The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

by CloudFry

The world Velvet Crowe once knew has changed. Now, the only way the former Lord of Calamity can achieve her goals is to play along with the rest of the sheep. Cloaked in self-hatred as a monster borne of irredeemable sin, Velvet is determined to twist the young Shepherd into a tool to suit her needs through whatever means available.

25. C24 - Omen

Chapter 24 – Omen.

"Could I ask you something, Velvet?"

"No."

"But-"

"I'm not answering another one of your stupid questions." She let out a long-suffering sigh of irritation, crossing her arms while tapping a finger on her arm. "You've been pestering me non-stop ever since we left Ladylake, and I've answered plenty already," she growled dangerously. "Drop it."

The Shepherd rallied valiantly in the face of the raven-haired woman's horrible glare.

"Please, Velvet!" he appealed, holding up the Celestial Record with a well-meaning, earnest smile. "What you've experienced long ago from a human perspective 1,000 years ago has the potential to become the most important findings of the century! Think of all of the information you remember from your time that might lead to monumental breakthroughs to current modern theories of that era! What you've already told me, the prominence of naval powers, the heightened human technology, the layout of the landmasses, all of it-!"

"Was far more than I should have fed your insufferable curiosity," she interrupted shortly, her left eyebrow subtly twitching in irritation as she turned away from the buzzing Shepherd towards the soft glow of the sunset.

The crunching of the group's footsteps on well-worn dirt was repetitive constant as they continuously climbed the mountainous trail, following the beaten trading path into the hilly regions with the setting sun to their side. A grand vista of rolling hills, untouched forests, and vast plains laid before them all; a picture of pure wilderness doused with the golden rays of the vibrant setting sun. A breathtaking view of natural splendor.

And then there was Sorey's face, blotting out the sun with his obnoxious grin.

"You mentioned the capital had stone walls to keep out hellions, right? Do you think you could give me an estimate of how high those walls were, what kind of battlements were at top, and what kind of mixture was used to adhere the stones together?"

He furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side, bringing a single finger up to his lips. "...As it stands now, current academic research of the Graceful Asgard Period seems to support the theory of simpler, more utilitarian architecture than modern day buildings. If it's true that the capital of that time period was designed with such elaborate designs..." He refocused his eyes on Velvet; stars in his eyes. "That might even mean the complete disruption of a key period in human architectural history! Seriously, Velvet, you have to tell me-!"

Her left hand twitched murderously.

As the Shepherd continue to natter on and on about the most obscure faucets of history to the therion silently stewing in mounting irritation, Lailah and Edna exchanged amused smiles.

The fire seraph let out a soft sigh, her long hair waving amidst the gentle light of the streaks of gold in the sky behind her. "...How relieved I am that everything seems to have worked out between the two of them," she expressed warmly. "I suppose it was silly of me to doubt Sorey. He knew what he felt was right and acted upon his convictions, no matter how uncertain it seemed."

Edna's boots crunched repetitively upon the well-trodden dirt underfoot as she walked alongside the prime lord watching Sorey and Velvet up ahead on the mountain trail. "I guess they did end up sorting themselves out. Even if it did take forever." She turned and raised a keen eyebrow at the other seraph. "Besides, it looks like they're not the only ones who did." she added observantly.

Lailah's smile stayed as she bobbed her head in affirmation, her expression soft as she laced her fingertips together before her. "In the end, it seems that what I had considered as evil was in reality not so certain." Her voice was warm. "I had never truly considered what he had meant when he said those words that one time, long ago."

Her gaze drifted off to the side towards the setting sun, sadness falling upon her gaze. "Now, after all this time... I believe I finally do," she concluded gently.

At her side, Edna tapped her closed umbrella rhythmically on the dirt in tune with her steps as she walked. "'He' meaning Maotelus, huh?" she surmised.

Somewhere amongst the chaparral of the mountainside, a bird warbled a hypnotic call endlessly into the golden air of the setting sun. After a pause, the earth seraph turned to glance at the other, tilting her head inquisitively. "...You never did tell me what the deal was between you and Maotelus," she noted aloud with a slight, curious inflection to her words.

She belatedly realized her mistake the second Lailah jerked around with a manic, wide-eyed expression on her face, gleefully clapping her hands beside her cheek. "What would you say is a raisin's biggest shame?" she crowed.

"That it could never rise to grapeness!"

Lailah held her stance happily in the wake of her words, frozen in place while her eyes darted around to take in the reactions of her audience. The entire group including Velvet and Sorey had all stopped in their tracks to stare flatly at her, save for Edna, who had simply kept walking.

"Sorry I asked," the seraph muttered lowly as she tromped irritably past Sorey and Velvet.

The Shepherd chuckled as he too turned away from the pouting Lailah, following Edna in her trek up the mountain trail alongside Velvet. "Guess some things never change," he supposed wryly, perfunctorily sliding the Celestial Record shut and returning it to his pack for safekeeping.

Watching him out of the corner of her eye, the therion raised an eyebrow when she noted just how neat and organized Sorey's pack was as he eased his precious copy of the weathered tome inside. She let out a self-satisfied huff and glanced away with a slight incline on her lips. "That they don't."

Their shadows striding across the dirt and shrubbery to their left continued to grow longer and longer with each step as the distant sun continued to dip below the horizon, accompanied by a noticeable decrease in the surrounding temperature. A chilly autumn breeze briefly touched upon the mountainside, sending welcome chills down their spines as they continued their hike up the trail. All around, crickets began to come to life, singing their repetitive songs come the passing of the day.

"Say, Velvet?" Sorey prompted softly, drawing the therion's attention. He returned her inquisitive gaze with a well-meaning gesture. "I've been meaning to ask this. Why do you... want to save Maotelus?"

He winced at how blunt his words sounded. "I-it's just, you've done and gone through so much for him and I just was wondering if you... had a reason, that's all..." His words trailed off hesitantly.

Her steel boots crunched repetitively in the dirt in the brief silence that followed. She soon replied with a callous wave of her hand. "'Why would a Lord of Calamity want to save an Empyrean,' right?" she presumed with an uncaring shrug of her shoulders.

At those words, the Shepherd frowned and crossed his arms, turning his gaze forward. The chirping of the crickets in the surrounding golden shrubbery echoed in his ears as the words of a strange seraph suddenly came to mind.

"'The roles we play in this life are up to nobody else but ourselves.'" His distant eyes reflected the gentle sunset beyond the distant horizon as he stared out into the distance. "I don't think it matters at all what people used to call you. Names are just names, after all – there's nothing special about them." He gestured reasonably with his hands in the air. "When I look at you, I don't see some fabled monster from legend or anything. Just someone who cares deeply about someone, that's all," he finished with a gentle smile.

The crunching of their boots on dirt continued in the aftermath of his words. The indistinct voices of Rose and Alisha floated out into the cooling air as the two chatted about some topic in the distance behind them.

"...Looks like I did a good job after all."

Velvet's voice was laced with amusement as she crossed her arms, staring forward down the path before them. "Properly twisted that naïve boy in a fancy costume calling himself the Shepherd," she remarked, her voice dry with self-satisfaction.

Sorey let out an uncertain laugh, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "W-well, I don't think anything about that has really changed, technically speaking..." He shook his head, his expression growing contemplative.

"But... I suppose it's true," he agreed, "I don't think the old me would have realized something like that."

She let her arms fall back to her sides she continued to walk by his side, her eyes growing distant as she let herself fall back into the stale memories gathering in her head. The crunching of dirt underneath their footfalls continued unerringly in the silence. Somewhere beyond the rising slope of the mountain, a wild animal uttered a strange call that rang out hauntingly amidst the chilling air.

"...Maotelus saved my life." Her words were soft as she maintained her stride, absently holding her hands together before her. "More than once, actually. He was the same – didn't care what I was called, nor did he care about what I was. All he wanted was to chart his own course through life. And what he decided to do was to follow me to the end, regardless of what happened."

Sorey watched as she moved her arms, absently tugging at a stray strand of bandage from her disguised left arm with a surprisingly gentle expression on her face. "After all he's done for me, it's only right that I return the favor," she concluded with a firm tug on her bandaged arm. "That's all."

He nodded slowly in the wake of her words. "...I see," he replied sagely. "I figured it was something like that."

Velvet raised an eyebrow at him. "That so?"

The Shepherd gave the therion a boyish grin in return. "Well, you might look and act kinda scary at times, but you really do have a gentle side to you, Velvet." He smiled, adjusting the straps of the travel pack strapped onto his back. "In a way, it all makes total sense that the reason why you did all that you did was because you just wanted to help a friend."

Her boots clinked rhythmically as she continued to walk, mutely glancing away from the smiling Shepherd to instead gaze outwards towards the fading light of the sun. "If you say so."

A forebodingly familiar glint slowly began to creep into Sorey's eyes as a thought crossed his mind.

Slowly, carefully, the Shepherd angled his steps so as to slowly get closer to her atop the mountainous path. "I uh, don't suppose you could do the same for me?" he began with a hopeful, innocent smile. "If you could perhaps listen to a couple of my theories, you'd be a real lifesaver-"

SQUELCH.

The entire group came to an abrupt halt as the disgusting, yet familiar sound resounded into the surroundings accompanied by a subtle wave of malevolence that dissipated into the chilly autumn air. Seraphim and humans alike turned to stare as Velvet slowly came to a standstill, her long raven hair blocking her lowered expression from sight as her enormous extruded claw dangled loosely by her side.

Sorey swallowed, his pulse suddenly quickening as a creeping feeling inched up the back of his neck. He took a step back away from the deathly still hellion, his boots crunching deafeningly amidst the eerie silence.

"Velvet?" he asked nervously. "Are you..."

"DEVOUR!"

A very undignified noise escaped Sorey as he dove out of the way of the therion's sudden and violent lunge, the sweep of her enormous claw barely clearing his frantically flapping cloak. With panic in his eyes and his heart racing at a thousand beats per minute, Sorey rolled to the side upon impact on the ground, barely managing to dodge the lightning-fast stab of Velvet's gauntlet blade. The razor-sharp metal slammed into the dirt so hard it sent sparks flying into the air.

"W-wait, Velvet!" he cried with wide eyes, scrambling backwards and throwing his hands up into the air. "Let's talk about-Whoa!"

He let out a panicked yelp and wrenched his sword out of its scabbard just in time to parry the woman's flurry of strikes from both gauntlet and boot blade, losing ground all the while. Then, her enormous claw whipped around and tore a deep gouge into his hastily formed barrier of mana, unceremoniously tossing him like a doll into the nearby chaparral.

CRASH!

Sorey let out an involuntary groan as he rolled to a halt, covered in torn-up dirt and foliage and staring blearily at his approaching attacker.

Velvet's eyes glowed a violent shade of red as she deliberately stretched her neck, her sword and her claw held menacingly at her sides and a self-indulgent smile on her face. "Did you think that once you knew my identity that you could get sloppy?" Her boots clinked noisily upon the dirt as she stalked towards the ditch of disrupted dirt and plants where the Shepherd laid. "You're still my tool."

