Disclaimer: I don't own Elsword or the OCs I don't own!
3: 3's back with another chapter~~ :DDD
And now... We will finally know what happens to Ozzy :3333
This chapter is also the end of the Lunette Arc *^* (?) #slapped for calling it an arc when it's so short XwX
Replies~
For HetaHakaiTea:
Awww~~ Thank you~ XDDDDD
For The Sharkening:
Ooohhh~~ It rhymes~ It rhymess XDDD #slapped XwX
I did tell you via PM, right? But 3 won't be accepting OCs right now... ^^'
The story won't be ending if I did XD #slapped XwX
For TetsuKouken:
I QUESTION THEM ALRIGHT OWO #slapped XwX
HAHA! NOW WHO IS IT, THEN? *^*
For Infinitespada:
Hehe~ Seems that I didn't update moree XDDD #slapped XwX
Haha~ Then you're going to start flaming in the later chaps, Senny-chan XDDDD
Thank you, Harmony-chan~ XDDDD
BTW, Infi-chan, ya need to put some spaces in your review XD I dunno who said who XDDD
Oh, btw, Infi-chan, seems that Harmony won't be appearing this chap owo
CHANGE OF PLANS XD
For XenoVise:
I replied it to ya in PM XD
For Dean Arvid Karlsson:
Welcome back, Azu-nii-channn~~ XDDDDDD
Ya want me to write a special chap about Craigy? :D
Ummmm... What is it, anyway? owo'
For Risingwind:
Yeahh... Poor Yana... QwQ
Hopefully her life gets better soon QwQ
Though, she's pretty much a troll in this story, kinda owob #slapped XwX
From what her owner said, they're best friends XD
For Omega Endrew:
Hey! Long time no see, Omega-chan XDDDDDDDD
Thank you~ X3333333
Lol, Hiroro-chan is still a meanie as always XD #shot *dodges* *^*
I shall keep up the good work! *^*/
Elysea: Is it, even? =w=
3: You meanie! QwQ
Here's the next chap~ :DDD
On to the story~
~With Ozul and the siblings~
They had teleported to a dark-lit room. The place was eery, with slight traces of blood on the ground. A few chains are on the walls, with one of them trapping someone who had already been reduced to bones. Blood splattered on the ground beneath it, showing signs of being tortured to death.
Ozul wondered just where they had taken him, but then again, it might not actually matter. He knew what fate had in store for him, and seeing the situation, he was sure that he won't have a chance of escaping.
The older blonde-haired sibling glanced towards him for a second.
"I do not understand you people sometimes," he said out of the blue, "Why did you willingly sacrifice yourself for another person? Do you not fear death?"
Ozul merely deadpanned, showing no trace of fear nor anxiety about it.
Lou looked mildly annoyed at that. "... Let me inquire you another question. Do you not worry that your powers would be used for, probably, the worst? It would not make a difference to your friends' survival."
The half reaper remained silent. He knew what the blonde was doing. It would be less of a hassle if he didn't say anything to them.. Either way, they're still planning on killing him.
"... You knew." Lou said, finally realizing why he wasn't replying. "It seems that you dying might be for the best after all..."
He turned towards the younger sibling. "We should begin the extraction."
Kiddo nodded, then proceeded to knock Ozul out just like how he had done to Mikey. Almost instantly, the half reaper was out cold.
~With Lazuli~
"O-Ozul's in trouble?" Sana asked, shocked. Lorelei nodded, a worried expression on her face. "... Our connection broke. It only happens either when he fainted, o-or..." she broke into tears, "O-Or... if he... d-died..."
The girls all panicked. "C-Calm down, Lorelei... He wouldn't die that easily!" Fae exclaimed, trying to calm her down. "He... Probably just hit his head against a pole and fainted! Yeah, that's it!"
Except Lorelei, all looked at her as if they have just heard the most ridiculous statement in history.
"Okay, so maybe not something that stupid... But still!" she admitted, a blush on her cheeks.
Soul looked grim. "It's begun, it seems..." he said, loud enough for them to hear.
"What's begun, Soul? What happened?" Selena asked, fearing what's about to come.
"They're planning on extracting Ozul's powers into a weapon." he stated with guilt, not daring to even look at their eyes.
Lorelei's eyes widened as even more tears formed in her eyes. "N-No..!"
