COI C109
Isekai citizens are riled up in different means. Controversies of what is happening inside the ruins of North Mihayara District, many victims, hostages, or unlucky passerby are taken by the lesser things. Better to be called as weak demons from the inner realms of Agatheus City. Fugitives or criminals hidden somewhere inside the vast numerous realms, no one else could define them as their multiple identities kept themselves away from the judgement of their fallen agendas.
Thankfully, it was subverted. Even though they discover their hidden realms, but once the authorities and adventurers joined forces and entered the realm. Everything what the survivors describe about was wipe clean. Empty to the point of doesn’t exist anymore. One of the personnel checks around the area. He calls his officials
“The suspects have cleaned all evidence that happened here. It is the same case happened when the gangs control the realms for themselves . . . Yes Ma’am, we will be proceeding to call support . . .”
As the realms continue to exist for its final moment, before it will be sealed by them or loss of its entirety of their magic. The rat men that speak in demonic tongue gathered under their feet, burrowed underneath like the vermin they are. Demon souls possessing these puppets of its creation. They scheme ever so desperate, as the undergrown will be done once the fourth moon cycle is coming. No left for them to set their base, nor they would return back to Agatheus City as their spirit will be exposed by the Jigeram. Until Alga’s light returns, they kept their pitiful lives under the dirt.
“Squeal* Man filth! Purge realm, end harvest ever so easily. Weak ones exposed, now threat to clean city”
The rat man looks among its surviving speaking companions, all of them have faces that never follow the way of the speaking it said before. “You’re still playing games with the rat men’s dialogue. When will your creation should be turned to dust and left as nothing as we once had?”
“No-no, no. Speak this, rats are children. Rat gods demand ruins, give ruins, received powers . . . Yes-yes”
The demons are possessing this made rat men as their avatars, and the maker of it is challenging among them to follow its examples. Daringly tried to hit each other as parts of its dead body torn off.
Pieces of its bone broken loose and even cleanse of the rat man’s transformation. The bone revealed to be the dead bones of some kind of animal, gobins animal.
“People in this city called this gobins as goblins, made out from marsp, and now you made it into rat men’s body . . .”
The rat man squeezed their avatars as its demon magic fouls their bodies, such opportunity to scheme near closely to the city and the coming to end for the undergrown, they must play along to this deranged false gamer
“Give us . . .” Beginners to speak such idiocy, one of them implodes in vile.
One demon takes out a device and properly translate before the crazed rat man, instead, it summons the one who know to play this game. A portal opens through as the rat’s hand grasp everyone in, as it immediately causing the realm exposed by the city detection. These lesser things are less smart than they have to be, proving themselves as the slaves of their own chaos. The rat men teleported outside the city on the far distance, hiding in the outpost of the outskirts near the Isekai City. Hid inside the crater as it already being piled of so many monsters into crystals or dusts.
The rat man lord enraged of their actions not from their defeat but their scheming revealed only by them. It hits them from their careless magic.
“Loud chitters, man filth know. Dared squeak-chatter through holes near man filth”
“Master, Nest harvest gone. Yes-yes, warp flesh taken away by man filth. Cult magic takes time to take all, but man filth in realm world feasted on cult floors . . . and”
The rat man shows its foul green magic, summoning forms of rats surrounding them. In spite of its rage, the lord had already been beaten since before. The rat men are being pushed away from the city without the city itself know about its intellectual existence.
The rat man lord spews out the names, in disgust, of their allies in its chittering mouth.
“Ghost tails lost their talk ones near big tree shocks, Flesh meat’s eaters starved, and Tree shocks harvest to man filth. Groan* Man filth defend will strong. Scavenge all ruin lands for cult runes, new homes no more, need more rats . . .”
As it continues giving orders to all the rat men, the demons who didn’t understand its speech led them into annoyance. They want to ignore all this divided attention, but they will return back as the defeated. Lady Hivites is a manipulated demoness.