Her eyes bulged violently. "And don't you forget it!"

With that she lunged forward with inhuman strength, her hair and jacket flaring up behind her like the wings of a demon. Sorey let out a panicked cry and scrambled out of the way, desperately using an arte to block against the fiery explosion that followed her impact.

Mikleo's eyes were wide and horrified as he charged towards the site of the explosion, adrenaline surging through his veins as he gripped the casting staff in his hands. "Sorey!" he yelled, skidding to a halt and taking in the horrifying sight of his friend fighting off single-handedly against the hellion atop the hillside. "What the hell is she doing?!"

"My..."

Mikleo was forced to do a double take at the sight of Lailah's admiring expression. "To think that Sorey would ask Velvet for a training session... even after such a long day!" the fire seraph remarked with a proud smile. "His diligence and dedication truly is becoming of a Shepherd."

Mikleo's eyes were wide. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he demanded incredulously as another explosion rattled the mountainside under their feet. "Sorey's being attacked!"

"Don't be such a drama queen," Rose dismissed at length, uncrossing her arms to stretch them over her head with a lazy yawn. "Velvet's just letting off a little steam on him. It'll be good practice for them both." She gestured with her hands towards the movements of the two fighters with an observant eye. "...Besides," she added, "it sure looks like this sort of thing isn't new for either of them."

Alisha's armor clinked as she came to a halt beside them, tilting her head to the side curiously at the sight of the Shepherd barely managing to fend off the attacks of the relentless hellion off the beaten path. "Such an intense training session reminds me of my own such sessions with Lady Maltran." She glanced off to the side; a subtly nostalgic look on her face. "How my body would ache after such battles... Truly, such methods are the best ways to learn."

Mikleo's eye twitched as Sorey let out another panicked yelp in the distance, followed by an ear-splitting crash. "...That's does it," he concluded, throwing his hands up in the air. "You guys are all nuts."

"Just figuring that out now, huh?" Dezel muttered, crossing his arms as he watched the fight unfold.

A series of metal clangs resounded into the air with split-second intervals as the two combatants exchanged blows in the blink of an eye, Sorey barely managing to keep up with the whirling chaos of Velvet's sword style. The exchange ended as she leapt up into the air, twisting around in the air to bring her claw around to bear. The Shepherd was hard-pressed to dodge out of the way.

BOOM!

As the shockwave thrummed underneath their feet, Edna twirled her umbrella and turned away from the spectacle. "I'm hungry," she blandly announced, stepping directly up to the first person she laid her eyes on. "You. Make me something, now."

Mikleo let out an exhausted sigh. "Why me?" he groaned.

Rose shrugged, turning away from the battle as well while glancing at the setting sun in the distance. "Suppose now is as good as any to make camp. I'm beat!" she groaned, stepping off towards a flat section of land.

Lailah covered her smile with her hand. "Not all of us have the strength and vitality of those two," she remarked with amusement. "Let us rest here for tonight."

"A perfectly acceptable arrangement to me." Alisha agreed readily, carefully lowering her travelling pack to the ground with a soft sigh. "I'm quite ready for some good food after a long day's travel." She flashed an eager smile in Mikleo's direction. "I'll be looking forward to what you decide to make tonight, Mikleo!" she promised.

As the rest of the group walked off towards the suitable camping spot, Mikleo remained, a pained look on his face as he watched the hellion continue to assault his childhood friend. "Sorry, Sorey..." he muttered before setting off to go prepare dinner for the rest of the group.

The Shepherd's yelps of panic continued long after the sun had set in the distant horizon.

---

The small fire underneath the partially empty cooking pot crackled quietly, what little light it provided serving to hold the encroaching darkness surrounding the campsite at bay. Beyond the motionless shrubs surrounding the patch of level dirt, crickets sang in abundance amidst the darkened hillside, further isolating the group in their lone patch of light amidst a sea of solitude.

A weak, tired breath escaped Sorey as he slumped to the ground before the campfire, wincing with each slight jostle of his limbs.

The fiend that had done this to him stepped up and sat down beside him, calmly and wordlessly reaching forward to partake in the leftover soup in the pot. There was a rare sort of tranquility upon her expression as she did so, with a look of satisfaction at a lesson having been successfully dealt.

Mikleo mutely passed a bowl to the disabled Sorey, who glumly muttered his thanks and accepted it with a wince.

The sound of their spoons scraping against the wooden bowls filled the silence as the two ate, the rest of the group resting around the campfire in a companionable silence, listening to the sounds of the surrounding wilderness. Amidst them all, the campfire continued to burn, letting out soft pops as the fuel was slowly consumed.

"Everyone, I would like to say something."

The group turned curiously as Lailah straightened in her seat, visibly steeling herself with an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. Her hands gathered together in her lap as she moved her gaze, meeting the eyes of everyone amassed before her. "The terms of my oath," she declared soberly. "I have decided it is time to announce them."

Edna's eyes narrowed as she cast a meaningful glance at the seraph over the simmering pot atop the campfire. "...Sure you wanna do that?" she asked.

"Right," Rose agreed with a frown, readjusting her legs in front of her as she leant forward. "Lailah, we kinda already figured what you can and can't say anyways," she pointed out. "You don't have to do this if it puts you in any kind of danger."

"No," Lailah replied, shaking her head resolutely. "In truth, this has been something that I should have been more forthright with ever since..." She trailed off, glancing across the fire at the lone hellion in their midst.

"Ever since she said she wanted to save Maotelus, right?" Dezel finished, leaning forward in his cross-legged seat before the fire. A strand of tall grass twirled steadily in his gloved hand as he angled his head in the seraph's direction. "Don't worry, it's pretty obvious that Maotelus is what your oath is about."

The soft orange glow of the cackling fire glinted in Velvet's amber eyes as she carefully studied the mute prime lord in the wake of Dezel's words. "I assume you won't answer if I asked you how you came to be the keeper of Maotelus's power, Lailah?" she asked quietly.

Lailah shook her head again, a sad look on her face as she returned Velvet's knowing gaze. "...You are correct," she replied softly. She turned her gaze back over towards Dezel, quietly threading her hands together in her lap as she took a calming breath. The crackling of the fire and the chirping of the surrounding crickets continued amidst the deepening night.

"In truth, the terms of my oath are thus," she stated. "As the holder of the sacred flames of purification, I am to never reveal the reasons for how this arrangement came to be."

Sorey listened on curiously, absently setting his empty bowl down on the dirt before him. Beside him, Velvet shifted in her seat, curling a leg up against her chest and resting her hands atop her knee.

Staring into the dying flames with a sad, disquiet expression on her face, Lailah continued, "Should I desire to maintain the oath, I must refrain from discussing any topics that may relate to the string of events that led to its existence, no matter how obscure the connection." She tore her eyes away from the flames to give them all a deeply apologetic look. "That is what I must do, no matter how of use that information would be to you all. For what it is worth, I am truly sorry for keeping secrets."

Sorey shook his head gently, a reassuring smile on his face. "Don't sweat it, Lailah. If anything, it's we who should be thanking you. Without your powers of purification, we'd be in a rough spot when it came to Heldalf and Maotelus." He held her gaze kindly, his sad smile soft in the light of the fire.

Edna's spoon clacked against wood as she returned it to the partially full bowl in her hands. "It's no big deal, Lailah," she commented, swirling the spoon in the bowl. "In terms of secrets being kept, you don't hold a candle to this one." She punctuated her statement by pointing a spoonful of prickleboar stew directly at Velvet.

The therion shrugged easily in response. "I won't deny it." She slowly raised her head, sweeping her gaze across the rest of the seraphim and humans arranged around the fire. "But since we're on the subject, I suppose I have something to say as well."

Her gaze returned to the fire before her.

"...What I know of what happened to Maotelus came from an acquaintance," she began, idly running her left thumb down the length of her fingers. "She didn't know the specifics, but what she did know was enough for me to see that the only chance I would have to save him would be by using the Shepherd."

Alisha drew her legs closer to her in her seat, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "'Heldalf is holding Maotelus.' Those were your words when we fought," she remembered. She tilted her head to the side inquisitively. "How could an empyrean, the strongest of the five, I am told, be controlled?"

The therion's expression was distant. "Malevolence," she replied shortly. "Once he was corrupted, he no longer acted like himself." Propped up atop her bent knee, her left hand had curled into a tight fist.

Across the fire, Edna looked away, averting her expression from the light.

Crossing his arms while shifting forward in his seat, Mikleo frowned in thought. "...Then," he summarized, "Heldalf took advantage of that and brought him under his control. So not even the almighty Five Lords are immune to malevolence." His frown deepened as he brought this gaze up towards the hardened woman. "...Did your 'acquaintance' have more to say?"

Velvet turned her head and met his gaze. "Like I said, she knew only what she herself had gathered over the past few years." She shook her head, frowning in frustration. "I don't know what happened that led to Maotelus's corruption. I don't know how it was Heldalf brought him under his control either. All I know is that he is no longer himself, and that he's being controlled against his will."

Her hands curled into fists as she glared at the fire before her. "...That's something that I will never allow," she growled. "Not in a thousand years." Fury glowed in her eyes as she stared at the blaze, her anger intensifying as she thought back to who 'Maotelus' really was to her.

The one who had saved her.

Sitting across the flames to her, Dezel uncrossed his arms with a grunt. "...That's all we have to go with?" he muttered. "Something somebody said without mentioning a speck of detail?"

His words drew Velvet's gaze onto him. "If you're worried about the credibility of my sources, don't be," she replied with a wave of her hand, a dry smile creeping into her expression. "Compared to her, you're a just a runt."

Dezel floundered in an attempt to find a response to that. "The hell's that supposed to mean?" he eventually demanded.

Rose's chuckling filled the night air as she leaned over, nudging the indignant wind seraph with her elbow. "Does wittle Wezel want to throw a temper tantrum?" she cooed.

Dezel's hackles rose automatically. "Knock it off!" he snapped, jerking away from the pest as best he could. In doing so, he inadvertently slammed his shoulder right into the person sitting next to him, knocking her clean over and sending the bowl in her hands flying clean into the air.

A disgusting splat rang out into the campsite as the slopping brown liquid landed atop Edna right as she was steadying herself on the ground, having been pushed over by Dezel's shoulder. A lone trail of salty soup dripped lazily down the middle of her forehead, splitting in half at the bridge of her nose to run down her cheeks.

She turned to look at Dezel with a disquiet expression.

Plonk!

The group winced as the wooden bowl finally finished its graceful arc into the air, somehow managing to land directly upside down atop Edna's head like a hat. Her expression remained unchanged as she continued to stare unnervingly at the offender.

Dezel gulped loudly in the deafening silence that had fallen. "S-sorry," he grunted weakly, straightening back up in his seat. "I didn't..."

