Earlier in Dreichels Plaza...
A little boy ran towards the gelato stand where his parents were as he sweated like there's no tomorrow. The fear that was placed in his heart by the man was clearly making his whole body shake. For such a young age, the sight of the hooded man's bone-chilling grin was almost enough to make him let out a scream. Fortunately, he didn't do such a thing, fearing that he might provoke the man to take action.
Instead, he chose to run to his parents as fast as his little legs could go.
His parents turned to see their little boy perspiring like he ran a marathon, even though he just ran from the center of the plaza to the gelato stand. The boy jumped into his mother's arms, which the woman caught him safely.
"Benny! What happened to you?!" His mother's worry was obvious as she held her baby tightly. "You haven't sweat this much before..."
The father took out a handkerchief from his coat as he patted his child's forehead. "Did something happen?"
Something did happen, but would his parents believe him? The boy turned to look at his back, eyes searching for the mysterious figure. He sighed a breath of relief as he found him nowhere in the plaza. Benny wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but he was glad he was not there. The fear of him still being in the area, as well as finding out that the boy told someone about him, made the kid afraid to tell anything to his parents.
His father noticed his son's trembling form and his mouth agape. He rubbed the boy's back, trying to comfort him. Benny started calming down as he felt his dad's palm comforting him. As he finally calmed down and stopped his shaking, his dad patted his head.
"You can tell us, son. I promise that your mother and I will help you with whatever's bothering you."
"Yes! Did you see something scary? We can contact the bracers to help us!"
"Dad... Mom." Benny said softly before nodding. If the bracers will believe his statement: he wouldn't need to fear for his or his parents' life. "I saw a strange man earlier in the plaza. He was wearing a pretty thick coat and had a hood over his head; I couldn't see his face clearly, but..."
The boy started to shake again as he recalled the image of the suspicious man's grin. His parents looked at each other with concerned faces before looking back at their boy. The woman gently patted his back while humming to the lad. She knew that her son always seemed to calm down whenever she hummed to him, and it did. His breathing gradually returned to normal as his body ceased shaking once more. He opened his mouth as he finally confessed what he had seen.
"But I saw him smile... it was very unpleasant, and I felt chills down my spine. He looked like he just finished doing a bad thing. I... I was so scared!"
Their eyes widened as their son explained what he just saw. A mysterious man with a smile that filled their child with terror was an obvious sign. There was a chance it could all be a misunderstanding, but how can a parent just let the person who struck fear in their child's heart and mind easy? The least they could do for now was to report it to the RMP and the bracers.
"All right then. I'll tell the nearest RMP officer about this, and then we'll head to the bracer guild in Alto Street." The boy's father told his wife as she nodded. He looked towards her son, his arms wrapped around her mother tightly. The man stroked his son's head and smiled. "Thank you for telling us, Benny. You were very brave for not crying."
Benny felt teary-eyed but didn't let his tears escape him, especially since his dad commended his bravery. The child nodded his head firmly and smiled back. His mother, who was carrying him in his arms, smiled. As the man was about to leave to find an officer, his ears picked something up.
The sound of gears and heavy footsteps slowly approached the plaza. No, it was actually coming in fast as the ground started to shake from the weight of whoever or whatever was nearing the area. Screams escaped from a group of kids who saw where the mechanical sound was from.
A group of archaisms was steadily closing at Dreichels Plaza. The RMP officers were the first to act as they reported what was happening to HQ before quickly evacuating the civilians. But before they could safely guide everyone, the machines started firing. Bullets flew wildly, piercing the ground and destroying the buildings around them. The officers fought back, but they were just too many.
The sudden sound of gunfire caused the family to freeze in place as Benny started to cry. A thought popped up in his mind as he held his mother. What if this was the man's doing? The woman covered her son's head as she backed away, but her fear was all too apparent. The older man's eyes widened as he saw one of the deadly robots point its barrel at his family. His body moved on its own as he covered them, back facing the front.
