Neta from being kidnapped bt childrens.

"Hey, you okay?" He kneeled and checked the boy's condition. It seems he's overexhausting himself, but there didn't seems to be any broken bone. He picked the boy and walked to the direction where he saw another people. When he got closer, he recognized Neta the waitress and another two people.

What happened here, really? He cursed himself from knowing nothing.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Please take me to him..."

She'd accepted Sky's offer prematurely, however, because someone was already carrying Parker. The young woman wanted to run over to them immediately, despite her weakness. A few pained steps forward deterred her from doing so, but Neta got close enough to recognize the approaching man.

"Oh, Easen!" she exclaimed. "Thanks for this. Parker is really hurt and needs-"

She stopped herself, realizing how selfish she was being. Neta wasn't the only one who had been affected by the fire, so she needed to stop getting so caught up in her emotions and acknowledge that Easen had problems of his own.

"...You aren't with Arisa?" she changed the subject. In the brief silence that followed, she understood that the answer to her question was what had Easen looking so worried. Neta was not one to lie to a man's face and tell him that there was no cause for concern, so she answered what must have been on his mind honestly. "...The Blood Knight Urias tried to take Arisa away. But, she's with Clayton now. I don't know where they are though..."

She turned to Davina, who asked her to return Clayton's weapon. "Oh, the knife..." Neta looked around confused, when the blade was on the ground right beside her. Clearly she wasn't very good at finding knives, as she'd learned when she stared blankly at the rack of weapons at the smithy. Perhaps this curious ineptitude was a manifestation of her general dislike for fighting.

"Should I throw it to you or-"

At this moment an impatient vine shot out of her ring on its own and picked up the knife, extending it to Davina. Anyone would hesitate to harmlessly throw sharp objects, but there was no time for that when an unarmed Clayton might be in danger. Thankful to X for acting so quickly, Neta sighed and composed herself.

"Easen, Davina is a friend of Clayton's, so I'm sure she knows where they are," she reassured the man, though she couldn't quite muster a smile. "I can take care of Parker. I realize it's selfish of me to make you stay any longer when you must want to find Arisa..."

It seemed that neither she nor Parker was in the best of shape, though the latter had done most of the fighting. Neta was thankful that people like Sky and Easen were there, because she was beginning to understand that if they were to survive, they couldn't do it on their own.

~~~

Magnus sighed as Easen appeared and carried lover boy to Neta. "Right, you two can share a moment together. Clear your head, as there's no point reasoning with you now in the state that you're in," he said, before disappearing into a dark alley. "But I hope you've at least learned something tonight. Neither you nor anyone around you is safe roaming the streets of Pless, and it will only get worse from here on out."

Bullets wasted, Magnus sheathed his pistols. He'd assumed a supporting role throughout the fight as lover boy revealed more and more of his powers to the enemy, leaving Claro entirely ignorant of his own. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen the last of the Blood Knight, however injured he was.

And he certainly hadn't seen the last of Neta. If she was indeed so important, Magnus would be seeing her face all over Pless very soon, and she would have nowhere left to go.

~~~

Urias unconscious on the chair behind him, Claro rested on a wooden table. Simple relaxation wouldn't treat the large man's injuries, but he needed time to himself.

He wouldn't be getting it now, though, because a soldier carrying a stack of papers appeared in the hallway of the stone garrison and approached him. He had a puzzled look on his face, blinking incessantly at what was in his hands.

"So, your office has finished the wanted posters for the Seed," Claro concluded.

"Yes, but I'm not sure that these numbers are correct. Her bounty, it's..." the soldier looked at his wanted posters more closely, to confirm for the hundredth time that he had read them right, "...50,000 GOLD?!"

"That's correct."

"But that's higher than any bounty that the kingdom has ever issued! Even higher than that of the first Aberrant who appeared in Pless 50 years ago!"

"These are things that people at the bottom of the food chain wouldn't understand," Claro sighed, his condescension unrelenting. "Should I have failed to apprehend the Seed tonight, I expect these wanted posters all over Pless by next week."

"Understood."

"And tell the office to prepare a new wanted poster and update an existing one. I'll write a report on the incident in town tonight and provide an accurate description of the offenders. Send someone to assess the damage, and the costs will be factored into their bounties. For now, I need to see to these injuries, but in the meantime I want a copy of my report distributed to every knight in the Order. If anyone spots three individuals matching the description, I want the two men killed and the woman taken alive."

