We see a little bird flying through the beautiful blue sky filled with completely white clouds. The little bird begins to dive down until we can fully see... the wonderful kingdom of Ystir, with its great walls and advanced watchtowers, forming a wide circle that protects its lands. In this kingdom, there are three entrances: one in the east, another in the west, and another in the south. There is no entrance in the north, as the palace is located here, and beyond the harvest fields, there is a large canyon, a very dangerous place with natural traps. Ystir has four main commercial areas but also has other zones like the northwest and southeast. Here we can find various businesses, such as bars, libraries, different types of stores, and, of course, a large number of inhabitants' houses, both in the main zones and in other areas.
We follow our little bird, who now rests in a tree beside a new friend. As the new couple cuddles, we see Louis nearby, wearing a blue trench coat. It has its characteristic flaps on the chest, without any pockets or buttons, except for the adjustment straps on the cuffs and, of course... his blue collar on the chest. On the back, he had a dark blue yoke that covered the upper part and extended to the shoulders. Additionally, he wore a back waistband and an opening at the lower part of the coat. He wore a blue compression shirt, dark blue pants, dark blue gloves, and red leather boots, which rose just below his knees, with a simple and sturdy design. They had no decorations, except for a cuff at the top. Louis was running with a box in his arm as many cars passed on his right, and the sun began to light up the streets with its wonderful splendor.
"This way!" he said, stopping and seeing two paths to take. While running, we could see people working on mechanical items. "Goodbye, Louis!" a man shouted from afar, waving. "Goodbye, Mr. Brin!" he responded, happily waving back as he continued on his way.
"I made it... Whew..." he exclaimed, slightly tired, in front of a house door. Louis knocked on the door and heard a lot of noise behind it.
"Finally! Thank you for bringing it!" said a rather disheveled woman. You could see the fatigue on her face and also the desperation she was going through. She instantly took the package Louis was carrying and opened it as quickly as she could, assembling the pieces with great speed.
"Mom! Where are you?" It sounded like six kids shouting those words at once. The woman, desperate, smashed a potion onto the pieces when she finished putting them together. The pieces, along with the potion, formed a clay doll with a human shape, much taller than Louis.
"Incredible!" said Louis, watching the doll transform.
"Please! Take care of them while I rest; I can't be like this any longer!" she said almost in tears, kneeling before the clay doll.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. You can rest," the doll replied, going towards where the children were, who continued shouting.
"Thank you, I couldn't go on any longer..." said the woman, standing up and closing the door.
"You're welcome!" Louis left and walked down the sidewalk while cars passed on his left. "Poor thing... Is that what having children is like? Though I heard more than one..." he thought, marking a check in his notebook.
"Make this place know suffering!" shouted Dark in Louis's mind, showing him a destroyed scenario.
"Don't start!" Louis shouted, annoyed, while a man behind him got startled and fell to the ground.
"Human emotions will make you weak!" he retorted.
"Leave me alone..." he replied, lowering his voice while helping the man up. "Apologies, sir."
"Grrr! I won’t let your humanity damage who we truly are!" he replied, coming close in his mind.
"I already got rid of you once; I'll do it again, but alone, as I left Alahead to learn to do things on my own," he said seriously, showing irritation on his face. Dark simply faded from Louis's mind, growling as his face glowed from the lava within him.
"What a nuisance to live with these intrusive thoughts... But at least he’s stopped showing those images. Though in dreams, he has more control... Drinking those anti-dream potions helped. Thank you, Amelia! I'm glad she helped me when I delivered a package to her library... Still, I must not let people see me talking like this; they’ll think I'm crazy and hate me! I don't want to worry the Professor," he thought as he kept walking, showing a bit of worry on his face. "I can do it! Just as Master Rei taught me," he said with determination after shaking his head several times.
After a long walk, Louis returned to Professor Maxwell's new house, which was located a few streets away from the PT agency. Louis opened the door with some keys and entered.
"I'm back!" he shouted, closing the door again.
Professor Maxwell's house was two stories tall. The entryway, shaped like a tunnel, had a large window to one side that led to his office. The walls had red wallpaper and a black carpet covered the entire floor. Upon entering, there was a staircase leading to a small landing. To the left of the entry stairs was the kitchen; further to the right and ahead was the living room; at the end of the hallway were the stairs leading to the second floor.
"Mr. Louis! You've adapted very well; now you deliver packages quite quickly," said Hanks, pleased with Louis's achievement while holding a tray with a teapot.
"Louis, Hanks, please don't call me ‘Mr.,’" he said with a slight smile, approaching him.
"I like to call you that, sir," Hanks replied, heading to the kitchen.
"Yes, but being called that makes me feel old or as if I were older than you," Louis replied, climbing the stairs.
"I see... Then I'll try not to say it," he responded, understanding his concern. "By the way, Professor Maxwell is expecting you in the office."
"Okay, thank you," Louis said, heading toward Professor Maxwell's office. "Professor, do you need anything?" he asked upon entering.
"Louis! Ha, you've memorized the kingdom's routes, haven't you? You no longer take as long as before. Two weeks to stop getting lost; I still remember last week when you got lost in the southwest zone, hahaha," he joked cheerfully, recalling the incident while sitting at his desk.
"Please don't remind me... It was so embarrassing, and Ririam scolded me just for that..." he said, slightly embarrassed and uncomfortable.