"Dear!"
"Dad!"
The two cried as the man gritted his teeth, determined to protect his wife and son. It didn't matter if he died; as long as their safe, that's all that matters. Despite his determination, he was shaking. The man closed his eyes as he heard bullets flying out of the archaism's barrel. Their cries grew louder as their tears ran through their cheeks.
"You can't just leave your family all alone! You have a job as a father to stay by your child's side through his toughest times! I'll take care of this!" A woman's voice shouted. "Northern Lightning!"
Suddenly, thunder and lightning crackled and blasted through the plaza. Several archaisms blew into pieces as they got struck by the attack. A bush of pink hair flew by as gunshots were fired again. Each shot was directed towards the rampaging machines and completely turned them into scraps. Benny's eyes wandered to the flowing pink locks as a woman landed in front of them.
"Geez. I only just finished my request earlier, and now I come back to archaisms running wild in the capital. My luck has seriously been terrible today..."
The three were dumbfounded as they heard the woman complain. The busty woman fired her orbal gun at the approaching archaisms once again before winking at the family. The faces of the RMP officers relaxed for a moment when they saw the woman; they knew firsthand that she was going to be a big help.
The Purple Lightning has arrived.
"Cross Crusade!"
A gold cross appeared on the ground as it enveloped the archaisms in a bright light before exploding. A blonde bracer ran up to one of the machines and smashed it with his stun rod before he fired a ball of wind at it, destroying it completely. He sighed in relief as he looked at the RMP officers escorting the civilians out of the area.
"How in the world did these archaisms managed to slip past the RMP outside the capital..." The bracer mused with a perplexed expression.
He was working on the requests he accepted today when suddenly he saw multiple archaisms invading the Garnier District. He managed to destroy all of them in the area, but he had a feeling the whole capital was in danger. Luckily, they were not too strong. The problem was that they were too many to deal with by himself, and his more powerful arts couldn't be used unless the residents of the capital are in a safer area. If his hunch was right, Toval had a feeling Sara has encountered the machines by now.
"Toval! There have been reports of archaisms attacks in the Sankt and Leica Districts!" An officer informed him as he ran towards the bracer. "Our men have been trying their best to take the civilians into a safer area, but we are having some difficulty because of the number of archaisms appearing."
"Crap... I'll tell Sara to head to one of them. I'll be heading there soon to assist too!"
"Understood!" With a salute, the RMP officer ran back to help with protecting the people.
It was rare for the blonde to get frustrated, but he couldn't help himself. He did not expect this to happen at all! As he ruffled his blonde hair, his ARCUS rang as it vibrated in his coat. The man quickly answered his orbment.
Toval! We got a situation! Sara exclaimed so loud that she could be heard even without the speaker on.
"Yeah... I think I know what it is."
You do? Guess you were helping the RMP too?
The bracer hummed his answer as he looked around the Garnier District if there were more archaisms approaching. He calmed down a bit when none showed up, but he couldn't let his guard down as he took his combat stance with his stun rod.
"I just finished clearing up the archaisms here in Garnier District. All of the residents here have already been evacuated and are already being guarded by some of the RMP." Toval told his fellow bracer as he started exiting out of the area to head to the Leica District. "Where are you right now? There have been sightings of archaisms at Leica and Sankt; I'll be going to Leica to help evacuate the civilians."
Shit, the plaza still isn't safe yet. We've evacuated most of the people here, but help still hasn't arrived for me to just up and leave the area. I won't be able to come over to the Sankt District. Lightning crackled on Sara's side, likely from attacking an archaism.
"Dammit... have you contacted Fie?"
After I finish talking to you. I need to inform you two about something that caught my interest while I was protecting the civilians here.
"Something that caught your interest?" The blonde bracer raised a brow.
Yeah. A family I protected earlier told me something that you two need to hear.
Now, Toval was really curious about what she had for him.
