Episode 33: The Boy, the Animal, and the Soul Freak

Honeywell | Honeycomb Tavern

The barkeep nods. "Our Lady is busy right now but I'll send word for you." he says and looks over the traveler again. "You look like you've seen better days. Have a seat, I'll get you a meal on the house." he says and gestures towards the tables.

The traveler nods and whispers a hoarse thank you before trudging over to an empty table and plopping down at it, laying their head down.

Myling's eyes widen. "Veiss."

"What's wrong?"

"I know what their secret is." Myling says, staring at the mark on the traveler's arm: a circle with six spikes protruding to the outside and three dots on the inside.

Veiss frowns. "What? How? What is it?"

"I can only assume Kozune didn't get a new identity or a complete makeover because she wasn't actually a Dark Mage, but…" Myling averts her eyes from the traveler and looks at Veiss seriously. "Everyone here is an ex-Dark Mage. Ariana gives them new identities and new looks to start a new life in Honeywell. That's why everything feels so off here."


Mana anxiously tugs at the neck of her shirt. "W-Well, I guess that answers the question of what Kozune was trying to hide." she says after Myling finishes explaining her revelation. "And why everyone was so anxious when we got here…they were afraid we would recognize them."

Emile frowns. "But if they're all ex-Dark Mages, why send out a request to a guild to take care of a Dark Guild? Couldn't they just take care of it themselves?" he asks.

Myling shakes her head. "If Ariana really does give them new identities, going out and attacking another Dark Guild is going to blow their cover."

Akane crosses her arms, thinking. "I mean…I guess. Think about it, we're all more or less acquainted with every other legal guild in Valiance, who's to say it's not the same for Dark Guilds?" she questions.

Veiss nods in agreement. "Ariana probably has some no violence clause they have to agree to to get a new identity," he says. "Remember what she said when we first got here? That they're all pacifists here?"

Akane sighs. "And I guess that explains that Donatello guy's motivations." she says. "If they're not allowed to protect themselves, he will."

"That's not very Dark Guildy Mastery of him." Novem pipes up.

Emile hums thoughtfully, stroking Novem's fur. "No, no it's not." he says. "Some other motivation then, maybe?" Emile suggests.

"Find out tomorrow, you've done enough looking around for today." Myling says. "If anyone sees you wandering around continuously asking questions, they'll get suspicious. You did good work today, get some more rest." she says and frowns, a dark look on her face. "If those three are truly coming to Honeywell, we'll need it."


In the big house…

"Why?"

"I've told you - it's nothing against Honeywell, I just-"

"If it's nothing against Honeywell then why do you have any reason to leave!?"

"How many times do I have to say it!? I'm a doctor, I just feel like I can and should be doing more to atone for-"

Ariana grits her teeth. "You're different, Kozune. You have nothing to atone for." she says. "I understand that. The people living in Honeywell understand that. The world outside Honeywell?" Ariana scoffs. "You should've let me give you a new identity. As soon as they hear your name, your life is as good as forfeit." she snaps, looking down at the doctor with a mixture of confusion and anger on her face.

Kozune looks at Ariana exasperatedly. "But how can you say that for sure?" she asks. "Before we met-"

"Enough." Ariana says and turns to leave. "I'll come back again when you've had time to think."

"Lady Ariana-"

"Enough."

As Ariana slams the door shut, Kozune grumbles about how she has nothing else to do but think.


Honeywell | Honeybun Square

The next day, the five of them split up again, Myling's pretty good guess about Honeywell's secret heavy on their minds.

Once they confirmed that Ariana was out and about in town, Akane and Veiss went up to the big house to attempt to free Kozune, both aware that Donatello might attempt to stop them. Mana, Emile, and Myling are hanging around the town square, keeping track of Ariana's whereabouts and ready to speed over to the big house to warn Akane and Veiss.

So far, all Ariana has done was go from person to person, offering her assistance in their daily tasks and whispering something to them that left their expressions worried and angry when she walks away.

Myling, ever the paranoid woman, doesn't have a good feeling about it.

They've been watching her for about an hour now-

The three of them freeze when Ariana finally notices them from across the square, her blue eyes going from Mana to Myling and finally, Emile. Her expression slowly changes into something much more befitting of someone secretly keeping someone tied up in their basement.

Ariana's eyes flit towards the big house and back to the group of three, slowly connecting the dots.

"Mana." Myling whispers. "Warn them. Emile, restrain her."

The two of them nod and faster than Ariana can blink, Mana is already halfway towards her house and Emile is pinning her down.

