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The Red Flower
Chapter. 37
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"D...Davante?" Elois slowly released his laptop and left the bed, hesitantly walking to his roommate, looking like he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Davante blinked twice, standing still with the door closed behind him, blankly staring back at a surprised and emotional Elois.
"Are you...” he stressed over what to say first after everything, “Do…do you feel better now?" Elois was not expecting his roommate to suddenly return today and casually walk into the room like they hadn’t been away for months. He didn't know what to feel after going through a near-death situation without saying anything good to his friend. But now, there he was, his friend was standing before him on his feet and looking better than Elois had ever seen him.
Davante blinked and looked to finally catch the reason behind the look in his roommate’s teary eyes as they were filled with overwhelming emotions, "I'm fine now, yes." He nodded calmly, "How have you been? And..." he trailed off, looking slightly up for a moment.
Elois slightly frowned as his roommate seemed a little...different? Davante had always been quiet in his responses, making him look as if he lacked interest whatsoever, so he didn't expect the boy to feel as emotional as him. However, looking at Davante as he looked to make an effort and remember an important thing, not to himself but to someone else instead, was questionable. Davante's eyes at that moment reminded him of someone else, but who was it again? He couldn't remember, and he quickly brushed it off to focus on Davante as the teen looked to have finally gotten what he racked his memory to find.
"And Javi." Davante nodded with a stoic face, looking proud of himself, "How are you two? Are you both good now?"
Elois' eye twitched for a second at the underlying playful tone, trying again to remember where he had heard it before. Davante's eyes also looked amused for some reason but genuine, like the... 'The Weapon?' He blinked and quickly dismissed the idea for his brain's sake. "We're fine...better than before…" He wasn't sure about Javi, who had been away and only came back occasionally to say hi since the day he pushed him out of the room to talk with Owin a bit, but at least he was free of the Shadow for now, so he could assume his friend was doing better, right? Even if he looked absentminded most of the time lately…
He wanted to sigh as he remembered how Javi avoided answering any question he had tossed at him about what was bothering him so much to zone out all the time.
He shook his head lightly and focused back on the person before him. He moved closer to Davante with an awkward smile, planning to hug his friend for his return, but he paused when his friend stiffened a bit for a moment with a guarded face that looked to be studying Elois for a second before the look disappeared. "…I'll hug you."
"Excuse me?"
"I said I'll hug you." Elois was suddenly ridiculously irked. The more he looked at the teen now, the more he remembered the Weapon for some reason, and that made him feel like approaching the boy differently than he had planned. Forget being careful and considerate. For some reason, he felt like provoking the boy before him. Was he paying back for what had Davante's weapon done to him? Was he that petty? But he didn't really care if he was being petty after the look he received from Davante, amused yet again as if making fun of him by simply staring. 'Is this really the Weapon?'
"I recall I've been the one hugging you every time," Davante’s eyebrow slightly raised, and he teased with a little smile, "Do you need me to hug you first after all? You look like you forgot how to."
'This punk—' Elois smirked and pulled his roommate into a tight hug, and maybe he was a bit too forceful as Davante let out a faint sound, but it didn't seem he was hurt as he hugged back and even patted him like he was rewarding a child.
"You grew up well." Davante said with a light chuckle, lightly patting Elois’ back.
Elois’ eye twitched again at the tone; then again, he remembered how Davante had teased him once for being a crybaby. "I'm older than you, kiddo. Do you know?"
"Right, you lived longer." Davante had a sad look when he let go of the other, being obvious with his sarcasm. "No wonder you cried more than I did in my life. I should've been more thoughtful. I’m sorry."
'Punk, are you the Weapon after all?' He wanted to ask, but he had a feeling the brat wouldn't answer anyway and would instead entertain himself by looking at Elois getting more annoyed by the minute. Can a weapon even take its owner's body and walk around freely? It could be. Davante's weapon is not a normal one, after all.