The rat men went deep back inside the forest as they continue to refill their numbers. All of them are made by their demonic magic, but the rat man lord is in complete famish, thin bone, desperate form. Only thing now for the lord to be healthy is to eat. They entered a nest where the feral goblins are caged as the lord picks one up and consumed it alive. Alone to itself to feast the gurgling dying feral, through its touch the food it feasting off died and transform into one of them. Its accursed gnawing and endless empty belly continue its sensation. Until nothing left for the feral as they become rat men.
The demons were envy of the lord’s power, one of the lesser things that able to finish the corruption of those broken races. If it finds a broken race like humans, dwarves, or even the elves. The lord will be able to have another tortured and manipulated slave just the one who is with them. The schemes are not over, as they need resources, they need to go back in. The sewers will be the next for their return. For now, they need the rat men they could get. The dead feral are still transforming as demon magic is filling inside in each one of them. The rat man lord chanted
“Rat gods demand sacrifices”
And it strikes down the newly transformed rat man. It will take time for their return.
In Isekai City, the survivors made it out with all the missing people they have brought from their crystal imprisonment. The shield student was the only person left inside the hospital while the rest left finishing their diagnosis. It’s now close to lunch and the people who is watching over him is his uncle and Haw to his side. Many visitors come and go as many adventurers heard a Sister’s Hope Highschool student with Enders equipment on hand able to survive a realm that the police personnel have trouble getting in.
The Uncle explains to Haw some information about them. But the rest will be proven to his nephew. “. . . My nephew uses his mother’s side last name, Miyusuki, so there is no threat to get his real name”
“I’m not going to pry his father’s side. I am here to know how he got so many supports from another guild”
“Yeah, even I ask you so many times about it, I still put my finger on my head to why Enders guild never get along with each other”
“Do you want to say it to you again?”
“I’ll be rude if you didn’t”
The shield student wakes up and see his uncle and his teach in front of him. His uncle noticed him as he sits on the chair and said “Hey, you finally awake”
His uncle smiles at him as he tries to react of his corny expression. Haw joins along “You were trying to cross the border, right? You walk right in that . . .”
“No, we were there away from the incident”
“. . . Imperial ambush, the same with us”
His uncle chuckles as he smiles at his nephew. The nephew wasn’t laughing and he speaks harshly
“Fuck you”
His Uncle and Haw were planning this since Haw comes to visit him, they are the only two people left since it’s almost time for lunch. Others went out to get something to eat. His Uncle couldn’t stop making this dangerous experience ending with a laugh. Then he immediately becomes concern
“And I thought my story surviving through the factories were dangerous enough. You got yourself almost killed . . .”
He was about to mention about his mother, his younger sister, as this isn’t the right time to over the boundary.
As the joke was over, the shield student explains about the situation whereas his uncle is growing mix what is happening about his nephew’s story. “A monocle acts like an UI, I guess I could understand that but a rebellion woman beaten you. That’s where I draw the line for your safety, I heard they can easily kill you with your own magic”
“I know, I’m sorry, but she didn’t kill me for some reason. I feel my head feeling light and my body suddenly explode in pain. I don’t know what just happened”
Haw thinks about Sanquin’s abilities, and hearing further about the story as it indeed same goes to other Circoston origins. The mana is not connecting through the center of their bodies. Outward and away from the vital organs once the enemies’ magic break inside of their body. But he thinks that the warrior is not trying to kill him, rather take them as hostage. Enders have neutral relation with them when regards to past interferences, they probably thought they have another negotiating chips if they took a young boy with them from Isekai City. This will lead to Sanquin’s involvement if Haw fails.
Lunch is here with friends as they surprised him. Joanne and their classmates who were saved by him, without him knowing, clump him up around for saving them. The room is small, and Silfa opens up the room with her magic. Expanding openly through a realm, the shield student is surrounded by people he knew and Silfa’s friends. Warm reunion, they first take their lunch with the best meals available outside of the hospital. Joanne was about to feed him, but his uncle stops her and said,
“It’s too soon to be his wife augh!”