Emile ignores the protests of the townsfolk as Myling limps over. The S-Class Mage shoots them all a look that quickly shuts them up.

Ariana glares at Emile and Myling. "Might I know why I'm being restrained after offering my hospitality to you and your guildmates?" she asks.

Myling glares right back at her.

She's testing them. So be it, Myling can do that too.


Honeywell | Ariana's House

"The basement was…right here!" Akane says as she and Veiss crouch down to peer through the basement window.

Fortunately and unfortunately, Kozune is still there and still tied up.

Veiss frowns. "This window is too small to squeeze through, we have to find our way to her through the house." he says.

"No, no, no, that's why you brought me, remember?" Novem says, jumping off Veiss' head and landing on the ground. "I'll chew through her ropes while you find the basement from the inside and we'll escape together!"

"Oh. Right." Veiss blinks.

Akane rolls her eyes and knocks on the window, catching Kozune's attention. "OI! KOZUNE!"

Kozune startles looking around panicked before her eyes land on Akane's and Veiss' faces through the window. She blinks, confused and wide eyed. "You guys?"

"We're coming to get you, watch your face, we're gonna break the glass!"


On the road to Ariana's house…

Mana runs as fast as she can to the big house - which is pretty fast by Akane's and Veiss' standards.

Mana-

What? Mana snaps.

To your left! Mary cries.

"Grasping Tongue-lero!"

And then she's not running.

Mana screams in horror as an inhumanly long tongue stretches itself out and quickly wraps itself around her, trapping her and stopping her in her tracks.

Mana cringes and gags at the feeling. "Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew-"

"Na, na, thabs nob thery thice-bero."

'Now, now, that's not very nice…lero'? Mary translates hesitantly.

Mana's head snaps towards the sound of the odd voice and cringes when she sees the owner of the tongue currently making her wish she were back in Yutsuko's clutches.

It belongs to a man of average height with white but somewhat tanned skin. The man has bulging yellow eyes, his hair messy and dirty. He has a slim build and wears white shirt with dirt stains under a torn leather jacket that's missing one of its sleeves. His pants are black and dirty and he wears red sandals. He wears chains around his neck and oddly enough, he also wears belts on his arms and legs but not his waist.

"Ba nab ith Bero Sthuber-"

'My name is Lero Sluper'.

"-a beber of Forthacken Thoses-bero."

'A member of Forsaken Roses-lero.'.

"Ah am undew owdews thoo-"

'I am under orders to'.

"Yeah, yeah, I know about your whole guild's deal." Mana says quickly. "Let me GO, I'm not trying to harm Honeywell or Ariana!" she cries, looking down at her slippery and wet bindings. "Is this even sanitary!?"

Lero stares at her, unimpressed.


Honeywell | Honeybun Square

"One of my guildmates told me she recognized your doctor from her time as a prisoner of Revenant Beasts: a dark guild." Myling says, looking down at Ariana. "Are you going to tell me you weren't aware that you were harboring such a criminal in your peaceful town? That you were allowing them to practice medicine on your people?" she questions.

She sees a spark of hope in Ariana's eyes - that maybe she can get away with it, she can sacrifice Kozune and continue reforming Dark Mages.

"K-Kozune? A Dark Mage?" Ariana stutters, tripping over her words in her panic to persuade Myling. "I didn't know - nobody knew! We're all innocent people here!" she exclaims, looking pointedly at the townsfolk surrounding them.

Myling's distaste only grows as a chorus of agreements try and back up Ariana's claim. "So you mean to tell me you also don't know that your newest resident is a Dark Mage from Stygian Gospel?"

Ariana pales. "N-No, I didn't-"

"You didn't see the mark on his arm when you were giving him a makeover?"

That spark of hope in Ariana's eyes quickly turns into despair.

"I-I-I-"

Myling's eyes widen when Ariana suddenly flips her position with Emile in a show of shocking strength, pinning him down to the ground.

Emile groans, "When do I get to be pinned down by a woman who doesn't have intentions to hurt me?" he whines.

Ariana grits her teeth, crazy mixing in with the despair in her eyes. "You - You people-" she says. "I give you a room, food, and medical care free of cost and you repay me by turning Kozune against me!?" Ariana cries. "All of you - good and bad - all of you Mages are the same!"

"Turn her against you? What are you talking-?"

"Heeeeey, I've been looking for some of those!" a cheerful sounding voice interrupts Myling.

A short, pretty looking skinny young man steps forward. He has waist-length silver hair with straight-cut bangs and large, round candy red eyes. He has pale snow-white skin and as shown by his wide smile, sharp, elongated canine teeth that resemble fangs. He wears a black jinbei under a white haori and white knee-high socks, completed by a pair of hiyori geta.

