Chapter 35 - What now?

Things had gotten WAY out of hand back there.

That was the group consensus as they returned to the main City, having barely escaped death by the hands of the Ghouls. They had been able to escape with their lives intact thanks to Vent's quick thinking, although it was a close one. They almost wound up their meals, something that Vent had explained to them when they appeared down at the Dungeon's base. Apparently, the Eject Button they each took only took them outside the Dungeon, not all the way to a city like Vent had hoped. That had started their long trek towards civilization… after Compa used some of her healing Skills on them.

Fortunately, lady luck seemed to smile on them, as the Party had managed to take the Mascot with them, saving it from destruction. Like Vent assumed already, it did NOT appreciate being taken from its seal, going on about how he would have doomed the entirety of Lowee to a fate that nobody should deserve. It kept going on about how, now that it was unable to maintain the seal, Gamindustri would face a nightmare that should never have returned.

Vent's response?

"Hey, enough of the doom and gloom talk! You're still alive, right? If we hadn't taken you, those guys would have destroyed you and the seal along with you! Either way, that 'nightmare' you were talking about was going to happen! But, you're still here, and that means we still have some hope, got it?!"

Yeah… Vent had been pretty pissed at the Mascot for not noticing what he had been intending. It had been convinced how they would take it by force on their journey, much to Nepgear's dismay, and he had been getting sick of it. After his little outburst though, it had shut itself up for the remainder of the journey.

Finally, the Party returned to the main city, opting to take a rest in one of the nearby parks. They sat on two benches, parallel to each other with Vent, IF and Nepgear on one side, and RED, Compa, Rom and Ram on the other side. The two twins had returned to their human forms, but it looked pretty darn apparent that they were exhausted.

"Maaaaan, I'm beat. I need to go lie down forever…!"

"I'm tired…"

They were also pretty vocal about it, much to the rest of the party's ire. They had been like this since they began their journey, however none of them could blame the twins for their lack of stamina. Fighting like back there was something that required high amounts of stamina, stamina that came from fighting in high pace, action oriented battles that contain high death risks. Children like them weren't built for combat like that, plus it didn't help that their specialties lay in ranged magical abilities. Abilities that could damage Ghouls, if they even hit them. They were quite speedy, plus they could take a hit.

IF gave a groan of annoyance, glancing towards the direction of the Dungeon they had come back from, her eyes shining with irritation. "That battle, we barely made it out alive…" she muttered, pursing her lips. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt that if Rom and Ram hadn't come in and saved their hides, they'd most likely be dead right now. "Those Ghouls sure know how to hit hard…"

"Owwie…" Compa moaned in a pained voice as she clutched her shoulder, wincing at the roar of pain that followed suit from the contact. She could still feel one of the injuries she'd received there. The hit to her gut had healed, but the one in her shoulder still persisted even with her healing magic. "I feel so sore…"

Their resident redhead pouted in anger as she flailed her arms up and down. "Man, what gives?! Those guys are real meanies! They don't know a shred of how to treat a lady right!" She whined, her cheeks all puffy from how angry she was. Just thinking of how those Ghouls treated her wifeys just grinded her gears like no tomorrow. "When I get my hands on them next time, I'll give em the old what-for!" she proclaimed, mimicking some shadowboxing moves.

It earned a few chuckles, albeit some were pained while others were tired, from the rest of the team.

"RED's eccentrics aside…" Nepgear began once the chuckling died down, and a solemn atmosphere took over the Party. Her face looked concerned as she held a hand over her chest, glancing down at the Lowee Mascot. The floating being was just above her lap, yet she also got the feeling that something was sitting on it. It was a… unique experience, alright. "We may have lost the battle, but we did at least get a small victory in saving the Mascot."

Vent nodded his head in agreement, a sigh escaping his lips. "Honestly, it was a hasty decision, split-second and all that. We may have broke the seal, but we at least managed to stop them from destroying the Mascot. Now, we have a chance to make things right." He remarked. "Since we know that whatever's in that seal will take time to be fully released, we have the time to come up with a plan for a counterattack." He reasoned further, holding a hand up with a single index finger raised.

That they could agree with, and at this point even the Lowee Mascot had to admit that, now that she saw things first hand, that this was a wiser move than it had expected. "I must admit… that destruction of both myself and the seal would be much more disastrous. However, we must make haste to the Basilicom so that I can inform the current Oracle of what has happened, as well as the danger that approaches Lowee."

