The wooden basement swung open with a loud bang. The clamour of music and merry-making from the ground level followed as four cloaked figures - their faces hidden under gas masks - descended the cramped wooden staircase into a wine cellar. A single man keeping watch of the business's alcohol was seated at the bottom of the stairs. To his left and right were crates of unopened spirits, and behind him was a wall of four giant barrels of wine.
He was dressed in the typical Sander security uniform. The brim of a hat was used to pull over his distinct aqua-colored eyes. He had short black hair and visible teal-colored tattoos across his face. This man regarded the four with a half smirk.
"Out of wine, already?" the security guard asked.
"The matron upstairs wants… uh… more of the… uhm-" the front most cloaked figure stammered. A single cyan eye could be seen through a broken lens. He struggled to remember the password before giving up entirely, "You know it's us, Vegar. Just let us in."
The guard raised a brow at the first, tilting his head and looking at his visitor through the single broken lens. "Do I? I'm going to need some proof."
"Really?"
Vegar nodded, "Really."
"What happened to keeping our identities hidden until we got in?" the figure argued.
"What happened to remembering the damned password?" Vegar shot back.
The figure sighed, looking at the others and nodding as he pulled back his hood, revealing a deep red slap mark across the young king's face.
Unable to hold in her snickering any longer, the shortest of the group burst out laughing, pulling off her mask to get a better look at the hand-shaped welt on Chung's cheek. "It hasn't even faded yet!"
Vegar put a hand over his mouth to stifle a chuckle.
Chung let them laugh it up and watched as Vegar tossed Lu a bag of coins. "You win, I suppose," Vegar said.
"You knew this would happen?"
"I didn't," Vegar motioned at the little demon behind Chung, "But she did."
"Right hand, right across the left side of his face! Just as I said!" Lu was nearly beside herself in laughter. "Oh you should've been there, Vegar. I felt that slap from where I was standing."
"I'm sure it would have been amusing, indeed," Vegar said. The smile faded, and he turned to Chung, his voice falling to a whisper, "But seeing as there's still only four of you when you promised me you'd return with a fifth, I have to ask: did you get rid of her?"
All sense of amusement was gone. His question carried a tone of formality that seemed to bring the entire room to a hush.
The two held each other's gazes for a long moment. Chung didn't answer, but the outcome was clear.
Vegar sat back, his face unreadable save for the hint of disappointment in the man's eyes.
After a moment, Vegar placed his hand on the stone wall to his right, pushing one of the blocks in. The giant barrel at the furthest corner of the room slowly came ajar, revealing another staircase that led deeper underground.
"Go," Vegar said, "Tell the boss what happened. And pray he has a backup plan that doesn't involve… removing you from our circle of associates."
Without another word, Chung and the others made their way into the false wine barrel, down into a narrow dirt tunnel that widened the deeper they went.
"Vegar took it a lot better than I thought he would," Zudrich commented once he was sure he was beyond earshot of the Caluso. He pulled his mask off and moved to walk next to Chung as soon as the passageway allowed it.
"Same," Chung sighed in relief, "He's hard to read… I half expected him to kill me then and there."
"What happens to Chung after his failed attempt to bring Eve to our side wasn't Vegar's call to make," Ciel explained, "He may be the leader of the Caluso Assassins, but he isn't leading this operation. Chung is an asset, after all."
"Yeah. The 'Fatal Phantom'," Chung remarked sarcastically with air quotes, "Can't just get rid of the mascot of a secret cult of assassin warriors without having a backup plan, I suppose."
"You never know," Lu sang, "You still have to tell the boss how royally effed we are. Maybe then he'll ask Vegar to get rid of you."
The four of them stopped at a small dugout room with a single iron door. The king knocked four times, paused, then twice more. The viewing slit of the iron door opened, and a pair of eyes peered through. The slit shut, and a series of locks were undone before the door quietly swung open, letting the four in.
Past the two Caluso warriors watching the last security checkpoint was a sophisticated underground headquarters of the Sander Reunification Movement.
The central room, a hexagonal-shaped chamber surrounded by metal walls lined with surveillance equipment, communication tools, and other information-gathering apparatuses, greeted Chung. At the center of the room, above a large map table, hung a large flag similar to Sander's current flag: a globe atop a pedestal and flanked by golden wings. The only difference being the gold and earthy colors are replaced by the Caluso's white and green color scheme.
The central room was largely empty today with only six other agents manning the stations. At the map table, as expected, was the secret organization's leader. He was a red-headed, middle-aged man with thick sideburns. Built like a soldier, the merchant noble's garb he wore greatly contrasted his combat-experienced physique. His eyes were wide, alert, clearly reflecting his eagerness on any topic he spoke about.
He was talking to Gerard. The archmage's intel had been decisive in the past few operations they carried out and has since been at the leader's side when planning their next move.
"Emirate!" Lu called, jumping the gun while Chung was content to wait for the two men to finish their talk, "We're back!"
"Lu? Chung and… Wait, what are you all doing here?" The leader asked. His manner of speaking was fast, like a machine gun. It didn't take long for him to realize something was wrong. He quietly waved the four of them over.
As the four reached the table, Zudrich pulled out a wooden container and plopped it loudly on the map table in front of Gerard and Emirate.
Gerard eyed the box quizzically, "I sense an immense font of power contained in that box. What the hells did you four get yourselves into this time?"
Lu rubbed her nose, a smug grin plastered on her face, "Gerard, you gotta have more faith in us. We were just doing our job. Or at least the three of us were," Lu then motioned at Chung, "Can't say the same for lover-boy here, though."
"We have good news and bad news," Zudrich said, ignoring Lu's last comment, "Good news: mission accomplished. We've secured the package that Velder emissary had with her."
