"The mere mention of his name provoked so many emotions, but they were always smiling. Perhaps that was my answer."
Fear had taken over the minds of the prisoners. Why was that? Freedom had been bestowed upon them. In this particular case, freedom took the form of a "skeleton-like monster". Does it really matter who introduces freedom as long as your free? Wasn't freedom something humans naturally strove for? Granted there are demons in the mix, but...look closer. The demons looked just as scared. They have emotion. There is little difference between these two freedom seekers.
The skeleton-esque being never made a sound, even amidst the fearful cries of the chained, as it nonchalantly glides throughout the cell block, dragging its bloodied claw arm to break the bars of each cell.
And so freedom had been given to you.
Why do you not run?
Or so we can assume the enigmatic being is thinking. Before entering the next cell, it turned around, still the prisoners remain in their cells, their eyes all on "it". Hm... Well, if they wish to remain imprisoned, so be it. It is none of its concern. Moving on.
"You can hear it, can't you Velvet? You who know too much chaos, can you hear the sounds of battle?"
Being far away from the action doesn't hinder Seres' hearing. She is no ordinary lifeform.
"Very much so. Is this chaos your handiwork?"
Seres was willing to exhaust every option possible to ensure Velvet's freedom, running to every possible escape route, even picking up loot along the way. Well...the loot certainly explains Velvet's new appearance.
Gone was her tattered villager clothing that represented innocence that shattered far too soon. Its replacement came in the form of black jeans heavily shredded to the point of revealing too much legs save for the protective footwear, belts of all manners wrapped around her right leg as well as some on her waist, a red corset nearly separated at the middle and revealing her midriff, and finishing off with a black cape. And it seems...her long, flowing black hair is no longer chained by headbands. And her piercing gold eyes have taken on a new look: hopeful vengeance.
Velvet took on a new form of rebellion.
New appearances aside, it seems Seres was offended by Velvet's question. She may have been willing to exhaust every option for Velvet's freedom, but causing unnecessary bloodshed was far too extreme. It was simply... not her, for a lack of a better string of words.
"Velvet, what exactly do you take me for?"
Wearing a mask is useless if you can't even hide the emotions that dripped from your words.
"A malakhim that served Artorius. In other words, a monster. That is how I envisioned you."
It was useless trying to convince Velvet. She was the embodiment of revenge, seeking the head of Seres' former master and maybe even Seres' head as well if she continues to land on each landmine. An obvious fact thankfully did not fly over Seres, knowing that words alone aren't enough to sway Velvet's opinion. Silence was her only response.
As soon as their cells were broken, the escapees ran as far away as possible from the floating skeleton thing. Did they not care if they ran straight into guards? Well...there are demons among them, but seeing their tails between their legs is not a promising sign of their ferocity. So far, luck has been on the side of the rebellion, seeing only corpses of their enemy as they work against the clock to free their fellow inmates.
"Oh gods, it's here!"
"R-Ruuun!"
"Save yourselves!"
This particular cell block heard those screams. They were getting closer. Was it the enemy? Whole bodies quivered as the prisoners shakily grip their cell bars, nervously anticipating the source of the fear.
From the left...?!
From the right...?!
"Waaah!"
"They're here!"
"It's here!"
From both sides it seems! From one side, prisoners were trying to escape from the exorcists and from the other side, they were escaping from the halloween skeleton. Chaos had truly descended upon this particular cell block. Both sides cowered at the unknown being, but it seems they still retain some composure, seeing as they are pursuing their own agenda. The prisoners, freeing their own men. The exorcists, attempting to cut down the revolt. From the ground, this may seem like chaos, but if you look from above, the cell block was like one mind. The mass of bodies, regardless of which side they're on, actively avoided the mysterious being, who simply stood at the front of the door, just looking.
...
Just... looking?
...
*Drip drop*
Could that have been the sound of the dripping blood from the dead exorcists? They died a long time ago, though... They were on the ground, their blood spilling everywhere, but dripping?
