The magic prison alarm was already echoing through the air. There was no riot, let alone a blaze of smoke. The only mass panic was that of the bungling warders, not the courageous prisoners. A great distraught was among them because a prisoner had disappeared from the cage. A special prisoner in a special dungeon with a special level of security.
Meanwhile, four people awaited from a distance, enduring the din of alarms. One of them, a man with a stumped hand, was the least patient of all.
"Sir Kirillios, why are we waiting in the middle of the meadow in the dark?" he asked the figure sitting on the grass.
A frustrated click escaped from the mouth of another person who carried a suitcase belonging to the one called Kirillios. The contents of the suitcase were unknown to anyone other than the owner, but he said it contained powerful magical equipment to eradicate dangerous mages like the current missing captive. A piece of Arcane-powered equipment for sure, the carrier guessed.
"I still don't understand what business we have to visit Vanir," the carrier made a statement as well.
"Come on, Nixas and Caeso," Kirillios interrupted, still lounging on the cosy grass. "Don’t complain. The Eternal Empire gave us the mandate to watch over the necromancer until he is successfully transported to Roma."
"I didn't hear that from the higher-ups."
"You heard it from me, man, as you always have in the past. Why don't you trust me now, o, Caeso?"
"You didn't hear from the higher-ups, yet you still doubt that our mission is still essential?" the fourth agent joined the conversation, "Especially after the wild animals ran amok all over Vanaheim yesterday, and that Crimsonmane lady disappeared during the terrorist attack on Vanir's magic center at the same time?"
Kirillios extended his hand to that agent. "You hear Vernasius! It's a good thing we were here a few days earlier. If we had lost track of Agosh Grendi too, I can’t imagine what the world would have become, man!"
"Yeah, I heard all that," Nixas responded again. "It's just that I still question why we waited in the meadow instead of going in search of that damn necromancer!"
Kirillios was still observing the empty field around the prison like a hawk's eye. Soon he smiled and answered Nixas' question. "That's because... he's still around."
"Sir, he escaped forty-five minutes ago!"
There was no further response. Kirillios simply pointed a finger at a figure jogging from the northeast side of the prison. The figure was wearing a white prison shirt and his feet were bare. His jog was rather that of a leisure, right towards the four men.
The three subordinate agents were already alert with their magic circles. They could immediately recognise Agosh Grendi's feature from the pair of glowing red dots coming from the visage of his orc guise. When the distance between them dwindled to mere steps, Kirillios ascended, assuming an upright posture.
Agosh laid out a broad smile and opened his arms wide as well, returning the warm welcome from the sorcerers.
"Hey, hey, he-hey, I'm back!" Agosh cheered.
"Agosh. You're not going anywhere this time," Kirillios retorted. His tone was even, there was no threat in it. It was as if he and his interlocutor were bantering instead of threatening.
Unlike Kirillios, Nixas turned his back on his unit leader and howled a bluff. "You heard what he said! You'd better step back into your burrow, you wretched creature! I may have a stumped arm, but that doesn't mean it's out of commission to perform magic!"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, mate. Calm your tatas a bit, will you? Why can't I talk for a while? You think what can I do now as for this moment?"
"Screw you—"
"Nixas, no." Kirillios' rebuttal blocked Nixas' undaunted action.
"But, Sir..."
"He has something to say, doesn't he? Let him speak."
Nixas seemed to be perplexed by his commander’s recent behaviour. Kirillios was indifferent most of the time, that was his disposition. But his mannerisms when he met Agosh tonight were completely different. He seemed neither intent on intimidating nor eager to cast a killing spell on the corpse mage. One suspected there was something between them.
The necromancer snickered. He looked down, then spoke his mind. "I've learned something. Losing my magical abilities really changed the way I look at people. It made me realize the troubled vision of your people. All their limitations and resistance, only to end up thralls to others. Truly, you are destined to be liberators!"
"What is this man talking about, Sir Kirillios?" Caeso muttered to the chief. No replies were given still; Kirillios remained transfixed by Grendi's ramblings.
"All these years I have been applying the advice taught to me by the orcs of the Demon Continent. However, I had a thought. If my life is enjoyable because of pursuing one worldly pleasure and moving on to another, wouldn't a life without the need for flesh jointly be the pinnacle of that enjoyment? You have enough of everything, and that happiness doesn't cease! Therefore, I intend to change my way of life a little. From now on, I will be fully devoted to your guild."