Joanne reacted and slaps him out embarrassment, the energy shield opens up as he held the Dexters gem and still pretend to get hit. “Ah. . .? I mean, Ow!”
As they enjoy their meal, except for the Miyusuki family getting embarrassed by their behaviors in front of them. Haw looks closely to see such family relation. Gemina nudges him
“What’s with that look, soldier? I thought your expression stuck in one serious look”
“Oh, I was just looking at their expressions. They were worried before and now they are happy when he wakes up”
“I’ve been talking to you for the longest here, Haw. I think you’re just jealous. I don’t know what happened to your past, but this world is as shit as I could describe it, bite*”
Jealousy or not, Haw nods to her explanation. Gemina’s eyes were open wide to hear he agrees about him being jealous. “Whoa? Really!?”
Haw could only nods as his past memory can no longer reached him. Gemina tries to talk further about his past, but she hesitated. After her case researching about the Benedictus before, it will make her head lose brain cells if she continues asking questions. Enders never provide a concrete answer, until the Dexters came. How they brought the kid to them after that incident, make her heart burns to hate them. Without even realizing herself, she asks him
“Dexter guild, do you know about them?”
Gemina is able to identify his stares. Away from the eyes of a concerning man into a dead eyes soldier when he hears about them. His eyes traces to every expressive reaction on her body, and his observant tells much of an experienced researcher, but far less experience than the daring rat.
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“Give me what you know first, then I’ll answer what you know so far”
She gets a condition for how far she wants to know, but more terrifying how he is more dead serious than she could ever imagined. It wasn’t her curiosity that will harm her. It was her trust.
Gemina leans to his ear and gives him her device, playing a recording as she met them during that night. Haw recognized these voices, sadly it was only two of them. Where’s the other one?
Gemina: “. . . You send the kid alone!?”
X2L: “The kid is already here without any harm”
R-cord: “Sir, there are signs of damage from the rebellion and the scourge pathogens. He will die without his AP Armguard. The condition of the item had broken its mana transformer”
Gemina: “I swear I would . . .”
The recording ends there as she thought would be enough for him to understand.
Haw expect much for X2L’s logistics and information. He knew what will be the outcome and the shield student able to get out with some help. The rationality between the Dexters and the citizens are truly different. Following the results, research, or probabilities of their own theories and studies. Gemina is waiting for him to respond after hearing it. He quietly tries to remember his girlfriends about manners to deal with hot heads and misbehave individuals. Gemina is no child, and this reaction is not sane for them. Haw has to speak to her with a warning.
“Nothing is personal for them, if you want to have an honest detail about them, I have to speak clear and painful. Alright?”
. . .
“Ok, but you have to tell me without convincing me to kill them”
“. . .”
“I’m serious, Haw. I know your world is not perfect, and I am not going to let your people to mess with mine. Understand?”
Haw pushes away her device and gives an honest look, after a few moments of thinking and then look around as everyone is being preoccupied for a moment. He needs to make it short.
“Dexter Guild is based on research and projects. Its excellence in making technology is advance, and the way they reach the goals are problematic and ignorance of such consequence. Playing along to be intellectual, but the reality that they are just as people as we all are. Like me able to use alchemy in a whim, but you see how I am lacking. It is all about the efficient, they don’t care about the emotional expression and morale conduct. Dexter Guild is all about statistics”
Gemina has so many questions from Haw’s answer, doubt that a Dexter guild member knows all what is happened during that night. She feels like he is dodging the question, but it must be that question she would be get angry of. Still, suspicious from their actions but the result had proven better than they have received from the news. Ruby went wild all around the ruins just to find them without any clue to where they are. They only found them where they were taken away. That portal is marked by Silfa’s doll, Puma. That night was not very pleasant for them to hear when the diagnosis on the shield student had shown signs of supposed to have severe conditions.