He walks up to Ariana and Emile. "Those bracelets of yours, they have Magic Sealing Stones in them, right?" he asks. "Where'd you get them?" the boy asks, pulling out a lollipop.

Ariana stares at the boy in confusion, her mind still reeling from her interaction with Myling. Emile, meanwhile, has his gaze fixated on the newcomer's right thigh.

Normally it'd be just barely visible but because of his shorts and Emile's position, Emile can see it clear as day.

A mint green Stygian Gospel mark.

Myling sees it too and mumbles her Shades spell under her breath.

The Dark Mage tilts his head to the side as he looks down at Ariana, spotting Emile's white Phoenix Fire mark because of the way Ariana has him. "Oh? Phoenix Fire? There are guild Mages in this town?" he asks and sticks the lollipop in his mouth. He holds out one of his hands, a crystal orb materializing above it before plopping down into his hand. He smiles widely. "My name is Alice de Alger Obelia," he introduces himself and in the next second, Ariana is flung into the wall of a nearby building, sending the townsfolk around them screaming and running for their lives, a surprising amount of them running over to retrieve Ariana. "What's your name?"

Emile has a feeling Alice won't appreciate it if he doesn't answer quickly enough. "E-Emile. Emile Solflare." he answers

Alice beams. "Solflare." he repeats. "So cool!" Alice gushes. "Emile-chan, my friends and I are here to kill Stygian Gospel and Revenant Beasts deserters." he reveals bluntly. "But! If you entertain me, I'll leave that up to my guildmates. What d'you say?" Alice asks.

"Shade: Wall Formation."

Eight of the twenty-five Shades around Myling merge together and form a sphere around Alice. Emile scrambles onto his feet as Myling uses another Shade to lift the sphere into the air and throw it against a nearby building. Myling releases the spell right before the sphere makes contact with the building, reverting the sphere back into her Shades, but the speed of the impact is still enough to make a large dent in the stone.

Emile's jaw drops. "M-Myling, you just killed him!" he cries.

Myling clenches her fist. "No I didn't." she says. "That crystal ball of his…be careful, Emile."

"As much as I would love to play with you, Shade Witch, I would much rather play with Emile-chan."

Myling and Emile look up to see Alice sitting in the Alice-sized hole of the building Myling punted him into, a bit dirty but otherwise unharmed.

"I'm not worth your time, Myling-chan." Alice says and his smile turns dark. "You'll have a lot more fun with Nel-chan. In fact, she should be at that big house on the hill with your friends right about now!" he says. "So, go on, let me play with Emile-chan. I promise I won't hurt him too badly - if he entertains me."

Translation: if Emile wins.

Myling pales. "Nel?" she repeats at the mention of her name. "Nel Alath?" Myling asks in horror.

Alice gasps. "You know Nel-chan?" he asks. "Perfect! You two will have so much fun together!"

Myling looks at Emile wearily.

Emile smiles. "No worries, Myl, I can handle this kid!" he says reassuringly, his eyes turning serious. "Go."

Myling gives Alice one last hard look and uses her shades to give herself the same ride she just gave Alice towards the house. The shade that threw her stays behind, looking at Emile expectantly.

"Oh?" Emile blinks. "Are you here to help me?"

Alice laughs, jumping down and walking towards Emile. "That's fine. You have the witch's Shade and I have my crystal ball - now we're even." he says and spins the ball on his finger.

Emile gulps.

"Let's play, Emile-chan."


On the road to Ariana's house…

"LET ME G - what the hell is that?" Mana blinks.

Mana and Lero look up to see a giant black-purple sphere hurtling towards Ariana's house.

"Is that one of your friends?"

Mana and Lero look back down to see a strangely dressed girl approaching them. The girl stops suddenly, her eyes wide with childlike shock as she looks at Mana.

The silver Revenant Beasts mark on her upper left forearm clearly answers why.

"You - You're-"

"Let me go, Lero." Mana says darkly, her eyes never leaving the girl.

Lero looks between Mana and the newcomer and decides it's in his best interest to let her go.

The girl's expression shifts when Mana's harsh gaze doesn't waver.

"At this point I'm sure Miss Yutsuko won't mind if you come back with fewer pieces - so long as you actually come back." the girl says and bows mockingly. "Shizani Saku," she introduces herself. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm young."

Mana doesn't deem her taunting with an answer. "Black Mask."


Honeywell | Ariana's House

Well, specifically on top of her house.