Emirate's eyes widened upon hearing the news, "Unbelievable. You gents actually did it! Without a meaningful gift, Velder's going to be hard pressed in opening talks with Sander officials. So did you open it? What's in it?"
"Eh… we tried, but the little box just won't open," Zudrich said, scratching his neck, "Tried everything outside of smashing it to pieces, but-"
"I highly doubt any of the four of them would be able to," Gerard interjected, "The object's magically sealed by a powerful rune lock."
"A rune lock? The hells is that?" Emirate asked, picking up the box and giving it a shake.
Gerard continued, "Only people with magic sensitivity can see the otherwise invisible inscription. Meaning Lu should have picked up on it…"
All eyes fell on the Chilliarch who shrugged half-heartedly, "I see it, sure. Dunno what it means, though."
"It may be made of wood, but the ward makes its surface as resistant as the strongest metals. Only by adding the correct inscription to complete the spell will the rune disappear."
"So, it's a bust then. We can't open it," Emirate concluded.
"Unfortunately, no," Gerard agreed.
"Well, whatever. We have it, and Sander doesn't. That's a victory in my books. Now… to address the more pressing issue: you said you had bad news? What is it? What happened? Were you discovered? Were you being followed? More importantly, what in the hells happened to Chung's face?" Emirate fired off question after question, not even giving the others a chance to answer before moving to the next.
The young king touched his cheek, wondering just how bad it was. "We had… a situation regarding Ralek."
"The engineer with a scorpion fetish? What'd he do this time?"
"He was trying to… well… he was going to hurt Eve."
"Who?"
"Eve, er, the person I've mentioned before about possibly joining our cause-"
Emirate cut him off, "One of the other members of the El Search Party? Right, right. I remember her."
"Yeah, well, I was laying low after last night's operation, but I noticed Eve was… following me."
"Following you? But how? You should've lost any pursuers as soon as you dipped into one of our resistance shelters."
Chung didn't know how to explain the whole situation regarding the Nasod tech in his body. That because of this, he had this ability to just feel when Eve was nearby.
"She's just that observant," Chung shrugged, figuring it was easier to lie.
"I can see why you've spent the majority of this past week trying to get her attention, then…" Emirate deduced.
"Well, Ralek was going to hurt her, so we stepped in and saved her-"
Lu chimed in, "Just so we're clear: we wanted to keep a low profile. The decision to help was all lover-boy here."
"Lover-boy…?" Emirate cocked a brow at Chung.
The young king quickly attempted to steer the conversation back on track. "Anyways! After we neutralized Ralek, I had the chance to speak to her."
"Yeah, yeah, and? What'd she say?"
Chung frowned and pointed at his face.
"Ah, I see! I see! Yes, it's all starting to make sense. You were keeping your head down as instructed, then you decided to disobey orders and helped this contact you've been keeping tabs on... you asked her to join, and you were slapped really hard in the face!" Emirate nodded, rubbing his chin in thought. He leaned in, glowering at the Hamelian, "And you took the necessary steps afterwards, right?"
Emirate waited for Chung's answer as the young man struggled to find an explanation for his inaction.
"We tied Ralek up, and he was apprehended by authorities for destruction of-"
"That's not what I meant, Chung," Emirate said in a low whisper. His voice was more rigid than before, "Your contact didn't want to join our cause. From this point on, they are now a potential hazard that could undermine everything we've accomplished so far. Did you do the right thing?"
The leader of the resistance stared daggers directly into Chung's soul. He felt that the wrong answer could spell the end for him.
"I…" Chung gulped, finding himself weighing in the option of simply lying to Emirate and worrying about the consequences later. But…
"I did not. I let her go."
Chung watched as the leader's face grew paler from the news.
"Oh, Chung…" Emirate sighed.
"I-I know… I messed up-"
"You think?!" Emirate cried, loud enough to startle everyone in the large room. The leader leaned against the map table, reaching for a nearby chair to fall on before his legs gave out. "Do you have any idea what this means now that you've let her go? She knows who you are. She knows your face! The sultanate's council has eyes and ears everywhere in this city. All they have to do is trace witness statements back to you. They'll be on to you by tomorrow if not by tonight!"
"She wouldn't tell anyone!" Chung reassured the leader.
"How can you be sure?!"
"I… I just know she wouldn't. It's because Eve… she trusts me-"
"Does she?!" Emirate questioned, pointing at the slap on Chung's face, "She doesn't know about us! She doesn't know about the threat that lies just underneath all of our noses! To her, she just knows that the Fatal Phantom murdered a high ranking noble in cold blood! And she knows that the Fatal Phantom is you. Why would she keep your identity a secret?"
"But I didn't… She wouldn't… You have to give me another chance-"
"We can't afford that, Chung. If your contact hasn't told them who you are yet, then it's only a matter of time before she does. We have to eliminate her as soon as possible."
"We don't have to do that!" Chung argued.
"We do. I'm not going to let our dream of a unified Sander fail because of one person's mistakes," Emirate said. He turned to the others, "Get a hold of our spy network. Now. We need to find this Eve person. We'll figure out an attack plan from there."
The few available agents immediately set to work, the once quiet hideout now alight with activity.
"You can't do that!" Chung shouted over the others frantically attempting to contact all available eyes and ears in the city.
"And why can't I? This desert is our home. We have every right to defend it, even if it means killing an outsider for the sake of our future. You should know, very intimately, what it means to protect your land, Hamelian."
Emirate was glaring at Chung, his words striking a nerve with the young king.
"I do know," Chung said, noting the frenetic way the others worked. It was clear that each and every one of those under Emirate's command had their lives riding on their work. The king had to choose his words intelligently if he had any hope of diffusing the situation. He had to… not just for Eve, but for everyone else.
Chung exhaled, calming his nerves before speaking. "I know that you value every single life under your command. That's why I can't let you hurt Eve. It's not just for her safety, but for everyone else fighting for the Sander Reunification Movement."