Flashes was one of them, the conditions he has were foul magic is not fully implanted on him. Thanks to their stats to have resist the problem. It was safe for him to survive it, but the shield student was special. He almost lost his UI completely after encountering with Sanquin on that night. He has the unique results with more exposure from the harshness of this world. Somehow, he survived from the known attacks from the rebellion, which were dangerous back in the east coast. Gemina has to leave it at that, but her eyes are straight to Haw’s eyes. For him and the Dexter Guild, they can predict the outcome even she thought it was too risky.
Lunch was over, the shield student is not yet allowed to leave. Then his day of training with Raker Mawn guild will continue next week. He frowns on the suspecting day to come for his training. Only he can do now is to talk with Haw and mention about his journey. With everyone surrounds them both as they want to know what happened inside the realm. Haw reaches out to him and said,
“Let’s going to see each other for another time, you need your rest. Come and see me when you are free. I’m sending a message from Dexter Guild if you want some quests from them. The reward you will get is the armguard you used yesterday”
The shield student starts to remember something. He checks his arm and see the gauntlet is gone, but his UI shows in his inventory that he has one. Realizing who put inside his UI, even though he lost his many features in his UI. The only remaining he had now was the empty icons and his magic to improvise his inventory. It exists like an empty husk that needed to fill, hardly for him to make it his own as the required mana exceed from his control. As for the rest of his day, he takes his weekend in the hospital.
Gemina walks out at the hospital leaving her friends behind. To what excuses she thought she could come up with, it was Ruby who backs her up. She sees Haw spending his time reading some notes as she looks behind him, he immediately turns around knowing too well how unsatisfied she hears from him.
“I thought you were trying to say to him, you’ve been waiting for an entire morning”
“Entire morning? I’m trying to be careful to advise him, and he has his own to grow as well. I’m starting learn how that boy really committed to join my guild”
“You know I’m itching for questioning about the Dexter Guild, are they really that bad that I would lose control?”
Haw stares at the city barrier, it is pretty close and he can see the personnel are handling it pretty well. He turns back to her “I for one is trying to find a way to describe them. Separately, they have their roles and uses. In the end, they know more than we have to figure out ourselves. I know that you saw me talking with the Dexter Guild member, right?”
“Yeah”
“Then you didn’t eavesdrop regarding about that kid, right?”
“Let’s get to the point, forget what I said about keeping my blade on to them. I just don’t like how they bring a child alone into a realm made by a demon”
Gemina couldn’t help her mind extending what she is in front of him. The man she argued during that night knows about Haw. Collecting what she remembered before, that is definitely his old guild. Either she forgotten about it or don’t know what Dexter Guild looks like as he is looked ordinary than their sci fi counterpart. Gemina grabs him by the hand as her heads need to clear off.
“Let’s have a drink”
“In the afternoon?”
“Oh, shut up, if I get mad to hear such monsters that you won’t going to tell me. At least I could forget about that too”
“Then what’s the point to tell you anything?”
“It’s our customs, and customs that man paid for the woman’s drink”
“Sounds like scam to me”
Gemina brings him to a new bar, owned by Agatheans, and the owner looks at the woman with a lively greeting, then he saw an Enders as his face squinted out of his luck. Haw sees him as if this place has been scamming recently. Yet, the place is pack with mostly citizens. Hardly anyone will come to this place after that siege, and the owner is just an adventurer doing part time job. Haw remembers that woman who sells him a complete set. Made him wonder how much of the supplies there are in the inner realms.
They take a seat and given a menu. Haw looks at the price that is beneficial for most citizens could afford, and converting to price to his own. It is kindly fit the price for them too. That face that the owner shows to him, why would he be acting like he is scamming? They get their drinks and the conversation continues. Gemina takes her sips
“Like I was saying, let’s just say the kid has potential. Do you know anything special about him?”