Claro was, of course, talking about the demon, and someone he knew all too well: the Raven. The knight couldn't believe that he hadn't recognized the masked man earlier. His reputation preceded him.

But Claro's opinion of the famous vigilante wasn't too flattering. Anyone who captured rogue Aberrants should pledge loyalty to the government. The Raven, however, was a mystery whose loyalties were unknown.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Easen was relieved when Neta said that Arisa was still with Clayton. Though it left a bad feeling on him for letting stranger do his job. He's really a failure.

"Don't worry then. i have take care of Urias." He replied to Neta, then looked at the surrounding, Neta and the boy on his arm. The condition didn't look good.

"We're all roughed. I think we should hide in a safe place and recover ourself. With this much ruckuss, the guard will swarm soon and we might be used as scapegoats." He then looked at the woman who saved her from the damned chair. So she's Davina??

"Davina, where's Clayton and Arisa? If they're in a safe place. Would you lead us there?"

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"Right... we can't be out in the open like this." Neta nodded, agreeing with Easen. "In that case... I'd like to come with you. This fire is my fault, and I owe all of you an explanation..." She was holding back tears as she got a closer look at the state Parker was in. Neta looked at Sky, not knowing even his name, but her eyes appeared as if she had known the boy for a long time, because she needed him. "Please come too, if it's not too much trouble..."

Any danger Sky was in prior to their meeting had just been increased tenfold, but they were safer if they stuck together. When Easen had shown up carrying Parker, Neta had offered to tend to him herself, because she didn't want to burden him as he searched for Arisa. But splitting up was the worst thing that they could do now, she realized.

 

[AssassinGallade]

Marybelle looked at Neta with a serious face, “Neta, please if you can, stop calling him Clayton and refer to him as Mallory.” she told the girl, “you see, as I mentioned before, that’s not his real name, his name is actually Mallory and he kept it a secret because he’s a freedom fighter and somewhat of an assassin, but I feel like his “”fake name”” that he chose, hurts him.” she continued, “Mallory’s fake name is actually the name of his father, I learned this before he left the woods, but I don’t think it’s mentally healthy for a young man like him, who's experienced things no child should have to experience, to be called by the name of the person whose voice he heard last. I feel like every time he hears that name his killing drive strengthens, so if you can, stop.” She said as she looked over back to Easen, “as for where that hooligan is, I honestly could be entirely wrong here but, if I had to guess.” She said as she jumped onto a near by roof and threw a knife in the opposite direction that Mallory went in while he was running away. “Mallory takes precautions, if he thinks he’ll be followed he goes towards the enemy, my best guess would be that he went to the edge of town limits and made a one eighty, making his way over there, towards his beloved stargazing tree.” She said as she came back down.

———

Mallory listened to the young kid as she said that her real name was Harmonia and once she knocked out he smiled and looked down at her, “that’s a lovely name, but why would you want to keep it a secret.” He said as he suddenly had a flood of memories come rushing back to him of when his mother would compliment him for his name. He started to tear up again, “well Harmonia, looks like we have one more thing in common.” He said as he sat down next to the girl. “Easen, I don’t know if you’re job was to protect his beautiful child, but if it was and you abandoned her, I won’t forgive you.”

 

[Spoiled Bread]

So, Clayton's real name was Mallory. Easen wondered why he use a fake name in the first place if the name could stimulate his killing intent... Unless that exactly what he wanted? Well, whatever the reason, Easen didn't felt he had any right to probe further, since he also use a fake name. Everybody had their own secret.

He looked around to found stares from the villagers. Some of them seemed horrified, some of them seemd sad, some looked confused and unsure. Their gaze especially pointed toward Neta, but that might be because the girl was one of the villager here. Now things had suddenly turned messy, nobody was sure what they should do. Should they help them and go against the goverment? But that might put their family in danger. Or should they help the goverment and capture these people? But is it the right thing to do? That's why most people would choose the alternative: do nothing. He won't blame them. He might do the same if he was in their position.

"Let's go there then." He nodded at Davina. Prompting her to lead the way.