Serving the guild? The corpse mage wanted to ally with the Eternal Empire? Surely the Eternal Empire would not take such a low step! Still, confusion spread among them. Nixas and Caeso's necks looked back and forth between Kirillios and Agosh Grendi. Both of them had already grown suspicious of these two individuals. Vernasius in the back felt ostracised.
Agosh knelt before them. He puffed out his chest and showed a sense of resignation. "Give me the Protos particle! Let me taste this cursed magic once more. I vow to deliver Alicia Crimsonmane and her magic orb to you, so that the will of the Protos may be done, and I may share in that eternal bliss!"
"Protos Particles?" Nixas became agitated. "Sir Kirillios, what is the meaning of this? Without any disrespect, I demand an explanation from you regarding this mandate and the basis of my service!"
A sigh escaped Kirillios' mouth. He shook his head while massaging the bridge of his nose. Nixas' right hand was already clenched into a fist, and Kirillios knew that his men were already preparing to cast a magic circle directed at his neck, if they did not get an explanation that satisfied their curiosity.
"Hah. That's enough of your nonsense. Caeso, the suitcase, please. I've had it with this guy. Let's get rid of him and go back to rest."
"Wait, Sir Kirillios! Shouldn't we make sure he gets to Roma?" asked the suitcase carrier.
Vernasius was willing to reply to the question, saying, "If those under surveillance rebel and go against the country's vision of peace, then those authorised may kill him prematurely. This is the law of the Eternal Empire, remember?"
"But... that person hasn't fought back, has he?"
Agosh was still on his knees.
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"He's too dangerous to be pitied. Killing him now would be mutually beneficial to all parties," replied Vernasius again.
It was not the first time that all the hierarchies in the Eternal Empire had argued under the pretext of achieving the greater good. There might also be some truth in Vernasius' words if one could think about it, according to Caeso. A mage terrorist who had slaughtered many men should be eradicated if the opportunity arose. Why bother waiting to be formally executed by the distant Eternal Empire? He should never receive such abundant mercy!
The suitcase carrier's hand handed over what belonged to his master. Kirillios opened the locks on each side and revealed what was thought to be the ultimate mage-killing instrument.
A deer mask.
The man lifted the mask with both hands due to its large size. He inserted his head from the hole under the neck of it. After adjusting his head for comfort, Kirillios was now a mage in a deer mask—with his long throat sticking out.
"Well..." Kirillios asked Nixas, his voice muffled, "What do you think?"
Of course, Nixas was speechless. Whether he was amazed, scared, or completely lost in thought, only he knew. He remembered when Kirillios made fun of Alicia's outfit as a "costume party dress" during the incident at Trinketshore station, yet she still looked more attractive than what was in front of him just now.
"I can’t tell, Sir...," Nixas replied shortly.
"I know. It's beyond reason, isn't it? But come on, man, just say it. At least say I'm charming." Kirillios with his deer mask swayed left and right to get an impression of his men.
Not knowing what to say, Nixas simply followed Kirillios' request. "Well... m-maybe, you look intimidating... a-and dashing. Then let's beat this person up now!"
"Okay, man! Let's do it!" The jaws on the deer's head suddenly moved on their own, even though Kirillios' head did not fit into half the length of the mask's neck. The teeth of the plant-eating mascara turned into those of a carnivorous animal.
And in that instant, Kirillios leapt up and pounced on Nixas, his own subordinate.
"S-Sir Kirillios! What are you doing?"
Nixas' screams went unheeded. Kirillios, transformed into a deer demon, lunged at him with jaws as strong as steel and teeth as sharp as razors, ripping into his neck like tearing newspaper. A fountain of blood erupted. Half of his neck was gone, they could even catch a glimpse of his windpipe! Bellowing for help was the stumped sorcerer's last resort, but alas, no sound ever came out—other than the chorus of blood spurting, grass scraping, and the deer's rhythmic chewing.
An offensive magic circle had formed on Caeso's hands. Just before the lethal sparks were about to be unleashed, Vernasius turned Caeso's body and pushed him down. He then fell on Caeso, and his body was scattered into a swarm of olgoi-khorkhoi worm pups!
They might be mere small pups, but a flesh-eating intestinal worm was a flesh-eating intestinal worm, regardless of the size. They would be more delightful to devour something more than ground beef congee.
