Author's Note: I have new doujinshi. That makes me happy. I also have had a remarkable amount of school work, that makes for late updates.
The Story So Far: The members of Oujou are currently under the control of one evil Necromancer named Blake. Currently all of the Elders of the Eastern Ocean Isles have been kidnapped accept Tsubasa. Hiruma's mother is amongst those who are missing and the group is now on yet another rescue mission.
Hidden
By: Bar-Ohki
Chapter 34: Tsubasa, Braking Elder
"Bring her with us." Hiruma told Doburoku as they were about to leave the Elder's headquarters to try to find more clues as to what Blake was doing. Hiruma was currently pointing at Tsubasa.
"I suppose she could be useful…." Doburoku eyed the woman with slight suspicion. He hadn't trusted her much when they had worked together and he sure as heck did not trust her now. With a sigh Doburoku approached Tsubasa.
"We need you to come with us." Doburoku informed her curtly.
"Come with you?" Tsubasa's eyes practically fell out of her face. "Are you insane?"
"No Tsubasa-sensei." Shin shook his head. "We'd really like your expertise right now."
"I can't leave," Tsubasa protested, "I'm the one in charge here."
"You're an Elder," Zork pointed out, "delegate."
"…I'll do it if someone must." Ayla volunteered.
"Ayla?" Sena stopped starting at her.
"I was raised by O'Neil and Burton." Ayla explained. "I know all duties of an Elder and how they are to run their governments."
"…You're Ayla then." Tsubasa observed. "I suppose you'll have to do then. Mota!"
A little green cat came bounding over. Shin Saw that the animal was extremely magical.
"Mota, this lady, Ayla, will be in charge in my stead while I step out. Make sure she stays in authority while I am away." Tsubasa instructed the creature.
"Come on lady, we haven't got all day." Kuroki demanded from the door where he was waiting impatiently.
"Come back safely!" Ayla wished the others as they finally made their exit.
Tsubasa uncomfortablely joined the group on the bus. A small round of introductions where made.
"Zork, son of Dalboz, apprentice to the Dungeon Master." Zork finished giving Tsubasa a clear frown of distaste. "Youichi, why is she here!?"
"Because she fucking knows things." Hiruma answered gruffly. "I don't know a fucking lot about magic and seals and shit, she does and she can fucking use it unlike the fucking alcoholic." Hiruma waved an arm in Doburoku's direction.
"We'll have to stop by Deimon later," Mamori thought out loud, "and look for clues around there."
"…What did Lord Zeke tell you?" Tsubasa asked after a long moment.
"He instructed us to find out what happened here and to stay away from Blake-" Juumonji began.
"Don't say his name!" Tsubasa gasped. "If you do he'll be able to keep an eye on us!"
To Shin a large cloud of that puke green magic started heading their way. He informed everyone and pointed at it. Hiruma calmly opened a window and signaled to Shin to come over.
"I'm going to shoot it, show me where it is." Hiruma told Shin simply. With a nod Shin pointed keeping his finger at the heart of the cloud. After some minor calculations to account for the differences in the angle, Hiruma aimed and fired. Shin watched the gun this time, it lit up with Hiruma's aura, specifically the part that seemed to eat magic, and fired out in the size of a small bullet. The aim was true and the green cloud was reduced to a small bit of ice, now a Medium. Because they were in a moving vehicle, the Medium moved out of sight.
"You got it." Shin told the waiting Hiruma after a second. "All of it."
"Good." Hiruma smiled and sat back down, playing with the gun in his hand.
"…We're not supposed to have any confrontations with the enemy until Zeke catches up with us." Zork finished for Juumonji. "In the meanwhile we are to get as much information as we can."
"And I'm supposed to practice shooting Akumetsu." Hiruma added as he continued to flip the gun around in his hand.
"Ah." Tsubasa nodded. "What is Lord Zeke doing exactly?"
"Getting another angle on the situation." Doburoku answered. They arrived at Kurita's family's temple. Shin saw that the place was covered with the puke green magic.
"The fucker's been all over here." Hiruma commented as he put a hand on his nose.
"…The wards are in tatters." Shin added worriedly.
"Eh!?" Kurita protested. He could sense that something horrible had happened. "I think there's a Medium on the inside that wasn't there before!"
"Huh?" Kuroki stared at Kurita. "Is that a problem?"
"The enemy might be making a seal for his seal…" Tsubasa guessed gravely.
"Sounds problematic." Togano observed.
"Should we even go in then?" Kuroki asked lazily.
"Yes." Doburoku answered gravely. "We have to find out what happened."
"Ah-ha-ha!" Taki cried. "Let me show you how it's done!" He leapt out of the bus and started to walk right up into the temple.