Edna didn't react at all to his words, continuing to stare emotionlessly at him all the while the soup trailed down her matted hair. The crackling of the nearby flame continued amidst the deathly silence, giving the air an ominous undercurrent.

Like a rat abandoning a sinking ship, Rose not-so-subtly scooted away from Dezel, exchanging a wide-eyed look with Alisha as she came to a stop by her side. Lailah shared a look with Mikleo before both of them similarly retreated as far away as they could.

Amidst the silence, Sorey cleared his throat while glancing to his side. "Is he...?"

"He's dead." Velvet's response was matter of fact.

Dezel glanced incredulously from across the fire at all of them. "What are all of you...?" he began.

"You..."

A shiver of terror ran down his spine at the sound of the deceptively quiet growl, barely audible over the sound of the crackling fire. He turned to face Edna's glare, her eyes slowly growing wider and wider in fury. Her gloves squeaked in agony as the seraph squeezed her fists tighter and tighter as if to wring an invisible man's neck.

BANG!

The surge of mana was Dezel's only warning before the world erupted violently with razor-sharp blades of earth, slicing up into the air to rend him to pieces. He barely managed to flash out of the way with the aid of his wind artes, only to lunge backwards in a series of acrobatics as more stalagmites erupted violently underfoot.

The ground trembled in terror as Edna slowly stood up, her clothes flapping in the artificial winds and a noticeable golden glow in her eyes as raging power surged through her. Still wearing the slopping overturned bowl for a hat, the enraged spirit let out a cry of fury as she slammed her boot into the earth.

"I'll get you for this!" she screamed, her voice echoing endlessly into the night.

All Dezel could do was race as far away as his powers could allow, running as what seemed like the wrath of a vengeful god bore down upon him.

With the ground trembling underneath them and Edna continuing to expel ludicrous amounts of mana into her artes, the rest of the group exchanged glances on the other side of the campfire.

Beside them all, Lailah lightly clapped her hands together, smiling gently amidst the soft lighting of the night. "Now Edna and Dezel are training too?" she remarked brightly, her eyes shining with the light of the fire. "Such fine dedication indeed!"

Mikleo deadpanned. "Lailah, your idea of 'training' is seriously messed up," he muttered.

As another distant explosion erupted, doubtless causing the wind seraph a great deal of grief, Alisha rubbed her eyes blearily, leaning back in her seat. "Dedication aside, we still have a sizeable amount of travel ahead of us. I would... argue that conservation would be a better approach so as to better reach our destination." Her words were punctuated by a drawn-out yawn.

"So yeah, about that." Rose piped up, daintily turning around in her seat to face the rest of them, ignoring the distant explosions rumbling throughout the night. "Would you all mind if we stopped by someplace on the way to Tintagel Ruins?" she asked. "It wouldn't be too far outta the way."

Sorey tilted his head curiously. "Something the matter, Rose?"

The assassin frowned, glancing to the side towards the slowly dying fire. "Well, I got word of some rumors that the others overhead," she explained. "It sounds like the Shepherd will need to get involved if they're true."

"I'm sure you're right, Rose," he replied, nodding his head in agreement. "Where to?"

She tore his eyes from the fire to meet his gaze. "Lastonbell." She paused, correcting herself, "What might be left of it, anyways."

The dying fire continued to crackle feebly as the night wore on, its burning fuel slowly being snuffed out until naught but ashes and the cold autumn air remained.

---

The sounds of her footsteps alternated repetitively between the hollow impacts of worn leather and the comparatively quiet scraping of her bare foot thudding against the debris-riddled cobblestones below.

She pushed on heedless of her missing shoe, panting desperately as she stumbled through the darkened alleyway. Her right eye was squinted shut against the flow of blood seeping down from the reopened cut in her forehead, further obscuring her already tear-filled vision. Her green dress, pierced and cut near to shreds, flapped pathetically behind her like the torn wings of a downed jay.

She paused briefly at a junction of the unfamiliar brown-hued buildings surrounding her, glancing wildly over her shoulder and in every which direction. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with her frantic breath as she whipped her head from side to side, her dirtied, muddy hair trailing her actions. Beads of sweat poured liberally down the sides of her face, mixing with the dirt and soot coating her cheeks.

Her racing heart skipped a terrifying beat at the sound of clanking metal coming from down the smoke-filled alleyway that she'd come from. Her eyes trembling in sheer terror, she blindly chose a direction and stumbled away as best she could.

There was no escaping the smell of smoldering rubble that engulfed her senses – no avoiding the thick layer of soot and ashes that blanketed the top of every conceivable surface that she passed. High up above, barely visible beyond the swirling haze of smoke, the sky glowed an angry, unnatural orange.

It was as if she'd been plunged into hell itself.

Her bare foot smashed into something metal lying on the stones, sending a vicious spike of pain surging up her leg. She let out a pained cry, helplessly watching as the dirty ash-covered cobblestones raced towards her.

"Agh!"

Agony seized every part of her body as she crashed onto the ground, a great plume of disturbed ash and soot billowing out and engulfing her fallen figure. She stayed there in the wake of impact, fatigue overwhelming her sore body completely. Her left eye stung painfully as she weakly cracked it open, only for it to widen in horror at the sight of the body she'd tripped over. She instantly pressed her dirty palm against her mouth to suffocate her scream at the sight of the figures emerging from the smoke beyond the body of the dead guard.

They strolled down the street without a care in the world, their ragged armor and weapons clanking noisily at their sides with each careless step upon the ash-ridden stones. They laughed and jeered at each other's dark jokes, kicking at any debris in their way. She watched them come closer and closer, the sound of their clanking armor jolting her terrified heartbeat with each step.

"Ey, you sure you heard that comin' from over here?" one of the men grinned over his shoulder at his companion, nudging him amicably. "How much of that wine that you swiped did ya drink?"

The man he'd spoken to shoved him away. "Not as much as you did when you burned that fool's tavern down yesterday," he jeered in response. "Nah, I know what I heard – that was a woman's voice, for sure."

Another of the group lazily hefted the long spear in his grip. "A straggler, eh?" he grunted. "The boss'll be mad 'f we let another slip away."

The first man nodded. "Then let's be sure we don't. Look alive, boys!"

Their footsteps grew closer and closer; the clanking of metal growing louder and louder. She bit her lip, squeezing both her eyes shut while desperately willing her wild heartbeat to slow. Terror seized her entire body, causing her limbs to tremble against her own will. She swallowed her whimper and forced her expression to relax as best as she could as the metal footsteps came to a halt directly before her. Silence fell.

Unable to take the terror any longer, she ever cracked her eye open slightly, praying to whatever higher powers were out there that she would find an empty street before her.

Her blood ran cold.

Tusks grew out from out of both sides of his pudgy snout – one broken at the base while the other curved long and sharp. His puny eyes were locked onto her terrified eyes as he loomed over her body, a single string of saliva leaking down his inhuman chin onto the ragged clothing barely managing to hang onto his enormous muscular frame. His inhumanly wide mouth stretched into a leer as his right hand slowly reached down to the sheathed sword at his waist.

"Well, well," the pig monster purred in a guttural, inhuman voice, licking his lips while lavishly enjoying the untold fear in the woman's expression. "Looks like today's my lucky day!"

She opened her mouth to scream.

"Sure is."

CRASH!

The monster had less than a moment to glance up in surprise at the sound of the foreign voice before he was engulfed in an enormous, blood-red claw and was sent flying clean through the smoke. His similarly disfigured companions turned around in alarm and shock at the sound, only to be confronted by a violent barrage of elemental mana alongside the charge of three strangers.

The ringing of steel sliding off steel alongside inhuman bellows of rage echoed off the surrounding buildings as a strange yet keenly familiar woman knelt down on the street, angling her pulsing claw away while extending her other arm to her as she laid there frozen on the street.

"Nothing to say?" the raven-haired woman asked dryly in response to her wide-eyed stare, gesturing her offered hand casually even as the chaos continued around her. "Good," she remarked, taking her shocked silence as an answer. "Maybe now you'll stop trying to sell me stuff."

The soot-covered saleswoman stared dumbly up at the hardened woman kneeling before her as the surrounding unnatural battle continued to rage.

Eventually, she swallowed dryly and slowly brought her hand up into the air. "F-fine," she croaked, the vague hint of a smile forming on her face as she grasped the other woman's offered hand. "Y-you'll get a pass, just this once."

She let the strange inhuman woman gently pull her to her feet, blearily watching as the rest of her companions battled the inhuman bandits across the street. Some of the strangers, a young man and two young women, looked normal enough, but wielded strange otherworldly powers to aid them in their fight. Others seemed entirely inhuman in their grace and poise as they brought their opponents down through colored explosions of strange energy.

With the chaos and the completely unexplainable phenomenon occurring all around her, utterly defying everything that she had possibly known and believed up until that point, the saleswoman chose to calmly look away, returning her gaze back to the raven-haired, claw-wielding woman.

"I'm going to faint now," she explained matter-of-factly. "Please, catch me."

Velvet raised an eyebrow at her. "Sure," she replied.

The woman proceeded to do just as she'd said, her eyes rolling into the back of her head in shock and delirium as she collapsed. The therion caught her with right arm as she did so, arresting her momentum with a frown on her face.

BOOM!

The ash-riddled cobblestones rattled underneath Rose's feet as she darted to the side, the heat of the explosion she'd just dodged washing over her exposed skin. She adjusted her momentum to kick off a barrel lying on its side in the middle of the street with both feet, sending it flying forward while bringing herself around in a backflip. Her blades sang a deadly song as she brought them up in midair, unleashing them upon the hellion that had been charging her from behind.

The pig-faced monster let out a guttural howl of agony as it crashed onto the ground headfirst, two symmetrical gouges running down his exposed back. Rose's boots alighted atop the stones just behind it as she landed, raising her head just in time to see the barrel that she'd kicked colliding with the bandit that had been charging Mikleo.

"Score!" she crowed, pumping her hand in the air with a victorious grin.

Mikleo's clothing flapped noisily in the air behind him as he swiftly brought his free hand up towards the stumbling bandit hellion, unleashing a blow of water mana that sent it flying into the wall of the opposite building. He shot the assassin a thankful nod before resuming his arte, urging power to flow through his hands and into his conducting staff.

He jerked the weapon forward with a precise flourish and a cry. "Splash!"

An overwhelming floom of water materialized from the heavens to crash down upon two unfortunate bandits, slamming them onto the ground where they laid dazed amidst a puddle of dirty water. It wasn't long before their bodies were engulfed in silver flames at the behest of the Shepherd, his boots slamming noisily into the soiled water as sprinted past them.

He raised his offhand into the air as he ran. "Dezel!" he yelled. "LUKEIM YURLIN!"

His body was engulfed in a flare of angelic white as the armatus engaged, blades of neon green materializing behind him to aid him into flight moments before another explosion detonated underneath him.

BOOM!

His golden eyes narrowed in fierce concentration, Sorey swept his body out of the way of the explosion with the aid of the armatus. The haze of smoke in the air stung his eyes as he straightened out, slashing his right hand down to point at the hellion that had cast the arte in retaliation.

