Everyone was dead silent as they walked into the room, trying to calculate what exactly happened that caused them to witness such a sight. The trails of blood seemed to originate from the bodies, but with the bodies facing down onto the grass, it's hard to tell what they exactly suffered from. Zohar glanced at the bodies, trying to see what the cause of death was from afar.
"Radha... Mislav... Charon... Verica..." Ion quavered, struggling to even walk more than five feet further than where he previously stepped.
Korey couldn't blame Ion for being surprised. He didn't expect this outcome to happen, either... "Who could have done this...?" Hilda questioned, clutching her hands to her arms.
"Bortos, we need to make sure they're stable!" Korey commanded, as Bortos blinked at him. "But they're strangers to you, man! Are you seriously gonna try and save these mercenary's lives, even when they will likely be back for you?!"
"I refuse to sit here, and ignore any possibility of saving them! The sooner, the better, as they say." Korey argued. Bortos sighed, shrugging his shoulders. The kid's gotta learn one of these days that saving everyone he comes across is just impossible...
"Fine, I'll start with the one with the blue scythe." Bortos groaned, placing leaving his belongings with Kyo as he makes his way over to the man with a blue scythe, flipping him over and checking his body for injuries. "Hmmm..." He pondered, noticing tons of cuts on his body, though the blood seems to have dried itself, leaving red marks on his skin.
"Is Charon alright?" Ion asked, as Bortos continued his investigation. He placed his ear where his chest is, trying to hear if his heart was still beating...
He let out a sigh of relief once he heard his heart beat, as Charon's chest lifted up and down, looking over to see that he was at least breathing through his nose. Seems like he must've fallen asleep somehow. "This one still has some energy left, but he's been knocked into sleep through some means." Bortos explained, as the fiery haired Celestrian let out a huge sigh of relief as the Brouni turned to Korey, who knelt down beside him.
"I'm gonna heal him of this ailment. While I go check on the other mercenaries, see if you guys can get any information out of him about what happened here." Bortos spoke, as Korey nodded in understanding.
"Right. Let us know once you're done inspecting them." Korey replied, as the Brouni grabs a herb from his bag, and places it onto Charon, casting a refreshing breeze through his body, grabbing the herb and made his way over to investigate the next body.
"Uuuugh..." Charon groaned. "Harbinger of... death... shall not, fall to..." He uttered, turning over and grunting as he tried sitting up.
"Charon! Charon, it Ion!" Ion exclaimed, placing his hand on the harbinger's shoulder, as he slowly opens his eyes to see Ion looking at him.
"I-Ion...? Is that you?" The dark brown haired harbinger asked, making sure he wasn't still dreaming.
"Yes, it Ion! Ion here with friends!" Friends? Just what did Ion do in the span that he was missing? Charon looks to his side, letting out a gasp as he noticed Korey and his guild, alongside the four males that appeared to help them before.
"W-Why are... you here?" Charon questioned. "Can't you see-" he coughed mid-sentence, using his free arm to cover his mouth, before glancing back at the fencer again, "the situation we're in?"
"What situation, we thought you were dead! Not our fault we don't know what's going on!" Hilda declared, as the male Harbinger groaned, leaning on Ion for support.
"We were... holding him off so well, when he caught... us all off guard with a few more members of his guild..." Charon spoke, taking deep breaths as he didn't want to risk moving too much. Korey raised an eyebrow when Charon brought up 'members of his guild'.
"Members? Who exactly did you face?" Korey asked, probably regretting his decision to know what the answer might be...
"B-Byron..." Charon grunted, as both Korey and Hilda simultaneously gasped. Guess that explains why there were cuts similar to Ion's earlier...
"After he mopped the floor with us, I was on the verge of falling asleep, when I overheard his plan to go... after the Celestrians that hired us." Charon continued, feeling Ion's arm placed on his back. Drayce grunts, looking at where the flight of stairs were.
"Then he intends to stop us from opening that jewelry box!" he spoke, not liking where the situation was heading. Korey turned to face Bortos, who had tapped his shoulder.
"I hate to say it, but the other mercenaries don't show signs of ailment. Seems like they died trying to protect Charon... their wounds were to severe." Bortos explained what he found from searching the other bodies.