The bizarre looking witch from the upper floor of the cell block looked intently at the abnormality, unfazed by the invisible bloodbath. A quiet gasp escapes from her mouth, eyes widening just a bit. Why was she looking at the monster's claws...?
*Drip drop*
Ah...That's why. There's fresh new blood coating its claws.
Total silence. How was it possible that this place that was brimming with chaos just seconds ago become dead silent? Ever so slowly, every living thing in that room turned their heads to follow the witch's gaze. Yes, their overexaggerated, widened eyes says it all. Where did that blood come from, they all wonder? For the second time, they turn their heads, snail's pace of course, towards the bodies. Yes, bodies. Dead bodies. Bodies that were alive mere seconds ago. Had the course of events not registered yet? Such slow-witted prisoners. Has stagnancy rotted their mind this much? The witch returned to her original personality, one of amusement, smiling to herself, knowing of what's to come.
"Heh, heh..."
And in that moment...
"Let's get outta here!"
"We're done here! We are NOT staying here!"
Perfectly timed are the prisoners' screams of terror, some backing into their cells, some attempting to break their bars, and the newly freed ones try ungracefully to escape, tripping over each other, beating each other up to use as unwilling meat shields. It was a stampede in the middle of Black Friday.
"Grah! Don't leave the rest of us behind!" So says another bizarre looking prisoner. He looked like a samurai...ponytail and everything.
He seems much calmer than everyone else. Scratching his head in disappointment, the samurai turns to face the source of the chaos. His lone yellow eye clashing with the being's red eyes, or what we can assume are eyes. There was no fear in the samurai's eye. Has the stagnancy of this prison affected him too?
"I don't want to mince words, so I'll get right to it. If I win against you, you leave these people. If you win, do whatever you want. These prisoners' freedom is the prize."
For the skeleton being challenged, there was no mouth to talk with, so there are no words. Obviously. Instead, it chooses action. It simply and slowly glides to the last few cells remaining and repeating the same process as before as he tries to free the last of the prisoners in this block. Even as it breaks the bars along its path with its claw, it never once looked at the samurai. Was it bored? Uninterested with conflict? Maybe it had better things to do?
"Uh..."
"Ah~ Rokurou, Rokurou... Can't you see? The poor thing wants nothing to do with your ungrateful self!~
Oh, the witch speaks. The only one in the cell block, perhaps in the entire prison, with a working brain. Well, just enough brains to realize who's doing the saving. She descends to the first floor and meets up with this Rokurou person, all the while twisting her index finger. In disappointment perhaps?
"Oh, can it, Magilou. I'm already embarrassed enough as it is. I feel so dumb."
Magilou, huh... So we've got Rokurou the ungrateful warmonger and Magilou the witch. Or jester, seeing how her aura can easily give off the vibes of providing amusement.
"Now, now, Rokurou.~ The vacant and vapid and vacuous would never admit to such vilification!"
"Gah...! Are you intentionally using big words to make me feel even dumber?! Cut down on the subtle slander, would you?"
"No caaaan do~ For that is my favorite hobby!"
"Urgh..."
Without hesitation, Magilou slaps Rokurou's back, switching personalities and typical course of actions with lightning speed.
"Stand up straight, boy! This freedom and chaos is a gift, one that should be shared with everyone!~
"Are you saying we should go help that thing and free everyone?"
"Mhm, mhm, mhm." Magilou says with vigorous nods for every word.
"Rebellion it is!"
A fireball from Seres finishes off an exorcist. Velvet remembers her words of avoiding bloodshed. So why was she fighting so...flawlessly?
"You're not even flinching. And I thought you avoided bloodshed."
"Unnecessary bloodshed. This..."
Seres walks up to a still-living exorcist, pleading for his life. But that won't do... Seres has already prepared her fireball spell and incinerates the body. Velvet looks on, undeterred.
