COI C38

The enders are down on the ground, where the police witnessed a horrific scene. The woman widened her eyes down below, seeing a familiar covered face. She bit her lip lightly and no doubts comes through her mind. The police already rushed down while she breaks free, and turned to look the other unconscious police. She left with regrets to have an opportunity for a lying man for her to do. Now gone and alone, the situation is getting dire inside the zone. The covered man instructs the gang leader after their victory.

"Don't exceed the violence, help your buddies to wake up"

"I'm, already did"

A raised from his foot to stomp on U'ecin once again with his face enraged after a humiliating victory. The best combat groups were quickly out and secrets hidden of their defeat. Covered man used his images to pulled him away.

"What! Are you doing!?"

"It's impossible to kill enders, we faced them before at the east mountains. They disappeared once a lethal blow struck"

The gang leader couldn't accept it, but he can't resist from this man's warnings. He followed then he noticed someone is coming. A flash grenade thrown from the air. They reacted and turned away from the flash.

The gang leader rushed to pick every gang he could carry and the covered man helped. The police made it, and the gangs saw their unrecognizable look. They wore looted items from the previous gangs, it is hard for them to see if they are truly are and then they heard

"Put your hands up in the air, this is the police"

The policewoman pointed her gun at them where the two look at them confused. The other policeman brings out the handcuffs and the gang leader whispered to the covered man

"They are the authorities, probably undercovers"

Covered man stood still without any reaction but said

"What!?"

Gang leader’s eyes rolled that couldn't believe what that guy said. The policewoman gave a strong impression with her police skills.

"Quiet!"

A strong voice roared at them and put the gang leader into a mini stun. The covered man felt nothing, and a familiar tune coming from her when she said it. The policeman checks the three enders were down and out, especially for U'ecin to have a critical condition.

"Dang it, we need to leave. One of them is in the worst state"

Covered man told him in a such serious tone.

"Gather your boys, I'll take care of them"

"It's better to beat them together"

"Fine, you go first. If you can't realize what I'm saying better hide to the side"

The police see a reaction from the gang leader. He dodges the bullet and flashes to them. The gang leader appeared behind the policewoman and aim to her neck. A quick hit to the neck but paralyzed his hand.

"What!?"

The runes appeared from her clothes where a shield appeared on impulse. The gang leader recognized the shield, it was one of his boy's special items to protect against any assassin's skills like back stab. The policewoman turned to him quickly equipped a boxing glove. Another familiar weapon, same runes infused of it and then she said

"POW!"

To his surprised, she showed him a rune fused item and took him down.

His thought

"Heavy's taunt, why are those guys making weapon reference from video games?"

Down to the ground with the runes marked him into a long status effect: defeat in Rusics. The covered man witnessed another merge item between mana and runes together from before. The policeman didn't even flinch to see anything going on. They are confident on their items, and the covered man's thought

"They know, but can they?"

The police saw one person left standing, remained calm. The policeman is facing the covered man, secretly hiding including the eyes he barely sees. He can't hesitate any longer of how this man managed to get in to the fog and show three of their companions down.

The policewoman turned around her partner, saw him preparing to shoot, and shouts at him.

"Wait!"

The loud burst accidentally froze him a bit. The covered man starts to charge in. This short moment gives himself time to maneuver where the alchemist set still in his grasp. He pulled any substance from the set but it explodes without him noticed. The man forgot about the exposure, staring directly at Haw's hand covered with a special glove. He continues on like nothing happened, the policeman saw the explosion and shoots blindly. The covered man slaps it away and knee kick him backward. The runes shine on the policeman's clothes that it withstands the force.

The policewoman started shouting but it only affects her partner, realizing

"NO! Terrifying Presence won't work on him"

She prepared an emergency consumable, be prepared when outnumbered. The policeman can't fight back where the same trick occurs, multiple of images of the covered man kept appearing and put him into cornered assault. The moves he sees on the covered man as he acted out some martial artist. The carved loots on him prevent the multiple blows and unleash some preventive measure. The covered man kept breaking through the policeman's mana by straining it as he tried to cast any abilities.

The policewoman pulled out a looted weapons and tried to attack him. The covered man kept focusing on the policeman in all through finding a way to take out the runes off him. He sensed danger from the long distance and bring his images to come to her. The images are slapping or hitting the weapons away from him without any chance to help her partner. The policeman already knew that he can't fight him and her partner already being played at. The covered man's fighting style kept them away from each other, and within his aura, he can unleashed his power.