"Dark Star!"

His and Dezel's voice rang out in tandem as the brilliant angelic blades of wind flaring into a circle behind them, unleashing an explosion of wind mana upon the damned below.

The pig hellion wielding a casting staff in his right hand tried in vain to escape the oncoming storm, only to be engulfed in a flurry of razor-sharp blades of simmering green mana. He let out an indignant howl as he crumpled to the stones below, the staff tumbling out of his grasp and out of his reach in the process.

The monster's heaving breath was ragged as he blinked rapidly, willing his wavering vision to sharpen amidst the pain racking his body. He reached forward and pushed his forearm into the dirty stones under his body, fisting his hand and pushing as hard as he could with all his inhuman strength to get a knee underneath him.

He froze at the kiss of cold steel against his neck.

Alisha glared down at the pig-monster held at the edge of her lance, her chest rising and falling from the exertion of battle. She glanced momentarily to the side at the sound of Sorey's boots alighting upon the stones behind her. The rest of the group appeared to have all quelled their own respective opponents, leaving the soot-riddled street riddled with unconscious forms of purified humans in their wake.

"You... you weaklings think you're so tough, huh?"

Her gaze snapped back to the disabled hellion at her mercy; a frown on her face at his callous words. "You would say such a thing, even after such a battle?" she replied, keeping her hand steady as she held the blade to its neck.

The hellion raised his head to meet her gaze; a smug, confident smirk spreading across his wrinkled face. He let out an amused laugh, heedless of the dryness of his throat. "I can't wait until the boss tears you apart, limb from limb," he leered, trails of drool escaping his open mouth. "How I'd love to hear your deliciously shrill screams as you beg him for-"

"That's enough." The bandit's words were cut short with a harsh wave of Sorey's hand that instantly engulfed the monster in silver flames and drowning out its grotesque figure from view. His eyes were hard in the light of the blessed flames glowing through the smoky haze.

Lailah's shoes landed atop the stones quietly as she arrived at a subdued pace, holding her hands together before her dress. "...Such is often the loathsome sentiment of those who become pig hellions," she concluded soberly. "Alisha, please, do not let his words concern you."

The princess straightened before the burning flames, returning Lailah's gaze thankfully yet with a steeled edge. "It's fine, Lailah," she replied calmly, returning her lance behind her back. "It's nothing I haven't heard before."

In the absence of the clamor of battle, a strange, foreign silence fell amidst the normally bustling street of the merchant capital of Rolance. The grey haze of smoke continued to drift restlessly amidst the stagnant air, filling the world with the scent of burnt rubble. The buildings lining the streets were deathly silent; their shattered windows and kicked-in doorways staring hauntingly back at the group as they stood in the middle of it all.

Rose's expression was grim as she slid her daggers back into the sheathes behind her back. "It's just like what I heard," she remarked soberly, staring down the street and into the endless void of grey smoke. "Lastonbell's in bad shape. Most likely, the rest of Rolance is in a similar state as well."

Edna lifted her foot and kicked an overturned barrel, sending it clattering loudly across the street. "Didn't see a single human anywhere else in the city that wasn't already a hellion." She glanced to the side at the figure that Velvet had propped up against the side of a crate resting in the middle of the road. "Save for that one," she finished, tapping her umbrella on the ground.

At that, Velvet tilted her head slightly, glancing expectantly at the woman in question. "I can tell you're awake, you know." she stated calmly, resting her human hand on her right hip. "We're not going to hurt you, I promise."

A pregnant pause followed her words.

Then, the group watched as the woman in the tattered green dress slowly slid her eyes open, taking in the sight of the entire group of strangers watching her in turn. She frowned, her eyes taking in both the pulsing claw hanging from Velvet's side and the brilliant neon-green wings hanging solemnly behind Sorey's form.

"...A demon and an angel, huh?" A strange smile graced her chapped lips as she shook her head in idle amusement. "Guess it was too much to hope for that all of that was just a dream," she muttered, wincing as she inadvertently jostled her shoulder by shifting around. "Damn," she cursed.

Sorey stepped forward, absently waving his hand to dispel the armatus in the process. "Are you alright?" he asked, worry in his eyes as he took in the state of the woman's torn clothing. "Those bandits didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Which ones?" the saleswoman sighed, running a hand through her hair only to frown as her palm came back covered in dirt. "There's been so many gangs rampaging around the city these past few weeks I've lost count."

Rose's boots landed in the puddle of muddy water underfoot as she stepped over to her, kneeling down and taking a careful look at the wounds on her shoulder. "Last I heard, the city guard had been completely driven out of town," she prompted softly.

The saleswoman winced as she began carefully slathering a gel on her open wounds. "O-ouch," she grunted. "Well, you heard wrong. The city guard themselves were part of the vagrants plaguing the city." She shifted slightly in her seat, holding her arm still as Rose wrapped bandages around it.

"Not long after news of the complete takeover of the capital had swept the town, little by little, ruffians began to gather in gangs," she explained soberly. "The guards fought them at first, but once it became clear that there were too many, some gave up and started looting as well." She shook her head, pursing her lips as she glanced to the side at her surroundings. "...It sure didn't take long for what was once a peaceful city to become every man for himself."

Sorey rested his hand on the pommel of his sword as he shifted on his feet. "That's horrible," he muttered. "All of this in just a few weeks?"

"To think there would be such a rapid devolvement of peace and order in such a small frame of time." Lailah mumbled in disquiet, holding her hands together before her dress. "Truly... this does not seem natural in the slightest."

Dezel crossed his arms slowly. "It wasn't just news of the coup. Something else got them all riled up, and fast," he stated darkly. "No doubt about it."

Alisha glanced around at the hauntingly empty buildings lining the smoky street, frowning. "That isn't all. The extent of the destruction is far beyond what gangs of mere looters and bandits could have achieved in such a short period of time, hellions or not." She raised a gloved hand into the air to disturb the thick haze of smoke hovering before her, her frown deepening. "This smoke... it's almost as if the entire city was on fire."

The saleswoman grunted as she slowly got to her feet, carefully tended to by Rose as she did so. "Right, nearly forgot about that part." She smiled humorlessly at them all. "At about the same time that people began losing their minds, these strange, freak storms started forming out of nowhere." She gestured to the remains of a storefront down the street from them. It was entirely destroyed, held together only by burnt wood planks with scattered debris strewn all across the street before it.

"One second it would be clear as day, and the next, Lastonbell would be besieged by lightning the likes of which nobody had ever seen," she recounted soberly. "Guess we don't live in the Age of Disasters for nothing, huh?"

Mikleo furrowed his brow in confusion. "...Freak lightning storms? Lailah, could this be the work of a particular hellion?" he asked, turning to the fire seraph.

The group watched as Lailah shook her head mutely. "A few, perhaps, were it to be the case that the storms were only in one area. Yet I know not of any type of hellion that could feasibly cover an entire city and wreak such an unimaginable degree of havoc."

Sorey crossed his arms, bringing his gloved hand to his chin. "There's so many unknowns to all of this," he summarized in disquiet. "What could have possibly caused so many humans to turn into hellions so quickly? What could be the source of the storms?"

The saleswoman hummed, gingerly testing adding weight on her leg. "Most people didn't stick around to find out. In between the bandits, the storms, and the conflict in the capital, most everybody escaped the city while they could. Those who didn't have a chance tried their best to hide from it all." She drew her lips into a thin line. "Like me."

Velvet raised a questioning eyebrow at her, resting a hand on her hip. "Why didn't you leave?" she asked.

The woman in the green dress turned to face her, her eyes inevitably straying to the enormous claw at the woman's side. "...My mother," she answered quietly, tearing her eyes from the appendage to meet Velvet's eyes. "She's sick."

Her hand clenched into a fist as she held it against her chest, her teeth gritting in emotion. "Damnit," she cursed quietly, squeezing her eyes shut. "To think, I was spending all my days working my butt off, hawking crap to people in the streets just to make enough money to pay for mom's medicine. Barely hanging on every day, just to see her smile." Her fist tightened even further in abject fury.

"Then the world decides to go and lose its damn mind!" she screamed, abruptly drawing her leg back to slam her bare foot into the side of one of the bandits lying unconscious on the ground. Tears welled up in her eyes at the agony shooting up her leg, yet she ignored it, instead gritting her teeth further and allowing the emotion to course through her. "Just... give me a break!" she sobbed.

A hesitant hand gently alighted upon her shoulder, causing her to freeze.

She opened her teary eyes to find the young man with the strange cloak holding her gaze, a small yet earnest smile on his face as he removed his hand from her shoulder. "I'll do what I can to help, I promise."

She blinked dumbly at him, confusion clear in her face as she tried to register what he had just said. "...Sorry," she said hesitantly, tilting her head slightly to the side as she examined the person who she'd seen transform into an angel. "Who are you, again?"

Sorey blinked and scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh! Uh, I'm-"

"He's the Shepherd." Mikleo's words were strong and confident as he strolled up to Sorey's side, returning the confused human's gaze while resting a fist on his hip. "And we're his seraphim, here to aid his efforts to guide humanity through the Age of Disaster." He smiled reassuringly, gesturing with his head towards his childhood friend. "I know he might not look like much but looks can be deceiving. You can rest assured that he doesn't ignore people in need."

The saleswoman had wide eyes as she processed what he'd just said, her gaze leaping between the two of them in astonishment. "He's the... Shepherd? And you're one of his... seraphim...?"

By Mikleo's side, the Shepherd shot him a reproachful look, crossing his arms defensively. "Uh, Mikleo? Aren't the Shepherd's loyal seraphim supposed to hold him in a higher regard than 'He doesn't look like much?'" he asked petulantly.

"My apologies, good Shepherd." the seraph replied easily, a grin on his face. "Would you have preferred I introduced you as the bookworm weirdo you actually are?"

Sorey raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "That's even worse!"

He shook his head and turned back to the saleswoman who was watching the exchange with a curious expression. "A-anyways, the point is that you don't have to worry," he told her earnestly. "The Shepherd is on the case!" he grinned, holding his gloved fist in the air with determination.

Silence followed his declaration.

After a moment, the saleswoman turned and raised an incredulous eyebrow at Mikleo. "Is he for real?" she asked, gesturing at Sorey as if he were some kind of weird circus animal.

Edna dropped the tip of her umbrella onto the ground with a hollow thunk. "You're such a dolt," she muttered at Sorey, whose cheeks had grown hot pink.

Rose laughed nervously, scratching the back of head. "Yeah..." she agreed slowly. "We're going to have to come up with a better catchphrase for you, Sorey. You sounded as bad as Sergei just then."

Alisha was in the process of smothering her indecent laugh behind her hand while Dezel had crossed his arms in irritation. Beside them, Lailah gently clasped her hands together before her dress, warm amusement in her expression. "That's our Sorey," she smiled.