-------

Ughh....... Shit.

Urias opened her eyes. It took a few seconds for the spinning to stop completely. For Armaggi's sake! How much head blows did I took??

The first thing she did after she woke up was checking Oriana on her sheath, always. She didn't even check her surrounding. When she found the sword was not there, she was furious and barked at the first person she found.

"Claro, you bastard!! Where did you take Oriana??! Tell me before I rip you to pieces!" Her rage was building up. She need to hold Oriana. Now. Now!

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

"O-oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea..."

Neta stammered, a drop of guilt added to the ocean of sadness that she'd been holding back. Mallory had told her to stick to Clayton for now, but she hadn't realized that she was causing him pain. Neta wore her heart on her sleeve and was in touch with other people's emotions, but Mallory was harder to read.

She swallowed and nodded obediently at Davina. She wouldn't make the same mistake again. The man whom she'd been referring to as "Clayton" was Mallory. From the way Davina described his roundabout getaways, perhaps he was purposely indecipherable.

But the blue-haired woman like an editor seemed to understand the few things that were written on his face. So Neta followed her, put her faith in Davina to guide her. She could stand now, but walking was still a challenge, so she relied on Sky to give her enough of a boost to keep up.

Neta was devoid of optimism after the events of tonight, and she reunited with Arisa and Mallory in the condition that she'd expected to find them. Even from below, she recognized the fever instantly from the girl's irregular breathing and disturbed sleep. Her years at the clinic hadn't been wasted.

"You and Arisa... me and Parker..." Neta began in a hushed voice. She couldn't speak up, or else she would waver. "They're not doing well..."

She and Mallory both had someone to take care of. Arisa in the tree, Parker on the ground.

Neta was neglecting to clean the street boy's wounds as she wrapped them in the healing leaves of her Growthera. After all... her tears would wash away the blood and dirt. She'd held them in for so long, subjecting those pearly drops to the pressure of diamonds. But they were coming down her face now with nothing to stem their flow.

The night didn't pity her. No clouds had gathered to cry with her, or to put out the dying embers of her home. She cried alone.

