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The portal took form of a golden doorway that glowed brightly in the middle of a black abyss-like room, a rift opened in the middle of this Phantom Realm called 'Naraka'. Within an entire kilometer, that this mysterious dimension. The new intern of Trilaksana Organization, the twenty-one years old Indonesian--Shendy Soemitra or his nickname Senju. He has a snow-white short hair with bangs almost covering his clear dark blue eyes and has porcelain complexion, he wears a dark blue uniform with long furisode-like sleeves with white-bluish snowflake prints and embroidery, underneath is his high-collared formal shirt with red four-petaled flower ribbon tie between his dark blue tie and wears a dark blue pants tucked into his black knee-length boots with white splashes. He wear his black fingerless gloves, while he happens to wear his frameless glasses with chains attached to it.
Senju is taciturn and intelligent, he has a tendency to express interest in exotic subjects such as alternative universe and meta-verse. Though he remained reserved about his experiences with it, so whenever he is in the HQ, he immediately report every information. He watched the portal was being set up, his mind was focused on understanding how it operates--how the power was channeled for the portal to be maintained. Before, Alda and Lastier explained that the Phantom Beasts has its own territories.
Kayla took a small peek of her scientific journal where the three serpents were written, she have to conduct research for it as they need to make a list of abilities, history, weakness, and strengths of the species... if she'll have a chance to do some research by herself. She put her finger on her mouth, humming under her breath. "Alright, since we infused our bodies with the Cores of Twelve Yakshas, we're immune to the corrosive and high concentration of the realm inside the Phantom Samsara," Hokuri stated, while the scientists activated the lever and pushed the button on the switches. "But for now, let's just prepare for the unexpected."
"You mean, meeting them face to face?"
Kaname questioned the older male in his sarcastic tone, he raised a brow while looking at the portal. "We'll see, because their exact location is still unknown... or how big the Naraka," Hokuri answered, he wears his dark gloves and black fingerless leather long jacket with sleeves longer than his dark undershirt underneath. "I gotta warn you though, if your body can't endure the aura of high concentration... you better rest from it."
Aliyah reach out her hand inside the portal once the security bots scanned her, they quickly analyzed her hand and she can sense the heated air inside the portal. Hifumi started walking toward the portal in a slow manner, before entering through it. There's no way he can give up on this mission, he always desired to exploring dimensions. Luca whistled, before he grinned. "This is going to be fun, right Shen?" he asked Senju, who was examining the operation of the portal while writing his information to the journal book. "Well, this is going to be an interesting discovery to ever exist," he said, without answering the question directly.
"Alright, wanna start? Who's gonna jump first?"
Kaname shrugged as he had no second thoughts about it, he stepped forward and walked towards the portal where he prepared his cane, before he yelled when Luca pushed him first inside the portal. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he swore as he flipped them off in revenge. Next is Alda and Lastier, but Aliyah started running as if she was on a sprint and jumped inside the portal with excitement and joy. Senju got pushed by Hokuri as well but joined by Kayla and Hifumi who joined them and the portal ended up 'joining' them--making the officers panicked by their actions.
***
Senju rubbed his eyes, he realized that he and the Trilaksana Organization members woke up inside the prison of the hell-like realm. He can see many demons are imprisoned within the cells and some of them didn't seems to attack them, they are just creature with human-like feature but some has abnormal features as well. "Oh, you're awake," Kaname greeted him, sitting across him and Hifumi who also woke up from their sudden impact and ended up here.
"Where are we…?"
Kayla asked, yawning while stretching her arms once the group were trapped inside a prison. "Well… we're in Naraka, a hell-like dimension that is 'tamer' than what you think the 'actual' hell is, it's part of Phantom Samsara," Hokuri explained, sitting crisscrossed on the couch filled with apples around him. "Oh fuck... my back hurts!" Luca grumbled, rubbing his back as he saw Aliyah woke up as well with Alda and Lastier--while Hifumi yawned as he was fanning himself with his fan.
"But since this is the tranquilized Hell, the inhabitants only appear as humanoids or demons with animalistic features due to Phantom Beasts who dwell on this realm. But every 'Naraka' is unique--some are beautiful and some are disastrous, yet there is something in common for all of them," Hokuri continued explaining, as he lifted up his finger. "Don't fret, these denizens aren't hostile--they're just living their own lives..." he chuckled.
Lastier observed outside the cage of the prison with his eyes closed, he seems to be unfazed and calm while observing the demon guard standing on the rock along with two vultures. Senju approached him, knowing that his abilities can perceive the area; since his family's lineage are very special. "Now, we need to find the three serpents of Naraka," Hokuri affirmed, he's about to stand up before his eyes turned to the demon guard who announced. "Alright folks, time to break free from your cages!" the guard shouted, slamming the trident so the prison cells were opened for all of them. "These denizens are lenient to us, maybe because we're the 'visitors' of this dimension?" Hifumi asked with a curious gaze, looking at Kayla as he started moving to get out from the cell with Senju.
