Chapter 12: That Man I: The Midnight Carnival

Only telling Ky and Sol where he was going, Alex flew away from Zepp and headed to the nation of Illyria. Ky had vowed to call ahead so the guards would let him in, but from the way he spoke Alex knew the King had his reservations with what Paradigm mentioned. Sol didn't even say a word, and had a scowl on his face. It was far more intense than his usual ones.

"Did Sol suspect something? Knowing how paranoid he's been lately…" Alex shook his head and looked down as a large castle came into view. At the moment, he didn't bother dilly-dallying with the place's details. With a swift descent, he landed before two guards that wore an armor he was accustomed to seeing from Ky's ship. As expected, they raised their spears to the boy and one asked "Halt! State your purpose!"

The boy raised his hands with a mischievous smile and replied "Didn't you guys get your orders from Ky? You're supposed to let me through." The guards looked at each other for a moment before turning to Alex and saying "So you're Alex Whiter?"

Rolling his eyes, Alex let out a sarcastic "No, I'm Sol Badguy" and one of the guards said "Our King warned us of your sharp tongue. Very well, you may pass." The guards dropped their spears while Alex gave them a brow-raised glare. He then closed his eyes and inquired "So how do I reach the library?"

"Right of the stairs, end of the hall. It shouldn't take you long." The guard replied swiftly and dutifully, and as Alex passed them he flicked a couple fingers their way and said "Keep up the good work fellas." When the boy was out of earshot, one of the guards whispered "The King really prefers the company of weirdos…"

"The Gear Maker…Or perhaps as Frederick has referred to him as 'That Man'…He has requested a meeting with you, Alex Whiter."

That lingered on Alex's mind as he entered the castle and folded his arms together, hanging his head down to look at the red carpet floors while following the guards' directions. With a perturbed grumble, the boy wiggled his scowl and then tightly grit his teeth. "How…How did he find out about me? Was he watching my fight with Sol? He still wouldn't know me by name…" Entering the darkened hallway, Alex lifted his head up and rubbed the back of it. This frustration just would not leave his mind, and he found himself incapable of thinking of anything that wouldn't cause it.

Looking ahead, Alex murmured "I'll have to handle this myself, whatever it is. If my suspicions are right, then perhaps…" After a short trot down the hall, he saw someone waiting for him midway.

He had the face of a dragon with long pointed ears and a couple small antennae. His lips were jagged like his fangs and his eyes were red with small black pupils. He wore a small black suit with white undercoat and red tie, with a small professor's hat atop his head. If that wasn't enough, the glasses on his snout, the rugged silk white beard and the book he carried around completed his knowledgeable demeanor. Bizarrely, his feet are like that of a chicken's and he wasn't even four feet tall.

Levitating loftily off the ground, this being looked up at Alex and seemed to observe his entire being in a matter of seconds. Taking a claw to nudge his glasses, the lizard-bird hybrid commented in a refined manner "You are Alex Whiter, yes?" The boy replied nonchalantly "And you're Paradigm…So?"

"Forgive my presumptions, I expected you to look a little…" Paradigm's hesitation gave enough of an opening for Alex to remark jokingly "Taller?" The Gear amended that with a gesture "More mystical, to be precise."

"Sorry, the Elemental Overlord succession plan doesn't come complete with a new outfit." Alex grinned, thinking his snappy remark was clever. Paradigm just brushed his beard a little and took on his natural tone "Regardless, allow me to invite you to my quarters."

As Paradigm turned around, Alex gave him a blank glare for a little and muttered "Humorless lizard…" before following him deeper into the castle. The door they were looking for was only a hundred feet away, and after opening it Paradigm glanced back and said "I had wished to learn a little more of your powers, but time is of the essence. I must take part in the council for determining the attack on the Cradle."