"...I-I-I... don't have... a place to stay, to work... but I...! I won't burden you, Parker! We'll survive, together... I'll earn my place... by your side, Parker!" Her bottled emotions hit her all at once. The soft smile that had peacefully ruled her face was gone, and a twisted grin sat atop her chin like a usurped throne. She was losing her mind. "I'll earn my place! I will! I know... I'll... I'll sell my body! That's what I'll do! Ahahahahahaha…!"

~~~

It had been five minutes since Claro's wounds were wrapped and treated when Urias regained consciousness. So much for gradually returning to one's senses. The peace and quiet that the male knight had enjoyed was suddenly interrupted by the woman's yelling: "Claro, you bastard!! Where did you take Oriana??! Tell me before I rip you to pieces!"

He'd gotten in a shouting match with the Raven and the Demon earlier, so he began calmly. "I don't know. Your sword wasn't there when I found you. Someone probably swiped it while you were unconscious. Or maybe you were fully conscious but too busy obsessing about how cool you look. Good riddance, anyway, because I've been meaning to tell you..."

"...THAT I KNOW ALL ABOUT THAT STUNT YOU PULLED WITH YOUR SWORD DURING THE FIGHT AND YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPT ON MY LIFE! IT'S THAT STUPID SWORD'S FAULT THAT THEY SLIPPED OUT OF MY GRASP! SO GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE TO ORIANA!"

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Easen kneeled before the sleeping Arisa. He regretted being so weak and stupid. If only he was stronger... no, his self-loathing should wait for later. There's a more important thing to do now.

He took the kid's bag. Rummaging through it until he found what he wanted. Mixed herbs that she bought from her home. She was not the healthiest kid around so a fever once in a while was normal for her. Though it seemed this one was much more severe than normal fever. He smoothly crushed the dried herbs and put it into his water canteen, then after shaking it for a few second, carefully dripped some of it into the kid's mouth.

"I'm sorry for giving you such a responsibility..." He said weakly to the big man in front of him, the stranger who suddenly became the kid's another guardian. He stopped for a moment to think whether he should adress him by his fake or real name.

"I'm really sorry. Mallory." He decided words would not be enough. So he prostated in front of him. This might not even be enough. He could hit him as much as he want if he so desire.

---------

"You have done it..." Urias said with a low whisper-like voice. Though her eyes was abnormally fierce. "You have done it! HOW DARE YOU CALLED ORIANA STUPID!!" She pointed at Claro.

"If I tried to kill you before because you're just f*ckin' annoying. Next time I'll kill you because you DESERVE IT!! No mercy for you! I'll gut you alive and let you watch in horror as I feast upon your entrails! Ahahaha!!" She stormed to the door and kick it open. Before she left though, she gave the man the finger and the most wicked grin she could muster at the moment.

Although she really wanted to rip the man's right now. She knew her priority well. She would ask the inventory guy to tell her about Oriana. If she wasn't here, then either the knight who beat her or one of the citizen of the town had took Oriana from her.

Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable!!

 

[AssassinGallade]

Mallory watched as Easen addressed him by his real name and then prostrated in front of him, he looked over st Marybelle wondering how Easen knew his name but stuck with it, he then turned his attention back to Easen, “this is not necessary, in fact it’s embarrassing, get up off the ground!” He exclaimed to the man on the floor, “this was not not a responsibility, it was fate Easen, because you were able to entrust Har- um Arisa in a complete stranger like me I was able to learn two things.” He said, “the first thing I learned was how much me and this child have in common and the similar fates we’ve suffered, and two, that I wish to join you in protecting Arisa wherever you may go.” He continued as he looked over at Harmonia, “I don’t want to see this young child suffer anymore, and much less have the horrible fate of ending up like me.” He said as he looked back at Easen, “So please, allow me to join you.”

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Still prostrating. Easen flinched when Clayton Mallory called the kid 'Har'. Ahh, she must already told him her real name. Then, they had no reason to hide their identity from this guy anymore. If this guy is an assassin sent by other noble family, Harmonia would already be dead now. Easen got up from his current position and looked at Mallory straight to his eyes.

"I don't know what happened between you and her, but if you really want to join us. Then I should tell you this." Easen zaryu then told Mallory about their journey. About their real identity and about Oracion incident and how they came here.

A thought crossed his mind when he told him this story. Something fishy was happening... Guinard Galilei gave the blood knight lots of money so they could operate smoothly, but then they secretly hunted down his daughter?? Wasn't this kind of reckless? This trip was supposed to hide Harmonia from other noble house, not the blood knight. They should knew better to not mess with their biggest donator doted daughter. What is happening??? Did someone pulling the strings?

Zaryu snapped back to reality. Based on the info he had so far. It seemed the best action would be to went back to Galilei's mansion and consult with Guinard himself.

"We will go back to her house in Wendell. I think its the safest place for her right now. After hearing all this, do you still wish to join us?" He asked Mallory for confirmation.

