Days passed by quickly and the day of the mission could not arrive any earlier. Amaya was packing her backpack the night before, when Amaimon suddenly appeared sitting on her window's ledge. "Really…" Amaya sighed to herself, having a fright from the intruder as she was too absorbed in her own thoughts. "This is the first time since forever that you have gotten surprised by my appearance. What is on your mind?" Amaimon pointed out as a matter-of-factly. Amaya then told Amaimon all about the upcoming mission.
"…Shura taught me how to handle my sword efficiently." Amaya bit her lip before continuing, "She mentioned that I am light, so my key to winning is my speed. Hence.. I will be fighting alongside with… Rin, together on the frontline. For our mission tomorrow." Amaya stared at Amaimon, half expecting him to run out of the dormitory immediately to kill Rin. "I am coming." Amaimon answered coolly, his reply a complete unexpected one.
"What..?" Amaya stared at Amaimon with surprise. The two of them had acknowledged each other as someone of utmost importance after that fleeting kiss, especially Amaimon. "To protect you." Amaimon had chosen to protect Amaya over fighting Rin on the previous mission once, and he had prioritized Amaya, deciding that he would settle the score some other time when Amaya is not around.
"Thank you for the concern but I think I can.." Amaya flushed red before her words faltered at Amaimon's determined look. "See you then." Amaimon promptly left, leaving a bewildered Amaya in her room. Amaya sighed to herself yet again, "Why are all the guys so stubborn?" Amaya thought back to her class yesterday, whereby Rin proclaimed that he would protect Amaya, and of course all the other students, with his life. But of course, Amaya felt glad and warm at having such reliable friends deep down.
"Everyone, gather around here!" Yukio shouted from afar, he was standing in front of a double decker bus in a car park at the back of the school. Both Shura and Mephisto were there as well, they stood beside Yukio with Shura looking extremely pissed at Mephisto for some reason. All the exwires hurriedly gathered in front of Yukio, everybody was bumbling with excitement. "Hello everybody!" Mephisto grinned mischievously, bowing dramatically, "Good luck for your mission! Don't die and stay alive!" Mephisto ended his sentence and disappeared into a puff of pink smoke.
"…He came all the way just to say this?" Konekomaru asked quietly. It seems that the students, with the exception of Izumo and Rin, still couldn't get used to the principal's eccentric personality. "..So, I am here to guide you little children again." Shura sighed loudly, evidently displeased that she has to participate in the mission as well. Yukio glanced at Shura sharply, and started to give out instructions about the mission and details on lodging and food.
Amaya surprisingly fell asleep on the bus despite all the noise and racket around, she was sitting next to Shiemi who was gazing at the scenery outside. "What! We are sleeping in a temple?!" Rin shouted out loud to his brother, having just read the pamphlet on the mission. "Didn't I just mention that, idiot brother." Yukio mumbled under his breath. "What is this Yukio?! How about the food?! I can't live without meat!" Rin asked anxiously, the bus practically filled with his voice. "Shut up! You won't die with being a vegetarian!" Bon replied with annoyance. "You don't get it too, Bon! Imagine the days without those delicious, important staple!" Shima fake cried from his seat beside Rin. "Well, I think the mission will last only for two or three days, I believe we can bear with it." Konekomaru smiled, trying to smother the cries of anguish from his friends.
The four boys continued to argue and talk loudly before Izumo abruptly stood up from her seat at the front and turned back, yelling at them, "SHUT UP. I am trying to sleep here! We need to conserve our energy for the mission later! So stop complaining about the food!" Everybody's mouth snapped shut immediately. The noise turned into silence in an instance, with the exception of Nemu Takara who clapped quietly from the back of the bus. "That girl got guts," Shura smirked to Yukio, who was seated beside her. Yukio was reading his book with fervent anger, after hearing how his brother had just called him a dumbass for choosing 'inappropriate lodging'. "I was about to throw my brother out of the bus soon." "Heh. Then I am glad that Izumo got to shutting him up before you did." Shura smiled, opening a can of beer much to Yukio's annoyance.
Soon after, they arrived at their destination. The temple was located at a slight distance away from the beach, hidden deep in the forest. The nearest route to the temple is to walk through the isolated part of the beach, thus making the temple pretty much inaccessible to the rest of the town. However, the temple is a convenient location for the hunting of the Kraken out in the sea.