"Maybe. What matters, they helped us escaped. While you're here, why not do some sight-seeing too?"
Alda stared at the younger male, before she walk out with Lastier and the other members from the cage. "Sure... I guess? It's always nice to appreciate the artistic value of a natural beauty for scientific studies."
Senju agreed, they step outside the prison and seeing the sky turned red with orange mixture, the environment was also quiet, unlike how hell is always described as eternal torture and punishment. The panoramic view shows a sea of flames and seen as nothing but a demonic wasteland with chaos and heat, it looked like the hell has been on fire as hell-full of lava rivers, molten ground covered with darkness, filled with different kinds of demons-including giants, multi-headed beasts, dark spirits and skeleton people, lava serpents, and other creatures surrounding the hell-like dimension itself. It looked bleak yet filled with heat and death, a limbo between life and death that bound those who lived a sinful life in the living realm. The sky was pure red, with dark, grey and red clouds like fire swirling on the horizon--alongside with purple thunderstorms.
They were surprised to see the five Herukas are standing on the pillars while overseeing the denizens and the city above the flames, there's supposed to be eight of them--since three of them didn't survive the Phantom Eruption in the Old World. There are Hayagriva, Mahottara, Vajrakiraya, Vishuddha and Yamantaka. They are known as wrathful deities of Phantom Samsara, although they're on par with the power level that Asura has--they were the rulers of Naraka where they oversees the realm. It didn't surprise Lastier to see them here, not like he have meet them for the first time. He also saw the Twelve Narayana Sovereign dragons who gathered around in circle with the Herukas, watching them interacting before they left the tower of their lair. "Looks like we're not the only one here then," Lastier said with a smile and eyes closed likewise, before he turn around to face them. "But, it's not our problem… for now, let's move on."
Hokuri had to borrow Hifumi's fan because it's getting hot in the realm, but it wasn't as hot unlike the desert in the Sahara where they traveled before during their official duties. "Everyone take cover!"
They dodged back from the infernal flames, it was hot to the touch and it's so dangerous enough to get burned by them. The flames were very intense for the mortals and will instantly kill them, it has both power of purity and destructive. "By the way, I was curious if this banana is edible or not? I mean, it doesn't look healthy though," Kaname added, staring at the banana on his hand as he peeled the skins--until he saw one of the demons vomited a lot of bananas from their mouth. He dropped the banana, realizing how disgusting it is while wiping off the skins of his hand.
Lastier found out that he somehow can understand the conversations of the citizens in the Nirvana Realm, he assumed that the magic of this realm gave him a gift of understanding. Hifumi shook his head, chuckling slightly to see him rudely insulted the disgusting demons. He was holding the apple that was on the ground, until he stopped to see one of the demons vomiting the apple from their ears. "EEEWWW!!" he squealed like a girl in disgust, what the fuck. He is more terrified with the weirdness of the demons that is messing with him, some are just annoying to talk to and interacted with them.
"Ew, what's with those fruits they're making?"
Luca groaned, folding his arms and frowned at them as he scrunched his nose. "I never thought that these creatures can make food out from their--" Aliyah covered her mouth, stopping Kayla to finish her words-implying that the food they produced was just nothing but a waste. Senju sniffed the melon on his hand, his face went abrupt horror that the scent is not a typical fruity or sweetness of the fruit--it was a rotten stinky sweet and pungent like a skunk. "Prof, do you know something about this?"
Hokuri heard Hifumi asked, making him rolled his eyes. "When did I ever knew about them? Of course I know that they're Phantom Beast, but to make food and shits out from their stomachs? That's utterly ridiculous," he reasoned, Hifumi grumbled and continued reading another book about theoretical physics in his free time.
They saw a cloud that was huge as a Cumulonimbus forming above the sea, it seems like the cloud was gathering into a shape of a hurricane with several fire tornados and lava fissures on it's sea of mists. It seems like the whole land is an inferno, magma erupted from the earth's core along with poison gas and sulfuric clouds-including lave geysers and fiery glaciers appeared to haunt the heat death of their surroundings. "What is that?" Luca asked.
"That's called Volcanic Hurricane, a mixture of multiple powerful fire and magma combined into a single large storm that is more destructive and hotter than a normal tornado or hurricane. Unlike regular tornados, volcanic tornados create vortex-shaped and fire is blazing up-and down with molten core. I highly doubt that the destructive forces of Volcanic Hurricane is able to level up a town with mere waves," Hokuri explained, Senju eyed with them as he took an audio journal and describing the scene. "Now that's just awesome... even the volcano appears out from nowhere," Kayla remarked.