"...is necessary bloodshed. I no longer work for the man you seek vengeance upon. I have no reason to flinch."
There is no change on Velvet's face, but she does look for any signs of changes on Seres' face, wondering if there's a lie hidden within her words. She turns her back to Seres, unwilling to give a response. Unwilling to show trust. How could she? Standing before her was a tool that aided Artorius and therefore was just as responsible for the demise a few years ago. No...this wasn't the place for it...
"Continue leading the escape. I'm sure the ships are still here."
"Ah, so you already knew that this prison is an island."
"One that houses violent criminals and scores of demons. That is what they all say."
A small, devilish smile appears on Velvet's face. Hints of insanity are seeping from that smile.
"Heh... Demons say a lot of things when they don't want you to eat them."
Acquiring information was one thing. Enjoying the methods used to acquire information is another. Clearly, Velvet has tasted the latter scenario many times, enough to materialize that devilish smile, one that rivals the witch.
Maybe it's just the prison, but the smiles that have materialized here... They are far removed from their original intentions. Only one seemed to have that small genuine smile.
"…"
Maybe it helped that there was no one else here that contributed to this silence. Sitting casually on the bed was Hyoma. His back was hunched over and his arms served as pillars to clutch the sides of his head. His eyes were shut tight and if he were to cover his ears, he'd be the perfect testament to one who denies and mutes the world. Luckily, he wasn't that type of person. This was just another bout of headache. A suffering mind was inevitable. Traveling to a different dimension was tiring... And the crash landing to the ocean...He hated the ocean...the water...
He shook his head slowly, trying to deny the existence of the pain in his head that had somehow wreaked havoc upon his entire body
He looked out from the small window, wondering what to do next. All the prisoners were freed, after all. What else was there to do? Then, an uneasy feeling sinks into Hyoma.
"That's right. This is an island..."
He continued to look out through the small window. Sure enough, the storm was still raging. Those waters refused to stay still. They were ready to swallow up any would-be seafarer. Well, for an aquaphobic, the ocean always acted like that regardless if it swayed back and forth peacefully.
Then an entirely different thought crossed his mind. It involved that woman. That Velvet. Her situation was rather odd. First off, she was placed in solitary confinement. Hyoma managed to tour the prison courtesy of the chaos that is the prison escape, and there was only one cell in complete isolation and it was the one Velvet was in. Second, that barrier. Now then, because Velvet was too busy preying upon Hyoma's helpless, fragile neck, she never noticed the yellow barrier that exacerbated the meaning of solitary confinement. It was shattered upon that masked woman's descent.
Velvet didn't see that barrier nor did she even hear the barrier shatter. Perfect, perfect examples of just how clouded her senses are. Hm, or more accurately, how her acute senses are honed in on the wrong things.
A girl no less than 19, or maybe even 20 years old was placed in an island prison and sealed away in a special cell in solitary confinement.
"What in the world could have happened to her?"
More importantly was this question.
Why did he care about the woman's situation? That Velvet? Hm... Perhaps it wasn't Velvet he was interested in. He was more interested in Velvet's situation. Goodness, it's been but a few hours since his arrival and already something caught his eye. It would be a fun journey, he thought.
In his own little world, Hyoma fails to realize the three exorcists behind him. Game over, they both thought.
"This isn't good."
Three exorcists converged to discuss the situation. They were lucky to be alive. And still lucky to be alive. The commotion caused by the rest of the prison inhabitants echoed throughout the island. It was utter chaos out there. It was surprising enough to even find a place free from the chaos, making it perfect to host a discussion.
"Much of the prisoners have been freed. This place is lost."
"Don't be an idiot. We still have Oscar with us. He'll salvage this mess.
Oscar? The head honcho of this place, I assume? So he's the praetor exorcist from before... The one with deceiving eyes...
"Hm... Inform all the exorcists to split into two groups and converge at the front and rear gates. We close in with Oscar's help and cut down all who stand in our way. Not one prisoner shall escape from this place."