"By the way, what WAS sealed away in that Dungeon, Mrs Mascot?"

Upon hearing Compa's curious question, the Lowee Mascot mentally debated on whether or not it should reveal this classified information. On one hand, it had to uphold the mission that was entrusted to her by both CPUs of Lowee and Planeptune. On the other hand, things had become dire in the ways that were most feared. In the end, it decided on an alternative choice that suited as a compromise for both parties. "I cannot say much, but the Seal was holding back a large army, an army of robots called 'Killachines' which have power beyond reckoning. They caused great hardship in the past, thus they were sealed away for the sake of everyone's safety. For more information, consult the Oracle."

IF rolled her eyes in annoyance, this time towards the lack of info that the Mascot gave them. "Honestly, sticking to secrecy at a time like this…" she remarked under her breath, but she soon dismissed her opinions to the back of her mind for the time being. There were more important matters to deal with right now. "But I guess you have a point. At least now, we have a legit reason to have Mina tell us about what happened."

Vent nodded his head in agreement. "True…"

Nepgear then piped up, throwing a hand into the air and speaking with as much confidence as she cold at the moment. "Alright then, lets go to Mina and tell her what happened. We haven't got any time to waste, so lets get going!"

"Right!"

"Good afternoon ladies, what can I-oh?" Mina, as soon as she heard the door to the Basilicom, greeted the Party when they entered. She had been beginning to greet them again, when she noticed several things: their ruffled up appearances, slight defeat in their expressions, Rom and Ram with them, and most important of all the Lowee Mascot in Nepgear's arms. Her eyes hardened and a frown escaped onto her lips. "Judging by what I see, I guess something bad happened with the seal?"

Nepgear nodded her head solemnly, her eyes dancing with emotion as she clutched the Mascot closer to her chest. Because of the way it looked, the Lowee Mascot didn't seem to mind the action, or show any sign of discomfort. "Yes, you see…"

She soon explained the previous events, leaving no detail. Vent sometimes pitched in to explain bits only he would have experience in telling, before the tale was done. Mina had been silent the entire time, listening to the two with her attention span at 1000%. That was the standard for an Oracle such as herself. That was also why so few managed to get themselves into this position, as every 10,000 applicants for the position, ranging from common citizens to professional politicians, only 3 were selected and then tested further to guarantee 1 probable choice.

When they finished explaining the situation, Mina's face turned grave, Nepgear letting out the Lowee Mascot so it now floated off to the side. "I see… the situation must be appallingly bad then." She muttered, before focusing on Vent. "I thank you, Vent. While it did raise this situation to its current severity, you made the right call to save the Mascot before it could be destroyed. If it were destroyed, then the situation would be increasingly dire, to the point of non-salvageable."

"I had a feeling it was like that." Vent replied, shrugging his shoulders. He briefly glanced to the Mascot when he spoke next. "I had a feeling that, if we could save the Mascot at the least, then we'd be getting a victory in of itself. While the seal may be undone, I doubt that it's a quick process either, the seal array looked quite complex, indicating that some level of thought was put into what would happen should the Mascot ever be separated from the Seal." He then shifted his gaze towards Mina as he finished up his explanation. "You, as the Oracle, a political figure whose authority is just under the CPUs, should have been informed of this information, as well as the means to plan a necessary counter attack."

When they had first found the Mascot, Vent had made sure to give the seal array on the ground a good look-over, making himself look like he was listening to their conversation while he was doing both that and looking up the array, thinking on how it worked. Multitasking for the win, motherfuckers! Rasen had made more notes about it than Vent did though, which he had shared with him while they returned to the main city.

RED beamed at the male as she patted him on the back, rather hard for a normal person, but as a One-Eyed Ghoul Vent had been able to handle it. "Wow, you go dude! You keep this up and I'll have to find out how to turn you into a girl so I can make you my wifey!" she cheerfully exclaimed, getting a deadpan expression from the teen.

"No."

While RED pouted at his blunt refusal, Compa showed equal amazement at how Vent had gotten that information just from a lookover. "Wow, Ven-Ven, RED's right, that was good." She remarked, getting a sheepish chuckle from the teen.

"Well, while mister detective over here was doing that…" IF drawled, equally impressed but wanting to get things moving along again, as she turned to face Lowee's Oracle. At this point, the Mascot for this Nation had floated over to the blue haired woman's side, bobbing up and down constantly while it radiated this blue, smokey aura around it. "Could you two let us know what we're dealing with? At this point, I doubt secrecy will be of much use here."