As the Shepherd floundered in a vain attempt to gain any semblance of respect from those before him, Velvet shook her head in dry amusement and turned her gaze away towards the distant haze obscuring the end of the street.

The motions of the smoke undulated amidst the stagnant air, warping the diffused sunlight and forming brief, ominous shadows amidst the folds of the haze. To her enhanced senses, the smell of smoldering ashes was especially keen, causing her nose to wrinkle in distaste. She stared out into the vast grey void, any levity in her expression slowly fading in the face of the vast unknown.

"So, you can feel it too."

She glanced slightly to the side at Dezel's words as he stepped up alongside her, similarly facing out towards the obscured thoroughfare and beyond. He crossed his arms, his movements stiff and alert. "I can't use the wind to tell through the smoke, but I can tell," he muttered, bringing a hand up to adjust the hat on his head. "We disturbed something the moment we set foot in this city."

Velvet nodded slowly, turning her head to examine the wind seraph with an unreadable expression. He stood there amidst the smoke, determined in both stance and motive – just the same as always. Her mind turned to the words she'd first exchanged with him, long before her identity had been revealed.

Then, driven by some sudden urge, she spoke. "Laphicet."

She returned her gaze forward into the abyss of smoke, heedless of the wind seraph's wordlessly questioning look. "My brother," she explained quietly, her words barely a whisper amidst the deafening silence. "He was the one who was taken from me."

The haunting disquiet of the ruined city continued in the wake of her statement. The gaping broken windows of the surrounding building stood out amidst the haze like the contorted shadows of monsters, loathsomely watching the two intruders standing alone amidst the destroyed street. Somewhere, in the far distance unseen through the smoke, a dull clattering caused by something resounded out throughout the silence.

The wind seraph's boots scraped noisily atop the cobblestones as he abruptly turned around, walking away from the therion's side. He paused for a split second to turn his head to the side, his jagged, demonic teeth bared in deep-seated fury.

"Lafarga." The lone word was old and stale on his lips.

With that, he resumed his pace, walking away leaving the hellion standing alone before the smoke. She frowned in response, her gaze quietly dropping down to the extended claw still pulsating at her side. All around, the smoke continued to undulate, the shadows seemingly grasping out towards her with each passing moment.

---

Broken glass and debris crunched deafeningly underneath the group's footfalls as they traversed the desolated alleyways of the city, eyes and ears alert to any signs of possible threats lurking behind each corner. They passed boarded-up doors and windows and stepped past fallen belongings lying strewn about the gutters. Enormous scorch marks would occasionally blot the stones underfoot, accompanied by piles of ash and debris from where the bolt of lightning had struck.

The saleswoman walked with them amidst the silence, a man's boot on her bare foot that had been stolen from one of the bandits. Her eyes were sad as she took in the sight of a completely demolished storefront as they passed. "Will the world... ever return to normal?" she asked quietly as she walked; a sad expression in her eyes. "This city has been home to me and my mother for as long as I've known. Now... it's all gone."

A piece of burnt lumber crumbled instantly underneath Sorey's boot as he walked. His eyes were sad as he too took in the extent of the destruction. He found that he didn't have an answer for her.

Her frown deepened as she hugged her injured arm in disquiet.

Edna's umbrella tapped rhythmically on the stones as she walked, punctuating the group's pace as they turned the corner into the next alleyway, following the saleswoman's silent lead. "All of this, because of something Kittybeard did," she stated detachedly as she walked. "It's probably all part of his plan to help him wrest Rolance under his thumb."

"That I agree with, but what could his motive possibly be?" Alisha asked plainly, a frown on her face as she fingered the lance hanging off her back. "What does he gain from going to such lengths to take control of an entire nation – why not destroy it entirely?"

Rose scratched her temple, glancing at Alisha. "Maltran said something about that back in Ladylake, didn't she? She said something a reckoning; about taking back 'what is rightfully his.'"

Sorey's expression was disquiet at the reminder. "Heldalf..." he muttered. Beside him, Velvet walked on mutely, quietly observing the extent of the damage to the ruined city.

The woman in the torn green dress led them all through the alleyways with the proficiency of someone who had grown up traversing them. Eventually, they stepped out from beyond the cover of the claustrophobic alleyways and out into a wide-open plaza – one similarly devastated by a combination of looting and lightning strikes.

The water from the fountain in the middle of the plaza had long since leaked out of the cracks to pool in the small craters littering the area caused by recurrent strikes of lightning. The surrounding buildings were all damaged one way or another, whether through the breaking of windows or the scorching of flame. Piles of debris and ash littered the streets, alongside torn scraps of clothing and other belongings that the looters had plainly decided were not worth any value.

They came to a halt before a particular storefront looking out into the plaza – one that had been broken into but had been spared any storm damage. It was here that the saleswoman finally came to a halt and turned to face them, her eyes alighting upon Sorey's.

"...This is it," she stated solemnly, giving them all a thankful nod. "My mother and I have been hiding in the cellars here. Thank you all for bringing me here."

Sorey nodded in kind, resting a hand on the pommel of his sword. "Please, stay here while we get to the bottom of this."

He shook his head seriously, glancing around at the smoky ruins of the once-proud city all around him. "And... I'm sorry this has happened to you and your mother. I'm sorry your life won't be the same after all this." His gloved hand tightened into a fist as he brought it up to his chest, returning the saleswoman's gaze in determination. "But I willdo everything I can to help, no matter what," he stated firmly. "That's a promise."

She tilted her head at the curious sight, quietly examining the strange young man's stance and determination as he stood there before her.

"'...When darkness threatened to enshroud the world, it was they who reclaimed light from nothingness.'"

The human in the tattered green dress shook her head in disbelief, an amused smile quietly forming on her lips. "I always thought of the Shepherd and the seraphim as old wives' tales. And now here you are, doing exactly what the legends say. It's funny, really." She held a hand up to her chest, a small but noticeable spark in her eyes.

"Sorey, Velvet, all of you, thank you," she stated, turning her gaze to include the entire group of strange otherworldly individuals amassed before her. "Please, do what you can. I'll be rooting for you."

With that, the woman turned and disappeared into the depths of the broken storefront, disappearing into the shadows without a trace. In the wake of her departure, the group turned towards each other; determination clear in their expressions.

"Alrighty then," Sorey concluded, firmly popping his fist onto his open palm. "Let's go save the people of Lastonbell."

Mikleo nodded in kind. "There are bound to be people like that lady all over the city, hiding in fear of the gangs of hellions roaming the streets. We need to rectify the situation now before things get even worse."

"Yes." Aisha's gauntlet clinked as she clenched it into a determined fist. "Regardless of whatever twisted reasoning the chancellors had, I myself simply refuse to turn a blind eye upon the suffering citizens of another nation."

"Hmm..." Rose furrowed her brow while crossing her arms. "Remember how one of those bandits that we fought earlier mentioned his boss? He might be a good place to start, but the question would be where?"

Dezel stepped forward, his teeth bared and pendulums in hand. "Won't need to look far," he stated darkly. "He's coming to us." At his words, the group turned warily, following his gaze to the other side of the desecrated plaza.

They felt him first before they saw him.

The cobblestones under their feet rumbled ever so faintly with increasing strength as heavy steps became audible in the distance. Exchanging wary glances, the group slowly fanned out into a ready formation as a lone shadow slowly grew defined in the smoky haze across the plaza, growing more and more defined with each tremor underfoot. The hellion slowly lumbered to a halt at the opposite end of the plaza, emerging from the grey to reveal his true form to the Shepherd's group.

The drake stood almost a full story high, draped in stretched and soiled garb of the Rolance city guard. Enormous jagged horns jutted out from its skull, framing its draconic features as it stood there, observing the Shepherd's group. Malevolence oozed liberally from its being, forming a putrid aura that wrapped around both its body and wings dangling like capes off his back. In its right hand it wielded an enormous, jagged sword, glinting amidst the dim lighting with razor-sharp edges. Slowly, it opened its jaws, a single trail of saliva threading through the razor-sharp teeth to drip down his chin as it did so.

The uttered voice of the drake thrummed through the very stones underfoot as it snarled unintelligently at them all, slowly raising its offhand into the air. A heartbeat later, its enormous draconic claw smashed into a fist, sending the signal.

Out of nowhere, a hail of arrows erupted from various vantage points surrounding the plaza, driving through the haze overhead with bright orange flares of flame. The group reacted instantly, raising their defenses to deflect the onslaught of projectiles into the nearby stones.

Still maintaining his raised mana shield, Sorey turned around and cursed as he saw a dozen arrows slam into the frame of the saleswoman's store, some managing to embed in the wood setting it aflame.

"Mikleo-!" he began urgently, only to blink as blades of ice suddenly slammed into the various patches of flame, instantly snuffing the blazes out before they could take hold. The group turned amidst the onslaught to find a group of robed seraphim charging forward and into the plaza, with a distinct Lord at the head.

"Sindra!?" Sorey called in surprise, wincing as another volley of flame arrows slammed against his maintained shield.

Velvet narrowed her eyes at the newcomer, her claw twisted towards the sky to deflect the oncoming projectiles. "...You won't stand a chance against this one either." She gestured her head towards the towering drake watching the scene from across the plaza.

In return, the green-haired seraph called Sindra gave the therion a reproachful look as she brought her hands together, sending another volley of ice spikes towards the patches of flame threatening the store. "I learn my lessons, hellion," she replied evenly, with no bite to her words. She paused, taking in the sight of the former Lord of Calamity, claw extended, standing side-by-side alongside the Shepherd who had anointed her.

Her lips drew into a thin line.

"...Everyone!" she called to the half-dozen seraphim standing behind her. "Protect the humans inside that building at all costs!"

She raised her hand forcefully, forming a rectangular shield of ice before them to deflect an oncoming onslaught of arrows. A chorus of affirming replies followed as the group of seraphim proceeded to flash across the plaza, taking up stations before the store in question. Satisfied, Sindra glanced at Sorey and Velvet, a deathly determined expression on her face.

"Shepherd. Calamity. I admit to my wrongs," she stated simply, wincing briefly as pain shot up her injured side. "I see clearly now that my actions were foolish and sinful. Please... allow me to atone."

Sorey blinked, his glance jumping wordlessly from the Lord of the Land to Velvet in confusion. Another volley of flaming arrows clattered noisily against his mana shield, accompanied by the sound of hissing flame as the seraphic followers behind extinguished falling arrows immediately upon impact.

Velvet, on the other hand, tossed her human hand shortly through the air. "Do as you like," she replied callously. "I won't stop you."

Sindra nodded in turn, a hint of a smile appearing on her face. With that, she pointed her index finger solemnly towards the drake across the plaza. "We shall handle things here. You all, focus on taking him down." Her expression was dark as she glared at the hateful monster watching the chaos unfold before him.

"...For he is the source of the storms."

Mikleo frowned, stepping back as a stray arrow stopped a few inches from his head, their momentum arrested by tendrils of water. "What?!" he demanded. "How could that drake be the source of the storms?"