"Ha, sorry. As you know, things have been a bit calm, but Mei, after much work... or rather, torture..." he said, recalling what Mei told him to get the information. "Mei managed to get the men of Zthur, who attacked my other house the day I met you, to reveal Yeynos's hideout location... And she wants you to go to the agency to discuss it. But first... Do you really want to help this kingdom? You don’t have to if you don’t want to..." he said, switching to a more serious and firm tone.
"Should I go...? Yeynos... That guy wiped the floor with me... But... I should try to help, and I won’t just be someone passing through a kingdom. And Master Rei said always to do things that help the kingdom, and I like helping," he thought, remembering how easily Yeynos defeated him. "I'll go! I should try to help as much as I can, and seeing the others in action also interests me," he replied with a small smile.
"Good... then you may leave," he replied cheerfully with a smile.
"What? Now?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes, it would be better if you go now so as not to keep Mei waiting. This mission is very important," he replied conspiratorially.
"I'm off, then! Thank you!" he said excitedly, leaving the office.
"You're welcome..." he whispered with a smile as he watched him go.
"PT Agency... I wish I could see the place; I couldn't see much when I came in two weeks ago..." he thought while grabbing his katana and a blue bag in his room. "This outfit is more comfortable than the other one I used to wear; in the end, it wasn't so bad being forced to go into that store. Mr. Lowin did a good job... I wonder if the clothes are as durable as he said... Well, I'll find out," he said after leaving his room.
Louis left Professor Maxwell's house and ran toward PT Agency. Many people passed by him, and some recognized him and whispered.
"I should also give Mr. Lowin a gift for this bag; I like it a lot," he mentioned before arriving at the place, ignoring the people's murmurs. "This is it! I remember it perfectly; I don’t usually come by here..." he said, looking through the window next to the door. "Do they sell jewelry?" he said in surprise. "Right... I remember the professor said that to keep the king from finding out, they made a jewelry store to disguise it as an agency," he exclaimed, recalling what the professor told him, hitting his right fist with his left palm and heading to the door.
"Well, here we go!" Just as he was in front of the door, about to reach out to grab the handle, the door opened, and taking a few steps... there stood a dark-skinned woman in front of Louis. She had bright brown eyes, short neck-length brown hair; she stood 180 cm tall. She wore a fitted black high-neck top that contrasted with a cropped white blouse, which was snug in the upper torso area and left her well-defined abdomen exposed. She wore a loose-style brown jacket of light fabric, with yellow accents on the edges; the jacket reached down to her knees. She also wore two golden bracelets on her hands and had thin curved earrings, wore black martial arts shoes, and seemed to be hiding something in her jacket.
A sound escaped Louis' mouth, but he couldn’t say anything. "Huh?" he thought... His eyes fixed on her in amazement, feeling a warmth in his chest he couldn't explain.
"One blue eye and one red eye... Well, well! I found you. Hard not to with your eyes and your peculiar hair..." she remarked sarcastically, with a calm, deep voice, a subtle strength, but with reserved emotion. "Nice to meet you! My name is Dahlia Xitlari, but just call me Xitlari, please..." she frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked, noticing his silence and that he was staring at her.
"Uh... yes... I... I'm fine," he replied with difficulty, lowering his face, which was blushing, and he noticed Xitlari was hiding something in her jacket.
"Alright, let's go! Mei is waiting for us in her office," she said, turning and heading toward the door next to the counter.
"Sure," he said, entering and closing the door, then following her but keeping his distance. "I've never felt anything like this... in my chest... not even with lava covering my entire body," he thought, trying to shake off what had happened as he looked around the agency.
"Why are you keeping so far back?" she asked, annoyed, turning around.
"It's nothing! Well... I just... wanted to look around a bit first," he said shyly, with a slight blush he tried to hide, looking away.
"Huh! I see... I'll show you around," she said, feeling a bit bad for judging him.
"Huh...? Are you sure? I don’t want... to delay Miss Mei's mission," Louis asked.
"Yeah, it’s fine; I was going to pick you up at your house anyway. There’s time," she responded with a bit of repressed kindness. "The PT Agency looked small from the outside, but... it’s just a facade... Here’s the investigation area; it’s not very big, but it works. They prepare and create equipment here; they also research vital data that we need to expose Count Jens' fiasco," she said as she observed others without entering the room.
"Whoa, that’s amazing!" he said, looking at the investigators who used holographic devices, controlling them with their hands. "Huh? It’s like that time in my room," he thought as he noticed a white layer at the entrance, which didn’t have a door.
The room was 10x10, and they were creating an ice grenade, combining ice magic contained in a tiny sphere and embedding it in the grenade, which turned white; then, they threw it into a special container to test it, and the whole container froze.
"That’s incredible!" he said in awe, making people look at him because of his shout. "Uh? I’m sorry! It’s just that I love your technology," he said, placing his right hand behind his head with a slight smile.
"Thank you, kid!" said one of the researchers. "Yes, it’s appreciated," added a woman. "Thanks!" everyone in the room said at once.
"Hey! You’re Paladin Louis; your help in our kingdom is much appreciated," said a woman with glasses and black hair tied in a bun; she wore protective gloves and a white suit, as well as black heels.
"You're welcome, I enjoy helping," Louis replied kindly, as Xitlari watched him.
"You’re good at talking to others..." Xitlari said after Louis left the room.
"Huh? Uh... Thank you," he replied shyly, looking away a bit.
"But with me... it seems not..." she thought, growing suspicious of him from his response. "Here’s where all the materials and equipment we use are stored, though Ririam uses this place the most," she said, showing him a small room filled with artifacts, weapons, and communication devices.