Kaname narrowed his eyes, he muttered quietly. "This is one of the elements in the Phantom Samsara--where you're not able to access directly, unless you're an expert and brave enough to come here. Watch your steps, beware and caution. Even though Prof won't admit it, he helped us all over the place but," he paused, seeing a huge lava serpent swimming in the giant dark red-colored pool of liquid magma. "... the hell is that?!" Hifumi pointed at the serpent that came out from the magma. Kayla gaped, she quickly prepared her stuff. "Interesting... the serpent, judging by its gigantic size--the lava serpent is not what we think it is."
They found a tower where they can take a rest and hide inside, staying in each other's company while keeping safe from a dangerous view outside of their safety zone. "Woah, look at these baby little monsters!"
Aliyah said happily while holding the baby demon denizen, Hifumi groaned while seeing the black-furred dog who was snuggling against him like a puppy while it was whimpering like a little kitten. "I'm truly sorry Hifumi, I have no idea about his bad temper," Hokuri apologized, seeing Hifumi calmed down before Kaname shrieked to see the centipede-like beast who was perching on his shoulder and crawled on him.
"GET HIM OFF OF ME!"
Kayla almost bursted into laughter seeing him terrified to death by a dog and a creepy centipede-like bug, she took pity on him and approached him. "Aww, no need to get panicked. Here," she soothed, plucking the creature from Kaname before it hissed at him. After helping Kaname to got rid of the creepy-crawly, he watched her crushed the creature because it was venomous and she cooked its flesh into a soup. Seeing that... Kayla had her cooking expertise? "Kayla, it's inedible, stop it."
Luca jumped from the tower, doing a spin before he fall and landed on the trampoline-like platform before jumping up to the tower and landing. "Woohoo! This looks like a nice view for me!" Luca commented, making Aliyah rolled her eyes before they observing the surroundings.
"You're insane, Luca."
"Come on, Aliyah. You used to perform gymnastics before."
Lastier observed the strange glow of the sky, almost as if it felt eerie but in an indescribable way. It was like a void, the color of void that had mysterious energy flowing through the core. He was thinking if there's a rumored artifact known as Samudrartha's Compass, an ancient powerful device that can measure the balance of the universe. Some historians claimed that a person can stop the destruction of Earth--including the other parallel worlds like Phantom Samsara with the compass, if they figure out what are the reason for the fall of the entire universe. Lastier rubbed his chin, his closed eyes wandering around the panoramic view of Naraka's wasteland.
'The end of Earth is the end of entire universe, but people do believe in heaven. Earth is a land of their salvation, so what happens to their souls? Is heaven truly exist? If so, what are they all doing there?' he thought, before he looked over his wife Alda who stood next to him with their fingers intertwining. She used her index finger to caress her thumb as an indication she was content and happy, while their eyes met and smiled.
In that moment, Lastier decided to look at the horizons and the eternal light is pouring down from the skies--when he could see the full moon and stars shining down from the dusk-glistening horizon; alongside the sunlight as an essence of dawn sky blended into the horizon. It was full moon on the black midnight sky as well. He always knew, there were endless mysteries and dangers in this world, and his intuition told him--this is not the end.
Senju was observing the sealed door inside the tower, he was wondering if this was a gate to the Samsara Gate--the infamous Boundary between both realms; a land surrounded with life and death itself, the very reality between the universe that bind everything to their destined destiny. But, when he touched the sealed door--it ended up giving him a black ashes all over his face, his short snow-white hair with long bangs, and his porcelain complexion (he closed his dark blue eyes for safety reasons).
"OH FUCK SENJU, ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Luca yelled as his eyes widened, then turned to Kayla in concern as he asked. "Should we put another first aid kit?" Senju sat up, coughing out the dust and ashes before he had his eyes stared at the ash he carried in his hand. "Fuck... why the tower is so dirty?" Luca complained, before he moved to help Senju up. "I'm fine. The tower is supposed to be shut since anyone hasn't entered here for a long time," Senju answered, before he spat the ash from his mouth. "Urgh… I got black ass stains on my face… what are these, Prof?"
"That is an ashes from the Churning Heavens, and the oceans of fire are the Kumbhakarta and Naraka Fire," Hokuri explained, he touched the ashes before the substances slowly turned into a coal. "Correction: it was originally the waters of fire."
"Oh, that was Churning Heavens!? So that was the origins of the elements!?"
Hifumi and Kaname asked at the same time, making them petrified in shock at their questions. Hokuri facepalmed, he already know his colleagues are stupid as hell. Senju spat out the ashes and the dust away, making everyone surprised. "My bad, it came out of nowhere. Is there a thermal bath nearby?" he asked, making them all facepalmed. "Over there," Hifumi pointed out at the thermal bath nearby with hot steaming pool of bubbling dark-crimson water, all of them stared at Hifumi.