A silent aura coming out into his radius, the policewoman got thrown into it by his images, and the policeman felt an empty sensation. It was silent, their abilities are nullified and their mana disappeared without any effort. The carved loots are still functioning, and their minds being empty through silence. They started to feel scared of feeling empty, the policewoman tried to run away from him but the images easily pulled her in. The police lost his power within this aura and can't even react any of it. The covered man looks at them, exposing their weakness because of their dependency.

The images forced the policewoman to stand up and watch the two. They can't hear the covered man saying, but what they see will never be taken him lightly. The images throw her out from the radius even farther to have clear view from he is about to do. The policeman felt the carved loot kept enduring when he about to experience. The covered man pulled him up with one hand while the other touched him. In his silent aura, no sounds will let out. The policeman felt one of his legs started to torn off, where the covered man infused his aura inside him. Destroying the policeman internally, the carved loots are preventing it, for how long.

The exposed right leg without a carved loot, made him feel the disoriented flow between his mana and the covered man's aura. Causing an unbelievable conflicted interaction between types of mana. His neutral mana while protected by the runes versus against an unknown source. The covered man pulled him close to his ear and his silent aura is preparing to disappear before he could say anything to him. Policeman can't feel his legs and the silent won't let him hear his leg fell on the ground including the dripping of his own blood.

The pain is surging, and the covered man said to him

"DARE HEEDS YOUR WARNING!"

A strong shout blown the policeman away to where his partner landed. One last moment for the policewoman to see in her arms of his maimed partner, she used any possible healing items or magic to stop the bleeding. The unknown mana blocked them all, the covered man shows no mercy and waving his hand at them. From the force of magic, they pushed back further away and they were never seen across their sight. Again, with his help, they have a chance.

The covered man manages to pull out the remaining gangs from their defeat. The gang leader wakes up and the rest of the gangs had terrible repercussion with their magic line broken.

"Boss, our mana leeched out. This string or rope is the cause of our mana drain"

The gang leader's abilities are limited now, thanks to the disrupting gem is now in full effect, and he can't use any prolong spells. The covered man is the only one who can still fight. They look at him for plea to escape this place. The other one had an idea

"We have to escape to the sewers. The black and white zone had always hidden on underground"

The covered man saw one of the gangs pulled out a knife and stab the three enders. The gang later cut their wrists and hope to bleed out. He said to him

"Impressive, feigning them instead of killing them"

“I know a thing or two from school, failed safe is not reliable when regarding to poison or bleeding. It only reacts when powerful phenomenon that will actually harm through force”

“Yet, this kid had a failed safe”

“That’s what I learned, it doesn’t tell you when you’re down, not killed”

The gangs recovered as they are taking a break.

"So, we have to let them go"

"They are already bleeding, if we killed them as they have failed safe"

"Just like us, but we nearly taken out without any harm"

"As a leader, I don’t want to admit. These guys are lucky that the city had that feature"

"What if they don’t have one?"

"The covered man won our fights. It is better to listen to him as our new ally or someone worse will get us. None of them use magic, yet"

"Damn, look at their blood . . . black?"

"Ehehe, I am getting nervous if we actually lose"

They eventually found the manhole and proceed to leave. The covered man stays behind and said to the leader

"Be prepared"

The gang leader nod and drop down to the sewage. He lost to the police in a short moment and the gem kept him down, the covered man is enough not telling his name and only being called once he knew it was him. However, the surprised attacks caused too much to realization that the people of Horsin had special secrets they didn't know.

"Uhm boss, the grails or even the door couldn't even budge"

Almost of all of them had no mana to use and they can't go back if they are going to get caught. A strange sound coming from their direction. A man walked into them.

The gangs quickly assaulted him without giving a look. The man saw the magic line infused with them and he knew a bit what happened from above. They hit him and ganged up to the least, he defended himself by blocking. Someone uses his device as a flashlight to see who they are fighting. The man managed to block every attack he received and the gang leader saw him clearly and used what physique he had. He sidekicks him and the man managed to block it. The enforced magic on it knocks him away. The disruption activated as soon after the kick. They look at him as if he didn't have a chance to fight.

"What's with him?"

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"Be careful, we are still in the black and white zone"

"Yeah, and how is this guy entered here anyway"

The dropped of blood crawling down through the manhole. They soon realized something's going to happen. A drip of blood touched someone's head and said

"Blood? No black fluid, something is wrong here"

The sounds of stomping from the manhole occur from below. One of them climbed up to block it while the others go where the man entered. Forced run into the sewage, everyone they could muster to get out. The gang who supposed to block the manhole heard from the covered man's voice.