"It’s packed," he said, looking at the room.
"This next one is the room where we wait for missions or hang out," she said, opening the door with a slight movement. Louis noticed a long gold bracelet with a large gem embedded in it, and he also saw a hand hidden in her jacket.
"Was that a hand?" he thought, deciding not to say anything as he looked at the room. The room was 8x8; it had several sofas and bookshelves, as well as a round glass skylight in the ceiling.
"And, well, that’s it... I doubt you’d want to see the cells and interrogation area," she said, stopping at the last door down the hall; in front of Louis, there were stairs leading downward.
"Of course... thanks for the tour," he commented with the same shyness. "Do I look like an idiot acting like this?" he thought as Xitlari went through the door. He then entered too, and there was Canbel, sitting at his desk, typing on a keyboard with a hologram in front of him; to his left, he had a camera view of the shop’s entrance, and to his right was Mei's office door. The place was small but had a sofa with a table and a brown carpet with gray stripes.
"I remember this place..." thought Louis as he entered the room, noticing that Canbel was very focused on typing.
Xitlari opened the door and entered with Louis behind her.
"Louis! I'm glad you came... We’ll need all the help we can get for this mission," Mei said, revealing a bit of nervousness in her words, while the others looked away.
"Hello, everyone, I’m glad you invited me to the mission," Louis said sincerely, with a slight smile on his face. Silence...
"What’s wrong with you guys?" Xitlari asked, observing everyone, then approached Mei's desk.
"Are you okay, Mei?" she said sarcastically and then pressed a key on the keyboard on the desk. A hologram appeared, showing an image of Louis's back, with the office and others in the background.
"I knew it! That’s why you sent me to get him!" she said, annoyed, using the keyboard to move the camera, revealing a flying beetle-shaped camera.
"Sorry, it's just... I was curious how Louis would react when he saw you, but you were in your jacket..." she said in a soft and sweet tone, getting up from her desk and trying to calm her, feeling a bit disappointed at the end of her words.
"I wanted to see if you’d start a fight," Ririam said, crossing her arms and closing her eyes.
"What? How would I fight him?" Xitlari asked, surprised by Ririam's words.
"I was hoping for that too... I'm sorry, Ririam’s argument was convincing," Kassie said, averting her gaze in embarrassment.
"You too...?" Xitlari expressed, disappointed.
"Haha, well, it's good nothing happened, but now you have to show your secret," Ann said cheerfully, a smile on her lips.
"It's not a secret!" she shouted, pounding the table. "And anyway, I can’t walk around without my jacket... These people discriminate a lot... even though they already know who I am..." she said, crossing her arms and lowering her voice at the end of her words.
"What’s going on here?" he thought while witnessing the entire discussion.
"Well, anyway, here it is!" she said, raising two additional arms hidden under her jacket. Each had long bracelets with a blue gemstone embedded. "If you don't like it, you can die," she said disdainfully, as if Louis’s opinion didn’t matter to her.
"Ah... was that it? I had already noticed," he said warmly and a bit shyly. Silence...
"That's why you didn’t get close to me! And here I thought you were nice," she retorted, moving closer to Louis.
"No, no, it wasn’t... because of that... Actually, I think your arms are amazing..." he stammered, blushing as Xitlari got close.
"Huh...? I see..." she said, surprised by Louis's response, blushing slightly and looking away, before sitting beside Kassie and crossing her four arms.
"Hmm, I know that reaction..." Ann thought as she saw Louis’s reaction when Xitlari approached him.
"Well, putting that aside... Let’s get serious," Mei said, adopting a serious attitude and using her keyboard to enlarge the hologram. "After a gentle but long interrogation..." she said, showing a short video of her torturing one of Zthur's men she had captured.
"Say it, damn you! Say it!" Mei shouted in the video while choking Jori with her arm.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"I can't! Please... Stop!" Jori shouted, struggling to speak.
"Then here we go!" she said, pulling out an electric rod. Upon seeing it, Jori started to scream "Aaaaah" as the video cut off.
"What the hell?" Louis thought, watching the footage.
"I finally got the location of Yeynos’s hideout. We’re all going, and we’ll drag that bastard out of our kingdom," she said seriously, clasping her hands and bringing them to her mouth. "Prepare your gear!" Instantly, everyone got up and headed to the armory.
They all left immediately, except Ririam, who was choosing carefully. "Maybe I need one of these..." she murmured as she examined the item, adjusting her glasses.
"Why are you the only one here?" Mei said, annoyed.
After Ririam finished, everyone waited outside the agency.
"Why do they create things if no one uses them?" Mei muttered as she exited the agency with Ririam following.
"We have our communicators," Xitlari replied, and everyone showed theirs except Louis, who still felt a bit out of place because of how the others behaved. "And we have our shields too."
"Okay... So, the location is in the eastern area, in an alley; I’ve sent you the location through the communicator," Mei said in her sweet and soft voice as she used her communicator, while people passed by nearby. "Four will go in my car, and Ririam and Ann in the air."
"I’d rather go with Ann; she knows how I like to travel," Kassie said immediately.
"Yes, Kassie! Let’s go!" Ann said, giving her a hug.
"Great, then I'll go with the ones who enjoy when I go full speed," Mei said, excitedly starting up her car.
"Do you like how Mei drives?" Xitlari asked as she looked at the others leaving.
"Yes..." Louis replied shyly.
