Elympios, a land that exists in an opposite world alongside its partner Rieze Maxia. Elympios serves as many things such as a land of new opportunities as well as a place for people to both begin anew as well as spread crime.
"And for us...this city is ripe for the taking." Jack said as he and his group arrived.
"Why are we here? Last I checked...Elympios didn't have any major treasures." Oracle said.
"True but…" Jack said pointing to figures in robes attacking a citizen.
"What the…?" Skull asked.
"They're loyalists of the Magic Universe. From what I hear, they've been gathering every single magical artifact and treasure from all over the Magic Universe and storing it somewhere in this land." Jack said.
"Tell me about it. These guys are even worse than Exodus, from the looks of things." a voice said, revealing a man in a dress shirt.
"And just who are you?" Joker asked.
"Name's Alfred Vint Svent. My friends call me Alvin." Alvin introduces himself.
"Alvin? Oh, you're one of Jude's old companions, are you?" Queen said.
"That's right. Pretty much stuck with him since the beginning." Alvin said.
"Pretty much?" Mona asked.
"At the time, I was a mercenary, so I've always taken the side with the best deal. Nowadays, I'm trying to live an honest life as a fruit vendor, but these Magic Enforcers keep driving away customers." Alvin said.
"Mercenary huh? If that's the case...how about we make a deal?" Jack said. "Help us to take their treasure and we'll chase them out for ya? Sound good?"
"I don't condone that kind of business anymore, but these guys attacked Jude when he came by sometime ago. No way I'll let them get away with that." Alvin said.
"So, you wouldn't miss a chance to pay them back for hurt your friend. I think that's something we can work with. What skills do you have in battle?" Mona said.
"A mix of sword and gun artes." Alvin said.
"I have a law that allows me to steal abilities but only when I know the person's name and their ability. In hard situations, I have a gun and knife hidden on my person." Jack said.
"The rest of us use melee weapons as well as long range weapons, except for Oracle. She monitors the situation. We also use Personas." Joker said.
"Personas? As in alternate identities?" Alvin asked.
"I think it's better to demonstrate than explain." Skull said approaching the robed figures. "Persona!" he said ripping his mask off as appearing behind him was a figure on a pirate ship. "Blow em away! Captain Kidd!" Skull said as the figure attacked the figures with lightning, knocking them out.
"Whoa, that was a pretty sick move you just made there!" Alvin said.
"Thanks. Now let's see about taking these guys around back. Use their robes as disguises." Skull said.
"Smart thinking. If we act like one of them, it'll be easier to find their stronghold." Mona said.
"All of this reminds me of when I used to work for Exodus before getting dumped at Rieze Maxia." Alvin said.
"We're thieves. We're used to this sort of thing." Noir said.
"Right. Well, in that case, let's get cracking!" Alvin said.
The thieves and Alvin looked over the city before receiving a call from Mona.
"Guys! I found one of them. I'm following now." Mona said.
"Send us your location...we'll be close behind." Jack said.
The rest of the group donned the robes from the knocked out members as they followed Mona and a couple of members in front of him towards what appeared to be an old building.
"This place seems abandoned. Looks like the perfect place for a hideout." Alvin said.
"And a good place to hide treasures that they don't want found." Mona said. "My treasure radar's goin crazy." he said with dollar signs in his eyes.
"Okay...first...we need a distraction." Jack said.
"I'll handle it this time." Queen said as she started running to the building as she ripped her mask off. "Come! Johanna!" she said as she jumped and landed on a motorcycle that appeared as it broke through the doors and started causing chaos on the main floor.
"Now we take advantage of the chaos." Jack said as the thieves ran in as Oracle stayed behind to monitor the scene.
"Looks like the treasures being stored in the basement but its under heavy guard." Oracle said.
"Heavy Guard…. May need something big to blow through that defense." Alvin said.
"Me and Panther can handle that part. We just need to get rid of the members of this group first." Skull said.
"Well...then I guess it's time I started hunting myself." Jack said as he casually walked inside as the members were going wild with their magic before seeing one using lightning. "Hey, big guy! Got a name?"
"Uh...Butch?" they said.
"Thanks." Jack said before touching them and punching them out. "Let's have some fun." Jack said as his hands surged with electricity. He fired lightning in multiple directions as he dealt damage to anyone one standing in his way as he smiled.
"He's impressive." Alvin said. "Then again, he does have a very handy ability."
"It's called Law of Thievery. It's a law that steals abilities. He can keep the ability as long as he wishes." Joker said. "The downside is that he can only do so from one person at a time."
"May as well make it count, then." Alvin said.