"ARE THESE STAIRS NEVER ENDING?!" Rin exclaimed out loud. The group of them was climbing the long stairways up to the temple, the steps seemingly unending. "…I say, this is to train our stamina." Bon commented, but despite saying that, he was frowning as he wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead. It was obvious that everybody was tired and grouchy from the long and tedious way to the temple.
"FINALLY!" Shima shouted with a small cheer from Konekomaru. They had finally reached the tori gates, which signaled the entrance of the temple. When they went in, the temple was deserted, and the lack of activity was disturbing. The stone pavement leads the way to the front of the temple, where a magnificent Buddha sat in the middle of altar. After they entered the threshold for a while, then a man appeared, running out to greet them.
"I am sorry!" The monk apologized fervently for his lack of welcoming and hospitality. Apparently he was too absorbed in writing amulets and charms for the citizens of the town to hear the loud footsteps of the guests. Only after constant shouting from Rin and Yukio, then had the monk snapped out of his concentration. "My name is Nol, I am the only person living here." The man who seems to be in his mid-thirties introduced himself. He was dressed in a monk's robes and wore an amicable smile.
Nol's family had owned the temple since many generations. However, after the rumors of the appearance of the Kraken, many monks from the temple were dispatched to appease the creatures with rituals and praying. However, all contact was lost when they were out at sea. Even the head monk, who was Nol's father, disappeared without any trace. Nol's family, his mother and younger sister who were living in the temple as well, together with a few younger monks who were currently in training were told to retreat back to their homes or to find lodgings in the city for the time being. Nol had stayed to keep the temple tidy and running.
It was then that Nol decided to approach the True Cross Order for help. With Nol all alone in the temple, he could do nothing except to pray for the well-being of his fellow missing friends and for the people living near the beach.
Everybody was currently seated in the main room at the back of the temple, they were seated formally around a table on the tatami mat. "To be honest, we were actually in contact with our head monk when they were going out to the sea." Nol was telling the tale of the kraken incident to everybody.
"I remember hearing that, while on the phone with the head monk, that they had actually found the Kraken out in the deep seas after a few hours of search. And what was disturbing was that they had actually seen someone riding on top of it." Nol spoke, with a tinge of aghast in it, "The Kraken meant no harm, my father had said. But the man on top of it was terrifying. He had looked just like a normal human being but he was something more." Yukio was jotting down notes meticulously while the rest were listening intently. "Then, my father had shouted, 'tentacles, jump into the sea!' And, there was no signal after that and we had lost all contact."
"…From what you say, it seems that somebody is behind all of this. It is as if… someone was controlling the Kraken… to do something… but had been discovered, and then kidnapping those innocent monks." Shura murmured quietly, twirling her two colored ponytail. "Do you think it is…?" Shura glance at Yukio. "It is impertinent for us to jump to conclusion. But allow me to make a phone call back to the headquarters after this. And we will discuss this later on." Yukio answered sharply, not wanting to disclose anything more. "Who?" Amaya asked, with everybody staring at Yukio for answer with curious eyes.
"Is it the Illuminati?" Shima asked, the room suddenly falling silent after that. "That is exactly what I think so too. You know your stuffs, boy." Shura answered after a few moments, "If it is really them, things doesn't look good." Nol nodded solemnly, the name of Illuminati being infamous world wide. Shura ended the conversation promptly with a brief question on lodging and food, requesting Nol to show the exwires their rooms. "Now then, I will bring you to your respective rooms which you will be staying in for the time being. Please follow me." Nol ushered the students while Yukio and Shura stayed in the main room, discussing what they have just heard.
All the rooms in the temple looked the same, a tatami styled room with futons for bed. The place looked clean and neat, albeit slightly old with a musty odor in the unused rooms. There is a small open bath at the back of the temple, and it was separated into two, for male and female, as there used to be nuns as well in the temple. There was a kitchen located at the back, the place was actually a normal Japanese house that was attached to the holy temple.