"The Caluso can hold their own, Chung. You've trained with them. You know what they're capable of."
"I know what they're capable of and it's not enough. Eve may not look the part, but she is far more dangerous than you can imagine… I've seen the wake of her destruction before. Hordes of demons had been slain when she carved a warpath fighting to the Water Temple back in Hamel. An entire section of Ruben's forest was burned to the ground by her. She single-handedly usurped Altera's King of Nasods and, as you've heard, she even holds the title of champion in the recent Proving Grounds tournament."
Hearing this brought pause to Emirate's actions. Though Chung had to exaggerate some of the claims, the story he wove was largely true. He pressed further.
"With who you have available, including us, I doubt we'd do little more than alert Sanders of your resistance's involvement with the matter, even if we manage to kill her. And that's not even counting the casualties that would result from the battle."
Emirate scoffed, shaking his head, "You doubt the resources I have at my disposal, Chung. If she's as dangerous as you claim, I have a contingency plan for this exact situation."
"Okay, so if you do manage to eliminate Eve, what then? She has others around her. Might I remind you that she's here with the El Search Party? A missing member won't go unnoticed."
Emirate considered Chung's words and, after a moment, ordered a halt on the entire room's activity. Chung breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what, then?" Emirate grimaced. "What would you suggest we do? We can't just let her get away knowing who you are."
"Let me talk to her," Chung suggested once more, "I know her. She's one who acts on reason rather than impulse. If anything, she's confused about my involvement. I can use this as a chance to clarify everything with her. Maybe I can convince her to keep my identity a secret. Best case scenario, she joins us."
"You're certain you can convince her to keep her mouth shut?"
"Well… I want to try."
Emirate didn't like that answer. Chung didn't, either. It felt like the young king was grasping at straws trying to reign the situation back to his favor. Clearly, it wasn't working.
"Lover-boy, huh?" Emirate grumbled.
Chung looked up. Emirate rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.
"You have three days."
"What? Three?"
"Starting now. 72 hours. That's all I'm comfortable with. The longer she's alive, the more likely she'll reveal who you are. You have three days to convince her, and me, otherwise. If I don't hear back from you by then, I'm falling back to my contingency plan. Deal?"
Emirate extended his hand. Chung stared at it warily.
"Chung, if you're not going to accept my conditions, I'll just keep doing what I was doing."
"So for the next 72 hours, I want zero interference on your end."
"Zero," Emirate agreed, "But once your time is up, Eve's as good as dead."
Chung sighed, reaching out and shaking Emirate's hand, "I doubt it'd be that easy but… Deal."
"So what's the plan from here?" Zudrich asked. Chung was speed-walking his way through the Scrap District's main boulevard as the other three tailed closely behind.
"I don't know," Chung answered, making his way quickly towards the transport hub. Eve's signal was faint, meaning she had to be in the Capital district at this time.
"You sure she won't tell anyone who you are?"
"I don't know!"
"We only have three days to make things happen… but do you think acting now would be wise? Even though we're supposed to be laying low-"
"You're not helping!" Chung groaned.
"Aww, is his highness getting cold feet already?" Lu skipped her way in front of Chung. He could feel her grinning through the gasmask she was wearing. "And he sounded so sure of himself when he was trying to convince the boss."
"If you're here to slow me down, I'd think twice about getting in my way," the young king growled, getting a mischievous giggle from the demon.
"Oh please. You know I'd never do that to you. It's way more fun watching you struggle from your own fuck ups."
"I honestly don't know why I bother cooperating with you," Chung grumbled, pushing past the demon.
"Because we're friends," Lu said in an all-too-obvious taunting tone, "And friends help each other. You want to help me… don't you? For the good of the realm or whatever?"
Chung almost drew blood with how hard he was biting his tongue. Swallowing the urge to rip into the demoness, he instead extracted the white Hamelian Blossom ribbon from his pouch. He ran his thumb over the smudged golden button and did his best to clean the dirt off its white, lacey petals.
"I do," he said, his voice a rough whisper, "For the good of the realm." Chung strode ahead, his fury guardian following close behind.
A hand fell on Lu's shoulder, and she looked up to see Ciel shaking his head at her.
"What?" the chilliarch asked innocently, "I'm sticking with him for his sake as well as ours. Not because I'm some kind of sadist!"
"Regardless of the reason, Lu. I think it's better we let Chung handle this without your constant badgering."
Lu pulled her shoulder away and followed Chung and Zudrich up the transport hub's staircase to the platform bound for the Capital district. "You're being way too soft on him, Ciel," Lu said, "The kid's tough. I mean, you saw how he got his face punched in by the chieftain, remember? He can take a bit of teasing if it helps remind him what the stakes are. And if he messes up again, which he surely will, I'll be around to assist in the cleanup."
"We'll be around. You mean."
"Sure. You'll be there, too, doing that thing where I use you as a battery."
Ciel sighed. The servant clearly wanted to say more, but the air shuttle was already beginning its loading process, and the two had to catch up with the Hamelians before they were left behind.
The sun had set by the time the four of them had arrived within view of Sander's palace. That was as close as they were going to get, however, as Chung quickly discovered.
They had been stopped and questioned when they stepped off the shuttle. Thankfully, Lu did an excellent job playing the role of a lost child being returned to her parents.
Though they had cleared that hurdle without a hitch, it was more difficult getting close to their destination while avoiding the guards.
The capital district was on high alert, and patrols had more than tripled along the streets surrounding the palace walls. Foot traffic was nowhere near as busy as the usual evening rush, as many Sanderians opted to remain indoors with the upped security. The few that wandered the streets were often stopped and questioned by the palace guards. Simply waltzing up to the palace wall through the main streets was going to be tough. Getting in undetected was hard enough the previous night, but with the capital district at its current state, Chung feared this attempt would be near impossible.