"Why is he acting this way?" Xitlari wondered as she got into the car.
In the car, everything was quiet. Xitlari gazed out the window to her left, and Louis... well, he was looking down, unsure of what to say.
"I don’t get this... Why can’t I say anything?!" Louis thought, shaking his head a bit, then glancing at Xitlari, who was illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the window, her hair moving in the wind. "Is what I’m feeling... love?" he wondered after looking at her and averting his gaze. His body started emitting a warm aura.
"Hmm, doesn't it feel warmer?" Mei asked, noticing the increase in temperature.
"Yeah, suddenly... it’s warmer, huh? Hey! You’re the one generating the heat!" Xitlari exclaimed, noticing Louis's skin.
"Huh? Me?!" he said, surprised, examining his hand and removing one of his gloves.
"Louis, calm down, is something wrong? Turn it down, or you’ll burn the seat!" Mei said, concerned for her car and also for Louis... but mostly for her car.
"Sorry..." he said, focusing and managing to stabilize his temperature.
"Phew, what a relief, thanks, Louis!" Mei mentioned, relieved. "By the way, Ririam told me you had earth magic as well. Paladins with two types of magic show a lot of promise; you could become one of the best," she said, trying to start a conversation.
"Actually, I just used magic potions; it’s not like I have another magic type," he replied a bit nervously.
"Oh, I see... well, you’ll still be one of the best if you manage to evolve your magic to blue fire, but I’m sure you’ll achieve it," she said, convinced of his potential.
"I’ll work hard, Miss Mei!" he said, feeling a bit guilty. "This is bad... I don’t like lying, but the professor told me to do it as much as possible," he thought as he looked out the window to his right. "I wish I’d never gotten this magic... I wouldn’t have to lie and... my father... Calm down, Louis, you’re past those thoughts," he thought, lightly shaking his head.
After a while, they finally reached the eastern location, in the same alley where Mei had captured Zthur's men.
"Why is it so quiet?" Louis asked, not hearing much noise around when he got out of the car.
"Ririam took care of it. If things get ugly, no one will be hurt," Mei replied, with Clara on her shoulder after she unfused from the scimitar.
"Really? Is it here? Is there a secret passage or something?" Ririam asked, looking at the dead-end alley.
"Indeed, but this type of passage requires a password," Mei explained, walking to the end of the alley and playing a recording on her communicator.
"Please... stop! The password is *shiroi... kiri*," came a voice from the communicator.
"Is that normal?" Louis asked Kassie.
"Of course, we have to get information," Kassie whispered in response.
The alley wall opened, revealing stairs going down. They all went down and turned on a flashlight on their communicator, except Ririam, who had two lights on the rings of her glasses.
"How does this turn on?!" Louis asked desperately, searching for the button.
"Here!" Kassie said, pressing a touch button.
"Lower your voice!" Ririam intervened.
When they went down, the place was spacious but completely deserted.
"I think we’re late..." Mei said, looking around the place.
"There might be another passage. He’s from the Krisha village; they had lots of secrets," Ririam said, inspecting the walls.
"Right... Search the whole place, but be careful; there may be traps here." As soon as Mei spoke, everyone started to examine the area, which was a room made of pale-colored wood and entirely empty.
"Hmm, I feel moisture on this part of the wall," Kassie said, crouching and examining the wall near the stairs.
"How do you know?" Louis approached upon hearing Kassie’s comment as the others searched the back of the room.
"I control water magic too, I'm sure of it!" Kassie used her magic and broke a part of the wall, revealing a small tunnel.
"I found something!" Kassie shouted, excited.
A wall rose from the ground, trapping the others. Then, the stairs lifted and sealed the exit.
Louis punched the wall with all his strength, but it didn't do anything. "How... are they okay?"
"Yes! Did you find anything, Kassie?" Mei replied, noticing that Xitlari couldn't get through the wall.
"It doesn't move at all..." Xitlari replied after hitting it several times.
"A tunnel! But it's really dark... What do we do?" Kassie said worriedly, looking at the small, shadowy entrance.
"Ririam! Give me a hug, maybe it’ll be the last one..." Ann said fearfully, hugging Ririam.
"Nothing will happen to us..." Ririam responded to the hug and tried to calm her down.
"Don't worry! I figured it would be a trap... That's why... I brought..." Mei said, rummaging through her jacket. A white sphere came out of a wall. "What’s that?" The sphere opened and lit up the entire place. On the other side, the wall flipped over, turning into a wall with spikes.
"Did something happen...? Oh no..." Louis said upon seeing the spikes.
"Get in!" Kassie shouted, diving into the tunnel, followed by Louis.
Kassie and Louis began to fall down an endless tunnel until they passed through a white layer and arrived at a place surrounded by tall grass, illuminated by the sun under a sky with scattered clouds. At the top of the hill, a house with slanted roofs and white walls stood elegantly. Wooden columns held wide eaves that cast a soft shadow around the structure. Kassie created a stream of water that safely brought them to the ground.
"No wonder I felt humidity; it rained here recently," Kassie said, noticing the drops of water on the grass. "Wow... this is a really pretty place for an assassin..." she commented, looking at the house on top of the hill.
"Yes... Can you call the others? I don't know how to use this," Louis said, getting up and pulling out his communicator, but he immediately put it away.
"No one’s answering... We need to check the house, we don’t have anything else to do." Kassie tried calling everyone, but no one answered.