"What?! Is that even possible?!" Aria shouted in disbelief. The ice user nodded. "Someone found a way to extract powers from humans, or even other beings, to put into weapons. If I'm not mistaken, they were planning on destroying a village using his powers... As well as the people in it." he said the last part quietly, though it's still heard.
"How do you know these things?" Fae asked, frowning. "... I eavesdropped..." he admitted.
"T-that's just... That's just insane! Why'd they do such a cruel thing?!" Selena exclaimed .
"Apparently, they're going to extract all of his powers before letting him recover them so that they can extract it again. Once they've destroyed the villages, however, they'll kill him instantly." he continued saying, causing the purplette's breath to hitch.
"We... We can't let that happen!" Lorelei yelled and stood up from her seat immediately. Her outburst surprised the others as they looked at her in shock.
"Ozul... He..." she started, clenching her fists.
"If they extract all of his powers... Forget letting him rest, HE'LL DIE!"
They froze.
"Lorelei... You mean..." Fae mumbled. She nodded slowly, wiping her tears as they kept on coming out.
"... A grim reaper may be powerful, but that's because their power comes directly from their soul. Different from us who'll only feel fatigue once we run out of power, they die immediately once they do. That's why Ozul never dares use much of it." she explained with grief.
"I-Isn't he a half? That still applies to him?" Aria asked. "Yes... And it's much worse for him." "?!" "Real grim reapers have a better chance of surviving power depletion, since they have extremely high regeneration. But Ozul's regeneration speed isn't even half as fast as theirs. So, once his power runs out..."
Lorelei started to sob. Everyone except her looked at each other, knowing what the unspoken words are.
Everyone gathered in front of the inn, each of the members who weren't at the hospital having looks of shock.
"A-Are you sure that's not a joke?" Mikey asked. Aria shook her head. "No..."
The water user gritted his teeth. "I knew they were planning something when they came here... If only I reacted fast enough..."
A hand was placed on his shoulder. Mikey turned, seeing Neal looking at him seriously. "Don't blame yourself. We didn't notice it either, but this time... We'll save him. Failure is not an option."
"Yeah. Wherever he is, we'll find him and save him." Asashin agreed whole-heartedly.
"Can you detect him anywhere, Lorelei? Or because of the connection...?" Lin questioned her, leaving the question hanging. The purple girl nodded. "I can sense him... But it's getting faint... He's not going to last longer than... an hour... at this rate." she informed them sadly.
"Where is he?" Ethereal asked. "In... A forest not too far from here... He seems to be... underground..." she replied, puzzling the Lazuli members. "Underground? Where would that even...?" Neya commented, seemingly in thought. "I remember. There's a cave in that forest when I explored the town a few years ago. Maybe that's where..?" she said.
"Worth a shot. Come on, let's hurry." Ethereal told them, receiving a nod from everyone in response.
"I-I'm going with you too..." they heard a voice and turned to look at the purple, heterochromiac girl the two blonde siblings had brought with them. "He sacrificed himself because of me... If I wasn't there, he could've fought back..." she said sadly.
Lorelei widened her eyes when she saw her. "... Loreille..?"
Loreille froze when she saw the older Lunette, instantly breaking into tears. "N-Nee-chan!" she exclaimed, running towards her and hugged her. "Nee-chan..! T-They killed aunty and uncle..!" she sobbed.
Everyone looked shocked in hearing that. "T-They thought that they're mom and dad... and k-killed them... I-I was an idiot... I actually believed that they'll let them go if I went with them..!" she said as she kept sobbing.
Lorelei's eyes softened and she patted her younger sister's head. "It's not your fault, Reille. I'm sure uncle and aunty understood. They won't blame you." she assured her. "B-But..! Because of me, Ozul-nii also..."
The older Lunette frowned. "Cheer up... You want to help us save Ozul, right? You won't be fighting well if you don't cheer up."
Loreille nodded slowly and wiped her tears away. "Good girl." Lorelei said, smiling at her.
The Lazuli members were all teary-eyed, except for the ones not easily touched.(?)
"What a touching reunion..." Lin commented, sneezing into a tissue she got out of nowhere.(?) "Touching?"
"W-Where's S-Selena and S-Soul?" Sana asked, finally noticing the missing members. "They stayed in the hospital. Selena's still hurt, and we need someone to guard her.." Aria replied, wiping her tears. "O-Oh, that's right."
