COI C164
After that call, C calls his double, Hito, to take a break from the ruins. Losing so much fame under his name, for this specific reason. Now Hito understands why. Junko’s bead keeps lighting up for the past weeks after that call. Her stalkers are becoming more active than usual. He doesn’t know how he got this idea of the stalkers becoming stronger. But it is the given that he shows some concern for Junko. Junko didn’t believe it at all. It is clearly that he knows the dangers of the city is returning back when Bokushi Hidari took power, and last week was the obvious start.
She grips on Hito’s side as she held the bead tightly. “I think we should call them”
“You mean, Azin? But he was imprisoned”
“It can be anyone, your friends, the defectors or anyone. I think he is going to do it”
“What if we get caught?”
“Either we wait and let me witness how he would do to me or hear what they wanted to say in this. You told me that those guys are the worse, but there are no other people who can fight against him”
“Don’t worry, if this gets worse. I’ll find a way to get them here. I hope Azin’s friends can help us in this”
C is in his apartment building, already seeing the progress of the Loli queen. The man chokes out as he coughs. The doubles are now getting noticed of this doll like girl. The defectors are able to study her to what she could be. In the meantime, her powers able to manifest on him. Going through with the other doubles gaining powers to flourish their research. C is the most frightened than all of them. The same ego and they let her do everything for them. Forgetting to whom she was made from, even for him he got distracted. What he did to call C to protect the store was the greatest action he ever did.
His own enemies are coming here, better as ever. He got distracted from all the things she provided for them. The actual defectors were not easily succumbed to a little girl, but these people, who are with them for the longest, are the creepiest to be charmed by her. There is no telling to give them powers whom they don’t deserved or earned. Even himself didn’t earn and used the RAPs to get his mastery quickly and replicated to his double. He is no fighter and even the pain on him made him feeling to regret fighting already.
In his computer, his research is almost there. His foolish judgement won’t let go the old Junko he knew. It is already set in his head and kept her unharmed for the longest. Her body shouldn’t be tainted again, yet. From what he had made earlier, those women he done are all made of magic. He needs flesh, and he so damned to go through the secret of Horsin magic. He let Hito did all the work to deliver the message to the Agatheans, as more and more of them questioning him for what for. That’s when he cut ties because of last week incident. They thought he is planning an undead army. That rumors he shouldn’t be heard from the authorities. Even he explained them it was a luxury. He is almost there.
Inside the Headquarter, Tabitha meets Azin. Behind the counter between is the glass window called the visiting room. Tabitha’s first response “It’s called closed visit, Azin. I can’t believe I am able to talk with you like this”
“I also can’t believe this thing on my hand use to be contacting people through this glass. We should be using it”
“Eh? Let’s just stick with using magic. The runes here really stopping you from using high tier magic”
“I’ll love to, yet you don’t understand who I am . . .”
He turns around to look at the guard, asking for permission. The guard starts sweating and only nods out of fear.
The worried of the guard’s face made change Tabitha’s view. The floating object is barely appearing because of the rune restricting his magic. Azin has other ways to counter it. His beads, never were taken and bounded with him, are on his hand. The magic to the unseen living, the light is able to harness the mana it needs. The floating object returns to its full power. It phases through the glass window and he said to her
“Touch it. this mana is a little different from yours”
Tabitha feels something is not right, the guard behind him is shaking her head for her. Worrying eyes raising and hands waving to say no, curious, but she never dares.
“Kiege, do you know anything about the Not Worthy Guild?”
Kiege laughs softly, the poorly effects of the bind still there, and her exaggerated tone turned soft too. “I can feel your hesitation and your temptation together. Don’t, focus on your reflection. Come back to Enders Bridge, if you wanted to . . .”
“No! I mean, I think, I decline. I have a bad feeling about it”
Break out of silence in front of Azin. Tabitha’s fear to Lady Constantine remained stiff. Even the helped she provided still made her afraid of her power. Azin sees in her eyes, the Lady had gone so much of her embracive charm. The light whispers of her in his beads.
Azin smiles gently to hear her fine. “Care I be to listen your progress? I think I met all of your people, right?”
Tabitha nods as she already stopped surprising herself. Azin is not one of them. He is an Enders, and like Haw to the rest of her guild. They lived next to Rune Isles. The land of the apocalypse, in her view, and they planned to take the lands behind the horrors of Fall Era. She responds
“Yes, almost. The children didn’t have beads though”
“Children dares to meet with strangers? In what otherworlder to be that prosperous? The people who come to this world have in common to all of us. Power, Greed, and Sanctuary”
“Power, Greed, and Sanctuary, thanks for the lecture. About the people I’m going to save, after what you have done. Will they still trust you?”