"That idiot!"
Mamori waved her hand while muttering something and with a burst of magic, Taki found himself hanging upside down.
"Impossible!"
"We'll watch the idiot." Juumonji assured the others as he got off the bus, Kuroki and Togano at his heels.
"You're the most problematic one." Togano muttered at Taki.
Everyone got off the bus and entered the temple cautiously. Kurita and Shin were in the front; Kurita because he lived there and Shin because he could see the magic. Mamori hung in the back of the party, trying to stay aware of any changes behind them. The Huh brothers stood around Taki with their shields ready in the middle of the group. Monta and Musashi hung in the back, in case there was something to catch and kick back as an attack. Ishimaru and Sena hung towards the front in the event they had to run away, they could alert the others. Hiruma was in the exact middle, Akumetsu at the ready.
Shin and Kurita carefully led the way into the heart of the shrine, towards the mysterious Medium. When they came into the courtyard at the heart of the shrine everyone gasped at the sight. There were several corpses, all adults they didn't know, laying around. There was blood everywhere. Shin observed that some of the blood was actually the Medium they were looking for, he told the others of this.
"The blood is the Medium?" Juumonji shuddered.
"It's not the fucker." Hiruma observed. "…I don't think it's human."
"Malhavoc!" Zork cried from the side pointing. Everyone turned and looked at the corpse of the elf. Escarlaje had been jabbed into the ground in front of him between his legs. Malhavoc had, by the blood splatter, collapsed against the corner wall before siding down and dying. He had several cuts on his person and his neat black clothes were now cut to bits. Something had happened to Malhavoc's hair, it was no longer completely black. Now it had random streaks of red in it.
"It's his blood!" Shin gasped. "His blood is the Medium!"
"Escarlmilen!" Doburoku gasped.
"Hey." Malhavoc managed to cough, startling everyone.
"You're not dead!?" Tsubasa shrieked.
"About to be." Malhavoc said quietly. "Too little magic." He managed to sit up and pull Escarlaje out of the ground. His wounds bleed extra because of the action, spurting blood all over his face and the surrounding area. Mamori rushed to his side and began using her magic to heal his wounds. After a hesitant moment, Tsubasa joined her.
Hiruma sniffed Malhavoc once and knew what had happened. Malhavoc's blood had magic in it, making it a potent Medium. Apparently in the fight Malhavoc had gotten himself pretty cut up, because his blood was all over the place.
"50 people…." Ishimaru muttered in awe. "He killed 50 of them."
"I didn't kill the master minions." Malhavoc muttered. "They got away."
"Did you see Mom!?" Zork demanded.
"Yeah." Malhavoc muttered. "Several others."
"Why are you still dying!?" Mamori cried, upset and sad.
"Too little magic." Doburoku answered. "Elves need magic to survive and he a great deal recently."
"What?" Hiruma's eyes got wide.
"They headed south." Malhavoc told them flatly. "I think."
Hiruma frowned and knelt down next to Malhavoc.
"Tell me everything." Hiruma demanded.
Malhavoc shook his head slightly. "No time."
Everyone gasped when Hiruma dropped Akumetsu and grabbed Malhavoc's face in his hands. "Then try!"
Malhavoc responded by making a really strange, pained noise and convulsing. It was hideously obvious that he was dying and painfully. Hiruma growled and began unconsciously to eat the magic out of the Mediums around him. Shin Saw this and watched silently with a shiver. When Hiruma had eaten more than his fill he forced the magic from his stomach into his hands and into Malhavoc.
The elf started to shriek again, sounding like he was in a great deal of agony. He convulsed some more and tried vainly to take Hiruma's hands off his face. Shin simply shut his eyes, trying to shield himself from the red light.
With a small thump, Hiruma fell to the ground beside Malhavoc, who had stopped screaming to pant shuddering breaths. The elf's red eyes were opened wide, his expression one of pain and complete disbelief. Mamori reached towards Hiruma and stopped when she heard a small snore.
"What the hell?" Tsubasa muttered, breaking the silence.
"…I'd rather die next time." Malhavoc muttered as he stood up slowly. He brushed off his tattered clothes a little and proceeded to stretch a little. It was clear that whatever pain he had been in was fading fairly quickly.
"What did he do?" Mamori asked.
"…He poured my magic back into me." Malhavoc pulled a leg up into a y-stance like Taki did. "Painfully might I add."
"I will not be outdone!" Taki also went up into a y-stance. Malhavoc blinked once at the behavior and just casually changed legs, continuing his stretches.
"Now that I am no longer in immediate danger of dying I suppose I can tell you what I have seen." Malhavoc remarked as he eyed the sleeping Hiruma. "Should I wake him first?"