But if it's the case, 'Where is Davante?'
"I apologize if I went overboard with my joke."
He snapped from his thoughts and looked at his roommate, who suddenly had an official business look in his eyes. Davante sounded exactly like the Weapon just now, Elois thought. "…are you hungry?" Elois asked, deciding to observe for now. Perhaps Davante naturally changed after all this time, even though his business manner was too out of place for a second there…
"You can cook now?" Davante looked genuinely shocked.
Elois scoffed lightly, tilting his head as he answered with a smirk. "No, I haven't grown up to that level yet." However, 'He didn't refuse food...' he noted silently, recalling how Davante avoided any topic about food before and never ate anything he brought for him. He tested the waters again, "I'll order food."
"Ah," Davante nodded thoughtfully, almost as if he was glad for the thought of eating soon, "I'd like some, yes. I'm also fine with anything." He then announced when the orange head walked away to retrieve his phone to order their lunch. "I'll take a shower first."
"Sure, go ahead." Elois eyed the other taking a pair of pajamas and walking to the bathroom.
After a long moment of silence, he mumbled to himself, "...am I with the Weapon in real life? Really?" He didn't particularly hate the idea, but where the heck was Davante? Can they switch?
He stared down absently at the floor with the phone in his hand, "Nothing is certain yet, but..." he frowned slightly as he stared at the closed bathroom door. From how the teen looks at him to how he talks, "...that's the Weapon brat, isn't he?"
He was almost sure.
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“Hey,” Bren nonchalantly waved his hand to the guy who had just stepped into the room, standing stunned with his mouth hanging open as the door closed behind him.
“You…” Owin stared blankly at his childhood friend, sitting leisurely over the windowsill like he owned the room.
“Are you done crying with your family now?”
“…really?” feeling incredulous, Owin’s lips stretched into a smirk, “Of course this is the first thing you’d say, you bastard.” He opened his arms wide open and walked fast toward his friend with a devious smile, laughing when the other deftly dodged. He kept following Bren, who had just hopped down from the window and avoided his every advance, “Why so scared of a hug, huh?”
“I see you’re still gross.” Bren looked done hopping around the room and stopped in place eventually, allowing himself to be hugged at last, and he was definitely not hugging back, “Satisfied?”
“Very.” Owin let go with a teasing, bright smile after precisely five seconds, following the rule Bren had set in their first days in the orphanage. “How have you been, dude? Glad you didn’t get yourself killed with your crazy antics.”
“I was busy watching the three, the Puppeteer, the Executive, and the Fugitive.” Bren shrugged his shoulders with an easy smile, carelessly ignoring the questioning look he received from the other. “Anyway, a nasty vampire is lurking in the academy, do you know?”
Owin’s face froze, “What?”
“The same one who applied the illusion barrier against your brother and Javi.” Bren noticed Owin’s face hardened at the mention of what happened with a questioning look, wondering how Bren had even known of the matter. Bren continued, “So whatever happens in the academy now,” he lightly bumped his fist on the other’s chest, “Trust me and don’t do anything to stop it until I tell you. Only watch.”
[https://i.postimg.cc/QdtpSn6S/1.jpg]
“……” Owin stared hard at the confident eyes before him, and Bren smirked in answer.
“Until it’s time to move.” He stared blankly at the other, “…you look dumb.”
“The fuck?” Owin couldn’t believe this bastard, coming to him with the awful news after years of running around all over the place like a madman, and now telling him to stay still? He suddenly wished Ellmer was in the academy with them at that moment.
‘Speaking of Ellmer…’ Owin silently wondered, ‘Hadn’t he been away for long this time?’ he was now aware of the time passed, ‘A whole month with no word from him…’
He turned to look distantly at the academy from the window. ‘His step-brothers would have said something if there was a problem, right?’
.
.
"I'm sorry, Boss..."