“To change someone’s life completely, it will a miracle if I did that. In truth, it was a ploy or a plan to achieve the higher resolution. Tabitha, you know your people. Well, I know them, but they don’t know me. Trust is as your Will, break that trust, it will break your will and anything I have done is lost”
“Then, it means they don’t trust you anymore”
“If it is true, then let time heals. It’s your turn, Tabitha. It’s your home, and show them what I really meant it”
“What did you say to them?”
The floating object shines in between them. The bright light dazzled them and Azin disappears.
“Azin?! Where is he?”
The guard tells her “It’s fine, he is probably at his jail cell. A matter of fact, it is already time. I don’t know why he requested for a short time. You can ask them to extend the time”
“It’s ok, I think I talk to him long enough”
Tabitha walks out from the visiting room, and sees the head security. They moved into her office, and explains the situation.
“Azin is a very strange person”
“I just met him when he escorted out from Fuku city”
“That’s what he did throughout his time here. In the private server, there are more things he did. Many people caught one with his game as if he was one of our old communities. The thing now is that promised he sent to us. Will he able to help them to reside in Stranding Island? Why not other districts?”
“I have no words to explain why, the Enders or my guild says the same thing. ‘Let the unworthy acts proceed’ and their real guild name is Not Worthy. I didn’t ask why not called his guild like that?”
“I think questioning Azin is the least of our worries. He did stop something from going to happen in the future. The important thing you can do now is to get them out of here. He’s right, it is impossible to get rid of something that is not from the source. This political rivalry is not you to get involved. I set myself straight here. Here, take these files, those are the suspects who are after our ‘clients’. Don’t play along like Azin did. You’re an Enders now and act like those people who did at Mihayara district”
“I uhm, I don’t think I have the stealth to do it”
“Oh yes you can . . .”
The head security taps on the microphone and called out to them. “. . . Alright, send him in”
Ironno and Haw come in the room. Both of them show no friendly term for one another. When they step in, Haw says to Ironno out loud “For business’ sake, everything is going to the possibility. Pardon for my outburst here, but I suspect too much”
“I apologized too, bringing him is the most important for this mission to work. You said you want us to not let this getting attention. This man over here is the best guild member you need to get his materials for this quest. Haw, now you see why we needed you”
Haw and Tabitha meet, Tabitha didn’t see Haw to be this intimidating. It is clear to her mind, that Fuku City is not that easy to escape. Haw did amazing job for her to make her own equipment.
Tabitha is concerned to all of this, the secrets between and before, all of it connects together. Haw is already figure it out, as a craftsman alchemist, and not letting the Perb to join means a few things. Combat is not needed, Tabitha is no fighter and weeks of training only her cards mean nothing to go against a rune magic wielder, and the defectors are probability to come as reinforcements. This is no easy escape. The head security called out to the two Enders.
“This is great, I never thought the volunteers we will be able return after that raid incident. This time, I won’t let you hold yourself back”
The spy comes in with the container. He opens it and show it to Haw. The materials, all of them coming from the Dexter Guild’s supply cache. Hidden away outside of the city, it is now here inside Fuku City. Refine for its final touch, the alchemist grenadier steps forward as he picks up the equipment. He said to Tabitha
“Do you know anything to use dust?”
“Sorry? What!”
Haw gives her dirt and some dust. “Give it to Archivist, He knows this material, this powder he should recognize with”
“Oh?! Thank you”
Tabitha holds and see the head security excuses her to leave. Tabitha gives her a smile and walks away. She smiles back and watches out to the door. Haw has something to say.
“For all this, and what I heard there is my former rival guild is here too. It is better not going through the details for me. Ironno asks me for special access. Let’s all get this straight. I am here volunteered according through the Mihayara district, me and Ironno had something to cooperate because of the realm’s discovery. Both of us have entered the realm first hand, if we extend further to do it again. This time with this, I am not going to hold back.”
The spy, first time meeting with Haw, had already given his resume vocally. It is true, that Haw is capable but the rumors of their failures spoke about it in the district. Which of them is true?
Tabitha and Archivist saw the new team they are forming up. The Raker Mawn guild members are formed together at last. Tabitha is getting excited to see them to be part of the team. While Archivist pointed out to Haw, the powder bag, held from his hand showing it to Ironno’s face.