Caeso snarled like a slaughtered dog as the monstrous worms picked at his limb tissue. Agosh was still there, still resting knees on the ground. He stifled his guffaw despite such an unorthodox comedy show.
The worms left what was left of Caeso's carcass—bones covered in warm raspberry sauce (no, blood, that was)—and merged again as a human. This time it was not Vernasius who appeared, but the hulking Moth-Man. The deer had also had its fill of Nixas's neck and bile.
"Stand up, Agosh," said the Deer-Man. When Agosh stood up, the Deer-Man grabbed his white shirt and screamed right in the necromancer's face.
"Give us one reason why we should trust you! All this recent frenzy happened because you deliberately thwarted your own work! That time in the magical court! You almost blew our cover!"
"I didn't know you were one of the four agents of Roma, I swear, I swear, I swear!" Agosh replied.
"How could we let you work without supervision?"
"Then why didn't you just kidnap the child, you idiot!"
Agosh's cheeks quivered at the deer's another screaming!
Then his expression contorted into defeat. "Just kidding, just kidding. You can keep an eye on me now. Look, I'm... sorry about that time. Will you, will you, will you forgive me?" The corpse mage cackled. "Like I said, you and I share the same goal now; which is to save mankind."
"Is that so? I kill you now, and you can still join us without losing those benefits!" Deer Head immediately opened his muzzle wide.
"I can find that lady, you know!"
The deer's bloody, slimy mouth stopped moving. Kirillios's voice instead came out of the mask' still-gaping mandible. "We have a worldwide network to find her."
"That doesn't mean you have to waste time travelling to every corner of the earth, right? That's what you told me—isn't that why you used my service in the first place? The previous users of my services recognized me as greater than 'The Pigeon'."
"We never hired you to track down the Miracle Child." Deer Head's claws tapped the necromancer's chest. "You were paid to kidnap the child, then make you and your disgusting clan the scapegoats, so that they wouldn't put all their brains into finding us!"
"But still, the review of my services speaks for itself."
The deer's mascara jaws slowly clenched. He held back for the Demon Continent's signature dessert. The meal for another time, perhaps.
"You find her now!" The Deer-Man said softly, full of emphasis.
"I need my Protos particle, Sir."
The Deer-Man then fished out a chunk of black rock from inside a sleeve hole. Excitedly, Agosh Grendi inhaled his Protos particles; unabashedly, even until the rock sublimated into nothingness! The danger of overdose was not a concern for a figure like him, who was already degenerate.
After magic resumed flowing in Agosh Grendi's veins, he gave a respectful bow. "Your wish is my wish."
Agosh Grendi took something out of his mouth. The night with only a few stars was not enough to reveal the form of the object he was holding.
"Hnnggg What have you got there?" asked the insect mage.
"This?" Agosh Grendi's eyes behind the visor could clearly see the red-brown hair. "A souvenir I got from Miss Crimsonmane back on the train. Transported through the gap of my toes when they dragged me out. I smoke this stuff all the time to get rid of boredom. And you know the best part, the sweetness in these hairs doesn't wear off, it doesn't wear off!
Behind the deer mask, Kirillios certainly grimaced in disgust. "Sometimes I wonder why people like him are also allowed a share in Eternal Bliss."
Strands of Alicia's hair were stuffed into Nixas's already stiff mouth. Before he began the ceremony, Agosh asked again, "I'd like to borrow this person, if it’s okay."
"He is yours now," Kirillios replied.
"You don't need his skin?" Moth Man took the turn to ask.
"He's a nobody. No one cares, even if he lives."
The necromancer's fingernails scratched at the corpse's skin, stringing together a script most alien for humans. After a while, Agosh finally chanted in his distinctive voice:
"
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"
"RAAAAAAARGGGHHH!"
Nixas rose as Agosh Grendi's lackey. He got up, then ran away from them with his intestines sticking out, enjoying the breeze. The contents of his stomach were falling everywhere, but it was not like he cared about such trivial matters.
"There. I'll let you know if that handsome Nixas finds Miss Alicia's whereabouts." The necromancer walked past them and waved.
"Don't have in your mind, another foolish act!" exclaimed the Deer-Man.
"Well, may we all be gods!" Agosh burst into laughter with his one hand forming the sign of the antlers, then placed the sign gap right in his eye. []