“A special one, and it was on accident that they know he had”
“Like what . . .”
“Let me explain first, the Dexter Guild had specialized in info gathering . . . stretches further from rumors and speculation”
He takes his drink and gulp down in one glass. “They found out the conditions about him and he will be able to handle it when he got inside the realm. It wasn’t meant for the demons, and all actuality was meant to the rebellion”
“You mean to tell me they already got hold of their positions”
“Traces of collusion with your people, defectors to you and traitors for us, but the Dexter Guild never given the order to face them as they focus on rebuilding the factories. For now, there is no report to deal them as a threat”
“Wait a minute, how do you know all this?”
“I got it from them recently this morning, of course. But there is no proof but let’s assume it correlate with that kid”
Gemina couldn’t get the idea around her head. Is the rebellion the enemy of this region or just people don’t want to bother them? She takes another glass as Haw pours her more, then she drinks it again to satisfy the unbelievable speculation. The rebellion, martial artists according from what she had gathered adventuring to the north. Then she starts to remember, Sanquin. According to Heist that she is definitely doing martial arts, while Sanquin herself admit the name heavenly demon. Silfa and Ruby kept mentioning her from before, during, and after the party in Stranding Island.
She moves her lips as she only said it while thinking “Is Sanquin responsible for the kid’s changes?”
Haw mid drinking as he stops to think what she had said. The analyzation from R-cord’s monocle said to him there is actual changes on his recruit. Gemina continues
“. . . Yeah, that’s right. Sanquin touches him for a bit and numbs him. Anyway, what specialization does magic work on martial artist?”
“Hmm, martial artists able manipulate mana to their full control to the exterior. Mostly mastered their aura instead of the mana flow. But able to control someone’s mana flow if left unnoticed”
“Unless if it was a demon, a heavenly demon”
Haw didn’t think about it, all demons are able to control anyone who are willing. The shield student is human and Sanquin ascended to demonhood, from what he hears, but she received only the demon’s powers. He wants to report this to Raker Mawn guild out of his own curious thoughts. The two continue drinking, if something like that happened, the scanners will easily detect the corruption from him. Sanquin is a demon, but she doesn’t have the possible cases that most demons had done. People will become the lesser version of demons to whom they give their soul to.
Haw changes the subject “We get this far after few bottles. Hey!”
The owner comes to them “Do you need anything?”
“Can we have some warm alcohols?”
“Which ones?”
“That boils”
“!!!” Gemina reacted “What! What is that supposed to mean?”
“Hey, hey now, It’s a drink. It can’t be found on the menu but you can make a special call to bring it instead”
“Alcoholic warm beverages, I would rather drink it cold. Sigh* You’re going to drink it first, hearing you said boiling makes me wary of your dangerous taste”
The owner serves it freshly steam and boiling under a wooden jug. Gemina thought having a drink would be good for the both of them and have them figure things out. But all they have talk about is just loose ends and undervalued information. The kid has special powers after Sanquin that did it to him, and the Dexter Guild knows something that she is dying to know. Ruby mentioned about the rebellion is hiding closer to the city. The guild knew and let them be. It infuriates her but the alcohol calm herself down. She sees him drinks it as the sizzling drink gulps down his throat. Everyone around him and including Gemina were surprised how he drinks it down, boiling.
“Done, now take a drink”
Haw gives her jug to her side, looking at it as if its steaming beyond its boiling point. A dare is a dare, and she grabs the handle and feel the heat raging on her palm. The jug is made out of wood, she starts sweating, and everyone looks so lost that someone actually drinks it. The people start asking to the owner about it. Gemina sighs as she indeed invited him for a drink, their conversation is worse than she had anticipated. She lifts the jug raised her lips to sip the boiling alcohol, and one sip enters her lips and to her tongue. Then finally gulps down and hears the sizzling boils.