"No... Not Ion's old friends... Wahaaaa!" Ion quavered, soon beginning to cry, placing his head on Charon's shoulder.
"Why... why did Byron kill Ion's old friends? Ion wanted... old friends to join Lux Guild, but..." He whimpered, as Charon simply looked at him with worry. "Ion's mercenary friends were all Ion had left of previous life... And now, they gone..."
Kamali, wanting to at least give Ion comfort, patted his back alongside Charon. Korey growled and punched the ground out of frustration, before taking some deep breaths. "That Byron guy is as merciless as any monster! I won't forgive him for this!" He declared, trying to keep his cool.
"To think he had the gall to do this..." Hilda uttered to herself, wondering if Byron is slowly becoming less of the man she once dated before. After calming down Ion, Charon separated from Ion, lying back against a tree.
"Just leave me here... If my group is going down, I might as well go down with them..." Charon groaned, already giving up on any sort of second chances he might have had. But Ion wasn't going to let that happen.
"Charon can't! Ion still here, Charon can still mend for downfall of old friends!" Ion encouraged, getting a glare from the harbinger.
"And what would you know about faults? If you hadn't been so distracted the first time we fought them, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Charon recalled, vaguely remembering seeing Ion hiding behind Radha's shield, looking at someone in particular.
"But sitting here and waiting to die certainly isn't one way to make it up for your fallen comrades. It's like dishonoring your family for not doing what they told you." Blayke argued, quickly shutting down Charon's reasons to continue acting like this.
"Blayke's right," Korey began. "the more we idly chat, the more time it gives Byron the chance to strike down the Celestrians we're after!" He noted, extending a hand towards Charon.
"Come on, Charon. Join the Lux Guild. You can live a happier life with us than being a mercenary..." Korey spoke, not using methods like begging or pleading. Just full on honesty.
"And what good will come of that? Seeing more people I care about-" Charon started to argue back, but stops himself mid-sentence, looking at the ground as if trying to recall something. "What's wrong?" Hilda asked.
"...Now that I think back on it, nobody other than Ion was accepting my persona of the Harbinger of Death." Charon began rambling. "Ion wasn't great at speaking, so I thought that through that, I can get him to smile, but as he grew up, that personification I had placed upon myself was getting to my head..."
Charon sits up further against the tree, resting his legs and placed an arm over some of his wounds. "Nobody else cared in the entire group of mercenaries I had been traveling with... And, had sweet Verica not been taken away from me, I could have had a better life." He sighed, afraid somebody he cared for passed away. Charon really liked her, from the way his voice quavered upon mentioning her name...
"Doesn't stop you from having one with a guild like the Lux Guild." Zohar commented, getting the Harbinger to tilt his head in confusion. "Zohar correct," Ion concurred, sitting next to Charon.
"Ion felt like Ion not do good at mercenary business, so that why Ion ran away. Ion went to find nice gentleman who protected me." The Celestrian continued, placing an arm around Charon and giving him a comfortable smile. "Charon, Ion want to avenge old friends. Charon free to help Ion and friends."
What was it that got Charon so invested in listening to the only person that he was able to fully understanding how he truly feels inside? Cause honestly, now was not the time to be in his personification of himself, or does he want to lose anyone else, deep inside... The sheer fact that Ion is willing to avenge his old mercenary pals was just enough to put a smile on Charon's face.
"I guess you know how to make a man smile, Ion..." Charon chuckles, as Bortos made his way over to Charon. "Does that mean you'll join us, Mr. Charon?" The Brouni inquired.
"Count me in. I'm going to give that Harbinger a piece of my mind!" Charon nodded, soon getting Korey to smile. Another guild member for the team. He's going to have to remind himself to visit Egar with them if they want to be official guild members, though.
"Then I might as well patch you up before we go confront this Byron person." Bortos noted, taking out a herb and applies some healing powder on it, dabbing the herb on some of the wounds and injuries. As that was going on, Korey stood up and looked at the corpses of the remaining mercenaries.
"So, what do we do with these?" Korey inquired, unsure what to do with them. "Well, if we start burying them, we'll already lose the Celestrians." Drayce pondered, grabbing the bag of items from Verica and tosses it over to Ion, who catches the bag.