Armand raised his head and looked at Gasha, who had just arrived after her mission, stepping into the office and looking down in guilt. He could see her frowning even with little candlelight in the small, vintage office with no windows.
"I got distracted, and the Canvas was snatched from me..." her eyes brightened a bit for a moment after, "But...Neron, my brother, chased after the bastard...” she clenched her hands by her sides, “I think it was Chronos' weapon..."
After a moment of silence, Armand let go of the papers in his hands and walked calmly to the girl, who looked anxious about his reaction.
She widened her eyes a little when she felt a gentle pat on her head. Looking up, she found the man smiling at her.
Receiving a smile from this man, who rarely ever smiles during work and very few people witness his face move at all, was the best thing she could ask for after messing up the plan.
"Welcome back." He said, barely above a whisper, "I'm glad you made it here safely."
She observed before voicing her thoughts with a dubious look, "You expected the Canvas to be taken, didn't you?"
His eyes looked softer as he chuckled at the look of disbelief, "Scold your father when he gets back." He tilted his head in a shrug and turned around back to the office.
She raised her eyebrow as the man calmly walked and sat to decipher more of the elaborate plan Xenos had left behind for him to figure out. "Did he also tell in his plan to specifically choose me for this mission?"
Armand hummed with a little smile, not looking up from the papers sprawled on the table before him, "No, I chose you myself."
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"And you don't feel any least bit sorry, seriously?" Despite complaining, she was smiling with a grateful look in her eyes.
"Did you see them?"
She took a deep breath to calm down the overflowing emotions at the gentle tone of the man she called Boss when he was more like an older brother to her. She was glad she was among the few who understood the man despite his cold manner. Armand, the man whose reputation was that of a hard, heartless man, chose her for the mission mainly because she could finally see her dearest father and uncle after so long of spending her days with a disgusting freak wearing clothes of their shape.
She grinned when Armand looked up at her silence. "Yep!" She walked toward the table with a teasing smile, "But I believe in you, okay? It's because you look so sure that I convinced myself they are alive."
Armand looked closely at her, and he could see her shaking a bit behind the playful look on her face. "...they're alive, Gasha.” He calmly assured her; even if he had his own doubts, that was one thing he was sure about at least. “He cannot kill them." He closed his slightly tired eyes and turned his head to look back at the papers.
"...why can't he?" She frowned because Lucas, no, Baldrick Alastair, gives no damn about anyone at all. He doesn't even seem to care what will happen to himself, that creep.
"Because your mother is a dear person to him."
She grimaced deeply, "Eww—!” she reflexively removed her hands from the table to stand in a defensive way with a look of utter disgust. “Don’t tell me he loves her or anything?! That disgusting psychotic doctor with The Shresta Anfinrud?!"
Armand's shoulders shook a bit as he silently laughed, "You've just traumatized me."
Her face turned blank as she blinked at the man, slowly relaxing her posture again. "Wait, what is it then?" she recalled what the vampire doctor had told her in their last encounter, “He said he hates us…”
Armand hummed as he took a highlighter pen to circle a piece of information to review later, "So, did your brother break the Canvas?"
She clicked her tongue at being ignored and pulled a face at the man who wasn't even looking at her as he smirked. "Yeah, I felt it was activated for a moment there, but it all disappeared quickly." She, however, looked worried. “…if the Canvas activated for a minute or two…would the effect still be there?”
Armand had a look of contentment at that moment as his lips stretched to an evil smile, the same smile when he had looked at Angela, her half-sister, sedated and without her limbs in the basement as if he had finally tasted victory after so long of being shackled in the dark, "Great." He ardently expressed his satisfaction, raising his head to look up at her baffled eyes, “Hopefully, the gift your father prepared is properly delivered to our greatest force, Gasha." He looked down at the papers while tapping the head of the highlighter pen on the table, "Your father had put so much faith in this person in all his encrypted information and plan after all."