At this, both Mina and the Mascot shared a glance, a glance that seemed much longer than it really was. A variety of expressions danced across the woman's features as if they were having a silent conversation, before she gave a resigned sigh and turned back to them. "Very well. It seems that the situation has reached acceptable parameters for this to be revealed. The thing that was sealed away, was called a Killachine. Its an ancient construct created when the Deity first began to conquer the world so long ago. Its power… well, it was enough to warrant them being sealed instead of being thrown away." Mina explained to them all. "Also, there are more than one of them, hundreds are sealed away all across Lowee."

"Hundreds? Oh, gimme a break."

"This measure was attempted when the Deity of sin tried to crush Lowee in one swift blow." The Lowee Mascot interjected, bobbing towards them in a manner eerily similar to taking a step forwards. "She created these in an attempt to wipe away an entire nation overnight, blocking any and all escape routes. It was a desperate action, which had a 0.0001% chance of succeeding… but by luck, it did."

'#cough# blame it on plot convenience #cough#'

'Hush, you.'

'hahahahaha! NEVER!'

Ram scoffed as she and her twin did a pose together. "Pssh! Numbers are stupid. Just say the word and Me and Rom will blow em all away." The pink-wearing girl boasted with an equally boastful grin.

Rom made an explosion gesture, which looked absolutely adorable in their eyes. "Ka boom…"

Vent rolled his eyes at the two girls' innocent yet determined statements. They were kids, but in their minds the solution seemed simple enough. Blow the Killachines up and then everything would be a-okay. "Not so sure that would work that way, girls…" he remarked, getting a betrayed look from Ram.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side, meanie!"

"Now, now…" Compa began, raising her hands in a placating gesture as she stepped towards the ensuing chaos before Ram could explode. Rom even had teary eyes at this point, that was how close it came to a fight that would have blown up the Basilicom. "Ven-Ven's right, I don't think its as simple as blowing things up."

Mina nodded her head at their statements. "Both of you are correct, there are simply too many Killachines to destroy. It is both impractical and unrealistic. Simply sealing them is the best option. But…"

"With how the Seal was undone by the lack of a Mascot, all those Killachines will soon reawaken…"

Nepgear said this with a worried expression on her face. Her tone reflected as such, although Mina spoke in a manner that placated her, somewhat. "At least we can take solace in one fact, and that is that ASIC is not one to take hasty action. It will take time for the seal to be completely undone, because of how long the Mascot has been powering it. Power has been accumulating it ever since it was first made, which will keep the Seal going for a fair amount of time."

"Indeed." The Lowee Mascot interjected. " I suspect we have about… 6 days before the seal is completely powerless and begins to unload the Killachines."

RED then raised a hand, like a student raising a hand to answer a question asked by the teacher. "Um, so, what shall we do again? Explain it simply, so we can understand." She questioned the others with a confused face.

Vent looked over at her, then at the others before he spoke himself. "I'd say we train." He stated, getting looks from the others. Looks of confusion, mostly, but the Mascot radiated something else, something that he couldn't identify as of right now. He didn't pay this much attention though for there was more important matters to deal with. "We all need to rest first, so returning to our Hotel would be advisable. Then, we spend five days training ourselves so that, when we fight the Killachines we will be able to last longer. Honestly, aside from Nepgear whose been delving into some techniques of her own, everyone else has been sorely lacking in the training department."

"Hey, that's mean mister wifey!"

"I'm a Nurse, so training is…"

"Well… I can't argue with you there…"

RED, Compa and IF responded, in that order. Understandably, RED didn't like how blunt the One-Eyed Ghoul stated their apparent weakness. The said teen rounded on the red haired girl, his eyes shining with incredulity. "RED, you need to train the most out of all of us, remember how Seidou completely wiped the floor with you?" A flinch came from the redhead, answering his question for him. Satisfied that she was getting it, Vent continued. "You'll want to train hard, so you don't get knocked out so early in the battle. Most of your encounters with the Ghouls afterwards were better because you had people covering for you. That won't be enough, not with the White Suits. They're made up of Ghouls who were born and built on the battlefield. They would snap your neck like a twig and bake you over a bonfire, with the way you are right now."

A brief flash of KI erupted from Mina, making him pause his explanation to give her a raised brow. "Please, make a note to refrain from using such language in front of the kids." She said with a sickly sweet smile… and a shadow that darkened her eyes as she gestured to Rom and Ram, who looked more than a little pale.