"Is it Ouroboros related?" He asked with a concerned tone.
If anyone was responsible for unleashing an army of archaism in the capital, it would be the Society. But Toval had a feeling this was not their doing. There weren't any Enforcers or even jaegers accompanying the machines, but the piece of evidence that made him think that Ouroboros was not involve was the Society themselves. They wouldn't gain anything from causing meaningless destruction, especially when they didn't even send anyone from the Society to lead the machines.
I don't think so. The archaisms' attacks aren't even in sync or in a pattern. Usually, they would attack in a certain style even if a member of the society is far away. Their attacks are just chaotic; it's like they're just firing whatever ammo they have in their system.
"Yeah. I think so too."
Anyways, I'll tell you what I've learned. I'll talk with you and Fie later!
"All right. Stay safe, Sara."
"You too."
The woman hanged up as the arts expert ran faster towards the Leica District. He prayed to Aidios that the area wasn't already overrun by archaisms.
Present Time
Vainqueur Street
"What?! Archaisms are rampaging in the plaza?!"
Rean's eyes widened at what came out of Fie's lips. Archaisms? In the capital? Why would they be here? As more questions popped into the instructor's mind. Sara, who was calling from Fie's ARCUS, was explaining the situation further.
The RMP just contacted me that archaisms are slowly approaching Vesta Street and the Ost District. I can't come and help, these damn machines keep popping up in the plaza, and I can't just leave this to the RMP not until our favorite Icy Maiden gets here. You have to go to one of them, and once Claire gets here, I'll head straight to whichever one you didn't cover. Also—
"Instructor! Does Ouroboros have anything to do with this?!" Rean joined in the conversation. Fie was startled by his sudden interruption, but she let her lover hear what the older bracer was going to say by moving her orbment closer to him.
Rean! Perfect timing! I have something to tell you two, alongside Toval, once everything calms down a bit.
"Something?" The couple repeated as they raised a brow of curiosity.
Yeah. Something that might help us figure out what's going on. For now, you guys protect any civilians that are in an archaism-filled area and destroy them. I gotta go now; more have arrived.
Before the two could ask more questions, Sara hanged the call.
"Shit... what's going on here..." Fie cursed under her breath as she processed their conversation.
"Let's go to one of the locations Instructor Sara said, Fie. We need to deal with those archaisms fast before they can cause any more damage." Rean said as he collected himself.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's split up to deal with them faster."
As the two were about to dash off to their designated locations, the door of Plaza Bifrost opened to reveal the three members of Group A.
"What's taking so long? You two flirting or something?" Ash gave a slightly annoyed look at the couple.
Since Group A did arrive first at the department store, they've been waiting for the other group to arrive. They used their time to relax and catch a breather after their nauseating monster extermination since their target wasn't the most... pleasant monster to fight. While they were taking their break, Fie was already waiting outside for Rean. And now, an hour already passed, causing the three to check why they were taking so long.
While Juna shared Ash's feelings of being annoyed, mostly because she was getting hungry, she noticed the serious expressions on their instructors' faces.
"Instructor Rean? Instructor Fie? Did something happen? You two look so serious..."
"Yes, and a little tense too." Altina pointed out, a concerned look plastered on her face.
Fie was about to explain what was happening, but a ring from an ARCUS cut her off. The sound was coming from Rean's ARCUS as he took it out and answered, the images of Musse and Kurt appearing on screen. Rean immediately noticed the two were sweating like crazy; and that his fellow swordsman was panting. It surely can't be from sparring with Lady Aurier since they were already done, right?
"Instructor Rean. We got ourselves a situation." Kurt said between pants.
"Yes! Archaisms are running wild here in the Leica District!" The students of Group A gasped when they heard the duchess. "Toval and Lady Aurier managed to defeat most of the archaisms. Kurt and I have also escorted everyone to safety, but..."
"I'm fine, Musse." The baby blue-haired swordsman began. "It's just a scratch..."