[https://i.postimg.cc/Wz5dksPV/2.jpg]
Gasha kept blinking at the man, who was oddly excited with a straight face. She suddenly wants to go to Diara to complain for hours about the riddles this man always talks in.
“Have you seen your mother yet?”
She blinked again when the man gently whispered the sudden question without looking at her. “…not yet.” She looked down with a soft smile while remembering her mother’s face, which she hadn’t seen for years, “She’s doing good, right? Of course she is.” she smirked at the muffled laugh from the man. “I miss her.”
“You can go see her now.” He dryly said.
“Fine, fine. I’ll leave you alone now.” She sighed, smiling helplessly while walking back to the door, “Be reminded that you’re a human, and you need some sleep.” She stopped before the door, smiling mischievously, “Oh, and I met Bren Carson, the one who loved your broad forehead the most.” The sound of papers and scribbling behind her back paused for a second. Turning to check on the man, she found him looking down with a fond smile, and something else she couldn’t explain as it looked yet again like the man was anticipating something vicious for the plan, “Anyway, I think he found our location. I found him wandering around on my way here.” She slightly frowned, “Not complaining, I’d like it if he joined us so I can talk to him every day, but how did he even arrive before me?” she observed and sighed at the look from the man, knowing he wasn’t going to answer any time soon. But she had a feeling she could guess the answer from her Boss’ smile only, ‘Bren Carson is not a human?’ amazed, she slightly raised her eyebrows for a moment. “Well, by the looks of it, I guess it’s a good thing.” She shrugged her shoulders and turned to open the door.
“You did well, Gasha.”
She paused for a second, “Help me marry him, then.”
She left the room after receiving another muffled laugh from the man.
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"Haa, something's wrong. Nice." Ellmer stared at the place before him, one particular area in the forest he had known since childhood. He glared long at the spot where he was sure the cottage was located and hidden well in the woods. Resting his hands on his waist, he mumbled with a frown. "Not a person, but a whole cottage is gone without any trace on the ground..." if not for remembering the place well like the back of his hand, the place that was the only shelter to him in the past, he would have doubted if he had come to the wrong forest.
He looked around him for the tenth time in the day, "Where did he go...?" He looked in a particular direction from a distance, tilting his head in thought, "I might as well check on the village."
However, after half an hour of dashing through the forest, the sight that welcomed him did not make him any less confused. No, he was beyond shocked even. "How did a whole village disappear like it never existed...?" He stared down from above at a land of nothing but sand, no homes, and no people, not a single one was there. No sign of life in the place. He silently tried to recall anyone from the organization who could erase a whole existence this way, and it didn't take him long to get the answer. He furrowed his eyebrows in deep worry, 'Chronos Anfinrud...?'
He clicked his tongue as he reviewed again how the bastard's creepy weapon worked. That freaking bear he always carries around must be the reason behind the disappearance of a whole village and the cottage, which is Armand's hideout, or was previously. 'Did he get them?' He doubted Armand would be an easy target to capture, even for someone like Chronos. Armand surely would protect the villagers who helped tend to his severe injuries from the incident before, who even helped hide him in the woods, right?
Chronos might be a lunatic, but Armand is not any less terrifying. Actually, Armand was the only one fearful here.
For someone to strike two big organizations in one night and kidnapping Angela Anfinrud, known as The Witch of the family, and take Xenos' wife with him after killing most of the experimented employees who are no longer humans but robots instead. Armand sure feared not Lucas and no one else.
And simply, the man disappeared right after causing chaos, like it never happened.
"So, what am I supposed to do if you're not here, Mr. sparkly head?" He grumbled quietly to himself. How were they going to figure out what to do next? Armand Hanover was the one who briefly talked to him about the novel telling the story of the miserable vampire doctor, and he doubted the man had delivered the attack to both organizations without much thought. Ellmer knows well enough that Armand is never a clueless or incompetent person. Despite appearing like a trained dog that listens well to any order, the man was aware of most things around him and thought carefully and meticulously when approaching any enemy.