"I thought I was meeting That Man?" Alex inquired and Paradigm floated over to him, raising his head to whisper in his ear "There is a portal hidden within the library. We want to keep the Gear Maker as a trump card against the Cradle, so the portal's only designed to activate in your presence."

Paradigm lowered his head and wiggled his glasses back into place, telling the boy quietly "Oh and…give my regards and apologies to Frederick the next time you see him." He then floated down the hall as Alex entered his room. The boy closed the door and looked around. There were shelves upon shelves filled with books, and there wasn't even enough room so some of the books were kept in neatly organized stacks on the ground.

Looking around, the boy was overcome by a flash of white light and saw a small portal opening before the wall on the right. As he set his eyes upon it, his heart beat at a heavy pace and his arms started feeling a little tense. Curling his hands into fists relieved the feeling just a little, and after taking in a deep breath he walked towards the portal.

Upon going through, he found the aesthetics of the realm he entered no different from the portal itself. There was nothing but white as far as the eye can see, and there was no sense of physicality or scale anywhere. For a second, Alex had to readjust himself, making sure he wasn't instinctively floating amongst nothingness. When he had established footing on solid ground, the boy held his breath and concentrated on the air. There were no toxins, and he could safely breathe.

"This isn't a trap…" Alex murmured, his realization serving to give him only a greater sense of confusion as he began to advance. It didn't take long for the shadows of three figures to come into view, and even those shadows cleared swifter than the boy expected. The people ahead seemed to have noticed him too, as one of them, with a calm and light British accent, welcomed his presence as such "Greetings, Alex Whiter. Or would you rather I refer to you by your title of Elemental Overlord?"

That voice came from a rather mysterious man who stood at the center of the trio. He wore a thick white cloak that wouldn't have been unfitting on a bishop. His sleeves drooped over his arms and his legs were hidden behind a black drape underneath the cloak. His head was kept hidden behind the shadow of his hood, and atop the hood was a blood red cross. This enigma was the Gear Maker, 'That Man'. Despite his face being draped in shadow, he was clearly looking at Alex with intrigue, just as the boy was doing the same.

On the left of this man was a sultry woman with perhaps a little too much confidence in her appearance. She wore a red witch hat with a skull face on it and it sat atop her black bob cut hair. Around her neck was a black leather choker with a gold ring connected to her cleavage bearing shoulders red jacket. That along with her red miniskirt and thigh high heel boots made her seem better suited for sexual favors than being a servant of That Man. This wicked wench's name was I-No, and she was the only one of the three not paying Alex any heed.

The last person had the eeriest vibe to him, one that unsettled Alex just by looking at him for just a moment. They wore a wing-like hooded mantle with a hood that had shapes resembling eyes. His shoulders are draped with green leather straps with cross-shaped silver buckles, and a larger cross buckle rests on his chest. Between the gap of his mantle a black sleeveless vest with crisscrossed white bands could be seen, along with black pants and baggy black chaps attached to his waist. On his feet were fold over boots with spiked studs and more buckles. So far this made them seem normal, if not a little eccentric in clothing, but then one look at their face would throw all presumptions of normality away. Impaled through their forehead was a large silver spike and their skin was devoid of most color, with their hair short and white as snow. In one of the eyes the iris and pupil had been replaced with a golden coin. With their body frame being as lanky as it was combined with everything else, they were almost like a skeleton walking the Earth. This creep's name was Raven.

Once he had registered everyone in his head, Alex stopped moving just fifteen feet away from the trio and held his head up high, hiding his concerns behind a cocky grin. He then asked That Man "So, what do you want from me?" That Man raised his head a little and kept his hands floating beside his hips. He was absolutely collected, unnaturally so, as he responded "To be honest, your presence here is a bit…disturbing, to say the least. It is almost like a prelude to a much bigger problem than what the Conclave are up to."

Alex winced a little and placed his hands in his pockets, hiding his clenched fists as he then asked "I want to know something real quick. Were you watching me fight Sol?" That Man shook his head and replied "I was not. However, that's different from saying I was not aware of the matter."