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

Claro sighed when Urias stormed out. "Whatever, bitch. I just needed to blow off some steam. If we're being honest, you might've destroyed the building I was on, but I left you in a burning inn. We both could've died, so we're even. Besides, how could I stay mad at you when I have more important things to do?"

He was still waiting to receive the captured Seed from the children. But he wouldn't be, because when the wooden door again creaked open, the two children who had managed to get away from Neta and Sky entered the garrison empty-handed.

"Claro, the Seed got away. We failed..." the Growthera girl confessed.

"Ah. Is that so?" Claro asked patiently, though he wasn't sincerely requesting confirmation. He approached the two children slowly and towered over them.

"Right... so these injuries, then," the knight continued, his mouth twisting into a scowl, "were for nothing, weren't they?"

"We're sorry! Another Aberrant showed up and protected the Seed! He had air powers! And there was a woman too, who had sky-blue hair just like his!" the maple seed boy cried.

Eyes narrowed like a predator observing his prey, Claro studied the boy for a moment, before his tongue audibly unstuck from the roof of his mouth and he spoke. "Hmm, I see…" he began, his eyes intimidating and his smile taunting. "So there are still more people coming out of the woodwork to protect the Seed. How many is that now... the Demon is one, the Raven makes two, the ice archer from the other night makes three, the air Aberrant is yet another, and finally a woman with sky-blue hair. The Seed has five people on her side, four of them confirmed Aberrants. Of course you were defeated, and that crazy bitch Urias running around didn't help either."

"You know what this means. I don't need to tell you. If you want to see your parents, too bad. Until the Seed is captured, that won't be happening," Claro reminded the two children. "For now, there is something you'll do for me. I'll need an accurate description of the air Aberrant and blue-haired woman for my report on the encounter. The office will receive a copy and issue yet another two wanted posters. The woman's abilities are unknown to you, it seems, so her bounty will be no higher than 1,000 silver, or 40 gold. That may seem high still, but the value of what the Seed could have told her justifies it. The archer and the air master are known Aberrants who have access to that same information, so 150 gold is a fitting bounty for each of them. As for the Demon and the Raven, I'll have someone assess the damage and split the costs evenly between the new bounty and the latter's existing bounty of 500 gold. The Demon's numbers will be high even before the added costs, because his powers manifest themselves in stages and would be of interest to the kingdom, though he's still better to us dead than alive."

The children didn't need to know all of this, and Claro, unsurprisingly an auditory learner, was only saying it out loud to gather his thoughts. He retired to his office to complete his report, taking slightly longer than needed to describe the Demon's powers in detail. His comrades would read it soon, or he would personally brief fellow auditory learners among them. Dismissing the two children, Claro returned with a mug to the table at which he'd been resting and treated himself despite having failed tonight. He'd criticized Urias for drinking on the job, but a large man like him could hold his alcohol. He wouldn't pass out like she had and wake up a hypocrite.

 

[Sky_]

The girl seemed almost delirious. Her attachment to the boy seemed obvious, and so did the stress she must have gone through in the last day. Either way, Sky felt he had to do something, so he used the most conventional method he knew of. In the blink of an eye, he executed a firm slap to the babbling Neta.
"Look. I'm happy to come with you; you could really use some extra protection, especially considering the bounty that blood knight has probably already put on our heads, but this is not going to help. The best way you could possibly help this guy is by finding us a place to sleep, and not selling yourself into prostitution. You got that?" Sky had decided on a more direct approach, and so was looking Neta dead in the eyes during the 'pep talk'

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

Sky's gaze was piercing, but Neta's tears continued to fall like the shavings of an even sharper invisible knife that whittled away at her eyes. Whatever physical pain he inflicted could not match the emotional pain that she felt, but it was enough to snap her out of her current state. The young woman swallowed and mustered a choked-up response.

"Y-yes... you're right. I-I'm s-sorry. I understand, I'll-... I'll do what I can..."

These words merely trickled out of her mouth with little thought behind them, like drops that dripped from a faucet long after it had been turned off. Now that the inn had burned to the ground, Neta had nothing, not even a place for herself to sleep let alone her friends.

So she did the one thing she could do this late at night and improvised beds out of vines, a gnarled mattress for each of them. They were bent slightly upwards at the edges like cradles, so that Arisa and Mallory wouldn't fall out from where they were in the trees. Fashioning whole mattresses out of plants exhausted Neta, but she managed one for Sky, Davina, and Parker as well. They weren't at all uncomfortable, at least she didn't think so; it would be like sleeping on a bed of flowers.

"I-I hope this works..."

The tears she cried hid her tired eyes. But she couldn't rest yet. Neta shakily turned her head to Sky.

"But, this is the least-... the least I can do. I-I still need to t-tell you- tell all of you-... why- why you're not safe with me."