"Besides, it won't be long to tell the guard who watches the chickens that some bodies need to be buried. I'm sure he won't mind doing it for us." He added, knowing that by the time they're finished with the treasure business, monsters would likely chow down on the corpses. Best to let somebody else already down here know something's amiss.
Hilda sighed, clasping her hands together and stared at the leaves above them, beginning to recall something Byron told her long ago... Right when he dumped her for that female Necromancer. Her head would not let this go, yet she desperately wanted to forget that day so badly...
"I thought we had something! Why did you have to go and do this to me?!" Hilda's own words replayed in her head, beginning to visualize the tavern, so lively that she and Byron had to go to a separate room to be able to hear each other.
"We had something, alright! But protecting someone over an F.O.E that could have likely killed you? That's just out of line, girl!" Byron yelled, crossing his arms. "Don't get me wrong, this is just to protect you-"
"Protect me?!" Hilda interrupted, despising Byron's so called use of 'protect'. "If you actually cared, you would have taken it upon yourself to actually protect me, instead of dumping me and then proceed to find another girl worth your time, alongside replacing me!" She stormed, as the male Harbinger rubbed his head.
"You're seriously getting on my nerves, Hilda!" He snapped back, giving Hilda sharp glare. "This is why I can't stand ya sometimes! You're just too weak!"
Hilda blinked, before finally breaking down in anger. "You're the one who's too weak, Byron! I hate you!" She raged, storming out of the room and ran out of the tavern, before coming back to reality, looking at her hand, clutching it into a fist for a few seconds, before placing her hand back to her side.
"...Is that why he's trying to prove me wrong? Because I called him weak?" She thought to herself, perking her head up when she noticed Charon walking past her.
"The second floor is just ahead. The Celestrians shouldn't be too far from the entrance, since they're located near a collection point to the left of the stairs." Charon explained, pointing to the stairs with his scythe.
"Got it. Let's go, everyone!" Korey nodded, motioning for everyone to follow him and Charon, starting to walk up the flight of stairs.
Not having her coffin weapons as a means of shield from the sunlight, the small Necromancer girl was able to stretch herself out in the sun, her light blue Celestrian skin contrasting the black coat and hood, having horns that have yellow stripes on them. Some of her hair was either a dark shade of pink, or likely gray hair. Despite having chains around certain parts on her clothes, she didn't really mind it.
She turned to the taller Celestrian beside her, a smile forming on her face as she gazed at his red eyes and gray hair, placing her hand in his gloved hand once she stopped stretching. He turned to face her, soon beaming as the two shared a short kiss, as the girl soon turned to face the door.
"Something wrong, dear?" The male Celestrian inquired, as the girl's eye squinted, seeing the the door open before them. "Someone's approaching... no, more like a guild is approaching." She responded, as the man beside her turned to see someone approaching them.
"There ya are! Ya sure don't hide yourselves well enough!" Byron grinned, as the small Necromancer girl crossed her arms.
"Not like we needed to hide. We live here, after all..." She groaned, not bothering to justify their means of hiding.
"Oh is that so, dear? You're not quite the smart little girl, you know?" A more mature feminine voice spoke behind Byron, as a a blonde haired Necromancer walked to the Harbinger. Her skin color was brown, having darkened pupils and light purple eyes, with her arms crossed, likely to keep her cloth on her at all times, with chains floating over her shoulders.
"We're more older than any of you young'uns, though. Don't pull that kind of shit on us..." The male Celestrian spoke, dismissing the comment towards the small Necromancer girl.
"Hah, is that so? Ya sure don't bear the proof of that!" Byron scoffed, tapping his foot and silently wondering to himself if they're just trying to stall their demise.
"Byron, dear, why don't we swiftly end them off?" The blonde girl suggested, as he grinned back when he looked at brown skinned Celestrian. "Heh, you're speaking my kind of style, Mervi!" He chuckled, taking out his scythe from behind him.
"Just who are you?" The pink haired Celestrian deadpanned, causing Byron to blink back to the small Necromancer. "Ya don't know who we are? Well, since ya kindly asked..." Byron questioned, before sighing and shrugging, uttering to himself that it couldn't be helped.
