Tides Of Protomis CX

Far away from the site of the battle, a group of demons sat within a darkened room, the stone bricks that constructed it were seemingly of precise make, and painted white. This much was in contrast to how demons usually constructed their buildings, if they even decided to do so in the first place. The most different among them, was a floating demon, who seemingly resembled a starfish.With a number of spines littering the surface of its skin, and a single eye in the space that connected all the tentacles. Walking in front of him, was another, who was gray-skinned, but otherwise seemed human-like, had a glass sphere in her hands. Something that the watchful eye of the creature focused on as he floated forward. The footage of the fight he put up, as well as the eventual death of the one known as Crocell, was observed closely. Eventually, a deepened voice reverberated through the room as he did so.

“So this is who we’re up against?”

“Yes, Lord Sigma…” The female responded. Another, who walked on six legs, in a manner similar to an insect, stepped forward as he spoke in a garbled tone.

“As I see it, the fact that he was able to defeat Crocell shows us that he, and likely those he came here with, are a cut above any normal humans. Who knows what else they might have up their sleeve.”

“Humans, Eh... If I were to make a guess, these were the ones zeta told us about. They don’t look like much of a threat now… But considering one of them apparently slayed that being we heard of, Ardam. It’d be wise not to take any chances... I suppose we’ll see how this proceeds.” With nothing more to say, Sigma began to float out of the room, with the intent being to return to his quarters. As the general made his exit, the room’s other occupants all moved their gazes back to each other.

“So, Adrata… Do you think they’ll be a threat?” The insect questioned.

“Compared to our General, Lord Sigma? I doubt that…” The general himself floated through the halls of his keep, putting all the information he learned into consideration. By this point, he was sure somebody else would note Crocell's disappearance and try to find the group. After all, though the object was known as the all-seeing orb, it was anything but. One had to have some idea of where their target was, and even then, it needed time to recharge. A disadvantageous situation, but not exactly one that would lead to them escaping him, or making any progress. For the time being, however, he would make his way to meet his old friend, Zeta. An uncommon concept among demons, but one that applied to them nonetheless.

-

The members of the group continued to move through the forest, eating as they walked. It was truly a good thing they decided to stock up on food before they left, after all, none of them knew how long this mission was going to take. Among them, however, Zhao seemed to be missing. The mentioned man flew overhead, a paper and pen in his hand. Making a map of their area, however rudimentary, seemed to be of use to them. After all, while they could move freely between realms with Miyamoto’s abilities, seemingly, they couldn’t control where they navigated while within. Among them, an annoyed expression had made its way onto Liang’s face. After that “Crocell” Demon, who had they actually found? What clues did they get to where these “Generals” were?

“All this time we’ve spent here… And yet we’ve still achieved nothing.” Liang spat.

“We need to find a lead of some kind... Can’t even tell how long we’ve been here, considering I haven't seen that damn sun fall since we’ve gotten here.. But it's definitely been a day at least.” Arctaius chimed in. Miyamoto sighed, while most definitely acknowledged this, even if she didn’t enjoy this fact.

“There’s got to be something, or some one we can use… The question is where do we find them.” Among them, a certain martial artist was thinking along other lines. Not on how to gather information, but rather, how to keep their operation afloat. Though they were ultimately very resilient, that did not mean they had no needs at all. For that reason, he chimed in, offering his own opinion.

"We may be able to move fast, but we still need to do so with caution.. We never know what kind of situation we run the risk of entering ourselves into." Liang noted. Arctaius nodded in agreement. Kaizmir was the next to speak, giving them some form of plan that was hopefully agreeable.

"This is true... We'll rest for a bit and have a small meal, no use in running ourselves raw." There were no rejections among the members of the group, and they decidedly stopped in a circular clearing within the woods. More than large enough for them to spread out in. Eventually, the question of if night would ever fall was finally answered, as the “Sun” above them Seemed to dim, bringing them about as close to night as they’d been. A peculiar sight that Arctaius himself watched especially closely, given the relationship between his own abilities and Earth’s star, and perhaps even others? As he pondered this, a different conversation took place among the group members.

“So, how do you think things are going back home?” Miyamoto questioned. Jirou shrugged his shoulders in response.

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“At this point, who knows. It’s not as if we have any info coming from the other side… I wonder if the tunnel’s opened back up yet.”

In front of them, Kazimir took a bite out of a bread roll, which itself had butter in the middle. Chewing and swallowing, he spoke as well.

“It's possible, but I hope not. Our battles didn’t go too well, even if we won. But I think they’ll be preparing for another attack if they haven’t already.” No sooner, Gilga responded as well.

“Knowing Lyle, he’ll be hard at work cooperating with the world’s militaries, possibly getting the USN involved as well.”