"Understood, but sir? What about the path around the island under the watchtower? The one with weak ground?"
"We'll take the risk and hope no one finds out about that shortcut. Plus it's too dangerous for us to traverse. It could collapse beneath us. And hopefully if anyone does use it, it collapses for them."
A nod from two of three exorcists confirm their objectives. But the other one...
"Hey, say something! Do you understand what needs to be done?!"
Ah, it seems they're talking to the third exorcist. Strangely enough, he hasn't contributed to the conversation. He shakes his head nervously. The helmet makes it impossible to distinguish his appearance and his voice is distorted. Well, all exorcist helmets were like that. But those traits certainly came in handy for this one.
"No sir, I'm new to the exorcists. And... being placed in a prison so suddenly and for a first timer... It's nerve wracking."
Facepalm. The ultimate facepalm. What was a total newbie doing in a hell hole like this!? The exorcists' standards sure have risen. No fresh meat would want to join if they knew THIS was entry level stuff.
"Well you won't get anywhere with that attitude. Do you at least know the layout of this place?"
"A little. Give me a rehash along the way to the gates and that should be enough."
And with that, the exorcists split up, the newbie staying with the veteran.
From the corners, Velvet and Seres were eavesdropping.
"A shortcut huh... Under the watchtower, they said..."
It was Velvet's turn to assume The Thinker's pose albeit standing up.
"I was planning to instigate a riot by freeing the prisoners, but someone else beat us to the punch."
Velvet shakes her head in disapproval. Why? This was going in her favor and she didn't have to do anything. Luck like this comes very rarely. Savor it. For Seres, a subtle shocked look spreads to her face. Velvet would go that far...?
"Did you intend to involve the prisoners?"
Velvet fiercely and quickly retorts.
"I'll use any tool I have at my disposal. Including you, if need be."
"Rokurou, enouuuggghh... Enough with the sword already!"
"Nope. Stormhowl's all I got. I'm not leaving this place without it."
Magilou simply squats to the ground, crossing her arms and burying her head. This was a hopeless situation, indeed!
"I had hoped against all hope that YOU would be the one to lead the sheep to the promised land! But alas, my hope, my faith, my trust were all misplaced!"
Did she belong in a theater? Forget the subtle slandering, the jester-like qualities, Magilou excelled in theatrics. Pose after pose, she keeps on proving to be the chosen one fit to hog the spotlight, holding her heart with one hand and raising the other, a forlorn look across her mask.
"Look, if you just wanted directions, you should've followed the inmates in our block. Most of them were new, so they should still know the entrance."
Away with the dramatic poses, Magilou just shrugs and sighs. Well, even amidst her crisis, she manages to notice two new presences. Velvet and Seres. The former woman seemed to have been holding on to something that looked familiar... And with that, Magilou brings back her malicious smile.
"Oho!~ Could that be the sword you so desperately cry out for?"
Sword? Rokurou was quick to turn around to face Velvet. In her hands was indeed, the Stormhowl he was whining about. He should be happy, but he's not. From under his bangs, his right eye glows red. I guess he's angry now, teeth showing and everything.
"Planning to take off with my sword? I don't think so!"
"He owns Stormhowl? Could he be...?"
Before Seres finishes her thought, Rokurou lunges at Velvet using two daggers likely retrieved from the exorcists. They were brittle, likely because of the combat they experienced. Well they weren't much use anyway...
"Guuh...!"
An unmoving Velvet simply points Stormhowl with the pommel at Rokurou and stops him. A rude stop to his tracks. Hm, enough to leave an extremely painful bruise. From a hundred miles per hour to zero.
"If you wanted it so badly, you should've asked. The thing's too bulky and heavy to be of any use to me."
Rokurou clutches his stomach in pain and he slowly collapses to the ground, writhing. But he still manages to utter out...
"Thank...you..."