Rose shook her head impatiently, her bent elbow maintaining the shield of mana over her head. "Doesn't matter. Just means two birds in one stone!" She grinned.

Sorey stepped forward, his hand firmly on the pommel of his sword as he evenly met the inhuman gaze of his opponent across the plaza. "This is what we're here for," he stated solemnly, glancing over his shoulder at the others. "Come on, guys!"

At the Shepherd's lead, all three humans raised their free hands and uttered the true names of their seraphic companions, engulfing their forms in the brilliant angelic garb of the armatus. Sorey lunged forward, the great blocks of the earth armatus hovering readily at his sides. Alisha shot into the hazy skies, the wings of the armatus flaring brilliantly behind her form. Rose dashed forward, drawing the brilliant bow of the water armatus back, narrowing her eyes in concentration.

The captain of the Lastonbell guard let out an inhuman, bloodthirsty howl, suddenly lunging forward with a speed that belied its size and carved its enormous blade through the air. The jagged sword barely swept under Alisha as she corkscrewed through the air, simultaneously raising her hand to slash a blade of wind, drawing a light graze on the drake's hide.

The drake didn't even react to the grazing wound, instead spinning around, sweeping its tail low on the ground to force Velvet to leap out of the way. It then uttered a furious roar and wrenched his jaw open, expelling a violent plume of smoke towards the therion that forced her to use her claw to propel herself out of the way.

Its flaming breath was choked short as an arrow of concentrated water slammed into the side of his neck, sending it reeling briefly to the side. It recovered astonishingly quickly, wrenching its jagged blade around in the blink of an eye to slam into Sorey's hastily raised guard mid-charge, tossing him like a ragdoll into a nearby building.

Without even pausing for breath, the drake then wrenched around and slammed its free hand into Alisha as she made for a second pass, sending her spiraling wildly out of control into the ground.

"Flame Vortex!" Lailah called, snapping her casting cards into the air.

Unnatural winds congregated and swirled around the ground at the drake's clawed feet for a split second before they exploded into a violent tornado, fully engulfing it in an unbearable furnace of flame. It barely twitched, instead turning to face the distant fire seraph with a vicious growl.

Before any of them could react, it snapped its wings and abruptly lunged forward into flight, raising its giant sword in a curving arc towards Lailah's form.

"Scale Crusher!"

BANG!

An almighty explosion detonated on the left thigh of the drake, causing it to roar in agony and miss Lailah, instead slamming its sword into the remains of the fountain in the center of the plaza. Fouled water and debris exploded with the earth-shaking impact of the blade, flying impossibly high into the air above as if shot out of a geyser.

Velvet sheathed her gauntlet blade in the wake of her arte, using her claw to leap out of the way of an incoming boulder. She whirled around in the wake of the impact, frowning at the sight of Sindra's seraphim floundering amidst the chaos.

"Alisha, Dezel!" she barked, breaking into an inhuman pace towards the drake. "Draw him off, now!"

"Understood!" the princess replied shortly, having recovered from her tailspin in midair. She flared her neon green wings and shot towards the Drake as it came to a sliding halt on the other edge of the plaza. The air screamed in her ears as she banked to the side at the very last second, dodging the slice of the enormous sword while also managing to score another grazing blow on the arm of the drake.

Bellowing furiously, the monster slammed its wings down, pushing itself into the air after the pest that had wounded it. The rest of the Shepherd's group were hard-pressed to follow, leaping up into the thickest layer of smoke atop the rooftops of Lastonbell.

Their eyes stung as they charged through the grey abyss, their footfalls clacking loudly atop soot-stained ceramic tile as they leapt from roof to roof after the rapidly departing shadow of the soaring drake. The roars of the enraged monster continued to echo throughout the ruined city artisans as they charged urgently towards the source of the bellows.

Sorey cursed as his foot inadvertently dislodged a piece of burnt tile, causing him to stumble briefly before he resumed his run. The world had devolved into a few simple things – the roaring of the distant monster, the irregular sounds of his boots slamming against tile and brick, and his rapid breath.

"Come on!" Edna's disembodied voice rang out in his ears as they ran. "Hurry it up!"

"Got it!" Sorey replied, narrowing his golden eyes and focusing on calculating the fastest path through the indistinct shapes of the rooftops racing towards him. Suddenly, he came to a screeching halt, using the fists of earth hanging at his sides to arrest his momentum at the edge of a rooftop.

The drake had suddenly come to a sudden halt in midair, flapping its enormous wings at a steady pace to hover atop it all. Through the haze of the smoke, Sorey was barely able to discern its figure as it wrenched its elongated neck backwards.

It then let out a horrifying screech that pierced the heavens, echoing through every small alleyway and decrepit building amidst the city.

And in the wake of the monster's cry, the world was engulfed in darkness.

"Sorey! Move!"

Edna's yell caused Sorey to lunge out of the way just as an utterly deafening explosion occurred right where he'd been kneeling, accompanied by a violently disorienting tremble as the earth itself shook in fear and awe. His ears ringing painfully in the wake of the close call, he forced himself back onto his feet with the aid of the armatus, blinking in abject confusion at the sea of unnaturally low-altitude, pitch-black clouds flooding the skies overhead.

All across the city, crashes of thunder resounded deafeningly through the charged air, shaking the earth repeatedly and jarring Sorey's gritted teeth. He cursed under his breath, prudently leaping off the roof and onto a lower building as the torrent of lightning strikes continued to besiege the city.

"Sorey!"

The Shepherd turned his head and found the glistening white figure of Rose, still armatized with Mikleo, kneeling atop a nearby building. "How the heck are we gonna get past that?" the assassin demanded, gesturing with her bow up towards the extremely low layer of dark thunderclouds above. "We're totally getting fried if we try and punch through it!"

Another volley of nearby lightning strikes rattled Sorey's brain as he stared up at where he'd last seen the figure of the drake. He frowned, his thoughts racing as quickly as the pounding of his heart in his chest.

The conclusion came swiftly and naturally.

"The belfry!" he called back over the rattling cries of thunder. "It's the tallest building in all of Lastonbell by far. We can use it as cover to get above these clouds!"

"Not bad." Mikleo's disembodied voice rang out in amusement. "You remembered something useful for once," he remarked.

A grin spread across Rose's face as she replied with a thumbs-up. "Sounds good to me! Now let's go kick that thing's butt before it wrecks all of town!"

With that, the two humans took off towards their end destination at the heart of the city, leaping down and into the pitch-black alleyways of the city amidst blinding flashes of lightning.

The world had been reduced to one of hell, illuminated only by the glow of their armatuses as they charged through the safety of the alleyways amidst the violent storm of thunder beyond. Through the brief flashes of lightning, they perceived their destination loomed in the distance, jutting up through the extraordinarily low swirling clouds and into the skies above.

Together, Rose and Sorey forced their way into the belfry through the debris blocking the entryway, conjuring bulbs of mana to illuminate the otherwise pitch-black, edifice in shambles. Within the shelter of the brick building, the rumbling of thunder was blissfully quieter, yet still powerful enough to rattle the floor underfoot.

Urgency fueling their movements, the Shepherd and his squire used their armatuses to their fullest extent, leaping inhuman distances from platform to platform in a rapid ascent through the crumbling interior of the once-proud building. Their footsteps echoed forever with each step, resounding off the complex metallic machinery lining the walls of the interior.

Halfway up their ascent, Rose's eyes widened at the sight of movement above her.

CRASH!

A deafening explosion of splintering wood and squealing metal echoed up and down the length of the enormous tower as the full bulk of the drake smashed into the platform that she'd been standing on, sending her sprawling into a free-fall alongside the corkscrewing body of the monster. Wind screaming in her ears, the assassin forced her senses to focus as she twisted mid-fall, bringing the bow of the water armatus around to bear.

"Azure Assault!" she and Mikleo cried, unleashing a blindingly bright vortex of water mana to slam into the drake right as it was arresting its momentum, eliciting a deafening bellow of agony that rattled the entire building.

Moments before Rose slammed into the ground at the very bottom, a brilliant streak of neon green flashed in through a gaping hole in the side of the building, trailing Alisha as she intercepted her fellow squire in midair. She spun dizzyingly around in the air, frantically dodging to the side at the sight of an enormous jagged sword slashing through the darkness to cleave the two of them in half.

The sweeping blade missed them by a hair as they slammed into the side of a metal cog, tumbling onto a splintered wooden platform in a tangled heap.

The two managed to separate and stumble weakly to their feet in the wake of the maneuver, only to widen their eyes at the horrifying sight of the drake rising in the air towards them, its sword held high in its monstrous grasp.

"Crystal Tower!" Sorey roared from above.

CRASH!

A spontaneous, glistening stalagmite violently shot upward from the bottom of the tower, slamming directly against the body of the drake and sending it hurtling upward and away from the two squires. The massive monster flapped its wings amidst the cramped space to regain balance, uttering a furious roar as it began to ascend towards Sorey in retaliation.

Promptly, the Shepherd kicked off from his perch, dashing higher and higher into the darkness of the belfry with the enormous monster crashing through the splintering wood platforms underneath him.

Suddenly, his world lit up in red as a red-hot plume of flame erupted out of the hellion's throat towards him.

His teeth gritted, he instinctively allowed the connection in his head to separate, dispelling the armatus in midair and subsequently forcing both his and Edna's bodies away from the shooting trail of flame. He tumbled to a stop atop a chance stone platform, his head spinning with nausea as the heat of the flames washed over his body.

Heedless of the agony surging through his body at the impact, Sorey wrenched his sword from out of its scabbard and broke into a dead sprint down the length of the platform as the drake forced its way atop it in pursuit of its prey. He skidded to a halt at the only exit at the end of the platform, finding nothing but empty darkness marred with flashes of lightning outside the torn-open doorway.

"Looks like we're not high enough," he breathed, gripping his sword tightly in his hand. The furious roar of the drake drew his attention, causing him to swear at the sight of the hellion lunging directly towards him.

"Well... can't hurt to try!" he yelled, breaking into a sprint out and into the open air of the active storm.

His cloak flapped violently behind him as he dashed out into the open storm atop one of the brick arches connecting the two towers of the Lastonbell belfry. The sounds of his boots impacting brick underfoot were completely drowned out by the screaming winds and crashing thunder amidst the heart of the unnatural storm.

A boom unrelated to the lightning resounded out from behind him as the drake crashed bodily through the brick surrounding the doorway he'd used, flaring its wings and uttering a furious cry as it emerged onto the arch with him.

The hairs on the back of his neck standing up in alarm, Sorey suddenly skidded to a halt, forcing an enormous surge of mana through his body and into the sword in his hand.

He opened his mouth and let out a furious cry as he charged forward, meeting the lunging drake head on. "Eat... THIS!" he roared, wrenching his sword into the air.

CRASH!