Byron motions to the woman who he called Mervi earlier. "This is my girlfriend, Mervi. She's a Necromancer, just like you, pink haired girl." He swiftly introduced her, before motioning to the other Necromancer, who had white skin, white irises, and white hair, as his clothes were bathed in black and a darker shade of red, with a gray belt going over a black colored belt.
"Revlis here is another Necromancer. Why two Necromancers? Because fuck you, that's why!" Byron spoke, soon motioning to a small Brouni girl and a Therian boy with a dark red scarf over his mouth.
The Therian had a black hound who had purple highlights. The boy himself had black hair and dark blue eyes, with a lighter shade of blue from his eye color, wearing brown shorts and carried a bow to the side of him. The Brouni girl had pink glasses, red hair, and velvet eyes, along with brown skin, holding a book by her side, and having a bag that's stuffed to the brim with flowers and herbs.
"The small girl is named Lydia and the Therian boy is named Yorick. There, happy now?" Byron sighed, wanting to get to the task at hand.
"Yes, now leave. We don't have time to speak with you." The small Necromancer motioned.
"Sheesh, don't have to act so rude, ya know? I just came here for a little chat!" Byron groaned, about to step forward and strike at the two Celestrians.
"Oh no, you don't, Byron!" An all too familiar voice reached Byron's ears, stopping him from progressing, and turning to face where the door was opened, blinking in surprise. "What?!" He growled, as the other members of his guild turned to face the two guilds that entered the room.
Among the two guilds, he saw Hilda, Korey, Ion, and Charon - three of them he had met today, leaving Hilda one of the few people he had not seen in quite some time. "You...!" Byron growled, making his way back to his guild members.
"Byron! We won't let you get away with this!" Hilda yelled, as Lydia placed her hands over her own mouth, before deciding to run towards Hilda.
"Hilda!" The red haired girl yelled, running to Hilda with open arms, before being cut off by the black hound. "Gaaah!" Lydia jumped, coming to a halt before the hound could stop her himself.
"Don't even think about that, Lydia! She's your enemy, not your friend!" Yorick reminded the Botanist, as she turned to face Yorick. "B-B-But..."
"Get back here, or you'll suffer for trying to betray us!" The Therian boy threatened. Lydia turned to look at Hilda. Korey blinked, silently gasping as he saw her eyes filled with sorrow - the same kind of eyes Hilda had earlier today. Lydia tilted her head to the ground, making her way back to her guild members.
"Now that's just not right! What kind of guild keeps friends hostage in their own guild?" Drayce questioned, feeling rather ticked at the underhanded trick the Rover pulled on Lydia.
Byron simply bursted into laughter. "That's the Dazard Guild for ya! I make the rules because I know what's best for everyone!" He declared, seeming to have fun being in total control of his guild.
"Yeah right! I still can't forgive you for what you did to me long ago, Byron! You don't know what's best for everyone, you only care about yourself!" Hilda growled, as the black haired Harbinger sighed, shaking his head.
"What, ya still lingering on that? Please, you're never gonna get stronger if ya let it get to your dumb head of yours!" Byron argued, pointing to his head with his free hand to emphasize his point.
"What did you say?!" The white haired girl blinked, starting to get rather annoyed at Byron's act. "Exactly what I said!" Byron groaned, deciding to do something to further emphasize his point.
"Ooooh, are ya getting mad that you're gonna have your pathetic guild leader tear me to pieces? Oooooohoohoho, I'm so scaaaaaared~" Byron jested, seeming to have his plan work as Hilda started to walk forward, before being stopped by Korey.
"Knock it off, Byron! People like you are just the lowest scum on the planet!" Korey spoke in Hilda's place. Byron glared at the fencer, placing his hand on his hip.
"So what? Everybody sees climbing Yggdrasil as nothing but their goals! Soon, it'll corrupt ya, and you'll eventually replace someone when they're weak!" Byron ranted, as Keiko and Demetria stepped forward to defend Korey.
"Korey is not going to be like those other people!" Keiko declared, pointing her weapon at Byron. "Because unlike the others, his goal is far more beneficial to all of us on his guild." Demetria added.
"What you're doing is comparing a golden apple from the rest of the rotten potatoes that 'shine' as bright as gold!" Charon continued. "Geez Louise, ya guys suck. You don't understand the natural order of things." Byron sighed.
