Rachel's head could be seen slowly nodding underneath her blanket. "Mmm..." She spoke timidly.
Alexandra playfully hit the back of the hiding girl's head. "Let's head out... Shichi's probably waiting for us." She remarked, making a bit of an effort to keep her own awkward feelings in check.
Rachel couldn't help but giggle. "Y-yes... we musn't keep Chief waiting..." She studdered nervously.
Dalndox and Shichiyo were already awaiting outside the inn. A refreshing breeze blew their hair about, as Dalndox impatiently tapped his foot against the ground. Finally, the door opened, and the two girls emerged. Dalndox was quick to eye them, and make a remark. "Took you two long enough." He blinked, as a bow was smashed into his head by a rather irked Alexandra.
"Can it."
Dalndox rubbed his head rather painfully. "The hell was that for?"
"No reason." Alexandra smiled. Still, something about her seemed rather off.
Rachel on the other hand, was silent. This provoked attention, as the girl normally had much to say.
"Rachel?" Shichiyo offered his apprentice a concerned glance.
"...Yes, Chief?"
"Are you well?"
Rachel paused for a moment. She shut her eyes tightly, trying not to blush. "Y-yes..."
Shichiyo blinked in confusion. Despite her words, something was clearly the matter. He decided to say nothing for the time being, but to moniter the girl carefully instead. "...Very well." He placed his hand to his chin, and shut his eyes. "However, a question arises... where shall our next destination be?"
"Well," Alexandra butted in, seeing an opportunity to divert her mind from the events of the previous night. "Why not Kiel Hyre's school? We might be able to discover a thing or two at the library, and I'm dying to see if I'm strong enough." She smirked. "Besides, it's not that far of a walk from here."
"Sounds like quite a challenge." Dalndox intervened. "...Count me in."
Shichiyo stayed quiet, thinking to himself. After a brief moment, he made his descision. "So be it. We shall depart for Kiel Hyre's school to the north."
"Score!" Alexandra raised her fist with enthusiasm. Rachel merely nodded, not speaking another word. This caught Alexandra's attention, and she quickly addressed the awkward girl. "Rache! Keep your chin up!" Her encouraging smile discreetly changed to a look which simply said 'None of it ever happened'.
Rachel smiled nervously upon noticing this. "R-right, Alex!"
And so they set out once again. Shichiyo in seek of answers, Dalndox in seek of excitement, and the girls in seek of... a diversion. Within a few hours, they stood outside the school building. With mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety, they looked onward.
"This place is creepy..." Rachel mumbled, holding back a shiver.
"Ya scared?" Alexandra chuckled as she began to walk towards the enterance.
"N-no! I can hold my own just fine! Just you watch!" Rachel ran closely after her friend. "Hey look!" She suddenly came to a halt. "It's so cute!" Rahcel pointed to a Pecopeco. The birdlike creature was minding its own business, idly looking around. Its gaze met Rachel's, and it chirped curiously and tilted its head. "Aww!" Forgetting her worries, Rachel ran over to the creature, and began to pet it. The bird chirped once more, amused.
Shichiyo raised an eyebrow. "Heh... it should be alright... as long as she doesn't provoke it."
Rachel smiled at her new friend. "I have to go now... but I'll be back. Okay?"
The Peco seemingly understood the girl, as it nodded hapilly. And with that, the four of them walked inside the abandoned academy. Inside, the setting was rather eerie... the walls and floor were made of stone, and everything was in utter silence. Proceeding with a bit of caution, they headed to the library. Shichiyo stood infront of the lined shelves, his eyes scanning the books. His deep thought was cut short by the echo of a familiar voice.
"Well well... seems I'm not the only one interested in fine literature." A rather satisfied looking Leon strode out of the shadows, tossing another curious stone into the air, and catching it. He returned the cold expressions of the group with a calm, arrogant smile. "Must you all continue to persist your struggle? With this... beauty shall soon be restored."
Alexandra took a step in Leon's direction, grasping her bow and shouting. "You're just messed up in the head!"
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my friends..." Leon's fingers passed through his hair. "When I have my way... you shall witness the greatest beauty of them all." He let out a rather feminine sigh. "If only more could appreciate the uncanny beauty... such a gorgeous thing..."
"Stop speaking in FUCKING RIDDLES." The irritated huntress's hand glowed with a translucent red light, which seemlessly flowed to her arrow, causing it to gleam. "Charge Arrow!" The arrow streaked through the air, piercing a wall.
Leon calmly tilted his head out of harm's way. "Why must you be so blind... unable to accept that which is so great... the world is better off without your kind!" He raised his halberd, using his two arms to spin it through the air. "I'll return you all to the dust from whence you came!"
"You're welcome to try! We won't let you get away this time!" Alexandra carefully took aim at the alchemist.
"Hmhmhm... I'm afraid you're the ones who are not to leave this place..."
Shichiyo thrust his arm forward, his clothing and hair flowing upwards with magic energy. "Leon! I don't know what you're planning... but this is where your scheme ends." Energy around the wizard began to concentrate, materializing into the physical form of a translucent mist. The mist began to thicken, before firing off at Leon in five bullet-like bursts. They moved at an unrivaled speed, bombarding Leon before he could even react. "Dalndox!"
"Right!" As Leon staggered from the hits he had taken, Dalndox sprinted towards his enemy, and swung his sword. Leon was quick to respond however, and the two of them were brought into a lock. "Heheh... think you can handle my strength?" Dalndox smirked confidently as he pushed more force into his blade. Even as he began to lose his ground and was slowly pushed back, Leon remained composed. He smiled as the ground below him began to tremor. "What's this?"