Musse frowned but redirected her attention to the instructors.
"Kurt was injured by one of the archaisms. He protected a little girl from getting attack, but he couldn't stop it in time, so he used his back to shield her from the attack. I gave him first aid and some healing arts, but it affected his form to some extent."
"What?!" Juna went to Rean and took his ARCUS from him as she looked at her friend with worried eyes. "Kurt, are you okay?!"
"I told you guys, I'm fine," Kurt reassured her, but his exhausted breath was a clear sign he wasn't alright.
Kurt kept on assisting his mother and Toval in clearing up the archaisms despite his injury. His speed was affected as he couldn't perform any of his much stronger techniques, and any attempt in doing so caused his back to ache. Just like in Dreichels Plaza, the machines weren't stopping any time soon.
"Wait, wait, wait! Archaisms are in the capital?!"
"Is this the society's doing?"
Ash and Altina's questions were answered by Fie, telling them all that she knows of the situation.
After digesting the information, Juna was the first to respond. "We're gonna help! We can't just stand here and let these machines go crazy in the capital!"
"Yes. Please allow us to help!" Altina followed up Juna as she placed a hand on her chest.
Ash grinned as he slammed his fist in his open palm. "We'll turn those pieces of junks into scrap metal."
Rean chuckled as he eyed each one of his students' orbs; they were definitely not going to take no for an answer. Luckily for them, he was going to ask for their help anyways. They needed all the help they can get right now, and how can he refuse when the kids are more than willing to help?
"Of course, you guys can help."
"Then please tell us your orders." Altina implored.
In an unexpected turn of events, Rean wasn't the one to give the orders this time. The voice of the silver-haired bracer grabbed their attention as all eyes were on her.
"The RMP needs some help in Vesta Street and the Ost District. Altina and Juna, you two split up and help them fend off the archaisms while helping the civilians get to safety. Musse. Toval and Kurt's mom can handle that area; you take Kurt and head to the Sankt District, but stop him from engaging in combat if his injuries are slowing him down. Your top priority is to assist and help the civilians get to a safer area. Some officers are said to be there, so dealing with the archaisms is secondary."
All of them were surprised but listened attentively to the bracer's instructions, including Rean, who was stunned by her leadership skills. The students had their eyes go wide as they gave their ears to the silver-haired instructor; even Ash straightened his back as he listened. Speaking of Ash, Fie turned to look at the delinquent as she gave her next order.
"Some RMP officers are probably already coming to protect this area, but can you handle watching over this area and help them when they arrive, Ash? I'm worried that archaisms might come here too..."
His eyes blinked a few times before a smirk replaced his confused look.
"Of course, I can!"
Fie smiled and turned to her lover next. "Rean. Let's go to Alto Street to check if any archaisms are coming."
"G-Gotcha!"
She nodded and turned to everyone else, looking at them with a smile. "Were my instructions fine with you all?"
Snapping out of their stunned and amazed state, the kids looked at each other before nodding to themselves.
"Yeah! We won't disappoint!"
"We will not let any harm come to the residents of Heimdallr."
"Just go already and leave this place to me!"
Group A voiced their agreement before they headed off. Altina rode her combat shell as she went to the Ost District while Juna ran off to Vesta Street to assist the officers there. Ask took his position in Vainqueur Street and began searching the area for any archaisms approaching.
"We'll be going as well, Instructor. Please take care."
"I promise I'll watch over Kurt, so please watch over Instructor Rean for me~."
Before any retorts were said, Group B hung the call. Fie groaned at Musse being... Musse. She really needs to stop trying to flirt with her man when she's around, or even better: she stops flirting with him. Period!
"She really is something, huh?" Fie sighed as she turned to her lover and was greeted with his smiling face. "Rean? Why are you smiling like that?"
"You were really amazing, Fie. The way you gave the orders earlier, it was awesome seeing you like that." The black-haired swordsman's smile grew wider, causing the girl to blush.