"I'm getting tired of hearing all this yapping, boss! Let's just kill these guys, then the Celestrians behind us are next!" Yorick urged, wanting to continue on with the next floor already.
"A valid point, my dear Yorick~" Mervi concurred, giggling mildly to herself, as Byron turned his head back to face the opposing guilds. "Heh, ya heard it here, folks. Now that three of my worst enemies are here, I can finally get to the fun part!" Byron concludes the dragged out conversation, getting into his battle position, as the guild members behind him took out their weapons.
Lydia and Revlis hesitated in taking out their weapons for a few seconds. "This is the part where we kill ya! Ahaaaahahahahahaaa!" The black haired harbinger yelled, laughing like a madman.
"Talk about arrogant. Come, Theodore." Zohar commented, snapping his fingers and called for the Wraith, appearing right in front of the Necromancer.
"Ion and friends will strike down bad man for killing Ion and Charon's mercenary friends!" Ion grunts, taking out his Shaman cards from his pockets. Hilda took a few seconds, before looking at the two guilds beside her.
"Hey, guys?" She began, as Korey and Drayce looked at her. "Yeah?" The boys said simultaneously, as the white haired Harbinger motioned for the two guilds to gather to discuss something, whispering only so the two guilds can hear her plan.
"Are ya serious? Come on, I don't have all day!" Byron groaned, tapping his foot as he crossed his arms.
"Wraith Explosion."
"Huh?!" Byron blinked, hardly getting the chance to turn around, as he, Yorick, and Mervi both get launched forward, landing onto the ground, before getting up. Seemed like the pink haired Necromancer planned a sneak attack when they weren't looking.
"Why you little-!" Byron glared, getting his weapon and attempted to charge at her. "Now, get them!" Korey yelled, swiftly getting Byron's attention, having to force his target of aggression as Korey's sword collided with his purple scythe.
"Take this!" Keiko slashes at Yorick, causing him to take a few steps back as he gets hit, trying to close the gap by shooting an arrow at her, nearly avoiding it as the sharp end nicked at her cheek, and caused her to flinch back a bit, before slashing at the approaching black hound.
"Haah!" Demetria shot at Mervi, who blocks the shots with her floating coffins, though was unaware of the opening she left herself with, allowing Charon to strike her.
"Grrrr... come, my lovely wraith!" Mervi commanded, snapping her fingers, and summoned a wraith of her own by her side. Revlis did the same, despite not saying anything. Seems like he was just following orders.
Korey turned his head to face the Brouni beside him. "Bortos, remember the plan!" He said. "Yeah, I got it, I got it!" Bortos replied, motioning for him to get going.
As Korey went for the blonde Necromancer, Bortos opened his bag, and took out a bottle, containing some black smoke. "Dark Smoke!" Bortos yelled, throwing the bottle at the front row of the Dazard Guild's formation. The bottle exploded, causing the Harbinger, Rover, and Necromancer to cough as they tried to shoo the smoke away, unable to see very well.
"Ah, fuck! Can't see!" Byron yelled, as Lydia knew what to do next, grabbing into her bag and throwing her flowers into the air near the blinded guild members.
"Refreshing Herb!" Lydia chanted, as the flowers soon glowed and healed their blind ailment in the blink of an eye. Little did she know, she just fell for an endless loop, as Bortos threw another bottle of Dark Smoke at the same row of people.
"Oh come on! I just healed them!" Lydia complained, having to get some herbs from her bag, repeating the same process as before. "Hey, I'm just told what I have to do!" Bortos shrugged, preparing himself for a tiring process.
Hilda and Byron charged at each other, as their scythes clashed with each others. "So, what's your goal in doing all of this? To prove that you're not as weak as I called you out to be?!" She asked, wanting to know his purpose for not only killing the other mercenaries, but trying to get away with killing the two Celestrians.
"Heh, perceptive little sneak, aren't ya?" He simply smirked at her question. "The more I fight, the more stronger I get. And when I finally kill ya, is when I finally prove I'm right!" Byron divulged, seeing as she'll likely forget that once she dies.
"In your damned dreams, Byron!" Hilda yelled, seeing Korey approach Byron and lets him strike Byron, as Byron gets blinded upon being hit. Drayce finishes setting up a bunker, as Ion chanted Ruinous Prayer, raising the party's attack.