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“I have rune breakers”
“Rune breakers, huh. I almost forgot you were outside of the bridge before. I can’t remember the last time your mother was disappointed of you”
Tabitha gets in the conversation “Disappointed? Is the powder dangerous?”
“Worse than dangerous, he wastes it all of the powder when exposed to water. The muddy powder can’t clean off when the monsters are chasing him. That escape left the most precious materials to any of Circoston warriors”
This powder though is made by the Dexter Guild. So, it has added dust mixtures to it. Archivist waves it around in front of Ironno has some experience about it. Haw knows such of a powder and Tabitha gets curious.
“Say, Haw. What does he mean about rune breakers?”
“Based on his skills, the basic of substance were to go against neutral mana. He claims that he can go against runes too. This means he has the abilities to fight against it, then it can be possible when he fights against the spirits. I mean your deck can go along with him”
As the Raker Mawn guild members are planning out to where to go. Tabitha uses the app again for Wheatley in voiced advice. “‘Why am I getting clicked on?’ The people are ready and are somewhere farther to the west part of the city. The situation they are in as the people who won’t let them leave has records of debts. They have controlled the streets and hidden patrols along the road. Those are troublemakers and not from gangs, the idea of getting sneak through them is really tricky. The best way to get out is to cut off their surveillance magic equipment”
The app opens up the video to explains further. “Using the files and compared to the older files (Dexter Guild), the people who are involved are not defectors. Rather, they are legitimate thugs. Since the older files show proof of existing involvement with the defectors, they have magic abilities or runes to help them to go through the challenges. Sadly, the older files are nearly a month old outdated. Be sure to do your own research after this ‘I concur, I have my research. Only thing I found out it will become 10:1. With your community of course gets the 10, nervously gruntled*’”
Tabitha had done her research. The organization that the cult leader brought are all gang members. This one she is going to face are not part of the 12 top gangs. Yet, their pride of not making themselves bad as they have connections with the best companies. All those connections lead to one powerful conglomerate. She doesn’t want to take this chance to let all of them find out. Her first escort has begun.
“Alright, let’s go. The Raker Mawn Guild will accomplish this quest with ease”
Archivist says it out “This is for her character quest”
Ironno and Haw heard him saying what most citizen says about it. They groan a bit to hear Archivist able to learn this city’s terms.
Some of the communities are waiting for her. It is the day they could leave this place. They have each of one of them their own personal notes, if this plan failed. The thugs are there, watching over them in their ‘police’ uniform. These people are in debt before coming to this world. The horror of this world that torture is always active for day and night. Especially for the women who are being sexual harassed. The beads with them were able to break their repetitive daily suffering. The women finally feel clean again after constant nightly in bed with them.
The beads did huge wonders for them. But they still don’t trust Azin that easily. Previous attempts of their own people showing trust, but only led them for the worse and their own children become gang members as a result. The young teens here are gone, and the children they once have taken away. One pregnant woman bears the child of the rapist, she couldn’t take herself out because of this city’s best service. Fuku City, it is becoming the capital district of the criminal organization.
A strange phenomenon whistling through the streets. The area they are in, working in the commercial building as they look outside of the window. The thugs are already on the move, as they step into the streets, they vanished. There is one person coming out from the disappearing act. It was Tabitha, alone reaching out to the people inside of the building. They recognized her, and others run toward her and pulled her in without anyone notice.
“Hey, get in here. Are you the one who made them go away? If you do that . . .”
“No need to worry, you just continue working until the end of the day”
“What?”
“Act natural please, I come here early just for the head start. You guys need to stay calm, or everything we have planned for will be ruined”
The pregnant woman grabs Tabitha’s shoulder and turned her around. Her stressful face with sweat all over her forehead. “Please, make it quick. I don’t think I can’t hold myself the suspense”
Tabitha lays her down a chair as she starts to breathe heavily out of the stress. All that torture she had been facing. She is the unluckiest among Azin’s help for them. It happened before he comes in. The other women are lucky not to get pregnant by those thugs. Tabitha picks up her cards and ready to make the path.
Meanwhile, the thugs are slowly being gathered. Deceptively gathering them in random from different stores and random streets. Their confused expressions were convincing enough they were caught by someone.
“Is this judgement days?”
“It can’t be, this place looks like a realm, but . . .”
They look around where they have disappeared to. Empty within the fog, a light white fog as they can see each other in a short distance. They don’t how they got there and surely this is no magic they used. Other thugs and gang members gathered around to find out.