And with his passing out on the ground, Velvet nonchalantly drops the sword on his back. No response. All she wanted to do was get rid of it. Good god, she was hauling that thing for ages and it was completely messing up her combat. Feels good to throw trash where it belongs – with the rest of the trash.
Again, Magilou shrugs and sighs.
"That ended too fast for my liking. I teamed up with a thing that had no brains or brawns.
"So you're saying only one person named Van Aifread got out of this prison and it was only because someone named Melchior came to retrieve him. Did I get that right?"
Two unlikely duos have formed a new group. Velvet, Seres, Magilou, and Rokurou. An unlikely group indeed... The chaos throughout the prison ironically calms them down, knowing that the exorcists are far too busy elsewhere. In response to Velvet's question, Rokurou nods, confirming the information.
"I don't know who they are, but I'll make sure to remember the names, just in case."
"It'll be easy to remember them... Especially the latter name..." Magilou quietly whispers to herself in a serious fashion. It's a rare occurrence for her to be so...moody. Velvet looks at her, suspicious as well. Nothing about the witch spells seriousness. No, she was all about amusement. Velvet shakes her head. Again, this wasn't the time for such trivialities... Seres adds to the conversation.
"The exorcists of the Abbey joined with the kingdom of Midgand, and from there, created a killing machine for demons, utilizing all means possible, even using malakhim numbering up to the millions.
"Artorius can surround himself with as many malakhim as he wants. I'll line up corpses from behind me just to cut a path for myself."
"Whoa...uh, that's pretty gruesome. You must really hate the man."
"That's none of your business."
And from there, silence descends upon the group. An awkward, but golden silence. Eventually, they reach the watchtower, climbed it, and amidst the torrential rain and storm and all, kept a cool head as they observed their surroundings. Has their luck ran out as they look down below?
"Sigh. The path has collapsed. The rope will be useless here."
Seres looks around to see if there are any other tools that can be used for a safe descent until she sees Velvet preparing to take a leap of faith, looking at her bandaged arm one last time.
"Hold on! Are you seriously going to try it?!"
Quickly, Velvet responds. "He fell further than this back at the shrine." And immediately afterwards, jumps to her possible grave, and Seres can only look in disbelief. Rokurou and Magilou on the other hand were all smiles. It wasn't every day they get to do this. Rokurou prepares the twin daggers, looking to follow Velvet's lead.
"There's only one way to go, right?! Dooowwnn!"
Velvet manages to sink her claws into the rockface, painfully trying to slow her descent and above her, Rokurou sinks his daggers to do the same. Magilou smiles at Seres, knowing what must be done.
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?~ Waaahoooo!"
Unlike the brutal methods Velvet and Rokurou used to dive down, Magilou simply holds on to her giant hat as if it was a parachute. You'd have to be really, really light for that to work, but I think it was established long ago that she was no ordinary person. Everyone fit right at home in that odd little group of theirs.
The ground was a welcome sight and feel to behold, but their reckless descent was not without consequences. Velvet took the worst injury and suffered a dislocated shoulder on her claw arm and tried to push it against the rocks to... hopefully fix it. That isn't going to work. Using teleportation magic imbued with a fiery entrance, Seres instantly meets the others at the ground. Alright, that was a good idea. Reveal your teleportation magic AFTER everyone left.
"Whoa, that was quite the experience..."
Magilou holds her closed hand near Rokurou's mouth, as if attempting to place a microphone and hear his commentary.
"Tell me, was that an experience worth reliving? Did it hurt? What's your advice for those willing to follow your example?~"
Seres turns her attention away from the duo's banter and heads to Velvet, healing her shoulder.
"You are...strong. Almost as if you have made an oath."
Velvet, although thankful for the healing, faced Seres with a cold glare. She knew where this was going. Nay, they both knew where this was going, but the latter kept going in spite.