"Fireball!"
"Lightning!" Kamali launched a fire spell, while Kyo launched an electric spell at Yorick and Mervi, making direct contact with them. They attempt to retaliate back, but end up missing due to being blind from Bortos' Dark Smoke.
Lydia starts taking deep breaths, getting real tired of doing nothing but healing. "How many... bottles of Dark Smoke do you have?!" She questioned as she cured Byron, Yorick and Mervi.
"A lot more than you can ever hope to have, woman! Hiyaah!" Bortos responded, as he throws yet another bottle at the front row. Lydia sighs, and sits on the ground, not sure how to respond to the situation she ended up getting herself into.
"I don't get what's going on... Whenever I heal, he keeps blinding them!" Lydia groaned, closing her bag.
"...Something's amiss." Revlis began, as Lydia looked up to the Necromancer, tilting her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" She inquired.
"It seems like Hilda ordered her friends not to hurt us... That's why we haven't had an attack sent our direction once. It's the only solution that's out there..." The white skinned Necromancer explained, quickly bringing back his wraith, despite it being re-summoned by Mervi.
"What are you doing?" Lydia asked, as the Necromancer did not respond, as Lydia took out her book and started reading it. It was the only thing she could really do to pass the time, and not contribute to the battle any further.
"Where's that healing remedy, Lydia dear?!" Mervi yelled, as she attempted to swing at Zohar, who merely blocked the attack with his own coffin, before striking back at her, causing her to flinch back.
"If only I wasn't blinded, I can tell where these bitches are!" Yorick declared, blindly aiming and misses Blayke, who strikes back with a counterattack of his own. Though it took a little while, Byron finds a Therica B in his bag, and proceeds to drink it, blinking a couple of times, finally able to see clearly once more, before he tosses the bottle away and charges at Korey, only to be intercepted by Hilda.
"Grrrr, you're so damn persistent!" Byron snarled. "Why do you keep protecting that boy?! Is it because he's your new boyfriend or something?!" He queried, clueless why Hilda keeps protecting him a few times throughout their fight.
"How funny those words were coming from you, cause you failed to realize what we've been doing ever since this fight began!" Hilda grinned, launching Byron back, as he did a back flip and lands, taking only a few seconds to get up. "Miasma Armor!" Hilda yelled, as tiny particles start forming in the air, before making their way to Hilda, radiating a black and red aura around her.
"Two can play at this game, woman! Mias-" Byron scoffed, as he attempted to do the same skill as she did, before feeling a quick slash strike him while he was caught off guard. "Graaaah!" He screamed, feeling his body becoming numb.
"C-Can't... move!" Mervi groaned, trying to move her body, but is making no progress. "Damn it all!" Yorick grunts, as the black hound looked at him in worry.
"Now's our chance! Strike those three down!" Blayke declared, not wanting to miss the opportunity.
Zohar commanded Theodore to use Flame Bomb, as the wraith charged at the female Necromancer, inflating and turning red as it made its way over to her, exploding upon making contact with her. Ion, who had casted a Blaze Prayer earlier, soon chants Dance Oracle, ridding him of the prayer on him, and hitting Mervi, Yorick, and Byron with an almighty attack. Keiko slashes furiously at Yorick, hitting his hound when he dared to approach her.
Demetria shot a few arrows at Yorick once the hound he had ran away, after being defeated. Korey, Charon, Hilda, and Drayce took turns slashing at Byron, as the black haired harbinger could not move, being forced to accept the hits thrown at him. "Graaaah!" Byron yelled in pain... God, how damn persistent was Hilda to prove him wrong?
"Look at them go..." The male Celestrian commented, seeing the co-ordination between the two guilds. "Yeah. Those two Therians might be his great descendants after all..." The female Necromancer nodded, as a smile started to form on her face.
"Hurts, doesn't it? That's for nearly trying to kill Ion! And for dumping and replacing Hilda!" Korey yelled, getting one last slash at him, before letting the others do their thing.
"This is for killing Ion and Charon's old friends!" Ion screamed, slashing at Byron with a sharp card, letting out another sharp scream in pain. "Aaaaaaagh! E-Enough of this! Lydia, heal us, or you're going to regret it!"