The realm is shortly starting to become familiar. The view turned black and white and they soon lose their color textures into a black and white environment.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
“Stay strong, we got caught inside the realm. We can’t be sure who it is”
“It must Azin”
“Groan* I have enough to hear a con man. No one died facing against him and neither would we letting him get out this time”
“If he is here, then call the boys to guard the merch. Judgement days are coming and we won’t lose our enterprise to over one man. We will become a laughing . . .!”
They hear something rolling on the ground. No hesitation, no holding back, they use first their rune guns and fired the moving object. A glass breaks and mist comes out from it.
“Fuck! A smoke bombs! Everyone clears out”
The smoke didn’t spread, but maintain in a small area. It starts to move as the black and white mending it to make it thicker and harder to see through. One of them realize they are not going to face him this easy. They bring out their devices and sees there are no signals. Others tried to escape, no magic entrance here, leaving them confused from all this going on.
Then suddenly, their buddies got inside the realm too. The thug shows sign of a beatdown and said to them
“Gibberish*”
The look of his face is beaten up to a pulp. They tried to heal him, but their magic can’t do it. They are starting to test it on them, nothing, the gibberish man points out from the distance. A man comes from the alleyway took a peek near the corner of the wall. They shoot, and the man escapes.
“That fucker! Can you get up from here?”
The gibberish man stands up and nodded. “Go find somewhere for us to escape here. We will go after him”
They begin their chase, as the gibberish man moved to the other direction. Returned back to the smoke and picks up the shrapnel of the broken glass, using Tabitha’s card to reverse the item back to its usual form. The gibberish man goes right ahead to find more baits. He goes to Ironno’s secret room, and get another new face. Inside, there are more spare faces. The thugs patrolling was caught from the ambush. He uses Tabitha’s card again to switch their identity one more time. This is one is bit cruel, as his throat burns from the inside out. The gibberish man can’t believe that man fell victim from it.
How long did they use a vehicle? A bus, found only in Taiyou Industries. To be able to rebuilt back and starts running without a problem, and now in use for this dangerous event. The community is ready to get in, as the first people are the women and the elderly. The men waiting for them to get inside as the numbers of them grew. The size of the bus may doesn’t fit them. Until they get in and realize that they are not their original world anymore. They are in Horsin, and magic still implies it. The anticipation to escape beats in their hearts and the voices getting quieter as they take their seats.
Outside, where there are no thugs coming to see and the surveillance from all direction didn’t react a thing. Even 10 minutes have passed, that’s all their mind is contemplating about.
“They’re coming”
“Please be safe”
“Calmed down (while panic)”
“Go! Go! Get us out of this hell hole”
The engine starts, the bus starts moving. Tabitha is near the bus door, guiding the bus driver where to go. The grips of their hands are consciously shaken, Tabitha’s heart is pacing higher and higher. Only with her bind she could reach now is Kiege. Archivist separates their binds for him to concentrate.
Testing her faith on her Raker Mawn guild. The bus driver starts shaken and his eyes brought to the worse of his imagination. No words come out. The shock prevails the panic to rise up inside the bus. Tabitha grips his shoulder, with her determination of her eyes. Telling him not to give up, their opportunity is here, and hope for the people they will return to them will fully realize. All that moment to see a man outside passing by. The only person walking by then follows the bus. The passengers were shocked, and no words to describe a man with scorched throat and mouth.
Tabitha can’t believe to see someone following them like this. The horror of the man with his lower lips gone leaving only his lower bone jaw. He moves his head up to check the cameras, exposing the hole and the charred tongue. His eyes remained the same throughout seeing the bus going its way. The man picks up from his belt, it is flare, and lights it up. The people thought they were found out, and still keep their mouth shut. Everyone did with full force and heart racing to keep their conscious awake. The man disappears and the bright light turned black and white. The bus is protected by the trapped magic item, many exposed by it outside of the bus and disappeared with him.
Tabitha checks on the passengers. They were all in the highest peak of stress. She reaches out to them “It’s alright, keep quiet to the very end. You can see there, that man is . . . I uhm, who wanted to help us. (Haw, you mention you are a former Dexter Guild. An alchemist no less, for what choice of appearance are you wanted to show the thugs for?)”
There was a loud sound coming from afar. The passengers keep quiet, and with their breaths getting louder. Tabitha held her one and only deck, leaving the two decks on their hands. The distraction method will be the most crucial moment for her if it fails.