She told them the short version, about the Seed, her father, the mystery plant that was the progenitor of all powers, and the government's plan for her to mass-produce Aberrants. Neta left out the great war 60 years ago, but it still took her longer to explain than it should have as her voice wavered and she swallowed between words. She concluded by hanging her head as one would do after confessing her sins.

They needed to understand the dangers ahead before they slept, so that they would be prepared to face them tomorrow. Neta had known them longer than anyone else, so one would think that the information had sunk in by now and she could rest more easily than anyone who had just learned it.

But she was the last to do so. With no mattress of her own, Neta fell asleep at Parker's bedside, her head of blonde hair beside his, looking at the boy in the state that he was in and hoping that she could see him smile in the morning.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

What did I get myself into.

That was what Zaryu thought when Neta revealed her backstory. Mass produce abberants? That's... unbelievable. lf this happen, hundreds of children would lose control of their life before they even born.

He was tired, yes. But his mind was buzzing with lots of things. Too much happened today and he hadn't sort them. What's the best action he should take? How should he prevent that horrible event? Wait, why was he thinking of stopping the goverment's plan in the first place? He didn't even had the power to protect a single girl. He laughed at himself for being so naive.

"I'll take the first watch." He volunteered. Danger always lurking if they slept in the wilderness, especially if a bunch of guards might be looking for them. Like Sir Maroonel said, better safe than sorry. Besides, he needed time to calm his mind.

 

[Sky_]

Sky rose groggily, the sun barely visible over the horizon. Unfamiliar surroundings made him suddenly sit up in shock, before lying back down as the events of last night came back to him. Rolling over to take a glance at the girl, currently collapsed next to the dark-haired boy she seemed to care so much about, more of what she said began to eventually get through to him. Something about a plant in her... Ring? Taking a closer look at her hand, there was definitely a ring filled with some sort of soil, so that much seemed true. And again, a plan to mass-produce Aberrants, how those kids he fought only yesterday were examples of these 'artificial' Aberrants, her father's experiments. It was a lot to take in.

However, it still didn't explain his own. Sky abhorred plants, and a massive sentient vine was no exception. And last time he checked, he didn't have any sort of helicopter seed attached to him, so how could he still do everything his powers allowed him to do? They were questions he'd asked himself many times before, and so were easy to move on from, more immediate matters pushing the lingering question to the back of his mind. Sky was obviously going to stick with this makeshift group for now, primarily due to how much danger this girl was in. Similar situations had come up with him many times before, and he was sure the bounty posters would have been spread all across town by now. And considering the plants the Blood Knights allegedly had with her, the reward would be ludicrous. Even with who she had now, she's be mobbed on sight and captured easily. And she reminded Sky far too much of his sister to allow something like that to happen to her.

 

[AssassinGallade]

Mallory woke up in the tree surprised to find a vine practically supporting him, “Neta, I can sleep in a tree without something to prevent me from falling but thank you.” He thought to himself as he looked over at Arisa, “you poor child.” He then looked over at Sky as he jumped off of the tree and began to stretch, “Hey, who the hell are you?” He asked the young man in front of him. “We never really decided how we’re gonna deal with this problem as a whole but if you don’t mind telling me your name and.” Suddenly Mallory felt another sense similar to when he met Parker but this time it wasn’t a burning sensation, it was a light feeling. “Aberrant, presumably wind or air related.” He thought as he continued his previous question. “Anyway, just your name and power will be fine.” He said as he continued to stretch.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Zaryu woke up with mild pain all over his body, probably from his 'battle' with the chair. The thought embarass him so he quickly turned his attention to the sleeping Harmonia and checked her fever. She seemed much better now.

He stretched his limbs and walked around their hiding place. Mallory and sky was talking to each other, but he didn't want to bother them so he walked further until he came to a lake. He washed his face with the water and looked at his reflection.

"Are you troubled?" Zaryu was so shocked when he saw the reflection of a girl on the water, right beside himself. He quickly turned around, but found no one. What's that?? He sighed and dismissed it as a hallucination.

 

[Sky_]

Sky glanced over to his left, where another companion of Neta's appeared to have eventually woken up. "Name's Sky. And, well, it's probably not the best habit to just answer this sort of stuff straight-up when you're trying to hide, but I guess I might as well." Fashioning a small cloud above his palm, he sent it spinning with a flick of his finger, allowing the mini-twister to play along his fingers. "I can manipulate air. I'll leave you to figure out the rest on your own," Sky told him, a brief gust of wind flipping the hammock upside-down to bring him head level with the other person. "And you?"

 

[AssassinGallade]