Armand must have figured out everything to make a bold move now after all this time of staying completely silent.
Ellmer thought again about whom to ask now. One person appeared in his mind for some reason, "Bren Carson...?" he whispered. Ellmer trusted Owin to tell him any information right away, but his friend was a different matter. Ellmer only spent a short time getting to know the guy, and the number of times they had met was two to three times only, and they hardly talked even in those encounters. But the guy sure has the eyes of someone who knows more than he appears to.
Ellmer contemplated while looking at the deserted land before him, "I've been away from the academy for a while now..." while he could go on and look for Armand a little bit longer ‘and he had a feeling that he would find him in the end’ but he couldn't shake off the ominous feeling that being away from the academy now was a bad idea.
Alvis had assured him things were somewhat steady now. Still, the worry was evident in the Assistant Headmaster's voice, probably because of Davante's and Kaven's strange behaviors lately. Ellmer also couldn't help but feel unease over the sudden change of events. It felt like they were diving into the foreboding unknown future, and they were sailing too fast at that, and the changes of those two were not any good sign; he could feel it somehow in the air that something awful was on the way to strike them all at once.
Kaven's changes were a little concern to him, but Davante...
Kyle and Kito even said that the teen was acting strange and that something about him was different after observing him for a while under Ellmer's command.
His little brother might not even be there anymore, right...?
He couldn't help but expect the worst now. And Armand's disappearance was not helping with calming down his stressful thoughts.
He quietly sighed, deciding that one month and a half away from the academy were enough now, and it was time to return.
With that in mind, he turned around, ready to leave.
“…!”
He stopped breathing for a moment at what was waiting behind him.
"You're that one kid who was the reason behind Neron's needless rebellious move back then, aren't you?"
‘Am I tired enough to the point I couldn’t sense him behind me at all…?’ Ellmer silently composed himself as he looked Chronos in the eye, who was standing with many others not too far from him.
Chronos contemplated with a low hum, and the large group of the remaining tools from Anfinrud was waiting for orders behind him like robots. "You went to check on the cottage first..."
‘I’ve been followed for a while, then.’ Ellmer wanted to click his tongue, 'This one's no fool even if he's barely a human anymore...' as much as he wanted to kill the freaky lab rat before him and be done with, he felt it was best to try and talk with him first.
'I'm technically still working for Anfinrud, after all.'
"Hey..." Chronos called like a child whining a little, seemingly not happy at seeing Ellmer again, "You know Armand Hanover, right?" He took a step forward, and the stuffed bear carried in his hand suddenly moved with glowing eyes and floated beside its owner, and Chronos' eyes slowly changed to look completely black. "Why do you know his old hideout? I wonder...I really, really wanna know..." the stuffed bear's mouth suddenly widened and became huge. An old man was thrown out from the dark pit inside the bear’s mouth at that moment, rolling on the ground before he came to a stop and was frightened, hastily trying to stand up while looking left and right.
[https://i.postimg.cc/yYwVrDj5/3.jpg]
"......" Ellmer was quite pleased by the scene. The old fucking man who had bought him in exchange for some cheap drugs and dragged him to the organization to exploit and use him, then let out his frustration on him whenever he felt like it. Here he was, pathetic and beaten to the point that he couldn't be recognized at first glance. The old man who had always looked down and towered over Ellmer, torturing him and assigning him as his personal punching bag, now looked sickly feeble, like the life had been sucked out from his deepest being. ‘I didn’t expect the show, but I like it.’ He wondered for a moment just how Chronos Anfinrud had done the damage to the snooty old geezer, and now he feared what even lay inside the pit of that weapon’s mouth.