Raven remarked in a relaxed tone unbefitting his appearance "It was I who told him." Alex thus swerved his body to the right and folded his arms before his chest, asking That Man bluntly "Then that's what disturbed you?"

"I know there are those stronger than Frederick in this world, at least in his current state…" That Man folded his arms into his sleeves and looked straight into Alex's eyes. For a second, there was a tension between the two that couldn't be described, and the boy thought "W-What the hell is he up to…?"

In a single, blunt moment, That Man said "What bothers me more, however, is your other title. Do the words 'Phoenix of Destruction' mean anything to you?" Alex could not keep his cool after that. His forehead wrinkled up as he scowled as tight as he could. That title…it had only been spoken of by those who had gotten in contact with the artifact pieces, which could only mean…

"How the HELL did you get the artifact piece away from the Conclave?!" Alex sudden blurt was followed by That Man replying to him calmly "I am surprised how quickly you pieced that together…But a part of your assumption is wrong. I do not have that artifact. I was merely the first it was offered to."

Alex flinched and then while frozen in shock inquired "W-What the hell are you talking about?" That Man replied to that with intrigue in his voice "I did not invite you here to fester antagonism between us. Far from it, I want to believe that we can benefit each other. But, as long as the words I heard linger in my head, it makes it difficult to discern whether or not you are a friend…or a foe."

The boy raised his head back and stated matter-of-factly "What, the fact I'm working against the Conclave not good enough for you?" That Man stated "That means you stand against their plans. I stand against them too, that does not make the path I take one of righteousness, in some perceptions."

Then Alex shut his eyelids tight and briefly vented his frustrations with a steaming growl. When he was done, he opened his mouth with a sigh and then asked "Then what do you want from me?" That Man replied "It's simple, really. I wish for you to face both of my subordinates in battle."

Alex raised his brows, acting on his suspicions by asking "There's more to it than that, isn't there?" That Man nodded his head and said "I want you to prove to me that you are not this 'Phoenix of Destruction'. Please, for the sake of this trial, do not use that Phoenix Form of yours, and if you can…restrain yourself from killing anyone."

"And you'll share some information about that being that approached you if I succeed, right?" Alex inquired rather bravely. That Man answered in an indirect manner "As I said…I do believe we can help each other out. Now, I-No, if you would please…" In a flash, That Man and Raven disappeared from sight, leaving Alex alone with the wicked wench herself.

I-No sighed and turned to Alex, keeping the lip of her hat down to avoid making eye contact as she mumbled bitterly "Here I am stuck babysitting some shit-faced brat. Whatever…maybe you'll able to get me all hot and wet with your powers, little boy."

Alex clasped his gloved fisted in his hand and started cracking the knuckles for warm-up, replying jokingly to his foe "Sorry, but I don't need an extra helping of Vitamin B-ITCH in my life." Summoning forth a mint colored guitar and using the end to tip her hat up, I-No cracked a smile and said mockingly "Ooooh, what a spicy tongue you have there. You'd better wash that taste out with some milk from your mother's teat, little boy."

Alex cracked his knuckles a little harder and winced a little. He then pulled his hands apart and set them on fire, telling I-No with some ire in his voice "Just letting you know, I'm not pulling punches just because you're a woman, even if you're not much of a lady." He then swung his arms out and let out a flare around his body.

I-No grabbed the rim of her hat and gave a stinky glare at the boy, telling him "Tsk, we'll see how long that attitude lasts when I break you in two, you arrogant little shit." She then strummed her guitar strings with her fingernails and sent a deathly screech through the realm, causing it to slowly transform into a place she better preferred fighting in. It was a realm with dark crimson skies and a heavy fog resting on both the ground and in the air, with bolts of space distorting electricity striking down around them.