"The bars in this district are not for your kind, outsider," a guard grunted as the group was stopped, yet again. He was noting the ragged cloaks Chung and the others were dressed in, "Noblemen only. And many are closed due to last night's attack. Away with you and your commoner friends. You'll find more bars appropriate to your kind in the Red Light or the Scrap district."
"Sure. Thanks for the tip," Chung smiled.
"Asshole," Lu remarked, and was immediately shushed by Ciel when the guards glanced back at them.
Not wanting to be caught again, this forced Chung and the others to take shelter in an alleyway that diverged from a street lined with market stalls. At least he knew Eve was in the capital district. Chung picked up her signal halfway to their destination, and the signal was much stronger now than they were within view of the palace.
Eve had to be aware of his presence, as well.
"At least they didn't recognize your face," Zudrich commented. He glanced around the corner, keeping a wary eye on the next incoming patrol, "If Eve did tell them who the Phantom was, they would have recognized you, surely."
"Yeah, true…" Chung muttered. Too preoccupied with conjuring up a plan, he could only manage half-hearted responses while the other three kept a lookout from the alleyway they hid in. Up until this point, Chung had been just following her signal. At this range, they weren't able to sense each other's thought patterns, which was a good thing considering his intent to sneak into the palace undetected. They had to move fast once they reached that critical range, however. Once Eve was able to sense his thoughts, the entire palace would more than likely be alerted if they hadn't been discovered yet.
"We're going in over the southern wall, like last time?" Zudrich suggested.
Chung shook his head. "Assuming we get that close. I doubt they'd let that happen twice."
"Do you even know where Eve's holed up in?" Lu asked, "You forget that the palace is practically a maze if we're moving at ground level. We can't just barge into every room looking for her."
"Ugh… yeah, that's a problem, isn't it…?"
"So how are we going to do this?" Zudrich asked.
"I'm thinking." Chung scratched his head in frustration.
Zudrich raised his hand, silently telling everyone to shush. With a frantic wave, he motioned for everyone to hide as another patrol passed by their alleyway. They all hid behind an old, unused merchant's stall that had been pushed aside to rot.
The two more palace guards passed by and stopped another civilian wandering the streets. They asked them questions, ranging from their reason for wandering so close to the palace to why they were alone at this point of the night. The entire time, Chung and the others kept their head down, listening to the soft murmur of dialogue between a rather timid-sounding woman and an aggressive guard.
After a series of answers that the guards clearly didn't seem too happy about, they begrudgingly let the woman go and continued on their patrol. With the guards gone, the four of them waited several seconds before letting out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"We actually might have to wait until daylight," Ciel suggested, "There's not enough people to blend in with, and I doubt our chances with security the later it gets."
"We don't have that kind of time, though," Chung argued. "That's at least another ten hours of us sitting around doing nothing. I can't afford to do that with only three days to get in contact with her."
"I'm going to have to agree with lover-boy here, Ciel," Lu replied.
"Stop calling me that," Chung commented.
Lu ignored him, "I say we make for the palace tonight. If we get stopped, we do what we do best and hide the bodies along the way."
"We can't do that, either," Chung said, "It's bad enough that she sees us as murderers. It won't make us look any better if we leave a body trail-"
The young king was cut off. A sensation that Chung hadn't quite grown used to began to push itself to the forefront of his thoughts. To him, and to him only, a voice shouted excitedly in his head. Though it spoke in a language he couldn't describe, he simply understood it to be… a greeting.
For everyone else around him, this greeting came in the form of whirs and clicks. All eyes fell on a black drone hovering over them in front of the stall they were all crammed in.
Everyone froze, staring up at the drone as if any sudden movements would give away their already-discovered positions.
"Is that… Moby?" Chung gawped.
Directly below the drone, standing in the darkness, was a small figure whose thick, reflective glasses glinted in the moonlight. There was someone with him!
"H-hello?" the voice of a timid young woman squeaked.
"Grab her!" Chung ordered, in a panic. Zudrich was the first to act. Standing nearly twice the young woman's size, he grappled her, shoving her to the ground and covering her mouth before she could scream for help. Lu and Ciel were on the drone, a burning blue gauntlet manifested in the demoness's hands as the pair leapt high to nab the flying Nasod before it could get away.
As all of this was happening, the voice in Chung's head shrieked wildly, imploring him and the others to stand down. Lu struck the drone, sending it spinning out of control as it bounced off the stone walls. It finally dawned on the young king, as the voice in his head cried out in pain, what was going on.
"Wait!" Chung ordered, watching Lu move in for the kill, "I said wait, dammit!"
The other three turned to Chung. Zudrich's struggles with the young woman ceased as he held her down but kept his hand pressed firmly over her mouth.
There was a moment of uneasiness between the two sides as both looked from one another cautiously.
Moby floated high above them. The intent of wishing to resolve this situation peacefully pushed itself to the front of Chung's mind as he stared up at the black drone.
"Let her go," Chung ordered.
"But, Chung. If she-"
"Zudrich, just get off of her."
Slowly, the fury guardian pulled his hand off her mouth. He stood over her, practically waiting for her to make the wrong move. The young lady, with her braided brown locks barely visible in the light emanating from Lu's glowing gauntlet, simply lay on the ground, largely unharmed, as she looked from face to face.
It was the Velder Emissary.
"Is it just you two?" Chung asked Moby, who responded with a confirming chirp followed by a notion of misunderstanding between the two sides.
"Help her up," Chung said, "They don't mean us any harm."
"Wait, hold on," Lu interjected, "How do you know that?"
"Moby told me, I think."
"You think? You can understand that flying beach ball?"
"I think so. It's hard to explain. But, in a way, I can sort of read his thoughts. Anyway, the bottom line is they're not here to give our position away."