Lydia jumps upon hearing her name, rushing to heal Byron, Mervi, and Yorick. Byron covers his injuries, taking a deep breath as he attempted to remain calm. "This isn't fair if the rest of my guild can't do shit with two inactive members!" Byron snarls, getting rather ticked off.
"Come on! We're going to town to recover! Move it!" He commanded, not wanting to hear anymore excuses.
"B-But Byron-!" Lydia began, before getting a sharp glare from Byron. "I said move it! Do you want to end up like those mercenaries on the first floor?!" He snapped, causing the Brouni to shake her head out of fear.
"Then prepare the Ariadne Thread!" He commanded to the Brouni girl, as she looks at Hilda. "S-Sorry, Hilda... but know that we have to follow orders, the next time we meet." She apologized, afraid of upsetting Byron again, as the black haired harbinger glanced at Hilda.
"It's ya lucky day, Hilda." He began, placing his scythe behind him. "You and those two irksome boys can live another day... But don't think it will be for long. Cause I will make sure to cause mischief at every corner, when ya least expect it!"
Byron begins to laugh maniacally, as Lydia used the Ariadne Thread once the Dazard Guild gathered around her, teleporting them out of the labyrinth. Hilda let out a sigh, disappointed in herself for not getting her old guild members out of Byron's guild. There may be a more fortunate opportunity in the future, but she already missed hearing her old friends.
"That Byron... he's certainly gotten more edgier than before." She groaned, annoyed that Byron managed to change so drastically that he doesn't feel like the same person long ago. As they put their weapons away with the threat stopped, the two Celestrians stood up and approached the two guilds.
"I'm glad you two were unharmed..." Charon sighed with relief, hugging the taller Celestrian male. "Worried about us, were you?" The man inquired, as Charon looked up at him.
"Well, you two are quite old, how can I not worry about you?" Charon replied, soon separating from the hug "I swear, you young'uns these days... always caring for the elderly." The small girl sighed, shrugging her shoulders.
"Pardon the intrusion," Keiko interrupted, "but are you two Celestrians friends of me and my sister's ancestor?" the Therian inquired. Both of the Celestrians nodded in response to her question. "My name's Amare." The Necromancer girl known as Amare introduced herself.
"And I am Altum." the gray haired Celestrian male spoke, with a small smile forming on his face. "So you're the Celestrians the book told us about. It's not every day we get to see survivors of an era long before us." Drayce hummed, making it sound like this was a scenario he never thought he'd find himself in.
"Living for over a millennium isn't an easy feat, you know." Amare began, sighing as she glanced at her hair, gazing at some of the colorless strands of hair. Sadly, the hair was their only means of proof that they managed to live a very long time, but their constant bickering over their age seemed to get the point across.
"We've been waiting for the day we found any descendants of Caelum..." Altum began, soon looking over at the two brown skinned Therians. "I'd never thought we'd have twin descendants, but looking at you two makes me feel like I've really become an old man." He continued, chuckling to himself a little bit, before shortly stopping himself.
"Have you brought the jewelry box?" Amare inquired, seeming to be in a hurry, despite the monotone delivery of her line. Korey reached into his bag and took out the box, handing it over to the small Necromancer. As he stands back a few feet from her, Korey could've sworn he saw a bit of a smile form upon Amare's face.
"It has been so long since I've last seen this particular box..." Amare giggled, looking at it almost like a playful child. "It feels so nostalgic, yet it also brings some of the worst memories from the past." Altum added, feeling like he can almost pinpoint said terrible memories, but can't quite recall exactly due to his old age.
The pink haired Celestrian turned and looked up towards the older Celestrian. "Altum, begin creating the ancient circle." Altum nods, heading to a wider area of the room, as he takes out a kit required for making circles, as he begins etching a huge circle, with various symbols and writing.
"What is this circle?" Kamali asked, curious about the writing and symbols being written on the ground. "It is a circle known only by the Celestrians of old. This circle is used for sealing an object with mana and a curse simultaneously." Amare responded, pacing around a completed half of the circle.
"The only problem is that it's also the only method of removing this sort of spell. I'm afraid the Celestrians of our time would only suffer had this box be left in their possession..." She sighed, showing some concern for the modern age of Celestrians.