Donatello frowns, watching the sphere that came from the townsquare land in front of her house. The blonde Mage who arrived with the others emerges from it and starts limping towards the house, twenty-four strange ghost-like creatures continuously surround her until she disappears from his view.

Barely a minute before she arrived, a young woman with a very dangerous aura entered the house after that young woman from yesterday and her silver-haired companion.

Donatello sighs and stands up. He concentrates and starts breathing in the ambient Ethernano saturated throughout the atmosphere, absorbing the energy into his mouth. Once he feels it start to reinforce his vocal chords, Donatello starts to rack his brain for the proper song and jumps off the roof of the house, trudging in after the blonde woman.


Inside Ariana's house, Akane and Veiss struggle to find their way to the basement.

Not only was the big house, well, big, but the inside is like a labyrinth. It's a wonder how Ariana manages to live here on a day to day basis.

Although, if she regularly takes townsfolk as prisoner's, it's probably useful in making sure they have a hard time escaping.

Veiss groans. "I'm about to let Fafnir take over and destroy this entire house."

"Put me anywhere near that bloodthirsty freak in your chest and I'll rip out that lacrima before you can blink." Akane says dryly.

"It was a joke, Kumiko."

"Your jokes suck ass, Dregliark." Akane says dryly as she opens the next door, finally revealing stairs leading down. "Fina-fucking-lly." she groans and heads down the stairs, Veiss following after her. "Kozu…ne…?"

Veiss frowns as Akane's tone drops. "What?" he asks, moving past her when they reach the bottom of the stairs.

"My, my, you two seem like such fun souls to add to my collection. Tell me, are you just as strong as you are amusing?"

Kozune, her bindings undone, lays on the ground with a shard of glass through her back. Sitting next to her is a pretty woman with a dangerous aura that betrays her 'innocent' look. She has a trembling Novem in her lap, a smile on her face as she strokes his fur.

"V-Veiss…Akane…" Novem whimpers, looking at them pleadingly.

The woman laughs at the violent look in the Phoenix Fire Mages' eyes. "Oh, don't look at me like that." she says. "I'm not going to hurt him…" she trails off, the look in her eyes changing. "Is that what you thought I was going to say?" she asks cruelly and grabs Novem by the scruff of his neck, dangling him in the air.

Akane's and Veiss' eyes widen, both of them making a move to stop her.

But, someone else moves faster - accompanied by a deep, soothing voice.

"Dead Wave."

The woman's smile widens and she carelessly tosses Novem to the side and waves her hand, six transparent orbs appearing in front of her as a large beam of ghostly energy comes straight for her; Akane diving for Novem before he hits the ground.

"Defense Formation!"

The orbs spread apart, creating a wall-like barrier of energy, protecting the woman from the attack.

Myling stomps down the basement stairs, glaring heatedly at the woman as she pushes past Akane and Veiss. "Nel Alath, I should've known it was you when I heard an infamous Stygian Gospel Mage was in the area." she says. A strange, light blue aura surrounds her and that's when Akane and Veiss notice she didn't limp coming down the stairs.

And that's when they notice that same aura surrounding a now clearly unconscious and not dead Kozune.

"Myling Alva." Nel says, standing up and dusting herself off. "I don't know what that blue aura is mixing with your Shade Magic and I don't care. Show me what your Black Magic can do before I massacre every traitor in this damn town." she sneers and looks between Veiss and Akane. "Oh, but I wouldn't want you to be left out." Nel says sarcastically and swipes two of the orbs over to them. "Warrior."

The orbs morph into human-like silhouettes equipped with a full set of armor and weapons.

"Shit." Veiss swears, glancing at Akane. "Would you be ever so kind, Kumiko?" he asks as she puts an uninjured Novem on her head.

Akane waves her hand, "Yeah, yeah." she says and creates a giant fist of chains, punching a hole in the wall and increasing the size of their battlefield.

"Perfect." Veiss says and uses his Black Arms spell to throw Nel's warriors outside. He glances back at Kozune, surprised to see the man matching the description Akane gave yesterday picking her up - and singing.

So that's where it came from.

Seeing that Kozune should be fine, he follows Akane outside to take care of Nel's warriors.

"Well then." Nel says. "Shall we?"

Myling grumbles something about hating Dark Mages and raises her arms straight in front of her, her wrists limp. "Shade: Hell Formation!"

And the battle of Honeywell begins.

PF x SS x AH

A/N a big happy birthday to veiss', nelio's, saul's, and yuki's creator, Nitro! he told me to update for his birthday so here you go

the next one won't be so fast for obvious reasons so bear with me as i choreograph all these fights at least it'll be longer than these past two xx