"Okay, why the fuck was I so surprised," Luca grumbled, seeing the bubbles in the pool. Alda was preparing the soap and oils for him to bathe while Lastier prepared the towels for him, so he could take a shower. "Luca my boy, save the f-word for other opportunities," Hifumi stated, before Luca narrowed his eyes on him.
After Alda gave him the soap and oils for them to wash their faces and will be taking a bath after the feast, she turned to her husband Lastier who still at the balcony and deep in his thoughts. She approached him and stood beside him, looking up at his features. She can tell that the endless battles have taken a toll on her husband, making him lost in his own thoughts more than usual. She touched his hand, making him realized that she was standing beside him and looking up at the horizon--there still the endless wasteland of demons and strange creatures in this realm.
"Do you think this place is a connection point for all phantom realms? There's something strange about it, I guess we have to find out more about this place," Alda spoke, looking at him when he retained his closed eyes and smiling expression. He was quite unpredictable with that image, and she was amazed that he can be intimidating yet kind, gentle yet merciless, and strict yet soft-spoken.
There's no wonder he was the 'Black Hand' after all.
He placed his hand on her cheek, caressing it like he was trying to feel her facial structure--touching the eyelashes with his fingertips and stroked his thumb on her cheek that he always loved on her features. "Of course, my love. Let's keep it up until we can discover the truth," he agreed, turning to her and meeting her lovely red lips. Even though the endless heat and burning hell is around them, but this is the warmth of love. They didn't care about the noises and the surroundings, the only thing mattered is their safety and bonding. "I will never leave you, I will always stay by your side," he replied, rubbing his thumb while staring at her with fondness. Alda close her eyes with a nod, feeling his arm engulfing her back from behind and pull her close to his embrace.
When he first met her, he was bewildered at her beauty and strong personality--she didn't stand down for anyone who'll try to disrespect her, she was truly a woman that men (including him) wanted for themselves. Alda leaned over his shoulder, letting him embraced her while still touching his palms on her arms before resting his chin above her head. She can smell his scent of jasmine flower, a pure touch of white flower and spring he always hold onto. It was sweet that they always been together, even until the end of time.
"By the way, dinner's ready!"
Both of them paused when they heard Aliyah shouted--while preparing food for everyone, the the delicacies in Naraka are edible and healthy for them to consume it to avoid the negative effects of these strange ingredients. They found out these delicacies can cure the negative health conditions and toxins, such as purifying and recovery status of their endurance. The food that has been prepared is a feast with a roasted turkey, Western, Eastern and Asian cuisines along caviars, alongside with variety of nuts as well. There are desserts such as chocolates, fruits and whipped cream and syrups served as well, courtesy from the Naraka's kitchen. "How's your narcolepsy, Kaname?"
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Kayla asked, seeing her superior eating casually as if he already overcame his weakness. "It's been alright, I've been used to sleep in daytime but it's not bad like before," Kaname lied, raising his brow with his sarcastic tone and fed the roasted corn to the huge hellhound who sat down by his side. "It seems that the food from this realm purifies the toxins and negativity from our weaknesses, yet their toxicity inside could just be a possibility," Hokuri explained, earning nods from them. "Are you talking about our toxic side?" Hifumi asked.
Hokuri froze, somewhat slandering the fuckery out of him for 'correcting' him. He almost threw the fork at the younger male, growling irritably while Kayla held him by his waist. "Anyway, I think it's alright--even if its' toxic! IT'S STILL A GOOD FOOD!" Aliyah stated while slamming the table, making them all laughed and agreed. Luca was relaxing on his seat, glancing to the sky and observing the scenery like a daydreamer.
'Samudrartha's Compass...'
Lastier thought after they finished their dinner together, his eyes opened in unison with Alda's when they were in the balcony of the tower--eyeing the view. 'Could be possible? But, I have no idea what they're supposed to be…' he thought, rubbing his chin with a hum. "Lastier, have you heard about 'Samudrartha's Compass'?"
Alda suddenly asked him, her eyes were locked to the sky which was burning in flames and agony. He stared at his beloved wife, he nodded calmly to her. "The artifact itself was considered to be lost, so I believe if we find it--it will lead us to the very core of Phantom Samsara. It is said to be in Naraka, since my grandfather once told me about it during his travel to the Underworld and got me a lot of books from different realms. Only the knowledge can open the door of truth, and the only people who can get into this dimension is the 'chosen ones'… and I didn't expect we didn't get harmed in here."
Alda nodded which she understood about the origin of the ancient artifact, grabbing a feather pens and wrote down her notes and reports regarding the origins of the world. The most powerful item of divine originated by Samudrartha himself, a King who ruled his kingdom in the 'Endless Plains' that is located far, far away from the reality of the universes, as the stories depicted an abstract mythical creature called Samudrartha who was unknown about his real identity--an almighty creator who put rules on these parallel universes including the Phantom Samsara.