The gauntlet on Lu's hand vanished, and she crossed her arms. "You never seem to stop with these little surprises, human. Alright, fine. If they're not here to rat us out, then what're they doing out here?"
"That's what I'd like to know myself," Chung said, turning to Zudrich.
"Erm… sorry. About tackling you, and all," Zudrich said as the large Hamelian helped the woman to her feet, "Cleri, right?"
"Yeah… yeah," the young woman nodded, still winded from being knocked to the ground. She fumbled with her glasses, making sure it was still in one piece before putting it back on. She jolted when Zudrich began dusting her shoulders and back for her. "T-thank you!"
"Cleri," Chung said as Zudrich finished dusting the emissary off.
"Yes!" Cleri squeaked.
"I'm going to cut to the chase here. What are you doing wandering these streets at night?"
Cleri squinted at the young king through the dark, looking him over before turning to Zudrich and then to Lu and Ciel. "I… I think I'm the one that should be asking that question, honestly."
"None of your business, hu-" Lu began but Chung interrupted her mid-sentence.
"I'm looking for Eve."
"Or we could just tell her everything..." Lu shrugged.
Cleri's eyes narrowed. "You're not… going to hurt her, are you?"
"No. I'd never. I just want to talk to her."
"She's not happy with you. You know."
"I know… and I don't blame her. After what we've done last night-what I've done to her for the past year-I don't expect her to forgive me. If she doesn't… then so be it. But Eve needs to know the truth. She needs to understand what's really going on in Sander."
"Is… is it really that bad?"
Chung nodded.
"Is that why you took my box?" Cleri asked.
Again, Chung nodded.
"...Is that why you killed Thironin? Eve said he was the father of a friend of yours. He was Aisha's father. Was his death really necessary?"
"I…" Chung trailed off. With the simple mention of the noble's name, Chung found himself once more within the palace's garden square. His mark was right in front of him. He remembered the hesitation; the conflict of wills as his finger gently rested on the trigger of his revolver. He wondered what Aisha would think of him after what he was about to do.
No. Cleri was getting into his head. He couldn't stray from his goal. Not while there was a time limit.
"I need to speak to Eve," Chung reaffirmed.
"I'm not going to let you hurt her, too!" Cleri responded. Despite her defiance, her voice quivered with fear.
"I won't," Chung reassured her. It was then that an idea popped into Chung's mind, and he turned to Moby, "You can trust me, right Moby? You know I would never do something like that to her."
He could feel the drone reading his intent. The tentative feeling that hung over his mind quickly faded when Moby simply nodded and gave a confident chirp in response.
"Can you get her for me? We'll be right here waiting."
The drone whirred and whistled, directing Chung's attention back to Cleri.
"We'll keep Cleri here. You and Eve can escort her safely back since I wouldn't want her wandering the streets on her own."
The drone whistled once more and took off. Not to the palace, but off towards a different direction.
"Hey! Where's that little ball going?" Lu asked, noticing this, as well.
"To Eve," Cleri said, "She was heading that direction last I saw her."
"Why is she over there?" Chung asked.
"She didn't say. In fact, she hardly spoke when we returned from the Scrap District. But even though she tried to hide it, I could tell she was really shaken after seeing you again. We split up as soon as she dropped me off at the palace."
"You went back to the palace-"
"A-and I didn't tell anyone what we saw!" Cleri insisted.
The other four looked at each other in surprise. Unconvinced, Chung pressed further. "You had every reason to tell the others who Phantom is… why didn't you?"
Cleri shook her head. "I… I didn't know if it was the right thing to do. After seeing how shocked Eve was, it didn't feel like it was right to. Not without her permission, at least."
"And you were wandering around at night with that drone, because…?" Zudrich asked.
"Moby picked up your signal... I wanted to ask why you stole my box."
Again, the others looked at each other.
Chung cleared his throat, "You wanted to ask me, the Phantom, why we stole your box… by yourself?"
"The girl's even stupider than you," Lu remarked at Chung.
"Well, you all didn't seem that scary when you saved us from Ralek!" Cleri defended.
"Uh… hello? We murdered Thironin last night, remember?"
"Well… At least, um… Zudrich, was it? He doesn't seem like the dangerous type."
Chung, Lu, and Ciel all looked at Zudrich standing behind her. The sheer mass of his muscular body was like a mountain compared to the small woman.
"R-really?" Zudrich seemed taken aback by the comment.
"Yes! You saved me from that mechanical scorpion. And that thing was more than three times your size! It was amazing how you brought that thing down all by yourself!"
Zudrich rubbed his neck, trying to hide a rather embarrassed grin, "I… well, you know… I actually-I wouldn't have won that fight without the other's help."
"Well, it was still amazing to me! I can't thank you enough for that."
"Oh… well, uh, you're welcome," Zudrich replied dumbly.
"Regardless," Chung said, "We can't tell you why we took the box. That's classified."
"I figured… but I wanted to try, anyway," Cleri sighed.
"But," Lu chimed in, "You can open it, can't you?"
"... Maybe," Cleri answered, in what would possibly be described as the least convincing way possible.
"She knows the inscription code," the demoness grinned.
"We don't need it open. We just need the box itself," Zudrich reasoned.
"Now, hold on. Aren't you all just the least bit curious about what's inside? There's an incredible font of power stored in there, after all. I say we take her and make her open the box."
"That's not necessary," Zudrich defended, "Cleri stays here."
Lu backed off, playfully, "Fine. I was just throwing out options."
"Cleri isn't coming back with us," Chung stated, "As Zuzu said, there's no reason for her to."
"Sure, sure. We could just tell the higher ups we walked away without the key. I'm sure they'd be happy knowing that."
Meanwhile, not too far from Chung's location in a tall tower that overlooked the rooftops of the Palace District's commercial zones, a certain Nasod was just about to finish compiling her notes on who Thironin was.