"You can do that?" Zork asked.
"I have a Waking Plant." Malhavoc held up a bag.
"Aren't those toxic to humans?" Kurita asked.
"He's half human." Malhavoc reminded everyone with an almost psychotic grin.
"Are you sure your mind is working properly?" Tsubasa scoffed. "You did lose a lot of blood."
"I'm plenty aware of the effectiveness of my mental capacity at the moment." Malhavoc told her simply. "If you were half as clever as I you would have realized I was testing some basic knowledge of this group here. I'm not about to give them information if they can't handle knowing it."
"Testing them!?" Tsubasa shrieked. "I'll have you know they were selected by Lord Zeke!"
"My brother isn't the best judge of character." Malhavoc rolled his eyes at her. "And I doubt they were selected by Zeke, I bet he just asked them to do something casually like he does whenever he's pressed for time."
"What!?" Tsubasa gasped and stared. "Lord Zeke isn't-!"
"You don't know my brother even a visible faction as well as I do." Malhavoc told her acidly. "Why would a wise woman such as yourself possibly think you could tell me what my brother would do? Besides I know you heard it second-hand and deception is a weapon I know Doburoku proficient with."
"Now's not the time for games!" Sena protested. "My mom might have been kidnapped, I have to know!"
"That!" Malhavoc pointed at Sena with a pleased expression. "Is what I was waiting for. If you have no will, there is no point in relying on you to complete whatever task my brother gave the lot of you."
"You wanted to know if we had the will?" Juumonji gave Malhavoc a sick look.
"Because you're about to deal with quite the trail of it." Malhavoc pointed up at the roof where Sakuraba was currently crouching with a knife. "Especially since I can't do much about him in my current condition…."
"Sakuraba?" Shin gasped, seeing the horrid magic swirling around his teammate and friend.
"He's one of the major minions." Malhavoc explained. "He and a few others carried off the people that were meeting in there." The elf pointed at the room to their right. "Lotem and Elder Yuuya were among that number."
"Are there others around?" Zork asked looking around wearily.
"My senses are pretty disoriented at this time," Malhavoc admitted, "you probably have a better idea than me."
"We'll just have to break the curse then." Mamori announced standing up to the challenge.
"My specialty, huh?" Tsubasa muttered, eyeing Sakuraba carefully.
"Your specialty?" Musashi asked.
"She's an expert curse-breaker." Doburoku explained. "What exactly do you need to get it done?"
"I need my hands on Sakuraba when he's not about to stab me." Tsubasa admitted.
"I'll do it then." Shin stepped forward, pulling his gloves on.
"We need to get him down first…." Juumonji muttered.
Malhavoc picked up a stone and tossed it at Sakuraba. The wide receiver jumped off the roof to dodge it. Upon landing he rushed forward with an inhumanly fast speed. Malhavoc cursed lightly and braced himself to dodge at the last possible second. Thankfully Cerberus intervened and tackled Sakuraba at the torso. It wasn't enough to completely stop the charge, but he was slowed down enough for Shin to use his Trident Tackle on him. Juumonji and Komusubi were on Sakuraba before he and Shin hit the ground. Somehow the knife went flying, Monta caught the thing and set it out of harm's way. Kuroki and Togano joined in helping hold the violently fighting Sakuraba down.
"…I think that's as good as we can get it." Doburoku muttered as Kurita and Musashi helped by sitting on the wide receiver and holding the man's head in place.
Tsubasa said nothing and set her hands on Sakuraba's forehead. Shin watched her hands light up in a soft purple glow which carefully prodded at the green curse. After a few prods there was a large flash and the purple magic started hammering very pointedly on the green curse. In several places the curse broke off, in others it just cracked. Tsubasa worked until she had the green magic broken apart pretty thoroughly. Then she removed her hands and magic. By this point Sakuraba had passed out.
"I couldn't completely remove it." Tsubasa admitted. "The enemy is really powerful."
"The fuck?" Hiruma muttered, finally having woke up.
Malhavoc didn't say anything right away. "…Do you need to eat some magic?"
Hiruma didn't answer but looked at the elf carefully.
"The Half-Fire Necromancer cursed that boy there." Malhavoc pointed at Sakuraba. "And the curse still holds tight."
"Yeah." Hiruma answered and walked over, looking down and Sakuraba. He began to eat the nasty-smelling magic which made his stomach churn unpleasantly. Shin watched the rest of the curse finally leave his friend.
"Done." Hiruma muttered sounding ill.
"Far from it." Malhavoc corrected. "We far, far from done."
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Don't worry, there's some more explanations in the next chapter. Please review!