Now, if he were under normal circumstances, then Vent would have paled under Mina's remark/order. However, the situation right now warranted him to put those feelings aside for the time being. The Ghouls were a threat, a big one that the Party would HAVE to prepare for, and that included Rom and Ram. Thus, they would have to be informed of the danger in its entirety. It would be considered a sin otherwise, plus like it or not they were CPU Candidates. The Ghouls would go after them based off that fact alone, and none in their Guard would be able to protect them from Ghoul attack. They would just be snacks to the Buffet.

'I know we'll be painted in a slightly darker light for this, but Master Lets show her a bit of what KI from THAT is like.'

'Not sure that's a good idea, Rasen…'

'Probably not, but hey since when has a woman scared you more than the thought of Ghouls snacking on kids like they were snackbars?'

'… Good point.'

Closing his eyes, Vent took a deep breath as he reached deep down within himself. He reached towards the thing, that unborn power still in its developing stages… and promptly gave it a shove. The result? A short KI spike, a spike that erupted from his very being and covered the entire room.

EVERYONE flinched at the KI that erupted from Vent's being at that moment. For that one moment, they all felt like they had been in the presence of a thousand hardcore monsters that were comparable to final bosses, all of them eager to rip into their guts and have them as decorations.

Opening his eyes, Mina flinched harder when she saw the Kakugan emerge in Vent's left eye. "Apologies Mina, but I am stating the situation as it is. Your guards won't be able to protect them from the Ghouls should they come for them. And they will, just from the fact they are CPU Candidates ALONE. Rom and Ram may have saved us, and I am beyond grateful to them for that. Bet you everyone here is. On the other hand, they've literally marked themselves for hunting season in their eyes. Why, I'll not be surprised if they get attacked in the middle of the night."

"Vent!"

All the girls yelled out at him, save for IF who just signed in resignation. Rom and Ram looked like they were having a living nightmare, trembling violently while they had tears in the corners of their eyes. The guy just didn't get it, but it wasn't like it was his fault either. She would have been like the rest of them, had she not had that confrontation with Vent after their first meeting with the Lowee Candidates, as well as knew the things she did about him. The brunette doubted that he'd told them about his vigilante background. Vent was someone who didn't see things the way the rest of them did, having seem some fucked up shit he didn't want to disclose. He didn't need to though, she could tell from his eyes.

"While I question his way of phrasing it…" The Lowee Mascot began, getting their attention away from the male. Said male mentally thanked it, as he did NOT like the attention he got just then. "I cannot help but agree with what he is trying to say. Despite their young appearance, young Mrs Rom and Mrs Ram are CPU Candidates. I looked at those 'Ghouls' as you call them, and I can tell they wouldn't hesitate in doing what you're implying."

Leave it to the non-human beings to agree with each other on a perspective that was more scarring on a child's mind. It wasn't like they were intentionally trying to scare them, but they had to face the cold harsh reality of the situation. They had gotten involved with something without thinking of the consequences. This was just one of those consequences. Perhaps it was because of their backgrounds, but both of them lacked the usual empathy that the others had. Even Mina.

"I… I'm not scared!" Ram stated boldly, despite shaking like a leaf. She put in a brave face right now, forcing herself to regain her composure. At least, if not for herself then for her sister's sake. Something that Vent noticed. "If-If they do decide to come knocking, I'll just blow em all away too! Right Rom?"

"R-Right…"

Despite the fear in her voice, Rom had taken one look to her sister, then at Nepgear and finally Vent, before gulping and nodding resolutely. Mina's heart broke from their expressions, they were of those who had become aware of just how much trouble they had gotten themselves into, only it was a thousand times worse. This wasn't what she wanted for the kids, they were young after all. They shouldn't have to deal with this stuff, this was more for their older sister to deal with. Yet, with their sister gone, and this was her inner Oracle talking here, the twins would have to step up to take her place for the time being.

That thought hurt worst of all.

"Well… we'll come back tomorrow, alright Mina?" IF interjected, breaking the woman from her thoughts as she looked up towards the Guild Agent. "As Vent said, we need to train, and better yet prepare our gear, cause I get the feeling that this next figh'll be the hardest one yet for us."

Nodding her head, Mina reluctantly agreed with the brunette. The Ghouls seemed like just as big a threat as the Killachine, so they had to make sure they were ready. Didn't mean she had to like it though. "Understood. Please be careful. Rom, Ram, please head on to your rooms, you all have a busy few days ahead of you."

