It was the sixth day when they gathered at the door, each of them dressed in some form of robe, Noir having taken the remnants of his LARPing days to give each a matching costume.
Marc wore a nun's Habit, discarding the veil for his familiars' skull head, rings of silver adorning his hands and small totems decorating some key parts of his outfit to openly mock the Abrahamic god, just out of spite.
Mia Approached the Entrance dressed in black and red, her face hidden beneath a crimson hood, and horns of fire piercing atop them, the work of her powers on full display as she held back from burning her clothes.
Even noir decided on a slight wardrobe change, a black shirt and pants beneath a white lab coat, his tight gloves making sure that almost every part of his body was covered. His face was hidden behind black sunglasses. Only his hair did not change, still combed back and black as the night itself. He made sure to look modern, as was appropriate for his position. Only when they gathered every familiar did they finally depart, leaving and locking the door.
The last few days did not help the surroundings, the ground full of weeds rising from the cracks in the asphalt desert, building fallen together and signs of battle between monsters everywhere.
The group continued, detecting scales along their way as they approached the mall, the building was still massive, and multiple barricades had bee build around it.
They approached the fortress their district's center had become, before Noirs future vision went black, resulting in his immediate step to the right, and similar movements from his disciples as they each dodged into a direction away from each other, simply expanding the triangle they walked in as a bolt of radiant light hit the spot right in between them.
Immediately, the entire group entered a fighting stance. Mia's eyes turned red in the shadow of her hood, Marc was encased in a cloud of dark green, and Noir felt his hands brimming with power as he got ready to utilize his cancer punch once more.
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A second later, their opponent revealed themselves, seven teenagers stood before them, dressed in cheap costumes, posturing in grandeur.
"Villainous villains, you have stepped into the territory of the Hero League!" The largest among them screamed, his costume one of eye piercing yellow with a white pair of underpants worn on the outside, almost making Noir laugh if it wasn't for his glowing hands.
The others were no less hilarious, another wearing fishnet stockings above a dark blue training suit, and a cheap plastic trident with knifes taped to the ends, an opened water bottle bubbling as he started closing his eyes to concentrate.
"You may rest, Heroes. We can fight once you have grown in strength." Noir announced, opening a small pouch filled with pollen and thrust it in an arch to make sure it touched everyone.
"I am the Grafter, Alchemist of flesh and bone, and thou shall not move!"
Every part of their body the pollen touched refused to budge, his control over their bodies surface growing, as he restrained his power to only affect the parts of their skin that were quickly dying, spreading as a cocoon of dying cells. The trio headed forward and finally entered the mall, stealing a shopping cart and filling it with fertilizer, water bottles, seeds and vegetables, before they left through the back door, heading back to the store immediately. When he was sure nobody was looking, he took his pills, hoping for clarity once more.
"They will not forget us." Marc said, seemingly troubled. "Hades says that they will probably come after us at some point, and that we should have killed every single one of them."
Mia shook her head. "I don't think we should kill children, even Ifrit supports letting them live, though I assume it has to do with some weird type of ritual or something."
Noir sighed. "Do not listen to him, what did I say about children below the age of sixteen?" He asked, hoping that at least one book of his had advice that could be interpreted for this kind of situation.
"A child is the responsibility of everyone around it, first of all its parents. Always guide them, but never force them, else they lean towards devils in spite." Marc recited, nodding grimly.
"We must guide them, and possibly protect them to ensure they are not corrupted by major powers, and as they see us to be the antagonist of their story, that is what we will be."
He clapped, and the children were released from his control, their bodies returning to them as the shell autocannibalised, leading them to quickly retread inside their fort, as Noir began to cook again, waiting for his students to meditate over the day's experiences.