~In the forest~
They soon arrived outside the cave in the forest near the village. The place is completely covered by trees. Even the village can't be seen anymore. The place was dead silent, even having no wind. Only the sounds of leaves that they had stepped on was heard.
"This is the cave..." Neya confirmed it for them. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's go in." Zephyria said, crossing her arms as she flew beside Ayame like always.
The group went into the cave with a light orb made by Lorelei lighting the way.
The cave was rather cold and humid, not a comfortable feeling for them. Some were shivering because of the temperature, and the others who wore warm enough clothing was just normal. Seeing this, the purplette quickly changed the light into fire to help heat the air for them.
Glancing at her as a silent thank you, they continued on searching through the cave, looking for any kind of hidden entrance.
Sometime in their search, they saw a number of bats asleep a few meters above their heads. They decided to not bother them at all and went past them quietly.
"There's nothing in here..." Ayame commented, being uncomfortable in such a place. "Keep searching. There must be some kind of a hidden passageway here... Aha!" Lin grinned, pointing towards a door-like entrance on the ground. "Found it."
She opened the door, surprising the group when they found a staircase going downwards. They looked at each other and nodded. That's definitely the place. They're sure of it.
Slowly, they descended down the stairs. Careful not to trip lest they'll be attracting the attention on whoever's watching the extraction take place. The stairs were creaking, so they had to be careful to not make too much noise. Despite how hard it is.
Once they arrived at the deepest part, they were immediately greeted by a long corridor that made them walk in almost a zig-zag manner. They walked across a few skeletons wearing ripped clothing that seemed to have been tossed there, laying limply in a way no human could ever look like, causing several of them to walk behind the others, or flinch. They didn't like the place, not at all. The dry blood here and there didn't help either.
At the end of the long corridor, another wooden door was there before them. The door has a giant warning sign that was written in red paint, saying, "KEEP OUT".
They glanced at each other, nodding, before Mikey opened the door slowly, revealing a rather spacious and dark room. The room was only lit with a few torches, giving them an eery feeling. Shackles made to entrap people are on the brick walls, and they could also see the traces of dried blood on the floor and walls. A horrible stench of blood could be smelled from the room, which made a few of them feel nauseous.
That's not all. In the room, there stood the two people who had kidnapped Ozul, as well as the half reaper who is chained on the wall, unconscious.
Lorelei covered her mouth with a hand as tears began to form again in her eyes. Her younger sister saw this and bit her lip, feeling guilt take her yet again despite her sister saying that it wasn't her fault. For her, it still is, and she wouldn't be okay unless they managed to save the white-haired boy.
"Ahh, look who we have here." Lou's voice echoed from behind them. Startled, they turned around, seeing the blonde-haired boy right behind them with his cane in his hand. "Came to take a visit?"
(3: This would have been an ideal place for a cliffhanger... but then the chapter would be too short QwQ #slapped XwX)
"You know why we're here, don't you?" Mikey growled, glaring at him with angry eyes.
Lou chuckled. "Of course. Then... Why don't you get inside? It would be impolite for us to not accept our guests." With that, he threw a card towards the ground and summoned a floating cyclone with an XD face.
"Aww~ So cute~" Aria squealed.
The boys merely looked at the... creature... with a look of disbelief before pointing towards the summoner. "What in the world?!"
The blonde ignored their reactions and waved a hand, saying, "Windy, Wind Blast."
A blast of air shot towards the Lazuli members from the wind spirit, causing them to drop on the floor inside the room, a meter away from the two siblings. The Lou at the door disappeared right after as if it had never been there, along with the wind spirit, revealing them to be a clone.
"Finally decided to stop sneaking around?" The real Lou said with a poker face as he looked downwards towards them. Though, he didn't look downwards too much, since he's already pretty short to begin with... Even Kiddo is a few inches taller than he is.
"Ouw... My back..." Aria whined. Asashin deadpanned at her. "That's what you decided to dwell on?" She pouted. "Well, excuse me!"
"Stop joking, guys. You know what we need to do." Ethereal told them with a glare, which shut them up.
A flash appeared in front of them, causing them to look up, seeing the younger sibling holding a gigantic, blood red-colored sword in his hand as if it weighed nothing.. "So, can we kill them now?~" he asked, a crazy grin on his face.
The Lazuli immediately jumped back, away from the sword's reach, and looked for any movements from the boy. A few even glared at him.
