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The village's scenery slowly, but surely, came to Rylo's and Victoria's views as the came up behind Flynn (who obviously had won the race). Out of breath, the slower teammates glanced over the buildings briefly while panting, but managed to reveal grins of satisfaction. Flynn, instead, was silent. Observing. Carefully watching for what his teammates failed to realize in their tired daze.
"Finally... Here.." Victoria confirmed to her teammates.
"Yeah... But look at that over there..." The blond speed mage raised his finger, directing the other two towards several trails of smoke that puffed into the sky. The largest one came from the center of the village; its flames were protruding, even from behind the concealment of the statues and tall business buildings. "I think we've just found our problem."
Rylo removed his top hat slowly, taking in the sight of the fires, and when the wind blew in their direction, shielding himself from the heat that whispered across his person. "Well, what are we waiting for, team?" He inquired, just before replacing the decorative hat and descending down the mountain edge to hopefully meet with their antagonists.
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The Twilight Zone guild was relatively peaceful. Still under the radar, and still rather small, not much excitement would echo throughout their halls on a daily basis. Evanee was perched within her room, Caelestis fumbled through work in his office, and Tsami and Melanie conversed quietly in the kitchen while Alexander scoured around for food.
It had seemed that everyone was present inside the guild – minus the three out on their job – except for.. One.
Outside the Twilight building, a rather tall, intricately dressed male sat upon the stairs. He traced his finger along the lip of the black top hat that covered his head, and a majority of his snow white hair. A sinister smirk carved its way onto his lips and his eyes radiated with lust. Blood lust.
The sound of silence circulated inside the meteorology bubble, but if you closed your eyes, and listened closely, you could just barely make out the faint sound of the harsh winds and ferociously swirling snow of the raging blizzard on the mountain top. A harmonic quiet that was only disturbed by one thing.
The insane laughter of the new member spilled from his pale pink lips. It was not loud enough for those inside to hear it, but it was loud enough to overrun the peaceful silence. As quickly as his outburst came, it left all the same. He began to speak; a calm, yet soft and sadistic tone.
One phrase.
A phrase soon to be tested by all that he is.
"It won't be long before Magnolia knows of the lightning Demon Slayer. Taranis is here to stay."
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A crowd of three was seen standing in the center of the village. Each figure had a defined, unique stature. The tallest seemed to be overly bulky with muscle, with a top-heavy appearance that was certainly non humanistic. Standing next to, a person of average height with much less build, and long, flowing hair that fell to the ground at their feet. The last of of the group was much shorter than the other two, despite the platforms that aided in height. Her hair was gathered in distinct arches atop her head, while the rest reached down to her lower back.
The orange glow of the flames that surrounded the area flew in, defining the faces of each figure just as Twilight Zone's team had become a part of the scene. Flynn and Victoria had stopped in their tracks, leaving Rylo to take the lead and face the group. However, rather than having the first word, the cliché mage waited. Waited for an explanation.
It wasn't long before he was granted one. Elegantly, the woman took three steps forward, setting one foot carefully in front of the other, perfectly aligned. "Oh my," she began, "it seems you haven't brought the one we desire along with you..."
"The one you... Desire?" Rylo inquired as a hint of confusion began to dabble over his face.
"The evil deeds of your nakama has reached our guild's ears!" The overly bulky male exclaimed, taking his own steps forward, turning his owl head to the side as he did. "Today, this warrior of justice will bury their evil! Hoo-Hoo-Hoot!"
Flynn began to open his mouth, but quickly quieted himself, remaining dumbfounded at the current situation.
Victoria, on the other hand, spoke up. "... Ah... Why is there an owl preaching to us...?" Her jaw dropped open in a comical manner as she pondered, lightly scratching her cheek.
"Birds talking... Coming from a magician, that's quite the fancy trick. Unfortunately for you, we don't surrender guild mates. Even for whatever reason you're after one of 'em."
"Is that so...?" The female took another step forward, beginning to unsheathe the sword resting on her hip. "Are you willing to fight for his life? For the life of a demon?"
"Demon...? So you mean..."
"They're after Taranis-san..!"
"Heh," the male with hair to the ground stepped forward, now standing along side his team, "we'll send him right back to hell. Go to hell! THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF HELL!" He swung his head around, whipping the long black hair wildly as he strummed the electric guitar in his hands, sending screeching sound waves of out-of-tune notes through the air.
The "S-Class" team all covered their ears, wincing as the sound eerily scratched along their ear drums. Rylo gritted his teeth, and released his ears to tug at the cuff of his sleeve, shouting, "Nothing up my sleeve," while doing so. A magic seal appeared in front of him, followed by a vortex, which absorbed the painful waves from the guitar. "Heh..."
"No one stops my music! Go to hell! HELL!"
"Enough, Vidaldus," the woman stepped in, "we must abide by our fate. This evening will be a festival." She lifted her face, slowly opening her eyes, revealing piercing green irises. "How will you fair against the strongest team of Death's Head Caucus? I, Ikaruga of Trinity Raven, will be sure to steal away your night."
"Hoo-hoo-hoot! And I will not allow you to break the rules! I will pass judgment on you in the name of justice! The warrior of justice, Fukuro, won't let you by without a fight!"