Meanwhile, the others were in a completely silent place. There were stone structures in a refined style, with slanted red and orange tiled roofs. They were on a long path leading to the main building: a tall castle, surrounded by trees and thin, pointed towers, similar to a cathedral. Several small towers were scattered around the city, which had streets and paths connecting to each other. There were also stone arches and bridges crossing over small canals or rivers. Other long structures had a giant clock and a pointed roof. Some houses also had trees nearby and a garden in front.
"What is this place?" Xitlari asked, gazing at the large palace.
Mei sighed in awe upon seeing the place, feeling melancholic, and it was clear in her eyes that she wanted to cry. "This place... is Trownlian... one of the kingdoms destroyed by Mayestad. It's so beautiful to see it again," she said with great emotion and sorrow as she remembered everything that had happened.
"How is that possible? It can't be... That sphere that exploded must have done something," Ririam said, confused and surprised by Mei's words.
"It could be binding or illusion magic..." Mei said.
"It must be binding magic," Ririam replied.
"Creating all this with illusion magic could take years..." she mused while pacing back and forth. "Ann! Fly as far as you can from the kingdom."
"Understood!" Ann immediately flew off at high speed, raising dust and leaving a yellow trail behind her.
Ririam noticed that Clara wasn't with Mei. "Mei, Clara isn't here..." Mei looked at her shoulder with concern.
"I know... fairies can't be bound or taken into an illusion," she replied, checking her shoulder.
"Kassie and... what’s his name?" Xitlari asked worriedly, forgetting Louis’s name.
"Louis! As punishment, you'll ask him his name when we get back," Mei said sweetly and calmly.
"What?! Why?!" Xitlari asked, surprised.
"It’s very rude to forget someone’s name, and you need to be more sociable," Mei replied, observing the place and remembering old times.
"After passing!" she shouted from afar, moving at high speed. "The kingdom, there’s a long white space," she continued after reaching the ground with a smile on her face.
"Then it must be... I've never seen such a well-crafted illusion field..." she commented while walking and looking at the castle.
"It looks like they've figured it out... Although it took them a while... Weren't they high-ranking paladins? I wonder who gave them this location," said a boastful voice with a hint of pride and playfulness, but deep.
Everyone assumed battle positions and gathered to look around them.
"Who are you?" Mei asked, scanning the area.
"My name is Tai, nice to meet you! Paladins..." As he spoke, the ground began to crack. "Let's see... how good you all are..." Many beings in silver armor emerged from the ground, beginning to surround them.
"If it’s illusion magic... With my magic, we can find an exit," Xitlari thought and began making poses with her four hands, which turned a bright blue.
"Alright, cover Xitlari... And avoid the hits... or their brains will be damaged," Mei said, showing determination in her gaze.
Meanwhile, Kassie and Louis entered the house and began searching everywhere.
"Nothing?" Kassie asked, feeling bored.
"Nothing..." Louis replied with disappointment. "I'm bored of searching... Do you think we should leave here?"
"We can't... We don’t know what this place is... I’m fed up! Get out of the house!" Kassie said, determined, creating a sphere of water with her hands.
"Okay, I'm leaving!" Louis stepped out of the house and stopped to look into the distance.
A large amount of water flowed out of the windows and doors. Louis was surprised and stepped away from the strong currents of water, which stopped at a certain point.
"Huh? What was that?" said Tai, who was observing the others from atop a house while being invisible. Suspecting something, Tai left the area.
"I got it!" Xitlari said, finishing her hand pose. "Rhino! Can you hear me?"
"Yes, why are you speaking mentally? And where are we? And... why are you just moving your head? Well, not just you... The others too. Oh, I also see Mei’s fairy, it’s flying around her," asked with great confusion a small blue rhino spirit on Xitlari’s shoulder.
"We're in a very well-crafted illusion field, what can we do?" she said, as Ann cleared the knights with yellow wind magic, creating a large tornado that pushed them away. Mei was fighting many at once, and with each strike of her scimitar, she sliced them in half. Ririam was shooting at those farther away.
"Hmmm, start gathering spiritual magic in your mind, not in your arms, and then I’ll take it to get you out of here by creating an impact in this room, and you’ll leave the illusion field," the rhino spirit replied while trying to settle on Xitlari’s head, pulling her hair.
"I understand... Are you pulling my hair?" Xitlari asked, feeling a slight pain that distracted her.
"Yes, almost there... Done! You can start now." The rhino finally managed to settle on Xitlari’s head.
"Perfect." Xitlari sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and began gathering blue energy in her head.
Suddenly, dragons began emerging from the floor, knocking down buildings and tearing up the ground. Ann lifted everyone with her magic and flew them at high speed, trying to dodge the dragons' fire attacks while Ririam shot at them. Xitlari was given a cloud to shield her from any harm.
"Come on, Xitlari, you can do it!" Mei shouted, standing in front of Xitlari’s cloud in case any of the dragons got close.
A large black dragon appeared in front of them, throwing off Ann's flight, and everyone started to fall.
"Damn it!" Xitlari shouted, opening her eyes.
Ann managed to stop the fall, and Xitlari returned to gathering energy, sitting on the ground. The black dragon destroyed one of the buildings, and Mei destroyed all the debris heading toward them. With a powerful leap, she reached the dragon’s head and split it open. As she fell, Mei saw the large number of dragons approaching.
"Xitlari! Hurry up!" she shouted while falling.
"I'm almost... there!" Xitlari said.