Henrik's eyes landed on Ellmer and immediately pointed at him with trembling hands, "T-This!! This is the traitor!! He-He helped the S-Shadow to run before!! He-Heh-He works with Armand Hanover, sir, I'm sure!!!" He struggled to talk as if his tongue was tied tightly. He stumbled close to Chronos's legs like he was ready to lick the boots of the Anfinruds' current leader, "Please believe me—"
Wham—!
Ellmer’s eyebrows quirked up for a moment, barely holding back a whistle as the bastard was perfectly humiliated by a kick from a cold-looking Chronos, making him roll back on dirt with laughable yelps and groans, crawling away from the look of the stuffed bear. 'Hey, aren't you good?' Ellmer secretly smirked and cheered as he stared at Chronos, 'It seems I misjudged you. My bad.'
Chronos focused his black eyes on Ellmer again with an inexpressive face, "Is what he said true?" He titled his head, "I hate lies, okay?" He held up his index finger like a silently upset child. “Neron messed up his life by trying to save you before, so you must be a good kid.”
‘What a caring big brother you are.’ Ellmer held back a sigh as he felt extremely sorry for the purple head. He stopped himself from smirking openly as he looked at the crazed guy before him. 'Let's try to calm the mad puppet for now.'
He really hoped to leave the place soon without a fight, and if possible, he would like to try and make Chronos of use to him. Tossing a look at Henrik, who had taken refuge beside one of the trees, cowering and trembling in fear, Ellmer thought with sneering eyes. 'And maybe I’ll take that shit with me to investigate later.'
.
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Javi stared long at the closed door before him, “Haah…” he let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumped in frustration. He looked up again at the door with a slight frown, “It’s been weeks, and I’ve yet to see the door open at least once…” he squinted his eyes suspiciously as he mumbled, “Where the heck is he?” he eventually rested his forehead against the door and lightly knocked one last time. He sighed again at the complete silence, even as he had expected it by now.
He remembered what Bren had told him weeks ago. “Well, I hate to break it to you, Bren, but my sitter is unavailable as it seems, so won’t you help me instead?” he grumbled under his breath, absently staring down at the floor.
He was lost in thought until he suddenly heard someone behind him.
“Ellmer is out of the academy now.”
He turned around and found a smiling teen with black hair and purple eyes. “You are…”
“Ellmer’s stepbrother, Kito.” The teen nodded when his hand was accepted in a handshake after careful silence from the brown head.
Javi silently observed the friendly-looking boy, “…Javi.” He introduced himself even though he felt the teen knew him already. He let go of Kito’s hand and asked, “May I know where he went off to?”
“Well…” Kito checked their surroundings for a quick second, “He specifically allowed me to tell you since you wouldn’t come see him unless it’s important or urgent…”
Javi blinked in surprise, acknowledging for a moment that the evil-looking guy turned out to be actually meticulous and caring. He pursed his lips slightly, remembering what Elois had said about Ellmer after the incident in the forest. Despite the late events, Javi does trust Elois’ view of others.
He looked back at the boy before him, ‘This means this kid had been watching me for a while.’ He stared cautiously, ‘I shouldn’t underestimate him if he could watch me in secret for weeks.’ He wanted to sigh, thinking that anyone somehow related to Ellmer shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The boy suddenly motioned for him to follow behind, and he did, cautiously walking a little to a secluded corridor leading to the emergency exit.
“Here,” Kito pulled a device from his pocket and a key, “This is the private device to contact him, and his room’s key.”
“…why the key?” Javi reluctantly took the device and the key in his hand.
Kito smiled respectfully, “He said, and I quote, ‘It’s better than living the stray dog for now.’”
Javi’s hold slightly tightened around the device and the key in his hand for a moment. ‘…I’m thankful, you jerk.’
It’s not like it wasn’t obvious to anyone now that he had been running away and avoiding being in the same room with Edmund after everything he had heard and learned, and Elois needed the space also, so…he was indeed looking like a stray dog for weeks now. Well, at least he was taking care of his hygiene using the public shower rooms.