An utterly deafening explosion shook the world as a bolt of lightning spontaneously alighted atop the tip of his sword, the vast quantities of energy being contained and redirected by the overwhelming pool of mana swirling in Sorey's grasp. With that, the Shepherd wrenched his sword around and up into the air, colliding it into the bottom of the drake's jaw in an almighty explosion of lightning and mana.

"DIVINE WRATH!"

BOOM!

Cast up bodily by the enormous explosion, the drake shot upward through the air in the wake of the blast, twirling uncontrollably until it broke through the upper layer of the storm and began to arc back down to the ground. It landed atop the tiled roof of the belfry itself with a great crash, clattering noisily as it rolled and rolled before coming to a halt at the corner of the partially destroyed building.

Sorey followed in the wake of the drake, landing roughly atop the ceramic tiles of the belfry with a bone-jarring crash. He groaned, wincing at the pain shooting through his battered body while blinking blearily at the blinding light that had suddenly appeared all around him.

Eventually, once the ringing in his ears had stopped and the searing pain in his eyes had quelled, Sorey hesitantly opened his eyes and squinted out into the light.

A gentle breeze caressed his sweaty skin as he stared out in disorientation into the brilliant sunlight blanketing the world around him. Brilliant fluffy clouds drifted aimlessly amidst the blue skies above, mingling amongst each other amidst the company of the glistening sun overhead. The forest-covered hills bordering the city rose up from beyond the reaches of the swirling sea of unnatural thunderclouds suffocating the city, contrasting the pitch-black of the storm with brilliant shades of luscious green.

There, atop the island of brick amidst a sea of malicious darkness, Sorey slowly stood up on shaky legs, focusing his mind back on the task at hand. His sword still tight in his grasp, the Shepherd carefully traversed the torn and battered roof of the belfry towards the drake lying disabled just beside the edge.

His body aching with pulsing pain, Sorey gritted his teeth as he walked over to where the hellion that had been the captain of the guard laid. He glanced at the storm swirling beneath the belfry, the thrums of thunder being muffled but still audible through the cloud cover.

He shook his head, focusing as he raised his offhand towards the form of the disabled hellion, letting the familiar powers of the silver flame flow through him.

He blinked in surprise however, as through the flames, he discerned a glowing purple orb embedded in the chest of the drake, having been partially obscured by its torn clothing. The glow only intensified the further the flames progressed, the orb pulsing more and more rapidly with an audible hum of power as the hellion was purified.

Suddenly, the orb cracked.

A flash of darkness flooded his vision, sending him hurtling blindly into the abyss.

---

The first thing he registered was the searing pain spasming through his heart.

Sorey choked, hunching over and clutching at his chest as pain unlike anything he'd ever experienced washed over his entire body in unyielding, merciless waves. He let out an involuntary groan of pain, stumbling forward blindly and gasping for breath underneath a strange, all-encompassing sensation of pressure. Amidst the agony, he forced his clenched eyes open, yet was unable to comprehend the sight that beheld him.

Dark streaks of putrid purple miasma tore through the skies above like enormous claw marks, rending the grey clouds like tears through paper. There was a light rain falling – rain intermingling freely with drops of liquid poison only to evaporate before it landed atop the bone-dry ground underfoot. Buildings of strange colored stone with deep flowing curves and elegant designs surrounded him from where he stood in the street, clutching his chest in agony. In the distance, down the hill, he could see the ocean itself past the city's harbor – the grey seawater too marred with deep, dark purple patches rotting just above the surface.

He let out an agonized cry as the pain became too much for him, causing him to drop to his knee atop the tiled walkway of the street. He clutched at the glossy surface with his hands, gritting his teeth as the poison invading his body surged at will, utterly overwhelming what defenses he held.

"Ma... levolence...?" he choked out, dimly managing to register what exactly it was that was causing the agony surging through him. "So much...!" he breathed weakly, forcing his head up in search for any possible reprieve from the unimaginable amount of concentrated miasma seeping into him.

Everywhere he looked, malevolence dominated the strange world he was in. Streaks of oozing concentrated purple dripped off balconies and down the painted wall of the buildings. All colors seemed to be dulled underneath a heavy fog – miasma of which he was breathing in with every labored breath.

And so, there, amidst the cauldron of unimaginable malevolence, the Shepherd slumped weakly onto the ground, clutching his heart in agony. He laid there, his cloak sprawled out all around him, shuddering weakly in agony amidst the strange foreign city. The soundless rainfall continued all around him, smothering him in phantom droplets of both rain and miasma.

Then, in the next moment, the pain vanished.

Sorey laid there for what felt like a lifetime, panting rapidly while remaining as motionless as possible, fearing anything that could possibly resume the torturous onslaught. All of a sudden, what poison had seeped into his being had begun to drain out, the aura of malevolence visible in the dim lighting as it flowed out of his body and towards the lone figure stepping towards him in the distance.

"Velvet...?" he mumbled, confusion in his eyes.

The therion approached with the sound of clinking metal, her extended demonic claw leeching away at the trails of malevolence that had invaded his body. She knelt down and quietly held out her human hand. "Can you stand?" she asked, her voice strangely loud amidst the soundless rainfall.

Sorey stared vacantly at her before snapping out of his surprise. "Y-yeah," he replied haltingly. "Thanks." With ginger movements, still shaken from the pain that had wracked his body moments earlier, the Shepherd reached up and grasped the hellion's hand, pulling himself back onto his feet.

He glanced down at her claw still actively consuming malevolence by her side, worry in his eyes. "Velvet, you're..."

She shook her head dismissively. "It's alright," she replied simply. "I'm used to it."

Sorey opened his mouth to pursue the matter but stopped himself, instead choosing to focus upon the more pressing matter. "Where are we?" he asked quietly, glancing around the foreign city in which they stood, in a world tainted by streaks of darkness. "So much malevolence – I've never seen it so concentrated before, ever. And..." He shook his head, attempting to grasp for words to try and describe his feelings. "I can't explain it, but everything about this just feels off somehow."

At his side, Velvet laid her human hand on her hip and frowned as she too surveyed their surroundings.

"...We're inside an iris gem," she explained quietly.

She brought her pulsing red claw up before her, frowning as she examined the never-ending trail of malevolence being actively devoured by the appendage. "One that's been tampered with."

Sorey looked at her in confusion for a few moments before understanding dawned on his expression. "That glow coming from that drake's chest when I was purifying it – that orb embedded in its chest was an iris gem?!" he asked, astonishment in his eyes. "Does this have something to do with the strange powers that it had?"

She shook her head in response, letting her hand fall from her hip. "Don't know," she replied simply. "Whatever it was, it didn't allow any of the others to come near it. I was the only one who it didn't affect."

"Then... you came in after me." Sorey winced, the phantom pain of the malevolence still very much vivid in his memory. He glanced at the trail of miasma being actively consumed by the therion, before meeting her eyes gratefully. "Thanks, Velvet," he expressed genuinely.

She shrugged noncommittally in response, turning away from him. "Let's go. There has to be some way out of this thing," she prompted, stepping forward and down the tiled street amidst the soundless rain. She glanced over her shoulder, adding, "I can only devour nearby malevolence. Stay close."

"R-right." He nodded quickly, making it a point to promptly catch up with the therion's long strides.

Together, the two wanderers proceeded to explore the bizarre otherworldly city; their eyes wary and their stances taut. Their footsteps resounded abnormally loudly amidst the silent downpour as they walked, the only sounds in what should have been a bustling city. High up above, the streaks of purple in the sky watched on, pulsing darkly and ominously from the giant tears in the clouds.

Yet despite the silent tension in the air, Sorey couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander from the empty spaces in between the buildings to the designs of the structures themselves, his eyebrows furrowing as he attempted to place the strange curving designs in his memory. Each deserted storefront or residence that they passed was painstakingly carved from brilliant stained stone, little marred by the grimy atmosphere nor the streaks of malevolence. He imagined that on a sunny day, the sight of the sprawling city itself would have been nothing short of jaw-dropping.

His eyes widened.

"Oh!" he gasped, snapping his fingers in the air. "I've got it!"

Velvet glanced over her shoulder and gave him a curious look as she walked. "Figure something out?" she prompted.

Sorey nodded eagerly, gesturing towards the nearby buildings as they passed through a deserted plaza. "I didn't realize it at first, but after looking at them closer, it's clear that the buildings of this city were built long ago. All of them are clearly worn, and the newer buildings dotting here and there aren't nearly as well-crafted as the others." He shook his head and crossed his arms in conviction. "Also, what use would a city have for a harbor nowadays? Glenwood hasn't exchanged with the other continents for centuries now."

He glanced at his companion, gesturing reasonably in the air as he stated, "That's why I'm convinced that this city was built long before the period that we call the Death Age from two hundred years ago." There was little disguised excitement in his face as he remarked, "If that's true, it would be the case that we're actually walking through a well-preserved set of ruins. How cool is that?"

Velvet sighed at length as she turned the corner away from the Shepherd. "Leave it to you to get excited at a time like this," she muttered dryly as he blanched and scrambled to catch up with her.

The incline in her lips slowly faded as she walked. "...Focus, Sorey," she said quietly. "Keep in mind that I have a limit for how much malevolence I can contain."

Sorey's expression sobered quickly. He glanced at her, newfound concern in his face at the renewed sight of the miasma actively being absorbed into the palm of her enormous claw. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asked urgently. "What happens if you take in too much?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't be the one you'd be worrying about in that case," she replied, returning her eyes forward to the task at hand.

They continued down the street in silence after that.

Their wandering steps eventually led them to the entrance to the port of the strange city – an arc standing high and tall above the street large and grand enough for the entry of a full-grown dragon. Beyond, great, long piers stretched out into the unpleasant waters of the miasma-riddled ocean, long since fallen into disrepair as the waves slowly eroded its well-carved stone in time. Here, the foreign sound of waves crashing against the rough rock resounded loudly into the silence, almost portraying a semblance of normalcy as the pair walked out onto the open harbor from the city proper.

Sorey frowned as he came to a halt, sweeping his gaze across the sprawling expanse of the decaying harbor amidst the soundless rain. Despite the suggestion of the roaring waves, not a hint of a breeze touched his skin, leaving him with an off-putting sensation that did not subside.

He blinked as he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.

A lone boy, no more than 6 years of age, shivered feverishly curled up in a fetal position underneath the partial shelter of a pile of splintering crates. His clothes were naught but rags, all completely drenched and sticking to his pale skin amidst the downpour. He shuddered uncontrollably as a phantom gust of the sea breeze that Sorey didn't feel fell mercilessly upon him, causing him to squeeze his limbs even tighter together underneath the pitiful shelter that the boxes provided. His boots alighted gently atop the surface of the bone-dry pier as he knelt down before the child, worry in his eyes at the utterly wretched sight.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, resting his gloved hand on his knee. "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

The child bobbed his head in response, still shivering uncontrollably with his body hunched up in a ball underneath the crates.

"Y-y-yes..." His voice was plainly raw and sore from the cold. "I-I do."