"RUN! I can't open the manhole because of the blood"

The gang look down and said to them

"RUN!" They did "Go! we don't have much powers left"

The gang climbs back down. Once he landed on the ground, he noticed the man they beat up pulled something out from the wall. He later noticed the blood flowing through on the walls and the man picked something out. A pick axe had drawn out and tainted walls formed into writings. The gang jump kick him back down and quickly left. The tainted walls block the gang's way, he screamed for help and they look back. The man's pick axe already inserted to the gang's skull after his scream and pulled his lifeless body to the manhole ladders.

Pulling it out, the man whispered to himself

"U'ecin . . . I couldn't imagine you kept them alive. Neither would Myrrkei's tainted ashes"

The scream echoed to them as they had to leave as soon as possible. Just one scream stops them but the later scream wasn't there.

"We need to go now, he already said run"

The man kept going into them where one of them had the dark red essence within them. The darkness wasn't there and the gangs’ lights exposed them. They continue running and the splashes of sewer water made them grew more tiring. Ironno remembered

"Because of my incident, I found out more to my surprises that you alone won't deal with it until you have your reasons (eventually)"

Either Myrrkei wants a pandemic here or he need something for his research. He had one specimen dead close to the manhole, their manas are gone. He continues to pursue on inside the sewers, where a place he entered this zone by his own abilities. Myrrkei was expecting them to react the organisms from Rune Isles, he never thought the diseases from one of them will cause a new form of plague. However, there are still hope for a cure sooner than later. Since the citizens are coming and going from Enders Bridge, they are probably experienced the dark blood lurkers once they bleed.

The covered man seeing the blood stretches to the manhole without realizing it. Enders had also exposed to this kind of disease, not dangerous but very creepy how it carried the blood to the nearest mana source.

"Below there should had neutral mana coming down there"

"HELP!"

A short scream goes by below and he can't pull it out. Some magic coming down from there. The covered man heard a boom coming to where he thrown those police. The sense of speed that is beyond his timing, he runs away to the nearest secret room. Once closed, he felt something almost grab the doorknob with the fastest turning of the doorknob.

The secret door wasn't mechanical but magical, and thanks to that the vibration of the doorknob won't broke off. Covered man is safe and the portal opened by his subordinates. He was pulled by them before anyone noticed. He disappeared without a chance to figure out who is coming, the sonic boom made him not to risk it. The subordinates said to him

"What happened to the gangs?"

"We got separated. How long did you reopen the portal? I lost them when their time is running out"

"That's what are we talking about, I got a call from them that we should've have opened it, but . . ."

The covered hidden his face that he should be angry at them, they continued

"After the call, the connection between the zone was lost. Something caused a disruption within that area"

Another call from the gangs again

" . . . Yeah, he is here . . . No . . . your boss?"

The subordinate handover to their leader

"It's for you"

He picked it up and heard them

"Our boss is gone, and only a some of the boys made it out. We want to have a draft with you"

That call was set to loud speaker when the covered man picked it up. They look at them as they nodded without any thought. The recruits were confused but the subordinates give a nice relief and said to them

"That's why we chose him"

The police carried four people to the hospital, leaving a sign of failed investigation or even a raid in their positions. Inside the sewers they found more bodies from the gangs, where the entranced look like it being design to be like hell. More dead bodies found where their heads had the same pierced skulls. One of the police called out any missing people in their side

"Yes Ma'am, it's Ironno Gaytte . . ."

A call coming from the other side of the streets and for the reporter updated his report.

". . . Sorry, He is found in their makeshift saferooms"

The operatives felt odd about his location, but the profile never lied about him staying in the defensive.

Myrrkei saw them carrying to the ambulance and saw that they are all injured. For U'ecin had his bones broken, it is normal for him kept going like that. Rusic's body look fine but his belly is bruised into torture. Finally Haw with his head beating up like some kind of dummy. These two were hit like no citizens know where to hit. Hitting them for a concussion and the belly . . . Myrrkei look closely where the runes there were erased. He understood, the enemies they met is one of them from the north coast. His suspicion was clouded by their old motives

"End the Hero's allies"

The police are gathering evidence from the other police who got inside the zone, they found a new suspect who managed to take down both of them. The most crucial evidence once they are taken out were no video of it. The policewoman had saw a bit but the black and white zone can't decipher of its appearance. Ruby can't believe for the past few days that U'ecin and Myrrkei joined to help them, leaving to this night a horrible discovery. Did the government already know the dangers? When U'ecin was disgusted of himself using suppressed items made her realized this could have happened.