Hokuri was illustrating the Phantom Samsara on his notebook that he brought with him, he made sketch-notes about the details of their exploration on the land as he sat next to a tombstone. When he finished his drawing, he saw a small Phantom Beast was there--an ostrich-like creature that stared at him fluttering her wings. "Um, hello…? Are you…?"
Hokuri greeted, seeing the innocent little Phantom Beast tilted her head. But when the creature raised her leg, he screamed after he got reminded on how he almost got chased by an ostrich that he enraged them on purpose--just because he's curious on their weird ways. "GET AWAY FROM ME, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! IT'S AN OSTRICH, AND IT'S OUT FOR VENGEANCE--"
Hifumi snickered seeing the panic Hokuri, before the ostrich monster kicked and slamming his face to the floor--the creature walked away in fluttering her wings. "And on that day we can see Hokuri suffered a broken nose... end recording!" Kayla said while holding a handycam, she was snickering as Luca had an idea. "Fuck... I hate ostrich for fucks sake," Hokuri growled, turning his head to them.
"Luca. This better a good prank if you want to meet the fucking lava serpents by their own pool," he threatened the silver white-haired young man, making Luca laugh with joy and pride. Senju was studying the Phantom Beasts who were harmless type of creatures, noting down every information about their behavior. Hokuri had to fix the broken large disc portal after the collision caused its material to collapse, he contacted someone for 'retrieving' the piece of gold ring that he used as a conductor of portal activation for the materials' parts. He needed this for the transportation, since the gate was already far apart from the dimensional stability. "Do you need help, Prof? Because I have an interest with advanced technology and stuff," Senju offered, before Hokuri snapped his fingers.
"Yeah, can you wait for those four? Well... they are once Lastier's watchdogs during his days in Indonesian Secret State Service--but they still part of him."
Senju blinked as the Indonesian stared at his superior, this is the first time he heard Lastier had a watchdogs before he became a director in there. 'Colleagues…?' he thought. Lastier kept his hands behind his back as he stared at the volcanic tornadoes, Alda was studying the Naraka Fire and its history alongside the geological structure of it. She hoped they're going to help their research going smoothly, the presence of these denizens were helping them did went well. "Alright..."
He muttered, turning around to walk out from the tower to look around for them. Like, how the fuck they can access this realm because the portal got destabilized after their entrance. Until, he saw a huge ass explosion on the other side. That made him pale-faced, seeing the four figures were fighting against the Padishah--one of the Vipralopa-class Phantom Beasts and they defeated it effortlessly. "Wait a sec, is that…?" Senju said, glaring at the view.
Reznandya "Reza" Hidayat, the thirty-one years old Indonesian fellow stood on the ground, wiping off the sweat from his forehead. He has a short but slightly messy bluish-black short hair with longer bangs, the longer one was almost entirely cover and fell on his eyes, he has a pair of gold-colored eyes and snowy complexion. He was quite tall like Lastier while he appears to be young and handsome, he wears a black formal shirt and white tie underneath a dark gray suit blazer and matching pants with black leather shoes. Wearing a black sunglasses with the black gloves. He wears a two pairs of green-colored family bracelets around his left wrist, a dark-gold dragon decorating around the bracelets.
Ricky Hermansyah, the twenty-eight years Indonesian fellow landed on the ground, before he sheathed his weapons back into his holsters. He has a dark pale-blue hair with light streaks at the end in overgrown mullet with uneven long bangs covered almost his light violet-eyes and the left side almost swept to the side--he has porcelain complexion with red burnt scar on his left cheek sprawled near his nose and eyes along his neck. He has piercings on his right ear, with a helix that attached on his left ear. His height is slightly shorter than Reza, his attire consists of black formal shirt with white tie and batik-patterns on the shirt underneath his black trench coat and he wears black pants tucked into his dark brown knee-length boots--his sleeves were rolled to his midway wrists and wears black gloves with buckles around his waist.
Sarina Rahardja, the twenty-five years old Indonesian girl sighed softly, before she adjusted her spectacles after cleaning off the blood from her clothes. She was a bespectacled beauty with a rounded spectacles, having a long black hair arranged into large bangs and a hip-length long hair tied in single-braid--while retaining her light fair complexion, a pair of large blue eyes, thin eyebrows, and slim posture underneath her black attributes and a white high-collared cape draped over her shoulders--she has a batik-patterns on her attributes and wears a black thigh-high boots underneath her dress.
And lastly is Zahra "Rara" Purnama, the twenty-six years old girl stomped on the demon's head-before she spun her rod and now captured it by her hand. She has a tomboyish appearance with short white hair with a tan complexion and amber-colored eyes, she wears a black sleeveless turtleneck dress under her white cape that draped over her shoulders--with a batik patterns along orange and green patterns--she also wears a black knee-length black boots an black long arm guards along brown buckles around her waist.