Alex thrust his hand out to send forth a beam of fire at I-No, but she dove down and slid underneath the attack while strumming her fingers against the guitar. Pulling up from the strings, she created a spike of neon light that frizzled like vibrating sound, only for Alex to flip back away from it. He then flung his hands out to send a volley of electricity at his foe, with I-No grabbing her guitar and smacking the balls away with a fervent swing.

As Alex landed on the ground, I-No licked her lips and chuckled in ecstasy. The boy clapped his hands and sent a wave of vines riding across the ground. I-No glided up to land and then run across them, commenting in a pleasured manner "Oh come now, isn't it a little early for bondage?" The boy swung his right arm up and made the vines erupt in a pillar underneath I-No's feet, but before they rung tightly around her ankles she leapt off and lightly glided towards the ground.

The mouth on her hat opened up and belched forth a three-dimensional clef note that forced Alex to draw his sword to slice it down. When it burst, the note unleashed a series of sound waves that rang loudly in Alex's ears and briefly stunned him. I-No slipped behind in the meantime and pulled a string away from her guitar, letting it float before Alex's eyes as it went towards his neck.

"Ciao!" I-No remarked before she tugged hard enough for the string to be capable of decapitation. Alex quickly hardened the front of his neck into steel and the string snapped, with him then gritting his teeth and standing back up. Turning right around, he attempted to slice I-No with a downward swing of his blade, but the slippery little minx just hopped back with a surprised look in her eyes. That expression quickly faded as she drew her pinched fingers where the string on her guitar once was and made another appear, strumming all of them at once to send a three wave projectile of sound at Alex.

The boy held his hand out and formed a bubble of water to catch the sound, where it rippled within without making the deafening noise. I-No slid at Alex and tried to smash his face in with her guitar, but he grabbed it in one hand and then swung his sword at I-No's face. She ducked just enough for her hat to be able to fire another note past the blade and into Alex's face.

When the sound waves erupted again, Alex was pushed back a few feet and forced to let go of the guitar. I-No then reared her head back and strummed the instrument, sending a bolt of sound straight into Alex's chest. It pierced into it and left his nerves frizzled for a moment, luckily missing his lungs and heart.

The boy gripped his sword tightly and remarked "Hey, isn't this supposed to be a test?!" I-No scowled and said "Quit your bitching you little shit. That Man said YOU weren't allowed to kill. We've gladly been given orders to end your pathetic life."

Alex paused and widened his eyes with a piercing rage inside of them. I-No laid a hand on the side of her face as it became warm and red, and with a glaze in her eyes and a little saliva slipping from her lips she moaned "Ooooh yes, that's the type of face I love to see! Now I just want you to give it to me some MORE!"

The boy, gripping his fists tightly while dispelling his sword, ripped forward at blinding speeds and got right in front of I-No as the witch was in the middle of fixing her posture. With only a momentary look of shock in preparation, I-No found her head thrusting out as the saliva she had lustfully gathered spat out and her body was sent hurtling back from Alex's explosive punch. After a couple tumbles, I-No landed on her feet with her head lowered down.

Alex stood up and rubbed his gloved wrist a little, stating to his foe confidently "Then you're going to have to do better than scratch me with your overpainted nails, you damn harpy." I-No raised her head up and briefly appeared to be in a frenzy. She then reeled her head back and strum her guitar as hard as she could to send a flurry of soundwaves at Alex.

The boy drew his sword and cut them down, with I-No flying right over to him straight after and jamming her right heel into his chin. Alex bore the strength of his head down on the heel until he was able to push the woman back, where she stumbled back a couple steps with a bit of wobbling in her leg. "D-Damn you…!" I-No yelled out as her hat's mouth opened and prepared another note, but Alex swung his arm out and from his skin excreted a wad of glue that bound that jaw of the hat shut.

I-No, left in shock, took a knee to the neck from Alex, launching her up and then quickly pursuing by launching himself with a burst of air from his feet. He got close to her body with both fists raised back and charged with electricity, then he smashed them right into her face with all of his might, sending her into the ground as the sparks wrapped around and left her colliding like a meteor.