"Thironin was a noble from birth," Eve tapped her chin in thought, "The schools he studied in during his youth were of high prestige, it seems, judging by the quality of the diplomas he had framed behind his desk. A large number of his books on the shelves have little to do with magic and more with law. Surprising, coming from such an important figure in the Seven Tower organization. Though, now that I think about it, Thironin didn't use any magic at all. He seemed far more interested in the political spectrum, which explains his position as one of Dafaar's top council members…"
Remy, having just finished scanning over several documents regarding the council, chimed in, "There appears to be 6 seats in total in the council, mistress. Each seat leads a particular branch of Sander's government."
"And Thironin's?"
"Magic."
"Obviously," Eve said with a small tilt of her head. He was part of a line of powerful mages, after all.
"More specifically, he's in charge of everything that has to do with magic and its use-be it through advanced Seven Tower research or regulating basic public use," Remy flicked on their hologram projector, and a map of the country appeared. She highlighted the hundreds of mines that dotted the desert and connected them all through its vast logistical network. "El stones harvested in the country's mines are distributed among the masses based on his jurisdiction and its application in technologies, including that in the Scrap District, are his domain. Based on these findings, Thironin had significant influence in Sander as a whole."
Eve eyed the map, noting how Garpai village sat between Sander and a large section of mines that had to divert their trade routes around the village to further transportation hubs. It suddenly made sense as to why Thironin wanted the village bearing the Sander banner.
"But that still doesn't explain why he had to kill Thironin. He's… supposed to be in Hamel… rebuilding his home. What would assassinating a Sander noble accomplish?"
"Current data is inconclusive on the matter. Further research is required."
"Maybe… Maybe Sander and Hamel had some prior conflict before Hamel's fall? Maybe there was some… involvement with Thironin, specifically, that affected Hamel's situation. Remy, I'll need you to gather whatever information you can regarding the history between these two nations-"
"Mistress, if I may?" Remy interjected.
"Yes, Remy?"
The white drone hovered closer, "We are spending a great deal of effort here when the clear, reasonable path would be to expose the Phantom's identity to Sander officials and the El Search Party. Our protocol dictates that our main focus should be on the preservation of Nasod knowledge, not meddle in the affairs of a nation we have little to no affiliation with. Time is of the essence, mistress. Why are we trying to prove this human's innocence when there is no benefit to us?"
Eve stared at the white drone. An uneasy silence fell between them. In truth, Eve had an answer. She just knew it wasn't the most rational. This was something Remy… or rather, this current Remy, couldn't possibly understand.
"Have I stepped out of line, mistress? If I have, I do apologize-"
Eve turned from Remy, making her way out to the balcony to get some fresh air. "I think I understand why Moby has been so upset with me."
"Mistress?" Remy floated after her as Eve leaned against the railing.
"Mistress, what do you mean you understand? What does Moby_094 have to do with our discussion?"
Eve sighed, her attention falling on a pair of individuals dancing together on a brightly lit rooftop. They were the same couple that were dancing a few days earlier. They were alone this time, in contrast to the loud, festive celebration of the first night.
"Nothing, actually."
"Then why…?"
"Because your responses are uncharacteristically cold. Even Remy_003 would have been ashamed by your lack of consideration of others."
Eve could practically hear the gears turning as Remy tried to comprehend what her mistress was saying.
"Mistress, I'm afraid I don't follow. I am merely adhering to protocol. How are my responses 'uncharacteristic'?"
Eve sighed, once more, turning fully to Remy. "When I first created Remy_001, I created Moby as their counterpart. He was her chaos and she his order. The purpose of the differing characteristics were to help expand my perspective when it came to the reconstruction of our Nasod Race.
"Despite her personality dictating the previous Remys' need for structure and organization, they were always open enough to break the rules when they deemed it necessary… It is protocol that your mistress's safety remains the highest priority, yet 003 did not hesitate to save Elsword from certain death. Though I was vulnerable and unable to move at that time, 003 overrode her directives and sacrificed herself for someone she had no obligation to care for. It was a personality trait not part of her original programming, and something she developed on her own as time went by. And it was what Moby liked most about her."
Remy was silent in thought for some time. Conflict was all but evident in the small, beady golden eyes.
"Am I at fault for following protocol?" Remy asked.
"No. You're not."
"...Do you wish for me to be different?" the white drone sounded hurt.
"Remy… no," Eve wrapped her arms around the white drone, "That's not it. That's not it at all."
"Then what am I doing wrong? Ever since I've been activated, it feels like I've done nothing but divide all three of us from each other. Even now, Moby refuses to be at your side to assist, because of me."
Eve squeezed the drone tightly against her before holding her up at eye level, "You're not doing anything wrong. I think, given our circumstances, you haven't had the chance to fully understand the people around you. That being said, I think we should give Moby a chance."
"But Moby was the one who has been refusing to cooperate with us. Shouldn't he be giving us another chance instead?"
Eve pouted at the suggestion and shook her head. "Remy…"
"Yes, mistress?"
"Are you aware of the single, most important factor that separates us Nasods from machines?"
"We are far more advanced than the standard machine."
"Not quite. If I created a machine that was just as advanced as we are, what would separate that machine from us Nasods?"
"... My records don't appear to contain the answer you seek."
"It's not something you will find in our libraries. Rather, this is something I've discovered during my time with the El S-my friends. It's part of us; of all Nasods. It's what compels Moby to act the way he does, and why I feel obligated to see this situation in Sander to its end. I can't necessarily put it into words, since I find it difficult to understand. But I hope one day you'll see what I mean."
"Mistress?"
Eve rested her forehead against the white drone, "This rift you sense between us: I believe the three of us need to work through it together. Not just Moby, but you and I as well. I'll do my best to resolve our disagreements. Promise me you'll try on your end, as well."