"You must be one of Lastier's subordinates, right?"
Reza asked with a smile, causing Senju to be speechless for a moment. He nodded, giving the older gentleman a handshake. "Yes, my name is Shendy Soemitra, but one of my colleagues called me Senju so... feel free to address me by that," he introduced himself, shaking hands with him and glancing at the others. Ricky was checking the situation, having his cool-guy yet intimidating attitude based on his voice with a straight face. "It's been a while, four of you," Lastier greeted them, shaking their hands as well.
"Sir! You're here, and good to see you're safe here! Are you injured, sir?" Rara asked, showing her concern towards his superior as he shook his head, waving his hands to brush off her worries and concerns. "No, everything is under control," he stated, his wife Alda walked towards them with a smile. "It's good to see you guys here, sorry about that Shendy..." she apologized to Senju, he nodded. "It's alright, Madame."
Ricky held up the piece of gold ring that Hokuri requested, he spotted the older fellow walking to them. "Oh, you got it? Thank you. Senju, please tell Professor Hokuri regarding the piece that he needed it here," Lastier stated, handing him the piece of gold to Senju. "Roger that."
Reza saw Senju walked to the tower with the piece of gold ring with his weapons, he patted the young man's shoulder--almost scaring the shit out of him. "Hehe, who's that rookie? You work here?" the senior of them asked, staring at him with a cheeky grin. Senju shivered, hearing his deep intimidating voice startled him.
"Um… yes."
"Relax, buddy! I'm not gonna bite you! Sorry about the scares, it's just that--we were quite shocked seeing a bunch of youngsters in this place, even if it's not that dead and all," Zahra said, looking over at him--seems like the female senior of theirs getting along with them. Senju nodded, trying his hardest not to be uncomfortable with them. Hokuri was still ambitious in finding the three Dharma-class serpent Phantom Beasts, he really wanted to find Brahmana, Vishnuda and Shivada so bad even if he doesn't have their pictures. He only knew the stories and ancient legends, he's pretty amazed that he's been able to travel to this place by himself and lucky to meet Senju that time, or else he would've been in dire trouble.
As the members greeted each other, they began their exploration in finding the three serpents in Naraka. Hokuri was getting thrilled that made Hifumi want to tease him so bad, Kaname was holding back from lecturing him to let him be for a while, it's not like he never acted like a kid either. Kayla was holding the camcorder as Aliyah carried her clipboard, seeing that their two leaders and their other colleagues were assisting Hokuri to find the three beasts. "Damn, I didn't know he has a soft spot with those three Serpents," she commented.
Luca blinked his ruby red-colored eyes, he stared up at the sky. "Who wouldn't...? He and Lastier are obsessed with it since they traveled a lot together. Although, the stories aren't always accurate for factual purposes or history," he said, earning a nod from Kayla. Meanwhile, their seniors were talking to Lastier while Alda walked with them, getting along with them. Hokuri was chilling with Hifumi and Kaname, he can see that Senju are not quite talkative like Hifumi, mostly because he was a person with few words--Hifumi was the lively type while Senju loves silence and peace.
Even though they're young, but the best thing is--they're quite self-disciplined, Senju has a quiet confidence towards himself. Even the other four, who were Lastier's comrades in the past.
They headed to the abode where the three serpents resides, Lastier stopped when he realized something. He stopped Reza from moving, causing the others who walk with them noticed his sudden actions. His closed eyes scanned around the surroundings, narrowing his eyes slightly. Hokuri look around the abode for a moment, before he realized something. "I think I forgot to tell you guys about their 'territories' where they never left unless necessary," he reasoned, earning an eyebrow-raise from Reza.
"What do you mean by necessary? Their dwellings are located in three places, right? To make things easier--it's fine," Reza stated, Hifumi and Kaname remained silent--they already had an answer to this problem. While the other four has an idea, Lastier wasn't expecting he gets to meet the legendary Beasts he searched for them for years--no, centuries. "Which abode did we enter?" Aliyah asked, showing her curiosity since the geography of the realm itself were not so easy to handle with it.
"Hmm... Shivada? Vishnuda?"
Kayla asked, Hifumi's response was a brief silence which telling her what she needed to hear. "Shivada," he said, affirming his answer. Hokuri had his mind scattered into blank, before he cursed. "Saying 'fuck' is better than saying 'shit' but seriously... this isn't Shivada's abode," he stated, turning around to face them. "From what I studied, Shivada's abode is nothing but aggression--which means there will be dead Phantom Beasts around the land, while Vishnuda's abode is completely... COMPLETELY passive-aggressive and unpredictable serpent that it might appear anytime through its 'unexpected entrance'. As for Brahmana's abode... it's dead silent, a dead fucking silent one. Just in case someone has lost their sanity."
