In that crowded alleyway, sandwiched between two rustic buildings, a fight between the Green Manticores and two members of Virtuoso was about to ensue. Iyo, the tall young man with orange goggles draped around his neck and sheathed knife in hand, had already taken a stance. Meanwhile, his long-haired associate, Xalia;, simply stood back while holding a large bag full of ethereal vials over her shoulder.
The gang of punks had just threatened to steal what the pair had procured from the Troll vendor not too far from there. However, neither Iyo nor Xalia were about to let that happen. The one in front of the group of thieves had a green bandana around their wrist and wielded a knife as well. He made the first move by throwing his weapon at Iyo accompanied by a Mystic Skill.
“Butcher Craft, 1st Page - Steady Hand!”
The Oni deflected it and threw his own blade in one swift motion. It targeted the gangsters closest to the wall left of Iyo. They frantically got out of the way and he ran up to grab his knife in a blur of speed.
“He caught it mid-airthrow?!” The knife-wielder exclaimed.
Not taking any heed to the comment, Iyo proceeded to slash through the wall next to him. Even though the knife was sheathed , his monstrous strength allowed it to forcibly cut into the brick wall regardless. In a moment, he was already on the other side of the group.
After a few seconds to calm down, the leader of the posse spoke up. “Wow, you’re pretty fast but is that the same for your friend over there?”
The gang leader glanced over at Xalia who still had the same indifferent, thin smile she had from the beginning. The thug then pulled out another knife from his jacket, but before he could throw it, the wall Iyo had cut was rocked with a small explosion that covered the entire area in dust and debris. His
“Hasten, we’re getting out of here.” Iyo directed after returning to Xalia’s side in the confusion.
Not missing a beat, Xalia followed after him in the opposite direction of the dust cloud. “Nice trick. That’s one of your Mystic Traits, right? How many do you have?”
Iyo did not reply and kept running along at a slightly faster pace than her. However, after a few minutes, they were cut off again by the gangsters. They tried turning around but found that they had been flanked by another group that had split off from the first.
There was a dust cloud following right behind the leader that seemed unnatural. Immediately, Iyo and Xalia noticed one of them weaving a Sigil in the air with a Stylus. Therey must have been a Crafter with a dust Medium which allowed them to render Iyo’s initial plan null and void. Being able to control virtual smokescreens at a moment’s notice seemed appropriate forapt for a group of thieves.
“It looks like we’ll have to put in more effort than usual, but at least we’ll get to take down a shitty Grendel while we’re at it.” The leader had his knife at the ready with a glowing Sigil inscribed on it. “See if you can deflect this, Steady Hand!”
Another knife came hurtling at Iyo whichand swerved at the last second with an upward flick of its owner’s wrist before he could knock it out of the way with a sheathed blade. Iyo’s eyes widened in that instant as the edge approached his neck.
A pop resounded in the air when a bubble conjured by Xalia took the hit for Iyo. At the same time, Iyo thrust his arm out to intercept another knife that had been thrown a fraction of a second after the first one. It had come from within the dust cloud, hidden from their sight.
“Hehehe, nice reflexes.” The Butcher Crafter laughed. “Are you going to cough up your goods now?”
Iyo ignored the Manticore’s taunts and pulled out the knife that punctured his forearm with a disgusting, squelching noise. He threw it back at the feet of the thugs which caused blood to slowly drip from his arm and onto the pavement.
“Those vials would be wasted on someone with such shoddy blades, a mismatched collection of stolen items with no sense of style.” Iyo firmly stated, earning a glare from the Crafter. They were both artisans but only one cared about the tools they used.
“Thanks for the save, Iyo. That’s what I get for prioritizing someone else’s safety over my own.” Xalia commented lightly. “This time use your body to provide me some cover while I whip something else to get us out of this rotten situation.”
The young woman retrieved three vials from her bag and started gathering liquid from each one into one extremely condensed bubble along with the small portion of pure water she kept on her waist. “Let’s see, a little bit of dog tongue for consistency, toad leg for explosiveness, and eye of newt for luminescence…”
“Hey, stop right there, witch!” The gang leader started flingingiring the rest of the knives he had floating behind him in the dust, but a blast erupted at his feet from the knife that Iyo had sent back his way. The Oni could not remotely activate his
Taking that chance, Xalia threw her hastily brewed bubble in the Butcher Crafter’s direction and a large bang went off that covered the area in light. Xalia pulled Iyo in close simultaneously. When the light faded, the pair were gone from sight and the Green Manticores were left in utter bewilderment.