"A kind of ritual that grants the oath-taker special powers if they abide by certain restrictions. Strength is determined by harsher restrictions, so I suppose you could say an oath is like-"
"A curse, right?" Velvet rudely interrupts Seres. "Well, guess what? You're the ones who did this to me."
…
"But you're lucky. Oh, so lucky. If I could, I'd gladly give up any chance of joy just to put these hands... around his neck..."
As if to emphasize her point, Velvet kept staring at her hands, her shaking hands. Shaking not out of fear, but out of wanton anticipation. Nothing could sate her unless those hands of hers had wrung the neck of her ultimate prey.
"But I would never take an oath such as that. If I give up joy, or happiness, or satisfaction... I'd never be able to feel anything after achieving that sweet, sweet revenge."
The newbie and the veteran exorcist from before head to the docks amidst the storm. Were they planning to escape?
"This is the only ship in the back docks. There's more ships at the front, but they're already well-guarded. I'll send some to this ship and you all will defend it. Make sure none of the prisoners take a single step on this ship."
Ah... They sent a newbie away from the fighting. They truly did have a heart. A heart so... dangerously palpitable.
He heard no footsteps.
He had stopped following him.
Turn around?
"Huh? Graah-!"
Not one more inch did he manage to turn around before getting stabbed in the heart. The traitor exorcist twists and turns his sword until finally, his victim could struggle no more. Oh, but he was still very much alive. The traitor would not want the victim to miss this, to miss the end of his life in a more vivid detail. Perhaps even more cruel, the traitor was simply testing how well he can thrust a sword, as if he hasn't used one in a long time. Or... maybe he was a doctor-in-training trying to find out where the heart was located? The traitor, still grasping the blade impaled on the victim, moved closer to the edge of the docks and closed in on the victim's ears and with a tone suited for a casual departure than final words...
"Bye now."
Not a moment's hesitation and the traitor pushes the still living body from the blade, now coated in blood, and into the ocean. There was no salvation to be had here, no peaceful death. He would struggle, as per his survival instincts, but fail to struggle with effort, as per his body's debilitating injuries, and he would dream of a happier time, but it would all be washed away, as per his survival instincts. All he could do was instinctively wonder whether he would die from drowning or die from bleeding first.
And forcing the victim to entertain these sorts of thoughts... Well, that was the real reason the traitor even kept him alive until the very end.
"We're almost out! Pick up the pace!"
Velvet and the others were at full sprint, ignoring the chaos and the riot from behind.
"That's far enough!"
"Uh oh~ We've got trouble." So says a cheery Magilou.
Guarding the entrance were three exorcists, the one in the middle obviously more important than anyone else on the island as Seres immediately calls him out.
"Oscar... So it was correct that a praetor exorcist was stationed in this prison."
"Ah, Seres. What have we here? Are you leading these criminals to their freedom? Was it the will of Artorius?"
"Heh... I act on my own."
So she says with a small smile, but Oscar doesn't seem to buy it.
"A malak with free will, hm...? Even so, I can sense someone's strings guiding you."
Seres didn't have time to respond as Velvet readies herself for combat. Secretly, she was thankful not having to respond... Very thankful indeed. Rokurou pats Velvet's shoulders.
"Hold on. You're still injured and a praetor is more dangerous than regular enemies."
Velvet violently shakes off Rokurou's grip, refusing to be restricted like this.
"Don't you even dare try to stop me!"
"The enemy is in front of us, not amongst ourselves. Focus."
Oscar seems to be holding off on his end, refusing to attack a pack of anomalies until they can introduce themselves.
"You're a demon, but still a lady. So I'll show you due respect. I am Oscar Dragonia, praetor of the Abbey of the Holy Midgand Empire. And you are...?"
A/N - Ending notes? Hm. I'll wait until a certain point before I go crazy with notes. Oh, I guess I could say this. This isn't a spoiler-y fact, but if you have a hard time imagining what the "skeleton-esque" being looks like, try imagining Skeith Xth form from .hack. It's literally the same appearance. Except, you know, smaller.