Senju was helping Lastier find the solution to locate the serpent's abode, especially since the land was chaotic as hell that he noticed he did bumped into Ricky on purpose and just laughed it off even if he apologized. "So, this abode is... Brahmana's right?" Ricky asked, having his intimidating look as he eyed him. Hokuri shook his head, looking at him. "Brahmana is the strongest of the three and the most notorious ones, its solitary and elusive dwelling cannot be found in the outer sanctum of the Underworlds. It doesn't have an abode like the others--it's elusive, mysterious and dead quiet. That's why..."
They fell silent when they heard a growl coming from their surroundings.
Hifumi glared at him. "What the actual fuck did you do...?!" he yelled, Hokuri shrugged casually--not that he's worried about it. "Yeah yeah, blame your own brother," Kaname muttered irritably before he was yanked to the floor by a giant steel snake's coils and was thrashed around as it tried to crush him. "Golden Demon!" Kaname yelled, before his female sword-wielding phantom manifested and slashed the coil--which completely releasing the coil and protecting him from there. "This is..."
The large black serpent with dark blue scales, a pair of neon green and lime green eyes with white pupils along a backward black horns along armored scales. Their mouths are as black as the void, with large teeth that reminded him of the prehistoric creatures he saw in a museum, it's like a carnivorous and omnivorous plant-like head adorned by four huge and numerous deadly sharp bladed fangs each resembling a dagger's or a blade. "Oh fuck, this is Brahmana?!" Hifumi shouted, the cobra hissed at them while it opened its venomous and venom-drooling jaws, their large tongue moved together at the same time and intertwined like a cobra dancing in a circle with four open-jaws.
Hokuri was in awe, this is what he wanted to see after many years of research and search! "Wow, oh damn... the fuck, it's so beautiful!" Hokuri commented, standing up and clapping for the serpent's appearance. Everyone fell in disbelief when they saw him clapping and praising the monster, feeling weirdly content with its presence. "Let me handle this, I can translate with them," Hokuri said, leaving the perplexed officers in doubt. He slowly stepped towards them, trying to reach his hand towards their heads before hissing at him. The serpent was waiting for something from his hands, trying to tell him something that they can't recognize. "Hey, it's me... Hokuri Deinukai. I'm a human, see... I'm not a demon," he reassured, then they tried to see if he's alive or not. Seeing that he's breathing with normal signs of life, they blinked its eyes.
The serpent seems to be in attempt of saying something or tried to communicate, Hokuri can see that they're quite hesitant--or perhaps distrustful in him as well. "They says... we have ten seconds to run."
OH FUCK.
"Say what now!?"
But when they were about to run, the cobra slammed its coils in rapid succession like a pendulum--hitting their feet before they successfully escaped from them, leaping away to dodge the incoming incoming whip-like fangs attack. Meanwhile, Ricky wondered what's going on in there when he was walking beside Rara--until they heard a chomping sound of beast eating something. "What's that--" Rara shushed him, before their eyes widened to see the large serpent; the one and only Shivada--who was eating the dead Phantom Beasts hungrily with its voracity and it somehow... noticed their presence.
It is a yellow-colored serpent with a black horns and armored dark red scales on its serpentine body, it has a set of green-colored eyes and the appearance similar of a King Cobra--but in the more larger shape. The beast has a sharp jaws with the gills, and has venomous fangs and canines; one snap could lead to amputation and loss of body parts-the venom also can create blindness, deafness and speechless. "SHIT!" both of them yelled, they tried to stun the beast through their attacks but no avail--which they ended up got chased by the voracious serpent.
Reza and Sarina wondered if they entered the 'right' abode, which they encountered the last Dharma-class Phantom Beast known as Vishnuda--the serpent that Hokuri was talking about. It is a crimson colored serpent with scaled armor on its serpentine body and a sharp fangs and canines--and they immediately running away when they encountered the poisonous spit balls or the toxic spores that can make their target weaker and vulnerable at its disposal.
The Trilaksana Organization members had to fight the beasts, which is difficult due to their powerful abilities and sheer durability against their weaponry. They were cornered, they got injured and they had to avoid their poisons from hitting their skins and organs--knowing how difficult to tame the beasts. Hokuri tried to find the solution for these three Dharma-class Phantom Beasts, until he realized something--recalling how to tame the beasts for that long while. 'What was their weakness again? Right...'
"Do you have a taser?"
Lastier heard his question, making his eyes furrowed. "A taser... The one and only solution is the 'rod'?" he repeated the last two words as Hokuri turned around to him--before looking around the place until he nodded, giving him a hand. "Sir, I am fully aware about your knowledge. The rod can help," he explained. The rod is an object with the abilities to tame the beasts, Lastier understood what was the actual solution for them. "I know how to make them tame, leave this to me."