“And there we go.” Xalia declared as she and Iyo descended from the sky in a giant ultra-thin bubble she had encapsulated them in. Right as the explosion had started, she covered them in that semiliquid sphere and raised them over the rooftops and now they were touching back down on the ground.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Iyo noted while checking the wound on his arm again. It had already started quickly healing and closing up
“Well, there’s a lot of things about me you don’t know. Dontcha think we oughta learn more about each other if we’re going to be on the same team?” She leaned over to look up at him.
Iyo thought about it briefly in quiet contemplation before coming to his answer. “You’re right. You were able to make a bubble to shield me, but how come you didn’t do the same for yourself? Were you not able to react in time?” From his understanding, it seemed like she had enough of a window to use two Skills at once.
“I guess the others didn’t tell you.” Xalia started while walking on the raised edge of a sidewalk they were traveling along. “I can only use one Skill. It’s called Burbuja Profunda, just a run-of-the-mill move to make bubbles out of any liquid.”
“But that Butcher Crafter could use multiple of the same Skill at the same time. What about you?”
“It isn’t that simple. Each Skill you unlock opens up a new slot for that Skill which you can conveniently use for anyoneany one you want. That’s how Crafters can use multiple Skills simultaneously. As a side-effect of only being able to use one Skill…I can’t do that as well.” Xalia casually admitted.
“My mentor never told me. I suppose there was not a reason for me to learn.” Iyo responded monotonously.
“Okay, now it’s your turn. What Mystic Traits do you have?” Xalia readily asked after fulfilling her end of the exchange.
Iyo proceeded to explain his
“It is why I wore these goggles a lot before meeting Allen and Nera. They help lessen the strain. “ Iyo clutched the headwear for a second but let it go. It took a conscious effort not to fall back into the habit, but he could not risk being blindsided again like with the Warg. There was a chance he could have pinned down the monster sooner if he was not wearing his goggles.
“Ooh, shouldn’t you be able to turn that off and on however you please?” Xalia questioned with a tone that sounded like mock curiosity.
“Normally, Grendels can activate their Mystic Traits on command, but I can not. If I hurt something, Hibana triggers, and if my eyes are open, so does my Shisen.”
Xalia chuckled wryly. “I guess we’re both a couple of Underworld rejects!. Speaking of rejects, I guess we should meet back up with our Virtuoso seniors. Can you call them?”
“...I don’t have a phone.”
The blue-haired woman whistled loudly. “You were homeschooled, weren’t you?”
***
Allen, Nera, and the others who had come from the Verre Chateau were at something that looked like a cross between a subway station and a dock.
“Are we at the place?” Allen asked Nathan. He had found out on the way there that the older man was the owner of the Verre Chateau and the head of the acting troupe there. His composed countenance and air of theatrics were in accordance with that fact.
“Yes, this is the marvelous Subatlantic Express that travels underwater to reach its destinations. The people who invited us out to perform have privately booked a ride for just us and any close associates we would like to bring along.”
“An underwater subway?!” Allen repeated in amazement. “I guess that’s to be expected in Atelier City, but that's still freaking amazing! I’ve never been on a regular train, much less one that travels through the water.” Allen was already pumped to get onboard and check out the view from the windows.
“Calm down, Lackey. It’s a glorified water park ride. That’s not all that impressive.” Nera scoffed as she looked at a list of amenities that were featured on the wall right next to the stairs that led to the station until her eyes lit up with stars. “No way, each seat has a hi-tech sound system filled with all of the latest songs! The full version of this PANDEMØNI∩M single isn’t even out online!”
“Hey, not to put a rain on your parade, but I think you both are getting off track.” Connor, Verre Chateau’s lead makeup artist, brought up with concern. “Evelyn, can we really trust these two?”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Definitely, I’m sure they’ll be better than having no one at all.” Evelyn proudly affirmed. The two’s exchange caught Allen’s attention. He was a little flustered at being caught getting distracted.
“C’mon, I think you can give us a better vote of confidence than that,” Allen said halfheartedly.
“Can we?” This was questioned by the woman with ear piercings and lavender hair, Tierney. ”They seem cool, but what exactly are their qualifications, right Katelyn?” Tierney patted her meek friend on the shoulder. Katelyn clutched her turquoise violin even tighter in response.
“Yeah…I’m a little worried too. Maybe we should have them tell us what those qualifications are themselves,” suggested the violinist.
Nera beamed at the chance to brag about herself. “There’s certainly a lot to say. I’ll keep it brief by just mentioning what I’ve accomplished after meeting this guy.” She began to rattle on about what Specters they have fought while embellishing here and there and emphasizing her contribution to the team.
This had gone on for a bit before Allen started to wonder what they were waiting to go oninto the train for. ‘Is it because Iyo and Xalia haven’t gotten here? …Nah, that can’t be it since we’ve barely brought them up and none of the troupe has mentioned them either.’