"I-It was nothing... I just did what you would do..." She looked away from his gaze as her face heated up. She thought she didn't do anything special; she was only able to give such orders because of her boyfriend's influence. Because of always watching him lead her, their friends, and students in each operation. Maybe her time as a bracer did improve her leadership skills.
"Give yourself some more credit, Fie. I couldn't have done it better myself; I'm sure Rutger would be proud of you."
Fie looked back at the man as her blush deepened. Despite his denseness, he always knew what to say. Her lips stretched wide as she poked his nose.
"That's enough of your sweetness for now. We have a job to do."
Rean realized that he was taking up their time and scratched his cheek; embarrassedly. "Y-Yeah. Let's go."
Flashing her man a smirk, she sprinted to Alto Street as she left him standing there, slack-jawed and in awe. Rean shook his head before chuckling to himself. It always did surprise him whenever she displayed her superhuman speed and agility. But he wasn't going to be left in the dust just yet. The instructor Galed after her as both of them made their way to Alto Street.
Missiles and guns were fired as the road of Alto Street were being blocked by several archaisms. The RMP were trying their best to protect the civilians while fending the machines off the area. It was clear that they were having difficulties, they were outnumbered, and the archaisms kept coming. Sure, they weren't strong, but they couldn't fight and escort the residents here to safety at the same time. There just weren't enough officers to do that! As the struggle continued, one large assassin-type archaism slipped past their defenses as it sped ahead to one of the evacuating kids.
Large sickles slowly came down but were interrupted with bullets piercing its head. Fie arrived just in time as she landed on top of the machine and buried her gunswords on its core, firing lead before jumping off and taking the child in her arms. She ran past the killer weapon before it blew up into tiny pieces.
"Looks like I made it on time."
The officers sighed in relief as they thanked the girl for the assist. They soon turned their attention to the machines that were still assaulting them with lead. The RMP officers ceased their firing for a moment when they noticed the archaisms stopped moving. Sparks slowly flew off the machines before they blew into millions of pieces. The black-haired swordsman appeared beside the officers, sheathing his tachi.
"Took you long enough."
"You know I'm still no match for you when it comes to pure speed, right?" Rean chuckled before turning his attention to the other kids. "We'll deal with these archaisms; you guys take the children to safety!"
They nodded as Fie walked to her lover, gunswords at the ready.
"Ready, Fie?"
"Course, babe." She smirked as she twirled her gunswords before locking eyes at the approaching bots, varying from small to large ones.
The couple nodded to each other as they went wild. The numbers of the archaisms were decreasing slowly because of the two's teamwork. Slash, shoot, strike. The two fastest members of their class were making it look so easy; the RMP looked at them with a dumbfounded expression. Their shock was short-lived when one of the kids tugged their sleeves. They resume evacuating the youngins as they gave a silent thank you to the two.
The archaisms numbers gradually died down as the two checked the streets to see if there were more coming. They sighed; the feeling of relief washed over them. Fie turned to the kids who were being evacuated by the officers; a cold sweat ran through her forehead. Two archaisms resembling the Balancing Clown were on top of a building; their scythe on their mechanical arms sent chills in Fie's spin as she saw them jump.
The children saw shadows, slowly becoming bigger as they looked up. The officers with them noticed, but it was too late. The blades went down on the men, earning them a laceration to their chest, but not deep enough to kill them. Tears escaped the children as they saw the officers bleeding; they screamed as they saw the archaisms ready to attack them.
In a single moment, Fie's body went to autopilot as she bolted to the kids. Steel met steel, blocking each of their scythe blades with her twin gunswords. Rean returned after finding nothing as his eyes widened.
"Fie!"
Running towards her to help, two more Balancing Clowns jumped off a building, blocking Rean's path. "Crap...!" He could see in the corner of his eye that she was struggling. Of course, she wouldn't be able to counterattack while there were kids behind her, and even if she told them to run, they can't be sure if there aren't any more archaisms around.