His ambition...
He stood in the center of them and used his device in a taser-form, he swung it to attack the oncoming serpents. He used his speed to counter their long whips using his reinforced taser-sword in-form of the electric baton, releasing a strong electric shock to their bodies and make them fall down towards the ground. Hokuri watched the three of them growled, before he smirked. "Don't worry, your 'father' here is pretty gentle compared to those who are ruthless," he said, and when the cobra hit the ground with its whips--he smacked the handle of his taser-rod onto its jaws to stun them. "Here comes the last part, as well..."
He twisted the handle of the taser and unleashed the shock wave, like an electromagnetic pulse around the place that electrocuted their scales. The three of them fell defeated, which gives Hokuri the chance to tame them so that they won't harm him as well. "These three are part of a legendary triplets, they're very strong and brave," he commented, with Lastier silently agreed. He really wanted to find the artifact once they finish taming the three beasts, because there's something suspicious going on in there. "You guys can go ahead, the rest of us will keep an eye on them."
They went to the temple nearby and heading up the stairway to reach the area, soon entering inside to see the circular-shaped dent on the wall. Surrounded by the stone lanterns and the apsara statues, which including the Balinese demon statues that guarding the temple. Lastier tilted his head a little, his closed eyes observing the dent before he look back at the two artifacts on his palms. 'Hmm… does this means something?' he thought, before he spoke to his wife. "Alda, can you hold this?"
Alda saw him handed the Sumeru's Time-Turner so she accepted the artifact, she stared at the dent before she saw him nodded at her. The married pair slowly inserted the artifacts into the dents, then they stepped back with their subordinates and colleagues awaiting for the reaction. Reza watched the tomb slowly cracked and dissipated into ashes and debris, revealing the most beautiful artifact they have witnessed.
Padma's Halo Flower.
The artifact appears to be a regular plant with flowers that similar to jasmine and orchid, having white petals, an orange and gold stigma and green stem. With the small dark brown pot with Poleng cloth around the pot neatly, the flower resembles the flowers mentioned-except with a swirly petals that blossomed. The artifact never withers due to the purity and regeneration of the flowers, when one of the flowers 'consumed' which led to temporary changes on one's presence to become beautiful.
Kayla was astonished by the sight of the flower, even Aliyah absolutely admired the beauty of the flowers that shown. "So beautiful…" she complimented, until her eyes widened to see Alda plucked one of the flowers and the plant regrowth. "Madame, wait--I don't think it was safe to consume…"
Lastier watched his wife ate the flower which made them silent, nothing bad… happened--but seeing her hairpin and headdress fell from her hair which her husband got it with his fingers. Her hairstyle changed from straight and back-length that pulled into a bun earlier into a short, wavy bob with her usual similar bangs. They were astonished by the change of her hairstyle, which her husband trying his hardest not to get flustered from his closed eyes and smile.
"Madame, your hair! Take a look!"
Kayla showed the handheld mirror as she wanted her to see herself, making Alda surprised by the style as it suits her from the effect. The sight made her embarrassed that her husband saw how it looks like, touching the locks of her hair. "Wait… my hair… how did this…?" she muttered.
Her hair reverted back to normal length, which only lasted temporarily since she only took one bite. "Oh well, it didn't last long," Alda sighed softly, while Lastier opened his eyes and coughed a little--still flabbergasted by his wife's hairstyle earlier. "The last artifact that we'll retrieve before we'll be leaving this realm, please carry the artifact carefully," he ordered before he and Alda took back the other two artifacts from the dents, they saluted both of them with a nod.
"Finally, we're finished!"
Hokuri declared, announcing everyone to gather around outside the tower as it brought attention to them. He watched the three serpents were circling the place, his hands on his hips with a proud smirk adorned on his features. He saw his subordinates were trying their hardest not to disturb his masterpieces, even Lastier was rather baffled seeing Hokuri's accomplishment of taming the beasts. "Come here, I brought some foods for you," he said, showing them the restrained Vipralopa-class Phantom Beasts from Tamrisra, Avichi, Rijisha, Samhata, Kakola, Yamakarta, and Patala. "Don't be shy, take it."
After he presented the beasts as dinner for the three Phantom Serpents, the rest of the Trilaksana Organization and his superior soon gathered together as they were getting ready to depart back from the Phantom Samsara to the human world, Lastier was satisfied with the artifact--honestly he wanted to see Alda's 'new' hairstyle without her ornaments. But he was aware that there's a possibility the plant only modified someone's looks, for temporary. His eyes behind the shades stared at the artifacts, sighing softly. "Finally..." he muttered, lookin at Hokuri who was petting the three massive serpents as they voraciously ate the creatures by ripping their flesh open by its bare jaws.
'He's truly something I have to recognize,' he thought, eyeing the scientist before he tilted his head a little.
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