“Hey, as much as I love hearing Nera talk. Shouldn’t we be getting on board soon?” Allen voiced his quandary.
All eyes turned to him, but Nathan was ultimately the one to answer him. “You’re right, we have about ten minutes left till the train arrives, so we should be heading in shortly. I have to admit that I’m not enthusiastic about going underground while not sure what’s targeting us.”
“You have a point. A threat could pop up from anywhere-”
“Sorry! Sorry, I’m late!” A shrill sound could be heard approaching them from their side. It came from a young woman wearing a beige blouse and long skirt who was rushing in their direction. Trailing along with her was a suitcase on wheels that bounced erratically up and down on the sidewalk with every groove it hit.
Allen immediately recognized the face.
The young woman finally reached them and then took a moment to catch her breath. Her eyes were facing the ground while she bent over in exhaustion. Finally, she rose up from kneelingkeeling over to see who was in front of her.
“Charlotte?”
“Allen? What are you doing here?” She replied back in confusion.
Before Allen could answer, he heard a feminine voice say something in his ear. “Hey, don’t tell her anything about magic or the underworld. She’s just a regular member of our troupe.”
“Huh?” Allen was startled by the intrusion but took its instruction to heart anyway. He knew Charlotte had nothing to do with the city’s underworld. “Oh, you mean why am I at this train station? My friend Evelyn here invited us out to go to this theater out on the ocean.” The young man hastily gestured to the singer like she was a prize in a game show.
‘Ok, something definitely weird is going on with these sounds I keep hearing, but I feel like I know what’s going on now.”
“So, you know Evelyn.” Charlotte accepted and then noticed Nera. “I’m sorry. Are you another friend of hers?”
“Uhh yeah, she practically dragged me all the way here.” There was no lie in Nera’s statement but she was still shaky when it came to deceiving people. This weakness came from never bothering to mince her words nor actions. Nera recognized her from the fight with Grimhildr. The Wraith had adopted her face after all.
Just then, Iyo and Xalia also appeared to meet back up with them. Xalia had called earlier to get the location of the meetup. Allen noticed they looked kind of rough with Iyo clutching his left arm. The two were going to say something upon noticing Charlotte but something stopped them in their tracks mysteriously.
“Wow, you sure have a lot of friends. I guess that’s to be expected from an up-and-coming songstress.” Charlotte rationalized.
“Right, but enough about me. Why are you here? You should already be at the rest of the place with the rest of the troupe.” Evelyn replied sharply.
Charlotte smiled awkwardly. “Well, I spent an hour trying to decide what I needed and didn’t need, so I just decided to bring everything. Then, it took a while to cram everything..”
“Would you look at the time...” Nathan chimed in after checking his ornate wristwatch. “We should be heading to catch our train.”
***
Five of them were now seated in one car of the train. The five were Allen, Nera, Katelyn, Tierney, and Connor. The rest had gone off on their own, so they could discuss the investigation some more without Charlotte’s presence. The excuse was that Evelyn wanted to go sightseeing which was not actually that far from the truth.
‘I wanted to ask Charlotte more questions about why she was in this troupe, but I guess that can wait.’
Allen looked over in awe as he watched the underwater view whizz by through the window next to him. The train must have had extraordinarily bright lights around itself for him to see the outside so clearly. Occasionally, a school of fish would even pass by.
“Alright, from what I gather. Your Verre Chateau is composed of both underworld denizens like Crafters and Grendels along with normies without magic like Katelyn and Charlotte. Is that correct?” Allen nonchalantly laid out.
Tierney nodded. “Verre Chateau’s goal is to bridge the gap between different classifications of people such as Crafters, Grendel, and Craftless through artistic expression. However, Katelyn is the only Craftless that knows about the underworld at all.”
“What makes her the exception?” Allen continued his cross-examination. Connor and Tierney both gave Katelyn the side-eye. She was placed squarely in between them.
“It’s because only I can play this. I was told that it’s an Instrumentum, a magic tool.” Katelyn held out the turquoise violin. “I…got it from Nathan a long time ago.”
“Neat, what does it do?” Nera said with directness.
“I believe a demonstration is in order.” Connor proclaimed while looking out the window. “I don’t hear any noise of the train moving and it seems like the windows are tinted so nothing can see inside either.”
Allen was wondering why he brought those factors up until Katelyn got out her bow and began playing her instrument. The melodic and enchanting song instantly caught his attention as the pleasant sound filled the luxurious car. Even Nera’s focus was brought away from listening to her favorite band in her own seat.
Katelyn seemed like a totally different person while she played. Her anxiety and shyness seemed to fade away the instant she performed. This moment was where she truly belonged. Still, Allen had to question what was the purpose until he noticed something from the corner of his eye. A school of fish were gathering outside the window and steadily increased in size as the song continued.