The following night, Vent was prepping to head to bed, already dressed in his shirtless nightwear while he was also conversing with Rasen. 'Hey Rasen… do you think the girls will stay mad at us?' he questioned his tenant. Ever since the moment he nearly scarred Rom and Ram for life back in the Basilicom, the girls hadn't been talking to him, giving him the silent treatment. Even RED hadn't tried to make any jokes about wifeys or anything related to it. He figured that it was to do with the twins, honestly, but he couldn't understand why.

Despite being a vigilante that protected the innocent from the claws of the guilty, it didn't mean that he understood how people worked. That was not something that could be expected from them, as by definition a Vigilante was a member of a self-appointed group of citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate. In essence, they stand up for the law in place of unhelpful police who do nothing but sit and eat doughnuts every day of their empty, boring lives.

A vigilante's life though, is radically different compared to that of a normal civilian's, though. If he were to make a comparison using otaku knowledge, then one Anime came to mind that fit this bill, possibly more so than comics like Kick Ass or the Marvel/DC Comics: Code Breaker. On , its synopsis was as follows: Riding the bus one day, Sakurakouji Sakura looks out the window to see people being burned alive with a blue fire and a boy her age who's unharmed and standing over the people.

She comes back to the site the next day and there are no corpses or evidence of any kind of murder, just a small fire. She then goes to class to find there's a new transfer student, Oogami Rei, who looks exactly like the boy she saw before and wears a black glove only on his left hand.

Oogami is a Code Breaker, one who "does not exist". He is a seemingly cold-blooded killer who follows the principle of "an eye for an eye", to "use evil against evil". Convinced that killing is not right, Sakurakouji sets out to stop him and penetrate his icy heart.

Oogami was a perfect example of a vigilante, because aside from him working with an organisation that eradicated evil, he was a cold, ruthless person who had seen much of the lowest things humanity had to offer. That had changed him, made him someone who chose to fight evil with an 'evil' of his own. In all honesty, Vent could see himself in him, both of them knew what needed to be done, and had no qualms about doing it. The one difference between them was that while he had more of a social side to him, born from the lack of ability to have one. Desired, yet unable to achieve due to his job.

Yet, in this world, his vigilante ways will likely alienate him from his comrades.

'Hard to say, honestly. But in the end, who gives a shit about them? I mean, if they abandon you just from that, then they weren't really your comrades to begin with.' Rasen responded offhandedly. Vent bristled in anger at this, but he didn't say anything, just let him continue. 'The whole world could go fuck itself for all I care, there is little that I really do care about. You're one of the few things I do though, ain't you lucky? Only other ting I'd care about is unlocking your powers while making sure you're ready for them.'

Hearing his words, made Vent think. His rising anger began to deflate, like a hot air balloon losing the air it contained. What the voice had said made some sense to him, as twisted as it sounded. There was a difference between calling someone a comrade and a friend. A comrade was someone you fought alongside with, bled together with on the battlefield. A fellow colleague who you worked with. A friend on the other hand, was a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations.

The relationships he had with the girls were… complex, at best. At least, in his eyes. Vent worked alongside IF and the others as fighters-in-arms, kicking ass and taking names. That was simple enough to understand, especially for someone like him. But, even after all this time, Vent couldn't help but realise that he couldn't remember the first time he ever called them 'friends'. It felt like he wanted to get closer to them, to be able to consider them friends but he didn't. Why was that?

No, he knew why, and that was because he was nervous.

Nervous, because of the type of person he was. Vent may be a jokey, teasing person with a good head on his shoulders, but at his core he was also a Vigilante, a bringer of justice and vengeance against those who commit criminal acts yet are unpunished by the law. And if anyone thinks he was being edgy right now then look up how there are vigilante groups all across the world, trying to showcase their own justice. Vigilantism was a real issue, people, you just don't see it talked about as often. Since after the May 9, 2016 Philippine elections and the start of Rodrigo Duterte's term as the President of the Philippines, numerous suspects (particularly drug users and pushers) were killed by various unknown hitmen labelled as a summary execution during his war on drugs. Another example would be how on June 13, 2014, Darius, a 16-year-old gypsy residing in France and who has been several times interrogated by the police on the account of suspected burglaries and larcenies, was kidnapped, beaten up, and then left in a supermarket trolley by an unknown party after rumors circulated of him being implicated in a housebreaking, which happened several hours before in the city of Pierrefite-sur-Seine.