Rean raised his tachi, about to use his Spirit Unification when he heard Fie mumbling something.
"...get hurt..."
"Huh...?"
"As long as I'm here, I won't let these kids get hurt! Because I'm a bracer!" A green aura bloomed around her, different from her jaeger aura. Rean felt the power coming from Fie as she saw her pushing back their blades. He didn't have much time to think about it as he felt his own opponents attack him with their scythes. He parried the blow before stepping back.
'They're not gonna let me through, and they're so close to the ones Fie's fighting that I can't attack them without risking hurting her, the RMP, or the kids...' Rean mused to himself. He glanced over at his lover and smiled. 'Because she's a bracer, huh... I know you got this, Fie.'
The bracer pushed back the archaisms scythes with everything she had before she buried her gunswords on their chest. She relentlessly assaulted the insides of the machines with bullets, filling them up until she knew they were about to be nothing but bits and pieces. She jumped and delivered two backflip kicks to the archaisms, sending them high in the air. She grabbed the kids and held them before sprinting far away as she heard the machines blow up.
Across the street, Fie turned to Rean and gave him a look he knew all too well. Rean nodded as she took off to get the children to safety, knowing she'll come back to patch up the downed officers. Igniting his tachi, he slashed the remaining archaisms.
"Helix, strike!"
Rean unleashed a flaming vortex before he leaped back as the Balancing Clowns exploded. He bolted towards the injured RMP and began performing first aid on them. And sure enough, Fie returned as she ran back to her lover.
She immediately started casting healing arts on the officers, granted it wasn't as potent as the others who used this type of art. Fie didn't give a damn, though. The bracer wasn't going to take any risk by just wrapping them with bandages. Her mind was preoccupied with trying to make their wounds more bearable that she didn't even notice Rean's gaze. Her eyes met his as she tilted her head.
"What's up?"
"It's nothing, Fie." He chuckled as he gave one of the officers some painkillers.
"Okay...?"
They continued patching the officers' injuries when they heard a familiar voice call out to them.
"Fie! Rean!"
"Looks like they're done cleaning up the place."
Sara and Toval arrived at the scene as they approached the two. The two looked around to see destroyed archaisms everywhere before noticing the injured RMP officers.
"What happened here?" Sara asked before checking the casualties.
"Two assassin-type archaisms jumped from a building and attacked them. They were trying to protect the kids, but they couldn't defend themselves in time..." Fie finished casting her arts as she stepped back when Toval got his ARCUS ready.
The blonde bracer quickly cast his healing arts on them for insurance before carrying one of them on his back.
"What are you two doing here? Weren't you busy with the other areas?" Rean asked as he carried the other officer.
"We just finished securing the area. The 4th Division has already secured Dreichels Plaza and is already going to the other areas to assist your students." Sara answered, her arms crossed as she looked around once again and chuckled. "We heard there were more archaisms that were coming in Alto Street than the other areas, so we came here. Looks like we weren't needed, though."
"Well, the Divine Blade and Sylphid are here." Toval gave a lighthearted chuckle as he looked at the two. "I doubt any archaisms would still be standing when they work together."
"That's true." A smile crossed Sara's face before falling as she took a more serious expression. "We'll handle it from here. You two need to find the one responsible for this mess."
"How? We don't even know where to look." The silver-haired bracer pointed the obvious.
"That's why I'm here to tell you two where to start looking."
"Is this the thing you were gonna tell us when you had the chance, Instructor?" Rean was starting to understand what this is all about.
"Yup. Since Rean's with you, Toval and I will continue scouting the area for more archaisms."
"Okay. Where should we go look?"
"During the attack at the plaza, I managed to arrive on time to save a family who was about to get attacked by one of the archaisms. After escorting them to somewhere safe, their son told me he saw a suspicious man on the plaza; and that he had a sickening smile that caused him to run to his parents."