“Just call me Mallory.” He replied to Sky as he formed a snowball from his hand. “If you’re gonna be sticking with us then it would be a good idea for us to work together as a team.” He said, “I can freeze the moisture and water particles in the air as well as just freeze water itself, if we can manage it, we might be able to help each other or maybe even combine our abilities.” He continued, “anyway it’s been cool, ima go check on everyone else.” Mallory said as he walked back towards the tree.

———

Marybelle rose from her sleep fairly quickly as she’s used to waking up early. She began looking around to see who was up and spotted Mallory by he tree, Sky, and Easen by the water bed nearby. “I should talk to Mallory about his bow sometime soon.” She thought to herself, “but first I need to speak with Easen.” She said as she began walking towards his direction.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Zaryu was still gazing into the water when he felt someone aproaching. He lift his head and spotted Davina.

"Ah, good morning." He greeted her. "And thank you for helping me in the warehouse." He hadn't properly thanked her before, though he winced when remembering the chair incident.

 

[AssassinGallade]

“Good morning.” Marybelle replied as to the young man before him, “and no problem about the warehouse incident, we have more important matters to discuss.” She said as she sat down next to the water, “Arisa, she looks at Mallory the way he looked at me a few years back.” She told the young man, “she looks at him, as if saying teach me how to protect those I love and myself.” She said as she stood up, grabbed her rapier and put it under Easen’s neck, “Mallory is still young and has much to learn, he must learn things even I can not yet teach him, Arisa will have questions upon questions and as her supposed brother you must be there to answer those questions.” She said as she placed the rapier back in its sheath, “you mustn’t let Mallory take Arisa away from you entirely, he can teach her but if he gets emotionally attached to that young girl and vise versa, then tell me, what would happen if either of them died?” She said still facing Easen, “I trained Mallory to be a fighter, his emotions seem to be untamable and erratic, if that girl dies, he’d take his own life, so if you would, help me protect those two.” She said as she kneeled on one leg, “Help me keep these two alive, as abberants they’re power is an asset to our side in this war so please, help me.”

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Zaryu was confused by what Davina said because she left lots of things unexplained. What war? What teach? Seemed like he still has a lot to catch up. Harmonia would need to tell him in detail. He understand what the woman asking for though.

"Sure. I will help anyone in need." He was a knight afterall. Chivalry code would dictate him to do so. He stood up and looked at the woman.

"Can we cook here? I think warm food will help us recover faster. We all also need to talk things, like what we're going to do today."

 

[E.K.A.N.S.]

The side of Neta's face had been pressed to Parker's vine mattress all night, while her legs had slept on the ground. Rays of sunlight poked through one leaf and then another, as their tree stirred in the wind. Everything about this morning seemed perfect. The casting of light here and there was so in sync with the birds, it was as if the rays were playing at Neta's eyelashes like a keyboard to produce their chirping. So what was wrong? Why, instead of getting up, stretching, and enjoying her surroundings, was she so concerned?

For one, she hadn't slept very well in that position. But more importantly, Parker wasn't waking up, even after she had gone beyond gentle taps and tried shaking him awake. Neta's hopes that she would see his smile were unfounded, but at least he was breathing. Parker might be out for a while, however, and they couldn't stay in the forest long. Maybe she could strap him to her back with vines and carry him, as he'd done for her the other night. They had to go into town eventually and eat...

That's right. Before witnessing the inn burn down and perishing the thought altogether, Neta had been struggling to tell Parker something last night. She'd watched him scarf down the meat pies she'd cooked but hadn't eaten anything herself. She wasn't hungry then, but the two sparred for hours afterwards without a meal. Neta had still been recovering from the awkwardness of Parker on top of her when she thought to ask him if they could go somewhere... Not the inn, where she'd left him at a table and gone into the kitchen. Someplace else. Someplace nice, where they could both enjoy a meal and maybe talk about other things... things besides the danger they were in, or the plans that the kingdom had for her. But the emotional pain of seeing her home ablaze suppressed any hunger pains, forcing, instead of food, the words back down her throat.

"Please get better, Parker..." a worried Neta whispered.

She was surprised when she heard voices louder than hers, turning to Sky and Mallory in time to catch the former's introduction.

"It's nice to meet you, Sky," she said almost instinctively, when the blue-haired boy was clearly neither talking to nor looking at her. The woman hadn't asked his name through the events of last night, needing his presence alone more than anything. With or without a name, however, Neta had already accepted him, as she would anyone who helped her in her darkest times.

"We could buy some food in town..." she suggested in a hushed voice, clutching the pouch of earnings on her necklace. It was fortunate that she had her wallet on her person when the fire broke out, but the coins added more weight to her bust. "Or I could grow a sugarcane and peel it with my knife, so that we have breakfast."