"Yes, mistress… I'll try."
Distant whistling drew both of the Nasods' attention, and they both turned to see Moby flying up to them.
"Mistress!" Moby called as the black drone flew closer, "Mistress, I have news!"
"Moby, good timing. There's something I wanted to discuss with you," Eve said.
"It will have to wait!" Moby said.
Remy flew defensively in between him and Eve. "Watch your tone when speaking to the mistress, Moby!"
"I wasn't talking to you!" the black drone retorted, flying around her to get to Eve.
"Moby…" Eve began but was interrupted by the drone's shrill whistle.
"It's Cleri! She-we ran into Chung!"
"What?!" the two others said simultaneously.
"And you left her alone?!" Eve asked.
"Well… no. Chung was with the three others we saw-"
"Where is she?"
"In an alleyway several blocks east from here. But-"
"This isn't good… Remy, Moby, let's go."
Before Moby could explain the situation, Eve had already leapt from the balcony with Remy guiding her descent to the nearby rooftops.
"Wait! Wait! You don't understand Chung… he's not-" Moby tried to call after them but gave up shortly and gave chase.
"So the whole city of Resiam is still flooded?" Cleri gawped, "And you're practically rebuilding the kingdom from scratch? That's… that's awful."
Zudrich nodded, "Even after a year, we're still in the cleanup phase. It's been really difficult for all of us, but we get by."
"Well, I mean… I could perhaps ask Velder to assist. Wouldn't that help?"
"Ah…" Chung interrupted, "I'd… rather not."
"Why not? We helped you push the demon invasion out. Wouldn't it be good if Velder and Hamel worked together to help rebuild your city, as well? Everyone across the sea found it unreasonable that Hamel shut the entire world out of its borders after Ran was defeated."
Hearing Cleri say those words visibly struck a nerve in the young king.
"So the truth was never exposed when Velder was sent back, after all…" Zudrich muttered.
"It'd ruin their image. Of course they wouldn't let word get out to the public," Chung said, "I'm just… angry as to why the others would keep their mouth shut on the matter, as well."
"Others…?" Cleri questioned.
"The surviving members of the El Search Party," Zudrich responded, "They were there when Chung unveiled the truth behind Velder's motives."
"I… I don't follow. What motives? My kingdom was just there to help-"
"That's not true!" Chung shouted, a little too loudly, "That's… not true. Their intent was far more sinister than they want its people to believe."
"What do you mean?" Cleri asked, tentative but genuinely interested in hearing the young king's side of the story.
Chung wanted to tell her everything. She could be the gateway to exposing Velder as the manipulative nation he knew them to be. But as he opened his mouth to speak, a feeling of imminent danger pushed itself into the forefront of his mind. This sensation was accompanied by a sudden rush of colors. Jet black, and bright, contrasting orange and white. Though the translation in his head was rough, he could feel the general meaning behind it: absolute focus, and intent to kill.
Eve was here.
"Everyone! Get down!"
"Eh…?" Lu groaned, hopping off her seat atop a pile of boxes. Mere fractions of a second later, a razor sharp spear fell from the sky, punching straight through the layers of wood where Lu once sat and embedding itself deep into the gravel-stone floor.
Ciel pulled the still-confused demoness aside as more blades narrowly missed her.
Chung stumbled back from the rain of spears, making his way out of the alley, towards Zudrich and Cleri, only to have a wall of spears cut off his escape, separating him from the other two. More stuck themselves along the wall, essentially making it impossible to jump over without flying headlong into the blades.
Their secondary route deeper into the alleyway was cut off, as well. Dozens of more spears were flung in that direction, creating a deadly maze that would cut anyone to ribbons should they dare run through it.
"Hey! Hey! What the hells?! Why is she attacking us?!" Lu cried, doing her best to avoid dozens of more spears attempting to turn her into a pincushion.
Turning his attention upwards, all Chung could see was Remy, creating portal after portal directly above her trapped targets, slowly working her way inwards, and shutting out any escape route along the way.
Moby flew in, colliding with the white drone in mid-creation of another set of portals, stopping the rain of blades before the three trapped within ran out of places to hide. Standing back to back from one another, Chung, Lu, and Ciel had to practically hold their collective breaths as they tried to find any wiggle room to get out of their pinned state.
The black drone shrieked at the white as the two began a heated argument in mid air. While this was happening, Eve finally made her appearance, leaping down from atop the rooftop at the alleyways entrance.
A blue orb of energy hovered at the palm of her hand.
"Let her go," Eve growled at Zudrich who had been protecting Cleri from the spears.
"We're… not here to fight," Zudrich said, still holding the emissary tightly.
"I said let her go," Eve repeated, pointing her palm at the fury guardian.
"Let her go, Zuzu," Chung ordered.
Zudrich did as he was told, and Cleri reluctantly stepped back from the Hamelian.
Eve extended her free hand towards the young mage, "Come. I'll get you back to the palace safely."
"Eve," Chung called, "I know what it looks like, but we had no intention of hurting anyone. As you can see, we're unarmed."
He raised his hands and Zudrich and the others, save for Lu, did the same.
The Nasod looked over the four of them through the wall of blades. She snorted, raising her glowing palm at Zudrich, "That just makes my job easier."
Cleri jumped in front of Eve, "Eve, wait! They, er, Chung just came here to talk!"
"But they kidnapped you," Eve reasoned.
"They did not!"
"It's true," Moby whistled, flying in to join Cleri, "I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!"
"I came here by myself because I wanted answers," Cleri explained, "They didn't give me much, but… I knew they didn't mean any harm. I know Chung hurt you before, but… you wanted answers, too, didn't you?"
Eve's eyes darted from Cleri, to Moby, and finally to Chung far in the back.