Before Sorey could say more, metal clinked loudly as Velvet stepped up to his side, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. "Tell me something." Her eyes narrowed as the boy peeked up at her through the gaps in his arms. "What's your name?"

The boy's head slowly rose from out of the shadows of his arms, holding the therion's gaze with an utterly still expression. "Heldalf," he answered quietly.

Sorey's eyes widened.

He abruptly wrenched his gloved hand forward just in time to expel a blast of mana and deflect the thrown daggers hurtling towards his heart.

His ears ringing in the wake of the blast, Sorey scrambled backwards and pulled out his sword, watching with wide eyes as what had once been the figure of a child grew into an indistinct haze of swirling malevolence orbited by sets of razor-sharp daggers. The set of boxes that the boy had been cowering under exploded outward with its appearance, strewing splintering shrapnel across the utterly soaked pier.

The waves crashed with an almighty boom behind Sorey as he fell into a ready stance. "...I don't know what we've found, but I sure won't back down now," he warned, gripping his sword readily in a two-handed grip.

By his side, Velvet narrowed her eyes at the sight of the strange shapeless monster wielding the daggers. "It's coming. Get ready!" she warned, hardening her stance.

Without a sound, the undulating mass of malevolence shot forward in the blink of an eye, erratically tracing a frantic trail in the flooding waters atop the pier in its wake. The rings of blades orbiting its form twisted and halted in mesmerizing patterns as it moved, solidifying its appearance as a wholly unnatural apparition amidst a tainted memory.

The daggers flew with gentle songs belying the deadliness of their blades. Velvet and Sorey scattered in different directions as the onslaught began, a hail of weapons slamming into the stones where they were standing. Sorey's boots ground upon dry stone as he lunged to the side, bringing his blade around at a precise angle just in time to deflect the next dagger hurtling towards the flesh between his eyes.

CLANG!

As the steel weapon spun off over his shoulder with a hair-raising whine, the Shepherd charged forward, bringing his offhand up to form a protective barrier of mana before him. More blades deflected off the mana as he ran, pinging loudly off the translucent surface as their momentum was arrested.

On the other side of the pier, Velvet's black cloak flared behind her as she dove forward, twisting her body around to dodge a pair of daggers soaring overhead. She reached up and slammed her palm into the warm stone of the pier, forcing herself into an acrobatic backflip as more blades continued to sing. Instinct driving her actions, she narrowed her eyes in midflight and wrenched out with her daemon arm, clawing through the air to deflect another batch of blades as she landed on her feet running.

The Shepherd and the therion closed in on the stationary apparition at the same time from opposite ends of the pier. One of the multiple rings of daggers orbiting it suddenly came to a screeching halt, correcting its angle horizontally only to jerk into a violent whirlwind that unleashed the entire set of blades in all directions.

Reading its erratic movements, the two reacted accordingly.

Leather skidded on rock as Sorey kicked into low slide while preserving his forward momentum, the onslaught of daggers barely managing to miss his head as he did so. On the other side, Velvet flung her body into a corkscrew, the inhuman momentum of her leap sending her clear over the thrown blades while also allowing her to bring her hidden boot blade up to bear.

CLANG!

Their blades collided with an almost deafening ring as they arrived at the same time, the apparition shooting forward and dodging both of their attacks while twisting to the side in preparation to expel the remaining two rings of its daggers at close range.

Sorey's eyes met Velvet's for a split second before he acted instinctively, wrenching his blade forward and redirecting the therion's momentum via her extended hidden blade. She acted naturally in response, spinning around in the air while extending her gauntlet blade outward.

Her blade sank deeply into the amassed malevolence, exiting the side of the apparition with a trail of gratuitous purple smoke that wafted into the air with the viscosity of submerged blood. It seized up in response to the wound, the daggers orbiting it falling into disarray before it as it shook in silent agony. In the wake of the therion's blow, Sorey raised his sword over his shoulder with a determined yell, lunging forward to deliver the final blow.

In the blink of an eye, the purple monster had vanished, leaving only the boy standing there, staring sadly up at him amidst the empty pier.

He faltered at the sight, his sword wavering in his grip.

CRASH!

An explosion of malevolence thrummed out as Velvet mercilessly slammed the small child onto the flooding pier, her enormous claw pulsating eagerly as it began to devour the being in its grasp.

Sorey's eyes widened. "Velvet!" he yelled, rushing to her side as the utterly grotesque gulping sound of her claw became the only audible sound amidst the cracked world. "Wait-!"

She didn't spare him a glance. "He's the source of this malevolence. I can feel it," she growled lowly, her undulating claw tightening around the squirming child pinned against the ground. She tilted her head slightly to the side as she ate; the tension clear in her stance. "Try and stop me, and I'll bring you down too." Her dark tone brooked no argument.

Sorey's jaw stiffened, consternation clear in his expression as he watched the child let out pained cries in the therion's wretched grasp. At his side, his sword dangled in his uncertain grip.

"I... I need to do it."

The boy Heldalf's voice was more of a whimper than anything else as he stared directly at Sorey with tears flowing down his cheeks. "I need to... to kill you," he mumbled weakly.

Sorey exchanged a glance with Velvet before he knelt down hesitantly before the boy, a sad look on his face. "Why?" he implored softly. "Why would you say such a thing?"

Heldalf let out a pained moan as the pool of malevolence seeping out of his body continued to shrink. "Your... your money," he cried, shaking his head in dismay. "I have to do it... I have to!" he moaned feverishly, writhing uselessly on the ground. "My brother...! I have to save my brother!"

Sorey's eyes were rife with dismay as he looked down at the wretched child. "...You should've just asked," he mumbled, shaking his head. "If you had asked me, I would've given you all I had, willingly. There was no need for violence."

The boy stilled at his words, staring blankly up at Sorey even as the pool of miasma surrounding his body disappeared completely into Velvet's claw. "Ask...?"

He shook his head uncomprehendingly, his eyes losing focus as his body began to lose substance. "That doesn't make sense. That doesn't... All I can ever do... is take." His head rolled back onto the stones as he stared up into the cloudy sky, lying there atop the flooding stones with his hair drenched in the cold downpour.

"Take and take... and take."

His last words on his lips, the boy then vanished fully amidst a plume of malevolence, soon all too eagerly consumed by Velvet's clenching claw.

With his passing, a dull thrum echoed throughout the surrounding world. The sprawling city of ancient buildings began to waver in form, the colors slowly swirling together amidst the grey of the tainted clouds to mesh into nothingness. All around them, the swirling waters underneath the pier began to smooth, the sounds of the roaring waves petering out into silence as a dull white began to overtake everything.

While standing up, Velvet winced clutched her hellion arm with her right hand, letting out an involuntary hiss of pain in the process. Sorey glanced at her in alarm, taking a step towards her as the world of the corrupted iris gem faded all around them. Before he could speak, something washed over the two of them, accompanied by an utterly foreign presence that dominated the faltering space.

"...V... Vel... et..."

Her eyes widened in horror at the familiar, agonized voice. She snapped her head around violently, all pain in her arm forgotten as she searched frantically about the white nothingness that surrounded her and Sorey.

A flash of white.

---

Velvet blinked, sunlight glaring blindingly in her eyes as she reached outward into the open sky with her outstretched claw. Dismay fell upon her expression as she cast about her surroundings, finding nothing but the bright blue sky all surrounding her in the wake of her return to the real world. A light gust of wind caressed her skin and rustled her coat and hair, further grounding her in the harshness of reality as she stood there, alone.

Her chest rising and falling with her rapid breathing, the therion gritted her teeth and furled her hellionized arm into a rough fist, squeezing her eyes shut in fury.

"...Phi." Her voice was naught but a whisper.

Leather boots alighted quietly atop the ceramic tile behind her as someone approached from behind, hesitation clear in his steps. Sorey's voice was quiet and caring as he asked his question into the soft breeze. "That was Maotelus back there, wasn't it?"

She opened her eyes slowly in response to his words, her expression carved into stone as she glanced at the Shepherd standing behind her. "...A small part of his awareness, most likely," she agreed slowly, frowning as she held her claw up before her. "What little of himself remains having been corrupted by malevolence."

Sorey crossed his arms in thought, his cloak billowing gently out behind him amidst the calm breeze.

"Heldalf left that iris gem there for us." He uttered his conclusion with conviction as he stared out into the distance. "That drake's power, that overwhelming amount of malevolence, Maotelus's voice, and that child version of himself..." He shook his head, frowning. "It just can't be a coincidence. He has to be doing all of this for a reason."

Velvet's extended arm dispelled with a burst of momentary malevolence as she took a step forward, her steel boots clinking noisily atop the tile. A deep-seated anger was carved into her expression as she clenched a fist to her chest. "I don't give a damn the reason. Whatever games he's playing, whatever he's trying to accomplish here..."

She glanced over her shoulder at him; a deadly look on her face. "I'll take him down all the same."

Sorey nodded resolutely, stepping up to her side while resting his hand on the pommel of his sword. "I'll be right there with you," he promised, turning his gaze out towards the brilliant vista before them. "We'll have a better chance if we work together, right?"

At this, she couldn't help but wave a dry hand in the air in response. "...Just as long as you quit pestering me about pointless nonsense," she muttered blithely.

He bristled indignantly. "Velvet, it's not 'pointless nonsense!'" he insisted, giving her a beseeching look. "And like I said earlier, if you could just spare a few more details on your era, I could just maybe solve the mysteries that so many historians-!"

He balked meekly in the face of the therion's silent, terrifying warning glare.

"Oh! Guys, I've found them – over here!"

The Shepherd and the former Lord of Calamity glanced over their shoulders at the sound of Rose's distant call, finding the assassin rushing hurriedly towards them by navigating over the ruined section of the Lastonbell belfry. Alisha and the rest of the seraphim were close behind, hurriedly dashing as quickly as they could towards the two standing by the opposite edge of the building.

A soft, relieved smile spreading on Sorey's face, he turned back to the hardened woman by his side, straightening his back in the wake of the exhausting battle that they'd endured. "...You know I kinda have this weird feeling that we'll manage just fine, no matter what other strange things are lying in store for us." he confided lightly, running a hand through his messy, scrambled hair.

Velvet let out a huff, crossing her arms and shifting on her feet as she stared out towards the brilliant vista lying before the two of them. "Of course you do," she replied dryly, her raven hair sweeping across her face amidst the gentle breeze.

The entire expanse of the City of Artisans sprawled out before their perch, its sturdy buildings wholly bruised and battered and yet still very much intact in the wake of the storm. Artfully crafted streets littered with dirt and debris spiderwebbed outward from major plazas throughout the city, leading the way through the broken pocket of civilization. Black pillars rose from patches of smoldering ruins to ride the soft breeze amidst the sunny day, escaping into the clear skies above.

There, standing high above the partially destroyed city of Lastonbell, the Shepherd and the therion gazed out beyond the plumes smoke and ash towards the distant horizon.

Defiant in the face of ruin.