"You'll have to get past me first." Loreille replied confidently and stepped forward from the group, putting her arm in front of them protectively.
Kiddo snickered. "Oh, please! You're hardly worth my time. You always lose, dear Reille." he said in a mocking tone.
She glared at him, ignoring the nickname. "That was years ago! It's different now!"
"Really? Then what was that yesterday? You winning? That's funny, cause I clearly remember that you didn't!" he laughed. "That wasn't even a fight!" she snapped.
"If that wasn't, then what is?" he asked, getting into a throwing stance, "Chaser!" and threw the gigantic sword towards the purplette.
"Reille!" Lorelei exclaimed in worry.
As if on cue, a pendulum magically appeared out of nowhere and hit the sword away, causing it to return back to its owner. "Vita Pressor!" she exclaimed. The pendulum was instantly tied around the blonde-haired boy, electrocuting him. The Lazuli members flinched at that, but Lou was normal.
"Heh. That all? It just tickles." the boy commented, grinning. "W-What?" Loreille widened her eyes. She returned her pendulum back to her right before he could chop the rope using his sword.
"So you're finally getting serious? That's good... Cuz I was seriously getting bored!" he exclaimed, grinning. "Guillotine!" he waved his hand downwards, summoning a guillotine blade out of nowhere that quickly fell down towards Loreille, who managed to dodge it in time. "I'm not done yet! Deadly Wave!"
The guillotine blade started to float an inch from the ground horizontally and sped up towards the purple-haired girl who would have been hit if the sword hadn't stopped mid-way for some strange reason.
Kiddo narrowed his eyes and jumped backwards. However, the ends of his scarf was mysteriously cut. Only a small cut, but still a cut nevertheless.
"She's not the only one here, you know." Fae said, pouting. The guillotine blade soon faded into nothing.
All of the Lazuli members soon had their weapons in their hands.
Lin was whispering something to Lorelei who nodded and hid behind her back.
"Then you should also remember that he is not the only one here as well." Lou replied, throwing two cards upwards. The two cards fell to his sides and glowed in a black color before poof-ing into two people.
One looks like a ninja with black hair, gray eyes, and wears a black ninja outfit along with a scarf, and the other one looks like a samurai with black hair, red eyes, and wears a gray samurai armor.(?)
"Can't you fight on your own?!" Mikey shouted in annoyance at his summons. "Oh?" the older blonde raised an eyebrow.
Neya glared at the water user. "You idiot! You forgot about his nightmare powers?!" she whispered, hissing. "Pssshh! I've never experienced a nightmare before!" he assured her, smirking.
Lou kept having a straight face. "Is that so? Then, I am afraid I will have to use something else." he pointed the red gem at the top of his cane towards him, saying, "Hallucination."
Almost instantly, Mikey began screaming, "NOOOO! MY FRIENDS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?!" he cried, sobbing.
The older blonde scoffed, "Too easy."
Ethereal slapped Mikey back into reality. "Idiot! Don't ask for it!"
"Sorrrryyyyy!" he sobbed, "That was horrible! You sadist!" he shouted, pointing towards the boy who merely rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms.
"What do you want us to do, Master?" The samurai and ninja asked, kneeling on one knee. "Just finish them off." he replied, an eye visibly twitching at their kneeling. "As you wish."
The samurai and the ninja began to clash with the Lazuli members along with Kiddo. Lou, meanwhile, just stared at them with bored eyes. If one is sharp enough, however, they would realize that he is in fact, observing every single one of them.
After a few minutes, several sounds of metals breaking was heard throughout the room, and every pair of eyes turned towards the source... Lorelei, who had managed to break Ozul from his cuffs.
"Guys! We're out of here!" she exclaimed with the unconscious reaper in her arms. They all nodded and a magical circle instantly appeared on the floor beneath them, along with a smaller one beneath Lorelei.
Lou narrowed his eyes and threw a card towards the purplette, hitting the wall due to her disappearance.
For a while, there was silence in the room. Only the two blonde siblings are left.
"So... What now?" Kiddo asked, turning towards Lou.
"Leave them. We've got no more use for the half reaper anyway. The weapon was already finished quite a while ago. We were only trying to get rid of the reaper, but it seems that they had managed to rescue him." Then, a smirk appeared on his lips. An evil one at that.