Ririam took out a device and threw it on the ground, creating a large, transparent green shield. All the dragons began to shoot fire, and the shield started to give way. Ann began charging a huge yellow wind blast in her hands, ready for when the shield broke. The large shield disappeared, and the flames were closing in on them. Ann released her blast, creating a yellow wind shield over them that moved at great speed.
"No... I can't... keep this up for much longer!" Ann shouted, struggling to keep the shield from breaking.
"Almost... there... done!" Xitlari said.
In the alley, the spiritual rhinoceros emerged from the ground, destroying much of it. The rhinoceros rose from the hole and waited outside.
"What an entrance!" Mei said, emerging from the ground and standing next to Clara, gently rubbing her neck. "Are you okay, Clara?" Clara nodded while Xitlari looked around to see if anyone was near. Then, she stepped out and shrank the rhinoceros, placing it on her shoulder.
"Hey, when are you guys coming out? We need to find Kassie and Louis," Mei asked, jumping over the hole.
"I thought we were going to die..." Ann said, hugging Ririam, who was still on the ground.
"Everything is fine, you did great," he replied, petting her head.
"Get out of there already, lovebirds," Xitlari said, also jumping over the hole.
Meanwhile, Kassie and Louis were still at the other place. Kassie made the water return into the house, where it was absorbed, leaving the place dry.
"Whoa, this is amazing! Did you find anything?" Louis said, surprised that the house was intact, with all the furniture in place as if no one had been there.
"I found this... It's a scroll, but it's sealed. It was on a fake floor, quite convincing," Kassie replied, turning around while trying to open the scroll.
"It'll be useful. And... now what?" Louis said, not knowing what to do next.
"Hmm... Ah! I know, let's go through the tunnel again," she suggested after thinking for a moment.
"Yes, with your water magic," Louis added.
"No, no, um, better with ice magic, hehe..." she replied nervously, as if hiding something.
"Why not?"
"Because... it's better, let's go!" she replied, grabbing Louis's hand to leave the house.
"Who are you? Don't tell me you're with the others?" Tai said, his words full of annoyance, alerting Louis and Kassie.
"Are you Yeynos?" Kassie asked, peeking out, but there was no one. "Come on, put it in your bag," she whispered to Louis, handing him the scroll.
"What? Not at all... My name is Tai, and I think... none of you will escape this place," he said, adopting a serious tone. Louis and Kassie were pushed by a large gust of wind; the attack was so strong that the house’s entrance was destroyed.
"Paladins! I'm afraid your defeat is... inevitable!" he said, emerging from the entrance and leaving a white mist behind. His hair was short and white, with eyes of the same color, as if they contained mist. He stood 176 cm tall and wore a black mask covering his mouth and nose. He had a white sleeveless hood reaching his pelvis, with a white cloak that reached just before his knee, coming out from between his shoulders. He wore a black shirt underneath, visible only at the sleeves, black wristbands with white dots, and black gloves. His pants were black, loose at the top and tight at the ankles, with a black belt adjusting the hood at his waist, and he wore white jika-tabi (traditional Japanese shoes worn by ninjas).
"Are you okay?" Louis asked, helping Kassie get up.
"Yeah... I'll stay behind you," Kassie said, covering her arms with water.
Louis drew his katana and moved toward Tai... He gathered momentum and clashed his katana with Tai’s.
"Magnificent sound, don’t you think? Hahaha," Tai said with great excitement.
Louis and Tai clashed their katanas while Kassie prepared to attack.
"Wow... Hehe, you're good with the katana. It’s been a long time since I fought someone with equal strength," he said, noticing that Kassie launched a large water blast at him. Tai created a katana from his hand and began flying on it, dodging all of Kassie’s attacks. "Phew! That was close, girl! Hahaha."
"We don’t have much time... I need to take care of the others too," Tai thought while continuing to dodge Kassie’s attacks. "Dark Mist!" Tai dropped down from his katana and placed his palm on the ground, making everything turn dark for Louis and Kassie.
Louis heated up his katana, lighting up his surroundings. Kassie used her crystal to light the place. Then, she placed both hands on the ground and began creating a large amount of water, which spread and trapped Tai with an arm of water. "Got you!"
"Well..." Tai cut the arm with the katana he had left floating in the air and began flying again, standing on it. "Nice trick, you’ll like this one!" Tai created a large number of katanas and directed them toward Louis and Kassie.
Kassie created an ice wall with the water she had generated, stopping all the katanas in the ice.
"Two types of magic... I didn’t expect that, but who cares!" At great speed, Tai moved toward the wall, and with a single strike, destroyed it.
"Back!" Louis shouted, preparing himself while Kassie positioned herself behind him.
Tai clashed his katana with Louis’s again, but this time Louis’s katana sliced Tai’s in two, surprising him, and Tai pulled back.
"He’s fast, but... we have the advantage," Louis thought. "Kassie, stay behind, I’ll cover you," Louis said seriously.
"Okay!" Kassie replied, noticing the seriousness in his words.
"His katana is red hot... amazing!" Tai thought.
Tai created many swords that started to surround him and directed them all toward Kassie and Louis.
Kassie created an ice shield around them that began to spin at high speed, stopping the katanas and shooting many ice spikes toward Tai.
"They have so many tricks," Tai said, dodging the spikes and destroying others with another katana that emerged from his hand.
Tai pressed his katana harder, covering it with white mist, then threw it with all his might, piercing through the ice shield and heading straight toward Kassie. However, Louis intervened, trying to stop it, and although the katana was deflected, it pierced Louis’s stomach.