"I just wanted to explain myself," the young king said, "Whether you agree with what has happened or not, I just want you to know my reasons."
The blue glow faded. Eve exhaled, and the dozens of spears that littered the alleyway began to disintegrate into data particles, leaving only destroyed market equipment and the narrow slits where the blades once barred their path. With that, the others breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Explain yourself, then," Eve said, not wanting to waste any time, "Why did you assassinate Thironin?"
"It's a long… long story," Chung replied, "One that I can't possibly tell here and now. Not with the district's lockdown.
Just as he said that, shouting could be heard down the street.
"They're coming," Eve reported, looking down the street towards the voices of approaching guards.
"Then we'll have to meet again. Soon, if possible," Chung suggested.
"Tomorrow night, then."
"If that's the earliest, fine," Chung nodded quickly.
Eve crossed her arms and eyed the other three strangers warily. "Just you. No one else."
"Of course."
Eve stepped aside, allowing the others to take their leave before they're caught.
"Let's go, everyone," Chung ordered. He pulled on his hood, letting the others make their exit before him. Once he was within earshot of the Nasod, Eve whispered one final detail.
"There's a tower overlooking the commercial buildings east of here. I'll see you there."
Chung paused, turning to Eve and getting one proper look at her. Eve held his gaze for only a moment. Colors of an unfamiliar combination swayed in his mind. Murky purples, greys, and blues. This was a new emotion, yet stranger still, he had no need for the colors to read her facial expression. He could see her expression, clear as day. She was still upset with him. Very much so. So much that it pained her to even look at him. She dropped her gaze, motioning for him to leave without any further eye contact. Clearly, she wanted nothing to do with him.
Wanting to at least bid her farewell, Chung instead held his tongue. He turned and left, glad, at least, that their second meeting didn't end like last time.
"That was unwise of you to wander on your own," Eve scolded Cleri as the Nasod burst into the palace's courtyard.
"I know… I'm sorry, Eve. But you weren't around, and I thought that… you know, I could get answers as to why they stole the box-"
Eve spun around, shushing the emissary as she quietly motioned at the palace guards that hung around them.
"What you did was dangerous," the Nasod whispered, "What if something happened to you? We don't know their intentions yet, and as far as I know, they're murderers."
"But nothing happened," Cleri whispered back, "If anything… you'll get the answers you're seeking, too. Aren't you happy about that, at least?"
Eve sighed, brushing her hair back as she straightened her posture, "I'm not happy, but I am relieved that I can start unraveling what's going on here. I'll just have a word with him, and hopefully, we can figure out the bigger picture here."
"And maybe you'll forgive him?" Cleri asked, hopefully.
Eve's brow furrowed at the emissary.
"One step at a time, Cleri. We just have to hope nothing happens in the meantime-"
"Forgive who?" a male voice asked, causing the two to turn to its source.
It was Elsword.
The young redhead was seated next to the courtyard's fountain. His recently sharpened sword and a collection of whetstones and cleaning equipment lay before him.
A somber expression paired with something else hung heavy in the young hero's face.
"Just… one of the guards who was rude to Eve for being a Nasod!" Cleri jumped in before Eve's hesitancy to answer would give away an obvious lie. "You're well enough to move around now? That's great! What… are you doing exactly?"
"Preparing for war," Elsword simply said.
Both of the girls blinked.
"What? What do you mean?"
"The investigation is all done," Elsword said, "They know who attempted to assassinate Thironin."
"T-they do?"
Elsword nodded, "Higher ups say all clues point to the Caluso-some sort of tribal nation trying to take over the Sander desert or something. Said this was a clear declaration of war."
Eve and Cleri looked at each other. Eve silently mouthed a question asking Cleri if she told anyone of the Phantom's identity, to which the emissary quickly shook her head.
This didn't feel right to Eve. Even if they discovered who the Phantom was, she doubted they'd easily draw a connection to whoever these Caluso people were. To draw this kind of conclusion so quickly felt… off.
Cleri continued, "Well… if what they say is true, that still has nothing to do with our business here. Remember? We are just here to strengthen relations between Velder and Sander."
"I haven't forgotten," Elsword said, "But… this is something I need to take care of. I've already asked Vapor to forward my request to include the El Search Party in the upcoming operation. What about you, Eve? I know you don't consider yourself part of the ESP anymore but, what do you say? For old time's sake?"
Eve frowned at the invitation. From his tone, Eve doubted even Raven or Elesis knew what their leader had signed them up for. "When exactly is this operation planned to start?"
Elsword shrugged, "Soon. Very soon. I've heard some guards say it may be as soon as first light after tomorrow once they've made the necessary preparations. So? What do you say? Up for ridding Elrios of a few low lives? I think Aisha would appreciate it if we avenged her father's death."
Elsword's voice trembled as he spoke. He almost sounded excited.
Eve stared in disbelief at the young man sitting before her. As he looked up at the Nasod, Eve saw that same look of desperation of someone who had lost their light long ago. This wasn't the same person she had grown fond of many years ago. His once selfless and naive nature had been twisted into something so hellbent on vengeance that it was beginning to scare Eve. And as she watched the young man slowly dive further and further away from who he used to be, it was then that Eve finally realized the horrible truth of her former leader:
Elsword, the brave leader of the El Search Party, was well and truly broken.
A/N: Hi everyone, first of all I'd like to thank Mirai_Akina and Legendarius for proofreading this chapter for me. Please support them and their works on ffn. Second I'd like to say thank you for continuing to support this story, as I feel terrible for not updating as frequently as before. I assure you, the story will be finished, but life happens and i cant find the time to write quite as often as i used to. Look forward to the next chaptr! Ill do my best to make the wait worth it! any thoguhts and feedback regarding the storys progression and direction not only helps me write better but keeps me on my toes, so dont be afraid to give me your honest critique!