The couple raised a brow while Toval had a thought come to mind.
"Was he wearing a dark overcoat and has a hood on his head?"
"Yeah, that's him! Do you know where he went?!"
The arts expert placed a hand on his chin as he tried to recall the memory. "When Lady Aurier and I were trying to fight the archaisms while evacuating the folks there. I saw a guy with that outfit description heading out of the district. I thought he was a civilian who was just evacuating the area like the others, but I guess that's our man."
The Purple Lightning cursed as she frowned. "Do you have any idea where he went?"
"I'm not sure, but it looked like he was taking a path out of the district. It looked like he knew the path where there wouldn't be any archaisms around." The blonde bracer recalled. "He must be leaving the capital!"
Upon realizing that it was possible that the culprit is escaping, Sara snapped her head towards the couple.
"Get a move on, you two! He must be going to the Ostia Highways to escape!" She took the officer out of Rean's hands, carrying the man on her shoulders instead. "Don't worry about these guys; we'll take them to somewhere safer and call the RMP to pick these guys up."
"Right!"
The two hurried to get their bikes as they went off to chase after the mysterious man.
Upon arriving at their campsite earlier, Principal Le Guin notified them about a strange device on the west highway. It felt menacing, and whoever put it there did not bother hiding it. Rean was glad that his hunch was right about the culprit being on the west side since their campsite was stationed on the south; the principal, Towa, and the other students would have noticed if the man came here. Confirming that the man may be on the west side of the highway, the two got on their bikes and drove off.
Driving to the West Ostia Highway, the two were blazing through the road as their optics spotted the large device on one of the areas they fought a cryptid. The couple sped ahead with their bikes. They needed to find out what that device was and if the man is still here.
They swiftly maneuvered their turns as they parked outside the pathway, getting off before darting towards the machine.
"What is that thing...?"
"I don't know, but I can guess what it is." Rean glanced to the corner of the machine. Their information was right as he called out. "It's a machine that can control the archaisms remotely without anyone actually controlling it. Am I right, Mister?"
"Mister?" Fie tilted her head at him before noticing something moving from the corner. A man with a dark leather overcoat came out, his hood covering the majority of his face. "Him..."
"Bravo! I'm impressed you figured out what this machine's purpose was. I thought that the idiots around here would assume that someone else was controlling all of the archaisms by themselves." The hooded man cackled as he commended the swordsman.
"Technically, you're still the one controlling them if you are the one who made that thing." He stated, his tone still calm. "But can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why didn't you bother concealing that machine of yours?" This time Rean glared at the hooded man. Despite his question, he had a clue as to the reason.
Fie pondered Rean's question as she placed a hand on her chin, finally dawning on her. "You wanted us to notice your machine?"
The suspicious man's lips curled into a devious smirk as he cackled once more. "Yes! I wanted you fools to notice my beautiful contraption and to see if you can figure what it is!"
"You're sick..." Fie said in disgust.
"Call me whatever you want, but if you failed to see what the function of this machine was..." The man rested his hand on the cold hard steel of the device, his smirk growing in size. "Whoever came here to check it would go... boom." An exploding gesture took place in his palm. The two instructors felt sick to their stomachs as their anger grew.
"I take it back... you're insane."
"I don't know why you're doing this, but you're coming with us." Rean drew his tachi as Fie drew her gunswords. The hooded man didn't seem fazed by this; instead, he began chuckling at the two. "If you still have archaisms around here, then bring them out now. We'll make quick work of them before taking you down."
"I have another question, though." Fie started as she pointed her weapons at the man, fingers ready to fire. "Who are you? Are you a member of Ouroboros?"
"I'll answer your question, but I'll only answer one." He placed a hand on his hip, glancing at his machine. "Which one do you want to find out first?"
"Looks like we'll just make you answer both questions," Fie said as she glared.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Didn't I tell you two that whoever comes here will get blown up? I mean what I say." Patting the machine, the man knew they understood what he meant.