She drinks it the entire jug down her throats and slams the jug on the table. On her eyes show the intense of drinking on such a warm drink. She then looks at him blowing his mouth as if he is smoking. Gemina’s mouth is leaking smoke as she blows it all out. Her stomach begins melt something inside of her, the drinks she had before melts as if something cure her full belly. It is not Aphrodite’s glass that prevents her not being full and have leaner slim body. However, the alcohol is stronger once she starts blowing steam. She reacted
“WOW! I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s some strong after taste”
Many more starts ordering and keep calling ‘that boils’ as the owner starts making it. They drink it as it boils down their throats, every one of them who drink it feels the sensation of the after taste. It was a fun experience as they feel warmed but preferred cold. Haw says to her about the drink
“It’s just a cosmetic drink. It looks dangerous, but is just a common drink mix with children’s candy”
“Candy? A candy that boils when poured into the drink”
“Hey, it was fun. I got tricked back when I was in Mountaiwall”
Gemina laughs as the two drinks until they reached close to their limits.
They left the bar as Haw brings her to her house. Teleported somewhere in South Shore Bay, as he had to properly get her inside her home or she will make trouble for him while she grips him tightly on his arm.
“I know it was early. But I was awake all night, I think I can oversleep until morning”
“I hope our conversation was good”
“It was shit”
“. . . Ah What?”
“It means its bad. Why is there no swear words on your translation runes?”
“I have no idea, goodbye”
Gemina closes the door and said to him indirectly “Once I discover about the Benedictus in the east coast. I’ll make sure I’ll bring you Enders with us to save our people from their stupid mistakes”
Haw was left outside of her house, most likely her apartment as he is in a tall building. He has to go down to the building and walks his way back to either to Stranding Island or to his girlfriends’ new apartment. Drunk, he took out his bottle and drinks it. He sobber up quickly and begins to move drunkenly, the mind is clear but the effects of the alcohol hits greatly to his body. Gemina sees him on the ground wobbling his way to where he goes. Gemina sits on her bed and starts playing the recording.
Gemina: “. . . You send the kid alone!?”
X2L: “The kid is already here without any harm”
R-cord: “Sir, there are signs of damage from the rebellion and the scourge pathogens. He will die without his AP Armguard. The condition of the item had broken its mana transformer”
Gemina: “I swear I would strangle you . . .”
Sounds of fighting, crashes to unknown debris.
Gemina: “Augh!”
Gun shots firing out of the open, R-cord: “Sir, stop it. There is no need to fight against a child . . .”
Gemina stops the recording, she laughs “A child, huh. I guess fighting in the midst of the exposure did give them the advantage”
She starts slamming her device on her bed, that incident wasn’t supposed to happen. She starts to get impulsive once she knew Silfa was taken away. Gemina bears a regret
“. . . Haw, you son of a bitch. Why can’t you be a known at all? You’re the only person from all the Enders are cooperating with us for this long. The rat is busy with the city’s departments and disappears while you provide so much to giving us hope. That woman and that child from the city sphere show they’re more at the east coast”
She swipes her phone and sees the pictures of her relatives. That separation on that day shouldn’t have happened. Gemina keeps it to herself and still hoping. She received a call from Silfa as she is in the hospital rooftop.
“Hey, any news you get from Haw”
“No, he won’t talked much about the Dexter Guild, even though he was a former member”
“Well, same goes what you two had done to them when they treated Miyusuki. I should have joined you guys if we need to clear their arrogant . . .”
“Giggle, yeah . . .”
The doll watches Silfa having a chat on her device. It looks across the city barrier as the cloud starts to change the color of its shade. The misty cloud starts to form as no human could see it. Through the doll’s shamanistic eyes, it sees a figure being formed and the rest of the spirits see it from afar. Cloud is forming and the mystic is releasing a soft sound, and they hear it, the spirits hear it. All of them are seeing warnings that they must prepare for, then they finally heard it echoing to their void . . .
“Du-Du-du-u-u-ck . . . Du-u-Du-u-ck?”