Ruby dashes to see them and the ambulance already took them off. Myrrkei says to her

"Your criminals are sided with the rebellion. May I join the investigation?"

She nodded and ask him

"Did Ironno involved anything here?"

"First, I need to know about the area, I can't predict how he can do anything opened. He can handle close combats in closed interiors"

Myrrkei saw blood on the ground were moving to the manhole. A strange phenomenon where the police can't understand it. It is quite disgusting for them, but for him he could understand until he reached into the sewers.

It is the first time to see someone who has the same disease, probably who he met during his wild runs. The police tried to stop the flow of blood kept crawling into the scrolls posted on the wall. It merging and consuming it at the same time. Only a few were kept their sanity while looking at the strange blood trails. Without a doubt that the scrolls are already lost its integrity and now touching one of their devices.

"It's better to leave your devices away"

The blood starts to crawl through their devices as they quickly put them into their inventory.

"What the hell"

"This world's phenomenon is getting weirder and weirder"

"Goes for you people who treated your small items like some kind of god"

Myrrkei butts in their conversation, but their disgust on the blood is more horrific than their addictions.

"Do you know what is it?"

"I never thought a disease made it here"

"A disease"

"From Rune Isles origin, but it needs to bleed in order for the contamination to spread. I didn't bleed but those three are"

Ruby seeing the posters already drenched and eaten as the mana it contained already gone.

"Myrrkei . . . what’s going on here?"

He never could imagine of such infestation to occur, and the police comes in from the other passage said to them.

"More blood almost reached here, they stop and reached towards us. What's happened to them?" Myrrkei continued

"Is there anyone doesn't have their blood acted that way?"

"Yeah, only a few but soon later mix within the other blood and acted the same way"

"Then it's probably the sources are from the three. I have no idea who killed them, but the poster already drenched in blood and lost who made it"

The police medic ask him how many deaths occurred here.

"Why don't those three died? Or pardon me if those two police officers should had died as well?"

They turned to him and he could only sure about the three.

"From criminals to traitors, I'm sure one of them who knew the outside world. Killing an enders would create a failed safe by your terms to escape from certain deaths, but bleeding out or starved to death were the flawed from my research. For the two though, probably runes carved in to them. They withstood an unfamiliar type of magic, what's worse is the video I saw is mix between martial arts and neutral magic. Yet the man lost a limb, then there could be more"

Testing through what they have now, the failed safe shouldn’t be possible in the realm. According to the police force, no one can escape when the connection is breaking. Either the gangs know or didn’t, it is lucky for them for not actually killed by them. The strange blood is a common disease to non-magic users, and poison to magic users at the same time. The carriers can be anyone who is from Rune Isles, but it will clear out eventually where neutral mana is thin in their environment. In Isekai city, it’s highly unlikely.

After the investigation, Myrrkei was reassigned again from what he was supposed to be describe as . . . a researcher. For the three who are put down where Ironno appeared before them and take care each of them in the emergency rooms. Words got out caused a lot of worries, people come by to the hospital to visit them. In the afternoon, visitors come in their room where the three was taken care off while the other police had their own personal rooms. Haw and Ironno were surrounded by their co-workers, and Rusic left himself be alone where the visitors saw the dwarf again. They didn't know that they are working together.

Coral stared at the new person she didn't see. U'ecin didn't respond and just wave at her. Coral talks to her colleagues

"Is there anyone from his guild to be young as him? We're surrounded by bunch of old men here"

Iggy can't respond to that as she agreed seeing around by what she had describe. Quail talks to Ironno

"Hey, what's with the side jobs? You're going policing and now like this"

Ironno respond "I like to ask the same thing, an entire crowd came to visit"

"Yeah, that's our way to cheer someone up"

U'ecin and Rusic listen to their conversation and the things they did during the summer.

Ironno explained this ordeal and why they were joining the police force, but never completely. Reya and Coral shared their responses

"Ironno joined by the request of that guy over there (pointing at U’ecin that should've been Myrrkei)"

"And Haw offered his permission to us and joined in"

"However your entire utilities to weaponries were not allowed but to use the city's version called suppression"

"During a real crucial fight, Rusic is the only one who carried you all"

Rusic whispered to Ironno "What did that girl saying to me by carrying you lads?"

Ironno raised his shoulders with his hands open, he didn't know either. Reya finishes it

"Now you are here alive, or you'll be already teleported back to Enders Bridge. Hmmm"

The teachers were concerned about him, and with the look of Haw's face. It's more like they are ready for it, they think. One of them said

"If Alche and Andui were here, it would cause a big issue here"

Haw remembered about the other issue, his women. After being fully healed, the hospital forced them to rest here until they need to understand a new disease within them. Sadly, they thought it was any ordinary apothecary, but imprisoning them were on their minds right now.