"Louis! Are you okay?" Kassie asked, rushing to him.
"Don’t worry, I’m fine," Louis said, pulling the sword out of his stomach and incinerating it. Kassie was stunned by how easily he destroyed the katana and how he didn’t flinch at the pain.
"Wow! Your fire is so hot, I’m also impressed that you’re still standing after a wound like that, respect," Tai said, flying over the shield. "But... don’t you think you two don’t fit together? Fire and water... get it? Heh, heh."
Kassie shot more spikes from the shield, and once again Tai started dodging them, flying calmly and quickly over his sword.
A beep sounded, and Tai pulled a round communicator from his pocket. "Well... bad timing, Father..." he said, shaking his head to avoid a spike. "I’ll have to finish them off now... Besides, it looks like the others managed to escape. Too bad," Tai thought, fading slowly and disappearing from both of their sights.
"Where did he go?" Kassie asked, trying to search for him.
"I don't know... But get ready, he could appear at any moment," Louis said, looking around everywhere.
Suddenly, a small white sphere began to light up the place.
"This is over, folks," Tai said, removing his mask and smiling as cracks-like marks spread from his eyes down to his cheeks.
"White magic...? It can't be!" Kassie exclaimed, frightened, as she removed the ice shield.
"Run!" Louis shouted, grabbing Kassie’s arm and starting to run.
Suddenly, a gust of yellow wind came out of the tunnel, making the fog disappear.
"Where are you guys?! Ah, there you are! Huh?" Ann shouted, looking for them, and saw Tai with the white magic sphere. She quickly grabbed Louis and Kassie and headed toward the tunnel.
"Of course not!" Tai threw the white sphere, which shot towards them at high speed.
Ann accelerated, making the yellow wind thinner, and they managed to pass through the tunnel. Then, they went through the entire tunnel, enlarging the hole and soaring at high speed into the sky until Ann managed to stop.
"Are you... okay?" Ann asked, struggling to breathe.
"Yes," the two replied, also tired, but Kassie was trembling.
"Good... because I... don’t..." Ann passed out and began falling with them. Kassie started screaming desperately, and Louis sheathed his katana, grabbed Kassie and Ann, and placed them in front of him while falling on his back.
"What are you doing?" Kassie asked, confused.
"I can handle the impact, you can’t!"
Kassie closed her eyes. They were falling at high speed... But suddenly, they went through a large amount of green slime that stopped their fall, landing in the middle of the large slime sphere. Ririam absorbed the slime again, allowing the three to touch the ground safely.
"Are you okay?!" Mei shouted, running towards them with Ririam and Xitlari by her side. "Why did you come out of the hole like that?" she asked worriedly, kneeling as she arrived.
"Ann! Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!" Ririam exclaimed, kneeling down, nearly in tears, as he took Ann in his arms and touched her face.
"I’m fine..." Ann replied, a little dizzy, and then Ririam hugged her tighter.
"We don’t know who it was... but they had white magic," Louis replied as he saw Kassie wasn’t responding and was looking at Ann and Ririam.
"White magic...? It can't be... Only the priest has that magic..." Mei was stunned by Louis's response.
"Louis! Your stomach!" Kassie shouted, snapping out of it.
"What? Were you injured?" Mei expressed, worried, as she stood up.
"No, I’m fine," Louis replied, standing up and covering his stomach.
"Of course not!" Kassie retorted, thinking Louis was faking being tough. She stood up and moved Louis’s hand, showing that he wasn’t injured, although his shirt had a hole in it. "How...?"
"That doesn’t matter now, we need to leave! Get in the car!" Mei noticed the hole in Louis's shirt and the blood stains, but quickly headed to her car, and everyone got in: Xitlari in the front, Kassie and Louis in the back, and Ririam with Ann on top. "Canbel! Did you call the architects? I don’t want any complaints from that animal," Mei asked through her communicator while driving at a moderate speed.
"They’re on their way! They’ll fix the damage and seal the tunnel for the usual price," Canbel responded through the communicator.
"Perfect, thanks," Mei turned off the communicator and glanced at the others through the rearview mirror.
"The mission was a failure..." Ririam mentioned while Ann was still unconscious on top of him.
"Of course not... We got careless because we were so many, but now we know what we're up against. It’s not just anything; illusion magic of that level is very dangerous, and white magic is undoubtedly the worst... I need to arrange a meeting with someone from the church, and soon... The kingdom is in complete danger," Mei said seriously, with a determined look as she drove.
"Kassie found this, it’s some kind of scroll or something," Louis mentioned, pulling the scroll from his bag.
"Let me see," Xitlari took the scroll and began analyzing it.
"There are many beings inside, Xitlari," said the spiritual rhino. "I can feel it, it's a large amount."
"It seems to be a containment space; it contains a large number of creatures."
"Keep it here," Ririam handed a security capsule to Xitlari, who stored it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the portal...
"They escaped, how unfortunate... I better change the direction of the portal. Huh?" he commented with slight frustration while putting on the mask. Suddenly, a beep sounded again, and Tai pulled out a round device.
"Is something wrong?" Tai asked, answering the call.
"Of course something’s wrong, you were supposed to be at the meeting. Where are you?" Yeynos said, annoyed, through the communicator.
"Meeting? What meeting?" Tai asked, confused for not remembering the meeting.
"In the ashes of Trownlian, Zthur will make a very important announcement. You’d better come as soon as possible," Yeynos replied.