"Heheheh... you see, my friend... brute strength alone could never win a battle..." The blade of Dalndox's sword flashed blue, and began to corrode.
"What the..." Slowly, the knight's blade was dissolving into the air, he knew that soon he would be defenseless.
"Alchemy is a powerful tool, you see." Leon seized his opportunity as he began to push his halberd forward. However, before Leon's finishing blow on Dalndox could be executed, his arm was struck by many a blazing fireball. Shouting in unexpected pain, his burnt arm dropped the halberd, leaving him vulnerable.
"Alex!" Rachel retracted her arms, and the gust of magical energy that had been materializing around her began to fade. She had accomplished her intention of creating an opportunity, and was quite satisfied with herself for that.
"I've gotta hand it to ya, Rache." Alexandra smiled, and prepared to take that opportunity for her own. She had been waiting far too long for this. "This it it, Leon! Charge Arrow!" Once again, the red light soared from her arm to her arrow, and the huntress sent it blazing through the air, straight in Leon's direction. The sound of piercing was heard. However, Leon had not been hit.
"Heheheh..." At the last moment, the clever alchemist had created a wall infront of himself to take the hit, saving his own life. "Did you all think that you could defeat me?" Leon slammed down his palms, and the ground began to tremor once more, with more force than before. The entire room began to shake. Something was coming. "Come, beautiful work of the planet! Bring these fools to their end!"
"Such power..." Shichiyo stepped back. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek. "Is there no stopping it?"
"Wrong, magic boy!" At those unexpected words of a familiar voice, a whip wrapped around Leon's leg. It was pulled back, dragging him to the ground. The tremors came to an abrupt halt, as Leon's ritual had been interrupted.
"How dare you!" Leon met the figure's eyes with an intent glare. This figure stepped forward along with another... who were revealed to be none other than Rikhael and Straterra.
"Didn't I tell ya? We don't take kindly to being fooled..." Straterra giggled softly. "You had this coming, pretty boy..."
"You tried to take us for fools." Rikhael's cold gaze met Leon. "And now you'll pay the price."
"You two!" Alexandra's emotions were torn between relieved, and angered. She refused to let her grudge against Straterra die, and was always reluctant at accepting help, regardless of who it was from.
"Rikhael and Straterra... I'm pleased to see you are both well." Shichiyo smiled calmly.
Dalndox grinned. "Looks like this is it for you, Leon."
Leon looked around at the figures standing around him, all looking intently. He closed his eyes in frustration, knowing that this time, there truly was no escape. It was the end. Or so he thought. As Rikhael raised his katars to put Leon to rest, the room flashed a pale blue, and another figure appeared. She was quite beautiful, her pale blonde hair hung down to her shoulders. She wore a tight blue top, with loose white sleaves. Her thighs were left exposed, her legs only covered by her tall, black boots. Her dark blue cape flowed with her movements, her deep orange eyes showing a calm expression. Yet, despite her graceful appearence... a certain aura of great power seemed to eminate from her. Rachel's face turned pale at the sight of this young woman.
"Leon... how careless." She raised her arm, and a gust of amazing power surged from her body, scattering the group, and slamming them into walls. "You're all strong... I'm sure we'll meet again soon. Bye for now." The two of them were engulfed in a pale blue light, vanishing from sight. A very confused looking Rachel fell to her knees. Alex kicked the ground in frustration.
"God DAMNIT." She glanced at her friend. "Hey Rache... what's up? You alright?"
"...Eri..." Rachel stopped, not able to bring herself to complete her statement.
Rikhael lowered his katars. "...It cannot be helped."
Straterra looked over to the others, running a hand through her hair. "Well then, now that we're done saving your asses, we've dig up a bit of interesting information at this library." She grinned, at Alexandra in particular.
"You wanna go?" A furious Alexandra rolled up her sleeves, and approached the taunting dancer, only to be held back by Dalndox. Rikhael his friend a glare, and began to speak.
"Many a millenia ago... during the great war... a being of unknown origin came to Rune Midgard. His powers were unheard of, and proved to be far greater than anything familiar to the residents of the continent. He called himself Zetsumei, and he immediately began a conquest of the war-torn lands, crafting himself a massive castle in the very center of Rune Midgard. As the situation reached its bleakest, an alliance was formed between humans, gods, and demons. They worked on the strengths of one another... the raw power of the demons... the intellect of the humans... and the wisdom of the gods... together, they forced Zetsumei into a defensive, and created ten seals... sealing Zetsumei's Castle underground... taking the ominous demon with it. These ten seals were then placed in ten various landmarks across the continent, never to be disturbed. This war between Rune Midgard and the unknown became to be known as... the Moonlight Chronicle."
Shichiyo was left awestruck. "An invader of an unknown origin... unfathomable..." he scratched his chin, almost in disbelief. "Do you mean to state that... Leon intends to break this seal...?"
"We can't be sure, but it sure seems that way, wouldn't ya say?" Asked Straterra.
"And what of that other girl?" A confused Alexandra added in.
Straterra let out a brief sigh. "That... I don't know."
Rachel's nigh emotionless eyes shifted towards Alexandra, and she slowly rose to her feet. "...Erica..." She muttered, in a quiet tone, her voice a mix of sadness, and disbelief.
Alexandra's face grew pale at that one word. "...You don't mean..."
The pecopeco who Rachel had earlier befriended curiously approached the magician. It playfully nuzzled her, though it seemed almost concerned for the girl...