"Dammit..."
Rean gritted his teeth and conceded. "Fine, but you'll have to tell us how you got those archaisms!"
"Very well."
"Who are you? I can at least tell that the attack at the capital was uncalculated as if you just wanted to test something."
Again, the hooded man commended the Schwarzer with a slow clap. "Impressive. I'll confirm that the attack was just a test. It was to see the capabilities of this machine to control the archaisms. As for who I am..." The man slowly pulled back his hood; long dark brown hair with grey streaks at the sides showed. His face was accompanied by a scruffy beard; and a scar that passed his closed right eye, likely not functioning anymore. The man gave a fiendish smirk as he buried his hands in his pockets.
"You can call me Revenant."
Before the two could question him any further, a white light began circulating around the man and the strange device.
"This is not our last meeting, and this certainly will not be the last that my archaisms will appear." Revenant declared. "Until we meet again."
"Stop!"
Rean used the second form to close the distance, but he was too late; Revenant and the control device for the archaisms vanished without a trace. The instructor clenched his fist, but eventually, he let it go as he sighed. His lover walked over and patted his back, giving a concerned look to him. He knew it was meaningless to get upset, but knowing that this wouldn't be their last encounter caused his mind to wander.
"Fie. You heard him say 'my', right?"
"Yeah..." She nodded. "Do you think he made those archaisms himself?"
"It's possible..." Rean couldn't eliminate that possibility. There were people like the professor, after all. "Revenant, huh. That guy is dangerous..."
She nodded as she took his hand, holding it tight.
"Hmm?"
"We still managed to stop more archaisms from appearing. I think we can still count that as a win." Her smile showed, reassuring her lover not to let it get to him. He smiled in return as he held her hand back.
"You're right. Let's report this to the others."
The two called both Sara and Rean's students, respectively. They told them what went down at the highway and who the man they have encountered was. Unfortunately, Sara and Toval never heard of a person named Revenant, but they will inform the RMP about it. The students informed the two that no more archaisms have appeared and that the civilians are starting to return to their homes.
Rean also called Professor Schmidt and told him about a device that could control archaisms remotely without someone manually controlling the thing. This caught the older man's interest as he demanded the instructor to return and to tell him all about the device. The black-haired man sighed but obeyed, while Fie couldn't help chuckling at her boyfriend.
Finishing up their calls, the two pocketed their ARCUS and walked towards their bike.
Rean stopped walking for a moment as he looked at the girl. "Hey, Fie?"
"Yeah?"
"I know I said this before at Vainqueur Street, but you really are amazing."
Fie's eyes widened before letting a lighthearted chuckle come out of her. "Where's this coming from?"
"It's just that today... you were incredible. You did well in giving the kids their instructions, and the way you moved to protect those kids, I really admire you, you know that?"
A scorching blush rushed to Fie's cheeks as he said those words. "Rean..."
"I know I would have done the same thing, but I wouldn't be able to notice it until the last minute. You, on the other hand, were paying attention to the safety of the civilians more than just the archaisms." Rean elucidated as he flashed a smile. "The children weren't hurt because you protected them."
"I was just doing my part. I'm a bracer after all..." She mumbled as her blush deepened.
"Yeah. Protecting civilians is one of your top priorities." His hand made its way on top of her head, gently stroking her mane. "You showed me what a bracer is... and you made me want to work alongside you even more now."
"Rean..." Fie's heart couldn't handle it anymore as she buried her face on his chest, hiding the crimson hues that painted her cheeks. "I can't wait to work together with you in the guild..."
"...me too."
As Rean held her close to his chest, the two enjoyed their warmth together. Just a little while longer before they needed to go back to the capital. They were lost in their warmth that they forgot that they were facing a lunatic and a bomb that was the size of a small building earlier. But they didn't care; they just wanted to stay like this for a bit. They wanted to stay close with the person they love most in the world, which was each other.