The incident at the Basilicom proved that his nervousness was well-founded, especially with their reactions to it. His vigilante self would always be a part of him, it would always crop up every now and again. It had been too ingrained into his system to just dismiss like that. He'd been like this practically his entire childhood since his Uncle passed away. Fighting for the innocent, punishing the Guilty… it did things to people mentally, and physically if they were foolish enough to get caught off guard. Though, he'd never gone to anyone for psychiatric help, and why was that? Because then he'd be pressured into admitting things that… he would rather leave under wraps. Things that scarred him in the past.

A vigilante can have terrible skeletons in the closet… especially him.

Vent's eyes widened when, all of a sudden he found himself in a flower field. The skies were blue, with not a cloud in sight. There was a slight breeze blowing through the field, everything being pure and bright. He almost had to cover his eyes from all the brightness that was around him, the wind slightly intensifying to make him do this action. The teen grimaced at this, but held firm. 'This… This is…'

Something in the distance caught his attention. It was a small figure, a figure that was rapidly approaching him. Vent's eyes widened, his Kakugan activating at the sight. The figure didn't seem to slow down at this development, almost as if the figure had not even acknowledged his identity as a Hybrid of human and Ghoul. As the figure neared him, Vent began to see some details that he hadn't been able to see before, features that seemed almost… familiar, to him.

A white dress,

Feminine yet childish,

Small size,

Tanned straw hat,

'Wait… is that…?!'

Slowly, it dawned on him on who this mysterious figure was as the figure neared him. He could see hair that seemed to match his colour of brown, falling down her small back. Her eyes, matching his own in colour, shined with happiness and innocence he had never seen before from her. Innocence that….

"It… can't be…"

"Yay! I get to see you again! Its been a long time, hasn't it?!" ]

The cheerful girl shouted joyfully, while in comparison Vent had his eyes wide open, shocked and pure disbelief racing across his features as he took in the form this girl had. The girl, who looked barely over 8 years old… Someone he thought that he'd never see again.

Before he could grasp what the heck was happening, the young girl, whom had a female him-like vibe, suddenly jumped at him, embraced him with enough of an impact that the teen actually grunted. Her tiny, frail arms that seemed much stronger than he remembered, clung to him fondly while she buried her head into his chest. Her straw hat fell to the ground, bouncing several times before some larger strands of grass caught onto it. Warmth, warmth that he never felt before, filled his being from the moment that this happened, something that installed a sense of shock, numbness and a sense of… awe.

'What is… what is…?'

Vent didn't know what to think anymore, he couldn't even think straight anymore, his mind only coming up with blurred, vague words. Incoherent, fragmented sentences that could hardly make any sense to anyone other than him. His arms, tense, remained at their sides, detached from the control that his brain provided for them, hanging there like dangling rope.

At first, Vent though this was a ruse, a fake out, a dream. He tried to call on Rasen to identify the cause and source of this so called 'fake dream' but he never responded. Now that he was trying, Vent couldn't find any sense of presence where the normally loud, mocking voice known as Rasen resided in his mind. Throughout the journey, Vent had always felt Rasen's presence, even before he had become aware of it. It had been like that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, a claw ripping his brain ion a tight yet not uncomfortable manner. This was the first time, that he had not felt his presence at all.

Fear began to build up within him at that point, Rasen had been someone to guide Vent in this journey of mystery and adventure, someone he could confide in and share his forbidden knowledge with. He could share anything with him as, probably due to how he was as a personality, Rasen had displayed loyalty only to him. He even stated this himself, that the world could burn for all it cared, as long as he would be alright then it was fine. So, to suddenly not have his presence in his mind, it was well… quite a blow to his mental composure.

Part of him wanted to release his Kagune and impale the faker for daring to impersonate someone important to him, but… he couldn't. No, not because he didn't have his Kagune, he could still feel it within him, but it was… calm, pacified even.

"Don't worry about it!"

The girl looked up at him, a bright grin on her face. Vent looked down at her in disbelief, his eyes showing a complex amount of emotions. Shock, disbelief, denial, joy and... relief, all mixing together into the expression he had on right now. She broke the hug, making a sense of disappointment and coldness wash over him, only to jump and wrap her arms around his neck, this time. Her face was now inches away from his face. "Believe in them, Vent! They'll see the real you under that little guise you have! Don't worry, they'll save you!"

Vent's eyes stared back into her most of his emotions replaced by confusion.

What did she mean by that?

What did...

Before he knew it, a bright light shone from the girl, blinding him before all he knew was darkness.