He looked down at the device and key and had a deep look at that moment. He looked again at the boy, frowning a bit. “…is he out for a mission?”
Kito contemplated before answering, “Gathering information.” He whispered, “The two organizations fell down in one night, that’s why.”
“What…?” Javi didn’t need to ask which organizations were mentioned here, ‘…the Cavalon organization still around?’
If he recalled correctly, he and Edmund were the only survivors of the incident in the past unless there were other family members he hadn’t known back then, which was most likely the case since he was practically imprisoned at home, and only a few were allowed to meet with him. Or, ‘…is dad alive after all?’ he remembers the one Elois calls Lucas was standing in Ral’s room by the door, so it isn’t sure yet if his father had died or survived.
But the teen’s answer only helped grow his worry, “How long was he supposed to be away?”
Kito looked down a bit as if he could understand the worry apparent on the other, “He said at most one month, but…” he trailed off.
Javi wondered why the kid only gave him the key and the device now if one month and a half had passed already, but he figured it was because the boy didn’t feel safe to let him enter his brother’s room even if he was told so. However, Javi’s frown worsened at Kito for looking unsure, “Have you contacted him?”
“I talked to him this morning.” Kito slowly nodded, “He told me he would be here before noon today, but as you can tell…”
‘The sun is setting, and he’s not here yet.’ Javi had a bad feeling about this.
Kito rubbed the back of his neck with a weak smile, “He said not to leave the academy unless we need to run for our safety.” He glanced awkwardly and apologetically at Javi.
Javi understood what the boy was trying to say, “…I’ll look for him.”
Kito brightened up instantly, looking grateful before he pulled a folded paper from his pocket, “Here, this is the location he left for us in case we needed a shelter to hide in. You may find him there, or at least find something to lead you to his whereabouts now.” he pushed it toward the other with hopeful eyes, “I’m sorry to ask you of this right after introducing myself, but it’s the first time it happened, and the situation now is…scaring me, frankly.” He mumbled the last part as if he was wary to voice his thoughts out to someone at last, “My twin brother and I can’t really do much in this case…”
Javi stared long at the perturbed boy before he smiled and patted his head, “I’ll see what I can do.” He pushed all three stuff into his pockets, “Listen to your brother and stay here, don’t leave unless the academy isn’t a safe place anymore.”
Kito nodded firmly, smiling again at the guy who had quickly felt like a big brother to him in their first encounter in less than an hour only.
Javi thought first of what to do. It would be foolish to go blindly, right? He needed more information about Ellmer’s destination first. He racked his mind for whom to ask, ‘Owin and Bren sounded like they are his business fellows…’
He decided to ask them, even if he was still not prepared to talk to them both, and even if they weren’t exactly back to being friends, but it wasn’t the time to sweat over his past mistakes or fix whatever problem he was going through for a while now.
‘Why did you go alone in this time, you little…’ he felt like giving Ellmer a scolding if he found him.
.
.
Meanwhile, Davante, or the Weapon, kept blinking numerous times while staying still on what he assumed was the floor.
"Hello?"
He said, and it echoed in the black void he had suddenly found himself in when he had just a moment ago been sleeping peacefully along with Elois in their shared room.
Looking down, he found himself in his usual attire when in his realm.
Looking straight again, "So..." he remembered the feeling he got when Elois came closer to hug him earlier today. Or was it really the same day still? How long had he been in this void before he opened his eyes? He wasn't sure.
"...there was a foul stench around him, as I feared." Maybe he should've rejected the hug after all. What point in complaining now, though? It's not like Elois was aware of it either, so he could not blame the guy for bringing him into this situation.
He lightly sighed, looking around him again. There was nothing but endless darkness.
But there was one thing bothering him the most at the moment.
He cannot feel Davante with him.
"...someone kicked me out of my Master's body." He whispered.
His eyes turned impossibly colder at that moment, "What a foul thing to do, truly."
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The End of CH. 37
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