"Although, I do wonder if they are in time... After all, he was already done for when they came."
~At the inn~
Everyone was gathered at the inn in Lorelei's room, watching as the purplette tried to heal the white-haired reaper, using a purple-colored light.
The room was silent. No one dared to make a noise.
When they had saved him, Ozul's heartbeat was already faint, to the point of nearly not existing. He was turning paler as each minute passed. But since he wasn't hurt physically, but mentally, or spiritually rather, they couldn't do much to help him.
They waited, each second that passed agonizing them. It was a friend's life at stake, so it made them very anxious.
Loreille cursed herself for being the one at fault, and that she wasn't even useful in saving the reaper. If anything, all she did was buy a few time.
Mikey regretted deeply in not reacting faster that time. If he didn't, Ozul might not have been kidnapped, and this wouldn't be happening.
Sana, Aria, and Fae are very upset at the fact that they couldn't do anything to help the purplette. The wound wasn't physical, if it could even be called a wound.
Lin, Asashin, Ethereal, Neal, Ayame, and Neya wished that they could be of a better help, feeling bitter of themselves.
Soul and Selena are still at the hospital, not even knowing that they're back.
After a minute or two, the purple light around Lorelei's hand faded, and the purplette looked at the white-haired boy with emotionless eyes.
"L...Lore...lei...?" Neal asked, becoming even more anxious at her action. "Is... he okay...?"
The Celestial Enchanter was silent for a few moments, until she opened her mouth to speak in a quiet voice. She would not have been heard if not for the quiet room.
"I... can't do anything anymore." she mumbled solemnly.
Their breaths stopped.
"Lorelei... What... do you mean by that..? Is he...?" Asashin trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence in fear that it is true.
"He..."
Without even finishing her sentence, she collapsed.
"LORELEI!"
3: CLIFFFFFHAAAAANGGGEEEEERRRRRR XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
All: ...
3: OwO W-Why're you guys glaring...? AAAHHHHHHHHH! SAVEEEE MEEEEEE DX *RUNNING FOR DEAR LIFE*
Lorelei: Why 3?! Why did you do this? QwQ
3: I am just prolonging the inevitable! Plus, this is an ideal place for a cliffhanger! OwOv #slapped XwX
Ozul: If I die, then good riddance =w= Finally free.
Lorelei: Ozul! Don't you dare! QwQ
Ozul: What? If I'm right, it all depends on her brain =u=
3: Exactly! You know me well, Ozzy! :D #slapped XwX
Elysea: I thought you said that no one is dying?
3: That only applies to people's OCs! Not my OCs! :D #slapped XwX
And I have a whole lot of them in this story! So it wouldn't matter! #double slapped XwX
Now... LET'S SEE WHAT MY BRAIN SAYS TO OZZY'S SURVIVAL! XDDDD #slapped XwX
I could even make Lorelei die if I want XDDDDDD #slapped XwX
Or I could use a random generator... Hmm... :3 #triple slapped XwX
Elysea: She's in yandere mode =w='
(More Omakes~)
"I... can't do anything anymore." she mumbled solemnly.
Their breaths stopped.
Lorelei was silent for a while, not replying to their questioning looks.
A minute later, their faces started turning blue.
She widened her eyes. "BREATHE GUYS! BREATHE!"
They started going into a coughing streak.
"Ugh... Remind me not to do that again..." Lin said, followed by nods from the others.
"I... can't do anything anymore." she mumbled solemnly.
Their breaths stopped.
"He... He's... dead..."
Her words made them freeze, not wanting to believe it.
"No way..."
"We... Weren't able to save him...?"
Suddenly, Ozul rose up, starting them all into nearly having heart attacks.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!"
"A ZOMBIE! A ZOMBIE!"
Ozul twitched at the remark, while Lorelei started to laugh like no tomorrow.
"HEY!"
"YOU PLANNED THIS, DIDN'T YOU, LORELEI?!"
"Can't help it, guys~"
"Finally decided to stop sneaking around?" The real Lou said with a poker face as he looked downwards towards them.
The Lazuli members all stared at him, finally realizing something.
"You're a midget." Ethereal commented out loud, causing an anime vein to pop up on Lou's head.
"A midget indeed." Mikey said, nodding. Another vein.
"Are you really the older brother? You're really short-" "Shut up." Aria pouted at that.
Thanks for reading~