“Let’s hope so…” Alarick trailed off as he took note of something. His eyes began scanning the foliage around them, with the rustling of leaves filling his ears. His gaze darted to his left, the apparent origin of the sound. The youth spoke soon after, pointing with his thumb.

“That aside… It looks like we have some company, and a possible resource.”

It did not take long for their attention to move in that direction. All the while, the new subject of the conversation, a humanoid creature with green skin, as well as a head of raven hair. He tightly gripped the dagger in his hand, trying his best to stay still. But at this point, he began to see very little reason in doing so. Would he be able to make it back to the general. At this point, he found taking the gamble more tempting. He began to make a mad dash in the other direction, but before long, he found the blonde standing in front of him, barring his path. The demon began to back up slowly but found himself pressed against the very same tree he was hiding behind once more.

“:Why in such a hurry? Slow down a bit, why don’t you?” Alarick questioned, though, the edge in his tone made it clear it was much closer to a demand. No sooner did his hand grab hold of the demon’s neck, closing around it as if it were a vice. No sooner was he flung away, obliterating a tree as me smashed through it, and damaging the creature himself even more.. He did not fly far, however, as Arctaius caught him before he flew by.

“Got him... Alright you, Let’s get to the point. I’ve heard that a certain group, following a demon known as Maleggan, has been throwing their weight around here. Let me make this easy to understand, you’re going to tell us where they are…”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The demon responded. This statement was followed by Jirou walking to Arctaius’ side.

“Don’t play dumb with us... Would you really be jumping into a fight with this one, Who apparently has more demon energy than you...And her allies?” Jirou questioned. Soon enough, Alarick began striding toward the two, joining in their impromptu interrogation.

“If you weren't employed by someone, that is… So, tell us what we want to know. Where are Mallegan's generals?” However, all they gained from this was a look of defiance, and a scoff as he began speaking.

“Hah. As if I'd be scared of the likes of you. Try what you want, you’ll get nothing out of me…” So it seemed he would be a difficult one. But if that were the case, it simply meant they needed to use a more extreme method. Alarick’s hand was swallowed by the black light of the void blade. Though the demon could not detect his rise of protomis, he had a good idea of what he was facing. Beads of sweat began to run down his face, and he began giving them the information.

“You can find general Mu’s domain to the north, Near the Steppes, And Sigma's domain is to the west. Besides that, I don't know anything else.” Apparently intent on getting all the information he could, Alarick stepped forward, beginning to raise the hand, with the low humming of the blade itself beginning to become clearer. The blonde narrowed his eyes soon after.

“Is that really all you know?”

“Y-Yes, Just let me go!!” There was silence for a few moments.

“Fine..”

Finally, Arctaius’ vice-like grip loosened, allowing the demon’s feet to touch the ground. The creature shortly turned away, as a smirk crawled onto his face, knowing very well what was to come next. It seemed to him that they were more naive than their reputation had let on.

“:Heh, The fools. The moment i get out of here, I’m going back to sigma with thi-”

But, his thoughts came to a sudden pause, as he took note of a sudden, sharp pain spreading across his neck. The reason for which was made clear as blood began to pool around him, and his head began to slide off. The demon’s eyes widened.

“What?! But you said-”

“We said we would let you GO. We didn’t say anything about how far you would get.” Alarick stated.

“You’re mistaken if you thought you would get us with a cheap trick like that. You won’t be telling anyone about our location.” Liang added. Soon enough, the now headless demon fell to the ground, allowing the group to return to their camp. It didn’t take long for them to resume their meals, as if what had taken place was routine.

“Well, we have our directions, and as for how far away these generals are, I suppose we’ll have to see.” Arctaius noted.

“At least we cut some of our workload off.” Miyamoto stated as she bit into a piece of beef.

“Two different directions, though. It’s a good thing we decided to make this map, at the very least we’ll know where to return to.” Zhao chimed in. The group stayed there for a bit longer, taking in some more food, though, being sure not to overeat, after all, the last thing they needed was such resources getting scarce, especially considering where they were now. Now, they were on the road once more, moving through the dense brush. The walk was routine, and no words were said, until both herself, and GIlga stopped moving, something they all took note of. The two sensors turned to look over their shoulders.

“Hold on.. I’m sensing a large crowd of demons on the way, a really strong one is in the center too. It seems familiar, though. Could it be him?”

No sooner, what looked to be an army of demons came marching through the forest, some large, some small, some humanoid, and some looking entirely alien. But there was one who was familiar to the group’s members. A Grotesque suit of armor that had come to their aid in the past. Strangely enough, he raised his and, and the legions behind him stopped. Leaving both groups to stare at each other.

“Wait a minute, I remember fighting him.”

“That's the one you summoned against Ardam, right?”

“:Yeah. It’s been a while, Huh- Hyperion…” Miyamoto greeted.

“It sure has.” Hyperion responded.

To Be Continued