The girls took their bath while the boys helped Nol out with dinner, which is a strictly vegetarian diet much to Rin and Shima's displeasure. Everybody sat together once again in the main room, eating the meal, enlivening the place with a lively atmosphere. "It has been such a long time since this place was bursting with energy." Nol smiled with nostalgia. "Don't worry! Once we resolve this incident, we will bring your friends back and the rest can come back to live too!" Rin grinned, thumping his chest.
"Brother," Yukio glared at Rin, before coughing and rectifying Rin's words, "I cannot promise that we will save those who are lost, but I can assure you that we will do our best." "It's fine, it's fine. Thank you, young exorcists." Nol waved his hand, his words laced with gratitude.
After everybody retreated back to their rooms for the night to rest, Amaya stayed awake, sitting in the futon and checking her phone constantly. Amaya had shared the room with Izumo and Shiemi. "Amaya-chan, are you not sleeping yet?" Shiemi asked with concern. Amaya was texting somebody on her phone, her face looking somewhat serious. "No, I can't sleep. I think I will go out for a night walk." Amaya smiled with guilt, lying about the second part. "Okay, I hope you can clear your mind after that. Come back early." Shiemi smiled before falling into deep sleep, with fatigue written all over her face. Izumo was lying on her stomach and reading up a book on sea monsters. Izumo glanced at Amaya for a second as Amaya made her way to leave. "Be careful." Izumo murmured.
Amaya sighed, walking to the front door towards the temple in silence. As she passed by the main room, voices could be heard inside as Yukio, Shura and Nol was still up and deep in discussion. Amaya was lightly dressed in her pajamas and her hair fall down to her back messily. She slipped on her sneakers and walked slowly to the tori gate, the cool night wind gently touching her skin, sending shivers down her spine. The sky was beautiful, with the stars twinkling with vigor in the night sky.
She was mesmerized by how stunning the view of the forest was in the night. Tink. Her phone beeped which is an indication of a new message. I am here. The text was from Amaimon. The sound woke her up from her daydream and Amaya hurriedly went out of the tori gates.
"Hi!" Amaya's face was flushed from the short distance run, a certain familiar green-haired man was standing on the steps in front of her. "Your hair is messy." Amaimon quietly patted her head, ruffling her hair, before sitting down on the steps. Behemoth's leash slipped out from Amaimon's grip as it launched itself into Amaya's arms energetically. "Hello there!" Amaya greeted cheerfully as Behemoth lick Amaya's face.
"Don't be disgusting." Amaimon commanded, whacking his demon on its head. Behemoth made a sad-like whine before snuggling itself comfortably between its owner and Amaya. The two of them sat there awkwardly on the steps for quite a few moments. "…So how did you get here?" Amaya asked meekly, trying to strike up conversation with the suddenly quiet and uninterested Prince. "Fly." Amaimon answered, seeming to be deep in thought.
"… I don't think you should go to the beach tomorrow." Amaimon suddenly sighed before getting to the point. "It is the Illuminati." Amaya turned to stare at Amaimon, all of the exwires' fears were confirmed. "Then all the more I have to be there!" "You don't understand. I just had a talk with my brother, Mephisto." Amaimon took a deep breath before continuing and admitting about his past, "I didn't really care about what Illuminati was doing before. Since well, I am not really interested in anything. They killed and tortured people in the names of justice and claiming that it was all for a greater good. I didn't interfere at all. It was not my business. But that was last time." Amaimon stopped awkwardly. "And, the most important thing is that, Illuminati is headed by our oldest brother, Lucifer."
"It's fine, Amaimon. Your cold self is a relic of the past. Thank you for helping me until now." Amaya smiled before continuing, "Lucifer… The King of Light. He is the strongest Prince of Gehenna… But if his Majesty is really involved in all of these.. then I believe that the Order could use more help. Now that I am standing on this side…" "I…know that they are doing experiments to find the perfect body for him to exist in this world." Amaimon started chewing his nails anxiously, "There was also this experiment in the past that I had caught wind of before. I didn't do anything about it then, but now that the hunt has started again, I will protect you, absolutely." Amaimon looked into Amaya's eyes with conviction "The hunt is…?" Amaya asked curiously. "The hunt for half-blood demons, their blood, that is. Demons who are able to withstand the flames of hell and achieve a body both demonic and human, that is capable of living in both world. Demons with bloodlines that is strong and direct, pure yet impure. In other words…you."