"I have the same thought." Joker said pulling out a gun as the two ran in and began firing at the enemy.
"Let's see...where is the...ah." Jack said finding the stairway door. He knocked it open with lightning before strolling in.
"Follow him." Joker said as he and Alvin followed after Jack before they arrived to the vault door.
"An electronic lock...in a world of magic? Out of place...but will lead to good fortune." Jack said firing lightning as it opened on its own. The three of them walked inside. "Weird...Oracle said it was under heavy guard."
They then felt the ground shake as gigantic stone creatures towered over them.
"Ah...Golems...makes sense." Jack said.
"Strong as a rock but they always have some weakness." Joker said.
"Yeah. They're weak to fire and water elemental attacks." Alvin said.
"Well...then I guess my turn has come!" a voice said as Panther came down. "Come, Carmen!" she said as appearing behind her was a woman in a long dress with rose thorns as it launched fire upon the golems, igniting them.
"Whoa!" Alvin said.
"You'd be surprised what Personas can use." Jack said before seeing a sprinkler system set above. "As for water…" he said zapping the sprinklers as they started sprinkling water all over as the golems were starting to fall apart.
"Kind of seemed like a oversight on their part." Alvin said.
"I know. Yet they seemed to get a stranglehold on this town. It's weird." Jack said. "Any of you guys see their leader?"
"Nothing." Fox said on his end as he observed a command room. "Seems whoever was leading them is long gone."
"So he abandoned his pals? What a coward move. Well, no matter. Least now we can get the treasure. Everyone meet down in the basement so we can start hauling this stuff up." Jack said.
"Roger." Fox said.
"Wow. For a loyalist group, these guys have made out like bandits than real wizards." Jack said looking around. "Gems, staffs, swords, every known magic artifacts is just sitting here for the taking."
"Hey Jack. Look what I found." Joker said holding a golden key with the symbol of Aquarius on it.
"The reformed Zodiac Key. Should be pretty valuable since its the only one that's free." Jack said pocketing it. "Hey, Alvin. Don't be afraid. Part of this treasure is your reward too.'
"I think I know some people that can handle these." Alvin said as he looted some of it, even a fancy sword. "Shame that the guy in charge got away, though."
"Don't worry about that. If he was willing to abandon his buddies, he's not worth our time, anyway." Jack said.
"Wonder how he knew we were coming anyway?" Joker wondered.
It wasn't long before the thieves had the treasure packed inside of Mona.
"Okay. Looks like everything." Jack said.
"Hold on. There's still one thing left." Queen said pointing to a small red box.
"Strange. That wasn't there when we started." Jack said picking it up and opening it.
No sooner that the box was opened that a brilliant light shined enveloping all in the room. When it subsided, the room was empty except for the box.
"Ugh...what?" Jack said before seeing his group, Alvin and the treasure falling through some sort of memory as they saw a red moon and people attacking an innocent village.
"Huh? What...is this?" Alvin asked.
"It appears to be some sort of memory. One from the past it would seem." Fox said.
"A red moon...I've read about this. An event that used to happen on another world. It's the Scarlet Night." Queen said.
"Scarlet Night? Why do I get that feeling its something bad?" Skull asked.
"It occurs once every three years, or so I've heard. Humans are more likely to succumb to malevolence then, turning them into monsters." Queen said.
"Malevolence? You mean the catalyst to make hellions?" Skull said.
"True. But back in these days, they were called Daemons." Queen said. "People died during these. However...during these times...two people free of malevolence had to be sacrificed in order to bring exorcists into this world."
"Its sick is what it is. Who creates monsters just to save the world?" Jack said to himself.
"Agreed. Whoever started this couldn't have gotten away with this." Joker said.
"He did. But Daemons still exist because the ritual sacrifice had an unforeseen consequence." Queen said. "During the event of the ritual, one other creature was created. A rare species of Daemon capable of devouring other daemons. They called this specific kind a Therion."
"That's what they need than." Jack said before they saw a light at the end as they found themselves falling through the sky. "Seriously? Why can't these ever come out on the ground?"
"I'm on it!" Mona said transforming into a ship as the group landed on top of him.
"Based on what Queen told us, one thing is certain… We're officially in Hell." Alvin said.
"The box must have acted as some kind of portal." Fox said.
"Meaning we're in the world of Daemons and Exorcists." Joker said.
"Hey, look!" Mona said as Jack looked ahead to see three ships crossing through a portal.
"Well...this is more than a coincidence." Jack said smiling. "Seems sort of like fate. What kind of situation am I gonna have to get my bro out of now?"
To be continued in….Brave Adventurer's Travels: Tales of Berseria.