As the electricity erupted from the impact, I-No stood up barely any worse for the wear. Alex thought in a frustrated tone "No wonder she's able to give even Sol so much trouble…" He then raised his hands above his hands and created a sphere of fire that he held out in front and used to send a volley of projectiles at his foe. The witch, with a wicked scowl, smashed the hardened glue off her hat with the guitar and then bent down so it could send out a field of soundwaves that tore apart all the flames coming at her.

Alex charged down at I-No and tried to smash her with a punch, but she simply leapt back and avoided both that and the eruption after. The boy got up and pulled his fist back, but I-No intercepted the attack by strumming her guitar and creating a forward spike of sound that hit Alex and knocked him up. Following on this by kicking her body up and floating horizontally, she strummed again and a vertical spike hit Alex and knocked him a little more up while leaving his nerves frazzled.

I-No glided right up and then smashed her instrument into Alex's forehead, knocking him diagonally down. He skids on his back for a little before rising to his feet and feeling something trickling down the front of his nose. He touched his forehead and smeared some blood across the skin as he confirmed it's presence. Clenching the bloodied fingers into his fist, Alex boiled the liquid into a fine mist and looking loathingly as I-No licked what she had drawn off of her guitar.

She then pulled her arms back and launched herself forward like a spinning rocket. Alex leaped back and swung his arm out as he landed to send an eruption of magma up into I-No's face. She blocked the attack with the flicker of a green shield and charged out with guitar already in mid-swing. Alex thrust his left arm out and repelled the instrument, following on that by setting his other hand on fire and trying to grab her face.

She pulled her body back so Alex would instead grab her breast, and he was temporarily shocked by this little stunt. As such, he missed her legs flying up on both sides of his body and going in for a pincer attack on his neck. When his neck was pinched he let go of the breast and was left to be spun around and thrown to the ground. I-No landed cleanly on her feet and then smashed her guitar into Alex's back a couple times, followed by her using it as a handstand as she grinded her heel down onto his back.

Alex lifted his head up and while his expression was tense, he barely had any anger on his face. I-No gloated to him "Are you enjoying the view you depraved little shit? Consider it a little taste of heaven before I send you to hell."

The boy blinked a couple times and then stared straight ahead. Without a second thought he lunged his hands at I-No's other leg and gave it sharp tug. She was immediately thrown off-balance and landed square on her back. Alex had enough time to scramble to his feet before I-No did, and he quickly and bluntly told you "Yeah you may have something going for you on the outside, but holy SHIT are you ugly on the inside."

I-No scowled with a demonic face only a mother could love and exclaimed "You're really pissing me off you cheeky brat!" Alex winked and smiled as he had the pleasure of mocking her "Oh never mind, you're ugly outside too."

I-No strummed her guitar hard enough that she almost broke the strings and blew away all the fog within thirty feet with a sound wave, but Alex clapped his hands onto his ears and felt only a little twitch of pain through his body. He then swung his hands out and gathered in winding winds, punching forward to smash a couple tunneling tornadoes into his foe's body. I-No was dragged back and left spinning, but Alex's attack was not over.

He clapped his fists together and doubled the combined tornadoes' size before punching forward a giant tornado that dragged I-No into it's form and tore into her body as it rose into the air. With a snap of his fingers, Alex broke the tornado and the witch dropped to the ground, where her body was impaled by a series of spikes he set loose with a flick of the wrist.

He made sure to avoid her vital organs and immediately pulled the spikes down. I-No writhed on the ground as blood spurt from her wounds, and though Alex wanted it to be over he noticed her wounds slowly healing up. With a sigh he said "Riiiight, regeneration. Why does everyone and their mothers have that here…"

As he rubbed the back of his head, I-No rose to her feet, only staying stable when the holes in her legs patched up. She gripped his guitar tightly in her arms and what blood still remained from the wounds drenched her once fair skin. After her body trembled a bit, she suddenly swung her head back and bit her lower lip with a frenzied look of pleasure on her face.