“Wait, this train is supposed to be soundproof. How is the music getting out?”
“It’s the violin’s ability.” Tierney started. “It creates an absolute area where her music is heard with the highest clarity regardless of any other sounds or obstructions. However, that's only the first part. Its true function is to invoke an elemental Spirit.”
“An elemental...Spirit?” The fantasy nerd had heard about both elementals and spirits in various myths and legends but he could not tell what the actual entities were like. “Is that a type of Specter?”
Katelyn shook her head after putting down her instrument. “I’m not sure if I should go into detail since Nathan’s rather secretive about it. Just know that Spirits are amalgamations of Extract not miasma that have gained autonomy and can use magic of their own. They harness the magical energy of the environment itself.”
Allen’s eyes lit up at the sheer implications. “Metal! That means they have an endless reserve of power, right?! I can see now why that Alliance or whatever would be interested in having you join the festival…no offense.”
Katelyn waved it off. “None taken, I was also surprised to receive this.” She pulled out her golden Invite Card. This prompted Nera to pull out her own, much to the shock of the three facing opposite of her.
She smugly taunted. “Heh, we’re in the same boat. Moving on, when exactly was the first time you were attacked?”
Katelyn cooperated by detailing that a few hours after she received her Invite Card in the Verre Chateau during a regular practice session, the lights had gone off and something had charged at her in the darkness. Fortunately, Connor had been able to shove her out of the way and the lights came back on shortly after. It was only after a sponsor of the troupe had stopped by coincidently; did it spread to the upper class of Atelier City.
Hearing this story, Allen came to a conclusion. “That basically means they must be a member of your acting troupe. Unlikely anyone else would’ve been able to act in response to the news that fast..”
“What do you mean?” Connor stood up in irritation. “There’s no way any member of the troupe would target another one like that! We’re like family.”
“Really? Are youYou sure you know everyone in your troupe that well? Haven’t gotten any new members lately?”
The man grunted in frustration not being able to snap back with a good response. Tierney was the one to try to calm him down. “They’re right. It does seem like the most obvious suspects are members of the Verre Chateau like us. We can’t overlook that.”
“That’s true, but I don’t think it’s anyone in the troupe either. I may not know all of them well, but I’ve always felt at home there for as long as I can remember. I don’t want that to be ruined.`` The young violinist noted somberly. “My own personal feelings aside, it wouldn’t make sense. The rest of the troupe was making preparations at the venue for tonight while I practiced alone the second time I was attacked. The only person in the theater was Nathan who kept watch of it for any intruders.”
“She’s right,” Connor added with a confident expression. “The venue is underwater, so this is the only way to get there. The train only runs three times a day and the second incident took place between one of those times. It couldn’t be one of the troupestroupe unless you think Nathan, the director himself, was the one behind it. Katelyn would be done for if that was the case.”
Allen grimaced. “There must be something we’re missing. Did anything else happen when you were-”
An audible drip of water fell down from the ceiling.
It caught their attention as more and more water began to rain down from above until the floor was drenched. Seconds after, a torrential flood busted through the door of one end of the car and they were ankle-deep in water.
“Allen, what’s going on?” Nera shouted at him while jumping to the seats to avoid her socks getting drenched.
“How should I know?” Allen fired back.
Nera shrugged “Maybe you read a random book about trains. You’re a book nerd, that’s your thing!”
Before Allen could inform Nera that did not mean he read every kind of book, things started to rise from the water, Shades. Amorphous shadowy creatures that were like beasts shaped from inky blackness. Altogether, there were five of the monsters.
“Ugh..” Allen had fought just once before with Nera. They were much weaker than Wraiths but just as unsettling.
The young man shook his head to get rid of the nerves and started gathering Extract in his right arm. He rushed at the Shade closest to him and obliterated it in one blow. Blood began dripping down from his arm, but that did not make sense. Specters did not have blood.
“I’m bleeding…?” That instance of surprise allowed another Shade to catch him off guard. He bounded away with another burst of magical energy. The water caused him to slip and hit his back against the other side of the car with a groan.
“Hurry Oyster, now's not the time to smell the roses, we need to get as far away from those monsters as possible,” Tierney commanded Katelyn. The young woman nodded but as soon as she stood up, blood started to drip from her hands and ears. Her two friends looked on in horror.
“What the hell is going on?!” Allen tried to stand and was racked with a searing pain in the leg he had gathered magical energy into while getting away from the Shade. That is when the realization hit him. It seemed that anyone who had used magic recently was getting affected by some strange power that made them bleed like the water that dripped down from the ceiling.
“Dammit.” Allen cursed as the water level continued to rise while the Shades closed in on their prey. He morbidly wondered how long it would take until the water was dyed red.