"Oh, by the way, what happened to them?"

Iggy and Quail know where they are then said.

"They are helping Won'ies and Secius to improve the sphere"

Haw didn't expect them to optimize the sphere and said

"Is it going to be too early to planned out the sphere?"

"Believe me, I thought it was that though until"

Quail quiets herself a bit and look at Reya's direction. Reya look back feeling a bit mischievous of her looks and said

"Even I have trauma about the sphere, those two new guys made promises they are hoping to tried it out"

Rusic spoke out to them

"You mean the enders' sphere, right? Oh man, you can't believe the possibilities that could make"

The teachers turned to the dwarf and Rusic explained.

"Those magic crystal balls actually pulled you in entering their version of the world . . ."

". . . It's like being into a world that will base someone else's mind, helping other races to understand each other. What you can think, it becomes the reality of the sphere. Only a few can actually perfect their worlds. Besides of a perfect world, you can experience what tales unfold there. Going inside the story as a main or side characters, breaking off the story where the secret what if changes the entirety of it, and creating your own by other's settings. It felt like ruining a good story by adding silly things too. Ah yes, no matter happens it always reset back to the beginning after use"

Quail understood his criteria, and the what if analogy also happened to her. Thean's sphere prove what happened to her. Others thought it was exciting, but her herself can't experienced a perfect sphere. Rusic continues on and on as much a dwarf could tell in their ears. Finally, a serious tone coming from him where he can't treat a sphere lightly, where witness the city's leisure and warned them the actual truth.

"I warned you though, even the sphere itself will cause addiction if the creator couldn't make limits. If you have a sphere gives itself as a dream you will never wake up, then it is proof of their curse. No more of those what ifs, there are corrupted spheres out there might haunt us someday"

The teachers had a wild time listening to his stories and Quail kind of agree after witnessing her co-workers flying while beating up when getting inside the sphere. They ask Haw

"Is our sphere really that good"

Haw look at U'ecin and Ironno which they don't know about it, but their existences were so valuable for some reason throughout the archives of Enders Bridge.

"When the sphere is functional, let's see how far you guys to be thrown out by it"

Their co-workers leave where Rusic's story put them away from their time. Reya couldn't imagine its complexity but the capabilities it contained made her want to experienced it, safely.

Quail said to them "Will Andui open up the city guild's quest board?"

The three were wondering about that for so long. Haw's notes describe its value, and even more so its secrets. The lord of Enders actually knows about it and give it to them. Not the city government but the school itself. Coral had thought of something

"Maybe they found out that its safe for everyone"

Iggy complained "But why not public though"

Coral guessed "The dwarf said and Haw's note said the same thing, the creator's. I'm second guess someone who can actual controls it"

Quail continued "But why for the city guild involved anyway"

Reya walks along with them and think differently and said

"Hearing about the sphere's details, it required a large amount power. The only things I'm assumed that this is one of the powerful spheres"

Coral gives a little mischief "Oh you mean it is not an almighty sphere"

Iggy laughs "Is there anymore sphere like it? The dwarf said its rare though"

Reya thought about it too, but it was personally made if she heard or read it right.

"Probably because . . . I second thought, I have no idea why it’s rare"

Everyone left as they end their visit, Rusic's conversation made them stay longer than they should. Where the city's dark side kept crawling worse than back home itself.

Somewhere in the police head quarter, the captured suspect who was the only one left inside the zone. The three police managed to capture an infamous suspect in the black and white zone, and he was from the outside too. After identifying the suspect, his hooded experienced not only hid his head. The recordings of the policewoman scanning his current face had an error. His old ID was there but his entire head is gone. The hoody itself kept his head formed, and the police sees him now without it, the head is gone. They interrogate him

"What happened to your head?"

The suspect responded "My magic hid my head. It is disoriented by view but you can touch it"

"Alright, pervert (quietly)" He can't explain better than that.

"Alright buddy, you will be in bars for the time being. You'll be scanned and form a new name or we will call you by your ID then"

The suspect followed along. He can't understand why with the second name calling. He randomly thinks from his head and said to them.

"Called me Outcast then"

"Last name?"

"Why do I need another one?"

"Most people called themselves outcast"

"What the fuck? I thought people have creative names"

The time almost run out as they quickly give him a full name.

"Fine, Outcast Hoody" The suspect was named and identified, now he is welcomed back to the city in jail.