"Yeeeees! You're even better than I could possibly have imagined! This rush I feel after you penetrated me so deeply…I want to experience it again and again!" With a fervent strum of her guitar straight down the strings, I-No screamed "Whip out that little sword of yours, if you're truly man enough to come at me a second time!"

Then, she started to strum her instrument at a very fervent pace as a pair of speakers floated beside her, kept adrift by a single glowing white wing. Alex widened his eyes and drew his blade as I-No filled the realm with hundreds of glowing red boxes crossed through with a warning "X". This was her desperation attack, Megalomania, and what she was doing now was simply the prelude to the true threat.

Alex gripped his sword tightly and ran forward as from out of both speakers erupted an unimaginable swarm of glowing neon balls. Every square inch those red boxes covered, those balls flew around, leaving not a single space for escape. The boy swung his sword out with all his strength to slice through some of the balls in his way. The moment he even grazed one, all others balls homed in after him, coming down like a massive tidal wave of inevitable pain and misery.

Gripping his sword so tightly his bones hurt, Alex took all of his strength and speed and swung so blindingly fast that his body couldn't be seen in the amber blur. He cut down the balls in his path while sprinting closer and closer to I-No. The balls still came in such a number that they pushed him back every now and then.

Gritting his teeth and refusing to give in, Alex thought "You're a wicked person I-No…You've tormented and attacked countless people just for simple kicks. In any other situation, I'd end your life, but…!" With a single, broad stroke Alex broke an opening through the Megalomania and was inches away from I-No. The woman looked shocked and grit her teeth as Alex swung his sword down beside his hip and went in for a final attack.

With determination brimming in his face, Alex started to swing upward, caring not of the balls homing in behind him. With flashes of what he's seen and heard, from the strange auras to the words of other recognizing his role, Alex widened his eyes with the piercing ferocity of a dragon and exclaimed "You're small-time, I-No! I will find out the truth and deal with whoever's getting in our way!"

As the wicked wench cracked her final scowl in his presence, Alex dispelled his sword at the last second and punched I-No hard in the cheeks. The Megalomania shattered upon the attack's impact, putting on a spectacular light show while I-No was hammered against the ground, left flat on her stomach. She struggled to get up, but Alex waved his hand out and with a wave of frost he froze her solid in a crystal prison.

Swinging his arm out, Alex smirked and said "You're a bit too hot, you need to cool off." However, he could not get off a proud chuckle when he was suddenly stabbed through the back by four glowing red needles. The boy lurched up and gasped in pain. Even though his vitals were avoided, the needles still burned his nerves. Turning his head back, he found Raven behind him with the needles held onto his nimble fingers by a pair of rings.

As Alex set a fire erupting around his body, Raven pulled out and stood with his back lurched in a backwards curve, slicing the blood off his needles as Alex turned to face him. The boy panted a little bit and noticed the battlefield changing to a more hellish landscape. The ground was covered by a war-torn grassland, with skeletons buried halfway into the ground and swords and lances impaled through their bones. The sky was then consumed by a pale green fire that darkened the atmosphere.

Looking back, Alex saw that I-No had been teleported away, which gave him no further distractions as he turned towards Raven. The man had a half-hearted smile as he mentioned "Consider that little stab of mine an act of kindness. Lest you forget, this is a battle to the death for you. However…" Raven sharpened his needles against each other and mentioned "Despite his wishes, come at me with the intent to kill. You will not survive otherwise."

Compared to I-No, Alex's tension skyrocketed in the face of Raven's disturbing nonchalance. Gripping his sword tightly, he thought "Easy for you to say…How the hell are you supposed to incapacitate a man who feels no pain?!"

Next Time: The Moon's Domination