"I don’t remember being told about a meeting, but I’ll do what I can to get there on time," Tai said, as he lay on top of his katana, which floated, taking him toward the tunnel.
"Alright, hurry up..." Yeynos said, ending the communication.
*Sigh... what a nuisance... But! I have to obey my father*, he commented, looking at the sky.
Back in the kingdom of Ystir, and after a peaceful trip, everyone returned to the agency. Ann was feeling better, and it was getting dark; some people passed by the place on the sidewalks, and a few cars were driving by.
"I’m fine, don’t worry," Ann was saying as Ririam helped her walk toward the agency. Kassie also came closer to help her.
"You two go and take that to the research room," Mei said firmly, driving off in her car.
Xitlari and Louis entered the agency in silence and headed to deliver the capsule. Neither of them said anything, just walking until they reached the research room.
"Folks! Be very careful analyzing what’s inside. I’ll check it tomorrow," Xitlari mentioned, placing the capsule in a glass container that made the capsule float. Then, Xitlari left the room, followed by Louis.
"Same as always with that girl..." one of the researchers commented. Louis heard the comment before leaving and then followed Xitlari, who stopped in his tracks.
"What are you?" Xitlari asked suddenly, about to leave through the door.
Louis was surprised by the question... But he knew he couldn’t hide his secret anymore. "I’m a human... half demon," he replied with relief and resignation.
Xitlari made a surprised gesture but didn’t turn around. "I see. By the way... you didn’t tell me your name when I met you," she mentioned, not remembering, while still walking away.
"I’m sorry, my name is Louis A. Keeper, nice to meet you," he said warmly, with a slight blush.
"Heh... Nice to meet you, Louis," she said, turning slightly and leaving through the door, heading out of the agency.
Meanwhile, Mei kept driving her car.
"Voice function."
[Voice function activated], replied the car's dashboard.
"Search for information on Louis Keeper."
[Understood], responded the dashboard.
[Louis A. Keeper, 18 years old, son of the paladin Lin Keeper... He is a paladin of the Alahead kingdom, appointed on October 6th, 3682, stands at 170 cm, possesses fire magic, and is a half-demon human.] A thunderclap echoed at the last word from the dashboard.
At Professor Maxwell's house, he stood, watching the rain fall through his window.
"You knew, didn't you?" Mei asked as she arrived, resting her hands on the desk.
"You've figured it out... Sorry, I wanted to gather enough information to tell you without you doing something rash," the professor replied, turning around.
"Why would you do that?" Mei removed her hands from the desk and stood firmly.
"Because to you... the kingdom is more important. Louis is a boy who has endured much contempt, and I want to prevent him from suffering more," he said, sitting down in his chair and pulling out a holographic device.
"You know they're dangerous, Jonathan. The fact that he has suffered so much might make him want revenge," she said seriously, and a thunderclap echoed at the end of her words.
"Do you really think that? What would Xitlari say about that comment?" he expressed with disappointment.
"You're right... I'm sorry," he said, feeling guilty as he headed for the door.
"Before you leave... I won't let Louis keep lying... I'll tell you everything at once, and I hope you let me finish before you put your scimitar to my throat," he said seriously, pressing the holographic device. The device showed information and a photo of Rei.
"Rei Fordesthmans is Louis' master and... Louis possesses lava magic." Another thunderclap resonated in the distance at the last words.
"How...? Do you want that to happen here too?" she said, surprised and upset.
"Calm down... To ease your concern, let me show you this... You know that Rei Fordesthmans is the son of Lión Fordesthmans; don't think Louis was trained by just anyone," he said, showing images of green and light blue magic.
"Still, it's dangerous..." she replied, though calming down by his words and what she was seeing on the device.
"Have you seen the blue necklace he wears on his chest? That necklace prevents him from using the full potential of his magic. Also, it was created with Lión's Celestial Sword magic, which is no small feat," the professor continued showing her images of the necklace and the sword.
"And if it stops working?" she asked, quite calm, understanding everything the professor was explaining.
"Suppressed magic is very weak magic; it will drain instantly. Louis mentioned that creating lava consumes a lot of magic, which is why he spent several years training with Rei to compress the part he can use. If the necklace stops working, though I doubt it... he won't be able to use much magic because it will mix with the suppressed magic. Louis is a well-trained boy, he... won't let anything bad happen!" he said with great certainty and confidence in his words, standing up and hitting the desk with force.
Mei was surprised by the explanation and by how it ended. "Heh... You care for him because he reminds you of Alex, right?"
The professor sat back down in his chair.
"The difference... is that Louis is trained, he's capable, and he knows the consequences of misusing his magic... Do you want me to tell you a bit... about what he's been through?"
After a while, the rain stopped, and Louis arrived at the house. Before entering, he focused his body and dried all his clothes.
"I'm back! Hanks?" he said, entering the house and closing the door. Louis headed toward the professor's office but encountered Mei, who had just come out.
"Miss Mei... What are you doing here? Oh! And about my injury... I..." Louis was interrupted by a sudden hug from Mei; she hugged him tightly, letting a few tears escape.
"Don't worry, Louis... I'll support you too," she said with her sweet, soft voice, stopping the hug and wiping her tears. "I want to see you tomorrow at the agency... Okay?" she said with a slight tilt of her head while smiling with her lips.
"Of course, I'll be there!" Louis replied excitedly, and after hearing that, Mei hugged him again, gently.
End of chapter.