This chapter was half-written like this bc 'hehe, Haseo's face held between some clawed fingers'
Haseo had done enough shopping that he was pretty sure he had a good half hour to spare just saying goodbye to Shino and telling Tabby to contact him if something went wrong… At least, that was what he was planning on until Gaspard came running up, tears in his eyes and shaking.
"H-Haseo…! It's bad, it's really bad!" He clung to his hip, sniffling and whimpering. "It… It's…"
Haseo let out a sigh, looking down at Gaspard. "Well? What is it? Spit it out already!"
"Silabus and I went out into a nearby field with Piros the Third a-and…" He clung tighter, sobbing. "It's Tri-Edge! We ran into Tri-Edge!"
Panic was the first thing to seize Haseo. More people were currently at risk of ending up like Shino…! And he was still in so much pain that he wasn't sure he'd be much help, should he try and do anything… But he had to try, didn't he?
"Take me there, right now, Gaspard." He couldn't sit idly by. "I'll make sure Silabus and that Piros guy get out of there okay."
"Haseo…" Gaspard wiped tears from his eyes. "You're the best guildmaster a guy could ask for! Follow me!"
Haseo didn't need to be told twice, though he did wish Gaspard could move a little faster. He could get why he didn't… What, with such short legs and all, but still! Every moment counted when it came to Tri-Edge.
Apparently, this was one of the fields close enough that you couldn't simply gate to it. Usually, Haseo wouldn't mind that, he hated the feeling of warping, but right now? When every moment counted? It made everything feel like an eternity…
Please be safe…!
Figures soon enough came into view. Silabus and a man in tacky golden armor (must've been the Piros guy) on their knees, clearly trying to keep steady and… Tri-Edge. Fear overcame Haseo for a moment, the unpleasant feeling of something being ripped from him coming back and freezing him where he stood.
"Haseo…?" Gaspard looked at him. "A-aren't you gonna do something…?"
Haseo swallowed hard, trying to push down the fear holding him down like a chain. He needed to help them, he couldn't let them get hurt…! But his body was alight with pain just thinking about what had happened.
Move, come on move! Before Tri-Edge hurts them like he hurt her…!
Tri-Edge had noticed him by now, walking right past Silabus, Piros the Third, and Gaspard. They were face to face, Haseo's heart squeezing in fear as warm breath puffed over his face. Was Tri-Edge planning on finishing the job?
He raised a hand and Haseo flinched away without thinking, raising his arms defensively. He waited for the attack that had nearly ripped him to shreds and… Nothing happened. What in the…?
He lowered his arms after a moment and, as soon as he did, Tri-Edge had a grip on his cheeks, pulling him closer. Haseo wanted to wretch himself away, but he couldn't, the grip was too strong…
"Stay out of the way…" His voice was raspy, as if rarely used. "Don't want to… again…"
It was as if he was dropping words, but Haseo couldn't parse what words they were, his head was still spinning as the monster released him and disappeared into a blue flame. As if he'd never been there to begin with.
"Wait!" He finally stumbled forward, hand outstretched and the fear fading, but it was too late. Dammit…!
"Haseo…!" Silabus scrambled to his feet. "You came!"
"Of course I did…" He pulled his hand to his chest. "I couldn't risk more people ending up like the afflicted."
The man in golden armor approached at that point, grabbing Haseo's hand and shaking it furiously. "Thank you, he of fair eyes! That rascal Tri-Edge could have been the end of us had you not come!"
"Ah… uh, yeah." He tensed as he hand was grabbed, still overloaded with everything that had just happened. "You should all be more careful about things like that. Tri-Edge isn't a laughing matter."
"We know that! I actually came out here to try and tell Piros the Third it might not be a good idea to hunt him down just because he's upset about what's happened to the architecture around…" Silabus bit his lip. "I guess I wasn't as careful as I should have been, though…"
"Well, try not to do that again." Haseo shook his head. "I'm leaving town to take place in some Arena tournament and won't be here to save your ass if it happens again…"
"The Arena?" Silabus's interest was piqued. "Well, if you're going to participate in the Arena, you'll need a team! Gaspard's always been a bit too nervous to join in, but to make up for this, I could join you!"
Technically, Haseo already had a team. Atoli and then either Pi or Kuhn… But he found Silabus so much more bearable than those G.U. guys, so… "Sure, I already have one teammate, so… That'd work for me."
"Great!" Silabus smiled at him. "Then let me pack my things and we can get going."
"I...I'll go too!" Gaspard walked up to them. "I won't be able to participate, but I'll cheer you on from the stands!"
"As will I!" Piros the Third placed a hand on Haseo's shoulder and another on Silabus's. "It is the least I can do for someone who can stand up to that dastardly Tri-Edge!"
"You guys really don't have to do that…" Haseo had a feeling they wouldn't listen to him if he tried to cut down on the number of people, however, so… "But fine. Just make sure you stay out of my way when we're not doing tournament things."
"Of course!" Gaspard nodded before looking at his feet, bashful. "But… If you were to consider maybe hanging out some of the time, that might be nice… I wanna get to know my guildmaster better!"
No. "I'll think about it." He could at least try and be nice after such a big scare, he guessed. "For now, we should get back to Mac Anu and get your stuff packed. You can all meet me at the Chaos Gate in…"
Wait, how long has this all taken? He'd only had a half hour until he was supposed to meet with Pi and the others when Gaspard came running up to him, so… He pulled the device that allowed for communication, also useful for telling time.
Well shit, there were ten minutes until he had to be there. No way would he make it in time… Pi was gonna be so pissed, and he'd rather not deal with that right after all of this had happened, so…
"Actually, all of you meet me at Canard after you've packed up. We'll head to the Chaos Gate from there whenever you're all ready."
Screw it, might as well take his time if Pi was gonna be pissed at him either way, right?