"Interesting... Would it be possible to teach this to other Celestrians, then?" Drayce questioned.
The Celestrian's blue eye gazed at the Dragoon when he asked his question. "Unfortunately, the book known for that spell has been lost into the gates of history. No one was smart enough to keep a copy somewhere, and that left me and Altum with the only ones who know this circle's existence." She simply responded, almost unfazed by the idiocy of the people of her time.
"Seems like it must've been quite a blow to the Celestrians back then..." Korey could only let out a sigh, no doubt ashamed that such knowledge couldn't be passed down any further. Though then again, if Byron wasn't an indication, there are bound to be others with evil intentions to make something incurable with this circle in mind... And the thought terrified him.
"It's done." Altum's voice called out, placing the staff in his pocket. "Perfect. Let's begin..." Amare hummed, motioning for the others to stand back. She placed the box in the center of the circle, before moving away from it to stand inside the circle, likely indicated by a spot she and Altum are familiar with.
Though he didn't have his translator on him, Drayce could make out bits of what side the two Celestrians stood upon. Amare, being a Necromancer and more familiar with curses, was to the northwest of the box. Altum was facing the opposite from her, guessing he was more familiar with magic and mana. If the two of them weren't alive, this box would have never been-
No, it was distracting to think about alternative possibilities. He tabled the thought, as everyone from both guilds stood in anticipation. Everyone waited with baited breath...
"Maledicite antqiuis praeteritum..." Amare began speaking in a foreign tongue, as her side of the circle began to glow. "Antiquis magicae antiquorum transiit..." Altum soon followed, as his side began glowing as well, contrasting with the pink half of the circle.
"Ecce sto si aliquis frangat juramentum Millennium..." As Amare continued, the jewelry box began to glow, before its glow seemed to drain into the circle. "Ut conteram de vetus mana antiquorum..." The box glowed again upon Altum speaking, before the same pattern repeated as last time. Was the circle... draining the box of the curse and magic that held it tight?
The lines from Amare's side slowly drained from the box to where the Necromancer stood, as if sending the retrieved energy back to her. "Most interesting..." Zohar mumbled to himself, doing his best to not interrupt the scene.
"Redi meae vis maeldictiones has convertet..." Amare continued chanting words, before her side filled up with light once more, before the opposing side mirrored exactly what Amare's side did seconds prior, soon fading into Altum. "Redi mystici vias meas magicae..."
Hilda, Ion, Charon, and- well, pretty much everyone else stood in silence, as the two halves of the circle continued the same flowing pattern to the two Celestrians. It continued for quite a bit, but it got faster and faster upon noticing how the circle seems to be refilling itself as it enters Altum and Amare. Korey was surprised that two such Celestrians are capable of doing this kind of thing off.
"Locus fac nobis..."
"Unitum..."
"In Scala ad Caelum!"
As the two Celestrians finished their chant, what Drayce could only assume was the final energy transfer was sent to Altum and Amare, before everyone heard a clicking sound, turning their attention to the jewelry box, with its lid opened a tiny bit. "B-Box opened by itself!" Ion uttered, astonished at the tiniest, yet obvious detail.
"That... was amazing..." Keiko commented, after the rather flashy light show occurred with the circle. "What an interesting sight!" Kamali concurred, rather amazed by the mere process itself.
The gray haired Celestrian walks over to the box and picked it up, likely checking the contents within it before nodding to Amare. "Keiko Caelum... Demetria Caelum... please step forward." Amare spoke up, turning to the twin Therians, who look at each other before making their way to the rather tiny Necromancer.
Though two questions still remained on everyone's minds - just what exactly was in that box, and why was it sealed in the labyrinth?
English versions of the Latin words:
Maledicite antqiuis praeteritum... (Curse of the ancient past...)
Antiquis magicae antiquorum transiit... (Ancient magic of the ancient past...)
Ecce sto si aliquis frangat juramentum Millennium... (Here we stand to break a millennium curse...)
Ut conteram de vetus mana antiquorum... (To break the ancient mana of old...)
Redi meae vis maeldictiones has convertet... (Return the force of my curses...)
Redi mystici vias meas magicae... (Return the mystical ways of my magic...)
Locus fac nobis... (Make room for us...)
Unitum... (United...)