The black and white environment is turning into a zone. Many more thugs are getting tricked to get in, chasing down a single man able to evade every shot they have. Almost all of their ammunition is drying up with every opportunity they thought they could hit. Another gun shot, the man did his tricked again, using some kind of powder only seen like small black dots. Can’t differentiate between neutral magic, shamanism, nor runes, it is very difficult for them to see while with their own magic can’t recognize when used and release. These nightmarish simplistic colors put them into a blind state.
They run and chase him like the wind. No magic touches, but the stranger able to touch their magic and made it into obstacles. The man jumping from walls to walls, sliding and going through the alleyway, better at parkouring than the thugs reaching him only with a strand of his sash. To the final moment, as they reach to the roof. More and more of them are coming for help. A random magic spell able to hit him as he falls. The sash reaches out to the edge of the roof and pulled him there. The painful grief of them seeing made it to the roof. The other thugs gathered all together in black and white view.
“Fucking monster! Now I know why how brutal he can do”
“You’ve seen one of the patrols too”
“Yeah, our side able to find someone beaten black and blue”
“Huh, ours is the one who has his face swollen”
“Those two are lucky, look at this one and see the difference”
“Now I know why you said that man is a monster. Shit! His face lost his lower mouth and, oh fuck! His throat”
“Yeesh, and this realm won’t let you heal. What’s worse we let him go to find an exit”
Others thought the same thing, the people who patrolled have scattered. One of them speak out about it. It is one of the patrols, using his magic to freeze the part of his body showing signs of broken bones.
He shouts to them with unrelenting rage. “Those fuckers deserved it! They abandoned me after one confrontation of those fuckers”
“Them!?”
“Yeah, their loud mouths get what they’re coming. Especially, the coward screaming loudly enough while drinking acid to his mouth”
The loud sounds coming from the roof, others are already getting there.
“Will you be ok to join with us?”
“Fuck that! I have runes to save my ass. And those fuckers not even get dent of me”
They rushed to the roof, leaving him behind as he grief, and saw thugs falling down the building. The frozen man accidently got the dropped on, but his runes blocked it off. They keep going as they reach to the top.
They stopped and saw a man with a mask. The Fuku citizens know that is the same man is with that woman. The one who is going around seeing other people, and now with LED lights blinking with cartoony competing looks. He turns around bending the air with the powder. The frozen man comes out and quickly brings out his shot gun. He fires and the bullets were stuck into the air.
“This is a reminder you all. He is not weak”
Archivist stood in front of them. The coin and the sash holding together to keep him in place. His arm band attached with Tabitha’s cards.
The thugs heard him clearly as the people who fall from the roof, coming back up. Beaten to the most of their bruises are getting severe by the moment.
“Cough* You said it. Did anyone of you ever find a way to get out here?”
The frozen man turns around and told them. “Sigh* This is a trap, and probably that man have the key. We need to beat that guy before we realize what they were planning”
They look at the patrol knowing it too. Judgement days, they have come to take their merch off their greedy hands. The thugs quickly go straight at him.
Some of them use their powerful magic to pull them back in, the building starts to react as the black and white environment actively shifting the building and everything around them into a different platform. The outer barriers to where they can’t escape being pulled to them as the center. The thugs outside were forced to go here as magic pulling them in. The magic symbols are made and spread throughout. The thugs see almost all of them, the guards in one certain small area who are watching over the merch. They are all here. The frozen man sees their expressions as if they were being duped.
The zone is changing as they fall down to the ground. Magic all around spreading like a storm, multi-complicating the area into a floating environment. The thugs need to finish this before they realize what happened outside. It is the realization they could not accept. Devices won’t work, magic can’t breach through this realm, and almost all of them are here. Being hold against their will, and only one man here to keep them in place. All been hearing in their head the word Judgement days.
Back where the people held captive, all the stores are closed and their apartments are clean to no one even care to notice. The creeps are here for malicious business, and everything is quiet. Their scammed products were all here, unused. Usually, those addicts come here to get it unnoticed. Something is not right. They go to where the traces of them lead to. No tracks, nothing. Including the thugs who pester them to paid the fees when using the merch. All of them are gone. They use their device and the signals are gone in this area.
Wheatley, took control the system there. Blocking everything it must do according to the plan of It3ch and Chelly, it slowly following the bus in the digital world. The special prototype demanded by the cult leader. Abusing their powers to help their old community leave this place.
“All that, I am not even trying to question anything from here on out. Hmm? A message? They are moving to the next street. Ok, buddy. Time to get some ringtones with that old tech a hoovy ma djit. Ahem* I sound like a goblin. Oh well”
The map it has shows that they will take time to get through, they have the internet frequency to form the realm, a passage to get out from this forsaken city.